Human Resource Management Essay

1. What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank’s home office and branches? ANSWER: Attrition or employee turnover was high during past eight years, as a result supervisors tried to find a suitable employee to replace the worker who had quit. We know that employee turnover is very costly especially in lower paying job roles, for which the employee turnover rate is highest. There was no standardization of recruitment process in organization. Absence of effective communication process is also apparent because all branch office hired employees without communicating with their home office. Bank’s local supervisor failed to train their employees properly. They didn’t spend much time for their employees. A rigorous performance evaluation system wasn’t also in place. 2. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help? ANSWER: Of course I think it would. Since there are HR-related problems both in the home office and in the branches, it is clear that if an HR office were set up, it would help coordinate the HR activities in the branches more effectively. 3. What specific functions HR units carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? What role should the internet play in the new HR organization? ANSWER: Core functions of HR unit  should be recruitment, training and development, employee relations, compensation and benefits, performance evaluation etc. Core functions of supervisors and other line managers would consist of: day-to-day people management managing operational efficiency providing technical expertise allocating work monitoring work and checking quality Measuring operational performance. HR may use the Internet to reach candidates and communicate with them, to create and use an up-to-date employee database, measure the employee’ abilities, communicate with them, train them and monitor them

Minimising faiulures in the homeland intelligence security Essay

An intelligence community is a group or a coalition of organisation in the United State of America. It is part of the executive branch that is autonomous and works indipendently in matters related to security and investigation of crimes. The intelligence community is accountable to the president, the policy makers and other senior departments in the government of the united states to collect and gather the necessary information to ensure maximum security is maintained within the country as part of executing their mandate (Noftsinger at el, 2007). The intelligence community has a definate method of carrying out their duties. The first step involves the identification of the problem that need to be sorted as a matter of security concern. Then a plan is laid on how the process is to go and the necessary data is collected. The collected data is put under scrutiny and strictly analysed by the intelligence experts. Later a report is compiled giving the reccomedations and suggestions regarding the security concern matter. The report is then given to the president or the policy makers or even the millitary commanders depending on who required the investigation. However the intelligence community and especially the homeland intelligence security has not been without failures. To decreas the number of these failures the secrecy within the intelligence agents becomes very critical (Kivett, 2006). In this case the transmission of information from one point to the other should be guarded to the maximum to ensure that no leakage of information takes place. Consequently it is prefferd that information should not be transmitted at all if it is not secured. Nevertheless, the secrecy that should be maintained is not wholly on all facets of the government. The intelligence community needs to share some neccessary ideas with other experts and organisations all over. The sharing of corporate ideas does not pose any danger to the security agencies as it reveals more of the other rival intention. Sharing of ideas should only be restricted for the millitary concepts and guarding as well as security matters. Sharing of technological knowhow does not make the rival better than the intelligence community agencies in place (Beyer, 2004). The intelligence community in the united state have been very keen on the collection and sharing of the information. But the major failure is now involving connecting and understanding the intelligence. This failure can be reduced by ensuring that all high priority threats investigation are specifically and stictly assigned so that the responsibility can be shouldered on certain capacities. The investigation should be a an all time process. A gap also exists between the report by the inteligence community and the distribution of that information therefore leading to a failure in the intelligence service. This failure can be reduced by ensuring that any report which has potential threat is distributed more effectivelly and measures taken. Furthermore the analytical process for the reports given should be strengthened with the incorporation of the intelligence experts to enhace more reliable information for execution. A failure in the homeland security intelligence is also experienced due to the lack of up to date technological equipments. This leaves a gap for the threats and should be reduced by more advenced explosive detection capabilities at all points of interaction with other nations like the airports, the ports, and the boarder. For this to come to reality a great investment by the U. S government need to be done for the installations. The homeland intelligence security should also improve aviation screaning and security towards the international partnership. An improvement in the organisational or agencies system is also important for information to move smoothly and timely for actions to be taken before the damage occurs.

Founding Brothers Essay

The novel, Founding Brothers, written by Joseph Ellis is a thought provoking novel on the intertwined lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and Ben Franklin. Ellis calls the 1790’s the most decisive decade in our country. The author exemplifies three major points in our nation’s history: George Washington and his prominent legacy; the collaborative yet antagonistic relationship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams; and the many problems of the young union during its revolutionary era. George Washington was a monumental character and played a vital role in the molding of our country. Although, his reputation was nearly impeccable, he was great in stature, standing at six foot four. The farewell address was a key element to Washington’s legacy. In this he displayed how grateful he was to have such a remarkable opportunity to serve his country, although this only was the beginning part of his speech. Secondly he decided to stress the importance of the union. But it started in 1776 when Washington was being described as â€Å"Father of our Country† prematurely. Even Ben Franklin acknowledged Washington’s supremacy. In the 1790’s Washington was well known, he was the presiding officer at the Constitutional Convention and the chief executive of the federal government. â€Å"Washington was the core of gravity that prevented the American Revolution from flying off into random orbits, the stable center around which the revolutionary energies formed† (Ellis 121). He impacted the government tremendously with his way of thinking and his attitude toward the need for national unity. He talked about independence from foreign nations; he devoted several paragraphs to this in his in his address. Washington always made the well- being of the country first. For example, when Continental Congress wanted help the French with an invasion of Canada, Washington opposed. He feared that that putting the France in possession of that capital that they would become greedy, and doubted that they would withdraw once they were ensconced in Canada. I think that he may have felt that also, America was young and still growing as a country. He was criticized for this decision. In closing on Washington’s legacy, I feel that there were many reasons why he retired. In short, he was just getting old and probably couldn’t take the political pressure. He was also going through a physical decline. Washington intended for his farewell address to be advice to his countrymen. He wanted them to sustain without, and without a king. Adams and Jefferson were indeed friends but had different agendas on how the country should be run. Their relationship was unique; they were great friends but even better competitors. The presidency drove them apart. Adams was a federalist, and Jefferson was a democratic republican so to speak. Through the Continental congress and diplomatic missions they became close friends. As they worked more together Adams developed more respect Jefferson, although he was less effusive. The low point of their relationship was definitely after the election in 1800. After this their relationship became more antagonistic. As politicians and colleagues they went through many phases. After the election they did not speak for a long 12 years. Adams felt that Jefferson had betrayed their friendship. After the death of Jefferson daughter, Abigail Adams began to exchange letters of condolences. Jefferson confused it as an invitation to reconcile with Adams family. The two disputed briefly, John didn’t find out until several months later. Finally in January of 1812, Adams sent a letter from Quincy to Monticello. â€Å"Why then, did Adams take the fateful step, which led to a fourteen year exchange of 158 letters, a correspondence that is generally regarded as the intellectual capstone to the revolutionary generation and the most impressive correspondence between prominent states in all of American history† (Ellis 223)? For the last 15 years of their lives they contacted each other through letters and rebuilt their friendship. On the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of the Independence, both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died within hours of each other. They will never be forgotten for the inevitable and timely contributions to our young country. In the introduction Ellis describes the American Revolution perfectly with the statement â€Å"No event in American history which was so improbable at the time has seemed as inevitable in retrospect as the American Revolution†. America’s victory seemed beyond improbable seeing as how England had the greatest army of the Revolutionary era. The young colonists chose to seek out alliances with the French, Dutch, and Spanish due to their lack of monetary resources, experience or even the pure man power. British beforehand, even tried attacking the colonists politically which had their in leading to an inevitable rebellion. They initiated taxes, and other events such as the Boston Massacre took place that ignited the young colonists to take stand against Great Britain. Though faith, inspiration and prosperity the Americans shocked the world, defeated the odds and took the victory in 1783, securing their new independent world. This victory inspired countries worldwide to rebel against the tyrannical empires that were controlling them. This victory is evident in today’s society as America thrives as country that influences others and still is, independent. Founding Brothers truly exposes a much more personal point of view of our founding fathers and their irrefutable destiny. Joseph Ellis targets critical elements of their and what they thought was best for the young country of America. They molded something bigger than themselves during this revolutionary era. The author really brings to life the intricate detail of Washington’s legacy and the partnership between two great leaders Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Joseph Ellis’ statement was more than valid; it justifies American in a few short words.

Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Journal - Assignment Example On an economic front, the lives of the Americans started improving as they gained employment even though the wages were still lower and the working conditions were deplorable (I am Marching, p. 3). Employment was created through the numerous projects the federal government authorized through various acts. There were acts such as Works Progress Administration (WPA) which offered jobs to hundreds and thousands of the unemployed working in the projects such as building bridges, post offices and schools amongst many others. There was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration set up to provide relief in terms of money through the local governments among many others (Out of Many, p. 634). On the political front, the federal and state governments were in agreement over the deal even though this was not the initial reaction. The federal government controlled the money but eventually came to an agreement with the state government to be making decisions on disbursement of the money once it reached that level. This however further brought political divisions as most African-Americans were denied the relief by the state government. The government developed programs in line with the new deal and some of these were social service programs involving the women, children and the disabled in the society. The women for example had their own employment agencies different from that of the men and they were offered employment in areas that were not as difficult as that of the men. These included domestic employments such as cooking and serving for the miners and washing the utensils among others (America writes to their leaders, p. 1). They regulated these social services because they were trying to give employment to all genders keeping in mind the fact that with depression, many men disappeared from their homes and women were left to provide for their children. The new deals led to creation of employments but no regulation on wages and working

Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Memo - Essay Example I've prepared an analysis about the use of vulnerability assessment systems and intrusion detection systems in your company, just like you asked me. You specifically asked whether the use of both systems will be a waste of resources and a duplication of efforts. My analysis suggests that VAS and IDS have separate internal functions for the security of the computer systems and both must be a part of a computer system for complete security control. Vulnerability assessment systems are those security scanning tools that assess level of threat that can penetrate a system. The main job of such tools is to scan networks, servers, firewalls, routers, and applications and report system vulnerabilities. "Generally, the tools can detect known security flaws or bugs in software and hardware, determine if the systems are susceptible to known attacks and exploits, and search for system vulnerabilities such as settings contrary to established security policies". (Becker, 1999) New threats are discovered each day thus the vulnerability assessment tools must be updated regularly. Any new weaknesses such as security flaws and bugs would need to be patched in the system so that no holes left for malwares, viruses, spywares etc. to infect the system. Another feature of a vulnerability assessment system is that it generates reports which can tell a user what and where weaknesses exist and how to fix them. (Becker, 1999) Intrusion Detection Systems Vulnerability assessment is the first step in securing the system from threats by taking appropriate security precautions and patch-ups. However, new threats are raised everyday and some might pass through the vulnerability precautions. Therefore the next logical step is to "monitor the system for intrusions and unusual activities". Intrusion detection systems automatically raise the alarm in case of a security breach and inform the Computer Incident Respond Team for their help. "By analyzing the information generated by the systems being guarded, IDSs help determine if necessary safeguards are in place and are protecting the system as intended". Important to note here is that IDS don't protect the system, they just pinpoint the location of the attack and collect the information related to the attack and the attacker. (Becker, 1999) IDS tools are used by the CIRT to generate both technical and management reports since it provide background information on the type of attack and the attacker. IDS can also give recommendations to the management about the courses of action to take to seal the breach. (Becker, 1999) Example The difference can easily be understood by the following example. Vulnerability assessment just checks how susceptible a person is to catching a cold in winters. The vulnerabilities that the system can find is that not enough warm clothes are worn and heater is not being used. The intrusion detection system checks that cold air in hitting the person directly which may be harmful, and the point of intrusion was the chest of the person. So a person gets the information from the vulnerability system that he needs to have a heater and wear warm clothes and from the intrusion

EnERGY WEDGES Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

EnERGY WEDGES - Lab Report Example Our group resorted to construction of an energy wedge, which we thought would be fit and endorsed by the whole world as a sufficient means of controlling carbon emission in the atmosphere by the years 2055. As a group, we opted for full implementation and use of renewable resources as the major and the cheapest means of energy production. The renewable sources coded with green color include the conservation of vegetation cover such as the forest. The trees and other vegetation cover absorb half of carbon produced by the atmosphere hence it is possible that if the vegetation cover is increased it can act as a means of controlling the amount of atmospheric carbon (UNEP, 2007). Other renewable source of energy includes use of wind as source of energy. Use of solar panels as a substitute for electricity is also a major way of reducing carbon as a source of energy. Others include soil cover, and use of bio-fuels. Our next energy wedge includes full use of nuclear power. I disagree with the group on this choice mainly because nuclear power faces poor political good will. Secondly, most of the countries always intend to use it as a weapon of mass destruction. The energy power is already designated using red color, which indicates danger. The next wedge included use of fossil fuel. I also disagree with the group based on their choice. The reason being this is not an immediate and easy way of cutting carbon emission in the atmosphere. I opt for efficient use of carbon energy sources in place of the use of biofuels. This is because it is already in use and it is easy to implement (Nesta, 2009). (Levy, A 2020 Low Carbon Economy) From the work sheet, it is evident that our energy wedge did not earn the interest of the taxpayers. This can be attributed by the use of nuclear power as a source of energy. The energy companies rated the energy wedges lowly for a reason

Idealized Architecture + Public Implications Essay

Idealized Architecture + Public Implications - Essay Example On the contrary, the project failed due to institutional racism and the post war population changes that occurred in the industrial cities. Despite the various claims that have been put forward as the causes of the project failure in this, it is revealed that architects face very big challenge when it come to designing major public buildings. The first problem is normally the size of the project. The Pruitt Igoe project was oversized consisting of 33 buildings on 57 acres of land (The Pruitt-Igoe Myth). This was a major challenge for the project architects. The second problem is the difficultly in understanding the clients that they are serving and their needs due to the high number of users of the buildings. The film reveals that had the architects understood the clients that they were serving, the failure could not have occurred. The final problem is the constant design changes. The project that was initially designed by Yamasaki was a less massive development project .However, various aspects of the complex were value engineered hence making it unresponsive to the needs of the

Lyrical Ballads and Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lyrical Ballads and Hamlet - Essay Example he genuineness of the actions taken by Gertrude as a female character, it is still evident that Shakespeare tries to create a realization of this character as a human being (Stephen 1). Therefore, this paper attempts to scrutinize the extent to which self-hood can be attained through the use of female characters as depicted by Shakespeare in Hamlet and The Female Vagrant by Wordsworth. The realization of the human nature in Gertrude is observed when she drinks the poisoned wine that was prepared by Claudius, her husband, for Hamlet. Looking at this incident critically, it is evident in Act 3 that Gertrude came to herself and felt the guilt behind all the evils she was doing. For instance, it is possible that Gertrude had an affair with Claudius even while she was still married to King Hamlet and probably this is why the marriage between her and Claudius worked out so fast after the King’s death. Moreover, it may still be possible that Gertrude participated actively in secrecy towards the murder of her husband since from the play; she does not seem to consider the claims of her son that his uncle murdered his father, the King of Denmark (Stephen 3). Some of the actions of Gertrude seem to be powered by her wish and ambition to retain her station in the palace and her status as the Queen of Denmark (Stephen 4). These are valid human ambitions, and every other human is bound to be filled with the desire to maintain a royal status. It is therefore not surprising that Gertrude would be willing to do everything to see to it that she retains her status as the Queen of Denmark. What makes this ambition all wrong is going to the extreme; being ready even to see her husband die and start having sex with another man even before long after her husbands death creates a lot of suspicions (Stephen 4). However, despite all the bad things that Claudius did, she finally admitted that she was wrong, although she did not use spoken language to regret her deeds, but her actions

Airline Revenue Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Airline Revenue Management - Essay Example The company blames the strike action of cabin crew and planned winter capacity reduction as a major cause of decline in revenues, capacity and traffic.1 The reported loss of British Airways in 2010 was  £531 million as compared to  £401 million loss in 2009 (Table I).2 On the other hand, according to information taken from official website of Ryanair, the low cost airline Ryanair reports increase in its passengers’ traffic by 14% (from 58.6m on March 31, 2009 to 66.5m on March 31, 2010), increase in revenues by 2% (from â‚ ¬2,942m in 2009 to â‚ ¬2,988m in 2010) and increase in Earnings per Share by 204% (from 7.10 in 2009 to 21.59 in 2010). Furthermore, the company started its services on 284 new routes and now it is providing services on 940 total routes.3 Moreover, the number of passengers of Ryanair is also increasing rapidly for example, in June 2009; the number of travellers served by the company was 5,836,355 as compared to 6,713,559 travellers served in 2010 (Table II).4 The price structure of Ryanair is very simple and company only charges ticket price and for using other facilities customers have to pay extra charges. On the other hand, British Airways includes everything such as food, toilet etc in the ticket prices which enhances the cost of ticket. Since the competition among airlines is increasing, therefore, airlines are coming up with distinct strategies for example, Ryanair is seeking to reduce its costs and lower its profit margin to offer lowest possible prices to customers. On the other hand, British Airways has kept her prices high because of the slowing down of global travelling demand, increasing fuel costs, high insurance costs and increasing airport taxes (Ivythesis, 2009). Being a legacy carrier, British Airways is only serving the primary and major airports whereas, being a low cost carrier, Ryanair is serving secondary airports. Ryanair has been given the award of lowest cost airline by Budgies

Creating Cross-Functional Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creating Cross-Functional Teams - Essay Example Hence in most of the cases, it is better to have customer oriented teams design such products. Customer oriented teams have the advantage of understanding more clearly the specific requirements of the customer due to their â€Å"customer first† approach; responding adequately to varying needs on account of their flexibility, and giving a better and more customized solution to the customer based on their combined set of skills. 2. Anyone who has worked in team situations has discovered that some members of the team work harder than others; nonetheless, the whole team is often rewarded based on the overall results, not an individual effort. How could team evaluations be made so that individual efforts could be recognized and rewarded? Ans Team evaluations can be made to focus more on individual contributions in many different ways. Firstly, one can evaluate the performance of each member against the tasks he was assigned, thus in this manner, the performance of each member can b e compared with the other members of the team. Secondly, we can judge how much effort each member is putting into teamwork by observing his performance and inputs during team discussions, and his willingness when the group task is divided among the members.  This case can be a model for such an organization n that it effectively describes the steps that can be undertaken by the company management to become more customer oriented. This case accurately describes the essential requirements for a private organization to become more customer-aware, such as user-friendly systems, team-oriented approach etc. also it effectively describes the firewalls against activities such as pleasing bosses, by creating cross-functional teams and diluting a strict hierarchal structure. 4. What are some major impediments to implementing customer-oriented teams in service organizations? Ans One major impediment towards the implementation of customer-oriented teams in service organizations is the system of processes and procedures in the organization, particularly the inflexibility attached to those processes. This can be crucial as for an organization to become truly customer oriented; a certain level of flexibility in operations is required so as to respond to each customer in the most optimal manner. Another impediment is the hierarchal structure in the organizations, as it causes difficulty in formation of teams within the organization. Lastly, employees’ attitude and personalities also become an impediment towards the development of an effective team, especially one that is cross-functional (Webber, 2002). Employees may not feel comfortable working with one another and may not prefer equal status. This creates issues in the effective operation of a team, even after teams are created.

