Ocean carrier Essay

The purpose of this report is to evaluate whether Ocean Carriers Inc. should immediately commission a new capesize carrier that would cost $39 million, and would be completed two years hence, in order to finalize a lease of the ship for a three-year period with a potential charterer in very good faith. The contrasting tax regulations between the two countries where the company locates its office, and the different cost-benefit circumstances under different length of time in service are considered in the analysis. Taking all available information into consideration, we highly recommend that the company should purchase the new capesize carrier, have it registered under the Hong Kong office, and put it on a scheme for a 25-year service. Industry Prospects Capesize carriers are mainly used to carry iron ore and coal worldwide. The daily hire rates are therefore determined by the total exports of iron ore and coal, the distance between the exporting countries and the destinations, and the fleet size of capesizes in service. According to the market trends, in the next few years, Australian production in iron ore is expected to be strong and Indian iron ore exports are expected to take off. However, imports of iron ore and coal are expected to be stagnant in next two years. Therefore, total exports of iron ore and coal will be flat in the coming two years, and will rise remarkably in the following few years. Besides, as East Asia countries absorb the largest portion of the iron ore imports, the joining of India to the iron ore exporting won’t significantly increase travel distance because Australia is almost the same distance away by water. Moreover, in 2001 and 2002, 63 and 33 new capesize vessels would be delivered adding up to about 17% of total capesizes currently in service. Consequently, in the first two years, the supply of capesizes would be greater than the demand, the daily hire rates are expected to decrease. But in the mid-to-long run, the daily hire rates are expected to increase continuously. Revenues and Costs – Intuitions Before going into the numbers, we want to discuss some intuitions of this project that support the decision of purchasing the capesize. First, the increasing mid-to-long run daily hire rates will provide basis for promising future cash flows. Secondly, although the daily hire rate for the first two years are expected to be low, the charterer had already offered a rate higher than expected to compensate the company. Thirdly, a great portion of the expenditures come from the preparation for special surveys which should be renewed every five years if the ship needs to stay in the business. The high escalation of costs between the second and third surveys, and the fourth and fifth surveys, indicates that maximum net present value of the project would be achieved when the carrier serves for either 15 years or 25 years. Free Cash Flows In this part, we will discuss the detailed numbers. Some assumptions are made based on the economic outlook and company characteristics when calculating free cash flows. We assume that inflation rate is 3% per annual, and that operation cost would increase 1% above inflation rate per annual. We assume that discount rate is 9%, and will discuss the impact of a rate change later. Provided that the scrape value is estimated to be $5 million at the end of the fifteenth year, we estimate that the value would decrease to $4 million due to more wear in the steel. Please refer to Exhibits 1 to 4 for the calculations of estimated free cash flows and NPVs. We can see that if the company chooses to purchase the capesize, have it registered in Hong Kong instead of USA, and runs it for 25 years, the NPV will be the highest compared to other alternatives. Besides, the Hong Kong option (have the vessel registered in Hong Kong) dominates the USA option (have the vessel registered in USA) because no tax is required in Hong Kong in these operations. Also, the 25-year option dominates the 15-year option because, even if the scrap value is reduced to zero after 25 years, the NPVs for options that keep the capesize for 25 years are still higher than for 15 years. Sensitivity Analysis In the above calculations for the NPVs, we assume discount rate to be 9%. If the discount rate is higher, the NPVs for the projects will be reduced because the benefits from recording depreciation and tax deferring will increase. For example, we found that the USA-25-year option will produce a positive NPV if the discount rate is lowered to 6.67%. However, even if the discount rate is as low as 0.1%, the HK option still dominates the US option, and the 25-year option still dominates the 15-year option. Conclusion To sum up, if Ocean Carriers Inc. purchase a $39 million capesize carrier immediately, register it in Hong Kong, sign the three-year contract with the charterer, and keep the vessel in business for 25 years, based on estimations, it would acquire the largest possible NPV of $3.89 million on the project.

Limit

Q1. What is the difference between a left neighborhood and a right neighborhood of a number? How does this concept become relevant in determining a limit of a function? Answer: Left neighborhood of a number ‘a’ represents numbers lesser than the number ‘a’ and is denoted by ‘a-’ or ‘a-d’, where d is infinitesimally small. Similarly, right neighborhood of a number ‘a’ represents numbers greater than the number ‘a’ and is denoted by ‘a+’ or or ‘a+d’, where d is infinitesimally small. This concept is very important in determining limit of a function. A function f(x) of ‘x’ will have a limit at x = a; if and only if f(a-d) = f(a+d) = f(a); where d is infinitesimally small. Q2. A limit of a function at a point of discontinuity does not exist. Why? Give an example. Answer: For existence of limit of function f(x) of ‘x’; at x = a; the necessary and sufficient condition is f(a-d) = f(a+d) = f(a); where d is infinitesimally small. At a point of discontinuity, f(a-d) ≠  f(a+d). Therefore, limit of a function does not exist at a point of discontinuity. The following example will make it clear. Let us take example of integer function. This function is defined in the following manner: f(x) = a;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   where ‘a’ is an integer less than or equal to x. Let us check if limit exists for this function at x = ‘a’, where ‘a’ is an integer. Now left hand side limit = f(a-d) = a-1 And right hand side limit = f(a+d) = a Thus, f(a-d) ≠  f(a+d); and hence limit does not exists for this function. If this function is plotted, there is discontinuity at all integer points. Thus it can be seen that limit of a function does not exist at a point of discontinuity. 3. What is the difference between a derivative of a function and its slope? Give a detailed explanation. Answer: Derivative of a function is another function, which remains same throughout the domain of the function at all the points. Slope of a function on the other hand is the value of the derivative. This value may change from point to point depending on the nature of the function. Let us take an example. Derivative of Sin(x) is Cos(x) for all values of ‘x’. If one looks at the slope of Sin(x), its value keeps changing in [-1, +1] range from point to point. Slope of Sin(x) is -1 for x = odd integral multiples of p; +1 for x = even multiples of p and 0 for x = odd multiples of p/2. Thus, it can be seen that while derivative of a function remains the same while its slope could be changing from point to point.

Ministry of Fear- Seamus Heaney Analysis Essay

Using Ministry of fear and another appropriately selected poem explore the sense of place Heaney conveys with reference to the troubles in N.I, with particular reference to the effects of any political and social context and Heaney’s own views. Ministry of Fear is from Heaney’s ‘North’ collection, written in 1975 while Heaney was staying in Wicklow, Casualty was written shortly after in ‘Field work’ in 1979. Through these two poems Heaney conveys a strong sense of place, namely Northern Ireland, through ‘Ministry of fear’ Heaney describes four events throughout his life in N.I that had a strong influence on him, ‘Casualty’ is similar but more focused on the Troubles in N.I and some of Heaney’s feelings towards those events. ‘Ministry of fear’ touches on four key moments in Heaney’s life, the first of which is his boarding at St Columbs, then a catholic boarding school in Derry. An experience he found to be very unfair and almost treacherous. â€Å"Sweeten my exile† Heaney describing it himself as exile, clearly he thought he was pressured into going perhaps when he didn’t want to. Secondly he describes his first flirtation with poetry and higher education at Queens University. This section is written in a very self deprecating tone and almost a hint of jealousy, He describes his Friend, Seamus Deane’s skill with the pen â€Å"vowels and ideas bandied free† and then mocks his own attempts, â€Å"hobnailed boots†¦ Fine lawns of elocution† These statements are slightly bathetic and quite ironic, Heaney writing what was to be a highly acclaimed poem about his own poetic inabilities. He goes on to describe his first sexual encounters when he â€Å"came to life† in â€Å"the kissing seat of an Austin 16† this whole phrase resonates innocence and although this particular experience is important in any young mans life I think it is a deliberate ploy to stress the innocence he felt he had before the fourth memory. Which is Heaney’s experience with a crass RUC patrol, which seems to represent a bovine threat â€Å"crowding round†¦like black cattle.† Each of these memories helps convey a real sense of place, making it easy for us to identify with Northern Ireland in each instance, through Heaney’s vivid recollections. ‘Casualty’ explores one main theme; the affinities between himself as a poet and a fisherman killed â€Å"accidentally† for defying a curfew imposed by the IRA in Derry after Bloody Sunday. Heaney through this poem tells the story of Louis O’Neill, a provincial man who drank at his father in laws bar. Much like Ministry of fear he is looking back on the events, with a different perspective, almost analytically. It begins with a celebration of the man, Heaney affords him much respect and clearly remembers him fondly in the opening stanza, he goes on to express the difficulties Poetry made for him, and how he felt it isolated him from ordinary people especially in Northern Ireland. Similarly to Ministry of fear, when Heaney talks of his own poetic prowess he is self deprecating, ironic and bathetic again. The man, whom he would not talk to poetry about, became a muse or inspiration for one of his own poems. He goes on to recall Louis O’Neill’s d eath and the political situation in Northern Ireland. â€Å"PARAS 13 BOGSIDE NIL† this phrase alone places us perfectly in the context of the troubles. Aside from the similar contexts of both poems Heaney conveys the sense of place in other ways, In Casualty Heaney takes influence from Writers of his own Country, The fisherman theme is carried throughout the poem, initially just as Louis O’Neills vocation but particularly later in the poem as a way of life, the poem and this particular theme has an affinity in form and content with Yeats’s ‘the fisherman’ Both are written in trimesters, employ iambic rhythms and rhyme on alternate lines. For each poet the fisherman is â€Å" the most unlike, a kind of anti self, who embodies independence, wisdom, integrity – a refusal to submit to the will of the crowd.† By hinting at Yeats- an Irish poet- Heaney further emphasises the sense of place conveyed in this poem, this time through a more social context as opposed to a political one. He also references a famous Christmas carol â€Å"while shepherds watched their flocks† which because of the very religious nature of the Irish Catholics and indeed the protestants is as much an indication of Northern Ireland then as it is now. In ‘Ministry of fear’ Heaney alludes to many other poems and poets, the most obvious of which was Patrick Kavanagh, An Irish Poet who’s work Heaney discovered in the early 1960’s and for which he developed an increasing  respect throughout the decade, Kavanagh seemed to Heaney to illustrate the split he himself was experiencing between â€Å"the illiterate self that was tied to the little hills and earthed in the stony grey soil, and the literate self that pined for the city of kings, where art, music and letters were the real things† He also alludes to Yeats as in â€Å"Casualty.† Yeats’s ‘ Ancestral Houses’ which speaks of a ‘rich mans flowering lawns’ and of his ‘planted hills’ much in the same way as Haney describes the â€Å"fine lawns of elocution. By referencing all these other poets, especially the two Irish ones Heaney makes sure we are concentrating on N.I.

