Essay On Classification Of Avian Avulavirus Serotype-1

Classification of Avian Avulavirus serotype-1 The causative agent of ND, is now classified as a species Avian avulavirus serotype-1 (AAV-1). Recently, the 10th annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV, EC 48, Budapest, Hungary, August 2016), categorized the virus as a member of the genus Avulavirus of the paramyxoviridae family (Alexander, 1997) in the order of mononegavirales (Knipe and Hetsley, 2001; Mayo, 2002; Murphy et al., 1995; Afonso et al., 2016). The order mononegavirales has undergone several changes in 2017 ICTV report. It’s comprised of eight families hosting viruses with non-segmented, linear, single-stranded and negative-sense RNA. The designated Paramyxoviridae family is now where the causative agent of†¦show more content†¦Several antigenic and genetic diversity are recognized (Aldous et al., 2003; Alexander, 1997; Kim et al., 2007) using molecular-based techniques for analyzing the genome sizes (Knipe and Hetsley, 2001). The classification schemes adopted for Avian Avulavirus-1, is based on the sequences and phylogenetic analysis of HN, L, M and F genes and these have been advanced to group isolates (Aldous et al., 2003; Liu et al., 2011; Miller et al., 2010; Pedersen, 2010). Depending on the researcher’s preference, nominal differences arise in the grouping of isolates. Using genotypes or genetic lineages proposed by Aldous et al., Avian Avulavirus-1 is placed in serotype-1 with six lineages and 13 sublineages (AVV-1) (Aldous et al., 2003), to which three other sublineages were added (Snoeck, et al 2009). Most ND vaccines are grouped under Class II, genotype I and II while genotype III - X are velogenic that might be used as challenge viruses in vaccination experiments. Using the genome size scheme, Avian Avulavirus-1 is placed into six lineages (1 to 6) (Alexander and Senne, 2008). Detailed analysis reveals sub-lineages in lineage 3 and 4 (a to d) and in lineage 5 (a to e). On the other hand, using genomic characterization and restriction site mapping of HN, F and L

Obtaining Mental Health Services Free Essays

Being a probation officer is not easy.   It requires a lot of knowledge, skills, and experience to be an effective probation officer.   Having a golden heart is fine – believing that these offenders can change their lifestyle, supporting them in their intention to function in the community, and making sure that the people within the community where these offenders are staying would be safe from any danger. We will write a custom essay sample on Obtaining Mental Health Services or any similar topic only for you Order Now    However, objectivity should always come first since many lives are dependent on the probation officer’s ability to supervise and monitor these offenders’ performance. A probation officer also uses his resources in the community to assist his client, the offender in seeking employment or services such as medical care, alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, and the like.   The probation officer explains all the terms to the offender’s temporary release and the consequences for violating them under probation.   Everything is made clear. In the case of this 22-year-old man who have been convicted four times in two years straight for driving while under the influence of alcohol, thorough investigation should be done.   This man may be telling his substance abuse counselor that he is clean.   He may be present in all his counseling appointments.   Nevertheless, these claims do not prove that he has stopped alcohol consumption.   Furthermore, having eccentric ideas and opinions – this man telling you that his neighbors are monitoring his breathing through the television – proves that there is something terribly wrong about this person.   So, what do I plan to do about the matter? First, researching and investigating about this man’s personal history , such as his family to start with, would be a good start.   Knowledge about his childhood, his relationship with his co-family members, and his plight during his growing-up years are vital information in knowing how and why he acquired such behavior, vices, and even beliefs that he still carry on up to this day. A background check of his life three to five years prior the present date could also come in handy.   Past relationships usually contribute to a person’s perspective and sanity.   Another background check would be his scholastic and interpersonal performance in school given that he went into one.   Based from his interaction with these people, I might find clues to some grounds as to why and how this person came to be the way he is. Second, talking with this man would give me hints and clues about the way he thinks, the way he answers questions – may it be rational, practical or not, and the way he views the world.   Upon acquiring his personal background, a brief interview about his family and previous relations with others would somehow prove if this man is reliable or not.   This would be necessary because inconsistencies on his statements would prove irregularity of his character, therefore making him a threat, somehow, to the community. Third, I would discuss with his substance abuse counselor all my findings so we could come up with proper procedures needed to prove his mental capability or incapability.   I would suggest that the substance abuse officer gives my client some intellectual tests because my client is showing signs of a paranoid schizophrenic or of a person just having paranoid reactions that may be due to depression or trauma Fourth, I would require my client to undergo not only the psychological tests that his substance abuse counselor would give him but also a series of physical exams for instance urinalysis, blood tests, and the like to see if he really is clean or if he went back to alcohol or worse took other substances and mixed it with alcohol altering the effects of the alcohol-intake alone. Fifth, I would reiterate to my client the sanctions that he might be subjected to if his tests prove that he is positive of alcohol and/or substance intake.   Such are necessary actions for me to accurately and objectively assess him and propose certain measures. References Civil Service Associations, Inc. (August 2000). Examination Preparation Booklet.. Principles and Practices in the Treatment of the mentally Ill/Emotionally Disturbed, Problems of the Mentally Ill/Emotionally disturbed, booklet #10. pp. 4-5. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www.csea9200.com/pdfs/TestPrepBks/TreatMIllBook10.pdf Court and Community.   (January 2003). Probation Officers. p2, numbers 4 – 6 . Retrieved October 10, 2007, from How to cite Obtaining Mental Health Services, Essay examples

Human Dignity in Health-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignement

Question: Write an Op-Ed (Opinion-Editorial) piece that allows you to demonstrate an understanding of how issues relating to the dignity of the human person and the realization of the common good may be addressed by you in your professional practice now and in the future. Answer: Human Dignity in Human and Health Services: An Op-Ed Two years ago in a hospital in Madison, Alabama, Dr. Ronald Wyatt faced an uncomfortable situation. As he was about to attend a patient for treatment, a couple walked in to his room and closed the door. According to them, their daughter was a patient in the hospital two years ago, who could not survive even after treatment. The woman showed the doctor the picture of her daughter to the doctor and asked for answers. Searching the database, Dr. Wyatt found that the girl was really a patient and he explained to the couple that he and his team worked very hard to save her. After some time, the couple left peacefully. However, in a later interview, Dr. Wyatt raised an issue that although this couple left peacefully, the situation could entirely been different if the couple suddenly turned hostile and even shoot him. Moreover, he also said that he could not have saved himself if such a situation occurred. Dr. Wyatts interview raised a lot of eyebrows and concerns grew regarding protection of human dignity in human and health services. From this incident above, we can naturally ask ourselves where are we heading in healthcare services? It is evident from various incidents around the world that more and more doctors in hospitals are under constant threats of violence from the patients families if the patients do not survive even after treatment. The question which also arises in this regard is why are the doctors under these constant threats (Cheraghi, Manookian Nasrabadi, 2014). Even a few years ago, doctors were treated like Gods and people relied on them in any health issues. In order to find the root causes behind these, we need to look into other related factors that are also influencing peoples opinions regarding the healthcare services. First of all, one cause for this hostile behavior can be the rapid growth of private hospitals that care more about business rather than healthcare. Although these private hospitals have modern facilities and reputed doctors, the patients have to go through a long process for admission like registration, form fill up, partial payment, booking of room and others. In many emergency cases, this long process has cost the lives of the patients (Edlund et al., 2013). From the ethical point of view, healthcare is the basic human right and denying it unless the entire admission process is completed strips of the right as well as the dignity of the patients. Hence, it is very much logical for patients families to show their anger on the hospitals. Second reason can be the increase in extreme emotional outbursts of people that are caused by various factors (which are out of scope of this op-ed). It has been seen that because of the different causes, more and more people are showing strong emotional outbursts at slightest of reasons and death of a certain patient during treatment is a major incident (Sharkey, 2014). Whenever such an incident occurs, the patients families turn hostile and start showing anger and protests against the doctors and the nurses of the hospital. There have been numerous incident reports where the doctors and nurses were severely beaten and injured by the protests. According to my opinion, this should never happen. The patients families should understand that no doctor is practical sense will not try to save a patient or deliberately ill-treat so that the patient dies (Matiti, 2015). It is the lack of proper administration in the hospital that results in these incidents. In addition, in some cases, by the time the patient reaches the hospital, the doctors have nothing to do to save him / her. I also think that the governments should take active actions in order to address these issues. These incidents violate human dignity and ethics for both the patients and the doctors whereas the hospital as a middleman earns the money from the admission payments (Manookian, Cheraghi Nasrabadi, 2014). Before allowing license to private hospitals, the government should enforce certain sets of guidelines that should include immediate admission and treatment of patient without conducting such long admission processes. This will at least reduce the incidents of death of patient due to lack of treatment or mob attacks on the doctors due to death of a patient. References Cheraghi, M. A., Manookian, A., Nasrabadi, A. N. (2014). Human dignity in religion-embedded cross-cultural nursing.Nursing ethics,21(8), 916-928. Edlund, M., Lindwall, L., Post, I. V., Lindstrm, U. . (2013). Concept determination of human dignity.Nursing ethics,20(8), 851-860. Guo, Q., Jacelon, C. S. (2014). An integrative review of dignity in end-of-life care.Palliative Medicine,28(7), 931-940. Manookian, A., Cheraghi, M. A., Nasrabadi, A. N. (2014). Factors influencing patients dignity: A qualitative study.Nursing ethics,21(3), 323-334. Matiti, M. R. (2015). Learning to promote patient dignity: An inter-professional approach.Nurse education in practice,15(2), 108-110. Sharkey, A. (2014). Robots and human dignity: a consideration of the effects of robot care on the dignity of older people.Ethics and Information Technology,16(1), 63-75.

