Fisher & Paykel Market Audit and Competitive Analysis Essay

Fisher & Paykel Market Audit and Competitive Analysis - Essay Example It is evident from the study that Australia has experienced a high demand for white goods product and it would be feasible for Fisher & Paykel to commence business where the demand for its product is high. Fisher & Paykel a well known manufacturing company of white goods would supply two main products in Australia the washing machine and dishwasher which was lately introduced by the company. Since the demand is high the competition is stiff and thus Fisher & Paykel decided to promote is product through television pint media and by giving offers with the purchase of its products. As concerned with the pricing strategy the company would follow competitive based pricing. The company has planned a corporate and strategic plan to reinforce actions and implement it for which it has set up a long term vision 2020. Fisher & Paykel would use the Data quality Objective to measure its environmental performance and track a record of the actions that needs to be done. Along with it the company wo uld develop team membership to perform effectively. The company core interest is towards environment sustainability and thus focuses primarily on the behavioural audit of the management and tries to find out the practise that Fisher & Paykel has been performing with regards to the safety of the environment. The company would develop proactive as well as reactive strategy in terms of environment sustainability which would report to the management on quarterly basis and finally the report aims to provide recommendation to the company in terms of environment sustainability. ... ns communicated to various stakeholders 17 Identify the various stakeholders’ sentiments about the environment 18 Product 18 Packaging 19 CEO’s (or the key senior decision maker’s) attitude toward the environment 20 CEO’s (or the key senior decision maker’s) education and background 20 CEO’s (or the key senior decision maker’s) participation 21 Office (admin) efficiency 21 Analysis of the nature and types of environmental safety actions being undertaken 22 Reporting 23 Recommendations 24 Reference 26 Introduction Introduction of the company Fisher & Paykel Appliances manufactures designs and markets innovative household appliances which are developed to provide technology, user friendly, design and environmental awareness. Fisher & Paykel is one of the biggest manufacturing company producing household appliances. Its wholly owned subsidiary includes production machinery limited which builds on production equipment; Dynamic cooking syst ems Inc which is based in US which manufactures both indoor and outdoor cooking products; Fishers and Paykel Italy which manufactures European cooking products. The company manufacturing sites is located in New Zealand, Italy, Thailand and Mexico (Fisher & Paykel, n.d). History Fisher & Paykel was founded in Auckland, New Zealand in 1934 by Wool Fisher and his friend Maurice Paykel to import refrigerators, washing machines and mantle radios. In the year 1938, import and restriction on foreign exchange lead the company to consider manufacturing. A year later the company started to manufacture refrigerators and washing machines. The company expanded its business and moved to larger premises and by 1949 the company started to produce 600 washing machines, 700 vacuum cleaners and 500 refrigerators. In 1956, Fisher & Paykel

Theories of Ageing Essay Example for Free

Theories of Ageing Essay Major theories of ageing in relation to the development of an individual As an individual grows older they get more withdrawn from the rest of society. The society actually rejects older people from a lot of activities. It is part of growing older and it is a way of distancing yourself from people before you die. Therefore the two major theories examine what causes an individual to distance themselves from this the rest of the people. The social disengagement theory basically examines the development of an individual and how it influences their development as they grow older. The activity theory of ageing examines how an individual continues to be attached to their normal routine of life. The two theories suggest two different things which two different individuals might have an impact on. The social disengagement theory would affect the personality of an individual because they are disengaging from the rest of the society and they become lonelier. Loneliness would impact in their lives because they have no one that pays interest to what they want and what makes them happy. Once the individual isolates themselves from the rest of the society, everybody who was close distances themselves. The social disengagement theory suggests that it is normal for older people to withdraw from the society and it becomes part of their life. This would not be very accurate because it causes the individual to be more stressed. They would be more stressed because they are disengaging from the society and they are getting hold of the fact that they might be dying and nobody cares about their existence anymore. This would be depressing to the individual and it would be more appropriate that they be active as the time to live would be less and it would be healthier not to be stressed and depressed from being lonely and disengaging from the society. The suggestion of the disengagement theory does not help the individual to feel good about them but it makes them feel that they are being isolated and they are getting hold of the fact of death. The activity theory suggests that an individual continues to feel great about their attitude towards their life. This helps the individual to feel the need to be positive about their life. The activity theory suggests that an individual’s self-esteem is not affected by ageing as long as activities e. g. work are replaced with new activities. The more the individual socialises the more they have an active life and they are happier in their in old age. This does not make the individual feel that they are being left out because they are personally involved in the activities that make them feel happier in their lives. The activity theory has an impact in the development of an individual because the more they are happy at their old age; the more they get the opportunity to spend as much time with close relatives and friends. This is helps majorly in the development because the individual can see that people are there for them and it becomes easier for the individual to come to terms easily to that they might die. The acceptance of their death makes the individual be happier and they want to live their life to the fullest. The theory assumes a positive relationship between activity and life satisfaction. Activity theory reflects the functionalist view that the balance that an individual develops in middle age should be maintained in later years. The theory predicts that older adults that face role loss will substitute former roles with other alternatives. This would help them to continue their daily lives as normal. This would be a huge advantage to the individual than disengaging from the society. This is so because they get to be fit in their physique, that’s if they choose to start having an exercise routine or they may want to take up course because they feel the need to expand their knowledge. If the individual disengages from the society, it becomes difficult for them to engage in any form of activities. The social disengagement theory might be the only option of the individual if they are really terrified of being out. This would also be an option if the service user feels that they are better in that situation when they have no friends and family. Therefore the social disengagement theory would be an option if the service user does not feel good about their self-esteem. The activity theory is best theory because it keeps the elderly person in touch with everything and everyone that is around them. Therefore residential homes should encourage service users to physically and mentally active as it would contribute to their social life in the society.

Greek And Roman Influence On Western Civilization Essay -- greek roman

Western civilization is what we call modern society that mainly includes North America and Western Europe. But how did this western way of life come to be? Their are many different ways but mainly through ancient cultures. The two main ones are the Greek and Roman. Greece with their golden age and Rome with its great Empire and Republic and also together. Their are many ways in which western civilization is like the ancient Greek civilization. They started the Olympic games. Greeks come up with the idea of an alphabet that it still used today. They were the first to think of the idea of democracy. They had common people participate in their government and to elect a leader. Their trials had an actual jury made up of commoners. Greece was the first to think of paying people for their labor. It also had the initial philosophers and thought up of the way we now write literature. Including the idea of putting on a play. One of historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s greatest writes, Homer, thought up of poems that are story size that we now call epic poems. But it was mainly through government that Greeks influenced the world. The other greatest influence on western civilization is the one of Ancient Rome. They formed a law code much like the ones used now a day in many countries. First to believe someone was innocent tell proven guilty. Had a Senate much like the ones used today, with both upper class and lower class in it. And also had other assemblies. Rome spread the Lat...

Peoples Obsession With MUDs :: Technology Internet Chat Essays

People's Obsession With MUDs Patik licks Mary. Mary giggles and kicks him in the shin. Krista pirouettes and falls down laughing. Cislynx seduces Missworld. Ralphie shouts, "who wants to tango"?! I am not having a nightmare, and I do not live in a mental institution. I am simply witnessing the typical behavior of a Multi User Dungeon (MUD). MUDs have become all the rage in the rapidly increasing world of computer technology. MUDs put you in a virtual space where you can create an identity and "chat" with other people. In this virtual world, you are represented by a self-composed textual description: if youre fat, you can be thin; if you're beautiful, you can be plain; and if you're nerdy, you can be sophisticated. This anonymity allows you to express unexplored aspects of yourself, to play with your real world identity by trying out new ones (Turkle 12). In addition to creating an identity, your virtual character can converse with others, exchange gestures, express emotions and rise and fall in popularity. You can even die in a MUD (Turkle 183). Essentially, you can be who or whatever you want, and you can say anything because your character exists only in cyberspace, as does everyone else who you encounter. You might ask yourself why do people bother to spend hours, days and weeks interacting with virtual beings? Why don't these people get out more and try living in the real world? The answer is simple. On-line communication in a MUD is a unique form of interaction because it is the only place in the world where you can leave your "real" life, assume the identity of your dreams and behave as you like without leaving any negative impact on your non-virtual existence. People are obsessed with MUDding because it is an escape mechanism which allows you to ignore reality and live out fantasy. This desire to escape reality is an understandable response to an overemphasis on who you are or to the problems of your real-world identity. As a society, we have created an immense pressure upon ourselves to have a "perfect" self-image. This "perfection" can range from wanting flawless skin and pouty lips to desiring a successful career and a happy family. The demands of creating and sustaining this perfect modern identity are becoming increasingly burdensome, and as your life centers more on maintaining this certain image the desire to escape from the image grows greater (Baumeister 2).

