Accelerated Reader Student Software Program Review

Accelerated Reader Student Software Program Review Accelerated Reader is one of the world’s most popular reading programs. The software program, commonly referred to as AR, is designed to motivate students to read and to assess their overall understanding of the books that they are reading. The program was developed by Renaissance Learning Inc., which has several other programs closely related to the Accelerated Reader program. Although the program is designed for student’s grades 1-12, Accelerated Reader is especially popular in elementary schools across the country. The programs main purpose is to determine whether or not the student has actually read the book. The program is designed to build and encourage students to become lifelong readers and learners. In addition, teachers can use the program to motivate their students by providing rewards that correspond to the number of AR points earned by the student. Accelerated Reader is essentially a three-step program. Students first read a book (fiction or nonfiction), magazine, textbook, etc. Students may read individually, as a whole group, or in small group settings. Students then individually take the quiz that corresponds to what they just read. AR quizzes are assigned a point value based on the overall level of the book. Teachers often set weekly, monthly, or yearly goals for the number of points they require their students to earn. Students who score below 60% on the quiz do not earn any points. Students who score 60% - 99% receive partial points. Students who score 100% receive full points. Teachers then use the data generated by these quizzes to motivate students, monitor progress, and target instruction. Internet-Based Accelerated Reader is Internet-based meaning that it can be accessed easily on any computer that has Internet access. Being Internet based allows Renaissance Learning to automatically update the program and to store key data on their servers. This makes it much easier on a school’s IT team. Individualized One of the best things about Accelerated Reader is that it allows the teacher to dictate how the program is used including the ability to limit students to a reading range that is on their level. This keeps students from reading books that are too easy or too difficult. Accelerated Reader allows students to read on their own levels and to read at their own pace. It does not dictate which book a student reads. There are currently over 145,000 quizzes available to students. In addition, teachers may make their own quizzes for books that currently are not in the system or they may request that a quiz is made for a particular book. Quizzes are added continuously for new books as they come out. Easy to Set Up Students and teachers can be quickly added to the system either through large batch enrollment or individualized addition. Accelerated Reader allows teachers to customize individual reading levels. Teachers can get these reading levels from a STAR Reading Assessment, standardized assessment, or individual teacher assessment. Classes can be quickly set up to allow the teacher to monitor whole class reading progress and to compare individual students within that class. Motivates Students Every quiz in the Accelerated Reader program is worth points. Points are determined by a combination of the difficulty of the book and the length of the book. Teachers often set goals for the number of points each student must earn. The teacher then rewards their students by giving things such as prizes, parties, etc as motivation to meet their goals. Assesses Student Understanding Accelerated Reader is designed to determine whether or not a student has read a particular book and the level at which they understand the book. A student cannot pass the quiz (60% or higher) if they have not read the book. Students who pass the quizzes demonstrate that they not only read the book, but they have a proficient level of understanding of what the book was about. Uses the ATOS Level The ATOS book level is a readability formula used by the Accelerated Reader program to represent the difficulty of a book. Each book in the program is assigned an ATOS number. A book with a level of 7.5 should be read by a student whose reading level is somewhere around the 7th grade and fifth month of the school year. Encourages Using the Zone of Proximal Development Accelerated Reader encourages the use of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The Zone of Proximal Development is defined as the range of difficulty that will challenge a student without causing the student to become frustrated or lose motivation. The ZPD can be determined by the STAR Reading assessment or the teacher’s best professional judgment. Allows Parents to Monitor Progress The program allows parents to do the following: Monitor a student’s progress towards reading goals.Conduct book searches.Review results, view the number of books read, words read, and quizzes passed. Provides Teachers With Tons of Reports Accelerate Reader has about a dozen fully customizable reports. These include diagnostic reports, history reports; quiz usage reports, student point reports, and many more. Provides Schools With Technical Support Accelerated Reader allows you to receive automatic software updates and upgrades. It provides live chat support to answer questions and provide immediate resolution to any issues or problems you have with the program. Accelerated Reader also provides software and data hosting. Cost Accelerated Reader does not publish their overall cost for the program. However, each subscription is sold for a one-time school fee plus an annual subscription cost per student. There are several other factors that will determine the final cost of the programming including the length of the subscription and how many other Renaissance Learning programs your school has. Research To date, there have been 168 research studies that support the overall effectiveness of the Accelerated Reader program. The consensus of these studies is that Accelerated Reader is fully supported by scientifically based research. In addition, these studies concur that the Accelerated Reader program is an effective tool for boosting students’ reading achievement. Overall Assessment Accelerated Reader can be an effective technological tool for motivating and monitoring a student’s individual reading progress. One fact that can’t be ignored is the program’s immense popularity. Observations show that this program benefits many students, but the overuse of this program can also burn many students out. This speaks more to how the teacher is using the program than it does to the overall program itself. The fact that the program allows teachers to quickly and easily assess whether a student has read a book and the level of understanding they have from the book is a valuable tool. Overall, the program is worth four out of five stars. Accelerated Reader can have immense benefits for younger students but can lack in maintaining its overall benefits as students get older.

Federalist Essay essays

Federalist Essay essays In order to protect the safety and welfare of this country, the states which it is comprised of must come together to form a unified society. History has indeed shown us that the unification of the people of America has enabled us to achieve our goals. Unfortunately at this time, in what hopes to be only a minor obstruction in this countys future, we once again find ourselves divided among causes. The Constitution has become an object of this great debate. To most, it is not a matter of the importance of government, but more a matter of the certain liberties that must be forfeited to create a national government. The union of this countrys 13 states holds the key to this newly forming nations vitality. The widely accepted Constitution holds a promise for the aforementioned vitality of this land. Initial efforts at unity were admirable, but at the same time were lacking. The Articles of Confederation never held any potential for this land. They were merely a starting ground that brought this country together enough to begin to form, as written in the preamble of the constitution, a more perfect union. The Constitution does exactly so, it creates a firm union of the people. As previously stated, a union in crucial to this country. With England and Spain feuding over the Mississippi and St. Lawrence Rivers, war could let loose. A unified nation is the best possible defense plan. By being able to reap the benefits of the brightest and most talented, by being able to enact foreign policy that treats all foreign threat the same, and by acting in the interests of this county as a whole, it becomes quite easy to ward of any threat to us. The Constitution lays out rules and guidelines for federal agencies (i.e. Congress, and The Supreme Court). A system was created that is fair for all states, which makes it fair for this country as a whole. Under the Constitution, there are ...

