Homer- The Greek Poet Essay Example

Homer- The Greek Poet Essay Homer is an indefinite figure of mystery, a halo in a dark shadow.Homer was a Greek poet, accredited with writing The Illiad, The Odyssey, and a few other works of literature.His epic poems were broken down into books to make easier to memorize, since he would recite the whole poem in one day, with no breaks. Homer definitely has an unclear past, he also may not have actually wrote both The Illiad and The Odyssey, and he interlaced several Greek gods into his story, helping us understand what the Greeks of ancient times were like. There is a certain lack of information on Homer.Most likely, he was live around 720 B.C., and he was a blind bard.A bard is a person who recites poems in public, which he wrote by himself, some of these are long in length, and called epics.The Illiad and The Odyssey are both epics that are accredited to Homer.All of this still may not be true.Many people claim that Homer couldnt have been one person, some think that it would be impossible to cover all of t hese events depicted in his books in a normal mans lifespan. Still, there is no hard proof to prove that Homer didnt write these two epics, but theres also no solid proof that he did.On one hand, until the publication of Prolegomena ad Homerum, there probably were only about ten people in the entire world that ever doubted the existence of Homer. The Greeks and the Romans were convinced that Homer was a single man and that he wrote the works that bear his name. The Greeks even studied the Iliad and the Odyssey in their schools as early as 400 BC and regarded the works as masterpieces of the Greek language.Just because of this, though, doesnt mean that its not possible for Homer to be several men; Today many critics, including most of the ones who insist that Homer was one man, seem convinced that the original Odyssey ended in book XXIII, line 269. Then the many Homers theorists argue that if the