A key issue that was faced by the New Testament Church Essay

Examine a key issue that was faced by the New Testament Church (Prostitution). Could these arguments used in the first century be used by the Church of today for this problem? Prostitution is the performance of sexual acts solely for the purpose of material gain. Persons prostitute themselves when they grant favours to others in exchange for money, gifts or other payments and in so doing; use their bodies as commodities. In legal terms, the word prostitute refers only to those who engage overtly in such sexual-economic transactions, usually for a specific sum of money. Prostitutes may be of either sex, but throughout history, the majority have been women, reflecting both the traditional socio-economic dependence of women and the tendency to exploit female sexuality. Although prostitution has often been characterised as the â€Å"worlds oldest profession,† the concept of women as property, which prevailed in most centuries until the end of the nineteenth century, meant that the profits of the profession most often ended up in the hands of the men who controlled it. Men have traditionally been characterised as procurers and customers, but during the latter half of the twentieth century, they are increasingly being identified as prostitutes themselves, who generally serve male customers and sometimes impersonate women. The Torah (Law) had little to say on the subject of secular prostitution. It prohibited parents from dedicating their children as sacred prostitutes, but there is nothing to tell us whether its authors would have objected equally to the ideas of a master making his slave-woman a secular prostitute or even a father doing so with his daughter. There are two references to secular prostitution in the Old Testament, which offer any details as to how it was regarded. In both cases, an unmarried women is understood to have chosen this course of action on her own and thereby brought disgrace on her father. In one passage, a priests daughter â€Å"who plays the harlot† is condemned to be burned for having â€Å"profaned† her father (Leviticus 21:9). One may think that she is part of her father’s household, either as not yet married or as a divorced or widowed woman. Her activity threatens the state of purity vital to the household, since its food comes largely from the altar of the temple. In Deuteronomy (22:13-21) a man charges that his wife was not found to be a virgin on her wedding night. If this were true, she would be stoned for having â€Å"played the harlot in her father’s house.† In other words, she has engaged in sexual intercourse when she ought to have been guarding her virginity carefully in order to be a suitable bride. In the process, she has exposed her father to shame of having misrepresented her state in negotiating her marriage. It is not clear from the passage that she actually receives payment for her services; the point seems to be, rather, that she has deprived her father and her prospective husband of their rights in her. What was wrong with prostitution, from the perspective of ancient Israel, was not so much the giving or receiving of payment for sexual intercourse as it was the removal of sexual intercourse from the framework of property and hierarchy which normally contained it and ensured that it was placed at the service of the family. Such an interpretation is made explicit in a more extensive critique of prostitution found in Proverbs. After warning the reader against the wiles of the loose woman, the author contrasts the positive ideal of possessing a wife with a negative prospect of wasting one’s resources on a courtesan (Proverbs 5:15-23). Having said that, one cannot treat wisdom literature as if it were the same genre as legislation. It is clear that Proverbs agrees with the Torah in understanding prostitution, as violation to Gods will, not merely as something to be avoided for prudential reasons. Still, the justification offered for the prohibition is intrusive as to the ethical framework in which the prohibition itself belonged. Prostitution was wrong because it stood outside the normal patriarchal system in which the male head of the household owned one or more women as sexual partners. As such, it threatened the interests of the family. The man might feel that he had received full value for his expense, but the family gained nothing at all from his patronising of the prostitute. His action, therefore was a betrayal of his responsibilities, since he existed not to gratify his own desires but to maintain and enhance the fortunes of his â€Å"father’s house.† What the Torah and Proverbs agree upon then is the condemnation of those who place personal gratification ahead of family duty. The Torah condemns the unmarried woman who prefers sexual pleasure above her obligations as a good daughter of the household who must preserve her marriageability, which is, indeed the family’s investment in her. Proverbs condemns the man who spends family resources on private pleasure. He should marry a woman and be content with the sexual pleasure he receives from her. Proverbs was concerned to make the prostitute sound as unscrupulous and unattractive as possible. The Torah was speaking to the woman who was trying to behave as an unattached individual in pursuit of pleasure while still remaining under the protection of her father. According to the Torah, prostitution, though a slightly less serious crime than adultery, was wrong insofar as it represented the triumph of individual gratification over against the principle of subordination to the fami ly. The matter of prostitution receives very little attention from the Gospel writers, but it appears in a significant pronouncement of Jesus. The tax collectors and the prostitutes, he said, were entering the Kingdom of God ahead of respectable religious leaders (chief priests and elders) because they believed the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt 21:23-32). Since John preached repentance (Matt 3:2) one may suspect that prostitutes ceased to be such when they came to believe the message. It proves difficult, however, to be certain. The tax collectors presumably did not cease to be tax collectors (In Luke 19:1-10, the tax collector Zacchaeus, upon his conversion, gave half of his property to the poor and made amends to those he has defrauded). A prostitute would have found it singularly difficult to emerge from her low place in the community. We know little about them in Jewish times. In the contemporary Gentile world, however, most of them were slaves, who could not legally abandon their status. Even free prostitutes, if poor, would have had only the most limited of options, since they would not have been acceptable as wives. Our own presuppositions, then, may perhaps dictate whether we think of these women as giving up prostitution or not. Luke 7:36-50 sees Jesus anointed by a public sinner. While she is not labelled as a prostitute, it is one conclusion that could be possibly said about her. Jesus accepts her intentions, contrasts them favourably with those of her host, the Pharisee, and finally says, â€Å"Her sins, many as they are, are forgiven because she has loved much† (7:47). This does not tell us what Jesus preferred prostitutes to do, but it does suggest that he did not make grace conditional on prostitutes escaping her place in society. The most significant thing is that Jesus held them up to the religious leadership as a model of repentance for them to follow, thus implying that the respectable are not unlike the prostitutes in respect to sin. Since Jesus held them up as a religious example, we may guess that although he took prostitution to be ethically wrong, he followed the example of Proverbs in appointing blame to the man who visited the prostitute more than to the prostitute herself. Paul has little to say about sexual ethics in his main doctrinal statement, the Epistle to the Romans, except the forceful identification of sexual immorality with humanities alienation from God (Romans 1:24-27). However, in his letters to the other churches he is forced to address the topic because of the behaviour of certain individuals in those churches, particularly at Corinth. The Christians at Corinth produced highly divergent interpretations of what the Gospel demanded in the way of sexual ethics, ranging from libertinism to a complete rejection of both marriage and sexual intercourse. It is probable that the libertine party at Corinth had adopted slogans such as â€Å"All things are permitted† and â€Å"Food is for the belly and the belly for food† (implying that sexual intercourse is as uncomplicated an expression of natural desire as eating is). Paul argues that the body of a Christian belongs to Christ. Therefore, all sexual expression, then, must take Christ’s ownership into account. Sex with a prostitute might seem to establish no relationship at all beyond the brief one required for the sanctification of desire. Paul claims that every sexual act between man and woman established a union of flesh, like that of marriage. In other words, the prostitute and the man, who has used her, actually belong to each other for the duration of their sexual intercourse, though not beyond. In Paul’s own terminology, the relationship thus established is â€Å"one body;† but in the terminology of Genesis, it is a relationship of â€Å"one flesh.† Paul insisted that the man who had intercourse with the prostitute was not unchanged by that act. However, it was destructive of one’s spirit; the relation to Christ and to God: â€Å"Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the man who uses harlots is sinning against his own body.† (1 Corinthians 18-20) It is evident that where Proverbs discourages a man from using prostitutes because he belonged to his family, Paul discouraged it because he belonged to God. The body, the person as a whole, is the spirit’s temple, into which other forms of worship must not be introduced. â€Å"One might well ask, then, whether the implication of this line of reasoning is not, finally, to forbid sexual intercourse altogether.†1 From whichever interpretation or opinion one adopts, as a Christian, or more to the point, as human beings, it should be understood that the use of prostitutes or the actual act of prostitution is both morally and ethically wrong. It is a sin against God, in that it undervalues the gift of love, through intercourse, given to us by God, and moreover, it shows a lack of respect for the body and minds of others. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cave, S ‘The Christian Way,’ Nisbet and Company Limited, 1963 Countryman, L.W ‘Dirt, Greed and Sex,’ Fortress Press, 1988 Hays, R.B ‘The Moral Vision of the New Testament,’ Harper Collins Publishers, 1996 Manson, T.W ‘Ethics and the Gospel,’ SCM Press Limited, 1960 1 Countryman, L ‘Dirt, Greed and Sex’ p205

