Pros Cons free essay sample

Most wireline phone companies charge more than what youd pay for most alternatives, and some are taxed more as well. There are some locations where getting new wired phone service is prohibitively expensive or even impossible. Long Distance and extra features like Call Waiting are normally included with alternative phones. More Features: Cellular and broadband phones normally include Long Distance, Voice Mail, Caller ID, Call Forwarding and more, usually at no additional charge. They also have Text Messaging and various forms of data service which are unavailable with a landline. Portability: If you move your home more than average (or if its on wheels), your phone and your number can stay with you. There are no installation charges. Temporary Usage: You can have phone service for the season in a vacation home or cabin, or on an extended stay at a hotel or home of a friend or relative without installing a separate line. We will write a custom essay sample on Pros Cons or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Unlimited Plans: Most alternatives offer a plan that includes Unlimited talk minutes and Long Distance, including cellular. Most cellular carriers have eliminated Unlimited Data plans, although there are some that include Data with some other restrictions. Anonymity: You can easily set up an account (especially prepaid cellular) with either no name or an alternative identity. Fewer Telemarketers: Nuisance calls are reduced because telemarketers want to target customers in certain geographic areas. They wont know where you are. Most telcos provide your landline number to telemarketers. With cellular its illegal for now. With broadband, it depends on the carrier who sets up your number. Internet Access: Your wireless phone can also be your connection to the Internet, either with an internal browser or tethered to your computer, and available wherever there is cellular coverage. Wireless broadband is also available separate from your cellular account. Wi-Fi for Multiple Devices: You can get a cellular modem that provides a wi-fi signal that can connect to up to 5 separate wi-fi devices. Its Green: Replace your fax with an Internet-based fax service like eFax or MyFax. com and stop wasting paper and ink. (Give your old fax to charity) Attitude: Some wired phone companies just treat their customers badly. Sometimes it feels better to leave at any price. Take your broadband wherever you go A mobile broadband connection is exactly that, which means that you can access your emails, check the sports results or watch YouTube videos no matter where you are, provided you have 3G reception. Stop paying for line rental Millions of people continue to pay for line rental on a home phone landline that they rarely use, just so that they can get broadband at home. With mobile broadband, theres no need to pay line rental potentially saving you over ? 100 a year. Plug and play technology All the software you need to connect to the internet is automatically installed when you first plug your USB modem into your laptop no need to set it up or call a technical support helpline. Flexible options available Mobile broadband customers can take advantage of some really great pay as you go tariffs from as little as ? 2 a day, or rolling one-month packages, meaning they only ever pay for what they actually need. Cons: Safety: If you need to call 911, public safety authorities wont automatically know where you are, youll have to tell them. Also, calls with alternative phones will not necessarily be routed to the closest agency. Also, you wont receive Reverse 911 calls alerting you to a public emergency in your neighborhood unless your local emergency center allows you to sign up your number and associate it with a local address. Security: Some businesses will not allow you to use their services without a traceable land line. This includes credit card companies, pizza shops and a few others, although this rule is slowly being relaxed. Satellite TV services want a landline-like plug for their equipment to call them each night. It does work with some broadband phone systems. Your satellite service can still work without it, but you will most likely pay an extra charge. Reliability: Wired telephone services have come as close to 100% reliable as is practical. Their network has substantial power backup, redundant circuits and years to get it right. Alternatives are improving but their networks can vary significantly. Cell sites and other communications nodes have a limited amount of backup power. In an extended power outage, such as after a hurricane or snowstorm, the service may not work, leaving you with no service. Corded phones work in power failures. Cable phones also have a lower level of reliability. Sound Quality: Some alternative phones dont sound the same or as good as a landline. While your alternative phone may sound fine to you, it may be difficult for others. Also, some broadband phone services just dump their audio into the Internet resulting in widely varying data travel times giving you significant sound delays. Lack of Service: You may be in a location where there are no wireless broadband alternatives or may have poor cellular coverage. This might be rectified by adding a cell site to your home. Broadband Speeds: While there are some fairly fast wireless broadband connections, it may be some time before they will compare to wired or cable connections. Malfunctions: Cell sites can stop working for various reasons. Repairs often need to be made on site and may take time. Broadband services require one or more pieces of equipment at your house which you will need to fix if it fails. Wireline equipment can normally be repaired at the central office. Murphys Law says breakdowns will happen at the worst possible time. You Have No Backup: Unless you have an extra cellular phone, if something happens to your main phone or its associated equipment, or your account, you cant just plug another phone into the wall. Inconvenience: Some alternative services only offer a single jack for one phone. If you want service throughout the house you either must go wi-fi or cellular. Otherwise, plan on using the phone near your computer or router. With a cell phone you need to keep it close to you if your home is large or on multiple floors. It Might be Difficult to Get a Job: Some employers require a Local number to consider you for a position. While you can change your out-of-town portable number to something local, there goes your Number For Life. Surprise Costs. Since you normally pay for cellular by the minute, you might talk a lot more than you think. Savings may be less than you expected when calculated long term. Broadband carriers are not regulated like wireline services and could make changes that you dont expect. You Wont Be Listed in the Phone Book. Some directories let you to pay for a personal listing, but others use that as a way to keep you as a landline customer. Alarm systems. Most existing dial-up alarm systems dont work with broadband phone connections. There are other alarm alternatives, including wireless. You May Not Be Able to Send or Receive Faxes. In some cases, faxing is not an issue. In others, you cant just plug in your fax machine. A better choice is to to use a paperless, web-based service like eFax or MyFax. com. Low download limits Even the most generous of mobile broadband tariffs only offer a download allowance of 15GB per month, and that could set you back ? AÂ  month on a two-year contract, while typical value packages offer less than 5GB a month. High costs for exceeding your limit Most mobile broadband providers charge a fee when you exceed your download limit. This is normally several pence per MB and costs can very quickly add up if youre not careful. Always keep an eye on your usage. Slower connections Although suppliers might advertise speeds of up to 10 or 12Mb, mobile broadband speeds rarely exceed the average of around 1Mb. This, combined with the tight usage limits, makes mobile broadband unsuitable for large downloads. Coverage Most of the UK is covered by the 3G mobile network, but coverage can be patchy in some rural areas, with speeds significantly slower in some parts of the country, so you should always check coverage in your area before signing up. PROS OF FIXED LINE NETWORK Reliability Land line/fix line phones can be more reliable than their cellular counterparts. Disconnected cables can disable land lines, but these problems are easily remedied. On the other hand, cellular phones are plagued by several different issues because they rely on a network of radio waves, cellular towers and satellites. In some areas, cellular service is plagued by dropped calls and fuzzy reception. Emergencies The reliability of land line phones makes them advantageous when it comes to emergencies. For example, if someone is hurt and needs immediate medical care, you do not have to worry about contending with poor reception. Land lines also provide a fixed location that emergency responders can rush to. On a cell phone, you must state your address or describe your location, which wastes precious time during a crisis. Sponsored Links

