The Fences By August Wilson - 1813 Words

In the Fences, by August Wilson shows that life of African Americans in the U.S. in the 1950s with the story of Troy and his family. Wilson uses the symbol of the fence to show the desires of each character like Rose’s desire is to keep her family together, Troy’s desire is to keep death out and to be not bound forever, and Bono’s desire is to follow Troy, his best friend, as an example of the right way to live and to be with Rose and Troy who are basically his family. Rose and the other seen characters represent people and show gender roles of the time, like Rose is a housewife, Troy is the provider. Also Cory is the new generation of emotion over responsibility, Gabriel represents the war heros that were permanently disabled from war†¦show more content†¦Bono: Some people build fences to keep people out†¦ and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you.† (12.i.) Here August Wilson in the first part shows a little of the gender roles of the 1950s where men are the boss of the house and women are subservient to them. It also shows that Rose did not go in as told but remained there with them and Troy accepted that he could not tell her what to do. The image or action of Rose not leaving shows the changing of the times in other words the 1950s on the fence to between the old ways and the new ones. In the first part of what Bono says describes Troy with death and the other part describes Rose with her love for her family and desire to keep everyone close and happy. The character Gabriel (Uncle Gabe) is a mix of many different things and people that of the time and believes he signals the opening of heaven’s gate as his interpretation of the fence. Gabriel is Troy’s half brother who went and fought in the war. He was medically discharged after receiving a head injury that permanently reduced his mental functions. Troy helped Gabriel get a settlement and helps spend/manage the money. Troy used the money to buy himself a house that Gabriel originally lived in as well until Gabriel moved out at his own wish. Wilson wrote: â€Å" Gabriel: ‘Oh, yeah†¦ I know it. The devil’s strong. The devil ain’t no pushover. Hellhounds snipping at everybody’s heels. But IShow MoreRelatedFences : Fences By August Wilson1541 Words   |  7 PagesName: Alejandro Ahmed Date: 12/6/16 Unit: American Drama Title: Fences Author: August Wilson Year of Publication: 1986 Fences Study Guide Descriptive i. Overview: â€Å"Fences†, was a play written by August Wilson in 1986. The play communicates the story of the son of an unsuccessful sharecropper, Troy Maxson, who has lived most of his life independently due to his father’s abuse during his childhood. The play focuses on Troy’s interactions and conflicts with other characters, and the complicated relationshipsRead MoreFences by August Wilson791 Words   |  3 Pageshave built fences to keep enemies out and keep those they want to protect inside. In society today, people create metaphorical fences in order to fence in their feelings, while others create literal fences in order to keep the unwanted away. In the play Fences, the Maxon family lives in 1950’s America whose love for sports and one another are questioned at times when they need to be together the most. In the play Fences by August Wilson, two main characters Troy and Cory Maxon build a fence, literallyRead MoreFences, By August Wilson1104 Wor ds   |  5 PagesAfrican-Americans during the middle of the twentieth century were treated differently than those of the white population. Fences, a play by August Wilson, demonstrates the frustration of white dominance during a time when African-Americans were secluded from society. The Maxson family are the main characters of the play, showing the life they lived in their black tenement in Pittsburg in the 1950s. The setting demonstrates the drama of their struggle, frustration, rebellion, and the predicamentsRead MoreAugust Wilson Fences984 Words   |  4 Pagesbecause in order to get what you want you have to fight for it. Two literary works that reflect this quote are Fences, a play about the struggles of African American before and during the Civil Rights Era in the 1950s and 60s, by August Wilson and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† a short story that shows the difference between women and men during that time, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. ‘Fences’ shows th e revolution the characters face, their actions and what is the result of those choices. Whereas, ‘TheRead MoreFences, By August Wilson807 Words   |  4 PagesFences â€Å"Some people build fences to keep people out...and other people build fences to keep people in† (61). In the play, Fences, by August Wilson who displays how fences symbolize different situations to represent different characters. The story takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1950’s, and in the play fences gives an outlook of providing an obstacle or barrier that is intended to keep something out or in. It shows through the protagonist character, named Troy Maxson and his wifeRead MoreFences by August Wilson883 Words   |  4 PagesFences, written by August Wilson, is a play about a man, named Troy, struggling to support his family during the late 1950’s. In this play, we see that Troy hurts the people closest to him. He has been uncaring towards his wife, Rose, his brother Gabriel and his son, Cory. This is because Troy had nothing to go on but the harsh example set by his father. In Fences, Troy has felt like he has been fenced in all of hi s life, which causes him to fence others in. Troy has felt fenced in all of his lifeRead MoreFences, By August Wilson895 Words   |  4 PagesFences written by August Wilson is an award winning drama that depicts an African-America family who lives in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania during the 1950’s. During this time, the Mason’s reveal the struggles working as a garbage man, providing for his family and excepting life as is. The end of segregation began, more opportunities for African American people were accessible. Troy, who’s the father the Cory and husband of Rose has shoes fill as a working African America man. He is the family breadwinnerRead MoreFences, August Wilson1835 Words   |  8 PagesAs illustrative of the kind of analysis I would bring to Fences, by August Wilson, if my bid to direct is successful, O prose to take direction for a part of Act 1, Scene 3 of the play. This will include possible blocking, camera work, music, and what the actor should be feeling and experiencing while acting the par t. I will examine how crucial it is that the actors portray their characters effectively, and I will offer commentary to assure just that. On the basis of these findings I will determineRead MoreSymbolism In Fences By August Wilson1460 Words   |  6 PagesKeep Love in or Lock it Out?: An Analysis of Symbolism in Fences Symbolism is defined as an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. In Fences by August Wilson, symbolism is used heavily throughout the play in order to represent deeper meanings and add to the emotion of the storyline. In order for the play to have so much depth and emotion, symbolism is crucial to the work itself and the heavy topicsRead MoreFences by August Wilson1495 Words   |  6 PagesGrowing up, most parents want what is best for their children with the hope that they will lead a better life than the one they had. On the surface, this does not seem to be the case in the relationship between Troy and Cory in August Wilson’s Fences. Troy was a hardworking man who did all he can to provide for his family. Cory worked equally as hard in his athletic career. Troy made a decision to end Cory’s football career out of protection but Cory viewed it as his father’ s jealousy. Troy’s rough

Walmart Case Study - 1410 Words

Ragan Fretwell - Case 23: Walmart: But We Do Give Them a 10% Employee Discount Summary/Facts Walmart, one of the largest retailers in the world, was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. The first Walmart opened in Rogers, AR. It has since grown to over 10,300 stores all over the world. Employing over 2 million, it is hard to imagine the largest private employer in the world would ever be accused of being an unfair employee practices. Walmart has seen its share of litigation over the years. Litigation over off the clock work, sexual discrimination, health care benefits, unions, and unfair labor treatment have plagued the company. Off-the-Clock-Work Walmart has had numerous lawsuits filed accusing the company of forcing employees to work†¦show more content†¦Some employees were not eligible for coverage at all. This continued into 2014. Keeping cost low for Walmart is a very important issue for the company. The Role of Unions Walmart’s mission is to keep â€Å"everyday prices low† meaning labor costs must be kept at the lowest possible level. Walmart has always made every effort in keeping unions out of its company. The National Labor Relations Board has filed numerous complaints against Walmart. If a division decided to strike, Walmart would typically just fire the employees. An example of Walmart’s determination of keeping unions out was after Walmart moved into Canada. Walmart was forced to except the union at its Quà ©bec location, the company made the decision to just close the whole store. However, when the company moved into China, it made some major labor concessions. Not only unions into China, it also allowed branch of the Communist Party at Walmart’s Chinese headquarters. Use of Illegal Aliens U.S. Immigration agents raided over sixty stores in 2003 for alleged use of illegal aliens to clean the stores. The janitorial staff was subcontracted by Walmart, however, it was alleged they had knowledge in the subcontractors use of illegal immigrant labor. Walmart settled by paying an $11MM fine in 2005. Child and Other Labor Laws Since 2000, Walmart has been fined numerous times for not complying with labor laws for employees under eighteen years old. They allowed theseShow MoreRelatedHarvard Business Case Study: China Walmart678 Words   |  3 PagesWalmart- China 1. Customers patronize Wal-Mart China stores because they have low prices which are a great asset to china’s consumers who are more cost sensitive than other countries. Although, China’s consumers like to go to store after store to find the cheapest price, and of course Wal-Mart contains those low prices. Wal-Mart also established through studies and research that China’s customers valued great customer satisfaction which in return they displayed their loyalty by coming back overRead MoreCase Study on Walmart681 Words   |  3 Pagesclassic case study regarding the manner in which a company approaches (and fails miserably) in expanding operations outside the United States pertains to WalMarts endeavor to open the German market. After eight years of attempting to dominate and control the retail market much like it has accomplished in the United States, WalMart pulled the plug on its German operations and left that market with its business tail stuck between its l egs. Headlined in the Times was the fact that WalMart, the worldsRead MoreCase Study Walmart1946 Words   |  8 PagesWalmart’s Global Expansion: Key Facts, Issues and Strategies Fall 2011 Executive Summary Since 1991, Walmart International has experienced mixed results with its big-box, low cost strategy around the world, yet managed to progress to running 4,112 units in 15 countries – just shy of matching the number of units in the United States. The famous â€Å"Everyday low prices†, one-stop-shop Walmart boasts such a product assortment that it achieves economies of scale and scope in operations and marketingRead MoreWalmart Case Study2798 Words   |  12 PagesWALMART Andrew Louis Webster University MNGT 5650 Kenneth Chapman Wal-Mart study Case#1 1. What threats and challenges is Wal-Mart currently facing? From the beginning, Walmart did not have many threats. However, not only the competition is different, several global retailers such as Target, Carrefour, Costco, and Amazon, are working hard to keep efficiency. They are trying to work together to shrink the prices difference between them. Walmart has facing difficulties from everyRead MoreWalmart Case Study950 Words   |  4 PagesWalmart Case Study Case study Questions and Answers: 1- Examine the development of Wal-Mart over its 40 year history. It is now nearly half a century since Walmart exists. From humble beginnings in the 1960s in Arkansas to the world’s leading retailer, Walmart has come a long way to its success. Starting domestically in Arkansas, it was dedicated to its principals; genuine customer courtesy, a culture of respect for the individual and everyday low prices. In the 1960s, Sam Walton, the founderRead MoreCase Study : Walmart Case Study1252 Words   |  6 Pages Walmart case study To start of my case study, I’ll give you a brief history of Walmart’s background and what they do as a company, I will reiterate some of their contributing to society. I’ll also touch on some of the information I learned in the article and my take on it. Per the case study article Wal-Mart is the largest retail store in the United States, and is larger than any other retail chain in the world. Currently Wal-Mart operates over 4Read MoreCase Study of Walmart1394 Words   |  6 PagesCASE STUDY Professor: Dr. Mary Flannery Teaching Assistant: Jia-Yuh Chen ECON 136 – Business Strategy February 27, 2006 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS The retail industry is dominated by few retail giants, with Wal-Mart competing in several retail categories. Wal-Mart competes against Kmart and Target in the general merchandise retailing; against Costco in the warehouse club segment; and against Kroger, Albertson’s and Safeway in the supermarket retailing. Competition among retailers centers on pricingRead MoreWalmart Case Study2278 Words   |  10 PagesChapter 1 2 Module 1 Wal-Mart Case Study Shannan Haynes St Gregory’s University Give a short account of the history of the company, and trace the evolution of its strategy. Try to determine whether the strategies evolution of your company is the product of intended strategies, emergent strategies, or some combination of the two. The Wal-Mart story began in 1962 when Sam Walton opened the first discount store in Rogers, AR. In 1970 Wal-Mart experienced significant growthRead MoreWalmart Case Study5076 Words   |  21 PagesCase study on Wal-Mart Distribution Submitted by Sumit Gupta Sushant Mishra Umesh Gupta Vikash Singh Vishal Singh Vivek Ranjan Submitted to prof. mr. sham sharma M.A. (Lucknow), D.M.M. (LONDON) Group no. - 6, PGDM 2nd SEM No. of words--4756 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to show our gratitude to Resp. Prof. Mr. Sham Sharma, for providing us with the golden opportunity to prepare an intellectual report, on Distribution amp; Logistics Management of â€Å"wal-mart†. We are gratefulRead MoreWalmart Case Study4489 Words   |  18 Pages| Wal-Mart Stores Inc. | A Case Study on Management Evolution | This case study is an examination of how the Wal-Mart s management structure evolved and ranked three in the Fortune Global 500, 2012. | Contents Company Background 3 Case background 4 Executive Summary 5 Introduction 6 Strategy Evolution 7 1. Market Penetration 7 2. Market Development 7 3. Product Development 7 Organization culture 10 Managing Inventory 11 Managerial work 12 Conclusion 13 Exhibits