Competing in World Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Competing in World Markets - Essay Example t varies from one place to the other, for instance some regions witness high rates of poverty, hence low purchasing power and this undermines international trade. There are also economic barriers to international trade for example the famous global financial crisis which has led to high inflation and bailouts (Shah, 2011). Finally political barriers for example formation of trade bodies like world trade organization, (WTO). It is mandated to promote free and fair global trade but it has been criticized for serving the interests of rich countries therefore exploiting the poor ones (Shah, 2011). Political barriers are the most significant since politics involves power and allocation of resources and it dominates social, economic and cultural issues of trade. To curb the barriers, many businesses employ earned value technique to measure their progress. Earn value is a monitoring tool used to find out whether the budget and the planned time frame tallies with the actual work done to est ablish if the project is on track. There are barriers to smart earned value like cost, performance and quality. Opponents of the technique say that its implementation cost and efforts are enormous yet the derived benefits of implementation are limited (Tammo, 1999). This means that a business may spend a great deal to implement this project management tool but there may be low quality output. Cost barrier is the most difficult one to overcome since a business always need money to expand and operate. If more money is used to implement earned value technique then the business may run at squeezed profits or even at a loss due to high cost of

Mayans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mayans - Essay Example He refers to his offerings as golden, implying that they are valuable. The statues, which Augustus removed, were made of silver. He, however, chose gold for the temple because it was more valuable than silver.2 He is interested in donating what he feels is the best to the temple. It shows his desire to give back to the society instead of benefiting himself, a sign of modesty. In another situation, Augustus describes how he had bailed out the public treasury, built roads, and financed major public projects.3 He also describes how he had built a strong army in his nineteenth year using personal resources. His modesty comes out clearly from his desire to achieve the societal goals rather than personal ambitions. Augustus modesty is also evident from the way he chose to store the silver statues he had removed. It seems he did not want to offend the people who had honored him by building the statues. He chose to put their names on his offerings to the Apollo

Case Studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Studies - Case Study Example Nick Leason is opportunistic because he used his position in the bank to cover up his mistakes. He was also a dishonest employee. Instead of reporting the loss caused by other employees, he covered the loss in order to protect the employees and maintain the bank’s good reputation in the bank. Leadership styles had effects on Baring Brother’s leadership tea. Leissez-Fare leadership, which involved lack of supervision on employees led to the failure of the executive team. They could not make effective decision in time. The other leadership style that influenced the action of executive team includes autocratic leadership style. Leeson as the general manager made decisions without involving other management team members. The bank’s problem would be detected in time by the executive team if the bank leaders had made collective decision. Situation leadership affected the banks situation in various ways. Leaders of the organization employed less qualified staff in order to increase the profitability of the bank by paying them less money. This led to the bank’s loss. In addition, Leeson situational leadership style involved covering the loss in order to meet needs of investors and employees in the bank. This worsened the bank’s

Ergonomic in my workplace Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ergonomic in my workplace - Assignment Example This is because they are required to bend stretch and twist their bodies. Also, the fact that the bed ridden or injured clients are awkward people makes it hard for the nurses to safely move them from one position to another. The bending and twisting cause chronic back pains and injuries. The solution to this problem is the use of mechanical lift sheets, draw sheets and specially trained lifting teams for moving the equipment. In addition, most health care organizations have no lift policies that make clients tiresome when they bend, stretch and twist their bodies. The most common ergonomic issues revolve around interactions between the staff members, the clients and the psychiatric unit systems. The first ergonomic issue involves lifting causing back pain chronic back injury. The most immediate operations after clients are received in the psychiatric unit is the x-ray, blood tests on HIV, TB and STDs. Due to the client violent behaviours and the need to attend the clients physically, the staff find it hard to relate with this working environment (Salvendy, 2012). It is hard to get the client relaxed and ready to receive medical treatments. Sometimes the clients spit on the staff members or escalates while being injected. In order to curb this problem, the clients are fitted with masks or face shield to prevent them from spitting on the staff. In addition, the psychiatrics give medicine to the clients for them to sleep usually for 8 to 48 hours at one time. In this way, the staff can easily attend the clients, perform their tests and draw blood from their bodies. Another common ergonomic issue arises when moving the clients from the stretcher to the bed or from one bed to another. The issue has also spread in the raising of the blood drawing table position in an elevated position. Usually, the nurses are required to bend, twist or stretch because lifting injured clients

The use of the internet among the youth fosters social cohesiveness Essay

The use of the internet among the youth fosters social cohesiveness - Essay Example While most of the adult population continues to admonish the youths for their addiction to the internet, the platform creates an effective platform for interaction among the group thus fostering social cohesiveness. The internet among many other telecommunication developments have succeeded in making the world a global village thus overcoming the geographical barriers that had impaired human interactions. The use of the internet in the contemporary society coupled with the use of the social network sites such create a virtual society in which the youths interact and widen their networks thus sharing social values most of which they transfer to the actual society thus creating a cohesive society as the essay below portrays. The concern shared among most parents about the internet is that the platform has nor effective regulation and therefore exposes the users to unedited content most of which derail morality in the society. Such parents fear that their children would therefore acquir e undesirable behavior pattern from the internet and lose morality. The internet is indeed creates a cosmopolitan society by pooling people from diverse backgrounds together. Additionally, the internet is an unorthodox media that operates on the pull technology. Unlike the traditional media, internet places the power of choice and censure on the hands of the user. The user thus determines the contents to access and those to censure. Such features present challenges particularly with the adolescent a group of hyperactive individuals always willing to experiment especially with their sexuality (Agosto and June 55). Given the nature of the internet and the resources it pools together, the platform may prove detrimental especially to the young population. The internet creates a virtual reality in which the user determines his or her social grouping without the restriction or limitation of space. Young users therefore become exposed to corruptible and unedited content. Additionally, the internet presents the user with millions of users from all over the world. The social media have succeeded in creating a virtual society on the internet. At such, the internet presents the users with myriad of characters who enjoy the beneficial features of the internet such as anonymity and may therefore post whichever content they deem fit without any form of censure. As such, the internet thus becomes the greatest deterrent feature to the creation of cohesive and ethical societies. Despite the valid concerns raised by most parents and opponents of the idea to expose the youth to the internet, the internet still poses the features capable of developing responsive behavior among the youths thus contributing to the creation of cohesive societies. Just as explained earlier, the internet creates virtual societies by drawing participants from all over the world. Additionally, the intensive interaction on the internet has succeeded in turning the world into a global village in which any one anywhere is accessible and communication is therefore real-time. Among the key factors that people exchange over the internet is culture, culture refers to way of life including sets of human behavior, their attire, dietary and religion among others. The internet is the most effective platform on which the users interact and share views on different social views on a global platform. In the different chat rooms, users inform each other of the latest developments in different parts of the world thus increasing the user’s understanding of the world and their societies (Lupa 30). Peace and unity are social and cultural concepts referring to the cohesive societies in different par

Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Response - Assignment Example Hogg’s study in 1993 reports the vitality of strategic vision and innovation to the performance of technological telecommunications companies in Europe. Despite the importance of communication within the telecommunication sectors, innovative skills are valuable than the later. Competitive advantage in the market is attainable only if companies possess advanced technological innovativeness. It is fascinating to note that most prosperous entrepreneurs prioritize innovativeness within their firms according Roper Starch Worldwide survey done by Ernest and Young (Belkin 1). Although innovation forms the centrality an organizations success, it is essential to embrace effective communication strategies. Emerging realities for most business implicates the importance of effective communication in coordinating organizations plans. Communication is imperative in relating factors such as global market trends, continual innovation, planning, and technological changes. Most flourishing firms consider the use of all of the above factors in ensuring the success of a business. Experience on organization indicates that effective communication strategies besides coordination of abovementioned strategies also assist in improving corporate relations. Corporate relations assist companies in identifying new innovative strategies for an organization. It is vital that companies not only prioritize innovation but also integrate effective communication in

