Company Representative Paper Essay

This letter is to express my interest in bringing my experience as a Technical Support Analyst to your organization. I possess excellent customer service skills and have the technical skills and abilities in desktop and network support that will be an asset to your organization. As you can gather from my attached resume, I have experience maintaining a help desk ticket system to log all software and hardware related issues. I am a hard worker and committed to personal and professional growth in the IT industry. I have demonstrated my ability to troubleshoot customer problems providing effective resolution to technical issues. I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Information Systems at Simpson College and seek to contribute my formal education and professional experience to a challenging position with your organization. In addition to the skills noted on my attached resume, I can also offer your organization: †¢ Team Leader with proven ability to increase customer satisfaction by providing excellent technical support. †¢ An ability to work in a fast-paced environment and take on challenging IT tasks. †¢ Goal-oriented professional dedicated to quickly learning new tasks. It is my hope that my education and professional experience will convey to you that I have the qualifications to make a valuable contribution to your company. Should you have any questions, I can be reached at the number listed above.

Eradicating Extreme Poverty And Hunger Essay

Hunger is one of the determinants of poverty in Africa. Hunger leads to poor health, high mortality rate, low productivity and extreme societal disability. I highly believe that if only we could work on food security in countries like Africa, we could be way up above making half of the world’s poverty level to decrease. Business could go a long way towards assisting this. People here are facing the two prime and significant problems – Extreme Poverty and Hunger. Have you seen the children and adults of Somalia, Uganda, and Congo; all of them are malnourished and suffer from different diseases due to malnourishment – by the gift of starvation and poverty. These are some of the poorest people in the world. Sucked into the cities in search of work, they live in shacks made of corrugated iron, near an open sewer. Though poverty is now in decline in Bangladesh, malnutrition rates are still among the highest anywhere in the world. One in every six people in the world lives on less than a dollar, or 65p, a day, and more than 800 million people are malnourished. The people you see in these TV and newspaper pictures just happen to have been born in the wrong place. While we drink clean tap water, they drink water from a sewage-infested river. While we consume more than is good for us, they eat rice with a little chicken skin if they are lucky. We can’t help having been born here and not there; we can’t stop eating or drinking or shopping. But if people in our street didn’t have enough to eat, we would share our food with them. Just because poverty is a long way away doesn’t mean there is nothing we can do to tackle it. In 2000, world leaders made a promise to eliminate half of the extreme poverty levels and the number of malnourished people by 2015. They can do it – but only if we keep up the pressure. As Nelson Mandela said: â€Å"Ending poverty isn’t about charity. It’s about justice. † This goal aims to reduce by half the number of people whose income is less than $1 a day, and those who suffer from hunger. In southern Sudan, drought and the effects of 20 years of conflict led to a severe food shortage in 2002, with many children very malnourished. An NGO called TEARFUND responded to this emergency with a new approach called community-based therapeutic care. Traditional feeding programmes treat children suffering from severe malnutrition in feeding centres. Children and their careers usually stay in the centre, so only a limited number can be treated at any time. This new community-based approach involves setting up many smaller distribution points, often in remote areas. Local people help build and staff them. All the malnourished children admitted to the programme are examined. If they have a healthy appetite and no medical complications, they are given supplies of a special food called Plumpynut and sent home, to be looked after by their mothers. They get regular supplies of Plumpynut from the local distribution point when they go for a weekly check up. This community-based approach reduces the time mothers have to spend away from their other children, and from their household and farming work. This was especially appreciated at the start of the planting season. Plumpynut also proved very popular with the children. Severely malnourished children with serious health problems or no appetite are admitted to a stabilization centre for medical care until they have recovered enough to return home. This new community-based approach was a success in South Sudan, and very popular with local people. The programme was able to cover a much wider area. Hundreds more children were treated than in previous, centralized programmes. There was a high recovery rate and a very low mortality rate. Nurses who had spent over five years in feeding programmes initially found it strange to let severely malnourished children leave the treatment centre. However, they soon became the strongest advocates for the new approach. Mothers attending the distribution points also received health education and supplies of seeds. Some have now formed women’s groups that meet each week to receive further health education. Alleviating hunger and poverty has been and continues to be the pre-dominant policy challenge facing global and national decision makers. Here we argue that policy interventions for addressing this challenge should be designed in the context of emerging global, regional and national trends. We discuss four major trends that are shaping the future food economy and consequently the prospects for meeting the hunger and poverty goals. These trends are: i) Rapid urbanization in the developing world and its impact on food markets. ii) Increasing integration of global food markets through trade. iii) Deterioration of natural resource base and the degradation of the global and local commons; and iv) Rising transactions costs in the acquisition and use of science and technology for development. Other ideas to meet eradicate poverty and hunger are as follows – Encourage access to micro-credit; provide free school meals for all school children, using locally produced foods; improve soil fertility through adding manure, making compost and using green manures; plant trees like moringa and leuceana that add nutrients to the soil; and encourage the use of door-sized home gardens. At the turn of the new millennium, 147 nations agreed they had the resources and the political will to eradicate the extreme poverty, hunger and disease that kills millions of people each year in the poorest parts of the world. UNDP also mentioned that seven years ago the world came together and committed to tackle poverty in all its forms and work to build a better world for everyone. This vision was encapsulated in the Millennium Declaration and the eight Millennium Development Goals that emerged from it, which include halving the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment; reducing child and maternal mortality; combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases and ensuring environmental sustainability. These Goals are underpinned by a commitment to build a global partnership for development, a compact between poor countries that commit to focus on reducing poverty, and the richer world that commits to be an active partner in supporting developing country efforts. The MDGs represent an internationally agreed set of goals that can be achieved if all actors work together and do their part. Now, at the midpoint towards the 2015 target, it is clear that significant progress has been made in many areas. The number of people living on less than one dollar a day has fallen by roughly 250 million people and so, at the global level at least, it looks like we will meet the goal to halve extreme poverty and hunger. In some regions more children are in school – both girls and boys – and people can expect to live longer and more productive lives. However this is not happening in all parts of the world. As I saw in my visit to Mozambique, Tanzania and Rwanda last week, while many African countries are making real progress in the fight against poverty, the challenge of achieving the MDGs and other development objectives in sub-Saharan Africa is particularly acute, where only some countries are progressing sufficiently to achieve some of the Goals. Today, worldwide, more than one billion people still lack access to safe drinking water; 6,000 people die of HIV and AIDS each day; and more than 750 million adults cannot read – half a billion of them women. The impact of climate change also poses a particularly daunting challenge to many developing countries, especially the poorest. But this picture does not have to remain the same. Many of the Goals remain eminently achievable in the vast majority of countries. For this to happen, though, two crucial aspects of the partnership for development must be respected. The first relates to the theme for the Eradication of Poverty: ‘People living in poverty as agents of change’, where it is clear that developing countries themselves should own their development process and that UNDP’s role is to help build the capacity to empower them to take charge of their own development. It also means that the support we provide will be more effective as it will be given in support of the priorities of poor people, and on their own terms. The idea that people living in poverty are agents of their own change can be applied at the local level, but also extends through the national level where people can get involved in monitoring policies and reviewing budgets, as well as at the international level where poorer countries must be able to contribute fully to the global institutions and processes that can shape progress in their country. The second component of the partnership is that while poor people must be in the driving seat of their development, we have also committed to provide them with the necessary support. Implementing the commitments that the international community has already made – on increasing and improving aid, dealing comprehensively with the debt problems facing developing countries, and delivering a trading system that puts the needs of poor countries at its heart – would go a very long way in ensuring that the MDGs can be met. The policies and actions of all countries on issues such as the environment and migration must also be made as supportive as possible of development, lest we give with one hand and take away with the other. For the Eradication of Poverty we should recommit to achieving the MDGs as a whole, and to these two components in particular in the fight against poverty, so that the world can come as close as possible to achieving the ambitious Goals that has been set for 2015. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also had said that – Today called for simultaneous action on both issues, warning that it will be impossible to eradicate one blight without the other. â€Å"Hunger and poverty are ugly siblings. You cannot get rid of either unless you tackle the other as well†¦ Hunger, after all, is both a source and a consequence of extreme poverty. A hungry man cannot think beyond his next meal†¦ This has devastating consequences for the economic and social development of society as a whole,† Mr. Annan told government representatives and other officials at UN Headquarters. â€Å"The world has the resources and the know-how to make hunger history. What we need is political will and resolve. Let us renew our pledge to work together towards the day when no man, woman or child goes to sleep hungry. Let us resolve to win the fight against hunger once and for all. And I think that, with determination, resolve and will, it can be done. † Mr. Annan repeated that the theme to eradicate poverty and hunger is the need to bolster agriculture, noting that more than two thirds of the world’s hungry live in rural areas, and increased investment in agriculture is one of the most effective means to help them. He also made a warning that the world has made insufficient progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly goal number one for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. Anyhow, global poverty and hunger are issues that affect all of us. Almost a billion people live on less than $1 a day and approximately half of the world population lives on less than $2 a day (United Nations, 2007). Since 1990, 270 million people throughout the world have died from poverty-related causes. Realizing that there are a little over 300 million people living in the United States, the figure of 270 million deaths is staggering. The majority of those that died were women and children. Every three seconds a child dies of hunger and preventable diseases (Bedell, 2005). According to CARE (2007), an organization committed to fighting global poverty and helping people become self-sufficient, more than 840 million people in the world suffer from malnutrition. Of those people, more than 153 million are children under age 5, and tragically, six million of those children will die because of hunger. In 2000, the Millennium Declaration was adopted by 189 member nations of the United Nations. These countries committed to achieving eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 to improve the quality of life in developing countries. Goal 1 is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Even though the international poverty line is being redrawn, the current poverty line has been set at an income of $1. 08 per day. The poverty line is the minimum income level to meet basic needs. The poverty line varies in different countries such as the United States. Nevertheless, the goal is to reduce by one-half the number of people worldwide earning less than $1 per day. Without financial resources, basic needs such as food, water, shelter, hygiene, education, and access to health care cannot be met. Poverty is multidimensional and affects the person’s well-being and sense of worth. According to a woman in Tiraspol, Moldova, â€Å"For a poor person everything is terrible–illness, humiliation, shame. We are cripples; we are afraid of everything; we depend on everyone. No one needs us. We are like garbage that everyone wants to get rid of† (study conducted by World Bank Group, 2007). Some progress is being made to meet Goal 1 as the number of people in developing countries that are living on less than $1 per day decreased from 1. 25 billion in 1990 to 980 million in 2004 (United Nations, 2007). However, according to the 2007 Millennium Development Goals Report, the sub-Saharan countries are making progress but are not on target to meet Goal 1. Poverty rates in western Asia increased. Poor progress has been made to decrease childhood hunger in sub-Saharan countries and southern Asia. Efforts will need to be accelerated to meet Goal 1. Because the MDGs are interrelated, it is important to be aware of all of goals. They are: 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. 2. Achieve universal primary education. 3. Promote gender equality and empower women. 4. Reduce child mortality. 5. Improve maternal health. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. 7. Ensure environmental sustainability. 8. Develop a global partnership for development. Fighting Hunger, Poverty, and Injustice The International Council of Nurses conference in Yokohama, Japan, this summer, also discussed about other international efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger. One of the presenters at the conference was Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam International, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice worldwide. Her presentation included content about the devastating effects of poverty and hunger. As you might expect, her photographs and stories of many of the people suffering from hunger and poverty were particularly poignant. As the late Dr. Martin Luther King said: â€Å"We have the resources to get rid of poverty. There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will. † So let us work towards make the world a beautiful place