Slavery and African Slave Trade free essay sample

The African slave trade has been alive for centuries. While most of us associate slavery with 18th and 1 9th century America, the truth is that the African slave trade started long before America became involved. It is still alive today in certain parts of the African continent, but that doesnt change the fact that America was involved. The earliest records of the African slave trade in America date back to the beginning of the 1 7th century, when racial slavery was a punishment for servants who broke the law. In the 1 8th century, slaves were mostly used in the South to work in plantations and arms, especially by rich landowners who could afford the extra expense in order to maximize their profits. By the start of the Civil War in 1860, there were approximately four million slaves of African origin in the US. The Trans Atlantic slave trade was a peculiar institution in that it consciously targeted and separated the African slaves based on race and skin color, and then uniquely took the knowledge and memory of their history, language, culture and religion. We will write a custom essay sample on Slavery and African Slave Trade or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The African slaves were invaded by Spain and the white Americans. In Ghana and Nigeria in the 18th century, where the countries economies depended largely on the selling of hand labor, slavery inside Africa was often not for life. Slaves had the option of buying their liberty, and were normally paid enough that they could do it after a certain number of years. Blacks have never sold blacks for slavery. Most slaves were bought by Europeans from other African people. Often, rival tribes sold into slavery members of other tribes they captured during wars.Most of the slaves came from the West Africa and spoke many different languages. England was one of the latest countries to start slave trade. Soon England became on of the biggest slave trading nations. They began to bring slaves to the Caribbean. They formed the Royal African Company in 1672. This allowed English colonies in America to easily buy slaves from English traders. At the beginning only a few slaves came to English colonies. But when the big tobacco and rice plantations grew in the colonies in the south the slave trade increased. The trip was horrible. Many people died of diseases and were thrown overboard.People were packed like animals and had to watch others die and suffer. They id not know where they were going and many decided to fight or even kill themselves. The ships carried much more people than they were made for. The slaves were given very little food during the trip. But, few days before they reached America, they were given extra food so they would kick better and earn more money at the slave auction. I choose this topic because, slavery still exist in the world not only in America. They are like us, human being their is no difference between whites and blacks both of us created by God. Hat shame more is that they are illegal and do the house working leaning or working in farms. If you look at American culture it is based on African American slaves. We should appreciate them and be a peaceable with them. Hey blacks, if you are black doesnt mean that you are slave. For me I like black people and I love them much because they have a white heart and like a gold this is from my experience I believe that Blacks face more bias in America than whites when it comes down to jobs, housing, education, the justice system, etc. Whites are more privileged in this country than blacks.People who dont acknowledge this fact are ignorant, and in denial. With that said, the racial divide between whites and blacks has been closing for many years because of the work of leaders and everyday people on both sides of the aisle. Blacks today have far more opportunity for advancement then their ancestors could ever dream of. With blacks involvement in government, corporate, and entertainment positions, the future is brighter than ever. People of all colors have always been capable of great good and great evil, beginning long before recorded history. Mom of the comments stated that lack people should do this and that and said they could pick themselves up and and comparing them with the Jews, who are white. We all know that this world treats whites like regular people. The blacks and if your skin just happen to be dark, you are not helped, you get no help. Nobody is giving the black man or woman any help. The Jews do better simply because they are white. So dont compare the two. America treats anyone better than the blacks. Even foreigners. The truth hurts. However, do not believe that African Americans nor White Americans should ever forget what happened in the past.

Write Your Research Paper in One Day With Our Help

How to Write a Research Paper in a Day Well, you have only one day left before the deadline. This means that now you can either sit down and cry about your failed assignment or get yourself together and write your paper with our help. Let’s get right to it!Read your promptDo it even before you select a topic. Make sure that you are perfectly familiar with all requirements and didn’t miss a thing.Brainstorm topicsFirst, write a list of possible topics that fit your prompt. You may already have some ideas, for example, you may have heard about some topics from class, or you may read some books or articles on this subject.Google each topic from your listIf you see only a few results on some topic, cross it off your list. This topic may be difficult and you will need too much time to find enough sources.Make sure that your search includes results from credible websites. It’s good if you see many .gov or .edu websites.Search for some books on your subject. if you find a book online, you can use it later. Reviews are also useful.Choose your topicSelect a topic that shows the highest number of credible results and looks most interesting to you.Write an outlineYou need an outline to draw up the structure of subtopics. This will help you conduct a research faster. This also will help you understand your subject deeper so you will know what information is crucial for this topic, and what information is unnecessary but useful.You need about one subtopic for every two or three pages, so if your paper must be 10 pages long, you have to determine 3-4 subtopics. Check your prompt or ask your instructor to know how long your research must be.Organize your researchIf you don’t have much time, it’s especially important for you to prepare for a research and decide how you will collect information. You have to make sure that you won’t waste a couple hours on searching for some website that you closed accidentally. We suggest choosing one of three methods:Bookmarks;Copy and pas ting into a text document (you can use it later to write a bibliography);Special tools like Zotero (there are some websites that track sources and plan bibliographies).Do a research on subtopicsStart by googling the first subtopic. Try to rephrase it in different ways to get more search results. Save the most relevant results. Don’t read each page in detail now, just identify the most relevant pages. Check each page quickly, and if it seems to be useful, save it.We also suggest using Amazon previews or Google Books. Search for the subtopic and look at digital versions of books. Search for keywords that are related to your subtopic. If any book isn’t available online, save the link and find this book in the library later.Use Google Scholar. This service allows you to find sources that were reviewed by other students.Check online databases, such as LexisNexis, Proquest, or JSTOR.Once you’ve found enough sources for the first subtopic, repeat all the actions above for each next subtopic. Don’t forget that you don’t need to carefully read these sources now. At this stage, you just have to collect as much data as you can. It’s easier to get rid of unnecessary sources further than face the lack of information when you’ve written a huge part of your paper.Revise the outlineNow take a look at what you’ve got and decide what subtopics you will address for sure. Let us remind you that subtopics must take a few pages of your paper, so if you don’t have enough information about something from your list, cross this subtopic off. Make sure that one of your subtopics doesn’t include another because you don’t need to repeat yourself. Sometimes some subtopic may give you an idea about other questions to discuss. In this case, don’t be afraid to add a new subtopic to your outline.Draft your research paperSelect the subtopic that looks most familiar to you and start writing. Keep a window with th e list of your sources open during the whole writing process. You will save a lot of time if you don’t switch between windows.Read sources carefully and write about what you’ve just learned in your own words. Don’t edit your text now, and don’t try to make it beautiful. You will have a chance to do it all later. If you don’t know how to express a certain idea now, just make a note and think about it when you’ll edit your paper.Don’t start with an introduction. This section of the paper must summarize key points from the body part, so we suggest writing it at the end.Include citationsCheck instructions that you’ve been given to determine what citation style is required. However, at this stage, you don’t have to write full citations. Just make sure to save links of cited sources on the go, and don’t plagiarize your content.Write your introduction and conclusionBut first — take a break! Maybe it sounds a littl e crazy given that you have the deadline coming tomorrow, but once you’ve written your draft, take a little break. Your brain is unable to stay productive non-stop. Eat something, do a quick workout, or take a walk.After that, write a strong thesis statement. It must reflect your opinion on the subject, being concise and clear. It must be written at the end of your introduction.Polish your research paperFinally, when your paper is almost ready, it’s time to read everything that you wrote carefully and edit it. Get rid of all sentences or paragraphs that are not related to your thesis statement. Make sure to fix all spelling and grammar mistakes. Pay special attention to punctuation marks. You may need to read your paper out loud to understand whether your punctuation marks are used correctly.Arrange your footnotes according to the required citation format (MLA, Chicago, APA). Check manuals of style if necessary. After that, write your Bibliography section. Make sure th at it contains only sources that you actually used.Congratulations! Your research paper is done. However, we suggest giving it to somebody who can help you with proofreading. You can also order professional proofreading online.