Free Essays on Sonnet 18

In the sonnet â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (XVIII),† William Shakespeare uses images, metaphors, personification, and conceit to portray his theme that as long as this poem lives so does the beauty of the man he speaks of. The beloved's "eternal summer" shall not fade just because it is personified in the sonnet. The speaker has much influence in the poem to defy time and carry the beauty of the beloved down to generations forever. The images that Shakespeare uses are simple, but capture the beauty of the beloved man. In line 3 the speakers talks of â€Å"rough winds,† and â€Å"the darling buds of May† he is using rough winds to describe the unpredictable chance and change, and he implies that his beloved does not suffer from these winds as summer does. When the speaker assures his beloved that his â€Å"eternal summer shall not fade,† he is using summer as a metaphor for his beauty. He boasts that, unlike a summer’s day, the memory of his beloved will last forever. The speaker personifies the sky, or â€Å"heaven,† by using the metaphor of an â€Å"eye† for the sun so that the comparison between a person and a season becomes dramatic. By assigning heaven an â€Å"eye,† the speaker uses the image of his beloved’s eyes. Similarly, in the next line when the speaker mentions that summer’s â€Å"gold complexion† is often â€Å"dimmed,† he is attempting to compare a human attribute with some trait of summer. Throughout the poem the speaker is comparing his beloved to the traits of summer. The first line introduces the conceit of the sonnet, the comparison of the speaker’s beloved to a summer’s day. The speaker then builds on this comparison when he writes, â€Å"Thou art more lovely and more temperate† because he is describing his beloved in a way that could also describe summer. The speaker simply contrasts the life span of his poem and his beloved’s memory to the personality of a summer’s day. He brags that,... Free Essays on Sonnet 18 Free Essays on Sonnet 18 In the sonnet â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (XVIII),† William Shakespeare uses images, metaphors, personification, and conceit to portray his theme that as long as this poem lives so does the beauty of the man he speaks of. The beloved's "eternal summer" shall not fade just because it is personified in the sonnet. The speaker has much influence in the poem to defy time and carry the beauty of the beloved down to generations forever. The images that Shakespeare uses are simple, but capture the beauty of the beloved man. In line 3 the speakers talks of â€Å"rough winds,† and â€Å"the darling buds of May† he is using rough winds to describe the unpredictable chance and change, and he implies that his beloved does not suffer from these winds as summer does. When the speaker assures his beloved that his â€Å"eternal summer shall not fade,† he is using summer as a metaphor for his beauty. He boasts that, unlike a summer’s day, the memory of his beloved will last forever. The speaker personifies the sky, or â€Å"heaven,† by using the metaphor of an â€Å"eye† for the sun so that the comparison between a person and a season becomes dramatic. By assigning heaven an â€Å"eye,† the speaker uses the image of his beloved’s eyes. Similarly, in the next line when the speaker mentions that summer’s â€Å"gold complexion† is often â€Å"dimmed,† he is attempting to compare a human attribute with some trait of summer. Throughout the poem the speaker is comparing his beloved to the traits of summer. The first line introduces the conceit of the sonnet, the comparison of the speaker’s beloved to a summer’s day. The speaker then builds on this comparison when he writes, â€Å"Thou art more lovely and more temperate† because he is describing his beloved in a way that could also describe summer. The speaker simply contrasts the life span of his poem and his beloved’s memory to the personality of a summer’s day. He brags that,...

Taking Social Entrepreneurship Seriously

Taking Social Entrepreneurship Seriously Synopsis The current social and environmental conditions in the world demand that the level of social entrepreneurship to be improved as it is yet to get to the desired level. This is due to the fact that there are still pertinent issues that affect the world population.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Taking Social Entrepreneurship Seriously specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These issues include; poverty, curable and non curable diseases, violence and conflicts driven by ethnic or tribal differences, global warming, environmental pollution, slavery and human trafficking, as well as poor standards of education. An evaluation of these issues calls for intervention measures to be tried and corrected in order to ensure that people live in a better world. The situation has placed great responsibility on governments to ensure that they promote social entrepreneurs. However, most governments have failed in this endeavour as a result of inefficiency, corruption, bureaucracy and politicising of social and environmental issues. Intervention by social entrepreneurs is therefore critical as they possess the skills and level of devotion required to improve these issues. The author suggests that support from the government will go a long way to ensure that the work of social entrepreneurs touches on all affected people and is effective in terms of solving social and environmental issues (Dees, 181-183). Personal opinion on social entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurship can be used to solve most of the social and environmental problems currently facing the world. This is due to the fact that social entrepreneurs are mostly concerned with making the world a better place for both the current and future generations. This is in line with the view of the author of the article and therefore means that there is need to encourage more people planning to engage in social entrepreneurship to do so since the world ne eds them. My opinion is that the social and environmental problems that the world is facing have been as a result of the negligence of both the people and the governments of the various countries. It is therefore the responsibility of both the people and the governments to take measures to ensure that these problems are mitigated. The role of the government in this should be to support the social entrepreneurs in their activities. It is therefore clear that what the author of the article has suggested about the need for increased investments by social entrepreneurs and increased support by the government is a true representation of what should be done.Advertising Looking for article on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More My experience with social entrepreneurship is based on the contact I have had with non-governmental organisations and other not-for-profit organisations currently involved with initiativ es that seek to improve the living standards of people in various countries. There are various initiatives all over the world seeking to solve social and environmental problems and most of them are carried out by these organisations. The idea that the government should offer support to these organisations should be taken seriously so that any organisation seeking to invest in social entrepreneurship can get the support needed in terms of finances and infrastructure. It has been established that organisations which are supported by the government, even if it is in terms of legislation of appropriate laws and regulations, are more effective in serving the people than those that are not supported by the government. In real life, most human rights activists have consistently argued that the efforts of the government to solve social and environmental problems are wanting and that governments should focus more on solving the issues. Human rights activists all over the world are also known to call for social entrepreneurs to take up the responsibilities of improving the living conditions of people. They have also been known to encourage business entities to participate in solving social and environmental problems through their corporate social responsibility programs. Dees, Gregory J, â€Å"Taking Social Entrepreneurship Seriously† Society, 37.3 (2007): 179-184.Print

The Duma in Russian History

The Duma in Russian History The Duma (Assembly in Russian) was an elected semi-representative body in Russia from 1906 to 1917. It was created by the leader of the ruling Tsarist regime Tsar Nicholas II in 1905 when the government was desperate to divide the opposition during an uprising. The creation of the assembly was very much against his will, but he had promised to create an elected, national, legislative assembly. After the announcement, hopes were high that the Duma would bring democracy, but it was soon revealed that the Duma would have two chambers, only one of which was elected by the Russian people. The Tsar appointed the other, and that house held a veto over any actions of the other. Also, the Tsar retained ‘Supreme Autocratic Power.’ In effect, the Duma was neutered right from the start, and people knew it. There were four Dumas during the institution’s lifetime: 1906, 1907, 1907–12 and 1912–17; each had several hundred members made up of a mix of peasants and ruling classes, professional men and workers alike. Dumas 1 and 2 The first Duma was comprised of deputies angry at the Tsar and what they perceived as backtracking on his promises. The Tsar dissolved the body after only two months when the government felt the Duma complained too much and was intractable. Indeed, when the Duma had sent the Tsar a list of grievances, he had replied by sending the first two things he felt able to let them decide on: a new laundry and a new greenhouse. The Duma found this offensive and the relations broke down. The second Duma lasted from February to June 1907, and, because of the actions of Kadet liberals shortly before the election, the Duma was dominated by extremely anti-government factions. This Duma had 520 members, only 6% (31) had been in the first Duma: the government outlawed anybody who signed the Viborg Manifesto protesting dissolving of the first one. When this Duma opposed the reforms of Nicholass Minister of the Interior Pyotr A. Stolypin, it too was dissolved. Dumas 3 and 4 Despite this false start, the Tsar persevered, keen to portray Russia as a democratic body to the world, particularly trade partners like Britain and France who were pushing forward with limited democracy. The government changed the voting laws, limiting the electorate to just those who owned property, disenfranchising most peasants and workers (the groups who would come to be used in the 1917 revolutions). The result was the more docile third Duma of 1907, dominated by Russia’s Tsar-friendly right wing. However, the body did get some laws and reforms put into effect. New elections were held in 1912, and the fourth Duma was created. This was still less radical than the first and second Dumas, but was still deeply critical of the Tsar and closely questioned government ministers. End of the Duma During the First World War, the members of the fourth Duma grew increasingly critical of the inept Russian government, and in 1917 joined with the army to send a delegation to the Tsar, asking him to abdicate. When he did so, the Duma transformed into part of the Provisional Government. This group of men tried to run Russia in conjunction with the Soviets while a constitution was drawn up, but all that was washed away in the October Revolution. The Duma has to be considered a significant failure for the Russian people, and also for the Tsar, as none of them were either a representative body or a complete puppet. On the other hand, compared to what followed after October 1917, it had a lot to recommend it. Sources Bailey, Sydney D. Police Socialism in Tsarist Russia. The Review of Politics 19.4 (1957): 462–71.Briman, Shimon. The Jewish Question and Elections to the First and Second Duma, 1905-1907. Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies 1997 (1997): 185–88.Keep, J. L. H. Russian Social-Democracy and the First State Duma. The Slavonic and East European Review 34.82 (1955): 180–99. Walsh, Warren B. The Composition of the Dumas. The Russian Review 8.2 (1949): 111–16. Print.Walsh, Warren B. Political Parties in the Russian Dumas. The Journal of Modern History 22.2 (1950): 144–50. Print.

