Free Essays - Wrinkle in Time :: Wrinkle in Time Essays

  Wrinkle in Time By Madeline L ´Engle In Willstead town, in North Carolina strange things are happening. Do you want to know more? Well in A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, a wonderful writer tells all the weird things that are happening.   The setting of this story is on North Carolina, at the town of Willstead in the year of 2005.   One day Margaret was left by the Aliens when she was two- months old at planet Earth, and was found by the Murrie’s, a nice couple, that had one year of marriage. Several years had passed and Margaret grew up like a normal girl. Now she has twin brothers and a Collie dog. At school everybody thinks that she is a freak, but she is a ten-year-old girl, with beautiful eyes and a lot of intelligence. She is an alien but no one knows not even her. Margaret came to Earth by a computer fraud that caused a wrinkle in time. An old woman called Mrs. Whatsit came to Earth with a job to take Margaret back. She visits Margaret and buys her nice things to win Margaret’s confidence. Mrs. Whatsit lived in the middle of the woods. One day a robbery had been reported to the police. It was a missing blanket and the thief was Mrs. Whatsit because she needed a lot of warmth because planet Earth was too cold for them. The Tesseract that is the name of the species that Margaret and Mrs. Whatsit belong to. At school some rare people that were the same species of Margaret went to do a contest.  Ã‚   Margaret won the contest but this was no contest this were a series of exams that they had to do to Margaret to see if she could live in her home planet and see if she was fit to live there. Mrs. Whatsit was there and after the exams she sat down Margaret and started telling everything about her species and how she got here. At first Margaret didn’t believe it but afterwards she started understanding all the things she had passed through all alone with no one that could understand her. Mrs. Whatsit tells Margaret if she wants to go back where she is supposed to be and she stayed thinking and told her sh e would tell her later. Each day Mrs. Whatsit and Margaret went together to the park and Mrs.

Adolescent Nutrition Essay -- Health Nutrition Pyramid Diet

During adolescence there is a high susceptibility to nutritional deficiencies and poor eating habits. This may lead to problems later on in life such as osteoporosis, obesity, hyperlipedemia, sexual maturation delays, and final adult height. The development of eating disorders is also prominent during this time. Adolescents require extra nutrients due to a growth spurt, which girls experience during the ages of 10 or 11, reaches its peak at age 12 and is completed by about age 15. In boys, it begins at 12 or 13 years of age, peaks at age 14 and ends by about age 19. Adequate amounts of iron and calcium are important as the adolescent body undergoes the growth period. At the ages of 9 to 18 years, both males and females are encouraged to have a calcium rich diet in order to have proper calcium deposits in the bones. This may help reduce obtaining osteoporosis in later years. Eating disorders are also common among teens whose food choices are influenced by society’s pressures to have the ideal look. Some eating disorders are classified as anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating or binge eating. Both anorexia and bulimia can lead to convulsions, kidney failure, irregular heartbeats, osteoporosis and dental erosion. Adolescents suffering from compulsive overeating disorder are at risk for heart attack, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, kidney disease, arthritis, and stroke. Healthy eating during adolescence is important because an individual's nutritional and dieta...

Dr. Faustus Vs. Dorian Gray Essay -- essays research papers

Deals With the Devil   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the books The Picture of Dorian Gray and Dr. Faustus, both protagonists are lured into the world of evil, but by different forces. Dorian Gray and Dr. Faustus both sell their souls to the devil. However, Dorian Gray deals with the devil unknowingly, and Dr. Faustus conjures the devil. After Dorian sells his soul, he becomes an immoral criminal, and even resorts to murder. After Dr. Faustus sells his soul, he lives frivolously and entertains himself through practical jokes. So who is more evil? An innocent young man corrupted by the ideas of another? Or, a man who is bored with the world, and seeking excitement calls upon the devil? Dorian Gray is clearly more evil, because even though both he and Faustus were corrupted by knowledge Dorian destroys peoples lives and commits felonies, whereas Faustus just does things for his own pleasure. The protagonists in these works are intellectuals. They read many books and have an immense amount of knowledge in many areas. Dr. Faustus knows everything about the material world and is dissatisfied with it. So, he becomes infatuated with the spiritual world. This is why he wants to sell his soul. His desire for knowledge overcomes his sensibility. Dorian Gray read many books about fields he was interested in like art. These books did not corrupt him; he was just thirsty for knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many other factors lead to the eventual downfall of both characters, ...