Is Gatsby Great Analyzing the Title of The Great Gatsby

Is Gatsby Great Analyzing the Title of The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Most often, your first sense of a book is your reaction to its title. The best titles make novels sound mysterious, exciting, or interesting, attracting readers. Well-chosen titles also give readers a sense of what they can expect to find within the pages of the book. At the same time, a title is usually an author’s way of declaring what is and isn’t important in the book. A title can reflect a work’s theme or focus, pointing out the right frame of mind for reading. So how does the title of The Great Gatsby work? What is it showing us about the book that we are about to read - and how does our understanding of the title shift as we make our way through the story? Is Gatsby really great? In this article, I’ll dissect the different meanings of this title and explain the other titles that Fitzgerald was considering when he was writing the book. What Can We Learn From The Title of The Great Gatsby? In order to really explore the ways that this title reflects the novel, let’s first cut it into its parts, and then consider them back to front. The Title Features the Name of a Character Usually, when a novel is titled with the name of one of the characters, that either means that we’re about to read a biography or that the named personis the main character (for instance, Jane Austen’s Emma or J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter). So, here, the fact that â€Å"Gatsby† is in the title shows us that the focus of the story will be on him. In this case, this focus goes both ways. The novel is biographical, meaning, the novel is the story of Gatsby’s life. But also, Gatsby is, in fact, the protagonist of the story. It’s helpful for the title to show us this, since in this book the first-person narrator turns out not to be the main character. Great? Great! Great. Now let’s investigate four possible readings of the second part of the title, which all depend on the meaning of the word â€Å"great.† 1. Shallow and Straight-Faced This version takes â€Å"great† as a straightforward compliment, meaning â€Å"wonderful.† In this version, Gatsby is great because he is the richest, coolest, handsomest dude, who drives the best car and throws the most banging parties. In this take, the title means total admiration: Gatsby is nothing but greatness. This reading of the title applies best in the beginning of the novel, when Gatsby is all mysterious rumors, swirling success, and unimaginable luxury, and when Nick is in his thrall. 2. Mocking and Ironic On the other hand, we could be dealing with the â€Å"oh, that’s just great.† version of this word. As we - and the novel’s characters - learn more about Gatsby, the initial fascination with him turns into disappointment. In this reading, the â€Å"great† turns bitter. In reality, Gatsby’s money comes from crime. His parties, house, and material wealth don’t make him happy. He’s a moral bankrupt who is chasing after a married woman. And he hates his real self and has created a whole new fake persona to live out a teenage fantasy. This reading of the title works when Gatsby seems like a sad, shallow shell of â€Å"greatness† – he’s like a celebrity brand with no there there. 3. Deep and Soulful Another possibility is that â€Å"great† here means â€Å"intense and grand.† After all, even though Gatsby is a hollow shell of a man who’s propped up by laundered money, Nick firmly believes that he stands head and shoulders above theold money set because everything Gatsby does, he does for the truest of true love. Nick, who starts out being on the fence about Gatsby, comes to think of his love for Daisy as something that elevates Gatsby. For Nick, this love marks Gatsbyas the only one who matters of all the people he met during that summer ("They're a rotten crowd....You're worth the whole damn bunch put together" (8.45)). 4. Theatrical The final possibility is that this â€Å"great† sounds like the stage name of a magician (like â€Å"The Great Cardini,† master card illusionist). This version of Gatsby is also completely fitting: after all, he literally transforms into a totally different man during the course of his life. And, it wouldn’t be the last time that the novel was interested in the way Gatsby is able to create a spectacle, or the way he seems to be acting on a stage rather than actually living. For example, Nick says Gatsby reminds him of a â€Å"turbaned ‘character’ leaking sawdust at every pore† (4.31), while one of Gatsby’s guests compares him to David Belasco, a famous theater producer (3.50). The Title Is a Timeline So which of these versions is the correct one? All of them. One of the interesting things about this novel is that the title’s meaning shifts depending on how far we’ve read, or how much time we’ve spent reflecting on what we’ve read, or what we ultimately choose to believe about Gatsby’s motivationsand driving ambition. Which version of the â€Å"great† Gatsby appeals to you? Gatsby: always a little larger than life. Famous Alternate Titles Did you know that Fitzgerald actually was not a huge fan of the title The Great Gatsby? It was pushed on him by Max Perkins, his editor, who was facing a deadline (and probably by his wife Zelda as well). Fitzgerald had a list of titles he actually preferred to this one, and each of them reveals something about the novel, or at least about Fitzgerald’s sense of what the novel he wrote was all about. Unlike the actual title the novel ended up with, the alternate titles vary in how zoomed in they are onto Gatsby. Let’s go through them to see what they reveal about Fitzgerald’s conception of his work. Trimalchio, or Trimalchio in West Egg This was Fitzgerald’s favorite title - it’s what he would have named his book if Max Perkins hadn’t interfered to say that no one would get the reference. Perkins may have been right. Trimalchio is a character in The Satyricon, a book by the Ancient Roman writer Petronius. Only fragments of this work survive, but basically, it’s a satire that mocks Trimalchio for being a nouveau riche social climber who throws wildly elaborate and conspicuously expensive dinner parties (sound familiar?). Trimalchio is arrogant and vulgar and very into displaying his wealth in tacky ways. In the fragment we have, Petronius describes one party at length. It ends with the guests acting out Trimalchio’s funeral as an ego-boost. It’s important to note that in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald does refer to Gatsby directly as Trimalchio at one point: "...as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over" (7.1). Since The Satyricon is a satire, this alternate title suggests Fitzgerald originally wanted to present Gatsby as a figure to be mocked rather than to appear more grand/mysterious. This attitude towards the novel’s main seeker of the American Dreampaints Gatsby’s ambition to join elite society in an even darker and less flattering light than the noveldoes now. Among The Ash Heaps and Millionaires, or On The Road To West Egg These titles pan out, away from Gatsby and toward the geographic, social, and economic environment of the book. Both of these titles do this by giving us a sense of being between things, primarily the places with money and those without. Character-wise, these titles seem more Nick-focused, since he is the one who shows us the differences between these two worlds. Also, by referring to the physical space that separates Manhattan and the Long Island towns where the wealthy live, both of these titles directly reference the book’s climactic death, which takes place on the road back to West Egg, right at the place where the richly symbolicvalley of ashes is. Gold-Hatted Gatsby, or The High Bouncing Lover These rejected titles are both references to the epigraph that opens the book: Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry â€Å"Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!† by THOMAS PARKE D'INVILLIERS. Thomas Parke D'Invilliers is a secondary character in Fitzgerald’s semi-autobiographical first novel, This Side Of Paradise. In the novel, D’Invilliers is a poet who befriends the main character and whose poetry seems never to reflect the darker realities of life. The poem gives advice to a lover who is willing to go to desperate lengths to get the woman he is interested in to return the feeling (again, sound familiar?). A title based on this poem would place the novel’s emphasis squarely on Gatsby’s longingforDaisy, reorienting our sense of Gatsby as a striver to his function as a love interest. Under The Red, White, and Blue Rather than referencing any part of the book - a character, a place, or even an idea - this title instead broadens the reader’s perspective to a patriotic or nationalistic view of the United States. The effect is that we could easily be looking at a war story, or some political tract - there is simply nothing in this title that gives us any sense of what the underlying novel might be about. If Fitzgerald had gone with this title, we would read this novel much more squarely as a more direct indictment of America, or at least the myth of the American Dream. This is certainly one of the enduring themes of the novel, but since Nick ends up contrasting the midwest and the east coast’s totally different ideas about success and the American Dream, this title would actually dilute Fitzgerald’s disapproval by making all of the U.S. complicit. The symbolism of that lasttitle may have just been a bit too heavy-handed. The Bottom Line: Is Gatsby Great? The title is the reader’s first encounter with abook, which means it usually declares the focus or theme of that book. The Great Gatsby is a title that can be read Straightforwardly, as a declaration of Gatsby as a man who actually achieved the American Dream Ironically, since Gatsby’s greatness is a hollow sham and he is an amoral striver As a measure of the depth of his inner life As a stage name of sorts for Gatsby’s great performance of â€Å"upper-class WASP† Fitzgerald wasn’t particularly happy with the name and instead was considering An allusion to Trimalchio, which would link Gatsby to another famously vulgar new-money guy Titles that focused more on the geography of the novel’s climactic scene A broad American flag reference that calls into question the American Dream What’s Next? Learnwhy The Great Gatsbybegins the way it does-with a poem written by Fitzgerald himself, but disguised asthe work of someone else. Analyze the character traits of Jay Gatsbyto see which meaning of the word â€Å"great† really applies. Investigate the key themes pointed to by the various alternate titles: the American Dream, social status, and unrequited love. Read our summary ofThe Great Gatsby, and find links to our many otherGreat Gatsbyanalysis articles. 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:

Biography of Walter Cronkite, Journalist and Anchorman

Biography of Walter Cronkite, Journalist and Anchorman Walter Cronkite was a journalist who defined the role of network anchorman during the decades when television news rose from being the  neglected stepchild of radio to a dominant form of journalism. Cronkite became a legendary figure and was often called the most trusted man in America. Fast Facts: Walter Cronkite Known For: Broadcast journalist and anchorman who covered key moments in American historyAlso Known As: The Most Trusted Man in AmericaBorn: December 4, 1916 in  St. Joseph, MissouriDied: July 17, 2009 in New York City, New YorkEducation: University of Texas at AustinSelected Awards: Presidential Medal of Freedom, NASAs Ambassador of Exploration Award, Four Freedoms Award for the Freedom of SpeechNotable Quote: And thats the way it is. Originally a print reporter who excelled as a battlefield correspondent during  World War II, Cronkite developed a skill for reporting and telling a story which he brought to the embryonic medium of television. As Americans began receiving much of their news from television, Cronkite was  a familiar face in living rooms across the country. During his career Cronkite covered combat up close, putting himself at risk on a number of occasions. In less dangerous assignments he interviewed presidents and foreign leaders, and covered critical events from the  McCarthy era  to the early 1980s. For a generation of Americans, Cronkite provided a highly credible voice and a steady and calm manner during tumultuous times. Viewers related to him, and to his standard closing line at the end of each broadcast: And thats the way it is. Early Life Walter Cronkite was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on December 4, 1916. The family moved to Texas when Cronkite was a child, and he became interested in journalism during high school. While attending the University of Texas,  he worked for two years part-time for the Houston Post newspaper, and after leaving college he took a variety of jobs at newspapers and radio stations. In 1939, he was hired to be a war correspondent by the United Press wire service. As World War II intensified, the newly married Cronkite departed for Europe to cover the conflict. Formative Experience: World War II By 1942, Cronkite was based in England, sending dispatches back to American newspapers. He was invited into a special program with the U.S. Army Air Force to train journalists to fly aboard bombers. After learning basic skills, including firing the airplanes machine guns, Cronkite flew aboard an Eighth Air Force B-17 on a bombing mission over Germany. The mission turned out to be extremely dangerous. A correspondent from the New York Times, Robert P. Post, who was flying  on another B-17 during the same mission, was killed when the bomber was shot down. (Andy Rooney, a correspondent for Stars and Stripes and a future CBS News colleague of Cronkite, also flew on the mission and, like Cronkite, made it back to England safely.) Cronkite wrote a vivid dispatch about the bombing mission which ran in a number of American newspapers. In the New York Times of February 27, 1943, Cronkites story appeared under the headline Hell 26,000 Feet Up. On June 6, 1944, Cronkite observed the D-Day beach assaults from a military plane. In September 1944, Cronkite covered the airborne invasion of Holland in Operation Market Garden by landing in a glider with paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division. Cronkite covered the fighting in Holland for weeks, often putting himself at considerable risk. At the end of 1944, Cronkite covered the German offensive that turned into the Battle of the Bulge. In the spring of 1945, he covered the end of the war. Given his wartime experiences, he probably could have gotten a contract to write a book, but he chose to keep his job at United Press as a correspondent. In 1946, he covered the Nuremberg Trials, and following that he opened a United Press bureau in Moscow.   In 1948. Cronkite was back in the United States. He and his wife had their first child in November 1948. After years of travel, Cronkite began gravitating to a more settled life, and began to seriously think about jumping from print journalism to broadcasting. Early TV News In 1949 Cronkite began working for CBS Radio, based in Washington, D.C. He covered the government; a focus of his job was to broadcast reports to stations located in the Midwest. His assignments were not very glamorous, and tended to focus on agricultural policy of interest to listeners in the heartland. When the Korean War began in 1950, Cronkite wanted to return to his role as  an overseas correspondent. But he found a niche in Washington, delivering news about the conflict on local television, illustrating troop movements by drawing lines on a map. His wartime experience seemed to give him a certain confidence on the air, and viewers related to him. At that time, TV news was in its infancy, and many influential radio broadcasters, including even Edward R. Murrow, the legendary star  newsman of CBS Radio, believed television would be a passing fad. Cronkite, however, developed a feel for the medium, and his career took off. He was essentially pioneering the presentation of news on television, while also dabbling in interviews (once taking a tour of the White House with President Harry S. Truman) and even filling in as the host of a popular game show, Its News to Me. The Most Trusted Man in America In 1952, Cronkite and others at CBS put serious effort into presenting, live on the air, the proceedings of both major party political conventions from Chicago. Before the conventions, CBS even offered classes for politicians to learn how to appear on television. Cronkite was the teacher, giving points on speaking and facing the camera. One of his students was a Massachusetts congressman, John F. Kennedy. On election night in 1952, Cronkite anchored CBS News coverage live from a studio at Grand Central Station in New York City. Sharing the duties with Cronkite was a computer, Univac, which Cronkite introduced as an electronic brain that would help tally votes. The computer mostly malfunctioned during the broadcast, but Cronkite kept the show moving along.  CBS executives came to recognize Cronkite as something of a star. To viewers across America, Cronkite was becoming an authoritative voice. In fact, he became known as the most trusted man in America. Throughout the 1950s, Cronkite reported regularly on CBS News programs. He developed an early interest in Americas early space program, reading anything he could find about newly developed missiles and plans to launch astronauts into space. In 1960, Cronkite seemed to be everywhere, covering the political conventions and serving as one of the journalists asking questions at the final Kennedy-Nixon debate. On April 16, 1962, Cronkite began anchoring the CBS Evening News, a position he would hold until he chose to retire in 1981. Cronkite made sure he wasnt merely the anchorman, but the managing editor of the newscast. During his tenure, the broadcast expanded from 15 minutes to a half-hour. On the first program of the expanded format, Cronkite interviewed President Kennedy on the lawn of the Kennedy family house at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The interview, conducted on Labor Day 1963, was historically important as the president seemed to be adjusting his policy on Vietnam. It would be one of the last interviews with Kennedy before his death less than three months later. Reporting on Key Moments in American History On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Cronkite was working in the CBS newsroom in New York City when bells indicating urgent bulletins began ringing on teletype machines. The first reports of a shooting near the presidents motorcade in Dallas were being transmitted via wire services. The first bulletin of the shooting broadcast by CBS News was voice-only, as it took time to set up a camera. As soon as it was possible, Cronkite appeared live on the air. He gave updates on the shocking news as it arrived. Nearly losing his composure, Cronkite made the grim announcement that President Kennedy had died from his wounds. Cronkite stayed on the air for hours, anchoring the coverage of the assassination. He spent many hours on the air in the following days, as Americans engaged in a new sort of mourning ritual, one conducted via the medium of television. In the following years, Cronkite would deliver news about the Civil Rights Movement, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, riots in American cities, and the Vietnam War. After visiting Vietnam in early 1968  and witnessing the violence unleashed in the Tet Offensive, Cronkite returned to America and delivered a rare editorial opinion. In a commentary delivered on CBS, he said that, based on his reporting, the war was a stalemate and a negotiated end should be sought. It was later reported that President Lyndon Johnson was shaken to hear Cronkites assessment, and it influenced his decision not to seek a second term. One big story of the 1960s that Cronkite loved to cover was the space program. He anchored live broadcasts of rocket launches, from projects Mercury through Gemini and to the crowning achievement, Project Apollo. Many Americans learned how the rockets operated by watching Cronkite give basic lessons from his anchor desk. In an era before TV news could utilize advanced special effects, Cronkite, handling plastic models, demonstrated the maneuvers that were being performed in space. When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, a nationwide audience watched the grainy images on television. Many were tuned into CBS and Walter Cronkite, who famously admitted, after seeing Armstrong make his famous first step, Im speechless. Later Career Cronkite continued covering the news through the 1970s, anchoring events such as Watergate and the end of the Vietnam War. On a trip to the Middle East, he interviewed Egyptian president Sadat and Israeli prime minister Begin. Cronkite was given credit for inspiring the two men to meet and eventually forge a peace treaty between their countries. For many, the name Cronkite was synonymous with  the news. Bob Dylan, in a song on his 1975 album Desire, made a playful reference to him: I was sittin home alone one night in L.A.Watching old Cronkite on the seven oclock news... On Friday, March 6, 1981, Cronkite presented his final newscast as an anchorman. He chose to end his tenure as anchor with little fanfare. The New York Times reported that he had spent the day, as usual, preparing the newscast. In the following decades, Cronkite appeared often on television, at first doing specials for CBS, and later for PBS and CNN. He remained active, spending time with a wide circle of friends that came to include artist Andy Warhol and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. Cronkite also kept with his hobby of sailing in the waters around Marthas Vineyard, where he had long kept a vacation home. Cronkite died at the age of 92 on July 17, 2009. His death was front-page news across America. He is widely remembered as a legendary figure who created and embodied a golden age of television news. Sources Brinkley, Douglas. Cronkite. Harper Perennial, 2013.Martin, Douglas. â€Å"Walter Cronkite, 92, Dies; Trusted Voice of TV News.† New York Times, 17 July 2009, p. 1.Cronkite, Walter. Hell 26,000 Feet Up. New York Times, 17 February 1943, p. 5.

