Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Holocaust Essay - 3093 Words

The delineation of human life is perceiving existence through resolute contrasts. The difference between day and night is defined by an absolute line of division. For the Jewish culture in the twentieth century, the dissimilarity between life and death is bisected by a definitive line - the Holocaust. Accounts of life during the genocide of the Jewish culture emerged from within the considerable array of Holocaust survivors, among of which are Elie Wiesel’s Night and Simon Wiesenthal’s The Sunflower. Both accounts of the Holocaust diverge in the main concepts in each work; Wiesel and Wiesenthal focus on different aspects of their survivals. Aside from the themes, various aspects, including perception, structure, organization, and flow of†¦show more content†¦My father was sent to the left† (Wiesel 91). Elie, fearing separation from his father, tries to overcome this problem by running after him. However, with several SS officers running toward Elie in ord er to constrain him, â€Å"many people from the left were able to come back to the right — and among them, my father and myself† (Wiesel 91). Elie’s act of improvisation allowed him to remain alongside his father. The raw act of survival itself confronted both Elie and Chlomo several times in Night. At one point during the march to Gleiwitz, the mass was allowed to rest. However, if the victims were not ready to form their ranks, the SS officers would shoot the resting bodies to death. To overcome this complication for survival, Chlomo decides that Elie should sleep, while Chlomo would awaken him when ranks were to be formed. Elie refused, while â€Å"[his] father ... was gently dozing. ... [He] could not see his eyes† (Wiesel 85). Elie, attentive during this time, was able to awaken his father in order to form ranks. The tactic to watch his father sleep allowed both victims to form ranks upon the SS officers’ commands; thus, Elie and Chlomo overcame their difficulty of sleep and death. The concept of survival advances Elie Wiesel’s theme of Night — faith. The process of surviving alongside his father allows Elie to bury faith in his very father’s existence. The most significant event in Night is when Elie injects faithShow MoreRelatedHolocaust : Holocaust And Holocaust1247 Words   |  5 Pages History of holocaust Holocaust Term Paper Jewish people were tortured, abused, and subjected through horrific unfathomable situations by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Despite all of the unpragmatic hardships Jews all over Europe faced, many stayed true to their faith and religion. There are numerous stories in which Jewish people tried to keep the roots of their religion well knowing the risk of torture and death. The never ending fear of Jewish people living in the Ghettos and trying to surviveRead MoreHolocaust : The Holocaust And Holocaust1247 Words   |  5 PagesWe all know the horrific experience, the Jews faced during the Holocaust and after it. Even after some survived the holocaust physically, they will always be tormented and haunted by those gruesome memories from those inhumane actions that were directed towards them. After, all they went through it is obvious the holocaust affected the survivor s drastically, but how about the future generations of Jews. In which I believe the holocaust did in fact affect the second generation, but the third generationRead MoreThe Holocaust : A Holocaust930 Words   |  4 PagesThe Holocaust is one of the most well known genocides that have taken place. It had destroyed millions of Jewish lives and has caused a historical pain to these people that cannot be taken away till this day. The Holocaust can be seen from Goldhagen’s perspective of eliminationism. It did have all of the five steps and yet there was uniqueness about the Holocaust. The first one that can be looked at is the concentration camp itself. The history of the camp and the stories are still being unfoldedRead MoreHolocaust : The Holocaust And Holocaust1328 Words   |  6 PagesThe Holocaust The holocaust is a term originally referred to a religious rite in which an offering is incinerated. But today, has another meaning; is any human disaster of great magnitude and importance, mainly refers to the extermination of the Jews who lived in Europe conducted by the Germany government. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Jewish community was improving their situation and their rights equalized to those of other citizens in most European countries. But despite this, these peopleRead MoreHolocaust : An Examination Of The Holocaust1117 Words   |  5 Pages In the summer of 1944 the soviets freed the Jewish from the concentration camps like Belzec, Treblinka and the most infamous killing camp Auschwitz. In an examination of the holocaust I will converse the effects of the holocaust and their worlds response, to its victims and perpetrators. The aftermath of the holocaust shows the mass Genocide people found, as Germany cures itself it showed civilization that we should not let someone manipulate us, and let them change our ideals and beliefs. I willRead MoreThe Holocaust Of The Jewish Holocaust858 Words   |  4 PagesThe Jewish Holocaust is often described as the largest, most gruesome holocaust in history. It began in 1933 with the rise of Adolf Hitler and lasted nearly twelve years until the Nazi Party were defeated by the Allied powers in 1945. The expression â€Å"Holocaust† originated from Greece which is translated to â€Å"sacrifice by fire†. This is a very proper name considering the slaughter and carnage of Jewi sh people inflicted by the Nazis. In addition to the Jewish, Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexualRead MoreThe holocaust959 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Year 10 Humanities 2013 Unit 2: World War 2 Task 2 The Holocaust The Causes of the Holocaust The Process of the Holocaust In 1933, the Jewish population of Europe stood at over nine million. Most European Jews lived in countries that Germany would occupy during World War II. By 1945, the Germans killed nearly two out of every three European Jews as part of the Final Solution, the Nazi policy to murder the Jews of Europe. Although Jews, whom the Nazis deemed a priority danger toRead MoreThe Holocaust971 Words   |  4 Pagesof the Holocaust The Holocaust was one of the most horrible and dreaded events in history. Millions of Jews were killed, leaving many families devastated and hopeless. With the goal of racial purity, Adolf Hitler- along with many other Germans believed the Jews caused the defeat of their country, and led the Nazis to the elimination of Jews. For this reason, â€Å"Even in the early 21st century, the legacy of the Holocaust endures†¦as many as 12,000 Jews were killed every day† (The Holocaust). LaterRead MoreHolocaust Final Draft : Holocaust1495 Words   |  6 PagesAnthony Harmon Holocaust Final draft World History The holocaust started when Adolf Hitler became Germany’s dictator, and they started the organization called the Nazis. They started by terrorizing the Jewish community in Germany, then eventually put them all into concentration camps. In one of the bigger camps, they experimented and took newborn babies away from the nursing mothers and they were seeing how long they would survive without feeding. Between 1945 and 1985, about 5,000 NaziRead MoreThe Holocaust1225 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Sabrina Liu Mrs. Osmonson English 2 8 May 2014 The Holocaust The Holocaust was one of the world’s darkest hours, a mass murder conducted in the shadows of the world’s most deadly war.  The Holocaust also known as Shoah, means a systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews during the WWII by German Nazi. Adolf Hitler the leader of Nazis, who afraid Jews would take power over Germans; also, many Germans felt they were mistreated by the lost so

Monday, December 16, 2019

Essay On New Physics - 732 Words

Research Statement Zhen Liu What is the (next accessible) scale of new physics? We do not have a clear answer. We are living through a challenging and exciting era, in sharp contrast to the situation of the past (half) century in physics. The discovery of the Higgs boson, the determination of the non-zero ÃŽ ¸13 neutrino mixing parameter, the first detection of gravitation waves, and many greatly improved experimental probes for new physics beyond the standard model mark the great triumphs of our understandings of nature. Profound puzzles of nature, such as hierarchy problem, dark matter, neutrino properties, matter-antimatter asymmetry, strong CP, flavor structure, etc., are actively being explored but yet remain to be solved. However, no†¦show more content†¦Currently, I have been working on the intriguing potential for new physics through novel on-shell interference effects between signals and background at different scales to probe BSM physics, and exotic long-lived particle signatures at the LHC. Given the long-term planning 1 Research Statement Zhen Liu September 2017 necessary for next-generation experiments and the exciting journey ahead of particle physics, I have been working on physics cases for various future collider scenarios, including the ILC, CEPC, FCC-ee and a muon collider. As an active junior member of the community, I also have been contributing to various community reports, including the 2013 Snowmass reports and recent Higgs Yellow report and currently involved in the writing of the long-lived particle white paper and various design reports for future colliders. I recently have been appointed a co-convener of the Higgs exotic decay subgroup of the LHC Higgs cross section working group (LHCHXSWG), bridging the theoretical and experimental community in searching for non-standard Higgs boson decays. My research interests and experience in BSM phenomenology cover a large span of topics. My research on Higgs physics ranges from Higgs precision at various colliders, exotic Higgs decays, Higgs EFT, probing first-order electroweak phase transition via the Higgs boson, to composite Higgs physics tests in the scheme of lowShow MoreRelatedNew Physics Essay775 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is the (next accessible) scale of new physics? We do not have a clear answer. We are living through a challenging and exciting era, in sharp contrast to the situation in the past (half) century in physics. The discovery of the Higgs boson, the determination of the non-zero $\theta_ {13} $ neutrino mixing parameter, the first detection of gravitation waves, and many significantly improved experimental probes for new physics beyond the standard model mark the great triumphs of our understandingsRead MoreThe Quantum Relativistic Mess899 Words   |  4 Pagesactive theoretical frameworks in particle physics that is used in an attempt to successfully reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics. This concept is a great contender of quantum relativity mess theory, string theory and the theory of everything. In this essay, we visit these theories and provide a general view or opinion on the future of physics. The new form of physical theory Through out history, several changes have taken place in physics with the governing equations and fundamentalRead MorePlank, Einstein and Black Body Radiation1400 Words   |  6 Pagesscientific research. Towards the end of the 19th century physics was mostly thought to be at an apex. One man at the time, William Thomson Kelvin [cited by Glen Elert in The Physics Hypertextbook], said along the lines of â€Å"There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.† This statement was to quickly become fiction with the beginnings of the 1900s. Two major problems in physics were still apparent; Theories on the luminiferous ether. ThatRead MoreEvaluating Kuhn ´s Theory of Scientific Development Essay1545 Words   |  7 Pagesof science. One of such is the Kuhn theory of science development postulated by Thomas Kuhn. His theory brought about a new perspective where scientific theories are placed in an umbrella of a grand theory called the paradigm. Thomas Kuhn who was born in 1922 in Cincinnati, studied physics at Harvard, graduating summa cum laude in 1943, applied his knowledge of quantum physics to humanities of science developing the Kuhn theory of science development (Bird, 2012). Although, earlier perspective ofRead MoreRelationship Between Mind And The Brain1270 Words   |  6 Pagesdualism. The dualist and physicalist have a long-standing feud regarding the mind and body. Before we can properly debate the mind-body problem, we must properly define what is physical. In this essay, I will argue that we cannot define what is physical. I will demonstrate this by anal yzing Barbara Montero’s essay called the Body Problem. I will explain the â€Å"body problem† , the problem(s) that arise from Hempal’s dilemma, and finally conclude that we should be more concerned if the mind is non-mentalRead MoreThe Progression Of Truths Within A Taxonomy1280 Words   |  6 PagesAn Essay on the Progression of Truths in a Taxonomy To begin understanding whether or not science progresses towards greater truths, truth must first be defined. It is the quality or state of conforming to fact or reality.1 As such a greater truth is one which better conforms to reality. Through scientific revolutions science progresses towards a taxonomy of greater truths. To accept this one must first understand that truths exist in science, that there are greater truths which replace falsifiedRead MoreThe Value Of Knowledge Is Greatly Diminished1566 Words   |  7 PagesAnezka Boyle O’Neill IB Theory of Knowledge Period 4 11-7-15 TOK Essay: â€Å"Without application in the world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished.† Consider this claim with respect to two areas of knowledge. Knowledge can be defined as being skills or information acquired through experiences or encounters, an awareness of familiarity gained from an experience, and a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. The last of these definitions is more of an arguable definition. ThereRead More The Solution Essay1494 Words   |  6 Pagesgoing through each of their heads are very different in many ways, yet amazingly similar. For example, the business man must come up with an idea to cut costs and increase revenue for his company. He must find a creative twist to an old idea, a new combination of numbers that allows the company to increase profit and drop costs. Yet this man strays from the numbers and thinks in images, and during the brief moment before the creative act his consciousness seems to play absolutely no role. Read MoreEssay about Enrico Fermi and the Development of the Atomic Bomb1013 Words   |  5 Pagesof the Atomic Bomb The 20th century saw many important discoveries which impacted people worldwide. Great discoveries were made in the realm of science and technology which lead to the atomic age. One of the leading pioneers in the area of physics was Enrico Fermi. Without his contributions, the atomic bomb may not have been developed or would have possibly been postponed. Enrico Fermi was born into a family who had enough money to live comfortably. Fermi was born in Rome on the 29th ofRead MoreThe Rise Of Natural Science1425 Words   |  6 Pagesreligion-based societies tended to come to an end and there occurred two revolutions particularly in Western Europe: the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Owing to them, society had been radically changed in terms of politics and economy albeit new other problems had been brought such as job competition and capital-based societies, in other word, capitalism (Hossain and Mustari, 2012: 64; Gollin, 1970: 1). As a result, in spite of the end of the absolute monarchy, there still remained the inequality

