The Financial Strategies Of Women Owned Small Businesses

Premise: The Financial Strategies of Women-Owned Small Businesses in Florida Problem Statement The accessibility of businesses through social media and the web have made many entrepreneurs able to reach consumers throughout the world they would otherwise not be able to do business with. Women have often found themselves underperforming in the workforce and as traditional small business owners in comparison to similarly employed or self-employed men (Huarng et al., 2012). However, there has been little research investigating the extent to which these new social media, web, and digital marketing technologies and their strategies benefit women entrepreneurs of already profitable small businesses in comparison to men who employ similar strategies. A descriptive quantitative study is needed to investigate the use of social media, web, and digital marketing technologies in the businesses of successful women entrepreneurs in comparison to similarly successful men entrepreneurs by studying the effects of their digital strategy by concentrating on their digital ana lytical data on similar digital and social media platforms and measuring that data. This study plans to provide data that will help determine whether profitable small businesses are effected by gender on the Web 2.0 and help close the gender gap. Practice-Focused Question(s) †¢ Q1: Examining the analytical data of men and women entrepreneurs with similarly profitable businesses who use the same social media channelShow MoreRelatedThe Financial Strategies Of Women Owned Small Businesses1857 Words   |  8 PagesThe Financial Strategies of Women-Owned Small Businesses in Florida The accessibility of businesses through social media and the web have made it more accessible for many entrepreneurs to reach consumers worldwide and to conduct business with them. Women have often found themselves underperforming in the workforce and as traditional small businesses owners in comparison to similarly employed or self-employed men (Han et al., 2012). However, there has been little research investigating the extentRead MoreA Research Article On Women810 Words   |  4 PagesBackground Women have owned and managed businesses for centuries, but the first scholarly article focused on women-owned businesses (Gartner, 1985) did not appear in the literature until 1976 (Jennings Brush, 2013). Early scholars seem to have assumed that all business owners were essentially the same, and groups of small business owners did not require different research (Achtenhagen Welter, 2011). Over the past 10 years in the United States, the rate of new business formation by women has outpacedRead MoreWomen Are Achieving Great Success Essay1377 Words   |  6 PagesWomen are achieving great success in the business world, realizing their own entrepreneurial dreams by starting and succeeding in small business. It is an inescapable fact that most people need to work. You need some form of income in order to live a comfortable life and provide for yourself and your family. This is, of course, true for both men and women. However there are many women who, for various reasons, are unable to work a typical nine-to-five job, and have instead discovered alternativeRead MoreNeed Of The Study Of Women1492 Words   |  6 PagesNEED OF THE STUDY Women-owned enterprises contribute 3.09 percent of industrial output and employ over 8 million people. Approximately, 78 percent of women enterprises belong to the services sector. Women entrepreneurship is largely skewed towards smaller sized firms, as almost 98 percent of women-owned businesses are micro-enterprises. As with the broader MSME sector, access to formal finance is a key barrier to the growth of women-owned businesses, leading to over 90 percent of finance requirementsRead MoreBusiness Relationship Management : Dell Inc. Essay1564 Words   |  7 Pageswin the loyalty of their customers. Current customer base is so diverse, that one simple kind of strategy cannot work alone. However, a company that is able to show customer value and appreciation can leverage the potential of this diversity to ensure a successful customer business relationship. Dell Inc. is one such organization and Michael Dell is an innovative leader that provides value and strategy at managing diversi ty and multicultural settings. While Michael Dell continues to grow his companyRead MoreThe Diversity And Cultural Diversity Management1634 Words   |  7 Pagesthe management systems ? MasterCard firmly believes that the demographics of suppliers should reflect those of the customers. In 2001, MasterCard launched the Supplier Diversity Program in the United States so businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans, as well as small businesses, would have equal opportunity to participate MasterCard procurement process. In addition to making good business sense, this program offers several indisputable benefits: †¢ Developing an inclusive, competitive,Read MoreTo Build or Buy1696 Words   |  7 PagesManley Professor: Angela Harris Business 402- Small Business Management May 1, 2015 The small business that I chose to compete with is a beauty shop that I visit weekly. This beauty shop is located in the city of Dale City, VA. This Business is called Images Beauty Shop. Images Beauty Shop is surrounded by several different types of businesses such as schools, grocery, and a few other retail stores. Images Beauty Shop was owned by older women previously, but the owner moved to a differentRead MoreThe Bank Of America Has Tackled Major Issues Facing The1110 Words   |  5 PagesThe Bank of America has tackled major issues facing the banking industry by employing its simple customer-focused approach. The corporation’s strategic method to effectively identify and provide a range of financial products and services through direct and indirect customer feedback have been profitable. Nevertheless, the bank’s resource-based view has also impacted the basis of the cooperation’s competitive advantage. This resource-based view lies primarily with the ap plication of valuable tangibleRead MoreEssay on Assignment 1: to Build or Buy1694 Words   |  7 PagesBuild or Buy Student Professor: Business 402- Small Business Management February 1, 2014 The small business that I chose to compete with is a barber shop that I frequently visit. This barber shop is located in the small town of Charles Town, WV. This Business is called Sharp Cutz Barber Shop. Sharp Cutz is surrounded by several different types of businesses such as schools, grocery, and retail stores. Sharp Cutz was owned by a different barber previously, but the owner movedRead MoreBusiness Skills As Entrepreneurship Education1203 Words   |  5 PagesLiterature Review Various authors have explained business skills as entrepreneurship education to empower knowledge of the entrepreneurs. This entails business management skills, business planning, financial management, awareness of legal aspects and market searching. That being the case, the skills are useful and important in developing creative thinking, negotiations, leadership (business management), exposure to technical innovation and new product development. However, the skills help to identify

The Exploration Of British Petroleum - 1412 Words

British Petroleum has a large operation in the United States and it has made investments to ensure that it develops these operations to maximize its production and increase profits. One such investment was the acquisition of the vast oil field at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. This acquisition represented a good increase in the percentage of oil production in the United States and ensured that the company could increase its production and further its goals and objectives for the United States market. As early as 2001 there were incidents at the facility that the company internally accounted for and management was made aware of the safety concerns that existed. The March 2006 oil leak represented a culmination of various factors that showed that a†¦show more content†¦The facility’s management should have ensured that proper maintenance was being conducted on all their equipment, especially the pipelines. If there was a company requirement for inspections, not conducting them re presents an unethical decision by management (Jennings, 2012). If the problem had been brought up by employees and management failed to make the right decision, it is still not ethical. These were glaring problems management refused to address. The further problem of BP’s overall management not enforcing company policy means that there is a culture of unethical decision making where economics gains far outweigh the adherence to safety regulations (BP’s Troubled Past, 2010). With BP renting the rig from Transocean for $500,000 per day, the company was sharing liability with Transocean as well. Transocean would be held liable according to the provisions of the contract that the two companies signed. Because the law of vicarious liability is very vague, BP cannot distance itself from liability and responsibility through the use of a contractor (Conn, 2009). The provisions of the contract should have stated exactly what BP would be responsible for, and what Transocean woul d be responsible for. That said, Conn (2009) pointed out several factors that come into play when sharing liability and addressed the problem with the following points: (a) Companies usually seek the help of experts to perform particular tasks. BP had contracted Transocean because the

Comparison of Three Sculptures free essay sample

Comparison of Three Sculptures Katelyn Sauerland Art 101 October 9, 2012 The major difference between the three David’s is obviously the periods in which they were carved. Michelangelo’s was during the Renaissance, Bernini’s is Baroque, and Donatello carved his David during the Gothic period. Michelangelo’s David is very large in size, over fourteen feet tall. This makes him seem to loom over his admirers, and makes him a rather imposing figure. It is more than obvious that this David is naked, has no flaws, and seems to be in perfect health.The perfect man, if you will. All of this is typical of the Renaissance period in which he was carved. Michelangelo’s David seems to be pondering something very important, perhaps the meaning of life? He is not in a hurry to do anything, and he is not rushing off to do anything. In fact, he hardly looks like the famed warrior who slayed a giant of a man. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Three Sculptures or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Bernini’s David, on the other hand, looks as though he is right in the middle of the famed battle with Goliath. You can just imagine the rock in his hand as being the very one with which he brought down the giant.In Bernini’s statue, David has on some manner of clothing. It is not much more than a piece of cloth thrown over his private parts, but it still gives him some modesty, which is in keeping with the Baroque period. Gian Lorenzo Bernini created his statue of David using marble as the material. This statue is a life-size representation of David during his battle with Goliath. Donatello’s sculpture of David was created in the Early Renaissance. It is made of bronze and reaches 158 cm of height. This sculpture depicts a naked David, wearing only a hat and boots. He has an enigmatic smile on his face.David is carrying a sword and he has his foot on Goliath’s head after defeating him. This statue became controversial for being the first freestanding nude man and because it was considered to have political significance. Something that makes Donatello’s David stand apart is the fact that he actually made TWO statues of David. The first was in 1408, and is made of marble. This marble representation is rather boring and traditional, and shows none of the innovative style that Donatello later exhibit. The second David was done in bronze in the 1440’s, and is another nude – although this one is wearing a hat and boots.