A research proposal on contract strategies for projects in the subsea oil and gas industry Essay

Introduction In different subsea oil and gas projects developments, the award of large contracts for a variety of works is undertaken.   Nevertheless, the overall strategy for distributing these contracts to different contractors is the main issue regarding to contracting strategy. The recent researches on the field of contract strategies establish that the world is growing very fast technologically thus provoke the need for further exploration for sources of energy especially in subsea oil and gas industry. Furthermore, a profound increase in the projects complexity, increase in projects sizes as well as the intensified international engagements in related issues characterize oil and gas projects in the present world. Although these projects are based in the sea, it is argued by different scholars that construction processes have numerous groups of individuals and companies who get involved either as suppliers, buyers or as the real builders. To maintain and ensure ethical relationships among the various stakeholders contracts are formed.   A contract is a legal term that is either written or spoken as an agreement between two or more parties for the purpose of the delivery of particular services in return for money or any other valuable asset (Blum, 2007, p. 88). In projects related to subsea oil and gas engineering, the process and the character of contracting and presentation of projects contracts is of great significance for the future course of the project and as well for the general success of the project. As far as subsea oil and gas industry is concerned, contracts are the critical tolls for the allocation of tasks, risks and responsibilities. Most importantly, contracting strategies in the above discussed industry takes into account the division of responsibilities within the project cycle, the desired allocation of risks, splitting of engaged parties and services among the involved groups as well as taking into account the   interface and the market situation. Realistic selection of contracting strategies is the foundation of realization of goals and objectives of such projects. According to Blum (2007), it is of importance for involved stakeholders in such projects to have the awareness and knowledge about the particular characteristics of probable contracting strategies.   Contracting strategies refer to the strategies in all stages of a project that establish a level of integration in design, the actual construction and ongoing maintenance in a project and gives support to t he project in form of risk delivery, risk allocation and incentivisation. The Rationale of the Research Considering the increased exploration and initialization of subsea oil and gas exploration and extraction projects, it is of importance to acknowledge the significance of instigating effective and realistic contracting strategies, as they are key to the success of each and every projects. For this reason, it is important to bring into light various contracting strategies by discussing, exploring and analyzing the impacts of such strategies in subsea oil and gas engineering. It is in this respect that the research that will follow will go even deep to thrash out the advantages as well as the shortcomings of different contracting strategies with respect to various literatures in the specific field. Research issue As many comprehend, there has been very little in terms of research concerning contracting strategies especially in the subsea oil and gas sector.   Although few study this issue, many companies are investing in the industry probably ending up adopting one or several contracting strategies. It is therefore a major issue when the necessary research that can guide these companies in selecting the best approaches is unavailable. Research Aim The aim of this research will be to investigate various types of contract strategy used in the subsea oil and Gas Industries and the consideration made before choosing for a particular project. In addition, the research will provide insight in various concept of contracting strategies besides going deep to unclothe various strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industries. Furthermore, the research will explore, discus and determine the role of contract strategy in project management by comparing and evaluating their impacts on a project by applying cost reimbursable contract strategy and lump sum contract strategy. Finally, the study will materialize in identifying the benefits and disadvantages of the various types of contract strategies. The importance of the study On the event of the completion of this planned research,   it is anticipated that various stakeholders in subsea gas and oil industry will be provided with adequate   and vital information about contracting strategies in the field, their impacts on general project   performance, their advantage and disadvantages as well being equipped with information on the roles of various contracting strategies. Research questions To these ends, the study calls on the following research questions: What are the various types of contracting strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industry? What are the considerations made before choosing a contracting strategy? What are the roles of contracting strategies in the subsea oil and gas industry? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the discussed contracting strategies? The empirical part of the research examines the theoretical framework of the perspective of different contracting strategies, their effectiveness, their roles as well as the benefits and shortcomings that accrue as a result of their espousal. Literature review During the initial stages of any project, the main issue that faces the project management stakeholders is to make informed decisions on which contract strategies to adopt that best suits the project for successful achievement of the projects goals and objectives (Inkpen & Moffett, 2011, p. 187). According to Babusiaux (2007), contract strategy refers to the process or the endeavor to select an organizational or projects contractual policy that is required for the execution of specific projects within the major venture. Most importantly, a proper and effective contract strategy for a project especially the ones related to subsea oil and gas industry involves making of five critical and basic decisions that include; setting of the projects objectives and constraints and making of informed decisions on the selection of proper project delivery method. In addition deciding on selection of proper contract type as well as adopting realistic contract administrative mechanisms serves as a basis for triumphant selection of contracting strategies.   Nevertheless, in the subsea oil and gas engineering projects, a contract type is selected by the managers of the project through the advice of the projects engineers and his or her legal advisor. However, the selection in this case must meet the objectives and the goals of the project and be able to take into account the constraints that relate to the project. The objectives are in terms of the time objectives, functional performance, transfer of technology, use of local materials and resources, allocation and payment of risks as well as cost objectives among others. This lead to a reflective increase in the projects complexity, increase in projects sizes as well as the intensified international engagements. Essentially, there are different contracting strategies in subsea oil and gas industry. The contracting strategies include; Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracting strategy, Engineering Procurement and Construction with Long Lead Items (EPC with LLIs), Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management strategy (EPCM) as well as the Progressive Lump Sum (PLS) (Ross   & Williams, 2012, p. 236). As a matter of fact, the selection of a specific contracting strategy in the subsea oil and gas industry depends on the level of risk an owner of a project dares to undertake and in most cases it reflects the desired peril, the goal and the aspirations of the owner. For that reason, the specific features and factors of the particular project have to be handled with an in-depth analysis and compared to the characteristics of the respective strategy in a manner that provides a foundation for deciding and choosing on the most appropriate solution (Babusiaux, 2007, p. 116). As all this contracting strategies are based on the procurement process, it is basically known that supply chain in the industry of oil and gas has not been taken seriously for quite some time and this has resulted to significant drawbacks . Nevertheless, technological changes lead to the development of core values that aim only at fast exploration with consequent high production of oil and gas products. According to Piskarev & Shkatov (2012) before selecting a contracting strategy to implement, owners of subsea oil and gas projects should ensure that, they consider basic attributes that determine which effective strategy works best in particular environments. To maximize on this, the key factors to consider in such cases include; the type, the size and the location of the subsea industry.   Additionally, as mentioned in the overview, decisions should consider risk allocations, the projects interface, the time constraints   and the market structure among many other factors. References Inkpen, A. C., & Moffett, M. H. (2011). The global oil & gas industry: management,   Ã‚  Ã‚   strategy & finance. Tulsa, Okla, PennWell. Blum, B. A. (2007). Contracts: examples & explanations. Austin, Wolters Kluwer Law &   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business Babusiaux, D. (2007). Oil and gas exploration and production: reserves, costs, contracts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Paris, France, Editions Technip. Piskarev, A., & Shkatov, M. (2012). Energy Potential of the Russian Arctic Seas Choice of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   development strategy. Burlington, Elsevier Science. Ross, A., & Williams, P. (2012). Financial Management in Construction Contracting.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Chicester, Wiley.

