Read Your Writings †for a Fee!

Read Your Writings – for a Fee! As writers, we get a buzz from knowing people are reading our work. But have you ever thought of reading it out loud, to an audience? Neither did I until recently. Now it’s a regular sideline gig. If you write on a specialist subject, why not talk about it, too? Or talk about being a writer! It’s a pretty offbeat career that would interest many. If you write comedy, give those sketches a whirl. In my case, I had a drawer  full of rhymes about the flip-side of gardening and modern life, so I shaped them into 60-minute presentations for gardening and over-50s clubs. The social aspect of the work provides an antidote to the laptop, and you can control bookings to suit your time – and bank account. It’s potentially lucrative, depending on factors such as advertising levels, travel and topic flexibility, and caliber of events you’re comfortable speaking at. I choose to keep bookings occasional and low-key, with earnings correspondingly reasonable rather than great. But if you’re confident you can keep a large, high society audience gripped for 45 minutes or more! Some hosts will pay handsomely for a polished, spellbinding talk. Whatever the venue, it’ll offer a platform for your books. Rich market Online searches will reveal innumerable societies, many engaging speakers for meetings. Here are some examples, but bear in mind that opportunities vary: Sports, especially mainstream Personal interests (e.g. gardening, bee-keeping, wine-making, family/local history, books) Age-related groups (e.g. 50s/60s; grandparents, war veterans) Social groups (e.g. singles, single parents, women’s) Charities (for fundraising events) Businesses/professional groups – for training or social events. Finding markets   Society websites: some societies have their own websites, with handy information such as usual topics, timings, audience numbers and contact details. Society affiliation websites: in some cases, you have to visit the society’s regional or national affiliation website and comb its listings for your local group. Follow these links to sample affiliations, and spot their speaker/talk references: 1.   The Royal Horticultural Society (speakers’ register page): https://www.rhs.org.uk/communities/pdf/aff-socs/speakers-and-judges-registers/total-speakers-register 2.   Scubaboard.com, USA: scubaboard.com/forums/new-england/491173-club-speakers-ct-club.html  Ã‚  Scroll down to second item: Club speakers 3. Federation of Family History Societies, USA: ffhs.org.uk/members2/overseas/usa.php The first society on their list mentions a meeting with a speaker on their website: rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bifhsusa/ The first one links to the speakers’ register of the UK’s leading gardeners’ organisation, to which I added my name (free) with positive results. If you have trouble finding a group, try a related website such as that of your local community, tourist information centre or charitable organisation, for group or event listings. Here’s an example produced A brief deeper delve using the search term talks took me to upcoming events:  bostonhistory.org/?s=oshp=calendar Some clubs may only supply a telephone number: no matter! A human voice may kindle interest in your speech offer. Also look up speaker agencies. See what opportunities they offer, and browse their client profiles for inspiration.   I picked US examples .randomly: 1.   APB Speakers International: apbspeakers.com/;   2.   The Speaker Agency, California: thespeakeragency.com/; 3.   Washington Speakers Bureau (for businesses): washingtonspeakers.com/ 4.   Great Garden Speakers: http://greatgardenspeakers.com/   How much to charge?   Before setting my fee, I checked other speakers’ rates via agency websites and enquiries to local groups. The range is huge, but to me, audience response is as important as check size; besides, a happy group will refer you to others. My audiences are courteous, attentive, and prompt to pay. So, what’s stopping you?

Cabaza Del Vaca essays

Cabaza Del Vaca essays Cabeza de Vaca learned to communicate with the Spaniards and also learned to believe in some of their Christian values, including faith healing. The Spaniards learned to live within the culture of the indigenous people, learning to eat those things that were eaten by the local Indians, practice witchcraft, healing, and other rituals. Similar to the indigenous people, Cabeza de Vaca and his followers adapted the style of dress worn by those with whom they were enslaved and later befriended. Cabeza de Vaca no longer sought to find the wealth of the new land but became sympathetic to the Indians, and wanted them to remain free. Cabeza de Vaca did not want the Indians to be captured by other Spanish soldiers. In my opinion, the reason that the Spaniards said, "we must tell lies" was two fold. When they inspected the dying man who was shot with a Spanish musket ball in the last village that was pillaged, looted, and then burned by the Spanish soldiers, Cabeza de Vaca and the others were aware that the Spaniards would not be far away. In an effort to prevent many of the indigenous people being captured and enslaved, Cabeza de Vaca and the others knew the only way the Indian followers would go in a different direction was to pretend that he was cursed with death everywhere that he went. Because the Indians were very superstitious, Cabeza de Vaca knew that he could use this as an excuse to leave the nomadic group he was traveling with without raising much suspicion among the Indians. The Indians believing that Cabeza de Vaca was cursed continued their travels without him. The other men in his exploration party later met up with him later. The second reason that Cabeza de Vaca and his e xpedition followers determined that they must lie was that if they professed to the practices of the rituals of healing and raising people from the dead as prescribed by the Indians through witchcraft or medicine man healing, the Spaniards knew the...

