Stock Market Prices - Web Based App Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stock Market Prices - Web Based App - Coursework Example There are many advances in stock technologies, although the real time stock out has gotten the most press coverage recently. There are diverse technologies with various capabilities, price points, and footprints. After some time, this evolving change in the stock exchange will spread to other sectors as well. Anything of material significance will be stream –tagged to report its state in real time...... Sophisticated financial operations and keen investors require state of the art trading systems with potential of handling operations in terms of complexity and volume. Challenge the market The challenges faced by markets place are the ability to handle increased volume of trading and latest financial instrument. This calls for the implementation of new rules and regulations that demand for setting up latest cutting edge systems or modifying or even upgrading the existing systems without interfering the on-going operations Challenges 1. Quick and quality execution 2. High Performance 3. Scalability to handle high volumes without degrading in performance 4. Platform neutral 5. Security Overview The documentation is to be developed to cater to the operational needs of the investors all over the world. Therefore, the architecture covers all aspects of Real time market information. Real Time and Delayed Stock Quotes The stock quotes are available on real time basis for which the bourse ch arges a monthly fee while the delayed mode which occurs on the basis of 15-20 minutes delay or lag and available for free. Relevant parameters from the stock market 1. Spot price is acquired from stock exchange’s current basic stock trade price. 2. Exercise price, Time to Maturity are acquired from option exchange quotes. 3. Risk free rate depends on different economies, for example, the US market and the US Treasury 4. Suggested bill rate is 5. Volatility is acquired from user entries; the goal is to give an individual user freedom to decide on their own volatility method. It helps in carrying a test for volatility’s accuracy against the basic market price. Finance data service provider The data is obtained

AIS-MACA- Z: MACA based Clonal Classifier for Splicing Site

AIS-MACA- Z: MACA based Clonal Classifier for Splicing Site AIS-MACA- Z: MACA based Clonal Classifier for Splicing Site, Protein Coding and Promoter Region Identification in Eukaryotes Pokkuluri Kiran Sree, Inampudi Ramesh Babu, SSSN Usha Devi N   Abstract Bioinformatics incorporates information regarding biological data storage, accessing mechanisms and presentation of characteristics within this data. Most of the problems in bioinformatics and be addressed efficiently by computer techniques. This paper aims at building a classifier based on Multiple Attractor Cellular Automata (MACA) which uses fuzzy logic with version Z to predict splicing site, protein coding and promoter region identification in eukaryotes. It is strengthened with an artificial immune system technique (AIS), Clonal algorithm for choosing rules of best fitness. The proposed classifier can handle DNA sequences of lengths 54,108,162,252,354. This classifier gives the exact boundaries of both protein and promoter regions with an average accuracy of 90.6%. This classifier can predict the splicing site with 97% accuracy. This classifier was tested with 1, 97,000 data components which were taken from Fickett Toung, EPDnew, and other sequences from a renowned medical uni versity. Key Words: MACA(Multiple Attractor Cellular Automata) , CA(Cellular Automata) ,AIS( Artificial Immune System) ,Clonal Algorithm, AIS-MACA-Z(Artificial Immune System- Multiple Attractor Cellular Automata-Version Z). Introduction In recent years, study of Cellular Automata (CA) as a potential modeling tool has gained importance. Some researchers and scientists have used CA in image processing, data compression, pattern recognition, encryption, VLSI design and language recognition. Cellular Automata (CA) is a computing model which provides a good platform for performing complex computations with the available local information. CA is portrayed by local interconnectivity of cells in the network/grid. The interactions/communications between the cells are pulley local. Each cell is permitted to interact with its neighboring cells only. Further, the interconnection links typically convey just a little measure of data. No cell in the entire network will have the global view. These characteristics of CA attracted us to propose a classifier which can be very much useful for solving many problems in bioinformatics with the existing frame work. Artificial Immune System is a novel computational intelligence technique with features like distributed computing, fault /error tolerance, dynamic learning, adaption to the frame work, self monitoring, non uniformity and several features of natural immune systems. AIS take its motivation from the standard immune system of the body to propose novel computing tools for addressing many problems in wide domain areas. These features of AIS are used in the thesis to strengthen the proposed CA classifier Literature Survey Vitoantonio Bevilacqu[1] at el. tried to provide theoretical foundations for solving some problems in bioinformatics using artificial immune system like multiple sequence alignment problem and protein structure prediction. Hybrid immune algorithm was proposed for addressing multiple sequence alignment problems. Some open problems in bioinformatics are discussed and authors tried to create insight for applying AIS in bioinformatics. Shane Dixon at al has proposed Bioinformatics data mining was proposed with AIS and Neural Network. Variations in the real valued negative selection algorithm and multi layer feed forward neural network model are discussed in detail. Niloy Ganguly[2] at al has made a survey on cellular automata which say CA uses the local information and performs complex computations. Authors gave a brief discussion on the types of Cellular Automata. Niloy Ganguly at al has also proposed theoretical concept of proposing CA for pattern classification which can be applied for low cost VLSI implementation. This classifier is capable of accommodating noise based on distance metric also. Palsh Sarkar [3]also have given a brief history of cellular automata regarding the way for creating CA games like game of life and firing squad problem and creating local CA rules for specific problems. Pradipta Maji[4] at al has proposed the error correcting capability of cellular automata based on associative memory. The desired CA is evolved with formulation of simulated annealing program. X.Xiao[6] at al has used CA to generate image representation for biological sequencs. The research is amide to improve the quality of predicting protein attribut es such as structural class and sub cellular location. Adriana Popovici at al has successful applied CA in image processing. Parallelism in CA is used to remove the noise and detection of boarders in digital images. Jesus P. Mena-Chalco[5] at al has used Modified Gabor-Wavelet Transform for addressing this issue. In this connection, numerous coding DNA model-free systems dependent upon the event of particular examples of nucleotides at coding areas have been proposed. Regardless, these techniques have not been totally suitable because of their reliance on an observationally predefined window length needed for a nearby dissection of a DNA locale. Authors present a strategy dependent upon a changed Gabor-wavelet transform for the ID of protein coding areas. This novel convert is tuned to examine intermittent sign parts and presents the focal point of being free of the window length. We contrasted the execution of the MGWT and different strategies by utilizing eukaryote information sets. The effects indicate that MGWT beats all evaluated model-autonomous strategies regarding ID exactness. These effects demonstrate that the wellspring of in any event some piece of the ID lapses handled by the past s ystems is the altered working scale. The new system stays away from this wellspring of blunders as well as makes an instrument accessible for point by point investigation of the nucleotide event Changchuan Yin[6] at el has proposed a strategy to foresee protein coding areas is produced which is dependent upon the way that the vast majority of exon arrangements have a 3-base periodicity, while intron groupings dont have this interesting characteristic. The technique registers the 3-base periodicity and the foundation clamor of the stepwise DNA sections of the target DNA groupings utilizing nucleotide circulations as a part of the three codon positions of the DNA successions. Exon and intron successions might be recognized from patterns of the degree of the 3-base periodicity to the foundation commotion in the DNA groupings. Design of AIS-MACA-Z The general design of AIS-MACA-Z is indicated in the figure 1. Input to AIS-MACA-Z algorithm and its variations will be DNA sequence and Amino Acid sequences. Input processing unit will process sequences three at a time as three neighborhood cellular automata is considered for processing DNA sequences. The rule generator will transform the complemented and non complemented rules in the form of matrix, so that we can apply the rules to the corresponding sequence positions very easily. AIS-MACA-Z basins are calculated as per the instructions of proposed algorithm and an inverter tree named as AIS multiple attractor cellular automata is formed which can predict the class of the input after all iterations. Figure1: General Architecture of AIS-MACA- Z For a sample DNA sequence and fuzzy real values, the data structures AIS-MACA-Z [7,8] is shown in the figure 2. The decimal equivalent of the next state function, as defined as the rule number of the CA cell. In a 2-state 3-neighborhood CA, there are 256 distinct next state functions, among 256 rules, rule 51is represented in the following equation 1. Rule 51 : qi(t + 1) = qi(t) Equation (1) Figure2: AIS-MACA- Z data structure Experimental Results Experiments were conducted by using Fickett and Toung data [9] for predicting the protein coding regions and splicing cites. All the 21 measures reported in [9] were considered for developing the classifier. For promoter region identification human promoters from EPDnew[10]. Table 1 represents the splicing cite output. Figure 3,4,5,6 shows the prediction of promoter and protein coding regions. Table 1: Splicing Cite Output Figure3: AIS-MACA- Z Interface Identifying Protein Coding Regions Figure 4: Exons Boundary Reporting Figure 5: Coding Sequence Reporting Figure 6: Coding Sequence Probability Levels 5. Conclusion We have developed a logical classifier designed with MACA and strengthened with AIS technique that uses a fuzzy logic for predicting the slicing sites, protein and promoter regions. The accuracy of the AIS-MACA-Z classifier is considerably more when compared with the existing algorithm which is 90.6% in average. The proposed classifier can handle large data sets and sequences of various lengths. This classifier certainly provides intuition towards application of MACA to several problems in bioinformatics. 6. References Bevilacqua, Vitoantonio, Maurizio Triggiani, Vito Gallo, Isabella Cafagna, Piero Mastrorilli, and Giuseppe Ferrara. An expert system for an innovative discrimination tool of commercial table grapes. In Intelligent Computing Theories and Applications, pp. 95-102. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012. Ganguly, Niloy, Biplab K. Sikdar, Andreas Deutsch, Geoffrey Canright, and P. Pal Chaudhuri. A survey on cellular automata. (2003). Sarkar, Palash, and Subhamoy Maitra. Nonlinearity bounds and constructions of resilient Boolean functions. In Advances in Cryptology—CRYPTO 2000, pp. 515-532. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2000. Maji, Pradipta, Chandrama Shaw, Niloy Ganguly, Biplab K. Sikdar, and P. Pal Chaudhuri. Theory and application of cellular automata for pattern classification. Fundamenta Informaticae 58, no. 3 (2003): 321-354. Mena-Chalco, Jesà ºs P., Helaine Carrer, Yossi Zana, and Roberto M. Cesar. Identification of protein coding regions using the modified Gabor-wavelet transform. Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, IEEE/ACM Transactions on 5, no. 2 (2008): 198-207. Yin, Changchuan, and Stephen S-T. Yau. Prediction of protein coding regions by the 3-base periodicity analysis of a DNA sequence. Journal of theoretical biology 247, no. 4 (2007): 687-694. Sree, Pokkuluri Kiran. AIS-INMACA: A Novel Integrated MACA Based Clonal Classifier for Protein Coding and Promoter Region Prediction. J Bioinfo Comp Genom 1 (2014): 1-7. Nedunuri, SSSN Usha Devi, Inampudi Ramesh Babu, and Pokkuluri Kiran Sree. An Extensive Repot on Cellular Automata Based Artificial Immune System for Strengthening Automated Protein Prediction. Advances in Biomedical Engineering Research 1, no. 3 (2013). Fickett, James W., and Chang-Shung Tung. Assessment of protein coding measures. Nucleic acids research 20, no. 24 (1992): 6441-6450. Dreos, Renà ©, Giovanna Ambrosini, Rouayda Cavin Pà ©rier, and Philipp Bucher. EPD and EPDnew, high-quality promoter resources in the next-generation sequencing era. Nucleic acids research 41, no. D1 (2013): D157-D164.

