Monday, December 30, 2019

Human Trafficking Is in America - 1354 Words

Human Trafficking is in America, it’s in backyard and most don’t even know it. Many Americans believe that this horrible action only takes place in countries such as China, Japan, India, and Ghana but no; it happens in the United States also. The definition of human trafficking is the â€Å"illegal practice of procuring or trading in human beings for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, or other forms of exploitation† (dictionary.com). Slavery was abolished in 1865 in the 13th amendment in the constitution but it sad to say, it still exist. â€Å"60,000 people in America in November 2013 could safely be called modern day slaves† (Slavery isn’t a thing of the past). Today human trafficking is counted as immigrant workers who are smuggled into the country and forced to work under the threat of violence. And also men and women, forced to sell their bodies for sex and give all their money to their pimps (Slavery isn’t a thing of the past). Pimps are the ones who usually run the human trafficking business. Approximately75-80% of human trafficking is for sex (55 little known facts about human trafficking). Many believe that only adults are being worked but children and teens are too, matter of fact the average age is between12 and 14. The number of human trafficking in the United States will continue to increase because it is too difficult to find and prevent. Slavery has been a part of this world even before the 1400’s, but the 1400s marked the start of European slave trade.Show MoreRelatedHuman Trafficking Is Destroying America1057 Words   |  5 Pages Slavery in the Twenty-First Century Human trafficking is the modern day form of slavery and its victims are, most commonly, the children of America (Kotria). The youth and millennials in this country are America’s future, the next generation’s guides into the world, and thousands of them every year are being taken and becoming victims to human trafficking within the U.S. These children are the backbone of America, within them could lie the greatest minds, most inspiring actors, and even a lifeRead MoreEssay on Human Trafficking in America2109 Words   |  9 PagesHuman Trafficking in America Alexandria R. Bloom Northmor High School Human Trafficking in America Thesis: Many people are unaware of the amount of human trafficking happening in America. I. Victims II. Location and what happens III. Arrests, laws, and ringleaders IV. Money V. Escaping Human Trafficking in America Many people are surprised to hear that human trafficking is not just a problem outside of America’s borders and that it is becoming moreRead MoreEssay on Role Of America in Human Trafficking1363 Words   |  6 PagesThe trafficking of human beings for slave labor and sexual exploitation is one of the fastest growing global problems. It has been called the dark side of globalization because an enormous upsurge of human enslavement has accompanied a border-free world economy (Miller). Trafficking in persons is a transnational crime that touches people in every nation, and even neighborhoods in this country. The vast reach of human trafficking stunned my own community, when we learned that a 12-year-old EgyptianRead MoreAmerica s Fight Against Human Trafficking1773 Words   |  8 PagesThe United States of America has been fighting human trafficking since the 1800s, when slavery happened to be was outlawed. Since then, several laws have been passed to help the fight against hu man trafficking. According to the Polaris Project, the â€Å"current federal laws† include the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, along with several reauthorizations of the Act during four separate years, the Tariff Act, the Customs and Facilitations and Trade Enforcement Act, the Racketeering Influenced CorruptRead MoreAmerica, Human Trafficking, And Why It Will Never Stop2411 Words   |  10 Pages America, Human Trafficking, and Why It Will Never Stop Gregory J Carnes Professor Caroline Zapor CRMJ499: Senior Seminar Capstone America, Human Trafficking, And Why It Will Never Stop ABSTRACT We must show new energy in fighting back an old evil. Nearly two centuries after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, and more than a century after slavery was officially ended in its last strongholds, the trade in human beings for any purpose must not be allowed to thrive inRead MoreHuman Trafficking From Latin America To Canada Essay1854 Words   |  8 PagesThe trafficking of humans for sexual purposes is being described as modern day slavery. The US State Department Trafficking in Persons 2008 report ranks Canada as a Tier One country, meaning Canada is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women and children (SIWSAG, 2009). Although not a top destination point for human traffickers, a conservative estimate states that approximately 800 people are trafficked into Canada annually. These people (mostly women and children) are transportedRead More Its Time to Stop Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Essay1982 Words   |  8 PagesStates has always ha d an industry where humans have sold other humans for profit. Although the United States abolished slavery and human trafficking with the thirteenth amendment in 1865, the human trafficking industry has not even begun to disappear, despite all the efforts made against it. Human trafficking is an issue that affects various people. As author Kevin Bales said in The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today, human trafficking is of â€Å"equal opportunity† (18). It canRead MoreThe Many Victims of Human Trafficking675 Words   |  3 Pageswomen and children are victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking is used for many purposes and benefits. Sex, forced labor and other forms of disgracing exploitation is dangerously happening worldwide. It’s necessary to know what the term trafficking means because it can be very misleading, trafficking places importance on the transaction aspect of a cruel crime, trafficking is more than described by the media. Enslavement is a word that can describe trafficking briefly and compactly, exploitationRead MoreHuman Trafficking Is A Global Crime1439 Words   |  6 PagesHuman trafficking, by definition, is â€Å"the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.† Most people would say that human trafficking is a very serious crime that needs to be better regulated and the laws pertaining to it needs to be more enforced to help those enslaved within break free. Others may say that because human trafficking is such a large and worldwide â€Å"business† that makes millions each year, it will be extremely difficult toRead MoreThe Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking in out Backyard1456 Words   |  6 Pageshear about the crime of human trafficking they automatically refer it to sex exploitation by big time gang organizations. Sexual exploitation is a big chunk of the trafficking problem in America but in reading the book The Slave Next Door you can see that there are different types of work for human trafficking. One of the unique and underrated types of trafficking is in the type of domestic slavery. This type of trafficking is not as popular for gangs and other trafficking organizations because it

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Globalization in the Fast Food Industry in Indonesia

For this essay, I have chosen the fast food industry as the industry I will look at and Indonesia as the country. Indonesia has a population of 232 million people, with the capital city Jakarta alone has 10 million people, more than twice the population of the whole of New Zealand. So Indonesia represents a huge market for industries to delve into, in 2011 Indonesia recorded US $18 billion in Foreign Domestic Investments and ranked 18th for biggest FDI inflow. (data.worldbank.org, 2013) And on a recent 2012 survey, Indonesia is ranked 4th as a major destination for FDI for the period of 2012 – 2014. (United Nations Conference On Trade And Development [UNCTAD] World Investment Prospect Survey 2012-2014, 2012) Considering that Indonesia†¦show more content†¦McDonald’s and KFC both made rice available in their menu, with the McDonalds’ rice packaged like a cheeseburger and was named McRice. Rice is a staple for Indonesians and most eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so it is a perfect way to appeal to Indonesians. McDonalds also serves rice porridge on their breakfast menu along with the original breakfast menu, such as hot cakes, scrambled eggs, and hash browns. Something that is unique to Indonesian’s McDonalds is the fried chicken. McDonalds in Indonesia all have fried chicken, similar to that of KFC, available on their menu and are actually what Indonesians know McDonalds for, for their chicken rather than the original cheeseburgers and Big Macs. A move that has proved to be their main success, as it helps them to appeal to the Indonesians preference of fried food and as well as competing with other fried chicken joints, like KFC, Popeye’s a nd a locally found restaurant called California Fried Chicken and Texas Chicken. The second main attribute that all companies in the food industry need to deal with utmost care is the demographics. Indonesia is the largest Muslim populated country in the world, with 87% of its population being Muslim. Muslims are strict on their diet and are not allowed some foods like pork, so in every packaging of a fast food item you will seeShow MoreRelatedNutrition Transition Of Indonesi Developing Countries892 Words   |  4 PagesNutrition Transition in Indonesia Similar to other developing countries, Indonesia is also experiencing a rapid nutrition transition. Malnutrition in Indonesia has no longer been a single nutrition problem since more people become overweight recently (Lipoeto, Lin, Angeles-Agdeppa, 2013; Usfar, Agnew, Juniwaty, Howell, 2013). The trend does not only occurs in people from urban areas as found in other developing countries, but also in people from rural areas with low income level (Roemling QaimRead MoreNestle : The Largest Food And Beverage Multi National Corporation1741 Words   |  7 PagesGlobalization is the dominant force by which the world has become interconnected significantly as a result of extremely increased trade and decreased cultural differences. Globalization has made crucial changes in the production and trade of goods and services. The giant companies are now multinational corporations with subsidiaries in many countries. They are no longer national firms with their operations limited to the bound ary of just one country. Such companies’ growth and operations are notRead MoreEssay on The Globalization of Nestle1612 Words   |  7 Pages Globalization is the dominant force by which the world has become interconnected significantly as a result of extremely increased trade and decreased cultural differences. Globalization has made crucial changes in the production and trade of goods and services. The giant companies are now multinational corporations with subsidiaries in many countries. They are no longer national firms with their operations limited to the boundary of just one country. Such companies’ growth and operations are notRead MoreImpact Of Globalization On Modern Profit Making Environment Essay833 Words   |  4 PagesGlobalization is one of the most fundamental drives in our modern profit-making environment. (Luthans Doh, 2015) A multinational corporation (MNC), Luthans, Doh, (2015) is a firm that has operations in more than one country and engages in foreign direct investment (FDI). MNCs have generated wealth for several â€Å"small† places around the world. Moreover, MNCs can use capital procured in other markets for additional advertising and expansion. The transfer of information is vital for organized economicRead MoreThe Pros and Cons of Globalization and Localization Essay1776 Words   |  8 PagesBefore I start explaining globalization and localization from my point of view and from what I learned from the article given for the assignment, I would like to define the word. Globalization is a term to denote that something is changing humankind’s preoccupation with territoriality and the traditional arrangement of the state system. Globalization is renders boundaries and identity with the land less salient, which means that it allows people, goods, information, norms, practices, and institutionsRead MoreDescription Of The Firm And Its Industry ( Starbucks India )1303 Words   |  6 PagesDescription of the firm and its industry (Starbucks India) Business Perspectives Starbucks Coffee Company, which is commonly known as Starbucks or Starbucks Corporation, is the dominant world-leading roaster as well as retailer of specialty coffee in the 21st century. Until now, it has over 20,000 stores in the world, which shows a huge number difference between Starbucks and the following competitor - Dunkin’ Donuts, which has just around 10,000 stores (Statista, 2014). The annual revenue of StarbucksRead MoreEssay about Definition of Sustainability and a Good Structure of It3277 Words   |  14 Pagesunnecessary tragedy and a source of social and political unrest. Meanwhile, our globalized world is more interconnected and volatile than ever, making us all more vulnerable. While sustainability is about the future of our society, for todays industries and businesses, it is also about commercial success. The mandate to transform businesses to respect environmental limits while fulfilling social wants and needs has become an unparalleled platform for innovation on strategy, design, manufacturingRead MoreThe World Labor Market1291 Words   |  5 Pagesside of those able to...thus turning globalization into the final apotheosis of capital†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Portes, 152). Overall a global capitalist society secures the economy of wealthy nations by getting workers that, as Portes mentions, will â€Å"accept low-paid, menial jobs commonly performed by their ancestors† (Portes,157). Most migrants have no choice but to deal with what they are given and this has been obvious for centuries now. On the other hand capital globalization creates inequality worldwide with AmericaRead MoreEconomic Impact on Aviation Industry1294 Words   |  6 PagesThe economic situation has proven to have impacted the airline industries in many ways. For instance, changes in price of an airline industry may also change the demand and elasticity of the services offered by the airline company. In this regard, the outlook of the airline industry can still be considered to have strong growth in spite of changing economic conditions. For airlines, the economic situation for prices, wage inequality and even monetary aspects will hold many challenges and only thoseRead MoreDeforestation Is A Global Issue2163 Words   |  9 Pagesand its surface and root causes. Although deforestation occurs mostly in tropical rainforests, which are primarily in developing countries, this does not equate it to national problems, instead it is an issue, which through the rise of economic globalization, means that the global population are bearing down on the forests as well. The surface issues are agricultural expansion and infrastructure expansion, with deeper root causes, which fall under the political and social scope. These underlying causes

