Nike Essays - Nike, Inc., Employment Compensation, Labour Relations

Nike The athletic apparel industry in which Nike is involved is a major money maker in the United States, but the fact that none of the factories are located in North America has brought some heat to the company. Nike controls more than 40 percent of the U.S. Market for sports related goods, but doesn't have a single sneaker factory in this country (Miller 1). Nike continues to make millions of dollars yet exploits workers overseas by paying them very little, while requiring long hours without overtime pay in factories that are not up to ?American? standard. Nike subcontractors employ nearly 500,000 workers in plants in Indonesia, China and Vietnam (Saporito 1). The exploitation of workers in Third World counties, where the majority of Nike's labor is done sparks a controversial issue. People question why is it that Nike continues these practices. According to ?Just do it, Nike,? Nike seems especially fond of doing business in undemocratic countries like China and Indonesia, where the military can be relied upon to ?crack heads? if workers get out of line (Miller 2). The military monitoring has been a large controversy due to the fact that these are often Chinese working against other Chinese workers, or Vietnamese against their own people also. For Nike there are two benefits: it it's a cheap way to monitor in an overseas factory and it creates a sheaper labor workforce. In turn making the labor cheaper for Nike. This makes it possible for Nike workers from the states to work on other things and only tour the factories when nessecary. While still assuming a stable workforce without good pay. The critics of Nikes labor practices have taken tours and witnessed the mistreatment firsthand. Time magazine reported saying,? The plants were found to be modern and clean, well lighted and ventilated and paying a decent wage by local st andards?although by no means are they trouble free. Make no mistake: these are factories not amusement parks, and even in developing Asia, where jobs are scarce and getting scarcer, this is not the job of choice.? (Saporito 1) The wages that the workers overseas are paid is nothing when compared to how much we pay for a pair of shoes or the profit that CEO Phil Knight is making off his sportswear giant he once operated out of the back of his car as a college student. ?A big issue that surrounds sweatshops is wage. The minimum wage often does not reflect the cost of living.? (Hepner Online) Is the wage fair? There are many people who feel the wage is fair and the cost of living is taken into account when the wage is looked at, but studies show otherwise in many factories. Just recently, CNN reported a raise to entry level workers in Indonesia, Nike officials said ?the increase will raise the minimum monthly compensation package?which includes bonuses, housing, healthcare, transportation and meal allowances to approximately $37.14 a month.?(Nike Establishes Labor? Online) To many people living in the U.S., that package may sound good however the compensation package doesn't do away with the long hours, the poor conditions or the low rate of pay. Many of these workers are young children working to help support their families. The benefits do not make up for the low pay rates that keep them in the work force. The pay is only enough to get by where these children want to be saving in order to leave the factories and return home. In ?Taking a Look inside Nike's Factories?, part of Bill Saporito's, ?Can Nike Get Unstuck this is what was found. ?Americans pay $100 for a pair of shoes that a worker gets less than $3 a day to make. They pay Michael Jordan $40 million to endorse them. Can't they find more money to pay the workers? The short answer is no, because corporations pay the going rate for labor whereever they are.? (Saporito 1) If this statement is true Nike pays the wage for the country the factory is in, then what is the controversy about? Much of it stems from the overtime that these workers are forced to work without over time compensation. Here in the United States there are regulations placed

Odgovori Vikend Essay

Odgovori Vikend Essay Odgovori Vikend Essay BUSINESS STRATEGY 1. Outside stakeholders often demend that inside stakeholders' be suportinated to the greater good of society (ousiders). They believe that such issues as pollution, the disposal of solid and liquid waste, and the conservation of natural resources should be principal consideration in strategic decision making. On the other hand, inside stakeholders tend to believe that the competing claims of outsiders should be balanced against one another in a way that protects the company mission. For example, they tend to believe that the need of consumers for a product should be balanced against the water pollution resulting from its production if the firmcannot eliminate that pollution entirely and still remain profitable. Some insiders also argue that the claims of society, as expressed in government regulation, provide tax money that can be used to eliminate water pollution and the like if the general public wants this to be done. There are four types of social commintment that managers must consider regarding social responsability: Economic responsabilities represent the duty of managers, as agents of the company owners, to maximize stockholder wealth. Legal responsabilities represent the company's obligations to comply with the laws that regulate business activities. Ethical responsibilities represent the strategic managers' notion of right and proper business behavior (example: distibution of cigarettes is legal, smoking is unethical). Discretionary responsabilities are responsabilities voluntarily assumed by a business organization (public relations, good citizenship, full corporate social responasibilities). 2. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has redefined the structure of corporate governance and responsibility. This has heightened the priority of boards of directors’ thinking relative to business ethics and social responsibility as they are now directly involved in corporate audits. There are no longer layers of management between internal auditors and top managers as the officers are not allowed to be the sole provider of financial data. Sarbanes-Oxley also includes new certifications and regulations for financial statements as well as new disclosure requirements and penalties to those who fail to comply. With greater accountability placed on board members, both business ethics and social responsibility have become key obligations for them to uphold. 3. Five principals of collaborative social initiatives are: Identify a Long-Term Durable Mission: Firms make the greatest social contribution when they indetify an important , long standing policy challenge and they participate in its solution over the long term. (Examples: Avon Poducts Inc., Home Depot). Contribute ''What We Do'': Firms maximize the benefits of their corporate contributions when they leverage core capabilities and contribute products and services that are based on expertise used in or generated by their normal operations. (Example: Starbucks Coffee Company, IBM) Contribute Specialized Services to a Large-Scale Undertaking: Companies have the greatest social impact when they make specialized contributions to large-scale cooperative efforts. Those that contribute to initiatives in which other private, public, or non-profit organizations are also active have an effect that goes beyond their limited contributions. (Example: AES company). Weigh Government's Influence: Government's support for corporate participation in CSIs can have an important positive influence.Tax incentives , liability protection, and other forms of direct and and indirect support for business all help to foster business participation and contribute to the success of CSIs. Assamble and Value the Total Package of Benefits: Companies gain the greatest benefits from their social contributiors when they put a price on the total benefit package. The valuation should include both the social contributions delivered and the reputation effects that solidify or engance the company's