E-Marketing (The strengths and weaknesses of E-Advertising) Essay

E-Marketing (The strengths and weaknesses of E-Advertising) - Essay Example This essay is a critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of E-marketing. With the current developments in the Information Technology sector, it has become possible for businesses and organizations to conduct their businesses over the internet, a process that can be referred to as E-commerce (Hanson, 2000). This is facilitated by the accessibility of personal computers among the world’s population with internet connection which interfaces the suppliers with their customers through interactive websites, which enables the customers to make orders as well as to compare and to contrast the services offered by different vendors. Through their websites, the businesses are able to generate attention through the use of graphics that depict the true nature of the businesses for example by including photographs of the business premises, some of the products sold as well as the management teams among other important aspects of the business which may be helpful in building confidence in the buyers on the services offered (Reynolds, 2004). These help to create a picture on the customer’s mind on the credibility of the business, reason being that photographs communicate more on the image of the organization. Creating awareness is the main importance of advertising (Haegele, 2001). Through the internet, this goal has been achieved by businesses, which have exploited the global market at a cheaper price than the other media of advertising such as the yellow pages, through the mass media i.e. news papers and radio as well as Television etc. It is estimated that the price of creating a website is cheaper than the price of advertising on the yellow pages thus making it affordable to all types of businesses (Brown, 2006). With thousands of potential customers around the world using the internet for other purposes such as research, sending and receiving e-mails as well as communicating through chat rooms and entertainment, internet advertising offers the best

Cultural Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Cultural Resource Management Essay 1. (2pts each) Utilizing the lecture notes from the first day of class, define the following terms: Cultural Resources – Are the sources of culture such as art, heritage, artifacts, and architecture Cultural Resource Management – The main form of archaeology in the USA. It is used mostly by archaeologists to refer to management of historic places based on their archaeological, architectural, and historical interests in compliance with the environmental and historic preservation laws. Mostly salvage or rescue archaeology is conducted. Historic Preservation – A way of preserving historic places, landmarks, and artifacts to protect them from destruction or any other means that may harm them. Historic Properties – Places of historic significance that are protected under the historic preservation act. These can include architecture, such as the Mount Vernon Estate, as well as specific pieces of land themselves, such as Gettysburg. Archeological Resources – Sources that can provide significant amounts of archaeological data such as artifacts and features. It is also something that may provided pertinent information to the archaeological record. 2. (2 pts) What is the function of cultural resource management, and what are the values of cultural resources? The function of cultural resource management (CRM) is to protect historic places based on their archaeological, architectural, and historic interests. A majority of the work done in CRM is salvage archaeology. To put it in better terms they try to salvage as much from a site as possible before construction or other forms of land development destroy it. Cultural resources provide a link to the significant knowledge that can be ascertained from archaeological and significant historical sites. 3. (5pts) The late 19th century witnessed a transformation in the way our nation viewed cultural resources. Provide an overview of private attempts at preservation during the late 19th century. There were many attempts at preservation during the late 19th century. A few that come to mind are that of Independence Hall, Gettysburg and the Mount Vernon Estate. The Mount Vernon Estate was bought by a group of people known as the Mount Vernon Ladies Association for preservation. They fully restored the Estate to its formal glory. A group of concerned citizens established the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association whose purpose was to preserve portions of the battlefield as a memorial to the Union Army that fought here. They eventually transferred their land holdings to the Federal government in 1895, which designated Gettysburg as a National Military Park. In 1872 the city of Philadelphia set aside Independence hall and forever declared it a significant landmark, which in turn led to its restoration. 4. The late 19th century witnessed a transformation in the way our nation viewed cultural resources, and this resulted in the 20th century with the passage of major state and federal legislation directed toward promoting cultural resource preservation. For each of the following provide the following information: Antiquities Act of 1906 (9pts) a. This was the first law passed by the United States government that attempted to protect cultural resources and antiquities, allow the president to decide which resources he deemed worthy of protection, and for excavations to be conducted only with authorized permits. b. This legislation was intended to deal with the protection of significant historic lands and sites, as well as establish rules to limit the destruction and looting of said sites and lands. It allowed the president to decide on the significance of a particular site so that he may allow for its protection through federal means. It allowed excavations to be conducted only by means of obtaining a permit. This was to prevent private excavations and looting. It also made anything that was found on the site to be turned into museum hands for the publics benefit. c. The central theme is the protection and procuration of historic landmarks and antiquities through legal means. Historic Sites Act of 1935 (9pts) a. This act was the first assertion of historic preservation as a governmental duty and helped establish rules and organization for the national parks, monuments and historic sites. b. It gives a wide range of powers and responsibilities to the National Park Service and the Secretary of Interior including: codification and institutionalization of Historic American Buildings Survey, authorization to note significant sites and buildings, and to actually be able to carry out and perform preservation work. It also established the National Park System Advisory Board to assist the Secretary of the Interior with administration. c. The central theme to this act was to formulate a means of organization and rules for the preservation and maintenance of historic sites. Missouri Basin Project (9pts) a. This project was conducted as a means of emergency or salvage archaeology at water resource development projects within the vast Missouri River Basin. b. The issue that the legislation faced here was the destruction of potential archaeological sites along the Missouri River Basin. c. The central theme is the ideal behind salvage archaeology and how it can benefit the archaeological record before it is destroyed by some form of major construction or other land development. Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (9pts) a. Before the interstate could be put in this law allowed for an archaeological survey and potential excavation to be conducted. b. This law was passed to help preserve archaeological data that might be damaged or destroyed by the construction of the interstate. c. The theme for this law is to allow archaeologists to salvage as much information as possible from potential sites before construction of the interstate could begin. Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960 (9pts) a. Provides a means for the recovery and preservation of historical and archaeological data that might be lost or destroyed in the construction of dams and reservoirs. b. With all the big damns and large-scale construction being done at this time, this law provided a means for archaeologists to excavate and salvage as much data as possible before the construction was to begin. c. The theme for this law is to provide a way of preserving as much data as possible from a site before construction or completion of a damn or reservoir destroys it. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (9pts) a. This act was created to preserve historical and archaeological sites in the United States of America and created the National Register of Historic Places, the list of National Historic Landmarks, and the State Historic Preservation Offices. b. This legislation provided a means to not only protect significant historic places but also a means to help govern how to run them and how to decide which ones even make the cut to be placed on the list. c. The theme for this law is to provide a means of deciding which landmarks, architecture and significant sites should be included in federal protection as well as how to actually keep up with their restoration. 5. (5pts) Briefly summary the strengths and weaknesses of Works Progress Administration (WPA) Archaeology as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs? This type of archaeology offered many new jobs for people to fill. It also provided a means of excavating sites that were potentially unreachable due to their location and how deep they were actually buried. It created a long lasting impression on archaeology and anthropology as well. It created museums and anthropology departments at universities across the nation. It also created many vast collections of artifacts. The bad with this type of archaeology was that people had to work all year round and often in terrible conditions. Since many of the workers were untrained they had potential to damage artifacts and sites that they came across. 6. (5pts) Provide an overview of the significance of Section 101 of the HPA? It formed the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). SHPO’s responsibilities include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing properties to be placed on the National Register for Historic Places, reviewing undertakings for the impact of these properties and finally supporting federal, state and local governments as well as the private sector. States are responsible for setting up their own SHPO and thus each one varies in its rules and regulations. 7. (5pts) What is the National Register of Historic Places? What makes an historic property eligible for the National Register? Discuss the â€Å"Criteria of Significance† and the â€Å"Criteria of Integrity), etc The national register of historic places is a register that was invented to protect historic properties of significant value to the history of the United States. To be eligible for admission to the register a property must be go through a list called the Criteria of Significance. It has to have one of the following to be able to be on the list. A property must be associated with events that made a significant contribution to our nations history, be associated with a significant historical person of our nations history, have the ability to provide significant information about history or prehistory, and lastly embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. 8. (5pts) Provide an overview of Section 106 process of National Historic Preservation Act. Include the steps (that I talked about in class) of the Section 106 â€Å"Consultation† process. Discuss assessment and mitigation of adverse effect in your answer. Section 106 mandates federal agencies undergo a review process for all federally funded and permitted projects that will impact sites listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places. The steps for Consultation process include 1 Initiation of the Section 106 Review; 2 Identification of Historic Properties; 3 Assessment of Adverse Effects; and 4 Resolution of Adverse Effects. If an adverse effect is expected, the agency is required to work with the local State Historic Preservation Office to ensure that all interested parties are given an opportunity to review the proposed work and provide feedback. This allows for steps to be found avoiding having an adverse effect on historic properties. A Memorandum of Agreement is then reached between all consulting parties outlining agreed to mitigation or avoidance of historic properties. Without said process, historic sites or properties would lose out on significant protection. It provides a process to help decide different approaches or solutions to a project but does not mean that it prevents site destruction or alteration. 9. (6pts) Provide a one word definition for each of the follow (2pts each): Phase I- Identification Phase II- Evaluation Phase III- Mitigation 10. (5pts) YOUR OPINION†¦IS IT a duty of our society and as a community to protect and preserve our heritage? Are communities doing enough to protect their heritage, or are they doing too much, imposing their will too aggressively and infringing the property of others?