Ethical Challenges Essay Example for Free

Ethical Challenges Essay Almost any field of profession has its corresponding hardships that an individual involved in it has to face. Nevertheless, there are occupations that pose a more challenging situation due to the fact that it deals with the life or personal affairs of other people. This kind of adage is greatly applicable to the area of psychology most specifically counseling. The counselors are responsible in aiding people who are having difficulties in various areas of their lives, may it be in terms of their personal growth, relationships with other people, and many others (Hawkins et. al, n. d. ). Being the case, counselors have their own set of ethical dilemmas in doing their responsibilities especially in terms of separating their personal and professional relationships with their clients as well as giving sound judgments in times of crucial situations. These aforementioned roles could be exemplified in this case of a counselor that works in a rural setting. Counseling in this type of area entails that almost all people know each other and that they usually go and socialize to the same places. As such, being a counselor it could not be prevented that I have to socialize with my clients to some community events. This could mean ethical dilemmas such as: confidentiality, privacy and the overall boundary between a counselor and his or her client. This is why I should establish a firm distinction between my personal and professional life. I should see to it that whenever I mingle with my clients at community events I would not discuss any of the sessions that we had especially the situation of my other patients. Moreover, it is better that I do not get to attach with any of my clients to prevent any biases in their cases but I will still make sure that I establish good relationship with them. Another case involves a counselor that works in a local high school. One of her clients called her at a very distraught state and informed her that she was pregnant before and she committed abortion. She has not told anyone about it aside from the counselor. If I were the counselor, I will tell my client that it would be better that we talk the problem over face-to-face rather than in the phone. I could fetch her, as she is not in a proper state to travel. Then, we could talk at the clinic regarding her problem. I will also make sure that utmost confidentiality is observed since this is a very serious and delicate matter. I would leave the decision to her as to when she would inform her family and her boyfriend about that particular incident. However, I would also make sure that I inform her about the limitations to confidentiality (Hawkins et. al, n. d. ). In doing so, I could aide in deciding for the appropriate thing to do. The ethically appropriate action is to aide her through counseling and other means to guide her in making the right choices but I will never meddle with her decision or impose anything upon her. The role of the counselor is to help and guide the patient to make her burden easier but never to take control of the situation. In these two cases, it is clearly observable that counselors face ethical challenges in their profession. They even encounter more incidents like these because their responsibilities deal with other people’s life especially with regards to their emotional state. As such it is important that counselors adhere to ethical standards in order to help them in making sound and appropriate decisions. Reference Cornier, Hackney. (2008). Hawkins, A. , Cormier, S. , Bernard, J. (n. d. ). Common Challenges for Beginning Counselors.

Welsh childhood Essay Example for Free

Welsh childhood Essay Dylan Marlais Thomas was born in the Welsh seaport of Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Wales, on October 27, 1914. His father, David John, was an English teacher and a would-be poet from whom Dylan inherited his intellectual and literary abilities. From his mother, Florence, a simple and religious woman, Dylan inherited his mood, temperament, and respect for his Celtic heritage. He had one older sister, Nancy. He attended the Swansea Grammar School, where he received all of his formal education. As a student he made contributions to the school magazine and was keenly interested in local folklore (stories passed down within a culture). He said that as a boy he was small, thin, indecisively active, quick to get dirty, curly. During these early school years, Thomas befriended Daniel Jones, another local schoolboy. The two would write hundreds of poems together, and as adults Jones would edit a collection of Thomass poetry. After leaving school, Thomas supported himself as an actor, reporter, reviewer, scriptwriter, and with various odd jobs. When he was twenty-two years old, he married Caitlin Macnamara, by whom he had two sons, Llewelyn and Colm, and a daughter, Aeron. After his marriage, Thomas moved to the fishing village of Laugharne, Carmarthenshire. Begins writing career To support his growing family, Thomas was forced to write radio scripts for the Ministry of Information (Great Britains information services) and documentaries for the British government. He also served as an aircraft gunner during World War II (1939–45; a war fought between Germany, Japan, and Italy, the Axis powers; and England, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States, the Allies). After the war he became a commentator on poetry for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). In 1950 Thomas made the first of three lecture tours through the Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos . United States—the others were in 1952 and 1953—in which he gave more than one hundred poetry readings. In these appearances he half recited, half sang the lines in his Welsh singing voice. Thomass poetic output was not large. He wrote only six poems in the last six years of his life. A grueling lecture schedule greatly slowed his literary output in these years. His belief that he would die young led him to create instant Dylan—the persona of the wild young Welsh bard, damned by drink and women, that he believed his public wanted. When he was thirty-five years old, he described himself as old, small, dark, intelligent, and darting-doting-dotting eyed †¦ balding and toothlessing. During Thomass visit to the United States in 1953, he was scheduled to read his own and other poetry in some forty university towns throughout the country. He also intended to work on the libretto (text) of an opera for Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) in the latters California home. Thomas celebrated his thirty-ninth birthday in New York City in a mood of gay exhilaration, following the extraordinary success of his just-published Collected Poems. The festivities ended in his collapse and illness. On November 9, 1953, he died in St. Vincents Hospital in New York City. Some reports attribute his death to pneumonia brought on by alcoholism, others to encephalopathy, a brain disease. His body was returned to Laugharne, Wales, for burial. Literary works Thomas published his first book of poetry, Eighteen Poems (1934), when he was not yet twenty years old. The reeling excitement of a poetry-intoxicated schoolboy smote the Philistine as hard a blow with one small book as Swinburne had with Poems and Ballads, wrote Kenneth Rexroth. Thomass second and third volumes were Twenty-five Poems (1936) and The Map of Love (1939). The poems of his first three volumes were collected in The World I Breathe (1939). By this time Thomas was being hailed as the most spectacular of the surrealist poets, or poets who used fantastic imagery of the subconscious in their verse. He acknowledged his debt to James Joyce (1882–1941) and dotted his pages with invented words and puns (the use of two or more words that sound the same, usually for humorous purposes). Thomas also acknowledged his debt to Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), stating: Poetry is the rhythmic, inevitably narrative, movement from an over clothed blindness to a naked vision.†¦ Poetry must drag further into the clear nakedness of light more even of the hidden causes than Freud could realize. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog (1940) is a collection of humorous autobiographical (having to do with writing about oneself) sketches. Thomas loved the wild landscape of Wales, and he put much of his childhood and youth into these stories. He published two more new collections of poetry, both of which contained some of his finest work: Deaths and Entrances (1946) and In Country Sleep (1951). Collected Poems, 1934–1953 (1953) contains all of his poetry that he wished to preserve. Themes and style Thomas claimed that his poetry was the record of my individual struggle from darkness toward some measure of light.†¦ To be stripped of darkness is to be clean, to strip of darkness is to make clean. He also wrote that his poems with all their crudities, doubts, and confusions, are written for the love of man and in praise of God, and Id be a damned fool if they werent. Passionate and intense, vivid and violent, Thomas wrote that he became a poet because I had fallen in love with words. His sense of the richness and variety and flexibility of the English language shines through all of his work. The theme of all of Thomass poetry is the celebration of the divine (godly) purpose he saw in all human and natural processes. The cycle of birth and flowering and death, of love and death, are also found throughout his poems. He celebrated life in the seas and fields and hills and towns of his native Wales. In some of his shorter poems he sought to recapture a childs innocent vision of the world. Thomas was passionately dedicated to his sullen art, and he was a competent, finished, and occasionally complex craftsman. He made, for example, more than two hundred versions of Fern Hill before he was satisfied with it. His early poems are relatively mysterious and complex in sense but simple and obvious in pattern. His later poems, on the other hand, are simple in sense but complex in sounds. Under Milk Wood, a radio play commissioned by the BBC (published 1954), was Thomass last completed work. This poem-play is not a drama but a parade of strange, outrageous, and charming Welsh villagers. During the twenty-four hours presented in the play, the characters remember and ponder the casual and crucial moments of their lives. Adventures in the Skin Trade and Other Stories (1955) contains all the uncollected stories and shows the wit and humor that made Thomas an enchanting companion.