(Social classes of Aztec Civilization) Research Paper

(Social classes of Aztec Civilization) - Research Paper Example As a people, the Aztecs have a dynamic social system and these social classes shall now be discussed in this paper. This paper will describe and discuss the social classes of the Aztec civilization in order to arrive at a more academic and specific understanding of the Aztecs and in order to further comprehend the social workings of ancient civilizations. In general, the Aztec civilization was classified into different social groupings. The emperor was at the very top of these classes and beneath him were the nobles and the priests (Lambert, n.d). After the nobles and priests were the merchants, craftsmen, and the peasants, at the very bottom of these social groupings were the slaves (Lambert, n.d). In this society, the merchants were considered to have a class of their own and they were known to inhabit their own areas in the cities where their children often ended up marrying the children of fellow merchants (Lambert, n.d). Merchants who had to travel long distances to trade their wares were called pochteca. The slaves in Aztec society were those who committed crimes and were later sentenced to slavery; and others were poor people who were forced to sell themselves into slavery (Lambert, n.d). These slaves still had some inherent rights – they could marry or buy their own property and their children were considered free men (Lambert, n.d). The foundation of most societies is the family. This is also the same for the Aztecs where the family unit is considered a very important part of their society. Such family unit consists of the parents and their unmarried children (Oracle, n.d). The members of the family support each other and each member is nurtured and is taught basic survival functions. In many cases, these families often grow to extended proportions to include the married children and their children. These extended families are often called upon to

Feature article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Feature - Article Example If it is a girl, a pick cap is placed on her while a blue one is placed if it is a boy. After this moment, everything else the child will become, the future, education and even the career, will be based on this one quantifier (Leaper & Friedman, 2007). The division of labor based on gender has been a defining aspect of many people’s careers. However, the significance of gender in determining the career path and economic advancement is slowly but surely declining globally. Does this trend imply that men and women’s career roles in life are converging? The traditional division of labor had women taking care of the domestic part of the household while the man working professionally to handle the financial part. Traditionally, the family was supposed to be the primary priority of women and they could not dream about having it all- the family responsibilities and a career. As such, most of the careers were dominated by men. The 21st century has gone through a revolution of gender roles which can be traced from the 70’s and 80’s women’s movement. The women movement during this time was an initial mark into gender crossing in careers as women were able to make great strides in politics, social economics and most importantly, in the workforce. The height of the civil rights movements to eliminate gender segregation led to enforcement of equal employment laws and affirmative action with the hope of not only promoting women to make progressive career choices, but also to prevent employers from discriminating against w omen either in terms of employment or disparity on wages (Kmec, McDonald, & Trimble, 2010). As a result of the affirmative action policy, many women were able to enter the corporate world which had been traditionally dominated by men. Furthermore, many employers encouraged gender equality in the workplace by putting measures such as incentives to promote, hire, and even train women. However, such

Bearing Failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bearing Failure - Essay Example The fan is driven by a large electric motor mounted vertically. These motors have been giving frequent problems due to the failure of the bearing, mounted on the shaft, on the underside of the motor. Repeated failure of these bearings is a cause of concern since it leads to frequent power outages and the attendant maintenance problems. The premature failure of the bearing also leads to damage of the stator, rotor and other parts making this a problem with much larger consequences than just the collapse of a single bearing. Bearings are used to provide smooth and low friction movement between two moving parts; the movement may be rotary, as in this case, or lateral. Bearings have no wearable surfaces and are designed to fatigue after a time. With proper use this time is measured in years and not hours. The usual causes for premature failure of motor bearings are detectable from a close examination of the failed bearing since every different type of reason for failure will leave its own tell-tale signs on the bearing. Detailed examination of several failed bearings was done to determine: The study of the possible causes, collection of information analysis and preparation of report was completed over a period of 50 days. The approximate number of days spent on each activity and the scheduling of work are given in Appendix II attached to this report. Discussion The fishbone diagram A fishbone diagram was drawn to consider all possible causes that may lead to a premature bearing failure. The diagram is enclosed as Appendix-I to this paper. All aspects The four M's: Manpower, Material, Machine and Method The four S's: Suppliers, Surroundings, System and Skills The four P's: Policies, People, Procedures and Place Were considered with care and as a first step the four P's were rejected as not being relevant to this particular situation. The others were combined to form four major reasons Manpower and Skills Material and Suppliers Machine and Surroundings Method and System Every angle of how these could have led to the failure of the bearings was explored and these were eliminated one by one and the root cause of the bearing failure was isolated. The considered opinion of this writer is that the failure resulted from incorrect design and installation of the motors. A different approach was then adopted to determine the exact cause of the bearing failure by examining the engineering aspects of the design, alignment and installation of the motors that caused the bearings to fail. Technical evaluation The motor is

My favorite brand( NIKE shoes ) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My favorite brand( NIKE shoes ) - Research Paper Example Nike, founded in January 25th 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as Blue Ribbon Sports, is an American multinational enterprise headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, the designs, develops, manufactures and markets footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. Valued at 10.7 billion USD, it is the most valuable brand among sports businesses and as of 2012, had more than 44,000 employees worldwide (Carbasho & Westport, 2010). It is quite easy answering people who ask what type of shoes I prefer (as it is clearly Nike), what I find particularly engaging is answering why I like Nike Shoes in a single sentence since it is a topic I could go on about for a whole day. Nike shoes are amazing in a plethora of ways and reasons. First of all, I like Nike Shoes for the wide variety that they offer. If you visit a Nike shoe store, guaranteed you will find a myriad of confusing choices to pick from. And if you’re not the disciplined type, you could easily go on an impulse buying spree. Nike shoes come in different amazing designs, colors, sizes, and so on, for all sexes. Virtually all tastes and preferences are catered for in a Nike store. It’s nearly impossible to miss something that strikes (or even something to gift to a special one on a special occasion). Secondly, Nike shoes elicit deep passion in me for the relative comfort they offer. Wearing Nike shoes is almost as comfortable as walking naturally barefoot except that your feet are now protected. So long as you pick a suitable size, you will always find Nike shoes designed for utmost comfort and protection. No pinches or sore toes at the end of that morning exercise, unlike other brands I’ve come across. In addition, Nike shoes offer durability unlike any other. Whether it is rigorous exercises or calm walks, Nike shoes will serve you for a good period of time before fading away/ aging. They are built tough to match any purpose. From my

Formal Research-Based Persuasive Report Research Paper

Formal -Based Persuasive Report - Research Paper Example I reviewed seven empirical resources, which focused on the effects of workplace flexibility on employee welfare and general company performance and image. Attached is the result of my research and recommendations. My secondary research suggests that a compressed work week produces benefits of reduced work-life conflict and stress, better productivity, and improved health for employees, which translates to gains in productivity and morale in the workplace. Higher employee morale is related to employee satisfaction, which will draw future talented employees, while recruiting and retaining highly-engaged ones. Workplace flexibility is also related to corporate social responsibility and corporate image. Thus, reducing work days contributes to better employee welfare and corporate reputation and performance. The company must be prepared of parking and other logistics. Longer work hours for four days can have strains on company resources during that time. Without sufficient resources and other support, the positive effects of a compressed work week might be reduced or lost altogether. If Coastal Sunbelt would make a rotating 4-day work week, this can result to more maximized parking spaces. For example, half of the employees will work normal shift for one week, and then for the second week, they work only for 4 days. The second half of the employees will work 4 days in the week, where the first group worked 5 days. This system would free up parking, and it will save Coastal Sunbelt the cost of building a parking garage. 7 Some of the pressing issues common to many organizations are work-life conflict and the recruitment and retention of high-performing and dedicated employees. Coastal Sunbelt faces theses issues, among others, which affects its efficiency and effectiveness. To motivate employees, the organization must offer innovative solutions, one of which is shifting from a five-day to a four-day work week. This proposal argues that to motivate and engage

My favorite brand( NIKE shoes ) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My favorite brand( NIKE shoes ) - Research Paper Example Nike, founded in January 25th 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as Blue Ribbon Sports, is an American multinational enterprise headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, the designs, develops, manufactures and markets footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. Valued at 10.7 billion USD, it is the most valuable brand among sports businesses and as of 2012, had more than 44,000 employees worldwide (Carbasho & Westport, 2010). It is quite easy answering people who ask what type of shoes I prefer (as it is clearly Nike), what I find particularly engaging is answering why I like Nike Shoes in a single sentence since it is a topic I could go on about for a whole day. Nike shoes are amazing in a plethora of ways and reasons. First of all, I like Nike Shoes for the wide variety that they offer. If you visit a Nike shoe store, guaranteed you will find a myriad of confusing choices to pick from. And if you’re not the disciplined type, you could easily go on an impulse buying spree. Nike shoes come in different amazing designs, colors, sizes, and so on, for all sexes. Virtually all tastes and preferences are catered for in a Nike store. It’s nearly impossible to miss something that strikes (or even something to gift to a special one on a special occasion). Secondly, Nike shoes elicit deep passion in me for the relative comfort they offer. Wearing Nike shoes is almost as comfortable as walking naturally barefoot except that your feet are now protected. So long as you pick a suitable size, you will always find Nike shoes designed for utmost comfort and protection. No pinches or sore toes at the end of that morning exercise, unlike other brands I’ve come across. In addition, Nike shoes offer durability unlike any other. Whether it is rigorous exercises or calm walks, Nike shoes will serve you for a good period of time before fading away/ aging. They are built tough to match any purpose. From my

Group project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Group project - Essay Example At first a field study is carried out to validate the first stage of the framework, the Recognition Stage. By this way the trouble indicating symptoms of said project was worked out. Such symptoms were logically examined and recovery measures applied for making it bug free and as per the requirement of the client. Another aspect was shortfalls in the project management model and the group dynamics. After review of relevant literature, the problem was reviewed and specific steps taken for a recovery process. This part of the project covers the commercial aspects of website. It is basically meant for a user who desires to buy parts of a PC as per his options. The web page has restricted for those users who has valid account in this site. For that he requires to create an account and get a user id and password. Through the user id and password he would enter into the commercial page of website where he would choose desired items from the displayed list of computer peripherals for purchase. This involves two important parts namely Customer part and Administrator part. Customer part deals with creating an account, searching for computer peripherals, browsing categories, PC configurator, Order placing, viewing the items ordered, modifying the shopping basket, setting quantity of items, buying the selected items. On account of designing client based webpage we used PHP as front end tool. Next part is administrator related which has database server that keeps all the products and its specifica tions stored in it. As the whole project designed to be created with open sources technology we used MySQL 5.0 version. In the back end process we created a database consisting of all the details of products and once all data related to the products entered into this server only thing we had to do next was to update the products as per the