The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl Essay Example

The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl Paper The Psychological Affects of the Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was an added devastation accompanying the Great Depression. It lasted from 1930 to 1939 and is sometimes referred to as the â€Å"Dirty Thirties†. (Bonnifield) Lack of crop rotation and a heavy drought caused this trying time in American history. Over one third of the United States was swallowed up by dust storms with the concentration of storms being located in northern Texas, the panhandle of Oklahoma, the entire western half of Kansas, south east Colorado, and north east New Mexico. Gazit) One psychological affect experienced as a result of this great historic disaster must have been depression. With over a decade of soil misuse and a severe drought that started in 1930 the top soil virtually turned to dust and blew away with the wind. This catastrophe could have been adverted with the practice of crop rotation. Crop rotation is a technique that has been traced back to Roman times. This method prevents the buildup of pests and/or pathogens. A known occurrence when the same crop is used season after season. Specifically the rotation of deep rooted and shallow rooted crops would have helped to prevent this era in American history. This grave agricultural mistake served to devastate a large population of people. Because of the lack of top soil crops could not grow therefore farmers and their families became stricken with poverty. Soon after the dust started blowing away it created dust storms which their most fierce covered the sky and there was little to no visibility on the ground, even worse than a blizzard of today the storms were given the name â€Å"Black Blizzard† (Gazit). Entire farm machinery virtually disappeared under a blanket of dust deposits left behind by these storms. Even with the aid of relief programs from the federal government entire families still had to pick up and leave behind their land, homes, and way of life. Most of these families were referred to as â€Å"Okies† because the majority came from Oklahoma and nearly all headed west to California to escape the storms. (Ganzel) Meeting basic human needs was a day to day struggle. We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychologicat Effects of the Dust Bowl specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Because the vast majority of the families were poor they had little to no money for food often fought over food that they may have shared with others just years earlier. Another health concern during this time was the onset of dust pneumonia which is the disproportionate exposure to dust where as dust literally fills the lungs. (Cook) The condition was so common that several musicians wrote song with the most famous being Woody Guthrie’s â€Å"Dust Pneumonia Blues†. Lack of employment was another common trauma that could easily lead to depression. Having previously been able to provide food and a place of warmth and wellbeing was no longer possible for males and single mothers of the day. The conditions were so extreme families were sometimes encouraged to give their children to government agencies so they could be better cared for. Not only did the Dust Bowl affect farmers but also white collar and professional workers who now had to fend for themselves in conditions and livelihoods they were not accustomed to. J. D. Bilbro, a child of the Dust Bowl recalls being trapped within a dust storm during a day known as â€Å"Black Sunday†. He talks about how he, a friend, and their two sisters ran through the storm and it was â€Å"black as midnight, rolling and boiling along the earth like a runaway tidal wave†. (Westbrook) The Grapes of Wrath written in 1939 by John Steinbeck and published by The Viking Press is a fictional story about a family traveling across the country to California during the Dust Bowl just in hope to find jobs as fruit pickers. In preparation for writing the book Mr. Steinbeck traveled as a migrant worker for two years so that he could get a feel and understanding for how the people of this era felt and survived. Bio) In the PBS history series American Experience: Surviving the Dust Bowl in an interview conducted in 2009 with Margie Daniel-Hooker of Oklahoma, she says that even as a child she could tell her father was depressed. She says it was noticeable by the way he would just stare off into space. In the same series Mrs. Daniel-Hooker goes on to talk about her younger brother who had pneumonia three times. She speaks about how she believes her brother caught pneumonia every time due to the dust storms. Mrs. Daniel-Hooker recalls her mother giving her little brother a spoonful of medicine each night and how the both of them sat up all night with him. Then one time as her mother was giving him a spoonful of medicine he leaned back in her arms and died. She tells how her mother screamed and held him very tightly then goes on to talk about how she had many more children but after the loss of that one child was never the same again. Mrs. Daniel-Hooker spoke about how she cried herself to sleep for an extensive period and how she will never forgive herself for bringing home the Measles and how he caught them. She explains how one could overcome pneumonia but never pneumonia and measles coupled together. Both Mrs. Daniel-Hooker, and her mother suffered long term from these experiences. As with the beginning of national media photography showed and still shows today the affects the Dust Bowl had on America. Dorothea Lange was a photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration to document the plight of the Dust Bowl and was made famous for six pictures (one in particular) she took of Florence Owens-Thompson. (Dunn) Although the pictures accurately depicted life during this era Mrs. Thompson said she was told the pictures that were taken of her would not be published. But Ms. Lange sent the pictures to the San Francisco News and the Resettlement Administration in the nation’s capital. The most well known was entitled â€Å"The Migrant Mother†. Over forty years later the nation was enlightened as to whom the Migrant Mother was. In December 2008 Mrs. Owens-Thompson’s daughter, Katherine who was also seen in the picture at an early age publicly said the picture shamed the family because it pointed out just how poor they were. Gutierrez) Although the famous photos did much for public awareness and government change, they disturbed the family members depicted for a lifetime. As a result of the Dust Bowl and complications of the Great Depression large numbers of families lives were drastically changed. Loss of homes, jobs, and poor healthcare would have encouraged psychological complications such as depression. The day to day struggle to meet basi c family needs and difficulties arising from trying to accomplish these tasks led many Dust Bowl sufferers to develop and suffer with this depraved mental state. Works Cited About The Dust Bowl. Welcome to English  « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Biography Page. Welcome to the Official Woody Guthrie Website. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Bonnifield, Paul. â€Å"May, it seemed like the wind, and dirt had been blowing for an. 1930 Dust Bowl. cimarron county chamber of commerce. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Cook, Ben, Ron Miller, and Richard Seager. Dust storms in the 1930s Dust Bowl. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory | . N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Drought in the Dust Bowl Years. Welcome to the National Drought Mitigation Center website!. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Dunn, Geoffrey. New Times San Luis Obispo Cover Story Photographic license. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Freedman, Russell. Children of the Great Depression . New York: Clarion Books, 2005. Print. Ganzel, Bill. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The Wessels Living History Farm, the Story of Agricultural Innovation. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Gazit, Chana. WGBH American Experience . Surviving the Dust Bowl . Complete Program Transcript | PBS. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Gerrig, Richard J. , and Philip G. Zimbardo. Psychology and life . 19th ed. Boston: Allyn Bacon, 2010. Print. Gutierrez, Thelma, and Wayne Drash CNN. Girl from iconic Great Depression photo: We were ashamed CNN. com. CNN. com Breaking News, U. S. , World, Weather, Entertainment Video News. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Hariman, Robert, and John Louis Lucaites. No caption needed: iconic photographs, public culture, and liberal democracy. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2007. Print. John Steinbeck Biography Biography. om. Biography. co m. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Popper, Deborah Epstein, and Frank J. Popper. Outstanding Articles. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . RuneHQVideos. YouTube-Woody Guthrie Dust Bowl Blues . YouTube. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . Steinbeck, John. The grapes of wrath . New York: Viking Press, 1939. Print. s The Dust Bowl. United States History. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. . WGBH American Experience . Surviving the Dust Bowl . Timeline | PBS. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N. p. , n. d. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. .

T he subject of international political economy, e Essays

T he subject of international political economy, e Essays T he subject of international political economy, emphasize on the politics of international economic relations. One can expect to deal with economic issues of trade, finance, production, environment and development, but not from the perspective of economic theory. Instead , this write up seeks to explore International Relations concepts, ideas and literatures on the economic relations among states, and between states a nd non-state actors such as firms, societal groups and international organisations . The focus will therefore be on the political problems tha t arise as a consequence of the increasing density of international e conomic relations. This essay seeks to compare and contrast the realist and liberalist perspective in relation to the international political economy. Realism and liberalism are useful theories when considering international relations, and in fact having the two opposing . International relations can be used to describe the academic pursuit to gain an understanding of how nations interact with each other (Dunne and S Smith 2005). However, it can be argue d that in the globalised and multi - stakeholder world that now exists , a focus purely on the states involved will not be able to fully explain the actions and reactions on the international stage. This paper describe s international relations as the interactions of all stakeholders involved in setting nationally interested policies and the related diplomacy required to execute said policies . This wide view of international relations will test both realism and liberalism since both theories were established to explain the actions and reactions of the individual citizen, but have subsequently been grafted o n to the study of state systems . Therefore, both theories look to extrapolate the individual to the system view. This also suggests that both theories look to the state as the principle actors. It is easy to argue that realism has been the predominant theory in the previous decades, this is most prevalent in the language and naming principles of the epochs throughout time which are always pre- or post- a named conflict. It is also true to say that realism has a natural home in international relations, which has always traditionally focused on the conflicts and tensions between nations, with realism "depicting a world characterised b y security competition and war" . This could be in part due to the large-scale conflicts that have shaped and re-shaped the world in the last century, with realism providing a useful theory to assist in understanding the conflict-led means of ordering the world. The most recent of which was the Cold War which proved realism on the global scale as the bi-polar world between the US and USSR seemingly edged closer to conflict through continuous competition, suggesting a anarchic world competing for survival and dominance. There are three main types of realism which have been developed as the theory is continually challenged by actual events. Classical Realism focuses on the innate desire for humans to dominate one-another and extrapolates this view to states. Neorealism suggests that all states are seeking to survive within an international system, but as that system is anarchic in nature each state must survive on its own( Cooper 2004). Burchill describes this as states being "thwarted by the absence of an overarching authority which regulates their behaviour towards each other." The latest addition to Realism is the Offence- Defence Theory, which suggests that "war was more likely when states could conquer each other easily. When defence was easier than offence, however, security was more plentiful, incentives to expand declined and cooperation could blossom." This line of thought may seem fairly logical, that a state wil l only engage another state where it believes it has the ability to win. However, it could be used to explain why the number of state-on-state actions has decreased without discounting the whole realist way of thinking. It also rather simplistically places nations alongside each other as "like-units' engaging in instrumentally rational decision making." It is both the simplicity of understanding nations as like-units' as well as the notion of states acting perfectly rationally which if often cited as a reason against realism. Realism is certainly an easier theory to define, and provides a simple measure for the casual o bserver