Sunday, December 8, 2019

What Does It Mean free essay sample

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, there are many key characters, settings, objects and events that symbolise ideas much deeper than what is first perceived. It is these important symbols that make Lord of the Flies an allegorical novel. It is the constant struggle to maintain civilization and resist complying with the savage urges that rages within each human individual that plays a central theme throughout the novel. Significant objects like the conch and signal fire; plot events such as the pig hunts; the main characters and even Ralph’s hair are all symbols that have a grander meaning and transform this story into an allegorical novel. Throughout Lord of the Flies, the conch acts as a vessel of political legitimacy and democratic power. In the course of the novel, it is used to call the boys to order. No boy may speak unless he is holding the conch, and once it is in his possession, he is spared of any interruptions. It is the initiative of the boys that created this â€Å"rule of the conch†, thus representing the speech, rules and politics of society. However, in later chapters this symbol of structured civilization is over thrown by instinctual savagery when Rogers thundering boulder kills piggy and destroys the conch. This is when Jack runs forward claiming that he can now be chief. Jacks quick jump for power, based on the fact of the conch breaking, implies that his rise to leadership was being held back by the democratic power that Piggy and Ralph held in the conch. When piggy and Ralph blew into the conch, the younger boys would still listen. But once the conch was shattered, so was all form of law and order on the island. The purpose of the signal fire varies during Lord of the Flies, but ultimately becomes a key representation of the boys’ connection to civilization. The initial idea of the fire was to keep it burning strong in order to attract any passing ships. This was a solid plan until the simple signal fire turned into an uncontrollable blaze, rendering one of the younger boys missing. In this scene the signal fire turned into a paradox of both hope of rescue and destruction. The strength of the fire was in sync with the boys’ willingness to return to society. There is a notable contrast in the early parts of the novel, were the boys maintain the fire as a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society, compared to when the fire burns low or goes out. Which is when we realize that the boys have lost sight of their desire to be rescued and have accepted their savage lives on the island. Ironically, it is the savagery of the inferno that Jack lights at the end of the novel, in his attempt to hunt and kill Ralph, that the boys are rescued. The combination of these different symbolic meanings suggest that if the boys’ world is an allegory for the real world, they are not being rescued at all. They are simply falling into a larger scale of violence and destruction. Consequently meaning that within a civilized rescue still lives malicious destruction. The pig hunts are used throughout Lord of the Flies to symbolize not only man’s capacity for destruction and violence, but also the basic idea of bloodlust, mass hysteria, and ritual. The earliest pig hunts were failures due to the boys’ childlike innocence and lack of skill. However, in the later and most important pig hunt scene, we are given a vivid description of the slaughter of a mother pig, and we see that the boys have taken on a new viciousness in their desire to hunt. At this stage, survival on the island has become imperative to Jack and the hunters where as maintaining civilisation has become no more than a discarded thought. It is no longer about remaining civil or doing what is necessary to survive but rather conforming to the compelling urge that comes from the power and excitement of a helpless animals blood spilling over their hands. Once again, we find that savage human instinct has won out against their well-mannered, civilised upbringing. The idea of growing savagery could be seen in Ralph’s hair. What would have been a neatly trimmed style turned into a scrappy, unruly mop. Golding always makes a point to explain the inconvenience that Ralph’s hair gave him, whether it is in his eyes or simply complaining about the length. Getting a haircut is one of the advantages of civilization, many of which Ralph and the others have had to give up. It also reminds us that the boys have been on the island for a long time. The way that Golding writes about Ralphs hair gives the impression that it just keeps growing and growing, continuing to get even more matted and tangled. Much like the boys’ growing violence and the increasingly savage occurrences on the island. The main characters represent humanity as a whole. The island is the entire world and whilst the younger boys may be seen as the common people, the older boys represent the ruling classes and political leaders. Ralph represents order, leadership, and civilization. Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization. Jack represents unbridled savagery and the hunger for power. Simon represents natural human goodness. Roger represents brutality and bloodlust at their most extreme. The bonds that form between the older boys and the younger ones highlight the different connections to either the civilized or the savage instinct. Civilized boys like Ralph and Simon use their power to protect the younger boys and advance the good of the group, where as savage boys like Jack and Roger use their power to gratify their own desires, treating the younger boys as objects for their own amusement. The boys’ fighting is then equivalent to a war. Just like in modern day society, the contrasting views of how things should be done create conflict between the opposing parties. Ralph thinks that shelters for the littluns and the signal fire are more important whilst Jack feels as though hunting should be a priority. This caused tension within the tribe, which lead to an uprising on Jacks part. Parting as enemies and unable to resolve things in a civilized manner, this lead to a division in the tribe that resulted in a war not to different to the ones we experience in modern society. Overall, it is through the key symbols like the conch and signal fire; plot events such as the pig hunts; the main characters and even Ralph’s hair that we see the constant struggle to maintain civilization and resist complying with the savage urges that rages within everyone. Thus making William Golding’s Lord of the Flies an allegorical novel.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

The Grocery Food Market in Norway free essay sample

I would say that the grocery market in Norway is a whole big competition. There’s a few big chains, such as Rema 1000, ICA and Kiwi, along with some other chains and small grocery shops in people’s neighborhoods. It’s hard to know who is the biggest, because in a grocery shop, prices mean everything. People want it cheap, and people want choices. With as many big shops, we get choices, and we get choices in the shop as well. Choice to choose quality, choice to choose the cheapest. In the UK, Tesco is today a monopolist in the market; they have over 30% share in the market. But in Norway, none of the companies have a remarkable bigger share than the other. The market is an oligopoly, meaning that the market is dominated by many large companies, all of them being oligopolists. You can’t say if the market is elastic or inelastic, because it’s different departments. We will write a custom essay sample on The Grocery Food Market in Norway or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But for example normal groceries suck as milk etc. , the market is very much elastic. People won’t buy it if it’s a huge difference in price, but all of this has to be together with quality. People know what they have in grocery stores, and they’re most often aware of what supermarket is the cheapest and also aware of what they want – quality or quantity. The grocery food market in Norway – cheap chains versus expensive. Our demand for cheap or expensive chains is very unpredictable. 1. Place factor – where is the chain? Is it near yourself? 2. Demand for that particular chain increases in the area because there’s not any options. . Supply of groceries depends of ability of the firms to respond market demand, and of course, the grocery market will always be there, it’s just a competition, who are going to win the audience? 4. Time element – some suppliers can respond quickly to market demand – other cannot. If there’s a product that is very popular at the moment, the chain who has the most of it will be the winner. 5. It is very important to have complementary goods in the market. That will make your sales even higher. In demanding one good, the costumer would be likely to demand another good.   Look at Kiwi and Jacob’s in Norway for examples. In the area I live, these two are competitors because they are the only two grocery chains in the area. Kiwi is a quite cheap chain with cheap groceries, while Jacob’s focus on more expensive products with better quality. JACOB’S Supply and demand – more exclusive chain, demand will always be the same even though prices go up because people like quality. There will be less quantity but higher price, but people would still want it. Supply will shift upwards because there’s an increase of cost. Price will be higher both because they know people would still buy it, and because they need to cover the high costs. Exclusive products are more expensive, and they keep on rising. ANOTHER OPTION Rise in the cost of production, supply shift upwards. This might be because there are luxury groceries, and they will charge a high price to cover the costs of quality. Less demand for luxury brands and supply will also shift. This will probably be because a change in income. Quantity will be less, price slightly more. Even though what happens, there will be a quite high price. KIWI – cheap chain Supply and demand for Kiwi. More people want cheap groceries, of course. More demand for cheaper groceries, and supply will also shift. Quantity will be more, price slightly less, than for example Jacob’s a swell. People want it so they are able to sell more; therefore they need more quantity.   There’s very hard to get into the market, both locally and in a bigger span. There’s a few that dominates, but actually, there’s not many â€Å"exclusive† chains, so that’s a gap in the market in Norway. There’s not really any competitors for Jacob’s, but their aim should be to get people to focus on quality so that they can get customers from the cheap chain market. Competitors for Kiwi, on the other hand, are many. You have Rema 1000, for example. For Rema 1000 it’s important to be where people live. Groceries are very demanded, so it’s important to be where people shop. Conclusion Right now, there’s more people wanting to buy cheaper groceries; this is because there’s less money because of lack of jobs, and people have to be more careful with it. Jacob’s have gone down the last few years, but they’re loyal customers will always be there, who are the rich people in Norway. Kiwi will also always have many customers, because they have many stores all over Norway. But they need to look after their competitors, because there’s many small and cheap chains that focus on price rather than quality in order to get a bigger market share!

