Hobbies Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hobbies - Article Example I love McDonalds, and Starbucks is my home away from home. Some people like to collect to stamps, some like to paint'..I like to eat. Simple! I have yet another hobby that most people aren't aware off. I'm a serial killer!! Yes I'm the same person who some people and even animals are afraid off. Yes...and that's because I kill mosquitoes. I have a record hunting spree of killing 103 mosquitoes in a single hour. I kill by the dozen and that too with my bare hands. And I enjoy it. Weird right' Well that's me! Oh I left the favorite hobby of mine for the last. This is the most normal hobby that I have and it's a kind of hobby that most people have. Yes I'm talking about reading books. Bookworm sounds too nerdy, yet if it had been something cool, I would be a a proud bookworm. But obviously I read E-books. Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, Stephan Kings, Dan Browns'.you name it and I most probably would have read it. I suppose you weren't expecting such a normal hobby from me, right' Wel l, I have to say it again'that's me '

ASSIGNMENTREADING SKILL PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ASSIGNMENTREADING SKILL - PowerPoint Presentation Example Since she can afford to spend more on her food and "tube", we can assume she has some back-up financial arrangement to fall back upon in case of need. Moreover, she had been doing this job out of curiosity and adventure instead of a real need; therefore it would be safe to think she was leading a comfortable life outside the hotel. 4(b) The dissatisfaction among the workers at the hotel was at its peak. The employees were under-paid and never happy with their wages. They had reservations about unpaid hours and little bonuses as they were hardly making both ends meet. There were also concerns about the nature of job they were doing as most of them would not want to perform the toilet-cleaning and similar kind of chores. 5 I think both writers have given a balanced picture of life on the minimum wage. Article 1 gives the experiences of people coming from different backgrounds; nevertheless they are working under the same roof and leading their lives in the same city. The general economic and social environment is same for the whole set of people and all of them are getting the same "minimum wage". Furthermore, the writer has not compared the situation to other countries. Similarly in the second article, the writer has compared the situation in different countries but in the similar economic conditions.

Social Gradient In Health Health And Social Care Essay

Social Gradient In Health Health And Social Care Essay The current world is explicitly divided into developed world characterized by having ultra-modern technological advancement, most efficient communication system, better health care and income opportunities and under developed region with completely opposite scenarios. This huge inequality among the countries depicted in huge differences in health and wellbeing of the populations.. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is a 36 years variation between the life expectancy among the countries. The life expectancy of Malawi is only 47 years while in case of Japan it is 83 years. WHO has declared that there is no biological or genetic reason for [the] alarming differences in health and life opportunity. The unequal scenario of health status, however, not only persists between countries, but also evident within countries, and surprisingly almost all countries irrespective of rich or poor. There is a distinct differentiation in the health status among people of different so cio-economic status (SES). Generally, people with higher SES tend to have better health than that of lower SES (Whitehall Study). That is health status is directly related to social status. This fact is referred to as the social gradient in health ( Kosteniuk and Dickinson, 2003). Since health inequalities are evident despite significant improvement in overall health of the populace, it has become the pivotal agenda in the health policy planning and management. Social Gradient in Health The social gradient in heath refers to the fact that inequalities in population health status are related to inequalities in social status (Kosteniuk and Dickinson, 2003).The poorest of the poor, around the world, have the worst health. Within countries, the evidence shows that in general the lower an individuals socioeconomic position the worse their health. There is a social gradient in health that runs from top to bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum. This is a global phenomenon, seen in low, middle and high income countries. The social gradient in health means that health inequities affect everyone. Health inequities, in particular, are avoidable inequalities in health between groups of people within countries and between countries. These inequities arise from inequalities within and between societies (WHO). Below are some examples of health inequities between and within countries extracted from WHO: the infant mortality rate (the risk of a baby dying between birth and one year of age) is 2 per 1000 live births in Iceland and over 120 per 1000 live births in Mozambique; the lifetime risk of maternal death during or shortly after pregnancy is only 1 in 17 400 in Sweden but it is 1 in 8 in Afghanistan. Examples of health inequities within countries: in Bolivia, babies born to women with no education have infant mortality greater than 100 per 1000 live births, while the infant mortality rate of babies born to mothers with at least secondary education is under 40 per 1000; life expectancy at birth among indigenous Australians is substantially lower (59.4 for males and 64.8 for females) than that of non-indigenous Australians (76.6 and 82.0, respectively); life expectancy at birth for men in the Calton neighbourhood of Glasgow is 54 years, 28 years less than that of men in Lenzie, a few kilometres away; the prevalence of long-term disabilities among European men aged 80+ years is 58.8% among the lower educated versus 40.2% among the higher educated. Measurement