Behavioral Theories of Learning

Skinner’s terminology provides that positive reinforcers are any form of encouragement like rewards, awards and goals and positive reinforcement is the act itself of receiving the reward or achieving the goal (Skinner B. F. , 1969). The definitions of operant conditioning provide that negative reinforcement is a mode of behavioral theory that as a result of experiencing a negative condition, a particular behavior is enhanced, strengthened or emphasized. (http://www. mcli. dist. maricopa. edu/proj/nru/opcond. html, 1999).A good example of positive reinforcement inside a classroom would be a teacher giving extra credits for students who would achieve a certain high average. How is this positive reinforcement? Students will become motivated to excel and give extra effort to achieve the award and in the process they get to learn more ultimately benefiting them in the end. A pre-school teacher giving candy to the brave little girl who will not cry and back out of her first day in s chool is also an instance of positive reinforcement.The school board giving an award or an additional benefit for the teacher of the month, this is another example of a positive reinforcement. Why is that? By promising to give a little extra something, the school encourages the teachers to improve their over-all teaching performance and by doing so, they are encouraging a little friendly competition among fellow educators. The learning curve is sure to climb the charts if all the teachers and students are motivated. How will that be achieved? It is simple.The teachers will be inspired to think of innovative teaching methods that will be effective on students and in turn the students learn more. Some teachers are not as approachable as others that is the reason why students don’t ask questions even though they did not fully understand the subject matter, as a solution, they can make themselves available to students for consultation. As a result, the school’s educational framework benefits because of cooperation and communication. Everybody gets a special kind of something in the end.The key word in positive reinforcement is benefit. One way or another, everyone receives something beneficial to himself and to others as well. An example of negative reinforcement inside the four corners of the classroom would be a teacher who warns students that if they fail the exam they would get an automatic failing grade. This is negative reinforcement because if a student wants to avoid getting a failing grade, he would study. His studying habits will be strengthened as a consequence of being threatened of getting a failing grade.The application of negative reinforcement can be most usually seen in the fields of education and reform. The use of fines, imprisonment is one such example of the use of negative reinforcement to warn of the negative consequences of associating with social ills (Skinner,1953). Negative Reinforcement as compared to punishment strengthen s a behavior because a negative condition is stopped or avoided as a result of such behavior while the latter weakens a behavior because of the introduction of a negative condition as a result of the behavior (mcli. dist.maricopa. edu, 1999). An example of punishment is when a student is caught cheating by his professor, the consequence would be detention or suspension. Another demeanor of a student which is very suitable for punishment is bribing a teacher in order for him to get an â€Å"A†. This offense should be dealt with seriously because it can affect the educational system not to mention the character and reputation of the school. Punishment endeavors to make the person realize the intensity of the offense that was committed and for him to reflect on his actions.All these will be in vain if an important goal of punishment is not achieved, which goal is for the person not to repeat the same offense ever again. The application of these kinds of reinforcement depends upo n the situation and the individual upon whom these will be enforced. Imagine expelling a student for being caught littering inside the school grounds. The use of these types of reinforcements would vary not only because of a particular scenario but the attitude and intent of the person involved would have to be taken into consideration as well. In positive and negative reinforcement, the responses and effects are unpredictable.The effect would be of course either positive or negative as well. Positive outcome results when the desired response or behavior is achieved by using a certain kind of reinforcement, however, this desired outcome is not always achieved. For instance, in positive reinforcement, the aim is improvement and encouragement but the psyche of the person being motivated or encouraged does not depend on the positive reinforcer. For instance, no matter what benefit the teacher promises the student but the latter is not moved by it, there would be no positive result.The results in negative reinforcement, the aim of which is education or reform, will not be accomplished when the expected reaction or behavior is not achieved. As in the example given above, when a teacher suspends or sends a student in detention for cheating but the latter does it again, negative outcome results. In the field of education, positive or negative enforcement or even punishment may be associated with each other not only because they are modes to elicit a certain response from a student but because of the result they so aspire.The means may be different but the desired end to be achieved is the same; to maximize the learning potential and more importantly to mold the student’s behavior for the better. References Skinner B. F. , 1969, Contingencies of Reinforcement: A Theoretical Analysis, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Retrieved 04/03/09 from http://www. freeonlineresearchpapers. com/ Macopa Center for Learning and Instruction Retrieved 04/03/09 from http://www. mcli. dist. maricopa. edu/proj/nru/opcond. html Skinner B. F. , 1953, Science and Human Behaviour, New York: Macmillan. Retrieved 04/03/09 from http://www. freeonlineresearchpapers. com/