The Indian Gaming Industry Marketing Essay

The Indian Gaming Industry Marketing Essay The Indian gaming industry is at a nascent stage but is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. In the last 15 years, India has witnessed considerable economic growth. This, in addition to its demographic structure, offers immense potential for the gaming industry. An amalgamation of our culture, rising urban incomes, education, IT development and telecom growth offer the perfect platform for the gaming industry. IT and telecom considerably drive the gaming industry. One of the segments with highest growth is the console gaming industry which is capturing higher market share year on year. While the global gaming industry is growing at 22 per cent, the Indian gaming industry is valued at Rs 13 billion and is expected to grow to Rs 38 billion by 2015  [2]  . India offers a huge pool of talent in the IT and programming sector which plays a substantial role in the development of quality games at reasonably lower costs. Additionally, while the gaming industry is picking up, serious players and investors are entering into the industry, consequently facilitating its further growth. Figure 1 Growth Trend of the Gaming Industry in India  [3]   Recently, 3G rollout in India, an increasing number of high-end mobile phone users, and broadband and DTH penetration into homes, contributed to the strong market currents that the Indian gaming industry is now riding on. Over the years, the price of games has declined significantly, making the games more affordable to Indian gamers  [4]  . High-end mobile phone consumers, for instance, a growing iPhone consumer base, point towards a promising future for the mushrooming gaming industry. These buyers thus become a very lucrative segment which includes a premium, tech-savvy population which, evidently, has higher disposable incomes. Figure 2 Orientation of Gaming Industry in prominent markets  [5]   Due to the rising population in urban India, more and more open fields and available lands are being converted to high rises, for commercial or residential purposes. This leaves the kids with little or no space to play, which adds on to the inclination towards indoor games. Hence, urbanization as well serves an important factor for the rise in console gaming market in India. As per NASSCOM report, the growth drivers in the gaming industry in India are  [6]  : The growth of the gaming industry from 2006 levels is primarily driven by increased consumer spending on gaming. The services side of the business is propelled by captives set up by international publishers of mobile game development, BPO support for MMORPG games and development revenues from PC/console game production, game art, etc. By 2012, the movement up the value chain in services, resulting in more end to end off-shoring work, is expected to contribute to the growth of revenue from development services. Domestic outsourcing is also expected to pick up, especially in the mobile and online gaming segment. Original IP development in domestic and international markets, which is at a nascent stage, will gain in significance in coming years. Falling console prices and increasing mobile and broadband penetration are expected to give a fillip to consumer markets. However the growth in gaming Industry is also coupled with challenges. As per NASSCOM report  [7]   Lack of trained man power in the industry who have the skill sets to develop end to end games and have worked in advanced NGN pipelines Infrastructure related issues like high cost of consoles, non availability of adequate bandwidth, non availability of SDKs etc Pirated copies of gaming software and tampering of consoles in still wide spread in the country Acclimatizing the Indian population to gaming which is relatively a newer form of entertainment and not integrated into the Indian culture. Lack of original Indian IP and quality games with local themes which can spur the Indian market High import duties for gaming hardware and absence of well defined policy for the growth of gaming industry Objectives  [8]   The objectives of this MRR are as follows: To study the potential market for console based gaming in India and to reach the potential customers in this particular segment of the gaming industry To study the feasibility to set up experience gaming flagship stores and scale up implementing the franchise model To study the feasibility of organizing regional league events and launching a pan-India console gaming league event leveraging upon the underlying business model To study the feasibility of creating a virtual store model functioning as an e-commerce platform to achieve appropriate channels of merchandize distribution and social media integration To study the feasibility of synergies between each of the business models so that it helps in strengthening the brand Scope and Limitations of the study  [9]   Scope Overall A study of the current Indian Gaming Industry, focusing on the console gaming industry in India A study of the various players in console gaming market Retailers, Parlours An overview of the fully integrated console gaming pan-India network comprising of stores, IT Infra-Telecom network, e-stores, vendor partners and pan-India competition An integrated financial analysis of the business plan Console Gaming Store A study on the requirements for setting up a console gaming store A study and recommendation on the business model of the store franchise/ownership A study on local/regional popular gaming championships A study on the experience aspect of consumer viz. gaming merchandize, game theme-based relevant food/snack/beverage, entertainment lounges A study on the interior design plus IT infrastructure for the store e-Store A study of the pre-requisites for operating an e-Store A study of the integration of virtual and physical platforms. (demo games, league leader boards) A study of IT resources for the e-Store. (hardware / software / network maintenance) A study of the supply chain framework required for operating an e-commerce model A study of social-media integration of the GOD brand through the e-platform A detailed financial analysis for the business model League Model A study to explore opportunities at the various feasible levels (local, regional, national etc) to conduct the league A study to look at the logistics and other facilities required to organize such a league A study of marketing and sponsorship to run the league model A study to look at the financial feasibility of organizing such a league Limitations The study will focus only on console gaming The study will only focus on partnerships with console makers and console game makers and no local players The study will not include who will be the architect and owner of the store The study will not include where the equipment and other technical requirements will be sourced from The study will have market research that will have limited sample size In lieu of reliable data, interviews with experts from the company and the industry will be conducted Who will implement the technology infrastructure, supply centre and training and development and the quality of implementation is not known Approach and Methodology  [10]   Analysis External Analysis of console gaming industry in India Feasibility (Strategic) Analysis of each business model Competitor Analysis Data Gathering Existing competitor stores in major cities Internet Probable supplier / partner working model Feasible communication channels with console game publishers and vendors Other secondary research Survey Three tier-1 cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore) with sample size 30 Customer questionnaire over e-mail, social media and other online channels Study Functional feasibility Technical feasibility Survey Analytics Interview Potential customers from sample space Supplier / Partner FGDs Existing game parlour owners Note: The above might change in case we adopt the lean start-up process for this business External Analysis Indian Gaming Industry Macro-Environment Analysis Political Context The key political factors influencing the Indian gaming industry are as follows: High duties and taxes for console gaming  [11]   The gaming industry is growing at a very healthy rate. The introduction of all major players like Wii and the aggressive promotions of Xbox 360 have taken the Indian console gaming industry on a high growth trajectory. Even upon the high growth expectations from the Indian market, these consoles are still quite expensive as compared to the US. One of the key factors for this difference is the high duties and taxes in India. These components add as much as around 40% to the price of the consoles. This is comprised of around 27% of customs duty and more than 12% of value added taxes. This significantly increases the prices of gaming consoles in India.  [12]   Infrastructure issues for the gaming industry  [13]   India ranks quite low on the internet and broadband penetration when compared to rest of the world. The average broadband speed available in India is also quite low when compared with the developed countries. This restricts users from connecting with wide range of gamers across territories and to play as per their convenience. However, this is expected to be overcome by the advent of high speed internet at affordable rates. The technological development in the past few years would play a very important role in bringing the gaming revolution in the near future in India. Economic Context The economy of India is the eleventh largest (by nominal GDP) and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The growth rate for the year 2011 2012 was 6.5% and is expected to grow at 6.9% in the year 2012 2013 (as per World Bank)  [14]  . This provides an opportunity for various industries to grow within the country. Maximum growth has been observed during the 2000 decade when the country touched growth rate as much as 10.6%. The per capita income has also increased steadily in the past years. It soared by 15.6% in the fiscal year 2010 2011  [15]  . One of the key factors behind the economic development was the economic liberalization in the early 1990s. This strong economic development portrays an increase in the paying capacity of the consumers and an increased standard of living. The needs of people also grow along with prosperity and opens new opportunity for businesses. Gaming as an industry has also been growing gradually with this incremental growth trend. For the gaming industry, the expected growth is magnificent. As per a NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) report, a 4X growth in the Indian gaming industry is expected from the year 2010 to 2015. The same report states that the console gaming industry would grow 17X from the year 2010 to 2015  [16]  . The rising disposable income in urban India and the increasing consumerism makes a good case for growth in the console gaming segment in the next few years. Social Context Indias population in 2011 was more than 1.2 billion (Source: World Bank) and a growth rate of 1.41%  [17]  . India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan  [18]  . The increasing per capita income has largely increased the middle class population of the country. This change in the economic status, when seen along with the overall young population, it can be inferred that the paying capacity of the youth has increased in the past years. The interests of people has also evolved including entertainment and gaming. Gaming is gradually gaining importance not only as a source of entertainment but more towards lifestyle. The earlier modes of gaming was TV video games and small hand held devices, which has moved to online, mobile based and console gaming. This growth is also supported by the increased paying capacity of youth, who are the most important target market for gaming. Due to the rising population in urban India, more and more open fields and available lands are being converted to high rises, for commercial or residential purposes. This leaves the kids with little or no space to play, which adds on to the inclination towards indoor games. Hence, urbanization as well serves an important factor for the rise in console gaming market in India. Another social factor is that of safety. The anti-social elements of the society are also growing, especially in the urbanized regions, which is a cause of concern for the parents to let the kids play outdoors. The cases of kidnapping of children for ransom have become a commonplace now. To avoid such risks, parents prefer their children to go out only under their supervision, or to remain indoors, playing video games on computer or on consoles. A change in the mindset of parents has also been observed in the past years in terms of how they perceive video games, maybe on computers, or on consoles. Earlier, these games were looked at things which would distract the children from studies, and would spoil the child. Parents were conscious that the children would get addicted to these games. But gradually this mindset has undergone a great change. The parents of today, not only allow their kids to play the games, but they themselves enjoy playing such games with them. One of the reasons for such a change is the genre of games being developed these days. The games developed earlier were mostly racing or fight based, but now, the games include all variety and cover various fields, including education and strategy type games. These games dont only entertain the kids but also play an important role their mental development. The motion games have taken the trend to the next level by providing means of physical exercises as well. It has also been observed that the games developed specific to India have shown very good response in the market. Sony launched Hanuman: Boy Warrior, a PS2 game based on Indian mythology with an expectation of 3000 to 4000 units uptake on the first day, though the response was 10,000 units. Indian origin social networking site Ibibo started its cover versions of social networking games with Teen Patti and Mumbai Underworld, getting tremendous response. Sony is also planning to launch games based on characters of Amar Chitra Katha. Going forward, we can expect more local developers and players to come out with similar games.  [19]   Technological Context India has been growing stronger technologically in the past decades. The technological advancement is also one of the key factors for economic growth and prosperity. Post liberalization, in the early 1990s, a lot of investment in the country has on the technology. The advent of internet was a big leap in the field of communications globally. The telecommunication industry in India is also quite matured. Total number of telephone subscribers in India is more than 960 million, with an overall tele-density of almost 80%  [20]  . But the users of broadband are still limited to less than 1% of the population  [21]  . This leaves a huge scope for development of the internet gaming industry. At the same time, this also signifies that the potential for console gaming market is immense. The number of smartphones in India is currently about 30 million, and is growing at a CAGR of more than 30%  [22]  . This also opens up a huge market of mobile gaming in India. This is increasing trend of adoption of technology and getting closer to digital gaming, is effectively inducing the spirit of gaming in the Indian multitude, which would eventually reach to the best gaming experience which can be provided by console gaming. Hence, we see that from a technology perspective, India is very receptive to changes and new technology, gaming being a very important dimension of this entire change process. Environmental Context The world has been observing strange climatic changes in the past years. A lot of these have been attributed to global warming as well. The irregular rains, amounting to much more than usual downpour during the monsoons and scorching heat during summers is cause of major concern globally. From a macro perspective, the glaciers are melting and causing danger of extension for some species. But from a micro perspective or from an individuals point of view, such extreme climate causes day-to-day inconvenience. One of the side effects of these extreme climatic conditions is the inconvenience to children who would want to go out and play. The parents are conscious not to send their kids out for playing in extreme heat or chilling cold, and would rather prefer to keep them in-doors and provide options to play and entertain within the house. Such environmental changes, not good for the human populations though, are favourable for the thriving gaming industry in India. These factors add onto the influence on people to get more and more involved in the flourishing world of gaming. Legal Context One of the most prominent concerns for the concern for the digital world today is piracy. The creativity industry has been losing great amount of revenues due to this evil. The laws for piracy are in place but still need a more firm implementation. Piracy has been observed majorly in the music and movie industry, which has been going on for a long time now. Eventually, this evil also grew on to the world of softwares, as computing became an inevitable part of our lives. The latest trends of piracy are being observed in the field of gaming, wherein PC gaming and console gaming are the soft targets for pirated games. The revenue being lost by these industries due to piracy is immense. The game console manufacturers like Sony are creating more robust and intelligent systems to identify and not support duplicate or pirated games, but at the same time theres more to be done by the government towards reducing this piracy. National Competitiveness Gaming industry growth Comparative Study of other economies Gaming Industry is already a multibillion dollar industry in developed economies and is growing at a tremendous pace. The below list shows some key developed economies and emerging economies and their current growth pattern  [23]  . Developed Economies: United States The US video game market is and has always been the largest in the world. From 2003 to 2008, it more than doubled, from $7.00 billion to $15.5 billion, respectively. Because console gaming is the most popular in the United States and knowing the console market is declining it is projected the US market will continue to sustain growth but at a slower rate. It is expected to reach $21.1 billion in 2013. Online gaming will be the fastest growing gaming category in the US. Canada Canadas market is growing at a very fast rate. Between 2003 and 2008, it grew from a mere $0.4 billion to $1.3 billion. This number is expected to reach $2.4 billion in 2013 while the increasing mobile penetration (phones per capita) of 69% in 2008 is expected to reach 91% in 2003. Japan After a 30.2% growth spurt in 2007, the Japanese market declined by 20% in 2008 and is further stagnating. As in the United States, console gaming is the most popular in Japan; the significant decline of console gaming is expected to dramatically affect Japans growth. Even though Japan is the home of several major video game players, and even though the market size between 2003 and 2011 is projected to increase from $3.5 billion to $6 billion, the console market will disproportionately grow from $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion. Western Europe The analysis of Western Europe consists of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland. Similar to the US and Japan, console gaming consists of the greatest portion of the market (70%). However, Western Europe is also the largest world market for PC games. The market in Western Europe is projected to increase from $5.0 billion in 2003 to $13.9 billion in 2008 to $19.5 billion by 2013. Emerging Economies India The gaming market in India has taken a huge leap in recent years. It emerged in 2006 explaining the lack of data in the chart above. As with many other translational corporations, big video game firms (EA, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard) have recently established operations in this economy. In conjunction with its growing economy, the video game market is projected to grow from $0.21bn in 2008 to $1.60bn in 2012. The short-term future of the industry lies in Zeebo a new console launched in India but the long-term future, like other countries, is expected to lie in online gaming. Indias video game market is growing at such a fast rate that UTV Interactive, an Indian video games publisher, recently purchased the US online gaming firm, True Games Interactive. Brazil In Latin American, the market expanded from $0.3bn in 2003 to $0.7bn in 2008 and is projected to reach an estimated $1.3bn in 2013. Though the market has grown about $1 billion, Brazil only comprises about 5% of the market. Though it has minute market share, Brazil is still one of the key emerging markets in the region and the world. Internet penetration is projected to significantly increase from 32.9% in 2008 to 73.2% in 2013. Russia Another one of the BRIC economies, Russias video game industry is expected to double from $0.25bn in 2007 to $0.5 in 2012. With increasing mobile penetration, mobile gaming has become a large part of the countrys market. Porters Diamond Model Analysis The below study gives a detailed analysis on national competitiveness of the gaming industry with respect to the leading economies in this industry and a focus on emerging countries like India which have a bright scope for growth in the future. Figure 3 Porters Diamond Model for gaming Industry in India  [24]   The above diagram shows the four corners that make up the national competitiveness structure of the diamond model. Government and Chance above can be attributed to as exogenous parameters. Factor Conditions: HR Knowledge Pool  [25]   Given the current scenario of the video game industry, irrespective of the any particular mode that is thriving over another, e.g., online social media integrated increase in demand over conventional PC gaming, what we see is that the countrys leading rapid growth in the industry is capitalizing on a human resource platform that is developing and evolving over time. An analysis of the video game industry value chain that will be dealt with later involves major parties like publishers, console vendors, retailers and consumers. Every stage in the chain involves extensive human resource requirements. A recent study suggests one of the key 3 reasons why the US, Canadian, Japanese as well as emerging economies like the BRIC economies are world leaders in the gaming space, is their ability to incubate: Skilled workforce There is a massive requirement of programmers and game developers that are young understand the changing trends of the industry and fast in bringing our new games to the market, thanks to the shorter product S-curves of gaming companies. Leading economies like the US and Japan, and of late the BRIC nations, especially India, are breeding grounds for high quality technical talent pool, thanks to its universities, evolving scope and encouragement for fresh talent to take up rewarding careers in the gaming industry. Supporting Industries Another factor in steep success of game companies in these leading economies are the supporting industries that groom the industry continually, e.g. retail distribution, online marketing, global supply chain and key partnerships (Facebook and Zynaga). These supporting industries help provide employment across diverse roles and opportunities. With impressive growth projections of the video gaming industry in India, from $ 0.21 billion (2008) to $ 1.6 billion (2012) , aggressive acquisitions like UTV Interactive buying US gaming firm, True Games Interactive, rising middle class with high disposable income, social trends boosting child awareness towards latest technologies, online and brick-n-mortar retail influx, all these factors show the growth potential in supporting industries in India other than US based publishing and developing companies. Thus theres a requirement of talent pool, both by ways of quality as well as quantity  [26]  . Physical Resources Infrastructure The infrastructure scenario of India is congenial to the scope for growth of the video game industry. The symbiosis of the key physical resource requirements can be depicted using a diagram as below: Figure 4 Physical Resources Infrastructure Capital Resources Financing and capital injection across all segments of the industry is crucial to the overall growth of the industry and hence increases in substantial contribution to Indias GDP. The primary underlying factors are: High disposable income of the urban middle class segment Entrepreneurial attitude to establish end-user delivery systems, e.g. cafes, parlours, lounges, franchises, online media tie-ups, etc. Liberal legal and government norms encouraging domestic and foreign investment in the sector. Presence of operations of transnational firms in the country Based on recent research, EA, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard have already established operations in India  [27]   Transnational gaming companies to encourage and invest in development of gaming software from India RD centres which will further boost national economic outlook on a global scale Firm Structure, Strategy Rivalry: If we take a look at a generic organizational structure of a game development company, we could then analyze how Indian companies are faring against the leading AAA rated ones and whether their firm structure is in accordance with their long term strategic intent and growth prospects. Future opportunity: extrapolation of existing structure into service space for emerging economies like India Figure 5 Firm Structure From the above diagram, we can see that any game development company functions in a dual structured operational model, first, a business management arm which takes care of the marketing, PR, releases, publishing and reviews of the game, and, second, a project management arm which takes care of the game development through all its technical and functional stages of development, testing and go-live. At the organizational level as well, apart from the above hierarchy, if we compare gaming companies like Electronic Arts against Indian majors like Indiagames, we would see a similar pattern. Every such game development company works in a studio format, each studio responsible for production of a particular genre or line of gaming, e.g., casual, kids, sports, action, etc. Thus, for a country like India where gaming industry growth looks positive, inculcating such a competitive and global culture sets the firm on the path of sustainable development. As mentioned in the earlier section, based on a research by Duke University, companies like EA, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard have setup operations in India. This would in turn give rise to rivalry and competition among the subsidiaries and help release games faster in the market, thus increase potential to bring more and more new and advanced games in the market. Also, the presence and growth of the local Indian gaming community like Indiagames and Zapak also adds to the rivalry, since home-grown developers and publishers would not so easily give way to transnationals to break into the domestic market. Now having spoken about the firm structure and rivalry in the game development and publishing end, the industry looks feasible for a new business in a country like India. However, if we