Evaluating Business Intelligence Systems W8 assign Essay

Evaluating Business Intelligence Systems W8 assign - Essay Example Additionally, the importance of such transitions for employees have also been explained in this study along with the mechanism through which the success of the BIS initiative can be evaluated. Thus, the study renders a significant insight regarding the organizational initiative of BIS in the modern day scenario. Introduction Business Intelligence System (BIS) is a kind of technology that provides noteworthy business value by improving effectiveness of managerial and technical decision making. It is a structural design and a collection of integrated operational as well as decision support applications and databases to assist business communities with an easy access to business data. In this respect, the continuous advancement in information technology can be identified as the potential driver for sustaining the business in the current highly competitive industrial environment (Srinivasan, 2011). This paper focuses on the issues that guarantee success of BIS and highlights significance of transition process of BIS in the most coherent manner. Issues That Help Guarantee Success of Business Intelligence System The issues that help to construct successful BIS are usually quite similar to the requirements of any other system that involves the use of the technology and seeks to change the organizational functions towards betterment. ... In addition, business management sponsor must be capable and potential enough to communicate the vision related with BIS and ascertain committed efforts from the entire management team. Also, the efficient business driver should be capable to motivate members of the organization to contribute their best towards its productivity. It is worth mentioning that primarily the top level and middle level managers from the different heads (such as regulatory, financial and operational) of the organization are engaged in accomplishing the tasks as a business driver. Similarly, feasibility acts as the other key success issue of BIS. Understanding various data and being capable to communicate these data with its actual meaning is an extremely crucial aspect with respect to BIS. It can be argued in this regard that tools and its applications only cannot guarantee success of information system within an organization. Correspondingly, focusing on the process and basic process control mechanism can form a solid foundation for assimilating the crucial and critical success factors required for the effective implementation of BIS. CSFs Framework for Implementation of BI Systems Source: (Yeoh & Koronios, 2010) With regards to the above mentioned model, critical success factors of the BIS can be divided into three different categories including organization, process and technology. Contextually, these three factors, when aligned carefully and efficiently, usually results in delivering best outcomes from the implementation of BIS. Importance of Transition to the Employees and Shareholders Transition is a very crucial component from the industry point of view.

Investments in Information Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Investments in Information Technology - Essay Example Heinrich and Simchi-Levi (2005) answer the question whether IT investments really pay off: "The answer is yes-only if solid business processes are in place." Thus, the success of any IT strategy is highly dependent on the integration of business processes within the organization and its various supply chain factors. Information technology strategies are directly linked to the company's supply chain. As the supply chain is composed of stakeholders who are directly related to the operations of the company, the installation of IT software and tool will have an impact on them. In return, the organization bottom line will also benefit or be harmed by any IT strategy in place. Investments in IT generate a lot of advantages in a company's supply chain. However, this is only true with the premise that the appropriate level of business process is in place. As the study of Heinrich and Simchi-Levi proves, information technology goes hand in hand business process maturity in increasing the efficiency and profitability of business organization. Investment in IT without integrating the supply chain by sharing the data in internal and external stakeholders will render useless.

Gun Control Persuasive Essay Example for Free

Gun Control Persuasive Essay I believe that guns should not be banned in the US. â€Å"Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.† I am sure most of us have heard this saying at some point in our lives. Surely, it is a statement of the obvious, but the logic behind it rings true. It may seem rational to ban guns entirely to prevent people from killing, but it is not the guns themselves that are the problem. That is just a simple solution to a complex problem. The criminals who kill others are willing to break the law and risk going to prison for the rest of their lives to murder, yet they are expected to follow firearm laws? If a nationwide gun ban is enacted, criminals will not suddenly follow the law and reject the thought of buying a firearm on the black market. Banning all guns in the United States would be irrational because it would not lower crime or prevent firearm-related murders. Outlawing firearms punishes the law-abiding citizens by leaving them defenseless against criminals who obtain their firearms illegally .Protecting yourself with a legally obtained firearm should not be against the law and should me more of a necessity for the safety of your family and property. The Department of Justice’s own National Institute of Justice study titled Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms estimated that 1.5 million Americans use guns for defensive purposes every year. People who commit crimes are already willing to break the law to kill someone, why wouldn’t they break the law and buy a firearm off the black market. As we’ve learned from the war on drugs, prohibiting a particular item only makes a stronger criminal enterprise. It would seem logical that the banning of firearms would lead to less firearms and less crime, but statistics show just the opposite. Washington D.C. has had a handgun ban in effect since 1976. After the ban, D.C.’s murder rate only once fell below what it was in 1976. Furthermore, Washington D.C. has been notorious for being one of the most violent cities in the country. Not only is this the case in the United States, but the trend continues in other countries around the world. For example, after firearms were banned in England and Wales in 1997, the number of deaths and injuries from gun crime increased 340 percent in the seven years from 1998 to 2005. The claim that guns are the problem is merely a scapegoat for larger socioeconomic problems such as poverty, drugs, poor parenting, and undesirable role models. As for the mass shootings that have become a staple for the fear mongering corporate media, it should be noted that every single mass shooter since columbine had been prescribed serotonin boosting psychiatric drugs, yet the media seldomly mention this and never correlate it with the crime. Perhaps they don’t want to point the blame towards their big pharmaceutical sponsors, whose ads bombard you during every commercial break. Furthermore the media also sensationalizes these shooters making them seem like martyrs for the next potential shooter. An abundance of registered firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens acts as a deterrent against crime. The city of Kennesaw, Georgia passed an ordinance in March of 1982 requiring each household to own and maintain a gun. Kennesaw’s crime rate dropped significantly after the ordinance, and there has not been a single murder over the twenty-six years that it has been in effect. The claims that a high gun ownership results in high amounts of violence is nothing more than a fabrication. Switzerland, a country known for having one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, also maintains one of the lowest firearm-related crime rates in the world. In areas where gun ownership is high, the threat of an armed civilian acts as a hindrance against the criminal element. Overall, I speculate that the United States will continue to see a reduction in crime in areas of rising gun ownership. A firearm ban would not stop crime and would only hurt responsible, law-abiding citizens. As long as there is a criminal element, people will always feel the need to protect themselves against a perceived threat. The second amendment was implemented by the founding fathers of the United States as a fundamental right of the people to protect themselves from all forms of tyranny. The right to keep and bear arms is deep-rooted in American culture, and it will not be going away any time soon.