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Free Essays on Music And Eminem

I plan on researching the effects of rap on today’s youth. As Glenn Collins explains, â€Å"the influence of rap is now evident in the nation’s language, music, fashion and advertising† (C15). I also plan on researching the effects of good clean lyrics that Will Smith uses, compared to the vulgar and violent lyrics of past rap artists such as Tupac Shakur and Chris Wallace a.k.a. Notorious BIG. I became aware of this topic because I listen to rap music. I own 20 rap CD’s. I became concerned about rap lyrics bad influence when Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG were murdered in the middle of the 1990’s. Will Smith is also my favorite rap artist, because he does not use profanity and violence in his lyrics. According to Smith, â€Å"Good rap does not have to be vulgar† (qtd. in â€Å"Fresh Prince† 17A). I am also interested in learning the effects of unclean rap lyrics on today’s youth. There needs to be further investigation on this, because this important subject seems to have some how faded over the past five to ten years. According to Terry Teachout, â€Å"the actual content of rap, nobody talks about it much anymore-it seems far, far longer then seven years ago that Bill Clinton made political hay by attacking Sister Souljah-and it may well be that the sickening excesses of gangster rap have become as untrendy as Austin Power’s wardrobe† (14). We need to see if rap lyrics are in fact affecting our youth and how rap artists like Will Smith, can be a good role model. â€Å"And the same people who go out and say rap is negative, they don’t come and look at some of the good groups that are out there, who are doing positive things† (Williams C1). Will Smith is nearly the only rap artist not using profanity in his rap lyrics. Is Will Smith making an impact on today’s youth with his clean lyrics? The big â€Å"in† thing twenty or thirty years ago was rock & roll. How will people remember rap 50 years from now? ... Free Essays on Music And Eminem Free Essays on Music And Eminem I plan on researching the effects of rap on today’s youth. As Glenn Collins explains, â€Å"the influence of rap is now evident in the nation’s language, music, fashion and advertising† (C15). I also plan on researching the effects of good clean lyrics that Will Smith uses, compared to the vulgar and violent lyrics of past rap artists such as Tupac Shakur and Chris Wallace a.k.a. Notorious BIG. I became aware of this topic because I listen to rap music. I own 20 rap CD’s. I became concerned about rap lyrics bad influence when Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG were murdered in the middle of the 1990’s. Will Smith is also my favorite rap artist, because he does not use profanity and violence in his lyrics. According to Smith, â€Å"Good rap does not have to be vulgar† (qtd. in â€Å"Fresh Prince† 17A). I am also interested in learning the effects of unclean rap lyrics on today’s youth. There needs to be further investigation on this, because this important subject seems to have some how faded over the past five to ten years. According to Terry Teachout, â€Å"the actual content of rap, nobody talks about it much anymore-it seems far, far longer then seven years ago that Bill Clinton made political hay by attacking Sister Souljah-and it may well be that the sickening excesses of gangster rap have become as untrendy as Austin Power’s wardrobe† (14). We need to see if rap lyrics are in fact affecting our youth and how rap artists like Will Smith, can be a good role model. â€Å"And the same people who go out and say rap is negative, they don’t come and look at some of the good groups that are out there, who are doing positive things† (Williams C1). Will Smith is nearly the only rap artist not using profanity in his rap lyrics. Is Will Smith making an impact on today’s youth with his clean lyrics? The big â€Å"in† thing twenty or thirty years ago was rock & roll. How will people remember rap 50 years from now? ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Celebrity ACT Scores (Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Marilyn Monroe)

Celebrity ACT Scores (Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Marilyn Monroe) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you taking the ACT? You're in good company! Barack Obama, Marilyn Monroe, and Steve Jobs all took the ACT, too, along with several other celebrities. We've compiled their scores so you can see how these successful people performed back when they were in high school. We've also converted the SAT scores of famous people to the ACT scale so you get a sense of how their scores compare. Now if you ever run into Barack Obama, you'll have at least one conversation starter to fall back on...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Globalization - Containerization Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Globalization - Containerization - Case Study Example Even though CBP has in past been able to counter security threats posed by containerization trade significantly in the past, there has been rising fear that the increasing international trade through ocean transportation might endanger national security. Indeed, almost 95% of cargos arriving in America are undertaken through sea. Thus, there has been an opinion that the international trade needs to be slowed down to ensure the national security is not compromised. However, it is possible to look after the national security without slowing down the international trade through employment of advanced technology on sensors. The ability of developing a multisensory device that is capable of detecting diverse threats when the container is en-route will ensure the national docks are secure from potential threats since the threat will be detected in advance (Grillot, Cruise and DErman 178). However, the security measures at the dock currently are not similar to measures at train stations and airports since the threats are undetected before they arrive at the dock. There have been improved security measures at train stations, airports, and other places compared to docks since a potential threat is detected before a security agency undertakes a screening exercise through sophisticated surveillance cameras amounted across the country. Consequently, the Federal government and maritime industry needs to invest heavily in technology of detecting illegal content and potential threat of container en-route to ensure the threat is countered efficiently and effectively. This will help in promoting secure and safe containerization

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Henry Clay's views of slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Henry Clay's views of slavery - Essay Example To put action to words, he, of his own free will, freed his slaves, many years before the Civil War and the emancipation (NPR para 4). Clay was one of the people who President Lincoln admired a lot, and his drive for the emancipation must have emanated from this. In fact, Clay and Lincoln seem to have shared the same socio-political philosophy when it came to leadership. For instance, Clay is quoted as having said that he would rather be right than president. This was indication of how his view on slavery was hindering his political career. There have been conflicting arguments on how the abolition of slavery affected the economy of the United States. Some feel that the abolition was a big loss to the economy, especially the southern parts of America which were too dependent on slave labour for their extensive agricultural activities. Slave labour was fundamental in allowing the southern farmers to be able to continue being large-scale producers. In fact, although the southern parts constituted only about thirty percent of the population at the time, it was able to produce a majority of the agricultural products such as cotton which was in great demand, and other food crops. With the abolition of the slaves, these farmers could not access the cheap and affordable labour the farmers were getting from the slaves. The economic impact of the abolition of slavery can also be considered in terms of the productivity of an individual. The question in this case would be, were slaves more productive while in slavery than they were while free? In one way, it can be argued that slaves, due to the fact that they were to work constantly, were more productive. A free person on the other hand, can do work in one day which will give him enough income to help his family for three days. In this regard, such a person may end up being idle for the rest of the days. This argument has however been countered, especially by modern research on human motivation. For instance, Abraham Mas low, a psychologist, established that human motivation changes from time to time in a hierarchical manner depending on the various levels of human needs. These conflicting issues of slavery can be best seen in Henry Clay’s attitude towards slavery. Henry was a representative who influenced a lot of issues in USA politics and economics and at one time was openly opposed to slavery. Yet, in spite of his stand on slavery, he himself owned slaves (NPR, 2010). This is an indication that although opposed slavery on moral grounds, he still could appreciate the economic importance of slavery. The other way in which the impact of emancipation can be considered is by looking at the value of a slave. Although the actual value of a slave could not have been calculated accurately, it can be estimated. A slave was bought at about $200 and was estimated to have a value of $800 to $100 when future value of his work is considered. It is estimated that there were four million slaves, giving a value of $400 of the slaves who lived during the time of emancipation. This would mean that this value of the economy was destroyed just by freeing the slaves. However, this argument is valid only in theory but falls short in practice. Freeing a slave did not nullify his or her economic value but only shifted the value from one owner to another (from the slave master to the slave). In this regard, it cannot be said that freeing the slaves nullified their

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Coffee Shop Essay Example for Free

