Saturday, August 31, 2019

Operation Management †Honda Atlas Motors Essay

COMPANY Profile Atlas Honda Limited (AHL) is a joint venture of two companies the Atlas Group and Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Japan. This company was created in 1988. The company is currently manufacturing motorcycles and auto parts. Honda motorcycles are the largest selling motorcycles in the country with matchless reputation for impressive quality, reliability and its customer service. Atlas has the country’s largest in-house manufacturing capability at its Karachi and Sheikhupura plants. AHL management is striving to modernize company operations by adapting applicable aspects of research and theory and more specifically, Honda’s unique philosophy of hard/soft technologies to the realities of Pakistani conditions. Company management structure, systems and processes are changed according to the demands of the customer, growth and new technology. Efforts are being made to develop participation at all levels of personnel in decision-making and a substantial and effective delegation has been established at levels where applicable. Various participation programs such as ‘Ala Mayar’ Quality Circles movement, launched in 1985, are strongly encouraged to allow constructive self-expression and teamwork. Atlas Honda is playing a pioneering role in creating conditions for easy and confident use of motorcycles all over the country. A vast and growing network of over 1600 motorcycles sales service and spare parts dealers has been established. In order to back up this system, Atlas has set up Technical Training Centers in Karachi and Lahore, which provide several courses of varying duration and complexity for motorcycle mechanics and users each year. Mobile training facilities take the latest know-how, technology and maintenance of motorcycles to major rural and urban centers around the country. STRATEGIC GOALS Customers * Our customers are the reason and the source of our business. It is our joint aim with our dealers to ensure that our customers enjoy the highest level of satisfaction from use of Honda Motorcycles . Quality * To ensure that our products and services meet the set standards of excellence. Local Manufacturing * To be the industry leader in indigenization of motorcycles parts. Technology * To develop and maintain distinct business advantages through continuous induction of improved hard and soft technologies. Shareholders * To ensure health and viability of business and thus safeguarding shareholders interest by maximizing profit. Payments of regular satisfactory dividends and adding value to the shares. Employees * To enhance and continuously up-date each member’s capabilities and education and to provide an environment which encourages practical expression of the individuals potential in goal directed team efforts and compensate them attractively according to their abilities and performance. Corporate Citizens * To comply with all government laws and regulation, to maintain high standard of ethics in all operations and to act as a responsible members of the community. BUSINESS ISSUES IMPACT High Price of Products Difficult to maintain high quality production at high market demand Complexity in coordination and communication among facilities, vendors and two geographical locations i.e. Karachi and Sheikhupura plants Slow response or long lead-time from the vendors

Friday, August 30, 2019

Deception Point Page 48

The ax. In her fear, she had entirely forgotten the ice ax attached to the rip cord on her belt. The lightweight aluminum tool was bouncing along beside her leg. She looked up at the payload cable on the balloon. Thick, heavy-duty braided nylon. Reaching down, she fumbled for the bouncing ax. She grasped the handle and pulled it toward her, stretching the elastic rip cord. Still on her side, Rachel struggled to raise her arms over her head, placing the ax's serrated edge against the thick cord. Awkwardly, she began sawing the taut cable. â€Å"Yes!† Tolland yelled, fumbling now for his own ax. Sliding on her side, Rachel was stretched out, her arms above her, sawing at the taut cable. The line was strong, and the individual nylon strands were fraying slowly. Tolland gripped his own ax, twisted, raised his arms over his head, and tried to saw from underneath in the same spot. Their banana blades clicked together as they worked in tandem like lumberjacks. The rope began fraying on both sides now. We're going to do it, Rachel thought. This thing is going to break! Suddenly, the silver bubble of Mylar before them swooped upward as if it had hit an updraft. Rachel realized to her horror that it was simply following the contour of the land. They had arrived. The berms. The wall of white loomed only an instant before they were on it. The blow to Rachel's side as they hit the incline drove the wind from her lungs and wrenched the ax from her hand. Like a tangled water-skier being dragged up over a jump, Rachel felt her body dragged up the face of the berm and launched. She and Tolland were suddenly catapulted in a dizzying upward snarl. The trough between the berms spread out far beneath them, but the frayed payload cable held fast, lifting their accelerated bodies upward, carrying them clear out over the first trough. For an instant, she glimpsed what lay ahead. Two more berms-a short plateau-and then the drop-off to the sea. As if to give a voice to Rachel's own dumbstruck terror, the high-pitched scream of Corky Marlinson cut through the air. Somewhere behind them, he sailed up over the first berm. All three of them went airborne, the balloon clawing upward like a wild animal trying to break its captor's chains. Suddenly, like a gunshot in the night, a sudden snap echoed overhead. The frayed rope gave way, and the tattered end recoiled in Rachel's face. Instantly, they were falling. Somewhere overhead the Mylar balloon billowed out of control†¦ spiraling out to sea. Tangled in carabiners and harnesses, Rachel and Tolland tumbled back toward earth. As the white mound of the second berm rose up toward them, Rachel braced for impact. Barely clearing the top of the second berm, they crashed down the far side, the blow partially cushioned by their suits and the descending contour of the berm. As the world around her turned into a blur of arms and legs and ice, Rachel felt herself rocketing down the incline out onto the central ice trough. Instinctively she spread her arms and legs, trying to slow down before they hit the next berm. She felt them slowing, but only slightly, and it seemed only seconds before she and Tolland were sliding back up an incline. At the top, there was another instant of weightlessness as they cleared the crest. Then, filled with terror, Rachel felt them begin their dead slide down the other side and out onto the final plateau†¦ the last eighty feet of the Milne Glacier. As they skidded toward the cliff, Rachel could feel the drag of Corky on the tether, and she knew they were all slowing down. She knew it was too little too late. The end of the glacier raced toward them, and Rachel let out a helpless scream. Then it happened. The edge of the ice slid out from underneath them. The last thing Rachel remembered was falling. 54 The Westbrooke Place Apartments are located at 2201 N Street NW and promote themselves as one of the few unquestionably correct addresses in Washington. Gabrielle hurried through the gilded revolving door into the marble lobby, where a deafening waterfall reverberated. The doorman at the front desk looked surprised to see her. â€Å"Ms. Ashe? I didn't know you were stopping by tonight.† â€Å"I'm running late.† Gabrielle quickly signed in. The clock overhead read 6:22 P.M. The doorman scratched his head. â€Å"The senator gave me a list, but you weren't-â€Å" â€Å"They always forget the people who help them most.† She gave a harried smile and strode past him toward the elevator. Now the doorman looked uneasy. â€Å"I better call up.† â€Å"Thanks,† Gabrielle said, as she boarded the elevator and headed up. The senator's phone is off the hook. Riding the elevator to the ninth floor, Gabrielle exited and made her way down the elegant hallway. At the end, outside Sexton's doorway, she could see one of his bulky personal safety escorts-glorified bodyguards-sitting in the hall. He looked bored. Gabrielle was surprised to see security on duty, although apparently not as surprised as the guard was to see her. He jumped to his feet as she approached. â€Å"I know,† Gabrielle called out, still halfway down the hall. â€Å"It's a P.E. night. He doesn't want to be disturbed.† The guard nodded emphatically. â€Å"He gave me very strict orders that no visitors-â€Å" â€Å"It's an emergency.† The guard physically blocked the doorway. â€Å"He's in a private meeting.† â€Å"Really?† Gabrielle pulled the red envelope from under her arm. She flashed the White House seal in the man's face. â€Å"I was just in the Oval Office. I need to give the senator this information. Whatever old pals he's schmoozing tonight are going to have to do without him for a few minutes. Now, let me in.† The guard withered slightly at the sight of the White House seal on the envelope. Don't make me open this, Gabrielle thought. â€Å"Leave the folder,† he said. â€Å"I'll take it into him.† â€Å"The hell you will. I have direct orders from the White House to hand-deliver this. If I don't talk to him immediately, we can all start looking for jobs tomorrow morning. Do you understand?† The guard looked deeply conflicted, and Gabrielle sensed the senator had indeed been unusually adamant tonight about having no visitors. She moved in for the kill. Holding the White House envelope directly in his face, Gabrielle lowered her voice to a whisper and uttered the six words all Washington security personnel feared most. â€Å"You do not understand the situation.† Security personnel for politicians never understood the situation, and they hated that fact. They were hired guns, kept in the dark, never sure whether to stand firm in their orders or risk losing their jobs by mule-headedly ignoring some obvious crisis. The guard swallowed hard, eyeing the White House envelope again. â€Å"Okay, but I'm telling the senator you demanded to be let in.† He unlocked the door, and Gabrielle pushed past him before he changed his mind. She entered the apartment and quietly closed the door behind her, relocking it. Now inside the foyer, Gabrielle could hear muffled voices in Sexton's den down the hall-men's voices. Tonight's P.E. was obviously not the private meeting implied by Sexton's earlier call. As Gabrielle moved down the hall toward the den, she passed an open closet where a half dozen expensive men's coats hung inside-distinctive wool and tweed. Several briefcases sat on the floor. Apparently work stayed in the hall tonight. Gabrielle would have walked right past the cases except that one of the briefcases caught her eye. The nameplate bore a distinctive company logo. A bright red rocket. She paused, kneeling down to read it: SPACE AMERICA, INC. Puzzled, she examined the other briefcases. BEAL AEROSPACE. MICROCOSM, INC. ROTARY ROCKET COMPANY. KISTLER AEROSPACE.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Case analysis for Bank of America Essay