The Best AP Environmental Science Review Guide

The Best AP Environmental Science Review Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Knowing how to review for an AP test can be challenging, and, based on average exam scores, it appears that many students who take AP Environmental Science don’t adequately prepare for the exam. Fortunately, if you’re not sure where to start, this guide will walk you through the complete of AP Environmental Science review process.I’ll start by going over the format of the exam and what it’ll cover, including sample questions, and then I’ll move on to the specific review strategies and plan you should follow in order to be prepared for the exam. What's the Format of the AP Environmental Science Exam? The AP Environmental Science Exam is three hours long and divided into two sections, multiple-choice and free-response. Multiple-Choice Section 100 questions 90 minutes Worth 60% of your score Questions will be both stand-alone and as part of sets You earn one point for each correct answer, and no points are taken off for incorrect answers (so you should answer every question!) No calculator allowed Free-Response Section Four questions 1 Document-Based question 1 Data Set question 2 Synthesis and Evaluation questions 90 minutes Worth 40% of your score (each question is weighted equally) No calculator allowed What Does the AP Environmental Science Exam Cover? Before we get into the nitty-gritty of APESreview, it’ll help to broadly go over what the exam covers to help put everything into context.Environmental science is a multi-disciplinary topic, and it covers concepts from science, history, current events, and more. The exam will touch on many areas, but there are six main themes it seeks to focus on.Every question you see on the exam will relate back to at least one of these themes, so they’re helpful to keep in mind as you navigate your review process. AP Environmental Science Themes Science is a process. Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes. The Earth itself is one interconnected system. Humans alter natural systems. Environmental problems have a cultural and social context. Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems. The AP Environmental Science exam also has seven major topics which make up the content the course and exam focus on.These major topics are more specific than the above themes, and knowing them helps give you a better idea of what will be covered on the exam. Each of the topics will make up about 10-15% of the questions on the multiple-choice section, except for pollution which will make up 25-30% of multiple-choice questions.Each major topic has multiple smaller topics within it. In the interests of length, I included a selection of these for each major topic. If you’d like to see the entire list, check out the AP Environmental Science Course Description, beginning on page six. AP Environmental ScienceMajorTopics Earth Systems and Resources Topics include: Geology, the atmosphere, water resources, and soil science The Living World Topics include: Ecosystems, energy flow, biogeochemical cycles Population Topics include:Population ecology, reproductive strategies, survivorship Land and Water Use Topics include:Agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing, global economics Energy Resources and Consumption Topics include:Different types of energy (fossil fuels, nuclear, hydroelectric, etc.), energy consumption, and renewable energy Pollution Topics include: Types of pollution, economic impacts of pollution, how pollution affects environmental and human health Global Change Topics include: Global warming, loss of biodiversity, changes to the ozone layer What Do Questions Look Like on the AP Enviro Exam? As mentioned above, there are two sections on the AP Environmental Science exam: multiple choice and free response.Official sample problems from both sections are shown below. Multiple-Choice Sample Question To answer this multiple-choice question, you’d have to know major environmental disasters and what caused them.Each of the answer choices is a place where an environmental disaster occurred, but only one of them was caused due to disposing of toxic chemicals underground. The correct answer is choice C. Other multiple-choice questions may refer to a graph, require simple calculations, and/or be part of a set of related questions. The College Board doesn’t make many examples of multiple-choice questions available, but for a sample of questions, check out the Course Descriptionfor AP Enviro.Later in this guide, I’ll also go over where to find and how to use other sample problems. Free-Response Sample Questions Data Set Sample Question There will be one data set question on the exam. Some data (it may be a table, chart, or graph) will be presented, and you’ll be required to answer questions on it, some of which will include calculations. Because you aren’t allowed a calculator, the calculations won’t be too involved and will generally only require solving simple equations. Synthesis and Evaluation Sample Question There will be two synthesis and evaluation questions on the exam and, while they may include data you have to look at, you won’t have to do calculations in order to answer questions.Each question can be answered with a few phrases or sentences; no free-response questions on the Environmental Science AP exam require complete essays. The document-based question is similar to the synthesis and evaluation question in that there are no calculations involved, and the questions can be answered with short phrases or paragraphs, but the document-based question will have a short excerpt from a document you’ll need to read in order to answer some parts of the question. To see complete answers to these questions and other free-response questions, check out our dedicated guide to the AP Environmental Science Free-Response Section. How to Review for AP Environmental Science In this section, I’ll walk you through each step you should take during your AP Environmental Science review. Follow these sevensteps, be thoughtful about your weaknesses and progress, and you’ll be on your way to success! #1: Get Your Review Materials Ready Before you begin reviewing, you want to make sure you have all the review materials you’ll need ready and organized.It’s best to start this step around the end of fall, but even if you’re juststarting a few weeks before the exam, never fear! A couple weeks of dedicated studying can be enough to help you score well on the AP exam. What materials do you need? Many people find it helpful to purchase a review book. Unlike your textbook, review books focus specifically on the information you need to know for the AP exam, so you’re not wading through extraneous info that you don’t need to worry about for the test.Before getting a review book, read reviews online or ask your classmates if they have a book to recommend. In general, Princeton Review and Barron’s are solid choices. Don’t neglect your class materials, though! Your notes and textbook can be useful for in-depth review of certain topics you want to brush up on.Finally, practice tests are one of the most important ways to review, so you want to make sure you have gathered a bunch of them. Check out our guide specially on AP Environmental practice tests, or check out these top choices: There is one complete and official practice test available from the College Board. Barron’s also has a high-quality complete practice test. For free-response questions, there are lots of official examples from previous AP exams that you should use. For multiple- choice questions, there’s 17 official practice questions you can look at in the Course Description for the class. Varsity Tutors also has a 100-question multiple-choice test. #2: Take and Score a Practice Test Your next step should be to take a complete practice test under realistic testing conditions (90 minutes each for multiple-choice and free-response, no calculator, and taken in one sitting). I’d recommend using the Barron’s practice test or combining the Varsity Tutor’s multiple-choice section with a set of official free-response sections and saving the full-length official practice test for later on. After you take the test, score your test to see how well you did. Official practice materials come with scoring guidelines, and many unofficial resources are automatically scored, but if you need help estimating your score, use this score calculator. (It’s based on 2008 results, so it won’t be completely accurate, but it’ll give you a good estimate.) #3: Set a Score Target Now that you know how well you’re currently scoring, you can set a score target.Despite its low score averages, AP Environmental Science is generally considered one of the less-challenging AP exams, so most people who are able to commit some time to studying should aim for a 4 or a 5.However, if you are scoring a 2 or lower, or you know you won’t be able to study much, you may want to aim for a 3 instead. #4: Analyze Your Mistakes Now that you know what score you’re aiming for and how far you are from it, it’s time to start analyzing which questions you got wrong and why.Go through the practice test you just took and look over every question you got wrong. Think about why you got it wrong, and look for patterns. Did you miss a lot of the questions that involved calculations? Did you know global change but got most questions on energy resources wrong? This may seem like a long and tiresome step, but don’t be tempted to skip it. It’ll save you time in the long-run, and it’s really the only way to significantly improve your score. #5: Review Your Weak Content Areas Next, use the information you got from going over your practice exam and focus particularly on improving each of your weak areas.If there are certain topics or types of questions that gave you particular trouble, review your notes and take practice questions until you feel confident with them. Don’t just passively read through your notes either; actively engage with them. Underline important words and phrases, rewrite key points in your own words, and regularly stop and go over in your head what you just learned to make sure you’re actually retaining the information. #6: Revise Your Test-Taking Strategies A lot of the time, it’s not just the content of the exam that’s challenging, it’s how much you’re expected to do in three hours that can also cause you to make mistakes.If you find yourself either running out of time or making careless errors, you likely need to make some changes to how quickly or slowly you move through the exam. If you often runout of time, spend future practice tests timing yourself more carefully.For the multiple-choice section, you have 90 minutes to answer 100 questions; that’s 54 seconds per question. Getting stuck on one question can prevent you from answering multiple other questions, which can really hurt your score. So, if you’ve looked at a question for 90 seconds and still have no idea how to answer it, skip it and come back to it at the end if you have time remaining. (Do remember to answer every question though by the time the section ends, even if it’s a complete guess. There are no deductions for incorrect answers, so don’t leave any questions blank.) For free-response questions, you’ll have about 22 minutes to answer each question. However, no one will force you to move onto the next question, so it can be easy to lose track of time. Taking practice free-response sections and carefully timing yourself can help with this issue.Also, if you find yourself making a lot of careless errors on the exam, try to slow down a bit and read each question twice before you begin answering it. For both sections of the test, answering practice questions regularly can help you get a handle on timing issues and become more used to how long you have to answer each question. #7: Take Another Practice Test After all your hard work, it’s time to take another complete practice test to see how much you’ve improved.Follow the same rules as you did for your first practice test, and figure out your score. If you’ve improved a lot and are close to your score target, you may only need to do light studying until the exam. If you’ve improved but still aren’t where you want to be, repeat the above steps again to continue working on your weaknesses. However, if you haven’t improved a lot or are still far from your target score, you’ll have to change up your methods. Examine how you’ve been reviewing and which questions you’re getting wrong. You may not have been paying close enough attention or just passively read through your notes instead of engaging with them. Make a list of things you’ll change (such as studying more actively, paying closer attention to your notes etc.) and implement those changes as you go through the above steps again. Time Estimates How long will it take to review for the AP Environmental Science AP exam? That’ll vary for everyone, but below are some estimate of how long you should spend on specific steps. Take and grade first practice test: 3.5 hours Analyze your mistakes: 1 hour Review your weak areas and revise test strategies: 3 hours Take and grade another practice test: 3.5 hours So, going through one cycle of these steps may take you around 11 hours, and, remember, you may want to repeat the cycle to really get the information to sink in. Summary: Key Tips for AP Environmental Science Review Being well-prepared and ready for the AP Environmental Science exam gives you a much better shot of doing well on the test.Make sure you know how the exam is formatted and what material it covers before you begin your review. Your review process should include the following steps: Gather review materials Take and grade an initial practice test Set a score target Analyze your mistakes Review weak content areas Revise test strategies Take and grade another practice test to see how you’ve improved What's Next? Want some more practice materials for the AP Environmental Science Exam? We've got you covered with free and official practice quizzes and tests. Need some help reviewing for your other AP classes? Learn the five study tips and strategies you should use for all AP exams. Are you self-studying for AP Environmental Science or another AP exam? Learn the seven steps you should be following when self-studying in order to maximize your chances of getting a great exam score. 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:

