How to build a deck Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

How to build a deck - Assignment Example Building a deck is one of the best improvements you can make for your house. Depending on the material you use, a deck can be an inviting warm place to host parties, outdoor cooking, watch your kids as they play or just a good resting place for your pets. Many real estate agents will tell you that clients value houses that have well placed decks. Having a deck does not require high technology or expertise. Many people are able to do this by following simple instructions. You can actually design, plan and do the masonry and carpentry and see your house turn into something new. Having a good deck actually raises the value of your house. Before doing any modification to your house, it is usually safer to check with the local building inspectors to find out if you need a building permit for this. Doing this will save you embarrassment and money if you have to demolish the deck just because you did not adhere to the rules of your area. It is advisable to visit their offices to get details of what is expected and if there are any inspections that will be done by the officials. Since this deck will be a permanent structure that will hold human life, the government has a right to ensure that it is rightly done and that is why the building inspectors are there. The inspectors may have specified rules in terms of size, design, materials and even how deep you can dig the foundation. It is therefore important to get these permits and the inspectors to approve your intended construction. The inspectors will probably ask you for a deck plan, so you need to be ready for this. There are places where permits are not really required. If you do not need the permit, then do not go looking for one. However, you will need to be aware of the building codes in your area to ensure you are adhering to them. This manual discusses decks and incorporates images and illustrations for easier understanding. The procedures will be discussed as follows: Deck Plan Deck layout Selecting materials - what materials are available and how to choose the best Fittings and Fasteners Construction- laying and deck-step by step procedure Railing and finishing Common problems in building decks The Deck Plan A deck plan consists of the design of the deck with scale drawings of the size of it. Start out by determining where you want the deck to be. Take the measurements of the area putting into consideration permanent structures or plants that cannot be removed. For example, if you have a big palm tree in front of your house that you do not want to remove, you will be forced to adjust your measurements and design to accommodate the tree and at the same time ensure safety. Have a sketch of the design you want. Also, have enough space to accommodate that design. Now, when you have the space and the design, it is time to put the design on paper. Using your sketch, do the ground measurements. At this point, just record them as you measure. You will determine the scale once all the measuremen ts have been done. When you have all the sections measured, work out a scale. An example is

Transcendental Deduction Essay Example for Free

Transcendental Deduction Essay Kant’s Transcendental Deduction of the categories of the analytic concepts presents an analysis of the mental activities as well as the analysis of knowledge and self.   Kant discussed these mental activities using two sets of terms such as manifold representations and intuition as well as understanding and sensibility (p.76).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Representation to him means the various concepts pulling together into unity and can be given in an intuition that is merely sensible.   For Kant, intuition means a perception or knowledge (a priore) or insight.    Kant associated knowledge to intuition and also to perception (p.82).   He said, â€Å"The pure concepts of understanding even when they are applied to a priori intuition provide knowledge only to the extent that these are priori intuition, and through them, the concept of understanding is applied also.   He further noted that â€Å"empirical intuition serves only for the possibility of empirical knowledge. Sensible on the other hand, means either having or demonstrating sound reason and judgment or able to be perceived through the senses.   Synthesis is the result of combination, a process of combining different ideas, influences or objects into a new whole.   In view of transcendental deduction of Kant, the combination of concepts is act of â€Å"active department† of understanding which disguised it from the passive department which he called sensibility.   He concludes this statement that â€Å"all combining is an action of the understanding whether or not we are conscious of it† (p.75).   Kant further discussed the understanding self using another set of terminology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The â€Å"I think† which refers to that something was represented that could not be thought at all; He introduced three bits of terminology in order for us to grasp of the self-awareness (p76), that is expressed in the representation â€Å"I think.†Ã‚   These three bits about self-awareness according to Kant are: (1) the pure self-awareness which presupposed by all thought and intuition; (2) the basic self-awareness which is the self-consciousness that produces the representation of the â€Å"I think;† (3) Transcendental which is the unity of self-awareness. Clarifying the Aim of Transcendental Deduction of the Categories of the Analytical Concepts   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant’s aim of transcendental deduction is to seek to generalize what he has said about self-awareness to all conceptual thinking.   The author pointed out that what Kant must have meant is that, â€Å"a property combines with other properties† or that a â€Å"representation of a property combines with the representation.†Ã‚   This according to him, Kant infers about analysis is being possible if there has previously been synthesis. In the discussion of analytic concept, Kant used such terms as I, I think, I can, I couldn’t do it.   He said that each of this representation is accompanied with consciousness that when combined with different representation can on finally say â€Å"I can† that means he is now aware of the intended action or he calls it â€Å"self-awareness.   