Paradigms in Social Science

How To Spell Renown

How To Spell Renown How To Spell Renown How To Spell Renown By Maeve Maddox When I saw the phrase â€Å"world-renouned architect E. Fay Jones† in a local newspaper, I wondered if it could be more than a one-time typo, so I did a Web search to see if anyone else is spelling renown as renoun or renowned as renouned. I wasn’t too bothered to find the misspelling renoun on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp, but I was surprised to find it on university sites and in published books. Here are four examples from such sources: INCORRECT: Dr. Angelillo had the distinct privilege to train under the auspices of Dr. Angelo Taranta, a  world renoun  Rheumatologist at Cabrini Medical Center in N.Y.C.,  The Hardcore Facts: What Every Athlete Needs to Know Today about Sports, iUniverse, 2009. CORRECT : Dr. Angelillo had the distinct privilege to train under the auspices of Dr. Angelo Taranta, a  world-renowned  rheumatologist at Cabrini Medical Center in N.Y.C. INCORRECT: World-Renouned Flutists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway Perform in the Kimmel Center’s World Pop Mix Series- Lights up, Kimmel Center of the Performing Arts. CORRECT : World-Renowned Flutists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway Perform in the Kimmel Center’s World Pop Mix Series INCORRECT: Cap Jazz Series: An annual series featuring world renouned jazz artists that represent both traditional and contemporary styles.- Capilano University (Canada). CORRECT : Cap Jazz Series: An annual series featuring world-renowned jazz artists that represent both traditional and contemporary styles. INCORRECT: Prior to USC, Chef held positions as Executive Chef for SBE, the Royale Group, Innovative Dining Group the world renouned Citrine in Hollywood, CA.- USC Hospitality (University of Southern California) CORRECT : Prior to USC, Chef held positions as Executive Chef for SBE, the Royale Group, Innovative Dining Group the world-renowned Citrine in Hollywood, CA. The adjective world-renowned means â€Å"familiar to people all over the world.† It is hyphenated. As a noun, renown is â€Å"the fact or condition of being widely known or talked about.† Renown entered English in the 14th century from French. It entered the language spelled renoun, but by Shakespeare’s time it was spelled with a w. The spelling renown was well established by the end of the 17th century. The OED’s most recent example of renown used as a verb is dated 1920, but I found one from 2014 on a poker site: â€Å"It was by the age 21, he renowned himself for his victory by entering as an amateur player, who made a record in winning the main event at the younger age.† The use of renown as a transitive verb is defensible, but it sounds odd to me. The OED mentions the use of renown as an adjective, labeling the usage â€Å"chiefly North American,† and provides citations from The Nebraska Bee-keeper (1893), Ebony (1965), The Nairobi Daily Nation (1989), and The Chicago Tribune (2008). Here’s the example from the Tribune: The $50 million Crystal Bridges Museum was designed by renown Israeli-American architect Moshe Safdie. I’m an American speaker and this use of renown in place of renowned strikes me as jarringly incorrect- Chicago Tribune notwithstanding. Bottom line: The preferred spellings are renown, renowned, and world-renowned. And for all practical purposes, renown is not an adjective. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesHow to Play HQ Words: Cheats, Tips and TricksAppropriate vs. Apropos vs. Apt

Data Mining Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Data Mining - Essay Example Data mining has different components, but the most significant is defining the problem, evaluating the available data and developing predictive models. (b). Associations discovery for the commodities sold to consumers helps the retailer or other business to capture the unique identifier of a given product. Through capturing this information, the seller is able to analyze the data, so that they can learn the purchasing behavior of their customers. The information derived is used to support business-related strategies and applications like inventory management, marketing promotions and customer relations management. (c). Mining information on web usage is very important to the effective management of websites, planning the development of adaptive websites, administering business and support services, increasing personalization as well as analyzing the flow of network traffic. Further, fast business growth of businesses forces businesses and customers to face a different situation, wher e competition plays a major role in determining the strategies adopted by businesses (Greene, 2012). On the other hand, the customer is exposed to more options to choose from, therefore, will need to follow the businesses that depict more value. For example, through discovering that many customers of a given business come from teen customers, may help the company to adjust their targeting outlook, to ensure that it targets the focus group better. (d). Clustering analysis traces groups of data entities or objects that are similar in certain aspects. The members of the different groups are supposed to be more similar to other members, and different from the members of other clusters. The target of clustering is the discovery of high-quality groups, where inter-cluster similarity is lowest but intra-cluster similarity is highest. Through establishing the highest inter-cluster similarity, the characteristics of the members are used or viewed as the customer information that can be track ed or targeted to increase the impact of the business, among the given high-quality cluster. 2. The reliability of data mining algorithms can be done through the validation of data mining modes. The process involves the assessment of the performance of the mining models against real data. This is done through understanding the characteristics and the quality of the algorithms before deploying them into the production environment (Chung, & Gray, 1999). To determine the reliability of data mining algorithms, the deployment of different statistical validity measures is checked, towards determining whether there are issues in the model or the data. The reliability of data mining algorithms is determined through the scalability of the clustering techniques. This is particularly true, in the case of large data sets, where space and speed are high. For example – in the case that the algorithm –in the case of a database that contains millions of records, shows linear or close to linear time complexity, which demonstrates that the reliability of the algorithm is high. The reliability of the algorithm can be determined throug