Three sides of abortion debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Three sides of abortion debate - Essay Example The legal right of a woman to undergo an abortion has not resolved many ethical issues that surround the procedure of abortion (Fry, Veatch and Taylor, 2010). There are three stances people have on abortion include pro-abortion, middle ground that abortion can be accepted, and anti-abortion, and the arguments for these stands are discussed. There are individuals who support abortion on the basis that it is not wrong, and does not need the involvement of undesirable consequences. To look at this argument in another way, it tends to neglect the rights of the fetus or even acknowledge the fetus as a person. There are individuals who consider abortion as the right of a woman hence she is solely liable to the way she controls her body. Moralists who take part in judging actions argue that abortion is simply a deliberate failure to conceive a child, and with availability of contraceptives in mind, abortion should be too. By contrast, there are those who think that the fetus being a person, has limited rights that has no significant weight on the interests of the people already born who include the parents and children of that particular family. All the same, people supporting abortion do so on the fact that the overwhelming principle behind abortion is the woman and her rights to choose what to happen to her body.

Contract Law Problem Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Contract Law Problem Question - Essay Example According to Beatson and Anson, contract law is defined as the branch of law that ensures legal binding of the promise between two parties and makes them fulfill it. Whereas French Civil Code defines contract law as convention and agreement in which one party or several parties bind themselves to serve a specific purpose or to restrain from some. So, all in all what contract law adhere is that there lie a duty on both parties in a contract to execute their obligations. The ultimate examination of both the definitions of English Law and French Law confirms some essential features of the contractual relationship and that is the performance of the contract. Contractual performance is sole principle of contract law which must be kept and fulfilled at any cost. This principle of contract law is the backbone of the whole contractual relationship2. Generally the contract law is defined as an agreement that creates obligation enforceable by law. This obligation is based upon the mutual accep tance, consideration, legality and capacity to perform. In this process of conformity, fulfilment and binding, there may arise number of problems if in case contract is not implemented properly or if one party rejects to perform according to the obligations. Thousands of contracts are agreed upon and signed in the world every day and most of them are not performed in their full essence according to the terms3. Whilst many of them are resolved by negotiations and discussions but there comes cases under which hostilities are not that easy to resolve breach of contract informally. In this regard law provides remedial measures to provide justice to distressed party. These remedies help aggrieved party to either recover performance based upon the contract or ensure provision of some compensation for the damage caused by the breach of contract. Some possible remedies renowned for breach of

The History of Toyota Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The History of Toyota Corporation - Essay Example   Accordingly, the reporters averred that â€Å"safety analysts found an estimated 2000 cases in which owners of Toyota cars including Camry, Prius, and Lexus, reported that their cars surged without warning up to speeds of 100 miles per hour† (Ross, et.al., 2009, par. 2). As a result, there have been congressional hearings scheduled to investigate the complaints and the cases focusing on the safety problems posed by Toyota cars in the US. In this regard, this essay aims to evaluate whether or not Toyota was treated fairly in those hearings. When evaluating the congressional hearings, there are diverse sides that must be considered, to wit: Toyota’s explanation, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), testimonies from safety research institutes and other automotive authorities, the victims of the runaway cars, and the public. Toyota’s defense through James Lentz, president, and COO of Toyota US revealed in his testimony that â€Å"no proble ms exist with the electric throttle control system in our vehicles. Rather, floor mats and sticky accelerators are to blame" (Farber, 2010, par. 7). Two testimonies, however, blamed the accidents on the electrical malfunction with testimonial reports and personal testing and analysis. The side of the NHTSA is being criticized due to previous agency investigators subsequently being employed by Toyota. Any investigation on the sudden acceleration accidents could have been influenced and biased due to connections with Toyota. However, the hearings found â€Å"no violation for these two employees† (Schone & Rhee, 2010, 3). The victims have filed legal cases against Toyota for having sustained injuries with deaths to family members. Also at risk are the public who could be victims of these kinds of car accidents.