The Past, Present, and Future of Automated Scoring Essay Example for Free

The Past, Present, and Future of Automated Scoring Essay â€Å"No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be †¦Ã¢â‚¬  – Isaac Asimov (5) Introduction Although some realities of the classroom remain constant –they wouldn’t exist without the presence, whether actual or virtual, of students and teachers –the technology age is changing not only the way that we teach, but also how students learn. While the implications of this affect all disciplines, it is acutely evident in the teaching of writing. In the last twenty years, we have seen a rapid change in how we read, write, and process text. Compositionist Carl Whithaus maintains that â€Å"†¦ writing is becoming an increasingly multimodal and multimedia activity† (xxvi). It is no surprise then, that there are currently 100 million blogs in existence worldwide and 171 billion email messages sent daily (Olson 23), and the trend toward digitally-based writing is also moving into the classroom. The typical student today writes â€Å"almost exclusively on a computer, typically one equipped with automated tools to help them spell, check grammar, and even choose the right words† (Cavanaugh 10). Furthermore, CCC notes that â€Å"[i]ncreasingly, classes and programs in writing require that students compose digitally† (785). Given the effect of technology on writing and the current culture of high stakes testing ushered in by the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a seemingly natural product of the combination of the two is computer-based assessment of writing. An idea still in its infancy, the process of technological change in combination with federal testing mandates has resulted in several states incorporating â€Å"computer-based testing into their writing assessments, †¦ not only because of students’ widespread familiarity with computers, but also because of the demands of college and the workplace, where word-processing skills are a must† (Cavanaugh 10). Although it makes sense to have students accustomed to composing on computer write in the same mode for high-stakes tests, does it make sense to score their writing by computer as well? This is a controversial question that has both supporters and detractors. Supporters like Stan Jones, Indiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education, believe that computerized essay grading is inevitable (Hurwitz n.p.), while detractors, primarily pedagogues, assert that such assessment defies what we know about writing and its assessment, because â€Å"[r]egardless of the medium †¦ all writing is social; accordingly, response to and evaluation of writing are human activities† (CCC 786). Even so, the reality is that the law requires testing nationwide, and in all probability that mandate is not going to change anytime soon. With NCLB up for revision this year, even politicians like Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts agree that standards are a good idea and that testing is one way to ensure that they are met. At some point, we need to pull away from all-or-none polarization and create a new paradigm. The sooner we realize that â€Å"†¦ computer technology will subsume assessment technology in some way† (Penrod 157), the sooner we will be able to address how we, as teachers of writing, can use technology effectively for assessment. In the past, Brian Huot notes that teachers’ responses have been reactionary, â€Å"cobbled together at the last minute in response to an outside call †¦ † (150). Teachers need to be proactive in addressing â€Å"†¦ technological convergence in the composition classroom, [because if we dont], others can will impose certain technologies on our teaching† (Penrod 156). Instead of passively leaving the development of assessment software solely to programmers, teachers need to be actively involved with the process in order to ensure the application of sound pedagogy in its creation and application. This essay will argue that automated essay scoring (AES) is an inevitability that provides many more positive possibilities than negative ones. While the research presented here spans K-16 education, this essay will primarily address its application in secondary environments, primarily focusing on high school juniors, a group currently consisting of approximately 4 million students in the United States, because this group represents the targeted population for secondary school high stakes testing in this country (U.S. Census Bureau). It will first present a brief history of AES, then explore the current state of AES, and finally consider the implications of AES for writing instruction and assessment in the future. A Brief History of Computers and Assessment The first time standardized objective testing in writing occurred was in 1916 at the University of Missouri as part of a Carnegie Foundation sponsored study (Savage 284). As the 20th century continued, these tests began to grow in popularity because of their efficiency and perceived reliability, and are the cornerstone of what Kathleen Blake Yancey describes as the â€Å"first wave† of writing assessment (484). To articulate the progression of composition assessment, Kathleen Blake Yancey identifies three distinct, yet overlapping, waves (483). The first wave, occurring approximately from 1950-1970, primarily focused on using objective (multiple choice) tests to assess writing simply because, as she quotes Michael Williams, they were the best response that could be â€Å"†¦ tied to testing theory, to institutional need, to cost, and ultimately to efficiency† (Yancey 489). During Yancey’s first wave of composition assessment, another wave was forming in the parallel universe of computer software design, where developers began to address the possibilities of not only programming computers to mimic the process of human reading, but † †¦ to emulate the value judgments that human readers make when they read student writing in the context of large scale assessment† (Herrington and Moran 482). Herrington and Moran identify The Analysis of Essays by Computer, a 1968 book by Ellis Page and Dieter Paulus, as one of the first composition studies books to address AES. Their goal was to â€Å"evaluate student writing as reliably as human readers, †¦ [and] they attempted to identify computer-measurable text features that would correlate with the kinds of intrinsic features †¦that are the basis for human judgments †¦, [settling on] thirty quantifiable features, †¦ [which included] essay length in words, average word length, amount and kind of punctuation, number of common words, and number of spelling errors† (Herrington and Moran 482). In their study, they found a high enough statistical correlation, .71, to support the use of the computer to score student writing. The authors note that the response of the composition community in 1968 to Page and Paulus’s book was one of indignation and uproar. In 2007, not much has changed in terms of the composition community’s position regarding computer-based assessment of student writing. To many, it is something that is an unknown, mystifying Orwellian entity waiting in the shadows for the perfect moment to jump out and usurp teachers’ autonomy in the classroom. Nancy Patterson describes computerized writing assessment as â€Å"a horror story that may come sooner than we realize† (56). Furthermore, P.L. Thomas offers the following question and response: â€Å"How can a computer determine accuracy, originality, valuable elaboration, empty language, language maturity, and a long list of similar qualities that are central to assessing writing? Computers can’t. WE must ensure that the human element remains the dominant factor in the assessing of student writing† (29). Herrington and Moran make the issue a central one in the teaching of writing and have â€Å"†¦ serious concerns about the potential effects of machine reading of student writing on our teaching, on our students’ learning, and therefore on the profession of English† (495). Finally, CCC definitively writes, â€Å"We oppose the use of machine-scored writing in the assessment of writing† (789). While the argument against AES is clear here, the responses appear to be based on a lack of understanding of the technology and an unwillingness to change. Instead of taking a reactionary position, it might be more constructive for teachers to assume the inevitability of computerized assessment technology – it is not going away — and to use that assumption as the basis for taking a proactive role in its implementation. The Current Culture of High-Stakes Testing At any given time in the United States, there are approximately 16 million 15-18 year-olds, the majority of whom receive a high school education (U.S. Census). Even when factoring in a maximum of 10 percent (1.6 million) who may drop out or otherwise not receive a diploma, there is a significant amount of students, 14-15 million, who are attending high school. The majority of these students are members of the public school system and as such must be tested annually according to NCLB, though the most significant focus group for high-stakes testing is 11th grade students. Currently in Michigan, 95% of any given public high school’s junior population must sit for the MME, Michigan Merit Exam, in order for the school to qualify for AYP, Adequate Yearly Progress[1]. Interestingly, those students do not all have to pass currently, though by 2014 the government mandates a 100% passing rate, a number that most admit is an impossibility and will probably be addressed as the NCLB Act is up for review this year. In the past, as part of the previous 11th grade examination, the MEAP, Michigan Educational Assessment Program, required students to complete an essay response, which was assessed by a variety of people, mostly college students and retired teachers, for a minimal amount of money, usually in the $7.50 – $10.00 per hour range. As a side note, neighboring Ohio sends its writing test to North Carolina to be scored by workers receiving $9.50 per hour (Patterson 57), a wage that fast food employees make in some states. Because of this, it was consistently difficult for the state to assess these writings in a short period of time, causing huge delays in distributing the results of the exams back to the school districts, posing a huge problem as schools could not use the testing information in order to address educational shortfalls of their students or programs in a timely manner, one of the purposes behind getting prompt feedback. This year (2007), as a result of increased graduation requirements and testing mandates driven by NCLB, the Michigan Department of Education began administering a new examination to 11th graders, the MME, an ACT fueled assessment, as ACT was awarded the testing contract. The MME is comprised of several sections and required most high schools to administer it over a period of 2-3 days. Day one consists of the ACT + Writing, a 3.5 hour test that includes an argumentative essay. Days two/three (depending on district implementation), consist of the ACT WorkKeys, a basic work skills test of math and English, further mathematics testing (to address curricular content not covered by the ACT + Writing), and a social studies test, which incorporates another essay that the state combines with the argumentative essay in the ACT + Writing in order to determine an overall writing score. Miraculously, under the auspices of ACT, students received their ACT + Writing scores in the mail approximately three weeks after testing, unlike the MEAP, where some schools did not receive test scores for six months. In 2005, a MEAP official admitted that the cost of scoring the writing assessment was forcing the state to go another route (Patterson 57), and now it has. So how is this related to automated essay scoring? My hypothesis is that as states are required to test writing as part of NCLB, there is going to be a lack of qualified people to be able to read and assess student essays and determine results within a reasonable amount of time to purposefully inform necessary curricular and instructional change, which is supposed to be the point of testing in the first place. Four million plus essays to evaluate each year (sometimes more if more writing is required, like Michigan requiring two essays) on a national level is a huge amount. Michigan Virtual University’s Jamey Fitzpatrick says, â€Å"Let’s face it. It’s a very labor-intensive task to sit down and read essays† (Stover n.p.). Furthermore, it only makes sense that instead of states working on their own test management, they will contract state-wide testing to larger testing agencies, like Michigan and Illinois have with ACT, to reduce costs and improve efficien cy. Because of the move to contract ACT, my guess is that we are moving in the direction of having all of these writings scored by computer. In email correspondence that I had with Harry Barfoot at Vantage Learning in early 2007, a company that creates and markets AES software, said, â€Å"Ed Roeber has been to visit us and he is the high stakes assessment guru in Michigan, and who was part of the MEAP 11th grade becoming an ACT test, which [Vantage] will end up being part of under the covers of ACT.