Ethics and corporate responsiblity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics and corporate responsiblity - Essay Example This is because, the subjection of employees to unpleasant working conditions serves to lower their morale, while at the same time exposing them to dangers, hazards and risks associated with the workplace, which in turn lowers the productivity of the workers, due to injuries, illnesses and intolerable working conditions. The Colberia’s indigenous population is subjected to intolerable working conditions, where the natives have to walk five (5) miles into and out of the jungle to harvest plants that are used in the manufacturing of the drugs by the CompCARE pharmacy, often carrying baskets that weigh up to fifty (50) pounds, when full, yet the indigenous workers are only paid $1 a day. The subjection of the indigenous population to such harsh working conditions, while still paying them the meager pay is unethical on the part of PharmaCARE. Further, the living conditions of the Colberia’s indigenous population is pathetic, while compared to the living standards of the PharmaCARE executives, with the natives living in primitive huts that have neither running water nor electricity. In contrast, the company’s executives live in a luxury compound that has luxurious facilities such as golf course, swimming pool and tennis courts. Similarly, the company’s rank-and-file workers are subjected to hazardous working conditions, where they are exposed to toxins and other pollutants that have affected their health drastically, causing most of them to fall ill and thus lose most of their productive working time to sick leaves. Further, the company has failed to take responsibility over the illness of the workers,and is instead threatening to sack the workers who have raised concern over the non-conducive working conditions they are exposed to. Thus, the PharmaCARE’s treatment of the Colberia’s indigenous population and its rank-and-file workers versus that of its executives is inequitable,

Invasive Species Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Invasive Species - Essay Example However, on the southern coastlines, loss of mussel Perna perna's habitat has not been as extensive to the competing Mediterranean native mussel Mytilis galloprovincialis. On land, acacia species have been most detrimental to the bioregion, as their land usage expands rapidly. Mature acacias proliferate their seeds and access huge expanses of land. The acacia species Acacia dealbata, Acacia mearnsii, Acacia longifolia, Acacia baileyana, Acacia decurrens, and Acacia Cyclops have overtaken more indigenous species, by changing soil nutrition and taking habitat. The difficulty in controlling acacias is problematic due to the community's use of many acacia species as kindling. Likewise, acacia species stabilise the soil; indeed they were introduced by agriculturalists for the very reason. While having stabilized the soil, they've encroached on the South African fynbos vegetation. At the same time, the increased agricultural usage of the land has hindered the nesting habits of the bird species Black Harriet Circus maurus. In order to counter the multiple problems associated with the acacia encroachment, researchers searched for natural enemy wasps of the Br uchophagus line, specifically Bruchophagus acaciae, Bruchophagus orarius, and Bruchophagus interior, with the purpose of hindering acacia seed proliferation. The acacia has not been the only species introduced for the purpose of stabilizing the soil. Marram grasses were introduced in order to stabilise shifting sand dunes that flooded the South African plains and made agriculture difficult. The Marram grass Amophilia arenaria has been praised for its ability to provide an amiable habitat for the native species of the area. Due to the complexity of alien species and their influences to the diversity of native flora and fauna, investigations and attempts have been made to counteract the process, or at very least, record it. South African Biodiversity Biodiversity along the Southern African shorelines is unique in that its species have evolved and thrived due to the confluence of two distinct water masses. The Agulhas current flows alongside the eastern shores of South Africa, while the west coast is characterised by colder deeper waters (Peschack, 2005). The flora and fauna that immigrant settlers found here is one of the most specific in the world. In southern Africa, 12% of plant species are endemic (Willis et al. 1996, in Mehta 2000).Moreover, the floristic region of the Cape is one of only six on Earth (Branch, 2005). The importance of maintaining the integrity of South African Cape ecosystem cannot be understated. However, many invasive species have invaded the bioregion and caused concern, beginning in the 1700s. At this time, immigrant settlements that came to South Africa began practises of irrigation and livestock raising that negatively affected soil nutrition and made the soil thinner. Consequently, native vegetation species diminished due to poor soil quality (Mehta, 2000). That trend has continued and become multifaceted, affecting both land and ocean species. Negative Impacts of Alien Species on Land Indeed, the most widely studied intruders on the South African Cape