The Summary Of Getting Past No Essays - Negotiation, Free Essays

The Summary Of Getting Past No Essays - Negotiation, Free Essays The summary of "Getting Past No" (0) Introduction Each of us has to face tough negotiation with an irritable spouse, an ornery boss, a rigid salesperson, or a tricky customer. Under stress, even kind, reasonable people turn into angry, intractable opponents. In order to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement in an efficient and amicable fashion, this book introduces us the strategy of breakthrough negotiation. The breakthrough strategy is counterintuitive: it requires us to do the opposite of what we might naturally do in difficult situations. In addition, the essence of the breakthrough strategy is indirect action. Rather than trying to break down opponent's resistance, we make it easier for him to break through it themselves. In short, breakthrough negotiation is the art of letting the other person have our ways. (1) STEP ONE: Don't React \ Go To The Balcony The first step we need to do in dealing with a difficult person is not to control his behavior but to control our own. Because when we react-act without thinking, we usually neglect our interests. "Going to the balcony" means distancing ourselves from our natural impulses and emotions. From the balcony we can calmly evaluate the conflict, think constructively for both sides, and look for a mutually satisfactory way to resolve the problem. One the balcony, the first thing we need to do is figure out our interests. We also need to identify our BATNA- our Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement. The agreement must satisfy our interests better than our BATNA could. Our BATNA should be our measuring stick for evaluating any potential agreement. Often we do not even realize we are reacting, because we are too enmeshed in the situation. Therefore, we need to recognize the tactic. Make a mental note when we detect a possible trick or subtle attack. By naming the game, we are able to neutralize it easily. Once we have named the game and stop our immediate reaction, the next step is to buy ourselves time to think-time to go to the balcony. Use the time to keep our eyes on the prize-an agreement that satisfies your interests, certainly better than our BATNA can. Instead of getting mad or getting even, concentrate on getting what we want. This is what going to the balcony is all about. (2) STEP TWO: Disarm Them \ Step To Their Side Before we can discuss the problem with the opponent, we need to disarm him. The secret of disarming is surprise. To disarm our opponent, we need to do the opposite of what he expects: step to his side, listen to him, acknowledge his point, and agree wherever we can. Listening requires patience and self- discipline. Instead of reacting immediately or plotting our next step, we have to remain focused on what our counterpart is saying. Listening gives us a chance to engage him in a cooperative task-that of understanding his problem. It makes him more willing to listen to us. After listening to our opponent, the next step is to acknowledge his point. Acknowledging the opponent's point does not mean that we agree with it. It means that we accept it as one valid point of view among others. The next step is to agree wherever we can. It is hard to attack someone who agrees with us. (3) STEP THREE: Don't Reject \ Reframe Instead of rejecting our opponent's position, we need to direct his attention to the problem of meeting each side's interests. Reframing works because every message is subject to interpretation. It means putting a problem-solving frame around our opponent's positional statements. A problem-solving question focuses attention on the interests of each side, the options for satisfying them, and the standards of fairness for resolving differences. Rather than trying to teach him ourselves, let the problem be his teacher. (4) STEP FOUR: Make It Easy To Say Yes \ Build Them A Golden Bridge At last we are ready to negotiate; however, our opponent may stall. Instead of pushing our opponent toward an agreement, we need to do the opposite. Our job is to build a golden bridge across the chasm. Building a golden bridge means making it easier for our opponent to overcome the four common obstacles to agreement: it means actively involving him in devising a solution

NaNoWriMo 2019 How to FINALLY Write Your 30-Day Novel

NaNoWriMo 2019 How to FINALLY Write Your 30-Day Novel 30 Days, 41 Tips: How to Win NaNoWriMo 2018 Another November, another chance to break a lifetime of bad habits and write that novel you always knew was inside you. For those out of the loop,  National Novel Writing Month  (or NaNoWriMo) is an annual competition where writers must write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days (hence, the name).It sounds intense, but  thousands of writers take part in each year. Not only like, but many of the drafts writing during NaNoWriMo over the years have turned into bestsellers - like Hugh Howey's Wool and  Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants.Whether you're a  NaNo  virgin or a  WriMo  veteran, you can always do with a helping hand and some top advice. To help you with this year's competition here are 41 Top NaNoWriMo tips from authors and editors:Are you a NaNoWriMo veteran? If you have any advice for writers about to take part in the competition, please share it in the comments below.

Marketing through Online Social Networking Communities Essay

Marketing through Online Social Networking Communities - Essay Example It is about reaching your customers, both existing and potential, at the right time, in the place with the right tactics. This essay will essentially deal with what social networking communities are, the ramifications that they have on their customers who are also users of these social networking communities and the marketing and brand related activities they employ to target this segment. Social Networking Communities-a phenomenon Very aptly put by Jeremiah Owyang (2007), Online communities group together people who share similar interests and are involved in the exchange of information and connected over the Web. Online social network sites are a broader category of the same nature that allow individuals to connect with people known or unknown to them by creating profiles through which they manage their contacts and interact with them. The differences between the different social media networks is blurring with time with the only differentiating factor the level of restriction enab led on the community or site that determines the kind of members who join it. Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, LinkdIn, Cyworld, Ning, Spruz, among many others, are examples of such communities and sites. Social Networking sites, over the past century, have evolved from being general social sites to more specific sites, such that one can now find an online social networking community for virtually anything including friendship sites, alumni networks, career related and hobby specific. The features these sites boast are becoming more and more sophisticated. As users become more savvy their needs and means to stay connected also become sophisticated which pushes for these sites to enable features such as photo-sharing, video-sharing and private messaging. Most social networking sites become a phenomenon due to their sheer nature, however, it is very common to find people segregated on the basis of nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age interests and so on (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). A nother important differentiating factor of online social networking communities is their being anchored around people or interests. The trend in today’s social networking landscape indicates that these sites and communities are evolving to form well integrated ‘egocentric’ networks that defy the concept of small closed groups (Boyd & Ellison, 2007 cited in Wellman, 1988, p. 37). Boyd (2006) purports that these sites behave as â€Å"networked public spaces† (Boyd & Ellison, 2007) in the virtual world that allow users to interact as they wish even when it is not possible to do so in the offline or real public spaces. Online social networking communities therefore, serve to bridge the gaps between the online and offline worlds of its users, making them a central part of their lives. Marketing in the Social Media Landscape The rising trend in social networking sites has important ramifications on businesses and marketers. Each day as users grow exponentially, more time and attention is dedicated to social networking sites subsequently increasing their monetary worth. Businesses have discovered that marketing through social networking communities contains a landmine of opportunities, not to make money per say, but to engaging customers. People on social

Cross-Cultural Perspectives Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cross-Cultural Perspectives - Research Paper Example Currently, various global organizations control an extensive and developing share of the global technology, resources of marketing and profitable resources. Similarly, their initial thought for transforming to global companies may have been due to market expansion, to diversify, need for raw materials, technological advancement and production efficiency, prevent integration, prevent political challenges and lower costs of labor. Irrespective of these interests, various global organizations face extensive challenge in acting informally to understand and accommodate local cultures outside the US in which global organizations operates. Discussion Global companies find cultural perspective matters including definition of the right objectives of the company, attitudes towards threats, handling workforce and the capacity to curtail unproductive activities differ significantly from one nation to another, (Khan, 2010). Additionally, within nations, cultural diversities occur by demanding car eful consideration by global companies. Considering the cultural domain of United States such as Northwest and others, to Americans, the difference appears in mind, but American companies overseas experience various cultural challenges. The discussion will investigate the cultural constraints experienced by Nike Corporation, which is global organization. ... The two turned to global nations like Japan to save resources on the labour cost and cost of production. As the firm continually enhanced its products line, it similarly broadened its outsourcing to various nations such as Pakistan. In Pakistan, Nike Corporation experienced dramatic allegations of pathetic working conditions and child labor use. People accused the company of using young children to stitch the football balls that the corporation produced. According to Boje and Khan 2009, the organizations has produced various soccer balls in nations like Pakistan and Sialkot for decades and it is stipulated that increasing number of children have been employed and used in stitching such balls. Various cultures have diverse perceptions on the form of responsibility and role that kids should have. According to (Khan 2010) childhood perception differs among nations and cultures. Similarly, childhood experiences vary not only across nations but also in a certain cultural setting and acros s various ethnic entities. For instance, in certain rural and underdeveloped regions and nations like Pakistan and Sialkot, parents have no problem with their young ones participating in some roles to support their loved ones. In the US, Americans have laws concerning child labor that safeguards their children from taking part in these roles. For these poor families in Pakistan and other nations, having their young ones work to aid their parents is critical. Therefore, child labor is crucial concerns that challenge the Nike organizations as well as its interactions and activities beyond the US boundaries. After some information about the activities taking place in Pakistan appeared, there are various dramatic changes in the corporation operations. They began

The Horns of a Rhino Essay Example for Free

The Horns of a Rhino Essay What large mammal has tough, thick, light-grey skin, and has two large horns coming out of its nose? After reading that description, ideally one’s answer should be a rhinoceros. In most cases, we always picture a rhinoceros to have two horns and light-grey skin, but often forget about the rhinoceros who have darker colored skin and only one horn. There were once hundreds of rhinoceros species however, only five species exist today. The African Black and White rhinos, and the Sumatran rhinos have two horns, but the Indian and Javan rhinos from Asia only have one. Why is it that some rhinoceros have two horns while others only have one? I believe that the second horn certain rhinoceros have first came along as a beneficial mutation, and then eventually due to natural selection and allopatric speciation, certain rhinoceros now have two horns instead of one. The rhinos that existed about 60 million years ago looked more like today’s horses than the typical rhinoceros we are familiar with. This would explain their unusual diet and rather fast speeds. The weight of a rhino ranges from 750 pounds to 8000 pounds. The expectation should be that for such a massive animal, they would be rather slow; however, that is not the case at all. Similar to a horse, Rhinos can be rather fast as well. When charging at an animal, the Rhino could reach speeds of 56 km/h. With such violent and defensive ways, it is assumed that rhinos are meat eaters; however, that is not the case either. Similar to horses, rhinos are herbivores. They like to eat grass, foliage of trees, and bushes. Eating habits and speed are behavioral characteristics from their ancestors that have remained the same. There are even some physical characteristics that have remained the same like being an odd-toed ungulate. While so many characteristics were carried over from the rhinoceros’ ancestors, there are also many new changes that have evolved; the most significant one is the extra horn. I believe that the extra horn came along as a beneficial mutation. When two ancestors of the rhinoceros with a single horn mated, there could have been a mistake in the replication of their DNA and resulted in the extra horn growing above the offspring’s nose. According to Lamarck’s second principle: The Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics, individuals could pass on to their offspring characteristics they had acquired during their lives. His theory may be incorrect but it helps explain that a species evolves in response to its environment, and becomes better adapted to that environment. The rhinoceros may have started with only one horn on its nose but because of the environment it lived in and the strong need for an extra horn for protection, over time the horn it once had evolved into two horns that we see now. Since rhinoceros are herbivores, they would never need to hunt for prey. Lions who are carnivores hunt regularly for their food, have many experiences fighting and know how to defend themselves. In a situation where a lion and a rhino battles, the rhino would have no way of defending itself for it has less experience fighting, less power than the lion, and less flexibility. This is why there is such a strong need for an extra horn. The horn would act as protection and by being able to charge at an animal with both horns, there would be an increase in the rhino’s chance of survival. According to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, nature favors the reproductive success of some individuals within a population over others. In this case, nature would select against those with only one horn in this geographic area for those are the rhinoceros who are less strong defensively, and will not be able to survive in that particular area. So eventually, sexual selection will factor into the evolution of the rhino and females would only want to mate with rhinoceros who have two horns, resulting in offspring that will have a better chance of surviving and battling against more powerful animals in their habitat. It is known that the Earth didn’t always look this way. The Earth was once a super continent and overtime, it has broken up into separate pieces of land which are the continents and islands that we know now. It is very likely that the separation of land also separated the population of rhinoceros. This allopatric speciation separated the rhinoceros into two geographically isolated populations. Those who were separated to where we now call â€Å"Africa† had the beneficial mutation of an extra horn. This mutation however, was only shared among themselves because once populations are physically separated, they can no longer exchange genetic information. Rhinoceros who went off to Asia did not develop this mutation, and even if they did, it wouldn’t have been very beneficial to them in any way. While African rhinos tend to feed low to the ground, Asian rhinos usually feed off leaves higher above the ground. If the Asian rhinos did have this mutation, it could act as a barrier from getting food. Allopatric speciation not only affected the rhinoceros’ physical characteristics but behavioral characteristics as well. Studies show that in general, African rhinos are more aggressive than Asian rhinos. Therefore the different geographic areas these rhinos live in affect both physical and behavioral characteristics of each species. In conclusion, the reason some rhinoceros have two horns while others have one is because of their geographic location. While rhinos in Africa developed this mutation, rhinos in Asia did not. Allopatric speciation also did not allow the exchange of this new gene between the population of the two geographic areas. Hence, why most Asian rhinos have one horn and African rhinos have two. African rhinos require the extra horn while rhinos in Asia can make do with just their bottom teeth for defensive purposes. Rhinos in Asia won’t ever come across the same animals the Rhinos in Africa do, so the different species don’t share the same need of the horn. Could it be that one day all species of rhinoceros will require that extra horn?