of Social Gradient SES is generally categorized based on income, academic qualification, social position, occupation, etc. Each of these components is very associated with themselves. For example, better education tends to lead better job which again associated with better income. In UK, two classifications exist. The Registrar-Generals Social Classes were introduced in 1913 and were renamed in 1990 as Social Class based on Occupation. The classes are: Professional occupations (Class I), Managerial and technical occupations (Class II), Skilled non-manual occupations (Class IIIN), Skilled manual occupations (Class IIIM), Partly-skilled occupations (Class IV), and Unskilled occupations (Class V). Office for National Statistics on the other hand classified social classes into eight categories. Table 1 depicts this classification. Table 1: Social classification of the Office for National Statistics Class Description 1 Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations 1.1Â  Large employers and higher managerial and administrative occupations 1.2Â  Higher professional occupations 2 Lower managerial, administrative and professional occupations 3 Intermediate occupations 4 Small employers and own account workers 5 Lower supervisory and technical occupations 6 Semi-routine occupations 7 Routine occupations 8 Never worked and long-term unemployed Based on the two above social classification outcome variables (i.e., mortality and life expectancy) are analyzed. Results showed that those who belong to the upper social class tend to have better health in terms of less mortality rate and higher life expectancy than that of the lower class inhabitants. That is health status follows a social gradient. Current Scenario: UK The figure 1 below depicts differences in male life expectancy within a small area in London. Travelling from Westminster, every two tube stops represent one year of life expectancy lost. C:UsersazharDocumentsAcademicTheories Perspective of HPliteraturevital referencesD-Tube Map on LE 2004-08.jpg Although life expectancy has increased in all London boroughs since 2000, there has been a widening in the gap between the boroughs with the highest and the lowest life expectancy. In 1999-2001, this gap was 5.4 years for men and 4.2 years for women. In 2006-2008, the gap had increased to 9.2 years for men and 8.5 years for women (ONS data sources). Regarding different social class mortality rate also varies significantly. From the data of the figure 2, we can see that mortality rate per 100,000 people increased to almost double from class I to class VII. This is a graph showing age-standardised mortality rate by NS-SEC: men aged 25-64, England and Wales 2001-03Figure 2: Age-standardised mortality rate by NS-SEC: men aged 25-64, England and Wales 2001-03 Explanations for Inequalities In order to explain why these inequalities exist, a number of explanations have been offered. These are briefly explained below: Artefact The relationship between social class and health is probably an artefact of measurement systems used to determine social class as well as health status. Mortality ratios calculated on basis of number of deaths per social class divided by number from each class determined by census returns may be inaccurate reporting of social class. However, this explanation can be questioned in way that inequalities have been demonstrated using a number of different systems of measurement of social class. For example, occupation, property ownership, educational status and access to social resources. Nonetheless, still there is room for improvement in the measurement system by which classification and health status are determined. Downward drift (Darwinian selection) Based on the Darwins assumption, this explanation suggests that the illness will slide down the social class while the healthier people will have a greater chance of social advancement. However, the fact that many health problems only seen in adulthood, often once career choices have been made and social class has been determined. Now, if illness causes downward shift then the explanation of healthy rise class is less likely be true. Cultural explanations Health damaging behaviours are differentially distributed across social classes and contribute to observed gradients. This suggests that the lower social classes prefer less healthy lifestyles, eat more fatty foods, smoke more and exercise less than the middle and upper classes. Using the Canadian National Population Health (NPH) Survey (1994-1995) data of 7720 men and 9269 women 15 to over 80 years of age, (Kosteniuk and Dickinson, 2003) found higher household income, being retired, and aging are associated with better physical health and lower mental distress when accounting for their role in lowering stressor levels and bolstering control, self-esteem, social support, and social involvement. This evidence can partly be of supportive with the cultural explanations. However, more investigation is needed why this variation in behaviour of different social class. The material explanation Physical and psychosocial features associated with the class structure influence health and contribute to observed gradients. This indicates that poverty, poor housing conditions, lack of resources in health and educational provision as well as higher risk occupations for the poor determines the gradient in health. No doubt poverty impacts negatively in the health outcomes. However, only improving materialistic access might not lead better health and less social gradient. Consider the example of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Having around double income per person than that of Bangladesh in last decade, India and Pakistan left behind in almost all the health indicators (see Figure 3). Life expectancy at birth increase for Bangladesh is 17% while the figures for India and Pakistan are 12% and 6.56% respectively. In case of infant (age Figure 3: Health and income status of Bangladesh, India Pakistan from 1990 to 2011 (extracted from The Economist, 3rd November 2012) Social class is a complex construct that may involve status, wealth, culture, background and employment. It