Consumer Motives for Charity Donations

Consumer Motives for Charity Donations 1. Introduction Consumer motives and behaviour into donating to charity in general is a topic that is known to have a lack of research, creating an issue of ambiguity for charitable organisations. Most research existing is based on cause related marketing, the cooperative alliances between charities and corporations to gain charity funding, yet little in depth research exists on the area of personal financing from consumers in the form of donations. With figures from 2001 showing that the top 25 UK companies gave  £102 million to charity, with as much as  £31 million per donation, it is evident that it is most probably the case that the percentage of charity financing does come from corporations, at least for the larger corporations with many strategic alliances in the sector (Smith J. , n.d.). Although this should not mean that other areas of financing should be overlooked; particularly in a society in which social responsibility is growing in importance. Furthermore, neglecting this area of fi nancing could eventually change the entire focus and structure of charities, leaving the individual consumers out of the equation altogether. But of upmost importance is the fact that as stated by Patrick Cox, Chief Executive of the Small Charities Coalition, â€Å"cash donations are usually the primary source of fundraising income for small organisations†, suggesting that a failure to correctly understand consumer behaviour could lead to the diminishment of the small charity (Critchly, 2009). However, also considered within this research is the issue of consumer confidence in donating, whether consumer beliefs of misallocating financing, bureaucracy, and red tape is a significant factor in charity size preferences. Therefore this report serves the purpose of researching consumer motives in personal individual charitable contributions, examining whether these motives differ by the size of the organisation; in this research size is defined by the focus of the charity, being local based, national based or international based, therefore focusing on where the funds are placed as opposed to the actual numerical size of the organisation. The hypothesis to be tested is that consumer behaviour indicators change according to the size of the organisation. However, this research will only be based on the donative non-profit unit of the charities, meaning that it will only investigate the significance upon individual consumer contributions, and not any other areas of financing such as corporation or other organisational or governmental funding. Additionally, this research will not take into account the contributions made in the form of legacies. The study itself is based upon a model of charitable giving behaviour, which has been formed in consideration of other models of consumer behaviour, but also taking into account the information available in the field of charitable consumer behaviour. The model considers the areas of organisational inputs, psychological attachment, consumer confidence and experience alongside a selection of extrinsic determinants, namely consumer demographic factors. Quantitative research methods in the form of an online survey are adopted to test this model, in which 196 respondents are questioned. It becomes apparent that this research project has a large scale in terms of aims and objectives and what it is trying to prove. This study can be considered to be a smaller version of the big picture, in the sense that in reality the study would be much larger scale, with many researchers on board to investigate the topic. A UK wide study is generally a large project in terms of the amount of research needed to be conducted, however given the resource limitations of this study, the results found will merely provide an insight into differences and trends, for researchers to base further studies upon. Regardless, this study is considered to be of upmost importance in adding valuable consumer behavioural research to the field, a field in which studies are in general very sparse. 2. Literature Review A non-profit organisation is typically defined as one which has a â€Å"non-distribution constraint† (Hansmann, 1987, p. 28) , allowing firms to make surplus profits, however not to distribute financial resources to controllers of the organisation in the form of dividends and such, but to retain profits for other allocations. This idea is vital to the understanding of economic, financial and consumer dynamics of the sector. As Powell and Steinberg (2006) elucidate, the theories and models surrounding the economics of the non-profit sector create a great deal of confusion, since the basic ideas of profit maximisation do not apply, and it is assumed that any deviation from this ideal is considered market failure. It is difficult to believe that consumers, with their normally selfish economic motives, can have in reality such altruistic motives. However it is the case that these motives can be linked to fulfilling a consumer emotive need. Whilst the non-distribution constraint serves as a definition, it is not necessarily true to reality, since in the non-profit sector operational costs amount and the issue of rising administrative and fundraising costs becomes apparent in todays media. Administrative costs, whilst unavoidable, are certainly thought to be excessive in the industry, perhaps causing mistrust amongst consumers. It is thought that consumers expect the administration to charitable expenditure to be 20:80 (Kahler Sargeant, 2002); however research by Harvey and McCrohan (1998, cited in Kahler Sargeant, 2002) found that consumers are satisfied with a minimum of 60% of revenues reaching the final end cause, begging the question that if this is indeed the case, is consumer confidence in charity financing such an issue?  Ã‚   Either way, it is certainly the case that consumers are kept in the dark on the optimum level of relevant cost and efficiency margins. Escalating matters further, the body for regulatin g the UK charity sector, the Charity Commission, as â€Å"the sanctions for inefficient behaviour are not automatic† (Levaggi, 1995, p. 285).   Administrative costs compared to total expenditure appear to have a negative correlation to the size of the charity, meaning that the administrative costs are higher as a percentage when expenditures are less as can be seen in the figure below. This is perhaps not the common belief of consumers, with smaller charities being seen as less wasteful by consumers, proven by a survey initiated by Third Sector (Wiggins, 2010). Regardless of attempting to isolate consumers actual beliefs, attitudes and assumptions, research by NFP Synergy has confirmed that most individuals within the UK public do not have confidence in charitable organisations, with confidence dropping by 9% to only 41% (Hummerston, 2008). The involvement of ‘for profit companies with ‘non-profit organisations is normally in the form of cause related marketing, which according to Varadarajan and Menon is â€Å"the process of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are characterised by an offer from the firm to contribute a specific amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue providing exchanges that satisfy organisational and individual objectives† (Varadarajan Menon, 1988, p. 60). This form of voluntary contribution is more likely to occur with the larger charities as opposed to the smaller ones; furthermore it must be considered that the willingness to contribute and the motivations backing the decision is very much different to that of a general consumer, since although consumers are led to believe that companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibility for good causes, of course the bottom line concern is profit maximisation. According to Hansmann (1980), the non-profit sector can be separated into two different forms of organisations according to their dynamics; donative and commercial non-profits, and it is the non-distribution constraint which creates confidence that the money is being resourcefully and properly allocated. However since the service is not visually seen to be conducted by the consumer who donates, there could be issues with contract failure, or at least perceived contract failure; this is thought to be less of an issue with larger organisations as the sheer governance structure secures confidence (Wiliamson, 1979). Yet in any case there exists a corporation charter and legal framework to provide assurance. Although it must be questioned that due to the non-distribution constraint in larger companies whilst profits are not dispersed among management, there would be a much broader structure of employees, and hence remuneration and bureaucratic structure. Additionally, this ambiguity of th e constitute of financing appears to be a common cause for concern amongst consumers, with research showing that 51% of the UK public would give more if they knew where the money is spent (Wiggins, 2009). Existing research into the consumer behaviour of charity linked products tends to be research based on the field of cause related marketing, rather than the individual end consumers behavioural characteristics into products that are not linked with ‘for profit companies, such as donations and organisation branded purchases. Present research solely into non-profit organisations tends to be based on commercial non-profits such as nursing, hospital care and education institutions, where results and service can clearly be seen and evidently proved. Thus far, in the case of non-profits as a whole, research into the effects of product type and donation magnitude on willingness to contribute by Strahilevitz (1999) found that the effect of product type, hedonistic or utilitarian, is affected mainly by large donations rather than small donations; Illustrating the idea that consumers are more willing to by a hedonistic product if it is linked to a large donation rather than a smaller one . Furthermore research by Bearden and Etzel (1982) shows that charity linked purchases can be considered to meet the need to belong to an ‘aspiration group. Notable also is the peer pressure relating to the group to remain a member by exerting the appropriate philanthropic behaviours. There also appears to be a difference in contributions by age group as found by Kotler and Andreasen (1996), Foster and Meinhard (1997) add to this with results showing a difference in the preferred medium of contribution methods by age group. In addition, charitable donations could be seen as a result of guilt for a lack of ethical actions in ones life (Burnett and Lunsford, 1994, cited in Bonsu, Main, Wilner, 2008). Information of where the money is going is a important decisive factor in repurchasing according to recent research by Proenca and Pereira (2008), showing that perhaps the commercial advertising sector of non-profit organisations is of high importance for maintaining an effective c ommunications mix, as a channel of information for the consumer, increasing transparency of resource allocation and achievements. Understanding and guidance can be found from basic ideologies of consumer behaviour as a starting point. However one must remember that the purchase is for someone elses benefit rather than the consumer of the product. Buying decisions can be considered to relate to Maslows hierarchy of needs, since the consumer decision psychologically involves a need recognition, which would be related to one of the tiers of the hierarchy, namely physiological, safety, belongingness, self esteem, and self actualisation. In Maslows model we can relate charitable contributions as self actualisation, â€Å"the desire to become all that one is capable of†, although according to the theory the need is the highest of the hierarchy and can only be achieved once all others have been fulfilled. (Koontz Weihrich, 2008, p. 291). Scramms model of communication (1955, cited in Smith, 2002) shows how consumer behaviour can be related to the marketing communications, since attitudes and perceptions are ba sed on the message received by the consumer from the brand. Therefore we can question the extent of communication messages occurring in smaller non-profit firms, since it is evident that larger organisations participate in much more marketing activities. Moreover, general motives of consumer behaviour are thought to be linked to the personality of the consumer and how it directs actions. â€Å"Self-monitoring relates to self-presentation and reflects the degree to which one adjusts ones behaviour according to social cues† (Snyder, 1974, cited in Grace Griffin, 2006, p. 4). Consumers rating high in the self monitoring