Llustrate this collaboration Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Llustrate this collaboration - Assignment Example Besides, these images served the purpose of arousing respect and reverence for their gods among the people. Egyptians were more concerned about the afterlife than their real existence on earth, which is evident from the above image featuring gods of the underworld realm (Acharya 233). In this image, the artist features Egyptians’ underworld gods (according to their ranks form left) whose core role encompassed determining the destinies of their dead people. The deities’ images varied based on their roles whereby the central image depicts Anubi god responsible for mummification process after death whereas the last or left image was Horus god (Acharya 237). The latter was a symbol of kingship in Egypt after the murder of the first god (Osiris) (Acharya 236). Instilling reverence and respect for their gods, artists by then depicted the gods sometimes having animal heads (Acharya 236). This also expressed their relationships with nature, which the living people depended mainly for survival. Hence, the gods possessed immense controlling power over both the people and the nature or land, which they inhabited (Acharya 237). Bilińska-Bohdanowiczowa’s image depicts one of the remarkable biblical stories concerning sons of Jacob’s rivalry, which prompted to the selling of Joseph (Garb 39). The image depicts the focal point of the entire account, which the artist chooses to feature. Hence, this arouses viewers’ thoughts concerning the Israelites’ origin and diverse chronological events that followed the depicted scene. In this image, art acts as an auxiliary medium meant to help the viewers understand, remember and relay the depicted information to the then numerous people (Shusterman 1). Therefore, Bilińska-Bohdanowiczowa via this image takes advantage of visual method, which is extremely effective compared to both reading and narration

Casinos in Nevada Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Casinos in Nevada - Research Paper Example The first influence comprised of the regulation of The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) which support the effective accomplishment of the duties in accordance with the guidance laid by the acts governing them. The second influence refers to the authoritarian failure to notice, whether an obligation or a proposal from the supervisory bodies, that an official scheme of in-house controls is implemented, which takes into account the various prerequisites which a certain type of an in-house assessment task is executed at a casino. In several jurisdictions the measures adopted and implemented by the internal audit systems are exclusively governed by such directives. The third and ultimate influence refers to the sustained participation of blatantly dealt casino corporations, which fall under the directive of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as proprietors or workers of the various functions related to the casino. Given that the IIA's Standards direct all assessors, irrespective of the industry to which they belong, this paper focuses on the key influences which govern the money management and accounting part of the casino industry with respect to the Nevada casinos against the background of the regulation 6A and Title 31 acts1. 2. Brief Background Gaming is the one of the chief 'money-making' businesses in the State of Nevada which is also incidentally a major contributor of large amount of returns to the state. The economic accomplishment of the industry is hence, reliant on the successful and methodical licensing of individuals as well as institutions involved in the industry within the State. The contemporary age of gaming can be traced back to its origins in the early 1931 period, with the implementation of the "wide open gaming bill" in Nevada. During the early 1950s, the endeavors to establish strong controls over the industry were accelerated and enhanced. This involved a detailed and in-depth study of the casinos in Nevada ultimately translating into the establishment of the gaming regulatory body which was set up to sanction and manage the swiftly growing industry. The Nevada Gaming Control Board was eventually set up to legalize and sanction the day to day functions of the casinos, together with the compilation, calculation, and settlement of the day to day gaming proceeds besides upholding the veracity of the games on the casino floor2. The Nevada Gaming Commission is entrusted with the responsibility of managing punitive issues and ratifying gaming regulations within the state of Nevada3. As each state or ethnic venture has characteristically formed an authoritar ian structure with the introduction of gaming, there is a simultaneous introduction of a wide range of practices and audit requirements. While every gaming regulatory organization characteristically comprises of numerous sections, there are three most important divisions with which internal