The Future of Books in the Information Age Essay

The Future of Books in the Information Age Essay The Future of Books in the Information Age Literature Essay The Future of Books in the Information Age Literature Essay Reading books is one of the biggest joys people have. Throughout history people enjoyed spending time reading books and devoting their time to writing. However, the modern times are changing this process greatly by giving way to e-books and different way of writing. The future of writing will be very different since the texts produced now and later on will include various features they did not have before such as hyperlinks and multimedia content. The future of the books in the information society will change in a similar way because there will be a significant shift to e-books and digitalization, and the paper books will lose their dominant role. Therefore, the reading and writing industry awaits significant changes. The Future of Writers and Books in the Information Society When it comes to the future of books in the information society, it is important to speak about e-books and relation of the modern customers to them because e-books will be the major tool for future readers. The publishers believe that the amount of e-books will increase greatly due to their low costs and high revenues they are about to bring. This view is supported largely by American publishers, whereas European publishers consider e-books as a step backwards: they see more risks than opportunities in using them. Representatives of the companies doubt the prospects of the digital industry. They act slowly, being afraid to reduce sales volumes of printed books. The fact that the reading industry is changing is seen in the innovations of the business giants that introduce and focus on e-books. Amazon, which is one of the biggest world companies, focuses on e-books greatly and digitalizes books with a specific emphasis on Kindle series. When speaking about the future of reading such e-books, it is also important to mention that writing will change as a result. Thus, people will be able to use hyperlinks or become co-authors, which was not possible before. Also, the changes transform the book phenomena in a new reality, presenting users with updated possibilities in such spheres as bookmarks, libraries, donative inscriptions, donation and borrowing books, thus making the entire reading and writing process digital. The Future Decrease of Paper Books According to the conservative forecast, by 2016, a half of the people who read will begin to read on their own electronic readers. However, it is important to mention that not many people read; for instance, in America, half of the population does not read at all. 80% of American citizens did not buy any book during the last year. For instance, 33% of the people without degrees never bought any books, and there are 42% of college graduates who never bought books (Zickuhr and Rainie). However, according to some researchers, the mankind will never cease to read, but the way of reading will strongly change soon (Gaiman). E-books will give readers a set of opportunities inaccessible during an era of paper books, but it will be difficult to replace paper books completely. A strong argument in favor of keeping paper books is the sensation they give, like different experiences when touching paper pages and so on. Those experiences are absent in e-books with their smooth plastic or glass covers. The real book, as people often refer to traditional paper books, unlike electronic, evokes deeper feelings on the readers, involving different areas of a brain, which may contribute to a slower change of the reading approach. A person reading a paper book feels the book with his or her hands and enjoys other pleasant experiences. Of course, an e-book also can assist a person in his or her reading progress and has many different features, but it is perceived absolutely differently from the paper experience. Besides tactile perception of pages, people can feel the books’ smell, see different fonts, feel textures and material of a cover; and these features appear to be extremely important and even irreplaceable for some readers. The more actively and more variously the brain interacts with the book, the better a person remembers what he or she reads. However, despite all this, paper books will become rare souvenirs, subjects of symbolical but not practical appointment in the near future, as mentioned by various modern researchers (Lincoln). Lincoln draws an apocalyptic picture of how the mankind will get rid of a huge number of paper books, which will be taken away at first by enthusiasts and libraries, and then they will become unnecessary even for them; this way, reading will be completely different from the way it is now. New Opportunities of E-Books E-books will change the way annotation in the books is presented. Reading books on devices from Amazon and Sony, everyone can already highlight snippets of text. In her article, a journalist Agresta focuses on the fact that Amazon and Sony develop their own storage system annotations and work with them; however, there is a problem synchronizing annotations in books on different devices. It is necessary not only to the reader at a particular moment; his or her descendants will certainly be interested in seeing the notes of their relatives, which will be difficult to manage with the access to various accounts. Annotation Agresta sees a niche for a startup that could become an annotation engine not only for all formats of e-books and documents but also for printed books. For example, any active housewife cookbook contains a large number of additions and comments to recipes that have an obvious intrinsic value. The idea of the engine was created by Larry Page; however, in the process of working on it, it somehow turned to Google (Agresta). Inscriptions There is also a problem with donative inscriptions and autographs on books. Perhaps, in each family there will be sentimentally guarded a small volume that was signed to the owner by mother, the grandmother or the author of the book. E-books do not yet include a feature similar to the opportunity to write something personal on the blank cover. Naturally, it has to appear in the future - as well as an opportunity to store these inscriptions. Apple or Amazon for certain will create such an opportunity for book readers - and readers will need to pray that Apple and Amazon were not closed, having carried away with itself all their precious autographs. However, even here there is a niche for a startup – a hipster boutique hotel, which will be printed for the people to their favorite eBooks with all the inscriptions and annotations. Borrowing E-Books The idea of renting e-books belongs to the largest publishing and book-selling company Barnes Nobles (â€Å"About BN†). Borrowing books appears to be a very romantic thing to do. Thus, if someone gives a friend his or her favorite book, the former will read it and understand the book owner better. In such a way, the general literary experience can connect people. Therefore, the owner of an e-book must have an opportunity to give it to someone else to read (without being afraid that he will tear it or will forget to return it) (Convissar). Secondary E-Book Market Legally authorized and second-hand technically functional market of e-book readers does not exist yet, but it will inevitably appear. Publishing houses will allow users to resell books bought from them on special sites. Most likely, they will set a specified period after the release of the book a year or two after which the book can be resold. Such option is going to appear in the near future. Thus, in 2013 Amazon patented a technology of selling already used digital goods, including books (Wohlsen). In fact, the service that enables the user to store digital goods and transfer the rights over them to other users was patented; thus, there will be an opportunity to share books or music move between users (Thompson). Changes in Content and Book Distribution Actually, the process of borrowing, renting or reselling digital goods would be reduced to manipulation with the rights of access to this product and its reproduction on the users device. Books which are stored on devices as local files are already on the way out. Digital goods will not belong to people soon. Now there is at least an illusion of owning a book as a file - everyone can download, share from one device to another, copy or send it by mail. Similarly, books will be soon delivered to one’s device by a streaming continuous broadcasting, page by page as in case with music or movies now. Having read a book, nothing remains from it on the device. Actually, Google Books already works in such a way. People do not buy a book but the right to read it. Humanity goes back to the previous stage in the evolution of entertainment when there were only radio receivers and TVs accepting transfers, showing them to us; there were not even audio- or videotapes. There will be completely new and unexpected formats and genres of literature such as, for example, the past decade’s SMS-novel. The first such novel was composed and sent to readers in Japan in 2003. It is written in the form of instantly dispatched SMS, one message after another, to readers, without being published as a book. However, the first Japanese novel was so popular that, nevertheless, a printed book was published and a movie and a TV series were released. By 2007, 98 phone novels have already been released in the form of printed books. Now their popularity grows both in Asia, Africa and in Europe. These are short works, the authors of which develop their own language and style of literary minimalism (Norman). Books as Social Networks Even now, reading a book on Kindle, people can see public summaries from other readers. Already, there are services that allow sharing their own annotations, bookmarks and comments of others. There are some obvious technological steps before the transformation of each e-book into a small thematic social network uniting people in any countries who discuss it with each other. Perhaps, it will be one social network for all books, and each separate book will have its own channel of discussion moderated by an expert or an enthusiast. Naturally, the author will be able to participate in discussions of the book, give sessions of questions and answers, receive feedback, etc. It will be a kind of virtual book club in which communication is not necessarily limited to a discussion of a particular book. It may be only a pretext, the beginning of the conversation; and it will be possible to communicate with many people at once or with one person who interested the most in a private chat. Moderators can select the most interesting discussions and save them for reading as after they were discussed in conversations in chat rooms or in social networks comments. This, strictly speaking, is not new for example, in the Judaic tradition there existed an ancient genre of writing comments to the sacred texts that were released as a book, even comments to the comments (Carlin and Macke). The Death of the Author The concept of authorship of the books will be diluted and changed after the readers will be able to actively communicate with the writers. An eBook is easy to modify and re-release with other characters and alternative plot moves, thus readers can become co-authors. The book will become more similar to a video game, the founders of which develop landscapes and heroes, and what exactly is done by these heroes, depends more on the players. IDEO writes that all the books in the world are actually one big book Facebook of books. Within this network, the book related to each other as people in the Facebook in a relationship of friends, colleagues, parents and children and so on. No book exists by itself; it has something to do with other books and is included in the total cultural and historical context. Reading books should be the same as browsing websites on the Internet with the ability to follow links from its pages, to see information referred to in the text field or people, or ev en move to another book, read it and come back or not (IDEO). The New Book Economy When someone reads the e-book, information about the page he or she is in is constantly transferred to the manufacturing company of the reader. It is necessary to synchronize reading on different devices. But thanks to this, it would be receive information about the speed with which a person reads a particular book and how far he or she has advanced. Receiving such information from different people will make it clear what books are read up to the end and what books are often thrown away, what chapters in a book people pass and what re-read. Booksellers and publishers can use this information and transmit it to the author for the improvement of the book. Perhaps the author will rewrite paragraphs overlooked in easier terms, provide the reader with explanations, or add illustrations. Authors will find an opportunity to test different versions of the story on different audience groups. And, of course, it will be possible to target advertising in a book or on foreign markets on the basis of what people are reading right now or have already read. Through advertising, books will be cheaper or even free. Why People Will not Stop Reading Nevertheless, SMS-novels and interactive broadcasts on a device can hardly be called books. Sturgeon believes that people will continue to read in the future. The beauty of the book lies in the fact that it forces to work more actively on imagination to turn abstract letters into experiences and stories, into emotions and bright images. As long as people know how fun this is, the book will exist, albeit in a completely new sort. According to the view of some publishers expressed in the forum, e-book is a natural form of paper books. It is likely that at first digital literature paper publication will be stimulated because since the time it elapsed since the invention of the printing press, this form has become habitual. A similar situation took place at the dawn of the automotive industry. The first car resembled a horse without a crew because its creators could not imagine another vehicle. Perhaps in the future, e-books will get additional features that will distinguish them from paper predecessors. Nevertheless, electronic books are unlikely to fully replace traditional publications. As the theater did not disappear with the advent of the cinema and television, so traditional printed books are will not be completely replaced by e-books. Therefore, the given paper provides argument that the reading and writing industry are likely to experience significant changes thanks to the technological progress. The latter will provide people with more opportunities whenever they will be reading books, and enable them to change the way they write. However, these are only predictions while it is impossible to know for sure how the technology will develop and what preferences people will have in the following decades.

