Advantages and Disadvantages of a Marketing Plan

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Marketing Plan A well-written, comprehensive marketing plan is the focal point of all business ventures because marketing describes how you plan to attract and retain customers. This is the most crucial aspect of a business. Having a marketing plan is essential to any successful business. In fact, it is the heart of the business and the basis from which all other operational and management plans are derived. Marketing can give inventors a wealth of information that, if applied correctly, can virtually ensure your success. Therefore, it is important that you, as a first-time business owner, develop a comprehensive, effective marketing plan. If you need assistance in accomplishing this task, contact your local SBA office. You can find them by looking through the local telephone directory under U.S. Government for the telephone number and address of the office nearest you. You can also get that information by going to the U.S. Small Business Administrations website and entering your zip code in the section local assistance.   An effective marketing plan will certainly boost your sales and increase your profit margins. You must be able to convince customers that you have the best product or service for them at the best possible price. If you cannot convince potential customers of this, then you are wasting your time and money. This is where the marketing plan comes into play, and this is why it is so important. There are numerous advantages you can extract from the marketplace if you know how. And the marketing plan is an excellent tool for identifying and developing strategies for putting these advantages to work. Business Advantages Identifies needs and wants of consumersDetermines demand for a productAids in the design of products that fulfill consumers needsOutlines measures for generating the cash for daily operations, to repay debts and to turn a profitIdentifies competitors and analyzes your products or firms competitive advantageIdentifies new product areasIdentifies new and/or potential customersAllows for testing to see if strategies are generating the desired results Business Disadvantages Identifies weaknesses in your business skillsCan lead to faulty marketing decisions if data isnt analyzed properlyCreates unrealistic financial projections if information isnt interpreted correctlyIdentifies weaknesses in your overall business plan Review Its always good to review what goes into a marketing plan. Write down what you can remember on a blank sheet and then compare it to this quick fact sheet. The marketing plan offers numerous advantages; however, as you can see, there can be drawbacks. Keep in mind that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks and you can always seek professional assistance when you are developing the marketing section of your business plan. It may be worth the investment.