White collar crime :: essays research papers

Welcome to the age of white collar crime. A time when the words thieves and businessmen go hand in hand. White collar criminals don’t get their hands dirty in their work. They use their heads to get what they want instead of using a little muscle. These criminals are just as dangerous as the rapists and murderers. In these times, even the most seemingly respectable people are suspected of white collar crimes. President Clinton and the first lady Hillary Clinton have been tangled up in the Whitewater and Travelgate business ventures. Although the two have not been formally charged with any wrongdoing, there is a committee currently investigating their dealings and charges are not out of the question for either of them. In Michael Isikoff’s and Mark Hosenball’s Newsweek article â€Å"Cracks in the Wall,† they describe the Clintons’ dealings with Whitewater and the possible consequences of them: â€Å"The Senate Whitewater committee is considering asking for perjury charges against Susan Thomas and Maggie Williams, Mrs. Clintons’ chief of staff, in connection with her testimony about the removal of documents from Vince Foster’s office† (Isikoff 29). This case goes to show that there presently a growing problem with our country, and it is called white collar crime. White collar crimes are very numerous in kind. New ones are always being invented by someone with a good scam. Embezzlement, tax evasion, and fraud are some of the more popular kinds. A person who has the power of controlling money in a business is most likely commit embezzlement. A shortened definition of embezzlement is â€Å"to steal money that is entrusted to Phillips 2 one.† This is one of the fastest rising crimes in the nation. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, embezzlement rose thirty eight percent from 1984 to 1993 (U.S. Dept. of Justice 239). Forgery is another growing form of white collar crime. This is defined as the act of imitating or counterfeiting documents or signatures for the purpose of deceiving someone. Forgery also shows the same growth trends as embezzlement. From 1984 to 1993 forgery and counterfeiting increased twenty-one percent (U.S. Dept. of Justice 240). Bogus ads, job scams, and telephone scams are all examples of fraud. Basically these scams ask you to send money for something that is non-existent. An example of a telephone scam would be if someone called to ask for donations for a phony organization or charity. White collar crime :: essays research papers Welcome to the age of white collar crime. A time when the words thieves and businessmen go hand in hand. White collar criminals don’t get their hands dirty in their work. They use their heads to get what they want instead of using a little muscle. These criminals are just as dangerous as the rapists and murderers. In these times, even the most seemingly respectable people are suspected of white collar crimes. President Clinton and the first lady Hillary Clinton have been tangled up in the Whitewater and Travelgate business ventures. Although the two have not been formally charged with any wrongdoing, there is a committee currently investigating their dealings and charges are not out of the question for either of them. In Michael Isikoff’s and Mark Hosenball’s Newsweek article â€Å"Cracks in the Wall,† they describe the Clintons’ dealings with Whitewater and the possible consequences of them: â€Å"The Senate Whitewater committee is considering asking for perjury charges against Susan Thomas and Maggie Williams, Mrs. Clintons’ chief of staff, in connection with her testimony about the removal of documents from Vince Foster’s office† (Isikoff 29). This case goes to show that there presently a growing problem with our country, and it is called white collar crime. White collar crimes are very numerous in kind. New ones are always being invented by someone with a good scam. Embezzlement, tax evasion, and fraud are some of the more popular kinds. A person who has the power of controlling money in a business is most likely commit embezzlement. A shortened definition of embezzlement is â€Å"to steal money that is entrusted to Phillips 2 one.† This is one of the fastest rising crimes in the nation. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, embezzlement rose thirty eight percent from 1984 to 1993 (U.S. Dept. of Justice 239). Forgery is another growing form of white collar crime. This is defined as the act of imitating or counterfeiting documents or signatures for the purpose of deceiving someone. Forgery also shows the same growth trends as embezzlement. From 1984 to 1993 forgery and counterfeiting increased twenty-one percent (U.S. Dept. of Justice 240). Bogus ads, job scams, and telephone scams are all examples of fraud. Basically these scams ask you to send money for something that is non-existent. An example of a telephone scam would be if someone called to ask for donations for a phony organization or charity.

Basic Marketing

There are at least three reasons why some customers are not satisfied with the products of certain firms and why micromarketing on the part of a production-oriented company that is inefficient can cost too much. One is that a firm focusing on micromarketing faces the challenge of producing a wide variety of goods or services to a large number of specific and small markets. If such company is inefficient and focuses mostly on production, it will be unable to produce quality goods and services.As a result, its ability to meet the expectations of its specific clients will be direly affected, thereby decreasing the satisfaction of the customers in the long run. Another reason is that a firm that faces the challenge of producing more goods than what it initially believes it can produce requires more of the raw materials it needs in order to meet that higher target. If the company is inefficient in producing such quantity and quality of goods, it is highly likely that the goods produced wi ll lack the basic quality standards.In order to compensate for the inefficiency in the production of such goods, the firm will be most likely forced to reproduce or repair some of its finished products, increasing expenses in the end. Lastly, customers are not satisfied with certain firms that are inefficient in the micromarketing field because such firms lack the ability to focus on the various goods and services that they offer due to multiple markets. 2.Technology impacts marketing environment including the opportunities, challenges and ethical issues that technology possesses. Technology greatly enhances the opportunities for firms because modern tools enable these companies to produce more and target a wider range of clients across geographical boundaries. The use of computers and efficient machines can also increase the efficiency of companies in the production of quality goods in larger quantities. The internet can also be a stronghold of these firms in advertising their prod ucts.Technology also creates certain challenges for these companies, challenges such as harnessing the technology and using it to its fullest potential. Other challenges include competing with other companies using the same technological strategies in the same market and keeping updated with the recent marketing technologies. Lastly, technology also raises certain ethical issues such as the issue of whether it is morally sound for certain firms to replace human labor with machineries.Another ethical issue is whether it is morally sound for companies to use technological tools in â€Å"spying† on the internal performance of their competitors in order to gain certain advantages. Moreover, technology also raises the ethical issue of whether it is morally fitting for firms to produce goods out of the technology available that can potentially bring harm to the buying public and to its competitors just to gain large profits.

