Top Choices of Why Brown Essay Samples That Worked

Top Choices of Why Brown Essay Samples That Worked The cost of an essay depends upon the total amount of effort the writer has to exert. This essay is dealing with the several pros and cons of employing a low-cost essay support. Summary Hiring an affordable essay service may be perfect option for students at one time crunch. Should you need additional assistance with editing and revising, there are a couple free tools readily available online. Make certain to read your essay and make certain it is logical. Writing a high school essay if you've got the tips about how to do essay effectively. Of all Of the kinds of essay, writing a brief essay may appear to be the easiest. Writing a persuasive essay can be hard because you're not merely presenting the research materials you've gathered but you're trying to influence your readers. For instance, the price of a persuasive essay will differ from a proposal essay. Our objective is to supply you with a professionally written essay on this issue you require. At this time, you may just be thinking that you're finished with your essay, but you're not. Should you do, your essay or answer is going to be truncated. The best strategy is to stay relaxed and focused. All essays will have a particular topic that's either one you choose or one which is provided for you. This distinguishing quality of this essay demands the writer to deliver his points in a concise way. It is far better read through several narrative essay examples in order to get the one which best matches the format that you're writing your essay in. The Basics of Why Brown Essay Samples That Worked In addition to its growing cultural and ethnic diversity, State University is turning into a master at developing a niche for each and every student. Thus, it is not just the perfect place for me, it is the only place for me. Brown already knows they're unique due to their open curriculum. It's not sufficient to say, I wish to go to Brown because of its uniquely flexible curriculum. Many people think that high school entrance essays are rather less difficult to write than college entrance essays, that's the reason there are fewer places where you are able to get assistance with higher school entrance essays. Scholarship providers would never tell you exactly what they are searching for in an essay. If you wish to be one of those admitted students, you will need to compose amazing Brown essays as a piece of your application. Once uploaded, their application materials can subsequently be accessed by high school students that are getting ready for the college application approach. The school would like you to know they are embracing all sexual orientations, and if you're open to discussing your own history and identity, don't hesitate to share your story. The brief essay is just 250 words, so aim to concentrate your interests on no more than two areas. As an example, perhaps you've lived in many diverse nations and believe your international experiences mig ht help encourage other people to explore interests outside their comfort zones. It is a great idea to inform your story because the admission essay is just the way for you to speak to the admission committee without facing them. Whatever They Told You About Why Brown Essay Samples That Worked Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why The principal portion of a brief essay is known as the body. While the focus is largely on your side, there's also a discussion about the opposing side which goes far beyond a single sentence or a paragraph. Let's look at each one of the Brown essay questions and go over how you are able to write something meaningful for each. Let's have a peek at its advantages and disadvantages. What Why Brown Essay Samples That Worked Is - and What it Is Not Describe the way your work at the same school will affect your work at the other. At McCormick, I am going to be able to take part in projects my very first calendar year, which will offer valuable hands-on experie nce. This finding was shown to be almost the precise opposite of what admissions officers from Stanford were seeking. PLME is a distinctive program, so highlight the reason why this model is the best fit for you. Before you turn in your assignment, you are going to want to appear over it one final moment. This advice should offer you a better idea of the way to approach the supplemental questions for Brown University. There are lots of numbers to consider. If you merely wished to study something different, you'd apply to Brown. The Why Brown Essay Samples That Worked Stories The trickiest part is usually choosing the activity you need to speak about. Look through the list of topics cautiously and start making a mental collection of the evidence you may use on topics you want. The author starts with a rather comprehensive story of an event or description of an individual or place. Go through the list below.

Veteran Suicide Perspectives And Assumptions . There Is

Veteran Suicide Perspectives and Assumptions There is an epidemic running rampant throughout the ranks of veterans and current active duty military within the United States. Even if we try to turn a blind eye or ignore the problem, the fact is that roughly an average of twenty-two veterans commit suicide each and every day across America. Some would say this is due in part to the service members experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), others would say this is due to service members participating in multiple deployments. While these both increase risk factors for suicide, they in and of themselves are not the root cause of suicide amongst our veterans. So if these are not the sole contributors to veteran suicide, what is†¦show more content†¦Nevertheless, those veterans that present symptoms of PTSD are at a greater risk for suicide due in part to the comorbid symptoms that often times are correlated to PTSD – such as substance abuse, intrusive thoughts, and depression. For some time now, many have held the philosophy that the ever increasing deployment tempo and lengths of deployments have held significant value in the rising rate of suicides amongst our military and veterans. Combat trauma and other traumatic events experienced while deployed has also been on the hot seat as a predominate factor for being at risk. Whereas combat deployments can have a profound impact on the psychological and cognitive functioning of an individual, it is being seen that there is a significant percentage of individuals committing suicide that have never deployed. Stressors from military life in general are having a huge impact on the suicide rates of military members and veterans. Cerel, Van de Venne, Moore, Maple, Flaherty, Brown (2015) found that â€Å"Stress on the entire military due to the length of these recent conflicts and the burden placed on all the forces has been linked to suicide risk among those who were never deployed. Other no n-combat military- related events, such as exposure to death from training accidents, are expected incidents during military service but are also associated with PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders† (p. 83). Underlying Theories If PTSD and deployments,Show MoreRelatedSomewhere For Everyone By John Grisham Essay1592 Words   |  7 PagesHomeless people are often found in larger cities, this could because of the higher cost of living in larger cities than in suburban areas. The views of the public through the eyes of the author make the reader think about the problem from an outside perspective. With the growing number of homeless people, Grisham begins to switch his past avoidance tone and begins to take a very personal approach. While Samuels takes a more statistic approach, both views just as important. One view covers the moral andRead MoreImplementing Complex Issues Within An Organization1720 Words   |  7 Pagesthe group in which they serve. 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Cases of suicide are very tragic because they affect and leave a void in the family of the d ead, which cannot now be covered. c). Violent TheRead MoreEssay about Silence on Gays and Lesbians is Social Studies Curriculum1093 Words   |  5 PagesStudies Curriculum, Thornton highlights the exclusion of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgendered perspectives in social studies curriculums in the United States. Thornton (2009) argues this exclusion is a result of heteronormativity, homophobia and a general lack of resources. Analytic Reading Thorntons purpose in this article is to bring attention to the continuing exclusion of GLBT perspectives in social studies curriculums. 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As we shall see, Egyptian and Greek warfare varied hugely in the way it was carried out, this in turn affecting how injuries could be received and therefore warrants a division between them in