Can Green Card Holders Get Financial Aid

Can Green Card Holders Get Financial Aid SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re a high school student and a green card holder, you might be wondering if you’re eligible for any financial assistance for college. The short answer to the question, â€Å"Can green card holders get financial aid?† is yes, but what’s the process for getting it? We’ll discuss the forms you have to fill out and how to determine your eligibility for financial aid as a green card holder in this article. Can Green Card Holders Get Financial Aid? According to the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid division, US permanent residents with a green card (Forms I-551, I-151, or I551C) are considered â€Å"eligible noncitizens† and can get financial aid from the US government. The financial aid available for permanent residents includes federal student loans and state grants. If your green card has expired, you can still get financial aid as long as your permanent residency hasn’t expired; you just need to make sure you renew your green card. Unfortunately, if your permanent resident status has expired, you can’t get any federal financial aid. Here are some other groups considered to be eligible non-citizens (and therefore can get federal financial aid): US nationals (including natives of American Samoa or Swains Island) Citizens of the Republic of Palau (eligible for Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Federal Work-Study) Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (eligible for Federal Pell Grants only) Holders of an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from US Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) that shows you as "Refugee," "Asylum Granted," "Cuban-Haitian Entrant," "Conditional Entrant" (if issued before 1 Apr 1980), or "Parolee" (paroled for at least a year with intent to become a US citizen or permanent resident) Those with a T nonimmigrant status (T-visa) or whose parents have a T-1 nonimmigrant status Those who qualify as "battered immigrant-qualified aliens" (or their children), as designated under the Violence Against Women Act Find out more about the different types of financial aid out there with our simple guide. Financial Aid for Green Card Holders: How to Get It We've established that the answer to "can green card holders get financial aid?" is yes, but how do you go about it? The process for getting financial aid as a green card holder is almost identical to what you’d do as a US citizen. We’ve outlined the three steps you need to take here. Step 1: FAFSA for Green Card Holders To get financial aid as a permanent resident, you must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, before the deadlines for federal and state financial aid. The federal deadline is generally June 30th (midnight, Central Time) for the following school year. For example, the deadline for the 2017-2018 school year is June 30, 2018. Deadlines for state assistance vary from state to state; for instance, the application for Massachusetts state funding for the 2017-2018 school year was due May 1, 2017 (midnight Central Time), while the state funding for New York for that same year is due the same time as the federal deadline for FAFSA (June 30, 2018). Find out what your state of residency’s FAFSA deadline is here. As a green card holder, when you fill out FAFSA you must enter your eight- or nine-digit Alien Registration Number, or ARN. You can find more information on how to find your ARN here. Step 2: Contact Your College Colleges and universities, particularly those with large endowments, often offer students grants, scholarships, work-study programs, and loans. Check out our list of colleges that offer 100% financial aid to see the different sorts of aid given at different schools. The best way to find out what kind of financial aid for green card holders is available at your college is to reach out and ask. Look up your college’s financial aid office information and contact them directly to get the most accurate information. Step 3: Research Private Scholarships In addition to government-based and school-based financial aid, you may also be able to get private scholarships. Like school-sponsored scholarships, private scholarships do not require repayment and help keep your student debt down. Learn more about what scholarships are out there and how to apply for them with this expert guide. What’s Next? Looking for an introduction to what financial aid is? Read this great guide to financial aid and paying less for college. What’s the average cost of college tuition, and what’s not included in it? Find out what the real costs of college are and the best way to keep those costs down. Where are the best schools to get a lower-cost education? We have articles highlighting which colleges have the best financial aid and which US colleges are cheapest overall. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Critical Thinking Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical Thinking Questions - Coursework Example a teacher leader, the principles which one should use include leading with values, people centered, achievement oriented and managing tensions and dilemmas (Day and Harris, 2012). Changes are of different categories, and they all depend with the teacher leader who wants to implement them. In this circumstance, implementing a permanent change to the institutions will be more beneficial in making the institutions realize their visions. It will involve making necessary adjustment, which matches the need of the institutions. In order to ensure that this becomes successful, it will need evaluation of the areas which needs to be improved (Reeves, 2008). It will also need assessment at ensuring that the critical areas are taken into consideration. Implementation of change begins with assessment of the areas which needs to be changed. As an educational leader, you need to involve all parties including students and other fellows in ensuring that all goes well. This will entail working on programs which will bring change to all stakeholders (Danielson, 2007). However, implementation of change is different from managing change since implementation deals with introducing changes whereas management of change involve making necessary adjustment in the process of already existing

Case Analysis of Omega Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Analysis of Omega - Essay Example As a result the bottom line corporate profits suffered in relation to a more efficiently structured performance management system. The measures that follow constitute an in-depth analysis of the steps that were taken to develop a more efficient performance management system, as well as a recommendation on the means by which Omega, Inc. can continue to move towards a more efficient model. The performance management system at the Omega corporation began with a training program designed to coach the sales professionals to a level of proficiency The individual subsidiaries then agreed and collaborated on the development of a performance management and evaluation system. The first step in the initiation of this system was to develop a thorough job description of the sale’s position and distribute it to the sale’s professionals at all the subsidiary branches. Furthermore, a mission statement was developed about the corporate aims and the intended goals of the sales professionals and distributed in the same manner as the job descriptions. The mission statement was also included prominently among the sale’s offices and meetings were held were subsidiary managers informed the sales professionals about the mission statement and company goals. In addition to these measures, formal performance management steps were taken to institute a performance evaluatio n program. Specific performance goals were set for each employee. The sales professionals were also required to attend thorough training sessions. During the training course the sales professionals received feedback about their performance. Feedback mechanisms were also instituted on the job as managers continued to inform the sales professionals of their performance. While these methods were a step ahead of the past method, they ultimately were unsuccessful as the sales professionals had no means of keeping track of their own