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Is studying for a degree a good business decision Free Essays

string(44) " their parents urged them to go to college\." INTRODUCTION The decision to undertake a degree is always one that is backed up by an internal cost benefit analysis of the individuals facing a strategic choice in life. The decision is one that is personal to many different students and some may argue that going to university is, or has been, a good business decision, whilst other may argue it is not.The relationship between work and higher education is complex and is constantly changing as a consequence of changing assumptions, values and expectations of students, graduates, employers, academics, politicians and civil servants. We will write a custom essay sample on Is studying for a degree a good business decision? or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a result of recent changes the growing acceptance of the concept of a learning society; the pervasive idea that learning in the classroom is of greater value than learning in the workplace is now being challenged.Employers seek flexible, fast, learning adaptive workers and reward education because such traits are associated with higher education levels. But many graduates are realising that their B.A. and B.Sc. degrees qualify them for no particular profession-unless of course they drift into teaching- prefer to stay on for further degrees in the hope of becoming research assistant’s and eventually being appointed academic staff which is a long process. Some graduates have realised that they have to settle for humbler jobs than they have been led to expect- the kind of jobs, moreover, for which the higher education they have received must seem to have been largely irrelevant, if not a waste of time, this has put the question forward: is pursuing a degree a good business de cision It is easy to forget that until quite recent times training for some professions- law, accountancy, as well as engineering- was undertaken almost entirely on practical work based lines without a formal degree qualification being necessary.Learning on the job had the advantage of being founded on first-hand experience, an advantage that is retained in the polytechnics’ sandwich courses; the disadvantage was that it was slow. As the necessity for a through grounding in theoretical principles increased, however membership of professional institutes could only be gained by passing a written examination and, before long a three-four year university course provided the most suitable short cut for students exempting them from the hard graft of a long-drawn-out article apprenticeship.As late as 1970, however, individuals wishing to become solicitors were advised that while a degree was an asset it could not be accepted as total exemption from apprenticeship as an article clerk, and in the immediate post-war years that a BSc. (engineering) was no substitute. But the advance of the credentials system was implacable. The world over, universities took over the responsibility for professional training and in so doing became the main agencies for professional job allocation. Everywhere the belief that people who credited with having received more’ education’ usually earned higher incomes and higher stat us than those who had less, provided the mainspring for expansionist policies. In the U.K these policies were a less explosive than in a country on rapid modernization like Japan, which had one university in 1890, forty-seven in 1918, 379 in 1969 and 685 in 1976. From an early age children have been conditioned to believe that their entire future depends upon paper qualifications that they can only obtain through formal schooling, ‘Everyone must go to College’ ‘Education pays- stay in School’-[1] these are the kinds of slogans constantly publicised in the U.S.A where currently more than half the pupils completing high school go on to some kind of full-time course of higher education, but recently more plainly, the promise of social justice, supposedly inherent in the concept of ‘constant mobility’, has proven to be delusive, by encouraging the youth to climb higher and higher up the educational ladder of prospects it has lulled them into imagining not only that there is room at the top but room for nearly everyone.Times have changed as one â€Å"In 1944 the problem was to convince more pupils that they were capable of getting a degree- and more parents that they could afford to let their children go to university- the problem now it can be said is to ‘cool out’ the masses who take it as a matter of course that a higher education owes them a living†. A new national survey of young adults ages 18 to 25 finds that the vast majority of today’s young adults — be they African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American or White -strongly believe in the value of higher education. The survey, â€Å"High School: young people talk about their hopes and prospects was conducted by the non-profit, non-partisan opinio2n research organization public agenda – the majority of the young adults surveyed said that their parents inspired the goal of going to college and most had a teacher in high school who took a strong personal interest in them and encouraged them to go on to college. Money plays a big role in decisions about where — or whether — to go to college or university. Nearly half of young people who do not continue their education after high school cite lack of money, the wish to earn money or having other responsibilities as reasons why they don’t go. â€Å"Life after High School† also shows that while money is not a factor in college selection for most young White Americans (60 percent), it is for most young African Americans and Hispanics. Sixty percent of both groups say that they would have attended a different college if money were not an issue. About half (51 percent) of young Asian Americans say this as well. The survey raises troubling concerns about the prospects for young workers without university degrees. Compared to those who have a two- or four-year degree, these less-educated workers fell into their jobs more by chance than by choice and far fewer think of their job as a career. Young people with no degree are substantially less likely than those who have a degree to say their parents urged them to go to college. You read "Is studying for a degree a good business decision?" in category "Essay examples" There has been much discussion, now with increasing support from government, employers and academia for the idea that learning does, and should, continue after formal education stops. One of the many important changes in the size and shape of higher education during the last few years that have taken place are for example, the number of degrees awarded over the years has steadily increased, twenty years ago just one young person in eight entered higher education today more than one in three do so, over the same period the number of undergraduate degrees awarded in Britain has risen. In 2009/10 there were 350,860 first degree graduates compared to 333,720 in 2008/09, showing an increase of 5%. This does not mean that the quality of a degree is necessarily any the less but it does signify a university degree is no longer as distinguishing a qualification as it once was.Nevertheless, the economy has in addition moved on and the demand for graduates has grown at the same time as the supply has increased. Although graduates are still in demand, especially in certain sectors, their employment prospects are being affected by the recession – two fifths (38%) of employers have frozen graduate recruitment and additional 10% are recruiting fewer graduates than last year. So it is not surprising that in the UK the unemployment rate of university graduates has been gradually increasing each year. In the US, two in five students who start don’t get a bachelor’s degree within six years, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The ones who finish confront the same weak job market that everyone does. In the US there are approximately 2.3 million holders of bachelor’s degrees looking for work. All too often college graduates incur crippling debt and don’t improve their job prospects’ [1] The average starting salary offer to 2010 graduates was $48,700, down 1.3% from the year before, according to the National Association of Colleges Employers.[2] John McGurk, CIPD adviser, learning and talent development states â€Å"A feature of the boom years was that graduates more or less expected to walk into a top job of some kind with a reasonable 2:2, and to get into a big accountancy firm or the City with a 2:1,†.†[3]Today this is not the case. The recession and the poor economy have impacted recruitment, major recruiters like BT, have even dropped graduate schemes altogether, setting a precedent for others to follow and other smaller recruiters, meanwhile, are reassessing their relationships with graduates. â€Å"The recession has had a massive impact on the way we’re looking at recruiting graduates this year,† says Stephanie Oerton, head of talent and development at National Express’. Worry over labour market trends for university graduates was expressed strongly in the USA, for example by Hecker (1992) and Shelley (1994). President Obama has set a goal to increase the percentage of Americans with two- or four-year college degrees from 40% now to 60% in 2020. But the job market still very quite some may argue this not a good decision and a wasted effort. Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis of data related to the employment of college graduates indicates that there are more jobseekers with college degrees than there are openings in jobs requiring a degree In Europe the question has been examined in the wider framework of trends in over education or bumping down, i.e. to which point workers with high schooling levels are accepting jobs requiring lower skills and consequently forcing low skilled workers into unemployment.Rising returns to university education cast uncertainty on the idea that graduate workers are increasingly taking jobs for which they are overqualified. Since the early 1970’s, the data suggests a growing proportion of college graduates are in jobs that usually do not require at least a bachelor’s degree. But it can be argued that‘ It is not possible to precisely identify and measure the number of jobs that require a college degree’ . It can be argued that generally new jobs just don’t require college graduates. It has been stated that In USA of the 30 professions with the highest likely growth from 2008 to 2018, merely 8 require a bachelor’s degree or higher. â€Å"The fastest- growing occupation in the country, registered nurse, requires only an associate’s degree, of the top ten together with home health aides, customer service legislative body, retail salespersons and office clerks require only short-term on-the-job training†.For students pursuing a degree there will be the consideration is it really worth it. The gains of a degree can be measured in a variety of ways; these may include elements such as increased knowledge, the development of transferable skills, increased potential earning power and even the social aspects of higher education, cost may include but not be limited to the direct financial costs, such as tuition and living costs, which will usually result in high student loans and overdrafts which from studies and statistics show are progressively increasing and are having a direct impact on students. Figure 1: Source: Education at a Glance 2000: OECD Indicators. OECD Publications, 23 November 1998. On the other hand before the financial downturn, UK graduates profited more than anyone else from degrees. A global comparison proves that graduates in the UK obtain an elevated rate of return from higher education, in terms of improved employment prospects and income. The rate of 17% positions in the UK in a group of its own compared with 10% to 15% in Denmark, Netherlands, France, US and Sweden and 7% Japan and Italy, reported by the organisation for Economic Co-operation Development. The OECD’s recent yearly education at glance indicators emerges to support the UK government’s case for studying for a degree to be a worthwhile investment. The College Board, GE Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Knowledge Works Foundation funded the study. The ultimate decision to carry out a degree is constantly one that is backed up by an interior cost benefit analysis of the persons facing a strategic alternative in life. The decision is one that is delicate to many different students and some may disagree that going to university is, or has been, a good business decision, whilst others may dispute it is not.In regards to student fees â€Å"The Global Higher Education Rankings† report found that British graduates aged between 30 and 44 earn 76% more than non-graduates in the UK.Students pay an average of almost ?7,000 a year for their education and as fees are to rise again making Britain one of the most expensive country in the world for study. The universities will now be able to charge home and EU students ?6,000 a year, and up to ?9,000 in special circumstances. The new tuition fee system will make UK higher education even more expensive and its affordability ranking will fall, the cheapest place to study is Finland, where one year of education costs an average of ?1,820, followed by Holland at ?1,826 and Sweden, which comes in at ?2,186. The rest of Europe clusters into a band with costs ranging between ?2,914 and ?4,030. In Finland, higher education costs students the equivalent of ?590 a year, in Japan; students pay ?9,974, while in the US students pay around ?8,400.British students receive an average grant of ?597, compared with ?275 in Finland. American students receive around ?2,120. OECD figures also suggest that the earning premium of British graduates, relative to non-graduates, is amongst the highest in the world. Despite the costs, Britain has the third-highest participation rate of the 15 countries, behind the Netherlands and Finland. The result is that most of today’s students receive no grants to cover living costs, about half must pay something towards their tuition costs, and all face more crowded lecture theatres and less individual time with staff. However, one effect of the mounting cost of getting a degree has been to increase the popularity of vocational degree courses. The top five courses (graded by undergraduates entering in 2003) are: Business and Management Studies, Computer Science, Law, Psychology, and Primary Education. Figure 2: Change in spending on education, enrolment and expenditure [14] It can be understood that there is one important way in which universities have not changed as much as many expected: they remain largely the preserve the students of middle-classes. Over 70% of the children of professional classes now attend university compared to just 13% of children of unskilled workers. Amongst the protests concerning tuition fees, students will continue to speculate whether they are getting a good deal, but future employment patterns suggest they are almost certainly better off investing their money in a degree. Full time education prepares hardly anyone for anything specific, nearly every person is still dependant on the charity of employers for training and experience in the job carried out, most of the education it can be argued is often completely irrelevant. And it has been questioned is a degree really worth having. It can be alleged a university degree does help a person to discipline himself. But it is not the sole factor for him to accomplish a profes sional future. To accomplish a bright career, the person must have both discipline and practical knowledge. It is up to an individual to build up the practicality of his job. It is true university education is viewed as a prestigious achievement. It may not guarantee a job immediately, but someone who has it, has a better way of approaching life than one who does not have it or an equivalent. It can be simply said, â€Å"A university degree does not guarantee one future success but it helps to broaden the horizon of the individual†. It is in recent times, that Government has come to realize that university education is central to the development of a country as a prosperous knowledge based economy and as an inclusive society they are central to any countries competitiveness and graduates provide a pool of talented persons who are capable of promoting the exploitation of knowledge.A study led by Professor Phil Brown, of Cardiff University, and Dr Anthony Hesketh, of Lancaster University Management School, found young people having to go to great lengths to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Being good is no longer good enough, it says . Analysing work trends in the UK and the United States, the report confronts current assumptions about the growth in demand for graduates in a knowledge-driven economy. While there is a commonly held belief that the UK’s economic competitiveness will be shaped by the quality of potential employees, the vision of a good salary doing appealing work in a big organisation is still available only to the lucky few.Study says that broadening access to higher education has done little to boost the chances of working class graduates joining these professional elite. Professor Brown alleged: â€Å"The evolving system of mass higher education in the UK has intensified the mismatch between the skills needed to get a job and those required to do it well. â€Å"Given a chance, many graduates may prove excellent when it comes to doing the job itself but fail to find employment because of the ‘over supply’ of suitably qualified candidates.