Historical Biography of Archimedes

The presented text is a summary biography of Archimedes of Syracuse. Known as one of the greatest mathematician, scientist, and inventor; Archimedes’ notoriety has been maintained over centuries by the scientific discoveries and technological inventions he brought during his lifetime. This text relates of his many accomplishments in a semi-chronological order, in attempting to retrace the marking facts of Archimedes’ life. Archimedes was born in 287BC in Syracuse, Sicily. He was the son of astronomer Phidias (Crystalinks, 2008). Presently, there is no information specifying of the work accomplished by Phidias.Similarly, there is little detailed information concerning Archimedes life as a child and adolescent. According to history, Heracliedes wrote a biography of Archimedes which is subjected to have had detailed information about various aspects of Archimedes private life. Unfortunately, the biography was destroyed and many aspects of Archimedes personal were lost in t he process. It seems that the span of the years has erased the memories of his childhood upbringing. In fact so little is known of his personal life, that there exists no specifics on his coupled life. Whether he had a wife and children remains unknown to the present day.In comparison, his professional adult life has been studied and retraced century after century, relating of his incredible prowess with Mathematics, and of its unusual genius for technological inventions; some of which are still being used today, two millennia after his death. Historical texts mention his relation to King Hiero II, then the King of Syracuse and presumed uncle of Archimedes (Crystalinks, 2008). The validity of this relation to the Royal Family of Syracuse comes again and again in writings concerning Archimedes, and the few elements of his young adult life seem to confirm his privileged ranking in Syracusian society.In fact, Archimedes was schooled in Alexandria, Egypt where he traveled to as a teenag er to study mathematics (University of St Andrews, 1999). The many counts of his spectacular professional life as a mathematician, scientist, and inventor seem to retrace an origin to that period of his life. Certainly the ability to pursue university study confirms of his family ties to the Aristocratic society of Syracuse. He would later in his life collaborate closely with King Hiero II to come up with inventions to prevent Roman invasion of Syracuse.Some of those inventions of warfare are reviewed in further detail in the portion of this text dedicated to Archimedes technological inventions and innovations. Archimedes began study in Alexandria at the age of 18. He was then brought to study mathematics along with Conon of Samos, and Eratosthenes (Crystalinks, 2008). As a scholar in Alexandria, he was allowed to study both the theoretical and practical aspects of science and technology, that he often retransmitted back to Greece via letters of correspondence he wrote. It is believ ed that Archimedes spent five to six years in Alexandria at study.There are no other accounts during the life of Archimedes where he would have spent a comparable amount of time being educated in the formal sense. Following his study, he returned to Syracuse to become one of the most prolific scientist and inventors known to mankind. History tells that Archimedes invented the Archimedes screw while at study in Alexandria. The famous screw used to carry water from a low lying position to a higher position would found many useful applications and is presently used in modern day sewage plants. An amazing feat indeed.His ingenuity continued after he returned home to Syracuse, and was fueled by the desire to find adequate solutions in order to protect the city from Roman invasion. In fact, often under the demand of the King, he undertook and completed several inventions targeted at warfare. For so doing, he used mechanisms of destruction and others of dissuasion that proved efficient as they held the roman invader, General Marcus Claudius Marcellus, from entering the city of Syracuse for two consecutive years. Archimedes died in 212BC, while Syracuse was under siege by the Roman invaders.The story tells that he was killed by a roman soldier during the attack of Syracuse (Crystalinks, 2008). His mathematical Genius Archimedes of Syracuse is particularly known the world over for his stunning ability with mathematics, and in particular with geometry. In this section of the biography, we are to retrace the most important theorems he came up with, and relate of his most impressive scientific discoveries. On the contrary to most mathematicians, Archimedes mathematical inspirations often came from his work on Mechanics, thereby suggesting of an influence he brought to mathematics by making hypothesis based in the practical world.This is a very interesting practice which is peculiar and certainly differentiates his work from other mathematicians who mostly would come up wi th a mathematical theorem and then attempt to verify it in the physical world. Archimedes wrote extensively on his work, although most of his work vanished over the years. In particular, he wrote a treatise on mechanics and hydrostatics entitled the â€Å"Method Concerning Mechanical Theorems†, which according to history often inspired his work as a mathematician. As he seemed to find his inspiration in the physical mechanical world, Archimedes excelled in the field of Geometry.One of his famous discoveries was in relation to the comparable volume of a sphere and that of a cylinder. Archimedes was able to prove that the volume of a sphere equaled two-thirds of the volume of a cylinder for which the height equaled the diameter of the sphere (University of St Andrews, 1999). Archimedes was so proud for having found that mathematical reality that he insisted on having it carve on his tomb. Although Archimedes is often thought of as more of an inventor than a mathematician, he pa rticipated in several key developments in mathematics.Archimedes often made use of infinitesimal sums to arrive at proving his hypotheses (Crystalinks, 2008). The method is often compared to modern day integral calculus which is very similar to the methods he employed then. One of his famous mathematical proofs was the approximation of Pi. Archimedes often used his ingenious notion of the mechanical world to arrive at more conclusive mathematical realities. In order to estimate the value of pi more accurately, he designed a circle. He placed a polygon on the outside and on the inside of the circle (University of Utah, 1999).As he would raise the number of sides of each polygon, he came closer and closer to having a circle; effectively made of a series of small and connecting distances. As he reached 96 sides for the inner and outer polygons, he measured them to obtain a higher and lower boundary limit of the approximation of Pi. Archimedes concluded from the experiment that the valu e of pi was contained between 3+1/7 and 3+10/71 (Crystalinks, 2008). A remarkable feat leading to an impressive conclusion, which we consider today one of the most important proofs of mathematics.The formula for the area of a circle is also attributed to Archimedes who came up with the fact that the area was equal to the square root of the radius of the circle multiplied by Pi. His interest for arriving at mathematical truths based on geometrical realities as we can perceived them in a multi-dimensional system, led him to prove more theorems often relating to infinite series or infinite sums. Archimedes is known for determining the equivalency of certain rational numbers by determining their infinite sum.A rational number differentiates itself from a whole number (an integer for instance), as it has an integer portion and a decimal portion. The infinite sum approximation is often used in mathematics today to estimate areas and volumes in two dimensional and three dimensional spaces primarily. The technique he employed in his infinitesimal related theorems are commonly called method of exhaustion in modern day mathematics (University of St Andrews, 1999). As impressive as his ability for arriving at mathematical reality was, it made even more physical sense when he applied it to the physical world in which we live.Many of Archimedes theories relating to physics are closely relating to the fields of geometry and physics in general. Often the geometrical mystique of an object would eventually lead to a physical mathematical reality of our world. It is seemingly in such proceeding that Archimedes came up with several theorems of mechanical nature. In fact, Archimedes discovered several theorems on the center of gravity of planes, and solids, and on the mathematical tools and methods to approximate those.It is interesting to mention that his work, whether in theory or practice was often commanded by the search of the infinite in the mundane reality of the finite. A rchimedes is known to have worked on the mathematical theories of spirals, where he helped to determine the mathematical formulation to describe spirals based on polar geometry. The work was compiled in a treatise called the Archimedean Spiral. The treatise describes in mathematical terms the function of a point moving away from a fixed coordinate at a constant speed and with constant angular velocity.The function described in the treatise corresponds to the geographical representation of a spiral, which in the treatise is the result of moving set of points in a given pattern, that of a spiral (University of St Andrews, 1999). Several of his written theoretical work came as correspondence letters, in particular to a person of the name of Dositheus, who was a student of Conon (Crystalinks, 2008). In some of his letters, Archimedes referred to the calculation of the area enclosed in a parabola and determined by a line secant to the parabolic curve.In the letters to Dositheus, Archimed es was able to prove that such area would equal to four thirds the area of an isosceles triangle having for base and height the magnitude of the intersecting line in the parabola. He arrived at the result using an infinite summation of the rational number one fourth. This particular mathematical demonstration would later prove invaluable in calculating the areas and volumes of various objects in using integral calculus, a modern form of Archimedes infinite expansion.One of his most famous scientific discoveries relates to the buoyancy effect of a liquid on a given object: often referred to as Archimedes’ principle. The principle explains that any body immersed in a fluid experiences a force of buoyancy which is equal to the magnitude of the equivalent