Advanced Microeconomics Essay Example for Free

Advanced Microeconomics Essay Question 1: Consumer Theory 1.1: In both the Marshallian and Hicksian consumer optimisation problems, it is assumed that consumers are supposed to be rational. The main focus of these problems are cost minimisation and utility maximisation, which play a huge part in consumer demand, but in real life, these are not the only problems that are considered. Also, it is assumed that every consumer’s indifference curve for two goods would be the same – they are very generalised models, and do not take into account other factors. For example, not many consumers would spend their entire budget on said goods – one thing to consider would be a consumer’s marginal propensity to consume and save. Though both of the problems provide a framework and model of consumer decisions, they are not plausible when applying them to real-life terms, because we have imperfect knowledge. 1.2: The expression given in the question, is the rearranged derivative of the Hicksian demand being equal to the Marshallian demand, when income from the budget constraint is equal to minimised expenditure, whereby m=ep, ÃŽ ¼. This is given by: dDdp= dHdp- dDdm . dedp using m = e. Shephard’s Lemma provides us an alternative way of deriving Hicksian demand functions, using e. It is given by: dedp= x* It is important to note that e is strictly increasing in p, due to Shephard’s Lemma, and x* 0,by assumption. Substituting this into the above expression gives: dDdp= dHdp- dDdm x*  This expression now represents a complete law of demand, as it has combined both Marshallian and Hicksian demand, whereby income from the budget constraint of Marshallian demand, is equal to minimised expenditure of Hicksian demand. Therefore, it has maximised utility and minimised cost simultaneously, to create an optimal quantity of demand in x*. The first term, dDdp, means that Marshallian demand (maximising utility) increases, relative to the price of the good. dHdp represents the Hicksian part of the expression, whereby expenditure is minimised, relative to the price of the good. Question 3: Adverse Selection, Moral Hazard and Insurance 3.1: Insurance markets are needed when risk is present. Risk occurs when there is uncertainty about the state of the world. For example, car drivers do not know if they will crash their car in future, and suffer a loss of wealth – so they would purchase insurance to eliminate this risk of loss, and protect them if they were to ever crash their car. Agents (buyers of insurance) will use insurance markets to transfer their income between different states of the world. This allows insurance markets to trade risk between high-risk and low-risk agents/states. These can be described as Pareto movements. A Pareto improvement is the allocation, or reallocation of resources to make one individual better off, without making another individual worse off. Another term for this is multi-criteria optimisation, where variables and parameters are manipulated to result in an optimal situation, where no further improvements can be made. When the situation occurs that no more improvements can be made , it is Pareto efficient. A condition for efficiency is the least risk-averse agent bears all the risk in an insurance market. If a risk-averse agent bears risk, they would be willing to pay to remove it. A risk-averse agent has a diminishing marginal utility of income; whereby his marginal utility is different across states, if his income is different across states. The agent would give up income in high-income states, in which his marginal utility is low, to have more income in low-income states (e.g. bad state of the world causing a loss of wealth), where his marginal utility would be high. If the insurance market is risk neutral, they will sell insurance to the customer, as long as the payment received is higher than the expected value of pay-outs that the insurer is contracted to give to the customer in different states of the world. Whenever the agent bears some risk, unexploited gains from trade exist. Absence of unexploited gains from trade is a requirement in an efficient insurance market, therefore the situation must arise, whereby the agent’s income is equalised across the states of the world. A risk neutral insurance company can charge a premium to equalise the agent’s income across states of the world, in the best interests of the risk-averse agent. Also, for an insurance market to be  efficient, a tangency condition is implied. The tangency of the indifference curves of a risk-averse agent, and a risk-neutral agent, is where efficiency occurs. At this point, one cannot be made better off, without the other being made worse off (Pareto efficiency). However, an insurance company will never be completely efficient in real life, as information asymmetry exists. The first type of information asymmetry to arise in an insurance market is moral hazard, whereby the actions that an agent may take after signing the contract cannot be observed. This gives the company a trade-off decision between giving full insurance or offering incentives for the agent. Full insurance is first-best in the absence of asymmetric information, when the insurance company is risk-neutral and the agent is risk-averse. However, if the agent is fully insured by the company, they have no reason to prevent a bad state of the world from happening. To solve this problem, the insurance company will not offer full insurance, in order to provide the agent with an incentive to avoid losses. The second type of information asymmetry to occur in an insurance market, is adverse selection. This is when the agent has private information about his risk type and characteristics, and agents in the market are heterogenous. As the insurer doesn’t know which agents are high-risk or low risk, the company will not offer different types of full insurance to match risk-types, as high-risk agents will prefer contracts that are designed for low-risk agents. To solve this, the insurer will offer low-risk agents less insurance – this ensures that high-risk types do not have the incentive to choose a contract for low-risk customers, as they will want more insurance, because they know they will need to claim more. This ensures that the insurance company maintains non-negative profit, as high-risk individuals cost more to insure. However, these solutions carry agency costs, because the result is less efficient than if symmetric information was present. I believe that risk neutrality of an insurance company is a sufficient condition for insurance to take place. Insurance companies are risk-neutral to maximise expected profits, therefore as the principal, will design contracts to achieve this, as well as making certain that the agent picks the desired effort (i.e to prevent a bad state of the world) for that contract, and to make sure that the agent even picks the  contract in the first place. Making sure incentives are compatible, and ensuring participation by the correct risk types, are constraints on maximising expected profits. If an insurance company was risk-averse, without the availability of symmetric information, they cannot differentiate between different risk-types, and therefore would not want to take on the risk of possible high-risk agents buying low-risk contracts. They would charge a higher premium to offset this, which would discourage low-risk customers to sign a contract with the company, as it would not be maximising their own utility. This would lead to a missing market, where trade would be prevented, because other risk-neutral companies would offer better contracts, and they would be able to steal all the low-risk customers. The magnitude of this would depend on the number of low- and high-risk people in the population. This leads me to believe that risk neutrality is also a necessary condition for insurance to take place. 3.2: An insurance company will sell a policy, c, r, if it makes non-negative profits, then:  Ã¢â€ â€™ r-pic ≠¥0,  where c = payout, pi = probability of the loss state, r = premium. Competition in the market drives profit down to zero, therefore r-pic = 0 in equilibrium. For the contract to be at equilibrium, it must satisfy two conditions: the break-even condition, whereby no contract makes negative profits; and absence of unexploited opportunities for profit, because if there was a contract outside of the offered set, with non-negative profit, would mean the offered set is not in equilibrium. If all agents are homogenous, if all agents face the same probability of loss, pi=p, insurance companies would know each buyer’s pi. The firm must maximise each agent’s utility subject to the firm breaking even. This would be at the point of tangency of the agent’s indifference curve and zero-profit constraint. This would be in equilibrium as another profit-making polic y could not be offered. Therefore, as they can observe agent’s risk types, they can offer different policies, to different types: ÃŽ ¸i= ri, ci. It follows that each is offered full and fair insurance. In real life, heterogeneity is usually the case. This is when pi varies with all individuals. Assuming that there are two types: high-risk types, H, and low-risk types, L, where the probability  of loss for H is higher than for L. Individuals know their own probability of loss i=H, L, but insurance companies are unable to observe this. In this case, there are two different kinds of equilibria that insurance companies could opt with: the candidate pooling equilibrium and the candidate separating equilibrium. The pooling equilibrium is where all risk types buy the same policy. In contrary, the separating equilibrium is based on each risk type buying a different policy. In the pooling equilibrium, if both H and L risk-types choose the same policy, the probability of loss is p and the probability of no l oss is 1- p. Therefore, the slope of the ‘aggregate fair-odds line is -1-pp. The pooling contract must lie on this line to be in equilibrium, to ensure the firm breaks even exactly. The contract must also ensure both types want to buy it – it must take both L and H to higher indifference curve than the indifference curve they would be on if they stayed uninsured. Agent L ends up below his fair odds line, and H above his, which means L pays more than expected costs, and H pays less – both pay the fair pooled premium, but H claims on the policy more. So if L prefers to buy the contract, so will H. This leads me to believe both L and H will be able to get full insurance, though it’s not completely fair, as the firm does not need H to choose a different policy to remain breaking even. However, this brings to mind the notion that if full insurance is offered, the agent will not have the incentive to prevent a loss state. Therefore, less insurance will probably be offered, and as both risk types are paying the same premium of the same policy, neither will receive full insurance, as it impossible to differentiate between the two – they will both choose the same policy offered. In the separating equilibrium, one contract would be offered to L, and another to H. Each risk type must prefer the contract designed for that type (i.e. the incentives must be compatible). The contracts offered should give each type the highest possible utility, subject to the firm breaking even. If full insurance contracts were offered to both L and H, where their respective indifference curves are tangent with their respective zero-profit constraints/fair-odds lines, low risk customers would prefer the policy designed for them, but high-risk customers would also prefer the same policy, not the policy designed for them. So they would not both be offered full insurance, as this gives rise to the problem of preventing H from imitating L – low-risk agents are cheaper to insure for the firm (claim less  often) so they get a better rate. Therefore, instead of offering L full insurance, they are offered C, which is still on their fair odds line, but on a lower indifference curve, still ensuring the zero-profit constraint. Now, if the high-risk agents were to choose between the policy designed for them, and C, they will choose the policy designed for them, because they prefer to have more insurance for less money. So, in conclusion, in the separating equilibrium, high-risk (H) customers receive full insurance, and low-risk (L) customers only receive partial insurance – they pay the price to prevent H from imitating them. L is worse off than if there was symmetric information in the market, but no difference to H.

Beat Poets :: English Literature Essays

Beat Poets The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy and religion, the beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way a generation of people sees the world. That generation is mow aging and its representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive and well. The Beats have forever altered the nature of American consciousness. The Beat Generation of writers offered the world a new attitude. They brought to society a consciousness of life worth living. They offered a method of escape from the stultifying, unimaginative world we live in, through the exploration of one's intellect. Beat has had many different contemporary implications in music, poetry and literature. Literature has been liberated considerably. The poetic form has been changed to inaugurate a new poetic form, an American form. "There was less emphasis on tradition and more emphasis on the individual talent. (www.rohan.sdsu.edu)" One of the most important contributions to contemporary verse was to take poetry out of the classrooms and into non-academic setting—coffee houses, jazz clubs, large public auditoriums and even athletic stadiums. Poetry is more popular and more read than anytime in history, not only spoken poetry but also sung poetry of a high order. "The literature, coordinated by pop music, with a way of dressing, with a way of life, it something that has influenced the youth of the world not only in Western countries but Eastern countries as well. (www.charm.net)" Music has been influenced greatly by Beat writing. The lyrics of many great songs have forever been changed by the writing of the Beat Generation. "Bob Dylan's favorite poet was Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg became one of Dylan's greatest friends. He worked on many projects with Dylan...The band Rage Against the Machine has many of Ginsberg's poems and words show up in their songs. For instance the song 'Bulls on Parade' includes Ginsberg 'Hadda Been Playing on the Jukebox' (www.charm.net)" Generation X writers are compared to the Beat writers. Many people say that the "generation coming to age has the potential to bring a new vision to society. The Beats thumbed their noses at the corporate world just like Generation X does today. (www.altx.com/io/beatgeneration.html)" Many writers of Generation X have been influenced by the writing like Andy Clausen, Eliot Katz, Geoffrey Manough and Ed Sanders.

“Fifth Business” by Robertson Davis Essay

Paul Dempster was born on December 28, 1908 to Amasa and Mary Dempster. He was suspected to be premature by about 80 days, but that was an estimate made by Dr. McCausland. Paul was described as â€Å"Red, of course, as all babies are red. But he was wrinkled like a tiny old man, and his head and back and much of his face was covered with weedy long black hair†(page 13), and â€Å"his cry was like the mew of a kitten†(page13). Dunny’s mother was pleased with the progress he was making, â€Å"I think little Paul is going to pull through. He’ll be slow, the doctor says, but he’ll be alright†(page 17), but Dr. McCausland was very wrong. Though Paul could neither read or write when he got older, he was very interested in the tricks that Dunny would show him â€Å"taking the coin from me and preforming the pass perfectly†(page 33). Paul’s home life was not one of the best. His mother was, what the town referred to as, simple and his father blamed her condition on his birth. He was also tormented by the other children in the town because of an incident in the gravel pit involving his mother and a tramp. This took a mental tole on him and shortly after the death of his father Paul ran away and joined the circus. Though his experience in the circus made him into Magnus Eisengrim, â€Å"The Great Magician†, he was still unable to free himself from his past. Paul also had much hostility towards Percy, the boy who was also a contributing factor in his premature birth. Paul was blamed by his father for the mental state of his mother but Paul found out as a child from Dunny that it was not his fault, but the fault of himself and his friend Percy. This hostility resulted in the mysterious murder of Percy and though it was never said that Magnus actually committed this act of violence it was pretty clear to the reader that the coincidence was to staggering to be anyone else. Though Paul does not play the role of that main character in The Fifth Business he does play an important role in the life of the character in which the novel revolves around. His is life alone gives meaning to the whole novel and defines Dunny. His birth and his legend are far from what would be expected of a Parsons son, but he lived his life the way he wanted and made the most of a talent with magic and congering.