In his discussion of synthesis, he said that it is an act of the mind.   Here, what he meant is act of mentally combining distinct intentional representations. Important Argumentative Elements      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first argumentative element about transcendental deduction is that, our concept about an object is associated with self awareness.   The mind must have representations of that concept to make it pure concept.   In my own interpretation, this representation could be experiences that connect representation of concept, since self has one identity.   Therefore, all other perception must be belonging to one consciousness or attributing to one identity in which the central grip is the self-employed knowledge. In this sense, we can conclude that the self identifies object based on consciousness and awareness.   Usually, the experiences help shape the self’s concept of things.   Kant emphasize that there must be a unity of consciousness and self-awareness which underlies the relations of representations to an object, which makes their objective validity and consequently their status as an item of knowledge (p.78).   What he meant by this is that the unity of self consciousness and the synthetic unity of self awareness are the bases for all uses of the understanding and it has nothing to do with any sensible intuition. Kant also emphasized that â€Å"understanding must related through more understanding to objects of intuition (p.83).   In other words, concepts that are not sensible cannot be transformed to reality and cannot be understood.   An act of the understanding results from self-awareness that leads to thinking something that is necessary condition not only for our identity as experiencing minds, but also for anything that is to be an object of sensible intuition (p.83).   These forms of thought of thoughts must come to have objective reality.   In my idea, Kant is discussing these matters for us to understand how our thoughts are formed and come into reality.   The object is self-awareness and self-consciousness of our actions, thoughts, and words. On of the argumentative elements in Kant’s discussion of deduction of pure concepts of understanding that I find is his statement about the multiplicity of intuition which he labeled synthesis.   He said that it reminds us that we cannot represent to ourselves anything as combined in the object unless we ourselves have previously combined it.   I find this statement somehow contradicting in a sense that synthesis is natural work of the mind which we may not be conscious how it is working. He said synthesis is â€Å"mind self activity† (p.75), and can only be carried out by mind itself.   In this case, it appears that we have no control of this activity.   If what he meant is that we can be aware of all these intuition pure concept and synthesis.   Then, we can guide our thoughts towards right expression of reality.   If this is the case, the expression of self-awareness and self-consciousness would have high effect.   But since this is a mental act, it can only be carried out by the mind itself which we are not conscious.   There I would say that it certainly cannot represent to us anything. Kant presented another interesting discussion of the pure concept and forms of thoughts.   He said that â€Å"pure concept of understanding is related through mere understanding to objects of intuition of any kinds as long as it is sensible† (p.103). Here, Kant relates pure concept of understanding with intuition of any kinds as long as it is sensible regardless of the nature of those objects whether they are corrupt or bad character.   He pointed out that because of this application; the intuition become a form of thoughts convey us information about determinate object.   What quite interesting in this is that, he said that pure concept of understanding is related to intuition which is sensible.   The pure concept to intuition is mere forms of thoughts with no determinate object related to intuition which is sensible. Thus, the discussion centers on how our mental faculties are working in so far as to have self-awareness which must be the basis of all these.   Kant pointed out that there is in us a certain basic form of a priori sensible intuition that depends on our passive faculty representation.   What he meant is that we have intuition of space and time which is also the pure intuition.   But this intuition according to Kant is either pure intuition or empirical intuition.   The pure intuition is about space and time while empirical those sensations that immediately represent to us as real in space and time.   Kant noted that â€Å"thing in space and time are given as perception† (p.82). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant’s discussion of transcendental deductions was quite very difficult to understand.   But in so far as my understanding is concerned, Kant presented a detailed discussion of how our mental faculties are working towards a formation of thoughts about the self from what he calls manifold representation.   He said that we have basically a priori knowledge yet it needs to be combined to the manifold representations which he calls this combination as synthesis or synthetic unity.   This according to Kant leads to self awareness or self consciousness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant also discussed pure concept of knowledge which according to him is related to understanding objects of intuition.   Here he discussed that before a concept becomes a thought it has to be identified with intuition of any kinds as long as it is sensible.   In other words, a concept that is identified with sensibility can be concrete and can be grasped.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But what is important in this discussion is the aim of this presentation.   Kant was able to clarify to us how our mental faculties are working towards the making of mere thoughts and concepts to become words and pure concepts of knowledge to express consciousness and awareness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I would say that knowing all these, must help us to be more careful of our self-expression as well as of our attitude in dealing with others.   The transcendental deductions has helped us know our selves, therefore it must help us too in expressing our own selves in the everyday events and circumstances of our lives.