Strategic Change Leadership in Management

Introduction Change leadership is a planned move toward transitioning persons, groups, and establishments from a present situation to a preferred future state, to accomplish or put into practice a vision and plan. Therefore, the capacity to initiate change is a significant aspect of the business arena and the aptitude to assist the organization adjust to change is a serious business problem. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Change Leadership in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Change leadership involves facilitating the attainment of proposed, actual transformation that satisfies the vision of an organization. It involves mutual development and implementation of plans to attain constructive change in an organization. The change manager learns new ideas from other administrators, develops the vision, and motivates the employees to remain focused on achieving the proposed plan. The change lead er inspires others to adopt new methods of thinking and conducting business and regularly invigorates the change course and eliminates obstacles to change. This paper discusses change leadership. Against a background of rising globalization, rapidity of scientific novelty, advancing knowledge personnel, and changing social trends, many individuals agree that the main duty of administration at present is the leadership of managerial change. Significant words in the glossary of the recently emerging managerial model comprise innovation, excellence, flexibility, speed, and carrying out tests. â€Å"In view of these requirements, the traditional organizational structure, with its hierarchical, centralized control, and historically entrenched values of stability and security, is an anachronism† (Graetz, 2000, p. 552). The momentum at present is towards creating more dynamic, flexible, and nimble administrative models. These adjustments have prompted a fundamental shift in the po sition of higher-ranking managers from the conventional authoritarian control model to a more flexible, open, and participative organizational system. Currently, many organizations stress on teamwork and communiquà ©; therefore, administrators need to embrace various management skills. Habitually, many leaders have centered on the operational element of administration. Nonetheless, to be an efficient manager in a setting of transformation and volatility, a second, interpersonal element becomes vital. This implies that transformative management encompasses influential and captivating functions and blends operational expertise with superior interpersonal abilities (Ulrich Wiersema, 1999, pp. 115-120).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Many organizations go through four main stages of change. The first stage of the change process is called the formative period when an organizat ion is newly established. Although at this point there is usually a set vision, formal definitions are often lacking since many tests and advancements usually take place at this point. The second phase of change in a given organization is often characterized by fast growth or expansion. Coordination and direction are included in the company to maintain growth and facilitate achievement of vision. Change is centered on explaining the purpose of the association and the mainstream activities. The mature phase is the third stage and this is when the growth curve balances with the general trend of the economy. At this stage, changes are required to sustain created markets and ensuring utmost benefits are realized. The fourth level of change is termed the phase of downfall. This is the most demanding period in any given organization and it involves cutbacks, restructuring, and reorganization. During change execution, a director should make sure that the correct communication has been re layed through the right channel. Implementation is conceivably the most unfavorable stage of alteration. In this phase, proper communication is vital and without it, the transformation process cannot be executed effectively. For this reason, the realization of alteration challenges communication competencies of a manager. An efficient leader should demonstrate valuable leadership conduct to mitigate the pressure on transformation tasks, such as harmonization with other directors in an establishment, concern for comfort of the personnel, honesty, and readiness to involve in joint feedback. Therefore, it is very crucial for leaders to be ready to accept and adapt to change because it is unavoidable. It is also imperative for a leader to uphold the key values of an institution when it is undergoing transformation to ensure that the needs of the clients are fulfilled. Successful and lasting managerial developments depend on efficient change directors who are familiar with how to make and implement a vision, surmount opposition to change, and deal with disagreements. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Change Leadership in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These competencies can make the distinction between a triumphant change attempt and unsuccessful one. â€Å"Managing change means having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish; identifying stakeholders and communicating with them; and knowing how to manage the varying levels of support and resistance that will inevitably emerge in response to any change† (Hambrick Cannella, 2008, pp. 278-282). Leaders must encounter several impediments and difficult circumstances in their endeavor to transform an establishment. When leaders sort out various problems, they make decisions that influence their personal lives and other individuals. Intrapersonal communication is crucial during judgments and facilitates a leaderâ₠¬â„¢s individual development, which is a significant feature of headship. Self-reflection assessment is one way through which leaders get involved in intrapersonal communication. Interpersonal communication takes place within a person’s mind. This kind of communication can enhance the level of a leader’s personal-awareness. Leadership capabilities include a cognitive feature, in terms of information and abilities the manager has, and a performance characteristic which allows managers to organize their abilities properly. A leader’s aptitude will affect the activities, arrangements, and procedures that improve the change and reinforce the efficacy in executing change. Leadership is dissimilar from administration. It improves administration, but it cannot substitute it because administration is concerned with dealing with difficulties. On the other hand, leadership involves handling change. Lastly, a leaders’ judgment and abilities are noticeable through the activities of executing change in the association. At this point, a leader is supposed to be conscious about evading coordination matters when various useful units in an establishment work on a general assignment. Lack of coordination often leads to disagreements during the execution of change and it lessens the success (Kotter, 1995, pp. 59-67). Change leadership necessitates social analysis skills to comprehend, judge and examine social circumstances precisely, and relational skills to react to the transformation and deal with them effectively. Since change execution involves accepting different types of persons, social-emotional capability is considered to have a straight effect on the faculty to direct change. Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It serves as a superior forecaster of guiding change than organizing complexity. Social-emotional capability comprises examining the workers’ opinions, giving positive response, encouraging the collaboration among group participants, upholding valuable interpersonal associations with other individuals, and treating them decorously regardless of their cadres or social status. A leader’s position in alteration process is to influence their workers to recognize the need of transformation. Understanding organizational alteration involves assessing kinds of modification within the establishment. Regardless of its magnitude, any transformation has a ripple outcome on business. The critical problem that several leaders encounter is the opposition to change and it has an observable effect upon the achievement of a managerial alteration scheme. Resistance is generally considered as a conduct, which is not corresponding to the efforts of the transformation leader. Thus, the lea ders must examine the confrontation from motivational and personality-based viewpoint (Johnson, 2009, pp. 183-200). The fundamental features of the transformation management are formation and encouragement of dedication and trust. Apparently, change leaders are not able to encourage these traits unless they have these characteristics. The leaders who focus exclusively on administrative duties may not offer proper leadership that is needed to sustain the performance. Thus, leaders must learn to recognize the sustainability issues and then come up with suitable competencies to handle those challenges. Conclusion Based on the reviewed manuscripts on change leadership, several of the investigators propose that efficient leadership relies on three essential individual competencies; they are scientific, inter-personal, and theoretical abilities. Technical ability is information about particular kind of vocation or action and the individual skill is capacity to work harmoniously with othe rs. Finally, theoretical skill refers to capacity to apply various thoughts and concepts in different work environments. Leaders from various management backgrounds need varied amount of these indispensable skills. â€Å"Leaders from top management level mainly require inter-personal and conceptual skills rather than technical skills, whereas the leaders from supervisory management level require greater proportion of technical and inter-personal skills than conceptual skills† (Graetz, 2000, pp. 551-562). Consequently, change leaders should apply cognitive competencies, business techniques, and planned skills for the proper achievement of change because they have a serious task of ensuring that the transformation attempt is successful. References Graetz, F. (2000). Strategic change leadership. Management Decision, 38(8), 551-562. Hambrick, C., Cannella, A. (2008). Strategy implementation as substance and selling. The Academy of Management Executive, 9(4), 278-885. Johnson, G. (2009). Managing strategic change; the role of symbolic action. British Journal of Management, 1(3), 183-200. Kotter, J. (1995). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, 9(8), 59-69. Ulrich, D., Wiersema, F. (1999). Gaining strategic and organisational capability in a turbulent business environment. Academy of Management Executive, 13(3), 115-122. This essay on Strategic Change Leadership in Management was written and submitted by user Kinsley Sullivan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Business Report

Dear Sir, Review of current canteen situation and proposal for upgrading. Raffles Polytechnic School of Business houses 668 students and 77 staff. Canteen 1, with a capacity of 200, serves this population. Currently there have been numerous complaints with regards to Canteen 1. Hence the objective of this report is to address the various complaints and hence made the necessary upgrading. A survey had been done and below is the summary of my findings with regards to the issue. 1.) Major complaint: the canteen is unbelievably crowded; I have to spend a long time queuing for my food and then it takes me more time to find seat. How frequently do you have lunch at canteen 1? Fig 1 What time do you normally have lunch? Fig 2 1.1) From the findings more than 50% of students and staffs eat at least 3 times a week. (Refer to fig 1) 1.2) From fig 2, 42% of the students and 70% of staff are using the canteen at 1pm. That would be a rough 340 estimate if we were to take a direct proportional estimate from the sample size, exceeding the capacity of Canteen 1. How would you rate Canteen 1 in terms of seating capacity? Fig 3 1.3) The response of Fig 3 shown that about 68% of the population surveyed feel that canteen 1 seating capacity is poor. 1.4) 98% of the surveyed population feels that there is a need for to extend the canteen. 2.) Major problem: Something must be done about the standard the standard of hygiene in the canteen; it’s not clean. 2.1) I found that currently tables have been cleaned and cleared by team of 5 workers with each worker responsible for a specific section of the canteen. During peak hours, the canteen hosts up to 300 over people (refer to fig 1 and 2), which meant each worker would have to clear the tables for 60 people. How would you rate the hygiene standard in the canteen? Fig 4 2.2) From figure 4, 79% feels that the hygiene of the canteen is on the better side of the scale. ... Free Essays on Business Report Free Essays on Business Report Dear Sir, Review of current canteen situation and proposal for upgrading. Raffles Polytechnic School of Business houses 668 students and 77 staff. Canteen 1, with a capacity of 200, serves this population. Currently there have been numerous complaints with regards to Canteen 1. Hence the objective of this report is to address the various complaints and hence made the necessary upgrading. A survey had been done and below is the summary of my findings with regards to the issue. 1.) Major complaint: the canteen is unbelievably crowded; I have to spend a long time queuing for my food and then it takes me more time to find seat. How frequently do you have lunch at canteen 1? Fig 1 What time do you normally have lunch? Fig 2 1.1) From the findings more than 50% of students and staffs eat at least 3 times a week. (Refer to fig 1) 1.2) From fig 2, 42% of the students and 70% of staff are using the canteen at 1pm. That would be a rough 340 estimate if we were to take a direct proportional estimate from the sample size, exceeding the capacity of Canteen 1. How would you rate Canteen 1 in terms of seating capacity? Fig 3 1.3) The response of Fig 3 shown that about 68% of the population surveyed feel that canteen 1 seating capacity is poor. 1.4) 98% of the surveyed population feels that there is a need for to extend the canteen. 2.) Major problem: Something must be done about the standard the standard of hygiene in the canteen; it’s not clean. 2.1) I found that currently tables have been cleaned and cleared by team of 5 workers with each worker responsible for a specific section of the canteen. During peak hours, the canteen hosts up to 300 over people (refer to fig 1 and 2), which meant each worker would have to clear the tables for 60 people. How would you rate the hygiene standard in the canteen? Fig 4 2.2) From figure 4, 79% feels that the hygiene of the canteen is on the better side of the scale. ...