Compare Traditional Radio Listening with Listening to a Station Via a Mobile App. How Are They Different?

Hayden Cremeens COM 200 Chapter 8 Essay 6. Compare traditional radio listening with listening to a station via a mobile app. How are they different? When the radio became a popular past-time in America, it changed society. The radio industry is a rapidly growing business; the number of stations increased 100% from 1970 to 2010 (Dominick, 2013, p. 189). Traditional broadcastings like talk-shows and National Public Radio announcements eventually shifted into a majority of music-orientated stations; however both formats still remain.Traditional FM radio stations that are available nationally or locally have limitations of the genre of music that one listens to; opposed to mobile app, such as Pandora, that allows you to choose specific genres. Traditional radio stations have more commercials than mobile apps; therefore constant interruption during music streaming. Some traditional radio stations have embraced the apps.Clear Channel, a radio company, has had success with the merge of trad itional radio to a mobile app. Clear Channel has developed the IHeartRadio app; which allows users to listen to local radio stations in over 150 stations where ever their location (Dominick, 2013, p. 188). I prefer mobile apps because they stream directly to a computer, smartphone or other portable device (Dominick, 2013, p. 194).Apps offer choice-based stations like Pandora (Dominick, 2013, p. 194). Choice-based stations â€Å"†¦let listeners choose their favorite artists and types of music to create their own playlists. In effect, listeners program their own unique radio station (Dominick, 2013, p. 194). † References Dominick, J. (2013). The dynamics of mass communication: Media in the digital age (12th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Huckleberry Finn Essays (664 words) - English-language Films

Huckleberry Finn Essays (664 words) - English-language Films Huckleberry Finn In his latest story, Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade), by Mark Twain, Mr. Clemens has made a very distinct literary advance over Tom Sawyer, as an interpreter of human nature and a contributor to our stock of original pictures of American life. Still adhering to his plan of narrating the adventures of boys, with a primeval and Robin Hood freshness, he has broadened his canvas and given us a picture of a people, of a geographical region, of a life that is new in the world. The scene of his romance is the Mississippi river. Mr. Clemens has written of this river before specifically, but he has not before presented it to the imagination so distinctly nor so powerfully. Huck Finn's voyage down the Mississippi with the run away nigger Jim, and with occasionally other companions, is an adventure fascinating in itself as any of the classic outlaw stories, but in order that the reader may know what the author has done for him, let him notice the impression left on his mind of this lawless, mysterious, wonderful Mississippi, when he has closed the book. But it is not alone the river that is indelibly impressed upon the mind, the life that went up and down it and went on along its banks are projected with extraordinary power. Incidentally, and with a true artistic instinct, the villages, the cabins, the people of this river become startlingly real. The beauty of this is that it is apparently done without effort. Huck floating down the river happens to see these things and to encounter the people and the characters that made the river famous forty years agothat is all. They do not have the air of being invented, but of being found. And the dialects of the people, white and blackwhat a study are they; and yet nobody talks for the sake of exhibiting a dialect. It is not necessary to believe the surprising adventures that Huck engages in, but no one will have a moment's doubt of the reality of the country and the people he meets. Another thing to be marked in the story is its dramatic power. Take the story of the Southern Vendettaa marvelous piece of work in a purely literary point of viewand the episode of the duke and the king, with its pictures of Mississippi communities, both of which our readers probably saw in the Century magazine. They are equaled in dramatic force by nothing recently in literature. We are not in this notice telling the story or quoting from a book that nearly everybody is sure to read, but it is proper to say that Mr. Clemens strikes in a very amusing way certain psychological problems. What, for instance, in the case of Huck, the son of the town drunkard, perverted from the time of his birth, is conscience, and how does it work? Most amusing is the struggle Huck has with his conscience in regard to slavery. His conscience tells him, the way it has been instructed, that to help the runaway, nigger Jim to escapeto aid in stealing the property of Miss Watson, who has never injured him, is an enormous offense that will no doubt carry him to the bad place; but his affection for Jim finally induces him to violate his conscience and risk eternal punishment in helping Jim to escape. The whole study of Huck's moral nature is as serious as it is amusing, his confusion of wrong as right and his abnormal mendacity, traceable to his training from infancy, is a singular contribution to the investigation of human nature. These contradictions, however, do not interfere with the fun of the story, which has all the comicality, all the odd way of looking at life, all the whimsical turns of thought and expression that have given the author his wide fame and made him sui generis. The story is so interesting so full of life and dramatic force, that the reader will be carried along irresistibly, and the time he loses in laughing he will make up in diligence to hurry along and find out how things come out.

Assess the impact by 1939 of Nazi Essay Example for Free (#1939)

Assess the impact by 1939 of Nazi Essay The National Socialist Party came to power through a series of swift, ruthless and devastating actions which firmly established Germany as a fascist state. The centralisation of power in Germany, known as ‘co-ordination’ (Gleichschaltung), was initiated on the day of the election and was carried out with such clinical efficiency, that the German state was completely transformed within a matter of months. Hitler’s Gleichschaltung was extremely successful in altering the cultural and economic landscape of Germany in the years between 1933 and the commencement of the Second World War in 1939. National Socialism touched every aspect of life; youth culture, the role of women, education, the economy and the effect it had on employment, the working class, as well as religion in the domination of the Christian Church. As this essay will explain, each of these individual developments in German society, which were initiated by the Nazi regime, came together to precipitate a complete cultural transformation for the lives of German people by 1939. Nazi Seduction of the German People The attraction of the Third Reich was compelling for the German people and strong feelings of national pride were instilled in the mass population. Germans were moved by wave after wave of brilliantly staged nationalistic promptings in the form of spectacular public rallies and stirring speeches. The totalitarian state model, which was so important to the Nazi Party’s grip on its people, was achieved through a mix of persuasion, motivation and discrimination. Individualism was quickly replaced by a way of life steeped in collective gestures and symbols; mass rallies, uniforms, public commemorations and in particular, the gesture synonymous with the Nazi era – the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute. Although these public messages became tiresome to many Germans, they were a constant theme throughout the Nazi era, and were therefore inescapable. They were successful in convincing the German masses of the power of the Third Reich as an all conquering, superior phenomenon. The mobilisation of German youth was a vital cog in the National Socialist propaganda machine. The drive towards creating a fiercely dependent and loyal German youth was formed on the basis of a rejection of the old bourgeois world in favour idealistic notions of a new and more egalitarian society.The lengths to which the Nazi’s went, in order to harness the loyalty of the German youth were great and centred on the creation of a rival organisation to the formal education system called the Hitler Youth (Hitler – Jugend). When Hitler came to power in 1933, the Hitler Youth organisation had only 107,956 members. By the end of 1933 however, under the leadership of Baldur von Schirach, most youth movements were under the influence of the Nazis and the few remaining nonconformists such as Catholic organisations were feeling the Nazi influence. Two laws, which came into effect in December 1936 and March 1939 made participation in the Hitler Youth (HJ) mandatory, driving up membership of the organisation to 8,870,000 at the beginning of 1939. The Hitler Youth indoctrinated young Germans with Nazi concepts of race, discipline and obedience. Summer camps were set up, in which political ideological teachings, physical fitness, rifle practice, endurance and team-building games were core activities. The aim was to breed a new type of German, one which was loyal to National Socialism and would thus ensure the future existence and expansion of Germany as a Nazi state. The family was an institution of supreme importance to the Nazis, being regarded as crucial to the future success of The Third Reich. Much was done to raise the popularity of marriage and increase birth-rate, as mothers who stayed at home to bring up large families were put on a pedestal and treated with utmost respect. On 12 August – the birthday of Hitler’s mother – every mother who had given birth to a large number of children was awarded a Mother’s Cross. Rewards for raising large families were also financial, as special welfare benefits were awarded to encourage marriage and motherhood.  Newly married couples were offered a 1,000 mark loan, repayable at three per cent interest, which was reduced by 25 per cent after the birth of each child. This loan effectively turned into a free gift from the state following the birth of four healthy children. The role of women in Nazi Germany was clearly defined, encouraging them to embrace their ‘natural’ role as mothers. As already mentioned, women were the focus of the Nazi drive to boost birth rate, and were ushered away from the idea of a full-time career in favour of starting or extending a family. Furthermore, within education, girls would be directed away from developing their academic ability and independence, in favour of training for future maternal roles through compulsory courses in domestic science and biology. Upon reaching adulthood, the indoctrination of Nazi ideals continued through membership of three women’s organisations, all created by the Nazi party – the German Woman’s Enterprise, the National Socialist Womanhood and the Reich Mothers’ Service. By March 1939, over 1.7 million German women had attended one of these Nazi organised courses. In its crusade to win over the working class, the Nazis offered a vast array of publicly funded leisure activities. The Nazi Kraft durch Freude (KdF) (Strength through Joy) organisation was officially founded to promote the physical prowess of the individual, although in reality its essential purpose was to educate and socialise the German population into National Socialism. The Nazi leisure policy was initiated with the hidden intention of rallying the German people towards active voluntary participation in National Socialist Germany. An active, thriving leisure movement it was believed would contribute to the thrust of National Socialism as a whole, enhancing the vitality and all round commitment to the German cause. The economic success of the Nazi regime is remembered most for its remarkable success in reducing unemployment. The cornerstone of this recovery was the implementation of the many work programmes, which created jobs for the phenomenal number of unemployed Germans at the beginning of Hitler’s reign. German economists had recognised that the abandonment of narrow fiscalism in favour of counter-cyclical strategies based upon investment in the infrastructure and public housing was essential in order to reduce levels of unemployment. Job creation schemes, such as the construction of the Autobahn – the major motorway network – and house building schemes resulted in a fall in unemployment from 34% in January 1933 to 13.5% in July 1934. Upon coming to power, Hitler embarked on a crusade to eradicate Christianity, as he believed it to be a product of Jewish culture – a religion he perceived as a corrosive influence on the German population. The process of gradually reducing the influence and presence of the church in Nazi Germany was achieved in a number of ways. The establishment of the Reich Church, the German Christians organisation and the German Faith movement introduced a new Christian religion based on the core ideals and beliefs of National Socialism. This was yet another example of the iron grip with which the Nazis sought to control the German population. Nazi economic and social policy had a phenomenal effect on the German mass population by 1939. The levels of propaganda used to capture the loyalty of the German people were deeply influential, effectively brainwashing the population. The focus on the future strength and solidarity of The Third Reich as a totalitarian state saw key aspects of the German lifestyle subjected to significant changes between 1933 and 1939. The effect that Nazi social and economic policies had were seen most significantly in their effect on women, youth, education, the economy with regards to employment, the motivation of the working class, and religion. Nazi propaganda went further than this in its influence on the German way of life, as the press,  industry, art and culture, and all forms of entertainment were transformed into mere puppets of the Nazi regime. The gradual erosion of individualism and devotion to The Third Reich amongst German people could not have been achieved without the changes imple mented in these fundamental aspects of daily life. Assess the impact by 1939 of Nazi. (2016, Jul 07).