Using RStudio to Prepare and Clean Data

Using RStudio to Prepare and Clean Data There is now more data available than ever before, the depth and scope is increasing daily. The explosion of the internet and connected devices has increased this and big data is now big business. With the increase in data available to us, so has the need for analysis of this data. Many companies use this data to predict future trends. Also, what has changed is the tools we use to analysis and present this data in a meaningful way. In the past statistical software was very expensive and often with no graphical capabilities. Enter the R programming language a tool that supports both, first released in 1995 with the first stable build in 2000, now on version 3 which was released in 2013. R is a free open source project with over 7000 add on packages available. Many companies such as Google and Facebook are using R for their data analysis. In this lab book we will look at cleaning and preparing data so it can analysed. We will use R Studio which is an IDE (Integrated development environment) for the R programming language. R Studio is available as an open source or commercial version, it has two editions R Studio desktop and R Studio Server and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems. The dataset we have is from the UK government, and is based on MOT outlets in England, Scotland, and Wales, it contains data such as name, address, post codes, telephone numbers and categories of vehicles tested. On quick analysis of the dataset there are a lot of blank fields, extra white spaces, typos in the telephone column as well as second telephone numbers separated by the / symbol. Using R Studio we will attempt to tidy and clean the dataset. In this lab book we will explain the various commands and techniques used to prepare the data for analytical analysis. Make a copy of the data to work with: Method: Here we make a copy of the original dataset x2016motsitelist and call it MotList, this is good practice as you will not contaminate the original dataset. Test: Result: From the above screen shot you can see we have renamed our dataset to MotList, by using the name of the dataset in R studio it lists the dataset in a screen dump on the console. Get the Stucture of Our Data Frame Method: by using the str() command in the console we get the structure of our data. Test: Result: by using the structure command str() we can see that our dataset has 22,980 objects and 14 different variables. The next lines which contain $ indicate column headings and display some of the components included in these columns. This command just provides a list with components and names. View the data Method: Using the Head command to view the data. Test: Result: using this command the first 6 records are displayed in the console window. ID names of columns Method: We use the Names command to display column names. Test: Result: this displays the names of our columns in the console window. Summary of what is contained in the columns Method: we use the Summary command to get an overview of the data in our columns. Test: Result: the summary command gives us an overview for every vector in the data frame, tells us in our case that the length is 22980 rows, that all vectors are character classes. Missing values Method: we will use the is.na command, combination of is.na with the any command and lastly the sum command to check for missing values in the data. Test: Result: the result of the is.na command returns a Boolean true or false result on the data set to tell us if a missing value is present or not. Test: Result: with the use of the any command we find that there is indeed missing data in the dataset. Test: Result: with the use of the sum command we get the number of missing records, which is 149097 in this case. Rename columns in our data set. Method: we use the colnames command to change the columns in our data set that are numbered 1,2,3,4,5 and 7. Test: Result: with the use of the above commands we change the name of the columns using the name to identify which column to apply the name change to. We use the names(MotList) to verify the result. Test: Remove NA from the different categories of vehicle that are Mot tested Method: we create another copy of our dataset and call it MotListMod, on this dataset we will change the NA values in the columns that we renamed earlier so that the different categories of vehicles tested will have complete values and no missing data. We do this by giving the dataset name and then the $ column name, we then use the which command and is.na to change the value to the desired result. Test: Result: As can be seen from the screen shot above, we have changed the NA values in the six columns of our dataset, our dataset now tells us if a Mot test centre carries out tests on the different vehicle categories Y or N, were as before it only told us the if the centre did Y with a blank field for N. Again, we run the sum is.na command on both datasets we have, now the MotListMod dataset has far less Nas in the dataset. Remove and tidy up VTS Telephone column. Method: Firstly, using the GSUB command we removed instances of Tel. and TEL. from our column, secondly, we separate the column in two sections number 1 and 2 with the SEPARATE command as some of the test centres have two telephone numbers separated by / in the dataset, thirdly we tidy up the white space. Test: Using GSUB wrongly above didnt produce the desired outcome, but in the two screens below we get the desired outcome. The above screen shows were the VTS Telephone column is split into different sections. Trimming white space from the front of the telephone numbers. Removing the NAs from the VTS Telephone number2 Result: By using GSUB and identifying the column we wanted to target, we replaced the instances of Tel. and TEL. in our dataset with whitespace, we then proceeded to split the column into two different sections, when we did this it created a lot of NAs in the second column because not every test centre has two telephone numbers, so to counter act this we replace the NAs with the value 0. We then tidy up the white space at the start of the two columns. Write to CSV file in R studio Method:ÂÂ   We will write the MotListMod3 dataset to a CSV file with the WRITE.CSV command. Test: Result: The above command writes the dataset to a csv file and can be viewed or shared with others, see above screen shot of the file in excel. Outliers and plot function. Method: using the HIST command we produce a histogram of the cars column, the columns class had to be changed to a factor form to make the function work, also we used the Table command to count the number of Y and N in this column. Test: In the screen shot above you can see a histogram of the cars column. Result: No outliers are present as our columns only have a Y or N present in the different type of vehicles tested columns. Also, our data was of class character, this had to be converted to a factor form so as we could use the histogram function on the column cars. We used the table command on the column to display a numeric result for N = 1054 and Y=21926.