Project Shakti Essay

Hindustan Unilever Limited is the biggest player in the market share of FMCG sector of the country. The FMCG sector of the country is the fourth largest sector of the economy with a size 13.1 billion USD. It is being positioned in the market as brand adding â€Å"Vitality to Life†. It sought for market leadership in a wide range of product categories and also across a broad spectrum of price points in each category. In 2004, HLL responded to high competition by further lowering the price across categories. It started the concept of â€Å"power brands†, initiated a channel-based system, supply chain efficiencies were captured and innovations were launched. It was the company with the a better rural penetration than any other company Its schemes like providing low-unit-packs tells us the how the company wants to penetrate deeper into the market. Q2) What was the motivation for the Shakti initiative? Was it a CSR initiative? The Shakti project by HUL can be termed as a Social Business Initiative rather than a completely Corporate Social Responsibility. It is a highly socialized business taking CSR elements into its operational strategy. It has two aspects 1. Social aspect – It includes supporting the independence women. 2. Business aspect – it includes developing sales area into untapped rural depths. ‘Shakti’ means strength and empowerment. The main motivation was to empower the women in rural areas along with business expansion. HLL realized the importance of rural markets and realized that it was the key source of growth and thus initiated project Shakti as a competitive advantage as it will be a big differentiator among FMCG companies. It also found this as a way to develop its brands through local influencers. Apart from the business motives Unilever created this project as a social initiative to provide sustainable livelihood for underprivileged women in rural areas. It also creates a win-win partnership between HUL and rural consumers for mutual benefit and growth. HUL found it difficult to set up a distribution channel in rural parts of India. So project Shakti was an initiative to create a distribution system through a network of women micro-entrepreneurs to distribute the product directly to consumers. This also ensures tapping the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid Q3) How will Project Shakti influence distribution in rural markets? Ans: The business objective was to extend the direct reach in rural markets and to build brands through local influencers i.e. build a distribution system through a network of women micro-entrepreneurs to get the product directly to consumers. Shakti utilizes women’s self-help groups (SHG) for entrepreneur development training to operate as a rural direct-to-home sales force, educating consumers on the health and hygiene benefits of HLL brands and in turn building brand loyalty among customers. Local entrepreneur’s knows their village’s needs and therefore able to influence the buying decisions of the villagers and can easily convince the villagers. The Shakti entrepreneurs are also brand ambassadors for all HUL brands in rural India. Their relationship with consumers is formed by their home-to-home contacts and hence building a brand loyalty. A member from a SHG was selected as a Shakti entrepreneur, commonly referred as ‘Shakti Amma’. She received stocks from rural distributor. After being trained by the company, the Shakti entrepreneur then sold those goods directly to consumers and retailers in the village. Q4)If Shakti cannot become profitable, should HUL continue the program? Why? If Shakti cannot become profitable, HUL should continue the program because of the following reasons: 1. Growing Rural Market * The rural market is makes up 72.74% of the overall Indian population. The untappedpotential of this market can be made viable only with deeper penetration. The marketing techniques which suit to the urban population of the country cannot suffice for this new expanding market due to social causes like bad connectivity, lesser means of media communication and illiteracy. Project Shakti has been developed in such a way that it can market the product beyond these restrictions by one-to-one endorsement. Due to the social mind-set in most of the rural areas, it is easier to influence them by local people whom they find more credible. 2. Stagnant Urban Market * The urban market is slowing on growth since the previous three years. It can be expected that it will reach a saturation point sometime in the future. Also there will be more competition in the market reducing the growth trajectory. There is a high need for creating new markets and leverage the first mover advantage. 3. Deeper Social Impact * The Project Shakti is popular for the deeper social Impact it is creating in the minds of the people. With initiatives like â€Å"Shakti Vani† and â€Å"iShakti† HLL can reach the rural population with the message of social development on all fronts. While the project â€Å"Shakti† in itself has a widespread message of women empowerment, these other initiatives focus on the betterment of the rural life on health and internet connectivity fronts. 4. Brand building * The Project Shakti does not only provide for creating market but on a broader horizon it creates a brand value for the rural customers who can be difficult to lure by other entertaining advertisement campaigns. The Project Shakti will not be just a source of awareness for this market but the way it has been progressing, it can be imbibed as a part of consumer’s life itself. In such a case the value which the HLL brand will connote will be beyond regular supply of quality products at lower prices. This value will be hard to earn for any other customer and will position the brand as harbinger of development in such rural areas. 5. Communication Channel * The rural market has poor connectivity in terms of supply chain. Project Shakti can be an efficient way to overcome this barrier to rural market. In terms of communicating the brand value, Project Shakti goes beyond the barriers of illiteracy and lack of media. There can be no better way than one-to-one endorsement which can be the key influencer and can impact category, brand awareness as well as usage. With the Project Shakti, HLL will not only be able to enjoy the first mover advantage in a market which has a huge potential, but also create greater brand value which the competitors who might enter this market later will find tough to compete. Thus, Project Shakti in short works efficiently on the rural market on the aspects of affordability, awareness, availability and acceptability for the rural consumers. But some changes can be made to make it more profitable by reducing costs. Better entrepreneurs can be selected for the procedure and