scale tend to be more aware and respondent to what others do within a social circle; as such they are more likely to donate if it is the social norm, creating circles of influence. Consumer behaviour is a field of study that has only been in existence since the 1960s, and as such there are many elements that have not yet been theorised. Most models are in reference to the process of decision making, rather than the behavioural characteristics that resolve the decision process to buy a certain product. However, we must consider the extent that one could ever understand the mind of the buyer; research trends would of course only show a generalisation of the sample, and of course the mindset will change by product, making studying behavioural characteristics increasingly difficult. Well acclaimed theorist Nicosia (1966, cited in Baker et al, 1988), was among the first to present a model in this field, flowcharting the process of decision making, with the steps from a consumer being exposed to a communication message, to purchasing and having a recognised post purchase experience. Andreasens Model (1965, cited in Argyris, 1988) added to this, introducing the realms of attitude factors to the process, revolving around attitude formation and change occurring to changing external stimulus. A common issue of theorists and psychology in general is the issue that one will never know what is inside the consumers ‘black box, their psychological mindset in decision making, one can only allude to it. The Engel, Kollat and Blackwell (1968, cited in Baker et al, 1988) model refers to the ‘black box as a central control unit, which consists of motives and response traits,   including many factors such as perceptions, values, and past experience behavioural characteristics. Present teachings of consumer behaviour tend to refer to a uniform model depicting and grouping the elements that influence behaviour; these are namely cultural, social, personal and psychological factors (Kotler, Wong, Saunders, Armstrong, 2005). Baker (Baker et al, 1988) has produced the most thorough model of buyer behaviour, a composition of all of the above theorists, in which the decision making characteristics can be clearly defined. The equation is as follows: P=f(SPPC, EC, IS, PF, CBBR) In which a purchase (P) can be defined as a function of selective perception (SP) and the behavioural response (BR) of enabling conditions (EB), information search (IS), precipitating circumstances (PC) and cost-benefit analysis (CB) factors combined. So whilst it is relatively unknown what is involved in the consumer decision making process, there are a number of key areas that can be alluded to for investigation, that appear in most models. In reference to charitable giving behaviours, treating the non-profit sector as anything other than one general research topic is uncommon, with researchers rarely distinguishing any sub categorisation of organisations, however some current findings are valid for the basis of understanding the differentials in motives and behaviours. It is known and studied that charities may take on a certain pseudo-human personality and hence certain personality traits can aid marketing efforts (Sargeant, Hudson, West, Conceptualizing brand values in the charity sector:the relationship between sector, cause and organization, 2008), based on the generalised theories of corporate personalities by McEnally de Chernatony (1999) and Palmer (1996); It was found that the traits held trends based upon the cause, sector and corporate cultural distinctions of the charity, which of course may differ by the various charity focuses and size. Sargeant (1999) , based on all existing knowledge in the field, crea ted a model of donating behaviour, shown below, in which an idea to factors influencing the decision process are elucidated. The issues that have particular relevance to examining the difference by charity size are namely the extrinsic determinants and perceptual reaction factors. However it must be noted that whilst the intrinsic determinants could apply to any charitable cause, the inputs in the form of marketing and communications can greatly affect the feelings of the consumer. Yet it must be noted that this model has yet to be tested, and is merely a portrayal of previous literature in the field. So whilst information and research is readily available and vast on the non-profit sector as a whole, research tends to be focused on either the cooperation of non-profit and for-profit firms using cause related marketing. That which differs from that area s mainly rooted in the service industry in the form of commercial non-profits and most other existing research on the consumer behaviour of non-profit companies is very shallow, not delving into the motivations and issues of consumer behaviour. There is as of yet, no existing published research that compares the size of the non-profit organisation with the behavioural constraints and patterns, in particular with regards to solely donative non-profits. 3. Industry Analysis 3.1. Revenue Analysis: The Importance of Individual Contributions in the Non-Profit Industry The structural makeup of the non-profit industry is much like any other, whilst we regularly hear about and are bombarded with advertising communications from the corporate giants in the trade, the reality is that in terms of numbers, these large firms are a tiny percentage of the industry, yet account for the majority of the total revenues, which can be seen in the charts below. According to the Charities Aid Foundation, the total amount donated by individuals in the year between 2009 and 2010 was  £10.6 billion excluding income in the form of legacies, which constitutes around one fifth of revenues in the sector, which was  £52 billion in the same year (Charities Aid Foundation, 2010; Philanthrophy UK, 2010). There forth, the importance of individual giving is high.   Looking towards giving patterns in the United Kingdom, we can see the importance of certain donor groups with the statistics that 54% of the population donated in a typical month in the years 2008 and 2009, with the median amount given being  £10; However the importance of the larger donations can be seen with 7% contributing more than  £100 per month, which equates to just less than 50% of charitable donations from the public (Booth, 2010). Interestingly, looking at the amount of money donated as a percentage of total income, â€Å"the top fifth of households give less than 1% of t heir income, while the poorest give 3%† (National Council for Voluntary Organisations, 2010). Regardless, the United Kingdom in relation to the rest of the world is one of the most generous countries, ranking 8th in the World Giving Index of 2010, which is measured upon the proportion of the public who had given to charity, helped a stranger and given time to those in need (Charities Aid Foundation, 2010). Interesting to discover in terms of the relevance of the research conducted within this report, is the importance of individual giving from the general public to the various size and focus groups of charities. Whilst the statistics show that overall it is of great importance, it may be that other areas of financing are of more importance for different sized charities; it would be thought that corporate donations and corporate social responsibility partnerships would be more important to the large international focused organisation than the small localised one. The above table shows research into the financial revenues of charitable organisations, attempting to decipher if there are differences in where the finance comes from between the three different types of charities, those with an international, national or local focus. This research study is not concerned with the numerical size of the organisation, but size in terms of the geographical spread of the benefits. In order to ensure validity of results, all of the charities included are of the same concern; all work in the child poverty sector and are focused on the enhancement of childrens lives. Since it may be the case that financing trends vary according to the type of charity, for example a medically focused charity would received a great deal more revenues from governmental organisations than most. Noticeable in researching this topic was that most charitable organisations do not release enough information to the public in the annual reports about where the revenue comes from, with only a handful of organisations providing enough information to be included in this study. This is even more apparent in the case of finding data for local charities. The results are fairly inconclusive in finding a strong trend in the revenue breakdown yet we can make some conclusions based on the findings. What can be seen is that the international organisations tend to receive a larger percentage in individual general public donations than the other forms of organisations. Regarding corporate and governmental contributions, what is evident is that international and even national organisations, which tend to be larger and better known, receive a great deal more in corporate donations. Whilst local charities receive a great deal of income from other sources, a particular observation is that they are mostly funded through other charitable organisations and non-governmental grants such as the national lottery funding. It could very well be that the local and even the smaller national charities do not have a strong enough presence in the world of media through advertising to gain sufficient individual contributions from the public. The averages can be seen depicted in the charts below. 3.2. An Outside Glance of Consumer Trust and Confidence The purchase decision to donate to charity, much like any ‘for profit industry, involves a great deal of trust and confidence elements on the consumers part to work through the stages of decision making to finally decide to make a purchase. We can even go as far to say that the element of trust in donating is even more prominent than in other industries, since when consumers make a purchase decision, they are not receiving a ‘physical product that they can feel post purchase satisfaction with, they are simply expected to believe the benefits of their purchase and that their money is being used well. It is often the case with most charities that a donation does not merit the information as to what activity or campaign it is being used for, limiting the knowledge even further, and thus possibly affecting trust. A consumer study survey conducted by Read Data Asset Management Group in 2010 showed that 42% of consumers would trust charities with their personal data â€Å"which is in stark contrast to government who were least trusted by 36%† (Read Data Asset Management Group Plc, 2010, pg 3). This is an interesting find in terms of confidence since the security of personal data is such a hot topic these days, with the public being incredibly cautious. The same study also examined reasons consumers would stop supporting a charity, finding that the highest rated responses were wasting money on marketing efforts, over contacting consumers and overly emotional marketing communications. These results are quite contradictory to reality since these tend to be the actions taken by the well known large charities, which are also the charities that are most popular amongst donors. We can also consider consumer trust and confidence levels not to be standardised across the industry; it may be that d istrust stems from certain charity types or causes. There are a great number of ‘pop up charities, created for crisis appeals, which are not well known or established as an entity and as such may not be as trusted. There is also the concern that such charities are started purely to merit the trustees a high wage. Consumer confidence can be greatly positively influenced by the presence of governmental regulatory bodies, rules and standards within industries. The past decade has seen a dramatic incline in the efforts to regulate and increase transparency, since the likes of the Enron scandal and other highly publicised fraudulent business operations, resulting in the development of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 to secure the business environment for consumers, and many UK equivalent legal regulations to the same context. Charities, akin to all organisations are required by law to abide to certain legal provisions. The United Kingdom adopted the EU Transparency Directive in 2007, which serves to promote appropriate disclosure of information, with the main areas of focus being â€Å"periodic financial reporting and disclosure of major shareholdings† (Ashurst, 2007). Supplementary to the above menti