Coffee Shop Essay â€Å"Closing Time† has the meaning set out in section 1. 3; â€Å"Contract† means a formal written contract between the City and a Preferred Proponent to undertake the Services, the preferred form of which is attached as Schedule B; â€Å"Evaluation Team† means the team appointed by the City; â€Å"Information Meeting† has the meaning set out in section 1. 4; â€Å"Preferred Proponent(s)† means the Proponent(s) selected by the Evaluation Team to enter into negotiations for a Contract; â€Å"Proponent† means an entity that submits a Proposal; â€Å"Proposal† means a proposal submitted in response to this RFP; â€Å"RFP† means this Request for Proposals; â€Å"Services† has the meaning set out in Schedule A; â€Å"Site† means the place or places where the Services are to be performed; and â€Å"Statement of Departures† means Schedule C-1 to the form of Proposal attached as Schedule C. Instructions To Proponents 2 Closing Time and Address for Proposal Delivery Proposals must be received by the office of the: Kam Grewal, BBA, CMA Acting Purchasing AP Manager Address:6645 – 148 Street Surrey, BC V3S 3C7 on or before the following date and time (the â€Å"Closing Time†): Time: 3:00 pm local time Date: Monday, July 5, 2010. Submissions by fax [or email] will not be accepted. There will be no extension to the Closing Time for the submission of proposals. 3 Information Meeting An information meeting may be hosted by the City Representative to discuss the City’s requirements under this RFP (the â€Å"Information Meeting†). While attendance is at the discretion of Proponents, Proponents who do not attend will be deemed to have attended the Information Meeting and to have received all of the information given at the Information Meeting. At the time of issuance of this RFP a meeting has not been scheduled. 4 Number of Copies. Proponents should submit the original plus 5 hard copies (6 in total) of their Proposals. 5 Late Proposals Proposals received after the Closing Time will not be accepted or considered. Delays caused by any delivery, courier or mail service(s) will not be grounds for an extension of the Closing Time. 7 Amendments to Proposals Proposals may be revised by written amendment, delivered to the location set out above, at any time before the Closing Time but not after. An amendment must be signed by an authorized signatory of the Proponent in the same manner as provided by section 2. 3. Fax amendments are permitted, but such fax may show only the change to the proposal price(s) and in no event disclose the actual proposal price(s). A Proponent bears all risk that the City’s fax equipment functions properly so as to facilitate timely delivery of any fax amendment. 8 Inquiries All inquiries related to this RFP should be directed in writing to the person named below (the â€Å"City Representative†). Information obtained from any person or source other than the City Representative may not be relied upon. Kam Grewal, BBA, CMA Acting Purchasing AP Manager. Address:City of Surrey – Purchasing 6645 – 148 Street Surrey, BC V3S 3C7 Phone: 604-590-7274 Fax:604-599-0956 Email:[emailprotected] ca Inquiries should be made no later than 7 days before Closing Time. The City reserves the right not to respond to inquiries made within 7 days of the Closing Time. Inquiries and responses will be recorded and may be distributed to all Proponents at the discretion of the City. Proponents finding discrepancies or omissions in the Contract or RFP, or having doubts as to the meaning or intent of any provision, should immediately notify the City Representative. If the City determines that an amendment is required to this RFP, the City Representative will issue an addendum in accordance with section 1. 9. No oral conversation will affect or modify the terms of this RFP or may be relied upon by any Proponent. 9 Addenda If the City determines that an amendment is required to this RFP, the City will post a written addendum on the City website at www. surrey. ca (the City Website) and upon posting will be deemed to form part of this RFP. Upon submitting a Proposal, Proponents will be deemed to have received notice of all addenda that are posted on the City Website. 10 Examination of Contract Documents and Site Proponents will be deemed to have carefully examined the RFP, including all attached Schedules, the Contract and the Site (as applicable) prior to preparing and submitting a Proposal with respect to any and all facts which may influence a Proposal. 11 Opening of Proposals The City intends to open Proposals in private but reserves the right to open Proposals in public at its sole discretion. 12 Status Inquiries All inquiries related to the status of this RFP, including whether or not a Contract has been awarded, should be directed to the City Website and not to the City Representative. Proposal Submission FORM AND contents 2 Package Proposals should be in a sealed package, marked on the outside with the Proponents name, title of the Project and reference number. 3 Form of Proposal Proponents should complete the form of Proposal attached as Schedule C, including Schedules C-1 to C-4. Proponents are encouraged to respond to the items listed in Schedules C-1 to C-4 in the order listed. Proponents are encouraged to use the forms provided and attach additional pages as necessary. 4 Signature. The legal name of the person or firm submitting the Proposal should be inserted in Schedule C. The Proposal should be signed by a person authorized to sign on behalf of the Proponent. 1 If the Proponent is a corporation then the full name of the corporation should be included, together with the names of authorized signatories. The Proposal should be executed by all of the authorized signatories or by one or more of them provided that a copy of the corporate resolution authorizing those persons to execute the Proposal on behalf of the corporation is submitted. 2 If the Proponent is a partnership or joint venture then the name of the partnership or joint venture and the name of each partner or joint venturer should be included, and each partner or joint venturer should sign personally (or, if one or more person(s) have signing authority for the partnership or joint venture, the partnership or joint venture should provide evidence to the satisfaction of the City that the person(s) signing have signing authority for the partnership or joint venture). If a partner or joint venturer is a corporation then such corporation should sign as indicated in subsection (a) above. 3 If the Proponent is an individual, including a sole proprietorship, the name of the individual should be included. evaluation and Selection 2 Evaluation Team The evaluation of Proposals will be undertaken on behalf of the City by the Evaluation Team. The Evaluation Team may consult with others including City staff members, third party consultants and references, as the Evaluation Team may in its discretion decide is required. The Evaluation Team will give a written recommendation for the selection of a Preferred Proponent or Preferred Proponents to the City. 3 Evaluation Criteria The Evaluation Team will compare and evaluate all Proposals to determine the Proponents strength and ability to provide the Services in order to determine the Proposal which is most advantageous to the City, using the following criteria: 1 Experience, Reputation and Resources The Evaluation Team will consider the Proponents responses to items in C-2 of Schedule  C including supplementary information. 3 Technical The Evaluation Team will consider the Proponents responses to items (i) to (vii) in C-3 of Schedule  C. 5 Financial The Evaluation Team will consider the Proponents response to C-4 of Schedule  C. (d)Statement of Departures The Evaluation Team will consider the Proponents response to C-1 of Schedule  C. The Evaluation Team will not be limited to the criteria referred to above, and the Evaluation Team may consider other criteria that the team identifies as relevant during the evaluation process. The Evaluation Team may apply the evaluation criteria on a comparative basis, evaluating the Proposals by comparing one Proponents Proposal to another Proponents Proposal. All criteria considered will be applied evenly and fairly to all Proposals. 4 Discrepancies in Proponents Financial Proposal If there are any obvious discrepancies, errors or omissions in C-4 of a Proposal (Proponents Financial Proposal), then the City shall be entitled to make obvious corrections, but only if, and to the extent, the corrections are apparent from the Proposal as submitted, and in particular: (a)if there is a discrepancy between a unit price and the extended total, then the unit prices shall be deemed to be correct, and corresponding corrections will be made to the extended totals; (b)if a unit price has been given but the corresponding extended total has been omitted, then the extended total will be calculated from the unit price and the estimated quantity; (c)if an extended total has been given but the corresponding unit price has been omitted, then the unit price will be calculated from the extended total and the estimated quantity. 6 Litigation In addition to any other provision of this RFP, the City may, in its absolute discretion, reject a Proposal if the Proponent, or any officer or director of the Proponent submitting the Proposal, is or has been engaged directly or indirectly in a legal action against the City, its elected or appointed officers, representatives or employees in relation to any matter. In determining whether or not to reject a Proposal under this section, the City will consider whether the litigation is likely to affect the Proponent’s ability to work with the City, its consultants and representatives and whether the City’s experience with the Proponent indicates that there is a risk the City will incur increased staff and legal costs in the administration of the Contract if it is awarded to the Proponent. 8 Additional Information. The Evaluation Team may, at its discretion, request clarifications or additional information from a Proponent with respect to any Proposal, and the Evaluation Team may make such requests only to selected Proponents. The Evaluation Team may consider such clarifications or additional information in evaluating a Proposal. 10 Interviews The Evaluation Team may, at its discretion, may invite some or all of the Proponents to appear before the Evaluation Team to provide clarifications of their Proposals. In such event, the Evaluation Team will be entitled to consider the answers received in evaluating Proposals. 12 Multiple Preferred Proponents and Changes to the Proponent Team The City reserves the right and discretion to divide up the Services, either by scope, geographic area, or other basis as the City may decide, and to select one or more Preferred Proponents to enter into discussions with the City for one or more Contracts to perform a portion or portions of the Services. If the City exercises its discretion to divide up the Services, the City will do so reasonably having regard for the RFP and the basis of Proposals. Likewise, the City reserves the right to ask for changes in the member/s comprising the Proponent Team as it deems beneficial to the overall composition of the Team and without any obligation to justify its preference. In addition to any other provision of this RFP, Proposals may be evaluated on the basis of advantages and disadvantages to the City that might result or be achieved from the City dividing up the Services and entering into one or more Contracts with one or more Proponents. NOT APPLICABLE 14 Negotiation of Contract and Award If the City selects a Preferred Proponent, then it may: (a)enter into a Contract with the Preferred Proponent; or (b)enter into discussions with the Preferred Proponent to clarify any outstanding issues and attempt to finalize the terms of the Contract, including financial terms. If discussions are successful, the City and the Preferred Proponent will finalize the Contract; or. (c)if at any time the City reasonably forms the opinion that a mutually acceptable agreement is not likely to be reached within a reasonable time, give the Preferred Proponent written notice to terminate discussions, in which event the City may then either open discussions with another Proponent or terminate this RFP and retain or obtain the Services in some other manner. General Conditions 2 No City Obligation. This RFP is not a tender and does not commit the City in any way to select a Preferred Proponent, or to proceed to negotiations for a Contract, or to award any Contract, and the City reserves the complete right to at any time reject all Proposals, and to terminate this RFP process. 4 Proponent’s Expenses Proponents are solely responsible for their own expenses in preparing, and submitting Proposals, and for any meetings, negotiations or discussions with the City or its representatives and consultants, relating to or arising from this RFP. The City and its representatives, agents, consultants and advisors will not be liable to any Proponent for any claims, whether for costs, expenses, losses or damages, or loss of anticipated profits, or for any other matter whatsoever, incurred by the Proponent in preparing and submitting a Proposal, or participating in negotiations for a Contract, or other activity related to or arising out of this RFP. 6 No Contract By submitting a Proposal and participating in the process as outlined in this RFP, Proponents expressly agree that no contract of any kind is formed under, or arises from, this RFP, prior to the signing of a formal written Contract. 7 Conflict of Interest A Proponent shall disclose in its Proposal any actual or potential conflicts of interest and existing business relationships it may have with the City, its elected or appointed officials or employees. The City may rely on such disclosure. 8 Solicitation of Council Members and City Staff. Proponents and their agents will not contact any member of the City Council or City staff with respect to this RFP, other than the City Representative named in section  1. 8, at any time prior to the award of a contract or the termination of this RFP. 10 Confidentiality All submissions become the property of the City and will not be returned to the Proponent. All submissions will be held in confidence by the City unless otherwise required by law. Proponents should be aware the City is a â€Å"public body† defined by and subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of British Columbia. Schedule A. SERVICES 1. GENERAL This RFP is inviting potential Proponents to submit Proposals to act as the tenant and sole vendor for a proposed coffee shop (the â€Å"Coffee Shop†) at the Surrey City Centre Library (the â€Å"Library†), currently being constructed at 10350 University Drive, Surrey, BC. The successful Proponent will be responsible for the managing and daily service of the Coffee Shop located on the ground floor of the Library. There will be an opportunity for the successful Proponent to provide catering for meetings and other similar functions, although it is not mandatory for the client to use the Coffee Shop for catering. 2. BACKGROUND As part of the Surrey City Centre plan review and update, the Surrey City Council has approved the construction of a new 5-level library. While the project is currently in the design phase, construction has commenced due to the fast track nature of the project. Currently excavation is complete on the basement and the ground floor slab and reinforcement is being set. It will be poured by Friday June 18, 2010. The Library is conveniently located near bus loops, transit and SkyTrain. The Library will eventually become part of a plaza where community celebrations will take place. Once completed it will be Surrey’s largest library at 75,000 square feet. The City’s new Library will be a unique state of the art environmentally friendly landmark that provides access to the broadest range of information, learning opportunities, and diverse cultural experiences. The new Library will be: The centrepiece for Surrey’s City Centre; adorned in architectural excellence for the 21st century, the library will contribute to the vitality of the city and put Surrey in a class with other great cities. A foundation for the City’s future success by boosting economic and cultural activity and attracting visitors from all parts of the country. A source of pride and a great public space, where the community gathers to celebrate, reflect, connect and share information, knowledge and culture. 