Unionizing Chinese Walmart Store Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Unionizing Chinese Walmart Store - Dissertation Example Wal-Mart has had a resistance of unions in most of the countries but has allowed the formation of unions in China. The largest retailer in the world, which employs close to 23,000 people in China, will allow the federation to form branches in all the outlets in China. The world retailer was under pressure from the other unions that claimed that the company contributed much to a violation of human rights job losses when it carries its operations in China. This was because the United States employees are not under unions. The unions also were formed to meet the demands of the Chinese government that allows unions to have a formal establishment. The formation, however, has not translated to any effective bargaining power of the employees, which was the main aim of forming the unions. The retailer claimed that instead of forming unions, it encouraged the employees to have a direct communication with the company in the issues of concern (Star, 2015). This would make the issues to be taken seriously and follow up with the right actions. Due to the global recession, the retailer agreed to form unions for workers in China so that they would be allowed to carry out their operation in the country where they have ambitious expansion plans. China is the country where the operations of the company lag behind in the global rivalry. In one of the claims that were presented in the courts, the retailer has been considered to engage in unfair labor practices under a different section of the labor code.

Competition Bike Incs Essay Example for Free

Competition Bike Incs Essay Horizontal analysis compares a company’s performance from year to year. I will be reviewing Competition Bikes Inc(CBI) balance sheets and income statements. During CBI year 6, 7 and 8 I have found their net sales , cost of goods to be fluctuating, and few various other items. The net sales from year 6 to 7 increase 33.34 %. The cost of goods from year 6 to 7 was 31.82 %. The gross profit increase 30.89. Comparing year 6 and 7 I found that year 7 improved, but when I compared year 7 to 8 the results were not good for year 8. The company had experienced a 15 percent reduction in net sales. Cost of goods drops 14.8 % from year 7 to 8. Advertising Expenses CBI advertising expenses increased by 37.5 % from year 6 to 7. CBI made a great investment from year 6 to 7 because the net sales increase at a higher rate the increased advertising cost. CBI reduced their advertising expenses by 16.3 % from year 7 to 8. I believed this was done because of the fragile economy. Many companies are trying to make cuts back during a weak economy. These reduces expenses will hold them over until the economy becomes stronger. Website/Sales The website creation and maintenance expenses during year 6, 7 and 8 stayed the same price. Sales commission increase 33.371 % during year 7 from the previous year. Sales commission decrease by 15 % the following year (8). Distribution Network The Distribution network expenses had a positive increased in year 7 by33.3 % jump from the previous year. Distribution expenses are normally supposed to maintain similar numbers, but when you have an increase in sales it is acceptable to increase the distribution expenses. Distribution network expenses decreased 15 percent in year 8. This was caused due to less revenue. Transportation CBI had 33% transportation increase from year 6 to 7. This was caused CBI had more products sold and required more products to be shipped. CBI saw 15 % transportation decrease from year 7 to 8. CBI had less products sold and this caused transportation to decrease in year 8. Administrative Expenses from year 6 to 7 saw 21.43% increase. Administrative Expenses maintain the same expenses from year 7 to 8. Executive expenses increased 29.42 % from year 6 to 7. Year 7 and 8 maintain the same level of expenses. Employment taxes rose by 25.81 % increase from year 6 to 7. Year 7 and 8 maintain the same level of employment of expenses. Administrative expenses are expected due to company having increase production and sales. Utilities expenses rose 3.84 % from year 6 to 7. CBI operation worked proficiently in year 7, and this helped them experienced only an increase of 3.8% in utilities. This was caused due to increase production. CBI utilities increased by 11.11 during year 8. I would suggest CBI have their utilities monitor from day to day to see how they can prevent an increase in expenses when the company is not performing well compared to the previous year. Research CBI saw research and development saw a 37.5 % percent increase from year 6 to 7.During year eight CBI reduces their research and development expenses by 16.3 %. A company should never reduces their research and development if they company perform well in the previous year. I believe this was one of the reasons why CBI had a great year during 7 because they knew what consumers wanted. Due to lack of spending on research and development this caused their sales to drop. Research and development is an important component of competition against other companies without a company will fail to succeed. Interest Income CBI interest income rose 38.1% from year 6 to 7. During year 7 CBI income was properly invested. During year 8 CBI investments had a 3.4% reduction. The reduction was small, but small things do add up over time. I would suggest CBI to monitor their investments and make plans to move around their money if the current trend continues. Balances sheets CBI accounts receivable rose 164.3% from year 6 to 7. During year 8 CBI accounts receivable drop 15 percent. CBI should monitor accounts receivable more closely to make sure past due balances are paid on time. This was caused due to the company noticing a large increase on accounts receivable during year 7 and they tried to capitalize on it. This caused their accounts receivable to drop. Raw Materials CBI manages their raw materials well during year 7. CBI had 3.1% percent reduction in year 8. CBI should incorporate lean production method and Just in time production to avoid wasteful spending and production. Liabilities CBI liabilities increase 1.2% from year 6 to 7. This is expected due to year having 7 having an increase in sales and productions. CBI reduces their liabilities by 3.1% from year 7 to 8. This is good because CBI had a 15 percent reduction in net sales. Vertical analysis A method of financial statement analysis in which each entry for each of the three major categories of accounts (assets, liabilities and equities) in a balance sheet is represented as a proportion of the total account. The main advantages of vertical analysis are that the balance sheets of businesses of all sizes can easily be compared. It also makes it easy to see relative annual changes within one business(Investopedia,2013). Income Year 7 net sales were 7% higher than year 6.CBI preserved their selling expenses at 6.7% of total Net Sales. CBI reduced General Admin Expenses from 17.1% during year 6 to 15.5% during year 7.This would lead to an increase in Operating Income from 2.8% of Net Sales from year 6 to 5.3% in year 7 and CBI Net Earnings would increase from 1.1% (year 6) to 3.3% (year7). CBI did not perform well in year 8 because their expenses increase during year 8. This caused CBI net earnings to reduce.. CBI Administrative expenses increased 15.5% from year 6 to 7. CBI net sales increase 18.4% from year 7 to 8. CBI operating expenses income was reduce 5.3%of net sales to 1.9 % causing CBI net earnings from 3.3% to a .7%. I would recommend CBI to monitor their general and Admin expenses. Majority of expenses stayed the same during year 6,7 and 8. However during year 8 the CBI did not perform well. I believed CBI needs to find ways to reduces expenses when the company is having a low sales volume. CBI should incorporate just in time principles and lean manufacturing principles. I believe this would help reduce wasted production and this would help reduce utilities expenses. Just in time principles and lean manufacturing principles could also reduce employee expenses. ASSESTS CBI in the cash and cash equivalent accounts drop from 6.2 % in year 6 to 2.7%. However, during year 7 more products were sold compared to year 6. CBI accounts receivable had a major increase from year 6(6.5%) to year 7(16.6%).CBI needs to monitor their accounts receivable accounts more closely and make sure they’re collecting the amount owed to them. During year 8 CBI cash and cash equivalents had risen from 2.7 %( year 7) to 10.3%(year 8). The reason why this happen was due to CBI had started to monitor their accounts receivable. This helped them collect the money they were owed on past due accounts. I would recommend CBI to avoid making purchase on accounts and find ways to use the cash in a more efficient way. CBI should realize it important they have enough reserves during a recession. This will help hold them over until the economy bounces back. â€Å"Trend Analysis is the practice of collecting information and attempting to spot a pattern, or trend, in the information (Wikipedia,2012).†CBI sales were lower than year 7, but they still were able to make a profit. CBI should expect to see growth in the next few years based on their current trend. CBI is expected to have 3,510 units sold in year 9. CBI will have 3,660 units sold in year 10. Finally during year 11,CBI will sell 3,800 units. The forecast numbers are based on the economy recovering. This will encourages CBI sponsors to invest in professional riders and this will increase new bike sales. Currently is cost CBI 1,047.50 to make each product. I would recommend CBI find suppliers who have the same quality parts, but at a lower cost. I would also make recommend CBI is following just in time and lean manufacturing principles. This could help CBI increase their profit margin. Ratio analysis- analyzes numbers Ratio analysis is a method used by businesses to assess their financial situation by comparing two sets of linked data. Current ratio will measure a companys ability to pay short-term obligations. CBI had a reduction from year 7 (5.9%) to 8(5.35%). Two wheel racing (TWR) current ratio was 4.2% for year 7 and 8. A debt ratio will determine if a business is able to handle any unexpected liabilities it that may come up. A business needs to make sure they enough money to pay off debt to avoid problems with their debt. During year 7 CBI debt ratio was 46.8%. The follow year the debt ratio was 46%. The debt ratio only drops .08 percent during year 8. TWR debt ratio was 38% in year 7 and 8. An acid test ratio will determine if a company can back their liabilities. CBI is doing better than (TWR) by 1.12% and .85%. Inventory turnover- determines the number of times a company can sell it average level of inventory throughout the year. CBI bicycles are customizes for customers so I am unable to compared CBI and TWR. Average collection period, This determines how well a company is able to collect money to the customers they extended credit to.CBI has higher collected amount compared to TWR. CBI was 11.3% higher in year 7 and 8. Gross Profit Margin, will tell investors how much revnue was gain after selling the product(Cost of Good-revenue/gross profit. TWR profit margin is 32.10% higher than CBI profit margin in year 7(27.4%) and 8(27.0%). TWR is operating more effectively. Operating profit margin Measures management efficiency (Operating income/total sales). CBI year 7 was 5.3% and TWR was 5.2%. Year 8 TWR performed better with 5.3% compared to CBI(1.9%). Net Profit Margin show investors the percentage of each sale dollar earn as net income. During year 7 CBI net profits was 3.3% and in year 8 it was .8%.TWR was 5.14% year 7 and 8. The portion of a companys profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. Earnings per share serves as an indicator of a companys profitability(Investopedia,2013).TWR was $.08 for year 7 and 8. CBI was $.20 during year 7 and $.04 in year 8. Return on total assets-determine how successful a company is to earn profit with their assets. TWR total assets was 4.8% for year 7 and 8. CBI was 4.5% in year 7 and year 8 was .8%. Return on Common Equity- Income between net income and stockholder equity. During year 7 CBI equity was 8.5% AND TWR was 8.1%. CBI equity in year 8 was 1.5% and TWR was 8.1% Price / Earnings Ratio- Stock prices and company earning. CBI earning share 49.67 and TWR was 29. During year CBI price jump to 83.73 and TWR was still 29. Times Interest Earned Determines the numbers of times operating income can pay interest expense. Year 7 interest earn was 5.27 and TWR was 4.24. During year 8 CBI interest earn drop to 1.77 and TWR remained 4.24. ‘Working capital is a financial metric(current assets minus company liabilities) which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity(Wikipedia,2013).† The financial metric system will analyzes if a company will be able to pay their short term liabilities or do they need to take an alternative solution. CBI working capital in year 6 was $382,394: CBI working capital at the end of year was 1,306,617. CBI increased their working capital by 70.7% at the end of year 8. After reviewing CBI working capital the results indicated they will be able to pay their short term liabilities Recommendation I would recommend CBI to have their accounts executives to build a better relationship with customers and make sure they’re satisfied with the work they are receiving. One of the most important things a company can do is listen to their employees. I would also recommend CBI to reduce their accounts receivables. This could be done by making sure that larger orders from customer are sent out faster. CBI inventory cost increase over 24% from year 6 to year 8.CBI should follow the just in time and lean manufacturing principles. This will reduces inventory cost for CBI. CBI transportation expenses are one of their highest expenses. I would recommend CBI to consider to purchasing their own delivery truck and see if this will help them reduce their transportation expense. Internal controls Internal controls helps a company infrastructure run smoothly. Internal controls also help protect and prevent fraud. Internal control will try to remove the temptations for employee to act unethically in the aspect of putting the company at risk of lawsuit. CBI purchase department (PD) will purchases orders from suppliers based on their monthly budget. Once the order has been received the PD will evaluate bids from different suppliers. Once the order has been received they’re given to the production line. The invoice will be sent to the PD. If there are any supplies left they will be sent to raw materials. The PD will then send an accounting department who issues a check to the supplier. Recommendation I would recommend the whole entire processed be revamped. The first thing I would recommended is to separate the duties of researching the bid and purchasing orders. The next thing I would suggest is to make the receiving department in charge of verifying the shipping when the packages arrive. The receiving department needs to verify every item is there from the supplier and their no missing item from the delivery. The receiving department should maintain an inventory control system. After the receiving department has approved the invoice, they should forward to the purchasing department. The purchase order will be forward to the accounting department for payment. Accounting has currently been only receiving unverified invoices. Risk Accounting has currently been only receiving unverified invoices. The lack of verification could cause CBI to get double charge for item they already paid for. Currently their lack of inventory control system. Currently unused supplies are being sent to raw material without anyway of tracking it. This would make it easy for employees to steal because lack of inventory control system. Recommendation I would suggest an inventory control system be implemented. I would make sure all packages received by receiving department be verified by management to avoid being double charge. The inventory control system will help prevent theft from employees. I would also hire outside firm every quarter to check inventory levels to make sure no one is stealing from the company. Sarbanes-Oxley Act Sarbanes-Oxley Act is government regulation that congress pass in order to improve financial disclosures. This would help prevent accounting fraud and improve financial disclosures from corporations(Wikpedia,2013).†Section 302: A mandate that requires senior management to certify the accuracy of the reported financial statement Section 404: A requirement that management and auditors establish internal controls and reporting methods on the adequacy of those controls. Section 404 had very costly implications for publicly traded companies as it is expensive to establish and maintain the required internal controls (Investopedia,2013). CBI does not mention that they were audited by outside firm. I highly recommend CBI to hire auditing firm to review the company’s annual statement before releasing the numbers to the public to make sure there is no accounting errors. Internal controls are implemented and effective at the end of year 8(Dec 31). The CEO, and CFO certification is need because it is required by SOX and this could not be located. Auditor releases the following statement to shareholders. A material weakness is a control deficiency, or a combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis Recommendations CBI needs to make sure they are in compliance with the regulations set forth by Sarbanes-Oxley CB. The first thing I would recommend is to conduct a internal control assessment. The next thing I would recommend CBI to hire accounting firm to review their internal controls. The control needs to be based on Sox guidelines. The CEO and CFO needs to certify they’re aware of the CBI internal control and the actions the company have taken to protect investor’s investments. It is very vital CBI CEO and CFO certifies they’re aware of internal control because Sarbanes-Oxley requires this to be done. Since the accounting firm made assessment that the internal control is effective their might be some problems that could arise from the following statement, â€Å"A material weakness is a control deficiency, or a combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.† I would recommend the CEO or CFO to take action fix the internal control problem because they could face jail time for making statements that were not true. .† CBI should base their guidelines set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Tread Way Commission(CSOTWO). CSOTWO is joint inivate five private sector organizations devoted to providing leadership through progress and guidance on enterprise risk management, internal control and fraud dictation. This is a great way for C BI to improve the internal control process. References Free Dictionary(2013) http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sarbanes-Oxley+Act+of+2002 Investopedia(2013) http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/horizontalanalysis.asp#axzz2Hh4rgfuE True Bussiness(2013) http://truetobusiness.com/finance/ratio-analysis Wikipedia(2013) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_control