Visa para jóvenes para trabajar como staff campamento

Visa para jà ³venes para trabajar como staff campamento Una de las mejores opciones para jà ³venes para trabajar  en Estados Unidos y practicar inglà ©s con una visa de intercambio J-1 en el programa de staff de un campamento de verano. En este artà ­culo se explican cules son los requisitos para disfrutar de esta oportunidad de trabajar como monitor (staff) en un campamento de verano, cules son las precauciones que deben tomarse para evitar problemas migratorios y cules son otras posibles opciones en programas similares.  ¿Quià ©nes Pueden Aplicar Por Visa J-1 Para Trabajar Como Staff de Campamento? Pueden trabajar en campamentos de verano como staff los extranjeros con una visa J-1 de intercambio los extranjeros que viven habitualmente fuera de Estados Unidos y  que reà ºnan todos los requerimientos siguientes: Tener al menos los 18 aà ±os cumplidosSer estudiante universitario o de un programa acadà ©mico semejante. O ser un trabajador joven o un maestro o una persona adulta con habilidades adecuadas para este trabajo  Tener conocimientos de inglà ©s suficientes para poder supervisar y relacionarse con adolescentes y nià ±os americanos Pasos  Para Trabajar Como Monitor de Campamento en USA Antes de pedir  esta modalidad de la visa J-1 de intercambio en la Embajada o consulado que corresponda es necesario encontrar un patrocinador para ese trabajo. Para ello hay que contactar con una de las organizaciones autorizadas por el Departamento de Estado para patrocinar  extranjeros para este programa.   Este es el listado de organizaciones designadas para patrocinar. Encontrars el nombre de la organizacià ³n, pgina web, su ubicacià ³n (ciudad y estado) y nà ºmero de telà ©fono. Puedes contactar a los que quieras y es posible que tengan un colaborador en tu paà ­s. Pero verifà ­calo por correo electrà ³nico o por telà ©fono con la organizacià ³n en Estados Unidos. Cuando una de estas organizaciones decida patrocinar  te enviar un documento que se conoce con el nombre DS-2019. A  partir de lo  cual puedes iniciar a tramitar la visa por internet llenando el formulario DS-160 y pagando la cuota correspondiente. Y sà ³lo ms tarde tendrs que ir al consulado o a la Embajada a la entrevista.   Si tu solicitud es aprobada, se te dar la visa. Si la solicitud es negada no podrs recuperar el dinero pagado al aplicar por el visado. Cà ³mo Evitar Problemas Migratorios Con Visa de Intercambio Aà ºn cuando se te entregue la visa, no puedes utilizarla para ingresar a Estados Unidos sino hasta que falten 30 dà ­as o menos para la iniciacià ³n del programa de campamento en el que se va a participar. La fecha exacta de comienzo es la que establece el documento DS-2019 que te entregà ³ la institucià ³n que te patrocina. Una vez que finaliza el programa tienes 30 dà ­as para salir de Estados Unidos. A menos que hayas pedido a tiempo una extensià ³n y se haya aprobado. Otros Programas de Intercambio J-1 Que Quiz Te Puedan Interesar Si eres joven y buscas mejorar tu inglà ©s y conocer Estados Unidos y la cultura americana de primera mano puede que te interesen programas similares al de monitor de campamento y que tambià ©n requieren de una visa J-1, puede que consideres de interà ©s los siguientes programas. Por ejemplo, la visa para  trabajar  y viajar en verano, tambià ©n conocida como SWT, por sus siglas en inglà ©s, o la de  Au-pair, tambià ©n conocido en algunos paà ­ses como nià ±era o canguro. Finalmente, los muchachos que han finalizado sus estudios universitarios pueden estar interesados en programas de prcticas profesionales, que estn disponibles para distintos campos de trabajo, como salud, arquitectura, arte, ciencias, etc. Es muy importante entender que cada programa dentro de la visa J-1 tiene sus propias reglas. De hecho, pueden tener requisitos muy diferentes. Lo fundamental es cumplir con los requerimientos del programa al que se aplica. Las Visas de Estudiantes Como una Excelente Opcià ³n Para Jà ³venes Para los muchachos interesados en estudiar en Estados Unidos estn a su disposicià ³n las visas F-1 para estudiantes de idiomas o en instituciones acadà ©micas  y las visas M-1 para estudios vocacionales o en escuelas no acadà ©micas. Adems, para los mexicanos y canadienses transfronterizos est a su disposicià ³n la visa F-3. En la actualidad Estados Unidos es el paà ­s del mundo con mayor nà ºmero de estudiantes internacionales. Los 3 estados preferidos de los alumnos internacionales son, por orden de mayor a menor, California, Nueva York y Texas. En cuanto a las universidades ms populares son New York University, University of South California y Columbia University. Para los que desean estudiar en una universidad estadounidense, sin duda el primer paso es hacerse una idea completa de los requisitos que se necesitan para aplicar con à ©xito a la institucià ³n elegida. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Federal courts jurisdiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Federal courts jurisdiction - Essay Example (United States v. Lopez, 1995) This was a landmark case in that it established the supremacy of the Federal Courts over state courts and jurisdiction within individual states. However, the end result of the case was that the charges by the federal government were dismissed and in a statement by Judge Rehnquist the reasoning was that it was time to step in and check the powers of the federal government by defining the powers between the federal government and the individual state. The prosecutions argument rested the use of the Interstate Commerce Act, this act specifically being designed to prevent unfair business practices by shifting regulatory abilities from the state governments to that of the federal government. (Interstate Commerce Act, 1887) The case was upheld by a decision of 5-4 and helped define what was allowed directly by the Interstate Commerce Act. Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist made it clear that this incident was not something that should be allowed under the Commer ce Act however, further stated that this decision was not meant to change prior decisions in regards to the Commerce Act. The decision was meant only to limit the current scope of the Federal Government in regards to incidents occurring within each individual state. The decision clarified the separation of power that exists between the individual states and that of the Federal Government.

Causes of Lung Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Causes of Lung Cancer - Essay Example Dr. Oscar Auerbach and his colleagues conducted research (stretched over eight years) to investigate the link between lung cancer and smoking. 1500 male and female patients of lung cancer were studied and 100,000 slides of lung tissues were taken from their bodies. The degree of cancer cells was more in patients who were smokers as compared to those who were not. The research’s findings were that the degree of cell damage was directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Dr. Auerbach’s researched data contributed to the Surgeon General’s report which was published in 1964 (Adams). After that time period, it was very common to associate lung cancer with smoking. Causes Studies targeted at deriving a relationship between cigarettes and lung cancer started in 1948 at Washington University’s School of Medicine and a student named Ernst Wynder tried connecting the dots. He did research in 1950 that involved 649 lung cancer patients and 600 contro ls. Wynder discovered that the rate of lung cancer was 40 times higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. Richard Doll was a British scientist who discovered (in the same year) evidence supporting the causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer. Doll researched on physicians, both who smoked and did not smoke and waited for years to see if any of them developed lung cancer. Undoubtedly the ones who did develop lung cancer were smokers (Johnson). There were a total of 158,900 deaths in the USA in 1999 because of lung cancer and this figure included men and women both. The death toll for lung cancer patients in 1999 world over was 1 billion. But lung cancer was not this common in the 1800s and it was rare. In 1929, a German physician named Fritz Lickint pointed out in his report that lung cancer patients were majorly smokers and he was so disturbed by his findings that he started an anti-tobacco movement in Germany to discourage smoking (Witschi). Before 1996, studies on causes of lung cancer-derived a relationship between lung cancer and smoking but the causes of lung cancer were not narrowed down to the cellular level. In 1996, Dr. Moonshong Tang and Dr. Gerd Pfeiffer explained how smoking affects cells and causes cancer. Both the doctors explained that cigarettes contain a chemical called benzopyrene and it damages p53, a protein found in lung cells. This protein is exactly the same as the protein found in lung cancer patients. The function of p53 is that it controls the abnormal growth of cells which can result in tumors. Benzopyrene damages p53 and the abnormal growth of cells cannot be controlled because of this (Adams). Specialists have worked on deriving a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer. But epidemiological research has been done predominantly for deriving this relationship. Under epidemiological research, subjects are given the freedom of self-reporting their smoking habits and they do not have good memories as a result of which facts are under- or overstated. Smoking can cause other types of cancer as well: such as nasal cavity cancer, liver cancer, and stomach cancer. Lung cancer can be caused by all forms of smoking such as cigarettes, cigars, pipes or bidis (tobacco wrapped in a plant). When we say smoking causes cancer people generally assume that we are referring to active smoking. This is not plausible as lung cancer is also caused by passive smoking (Connie Henke Yarbro).