would therefore be naive to look for a simple causal relationship between class and ill health. Each individual will experience a number of different influences on their health, some of which also come under the umbrella of social class. Actions to combat social gradient in health Marmots review (2010) noted The implications of the social gradient in health are profound. It is tempting to focus limited resources on those in most need. Although social gradients in health affecting almost everyone, interventions however are very crucial for people in need most. But so far the policy, programmes and interventions aiming to reduce social gradient in health mounted a lot and itself create problems for the root level personnel. A report from the Audit Commission says there has been too much policy and accompanying guidance issued by central government for people working in the field to keep up with. It is also critical that trusts and local authorities have often faced conflicting demands from central government and calls for a more consistent and lasting set of policy statements to aid implementation on the ground. We are unlikely to be able to eliminate the social gradient in health completely, but it is possible to have a shallower social gradient in health and wellbeing than is currently the case for England. This is evidenced by the fact that there is a steeper socioeconomic gradient in health in some regions than in others, as shown in Figure 2. To reduce the steepness of the social gradient in health, actions must be universal, but with a scale and intensity that is proportionate to the level of disadvantage. We call this proportionate universalism. Greater intensity of action is likely to be needed for those with greater social and economic disadvantage, but focusing solely on the most disadvantaged will not reduce the health gradient, and will only tackle a small part of the problem. Potential area of intervention: Unhealthy behaviour Potential target group: group at in risk Conclusion Unhealthy behaviour Smoking Poor Diet Less physical activity Alcoholism Determinants of health In todays debates, the determinants of health include all the major non-genetic and non-biological influences on health. The term therefore covers individual risk factors, such as smoking, and what are often called wider determinants (Hilary Graham* and Michael P Kelly, Health inequalities: concepts, frameworks and policy) Smoking is responsible for one in six deaths in the UK. It is overall the one area where behavioural change would make the greatest impact on health inequalities. A clear divide remains in smoking levels between manual and non-manual groups, and there are also significant differences between different ethnicities and genders. Over 40% of Bangladeshi men smoke, compared to around 5% of Bangladeshi women, and more than one in four women of Irish descent are smokers. Smoking is the largest recognised cause of premature death and disability, and is responsible for about one in six deaths (over 100,000 in total) every year in the UK. Smoking prevalence has fallen dramatically in the most affluent sectors of society over the past 30 years, but much less so among the most disadvantaged. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies born prematurely, twice as likely to have low birth weight babies and up to three times more likely to die from sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI). Low birth weight babies experience increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Long-term smokers bear the heaviest burden of death and disease related to their smoking and is disproportionately drawn from lower socio-economic groups. Smokers in poorer social groups tend to have started smoking at an earlier age: 31% of smokers in managerial and professional households started before they were 16, compared with 45% of those in routine and manual households. Obesity and its risks are not experienced equally across society, in some cases this is related to particular behaviours. There is evidence that people whose ethnic background is Pakistani or Bangladeshi are much less likely to engage in high levels of physical exercise. There are marked differences in satisfaction with primary care services. People from black and minority ethnic groups report significantly worse access than white British people. Performance on access is worst for people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds: their satisfaction with their level of access is 10-20 percentage points below that reported by people from white British backgrounds. It is clear that more needs to be done to address the needs of people with disabilities. Compared with people without disabilities, they are more likely to live in poverty, less likely to have educational qualifications, more likely to be economically inactive, more likely to experience problems with hate crime or harassment, and more likely to experience problems with housing and transport. These correlations appear to work in both directions: people are also more likely to become disabled if they have a low income, are out of work or have low educational qualifications. Stroke is the single largest cause of disability in England.1 Approximately half of those who survive a stroke will be left with long-term disability problems six months afterwards and will be dependent on others. People with disabilities often experience multiple forms of labour market disadvantage: more than 40% of people with disabilities are low-skilled; around 25% of those of working age are over 50; and around 10% are from black and minority ethnic groups. One study2 has estimated that people with learning disabilities or long-term mental health problems are 58% more likely to die before age 50 than non-disabled people. And studies of psychiatric patients in hospitals show that up to 70% smoke. Access to care services has been reported as an issue. Around a quarter (24%) of deaf or hearing-impaired people miss care appointments, and 19% miss more than five appointments, because of poor communication. Two-fifths (40%) of visually impaired people believe that their GPs are not fully