Criminal Law Massachusetts Criminal Practice

Question: Describe about the Criminal Law for Massachusetts Criminal Practice? Answer: Issue: Alan and Betty are part of a TV show named "Eviction." Due to competitive differences between Alan and Betty, Alan in a fit of rage punched Betty. Betty admitted in Hospital, but the doctors fail to diagnose her. Consequently, she developed septicemia and after three days of suffering, she died. The directors and producers of the show at the time when the argument was going on failed to provide security. The question that arises here is whether Alan, Cathy, and Eviction Ltd are responsible for any criminal liability and if yes then what kind of defenses shall they avail to protect themselves under the Criminal Law. 1: According to the given case scenario, it is a fact that Alan hit Betty resulting in fracture of her cheekbone, and she admitted to a hospital. Her fracture repaired, but she develops blood poisoning (septicemia) and dies. It needs to analyze whether Alan's act results in attracting criminal liability for murder or not. In the given context, it is clear that there was actus reus that is, physical action or doing, on the part of Alan which led him to hit his co-contestant, Betty in the first place. But the more important fact that remains unknown in this matter is the presence of mens rea, which means guilty mind. Therefore, it is said that without the presence of the said mens rea, motive for murder cannot be found. Therefore, the presence of mens rea requires Alan's action resulted in criminal liability amounting to murder. Alan's act of attacking and harming Betty on the sets of "Eviction" occurred after a heated exchange between the two of them. Again, it is clear from the context that Betty was in clear lead and Alan was facing eviction. Alan got angry and started arguing with Betty, subsequently, Alan hit Betty hard in her face, fracturing her cheekbone. This act itself proves that Alan was not provoked or incited by the victim as it was Alan himself who started arguing with Betty. It is said that this act of violence resulted from jealousy, as Alan and Betty both were co-competitors and neither wanted to get evicted. Therefore, Alan has criminal liability as both mens rea, and actus reus are present in his action. Now, as the possible defense, Alan can make the plea that it was accidental killing, citing that he never intended to kill Betty. It shall be on the prosecution to prove the guilt of Alan and subsequently prosecute him. 2: In the given case scenario, an act of crime has been done by Alan, but until the prosecution proves his guilt, he shall be presumed innocent. Again, there is another possible defense for Alan. The case of partial defense might result in reducing his criminal liability from murder to manslaughter, falling under the purview of section 54 of the CJ Act, 2009. It is further to state that this is not a collective defense and can be used only in cases where the accused lost his control, which resulted in the victims murder. But this partial statement does not absolve the liability of the defendant, entirely. According to S. 54(1), of the Act of 2009, when a person kills someone or belongs to a party he has killed, he shall not be convicted of committing murder of the victim. Such an act or omission on part of the offender, which resulted in the killing of the victim, is due to the offender's loss of self-control [S. 54(1) (a)]. Now the loss of this so-called self-control should have resulted due to certain unavoidable triggering effects [S. 54(1) (b)]. There is enough proof to justify his actions by establishing the fact that any other person of ordinary prudence, self-restraining prowess and belonging to the same age and sex of the offender would have done the same, if he faced similar situation or circumstances as the original offender. According to the given case, it is a known fact that both Alan and Betty were competitive as neither of them wanted to get evicted from the game show. The game progresses, and as it does, it becomes clear that Betty is leading, and Alan faces eviction. Alan gets angry and starts arguing with Betty. In a fit of rage, he hit Betty, which results in a fracture of Betty's cheekbone, she hospitalized, and later she dies from blood poisoning. Alan is though criminally liable can take the partial defense as mentioned earlier, because his anger was the trigger that resulted in hitting Betty and Betty's subsequent death. A question arises whether Alan's partial denial of anger trigger considered as a proper defense or not. Section 55 of the Coroners and Justice Act, 2009 provides the various triggering factors and a detailed analysis of such triggers. Only taking a partial defense of sudden loss of control shall not constitute his defense, he also has to fulfill other supporting conditions mentioned in section 55 of the Act. According to section 55(4), there were the particular thing or things said or done or both, which attributed to the subsequent loss of control by the offender. Such associating factors said or done on the part of the victim must have created a circumstance of the major character or caused the offender to have reasons to believe that he seriously wrong. But, according to section 55(6), the sense of seriously hurt due to certain things said or done by the victim shall be disregarded if the offender himself instigated the victim in saying or doing such thing. In other words, if the offender prompted the victim to say or do certain things to justify his excuse of wronged by the victim shall be ineffective in the eyes of the law as be disregarded as a valid partial defense. In the given case scenario, Alan started the argument with Betty for reasons of jealousy, and subsequently, it turned into heated exchange and Betty got seriously injured. Here Alan deliberately started arguing with Betty, so the defense of partial defense shall not be applicable in this context. 3: Novus actus interventions is a Latin term which means an unexpected occurrence that happens after a person's act of negligence and operates to precipitate the plaintiff's loss. The person i.e. the defendant shall not be liable for the said loss which is aggravated due to such an event. This happens when the defendant causes a series of events to occur which creates a chain of causation which harms the victim, and a question arises out this context whether the original perpetrator shall be held responsible for the eventual outcome of such occurrences. In other words, if an assailant assaults someone, he shall be held liable for all the consequences of his act, both immediate and remote complications which may result in death for the victim. At times, sure new entirely unexpected development happens, which could be unforeseeable and it breaks the continuity of the ongoing events. This is called Novus actus interventions. After the case of R v Jordan (1956), it was observed that the case wrongfully adjudicated. Medical treatment should never regard as an event that breaks the chain of continuity to ensure legal certainty. Legal responsibility of the original assailant should never get absolved due to other events taking place after the original crime. While adjudicating, the court should consider, who is blameworthy. Thus, medical negligence should be regarded as Novus actus interventions as it would ensure legal clarity and would be helpful in deciding the responsibility of the most culpable actor. Again in R v Smith (1959), it was held that medical mistreatment shall not absolve the liability of the actual offender. Therefore, the hospital, where Betty admitted shall not be held liable for the death of Betty due to failure in the diagnosis of her unforeseeable victimization from septicemia. 4: "Gross Negligence" is a legal concept, which means carelessness, serious in nature. It is expected out of a man of conservative nature to be careful. But if the man fails to use his general carefulness and as an outcome of such negligence, he faces a loss of life, then such an act can be termed as an act of gross negligence. Gross negligence is similar to "manslaughter" under English Law. Gross negligence has been set out in many landmark cases such as R v Bateman, Andrews v DPP (1937). In these cases, the judiciary upheld the conviction of the appellant for manslaughter. In R v Caldwell and R v Lawrence (Stephen) (1982), it was held that a person shall be considered as reckless if he acted in such a way that caused substantial damage to the property or individual and under ordinary circumstances he was expected to act with reasonable care. According to section 1(1) of CMCH Act, 2007, an organization shall be held liable for its action, if such action consequently resulted in a p erson's death or has caused the breach of duty to care, owned by the organization. Section 2(2) provides that an organization shall include- a corporation, a department, a police force, partnership, trade unions or employers association. In the given case, Cathy and Derek are the producers of the program. If they are to prosecute for corporate manslaughter, the prosecution must conclusively prove that the defendants- were duty-bound to provide care, there was a subsequent breach of duty to care, which resulted in Betty's death, and their conduct itself was bad enough to constitute the criminal liability. Fulfillment of the criteria above is essential as the same came up in the landmark case of R v Adomako (1994). As per the case, it suggests that both Cathy and Derek made no action in stopping the argument between Betty and Alan. Though there is no evidence in support to prove that there was mens rea, it's evident that it was done to increase the rating of the show. Both of them had no anticipated anything serious would happen that would result in death. Thus, it is evident there was gross negligence present at the time of the crime. Cathy and Derek can face prosecution even if there is no evidence of mens rea present in the scenario. The same held by Lord Rose in the case of A-G Ref [No 2 of 1999 (2000)]. Again, in R v Evans (2009), it was observed that the duty to care doesn't arise from familial relation or acceptance of responsibility, but when individual act on the part of the defendant creates a dangerous situation. Here, Cathy and Derek's inaction to stop the argument between Alan and Betty created the said dangerous situation leading to the death of Betty. Possible defenses available include: Actual innocence, that is both Cathy and Derek were not the real perpetrators, and the burden of proof rests with the prosecution and until it proved otherwise. Both Cathy and Derek shall be presumed innocent; Accidental killing by showing that the homicide occurr ed as a result of an accident, the defendants possibly achieve a reduction in the manslaughter charge. But to prove it was accidental killing, the first instance that is Alan's action that caused the subsequent death of Betty must be proved as an accidental killing too, and not murder with intent to cause death. 5: In this context, it can be mentioned that the Eviction Ltd. who is another defendant in the case, shall be held liable for corporate manslaughter as described in sections 1(1) and 1(2) of the CMCH Act, 2007. But it may be stated that in the case of A-G Ref [no 2 of 1999(2000)], there arose a question whether a non-human defendant can be convicted of manslaughter if there is no evidence regarding the presence of guilty mind of individual defendant of the same crime. Reference List: Allen, Michael.Textbook on criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2013. Ashworth, Andrew, and Jeremy Horder.Principles of criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2013. Baker, Dennis, and Glanville Llewelyn Williams.Textbook of criminal law. Sweet Maxwell, 2012. Bassiouni, M. Cherif.Introduction to international criminal law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2012. Cryer, Robert, et al.An introduction to international criminal law and procedure. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Duff, R. A. "Authority and responsibility in international criminal law." (2013). Herring, Jonathan.Criminal law: text, cases, and materials. Oxford University Press, 2014. Katz, Leo.Bad acts and guilty minds: Conundrums of the criminal law. University of Chicago Press, 2012. Keating, Heather, et al. "Clarkson and Keating criminal law: Text and materials." (2014). Norrie, Alan.Crime, reason and history: A critical introduction to criminal law. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Ormerod, David, and Karl Laird.Smith and Hogan's criminal law. Oxford University Press, USA, 2015. Simester, Andrew P., et al.Simester and Sullivan's criminal law: theory and doctrine. AC Black, 2014. Stephen, James Fitzjames, and Keith John Michael Smith.Selected Writings of James Fitzjames Stephen: A General View of the Criminal Law. Oxford University Press, 2014. Stephen, James Fitzjames.A history of the criminal law of England. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Von Glahn, Gerhard, and James Larry Taulbee.Law among nations: an introduction to public international law. Pearson Higher Ed, 2012. Werle, Gerhard, and Florian Jessberger.Principles of international criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2014. Blumenson, Eric, and Arthur B. Leavens. "Massachusetts Criminal Practice." (2012). Clapham, Andrew. "Human Rights and International Criminal Law." (2015). OBrien, Melanie. "Classifying Cultural and Physical Destruction: Are Modern Historical and Current Human Rights Violations in China Violations of International Criminal Law?."Criminal Law Forum. Vol. 26. No. 3-4. Springer Netherlands, 2015. Steel, Alex, and Melanie Schwartz. "Broader Social Context as a Lens for Learning: Teaching Criminal Law."Disciplines: the lenses of learning, Kathryn Coleman and Adele Flood (eds)(2014). Wexler, David B. "The international and interdisciplinary project to mainstream therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) in criminal courts: An update, a law school component, and an invitation."Alaska Journal of Dispute Resolution (2014 Forthcoming)(2014): 14-04. Stephen, James Fitzjames.A history of the criminal law of England. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Werle, Gerhard, and Florian Jessberger.Principles of international criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2014. Von Glahn, Gerhard, and James Larry Taulbee.Law among nations: an introduction to public international law. Pearson Higher Ed, 2012. Ashworth, Andrew, and Jeremy Horder.Principles of criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2013. Von Glahn, Gerhard, and James Larry Taulbee.Law among nations: an introduction to public international law. Pearson Higher Ed, 2012. Simester, Andrew P., et al.Simester and Sullivan's criminal law: theory and doctrine. AC Black, 2014. Ashworth, Andrew, and Jeremy Horder.Principles of criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2013 Ashworth, Andrew, and Jeremy Horder.Principles of criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2013. Werle, Gerhard, and Florian Jessberger.Principles of international criminal law. Oxford University Press, 2014. Von Glahn, Gerhard, and James Larry Taulbee.Law among nations: an introduction to public international law. Pearson Higher Ed, 2012. Von Glahn, Gerhard, and James Larry Taulbee.Law among nations: an introduction to public international law. Pearson Higher Ed, 2012. Baker, Dennis, and Glanville Llewelyn Williams.Textbook of criminal law. Sweet Maxwell, 2012. Keating, Heather, et al. "Clarkson and Keating criminal law: Text and materials." (2014). Katz, Leo.Bad acts and guilty minds: Conundrums of the criminal law. University of Chicago Press, 2012. Duff, R. A. "Authority and responsibility in international criminal law." (2013). Herring, Jonathan.Criminal law: text, cases, and materials. Oxford University Press, 2014.

The gestalt theory free essay sample

The Gestalt theory is a complex but rather interesting theory that I will be writing about in this essay. For this essay, I will be looking for the different parts of the Gestalt theory. Before that, I will find where the name â€Å"Gestalt† even means and originated from. I will also find out who discovered the theory. I will describe the theory and provide background information on the theory. I will describe how the theory is exhibited. I will also explain whether I agree with this theory. There are also plenty of examples of each kind of point in the Gestalt theory. Although these examples are for visual purposes, there are famous ones that I will be talking about which can be seen on the Internet. Each principle has its own pictures as examples. One way the Gestalt theory is in use is when us see the pictures that are made for the sole purpose of the gestalt theory. We will write a custom essay sample on The gestalt theory or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Gestalt Theory has many principles to it and I am going to go over all of them, including definitions and how your brain perceives that message. There are major principles of the Gestalt theory, which make up what the theory means. The Gestalt theory â€Å"looks at the human mind and the behavior as a whole. † (Cherry, 2013). The Gestalt theory was originated by Max Wertheimer, but influenced by other thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, Ernest Mach and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Cherry, 2013). Wertheimer said, There are wholes, the behavior of which is not determined by that of their individual elements, but where the part-processes are themselves determined by the intrinsic nature of the whole. It is the hope of Gestalt theory to determine the nature of such wholes (Wertheimer, 1924). This quote is explaining when you try to put a missing piece in its place and you know where it goes because you have seen the full figure before. The Gestalt theory got its name by definition. Gestalt in German means â€Å"whole† which is the definition of the theory. This is why the theory was named the â€Å"Gestalt theory. † Christian Von Ehrenfels was the one who originated the name Gestalt for the theory (Boeree, 2000). Christian was a teacher to the founder of the Gestalt theory, Max Wertheimer (Boeree, 2000). So the student became the teacher in the end because Christian was the one who originated the theory and Max is the one who ends up finishing the theory. Max started the beginning of his studies by studying law and going to law school (Boeree, 2000). He never was interested in it as much as he was in psychology (Boeree, 2000). â€Å"At Frankfurt, his former teacher Friedrich Schumann, now there as well, gave him the use of a tachistoscope to study the effect. His first subjects were two younger assistants, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka. They would become his lifelong partners† (Boeree, 2000). Wolfgang and Koffka will play their parts into helping Max solve and explain this theory that he has been interested in. Max wrote his paper on the perception of movement, and then was offered a job as a lectureship at the University of Frankfurt (Boeree, 2000). He eventually became an assistant professor there and in a couple of years moved up and was a professor for his own class (Boeree, 2000). He taught Psychology at his years at Frankfurt and spread his knowledge to the young minds of Frankfurt. While Germany was going through its tough times in the war, Frankfurt escaped to the United States and began teaching for Social Research School in New York City (Boeree, 2000). He wrote a book called, â€Å"Productive Thinking† which was the most known book he has written (Boeree, 2000). Wolfgang and Max met through the University of Frankfurt in which they were assistants for a Psychological Institute for Frankfurt (Boeree, 2000). † In 1922, he became the chair and director of the psychology lab at the University of Berlin, where he stayed until 1935. During that time, in 1929, he wrote Gestalt Psychology† (Boeree, 2000). As the quote has it, Wolfgang had met and discussed the gestalt theories together and it resulted into Wolfgang publishing a book on the Gestalt Theory. The final founder of the Gestalt Theory is Kurt Koffka. Kurt â€Å"he wrote an article for Psychological Bulletin which introduced the Gestalt program to readers in the U. S† (Boeree, 2000). So after these three best friends met at the University of Frankfurt and discussed the Gestalt Theory. They went their separate ways to spread the theory to young and up and coming future of psychologists. The Gestalt theory has many different laws; the first one that I will be talking about is the Figure and Ground law. â€Å"The terms figure and ground explain how we use elements of the scene which are similar in appearance and shape and group them together as a whole. Similar elements (figure) are contrasted with dissimilar elements (ground) to give the impression of a whole† (â€Å"Gestalt Principles†, 1999). A good example of this is the Macintosh logo (Soegaard, 2005). A terrible example of this is when you see an animal that blends into the environment with the use of camouflage. If there is a chameleon on a brown branch, it will turn brown. If u can’t see the figure separated from the ground, then you see them as a whole. Second, is the law of Similarity. â€Å"The principle of similarity states that things which share visual characteristics such as shape, size, color, texture, value or orientation will be seen as belonging together† (â€Å"Gestalt Principles†, 1999). In the preferences window of a windows computer, the grey color background binds the first items together (Soegaard, 2005). The next law I would like to talk about is the law of Proximity. â€Å"The Gestalt law of proximity states that objects or shapes that are close to one another appear to form groups. Even if the shapes, sizes, and objects are radically different, they will appear as a group if they are close together† (â€Å"Gestalt Principles†, 1999). A great example of this law is the MTV sign (Soegaard, 2005). The TV part of the channel is part of the M which puts the law of Similarity in action. Another law I would want to explain is closure. â€Å"The satisfaction of a pattern encoded, as it were, into the brain, thus triggering recognition of the stimulus. This can involve the brains provision of missing details thought to be a part of a potential pattern, or, once closure is achieved, the elimination of details unnecessary to establish a pattern match† (â€Å"Gestalt Principles†, 1999). An example of this law is the IBM logo (Soegaard, 2005). The fifth law I would like to explain is the law of Continuity. â€Å"The edge of one shape will continue into the space and meet up with other shapes or the edge of the picture plane† (â€Å"Gestalt Principles†, 1999). An example of this would be, when you are making a graph in for math class and the lines of the graph are perpendicular and continuous (Soegaard, 2005). The last law I would like to talk about is the law of Symmetry. â€Å"Symmetry states that the viewer should not be given the impression that something is out of balance, or missing, or wrong† (â€Å"Gestalt Principles†, 1999). An example of this in action is when you look at the CSC Finland’s logo (Soegaard, 2005). I personally agree with this theory because it has many different laws that explain so much that happen in the world. Especially when there are many different real life examples that have been influenced by these laws. There are many real life examples of these laws that I have known but not actually put under the category of the Gestalt Theory. There are many things that I have seen which represent all these law when I was a kid and didn’t understand any of this. It blows my mind how I am just learning about this now during my young adult life. So with all the facts given here on this essay, I conclude that I agree with this theory.