Expand current app to include basic credit card and mortgage functions to increase market share of expanding mobile transaction market and shift customer activity to cost-effective channels. BOA’s entrance into local mobile payment and person-to-person P2P mobile shopping market (tap a large and growing market that currently lacks the regulation of banks and â€Å"added security†. I would like to divide strategy into two parts, short term and long term. The short term strategy is to solve the problem that how we define our market, and define population to be targeted with mobile strategy. Retain existing functionality. Enhance current app by adding basic credit card and mortgage features (increase passive customer engagement and minimize complexity). Increased customer engagement and cross-selling to make sure increasing transactions and save money. The long term strategy has three steps to executive. (1 Integrate Credit Card and Mortgage business into current Bank of America Mobile App. (2 Introduce Bank of America e-commerce app which includes local mobile payment and person to person capabilities. (3 Expand to international markets using existing mobile apps to create â€Å"virtual banking† regardless of physical branch presence. For local mobile payment, Bank of America should reduce transaction cost to Bank of America and merchants. Merchants reduce costs associated with current point of sale credit card services. Instant access via Bank of America e-commerce to business accounts and transaction history. Eliminating more expensive consumer and merchant transactions could save cost to Bank of America. For person-to-person, it should cut out the middleman which means reduced transactional costs. Secure payment system that is regulated and insured like a bank, unlike the currently the only established competitor,  PayPal. P2P market has a large potential for growth, estimate 2.4 billion e-commerce transaction in 2014 and 78 million active PayPal users, 3 billion â€Å"under-banked† consumers worldwide. The benefits of its app are at following sentences. 1) Leverage Bank of America as first online and mobile bank. 2) Cost efficient way to provide additional services to existing consumers and reach previously unreachable customers. 3) Without the existing company, PayPal, there is a few competitors in this market. 4) Costs include programming and maintenance of application after roll-out. There are other additional benefits. 1) New customers poached from other bank is 38 million transactions in 2010 and 119 in 2014. 2) Expand its reach into mobile transaction market as all customer groups experience increased convenience and streamlining of banking needs. 3) App for free = limits the barriers to entry. 4) Enhance features increase the likelihood of customers finding value in mobile banking. Bank of America’s market share of mobile transactions will increase as credit card and mortgage customers from all groups utilize the app and extend their activities with the bank (as seen in Bank of America’s lessons from online banking). Incremental transactions made by mobile customers will come at a reduced expense to Bank of America.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Accounting in Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Accounting in Russia - Essay Example sitated a movement away from the earlier era of accounting standards that were in tune with the centrally planned economy of the USSR but were outdated with the introduction of capitalism. This paper discusses the history of accounting in Russia and the recent developments in formulating accounting standards and governance. Due to the large number of corporate scandals that rocked Russia in the first few years of the 21st century, the Russian government has hastened the move to accounting regulation and corporate governance. Russia matters to the global economy. As a country with significant proven and unproven natural resources, mainly oil among them, it is one of the world’s leading suppliers of oil and commodities. With the spike in Oil prices in the latter parts of 2007 and continuing into 2008, the geo-strategic importance of Russia increased dramatically with the result that the world was dependant on the supply of Russian oil and gas. With regards to the supply of gas to Western Europe, Russia flexed its muscles and ensured that the terms set by it were followed at all times. In some instances, it even threatened to cut off the supply of gas to Europe as a retaliatory measure. Thus, Russia is in a position to dictate terms to the West. It has to be qualified that this is a recent development given the state of affairs in the 1990’s and the first few years of this decade as the West had the upper hand in its dealings with Russia. Further, Russia is an attractive destination for foreign capital and as a captive market among the emerging economies that go by the acronym BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China). It is in the interest of the western multinational corporations to have Russia adopt an integrated accounting system in line with their expectations. And the sense of nationalism that characterizes the Russian attitude towards the west has resulted in its own set of priorities for both sides. It is in this context that the move towards

Response to students post on external Environment Research Paper

Response to students post on external Environment - Research Paper Example This equipment is demanded by the health care consumers who call for the reduction of health care costs by the health care organization, thus striking a balance between the two has been difficult (Studer, 2008). In the political sector, various government bodies have an impact on health care organizations through regulations that are meant to ensure quality and safety in the delivery of health care services. The occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) ensures environmental safety in the health care organization. The US food and drug administration (FDA) approves new drugs that are marketed or sold to the public. These regulatory bodies thus keep a close look on the health care organizations therefore affecting their operation. In Africa, the posting highlights the healthcare organization market being affected by the economic status of the population. The Greater percentage of the population who are low-income earners seeks health care services from the public hospital while the middle and high-income earners seek healthcare services from the private hospitals. The government in this region seeks to increase accessibility to health care through the creation of a national health insurance fund (NHIF). The NHIF will enable increased accessibility of quality healthcare for all population thus expanding the health care market. The article has highlighted how the economic, political and technological factors have impacted on the healthcare organization in the United States and Africa. It does not clearly indicate how sociocultural and financial factors have impacted on the healthcare organization considering that the two have had tremendous trends. This trends ranges from cultural diversification, increased population and increased accessibility to information on health care. Africa is also made up of 53 countries each with the unique external

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Dance and Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dance and Identity - Essay Example This essay focuses on discussing dance as a form of performing art where your body posture plays a really crucial role because this performing art needs to have amazing elegance and grace in your body. The performer expresses him or her through the medium of his own body. According to the theory of performativity, gender should not be considered as a noun that acts but it is always a doing. This statement is very true in the context of dance or any other performing art where the actor is a performer in spite of his gender identity. The researcher uses Kathak dance to provide an example for better understanding of the issue. Kathak is one of the oldest classical dance forms which originated in North India. Dance is performed by both male and female. The masculine dance is always vigorous and aggressive while the feminine dance form is very delicate and more graceful. Basically in Kathak, the artist has to have the knowledge of both of these patterns. To conclude, the researcher states that sex has been an obligatory injunction for the body to become a cultural sign. Since ancient time dance has many stereotypical approaches in all around the world. Basically dance is an elegant art which needs to be enjoyed by an artistic vision. Objective should be taken into consideration while assessing the dance performance and not the gender identity of the artist. Gender issue should not be included and this art should not be kept constrained in the certain framework of gender identity.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Statistics MT Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Statistics MT - Speech or Presentation Example Hence, the 95% confidence interval for the population mean using the Students t-test is given by, In such cases, the placement of the central tendencies are Mean 5. the positively skewed cumulative distribution curves are characterized by a concentration of mass on the left-hand side of the curve. Such a curve is drawn in the side diagram. Quite clearly, since the median considers the mid-point of the curve and the mean of the curve is actually the weighted mean, considering the frequencies with which each observed value appears, the mean has a greater value than the median in this case. Thus, the rational agent will accept the mean salary of major league baseball players, rather than the median salary. 6. The decision to eliminate an applicant could be taken only after studying the percentage mean of their test marks and the variations of the marks obtained in each test from the population mean value, which is measured by the standard deviation of the observations from the mean. The higher the population mean and lower the standard deviation are, the better is the situation considered. In fact, a high standard deviation implies a lower consistency in activities and thus the situation which displays the highest value, is considered as the worst one. In this particular case, it is found that the test results of Applicant 3 has the highest standard deviation and thus he is the one ho should be eliminated. = (800/2000) x 100 = 40%. From the normal table it is known that at 95% confidence interval using to-tailed tests, the value of the standard normal variate is 1.96. Hence, the formula to calculate the 95 percent confidence interval about the true population percentage

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Analysis for( drugs and body class) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis for( drugs and body class) - Essay Example Cocaine was banned in the United States when the cases of cocaine related deaths became over 5000 in 1914 (Platt, 17). This is because people were snorting cocaine and this had an effect on their body by causing nasal damages. Cocaine has its important aspects since it helps to reduce pain for patients undergoing surgery. Cocaine is used as an anesthetic in eye surgery and used to treat morphine addiction. The use of cocaine was glamorized in the 1980s because it had become famous for its uses and since it is a highly addictive stimulant that produces profound feelings of pleasure. Platt stated that cocaine was popularized by dealers and glamorized by the Hollywood media in the 1980s despite its devastating effects in the society. Cocaine is introduced to the body using various ways depending with how the individuals wanted to satisfy their body systems. Cocaine can be snorted, injected in body, smoked, or eaten (Platt, 20). Cocaine was glamorized in the 1980s because it is a powerful stimulant and directly affects the brain. Platt stated that the drug introduces a sense of exhilaration in the user primarily by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the midbrain. The use of cocaine makes the user a slave to drug since it makes the individual want more drugs to gratify the body’s needs. Cocaine was expensive but people still bought the drug to make their bodies’ active, decrease fatigue and to increase concentration in various activities like learning abilities. In the movie Al Pacino Scarface, a story is told of Alpacino the Cuban refugee who goes to Miami with nothing and rises up to become a powerful drug top dog. The movie shows how people are addicted to cocaine and are involved in dangerous criminal activities like drug trafficking to satisfy their needs. Other movies that portray the use of cocaine include; Trainspotting

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Evaluate Unilever's financial strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Evaluate Unilever's financial strategy - Essay Example Then the sources of Finance is analysed using Modigliani-Miller Theorem and it reveals that the debt to equity position of the organization is good and has significant impact on its market value. However, the cash position of the company is not stable and requires attention from the management. The Dividend policy of the organization is healthy and looks at wealth maximization of the shareholders. The managers are concerned about the dividend return and regularly review the dividend policies. Moreover, the economic condition is quite unstable and a sluggish growth is expected. In this regards it is recommended that the organization should give attention towards their cash position and should enhance other activities through which their profitability can be enhanced. The organization is also suggested to maintain healthy debt equity ratio, having higher debt may negatively impact their firm value. Introduction The Unilever Group started their operations in 1885 but was not established until 1930 when the business actually joined forces to create the well established business prior to the start of 20th century. The corporate vision of the organization aims towards helping the people in order to look and feel good and get more out of their life. The organization aims to create a sustainable living place and a better future through their services and brands (Unilever, 2013a). The first priority for the organization is their consumers and then comes the employees, communities and the suppliers. The organization aims to fulfil their responsibilities by serving their customers and make their shareholders eventually rewarded. Financial strategy plays a major role in the sustainability of an organization. Financial strategy is a portfolio that includes corporate strategic plans that involves financing decision and optimum investment that helps in attaining the specified objectives. It is an area of managerial policies that determines the financial and investment decisio ns, which in turn leads to the wealth maximization of the shareholders (Hill, 2009). This paper focuses on the financial strategy of the organization and provides recommendation on the basis of that. Corporate Life Cycle The Corporate life cycle can be segregated into four stages through which an organization passes. The four stages are introduction, growth, matured and decline. The introduction stage is the point where the organization first places its product and services in the market for the customers. In this stage it starts capturing the market share. The next stage is the growth stage in which the organization with the best quality product or service is at the top of the competition. The sales increases and the organization spend money in building the brand. The demands of the consumers are at the highest point. The third stage is maturity where the organization has maximised their profit and is operating at a stable place in the market. Here the organization decides whether to withdraw their product or services from the market or to bring some innovation in them such that they remain in the market. The main focus is on the sustainability of the business. The last stage is the decline stage. At this stage the organization has already introduced their new products or next generation product. The