The Global Industry Of Festivals And Events Tourism Essay

The Global Industry Of Festivals And Events Tourism Essay A global industry of festivals and events has grown and expanded since the 90s. Nowadays, festivals are recognized as one of the top growing types of leisure- and tourism related phenomena (Dimmock and Tiyce, 2001). As Mintel International Group (2006) suggests, festivals are forecasted to grow a total of 106% in the next five years period. South Australian Tourism Commission (1997, p. 2) suggests an easily understandable meaning of festival :Festivals are celebrations of something the local community wishes to share and which involves the public as participants in the experience. Festivals must have as a prime objective a maximum amount of people participation, which must be an experience that is different from, or broader than day to day living. Festivals, and more specifically, music Festival Organizations are increasing in number every year worldwide. According to Frey (1994), the provision of music festivals has developed based on a stable increase in disposable incomes, accomp anied by an increased amount of time offered for holidays. Furthermore, another feature that makes music Festivals so popular, is the fact that music Festivals form events which include a variety of activities associated with the music (Bowen and Daniels, 2005), unlike concerts which provide mainly live music performances, rather than various event attractions. One of the most popular music Festivals in Greece for the last six years is the Synch Festival. The Synch Festival was born in 2004 at Lavrio Technological Cultural Park, an ex industrial area of unique beauty, aimed at bringing the Greek and international audience, in touch with contemporary sounds and images. Music, arts and new technologies coexist in a two day festival. Keeping the pace with modernity Synch offers its audience the possibility to meet with some of the most interesting aspects of global culture. Synchs main course is music but despite its focus on the various aspects of the contemporary electronic scene Sy nch denies all kinds of borders and separations that lead to limiting or rigidifying musical expression. The musicians participating in the festival originate from different backgrounds and currents to share their ideas discouraging easy categorization creating musical hybrids that constantly evolve. An uncommonly open-minded curatorial sensibility, tapping everything from experiemental microsound to minimal house and banging techno to local outfits using rock, jazz, regional music and electronic elements. The Wire Its got the perfect balance of industrial setting, a diverse multimedia programm, cutting edge electronic acts and classic live acts. One to watch! Time Out London Falassi (1987) argues that the collective role of a festival is directly connected to values that a community looks upon as vital to its ideology, such as social identity, historical continuity, and physical survival. Additionally, according to Arcodia and Robb (2000), a festival develops around the marking of unique occasions and around the festivity of important events. Thus, according to Usyal, Gahan and Martin (1993) a festival may be considered as the cultural resources of an area that make realizable the successful hosting of festival attendees. The phenomenal growth, coupled with increased consumer awareness and choice, requires the industry to manage the sector effectively and efficiently to ensure sustained development and growth in the future (Yeoman, Robertson, Ali-knight , 2004, p. xix). Therefore, according to Arcodia and Whitford (2010) festivals are expanding worldwide as an increasing and lively sector of the tourism and leisure industry, which have major economic, so cio-cultural, and political impacts on the destination and on the host groups, if managed properly. All the way through history, festivals have taken the forms of cultural traditions or have marked religious or historical occasions linked to the community staging the festival (Arcodia Robb, 2000). According to Earls (1993) historically, the way festivals celebrated special occasions was through art, ritual, and festivity; they were seen as public meetings that make peoples joint wishes and dreams reality and offer a significant event for a unique experience in their lives. The basic origins of this type of communal celebration which has cultural importance to the host population (Pardy, 1991), can be traced back to the carnival of Europe. ( Arcodia, Whitford, 2010) The defining characteristic of a special event or festival is its transience (Gilbert and Lizotte , 1998, pp. 73). This suggests that it would be difficult to encourage and maintain the same sense of occasion and enthusiasm, if such an event was to be held more often. Goldblatt (1997) defines a festival as a special eve nt that recognizes a unique moment in time with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs(Goldblatt, 1997, pp.33).According to Yeoman et al. (2004) the word festival derives from feast and means a time of celebration. Yeoman, et al. (2004) argue that the features of festivals and events are unique, thus no common model of management fits them all. These characteristics include intangibility , production, often taking place at the same time as consumption, and perishability (Yeoman et al., 2004, pp.xx). Festivals and events have diverse levels of operating costs and they fall into both the not- for -profit and profit- making categories. They can range from small-scale , locally based events, to large international festivals (Yeoman, et al, 2004). Previous studies on festival motivation(Uysal et al,1996, Nicholson and Pearce, 2001, Crompton and McKay, 1997) jointly demonstrate that the type of the festival is a significant predictor of motives. As a result, further exploration on various types of festivals should be conducted, in order to improve our understanding of the relationship between the kind of the festival and the visitor motives. A significant characteristic of a festival is the sense of community, belonging and celebration engendered by an event, which is a communal and free social meeting including a variety of media such as arts, performances and shows (Goldblatt, 1997). Cultural consumption is an intangible pleasure-seeking experience. The consumer experience in cultural products appears to have as its main elements the multisensorial, fantastic and emotional aspects of any consumer experience (Bourdeau, Paradis and Nyeck, 1997; Bourdeau, Decoster, Paradis; Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982). In other words, it can be perceived as a self-gratifying consumer experience with an experiential perspective (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982). The intangible characteristics of attendance at a cultural festival make the event a consumer facility. According to Bourdeau et al.