†The study points out that a huge proportion of working class graduates attend new universities. Given this, it notes that one organisation received 14,000 applications for 428 vacancies. Graduates from Oxford University had a one in eight chance of success whilst the ratio for those applying from new universities was one in 235.Professor Brown said: â€Å"Our analysis suggests it is inevitable that with so many similarly qualified candidates applying for too few places, individuals will try to stand out in the crowd in any way they know how. Cost benefit analysis is used to determine, first the individual rate of return to educational expenditures. This relates expenditure on higher education including the ‘opportunity costs’ of income forgone during the period of time spent in education to subsequent income derived in the post-qualification period. People decide to go into further education because they feel that by completing their education and getting a degree they will have a higher chance of getting a job quickly. As when you apply for a job the competition is usually high as there will be many other candidates that will be applying for the same job.However, some individual’s feel that they should have went into employment and gained some experience, as that is what employers look for. For example, if there are two people applying for the same job and one of them had a degree and the other candidate had a high level of experience it is not necessary that the person with degree is likely to get the job as the employer may give the job to the person with the experience. A degree is not always useful to a person when applying for jobs but an awful lot is dependent on the nature of the job, for instance, if you are applying for a admin job and a applicant has got a degree in business administration, the employer may feel that this person is over qualified for the job and may give it to the person with a high level of experience. Therefore, sometimes getting a degree does not always help in the long run. Higher education trends statistics have shown rise in higher education despite the factor of fees and high living costs in some regions, more women are pursuing university education and of older age in Great Britain. Figure 3: Age participation [14] Other statistics shows hundreds of thousands of would-be students have already applied to university in an attempt to secure a place before the increase in tuition fees. Data published recently shows 344,064 people had submitted their applications to start courses this year. This is a 2.5 per cent increase on the same period the earlier year, so an extra 8,000 people applying as last year. The figures from UCAS, the university admissions service, imply that plans to triple tuition fees at English universities from next year are the reason for the rush. From the study it may possibly be established that as applicants race to beat the top-up fee heat university education is a popular step to pursue but the financial costs are one of the many obstacles stopping perspective students to follow it. So on the whole universally degrees are a popular option to take. If we look at a university degree as a business decision we need to consider this as an objective decision rather than a subjective personal preference. For this we need to consider the evidence. If we look at the evidence, this is not clear-cut, just as there are many self made business people who have never seen a collage and many graduates who are out of work and broke. On this basis the obtaining of a degree itself cannot be seen as an immediate route to success, and may even hold some individuals back, preventing them from working in the commercial world, making contacts, developing ideas and gaining experience as well as being able to put money in the bank. If we look for evidence to back this up we can look at the measure of success, for example, the Business Week UK Property Rich list the majority of names on here did not have a university education. For some there may not have been the need. For example, at the top of the list is the Duke of Westminster, and in second place were David and Frederick Barclay who also did not have a university education. These individual inherited the property and as such they did not feel there was any need to take their education further. There are also individuals who have not inherited, but seen their property empire grow through their own good business judgment; for example John Whittaker (Urquart, 2000). However, the majority on the list inherited their wealth. It is remarkable how much or how little great inventors and scientists learned at university. Thomas Edison never attended one, discovering his genius instead while working as a teenage telegraph operator. Charles Darwin went to Cambridge to study for the church but derived the most benefit to his career during long rambles with J.S. Henslow, a professor of botany. Darwin was known in his student days as â€Å"the man who walks with Henslow.† What Cambridge did give Darwin was the opportunity to reinforce his capacity to work hard and systematically and to expand the range of his enquiring mind. â€Å" If we look at the evidence for a university education we can cite the value of learning as well as the financial advantage. It is often cited that those who have attended university and gained a degree will have enhanced social skills due to the way in which education impacts on personal interaction and communication skills† (Hill, 2000). The same exposure to the social aspect of university and the cross over between learning and transferable skills may also give a greater ability to appreciate real differences, and appreciate diversity as well as divergent views† (Hill,2000). Whilst a university education is not needed, a side effect of the education process is to open the mind and increased the ability to assimilate information from different sources. The skills are not only of benefit in social life but are also the skills that employer’s value. Often with a university degree it is not the topic of the degree that is important, but the skills, such as r esearch and communication skills that were gained in obtaining the degree, which are important (Hill, 2000). This makes an individual more employable and also more likely to get on in their employment much more easily and has an upper hand then a person with no university education. For example In the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers. (The edition was based on the largest ever survey of university students.) In this study there are well over 1000 major employees who actively recruit graduates from UK universities and countless small and medium size businesses that employ predominantly recent graduates within their workforce. The top 100 that emerges from the research is a bold league table of the UK’s most dynamic and sought after graduate employees. Examples of some of the well known companies in the UK putting their trusts in graduates include for the fourth year running it is headed by Accenture (formerly Anderson Consulting), Three other recruiters-Anderson, one of the ‘Big Five’ accountancy and professional services firms; PriewaterhouseCoopers, the UK’s largest graduate recruiter; Procter Gamble, the international fast-moving consumer goods company-and Goldman Sachs which are ranked in fifth place who are the first investment bank to reach the top ten are all examples of well established companies recruiters of graduates. Across the whole Top 100 there are nineteen new organisations. Two of the highest-ranked of these new entries are Marconi who has entered the table in 36th place and Cisco Systems who are just outside the top fifty. Across the full league table, there a ppears to be little correlation between the numbers of graduates and employer recruits and where they appear in the top 100.The majority of organisations listed in the table recruit 50 graduates each year, but there are at least twenty employers who recruit in excess of 200 graduates annually. The UKs largest employer of graduates is currently PricewaterCoopers who recruited over 1200 gradates, there are further three organisations who take on up to 1000 recruits, the figures and company names could be shown as evidence that a university education is taken in elevated esteem with top employers. There are long-term financial benefits in pursuing university education. A study in the US demonstrated the way in which those with a degree are likely to earn more on the long run.The graduates may start off behind non-graduates and take a while to catch up, but if we look at the average earnings of graduates between the ages of 30 – 30 years of age there has been the opportunity for all to settle into their careers.For males the average earning were 69% higher for the graduates, equating at this time to $21,500 a year more than those who did not graduate. By the time they get to the 40 – 44 age group the difference has increased to 82% (Hall, 2000). The same effect is seen in the female population, but not to the same level. Between ages 30 – 34 years the average graduate will have a salary 63% greater than a non-graduate, which increased to 74% for age group 40 – 44 (Hall, 2000). There is also a trend to see this gap increasing ever since the 1970’statistics. There are also increasing number of drop outs from universities maybe from students who have realised it is not worth the time and effort to study and they may as well go straight to the job market and the recognition that university graduates require long period of training in their first job before they are of any use to the company that employs them, they might as well skip university.It can be argued that education is the means by which some people kid themselves they are entitled to a better life than the rest of society. CONCLUSION Overall most of society may feel that studying for a degree is a good business; however, a number of individuals may want to go into higher education and study for a degree but may not get the chance to, as there are many factors such as cost that will affect the individual. Nevertheless the government in the UK are offering students with loans and grants that will help them with their education. Conversely some students feel that they do not want to end up in a long debt to pay after they have finished their education and therefore do not go into further education.Although the government in the UK does its best to provide help to students so that they can afford to study. Therefore cost is one of the major factors why some individual’s feel they do not want to go into higher education and study for a degree although they may be aware of it is a good business decision in the long run.A learning society means lifelong learning for everyone. It is recognised that the nature of j obs will continue to change, and that job mobility will increase. It is therefore suggested by the proponents of the learning society that only by continuous learning throughout their working life will individuals remain employable and societies remain competitive. As Stephen Uden, head of skills and economic affairs at Microsoft, said in a recent BBC Radio 4 debate: â€Å"The UK’s only going to succeed as an economy if it’s a high-skills economy. So we need to widen participation in higher education.† If this means that high-level skills and education will touch a wider range of professions and employers than ever before, then it must be a good thing. However, the place of universities in a learning society is as yet unresolved. If all organisations became â€Å"learning organisations† it might become more difficult to claim a special role for universities. Studying for a degree does not promise students that they will obtain their dream occupation, but maybe it does assist in getting them ready for searching for a career. Furthermore, the aim of career preparation is at least part of the motive that more than 1 million students received the bachelor’s degrees in 2000. Encompassing a degree is believed to be one of the greater methods to achieve a competitive edge, typically graduates studying for a degree may benefit by having more job prospects to improved earnings when compared to people that have never studied for degree. A degree may indicate that for many people there will be a cost benefit analysis that indicates to get a degree is a good long term business decision for most, but not for all, after all, the aims and personal circumstances and even individual personality need to be considered. References [1] Urquart Conal (2000, Dec 14), The rich can look down on learning, The Times. [2] Hill Kent, (2000, May), the value of ASU as a provider of education services, AZB, Arizona Bu Abramson, M. G. et al (1989) Forging Higher Education Links with an Isolated Community: West Cumbria College as a Case Study. Newtown: New Polytechnic. [3] Branson Richard, (2002), 20/20 Hindsight: From Starting Up to Successful Entrepreneur, by Those Who’ve Been There, London, Virgin Books [4] Acker, S. (1981) No-Woman’s-Land: the British Sociology of Education 1960-1979, Sociological Review, 29, (1), 77-104. [5] Acker, S. (1992a) New Perspectives on an Old Problem: the position of women academics in British higher education, Higher Education, 24, 57-75. [6] Acker, S. (1994) Gendered Education. Buckingham: Open University Press. [7] Ainley, P. (1994) Degrees of Difference. London: Lawrence and Wishart. [8] Ainscow, M. et al (1994) Creating the Conditions for School Improvement. London: David Fulton. Newspapers [9] Guardian [10] Independent [11] Mail [12] Mirror [13] Telegraph Websites [14] The Times Higher Education Supplement http://www.thes.co.uk/statistics How to cite Is studying for a degree a good business decision?, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Introducing Information System for A Taxi Cab Business