AA Meeting :: essays research papers

Open AA meeting Since this was my second AA meeting, I was still open but didn’t know what to expect. The last meeting was at a church is an African American neighborhood. To get a different experience I wanted to change the nationality. So even though I was a little nervous I decided to attend a meeting in Ridgewood, Queens. It was still at a church however the population consisted of Caucasian. When I came into the room, everyone looked at me, however this was expected because I was the only African American in the room. The meeting started with a prayer and then everyone introduced themselves to each other. The issue that most concerned me was that half of the people in the room was younger than 25 years of age. That let me know right there that this was a global issue and not a issue concerning one race. As one of the young men began to share his story, I almost began to cry. He grew up in a household in which his father was an alcoholic and also was very abusive towards his mother. He sh ared with us that after his father used to beat his mother, he and his dad use to drink together. Therefore he drank with his father 3 times out of a week. As sad as it may sound he looked forward to his father beating his mother because he liked to drink. So that is how he began with his father and that was at the age of 12. He was now 24 and a alcoholic and he began to see the traits of his father in him. Therefore he needed to get help and that was the reason why he came to AA. Another person that touched me was a young girl who was 18 who wanted to be in the crowd. She began to drink because all of her friends drank however she was not able to control her and her drinking. She stated to us that on numerous occasions from being drunk that she was raped. It was sad because a lot of people want to be in the crowd and that is how they get hooked.