Complete Parts of Speech for SAT Writing and ACT English

Complete Parts of Speech for SAT Writing and ACT English SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips â€Å"Parts of speech† is a fancy way of saying that every word in the English language can be put into one of eight categories, depending on how it is used. Of these eight parts of speech, only 7 are tested on the Writing SAT and on ACT English. Understanding the different parts of speech is absolutely essential to having a firm grasp of English grammar, and in succeeding on the SAT and ACT. Unfortunately, nowadays many schools no longer focus on teaching this type of grammar. Are you a bit unsure about what, exactly, a preposition is, or can’t tell the difference between an adjective and adverb? Feeling a bit rusty after learning this years ago?This article will provide the foundational information you need before moving on to more complex grammatical concepts.I'll also go over a few important SAT/ACT grammar rules. How Should You Use This Guide? This guide is designed to help you brush up on the basics before you tackle some of the more complicated grammar guides that we have written for the SAT and ACT. Many of the concepts covered here are things you'll already know if you've studied grammar in school. Even if you haven't, many (but not necessarily all) of them will seem natural to native English speakers. However, if you haven't studied grammar extensively, you can use this as a reference to help understand the basic ideas that our other guides will not cover. Check back here if you come across some terms you're unfamiliar with, or if you need to remind yourself of what something means. Many of the concepts in this guide are not directly tested on the ACT and SAT.Instead, these concepts are building blocks that are important for understanding thewhy? behind the concepts that are tested. Therefore,do not worry about memorizing the names of the grammar terms in this guide, just use the concepts. What Parts of Speech Are on SAT Writing and ACT English? The seven parts of speech that are tested on the SAT and ACT are: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Once you understand the different rules for each Part of Speech, you will see that these are relatively straightforward concepts, and they can be used to help you understand more difficult concepts. Nouns Nouns are words that arepeople, places, things,orideas. If you are not sure if something is a noun or not, try putting "a" or "the" in front of it and see if it sounds correct. If it does, then it's probably a noun. Examples "A cat" and "the cat" sound correct. Therefore, "cat" is a noun. "A him" and "the him" sound incorrect. Therefore, "him" is not a noun. Categories of Nouns Common Nounsrefer to non-specific people, places, or things. Proper Nouns refer to specific people, places, or things. Examples Common nouns: girl, city, bridge, university, company Proper Nouns: Mary, San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, University of Notre Dame, PrepScholar Concrete Nounsare people, places, or things that you can physically touch. Abstract Nounsare thoughts, subjects, games, or ideals. These are things, but they cannot be touched. Love is an abstract noun. Examples Concrete nouns: water, air, street, person, concrete Abstract nouns: freedom, love, justice, hockey, biology Uses of Nouns Nouns have several possible functions in a sentence. They can be used as the subject, predicate nominative, appositive, direct object, indirect object, or object of the preposition. There are other uses for nouns, but we won't go into them now. Note:Remember that it is not important that you know the names of these functions. But it is important to understand how nouns can be used, so you can recognize when one is being used incorrectly. Subject The subject of the sentence is the person or thing that is doing the action of the verb. Example Mary went to the store. Maryis the subject of the sentence because she is doing the action. Predicate Nominative A predicate nominative comes after a linking verb (see the verb section for more info) and re-states the subject of the sentence. Example Mary is a great friend. Maryis the subject.Friendis the predicate nominative. In this sentence, Mary and friend are the same thing, or Mary = friend. Appositive An appositive is a noun that re-states or gives more information about another noun in a sentence. Unlike a predicate nominative, it does not come after a linking verb. Instead, it's usually right next to the noun it's describing, and is set off by commas. Because appositives are set off by commas from the rest of the sentence, it usually works to remove the appositive and still have a grammatically correct sentence. Example My friend, Mary, is an exceptional human being. Here, Mary is an appositive because it gives more information about who the friend is. If you remove the appositive the sentence still makes sense: My friend is an exceptional human being. Direct Object A Direct Object is a noun that receives the action of a transitive verb (more on these here) Example I got a perfectscoreon the SAT. Ask yourself: I got what? Got ascore. Therefore,score is the direct object. Indirect Object An Indirect Object is a noun that receives the Direct Object. Being the indirect object of brownies is always a good thing. Example I madeKim some brownies. Ask yourself: I made what?Brownies.Therefore,brownies is the direct object. Who received the brownies?Kim. Therefore,Kim is the indirect object. Object of a Preposition All prepositional phrases consist of at least a preposition (see below) and a noun. The noun that comes after a preposition is called the object of the preposition. Example I got a perfect score on the SAT. Here, the preposition ison.On what? On theSAT.Therefore,SAT is the object of the prepositionon. Forming the Plural of Nouns This is another concept that is not directly tested on the SAT and ACT, but occasionally you will need to recognize if a noun is singular or plural in order to match it with the correct verb. Most nouns form the plural by adding-s. Examples cat +-s= cats donkey +-s= donkeys Add-esif the noun ends in -s, -x, -z, -sh, or -ch. This is simply because of pronunciation - it's really difficult to make these sounds followed by "-s" Examples fox +-es= foxes buzz +-es= buzzes brunch +-es= brunches If the last two letters of a noun are a consonant followed by -y, drop the -y and add-ies Examples pony→ ponies fly→ flies Some nouns that end in -f or -fe form the plural by dropping the -f/-fe and adding -ves. Once again, this is all about ease of pronunciation, as it's really difficult to make the -fs sound at the end of a word. Examples leaf→ leaves life→ lives Some nouns form the plural irregularly. Unfortunately, there are no rules for how to form these, and you just have to memorize these words. Fortunately, most of these words are quite common and you should know most of them already. Examples mouse→ mice child→children man→men goose→geese foot→feet Some wordsdon't change at all in the plural. Examples deer→deer fish→fish sheep→sheep NOTE: NEVER FORM THE PLURAL BY ADDING -'S (apostrope +s).This should only be used for showing possession. The people of Leeds are appropriately passionate about misused apostrophes. Forming the Possessive of Nouns The possessive is how we showownership. To form the possessive of a singular noun, always add -'s. Examples Bob's,mouse's, donkey's To form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in -s, just add an apostrophe. Examples purses', monkeys', dogs' To form the possesive of a plural noun that is irregular and does NOT end in -s, add-'s. Examples children's, women's, mice's Special Types of Nouns Are you a grammar pro? If you already knew all of the above about nouns, here are a few special categories of noun you may have been unaware of! Gerunds The-ing form of a verb can be used as a verb as long as it has a helping verb. But did you know that if it's standing on its own, it's called agerundand is used as a noun? Example Baking is a pleasurable hobby. Here,bakingis a noun and is the subject of the sentence. Infinitive as a Noun Similarly, the infinitive form (the "to" form) can be used as a noun. Example He likesto run. Here, "to run" is the direct object of the verb "likes". Therefore, it is being used as a noun. This man loves to run...for president. Pronouns Pronouns are words that can replace nouns. Unlike nouns, pronouns have different cases. What Is a Case? This means that the form the pronoun takes can change depending on what purpose it has in the sentence. Above, we saw that nouns can be used either as a subject/nominative, or as several different types of objects.Personal pronounshave one form when they are used as a subject or predicate nominative, and another form when used in any of the object functions (direct object, indirect object, or object of preposition). NOTE: This actuallyis tested on the ACT! Personal Pronouns Nominative case (subject) Singular Plural First Person I We Second Person You You Third Person He, She, It They Objective case Singular Plural First Person Me Us Second Person You You Third Person Him, Her, It Them What Do These Charts Mean? The nominative case forms should ONLY be used when the personal pronoun is being used as the subject of a clause or as the predicate nominative. (Don't remember what these are? Check out the Noun section above!) Examples She and I went to the store. Michael and he are my best friends. Many people would say â€Å"Michael and him†, but this is incorrect because â€Å"he† is a subject of the clause and therefore must be in the nominative case. When you are not sure, try crossing out the other subject. You would never say, â€Å"Him is my best friend.