EBay expands around the globe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EBay expands around the globe - Essay Example This growth has mainly come in the past 8 years. While expanding globally, eBay has exercised a variety and combination of options that it had available in the first place (Thompson, 2003). The following section discusses various options for businesses while expanding. For moving in the international markets, a business has a number of options that can be considered. The consideration is based on various analyses of cost versus benefit being the major highlight (Davis, 2000). Some of the main options that a business may consider while going international are: Franchising is when a foreign business (parent company) deals with a local business to be their representative in the local markets, with the parent company's name, rules, policies and procedures being followed. The local company operates under the name of the parent company, precisely as per their inherent instructions, and earns the parent company earns the royalty from this set up (Shull, 2000). Examples of such an arrangement are often witnessed in the fast food chain set up or even in gas stations. Mergers occur when two or more businesses decide on merging their set of services to compete in a much enhanced form in the industry. In such a form, the businesses unite and the separate existence and identity seizes (Price, 2003). Glaxo Smith Klime (GSK) is the most renowned merger of recent times, with Sony Ericsson being another one. Acquisitions takes place when one firm is taken over by another and the acquiree seizes to exist as the acquirer takes over the operations and assets under its own books. In such a scenario, the acquirer yields various advantages. The extent of the advantages increases further when the acquirer is a foreign entity, acquiring a local entity to enter into the local markets (Carr, 2004). For example, as Royal Bank of (Scotland RBS) took over ABN AMRO, it instantaneously got access to the countries where it had no existence earlier. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) takes place when a business having no existence in a certain region or country decides to enter into the local market for purpose of expanding its operations and taking advantage of an existing opportunity. For the industry in which eBay operates, the two most viable options for expanding are either acquisition or FDI. However, on majority of the occasions, eBay has seemed to preferred acquisition over FDI. The following section discusses the pros and cons of this selection and preference in detail. eBay's Policy: Acquisition Vs FDI eBay while expanding globally has chosen the option of acquisition rather than any other mode of expanding. There have been several critiques on the issue because with the likes of funding available at eBay, the firm could have easily gone in with any mode of expansion. The aim of essay is to critically analyze the pros and cons of acquisition vs. FDI. Following are the main advantages for eBay to choose acquisition over FDI as its preferred strategy to enter into the markets (David, 2002): 1) Existing Infrastructure: The major advantage of

Search Engine Optimization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Search Engine Optimization - Research Paper Example This is to mean that, white hats use terms appropriately to ensure that their websites are visible. On the other hand, black fill their websites with content or words that get plenty of hits from search engines. White hats, when compared to black hats have distinct characteristics that put them apart in favor or against one another as one of the uses unscrupulous means and makes attractive promises (Creative Momentum 1). In relation to white hat search engine optimization, it follows regulations and guidelines to the letter, as provided by search engines to ensure that websites are visible to all that require information from them. This includes careful use of words that get numerous hits from search engines such that the words used are not meant to bloat documents or articles in the website. Instead, the words used are of a unique nature in that they are informative and, at times, act as support words for the whole article and not for exploiting the abilities of search engines. As s uch, websites are designed with certain aspects in mind; these include rules and norms, as well as a code of ethics to ensure that all internet activities are conducted with transparency. Based on this, following the guidelines of search engines for optimizing visibility, ensures that the ever-changing algorithms applied by search engines (Revenuewire 2) achieve transparency. This shields legal or appropriate sites from relegation, and thus gets high ratings by following meeting the terms of use on multiple levels. The white hat optimizers or designers, therefore, apply to the intelligence and needs of internet users to deliver quality content that does not fool search engines by giving false information, including in the titles of the websites. In relation to domain naming, white hat optimizers allow the actual intent of the website to appear rather than mislead the search engine user into logging into it for irrelevant content. These are the distinct characteristics of â€Å"whit e hat† search engine optimization due to their compliant nature, which offers protection from removal and relegation. On the other hand, black hat search engine optimizers have their own code of ethics, or lack of it thereof that sees them dump the rulebook and carry the day, but only for limited moment (Smith 5). Black hat optimization in search engines involves the application of hidden content, where there are numerous links and articles, as well as documents that are spammed with keywords, which serve as crucial gateway points for search engines. This is in relation to search engines accessing the site due to its heavy saturation with such words that are mainly used by internet users to query information from the internet. Information is usually hidden in scripts and non-script parts of code in a website, where search engines only expose it as its algorithms crawl the internet. In addition black hat optimizations tends to have meta-keyword stuffing, where in the descriptio n of the website, or even in its headers, it has numerous keywords (Wilding). These words raise the flags, both red and white for search engines thus improving the ranking of a website, especially in marketing and sites that market content to generate revenue. Through this, it is evident that black hat optimizers are only