gravitational force of the liquid displaced during immersion. In other words, Archimedes arrived at the reality that any object plunged in a liquid plentiful enough to maintain such object in equilibrium, would experiment a forc e in reality equal to the body of water displaced to maintain such equilibrium.There is a famous anecdote on how Archimedes came up with the physical theorem. Legend has it that it was during a bath that he came up with the concept for the buoyancy theorem. According to history, he came up with the answer to the buoyancy theorem in wanting to help his uncle, King Hiero II, to solve the Golden Crown Mystery. In fact, the story relates that the King, Hiero II, sent a certain amount of gold to his goldsmith to be made into a crown. When the crown returned from the goldsmith, the King apparently noticed that it was lighter than the presumed amount of gold that was given to the goldsmith.King Hiero II presented the dilemma to his nephew Archimedes of Syracuse, who supposedly came up with an answer to the problem that very night. The legend states that Archimedes came up with the buoyancy theorem by filling his bathtub to the top. When he entered the bath, a certain amount of water poured out of the bath. He later on realized that the mass of the amount of water dispersed from the bathtub was equivalent to the mass of his own body. From arriving at this discovery, the story claims that Archimedes ran the streets of Syracuse naked and screaming â€Å"Eureka†, which means â€Å"I have found it†.The next day he reiterated the experiment with the Golden Crown and the same amount of gold that was initially given to the goldsmith, when he was able to confirm King Hiero’s assumption that not all the gold given to the goldsmith was used in making the Golden Crown (Andrews University, 1998). This amazingly simple proof carries one of the most important theoretical truths of physics. The principle of buoyancy is better known today as the Law of Hydrostatics, and is directly attributed to Archimedes of Syracuse.The above anecdote is a classic example of Archimedes’ability to confront complex theoretical problems by transcribing them into practical l ife. A considerable number of his experiments and scientific theorems were similarly found through empirical and methodical practical proceedings. Archimedes Inventions As a keen mathematician, Archimedes was particularly talented in determining physical solutions to various problems encountered in his life. Often, the mechanical tools that he devised were a direct projection of a theorem he wanted to prove or vice versa. One of his most famous inventions was the Archimedes screw.Sometimes referred to as Archimedes water pump, the device was created by the Greek mathematician during his study in Alexandria. Archimedes screw is a machine made to pump water from a lower level to a higher level. In short, an ingenious method for carrying water over distances thereby apparently defeating the law of gravity. The screw is made of a cylindrical pipe angled at fourty five degrees and containing a helix. When the bottom end of the device is plunged into water and set to rotate, the helixâ₠¬â„¢s rotation carries water from the bottom end of the cylinder to the top end (Crystalinks, 2008).Archimedes according to historians, devised another form of the screw in a comparable yet dissimilar shape. In our day, the system is being used primarily in waste-water treatment plants to pump sewage waters. There is little account however on the applications for which the Archimedes screw may have served during Archimedes life, other than its use for irrigation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and for removing water in the hull of ships. In fact, most counts of using the technique point to its modern day utilization.Other inventions brought by Archimedes received a considerable amount of attention, and found direct applications during his lifetime. From his close relationship with the King Hiero II, Archimedes was requested to build machines to keep the Roman assailant at bay. Archimedes successfully created several weapons of war that held the Roman invader several years. Archim edes is in fact known for inventing the catapult for that purpose. The catapult is a device based on the principle of the lever, which is capable of carrying an object several times its weight.When the catapult is fired, the object â€Å"flies† in describing a parabolic curve, prior to hitting its target. The catapult was often used during warfare as a defensive method to protect a territory from invaders. He would later on be used as on offensive weapon for attacking protected areas or castles. The catapult can be assimilated as the early form of a canon, which solely relied on mechanical means to operate. The device served Syracuse of Sicily well during the Punic wars of Rome vs. Carthage. Archimedes, at the King’s request, created several weapons to defend the city (Biography Shelf, 2008).Among such weapons were the catapult, the crossbow, and the claw; which could be used to cover several ranges. These various methods of defense allowed Archimedes to keep the Roman assailants at shore for two long years, according to historical reports. Archimedes also came up with the Archimedes ray, a device which was created to set invading ships on fire at a large distance. The device is made up of several mirrors forming a parabolic shape where the rays are reflected to subsequently interfere at a point which can be considered the focus of the parabolic shape.By aligning the mirrors adequately, it was then feasible to set ships on fire by focusing light reflected from the mirrors directly onto the ships. However, not all of Archimedes inventions were meant for warfare. The Greek mathematician and inventor came up with several devices to assist sailors to carry large objects from the water. Most of those devices operated based on the principle of the lever that was also used in the conception of the catapult. Off all of his work both in theory and in practice, only his writing remained to this day.In fact several of his correspondence letters were compile d into a repository of treatise commonly called the Archimedean Palimpsest (Cryslalinks 2008). According to ancient history, a palimpsest is a literal compilation of writings that were transcribed onto parchments and contained several layers of text on a given page. It seems evident to modern day historians and archeologists that the multiple writings on a single page indicated that parchment were expensive and hard to come by, and thus demanded that the author writes several times on the same page in order to conserve the precious parchment.The Archimedean palimpsest was made of the following treatises: 1- On the Equilibrium of Planes The treatise was focused on the principle of the lever and its various applications. The document describes how the principle of the lever can be applied to the calculation of the center of gravity of various bodies including parabola, hemispheres, and triangles. 2- On spirals The treatise â€Å"On Spirals† describes the mathematical function o f point moving in a curvilinear direction in a three dimensional setting. The work is better known under the appellation of the Archimedean Spiral. 3- On the Sphere and the CylinderThe treatise describes the mathematical derivation on the relationship between a given sphere and a cylinder having for height the diameter of the sphere. Archimedes was able to mathematically prove that in that very context, the volume of the sphere equaled two thirds to that of the cylinder. 4- On Conoids and Spheroids In this treatise, Archimedes demonstrates how to calculate the areas and volumes of conical sections, spherical sections, and parabolic sections. 5- On Floating Bodies Probably one of the most famous works of Archimedes, the â€Å"On Floating Bodies† treatise describes the theorem of equilibrium of fluidic materials.In this document, Archimedes proved that a body of water would take a spherical form around a given center of gravity. In the second volume of the treatise, he describe s the equilibrium states of parabolic sections partially immersed in a body of water. 6- The Quadrature of the Parabola This treatise corresponds to the mathematical derivation that the area made by the intersection of a line with a parabola equals four thirds of a triangle having a base and height both equal to the segment of the line intersecting the parabola. 7- StomachionThe treatise describes a problem in which Archimedes attempted to estimate the number of strips of paper of various shapes and quantities that would be necessary to reconstruct a square. The method is said to be an early version of the field of combinatorics. The Archimedean palimpsest was conserved over two millennia, and his now conserved at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. It is the only remaining work directly written by Archimedes himself to be existing today. Unlike the mathematician’s writings which were compiled in the Archimedean palimpsest, there are apparently no remains or originals of his practical inventions.The Archimedean palimpsest is direct testimony of Archimedes’ inclination for mathematical prowess, in particular when it concerned geometry. Most of his work that was conserved in the redaction of the palimpsest describes some very important rules and theorems for Mathematics. Among those, the approximation of pi and the use of the method of exhaustion to estimate areas, volumes, and surface areas of solids of varying forms were key elements leading to modern day mathematical practice.Some of his inventions are in use today, yet his name is most often associated in our era with the buoyancy theorem also known as Archimede’s Principle. References Andrews University, 1998, Biographies of Mathematicians – Archimedes, website available at http://www. andrews. edu/~calkins/math/biograph/bioarch. htm Biography Shelf, 2008, Short Biography of Archimedes, website available at http://www. biographyshelf. com/archimedes_biography. html Crystalin ks, 2008, Archimedes, Biographical Sketch of the Mathematician, available at http://www.crystalinks. com/archimedes. html Trebuchetstore, 2008, Archimedes: A biography, website available at http://www. redstoneprojects. com/trebuchetstore/archimedes_1. html University of St Andrews, 1999, Archimedes of Syracuse, School of Mathematics and Statistics, available at http://www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/~history/Biographies/Archimedes. html University of Utah, 1999, Archimedes and the Computation of Pi, website available at http://www. math. utah. edu/~alfeld/Archimedes/Archimedes. html