† Example The winner of the race was he. This construction does not sound correct to most people, but it is. Try flipping the sentence around: He was the winner of the race. This is an example of a personal pronoun being used as aspredicate nominative. The objective case of pronouns should be used for direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. Examples He gave her and me great presents. He gave us a great present. The presentation will be given by Tom and me. She loves him.I don’t like you. For more on how to use pronouns in different cases, see our guide. Non-Personal Pronouns These include but are not limited to: this, that, both, some, few, many, either, which, who, and one. These pronouns do not change form between the nominative case and the objective case. Some people do not think that these pronouns look correct standing on their own, but they are. Examples I have two dogs. Both are very lucky. This rose is beautiful. This is my favorite flower. Many people went to search for the treasure. Only some returned. These pronouns can be tricky to use with verbs because it is not very obvious whether they are singular or plural.A good way to figure this out is to try to add the word â€Å"one† after the pronoun. Does it make sense? If so, use a singular verb. Examples This (one) is my favorite. CORRECT That (one) is my sister. CORRECT Few (one) succeeds. INCORRECT If adding â€Å"one† does not work, mentally add â€Å"of them†. If this makes sense, use the plural verb. Examples Many (of them) try to get a perfect SAT score. (CORRECT) Few (of them) succeed. (CORRECT) Exception: The pronoun "one" is always singular, even though "one of them" sounds correct. Always use a singular verb. Forming the Possessive of Pronouns The possessive forms of the personal pronouns are: Singular Plural First Person mine ours Second Person yours yours Third Person his, hers, its theirs Because these are pronouns (not adjectives), they can be used independently. Examples Hers is the chocolate dessert. That report card is yours. Theirs beat out ours. Main Rules for Pronouns on the SAT and ACT The SAT and ACT both frequently test pronouns. Here is a brief summary of what you are most likely to see tested. For more detail, see our article on pronouns on the ACT English and SAT Writing. Rule 1 Always make sure a pronoun has a clear antecedent. The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun is replacing. If there is not an obvious antecedent for the pronoun either in the same sentence, or a sentence very nearby,it is considered an error. Example Mary and Eileen both like strawberries, but she likes them more. This would be considered incorrect because it is not clear who "she" is referring to. Sometimes the antecedent will be in a previous sentence. In this case, it should also be very clear. Example John Wallach, an award-winning journalist who covered conflicts in the Middle East for two decades, founded Seeds of Peace in 1993. He chose the campsite because it is a beautiful natural setting far from the places of conflict. It remains unaffiliated with any nation, organization, or peace group, and although countries may select their campers, they cannot pay for the camp. Here it appears that â€Å"it† refers to â€Å"campsite† in the previous sentence - really it should refer to â€Å"Seeds of Peace† in the first sentence. This would be considered an unclear and incorrect use of a pronoun. Rule 2 Pronouns should always be consistent. For example, if you are using second person pronouns in a sentence, you should use them all the way through the sentence. Examples Before one starts a new class, you should always read the syllabus. INCORRECT Before you start a new class, you should always read the syllabus. CORRECT Before one starts a new class, one should always read the syllabus. CORRECT Before people start a new class, they should always read the syllabus. CORRECT Rule 3 Pronouns should alwaysmatch their antecedents in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). For more examples of this rule, see our guide. Examples The boys all asked her out, but she didn’t like him. INCORRECT They boys all asked her out, but she didn’t like them. CORRECT One of the children painted this portrait. Art is a great talent of theirs. INCORRECT One of the children painted this portrait. Art is a great talent of his or hers. CORRECT Each of the actresses was considered most beautiful when they were in their prime. INCORRECT Each of the actresses was considered most beautiful when she was in her prime. CORRECT Verbs Verbs are words that show actions or states of being. For a more complete guide on how to use verbs on the SAT and ACT, read our grammar guide. Types of Verbs Linking verbs are verbs that show a relationship between the subject and the predicate nominative or predicate adjective. We can think of them as an equals sign. The most common linking verb is the verb â€Å"to be.† Examples I am a human being. I = human being The cake smells delicious. cake = delicious Action verbs are verbs that show an action. Many (but not all) of these verbs will take direct objects. A verb that takes a direct object is called a transitive verb; a verb that does not is called intransitive. Remember, you do not need to know these terms for the test. Examples The car rolled backwards. (No direct object) I ate wonderful toast. (I ate what? I atetoast.Toast is the direct object.) Conjugating Verbs Most verbs follow a simple pattern in the present tense: Present tense Singular Plural First Person (I) walk (we) walk Second Person (you) walk (you) walk Third Person (he/she/it) walks (they) walk Notice that only the third person plural (he/she/it) is different.This will become very important on the ACT and SAT because of†¦ Subject-Verb Agreement When you have a singular noun or pronoun as the subject of a clause, it must be matched by a singular verb. When you have a plural noun as the subject of a clause, it must be matched with a plural verb. While subject-verb agreement seems simple in theory, the SAT and ACT will try to trick you on this by adding extra words and phrases to sentences. This can make it more difficult to see if the verb works with the subject, as opposed to another noun in the sentence. Examples My sister, despite having to carry three children, walk five miles every day. The test will try to trick you with questions like this by putting a plural noun that is NOT the subject next to a plural verb.To avoid falling for this, find the verb, and then ask yourself, â€Å"who is doing this action?† In this case, who is walking five miles? It is my sister, which is a singular noun. Therefore the sentence should read, â€Å"My sister, despite having to carry three children, walks five miles every day. Maria and Joe likes to dance. Here you have two subjects: Maria and Joe. Therefore you need the plural form of the verb. Correct: Maria and Joe like to dance. Verb Tense Tense tells when the action of a verb is taking place. The present tenses tell about things that are happening now: Present no helping verb he sings Present Perfect to have + past participle he has sung Present Progressive to be + present participle he is singing The past tenses express actions that have already happened. Past no helping verb he sang Past Perfect had + past participle he had sung Past Progressive to be + present participle he was singing The future tenses express actions that are going to happen. Future will or shall + verb he will sing Future Perfect will have + past participle he will have sung Future Progressive will + be + present participle he will be singing You should always try to keep tenses consistent in one sentence. This is something the SAT and ACT will frequently test. Example After Mary had eaten the soup, she eats the main course. This sentence matches past perfect with present, and therefore would be considered incorrect. Instead try: After Mary had eaten the soup, she ate the main course. This matches past perfect with past, which is ok for showing progression of time within a sentence. Example The olive oils we tasted yesterday are delicious. This sentence mixespast tense (tasted) with present tense (are). This would be consideredincorrect. The better way would be: The olive oils we tasted yesterday were delicious. Adjectives What Are Adjectives? Adjectives are descriptive words that modify nouns and pronouns. Types of Adjectives Like nouns, adjectives can be common or proper.Some common adjectives include beautiful, short, angry, obese.Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns. Like proper nouns, they must be capitalized. Examples I like Mexican food. He plays the French horn. Possessive Adjectives These adjectives are formed from the personal pronouns and are used to describe objects that belong to a certain person. Personal Pronoun Possessive Adjective Personal Pronoun Possessive Adjective I/me my we our you your you your he/she/it his/her/its they their Unlike the possessive pronouns discussed above, these possessive adjectives must be used with a noun. Examples That car is mine. vs. That is my car. Running is a great skill of his. vs. Running is his great skill. Ours constantly leaks. vs. Our faucet constantly leaks. Demonstrative Adjectives Demonstrative adjectives include this, that, these and those.When these words are used as adjectives instead of pronouns, they must be modifying a noun. Examples That is the person I hate. vs. I hate that person. These are my best friends. vs. My best friends are these people. Adjectives Formed From Verbs Adjectives that are formed from verbs are calledparticiples. The present participle is formed by adding -ing to a verb stem.The past participle is formed by adding -ed to a verb stem. Examples The burned chicken did not taste very good. The chirping birds woke him up. Adjectives Formed from Nouns Sometimes you will see a noun being used as an adjective: Example The basketball player is tall. Normally, basketball is a noun. But here it is being used as an adjective to tell you what kind of player the person is.You will occasionally see this on the SAT or ACT, usually to describe a person by his or her profession. Remember that when a noun is being used as an adjective, there is no need to put a comma in between it and the noun it is describing. Examples The basketball, player is tall. INCORRECT The basketball player is tall. CORRECT Uses of Adjectives Adjectives are usually used to describe nouns, and are usually placed before the noun they describe. Example The beautiful girl walked down the street. If more than one adjective precedes a noun, they should be separated by a comma if the order of the adjectives is not important. Example The slobbering, feisty dog wagged his tail. The feisty, slobbering dog wagged his tail. If you have a sentence in which the order of the adjectives IS important - meaning if you reversed