Question: Discuss aout the Introducing Information System for a Taxi Cab Business. Answer: Introduction A taxi cab refers to a type of vehicle with a driver used for hire by a single person or a group of passengers. Introducing a new software system, however, is not a guarantee that the business will succeed (Brown, Chervan Reinicke 2007). Therefore, while introducing new software the business should ensure that the software one that will best serve the organization. Feasibility should be conducted to ensure that the software has positive rather than negative effects the normal operation of the business. Therefore, it is good for business to study the current system before introducing new software to manage the system. My case study, therefore, tries to dig deep on some of the impacts that new software would have on the current running of a taxi cab business. Components of feasibility study A feasibility study is a project document that shows the outcome of a proposed project. Therefore, before the taxi cab introduces new software to manage their information system, they have to consider the components of the study. Technical components such as requirements and project scope should be clearly defined to ensure that appropriate requirements are assigned to the project (Cook, Woods Howie 1990). The behavioral components will determine how the system users will react to the newly introduced software. The study should, therefore, capture what users require and it should be a system that suits user needs. Economic components will determine the impact of the new software to the economy. It should be viewed as an improvement to the current software rather than software that is a burden to the economy. Advisory information for the company The company should, therefore, consider the impact the new software will have on their current mode of operation. They should conduct a well-researched study to ensure that all the requirements of the user are properly captured in the new system. They need to ensure that the new software will have a positive impact and one that can maximize profit while reducing loss and mitigating risks. During the implementation process, they should consider either a parallel or phase method of introducing the software since it is a new system (Davenport Short 1990). This is because the new software might have a severe risk that may eventually result in loss of customers to competitors. For example implementing a system without conducting feasibility may reduce users interest as they will feel they were not involved during the implementation process. Benefits and risks associated with the new system Introducing a new system is not a guarantee to succeed over the old system. There are benefits and risks associated with such system changeover (Mitev 2000). Benefits Higher profit: a new system is likely to maximize profit as there is increased efficiency with less cost. More competitive: the newly introduced system is likely to be more competitive with the old system. This will give the business a competitive advantage. Less workforce: less workforce will be required if the new system can be an automated system. This will give the business an added advantage as less manual power will be needed. Risks Introducing a new system is not a guarantee to success over the old system. The following are some of the risks that may be associated. Implementation expenses: the cost of implementing a new system may be expensive. Implementation process may involve many user requirements that may be expensive to afford. Failure to meet user needs: the new system may fail to meet user needs as expected. This may result in severe loss of customers as customers may opt to shift to other organizations that offer the same service. Adaptability by users: It may take a very long period for the system users to adapt to the newly implemented system. This will result in loss of customers as they may see it difficult to learn how to use the new system. Method of implementation Since this is an already existing business, it is advisable for the business to use a parallel method of implementation. This method involves introducing a new system while the other system is still in operation (Galbrait 1977). It allows the result to be compared to ensure that the new system is properly working without affecting the operation of clients. It offers an opportunity to refer to the old system to identify the problem and make necessary modifications. The parallel introduction will also allow the operations to continue under the old system while problems on the new system are addressed. This will give the staff and will also help them in gaining confidence to work with the new system. However the cost of implementing parallel system may be expensive, but it is the best method to introduce a new system since other operation by clients will carry on normally. The system administrator will, however, be required to input or change data to the new system. This data must be th e same as the data in the old system to ensure that the information in both old and the new system are identical. Time frame for implementation Since the main objective of implementation stage is to allow users to use the system in line with set goals of the business, it is advisable to set a plausible time frame that can accommodate the challenges that may be associated with the implementation process. The business needs to learn the clients response to the new system and see if post-implementation process is required. A period of 100 working days is appropriate to implement a new system (Ives Learmonth, 1984). This period offers an opportunity to conduct any necessary correction before final implementation is finalized. Conclusion The business should consider many factors that may be associated with the introduction of a new system. The implementation process should be addressed during introductory stage and collection of requirements to ensure that the newly implemented system is one that is successful during operation (Patterson, Cook Render 2002). The system should be accepted by clients and the operating administration environment. The system should, therefore, be a system that can maximize profit, reduce loss and mitigate risks. The system should address all clients requirements and serve them without any disruption. The system should also remain competitive with the system of other taxi cab business. References Brown, S.A., Chervany, N.L. and Reinicke, B.A., 2007. What matters when introducing new information system.Communications of the ACM,50(9), pp.91-96. Cook, R.I., Woods, D.D. and Howie, M.B., 1990, October. The natural history of introducing new information system into a high-risk environment. InProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting(Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 429-433). SAGE Publications. Davenport, T.H. and Short, J.E., 1990. The new industrial engineering: information technology and business process redesign. Galbraith, J.R., 1977. Organization design: An information processing view. Organizational Effectiveness Center and School,21, pp.21-26. Ives, B. and Learmonth, G.P., 1984. The information system as a competitive weapon.Communications of the ACM,27(12), pp.1193-1201. Mitev, N., 2000, December. Toward social constructivist understandings of IS success and failure: introducing a new computerized reservation system. InProceedings of the twenty first international conference on Information systems(pp. 84-93). Association for Information Systems. Patterson, E.S., Cook, R.I. and Render, M.L., 2002. Improving patient safety by identifying side effects from introducing bar coding in medication administration.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association,9(5), pp.540-553. Tuomela, T.S., 2005. The interplay of different levers of control: A case study of introducing a new performance measurement system.Management Accounting Research,16(3), pp.293-320.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Image Optimizer Plugin Review How to Speed Up Your WordPress Site by Optimizing Images