Friday, August 23, 2019

BUS Unit 3 Individual Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

BUS Unit 3 Individual Project - Essay Example Since then the firm has contributed in production of a large number of commercial cars (PRLOG, 2013). Several automotive components are also manufactured by the company. Apart from America, Ford Motors operates across all the continents in the globe. It offers a substantial amount of employment opportunities in all the economies in which it operates (Webster, 1995). Perhaps, that is the reason for which the Australian government fears for job losses, when Ford decided to cease its manufacturing outlet in Geelong by 2013 due to high manufacturing costs (News Geelong, 2013). Despite of being an American company, Ford cars were visible in the streets of London since 1903. At present its European branch serves 42 countries in the continent with excellent cars, buses and trucks (Banham, 2002). Answer 2: Ford Motors Company has many comparative advantages in the highly competitive market of automobile industry. It has an establish business and enjoys the benefits of a big learning curve. I ts expertise has introduced varied cars in terms of designs and prices, so it targets consumers of all income groups. It comprises of a big pool of resources, like 160000 employees across the world. Its visibility and marketing strategies are excellent. It participates in sponsorship programs in sports events like Formula 1 and taps the young potential consumers. As the company enjoys a wide customer base, it experiences lower cost of production due to economies of scale. The unique design and quality of the Ford cars have substantially helped its brand worth in the market (Moffett, n.d.). Answer 3: The current recession and the economic crisis in the European nations have reduced the overall circulation of money in the economy (Rogers, 2001). Low purchasing powers have created detrimental effect in the aggregate demand for cars in the automobile industry. Ford can always use its experienced technical expertise to feature new models of cars that are less in price and are affordable in the current crisis situations. The company has large pool of financial resources, these resources of the company should be utilized to open more branches and tap the potential customers of the emerging economies in the world like China and India. This would help the company augment its sales in this scarce epoch (Volti, 2004). Answer 4: The governments of most of the nations impose lot of rules and regulations in the automobile industry, primarily due to issues relating to environment. The automobile companies are now forced to pay higher taxes of manufacturing traditional petrol cars. This is a pivotal reason for which giant firms like Ford are engaging in the manufacture of hybrid or electric cars. The gross manufacturing costs of such cars are very high and require high investments in its required car technologies. The total number of consumers for such expensive cars is also less. ‘Focus Electric’ is the electric car manufactured by Ford (Ford, 2013). The company desires to successfully launch the pricy car in 2014 worldwide. The taxes imposed by the governments on companies like Ford are high as Ford cars are considered as luxury items. This reduces the economic reserves of the company, which could be otherwise used in the innovation and development purposes. Since the company operates across many nations in the world, it faces the exchange rate or currency fluctuations risks. Like the high value of Australian

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Africa essay Essay Example for Free

Africa essay Essay Sub-Saharan Africa: Change and Continuity Essay Summaries Period 3 1 600-1450: Trade Routes and Their Impacts by Stephanie Lin 2 100-1450: Politics by Rebecca Lee-McFadden 3 1450-1750: Politics and Economics by Emma Loh 4 Sub-Saharan Africa’s Relationship to Global Trade Patterns 1750 to the Present by Douglas Chee 5 1450-Present: Religion by LJ Cabutaje 6 1914-Present: Formation of National Identities by George Kitsios a using evidence from specific countries Essay 1 Sub-Saharan Africa 600 -1450 Trade Routes and Their Impacts Before the 600s, trade routes in Africa weren’t used nearly as much as they are today After 600s, long distance trade increased and increased social and cultural diffusion At the end of the 600s, the world saw the decline of the classical period The fall of the classical empires such as the Gupta and Han Empires and Rome allowed various religions to spread Before 600 CE, connections existed between Sub-Saharan Africa and civilized societies, but were limited Cultural diffusion before the 600s included Africanity and diffusion of Bantu languages As trade routes intensified, Arab traders could spread to previously unreachable areas using camels and caravans One of the key changes that occurred during this period was the influence and spread of Islamic religion and culture and the connection of West Africa with the Muslim World Trade also increased economic prosperity, such as in the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhai Gold-salt trade between Ghana and Arab desert traders and the Mediterranean prospered considerably as Ghana had gold but no salt and the Mediterranean had salt but no gold Ghana’s king converted to Islam, led to better relations with the Islamic world Indian Ocean trade led to increased development of city-states such as Mogadishu and Sofala Slave trading increased Much continuity accompanied these changes Syncretic conversion, which is they kept some of their own beliefs while converting to a new religion such as intertwining Islam with animism and ancient folklore Many people were still devoted to Christianity Nomads were still the â€Å"middlemen† between the east and west Same basic routes were still used for trade during this period Africans retained their sense of originality and culture Essay 2 Evaluate the political changes and continuities over time in Sub Saharan Africa from years 100 to 1450. Thesis: Sub Saharan Africa went from being made up of small individual tribes to large, organized empires. The arrival of new religions also affected the laws and codes Sub Saharan Africans had to follow. Throughout these changes, one continuity was that religious beliefs still played an important part in the political structures. Changes: -Smaller and decentralized tribes became larger, more organized empires. During 100 CE and earlier, there did not exist organized governments. Most societies were clans and tribes ruled by a tribal leader. Some societies were hunter-gatherer ones. Unification really could not occur due to arid environments and culturally diverse regions. Larger empires and kingdoms were able to rise because of an increase in interaction and trade between tribes. An increased production of crops and iron tools and artisan goods led to more trading. As tribes traded, some grew wealthier and more powerful. These tribes conquered others and took control of regional trade routes becoming more powerful. They then became larger kingdoms and societies. Ghana and Great Zimbabwe were two examples of this. Their rise to power was due to the wealth earned from trading and controlling trade routes. Eastern City States like Zanzibar, Mombasa, and Sofala rose to power because of trading in the Indian Ocean Trading Route. -Religions like Islam and Christianity affected law codes Most of Sub-Saharan Africans followed animism. With the arrival of monotheistic religions like Christianity and Islam, law codes were altered. Mali, for example, was an Islamic state. The people under the Mali empire had to follow Islamic law, sharia and the Quran. The Kingdom of Aksum converted to Christianity under the king, Ezana. Ezana ruled his people under the beliefs and teachings of Christianity. Continuities: Religious beliefs continued to play a role in political structures and law codes Whether the dominating religion was Islam, Christianity, or animism, it still affected how the particular society ran and the laws the people had to follow. Animism also affected tribes politically. Kings and tribal leaders were believed to be decedents of their gods. Religion was all people knew and was so heavily integrated in their lives,. Political structures and law codes were not an exception to this. Essay 3 Prompt: The period of 1450 to 1750 witnessed important transformations in Africa. Trace significant changes and continuities in two of the following areas: social, economic, and political. Economics Change: emergence and eventual domination of the transatlantic slave trade first interactions with Europeans Portuguese and some African tribes created trade relations that were beneficial to both sides in gold, world markets. WHY European production growth, e.g. Portugal’s sugar plantations profits went to Africa, most slaves were POWs Continuity: the profitable trade of raw materials 15th C: gold, copper, cotton textiles, leather works 17th C: gold, ivory, timber Politics Changes political alliances with European foreigners 1500s: some African kings were open to European religions (Christianity) allowed access to European firearms and association with advanced societies few were actually committed to Christianity due to dominant Muslim culture. 17th Century: kings profited from the slave trade, cooperative with Europeans some kings lost power to the slave trade 15th C: some normal Africans started to be kidnapped for the slave trade Continuity: monarchies as the dominant governments which maintained power throughout Africa. forced Europeans to adhere to African trading customs. collected expensive rents from European merchants. prevented Europeans from claiming African territory were not heavily influenced by Europeans. ** not all kings participated in European trade, and a majority of them did not. Essay 4 Sub-Saharan Africa’s Relationship to Global Trade Patterns 1750 to the Present Sub-Saharan Africa is rich with raw materials precious metals, animal products, plant oils. 1750s: Independent African kingdoms exported gold, copper, ivory, vegetable oils, and animal pelts to various Western powers, in exchange for machine-made products. Lack of industrialization.  Huge slave trade from 1750-1867, despite Great Britains attempted abolishment in 1808. Slaves utilized in Western colonies and plantations. Constant European presence and tight relationship in trade. Scramble for Africa: End of slave trade led to economic weakness, leaving African states vulnerable to the European imperialists. Peak of European’s constant influence. New exports included diamonds and rubber. Africa continued to be a global source for raw materials, due to their continued lack of industrialization. Post WWII: Nationalistic movements brought independence from European powers, but left political/economic issues for the now decolonized states. Dependency on the delicate trade of cash crops, in addition to the lack of industrialization and help for the now expelled European powers had led to economic backwardness in Sub-Saharan Africa. Essay 5 Religious Changes and Continuities in Sub-Saharan Africa: 1450-Present: Thesis: From 1450 to the present, Sub-Saharan Africas religious atmosphere has experienced many changes due to the exponential growth of such global religions as Christianity and Islam in the region, while it has also maintained religious continuities in its traditional and established beliefs and practices, by the usage of syncretism Changes and Analysis: There was a large growth in the spread of Islam throughout the region. Because of the way that cultural diffusion occurred throughout various trade routes, Islam easily spread throughout the region and integrated into the cultures of local tribes, without the need for conquest from the leaders. From 1900 to the present, it grew exponentially, from a few million to more than 300 million, comprising 15% of the worlds Islamic population. Christianity was the other global religion that grew exponentially during this time period. It was first introduced in the 15th century by Portuguese Catholic missionaries who wanted to convert the natives to their faith. Similarly to Islam, in the 20th century, the Christian population in Sub-Saharan Africa rose up, eventually totaling over 470 million, effectively making up more than 20% of the worlds Christian population. This occurred due to the heavy anti-slavery sentiment and the scramble for Africa which occurred in this time period. Continuities and Analysis: Despite the changes, the people of this region were still able to adhere to their long-time and ancient beliefs and traditions. Many still practice animism, or the belief in the spirits of nature, and practice rituals such as voodoo. They were able to continue because of the tolerance of the major global religions and also because of their practice of syncretism, in which they incorporated the local religions with these global religions. One last continuity was Christianity in Ethiopia, where the religion was indigenous and was there from the 4th Century CE. Essay 6 -Pre WWII, Sub Saharan Africa witnesses significant changes in the identities of its nations. Largely fueled as a reaction to separatist movements from European Colonial structures, and a recent surge in nationalism -Many strive towards self governed rule with dreams of liberation influenced by fighting in the name of freedom in the 2nd World War Changes: -Ghana -Gold Coast was hot bed of nationalism after WWII, desire for British to allow self rule -Took first step through African representation in council, but not enough -Many had aspirations for Ghana to become the African United States -Ambitious Goal expanded in 1947, Kwame Nkrumah starts series of boycotts, strikes, etc -By 1957, Gold Coast receives full independence, renamed Ghana -Nkrumah 1st president, creates proactive reforms -Kenya -Also governed from a far by the British -Large amounts of free land in Northern Highlands believed by the Native kenyans their own land with their own rights; not some prize for Britain. -Movement for Kenyan Independence begins, seeded in nationalism, by Joma Kenyatta, who like others, believed Africa can only advance to a higher level if he is free to express himself†¦, meaning free from external rule -Formation of Mau Mau Guerilla group, more violent approach toward Kenyan national identity, killing 10,000 Africans and 100 settlers in the process -Eventually, Kenya gains independence in 1963 Continuities: -One of largest things that stayed the same was the pattern of violence and oppression experienced in inter and intercommunication of African native groups/future nations -Nigeria -Key example, newborn nation that adopts a federal system -Borders did not pay attention to the cultural tensions it put in place among the civilians, would provoke a large amount of controversy -Ultimately leads to a full out civil war breaking loose, amongst a number of ethnic groups forced to live together with no prior notice -Horrible level of instability within the government, provoking martial law on some areas. -Outcome of a movement intended to liberate resulted in unimaginable violence, and the replacement of one oppressive, ignorant government, with a more familiar one -South Africa -Obtains partial independence from Great Britain by 1931, allowing for self government (sorta) -White supremacy ends up taking over the reigns immediately however policies of apartheid run rampant for the next couple of decades -Formation and barring of the African National Congress (ANC) -Misrepresentation in laws/distribution of land -South Africans are 75% of population, but only allowed on 13% of land (slum land too!) -ANC and other pro South African Native movements decide to go with a more violent route, yet many end up killed, beaten, or jailed in the 70s and 80s, especially after demonstrations in 1977. -Struggle for accurate democracy at hand, no room for reform, and realization of equality not realized until later on (Nelson Mandela) -Black citizens grossly mistreated in their own homeland, reign of violence and terror overstays its welcome