Arrow of Time: Towards a New Epistemology of Science :: Scientific Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Arrow of Time: Towards a New Epistemology of Science ABSTRACT: Humanity has tried to comprehend two fundamental events since time immemorial: the birth of the universe and the emergence of life. Recently, it is claimed that these events can be understood comprehensively by means of a metaphor: the 'arrow of time.' The purpose of the present paper is twofold: (1) to build an epistemological structure that underlies the principle of time's arrow; and (2) to pursue the unity of science in a novel fashion. (A) WHAT IS AN ARROW OF TIME? The events which we see in the universe are classified into two categories: the reversible and the irreversible. The arrow of time is relevant to the latter than the former. It is alongwith the reversible-irreversible syndrome that a major light can be thrown on the notion of time's arrow. Concept of Reversibility The reversible events are those which occur regularly and repeatedly, the cycles of seasons, harvesting , pendulum swinging in a frictionless medium , the motion of earth and the moon , are some of the examples. Reversibility is an idealized concept . A process is said to be reversible if and only if the system which undergoes that process together with all parts of its environment which are affected, can be restored reproducibly to their original states. In short, in the reversible process all relevant parts of the universe must be capable of being put back to how they were! Time is not so considered to be an important ingredient in this system. The entire Newtonian Science is of this sort. Newton's laws , Maxwell's equations, Einstein's general relativity and even quantum mechanics- all remain effectively unaltered if we reverse the direction of time ( Replace the ' t ' which represents time by '-t' ). Even in life and the social sciences, time is not considered to be important com ponent in these system of knowledge. The notion of time's arrow is very important in the context of irreversible processes. Irreversibility defined Irreversibility is the negation of reversibility. It is a realistic notion. Moreover, it is the one-way time evolution of the system, giving rise to the non-repetitive , non-cyclic processes or events. The examples are , mixing a milk in the coffee, transfer of heat from a hotter body to a cooler one, chemical changes, the state of turbulence and chaos, rhythms, non-equilibrium systems, metabolism etc. Irreversibility is an open system in the sense that it interacts with its surrounding area and evolves simultaneously.