† This indicates the inevitability of AES as part of high-stakes testing. In spite of the fact that there are no states that rely on computer assessment of writing yet, â€Å"†¦ state education officials are looking at the potential of this technology to limit the need for costly human scorers – and reduce the time needed to grade tests and get them back in the hands of classroom teachers† (Stover n.p.). Because we live in an age where the budget axe frequently cuts funding to public education, it is in the interest of states to save money any way they can, and â€Å"[s]tates stand to save millions o f dollars by adopting computerized writing assessment† (Patterson 56). Although AES is not a reality yet, every indication is that we are moving toward it as a solution to the cost and efficiency issues of standardized testing. Herrington and Moran observe that â€Å"[p]ressures for common assessments across state public K-12 systems and higher education – both for placement and for proficiency testing – make attractive a machine that promises to assess the writing of large numbers of students in a fast and reliable way† (481). To date, one of the two readers (the other is still human) for the GMAT is e-Rater, an AES software program, and some universities are using Vantage’s WritePlacerPlus software in order to place first year university students (Herrington and Moran 480). However, one of the largest obstacles in bringing AES to K-12 is one of access. In order for students’ writing to be assessed electronically, it must be inputted electronically, meaning that every student will have to compose their essays via comp uter. Sean Cavanagh’s article of two months ago maintains that ACT has already suggested delivering computers to districts who do not have sufficient technology in order to accommodate technology differences (10). As of last month, March 2007, Indiana is the only state that relies on computer scoring of 11th grade essays for the state-mandated English examination (Stover n.p.) for 80 percent of their 60,000 11th graders (Associated Press), though their Assistant Superintendent for Assessment, Research, and Information, West Bruce, says that the state’s computer software assigns a confidence rating to each essay, where low confidence essays are referred to a human scorer (Stover n.p.). In addition, in 2005 West Virginia began using an AES program to grade 44,000 middle and high school writing samples from the state’s writing assessment (Stover n.p.). At present, only ten percent of states â€Å"†¦currently incorporate computers into their writing assessments, and two more [are] piloting such exams† (Cavanagh 10). As technology becomes more accessible for all public education students, the possibilities for not only computer-based assessment but also AES become very real. Automated Essay Scoring Weighing the technological possibilities against logistical considerations, however, when might we expect to see full-scale implementation of AES? Semire Dikli, a Ph.D. candidate from Florida State University, writes that â€Å"†¦for practical reasons the transition of large-scale writing assessment from paper to computer delivery will be a gradual one† (2). Similarly, Russell and Haney â€Å"†¦ suspect that it will be some years before schools generally †¦ develop the capacity to administer wide-ranging assessments via computer† (16 of 20). The natural extension of this, then, is that AES cannot happen on a large-scale until we are able to provide conditions that allow each student to compose essays via computer with Internet access to upload files. At issue as well is the reliability of the company contracted to do the assessing. A March 24, 2007 Steven Carter article in The Oregonian reports that access issues resulted in the state of Oregon canceling its contract with Vantage and signing a long-term contract with American Institutes for Research, the long-standing company that does NAEP testing. Even though the state tests only reading, science, and math this way (not writing), it nevertheless indicates that reliable access is an ongoing issue that must be resolved. Presently, there are four commercially available AES systems: Project Essay Grade (Measurement, Inc.), Intelligent Essay Assessor (Pearson), Intellimetric (Vantage), and e-Rater (ETS) (Dikli 5). All of these incorporate the same process in the software, where â€Å"First, the developers identify relevant text features that can be extracted by computer (e.g., the similarity of the words used in an essay to the words used in high-scoring essays, the average word length, the frequency of grammatical errors, the number of words in the response). Next, they create a program to extract those features. Third, they combine the extracted features to form a score. And finally, they evaluate the machine scores empirically,†(Dikli 5). At issue with the programming, however, is that â€Å"[t]he weighting of text features derived by an automated scoring system may not be the same as the one that would result from the judgments of writing experts† (Dikli 6). There is still a significant difference between â€Å"statistically optimal approaches† to measurement and scientific or educational approaches to measurement, where the aspects of writing that students need to focus on to improve their scores â€Å"are not the ones that writing experts most value† (Dikli 6). This is the tension that Diane Penrod addresses in Composition in Convergence that was mentioned earlier, in which she recommends that teachers and compositionists become proactive by getting involved in the creation of the software instead of leaving it exclusively to programmers. And this makes sense. Currently, there are 50-60 features of writing that can be extracted from text, but current programs only use about 8-12 of the most predictive features of writing to determine scores (Powers et. al. 413). Moreover, Thomas writes that â€Å"[c]omposition experts must determine what students learn about writing; if that is left to the programmers and the testing experts, we have failed† (29). If compositionists and teachers can enmesh themselves in the creation of software, working with programmers, then the product would likely be one that is more palatable and suitable based on what we know good writing is. While the aura of mystery behind the creation of AES software is of concern to educators, it could be easily addressed by education and involvement. CCC reasons that â€Å"†¦ since we can not know the criteria by which the computer scores the writing, we can not know whether particular kinds of bias may have been built into the scoring† (4 89). It stands to reason, then, that if we take an active role in the development of the software, we will have more control over issues such as bias. Another point of contention with moving toward computer-based writing and assessment is the concern that high-stakes testing will result in students having a narrow view of good writing, particularly those moving to the college level, where writing skill is expected to be more comprehensive than a prompt-based five-paragraph essay written in 30 minutes. Grand Valley State University’s Nancy Patterson opposes computer scoring of high stakes testing, saying that no computer can evaluate subtle or creative styles of writing nor can they judge the quality of an essay’s intellectual content (Stover n.p.). She also writes that â€Å"†¦standardized writing assessment is already having an adverse effect on the teaching of writing, luring many teachers into more formulaic approaches and an over-emphasis on surface features† (Patterson 57). Again, education is key here, specifically teacher education. Yes, we live in a culture of high-stakes testing, and students must be prepared to write successfully for this genre. But, test-writing is just that, a genre, and should be taught as such – just not to the detriment of the rest of a writing program – something that the authors of Writing of Demand assert when they write: â€Å"We believe it is possible to integrate writing on demand into a plan for teaching based on best practices† (5). AES is not an attack on best practices, but a tool for cost-effective and efficient scoring. Even though Thomas warns against â€Å"the demands of standards and high stakes testing† becoming the entire writing program, we still must realize that computers for composition and assessment can have positive results, and â€Å"[m]any of the roadblocks to more effective writing instruction – the paper load, the time involved in writing instruction and assessmen t, the need to address surface features individually – can be lessened by using computer programs† (29). In addition to pedagogical concerns, skeptics of AES are leery of the companies themselves, particularly the aggressive marketing tactics that are used, particularly those that teachers perceive to be threats not only to their autonomy, but their jobs. To begin, companies aggressively market because we live in a capitalist society and they are out to make money. But, to cite Penrod, â€Å"both computers and assessment are by-products of capitalist thinking applied to education, in that the two reflect speed and efficiency in textual production† (157). This is no different than the first standardized testing experiments by the Carnegie Foundation at the beginning of the 20th Century, and it is definitely nothing new. Furthermore, Herrington and Moran admit that â€Å"computer power has increased exponentially, text- and content- analysis programs have become more plausible as replacements for human readers, and our administrators are now the targets of heavy marketing from com panies that offer to read and evaluate student writing quickly and cheaply† (480). In addition they see a threat in companies marketing programs that â€Å"define the task of reading, evaluating, and responding to student writing not as a complex, demanding, and rewarding aspect of our teaching, but as a ‘burden’ that should be lifted from our shoulders† (480). In response to their first concern, teachers becoming involved in the process of creating assessment software will help to define the task the computers perform. Also, teachers will always read, evaluate, and respond, but probably differently. Not all writing is for high-stakes testing. Secondly, and maybe I’m alone in this (but I think not), but I’d love to have the tedious task of assessing student writing lifted from my plate, especially on sunny weekends when I’m stuck inside for most of the daylight hours assessing student work. To be a dedicated writing teacher does not necessarily involve martyrdom, and if some of the tedious work is removed, it can give us mor e time to actually teach writing. Imagine that! The Future of Automated Essay Scoring On March 14th, 2007, an article appeared in Education Week that says that beginning in 2011, the National Association for Educational Progress will begin conducting the testing of writing for 8th and 12th grade students by having the students compose on computers, a decision unanimously approved as part of their new writing assessment framework. This new assessment will require students to write two 30-minute essays and evaluate students’ ability to write to persuade, to explain, and to convey experience, typically tasks deemed necessary both in school and in the workplace (Olson 23). Currently, NAEP testing is assessed by AIR (mentioned above), and will no doubt incorporate AES for assessing these writings. In response, Kathleen Blake Yancey, Florida State University professor and president-elect of NCTE, said the framework â€Å"Provides for a more rhetorical view of writing, where purpose and audience are at the center of writing tasks,† while also requiring students to write at the keyboard, providing â€Å"a direct link to the kind of composing writers do in college and in the workplace, thus bringing assessment in line with lifelong composing practices† (Olson 23). We are on the cusp of a new era. With the excitement of new possibilities, though, we must remember, as P.L. Thomas reminds us, that while â€Å"technology can be a wonderful thing, it has never been and never will be a panacea† (29). At the same time, we must also discard our tendency to avoid change and embrace the overwhelming possibilities of incorporating computers and technology with writing instruction. Thomas also says that â€Å"[w]riting teachers need to see the inevitability of computer-assisted writing instruction and assessment as a great opportunity. We should work to see that this influx of technology can help increase the time students spend actually composing in our classrooms and increase the amount of writing students produce† (29). Moreover, we must consider that the methods used to program AES software are not very different than the rubrics that classroom teachers use in holistic scoring, something Penrod identifies as having â€Å"numerous subsets and criteria that do indeed divide the students’ work into pieces† (93). I argue that our time is better spent working within the system to ensure that its inevitable changes reflect sound pedagogy, because the trend that we’re seeing is not substantially differently from previous ones. The issue is in how we choose to address it. Instead of eschewing change, we should embrace it and make the most of its possibilities.