( ) more generally, it is a hedonistic experience in which consumers use their senses. It is only after this hedonistic experience, when they leave the festival site, that they develop feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction ( pp.1, in Bourdaeu, De coster Paradis,2001). Managers of a cultural scheme must supply an intangible, hedonistic experience but one that includes not only the basic service but peripheral services as well (Eiglier and Langeard, 1987). The basic service is the principal reason for attending. In the case of a music festival, it is the content of the event the live shows. Peripheral services are those surrounding the event such as festival information services. The intangible, hedonistic nature of a festival visit makes it difficult for managers to determine satisfaction levels among consumers. Swan and Combs (1976) have demonstrated empirically that when performance does not meet the consumers expectations, dissatisfaction results, and when performance does meet expectations, satisfaction results. Generally, the variance between expectations and performance correlates positively with feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Howard (1977, p. 57) defines satisf action, from an expectancy theory perspective, as the consumers mental state of being adequately or inadequately rewarded for the sacrifice he or she has undergone. The degree of adequacy results from comparing actual past experience with the reward that was expected from the brand in terms of its potential to satisfy motives served by its product class.} (Bourdeau, De Coster, Paradis, 2001) terasties allages One of the original service quality theories is that customers are satisfied when their judgment of the service they have received (perception) equals or exceeds what they expected: Customer Satisfaction (CS)= Perceptions(P) =Expectations. This is known as the gap analysis theory (Zeithalm et al., 1990) or Olivers expectancy disconfirmation(Oliver, 1997). Zeithaml et al. considered that the factors that influence customers formulation of their expectations are word of mouth , personal needs, external communications, and past experience. Johnson and Mathews (1997) noted that the expectations of a frequent user of a facility would rely more on the influence of past experiences than other sources of information(eg. Advertisements). Researchers have no way of knowing what a first-time users expectations are based upon. Dale (1994a) suggests that world class experiences are used to formulate expectations. Parasuraman et al. (1988) tried to set customer expectations in context by suggesting that they are what an organization should offer. (Williams and Buswell, , pp.63-64) (table , pp. 67) MOTIVATIONS : The success of a festival is heavily dependent on the implementation of a strategic marketing plan; an understanding of the relationship between a destination event and its visitors and the identification of target markets are critical factors in the process (Thomson and Schoefield, 2009). Festival organizers are likely to contend that their primary goal is to provide high quality, satisfying experiences that visitors perceive to be good value in order to increase the probability that the visitors will return in the future and/or recommend the festival to others in their social circle (Lee, Petrick and Crompton, 2007). Since competition among festivals and destinations is increasing, the need for information on festivals, specifically analysis of motivations for attending festivals and events (Getz, 1993), has become crucial. Actual attendance itself may be attributed to multiple motives or just a single motive. In order for the event organizers to manage to deliver a great experience, the event product definition is a vital step. The event product is a unique blend of activities, which are the tools for achieving the overall event aims and satisfying customer needs. Event design should be customer orientated , and event organizers should create a mix that satisfies the largest number of potential customers na to allaksw ( Salem, Jones, Morgan, 2004, in Yeoman). Getz in 1997 pointed out the importance of the definition of the event product , by arguing that (oxi quote na to allaksw) many events suffer from a product orientation that is , they try to sell their event with little or no regard for what potential customers need , want, and will pay for. Hall in 1992 identifies three important objectives of event marketing: (oxi quotes, na to allaksw) read their customer needs and motivations , develop products that meet these needs, and build a communication program which express the events pur pose and objectives. Individuals, participating as audience at a festival or special event wish to satisfy their curiosity about place and people. Often they want to do what locals do and hope the festival experience will give them entrà ©e to the ways of life of a particular place(Yeoman, 2004,pp.38). Participants wish to emerge from the event with experiences and stories to talk about back home. These people want to avoid unsafe situations , discomfort, doubts, worries, embarrassment, making too many complex decisions , or being treated as computer number and being made to feel a nuisance. It is a marketing truism that people