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY Essay -- essays research papers

United States of America Land of Opportunity?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  United States of America is known as the land of opportunity for many immigrants who dare to dream of a better life. Since the beginning of American history, United States has focused more about equal opportunity than any other country. There are many people who strongly believe that once they come to the United States it is almost guaranteed to find success. For example, my relatives in Korea always ask my parents how much my family has earned so far. Also, they believe that we live in a totally different world, living the American dream. However, it seems like this country is no longer the land of opportunity for those who are immigrants and the low class people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many immigrants come to United States to achieve their America Dreams as my family did a few years ago. They think that they can get high-paying jobs easily, but the reality is not. According to an article, The Land of Opportunity? (Los Angeles business Journal, 1999), immigrants cannot get opportunities for high-paying jobs because: â€Å"The limited number of manufacturing jobs that they might have moved into in previous generations†; â€Å" The need for specialized training in many of jobs†; and â€Å"The lack of union-style apprentice program.† The article also says that many Los Angeles’ poor families are concentrated among recently arrived immigrant groups, most of them Latino, 600,000 or so Kim02 in Los Angeles count...

Linear Programming Essay -- Computer Science

Linear Programming Part A Introduction â€Å"Linear programming was developed by George B. Dantzig in 1947 as a technique for planning the diversified activities of the U.S Air Force.† Linear programming is a powerful mathematical technique that can be used to deal with the problem of allocating limited facilities and resources among many alternative uses in order to find out the optimal benefits. The main objective of the linear programming problem in management is to maximize profit or minimize cost. Linear programming has a wide variety of applications. It is used by oil companies to determine the best mixture of ingredients for blending gasoline. It is also plays an important part in making the optimal schedules for transportation, production, and construction. In addition, linear programming is a flexible problem-solving tool for portfolio selection in finance, budgeting advertising expenditures in marketing, assigning personnel in human resources management. Applications One of the most important applications of linear programming is the formulation of blends. Blending problems appear whenever a manager must decide how to blend tow or more recourse in order to produce one or more products. In these situations, the recourses often contains one or more essential components that must be mixed in a given pattern and the final product will contains specific percentage of the essential components. In most of these applications management then has to decide how much of each recourse to purchase in order to satisfy product specification and produce demand at minimum cost. Blending problems occur frequently in the petroleum industry( such as blending crude oil to produce different octane gasoline), chemical industry( such as blending chemicals to produce fertilizers, week killers, and so on), and food industry( such as blending input ingredients to product soft drinks, soups, and so on). Linear programming is also a very useful tool that can be used to deal with problems in manufacturing industry, such as the product-mix problem. In this situation, the objective of the manager is to determine the production levels that will allow the company to meet the product demand requirements, given limitations on labor capacity, machine hour’s capacity and so on, at the same time, to make the cost of production to minimum. The... ...simultaneously, we get X=2/3, Y=7, plug them into objective function 40X+20Y we get a profit of  £166.67. The difference between this profit and the original max-profit is 166.67-160= £6.67, which means the dual price for increasing/decreasing in purchasing 1 pig, is  £6.67. Economic meaning for shadow price The economics meaning of shadow price is the improvement in the optimal value of the objective function per unit increase in the right-hand side of the constraint. In a profit maximization problem, the dual price is the same as the shadow price. Managers could get information from the performance of each constraint and therefore make decisions on any changes in a particular input factor or resource in order to increase profit. In this case, to get more profit, the farmer is recommended to increase the number of bushels rather than increase the amount of pigs. Reference: ‘The Quantitative methods for business decision with casesÂ’, Lawrence L. Lapim, 6th Edition, Dryden, Chapter 9. ‘An introduction to management science-quantitative approaches to decision makingÂ’, David R.Anderson, Dennis J. Sweeney, Thomas A. Williams. . 6Th Edition, West, Chapter 4.

Where does the order Lie :: essays research papers

Where does the Order Lie? The social and political orders of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and Merchant of Venice vary, but still exhibit firm criticisms of the role of government within society. The conclusions of both of these plays return to their original order and the characters are resolved in their own ways. Measure for Measure gives the most demanding criticism of the role of political order out of most of Shakespeare’s plays. Through the actions of the Duke and Angelo, Shakespeare reveals the two distinct sides to patriarchal political order, punishment and forgiveness. Merchant of Venice shows the social order by the conflict that occurs between Shylock and Antonio. Through their conflict and eventual resolve, Shakespeare once again reveals his own personal criticisms of the justice system and a skewed image of the middle-class social order. Both of these plays represent different orders within society and also exhibit changes within them as the play progresses. The transfo rmation and the eventual restoration of political and social order in these two Shakespeare plays provide certain similar criticisms about the role that order plays within the confines of society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The political order in Measure for Measure is a strong, yet unstable patriarchy led by the Duke. The Duke orders Antonio to take his place and carry out Vienna’s â€Å"strict statutes and most biting laws† (1.1.19). These â€Å"strict statutes† and â€Å"laws† were obviously not carried out in the time of the Duke’s patriarchal reign over the city of Vienna. The Duke’s city is falling apart and is filled with sin and lechery. He gives his powers to Angelo, and according to the Duke, â€Å"Lent him our terror, dressed him with our love,† (1.1.20), signifying that there is only two ways to restore order, through passive forgiveness, or harsh punishment. These two very important aspects of the play are the essence of a patriarchal society in which Shakespeare criticizes throughout the play. Angelo represents the patriarchal order, and when he needed to he passed his power down to his deputy, which signifies a change in the political order in the play. By the conclusion of the play, the patriarch returns and everything returns back to the way it was at the beginning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The original order in the beginning of Merchant of Venice lies within the conflict of the two characters, Shylock and Antonio. These two represent the social order that Shakespeare is criticizing throughout the play.

Puritan Ideals of Work and Play in Our World Today Essay

When Columbus landed in the New World in 1492, he changed the world forever. When the Puritans landed in the same New World, they changed the tides of America’s future everlastingly as well. They brought with them many ideas that are still being used today. The Puritan work ethic was a huge portion of the beliefs carried by the community; it was the idea that all members should strive to do as much as they could for the community, and all should work to gain God’s favor. The Puritans’ idea of duty before self-fulfillment was another evident notion every Puritan held. They believed that everyone should do their obligations first and foremost before anything else. The life of a puritan was full of hard work which was done willingly to gain the favor of God and of the community, and contained the concept of fulfilling each person’s individual responsibilities and then only partaking in activities which where self-fulfilling; in our modern society we volunteer and each member of the family is given duties to complete, similarly to the jobs the Puritans held 100’s of years ago. In the Puritan world everything revolved around God. He was the cornerstone for every action they took. For them, one way to get redemption from the sins that they had committed was to work and toil for God and the people around them. In the Puritan era people helped one another, not for the chance to gain a reward, but a chance to gain favor amongst themselves, strangers and God. As William Bradford states, â€Å"But when he grew weak, they had compassion on him and helped him,† this refers to the time when the new colonists helped the sick sailors who had brought them there (Bradford 21). They did this just for the sake of helping others and in doing so gained more of God’s favor. This work ethic inspired the generations of people who followed, and created the standards for American work ethic, which are still being used today. In modern day America, people volunteer at a variety of places to help the poor, needy or injured. My parents when they had just got married spent quite a while at an orphanage in India to help the poor kids there, and I actively volunteer at Mercy Medical to help the sick and injured. Neither my parents nor I had to do so, but it gave us a sense that we were benefiting our communities. Like us, many people in America and the world help others, making the world a better place with every helpful hand. Just as the puritans strived to do work, they also strived to do work which was necessary, even if they did not relish it. For instance when given the choice between trimming tree to make it look better, or helping the neighbor sow his crops, most Puritan’s would choose the later. They had the notion to do your duty first, and all else came afterwards. The Puritan’s believed that the woman of the household should be a good mother and wife first and all else came second. In the same household a man should be a good husband for his wife and a supportive father of his children. In the community, there is not one person who does not have some sort of duty. In Anne Bradstreet’s poem To My Dear and Loving Husband, she describes her love for her husband as his wife, â€Å"I prize thy love more than mines of gold or all the riches the East doth hold (Bradstreet 35). Bradstreet made it quite clear that she was a wife before anything else, being a poet came afterwards. Many of her other poems are about family and hers sense of duty toward them. Puritan’s strove to make their children’s lives better, and by being responsible they entailed their kid to do so as well. In modern day America, every member of the household has a specific task that they must do. An example of this is my family, where my parents both maintain their jobs, while tending to the household chores of cooking, cleaning, etc. while my brother and I both do our jobs of doing well in school, while helping our parents where we can. Whether Puritan or modern day American, or Indian in my case, the idea is the same, everyone has tasks they need to do to maintain a functioning household. The Puritan work ethic simply entails that, only after all the work that is needed to be finished is done, should a person partake in other activities or chores. In the Puritan lifestyle family was important; to maintain a good family all the members of it needed to be diligent of their du ties. When someone volunteers in today’s world they are doing more work to make their society better, when the Puritans did extra hard work they tried to make their community better, and to have a better standing with God. The Puritan’s also did their duty to the best of their ability, and each member of the family functioned together to get their work finished. Both the Puritans and Modern day Americans were partook in hard work and were consistent with their duties to improve their community, and make it a better place for all to live in. All we have to do is maintain these standards in the future, do you think we can?