Breastfeeding and the Workplace

Breastfeeding and the Workplace Breastfeeding and the WorkplaceCompanies, as well as their employees, benefit from establishing and supporting breastfeeding programs within the workplace.With the average maternity leave averaging six weeks, many breastfeeding moth-ers struggle with their decision to continue breastfeeding their infant upon returning to work. "Despite a few exceptions, most US employers give no support to breastfeeding mothers, contributing to the decision of many new moms to quit nursing once back on the job" (Tyson, 1998). Workplace breastfeeding support can ease a new mother's transition back to work. "There are various forms of practical support employers can offer women to help them continue breastfeeding after they return to work" (Personnel Today, 2003).There are several benefits that the employer can reap by supporting workplace lactation programs. "Workplace lactation programs reduce health care costs and em-ployee absenteeism caused by infant illness because breast-fed infants are healthie r, ac-cording to AAP". "Its research has shown that these babies have fewer allergies, respira-tory infections, ear infections, and serious diseases, such as diabetes".English: Breastfeeding an infant Portuguà ªs: Um re..."Breastfeeding also keeps mothers healthier by reducing the risk of ovarian and breast cancers, say the AAP" (Tyler,1999). Studies show there is less illness among breastfed children and therefore lower health insurance costs. A healthier child in turn means less employee absenteeism. It can also be a boost to employee morale. Diane Cushman, a manager at a property-casualty company in St. Paul, Minnesota, states, "It's a great morale builder, even for people who aren't using it". "It's a low-cost, high impact program". "And it's not difficult to implement" (Tyler, 1999).A lactation program, along with the more common health care, 401k, and pension benefits, can also be a good incentive to attract new employees. Many companies who frequently make the "Top 100" list s provide breastfeeding support programs. "Providing lactation rooms is a good...

Definition and Examples of Rhetorical Stance

Definition and Examples of Rhetorical Stance The rhetorical stance is the role or behavior of a speaker or writer in relation to their subject, audience, and persona (or voice). The term rhetorical stance was coined in 1963 by American rhetorician Wayne C. Booth. Its sometimes also referred to as footing. Examples and Observations The common ingredient that I find in all of the writing I admireexcluding, for now, novels, plays and poemsis something that I shall reluctantly call the rhetorical stance, a stance which depends on discovering and maintaining in any writing situation a proper balance among the three elements that are at work in any communicative effort: the available arguments about the subject itself, the interests and peculiarities of the audience, and the voice, the implied character, of the speaker. I should like to suggest that it is this balance, this rhetorical stance, difficult as it is to describe, that is our main goal as teachers of rhetoric.(Wayne C. Booth, The Rhetorical Stance. College Composition and Communication, October 1963)Rhetorical Stance in Speaking and WritingClosely related to tone is the concept of rhetorical stance, which is a fancy term for a simple idea.Most language transactions are face-to-face: we can see the people we are talking to. In these situations, we all make subtle shifts in our way of talking, depending on the audience, and it is these shiftssome of which are not so subtlethat make up our rhetorical stance in spoken discourse. . . .In short, when you talk, you adjust your rhetorical stance continually, using different techniques for different people in various situations.In writing, the tone is a part of rhetorical stance: seriousness, irony, humor, outrage, and so on. So is purpose: you can explain, explore, or demonstrate; you can attempt to persuade someone to take any action or make a decision. And, of course, you can try to rouse emotions with a poem or to amuse people with a fictional tale.(W. Ross Winterowd, The Contemporary Writer. Harcourt, 1981) Adapting to an Audience[R]hetorical stance is pure Aristotle. The stance is all about adjusting tone and purpose to different audiences. Here the student chooses a stand on a given topic with a keen eye on the audience. The purpose is not to manipulate in the Sophist sense but to better garner arguments, evidence that will convince. Rhetorical stance also invites being an insider in order to get into the mind of that audience.(Joyce Armstrong Carroll and Edward E. Wilson, Four by Four: Practical Methods for Writing Persuasively. ABC-CLIO, 2012)Your Rhetorical StanceWhere do you stand on that? is a question often asked of political figures and other authorities. But writers must ask the question of themselves as well. Understanding where you stand on your topicyour rhetorical stancehas several advantages. It will help you examine where your opinions come from and thus help you address the topic fully; it will help you see how your stance might differ from the stances held by members o f your audience, and it will help you establish your credibility with your audience. This part of your rhetorical stanceyour ethos or credibilityhelps determine how well your message will be received. To be credible, you will need to do your homework on your subject, present your information fairly and honestly, and be respectful of your audience.(Andrea A. Lunsford, The St. Martins Handbook, 7th ed. Bedford/St. Martins, 2011)

Justice and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Justice and Law - Essay Example Lay judges work together to decide upon whether or not there is sufficient evidence for a defendant to be sent to be tried at a higher court. They also settle some matters involving family law. (Clark, 1992). In Germany, laypeople serve as judges in the commercial and criminal sections of state district courts. Serving on a panel of two or three, they work for a fixed term and are paid for their services. While in other countries, lay judges are only used at lower court levels, in Germany they are also used in the appellate Federal Labor Court and the Federal Social Security Court. In these instances they serve in a mixed tribunal, where professional judges constitute the majority. (Clark, 1992). France uses laypeople to a great degree in a series of specialized tribunals. Commercial hearings involve the use of business people elected by their peers, who serve for an initial two year term and then up to four more four year terms. Cases involving labor disputes make use of five groups of laypeople that represent the five sections of the economy. Each group is made up of the same number of people, and within each group there are the same number of employee representatives and employer representatives. These laypeople are elected to serve a term of six years. Similarly, social security cases involve the use one employee representative and one employer representative; these laypeople are chosen by organizations to serve a five year term. Cases involving rural leases use two representatives of farm leasers and two elected representatives of farm lessees that are elected to serve a term of six years. In all of the aforementioned specialized tribunals, laypeople are not paid for th eir services. (Clark, 1992). Historically, socialist countries such as China have used laypeople to quite an extensive degree. China used to use a large number of lay judges elected by residents to serve alongside professional judges. In the last couple of decades, however, the use of judges has become more professionalized; less and less laypeople are being used. Many cases are now being determined by a single judge, which gets rid of the need for laypeople. (Clark, 1992). In Japan, on the other hand, laypeople are being used to an even greater extent than ever. Beginning in May 2009, jury duty for laypeople will sometimes include cases that involve the death penalty. (Peters, 2008). In contrast to Japan giving weighty decisions to laypeople, Saudi Arabia barely uses laypeople. Based on the highly religious Sharia (Islamic Law), laypeople are not considered to understand Sharia; nor is this sort of material made easily accessible to them. In addition, many people in Saudi Arabia are illiterate. The scant use of laypeople in Saudi Arabia has led to much corruption in the courts there. (Human Rights Watch, 2008). While the United States sometimes uses fines as punishments for minor offenses, this is much more commonly done in Western Europe where it is also used for major criminal offenses. Judges in the United States have faced difficulty punishing criminals with fines that are fair in terms of what they did and what their economic situation is like. In Western Europe, however, day fines are used. Day fines are the fines that are adjusted to be proportional to an

ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY - Essay Example The speed of communication and exchange, the complexity and size of the networks involved, and the sheer volume of trade, interaction and risk involved, include just a few of the goodies of globalization (Stiglitz). For centuries, globalisation has been able to find its way into the daily lives of a big majority of the population of the world consequently affecting them in numerous ways. It has taken the form of trade liberalisation, regional unification and Multi-national Corporations. The most affected by globalisation in the society has been the agriculture sector simply because policies governing it have forced the rural population into poverty, unemployment, migration to urban areas, and working without any social security. To date, there has been no appropriate measures taken to curb this effect and as such, seasonal labour mobility particularly of women and children has been plummeting. The twentieth century has witnessed an accelerated process of globalisation as one of its main features in the area of world politics and has been touted as one of the most dramatic developments of the period with more than just economical and industrial significance. According to (Stiglitz), globalisation of free enterprise has been identified as the key element in the changing world order. Based on this, the concept of the nation state is thus becoming less clear, while at the same time new players such as multinational companies are joining the global arena. These multinational companies are thus direct creations of globalisation, a fact which is keeping humanity in doubt whether their sudden mushrooming augurs well with the new global order or whether they are going to turn into mutant monsters to cause major economic disasters (Stiglitz). From the foregoing, it is evident that there has been a process of globalisation in which societies operate within an integrated world-wide

Robert Frost Essay Example for Free

Robert Frost Essay Robert Frosts themes repeat themselves in many of his works. He frequently attributes mans relationship with the universe and alienation, nature, and death. Frost tended to use more than one of these themes in a single poem. Robert Frosts outlook on life and his own personal experiences greatly influenced his writings. This shows the dark shadow that he lived in after many family tragedies, the death of his father, wife, and first child, followed by the suicide of his son and the mental illnesses of his daughter and his sister, which they were later institutionalized for. Robert Frosts themes influenced many writers by his use of theme and emotion in his work. Frosts themes have changed the ways by influencing authors to write about their feelings, dreams, and what they see in a whole new way; even today many authors looks to Robert Frosts works for inspiration. Another theme of Frosts is nature. He describes the surroundings with vivid details, allowing the readers to imagine the scenes placed before them. In one of his most famous poems, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Frost greatly describes the experience so that the sensation presented is perceived accurately. A writer quotes, This poem illustrates many of the qualities most characteristic to Frost; including the attention to natural detail, the relationship between human and nature, and the strong theme suggested by individual lines(Napierkowski 1). Frost says, My little horse must think its queer to stop without a farmhouse near between the woods and frozen lake the darkest evening of the year(Frost 7). This line infers that its a cold night, but he still has time to stop in a secluded field to appreciate the beauty of the natural scene. In this poem he also says, †¦The only other sounds the sweep of easy wind and downy flake the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep.. (Frost 11). Here Frost is commenting on how peaceful it is in the field, but expressing how he has no desire to enter the woods, for he still has things he must do. Gerber comments saying, .. looks upon a traveler mesmerized by the black trees yet unwilling to enter. this time with promises to keep, the traveler has a ready rationalization for withstanding the bait(Gerber 10). There is a similar scene in, Desert Places, that talks of the mystery of the snow. Snow falling fast, oh, fast in a field I looked into going past, and the ground almost covered smooth in snow, but a few weeds and stubble showing last(Frost 1). Here the traveler exhibits that he has no time to stop in the field, but he notices the weeds that have yet to be completely covered. Frosts use of detail when describing theme theme of nature is very potent in his writing, it allows a clear scene to be viewed and he deserves ample credit for his impeccable creations.