Health Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health - Term Paper Example The Dermatology department of our hospital handles patients with skin problems like dermatitis, pediculosis, scabies, fungal infections, vulgaris and psoriasis including attending to individuals seeking reconstructions of some part of their body for aesthetic purposes. Recently, our most common diseases were melanoma of the skin. Our physician handles this type of skin problem by requesting for a biopsy and histological examination through our laboratory facility. Apart from this, plastic surgery and debridement as a result of burn is also done in our department where physicians may perform homograft, xenograft or isograft. However, patients have to undergo sensitivity test, allergy test and direct examination. Because of the presence of other cases of basal and squamous cell carcinomas, keratosis, Bowen’s diseases and dysplastic nevi, our laboratory also offers other services like electro surgery in the form of curettage and electrodessication, electro coagulation, cryosurger y and MOH’s surgery. With the psychological impact of melanoma surgery, patients are referred to our counseling specialty team to handle the psychosocial aspect of the illness. Cases of all types of cancer are handled in our Oncology department. With the great number of smokers, it is not surprising to have bronchogenic carcinoma as the most prominent case. However, liver, breast cancer, cervical cancers are also trailing behind. Bronchogenic carcinoma is being worked up by assessing first the physical symptoms to include dyspnea, dysphagia, cyanosis and hemoptysis by the physician. If there are suspicious findings, patients are advised to undergo radiological studies like chest x-ray, bronchography, angiography, brochoscopic and cytotoxic examination offered in our laboratory facility to confirm diagnosis (Billings & Stokes, 1987). Since the goal of therapy is to remove the cancerous area, the patient is referred to our surgery special team who will perform the operation nee ded. Service of our special team is also extended to other patients diagnosed of ulcers, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, myomas and the like. Our gastroenterology department is responsible for patients with gastrointestinal diseases in which ulcerative colitis is the most attended case followed with Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, hemorrhoid and peptic ulcer. Ileostomy or proctocolectomy is the approach our physician employs for ulcerative colitis because it does not respond to medical therapy. Problems after surgery includes health maintenance thus our patient are directed to our nutrition special team who focuses on providing diet high in protein and calories to assure healing and growth. Other services offered by our specialty team includes prevention and management of fluid excess and deficits like those experienced by patients with nephritis, dehydration, diarrhea and burns. To have a more effective management, our laboratory facility work with them by providing baseline data on the patient’s BUN, electrolytes and HCT. Although our laboratory has a limited capacity, our x-ray machine was able to reveal changes of fluid status in one of the outpatient who happens to come for a chest x-ray procedure. Patients who present signs and symptoms of lung problems are brought to our pulmonary department. Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is notably on top of the list in this area