Unit 9 seminar Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 9 seminar - Research Paper Example It entails measuring the costs of the program from a social view and which are measured against the willingness of the society to pay for the outcome. An advantage to this analysis is that both the benefits and program’s cost are measured in one unit; say in dollars hence creates social â€Å"profits." The third way human service professionals may consider is analyzing the impact of the program on public costs, thereby assessing intervention’s impact on the costs. All these three ways will go a long way to reflect the target audience and research budget (Kramar et al, 3013). A dropout prevention program in high school is cost effective since the benefits and key outcomes can be measured in relation to the costs. The benefits of this program are that lives will be saved and enriched, earnings increased, costs for taxpayers decreased, and quality of living increased (Schuler & Jackson, 2014). Participants will have a higher lifetime earnings since they will receive little welfare payments and have higher self esteem. To the society the government will in turn decrease its subsidies; tax paid by participants of the program will be increased, whereas social problems and crime will be decreased. Statistical significance is about measuring the importance of statistics to the results or how much statistics can be counted upon and usually based on samples. It is scanty about the magnitude of change or if the relationship is meaningful. The disadvantage of it is that it is inadequate to determine the importance of results. There s also the likelihood of getting similar results in the future (Zhu, 2013).  Where as in Practical significance provides information about magnitudes of change since it provides more digits in expressing results than makes sense. There is unlikelihood to obtain similar results in the future in practical

Economic revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic revolution - Essay Example The new system aimed to represent every social group in administrating the interaction as it directs the new economic relations that resulted from social production. This had then paved the way to fundamental changes in humanity. Man’s primitive individualistic nature had made the development into a society quite a struggle. On the contrary his weakness and egotistical character drive him to acquire help that oblige him to cooperate with the same specie in order to survive. This was very evident in the ancient culture wherein food serves as their main necessity that binds individuals into a hunting tribe. But with the changing world, man’s needs and desires likewise moves toward something higher. As civilization advances man’s original nature was inevitably revealed, exposing a self-centered creature that he actually is. If individualism would prevail, diversity and disorganization would surely disrupt the society including its fundamentals such as industrialization. With that danger, man had come up with ways to prevent such disaster. Tradition had been used to preserve the society by obliging the succeeding generations to adhere to the previous kin’s occupation. At some part, it had to use authoritarian rule to defend its existence forcing people to work on their assigned task; this greatly refers to politics. Then came â€Å"market system† courtesy of economics. Market system secured the existence of the society by giving liberty to its people to do what they think would lead to their monetary advantage. The idea of gain lures its people to follow a central guiding rule without the need for tradition or authority. Being a systemic process that promotes interaction between its people as buyer or seller it had succeed to operate effectively into a social framework. Intelligently dealing with man’s individualistic nature it creatively answers the problem of

Public transport information systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public transport information systems - Essay Example The plan for the journey should be chalked out in such a way that it will become very efficient for people to access it, moreover, with the system of electronic ticketing and all sorts of information regarding the fare. Background of Public Transport Information System In many developed and developing nations the need of an integrated public transport has been felt long ago and many countries including USA, UK, various other European countries, India, etc. governments of these countries have already installed the system in many of their cities and have made several plans for making the system more effective. For example, in UK the Government already had a 10 year plan that it will provide an integrated system of Public Transport Information System wherein people will gain in confidence on its service. In any country, this service is always based on based on the aim of providing clean, fair, efficient and safe mode of transportation. The key objective is to provide information all tim e on transport facilities by operators and authorities in charge of the public transport system. (Department of Transport, UK, pg. 2-3) In UK, there was a Public Transport Act of 2000 wherein it is said guidance has been detailed on how and how much information should be delivered, when asked, by local authorities and in what way the information should be made available to the customers. In this regard, the operators and the authorities should consult with the bus user groups and the traffic commissioner. (Department of Transport, UK, pg. 2-3) The information that is being delivered by the traffic operators and authorities are issued on paper but a great deal of information can be issued electronically. This will not only save time but also will deliver the information within the correct timeline, inclusive of all sorts of delay and incidents. On this purpose, equipments and systems has been routed for both buses and rails. (LIU p 1-2) In this regard, there are two types of informat ion. One is the Journey Planning Information and another being the In-Journey Information which includes information at stop or station. (LIU p 1-2) The information on Journey Planning is facilitated by a range of network owners and service provider websites and also from the National Railways Telephone enquiry service. In order to provide information on public transport through very often a series of regional centers linked with one another. Sometimes, in many countries, particularly in European countries, these regional centers are being run by a group of local authorities, bus operators and passenger transport executives who have partnership on the contract. These regional centers which provide information on local basis can be developed and linked together so as to enable service on national level with the provision of national real time information. (Nijkamp, p.137-139) In the other type of information system, called the In-Journey information, the system is based on real time information system which is being provided by the individual operators, which has been tested and proven in several trail sites. (Nijkamp, p.137-139) The development of the pubic information transport system frequently focuses on another key area of collation and delivery on information of fare so the passenger’