Authentic Assessment vs. Standardized Testing Research Paper

Authentic Assessment vs. Standardized Testing - Research Paper Example Such simulations can aid the students to process new information by connecting it to prior knowledge of the subject. When instruction is adapted to conform to the theory of multiple intelligences, it naturally follows that assessment should be similarly adapted. However, in most schools, the assessment practices to gauge student progress rely mainly on standardized testing methods that are often inauthentic, and which only reveal whether the student can recognize and recall what has been told to him/her by way of the lesson. Thus, high scores on standardized tests are a measure of how well a student can take the test and not his/her actual working knowledge. Besides, the standardized tests which comprise of multiple choice, fill in the blank, and true/false questions do not actually promote learning as they only evaluate what the student knows at that particular point in time. The standardized tests cannot identify students in need of intervention or help formulate appropriate instru ctional strategies. This form of assessment of student performance, in fact, controls learning. The test scores lead the students to believe that right answers are more important than analysis and approach. About standardized testing methods, Meier (2002) states clearly that, â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.standardized tests are utterly counterproductive for the educational purpose of seeing what kids have learned in school so as to improve education for all† (p.105). Also, according to Meir, standardized tests do not represent the sole evidence of a student’s intellectual growth. Standardized tests follow pre-set criteria that stipulate how, where and by whom the test is to be administered and scored, who else besides the teacher and the student can be present, the way questions are asked, and what responses are acceptable. That is, such a testing controls all the elements involved in the assessment process except the child's responses. Standardized test results are repo rted using standard scores. Gardner (1993) is of the opinion that the most widely used standardized tests of intelligence (e.g., The Wechsler scales and the Stanford-Binet) measure only linguistic and logical/mathematical intelligences whereas the purpose of assessment should be to obtain information about the skills and potentials of individuals. A multidimensional assessment of students based on a broader concept of intelligence, ability, and learning would be more in line with the theory of multiple intelligences. Authentic assessment, also called performance assessment, portfolio assessment, curriculum-embedded instruction, or integrated education is, according to Miesels et al. (2003), â€Å"......an instructional-driven measurement in which students’ actual classroom performance is evaluated in terms of standards-infused criteria†. In this method of assessment, a student is evaluated on a broader concept of intelligence, ability, and learning based on all intelli gences identified by MI including visual, musical, kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalistic abilities in addition to verbal and logical potential. Such an assessment will be formative, providing immediate feedback for learning and teaching,

Draft2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Draft2 - Essay Example The concentration camps in Germany (United States, n.d.) and the status of African Americans in the U.S. from the 17th century up until the American Civil War (History.com, 2009) are two of the most prominent examples of racism. Even if the unfair treatment of African Americans was not as tragic as the injustice afflicted on the Jews, the preference shown over the colored citizens of America was, and curiously still is, a big social issue. Disappointingly, the development of society into a more advanced group of people in terms of thought process and behavior did very little in stopping how some individuals continue to think they are more superior than everyone else. In other words, despite the introduction of technology into society – another feather in the cap for rational man – some form of racism is still observed today, albeit not as destructive or demeaning as in the time of Hitler (United States, n.d.) or the period of slavery in North America (History.com, 2009) . Racism starts when one unit of man sees itself as above the other groups of men. In the beginning, all men can belong to a big organized group. For instance, in the USA there are Asians, Mexicans, African Americans, Americans, etc. living together. As the relevant forms of communication and understanding are observed, the culture specific to this area of the world is continually nurtured. As a result, the whole group is stable, its behaviors and practices organized and firmly established. Therefore, to suppress this culture would be difficult. Independent and strong-willed, Americans have already proven to the world that no other group can dominate or rule over them. (White, D., 2002-11) Within America, however, it is a different story. The history of the United States is proof that suppression of a group can be achieved. When a particular group steps forward and tries to be the dominant unit in a society, it consequently represses another

WalMart Merger Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

WalMart Merger - Assignment Example The paper has been divided into two main parts: the first part mainly dealing with the Retail Industry, the major players, their production schemes, and their impact on the consumers and society overall. The second part deals with the advantages and disadvantages the firms might have because of the merger. PART I: INTRODUCTION Oligopoly is characterized as consisting of a small number of large sellers, being called the ‘Competitive Fringe’, with a few big firms dominating the entire industry’s production (Lipsey, 2004). These big firms, act as the trend-setters in terms of price and output, and are a major reflection of the entire Market. In this instance, the Retail market, is characterized by one big firm – Wal-Mart, with smaller firms either adhering to an acquisition or a merger, for their benefit. For example, in the United Kingdom, the Big Five Banks – Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and HBOS - dominate the Banking Sector. Si milarly, there are many small departmental stores, selling retail products, but a dominant few, like Sainsbury, Asda and Tesco, taking over the entire nation. The small firms, then, sometimes, find it profitable to merge, consolidate, co-operate or be purchased by the Big One. SALES, OPERATIONS AND FIRMS IN THE MERGER According to Forbes Global 2000 list, Wal-Mart is the world’s 18th largest public corporation, and the world’s largest corporation when it comes to annual revenue ($421.849 billion), with its international operations accounting for 26.1 % of its total sales, and a gross profit margin of 24.7%, running chains of discounted departmental stores and warehouse stores. With a total of 8500 stores in 15 different countries, with 55 different names, Wal-Mart extends its operations in nine different retail formats, including general merchandise, food and drugs, Super Center, small markets, cash and carry stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, discount stores and restaurants (Holdings, 2011). VERTICAL INTEGRATION: REASONS TO CONSOLIDATE A lot of consolidation has been seen among retailers and retails chains, over the past couple of decades, with 40,788 mergers & acquisitions having been announced only between 1988 and 2010. The main reasons behind the consolidation of firms in the industry may be due to: 1. Economies of Scale: This refers to a significant decrease in the fixed cost of the merging firms by the removal of duplicate or extensive operations; 2. Economies of Scope: Economies of scope exist due to the alteration of method of the distribution and the marketing of products. For instance, two homogeneous products may have been advertised in a similar way previously, but now they are not; 3. Vertical Integration: This primarily means the merging of two or more firms from the same industry results in increasing profits and a larger consumer surplus than before, implying a decrease in the deadweight loss. This is done by the firms deciding on a particular amount of output, and then sticking to that output level; 4. Investment benefits: The merged firms have higher chances of receiving greater benefits when it comes to Investment, because of the name of the big firm attached to it. Sensing financial stability, the smaller firms, once a part of the big firm, are viewed as being stable, and thus attract a larger number of investors. There

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

Proposal - Essay Example Moreover, the kinds of issues raised by this saga are concentrated on interesting for this social group ordinary relations within family and school institutions, romantic love, and superpowers. Thus, analyzing this text enables discovery of the main messages that are accepted by contemporary adolescents in terms of Hollywood cultural industry, Twihards fan culture, and phenomenon of contemporary globalization process. For this purpose, both text written by Stephanie Mayer and its film adaptation are considered in the current research. In case of Hollywood cultural industry, the way the screening of Twilight saga happened was made in a standardized way described by Theodor Adorno. In this context, regular referring to the movie’s celebrities in general and romantic real love between main actors in particular is reflected in the usual way Hollywood movies are promoted nowadays. Therefore, the way Twilight Saga was presented on the screen determines the whole context of teenagers’ behavior and ideals in the society. As for fan culture, the fact that most Twihards (Twilight fans) have female gender corresponds with the observation made by Henry Jenkins on distinguishing eroticized fans from all the others. But, this approach should applied not only on exotic forms of culture but also in such an ordinary case of customer culture. Thus, the fan communities should be also considered from the Gender Studies perspective. Finally, contemporary globalization with the phenomenon of â€Å"eating the other† stated in Hook’s essay is literally used in Twilight. In particular, Edward Callen and all the members of his family have extremely white skin. Moreover, they are superior to all the others as they are able to kill by eating blood. And so, in this case Hook’s theory can be applied even more accurately than the author supposed to use it. In context