Consumer behaviour and marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consumer behaviour and marketing - Essay Example Generally, marketing to such a consumer base has to be made depending upon certain strategies. However, in an era of globalisation, serving consumers worldwide is what most marketers and producers have to do. Global consumer culture hence implies, the expansion of businesses and organisations all over the world in order to serve people belonging to different cultural backgrounds (Arnould, 2009, p. 3). Such a strategy involves a huge research to study the innate characteristics of consumers and this is where the importance of the present research lies. Outline In this era of globalisation, the concept ‘Global Consumer Culture’ has its own significance. It would not be wrong to say that the multinational organisations have to invest money as well as time to frame up strategies for each of their destination countries. Global consumer culture is a relief for them to let them think the world as a global village and a single market. However, evidences show there are a number o f obstacles resisting the spread of this concept. The segment ‘Global Consumer Culture: The Limitations of the Concept’ has discussed these points taking reference from books and journals. At the end, a conclusion has been inferred from the discussion and analysis, carried in the earlier segments. The analysis and evaluation section is primarily associated with the different kinds of consumers that the marketers have to deal with and the strategies that they adopt to handle each according to their cultural backgrounds. Global Consumer Culture: The Limitations of the Concept â€Å"Consumer culture can be defined as a social arrangement in which the relations between the [lived cultural experience of everyday life] and social resources, between meaningful [valued] ways of life and the symbolic and material resources on which they depend, is mediated through markets† (University of Wyoming, n.d., p.1). Consumer culture is a system, in which the behaviours found in t he consumption process and in all times and places it is dominated by the consumption of commercial products. This also enables the transmission of existing cultural values, norms and habitual ways of doing things from generation to generation. The consumer behaviour is largely influenced by the free personal choice in the private arena of daily lives. In this modern era, the consumer culture is no longer governed by tradition rather it is more influenced by instability in the economy. Globalisation culture positioning is a strategy, used to cover various consumer segments emerging with the global consumer culture (Warren, 2009). As the globalisation has spread its wings; companies do not bother to cross the boundaries of the countries. In such a case, global consumer culture is driven by the expansion of the organisations and its marketing principles across the globe. In theoretical terms, global culture can be described as the process wherein the global consumers would be united i n way to make this world as a single market place. As per Belk, introduction of global culture would lead to homogenisation of global consumption. Global consumer culture facilitates the same consumption behaviour of the consumers, which means that consumers in every corner would have the opportunity to eat the same food items, wear the same fashionable clothes, drive the same types of cars, watch the same television programs, stay

Interantional Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interantional Business - Essay Example The panel should act objectively while conforming to the WTO agreements in finding a solution that would resolve the dispute (August 2004). Procedure: The facts in this case arose from the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dispute Settlement Panel, in which several countries that included Canada, the European Union, and the United States alleges that Japan imposed lower taxes on shochu (locally produced alcoholic beverage) than other imported alcoholic beverage, like vodka in violation of Article III, paragraph 2, of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (August, 2004). The case reached this point based on the report by the panel claiming that the GATT Article III.2 is inconsistent with the Japanese Liquor Tax. The GATT Article III.2 indicates that a product imported should be subject directly or indirectly to internal taxes or other internal charges in excess of those applied, like domestic products (August, 2004). Issue(s): The legal issues surrounding this case begins with the recognition of the Article III.2 where it states, "so as to afford protection" as depicted in Article III.1 (August, 2004).

TWO page summary and critique Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TWO page summary and critique - Article Example pproach, consisting of beginnings in which the contract is negotiated between the counselor and client, middles in which the counselor explores the story of the client, and endings in which the discussion is concluded. Finally, the counselor works out ways based on the information he/she has received to help the client. In the beginnings stage, it is important that the counselor lends a sense of empowerment to the client so that the client feels confidant and his/her tendency to narrate life episodes is optimized. In the middles stage, the counselor’s focus should be to develop a rapport with the client so that the client reveals about his/her life more. In the ending stage, the counselor should clarify any doubts with respect to understanding or recording of information with the client. Savickas’s approach creates multiple approaches for assisting people with career transitions. I find Savickas’s systematic approach to counseling quite appealing because it provides a concise yet holistic understanding of the process of counseling. It makes it easier to memorize the process and the activities it entails by categorizing it into three stages (National Guidance Research Forum, 2012). The focus of the article is the key points a counselor must pay attention toward in each stage so that the counseling session is the most productive and the client is able to benefit from the counselor’s approach. It is correct that peoples career choices are determined, to a large extent by their life experiences and social connections. Media is a very powerful projector of the norms and values, trends and traditions of a culture. In my professional career counseling, I will Savickas’s systematic approach by trying to develop a comfort level and rapport with my client. I will give the client a gift in our first meeting suited to the client’s age and gender so that the client feels good about me. I shall also provide the client with a list of questions and ask him/her if