Can Porters Value Chain Help Us Identify the Source(s) if Tesco's Essay

Can Porters Value Chain Help Us Identify the Source(s) if Tesco's Competitive Advantage - Essay Example With more than 240,000 employees, Tesco operates 164 and 2715 in USA and UK respectively (Annual Report, 2011). Tesco is widely known, as it always thrives to constantly communicate its brand message to potential customers, as a company that ‘creates value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty’. Tesco’s Value Chain Analysis The primary aim of Value Chain analysis is to find sources of a company’s competitive advantages. In order to do this, company can be divided in to several activities so that the strategically relevant activities become evident (Bischoff, 2011, p. 3). More specifically, value is an extremely important concept to strategic management and marketing as well. Porter’s Value Chain proposes an organizational system composed of systematic transformation process with inputs and outputs to a distinct stage. Customers perceive and measure value in consideration of money they are willing to pay. If the marketer can make a difference b etween the total cost and the value which in turn equal to that of product’s price, he can generate profit. ... The support activities include administrative infrastructure management, HRM, IT, procurement etc. When it comes to the Value Chain Analysis of Tesco, it can be observed that the company has taken measures to ensure delivering of maximum values to its customers. As depicted below, Tesco’s seven strategies explained in its Annual Report, 2011 exhibit its focus on consumer choice. It is giving greater emphasis on green-retailing. As a global business, it is trying to make a difference in how effectively it can tackle the climate change issues (Annual Report, 2011, p. 15). Both these and its online home delivery system, which was reckoned as highly successful (Child, 2002, p. 135) are major inbound logistics that contribute to its values offers to the customers and profits it proposes to generate as well. In both its home and foreign markets, Tesco operates through a replenishment systems and distribute its goods in its own brands. Moreover, the company thrives on innovation. As far as outbound logistics are concerned, the company is highly successful in going global. As Child (2002, p. 135) noted, Tesco is very successful in delivering fastest organic growth of any retailer in the world. Its non-food business has grown by 18 % in 2000. Tesco was not simply globalizing its business, but rather, it thought of a strategy ‘Think Global, Act Local’ by which it positively approached to understanding of responsiveness of cultural vagaries as well as attitudes of foreign customers (Griffith, p. 4). Tesco in UK has emerged as part of routine, and therefore, it not just seized opportunities but rather it became part of a country where it launched its store and people too became part of it. This has eventually contributed greater to

Analyze the ways in which controversy over the extension of slavery Research Paper

Analyze the ways in which controversy over the extension of slavery into western territories contributed to the coming of the Ci - Research Paper Example In fact, slavery was already in rapid decline in the Border States and cities, because they could not compete with free labor. In the 1850s, tensions between revived by the same problem that produced dating back to the Missouri Compromise of 1820: slavery in the territories. Northerners and southerners in fact came to define "Manifest Destiny" in different ways, undermining nationalism as a unifying force. The Compromise of 1850 relating to the acquisition of territory after the Mexican-American War. It includes a provision for the execution of fugitive slave who led a series of small local events in the North, which has expressed concern about slavery. Most people think of the compromise amendment was finished as a regional problem, but Stephen A. Douglas again in 1854, and the name of democracy. Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill aims to open a huge new range of high quality, clearing and settlement. As an American of Chicago, Chicago was particularly interested in the track link in Kansas and Nebraska, but it was a moot point. More importantly, Douglas was a firm believer in democracy at the grassroots level that the actual settlers have the right to decide on slavery, not politicians from other states. Finally, the popular reaction has come, but the leaders had the spark. Chase Appeal of Independent Democrats "did much to educate the public. In New York, William H. Seward finally took charge of organizing a demonstration against the Nebraska bill, since none had arisen spontaneously. Press as National period, the New York Tribune, and local magazines free of soil, condemned the bill. Convinced that Northern society was better than the south and more convinced than ever a threat to the efforts of the South to expand the slave power of its current borders, the north has been a global approach, which has a risk of conflict, but conflict required power of the Republican Party. Republican Party - a people's campaign, emotional release of "free country" is the border - took over the White House after only six years of existence. The Republican Party was born of the controversy over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Once the Northern reaction against the Kansas-Nebraska Act took place, its leaders have acted to promote a different political reorganization. Henry Wilson said the death Whig Party and vowed to oppose any attempt to revive it. Horace Greeley Tribune has called for the formation of a new party of the North, and Benjamin Wade, Chase, Charles Sumner and others have talked about the union of all opponents of the law of Nebraska. Tribune Gamaliel Bailey was involved in calling a caucus of anti-slavery Whig and Democratic Party members of Congress in May. Meeting in a church in Ripon, Wisconsin, congregations, February 28, 1854 some thirty opponents of the law of Nebraska called for organizing a new political party and suggested that "Republican" would be the most appropriate name ( to link their cause with the Declaration of Independen ce). rights activists, the mind has played a leading role in creating the Republican Party in most northern states during the summer of the 1854th While conservatives and moderates were content to call for the restoration of the Compromise Missouri or prohibition of slavery extension,

Foreign Exchange Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Foreign Exchange Risk - Essay Example Exporting and importing also implies considerable foreign exchange risks for the companies involved. Importers will have to pay a higher price if their home currency depreciates against the exporting foreign country and vice versa. International retailing operations also entail high exposure to foreign exchange risk as the exchange rate of any of the two countries fluctuates. The fluctuations in exchange rate â€Å"†¦result in direct changes in the relative prices of domestic and foreign goods†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bartov and Bodnar, 1994, p. 1758) It ultimately increases the exposure of virtually all forms of international operations to foreign exchange risk. Foreign exchange or currency risk affects a company in several different ways viz. sales level, future cash flows, financial reporting, product price and production etc. Bartov and Bodnar propound that exchange rate fluctuations â€Å"†¦influence both the current and future expected cash flows of firms with international operations.† (1994, p. 1758). Fluctuation in exchange rate can affect a company’s future cash flows by increasing or decreasing the price of goods and services in the domestic or foreign country. It can also affect a company’s operational performance by increasing or decreasing the cost of importing raw material. Currency rates have a significant impact on the reporting of sales level. If the foreign exchange rates are favourable, the company’s reported sales will rise (Bartov and Bodnar, 1994). Therefore, apart from affecting its real future cash flows, exchange rate fluctuations bear the capacity to influence its reported revenues. Exposure to foreign exchange risk can also affect a company’s production level and its prices. It will be costlier for companies to import products from a foreign country having a high exchange rate as compared to the domestic