The Impact Of Globalization For Children And Families Economics Essay

The Impact Of Globalization For Children And Families Economics Essay Globalisation perks in the 1990s, in the research studies of Draxler (2006) reported that government of many countries, both developing and developed countries embraced changes towards one global market place (Michael et al., 2003). Though it opens up new revenue for trade, technology, information and knowledge transfer worldwide, globalization helps to aid this world to a more disintegrated sphere (Kolarova, 2006). Rieger et al. (2003) questioned the consequences of cultural and social malfunction due to the influence of globalization. Spybey (1996) also mentioned in his findings that globalisation creates more conflicts in this rapid information networking, trading and technology freedom of this new shift of large-scale manufacturing and producing business establishments worldwide (Goldberg et al., 2007). Researches and report findings by World Bank (2000-2002) found that as different countries step up to change their productive organization of work, it also changes countries social and human capital structures (Willams et al., 2005). The Organisation of Cooperation and Development (OECD) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported its finding of globalization leads to a sharp demand of highly educated and skilled labour in developed countries, ironically an upsurge of lowly skilled workers with poor wages, prejudicial social injustice and health care in poor developing countries (Lall, 2002). Marshall (1962) stated the shift of the social relation changes patterns and lifestyle of time and space of mankind. Hence, with the implication of globalization will it cause more poverty or affluence universally (Hartman,2002)? Carnoy (1999) stated when nations open to trade and create more capital affluence and manufacturing goods for exports, there are manufacturing turnover and transferal of employment (Brady et al., 2005). Globalisation rises skills in developed countries however it reduces employment skills and talents in developing countries. For example, in Vietnam if an individual could not sustain himself/herself and his/her family in a small plot of land in hometown. He/she has to sell his/her labour to support his/her family in urbanized cities (Choi et al.,2001). Yet due to globalization he/she may be employed by a global company with highly technologized machinery which made him/her a low skilled worker (Freeman, 2001). Kalarova (2006) claims that in some of developing countries, benefits and welfare for workforce are frequently mistreated by privatized global companies even if countries have employment policies for employees. The lack of social coherence, coordination, sustainability and long term protection policies due to the lack of funding for proper healthcare, eventually leads to a depressed moral opportunity and welfare, depletion of social protection and surge inequality of these low skilled worker in these manual work industries (Milanovic,2002). Likewise, Spybey (1996) argues that in order to finance these worldwide investments in the global finance capital sector, globalisation affects a nations social inequality when it comes to the funding distribution and assets for its education, healthcare and childcare policies and reforms for families and children, resulting to an exploitation of adults and children labour (Michael et al., 2003). Stokey (1991) agrees that in conservative and conventional countries like Thailand and Indonesia, though women rights aid and free women from poverty, exploitation and oppression, Horgar (2001) pointed the contradictory of global capitalism repeatedly decoy women and children to cheap labour with long working hours and poor welfare despite of their desires to be independence from their husband or father at home and that conflicts against its social-cultural aspect of the nations (Edmonds et al.,2001). Moreover, Horgar (2001) argues that as more women enter the global workforce, more children are often left at home alone with relatives or siblings, contributing to its nation increment of non-schooling and poor school attendance children, malnutrition and ill health of children due to the lack of quality care and child-rearing issues (Hatch Grieshaber, 2002).. On the other hand, in the developed countries, globalisation may cause relocation, migration of workers as technology and machinery replaced manual-skilled workers (Willams et al., 2005). Thus, many of these workers are forced to look for more job opportunities in other countries, likewise nations also prefer to send low skilled workers to be trained in well developed country, hoping to increase the countrys technological knowledge and skills, and bringing about the increment of wages and remittance of money to support their families at homeland (Hartman, 2002). Furthermore, as global capitalism took place, it often comes along with poverty and conflicts between its social-cultural backgrounds (Edmonds Pavcnik, 2001). Edmonds et al. (2006) also state that globalization makes and pressures a nation not to be left out but it is important for its nations ability to be part of the global mandate. In 1990s, it is surveyed about 80 million labour forces and work migration from Middle Eastern and African countries to America (Goldberg, 2007). Due to the influx of immigration in America, the survey conducted by Hartman (2002) shows a significant increase of multi-cultural and multi-ethnical aspects in America. Correspondingly, change of family structures in Middle Eastern and African countries affect native families as they no longer could rely on their male breadwinner (Hartman, 2002). The shift of native and immigrants marital status where an individual choose to be lone mother/fatherhood, single or divorced, eventually, leads to decrease of birth rate due to different fertility patterns, notably by postponing birth/ no desire of having children (Horgan, 2001). These factors further afflict and add on to a nations social-economic issue, especially when there is a high reallocation of old aged people in a society due to low birth rate (Freeman, 2001). In addition to it, pressure for globalization also hustle the changes of the worlds social and cultural aspects in peoples lives (Penn, 2005). Statistics an d studies conducted by Waller (2009) show huge distinction and diversity differences as regards to the average of children, life expectancy, school expectancy, illiteracy rate, child labour and in industralised countries, give to the rise of the lack of overall human and childrens rights implementation (Gregory, 1999) . A survey conducted by Cigno et al. (2002) reports that parental decisions often affects children education rights and the national education policies structures, since parents consider the cost of children education, expected returns when they invest in their childrens education and the state educational investment for their children (Roseberg Puntch, 2003). A childs future is frequently contrary to the childs future earning return to the family (Cigno et al., 2002). Thus, in developing countries children are used as domestic helper at home and expose to hard labour, children soldiers and even as prostitutions(Carnoy, 1999). Hence, to counteract these hindrance, a clear and direct government protection policies and subsidies for children education and regular school authority inspections to homes could help to support families on childrens education, which eventually encourage the rise of high educated future population and increase highly skilled trained workers in its human capital investment(Cigno et al., 2002). In the research studies of Timimi (2005) it shows a hugh mortality and morbidity of females and children in poor developing countries due to severe ill health and poor healthcare, where poor national economic has prolonged their poverty (Ravens et al.,2009). A qualitative study conducted by McMichael (2000) native government in developing countries lacks the resources and commitment to aid the problems especially in healthcare such as malnutrition and infectious diseases that come along with poverty. Likewise, urbanized cities in developed countries do struggle with poverty but it is the poverty of health. As the cities open to industrialization and globalization, its residents often at risk with illness and sickness link with pollutions- water, air, chemical and toxic pollutions (Ravens et al., 2009). However, if national policies and international organizations decide on how to implement reliable healthcare policies and improve financial incentives to address states healthcare spending through the development of new medical technology internationally (Draxler, 2006). The integrity of nations policies and commitment to childrens and families welfare are often compromised, as these is no clear solution to the question to protect children and families (Draxler, 2006). Hence, Siraj and Woodhead (2009) sought that if the affluence of globalization recognizes the rights of children and families, countries policy makers have to gear themselves and strengthen their policies through clear, direct implementation and frequent reviews of its nation policies for protection and assurance of quality education, healthcare and welfare for children and families. Government has to step up and act in behalf of these children and ramify the issues of poverty, education, healthcare and stable families (Timimi, 2005).