3. PROJECT GOAL The goal of this project is to identify a coffee and related food services operator for the Library. 4. THE COFFEE SHOP An exciting opportunity exists on the ground floor to operate a commercial Coffee Shop. The Coffee Shop is located in a high traffic area, between the two main entrances, elevators and new book display. The licence awarded to the successful Proponent would also include a seating area where customers can sit. The consumption of food within the Library itself is allowed. There are several meeting rooms and a large room which can host community events, along with teen areas, study areas, children’s areas and much more. It is also expected that the Library will be utilised by SFU students on a constant basis. 5. LIBRARY HOURS Library opening hours are: Monday to Friday9:30am – 9:00pm Saturday10:00am – 5:00pm Sunday 1:00pm – 5:00pm 6. 2009 PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC The following figures represent the estimated visits at all the public library branches for 2009. |BRANCH |VISITORS | |Cloverdale | 163,605 | |Fleetwood | 262,717 | |Guildford | 582,361 | |Newton | 357,045 | |Ocean Park | 193,167 | |Port Kells | 7,410 | |Semiahmoo | 305,162 | |Strawberry Hill | 357,166 | |Whalley | 276,406 | It is estimated that traffic for the Library will mirror that of the Whalley branch, and is expected to increase due to the development taking place in the area. 7. EXPECTATIONS OF THE SUCCESSFUL PROPONENT The City would require the successful Proponent to offer a variety of food and beverage choices that include healthy and nutritious options for all customers, many of whom are school-aged children. The Surrey Public Library Board has approved the policy (policy 3. 8 Healthy Food Options) that the Library provides a healthy food option for programs, special events and contests. No alcohol is to be allowed. There is to be no food smell generation if preparation is required and there is to be no electric grinding (e. g. coffee beans) on the Coffee Shop floor due to noise levels. All grinding can be done in the storage room, manually or prior to Library opening hours. Loading of stock for the Coffee Shop can be done via the west entrance of the ground floor or via the elevators from the underground parkade. Persons meeting in the conference rooms are permitted to cater from external companies although there is the opportunity for the successful Proponent to cater these functions if prior arrangements are made between the two parties. The opening date for the Coffee Shop is yet to be determined, however, it is expected to be up and running by early Summer of 2011. The Coffee Shop is expected to be operational during Library opening hours. Opening times for the Coffee Shop are to be from the Library’s opening time to half an hour prior to the Library’s closing. The successful Proponent would be able to enter the building half an hour prior to the Library’s opening time. The successful Proponent is to supply any equipment needed for the Coffee Shop to function including, but not limited to, coffee machines, refrigerator, signage, counter cooler case, etc. All business licences and food permits are the responsibility of the Proponent. 8. SUCCESSFUL PROPONENT’S WORK RESPONSIBILITIES a) Should there be any structural changes which have been reviewed and approved by the City prior to the execution of such changes, the tenant is to supply all tenant improvement plans signed and sealed by professional engineers or architects to be approved by the City. b) The tenant is to provide evidence of insurance for the City`s approval as specified in the License Agreement (refer to Schedule B – License Agreement). c) The tenant is expected to supply all equipment needed to sufficiently run the coffee shop including, but not limited to, coffee machines and espresso equipment, undercounter refrigerators, shelving in the storage room, display cooler case, paper towel dispenser, milk cooler, microwave, cash register and trash bins. 9. COLD DRINK BEVERAGES The City has an agreement with The Pepsi Bottling Group (Canada), Co. (â€Å"Pepsi†), for the exclusive supply of cold drink beverages for all City facilities, including the Library. Therefore, the successful Proponent is to work directly with Pepsi for the supply of cold drink beverages, including: †¢ Carbonated soft drinks †¢ Teas other than fresh brewed †¢ Juices. †¢ Juice-based products †¢ Lemonade †¢ Isotonics †¢ Sports drinks †¢ Energy drinks †¢ Bottled water Excluded Beverages: †¢ Milk †¢ Flavoured milk †¢ Cold coffee †¢ Branded or unbranded fresh brewed coffee or tea †¢ Hot chocolate †¢ Unbranded fresh squeezed juices †¢ Smoothies and milkshakes The agreement with Pepsi is to expire in 2011. 10. SNACK FOODS The City has an agreement with Ryan Company Ltd. (â€Å"Ryan Vending†), for the exclusive supply of a healthier snack foods program and vending services for all City facilities, including the Library. Therefore, the successful Proponent is to work directly with Ryan Vending for the supply of snack foods. 11. CITY’ RESPONSIBILITIES The City is to complete the Licence Area, as set out in Schedule B, in a good and workmanlike manner, at the City’s cost, using new materials and to the following extent: a) Interior wall taped and sanded drywall to code, painted white; b) Ceiling is to be painted concrete; c) The floor will be finished with a rubber covering; d) Counter tops on the horizontal front counter is to be a white laminate; e) The vertical section of the counters shall be an East Coast maple; f) The counter at the back of the shop floor containing the sink, and the backsplash, is to be white Corian; g) There will be an apple ply edging where the vertical edge of the counters meets the horizontal at the front counter; h) There is to be recessed lighting fixtures above the back counter, surface mounted fixture on painted concrete ceiling to light signage and menu and pendant fixtures at the front counter; i) All signage, including Menu board, must be approved by the City and the design team (Bing Thom Architects). The preferred signage for the Coffee Shop is electric flat screens, however, the design team is open to ideas regarding electronic signage from Proponents. This will have no impact on the evaluation of the Proponent’ Proposal; j) The City will provide the main sink and handwash sink located in the back counter; k) A 25mm domestic hot and cold water line with backflow preventor will be installed for refrigerator and coffee machine; and l) A 20mm domestic hot and cold water pipe and a 40mm sanitary drain will be installed for each of the two (2) sinks. term The Proponent will provide the Services set out in this Schedule  A and A-1 for a term not to exceed five years (including renewal) commencing in the early Summer of 2011 (the Term). A. The Licensor is the owner of those lands and premises located at 10350 University Blvd within the City of Surrey, Province of British Columbia, and more particularly known and described as: Parcel Identifier: 028-179-951 Parcel 1 Section 27 Block 5 N Range 2 West New Westminster District Plan BCP44240 (the Lands) on which is located theCity Centre Library. B. The Licensee wishes to obtain from the Licensor a licence to use those portions of the building located on the Lands as follows: 1. Area A Concession and Storage Room (Licence Area A) which area is approximately 141. 9 sq. ft. and shown on the plan attached hereto as Schedule A; and 2. Area B Seating Area (Licence Area B) as shown on the plan attached hereto as Schedule A (collectively the Licence Area) C. The Licensee intends to use the Licence Area for the retail sale of coffee, tea, and other products as outlined in this Licence. D. Licence Area A shall be for the exclusive use of the Licensee, and Licence Area  B shall be for the non-exclusive use of the Licensee. NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the sum of ONE DOLLAR paid by each of the parties to each other and other good and valuable consideration (the receipt and sufficiency of which each party hereby acknowledges) the parties hereby covenant and agree as follows: 1. In this License the parties agree that: (a)Additional Rental means the moneys payable hereunder, together with all other sums of money, whether or not designated as Additional Rental, to be paid by the Licensee whether to the Licensor or otherwise under this License save and except Minimum Rental and Percentage Rental; (b)Commencement Date of Term means ______________, 2011; (c)Gross Revenue means the entire amount of the sales price, whether wholesale or retail, for cash, credit, or otherwise of all sales of merchandise and services, and all other receipts and receivables whatsoever of all business conducted at, in, upon, or from the Licence Area, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, receipts and receivables in respect of any sale effected by the Licensee using any computer. Electronic, telephone, internet, or like system, where the Product is sent via the Licence Area or by the Licensee directly to a consumer, orders taken at or received at the Licence Area, although such orders may be filled elsewhere by the Licensee, deposits not refunded to customers, the selling price of gift certificates, charges to customers in the nature of interest or carrying or financing charges, sums, and credits received, and settlement of claims for loss of or damage to goods. No deductions shall be allowed for uncollected or uncollectible credit accounts. There shall not be included in Gross Revenue: (i)any sums shown separately from the price and collected and paid out for any direct retail sales tax imposed by any duly constituted governmental authority; (ii)the exchange of goods and merchandise between the stores of the Licensee, if any, where such exchange of goods or merchandise is made solely for the convenient operation of the business of the Licensee and not for the purpose of consummating a sale which has previously been made or agreed to be made at, in, from, or upon the Licence Area or for the purpose of depriving the Licensor of the benefit of a sale which otherwise would be made at, in, from, or upon the Licence Area; (iii)the Licensee’s original cost of returns to suppliers or to manufacturers; (iv)the amount of merchandise sold when such merchandise is thereafter returned by the purchaser and accepted by the Licensee, and a complete credit is given to the purchaser; and (v)the selling price of gift or merchandise certificates or coupons sold other than from the Licence Area, provided that such gift or merchandise certificates or coupons shall be included in the calculation of Gross Revenue at the time of their redemption. (vi)Each sale upon an installment or credit basis shall be treated as a sale for the full price in the month in which that sale is made regardless of the time when the Licensee receives payment, whether full or partial, from its customer; (d)Lands means as hereinbefore defined in recital A; (e)Licence Year means a 12-month period commencing with the first day of January in one calendar year and ending on the last day of December of that year, providing that the first Licence Year shall commence on the Commencement Date of Term and end on the last day of December next following and the last Licence Year shall end on the last day of the Term and commence on the first day of January preceding that date; (f)Licence Area means Licence Area A and Licence Area B; (g)Licence Area A means those portions of the building located on the Lands shown highlighted in pink and marked as Area A. Concession and Area A Storage room, which area is approximately 141. 9 sq. ft. ; (h)Licence Area B means those portions of the building located on the Lands shown highlighted in yellow and marked as Area B. Seating Area; (i)Minimum Rental means the minimum annual rental reserved hereunder payable by the Licensee; (j)Product means coffee, tea, soft drinks, juices, pastries, sandwiches and related items as specified in the menu attached as Schedule C which menu may be amended from time to time with the agreement of the Licensor and the Licensee; (k)Percentage Rental means the percentage rental reserved hereunder and payable by the Licensee; (l)Real Property Taxes means all taxes, rates and assessments, whether general or specially levied or assessed for municipal, school, general or any other purposes by any lawful government authority payable by the Landlord in respect of the Demised Premises and shall include any other taxes payable by the Landlord which in the future are levied in lieu of or in addition to such taxes, rates and assessments the whole as finally determined for each calendar year as a result of assessment, appeal or judicial review, and shall include any legal fees, or appraisers fees incurred by the Landlord in respect of such final determination. (m)Rental means Additional Rental, Percentage Rental, if any, and Minimum Rental; and (n)Term means _______ (__) years commencing on the Commencement Date of the Term and ending on the _____ day of ________, 20__. 2. The Licensor hereby grants to the Licensee a licence to occupy and use Licence Area A on an exclusive basis and Licence Area B on a non-exclusive basis commencing on the Commencement Date of Term for Term unless sooner terminated as hereinafter provided. 3. To use Licence Area for the retail sale of the Products and to use Licence Area B to provide a seating area for the benefit of visitors to and staff of the City Centre Library and for no other purpose during the Term. 4. The Licensor covenants and agrees to pay to the Licensor, in lawful money of Canada, on the days and at the times hereinafter specified, Rental which shall include the aggregate of the sums required to be paid: (a)Minimum Rental and Percentage Rental: The Tenant shall pay the greater of: (i). Minimum Rental of $________ per month commencing on the Commencement Date of Term and the 1st day of each and every month thereafter throughout the Term; or (ii)the Percentage Rental which shall be ___% of Gross Revenue per Licence Year; (b)Additional Rental Any sums, costs, expenses or other amounts from time to time due and payable by the Tenant to the Landlord or to any third persons under the provisions of this Licence, including, without limitation, all amounts payable under Section 4. 3 and Article 5 and all amounts payable by the Tenant by way of indemnity, whether expressed in this Licence to be Basic Rent or Additional Rent or not shall be treated and deemed to be Rent and the Landlord shall have all remedies for the collection of such sums, costs, expenses or other amounts, when in arrears, as are available to the Landlord for collection of Rent in arrears. The Licensee shall also pay for: (i)the removal of garbage generated by the Licencee to the main garbage receptacle, cleaning of spills and pick up of litter in Licence Area B, and any other like service rendered to the Licence Area for the benefit of the Licensee and paid by the Licensor. (ii)the amount of Real Property Taxes applicable to the Licence Area in every Licence Year during the Term or any renewal thereof as and when prescribed by the Landlord.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Oedipus Is to Blame in Oedipus Rex Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus R