them, the sentence would not make as much sense - then do not use a comma. Examples She went to the store to purchase spreadable chocolate frosting. CORRECT She went to purchase chocolate, spreadable frosting. INCORRECT - ORDER MATTERS Do not sit in the broken wood chair. CORRECT Do not sit in the wood, broken chair. INCORRECT - ORDER MATTERS Adjectives are also used as predicate adjectives.Like predicate nominatives, this means they come after a linking verb and they describe the subject of the sentence. Examples The cake smells delicious. Delicious describes cake. That runner is very fast. Fast describes runner. Adverbs What Are Adverbs? Adverbs are words that describe or modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Note: Use of adverbs vs. use of adjectives is tested on the SAT and ACT.Therefore, it's important to be able to understand what the adverb or adjective is modifying, to make sure that it is being used correctly. Examples He ran quickly down the street. Quickly describes how he ran. (Adverb describing verb) She was very happy with the present. Very describes how happy the girl was. (Adverb describing adjective) Stop talking so loudly! So describes how loudly the person is talking. (Adverb describing adverb) How Are Adverbs Formed? Many adverbs are simply formed by adding the ending -ly to an adjective Examples careful → carefully easy → easily quiet → quietly However, some adverbs are formed irregularly: Adjective Adverb good well fast fast hard hard late late early early daily daily straight straight wrong wrong OR wrongly Example The good girl drives very well. Good is an adjective describing the noun girl; well is an adverb describing the verb drives. This is one of the most commonly confused adverbs, so make sure to memorize it. Remember if you see good in a sentence, it must be describing a noun, not a verb. Examples I did good on the test. = INCORRECT I did well on the test = CORRECT I daily receive a daily newspaper. The daily Daily. Of course, nobody would really speak this way because it’s redundant. But it shows that daily can be an adverb describing the verb receive, and also an adjective describing the noun newspaper. Example He woke up late and then had to take a hard test. Late is an adverb describing the verb woke up; hard is an adjective describing the noun test. Example The late boy worked hard on the test. Late is an adjective describing the noun boy; hard is an adverb describing the verb worked. Challenge question: what is the error in this sentence? Because our casserole was smelling surprisingly badly as it baked, the food science teacher A came over to ask us what we had put in it. No error. B C D E The answer is (A). Why? This could be confusing because â€Å"badly† is a correctly formed adverb. However, we don’t need an adverb, we need an adjective. â€Å"was smelling† is here used as a linking verb, and therefore we need a predicate adjective to tell us what it smelled like. â€Å"Surprisingly† is ok as it is because it is an adverb that should be modifying an adjective. Here is how it would look when corrected: â€Å"Because our casserole was smelling surprisingly bad as it baked†¦..† If left as is, badly would have to be describing â€Å"was smelling†, which would imply that the casserole has a poor sense of smell. Prepositions What Are Prepositions? Prepositions are words that show where someone or something is, or tells when something is happening. They can also be used to show a few other relationships, such as to whom you give something, or if you do something with or without something else. Common Prepositions Here are some of the most common prepositions in the English language: about above across after against along amid among around at atop before behind below beneath beside between beyond but (meaning except) by concerning down during except for from in inside into like near of off on onto out outside over past regarding since through throughout to toward under underneath until up upon with within without Prepositional Phrases A prepositional phrase is a phrase (group of words) that includes AT LEAST a preposition and a noun or pronoun, which is known as the object of the preposition. It is not important to know this terminology, but this is an important concept to understand. When using a pronoun as part of a prepositional phrase, make sure that it is in the objective case. Examples Give the cake to me! CORRECT Give the cake to I! INCORRECT Usually this kind of mistake will sound incorrect to native English speakers - hopefully the above example did. But some are trickier, usually those involving I vs. me as part of a compound object. Examples He went to the mall with Sarah and I. INCORRECT He went to the mall with Sarah and me. CORRECT The report was given by him and I. INCORRECT The report was given by him and me. CORRECT If you're having problems, try taking out the other part of the compound object. This can help make the correct form of the pronoun more obvious. Example He went to the mall with Sarah and me. CORRECT Often the SAT and ACT will add unnecessary prepositional phrases to sentences to try to make errors less obvious. Feel free to cross out prepositional phrases in order to make sentences easier to analyze. Here is an example SAT question. Identify the error in this sentence: Anne Tyler’s novel The Accidental Tourist features a character whose obsession with saving A B C time and money are absurd, yet somehow plausible. No error. D E Now look with a prepositional phrase crossed out: Anne Tyler’s novel The Accidental Tourist features a character whose obsession with saving A B C time and money are absurd, yet somehow plausible. No error. D E After crossing out the prepositional phrase, it becomes much more obvious that â€Å"obsession are absurd† is incorrect. Prepositions in Idioms Many prepositions have to be used in a certain way with certain phrases. This is not because one preposition is grammatically more correct, but because certain phrases in English are idiomatically correct because they have always been said a certain way. For example, we would say: â€Å"She fell in love with him.† We would never say, â€Å"She fell towards love at him.† We would say, â€Å"He is hard at work.† We would never say, â€Å"He is hard in work† with the same meaning in mind. For a full breakdown of the how the SAT uses idioms, see this guide. Conjunctions What are Conjunctions? Conjunctions are words that link ideas together. There are three main types of conjunctions: coordinating, subordinate, and correlative. Coordinating Conjunctions Coordinating conjunctions are probably the conjunctions that you are most familiar with. There are seven: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. You can remember these with the acronym FANBOYS: F for A and N nor B but O or Y yet S so Coordinating conjunctions can be used to join similar words, phrases, or clauses. The most commonly used conjunction is â€Å"and." Examples Joining words: John and Kim went to the store. Joining phrases: The mouse ran out the door and through the garden. Joining clauses: The mouse ran out the door, and I followed it. Joining clauses: I love him, but he hates me. A different kind of fanboys (and girl) Coordinating conjunctions can also be used to join two independent clauses. An independent clause is something that can stand on its own as a sentence. Example subject+verb +CONJ + subject+ verb The professor paced, but the student sat quietly. â€Å"The professor paced† and â€Å"The student sat quietly† could both be independent sentences. Subordinating Conjunctions Subordinating conjunctionsare used tojoin a dependent clause to an independent clause.Anindependent clauseis a clause that can stand on its own as a sentence - it expresses a complete thought. Asubordinate clauseis a clause that cannot be a sentence on its own. Usually, asubordinate clausewill describe either thebackground circimstancesof the independent clause or willgive more detailabout one part of the independent clause. There are a lot of subordinate conjunctions, but some of the more common ones include: after although because even though if once since though unless until when whenever where wherever while You can use the following structures to form sentences with dependent and independent clauses: (subordinating conjunction + dependent clause) , (independent clause). Example Since she loved chocolate, she ate the whole box of candy. (independent clause) + (subordinating conjunction + dependent clause). Example She ate the whole box of candy because she loves chocolate. Sometimes, a subordinate conjunction and dependent clause can come in between parts of the independent clause. Example Sonja, because she loves chocolate, eats it every chance she gets. Correlative Conjunctions These are very similar to coordinating conjunctions, but they must always be used in pairs.These pairs are worth memorizing because occasionally the SAT and ACT will test these to see if you know which words belong together. both...and either...or neither†¦nor not only...but also whether...or Examples Both my sister and I went to the park. Do you either want to go dancing or go to the gym? The soup contains neither onions nor garlic. Best Overall Tip for Conjunctions The SAT and ACT like to test parallel structure in sentences. When two or more things are linked by a conjunction, remember that they should have the same general structure. For more information on parallel structure and how it is tested, see this post. Examples Mike likes biking and to swim. INCORRECT Mike likes biking and swimming. CORRECT Mike likes to bike and to swim. CORRECT She searched outside and under the stairs. INCORRECT She searched outside the house and under the stairs. CORRECT What’s Next? You’ve refreshed the basics of grammar, so now it’s time to dive into the harder concepts: See this guide for all the other grammar rules tested on the ACTand on the SAT. Want to know what you are up against? Here is exactly what you will find on the Writing SAT and on ACT English. Want some pointers as you study? Check out 8 key strategies for doing well on SAT Writing, and 5 critical concepts you need to master for ACT English. Aiming high? Read our famous guides for a perfect 800 on SAT Writing and a 36 on ACT English. 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:

DISSERTATION (Litrature Review) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

(Litrature Review) - Dissertation Example This is disturbing for the UK economy as international students help to fund UK higher education. Migrants come to the UK for various reasons and students comprise of about 26% of the total migrants that enter UK as shown in the chart below: Source: Somerville & Sumption (2009). However, the precise number of international students is not known as no statistics are maintained of both the private and the public sector institutions (UKCISA, 2010). Amongst those studying full-time at publicly funded higher education institutions 214,000 were non-EU students out of a total of 306,000 students. The public funded further education colleges and the private colleges could have more non-EU students but the figures are not known. The immigration statistics can be confusing as those studying for less than six months are granted visa under a different category called ‘student visitors’. The non-EU students that have been granted clearance in the past few years are as shown in the ta ble below: Source: UKCISA (2010). These figures show a sharp increase over the past few years. The private institutions can set their own fees but at the state funded institutions the non-EU students have to pay the total fees with fees typically being between ?8000 and ?15000. International students account for over 40% of the total postgraduate students (UKCISA, 2010). About 50% of these students are engaged in research degrees but there is no subsidy offered to non-EU students. While there is a ‘cap’ on the number of EU students that can be accepted because of the limited funds, there is no cap on the number of international students that can be accepted. The private sector collages in the UK offer a wide variety of courses and are often less expensive thereby being affordable by the international students. International students contribute to the local economy because higher the number of students more jobs in the administration of the colleges and universities, add itional income or the UK universities and export income for the owners. International students enhance global connections. During the Asian financial crisis also student inflow had diminished in the UK while Australia had gained in student flow as a result. Another reason that student inflow is affected is because students started working along with studies as savings are reduced. The top ten UK student source countries have been shown in the table below: Source: Somerville & Sumption (2009). 2.3 Drivers of change in the current environment Internationalization of higher education is a response by academic institutions to a globalized world. This is basically a response to the new age which is marked by globalization, competition and marketization (Cheung, Yuen, Yuen & Cheng, 2011). Internationalization of education can be done in many forms and currently the most important form is the exporting of higher education service done through recruitment of overseas students. UK and Austra lia had so far been leading in recruitment of international students but Singapore is fast catching up. In Singapore education is considered a â€Å"knowledge industry† and accounts for more than 3 percent of the GDP. Education is fast becoming a global, market-oriented, private industry, and international mobility of students is a major concern for HEIs. The international trade in education services has become a major source of income in many countries. In Australia education services sector was the third largest exporter in 2007 while in the

Hotel Rwanda Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hotel Rwanda - Movie Review Example The Tutsis were traditionally the landholders and the Hutus were the poorer farmers. When the Belgians colonized Rwanda, they gave more power to the Hutus. After Rwanda became independent, the resentment of the majority Hutus started simmering. The Hutus started dehumanizing the Tutsis by calling them "cockroaches". The film begins with a virulent and hate-filled broadcast by the RTLM, the national radio station. "Why do we hate the Tutsis They are cockroaches!" it says, inciting racial violence. The reactions of the different groups of people to the massacre are varied. When the violence starts, some of the Hutu employees of the hotel stop working and keep listening to the radio with its hate filled propaganda. One Hutu employee occupies the Presidential suite and says to Paul, "There is the smell of cockroaches here." The response of the foreign nationals is mainly cynical The UN peacekeepers are incapable of any assertive action, because they have been instructed not to intervene .Their inaction is explained by Col. Oliver's words, "We are peace keepers, not peace makers." Even when the jeering Hutu militia men throw a blood stained UN soldier's helmet at them, reminding them of their murdered Belgian comrades, they can do nothing. When Red Cross workers bring Tutsi children from an orphanage to the hotel to escape massacre by the militia, the Western guests of the hotel do nothing to help them.. The journalists are intent on getting as much footage as possible, including some of the gruesome killings by machete. One journalist says cynically, "If people see this footage, they'll go, 'Oh my God! That's horrible!, and then go on eating their dinner." The final act of callousness by the foreigners is when they all leave under the escort of UN peace keeping force, leaving behind the victims to their fate. There are various reasons why the international community turned the other way when the massacre was happening. The U.S.A and the European nations did not do anything to stop it because Rwanda has neither oil nor any great mineral wealth. Rwanda being an African nation of black people was another reason for the inaction. The harassed Col. Oliver sums up the opinion of the West when he says, "You are dirt!" Finally, Paul also realizes the truth- that the people whom they trusted, have abandoned them. In a poignant scene, after all the whites have left , Paul says to the refugees in the hotel, "We have been abandoned. There will be no rescue. We can only save ourselves" We see Paul's cleverness .in another scene when the Hutu army comes to take away the Tutsi refugees in the hotel by force. Paul telephones the owner of the hotel chain in Belgium., and the owner asks Paul who should be called to stop it. Showing great acuity, Paul says,"The French. They are the ones arming and supplying the army" Very soon, the Hutu general receives a radio message not to disturb the hotel. The hotel owner had talked directly to the French President. A disquieting but uplifting movie, Hotel Rwanda is the portrayal of a courageous man, who, by using his wits,

Dc Motor Principle of Operation Essay Example for Free

Dc Motor Principle of Operation Essay Principles of operation In any electric motor, operation is based on simple electromagnetism. A current-carrying conductor generates a magnetic field; when this is then placed in an external magnetic field, it will experience a force proportional to the current in the conductor, and to the strength of the external magnetic field. As you are well aware of from playing with magnets as a kid, opposite (North and South) polarities attract, while like polarities (North and North, South and South) repel. The internal configuration of a DC motor is designed to harness the magnetic interaction between a current-carrying conductor and an external magnetic field to generate rotational motion. Lets start by looking at a simple 2-pole DC electric motor (here red represents a magnet or winding with a North polarization, while green represents a magnet or winding with a South polarization). Every DC motor has six basic parts axle, rotor (a. k. a. , armature), stator, commutator, field magnet(s), and brushes. In most common DC motors (and all that BEAMers will see), the external magnetic field is produced by high-strength permanent magnets1. The stator is the stationary part of the motor this includes the motor casing, as well as two or more permanent magnet pole pieces. The rotor (together with the axle and attached commutator) rotate with respect to the stator. The rotor consists of windings (generally on a core), the windings being electrically connected to the commutator. The above diagram shows a common motor layout with the rotor inside the stator (field) magnets. The geometry of the brushes, commutator contacts, and rotor windings are such that when power is applied, the polarities of the energized winding and the stator magnet(s) are misaligned, and the rotor will rotate until it is almost aligned with the stators field magnets. As the rotor reaches alignment, the brushes move to the next commutator contacts, and energize the next winding. Given our example two-pole motor, the rotation reverses the direction of current through the rotor winding, leading to a flip of the rotors magnetic field, driving it to continue rotating. In real life, though, DC motors will always have more than two poles (three is a very common number). In particular, this avoids dead spots in the commutator. You can imagine how with our example two-pole motor, if the rotor is exactly at the middle of its rotation (perfectly aligned with the field magnets), it will get stuck there. Meanwhile, with a two-pole motor, there is a moment where the commutator shorts out the power supply (i. e. , both brushes touch both commutator contacts simultaneously). This would be bad for the power supply, waste energy, and damage motor components as well. Yet another disadvantage of such a simple motor is that it would exhibit a high amount of torque ripple (the amount of torque it could produce is cyclic with the position of the rotor). So since most small DC motors are of a three-pole design, lets tinker with the workings of one via an interactive animation (JavaScript required): Youll notice a few things from this namely, one pole is fully energized at a time (but two others are partially energized). As each brush transitions from one commutator contact to the next, one coils field will rapidly collapse, as the next coils field will rapidly charge up (this occurs within a few microsecond). Well see more about the effects of this later, but in the meantime you can see that this is a direct result of the coil windings series wiring: Theres probably no better way to see how an average DC motor is put together, than by just opening one up. Unfortunately this is tedious work, as well as requiring the destruction of a perfectly good motor. Luckily for you, Ive gone ahead and done this in your stead. The guts of a disassembled Mabuchi FF-030-PN motor (the same model that Solarbotics sells) are available for you to see here (on 10 lines / cm graph paper). This is a basic 3-pole DC motor, with 2 brushes and three commutator contacts. The use of an iron core armature (as in the Mabuchi, above) is quite common, and has a number of advantages2. First off, the iron core provides a strong, rigid support for the windings a particularly important consideration for high-torque motors. The core also conducts heat away from the rotor windings, allowing the motor to be driven harder than might otherwise be the case. Iron core construction is also relatively inexpensive compared with other construction types. But iron core construction also has several disadvantages. The iron armature has a relatively high inertia which limits motor acceleration. This construction also results in high winding inductances which limit brush and commutator life. In small motors, an alternative design is often used which features a coreless armature winding. This design depends upon the coil wire itself for structural integrity. As a result, the armature is hollow, and the permanent magnet can be mounted inside the rotor coil. Coreless DC motors have much lower armature inductance than iron-core motors of comparable size, extending brush and commutator life. Diagram courtesy of MicroMo The coreless design also allows manufacturers to build smaller motors; meanwhile, due to the lack of iron in their rotors, coreless motors are somewhat prone to overheating. As a result, this design is generally used just in small, low-power motors. BEAMers will most often see coreless DC motors in the form of pager motors. Again, disassembling a coreless motor can be instructive in this case, my hapless victim was a cheap pager vibrator motor. The guts of this disassembled motor are available for you to see here (on 10 lines / cm graph paper). This is (or more accurately, was) a 3-pole coreless DC motor. I disembowel em so you dont have to