Motif of Blood in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Motif of Blood in Macbeth Shakespeare In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the motif of blood plays an important factor in the framework of the theme.   A motif is a methodical approach to uncover the true meaning of the play.   Macbeth, the main character in the play, thinks he can unjustly advance to the title of king without any variation of his honest self.   The blood on Macbeth’s hands illustrates the guilt he must carry after plotting against King Duncan and yearning for his crown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare used the image of blood to portray the central idea of Macbeth, King Duncan’s murder.   The crime is foreshadowed in the second scene of the first act.   The king shouts, â€Å" What bloody man is that?† (I,ii,1)   He is referring to a soldier coming in from battle.   The soldier then explains to King Duncan of Macbeth’s heroics in battle.   One assumes that Macbeth is bloody just like the soldier.   The soldier describes Macbeth in action â€Å"Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution.† (I,ii,17-18)   This line connects Macbeth with killing, and hints at the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The evil deed of murdering the king becomes too much of a burden on the Macbeths.   The blood represents their crime, and they can not escape the sin of their actions.   Macbeth realizes that in time he would get what he deserves.   Since he can not ride himself of his guilt by washing the blood away, his fate may have been sealed.   They   try to use water for vindication, but Macbeth says that all the water in the ocean could not cleanse his hands.   He imagines the blood from the murder staining the ocean red.   Lady   Macbeth differs from her husband in this aspect.   She believes her conscience would be cleansed at the time her hands are physically cleaned.   She tells her husband to have the same beliefs as she or he would be driven to insanity.   Ironically, Lady Macbeth is the one that is driven to the brink of lunacy as she commits suicide at the end of the tragedy.     The image and scent of blood symbolizes the unending guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.   The blood on their hands represents the inability to annul the murder from their memories.   While sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth was aggravated with own hands.   She was seen muttering, â€Å"Out damned spot! Out, I say!† (V,I,39)   This proves that her evil deed in still on her conscience.

Societys Conception of Sex Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Paper

Society's Conception of Sex    The connotation of the word sex is so vague that it can be manipulated to mean virtually anything, however the definition of the word within society has remained the same.   Penetration is the defining factor of sex in its literal sense, however it can be altered to include a variety of acts.   Anthropologist Margaret Mead, and President Clinton found loopholes in the connotation of sex, and used it to the benefit.   The context in which Mead used the word was to encompass the various acts that accompany intercourse, such as oral sex, to prove that Samoan society is far more promiscuous than our own.   President Clinton also used the vagueness of the word to his benefit.   He manipulated the connotation of sex to only include intercourse, so that he may escape incrimination of adultery and perjury. In both cases the hazy connotation of the word was used as an advantage, but society's definition of the word remained clear. Mead manipulated the definition to include acts other than penetration in order to prove that Samoan society is more open in their sexuality.   She used the word to create a utopian Samoa, where people freely engaged in promiscuous sexual acts, like oral sex.   Her definition of penetration included more than just penetration, it encompassed other actions such as oral sex.   By altering the definition of sex to include other actions, Mead was trying to prove that Samoan society was better off because of their sexual freedom.   She claimed that the openness to sex in Samoa created a sense of free love, a quality that our country lacked at the time.   Her alteration of the word was used to criticize the co... ...p; Mead's definition of sex included many other acts, to prove that free love was rampant in Samoa.   Society did not agree with her because the popular definition of sex did not include any other actions.   Penetration has been the defining factor of sex.   President Clinton used this social law to claim his innocence concerning his involvement with Monica Lewinsky.   He asserted that he did not have sexual relations with his intern.   This term sexual relations is so broad that any sexual act could fit under its definition.   The American public did not agree with his statement, because under society's beliefs, oral sex falls into the category of sexual relations.   These two situations prove that individuals have tried to manipulate the connotation of sex to their advantage, but society's conception of sex has remained static.