Science vs arts Essay

I consider that Science and Arts are strongly bonded as, though they are two totally opposite areas of knowing, they manage to create a balance that holds tightly the emotions and the reasoning of human mankind. Art is the expression of human creativity, of human skill and imagination. It is usually represented through paintings, music, sculpture etc. Art is created to be appreciated or criticized. The Art creates beauty, and it gives the audience the opportunity to choose whether the beauty is indeed gorgeous or hideous. I think that the beauty of a work of art is not measurable. For me, beauty represents the ability to convey strong emotions and powerful feelings through the actual displayed work of art. For me, an inspirational painting like an old American Apache that rides his horse into the sunset is much more beautiful than a portrait of a beautiful girl. But tastes cannot be discussed, as there is no standard of taste among human beings. This is why art is so controversial. Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiments. Science is the area of knowing that explains every phenomenon so people would understand it. It needs precision and accuracy in data collecting as Science is all about exact measurements. Science helps the world develop thoroughly as it is the only way we can know the truth. A thorough evolution is an evolution that comes as closely as possible to reality. On one hand, I think one completes each other as Art is the perfection of emotion and Science is the art of numbers. Taking into consideration the fact that the world has evolved through science, it can be said that Art has changed because of Science. But art itself is a science that needs exact measurements and accurate calculus. Work is recognized as a work of art through reasoning the feelings and the emotions one gets while observing the piece of art. Observing, as said in the definition of Science, is an action done in order to get the closest answer to reality. Reality is given by  Science, which means that, basically, Art is Science. On the other hand, it can be said that Science is an Art too, as the biggest discoveries were made by passionate scientist that wanted to prove the world that the things known so far were wrong. This means that they were put into a situation in which they, through imagination, reasoning and emotion, realized they were given false or erroneous information. Probably, their frustration and their ambition showed the world that through creative thinking and imaginative reasoning things that are unknown to mankind could be explained. It is extremely difficult to have a concept of knowledge upon a thing that does not exist. This inquires imagination and creativity, two vital features that create art. In conclusion, Science and Arts share mutual importance to humankind, tough they study totally different subjects. Their huge discrepancy is the one that makes them complement each other, thus, forming a couple without which the world could not exist.