Walt Disney Essay Example for Free

Walt Disney Essay Walt Disney started out as The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16 1923. It was founded by Walt Disney and older brother Roy O Disney as equal partners. However, they were cheated by the distributor to the rights of their cartoons. In December 1929 Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney Enterprises, Liled Realty and Investment Company and Disney Film Recording Company took over the Disney brothers’ partnership. In December 26, 1939 the company moved from Burbank California to Hyperion Studio, LA. Walt Disney Music Company was formed on October 1 1949. On July 17 1955, the first Disney Park known as Disneyland opened for audience in Anaheim California. Walt Disney World Resort and two hotels are opened near Orlando Florida on 1 October 1971. Walt Disney World Village later renamed Disney Village Market place opens on March 22 1975. The first international Disney theme park, Tokyo Disneyland opens on April 15 1983 in Japan. The few days later on April 18 1983 Disney Channel began broadcasting. In February of 1986, Walt Disney Productions was renamed The Walt Disney Company. The company expanded its business into Disney Interactive and opened Disney online in September 1995. In February 1996 Disney. com is launched on the World Wide Web and the Disney Institute is opened at Walt Disney World. On March 16 2002, Walt Disney Studios is opened in Paris. In September of 2005 Hong Kong Disneyland is opened. Marvel entertainments join the Disney family on December 31 2009. The company completes its Lucasfilm Ltd and with it the legendary Star Wars franchise. There are 5 major business segments in the Walt Disney Company. The media networks is made up of a variety of different channels such as ESPN, Abc Family, Disney Channel Worldwide, and many more. They also have Parks and Resorts which started with the opening of Disneyland in 1955. Walt Disney resorts have now grown into the leading provider for family travel and leisure. The Walt Disney Studios is the foundation on which the entire company was built. It still offers quality movies and has acquired a large array of different studios such as Marvel Studios, Touchstone Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios and many more. Disney Interactive is aimed for children and families. It uses technology and imagination to provide entertainment across all digital media platforms. Lastly, there is Disney Consumer Products that extends the brand to merchandise such as apparel, toys, home decor. The Disney Store debuted in 1987 and has grown widely since then with stores operating in North America, Europe and Japan.

Comparing the suitability of food production systems

Comparing the suitability of food production systems Food and Beverage Operation Management Contents Task 1 Question Task 1 Answer Task 2 Question Task 2 Answer Task 3 Question Task 3 Answer Reference Task 1 Question 1.1) Discuss the characteristics of food production and food and beverage service system 1.4) Justify the suitability of systems for particular food and beverage outlets Task 1 Answer I have been assigned by the management to turn up with a better method in the kitchen to enable the hotel to produce good production in order to cater customer demand. I understand that the hotel currently adopting a conventional traditional production method in the main kitchen as they believe the food must be prepared by experts to maintain quality and the originality of the food itself. Conventional traditional production method is producing utilizing mainly fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods (Foskett Paskins, 2011). In this system, the organization of the kitchen is based around the division of tasks into areas or groups of people performing analogous task which is highly in cost such as salaries and their equipment although it allows for specialization and development of a high level of skill, however it is labour intensive. Using conventional traditional convection method also means the production of the foods and beverages are masses and need to be similar or above the benchmarks which consume a lot of time to inspect the production and require more workers. In the traditional conventional system, they use the kitchen brigade where there can be many separate sections in the kitchen with staffs performing specific aspects of food production which is lead by the head chef. The method I have chosen which is superior to the conventional method is cook-chill method. Cook-chill method is food production storage and regeneration method utilising principle of low temperature control to preserve the qualities of processed foods. (Foskett Paskins, 2011) It is based on the normal preparation and cooking of food followed by rapid chilling storage in controlled low-temperature conditions above freezing point of 0-3 degree Celsius and subsequently reheating immediately before consumption which is done in the finishing kitchen. It is also used in volume catering such as hospital. In cook-chill system, they also use a traditional partie system which includes the head chef, deputy chef, chef de partie and cook but less staffs because cook-chill system does not use a large area and require minimum staff to work. The reason I chose Cook-chill systems because it requires low capital investment and minimum staff. Almost any food can be cook-chilled provided that the correct methods are used during the preparations. And the ingredients are already been prepared expect for the portioning unlike the traditional conventional method where they had to prepare everything from scratch for example they had to buy the meat fresh from the market or the supplier and send it to the section to cut the meats and preparing it for portioning. The purpose of using cook-chilled system is to prolong its storage life which is ideal since the hotel also caters for the Royal Brunei In-flight Catering. The advantages of using cook-chill system to the customer are it increased variety and selection, where there is a wide range of cuisine to choose from. It also improved the quality of the food because the standards are well maintained. The services can be maintained at all time regardless of staff absences because the foods are already prepared. Furthermore using cook-chill systems are less dependence on price fluctuation. The disadvantages of using cook-chill system are the textures and flavour may changes if the foods are not prepared carefully which can lead to customer dissatisfaction. When customers are not satisfied, they tend to spread the news that the hotel’s restaurant are not up to standard which lead to loss of customers. The service I have chosen for the hotel is American service. American service is portions of food are plated in the kitchen and served to each guest by waiter or waitress. The advantages of using American service are it is fast and simple and also inexpensive because it require less staffs to served the guest. Lastly using American service does not require staff to be highly trained technical staff hence less cost. The disadvantages of using American service are there is less showmanship which means the presentations are not beyond the customers expectation compared to silver service or English service. Finally using American service reduces personalized attention. This is because there is less staff to attend the customer which may affect the satisfaction of the customer. I am going to compare the seven stages in food and beverages between the traditional conventional system and the cook-chill system. Task 2 Question 1.2) Discuss factors affecting recipes and menus for specific system Task 2 Answer As the manager of the food and beverage for The Empire hotel and Country Club and as the supplier for the Royal Brunei In flight catering, I have to discuss the factors affecting recipes and menus for the food and beverage system. The first factor is about the type of menu choose for the in flight catering. There are two types of menu which are ala carte and table d’hote. Table d’hote is a full course meal that offers a limited choice within each course and served at a fixed price (Free Dictionary, n.d). Most airlines use table d’hote because it offers limited menus and use both in the business class and economy class. The prices are fixed which is easier for the airlines to calculate their cost and include it in the ticket bills. Meals that are included in the table d’hote are appetizer such as salad, main course and desert. Ala carte is where the dishes are listed separately and individually priced (A la Carte, n.d). It is not recommendable for airlines to utilize because it is inconvenient and maybe hard for the customers to pay because they may change their money currency to other and maybe it is insufficient. The best meal for in flight would be poultry because chicken is easy to prepare in a healthy way by grilling, roasting, sauteing, poaching, stir-frying and baking. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, we should be eating lean sources of protein, including chicken. However chicken are likely contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is a bacterium that occurs mainly in the gut of the poultry which causes food poisoning (Foskett Paskins, 2011). But we make sure it doesn’t happen by checking with our supplier and make sure that our supplier has a certificate that shows they can legally and certified from the government to operate. Healthy eating has become a trend nowadays as according to a study conduct by Nielsen (2015). The percentage of adults around the world is overweight with an increase of 30% over the past 30 years while children are 47%. According to statistic World Health Organization, WHO, shown that 1.6 billion adult are facing overweight and 400 million people are obesity. This is serious problem to the people in the world. Due to this problem, consumers from around the world are starting to become more health conscious. Therefore we will modify the food into more healthier such as using less oil, grilling and using olive oil instead of palm oil. Different people have different needs. Some people have different outcome when consuming food or beverages. The dangerous thing is when they have food allergy which may be fatal if consume. Apart from that, the individual consumer need such as those with special diets for example; consumers with high cholesterol will need low a cholesterol meal while vegetarians will be offered a vegan meal. Other examples are gluten free meal, non lactose meal, low sodium meal, bland meal, high fiber meal, low protein meal, children and infant’s meal (Royal Brunei Airlines, n.d.). That is why individual customer needs special diets such as no sugar or no peanuts. The customers should tell the staffs or in their booking reservation that they need special dietary to ensure that they will receive exceptional meals with special dietary. In accordance to Islamic law, any Islamic airlines are not allowed to serve pork or alcohol unless it is requested by the consumers. But since the Empire Hotel and Country Club Brunei’s restaurant has Halal certification, we will not serve any pork or alcohol. Task 3 Question 1.3) Compare the cost and staffing implications for different systems Task 3 Answer Before I present my proposal to the management, I will make as any changes will incur cost, therefore I will compare the cost and staffing implication for each system which is the traditional conventional method and cook-chill method. From the table above, cook-chilled has proven to be better than traditional conventional method. From the cost associated with products, in conventional method, the ingredients have to bought daily and they need to prepare the ingredient right after it arrives unlike the cook-chill, ingredients are already been cut from the supplier and ready to be chilled to ensure its quality are not degraded which save a lot of time and energy of the staff. Also the finished product of the conventional method cannot last long unlike the cook-chill method where the product can last at least 5 days (Foskett Paskins, 2011). Although the machinery for cook-chill are expensive but for long term investment it is worth because there are less staff needed to operate in the kitchen which means it is easier to handle the kitchen. In addition, there are lesser equipments needed because most of the ingredients are already been prepared (James, 2012). And lastly, only few staffs needed for cook-chill which means fewer salaries to pay to the employee unlike the conventional method where they need more staff to operate in different part of the kitchen and it is hard to keep track of their well being and the work time in the conventional method is longer because they have to prepare the ingredients from scratch (Royal Brunei Airlines, n.d.). Therefore the method I have chosen is better than the hotel current method because it is effective and more efficient working environment to the hotel. Reference BusinessDictionary.com,. What Is American Service? Definition And Meaning. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. Culinarylore.com,. What Is The Kitchen Brigade? Culinarylore.Com. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. Hotelambassador.co.uk,. Table Dhote Menu // Wine Dine @ Theambassador Hotel Llandudno. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. Singh, Hemant. AMERICAN SERVICE ~ FOOD BEVERAGE.Fnbclasses.blogspot.com. N.p., 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. TheFreeDictionary.com,. Family Style. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. Yourdictionary.com,. Saucier Dictionary Definition | Saucier Defined. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. table dhote. (n.d.)Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged. (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003). Retrieved April 23 2015 fromhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/table+d%27hote a la carte. (n.d.)Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged. (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003). Retrieved April 23 2015 fromhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/a+la+carte Eat, We. Reports | We Are What We Eat | Nielsen.Nielsen.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. Flyroyalbrunei.com,. Inflight Meals Royal Brunei Airlines Australia. N.p., 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. Yourdictionary.com,. Saucier Dictionary Definition | Saucier Defined. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. Laksamana College of Business