Popular Culture in Today’s Society

Reflections of Pop Culture on Society Popular culture, commonly referred to as â€Å"pop culture†, is constantly changing and heavily influencing people worldwide; one can hardly tell the history of the human race without some mention of pop culture. Pop culture molds and defines the beliefs and values, as well as, influences the actions of society. Social media, as well as the natural ache we all carry to fit in, pushes people to embrace and succumb to pop culture. Pop culture greatly influences what people choose to do, such as: where to eat, what to buy, where to go on vacation, or what music music to listen to.We have all heard an advertisement on the radio for the local restaurants or heard our favorite musician telling us which radio station we should listen to. What about our favorite celebrity boasting about which store they buy their clothes from? We see these people being adored by the public and want to be like them. So we head out to the nearest department store an d buy the same brand of jeans or sneakers. When we see celebrities we want to ne like them, be adored like them. In his poem â€Å"Emily Dickinson and Elvis Presley in Heaven,† Hans Ostrom says that Dickinson â€Å"sports Levis and western blouses with rhinestones† andPresley â€Å"wears baggy trousers and T-shirts, a letterman's jacket from Tupelo High† (759). Ostrom is making reference to how Emily Dicksinson and Elvis Presley are even following current trends in Heaven. Pop culture has a considerable influence on the way we, society, view ourselves and each other. When we look at the covers of magazines and see the thin women and the buff men, we think that is the acceptable way to look and work to make ourselves look that way. We see that as the only way to be considered attractive and acceptable. As people, ant to be like the things we see around us.We yearn to be accepted and have found that submitting to the current fads gains us the popularity and accept ance we ache for. In the essay â€Å"Corn-Pone Opinions† it was said that â€Å"We are creatures of outside influence; as a rule we do not think, we only imitate†(Twain 717). If someone hears that a specific movie receiving good reviews from the people in their neighborhood, they will go see that movie to fit in, whether it seems like something that would interest them or not. Someone will spend their whole life going to see the movies or eating at the restaurants that veryone else likes or other such things because â€Å"the outside influences are always pouring in upon us, and we are always obeying their orders and accepting their verdicts†(Twain 719). Pop culture is often used as a means to reflect someone's views, which are then accepted into the minds of society. An example of this is the 1954 hit, Godzilla. This movie was released with the intent of spreading the political views of the director, Ishiro Honda. However, the version of the movie that became p opular worldwide was â€Å"stripped of the political subtext- and the anti-American, antinuclear messages†(Staples 23). Americans would not want to watch a movie that was dripping in disdain towards the American government's decision to use nuclear weapons. Had Godzilla been shown as more than a â€Å"conventional monster-on-the-loose movie†, it probably would not have been as popular in the United States (Staples 723). Even today people are using social networking sites such as youtube, facebook, and twitter to express their opinions about what is going on in the world (i. e. Kony 2012). Society is also reflected in popular movies and books. Most teen movies follow the same simliar plots with similiar characters.They have a tall, slim female who rules the school with her jock boyfriend. Nowadays the enemy is no longer authority, it is â€Å"other teens and the social system that they impose on one another†(Denby 709). These movies have an outcast who, in the en d, always triumphs and, somehow, overrun the social system. These movies are so popular and successful because it is what the audience wants to see. People can relate to â€Å"the kids who cannot be the beautiful ones, or makeout with them, or avoid being insulted by them†(Denby 709). We view these people as heroes because we, urselves, want to be like them and triumph. Even books are written in a way that makes them more entertaining for their audience. As a child, you read picture books â€Å"using words and images interchangably†(McCloud 738). Then you progressed to chapter books, which had less pictures, but still used both pictures and words to tell the story, and then novels that do not contain pictures. However, today people have begun to lose an interest in reading. We would rather see pictures telling the story because â€Å"words and pictures have great powers to tell stories when creators fully exploit them both†(McCloud 738).Pop culture has a way of forming itself to fit what society is interested in. Pop culture is one of the biggest contributing factors to the way our society works. It works towards forming our opinions and beliefs and even contributes to what we decide to do, buy, eat, etc,†¦ The things we hear about on the radio, the people we see on television and in movies are all parts of pop culture, working its way into our lives and molding our society. In conclusion, the extent of pop culture's relfection on society is a major one; I personally believe that it is nothing but a reflection of our society.

Orientalism Essay Example

Orientalism Essay Example Orientalism Paper Orientalism Paper Essay Topic: Literature Orientalism is a field of study which is at style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between the Orient and the Occident. It invokes a flexible positioning superiority in which Europe is put into a number of positions of superiority. It is part of an overall campaign of self-affirmation, belligerency, and outright war, (Said xix) however, and in this we see the religious implications. For much of its history Orientalism carries within it the stamp of a problematic European attitude toward Islam. (Said 73) Islam was a threat to a Christian Europe the Ottoman Empire lay geographically close to Christian lands, so there was not only the threat of different religious ideas but also the treat of a mighty military and political power. It resulted in a historical fear of Islam. Orientalism was essentially an attempt to domesticate that threat, but the Orient needed first to be known, then invaded and possessed, then re-created by scholars, soldiers, and judges who disinterred forgotten languages, histories, races, and cultures in order to posit them as the true classical Orient that could be used to judge and rule the modern Orient. (91-92) The Occident responded with the creation of an imaginative geography within which Islam could be confined. Orientalism legitimates a vocabulary, a universe of representative discourse peculiar to the discussion and understanding of the Orient (Said 71) and it consisted of a set of representative figures, or tropes. (Said 71) This does not go to say that Orientalism formed the cornerstone of truth of the Orient, but rather that it was Western ignorance which becomes more refined and complex, not some body of positive Western knowledge which increases in size and accuracy. (Said 62) As a field of knowledge it is a closed body of knowledge in which objects are what they are because they are what they are, for once, for all time, for ontological reasons that no empirical material can either dislodge or alter. (Said 70) The fact that Orientalism derived its authentic from its unchanging nature would cause problems with the emergence of the 19th century. Orientalism would have to change to survive with the times. There was disillusionment when it was realized that the classical Orient did not properly represent the actual Orient. It became what was known as the betrayed dream. What was realized was that one could only really use generalities to describe the Orient in order not to conflict with the specific actualities; it was almost as if a bin called Oriental existed into which all the authoritative, anonymous, and traditional Western attitudes to the East were dumped unthinkingly. (Said 102) These generalities created an aura of eccentricity surrounding the Orient, by which the Orient becomes a living tableau of queerness. (Said 103) This tableau was designated as a disciplined way from which the Orientalist could approach it; essentially, its foreignness [could] be translated, its meanings decoded, its hostility tamed. (Said 103) From this arose the tactics of modern Orientalism. Orientalism was reconstituted, redeployed, redistributed and in the secular framework. (Said 121) There were four components to this process, the end product being naturalized supernaturalism. The first component was due to the Orient expanding past the Islamic lands. This simply goes to say that there were more lands under scrutiny and a binary opposition between Islam and Christianity was no longer possible; there were too many cultures and religions that could come into interaction. All such widening horizons had Europe firmly in the privileged center, as main observer. (Said 117) Secondly, there was the component of historical confrontation that no longer was viable; the Orient was simply not viewed in a confrontational light. Rather, it was viewed as an (inferior) object of study. It involved a greater involvement with source material and confronting the Orients peculiarities with objective detachment. The third component deals with the notion of historicism. This idea promoted the belief that the Occident could penetrate the Orient on the precedent that all cultures are presumably organically and internally coherent historicism encourages such an intellectual penetration. This was done by sympathetic identification by which the Orientalist saw the elements of kinship between himself and the Orient, and this supposedly gave him access to the Orient. Lastly, the core of modern Orientalism rested in the practice of classification. This process involved reducing vast numbers of objects to a smaller number of orderable and describable types [that] belonged to a system, a network of related generalizations. (Said 119) Thus, when an Oriental was referred to, it was in terms of such generic universals as his primitive state, his primary characteristics, his particular spiritual background. (Said 120) Also, this process was carried out in the name of objectivity and claimed its authority from such scientific procedures, rather than on religious superiority as the classical Orientalism did. This was the essence of naturalized supernaturalism, by which religious structures were recast in the secular. From this it is very evident that Orientalism is a man-made field and not a universal or pure truth. Orientalist disciplines were changing (even as Orientalism claimed the values of an unchanging, classical Orient) into their modern form, in which power welt in the new, scientifically advanced techniques of philology and anthropological generalization. (Said 121) Silvestre de Sacy was the forerunner of modern Orientalism: his work virtually put before the profession an entire systematic body of texts, a pedagogic practice, a scholarly tradition, and an important link between Oriental scholarship and public policy. (Said 124) He was responsible for his revisionist projects: all of his work was presented as a revised extract of the best that had already been done, said, or written. (Said 125) He was reproducing the Orient for the Occident, but only those parts that he deemed useful or important; these were carefully selected and arranged topics from the greater body of Oriental knowledge. He believed that the vastly rich (in space, time, and cultures) Orient cannot be totally exposed, only its most reprehensive parts need be. (Said 125) Sacy was thus in a position of authority that modern Orientalism so proudly touts he was the one that chose what was important from the Orient and his choices gave semiotic power to the topics that would now represent the entire Orient.