The Importance of Career Planning in Industry

the importance of Career Planning in industry. Career planning involves efforts on the part of the organizations to provide avenues for growth to its employees. Certainly this growth should be accompanied by development. The other side of the coin is the role of employees in career planning. It involves effort on the part of employees to clearly think through and decided areas in which they would like to make a career for themselves. When employees have assessed their career needs and have become aware of organizational career opportunities, the problem is one of alignment. The crucial role has to be played by HRD in ensuring this alignment to build up morale in the organization. A systematic choice of development techniques like training, special assignment, counseling and rotational assignments should be made to ensure this alignment. Employees are often uncertain as to the type of work that would suit them best. There are a number of evaluation instruments available to determine basic aptitudes. Human Resource Development Managers should be able to guide employees by administering these instruments on them. Employees should also find out whether they are loners or socially active. These exercises with some assistance from HRD Managers should help in career need assessment. At certain stage the upward mobility stops for many employees. This is inescapable in view of pyramid organizations structure. This phenomenon is called plateauing. It takes place around the age f 40. Some suggested measures to deal with such employees are: ? Mentors should be assigned measures to deal with such employees. Depending on the maturity of such mentors, good results can be achieved in assuaging the hurt feelings of plateaued employees ? Additional career ladders could be established to retain some valuable resource. Giving them importance by assigning them to some important task force or committee. ? Assisting them to choose a new career. Some organizations assist their plateau executives to start their own business. Career path models developed by a large public sector undertaking: This organization has developed career paths models for the major discipline †¢ Sales †¢ Technical services †¢ Operations †¢ Engineering †¢ Aviation †¢ LPG †¢ Finance †¢ Personnel Career path models have not been drawn for the disciplines like materials, public relations, training, etc. areer path models have been evolved to provide direction to career progression of officers. It forms the basis for placement, transfer, rotation etc. so that the officers are prepared for higher responsibilities progressively and the experience they gain becomes cumulative rather than respective. The most distinguishing feature of these career path model are the stress on jib rotation and testing the incumbent in a different environment to enhance his coping capability before giving him a higher position in the hierarchy.