Using Stimuluses to Make a Final Performance :: Acting Education Drama Theatre Essays

Using Stimuluses to Make a Final Performance For our drama portfolio we were given many different stimuli to work with that all gave us different ideas for our final performance. I choose two stimuli and used them to develop ideas. My first stimulus I would like to talk about is a sentence about poppies that was given to us. We took our stimulus and brainstormed ideas. We looked at different drama strategies to employ that would help us understand the text. The sentence, which was about poppies made us concentrate on the aspect of war. Therefore death was the main idea but not necessarily due to war but to other reasons. Poppies are red and red symbolises blood, death, danger, wrong and love. As well as the performance consisting of pain an idea would be to also portray love. So we were thinking of a performance with a contrast of love and death. Loss will convey the blood death and danger so we should use loss as a main element within the piece. However, we were forgetting what poppies actually are flowers. This obvious aspect should be included, as a poppy is obviously a flower and death is an obvious element within war. They are both stating the obvious and therefore some strategies should be used to gain ideas from this aspect of poppies. We used hot seating on someone who is a presenter at a garden show. We selected some sentences about flowers and thought of using narrating to say them. At the same we created some still images that were related to the text to investigate the link between the poppies and the idea of dying in war. We now had a few initial ideas that could be developed further and used within our final piece. My second stimulus was to be put in the position of a mother. I was told that my son had been missing in action and I receive a letter from him which is back dated two months ago. We took our stimulus and started to create ideas again. We took into account the time period and how life would be different then. We concentrated on the parent’s and son’s relationship and the parent’s priorities. What would be the most important thing in their life at that moment in time? There were many aspects to consider so we decided to use hot seating as our first strategy. We also had to consider the conditions the son was living in as it was set in the war. It was important for the audience to understand the atmosphere not only with the setting but within the

Writing and Reflection Paper

Start with writing the first draft. Describe your reflective essay project. How did it contribute to your self development? Evaluate the quality of your work within your reflective essay. Did you achieve your goals? Tell how you might have made your project better. Revise your first draft. Be complete when telling â€Å"what happened† and use descriptive details to describe your actions. Stick to the point. Concentrate on your reflective essay project as a whole and include the details that really affected the final outcome of the project. Tell about your experiences while working on your essay. Answer the question: â€Å"What did you learn?† Write in a clear style that your reader can understand. Show your essay to a friend for helpful feedback.Some Helpful Tips:What to IncludeWhen writing a reflection paper on literature or another experience, the point is to include your thoughts and reactions to the reading or experience. You can present your feelings upon reading w hat you read and why. You can also use a reflection paper to analyze what you have read. Just like in any other paper or essay, be cohesive, refer to the specific passage or quote the material that drew this feeling, reflection or analysis from you and why. It is okay to include personal experience in a reflection paper, but do not depend on it; base your reactions and reflections in the material that is your subject.What to Leave OutDo not use a reflection paper to simply summarize what you have read or done. It is also recommended not to use a reflection paper as a free flow of ideas and thoughts. Again, the idea of a reflection paper is to write an essay describing your reactions and analysis to a reading or other experience; however, it is more formal than a journal entry, so leave out informal language and form.How to Organize Your ThoughtsA reflection paper should be organized as you would another formal essay. Be sure to include an introduction, perhaps that suggests what you r  expectations were on the reading or experience beforehand. You may also want to summarize the conclusions you came to in the introduction. Then move on to the body of your paper, explain separately the conclusions you have come to and why, basing your conclusions in concrete details from your reading and experience. End the paper with a conclusion that sums up what you got from the reading. You might want to refer back to what your conclusions are in relation to your expectations or come to some other conclusion or analysis about the text or experience in light of your feelings and reactions.