The Life of Sgt. Dillon Black Foxx

Sgt. Dillon B. Foxx Born Dec. 2nd, 1987 in Traverse City, MI Died Feb. 5th, 2010 in Badghis Province, Afghanistan serving during Operation Enduring Freedom Sgt. Dillon Black Foxx of Traverse City, Michigan spent his early years living in Tennessee. When he was 17 he moved to Michigan where he graduated from Traverse City West Senior High School in 2006. Sgt. Foxx changed his name and used to go by Robert Dillon Lentz. He enlisted in the Army in May 2006 at the age of 18. When he did, his friends thought he was crazy. They reminded him the country was at war. Nope, he said, he wasn’t crazy; he was doing exactly what he needed to do. An awesome soldier with a free spirit, he maintained the same personality he carried his whole life into the military: a self-starter and someone others could count on. Dillon had attended One Station Unit Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Basic School at Fort Benning Georgia. When he finished his training, Dillon reported to Fort Bragg, where he was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In January 2007, he deployed with the unit to Afghanistan for 15 months. He returned in April 2008. He was promoted to sergeant in January 2009 and went to Afghanistan in August for his second deployment, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, his duty as a forward observer. He died February 5th in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Dillon received numerous awards including an Army Commendation with Valor Device, the Army Commendation with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Basic Parachutist Badge and the Purple Heart posthumously. Dillon will be remembered by those who had the opportunity to meet him, serve with him or love him. Dillon is survived by his mother, Trina Pfau of Manton; father, Robert Lentz of Tennessee; his seven-month-old son, Kaiden Levi Foxx; Kaiden's mother, Jessica Cross; two brothers, Chad (Andrienne) Stewart and their son Blake, currently stationed with the United States Marine Corp in California, Dale Blakeslee of Manton; two sisters, Savannah Lentz and Lenzy Blakeslee, both of Manton; grandparents, Linda Stewart, Linda Gale and Walter Lentz; great-grandmother, Fern (Ben) Chupp; his uncle, Chuck (Bonnie) Stewart; an aunt, Alisha (Les) Wormell; and many other loving family members, friends and comrades of the service. The Governor ordered flags down to half staff across the state to honor the northern Michigan soldier. Memorial services with Military Honors took place at 11 a. m. on Friday, February 19, 2010 at the NMC Hagerty Center, with visitation one hour prior to the service. The Rev. Justin Grimm did Officiate. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Sgt. Dillon Foxx Memorial Fund, c/o Traverse City State Bank, PO Box 192, Traverse City, MI 49685. Please share thoughts with the family at Dillon's online guestbook at www. reynolds-jonkhoff. com. The family is being served by the REYNOLDS-JONKHOFF FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, (231) 947-6347. The more than hour long service began with a reading of a poem written by Sergeant Foxx. The first line read, â€Å"If I ever go to war Mom, please don't be afraid. There are some things I must do, To keep the promise that I made. † Every stanza there after reminded family and friends never to worry while their loved one was off at war. It was a tearful service, but it showcased the absolute best of Sgt. Foxx through anecdotes and memories. During the memorial service, Army personal presented Sergeant Foxx's family with military honors including a purple heart and a flag presentation. 9&10 News talked to the family after the service at a luncheon at the VFW Hall in Traverse City. They said they were overwhelmed with the support from the community. â€Å"We would like to express our thanks for the outpouring generosity that has been tremendous and overwhelming,† says Stewart. â€Å"Friends and strangers alike have just been so supportive. † His family described him as a â€Å"quick learner† who picked up new tasks easily and worked hard to get the job done, whatever the job was. The family wanted to thank everyone for their support, including family and friends in Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Fort Bragg, the local V. F. W. and the military I send my sincere condolences to the family and friends of SGT Dillon B. Foxx. May the Lord comfort you in the difficult days ahead. Godspeed Dillon†¦.. Godspeed†¦.. Those we love remain with us For love itself lives on†¦ Cherished memories never fade Because one loved is gone. Those we love can never be More than a thought apart†¦ For as long as there is memory, They live on in our hearts. Traverse City Soldiers post Posted by Lisa McQueen, Harbor Springs – Sunday, February 07, 2010 at 8:15 p. m. Our military family shares in your pain, this community supports you in grief and this country is grateful for your sacrifice. We are humbled by the service of your son. Thoughts and prayers to you during this most difficult time. Posted by J Meadows, TX – Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 10:56 a. m. RIP Airborne! St. Michael, Guide this Paratrooper to a waiting formation of the Jump Master in the Sky! From: Diablo A staff sergeant and captain who worked with Foxx describe him as a self-starter and someone they could always count on. Foxx’s brother made a statement when asked about his brother â€Å"He did what he did,† says Chad Stewart, Foxx's brother. â€Å"It's just like anyone else that deploys†¦ unfortunately it was him, but he did what he wanted to do. † TRAVERSE CITY — Flags lined the walkway of Traverse City's Hagerty Center early Friday morning. A somber mood, yet a patriotic spirit as people paid their respects to 22-year old Sergeant Dillon Foxx. A fallen soldier is being remembered as a local hero. â€Å"I just think it really brings it home that it's somebody in your own backyard that was in Afghanistan and has passed away,† says Dan Brady of Traverse City. This young man lost his life. He gave the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our country. My heart goes out to his family,† says Traverse City resident, Marianne Abramson. â€Å"My son also serves in the 82nd Airborne. This is his second tour in Iraq and he is 22 years old and it just really hits close to home. I feel for this child's family. I do. I can't imagine my son not coming home,† says Elk Rapids resident, Mary Gallagher. â€Å"He laid down his life for us and I know the family but it's my way of showing support. I believe in what their son did. Being a veteran of the Gulf War myself is something I feel compelled to do,† says Midland resident, Jim Johnston. It's personal stories like this that brought out people from around the state, even complete strangers simply to say, â€Å"thank you. † â€Å"It's just a reminder that our freedom is really not free. There's soldiers dying every day for our freedom,† Soldiers who are thousands of miles away just like Sergeant Foxx putting our country before themselves. Now, a community is stepping up to show its support for his sacrifice. *Tribute to Sgt. Dillon Foxx* SGT Foxx was one of the best kind of people to know. Smart, funny, brave, compassionate, and extremely outgoing. For us paratroopers lucky enough to work with him on a daily bases, this loss shook us to the core. The loss of a true friend, mentor and brother will never be forgotten. I love you man past, present, and future. From: Jarmacus Smith. While I didn't know Sgt Foxx personally, my husband is currently serving in Iraq on his 2nd tour, my best friend of 18 years was killed in action in Iraq, 3 years ago this may 23rd, and I have several friends and family in the military. I thank Sgt. Foxx from the bottom of my heart for his selfless service to this country. And to his family, I will always have you in my thoughts and prayers. May you find peace in knowing that he will NEVER be forgotten. From: Rebekah Marie Lane. God bless the family and thank you Sgt. for keeping my family safe. Your selflessness is what separates you from the average civilian. Thank you. From: Dave Wylie. Here is a poem I found that I think the family would like to read in regards to their loss and their feelings at this time â€Å"Life Is A Fragile Thing†: â€Å"Life is a fragile thing And it can change within an instant Nothing is safe from the effects of change No person or possession we're given The only things we can hold forever Are the memories in our hearts The loves we share upon this earth Before it comes our time to part So choose a pathway that brings you joy Take time for quiet moments each day Appreciate the challenges that strengthen your soul And the blessings God sends your way Don't let your heart be ruled by anger It's just not worth the stress For the tumult will only expand in your heart And crowd out happiness Live each day with wonder and gratitude For the beauty that surrounds you And share your abundance generously It'll ensure future blessings will surround you Meekly accept that life's journey will include Unexpected, soul-wrenching heartaches That will bruise your soul and alter the course You always imagined your life would take And when that happens you'll have the choice To embrace hope or hopelessness You can't avoid grief, but you can refuse to accept A lonely future of bitterness So choose to be grateful for each moment With the loved ones you've been given†¦ † I also found some pictures of Sgt. Dillon Foxx that will put a face to the story. ? Sgt. Dillon Foxx Military Picture ? Dillon Foxx & His Son ? Sgt. Dillon Foxx on duty. ? Sgt. Dillon Foxx is being carried to his funeral in his casket. I found this poem which I feel explains Sgt Dillon Foxx and his selflessness he showed with the way he lived his life and giving of himself to the military. â€Å"This fundamental truth of the self can be realized only if the individual is willing and courageous enough to follow to some natural conclusion this moment of experience, this facing the unknown and participating with the total commitment of the self. Such expression, such passion for life may emerge in written, spoken, graphic or aesthetic forms in relation or in isolation; in I-Thou encounters; and in silent, inner experience. A compassionate willingness is required – as is the courage to live before the fact, before the understanding, before any rational support or certainty, to live the moment to its natural peak and conclusion, and to accept with dignity whatever joy, grief, misfortune, or unexpectedness occurs. I think that I found a quote that explains how Sgt Dillon Foxx felt since he stated it to his family and friends that he was doing what he wanted to do. â€Å"I have lived on a razors edge. So what if you fall off, I'd rather be doing something I really wanted to do. I'd walk it again. † I would like to say to Sgt Dillon Foxx’s family and anyone else that has lost a love one, Do not cry over your loss but celebrate the life they once lived. Remember them for all the good times you shared, rather then dwell on what will never be. When you keep them in good memories and thoughts it makes it easier day by day to get through. God is always willing and ready to help you through your hurt and pain all you have to do is call upon him and ask for his help. For those of us who do not have family or friends in the military or that take everyday for granted, please remember it is people like Sgt. Dillon Foxx that scarify their lives everyday to help us live free.

To Believe or To Not Believe. Professor Ramos Blog

To Believe or To Not Believe. Growing up my family never took my brother and I to Church. I remember my mom saying she grew up religious, but we never really talked about it. Nor did we ever really talk about religion in our household. I find it strange now looking back at it, but maybe my parents just wanted my brother and I to have a choice on the matter. Either way it’s safe to say my family wasn’t very religious. Sure, I had friends, girlfriends, and relatives that all went to Church on Sunday’s. Hell, even I went a couple times, but I just felt uncomfortable and couldn’t fully grasp the concept that was being preached to me. I would sit there as the pastor would talk about the word of God and the Gospel. The teachings of Jesus and the 10 commandments. I was a lot younger then, so in the Church’s defense I didn’t really pay much attention. It seemed like a wonderful idea though. The thought there is Heaven where all our loved ones gather in this paradise to meet after death. The idea of Hell keeping everyone from committing wrong-doings otherwise you burn for eternity. It was strange to me, so it didn’t take very long till I just stopped thinking about the matter all together and just moved on with my life. It just wasn’t reaching me on a deeper level like it does with most. Once I stopped thinking about it long enough, there came a time where I began to question it all. Is there really a God? Or are we just a spec in this mass universe we call space. Do our choices really matter? Or is it possible that everything is irrelevant. Does good come from the belief and worship of God? Or is it how we are raised and brought up in the world. What is it in our brains that makes us have this belief for something bigger than all of us? It eventually got to the point where I gave up. I chose to believe were all just consciously making choices for ourselves. Whether it be for good or bad, right or wrong. Just collectively learning lessons from the choices we make and analyzing the outcome of those choices to prepare for future decision making. I decided that not everything was happening for a higher purpose. That there wasn’t any type â€Å"God† influencing my life the way so many people believe God does so. I thought that if I’m responsible for my choices and actions than God must not be around. There were no signs for me that pointed to the belief there was something or someone out there looking out for me, let alone every living being. It was only two weeks after my conscious decision to become what most people call â€Å"atheist†, that my uncle Steve passed away. He was battling alcoholism for as long as I could remember. We never did talk much, and I didn’t know much about him. But I could tell he loved all his family members. He would never do anything to purposely hurt or upset them. Maybe he was just raging his own war against God and the only way to escape from his reality was to keep finding the bottom of that bottle. It was in his last few months I could barely recognize him anymore. He developed two forms of cancer and looked like the fight wouldn’t carry on much longer. He was the palest I’ve ever seen a person and there was no energy flowing through his body anymore. He was admitted to the hospital and induced into a coma shortly after the last time I saw him. I don’t even remember the last few words he or I said to each other. Just glimpses of him and I at our Thanksgi ving or Christmas parties. Almost like a photo gallery in my head. My father and my uncle Mike stayed with him every day that he was in the hospital. I probably should have visited and to this day I have no idea why I didn’t. But one of the strangest things that happened to me was the morning my uncle Steve passed away. It was the night before and I had had a dream about him. I found myself in this beautiful bright green forest with the sun rising farther than where the trees ended. I felt peace but was also conscious enough to wonder why I was there. I never had that feeling before, being awake inside a dream. It was only what felt like a minute before my Uncle Steve appeared. He had a bright glow to him, and he was heathier than I had ever seen him in his whole life. My Uncle didn’t say anything, but I felt his embrace, almost as if he was telling me he is okay. It felt like he was at peace with everything in this world and whatever world he was in also brought peace to him. He seemed comfortable, no longer in pain or fatigue. The last thing I remember was his smile before he faded away and I woke up. There was something about his smile I could never really describe. The dream didn’t last very long but the part that is strange to me is I remember waking up around 7:30am to text my Dad about the dream I had had. Only to have already received a text from him saying that my Uncle was pronounced dead at 7:07am on July 17th. My Dad and I both were caught of guard by my dream. But it really seemed to make my Dad feel a lot better about the loss of his brother Steve. As if my dad was thinking the same thing I was. Maybe there is something more after this. Some people believe in coincidences and I guess at the time I did too. This strange phenomenon seemed to put a damper on my theories and beliefs that there was nothing else after this. It just seemed too surreal to me to just be a random dream that a person has. I remember it so vividly like I just watched it on a video. This dream began to alter my state of mind. I started to open myself towards the belief that there can be a God or a spiritual life after this. That everything that has or will happen to us is meant for something bigger than just ourselves. To this day I have still only read about four passages out of the Bible or any other religious text. I’m not saying that I have become a man of God, but I do believe that there is more to life than just living and dying. I felt my Uncle was in a better place and maybe he wanted to show me a glimpse into this peaceful paradise he found himself. I still question as to why he visited me and not my Father or his Brother. All I know is that whether this dream be a coincidence or some sort of spiritual lesson, it taught me that I need to have faith in something more than myself. I’m still on the path of learning to believe in God but if it weren’t for that dream, I’d still be on the search for meaning in this world. I believe this dream has helped me find it.