Hobbies Vocabulary for English Learners

Hobbies Vocabulary for English Learners Speaking about hobbies is an important part of any English class. As with any activity, hobbies can have lots of jargon, specific expressions, and idioms related to the particular hobby. This guide to hobbies vocabulary will help learners discuss hobbies using a wider range of vocabulary for more precision. Learn vocabulary in groups arranged by hobby types.   Hobbies Vocabulary Study List Discover with your partner each of the hobby types below. If you dont know the hobby, look the hobby up on the internet to discover photos and other clues to learn about that hobby. Try to use each hobby type in a short sentence to explain the hobby. Collecting Arts Crafts Model Electronic Action FiguresAntiquesAutograph CollectingCar CollectingCoin CollectingComic BooksConcert PostersDoll CollectingFine Art CollectingHot Wheel and Matchbox CarsMangaMovie MemorabiliaMusic MemorabiliaSpoon CollectingSports CollectiblesSports Trading CardsStamp CollectingVinyl RecordsWatch CollectingGun and Pistols AnimationArchitectureCalligraphyCandle MakingCrochetFilm MakingGardeningJewelry MakingOrigamiPhotographySewingSculptingCeramics / PotteryFashion DesignFloristryGraffitiKnittingPaper AirplanesPainting and DrawingQuiltingScrapbookingWoodworkingTattoo Ham RadioRC BoatsRC CarsRC HelicoptersRC PlanesRoboticsScale ModelsModel CarsModel AirplanesModel RailroadingModel RocketsModel Ship / Boat Kits Performing Arts Music Food Drink DancingBalletBreak DancingLine DancingSalsaSwingTangoWaltzActingJugglingMagic TricksPuppetryStand Up Comedy BanjoBass GuitarCelloClarinetDrum SetFrench HornGuitarHarmonicaOboePiano / KeyboardTrumpetTromboneViolinViolaRappingSingingStart A Band BartendingBeer BrewingBeer TastingCigar SmokingCheese TastingCoffee RoastingCompetitive EatingCookingLiquor DistillationHookah SmokingSpirits / Liquor TastingSushi MakingTea DrinkingWine MakingWine TastingSake TastingGrilling Pets Games CatsDogsParrotsRabbitsReptilesRodentsSnakesTurtlesFishkeeping Arcade GamesBall and JacksBilliards / PoolBoard GamesBridgeCard GamesCard TricksChessDominoesFoosballGeocachingJigsaw PuzzlesKite Flying / MakingMah JongPinball MachinesPokerTable Tennis - Ping PongVideo Games Individual Sports Team Sports Martial Arts Outdoor Activities Board Sports Motor Sports Archery Acrobatics Badminton Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Croquet Cycling Diving Golf Gymnastics Fencing Horseback Riding Ice Skating Inline Skating Pilates Running Swimming Squash Tai Chi Tennis Weight Training Yoga basketballbaseballfootballcricketvolleyballsoccerwater polo AikidoJiu JitsuJudoKarateKung FuTaekwondo BirdwatchingCampingFishingHikingHuntingKayak and CanoeMountain BikingMountain climbingPaintballRiver RaftingRock ClimbingSailingScuba DivingFly FishingBackpacking KitesurfingSkateboardingSkiingSnowboardingSurfingWindsurfing AutoracingGo KartsMotocrossMotorcycle - TouringMotorcycle StuntsOff Road DrivingSnowmobiling Hobbies Vocabulary Exercises Use one of the hobby types to fill in the gap in the descriptions below. collectingmodels and electronicsperforming artsfood drinkgamesindividual sportsteam sportmartial artsoutdoor activity  board sportsmotorsports __________  requires you to find as many as possible of one type of thing such as baseball cards, or vinyl records.Arcade _____ include pinball machines and a wide variety of computer games that are played in a large room.You play a ________ if you play basketball, soccer or water polo.Snowboarding and windsurfing are types of ____________.If you like bartending and cooking you look _________.Head to the mountains to enjoy _________ such as kayaking, river ​rafting, and rafting.  ___________ such as snowmobiling and go karts can be rather expensive, especially if you dont know how to repair vehicles.  Some people prefer ______________ rather than team sports. These include boxing, fencing and golf.  People all over the world practice ________ such as Kung Fu and Aikido.  _________________ often include building your own model.  People who sing, act or dance participate in the _______________.   Answers collectingmodel and electronicsperforming artsfood drinkgamesindividual sportsteam sportmartial artsoutdoor activity  board sportsmotorsports Match the hobby or activity to the definition. In some cases, a number of hobbies may be correct. This is a type of dancing that comes from Vienna.This is an activity that involves smoking something that looks like a long, brown stick.This is an activity that involves making small reproductions of airplanes.You play this instrument with a bow.In order to keep these pets you shouldnt be queasy.This is an individual sport that can calm you, as well as keep you in shape.You might climb Everest if you do this hobby.Ride a motorized vehicle with two wheels for this hobby.If you collect this type of comic book, you might need to read Japanese.This hobby involves telling jokes.You must know poker and blackjack if you do this hobby.You must have a good relationship with animals to participate in this sport.This martial art comes from Korea.Fly down the snowy hill on a board with this hobby.Your partner will be stuffed if you take up this hobby. Answers WaltzCigar smokingModel airplanesViolin / Viola / CelloRodents / Snakes / ReptilesYoga / Tai Chi / PilatesMountain climbingMotocross / Motorcycle - Touring / Motorcycle StuntsMangaStand up comedyCard gamesHorseback ridingTaekwondoSnowboarding / SkiingCooking Using Hobby Vocabulary in Class Here are two suggestions on how you can use this list in classroom activities. If you dont attend an English class, you can certainly use these ideas on your own and with English learning friends. Give a Presentation Ask students to choose a hobby theyd like to learn.Ask students to develop a presentation on the hobby using PowerPoint or another slideshow program.   Extend the presentation by asking students to come up with their own gap fill activity to test fellow students on their presentation. 20 Questions Ask students to choose a hobby they know well.Have students get into small groups of three or four.Each student takes a turn. Other students should ask yes/no questions to find out the hobby in a game of 20 questions.