Oedipus Is to Blame In Sophicle's Oedipus The King, Oedipus plays the lead character in the play. Oedipus plays blindfolded throughout the play. His character that he betrays is typical of those who honestly believe they have no part in the situation that occurs. I agree with Bernard Knox that Oedipus is responsible for the tragic outcome of the play. Oedipus's investigation of the death of King Laius is the reason for the tragic ending. The scene where Oedipus opens the investigation is the first step toward his downfall. Oedipus covers up the murder and is nervous when he hears the news. It is Oedipus's continuous effort to find the murderer. He wants to find the murderers of the king, not knowing that he is the murderer. Oedipus is the head investigator for the murder of King Laius. Even though he tells the people of Thebes that, "I am ready to help." He promises the people that he would do anything t...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Cognitive Psychology: a Meeting of the Mind and Education

Cognitive psychology: a meeting of the mind and education To John Bruer, cognitive psychology is the critical bridge between brain science and education. A true understanding of how the brain handles learning tasks will only be reached with the help of cognitive psychologists, says John Bruer, PhD, president of the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Over the last decade, Bruer has seen the rise of a â€Å"brain-based† education movement with the media, educational consultants and researchers trying to apply basic brain research to the education of the nation's children.In a much cited 1997 article, â€Å"Education and the brain: a bridge too far,† published in the Educational Researcher (Vol. 26, No. 8, p. 416), he criticized a trend to overinterpret the findings of this kind of research and apply it in schools. Holding more immediate promise for application in schools, he believes, are imaging technologies that examine the human brain's processing of math, reading and othe r specific learning tasks. But even imaging research, he says, must stem from quality cognitive science.Cognitive psychology, says Bruer, can serve as the â€Å"bridge† between this type of hard neuroscience and the schools. In a conversation with the Monitor, Bruer, whose background is in philosophy and physics and whose foundation funds mainly biomedical and behavioral sc iences research, called on psychologists to collaborate more closely with educators as they structure studies of the brain and attempt to apply their findings to education. Q. What have been some of the most dangerous myths that have been spread through brain-based education?A. One is the idea that there's a critical period for school-type learning, an optimal period during brain development that ends at around 11 or 12 years and after which learning becomes much more difficult. There's absolutely no basis in neuroscience for that claim. What a lot of brain-based consultants don't appreciate is that to tur n basic psychological research into effective learning practices you have to develop interventions based on cognitive science in math, reading and other subject areas and test them in classrooms. Q.Who do you think is in a position to do that kind of work? A. Cognitive psychologists. What a lot of people do not realize is that better understanding of brain function relies on improved understanding of learning and behavior. Our understanding of how mental tasks are executed by neural structures in the brain is crucially dependent on cognitive and behavioral research by psychologists. Q. Are imaging studies relying on this kind of behavioral research? A. Totally. To have an interpretable imaging study depends on very careful behavioral study of the experimental task.Our imaging technologies have limited temporal and spatial resolution, so we want to design studies that optimize our ability to look at the smallest parts of the brain that we possibly can. The way to do that is to analyz e mental arithmetic, for example, down to its subcomponents–retrieving a number fact, trying to decide which of two numbers is larger. You can begin to see where those subcomponents might be located in the brain, and from there you can begin to see the circuitry involved in doing these tasks. Q.Do you think that findings from brain research on learning disability–in math and reading, for example–might apply more generally to educating children? A. The attempt to understand learning and our mental capacities in terms of brain structures is such a new discipline that if they make advances over the next 50 years as they have over the last 15, who knows? It could be very exciting. But until 10 years ago, most cognitive psychologists did not take any interest in the brain. Brain imaging helped change that.But still, this hybrid discipline, cognitive neuroscience, that attempts to map cognitive mental functions onto brain areas and circuits, is in its infancy. We all have great expectations, but it's hard to make specific predictions about what the ultimate applications might be. Q. Do you think that, at this point, enough cognitive psychologists are involved in bridging brain research with education? A. Because of the interest in brain imaging and cognitive neuroscience, there are people doing it. But one of the problems is that there aren't enough experimental psychologists thinking about applications of psychology to education.Part of that is a funding problem. But it's been our experience at the foundation that if you make resources available for psychologists to work with educators to do that kind of work, you can elicit some very good proposals. Q. Are you looking more at funding that kind of work? A. Yes. I see an opportunity to work with some cognitive neuroscientists to ask, â€Å"What educational problems do you think you might be able to solve because of what you know? † I would like to see the foundation's interest moving more in that direction over the next five to 10 years. Q. Is t a problem that most cognitive psychologists don't have as much experience with education as with science? A. Yes. In most areas there's some friction between researchers and practitioners. It happens to be pretty evident in education. One way to address that is to encourage long-term collaborations between researchers and practitioners, where they're working together as peers rather than with the scientists going into schools and acting as master and educators as their servants. Two things have to happen. The researchers have to become a bit more aware of and sensitive to the problems teachers confront in the classroom.And teachers need to begin to think like researchers–to at least understand the importance of experimental controls, evidence, this kind of thing. Q. And how do you get that collaboration going? A. One thing we have found is if you send out a request for proposals that requires the teachers, the practit ioners and the researchers to come in together on a project, they do it. You want to structure funding programs for research and for improving instruction that incorporate the best research thinking and the best practical classroom knowledge.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Global Cement Industry and Cemex’s Penetration Strategy Into International Markets