The Greatest Ninja Battle in 1581

The Greatest Ninja Battle in 1581 It was a lawless era in Japan, with petty feudal lords fighting a never-ending series of small wars over land and power. In the chaotic Sengoku period (1467-1598), the peasants often ended up as cannon-fodder or incidental victims of the samurai wars; some commoners, however, organized themselves to defend their own homes, and to take advantage of the constant warfare. We call them the yamabushi or ninja. The key ninja strongholds were the mountainous provinces of Iga and Koga, located in what are now Mie and Shiga Prefectures, respectively, in southern Honshu. Residents of these two provinces gathered information and practiced their own techniques of espionage, medicine, warfare, and assassination. Politically and socially, the ninja provinces were independent, self-governing, and democratic - they were ruled by town council, rather than by a central authority or daimyo. To the autocratic nobles of other regions, this form of government was anathema. Warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534 - 82) remarked, They make no distinction between high and low, rich and poor... Such behavior is a mystery to me, for they go so far as to make light of rank, and have no respect for high ranking officials. He would soon bring these ninja lands to heel. Nobunaga embarked on a campaign to reunify central Japan under his authority. Although he did not live to see it, his efforts began the process that would end the Sengoku, and usher in 250 years of peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Nobunaga sent his son, Oda Nobuo, to take over the province of Ise in 1576. The former daimyos family, the Kitabatakes, rose up, but Nobuas army crushed them. The surviving Kitabatake family members sought refuge in Iga with one of the Oda clans major foes, the Mori clan. Oda Nobuo Humiliated Nobuo decided to deal with the Mori/Kitabatake threat by seizing Iga Province. He first took Maruyama Castle early in 1579 and began to fortify it; however, the Iga officials knew exactly what he was doing, because many of their ninja had taken construction jobs at the castle. Armed with this intelligence, the Iga commanders attacked Maruyama one night and burned it to the ground. Humiliated and furious, Oda Nobuo decided to attack Iga immediately in an all-out assault. His ten to twelve thousand warriors launched a three-pronged attack over the major mountain passes in eastern Iga in September 1579. They converged on Iseji village, where the 4,000 to 5,000 Iga warriors lay in wait. As soon as Nobuos forces had entered the valley, Iga fighters attacked from the front, while other forces cut off the passes to block the Oda armys retreat. From the cover, the Iga ninja shot Nobuos warriors with firearms and bows, then closed to finish them off with swords and spears. Fog and rain descended, leaving the Oda samurai bewildered. Nobuos army disintegrated - some killed by friendly fire, some committing seppuku, and thousands falling to the Iga forces. As historian Stephen Turnbull points out, this was one of the most dramatic triumphs of unconventional warfare over traditional samurai tactics in the whole of Japanese history. Oda Nobuo escaped the slaughter but was roundly chastised by his father for the fiasco. Nobunaga noted that his son has failed to hire any ninja of his own to spy out the enemys position and strength. Get shinobi (ninja)... This one action alone will gain you a victory. Revenge of the Oda Clan On October 1, 1581, Oda Nobunaga led about 40,000 warriors in an attack on Iga province, which was defended by approximately 4,000 ninja and other Iga warriors. Nobunagas massive army attacked from the west, east, and north, in five separate columns. In what must have been a bitter pill for Iga to swallow, many of the Koga ninja came into the battle on Nobunagas side. Nobunaga had taken his own advice about recruiting ninja assistance. The Iga ninja army held a hill-top fort, surrounded by earthworks, and they defended it desperately. Faced with overwhelming numbers, however, the ninja surrendered their fort. Nobunagas troops unleashed a massacre on the residents of Iga, although some hundreds escaped. The ninja stronghold of Iga was crushed. Aftermath of the Iga Revolt In the aftermath, the Oda clan and later scholars called this series of encounters the Iga Revolt or the Iga No Run. Although the surviving ninja from Iga scattered across Japan, taking their knowledge and techniques with them, the defeat at Iga signaled the end of ninja independence. A number of the survivors made their way to the domain of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a rival of Nobunagas, who welcomed them. Little did they know that Ieyasu and his descendants would stamp out all opposition, and usher in a centuries-long era of peace that would make ninja skills obsolete. The Koga ninja did play a role in several later battles, including the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, and the Siege of Osaka in 1614. The last known action that employed Koga ninja was the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-38, in which ninja spies aided the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu in putting down Christian rebels. However, the age of the democratic and independent ninja provinces ended in 1581, when Nobunaga put down the Iga Revolt. Sources Man, John. Ninja: 1,000 Years of the Shadow Warrior, New York: HarperCollins, 2013. Turnbull, Stephen. Ninja, AD 1460-1650, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. Turnbull, Stephen. Warriors of Medieval Japan, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2011.

Starting an Essay with a Quote - The Most Effective Ways!