Pvsyst Tutorial

PV-SYST Tutorials All the tutorials in this series will teach you how to use the basic functions of PV-SYST to design a PV system. This set of tutorials works through how to use the software in both preliminary and project design modes. The basis for this tutorial will be to design a PV system that fits on the area defined by the LDK roof of the model used in the Ecotect_Tutorial. A 30 day full functioning demo version of the program can be downloaded from the PV-SYST website.Figure 1 presents the opening screen for PV-SYST upon starting the program. From this initial window you can choose whether to undertake an analysis via â€Å"Preliminary design† or â€Å"Project design† mode. Figure 1: Opening screen for PV-SYST1. Start PV-SYST from Start>>All Programs>>PV-SYST. The icon for PV-SYST is presented to the right.2. Select â€Å"Preliminary Design† from the available options. This will bring up a new panel called â€Å"System†.3. Select â€Å"Grid-Connec ted† in the System panel. Then select OK to continue.4.A new pop-up window titled â€Å"Grid system presizing project† will appear, as presented in Figure 2. Click on the â€Å"Location† button to continue.5. A 2nd pop-up window will appear called project’s location. In the Project name call the file â€Å"PV-SYST tutorial location Melbourne†6. Under the â€Å"Location† heading change the â€Å"Site† entry to â€Å"Melbourne Meteonorm†.7. Leave the other default parameters, and click OK to continue. Note: In this preliminary design we are going to assume that there is no near or far shading on our designed PV system.8.In the â€Å"Grid system presizing project† window select the â€Å"System† button.9. This opens another pop-up window titled â€Å"System Specifications† Note: In preliminary design mode you have three options to design the system.System size can be set by 1) Active area; 2) Nominal Power or 3 ) Annual yield.Figure 2: Pop-up window Grid system presizing project 10. 11. 12. 13. Select Active area (m2) as the method to determine the system size. This will bring up a field titled â€Å"Area† enter the area 54m2. This is the area of the LDK roof. Enter 3 ° for tilt and 180 for Azimuth, i. e. ndicating that the roof is sloping towards south. Click the â€Å"Next† button to continue. Note: Within the â€Å"System Specification† window you can quickly view how your system causes losses in comparison to a system with optimum tilt and orientation.In this scenario the loss with respect to the optimum is 12. 2%. 14. In the next window of the â€Å"System Specification† wizard select the module type and specifications. For this tutorial select: a. Module Type: Standard b. Technology: Polycrystalline c. Mounting disposition: Facade or tilt roof d. Ventilation property: Ventilation . Click OK to continue. This will take you back to the â€Å"Grid system p resizing project window† 15. Select â€Å"Results† in the â€Å"Grid system presizing project window†. A new pop-up window titled results will appear. 16. The default results page appears as presented in Figure 3. From this window you can see the nominal power and annual yield from the system. 17. Click on the third graphical icon button (which looks like a table) located down the left hand side of the results page, as highlighted by the blue circle in Figure 3. This will bring up the results in table format. 18.The results page should now display the results on a monthly basis, for the level of insolation falling on a horizontal plane and on the tilted plane that you designed your system on (i. e. 3 ° sloping facing south). 19. The results also present on a monthly basis the output of the PV system. Note: the results for a PV system designed on 54m2 area at 3 ° sloping facing south achieves annual output of 6835 kWh. However an optimally designed system at 3 0 degrees tilt facing north can achieve an annual output of 7787 kWh for the same array area. Therefore our system has a loss of 12. % compared to optimal tilt and orientated system. Figure 3: Results page for â€Å"Preliminary Design† mode Project Design 1. Upon opening PV-SYST select the â€Å"Project Design† option under the â€Å"Option† heading. Note: If you are continuing from the following tutorial, close all the open windows to return to the main PV-SYST window that was presented in Figure 1. 2. Select â€Å"Grid-Connected† under the â€Å"System† heading and click â€Å"OK† to continue. This will bring up a new pop-up window pictured as presented in Figure 4. 3. If you wish to save a copy of your file, click on the â€Å"Project† button and fill in the respective details.For this tutorial we will not worry about saving any details. 4. Click on the Project Button then click on the â€Å"Site and Meteo† button. This will bring up a pop-up window titled â€Å"Project: Situation and Meteo†. Make the following adjustments: a. Country: Australia b. Site: Melbourne Meteonorm c. Meteo File: Melbourne_syn. met: Melbourne, Synthetic Hourly data. d. Click â€Å"Next† to continue. Then click â€Å"Ok† in the new pop-up window that appears e. Finally click â€Å"Back (Calculation)† to return to the main window. Figure 4: Project window for â€Å"Project Design† mode. 5. Click on the â€Å"Orientation† button 6.Within the Orientation pop-up window change the following parameters a. Plane tilt: 3 degrees b. Azimuth: 180 degrees c. Field Type: Fixed Tilted Plane. d. Leave the other parameters at default settings and click OK to continue Note: The horizon tool is used to designate shading elements that appear off in the horizon that will block out access to the sun. For example a hill or mountain may block out all the afternoon sun. For this tutorial there is no Horizon s hading. 7. Click on â€Å"Near Shading†. This element defines elements that are close to the PV array which can cause shading on the system. 8.In this tutorial we will construct a 3D scene to indicate the shading surrounding the PV system we want to put on the LDK roof of the Ecotect tutorial house. 9. Click on the â€Å"Construction/Perspective† button. This will bring up a drawing window as presented in Figure 5. 10. First we will draw a rough version of the LDK zone to place the PV plane. Select Object>>New>>Elementary Shading Object from the main toolbar menu. 11. Under the Parameters heading change the following elements: e. Shape type: Select â€Å"House, asymmetric roof† from the drop down box f. Width (DX): 8. 1m g. Length (DY): 7m h. Height at top: 2. 9m i.Roof 1 tilt angle: 3 degrees j. Roof 2 tilt angle: 3 degrees k. Roof 1 ratio: 0 m l. Click Ok to continue. This will put the building we just dimensioned in the modelling window. Figure 5: Constructio n/Perspective drawing window Note: You always need to check the orientation of any plane or building you draw. The building you just drew will have the slope pointing in the west direction. Click on the element you want to adjust, then select Object>>Position in scene from the main toolbar menu. This will make an object positioning toolbar active in the top right hand corner of the modelling window as presented in Figure 6.Figure 6: Building object in modelling window with object positioning toolbar active. 12. Within the â€Å"Object Positioning† toolbar change the Azimuth entry from zero to 90 degrees. 13. Next we will include the tree that causes shading. Select â€Å"Object>>New>>Elementary shading object† from the main toolbar. 14. Under the Parameters heading change the following elements: m. Shape type: Tree n. Medium-point height: 2. 7m o. Medium height: 2. 7m p. Low part height: 2m q. Trunk height: 2m r. Medium diameter: 4m s. Trunk diameter: 0. 5m t. Click OK to continue u. Move the tree position 11. 5m in the north direction and 3. m in the east direction 15. Next we will include the Neighbouring buildings that may cause shading. Select â€Å"Object>>New>>Elementary shading object† from the main toolbar. 16. Under the Parameters heading change the following elements: v. Shape type: Parallelepipede w. Width (DX): 11. 3m x. Length (DY): 11. 5m y. Height: 5m 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. z. Click OK to continue aa. Move the neighbouring building 12. 8 m east and 3. 4m south Repeat and create a second neighbour building 3m high, 10. 2m wide, 14. 1m long and offset 26. 77m west and 12. 3m south. Next we will draw in the PV Surface plane.Select â€Å"Object>>New>> Rectangular PV Plane† Under the collector plane heading change the following elements: bb. Nb. Of rectangles: 1 cc. Plane Tilt: 3 degrees dd. Width: 8. 1m ee. Length: 7 ff. Click OK to continue Adjust the Positioning of the PV plane to: gg. Tilt: 3 degrees hh. Azimuth: 180 degr ees ii. West: 7m jj. Height: 2. 5m Now you have detailed the plane the PV is located on and the elements that can possibly cause shading. Your drawing window should appear as presented in Figure 7. Figure 7: Shading scene for PV located on 3 degree sloping facing south 22. Select File>>Close.This will return you to the near shading window Note: If you already have a built shading file you can load it directly into the â€Å"Near Shading† window by clicking the â€Å"Open† button under the model library heading, and selecting the near shading scene. Only files that are located in the file location C:Program DataPV systDataShadings can be opened. 23. Select the â€Å"Table† button to generate the shading factors calculated from the model just built. Once generated close the window. 24. You can view the effects of the shading on an Iso-shading curve by selecting the â€Å"Graph† button located under the â€Å"Linear (rough) Shading Factor† heading.Fig ure 8 presents the results. 25. In the Near shading pop-up window select Ok to continue. Figure 8: Iso shading diagram from PV-SYST for the shading model built 26. In the Project window now select the â€Å"System† button. This will open up the â€Å"Grid system definition window† 27. In the â€Å"Grid system definition window† select â€Å"†¦or available area† as the method to define the system size. Type in 54m2. 28. In the â€Å"Project Design† mode you have the ability to select the actual brand, type and size of module you want in your system. 29. For this tutorial select â€Å"Sort Modules† by â€Å"Power†.The PV Modules are then ordered by Watt peak output and voltage. You can choose which ever module you would like to test for your system. For this tutorial, let’s select the SunPower 200Wp 34V Si-mono Modules. 30. The next step is to select the inverter. Sort the inverter list via Manufacturer and scroll down to th e top of the available Sun Power inverters. Note: PV-SYST can automatically determine the number of modules in series and the number of strings per inverter, and the number of inverters required, based on your module and inverter selection.It should be noted however, that the majority of combinations are not compatible. PV- SYST has a grey indicator box, as highlighted by the green square in Figure 9 that provides detail about your chosen combination. For example, if a message in red text is displayed, the combination chosen is not viable, i. e. The Sun Power models we chose in combination with 30kW 420-800V Sunways inverter achieve a message that reads â€Å"The inverter power is strongly oversized†. If a message in orange text is displayed, the combination is potentially viable, but there are likely to be better combinations. . e. The SunPower models we chose in combination with the 3. 3kW 195 550V SunPower inverter achieves a message that reads â€Å"The inverter power is slightly oversized† or with the 5. 2kW 240-450V Sun Power inverter achieves an orange message that reads â€Å"The array Vmpp at 60 °C is lower than the inverter minimum operating voltage†. The best combinations of PV modules and inverters occur when no message is received. For example the combination of the Sun Power modules we chose with the 4kW 195-550V Sun Power inverter. 31.Choose the Sun Power inverter that is rated at 4kW 195-550V SPR-4000x 32. This combination of PV modules and inverter results in a system that requires two inverters, with 7 modules in series and six strings. 33. Select OK to continue 34. In the Project window select the â€Å"Simulation† button. This will open the Simulation pop-up window. 35. Accept the default parameters and click on the â€Å"Simulation† button to begin the calculation process. 36. Click the OK button once the simulation calculation process is complete. This will bring up the Results window