The Views of Native Americans and Europeans Essay -- Compare Contrast

The Views of Native Americans and Europeans During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Europeans and the Indians had very contrasting ideas of personal wealth and ownership. The Europeans believed that only the rich should own land, and strongly followed the practice that when you passed away, the land stays in the family to keep the family honor and pride alive. In European society, what one owned decided one's identity, political standpoint, wealth, and even independence. The Indians believed that property was part of a tribe, not a personal possession to own. One of their beliefs was that the land was sacred, and each family should have a piece of the whole. As a general rule, the Indians followed their belief that states that everything on the earth is given to all, and each person deserves their own share. In 1657, a French Jesuit said that, "Their kindness, humanity and courtesy not only makes them liberal with what they ha...

GEZ Petrol Station Essay

GEZ Bhd is the major oil company in Malaysia has conducted two main businesses, which is the fuel business and the convenience store business. Under the fuel business, the petrol stations sold Petrol Ron 95 (R95), Petrol Ron 97 (R97), and Diesel. Mr Aiman was as an Area Manager is responsible for directing the sales activities of more than twenty petrol stations in the northern region of Malaysia. They are having a difficulty to sustain in the business even though they are in the stable business segment and consistent in the long run. This is due to the lack of knowledge in finance and costing which is it contributed to the business failure. There were disadvantages associated with a petrol station that is the fuel business had a very low profit margin. It was important that operators manage their cash collection very well. Realising the importance of management accounting concepts, Mr Aiman believed that the dealers and their relevant staff should have the knowledge in cost accounti ng. In order to collect data and build financial model, Mr Aiman has sought the advice from Rizal, a trained management accountant. To begin developing a CVP model, Rizal has gathered the necessary data from Baron Service Station (BSS) which is the busiest petrol station in the city. The petrol station had four pumps for petrol and one for diesel and the total number of nozzle was 20. The model that he would develop could be applied by petrol station operators of the same category. Regarding this case, from the cost-volume-profit analysis, Rizal can find that the breakeven point which is how much sales the petrol station of this type should generate from each of the fuel products and the Selesamart. Mr. Aiman also can learn that the importance of differentiate between fixed cost and variable cost so that the petrol stations can sustain their profitable business and growth. DATA ANALYSIS 1. How lucrative is the petrol station business? To determine how lucrative is this business, we need to identified each component with detailed calculation of the income statement which is does include all the revenue acquired, fixed cost and variable cost that related to the both type of the business. Firstly, we required to understand the definition of each component. Fixed costs are defined as expenses that remain more or less unchanged irrespective of the output level or sales revenue, within the relevant period. By definition, there are no fixed costs in the long run, because the long run is a sufficient period of time for all short-run fixed inputs to become variable. Variable costs are defined as expenses that vary depending on the output level or sales revenue of a company within the relevant period. Generally, as a business’s output increases, variable costs also increase. The more products a business sells, the more money it spends on materials and manpower to produce those products. We categorized all the expenses into fixed and variable costs and calculate the net profits of Baron S ervice Station for year 2009. REVENUE VARIABLE COSTS FIXED COSTS INCOME STATEMENTS (Partial) As describe in the Calculation stated above, the total contribution margin of Baron Service Station consists of two parts, which are fuel business and SelesaMart business. Total contribution margin is RM1,166,341.94. Contribution margin of SelesaMart business is about more and less 20% of the total contribution margin, which means that SelesaMart business is doing well, in addition, profit of SelesaMart will be higher if it doesn’t need to pay a 5% royalty to GEZ. From the income statement we can interpreted that this business in lucrative enough with a good control of expenses and Cost related to the operation, where BSS could generate Nett Profit of RM 772,825.94 (Calculation as per as Attachment 1) 2. Since the margin on fuel business is very low (6%) compared to convenience store (20%), do you agree that the convenience store is subsidizing the fuel business? Firstly, the profit margin for fuel business is very low if compared to convenience store. The fuel business only gets about 6% of profit margin for year 2010. Profit = Sales – cost = 100% – 94% = 6% This is because GEZ Petrol only gain a few portion of profit from the sales of each litre of Ron 95, Ron 97 and Diesel. Below is the profit for each litre of fuel sold by GEZ Petrol Station and the profit margin for each type of fuel. Products Price per litre Cost per litre Profit per litre Profit margin (%) Ron 95 RM1.80 RM1.6856 RM0.1144 6.36 Ron 97 RM2.05 RM1.9356 RM0.1144 5.58 Diesel RM1.80 RM1.7388 RM0.0612 3.40 Besides that, the petrol station also cannot increase the price even though the government increase the price of fuel. In the short run, the margin per litre would remain the same. For example, if the government announced there would be a 40 cents increase in the price per litre, then, operators also have to pay 40 cents higher. So, the profit margin will not increase. Products Price per litre Cost per litre Profit per litre Profit margin (%) Ron 95 RM2.20 RM2.0856 RM0.1144 5.20 Ron 97 RM2.45 RM2.3356 RM0.1144 4.67 Diesel RM2.20 RM2.1388 RM0.0612 2.78 From the above calculation, it shows that the profit margin will not increase due to increase in price.   Although the profit margin for fuel business is lower than profit margin for convenience store, but the revenue gain from fuel business is far better than convenience store. For example, from the monthly average sales of RM 1.7 million; where the large portion of this amount is come from fuel business (RM 1.6 million from the revenue), while only RM 0.1 million comes from convenience store. In addition, in year 2009, the sales revenue of the petrol station is RM 20,682,189.60 and about RM 19,251,897,60 of the amount comes from fuel business; which is approximately 93.08% (RM 19,251,897,60/ RM 20,682,189.60) of the revenue. While, only 6.92% (RM 1,430,292/ RM  20,682,189.60) comes from convenience stores. So, in this situation, it show that the fuel business itself are able to sustain the business of petrol station even without convenience store because the convenience store o nly contributed a little portion of their income. Other than that, most of the customers who come to petrol station are to refuel rather than shop at the convenience store. Only a few customers will buy at their convenience store because if someone wants to buy foods or other daily needs, they will prefer supermarket as they have more choices compare to convenience store. So, large portion of revenues or income that flow into the company is from the sales of Ron 95, Ron 97 and Diesel. Even though the profit margin for fuel business is small but the revenue is far better compared to convenience stores. Therefore, the convenience store is not subsidising the fuel business instead both fuel business and convenience store had contributed to sustainability of GEZ Petrol Station. 3. If the government raised the RON95 price to RM2.10, do you anticipate the profitability of the business will be eroded? If the government raised the Ron 95 price to RM 2.1 per litre, the profitability of business will be affected significantly. The changes of RON95 price from RM1.80 to RM2.10 per litre has incremental price of RM 0.3 per litre. In parallel, cost per litre of Ron 95 also will increase RM 0.2788 from RM 1.6856 to RM 1.9644 per litre due to estimation of cost on price proportion of 93.64%. Total Net profit for RM 1.8 (Ron 95) is RM 766,706.02 and had increase to RM 924,046.16 when Ron 95 price increased to RM 2.1. Net profit margin had increase from 3.71% to 3.98%. For Break- even Analysis, the increase of Ron95 price has indicate a better result which only required 3187559.208 litres/ RM 6,936,231.66 compared to 3618188.562 litres/ RM 7,015,784.34 to achieve zero profit. In overall, rise of Ron95 price by government will benefit GEZ petro station’s financial performance. It has higher profitability and capable to achieve Break Even Point with a lower output level compared to prev ious price which RM 1.8 per litre for Ron 95. Below are the changes of GEZ financial performance if Ron95 price changed. RON95 (79%) **Assuming the portion of fixed cost between Fuel business and Selesa Mart is based on the average sales of 2009 Price per litre RM1.80 Total Fixed Cost (RON95) Portion between fuel business and Selesa Salaries RM195,720.02 = 1.6/1.7 =94.12% Utility Cost RM35,550.00 94.12% of amount in fixed cost for fuel business Rental RM5,487.38 5.88% of amount in fixed cost for Selesa Mart Insurance Premium RM1,427.61 Stationeries RM1,784.52 Total Fixed Cost RM239,969.53 RON 95 Fixed Cost -Salaries Amount Salary(RM) Total per year Portion Fixed cost- Salaries Station Manager 1 3206 38472 0.9412*0.79 28605.78 Supervisor 1 1674 20088 0.79 15869.52 Cashier 3 950 34200 0.79 27018 Crew 12 812 116928 0.79 92373.12 Clerk 1 960 11520 0.9412*0.79 8565.67 General Worker 2 805 19320 0.9412*0.79 14365.35 Security Guard 1 1000 12000 0.9412*0.79 8922.58 Total 195720.02 Input changed: (Exhibit 3) Original Price New Price 4. If a credit card sale is reduced from 40% to 20%, what is the effect on overall profitability? Nowadays more and more people are using credit card in their daily life. People prefer credit cards because they are convenient to use and it is easier to take them instead of carrying a lot of cash. And if wallet or purse is stolen, we can simply call the creditor and close the credit card  account before anyone uses the card. In GEZ petrol station, petrol operators had to face was the increasing cost of credit card fees paid to bank as more and more of their customers were starting using credits cards. When a driver pays for gas with a credit card, GEZ petrol station must pay an average 1% of the sales price to the bank to process the payments. GEZ petrol station have accounted that the credit card sales are almost 40% of their total sales. Research are made to the Baron Service Stations ( BSS) , a petrol station that was located in a city, in the northern region of Malaysia. It was one of the busiest petrol stations in the city. In year 2009, BSS generated sales revenue of RM 19,251,897.60, 40% of the revenue RM 7,700,759.04 was come from credit card sales and the bank will charge RM 77007.59 from the credit card sales. Those fees are so high, it already slim profit margins and made it hard for stations to make money on gas sales. Otherwise when the credit card sales is reduce to 20% of the revenue RM 3,850,379.52 was come from credit card sales and the bank will charge RM 3,850,3.80 from the credit card sales. For details as below: Credit Card Fees (40%) Product Sales (Litres) Price/Litres Total Revenues Ron 95 8,459,604.00 1.80 15,227,287.20 Ron 97 174,576.00 2.05 357,880.80 Diesel 2,037,072.00 1.80 3,666,729.60 19,251,897.60 Usage of Credit Card 40% 7,700,759.04 Credit Card Fees Charges 1% Credit Card Fees 77,007.59 Credit Card Fees (20%) Product Sales (Litres) Price/Litres Total Revenues Ron 95 8,459,604.00 1.80 15,227,287.20 Ron 97 174,576.00 2.05 357,880.80 Diesel 2,037,072.00 1.80 3,666,729.60 19,251,897.60 Usage of Credit Card 20% 3,850,379.52 Credit Card Fees Charges 1% Credit Card Fees 38,503.80 Baron Service Station Partial of Income Statement for Year Ended 2009 (20%) Fuel Business Selesa Mart Revenue 19,251,897.60 Revenue 1,430,292.00 (-) Variable Cost Raw Material Cost 18,139,478.60 Evaporation Losses 83,613.27 COGS 1,144,233.60 Credit Card Fees 38,503.80 Royalty 71,514.60 Contribution Margin 990,301.93 Contribution Margin 214,543.80 Total Contribution Margin 1,204,845.73 (-) Fixed Cost 393,516.00 Nett Profit 811,329.73 Based on the calculation above, when the credit card sales been adjusted from 40% to 20% it will affect the overall profitability of the company. The income statement showed the increase of net profit from RM 772,825.94 to RM 811,329.73 of RM 38,503.79.When the credit card sales decrease, a 1% fees was charged by the banks also will reduce and this effect the variable cost for the company from before change cost is RM 18,300,099.46 to after change cost of RM 18,261,595.67. The difference between both of the cost and company managed to save is RM 38,503.79. The increasing of the amount in using credit card to make payment in the  petrol station will also increase the cost of credit card fees that need to pay to banks, indirectly it will give effect to the profitability of the station. The profit of the station will decrease due to the increasing of cost. If increasing of customers chooses to make payment by cash instead of credit card, then the profitability of the petrol station will increases, because the extra cost on the credit card sales that they bear will be reduce. To cover the problem, petrol stations can shift the cost of credit card charge by charges back the customer when they use cards. However petrol stations need to take risk that they maybe will losing customer. Customer maybe will decide to change to other petrol stations that do not have any charge when they use credit card to make payment. Petrol station also can offer a cash-only discount. This may attract more customer make payment by using cash. 5. What is the appropriate basis to allocate the cashier cost between four products Ron 95, Ron 97, diesel and SelesaMart? To assign the costs of products, we use cost allocation as it is a tool that can helps manager to track the cost that associated more efficient. Costs are allocated to obtain desired motivation because it sometimes made to influence management behaviour and thus promote goal congruence and managerial effort. Instead, it is used to compute income and asset valuations and to justify costs or obtain reimbursement because sometimes prices are based directly on costs, or it may be necessary to justify an accepted bid. From the information given in the case, GEZ petrol station conducted two main business which is the fuel business and the convenience store business, known as SelesaMart. Since GEZ provide joint provide, thus the appropriate basis is sales value at split-off point. The table shown below is the summary of monthly average sales. PRODUCTS SALES PROPORTION AMOUNT Fuel Business 94.12% RM 1,600,000 Petrol Ron 95 79% RM 1,264,000 Petrol Ron 97 2% RM 32,000 Diesel 19% RM 304,000 SelesaMart 5.88% RM 100,000 AVERAGE SALES (monthly) 100% RM 1, 700,000 Table 5.1 Monthly average sales in 2009 The total monthly average sales given is RM 1,700,000 with RM 1,600,000 was generated from the fuel business and the remaining from SelesaMart which in RM100,000. The highest contribution in fuel business in Petrol Ron 95 with RM 1,264,000 and follow with Diesel which is RM 304,000 then Petrol Ron 97 with RM 32,000. Then, we need to calculate total revenue for R95, R97, Diesel and Selesamart. Thus we multiply sales per litre with price per litre to get the amount of revenue. As stated in the case the sales revenue that BSS generated is RM20,682,189.60 that are comprise RM19,251,897.60 of fuel sales and RM1,430,292 of SelesaMart sales. The calculation can be summarizes as the table shown below : R95 R97 Diesel SelesaMart Sales (Litres) 8,459,604 174,576 2,037,072 – Price per litre (RM) 1.80 2.05 1.80 – Revenue RM15,227,287.20 RM357,880.80 RM3,666,729.60 RM1,430,292.00 Percentage (%) 73.63% 1.73% 17.73% 6.92% Table 5.2 Total revenue and percentage For BSS, they can allocate more cost to Petrol Ron 95 since it contribute the highest revenue which is RM 15,277,287.20 continue with Diesel with RM 3,666,729.60. For Petrol Ron 97 and SalesaMart, BSS can allocate less cost since it contributed only RM357,880.80 and RM1,430,292. In BSS there were two cashiers working at the sales counter. One will concentrate on the fuel transactions, and one for the shop, even though they handle both transactions at times and overall there were 6 cashiers working for BSS. Monthly salary per person for the cashier is RM950. So BSS shall pay RM5,700 to their 6 cashiers and RM68, 400 in annually. The appropriate basis to allocate the cashier cost between the four products RON95, RON97, diesel and SelesaMart is we calculated the revenue for the four products and we divided with the total sales to find the percentage for each products. So the percentage for product RON95 is 73.63%, RON97 is 1.73%, diesel is 17.73% and SelesaMart with 6.92%. The total revenue for Petrol Ron 95, Petrol Ron 97, Diesel and SelesaMart is RM20, 682,189.60. After we find the percentage, we calculated the cashier  cost for each product. To find the cashier cost, we multiple the percentage with the total annual salary for the cashier which is RM 68,400(RM 950 x 6 x 12). The result is, for the product RON95 the cashier cost is RM50, 359.58 followed by RON97 is RM1, 183.58, diesel is RM12, 126.58 and SelesaMart is RM4, 730.25. The total cashier cost is RM68, 400. The calculations can be summarize as shown in table below : R95 R97 Diesel SelesaMart Percentage (%) 73.63% 1.73% 17.73% 6.92% Cashier Cost RM50,359.58 RM1,183.58 RM12,126.58 RM4,730.25 Table 5.3 Percentage and cashier cost The choice of method for allocating common costs should depend on the ease of application, the perceived quality of information reported to external parties, and the perceived fairness of the allocation when multiple product managers are responsible for joint products. However, as discussed above, the allocation of common costs is arbitrary, and no method is conceptually preferable to any other method. All methods of allocating common costs across joint products are generally useless for operational, marketing, and product pricing decisions. 6. Is utility cost fixed or variable? What difference does it make to the breakeven point of Ron 95 if it is classified as i) fixed cost, and ii) variable cost? In our opinion utility cost is fixed cost. This is because,  the cost will be relatively the same as it was used for all the time. This cost wont effect the unit sold even though it not used. Utility cost as FC Utility cost as VC BEP (RM) 5,024,702.71 4,154,075.59 BEP (UNIT) 2,791,501.50 2,307,819.77 If the utility is fixed cost, the Break Even Point in RM is higher compare to the utility cost as variable cost. Same goes to the Break Even Point in Unit, which is the utility as fixed cost is higher compare to the utility as variable cost. CONCLUSION Regarding this case, from the cost-volume-profit analysis, Rizal can find that the breakeven point which is how much sales the petrol station of this type should generate from each of the fuel products and the Selesamart. Mr. Aiman also can learn that the importance of differentiate between fixed cost and variable cost so that the petrol stations can sustain their profitable business and growth. If the utility is fixed cost, the Break Even Point in RM is higher compare to the utility cost as variable cost which is RM5,024,702.71 compared to RM4,154,075.59 . Same goes to the Break Even Point in Unit, which is the utility as fixed cost is higher , 2,791,501.50 compare to the utility as variable cost 2,307,819.77 To assign the costs of products, we use cost allocation as it is a tool that can helps manager to track the cost that associated more efficient. Costs are allocated to obtain desired motivation because it sometimes made to influence management behaviour and thus promote goal congruence and managerial effort. Instead,  it is used to compute income and asset valuations and to justify costs or obtain reimbursement because sometimes prices are based directly on costs, or it may be necessary to justify an accepted bid. From the information given in the case, GEZ petrol station conducted two main business which is the fuel business and the convenience store business, known as SelesaMart. Since GEZ provide joint provide, thus the appropriate basis is sales value at split-off point

Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies

The two novels, Animal Farm by George Orwell and Lord of the Flies by William Golding were both written over 50 years ago, meaning there is much to be said about both. All you have to do is type in the name of each of the novels into Google and out pops tonnes of information about each. If someone were to research enough of the two books they would be able to see that they are quite similar in plot and themes. Both books take a look at a newly built society which is slowly destroyed by the characters or people within them.The concept of one having power over the rest is what corrupts the societies and ends in death and adversity for all others within the society. The authors both use their characters in the novels to portray what society might be like in that type of situation and use their actions to demonstrate how it can fall apart if the correct steps are not taken to maintain a functioning society. Therefore, both authors show how power can corrupt a society and create great har dship for the people ruled through its stimulating characters and their fraught actions.The main characters in both of the books are the ones who ultimately cause the societies to crumble. In Animal Farm George Orwell uses pigs to satire the leadership of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky and how they manipulated their people into thinking what they are doing is right (NovelGuide). The pigs led a revolution on the farm owner to take the farm and leave it in the hands of all of the animals, instead of man. They stated that the farm would be run by the animals with no rules other then that to never act like a human (Orwell).Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which (Orwell 88). At the start of the revolution, there was no clear ‘leader’ of the anima ls and they did as they pleased, however the much smarter pigs started changing some of the rules that were set forth to make sure none of the animals would behave the way the humans had.The much smarter pigs took advantage of all of the other animals and started changing rules, giving them increasingly more power over the group. In the end, the power hungry pigs ended up becoming exactly what they set out to destroy, humans. The result of this corruption of power ended with a couple animals dying and others working night and day endlessly. In the novel Lord of the Flies author William Golding uses children lost on a deserted island to represent a newly formed society.Two boys choose to take different approaches to surviving on the island and running the rest of the group, so they split up into their own little societies. Jack, one of the leaders chooses a more violent role of surviving; he disagrees with the methods of Ralph (the other leader) and takes command of most of the boys (Golding). Jack began his adventure on the island as a normal boy just like any of the others, however after he was elected into power by all of his friends, it quickly got to his head. â€Å"I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them.After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things† (Golding 42). The power which is corrupting Jack causes him to do many things no person would think of doing while trying to survive (Bookrags). In the end, Jack’s power ended in the deaths of two boys and the utter destruction of an island. All in all, power was what lead the main characters in each of the novels to corrupt a society they had longed to be apart of, leading to deaths of others and the hardship of the rest.Both the pigs and Jack used manipulation and their power to control the others in their respective societies. Within Animal Farm the pigs used their smarts to out wit and manipulate the others into giving them power over the rest. When the revolution first happened, the animals established ‘The Seven Commandments’ which consisted of rules preventing any animal from acting like a human (Golding). Over time the farm animals grew suspicious of the pigs actions and reverted back to ‘The Seven Commandments’, which was no use since the pigs were the only ones that could read, and they changed the rules in their favour.‘It says, â€Å"No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets†,’ she announced finally. Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so (Orwell 42). Over time the pigs became more and more like the humans, and with no questions asked as well since none of the animals understood what the pigs were up too. The pigs used the saying â€Å"Four legs good, two legs bad† to justify most of their actions to the less inte lligent animals (NeoEnglishSystem). The pigs rise to power andthe corruption of the animal farm was aided by the smarts the pigs possessed over the other less clever animals. In Lord of the Flies, main character Jack uses persuasion and other un-ethical tactics to recruit other children into joining his ‘group’. Some of these tactics include threatening and bribing the others in order for him to gain power over the majority of the kids on the island (Bookrags). Jack’s methods of gaining the majority of the boys on the island results in him having complete power of what goes on, on the island.â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! † (Golding 168). Jack orders an attack on the so called ‘monster’ that is living on the island with them. Without second guessing him, his tribe attacks the ‘monster’ which turns out to be one of the boys. All in all, the corruption of the others in the society by the leaders using manipul ation and other methods to gain power is what leads to the ultimate demolition of the two novels societies.Due to their mad hunt for power and the means they went through to achieve it, the pigs and Jack had a bunch of repercussions for their actions against their respective societies. The pigs used their brains as a way to gain power and control of their group of animals, however by doing this it resulted in the deaths of a couple of the animals as well as the expulsion of one of the other pigs (Orwell). About half the animals on the farm rushed out to the knoll where the windmill stood. There lay Boxer, between the shafts of the cart, his neck stretched out, unable to even raise his head.His eyes were glazed, his sides matted with sweat. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his mouth (Orwell 74). Even though the pigs are the ones that organized the revolution on the humans, they ended up becoming what they had feared. They over worked the other farm animals and made them thi nk it was all for a better cause (NeoEnglishSystem). Lord of the Flies’ main character Jack also had major repercussions for his actions. Jack did not put him self in the leadership role, he was chosen by Ralph to help him run the group of boys.Things quickly got out of hand for Jack and he soon wanted to lead all of the boys by himself instead of with Ralph. Jack’s actions to get into power are what corrupted the small society of boys and those actions came with the repercussions of death for two of the boys and the near death experience for another. If anyone peered under the bushes and chanced to glimpse human flesh it might be sameric who would pretend not to see and say nothing. He laid his cheek against the chocolate coloured earth, licked his dry lips and closed his eyes.Under the thicket, the earth was vibrating very slightly; or perhaps there was a sound beneath the obvious thunder of the fire and scribbled ululations that was too low to hear (Golding 220). Ja ck told his tribe that they needed to kill Ralph and the only way to find him was to burn the jungle down. Ralph ran for his life away from the blood thirsty tribe of children and the fire (Cliffnotes). Jack’s actions to gain power have dire repercussions for the two boys who ended up dying and Ralph who was chased and nearly killed if he had not ran into a Naval Officer.All in all, the actions of the main characters who attempted to gain power over the others in the society were what eventually lead to the corruption of both societies. In conclusion, both William Golding and George Orwell do an amazing job of demonstrating how power can corrupt a society by using their characters in their novels. Both of the novels give the reader an insightful look at how society might be if the leaders of our countries grew corrupt with the power that they held over the rest of society.