Mobile Grocery Store Business Plan

Mobile Grocery Store Business Plan Business Plan Table of Contents (Jump to) Executive Summary Section 2 – Business Summary 2.1. Business Description 2.2. Business Objectives 2.3. Current Situation and Background 2.4. Financial Situation and Legal Requirements Section 3 – Industry Analysis 3.1. Industry Description 3.2. Industry Growth 3.3. Future Industry Developments Section 4 Market Summary 4.1 Market Analysis 4.2 Market Segmentation 4.3 Market Research 4.4 Competition Analysis 4.5 Competition Strengths 4.6 Competition Weaknesses Section  5 Sales and Marketing 5.1. Marketing Strategies 5.2. Unique selling point 5.3. Media, promotion strategy and advertising campaign 5.5. Budget Section  6 – Financial considerations 6.1. Pricing strategy 6.2. Projected sales 6.2. Other financial considerations Cost Appendices Appendix 1 – Cash Flow Forecasts Section 2 – Business Summary Due to the impact of supermarkets growth and rising costs the numbers of local and convenience stores are declining[i], particularly in rural areas. This means consumers in many of the rural areas of Wales are finding themselves having to travel further afield for their basic grocery shopping requirements, which can present difficulties, particular for the older age segment and those in single families or with busy lifestyle. It is therefore seen that there is an opportunity for the introduction of a mobile grocery business to service these consumers needs on a regular basis, bringing convenience store benefits and prices to their locale. This business plan presents the case for a business that will fill this niche market sector. Provisionally named North Wales Mobile Grocery (NWMG) the business, whilst not a new concept, is innovative in that it brings all of the benefits of convenience shopping close to the door of the consumer whilst at the same time eliminating many of the shopping difficulties experienced by consumers in rural areas, particular those in the older age segment, single families and with busy lifestyles. The business plan is being presented with the intention of seeking a partnership with a branded grocery organisation that will provide the capital investment to assist with its development and future growth programme. 2.1 Business Description NWMG will operate two mobile shops offering convenience store shopping close to the homes of those who live in the rural areas of North Wales that are not adequately serviced by local stores. The two stores will be of different sizes, with the larger on being based upon a refurbished coach, with the smaller vehicle being either a reasonable sized van or smaller coach version. The advantage of the former is that, with its low level access, it will allow elderly shoppers to board and browse. The smaller vehicle will be operated on the basis of the consumer having their requirements served personally by the vehicle operators, and will be better able to service the more remote locations where accessibility would be difficult for the larger vehicle. It is anticipated that the vehicles will be able to carry a range of between 100 and 200 products, with the larger vehicle having the ability of offering a small range of frozen items. This will include all of the staple and basic grocery and food items that are always in demand by consumers. The mobile shops will operate on a time slot basis at convenient locations that will serve between one and three streets. Dependent upon demand, each area will be allocated between one or two slots a week. It is anticipated that each slot will cover a time period of one and a half hours. With hours from 7.30 am to 9.00 pm, and allowing for thirty minutes travel between slots and six day opening, this provides the business with seven retailing slots per day, equalling 42 retail slots per vehicle per week. To enable the business to operate on the basis of offering competitive prices, it is the intention of the proprietor to develop a partnership relationship with an existing grocery distribution or retailing brand so that the business will gain low cost competitive advantage[ii] from the economies of scale that partner can offer. The will enhance the ability of the business to deliver consumer satisfaction and at the same time assist in the development of a loyal customer relationship. 2.2 Business Objectives The objective for the business is to create a quality alternative convenience shopping experience for the consumer, one that will bring quality service at competitive prices. In addition, this experience will address the true meaning of convenience, being located a few steps away from their door at a time when they need to avail themselves of the products being offered for sale. Following the successful establishment of this pilot business, for the longer term the proprietor is considering commencing a franchise operation that will expand into other rural locations throughout the UK and Ireland. 2.3 Current Situation and Background The growth of supermarket chains within the past few decades, with their share of the grocery market rising to 75% in 2006[iii] together with the increased costs of running a local business, has led to the demise of many local stores during the course of the past few decades, a position that experts expect to continue[iv]. In many rural areas this has created a situation where consumers have been left with no local stores, forcing them in some instances to travel reasonable distances to do their daily and weekly shopping in out of area stores. Of itself, this presents difficulties for the elderly, single parent families and those with business rural lifestyles. Valuable time and money is having to be spent by these consumers in having to arrange for transportation or to take time off work in order to do their shopping at distant supermarkets. Furthermore, there is a need to purchase additional supplies during these visits as they have no convenient store from which to satisfy sudden extra need or impulse buying requirements. The disadvantage of this situation is that any price benefit gained from their shopping is eroded by the extra cost and inconveniences they experience. It is these problems that our mobile service is intended to address. Between once and twice a week our mobile stores will bring convenience back to the local area. It will reduce the trauma of having to make time consuming and difficult trips for the elderly and those who have time limitations. Furthermore, the small price differential between our products and those offered by distant stores will be more than offset by the cost saving of the travel involved. 2.4 Financial Situation and Legal Requirements As this is a new business, there is no financial background to rely upon. However, a detailed financial plan has been constructed and is attached within the appendices at the end of this plan. This shows that the business requires funding of  £X,XXX,XXX to complete its programme. To facilitate the attractiveness of the investment, it is intended to set the business up as a limited company, which will provide the investor with formal shares, which will pay out dividends as well as having the potential for capital gain return. In terms of legal requirements, the owners are aware that the business will need to comply with all the health and safety regulations relating to food retailing. In addition, if the product range is to include alcoholic, tobacco and other legally controlled products, the relevant licences will need to be applied for. Section 3 – Industry Analysis 3.1 Industry Description Latest statistics show that the numbers of local and convenience stores, particular those that are independent, are continuing to decline[v], and there is little sign of this situation being reversed within the foreseeable future. The statistics also show that the position in respect of independent stores is being exacerbated by the increase in the share that supermarkets and multiples are taking of the convenience retailing market. For example, Tesco now has a 6% share of the convenience store market[vi]. However, the supermarkets and multiples, despite the inroads they are making into this market segment, still have catchment area criteria that need to be met before they will consider opening a convenience store in a specific location. This means that consumers in the less densely populated and more rural areas of the country, as is the case in North Wales, are the losers, as these larger organisations do not consider the replacement of closed down stores in these areas as being ec onomically viable, which thus leaves consumers in these areas bereft of the convenience retailing services available to their suburban neighbours. Indeed, a recent report showed that between 2002 and 2006, 7,337 or 4 independent retailers a week were forced to close this businesses, which shows the significant scale of the problem that has been created[vii]. However, demographic statistics show that the consumer segmentation is changing. The UK consumer population is aging, particularly in rural areas[viii] as are the general lifestyle and social habits of the population as a whole. Similarly, there is increasing pressures being seen to affect long distance shopping experiences, which includes the rise in traffic congestion problems, environmental concerns, both in terms of climate and the degeneration of local community life. As a result of these issues, consumers are increasingly turning towards convenience shopping as being a more appropriate alternative. By bringing a mobile service to rural areas, our business offers the consumer in those areas the ability to have that choice. 3.2 Industry Growth Despite the decline in the number of independent retail outlets, and a slow down in the growth of supermarket growth over the past few years[ix], one area of industry grown that has maintained a fairly consistent level of increase is the convenience store sector. The IGD[x] report in 2007 shows that there was a growth of 4.9% in this sector in 2006, which took its revenues to over  £26 billion, with expectations that this figure will exceed  £35 billion by 2012. 3.3 Future Industry Developments A Datamonitor report in 2007[xi] shows that the grocery market is perhaps the most competitive in UK retailing. This report confirms the research conducted by IGD in terms of the consumer’s control over the development of this sector, forecasting that in the next five year it is the changes in consumer perception and demand that will drive the market segmentation and, as has been seen, this is moving more towards convenience and local shopping as is predicted by IGD. However, neither of these reports, or other market observations, see the independent store sector recovering. With the decline of independents expected to continue, this provides additional opportunities for a business such as the one NWMG is proposing to develop in an area that is expected to suffer significantly from this decline. Section 4 Market Summary 4.1 Market Analysis The grocery retailing market can be divided into three main segments. These are the supermarkets and multiples, who between them now how a share approaching 90% of the total market, leaving the co-operatives and independents with the balance[xii]. However, as a recent economic report produced by Defra[1] in (2003, p.18)[xiii]reveals, the situation is different in Wales, which has the highest number of non-superstores per 100,000 of population in the UK. It can thus be deduced that the continual closure pattern of independent stores is likely to affect North Wales, a more rural area of the country, to a greater degree than other areas of Wales and the UK, increasing the gap in the marketplace for the consumer orientated local store provision to be filled. However, with the problems of cost, competitive pricing and market share penetration affecting local stores the most, the meeting of consumer demands can be seen to be more appropriately filled through the introduction of the more fl exible mobile store business model that is being proposed by NWMG. 4.2 Market Segmentation In terms of segmentation of the North Wales market, the Defra report mentioned in section 4.1 also reveals that, in comparison with the rest of the UK, a high proportion of the Welsh population employment is concentrated in rural areas. Another report conducted by Swansea University also show that the age demographics in Wales is changing, with an above average growth of population in North Wales between 1981 and 2001 and an 88% increase in the numbers of people aged 75 and over in the three decades to 2001[xiv] These statistics show the potential for the increased need for convenience grocery retailing in the area, and a need that is set to continue to rise during the coming decades. 4.3 Market Research Undertaking the market research, the results of which have been presented within this business plan, has helped the Proprietor of NWMG to identify the potential for the mobile grocery concept envisaged. For example, it has determined that there is a gap in the market that provides opportunity for business growth and also that the segmentation of population and the market performance are conducive to enabling the business to achieves its goals and objectives, both in terms of market share and financial projections. Furthermore, this research has confirmed that the consumer perception and demand is continuing to focus upon convenience â€Å"time limited† shopping rather than the â€Å"marathon† shops that were prevalent in the early days of supermarket expansion, which also fits in with the structure of the mobile store concept. 