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Cultural Evaluation in Japan Essay Example for Free

Cultural Evaluation in Japan Essay Cultural evaluation in which you identify the ways that arguments or presentation of the arguments would need to be changed as the result of cultural differences in the country of Japan.               Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation. ‘Noam Chomsky’. Self-expression should be done in an artistic way for the fulfilment of communication.             Japanese business persons come up with resolutions based on the cultural value of Group frontage. Conclusions tend to be made by group consensus as opposed to Individuality. A foreigner who would desire to venture into business in Japan should not be pretentious as He or She is making advances in establishing a business foundation. Displaying a humanistic culture will be a great principle that will propel the business to greater heights. Strategic measures to observe as a business person             For one to hit the expected set mark in a business, observe and apply the following aspects so that your message is communicated virtually, without embarrassing, intimidating, or offending the clients that are within your target. Speech clarity            This calls for clear articulation so that people can hear and comprehend every word you are saying. Avoid mumbling in your speech, or speaking extremely fast when addressing the prospective client whose native language is Japanese. Speak moderately            Address business people by reducing speech speed. Allow them time to capture your words and abstract the meaning. Provide verbal and non-verbal clues to check for conformity whether you are being understood. When your clients prompt you to repeat what you have said, look puzzled, or respond with difficulty, most likely they have not understood you (Delassus, 1972). Repeat your proposal slowly in the same or different words. In case this does not work out, write it down. Triangulate the key points          This approach calls for expressing the same idea more than once in slightly different ways. It provides your clients better chances to capture what you are saying. For example: Entrepreneur’s Words and Clients’ Thoughts â€Å"I presume the equipment will run smoothly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yes†¦ or â€Å"The gadget will operate properly†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Right†¦ Maintain appropriate tempo and intonation         When varying the tone of your voice, switching the tempo, and stressing on areas you would like to emphasize, you provide more hints to help your correspondent grasp your message. Provide posters through the conversation             Posters initiate your partners beforehand by informing them about the topic of your discussion or presentation, as well as any changes along the way. For instance: A slide show, model or chart can be very helpful. Create verification links             In inter-cultural communication, especially, it is valuable to keep checking whether your listeners are getting along with the discussion. This can be done by; asking questions, providing elaborative statements until the idea is passed across. Express numerals and dates slowly            Numbers can be expressed in various ways in different parts of the world These include phone numbers, prices, quotations, , flight numbers, exchange rates, dates addresses,. For example: $1800 can be expressed as eighteen hundred or one thousand eight hundred. October 20th can sound like October 28th. Write down unfamiliar codes or technical symbols            When professional jargons are to be used, it is advisable to write them on a white board, provide a slide or handout. Repeat the use of a term that listeners are not familiar to know or cannot understand (Varley, 2000). Confirm schedules            Observe protocols related to time or dates. Arriving on time sends a positive signal of commitment and certifiable.   Maintain a sense of humour            When expressing yourself, it is important to maintain social relations by sharing humorous experiences in life. Allow the clients to also feel free to share their experiences. Maintain equilibrium. Be sincere                Sincerity and taking up responsibility creates a fair relationship, a positive atmosphere for doing Business References Delassus, J. F. (1972). The Japanese: A critical evaluation of the character culture of a people. New York: Hart Pub. Co http://www.jetro.go.jp/costarica/mercadeo/communicationwith.pdf http://www.presentationprep.com/international-presentations/ Varley, H. P. (2000). Japanese culture. Honolulu: University of HawaiiÌ€ Press. Source document

Managing Change In Difficult Times Management Essay

Managing Change In Difficult Times Management Essay There is need for the Management of blue Marina to embrace change which will be offered in form of restructuring, outsourcing, culture change programmes, business process reengineering, the implementation of enterprise system ,development of competences and capabilities, new business models and introduction of new product and services. Blue Marina is a restaurant that specialises in the preparation, service and sale of choice menu to the general public, such as main courses, pastries and desserts. It is a Family owned business of Italian origin, and prides itself in its choice of clientele over the past years. It boasts of staff strength of about 40 people, of which 50% is on a permanent contract while the rest is shared within the part-time and relief workers. However, there has been a major concern for the Management of Blue Marina as the staff turnaround time has been on the high side which in turn affects both efficiency and service delivery to customers as they have to wait for longer period of time before being served. At present Blue Marina restaurant has recorded losses for the first time on its balance sheet and this has called for need for change within the establishment if it still want to remain in the food business. Managing change is perhaps difficult and risky why should this be so? One reason is the absence of a universal change theory, which requires an understanding of organisation, strategy and change. Before attempting to change something there must be an understanding of what needs to be changed as change in this context could mean the alteration of organisational components such as the strategy, goals, structure, processes, system, technology, and people to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the organization. WHY CHANGE: It is very important to understand the range of approaches to change management that exist. One approach to understanding change management is the identification of major schools of thought. Burnes (2004a:262) highlights three schools of thought upon which he believes change management is based: the individual perspective school the group dynamics school, and the open system school. While Paton and McCalman (2000 :2) regard management and change as synonymous Hamlin (2001: 44) offers a typical overview of the mainstream theoretical perspective to understanding change management within an organisation CAUSES AND CONTEXTS OF CHANGE Triggers, drivers and tracers of change: Drifferent authors offer different degrees of sophistication in their specification of triggers and drivers. De Caluwe and Vermaak (2003:80) eloquently defined a trigger as the emotional characteristics that contribute to the emergence of a change idea. Tichy(1983:147) regarded large scale strategic change as being triggered by a large -scale uncertainty in the form of either a threat or an opportunity. More recently Patton and McCalman (2003:23) identified potential triggers that include: government legislation, advances in process or product technology, changing consumer requirements, expectation or taste, and competitor or supply chain activities. Drukker (1994) suggests that organisation should frequently challenge every product, every service, every policy, every distribution channel, with the question if we were not in it already, would we be going into it now? Before an effective change can take place within the Blue marina restaurant, there is need to understand the past, present and future of Blue marina restaurant in general. As in the case of Blue Marina the under mentioned reasons have necessitated the need for change. These reasons are as stated below: High turnaround time Long delay in preparation and service of food to customers Decrease in sales figure Low profits margin Low patronage External competitors Need for expansion ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MODEL FOR BLUE MARINA RESTAURANT A model is a representation to show the construction or appearance of or explain something: Phil Kelly (2009:146-147).This enables an organisation to identify targets for change, diagnose problems, while it outlines the necessary action for change enabling it to create a road map and implementation strategy. Many models helps us to understand how organisations operate, what to change and how to effectively carry out the change. Change Models: an abstract representation of describing the content or process of changes. Mckinsey 7-S model; this is a model that looks into organisational analysis and dynamics including components: such as strategy, structure, systems, style, staff, shared value and skill. Nadler and Tushman congruence model: they both viewed an organisation as asset of internal, transformational, components that must be congruent with each other and the organisation strategy and environment Burke-Litwin model: a causal model that both looks into transformational and transactional organizational variables represented in an open system. Though all these models have their inherent strengths and weakness, but Nadler and Tushman model have been able to recognize the fact that organizations are influenced by its environment of which their models were divided into input, process and output. Nadler and Tushman(1989) argued that there is need for transformational process components to be congruent or fit with each other, which may either have its advantages and disadvantages. Their model suggests there is no one best way to organize change. Which is why it is been recommended for the Blue Marina Restaurant change Managers. BARRIER TO SUCCESSFUL CHANGE It is important for people managing change in Blue Marina restaurant to be aware of the nature of the resistance they may encounter from other managers as well as other workers. These difficulties must be addressed before unfreezing can take place. Fransella,(1975:135)argued that we may like change and regard it as essential feature of living ;it does not mean that we always welcome it. Similarly, Paton and McCalman (2000:47) have identified why organisations individuals and groups fear change which include the resulting organisational redesign, new technological challenges and challenges to old ideas. Lines (2004 :198) concludes that resistance towards change encompasses behaviours that are acted out by change recipients in order to slow down or terminate an intended organisational change. Dawson (2003:19) on his part identifies the following examples of organisational factors from which resistance can result: Substantive change in job Reduction in economic security or job placement. Psychological threat Disruption of social arrangements and lowering of status There is no concrete explanation of resistance to change that currently exists ,it is also unlikely that a single universal explanation of resistance to change will ever be sufficient. IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGING CHANGE. Turning around Blue Marina Restaurant requires that the change Managers build a change team, develop detailed communication plans and understand how to manage the change transition. There is need to mobilise every staff of the restaurant to have a positive vision towards the proposed changed plan. However, there is need also to gain support from members of staff and as a consequence I would recommend an involvement strategy which involves attention to many areas just as Kotter and others (2007).had thought the following were proposed : Establish a sense of urgency Create a guiding coalition Develop a vision and strategy Communicate this with others Empower action Generate shot term win Consolidate gain Going further on how to manage and implement change in Blue Marina Restaurant, in the 1940s and 1950s, Kurt Lewin concluded that to be successful, the change process needs to follow a three step procedure namely : Unfreezing Moving Refreezing His theories were later expanded by Schein who described the three stages as : Unfreezing- creating motivation and readiness to change by demonstrating a need and vision for change in a manner that would not result in the blame being associated with the managers who had let the organization deteriorate. Changing- organizational members identify with a new model or way of doing things Refreezing- refreezing must occur at the individual level with employees accepting new behaviors and also at interpersonal and interdepartmental levels ensuring new behavious fit well with the rest of the organization. These three stages are highly recommended to the Change Managers of Blue Marina restaurant. Managers wanting to introduce change would understand and recognize that change occurs slowly and moves through a series of stages. For instance, one needs to recognize the need for change. Next step is to determine where Blue marina restaurant stands as it relates to the problem, where it plans and wants to be, and how it plans to get there. Bullock and batten after reviewing over 30 models of planned change ,came to the conclusion that change activities could be grouped into four phases namely: Exploration phase: recognizing the need for change, deciding on the type of changes and commit resources to planning the changes, sourcing for a consultant who assists with planning, implementation and defines everyones role as it affects Blue marina restaurant. Planning Phase: This is a phase where understanding Blue marinas restaurant problems set in. It involves gathering of information and useful data in order to diagnose the problem and proffering solution to them while seeking approvals from the necessary quarters. Action phase: implementation and arrangements of the changes to manage the change process and getting necessary feedbacks in other to make the needed adjustment. Integration Phase: consolidating and stabilizing the changes to become part of the new Blue marina restaurant organization in general PREPARING FOR CHANGE Phase 1 The first phase is targeted at being ready. There is need to answer the following question: how much of change management do we need for this project? The first phase is to provide the situation awareness which very critical for effective change management in the restaurant . Outputs of Phase 1: Change characteristics profile Organizational attributes profile Change management strategy Change management team structure Sponsor assessment, structure and roles ( i ) MANAGING CHANGE Phase 2 The second phase is based on plans that are imbibed into the project activities what people generally think of when they talk about change management. Based on research, carried out there are five main plans that should be considered to help Blue Marina Management move through the change Model. Outputs of Phase 2: Communication plan Sponsor roadmap Training plan Coaching plan Resistance management plan (ii) REINFORCING CHANGE Phase 3 Equally critical but most often overlooked is the third phase of where project teams create plans to make sure that the change plan is sustained. At this point , project teams leader create and develop measures to ensure the change has taken place and to also actually confirm if employees are doing their jobs the new way and to celebrate success. Outputs of Phase 3: Reinforcement mechanisms Compliance audit reports Corrective action plans Individual and group recognition approaches Success celebrations After action review (iii) CONCLUSION Finally, to make any change click, it should be part of Blue Marina restaurant. Corporate plans often determine what is done, so there is need for the proposed vision to show in day-to-day work. Continuous efforts should be imbibed to ensure that the change is seen and noticed in every areas of the organization. This will give the change a strong place in the organizations culture. It is also important that Blue Marina leaders continue to support the change. This will include staff and new change leaders who will be brought in. If the support of these people is lost, one could just end up where one started from. The following action plan should be put in place: Communicate effectively on the progress at every chance one gets. Tell a succes stories about the change process while repeating other stories one hears. Including the change ideas cum values when inducting and employing new staff Publicly recognise key members of your original change coalition and make sure the rest of the staff new and old remember their contributions. Create plans to replace key leaders of change as they move on. This will help ensure that their legacy is not lost or forgotten. If you need help on enabling positive change to create the performance breakthroughs you need the honest answer which is that you manage it pretty much the same way you will manage anything else of a turbulent situation or chaotic nature, that is, you dont really manage it, you grapple with it.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Return Of The Native Essay -- essays research papers