Hate Crimes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hate Crimes - Research Paper Example t acts against other individuals have always been prevalent in society throughout history, the socially-constructed notion of referring to this as hate crimes is a fairly new notion (McPhail and DiNitto, 2005). This paper will discuss hate crimes in general and place an emphasis on why it seems like hate crimes are on the rise. It is undoubtedly true that hate crimes are reported in the news more frequently than in the past. A good example of this is a comparison of the number of newspaper coverage given. In the 1980s, over the course of 8 years, the Washington Post published 49 articles on hate crimes. In comparison, in the 1990s, there were 1,100articles published on hate crime in 8 years (Nolan et al, 2002).one main reason for this is possibly due to the ‘Hate Crimes Statistics Act’ which was passed in 1990 (Nolan et al,2002). 5) There appears to be no relationship between hate crimes and index crimes. Index crimes refer to the eight criminal acts that are used by the FBI to predict the amount of crime in the USA. These include murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny-theft, vehicle theft and arson (Nolan et al, 2002). To make the decision as to whether a crime should be treated as a hate crime, the police follow a two step approach (FBI, 1999 from Macmahon et al, 2004). The officer who is first on the scene decided whether there is any evidence the offender’s motivation was bias. In the second step, a trained officer makes a solid decision as to whether the incident is in fact a hate crime using a set of criteria. These criteria are all victim-orientated and are ‘membership in the targeted group, active role or advocacy in community group, representation of victim’s group in the community, previous record of victimization, or the victim’s visitation to a high-tension community’ (Macmahon et al,2004). Four other criteria that are usually used that are offender based include ‘the presence of comments, gestures, or written

Global warming effects Essay Example for Free

Global warming effects Essay Yankee Candle Company began in 1969, as penniless Mike Kittredge, age 16, melted crayons to form a candle as a Christmas present for his Mom. A neighbor, mesmerized by his fabulous creation, expressed her desire to purchase one of his candles; thus Yankee Candle Company was born. Mike used his parents basement, kitchen, and garage to produce his scented candles. Five years later, in 1974, Mike moved production into an old paper mill located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1998 Forstmann Little Company partnered with Yankee Candle Company and began to publicly trade on the NYSE in 1999. Mike Kittredge sold his first candle to a neighbor for $1.36, in 1969 and in 2005 Yankee Candle Companys total sales were $601,180,000. Mikes humble beginning in the family home has grown into a wholesale customer network of 16,400 store locations, a growing base of Company owned and operated retail stores (390 located in 42 states),†¦ direct mail catalogs, its website,†¦ international distributors, and to a European wholesale network of approximately 2,200 store locations†¦ (2006) Yankees passion for fragrance has become a profitable entity with visions of continued global expansion. Yankee Candle Company has branded their product as long-lasting and strong in fragrance. Yankee has developed over 150 fragrances for their various candle products. Their product line includes jars, votive, tarts, wax potpourri, pillars, tapers, and tea lights candles. Yankees design is innovative and their scents are pleasant, relaxing, and rejuvenating. Yankee Candle Companys design department is visionary in developing candles to accent modern dà ©cor and fragrances that appeal to its customers. Yankee will explore and introduce aromas that are common to the Greek culture as they expand into this new market. Yankee Candle will emulate their passion for fragrance and provide a wide variety of choices for its new customers in Greece. The Yankee Candle Company continues to build on the passion and creativity of Mike Kittredge; driven by a mission to warm hearth and home with the fragrances of life through excellence, innovation, and passion. Yankee has been dedicated to excellence throughout their 37 year history. A company spokesperson attributes their success to, our vertically integrated  business model, which enables us to control most every aspect of our business, from product development to manufacturing to distribution to marketing and sales. This structure allows us to consistently provide high quality and innovative products†¦ (2006) Yankees innovation is evident in their candles and accessory designs, which acclimate too various dà ©cor preferences and the expanding variety of fragrances, which appeal to its customers. Yankee Candle Company is driven by an intense passion to spread the fragrances of life around the world for all to enjoy. The product expansion into the Greek marketplace is another step towards reaching their objectives. Yankee Candle Company will expand its fragrances to blend in with the cultures of new markets. Yankee will continue to develop partnerships with established Company owned retail stores as venues for their products to be sold. The candle company has already established Yankee Candle  ® Europe with a 30,000 square foot distribution center in Bristol, England that provides Yankee products for approximately 2,200 stores. This distribution center will be used to export Yankee products to be sold by retail stores in Greece. The Yankee Company has decided to expand their markets and head out to the Country of Greece. We will be exporting our candle line product from the United States to Greece. The product expansion into the Greek marketplace is another step towards reaching their objectives. Yankee Candle Company will expand its fragrances to blend in with the cultures of new markets. Yankee will continue to develop partnerships with established Company owned retail stores as venues for their products to be sold. As Yankee Candle expands into new regions of the world, distribution centers will be built to service their wholesale store network. Where trade barriers, economical and political policies will allow. When expanding into new countries, Yankee Candle will establish an online shopping website to market and sell their products. Since 1994, the United States is part of the NAFTA organization between three countries. The North American Free Trade Agreement, known usually as NAFTA, is a free trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA  went into effect on January 1, 1994. NAFTA is also used to refer to the tripartite trading bloc of North American countries. www.wikipedia.org. Since the inception of the Eurpeon Union in 1957 six countries were a part of this union. Nineteen further states have joined in and creasted a successful union. Greece joined the EU January, 1981. The exchange and repatriation of funds risks the Euros exchange rate against the dollar, remains unstable. The low interest rates, increased competition