4.4 Competition Analysis There is no doubt that the UK retail grocery sector is dominated by supermarkets and multiples and these represent a formidable force of competition. However, the Defra (2003, p.12) report referred to previously shows that in Wales, these retailers control under a third of the retailing stores per 100,000 people, when compared with independent stores. The geographical and widespread demographics of North Wales also make supermarket growth and penetration more difficult than it would be in a more suburban area. Another area of competition may also occur from smaller independent stores within close proximity to the areas that the NWMG business will be servicing, although it is considered that the price differentiation will limit the response from this sector of the market. Therefore, it is considered that, although competition from these sectors would be strong, some of that strength would be dissipated by these demographic obstructions. 4.5 Competition Strengths Irrespective of the last comment made within the last section, the competition to NWMG does have some considerable areas of strength. Some of their main strengths emanate from their position of size and market dominance. For example, the economies of size[xv]and brand awareness give these businesses the financial and loyalty ability to be able to react positively and aggressively to any new market entrant. It is partly for these reasons that NWMG is seeking a partnership with an established brand to assist with the development of its business model. 4.6 Competition Weaknesses However, as has briefly referred to earlier, there are some weaknesses that attach to the competition as well. Foe example, the low area concentration of the North Wales population and the geographical structure of the region make it more difficult for theses larger stores to be able to find suitable stores to fulfil the standard criterion that is needed before development is commenced. Similarly, the governments current determination to regenerate rural communities is also having a restrictive impact on the major chain development programmes. Finally, the supermarket growth is particularly constrained by the regulatory conditions laid down by the monopolies commission in terms of limits to market share positions. These issues will assist NWMG by muting any negative response form these competitors to its entry into the convenience market sector. The proprietor of NWMG has used the market research conducted, in conjunction with other efforts, to endeavour to closely define the target market for the business. The result of this research conclusion is that the target market will be concentrated upon three main types of consumers. The first, and perhaps primary market segment will be the older age segmentation. The inherent difficulties in terms of cost and transportation that these people experience as a result of the loss of their local stores. This is in addition to the desire these people have to reviving local facilities. Secondly, there is the large segment of the population that is employed in rural areas. Because of the constraints of their employment, these people do not have the ability to be able to access distant stores with the same ease as those who are employed within a more suburban or town location. Whether they are employed or self-employed, this sector of the population do not afforded the luxury of being able to pop to the local store at lunchtime or during a break. The final segment of the population being targeted is the singles market. This includes single parents who cannot afford to spend the time travelling to distant stores due to their child commitments, such as school runs etc., an d those people who live on their own and do not wish to spend the time or expense travelling long distances to purchase a ready meal of few items of grocery needs. The local position of the North West Mobile Grocery mobile stores together with their ease of accessibility, predetermined time slots that will be maintained on a regular basis and the price competitiveness of the products is seen to be addressing the concerns and demands of all of these target segments. As seen from the attached cash flows, the owner intends to spend the first month organising the refurbishment and conversion of the vehicles used for the service, the estimated costs for which have already been provided. In addition, this time will also be spent in putting into place all of the other capital expenditure items and implementing the supply, administrative and management systems that are required for a business of this nature. From a retailing aspect, research will be conducted to enable the development of the initial time slot calendar and location rota, which will need to be established to ensure an efficient deployment of staff and vehicles. From the human resource aspect, the employees selected will need to have HGV licences but, as customer service is also an integral part of their duties, it is intended to that the necessary training is undertaken by these employees to ensure they can interact with the customers in an effective and appropriate manner, thus building a relationship that will enhance the business product and create a loyalty factor that will continue to improve customer retention. Another step in the initial development process for the business will be to address the issue of location parking. In addition to public parking availability it is also intended to enter into discussions with owners of Public Houses, elderly care homes, local farmers and local village community centres to assess the viability of these sites being used where appropriate. These have the added advantage of potentially attracting custom from those who frequent those establishments. As the business grows, the product range is likely to increase. Additionally, as customer relationships develop it is intended to introduce a limited request service that ensures the product range continues to reflect the products that customers require. Section  5 Sales and Marketing 5.1 Marketing Strategies As the intention is for the business to position itself as a time determined local convenience store, a major part of the marketing strategy is to deliver the vehicle to specific locations at time slots that equate to local needs. For example, in areas of higher employment, these would be prior to office hours, lunchtimes and after office hours. Similarly, for areas with a high concentration of elderly and family residents, the mid-morning and mid-afternoon time slots are perceived to be more appropriate. 5.2 Unique selling point The unique selling points of this particular business model, apart from the intention for the retailing opportunity to be where the consumer needs it at the time it is needed, is to maintain a competitive price, service and product range advantage. The partnership connection is particularly important in regards to the first and last of these advantages in that it will enable NWMG to keep prices at a level where the differential between these and distant store prices will be offset by the cost and time saving of making such a trip. 5.3 Media, promotion strategy and advertising campaign Because of the nature and geographic area of the business, the media and promotional strategy will be localised, using newspaper, local radio and TV stations to promote the business. The approach will be further enhanced with the delivery of direct flyers, which will introduce the service and market research conducted through local questionnaires and interviews. This type of direct consumer feedback is considered to be essential for both the establishment of and future growth of the business. It also allows for the employees to begin to develop a customer relationship, whilst at the same time assisting the business in determining that it’s strategy is delivering to customer needs and satisfaction. 5.5 Budget The budget details for the sales and marketing programme are addressed in more details within the cash flow projections. However, because of the localised nature of the business and the direct interaction with customers that will be achieved during retailing activities and the market research programme, it is not considered that a substantial budget will be required for this area of the business overheads. In this area also, in addition to comparing actual with budget coats, a system for monitoring the return on marketing expense will be maintained The predominant owner of this business will the author this report, who intends to invest  £30,000 of his own capital into the project. With the objective of forming a partnership with large grocery brand distributor or retailer, it is anticipated that this partner will be offered a position on the board of the limited company. The responsibility will be shared by these board members in the following manner. With regard to the day-to-day business activities and development, the author will be responsible for this areas. The new board members will have responsibility for product development and assisting in the development of the business retailing strategy for the future. In addition to senior management, the business will employ four full time personnel. All of these employees will be required to have HGV licences and, as previously indicated, undergo customer relationship training. The employees will work in pairs on the two vehicles, dividing the responsibility of driving and retailing appropriately, with required rest periods being taken during the times when the vehicles are at a static location. To ensure that the required hours of employment are maintained the proprietor, who has an HGV licence, will act as a relief driver for part of the week on each vehicle. It is anticipated that the above management and employee structure will serve the business during the course of the first year years of operation. Where required, other expertise will be engaged on an â€Å"as and when† required basis to deal with legal, accounting and taxation issues that affect the business. Section  6 – Financial considerations 6.1 Pricing strategy Although, due to the additional costs of transportation, staff, economies of scale and other overhead cost that attach to the type of business being operated by NWMG it will not be possible to maintain prices as low as those offered by supermarkets, as mentioned earlier, through the facilities offered by the intended partnership connection, including the economies of scale this provides, the pricing of products will be maintained at a competitive level for the local consumption and will largely by offset by savings that consumers achieve from lessening distant shopping trips. 6.2 Projected sales In terms of the projection for sales, it is anticipated that the business will experience a reasonably significant rise in sales revenue within the first six to nine months of operations. From the position at the end of the first year the objective is to achieve an annual sales increase of around two and a quarter times in year two and approximately a third in year three. Although part of these sales progressions will come from product range and price increases, most of the increase will result from the business attracting an increased customer bases and encouraging additional purchases. The progression from year four onwards is likely to demand an increase in the number of routes covered, which will require additional vehicles and staff levels. All of these intentions have been incorporated within the projected cash flow forecasts and account statements that are attached in appendices one to three at the conclusion of this plan. 6.2 Other financial considerations As can be seen from the cash flows, the majority of the capital investment for the business will be required within the initial months of trading. In total, these capital costs can be identified as follows: Retail equipment includes chip and pin and remote stock control programmes. Of this capital  £27,000 of the vehicle is intended to be met through the provision of a six year hire purchase agreement, with the balance of the funding being achieved through the initial capital investments. As a point of interest, it is also intended to replace the business vehicles on a four year cycle, using the asset replacement fund, as this will maintain the professional image of the business and reduce the amount of maintenance costs expended during their usage. The total financial requirement of the business is  £75,000, which is anticipated to be met by a  £25,000 investment from the proprietor and the remainder from the partnering organisation. In exchange for the partner’s investment, they will receive 45% of the business shares and the remainder of their investment will form the basis of the share premium account noted on the balance sheets. Appendices Appendix 1 – Cash Flow Forecasts Notes to the cash flow Number of weeks is counted by reference to the number of Saturdays in the month No account has been taken for VAT and Corporation tax at this stage Product price increases have not been taken into account as it is considered that these will be offset by increased costs A contingency amount of 1% has been allowed to account for any unexpected expenses North Wales Mobile Grocery Service Cash Flow Forecast Year to April 2009