Importance Of Oligopolistic Characteristics

Importance Of Oligopolistic Characteristics This paper focuses on the importance of oligopolistic characteristics in the global container shipping industry. It is difficult to examine this market although containerization has standardized the shipping industry. My approach to meet this controversial issue is to divide between three levels: the industry, alliances and the trade level. In my investigation I also use a graphic explanation, the concentration level of the industry, the cobweb model and the kinked demand curve. The results allow us to determine how influential is the concentration level, the competition and alliances in the container shipping industry. Michail Archontakis (377602) Economics 7 December 2012 INTRODUCTION The global container shipping industry can be characterized as an oligopoly. Moreover, we can say there are few sellers and the provided services or products are quite similar. It is necessary to examine the market structure in three main levels: the industry, the alliances that exist and the trade level. The market is characterized by globalization. As a result, there is a need to satisfy customers demands and invest in resources as well as in the development of the new technology. So we can see the growth of the world economy and the world trade. Shipping companies have two choices, form an alliance or the other one is mergers and acquisitions. I will also use a graphic explanation to describe the way and how the industry has developed over the past years. Lastly, the purpose of this assignment is to introduce the importance of the oligopolistic characteristics in the global container shipping industry. THE INDUSTRY The market has mainly consisted by containers and containerization has developed it in a more standardized approach. In the global container shipping industry, we could meet collusions which are called as shipping conferences. We all know that their main interest is to fix freight rates in certain routes and form barriers, in the entry of new firms. Pricing in the industry means under the table agreements between shippers and carriers. By this way, they can achieve economies of scale which can lead to a small number of firms (Marlow and Nair, 2008). As stated by Haralambides in 2000 two factors are crucial in the understanding of conference freight rates: unit values and stowage factors. After the abolition of the anti-monopoly privilege of freight conferences (18 October 2008, Regulation 4056/86), and due to the trend of growing consolidation. The market is developing into a more collusive market, where operational agreements becoming more and more vital. The market has become more concentrated, and the smaller operators conduct a market share of less than 1% per each. As we can observe from table 1 above top 10 carriers, have a market share of 63.5% (www.alphaliner.com). The market share of the top ten carriers was 49.3% in 2000 (www.alphaliner.com). There is a tremendous increase in market share as well as in total TEUs. Moreover, few firms fit most of the market power and probably can determine in a high level the industry and the chief shipping routes. They can create entry barriers and also make agreements on the freight rates. It is especially valuable for firms to cooperate and some state acting like monopolists. As a result, each firm must be aware of the other players actions. World Ranking of Maritime Shippers, by Shipping Capacity Source: Alphaliner This oligopolistic characteristic makes the industry more complex and needs to cover many factors. Moreover, to deal with customers international requirements, the development of ever larger container ships, upgrades in technology, increasing competition and high consolidation. Leading to globalization where few firms dominate the leading trade routes and to the event of multi-trade strategic alliances. This change is also notable for the customers. Furthermore, they can now have more requirements and benefits. Nowadays, they can request faster shipping, more frequent services and lower costs as well as to know at any time the exact location and condition of their cargo. Container shipping companies have become more unified with new technologies and also have improved the contribution significantly quality. We now have larger vessels, and they can benefit from economies of scale. Surely, the oligopolistic environment has raise competition and has expanded world economy as well as world trades. ALLIANCES Shipping companies have two choices form a strategic alliance and the other one are the acquisitions and mergers. In order to reach economies of scale, scope and network alliances have developed in two ways. Moreover, there are core alliances with international partners and the other one is multi-consortia networks of slot. This is a general connection in oligopolistic markets and of considerable importance. An alliance helps to gain greater market shares and contain more effectively the trade routes as well as, the capacity. There are five key ideas in the movement of alliances in the global container shipping industry. Furthermore, it can do more effective wider geographically routes. Secondly, they can create their ships in a more global scope. The risk is less because it is shareable now. They can provide more repeated services to their customers, meaning more frequent schedules. Lastly, economies of scale become more apparent, and there is also an increase in the size of the ships (Sato, 2002). It is noteworthy to analyze the three of the most powerful alliances over the past years. Furthermore, these three alliances started with an agreement on collaboration for east-west trades and then extended to north-south services. The first alliance we will examine is New World Alliance. It includes mainly APL, MOL and HMM. Its overall capacity in TEUs is 1.161.468 and owns 282 vessels (alphaliner.com). Imagine that in 2000 the capacity of this alliance was 325.487 and the number of vessels 90 (Midoro and Pitto,2000). As we can see, it right increased its market share, and this is highly influential in oligopolistic markets because it can alter the market as well as conduct more properly the capacity. Another notable alliance is the Grand Alliance. In February 2006, after PO exodus the new Grand Alliance formed by Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL, and NYK Line. Its overall capacity in TEUs is 1.187.607 and owns 288 vessels (alphaliner.com). In 1996, it owned only 255.705 TEUs and 72 vessels (Midoro and Pitto,2000). Grand alliance manages twelve services in the transpacific trade. Lastly, this alliance has showed the most reliable configuration comparing to the other two alliances. The greatest alliance is CKYH with key partners Hanjin, Yang Ming, K Line and COSCO. It counts 1.548.508 TEUs and 400 vessels (alphaliner.com). It manages eight services on the Europe Asia route which has the largest capacity in TEUs. Surely, this alliance has a significant market share and also is highly competitive. Of course, alliances have a significant impact in the market share, but it is difficult to cooperate as the size of the group increases. They choose to act like monopolists because they can affect the price. Competition makes contrary to other firms to play or join in the market. This characteristic is of particularly importance in order to survive in this tough market where overcapacity and decreasing demand may be serious problems. Firms may find many reasons why to join an alliance: strategic reasons, operational reasons, in order to increase or decrease connectivity and capacity, to raise or remove a service, to merge or demerge services and to provide slots for charter. (Panayides, 2011) TRADE LEVEL We will examine the trade level of two routes, Black Sea Far East and US trade. Moreover, we will focus on the trade lines with port ranges at both ends (Brooks, 2000). In the route Black Sea Far East the top seven firms have a market share of total 89%, so the other firms contain only the rest 11%. Surely, there is an exceptionally high percent of concentration in this trade route. Moreover, MSC holds 23,15%, Maersk Line 20,33%, CMA-CGM 13,81%, Zim 13,55%, CSAV Norasia 11,64%, Hapag Lloyd 4,99% and K Line 1,53% (www.americanshipper.com). We can conclude that a tight oligopoly exists in the trade line of Black Sea Far East. The production rose, and the price decreased because the firms now hold strong shares and perform more like monopolists. Furthermore, it is difficult for new firms to enter this lane. The other trade line that we will examine is US which is more complicated than the previous one. Moreover, the top ten firms fit nearly a 65% of the total market share. So we can speak also that in the trade line exists an oligopoly, but the firms are much more and carry less market shares. Maersk Line market share is 15,27%, Evergreen 7,67%, Mediterranean Shg Co 7,20%, Hanjin 6,54%, APL 6,18%, Hapag Lloyd 6,05%, COSCO Container Lines 4,28%, OOCL 4,26%, NYK 4,04% and China Shg C.L 3,90% (www.americanshipper.com). A close exam of this market shows us that competition is greater, but the market is larger and remarkably attractive to new firms. As a result, if we operate efficiently the oligopolistic characteristics firms will increase their market shares, and it will be more difficult for new firms to enter the market. Of course, it is difficult to cooperate efficiently when the size of the group increases, but can handle more reasonable the capacity and the competition something that is particularly powerful. After analyzing these two different trade lines, we understood the meaning of the existence of the oligopolistic characteristics. Moreover, capacity can be handled more efficiently and control competition by increasing your shares. GRAPHIC EXPLANATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF OLIGOPOLISTIC CHARACTERISTICS IN THE GLOBAL CONTAINER SHIPPING INDUSTRY Table 2I think a better explanation can be given by using a graph to indicate the importance of the oligopolistic characteristics in the global container shipping industry. Moreover, we know from theory that in perfect competition demand curve intersects Marginal Cost curve at the market price P* and it supplies quantity Q* (Mankiw, 2011). The firms in this graph are price takers because there are no entry barriers. Now let see what an oligopolistic firm will make. It will reduce quantity to Q0 and at the same time will increase the price P0 until Marginal Cost equals Marginal Revenue. However, a deadweight loss (consumer and producer) can be created, meaning welfare losses to the economy. Lastly, we can observe a surplus for the firm as an oligopoly profit. This result can be represented in the global container shipping industry by selling at greater prices and offering lower services. They can use smaller containers, slower services as the market becomes more oligopolistic. Secondly, firms may try to increase their market power or insert entry barriers. These two can cause to collusion practices. Moreover, greater concentration can create collusions and contract coordination costs. Nevertheless, there are also benefits from the increase in concentration. A firm may increase its profits by taking market power from its opponents. This action can cause sensitive to the firm to provide a better product or service. In the shipping industry, a better product or service means to provide larger containers or to invest in research and development. Moreover, a firm may invest in order to keep consumers loyal to her. So companies can behave more competitively. A better explanation for the price and quantity can be given by the cobweb model. The cobweb model or cobweb theory can explain the cyclical demand and supply the container shipping industry. Moreover, when the price is high P1 the quantity is low Q1 and lower than Q2. In the next period (Q2-Q1) will reduce the price to P2. However, now Q2 is greater than Q3 meaning (Q2-Q3) will raise the price to P3. So we can conclude that when there is excessive demand price will increase and fall when there is excessive supply. Concluding, demand and supply, are both quite flexible in the global container shipping industry, specifically in an annual base. The importance is that freight rates are flexible and negotiable between shippers and carriers. Marginal cost can be considered remarkably low. Lastly, in short-run when a rapid growth may occur in the demand can be faced sufficient. The kinked demand curve can describe the behavior of the firms in oligopoly market. Moreover, the model predicts that firms do not compete in price and try to keep the price stable over time. However, in short-term there may be price fluctuations and firms may try to gain some extra market power. The importance is that firms will use other methods to increase market share than price competition. Furthermore, they can provide higher quality, more frequent services and other upgrades to keep their costumers loyal. As the market is acting like an oligopoly, it has resulted in two main trends. First, there has been an increase in container ship sizes. Secondly, there has been an important advance in container throughput. Lastly, it has reduced the costs of transportation and local economies have been transformed to global economies. CONCLUSION The global container shipping industry is primarily an oligopoly (few players which offer similar services or products). I tried to introduce the importance of the oligopolistic characteristics in this market. Moreover, I noticed that large alliances control the majority of the total market share and also high concentration exists even in the trade routes. Highly concentrated markets experience in many occasions to collusions or cartels. It is particularly dangerous due to anti-trust laws, especially after the abolishment of the anti-monopoly immunity. However, such agreements are extremely valuable for the participating firms. Moreover, economies of scale can develop by using larger vessels and also provide superior quality of services. It is better off to combine, but it is extremely difficult especially when the size of the group increases. From the graphic explanation, we concluded that it is helpful to produce relatively small quantity and push prices above marginal cost. Nevert heless, it is up to the firms if they are going to have negative or positive results. In my opinion, the oligopolistic characteristics in the global container shipping industry led the market to grow and become competent to handle the occurrence of overcapacity and increasing fuel costs. Probably in the future stronger alliances and fewer firms will occur in the market, which is extremely influential in order to thrive and remain in such a demanding industry.