Dolphin Safe Tuna

Dolphin Safe Tuna Environmental and animal welfare groups promote dolphin-safe tuna, but the dolphin-safe label is in danger of being weakened in the U.S. and some animal protection groups do not support dolphin-safe tuna. Do Some Cans of Tuna Contain Dolphin Meat? No, cans of tuna do not contain dolphin meat. While dolphins are sometimes killed in tuna fishing (see below), the dolphins do not end up in the cans with the tuna. How are Dolphins Harmed in Tuna Fishing? Two types of tuna fishing are notorious for killing dolphins: Purse seine nets and driftnets. Purse seine nets: Dolphins and yellowfin tuna often swim together in large schools, and because dolphins are more visible and closer to the surface than tuna, the fishing boats will look for dolphins to find the tuna. The boats will then set a purse seine net in a circle around both species and capture dolphins along with the tuna. Purse seine nets are giant nets, typically 1,500 - 2,500 meters long and 150-250 meters deep, with a drawstring at the bottom and floats at the top. Some nets are equipped with fish aggregating devices that attract fish and help prevent the fish from escaping before the net can be closed. In addition to dolphins, the animals who are caught unintentionally - the incidental catch, can include sea turtles, sharks, and other fish. The crew is ususally able to release sea turtles back to the ocean unharmed, but the fish usually die. The problem with dolphins being killed in purse seine nets occurs mainly in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that between 1959 and 1976, over 6 million dolphins were killed in purse seine nets in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Driftnets: EarthTrust, an environmental NGO, calls driftnets the most destructive fishing technology ever devised by humankind. Driftnets are giant nylon nets that drift behind a boat. The nets have floats on top and may or may not have weights on the bottom, to keep the net hanging vertically in the water. Driftnets come in a variety of mesh sizes, depending on the target species, but they are a wall of death, killing everyone who gets caught in them. The United Nations banned driftnets over 2.5 kilometers long in 1991. Previously, driftnets up to 60 km long were in use and legal. According to EarthTrust, before the ban, driftnets killed over a hundred thousand dolphins and small cetaceans every year, along with millions of seabirds, tens of thousands of seals, thousands of sea turtles and great whales, and untold numbers of non-target fish. Pirate fisheries still use giant, illegal driftnets and will sometimes cut the nets loose to avoid getting caught, leaving these walls of death to continue drifting and killing indiscriminately for centuries to come. Although dolphin deaths from both methods has been greatly reduced, a 2005 study titled, Non-recovery of two spotted and spinner dolphin populations in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean found that dolphin populations have been slow to recover. Can Tuna be Caught Without Harming Dolphins? Yes, a purse seine net can be made to release dolphins. After encircling both the tuna and dolphins, the boat can conduct a backdown operation in which a portion of the net is lowered enough for dolphins to escape. While this technique does save dolphins, it does not address other incidental catch issues, such as sharks and sea turtles. Another way to catch fish without harming dolphins is long line fishing. Long line fishing uses a fishing line that is typically 250-700 meters long, with several branches and hundreds or thousands of baited hooks. While longline fishing does not kill dolphins, the incidental catch includes sharks, sea turtles and seabirds like albatross. The Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, 16 U.S.C. 1385, which charges the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with regulating dolphin-safe tuna claims. The dolphin-safe claim means that the tuna were not caught with drift nets, and that â€Å"no tuna were caught on the trip in which such tuna were harvested using a purse seine net intentionally deployed on or to encircle dolphins, and that no dolphins were killed or seriously injured in the sets in which the tuna were caught.† Not all tuna sold in the U.S. is dolphin-safe. To summarize: If the tuna were caught without driftnets and without chasing, encircling or killing dolphins, it can be sold in the US and is dolphin-safe.If the tuna were caught by chasing and encircling dolphins, but no dolphins were killed or seriously injured (and other requirements are met), the tuna can be sold in the U.S. but cannot be called dolphin-safe.If the tuna was caught by chasing and encircling dolphins, and dolphins were killed, it cannot be sold in the U.S. Of course, the above is a simplification of the law, which also requires tuna canners to file monthly reports and requires large tuna purse seine vessels must carry an observer. NOAA also conducts spot-checks to verify dolphin-safe claims. For more details on the NOAAs tuna tracking and verification program, click here. You can also read the full text of the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act here International Law International law also applies to the tuna/dolphin issue. In 1999, the United States signed the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP). The other signatories include Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, European Union, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Vanuatu, and Venezuela. The AIDCP seeks to eliminate dolphin mortality in tuna fishing. Congress then amended the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to effct the AIDCP in the United States. The AIDCP definition of dolphin-safe allows dolphins to be chased and encircled with nets, as long as dolphins are not killed or seriously injured. This definition differs from the U.S. definition, which does not permit the chasing or encircling of dolphins under the dolphin-safe label. According to the AIDCP, 93% of the sets made by chasing dolphins resulted in no deaths or serious injuries to dolphins. Challeges to the Dolphin-Safe Label Despite the dolphin-safe label being voluntary, and the fact that a fishery need not attain the dolphin-safe label in order to export tuna to the U.S., Mexico has twice challenged the U.S. dolphin-safe label as an unfair restriction on trade. In May of 2012, the World Trade Organization found that the current U.S. dolphin-safe label is inconsistent with the United States obligations under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. In September, 2012, the U.S. and Mexico agreed that the U.S. would bring its dolphin-safe label in line with the WTOs recommendations and rulings by July of 2013.   To some, this is yet another example of how environmental and animal protection are sacrificed in the name of free trade. Todd Tucker, research director for Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, states, â€Å"This latest ruling makes truth-in-labeling the latest casualty of so-called ‘trade’ pacts, which are more about pushing deregulation than actual trade . . . Members of Congress and the public will be very concerned that even voluntary standards can be deemed trade barriers.† Whats Wrong with Dolphin-Safe Tuna? The UK-based Ethical Consumer site calls the dolphin-safe label somewhat of a red herring for several reasons. First, the vast majority of canned tuna is skipjack tuna, not yellowfin tuna. Skipjack tuna do not swim with dolphins, so they are never caught using dolphins. Also, the site points out that, It has been estimated that saving one dolphin, by using (fish aggregating devices), costs 16,000 smaller or juvenile tuna, 380 mahimahi, 190 wahoo, 20 sharks and rays, 1200 triggerfish and other small fish, one marlin and ‘other’ animals. The very strong implication that dolphin-safe tuna is sustainable or more humane makes the label problematic. Some animal protection groups object to dolphin-safe tuna because of the impact on tuna. Tuna and other fish populations are threatened by overfishing and from an animal rights perspective, eating tuna hurts tuna. According to Sea Shepherd, bluefin tuna populations have fallen 85% since industrial fishing began, and current quotas are too high to be sustainable. Environmentalists and animal advocates were disappointed in 2010 when the parties to CITES refused to protect tuna. In September of 2012, conservation experts called for better protections for tuna. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, five of the worlds eight tuna species are threatened or nearly threatened. Amanda Nickson, Director of Global Tuna Conservation at the Pew Environment Group stated, There is sufficient science available to set precautionary limits . . . If we wait five, 10 years for the science to be perfect, in the case of some species we may not have anything left to manage. Aside from concerns about extinction and overfishing, fish are sentient beings. From an animal rights perspective, fish have a right to be free of human use and exploitation. Even if there were no danger of overfishing, each individual fish has certain inherent rights, just as dolphins, seabirds and sea turtles do. Buying dolphin-safe tuna recognizes the dolphins rights, but fails to recognize the tunas rights, which is why many animal protection groups do not support dolphin-safe tuna.