Portfolios Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Portfolios - Essay Example There are many types of portfolios and some include the documentation portfolio, process portfolio and the show case portfolio. The documentation portfolio also known as working portfolio is an approach that entails the compilation of data that shows the growth and progression of scholars. A process portfolio is another type of portfolio that shows the general learning process of students. This means that the portfolio collects the small details of the student works and shows how a student used his/her skills to improve their grades. This type of portfolio also shows the self-reflection of the students. Showcase portfolios illustrate the cumulative assessment of the syllabus mastery by the student. It contains the best work of the student from the topics that the teachers have seen suitable for evaluation (Sharp) An electronic portfolio is a portfolio that uses technological methods to document and store the information of a student. It is better that the other types of portfolios because it uses many methods of documenting and storing data. These methods include auditory, visual and graphics. The electronic portfolios have the potential of sorting out materials so that they connect facts to suitable standards. The information can be in form of a tape or computer readable structure. Portfolios are a good way of teaching students as the students will be able to assess themselves in their learning process. When a student looks at how he is gradually becoming a poor student, he may be able to pay more attention to his weak points and work harder to perform better. Moreover, through the student portfolio, a teacher is able to make the students perform better in their studies and improve their weak points (Aurbach, 2006). Unlike a report card, which will only show a grade like C or B, a portfolio shows much more detail. It will show the weakness and struggles of a student. This is

Managing People in Engineering Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Managing People in Engineering - Assignment Example Further, it understands the changes in the workforce with regard to demographics, skills, interests as well as performance. Workforce planning also capable of identifying various gaps in capability, as well as understanding the suitability of the current workforce for the purposes of future job needs. In addition, this process develops strategies, for example recruitment, retention as well as training for the purposes of addressing needs of staff, according to the gaps (1). The general employment environment plays a major role in workforce recruitment and selection. For recruitment and selection processes to be successful the employment environment has to be inclusive, whereby, for example, there is support by staff for processes such as agency workforce diversity initiatives. Environment includes the external environment- this refers to the various factors that affect the ability of a manager to attract, as well as recruit new workforce. Employment environment refers to factors such as the style of management, work-life balance as well as learning and development factors. For successful recruiting and selection to be achieved, the following processes and procedures are carried out. The first process involves short-listing. This involves making assessments of the applications of candidates to establish their suitability for the engineering post, which is done according to the job description and the person’s specification. After short-listing, persons are required to fill application blanks, which record qualifications, experiences as well as any other necessary specialty. This is an important selection process as it provides important information which can be used to properly identify the person and develop appropriate inferences with regard to his suitability. What follow is employment tests, which are carried out to match the physical, mental as well as temperamental pattern of the individual. These

Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War Essay Example for Free

Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War Essay Some have said that the United States and Iran have been involved in a â€Å"Cold War† for three decades starting with the fall of the taking of American hostages in 1979. One could trace the problems between Iran and the United States to the installation of the Shah in the 1950s. Regardless of the origins, the fact remains that Iran and the United States consider themselves enemies. As such, it is not out of the question that a war between the United States and Iran could break out. This creates a very complex scenario because of the global economic implications of a war between Iran and the United States. Iran is, of course, a major supplier of oil to the many allies of the United States. Japan, for example, is one of the United States’ strongest allies and it receives an enormous amount of oil from Iran. Similarly, many European allies receive imports of Iranian oil. A war between Iran and the United States would have tremendous global implications. Among these many implications would be serious potential negative implications for the world’s economy. Several of these different â€Å"nightmare scenarios† will be explored in this essay. First, it is important to state there are different ways to wage war. Some methods such as supporting the overthrow of the Iranian government via supporting resistance forces might not have the impact of the global economy to the same degree as a series of surgical airstrikes or a ground invasion. In this essay, the subject of ‘war’ will be discussed in its most conventional sense. Specifically, it will be defined as a large scale, drawn out military conflict between the two nations. One of the most strategic areas the United States must consider when it comes to Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War 2 the issue of a war with Iran is the fact that Iran is completely reliant on the importation of gasoline. Without shipping access, the ability for Iran to maintain its importation of gasoline would be impossible. Of course, it would be to the United States’ interest to enact a naval blockade on Iran to prevent the importation of gasoline. This would almost immediately lead to Iran further rationing its gasoline supply in order to effectively operate its military. While it would not be accurate to state that a naval blockade would immediately end the war (Iran’s navy could attack the US’ navy and potentially reverse the blockade) However, the scenario of no imports or exports would also cripple Iran’s ability to deliver oil to other nations in the world. This would then have potentially enormous economic impacts on the global markets. The notion that there would be serious economic implications resulting from a war between the United States and Iran has been weighed by many serious thinkers. â€Å"earlier in July when Iran tested missiles capable of reaching Israel and other corners of the Middle East, the price of oil jumped to a new high of over $147 per barrel. In fact, some analysts see the impact of U. S. —Iran relations on the oil market as so important as to suggest the best way to give quick relief to energy consumers around the world is a declaration by the U. S. that military force is not an acceptable option in its dispute with Iran. † (Esfahani) This is why there is so much concern globally regarding a potential United States/Iranian conflict. At the core of mostly all basic economics is the theory of supply and demand. If Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War 3 the supply of something is limited and high demand remains in place, the price of the item increases. This then creates the issue of opportunity costs. When you buy something with your money, you have eliminated the potential to use that same money for something else. In other words, if the price of gasoline skyrockets and people have to pay more for it, then they will be depleted their cash reserves or increasing their borrowing. Oil is also employed for the production of electricity which would also increase in price in the face of an oil embargo. Once again, the drain on personal finances as a result of such increased energy and fuel costs would cut into every sector of the global economy. Discretionary income would drop and leisure purchases and even the purchases of necessities would diminish rapidly. What would be the effect of this on the economies of various nations? The impact would be felt on a variety of front. The stock market, for example, would experience a great deal of negative impact as a result of such diminished spending. When people are not purchasing, the stocks of many companies may decline. After all, their profit margins could decline. Granted, there are many steps a company can take to make sure its stock price remains stable. For example, reducing the workforce or cutting spending in other areas would aid in boosting stock prices. However, if something is not done to present the lowering of stock prices, economies will take an immediate tumble. Those with investments in the market would see their net worth diminish. If one Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War 4 sees a 25% decline in the value of their portfolio, they will see a 25% decline in their net worth. Again, this is how simple economics works and such an impact will assuredly be the result of a large scale (or even minor military skirmish) between Iran and the United States. There really would be no way to avoid such a chain of events from occurring if a war broke out between the Unites States and Iran. This is because there will be an enormous impact on the price and flow of oil if such a war was to break out. Such an occurrence could not be circumvented in any way. As one can infer, this ties heavily into the concept of aggregate demand which would be the definitive demand for goods and services in a particular economy at certain specific price levels. As one could logical infer, demand for high priced items in this situation of reduced consumer cash liquidity would certainly hamper purchases of high priced items or items that are not considered of vital importance to one’s sustenance. This can lead to s significant reduction in output – the total value of all services and goods produced in the economy – within a very short period of time. We will see the impact of this in the Mundell-Fleming Model (An aggregate demand model) which would detail the relationship between the inflation of prices combined with the actual output of goods and services. In the simplest of terms, high inflation combined with a slow decline in goods and services could prove cataclysmic for an economy. But, even with high inflation, it would be safe to say that the potential for the Mundell-Fleming model to maintain a high supply of goods and services is possible in the United States. The reason for this is that the various sectors of the United States Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War 5 economy are so vast that there will be those able to purchase goods and services even at inflated prices. Some professions would not be as significantly impacted by high fuel or energy costs. As such, there may be a certain level of maintained stability within model even though a large section of the population may still be suffering. Issues surrounding a war with Iran are complex and far reaching. This includes the actual manner in which the war would be waged. Considering the size of the US and Iranian military, no option would be off the table in terms of how the war would be waged. Case in point, the utilization of tactical nuclear weapons by the United States may be necessitated. This is not to say that tactical nuclear missiles would be a first response or that they would be directed towards civilian targets. However, there are possibilities that could necessitate the use of such weapons by the United States. For example, Iran has tens of thousands of cruise missiles. The threat of launching thousands of these missiles into Israeli cities, European cities, or neighboring American military bases would potentially require the detonation of the missile silos with tactical nuclear arms. A wide scale Iranian invasion of neighboring countries such as Iraq could require a tactical response. Use of chemical weapons by Iran would constitute a WMD attack and lead to a nuclear response. Really, there are many different variables at work here. Again, this is not to say that a war between the United States and Iran would automatically lead to nuclear strikes. However, the potential for such strikes exist in any large scale military conflict. This would have a devastating impact on the world economy Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War 6 for a number of reasons. The possibility of a nuclear strike destroying oil fields would be a potential scenario. The presence of radiation reducing the amount of work that can be performed on oil wells is another. Such scenarios are grim when discussed in an antiseptic manner. In the decades since the detonation of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the horror of a nuclear strike’s effects have not been dulled on the senses of people. However, the specter of the potential use of such weapons is always present. As such, the impact – both human and economic – must be weighed. Because of the potential for a tactical nuclear strike leading to arms races in the region (Other nations will want their own nukes as a deterrent to future strikes), the need for a significant conventional force is required. This means the war will have to be funded to handle a long campaign and potentially significantly longer post-war rebuilding phase. This will cost significantly in terms of government expenditures which, in turn, means the deficit will skyrocket. With very high, out of control deficits, a number of seriously negative economic situations could develop. First, a debtor nation may not be able to provide for the common good of society. As such, it must take steps to reduce the impact of the deficit. One method involves printing more money and the other process involves increasing taxes. Both methods have the potential for significant economic harm. When a nation prints more money in order to meet obligations tied to a deficit, it the value of the currency will decrease. A weakened dollar comes with many problems. Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War 7 Namely, investment is seriously hampered since the dollars that you amass are worth less. Additionally, there will be a disinclination on the part of foreign investors to put their money into the US market. There would be limited value for their doing so since the dollar is declining meaning their investment capital in dollars would potentially decline as well. Debt holders of US bonds would also become more nervous since they would be losing money on their investment. As pointed out in BUSINESSWEEK, â€Å"As the currency deteriorates, it becomes more expensive to import goods and services from other countries, fueling inflation. In an effort to pull investors back, central banks often raise interest rates when their national currencies lose value. But as anyone who remembers the 70s knows, the combination of rising interest rates and on-the-run inflation can be a devastating economic cocktail. † (Rosenbush) In some cases, foreign investment is critical for the spurning of employment and economic growth. With foreign companies opting to avoid putting their money into the United States, the unemployment could increase which further raises deficit potential. This is due to the fact that more unemployed people means less tax dollars paid to the government. Additionally, unemployment creates greater dependency on welfare which also contributes to higher deficits. All of this further sets the stage for inflation which makes goods and services less affordable to the public. This further damages the economy and adds to the deficits. Tax Economic Implications of a US-Iranian War 8 increases are commonly pointed to as a solution, but their value is limited. When money is taken out of the private sector and placed in the treasury, it makes job creation harder. This, in turn, makes economic recover more difficult as well. If an economic recovery if difficult to expedite, then it becomes much harder to get out of it. That is because the sheer volume of economic pain induced by the many months or years of poor economic factors and growth create complexities and problems that multiply. Again, this makes reversing a poor economy more difficult. As such, some may wonder why the United States’ policy towards Iran may be so hard lined. The reason is that not treating Iran as a threat could prove equally harmful to economic and security interests. Iran’s agitation towards the United States prime allies is not helpful for US strategic security. Also, Iran’s potential domination of the other oil countries in the Middle East does not appeal to US economic interests. As such, there will be perpetual tension between the two countries. Hopefully, such tensions will not lead to war but preparedness for such actions is required. Considering the economic impact of such action, war should be the perennial last resort or option to be executed. So, far it has been averted and will hopefully remain averted for the foreseeable future. Most do not tie the economic ramifications to military action. However, the two are intertwined. Wars need to be funded and there are additional economic costs associated with military action. This is why sensible nations do not rush to war and as well they should not. But, this does not mean a nation should not prepare for the potential worst case scenario.While the US is not is a rush to engage Iran militarily, it understands the potential for such a conflict needs to be adequately prepared for. Works Cited Esfahani, e. (2008, September). The Economic consequences of us-iran relations. Retrieved from http://www. ideals. illinois. edu/bitstream/handle/2142/9093/ policy_brief. esfahani. final. pdf? sequence=2 Rosenbush, S. (2004, November 12). The Pros and cons of a weak dollar. Businessweek, Retrieved from http://www. businessweek. com/bwdaily/ dnflash/nov2004/nf20041112