Defend Your Computer From Hackers :: Essays Papers

Defend Your Computer From Hackers How to Shield Your Computer from Internet Crime When you connect to the Internet, you are allowing you computer to communicate with millions of people who are also on the Internet. Suddenly, your hard drive is fair game. Some people called by various names: hackers, whackers, crackers, and some other more colorful names if your data is being destroyed. These people make it their business to find and make use of exposed hard drives. Sometimes, they just take an innocent look around; sometimes they delete files or even deposit a virus of nature. However, hope is not lost, with the steps outline in this paper you will be able effectively shield your computer from those who wish to make mischief. When you connect to the Internet, especially through a broadband connection any open ports, or shared file files and services are like a beacon for hackers’ automatic scanners. You see, along with granting you extremely fast downloads and browsing capabilities broadband connection also leave you computer wide open to the world since it an always-on connection. The risk is greater for those people that have static IP address. Since this address never changes hackers can come back whenever they wish. One way to see how vulnerable your computer is would be to have it tested by one the various websites that specialize in security. One very good website is hosted by the Gibson Research Corporation and has several helpful feature like â€Å"Shields Up†, the address for this site is www.grc.com. Another popular site with many useful utilities would be www.dslreports.com. If these sites show you some holes in your security they will recommend several actions. One of the easiest and most effective would be to turn off file and print sharing for your computer. The second thing you could do would be to obtain a personal firewall. In this area you have two options, hardware or software. If you want an inexpensive route then you can download a software firewall. Firewall? Just what is that? Well, it either a software program of hardware device that effectively blocks outsiders from entering your computer. Software firewalls just need to be installed onto your computer and can be either automatically configured of manually. Hardware involves connecting your computer into another device. Two of the more popular software firewalls are Zone Alarm (www.zonelabs.com) and Norton Personal Firewall (www.symantec.com). Using Zone Alarm, the above sites could find no exposed ports or even that this computer even was on; Zone Alarm completely cloaks your computer.

The Impacts of a Youthful Population

Examine the Impacts of a Youthful Population Geologists estimate that the earth existed 4,600,000,000 years ago, yet in the last 200 years the population has grown from one billion to seven billion people. This rapid growth is unsustainable, as the earth only has so much food, water, and non-renewable resources. This theory can be illustrated much clearer at a smaller scale, such as within a country. Youthful populations are said to form when there is an increasingly high birth rate, with a slowly decreasing death rate and minimal increases in life expectancy.How high birthrates are depend on a variety of social, economic, political or demographic factors. In Gambia, a very small, Muslim country in Africa, on average each woman has 7 children in a lifetime. This statistic relies mainly on social, demographic and economic factors. Social because Islam opposes contraception, economic because children are seen as an economic asset to families as the more children they have the more pote ntial there is to make money, run the family business and take care of the parents in old age.Lastly the demographic factor is that many parents have more children to compensate for the percentage that they know will die at an early age as Gambia’s infant mortality rate is 73 per 1000. When a country has a large number of people under the age of sixteen it is said to have a youthful population, and when it has a large number of people over the age of sixty-four it is said to have an ageing population. Both of these can cause problems and benefits for a country.The impacts of a youthful population will be discussed in this essay. Although one may not think so at first, there are advantages to having a youthful population. In a few years, this mass of people will provide as a cheap workforce for the country. Not only will the country have many workers for less money, it will also attract international companies to invest in the area which would in turn help the country develop into one of the latter stages on the DTM through economic growth. There are of course substantial disadvantages too.The dependency ratio in countries with a large youthful population is high. Too many young people exhaust food and water supplies, especially if it is a LEDC. Public health and education services may become overpopulated and leave children without an education. This could cause young people to emigrate because of the lack in opportunities. The government does not want this, so they would increase taxes, robbing the economically active of their income, so that the government can invest to improve their nation.This takes many years and by then many may have already emigrated, and the country will have a lower standard of life because the population has no money left and all the young people who are now economically active has left the country searching for better jobs and opportunities. A solution to these problems is family planning. Like in China where they introduced the One Child Policy in 1978, the government can put a restriction on the amount of children a mother is allowed to bear. Birth rates will decrease and the population will even out. Another solution would be for the country to industrialize.That would satisfy the demand for jobs and develop the country. Sadly, the solutions to the initial problems have problems too. Some families may not agree with the new laws as they see children as economical assets, like in Gambia as they can be used to work for the family business. As well as this, this can disrupt cultural traditions as it did in China, where the tradition was that when the parents become old, they are taken care of by their children, and now since they may only have one child many sought refuge in homes or just stayed home and to take care of themselves.

The Relationship Between Man and Woman in Araby

Araby James Joyce, an icon of the modernist era had many works that were moving away from the classical styles of literature put before him. Joyce is known for leading his characters towards some kind of personal insight and on the surface, Araby seems to be only about a boy learning about the truth of capitalism. As you dive deep in to his words and meaning however, it is apparent that Joyce’s message is not as black and white as it appears on the surface. This story is also about the relationship between men and women.It is about how women are capable of influencing a man’s actions/behaviors and why men feel as if they need to exert their â€Å"dominance† over women. Joyce purposely makes the protagonist a young boy who chases after an older girl. He does this to elevate the status of the girl and portray her as larger than the boy. He is basically saying early in the story that woman has some kind of superiority over man. The beginning of the story is innocent enough, the boy explains how he plays in the street with his best friend (Mangan) and hides from his uncle so he doesn’t have to go in.This is where the girl is introduced. Neither she nor the boy has a name hinting that they are representative of all men and women. The boy is absolutely infatuated with the girl and it is apparent in the paragraphs right after she is introduced. He watches her from afar, has a certain routine so that he passes her every morning, and even imagines victory due to his love as he walks through his marketplace. She is the focal point of all his thoughts and it is shown that he is helpless to her influence when he utters â€Å"O love!O love! † over and over in private. He is but a helpless romantic during this point of the story driven by his undeserving love for this girl. Their only conversation is a brief, but huge one and what she says and how she acts says all. She plays with her bracelet, signifying the importance of materialistic ite ms in her life and communicating that she would love something from Araby by saying how she would love to go but can’t. The boy bites the bait hard and is hooked immediately to be drug around by the idea of pleasing the girl.Her influence over him increases exponentially after this as he says that he cannot think of anything except her. He can’t sleep, can’t think, can’t read, can’t focus in class and is consumed with the hope that this magical bazaar would grant him the key to the girl’s heart. All these things are clear signs that the girl holds control over him because he has lost all motivation for anything besides pleasing her. The story stays like this, with him obsessing over her until he actually gets to the bazaar as it is closing and his hopes start to fade.Araby is supposed to be this enchanted place with wonderful people and remarkable, exotic items but the boy finds that there is nothing but commonplace junk that he could get fr om his own marketplace. On top of that, he is met by a very distasteful sales clerk who seems very uninterested in him. In most analyses, this is the point of the boy’s insight to the nature of capitalism and realizes that not everything is as pretty as it appears on the surface. This is a very important lesson but it is not the only change that occurs in the boy.The last line of the story is â€Å"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. † Joyce definitely did not use passive words to describe the boy’s hurt but chooses a powerful, emotionally charged set of words that paints a very precise, borderline frightening image. He describes the boy as a creature, as if he has lost his humanity and been stripped down to a raw, instinctual beast. A desperate, pissed off animal driven by his feeling of worthlessness with eyes burning from anger and a feeling of deep heartache.These are not words usually used to describe an epiphany about the nature of the world. These are words used to describe the feelings of losing something great, of getting your heart smashed, chewed up and spit out. These are words describing a feeling that this boy will never again want to feel. He realizes that he has opened himself up to be hurt and he was undeniably crushed by his inability to get something that would please the girl his heart yearns for. Joyce was a master of idioms and word choice. He was easily one of the great writers of his time and will always be recognized as such.He is known for writing about how stages in life affect a person as a whole and Araby is no different. Being a great writer of his time he is also a creation of the era he lived in. During his life men believed that they were superior to women, that woman were weak and that they needed a man to support them. It was believed that women were home to weak emotions and men only had time for strong ones makin g them better than women. To say that Joyce wrote a story in which he acknowledges that women have some kind upper hand on men may seem inept but he does a good job of answering why men behaved and felt this way.His reason is that men cannot cope with these â€Å"weak† emotions so they shut them out. The boy in the story â€Å"Araby† is met with his first heartbreak due to the fact that he can’t please the girl that he so desperately desires and immediately becomes this inhuman creature full of anguish. In a time where men are supposed to be the bread-winners; strong confident figures that controls their household, these feelings are unacceptable. It is why men must exhibit nothing but â€Å"strong† emotions and exude their dominance over women, for the fear of being emotionally shattered in the face of them.