The Target Market of Trace Restaurant at W Hotel San Francisco Research Paper

The Target Market of Trace Restaurant at W Hotel San Francisco - Research Paper Example The fact that the menus depend on the local season is a sign of ensuring, visitors get to understand the local food pattern alongside the culture and environment. The restaurant has a wide variety of sea foods and meats. This is to carter for needs of the different tourists’ background. This is the reason the place is frequented by people on business travel, tourists, travelling sports people/ enthusiasts and fresh residents who want to get a feel of San Francisco as they settle. The pricing is steep and intended to lure the upper middle class and the high income earners. Apparently, these are the people who can afford to tour the world and stand the seemingly exuberant prices. An average drink costs from a minimum of $5.5 and that would be plain coffee! A simple meal goes for a minimum of $16 a plate. An example would be Fried Quail, few spoons of hazelnut and minor accessories such as olive leaves. Otherwise, an average meal would stand at $30 and higher per person. This is a deterrent factor for the residents because they can manage to make more of the same in the comfort of their homes. This is maintained based on the frequency of tourists, holiday makers and other travelers who seek high quality meals for a brief period of time. The restaurant is located in the center of SoMa district, which is in the downtown area of San Francisco (Jensen and Parr 2). It is three streets accessing the markets to the northwest and the south. The east ends with the San Francisco bay, a major global tourist attraction. The panoramic city line view combines well with the picturesque views of the Bay Bridge to ensure a breathtaking environment (Michelin North America, Inc 242). This has made the area a popular venue in for the film industry screening sessions, major fashion events, glamorous music shows, museums and art exhibitions. Therefore, the stylish and luxury design of the Trace

Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Essay

Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - Essay Example I also think this quote is significant to me because as Harriet explains, both masters and mistress felt no sympathy to suffering slaves and even proclaimed to them heartlessly that heaven was not their place. In my own opinion and judgment I would imagine the extent to which these people suffered in the hands of their masters, despite the fact that in her childhood, Harriet mistress quoted the Bible and told her that she should not do any evil to her neighbor, it was the same mistress that was subjecting her and her family to slavery. This was a complete hypocrisy and furthermore, it demonstrates the extent to which the whites took slavery as part of their normal lives. Harriet Jacob’s story is more revealing in an exceptional way; it clearly demonstrates her desire to stand for her rights and the rights of other slaves that they suffered together. This is evident by the fact that she openly expressed her sufferings from sexual degradation and enslavement. She was able to rea ch the hearts of many people who later contributed to the fight against slavery. Jacob’s story also connects many other historical suffering that came before and after her story. In essence, in later 1960s in the era of the civil rights activists, many people were killed and their fundamental rights violated by their masters. In the extract from Fredrick Douglas The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro, â€Å"Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to- day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?†(184) In this quote, Fredrick Douglas had been called upon to speak during the celebration party of the U.S. independence in Rochester, New York. He had previously made many speeches and lectures in an area of about five miles in Rochester. This speech was particularly important because despite the fact that America was celebrating its 76th birthday, Fredrick and what he represented did not have anything to celebrate about. This speech means a lot to me because Fredrick spoke in irony; he even asked questions about the relevance of the Independence Day to him and his fellow black slaves. This quote is significant in the sense that despite the age of the nation approaching a century, there was no freedom for the black community; racial segregation was the norm of the day. The rights of the minority were not recognized by the same country that they toiled to build. In my opinion and judgment, I would see the pain that Fredrick was undergoing; his speech is ironic and full of desire to get equal rights with their white counterparts who were celebrating the bi rth of their country. It was an irony and mocking to invite a slave to the celebration of their independence from the British government. This quote reveals Fredrick’s passion to end slavery; he clearly fought for his rights and the rights of his fellow minority black community. He resisted injustice by airing his views about the whole idea of freedom that the country was enjoying. His experience also connects with other civil rights activists that came after him and specifically during the 1960s with Malcom X and Martin Luther King. Both

A Strategic Plan of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Essay

A Strategic Plan of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Essay Example From the report it is clear that the disadvantages experienced in strategic planning of institutions of higher learning will also be mentioned and analyzed, as they will be relevant in this review. Besides, the pros of strategic planning with reference to the plan of the institution will be discussed in various ways. An overall analysis of how an institution can exhibit the balance between the planning and achieving a sustainable quality improvement will also be done. All these analyses will be specific to the Hong Kong polytechnic university in relation to the learnt concepts, strategic planning, and management. As the study declares strategic planning can be defined as a way in which an organization establishes a way forward for its efficient operations. As such, this should be in a given order depending on the context of application. In this case, the application of the plan is in an institution of higher learning. This document, therefore, is focusing on the ways in which an organization can be managed through strategic planning. An analysis of the model of the plan will be done and views as per other professional suggestions given. The review of the main aims of the institution in general in relation to the arrangement of various departments will also be done. It is certain that the organization of reference here is a perpetual institution. Thus, the strategies put in place to ensure its long term existence and operation in line with the objectives will be looked into.

User guide for a system Essay Example for Free

User guide for a system Essay This computer quote model was built to the specific requirements of Drum Gurus. It helps the user make an accurate quote for a customer, taking into account many various functions such as calculating VAT and delivery, discounts and service charges. Once the chosen items and the customers details have been entered the model will automatically generate an accurate invoice within seconds. It also helps the user keep to a set budget. System Requirements: Although this system is very simple and easy to use there are some standard requirements for the model to run efficiently and smoothly. Hardware: Software: Minimum: 40GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive A colour printer would be also required to print off the invoices. Colour makes the invoice look a lot more professional and an ink jet printer will be just fine. You do not need to splash out on a fancy photocopying and scanning printer when you do not need it. Software: Microsoft Excel 2000 is required to run this model. Installing and using the program: How to install: The model will come on a CD labelled Drum Gurus Model. Open up your CD Drive and insert the disk. Close the drive and wait for the installing window to appear. If the window does not appear do the following: 1. Click start on the taskbar 2. Click on My computer (If it is not here it is usually found on the desktop) 3. Double click on your usually called D Drive which has an icon of a CD. 4. Once it opens you should see the Drums Guru Model. Once you have the following box appearing on your screen: Now all you have to do is double click on the Drum Gurus Model icon and the program will install itself into a new folder. It will automatically install subfolders for customers, folders for the parts names, prices and pictures. You should keep the CD just in case for backup reasons or you have to reinstall for any reason. To save you having to create all the folders we have already done it for you. During the installation the following folders will be created:   Completed Invoices. Customers   Parts   Completed Quotes   Others To create any more folders simple right click and press Create New Folder. Using the program: Now that the model has been successfully installed, double click on the icon to load the program. This screen should appear now: Once this screen appears you can choose which page you would like to go to. Usually the Interface is the first page you will need to see. To enter the just simply click on the button and it will take you there automatically. 1. Firstly enter the customers details 2. Secondly if applicable enter the customers budget. 3. Then one by one select each part from the separate drop down lists. As you select each item the price and total price will automatically be updated. Just click on any drop down menu and choose the selected kit. 4. Once each component has been selected; it then calculates a sub total. From this subtotal the VAT and Shipping charge are added. 5. Once this has all been calculated the final total highlighted in bold will appear giving you the final price. 6. It also works out if the customer is over or under budget. If the customer is over budget it will be indicated in red and the user can either change the certain items or just leave it if the budget is only over a small amount. Here it indicates that I am over budget by i 452. 03 so I should change a few items. Once the user is happy with the computer, then click the Invoice button as seen at the top right in the above screenshot. This is the invoice sheet and it shows all the items that have been chosen. It gives a subtotal, and then shows how much the Shipping and Handling is and the VAT. It then creates the grand total. The big difference here is that it cannot be changed, none of the items or prices can be changed to create a safer process. 7. Then to save the quote for that customer you click on file and then Save As.. This is what it should look like: Locate the folder called Quotes that was already created. Then type in the name of the customer or the unique code number given to every quote for reference. Or you could name it simple like putting his first and last name, however this may not be a good idea because there could be more than one John Smith. The quote can then be simply printed off by clicking file then print and it should fit all onto one page. Troubleshooting: Whilst you use the quote system, you should hopefully not encounter any problems as it all has been thoroughly tested. However there are some validation messages that could cause some confusion. They are designed to stop the user from making a simple mistake, the validation will do that, but the problem is that the user might not know how to correct the mistake which the validation box keeps indicating. This message will appear when a name is entered which is too long. The solution is simple and easy, all you have to do is press cancel type in a shorter name. This message will appear when a telephone number is entered incorrectly. The solution is quite straight forward, just make sure not to leave gaps and enter 020 849382372 keep it all together and only enter numbers no letters. The number entered for the budget may be a ridiculous amount and so try and keep it between   0 and i 5,000. What this message means is that the user has tried to change a formula or a cell that they are not supposed to. You should not need to change any of the cells when this box appears when I tested so there should be no problems. Just click ok and carry on with the order. Advanced Options: Changing the brochure of parts: The prices of the drum parts and accessories are forever changing. This means that the brochure of parts will need to be changed often. Once the brochure of parts has been changed the drop down menus automatically get updated as well. This is how to add or change an item to the brochure. E. g. Say you wanted to get add an Sabian B8 30 ride and also change the price of the Sabian B8 20 ride. This is how you would do it. 1. First click on Data at the bottom of the model. 2. Then locate the Sabian B8 20 ride under the Cymbals Category 3. Enter the amount you would like to change for the price then press enter 4. Then go the bottom and type in the details for the new cymbals 5. To keep it in descending price order in this case you would highlight all of the cymbals and press on the Za button to sort descending. As you can see I have added the new cymbal however it is not in the right order. Now as you can see I have highlighted and now all I have to do is press the Sort Descending button and it will sort the prices out. However there will not be enough drop down menus. But it is easy to change. All you do is right click on the drop down menu on Cymbals and press format Control ou then change the number of drop down lines from 17 to 18. Now you click on input range, it will take you to the data and you highlight the whole of the Cymbals data and press enter and you are done with entering new items. Changing service, VAT, delivery: VAT: At present the VAT is 17. 5%. This is calculated by multiplying the subtotal but 0. 175. To change the VAT all you have to do is enter into the box the designated sum for the VAT. Where it says 0. 175 you just change it to 0. 20 for 20% or 0. 50 for 50%. Shipping and Handling: To change the service charge (Shipping and Handling) is just as simple. You click on the shipping and Handling and in the formula box at the top just change the ammount from 7. 00 to 8. 00. Like this.