The Catcher in the Rye :: Essays Papers

The Catcher in the Rye The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger published by The New American Library in 1951 is one of, if not the most popular and controversial books written by Salinger. The main character is a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. He casually explains a certain time of transition in his life. It is a time of adventures and deep thought. Holden has his own view of the world and for 192 pages, he allows the reader to see the world through his eyes. He comes across many people at this time and refers to the general society as "phonies". Each personal encounter he makes affects him throughout his story. Holden begins the story by rambling about general things about him and his family and suggests to the reader that he is now in some form of an institution. He talks about the school he has currently gotten kicked out of, (unbeknownst to his parents)"Pencey Prep". This is one of many schools that he has attended and been rejected from for his laziness problem. He gets into an argument with his roommate and decides to leave Pencey early for Christmas break since there's no reason for him to stay. He packs up his things and takes a train to New York City where he grew up and where his family is. When he arrives in the city, he stays in a hotel. He observes people in other rooms through his window. Then, he goes to different bars even though he is under age. Holden is rather tall and has a gray streak of hair that makes him look older. In these bars, he meets and observes many varieties of people. He cannot go home to his parents until they've had a chance to find out about Pencey and had some time to calm down. To pass the time in NYC, he calls some people from his past. Each new person plays a specific role in Holden's actions and decisions. For example, Sally, his ex-girlfriend, makes him feel a spectrum of feelings from love to hate in a matter of hours. Holden notices many things in everyday life that others never really realize are there. He describes the Museum of Natural History and how no matter how many times you go there, nothing ever changes.