Troubadors Paper Essay Example for Free

Troubadors Paper Essay It is unlikely, in this day and age, that one could be privy to likes of troubadours, as recounted in the works of Jaufre Rudel and   Bernart de Ventadorn.   Their works, A Love Afar and The Skylark, are similar in that they both speak of a love that for one reason or another has been unreachable to them.   Rudel, in A Love Afar, is pining for a woman he has never met, nor even seen, but has an attraction for based on the information he has been given by other pilgrims. â€Å"My pilgrim’s staff and cloak might shine.†Ã‚   Rudel professes to worship this love from afar, â€Å"They call to mind my love afar.†Ã‚   His work follows the path of courtly love, which is typical of the medieval era.   Rudel declares his devotion to his love, â€Å"Gladly I’d lie at her command, a captive in a Moorish land.†Ã‚   Also typical of medieval courting, Rudel speaks of physical manifestations of the love that he seeks afar, â€Å"My curse fall on that godsire’s heart, who’s cursed me so my love runs ill.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tenor of Bernart de Ventadorn’s work, The Skylark, lacks the hope that is present in Rudel’s writing.   The Skylark, is the writing of a man who is daunted by the love that he has lost.   â€Å"Alas, I thought I’d grown so wise; in love I had so much to learn:   I can’t control this heart that flies to here who pays no love return.†Ã‚   Where Rudel felt that he had been blessed by love, even promised love by God, Ventadorn has been cursed by a love that has stolen the very life from him.   â€Å"Losing control, I’ve lost all right to rule my life†¦deep in despair.†Ã‚   Ventadorn presents no benefit from the love he seeks or sought, whereas Rudel sees benefit even if he should die in the end.   Ventadorn has been scorned by love.   â€Å"I’ll place no trust in women though I did before; I’ve been there champion so it’s just that I renounce them everm ore.† Rudel has found such promise in love. â€Å"That man speaks true who’d say I burn for naught else but my love afar; now for no other end I yearn, only to know my love afar.   Ventadorn, however, has lost all faith in women, love, and music.   â€Å"Ay! Now I fall in deep disgrace,   a fool upon love’s bridge am I; No one know how that could take place, unless I dared to climb too high. Ventadorn places women on a pedestal, but perhaps realized he had done so unjustly.   Ventadorn’s writing also suggests an adulterous nature, â€Å"Wrongful it seems, now, in my view, to see a creature love’s betrayed, who’d seek no other good but you, then let him die without your aid.†Ã‚   Ventadorn is so distraught that he swears off his writing and music.   â€Å"Tristan you’ll hear no more from me:   I leave to wander, none knows where; henceforth all joys in love I’ll flee and all my songs I now forswear.† Courtship during the medieval era was considered to be an art form.   Both of these writings bring to mind the image of the Knight on a white horse, that sweeps his lady off her feet.   Both pieces tell of love that is challenged by a geographical distance and love that is ultimately fated to die.   Both pieces are ideal examples of noble chivalry that was present in the courting present in the medieval era.  Ã‚   Both pieces place the woman in a superior level to themselves. The image created by Rudel is one of passion, with no price to high, in order to reach his love.   It is almost as though you can see him traveling by boat, â€Å"Such tracks and trails, such land and sea.†Ã‚   One can almost see him battling his way to his love.   Ventadorn paints an image of a man who is angered and retreats to his destination, which is to be alone, as demonstrated, â€Å"I say no more; I silent go; She gives me death; let death reply.   My Lady won’t embrace me so I leave, exiled to pain for aye.† Rudel speaks of his love as a lady, while Ventadorn speaks of his love as a Lady while expressing his love, but then reverts to women when expressing his anger and despair.   Troubadors admired ladies, but feared women.   Ladies were to be treasured, something to desire, while women were almost considered evil.   Both writers seem to appeal to their loves as a method of furthering themselves and their current status.

Queen Myongson Essays -- Korea Korean Leaders Essays

Queen Myongson (Queen Min) Queen Myongsong was born in 1851 in Yohung Min Chan. After the death of her father, the queen would not be able to build her own political power base in the patriarchal Korean society. At that time, the real power was in the hands of Hungsun Taewongun. Taewongun arranged his son to take Queen Min, whom lacked power and thus would not pose a threat to himself or Kojong. In 1866, at the age 14, Queen Min became wife to Kojong whom assumed power in 1864 at the age of 12. (2) At the time of her marriage, King Kojong's father, Taewongun, ran the country in his son's name. When King Kojong came to power in 1864, his father became the Regent. But the old man stayed on even after King Kojong became old enough to take over. To add insult to injury, Taewongun attempted to designate an illegitimate son of King Kojong the heir to the throne. In 1873, the Queen’s intelligence and cunningness enabled to convince her young husband to declare himself king in fact as well as in name. After throwing out Tawongun, Min placed her relatives in key positions of power and began to dismantle Taewongun's 'hermit' isolationist policy and opened up the country to foreign trades and friendly relations. Encouraged by his wife, King Kojong signed the Kanghwa Treaty with Japan and instituted a series of modernization and reform programs. (6) This created a bloody conflict between Queen Min and her father-in- law. In addition Queen Min had a difficult time giving birth t o a son, who was necessary to continue the royal line. In Korea, a woman could not inherit the throne in her own right. Therefore, having a son was crucial to the success of any queen. Growing impatient with the ... ...Network at Lost Angeles – Queen Min (http://www.gkn-la.net/history_resources/queen_min.htm) 2. QUEEN MIN--GRADE LEVEL: 10-12 AUTHOR: David M. Hanna SUBJECT: Global History, East Asian Civilization (http://www.koreasociety.org/MAIN/KS_LessonPlans/ Lessons/klp_xxix.pdf) 3. Bird, Isabella. Korea and Her Neighbors. London: KPI Limited, 1985 (first published in 1897). (http://kn.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2001/02/10/200102100030.asp) 4. Tourism – Sightseeing (http://english.kg21.net/tour/sightseeingSite.jsseq=19&page=1&caller=category&query=h) 5. [New Horizon] Assassination of Empress Myongsong by Kim Byong-kuk (http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200211/kt2002112117172711350.htm) 6. A Brief History of the US-Korea Relations Prior to 1945 by Kim Young-Sik, Ph.D. (http://www.kimsoft.com/2003/us-kr-relation.htm)

Voyager Interstellar Mission

The Voyager Interstellar Mission is rooted in the Grand Tour – an alignment of the outer planets which allowed for a single space probe to visit each of them rapidly.The Voyager spacecraft were constructed to do just that – obtain close up views and observations of the outer planets. Together, the two spacecraft brought unprecedented observations of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their corresponding satellites and ring systems.Having completed their planetary mission after the visit of Neptune in 1989, the two Voyagers are now continuing their journey out of the Solar System. Instead of fading into obscurity, the Voyagers are still transmitting back observations in its new mission – the Voyager Interstellar Mission. Instead of observing planets, the two spacecraft are now giving us our first glimpses into the edges of the solar system.To do this, mission scientists had to use instruments meant for observing planets for observing the environment at the area at the edge of the Solar System. Five distinct and specialized scientific groups are currently engaged on analyzing the data coming from Voyager. Together with Voyager, these groups have expanded our understanding of the outer solar system.Power and funding challenges continue to hound the Voyager mission. Since its launch, Voyager's power source has been continually declining. To cope with the lowered power output, components of Voyager have been shut down one by one which means that some measurements have already been or will be stopped in the near future.The mission ends when the power sources cannot anymore power any single instrument. Some earth bound problems remain however as budget cuts threaten the existence of the mission.Voyager Interstellar Mission – Paper ProposalFor this paper, I plan on discussing the Voyager Interstellar Mission.   The proposed   outline is attached below.My interest in the Voyager Interstellar Mission lies in their wonderful history and u nique position. In this sense, the Voyager spacecraft are like â€Å"the little space probes that could†.The Voyager spacecraft were initially launched more than thirty years ago to take advantage of a unique arrangement of the outer planets.   This arrangement made The Grand Tour possible, visiting each of the outer planets consecutively within a short amount of time.The spacecraft were originally meant to take closeup observations of the outer planets, observations which were not possible to make from Earth. They were successful in doing this, having sent back pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Their discoveries adding to and refining our knowledge of the outer planets.Having finished their original mission, the two spacecraft continue on their voyage out of the Solar System. With no forces holding them back, the two will continue on their journey indefinitely and will soon be traveling in Interstellar space.The Voyager Interstellar Mission takes advantage o f this fact, exploiting the location of the twin Voyagers to gather data and observations about the edge of the Solar System. If the planetary mission helped to add and refine our knowledge of the outer planets, the interstellar mission is currently helping add and refine our knowledge of the environment and processes at work at the solar system's edge.In line with this, I also plan on discussing current knowledge about the edge of the Solar System. This knowledge will help the reader comprehend the scope of the Voyager Interstellar Mission as well as what the Voyager probes are expected to understand.A discussion of the spacecraft is also needed to understand the mission. The instruments used in the interstellar mission are the same instruments used in observing the outer planets.By understanding these instruments, we get an understanding of the kind of observations that the Voyagers are doing in Interstellar space. We also gain an understanding of the operations that enable the mi ssion to communicate with Earth. Understanding the spacecraft also allows us to understand the main challenge facing the mission – the loss in power.Even if the success of the Voyager program has already been established, it still faces some challenges. Due to its age its power generating system has had severe losses in capacity. Because of this several instruments and systems aboard the craft have already been shut down due to the loss in power. Earth bound troubles also hound the craft as budget cuts threaten the existence of the mission.To complete the paper, I plan on giving a few samples of the scientific advances that the Interstellar mission has brought. It is also important to realize the amount of research that the thirty year old Voyagers have enabled. I also point out some researches from Voyager that have helped us in our understanding of the Sun.In this way, I point out that these spacecraft even if they are very far are even giving us new insights to something t hat is quite close to home.  