How to Test for Hyphenation in Phrasal Adjectives

How to Test for Hyphenation in Phrasal Adjectives How to Test for Hyphenation in Phrasal Adjectives How to Test for Hyphenation in Phrasal Adjectives By Mark Nichol One of the most frequent style errors among writers is the omission of one or more hyphens in a phrasal adjective, a phrase consisting of two or more words linked to show that they’re teaming up to modify a noun that follows them. There’s an easy test to help you see that the hyphen is necessary. When you write a phrase consisting of a noun preceded by two words describing the noun, confirm that the first and second word together modify the third, rather than that the second and third words constitute a compound noun modified by the first word. In the following sentence, for example, the latter holds true: â€Å"Indeed, the agency grants authority for community prevention efforts.† Here, â€Å"prevention efforts† is an open compound noun modified by community the sentence does not refer to efforts to prevent community so no hyphen is required. Also, note that not every phrasal adjective requires a hyphen. Many open compound nouns (for example, â€Å"high school,† â€Å"income tax,† and â€Å"real estate†) are so well established that they appear in dictionaries as terms in their own right and do not require hyphenation when they are converted into adjectives to modify a noun (for example, â€Å"high school student,† â€Å"income tax form,† and â€Å"real estate agent†). In a given sentence with a modified noun, ask yourself what kind of thing is being described, then hyphenate accordingly: 1. â€Å"This foundation has a feel good name.† What kind of a name does it have? One designed to make you feel good, not a good name that feels. So, it’s a feel-good name: â€Å"This foundation has a feel-good name.† 2. â€Å"The small Victorian beach town lifted a decades old ban.† What kind of a ban is it? One that has lasted for decades, not an old ban that is decades. So, it’s a decades-old ban: â€Å"The small Victorian beach town lifted a decades-old ban.† 3. â€Å"A truck and a car collided, triggering a seven vehicle crash.† What kind of crash was it? One involving seven vehicles, not a vehicle crash that is seven. So, it’s a seven-vehicle crash: â€Å"A truck and a car collided, triggering a seven-vehicle crash.† 4. â€Å"It’s the Bay Area’s fastest growing town.† What kind of town is it? One that is growing faster than any other, not a growing town that’s fastest. So, it’s the fastest-growing town: â€Å"It’s the Bay Area’s fastest-growing town.† 5. â€Å"The bumps have been causing two hour delays.† What kind of delays are they? Ones lasting two hours, not hour delays that are two. So, they’re two-hour delays: â€Å"The bumps have been causing two-hour delays.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Passed vs Past34 Writing Tips That Will Make You a Better Writer5 Erroneously Constructed â€Å"Not Only . . . But Also† Sentences

What are the key differences between the two major political parties Essay

What are the key differences between the two major political parties Democratic Party vs Republican Party - Essay Example Even though the issues affecting Americans have been recognized by the leadership of the two parties, it is the way to tackle such issues that has created two distinct categories of leadership styles all these years. This paper will closely examine the two parties’ policy approaches in the history of American democracy and find out the major differences that the said parties exhibit through the leaders they have often elected. The paper will try to establish if the two parties have influenced the way a democratic or a republican party elected presidential candidate is bound to approach the implementation of certain issues of public interest or even act on matters that face the country during their reign. There are quite a few of ideological differences based on the Republicans’ and the Democrats’ policies. Such differences were recently cited to have polarized the nation in the recently concluded elections in the United States that saw president Obama clinch a second term in office. To begin, the democrats have in a way tried to create a favorable environment for economic expansion, expanding individual opportunity and assisting the poor so that it has reduced the gap between the rich, the middle income earners, and the poor. The Republicans, however, believe that by the government creating a conducive environment or benefits, so to speak, only help in creating ‘a nation of takers’ (Harwood, 2013). This brings out the Republicans as those interested in making the richer become richer while the middle class and lower class citizens continue to find their path to economic empowerment. If this fact is anything to go by, then this might explain the incumbent pr esidents â€Å"coalition† that made his re-election possible. It is mostly the low income earners and the youth who formed a formidable force that propelled the presidents’ efforts for a second term in the White House. Steinhauer (2013) further elaborates this and states that due to subsequent victories by the Democrats for the presidential race that has been largely sparked by the voting pattern influenced by the rich Hispanic votes in favor of the Democrats, the Republicans have attempted to formulate a plan. For instance, they were pushing immigrants to immigrate to the U.S. or reside permanently if their stay was illegal. The Democrats, on the other hand, have discouraged immigration due to pressure on the existing resources. This push might be unrealistic but is a good indicator of the approaches the Republican Party has taken in reaction for the response such voters have always given to their initial policy stance (Fried, 2008). They have been known to push for s trict measures like deportation and use of electric fences and even use of excessive force to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country. The economy has been a major battle front for the two parties. It is evident that the two parties have approached spending, for instance, in a different way. Many have cited that the Democrats have often struggled to repair a broken economy inherited from their Republican counterparts who have promoted massive spending, especially on the military. While the Democrats believe that America should be a self-sustaining model of financial spending by the federal government, the Republican version of self-sustenance has been to enormously spend on the military so that

Research design proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Design - Research Proposal Example It is important to denote that descriptive research is effective in providing information concerning the behavior or characteristics of a particular group. Furthermore, a descriptive study is always carried out for purposes of demonstrating an association between things surrounding the world. Looking at this research, the researcher it is descriptive in nature. This is because it requires a researcher to make observations on the factors that cause domestic violence amongst the Hispanic community, and thereafter come up with a more reliable and accurate conclusion concerning the issue. Furthermore this research is concerned with analyzing the relationship amongst individuals. Berk (2006) denotes that one of the major characteristic of a descriptive research design is that it used to analyze the association between two or more groups. On this research qualifies to be use the descriptive research design for purposes of achieving its mandate. In carrying out this research, the researcher will rely mostly on three very important tools of descriptive research design. These tools are, observational, survey, as well as case study approaches (Creswell and Clark, 2007). Under observational research, the researcher will have the responsibility of identifying a group of particular Hispanic households, and analyze their ways of life, this includes whether there is violence or not amongst the identified families. This would therefore force a researcher to choose a population, and on this basis, the best strategy of choosing the population would be the use of a simple random technique. That is, the researcher will identify a least ten households, and randomly choose five, for purposes of observing their ways of life. Under case study approaches, the researcher will mainly rely on secondary sources of data collection to achieve this objective (Creswell and Clark, 2007). The researcher will have to look at journals, books, and