Development of T-DNA Essay

Question: Describe the development of T-DNA-based vector systems from the Ti plasmid and the mechanisms of their delivery into plant cells. Answer:   Tumor-inducing plasmids (Ti plasmids) are used extensively in the construction of vectors and transgenic plants (Binns and Thomashow, 1988).   Ti plasmids are ~200-kb in size, derived from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Gram-negative phytopathogenic soil bacteria that deliver DNA and proteins to plant cells at wound sites, resulting in crown gall tumorigenesis (Chilton et al., 1977). The generation of tumors depends on the induction of a set of Ti plasmid-encoded virulence (vir) genes acting through a virA/virG regulatory system, which primarily responds to monosaccharide and phenolic levels released by wounded plants.   The transferred DNA (T-DNA) of Ti plasmids is randomly integrated into the plant nuclear genome through a process known as non-homologous recombination (NHR) (Offringa et al., 1990). T-DNA is a single-stranded DNA molecule produced by a virDl/D2-encoded site-specific endonuclease that nicks within two border sequences of 24-bp in length, flanking the T-DNA   (van Haaren et al., 1987).   After cleavage and excision, the T-DNA binds with the DNA-binding protein VirE2 and the resulting complex is transferred to the plant cell via type IV-type secretion (Zupan and Zambryski, 1995). For genetic engineering purposes, the T-DNA region is modified into a non-tumor generating DNA segment by removal of genes that encode enzymes controlling auxin and cytokinin synthesis.   Cloned genes may be inserted into the T-DNA of a Ti plasmid that will eventually be introduced into cultured plant cells, leaf discs or root slices by infection.    Genes for antibiotic resistance are also incorporated into the T-DNA to facilitate selection of transformed cells.   Transformed cells are cultured in media containing auxins and cytokinins for growth and a specific antibiotic to aid identification of transformed clones.   There are reports of successful introduction of foreign genes for disease resistance, herbicide resistance and salt tolerance into commercially important plants.   Another way of transforming plants is by immersion of whole plants in a solution containing engineered-Ti Agrobacterium (Bechtold et al. 1993). Transformation may also be performed by exposing whole plants to a solution containing Agrobacterium that is carrying engineered or wild-type Ti plasmids. The plants must be treated in such a way to allow the Agrobacterium to enter tissue, either by applying a vacuum or by treating with detergents. The Agrobacterium penetrates the floral tissue and transforms the developing ovules. Isolation of seeds from these Agrobacterium-exposed plants yields up to 2% of the seeds that are transformed with the T-DNA. This approach is very useful for molecular genetic studies, such as for characterizing DNA sequences involved in the control of gene expression, or constructing large libraries of insertional mutants. Question:   Explain why transformation of certain species has been problematical and to what extent this has been overcome. Answer:   Ti plasmids encounter compatibility problems wherein closely related plasmids exclude each other.   The repABC genes have been identified to play a major role in this incompatibility.   This problem has been overcome by a curing method (Uragi et al., 2002) which is based on three steps.   Firstly, a curing plasmid is introduced, followed by a screening for Ti-less clones by either opine utilization or hybridization by using a highly conserved region of the virulence cluster as probe, and lastly, detection and deletion of the curing plasmid. Question:   What improvements can be made to the expression systems to overcome some of the objectives of the GM technology? The transformation mechanism of Ti plasmids is so powerful that it becomes a concern on whether other crops might be accidentally modified and propagated.   Termed as â€Å"xenogenic† plants, these plants result from the insertion of laboratory-designed DNA for which no naturally evolved genetic counterpart can be found.   Such DNA segments may integrate into the plant genome causing rearrangements in the nuclear material which may later result in species differentiation.   A silencing mechanism should be constructed to the expression systems of Ti plasmids to overcome such freak accident in GM technology. References Bechtold, N., Ellis, J. and Pelletier, G. (1993):   Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer by infiltration of adult Arabidopsis thaliana plants. C. R. Acad. Sci., 316: 1194–1199. Binns, A.N. and Thomashow, M.F.,   (1988):   Cell biology of Agrobacterium infection and transformation of plants.   Annu. Rev. Microbiol.,   42:575-606. Chilton, M.D., Drummond, M.H., Merio, D.J., Sciaky, D., Montoya, A.L., Gordon, M.P. and Nester, M.P.   (1977):   Stable incorporation of plasmid DNA into higher plant cells: The molecular basis of crown gall tumorigenesis.   Cell,   11:263-271. Matzke, A. J. M. and Chilton, M-D. (1981) Site-specific insertion of gene into T-DNA of the Agrobacterium tumor-inducing plasmid: An approach to genetic engineering of higher plant cells. J. Mol. Appl. Genet. 1: 39–49. Offringa, R., De Groot, M.J.A., Haagsman, H.J., Does, M.P., van den Elzen, P.J.M. and Hooykaas, P.J.J.   (1990):   Extrachromosomal homologous recombination and gene targeting in plant cells after Agrobacterium mediated transformation.   EMBO J., 9:3077-3084. Uragi, M., Suzuki, K. and Yoshida, K.   (2002):   A novel plasmid curing method using incompatibility of plant pathogenic Ti plasmids in Agrobacterium tumefaciens.   Genes Genet. Syst.   77:1-9. van Haaren, M.J., Sedee, N.J., Schilperoort, R.A. and Hooykaas, P.J. (1987): Overdrive is a T-region transfer enhancer which stimulates T-strand production in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Nucl. Acids Res., 15: 8983–8997. Zupan, J., Muth, T., Draper, O. and Zambryski, P. (2000). The transfer of DNA from Agrobacterium tumefaciens into plants: a feast of fundamental insights. Plant J.,   23: 11–28. Zupan, J.R. and Zambryski, P. (1995): Transfer of T-DNA from Agrobacterium to the plant cell. Plant Physiol., 107: 1041–1047.