The Progression of American Music in the 20th Century essays

The Progression of American Music in the 20th Century essays It is Americas music born out of a million American negotiations: between having and not having; between happy and sad, country and city; between black and white and men and women; between the Old Africa and the Old Europe which could only have happened in an entirely new world. (Ward 2) Jazz was truly the music of America. It is a mixture of the musical roots of all the people in America at that time. It borrows European classical themes, using harmonious melodies and peculiar scales, which allows it to be one of the only improvisational art forms allowing the artist to literally make up music on the spot. Many composers, both European and American, introduced aspects of jazz into their concert music. Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Hindemith, and Milhaud at one time or another imitated the rhythms of jazz, its typical harmonies, or its improvisational manners of playing the trumpet, saxophone, or percussion. (Hanning 542) Through all that it fuses the rhythmic percussion and bac kgrounds of African music, incorporating many gospel themes and complicated drum patterns, even often borrowing Latin styles. Prior to jazz, ragtime music, which used complicated chord structures with confusing rhythms and tempos, was very popular. Jazz used these theories and mixed them with powerful brass sounds found in Dixieland music, which sprouted from the south, often using gospel hymns and spirituals in an upbeat style; Dixieland was popular since the Civil War. One of the musicians who had the one of the biggest impacts in jazz, if not the biggest, was a New Orleans trumpeter named Louis Armstrong. With his simple, upbeat melodies and the invention of the Bebop Scale, Armstrong is undoubtedly the founder of true jazz. (Ward 43) Armstrong was famous for his bebop trumpet sound and remarkably gravely voice, perfect for a scat solo, which is just gibberish sung in different key...