Written Music Essay -- Music History

Written Music For a very long time music was not written down. It was sung or played from memory. As it was passed on from person to person, many changes crept into the tunes. A way of writing music down was needed so that it would be sung or played exactly as it had been composed. The name for written music that man developed is notation. The system of musical notation generally used today is the result of centuries of development- from about the end of the ninth century to the early 1700’s. This development began in the cathedrals in monasteries of the Roman Catholic Church. Since many of the Church’s services were sung, they were sung from memory. Towards the end of the ninth century dots and dashes and squiggles were written over the words in the church books. These signs, called neumes, showed the direction in which the melody should go. But they were still very vague. About 900 A.D. the music was made a little easier to read. The neumes were written at certain distances above or below the horizontal red line, representing the note F, to show how high or low...

Brown V. Louisiana Essay

During the 1960’s, many African-Americans believed that civil rights should become a national priority. Young civil rights activists brought their cause to the national stage and demanded the federal government assist them and help resolve the issues that plagued them. Many of them challenged segregation in the South by protesting at stores and schools that practiced segregation. Despite the efforts of these groups and Supreme Court rulings that ordered the desegregation of buses and bus stations, violence and prejudice against African-Americans in the South continued Meyer, F. S. , 1968). In the 1960’s many things were off limits to African-Americans. They weren’t revered as equals and suffered greatly because of it. There’s an unfamiliar case to most that took place in Louisiana that helped shaped the use of public facilities for all people. This case is known as Brown v. Louisiana. The Audubon Regional Library in Clinton, Louisiana, Parish of East Feliciana did not serve blacks. Blacks, at that time, were expected to use one of two bookmobiles. The red bookmobile served whites and the blue bookmobile served blacks. On March 7, 1964, ive young African-American males entered the adult reading room and one of the men, Brown, requested a book called, â€Å"The Story of the Negro,† by Arna Bontemps. The assistant librarian checked the card catalogue and discovered that the library did not have the book. She told Brown that she would request it from the state library and he could either have it mailed to his home address or he could pick it up from the bookmobile. After the men had been given the news about the book they sat down quietly. After the men failed to leave the library, the assistant librarian requested that they go. They did not. Brown sat down while the others stood nearby. The assistant librarian then went to the head librarian who requested them to leave as well. Again, they did not. A few moments later, the sheriff arrived and requested that they leave again, and again, they did not. The sheriff arrested them and charged them with the intention to provoke a breach of peace and failure to leave a public building when ordered to do so (Coates, R. , 2005). The five men were tried and found guilty. Brown was sentenced to pay $150 for court costs or spend 90 days in Jail. The four other men were sentenced to $35 for court costs or 15 days in ail. Under Louisiana law, the convictions weren’t appealable therefore; their requests for discretionary reviews were denied. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. A certiorari is an extraordinary privilege injunction granted in cases that otherwise would not be entitled to review. In writing for the majority, Justice Fortas first examined whether the protesters could be convicted for refusing to leave the library. He concluded that they could not since their protest was peaceful and blacks could not be denied access since whites were allowed inside as well. He reviewed the onduct of the men and felt that this had no merit either. The state argued that the men were proving their intent to disturb the peace and upset the librarian. Justice Fortas concluded that the arrest was a violation of the men’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights that guarantee freedom of speech and assembly and the right to opposed this opinion and took to issue with the majoritys reasoning. He disagreed that the Constitution prohibits any state from making â€Å"sit-ins† or â€Å"stand-ups† in public libraries illegal. Second, Black argued that the previous breach of the peace cases in Louisiana differed from Brown v. Louisiana. Previously there had been several other situations where there were peaceful demonstrations over discriminatory practices. Garner v. Louisiana (1961) involved a sit-in at a lunch counter to protest service for whites only. In Taylor v. Louisiana (1962) blacks again protested the presence of bus depot that was for white customers only. In Coxv. Louisiana (1965) a man led a demonstration near the courthouse and Jail to protest the arrest of other demonstrations. Each of the protests, along with Brown v. Louisiana, was all orderly and peaceful and was over discriminatory practices that denied the protesters’ rights hat were guaranteed to them under the Constitution. Justice Black opposition was joined by three other Justices. They argued that the First Amendment did not guarantee to any person the right to use someone else’s property even that owned by the government and dedicated to other purposes. On Wednesday, February 23, 1966 the decision was made; 5 votes for Brown and 4 against him (Coates, R. , 2005). The young men won! The Court’s ruling in this case, along with the others, proved vital to the Civil Rights struggles and also to the Vietnam War protests that would follow. Indeed, without these rulings the 1960’s and early 1970’s may have been a completely different period in time, especially when it comes to the Civil Rights movement. In the last line of Justice Blacks opinion in Brown v. Louisiana he wrote: â€Å"The holding in this case today makes it more necessary than ever that we stop and look more closely at where we are going† (Meyer, F. S. , 1968). In conclusion, had it not been for demonstrations of this kind, and the Supreme Court granting certiorari there is a strong possibility that none of this would have ever taken place. Oftentimes, it is in a ime of pain and suffering that the Just shall prevail, and I believe this is no different. There is more work to do but with the Supreme Court being behind you, at least you know it’s not in vain.