The Syndetic And Asyndetic Coordination English Language Essay

The Syndetic And Asyndetic Coordination English Language Essay This chapter is devoted to throwing some light on the theoretical aspects of the research work. The term coordination is central to this study. Nevertheless, derivations of coordination as a branch of linguistic study, how it has been explained and used in other genres will be looked at in order to set-up a conceptual framework that would help to make things clear and lay the foundation for subsequent analysis. 2.1. The Concept in Focus Coordination Haspelmath(2000) defines coordination as syntactic constructions in which two or more units of the same type are combined into larger units and still have the same semantic relations with other surrounding elements (1). Bloomfields similar definition of coordination contrasts it with subordination: Endocentric constructions are of two kinds, co-ordinative (or serial) and subordinative (or attributive). In the former type the resultant phrase belongs to the same form-class as two or more of the constituentsIn subordinative endocentric constructions, the resultant phrase belongs to the same form-class as one of the constituents, which we call the head. (195). Both of these definitions are syntactic, and emphasize the balanced syntactic relationship between coordinated items. In addition, both definitions state that the structure resulting from coordination is of the same type (semantic in Haspelmaths definition, syntactic in Bloomfields) as the coordinated items. Yuasa and sadock in agreement with the observation of Bloomfield further mention 5 criteria that confirms the presence of coordination: Reversibility : changing the order of the conjuncts does not affect the truth conditions. Application of the coordinate structure constraint: the constituents of one clause cannot be questioned separately. No backward anaphora: a pronoun in the first clause cannot co refer with a full NP in the second clause. Multiple conjuncts are possible. All the conjuncts are equally asserted. (87-111.) Halliday and Hasan describe coordination as an intrasentential structural device . However, Halliday and Hasan do acknowledge that sets of sentences similar to coordination do exist especially if they share parallel structure, and view coordination as a structure of the paratactic type (223) Cathrine Fabricius-Hansen and Ramm, W (2005) describe coordination as being used as a means of clause combining and information packaging at discourse level and differs from a sentence sequence by explicitly instructing the reader to keep the two propositions together in discourse processing. For example in establishing a discourse structure, licensing the inference of certain discourse relations to hold between the conjuncts, while blocking others. As a means of constructing (more) complex (clause/VP) constituents from simpler ones of the same syntactic category, coordination can be compared to certain kinds of adjunction, i.e. syntactic subordination. (175-213). Coordination has been viewd by various scholars as processes used by languages to combine units to make other units. Or as a part of the basic efficiency of language through which simple units like phrases and the simple sentence are re-cycled to make longer and perhaps more complex units. Dickens (2009) re-categorizes coordinators as existing in a semantic cline with disjuncts. By this he means a scale of varying levels of coordination: while coordinators such as and establish an equivalent and non-adverbial relationship between two clauses such that neither is subordinate to the other, disjuncts like since establish some degree of indirectness and an adverbial relationship between the clauses (42:1076-1136). 2.3. Types of Coordination Syndetic and asyndetic coordination Haspelmath and Quirk et al define asyndetic and syndetic coordination as Coordinate constructions lacking overt coordinator (asyndetic coordination) or having some overt linking devices such as conjunctions; and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.(syndetic coordination). a). Slowly and stealthily, he crept towards his victim. And Asyndetic coordination as when the relationship of coordination is not marked overtly; a). Slowly, stealthily, he crept towards his victim. Though there exist a relatively fixed order for subclasses of adjectives in asyndetic coordination, but the order is said to be relatively free when a coordinator is present. 2.4. Asyndetic Coordination Asyndeton Despite its formidable name asyndeton is nothing more than a different way of handling a list or a series,Asyndeton uses no conjunctions and separates the terms of the list with commas. It differs from the conventional treatment of lists and series, which is to use only commas between all items except the last two, these being joined by a conjunction. Asyndeton is linked to asyndetic coordination. Asyndeton produces a hurried rhythm in the sentence. Corbett (1971) cites Aristotles observation that asyndeton was especially appropriate for the conclusion of a discourse, because there, perhaps more than in other places in the discourse, we may want to produce the emotional reaction that can be stirred by, among other means, rhythm, (470). Asyndeton is the instance of conjoining constructions in which there are no coordinators (also referred to as juxtaposition); monosyndeton, in which there is one coordinator; and polysyndeton, in which more than one coordinator is used. 2.5. Syndetic Coordination Polysyndeton Polysyndeton is a way of handling a list or a series. Polysyndeton places a conjunction (and, or) after every term in the list (except, the last). It differs from the conventional treatment of lists and series, which is to use only commas between all items except the last two, these being joined by a conjunction. Polysyndeton is linked to Syndetic coordination , as opposed to Asyndeton which is linked to Asyndetic coordination. Monosyndetic and Bisyndetic Coordination Coordinations may either have a single coordinator (monosyndetic) or two coordinators (bisyndetic). Haspelmath (2000) further proffers some relevant constituency tests for monosyndetic coordination: (i) Intonation: In certain cases, English and forms an intonation group with the following phrase, not with the preceding phrase. (ii) Pauses: In English, it is much more natural to pause before and than after and. (iii) Discontinuous order: In special circumstances, the coordinands may be separated by other material, as when a coordinand is added as an afterthought. In English, the coordinator must be next to the second coordinand (e.g. My uncle will come tomorrow, or my aunt). Not my uncle or will come tomorrow, my aunt. (iv) (Morpho)phonological alternations: When the coordinator or one of the coordinand undergoes (morpho)phonological alternations in the construction, this is evidence that they form a constituent together. (121) 2.6. The Nature of Coordination Contrastive Coordination Conjunction and Disjunction Haspelmath (2000) states that many languages distinguish between normal coordination such as A and B, X or Y, which may also be referred to as conjunction and what might be called contrastive coordination: both A and B, either X or Y. The semantic difference he views is that in contrastive coordination, it is emphasized that each coordinand belongs to the coordination and each of them is considered separately . Hence, it creates opposing notion of meaning inherent in the text because two things cannot be separately similar. And like conjunction, disjunction markers are often polyfunctional . Dickens (2009) states that Disjuncts display some coordinator-like properties, so they are grouped on a continuum with coordinators (1089). Halliday and Hassan see conjunction as a cohesive device that relates sentences. Conjunctive elements they state, are cohesive not in themselves but indirectly, by virture of their specific meanings; they are viewed as not primarily devices for reaching out into the preceding text, but express certain meanings which presuppose the presence of other components in the discourse, as similary described by Bloor and Bloor (1995) . Halliday and Hasan (1976) indicate that conjunctive relations are not tied to any particular sequence in the expression. Nevertheless, amongst the cohesion forming devices within text, conjunction is seen as the least directly identifiable relation. Conjunction acts as a semantic cohesive tie within text in four categories: Additive, adversative, causal and temporal. Additive conjunction acts to structurally coordinate or link by adding to the presupposed item and are signaled through and, also, too, furthermore, additionally, etc. Additive conjunction may also act to negate the presupposed item and is signaled by nor, andnot, either, neither, etc. Adversative conjunctions act to indicate contrary to expectation ( 250) and are signaled by yet, though, only, but, in fact, rather, etc. Causal conjunction expresses result, reason and purpose and is signaled by so, then, for, because. Adversative coordination seems always binary, it must consist of two coordinands, so is described as causal and then is described as temporal. (227) Halliday and Hassan acknowledge that conjunction is derived from coordination, they argue that Conjunction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is not simply coordination extended so as to operate between sentences, noting that one difference between coordinate and and conjunctive and is that coordinate and can link any number of items, whereas conjunctive and links pairs of sentences.   They view conjunctions as expressing one or other of a small number of very general relations (238). In the same vein Halliday and Matthiessen (1999) in relation to its cohesive function state that In conjunction, the various logical-semantic relations of expansion that construe clause complex structures à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are deployed instead as a source of cohesion. They argue that among other resources which construe clauses and clause complexes into longer stretches of discourse without the formality of further grammatical structure are conjunction and lexical cohesion (530-31). Halliday Matthiessen (1999) in extending the notion of language resources as tools of broadening and reaching out into meaning states that: in principle, any particular type of expansion or projection can be interpreted in either way, either as paratactic or hypotactic; but in fact there is some degree of partial association: certain combinations are favored, and others correspondingly disfavored. For example, in English, when one process is construed as a simple restatement of, or addition to another, the two are likely to have equal status; whereas where one is seen as enhancing the other they are usually unequal a means is secondary to what has been achieved by it, a cause is secondary to its effectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The second type of expansion consists in extending one process by construing another one as an addition to it (with and as the limiting case); or as an alternative to it, a replacement for it, or as some form of reservation or contrast. Here the grammar typically employs conjunctions, like and, or, but, instead, besidesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The third type of expansion is one of enhancing the first process by anoth er one setting up a specific semantic relationship, of which the principal ones are time, cause, condition, concession and means. Here again the grammar deploys a range of different conjunctions, which mark either the enhancing clause (when, because, by, though, if and so on) or the one that is being enhanced (e.g. then at that time, then in that case, so, thus, yet), (520-1). Scott Drellishak (2004) in his thesis: A Survey of Coordination Strategies in the Worlds Languages quotes Gleitman (1965) as viewing conjunction as one of many syntactic processes that serve the purpose of indicating contrast or reducing repetition ; conjoined sentence that does not indicate contrast or reduce repetition is described as not serving any purpose. (268) 2.7. Phrasal Coordination If two expressions have different semantic roles it will not be possible to coordinate them. Although it is sometimes said that the coordinands must belong to the same phrasal category; for instance, (tea) NP or (in a Nigerian Restaurant) PP is said to be ungrammatical because it consists of an NP and a PP. However, coordination of different phrasal categories is often possible when both have the same semantic role. Also in phrasal coordination, the order of conjoined words can be influenced by the tendency for the shorter word to come first and within phrasal coordination, there can be ellipsis of the determiner (Quirk et al:610). 