The Global Cement Industry and Cemex’s Penetration Strategy into International Markets My report argues that demand and capacity creation in developing economies is a major driver in the global cement industry, which given the nature of the product (high transportation costs arising from its bulk) is prone to major company expansion by mergers and acquisitions. Cemex’s expansion strategy focuses on merger and acquisition (M&A), mainly exploiting its expertise of operating in difficult institutional environments and taking advantage of opportunities arising from difficulties in developing market economies.The company successfully adapts best practice and technologies from its acquisitions throughout the wider company. My report begins with definitions, presents an overview of the global cement industry (section two) key players in the industry (section three) and M&A trends (section four). I then analyse Cemex’s entry strategies by exploring in turn the regions in to which it has expanded (section five) drawing conclusions on its penetration strategy. 1Introduction and definitionsCement is a binding substance, which sets and hardens independently binding other materials together. It is intended for use in building or construction material and can withstand varying environmental conditions. About 75% of cement production is used in ready-mixed concrete to be utilized in construction. The remaining 25%, Portland Cement Association (2009) shows, is used for paving roads or extracting oil. As Selim and Salem (2010) indicate basic raw materials for cement production are iron, aluminium, silicon and calcium.Normally cement is divided as Portland cement, Portland cement blends and non-Portland hydraulic cements. Portland cement, which can be roughly divided into White Portland and Gray Portland, is the most commonly used type as it is the basic ingredient of concrete (Cemex, 2013a, PCA, 2013). There are two different processes used in the manufactur e of cement – dry process and wet process. In the wet process, the raw materials, after properly proportioned, are ground with water, thoroughly mixed and fed into the kiln in the form of a â€Å"slurry† (containing enough water to make it fluid).In the dry process, raw materials are ground, mixed, and fed to the kiln in a dry state instead. In other respects, the two processes are essentially alike (PCA, 2013). However, the dry process was considered to be more sufficient than the wet one since it consumes less energy. On the other hand, the dry process requires more investment in equipment and plants. Cement manufactures in developing countries have widely adopted the wet process but the transformation to the dry process is underway on a large scale. 2An overview of the global cement industryThis section discusses the nature of the global cement industry, including the market size and market potential, the nature of cement products, market supply and demand and relat ed environmental issues, to provide a broad view to understand the nature of competition. The following are the main characteristics of the global cement industry. Huge market – especially emerging markets Cement is the primary and indispensable material in infrastructure construction for every country. Although it only accounts for around 6–13% in construction costs (Chandramouli, 2012), there are few substitutes for it (Wesley, 2009).Hence there is a potential huge global market with strong contracts between developed and developing countries. While the developed countries mostly have steady and limited demand for cement, the developing world is a more promising market, as a result of large-scale constructions: the demand of cement is positively correlated with a nation’s economic development. World demand for cement is growing by 4. 7% per annum reaching 6% growth in 2012, with total consumption of 3. 78 million tons (CW Group, 2012).Consumption in developing countries drives this growth in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East regions; China is the strongest driver. In contract, consumption in Europe has been stalled and the growth rate of consumption in the US is a steady 2%. Therefore, developing countries are the main drivers of the growth in cement demand – a trajectory likely to continue. Cost is dominated by oil price and transportation Due to the specificity of cement products, in the cement industry, oil price and transportation cost are dominant factors affecting cost.The cement industry is energy intensive and thus fuel costs is the most critical part in cement manufacturing, constituting 35% of total cost of production (Das, 2011). Therefore, the fluctuation of fuel price, especially oil price, has impacts greatly on production cost. During the first quarter of 2012, the oil price had kept rising and was 12% up by the end of 2011. At that time, the cement industry increased prices to cover hig her fuel cost. In June 2012, Caribbean Cement Company Limited increased the price of bagged cement by 9. %, and the company claimed that its ex-factory was still among the lowest in five other regional markets. Cement is, clearly, a type of high weight-to-price ratio product and it is usually purchased in bulk. As a consequence, transportation expenditure is relatively high and restricts the spatial reach of markets. It is more feasible to produce cement domestically or to import cement products from neighbouring countries to reduce the transportation fee. Hence, the scale of international cement trade is small (5%-7%) when compared with total cement production worldwide (Selim and Salem, 2010).The demand of cement can be unpredictable Since cement production is largely dependent on infrastructure constructions, as Wesley (2009) argues, national construction polices and projects drives demand: sales volume is more sensitive to construction levels than to price. Over the long-term pe rspective, changes in social factors such as population and economic growth also affect cement consumption. The residential day-to-day demand for cement can be uncertain; it may be disrupted by unexpected situations such as bad weather (Wesley, 2009). Constantly related with environmental issuesAlthough cement is locally produced in most cases, the impact of cement production is global, especially its environmental aspects; as Selim and Salem (2010) argues. The mass production with high-energy consumption brings pollution, producing 5% of the world’s total emission of greenhouse gases Loreti (2008) and Uwasu et al. (2012) estimate This pollution is produced mainly in developing countries, which are the main production locations of cement. China alone, being the world’s leader in carbon dioxide emission and cement production, has 15% of its emission contributed by cement the World Resources Institute (2008) suggests.The environmental issue becomes extremely urgent and p ushes major global players to set up stricter emission standards on the cement industry. 3Top players and in global cement industry The table below shows the largest 20 cement producers in the world. It can be seen that top global players in this industry are either from Western Europe or from emerging markets, especially China. Rank| Company/Group| Country| Capacity (Mt/yr)| No. of plants| 1| Lafarge| France| 225| 166| 2| Holcim| Switzerland| 217| 149| 3| CNBM| China| 200| 69| 4| Anhui Conch| China| 180| 34| 5| Heidelberg Cement| Germany| 118| 71| | Jidong| China| 100| 100| 7| Cemex| Mexico| 96| 61| 8| China Resources| China| 89| 16| 9| Sinoma| China| 87| 24| 10| Shanshui| China| 84| 13| 11| Italcementi| Italy| 74| 55| 12| Taiwan Cement| Taiwan| 70| -| 13| Votorantim*| Brazil| 57| 37| 14| CRH**| Ireland| 56| 11| 15| UltraTech| India| 53| 12| 16| Huaxin| China| 52| 51| 17| Buzzi| Italy| 45| 39| 18| Eurocement| Russia| 40| 16| 19| Tianrui| China| 35| 11| 20| Jaypee***| India| 34| 16| Table 1 Global cement companies 1-20 ranked by capacity Source: Global Cement Magazine, 2012 * Includes 15Mt/yr of capacity from Cimpor shares. * Cement capacity calculated from clinker capacity assuming clinker factor of 95%. ***As in April 2012. Table 2 indicates top cement producing countries – again, fast-developing countries are the main force driving cement production. Rank| Country| Capacity (Mt)| 1| China| 2000| 2| India| 210| 3| USA (inc. Puerto Rico)| 68. 4| 4| Turkey| 64| 5| Brazil| 62. 6| 6| Russia| 52| 7| Iran| 52| 8| Vietnam| 50| 9| Japan| 47| 10| Korea, Republic of| 46| 11| Egypt| 45| 12| Saudi Arabia | 44| 13| Thailand| 36| 14| Italy| 35| 15| Mexico| 35| 16| Germany| 33| 17| Pakistan| 30| 18| Indonesia| 22| 19| Spain| 20. 7| Other countries (rounded)| 480| | World total (rounded)| 3400| Table 2: Top global cement producing countries by installed capacity (2011, estimated) Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2012 From the tables above, it can be concluded that China is the leader in both cement production and consumption due to its large scale infrastructure construction and fast development, representing more than half of the world’s total consumption. India follows China as the second largest consumer while also having large producing capacity. The United States is the largest cement consumer in the developed world. Major M&A trends As the Economist (1999) illustrates, larger players in the cement sector frequently undertake mergers and acquisitions (M&A) domestically and globally, to increase market share and benefit from economies of scale. The Economist goes on to argue that this high level of M&A activity is driven by the nature of the cement industry since cement production is localised and transportation costs are high; thus global producers need to purchase local companies to enter new markets, especially when a domestic market is saturated or in downturn.Since the 1970s, the cement industry in the developed world has bee n saturated and there is little space for market expansion. Developing countries have consequently become the target market for expanding new capacity and seizing market share a trend clear since the 1990s. The industry is therefore becoming more of a monopoly with oligarchic key players taking the important decisions, making M&A decisions, guided of course by changing economic and market conditions. In the 1990s, global cement giants saw great opportunities for M&A and competed to purchase market share in rapidly developing markets at good prices.For example, the Mexican Peso crisis (1994) resulted in a currency flight to US dollars and Peso devaluation, a situation Cemex turned to their advantage, Wesley (2009) argues, by purchasing Latin American cement companies at undervalued prices. Similarly, after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the Asian cement industry fell into a downturn. Global cement giants took advantage and purchased leading cement companies in the Philippines, T hailand and Indonesia as bargains.At that time, six global giants purchased seventeen of the nineteen Philippine cement companies leaving Lafarge, Holcim and Cemex controlling 88% of the nation’s cement capacity. When the regional economy recovered, Cembusiness (2006) suggests, the price of cement rose again quickly and these multinational giants benefited from huge profits in Southeast Asia. 5Cemex’s entry strategy into international markets Cemex is currently the world’s third largest cement producer headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico.Although Cemex founded 107 years ago, it had been a domestic player for its first 80 years and did not start its global expansion until the 1990s. Its M&A progress has been remarkable: it now operates profitably in 50 countries in the world with 44000 employees and annual sales of US$15. 14 billion (Cemex, 2013a). In general, as Hill (2008) points out, a firm’s entry modes into foreign markets include exporting, contracts (licensing or franchising), foreign direct investment (joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary, including M&A) and strategic alliances.As discussed above, global cement giants, including Cemex, mainly enter foreign markets through M&A. Specifically, as a global player from an emerging market, Cemex needs to build its own competitive advantage during its internationalisation processes to cope with its disadvantageous competitive position vis-a-vis companies from developed countries. In short, Cemex is diversifying its market position through internationalisation (Liu, 2013). As Cemex’s expansion history extends spatially, I now turn to discuss its entry strategies into the global market by regions, which are shown in table 3. Cement production capacity (Million metric tons/year)| Cement plants controlled| Sales (millions of US dollars)| Mexico| 29. 3| 15| 3,474| United States| 17. 1| 13| 2,521| Northern Europe| 11. 9| 7| 4,729| Mediterranean| 18. 8| 12| 1,719| South, Central America and the Caribbean| 12. 8| 11| 1,745| Asia| 5. 7| 3| 505| Others| -| -| 445| Total| 95. 6| 61| 15,139| Table 3: Global review of Cemex’s operations As of December 31, 2011 Source: Cemex Annual Report 2011 Europe Europe was Cemex’s first step in global expansion.In July 1992, as Wesley (2009) reports, Cemex acquired two of the largest cement companies – Valenciana and Sanson – in Spain, with Valenciana becoming its regional hub holding company for all of Cemex’s future international acquisitions. However, significant movement into Spain, Europe did not become the main destination of Cemex as this region had limited potential for growth. More importantly, European players such as the French Lafarge and German Heidelberg controlled the European region.These European giants had advantages of scale, market share and advanced technology. What Cemex needed was not only the action of acquiring: it needed the advantages of the post-merger integratio n to catch up and improve. After purchasing Valenciana and Sanson, Cemex integrated its two Spanish subsidiaries by merging and streamlining the organisations and improved its technological and operational implementation. Cemex’s other substantial step in Europe was the purchase in 2005 of RMC, the world’s largest producer of ready-mixed concrete based in the UK.With this acquisition Cemex doubled its size, adding 20 mainly European markets (Cemex, 2013a) and managed to extend its product mix, becoming top producers of not only cement but also concrete and other construction aggregate (China Cement Net, 2005). Latin America Cemex made a series of acquisitions in Latin America, benefiting from the close psychic distance and geographic proximity to Mexico. Furthermore, in the 1990s, Latin America was an underdeveloped market with a high growth trajectory.Although at that time, Latin American countries were in a turbulent political and institutional condition with poor in frastructure and limited market information, Cemex viewed these conditions as advantages Fleury and Fleury (2011) argue, exploiting its experience in dealing with chaotic market environments in its home country and captured the opportune moment of the Peso crisis in 1994. Cemex moved into Latin America, including Central America and the Caribbean, by acquisitions in Venezuela (1994), Panama (1994), Dominican republic (1995), Colombia (1996), Costa Rica (1999), Nicaragua (2001), and Puerto Rican (2002) (see Cemex, 2013a).Latin America has been an important destination for Cemex, especially in the decade since the Peso crisis. During this decade foreign cement giants divided up the Latin American market due to the collapse of local producers and Cemex gained the dominant position. After acquiring those companies, Lessard and Reavis (2009) suggest, Cemex also upgraded its administration, production and technologies in this region, exploiting learning from the company’s operation s in Mexico and Spain. Although Cemex has a noteworthy presence in Latin American countries, its production capacity in South,Central America and the Caribbean accounts for only 13. 4% of its total sales in 2011, less than its capacity in the United States, Northern Europe and Mediterranean respectively and less than half of its domestic capacity (Cemex, 2011). However, there has been a rapid increase in South America and the Caribbean since mid-2000s, as a result of higher levels of public expenditure on infrastructure, industrial and commercial development and housing construction (United Nations ECLAC, 2007).Hence Cemex controls its closest emerging market area, with the exception of Brazil. The USA The United States, unlike other developed countries, remains a major consumer and producer of cement products; however, few its cement producers are American-owned. In the 1970s, Wesley (2009) points out, when Cemex was a domestic firm, most US cement producers were already taken over by European companies. Cemex’s significant incursion into US market was the purchase of American producer Southdown in 2000.Southdown was one of the largest American cement producers and it was state-owned. Cemex’s purchase followed a 20-year joint venture with Southdown called Sunbelt in 1986: following disagreements on management fees and the price of imported cement, the partnership dissolved and Southdown supported anti-dumping measures against Mexican producers (Wesley, 2009). By late 1990s, Southdown was making profits from its upgraded plants and lower costs whilst unsatisfactorily performing on the stock market, enabling Cemex to buy Southdown for $2. billion in November 2000 (Cemex, 2000), becoming North America’s largest cement producer, obtaining Sothdown’s advanced production capacity and markets and circumventing anti-dumping duties. Another Cemex step into North America (Black, 2007) was the purchase of the Rinker Corporation, an Australia- based concrete maker that had about 80% of its sales in the US, notably increasing its share of the U. S. concrete market. Asia Cemex turned its attention into Asia after 1997, seeing the potential in Asian growth and M&A opportunities following the financial crisis in southeast Asia (Wesley, 2009).In the next few years, Cemex made acquisitions in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and India. Following rapid economic development and large-scale construction in Asia, by 2011 Cemex only managed to have the capacity of 5. 7 million metric tons in this region, representing only 6% of Cemex global capacity. Cemex failed to gain significant market share in China and India, the two largest Asian cement markets: the company continues to pay attention to the burgeoning Chinese and Indian markets (China Cement Net, 2005), however, institutional restrictions inhibit its growth.Indeed, the cement industry in China has excess capacity following slowdown in construction growth: many cement plan ts having been built during the boom. Currently Cemex does not have specific expansion plan of for China although it expresses a lot of interest (China Cement Net, 2006). In India, Cemex is more positive and in negotiations to acquire several Indian producers. Middle East and Africa (MENA) In 1999, Cemex acquired Assiut Cement Company, the largest cement producer in Egypt, started operating in Africa and increased its capacity following acquisitions (Wesley, 2009).Cemex also has operations in Israel and United Arab Emirates. The total presence in Middle East and Africa is limited since the African cement market is underdeveloped and as Digital Cement (2010) point out, the MENA cement markets are locally controlled. In summary, Cemex’s expansion into the global market is not only the strategic choice about competing and bidding for acquisitions, but also the integration process that ensued, as an opportunity to drive change, and as a result, continuously evolve as a corporatio n (Lessard and Reavis, 2009). 6ConclusionsCemex’s penetration strategy is shaped by the nature of the product and structure of the industry. Since cement is bulky and costly to transport global-global entry strategies are unavailable to it. The industry structure reflects the product in a wide array of regional-scale producers. Like other major players in the industry (such as Lafarge, Holcim and Heidelber) has sought to penetrate international markets by M&A rather than direct investment, strategic alliances or licensing. Another characteristic of the global cement industry is that developing economies are the drivers of demand.Often these markets remain difficult to enter being overly regulated, protected or subject to corruption and political interference. Cemex uses its origins in a developing market as an advantage: the company has expertise in overcoming these barriers, knowledge it has successfully exploited in numerous markets. Additionally, Cemex has taken advantage of other adverse trading conditions in its target markets (Asian financial crisis, Peso crisis) to conclude M&A deals when target company prices are depressed. Bibliography 1. Black, T. , 2007.Cemex Wins Control of Rinker With $14. 2 Billion Offer (Update3). [online] Available at: . 2. Chandramouli, R. , 2012. Cement contributes to less than 10% of construction cost. The Times of India. [online] Available at: . 3. Cembusiness, 2006. (The opportunities in the cement industry under the upsurge of international industrial capital M&A). online] Available at: . 4. Cemex, 2000. Annual Report 2000. [PDF] Available at: [last accessed 28/02/2013]. 5. Cemex, 2011. Annual Report 2011. [PDF] Available at: . 6. Cemex, 2013a. About us. [online] Available at: . 7. Cemex, 2013b. Product and Services. [online] Available at: . 8. China Cement Net, 2005. â€Å" †Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€? CEMEX †¢ (The master of acquisition – interviewing Armando Garcia, executive director of Cemex). [onli ne] Available at: . 9. China Cement Net, 2006. Cemex (Cemex clearly expresses its interests in the Chinese market). [online] Available at: . 10. CW Group, 2012. CW Group: Global cement demand to reach 4bn tons by 2013. CemWeek. [online] Available at:

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Research Essay on a Sub Culture essays

Research Essay on a Sub Culture essays Imagine a group consisted mostly of males within the ages of eighteen to forty-five sitting in rows and columns, having no more than three feet of personal space in a room illuminated by computer screens as an attractive girl runs through the room wearing a bikini made for a fourteen-year-old which was in no doubt filled in quite nicely. This was a scene out of JobieLan, 2002. JobieLan was attended by ninety-four people from as far as London, England for an exhausting weekend during June 14 to 16 of 2002. JobieLan was sponsored by six major businesses, and a pawn shop. JobieLan was so successful that there are now plans of JobieLan 2003. JobieLan has become a phenomenon. What is JobieLan? JobieLan is part of a new growing culture: LAN parties. To a computer savvy person, this term is not new. The culture is growing, and fast. Random House Websters College Dictionary simply says a LAN is a, Local Area Network, but it is much more than that. A LAN is a way of connecting multiple computers together in an arrangement which allows the computers to communicate freely with one another. With the dawn of multiplayer computer games, LANs have become increasingly popular as a way to play head-to-head with others without suffering with the effect known as "lag". The term lag originally means, to fail to maintain a desired speed, (Lag). When someone has lag they have a high latency, or a greater amount of time for one computer to send a message to another computer (Xavier). Exactly when LAN parties started, no one knows exactly. One of the very first games to support games over a LAN would be id Softwares DOOM which was released in December of 1993 (3DGamers). LAN parties did not start off as popular as it is now; Im sure that if I were my age today back then, I would have thought that the idea of staying in to play video games would be too geekish and go elsewhe ...