Asian Exclusion Laws Essay -- essays research papers

There were a very large number of local, state, and federal laws that were specifically aimed at disrupting the flow of Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the United States. Two of the major laws were the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the 1907-1908 Gentleman’s Agreement. Although the laws had some differences, they were quite similar and had similar impacts on the immigrant population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1882, Congress enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act, which outlawed Chinese immigration. It also explicitly denied naturalization rights to Chinese, meaning they were not allowed to become citizens, as they were not free whites. Prior to the Chinese Exclusion Act, some 300,000 laborers arrived in California, and the act was intended to primarily prevent the entry of more laborers. The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first attempt by congress to ban a group of immigrants based on race or color.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The only Chinese that legally entered the United States during the six decades the Exclusion Act was in place were those in “exempted classes'; such as merchants, students, diplomats, and travelers (Chan). An unknown number illegally entered through the Canadian and Mexican borders and many others entered as “paper sons.'; The act did not prevent Chinese immigration per se; it simply prevented most legal immigration. The 1907-1908 Gentleman’s Agreement was the result of a conflict between t...

Robert Frosts After Apple-Picking Essay -- Robert Frost Apple Picki

Robert Frost's "After Apple-Picking" In the poem â€Å"After Apple-Picking†, Robert Frost has cleverly disguised many symbols and allusions to enhance the meaning of the poem. One must understand the parallel to understand the central theme of the poem. The apple mentioned in the poem could be connected to the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. It essentially is the beginning of everything earthly and heavenly, therefore repelling death. To understand the complete meaning of Frost’s poem one needs to be aware that for something to be dead, it must have once had life. Life and death are common themes in poetry, but this poem focuses on what is in between, life’s missed experiences and the regret that the speaker is left with. Regret is defined as â€Å"a feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wishes could be different† (www.dictionary.com). While there is no doubt that the speaker in this poem has had a very productive and worthwhile life, one gets the impression that there is still an empty feeling in his life, of which he can do nothing about. In lines 3-6, he reflectively states, â€Å"And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill beside it, and there may be two or three apples I didn’t pick upon some bough†. Here, it is necessary to expand that idea the idea of the apples as a metaphor for life, and say that they also represent missed life experiences. As the speaker looks back on his life, he sees unfinished tasks, and thus he feels regret. It is important to note though, that he accepts the fact that he can do nothing about these unfinished tasks, and he is ready to move to a new and final stage in his life as he acknowledges that he â€Å"is don e with apple-picking now† (6). The reason for the reflection is evident when the speaker says, â€Å"I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight I got from looking through a pane of glass I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough and held against the world of hoary grass† (9-10). From this it seems as though the speaker has caught a glimpse of his reflection in the drinking trough and has noticed that the reflection was or gray with age. It appears as though the speaker does not merely see himself in the water’s reflection though; he also visualizes past visions and memories from his life. Further on in the poem, the speaker says, â€Å"There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, Cherish in han... ... or perhaps even to the â€Å"cellar† (a metaphor for Hell). By the end of the poem, both the speaker and the reader have come to a general acceptance regarding the speaker’s looming death. It therefore comes as a bit of a shock when the speaker says, â€Å"Were he not gone, the woodchuck could say whether it’s like his long sleep, as I describe its coming on, or just some human sleep†. The metaphorical meaning of sleep in this poem has been previously established, however, a new definition surfaces as a result of this statement. Frost has just written of two different types of sleep—is it possible that he is talking about two different states of death? In searching for the significance of this statement, it is necessary to return to the apple and its representation of both life and death. The reader, as well as the speaker, is not sure if he is really dying or whether he has simply ceased feeling and experiencing life, thus causing the feelings of regret. It is interesting, though purely speculative, to note that i n the year that Frost wrote this poem, he would be turning forty years old. One must wonder whether Frost was looking back on his own life thus far with some sort of regret. Robert Frost's "After Apple-Picking" Essay -- Robert Frost Apple Picki Robert Frost's "After Apple-Picking" In the poem â€Å"After Apple-Picking†, Robert Frost has cleverly disguised many symbols and allusions to enhance the meaning of the poem. One must understand the parallel to understand the central theme of the poem. The apple mentioned in the poem could be connected to the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. It essentially is the beginning of everything earthly and heavenly, therefore repelling death. To understand the complete meaning of Frost’s poem one needs to be aware that for something to be dead, it must have once had life. Life and death are common themes in poetry, but this poem focuses on what is in between, life’s missed experiences and the regret that the speaker is left with. Regret is defined as â€Å"a feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wishes could be different† (www.dictionary.com). While there is no doubt that the speaker in this poem has had a very productive and worthwhile life, one gets the impression that there is still an empty feeling in his life, of which he can do nothing about. In lines 3-6, he reflectively states, â€Å"And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill beside it, and there may be two or three apples I didn’t pick upon some bough†. Here, it is necessary to expand that idea the idea of the apples as a metaphor for life, and say that they also represent missed life experiences. As the speaker looks back on his life, he sees unfinished tasks, and thus he feels regret. It is important to note though, that he accepts the fact that he can do nothing about these unfinished tasks, and he is ready to move to a new and final stage in his life as he acknowledges that he â€Å"is don e with apple-picking now† (6). The reason for the reflection is evident when the speaker says, â€Å"I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight I got from looking through a pane of glass I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough and held against the world of hoary grass† (9-10). From this it seems as though the speaker has caught a glimpse of his reflection in the drinking trough and has noticed that the reflection was or gray with age. It appears as though the speaker does not merely see himself in the water’s reflection though; he also visualizes past visions and memories from his life. Further on in the poem, the speaker says, â€Å"There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, Cherish in han... ... or perhaps even to the â€Å"cellar† (a metaphor for Hell). By the end of the poem, both the speaker and the reader have come to a general acceptance regarding the speaker’s looming death. It therefore comes as a bit of a shock when the speaker says, â€Å"Were he not gone, the woodchuck could say whether it’s like his long sleep, as I describe its coming on, or just some human sleep†. The metaphorical meaning of sleep in this poem has been previously established, however, a new definition surfaces as a result of this statement. Frost has just written of two different types of sleep—is it possible that he is talking about two different states of death? In searching for the significance of this statement, it is necessary to return to the apple and its representation of both life and death. The reader, as well as the speaker, is not sure if he is really dying or whether he has simply ceased feeling and experiencing life, thus causing the feelings of regret. It is interesting, though purely speculative, to note that i n the year that Frost wrote this poem, he would be turning forty years old. One must wonder whether Frost was looking back on his own life thus far with some sort of regret.

Most important inventions Essay

One of the most prominent features of the present century is the progress of science and its effects on almost every aspect of social life. Nowadays, more and more new things invented to make our life more comfortable and convenient. It is difficult for us to point out which inventions changed human’s life the most, but in my opinion the three most remarkable inventions changed the world the most are the creations of electricity, aircraft and computer. Firstly, electricity actually becomes necessary in human beings’ life, it has contributed much in manufacturing, curing and operating machines. If the power of electricity had never been existed we wouldn’t have even a fraction of what we have in the world today. No electricity also means that there is no TV’s, no computers, no air conditioning†¦ Indeed, we cannot even imagine how we would live in absence of electricity in modern times. In addition, many diseases are treated by electric treatment today. Surgeons will not be able to carry on their instruments and machines without electricity. For example, X-ray machine which enables the doctor to take the photograph of the internal parts of the body can be operated only with its help. This is an industrial era. Many big and heavy machines are used to generate foods, goods, clothes†¦.Nonetheless, such machines works only with the help of electricity. In some progressive countries, like Japan, electric power is used in almost all the factories, a power cut in one day could lead to the deadlock. For this reason, electric power is really useful in production as well as the growth of industries. The second invention I believe that it has great impacts on our social life is the creation of computer. It would actually be difficult to say when the first computer was made but Charles Babbage was the first one to conceptualize it. He called it ‘The Analytical Engine’ though he never could build it. In fact, computer is the extremely important Invention because it helps us to display and save information; this invention is also applied in almost all fields. In olden times, storing information had many  disadvantages. You had to write information on the papers and then store them a certain place. As a matter of fact, the data could be lost after a long time due to old paper, wood-borer †¦. However, today it becomes easier and more convenient with computer. You just type the information you need, save it and it is done. You do not need many shelves to save data anymore. On the other hand, you can edit them as you like and you can save them as many files as you want. PC actually is utilized in almost all fields such as studying, working and entertaining. For instance, people can use computer for presentation, planning a project, playing videogames, watching TV and listening to music. The last but not least is the invention of aircraft. All of us cannot deny the creation of aircraft has changed the way of our traveling. The airplane is not only one of the greatest inventions in the 20th century, but also one of the most wonderful scientific creations of the human history at large. This mean of transport made it possible for people to work in places miles away. The existing of aircraft has turned long and exhausting journeys into a trip completed within hours. Also, the people from divergent parts of the world could travel from one region to the other quickly, thereby exchanging different aspects in social and cultural experiences. It is one of the crucial factors that help business expand to global market. Furthermore, children can attend school in distant countries. In the past, this was impossible. Hence, the children of today are better educated than those of the past. Thanks to the creation of aircraft, human beings became more dynamic, they are able to do business in foreign lands and visit various countries all over the world. Scientific inventions have made this world worth living. They help our life become more comfortable and convenient. And three of the inventions modifying deeply the way we live are the creations of electricity, computer and aircraft. We can sure that these changes will not stop there, these inventions have just built the foundation for the future scientists to create more and more inventions, and we cannot ima gine how our life would change in the next few years.