How Many Colleges Should You Apply To Expert Guide

How Many Colleges Should You Apply To Expert Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Many students stress over the same question: "How many colleges should I apply to?"How many is too many? How few is too few? There is so much disagreement on this topic, even among experts, that many students are left confused and unsure. In this article, I’ll clear up thisconfusion. I’ll give you an idea of how many schools you should apply to and explain the factors to consider when deciding how many colleges to apply to.After reading this guide, you'll feel confident about crafting your own college list and how long it will be. There's No Magic Number The number of colleges you should apply to depends on your specific situation. I believe you should apply to anywhere from one to 15colleges.The standard thinking from counselors has been that the average college-bound student should apply to about 6-8 colleges: 2-3 reach colleges, 2-3 target colleges, and 2 safety schools.Reach schools are colleges that are unlikely to offer you admission (less than a 30% chance), target schools are colleges that you have a decent chance of gaining admission to (a 30%-80% chance), and safety schools are colleges to which you’re almost guaranteed of admission based on your qualifications (greater than a 80% chance). You can roughly determine your odds of admission for each college by using the prepscholar admissions calculator. Just google the name of the school and â€Å"prepscholar admissions requirements.† The number of colleges you should apply to is dependent on your personal situation and your priorities when selecting a college. For example, if you have a dream school that offers early decision or early action, then you may only have to apply to one college.If you apply early decision, you’ll typically be submitting your application in November and should receive an admissions decision by December, before the application deadlines for most colleges.If you’re accepted to a school that you apply to early decision, you have to attend. You should still have a list of colleges to apply to in case you aren’t accepted or if you’re applying to any colleges, like University of California schools, that have an application deadline before December.If you’re admitted early decision, you have to withdraw your applications to any other colleges. How many schools should be on your list? Why You May Want To Apply to More Schools If you’re determined to go to a very selective college, then you may want to apply to more colleges than the average person. If you apply to 10 colleges to which you have a 25% chance of gaining admission, then you’re likely to gain admission to at least one of them.In fact, if you apply to 16 colleges with an average chance of admission of 25%, then you have a 99% chance of gaining admission to at least one of them, statistically. Check out this article for a better understanding of the math behind this calculation. If you take this approach, though, you should prepare yourself emotionally to be rejected from most of the schools you apply to. If, on the other hand, you’re not as concerned with selectivity andareextremely confident that you’ll be admitted to at least a couple of the colleges you apply to, you may only need to apply to two to four colleges. Why You May Want To Apply to Fewer Schools Here are a few factors that may limit the number of colleges you should apply to. Applications Cost Money and Time Unless you qualify for fee waivers, which are based on financial need, applying to college can be costly.The application fee for each college you apply to can be up to $75.Additionally, there can be costs associated with sending standardized test scores and AP scores to colleges. The SAT and ACT allow you to send four free score reports to colleges. Each additional score report currently costs $.25 per report for the SAT and $12 per report for the ACT. Also, you’re allowed to send one free AP score report, which contains all of your AP scores, to one college each year you take AP exams. Each additional score report costs $15. Therefore, if you apply to 20 colleges, you may have to pay over $2,000.Consider your budget (or ask your parents how much they’re willing to pay) when deciding how many schools to apply to. However, you should also view the costs of applying as an investment. If you get into a great college that fits your needs, then you’ll have an invaluable college experience that will enable you to have future professional success, and the money you spend on applying may end up being insignificant compared to the return on your investment. Furthermore, keep in mind that the cost of applying will probably be much, much less than the cost of attending college. Additionally, the application process takes time.Even though more and more colleges are using The Common Application, which allows you to apply to many schools with one application, many colleges still have their own applications or require supplemental essays.Each college application that requires additional essays will probably take you at least a few additional hours to complete. Make sure you have enough time to complete all the applications successfully without sacrificing the quality of your schoolwork or neglecting any other priorities you have outside of school. Filling out applications and writing good college essays take time. You Have Specific Needs That Only a Few Colleges Meet If only a few colleges fit your specific needs, then you don’t have to apply to a ton of colleges.For example, when I was applying to college, I knew I wanted to compete for an NCAA Division I gymnastics team. At the time, there were about 15 NCAA Division I men’s gymnastics programs. Even before I started doing college research or waited to see which schools recruited me, my options were very limited. I believe I ended up applying to 4 colleges, and admittedly, I only applied to one of those because I wanted to go on another recruiting trip. If you want to be in a very specific location or pursue a major that only a few schools have, then you may only need to apply to 3-5 colleges. You Don’t Have Much Time After You Receive Your Acceptances To Make Your College Decision Most colleges send their acceptance notices in the beginning of April, and typically, you only have until May 1 to select which college you’re going to attend.If you’re deciding between multiple colleges at this point, you’ll only have a few weeks to potentially take campus visits, compare the financial aid packages you’re offered, and do any necessary research to pick a college. The more colleges that accept you, the more stressful and difficult these few weeks may be for you, if you’re still unsure about which college is best for you. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. My Rules Regardless of the Number of Colleges You Apply To Follow these guidelines, regardless of the exact number of schools you end up applying to. Rule 1: Have at Least 2Safety Schools While I believe in maintaining optimism, it’s wise to prepare for a worst-case scenario. If you only get into your safety schools, you still want at least a couple of options to consider. Stay safe with safety schools. Rule 2: Don’t Apply to Any Colleges You Wouldn’t Want to Attend Considering the time and cost associated with applying to college, it’s pretty pointless to apply to a college that you have no desire to attend. Even if your safety schools aren’t your top choices, they should be colleges that you’d be willing to attend. Rule 3: Do the Majority of Your College ResearchBefore You Apply Before applying to college, you should have a good idea of what you’re looking for in a school.There are about 2,500 4-year colleges. Use college finders, college search websites, guidebooks, ranking lists, and campus visits to help decide which colleges you should apply to. Also, you can talk to your teachers, counselors, parents, current students, and alumni to help you narrow down your list of schools. Rule 4: Try to Rank the Schools You Apply to Before You Receive Acceptances After you apply, continue to do your research and try to rank the schools assuming you were offered admission to all of them. This will make the selection process easier.Once you receive your acceptances and review your financial aid packages (if you apply for need-based aid), you can factor in the cost of attendance for each school into your decision. Rule 5: Be Realistic About Your Chances of Admission Even though it’s perfectly fine to apply to reach colleges, at a certain point, a college may be too much of a reach, and you’d be better served to focus on schools that are more likely to admit you.Usually, if your GPA and standardized test scores are well below those of the average student at a very selective college (less than a 25% acceptance rate), your odds of gaining admission will be extremely low, and in some cases, virtually nil. For example, in 2014, at Princeton University, only 2% of admitted students had a GPA below a 3.5. At Yale, out of high schools that provided class rank, 97% of admitted students graduated in the top 10% of their class. You may still have a realistic chance if there’s something exceptional in your application. If you’re a world-class athlete, the child of a major donor, or you’ve overcome incredibly unique obstacles, you may still have a legitimate shot at admission with subpar grades and test scores. Also, if your grades are on par but you have below average test scores for a selective college, you may still have a shot of getting in, especially if you’re from a disadvantaged or underrepresented background. Rob Mills/Flickr College List Examples Here are a couple of hypothetical examples to illustrate some of the concepts that I explained above. Example #1 Josie wants to go to a very selective college in the South. She has a 3.9 weighted GPA and received a 2250 on the SAT. She doesn't want to be too far from her home in Atlanta, but she is willing to consider schools that are a little further away, but still in the South, if they're a really good fit. She qualifies for application fee waivers, but she has limited time to complete applications due to her job, school, and extracurricular activities. She doesn't know exactly what she wants to major in, but she's interested in science. How many schools should Josie apply to? Well, Josie's options are immediately limited because she wants to go to a very selective college in the South that's strong in the sciences. Also, she would prefer to be close to Atlanta. Because she's focused on selectivity, she may want to consider applying to more schools, but her time is limited. I would recommend that Josie apply to about 8 schools. Here would be a sample list of schools to apply to for Josie: Reach Schools: Duke University and Vanderbilt University Target Schools: Georgia Tech, Emory University, University of Virginia, College of William and Mary Safety Schools: University of Georgia and Mercer University Example #2 George is from a small town in California. He knows he wants to major in agronomy or crop science. He is willing to go away for school, but he only wants to be on the West Coast or East Coast. He prefers a selective college, but that's not his biggest priority. George has a 3.6 weighted GPA and received a 28 on his ACT. He is not overly concerned with the cost or time needed to apply, but he does need financial aid and is worried about the cost of school. How many schools should George apply to? George's major of interest and desire to be on one of the coasts severely limit his choices. In order to give him options and a chance to attend a selective school, I would recommend that George apply to about 7 schools. That would give him a better chance of getting into a selective school, and he can compare the financial aid packages he receives or opt to go to an in-state public school if he doesn't receive the aid he's hoping for. Here would be a sample list for George: Reach Schools: UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Target Schools: University of Connecticut, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State Safety Schools: CSU Fresno, University of Vermont UC Davis arboretum (ludios/Flickr) Final Advice While there's no cap on the number of schools you can apply to, some students, especially those from affluent backgrounds who want to go to a selective college, can go overboard, applying to more than 20 or 30 colleges. Personally, I would strongly discourage any student from applying to more than 15 colleges.If you apply to more than that, you’re probably going to make the application process too stressful and time-consuming. Also, most students who apply to more than 15 colleges are applying to at least a few schools that they wouldn’t want to attend. If you do the necessary research before you apply, you should be able to limit your list of schools to 15 or fewer. Honestly, anything more than 10 feels excessive to me, but I understand that some students are capable of applying to more and want to give themselves more options. On the other hand, some students, especially those who are low-income or the first in their families to go to college, often apply to too few colleges.If you don’t have very specific needs that are limiting your college options, and if selectivity is a factor in your college decision, I recommend applying to at least 6 schools. Explore your options. Some students only apply to their local state school because that’s what’s expected of them. Many are completely unaware of all of the college options that are available to them. Consider state institutions, private colleges, and out-of-state schools. Don’t forget to apply to safety schools.I’ve mentioned it a couple of times, but if you’re applying to 4-year colleges, you want to make sure that you have options. What's Next? Before you decide how many schools to apply to, familiarize yourself with the complete college application timeline. You may also want to learn how to get into the most selective colleges. Once you start your applications, review how to write a great college essay. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

The Z Notation Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Z Notation - Math Problem Example COUNTER The precondition increments the value of count by one every time a value is added. The precondition indicates that the limit does not change. The precondition indicates that the number of items added cannot exceed 256, which is the limit. If the item to be added in the sequence already exists, the item should not be added to the list. The schema ALREADYADDED helps to control this. ALREADY ADDED The precondition tests if the item to be added already exists in the given sequence. If the value exists , then the system returns a value (ALREADY_ADDED) If the value is already in the sequence the resulting sequence does not change, this precondition is given by The function INFORM: is given by: Combining the three schemas gives the general expression for pushing the item onto the stack. PUSH_ITEM The item (i) becomes a subset of the ITEM The resulting count + 1 must be less than the limit value The limit value does not change The sign depicts change of state If the sequence has the item identical to one being input then, the system displays 'ALREADY_ADDED' (2)POPPING THE ITEM FROM THE STACK The schema for displaying an item isDISPLAY_ITEM For the item to be displayed it must be contained in the sequence The function takes the name of the requested item and finds it and displays all information about the given ITEM. There is no change in state of the system, this is illustrated by the symbol To prevent displaying an item not in the sequence, the system should return a NOT_FOUND result, the expression is given by; NOT_...Each piece can then be described informally with a commentary. The Z schemes describe the dynamic and static aspects of a system. The static aspect of a system includes the states the system can occupy and the relationship maintained when the system transits from state to state. The dynamic aspects include the operation that are possible, the changes that occur and the input - output relationship. (1) The list of persons name and corresponding salaries (can be used by a company to store data of the employees working in that company and also store the salaries of these people.) the reasons for using this type of data are Several people using one name may earn the same salary, the system can be coded to display number of people earning the same salary, this means that the tests data type can be subjected to various operations. To test for rotation a number (i) and the square of the number (i2) can be used. The test data comprise of different numbers and their squares, these numbers form a sequence. The elements can be arranged so that the top most elements are the first members of the given sequence and the last element is greatest number in that list. On rotating left the greatest number and its square becomes the first element of the set.