In Thomas Hardy’s poem “Her Dilemma,'; it relates to book one of the novel Return of the Native in the concept of marriage and distrust of feelings. In both the poem and the novel, the woman’s feelings and emotions cause conflict in her marriage. It is interesting that both these literary works has a marriage transpire with one person doubtful, especially during a time when divorce was unconceivable. The question arises, should a lifetime decision be made solely upon the basis of one’s personal desires?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In “Her Dilemma'; the title gives the reader a clue that a choice must be made between equally undesirable alternatives. Hardy uses iambic pentameter as the rhyme scheme to make the poem flow smoothly. The first stanza uses detail to describe an ancient church where the couple is soon to be married. Once this stanza ends Hardy’s attitude changes to one of sorrow. “For he was soon to die, --he softly said, ‘Tell me you love me!’—Holding hard her hand.'; It is pathetic that this is the last wish of a dying man. Hardy’s use of consonance allows the reader to understand the man’s feelings. Next stanza the tone changes again, to one of pity for the woman who sells her soul “to be a moment kind.'; Regardless of whether the woman decides to marry, the man will die. Eventually, her sympathy for the man overwhelms her consciou...

Monday, August 19, 2019

Man’s Interaction with the Environment in Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses :: Faulkner’s Go Down Moses

Man’s Interaction with the Environment in Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses I found the short stories in Go Down, Moses to be long, boring, and hard to comprehend. As usual Faulkner writes his stories with no regard to punctuation. His run-on sentences are confusing and unnecessary. However, I did notice the theme of man and his interactions with the environment stressed throughout these stories. â€Å"Was† starts us off with ‘Uncle Ike’ McCaslin in his old age and tells the story of his elder cousin (and surrogate father) and his childhood with Uncle Buck and Uncle Buddy. I was not surprised to see the uncles reappear, as Faulkner loves to have characters make come-backs in numerous novels. Like its title, â€Å"Was† shows a past experience from McCaslin Edmonds’ childhood. The sentence structure in the beginning of the story confused me a bit. Faulkner uses no periods, choosing instead to start a new paragraph every time one sentence ends and the other begins (granted, these ‘sentences’ are basically paragraphs themselves!). Once the story about Edmonds’ past and the dialog start, Faulkner starts using periods again. Why would Faulkner set the story up like this? What is the significance of leaving out periods in the beginning of the narrative? Perhaps it is to signal that the narrator is speaking in present time, and on ce the periods are included, that signals that the event occurred in the past. This is a probable explanation, as we saw a similar structure in his other novels, including The Sound and the Fury, where italics were used to signal a change in narrative. Maybe the same thing is happening here. In â€Å"Pantaloon in Black† Faulkner seems to digress from the story of the McCaslin’s and focuses on a black man, Rider, who goes crazy with grief after his wife’s mysterious (to the reader) death, kills a white man he works with, and is executed. This story clearly illustrates the racial discrimination by whites. After the entire ordeal, the sheriff’s deputy tells his wife about the events and in the process allows us to see how racist he is. He compares blacks to a â€Å"damn herd of wild buffaloes† when it comes to having feelings (150). Also, when he describes Rider’s actions after his wife’s death, he says that the town â€Å"expected him to take the day off since even a nigger couldn’t want no better excuse for a holiday† cruelly suggesting that blacks are lazy and will use any excuse to have a day off of work (151).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Spanish Armada :: Papers

The Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada was a fleet assembled and dispatched by King Phillip II of Spain in attempt to invade England in 1588. His attempt was unsuccessful. Queen Elizabeth I of England held the defeat of the armada as one of her greatest achievements, assisting the decline of the Spanish Empire. The armada had a mission of both political and religious aims. King Phillip, the leader of the Roman Catholic Spain, was not able to stop a revolt in of his Protestant subjects in the Netherlands, a revolt that began in 1566, aided by Protestant England. By 1586, Phillip had decided that he could not defeat the Dutch until he had defeated England first. Long time religious rivalry between Spain and England was hoped to be resolved by King Phillip in the dethroning of Queen Elizabeth, reconverting England to Catholicism. The plan for conquering had begun. This plan consisted of the coordination of a fleet to sail from Spain and an army from the Netherlands to create a simultaneous invasion of Engl and. His force of 130 ships and more than 30,000 men was to be led by Alonso Perà ©z Guzmà ¡n, duke of Medina- Sidonia. England was aware of the Spanish plans, attacking it at Cà ¡diz, Spain in 1587, succeeding in delaying it for a year. By July of 1588, the armada was spotted off the coast of England on July 29. Lord Charles Howard intercepted it with a larger English fleet near Plymouth, and for the next week made small attacks on the Spanish in battles off of Plymouth, Portland Bill, and the Isle of Wight. Unable to break the Spanish Armada, they waited for their chance at a big blow. The opportunity finally arrived when the armada anchored near Calais, France, hoping to join troops scheduled to sail from the Netherlands. Ingeniously, Howard ordered ships set on fire to be sent against the armada, producing a panic that broke the Spanish formation. In the ensuing battle of Gravelines, on August 8, the Spanish were defeated by England and the armada sailed home with remaining s hips that were heavily damaged to Spain; 67 of the original 130 ships reached Spain, most in poor condition.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Rahab

Rahab – women of the bible (a woman who Believed the truth) Rahab –â€Å" insolence†, or â€Å"fierceness†, or â€Å"broad†, or â€Å"spacious† The â€Å"Ra† part of her name comes from Egyptian idolatry, â€Å"Ra† the sun god, this is from â€Å"All the women of Bible † by Herbert Lockyer, Zondervan Publishers Rahab and the two spies are the main charactersin Joshua2. Rahab was a prostitute (her occupation). She lived, geographically and morally, on the edge of society. She lived at the time of the conquest of Canaan (the land northeast of Egypt, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, Lebanon to the north was the Hittite Empire and Bashan, to the east were the nations of Ammon and the Ammorites, Moab, and Edom) by the Israelites Her house was located on the wall of the city and was strategically placed to lodge travelers. This was a prime location for her trade. Rahab had heard of the God of Israel and aced in faith. By hiding the spies she faced the risk of being killed if caught by the authorities. However rahab knew it would take a step of faith to get her out of her present predicament. She did not intend to perish with the rest of jericho. She knew that if she did nothing- this would lead to her destruction. No one an serve two masters. She made a conscious decision to act in faith on what she heard about God. Rahab was an ancestor of Jesus(Matthew1:1-6). Her faith brought her into an immense inheritance. From a prostitute to the linage of Jesus Christ. This is what faith can do. No matter your stand in life, rrespective of where you are or who you are a simply step of faith in Jesus Christ can turn your destiny around. â€Å"By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace† – Hebrews 11:31 The life of Rahab can be found in Joshua 2, Joshua 6, Hebrews 11:31 Matthew 1:5 James 2:25

Friday, August 16, 2019

Swag Money

She has had many hobbies, achievements, and a really good career. My mom, Kristin Collision, is a really cool woman for multiple reasons. My mom has a very interesting family. Her parents died at the ages of 80(mother) and 82(father). She also has my dad, me my sister and the rest of her side of the family, plus she has my dad's side too. She cares a lot for them and would do anything for them because she loves them to death. My mom has had a good line of careers In her life.Her first Job was at McDonald's during her sophomore year until a few weeks after she graduated from high school. After that she worked at Patsy Loll's. Eventually, she went Into work for an old people home for about 5-6 years. After me and my sister were born, she was a stay at home mom while my dad was at work. Now she works as an lad on the special needs bus for GIST. My mom has gained a bunch of knowledge from all of her jobs and specially has made so many really good friends.Some of my mom's accomplishments are getting married, having kids, working hard, and making good friends. My parents got married in 1997. Then 3 years later, had me in Two years later in 2002, she had my little sister. She has had many good lobs and has made many good friends through her life. Those were some reasons why my mother, Kristin Collision, is a very inspiring, cool, and bodacious. She is an awesome mother, family member, friend, and general person.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