Ethical decision making for Procter And Gamble Essay

  Procter & Gamble (PG) is a global investor, a company that is always on top of marketing and reinforcing its brand names as being at the top of the pack. One example of how the company has used social media to reinforce its brand and then offer a short term income play. The creativity in marketing today can be amazing when one uses social networking in combination with brand awareness. And this type of quick thinking and awareness can set a company apart, contributing to sales. Procter and Gamble is a great example of this. P&G has a purpose to keep current on events that happen through the day that could have an impact on its brands. It looks for things that could possibly have a direct attitude upon loyal customers. â€Å"In one instance, for example, the Tide brand came to the rescue after a fiery explosion during the Dayton 500 covered the Speedway with 200 gallons of burning fuel. TV viewers watched track workers using Tide to clean the track during a two-hour delay in the Great American Race. Corporate Governance is the interaction of the management, shareholders and Board of Directors to help ensure that all investors—both shareholders and creditors—are protected against managers acting solely in their own best interest. Corporate Governance consists of laws, policies, procedures and, most importantly, practices that ensure the well-being of the assets of the Company. Corporate Governance is at its highest levels when management acts as if they are long-term investors in the Company.The policies, procedures and practices spelled out in this section demonstrate that Procter & Gamble takes Corporate Governance very seriously. Our management acts as long-term investors of the Company because they, like most Procter & Gamble employees at all levels, are in fact long-term investors. Employees Are Long-Term Investors In 1887, before P&G was even a publicly traded company, William Cooper Procter introduced a profit-sharing program for employees. At the time he said, â€Å"We should let the employees share in the firm’s earnings. That will give them an incentive to increase earnings.† He revised that program in 1903 to have the profit sharing be awarded in the form of actual P&G stock. He reasoned that as employees became stockholders, their economic interests and those of the Company would be bound more closely together. That program still exists today with a large part of each U.S. employee’s retirement consisting of P&G stock. Additionally, virtually all employees own P&G stock or stock rights via various investment programs. Because of that fact, employees’ economic interests are aligned to those of the Company. Further, our Executive Share Ownership Program requires senior executives to own shares of Company stock and/or restricted stock units valued at eight times base salary for the Chief Executive Officer, and five times base salary for the other senior executives. Non-employee directors must own Company stock and/or restricted stock units worth six times their annual cash retainer. These compensation programs help to ensure the alignment of the interests of our senior executives and directors with shareholders. A Foundation of Integrity, Control and Stewardship P&G has a strong history of operating with integrity throughout the Company—at all levels, in all countries, both internally and externally. Our actions and the actions of all our employees are governed by our Purpose, Values and Principles. The basis for every decision we make at P&G can be found in our Purpose, Values and Principles—our PVPs. The clarity and constancy of the Company’s PVPs is the one factor above all others that has driven the Company’s growth over generations. Our commitment to operate responsibly is reflected in the steps we have in place to ensure rigorous financial discipline and Corporate Governance. We have an active, capable and diligent Board of Directors that meets the required standards of independence, with members who understand their role in providing strong Corporate Governance. Our Audit Committee is comprised exclusively of independent directors, with significant financial knowledge and experience. The Audit Committee als o meets regularly in private session with the Company’s independent auditors, Deloitte & Touche LLP. We maintain a strong internal control environment. Our rigorous business process controls include written policies and procedures, segregation of duties and the careful selection and development of employees. The system is designed to provide reasonable assurance that transactions are executed as authorized and  appropriately recorded, that assets are safeguarded and that accounting records are sufficiently reliable to permit the preparation of financial statements conforming in all material respects with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. We monitor these internal controls through an ongoing program of audit self-assessment and internal and external audits. We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed is recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely and accurate manner. Our Disclosur e Committee is comprised of senior-level executives responsible for evaluating disclosure implications of significant business activities and events. We execute financial stewardship by maintaining specific programs and activities to ensure that employees understand their fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders. This ongoing effort encompasses financial discipline in strategic and daily business decisions and brings particular focus to maintaining accurate financial reporting and effective controls. In addition, our Global Leadership Council is actively involved in rigorous oversight of the business. We reinforce key employee responsibilities through the Company’s Worldwide Business Conduct, which details management’s and the Board of Directors’ commitment to conduct the Company’s business affairs with high ethical standards. Every employee is required to be trained on the Company’s Worldwide Business Conduct Manual, and every employee is held p ersonally accountable for compliance. Portions of the Worldwide Business Conduct Manual comprise P&G’s Code of Ethics for SEC and New York Stock Exchange Regulatory Purposes, as further described in the Manual. Doing What’s Right P&G’s reputation is earned by our conduct: what we say, what we do, the products we make, the services we provide and the way we act and treat others. As conscientious citizens and employees, we want to do what is right. For P&G, and our global operations, this is the only way to do business. A.2.1.5.1. External reporting on social/ethical issues 100.0% A+ The company provides comprehensive and transparent social/ethical reporting on a regular basis. Coverage: Group-wide coverage (= 100% of employees are  covered by reporting). Comment: The company reports on social/ethical issues in its Sustainability Reports and on its corporate website as well as affiliated websites (www.scienceinthebox.com, www.pgbeautyscience.com). The company provides information on employees (diversity and health & safety data, layoffs/outplacement programs, training, working conditions), product responsibility, as well as on its community involvement and philanthropic initiatives. In addition, P&G re ports on HSE non-compliance and fines. Some issues in the report are covered in-depth (e.g. community initiatives, diversity, training and consumer information). Some issues, however, are only covered in a rather general way (e.g. working conditions). Apart from policies and standards, there is only little information on the company’s supply chain management such as on supplier audits or counseling with regard to social issues. The company’s 2007 sustainability report was prepared using the Global Reporting Initiative’s reporting guidelines. No information is available whether the report has been audited by an external accountant. BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — Procter & Gamble Co. and Unilever have battled over many things over the decades, from soap shares to spy scandals. But the latest battleground may be the most surprising and intriguing — a race to show who’s best at saving the world. P&G Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel P&G Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel Nothing indicates the growing hold â€Å"ethical marketing† has on the industry better than the concept’s growing embrace by the world’s two biggest spenders. While both have been engaged in such efforts for years, they’re talking about them, and particularly advertising them, like never before. No less than Bill Gates recently mentioned Unilever as a top-of-mind example of a company involved in sustainability efforts in a CNBC interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Unilever also won top honors in global ethical-reputation rankings from PR-monitoring firm Covalence in 2007 and Columbia University’s Botwinick Prize in business ethics, in part for such efforts as Dove’s â€Å"Campaign for Real Beauty† which aims to reach 5 million girls with