Understanding the Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Understanding the Concepts - Essay Example However, this has affected customer loyalty and the company’s profits. In order to make profits and offer quality products and services, the company has sought assistance (a better pricing policy) from Prime Pricing Solutions. The development of a detailed pricing policy for Food and Beverage Company or operation comprises of five key stages. These stages include market feasibility study, basic price level and overall percentage gross profit, departmental gross and profit margins, differential profit margins, and other matters such as cover charges, and service charges. The stages will help the company in choosing the best price setting process to establish profitable and sustainable prices for the consumers. In designing the pricing policy for the company, the aforementioned steps will be followed as indicated. The first stage is market feasibility study. Because the company is already established, market feasibility study will not apply. However, there are important things that the company can note from the market feasibility study. First, the feasibility study generates a consumer profile; it describes in detail the consumer’s sex, socioeconomic status, age, nationality among other things. Secon d, it determines the consumer’s average spending power (Kotas, 1999). If the company did not perform a comprehensive market feasibility study, it will be important that it perform it to determine how they are going to price their products and services. It is important to note that the consumer profile has the most detailed and all-pervasive impact on all the food and beverage processes (Kotas, 1999). The second stage is the basic price level and the overall percentage gross profit. Based on the ASP (average spending power) and the consumer profile, the basic price level and the overall percentage of food and beverage gross profits can be determined. Therefore, the company can decide to charge a particular price for the foods and beverages. The

Why should we stop worrying and learn to love WK3 assignment Essay - 1

Why should we stop worrying and learn to love WK3 assignment - Essay Example How could our police force be so lax as to not have been able to identify such problem people in the crowd of faces in the mall or in schools? The answer is simple. Nobody was watching. Our perimeters were not secure because constant monitoring and surveillance of people still cannot be accomplished without a court order. Although surveillance cameras are already planted in strategic areas of cities, its scope and use is still limited by law and therefore, hinders its ability to protect the population the way that it potentially could. Keeping these events of innocent bloodshed in mind, I cannot help but agree with James Stacey Taylor and his explanation of the need to embrace Big Brother in our daily lives as he describes it in his essay â€Å"In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love (Some) Government Surveillance†. With the proper safeguards in place, the Orwellian nightmare that most people predict shall not happen because just like everything else pertaining to a persons right to privacy, the government may have access to certain information about you, but they do not have the legal grounds to blackmail or use the information they gathered against a person if it does not relate to a judicial proceeding. Our Fourth Amendment Rights and Wrongful Seizure Rights as protected by the Supreme Court rulings have made sure of that. As our population continues to become more and more comfortable with the way social media such as Twitter and Facebook has made our every move available to people in a wide-scale basis. I believe that the fear pertaining to the misuse of surveillance information will also fade into the background over time. That is because the events that happen in our daily lives, that show the efficiency and need for the constant surveillance is of the utmost importance in protecting the population will eventually push the people to clamor for more government

World History I a comparative analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World History I a comparative analysis - Essay Example The slaves did all the hard work the ancient greeks were sea faring people and a maritime industry existed. indirect tax system was more common .it was used to build state owned universities granaries etc. The economy had substantial economic infrastructure. Of harbors, quarries brickyards etc .agriculture was practiced the slave labors worked in the fields. Monetary stability and an expanding population stimulated economic growth IMPERIAL ECONOMIC system existed. the vedic age is famous for social stratification.in top bracket were the ruling and warrior class called the kshatriyas ,they were followed by the brahmanas or the priestly class. Next came the vashyas or the peasants and traders.finally the shudras who were the serving class. People lived in extended joint families .The head of the family was called GRIHAKARTA. Only free people of greek descendant were citizens. they enjoyed full protection of the state. In ATHENS Population was divided into 4 claws based on wealth The slaves had no power but they could own family or property. The Chinese were the most evolved in the field of science. Discovery of gunpowder, paper etc. were all Chinese contributions to the world. Chinese medicine was based on herbs that could cure almost all diseases. Chinese philosophy was also evolved. The concept of energy flows was propounded called 'Chi'.

Temperature Monitor Simulation Using LabVIEW Lab Report

Temperature Monitor Simulation Using LabVIEW - Lab Report Example An Alarm LED was added that is activated when the temperature signal is more than a threshold level selected using a Vertical Pointer slide. This system can be tested by pressing the Run button (arrow icon), but the data generated will not be very useful. A While Loop function was added to keep the program running until a Stop button is pressed. This way, a meaningful graphical data (temperature vs. time) will be displayed at the Waveform Chart. The results of the experiment showed that LabVIEW can be used to simulate simple circuits like a temperature monitor. The temperature signal can be generated and monitored inside LabVIEW, so as the output results. Added functionalities like unit conversion and alarm activations can also be simulated. In the previous experiment, an internal temperature signal was generated using a virtual Dial software. In this experiment, the temperature signal will be provided by an external power source. The previous block diagram was used but edited to replace the internal temperature source with an external source. The output results were observed using a Waveform Chart. As can be seen in the Fig. 2, the internal temperature signal source was replaced with the DAQ (PCI-6025E Data Acquisition Card) that is connected to a DC power supply with variable voltage output control. Varying this voltage simulated an incoming temperature signal. The signal was also passed through Multiply and Add functions to convert it from a Celsius value to a Farenheit equivalent. A Waveform Chart was used to display temperature variation with time. An Alarm LED was added that is activated when the temperature signal is more than a threshold level selected using a Vertical Pointer slide. This system was also tested by pressing the Run button (arrow icon) and using the While Loop function to keep the program running until a Stop button is pressed. This way, a meaningful graphical data (temperature vs. time) was displayed on the Waveform Chart. Conclusion: The results of this experiment showed that LabVIEW can be used to simulate circuits like a temperature monitor that uses external source. This external source can be controlled and monitored by LabVIEW. As in the previous experiment, added functionalities like unit conversion and alarm activations can also be simulated. Fig. 2 DAQ used as interface for external signal

World History I a comparative analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World History I a comparative analysis - Essay Example The slaves did all the hard work the ancient greeks were sea faring people and a maritime industry existed. indirect tax system was more common .it was used to build state owned universities granaries etc. The economy had substantial economic infrastructure. Of harbors, quarries brickyards etc .agriculture was practiced the slave labors worked in the fields. Monetary stability and an expanding population stimulated economic growth IMPERIAL ECONOMIC system existed. the vedic age is famous for social stratification.in top bracket were the ruling and warrior class called the kshatriyas ,they were followed by the brahmanas or the priestly class. Next came the vashyas or the peasants and traders.finally the shudras who were the serving class. People lived in extended joint families .The head of the family was called GRIHAKARTA. Only free people of greek descendant were citizens. they enjoyed full protection of the state. In ATHENS Population was divided into 4 claws based on wealth The slaves had no power but they could own family or property. The Chinese were the most evolved in the field of science. Discovery of gunpowder, paper etc. were all Chinese contributions to the world. Chinese medicine was based on herbs that could cure almost all diseases. Chinese philosophy was also evolved. The concept of energy flows was propounded called 'Chi'.

Learning to read and write Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Learning to read and write - Essay Example When Douglas attained 12 years, he acquired a book, the Colombian Orator that gave him an insight about slavery. Within the book was a conversation between a slave and his master. The slave had made three futile attempts to escape but finally managed to negotiate his terms of slavery. Douglas quest for education spurred deep resentment against his masters and the whites. The more he read about slavery, the more he loathed the white people. He hated himself for being black and even worse hated how the whites treated him and fellow blacks. Douglas learnt about the abolishment campaign by citizens from the North but lacked the nerves to see it happen. Once when helping Irish whites unload a scow of stones, he learnt of the northerners’ piety for the black slaves in the south. His resentment peaked when he decided he needed to run away but later settled to stay since he was young. For him to earn a dignified life as any other free American, he needed to know how to read and write. He knew how to read but was not good at writing. Douglas made an effort to educate himself on how to write with the help of other white children (Frederick). I t was a long, painstaking journey for Douglas to learn how to read and

The Pursuit of Free

The Pursuit of Freedom Essay The exploration of the world has always been interesting to the human mind. During the 1700s, many discoveries were made of new land including North America. The exploration of the western hemisphere was a great feat for the Europeans. The Europeans were the first explorers that colonized in what is known as The United States of America today. Ever since people set foot on American soil, people went through several movements that often changed many aspects of America and the daily lives of the citizens that colonized the states. One of the main movements that greatly influenced America as a whole was the Enlightenment period. The American Revolution looked at through European Movement Europe, mainly Great Britain, played a large role in shaping the states and furthering their progress in becoming an independent nation. However, Great Britain did not want America to become independent because they had full control over all of the colonies. Great Britain made a hefty profit off of America when they had control. After the Seven Year War, Great Britain placed extra taxes on the colonies to make them pay off the expenses that Great Britain had after protecting the colonies for those years. This along with Enlightenment pushed America to further their quest for independence. The ideas that brought about the enlightenment movement were actually brought to America by the Europeans. Enlightenment showed Americans that independence was possible to achieve and started the progression of the American Revolution. The people that supported the Enlightenment movement focused on the â€Å"pursuit of happiness†, and they believed that every person obtained the right to be a free citizen and have the same rights no matter what their wealth or popularity was. They also believed in every citizen’s right to free speech and their right to practice whatever religion they chose. These laws and beliefs still govern our nation today so the idea introduced by Europeans actually helped the United States separate from Europe and form their own nation. During the American Revolution, politics were still developing and many new parties sprung up in the running for office. A rise in Nationalism brought together the nation and made them want to have their nation under their control even more than ever. Nationalism influenced the colonist to revolt against Britain and seek their right to own the land they live on. Many nationalists wanted their territory that they cultivate to be theirs and not be able to be taken due to the excessive taxes that they could not afford to pay. The nation sought out together to take their land and this greatly affected the outcome of the American Revolution.