New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting Essay

The New Heritage Doll Company’s Vice-President of Production, Emily Harris, had to decide which of two proposals she should approve for the company’s upcoming capital budgeting meetings. The first project involved expanding an existing â€Å"Match My Doll Clothing† line, which had a proven record of success in the past. The second project introduced a new initiative called â€Å"Design Your Own Doll†, which used a web-based software enabling users to customize a doll’s features to the customers’ specifications. To help Emily reach her decision, I will calculate the Net Present Value (NPV) of both projects to find out which project is more profitable. In the financial analysis of both projects Emily was given the following assumptions: 1. Operating projections were used to develop cash flow forecasts and then to calculate Net Present Value, Internal Rates of Return, payback period and other investment metrics. The cash flows excluded all financing charges and non-cash items (i.e. depreciation), and were calculated on an after-corporate-tax basis. The New Heritage’s corporate tax rate was 40% 2. Discount rate was set at 8.4% – for medium-risk project 3. NPV calculations included a terminal value computed as the value of a perpetuity growing at constant rate. I computed Free Cash Flows (FCF) to find out the actual amount of cash from operations that the company could use in developing its new projects. I calculated the terminal value for 2020 as projected FCF in the first year beyond the projection horizon divided by discount rate of 8.4% less the perpetuity growth rate, which in this case was 3%. According to my calculations the MMDM’s terminal value in 2020 is 16,346,000 and DYOD’s is 27,486,000.

Free Essays on Lending

Continuous Assessment Question Lending  ¡Ã‚ §Given the current economic downturn in the Irish Economy, it is inevitable that the book quality will be affected in the case of most Financial Institutions in the country. ¡Ã‚ ¨ What measures should lenders take to protect themselves from loan losses, under these circumstances? Table of Contents: Executive Summary Page 4 PART I  ¡V Protection Measures Page 5-15 Introduction Page 5 Section I  ¡V Credit Policy Page 6 Section 2  ¡V Credit Grading & Control Page 8 Section 3  ¡V Credit Review Page 12 Section 4  ¡V Training & Development of Staff Page 13 PART II  ¡V Social responsibility to Customers Page 14 Bibliography Page 16 Executive Summary The Lending banker ¡Ã‚ ¦s has a broad range of measures to adopt when protecting the bank from loan losses. This paper review these measures in Part I in terms of a  ¡Ã‚ ¥balanced scorecard ¡Ã‚ ¦ approach, focusing in turn on Credit Policy, Credit Grading & Control as well as training and development of staff. In Part I of this paper, I will argue that each of these aspects need to be addressed in order to mitigate the exposure of the bank to loan losses. Each section examines the specific measures that a bank may take and outlines the critical factors when contemplating such measures. The role of Credit Policy, will highlight a number of basic measures a bank must take to ensure it has the capability to minimise loan losses, while the role of Credit Control will focus on early detection and the using of action plans to mitigate such losses. A strong Credit Review function is essential in ensuring lenders have accurately identified and reported potential loan losses (bad and doubtful debts). And finally the part to be played by training and development of a range of staff in the credit management of loans is crucial to building the appropriate competence levels throughout the bank. All of these factors constitute a  ¡Ã¯ ¿ ½... Free Essays on Lending Free Essays on Lending Continuous Assessment Question Lending  ¡Ã‚ §Given the current economic downturn in the Irish Economy, it is inevitable that the book quality will be affected in the case of most Financial Institutions in the country. ¡Ã‚ ¨ What measures should lenders take to protect themselves from loan losses, under these circumstances? Table of Contents: Executive Summary Page 4 PART I  ¡V Protection Measures Page 5-15 Introduction Page 5 Section I  ¡V Credit Policy Page 6 Section 2  ¡V Credit Grading & Control Page 8 Section 3  ¡V Credit Review Page 12 Section 4  ¡V Training & Development of Staff Page 13 PART II  ¡V Social responsibility to Customers Page 14 Bibliography Page 16 Executive Summary The Lending banker ¡Ã‚ ¦s has a broad range of measures to adopt when protecting the bank from loan losses. This paper review these measures in Part I in terms of a  ¡Ã‚ ¥balanced scorecard ¡Ã‚ ¦ approach, focusing in turn on Credit Policy, Credit Grading & Control as well as training and development of staff. In Part I of this paper, I will argue that each of these aspects need to be addressed in order to mitigate the exposure of the bank to loan losses. Each section examines the specific measures that a bank may take and outlines the critical factors when contemplating such measures. The role of Credit Policy, will highlight a number of basic measures a bank must take to ensure it has the capability to minimise loan losses, while the role of Credit Control will focus on early detection and the using of action plans to mitigate such losses. A strong Credit Review function is essential in ensuring lenders have accurately identified and reported potential loan losses (bad and doubtful debts). And finally the part to be played by training and development of a range of staff in the credit management of loans is crucial to building the appropriate competence levels throughout the bank. All of these factors constitute a  ¡Ã¯ ¿ ½...

Verbing Nouns

Verbing Nouns â€Å"Verbing† Nouns â€Å"Verbing† Nouns By Guest Author This is a guest post by Jeannine Sohayda. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. I was disappointed yesterday when, while cruising Facebook, I noticed a national pharmacy company’s request for me to â€Å"fan† them. I simply cannot agree to become a fan of a company that thinks turning nouns into verbs is hip and thereby will increase its customer base. If they had instead asked me to â€Å"become a fan†, I may have indeed considered it, because I do shop there often. I’m no stranger to nouns becoming verbs; we’ve all â€Å"Googled† for information. I must admit, it was refreshing to see that Twitter asks its users simply to â€Å"follow† other users on its site. I suppose â€Å"Twitter me† would make no sense. However, the word â€Å"fan† is already both a noun and a verb, and to see it used in this way was particularly jolting. By the way, even the word â€Å"verb† is a noun. I often wonder what it must be like for people who are just learning English. While they are trying to find words and phrases to get them through their days in English, we are simultaneously butchering and deconstructing our own language, making it difficult even for native speakers to understand each other. If we were to think about it in reverse, about the difficulties of learning Chinese, for example, as Americans we would be infuriated at the idea of their randomly adding new words as we page in vain through our phrase book. If we want people to speak, write and, in general, communicate understandably in English, I’d like to suggest that we set a good example and use the language as it was intended: as a means to illuminate rather than obfuscate. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:Abstract Nouns from Adjectives5 Examples of Insufficient Hyphenation Verbing Nouns Verbing Nouns Verbing Nouns By Maeve Maddox Two readers wonder about the practice of using nouns as if they were verbs. Nanerl wonders if journaled is acceptable. Marilyn writes: My colleagues, at a reputable academic institution, all use the word action as a verb, such as: we must action these items and before these items can be actioned. This drives me crazy because Im sure action does not have a verb connotation, but the word is used so frequently with this connotation that I am no longer sure. Id guess that we all have our lists of verbed nouns we hate to hear or read. We may not, however, all agree as to which are abominations and which are not. Some examples from the web: 1. Clause said all three girls were initially conscious at the scene. Swanson and Zeien were flighted to the Milwaukee Area Medical Complex. (An arrow may be flighted with feathers, but injured people in a helicopter are being flown to a hospital.) 2. How many People Were Impacted? and How Severely? (Whats wrong with affected?) 3. Federalist Papers Authored by Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton was the author. He wrote the document.) The capacity of English for turning nouns into verbs is both its glory and its bane. This line from Richard II shows how Shakespeare managed to verb even such a noun as uncle: Henry IV: My gracious uncle- Edmund of Langley: Tut, tut! †¨Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle:†¨I am no traitors uncle; As long ago as 1870 Henry Alford noted that the tendency to use nouns as verbs is so much a part of the nature of English speakers that its futile to rail against it: I do not see that we can object to this tendency in general, seeing that it has grown with the growth of our language, and under due regulation is one of the most obvious means of enriching it. Verbs thus formed will carry themselves into use, in spite of the protests of the purists. The Queens English. In Alfords day people were objecting to the use of experience as a verb. As for journaled and actioned, I think the first is possibly OK while the second is abominable. Sometimes a verbed noun fills a void, but too often it is the lazy expedient of a thoughtless writer. The best course of action I can suggest is to take the trouble to consider appropriate verbs that already exist before taking a noun that has not previously been used as anything but a noun and turning it into a verb. In deciding whether or not to use one of these fairly recent coinages, consider your own sense of aesthetics. If you feel that the word is ugly, dont encourage the spread of it by using it. What can we call this tendency to use nouns as if they were verbs? How about anthimeria? Then we can anthimeria this term and warn people against anthimeriaing nouns! In rhetoric, anthimeria, traditionally and more properly called antimeria (from the Greek: á ¼â‚¬ÃŽ ½Ãâ€žÃŽ ¯, antà ­, against, opposite and ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ­Ã ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š, mà ©ros, part), is the use of a word as if it were a member of a different word class (part of speech); typically, the use of a noun as if it were a verb. Here are some rants and observations you may enjoy: Writing, Clear and Simple (Link no longer active) Kathy Schenck (Link no longer active) The Grammar Curmudgeon Judy Muller impact as a verb Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?"Latter," not "Ladder"What the heck are "learnings"?