do not buy products or services , they buy the expectation of benefits that satisfy a need. (oli I paragrafos Yeoman, Robertson, Ali-Knight, 2004) giauto na to allaksw) No matter what the reason is for hosting a festival or event , there is a wide range of customers , each with different expectations , and this will impact on the management processes considered for each individual festival or event. (Yeoman, et al.,2004, pp. xx) According to Grainger-Jones (1999, p.53) leisure is defined as the application of disposable time to an activity which is perceived by the individual as either beneficial or enjoyable. Motivations are a hypothetical construct to define the driving forces of human behavior (Kroeber et al, 2003) and explain why people do what they do instead of choosing an alternative option. . The personal motivational drives of individuals are filtered and redirected by the social circles of workmates, family and friends (Burch, 1969). Therefore, the motives to attend a festival could vary from entertainment, socialization or excitement, to escape , or even relaxation . Needless to say, event organizers might have misconception of their customers motivation. Wicks and Fesenmaier (1993) examined the perceptual gap on customer expectations between visitor and vendors, identifying those areas of the event that need improvement. The same analogy also has applicability to the identification of the motivation gap that may exist between attendees and festival and event providers. {As Fodness (1994) points out, the motivation represents the major driving power in explaining human behavior, although it is not the exclusive factor.}(fODNESS, 1994)na to allaksw. Lee and Lee (2001) concluded that segmenting festival markets through motivations enables event managers to identify the strengths and opportunities of each market and helps guarantee their satisfaction. In most situations where festival visitors are heterogeneous, segmenting these visitor groups and understanding their characteristics based on festival motivations will be a powerful marketing tool, that enables event managers to enhance and promote event features preferred and valued by target segments (Formica Uysal, 1996, 1998). Crompton and McKay (1997) contend that event managers should strive to better understand the motives of festival attendance in order to design better products and services for them and because motives are a precursor of satisfaction and a factor in decision making, this in turn can lead to greater attendance. Crompton and McKay (1997) studied visitor motivation within the festival content for the following reasons: (1) it allows matching the festivals program to visitors needs; (2) it helps safeguard visitor satisfaction by increasing the chance of meeting the visitors diverse needs; and (3) it warrants repeat visitation, which is essential for the viability of the festival. Oakes( 2003) further contends that information regarding motivations can also be used to lure sponsors who are key to event funding. Schoefield and Thomson (2007) also agree It is critically important to identify festival visitor motivations and to measure the performance of festivals from the consumer perspective. They suggest that from a planning and management perspective it is vital to determine visitor satisfaction and behavioral intention with respect to repeat visits and to help identify the factors which affect visitor motivation and their experiential outcomes. (apo Gelder, Robinson, 2009,) Bowen and Daniels (2005) state that understanding why people go to music festivals can help planners align their marketing efforts to emphasize the attributes that best reflect the mission and goals of each event . Nicholson and Pearce (2001) believe that these factors will become increasingly important as the growing number and diversity of events, especial ly festivals, lead to heightened competition , in particular when events are initiated or expanded to encourage tourism and thus boost local economies (Daniels, 2004). Apo Glastonbury pdf Getz (1993) also emphasized the importance of analyzing visitors motives for attending festivals and events. Identifying such motivations is a prerequisite for planning event programs effectively and marketing them to visitors (Crompton McKay, 1997). Analysis of festival motivations also helps event managers to better position their festivals (Scott, 1996). PURPOSES OF THE STUDY By understanding what drives and motivates participation, the festival management could probably gain better insight into a strategy to maintain attendees and to drew new ones to the festival (Van Zyl, 2006). The primary aim of the present research is therefore to fill the gap in previous research by determining what motivational factors push and pull visitors to attend the Synch Festival, held in Athens, Greece, and participate in it, and what are their expectations. Comparisons will also be made with the point of view of the manager of the organizing company. By understanding attendees motivations you can give the opportunity to the event organizers to tailor promotions and develop desired services. The research objectives are : To explore and review the literature relevant to the motivation and expectations of people attending leisure events, with particular emphasis on music festivals. To investigate what motivates people to attend the Synch Festival and their expectations of the event. To explore and review the ways in which the Synch Festival is managed and organized, and in particular , the degree to which (if at all) customer expectation and motivation is considered. To report the findings of my research and, where appropriate, make recommendations and suggestions to the event organizers , as well as fill the literature gap as far as the exploration of festival motivations at a national level, is concerned. To achieve this, the article is structured as follows: the literature review is followed by a description of the method of research, then a discussion of the results, a discussion of the findings and their implications and, finally, concluding remarks.