aware of their needs, rising to 60% for other surgery staff. Disabled people are also four times more likely than the general population to find their dentists surgery inaccessible. Stigma and shame are barriers to the engagement and employment of people with mental illness. Negative media images add to this discrimination. Only 21% of people with long-term mental illness are employed, the lowest proportion of any disabled group. People with severe mental illness are 1.5 times more likely to die prematurely than others, often from preventable causes, and they are also less likely to access routine health checks. There are also differences in alcohol related deaths. There are now around 23,260 deaths related to alcohol every year in England. Every man dying of alcohol-related causes loses on average 21 years of life, and every woman loses 15 years. The prevalence of disability increases rapidly with age. Approximately 75% of men and women aged 85 and over are disabled. Alcohol is a particular problem in the mid years. Around 26% of adults in England are drinking at hazardous, harmful or dependent levels. The largest increase in the number of NHS alcohol-related hospital admissions is in the 35-49 age group. These include admissions where alcoholic liver disease, the toxic effect of alcohol or mental and behavioural disorder due to alcohol are identified as the primary or secondary diagnosis. The social pattern of problem drinking is complex, but more disadvantaged communities have higher levels of mortality, hospital admission, crime, absence from work, school exclusions, teenage pregnancy and road traffic accidents due to alcohol consumption. Within localities, the most disadvantaged individuals typically unemployed, low-income older smokers have 4 to 15 times greater alcohol-specific mortality and 4 to 10 times greater alcohol-specific admission to hospital than the most affluent. Alcohol has a serious effect on behaviour and relationships in the home, affecting the mental health and behaviour of children of alcohol-misusing parents.15 Furthermore, harmful drinking is linked to psychiatric morbidity including depression, and around a third of incidents of domestic violence are linked to alcohol misuse. Around one million children live in families where at least one parent misuses alcohol, and by the age of 15 young people in families with a parent who drinks at harmful levels have rates of psychiatric disorder that are between 2.2 and 3.9 times higher than those of other young people.16 Since the mid-1990s, newly diagnosed cases of HIV have been increasing. Increased testing will have contributed in part to this, and also enables earlier intervention. Men who have sex with men continue to be disproportionately affected. By 2006, men having sex with men accounted for up to three-quarters of UK-acquired HIV infections, and they remain the behavioural group at greatest risk of acquiring HIV in the UK. An estimated 31% of men having sex with men aged 15-59 were unaware of their infection in 2006. Among HIV-infected men having sex with men, diagnosed late are 14 times more likely to die within one year of diagnosis than those diagnosedearlier.17

Successes and Failures of Signals Intelligence :: essays research papers

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE The United States must be prepared to deploy against sophisticated and unsophisticated adversaries on a moments notice. The enemy may have little concern for the Hague Convention, which seek to limit collateral damage and noncombatant casualties. Signal Intelligence provides foreign data that analysts can collect, process and analyze into intelligence information. Whoever has the ability to control and exploit the electromagnetic spectrum, which ranges from zero to infinity, will know their enemies vulnerabilities, create opportunities, achieve tactical surprise, and result in mission accomplishment. Considerations such as successful and unsuccessful collection in Signal Intelligence will be a tremendous factor in planning and the execution of U.S. military operations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are numerous accounts of the successful gathering of Signal Intelligence that prove to be of use. The rapid advancements in microelectronic technology forces the government to design and manufacture sophisticated new radars, airborne reconnaissance, and surveillance platforms; they offer superior capabilities over previously employed systems. Having accredited systems and networks, in accordance with Department of Defense guidance, will ensure that units are within regulations while collecting signals. To obtain the most beneficial information, analysts need to be properly trained in the latest and greatest data sets. Staffing 100% qualified personnel in strategic locations will lead to optimal performance in signals analysis; commanders should provide the capability of target redundancy with different forms to ensure that collection requirements are met. Lastly, understanding commander’s intent and the focus of effort are critical ingredients for su ccess. Despite the factors that lead to success, there are just as many failures, which need to be discussed. Failures are the temporary or possible permanent annihilation of the ability of a mechanism to perform its required purpose. The number one failure in signal intelligences is bureaucracy. All of the policies, guidelines, rules, procedures, course of actions, and laws, create so much red tape, that signal analysts cannot do their jobs, which is to collect, process, or analyze foreign intelligence information. Once the analyst work through the political rubbish, the opportunity for collecting Signal Intelligence may have disappeared. Units that try to use lethargic and robust radars against state of the art Electronic Security will provide marginal data if any; the Electronic Security provides firewalls, secure logins, and offers protection resulting from measures that are designed to deny unauthorized persons access to information. Some radars have the ability to use passive tracking , which means that there is no target illumination by the tracking system.