Success Or Failure Of The Euro Currency Economics Essay

Success Or Failure Of The Euro Currency Economics Essay Chapter 1: Introduction: When the European Union was founded in 1957 their initial endeavor was to establish a common market. However they found this idea not taking shape as their financial objectives didnt seem to prosper due to lack of a common c. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty paved the way for a single c for the EU. Its been a decade since euro had been floated into the international markets. With its introduction in the rush for globalization saw many gains for euro in terms of increase in cross-border capital, trade, and outsourcing, securities and foreign exchange markets turnover as well as in cross-border asset holdings. The decade even saw a huge mounting up of foreign reserves due to growing current account imbalances. With euro taking the role of an international c, there had been drastic changes in the international markets with portfolios being shifted from dollar-denominated to euro-denominated which had led to depreciation in dollar. Moreover Bank of Chinas opinion to support stronger currencies had added to the dollar depreciation. Research aim: The main aim of the research is to understand the sustainability of euro based on financial, economic and political factors. With the euro combining various markets into a single European market, consumer welfare has improved. This had led to convergence of money and capital markets through increased competition, market liquidity and transparency in operation with economies of scale and scope. Euro has gained the potential of risk diversification and more efficient allocation of capital resources. Elimination of exchange rate risk has increased price transparency, thereby reducing transaction costs and boosting competition in international markets. Research objective: The primary intention is to analyze if the future of euro is moving towards success or failure given the social, economic and political factors. While the euro c as well as its policy framework has attributed to stability and prosperity in euro area, the global crisis identified the necessity to strengthen European economic governance as a remedy against future challenges. Euro has gained importance in global markets by allowing global public and private investors to diversify their asset allocation and borrowers to find other sources of funding. Proper and timely actions by the European Financial stability Facility had helped a great extent in safeguarding euro so far. With the European Stability Mechanism being activated till June 2013, financial stability of the euro area is expected to be in full transparency so as to revive in times of financial distress. Research questions: Will the size of the economy help in sustaining the euro stability? Will focus on international trade help in stabilizing? Based on the size, depth, liquidity and openness of the domestic financial markets, can the euro be stabilized? Is the euro stable enough to ensure easy convertibility of its c? Can macroeconomics play a vital role in preserving euro stability? Significance of the study: The study aims to implicate the following: Need for further economic amalgamation so as to tackle problems in times of crisis. Need for a banking union thereby giving control to European Central Bank (ECB) to oversee all euro-zone banks in one step process. Government efforts are needed in order to devise economic and fiscal outline which are essential to the euro c. Efforts are also needed from financial market participants and supervisors, given that the maintenance of the financial market stability plays a crucial role for monetary and macroeconomic stability. Research objectives: The main objective of this report is to assess the success or failure of implementing a unified c, being the Euro c. Examining this topic yields a look into the viability of having a uniform c across a region with similar economic and political attributes. When the idea of a single c was first suggested, doubts raised as to the credibility of the governance as each member states had different political heads. With the single c, however all these political heads would be combined as one governing body to govern all member states. However in a region with similar economic and political attributes, the idea seemed successful with the formation of EU which consisted of European Council to manage course of actions and to suggest new laws; the European parliament to discuss on and endorse laws suggested by the council finally the European Commission with personnel to accomplish the laws. The EU helped a great deal in providing effective governance in the Euro-zone which helped European economy overtake US economy in 2009 with a trade of $14.5 trillion against US trade of $14.3 trillion, thereby accounting to 40% of the worlds economic power. Further, researching the different factors and aspects of what makes a c succeed or fail in meeting its set objectives shall provide insight into understanding the dynamics of the relationship between members of the EU. The vital factors that help judge the efficacy of a c are the size of the economy, political stability, and role in international trade, transparency and openness in domestic markets, easy convertibility to cash and impact of macroeconomics in preserving euro. Relationship between EU members had been strengthened after the launch of euro. Thats because almost 17 of the 27 member states have approved euro. It has also paved the way for a single monetary council to govern the functioning of euro throughout the euro-zone. Moreover cross border trade had increased which was mainly due to creation of single c which cuts transaction costs. Transparency had also been maintained with the euro in domestic markets without price fluctuations. Tourism had also increased with the launching of euro, as tourists didnt have to keep changing their currencies when travelling around the euro-zone. This way Euro ensured easy convertibility of cash. Finally member countries which were financially rich in EU were used to backup poorer economies in EU, thereby ensuring financial stability whenever any of the macroeconomic components triggered a threat to EU. It was this backup which helped euro from failing to a greater extent when the 2008 crisis broke out. The report also provides ground for analyzing the advantages of poorer EU member states adopting the Euro c. This will check the economic drive that can occur from having a monetary union between countries with varying economic statures. The advantages of poorer economies joining the euro can be said to be both an advantage as well as a disadvantage. Its an advantage as even if they fail to repay bills owing to crisis, with the help of EMU they would get help from the richer economies in EU to repay the bills. Disadvantage can be attributed to the fact that salaries may be lesser in less productive areas when compared to salaries of employees in higher production areas. This advantage is due to the fact that all of these employees are now paid in Euros. So indirectly it can pose a threat as the standard of living may vary from place to place, but the salaries remain the same, thereby generating problems in getting even basic daily household things. For example, we may consider the following example between Greece and Germany. Item 2000 2010 Greek German Greek German Number of cups made an hour 5 5 10 20 Employee wage per hour 5 drachma 5 euro 10 euro 12 euro Cost of making a cup 1 drachma 1 euro 1 euro 0.60 euro The above example gives an insight as to more production at lower price thereby encouraging more demand gaining big. However Greece seems to be losing the race. The report also will touch on the aftermath of failures in the Euro, if any, and the remedial measures that can be adopted in case of such failures. This also gives indication to other regions that may want to adopt the strategies used by the Euro while avoiding the negative aspects of the Euro example. There is a perception in euro that it is working only in favour of France and Germany, but the real fact is these countries have achieved little in terms of bargaining success. Even if they had been doing well, ii happens that in times of debt by other EU countries, such rich countries will have to take the burden of clearing unpaid bills, thereby making it impossible for such countries to decide on their infrastructure plans. Moreover in the aftermath of 2008 crisis, TARGET 2 set for the purpose of clearing euro combined all imbalances between banks in the euro-zone. However this failed to meet its objective right from 2007 till 2011, there was an increase in the capital from weaker countries. When the entire euro-zone was undergoing crisis, Germany was doing relatively well, thereby showing diversification in thoughts in terms of social and political issues. In order to prevent failing of euro, policies have to be effectively modified in such a way that there is a win-win situation between both the financially rich and poorer countries, thereby ensuring equal competition. In times of crisis, EU member states can increase inflation rates for a while thereby ensuring their economic growth steady enough to get away from rising debts. However these two can be achieved only with political integration by all EU member states. Having a monetary union and examining its performance is an example set by the Euro. In case of a failure of the c, the report will try to highlight the possibility of discontinuing the circulation of the unified c and reverting to each countrys earlier adopted c. This success can be attributed to ECB cutting down the interest rates 3 times in 2012, thereby lowering borrowing costs creating confidence among investors in euro market that a euro-breakup would not be imminent. In short to say, collapse of the euro is not bound to happen soon, however the stability of euro is unclear in the future. Data collection method: The first hand data will be gathered by distributing questionnaires and analyzing the results. The questionnaires shall be distributed on three banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain which deal with the euro c. The secondary data has been taken from European commission website on inflation in the Euro area from 1960s to 2000s, fiscal position of the euro area in 1992, 1998 and 2007, mean intra-Euro-area correlation between Gross Domestic Product and Industrial Production, two indicators namely the number of years with negative gap sum of negative gaps as a percentage of GDP, macroeconomic performance indicators. Sample selection and selection criteria: The sample chosen are the employees of three banks in Bahrain who invest and deal with euro c. The banks are: Arcapita GFH Gulf Finance House ABC Arab Banking Corporation Survey methodology: The methodology involved analyzing the parameters for significance with the datas obtained from first hand and second hand data which are the survey and other previously published material. The magnitude of a countrys financial system is very vital to decide on its prospective use in the global markets. The global trade and magnitude of a countrys financial markets are related to the economic size. For instance, if we consider the export output between Korea and US, the former accounts for a much greater contribution. However as the US economy is 14 times larger than the Korean thereby making it embrace a much larger share in the world exports. The share of a country in international trade, the size and economy as well as the openness in financial markets forms determinants for demand of that countrys c in global markets. Chapter 2: Literature reviews: Some believe that Euro has failed to perform the required needs or reach the final destination of welfare for all. Instead it has become burden. Others believe that Euro has resulted in bringing a unity among the European nations which helped them to fight out the Economic depression seen in the last decade. The convertibility of a currency also forms a major determinant for demand of that currency, because unless there are less restrictions money is exchanged smoothly thereby ensuring increase in demand of currency. For example after World War II, most of the countries except US restricted their convertibility of currency thereby making US dollar readily available in markets increasing dollar demand. Following table gives a justification to the above determinants: Parameters United States Euro-area Japan Share of world GDP (%) 21.9 15.8 7.6 Share of world exports (%) 15.3 19.4 9.3 Financial markets ($ billions) 40,543.8 24,133.4 20,888.5 Bank assets ($ billions) 7,555.3 12,731.3 6,662.5 Domestic debt securities outstanding ($ billions) 15.426.3 5,521.9 6,444.9 Stock market capitalization ($ billions) 17,562.2 5,880.2 7,781.4 Following are some more factors that help to support and strengthen the study: 2.1 Macroeconomic level: Price stability and low-cost borrowing by European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) helped ensure macroeconomic stability in Europe. Euro helped put an end to changes in exchange rates within Europe owing to changes from outside Europe. The following graph shows improvement in inflation performance thereby leading to sharp decline in price volatility. 