Argumentative Paper

Argumentative Paper Argumentative Paper Issue: Should there be a legal requirement for citizens of the U.S to vote in elections? Position: U.S citizens should not be legally required to vote in elections. Premise 1: Requiring U.S citizens to vote presents an inconvenience for the elderly, the young, and the poor. Premise 2: Requiring U.S citizens to vote would not be in the best interest of our country. Premise 3: Requiring U.S citizens to vote would contradict one of the three basic rights stated in the U.S Declaration of Independence- liberty. Requiring U.S citizens to vote presents an inconvenience for the elderly, the young, and the poor. The elderly are typically less mobile and depend on others to provide transportation, whether it is from their individual homes or a care facility. It is not always possible for this demographic to gain acces to transportation to their designated voting locations. While turning 18 gives one the legal right to vote, it is also a time when many move away for college or to gain employment thereby leaving their permanent address. It is an inconvenience for these young adults to leave college or their place of employment to travel for hours on end, to meet a one day voting deadline. When one is truly poor, there are many immediate needs that have to be met and voting is not a concern, in addition, many poor people frequently move and are unable to establish a permanent residence. Requiring U.S citizens to vote would not be in the best interest of our country. Mandatory voting would taint our election process; for if a citizen does not care enough to be informed on a candidate’s

6 Great Resume Tips How to Organize Your Resume’s Education Section

6 Great Resume Tips How to Organize Your Resume’s Education Section Is your resume’s Education section taking up too much space on your resume? Are you finding it hard to fit in all the information you think is important? Here are some of your resume Education section questions answered – maybe even questions you didn’t know you had! These tips will help you pack in lots of information without taking up half the space on your resume. 1. Should the Education section come first or last? If you are a new graduate from college or graduate school, or if you are applying to graduate school, your resume’s Education section generally goes FIRST on your resume (after your header). Why? Because it’s what you’ve done most recently, and/or it is most relevant. (If you  are unsure as to what is most relevant in your particular situation, ask an expert for advice.) If you have been in the working world for 2 years or more, your Experience section will more likely come first, and Education might be last or close to last on your resume. 2. Should I include dates in my Education section? The answer is, â€Å"It depends.† If you are a new graduate, especially if you’ve graduated from any school within the past five years, then it makes sense to include the date of your graduation or expected graduation. If you graduated more than 20 years ago, generally it’s recommended not to include the date of your graduation, as you could face age discrimination. If you are an older job seeker and also got a degree in the past few years, it can help to make you look younger if you put the date of your graduation on your resume. So consider your specific situation and make a considered judgment call. If you have questions, you might want to consider a resume review by The Essay Expert. 3. What should the basic format be? List your educational institutions in reverse chronological order, just as you do with your employment history. The most important part of each school section is the name of the school you attended. Put it in bold and/or Small Caps, followed by the city and state. Use the same format you use for your employers. Next put the degree you received. If you are anticipating a degree, write â€Å"Candidate for B.A,† â€Å"B.S. expected,† or â€Å"M.A. anticipated.† Fill in the appropriate degree of course. Here’s an example: You might like a centered format if your Education section is toward the end of the resume. For example: 4. Do I need a separate line for my GPA and for each of my honors? If you need to save space, there is no need to put your GPA and honors all on separate lines. You can combine these onto one line, and you can even put them on the same line as your major. How you combine things will depend on how much room you have on other lines. Here are some possibilities: BA in Political Science, cum laude, 2016 (GPA: 3.41) Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, concentration in Psychology, May 2015 Major GPA: 3.73; Cumulative GPA: 3.683 5. How should I list Honors  and Activities? You do not need an entirely separate section for either Honors or Activities. Only create these separate sections if you need to fill space! Instead, put them under the appropriate school. Do you have a lot of honors and/or activities? If you need space, you can group them together. For instance, you can have a bullet that says â€Å"Honors:† and name your honors, separated by semicolons. Then have a bullet that says â€Å"Activities:† and list your activities, separated by semicolons. Not sure how to handle the dates of all these things? Try putting them in parentheses after the honor or activity, and before the semicolon. Examples: Honors: Undergraduate Honors Thesis Research Grant (Honors Program award); Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society; Golden Key International Honour Society Honors: Dean’s List (2016-2019); Baylor University Alumni Scholarship (2015-2019); Greek Women’s Leadership Award (2009); Midwest Conference Academic All Conference Team (2018  and 2019) Activities: Latino/a Student Association, Secretary (2016-2017), Delegate/Community Service Committee (2015-2017); Mexican Student Organization, Social Chair (2015-2016); South American Student Association, Member (2014-2017) Activities: Varsity Women’s Basketball Team, Four Year Letter Winner; Pi Beta Phi Fraternity, Board Director (2016-2017) and Member (2014-2017); University Chapel Choir, Member (2014-2017) 6. Do I need a separate section for Study Abroad? No! Study abroad is part of your undergraduate education. It can be a bullet, or if you want to emphasize it because of your international interest or language ability, you can bold it. Do not put a space between your undergraduate degree section and the study abroad section, unless you need to fill space. Example of bullet format: [end of undergraduate section here]    Junior-year semester at University of East Anglia, Norwich, England (2015) Example of bolded section under undergraduate section: [end of undergraduate section here] Reid Hall, Columbia University, Paris, France Summer Study Abroad (Coursework: 19th Century French Painting, French Language) 7. How long should my resume’s Education section be? Unless you’ve earned five different degrees from five different schools already, your education section generally should take up a maximum of a third of a page. This means it’s important to get Experience to put on your resume and not rely on your Education to get you a job! Implementing these 6 suggestions will give you a great start on the Education section of your resume, making it both efficient and effective. Did these tips help you with your resume? Please comment below.

Catholic England under Mary Tudor Research Paper

Catholic England under Mary Tudor - Research Paper Example Eamon Duffy clearly posits that the Marian regime’s religious policies were effective and did not use violence differently to ensure her state policies than other English or European monarchs. In the book, the author states â€Å"I suggest that the Marian restoration of Catholicism had, in fact, displayed high levels of determination and resourcefulness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The author concentrates the attention on the religious ideology of Catholics, which was under the threat of extinction. Duffy explains that the religious revolution was initially predetermined by the financial reasons. The country managed to fall into deep debts and was in a very uncertain position. In the situation of the mass disorders, it was very easy to hide the intentions of the government, whose aim was to fulfill their recourses. To prove this idea, Duffy writes â€Å"in 1552, Edward’s government, desperate for war funds, had turned this religiously inspired repudiation of Catholic externals into a fiscal resource, and had carried through the largest government confiscation of local property in English history.† In this case, it becomes obvious that the reasons for religious revolution were not based on pure belief. Edward’s government ransacking Church property to raise money and Mary’s decision making. Mary was forced to be strict and firm at taking decisions. She understood the fact that no conservative reforms and address to the subjects of the country could provide the order in it.

Research Method in Management Science Assignment - 1

Research Method in Management Science - Assignment Example Basially, content analysis is utilized as a statistical exercise that supports the tagging of different types of behaviors in the cultures that are studied. The method of content analysis has different benefits for researchers who employ it. In the first place, it is a cost-effective method that is also unobstrusive. This method also allows the researcher to learn much about an organization’s financial status, objectives, and customer body in cases where management research is taking place (Siyaranamual, 2009). When used in concert with other research methods such as archival records and interviews, content analysis becomes even more powerful beause this method can easily be used to keep a record of any cultural adjustments that may take place over time. Content analysis also offers or supplies an objective account of incidents, themes, issues, or documented events which may not be visibly apparent to the researcher or viewer (West, 2009). Content analysis also makes it possible for researchers to use more efficient surveys which may have open-ended questions which encourage respondents to volunteer more information. Content analysis has in the past been used by researchers to conduct studies in different disciplines such as education, history, anthropology, and psychology. It is also often used to conduct studies on management concerns. In regards to management research, content analysis functions as an effective device for carrying out literature reviews in a transparent and systematic manner. In conducting organizational research using content analysis, researchers are also able to recover and scrutinize the nuances of stakeholder perceptions, corporate culture, and societal trends (Judge, Filatotchev, & Aguilera, 2010). In management research, the use of content analysis permits researchers to be able to examine aspects such as perceptual and social constructs that may be hard to evaluate

Arguement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Arguement - Essay Example Schier argues that this passivity among many citizens is due to change of politics from mobilization, as a method of winning power, support and control, to activation (7). Skocpol, on the other hand, explains the phenomenon in terms of change of American associational life (7-8). But a critical analysis and review of the two theories reveals that Schier’s theory is more plausible, while Skocpol’s theory is weak, untenable and highly flawed. To better expose the many flaws in Skocpol’s theory, let us first look in detail the different positions held by the two scholars. To begin with, let us look at the theory of Schier. Schier begins his argument by making a distinction between the terms mobilization, and activation. He defines mobilization as ‘’ the partisan method of stimulating very high turnout in elections during the peak party power that lasted from 1876-1892’’ (7). In contrast, he defines activation as, ‘’ the more c ontemporary method that parties, interest groups, and candidates employ to induce particular, finely targeted portions of public to become active in elections, demonstrations, and lobbying’’ (7). Schier goes on to show in detail how these two processes of winning power and control differ (8-9). First, the two processes differ in focus, whereby mobilization is inclusive while activation is exclusive and for a select few. Secondly, the two processes differ in agent or source of stimulation of the public, while mobilization was a heavily partisan process, dominated by strong party organizations and party messages, in activation thousands of different organisation and individuals attempt activation. Thirdly, the two processes differ in method. Mobilization involved broad appeals carried out through personal conversation, while activation is research driven and targets particular individuals. Lastly, the processes differ in their strategy, mobilization seeks to mobilise as many people as possible to help the given candidate to win elections, while activation targets just a small, well-informed segment of the society to advance a certain goal, for example to help in polls. As it can be seen from the above explanation, activation alienates some people, as it were, from the active politics, since it aims only at a particular, few members of the society while leaving out the vast majority of the society. This exclusion of some members, more often than not, leads to the ‘’inactivated’’ and excluded members of society becoming inactive and passive in politics. Skocpol, on the other hand, understood the cause of the increasing decline in active participation in national politics by the Americans, as the result of decline in American associational life. In the contemporary America, exclusive elite, and professionally managed organisations have replaced the former organisations of the last few decades which had open membership to all citizens, irrespective of one’s social class. The emergence of progressive movements in America played a big role in the change of associational life in America. Skocpol’s theory hinges on two main claims. First, she holds that in American society, social organisations and politics are closely related, such that change in associational life of the society would invariably lead to change in civic life. She goes on to argue that, over the last few decades, American social life has greatly changed, and this has led to the change in American social civic life (6). Unlike in