Advocacy letter about sexual orientation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advocacy letter about sexual orientation - Essay Example Amongst this number included 17.5% of the students who were personal victims of the situation. We realize that part of what causes this problem is the fact that there is no adequate research or funding that can aid research on the sexual orientation area. There is, however, lots of talking and discussions about sexual orientation that goes on around the country. Though it might not be open to us to fully know the medical or scientific foundations that results to the sexual orientation of an individual, our system is already handling the discussion in such a way that its impact is quite vivid. Some of the students reactions I school can be seen as many of them do not feel safe due to their sexual orientation. This can be explained by the results of the survey on school safety that was carried out by an organization known as GLSEN in 2013. In this survey, it was proved that sexual orientation as a factor contributed to 55.5% of the LGBT students feeling unsafe at school. The same surve y found out that, 37.8% of the students were felt unsafe at school due to their gender expression. It is vividly clear that sexual orientation as an important concern to students is not being addressed in schools even as people continue to increase their awareness and education with regards to sex. This is a notion that needs to change. It is understood that until now, this issue has not been addressed satisfactorily. There have been many misunderstandings about the issue that has made the topic extremely sensitive. The major source of misunderstandings is the national religious variations we have in the country. Quoting from the U.S Constitution, we have two fundamental principles that apply to all the public schools. The first amendment is about the separating church and the state and protection of the freedom of speech. The fourteenth

Principles of real estate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Principles of real estate - Research Paper Example As a real estate agent working in Memphis for the past fourteen years, I have wisely made distinction between property and contractual rights. I have done by ensuring that there is a clear distinction between property rights that someone has over things enforceable against other people and contractual rights that are enforceable against a specific or particular person. In some instances, I will properly understand that property rights might come from contract (Thomas, 1996). In relation to real estate, for instance, I have to identify two sets of legal relationships to prevail alongside one another in that there is the property right to be exercised over the lease of the estate and contractual right to sue over evictions. In this manner, I have been able to work efficiently without complications in that I know my areas of jurisdiction as a real estate agent and in a position to handle any eventuality that might arise. Principle of property ownership  From my fourteen year experienc e, I understand that property is usually perceived as being protected by domestic or local sovereignty. This is because ownership on its part does not necessarily equate with the issue of sovereignty because if ownership offered supreme power or authority, it will not be ownership but sovereignty. I have to do this due to the fact that; property ownership rights come from social convention while others come from explanation from natural law or morality. This in turn put me in a good position since I know there is an estate of indefinite duration.  

Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Diversity - Essay Example Although UCSB has the least level of statistics as concerns diversity when compared with other campuses of university of California, there has been increased integration and interaction among the student community. The University has endeavored to make every other person welcome and comfortable regardless of such criteria s race, sex, gender, sexual affiliation or economic well-being (The Facts: Diversity 1). In 2007, the University Of California Board Of Regents adopted a policy statement aimed at making the university achieve diversity among both the students and the human resource personnel in all its campuses including UCSB. This is in the form of Principles of Community statements and policies that control the behavior of both the staff and the students and each campus must inform the persons attending or working in it through any suitable mode including newspapers or through notices. The campuses including Santa Barbara must distribute and reaffirm its commitment to the policies and the principles as well as the initiatives to enhance embracing of diversity within the campus. All campuses of the University of California including the campus at Santa Barbara encourage the setting up of a diverse workforce and student population as well as the diversification in faculty ranks. For example, the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program encourages students who pursue doctor al studies that are aimed at contributing to diversity are usually rewarded with more scholarships (The Facts: Diversity 2). All the campuses have centers that deal with the affairs of gays, lesbians and transgender studies while most campuses including Santa Barbara have ethnic studies centers to embrace different communities of the student population. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, there is a program to assist freshmen who come from underrepresented groups to meet their academic objectives as well as integrate properly within the campus. The UC Santa Barbara