The Front Desk Essay Example for Free

The Front Desk Essay The front office department is the most visible department in a hotel. The focal point of activity within the front office is the reception desk. The reception desk is usually the place at which the guests form their first impressions of the hotel. It is also the communication center for the hotel’s operation (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 22). The reception/ front desk: The reception desk may comprise: Cashiering; mail and information; registration; and room assignment. The reception desk is located in the busiest area of the hotel’s lobby. The main financial tasks which are handled by front office staff include: receiving cash payments, handling guest folios, verifying cheques, and handling foreign currency and credit cards (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 22). The front desk is controlled by the front desk manager. It is the duty of the manager to make sure that a hotel achieves the maximum revenue and the highest level of room occupancy possible. It is also the responsibility of the front desk manager to monitor and motivate the staff as well as to maintain a high profile with the guests. This helps to ensure that a quality service is being given by the front office departments in particular and the hotel in general (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 52). The specific responsibility of the reception supervisor is to guarantee the smooth running of the front desk. Apart from this overall duty, they would organize duty rotas, and handles complaints or difficult customers which a receptionist may not be able to deal with. The notification and greeting of important guests would also be the duty of the front desk supervisor (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 52). The senior receptionists are in charge of each shift of staff. The senior receptionists are in charge of each shift of staff. The senior receptionist will take responsibility of assigning rooms to guests, dealing with group arrivals and handling guests’ immediate problems or queries (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 52). During a hotel stay, guests may require certain services from, and engage in various transactions with a hotel. These are mostly handled by the front office. It is important to note that each section of the front office has an area of task responsibility (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 0). The main roles of receptionists (or front desk agents) are involved in taking enquiries and reservation requests from hotel guests; preparing for the arrival of guests; greeting guests on their arrival; checking guests in (registering them, allocating suitable rooms and checking methods of payment); selling the facilities and services of the hotel; responding to guest problems and queries, or referring them to other departments that can do so; providing information about guests to other front office units and departments of the hotel; and maintaining guest records. He customarily answers phone inquiries, greets guests as they arrive to check in, and assigns rooms. When guests depart, the agent is typically the person who settles their accounts before they leave (BPP learning media, 2010). In addition to handling arrivals and departures, the agent is customarily in charge of general front desk guest relations. He traditionally controls the guest room keys and keeps track of how many keys have been released for each customer. Handling and distributing guest mail and messages are customarily the responsibility of the front desk agent (BPP learning media, 2010). Front desk supervisors typically serve as the face of a hotel. They provide customers with a first and last impression as both greeters of new guests and well-wishers to departing ones. Front Desk Supervisor These hotel employees oversee that guests are welcomed, registered into a hotels computer system and assigned an appropriate room or suite. They also perform or delegate various tasks, such as making or confirming reservations, verifying and collecting guests payments, issuing room keys and contacting housekeeping or maintenance when guests report a problem. Front desk supervisors must be resourceful, take ownership of problems and issues that arise and have excellent problem-solving skills. In addition to managing the daily operations of the front desk, these supervisors provide hotel clerks with necessary training and support. They maintain all essential front desk equipment and supplies, as well as controlling guests access to safe deposit boxes. Other responsibilities might include tracking and posting appropriate food, liquor or telephone charges to guests accounts; completing bookkeeping duties, like balancing accounts and conducting nightly financial audits; and recording and referring patron comments and complaints to the appropriate hotel manager. Hotel front desk supervisors must be friendly and outgoing and possess excellent communication skills. Perhaps the most important guest service function that can be provided by a front desk agent is that of properly registering guests. This is a five-step process of registration of a hotel guest which is stated by (Hayes, D. K. and Ninemeier, J. D. , 2007) consists of: 1. Greeting the guest: When the guest arrives at the front desk, a professionally dressed, well-trained staff member should greet them in a friendly way. Because most hotel guests arrive in the evening and check-in time can be very busy, it may not always be possible to avoid guests having to wait in line for registration. Proper staffing, however, should minimize the wait. When it is their turn to be registered, guests should, above all else, be made to feel welcome! 2.  Confirming the information on the registration card. This includes the spelling of the guests name, their arrival date, departure date, and room rate, and any other information related to that specific guest. Since the registration card will serve as the record of the guests stay, it must be complete and precise. In addition, misunderstandings regarding room rate can be minimized if the room rate is clearly communicated and understood by both the hotel and the guest prior to room assignment. It is critical that all information on the registration card be accurate and complete. 3. Securing a form of payment.  In most hotels, guests must either pay for their room in advance or provide a valid alternative source of credit at registration. While many hotels accept checks, the most prevalent source of credit provided by guests is that of a credit or debit card. These cards must be legitimate, however, before they represent an acceptable form of payment. To establish the cards legitimacy, the desk agent should authorize the card at the time of guest registration. 4. Room assignment. Once a guests registration information has been confirmed and an acceptable form of payment has been offered, the guest should be assigned to a specific guest oom. In some hotels, all guest rooms are identical, and room assignment is of little consequence. In other hotels, the room types may vary greatly in perceived quality and/or rate based primarily on the rooms location, view, bed type, amenities 5. Issuance of keys. The final step in the registration process is the issuance of their room keys. The actual number of keys to be issued is a matter of hotel policy and guest preference. It is important, however, that the issuance of guest room keys be tightly controlled because the theft, loss, or unauthorized duplication of keys could seriously threaten guest safety. Upon receiving room keys, the guest would be taken or directed to their room. ?A reservation in the context of the front office of a hotel means the booking or reserving of a bedroom (accommodation) by a guest, and involves a particular type of guest room being reserved for a particular person or persons, for a certain period of time. When a reservation or room booking is made at a hotel, it is expected that the hotel will honor its commitment in accepting that reservation and guarantee that a room will be available when a guest arrives (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 63). A contract of booking is an agreement which is entered into every time a reservations clerk offers a prospective guest a room and that guest accepts the room however, the guest must be informed of all relevant details relating to the booking, for example, the type of room, the cost, dates, VAT and service charges involved (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 63. This contract of booking means that: * The hotel ensures there will be a room as a specified, available for the guest upon their arrival. * The guest will arrive to use the room which they have booked, on the specified day. The reservation process is of vital importance to a hotel because it gives the first impression of the hotel to guests, sells the main product of a hotel, i. e. accommodations, generates customers for other departments, and provides important management information to other departments. The reservation process is often the first contact between the guest and a hotel. It is, therefore, essential for the reservations clerk to provide prompt and accurate service in order to present a good first impression to the guest. In the hotel industry, strong competition exists for the selling of accommodation; a guest who experiences problems or slow service from the reservations section will think carefully before confirming a reservation or returning to that hotel. An efficient reservations system is, therefore, very important (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 64). The reservations department sells accommodation and helps to generate income for other departments of a hotel, for example, the food and beverage department. Hotel rooms are a saleable commodity and are strictly limited by factor of time and quantity. Therefore, if a room is not sold on a particular night, the revenue from that room is lost forever. Reservations contribute to the three main objectives of a front office department, i. e. , to maximize rooms, beds and average room rate, thereby achieving the highest possible revenue and profitability for the hotel. In additions, other departments often benefit from the reservations department. Such details may include an accurate estimate of the number of guests staying in the hotel (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 64). Front Desk and Guest Privacy  Once a guest has been registered for a room, the courts have ruled that these guests enjoy many of the same constitutional rights in the room as they would in their own home. It is not simply the legal thing to do, but it is the proper thing as well, to protect the rights of guests to privacy (Hayes, D. K. and Ninemeier, J. D. , 2007).? A professionally managed front office is one in which guests are confident that their privacy is maintained by all staff members. This includes maintaining a guests anonymity. Hayes, D. K. and Ninemeier, J.  D (2007) states that in order to maintain a guest’s anonymity, a front Desk agent should: Never confirm or deny that a guest is in fact registered in the hotel without the guests express permission Never give out information related to a guests stay (arrival, departure, rate, etc. ) to any third party without that guests express permission Always be vigilant in informing the guest of any unusual third-party information requests regarding their stay Just as guests expect their own privacy to be maintained, they should also feel confident that information regarding their actual room is kept confidential. This is both a safety and a privacy issue. To that end, front desk agents should: Never give out a guests room number to any third party without that guests express permission Never perform registration tasks in such a way as to allow guest room information to he overheard by others in the front office area Never issue a duplicate room key to anyone without confirming the positive identification of that person as the rooms properly registered guest Concerning the financial aspect of the hotel, accounting for guests, while less visible than providing guest services, is another critical responsibility of the front office. Accounting for guests simply means that all charges incurred by a guests use of the hotel are charged for properly. Depending on the services and amenities offered by the hotel, the source of guest charges can be numerous. The following product and services list is not inclusive, but does represent some of the many possible guest charges that must be accurately collected and posted to the guests folio. Bucket Check: A procedure used to verify, for each guest, the accuracy of that guest’s registration information. When performing the bucket check, the desk agent physically verifies that the information on the guests registration card is complete and matches that in the PMS (Hayes, D. K. and Ninemeier, J. D. , 2007). When an appropriate bucket check is performed at each shift, the number of errors related to billing guests folios is greatly reduced. Errors in recording the information related to a guests stay make the hotels accounting records inaccurate. In addition, room rate adjustments made at checkout are both annoying and time consuming to guests. The bucket is the industry term for the location of the actual registration cards signed by guests at check-in. The bucket check is simply a manual procedure for assuring the accuracy of information related to the guests actual room assignment, rate to be paid, departure date, form of payment, and any other accounting-related information (Hayes, D. K. and Ninemeier, J. D. , 2007). The front desk should be able to produce independent supporting documentation for each charge posted to a guests folio. The front desk agent responsible for checking the guest out may need to produce some documentation of the charge. In this case, the documentation would likely be the actual room service ticket signed by the guest when the wine was delivered. It is the responsibility of each shift of the front desk to ensure that all appropriate guest charges incurred are posted to the appropriate guests folio and that the documentation supporting such charges has been thoroughly reviewed prior to posting. The night auditor depends on appropriate documentation provided by each shift of the front desk to support the charges that will be finalized and posted to the guests folio during the night audit (Hayes, D. K. and Ninemeier, J. D. , 2007). One of the most challenging aspects of providing guest service at the front desk relates to ensuring that guests are satisfied during their stay. When guests experience difficulties in the hotel, they will most likely turn to the front desk and its staff for assistance. There are a variety of reasons guest may have special needs or experience dissatisfaction during their stay. During their stay, and at time of checkout, guests are likely to bring up any issues they find that detracted from their experience. Routine items such as requesting room repairs, additional room amenities, or information can, if handled professionally, actually enhance the guests experience (Chon, K. S. and Maier, T. A. 2008). The making of guest reservations is often the first thing that comes to mind when considering the major functions of a front office, and this is indeed an important and often complex aspect of the front offices role. In addition to reservations, however, it falls upon the front office to actually assign arriving guests to specific guest rooms and respond to their special needs during their stay. These needs can include anything from transportation and information to medical assistance. In all of these situations and more, the major role of the front office is to make the guests stay as comfortable and as welcoming as possible.