A Day at Work Essay -- Dialogue in Narrative Essays

A piercing sound grew louder as I slowly gained consciousness. Realising where it was coming from, I glanced at the stupid phone responsible for awakening me. Who the hell was phoning me at this time in the morning? Picking up the ringing object, I glanced at the clock hanging on the cream wall. 8:40am. Shit, I was late. Work started at 9am. I sighed. Whoever was making me even later better have a damn good reason. I hit the answer button. "Yo." I mumbled into the speaker. I recognised my step-mother's annoyingly highpitched voice screeching through the phone. "Robert James! That is no way to answer the phone! Next time I expect to be hearing a nice, 'hello, Robert speaking', none of this 'ya' nonsense-" By this stage I had placed the phone next to my half-finished bio report on the desk. I had no intention of listening to her lecturing. She could try what she wanted, but she'd never replace my mum like she desperately seemed to be trying to accomplish. I was nineteen anyway, not much she could do. She couldn't even say 'yo' without sounding like a retard. Hell, she didn't even take the time to notice that noone called me by my full name. I was known as Rob to practically everyone apart from her. Fully clothed in my wrinkled uniform, I grabbed the phone, rushing for the door. "Later's Ax!" I called over my shoulder to my roommate Axel, not giving a shit if he heard me or not. I was already running late. "I'll be back after work." I said, slamming the door behind me. As I rushed down the dull dormitry halls of Greenville college, I wearily raised the phone back up to my ear. Not surprisingly, the screech-master was still at it. Before she could continue further on whatever the hell she was on about, I interrupted. "Du... ...es. Realising I had zoned out again, stopped in the middle of the shop, whilst balancing 5 coffees on a tray, I looked over to see some customers glaring impatiently at me. Sheesh, calm your farms, it's only coffee. Not wishing to get any closer to those stuck up looking customers, I swivelled around again and headed straight back to the kitchen. I threw the orders back on the bench and slapped Cade round the shoulder, "Tell the boss I'm sick won't ya? " He looked at me doubtfully. "Cough, cough?" I half heartedly faked illness. "Whatever dude, " He eventually gave in, "But you know, you owe me now, right?" "Anything you want mate." I honestly would have agreed to anything. At that moment I just needed to get out of that place. As soon as I got back to the dorms, I was planning on grabbing Axel and going on one of our not so legal adventures together. A Day at Work Essay -- Dialogue in Narrative Essays A piercing sound grew louder as I slowly gained consciousness. Realising where it was coming from, I glanced at the stupid phone responsible for awakening me. Who the hell was phoning me at this time in the morning? Picking up the ringing object, I glanced at the clock hanging on the cream wall. 8:40am. Shit, I was late. Work started at 9am. I sighed. Whoever was making me even later better have a damn good reason. I hit the answer button. "Yo." I mumbled into the speaker. I recognised my step-mother's annoyingly highpitched voice screeching through the phone. "Robert James! That is no way to answer the phone! Next time I expect to be hearing a nice, 'hello, Robert speaking', none of this 'ya' nonsense-" By this stage I had placed the phone next to my half-finished bio report on the desk. I had no intention of listening to her lecturing. She could try what she wanted, but she'd never replace my mum like she desperately seemed to be trying to accomplish. I was nineteen anyway, not much she could do. She couldn't even say 'yo' without sounding like a retard. Hell, she didn't even take the time to notice that noone called me by my full name. I was known as Rob to practically everyone apart from her. Fully clothed in my wrinkled uniform, I grabbed the phone, rushing for the door. "Later's Ax!" I called over my shoulder to my roommate Axel, not giving a shit if he heard me or not. I was already running late. "I'll be back after work." I said, slamming the door behind me. As I rushed down the dull dormitry halls of Greenville college, I wearily raised the phone back up to my ear. Not surprisingly, the screech-master was still at it. Before she could continue further on whatever the hell she was on about, I interrupted. "Du... ...es. Realising I had zoned out again, stopped in the middle of the shop, whilst balancing 5 coffees on a tray, I looked over to see some customers glaring impatiently at me. Sheesh, calm your farms, it's only coffee. Not wishing to get any closer to those stuck up looking customers, I swivelled around again and headed straight back to the kitchen. I threw the orders back on the bench and slapped Cade round the shoulder, "Tell the boss I'm sick won't ya? " He looked at me doubtfully. "Cough, cough?" I half heartedly faked illness. "Whatever dude, " He eventually gave in, "But you know, you owe me now, right?" "Anything you want mate." I honestly would have agreed to anything. At that moment I just needed to get out of that place. As soon as I got back to the dorms, I was planning on grabbing Axel and going on one of our not so legal adventures together.