Total Quality Management Essay -- business, TQM, productivity, perform

Before diving into the ideology of Total Quality Management, we need to have an understanding of what the term Quality means. The term quality is frequently used to signify the level of distinction of a product or service. The term ‘Quality’ in some engineering organisations may be used to specify that a piece of metal conforms to a definite physical dimension and characteristics often set down in the form of a particular ‘compact’ specification. The motion of quality development generally and total quality management in particular have become very popular in America during the past three decades. The fierce competitiveness of the global market is the force that generates this motion. As the parallel rebuff of the American economy in the late 190’s became perceptible, many U.S industries started transforming the traditional way of doing business into an organisational approach paying focus on the continuous development so as to become comp etitive. America in the 1980’s embarked on the journey for the Quality development motion journey. The prestigious Malcolm Baldridge national quality award is the most distinguished symbol of America’s quality revolution (Hiam, 1992). Actually, quality has been one the private sector’s principal concentrations for a long time. The fact still remains so today. In the early years of the quality trend, the focus on quality was on quality circles (Barra, 1983), quality control and quality assurance (Ishikawa, 1991). The top plan of many organisations in the private sector’s to improve and develop on quality, productivity and competitive position is the drive for total quality management (TQM) (Hunt, 1992). Since the 1990’s TQM has started to be extensive beyond the private sector ... .... 2. Chartered Quality Institute (2013) Total Quality Management (TQM). [Online] Available from: http://www.thecqi.org/Knowledge-Hub/Resources/Factsheets/Total-quality-management/ Accessed on 21st Oct, 2013. 3. Prof. Bagad, V. S. (2008) ‘Total Quality Management’ in Total Quality Management. India: Sharniwar peth. 4. Tolsma, Denis (2011) ‘Total Quality Management’ in Macro-organizational factors. Switzerland: Geneva. 5. Rawlins, R. A. (2008) ‘Total Quality Management’ in Total Quality Management. Indiana: Bloomington. 6. Phu, V.H. (2011) ‘Historical Evolution of TQM literature’. Total Quality Management Approach to the Information Systems Development Processes: An Empirical Study. 1,2 : 10-11 7. Inc. (2013) Total Quality Management (TQM). [Online] Available from: http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/total-quality-management-tqm.html/2 Accessed on 27th Oct, 2013.