15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their Synonyms

15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their Synonyms 15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their Synonyms 15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their Synonyms By Mark Nichol Here’s an alphabetical tour of domestic vocabulary to help you avoid getting lost or walking through the wrong doorway, and to give you a choice in navigating your way: 1. Attic: Synonyms for this word (from the Latin Atticus, â€Å"of Attica†) for a room or area under the roof of a house include garret (the term is from the Middle English word garite, â€Å"watchtower, turret†) and loft (from the Old English word for â€Å"air† or â€Å"sky), as well as the obscure cockloft. A loft that opens to a lower room is also called a balcony (the term is from the Italian word balcone, â€Å"large window†); this term may also refer to an upstairs outside porch or deck. 2. Bathroom: Because of the personal nature of the bathroom’s function, this room has many (mostly euphemistic) synonyms, including latrine and lavatory (both words are derived from the Latin word lavare, to wash†), as well as restroom, washroom, and â€Å"water closet†; most of these, however, are usually applied only to public facilities. Bath or toilet (the latter term is derived from the French word toilette, â€Å"cloth†) are also common usage though toilet more often refers specifically to the key fixture as are slang terms like head (this term is from naval usage, when the â€Å"bathroom† was the bow of the ship), john (from the given name), or loo (suggested to be from the French word l’eau, â€Å"water†). Privy, ultimately from Latin privatus, â€Å"private,† was originally synonymous with outhouse but may also refer to an interior room. 3. Boudoir: This French term (amusingly derived from the French word bouder, â€Å"to pout†) can apply to a bedroom, a dressing room, or a sitting room for the woman of the house. It has erotic connotations that, depending on context, the more utilitarian bedroom may or may not have. 4. Cellar: This area, often partially or completely belowground (see hall for etymology), is also called a basement. Because such areas often remain cooler than the rest of the dwelling, the cellar was originally used to store food and/or wine. More recently, it has been relegated to a general storage space or converted into one or more bedrooms or an informal entertainment area. 5. Closet: This term, from the Anglo-French word closett, a diminutive of clos, â€Å"enclosure,† originally referred to a secluded room but now applies to a usually walk-in cabinet for storing clothes and/or other household items. 6. Conservatory: Often a separate building (also known as a greenhouse) but sometimes attached to a house, the conservatory (the term stems ultimately from the Latin word conservare, â€Å"keep, observe†) is familiar to players of the board game Clue but rare in real life. The similar solarium (the term is from the Latin word for a porch with sun exposure), also known as a sunroom or a sun parlor, is a glass-enclosed room that may double as a conservatory. 7. Den: This term was borrowed from the synonym for lair, and the connotation of a secluded refuge is not coincidental; the neologism â€Å"man cave† (or mancave) suggests a retreat where the lord of the manor may escape to avoid responsibilities or the expectation that he behave in a civilized manner. The den may be used for entertainment or as an office or a study; those terms are also likely to be applied to a spare room where academic, professional, or leisure writing or research is done and/or where household management is conducted. 8. Foyer: This word, adopted into English from French when France was considered the epitome of all that is refined and proper, in the latter language means â€Å"fireplace† (the word is ultimately derived from the Latin word focus, â€Å"hearth†). In humble abodes, the hearth was close to the door (as was everything else), but the name stuck even as dwellings became larger. The word applies to entrance areas in public buildings as well; synonyms like entranceway, entryway, and lobby are usually applied only in that context, not in identifying the domestic equivalent. Vestibule (the term is from the Latin word vestibulum, â€Å"forecourt†) is a synonym that suggests a transitional area. An earthier equivalent, generally referring to a separate small chamber, is mudroom, though this area is often entered through a side door. 9. Garage: This term derives from the French word for â€Å"the act of docking, from garer â€Å"to dock†; it’s probably related to guard and guarantee. It was originally (and sometimes still is) detached from the house and, before the advent of the automobile, was preceded by the carriage house, itself an extension or evolution of a barn. 10. Hall: This word, stemming from the Old English heall and related to the Latin word cella, â€Å"small room† (whence cellar see above), originally referred to an entire dwelling (or at least its primary chamber) at a time when that was the living arrangement for a chieftain or a nobleman. By extension, the word came to be applied later to public buildings, campus edifices, and the like, but it also diminished to refer to the entry of a house, and ultimately, when houses became more extensive, a corridor or passageway that communicates to various rooms. The sense of â€Å"entry† is discussed above in the, er, entry for foyer. 11. Kitchen: For reasons of safety, the kitchen (the term derives ultimately from the Latin word coquere, â€Å"to cook†) was a separate building, but now it is often the figurative heart of the home. Related terms include buttery (a storeroom for liquor, from the Anglo-French word but, â€Å"cask†), pantry (a storeroom for food, ultimately from Latin panis, â€Å"bread†), and scullery (a cleaning area, ultimately from the Latin word scutella, â€Å"drinking bowl†). 12. Library: Originally, in some homes an entire room was set aside just to store the domestic collection of books, either for ostentatious display (and perhaps rarely, if ever, read) or for practical purposes, in which case the room doubled as an office or study. The term stems from the Latin word librarium, based on the stem libr-, â€Å"book.† 13. Nursery: When, in the homes of the well-to-do, children were best not seen nor heard, they were relegated to the nursery (the term is ultimately derived from the Latin word nutricius, â€Å"nourishing†), a combination sleeping and playing area. Now, a nursery is simply a bedroom occupied by the very young. 14. Parlor: As the name (from the Anglo-French word parler, â€Å"talk†) implies, this is a room dedicated to conversation among inhabitants or with their guests; â€Å"drawing room† (from â€Å"withdrawing room,† the room to which guests at a dinner party withdrew for postprandial conversation) is a synonym, as are salon and â€Å"sitting room.† The hall and the parlor have been supplanted by the living room and/or the family room, the latter a fairly recent development to provide a casual environment in contrast to the former, a more formal area. (Some houses, by contrast, have a great room, a large open area that may include space for more than one activity as well as a dining area and free access to the kitchen.) 15. Porch: The porch (the term is from the Latin word portico, ultimately derived from porta, â€Å"gate†) is usually merely a raised approach to a house, though it can be enclosed and might double as a solarium (see below). Synonyms are gallery, lanai (from Hawaiian), piazza (from Italian) stoop, and veranda or verandah (from Hindi and Urdu); all but stoop (from the Dutch word for a step) imply an expansive area. A sleeping porch is a well-ventilated area, sometimes adjacent to a bedroom, for sleeping on hot, still nights. 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?40 Synonyms for â€Å"Lie†Ebook, eBook, ebook or e-book?