Positive discrimination Essay

â€Å"New Right Sociologists† would argue that this would be a disadvantage to the government as it would lead to an eventual reduction in the nation’s talent pool. However, it is important to note that the methodology used in the production of â€Å"The Bell Curve† is both dubious and highly doubtful. This is most vividly illustrated by the article Inequality by Design, written by the Sociology Department of UC Berkeley, which claims that the statistics used by Murray and Herrstein were flawed due to omissions and technical errors. On the other hand, â€Å"New Right Sociologists† also argue that ethic groups are disadvantaged because they refuse to integrate into their host society. A refusal to integrate may include a refusal to take on the norms and values of the host culture; or to learn the language. This prevents them from seeking opportunities and hence leaving them at a disadvantage. â€Å"New Right Sociologists† would henceforth argue that the state would have no responsibility whatsoever for self-made choices, and therefore that Positive Discrimination would be pointless and a waste of both time and resources. Neo-Marxists and Social Democratic/Left Wing sociologists would argue that because Ethnic Minorities suffer from ethnic discrimination as well as poorer life chances they require and need Positive Discrimination in order to ensure that they are able to reach the best of their potential. Neo-Marxist Sociologists would refer to the argument, as advocated by Stuart Hall of black people being scapegoat for economic and social problems in times of peril. This shows that people from ethnic minorities are blamed for causing problems, and hence are put at a disadvantage with other groups. This effect is then emphasized through the schema model, in which press coverage and blame of ethnic minorities leads to prejudice, prejudgment and in turn a disadvantage for minorities in regards to a wide range of areas, including life chances as represented through education, health and work. The prejudice caused by scapegoating leads to ethnic minorities being denied jobs in the primary job market, having to get by through the routine, ill paid and unskilled jobs offered through the Secondary Job Market. This in turn impacts greatly on all other aspects of their life, including where they live and the lifestyle they lead. Because ethnic minorities are tied to the secondary job market with lower wages, or languishing in unemployment, they end up residing in inner cities and other areas which are likely to be affected by what is described as the â€Å"Inverse Care Law† as coined by Hart, in which those who need the most access to services receive the least. Statistics from the Office of National Statistics show that ethnic minorities tend to have the worst self-reported health, live in overcrowded housing and smoke the most. This shows the fact that Ethnic Minorities, due to the lack of job opportunities, suffer from lower than average health and lifestyles. This, coupled with the fact that ethnic minority households are three times more likely to live in poor neighborhoods (Commission on Racial Equality, 2003) tells us that ethnic minorities do indeed suffer from lower life chances due to poor health, poorer education due to failing inner city schools and finally a cumulatively lower chance of success in life that other groups due to clear disadvantages in terms of health, education and job prospects. This clearly shows that Positive Discrimination in favor of disadvantaged groups is desirable as it allows for the disadvantages caused by ethnic discrimination and its knock-on effects to be limited if not redressed, hence increasing the nation’s pool of talent and preventing those who are capable from languishing behind due to disadvantageous conditions. Henceforth it can be said that Positive Discrimination in favor of disadvantaged ethnic minorities is both beneficial and disadvantageous depending on which perspective it is viewed from. However, it could be concluded with a degree of certainty that Positive Discrimination in favor of ethnic minorities is both a good government policy and advantageous to the country in question- as it allows ethnic minorities put at a disadvantage to compete on what amounts to nearer grounds to those from other ethnic groups that may enjoy an advantage, whether it be through wealth, power or better overall life chances. This allows for the meritocratic principles of Functionalism to occur on fair and even grounds- facilitating competition for roles and jobs between everyone on fair and even terms, hence allowing the best and brightest, regardless of ethnicity, to reach the very top and bring mutual benefits for society as a whole.