My Personal Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching St

Philosophy of Education We are living in a moment of deep historical mutation in which traditional meanings are dissolving. This makes it necessary to re-think the certainties in which the Essentialist thinks. Bringing us back to the basics of life with core curriculum. My philosophy beliefs on education are based on Essentialism and Progressivism. Essentialism is grounded in a conservative philosophy that accepts the social, political, and economic structure of American society. While Progressivism has a respect for individuality, it is believed that people learn better through active interplay with others. Learning is increased when we engage in activities that have meaning in our lives. I have learned through the years that young children seem to be more vulnerable to learning through music, rhyming and dancing. I feel that it gives them a better grasp on the information, than just reading about the issues at hand. However, students still need to learn the essentials of academics. There are subsequently countless reasons to become an educator. Above all is to make a difference in at least one child’s life. Being an educator would allow me to go the extra mile so that I may shape, mold, and build character in the children. These are just a few of the reasons I would love to become an educator. The classroom will be filled with all the necessary items to make it an all- around great place of learning. The room will be filled with pastel colors to help the children stay focused and calm. It will include a weather board, days of the week and a sign language alphabet book. There will also be wall borders such as a number line, an alphabet line, a color line and the helpers of the day. There will be ... ...o do their best at all times, to stay on target and get help when needed so that they will not be left behind. As a teacher you must be a continuous learner. You can fulfill this by going to many lectures, night classes, in-service trainings, experience and from your mentor. Also, it is amazing how much you can learn from the students. They can assist the teacher with techniques, styles, discipline, and motivation in a classroom. The future professional developmental plans would be to improve individual skills, qualify for salary increases, and meet certification requirements. With completion of just these few things a teacher could get rewarded with personal and professional growth, job security, and career advancement. As an adult learner time needs to be set aside for learning. Adults need time to experience and digest new ideas and ways of working.

The Internet, Moral Judgment and Respect :: Free Essays Online

The Internet, Moral Judgment and Respect The Internet has changed the way that many people go about their everyday lives. People are trading stocks, paying bills, checking weather reports, buying cars, and even lining up their Friday night dates via the Internet. It has certainly proved to be a convenient tool for many, but for some musicians it has created a void in their pocketbooks that may take some time to fill. Is the sharing of music files on the Internet our God given right, or is it a simple case of theft? As the 1990’s gave us Seinfeld, Grunge Rock, The Clinton Administration and the Macarena, they also introduced many people around the world to the Internet. The Internet allows clusters of computer networks to be linked together worldwide giving people the ability share information virtually anywhere. Among that shared information includes music files known as MP-3’s. The MP-3 ( MPEG Audio Layer 3) can squeeze a music file to a fraction of its original CD file size with only a slight loss of quality. [1] These files can be sent as attachments to e-mails and played back by the recipient just as if they were listening to the original recording. This seemed like a great way of distributing music over the Internet until a 19-year-old college freshman named Shawn Fanning released a computer program he had just written. He called it "Napster" -- his own nickname (apparently Fanning had issues with shampoo, so his hair was kind of . . . well, you know). [2] This site a llowed its users the ability to search for music and download it to their PC from any other user who happened to be logged on to that site. Imagine millions of files, readily available from your own home with the simple click of a mouse! You’ll never have to purchase another new CD again†¦or will you? Musicians and record companies around the world became growingly concerned with the drastic decline of album sales. How could copyrighted music created by an artist be taken and distributed without the permission of its owner? Isn’t this stealing? One would surely think that a department store would press charges if an individual were caught shoplifting CD’s. A musician makes his/her livelihood from the sale of their music the same way a store makes money from merchandise sales.

Animal Farm - George Orwell Essay -- Animal Farm Essays

Animal Farm George Orwell 128 Pages George Orwell, the pen name of Eric Blair, was born in Bengal in 1903. He was educated at Eton School in England, and then served with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. He returned to Europe and became a writer of novels and essays. Much of his work was political, and although he had a hatred of Communism, he was a socialist. Orwell died at the age of forty-seven of a lung problem, leaving behind several unfinished works. Animal Farm is a parody of the Communist revolution in Russia, and as a result its themes are the evils of totalitarianism and selfishness, and also the importance of hard work. Animal Farm tells the story of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, but from a viewpoint slightly more comical: that of a farm in England. The story begins in a barn, where a boar on the farm named Old Major has gathered the other animals to tell them of a dream he had, a dream of a world in which humans do not rule over other animals. Old Major encourag es the animals of the farm to revolt against Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm. Not long after, he dies, but the animals keep his ideas of Animalism (which is essentially Communism) alive and the pigs, who are the most clever animals on the farm, begin to plan a revolution. One day, the workers on the farm forget to feed the animals, and so some of the more powerful horses break down the door to the barn where the feed is stored, and the animals enjoy a feast. When Mr. Jones learns of this, however, he immediately orders all of the animals to be punished appropriately. As they are being whipped and beaten, the animals suddenly turn on the workers. The humans, who had no way of anticipating such an attack, are scared off of the farm. When the animals realize what has happened, they go back to the main barn to discuss the recent events. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, assume control of the farm, and the animals immediately declare the farmhouse to be a sort of museum, in which no anim al should enter. The pigs then reveal that they had been learning how to read and write for the entire time in which the revolution was being planned, and the animals agree on seven basic rules, which they called the Seven Commandments. The Seven Commandments consist of the following: ? Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. ? Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. ? No animal sha... ...t day, while the animals are working, Clover comes rushing into the fields telling the other animals to follow her. When they do, they see Squealer walking on his hind legs. Then, the door to the farmhouse swings open and Napoleon comes out, also on his hind legs and with a whip in his hand. Afterwards, the animals do not find it strange that they are being whipped while working, except for Clover, who again looks at the Commandments. She finds that the seventh reads “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.'; That evening, some carts approach the farmhouse, and the animals see a procession of humans entering. Fearful but curious, they look into the window and see the humans and pigs sitting at a large table, with Napoleon at the head. Mr. Pilkington makes a toast to the prosperity of Animal Farm, and as the animals are walking away, a loud shout comes from the farmhouse, and they go back to see what happened. There they find that Napoleon and Pilkington had both played an ace of spades in a game of poker. It is at this point that “The creatures outside look from pig to man and man to pig; but already it is impossible to say which is which.';

Latin History

MEXICO ECONOMY Mexico is located in North America and known as United Mexican States. It consists of thirty-one states and a federal district with the capital of Mexico City. It is most populous city in the Earth. The GDP is $1.149 trillion and per capital income is $11,249. the income per capita is $7.310. It is 12th largest economy in the world as measured in Gross Domestic product. The GDP real growth rate is 4.8%. The average annual GDP growth during 1972 to 1981 was 5.5% whereas during 1981-1986 it was only 1.5%. The GDP’s main share is from services 69.4% and the industry captured 26.7%. From Agriculture it is only 3.9%.   The public debt is 23.3% of GDP. Mexico is highly dependent on exports to the United States. The quarter share of the country’s GDP is based on the exports to the United States. Hence the Mexican economy is strongly linked with the U.S. business. The 1994-year is Mexico’s bad year. Of course it starts with acceptance of NAFTA in the year beginning with United States and Canada and ends with dark Christmas with peso devaluation. During the year there are many political problems like Chiapas rebellion, assignations of political leaders. There was such situation the Mexico attacked with the crisis during 1982 and it got recovered by 7 years whereas during 1994 peso devaluation, it takes for 7 months only to get recovery.   During December 19, 1994, the exchange rate is 3.50 pesos per dollar. The consumer demand for goods collapsed. The Mexican interest rate on loans dramatically increased creating a shock in the banking system. Some businesses closed due to increase of market share. The exports increased with high exchange rate TRADE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEXICO AND UNITED STATES 90% of Mexican trade has been put under free trade agreements with over 40 countries. The North American Free Trade Agreement is significant in this regard. 9% of Mexican exports go to the United States and Canada. And imports recognized 65% from these two countries. The exports to Untied States are 88.4% and imports from United States are 68.4%. Mexico is dependent on trade with United States. The U.S. exports to Mexico include electronic equipment, motor vehicle parts and chemicals and in case of Mexican exports to the United States are Petroleum, cars and electronic equipment. Mexico depends more than on U.S. economy whether it may be good or bad. The NAFTA relation between U.S and Mexico completed more than 10 years. Of course, after the peso devaluation, the Mexico economy become stable, perhaps the United States plays major role. Initially, there was a free trade agreement between Canada and United States called Free Trade Agreement during 1988. Thereafter it was included Mexico and fresh agreement is established in the name of NAFTA. It is trilateral agreement. It is an agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico. The agreement indicates elimination of tariffs of the produced traded in the respective nations i.e. United States, Canada and Mexico. It is planned to phase out tariffs over a period 15 years. Besides the restrictions were said to be removed from many categories, which includes motor vehicles, computers, textiles and agriculture. MEXICO POLITICAL The type of government is Federal republic. Representing political parties are Institutional Revolutionary Party, National Action Party, Party of the Democratic Revolution, Green Ecological Party, Labor party and several small parties. The politics of Mexico are dominated by the three political parties in Mexico i.e. National Action Party (PAN), Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The recent federal presidential elections were held on July 2, 2006. President Zedillo and president Fox continued with trade liberalization and several FTAs were signed with Latin American and European countries. Thus Mexico became one of the most open countries in the world of trade. Most Important reform during President Fox period is implementation of Freedom of Information laws. With this effect Mexico City and 26 states supposed to fight against corruption. Hence Mexico becomes international model by usage of FOIA laws and enforcement mechanisms. REFERENE: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html http://countrystudies.us/mexico/65.htm http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/0,,pagePK:180619~theSitePK:136917,00.html http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749.htm   