The Speech Given by Romano Prodi

Evaluation of the speech given by Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission 2000-2005 in Europarliament, Strasbourg, 15 February 2000. After a quick glance at the speech we can see a positive inspiration of an ex-prime minister of Italy, to a stronger, healthier Europe thorough a better management of scare resources (money) and optimization (review our priorities and focus on our core business). To focus on its real priorities†¦ to shed low-priority activities and thus free up resources†. Prodi wants to revive the lost faith in the European institutions. Enlargement, progress, lower unemployment. Strengthen Europe's capacity for prosperity and progress. This â€Å"vision† then, is for an all-round project enabling the construction of a Europe capable of upholding its own responsibilities towards future candidates for accession. Enlargement, approached on a basis of such a broad design, adds a number of considerable advantages: politically, it strengthens the role of democracy in Eastern Europe; conomically, it offers the prospect of a vaster, more competitive market; from the security viewpoint, it can represent the starting point for a new all-European system of guarantees, thus playing a complementary role with the enlargement of NATO, offering Russia reasons for integrating and cooperating with the West. However, usual debates about vigorous and sustained growth, security, sense of meaning and purpose and projecting its model into a wider world have a strong political motive. Not only Prodi wants to satisfy his personal ambitions, but also want to steer the entire process of establishment of new Europe. Relation to the in-house administrative reform of the Commission. Renewed understanding of the tasks and â€Å"core business† of the Commission that are enshrined in the Treaty, given the new context of interdependence and interactions between various levels of government. Despite denying of thinking imperialistically, the aims are to establish a control over large territories, to impose European principles. â€Å"We must aim to become a global civil power†. European interests mentioned by the president of the Commission are nothing else but a wish for Europe to be a superpower. Prodi paints a picture of a European Union increasingly at ease with itself as it grows in both political and economic stature. Take economics first: Romano Prodi's five-year statement, published a week in advance of his appearance at the European Parliament, is a blend of Thatcherite economic rectitude and Clinton†s high-tech infospeak. His objectives are clear. To push for continued, if painful, reform of Europe's welfare systems and labour markets. To enforce the euro-inspired disciplines on public spending. To promote the case for further international trade liberalisation. To point Europe towards a high-value service economy, based on high universal educational standards and widespread access to information technology, to rival that of the US. To clamp down on state subsidies and provide space for private initiative. What Romano Prodi does not say is perhaps even more significant: no more corporatism, no more inflated public spending projects, and no more false promises. His approach will be reinforced at a special summit of European leaders in Lisbon at the end of March. The political will finally seems to be in place to transform the rhetoric of economic reform into practice across Europe. Among new priorities, Prodi said the commission needs to improve the delivery of its external aid: the EU is the world's largest donor but its work is often slowed and hampered by â€Å"top-heavy internal systems† and lack of staff where they are needed. It will focus on the Balkans, notably aiming to liberalise trade, build infrastructure and support political and civil reforms to bring those countries closer to the EU, he said. The commission will also â€Å"vigorously conduct† EU enlargement negotiations and develop cooperation with Russia and the Mediterranean countries. EU enlargement, aimed at bringing many of those countries into the European family of nations, â€Å"will be a hard road to travel,† Prodi warned. â€Å"We will have to win over public opinion. We will be open, but also frank and tough in negotiations. † Even as Prodi addressed parliament, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels were formally opening membership talks with the second wave of six applicant countries – Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria. Six others – Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia – have been in talks for two years. â€Å"Enlargement is necessary,† said Prodi, â€Å"if we are to spread peace, stability and shared values throughout the continent. We must reassure the public that enlargement is not just an awkward necessity, it is an historical opportunity in our joint political and economic interests. The challenge of enlargement involves break with the past. The prospect of enlargement automatically gives the Union a continent wide posture, which requires a redefinition of its internal policies and makes it a benchmark player for the Russian Federation and Mediterranean area. It also increases the Union†s responsibility as a power in the context of globalisation. Institutional and democratic challenges are also inevitable. The priority now needs to be changing the methods to ensure that objectives can be understood and acted on successfully. Encourage discussion amongst citizens of European values, issues and decisions. Reform the process for preparing and implementing Community rules and policies to ensure that they are pertinent and coherent. The commission will overhaul its own functioning concentrating on â€Å"core business† and â€Å"shedding activities†. â€Å"This will be our response to one of the key criticisms made by the Committee of Independent Experts – the mismatch between resources and tasks. We will demonstrate that we can help them match by shedding activities. † He confirmed the commission's proposal to decentralise its exclusive powers in competition policy to national competition authorities and courts, allowing it better â€Å"to develop and interpret the rules and deal with competition cases that have a real Community impact. † Governance will be taken to encompass rules, processes and behaviour that affect the way in which powers are exercised at European level, particularly as regards accountability, clarity, transparency, coherence efficiency and effectiveness. Does the Commission act in democratic way? Does the actions achieve their objectives? What should be done to improve situations? The speech, as I see, has a strong political tone. It is not just about optimizing European management, it is to re-inforce the Commission. None of the European institutions are untouchable. Many of them will be forced to decrease thier power. Shift from a procedure-oriented organisation to a policy-oriented one. And Commission is going to be that one. â€Å"The Commission must become a political driving force to shape the new Europe, that inspires and manages, acting always in European interest,†¦ moving away from the more traditional tasks†. His global ambitions demand some attention too. He wants to take a real participation in regulating world class questions such as wars, genocides. In my opinion, his intention is to counterbalance NATO and US trough establishing own European seurity and intervention into at least European conflicts. The concept of governance is aimed at a common political system of the European Union. Construction of a Community that respects the identity of each of its Member States. Reformation of European modes of governance is all about improving democracy in Europe. Prodi's speech to parliament did not draw general praise. Some called it â€Å"a scientific treatise but not a real political strategy. † Others told â€Å"There is nothing new at all in working program, lots of prose, not much optismism. † â€Å"There are still significant disparities among the countries of Europe and you fail to address these. † Prodi said that actions speaks louder than words. Even if a small part of what he intends to do will occur, we shall see a quite different Europe in terms of strength, political behaviour and a strong institute, the Commission.