2.8. Clausal Coordination When two or more clauses are coordinated, certain clause constituents are often ellipted from all but one of the clauses. More often than not , the effect of ellipsis is no more than to suggest a closer connection between the content of the clauses but sometimes the effect is to indicate that there is a combined process rather than two separate processes. And and or as clause linkers are restricted to initial position. Coordinated clauses with and and or are sequentially fixed in relation to the previous clause and cannot be transposed without producing ungrammaticality in sentence structure , a clause containing a conjunct may be linked to a preceding clause by one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but) but not all the conjuncts admit each coordinator (Quirk et al:552-553). 2.9. Parataxis in coordination Parataxis is viewd as the grammatical arrangement of equal constituents, clauses in this case. The parataxis is the hallmark of coordination; in most cases, the equality of the clauses is evident both grammatically and semantically; coordination can link constituents at any rank. It creates parallel grammatical structures- structures that are identical in function and usually form as well. 2.10. Symmetric and asymmetric coordination Coordinate constructions are said to have symmetrical properties such that conjuncts are paratactically construed, that a conjunct is not subordinated to another conjunct, that conjuncts have the same syntactic and semantic function ; on the other hand they have asymmetric properties such as command relationship between the first and the second conjuncts. This case is refered to as balanced and unbalanced case of coordination. 2.11. Approaches to Coordination Analysis and Coordination in Different Genres In poetic texts, the study of coordination is quite sparse and limited. For instance Miller (2007) explores biblical Hebrew poetry and the relationship of coordination to verbal gapping is what forms her point of focus. She comes up with the findings that asyndetic coordination is the hallmark of biblical Hebrew poetry and especially early poetry (41-60). Millers corpus contains 123 lines from the book of Isiah. Svetlana Petrova Michael Solf (2008) explore rhetorical relations and verb placement in the early Germanic languages . it presents a diachronic study about the distinction between coordination and subordination in discourse,it focuses on Old High German and on other early Germanic languages. Petrova and Solf consider other kinds of data, mostly from declaratives, in support of the claim that verb placement serves certain discourse functions in early Germanic languages. They come up with the finding that Verb fronting seems to have a clear functional purpose, as it is used to mark episode boundaries in Old High German. The study goes further in identifying some correlations between verb placement and discourse-structuring phenomenon in Old English, Old Saxon, and Old Norse, with similar discourse-structuring functions. A cross -linguistic approach is adopted in the study as opposed to functional approach in analysis. Ash Asudeh and Richard Crouch (2002) examine Coordination and Parallelism in Glue Semantics exploring points of convergence and divergence between approach to coordination and similar Categorial Grammar (CG) approaches. The research discusses parallelism in connection with the Coordinate Structure Constraint. The paper presents an account of the semantics of coordination, framed within the theory of Glue Semantics. The goal of a GLUE derivation as explicated in the study is to consume all the lexical premises to produce a single conclusion; stating the meaning of the sentence. Further asserting that Semantic ambiguity results when there are alternative derivations from the same set of premises. This study shares common interest with the present one as both relates coordination to instances of cohesion. While this study argues for a glue approach to coordination the present study differs on the ground of functional approach of analysis to coordination in poetic texts. David Bell (2007) examines both the frequency and function of SIA (sentence initial and) and SIB (sentence initial but) in academic writing and its importance in understanding language in literary texts. While coordinator and is more frequent in academic prose than but, SIA is much less frequent than SIB. Collected data show a marked difference in the use of SIA and SIB across different genres of academic writing with SIA and SIB being far more prevalent in the humanities journals. Furthermore, the study shows that SIA, when compared with other additive connectives such as moreover, furthermore, in addition, etc., is the most frequently occurring additive marker in academic writing, while SIB is the second most preferred connective after however. With regard to function, the study goes on to argue that both SIA and SIB in academic writing function in three very similar ways: (i) to mark off a discourse unit by indicating the last item on a list; (ii) to indicate the development of an argument; and (iii) to indicate a discontinuity or shift with a previous discourse unit. This is in line with Halliday and Hassans (1975) view as regard the function of SIA and SIB. The study further asserts that whereas the most common function of SIA is that of indicating the last item on a list, the most common use of SIB is in the development of arguments.It argues that SIA and SIB perform special functions than the alternatives of asyndetic or zero coordination, the use of discourse markers that share their broad semantic function: Moreover, furthermore, in addition, and however, respectively, or intrasentential coordination cannot perform. The study proffers that the features allow SIA and SIB to preface a wider range of lexico-grammatical units such as interrogatives, stance adverbs and other discourse connectives and to create a tighter cohesive fit. It comments that it is these special features of cohesion which are held to explain the occurrence of SIA and SIB in academic writing. The focus here is on the use of SIA and SIB in academic discourse, it excluded occurrences of SIA and SIB in academic writing from other modes such as in transcripts of conversations, in quotes from fiction or in poetic texts which is the sole focus of the present research. Halliday and Hasan (1975) on SIA as part of their larger discussion of conjunction as one cohesive device in the larger concept of cohesion describes coordination as an intrasentential structural device while conjunction is seen as a cohesive device that relates sentences. In their examination of conjuncts, SIA is described as signaling an additive relationship between sentences while but is described as an adversative. Halliday and Hasan note that one difference between coordinate and, and conjunctive and, is that coordinate and can link any number of items, whereas conjunctive and links pairs of sentences (235). Halliday and Hasan distinguish a further use of SIA, which they suggest comes closest to its structural function as a coordinator, they call it next in a series' (236). They suggest that another example would be a series of points all contributing to one general argument. In this function, Halliday and Hasan argue that And retains some of the retrospective or retrojective effect, i.e. projecting backwards that and has as a coordinator (236). Here, SIA is viewed as signaling not the last item on a list but rather the continuation of an ongoing list of items. The study explicates that however, apart from the cases cited above where cohesive And operates similarly to coordinator and, the typical context for SIA is one where there is a total, or almost total shift in the participants from one sentence to the next, and yet the two sentences are very definitely part of a text (235). Another common context in narrative fiction for this shift is at the boundary of dialogue and narrative. What have been shown here is that SIA and SIB provide special features of cohesion that alternative forms of coordination do not. Schiffrin (1986, 1987, 2006) examines utterance and turn-initial and in conversation. She argues that and has two roles in talk: An ideational role where it coordinates idea units what she calls a discourse coordinator role, and an interactional or pragmatic or discourse marker role where it continues a speakers action, i.e. marking the speakers upcoming utterance as a continuation of the content and structure of an interaction, and these two functions most often occur simultaneously (1987: 128). As a marker of functionally differentiated idea units, the presence of and signals that the speaker identifies an upcoming unit as structurally coordinated or equivalent to a prior unit. In this way, and can differentiate among other things in narrative, support and position in arguments and explanations, and can also differentiate discourse topics. However, Schiffrin stresses that identifying the nature of these units depends on textual information beyond and itself (1987: 141). In Summary Halliday and Hasan (1976), and Schiffrin (1986, 1987, 2006),see SIA as bracketing discourse units, continuing discourse units, or signaling a shift between discourse units; and what determines the discourse function of these signaled discourse units is constructed by the interaction of the linguistic properties of and with the discourse context in which it occurs. Sotirova (2004), using the works of D.H. Lawrence, has argued that SIA, as well as other connectives, are used by Lawrence to signal perspectival shifts in free indirect style (227). Huttar (2002) has examined the use of both discourse-initial and (DIA) and SIA in poetry. Huttar argues that DIA is often used to establish an imagined context already in progress or imagined prior events from which the present utterance is understood to continue. An extremely common form of DIA is that of a question addressed in response to an implied interlocutors statement and often expressing surprise at the previous implied statement. Cotter (2003) on the other hand examines the use of SIA and SIB in newspapers over a one hundred year period. She used a 100,000-word corpus of newspaper articles a mixture of local and national syndicated articles, general news, and feature articles published between 1900 and 1995. Over this period, she noted an increasing occurrence of SIA/B and concurrent decline in temporal connectives. Among other factors, Cotter argues that these connectives help to create local and global coherence in news narratives, introduce new speakers and ideas, and link a series of short paragraphs. Cotter sees this increasing use of SIA/B as indicative of a historical shift from more text-centered to more reader-centered prose. Dorgeloh (2004) looked at SIA in a corpus of British English made up of LOB (Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen, 1961) and FLOB (Freiburg Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen, 1991). She indicates a decline in the use of SIA in both academic and newspaper writing. From her analysis she concludes that in written Modern English, SIA, where it does occur, marks functional shifts on a more global level of discourse (1777). This research departs from much of the previous studies, by presenting a functional linguistic analysis which was proffered by Halliday et al. Earlier researches often focus on the frequency with which certain linguistic features occur, yet another description focuses on the functions of those features. Functional descriptions of language like the one to be adopted here, are more valuable since they offer some understanding of communicative purpose and, thus, explain the use and frequency of linguistic features.