Huffman Trucking: Database Design and Development

Running head: HUFFMAN TRUCKING Huffman Trucking: Database Design and Development Huffman Trucking started out as a single owner, single truck and trailer, operating in the Cleveland Ohio area back in 1936 doing local contract hauls. Today, Huffman Trucking is a National carrier with 1,400 employees, 800 tractors, 2,100 trailers, and 260 roll-on/roll-off units, operating from 3 logistical hubs located in Los Angeles, California, St. Louis, Missouri, and Bayonne, New Jersey and its central maintenance facility located in Cleveland Ohio (Apollo Group Inc. , 2005).With the growth through the years, Huffman Trucking has maintained their competitiveness by being an industry leader in leveraging technology to the maximum to provide customer service and business efficiencies (Apollo Group Inc. , 2005). In the means to maintain this competitiveness, Huffman Trucking hired Smith Systems Consulting to develop a report of entities and attributes that will be needed for a Fleet Truck Maintenance Database. Upon receipt of Smith’s report detailing the entities and attributes needed, our IT Manager submitted a Service Request SR-ht-003 to design a Fleet Truck Maintenance Database.In the following paragraphs LTA will discuss the database architecture briefly and primary keys, which play a vital role in an Entity-Relational Database. The discussions of the different types of mistakes that are made in the design phase that led to a poor database design are also discussed. Mistakes include the lack of careful planning, proper normalization of data, poor naming conventions, lack of sufficient documentation and extensive testing. The ERD for the database will be revealed along with the choice of the program to manage the database and allow for versatility for various platforms, applications, and features.Huffman Trucking’s fleet truck maintenance records are fairly straight-forward, therefore, a basic database design architecture is recommended as a start in the entry of information, and importing of current database records into the new basic database. By starting simple, this database can be upgraded over time, as the company grows and the fleet grows. The important items to consider when designing a new database include: ease of use for the users, the production of query reporting, as well as financial records, parts orders, maintenance records, and purchase rders. â€Å"A good model and a proper database design form the foundation of an information system. Building the data layer is often the first critical step towards implementing a new system, and getting it right requires attention to detail and a whole lot of careful planning. A database, like any computer system, is a model of a small piece of the real world. And, like any model, it’s a narrow representation that disregards much of the complexity of the real thing† (Malone, 2007). A primary key, which is a record or an attribute, uniquely identifies a table.Primary keys ma ke mapping relational data simple, in order to uniquely identify each entry in the database. The concept of some sort of unique value is common in database designing — using account numbers to identify part numbers, vendor numbers, and maintenance work orders. These are also known as natural keys, common entities that are used to uniquely identify objects. Generally, if the data that is being modeled has a decent natural key, or identifier, that information should not be used as a primary key.Natural keys should not be used as primary keys, as the purpose of the primary key is to uniquely identify a value in a database record. Several primary key characteristics are the primary key must be able to identify each row in a table. The primary key should not describe the characteristics of the entity. A part number ID of â€Å"2566† is usually preferred over â€Å"Air Filter. † The value of a primary key should never change. Changing a primary key value means changin g the identity of an entity. Changing the identity is not advised. Non-intelligent keys are preferred because they are less likely to change.For example, the part number 2566 for an Air Filter for one model of truck, and the part number of 2560 would be an Air Filter for another model of truck. To have just a part number of â€Å"Air Filter† would be too ambiguous, and could result in lost time trying to locate the correct air filter for a specific model of truck. Those part numbers, in general would most likely never change over time, therefore, are best to use as primary keys in a database of part numbers. Primary keys should have the smallest number of attributes possible.It is easier to manage unique keys that are numeric. Items to Consider During Design Phase Several things that are easy to overlook during the database design process include design and planning of the database, normalization of data, insufficient naming conventions, documentation, and testing. A brief ru n-down of these common errors during the design phase of a database is listed below. By listing them now, it can be used as an effective guideline to follow when designing the database for Huffman Trucking’s Fleet Maintenance. Design and Planning of the DatabaseGood databases are designed with careful thought, and with the proper care and attention given to the needs of the data that will be part of it. Since a carefully constructed database is at the heart of every business project, insufficient planning and detailing of the needs of the project could cause the whole project to lose its direction and purpose. Additionally, by not taking the time at the beginning, any changes in the database structures that may be needed to be made in the future could cause devastating consequences on the whole project, and greatly increase the likelihood of the project timeline slipping.If the planning phase is rushed, problems will inevitably arise, and because of the lack of proper plannin g and design, there is usually no time to go back and fix any issues properly. â€Å"That is when the ‘hacking’ starts, with the veiled promise to return and fix things later, something that happens very rarely indeed† (Davidson, 2007). Normalization of Data Normalization defines a set of standards to break down tables into their basic parts until each table represents only one thing, and its columns fully describe the only thing that the table represents.Normalizing the Huffman Trucking’s data is important to ensure proper performance and ease of future development projects. Insufficient Naming Conventions Naming conventions are most the important line of documentation for any application. What is important to consider is the importance of consistency. Names should be kept simple while at the same time, identifying their purpose to the data being entered. Documentation Not only will a well-designed database conform to certainly quality tandards, it will a lso contain definitions and examples about its tables, so that its purpose is clear to everyone on how the tables, columns and relationships are intended to be used. The goal of proper documentation should be to provide enough information for a support programmer to find any bugs and fix them easily. Testing As many Information Technology professionals know, the first thing to be blamed when a business system starts running slow is because the database can get bogged down with fragmented information, or too much information.Deep knowledge of the system is the best way to dispel this notion Unfortunately, testing is the usually one of the things to go in a project when time starts to run out. What is important to consider in this whole process is that deep system testing is done to make sure that the design is implemented correctly. The first real test is for any database is when it goes into production, and users attempt to do real work. And if the system does not work fast enough, or contains bugs when it goes live, then more work will have to done on a live system, which could inherently cause the loss of revenue of any company.By insisting on strict testing as an important aspect of database development, then perhaps the day will come when the database will not be the first thing to be pointed out when the system slows down. In order to accomplish the goal of establishing a functional database that Huffman can use now and in the future to effectively manage their data, it is recommended that Huffman Trucking decide to use MySQL. There are many great things about MySQL, including the fact that MySQL is very popular among web applications and acts as a database for a multitude of platforms.Some of these platforms include FreeBSD, BSDi, AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Novell NetWare, OS/2 Warp, Solaris, i5/OS, Windows 95, Solaris, Windows 98, SunOS, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. MySQL is popular among open source code and bug tracking tools such as Bugzilla as well. MySQL is written in C and C++. Libraries that are used to access MySQL databases can be found in many of today’s programming languages by using language specific API’s. There is also an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) that allows additional programming languages to communicate with MySQL, including ColdFusion or ASP.MySQL features options that are not in many other RDBMSs. One feature that is not included in many RDBMSs is multiple storage engines. This feature allows for a user to select the most effective storage engine for each table in the application. Another great feature that MySQL offers is native storage engines. These are storage engines that are developed by MySQL and are optimized for specific application storage domain. They offer data warehousing, data archiving, high availability clustering, and many more features. MySQL recently developed a new advanced transactional storage engine called Falcon.Falcon was designed for modern day corporations and web applications which makes it perfect for Huffman Trucking. One feature not to be overlooked is the availability of Partner-developed storage engines. Search engines that are partner developed are developed buy outside companies, but they are then highly tested by MySQL in order to ensure workability and compatibility with MySQL. MySQL also has open source programmers that are independent and develop storage engines. These are used as well, but only after they pass MySQL rigorous inspection and testing.Customers are even developing and designing community storage systems. Commit grouping is a MySQL feature that allows for the gathering of multiple transactions. This is done from a multitude of connections in order to increase the number of commits per second. Conclusion In conclusion the Fleet Truck Maintenance Database will be easy to use, provide effective tracking of finances, maintenance, and queries. The primary key(s) used in the database will have the follo wing characteristics: be a single attribute, uniquely identify an entity, be non-intelligent, not change over time and be numeric.This will ensure the ease of normalizing the database during the design phase to prevent update anomalies when database is implemented. LTA discussed several mistakes that occur during the design phase in order to avoid the same mistakes. These mistakes include poor design/planning, ignoring normalization, poor naming standards, lack of documentation and testing. The DBMS of choice for Huffman Trucking is MySQL. MySQL will effectively manage our data while allowing many different platforms to interact with the database.MySQL is written in C and C++. However, MySQL offers much versatility in programming languages by using language specific API’s or ODBC to allow additional programming languages such as ASP or Coldfusion. MySQL has many options that other RDBMSs do no possess such as multiple storage engines, open source programmers, commit grouping and more. Bottom line is that MySQL offers versatility for our database to allow for continued growth, updates and changes in our company’s needs. References Apollo Group Inc. (2005). Huffman Trucking.Retrieved October 1, 2008, from Huffman Trucking Intranet: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Huffman/HuffmanHome002. htm Davidson  L. ,  (2007). Ten Common Database Design Mistakes. Simple-Talk. com. Retrieved  September  29,  2008,  from  http://www. simple-talk. com/sql/database-administration/ten-common-database-design-mistakes/ Malone  M,  (2007). I'm Mike. Database Design: Choosing A Primary Key. Retrieved  October  1,  2008,  from  http://immike. net/blog/2007/08/14/database-design-choosing-a-primary-key/