Joint Venture in the Construction Industry in Spain

Joint Venture in the Construction Industry in Spain An estimated 20,000 joint ventures have been formed worlwide over the past two years. Such strategic alliances can provide business owners with long-term security, new revenue channels, and , often, the anchor needed to maintain stability in otherwise turbulent waters. A successful joint venture can open the door to a wold of future partnership opportunities (Robert L.Wallace 2004) Factors now at play in our economy make it more feasible and more critical than ever for small business owners to leverage the power of joint venturing. These factors include: The emergence of the customer economy Advances in technology that have neutralized time and space contraints Change brougt on by shifting demographics More entrepreneur- and more oportunities- as a result of downsizing In the midst of these world-changing trends, what is often missing from a succesffull business strategy are the critical alliances and strategic partnerships that will help leverage the strenghts and minimise weaknesses. Forging joint ventures and strategic alliances will allow business to win millions contracts as the partner with large companies to offer with, breadth, and depth demanded in the marketplace. Done well, joint ventures provide both participating businesses with a chance to learn and benefit from each other, and to achieve results neither could achive alone. In this dissertation will be explained- how to enter into joint ventures well so a company can prosper in ways it never could by doing it alone CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Objectives of Dissertation 2 Contents 3 JOINT VENTURE EXPLAINED 2.1 Joint Ventures Explained 2.2 The Rationale of Joint Venture Formation 2.3 Joint Venture Formation 2.4 Management and Implementation LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 Forms of Joint Venture 3.2 Motives of forming a Joint Venture 3.3 Selection of Partners 3.4 Preliminary Agreement and Negotiation Research Methodology 4.1 Research Approach 40 4.2 Research Ethics 41 4.3 Interviews 42 4.4 Survey 46 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 5.1 Basic Conflicting Interests 5.2 Loss of Autonomy and Control 5.3 Findings CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES Chapter One Introduction and Objectives of Dissertation Introduction Business once grew by one of two ways: grass roots up, or by acquisition. Today business grow through alliances- all kinds of dangerous alliance, joint ventures, and customer partnerign, which by the way, very few people understandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Peter F.Drucker 2007) Experiences of joint venture management in the construction industry traced back to the early 60 ´s. It appears that characteristics of this industry favor the proposition of joint ventures formation. Although statistics are not available, this is obviously true in relation to the infrastructure development of Spain at the present moment The determination of the . 1.1 Objectives of Dissertation This paper attempts to review the existing literatures on management of joint ventures its merits and problems, particular issues arisen and suggested management techniques to cope with such obstacles in operating a joint venture. Interviews were conducted with two senior staffs of one of the partners of a joint venture formed by four construction firms. The joint venture is currently undertaking one of the Train Station Core Projects to be completed before July 2011. It is hoped that hand-on experiences of these senior staffs, at the level of Management Committee of the joint venture, as well as the operational level of the joint venture, would provide us valuable insight and opinion on the art of joint venture management, as a reflection and complement to the general review of the literatures. The key objectives are: To critically appraise the existing literature to Corporative alliances issues and the role of International Strategy in applying these issues. To establish the importance Strategic alliances with competitors in the international market. To evaluate the purposes of strategic alliances as well as to what extent might be successful a company. To determine other factors that influences companies in seeking Joint Ventures. To assess the sources of value creation. To study possible pitfalls in doing a Strategic Alliance. To draw conclusions upon a joint venture in a case study. 1.2 Contents In Chapter 2, the organization of interest is described in detail along with an explanation of its forms. In Chapter 3 the literature in relation to joint venture and strategic alliances in general and its application within the company is critically reviewed. Chapter 4 describes and justifies the research methods employed and includes a section on the ethical considerations of the project. In Chapter 5 the findings of the one-to-one interviews, In Chapter 6 the findings are analyzed and evaluated in relation to the published research literature. In Chapter 7 a joint venture framework for the SMART Services is presented along with a plan for its implementation. Finally, in Chapter 8 conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made for future work. A list of references is provided and the appendices contain pertinent information, documents (including, the survey questionnaire) and collated data. Chapter Two Joint Venture Explained 2. Joint Venture Explained A joint venture is the coming together of two (or more) independent business for the sole purpose of achieving a specific outcome that would not have been achievable by one of the firms alone. (Source: Wallace 2004) 2.1 The Rationale of Joint Venture Formation The form of joint venture provides benefits and a skeleton, based on which the management philosophy of the joint venture builds up. . (See Figure 1) Figure 1: Joint Venture. Business Benefit Source: Trendsetter Barometer, PWC In respect of share of management, there are dominant parent ventures, share management ventures and independent ventures. Degree of involvement of parents in these types of joint ventures differs, and in turn these joint ventures face different types of nature and management problems. At operational level, there are approaches of integrated structure and non-integrated structure. The nature of the business and the share of responsibilities in various aspects of the business will be the determination factors of choice Generally speaking, the choice of form of joint venture should be made in accordance to what contributions are required of the parents in order to achieve the purpose of forming the joint venture. Companies forming joint ventures basically intend to develop markets and products. Common reasons are: to suit government policies, pooling resources, risk sharing, building business relation and to reduce competition. The first step to form a joint venture, after realizing that such tactics is desirable, is to select a partner. Consideration on selection of partners concentrates on three major themes: shared objectives, mutual trust and co-operation, and abilities of the potential partners. Appropriate partners should be compatible in their objectives of forming the joint venture and their expertise/Knowledge on the business. Right partners also should possess similar management styles normally. Lastly it is important that potential partnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s real intention is realizes, to avoid future major disagreements. 2.2 Joint Venture Formation When the partners have reached initial agreement to form a joint venture, often a preliminary agreement is signed. It forms a basis for the drafting of the detailed agreement, and provide framework for the partners to work together and proceed to more detailed planning works. But subsequent negotiations following for the preliminary agreement often provide good chances for the partners to understand more thoroughly the expectation of potential partners. It is not uncommon that a final agreement cannot be reached because major conflicts are revealed in the process of subsequent negotiations after preliminary agreement. It is always intended to write agreements to cover all contingencies. But some managers consider that it is not so practically possible in view of the rapidly changing environments nowadays. Instead, emphasis should be placed on building up mutual trust and thus it is important to incorporate a sense of fairness into the joint venture agreement. Generally defined, well understood mutually, and respectful to each other ´s rights in return to their contributions committed. It is suggested that the best solutions should be an agreement covering all possible contingencies, together with the design of a flexible mechanism allowing changes to be agreed between efficiently while promoting cooperation and mutual trust. A very important aspect in drafting the joint venture agreement is the design of reward system for the partners. Pay-off in the form of product flow between the parents and the joint venture is often the source of major management problems and conflicts. Such product flow diverts attention of the parents from the joint venture ´s benefits. Again, fairness and willingness to co-operate are the keys to resolving such problems. If at all possible, market comparison is a useful guide to fix the transfer price in a fair sense. The primary concern of a partner in forming a joint venture is probably the degree of control over the business. In respect of split of ownership, majority-minority shares are sometimes preferred, as the majority of partner can act as leader for the joint venture and thus gives direction in a less ambiguous manner for the operation of the joint venture. On the other hand, come companies prefer equal shares to ensure willingness of all partners to contribute efforts as required and they may also feel more comfortable that all partners have equal statusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in the joint venture. Ownership distribution is less important than how operation control is actually apportioned. There is no rule on thumb on allocating operation control. General guidelines are that each parent should be motivated to make necessary commitments continuously in accordance to their abilities, and that each parent should be protected in its interests. To enhance long term co-operation, exploitation of other partner ´s interests must not be attempted. It must be emphasized that full equality in operating control requires much more efforts from all partner, and the joint venture would have to be operated in day-to-day on-going negotiations and compromise among the partners. 2.3 Management and Implementation Standard joint venture organization consist of two components the management board and operation organization. The management board is the highest authority of the joint venture. The composition of the board and jurisdiction of the board determine largely the share of power among the partners. To build an effective board, board members should be delegated enough and necessary authority by their own companies in making decisions and vote in the board. They should endeavor to maintain mutual trusts among the partners, to sustain the common goal and objectives of the partners and to the exercise effective control over the joint venture. This is better to clearly separate the operation organization independently from the management board, to avoid biases or perceived biases towards one particular partner. As mentioned earlier, staffing is a possible and often effective way of controlling the joint venture operations. But overact may generate resentment from other partners. It will be extremely difficult to build up cohesiveness of the operation organization from all the partners. The organization will possibly segregate into groups of their own companies. Theoretically, secondly is desirable only if considered necessary for the needs of the joint venture. Otherwise recruitment from outside can more easily maintain the independence of the operation organization. The joint venture manager is an important role, as the leader for the operation organization, the bridge between the child and the parents, and sometimes as the mediatorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? for the parents if disputes arose among them. He has to possess negotiation skills, people skills, and selling skills to bring together mutual co-operation form all parties concerned. He is often found to be involved in ambiguous relationship, with his sub-ordinates and supervisors, and wit the parent companies. In order to achieve his task of pleasing everybody and avoiding conflicts and tension between the parties concerned, he has to be highly tolerant and ambiguity. The joint venture manager should be loyal only to the joint venture, not to any of the parents. He has to be perceived as neutral, otherwise his opinions will never be convincing to other people. Biased loyalty of the joint venture manager will arouse other parents taking harmful measure against smooth operations of the joint venture. Being neutral is an important qualification of the joint venture manager in order to gain autonomy and trust, which in turn makes the joint venture more likely to succeed. The joint venture agreement implied an independent operation organization separated from the parents to be fully responsible for daily management of the business and that the operation organization enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. In practice, the independence and autonomy were granted to the operation organization, only if all parents, in particular the joint venture manager, will act truly neutral. Without such belief, parents were able to exercise disruptive negative measures to hinder the normal implementation of management for the joint venture operations. The case also supported that the quality if the joint venture manager in negotiation skills and human relations, and its relationship with the parents was a paramount importance of the success of the joint venture. A strong leader might be harmful for a joint venture, but a practical and flexible manager surely is very useful. Chapter Three Literature Review 3.1 Forms of Joint Venture 3.3.1 Share of management The fundamental question in management of joint ventures is the degree of involvement of partners in decision making processes on major policies as well as day-to-day operations of the joint ventures. In this respect, joint ventures are often categorized into three types: (Stephen I. Glover and Craig M. Wasserman 2003) Dominant parent ventures: in which management decisions are dominated by one parent, either formally by majority voting rights in all major aspects or informally by management settings to control key decisions makings without significant involvement from the other party. Shared management ventures: in which management of joint venture operations are shared between the parents, either shared by each providing resources in certain functional areas or shared by pooling resources at most levels of the joint venture operations. Characteristics of this type of joint venture are the necessity of frequent negotiation and agreement between the partners at most all levels and aspects of the business management. Independent ventures: in which parent ´s involvements in the management of the joint venture is very little, as it is left almost entirely to an independent group of personnel employed under the joint venture. The roles of parents are not too much different from shareholders, except that they may be