Everybody wants a faster website that would be logical. And to make it so, there are many methods that you can apply to various elements of your website, such as hosting, media files, homepage structure, images yes, images. Lets stay with that one.Optimizing your images is one of the main and most effective things that you can do to speed up your site. Images can affect your sites loading times by much if you upload them in high resolution unless you use a tool to compress them.And this is where the Image Optimizer plugin by 10web comes into play.Lets see how it works and how you can use it to decrease your sites loading times significantly. Note. This review was sponsored by Image Optimizer. All opinions are our own.Image Optimizer plugin review: What is Image Optimizer? Image Optimizer by 10web Image Optimizer and Compression plugin Author(s): 10WebCurrent Version: 1.0.23Last Updated: April 30, 2019image-optimizer-wd.1.0.23.zip 90%Ratings 224,549Downloads WP 3.9+Requires Image Optimizer is a free plugin, built to resize, compress, and optimize your high-resolution images while keeping their quality intact. In a few words, it makes them more lightweight.A nice thing about this tool is that it lets you optimize your images in bulk and not only individually. Moreover, it keeps evidence and informs you about how many images you managed to compress so far and how many are yet to compress (in case you upload new ones to your media library and forget about them).  Image Optimizer supports three image formats in the free version PNG, JPG, and GIF and an extra one in the premium version PDF.Before optimizing images, the plugin provides two methods: Lossless and Lossy. With the Lossless method, you can resize your images without losing anything in quality, while the Lossy compression resizes them with a minimal quality loss: the plugin will be able to compress the image up to 80% but its quality will be at stake not to a high extent, though.Another int eresting thing about this plugin is that it also comes with three compression modes,  which is different from compression methods. The modes include conservative, balanced, and extreme ways to compress a file (the latter being available in the premium version).Last but not least, you can keep track of your optimizations and files by accessing the statistics section. Here, you can find out how many files were optimized, how much space you saved, and other interesting numbers.Key features of Image OptimizerBefore we move to the testing part, in which Ill show you how the plugin works and how you can maneuver it to strip your images of some unneeded weight, lets have a quick look at its most important features (no premium features included here):Automatic optimization. You can set the plugin to auto-optimize every new image you add to your media library so you wont waste time to do it manually.Two compression modes: conservative and balanced. Choose the one that you find more efficie nt for your website.Media type conversion. Not only that you can compress and resize the images, but you can also convert them from a format to another JPG to PNG, GIF to PNG, and so on. The vice-versa also works.Bulk optimization. Save time by optimizing multiple images at once. It comes without saying that you can take them one at a time as well if you prefer so.Optimization quality. You have the option to choose the maximum level you want to go to when it comes to compression. You can pick either of the four modes available: Lossless, Lossy, Maximum Lossy, and No Compression.Reports. The plugin provides a report page that displays the compression results and overview analytics with interesting numbers related to the optimization processes. This way, you can keep track of the effectiveness of optimizing images.How to use the Image Optimizer pluginNow, lets get to the practical part in which I install the plugin and show you how it works, step by step, so you can make an idea of h ow all the features from above look like when applied to actual images.Okay, so after you install and activate the plugin, go to its dedicated page in the dashboard. I first had to upload some images to my testing site, images that I took from our own free stock photos (taken and edited by our team members).Once you enter the page, the plugin counts your images and invites you to bulk optimization. You can either go bulk or go to the media library and optimize each photo separately. When you click on a single picture in your media library, you can find the Optimize button right below its default options.Wait a few seconds until the optimization is over, which is when Stats (+) link appears. Click on it to see the reductions made for each picture size (full, medium, thumbnail, large etc.):And this is how an individual image can be compressed. But now lets get back to the plugins dashboard page and bulk optimization.Before doing the bulk optimization, you can choose from conservative and balanced compression. After the optimization is done, the homepage status will change into All images are optimized and up to date. With every new image you upload to the media library, the plugin will let you know that theres one (or more) image un-optimized. I optimized three images and left two of them just like they were before, so the plugin now tells me that there are still two images ready to be optimized.Also, if you dont want to compress your images manually, you can simply check the Auto-optimize box and the plugin will optimize all the pictures from your media library automatically, so you dont have to do anything in this regard anymore.But this is just the easy (default) mode. To tune up the plugin preferences to your liking, go to Advanced and make your changes. Heres whats available:The images from the media library are not the only ones that can get optimized by default. The plugin provides the option to compress the images uploaded in other directories too. And y ou can change that in two steps. First, you have to check YES in the settings where it says Resize other directory images (as it is shown in the image above). The next step is to choose the directory that you want the plugin to take over. The option is also available on the dashboard homepage right below the Bulk Optimizing button.In the Reports sub-section of the plugin, you can find the whole optimization history and all the files that you ever converted. All of them can be filtered by name, size, date, and image format. Besides that, you have a summary widget on the dashboard homepage of the plugin where you can see the last optimization, the total amount of reduction in the media library, and the total amount of space that you reduced since you started optimizing images.Pricing plansLike I said at the beginning of the review, the basic version of Image Optimizer is totally free.But of course, like most of the free WordPress plugins out there, it has a premium version too, which can be found here. You can notice the differences and the extra features. The premium version of the plugin comes bundled with 10webs maintenance plans that also include backup, SEO, and security services, together with multiple premium themes and plugins. The pricing starts at $12 per month, continues with $30 per month, and ends at $80. Plus, theres a free 14 day trial.So, if you want to buy the Image Optimizer plugin, keep in mind that it only comes in bundles with the other services I just mentioned and not independently, which is a nice perk.Whats different in the premium version of Image Optimizer?40,000 images to compress per month (instead of 1,000 in the free version).PDF files optimization and conversion.Extreme Compression mode.Scheduled optimization (you can schedule the plugin to optimize the images on  an hourly or daily basis).Priority support and updates.Who should use Image Optimizer?First of all, the plugins user interface makes it a reliable solution for everybo dy who wants a lightweight website. WordPress beginners can handle it without needing extra help from professionals. Image Optimizer is that kind of plugin that people should keep installed on their site because it cannot harm you in any way; on the contrary, it will save you time and megabytes. It works just as promised and it takes you only a few minutes to understand what it does and how. Plus, being a free, modern resource turns it into the right solution for a WordPress novice to deal with image optimization without any hassle.Where can you get Image Optimizer?The plugin can be quickly and freely downloaded from its WordPress.org dedicated page.If you think its premium features bring extra value to your site, then you can purchase one of 10webs plans, with the Basic one starting at $12 per month. Again, just pay attention to the fact that the plans provide a lot more things than the plugin itself.Thats it for my Image Optimizer plugin review. What do you think of this plugin? O verall, for me, Image Optimizer is a modern and easy-to-manage solution that can be grasped even by complete novices. Its the kind of tool thats good to have around the house site when you need to get stuff optimized.How do you go about optimizing your blog images right now? Feel free to share in the comments. Image Optimizer #review: Speed up your #WordPress site by optimizing images