Hamptonshire Express Case Essay

1. a. The simulation indicates that 584 is the optimum stocking quantity. Daily profit at this stocking quantity is $331.4346. b. Using the newsvendor model, Cu = 1 – 0.2 = 0.8 and Co = .2. Cu /(Cu + Co) = .8. Using the spreadsheet, we found Q* = NORM.INV(.8,500,100) = 584.16. The simulation and newsvendor model give the same optimal stocking quantity. 2. a. According to the simulation spreadsheet, 4 hours of investment in creation maximizes daily profit at $371.33. b. Sheen would choose an effort level where the marginal benefit gained by the effort is equal to her marginal cost of expending the effort. To calculate the effort level, h, we equalize marginal cost and marginal benefit. Here (.8 * 50) / (2√h) = 10. Solving gives h = 4, or the same as the simulation. c. The optimal profit derived in this scenario is $371.33 per day, which is a $40 increase from the profit derived in problem #1, of $331.43. 3. a. Using the spreadsheet, Ralph’s optimal stocking quantity to maximize his profit is 516. b. The optimal stocking quantity differs from problem #2 because Ralph is incurring the cost of overstocking, which changes the critical ratio from .8 in problem #2 to .2. Because of the critical ratio change, Anna’s profit decreases as Ralph’s increases. This is consistent with the Newsvendor Model, which gives Cu=.2, Co=.8, for a critical ratio of .2. Using the formula in the spreadsheet, Q*=NORM.INV(.2,600,100)=515.837, gives the optimal stocking quantity of 516. c. Assuming that we only use whole numbers for her amount of time, Anna’s optimal effort is 2 hours with a profit of $261.93, a decrease from problem #2 of 4 hours. This is because Anna is now sharing her profit. d. If you decrease the transfer price, Anna’s effort level also decreases, and Ralph will increase his stocking quantity, adding to his profit. Anna’s effort level decreases because her profit decreases when Ralph buys the newspapers for less than $0.80. When the transfer price increases, the opposite occurs; Anna’s effort level increases and there is a decrease in Ralph’s stocking quantity and profit. 4. a. The optimal stocking quantity is 409 according to the spreadsheet in the simulation, which is a decrease from 516 in problem #3 because in the event that the Express stocks out, Ralph still makes a profit from 40% of  customers who will buy the Private. Therefore, because he makes more profit off of the Private, his risk decreases because of cost of understocking of the Express. b. For problems #1 and #2 there were no profitable alternatives to understocking, whereas in problem #3, Ralph has a profitable alternative for understocking since 40% of customers will buy the Private. The different critical ratios from each problem produce a different optimal stocking quantity. c. This decreases his optimal stocking quantity because Ralph is allocating $0.03 to the cost of each newspaper, making his cost of understocking now 1-.83-40%*.4=.01. Co=.83 Critical ratio 0.01/.83= 0.012 According to the data, the optimal stocking quantity is Q*=NORMINV(.012,500,100). 5. a. A lower buy-back price means a lower stocking quantity, because it affects the cost of overstocking. Ralph wants to stock a lower quantity in order to lower his risk of overstocking. The optimal buy-back price is $0.75, which gives a stocking quantity of 659 and channel profits of $369.80. b. The optimal transfer price is $0.99, giving a buy-back price of $0.988, and channel profits of $372.62. However, this is an unrealistic scenario because Ralph’s profits are negative at -$24 and Anna is making almost the full $1 price on each sale. The channel profit is very close to the $371.33 profit from problem #2. This is because the transfer price is almost the same as the selling price to customers of $1, eliminating Anna’s cost of under or overstocking. c. If Ralph had to pay a franchise fee, he would no longer have an incentive to understock. Anna’s effort would remain the same because the marginal benefit of her effort would not change given the additional fixed profit from Ralph’s fee.

Mobile Security and Why it’s important

Commonplace so developers had to build in security from the start†¦. Storing surnames and passwords in plain text on the device is a rookie mistake. † (Prince, 2010) Rooting and Jail breaking is a process where users tamper with a device allowing them to bypass any restrictions that were put on the phone to prevent the end user from having access. After rooting or Jail breaking a device the user obtains superset access rights. These rights allow for full control and customization which also makes the device more susceptible to attack. (Hang, Wright & Samurai's, 2014) Security And Why It's DifficultAlthough security is an important factor in development it is sometimes hard to get developers to focus on security. Competitive pressure to deliver more functionality at a lower cost is one force that works against improving security. Grabbing market share as soon as possible also slow developers urge to improve security. (Halibut, Voss, Miller, 2011, p. 10) Many Application Dev elopers are most concerned in an app being secure enough to not bring their system down. Therefore, fixing the security of APS is somewhat challenging. Recent reports show that up to 80% of APS fail to employ with security standards.Using data fertilization will keep devices that are lost or stolen from leaking valuable data. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Office of Science and Technology are preparing to begin its own development of mobile APS for use by employees that would be more secure than APS available to the public. (Curran, 2012) Security, What Can Be Done Mobile application security should not simply focus on data and applications. Mobile platforms are used in various new settings and impact users in ways that could never apply to a PC.An attacker could compromise systems connected to mobile devices through vulnerabilities identified at any point (Line, Hang, Wright, Samurai's, 2014, p. 22) Some researchers focus on analysis, detection and evaluat ion of malicious applications while others focus on designs meant to improve data security. Controlling permission usage or isolating the execution environment is two examples of such. (Hang, Wright & Samurai's, 2014) Fortunately, the UN-trusted entry points to an application are limited to the particular platform features you choose to use and are secured in a consistent way.Android applications do not have a simple main function that always gets called when they start. Instead, their initial entry points are based on registering Activities, Services, Broadcast Receivers or Content Providers with the system (Burns, 2008, p. 5) Developers should assume that an attacker will install the device on their phone and then be able to inspect the application. By Jail breaking their phone it allows the attacker to retrieve the actual code making it easy for them to plan their attack. (Prince, 2010) Information leakage must be curtailed during the architecture phase and managed with strict co ntrols in plowmen. Rouse, 2009, p 44) Developers need not only consider how to keep users data safe but to deal with power usage and memory consumption. You cannot allow mallard to access your applications special permissions. (Burns, 2008) In conclusion, Security for mobile devices is something users and developers need to take more seriously. Developers must understand that making sure an application is great is top priority but security for those applications can be Just as important. Should there be more strict submission rules for security to force developers to make security a priority?Mobile Application Developers Face Security Challenges. Retrieved August 28, 2014. Rouse, March 23, 2009, Securing Mobile Applications Illuminating Mobile Threats, HTTPS://www. Spas. Org/index. PH? Title=The_future_of_mobile:_developing_secure_mobile_applications=57231 Appendix A: Critical Thinking Six Steps Used to Draft Your Paper Compose your reflections below. Attitude towards this assignmen t. I was overwhelmed at first but I took a breath and just followed the suggested path in the instructions for the assignment. Step 2. Focus on the accuracy of the assumptions and conclusions.I followed the assignment instructions and highlighted them on my printed out sheet as I completed each necessary step. Step 3. Break the problems into workable parts. I broke this into easily tackled parts by following each step of the instructions. I would worry about each section at a time and tried to keep my mind off the length of the entire paper and Just worked on each section as necessary and then move onto the next. Good strategy. Step 4. Do not guess or Jump to conclusions. I printed out the material for Unit 5 Assignment and highlighted as each step was completed.I used the grading criteria to hopefully achieve a distinguished grade. Step 5. Employ meaningful self-dialogue throughout the process, including written or drawn prompts as well as spoken words. I printed out my previous â €Å"draft† from Unit 4 and further organized the information, expanding on this information also. I highlighted all referenced material to make sure I did not use the information in more than one section. I also made a lot of notes on the Unit 5 assignment instructions making sure not to forget all that I needed to do. I have a copy of this assignment open as well as to not forget the instructions.Great strategies! Step 6. Briefly describe what it felt like to go through the process. I enjoy going through the critical thinking process. It really helps me slow down and do things one at a time. Highlighting each step as I complete it and using the grading charts have really helped me in this course to not only know what is expected of me to get a distinguished grade but also so that I do not leave out vital information or miss important steps. 0 Appendix B: Critical Thinking Six Steps Used to Revise Your Paper (Unit 6) Step 1. Demonstrate a positive attitude toward solving a pr oblem.I tried to keep a positive attitude throughout this research paper. I became a little frustrated after reading my peer reviews. I wasn't sure that some of the suggestions I received were good. I calmed down and Just decided to ask. Step 2. Focus on the accuracy of the assumptions and conclusions. I was unsure about some of the suggestions that were given to me by my peers because of instructions that were given to us. I make sure to read all instructions and know that I'm doing what I'm supposed to but I didn't want to completely throw my peers suggestions out so I wanted to make sure and asked.Step 3. Break the problems into workable parts. I broke this assignment into workable sections by picking one thing to focus on then going to the next. For example I started by reading everyone's feedback. I then broke it up and went through my paper first, fixing any spelling mistakes. Next I fixed any citation mistakes that needed corrected. I went over my paper several times working I did not guess or Jump to conclusions. I read all instructions more than once to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to. When I was unsure of a peer's suggestions I asked. Step 5.Employ meaningful self-dialogue throughout the process, including written or drawn prompts as well as spoken words. I printed out all feedback and wrote myself notes accordingly. I highlighted all adjustments/notes as I completed them to make sure I didn't forget anything. Step 6. Briefly describe what it felt like to go through the process. I thoroughly enjoy using the critical thinking process. It helps me to ensure Vie done what is expected of me to get a good grade and understand exactly what I'm doing. Instructions when you are finished finalizing your paper for Unit 6, assignment 1 :

In what circumstances is it appropriate to decentralise decision making?