Analysis of Blade Runner by Ridley Scott Essay -- Papers

Analysis of Blade Runner by Ridley Scott Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott and based on Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, is a Sci-fi slash Noir film about a policeman named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in a decrepit 2019 Los Angeles whose job it is to "retire" four genetically engineered cyborgs, known as "Replicants". The four fugitives, Pris (Daryl Hannah), Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), Leon (Brian James), and their leader, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), have escaped from an off-world colony in order to find their creator and bully him into expanding their pre-determined four-year life span. This film originally flopped when it came out in 1982, but since has become a widely acclaimed cult classic with a director's cut to boot. A large part of the success that this movie has received can be attributed to its ability to operate on many different levels. Blade Runner focuses around the adventures of Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter, whose prey are the replicants, androids who are virtually indistinguishable from humans. The story is set in downtown Los Angeles, in the year 2019. This is a post nuclear holocaust world, where the sun is darkened by the fallout and acid rain continually falls. Six replicants of the Nexus 6 generation, the most advanced, have escaped from their off-world colony, where they were being used as slave labor. The leader of the replicants, Roy Batty, is on a mission to find more life for himself and the others, for they only have a four year life span and are on the verge of death. Roy is a military style replicant, so he has killed many people in inter-galactic wars and continues to ki... ...s out. "Should the replicants kill to gain moral life? Should Harrison Ford be killing them simply because they want to exist? These questions begin to tangle up Deckard's thinkingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦especially when he becomes involved with a female replicant himself." The ultimate relevance of Blade Runner lies in its challenge of what it must mean to be human. It raises the eternal gnawing doubt as to our own humanity or lack of it. These are the same issues raised by the great religions and philosophies of the past. And it goes to how we respond to the pain of those around us. Do we reach for the one downed by the crushing perplexity of modernity or do we merely pass by, forgetting about that grizzled human lying on the sidewalk who is drowning in the gutter created by the disintegrating and dehumanising post-modern existence?

NLM Analysis :: essays research papers

Part I Logistic Business Transportation, Process to manufactures & 3 keys Shipper needs to ship product or goods by using Carrier to Receiver 3rd Party Logistics Provider / Service Shipper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Receiver   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Type of 3PLs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Asset-Based  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Non-Asset-Based Revenue   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   100%  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   100% COGS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  80 – 85%  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  70 - 74% Gross Profit Margin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 – 20%  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  26 – 30% Asset-Based: Owned its own fleet of transportation vehicles i.e. truck, airplanes, railroads and ocean freighters Non-Asset-Based: without any of their own physical assets. Freight Transportation Multiple shipments: air, water, truck, and rail  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Truck segment: Ryder, Penske, and Emery Freight to small owner-operated trucking firm  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In competition: smaller firms developed specialty service or served niche markets  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Large firms expanded into multiple modes of transport and provide service across a wide range  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All shipper demanded Goals be transported safety& timely fashion  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Price importance all companies (especially large, automakers) want to reduce cost of delivery to customer  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Big 3 automaker (Ford, GM, Daimler Chrysler) looking to better management of supply chain (the series of transaction & interaction between suppliers, buyers, and intermediaries) to minimize costs while improving quality  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All parties – manufacturers, 3PLs, suppliers – could participate in EDI (electronic data interchange) NLM Overview National Logistics Management is the only North American Third Party Logistics provider to specialize solely in premium freight for manufacturing industries, including automotive manufacturers. It is non-asset based and has a unique business model that employs its proprietary software to utilize the Internet to determine optimal shipping modes; export shipments to its vast carrier base including ground, air freight, and air charter; receive bids back form its carrier network; evaluate the lowest bids and carrier quality ratings; and coordinate shipments based on best price and carrier quality ratings all within a 30-minute window. Company profile Founded in 1991 Over 1.3 Million shipments successfully managed. Network in North America: 200+ Assembly and Manufacturing Plants 6,800+ Suppliers and 300+ Ground, Air Freight, and Air Charter Carriers Financial Information †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1999 Revenues:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $ 7.3million No debt †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Total share:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $ 825 million (10% MKT Share) †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Employee:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  111 –  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  65 in Detroit, Michigan Office –  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  36 Logistic coordinators & Supervisors –  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7 Audit Team –  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1 Marketing & Business Development –  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 IT Team Business Model Business to Business NLM to Big 3 automaker (Ford, GM, Daimler Chrysler) NLM manages the return of containers to over 130 suppliers throughout North America. The returnable container program is part of an industry-wide greening strategy to reduce landfill use and decrease production-source pollution. Suppliers ship their products to the plant in returnable, reusable plastic containers. Most containers are returned to the suppliers within a 12-24 hour period. NLM determines release quantities and ship frequencies for containers and monitors supplier inventories.