America Online Inc Case Study Essay

3. Was AOL’s policy to capitalize subscriber acquisition costs justified prior to 1995? Ans: AOL’s accounting policy was labeled aggressive and capitalized its subscriber acquisition costs when its archrival CompuServe didn’t. AOL’s biggest expenditure was the cost of attracting new subscribers and maximizing shareholders’ value: 1. Separate registration numbers and passwords were issued to customers. They cost more than $40 per new subscriber in 1994. 2. AOL aggressively marketed its online service both directly and indirectly. 3. To retain new subscribers and increase customer loyalty & satisfaction, AO The noteable accounting procedures followed by AOL were as follows: :a. AOL’s amortization period for subscriber acquisition costs was about 15 months, such aggressive accounting was attributed to the bundling & direct mail marketing practices b. During September 1995, the company modified the components of subscriber acquisition costs as incurred Analysis a. It is not advisable for AOL to capitalize the marketing costs because in 1990s Web was being established. This would definitely impact the sales. Instead of amortizing the Acquisition Costs for 15 months, if we treat it as single lumpsum cost, the Income statement shows a loss for the period. Capitalizing the expenditure for 2 years contained an implicit assumption for the coming two years. This was unlikely with the online industry as it had acquired most of its customers in the last 36 months, If AOL were to write off all capitalized subscriber acquisition costs the effect on the 1995 balance would be a $77,229,000 reduction in other assets and stockholders’ equity. If all the subscriber acquisition costs incurred in fiscal year 1995 were expensed in 1995, the effect on the income statement would be an increase in marketing expense of $50,837,000 and an increase in net loss of $50,837,000