Decentralisation of decision making is the process of involving different people in an organization in making key changes whether these changes are policy based or otherwise, different levels of management are involved and their expertise and opinion is sought before any changes are enacted. There are 2 key decisions making methods in an organisation, namely centralized and decentralized, In the latter, only the top management is involved in making key changes and decisions which affect the whole organization. This system is advantageous in that, it is faster, reliable and less tasking. While it is still used in majority of organizaions, most organizations are shifting to the decentralised method and therefore are involving different levels of management in the decision making process. This system is ideal in a number of situations as explained below. Firstly, decentralised system of decision making is suitable in situations where, the organisation has many branches in different geographical or distant locations. This is usually necessitated by the fact that, there arise emergency situations whereby key and quick decisions have to be arrived at and therefore contacting the central decision making authority within a short period of time is out of question question. Secondly, decentralised decision making process is preferred when an organisation is experiencing major staff turnover and their fore lack of key management staff through sackings or retires or any other natural attrition method warrants decisions to be made irregardless. Thirdly, decentralised decision making process is ideal whereby, key decisions are being made at departmental levels such as in production department. Empowering departmental heads to make key decisions perhaps pertaining to the purchasing of crucial ingredients as well as other technical areas may require a decentralised decision making model. PAGE 2: Organisational culture can present difficulties for management initiated change programmes? Discuss Organisational culture refers to the employee – employer relations which shape how the two parties interact and intermingle at the work place. Also, organisational culture can be shaped by, employee backgrounds, external factors as well as the level of support accorded to the employees by the organization staff. Usually there are two common types of organisational cultures namely, positive and negative culture. The first one affects management initiated programmes in that, employees experiencing this kind of culture are more likely to accept any changes in the organisation as usually there is a good blood between the two parties which therefore translates into a strong trust, and mutual understanding. In such an environment, any changes coming from the management whether good or bad are welcomed without any queries and are looked at as being beneficial to the employees. This in turn leads to failure of pragrammes initiated by the management in that, as long as the staff who are tasked with project implementing do not question anything in terms of abnormalities and even if there are clearly missing facts, this is never realized until it is too late therefore causing programme failure. On the other hand an organization culture which is negative leads to customers shunning away so that, any well meant programmes will be fail to take off since, negative publicity which the employees can advance in the process of interacting with the different stake holders also does have a bearing on the outcome of the projects. Lastly, organizational culture determines output in workers in that, a negative attitude amongst employees is more likely to lead to low output in that, it is highly correlated with low morale and therefore productivity. PAGE 3: Discuss why managerial authority is so important to our understanding of organisations and how this power has to be legitimised not just by individual workers but by the organisations culture. Failure to appreciate managerial authority stems form a negative culture which in stead of pestering a mutual understanding between workers and employers causes tensions and misunderstandings in an organization. Usually, for the organisation to meet its goals and objectives the management has to execute its duties well just as stipulated in functions of management. This involves carrying out duties and responsibilities which must be commensurate with the corresponding authority. In situations whereby managers are allocated duties and responsibilities without proper and clear cut, authority to accompany it, the management becomes ineffective and this contributes to failure of many organizations. Therefore, there is a need for decision makers while allocating managers duties to weigh the responsibilities and duties assigned to employees versus the authority and power required to execute the roles and responsibilities effectively. To achieve the above, management should work towards having and inculcating in the organization, the right culture. This can be achieved (if it is lacking), through the launching of strategic plans which could incorporate vision and mission statements, core values of the organization as well as the social responsibility statement of the organization. All the above are necessary in ensuring that, the organization functions in the right environment whereby the needs of all members in the organization are taken care of and employees feel free and as a part of the organization. This in turn result into a culture of unity and strength.

The influence of IT on Supply Chain Management Systems Dissertation

The influence of IT on Supply Chain Management Systems - Dissertation Example About the organization 2. Literature review 3. Dissertation methodology 4. Ethical considerations 5. Findings and analysis 6. Discussions 7. Limitations of the study 8. Conclusions 9. Works cited The influence of IT on Supply Chain Management Systems 1. Introduction 1.1. Background Business organizations operate in a competitive environment in which different players scramble for the market share. The organizations strive to be attractive to clients by offering services that are exceptional and conventionally accepted that are unique to the company. This aim of business organizations is not always achieved due to the other challenging forces in the in the industry. The overall costs of operation are often high at certain instances while the customers are attracted to competitive (lower) prices for different products and services. The organizations also experience labor shortage or heavy loads of tasks on the employees that slow down the operations at the organization. This leads to o verall reduced output of the employees. The manual systems that are applied by certain organizations in their operations are not only slow but are also subject to errors that can lead to huge losses to the organization. This situation has been corrected in many business organizations with the recent development of information technology. The use of information technology has improved operations in various business organizations through excellent information management. ... Two or more organizations that have a direct link of this nature form a supply chain (Mentzer, 5). There is need for proper coordination of the processes involved in the conveyance of these products, services, or finances across the supply chain. Supply chains are encountered in both the service and manufacturing industries, though with some deviations across the industries (Ganeshan & Harrison, 1). Supply chain management is the science and art applied in improving the business functions through enhanced flow of information with an aim of improving long-term productivity and customer satisfaction (Wailgum & Worthen, 1; Mentzer, 2). These steps are hardly implemented with the traditional manual system. The introduction of modern technology and the integration of the technology into supply chain management have improved the operations of many organizations. Competition then becomes between organizations and between their supply chains as well (Xia-feng, 72). Tigo Ghana is one organiza tion that has recently integrated information technology into its supply chain management in order to improve its operations. This study investigates the roles that information technology has played in the improvement of supply chain management at Tigo Ghana, a telecommunications company in Ghana. It performs an analysis of the significant milestones that have been witnessed in the telecommunication company since the beginning of technology-based supply chain management. This study focuses on the role that IT has played in improving the operations in supply chain management of the organization. 1.2. The research question The research entails an investigation of the influence of information technology on supply-chain management

Influence of Media on Jurors in Terror Trials Essay

Influence of Media on Jurors in Terror Trials - Essay Example The first hypothesis was supported in that political media exposure resulted in higher confidence ratings of guilt. There has been relatively little empirical research into the specific topics of juror bias towards terror suspects and the impact of media coverage of the trial of a terrorist on juror bias. The research regarding these variables has investigated Anglo-American and African-American ethnic biases (Abshire & Bornstein, 2003; Sommers & Ellsworth, 2001). This type of ethnic bias can be linked to other ethnic biases including against the ethnic group of a terror suspect. An examination of the cross-race effect in jurors at a mock trial of African-American defendant found that Anglo-American jurors were more likely to find the defendant guilty than African-American jurors (Abshire & Bornstein, 2003). There was a significant difference in the perceived credibility of eyewitnesses based on the ethnicity of the witness, with African-American eyewitnesses viewed as more credible than Anglo-American eyewitnesses. Nonetheless, the testimony of the eyewitnesses did not have an impact on the verdict, with Anglo-American jurors tending to perceive prosecution witnesses as more credible and African-American jurors tending to perceive defense witnesses as more credible. ... Another study of mock jurors found that modern Anglo-American jurors were more likely to demonstrate bias against an African-American defendant accused of committing a crime against an Anglo-American victim when the issues associated with the trial were not blatantly racial (Sommers & Ellsworth, 2001). The conclusion developed from this finding suggests that the modern attitudes against racial bias tend to create a greater degree of impartiality when the crime involves racial issues, but the attitude does not fully prevent bias. Strategies for reducing the impact of bias include insuring that juries are ethnically mixed and asking potential jurors about racial attitudes during voir dire. An investigation into the relationship between juror ethnicity and defendant ethnicity and for receptivity to mitigating evidence in capital cases, found a strong correlation for receptivity among African-American jurors when the defendant was African-American and the victim was Anglo-American (Brewer, 2004). The implications of these findings may be that jurors of different ethnicities tend to be equally receptive to mitigating evidence in capital cases in the majority of cases. When the case involves an in-group defendant that has committed a crime against an out-group victim, however, there is increased receptivity to mitigating evidence by jurors that are members of the in-group (Brewer, 2004). Hence, findings suggest that there is some degree of ethnic identification that occurs between jurors and defendants based on the ethnicity of the defendant and the victim. Related to the issue of juror perceptions based on the ethnicity of the defendant, are the reactions and explanations of individuals to terrorist attacks, these have the potential to influence juror attitudes