Summer Reading List Essay Example

Summer Reading List Essay Example Summer Reading List Essay Summer Reading List Essay Essay Topic: A Thousand Splendid Suns English 12 Summer Reading Teachers: Helen Dunning [emailprotected] or. kr, Jim Burwell [emailprotected] or. kr Here is the summer reading list for English 12- A Thematic Study of World-wide Literature. This is required summer reading. Reading these books will expand your vocabulary, build your personal library, start preparing you for university study, and guide the discussions for much of the first semester. 1. Order the TWO books and order them early. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, by Thomas C. Foster (336 pages) USD 14. 00 ISBN-10: 006000942X ISBN-13: 978-0060009427 AND Choose ONE of the following: Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya (208 pages) ISBN-10: 0451528239 ISBN-13: 978-045152823 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (432 pages) ISBN-10: 159448385X ISBN-13: 978-1594483851 A Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood (311 pages) ISBN-10: 038549081X ISBN-13: 978-0385490818 2. Read How to Read Literature Like a Professor. You may have already read parts of this, but reread them, and read the chapters you missed last year. 3. For ten of the chapters, write 1-2 questions that require someone to consider the topic of the chapter and apply it to any literature text. The questions cannot be questions that merely ask for something to be identified or defined. The questions should require you to evaluate or interpret characters, settings, plot, language or details (quests, food, vampires, etc) and their implied, connotative, symbolic (or otherwise) meaning in a literature text. Consider questions that would lead you to conclusions similar to those Foster discusses in the examples in his book. eg. If it’s not just rain, what is it? What is the purpose of the rain in the literature text? This references chapter 10, and in order to be answered it needs to be applied to a literature text as the answer could be different depending on how you read the text and which text you read. You will need 10-20 questions in total. 4. Read your novel. 5. Choose the three most challenging questions you wrote for How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Answer these questions, in no more than 200 words. Organize your answer appropriately. 6. Bring both books to class on August 13th, 2012. Books and the written assignment are due then. Be ready for: Discussions of gender and equality. Your book will form the basis of discussions, an essay and/ or a group or individual presentation. Checklist for August 13th: Bring the following to your first English class: ____ Your copy of How to Read Literature Like a Professor ____ Your copy of the novel. Be prepared for a reading comprehension quiz or essay ____ A hardcopy of your questions for How to Read Literature Like a Professor ____ A hardcopy of your answers to the three most challenging questions you wrote, as applied to your novel

Business environment report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Business environment report - Essay Example The oil and gas industry, established after the discovery oil pits near early civilisations and subsequent utilisation of the liquid, is characterised by numerous petroleum products that are because of purification processes accorded the crude oil. Petroleum is a crucial element to the economy with numerous applications across all industries, and it is, therefore, critical to maintain the supply to drive the global economy. Apart from driving the global economy, the industry provides employment chances to many workers around the world. BP plc is a major player in the oil and gas industry and is ranked fifth by market capitalisation as well as revenues. Owing to the significance of this company in the society, it is serves as a prime subject of evaluation based on performance in view various environmental factors. While focusing on environmental scanning, this paper seeks to explore the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that influence BP†™s performance. However, this paper overlooks the physical infrastructure and corporate organisation with regard to governance since these are internal aspects influenced by the institution’s service mandate. ... Governments exercise their regulatory powers in the oil and gas industry through trading policies that seek are geared to ensure sustainability of the much-depended commodity. The recent oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico involving BP asserts the role of political organs in organisations. Following this incidence, President Obama visited the site and offered to increase the work force in efforts to clean up the spill while calling for stronger oversight to avoid such incidences. Evidently, BP has been under enormous scrutiny following the incidence that caused rifts among entities calling for harsh penalties against the company and those assisting in the clean-up exercise (Kapucu 2011, p.23). It lies within the government’s responsibility to ensure that environmental accidents are avoided or responded to promptly. Similarly, the oil industry is often subject to political stability where prices fluctuate owing to harsh economic environments created. Political instability and tensi on affects the cost of production by encouraging hoarding, which creates artificial crisis in the sector. Moreover, diplomatic relations play a critical role in fostering international trade and expansion of multinational corporations. BP is placed in a unique platform that is supported by favourable political structures, which encourage foreign investment and understand the benefits realised by the endeavour. With its headquarters in the United Kingdom, compliance to the European Union’s regulation policies with regard to fuel components is key to BP’s operations. Economic Notably, prevailing economic factors play a major role in influencing the national and international economy. For this reason, it is

Strategy management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategy management - Essay Example The company is leading independent oil company in Africa and they have increased the penetration of their operation in the continent by exploring new oil basins in Ghana. Average daily production capacity of the group is 78,300 barrels of oil. Production capacity of Tullow Oil plc has increased by 35% over the last one year while at the same time the company has achieved a profit after tax of $689 million in the year 2011 (Tullow Oil plc, 2013). Industry experts have pointed out that completion of $2.9 billion farm down in Uganda has helped Tullow Oil plc to achieve financial flexibility and inorganic growth. Industry Analysis The study will try to analyze the oil and gas sector of UK in order to analyze the business environment in which Tullow Oil plc is operating. Tullow group is basically a British firm hence it will be feasible to analyze the oil and gas industry dynamics of UK. ... large players who have achieved high degree of vertical integration in the field of oil exploration, oil refining, crude oil production, transportation and marketing. Buyer- seller relationship in the oil and gas industry of the country is flexible because a seller can act as buyer in particular stage of the transaction. There is a complex buyer seller relationship which decreases the buyer power significantly. There are two types of buyers such as individual buyer and institutional buyer in the oil and gas industry of UK. Generally institutional buyers such as chemical companies and independent retailers make large purchases from oil and gas companies hence loosing such a client would impact negatively on the revenue of big companies. Presence of buyers who make large purchases has forced oil and gas companies to customize product offering. Price of undifferentiated product portfolio such as crude oil and gas is dependent on the supply and demand equation created by mercantile excha nge of London, New York and Dubai, which has further decreased the buyer power. Overall the buyer power is assessed as moderate. Supplier Power Companies like Smith International, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton are major suppliers for large oil and gas companies in United Kingdom. Generally oil companies need technical supports such as polycrystalline diamond compact bits, measurement while drilling from suppliers in order to continue the operation (Market Line, 2012b). Supplier power is also dependent on demand and supply equation of the industry hence overall supplier power is assessed as moderate. New Entrants It is very difficult to analyze the threat of new entrant in the industry because there is a possibility that a company can work in one or more section of the value