Introduction to Astronomy

AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy Final Exam (12/21/2007) Instructions A. B. Answer ALL questions on your Opscan, using a #2 pencil. Make sure to include your NAME and STUDENT ID. The computer identifies you by your student ID; do not forget to include it. C. D. E. Do NOT mark your date of birth. The exam is CLOSED BOOK. You should not use any books or notes. Time: 2 HOURS and 30 MINUTES. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1) What is the ultimate fate of an isolated pulsar? A) As gravity overwhelms the neutron degeneracy pressure, it will explode as a supernova. B) It will spin ever faster, becoming a millisecond pulsar. C) The neutron degeneracy pressure will eventually overwhelm gravity and the pulsar will slowly evaporate. D) As gravity overwhelms the neutron degeneracy pressure, it will become a white dwarf. E) It will slow down, the magnetic field will weaken, and it will become invisible. 2) Which of the following statements about globular clusters is false? A) Globular cluster stars are very metal-poor relative to the Sun. B) Globular cluster stars are more than 12 billion years old. C) Globular clusters are distributed spherically around the Milky Way. D) Globular clusters contain many thousands of stars. E) Globular cluster ages increase with distance from the Milky Way. 3) Which of the following characteristics of stars has the greatest range in values? A) mass B) core temperature C) radius D) surface temperature E) luminosity 4) Which statement best describes the solar neutrino problem? A) Solar neutrinos have been detected, but in fewer numbers than predicted by theoretical models. B) No one understands how it can be possible for neutrinos to be produced in the Sun. C) Our current understanding of fusion in the Sun suggests that all neutrinos should be destroyed before they arrive at the earth, yet neutrinos are being detected. D) Theoretical models predict that neutrinos should be produced in the Sun, but no neutrinos have ever been observed to be coming from the Sun. 1 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy Refer to this scenario for the following questions: Final Lost in Spacetime. Just when you thought it was safe to take final exams . . . vindictive multi-dimensional being reaches down (up? over? through? ) to Earth and pulls you out of the universe. You are thrown back into the universe at a place of this being's choosing, and she permits you to leave only after you have identified your surroundings. You are subject to several of these tests. Through a scientifically unexplainable miracle, you are able to survive in every one of the places you are tested. (Le st you become too comfortable, however, you certainly are able to feel any associated pain due to high temperature, pressure, gravity, etc. In each case described below, identify your surroundings. In some cases, the surroundings described may exist only during eras of the universe (past or future) other than our own time; in those cases, you should identify both the place and the time where you are located. 5) It sure is bright everywhere; you've been able to travel around a bit, and it's clear that you are not in a star. Yet it is as bright as looking directly at the Sun. In your extensive travels through your current surroundings, you cannot find a single neutral atom anywhere, nor can you find a nucleus besides hydrogen or helium. And, while it is hot (a few thousand degrees Kelvin), it is nowhere near the temperature needed for nuclear fusion. Where are you? A) You are in the central regions of a quasar. B) You are in the universe more than 10100 years in the future. C) You are in the universe during its first 300,000 years. D) You are in an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole. E) You are where the Sun should be located, but about 5 billion years from now. 6) At last you are in a place where the heat and high density are no longer bothering you. However, although the density is very low, the gas around you is extremely high in temperature. In fact, the temperature is so high that it is emitting lots of X rays, which are creating cancer-causing mutations in your body at a rapid rate. Well, at least the view is great! There are no stars anywhere within about 10,000 light-years of you, but at slightly greater distances your sky is brightened by many beautiful, star-filled structures, some with majestic spiral shapes. Where are you? A) You are somewhere between the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies in the Local Group. B) You are in intergalactic space within a rich cluster of thousands of galaxies. C) You are in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, looking outward into the Local Group. D) You are in the outskirts of a galaxy whose nucleus is a powerful quasar. E) You are in the universe when it was about 200 million years old, just before galaxies began forming. 7) You are once again in a hot, dense place. You are surrounded by protons and neutrons, some rapidly fusing into helium. You notice that your surroundings are cooling (good, because it's really hot! ) and rapidly dropping in density. Within about 3 minutes, the fusion reactions stop. Where are you? A) You are in the center of a star much smaller than the Sun. B) You are inside a nuclear power plant on Earth. C) You are in the early universe during the era of nucleosynthesis. D) You are in the center of a massive star near the end of its life. E) You are in the center of a star very much like our Sun. 2 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy Final 8) Talk about cold, dark, and empty! As far as you look around you, there seems to be nothing at all. Even the nearest electron is light-years away. And, no matter how far you travel, you can find no solid matter, not even a single proton. You do, however, detect a few strong gravitational fields—probably due to black holes—at enormous distances away from you. Where are you? A) You are where the Sun should be located, but about 5 billion years from now. B) You are in the central regions of a quasar. C) You are in the outskirts of a young cluster of galaxies. D) You are in the universe when it is over about 1040 years old. 9) The light radiated from the Sun's surface reaches Earth in about 8 minutes, but the energy of that light was released by fusion in the solar core about A) a thousand years ago. B) a hundred years ago. C) ten years ago. D) one year ago. E) a million years ago. 10) From lowest energy to highest energy, which of the following correctly orders the different categories of electromagnetic radiation? A) gamma rays, X rays, visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, radio B) visible light, infrared, X rays, ultraviolet, gamma rays, radio C) radio, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X rays, gamma rays D) infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X rays, gamma rays, radio E) radio, X rays, visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, gamma rays 11) What is a possible solution to the solar neutrino problem? A) Not all fusion reactions create electron neutrinos. B) The Sun is generating much less energy than we think it is. C) The Sun is generating energy other than by nuclear fusion. D) The electron neutrinos created in the Sun change into another type of neutrino. E) We do not know how to detect electron neutrinos. 12) Newton's second law of motion tells us that the net force applied to an object equals its A) momentum times velocity. B) mass times velocity. C) energy times acceleration. D) mass times energy. E) mass times acceleration. 13) What happens when the gravity of a massive star is able to overcome neutron degeneracy pressure? A) The star explodes violently, leaving nothing behind. B) The core contracts and becomes a black hole. C) The core contracts and becomes a white dwarf. D) The core contracts and becomes a ball of neutrons. E) Gravity is not able to overcome neutron degeneracy pressure. 3 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 14) Radiative energy is A) heat energy. B) energy used in home radiators. C) energy of motion. D) energy from nuclear power plants. E) energy carried by light. 15) Most large galaxies in the universe are A) lenticular. B) irregular. 16) Compared to spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies are A) redder and rounder. B) bluer and rounder. C) bluer and flattened. D) redder and flattened. E) always much smaller. 17) Approximately how long does it take the Sun to orbit the Milky Way Galaxy? A) 23,000 years B) 23 billion years C) 230,000 years D) 2. 3 million years E) 230 million years 18) Approximately how many stars does a dwarf elliptical galaxy have? A) less than a billion B) 10 billion C) 100 billion D) 1 trillion E) less than a million Final C) spiral. D) elliptical. 19) What is the ultimate fate of an isolated white dwarf? A) As gravity overwhelms the electron degeneracy pressure, it will explode as a supernova. B) The electron degeneracy pressure will eventually overwhelm gravity and the white dwarf will slowly evaporate. C) As gravity overwhelms the electron degeneracy pressure, it will become a neutron star. D) As gravity overwhelms the electron degeneracy pressure, it will explode as a nova. E) It will cool down and become a cold black dwarf. 20) What evidence supports the theory that elliptical galaxies come from denser clouds? A) Elliptical galaxies have denser stars than spiral galaxies. B) Elliptical galaxies at high redshifts lack young, blue stars. C) Elliptical galaxies have more gas than spiral galaxies. D) Elliptical galaxies are generally larger than spiral galaxies. E) Elliptical galaxies are denser than spiral galaxies. 21) Which of the following types of galaxies are most spherical in shape? A) lenticulars B) spirals C) irregulars D) ellipticals 4 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 22) Roughly how many stars are in the Milky Way Galaxy? A) 1 billion B) 100 trillion C) 100 million 23) White dwarfs are so called because A) it amplifies the contrast with red giants. B) they are both very hot and very small. C) they are supported by electron degeneracy pressure. D) they are the end-products of small, low-mass stars. E) they are the opposite of black holes. 24) Which of the following is evidence for supermassive black holes in active galaxies? A) quasars emit approximately equal power at all wavelengths from infrared to gamma rays B) rapid changes in the luminosity of the galaxy nucleus C) very high speed orbital motions around galactic nuclei D) the discovery of powerful jets coming from a compact core E) all of the above 25) What happens to the surface temperature and luminosity when a protostar radiatively contracts? A) Its surface temperature remains the same and its luminosity decreases. B) Its surface temperature and luminosity remain the same. C) Its surface temperature decreases and its luminosity increases. D) Its surface temperature and luminosity decrease. E) Its surface temperature and luminosity increase. D) 100 billion Final E) 10 billion An advanced civilization lives on a planet orbiting a close binary star system that consists of a 15MSun red giant and a 10MSun black hole. Assume that the two stars are quite close together, so that an accretion disk surrounds the black hole. The planet on which the civilization lives orbits the binary star at a distance of 10 AU. 26) Sometime within the next million years or so, their planet is likely to be doomed because A) jets of material shot out of the accretion disk will shoot down their planet. B) tidal forces from the black hole will rip the planet apart. C) the red giant will probably undergo a supernova explosion within the next million years. D) their planet receives most of its energy from the red giant. However, this star will soon be completely devoured in the accretion disk and thus will no longer exist. E) the planet's orbit gradually will decay as it is sucked in by the black hole. 27) Through a bizarre (and scientifically unexplainable) fluctuation in the spacetime continuum, a copy of a book titled Iguoonos: How We Evolved appears on your desk. As you begin to read, you learn that the book describes the evolution of the people living in the star system described above. In the first chapter, you learn that these people evolved from organisms that lived 5 billion years ago. Which of the following statements should you expect to find as you continue to read this book? A) As a result of traumatic experiences of their evolutionary ancestors, they dislike television. B) They believe that the presence of two stars in their system was critical to their evolution. C) Their immediate ancestors were chimpanzees. D) They evolved from primitive wormlike creatures that had 13 legs, 4 eyes, and bald heads, thus explaining why such critters are now considered a spectacular delicacy. E) They evolved on a different planet in a different star system and moved to their current location. 5 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy Final The following questions refer to the H-R diagram below that shows the life track of a 1-solar-mass star, with various stages labeled with Roman numerals. Figure 17. 1 28) Which stage lasts the longest? A) viii B) i C) iv D) iii E) vi 29) In the end, the remaining core of this star will be left behind as A) a supernova. B) a white dwarf made primarily of carbon and oxygen. C) a white dwarf made primarily of silicon and iron. D) a neutron star. E) a black hole. 30) What is the Sun mainly made of? A) hydrogen and oxygen B) oxygen and carbon C) hydrogen and helium D) carbon and nitrogen E) nearly equal portions of all the elements 31) Which of the following comprise the oldest members of the Milky Way? A) red giant stars in spiral arms B) globular clusters C) Cepheid variables D) the Sun and other solar mass stars E) O stars 32) The wavelength of a wave is A) equal to the speed of the wave times the wave's frequency. B) the distance between a peak of the wave and the next trough. C) the distance between two adjacent peaks of the wave. D) how strong the wave is. E) the distance between where the wave is emitted and where it is absorbed. 33) What is the name given to 2H? A) deuterium B) helium C) hydrogen D) tritium 6 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 34) Approximately how fast are you moving with the rotation of the earth around its axis? A) 130 km/hr B) 1,300 km/hr C) 13,000 km/hr D) 13 km/hr Final 35) What do astronomers mean by light pollution? A) Light pollution refers to pollution caused by light industry as opposed to heavy industry. B) Light pollution refers to light used for human activities that brightens the sky and hinders astronomical observations. C) Light pollution refers to harmful gases emitted by common street lights. D) Light pollution is another name for sunlight, which makes it impossible to see stars in the daytime. E) Light pollution refers to the lights that must be used inside major observatories and that make it difficult for astronomers' eyes to adapt to darkness. 36) What evidence supports the galactic fountain model? A) We see a jet of ionized gas shooting out of the bulge of our galaxy. B) We have mapped several spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. C) We have observed a lot of water molecules in the interstellar medium. D) We see hot gas above the disk of the galaxy and cool gas that appears to be raining down from the halo. E) We have no evidence yet for the galactic fountain model. 37) How do we know what happens at the event horizon of a black hole? A) Astronomers have analyzed the light from matter within the event horizon of many black holes. B) Astronomers have detected X rays from accretion disks around black holes. C) Astronomers have sent spacecraft through the event horizon of a nearby black hole. D) Physicists have created miniature black holes in the lab. E) We don't know for sure: we only know what to expect based on the predictions of general relativity. 38) What is a central dominant galaxy? A) a giant spiral galaxy that exerts large tidal forces on other nearby galaxies B) a galaxy around which many other smaller galaxies orbit C) a hypothesized galaxy type that no longer exists but once dominated the structure of the universe D) a spiral galaxy from which many smaller galaxies form when it is stripped apart by tidal forces E) a giant elliptical galaxy at the center of a dense cluster 39) The study of energy levels in atoms is called A) particle physics. B) quantum mechanics. C) classical mechanics. D) general relativity. E) special relativity. 7 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy Final 40) Why did the era of nuclei end when the universe was about 300,000 years old? A) All the free particles had combined to form the nuclei of atoms. B) Neutrinos and electrons were finally able to escape the plasma of the early universe and no longer heated the other particles. C) Photons were finally able to escape the plasma of the early universe and no longer heated the hydrogen and helium ions. D) The universe had expanded and cooled to a temperature of about 3,000 K, cool enough for stable, neutral atoms to form. E) No theory can explain this. 41) What causes the radio pulses of a pulsar? A) A black hole near the star absorbs energy and re-emits it as radio waves. B) The star vibrates. C) The star undergoes periodic explosions of nuclear fusion that generate radio emission. D) The star's orbiting companion periodically eclipses the radio waves emitted by the main pulsar. E) As the star spins, beams of radio radiation sweep through space. If one of the beams crosses the earth, we observe a pulse. 2) If we represent the Milky Way Galaxy as the size of a grapefruit (10-cm diameter), the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy would be about A) 3 m. B) 100 km. C) 1 km. D) 10 cm. E) 30 m. 43) About where is our solar system located within the Milky Way Galaxy? A) at the center of the galaxy B) about two-thirds of the way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the galactic d isk C) about 10 percent of the way from the center of the galaxy to the outskirts of the galactic disk D) near the far outskirts of the galactic disk E) in the halo of the galaxy above the galactic disk 44) What is an astronomical unit? A) any basic unit used in astronomy B) the average speed of the earth around the Sun C) the diameter of the earth's orbit around the Sun D) the average distance from the earth to the Sun E) the length of time it takes the earth to revolve around the Sun 45) How did the Ptolemaic model explain the apparent retrograde motion of the planets? A) It varied the motion of the celestial sphere so that it sometimes moved backward. B) It held that the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the Sun. C) It held that the planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the earth. D) It held that sometimes the planets moved backward along their circular orbits. E) It placed the Sun at the center so that the planets' apparent retrograde motion was seen as the earth passed each one in its orbit. 46) What is meant by spectral resolution? A) It is the same as angular resolution when applied to telescopes operating at different wavelengths. B) It is a measure of how close two point sources can be distinguished. C) It is a measure of how much energy an object emits in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. D) It is a measure of how close two spectral lines can be distinguished. 