Monday, November 25, 2019

Medieval Half-Timbered Construction

Medieval Half-Timbered Construction Half-timbering is a way of constructing wood frame structures with the structural timbers exposed. This medieval method of construction is called timber framing. A half-timbered building wears its wood frame on its sleeve, so to speak. The wooden wall framing - studs, cross beams, and braces - are exposed to the outside, and the spaces between the wooden timbers are filled with plaster, brick, or stone. Originally a common type of building method in the 16th century, half-timbering has become decorative and non-structural in designs for todays homes. A good example of a true half-timbered structure from the 16th century is the Tudor-era manor house known as Little Moreton Hall (c. 1550) in Cheshire, United Kingdom.  In the United States, a Tudor-style home is really a Tudor Revival, which simply takes the look of half-timbering instead of exposing the structural wooden beams on the exterior facade or the interior walls. A well-known example of this effect is the  Nathan G. Moore house in Oak Park, Illinois. It is the house Frank Lloyd Wright hated, although the young architect himself designed this traditional Tudor-influenced American manor home in 1895. Why did Wright hate it? Although Tudor Revival was popular, the house that Wright really wanted to work on was his own original design, an experimental modern home that became known as the Prairie Style. His client, however, wanted a traditionally dignified design of the elite. Tudor Revival styles were extremely popular to a certain upper-middle-class sector of the American population from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Definition The familiar half-timbered was used informally to mean timber-framed construction in the Middle Ages. For economy, cylindrical logs were cut in half, so one log could be used for two (or more) posts. The shaved side was traditionally on the exterior and everyone knew it to be half the timber. The Dictionary of Architecture and Construction defines half-timbered this way: Descriptive of buildings of the 16th and 17th cent. which were built with strong timber foundations, supports, knees, and studs, and whose walls were filled in with plaster or masonry materials such as brick. Construction Method After 1400 A.D., many European houses were masonry on the first floor and half-timbered on the upper floors. This design was originally pragmatic - not only was the first floor seemingly more protected from bands of marauders but like todays foundations a masonry base could well support tall wooden structures. Its a design model that continues with todays revival styles. In the United States, colonists brought these European building methods with them, but the harsh winters made half-timbered construction impractical. The wood expanded and contracted dramatically, and the plaster and masonry filling between the timbers could not keep out cold drafts. Colonial builders began to cover exterior walls with wood clapboards or masonry. The Look Half-timbering was a popular European construction method toward the end of the Middle Ages and into the reign of the Tudors. What we think of as Tudor architecture often has the half-timbered look. Some authors have chosen the word Elizabethan to describe half-timbered structures. Nevertheless, during the late 1800s, it became fashionable to imitate Medieval building techniques. A Tudor Revival house expressed American success, wealth, and dignity. Timbers were applied to exterior wall surfaces as decoration. False half-timbering became a popular type of ornamentation in many nineteenth and twentieth-century house styles, including Queen Anne, Victorian Stick, Swiss Chalet, Medieval Revival (Tudor Revival), and, occasionally, on modern-day Neotraditional houses and commercial buildings. Examples Until the fairly recent invention of rapid transportation, such as the freight train, buildings were constructed with local materials. In areas of the world that are naturally forested, homes made of wood dominated the landscape. Our word timber comes from Germanic words meaning wood and wood structure. Think of yourself in the middle of a land filled with trees - todays Germany, Scandinavia, Great Britain, Switzerland, the mountainous region of Eastern France - and then think about how you can use those trees to build a house for your family. When you cut down each tree, you may yell Timber! to warn people of its impending fall. When you put them together to make a house, you can stack them up horizontally like a log cabin or you can stack them vertically, like a stockade fence. The third way of using wood to construct a house is to build a primitive hut - use the wood to build a frame and then put insulating materials in between the frame. How much and what kinds of material you use will depend on how harsh the weather is where you are building. Throughout Europe, tourists flock to cities and towns that prospered during the Middle Ages. Within the Old Town areas, original half-timbered architecture has been restored and maintained. In France, for example, towns like Strasbourg near the German border and Troyes, about 100 miles southeast of Paris, have wonderful examples of this medieval design. In Germany, Old Town Quedlinburg and the historic town of Goslar are both UNESCO Heritage Site. Remarkably, Goslar is cited not for its medieval architecture but for its mining and water management practices that date back to the Middle Ages. Perhaps most notable to the American tourist are the English towns of Chester and York, two cities in northern England. Despite their Roman origins, York and Chester have a reputation for being  quintessentially British because of the many half-timbered dwellings. Likewise, Shakespeares birthplace and Anne Hathaways Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon are well-known half-timbered houses in the United Kingdom. The writer William Shakespeare lived from 1564 until 1616, so many of the buildings associated with the famous playwright are half-timbered styles from the Tudor era. Sources Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Cyril M. Harris, ed., McGraw-Hill, 1975, p. 241Architecture through the Ages by Professor Talbot Hamlin, FAIA, Putnam, Revised 1953American House Styles: A Concise Guide by John Milnes Baker, AIA, Norton, 1994, p. 100

Thursday, November 21, 2019

New York in the 18th Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

New York in the 18th Century - Essay Example The 1741 New York conspiracy was largely believed to have occurred in the 18th Century. But by 19th century most historians started to doubt about its existence and the justifications of the slave killings that took place. Even Daniel Horsmanden had to try and counteract the criticism by writing a detailed account of the trials so as to justify the court’s actions and wipe the doubts of peoples mind. But his was a one-sided story and did not convince many people. Historians have gone ahead to give an account of what they believe must have been the process of events for the same. First of all, the situation in New York at the time facilitated a lot to the growth of suspicions about a conspiracy. This is because the alleged conspiracy arose at a time of economic decline with increased competition between the colored slaves and the poor whites. There was a severe winter at the time and the British government had just declared war on Spain leading to increased anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic feelings. All this amidst increased fires and destruction of property was enough to elicit feelings of insecurity from the slaves. The 1712 New York Slave Revolt where about 20 slaves came together to destroy property to avenge the injustices they had been put through and in the process killing nine whites and six others being injured, was also very fresh in the minds of the white population. The political factions would also instill fear about slavery to the white community to achieve other objectives.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Bugs, Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bugs, Inc - Essay Example World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which administers the rights of inventors, has given further safeguards. â€Å"The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.† (wipo.int, n.d). In the case of BUG, Inc, the new copyright treaty signed in 1996, provides the needed copyright protection for its software. With this safe protection, BUG will be able to expand its reach and sales internationally. That is, the intellectual property rights will minimize the risk of other companies pirating the BUG’s software and using it. So, protection of its software is one of the important legal protections, BUG should have for its intellectual property. Steve is the ‘proxy’ employee or spy of WIRETAP who worked in BUG to steal BUG’s important secrets and files. Steve did that by forwarding the BUG e-mails; he received or hacked, to WIRETAP, including the e-mail correspondence between BUG’s officers. For this crime, Steve can be charged under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. As this act covers and bars stealing and trading of company’s secrets and details through computer and internet, Steve can be accused of violating it. Likewise, WIRETAP, Inc. could also be charged under the same Economic Espionage Act, for their role in the stealing of a company’s classified documents using computers and internet. So, both the parties in the crime, Steve and WIRETAP can be charged under the civil liability of Economic Espionage Act of 1996 â€Å"The Espionage Act is a very important weapon to address and penalize computer and Internet espionage† (Cheeseman, 2004). RICO Act, short for Racketeerin g and Influenced Corrupt

Monday, November 18, 2019

Essay2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Essay2 - Essay Example It is saddening for me to watch an additional species disappear completely from the face of the earth because of factors that can be controlled (Bocedi et al 84). However, many of the suggestions that have been placed forth require human beings to be more cautious in the way they interact with the environment. This may mean that human beings need to maintain the natural state of the environment that can support the lives of other species. The greatest challenge of doing this is that human beings need to survive as well. Over the years, the human population has increased at alarming rates. This has served to confirm that human beings are reproductive. In order to sustain reproduction, human beings have to manipulate the environment so that it can favor them in different ways. The rapid climate changes occurring recently are attributable to such manipulations of the environment by human beings (Bocedi et al 85). This situation explains why it has proved difficult for me to define a specific solution that will ensure that different species survive and that human beings have the right amount of resources. After interacting with several sources that discuss the potential solutions to the ongoing climate changes that have threatened the survival of different species, I am compelled by the conviction that human beings can initiate a change. This is possible if they can limit the level of resource, they use on a daily basis. Innovation can serve to save some of the natural resources, preventing them from depletion. Human beings are well aware that natural resources are subject to depletion if not used in a sustainable manner. If only human beings were committed to saving natural resources, and maintaining balance in the natural cycle that ensures regular climatic patterns, then the ensuing problem would be solved effectively. There are potential benefits of this potential solution