in the banking industry, and continued growth in commercial bank lending; to raise bad debt and strong growth in consumer borrowing. Economic growth is forecast to slow in 2006 and 2007. The consumer price inflation slowed dramatically in Greece before its entry into pre-economic and monetary union (EMU) in January 2001 and was helped by other temporary measures. The economy of the United States is stable made up of natural resource, labor and manufacturing, and investments. The United States has the largest and one of the most technologically advanced national economies in the world, with a GDP of 13.049 trillion dollars. www.wikipedia.org. Consumers and producers have some decision-making that form the economy, but the government also has a powerful role on the effects of the economy. The economy of Greece is growing fast after the implementation of stabilization policies in recent years. Greece remains a net importer of industrial and capital goods, foodstuffs, and petroleum. Leading exports are manufactured goods, food and beverages, petroleum products, cement, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. www.wikipedia.org. Greece is global leader in shipping, which is the transportation of goods and cargo by land, air, or sea. Types of currency used through out the world vary from country to country and or by region. The Unites States of America official currency is the dollar, symbol: USD also known to be abbreviated by $. The US currency was adopted in 1785 by the United States Congress. The United States dollar is also known as a world currency; in 1985 $300 billion dollars were in circulation,  with two thirds being out side of the Untied States. Each year the amount of U.S dollars is being circulated around the world continues to increase. In comparison to the Untied States of America, Greece uses the euro as denomination of currency type, symbol â‚ ¬. Greece is part of the European Union also knows as the EU. What I found most interesting is the European Monetary Union has ceded control of monetary policy to the European Central Bank. Versus the Untied States taking control over their own currency. The European Union has a large economy, probably slightly larger than that of the United States of America with a 2005 GDP of 12,865,602 million vs. 11,734,300 million (USD figures) (using nominal US Dollar GDP) according to the International Monetary Fund. www.wikipedia.org. Greeces relations with other countries in the region have been steadily improving. Greece is working with Turkey to resolve their disagreements, mainly with regard to Cyprus. Failure to resolve the division of the island of Cyprus may increase tensions between Greece and Turkey as the latter finds its bid to join the European Union partially dependent on success, but tensions rise sharply with Turkey over the issue of Cyprus. Greece is also assisting and improving relations with the economic development of the Balkans. The Balkans is now viewed by Greece as a greater threat to security than Turkey. Also, renewed instability in the Balkans leads to unrest in Greece and trade disruption. Political corruption is considered higher in Greece than many other European Union countries. Politicians are dependent on media with strong ties to business interests. There is a politicized, anti-globalization environmental movement in Greece which is increasingly complicated in its use of the courts and the European Union to block large projects. United States culture is very diverse but due to the level of the American culture there are many integrated but exclusive subculture within the U.S. The subcultures differentiated by status, ethnic background, residence, religion or other factors that functionally combine the group and act jointly on each subculture member. The ethnic groups are White, Black, Asian, Amerindian, Alaska native, native Hawaiian, and other Pacific  islander. The various religion are Protestant, Roman, Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Baptist, and others. Lastly, the languages are English, Spanish, Indo-European, Asian, Pacific island and others. Let us not forget that the government type is constitution-based federal republic but strong democratic tradition. As a result, the subcultures have their own joint set of customs, attitudes, and values. Greece is a diverse culture partial by its place at the crossroads between the East and the West and by the various occupations endured by the Greek people throughout history. The Greeks are proud of their culture which is the definition of their national and ethnic belonging. The Greeks culture is made of their traditions, religion, music, language, food and wines. Some of the traditions and superstitions vary from one island to another. Many countries differ within a range of dimensions including social structure, language, religion, and traditions to name a few. The difference has important implications on marketing strategy of the product. The most cultural difference that has an impact would be traditions. Candle scent preference may differ from one country to another. The company may encounter resistance to some of its different scents or wax. The organization must careful research Greece cultural norms and understanding the difference between US and Greece. Cross-Cultural training (literacy) would be needed to make sure the company advertising or marketing strategy does not offend anyone in the other country. The candles should be affordable due to the unemployment rate within Greece; however the organization must make a profit consider the cost to export the candles within that country. Yankee Candle is aware of the culture difference between the US and Greece, therefore staffing would be important to the organization. The organization would provide their US employees with language and cultural training. Yankee understands that one of their vendors Berlitz has experience and knowledge in cross cultural and language training that would help assist the expatriates. Berlitz offers a variety of programs and has been in the  business for 128 years, more than 450 centers in over 60 countries. Berlitz offers online, adult, children and teen programs for cultural and language training including one-on-one sessions. The cultural and language training would be for the family as well. The cultural training would be for two days and 100 hours for language training, however if more hours are needed for language the company would approve this cost. The employees that are going on the international assignment would have other benefits including when they are expatriating back in to the US. However, the expatriates will receive just a  ½ day of cultural training and language will not be necessary. The US dollar is not equal to the same amount in most other countries. Hence, the company would pay an additional allowance to cover the difference. The cost