Homework Should Not Be Abolished Essay

School without homework is not an image I can fathom. There are many reasons homework should not be abolished as it is beneficial towards the student, allows the teacher to acknowledge the student’s weaknesses; in turn giving them an opportunity to improve and acquire new skills. Also, taking time each night to do homework is a chance for students to catch up on missed class and further reinforces the day’s lessons so it is permanently etched in the student’s mind where the information is stored and used when called upon. see more:why should homework be banned Several studies have proven that homework, in fact, does improve the stability of the student in school; this strengthens the statement that time spent completing homework is time well spent. Rather than giving students another hour of leisure time, doing homework entitles the student to an hour of enriched education; this can greatly benefit the student, as consistently finishing homework will reap great rewards such as a favorable test score or report card. Why are we posing such a ludicrous question about the possible abolishment of homework if doing homework is what it takes to succeed in school? It is a common emotion to students regarding the distaste of homework, but legions of teachers know better because they recognize the importance of homework in the success of students in school and outside of school. Not only homework benefit the student, it also benefits the teacher as well. Teachers receive the opportunity to see at what stage the student is by assigning homework. Furthermore, the teacher can identify the weaknesses of the student so they can improve their study habits in hopes of pulling their grades up. On the other hand, if teachers were to abandon the idea of homework altogether, they would have to base the majority of the student’s mark on tests alone.

Everything Happens For a Reason Essay

â€Å"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.† – Marilyn Monroe. I believe in everything happens for a reason. Have you ever thought about everything that takes place might have a reason? Day by day you make mistakes; you say the wrong things; you show off; you make someone else smile; you do a good deed; etc. But, those have reasons. You make a mistake because you don’t understand or didn’t pay attention; you make someone else smile because you have a good heart; you show off because that’s what everyone does; you do a good dead because that’s who you are. Everything happening for a reason is a way of coping with the disasters in someone’s life. People tend to question if everything does happen for a reason and that’s because most refer to a higher power such as; God. They tend to wonder if the drastic situations that happen, really did have a reasoning behind it. When someone tends to question a reasoning, most of the time, it’s because the death of a loved one. I have these feelings a lot. Why ? My great grandfather died before I was born from suicide and my best friend also committed suicide last year. 10 years ago; my grandfather died because he was a alcoholic, that same year my uncle passed from a blood clot in his brain. My other grandfather passed away 2 years ago from pancreatic cancer. Sometimes I tend to wonder why these things happen to people who mean so much to me and then other times I get it together and say it was time. The things that tend to happen in people’s lives always have a positive and negative effect. Most people tend to look at the negative effect, instead of coping with the positive effects. Most negative effects deal with someone lying to you or leaving you. You learn to never trust anyone and that’s your way of coping. Where if you were to think of the positive effects, they lied so you would learn to strive for the truth; they left so that way the bad things could fall apart and the good things fall together. â€Å"Everything happens for a reason, though the reason is not always as clear as would like it to be.†-Unknown