Maydavian Online Reservation and Booking System Essay

Maydavian has been founded as a resort in the beautiful island of Palawan. With the exertion of Ms. Marrieta S. Mayor, the capital of this unspoiled island, and a memorable journey of about two hours by bus or shuttle taking you through a zigzag in the mountains and with breathtaking views of mountain ranges and unspoiled forests. An oasis of hospitality awaits you at Maydavian, with spectacular views of the Sulu Sea. Ideally located in a coconut plantation with modern facilities in harmony with the serene and soothing atmosphere. Maydavian Resort establish on 2000. The establishment started with just a small canteen, 6 rooms and small dinning cottages. After a few months, reception hall, VIP rooms and Standards rooms were built. A swimming pool was formally open to the public. Maydavian Resort has a total land area of eighteen hectares located at Brgy. Caguisan Narra, Palawan. The guest who visited Maydavian loved enjoyed a walkway through century mangroves, clear Sky and myriad of stars and delicious food serves for the most discerning of pallets comprising both Filipino and western specialties. Presently, Maydavian offers plenty of facilities and services. There are the Restaurant and Bar, the Maydavian Pavillion. One of the venues for wedding and birthday parties, island Park intended for playful kids and weather favors the park also serve as venue for children party and garden wedding reception for sports minded guest, there is a room venue for billiards and many more that had contributed to the overall success of this more than a decade old establishment. The continuous growth of the world their exist the modern and a high-tech way of living due to the reason of unsatisfied and consciousness of humans by discovering and searching for more effective way of living such as computer- is a device that computes, especially a programmable electronic machine that performs high speed mathematical or logical operations that can assembles, store, correlates and otherwise process information. Dealing with the triumphant advancement, internet is a network of almost transaction system through this transaction system must gather sort of information for online services. Website is related collection of web files that includes an initial called a homepage it is essential in an organization to establish a tourist spot in the province of Palawan adopting reliable reviewing like a website to provide a complex transaction system through on line services. This system is entitled â€Å"Maydavian Resort Online Reservation and Booking System†.

The Manufacturing Practices of the Footwear Industry: Nike vs. the Competition

The Manufacturing Practices of the Footwear Industry: Nike vs. the Competition Steven Van Dusen The current manufacturing practices of the sneaker industry, in particular companies such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Converse, and New Balance, takes place throughout the globe. With the industry experiencing severe competition, and the product requiring intensive labor, firms are facing extreme pressure to increase their profit margins through their sourcing practices. The following paper will analyze the sneaker industry, while examining the multitude of viable manufacturing options, and critiquing their current manufacturing structure. Footwear Industry – Players, Revenues, Market Share To properly review the manufacturing in the footwear industry, it is necessary to first gain an understanding of the dominant leaders in the marketplace. The industry is currently experiencing hypercompetition, led by six main firms – Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Fila, Converse, and New Balance (see exhibit 1), with nearly $7 billion in revenues domestically. Nike is the industry leader, with a 47% market share, followed by Reebok, a distant second at 16%, and Adidas at 6% (see exhibit 2). This category is facing decreasing demand and the rising popularity of alternative footwear, resulting in more pressure than ever before to achieve high gross margins through effective global sourcing practices. Manufacturing options Footwear companies have two basic options in the manufacturing of their products, they can both own and operate the factories that produce their products, or subcontract their products out to secondary manufacturers. These facilities can be located either domestically or internationally, and both present a myriad of positives and negatives. Firms that produce domestically benefit from ease of monitoring, skilled workforce, government stability, job creation, and well understood labor rules, while suffering from the relatively high wages required in the U. S. as compared to developing countries. By manufacturing products overseas, in particular in third world economies, tremendous efficiencies are gained in the form of reduced wages, but are countered by the increased difficulty of monitoring the quality of their products and the actual working conditions in the factories. Companies that are vertically integrated, who own and operate the factories where their products are manufactured, are faced with large capital expenditure requirements and the management of the factories themselves, resulting in lower profit margins. Strategic Outsourcing In analyzing the sneaker industry, we are faced with the question, â€Å"What are these firms core competencies? † If manufacturing falls under this umbrella, then firms should look to produce internally. However, the core skills that set these companies apart from the competition, are their marketing, distribution, and technological expertise. Applying the dominant sneaker companies areas of expertise, let’s review the following questions: Is internalization a source of competitive advantage? Is manufacturing a skill our firm does better than anybody else? Will firms be able to leverage