Starting an Essay with a Quote - The Most Effective Ways! Are you staring at a blank page on the screen unable to write at least a single word? Wondering how to start an essay with a quote? Do you need advice on how to start a college essay and make it impressive to bring you an A-grade? Keep reading to find answers to all the above-mentioned questions. In this article, we will discuss general strategies on how to start a paper with a quote drawing attention. Discover various effective ways to make people want to read your story to the end.   Let’s start with general ideas. Key Rules on How to Start an Essay Have no idea how to start narrative essays for high school? Are you looking for good essay samples to follow when composing your paper? Don’t know how to start an analytical essay? Writing an effective opening paragraph that will inform, motivate your reader can be challenging for schoolchildren/college students. It is an important step in the writing process everyone should take. What strategy can help avoid mistakes? Remember that the most important purpose of your academic piece of writing is to persuade readers of your point of view based on evidence from in-depth research. Consider the following key points in order to succeed: At the essay’s beginning, tell the public about the main idea your paper covers. Introduce your essay’s subject in a clear manner Focus on your paper explaining your audience the central issue of your discussion.   You can do it in various ways. Pose a question, immediately suggesting answers that will be   argued; state a thesis; it is possible to combine these two approaches. It’s up to you to choose the most effective way Can you start an essay with a quote? Definitely, yes! This is one of the killer ways to hook the reader. Bear in mind that when you are thinking how to begin an essay, you should take steps to make your readers fully understand why they might want to continue reading. This is the key You have to catch your reader’s attention with a hook - encourage him/her to read the entire paper. Your goal is to persuade the audience that your text is worth reading You should orient your readers. You need to provide necessary information and explanations to help your audience follow your arguments. You can do it by answering basic questions of who, where, what, how, when, and why or by providing a short overview of the sources you’ll be analyzing ORDER YOUR ESSAY FROM EXPERT Do you wonder how these strategies work? Order a model paper on your topic that will be written according to your specific requirements. It will serve you as an example to help you learn how to start essay with quote and other effective ways able to attract the reader. You can get the helping  list of the best argumentative essay topics  online easily.   How to Start an Essay: Easy Tips to Help You Get Started College essays are long projects. Sometimes, many people find them overwhelming but if you break the writing process into small parts and try to complete your draft step by step, you can expect you will feel more confident and work more productively. Let’s discuss how to start a paper with a quote, taking manageable steps. First, choose a topic that you find intriguing. Define the purpose of your project and evaluate your options. The most successful strategy is to write about a subject that you are passionate about. Conduct research and study the available sources of information. Before you get started with your piece of writing, make a detailed outline to organize your thoughts, sort your ideas into certain categories, and determine natural links between your thoughts. Now, you are ready to write an introduction. Follow the tips below to create an impressive introduction. There are 4 simple tips that will help you to cope with this task quickly and easily. Let’s get started! 1.How to start an essay introduction? To attract your readers’ attention, begin with the killer language means. Brainstorm ideas on an attention grabber and add a couple of sentences that lead to your thesis. Use one of the strategies that we’ve already discussed. Beginning an essay with a quote is a good idea. Finally, use the outline or a mind map of your ideas and create a thesis statement – a sentence or a couple of sentences, the aim of which is to tell your audience about the point you will be arguing about in your paper. A thesis is the last sentence of your introduction. You may need to return to your introduction after you’ve finished the final draft to clarify the focus, change, and rewrite the beginning of your paper several times to ensure that you are able to engage your readers and establish your authority. 2. How to start essay with quote? Do you wonder â€Å" Can I start an essay with a quote?† Definitely, yes! It’s a rather popular way to begin an essay. You should find the right quote that fits your purpose and use it within the framework of your own words. How to begin an essay with a quote? Check the list with the most effective tips on how to put a quote in the beginning of an essay. Avoid the frequently used quotations and clichà ©s that are familiar to everyone because they will bore your target audience making them think that you have been lazy to search for the original quotes Explain how the quote connects to your point Select a quotation that your audience can understand and relate to Make sure the quote exactly fits the tone of your academic paper When introducing a quote, always acknowledge the source. Follow the requirements of a specific citation style These tips on how to start an essay with a quote will help you to pick the right quote that will impress your reader. No matter what sort of opening you choose, make sure it is related to the focus of your paper and serves a good tool for establishing the context, or plays a significant part in your thinking and analysis. Your opening should be clear, direct, and specific. Try to avoid too broad and general openings because they can make your paper look boring 3. How to start a paragraph in an essay? The next step is writing the body paragraphs. Talking about how to start a paragraph in an essay, we should say that all body paragraphs will have the similar basic structure. Write one of your main ideas in the outline as a topic sentence in a paragraph. Then, add supporting ideas. Back each supporting idea with relevant examples, statistics, and other details and make sure you provide enough information to link these smaller ideas together. You will have to write as many body paragraphs as you have main ideas in your outline. 4. How to start a conclusion for an essay? We’ve come to your paper’s final part. Let’s discuss how to start a conclusion for an essay. The length of a conclusion depends on the length of your paper and its complexity. There is no set formula how to do this the right way. Your task is to review the key points and provide a final perspective on your subject. Write 3 to 5 strong sentences. Make sure they reinforce your thesis statement and briefly remind your readers about the significance of your topic, and the research you have conducted. After writing your conclusion, check your paper’s organization and logical flow of ideas, paying attention to the smallest details. Fix grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. As you see, writing high-scoring essays can be complicated and time-consuming but we hope that our simple tips on how to start a good essay will help you succeed in creating impressive beginnings for your admissions, argumentative, persuasive and other types of essays. ORDER YOUR PAPER HERE Key Things You Should Know When Picking the Right Quote for Your Essay Some students think that it is as easy as ABC to start with a quote. However, it is a misconception as you need to learn how to do this the right way. There are certain things you should take into account when looking for the best quote. You should be patient as the search may take you more than one day. You should look through a number of sources to find a saying of a person that will be exactly what you need. Most students give preference to the sayings of famous people. It may sound surprising but this is not the best way to impress the reader. It is better to find a quote of a person who isn’t well-known. You can use a part of a long quote not to bore your reader in the very beginning of your paper. If you have found an interesting saying, don’t rush to use it for your piece of writing. You need to conduct research on the history of the quote. Learn more about its origin to know what context it was first used in. Choose those sayings that were unexpected and creative. Need Professional Help to Understand How to Begin an Essay? Lack great ideas for a powerful introductory paragraph? Looking for the answer to the question â€Å"Can you start a paper with a quote?† Order a custom paper written by an experienced writer on our site and forget about your worries concerning academic writing.   If you face a problem with completing a difficult task assigned to you by your college teacher or university professor, take advantage of the well-written professional examples that we offer to students of all academic levels, regardless the complexity of the topic. Do you wonder how they can be helpful? Simply using them, you will get a perfect understanding of how to start an essay on your topic, write a good introduction, organize your argument in the three body paragraphs, create an impressive conclusion, back your points with appropriate evidence and quotes from the relevant sources.   We will provide you with the perfectly written model papers that can help you in creating your own pieces of writing. Our experts are ready to help you 24/7. Don’t hesitate to contact us whether you face a need to complete your paper urgently or just want us to review your work! Our team of professionals will wait for your order for assignment writing being ready to provide a helping hand and expert advice, which you may lack. Entrust us to write your paper and enjoy your free time, which can be spent on things that really matter to you now. You won’t regret choosing us as your reliable academic helper! Want to check if this is true? Read what our loyal customers say about our top quality services! 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Awakening Religious Tensions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Awakening Religious Tensions - Essay Example He put a lot of emphasis on being ‘born again’. George Whitefield truly believed that true conversion brought a noticeable change in the souls of those who were converted. George Whitefield greatly disliked what he termed as ‘lukewarm’ Christianity. This, to him, was the reason why so many Christians were unaware that they were doomed in the hereafter. He exhorted his massive audiences to guard against serving God half heartedly. He also made changes in his ministry that stimulated people to actively seek for true change. Watching the sermons George Whitfield was an experience that changed most of his congregations. Audiences sat spell bound as he enunciated statements such as â€Å"The Lord Jesus Christ understood how very wicked and devious men's hearts were; he also knew that many reach hell even as they narrowly bypassed heaven’s gates† with numerous gripping gestures (Bushman 123). George Whitefield’s messages succeeded in changing the way Christian sermons were delivered in the majority of churches. Gilbert Tennent’s sermons added to the urgency of the Christian message in the first Great Awakening. In his sermon titled, â€Å"The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry†, Tennent referred to ministers who opposed the spirit of the Great Awakening as ‘Pharisee-teachers’. ... This sparked a division in many churches, and resulted in a number of congregants starting to look for churches that had ministered who had been born again and could prove it. Another minister of the Great Awakening who spurred remarkable changes in American Christian society was James Davenport. Davenport was quite radical in his interpretation of what he believed to be ‘tainted’ or ‘not inspired by God’. For instance, he encouraged his hearers to prevent the devil from influencing their daily lives. He even sanctioned public bonfires in which all artifacts and instruments such as jewelry and novels which were perceived to be ‘inspired by the devil’ were burned in a pile. In a news report on the result of his preaching, on paper documented in 1743 that â€Å"Great groups of people rushed toward the place of meeting, and shoved artifacts with Violence into the burning pile, proclaiming, Go you with the Rest† (Bushman 125). Davenport influ enced his crowd to become more aware of evil existing in day to day existence, and pushed for a return to purity, zealousness, and steadfastness in the Christian faith. All these developments were received with great happiness by congregations on both sides of the Atlantic. Moreover, they did not inspire much approval among other ministers. An ordained minister of an established church order, Charles Chauncy, particularly abhorred what he referred to as the ‘emotionalism’ he saw in most of the meetings of the first Great Awakening. In a letter penned to George Wishart, a Scottish minister in 1742, Chauncy complained, â€Å"There was definitely no extraordinary difference brought about by the preaching and it is vain to act as if there was. Instead, what happened was that there rose a spirit of censorious,

Financial Covenants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Covenants - Essay Example (Mckean, 2005; Law, 2005; Moles and Terry 1997). For example, Junk Bonds whether secured or unsecured are always subordinate to debts to banks and Subordinated debt that ranks behind other issues of the same class is referred to as junior debt. (Law, 2005). Mezzanine finance, a typical example of subordinated debt is funding that possesses both equity and debt characteristics and it is usually provided by specialists' financial institutions. This funding like other forms of subordinated debt carries a very high risk of default and as a result earns a higher rate of return than pure debt although less than equity. Mezzanine finance can be secured or unsecured. (Smullen and Hand, 2005). Due to its mixed nature of both equity and debt characteristics, investors have the opportunity to earn interest alongside their equity stake in the company. (Terry and Brian, 2000). Mezzanine financing is also attractive to banks since it offers interest higher than that paid for senior debt especially in environments where competition makes it difficult for them to provide funding at the normal lending rate thus encouraging banks to embark on mezzanine financing as a means of earning higher returns. (Terry and Brian, 2000). The borrowing base of potential takeovers in the UK has increased as a result of increase willingness by UK lenders or investors to provide mezzanine finance. For example, bids for the Gateway and Magnet companies in the UK involved very large amounts of subordinated debt and as such reflect the importance of mezzanine finance to borrowers in large acquisitions, were financing required is beyond the limits set by equity and senior debt providers in their own lending criteria. (Terry and Brian, 2000). Terry and Brian (2000) assert that because inclusion of mezzanine debt allows a lower equity share as a percentage of the total funds provided than straight equity investment, equity investors prefer such inclusion in deal structures since it will improve returns to the equity shareholders. Including mezzanine in a deal reduces the investment required from equity investors by a percentage, which is higher than a reduction in their ultimate shareholding and therefore increases the overall return on investment. Mezzanine finance has also been used as a strategy for leveraged buy-outs, corporate takeovers and other acquisitions. The first instance of using mezzanine finance in such a way was in the United States of America. (Terry and Brian, 2000). The first instance in the United Kingdom was for the buy-out of Evans Halshaw. (Terry and Brian, 2000). Because of the separation of ownership from control and also as a result of information asymmetry between debt holders and the management of the company, it is has become a common practice that the loan agreement or indenture contains ratio covenants and other covenants so as to prevent the debt holders from losing their money in the event of insolvency or bankruptcy liquidation. In the preceding paragraph, we take a closer look at some of the covenants and assess their validity in actually providing protection to lenders or debt holders. Covenants and Events of Default Terry and Brian (2000) define Covenants as promises by the borrower to do or not to do certain things during the term of the debt facility. Events of Default are defined events which, if

American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

American History - Essay Example Throughout the 20th century, Immigration law has swung back and forth, at times welcoming Mexican immigrants and at other times slamming the door shut on them. The public reception of this Mexican group has also been quite unpredictable; although they have been able to make a place for themselves in communities across the United States, but frequently they have had to battle hostile elements in the same communities to survive. Till today, in many ways, this push-and-pull dynamic continues. Mexican immigrants and their descendants now constitute of a significant portion of the U.S. population and are one of the most influential social and cultural groups in the country. Mexican American culture is very likely to shape U.S. life in language, politics, food, and daily living and will help define the nation's identity for a new century. Spanish-speaking people have lived in North America since the colonization of Mexico by Spaniards in the sixteenth century, and ever since Mexicans have always played a crucial role in the continent's cultural and historical growth. Everything changed with the War that broke out between the U.S. and Mexico In 1846 over the U.S. annexation of Texas. Mexico was defeated, and the two nations signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty gave U.S an enormous amount of land, including what would later become the present day states of California and Texas, as well as parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada. With two strokes of a pen U.S had expanded by a third of what it was and overnight, thousands and thousands of Mexicans had become residents of the United States. As the Mexican American community grew over the years, it became increasingly prominent in public life of Americans. As Mexican territories metamorphosed into states, they began to affect the balance of power in the U.S. government. The entertainment industry also displayed some awareness of the new importance of Mexican culture. The positive half was about romanticized images of life south of the border but the negative side of it perpetuated gross ethnic stereotypes and racist slurs.Today, Mexican immigrants and their descendants occupy a more significant place in American cultural life than they ever did before. Mexican Americans now reside in all regions of the country and have seeped into most professions and trades. Statistical figures by the government show that, by the next two generations, more than 25 percent of the U.S. population will be of Latin American origin American political officials perceive this movement as a hope for "recon Questa" which means "to re-conquer a lost territory" and consider it to be a deliberate political conspiracy. The greatest impact of Mexican immigration seems to be the growing Latin American influence on the everyday life of all Americans in terms of Mexican clothing, music, architecture, literature, and food. It is very apparent that Mexicans have been part of life in the present-day U.S. long before it was a self-governing country. What impact can this group possibly have on the nation's future Glenn Spencer, president of Voices of