self-esteem programs. In fact, the line between doing good and marketing has become blurry enough that Dove’s â€Å"Evolution† viral video had to be yanked from a not-for-profit classification at the last minute to qualify for last year’s Film Grand Prix at Cannes. The same day as Mr. Gates’ interview, P&G indicated it would be communicating about its sustainability efforts — defined to encompass a broad range of community-betterment programs — a much bigger priority in 2008. P&G goes beyond It will be hard to do more communicating than P&G already has done. At least eight P&G brands have active ad campaigns touting environmental or philanthropic efforts, everything from Always and Tampax supporting efforts to keep African girls in school by providing them with free sanitary-protection products to Pantene collecting locks of hair for cancer patients. Two of those efforts already are leading to new-product launches, in the cases of Pantene and Pur water filters, the latter having switched ad agencies in part to advance its cause-related marketing. Though both P&G and Unilever see prospects for substantial gains from such efforts on their bottom lines and for the communities in which they operate, both acknowledge that much of the effort is for internal consumption. Simply put, it’s getting impossible to attract or retain marketers without a solid reputation for ethical marketing. â€Å"We are seeing, particularly with the new generation of young business people and young marketers, that they are only attracted to companies that fit with their own value set,† said Kevin Havelock, president of Unilever U.S. â€Å"And the value set of the new generation is one that says this company must take a positive and global view on the global environment. †¦ The ethical positions we take on brands like Dove, the positions we take on not using models of size zero across any of our brands, the positions we take in terms of adding back to communities †¦ these all underpin an attractive  proposition for marketers.† It’s a similar story at P&G, which has had a fairly long tradition of marketers leaving for philanthropic or religious pursuits. Cause-marketing efforts have â€Å"a big motivational impact,† said P&G Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel. â€Å"It fires the agencies up, too. †¦ It just feels like you’re playing to a higher-order ideal.† Telling everyone But neither P&G nor Unilever is just preaching to the choir anymore, or even limiting the message to its long-standing public-relations silo. They’re increasingly incorporating their cause marketing into mainstream brand advertising and product assortments. P&G’s Pur has one of the most elaborate cause-marketing efforts — a $20 million program that aims to purify 2 billion liters of water in Africa and save 10,000 lives by 2012. New Age as the program may be, the ads are classic package goods. The Pur water-purification packets make for an amazing product demo. Take the most turbid swamp water imaginable, mix in a sachet of Pur Purifier of Water and strain it through a cloth. Within a minute or so, it produces a pitcher of perfectly clear, drinkable water. The trouble is, the people who need it most have no money. Hence it became one of the cornerstone projects in the company’s global Live, Learn, Thrive philanthropic program, albeit with a commercial twist. P&G has licensed the product to Canada’s Reliance Products for a U.S. launch aimed at campers and disaster-preparedness kits that broke in late February behind a feature in P&G’s March and April Brand Saver newspaper coupon inserts. Saatchi gets in the game Though those ads for the P&G-Reliance effort came from Quigley-Simpson, a Los Angeles direct-response agency, Pur’s shift to a sustainability message played a role in the shift of the brand’s creative account to Omnicom Group’s TBWA/Chiat Day, Playa Del Rey, Calif., from Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi, Los Angeles, last year. Saatchi lost Pur, but the agency has definitely not given up on sustainability. In January, Saatchi acquired San Francisco-based consultancy Act Now Productions, headed by former Sierra Club executive turned Wal-Mart consultant Adam Werbach, to form a Saatchi & Saatchi S (for sustainability). The growing interest in sustainability issues from P&G, Unilever, Wal-Mart and others is creating ripples of change throughout marketing services. ARS Group, which for decades has tested TV copy for P&G and others in package-goods, recently formed its own green consulting unit, ARSGreen. What ARS is finding underlines the big reason that sustainability has become so popular with analytical package-goods types: it works — at least sometimes. Green ads in the ARS database do about as well as others on recall and persuasion, said Ashley Grace, president of ARSGreen and head of research and development for ARS Group. Doing about average is actually a testament to sustainability’s selling power, as he sees it. Offering solutions â€Å"In our database, about one out of 50 ads usually has a negative tone,† Mr. Grace said. â€Å"In the green data set, it’s more like 75%.† ARS has found for decades that negative ads — which raise a problem without offering a real solution — usually fare poorly in tests. But negative green ads generally do about average. And green ads that go the extra step of offering tangible solutions can sometimes score exceptionally well. Ashley Grace, president of ARSGreen and head of research and development for ARS Group Ashley Grace, president of ARSGreen and head of research and development for ARS Group While many in the package-goods industry believe sustainability messages resonate with only about 10% to 15% of consumers, ARS research indicates such appeals can sway about two-thirds of people, including 24% in the hard-core health and sustainability segment who rate both personal and environmental health highly. To be sure, copy testing is widely loathed by advertising agencies, particularly creatives. But marketers such as P&G use the results because they correlate with sales results. It’s clear that ethical marketing really can make a difference in people’s lives. For example, since P&G’s Pantene launched its Beautiful Lengths program in 2006 to solicit locks of hair to be woven into wigs for women receiving cancer treatments, it has gotten enough donations to make 3,000 wigs. Compare that to the 2,000 wigs created over 10 years by the previously existing charity in the space, Locks of Love. It doesn’t hurt P&G, of course, that Oprah snipped the locks of Hilary Swank on air for one of those wigs, or that schoolgirls have organized events to collect hundreds of hair donations at once. Oh, and it dovetails nicely with the launch of Pantene Beautiful Lengths shampoo and conditioner later this year to care for those long locks. Mitigating factors Of course, such programs only work if other factors, such as product and pricing, are also right. For example, P&G Chairman-CEO A.G. Lafley identified the U.S. Pantene business as the only real problem in the company’s global hair-care portfolio in a January investor conference call, but the share losses date to the brand’s restage last year, not to the launch of Beautiful Lengths a year earlier. Unilever’s Campaign for Real Beauty, while very much alive, last year stopped delivering double-digit sales gains Unilever had seen the first two years of the effort. Dove’s 2007’s new-product lineup didn’t go over as well as prior years (and a price hike on bar soap, not initially reciprocated by P&G and others, didn’t help, either). By whatever name — ethical, sustainable or cause marketing â€Å"is an important secondary factor† for consumers, said Unilever’s Mr. Havelock. â€Å"A great product at the right price is the entry point,† he said. â€Å"Once there, a company or a brand that has a social responsibility position or a sustainability position will then have an edge over other brands.† Of course, in an age of social media, marketing’s good deeds seldom go entirely unpunished, and never unquestioned. Even P&G’s ads about efforts to provide free sanitary protection in Africa to help keep girls from missing school, which broke in December from Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett Co., have prompted lengthy discussions on some blogs criticizing the motives in using giveaways to develop new markets — and generating more waste as a result. â€Å"When you do it in the right way, with the right tone and authenticity, consumers reward us [for these programs],† Mr. Stengel said, citing Pampers’ 20-country, multiyear effort to fight tetanus via Unicef as the P&G program that appears to have had the biggest positive impact on sales and brand equity to date. Such programs work best when owned by the brand, which is why P&G, like Unilever, has generally avoided multi-company efforts such as the Red campaign to fight AIDS or the Susan G. Komen pink-ribbon campaign against breast cancer, instead focusing on efforts linked specifically to their own brands’ equity and function. â€Å"It has to be right for the brand’s voice,† said Mr. Stengel. â€Å"And it has to really work for the business.†