their manufacturing expertise in the future? Are we releasing any of the firm’s proprietary skills/information by outsourcing? With all of the above questions posed to any of the big four sneaker companies, they would respond with a resounding â€Å"no†. Therefore, in today’s global environment, the most strategically viable manufacturing strategy is the outsourcing of their products. The efficiencies that are gained, in the form of shifting of risk, reduced capital requirements, lower wages, and ability to focus on their core competencies, strongly outweigh all other manufacturing options. The Evolution of Manufacturing in Third World Countries As the economies of countries around world expand, so does their ability and skill level in all facets of manufacturing. Beginning in London in the early 1900’s, and followed through to the present day, manufacturing in its simplest form consists of light manufacturing, which uses unskilled labor to produce items such as shirts, shorts, and jeans. As the economy develops along with the skill of manufacturing, countries begin moderately technical light manufacturing, which includes footwear, outerwear and, performance sportswear. The next step in this growth involves the production of technical consumer products such as radios, calculators, and wristwatches. With the most developed economies gaining high levels of technical expertise, manufacturing grows to include technical durables, which includes automobiles and computers. This progression represents the advancement of economies throughout the world today, and provides the reasoning behind sneaker companies manufacturing beginning in the United States and Germany, and passing through Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, to its present day central areas of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. As these three countries progress over the next decade, and large amounts of new capital is pumped into their economies, their standard of living will rise along with their manufacturing expertise. Companies will be forced to relocate their manufacturing in countries such as Cambodia, Pakistan, and underdeveloped regions of Africa in search of lower wages. Nike Nike currently enjoys a 47% market share of the domestic footwear industry, with sales of $3. 77 billion. Nike has been manufacturing throughout the Asian region for over twenty-five years, and there are over 500,000 people today directly engaged in the production of their products. They utilize an outsourcing strategy, using only subcontractors throughout the globe. Their majority of their output today is produced in factories in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, but they also have factories in Italy, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea. These factories are 100% owned by subcontractors, with the majority of their output consisting solely of Nike products. However, Nike does employ teams of four expatriates per each of the big three countries (China, Indonesia, Vietnam), that focus on both quality of product and quality of working conditions, visiting the factories weekly. They also developed their code of conduct in 1992 and have implemented it across the globe, as its goal is to set the standard for subcontractors to follow if they wish to do business with Nike. However, due to a manufacturing network of this magnitude, they have faced numerous violations involving factory conditions and human rights issues, which have been widely publicized. They have responded to these issues through the Andrew Young report, the Dartmouth Study, and Ernst & Young’s continual monitoring, but are still approximately two years away from completely addressing these problems throughout the globe. Reebok Reebok, as the second leading manufacturer of footwear, has domestic revenues of $1. 28 billion and a market share of 16%. Similar to Nike, they also utilize a 100% outsourcing strategy and manufacture their products throughout Asia. They have created and implemented their own code of conduct for manufactures to follow, but have less infrastructure than Nike across the globe to enforce it. They are facing scrutiny in regards to wage, overtime, and air quality issues, and like Nike, are working to address these issues. However, their strength, the creation and distribution of a global brand, is allowed to foster under this manufacturing strategy, as they focus on their core competencies, and outsource their production. Adidas Adidas is currently enjoying the fastest growth of any brand domestically, with a market share of 6% and revenues of $500 million. They have been shielded from bad publicity by the two Goliath’s of the industry, Nike and Reebok, and are reaping the rewards substantially. They have adjusted their manufacturing strategy, from a vertical operation in Germany in the 60’s and 70’s, to an outsourcing focus today throughout Asia. Unlike the big two, they do not have a code of conduct, and their factories are considered to be the worst in the industry. It is just a matter of time before they are exposed, with an underground swelling of negativity already occurring today. In order to avoid the negative effects and lost revenues that Nike and Reebok have received, they need to immediately begin to take a proactive stance in regards to the working conditions of their factories. Converse With a market share of 3% and revenues of $280 million, Converse manufactures their products both domestically and internationally. It is important to note that the only product they continue to manufacture in the U. S. oday, is the Chuck Taylor All Star, with plants in Lumberton, NC and Mission, TX. This is a product where the â€Å"Made in the USA† label is crucial to its success, and internalization is a source of competitive advantage. These two factors serving as the sole reason why the production remains within the U. S. All other