Clinical Sexual Misconduct

Clinical Sexual Misconduct Free Online Research Papers Sexual misconduct is a term for variety different sexual acts. This is a problem that lies in clinical, legal, and ethical judgment of a person. One of the many types of misconduct occurs in professional relationships. When a physician advances sexual acts upon a client or patient this constitutes as sexual misconduct. This type of behavior is obviously wrong and unacceptable. In the case outlined in the text concerning a dentist’s inappropriate sexual contact; there was evidence that while under dental care the practitioner engaged in physical and sexual relationship with five different patients. This type of thing happens more than some may think. In this case there was an obvious wrong due to the ages of the patients. The dentist advanced to patients from age seven to fifteen (Pozgar, 269). This would not only constitute as misconduct, but also a statutory case. Transference and counter transference is one of most important aspects of treatment between patient and practitioner. Transference is defined as the redirection of feelings and desires and especially of those unconsciously retained from childhood toward a new object (Merriam-Webster). Counter transference is when a practitioner has complex feelings toward the patient (Merriam-Webster). In a clinical setting we do not always notice these occurrences. Sigmund Freud coined the term in 1910 in The Future Prospects of Psycho-Analytic Therapy. The term later expanded to include unconscious hostile and/or erotic feelings toward a patient that interferes with the treatment and or professional relationship. Counter transference can be the feelings that a provider shows toward his or her patient, and also includes cases where the therapist takes on the suffering and pain of his/her patient. An example of this would be a patient that was a victim of a rape. We as their provider while lis tening to their situation would put ourselves in their shoes and feel the pain and the torture that the patient felt. Training, knowledge, and their education give physicians a sense of power. Patients come to their physicians fearful and vulnerable. Secrets are revealed, clothes are removed, and skin is touched. Physicians are trusted to serve their patient’s best interests. Physicians may use these events to further scar a person for nothing more than their own personal pleasure. Sexual misconduct by physicians can create a false sense of security that is ultimately detrimental to the patient. This can scar a patient from ever trusting a healthcare provider of any kind. Not to mention that this goes against any health care professionals ethics and oaths (such as the Hippocratic Oath). In 1990 the American Medical Association (AMA) council on ethical and judicial affairs released their report Sexual misconduct in the practice of medicine. The AMA Council decided that sexual contact or a romantic relationship conducted while in the care of a physician is unethical. A romantic relationship with a former patient may be considered unethical, but this would depend on the circumstances. Sexual misconduct is also discussed in medical training programs. Reporting these offenders is an important responsibility that should be upheld. Most physicians agree that sexual relationships should not be part of the physicians of this may be an inappropriate joke or a comment about a woman’s tight clothing. These things seem like they are harmless, but still are considered inappropriate. If the comment has no diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, it should not be stated. Some actions that should be avoided include hugging, romantic kissing, touching any sexualized body part for any purpose other than examination or treatment. Discounting or offering medical-related services or prescriptions in exchange for sex is unacceptable. The AMA states that a physicians ethical duties include terminating the physician-patient relationship before initiating a dating, romantic, or sexual relationship with the patient. A relationship with a former patient is unethical if it uses or exploits trust, knowledge, emotions, or influence derived from the previous professional relationship. The AMA does not address the appropriate length of time between the termination of the physician-patient relationship and the initiation of a romantic or sexual relationship. Regardless of the conduct or consent of a patient, the physician is felt to be in the more powerful position in the relationship and thus responsible for even consensual boundary violations. A physician within the facility that I work for is the prime example of this. I will refer to this physician as Dr. Jones for confidentiality reasons. Dr. Jones had a lucrative practice. He was one of two specialists in his area of expertise in a wide area. He was very good at his job and he was liked personally by everyone that I would speak with. Mr. Jones had a professional patient relationship with Mrs. Doe. Ms. Doe’s medical problems were under control but she did need to come back and follow up with the single physician often. There was a point when they started chatting at the visits about their personal lives. That turned in to emails and then phone conversations; then a mutual kiss. After the kiss the physician thought that it would be a good idea to refer to another physician. Over about a year and a half the relationship was consensual as they mutually conducted a sexual relationship. Mrs. Doe was married. The physician however; was a single man. There relationship went on for about six months or so and then Mr. Doe, Ms. Doe’s husband, learned of the affair and made Mrs. Doe report Dr. Jones to th e State Medical Board. Most people would look at this as two consensual people entering into a relationship; there was enough emails and correspondence produced to prove that Mrs. Doe entered into this relationship willingly; so what is the problem? They are both consenting adults. She was the married party she was the one in the wrong right? Wrong! Physicians are held to a higher professional standard. As soon as he started to experience those feelings he should have referred her to another physician. Not after he had already crossed the ethical line. That is why his license is now suspended for a minimum of six months and he is required to do all types of ethics training. Just goes to show you that this type of thing happens and is taken very seriously. When in doubt refer the patient. I hold a medical license in the State of Ohio that I worked very hard for. I can see very easily how things like this can happen. I have been on both sides of this example. As a massage therapist I take the sexual jokes of friends and my friends friends’. I will say that it is a fine line when you are working with people’s bodies. I constantly ask questions and explain my procedures very clearly before a session takes place. I have had to refer a patient to another therapist because the lines of professional and personal seemed to be a bit blurry and not even on a sexual level on a personal one. I have been in situations that a client was looking for more than a therapeutic relationship and I had to end the session. These types of things do happen but my medical license, my integrity, and name are not worth the risk. References Pozar, George D. (2010). Legal and Ethical Issues for Healthcare Professionals. 2nd ed. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Sudbury. transference. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transference countertransference. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countertransference .. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://classics.mit.edu/Hippocrates/hippooath.html .. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from ama-assn.org/ .. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion814.shtml .. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from med.ohio.gov/ Research Papers on Clinical Sexual MisconductArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)The Fifth HorsemanThree Concepts of PsychodynamicCapital PunishmentInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGenetic EngineeringPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement

SAT Score Chart Raw ScoreConversionto Scaled Score

SAT Score Chart Raw ScoreConversionto Scaled Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You may be wondering how your SAT score is determined. Where does that score of 200-800 on each section of the SAT come from? What does your SAT score mean? Or, maybe you're familiar with the concept of raw scores, but you don't know how your raw score is converted into a scaled score. Hopefully, this article will answer your questions and clear up any confusion. In this post, I'll clarifythe difference between raw scores and scaled scores and provide charts that show theSAT raw score conversion to scaled score. Furthermore, I'll explain why the data from these SAT score charts can be helpful to you in your SAT preparation. What Is a Raw Score? Your raw score for each section is calculated from the number of questions you answered correctly and incorrectly. For every question you answer correctly on the SAT, you receive one point. For every question you answer incorrectly on the SAT, you receive minus  ¼ point, with the exception of grid-ins in the Math section, for which you receive zero points for wrong answers. For every question you skip on the SAT, you receive zero points. The maximum raw score varies for each section. For Critical Reading, there are 67 questions; therefore, the max raw score is 67. For Math, there are 54 questions; the max raw score is 54. For Writing, there are 49 questions and 1 essay. The maximum multiple-choice raw score is 49 and the maximum essay score is 12. What Is a Scaled Score? The scaled score is the score from 200-800 you receive on each section of the SAT. Your scaled score is determined from the raw score through a process that the College Board calls equating. Equating â€Å"ensures that the different forms of the test or the level of ability of the students with whom you are tested do not affect your score. Equating makes it possible to make comparisons among test takers who take different editions of the test across different administrations.† Therefore, your scaled score is not dependent on the difficulty of the test or the skill level of the students who take your edition of the test. The College Board doesn’t release its formula for equating, but it does periodically release scoring charts to convert raw scores to scaled scores. The scoring charts change slightly for each edition of the test, but they remain somewhat consistent. Why Is This Data Important? How Can It Help You? From your target scaled score, you can get a rough idea of how many questions you need to answer correctly on each section to reach your goal. For example, if you want to get a 750 on Critical Reading, you need to get a raw score of about 62. Therefore, you can only get about 4 questions wrong or omit 5 questions to reach your target score.Having this knowledge can inform your guessing and study strategies. If you’re aiming for a 600, focus on the easy and medium level difficulty questions. To get a 600 in Reading, you only need a raw score of about 46 out of 67. This means that you can skip 12 questions, get 7 wrong, and still get a 600. Therefore, if your target score is a 600, don’t waste time on the most difficult, time-consuming questions. You can skip the hardest 20% of questions and still reach your target score. Also, you'll see that the math curve is very harsh. For most tests, you have to answer every single question correctly to get an 800. Finally, the essay has a big impact on your Writing score. It counts for almost â…“ of your Writing score. If you get a multiple-choice raw score of 45 and an essay score of 12, your scaled score is about a 760. If you get the same raw score, but an essay score of 7, your scaled score is about a 670. If you can master the SAT essay, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your Writing goal. Raw Score to Scaled Score Conversion Charts Belowis a sample SAT conversion chart released by the College Board. Remember that SAT scorecharts change for each edition of the test, but the changes are usually not that drastic. For example, a raw score of 46 in Math converted to a scaled score of 660 on the January 2010 and 2011 editions of the SAT. However, in May 2011 and 2009, a 46 in Math converted to a 680. Critical Reading Raw Score Scaled Score 2014 Percentile 67 800 99 66 800 99 65 800 99 64 790 99 63 770 99 62 760 99 61 740 98 60 730 97 59 720 96 58 700 96 57 690 95 56 680 94 55 670 92 54 670 92 53 660 91 52 650 90 51 640 89 50 630 86 49 620 84 48 620 84 47 610 82 46 600 80 45 600 80 44 590 78 43 580 75 42 570 73 41 570 73 40 560 70 39 550 67 38 550 67 37 540 64 36 530 61 35 530 61 34 520 57 33 520 57 32 510 54 31 500 51 30 500 51 29 490 48 28 480 44 27 480 44 26 470 41 25 460 37 24 460 37 23 450 35 22 440 31 21 440 31 20 430 28 19 420 25 18 410 22 17 410 22 16 400 19 15 390 17 14 380 15 13 380 15 12 370 13 11 360 11 10 350 9 9 340 8 8 330 7 7 320 5 6 310 5 5 300 4 4 290 3 3 270 2 2 260 2 1 240 1 0 220 1 -1 210 1 -2 or below 200 Charts are fun. Math Raw Score Scaled Score 2014 Percentile 54 800 99 53 790 99 52 760 97 51 740 96 50 720 95 49 710 94 48 700 93 47 690 92 46 680 90 45 670 89 44 660 87 43 650 86 42 640 84 41 640 84 40 630 82 39 620 80 38 610 77 37 600 75 36 590 73 35 590 73 34 580 71 33 570 68 32 560 66 31 550 62 30 540 59 29 540 59 28 530 56 27 520 53 26 510 50 25 500 46 24 490 44 23 480 41 22 480 41 21 470 37 20 460 34 19 450 31 18 440 28 17 430 25 16 420 22 15 420 22 14 410 19 13 400 17 12 390 15 11 380 13 10 370 11 9 360 9 8 350 8 7 330 6 6 320 5 5 310 4 4 290 2 3 280 2 2 260 1 1 240 1 0 220 1- -1 200 -2 and below 200 Charts are really fun. Writing Essay Score Raw Score 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 49 800 800 800 790 770 750 740 720 710 700 680 670 48 800 800 780 760 740 720 710 690 680 670 650 640 47 790 770 760 740 720 700 690 670 660 640 630 620 46 770 750 740 720 700 680 670 650 640 630 610 600 45 760 740 720 710 690 670 650 640 630 610 590 580 44 740 730 710 700 670 660 640 620 610 600 580 570 43 730 720 700 680 660 640 630 620 600 590 570 560 42 720 700 690 670 650 630 620 600 590 570 560 550 41 710 690 680 660 640 620 610 590 580 560 550 540 40 700 680 670 650 630 610 600 580 570 550 540 530 39 690 680 660 640 620 600 590 570 560 550 530 520 38 680 670 650 630 610 600 580 560 550 540 520 510 37 670 660 640 630 610 590 570 550 540 530 510 500 36 660 650 630 620 600 580 560 550 530 520 500 490 35 660 640 620 610 590 570 550 540 530 510 490 480 34 650 630 620 600 580 560 550 530 520 500 490 480 33 640 620 610 590 570 550 540 520 510 490 480 470 32 630 620 600 580 560 540 530 510 500 490 470 460 31 620 610 590 580 550 540 520 500 490 480 460 450 30 610 600 580 570 550 530 510 500 480 470 450 440 29 610 580 570 560 540 520 500 490 480 460 440 430 28 600 580 570 550 530 510 490 480 470 450 440 430 27 590 570 560 540 520 500 490 470 460 440 430 420 26 580 570 550 530 510 490 480 460 450 440 420 410 25 570 560 540 530 500 490 470 450 440 430 410 400 24 560 550 530 520 500 480 460 450 430 420 400 390 23 560 540 520 510 490 470 450 440 430 410 390 380 22 550 530 520 500 480 460 450 430 420 400 390 380 21 540 520 510 490 470 450 440 420 410 390 380 370 20 530 520 500 480 460 440 430 410 400 390 370 360 19 520 510 490 480 460 440 420 410 390 380 360 350 18 520 500 480 470 450 430 410 400 390 370 350 340 17 510 490 480 460 440 420 410 390 380 360 350 340 16 500 490 470 450 430 410 400 380 370 360 340 330 15 490 480 460 450 430 410 390 370 360 350 330 320 14 490 470 450 440 420 400 380 370 360 340 320 310 13 480 460 450 430 410 390 380 360 350 330 320 310 12 470 460 440 420 400 380 370 350 340 330 310 300 11 460 450 430 420 400 380 360 350 330 320 300 290 10 460 440 420 410 390 370 350 340 330 310 290 280 9 450 430 420 400 380 360 350 330 320 300 290 280 8 440 430 410 390 370 350 340 320 310 300 280 270 7 430 420 400 390 360 350 330 310 300 290 270 260 6 420 410 390 380 360 340 320 310 290 280 260 250 5 410 400 380 370 350 330 310 300 280 270 250 240 4 400 390 370 360 340 320 300 290 270 260 240 230 3 390 380 360 350 330 310 290 280 260 250 230 220 2 380 370 350 330 310 290 280 260 250 240 220 210 1 370 350 340 320 300 280 260 250 240 220 210 200 0 350 340 320 300 280 260 250 240 220 210 200 200 -1 330 320 300 290 270 250 230 220 200 200 200 200 -2 310 300 280 270 250 230 210 200 200 200 200 200 -3 310 290 280 260 240 220 210 200 200 200 200 200 Writing Scaled Score 2014 Percentile 800 99+ 790 99 780 99 770 99 760 99 750 98 740 98 730 98 720 97 710 96 700 96 690 95 680 94 670 93 660 92 650 91 640 89 630 88 620 86 610 84 600 82 590 80 580 78 570 76 560 74 550 71 540 68 530 65 520 62 510 59 500 56 490 53 480 49 470 46 460 42 450 39 440 35 430 32 420 29 410 25 400 22 3901 19 380 17 370 14 360 12 350 10 340 8 330 7 320 6 310 5 290 4 280 3 270 3 260 2 250 2 240 2 230 1 220 1 210 1 200 What's Next? Now that you've seen the SAT score chart, find out what's considered a good and bad SAT score. Also, find out how many questions you can miss to get a perfect SAT score. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Evaluate the current Talent Management (TM) strategy at any well-known Essay