providing other distinct types of resources as well as capital and there are only a few shareholders. Dominant parent ventures and independent ventures are thought to be more trouble free, as they require less interaction and thus less potential conflicts between the parents. However, there are no concrete evidence to suggest that these two types of ventures will be more likely to succeed than shared management ventures. Obviously the choice of joint ventures types is dependent on the situation and nature of the business and the parentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s  ´characteristics. Circumstances often call for shared management but no other choices, simply because joint efforts are required to achieve what is intended. Pooling of resources, and thus a mixed input of management efforts from both parents, may be the fundamental desire of forming the joint venture. In such cases, dominance of one parent certainly cannot fulfil the purpose of the strategic alliance and the question is to overcome the difficulties of shared management on joint ventures operations. Legal Form In terms of the legal form of the joint venture, there can be three choices: (Dennis Campbell and Antonida Netzer 2009) Consortium: it refers to a grouping, formed on a one-off basis, which is governed by a contractual agreement. The contractual agreement is made to define clearly the position of each of the parents, including a specification of the authority, responsibility, liability and power of each party. Parnership: it can take a form of formal partnership. The parties are then effectively recognised in law as partners. The joint venture is considered as a business entity on its own, in legal terms, separated from the individual parties. As partners, each of the parties is legally liable for any debt or default committed by other partners on behalf of the joint venture, which may not be the case if formed as a consortium depending on details of the contractual agreement of constituting the consortium. Incorpotation: joint ventures which are intended to be a permanent business are usually constituted as an incorporate entity. This would enable the parties being insulated from the risks of the business of the joint venture, as a limited company. The major disadvantage is that the profit and loss sustained by the joint venture as incorporation cannot be set off against that of the parent companies for tax purpose. 3.1.3 Operational Structure The two extreme categories of operational structure of a joint venture are integrated joint venture and non integrated joint venture (Dennis Campbell and Antonida Netzer 2009) Integrated Structure: the parties agree on a certain proportion of capital and resources investment and a prescribed profit or loss sharing formula, and they both participate on every level of execution of the joint venture business. Non-integrated Structure: in such case, the joint venture usually provides for general management machinery, which looks after overall administrative and coordinative roles for the joint venture business. The whole business is then divided into packages or portions which are assigned to the parents to execute and operate such packages or portions as designated in the joint venture agreement (Appendix A) In practice joint ventures are usually a mixture of these two approaches. The question is the degree of integration to be adopted for the given set of circumstances faced by the joint venture. For that joint venture business that can be divided into clear cut portions and such divided portions will suit the capability and resources of different partners, non-integrated approach will usually be adopted. While the joint venture business is complex and it requires a centralised management of all aspects of the business, the management will be integrated. Integrated approach is more difficult to manage. Conflicting interests and ideas between the partners can arise more often than non-integrated approach. But it is often unavoidable as the nature of the joint venture business mar not is possible to be divided neatly into portions. On the other hand, for non-integrated approach, complicated contractual argument can arise between partners. In case of joint venture agreement in a basis of joint and several responsibilities, it is not uncommon that the partners lodge contractual claims against each other on non-performance or default of the other parties in executing their portion of the joint venture business resulting loss to the whole joint venture from third party claims. The Case Study The parents attempted to adopt a mixture of shared and independent management for the joint venture under study, as implied in the conditions of the joint venture agreement. The management committee of the joint venture, which was the highest level of decision making and policy setting, were composed of one representative each partner. In respect of operational structure, a mixture of integrated and non-integrated approach was adopted. While a separate joint venture organization supposedly independent from the partners managed and operated the whole joint venture business integrally, the project was divided into portions and packages which were then subcontracted back to the partners under the joint venture 3.2 Motives of forming a Joint Venture Companies forming joint ventures basically intended to develop markets and products i.e. to strength the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ existing business, to take the firms existing products to new market, to obtain new products that can be sold in the firm ´s existing markets, and to diversify into new businesses (Mark de Rond 2003) These objectives can be achieved through various ways, as shown in figure 1.1 But why choose a joint venture to try to achieve these objectives? Common reasons are: (Das y Teng 2000) Government Policies: because of licensing requirements of the government for undertaking a certain type of business in a country, e.g. for construction works in Spain many foreign companies may wish to form joint ventures with local companies who have the required licenses at hand in order to enter the market first, while they at the same time apply for the necessary licenses which may take months or even years in some cases. Many governments, who attempt to protect the development of certain industry of their countries, establish regulations that prohibit foreign companies to set up wholly owned subsidiaries. If foreign companies wish to explore the market of those countries, they have no choice to form joint ventures with local companies. Risk Sharing: in very large and risky projects that companies feel uncomfortable to bear but unwilling to give up the business opportunity, several companies share the risk by undertaking the project jointly. These risk may be commercial risks (finance, source of materials, technical uncertainties, etc) or political risks (change un government policies, unstable political status of the country, etc) Figure 1: Motives for joint venture formation New Markets Existing Makets To Take Existing Products To Foreign Markets Open Markets Closed Markets To Diversify into New Business Learning from your partner Learning with your partner To Strengthen the Existing Business Achieving economies of scale Acquiring technology Reducing financial risk To Bring Foreign Products To Local Markets Marketing and distribution Screwdriver assembly Developing local technology Technology flow back to parent Existing Products New Products Source: (Das y Teng 2000) Pooling of resources: companies often join to develop business that requires a combination of different resources (finance, technology, market access, local experience, etc) that none of these companies possess all of them, e.g. a combination of market access by one company and technical knowledge of a product by another, combination of different technical skills that are necessary to develop a product, or a combination of several companies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"resources to achieve economies of scale. Building business relation: some companies form joint ventures with in order to build up wide business relations among the industry. They believe that this will enable them to widen their networks of business and that it may be helpful for their further business developments in long term. Reduce competition: joining with your competitor automatically reduce the degree of competition. This is particularly useful if there are only a few potential competitors only. It is not uncommon to find in certain industry that formations of joint ventures effectively create monopolistic or oligopolistic conditions. The Case Study In the construction industry inherent risks involved in the projects are the major concern of a company ´s business strategy. Sharing of commercial risks (financial burdens on the company, source of raw materials, technical uncertainty involved with the works) for large scaled projects is the major reason of forming joint ventures. Because of the huge amount of resources involved and the multi-disciplinary nature of the projects, pooling if resources from several companies is necessary to gain sufficient competence in order to tender for the works. Not a single company may have all the necessary skills and sufficient amount of resources that are required for those Train Station Core Projects. Formations of joint ventures become the most common tactics for the construction firms to undertake those projects. Political risk is also a major concern especially for foreign firms who are not familiar with the policies. Most foreign firms conceive that formation of joint ventures is an effective way of securing the safety of the business, particularly when undertaking infrastructure development projects of payment terms. Large construction firms (both local and international firms that were interested and had potential to undertake these large projects) gradually formed into groups of consortium to tender for these jobs. As a result, the industry transformed into competing allied groups, instead of competing among individual firms. Although such transformation might be unintentional at the time these companies first formed joint ventures, they now became aware of such advantage and might use this again as one of the useful tools in future when considering the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategy competitions in the industry. 3.3 Selection of Partners 3.3.1The Criteria of Choosing a Partner Considerations on selection of partners concentrate on three majors themes: (Lynn Krieger 1991) Shared objectives Mutual trust and willingness to co-operate and Having necessary skills/resources The task is to find a compatible partner in respect of these three major themes. The right pair or group of partners often implies an asymmetry of partners, i.e. the right partners often have different quality and characteristics so that they will complement with each others on the need of the business. Basic consideration is whether the potential partner can provide what you need and the confidence of the potential partner ´s willingness to co-operate. They may not have the same objective but their co-operation should fulfill each other ´s objectives. They may not have the expertise on the same area, and they should possess different knowledge so that when combined together their competence will be strengthened. In fact two partners having expertise on the same area often is the source of conflicts as both will consider their own approach is superior without due respect on the other partner ´s expertise on the field. But right partners should desirably have similar management styles and outlooks so that their overall business strategy would go along the same direction. Otherwise, conflict on major business policy that is originated from the incompatibility of the partners expectation on what the joint venture should achieve eventually arise someday Lyn Krieger put forward two prepositions: The more similar the culture of firms forming a shared management joint venture, the easier the venture will be to manage. The more similar in size are the parents of a shared management venture, the easier the venture will be to manage. A significant size mismatch between a venture ´s parents can create a lot of problems for the venture. Culture here refers to both corporate culture and the culture of the country from which the firms are based. These propositions are based on the principle that managers, to be effectively working together, need to be able to evaluate each other ´s judgment and the way of working before they can build up a cohesive team. The second proposition is an extension of the first one as size of the company can contribute to difference in corporate culture. One should also be alert on any hidden agenda of your potential partner (Kathryn Rudie 2003). Confidence on the observation of your potential partner ´s real intention and objective to form the joint venture is a pre-requisite condition before a decision can be made on the choice of partners. The classic tragic case of Beijing Jeep is a good example of hidden agenda. Both partners did not spell out clearly their real intention of what was to be achieved, and both partners did not understand thoroughly the other partner ´s real intention before signing the joint venture agreement. Unreasonable conflicts arose not long after formation of the joint venture, when both parties realized that they were expecting something beyond the wishes of the other party. The tragedy ought to be avoidable if both parties made clear of their expectations before signing on the joint venture agreement. 3.3.2 The Process Selection It is suggested that a step-by-step approach should be adopted to develop relationship with potential partners (Kathryn Rudie 2003): Prepare a checklist desirable quality of the partner Searching out for potential partners based on the checklist Prepare proposals and issues to study and negotiate with the potential partner If possible, try out a joint venture of small scale before committing long term and large scaled joint venture business Theatrically, this process enables the partners to develop faith and mutual trust and allows better mutual understanding before placing large financial stakes on joint ventures with unfamiliar partners. Obviously, this takes a long time and in practice the ever changing business environment often does not wait for such long process of partner selection. Business opportunities simply slip away before the good partner relationship can evolve in this way. In real life, it is often founded that good joint venture partner relationship is assumed at the time of signing the joint venture agreement, and the assumption is often based on personal relationship between the CEOs of the companies. The Case Study Major consideration in selection of partners was what resources the partner could bring in to supplement his shortages and strengthen the competence of the company to successfully tender for the job. Reputation and track record in the international construction industry was the first item to check on, particularly as the potential partner was new-comers to Spain. It was admitted that the other partnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s intention of choosing the company was not fully known at the time of forming the joint venture. At that time, it was only understood that the company was chosen by other partners because of its local experiences in Spain and the feeling of political security that the firm could provide as a whole owned company. It was now gradually revealed that