Environment Of The Events And Exhibitions Industry

Environment Of The Events And Exhibitions Industry This report will focus on the environment in which GL events is currently operating. GL events started as a small company based in Lyon in 1978 providing furniture and stands for exhibitors. Through mergers and acquisitions, they have progressively evolved to become an important player in todays exhibiting and event world with 34 venues around the world, an event and exhibition full-organising service and a portfolio of 250 trade-shows in various industries (food beverage, sport leisure, health, etc.). Influencing all trends and being influenced by all trends, the exhibition and events industry is in the centre of it all. No company can succeed without being aware of the environment it is evolving in. In the exhibition and events industry, companies need to pay particular attention to details impacting not only its industry directly but also every other sector of activity as it would soon have repercussions on future events, exhibitions, product launches, etc. For this reason, a good PESTEL analysis for the industry needs to cover a broad range of issues and analyse many trends which may not influence events yet but could soon be a threat if companies do not react and stay in the times. This report will focus on a PESTEL analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Environment, Legal) of the exhibition and events industry conclude by establishing which factors GL events should most take into account going forward as they could be potential threats or areas of opportunities in the years to come. Political: There are two main political factors influencing the industry today. One is the increasing political pressures to make regulations and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We will see in the environmental section that this trend started with consumer awareness but it is no longer just something the clients want to know more about, it has become an obligation. This has greatly impacted the transport industry, in particular airlines which found their image hit as people all around the world pointed to airplanes being a major source of pollution. This impacts the event and exhibition industry, especially at a time when various green technologies are evolving to permit meetings, conferences and even exhibitions to take place online (Long, 2009). This will be developed further in Environmental and Technology sections. The second is the increased globalisation and liberalisation of trade and deregulation (Dwyer, L and Edwards, D 2009). This is very important in terms of number of potential competitors and number of potential clients. Companies need to learn to evolve in a globalised economy, taking advantage of it by going to find new markets, possibly entering into partnerships with similar companies to widen market share and visibility. With this liberalisation of trade comes political pressure to have global higher standards of living. If you do not see your neighbours yard, you do not know that it is greener, when you break the fence, you find that it is. It is this situation that developing countries are finding themselves in today. Citizens all around the world can use internet to gain knowledge about how others are living and become envious. Because of this, countries want to attract foreign investment to boost local economies and gain wealth and higher standards of living. This creates oppo rtunities for countries not only to establish new and cheaper production lines but also to display their products in emerging markets. Last week for example, Apple launched the Iphone4 in China (AFP, 2010). Economy This last point brings us to analysing the economic trends and pressures impacting on the exhibition and events industry. Although the UNWTO 2002 forecasted world tourism to grow at a rate of 4.1% annually until 2020 (Dwyer L, Edwards D., 2009) due to rising wealth internationally, the exhibition and event industry has seen a slow in growth since 2005 but a rise in exhibition and event attendance (Biba E, 2008). This puts the industry in a rather awkward position. There are people coming to exhibitions but exhibitors have switched their approach towards events and exhibition. Indeed, especially with the recent crisis, the first expenses cut by organisations worldwide were advertising and travel. Exhibitions and events being in the centre of this, the industry was hit and forced to react. The expectations from exhibitors will be looked into more fully when we look at the social aspects of the trend but the main ideas are that companies are looking to maximise their ROI (return on investment) (Kovaleski D, 2009) and minimise the perception of frivolous spending (trips, events, etc.) (Events Managers, 2010). In order to do this, companies are squeezing suppliers to get more value for money and investigating the return on investment of their events much more closely and looking at alternatives more then they did before. Companies are not so much cutting their exhibition and event spending so much as allocating it more carefully and with conditions of an assured return (Biba E, 2007). This has changed to job of the event organiser who needs to think of more in novative ways that the company can use to introduce their product. A leaflet handout at the exhibition is no longer sufficient, people want to be amused, entertained, really involved in the product (Furness V., 2007). Because of this, the industry is moving away from major events in favour of smaller, more intimate events where companies can really interact with potential clients (Biba E, 2007). Another aspect companies are putting under the microscope is how to measure ROI generated from social networking and e-marketing. Indeed, if an event is posted on Facebook, LinkedIn, various industry blogs and online magazines this all takes resources in terms of man-hours put into promoting the event on these new channels but how can a company measure that this was efficient? How can the event planner know that the Facebook invitation attracted the client and not some Email they receive every year which pushed them to look for a Facebook event? (Terrero R, 2009). Today, there is little way of knowing exactly what path a client took and what really convinced them to attend your particular event. Social Indeed, the main goals of events and exhibitions are brand awareness, brand preference and networking. Although brand awareness can be achieved through various communication mediums (advertising online, billboards, TV, etc.), it is not the way to create brand preference. Brand preference is achieved through interaction, experience of the brand with the client (Kovaleski D, 2009) and leads to better ROI for the company. This means that exhibition halls and event organisers are not expected to provide a massive attendance so much as a good promotional space and real, targeted potential buyers (Biba E, 2007). From the buyers perspective, they want to experience and know the brand as a whole. With globalisation came increased competition and consumers now have the possibility to buy from anyone anywhere around the world. The quality and price are no longer the only issues, people and therefore companies look at the triple bottom line. Its no longer just about economics but also the socia l and environmental benefits of a product or company. Clients dont want a coupon or a price comparison when they come to a product launch, they want to feel and experience the product for themselves (Dwyer L, Edwards D., 2009 and Furness V., 2007). There needs to be a real interaction between companies and clients. Companies want to build a rapport with their clients, want to become part of their lives. This has forced exhibition halls and event managers to re-think space use and create sections that are dedicated to sitting down in a relaxing atmosphere with a drink to discuss business more casually. The bottom line is still to get the client but the approach is much friendlier then boxed up in a meeting room (Kovaleski D, 2009). This also has an impact on stand design. Exhibitors are encouraged to pay more attention to details such as carpet colour as it has been shown that if the carpet colour of the stand is different from that of the exhibition hall, it may create a barrier and deter clients from approaching (Kovaleski D, 2009). Technology With the development of various technologies, companies have the opportunity to have a virtual event run along-side of the live event. This allows them more time to prepare the client for the interaction and pursue the relationship after the event (Furness V., 2007 and Kovaleski D, 2009). This phenomenon of virtual event is not only to accompany live events, there are now events using only virtual platforms, simulating a physical event on the online world. Platforms such as Second Life are being used by companies to reach potential clients without having to create an event in one physical place. This has the advantage, if not necessarily of price reduction, but to be able to reach clients who may not be prepared to travel to meet you. You can meet them where they are all at once (Biba E, 2008). Using 3D technologies, your virtual exhibition can be as simple as visitors being able to look around at the different stands and as complex as re-creating the event in a completely online wor ld (web chatter, 2010). This is not to say that virtual events will completely replace live events because, as we have seen, people still want to interact and know who they are dealing with but it certainly does replace certain live events already (Biba E, 2007). Another important aspect of the new technologies that the exhibition and event industry should be aware of is the democratization of the internet. This means two things. First, even small firms can bring competition to the large, well-established event organizers if they have good SEO (search engine optimization) and general web-marketing skills as they have equal visibility (Dwyer L, Edwards D., 2009). Second, through UGC (user generated content) anyone can post their feedback about their experience with a certain organizer and make it available to the world (Papathanassis A, Buhalis D, 2007). This is good news for companies who have good relations with their clients and suppliers but will be difficult for companies who were focusing on one-shot clients and therefore not paying much attention to details. The final aspect of technology refers to the traditional definition of technology, ie: the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry (Oxford Compact dictionary). Here we are referring to how to build ecologically friendly stands? What technologies can we use to handle the new products that now need to be used in order to create a green stand? Environmental We are now obviously diverging to the environmental issues around the exhibition and event industry. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to be perceived as environmentally aware (Biba E, 2008). This presents a good opportunity in term of cost reductions as decisions such as travelling less can be explained as an environmentally gesture rather then cost-cutting in a bad economy (Events Managers, 2010). However, it presents a challenge for events and exhibition companies who now need to develop green stands made with ecologically friendly materials and production techniques and purchased from local suppliers to avoid pollution from transport (Biba E, 2008). Another aspect the exhibition and event industry will need to look at closely is the impact that global warming will have on their choice of venue and the viability of these choices with respect to client attendance and attractiveness (Dwyer L, Edwards D., 2009). Indeed, sunny destinations which are very pleasant to hold events at may be changed for the worse in the next 30-50 years while new destinations will establish themselves as more favourable climate-wise. Legal The final point we will view is the legal aspects that the industry needs to pay attention to. The policies regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the liberalisation of trade have lead way to many legal documents and laws by countries around the world which need to be followed by event and exhibition organisers and by venues to make sure they are acting within the limits and scope of the law. However, an important legal issue is the terms and conditions put forward by events and exhibition planners and venues. First, with regards to particular cancellation fees, they need to protect themselves without being outrageously unfair to the potential client which is looking at cancellation fees and possibilities more closely since the crisis. Second, with respect to the inflexibility of minimum numbers, if venues hope to attract client, they need to consider the advantage of having one definite client with a contract who may not bring exactly 1000 participants versus one potential client who is still shopping around and may never sign (Event Manager, 2010). From this PESTEL analysis, we can draw several conclusions for GL events next step. First, it is clear that the new technologies, though they will not fully replace live events, are certainly complementing them and they are here to stay. GL events could take advantage of this by creating a network with all its venues. When one event is organised in Nice for example, they could offer the possibility of extending it via 3D conferencing tools to other of their venues around the world. This would increase the potential number of attendees who would not have to sit in front of a computer to enjoy the virtual event but would benefit also from meeting with others who are also in their geographical areas and enjoying the event virtually. People in China could enjoy the conference of the event taking place in Nice and have the opportunity to network with other people afterwards via video-conferencing and face-to-face with people who were also unable to attend the meeting. A second opportunity GL events could take advantage of is the growing importance of the perception of being environmentally friendly which pushes companies to invest in Green stands. Through their event organising service, GL events should try to develop the competencies to offer this possibility to their clients, if possible at a similar cost, to make sure they are in keeping (and even a little ahead) of their times. In these fast changing times, the opportunities are still up for grabs but will soon become threats if venues and organisers do not react quickly.