Alternative Fuel Vehicles Feasibility Study Essay

As a leader in the rental vehicle industry for the past 30 years, ABC Rental Cars has continually remained a step ahead of its competition. To continue to set the pace for other rental agencies to follow, and to ensure ABC Rental Cars’ dominant position in the marketplace, alternative fuel vehicles (AFV), or more specifically, hybrid vehicles, should be evaluated as to the feasibility and consumer interest of introducing these types of vehicles into our fleet. Currently, gasoline prices are at an all-time high. The United States’ dependency on foreign oil is also at an extremely high level, and with the ever-shifting Middle Eastern political climate teetering at volatile levels, hybrid vehicles are an important avenue to be considered. While hybrid car sales currently lag behind sales of conventional vehicles, J. D. Power & Associates, a market research firm, estimates that hybrid vehicle sales will increase to half a million by the year 2006. In addition, nearly 20 new models of hybrid cars, SUV’s, and trucks will be rolled out to consumers in the next few years (Mossy Automotive Group, 2004). ABC Rentals can reap the rewards of providing these vehicles to its consumers, provided the cost associated with this program is mutually beneficial to both parties. Initially, the types of fuels that are available need to be researched to determine the viability of introducing hybrid vehicles into our fleet. While there are several options of alternative fuels available, most are not practical. The fuels analyzed included natural gas, biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, Fischer Tropsch, liquefied natural gas, methanol, and propane. Ultimately, the research concluded that the only practical, economical, and accessible fuel currently available is electricity, when used in the hybrid concept. There are many vehicles that use electricity. The most popular concept is used in hybrid vehicles. These vehicles have an electric motor, with a separate gasoline motor. One of the benefits is fuel economy. According to an EPA report, hybrids â€Å"can more than double the gas mileage of conventional gasoline or diesel-powered cars. † Also, this use of energy reduces emissions because gasoline consumption is reduced. Next, the gasoline motor charges the battery as the car is running, nullifying the need for recharging stations. Ultimately, the most practical fuel that can be considered at this time is electricity combined with gasoline, which is used in hybrid vehicles. (EPA, 2003) As a means to gauge consumer interest in these types of vehicles, we also needed to research our competitors to distinguish if hybrid vehicles would be a practical addition to our fleet. Currently, EV Rental Cars is the only company in the United States to rent hybrid cars to the public. At this time, there are a total of eight locations with hybrid vehicles: four locations in California: Los Angeles, Burbank, Ontario and San Diego, one location in Phoenix, Arizona, two locations in Virginia: Dulles and Arlington, and one in Washington D. C. With all of the locations above in mind, EV Rental Cars has grown in fleet size to more than 400 cars throughout the eight different locations (www. evrental. com, 2001). One of the vehicles available to rent at EV Rentals is the Toyota Prius, which is a full size family sedan. This vehicle rents for $49. 99 per day, or $299. 94 per week, and EV Rentals offers 150 free miles per day and . 25/mile thereafter (www. evrental. com, 2001). The Prius achieves 60 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway (autos. yahoo. com, 2004). Comparatively, Honda has introduced the Honda Insight, which in the rental vehicle industry is considered to be a standard size car, and the Honda Civic hybrid, which is considered to be a compact car. These two cars are offered by EV Rentals at a similar price to the Toyota Prius (www. evrental.com, 2001). The Honda Insight achieves an EPA highway mileage of 66 mpg and 60 mpg in the city, while the Honda Civic hybrid can travel 650 miles with a full tank of gas (www. honda. com, 2004). As indicated above, these three cars are not only great when it comes to mileage, but another advantage they enjoy is that they are also environmentally friendly. For example, the Prius produces 90 percent less harmful emissions than a traditional car (www. ineed2know. org, 2004), which is important to those individuals that are concerned about the environment. Even President Bush seemed to agree that alternative fuel vehicles needed to be further investigated when he endorsed the concept of alternative fuel vehicles and allocated more than a billion dollars toward the transition to hydrogen fuels (www. evrental. com, 2001). On the other hand, these types of cars are not a practical investment if cost and availability are issues. Not only is the price higher, but due to limited interest in hybrids by consumers at this time, there is only a small geographic area where hybrids are being rented. Most locations are situated in California, Arizona, and Washington; therefore, if ABC Rental Cars is looking for a new rental opportunity that could expand quickly, hybrid vehicles may not be the ideal choice. Initial startup costs and maintenance costs are also important factors to consider. The price of a hybrid automobile is higher than that of a comparable gasoline engine powered automobile. According to the Website ineed2know. org, a consumer can expect to pay from $3,500 to $6,000 more for a hybrid vehicle. The money a consumer saves in purchasing a hybrid depends greatly on the cost of gasoline. For example, if gas is priced at $1. 80 per gallon, it might take the average driver between 10 and 15 years to make up a $3,500 increase in the initial price. The higher the gas prices go, the less time it will take to recoup the higher price of purchasing a hybrid (ineed2know. org, 2004). However, statistics detailing the amount of time needed to recoup initial investment costs for businesses were not available at this time. Batteries for hybrid vehicles cost considerably more than conventional car batteries. Hybrid batteries sport a price tag of $1,000 – $2,000, more than 10 ? 20 times that of a gasoline powered vehicle (ineed2know.org, 2004). While most hybrid batteries are covered under the vehicle warranty, once the warranty expires it will be the owner’s responsibility to cover the cost of a new battery. Below are some specific pricing examples of hybrids that are currently on the market: The Toyota Prius has a suggested retail price of $21, 708, which is comparable to the Corolla that retails at $15, 580. The hybrid Honda Civic cost $20, 650. That’s about $2,300 more than the Honda Civic with a gasoline powered engine. (Phelan, 2004) Eartheasy. com lists the Honda Insight with a base retail price of $19,080 to $21,280. (2004) The Pontiac Website (2004) lists the comparable Vibe at $17, 165. The Ford Website (2004) boasts the hybrid 2005 Ford Escape, available in August 2004, which will have a retail price of $26,970 for the front-wheel drive SUV. The four-wheel drive hybrid SUV will retail at $28,595. Comparable Ford Escapes with gasoline powered engines retail for $19,995 and $21, 605 respectively. Renewable energy has become the focus of many markets in today’s society. From solar panels to hybrid vehicles, Americans are interested in purchasing these types of technologies, but need financial help from the government in the form of tax credits and rebates. Hybrid vehicles are costly to manufacture, and automakers pass on this higher cost to consumers in the form of higher retail prices of the vehicle. To help offset these higher prices, automakers are encouraging the federal government to provide tax credits to those consumers who purchase hybrid vehicles. The reason for this push is there is currently no alternative technology planned for the future. In a speech given to the Automotive News World Congress, Ford Motor Company’s CEO William Ford stated: â€Å"Hybrid vehicles are a very good bridge between today’s technology and fuel cells. Fuel cells ? as promising as they are ? come with a tremendous infrastructure challenge. We do not have hydrogen on every corner like we do gasoline, and we also have storage issues. With hybrids, we do not have to invent anything ? we know they work. † (Kiley, 2004) To date, there are two types of tax credits available to those who purchase alternative fuel vehicles: ? If you purchase a certain type of electric vehicle, you may be entitled to a tax credit. ?If a vehicle qualifies as a â€Å"clean-fuel† vehicle, you may be entitled to a deduction from gross income. Currently, any clean-fuel vehicles that are manufactured after June 30, 1993 and before January 1, 2007, qualifies the owner for a deduction off of their gross income for a portion of the cost of the vehicle. Examples of these vehicles are natural gas, hydrogen and any fuel that is composed of at least 85% ethanol, alcohol or ether. Electric vehicles receive a 10% tax credit, based on the purchase price. The maximum dollar amount cannot exceed $4,000. These credits will be phased out gradually ? 25, 50 and 75 percent in 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively, until it is phased out completely in 2007 (www. taxguide. completeax. com, 2004). These tax credits are targeted to the individual consumer, and not for rental vehicles. With the price of gasoline currently hovering around $2. 20 per gallon, the hybrid vehicle appears to be an attractive alternative. However, without a tax credit geared towards the business market, it is not a feasible option. Unfortunately, even with a tax credit, it would take years for the population to change their driving habits. To summarize, marketing alternative fuel vehicles to the consumer can be challenging, and most consumers are not aware of the types or manufacturers of these vehicles. If people are knowledgeable at all about alternative fuel environmental friendly vehicles, they may not be certain of where they can purchase or rent one of them. Purchasing an environmentally friendly vehicle is getting easier to do, with more car manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon. Honda and Toyota have led the way with hybrid vehicles, and Ford has also been in the market with its Ford Crown Victoria natural gas vehicles, with upcoming plans to debut their 2005 Ford Escape hybrid in August 2004. Pontiac is also throwing their hat into the ring with their new hybrid vehicle, the Vibe. Most consumers that are in the market for alternative fuel vehicles are looking at the new hybrids, which use both a combination of electricity and gasoline and can achieve 50 to 60 miles per gallon. The batteries on these vehicles automatically recharge themselves; consequently the vehicles never are required to be plugged in. Renting an alternative fuel vehicle can be more challenging than purchasing one, since at this time there is only one viable rental agency; EV Rental Cars, who has partnered with Budget Rent a Car, a major player in the rental car industry. If a person lives in, or is visiting California, Arizona or Washington D. C. , they can rent one of these vehicles at one of the major airports. The cost is $10 to $20 dollars more per day than renting regular gasoline powered vehicles. Most can be rented or reserved on the Internet, but some alternative fuel vehicles cannot. Consumers must request these in person at rental locations. There are a small amount of benefits for the consumer. For example, drivers can travel in the carpool lane even if they are driving alone in California, Arizona, Virginia and Georgia, thereby saving time. Additionally, when returning traditional rental vehicles, a renter is usually required to return the vehicle with the same amount of gas as was in the vehicle when first rented. Conversely, alternative fuel vehicles can be returned empty, incurring no extra surcharge. As far as refueling these vehicles, charging electric vehicles is free at the rental car recharging stations. Also, hybrid vehicles are more economical because they get more than 60 miles per gallon. Looking at the limited benefits, the overall cost and lack of convenience of purchasing or renting one of these alternative fuel vehicles, and the fact that there is limited availability, does not make it very appealing to the consumer. To investigate a hybrid vehicle consumer’s point of view concerning these types of vehicles, we conducted an interview with Dr. Mark Looper, a hybrid car enthusiast who operates the website altfuels. org. Dr. Looper holds an MS and PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology, and an AB in physics from Princeton University. He has owned alternative fuel vehicles since 1993, and rents hybrid vehicles from the local EV Rental agency in his area. His website offers reviews of these rental vehicles, as well as real-life experiences of Dr. Looper’s travels utilizing alternative fuel vehicles. Dr. Looper’s primary reason for renting AFV’s is to provide information about alternative vehicles to the general public in the form of his reviews, as well as to promote and gain support for these vehicles with his friends, colleagues, and anyone interested enough to learn about alternatives to gasoline powered vehicles. While Dr. Looper’s rental charges exceeded the cost of gasoline powered vehicles, he stressed that cost was not much of a factor in his decision. Instead, Dr. Looper was far more interested in providing useful information to the visitors of his website. One of the questions asked of Dr. Looper was his comfort level while renting AFV’s. Specifically, did he feel nervous that alternative fuel may not be available, or that the vehicle would not handle as well as a traditional vehicle, two concerns of traditional vehicle owners. His reply was that while he was initially nervous when he decided to drive the vehicle across the country, he has never felt nervous while driving in his area. Fuel was always available, as were charging sources. Dr. Looper has stated that he would continue to rent alternative fuel vehicles, to not only â€Å"promote AFV’s by enhancing market demand and visibility,† but to also provide important feedback to consumers considering purchasing or renting these vehicles. Dr. Looper also feels very strongly about environmental issues, and considers this when making a decision of which vehicle to rent. If an alternative fuel vehicle is available, he will always choose this path, as opposed to the traditional vehicle. In conclusion, our research reveals that ABC Rental Cars should not consider introducing alternative fuel vehicles into its fleet at this time. The initial investment costs are much higher than those of traditional gasoline powered vehicles, and costs associated with the upkeep of these vehicles are also prohibitive. In addition, while tax breaks are available to consumers purchasing hybrid vehicles, our studies failed to reveal any tax savings for businesses purchasing, or renting hybrid vehicles. Furthermore, Dr. Looper’s enthusiasm and knowledge notwithstanding, the demand for hybrid vehicles is not currently at a level that would justify the amount of capital necessary to launch this program. However, ABC Rental Cars should continue to monitor developments in the hybrid vehicle industry, as well as gauge consumer interest in these vehicles, and be prepared to move forward with this program should it become economically feasible in the future. References Eartheasy. com (2000 – 2004) The new hybrid cars. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www.eartheasy. com/live_hybrid_cars Environmental Protection Agency, (March 2003). Clean Alternative Fuels: Electric Vehicles. Retrieved, June 18, 2004 from http://www. epa. gov/otaq/consumer/fuels/altfuels/altfuels. htm#fact EV Rental Cars (2002) Website. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www. evrental. com/index. html Fordvehicles. com (2004) Escape Hybrid. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www. fordvehicles. com/escapehybrid/home/index. asp? bhcp=1 Ineed2know. org (2003 – 2004) We Know: 5 important facts about hybrid cars. Retrieved June 20, 2004 from http://www. ineed2know. org/hybrid_cars. htm Kiley, D. (April 8, 2004) Top auto execs turn to tax code to boost fuel efficient vehicles. USA Today Looper, M. , (2004) Owner and Webmaster of www. altfuels. org Interviewed June, 2004 Mossy Automotive Group, (January 22, 2004). Alternative fuel vehicles would add powerful new dimensions to any auto fleet. Mossy Automotive Group Online. Retrieved June 24, 2004 from http://www. mossy. com/news_show. html? item_num=10 Phelan, M. (June 3, 2004). Cutting the hybrid hype. The Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 20, 2004 from http://www. freep. com/money/autoreviews/hybrid3e_20040603. htm Pontiac. com (2004) Pontiac Vibe. Retrieved June 19, 2004 from http://www. pontiac. com/vibe/index. jsp? brand=home&pagename=home Taxguide. com (2004) Website. Retrieved June 18, 2004 from http://www. taxguide. completetax. com Yahoo! Autos (2004) 2004 Toyota Prius. Retrieved June 22, 2004 from http://autos. yahoo. com/newcars/toyota_prius_2004/3809/model_overview. html.