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Organizations Workforce Diversity And Its Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay

Organizations Workforce Diversity And Its Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of leadership style over the relationship between organizations workforce diversity and its competitive advantage with mission and vision statements as intervening variable. Most organizations are adopting diversity into their policies and procedures to embrace its benefits and there is a growing recognition that it makes business sense to take diversity seriously. The demographics of working population has changed in last two decades with more mature workforce remaining in the workplace, now more female employees are seen in higher positions and there is also a variation in cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it seems beneficial for organizations to hire diverse workforce to meet the demands of customer expectations. Organizations that are flexible and responsive to a demanding marketplace require the service of multi-skilled, adaptable workforce. One clear competitive advantage for organizations having diverse workforce is that it pro vides an environment that values differences among employees and encourages them for different ways of thinking and behaving during work to fully contribute to organizational aims and objectives. Employers providing such an environment get the support of their employees and develop a positive public image. It must be understood that each member of diverse workforce holds his differences and similarities; hence, valuing and managing diversity is about recognizing the unique contribution each employee can make to the organization. It is about creating an environment in which everyone feels valued, welcomed, and able to make an important contribution toward the attainment of corporate objectives. Additionally, companies facing challenges in competing global marketplace for market share can use diversity as competitive advantage in a multicultural environment with a diverse pool of talented and experienced individuals who can bring innovation and creativity to the organization. Literature Review Diversity is not only associated to limited attributes that can be observed but also to those invisible characteristics such as differences in educational background, creativity, understanding, learning style, and problem-solving ability (Nafukho et al., 2011). So, organizational performances and processes can be influenced by an individual or a group representing different categories of diversity within a workplace. (van Knippenberg and Schippers, 2007). Diversity is defined as any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another (Giovannini, 2004, p. 22). Hence, diversity affects the organizations effectiveness and performance in terms of competitive advantage. (Joshi and Roh, 2009; Klein et al., 2011). This presumes that performance has a relation with organizations ability to achieve goals with respect to its mission or vision (Devine and Philips, 2001). In other words, performance is deemed as an outcome which is a result of some purposeful activity to achieve competitive advantage as mentioned in mission or vision statements of an organization. (Swanson and Holton, 2009). As the organization strives to achieve its goals or objectives, conflict may arise within the diverse groups to cope up the challenges of differences among them which keep them from achieving organizational performance. (Østergaard et al., 2011). Since, Human Resource Department (HRD) deals primarily with performance of individuals, groups and organization at large to achieve competitive advantage, so diverse workforce demands the attention of HRD scholars and practitioners on the issues that arise in organization. It can be observed in modern trends for companies to use diverse workforce for completing special tasks which help achieve competitive advantage (Garrison et al., 2010) and there is always potential for the occurrence of conflict among such diverse groups which can derail the organization from achieving effectiveness. Hence, it becomes the resp onsibility of HRD to address such conflicts in advance and use the knowledge of how to build the high performing and productive teams of diverse workforce who can to the overall competitive advantage of organization (Klein et al., 2011). Evidently, most companies find diversity as a way to increase business competency, to improve net income, to gain competitive advantage, to build the effectiveness to compete in global markets, to improve business performance, to achieve higher employee satisfaction, to enhance corporate governance, to attract diverse talents and skills and to retain the workforce that maintains the customer base (McCuiston et al., 2004). Moreover, culturally diverse workforce brings benefits to business economy (Ferley et al., 2003) and leads to better performance of the business (Richard, 2000). According to Adler (1997), a company with a diverse workforce has greater chances for building an innovative working environment. This statement is beautifully expressed in the words of White (1999), who states that creativity thrives on diversity. These benefits can be derived from the proper implementation of diversity-promoting policies (Jamrog, 2002). Many firms today seem to be increasingly embracing r acial, ethnic and gender workforce balance, not for legal or ethical obligations, but as a matter of taking a progressive perspective on economic self-interest (Coil and Rice, 1993). It has been recognized recently that increasing diverse workforce has presented both opportunities and challenges for organizations which are striving for efficiency, innovativeness and global competitive advantage (Barak, 1999). As the global markets are getting more complex, utilization of organizations knowledge, skills and abilities is getting even more crucial in this rapidly increasing competition where organizations want to be more creative and innovative (Ng and Tung, 1998). In order to manage the growing diversity of the work force, organizations need to implement such systems and practices so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized and the potential disadvantages are minimized (Cox, 1994). In the past two decades several academic researches have been conducted on various issues relating diversity. Richard (2000) examined the impact of diversity on organization and its productivity while Jackson (1993) found the positive relationship between diversity and cr eativity. Diversity research has also addressed the factors involved in assimilating new employees into an organizations culture (Berry and Sam, 1997). However, some argue that by its fundamental nature, assimilating new employees to obtain greater fit between the person and organization is achieved at the expense of diversity (Powell, 1998). In other research, Tsui et al. (1992) showed that race and gender has negative relationship with diversity as compared to age. Other studies have also consistently found that observable attributes have negative effects on outcomes such as identification with the group and job satisfaction at both the individual and group level of analysis (Milliken and Martins, 1996). Further, Milliken and Martins (1996) supported the argument of Tsui et al. (1992) that racial and gender diversity can have negative influence on individual and team outcomes in some cases regardless of age. As an example, they referred to those groups members who differ from the larger group tend to show less commitment, more turnover and absenteeism while at the same time this results in additional costs, such as, group coordination cost, communication cost and training and development cost. So, according to them, diversity results in increase in coordination and control costs. Dadfar and Gustavsson (1992) found that the majority of site managers believed that managers/supervisors are less effective when managing a work group composed of several nationalities. This is because language was regarded as a major obstacle to effective communication among workers of different nationalities. However, Watson et al. (1993) argue that these negative effects may diminish with time and may be offset by better quality and more creative decisions. Having said that, it is important to understand that even for those who decide to embrace diversity as a concept, the road to diversity is not without challenges. Many businesses fail to the see the full picture of diversity or understand all of its impacts on their operations (Farrer, 2004), as leading a diverse workforce requires considerable time, energy and skill. A diverse workforce represents many challenges to management in areas such as workplace authority, trust and commitment, different work ethics, firm structure and work-life balance (McCuiston et al., 2004). Diversity challenges also include training costs, discrimination and conflicts. The increase in training cost results from the needed diversity-promoting programs which need to be administered to all employees (White, 1999). The problem of perceived discrimination arises when a certain group feels that they have been unfairly discriminated against, which leads to a sense of rejection towards the group that was perceived as having unjustifiable benefits, which could lead to an increase in conflicts. According to Jehn (1995), the increase in conflicts possibly leading to tension and animosity occurs when employees do not have similar views on a particular issue and in turn such conflicts could have detrimental effects on performance. These effects include directing the attention of employees to each other instead of the job, increasing stress and anxiety, and it can result in hostile interaction among members (Chuang et al., 2004). Leadership Leadership remained the single most important issue in annual surveys for identifying top management issues during all times (HRI, 2002a). To manage a diverse workforce, organizations need visionary leaders but availability of them is scarce. According to the study by Diversity Inc. (2002), it is forecasted that many top management of many leading companies will lose one in five top managers due to retirement. Let alone, US companies will lose 40 percent or more of their top executives till 2015 (Wellins and Byham, 2001). One solution offered to this scarcity is to develop leaders at every level and in every function in an organization (Hesselbein, 2002). For this solution, Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society (2002) advised the most effective leadership components to manage diversity, which are: Sensitivity and awareness about diverse workforce. Resources to strengthen and improve the quality of diverse individuals Inter-communication skills to solve mutual differences Strategies to maximize the effectiveness of diverse workforce. The goal should be to develop cross-cultural leaders and generate a new crop of multicultural professionals (Yukl, 2002). These leaders are provided with the required resources and authorities to manage workforce. The focus should be to enhance their listening, learning, networking, communication, and experimenting skills to manage a diverse workforce (Melymuka, 2001). Finally an effective strategy must be developed to include diversity at all levels of management, and there must be commitment to diversity at senior levels where it is strategically more important (Conklin, 2001). This strategy must be evident in organizations mission and vision statement and should involve a systemic, results-oriented, business-based approach (Fitzpatrick, 1997). Yet companies do not seek diversity unless this business competency results in increased profit and metrics that substantiate the necessity to expand the emphasis on diversity (Diversity Inc., 2002). Irrefutable measurable benefits can be de rived from properly implemented policies to promote diversity (Jamrog, 2002). The most evident measurable benefits are improved bottom line, competitive advantage, superior business performance, employee satisfaction and loyalty, strengthened relationship with multicultural communities, and attracting the best and the brightest candidates. Competitive advantage defined in diversity as, Recruiting and retaining people of diverse backgrounds who can share a common set of values. . .and approach to business is a priority for todays competitive organization (McCormack, 2002, p. 1). Jamrog (2002) suggested three-point approach to enhance effectiveness of leadership to manage diverse workforce: premise, guidelines and actions. There are three premises that leaders need to value diversity: (1) One size doesnt fit all leaders need to use different approaches for solving problems and developing workers as all situations and individuals are not the same, (2) Not everyone can be a leader organizational should focus only on individuals who have the ingredients of becoming a good leader, and (3) Leaders can be at any level or function anyone who can inspire, influence and guide others in the organization is a leader regardless of position. The five guidelines that leaders need to value diversity are: (1) Communicate, communicate, and communicate share freely your ideas, suggestions, opinions; listen to ideas of others with interest, (2) Build contact into your daily actions and duties Plan your actions, meetings, and duties so as to maximize contact with multiple p eople in the organization. (3) Manage and lead by walking around Be outside the office frequently and interact informally with others of different levels, functions, backgrounds and experience, (4) Champion diversity Bring in the contribution of everyone to increase commitment, innovation and creativity, and (5) Sponsor diversity Defend the decisions, actions and interactions while supporting everyone in the organization. Lastly, the five actions that leaders need to value diversity are: (1) Assessment of leadership potential within the organizations, (2) Provision of training and tools, (3) Inclusion of diversity at all levels, (4) measuring and rewarding efforts, and (5) encouraging the organization to be patient. Conceptual Framework: Research Methodology:

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Economic, Medical and Industrial Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana E

The Economic, Medical and Industrial Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana is the dried flower clusters and leaves of the hemp plant when taken to induce euphoria. Marijuana has been in existence for centuries even Magellan spoke of it during his trip to India. In his log he spoke of a plant that you smoked that made a man drunk without drinking. Marijuana would be beneficial if legalized because it would bring in extra money, it has medical uses, hemp is one of the best materials in the world and on average it is healthier for you then beer or liquor. The old cash crop of the Americas was tobacco in today's world it is marijuana. More marijuana is transported into and out of this country at a higher rate then tobacco. As of last year there were 1,147,591 of seized marijuana by the United States Coast Guard. If the average price of a pound of marijuana were only fifteen hundred dollars that would put the price at 1,721,386,500 when the GNP (Gross National Product) for year two thousand is projected at 17 billion. If marijuana were actually a taxed good at the normal rate of five percent that would put the price up to 1,807,455,825 it would take the price up a total of one hundred million dollars. Not only would the legalization bring in more then nine percent of the GNP. It would take the amount of drug dealing and money laundering due to dealing down. With this decrease in crime the money spent on police could be put to better use. The police could spend more time in trying to solve crimes such as murders or theft. Though in another area there would have to be a specific police unit to deal with these new stores. The insurance rate would also be astronomically high due to break-ins and the cost of the merchandise ... ...ad is just the sale of smoked marijuana. The sale of hemp wasn't calculated into it that it would just bring up the tax money and possibly take its percentage of GDP up to fifteen or at the most eighteen percent. Medicinal uses of it outweigh by far the supposed cancers it produces. If given the chance marijuana could be the next penicillin a miracle drug curing sicknesses never thought to be curable. Marijuana the so-called gateway drug the highly addictive drug, this was all a lie. Its been shown that marijuana is not even as addictive as caffeine or chocolate. Cigarettes cause twice as many cancers as marijuana and marijuana's non-smoked form causes no cancers while chew cigarettes non-smoking form causes several oral cancers. If these reasons are enough for you to reconsider your view on marijuana laws please visit http://www.norml.com and see what the truth is.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Biblical Worldview Essay Essay

Introduction The foundation to Christian faith is the belief that mankind is created in the image of God. My major/program of study is psychology. I am wanting to counsel victims of domestic violence. Which can be a very rewarding job because it gives me many opportunities to be able to reach out and help others as well as honor God. The way this belief will affect the way I interact with people in the field of psychology is by showing kindness, trust, patience, and understanding. In this paper I will be giving examples of how I will use my Christian faith with those I will be working with. Example 1 The field of psychology is a very enduring one. It is about helping nurture others in need. From the very beginning of time, we were all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). By being created in the image of God, who is the healer of all things gives me the ability to help others in their process of healing in the name of Jesus Christ. But it begins with being morally upright and honest. Being a psychologist you must remember that confidentiality and honesty stands above all things when doing your job. The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct of the APA, states that it is every psychologist’s job to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology. By being morally upright and honest with those that I work with it will show that I honor God and that I am created in the image of God. The scripture Psalm 37:3 states â€Å"Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper†. For me this means to be the Christian that I am and to keep my trust and honesty in the Lord when doing all things which includes my duties at work as well as at home. Example 2 In the field of psychology you will interact with lots of different people.  Some of them may have different up-bringing, cultures, beliefs, and etc. One of the most important things for us to remember and practice when working with different people is respect. God tells us that we are to respect everyone, as Christians we must be conscious that God has created all mankind in his image. Apostle Peter states in his first Epistle: â€Å"Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood. Fear God, Honor the King† (1 Peter 2:17). None of us are perfect. So we should not look for the bad but respect the good in each person. As a Christian I always treat others as I would want to be treated and that is with respect. It doesn’t matter if it is at home, school, work, or etc. I believe that by showing my respect to each and every person I come in contact with shows that I honor God. And, not only that but for me it is rewarding to know that I am respectful to others. So as a counselor in domestic violence I plan on staying steed fast at being respectful and being the hands and feet that God wants me to be in this profession. And, that would be to be kind, caring, understanding, honest, trustworthy, respectful, and faithful to God, myself, my co-workers, and clients. Conclusion In the profession of psychology you need to be honest, trustworthy, and respectful to everyone you come in contact with. It is God’s Law and the laws of APA. As a psychologist I am going to conduct myself in a way that honors God and shows others that I am created in the image of God. Psychology is a very rewarding and life changing profession. By being the person God wants me to be I will be successful in helping other to heal and meet their needs. God commands us to be morally upright with all things and we are to obey his word.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Can Fancy Trucks Attract New Drivers

Can Fancy Trucks Attract New Drivers CareersInGear has rounded up several of the latest innovations luxury truck manufacturers are turbo-loading into new rigs:Â  In-truck bathing and toilet facilities! The most popular features? KitchenettesTables and boothsEntertainment centers set up with surround sound, DVD players, video game consoles, and flat screen TVsLarger, non-folding bedsHow are the entertainment centers not a terrible idea? But anyway, the thing to remember with all these action-packed palaces on wheels is the weight. Balance your need for amenities with the number of loads you want to make, the mileage you’ll be accumulating (and the fuel costs that go with it), and the frequency of the runs you’ll be making. Companies like TryHours are piloting 20 big rigs in their fleet with more extravagant features, but in order for these upgrades to be reasonable across the industry they’ll need to be scaled down appropriately. More comfortable beds, absolutely! Xbox? Maybe not so much!Have you se en any of these luxury rigs on the road yet? Â  Would the increased convenience of stopping less and enjoying more privacy be worth the compromises on load-bearing? Weigh in in the comments!

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Viking History - Guide to the Ancient Norse

Viking History - Guide to the Ancient Norse Viking history traditionally begins in northern Europe with the first Scandinavian raid on England, in AD 793, and ends with the death of Harald Hardrada in 1066, in a failed attempt to attain the English throne. During those 250 years, the political and religious structure of northern Europe was changed irrevocably. Some of that change can be directly attributed to the actions of the Vikings, and/or the response to Viking imperialism, and some of it cannot. Viking Age Beginnings Beginning in the 8th century AD, the Vikings began expanding out of Scandinavia, first as raids and then as imperialistic settlements into a wide swath of places from Russia to the North American continent. The reasons for the Viking expansion outside of Scandinavia are debated among scholars. Reasons suggested include population pressure, political pressure, and personal enrichment. The Vikings could never have begun raiding or indeed settling beyond Scandinavia if they had not developed highly effective boat building and navigation skills; skills that were in evidence by the 4th century AD. At the time of the expansion, the Scandinavian countries were each experiencing a centralization of power, with fierce competition. Settling Down Fifty years after the first raids on the monastery at Lindisfarne, England, the Scandinavians ominously shifted their tactics: they began to spend the winters at various locations. In Ireland, the ships themselves became part of the over-wintering, when the Norse built an earthen bank on the landward side of their docked ships. These types of sites, called longphorts, are found prominently on the Irish coasts and inland rivers. Viking Economics The Viking economic pattern was a combination of pastoralism, long-distance trade, and piracy. The type of pastoralism used by the Vikings was called landnm, and although it was a successful strategy in the Faroe Islands, it failed miserably in Greenland and Ireland, where the thin soils and climate change led to desperate circumstances. The Viking trade system, supplemented by piracy, on the other hand, was extremely successful. While conducting raids on various peoples throughout Europe and western Asia, the Vikings obtained untold amounts of silver ingots, personal items, and ​other booty, and buried them in hoards. Legitimate trade in items such as cod, coins, ceramics, glass, walrus ivory, polar bear skins and, of course, slaves were conducted by the Vikings as early as the mid 9th century, in what must have been uneasy relationships between the Abbasid dynasty in Persia, and Charlemagnes empire in Europe. Westward with the Viking Age The Vikings arrived in Iceland in 873, and in Greenland in 985. In both cases, the importation of the landnam style of pastoralism led to dismal failure. In addition to a sharp decline in sea temperature, which led to deeper winters, the Norse found themselves in direct competition with the people they called the Skraelings, who we now understand are the ancestors of the Inuits of North America. Forays westward from Greenland were undertaken in the very last years of the tenth century AD, and Leif Erickson finally made landfall on the Canadian shores in 1000 AD, at a site called Lanse Aux Meadows. The settlement there was doomed to failure, however.