of living may be higher in the other countries, as a result a housing allowance is provided to the employee. The company does consider the cost living in the US and then compare that cost to living in Greece. The education in Greece is not the same for US citizens. As a result, to the language barrier and cultural it may be very difficult for the employees children to attend the local school in the host country for that reason private schools or boarding school may be required. Consequently the company is aware of this and therefore would provide tuition allowance. Due to the cultural and language difference there are going to be diversity issues, so human resource has provided an open door policy. The open door policy would allow employees to express him or she concerns and human resource will try to provide a solution to the problem, if possible. Supply chain management is an important role for the success of Yankee Candle Company to sell scented candles in Greece. Supply chain is most effective for optimal resource use, minimum total cost, and maximum value to the customer. Decisions with in supply chain are to buy your product or make your own. Yankee Candle Company already produces its own scented candles and will be the same for candles being shipped overseas. The production will be manufactured in the Companys 294,000 square foot facility in Whately, Massachusetts. As a manufacturer, the Company is able to closely monitor product quality and control production costs, which ensures high quality  products and maintains affordable pricing. Information has been gathered from the Greece from the candle business industry. This data will assist in forecasting how much product is needed for a three months supply to meet the supply and demand in Greece. Lead time for the initiation of Yankee Candle Company to enter the Greece market is 10 months. In turn this will give enough time to meet the three month stock supply. The information gathered from the Greece candle market will support the types of scented candles that will be produced to ship overseas. Lead time for the shipment to arrive at the distribution warehouse is three months; the life span of a candle is three years. Placing our product will be near or around the largest cities and ports in Greece. The largest and most important city in Greece is Athens, the capital with population based in 1991 of 748,110. The largest port in Greece is Thessalonà ­ki, with a population of 377,951. Also another large port is located on the North part of the Peloponnesus, is a major seaport, with 155,180 inhabitants. Other sizable cities include Là ¡risa (113,426), Irà ¡klion (117,167), and Và ³los (76,463). The ports and its population are important factors in knowing were to place the Yankee Candle Stores. These would be in areas in the region that have the most population and are easily accessible to Tourist from vacation boats that may doc on these ports. Promoting Yankee Candle Company in Greece would be similar as it is currently in the Untied States. Through its retail stores the Yankee Candle company would open in Greece, direct mail catalogs. To include a large market Yankee candle will also promote is U.S product through television commercials newspapers, bill board singes through out the larger cities of Greece, and through its own web page http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/retail.jsp. Promotion for this product will be introduced to all who wants to have special fragrances in their homes. Business will also be targeted to have fresh new fragrances for their offices. Candles are an excellent gift for all ages and for any special occasion. The middle class in Greece is the main target market Yankee Candle Company is promoting the scented U.S candle product. In 2005  the labor force in Greece was at 4.72 million compared to unemployment rate of 10.8% figures from www.cia.gov. These figures give Yankee Candle Company the green light to proceed with international distribution into the Greece market. Pricing the candles will be 30% above the sale price of a U.S product. This will ensure the costs of having a U.S product of seas. Yankee Candles has successfully developed and market new products and earn enormous returns. We have success springs for the fact that it has a vertically integrated business model, with the in-house expertise required to design, develop, manufacture, distribute and sell our candle products. Our vertically integrated business model acts as a powerful platform to support our product innovation initiatives. This business model included strong research and development activities, an experienced employee team, and a basis skill in test marketing our products. We collected these resources to research consumer interests and home decor buying trends, and then to create original candle designs, fragrances, accessories, gift sets, home fragrance merchandise, and personal care items that align with our findings. We then release this merchandise into our distribution channels in a way that permits us to seek and track consumer feedback. This process positions us to fine-tune our new products from performance, to packaging, to labeling, to pricing helping to maximize the potential for each item we develop to have a successful launch and widespread acceptance. Together, these efforts helped to drive sales, attract new customers and extend the appeal of the Yankee Candle brand. Once exporting was chosen as the mode of entry, Yankee Candle secured assistance from a company called, Export Trade of America; to learn about insurance, tariff, and tax laws involved in trading with Greece. Yankee Candle Company will face various legal challenges when exporting its candles into Greece, but the process will go much easier with the help of an export management company. Yankee will need to comply with employee laws and have knowledge about hiring, firing, and discipline regulations in Greece. They will need to be acquainted with their legal system and how those laws are enforced. Greece is a parliamentary republic with a president, who is heads the executive administration, a prime minister, who is head of the  government, and a 300 seat legislature. The judicial includes a Supreme Court, regional districts, and prefectures to decide civil and criminal cases. There is a national police force as well as policing agencies from the European Union. As a member of the European Union, the EU laws supersede those of the individual member nations. Yankee Candle Company will need to be aware of the EU laws, enforcement, penalties, and necessary trade practices. The European Union could cause legal complications as the union adds new members, arbitrates disagreements among its memberships, and as competition increases in the global marketplace. There has been a longstanding relationship between Greece and the United States of America. The