The Production Of An Alternative Construction Material Economics Essay

The Production Of An Alternative Construction Material Economics Essay To prepare an industry study of all the construction materials currently being used in housing and commercial developments. To review the waste management system in the Philippines and look for areas that are sustainable sources of PET materials. To identify the current drivers and trends of the real estate and construction industry, as well as the Non-government Organizations (NGOs) in order to explore the viability of introducing the EHB products for their construction needs. To prepare a business model for each market segment, namely: (1) Non-government Organizations (NGOs) and (2) Real Estate Developers and Contractors. This MRR is focused on the following market segments: real estate developers, construction companies and NGOs. The study is limited to the Philippines specifically the National Capital Region (NCR) and provinces within a 130 km radius. Other construction materials that have the potential to be used with PET flakes aside from the concrete hollow block are excluded from this study. This MRR focuses on the Ecoblock venture into the Philippine market through the NGOs specifically on housing and development programs; and eventually cater to the local real-estate developers and contractors. Hence the desired outcome of this MRR would be a venture strategy considering the economic conditions, market outlook, competitive analysis, risks analysis and capital sourcing. President Aquinos State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 2010 highlighted the importance of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).  [1]  The PPP was seen as an important strategy for infrastructure development. It has also been estimated that the pipeline of PPP projects (infrastructure projects for transportation, water, power, health, and agriculture) for the year 2012 will amount to USD 5.49B. Another factor that can have an effect on these projects is the upcoming election in the year 2013 that can increase government spending on infrastructure developments. Lastly, the issue of corruption (specifically in government infrastructure projects) is seen as an important political factor in the construction industry of the Philippines. The corruption issues of the Philippines regarding infrastructure was discussed during Finance Secretary Cesar Purisimas meeting with Ernie Bower, the senior adviser and director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.  [2]  In this meeting, it was cited that the PPPs program of the Philippines will be able to address the current issues on corruption. According to Purisima, the right infrastructures should be accompanied by forward-looking policies for the Philippines to be competitive through highly-viable and promising ventures. It was also made clear that corruption is a major factor that will hinder the gov ernment to increase spending for infrastructure projects. As shown in Figure 1, the Philippines gross domestic product (GDP) decreased from 7.6% in 2010 to 3.7% in 2011. This is due to the negative export growth rates in 2011 that was influenced by the global economic conditions particularly the economic and financial crises in US and Euro countries  [3]  . The domestic factors on the other hand include the decreasing demand and negative growth rate in agricultural production and the under spending of the government in infrastructure projects. Based on the GDP projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank, the Philippine economy will slightly improve in 2012 due to the support of growth in private consumption (higher OFW remittances), investment, and government spending  [4]  . However, if the debt woes in Europe will worsen and the recovery of the US economy will not be sustained, the Philippines will experience lower exports and foreign investment that may lead to lower GDP growt h. Considering these factors the Philippine government must be able to increase government spending on infrastructure projects to prevent the economy to slow down further. As shown in Figure 2, even if demand in the economy is lower in 2011 due to the lower GDP growth rate, overall prices still increased which was brought about by the increase in prices of petroleum in the global market.  [5]  Looking at the disposable income of Filipinos, if the overall prices increase, the purchasing power will tend to decrease. This might affect the amount of disposable income that might be allocated for house purchase. Based on Figure 2, inflation is lower in the 1st quarter of year 2012. Meanwhile, the 91-day Treasury bill interest rate decreased when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) attempted to stimulate economic growth. The peso-dollar rate remained stable due to the increase in inflow of remittances. The stability of the peso-dollar rate is very important in the construction industry due to the fact that some of the materials being used in construction are imported. The instability of the peso-dollar rate will affect the price of these materials. As shown in Figure 3, construction output in 2011 went down. This is due to the under spending of the government in infrastructure projects.  [6]  The construction-to-GDP ratio decreased from 5.7% to 5.2%. The increase in government spending can increase the GDP for the coming years. Growth of other industries will also open opportunities for the construction industry. As shown in Table 1, the tourism industry, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and the mining industry are continuously experiencing growth which may lead to more construction projects. For the tourism industry alone, 47 hotels with 14,000 rooms will be constructed by the year 2013.  [7]   Due to the Philippines stronger financial position, the Standard and Poor raised the Philippines international debt rating to one notch below investment grade (BB+).  [8]  According to the DBS Group, the Philippines can achieve investment-grade credit rating with a year or two. Once this is achieved, more investments will flow to the country. The social factors that we will be considering in this study will give emphasis on the population growth rate, age profile, and housing backlog in the Philippines and try to correlate them with the construction industry in the country. As of July 2011 the Philippines has an estimated total population of 103.775 million and out of this, 11.86 million reside in the National Capital Region (NCR). The Philippines has an average population growth rate of 1.9% and the NCR has an average population growth rate of 1.78%. The majority of the population in the Philippines belongs to the working class (15-64 years: 61.1% or 62,201,170 as of 2010). This is the portion of society who are about to start their own families until those who are about to retire from their respective careers. People in this segment are also the ones who have the capacity to invest in residential developments. As of 28 December 2011 Philippines housing backlog is currently 3.6 million.  [9]  The government will tap shelter agencies like the Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council (HUDCC), the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), the Pag-ibig Fund, the Social Housing Finance Corporation, the National Housing Authority, the Home Guaranty Corporation, and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation to reduce the housing backlog by 50% with an annual target of 350,000 housing units. To achieve this, the Aquino administration highlighted the need for more PPP programs to use the underutilized government lands. The insufficiency of available funding resulted to this housing backlog. The government needs Php 1.7 trillion to address the Philippines housing needs. In 2011, several typhoons and flash floods occurred in the Philippines between May and September. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will develop recovery and rehabilitation projects for victims of flash floods in NCR and other provinces with a total of 187,008 families. Also, projects will be developed for the victims of typhoons that entered the country, which affected 1.4 million families  [10]  . Last June 28, 2012, the general membership meeting of the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA) was held to discuss the current issues that the industry currently faces. In this meeting, innovation was considered as a driver of productivity. According to Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao, the players of the industry must be able to re-evaluate their resources and processes to make it more efficient, responsive and relevant to the present stringent requirements of the industry.  [11]  Regarding PPP for infrastructure projects, the government must demand from its private partners new technologies that will accelerate delivery time while ensuring public safety. However, Canilao also recognized the fear of being the first to try something different. With this, he emphasized that those players who will not invest in technological innovation might be left behind at bidding time. According to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Philippines may adopt new construction trends in Japan, particularly on the latest technology on roads and bridge construction.  [12]  The construction and engineering technologies from Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will help the Philippines build disaster-resilient infrastructures that would mitigate the effects of climate change. Technological innovation in the Philippines doesnt only happen with government projects, private manufacturers of construction materials also try to innovate the products and processes to improve the product offering. Cement manufacturers like the Holcim Group created a green sustainable solution for cement.  [13]  The company is trying to minimize the impact of cement manufacturing in the environment. The company focuses on bringing down carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by reducing the clinker factor by using mineral components as alternative materials.  [14]  Innovation on the use of raw materials was accompanied by improvement in the process namely: (1) use of alternative fuels; (2) co-processing; and (3) quarry habilitation policy. Co-processing is considered as a globally accepted technology that helps the company process water streams in the cement kilns to properly dispose hazardous industrial wastes.  [15]  The quarry habilitation policy would ensure that the quarry sites can be used productively by the community before they are completely mined out. Holcim Philippines was the first company to submit a Final Mine Decommissioning and Rehabilitation Plan to the Department of Natural Resources (DENR), which will serve as a blueprint in restoring quarry sites. Land development and construction have a direct impact on the environment wherein land conversion from agricultural to urban and residential greatly reduces bio-capacity (ability of the land to produce food and other resources for the society).  [16]  Because of this, sustainable land development is becoming more important in the construction industry. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) developed an ALI Sustainability Framework to chart, monitor, and report the companys progress in sustainable land development. The increasing awareness about environmental impact of construction activities will eventually affect the way residential and commercial developments are built. In 2006, the Philippine Green Building Council (PHILGBC) was formed as a national non-profit organization through the alliance of building and construction industry leaders from the private and public sector.  [17]  This organization was formed to ensure an ecologically and economically sustainable industry. This resulted to a local green building rating system that is now called Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE). The BERDE scheme will serve as a benchmark for all property developers in the country. Last August 17-19, 2011, the first Philippine International Total Green Movement Exhibition and Conference was held at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Manila. The joint venture of the Philippine Constructors Association, Inc. (PCA), Global-Link Exhibitions Specialist, Inc. (GESI), Philippine Society of Ventilating, Air-conditioning, Refrigerating Engineers, Inc. (PSVARE), Philippine Center for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development, Inc. (PCEPSDI), and Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Manila, created the Green Philippines 2011.  [18]  This event featured four exhibit segments on construction (Green Construct), manufacturing (Green Manufacturing), lifestyle (Green lifestyle), and energy (Green Energy). Also, last August 16-17, 2011, the 2nd Sustainable Building Technology Conference was held that invited international sustainability experts to discuss the best practices for a green industry. These events would show that the players in the c onstruction industry are already leaning towards environment friendly development projects. The construction industry is one of the most hazardous and risky occupations in the country. With this, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWG), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) signed a Memorandum of Agreement last May 4, 2011 to strengthen the campaign to minimize accidents in construction activities. This MOA aims to promote the welfare of construction workers and prevent the recurrence of construction-related incidents, notably the ones that recently killed or severely injured workers early 2012.  [19]  Also, this MOA is an off-shoot of DOLE Department Order No. 13 (which provides the Guidelines Governing Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction Industry) and aims to intensify the holistic and extensive execution of the policies and programs set forth in D.O. No. 13 in construction sites. The construction industry in the Philippines is currently leaning toward ecological friendly materials due to the global campaign to save the environment. The materials that are available range from pre fabricated walls and blocks to bricks that is considered to be the oldest building material used. The pre-fabricated walls and blocks use polystyrene as an aggregate that is added to the concrete mixture to produce a lighter and insulating product. Reinforced fire bricks are also one of the common construction materials that are used in construction of homes. Reinforced bricks are made of industrial wastes such as rice hull, coal ash, silt, mud and clay. The existing market for pre-fabricated walls and blocks are the contractors for commercial buildings and high-rise residential buildings. There are also some contractors that use pre-fabricated materials for home construction but the homeowners still prefer to use concrete hollow blocks (CHB) because of the high cost of the pre-fabricated material. The walls are pre-ordered by the contractor and are sometimes manufactured on site to avoid delivery expenses. On the other hand, the reinforced firebricks are used in home construction. This material is usually specified by the people who belong to the higher class of society mainly because of the price of this construction material. Pre-fabricated walls are used in exterior and interior applications in building construction. The lighter wall means that the foundations of a building project could be smaller due to the reduction in weight that the foundation needs to support. Installation time for the pre-fabricated wall is shorter compared to using conventional materials in wall construction. The product is smoother and does not need additional plastering (only the joints require additional concrete) because of the smooth finish that these walls generally have. The pre-fabricated walls also serve as good insulators that result to less energy consumption. A notable disadvantage of using this product, aside from the cost, is that the sizes that are available are only limited and could not be cut to size. The advantages of using reinforced fire brick in construction is that it uses less cement and is stronger than concrete. Bricks are also weather resistant and are considered to be ideal in tropical countries like t he Philippines because it slowly absorbs heat to keep the inside of the house cooler. Bricks do not need cement plastering and the walls do not need to be painted. The disadvantage of using this material is the high cost. Even if it requires less cement and no paint the cost of the material is still higher compared to common construction materials used. In the Philippines, CHB remains as a backyard industry because it is easy to produce, especially the non-load bearing CHB. The CHB can be produced manually by using an improvised mold. In producing a non-load bearing CHB, a mixture of sand, gravel, cement, and water can be manually compressed using the improvised mold. There are three reasons why CHB is still being used in construction, namely: (1) cost; (2) availability; and (3) ease of installation and handling. CHB still remains as the a cheaper choice in construction of a concrete house. As a backyard industry, CHB is available nationwide with similar product specifications. Lastly, CHB is a traditional product. With this, majority of the laborers or construction workers are familiar with CHB in construction. The familiarity of the laborers with a product is the main reason why CHB is still being used. The demand for quality, economy, and completion time are the major considerations for all construction projects that usually dictate the choice of technology  [20]  . The traditional construction material currently being used for construction projects is the CHB. Based on the interview with key players in the real estate industry, another alternative is the pre-fabricated walls. For fabricated walls, the entire wall is built off- site or on-site before installation as compared to CHB that are stacked one on top of another. In the Philippines, only 5% are using prefabricated building material in housing construction  [21]  . Over the years, different types of construction materials have been offered containing recycled plastic, such as PVC pipes. Recycling is especially important for thermoset polymers since this form of plastic cannot be reheated and melted back to liquid form. In the Philippines and in other countries, shredded plastic has been used as aggregates for bricks and construction blocks. Most of these, however, are not widely offered commercially and are not load bearing. The demand for this product is readily accessible in most areas and the market is sensitive only to the price relative to the quality of the product they receive. At present the 4-6inchconcrete hollow blocks prices are standard for all and vary only between the volume suppliers and the backyard suppliers because of their respective approach to the business. The buyers of the product favor the suppliers who are nearer to them (because of transportation costs) and if satisfied with the quality they retain their suppliers. However there are instances where the buyer changes suppliers in lieu of quality issues for this reason, industry rivalry will be considered medium. The technical skill and labor required isnt advanced nor does it require highly specialized machines to deliver the product, the only obstacle is the cash required to: 1) purchase the hollow block maker and; 2) to secure working capital requirements. The cost of a concrete block mixer is between Php30,000-P40,000, and a mold container would be approximately Php5,000 per piece. Normally a block maker can start a small-time business with 6 molds which is equivalent to Php30,000 therefore a backyard business can start at a Php60,000 investment excluding working capital. The disadvantage of this practice is it sacrifices the quality/durability of the blocks due to the lack of compression of the block being formed thereby resulting in a lower PSI rating. The difficulty in securing funding for this particular business is high because the business is not unique while the returns in this type of business do not instantly translate to high growth profits. The local venture capitalists who provide seed capital to startups look to sunrise industries such as the BPO sector and IT services delivery, or the next big website investment. The prospects of a potential participant to capture market share will primarily be on their ability to reduce the cost of their concrete hollow block while maintaining a reasonable quality and service. In order to achieve this, the potential participant must have a large base of clients in order to achieve economies of scale in their production of quality products and a person who will provide assistance to the client to ensure proper delivery and satisfaction, a backyard hollow block maker will not be able to be competitive and for this reason the threat of new entrants is rated as medium taking into consideration these factors. Some projects outsource their hollow block while others make it onsite. While it is preferred to buy the product in order to avoid the cost of investment and taking into consideration that there is abundant supply for this product (but at varying prices depending on which type of supplier: backyard supplier, volume supplier or a wholesaler, and depending on the volume purchase of the buyer the bargaining power of buyer is medium given the availability of a quality product in the market. The demand for reasonably priced hollow blocks are assumed to be growing at 10.5% and construction materials 5.4% which supports the argument that demand is good. Another consideration is that the real-estate residential development is in the form of condominiums and they make use other products such as pre-fabricated walls instead of hollow blocks. The construction boom doesnt directly translate to increased hollow block use and the prices of hollow block are generally stable therefore for these reasons the suppliers bargaining power is low. The bargaining power of cement and sand suppliers remain low since there are abundant sources for these suppliers. The PET flakes suppliers have a medium bargaining power since they are less abundant than the cement and sand suppliers. Moreover, the local PET suppliers have different methods in shredding and cutting the plastic such that those suppliers that have the ability to shred PET flakes at a certain size have a stronger bargaining power than others. For the low cost housing sector and other housing projects hollow blocks are still preferred. The emerging sector of high-rise residential projects make use of pre-fabricated products and gypsum boards however the market share of these products is only 5% for construction materials, therefore the threat of substitutes are rated medium. The success in this industry will be in the costing of the product and the quality. In order to reduce the overall cost of the product there is a need to meet operation efficiency and effective marketing in order to achieve economies of scale that will bring down overall costs for our firm while producing a good quality product. Opportunities Emphasis on PPP programs for government infrastructure projects Good forecast for the tourism, BPO, and mining industry Movement towards sustainable community development The use of plastic as an aggregate is not yet widely introduced in the Philippines The high amount of investment on PPP programs is seen as a good opportunity for the construction materials industry. For year 2012, several PPP projects are in the pipeline, namely: (1)14 projects on transportation; (2) 2 projects on utilities-water (3) 2 projects on power; 1 project on health; and (4) 2 projects on agriculture that amounted to USD 5.49B will increase the demand for construction materials. These PPP programs will also serve as an opportunity for private companies to increase their annual construction projects. The growth of three industries, namely: (1) tourism industry; (2) BPO; and (3) mining industry will also contribute to the growth of the construction materials industry. The increasing annual foreign tourist arrivals and domestic travelers opted for the increased in resorts, hotels, and condominiums. The increase in number of accommodation facilities was accompanied by the Republic Act of 9593 or Tourism Act of 2009 wherein the roads that are not initially classified as national but lead to tourism sites, airports, and seaports will be improved which will be included in the DPWH budget for 2012.  [22]  For the BPO, construction of commercial buildings is also expected to increase to meet the demand of the industry. The investment of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) would show that the mining still remains as a promising industry (Table 1). Investment on mining would result to more office sites and barracks for mining companies. The movement towards building more sustainable developments is seen as an improvement for the construction industry. New technologies for products and processes will help improve the viability of construction projects in the Philippines. By focusing on the impact of construction of the environment, the need for environment-friendly products may increase as the industry try to include the societys welfare in planning construction projects. The use of plastic as an aggregate is currently being used in Germany. However, this new aggregate is not yet widely introduced in the Philippines. This is seen as an opportunity for the company to introduce a product with more benefits than the existing products in the market. Threats Competition (large companies) Emergence of new products Competition especially against large competitors is seen as a major threat because these companies are already established in the industry. New companies that may introduce new products in the market may face difficulties especially if these products are not patented. Large companies can simply launch the same product at a larger scale. The availability of funding for these large companies will give them an advantage to produce more products. The more products a company manufactures, the opportunity to capture a larger market is bigger. Also, large companies can be seen as good suppliers for developers and contractors who want a steady supply of materials. Even if CHB currently remains as the primary choice for wall construction, emergence of new products as a substitute may pose as a threat for the CHB market. Even if only 5% in Philippines uses prefabricated building components in housing construction, the boom in the construction industry may increase the market for pre-fabricated walls. Across time, if more housing developments will be built using pre-fabricated walls, the demand for CHB may decrease. The cost of the EHB is at P5.90 per unit. The cost of direct labor is the largest at P2.52 per unit, followed by raw materials at P2.12 and factory overhead at P1.26. The key assumptions for these figures are assuming that 2,991,150 units of hollow blocks will be manufactured for the year. The hollow blocks will be used for 5,175 houses which represent only a conservative 5% of Gawad Kalingas projected housing projects. The cost of EHB at the end of the third year of operations will be at P4.94 assuming that quantity manufactured has grown to 4,307,206 units. The cost savings is achieved mostly on the labor side at P1.91 per unit (24% savings from P2.52per unit) brought about by more productivity. The hollow block machines full capacity for one year is 9,000,000 of hollow blocks, therefore as long as quantity improves to no greater than this amount, economies of scale can be achieved since there is little reason for labor and overhead costs to increase. Currently the market price for concrete hollow blocks is at P13.30 per unit which is 56% more than the cost of our EHB, the EHB is projected to sell at the CHB market price therefore we feel this cost is competitive enough to be in business. The pricing of EHB will not be lower since the EHB is a superior product compared to the CHB nor will be priced higher since the market may still be critical of the product in its launching phase therefore the best entry strategy is to price it aggressively at par with the CHB market price There is a 21% cost savings per square meter with the use of EHB versus CHB. This is based on Table 2. The addition of PET flakes lessens the requirement for both cement (27% less cost) and sand (32.7% less cost). Additional savings is realized from the labor cost on painting, layering and plastering in hollow block aggregate components, which lead to an overall reduction in cost per square meter. The Filipino construction materials market experienced an annual growth of 6.54% but is expected to witness a more sustainable growth of 5.36% until year 2015  [23]  . Being a supply-driven industry, supply of construction materials come from local suppliers based on the location of the project. However, with the boom in the construction industry (10.5% average annual growth rate), smaller projects like GK projects experience sh