8 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 47) The tides on Earth are an example of A) Newton's third law of motion. B) Newton's second law of motion. C) Newton's first law of motion. D) the universal law of gravitation. E) none of the above 48) What might be causing the universe to accelerate? A) WIMPs B) dark gravity C) we don't know! —it's a subject of continuing research D) MACHOs E) white-dwarf supernovae Final 49) White-dwarf supernovae are good standard candles for distance measurements for all the following reasons except which? A) All white-dwarf supernovae involve the explosion of stars of nearly the same mass. B) White-dwarf supernovae occur only among young and extremely bright stars. C) White-dwarf supernovae are common enough that we detect several every year. D) All white-dwarf supernovae have similar light curves, which makes them easy to distinguish from massive-star supernovae. E) White-dwarf supernovae are so bright that they can be detected even in very distant galaxies. 50) What do we mean by the singularity of a black hole? A) It is the center of the black hole, a place of infinite density where the known laws of physics cannot describe the conditions. B) An object can become a black hole only once, and a black hole cannot evolve into anything else. C) There are no binary black holes? each one is isolated. D) It is the â€Å"point of no return† of the black hole; anything closer than this point will not be able to escape the gravitational force of the black hole. E) It is the edge of the black hole, where one could leave the observable universe. 51) Which of the following is an example in which you are traveling at constant speed but not at constant velocity? A) driving around in a circle at exactly 100 km/hr B) rolling freely down a hill in a cart, traveling in a straight line C) jumping up and down, with a period of exactly 60 hops per minute D) driving backward at exactly 50 km/hr E) none of the above 52) What is a superbubble? A) the region of space cleared by a powerful supernova B) a very low-density region of interstellar space, formed by the merger of several bubbles C) a very high-density region of interstellar space, filled with gas ejected from nearby star systems D) a bubble so large that it fills much of the galactic halo E) a cloud of gas that can form a million or more stars AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 53) No stars have been found with masses greater than 100 times our Sun because A) they would fragment into binary stars because of their rapid rotation. B) molecular clouds do not have enough material to form such massive stars. C) they would generate so much power that they would blow themselves apart. D) they are no t bright enough to be seen nearby. E) they shine exclusively at X-ray wavelengths and become difficult to detect. 54) All of the following are involved in carrying energy outward from a star's core except A) conduction. B) radiative diffusion. C) neutrinos. D) convection. 55) In what part of the electromagnetic spectrum do the biggest telescopes on Earth operate? A) ultraviolet B) radio C) infrared D) X-ray E) visible 56) Which is the strongest of the fundamental forces in the universe? A) weak force B) electromagnetic force C) strong force D) gravitational force E) none of the above 57) The path that led to modern science emerged from ancient civilizations in which part of the world? A) China B) North America C) Southern Asia D) the Mediterranean and the Middle East E) Central and South America Final 58) Most of the energy produced in the Sun is released in the form of visible light from the photosphere. However, some energy is released from the upper layers of the solar atmosphere. Which of the following best describes where other forms of light are released? A) The convection zone is the source of ultraviolet light, and the upper photosphere is the source of X rays. B) The chromosphere is the source of infrared light, and the corona is the source of ultraviolet light. C) The chromosphere is the source of X rays, and the corona is the source of radio waves. D) The chromosphere is the source of ultraviolet light, and the corona is the source of X rays. 59) How did Edwin Hubble measure the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy? A) He applied the period-luminosity relation to Cepheid variables. B) He used white dwarf supernovae. C) He deduced it from its redshift. D) He used main-sequence fitting. E) He measured its parallax. 10 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 60) Dr. Smith believes that the Hubble constant is H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc. Dr. Jones believes it is H0 = 50 Final km/s/Mpc. Which statement below automatically follows? A) Dr. Smith believes that the universe is younger than Dr. Jones believes. B) Dr. Smith believes that the Andromeda Galaxy (a member of our Local Group) is moving away from us at a faster speed than Dr. Jones believes. C) Dr. Smith believes that the universe is expanding, but Dr. Jones does not. D) Dr. Smith believes that the universe will someday stop expanding, while Dr. Jones believes it will expand forever. E) Dr. Smith believes that the universe is older than Dr. Jones believes. 61) What is an artificial star? A) a meteor B) the unseen member of a binary star system C) a satellite orbiting the earth D) a point of light in the earth's atmosphere created by a laser for the purpose of monitoring atmospheric fluctuations E) a possible source of dark matter in the universe 62) When we see X rays from an accretion disk in a binary system, we can't immediately tell whether the accretion disk surrounds a neutron star or a black hole. Suppose we then observe each of the following phenomena in this system. Which one would force us to immediately rule out the possibility of a black hole? A) bright X-ray emission that varies on a time scale of a few hours B) spectral lines from the companion star that alternately shift to shorter and longer wavelengths C) visible and ultraviolet light from the companion star D) sudden, intense X-ray bursts 63) On a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, where would we find white dwarfs? A) upper left B) lower right C) lower left D) upper right 64) On a cosmic calendar, in which the history of the universe is compressed into 1 year, when did Kepler and Galileo first discover that we live on a planet in a solar system? A) 1 second ago B) December 30 C) 1 week ago D) December 25 E) 1 day ago 65) Why does the Big Bang theory predict that the cosmic background radiation should have a perfect thermal radiation spectrum? A) It doesn't predict that the cosmic background radiation should have a perfect thermal radiation spectrum. B) The spectrum of 75 percent hydrogen and 25 percent helium is a perfect thermal radiation spectrum. C) The light from all the stars and gas in the sky averaged over the entire universe is a perfect thermal radiation spectrum. D) The spectrum of pure hydrogen is a perfect thermal radiation spectrum. E) The background radiation came from the heat of the universe, with a peak corresponding to the temperature of the universe. 11 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 66) If a material is transparent, then it A) scatters light well. B) emits light well. C) transmits light well. D) absorbs light well. E) reflects light well. 67) He discovered what we now call Newton's first law of motion. A) Ptolemy B) Galileo C) Tycho Brahe 68) Where was the Sun in Ptolemy's model of the universe? A) slightly offset from the center B) between the earth and the Moon's orbit C) at the outer edge, beyond Saturn's orbit D) between the orbits of Venus and Mars E) at the center Final D) Kepler E) Copernicus 69) Why do we expect the cosmic background radiation to be almost, but not quite, the same in all directions? A) The overall structure of the universe is very uniform, but the universe must have contained some regions of higher density in order for galaxies to form. B) The temperature of the universe can be found by taking an average over the entire sky, but individual stars will create peaks in the spectrum over small angles. C) The overall structure of the universe is very uniform, but the synthesis of different elements produces varying signatures within the background spectrum. D) The overall structure of the universe is very uniform, but intervening gas between us and the era of nuclei absorbs wavelengths depending on the composition and redshift of the gas. E) Dark matter consisting of WIMPs greatly smooths out the spectrum, but the small patches of â€Å"light† matter create peaks in the spectrum. 70) A star of spectral type O lives approximately how long on the main sequence? A) 10,000 years B) 1 million years C) 1,000 years D) 1 billion years E) 100 million years 71) If you wanted to observe a molecular cloud, in which of the ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum would you most likely observe? (There are additional possibilities. ) A) infrared B) gamma-ray C) X-ray D) ultraviolet E) visible 72) How do we learn about what is going on in the center of our own galaxy (the Milky Way)? A) We cannot see the galactic center with visible or ultraviolet light, but radio and X rays from the center can be detected. B) The gas and dust in the Milky Way prevent any type of direct observation of the galactic center, but theoretical models allow us to predict what is happening there. C) We have learned it only recently, thanks to the great photographs obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. D) We must look at the centers of other galaxies and hope that ours is just like others. 12 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 73) The age of the universe is A) between 100 billion and 160 billion years. B) between 100 million and 160 million years. C) between 1 billion and 1. 6 billion years. D) between 10 billion and 16 billion years. E) between 10 million and 16 million years. Final 74) Which forces have physicists shown to be the same force under conditions of very high temperature or energy, as confirmed by experiments in particle accelerators? A) the strong and electromagnetic forces B) the electromagnetic and weak forces C) gravity and the strong force D) the strong and weak forces E) gravity and the weak force 75) Cluster ages can be determined from A) main sequence fitting. B) pulsating variable stars. C) visual binaries. D) main sequence turnoff. E) spectroscopic binaries. 6) The spectral sequence sorts stars according to A) radius. B) mass. C) luminosity. D) surface temperature. E) core temperature. 77) Why wasn't the intracluster medium in galaxy clusters discovered until the 1970s? A) The medium emits X rays, which are blocked by the earth's atmosphere and require X-ray satellites in space in order to be observed. B) We didn't have the resolution to observe ga laxy clusters until then. C) We did not know how much dark matter existed before then. D) Radiation emitted by the medium was so dim that we couldn't detect it until we built much larger telescopes. E) The Milky Way was blocking our view of distant galaxy clusters. 78) The most active galactic nuclei are usually found at large distances from us; relatively few nearby galaxies have active galactic nuclei. What does this imply? A) Active galactic nuclei tend to become less active as they age. B) Active galactic nuclei can form only at large distances from the Milky Way. C) The jets seen in many active galactic nuclei must cause them to move far away from us. D) Massive black holes existed only when the universe was young and no longer exist today. 13 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 9) Which of the following is an example of baryonic matter? A) neutrinos B) you C) mesons produced by physicists in particle accelerators D) electrons and positrons produced by pair production E) WIMPs Final 80) How can we see through the interstellar medium? A) by using only the biggest telescopes B) by observing only the brightest visible sources C) by using telescopes above the earth's atmosphere D) by observing in high-energy wavelengths such as X rays and long wavelengths of light such as radio waves E) We cannot see through the interstellar medium. 1) On a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, where on the main sequence would we find stars that have the greatest mass? A) upper right B) lower left C) lower right D) upper left 82) What is nuclear fusion? A) an explosion caused by putting together two volatile chemicals B) a process that only occurs in bombs C) the process of splitting nuclei to produce energy D) the process of combining lightweight nuclei to make heavier nuclei E) the process of turning matter into pure energy 83) He developed a system for predicting planetary positions that remained in use for some 1,500 years. A) Copernicus B) Tycho Brahe C) Kepler D) Galileo E) Ptolemy 84) What causes stars to twinkle? A) variable absorption by interstellar gas along the line of sight to the star B) the inability of the human eye to see faint objects C) bending of light rays by turbulent layers in the atmosphere D) variations in the absorption of the atmosphere E) It is intrinsic to the stars—their brightness varies as they expand and contract. 5) The controversial book of this famous person, published in 1543 (the year of his death), suggested that the earth and other planets orbit the Sun. A) Copernicus B) Kepler C) Tycho Brahe D) Galileo E) Ptolemy 86) What is a typical mass-to-light ratio for the inner region of a spiral galaxy, in units of solar masses per solar luminosity? A) 6 B) 0. 1 C) 1,000 D) 600 E) 100 14 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 87) In the formula E = mc2, what does E represent? A) the mass-energy, or potential energy stored in an object's mass B) the radiative energy carried by light C) the electric charge of the object D) the kinetic energy of a moving object E) the gravitational potential energy of an object held above the ground The following questions refer to the sketch below of an H-R diagram for a star cluster. Figure 17. 2 Final 88) Based on its main-sequence turnoff point, the age of this cluster is A) about 10 billion years. B) less than 1 billion years. C) more than 15 billion years. D) about 2 billion years. E) about 1 billion years. 9) What percentage of a molecular cloud's mass is interstellar dust? A) 1% B) 28% C) 50% D) 12% E) 1-50%, depending on the mass of the molecular cloud 90) Which of the following correctly states the luminosity-distance formula? luminosity A) distance = 4? ? (apparent brightness)2 B) apparent brightness = luminosity ? 4? ? (distance)2 apparent brightness C) luminosity = 4? ? (distance)2 D) apparent brightness = lumin osity 4? ? (distance)2 15 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy 91) Harlow Shapley concluded that the Sun was not in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy by A) looking at the shape of the â€Å"milky band† across he sky. B) mapping the distribution of globular clusters in the galaxy. C) mapping the distribution of stars in the galaxy. D) looking at other nearby spiral galaxies. E) mapping the distribution of gas clouds in the spiral arms. 92) Which of the following statements about stages of nuclear burning (i. e. , first-stage hydrogen burning, second-stage helium burning, etc. ) in a massive star is not true? A) Each successive stage creates an element with a higher atomic weight. B) As each stage ends, the core shrinks further. C) Each successive stage of fusion requires higher temperatures than the previous stages. D) Each successive stage lasts for approximately the same amount of time. Final 93) Which of the following is not true of quasars? A) Some quasars are more than a thousand times more luminous than the Milky Way. B) Some quasars can change their brightness every few hours. C) Quasars are powered by the energy radiated by matter falling into a central black hole. D) Quasars are powered by the intense production of large numbers of stars that can only be sustained for a relatively short time. E) Quasars were more common in the past. 94) How does the spectrum of a molecule differ from the spectrum of an atom? A) Molecules only have spectral lines at ultraviolet wavelengths. B) Most atoms only have spectral lines at infrared wavelengths. C) A molecule does not have spectral lines due to electrons changing energy levels. D) A molecule has additional spectral lines due to changes in its rotational and vibrational energies. E) An atom has a wider range of spectral lines than molecules. 95) We can learn a lot about the properties of a star by studying its spectrum. All of the following statements are true except one. Which one? A) We can identify chemical elements present in the star by recognizing patterns of spectral lines that correspond to particular chemicals. B) We can look at Doppler shifts of spectral lines to determine the star's speed toward or away from us. C) The total amount of light in the spectrum tells us the star's radius. D) The peak of the star's thermal emission tells us its temperature: Hotter stars peak at shorter (bluer) wavelengths. 96) Where does the energy come from that your body uses to keep you alive? A) It is produced from the radiative energy of the Sun on your skin. B) It comes from the foods you eat. C) It is created during the time that you rest or sleep. D) It is in the air that you breathe. E) It comes from the water you drink. 16 AST 101- Introduction to Astronomy Final 97) Which of the following statements best describes the two principal advantages of telescopes over eyes? A) Telescopes have much more magnification and better angular resolution. B) Telescopes can collect far more light with far better angular resolution. C) Telescopes can collect far more light with far greater magnification. D) Telescopes collect more light and are unaffected by twinkling. E) Telescopes can see farther without image distortion and can record more accurate colors. 98) According to the universal law of gravitation, if you triple the distance between two objects, then the gravitational force between them will A) decrease by a factor of 9. B) decrease by a factor of 6. C) decrease by a factor of 3. D) increase by a factor of 3. E) increase by a factor of 9. 99) Degeneracy pressure is the source of the pressure that stops the crush of gravity in all the following except A) a neutron star. B) a brown dwarf. C) the central core of the Sun after hydrogen fusion ceases but before helium fusion begins. D) a very massive main-sequence star. E) a white dwarf. 100) Which of the following is not a conserved quantity? A) momentum C) energy B) angular momentum D) radiation 17 Answer Key Testname: FINAL_071212 1) E 2) E 3) E 4) A 5) C 6) B 7) C 8) D 9) E 10) C 11) D 12) E 13) B 14) E 15) C 16) A 17) E 18) A 19) E 20) B 21) D 22) D 23) B 24) E 25) E 26) C 27) E 28) D 29) B 30) C 31) B 32) C 33) A 34) B 35) B 36) D 37) E 38) E 39) B 0) D 41) E 42) A 43) B 44) D 45) C 46) D 47) D 48) C 18 Answer Key Testname: FINAL_071212 49) 50) 51) 52) 53) 54) 55) 56) 57) 58) 59) 60) 61) 62) 63) 64) 65) 66) 67) 68) 69) 70) 71) 72) 73) 74) 75) 76) 77) 78) 79) 80) 81) 82) 83) 84) 85) 86) 87) 88) 89) 90) 91) 92) 93) 94) 95) 96) B A A B C A B C D D A A D D C A E C B D A B A A D B D D A A B D D D E C A A A A A D B D D D C B 19 Answer Key Testname: FINAL_071212 97) B 98) A 99) D 100) D 20