Evaluate the current Talent Management (TM) strategy at any well-known organization in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example These efforts are increasingly being directed towards growth of the companies along with the growth of the individuals. Today the same emphasis is provided by organisations to each phase of an individual employee continuum with the employment of such strategies that identifies high performing employees and providing them with greater opportunities for growth through career planning. Moreover, greater importance has also been generated towards the overall development of employees over long terms and towards their assistance for reaching their career goals and objectives. Organisations have shown their belief towards the development of a fulfilling and happy employee (Mabry, 2001, p.55). This has been achieved through recruitment, on boarding, developing career paths, and development of succession planning. The aim is to develop a happy and satisfied employee who would eventually be able to attain a high customer satisfaction and which would eventually result in adding to the organisat ion’s bottom line. ... Talent management encompasses the complete employee life cycle, starting from recruitment, managing performance, competency development, redeployment, succession planning, training, leanings management, career development, and finally employee retention and engagement (Davis, 2007, p.74). The present project aims to discuss and evaluate the talent management strategy undertaken in Saudi Aramco. It would emphasise on the various ways in which the company has been trying to attract and retain and develop the talents. It also presents an assessment of the effectiveness of the strategy in the present organisational context. The talent management strategy is prescribed for the organisation only after making a thorough study of organisation. It presents such strategies for implementation based on the identified talent gaps. The initiatives would be directed towards retaining the high performers in the core and strategic roles. The most promising challenge confronting the human resource pro fessionals in the organisation would be implementing the strategy successfully. Saudi Aramco- About the Company Saudi Aramco is a state owned oil company in Saudi Arabia which is a completely integrated and global petroleum organisation. The company has evolved as a leader in the production, exploration, shipping, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum in the world. The company manages reserves of crude oil amounting to 260.1 barrel. The fourth largest gas reserves in the globe, is also managed by the company, which amounts for a volume of 275.2 trillion cubic feet (Saudi Aramco, 2011, p.2). The company is committed to deliver the most reliable supply of petroleum and petroleum

Essay on the Oedipus Rex Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

On the Oedipus Rex - Essay Example As a result, Teiresias is painfully reminded of his blindness: â€Å"Truth is not in you – for your ears, your mind, your eyes are blind!† (Sophocles I.370). Oedipus also blames his brother-in-law Creon for treachery and secret council with the oracle. He threatens the servant to death in the situation when this servant may die even if he obeys. Jocasta who is shown as a devoted wife (she tries to comfort Oedipus and obeys all his orders) is accused of arrogance: â€Å"Leave the lady to enjoy her noble family† (Sophocles III.1070). They all forgive and remain silent, which is an indication of the severity of their grief for Oedipus: near such misfortune, their pride loses its importance. This disregard of Oedipus’s attacks is one of the tactics that help different characters withdraw from the situation of suffering. This is not the only tactic, though. Teiresias calms himself down with the acceptance of the fact that he cannot change the future. He is a servant of gods, a keeper of truth, and his inner truth gives him strength: â€Å"It is not your fate / to fall because of me. It’s up to Apollo / to make that happen. He will be enough† (Sophocles I.451-453). However, he is dissatisfied with himself, because even knowing this, he came to Oedipus: â€Å"Alas, alas! How dreadful it can be / to have wisdom when it brings no benefit / to the man possessing it† (Sophocles I.374-376). This is a typical problem of prophets in tragedy (other examples are Cassandra and Laocoon). Such popularity of the helpless prophet character may be due to the importance of the concept of fate for Greeks. Jocasta seems to suspect something from the very beginning, but she has at least two protective arguments. The first is her care for Oedipus being so sincere and unconditional that there is tempt to claim it maternal: the main thing that concerns her is always her husband’s condition, and several times she does whatever she can to calm him down, up to the

Ethical issues relating to ife Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical issues relating to ife - Essay Example 83 per cent of these abortions are conducted in the underdeveloped countries while the developed countries account for 17 per cent of these abortions. In such circumstances, study of ethics revives the need to behave ethically. A sound awareness of the principles of ethics is fundamental to the development of morally responsible people who would choose not to abort their children. Sterilization is the term used for killing. Generally, sterilization is used for killing microbes in eatables so that they can be made more hygienic. Killing the fetus is also sterilization. Two drugs, namely Methotrexate & Misoprostol which were previously used for the treatment of cancer and ulcer respectively are now increasingly being used for abortion. Methotrexate poisons the fetus. This is followed by the action of Misoprostol that empties the fetus’s uterus. Methotrexate is a very toxic drug which can kill the mother along with the baby. Hence, this is a very unethical act. Ethics is the study of principles, norms and values that are standardized and mutually accepted by scholars as conducive for the overall betterment of the society. Ethics inculcates a sense in people to make well-informed decisions in critical situations. Ethics tells how things should be manipulated in a given setting so that the individual and collective losses can be minimized and profitability of the job can be enhanced both for the individual and the nation as a whole. Ethics compels an individual to respect others’ rights while accomplishing his/her individualistic goals. Ethics disallows the use of such toxic drugs for conducting abortion. Contraception is the name of controlling pregnancy. Ethics committee plays a very important role in contraception in that it devises the methods to control pregnancy without any loss to the mother. â€Å"In the broadest general terms an ethics committee, satisfies the condition of the Federal Sentencing