shoe models are outsourced in Asia, with the explanation of reduced wages driving this strategy. Converse, lik e Adidas, must also generate a higher degree of internal monitoring of their subcontractors, or they will soon face increased scrutiny New Balance New Balance is the one company that has kept a substantial amount of manufacturing in the United States, and has a 3% market share with sales of $260 million. They currently operate five plants in New England, employing over 1400 workers, that produces 50% of their output. With this mixed strategy, of vertical integration and outsourcing, they are very unique, with their strategic reasoning based on the advantages gained through higher levels of quality domestically, and the â€Å"Made in the USA† label. They are in a highly specialized, niche business, running shoes, and closeness of factories is more essential to their customer base than the other companies because of special orders. For their most technical products they employ outsourcing, following the strategy of their competitors. Although there is something to be said for manufacturing domestically, they are straying away from the skills that they do better than anybody else – the design and marketing of the premier running shoe in the industry. Their long-term strategy should shift to a 100% outsourcing model, allowing them to control this niche for the future. Summary Manufacturing in the footwear industry has evolved dramatically over the course of the last century. As economies grow and skills are enhanced, production has been forced to spread to less developed regions around the world. While Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Converse, and New Balance each have their own manufacturing structure, the reason behind their rise to dominance in this industry is their ability to focus on the core skills that they perform better than anybody else. The outsourcing trend that dominates the industry today will only increase in the future. The major issues facing these firms today, working conditions and human rights, must be addressed in the short-term. Through either one firm’s leadership, or all footwear companies strategically aligning, these issues will be addressed; the question is â€Å"Just how long will it take before the footwear companies say Just Do It? † Copyright, 1998 Van Dusen, INTS 092 UNC – Chapel Hill

8 ELL Mistakes Youre Probably Making in Your College Essays

8 ELL Mistakes Youre Probably Making in Your College Essays The number of ELL (English Language Learners) attending American colleges and universities is steadily growing. In fact, according to a whitepaper produced by the American Institutes for Research:From 1990 to 2014, the number of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions more than doubled, reaching a total of 1.1 million students in the 2016–17 academic year (Institute of International Education, 2017a). Second-generation Americans, children born in the United States to immigrant parents, currently account for almost 20% of all U.S. college students and 24% of community college students (Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education, 2015).American Institutes for ResearchThe number of ELL writers in the US is steadily growing. Photo by Sean Kong on Unsplash.Mistake #1: Switching tense or incorrect tenseIn my experience as an editor for many ELL clients, a switched tense or incorrect tense were two of the most common mistakes I found. In the En glish language (as with other languages), the tense of a sentence shows the reader whether something occurred in the past, the present, or will occur in the future. In most cases, if a paragraph is written logically, it will consist of verbs that use the same tense. For example, consider the following paragraph:In their study of the migratory habits of birds, the authors explained that birds migrate due to lack of resources. They will move to areas with more resources. The authors note that birds look for food and nesting locations.Notice how the first verb, explained is in past tense and the following verb, migrate is in present tense. The next verb, will move is in future tense. And the last verb is note, which is present tense. Since the writer used three different tenses instead of one, the paragraph is confusing and poorly written. A better way to write it would be:In their study of the migratory habits of birds, the authors explain that birds migrate due to lack of resources, and then move to more fertile areas to compensate. Typically, the birds look for food and nesting locations.Not only is the above paragraph written in all present tense, Ive combined the first two sentences to make it read less choppy. Ive also removed the repetition of resources and authors, which brings us to Mistake #2.Mistake #2: Repeating words excessivelyIts always a good idea for any writer- whether English is your second language or not- to look over paragraphs to ensure that excessive repetition isnt taking place. While your grade might not get dinged for it as a grammar error, it does come across as poor writing.As shown in the example paragraph beneath Mistake #1, the two best ways to deal with this are:Combine shorter sentences that repeat a word.Rewrite a sentence using alternate language to avoid repetition.Mistake #3: Using the wrong prepositionMany prepositional phrases (groups of two or more words that begin with a preposition) are idiomatic expressions, meaning if they are taken literally, they likely wont make sense. A few good examples are:Beside the pointBehind the scenesIn any caseOn account ofTo a certain extentOut of the questionOn the other handOf courseIn no timeIn advance ofAt any rateAt ones disposalBy heartFor a livingAt lastAt a lossThese are only a few of the idioms in the English language that begin with a preposition, but it is obvious how complicated they could be for someone just