Globalization in Brazil Essay

Globalization undoubtedly is the current prevailing world economic trend. A large majority of the countries adhere to the tenets of globalization. Globalization literally entails international economic cooperation achieved through the integration of different countries. It envokes the process of intermingling the different aspects of a country’s economy, politics, society, culture and technological forces together with the other participants of globalization. Globalization also creates a link towards the infusion of the local and national economies to create an international market economy, which is done by setting up means for capital inflows, reducing tariffs to give way to trade and foreign investment, migration and even technology sharing. The term globalization was first used during 1980s, though its concepts were not as pronounced as it is until the later parts of 1980s and 1990s. However, traces of the concepts globalization can be dated back in the early centuries, as seen in the ancient discoveries of new colonies and lands. There are three waves of globalization, the first wave which took place between 1870 – 1914; second wave during 1945 – 1980 and the third wave from 1980 until the present. The first wave of globalization was triggered by the decrease in transport costs, which enabled countries to quickly and cheaply transport their products. This had significantly increased export share in the world income. In addition, migration resulted to the influx and increase of labor force, which reached 10% of the total world population. However, though there was a significant increase in the trade and labor force during the first wave of globalization, there were still problems with regards to trade and services that surfaced in the global economy. These problems were due to the implementation of several policies like economic protectionism, which hindered the spread of internationalism amongst countries (Silva, pp. 4-5). Despite the impetus caused by economic nationalism, on the eve of the second wave of globalization, countries were persuaded back towards international cooperation. Hence, trade barriers that were previously imposed were reduced. At this point, trade was doubled relative to the world income. In addition, specialization within countries greatly helped in the achieving interdependence among countries, thus increasing world income. At the end of this period, in contrast to the first wave of globalization, the second wave brought in equity amongst countries (Silva, pp. 6-7. ) And lastly, the third wave of globalization took event during 1980s. This wave had been specially distinctive among all the turns of globalization. It was triggered by the recent advances in communication and transport, coupled with the choice of more advanced countries to seek for new investment opportunities and completely open their economy towards the international market and trade (Dollar, n. p). Moreover, during this period, a large number of developing countries had advanced to power, breaking into global markets; while on the other hand, there was a significant increase of marginalized countries suffering even greatly from declining national income thus increasing poverty in the area (Silva, p. 7). As such, there had been a variety of reasons on how globalization affected the processes in each country. However, the most encouraging effect it wavered upon the developing countries is that it significantly hastened labor abundance which gave national economies a highly competitive advantage in the manufacture and service industries (Silva, p. 8). This in turn benefited some of the countries and was able to keep pace with the advancing world. The newly industrialized and developing countries started breaking into industrial markets capitalizing on infrastructures, technology and other means of production needs. This resulted to a relatively high rate of increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the current determinant of a country’s economy success rate. Further, most of these developing countries increased their incomes by 104% since the start of 1980; though the rest of other countries who weren’t able to keep the pace were left staggering behind (Silva, p. 10). The world economy has indeed seen the effects of globalization on two sides: positive effects for the developing countries who were kept on tide by the benefits of policies imposed upon by the proponents of globalization; and the other, the immediate victims of these policies suffered within the less developed countries who weren’t able to keep abreast with the changes. Brazil was one of those who benefited the era of globalization, but as such they have been victims at first. Consequently, recent developments have proven that while globalization presented certain benefits for Brazil, Brazil has quite not been able to enjoy the expected benefits from it. Brazil: On a Staggering Start There had been crisis that had risen out of the emerging influence of globalization which created a great impact among the countries that played afar according to its calls. Brazil in 1999, was one of the countries to experience the adverse effect it had on world economy, but were able to pick up from the slump that it caused (Silva, p. 8). One of the difficulties that Brazil faced amidst the emergence of globalization was the crisis in capital. Brazil had used a pegged currency, which had put them in a crisis of fiscal and external debt. And though Brazil had tried to adopt a more responsible fiscal policy, their enormous debt teamed with low export and GDP and overvalued currency, all resulted to a capital crisis in 1999 (Silva, p. 20). Though Brazil was expected of becoming one of the successful countries developing during this era, they didn’t perform at the same rate expected of them. Though Brazil possessed clear indicators of progress, Brazil, economically did not perform the development anticipated from it. The period between 1980 – 1990 was known to be a â€Å"lost decade† for the Southern Americans, Brazil in particular. Wherein, during this era, per capita output was negative 0. 6% in a year, which has comparably decreased from the 3. 6% performance during the previous decade (Fraga, n. p). Hence the main difficulties suffered by Brazil at the start of 1980 were due to the series of unsuccessful plans at trying to curb inflation. The main reason behind this failure can be attributed to the fact that the development model used by the military government on Brazil was based upon cheap oil resources and capital, coupled with the inability of such policies to address the other basic necessities like having a sound fiscal and monetary policies. Let alone was that their development started from the capital crisis they suffered in 1999. As result they had to endure high debt and insufficient supply of oil due to high prices. Hence their effort of generating trade surplus to cover up for it then resulted to a high inflation rate (Fraga, n. p. and Silva, pp. 20-22). Brazil: On the New Start In the 20th century, Brazil made a significant progress and was among the best performing countries in the century. Brazil was among the top 12 emerging markets that experienced massive increase in the capital inflows, whose GDP increased to as much as 22%, contributing greatly in the world economy. Accordingly, alongside the increase in capital inflows, technology greatly improved thus making an entrance towards the international market a lot easier (Silva, p. 12). Brazil in case had developed EMBRAER. The existence of such company marked their willingness to compete in an open trade and investment. This equipped Brazil with an oligopolistic or monopolistic nature of a company, possessing highly advanced technology that soared above the standards of their products, thus bringing in heaps of profits for their economy (Silva, p. 18). Consequently, this had widely created a positive impact on overall growth of their investments. More so, at the start of 1990, Brazil started to liberalize their economy. Brazilian leaders opted to negotiate and redefine their economic policies to keep pace with the globalization trends (Langevin, n. p). They lifted trade barriers, import tariffs and quotas, and adopted reforms both economic and administrative ones. These policies included fixing the Brazilian currency to dollars, which helped put inflation at a halt. Economic reforms were done such that these were geared towards being more market-driven, highly flexible, with a more decentralized economic environment. In this regard, they transformed old provisional measures into creating a single trade law which was meant to make a more transparent set of policies that can speed up the process of making reforms and laws. Accordingly, this kind of reforms also allowed an economic policy geared towards favoring exports rather than producing own their own products for their country (â€Å"Brazil: November 2000,† n. p). Another step they took was implementing an austere fiscal policy and privatizing several companies, all of which were consistent with liberalizing their economy. Thus, although Brazil experienced several high inflation rate in the past years, and that most of their GDP was wasted with the inflation of goods and services; nonetheless, their per capita income had increased by a third from the last decade. Hence, after experiencing years of economic recession, Brazil recovered and started a fast growing cycle in the 1990s (Silva, pp. 40-41). Consequently though, expectators attributed the improvements in the Brazilian economy towards their inclination for liberalizing their trade and market activity. Through these changes that Brazil implemented in their economic policies, their economic activity fairly improved and they achieved their prospect growth for year 2000. Several factors that contributed to this growth which they attributed to liberalizing trade relations are as follows: (1) inflation has been pegged within the government target of 8%; (2) foreign direct investment (FDI) significantly increased from its usual value in 1996; (3) trade and GDP has been kept at stable 20%; and (4) Brazil remained to be the largest exporter of some widely used agricultural products. However, there were several economic slumps again experienced by Brazil. The outbreak of Asian crisis in 1997 forced the Brazilian currency to devalue to keep the inflation low. But nonetheless, Brazil was fast to recover and started growing again by the year 2000. Consequently new policies and austerity programs that the Brazilian government adopted kept them at pace of development. These programs had better kept them away from experiencing the economic slumps they had in the previous years. More importantly, these kept them away from acquiring debts and helped stabilize the ratio of debts to GDP. Moreover, to speak of progress is to speak of the quality at how the citizens lived comfortably within their mother country. Hence, the United Nations’ measure of Human Development Index (HDI) in Brazil widely soared up within the past 26 years. That even though the increase in national income cannot suffice alone to the improvement of the country as a whole, the poverty level in Brazil decreased significantly, and education and proper healthcare had well been provided among the Brazilians. The young Brazilian population had become highly educated, with more children being enrolled in schools, and ensuring that the Brazilian safety net always kept abreast with their population through the government’s initiative on providing their citizens with an apt nutrition program. In addition, social integration and cooperation amongst different ethnicities is an indicator of social progress. More so, Brazil also made great improvements in the field of political stability. The establishment and strengthening of a democratic system in the country is a well indicator of the country’s leaders to provide the general public a sense of working and legitimate judiciary and legislative system. However, given these factors and internal growth that Brazil has experienced over the past decades, in comparison to other neighboring countries Brazil’s economic performance is still insufficient and is still lacking to what is expected of them. Although the poverty rate of Brazil has signifcantly decreased over the past two decades, from 40% in 1970s to 36% in 2000, poverty rate in Brazil is still high in comparison to other develping countries (Mario and Woolcock, p. 2). The Brazilian Action In a nutshell, though the Brazilian economy presently comprises one third of the total Latin American production through the large conglomerates of various sectors such as mining, oil, iron and steel, and manufacturing, their economic growth is still less of what was expected of them. Given what seems to be like a hegemonic existence within their region, their growth rate remained below the average expectation. And contrastingly though, Brazil lagged behind Chile, Venezuela, Argentina and Peru. Though the Brazilian economy has seemed to be able to progress within the past years, their performance still has not reached the full blast. They have not yet enjoyed the full outcome of a rich economy. And consequently, the benefits that they get from a globalized economy is yet to be sufficient to call it successful (Luchino, n. p). Fixed capital product has greatly hindered the potential growth for Brazil. Fixed rates have been used to control inflation, however, as a result it limited Brazil’s opportunity to grow simultaneously at the same rate as that with other developing countries. Nowadays, the economy of Brazil is expected to complete a very competitive cycle. Their external and public debts had been declining, their GDP continues to be strong and growing, there have been significant increase in the export and as well as a positive trend capital inflows. Thus in analyzing the growth of Brazilian economy, the adversaries they suffered during the third wave of globalization were due to the fact that they were highly indebted with their economy limping from high inflation rates. More so, they had policies that weren’t appropriate to equip them within a fast paced economy that globalization is holding. Hence, at the event that Brazil started to liberalize their economy and open up their market towards the international market, and changed most of its economic policies to suit the needs for an international market competition, they at least were able to give birth to a new start as an international player. Indeed, though the Brazilian economy made a significant advancement towards microeconomic stability since being able to adopt helpful reforms in the 1990s, still, the pace at which their economy is growing is a matter of great concern. As such, compared to other countries and competitors which developed simultaneously as Brazil had in the past decades, Brazil is still trailing behind. To be able to reap the full benefits that a globalized world promises, Brazil must be aware of certain measures to ensure their success. First, debt management should be given extra attention. Analyzing the economic status of Brazil would suggest that Brazil is still highly indebted. Thus a more appropriate debt management policy should be adopted which will in turn be reflected with the country’s projected GDP growth as well as the other economic indicators. Second, Brazil’s trade policies should be kept more open towards the international economy. Presently, Brazil’s trade is still relatively closed. Their exports account to 13% of their GDP and 9% for their imports, which is comparably low for international standards. Thus, Brazil must work more on keeping these lines open to create a bigger space for their trade rate to grow. Finally, among the aspects that Brazil should work on is their infrastructures. As the means of transportation is highly significant for the growth of a country, Brazil shouldn’t leave this aspect of country’s growth in poor condition. More investments should be made to improve transportation, as well as increase their country’s interest on developing energy generating infrastructures (Silva, pp. 43-46). Furthermore, wherein economic growth is an interplay of physical resources and human capital, aside from the financial and monetary aspects, there are still six other important areas that Brazil should prioritize for them to be able to reach the full blast of their economy. These are: (1) enbaling an environment conducive for learning and growth; (2) creating wider array for knowledge creation and commercialization; (3) acquisition of knowledge from more advanced countries; (4) advancement and proper dissemination of technology; (5) improvement in the basic education; and (6) giving priority to tertiary education (Rodriguez, p. 4). Thus, for Brazil to reach the full potential of their country, they must utilize not only the raw and fixed natural resources within the country. They must learn how to develop the potential of their human resources, because the people will be the one to stir their national development. If they bank on the human capital and innovation, it could greatly increase the level of competitiveness given that they could develop more talented individuals to maneuver the country’s growth. Therefore, if given the consideration for the work force to grow, improvement of education, enhancement of technology and innovation – altogether these can provide a proper link for productivity (Luchino, n. p). With these tools, the Brazilian economy can reach another step for growth to increase investment and keep GDP at a stable rate. Works Cited â€Å"Brazil: November 2000. † 1 November 2002. World Trade Organization. 24 February 2008 Dollar, David. â€Å"Questions and Answers with David Dollar. † Globalization. 5 April 2008 Fraga, Arminio. â€Å"A Fork in the Road. † 2005 December. Finance and Development. 8 April 2008 Langevin, Mark. â€Å"Brazil’s Key Role in Globalization. † 12 October 2004. Brazzil Magazine. 24 February 2008 Luchino, Marcelo. â€Å"The Globalization of Brazil. † 27 December 2007. Safe Democray. 8 April 2008 Mario, Estanislao Gacitua and Michael Woolcock. â€Å"Assessing Social Exlusion and Mobility in Brazil. † The World Bank. 8 April 2008 Rodriguez, Alberto. â€Å"Brazil: Seizing the Opportunity to Compete? † The World Bank. 8 April 2008. Silva, Antonio Elias. Openness and Development: A General Analysis and a Close Look at China, Argentina and Brazil. Institute of Brazilian Issues, April 2004.