two countries have diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement ties. Greece and the United States, recently signed treaties covering extradition and mutual legal assistance, which further strengthened this cooperation. (2006) Trade between these two nations should proceed with success barring increased terrorism, war, or a terrific natural disaster that impacts the global economy. It is important for any company to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As Yankee Candle employees examines their organization they listed the following as company strengths; strong business model, long-lasting candles, well-branded product, variety of fragrances, adaptability of product to various cultures and dà ©cor, strong financial backing, increasing profitability, expanding marketplace, efficient manufacturing and distribution process, and an innovative product development. Yankee Candle Companys weaknesses include; rising cost for manufacturing and distributions, technological skills, single manufacturing center, adapting products to various cultures and customs, and material shortages. There are several opportunities that must be pursued to maintain profitability; increase presence in the global marketplace, expanded online shopping options, adapt fragrance choices to new markets, build foreign manufacturing and distribution center, and add accessories to their product line. There are many threats to the existence of Yankee Candle Company  including; competitions pricing and product differentiation, terrorism, natural disasters, exchange rate, rising costs for manufacturing and distribution, and the products life-cycle. The external environment strengths include; reduction in trade barriers, strong European Union, technological advancements, and utilization of websites. The external weaknesses are; trade blocs, closed economic and political policies that prevent or limit imports/exports, and the affects of terrorism. External opportunities include; improving the economic levels of third world countries, utilizing the skills, resources, and expertise of various countries to lower costs and create an integrated economy, develop innovative products, and create a global network. Finally, the external threats include; terrorism, political instability, natural disasters, increased global competition, trade blocs that become fortresses against those outside their union, countries imposing regulations against outsiders who want to merger or acquire other foreign companies, conflict among existing trade bloc members, and inflation/deflation of the monitory systems. Reference: (2006, 4,12). The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. 2006 First Quarter Earnings Webcast. Retrieved 4/23/06, from SBC Yahoo Finance Web site: http://biz,yahoo.com/bw/060412/20060412005002.html?.v=1www.wikipedia.org., retreived April 24, 2006. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gr.html#EconRetrieved 5/13/06 from the World FactbookUnknown, Retrieve on April 23, 2006 fromhttp://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/gr.htmlUnknown, Retrieve on April 23, 2006 fromhttp://www.greeka.com/greece-culture.htm

Reflective Practice In Pastoral Ministry Education Essay

Reflective Practice In Pastoral Ministry Education Essay The focus of this paper is reflective practice, which is the ability of individuals to learn from critically analysing events and experiences that they encounter in their daily lives besides the values and theories that support those activities. This is employed in various professionals such as in teaching, nursing, environmentalists among other professionals as a supplement for formal professional learning. In this study, reflective practice will be examined from a pastoral point of view. The term reflective practice will be examined with reference to its definition, the various types of reflective practice that exist and the models of reflective practice that are in use today. Additionally, reflective practice will be analysed from a pastoral point of view whereby the various ways in which it can be used in Christian ministry will be explored as well as the ways in which it has enabled the writer of this paper to develop or change their public relations as far as the ministry is concerned. Finally, the role of reflective practice in the learning experience of the writer will be examined. 2.Reflective practice 1)Definition Reflective practice is one of the core characteristics in professions such as education, health, environmental management and theology among others and usually refers to the ability of an individual to reflect on actions or acts in a way that facilitates further learning for the individual. This usually involves paying special attention to the activities of everyday life with special reference to the values and theirs that are the basis for these actions. Reflective learning encourages practice-based professional learning whereby individuals are able to learn from their experiences as opposed to formal and structured teaching. The term reflective practice is composed of two words; reflection and practice whereby the term reflection means to critically and accurately evaluate an item, an individual or a situation while experiencing them or after one has encountered them. Practice on the other hand refers to learning or mastery through repetition. Reflective practice has been defined by Moon as a set of abilities and skills, to indicate the taking of a critical stance, an orientation to problem solving or state of mind whereas Cowan has defined reflective thinking as the situation when they analyse or evaluate one or more personal experiences and attempt to generalise that from thinking. Biggs on the other hand defined reflective thinking as a reflection in a mirror is an exact replica of what is in front of it. Reflection in professional practice, however, gives back not what it is, but what might be an improvement of the original . In conclusion therefore, the process of reflective learning may be thought of as a process through which individuals critically evaluate their actions, thoughts and experiences and through this critical appraisal, are able to experience autonomous learning. The connection between knowledge and practice is further facilitated by the availability of an experienced professional within the discipline, in this case theology and pastoral ministry. In laymans terms, the practices and strategies for reflective practice includes questioning the manner in which one carries out various activities and comparing it to the manner in which others carry out the same activities; the search for alternatives in the course of accomplishing the same activities; comparing and contrasting; keeping an open mind; looking for the framework, theoretical basis and underlying rationale for those activities; viewing from various perspectives by asking for the viewpoints of others; consideration of the consequence s; hypothesising, testing, seeking, identifying and resolving problems . 