The integrating earned value management

The integrating earned value management 3.3 EARNED VALUE PROJECT MANAGEMENT 3.3.1 Basics of Earned Value Project Management Project Management is often defined as the integrated management and control of Time, Cost, Resources and Quality for the successful on time and on budget completion of projects. Traditional approaches to PM ranged from simple Gantt Charts which help in representing the work to be done on a time scale to techniques likes CPM and PERT that addresses the needs of deterministic and probabilistic scheduling. All of these techniques tend to be used primarily for managing time. Cost is often measured independently by the accountants. This separation between cost and time is often the cause of project failure because the executing team is often unable to detect cost overruns until they are well past the point where they can change the outcome of the project. 3.3.2 Illustrative Explanation Earned Value Project Management (EVPM) is a concept that helps Project Managers seamless link Time and Cost for more effective control. Despite the difficult sounding title and the typical jargon associated with EVPM the basic idea is very simple and can be used effectively in a wide variety of situations. The best way to under stand EVPM is to walk through a sample project, so I am going to take you through a software project. Lets say we are working on the ERMS (enterprise resource management system) that has 10 deliverables/modules each to be completed in one month with a budget of 10 Lac Rupees each. The total project span works out to 10 months at a budget cost of Rs. 100 Lacs (Rs. 1 crore). We are at the end of the first three months and the Project Manager is busy preparing his project report. He starts up by reviewing progress and finds that two deliverables are fully complete while the third one is 80% complete. He checks with accounts and finds out that that a total of Rs. 28 Lacs have been spent so far. With this information he is ready to assign values to the three basic variables required to perform EVPM. These are as follows- 3.3.2.1 BCWS / Planned Value (PV) Budget Cost for Work Scheduled, also known as ‘Planned Value in the amount of money that should have been spent at this point in the life of the project if the project was proceeding as per plan. It is time phased budget baseline (figure). It is the approved budget for accomplishing the activity, work package or project related to the schedule. It can be viewed as the value to be earned as a function of project Work accomplishments up to a given point in time [12]. In our case we had planned to complete three deliverables in three months so we should have spent Rs. 30 Lac. A word of caution here, most projects dont proceed in a linear fashion (i.e. total budget/total duration in months). Correct BCWS values can be obtained from a resource loaded project plan that takes in account the actually work to be done in each period. Budget Cost for Work Scheduled is also called ‘Planned Value. 3.3.2.2 Budget at Completion (BAC) This is the total budget baseline for the activity, work package or project. It is the highest value of PV as shown in Figure-1 i.e. 100 Lac. 3.3.2.3 ACWP / Actual Cost (AC) This is the cumulative AC spent to a given point in time to accomplish an activity, work-package or project [12]. Actual Cost for Work Performed is the amount of money that we have actually spent on the project. Accounts have told us that we have spent Rs. 28 Lac. 3.3.2.4 BCWP / Earned Value (EV) This is the cumulative earned value for the work completed up to a point in time. It represents the amount budgeted for performing the work that was accomplished by a given point in time [12]. To obtain EV of an item, simply multiply its total budget by its completed proportion. Budget Cost for Work Performed is the assessment of the value of work that we have completed. Think of this as the worth of the work that we have completed, so if we had completed three deliverables we would have Completed 30 Lac Rupees worth of work. But we have only fully completed two deliverables so we have Rs. 20 Lac and we have 80% of the third deliverable. Partial completion is a tricky issue, because partial estimates generally vary from person to person depending on how optimistic or pessimistic they are. There are rules of the thumb (Heuristics) to deal with this situation. The common ones are 0-100 (give no credit till the task is complete), 20-80 (give 20% credit when the task is underway and the remaining 80% when it is completed), 50-50 (give 50% credit for starting the task and the balance on completion). The selection of method is up to you, but you need to ensure that you will use the same measure across the project for all tasks. In our case lets say we go with the 50-50 rule, so well give Rs. 5 Lacs credit for the third deliverable which brings the BCWP to Rs. 25 Lacs (20+5). Note that BCWP is also referred to as the Earned Value (EV). Lets start by calculating the two basic measures of performance SPI and CPI -3.3.2.5 3.3.2.5 Schedule Performance Index (SPI) Schedule Performance Index is an indicator for accessing our performance relative to the plan. SPI = BCWP/BCWS = 25/30 = 0.83. We know we are behind schedule, what SPI is telling us is that we have only completed 83% of the work that we originally planned to complete. 3.3.2.6 Cost Performance Index (CPI) Cost Performance Index shows us how much value we are getting for each Rupee that we spend on the project. CPI= BCWP/ACWP 25/28 = 0.89. We are over budget because, for producing Rs. 25 Lacs of work we have spent Rs. 28 Lacs. So we are only getting 89 Paisas of value for each Rupee that we spend. Just looking at SPI and CPI we know that we have a problem in that we are both over budget and behind schedule. A lot of work has been done on the use of SPI and CPI early in the project to predict the final outcome. Most of the work has been done in the US defense industry where researchers have looked at dozens of completed projects and tried to correlate their outcome with the status of their SPI and CPI early on during the project. Most studies show that the value of SPI and CPI when the project is only 20% complete can very accurately predict the final outcome. Using heuristics developed from these studies we can predict the following- Projected Project Duration = Planned Duration / SPI = 10 / 0.83 = 12 Month. So we are expecting that the project will be completed two month behind schedule, Projected Project Cost = Planned Cost / CPI = 100 / 0.89 = 112 Lacs. We are expecting a Rs. 12 Lacs overrun on the budget. Recovery Cost This is the cost that we will incur if we need to complete the project within the originally specified time by adding additional resource to the project. Projected Project Cost = Planned Cost / CPI*SPI = 100 / 0.89*0.83 = 135 Lacs Rupees. We should be ready to exceed the budget by 35% if we want to complete the project in time. Conventional wisdom says that your ability to change the outcome of a project is maximum at the start or the project and minimum near the end of the project. So it makes good sense to detect problems early and take action when you have room for maneuver. If you think about the 20% point intuitively, youll note that the any estimation errors that are leading to low CPI (i.e. budget overrun) are likely to effect the remaining activities of the project at the same rate, similarly the performance of your resources in execution is unlikely to get any better than what they have proven capable of in the first fifth of the project. Given the importance of early detection, think about conventional project management and how little it can tell you from the fact that you have completed two deliverables and 80% of the third and spent 28 Lac Rupees, Because of this, problems often evade early detection and by the time someone detects the problem its too late in the project to do much about it i.e. in a stage where the project is controlling the project manger instead of vice versa. 3.3.4 Integrating EVM Risk Management In todays uncertain business environment there is understandable pressure to improve the quality of decision-making at all levels in the organization. A number of techniques have been developed to address this concern, in an attempt to introduce some rational framework to the decision-making process. Two of the leading approaches are Earned Value Management (EVM) and Risk Management (RM). These stand out from other decision support techniques because both EVM and RM can and should be applied in an integrated way across the organization. Starting at the project level, both EVM and RM offer powerful insights into factors affecting project performance. Another key similarity between the two techniques lies in the word â€Å"management†. It is possible to conduct â€Å"Earned Value Analysis† and â€Å"Risk Analysis† to expose underlying drivers of performance. But both techniques emphasize the need to move from analysis to management, using the information to support proactive decision-making. Consequently, both EVM and RM encourage those using the techniques to take appropriate management action based on the results, and not to stop at mere analysis. Since both EVM and RM address the same problem space (performance of projects, programs, portfolios and businesses), and both provide management information to provide a basis for decisions and action, there has been considerable interest in the possibility of developing a combined approach to create synergistic benefits. Currently EVM and RM operate as parallel coexisting processes without systematic integration (although good project managers may intuitively link the two in practices). Much of the discussion to date on the relationship between EVM and RM has been rather theoretical, addressing the key principles underlying the two techniques. The objective is to analyze steps that can be implemented to combine EVM and RM in order to gain maximum benefit for projects and the organization. 3.3.4.1 Weakness in EVM and RM The strength of EVM RM has already been described, as their proponents seek to encourage wider update use. Each technique however has atleast one key weakness which presents a significant danger to those relying on the output to support strategic or tactical decision-making. For EVM, one of the main perceived weaknesses is its reliance on a key assumption, that future performance can be predicted based on past performance. Calculated performance measures (CPI, SPI, CV, SV etc) are used to predict forwards and estimate cost at completion or overall duration. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that the basic EVM assumption will be true, and it is likely that the future will deviate from that predicted by simply extrapolating from past performance. The strength of EVM lies in its rigorous examination of what has already occurred on the project, using quantitative metrics to evaluate project past performance. It goes on however to predict future performance by extrapolating from the past. But it is not possible to drive a car by only looking in the rear-view mirror. A forward view is also required, and this Is what RM offers. While project planning looks at the next steps which lie immediately ahead, RM has a horizon further into the future, It acts as forward-looking radar, scanning the uncertain and unclear future to identify potential dangers to be avoided, as well as seeking possible additional benefits to be captured. However this undoubted strength of being resolutely and exclusively future-focused is also one of the key weaknesses in RM. Any thing which occurred in the past is of little or no interest to the risk process, since there is no uncertainty associated with past events. RM starts with todays status quo and looks ahead. How the project reached its current position is not relevant to the risk process, unless one is seeking to learn lessons to assist RM on future projects. As a result RM as commonly implemented often lacks a meaningful context within which to interpret identified risks, since it has no means of capturing past performance and feeding this into the decision-making process. If EVM is weakened by assuming that future performance can be predicted from past performance, and if RM is weakened by looking only forwards with no real awareness of the past, a useful synergy might be obtained if a combined EVM-RM approach were able to address these weaknesses. Combining a rear-view mirror with forward-looking radar would use the strengths of complementary approaches to compensate for the weaknesses inherent in using each alone. Consequently it is possible to produce significant benefits by using RM to provide the forward view required by EVM, and by using EVM to provide the context required for RM. 3.3.4.2 Synergies from a Combined Approach Given the common aims of EVM and RM to examine and expose drivers of project performance in order to focus management attention on achievement of objectives, and given their differing perspectives towards the past and the future, a number of areas of possible synergy exist between the two techniques. The steps required to implement these synergies are [18]: Creating the baseline spend plan Predicting future outcomes Evaluating risk process effectiveness 1. Creating the baseline spend plan The foundation for EVM is the baseline plan of expected spend over time, creating the profile of â€Å"Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled† (BCWS) or â€Å"Planned Value† (PV) against which project performance is measured. This baseline is derived from a costed and resourced project plan, including fixed and variable costs arising from financial and human resources. The BCWS profile is typically presented as a cumulative curve, or S-curve, as in Figure below. The baseline BCWS exists as the benchmark against which project performance will be measured. However one of the first things a project manager learns is that reality will never precisely match the project plan. As soon as work starts, there are variations in productivity, resource and information availability, delivery dates, material costs, scope etc. This is why a rigorous change control process is vital to successful project management. Although not all changes can be foreseen before the project starts, it is possible to assess the degree of uncertainty in a project plan, in both time and cost dimensions. This is the domain of RM. One of the first contributions that RM can make to EVM is to make explicit the consideration of uncertainty and risk when constructing the baseline BCWS. By undertaking a full risk assessment of the project plan before the project starts, addressing uncertainties in both time and cost, it is possible to evaluate the degree of risk in the baseline project plan. Quantitative risk analysis techniques