Bead Bar Business Case

Bead Bar Business Case Free Online Research Papers The Bead Bar is company that has three divisions: (1) studios, (2) franchises, and (3) Bead Bar on Board. The studio division oversees the company’s six bead bar studios. Along with the original, there are now two studios in New York City, one on Long Island, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Boston, Massachusetts. The franchise division sells a complete beading supply package to businesses that want to open their own bead studio. The division is responsible for fulfilling franchisees’ supply requirements. The company still uses paper-based forms. The Bead Bar is now large enough that the paper-based system is inefficient and has caused some problems, including lost orders, incorrect invoicing, and fulfillment delays (Malaga, 2005). Information systems allow globalization. If the Bead Bar were to establish a website where people could purchase beading products, they could end up with larger profits. People from all over the world can purchase beading products easily and conveniently because the role of information allows the possibility to convert currencies and languages over the Internet. Information systems also allow each franchise to interact with each other or clients conveniently, as well, via email and/or teleconference, etc. Also, information systems allow for networking so that each franchise can share information with each other in a short amount of time. Information systems could also stop the Bead Bar from losing business. Since the Bead Bar is growing and yet still using a paper-based system, they will run into organization problems. The loss of orders, incorrect invoices, and delayed fulfillments will definitely cause unhappy customers. These unhappy customers will then tell others about their less than satisfactory service they received with the Bead Bar. Thus, giving the Bead Bar a bad reputation. Information systems allow a more organized and efficient way to handle customer orders, in a timely manner none-the-less. Information systems will also make it easier to handle finances and accounting, as well. DBMSs perform many functions for the business community. One of these functions is to manage data storage. Databases can hold a large amount of data, for companies. Companies use DBMSs to store all information on their customers, and their suppliers, as well. Databases can also manage inventory, which is essential to companies, so that they know when to order new products. This will allow companies to know which products are used most, or in retail, which product are best sellers. It will also be able to tell one which products are not selling enough to make a profit. This will tell the person who orders inventory what not to order again in the future. DBMSs also allow us to access this data relatively quickly, which is important. People want things done quickly, and they want their information retrieved quickly (Malaga, 2005), and DBMSs allows this to happen. Databases are imperative to the business community. I can only imagine that as businesses receive more and more information, they will need more and/or bigger DBMSs. Since the Bead Bar is going to be global they should use an enterprise DBMS. This will allow Bead Bar executives to hold a large amount of various data, provide security so that data cannot be compromised, and allow other Bead Bar executives to access the database and view data that they need to be aware of. The Bead Bar should use a distributed enterprise database since they have 5 franchises (especially if they plan to build more) and are about to start an online store. A distribute enterprise database is more reliable, and much faster than a centralized database. They will also permit each store to automatically know the prices that the main store sets. The local databases report their sales, inventory levels, and so on to the main store, which then sends price changes and the like to each database (Malaga, 2005). The Bead Bar should use a relational model database. The relational model is flexible and much easier to use than the network model (otherwise, I would have recommended the network model instead). I think that the relational model is best because each executive of the Bead Bar has a different use for a database, and the relational model will provide the tools they need for each of their uses. The relational model can also handle multiple tables and actually relate the tables to each other. This will prove to be a huge convenience for the Bead Bar. The Bead Bar is just beginning to really go global, and before they know if their business will really take off on the World Wide Web they should keep costs at a minimum. Therefore, I believe the Bead Bar should use a bus topology. In a bus topology, all of the devices on a network are connected to a common central cable called a bus or backbone. A backbone is the main portion of a computer network that is capable of carrying the majority of traffic on the network (Malaga, 2005). The backbone is commonly used to connect large networks or companies together. The major advantages of the bus topology are that it is relatively inexpensive and it is easy to add new devices to the network by simply connecting them to the bus. If the main cable fails, however, the entire network will shut down, and it may be difficult to determine why the cable failed. Due to its low cost and simple configuration, the bus topology would be the appropriate choice for the Bead Bar. I recommend a client/server type of architecture for the Bead Bar. It will help to control that can operate what feature, and will allow organized information from clients to be sent. In networks with a client/server architecture, certain computers act as providers of services, or servers, and others act as requesters of services, or clients. A server is a powerful computer with a fast processor and a lot of memory that is capable of handling simultaneous requests from clients. Some servers may be set up to provide shared data for clients, some handle only printing, and others might provide a variety of services (Malaga, 2005). Networking can be extremely complex. It takes a lot of planning and configuration, and the Bead Bar has a chance to make huge profits by going global. However, the Bead Bar executives cannot get ahead of themselves. They should invest in information systems, databases, and network topologies that are of low cost, and yet do the job that needs to be done. As the Bead Bar becomes more stable, and brings in a secure income then the Bead Bar should upgrade to more reliable information systems that would not fail as consistently, yet however, cost much more. If the Bead Bar waits for the stable income, they will be able to afford the upgrades without any financial troubles. References Malaga, R. (2005) Information systems technology. Prentice Hall. Pearson Education. Research Papers on Bead Bar Business CaseBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfOpen Architechture a white paperThe Project Managment Office SystemDefinition of Export QuotasIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductGenetic EngineeringResearch Process Part OneInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized Testing