Stanley Park Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stanley Park - Essay Example   Large sections of the park were densely forested in the late 1800s and covered by half million trees that mainly occupied stand that was seventy-six meters, which is many centuries old. Numerous trees were lost and others were planted subsequent to the major windstorms that happened past one hundred years in the year 2006. An important effort was concentrated in the building of the near century-old Vancouver Seawall that mainly attracts numerous residents and corresponding visitors to the Stanley Park. Stanley Park also possesses features forest trails, Vancouver Aquarium, lakes, beaches, and children’s play locations.   The land where Stanley Park is situated was leased by the Vancouver’s City Council in the year 1886. The year 1908 federal government converted the lease of the Stanley Parkland by ninety-nine year. It was possess a lease that was continuously renewable by the park board in regard to the restitution. The park was officially opened in the year 1888 and named after Lord Stanley. Lord Stanley dedicated it to the utilization and enjoyment of the populace of all races, creeds and customs thus being named Stanley Park.   The building of the Lost Lagoon and the corresponding causeway of the Stanley Park took place amidst the year 1913 to corresponding 1916.The lake was built within a shallow section of the Coal Harbour and was named the Lost Lagoon because of its disappearance during low tide.   Moreover, the lake and corresponding causeway into the Stanley Park was designed by Thomas Mawson.  Ã‚  

History of Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

History of Marketing - Essay Example At the end, it also gives brief biographical outlines of Henry Ford and Philip Kotler, the two great personalities who contributed to the development of the modern marketing thought. Marketing, its definition, meaning and scope. The establishment of a market economy in the 20th century has brought about dramatic changes in the social and economic structures and revolutionized the world economy (Bartels, 1976).1 Marketing is a combination of factors that have to be taken into consideration before taking up selling or promotional activities. Fred E. Clark (1922)2 defined marketing as the efforts that result in the transfer in the ownership of goods. Reciprocity and redistribution are the ideal and essential properties of good marketing, where marketing gives to the society more than takes from the society. The modern marketing thought evolved in the early 20th century and students of marketing were basically trained as economists. From 1900 to 1960, over 100 books related to general marketing were published with over 80 authors contributing to those works. By 1900 marketing managers realized that demand is the desire plus ability to purchase. Desire could be altered with help of advertising, sales promotion and salesmanship. With the increasing competition, cost became the principal determinant of price. Concepts like the elasticity of demand became the parameters of marketing in general. The first decade of 1900 saw the emergence of marketing thought with the realization of the distribution problems and planned collection of market information. Concepts were introduced into marketing from established disciplines like economics, psychology, sociology, and scientific management.In the second decade (1910-20), many basic marketing concepts were added to the commerce, trade and distribution topics. Ralph Starr Butler3 and Arch W. Shaw4 were the men instrumental in developing marketing concepts. According to Butler, marketing was the art of co-coordinating and planning of the complicated relations among the various factors in trade. Shaw (1912) distinguished three basic dynamic operations in business: production, distribution, and administration. From 1914 to 1917 Butler added many marketing concepts. From 1920 to 1930, built upon foundations laid in the first two decades, the Principles of Marketing were first presented in the book form by integrating scattered concepts and tentative generalizations. In his Marketing Methods and Policies,5 Paul D. Converse (1921) distinguished between middlemen's functions related to individual firms and middlemen's activities related to marketing in general. Fred E. Clark6 defined the market structure as built on two processes--transfer of title and transfer of goods; and middlemen included merchants, advertising agencies, banks and warehouses. Goods classes included products for personal, implements and machines used in production, and the machines needed to produce the equipment used in production. Marketing efficiency is judged from two viewpoints: from private angle--operating efficiency; and public view--social significance. The next ten years (1930-40) saw the revision and expansion

Implications of USA not Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol Research Paper

Implications of USA not Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol - Research Paper Example The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The main purpose of the convention was to stabilize the emission of greenhouse gases. States agreed that they would lessen the green house emissions in their countries1. It was also recognized that developed countries were responsible for emitting high amounts of green house gases. The convention did not provide any plan for action2 instead it just encouraged countries to lessen their emissions. A forum was held in Berlin that came up with the Berlin mandate, which was mainly a mandate by several countries to set policies, and measure that would see the enforcement of the targets set for reduction of greenhouse gases. A second conference3 was held in Geneva Switzerland that led to a declaration, which stated the climate change levels were alarming, and needed strong commitments that were legally binding. There was then held a third conference in Kyoto in Japan whereby countries signed the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol gave targets for greenhouse gas emissions of specific countries. The protocol provided that upon the ratification by 55 industrialized countries it would come into full effect4. What did ratification imply? Ratification meant that countries would implement the protocol within their national institutions. The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement negotiated by countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto protocol is a protocol that is aimed at reducing emissions of carbon-dioxide gases and greenhouse gases. This is seen whereby the protocol sets targets for countries that emit carbon dioxide and green house gases. This carbon gases include gases such as Hydrofluorocarbons, Perflourocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, nitrous oxide and methane. The difference that is seen in the convention and the protocol is that the protocol encouraged industrialized countries to control or otherwise stabilize their green house emissions by co mmitting such countries to do so5. The protocol states that if the participating countries continue in the emission of the green house gases they should engage in trading of emission. The protocol uses both national and international mechanisms to ensure the reduction of green house gases. When it comes to national mechanisms, the protocol encourages countries to enact laws that will enhance the purpose of the protocol and therefore reduce the emission of these gases. On international mechanisms, the protocol has come up with three mechanisms that include emission trading, clean development mechanisms and joint implementation6. The protocol Emission trading is the buying of credits from the countries that have managed to exceed the targets set for reduction in order to offset their emissions. The protocol also has several means of monitoring it targets. To begin with is the keeping of a registry whereby countries keep a registry log in the United Nations Secretariat to ensure that c ountries comply with the rules of the protocol. Secondly, a compliance mechanism ensures that countries observe their specific commitments7. There is also adaptation mechanism in the countries that are still developing in that they are provided with assistance to adapt to their climatic changes. In addition, there is

History of Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

History of Marketing - Essay Example At the end, it also gives brief biographical outlines of Henry Ford and Philip Kotler, the two great personalities who contributed to the development of the modern marketing thought. Marketing, its definition, meaning and scope. The establishment of a market economy in the 20th century has brought about dramatic changes in the social and economic structures and revolutionized the world economy (Bartels, 1976).1 Marketing is a combination of factors that have to be taken into consideration before taking up selling or promotional activities. Fred E. Clark (1922)2 defined marketing as the efforts that result in the transfer in the ownership of goods. Reciprocity and redistribution are the ideal and essential properties of good marketing, where marketing gives to the society more than takes from the society. The modern marketing thought evolved in the early 20th century and students of marketing were basically trained as economists. From 1900 to 1960, over 100 books related to general marketing were published with over 80 authors contributing to those works. By 1900 marketing managers realized that demand is the desire plus ability to purchase. Desire could be altered with help of advertising, sales promotion and salesmanship. With the increasing competition, cost became the principal determinant of price. Concepts like the elasticity of demand became the parameters of marketing in general. The first decade of 1900 saw the emergence of marketing thought with the realization of the distribution problems and planned collection of market information. Concepts were introduced into marketing from established disciplines like economics, psychology, sociology, and scientific management.In the second decade (1910-20), many basic marketing concepts were added to the commerce, trade and distribution topics. Ralph Starr Butler3 and Arch W. Shaw4 were the men instrumental in developing marketing concepts. According to Butler, marketing was the art of co-coordinating and planning of the complicated relations among the various factors in trade. Shaw (1912) distinguished three basic dynamic operations in business: production, distribution, and administration. From 1914 to 1917 Butler added many marketing concepts. From 1920 to 1930, built upon foundations laid in the first two decades, the Principles of Marketing were first presented in the book form by integrating scattered concepts and tentative generalizations. In his Marketing Methods and Policies,5 Paul D. Converse (1921) distinguished between middlemen's functions related to individual firms and middlemen's activities related to marketing in general. Fred E. Clark6 defined the market structure as built on two processes--transfer of title and transfer of goods; and middlemen included merchants, advertising agencies, banks and warehouses. Goods classes included products for personal, implements and machines used in production, and the machines needed to produce the equipment used in production. Marketing efficiency is judged from two viewpoints: from private angle--operating efficiency; and public view--social significance. The next ten years (1930-40) saw the revision and expansion