The Physical Soil Properties Environmental Sciences Essay

The Physical Soil Properties Environmental Sciences Essay Soils are composed of five main components mineral particles derived from rocks by weathering; organic materials humus from dead and decaying plant material; soil water in which nutrient elements are dissolved; soil air both carbon dioxide and oxygen; and living organisms including bacteria that help plant decomposition. Soils differ in their fertility levels, because they have different proportions of these components and because the mineral particles have been affected to different degrees by weathering. Age of soil minerals, prevailing temperatures, rainfall, leaching and soil physico-chemistry are the main factors which determine how much a particular soil will weather (Sinha and Shrivastava, 2000). Soil thus, is important to everyone either directly or indirectly. It is the natural bodies on which agricultural products grow and it has fragile ecosystem (Sinha and Shrivastava, 2000). South Africa ranks among the countries with the highest rate of income inequality in the world (Aliber, 2009). Compared to other middle income countries, it has extremely high levels of absolute poverty and food insecurity threat (FAO, 2009). As part of this, a potential contributor to food security might be small-scale agricultural production. Aliber (2009) indicated that input support targeting smallholder farmers could boost production and food security. Utilisation of uncultivated arable lands and subsistence agriculture might be one option to contribute to incomes and/or savings, as well as to encourage food diversification (Altman et al., 2009). Land with high agricultural suitability is considered to have greater long-term security with regards to both agricultural production and development. From a planning perspective, high agricultural flexibility is therefore considered an appropriate measure of high quality agricultural land that is highly productive and fertile. Only a small proportion of worlds soils have a very good level of fertility, most of which have only good to medium fertility and some have very low fertility, and are often referred to as marginal soils (Ashman and Puri, 2002). Well-known fertile soils are deep alluvial soils formed from river mud, organic matter- rich soils on loess material, nutrient rich Vertisols and volcanic soils (Brady and Weil, 2004). Under poor management, soil fertility can be seriously depleted and soils may become useless for agriculture. 2.2. SOIL PHYSICO-CHEMISTRY Soil is a natural medium on which agricultural products grow and it is dependent on several factors such as fertility to be considered productive (Shah et al., 2011). The fertility of the soil is depended on concentration of soil nutrients, organic and inorganic materials and water. These soil physico-chemical properties are classified as being physical, chemical and biological, which greatly influence soil fertility (Ramaru et al., 2000). To manage soil fertility, knowledge and understanding of these properties is required (as discussed below). 2.2.1. Physical soil properties (i) Soil texture Soil texture refers to the relative proportions of the various size groups of individual particles or grains in a soil (Rowell, 1994). It is dependent on the mixture of the different particle sizes present in the soil. Based on these different sizes, soil particles are classified as sand (0.05- 2mm), silt (0.002-0,5mm) and clay ( Clay particles hold larger quantities of water and nutrients, because of their large surface areas (Brady and Weil, 1999). This property causes the swelling and shrinking of clay soils, but only those with smectitic group of clay minerals. The large surface area of clay particles gives nutrients numerous binding sites especially when the surface charge density is high, which is part of the reason that fine textured soils have such high abilities to retain nutrients (Velde, 1995). The pores between clay particles are very small and complex, so movement of both air and water is very slow (Brady and Weil, 1999). Clay particles are negatively charged because of their mineralogical composition. Soils with such particles usually have high CEC and can retain water and plant nutrients; thus such soils are considered to be fertile and good for plant growth (Brady and Weil, 1999). The knowledge of the proportions of different-sized particles in soils is critical to understand soil behavior and their management. Since sand particles are relatively large, so are the voids between them, which promote free drainage of water and entry of air into the soil (Brady and Weil, 2002). The implication of free drainage in sandy soil is that soil nutrients are easily washed down into the soil and become inaccessible for use by plants (Brady and Weil, 2002). Sandy soils are considered non-cohesive and because of their large size, have low specific surface areas and thus have low nutrient retention capacity (Rowell, 1994). Sand particles can hold little water due to low specific surface area and are prone to drought, therefore have a very low CEC and fertility status (Petersen et al., 1996). The pores between silt particles are much smaller than those in sand, so silt retains more water and nutrients (Rowell, 1994). Soils dominated by silt particles therefore have a higher fertility status than sandy soils and provides favorable conditions for plant growth when other growth factors are favorable (Miller and Donahue, 1992). (ii) Soil structure The term soil structure refers to the arrangement of soil particles into aggregates (Six et al., 2000). Soil structure is affected by biological activities, organic matter, and cultivation practices (Rowell, 1994). It influences soil water movement and retention, erosion, nutrient recycling, sealing and crusting of the soil surface, together with aeration and soils structural stability, root penetration and crop yield (Lupwayi et al., 2001). Soil structure can be platy, prismatic, granular, crumbly, columnar and blocky (RCEP, 1996). An ideal soil structure for plant growth is often described as granular or crumb-like, because it provides good movement for air and water through a variety of different pore sizes and it also affects root penetration (RCEP, 1996). An ideal soil structure is also stable and resistant to erosion (Duiker et al., 2003). Organic matter and humification processes improve structural stability, and can rebuild degraded soil structures (Brady and Weil, 1999). Therefore it is vital to return or add organic material to the soil and to maintain its biological activity in order to enhance soil structure for plant growth. Favorable soil structure and high aggregate stability are therefore vital to improving soil fertility, increasing agronomic productivity, enhancing porosity and decreasing erodibility. (iii) Water retention capacity Water holding capacity refers to the quantity of water that the soil is capable of storing for use by plants (Brady and Weil, 1999). Soil water is held in, and flows through pore spaces in soils. Soil water can be described into the following stages: gravitational, capillary, and hygroscopic, based upon the energy with which water is held by the soil solids, which in turn governs their behavior and availability to plants (Rowell, 1994). Water holding capacity is an important factor in the choice of plants or crops to be grown and in the design and management of irrigation systems (Brady and Weil, 1999). The total amount of water available to plants growing in field soils is a function of the rooting depth of the plant and sum of the water held between field capacity and wilting percentage in each of the horizons explored by the roots (Brady and Weil, 1999). Field capacity is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in soil after excess water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased, which usually takes place within 2-3 days after a rain or irrigation in pervious soils of uniform structure and texture (Govers, 2002). The ability of the soil to provide water for plants is an important fertility characteristic (RCEP, 1996). The capacity for water storage varies, depending on soil properties such as organic matter, soil texture, bulk density, and soil structure (RCEP, 1996). This is explained by the degree of soil compaction, where problems will arise if excessive compaction occurs which would results in increased bulk density, a decrease in porosity and aeration and poor water drainage (Gregory et al., 2006), all resulting in poor plant growth. (iv) Electrical Conductivity (EC) Soil electrical conductivity (EC), is the ability of soil to conduct electrical current (Doerge, 1999). EC is expressed in milliSiemens per meter (mS/m) or cm (cm/m). Traditionally, soil scientists used EC to estimate soil salinity (Doerge, 1999). EC measurements also have the potential for estimating variation in some of the soil physical properties such as soil moisture and porosity, in a field where soil salinity is not a problem (Farahani and Buchleiter, 2004). Soil salinity refers to the presence of major dissolved inorganic solutes in the soil aqueous phase, which consist of soluble and readily dissolvable salts including charged species (e.g., Na+, K+, Mg+2, Ca+2, Clà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, HCO3à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, NO3à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, SO4à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢2 and CO3à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢2), non-ionic solutes, and ions that combine to form ion pairs (Smith and Doran, 1996). Salt tolerances are usually given in terms of the stage of plant growth over a range of electrical conductivity (EC) levels. EC greater than 4dS/m are considered saline (Munshower, 1994). Salt sensitive plants may be affected by conductivities below 4dS/m and salt tolerant species may not be impacted by concentrations of up to twice this maximum agricultural tolerance limit (Munshower, 1994). Electrical conductivity is the ability of a solution to transmit an electrical current. The conduction of electricity in soil takes place through the moisture-filled pores that occur between individual soil particles. Therefore, the EC of soil is determined by the following soil properties (Doerge, 1999): . Porosity, where the greater soil porosity, the more easily electricity is conducted. Soil with high clay content has higher porosity than sandier soil. Compaction normally increases soil EC. . Water content, dry soil is much lower in conductivity than moist soil. . Salinity level, increasing concentration of electrolytes (salts) in soil water will dramatically increase soil EC. . Cation exchange capacity (CEC), mineral soil containing high levels of organic matter (humus) and/or 2:1 clay minerals such as montmorillonite, illite, or vermiculite have a much higher ability to retain positively charged ions (such as Ca, Mg, K, Na, NH4, or H) than soil lacking these constituents. The presence of these ions in the moisture-filled soil pores will enhance soil EC in the same way that salinity does. . Temperature, as temperature decreases toward the freezing point of water, soil EC decreases slightly. Below freezing, soil pores become increasingly insulated from each other and overall soil EC declines rapidly. Plants are detrimentally affected, both physically and chemically, by excess salts in some soils and by high levels of exchangeable Na in others. Soils with an accumulation of exchangeable Na are often characterized by poor tilth and low permeability and therefore low soil fertility status, making them unfavorable for plant growth (Munshower, 1994). (v) Bulk Density (BD) Soil bulk density is defined as the mass of dry soil (g) per unit volume (cm3) and is routinely used as a measure of soil compaction (Gregory et al., 2006). The total volume includes particle volume, inter-particle void volume and internal pore volume (Gregory et al., 2006). Bulk density takes into account solid space as well as pore space (Greenland, 1998). Thus soils that are porous or well-aggregated (e.g. clay soil) will have lower bulk densities than soils that are not aggregated (sand) (Greenland, 1998). Plant roots cannot penetrate compacted soil as freely as they would in non-compacted soil, which limits their access to water and nutrients present in sub-soil and inhibits their growth (Hagan et al., 2010). Compacted soil requires more frequent applications of irrigation and fertilizer to sustain plant growth, which can increase runoff and nutrient levels in runoff (Gregory et al., 2006). The bulk density of soil depends greatly on the soils mineral make up and the degree of compaction. High bulk density usually indicate a poorer environment for root growth, reduced aeration and undesirable changes in hydrologic function, such as reduced infiltration (Brady and Weil, 1999). The presence of soil organic matter, which is considerably lighter than mineral soil, can help decrease bulk density and thereby enhancing soil fertility (Hagan et al., 2010). 