MS Word Against WordPro :: essays research papers

MS Word WordPro Functional  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Customization 5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Compatibility 6 Templates 7  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  User Friendly (learning curve) 6 Object Insertion 5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Obsolesce (version wise) 7 Formatting Options (editing) 8  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Product Support 8 WordPro Customization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WordPro really doesn?t allow you to customize the look of the program, unlike Microsoft?s Word. About the only thing that you can customize in this program is the view. The funny part about this is that, the views that you have the options of choosing, are ones that Microsoft does not offer. Even though WordPro doesn?t offer the extensive customization that word offers you really don?t need it. WordPro offers extensive and very useful toolbars that adjust to what ever you are doing in the window. When looking at the toolbars, they are very thoughtfully laid out with only the functions that you use the most. The other advantage of the toolbars is that they are located at the top and bottom of the page, making the most amount of the room on the screen, instead of at the top of the screen, like Words default. Templates   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The extensive amount of templates that come with and that you can get for this program are amazing. There is a template for everything that you could possibly need. There are templates for Accounts Receivable bills all the way to a template to a fax coversheet followed buy the fax. Using the templates is not all that hard either. It is basically point and click, follow the direction that are there for you and are easy to understand. The best thing about the templates is that they all use a series of frames, which is very useful if you want to remove a certain section of the template, with out messing up the whole document. Object Insertion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this program object insertion is a little bit of a pain, you can do it, but for a person never using the program before, it will not only be frustrating, but it will also deter you from using the program. Unlike Microsoft?s Word, it is not as easy to get to. WordPro unfortunately also doesn?t support as many file types either. On the upside, once you figure out where the function is in the program, it is not all that hard to work with. Formatting Options   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this section, WordPro is very competitive with Word. They both have the same options, like auto correct, although they may be called different names. They also have the same easy to find menus.

Last Of The Mohicans :: essays research papers

Last of The Mohicans Summary: Cora and her younger sister, Alice, both recent arrivals to the colonies, are being escorted to their father, Colonel Munro, by a troop of British soldiers. Along the way they are ambushed by a Huron war party led by Magua, a sinister warrior with a blood vendetta against Munro. Munro's soldiers are wiped out and Cora herself is nearly killed by Magua but is saved at the last moment by Hawkeye, a white trapper raised by the Mohican tribe. Hawkeye promises to take Cora and her sister safely to their father, and along the way Cora and the intense Hawkeye fall in love. Together they must survive wilderness, war, and the relentless pursuit of Magua. Analysis: The introductory moments are somewhat confusing, and it takes about fifteen or twenty minutes to get the characters and situations straight. Madeleine Stowe's British accent is of the "now-you-hear-it, now-you-don't" variety, although her performance pretty much makes up for this inconsistency. Finally, the photography surrounding the waterfall is unconvincing. Other than those few things the film was great. From beginning to end, there isn't a weak performance. Finally, there's the story, which, while not all that complex, is of epic nature. At first I wasn’t expecting this movie to be good but by the end of the last battle I knew that The Last of the Mohicans is a memorable motion picture adventure, and one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Comparison: In the movie, the siege at Fort William Henry is a concentration of a massive French force on an isolated fort of what seems to be no more than 300 people. Also the siege of the fort by Gen. Montcalm was reduced to one night of action and romance in the film. The great portrayal of traditional siege warfare in the movie serves only as a background for the development of the love between Cora and Nathaniel. In actuality, the seven day siege had two major fronts: the fort which held about 500 men and a camp east to the fort which held roughly 2000 men.

Elizabethan Society Exposed in King Lear Essay -- King Lear Essays

Blood gushing from stabbed eyes. Sipping poison slipped by one’s very own sister. Fathers turning against their sons. Such are the horrid outcomes of the characters in King Lear. Shakespeare has written one of the greatest tragedies of all time with this play and from the very start, has provided no cushion of happiness for his viewers. They are immediately thrust into a world of turmoil-Lear’s favorite daughter is banished by him, Gloucester is deceived by his younger son, Lear is sent into a storm by his ungrateful heirs†¦and the list goes on. Yet, what is it that causes these wretched consequences? Is it because there are many diabolical personalities in the play? Many mistakes made by fathers in disbelieving their trustworthy children? No. The answer is that society is ultimately responsible for the end results of the play. The world of King Lear demonstrates for the audience, by illustrating with its various characters and their doings that a s ociety built around a social hierarchy and material wealth will always be a place of unhappiness, filled with people committing wicked actions. Shakespeare scribbled King Lear away between the years 1603 and 1606. This was a tumultuous time because Queen Elizabeth I had died but had left no heir and no husband to seize her monarchy. Therefore, the citizens were worried and the competition for her regency was strong. In writing the play, Shakespeare broached this uneasy topic by creating the character King Lear, who is unsure of whom to pass down his power too. Thus, Shakespeare builds a setting with many of the current concerns and problems of his Elizabethan world (yet they are approached in a disguised manner). This time period in England was one where... ...me blind while if the sisters had never stolen their father’s trust, he would never have gone crazy, Goneril would never have poisoned Regan and committed suicide and Cordelia would not have died. Thus, the tragic parts in the tragedy would not exist just as a world without the unhappiness would be happy. Works Cited â€Å"King Lear: Background on Shakespeare.† PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. . Signet Classic Edition Teacher’s Guide. Hern, Leigh Ann; Ellis, W. Gieger; Reed, Aretha J. S. (co-eds.), Penguin. Web Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of King Lear. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print. â€Å"The Stucture of Elizabethan Society.† Walter Nelson. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. .