learning the language to understand. In fact, advanced writing courses often suggest leaving idiomatic expressions out of ones writing completely, since they can be misunderstood by a large percentage of readers (including ELL readers).This confusion is the main reason many ELL college students use the wrong preposition in their writing. Errors like by the other hand instead of on the other hand, at a certain extent instead of to a certain extent, and in any rate instead of at any rate are common among ELL writers- and rightly so. These errors could arguably make more logical sense than the correct preposition, although theyll still sound awkward to the native English speakers ear.Mistake #4: Using incorrect articlesAs a student of the French language, I often struggled with learning articles for nouns because of their masculine versus feminine qualities. Although I havent studied Spanish, Ive read that the language contains nine articles compared to the three used in English. So, I understand how article use can be confusing to an English language learner.Just like Spanish, the English language contains definite and indefinite articles. A and An are indefinite, while The is definite. So, the first step to determining which to use is to determine if the noun that follows needs a definite or indefinite article.Examples:A rainshower always makes the air smell wonderful.The rainshower made the air smell wonderful.In the examples above, the first sentence is referring to any rainshower- or all of them! Rainshowers, in general, alwa ys make the air smell wonderful. However, the second sentence is referring to a specific rainshower- one that happened recently or today. That particular rainshower made the air smell wonderful.Once you have determined whether a definite or indefinite article is to be used, the final step is to look at the noun again and determine if it begins with a vowel (or vowel sound) or consonant (or consonant sound). In the case of indefinite articles, and only indefinite articles, this will determine whether A should be used or An should be used.Keep in mind that the vowels are A, E, I, O and U. Most words will follow the general rule of A before words that begin with a consonant and An before words that begin with a vowel. However, in the rare cases that a word begins with a vowel sound but the letter is actually a consonant (such as hour), use An instead. Likewise, when a word begins with a vowel that sounds like a consonant (such as university), use A instead. This might be a tricky proce ss for some, but eventually, youll memorize that correct article to use in these uncommon situations.Mistake #5: Using a thesaurusWhile a thesaurus can be a handy tool for writing, it can also cause some serious confusion if the writer doesnt understand the connotation of words. For example, a toxic relationship means something very different than a lethal relationship, but toxic and lethal are listed together as synonyms in a thesaurus.One of the hardest steps to take in any language is to understand the connotation of a word. This is because much of a words connotation develops over time and even varies by culture or region. In other words- if youre not sure of both the connotation and denotation of a word, dont use it. If you are an ELL writer, its always a good idea to have a native English speaker look over your writing to ensure that you havent used words that could have the wrong connotation.One of the hardest steps to take in any language is to understand the connotation of a word, especially in academic writing. Photo by Nirma Safitri on Unsplash.Mistake #6: Not getting to the pointMaking definitive statements is part of academic writing and is the result of studying a topic in enough depth to be confident in your knowledge of it. However, due to the difficulty in learning another language- and even more so, academic writing in that new language- making a definitive statement can be a daunting task. However, its an obstacle that needs to be overcome if you want to learn to write well in English.The result of not making definitive statements is a paper full of insinuations and vague suggestions that doesnt get to the point. A professor needs to see a clear thesis statement in your papers introduction, and then clear supporting arguments for that thesis throughout the body of your paper. Even if you feel unsure about your writing abilities, avoid this mistake for a higher grade.Mistake #7: Using the wrong verbalAs you can see from this study guide, ther e are three types of verbals, which are words formed from verbs but used as nouns, adjectives or adverbs. Specifically, these are gerunds, infinitives, and participles.GerundsThe gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and is used as a noun.Examples:Running is my favorite activity. (Running is the noun; is is the verb)Knowing is always better than guessing. (Knowing and guessing are nouns; is is the verb)She liked dancing. (dancing is the noun; liked is the verb)InfinitivesAn infinitive is a verb with to in front of it. It can be used as a noun, adjective, or adverb in the sentence.Examples:I like to write. (like is the verb; to write is the direct object)They have a suggestion to offer. (have is the verb; to offer is the adjective)She wants to go to Hawaii. (wants is the verb; to go is an adverb)ParticipleA participle is a verbal that ends in -ing, -ed, -d-, -t, -en, or -n and is used as an adjective.Examples:The shouting crowds were out of control. (shouting is used as an adjective m odifying crowds)The fallen soldier is buried in an unmarked grave. (fallen is used as an adjective modifying soldier)Mistake #8: The big oneUltimately, the biggest mistake ELL writers can make is to give up. Even native English speakers must practice diligently to become great writers. With practice, youll find that it gets easier to do without making so many mistakes.