2.2.2. Soil Chemical properties Soil chemical properties which include the concentrations of nutrients, cations, anions, ion exchange reactions and redox properties, but for the purpose of this study focus will be based on properties that have an implication on soil fertility including: (i) Soil pH Soil pH is an important soil property that affects several soil reactions and processes and is defined as a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil (Bohn, 2001). It has considerable effect on soil processes including ion exchange reactions and nutrient availability (Rowell, 1994). Soil pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14, where a pH of 7.0 is considered neutral, readings higher than 7.0 are alkaline, and readings lower than 7.0 are considered acidic (McGuiness, 1993). Most plants are tolerant of a pH range of 5.5-6.5 which is near neutral pH range (Bohn, 2001). Soil pH is one of the most important characteristics of soil fertility, because it has a direct impact on nutrient availability and plant growth. Most nutrients are more soluble in acid soils than in neutral or slightly alkaline soils (Bohn, 2001). In strongly acidic soils the availability of macronutrients (Ca, Mg, K, P, N and S) as well as molybdenum and boron is reduced. In contrast, availability of micronutrient cations (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and Al) is increased by low soil pH, even to the extent of toxicity of higher plants and microorganisms (Bohn, 2001). The pH of a soil is also reported to affect so many other soil properties (Brady and Weil, 1999), including nutrient availability, effects on soil organisms, fungi thrive in acidic soils, CEC and plant preferences of either acidic or alkaline soils. Most plants prefer alkaline soils, but there are a few which need acidic soils and will die if placed in an alkaline environment (Brady and Weil, 1999). (ii) Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) Cation exchange capacity is defined as the sum of the total of the exchangeable cations that a soil can hold or adsorb (Brady and Weil, 1999). A cation is a positively charged ion and most nutrients cations are: Ca2+, Mg2+, K +, NH4+, Zn2+, Cu2+, and Mn2+. These cations are in the soil solution and are in dynamic equilibrium with the cations adsorbed on the surface of clay and organic matter (Brady and Weil, 1999). Clay and organic matter are the main sources of CEC (Peinemann et al., 2002). The more clay and organic matter (humus) a soil contains, the higher its CEC and the greater the potential fertility of that soil. CEC varies according to the type of clay. It is highest in montmorillonite clay, lowest in heavily weathered kaolinite clay and slightly higher in the less weathered illite clay (Peinemann et al., 2002). Sand particles have no capacity to exchange cations because it has no electrical charge (Brady and Weil, 1999). CEC is used as a measure of soil nutrient retention capacity, and the capacity to protect groundwater from cation contamination (Brady and Weil, 1999). It buffers fluctuations in nutrient availability and soil pH (Bergaya and Vayer, 1997). Plants obtain many of their nutrients from soil by an electrochemical process called cation exchange. This process is the key to understanding soil fertility (Rowell, 1994). Nutrients that are held by charges on a soil are termed exchangeable as they become readily available to plants (Rowell, 1994).The higher the CEC of a soil, the more nutrients it is likely to hold and the higher will be its fertility level (Fullen and Catt, 2004). Factors affecting cation exchange capacity The factors affecting cation exchange capacity include the following (Brady and Weil 1999), soil texture, soil humus content, nature of clay and soil reaction. Soil texture influences the CEC of soils in a way that it increases when soils percentage of clay increases i.e. the finer the soil texture, the higher the CEC as indicated in Table 2. CEC depends on the nature of clay minerals present, since each mineral has its own capacity to exchange and hold cations e.g. the CEC of a soil dominated by vermiculite is much higher than the CEC of another soil dominated by kaolinite, as vermiculite is high activity clay unlike kaolinte which is low activity clay. When the pH of soil increases, more H+ ions dissociate from the clay minerals especially kaolinite, thus the CEC of soil dominated by kaolinite also increases. CEC varies according to the type of soil. Humus, the end product of decomposed organic matter, has the highest CEC value because organic matter colloids have large quantities of negative charges. Humus has a CEC two to five times greater than montmorillonite clay and up to 30 times greater than kaolinite clay, so is very important in improving soil fertility. Table 2.1: CEC values for different soil textures (Brady and Weil, 1999) Soil texture CEC range (meq/100g soil) Sand 2-4 Sandy loam 2-12 Loam 7-16 Silt loam 9-26 Clay, clay loam 4-60 (iii) Organic Matter The importance of soil organic matter in relation to soil fertility and physical condition is widely recognized in agriculture. However, organic matter contributes to the fertility or productivity of the soil through its positive effects on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil (Rowell, 1994), as follows: physical stabilizes soil structure, improves water holding characteristics, lowers bulk density, dark color may alter thermal properties; chemical higher CEC, acts as a pH buffer, ties up metals, interacts with biological supplies energy and body-building constituents for soil organisms, increases microbial populations and their activities, source and sink for nutrients, ecosystem resilience, affects soil enzymes. Soil organic matter consists of a wide range of organic substances, including living organisms, carboneous remains of organisms which once occupied the soil, and organic compounds produced by current and past metabolism of the soil (Brady and Weil, 1999). Soil organic matter plays a critical role in soil processes and is a key element of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) (Brady and Weil, 2004). Organic matter is widely considered to be the single most important indicator of soil fertility and productivity (Rowell, 1994). It consists primarily of decayed or decaying plant and animal residues and is a very important soil component. Benefits of Organic matter in soil according to Ashman and Puri, (2002) include: increasing the soils cation exchange capacity and acting as food for soil organisms from bacteria to worms and is an important component in the nutrient and carbon cycles. Organic matter, like clay, has a high surface area and is negatively charged with a high CEC, making it an excellent supplier of nutrients to plants. In addition, as organic matter decomposes, it releases nutrients such as N, P and S that are bound in the organic matters structure, essentially imitating a slow release fertilizer (Myers, 1995). Organic matter can also hold large amounts of water, which helps nutrients move from soil to plant roots (Mikkuta, 2004). An important characteristic of organic matter in soil fertility is C: N ratio. The C: N ratio in organic matter of arable surface horizons commonly ranges from 8:1 to 15:1, the median being near 12:1 (Brady and Weil, 1999). The C:N ratio in organic residues applied to soils is important for two reasons: intense competition among the micro-organisms for available soil nitrogen which occurs when residues having a high C:N ratio are added to soils and it also helps determine their rate of decay and the rate at which nitrogen is made available to plants (Brady and Weil, 1999). (iv) Plant Nutrients Plants require 13 plant nutrients (Table 2.2) (micro and macro nutrients) for their growth. Each is equally important to the plant, yet each is required in vastly different amounts (Ronen, 2007). Essential elements are chemical elements that plants need in order to complete their normal life cycle (Scoones and Toulhim, 1998). The functions of these elements in the plant cannot be fulfilled by another, thus making each element essential for plant growth and development (Scoones and Toulhim, 1998). Essential nutrients are divided into macro and micronutrients as illustrated in Table 3. Macronutrients are those that are required in relatively high quantities for plant growth and can be distinguish into two sub groups, primary and secondary ones, (Uchida and Silva, 2000). The primary macro-elements are most frequently required for plant growth and also needed in the greatest total quantity by plants. For most crops, secondary macro nutrients are needed in lesser amounts than the primary nutrients. The second group of plant nutrients which are micronutrients are needed only in trace amounts (Scoones and Toulhim, 1998). These micronutrients are required in very small amounts, but they are just as important to plant development and profitable crop production as the major nutrients (Ronen, 2007). Classification Element Function in plant growth Source Deficiency symptoms and toxicities Macro nutrients Primary Nitrogen (N) Chlorophyll and Protein formation Air/Soil, applied fertilisers Slow growth, stunted plants, chlorosis, low protein content Phosphorus (P) Photosynthesis, Stimulates early growth and root formation, hastens maturity Soil and applied fertilisers Slow growth, delayed crop maturity, purplish green coloration of leaves Potassium (K) Photosynthesis and nzyme activity, starch and sugar formation, root growth Soil and applied fertilisers Slow growth, Reduced disease or pest resistance, development of white and yellow spots on leaves Macro nutrients secondary Calcium (Ca) Cell growth and component of cell wall Soil Weakened stems, death of plants growing points, abnormal dark green appearance on foliage Magnesium (Mg) Enzyme activation, photosynthesis and influence Nitrogen metabolism Soil Interveinal chlorosis in older leaves, curling of leaves, stunted growth, Sulfur (S) Amino acids, proteins and nodule formation Soil and animal manure Interveinal chlorosis on corn leaves, retarded growth, delayed maturity and light green to yellowish color in young leaves Micronutrients essential Iron (Fe) Photosynthesis, chlorophyll synthesis, constituent of various enzymes and proteins Soil Interveinal chlorosis, yellowing of leaves between veins, twig dieback, death of entire limp or plants Manganese (Mn) Enzyme activation, metabolism of nitrogen and organic acids, formation of vitamins and breakdown of carbohydrates Soil Interveinal chlorosis of young leaves, gradation of pale green coloration with darker color next to veins Zinc (Zn) Enzymes and auxins component, protein synthesis, used in formation of growth hormones Soil Mottled leaves, dieback twigs, decrease in stem length Copper (Cu) Enzyme activation, catalyst for respiration Soil Stunted growth, poor pigmentation, wilting of leaves Boron (B) Reproduction Soil Thickened, curled, wilted and chlorotic leaves; reduced flowering Molybdenum (Mo) Nitrogen fixation; nitrate reduction and plant growth Soil Stunting and lack of vigor (induced by nitrogen deficiency), scorching, cupping or rolling of leaves Chlorine (Cl) Root growth, photosynthetic reactions Soil Wilting followed by chlorosis, excessive branching of lateral roots, bronzing of leaves Additional nutrients Carbon (C) Constituent of carbohydrates and photosynthesis Air/ Organic matter Hydrogen (H) Maintains osmotic balance and constituent of carbohydrates Water/Organic matter Oxygen (O) Constituent of carbohydrates and necessary for respiration Air/Water/ Organic matter Table 2.2: Essential plant elements, their sources and role in plants (Ronen,2007) Deficiency of any of these essential nutrients will retard plant development (Brady and Weil, 2004). Deficiencies and toxicities of nutrients in soil present unfavorable conditions for plant growth, such as: poor growth, yellowing of the leaves and possibly the death of the plant as illustrated in Table 3 (Ahmed et al., 1997). Therefore proper nutrient management is required to achieve maximum plant growth, maximum economic and growth response by the crop, and also for minimum environmental impact. In addition to the nutrients listed above, plants require carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are extracted from air and water to make up the bulk of plant weight (Brady and Weil, 1999). Achieving balance between the nutrient requirements of plants and the nutrient reserves in soils is essential for maintaining soil fertility and high yields, preventing environmental contamination and degradation, and sustaining agricultural production over the long term. 2.2.3. Soil Biological properties (i) Soil organisms Soil organisms include mostly microscopic living organisms such as bacteria and fungi which are the foundation of a healthy soil because they are the primary decomposer of organic matter (Brady and Weil, 1999). Soil organisms are grouped into two namely soil microorganisms and soil macro organisms (Table 2.3). Table 2.3: Soil Macro and microorganisms and their role in plant and soil (Brady and Weil, 1999) Classification Organisms Function in plant and/or soil Source Microorganisms Bacteria Decomposition of organic matter Soil surface and humus particles Actinomycetes Source of protein and enhance soil fertility Surface layers of grass lands Fungi Fix atmospheric nitrogen and enhance soil fertility Soil (without organic matter) Algae Add organic matter to soil, improve aeration of swamp soils, and fix atmospheric nitrogen Moist soils Macro-organisms Nematodes They can be applied to crops in large quantities as a biological insecticide Soil and plant roots Earthworms Enhance soil fertility and structural stability Aerated soils Ants and termites Soil development Dominant in tropical soils Soil can contain millions of organisms that feed off decaying material such as old plant material, mulch unprocessed compost (Ashman and Puri, 2002), Microorganisms constitute Soil organic matter is the main food and energy source of soil microorganisms (Ashman and Puri, 2002). Through decomposition of organic matter, microorganisms take up their food elements. Organic matter also serves as a source of energy for both macro and micro organisms and helps in performing various beneficial functions in soil, resulting in highly productive soil (Mikutta et al., 2004). Macro-organisms such as insects, other arthropods, earthworms and nematodes live in the soil and have an important influence on soil fertility (Amezketa, 1999). They ingest soil material and relocate plant material and form burrows. The effects of these activities are variable. Macro-organisms improve aeration, porosity, infiltration, aggregate stability, litter mixing, improved N and C stabilization, C turnover and carbonate reduction and N mineralization, nutrient availability and metal mobility (Amezketa, 1999; Winsome and McColl, 1998 and Brown et al., 2000). The various groups of soil organisms do not live independently of each other, but form an interlocked system more or less in equilibrium with the environment (Brady and Weil, 1999). Their activity in soil depend on moisture content, temperature, soil enzymes, dissolution of soil minerals and breakdown of toxic chemicals. All have a tremendous role in the development of soil fertility (Alam, 2001). Their actions involve the formation of structural systems of the soils which help in the increase of agricultural productivity (Alam, 2001). 2.3. SOIL CLAY MINERALOGY The clay fraction of soil is dominated by clay minerals which control important soil chemical properties including sorption characteristics of soils (Dixon and Schulze, 2002). Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic compounds, with defined chemical and physical properties (Velde, 1995). Minerals that are formed in the depths of a volcano are called primary minerals (Pal et al., 2000). Feldspar, biotite, quartz and hornblende are examples of primary minerals. These minerals and the rocks made from them are often not stable when exposed to the weathering agents at the surface of the earth (Dixon and Schulze, 2002). These rocks are broken down (weathered) continuously into small pieces by exposure to physical and chemical weathering processes (Dixon and Schulze, 2002). Some of the elements that are released during weathering, reform and crystallise in a different structure forming secondary minerals (Melo et al., 2002). Secondary minerals tend to be much smaller in particle size than primary minerals, and are most commonly found in the clay fraction of soils (Guggenheim and Martin, 1995). Soil clay fractions often contain a wide range of secondary minerals such as kaolinite, montmorillonite and aluminum hydrous oxides, whereas the sand or silt particles of soils are dominated by relatively inert primary minerals. The clay fraction is usually dominated by secondary minerals which are more chemically active and contribute the most to soil fertility (Melo et al., 2002). Two major secondary mineral groups, clay minerals and hydrous