Juvenile Justice System in Sleepers Film by Barry Levinson

Juvenile Justice System in Sleepers Film by Barry Levinson Sleepers directed by Barry Levinson is a dramatic film addressing juvenile justice system at length. It also gives insight of how New York City was in 1960s. Levinson bases Sleepers on a 1995 novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra going by the same title.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Juvenile Justice System in Sleepers Film by Barry Levinson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to this film, the juvenile justice system is inconsequential in the realms of justice. Justice systems are meant to correct individuals to make them better citizens who can abide to the law, not to harden them making them hardcore criminals. However, Sleepers paint the juvenile justice system as a faulty system. This is evidenced by the bestial events that occur to Lorenzo, Thomas, Michael, and John. After these juveniles kill King Benny, they are taken to Wilkinson Home, a correctional center for reformation. However, once these four boys check in Wilkinson Home, they meet unheard brutality in the hands of Nokes, Addison, Styler, and Ferguson, guards at this centre. They are raped, abused, and beaten, an experience that dents these juveniles’ personalities to become hardcore criminals. It is at this point, where Sleepers paints a faulty picture of the juvenile justice system. If the juvenile justice system were efficient, it would have reformed these juveniles. According to what happens in this movie, one experience can change a child so much that he or she becomes a delinquent or an adult criminal. After Thomas and John go through the beastly treatment in the hands of Nokes and the rest, they harden to become adult criminals. Ten years after they have been released from Wilkinson, they spot Sean Nokes taking some beer in a pub down street in Hell’s Kitchen. They confront him and tell him of what he had done to them ten years ago before shooting him six times. Nokes dies in front of everyone in the pub. Ther efore, it is possible that one incidence, could change a child into an adult criminal just the way Thomas and Mike changed after the torture they went through in the hands of Nokes and his co-workers. These juveniles lived in Hell’s Kitchen in New York. The community that these juveniles are living in is very unfounded and criminal-minded. The community is unfounded because the only person who seems concerned about these boys is Father Bobby, who makes some efforts to look after the boys. The moment Father Bobby loses touch with these boys; they join a gang in the town. The community is also criminal-minded because the only thing that these four juveniles find to do is joining a gang. If this community were founded on morals and principles, a responsible person correct these juveniles before they join a gang. This gang was at the disposal of these boys and they would join anytime they wanted hence the community pushed these juveniles to join the gang.Advertising Looki ng for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The friendship of these four boys contributed largely in their behavior. Before they join the gang, Mike, John, Thomas, and Lorenzo spend a lot of time together. Consequently, they find it easy to join a gang as a group. If these boys were to join the gang individually, chances are that, they would not join it. This is because when alone, a person lacks the moral support to do something. This resonates well with the old adage that, ‘together we stand, divided we fall.’ Therefore, friends can lead or prevent delinquent behavior. If three of these boys were not involved in delinquency, chances are that the fourth one would never become delinquent. The film Sleepers is a masterpiece that marries juvenile justice system with subsequent adult criminals. It also sheds light on how bad company can lead to delinquency and touches on the impact of community on the lives of juveniles. Levinson, Barry. â€Å"Sleepers.† Baltimore Pictures, 1996.