History †bisness plan Essay

The owners of Excel Hygiene have been colleagues in a company which operated on a national scale, converting urban organic waste in to natural fertilizers for crop production in farms. This company has decided to focus on the rural sector and does not wish to expand its urban operations. Its major customer group is of farmers and owners of plantations. It has considered and rejected plans to enter health care lines. The agriculture and rural marketing business, while voluminous, is subject to the vagaries of nature. It is also intensely competitive, with narrow margins and uncertain demand levels. The bio-medical waste sector, on the other hand, is a rapidly rising star on the economic horizon. Demand for health care services is growing and assured. The number of competitors, as seen earlier, is limited, and consequently the margins are relatively attractive. The sector demands very high levels of service, but pay-offs are matching. Biotechnology is versatile with many future sectors which Excel Hygiene can address. There are many useful microbes in nature and their isolation and culture is relatively easy for those in the know. The owners of Excel Hygiene have succeeded in preparing and agreeing on a business plan. The latter has found favor with venture capitalists looking for biotech opportunities, so the company could be funded without denting the personal savings of the promoters too seriously. A crucial factor has been the timeliness of the new enterprise, though its aggression in bidding for a substantial price premium from the beginning is founded more on technical considerations of the safety advantage than any standard financial or economic wisdom. Market Definition Excel Hygiene plans to be a niche player with a very conservative market share target of just 1%. The first reason for this is the high premium the company wishes to charge for its differentiated products and services. It is possible that hospitals and doctors who do not attach much value to safety will not be willing to pay the higher prices. Further, health care institutions are conservative customers, and will take time to accept services from a new provider. The financiers behind the new enterprise also prefer quick and assured payback with high percentage returns to large volumes and top line growth. The entry strategy of Excel Hygiene is to secure contracts in relatively low-risk units of top quality institutions. Word of mouth promotion is very important in the health care community, so the new enterprise has to ensure that the most prestigious customers join its ranks first. The risks of switching to a new service provider are daunting in life saving units, but it is much easier to induce switches in routine areas. Excel hygiene will target waiting areas, food preparation zones, and general wards for its entry, staying away from competitive strongholds in Intensive Care and Casualty units. Excel Hygiene plans to hold seminars and to participate in scientific meetings on infection control to ensure word of mouth promotion of its services and image. Special efforts will be made to make spokespeople out of the best known doctors, surgeons, and para-medical workers, so that branding has a firm and stable base. The financial plans provide for this first phase to last the first full year of operations, and the second year will be used to leverage the accumulated goodwill by tripling the relatively small revenues of the first year. Excel Hygiene will invest in free demonstrations of its services for the first 6 months, backed by microbiology tests. This is to establish the reliability of the company’s services and to prove the efficacies of its novel range of biological products. The company will aim to have the results of these trials published, so that the investment can result in high growth during the second year of operations. A final element of strategy will be to liaise with regulatory authorities for endorsement of the company’s novel products. This approach will help to consolidate the small market share that the company hopes to forge within 2 years, and to protect its revenues during the subsequent years. The company hopes to excel by defining its business scope, territorial spread, and customer definition very tightly, seeking to specialize in a niche area. The emphasis is also on reassuring financiers since the company does not have a prior establishment in the market of substantial fixed asset covers. This conservative approach may be reviewed once the company has achieved its targets for the first five years. Quantitatively, Excel Hygiene targets net revenues of $500 thousand in the first year, rising to over $2 million by year 5. However, the major growth is expected during the second year itself. The infrastructure which has been planned will not allow full service coverage of more than 500 client units at a time within the designated territory. Hence, growth from the third year onwards will be marginal. It is typical in this business to suffer some client turnover, though it is equally possible to canvass for new contracts. Incineration and treatment capacities are other constraints to bear in mind.

The Story of Ray Bradbury essays

The Story of Ray Bradbury essays Seldom does a visionary come along with the foresight and imagination to take people to the future; Ray Bradbury is one of those visionaries. Ray Bradbury has had such an impact on the world that the full magnitude of his contribution may never be truly known. Generations have been inspired by his works, his dreams for a utopian society. About the only thing that critics cannot agree upon is whether Bradbury writes Science Fiction or Fantasy. The rift between the two genres is not easily bridged. A second rift exists between the two genres and what society views as true art. Societys view of literary art does not often include Science Fiction. Ray Douglas Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois on August 22, 1920 to Leonard Spalding Bradbury and Ester Marie Bradbury. Bradburys twin brothers Leonard and Samuel were born in 1916; Samuel died in 1918, and Bradburys sister Elizabeth was born six years later in 1926. Bradbury attended public school in Waukegan, Tucson, and Los Angeles. He discovered science fiction in Amazing Stories, a popular magazine of its day, in 1928. Bradbury wrote his first stories on butcher paper at a young age. In 1932, Bradbury performed as an amateur magician at Oddfellows Hall and American Legion. He read comics to children on radio station KGAR (Bloom 141). In 1934 in Los Angeles, Bradbury worked as a live audience for the Burns and Allen radio show. He acted as scriptwriter, producer, and director of the Roman Review at Los Angles High School and joined the Los Angeles Science Fiction League in 1937. He graduated from high school in 1938. In 1939, he published his own fan magazine, F uturia Fantasia, attended the World Science Fiction Convention in New York, and joined actress Laraine Days drama group, the Wilshire Players Guild. His high school yearbook named him headed for literary distinction (Bloom 142). ...

6 Common Myths About Language and Grammar

6 Common Myths About Language and Grammar In the book Language Myths, edited by Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill (Penguin, 1998), a team of leading linguists set out to challenge some of the conventional wisdom about language and the way it works. Of the 21 myths or misconceptions they examined, here are six of the most common. The Meanings of Words Should Not Be Allowed to Vary or Change Peter Trudgill, now an honorary professor of sociolinguistics at the University of East Anglia in England, recounts the history of the word nice to illustrate his point that the English language is full of words which have changed their meanings slightly or even dramatically over the centuries. Derived from the Latin adjective nescius (meaning not knowing or ignorant), nice arrived in English around 1300 meaning silly, foolish, or shy. Over the centuries, its meaning gradually changed to fussy, then refined, and then (by the end of the 18th century) pleasant and agreeable. Trudgill observes that none of us can unilaterally decide what a word means. Meanings of words are shared between peoplethey are a kind of social contract we all agree tootherwise, communication would not be possible. Children Cant Speak or Write Properly Any More Though upholding educational standards is important, says linguist James Milroy, there is, in reality, nothing to suggest that todays youngsters are less competent at speaking and writing their native language than older generations of children were. Going back to Jonathan Swift (who blamed linguistic decline on the Licentiousness which entered with the Restoration), Milroy notes that every generation has complained about deteriorating standards of ​literacy. He points out that over the past century general standards of literacy have, in fact, steadily risen. According to the myth, there has always been a Golden Age when children could write much better than they can now. But as Milroy concludes, There was no Golden Age. America Is Ruining the English Language John Algeo, professor emeritus of English at the University of Georgia, demonstrates some of the ways in which Americans have contributed to changes in English vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation. He also shows how American English has retained some of the characteristics of 16th-century English that have disappeared from present-day British. American is not corrupt British plus barbarisms. . . . Present-day British is no closer to that earlier form than present-day American is. Indeed, in some ways present-day American is more conservative, that is, closer to the common original standard, than is present-day English. Algeo notes that British people tend to be more aware of American innovations in language than Americans are of British ones. The cause of that greater awareness may be a keener linguistic sensitivity on the part of the British, or a more insular anxiety and hence irritation about influences from abroad. TV Makes People Sound the Same J. K. Chambers, a professor of linguistics at the University of Toronto, counters the common view that television and other popular media are steadily diluting regional speech patterns. The media do play a role, he says, in the spread of certain words and expressions. But at the deeper reaches of language changesound changes and grammatical changesthe media have no significant effect at all. According to sociolinguists, regional dialects continue to diverge from standard dialects throughout the English-speaking world. And while the media can help to popularize certain slang expressions and catch-phrases, its pure linguistic science fiction to think that television has any significant effect on the way we pronounce words or put together sentences. The biggest influence on language change, Chambers says, is not Homer Simpson or Oprah Winfrey. It is, as it always has been, face-to-face interactions with friends and colleagues: it takes real people to make an impression. Some Languages Are Spoken More Quickly Than Others Peter Roach, now an emeritus professor of phonetics at Reading University in England, has been studying speech perception throughout his career. And what has he found out? That theres no real difference between different languages in terms of sounds per second in normal speaking cycles. But surely, youre saying, theres a rhythmical difference between English (which is classed as a stress-timed language) and, say, French or Spanish (classed as syllable-timed). Indeed, Roach says, it usually seems that syllable-timed speech sounds faster than stress-timed to speakers of stress-timed languages. So Spanish, French, and Italian sound fast to English speakers, but Russian and Arabic dont. However, different speech rhythms dont necessarily mean different speaking speeds. Studies suggest that languages and dialects just sound faster or slower, without any physically measurable difference. The apparent speed of some languages might simply be an illusion. You Shouldnt Say It Is Me Because Me Is Accusative According to Laurie Bauer, professor of theoretical and descriptive linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, the It is I rule is just one example of how the rules of Latin grammar have been inappropriately forced on English. In the 18th century, Latin was widely viewed as the language of refinementclassy and conveniently dead. As a result, a number of grammar mavens set out to transfer this prestige to English by importing and imposing various Latin grammatical rulesregardless of actual English usage and normal word patterns. One of these inappropriate rules was an insistence on using the nominative I after a form of the verb to be. Bauer argues that theres no point in avoiding normal English speech patternsin this case, me, not I, after the verb. And theres no sense in imposing the patterns of one language on another. Doing so, he says, is like trying to make people play tennis with a golf club.