Syrian Civil War: Causation Essay example -- arab republic, ottoman rul

Middle East Project: Syrian Civil War: Causation After four hundred years of indecisive Ottoman rule, and three decades fighting the mandate of the French, the many diverse peoples of Syria finally could call Syria their own. Yet, independence was not synonymous with peace. Without a common enemy, the Syrian people remembered their differences and began to squabble amongst themselves. Even now, seven decades after the formation of the Syrian Arab Republic, peace is yet but a far-flung dream. In June of 2000, then-President Hafez al-Assad, of the previous Ba’ath Party, passed away and his title was left, through an unfortunate accident, in the hands of his second, less determined son, Bashar al-Assad. With his death came strife. Powerful clashing forces previously kept quashed by Ba’ath Party Rule began to emerge yet again, and Syria was plunged into conflict. The Syrian civil war crisis, commonly accepted to have begun with the rule of Bashar al-Assad, had roots in history extending past Hafez al Assad (Ba’ath Party Ruling) and, through a combination of external pressures, environmental and foreign, and internal inconsistency and weakness blossomed into the situation today. The Ba’ath Party, the name Arabic for â€Å"Renaissance† or â€Å"Resurrection† (Polk), was founded in 1947 by Michel Aflaq, a Syrian teacher whose views on nationalism gained him support from Arabs across the area (â€Å"Profile†). Quickly merging with other parties, the now-Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party became real competition to its opposition as its popularity surged among students of the nation. Historically, as Syrian people were (and are) extremely diverse, a wide range of opinions on nationalism and religion have been presented, each addressing a different aspect of ... ...LIO, 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. "Urban and Rural Human Geography in Syria." News and Events: Point of View. Geography Services, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. . Warner, Andy. "Syria’s First Family." Slate. SlateGroup, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. . Washington Post. "Syrian Civil War: A Rising Death Count." Washington Post. Washington Post, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. . Zahler, Kathy. The Assads' Syria. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2010. Print. Dictatorships. Zuhur, Sherifa. "Bashar al-Assad." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.