2.2. distinction of the strength of the currencies Similar lines of reasoning can be found in Magee and Rao (1980). They make a distinction between strong and weak currencies according to low and high inflation currencies. The intuition behind this being that in trade between low inflation industrial and high inflation developing countries, the low inflation currency of the industrial country dominates. Also, for trade in primary products a vehicle currency might be optimal. The importance of the choice between different currencies came back into the economic discussion when major exchange rates became flexible after the breakdown of Breton Woods in 1973. Viaene and de Vries (1992) take strategic bargaining considerations into account and introduce a forward market. In their model, exporters and importers bargain over the invoicing currency. Both are assumed to prefer their own currency, respectively. Viaene and de Vries find that the dominance of the exporters currency  can be due either to the first mover advantage of the exporting firm or to the monopoly power of the exporter who is more likely to have bargaining power as the firm faces a wide spread demand and not many competitors. 2.3 Currency risk Summing up the early literature, the main findings are that traders seek to avoid currency  risk by using their own currency and that, in trade between industrialized countries exporters are in general more likely to be able to avoid the currency risk.   When currencies are free to fluctuate there is, however, not only the issue of price uncertainty but also  demand uncertainty. 2.4 Invoicing currency: Donnenfeld and Zilcha (1991) present a first formal model in which a firms choice of invoicing currency is analyzed. They are also among the first to develop a model on the Microeconomic level in which the firm optimizes its profits. The main finding of Donnenfeld and Zilcha is that LCP is optimal for the exporting firm if the total revenue curve is concave in the foreign price. This is the case when the sensitivity of demand with respect to prices is not much higher the higher the price level. That is, if the price is set in producer currency and increases (in foreign currency) due to an appreciation of the exporting firms currency, profits will fall because demand will be reduced by more than the increase in profits due to the higher price received. In the case of depreciation, demand is not extended enough to compensate for the lower price the exporting firm receives, because demand is less sensitive to the price at the lower price level. If this is the case, higher variability in foreign prices, which comes with higher volatility in the exchange rate under PCP, lowers expected profits. Thus, under these conditions, high exchange rate volatility would lead the exporting firm to choose LCP.   2.5 Currency Market: Friberg (1997) extends the literature by including into the model a forward currency  market and the possibility to set prices in a third currency: vehicle currency  pricing (VCP). As in Donnenfeld and Zilcha the choice of the optimal currency setting is closely linked to the price elasticity of foreign demand. The second best currency pricing strategy depends on the relative exchange rate volatilities. If the exchange rate towards the vehicle currency exhibits low volatility compared to the bilateral exchange rate of the exporter and importer, VCP is preferred and vice versa.   Now, even under LCP the demand for the firms product is uncertain because the competitors might not price in local currency. In such a case fixing the relative price of the competing products can be important to the exporters so they might choose a common vehicle currency. This finding of choosing the currency  of the competitor is also common to a number of other studies. 2.6 Pricing Strategy: In particular, Bacchetta and van Wincoop (2002) use a NOEM model to analyze the optimal pricing strategy of exporters.  In a very elaborate general equilibrium framework that also takes into account exchange rate dependent costs they derive similar conclusions to those of Donnenfeld and Zilcha. 2.7 demand sensitivity of costs and price The driving factors for exporters to care about their relative prices are the demand sensitivity of costs and the price sensitivity of demand. It can be said that the higher the product differentiation, the lower the price sensitivity of demand. Exporters will, thus, prefer to invoice in their own currency if their products are highly differentiated, while they will pay attention to holding their relative prices constant if their products are less differentiated. This does not mean that less differentiated products are always invoiced in LCP, however. 2.8 market share of the exporting country in the foreign market Bacchetta and van Wincoop build into their model the market share of the exporting country in the foreign market that is, the share of the market that is accounted for by firms from a particular country or monetary area. Demand risk is minimized by invoicing in the currency that is most similar to the average invoicing currency chosen by competitors (Bacchetta and van Wincoop 2002, p. 15). For a monetary union, it is the market share of the entire currency union that matters and not the market share of an individual country. Exports of a monetary union are therefore more likely to be priced in producer currency, and imports to a monetary union more likely to be priced in local currency, because the monetary unions market share is more likely to be dominant. Goldberg and Tille (2005) call this behavior of choosing the currency of the competitor a herding effect. In their partial equilibrium three country model a dominant share of a currency other than the one of the exporter or the importer can make vehicle currency pricing the optimal choice. This herding effect takes place for industries with homogeneous goods where producers aim at keeping their prices relative to the competitors stable. Goldberg (2005) elaborates on this model by including a covariance between marginal cost and exchange rates. There is then also a hedging motive to choose a currency so that the exchange rate is correlated in such a way to shocks to exporters costs that marginal costs are positively correlated with marginal revenue. 2.9 Two-country dynamic general equilibrium model The most elaborate model so far was introduced by Devereux, Engel and Storegaard (2003). Using a two-country dynamic general equilibrium model with sticky prices, these authors analyze the implications of endogenous exchange rate pass-through. Their results show that the degree of pass-through depends on the relative stability of monetary policy; countries with relatively low monetary volatility experience low rates of exchange rate pass- through. The reason is that firms in both countries have an incentive to set their prices in the currency of the country with the low monetary volatility.  As a consequence, the country with low monetary volatility is shielded against exchange rate movements.   2.10 The export pricing behavior Engel (2005) analyses the export pricing behavior of firms in a static model, both in an environment with flexible and with fixed prices. He shows that the choice between producer currency pricing and local currency  pricing is independent of the degree of sluggishness in price adjustment. Under flexible price adjustment, producer currency pricing is optimal if the variance of the export price in the firms own currency is less than the variance of the price in the local currency of the importer. The same holds in an environment of fixed prices.   Summing up the theoretical literature the most important finding is that the optimal pricing strategies are very sensitive to the set of assumptions. In particular, the level of risk aversion and the existence of forward markets to hedge exchange rate risks matter for the results. First and foremost, however, the sensitivity of foreign demand to prices matters, which can be approximated by the homogeneity or differentiation of the product. When demand is sensitive to prices the market share of the exporting country, or more specifically, the currency used by the competitors matters. When the optimal currency choice depends on the currency used by competitors, herding in the same currency is optimal. Also, currencies of countries with monetary stability are more likely to be chosen as invoicing currency. 2.11 The Failure of the Euro Martin Feldstein (2012). As the author mentioned, the euro now shall be known as an experiment that failed. This failure, since the euro was first introduced, in 1999, was not an accident or the result of bureaucratic mismanagement but rather the inevitable results of imposing a single currency on a very heterogeneous group of countries. The adverse economic consequences of the euro include the sovereign debt crises in many European countries, the breakable condition of major European banks, high levels of unemployment crosswise the euro-zone, and the large trade deficits which now block most euro-zone countries. The political goal of creating a harmonious Europe has failed too. France and Germany have dictated hurtful austerity actions in Greece and Italy as a state of their financial help. Paris and Berlin have clashed over the role of the European Central Bank (ECB)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹â€ and over how the burden of financial help will be shared. The early impetus that led to the European Monetary Union and the euro was political, not economic. European politicians rationalized that as the use of a common currency would instill in their publics a greater sense of belonging to a European community and that the shift of responsibility for monetary policy from national capitals to a single central bank in Frankfurt would signal a shift of political power. Michael Sivy (2011), as usually said big stories dont break, they ooze. The demise of the Euro is just such a story. Hence each time it oozes, U.S. stock markets drop. The collapse of the Euro, is now inevitable, in the authors view. When it happens, banks around the globe will be shaken and stock markets will plummet. Academics, journalists and even government officials have projected a set of schemes to save the Euro new European financial institutions, Eurobonds backed by all the countries collectively and even a United States of Europe. However it is clear that any such scheme to save the Euro would find little political support. The breakup will perhaps be extremely painful. Nevertheless, the alternatives may be even more unpalatable.