buy custom The Role of Social Work essay

buy custom The Role of Social Work essay Social work, also a social science, is a relatively new discipline that is still evolving. Various scholars have defined it in different terms. According to Llewellyn, Lorraine and Mercer (2008 p. 1), social work is a contested area that has evolved within the wider political, economic, policy and social context in the social sciences. Among the definitions for social work is, social work is a socially constructed phenomenon...defined by the economic, social and cultural conditions in which it takes place, (Llewellym, Agu Mercer, 2008, p 1). This definition puts emphasis on the uniqueness of societies across the world; therefore each society has its form of social work taking place. The uniqueness in societies has seen social work evolve in different forms found in different societies. This divergent forms of social work are seen in the way different societies defines social care within the domain of their cultures. Llewellyn (2008) insists that it is a necessity that social workers understand the social conditions and processes within the context of the society. This denotes that different social workers have different roles defined by the groups they are working in, but the underlying aspect is that, they all work for the improvement of the society. The International Association of Schools of Social Work, 2001, defines the role of social work as the promotion of social change, problem solving in human relations, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance their well being. This definition is closely linked to the earlier one as they are all centred on the improvement of the society in a defined way. Beckett (2006, p 12) in his definition of social work also emphasizes on the uniqueness of society and the changing roles of the social worker dependent on the problems in the society. He emphasizes on the role of control and coordination as unique to social work so as to help the members of a society attain their potentials. Social care, provided for by the government and other key agents of development such as non-governmental organizations, and the private sector is important for the well being of the society as a whole. Many people across the world cannot cater for their social care needs; hence rely on free social care services provided for by the government. This is all in the realm of social work. Social work is closely linked to sociology with many people confusing the two terms (Llewellym, Agu Mercer, 2008, p. 2). Social work has evolved within the discipline of sociology, but has ended up taking a role and significance of its own, such that it is considered as an independent discipline from sociology. Much as sociology emphasizes on understanding the dynamics of society with an emphasis on social science research, social work tends to take a more practical approach in tackling the problems that arise within societies. The two disciplines borrow a lot from each other, especially in the theoretical aspects and research. Social work is dynamic and keeps evolving to take in to account the changing needs of society (Jorrin, 1973). As the problems being encountered by members of society change with the development of new technologies that have enabled people to be in contact at a level never seen before, social work has been changing to take this new development in to perspective. Originally social work entailed tackling societal problems as they arose, such as substance abuse, child welfare and sexual abuse. This was done without much involvement of the society as a whole, but the social workers took it up on themselves to be the community watchdogs. Overtime time this has changed to facilitating the elimination of such problem with empowerment of the community to develop their capacity to tackle the problems without much assistance from outsiders (Beckett, 2006). Social workers have changed their roles to that of facilitators where they work on the improvement of the societies ability to tackle social problems (Llewellym, Agu Mercer, 2008, 2008). This is achieved through the use of research methods and statistics to collect relevant information that would help the social workers understand the dynamics of particular societies. The information gathered helps in the generation of techniques and tools necessary to alleviate the problems. Social work needs to have relevance of sociological perspectives in understanding societal and structural influences on human behaviour (Llewellym, Agu Mercer, 2008, p. 5). This enables the social worker to get better collaboration from the members of society. Every society has opinion leaders and leadership structures that influence the activities of the members. Such leaders can provide massive assistance to the social worker if they are adequately involved in decision making, and creating awareness in the society. Social work tries to understand and explain the links between definition processes contributing to social differences; problems of inequality and differential needs (Llewellym, Agu Mercer, 2008, p. 5). In tackling problems such as child abuse, social workers need to have an understanding of the way culture has contributed to the continuity of the vice over time, and whether there are any mechanisms to stop the continuity of the vice. In so doing, social work plays a role of trying to formulate solutions from the structure of the society, while at the same time using the members of the society to tackle the problems they are facing. This will lead to a situation where cultural and social changes occur, a necessary condition in overcoming the problems once and for all. Apart from problem solving, social work plays a fundamental role in human empowerment and liberation as stated in IASSW (2001). The human potential is unimaginable, but largely remains unfulfilled. This is as a result of lack of opportunities and knowledge on how to use this potential. Social work plays a pivotal role in the fulfilment of such potentials by engaging in empowerment campaigns that highlight the opportunities open to members of society. Closely linked to empowerment and a major role of social work, is the role of creating cultural and social changes in societies. This is a necessity in societies who hold fatalistic beliefs such as female suicide and child abuse. Social work serves the role of being the agent of change in such societies, a slow and tedious task. Beckett (2006), talks of the role of social workers as the control agents, this is the regulation and enforcement of behaviour change with the aim of protecting the vulnerable from being harmed or harming themselves. This distinguishes social work from other disciplines in the social sciences. Control agents provide mechanisms for members of society with guidelines on how to lead a fulfilling life. The presence of social workers acts as a deterrence to the people (Beckett, 2006 p. 12), who would otherwise have engaged in dangerous activities which could be harmful to others. Social work also serves the role of coordination (Beckett, 2006, p. 13), especially when working in a multidisciplinary environment. Unlike care management which regulates the activities of a multi-disciplinary team, social work coordinates the activities of other professionals, so as to be in line with societal needs. This assists the society as a whole, as the team works with the objective of improving the condition of the socciety as a whole. Much as social work serves important roles in societies, it has been faced by a number of challenges that have hampered its roles of improving the human conditions, as discussed below. Many people view social work as performing the role of care takers when the society faces a breakdown. There is some truth in this assumption, but it ends up leading people to view social workers as the solution to problems that could otherwise have been solved in the community. Beresford (2007) asserts that the over reliance on social work sometimes leads to a breakdown in the community, as people wait on the social workers to provide every form of social care. This problem can be tackled through education and empowerment of the people, this is in order to change their worldview and reduce dependency on social care. This will create a sense of responsibility within societies, which is beneficial for the people in the long run. Some people attach stigma to getting assistance from social workers, where people look down upon members of society receiving social care from the government. This leads to a situation where people fail to air their grievances and bottle up their problems, resulting to a condition detrimental to society such as increase in suicide cases. The belief that things need to be critical before the intervention of social workers is a widely held belief. Many people assume that social workers only intervene when there is an emergency, thus fear to be associated with the activities of social work, lest they be prejudiced by members of society. Fatalistic beliefs held by various cultural groups have undermined the importance and effectiveness of social work (Beckett, 2006, p. 24). Such beliefs are usually hard to change and more often they act as inhibitors to growth and development. Social workers sometimes are viewed with suspicion and hatred, especially when they attempt to influence culture change where fatalistic beliefs have created obstacles to progress. Conclusion Social work is a relatively new field of study that has evolved within the social sciences and closely linked to sociology. The IASSW (2001) explains that social work utilizes theories of human behaviour and social systems to intervene at points where people interact with their environment. This is more fundamental when such interactions become injurious to the people or the environment. Social work serves the roles of controlling and coordinating social care and other development programmes in close collaboration with experts from other disciplines, all with the aim of improving the human condition. The changing role of social work lies in the structure of the discipline, which views communities as unique entities with different problems and needs. Social work puts emphasis on the need to develop social care programmes with the unique needs of different people in mind. This ensures that each members need is taken in to account and does not lead to the exclusion of some members. Social work differs from other social sciences as it has increasingly changed to accommodate the indigenous communities and the most vulnerable members of society in decision-making processes. This accommodation brings a sense of importance within the society and serves the role of empowerment. It can be conclusively stated that social work puts an emphasis on people centred development, where the major aim is in empowering people to be their own actors of development. This is achieved through the enhancement of peoples capabilities and potentials by increasing their choices in life. This makes it an important discipline in the pursuit of development by many societies. Buy custom The Role of Social Work essay