are particularly useful for this, especially the use of Monte Carlo simulation on integrated models which include both time and cost uncertainty. These risk models take account of variability in planned values, also called â€Å"estimating uncertainty† (for example by replacing planned single-point estimates of duration or cost with three-point estimates or other distribution types), and they should also model the effect of discrete risks to reflect their assessed probability of occurrence and the subsequent impact on project time and/or cost. Both threats and opportunities should be addressed in the risk model, representing the possibility of exceeding or failing to meet the project plan. The results of the risk analysis allow the best case project outcome to be determined, representing the cheapest and. quickest way to reach project completion. Similarly a worst case profile can be produced, with highest cost and longest duration. All other possible outcomes are also calculated, allowing the â€Å"expected outcome† within this range to be identified. These can be shown as a set of three related S-curves, as in Figure below, which take account of both estimating uncertainty (variability in planned events) and discrete risks (both positive opportunities and negative threats). The ellipse at the end of the curves represents all possible calculated projects outcomes (90% confidence limit), with the top-right value showing worst-case (highest cost, longest schedule), the bottom-left giving best-case (cheapest and Quickest), and the centre of gravity of the ellipse being at the expected outcome of project cost and duration. The existence of this set of possible project outcomes raises the question of where the baseline spends profile for EVM should be set. The recommendation from a combined approach to EVM and RM is to use the expected value cumulative profile from a quantitative time-cost risk analysis as the baseline for BCWS. In other words, the central S-curve in Figure 2 would be used as the baseline instead of the S-curve in Figure 1. This ensures that the EVM baseline fully reflects the risk associated with the project plan (including an appropriate amount for contingency which is automatically incorporated in the risk analysis results), rather than measuring performance against the raw â€Å"all-goes-to-plan† plan. 2. Predicting future outcomes Both EVM and RM attempt to predict the future outcome of the project, based on information currently known about the project. For EVM this is achieved using calculated performance indices, with a range of formulae in use for calculating Estimate At Completion (EAC). Most of these formulae start with the Actual Cost of Work Performed to date (ACWP, or Actual Cost AC), and add the remaining budget adjusted to take account of performance to date (usually using the Cost Performance Index CPI, or using a combined Performance Efficiency Factor based on both CPI and SPI). These calculations of the Estimate To Complete (ETC) are used to extrapolate the ACWP plot for the remainder of the project to estimate where the project might finally end (EAC), as shown In Figure 3 below. RM predicts a range of possible futures by analyzing the combined effect of known risks and unknown uncertainty on the remainder of the project. When an integrated time-cost risk model is used, the result is a set of S-curves similar to Figure 2, but covering the uncompleted portion of the project, as In Figure 4. It is also possible to use risk nalysis results to show the effect of specific risks(threats or opportunities) on project performance as measured by earned value. Since the risk analysis includes both estimating uncertainty discrete risks, the model can be used to perform â€Å"what-if† scenario analysis showing the effect of addressing particular risks. 3. Evaluating risk process effectiveness A risk can be defined as â€Å"any uncertainty that, if it occurs, would have a positive or negative effect on achievement of one or more project objectives†. RM aims to address this uncertainty proactively in order to ensure that project objectives are achieved, including completing on time and within budget. As a result, if RM is fully effective, actual project performance should closely match the plan. Since EVM performance indices (CPI, SPI) measure deviation from plan, they can be used to indicate whether the risk process is being effective in addressing uncertainty and controlling its effects on project performance. If CPI and/or SPI are below 1.0 indicating that project performance is falling short of the plan, then one of the most likely underlying causes is that the risk process is failing to keep the project on course. An Ineffective risk process would fail to avoid adverse risks (threats) proactively, and when threats materialize into problems the project incurs delay and/or additional cost. Either the risk process is not identifying the threats, or it is not preventing them from occurring. In this situation, management attention should be directed to the risk process, to review its effectiveness and consider whether additional resources are required, or whether different techniques should be used. Conversely, if CPI and/or SPI are above 1.0 indicating that project performance is ahead of plan, the risk process should be focused on exploiting the opportunities created by this situation. Best-practice RM addresses both threats and opportunities, seeking to minimize threats and maximize opportunities. When EVM indicates that opportunities exist, the risk process should explore options to capture them and create additional benefits for the project. It should also be noted that if CPI and/or SPI far exceed 1.0, this may indicate other problems in the project and may not simply be due to the existence of opportunities. Typically, if actual performance is much greater than expected or planned, this could indicate poor planning or incorrect scoping when setting up the initial baseline plan. If this highly anomalous behavior continues, a baseline re-planning effort should be considered, which of course will involve the need for further risk management. Similarly if CPI and/or SPI are well below 1.0, this may not simply be due to the impact of unmanaged threats, but may indicate problems with the baseline plan or scope. Figure 5 illustrates the relationship between the values of EVM indices (CPI and/or SPI) and RM process effectiveness. The key to using EVM indices as indicators of RM effectiveness is to determine appropriate thresholds where action is required to refocus the risk process. Clearly some variation of EVM indices is to be expected as the project unfolds, and it would not be wise to modify the risk process in response to every small change in CPI /or SPI. However if a trend develops crosses the thresholds of â€Å"common variance†, action should be considered. Figure 6 illustrate this, with the thresholds of â€Å"common variance† for CPI /or SPI set at = 0.9 and =1.25. A further â€Å"warning threshold† is set at 0.75, suggesting that an adverse trend is developing and preparatory steps should be taken. The thresholds of 0.75, 0.9 and 1.25 used in Figure 6 are illustrative only, and organizations may be able to determine more appropriate threshold values by reviewing historical trend data for CPl and SPI, and identifying the limits of â€Å"common variance† for their projects. Plotting the trend of CPI and SPI over time against such thresholds also gives useful information on the type of risk exposure faced by the project at any given point. For example Figure 6 Indicates that the project schedule is under pressure (SPI trend is consistently below 1.0), suggesting that the risk process should focus on addressing sources of time risk. The figure also suggests that cost savings are possible which might create opportunities that can be exploited, and the risk process might be able to maximize these. These recommended action types are illustrated in Figure 7, corresponding to the following four situations: Both CPI and SPI high (top-right quadrant), creating opportunities to be captured Both CPI and SPI low (bottom-left quadrant), requiring aggressive action to address threats High SPI but low CPI (top-left quadrant), requiring focused attention to cost risk, with the possibility of spending additional time to address High CPI but low SPI (bottom-right quadrant), where attention should be paid to addressing schedule risk, and cost trade-offs can be considered Figure 7 also suggests that if either CPI or SPI (or both) remain abnormally high or low, the baseline plan should be re-examined to determine whether the initial scope was correct or whether underlying planning assumptions were unfounded. It is important to note that these action types should be viewed only as 1st options, since other considerations may lead to different actions. For example in projects with high schedule-constraints (e.g. product launch, event management etc), the trade-off between time cost may be prioritized differently than in cost-constrained projects. 3.3.4.3 Discussion Both Earned Value Management (EVM) and Risk Management (RM) seek to improve decision-making by providing a rational framework based on project performance. EVM examines past performance against clearly-defined quantitative metrics, and uses these to predict the future outcome for the project. RM looks ahead to identify and assess uncertainties with the potential to affect project performance either positively or negatively, and develops responses to address each risk proactively. Both techniques share a focus on project performance, and have the same purpose of developing effective actions to correct unwelcome trends in order to maximize the Likelihood of achieving project objectives. One (EVM) does this by looking back at past performance as an indicator of likely future performance. The other (RM) looks ahead at possible influences on future project outcomes. These two approaches are not in conflict or mutually exclusive. Indeed their commonalities imply a powerful synergy, which i s available through combining the complementary strengths of each technique and using insights from one to inform the application of the other (as summarized in Table 5). 1. Creating the baseline spend plan (BCWS/PV) Develop costed WBS to describe scope of work, without hidden contingency Produce fully costed and resourced project schedule Assess estimating uncertainty associated with initial time/cost estimates Perform risk identification, risk assessment and response development Quantify time and cost risk exposure for each risk, taking account of the effect of agreed responses Create integrated time/cost risk model from project schedule, reflecting both estimating uncertainty (via 3-point estimates) Select risk-based profile as baseline spend profile (BCWS/PV); it is most common to use the â€Å"expected values†, although some other confidence level may be selected (say 80%) 2. Predicting future outcomes (EAC) Record project progress and actual cost spent to date (ACWP), and calculate earned value (BCWP) Review initial time/cost estimates for activities not completed, to identify changes, including revised estimating uncertainty Update risk identification, assessment and quantification, to identify new risks and reassess existing risks Update integrated time/cost risk mode! with revised values for estimating uncertainty and discrete risks, taking account of progress to date and agreed risk responses Select risk-based calculation as estimate of final project duration and cost (EAC), using either â€Å"expected values†, or some other confidence level (say 80%) Use risk-based profile as updated expected spend from time-now to project completion 3. Evaluating risk management process effectiveness Determine threshold values for CPI and SPI to trigger corrective action in risk process (or use default values of 0.75, 0.90 and 1.25) Calculate earned value performance indices (CPI and SPI), plot trends and compare with thresholds Consider modifications to risk process if CPI and/or SPI cross thresholds, enhancing the process to tackle opportunities more effectively if CPI and/or SPI are high, or refocusing the process on threat reduction if they are low Take appropriate action either to exploit opportunities (high CPI/SPI), address threats (low CPI/SPI), spend contingency to recover time (high CPI/low SPI), or spend time to reduce cost drivers (high SPI/low CPI) Consider need to review initial baseline, project plan or scope if CPI and/or SPI persistently have unusually high or low value Table-5: Summary of steps to integrate EVM and RM http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/orpmug/59678/HTML/default/evm_sect3.htm http://www.tech-archive.net/Archive/Project/microsoft.public.project/2007-05/msg00594.html http://www.allpm.com/index.php?name=Newsfile=articlesid=2184 http://www.allpm.com/index.php?name=Newsfile=articlesid=2184theme=Printer http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4424121.html http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/auditreports/reports/094602fr.html http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/auditreports/reports/094602fr.html http://www.dcma.mil/communicator/spring_summer04/evm.cfm http://www.parm.com/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=171Itemid=35 http://www.parm.com/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=177Itemid=35 http://www.scribd.com/doc/4614499/Project-Performance-Measurement http://www.baz.com/kjordan/swse625/htm/tp-py.htm http://guidebook.dcma.mil/79/evhelp/what.htm http://www.acq.osd.mil/pm/faqs/evbasics.htm http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/bank/hba57680.000/hba57680_0.HTM http://www.allbusiness.com/management/risk-management/8945762-1.html http://www.parm.com/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=171Itemid=35 http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.5912 http://www.plannerlife.info/2007/07/what-is-earned-value.html http://evm.nasa.gov/tutoriala.html Earned Value Management (EVM) Tutorial http://glossary.tenrox.com/earned-value.htm http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/orpmug/59678/HTML/default/cpm_sect42.htm http://www.ombudsman.forces.gc.ca/rep-rap/sr-rs/sf-ts/rep-rap-02-eng.asp http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6006060.html http://www.pmi.org/Search/GenieRedirector.aspx?genieID=6685iss=1 http://www.pmi-cpm.org/pages/events/IPM06/Practice_Symposia.html http://edgar.sec.gov/about/oig/audit/337fin.htm http://www.scribd.com/doc/4614499/Project-Performance-Measurement http://www.acq.osd.mil/pm/faqs/evbasics.htm http://www.baz.com/kjordan/swse625/htm/tp-py.htm http://www.parm.com/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=177Itemid=35 http://www.dcma.mil/communicator/spring_summer04/evm.cfm http://guidebook.dcma.mil/79/evhelp/what.htm