The Many Economic Applications of Shadow Price

The Many Economic Applications of Shadow Price In the strictest sense, a shadow price is any price that is not a market price. A price that is not based on actual market exchanges must then be calculated or mathematically derived from otherwise indirect data. Shadow prices can be derived for anything from a resource to a good or service. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. While economists tend to be committed to markets as a means of valuation, the lack of a market price is not necessarily a limitation of their research. In fact, economists recognize â€Å"goods† that carry societal value for which there are no markets to set a market price. Such goods might include the intangible like clean air. Conversely, economists also recognize that there exist goods that do have a market-traded value that is simply not a good representation of the good’s true societal value. For example, electricity produced from coal carries a market price that does not consider the impact or â€Å"social cost† of coal burning on the environment. It is in these scenarios that economists find it difficult to work, which is why the discipline relies on the calculation of shadow prices to give a â€Å"price-like† value to otherwise unpriced resources. The Many Definitions of Shadow Price While the most basic understanding of the term shadow price relates simply to the lack of a market price for some resource, good, or service, the meanings of the term as derived from its real-world uses relay a more complicated story. In the world of investments, shadow price can refer to the actual market values of a money market fund, which essentially refers to securities that are accounted for based on amortized cost rather than a value assigned by the market. This definition carries less weight in the world of economics. More relevant to the study of economics, another definition of shadow price denotes it as a proxy value of a good or intangible asset that is most often defined by what must be given up to gain an extra unit of the good or asset. Last, but not least, shadow prices can also be utilized to derive an inclusive value of the impact of a project, whether it be a benefit or costs, using stated preferences, making the process an extremely subjective one. In the study of economics, shadow prices are most often used in cost-benefit analyses in which some elements or variables cannot be otherwise quantified by a market price. In order to fully analyze the situation, each variable must be assigned a value, but it is important to note that the calculation of shadow prices in this context is an inexact science. Technical Explanations of Shadow Price in Economics In the context of a maximization problem with a constraint (or constrained optimization), the shadow price on the constraint is the amount that the objective function of the maximization would increase by if the constraint were relaxed by one unit. In other words, the shadow price is the marginal utility of relaxing the constant or conversely, the marginal cost of strengthening the constraint. In its most formal mathematical optimization setting, the shadow price is the value of a Lagrange multiplier at the optimal solution.

Management and development of people assessment 1 Essay

Management and development of people assessment 1 - Essay Example Many organisations in the modern competitive and dynamic business environment are confronted with many such problems every day. These problems range from the choice of investments and efficiency of operation to the issues of product development. In getting things done the right way in organisations, managers rely on the workforce. How best the employees are motivated in the execution of duties in an institution mainly depends on the management and leadership style adopted. Human resources are the most valuable assets on which any institution that seeks excellence should establish real strength and pride (Armstrong, 2012). The leadership style adopted by Steve Jobs is participative although coupled with aspects of Taylorism. The greatest virtue demonstrated in his leadership is that of getting involved in the doing of things as opposed to instructing others only. Steve Jobs as the CEO of the Apple Company was described as an inspirational, charming and passionate leader. He was highly praised for his creativity and innovation that placed the Apple Company in the class of the most valuable company in the world. However, Taylorism comes in when he desires only the ‘A players in whatever organisations he worked for. As a leader, Steve Jobs adopted a dedicated and an even obsessive approach to work. He shared a keen vision of the change he wanted to create for the Apple Company. Jobs set very high standards for both himself and everyone that worked with him. The majority traits that Jobs displayed in his long leadership for the Apple Company were the critical success factors for the company that lea ds the market even today. He showed the value of working with people who are highly qualified and in pursuit of highly set standards. The aspect of setting standards and collectively pursuing them draws from the Goal-setting Theory. His working with people in the Company to achieve results is a value worth borrowing by the present day managers

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

Taxes - Essay Example Using charitable trusts is another way to reduce income tax, especially for the ones who belong to high income group as these trusts help you to give charity generously, giving you a big tax break (Karayan & Swenson, 2006). At the time of selling of valuable assets, one can easily minimize Capital Gains tax with the help of one of the most secure asset protection program known as Private Annuity Tax (PAT) which minimizes even smaller properties like artwork or jewelry. When a property is transferred into PAT, it results in smaller tax expense. Another way of minimizing Capital Gains is to get an ISA (Individual Savings Account). Investors can put sufficient funds in ISA and gains made inside this account are CGT-free. Moreover, one more strategy is used which is: Investing in small companies through special tax efficient programs. In this way, one can claim for Capital Gains tax previously paid. One of the most popular vehicles used to reduce Estate tax is to ‘uniform transfer to minors’. Such type of gifting occurs where your children are minors. The gift is handed over to a guardian and when the children reach the age of majority. Marital transfers is another useful way in which assets are transferred to a surviving spouse, who should not be a non-citizen, which minimized the estate tax which is due. Lastly, Quality Family-Owned Business Interest (QFOBI) is another way in which it reduces the gross value of the state and automatically reduces the amount of estate tax which is charged on the net value of the state (Karayan, et al., 2002). I am very much hopeful that I have provided you significant and useful amount of information about the vehicles for reducing taxes and these vehicles could be regarded as substantial means for taxes