Australian Economy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Australian Economy - Assignment Example The government, on the other hand, utilizes fiscal policies to ensure the economy grows at stable rates. The Reserve Bank and the government have ensured stability in the economy of Australia using fiscal and monetary policies since November 2011. The fiscal policy is in form of taxation and government spending; while the monetary regulation is in form of the cash rate and open market operations. The government and the Reserve Bank have succeeded in stabilizing prices and economic growth through the policies. The bodies have not managed to achieve full employment and balance of payment. Performance of the Australian Government and the Reserve Bank in running the economy from November 2011 to November 2013 Price Stability Price stability is achieved when the annual rate of inflation in a country is zero. However, it is hard for a country to achieve a zero rate of inflation because of price and wage rigidities. Price and wage rigidities refer to those charges that do not decrease below certain levels, for example, salaries of executive officers in organizations. The Reserve Bank of Australia set an inflation target of two to three percent (Reserve Bank of Australia, 2013); after taking into account price rigidities in the economy in 2010. Other countries that target the same figure include Hungary, Mexico, Spain, Japan, and Canada among others. This means that the rate that Australia set is favorable and it is widely accepted in the world. The Reserve Bank set the low inflation rate target to avoid the undesirable consequences of high rates of price instability, which include uncertainty, unfair distribution of wealth, and increasing tax benefits for businesses (Reserve Bank of Australia, 2013). These effects, consequently lead to low annual economic growth rate. The bank has managed to maintain the target inflation rate since November 2011. Year January -March April-June July-September October-December Annual 2013 2.5% 2.4% 2012 1.6% 1.2% 2% 2.2% 1.7% 2011 3.3% 3.5% 3.4% 3% 3.3% Quarterly inflation rates since January 2011. (http://www.rateinflation.com/inflation-rate/australia-historical-inflation-rate) The above figures show the rates of inflation in Australia since January 2011. The study, however, aims at determining the average rates from November 2011 to 2013. These include all the quarters of 2013 and 2012, and the last section of 2011 whose rate was 3%. The rate has remained within the 2-3% range in all the relevant quarters of the study. This means that the Reserve Bank has managed to stabilize prices in the country by use of monetary policies. Unemployment Unemployment is the inability of a qualified person to fail to secure a job at the prevailing wage rates. The unemployed people are willing to take jobs at the given wage rates, but they fail to find jobs in the market. Unemployment leads to undesirable consequences in the economy, for example, it lowers the per capita income, increases dependency, and leads to theft and prosti tution among others. The government and the Reserve Bank have failed to ensure low rates of unemployment in the country since 2011 because of the instability of some sectors in the economy. Long term unemployment has remained above 5% in the country since October 2011; whereas the velocity was below that amount before this period (Chua, 2013). This means that the management of unemployment has been inefficient, and this pulls down the economic growth

Journalism Mass Media and Communication Research Paper

Journalism Mass Media and Communication - Research Paper Example How is this history displayed for the audience? Is this history conveyed effectively? Is Kaufman constructing a history from above, from below or something in between? The Laramie project is based on a true story about voices of real people grappling with prejudice and tragedy in their small town (Bollas, 26). In 1998, Matthew Sheppard, an explicitly gay college student was beaten, tied to a fence, and let to die on the outskirts of Laramie in Wyoming. These actions lead to the small town being thrust into national spotlight revealing prejudice and the harsh truth of violence that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community often faces in the contemporary society. After the event, Moises Kaufman and other members of the New York-based tectonic theater project traveled to the place. Through the utilization of interviews, theater techniques news report and interviews, the Laramie project was born. Moises Kaufman and other members of the tectonic theater project made 6 trips to Laramie in the aftermath of the beating and when the two young men accused of killing Sheppard were being tried. The Laramie is a breathtaking melodramatic collection that explores the height of compassion of which human beings are capable of as well as the depth to which humanity can sink (Elsbree & Wong, 100). The play is based on a true story of October 1998 when Matthew Sheppard, a gay student who was attending the University of Wyoming in the town of Laramie was murdered by two young men. Matthew was taken to a spot that was isolated by two local young men with the intent of robbery, Russell Henderson, and Aaron McKinney beat him up by using the butt of the butt of their guns and left him with injuries but tied to the fence. However, Sheppard was found eighteen hours later exposed outdoor and died a few days later. After the trial, Russell and McKinney were convicted and imprisoned for life.