Character Analysis Chen in Final Exam Essay Example

Character Analysis Chen in Final Exam Essay Example Character Analysis Chen in Final Exam Essay Character Analysis Chen in Final Exam Essay The only source of knowledge is experience.† Einstein, Albert In order to become a well-rounded human being, lack of perspectives is the only thing preventing you from experiencing life to the fullest. Experiencing difficulties, positive moments and traumatic events make you grow as a person; they make you more knowledgeable. Being open-minded will allow new skills to be learned and later on shared with others. This much relates to the book, Final Exam and how Chen transforms in the book from ignorance to knowledge; also from false view of the world to correct view. â€Å"Prior to that September, the only time I had seen a dead person was at the funeral of my Agong, my maternal grandfather.† (4) Chen just made the transition from pre-medical to a neophyte medical student. Chen heard stories and watched television shows about what medical school was like, but nothing was like living and aggressing through the experience itself. Chen’s first obstacle she faced was dissecting the cadaver and having to memorize the dead body in such i ntimate detail. Chen, just like other medical students, were very afraid of this task. Chen knew the reporcussions of performing this task and continued with it anyways. For Chen, the memorizing of all of the anatomical terms and body parts would be the easy obstacle to surmount. Everyone had a very real fear of death, they never experienced such a thing and never interacted with a dead human to this extent. After all, Chen wanted to become a doctor to save lives. She wanted to make a difference in the medical field and it was her dying wish to be able to save more lives then sacrifice. â€Å"To complete the initiation rite successfully, however, we need to learn to separate out emotional self from our scientific self..† (8) This, indeed, would be the next obstacle in Chen’s early medical career. For this to be successfully completed, you need to categorize the bodies as one of the past; not the present

Words Ending in -ance and -ence

Words Ending in -ance and -ence Words Ending in -ance and -ence Words Ending in -ance and -ence By Maeve Maddox A reader asked if there were some easy-to-remember spelling tip for dealing with words ending in -ence and -ance. Both endings derive from Latin nouns. Words from Latin nouns ending in -entia affluence from affluentia, â€Å"abundance† audience from audientia, â€Å"a hearing† benevolence from benevolentia, â€Å"good will† continence from continentia, â€Å"self-control† diligence from diligentia, â€Å"accuracy† Words from Latin nouns ending in -antia elegance from elegantia, â€Å"neatness† petulance from petulantia, â€Å"forward conduct† significance from significantia, â€Å"an indication, a sign† vigilance from vigilantia, â€Å"watchfulness† tolerance from tolerantia, â€Å"enduring† Here are some of the most common English words with these endings. The only way to spell them correctlyapart from using a spell checkeris to memorize them. Words ending in -ence: absence affluence audience coherence conference confidence conscience consequence consistence correspondence dependence diligence evidence existence influence obedience occurrence patience persistence preference reference Words ending in -ance: acquaintance allowance ambulance annoyance appearance appliance arrogance disturbance dominance extravagance grievance guidance ignorance instance nuisance relevance remittance resistance significance substance tolerance Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word FormsDrama vs. Melodrama

Acute Respiratory Distress Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Acute Respiratory Distress Case Study - Essay Example area and that usually HPS occurs in a shed or cabin closed for some time but which is improperly cleaned (â€Å"Facts about Hantaviruses,† 2011; â€Å"Hantavirus,† 2011). This enclosed area usually contains rodent excreta, which when inhaled by a human would cause HPS (Siegel, 2011). The virus, specifically known as Sin Nombre Virus or SNV, has a rodent host – which is usually the deer mouse, the white-footed mouse, the cotton rat and the rice rat (Siegel, 2011; â€Å"Facts about Hantaviruses,† CDC, 2011). It is the excreta from these rodents, usually in the form of urine, saliva or feces, that contains the virus (Siegel, 2011). When the charge nurse said, â€Å"I knew there was a good reason not to clean my house,† she was referring to the improper way of cleaning the cabin where the young male patient most likely acquired HPS. It was partly the fault of the girlfriend, who considered herself a â€Å"neat freak† and who was â€Å"constantly cleaning and disinfecting.† Little did she know that there was probably rat excreta in the cabin which was inhaled by her boyfriend right after she cleaned it improperly. According to Siegel (2011), â€Å"peridomestic activities associated with HPS were cleaning food storage areas or outbuildings† and this was probably what the girlfriend always did. However, since the proper way of cleaning up rodent excreta is by NOT sweeping or vacuuming and since the girlfriend probably did exactly this, then it caused the virus-infested excreta particles to go into the air and reach the boyfriend’s lungs by inhalation (â€Å"Facts about Hantaviru ses, CDC, 2011). However, the question remains on whether the disease is found only in the Southwest or what factors exactly determine the places where the SNV might be present. Based on past data, the disease has actually spread to the neighboring states like South Dakota and North Dakota. In fact, only after two months from the attack in the Southwest in May 1993, there were cases found in Nevada,

BLOG Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BLOG - Coursework Example In the revolutionary arena of geopolitics, it is evident that inclusion of S.A in BRICS will make America feel that it has been denied what they perceive to be rightfully theirs. The economic and political acrimony between China, America and other incumbent powers such as Japan and Germany will unquestionably intensify since the surmounting of china’s economic and military strength is considered a threat to global peace and tranquility. The continued animosity between America and China, two contending superpowers, will worsen due to the inordinate influence that china is acquiring in Africa. America might stop backing African states during hard times as well as minimize its diplomacy and trade cooperation with china, a factor that will deleteriously impact on the strength of the BRICS. Moreover, America might syndicate several G-20 states and form an economic organization that will counter the prevalent and predominant effects of the BRICS in S.A and the whole of Africa. Likewise, Russia will diversify its investment to acquire new ways of powering its economic engine and gain power over America, its major rival, and possibly dominate the BRICS. The frivolous G8 and G20 might eventually collapse, due to the animosity between America and China as they both scuffle for the control of the already acquired S.A. Other BRICS members might also invite their friends into the union to counter the undue influence that China is striving to obtain. Ultimately, the BRICS might grow or collapse; only time will