Violent Video Games Contribute to Violence Research Paper

Violent Video Games Contribute to Violence - Research Paper Example This is especially in the schools where some after falling out with their peers have resulted to shootings. Conversely, studies have contended contrary to violence emanating from the violent videos mainly among the children. They contend that, aggression especially among teenage usually emanates from the environment, which nurtures them to maturity or due to mental disorder of an individual. Hence, reshaping one’s character where one becomes violent due to the belief that this is the only way others can understand own situation. Studies have proved that violent gamers normally depict characteristics of antagonism chiefly in their behavior (Craig & Karen 778). This usually extends even long after the turning off the game where the players’ inner emotions become numbed and merciless contrary to those who have not watched. Since, the current, sophisticated media allows the players actively interact with the scenes where with other peers they can compete to prove possessed remarkable expertise to outdo the other. This brews aggression among the players and especially if they are teens, where their control immensely relies on emotions and not intellect because of their immaturity (Craig & Karen 779). Consequently, they turn hostile especially when they are in the midst of other students and when irritated result to killing; similarly the way they see and do while playing during their video sessions. Psychology claims that youngsters develop â€Å"Behavioral scripts† where life’s experiences usually record themselves. According Michael Rich, children use this to respond to the external environment, and especially when it seems hostile, they counteract it with the same measure or extra (Craig & Karen 780). Alternatively, they act to outdo or outwit the predicament that is depriving them the comfort they are experiencing via either inflicting pain, which is the environment comprising of their peers. Consequently, they result to hurting them and regretting afterwards of their actions when they sober up. The motivator of all these is what they attain from the violent video games (Craig, Katherine & Gentile 3). Since, most normally place the player on the side of the aggressor. It makes the player start having the feelings of hostility, and one expects the same from those he engages who are ready to fight and resist, but one’s peers are contrary. Primarily, the game offers rewards to the aggressor due to achievements made in pursuance of their opponent while in their mission. Owing to constant urge in playing these games, they normally offer the player to rehearse the entire process involving provocation to the absolute resolution of the conflict, which is death (Ferguson & Rueda 102). Additionally, since these games are addictive, they augment the learners’ skills and embed aggression in their character as they continue maturing. Hence, become part of them, which it may be hard to amend their behavior once they are adults. According to studies, youths’ exposure to video games has resulted to numbing their feelings against horror or both the human and property destruction. Youths emulate numerous sadistic actions evident in these videos and assume that, the only and effective way to deal with life predicaments is via violence (Ferguson & Rueda 105). In this way, youths may not be aware until other people notice and with proper