Modern Marriage, only a status symbol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern Marriage, only a status symbol - Essay Example The Modern American wedding has become much more of commercial saga generating a massive turnover every year. Wedding planners, florists, caterers, hairstylists, clothes, designers, have all got their fortunes connected to the wedding industry. According to statistics 2 "the average American wedding costs $22,360 and has 168 guests, who give 100 gifts that cost an average of $85 each, meaning the net loss to the couple is $13,860..the average guest spends $500 to attend a wedding-not including plane tickets." The statistics do not end here though. The figures get more and more perturbing as it is revealed that "43% of couples say they spent more on their wedding than they had planned."3There is an increase in thematic weddings like Disney World "Fairy Tale Wedding" where for the price of $2,500 a bride can arrive in a glass coach pulled by four dappled gray ponies.4 All these figures and statistics really provoke a disturbing query in our minds which is whether the modern commercial marriage is now deinstitutionalized to the extent of a mere commercial saga The United States has seen deterioration in the institution of marriage during the past many decades (Cherlin 2004:848-861). There has been a transition of the essence of marriage from So is it possible to say that while the practical importance of marriage has hit an all time low, it has gained a symbolic significance Is it merely a mark of prestige and personal achievement Consider only some of the expenses the modern bride and groom go through for the ceremony of marriage. According to a commercial website 5,the Groom pays for the Bride's rings, Boutonnire for the groom and ushers ,groom's present to bridegroom's presents to ushers and best man, ties and gloves for the ushers ,clergy member's cost ,corsages for the immediate members of both families; also the bride's going away corsage ,bachelor dinner (optional, and usually given by best man or ushers) ,rehearsal dinner (optional, but is usual) ,accommodations for out-of-town ushers and the honeymoon. This list is not exhaustive though and the bride has to pay for a similar list of expenditure. What happens then, after such a grand wedding Every year the government issues alarming figures of divorce rate statistics, many homes are broken and the children are displaced. Academic opinion and research has spoken of the weakening of the social norms that regulate people's behaviour in this regard. This is another symbol of the deteriorating society where there is a sort of a "taken-for-granted" norm that allows people to go on with their lives with nobody questioning their behaviour (Cherlin2004:848-849, Whitehead 2001:6-16). The wedding as a status symbol Recent weddings have become little less than individual achievements. "In the distant past, a wedding was an event at which two kinship groups formed an alliance. More recently, it has been an event organized and paid for by parents, at which they display their approval and support for their child's marriage" (Cherlin 2004:848-849) So despite its destabilisation as an "institution", the American Wedding has become "an

LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN - Compare & contrast humanitarian & Essay

LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN - Compare & contrast humanitarian & business supply chains. Provide anD analysis of similarities & d - Essay Example Though the supply chain strategies in both the cases aim at efficiency, there are differences arising due to the objectives, nature and goals of the operations, the management structure and management style. Blecken, A. (2010, p. 8) states â€Å"Thomas and Kopezak (2006) see the lack of recognition of importance of supply chain management and logistics in humanitarian organizations as a challenge to efficient and effective logistics and supply chain management†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This observation is in contrast to the recognition of its importance given by the private businesses, though an encouraging trend is evolving in humanitarian supply chain. I Factors differentiating humanitarian and business supply chains Factors differentiating humanitarian and business supply chains are discussed in this section. Though the operational strategy in the case of both humanitarian and business supply chain basically involves procurement, storage, transportation and distribution, similarities and dif ferences relative to these functions in respect of humanitarian and business supply chains are discussed separately under section II for understanding of the operational issues in proper perspective. Stakeholders The primary stakeholders in the humanitarian supply chain are the people affected by earth quakes, floods and other natural calamities; afflicted by epidemics, poverty or other events. Unlike the customers or suppliers of a business organization who comes to do business with the corporations or associate with them as employees, the humanitarian organizations are involved in the rescue or rehabilitation operations of unknown people from different parts of the world in need of assistance and support. These people are not related to other stakeholders like donors, service providers, NGOs or other agencies and the service to humanity is the cornerstone of these humanitarian organizations. Management structure The management structure of humanitarian organizations is not uniform as in the case of private corporations with a defined hierarchy and chain of command. Lack of accountability is a systematic problem in the charitable organizations. However, Tomasini & Wassenhove (2004, p. 446) noted that in the case of humanitarian supply management system (SUMA) developed by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in El Salvador a public-private commission was set up, including Price Waterhouse and KPMG Peat Marwick to audit the reception and distribution of goods as well as the management of funds. SUMA has successfully overcome the inherent weakness in the management structure of the humanitarian supply chain. Coordination with the Stakeholders Humanitarian operations are complex with different stakeholders such as government agencies, local authorities, private sector corporations, service providers, goods suppliers, large and small aid agencies and NGOs apart from the communities involved. Adherence to the humanitarian principles in the activities at all lev els and ensuring relief without partiality or discrimination is very important for sustaining the confidence level and trust of the donors and other stakeholders for their continued assistance and support. Infrastructure facilities Problems faced by a typical humanitarian orga