2)Advantages of practice reflective Reflective practice in pastoral ministry is associated with a higher understanding for the minister of his or her own style in the course of ministry besides validation of his or her own ideas, beneficial challenges to traditional approaches, recognition of the role of ministry in society and the respect for diversity in the course of applying theories in practice . 3.Types Of Reflective Practice 1)Content Reflection This refers to the recounting of something that happened by the practitioner who in this case is the minister . This may be the outright description of a situation or of a problem such as Mr. Stan did not tell me anything that may have been troubling him in spite of the fact that I reassured him that I was ready to listen and despite his revelation that his family was unreceptive to him 2)Process Reflection This is where a practitioner the process that was involved in the happening of an event such as as I narrated in the encounter with Mr. Stan what my purpose was, then I began to carry out an intense physical assessment. I asked again about any concerns once in the middle of taking temperature, and did not mention it again. Mr. Stan failed to make eye contact when he said everything was ok. 3)Premise Reflection Premise reflection is where a problem, issue or situation is evaluated with the view of understanding why it happened or occurred. For example I wonder why he failed to respond to my questions. How come I didnt notice and respond to his body language then? Why did I not feel comfortable digging a little more? Did I ask about her problems too early in the interview and too often again when in the middle of the task? Was I comfortable? What should I do differently in a future situation? Do I feel comfortable acting differently in the future? What would assist me in the future? 4)Action Reflection This is also known as reflection on action and is used to refer to the reflection of actions, activities and events that happened in the past and may involve documentation of those past events and experiences and may be referred to as Schons model of reflection. 5)Critical Reflection Critical reflection is the process of analysing, reconsidering, and questioning experiences within a broad context of issues and can be broken down into various dimensions for the purposes of addressing various activities besides various levels of reflection. The first, second and third dimensions constitute the ordinary process of reflection whereas the fourth dimension constitutes the core of critical reflection. The first dimension involves critical observation for the purposes of understanding the issues in a deep and accurate way through the use of frameworks such as past experiences. The second dimension involves an exhaustive description of what has been observed whereas the third dimension involves the making of the meaning of what has been described. Finally, the fourth dimension refers to the addition of breadth and depth to the issue through asking questions about and relating meanings to a variety of professional and personal issues. 6)Reflection In Action Reflection in action refers to the reflection of an individual on action while in the course of carrying out the action. This is manifested in constant thinking throughout the duration of the action and is referred to as knowing in action, thinking on your feet and keeping your wits about you besides learning by doing as described by Schon. 4.Models Of Reflective Practice The purpose of these models is to enable professionals to draw lessons out of experiences in the course of enabling professionals to develop independence and to create a continuous, life long, learning experience. 1)Argyris and Schon 1978 In 1978, Argyris and Schon proposed the single loop and the double loop models of reflective practice on the basis of the identification and correction of an error, fault or mistake. Single loop learning is where the individual continues to rely on the old procedures in spite of the identification and resolution of a problem whereas double loop learning is where upon the identification and resolution of a problem, new procedures are adopted and in case the same problem appears again, a new solution is found. Later, Schon brought up the idea of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action whereby the former may be defined as thinking on their feet and the latter may be described as felt knowing. The idea behind these two concepts is that in the course of any practice, a professional normally experiences feeling, emotions and thoughts that are derived from a similar past experience and which enables them to face the situation at hand directly. 2)Kolb 1984 This model was heavily influenced by the works of Dewey and Piaget in the 1970s and besides focussing on experimental learning, is centred on the change of information into knowledge. This occurs when an event has already come to pass and involves the reflection of the individual on the experience in order to gain understanding and insight of the concepts, which are then transferred into a new situation. Thus, knowledge obtained from a specific situation is constantly and regularly utilised and builds on an individuals experience and knowledge . 3)Gibbs 1988 This is an improvement of Kolbs experimental learning cycle whereby structured debriefing is used as a way of enabling reflection. The stages of a full structured debriefing in order are: the initial experience, the description of the experience, the description of the feelings that an individual encountered, the valuation of the experience, an analysis of the experience, the general conclusions that an individual makes from the experience and analysis, the specific conclusion and the personal action plans in case a similar situation is encountered in future. These steps are also known as the Gibbs model of reflection or the Gibbs reflective cycle and are summarised as: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, and conclusion and action plan. 4)Johns 1995 This is a structured model of reflection that consists of a guide for individuals to gain higher understanding and is designed to include the participation of a colleague or a mentor, who facilitates faster transformation of the experience to learnt knowledge. This model is based on the earlier works of Carper and puts emphasis on the ability of a professional to access, understand and put into practice information gathered empirically through looking in on ones thoughts and emotions and looking out at the events that took place. This model includes Carpers four patterns of knowing which are: empirical, personal, ethical and aesthetic and reflexive. 