Discussing The Process Of Operations Management Information Technology Essay

Discussing The Process Of Operations Management Information Technology Essay Operations management is a process of managing resources required for production and deliverance of the products and services. Its basic objective is to improve the amount of value-added activities in each of the processes. The part of the company that is entrusted with this process is the operations function. As each and every organization produces products they all are bound to have operations function. The people responsible for managing the operation functions resources are known as operations managers. In different type of organizations they may be called by different names like in supermarket they are store manager, etc. This report demonstrates the three operations management techniques which helped the companies improve their business activities and performance. They were Supply Chain Management (SCM) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Total Quality Management(TQM) In this report the case studies involving the implementation of the above three techniques are explained. The benefits experienced by the companies and any changes they could have made to maximize them are also mentioned. Supply Chain Management (SCM): Supply chain management consists of coordinating the material and information flow, and the finances between the supplier, manufacturer and the consumer. Its main objective is inventory reduction assuming that when products are needed they are available. The supply networks are made up of Supplier-buyer relationship. The flow of Supply chain management flows can be divided into three parts: The product The informational flow The financial flow The behavior of the supply chain is dynamic and is known as bullwhip effect. This means that if there are small changes happening at the end of the supply chain they start causing changes at the start of the supply chain. The reduction of the bullwhip effect can be achieved by: Efficiently distributing the information by connecting all the operations to the demand source. Establishing a similar decision making process along the entire supply chain. Increasing the efficiency of the operations by eliminating sources of waste. Supplier quality management The basic need of any company from their suppliers is the deliverance of good quality products on right time. The best practice of improving the quality of product is by improving the quality of raw materials supplied by suppliers. SQM can be implemented by following the practices mentioned below: Estimating and finding the cost incurred due to poor supplier quality: This is also known as COPQ (Cost of poor quality). The COPQ can be calculated from the following: The costs incurred due to scrapping and reworking. The shutdown of our assembly line due to defective products. The costs of shipping back the defective products to suppliers and the warranty costs. Developing a system for recovering our costs: In this, the suppliers are charged back for supplying poor quality products. Here, we must include not only the material costs but also the non-material costs like packaging defective products, their transportation costs, etc. Auditing and rating of suppliers: This is the most effective way of checking whether our suppliers are conforming to our mentioned processes, quality systems, transporting, etc. It can be done once every year for all of our suppliers. The advantages gained by companies by having effective supply chain are: They have low maintenance and real costs. They can make delivery of better value and have repeat of business with the customers. They can easily remove waste from the process. They get more turnover profits and can make long term plans for the future. Summary of Case study for Supplying fast fashion: This case study best demonstrates how the garment retailing business is carried out in this dane age.It shows how the different fashion ideas which would not have been even considered by a retail store can become must-have in a short period. The working of top retail brands like HM, Zara and Benetton is been explained. It explains the quicker-picker-upper fashion concept which has made Zara, HM todays leading retailers. Reasons: To achieve this science of fast fashion product development cycles need to compress, which can be done through effective supply chain management. The retail brands believed that the only way they can keep stocks to a minimum while meeting the customers demand quickly and flexibly was through the integration of processes along the supply chain All the top 3 brands have their supply chain divided in four stages Designing of garments Manufacturing Distribution to retail outlets Retail operations Designing: Designing is of extreme importance in retailing market. The stores are supposed to deliver high and fast fashion at an inexpensive cost not cheap cost. H M designing -It is carried out by team of 100 designers in Stockholm who operate with group of 50 pattern designers, about 100 buyers and many budget controllers. Zara designing: Here, the design idea is derived from three different sources-the designers, market analysts and the buyers who order consignments to suppliers. The design stage for Zara is divided in three sections: Women, men and children chlothes.The prototype designs are created and tried out by placing all the three sources (designers, market analysts and buyers) in small workshops. The market analysts capture the new happenings in the fashion market as they are always in contact with the retail stores. This way Zaras retail stores are at the start of the supply chain and not at the end. Distribution: The investment costs incurred by Zara and Benetton in automating their warehouses is very high as they want them to be near production centres which could store, pack and develop independent orders for the network of retail stores around the globe. Currently, Zara only uses half of its warehousing capacity while Benetton is still exploring the possibility of using RFID tags for tracking garments. The distribution process at HM is still routine. The stock management is carried out internally and physical distribution is sub-contracted. In HM, goods are routed to retail site from production site through a transit terminal in Hamburg owned by the HM itself. These goods are then inspected and stored in a centralized stock room known as call-off warehouse where stores are replenished on each item level depending on what is sold. Manufacturing: Manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced if there are reduced labor costs. Therefore, most of the Benettons manufacturing operations are carried out in Asia, North Africa and Eastern Europe. The expensive technological operations are carried out in privately owned Benettons sites whereas all the labor intensive operations would be carried out by smaller contractors. The central Benetton facility decides upon how much and what is to be produced by non-Italian networks. Similar is the case with HM, whose 50% production is carried out in Asia. They have 21 offices all over the world which co-ordinate the supplier activities. The healthy relation maintained between suppliers and production offices allows them to buy fabric early. The actual cutting and dyeing of the garments carried out at later stage. This helps in delaying placement of an order, thereby reducing risk of purchasing wrong items. Zara owns much of its manufacturing capabilities which it can manipulate to meet the customer demands at short response. Almost 50% of Zaras productions, most of which are expensive operations (cutting, dyeing) are carried out in plants owned by Zara in Spain and similar to Benetton the labor intensive operations are sub-letted to contractors. Volume flexibility is maintained by Zara and their sub-contractors using a single shift system. Retail: This working is almost similar between all stores.HM stores have average size of 1300 sq.m and are owned and managed by themselves. Zara stores are smaller compared to HM with 800 sq.m size. The Benetton shops on the other hand are 1300-1500 sq.m.Previously the stores used to be run by third parties as small shops. Though there is difference in size they all have similar aim of providing the customer with comfortable atmosphere to make them feel at home and allow them to buy what they want. Benefits: The retail brands were able to achieve a high level of integration using supply chain management. This allows them to quickly react to customers demand and be flexible with minimum stocks posssible.They were able to find the correct balance between fashion, price and quality(Each brand has their own sense of fashion, price and quality).The average supply lead time achieved was about3 weeks 6 months. Of these 3 brands, Zara has achieved shortest lead times called as catwalk to rack time which is as small as 15 days. This means that not a single garment in Zara store is older than two weeks. The designs are also not repeated and are produced in small batches. This ultimately forces customers to avoid delaying their purchase and visit the store frequently lead to increased profits. Effective Supply Chain Management has helped each of the company to become a global brand image in their own way while keeping their production costs low. Suggestions: In the manufacturing stage where the raw materials are supplied by different suppliers a star rating system can be used. In this procedure a 3 star is given to that supplier which has previous record of success on supply factors set by company itself. On contrary, no stars are given to them with whom company has had certain problems before. We can do this as shown in supplier calculation table below: Value can be added to the retail industry by personalizing the needs of customer and improving customer service by using RFID technology. To automate the supply chain RFID can be used. This will help in labor reduction which accounts for about 50-80% of distribution costs. The benefits gained by implementation of RFID through supply chain can be clearly explained by figure given below: (Tajima M 2007) RFID can prove extremely useful in retail industry to control inventory efficiency and also as a theft protection service. (Michael K, McCathie L) ERP The most common and important problem involved in operations management is managing the vast amounts of data while performing it. It is extremely important that the information of each and every function done spread among the entire organization. This is what will enable them to make crucial decisions like when the activity to be done, by whom is and what is the capacity required. ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning is used to perform all the above said activities and overcome the problems arriving from them. ERP is an intelligent IT system which integrates all parts and functions of an organization to plan and control activities required for operations management. This integration also allows for transparency among all parts of organization. ERP is a complex and difficult system to implement as it is basically designed to solve problems involving fragmentation of information. An ERP system almost forces everyone to forces everyone involved in an organization to change the way they used to do their job. ERP automates the processes involved in all business operations right from taking of an order from the customer, delivering it and the billing process. In ERP, when an order is been taken by the company representative, he has full information of the customer like his credit rating and also the companys. As ERP has a single database system the new order can be accessed by all the departments and when one department is finished with the order it is automatically transferred to the next department by ERP.The location of the order can also be easily tracked using a ERP system. The ERP system make the order processing faster and the customer receive them quickly with fewer errors. The key success factors required for successful ERP implementation are: Top level management support and commitment Clear vision and proper planning Having a Project champion A set time frame to deliver the implementation strategy Project and change management Proper IT infrastructure and selecting the right ERP package Maintaining healthy relationship with the Consultant Risk management The investment required for buying and implementing the software is very high. This can be proved by the survey conducted by the META group on the Total cost of ownership of ERP involving all costs like software, hardware and all staff cost. The highest Total Cost of Ownership was of about $300 million and lowest was $400,000.the average price for user of ERP for period of two years was a massive $53,320.which proves ERP is expensive. Some of the risks involved with ERP implementation are: The chances of under estimating the overall cost are high The training and the expertise level required from the consultants will be more than expected. Under estimation of effort and time required. The project scope can be difficult to control and the need for change management may not be recognized on time 3. A case study conducted at Rolls-Royce investigating the implementation of ERP (SAP): In this case study, the Introduction and background of company along with the changes observed by them after the implementation of ERP is discussed. The risks involved with implementation of SAP are also presented. Reasons For implementation: Rolls-Royce returned back to private sector in 1987 and started acquisition of companies which enabled them to consolidate their position in industrial power .The basic reason for implementing ERP was to sort out centralized database from old legacy MRP2 systems. Before ERP, Rolls-Royce had as many as 1500 systems which were developed internally. The operation of these legacy systems was expensive maintenance was equally difficult. They did not assist for accurate and good decision making as they were unable to provide accurate accessible data. The systems implemented were unable to communicate between individual sites. The tracking of the work in progress between sites was inaccurate and causing inventory problems. The legacy systems were unable to communicate direct with suppliers and customers. (Yahaya Y, Gunasekaran A, Abthorpe M S 2004). Rolls-Royce then decided to outsource its IT department to EDS.This allowed Rolls-Royce to concentrate on its main area of expertise which was developing and manufacturing aero-engines. A team of specialists from EDS-the outsourcing firm was assigned the task of implementing ERP project which also had SAP consultants in their team. The team was well equipped with managers and staff that had crucial knowledge of old legacy systems understanding of cross functional business relationships. Yahaya Y, Gunasekaran A, Abthorpe M S 2004). Although the new systems implemented were better than most of the legacy systems they were not fully appreciated as the older ones. The team decided to overcome this problem by conducting seminars for the staff and explaining them the improvements the new systems have made to company. Training was given to about 10000 people through demonstrations, meetings and presentations. Strategy and direction: For the project, Rolls-Royce required over 100 personal computers and the total cost incurred was two million pounds. The scope and the outline plan for the project were made. A team was allocated to look over actual implementation process. After this a prototype was created and installed. This prototype model was based on Rolls-Royce Allison model. In this stage following activities were carried out: Reviewing preliminary design: Here, strategy for designing and implementation was developed along with BPM (Business process model) Development and customization of the vanilla prototype. Reviewing of implementation and the technical operations. Development of the systems and their conversions before they Go-live. The main implementation stage was divided into two waves. The first wave got delayed by 6 months because They wanted to provide more time for line organizations to prepare and clean up data. To allocate time for pilot testing and system development. To overcome difficulties faced with SAP usage. Wave one-The main objective here was to replace all the old systems. In wave one new manufacturing system like SFDMs were introduced. The pilot project of SAP suggested the end of wave one. Wave second: In this wave the engine assembly was implemented. This wave lasted for one year in duration. The second wave was ended when new systems began showing positive results. Enterprise Resource pilot: This pilot system was a small scale system run for 3 months and number 4 shops was chosen as facility where transmissions and structure operations were centre of attention for company. The reason for this facility selection was its low production capacity of only 280 parts. The pilot system was used to demonstrate processes and procedures for businesses .They were also responsible for defining role for each member and demonstrate how to manage data transfers. Go-live The problems encountered on going live were: They had user authorization issues like passwords, etc The route cards were not there due to which work on shop floor was temporarily halted. Transaction problems were observed and they were corrected by comparing old and new systems. The actual main pat of go-live system was difficult as the shear amount of data to be transferred from legacy systems was huge. To achieve this data was required to be kept in a state of stability for up to 10 weeks. The initial data like the list of suppliers was to be transferred and if any error occurred on old system they were recorded and passed on to the new system.MRP system was used to complete the go-love process which took 2 weeks time. After the go-live stage the old system were kept in view only mode which allowed comparisons to be done between new and old systems. Project risks: This project was involved with all the departments and ha its associated risks. These risks were tried to be overcomed by the ERP implementation team by maintaining a risk register. Some of the risks mentioned on the internet page of Rolls-Royce are: If due to some reason there was no delivery or unavailability of the IT hardware. Possibility of failure while loading the data or setting priorities on ERP. The project would have significant impact on the accounts of the company at the year end. Benefits: The effectiveness of such a large scale IT project is often difficult to understand .The benefits achieved from such a huge project requires at least a year to become visisble.The most immediate and important benefits that was achieved was to make a promise to customer and deliver it on time. This led to improved customer satisfaction and boosts their confidence which would result in increased orders for the future. The ERP system improved the relationship within the supply chain where Electronic communications were used to make transactions easier. The ERP system made communications between all the parts of the business absolutely clear. The Rolls-Royce management gained a better sense of control over number of operations which resulted in continuous improvements. It made possible to have accurate and timely information about their customers, business partners and suppliers. Suggestions: The company for the future can create a large data warehouse. In this the data can be stored centrally and extracted from all different places like historical and external databases. The data can be stored in user friendly format which can be accessible by non-external users. This data warehouse will help in collecting all the new data and merge it with the old data.. The management of EIS (Enterprise Information system) to check its sustainability can be done to maximize the benefits gained from an ERP system. TQM: Quality is the only one of the five operations performance criteria to have its own dedicated chapter in this book. There are two reasons for this. First, in some organizations a separate function is devoted exclusively to the management of quality. Second, quality is a key concern of almost all organizations. High-quality goods and services can give an organization a considerable competitive edge. Good quality reduces the costs of rework, waste, complaints and returns and, most importantly, generates satisfied customers. Some operations managers believe that, in the long run, quality is the most important single factor affecting an organizations performance relative to its competitors. Case Study TQM Summary: Rendall owned Preston graphics plant is located in Vancouver. Before, in March 2000 the plant was bought from Georgetown co-operation. This is a small-scale production plant of precision coated paper required in ink-jet printers. The precise coating was applied by coating machines after which they were cut into coated rods in conversion departments. They were then packed and shipped in small containers. Scenario before Implementation: The main customer of the plant was HP(Hewlett-Packard) and they were the one who pointed out the problems they were facing from the paper supplied to them. They were unable to curl the coated paper at low humidity conditions. This problem was noticed by HP personnel as there was no formal complaint made by Hps customers. The plant then hired a team which resolved the problem in the next 7-8 months. The process started producing in acceptable limits but this was due to the fact that they were only concerned about shipping the product within the specification limits. They had a culture which did not care about how close they were to the specification limits and eventually not be able to meet them. This resulted in the plant making loss of $2 million in a year even though they had buoyant sales. This was mainly due to lower productivity and high scrap and rework. To overcome them the management team hastily made a number of changes like increasing the speed of operation line to improve productivity. But still the process charts given by HP showed that the plant was not capable enough to satisfy their need for the next 3 generations. The plant was then bought by Rendall which was not happy with the plants continuing losses and the important customers dissatisfaction (HP).The plant continued to have productivity and quality problems. The full extent of the problem was made visible to the Preston quality manager by the HP engineer in a meeting at Chicago. They clearly explained him the process control charts they had which were given to them by Preston themselves. They convinced the Preston manager that people at Preston were not giving importance to the data showed by process control charts otherwise they would have realized their quality problems. The quality manager then decided to bring the plant under control. He along with his team then reviewed the decisions they made right from the start when the curl problem appeared and they adjusted the process. The team used a set of shut-down rules which enabled the operations to halt a line if they thought the product they were making was of inferior quality. This resulted in throwing away almost 64 large size rolls and about $10000 worth of scrapped product. The guidelines for shut down procedure were that they had to get rid of the defect and when that is done they are allowed to operate. This might cause the managers to tell the workers to improve their productivity but they would harshly criticize the workers if they were violating the quality process procedures. The two more change they implemented were: Daily reviewing of the control chart data The control chart data was then debated by the staff that was kept away from production while doing this. There was uncertainty among quite a few due to no production but it was vital as it got all the 3 shift operators talking about quality issues and control chart data. This caused a positive atmosphere among the workers and boosted the morale of the shop floor team. It led to remarkable improvements on quality front and improved efficiency of plant. The further progressive action taken in quality management by the plant was the implementation of Statistical process control. Then they did zero-based assessment to bring the costs down by reducing labor costs. They began downsizing process. The less number in workforce means that they should produce good quality paper in the first place to avoid inspection process. The plant workforce then decided to develop a portfolio for the ideas of new product which would boost their confidence. The most significant idea was of protowrap in which the new print wrap was able to be repulped. Benefits: Preston Company made profits after Christmas of 2000 after a period of 2 years. Moreover, they had made such a progress that they were beginning to get noticed at corporate level. This caused HP (Hewlett-Packard) to ask them to bid for their new product. It had continuous three months of profits and they also received the new contract from HP. The plants new quality procedures and principles allowed them to produce products more economically. The most significant benefit Preston received by implementing TQM was that they were able to reverse the decision made by Rendall-their owners to shut them down. The plant not only survived but flourished due to implementation of Quality based principles. Suggestions: Implementing QMS(Quality Management System) having corrective actions: This will be required when we encounter problems relating non-conformance of our supplier products. After faced with the problem, we must be able to locate the problem and find its root cause with immediate effect. This is done by (CAPA) corrective action items. The system implemented should be such that it should itself assess the cost of quality and try to initiate the recovery cost process with the supplier. Involving suppliers in quality systems: Suppliers should be encouraged to implement quality systems within their company so that they can easily reach the quality of products required and also save paying the recovering costs. (Metric Stream, 2010)