5)Rolfe 2001 The basis of this model is Bortons developmental model of 1970 and involves a simplistic cycle consisting of three questions that a professional asks. These are: what, so what and what next. This enables an individual to describe a situation accurately, which further enables scrutiny of the situation and construction of knowledge that was learnt through the experience. After this, the various ways and methods in which one may improve as well as the results of ones response to the situation are evaluated . 6)Bauds model Bauds model places emphasis on the feelings and emotions of an individual besides being cyclical. This model recommends a critical analysis of an experience or an event with reference to the emotions or feelings that were experienced in the course of the event or after the event and application of the lessons that were learnt from this experience. 7)Greenaway 3-stage Model This model is based on three activities that are performed in cyclical progression. These are plan, followed by do, which is followed by review and so on. It is suggested that this model is closely related to the Gibbs model of reflective practice. 5.Use Of Reflective Practice In Christian Ministry The role of reflective practice in Christian ministry and Pastoral work cannot be overemphasised. This is especially so taking into consideration that ministry involves the delivery of the word of a perfect God, through an imperfect individual to other imperfect individuals with the aim of bringing them close and closer and closer to the fold. Additionally, Christian ministry is much more than preaching and one of its other components is to set a good example to the congregation and thus the need for reflective practice among the Christian ministers. 1)Reflective Practice in Church Ministry Leadership To begin with, reflective practice is important for a pastoral minister to accomplish his or her leadership role within a ministry. The leadership of any ministry is important in the achievement of the goals and objectives of that particular community in addition to influencing their congregations to view and value these in the same way. The role of leadership demands certain behaviours from the Christian minister and hence the minister needs to constantly reflect on his or her behaviour and adopt behaviour and actions that will serve as an example to the community. This would enable the attainment of goals and objectives besides steering the congregation to greater heights . 2) Reflective Practice in Prayer and Instruction Reflective practice may be used by the ministers to encourage congregation to reflect on their thoughts, experiences and events with reference to Biblical teachings as well as prayer as a way of encouraging them to live lives that are more godly. This may also be used by the ministers themselves as well in striving to live lives that are more godly. 3)Reflective Practice in Improving the Running of the Churchs Affairs. In the course of management of the affairs of the church, not everything that the minister comes across will have been taught in class and it is prudent for him or her to come up with ways of handling such situations. Additionally, the minister may find that some of the management that he or she may have learnt in the classroom are not so practical in some situations and it is in such times when reflective practice should be used to invent more olutions to management problems. 6.Role Of Reflective Practice In The Course Of Learning 1) Reflective Practice in Time Management In the course of learning, reflective practice has come in handy especially in the course of time management. By looking at past events and experiences, I have learnt how to plan ahead for activities, how to prioritise activities and the importance of allocating time both for working and for relaxation purposes. Unlike in the past, I am now able to meet my obligations and the stress that comes with undone work has dramatically reduced in my life. Consequently, in spite of fulfilling my responsibilities, I am able to engage in activities that I like. 2 )Reflective Learning in Accommodating Others Accommodation of others has been a challenge all along in my life and more so in the course of Christian ministry studies as a result of the diverse viewpoints that are held by my fellow students. However, by reflecting past instances of my intolerance towards the opinion of others, I was persuaded to try and accommodate the feelings of others. This turned out to be worthwhile as I learnt that it is important to accept the views and opinions of others no matter how offensive they are to me, since I realised that people like being listened to and understood even if not necessarily agreed with. This, I have learnt is perfect for harmonious living and coexistence even with my classmates. 3)Reflective Practice and Challenges at Work and in personal life Reflective practice has been instrumental in assisting me to deal with challenges at work and at home. In the past, difficulties and work would spill over when I got home and difficulties I experienced at home would affect my work. As a result of reflecting on these situations, I learnt that there is a time and place for everything and that what happens at home should not affect what happens at work and what happens at work should not impact my life away from work. This has enabled me to find fulfilment at home and at work in spite of whatever difficulties I may be experiencing. This has made me more effective in my work and responsibilities. 7.Conclusion This paper has been centred on reflective practice within the context of pastoral ministry. To begin with, the definition of the term reflective practice has been defined in laymans terms but the definitions of various experts such as Moon, Cowan and Biggs have also been included. The advantages of the practice of reflective practice especially among pastoral ministers have also been mentioned besides the types of reflective practice. The types of reflective practice that have been discussed in this study are: content reflection, process reflection, premise reflection, action reflection, critical reflection and reflection on action. This paper also contains brief discussions on the various models of reflective practice that have been proposed by experts over the years which are: Argyris and Schon model of 1978, Kolb model of 1984, Gibbs model of 1988, Johns model of 1995, and Rolfes model of 2001. Additionally, the importance of reflective practice in Christian ministry has been expl ored and in this case, its role in church leadership, prayer and instruction and in the running of the affairs of the church has all been discussed. The impact of reflective practice in my personal life has also been outlined with reference to its effects on the challenges that I encounter in my personal and professional life, in accommodating others, and in time management.

America is Not Responsible for September 11 :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

America is Not Responsible for September 11 I am starting to hear something somewhat disturbing about the September 11 attack on the United States. I hear people in the press saying it. I hear it from foreign spokesmen and organizations. And now I hear students and professors agreeing. What they are all saying is that American foreign policy is responsible for this attack. This is not the first time I have heard it. I read this when I was researching Internet sites in the Middle East for a school project. But now I hear it in America. Well, I absolutely reject that belief. And before you start down that road, let me give you an alternative argument and the facts to accompany it. In today's world of sound-bite journalism and quick, dumbed-down answers, this is an easy solution to a problem that doesn't have an easy solution. Sure, jump on the bandwagon. Blame America for all the bad things that happen to her. We are big, powerful and an easy target. Why not blame us? Who else can you blame? Well, simply put, the United States did not plant the bombs that have killed close to 9,000 Americans in the last decade. Someone else did. Nine thousand Americans were lost in terrorist bombings around the world in a decade. Still think this is our fault? There are some good critiques of American foreign policy. But when do we say enough is enough? When do we put the safety of our citizens above public opinion in other countries? Can we not say to the world that "these are our policies, they are based on good values and sound judgement," without fear of being killed? The answer is yes, we can, we will and we must. If we do not, then the hatred of a small minority dominates the rule of law for the vast majority. Let us examine the American foreign policy that is so terrible that terrorists feel justified murdering people in the hundreds and thousands at a time. I think you will see it may not be the root of all evil. First, let us examine our relations with Israel versus the Palestinians. This is the center of the criticism laid upon the backs of Americans dealing with the Middle East for at least 40 years.

Polyhydroxybutyrate Essays -- Chemistry

Plastic industry has become of vital importance for the comfort and quality of our lives, due to numerous qualities as strength, lightness, low cost and durability. Their downside is the negative impact over the environment, due to the accumulating of millions of tons per year. Therefore, the development of biodegradable plastics seems a key issue for further development. PHAs are hydroxyalkanoate polyesters that are used as energy storage for bacteria. Polyhydroxybutyrate(PHB) is a biodegradable polymer, with similar properties to polypropylene, which gives it great potential as alternative source of plastics. PHB is linear polyester of D-3-hydroxybutyric acid, with high molecular weight, accumulated as a storage carbon in different microorganisms. The PHB-producing bacteria require an environment rich in sucrose, glucose or ethanol, all expensive raw materials. Efforts have been made in the past years to overcome those disadvantages, by producing PHB from plants. (Gehrke, 2009) The first attempts to establish fermentative production of PHA happened 40 years ago, using stains of Ralstonia eutropha and Alcaligenes latus. Biopol ®, a polymer developed by ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) was produced using a mutant stain Ralstonia eutropha using glucose as a carbon source. That was the start of the commercially available PHVBs, in the 1980s. After the change of proprietorship to Monsanto, the bioplastic’s division was sold and the patent was bought by a Cambridge, (MA, U.S.A.) company called Metabolix (source: press release 16 May 2001, Metabolix.com). The research continued, adding new naturally PHA- producing bacteria to the list, whilst other microorganisms were modified to do so. The carbon source usually used was gluc... ...ndia : University of Pune. 9. Mousavioun, P. (2011). Properties of Ligning and Polyhydroxybutyrate Blends. Queensland, Australia: Queensland University of Technology. 10. Nisha V. Ramadas, S. K. (2009). Polyhydroxybutyrate Production using Agro-industrial Residue as Substrate by Bacillus sphaericus NCIM 5149. Kerala: National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology. 11. Peter H. Yu, H. C.-L.-H.-P. (1999). Conversion of industrial wastes by Alcaligenes Latus into Polyhydroxyalkanoates,. 12. Product information . (fÄÆ'rÄÆ' an). Preluat de pe mirel plastics: http://www.mirelplastics.com/discover/default.aspx?ID=1783 13. Udpuay, S. C. (2008). Production and Characterization of Polyhydroxybutyrate from Molasses and Corn Steep Liquor produced by Bacillus megaterium ATCC 6748 . Phitsanulok ,Thailand: Dept. of Biology, Fac. of Science, Naresuan University, .