Nutritional Value

Associate Level Material Nutrition Worksheet In order to obtain optimal health, it is critical to eat a healthy and balanced diet. Becoming knowledgeable about how to evaluate the nutritional value of what you eat may greatly increase your ability to improve your health and wellness. In this two-part worksheet, you critique a recipe for nutritional value and respond to two short answer questions about nutrition. Completing this assignment is a step towards gaining the knowledge needed to better manage your nutrition. Part 1: Critique a Meal For this part of the assignment, you critique the nutritional value of a meal.You will select this meal from the USDA website. Follow the instructions below: Access the USDA Recipe Finder search tool at http://recipefinder. nal. usda. gov/ (either click on or paste the above link in your internet’s address bar) Search for a recipe using one of the available criteria: Type in ingredients; Type in a recipe name, or; Choose options from the av ailable categories Select a recipe to critique from the generated results. Review the nutritional information provided for the recipe you selected or added and answer the questions below. What is the name of the recipe you are evaluating?Arroz Con Pollo Chicken and Rice Which essential nutrients—carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals—are included in the recipe? 31G of Carbs, 4G Total Fats, 11G of Protein, Vitamin A 20%, Vitamin C 45%, Iron 10%, and Calcium 4% Which ingredients are providing each nutrient? Chicken, Green Peppers, Onions, Garlic Cloves, Tomatoes, Chicken Broth, Bay Leaf, Rice, Peas, Does this recipe include a good balance of essential nutrients? Explain your answer. I feel it does because it gives you a decent amount of vitamins, protein, carbs, fats, and iron.How could the recipe be altered to include more essential nutrients? I think it could be altered to include more grams of proteins, but it provides already a variety of different ing redients that are good for you. Do you consider this a healthy meal? If not, what is a healthy alternative? I feel it is a healthy meal and it is an easy meal to cook for the family. You could always make changes to the ingredients or portion what you put into it. Part 2: Nutrition Questions Respond to the following questions in 75 to 125 words each: Do you find it easy or difficult to determine the nutritional value of food?What are some methods to help you more easily determine the nutritional values of food? Right now I still find it a little hard to determine the nutritional value of foods because I am still trying to remember what food nutrients that I should be intaking on a regular basis to keep me eating healthy. I think once I get that down and start reading the nutrion facts on products I will be able to easily pick out nutritional products for me and my family and I wont be so frustrated standing in the store trying to read and figure out what to buy. What environmental, economic, and psychosocial factors influenced your food and drink choices today?Environmental, Economic, and psychosocial factors that influence my food and drink choices today are by word of mouth, family and friends choices, what im in the mood or for, and is it affordable to eat or drink on a daily basis. Theres many factors that effect my choices based on what I like, who im with and if they agree with my choices or not, and commercials and ads take effect on my decisions too. I find I see a lot of stuff on tv thats new and I have to try it, but dont really pay attention to what is in it to decide if its a healthy choice for me or not.

Midterm Intermediate Macroeconomics Essay

1. How are presidential election outcomes related to the performance of the economy? Presidential elections and the economy have a very close relationship and they go together hand and hand. Usually when the economy is good and opinion of the government is positive, the incumbent or the party of the last president wins the election. People tend the lean towards why change a good thing. A couple of theories exist in the relationship of the economy and presidents. The first one is that voters will vote for whichever president they feel shares the same economic vales that they have. Usually the poor vote liberal or for bigger government because they think they will provide more economic relief them and their families. The second theory is that the president currently in power will attempt to pass policies that will allow their party to stay in power. So, presidents on their first term will make monetary and fiscal policies close to the election year to stimulate the economy to sway voters. Two examples of how the economy can sway the presidential election against an incumbent are Hoover and George H.W. Bush. Both presidents had economic downturns during their first term in office and were not reelected. Other factors play key roles in presidential elections, but none are bigger than economics. 2. Discuss the difference between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Microeconomics is the study of decision making undertaken by individuals (households) and by business firms. Micro looks at the decisions of individual’s actions, like deciding to work overtime or not. Another example is a small business decision on how much to spend of advertising cost. Micro focuses on the supply and demand in an economy, and how businesses can maximize profits. Macroeconomics is the study of the behavior of the economy as a whole. Macro deals with national items like the unemployment rate, government budget deficit, and money supplied by the FED. Macro deals with aggregates, such as the total output as in the economy. For example, Macro would explore how net exports could affect a nation’s capital. 3. Use the concepts of gross and net investment to distinguish between an economy that has a rising stock of capital and one that has a falling stock of capital. â€Å"In 1933 net private domestic investment was minus $6 billion. This means that in that particular year the economy produced no capital goods at all.† Do you agree? Why or why not? Explain: â€Å"Though net investment can be positive, negative, or zero, it is quite impossible for gross investment to be less than zero.† Gross Investment = Net Investment + Depreciation We can rearrange this to say: Net Investment = Gross Investment – Depreciation The capital stock of an economy rises when net investment is positive, that is when gross investment exceeds depreciation. The capital stock falls when net investment is negative, that is when gross investment is less than depreciation. In 1933 net private domestic investment was minus $6 billion. This does not mean the country produced no capital goods: what it means is that the production of capital goods was less than what was lost due to wear and tear, thus the net impact was an overall loss in capital stock. Gross private investment in most cases cannot be negative, since you can decide not to invest in new factories, but how do you decide to make a negative investment on an economy wide scale. The only possible case I can think of, and many will disagree with this, is when China under Mao went for what is now called the â€Å"Great Leap Forward.† Farmers started melting their ploughs and other equipment to provide steel to the government, thus destroying the existing cap ital, without investing in the new one. Thus you are using your effort to destroy what is there: negative gross investment. 4. What are the major factors that have affected U.S. household consumption since the recession in 2001? Many major events have happened in the country and in the world since the year of 2001. The price of oil has skyrocketed causing more Americans to spend money fueling their cars rather than buying goods and services. We have also encountered another recession in 2007 because of risky trading/investment tactics on Wall Street that caused the housing market to crash. This put unemployment at an all-time high since the depression era, and destroyed faith in America’s economic system. Firms were reluctant to investment in the American public because they were afraid we would lose our jobs. Also, we have fought in two wars. One of the wars has been the longest in American history. This dries up resources and ups government spending. The government has less money to investment its citizens and firms have fewer resources to produce products for consumers to buy. 5. Briefly explain how the following would shift the IS function to the right. a.A change to lump-sum taxation (Specify whether increase or decrease is needed to shift IS curve to the right.) Decreasing a lump sum tax will shift the IS curve to the right. Decreasing the lump sum tax will increase consumer income, which will cause aggregate demand to go up. b.A change to government spending (Specify whether increase or decrease is needed to shift IS curve to the right.) Increasing government spending will shift the IS curve to the right. Increasing government spending will cause aggregate demand to go up, and shift the IS curve to the right. 6. Explain briefly how a change to the following MS, MD, or P (ceteris paribus) would shift the LM function to the right. Include in your discussion whether the variable would have to increase or decrease to cause the rightward LM shift. Discuss which of these the FED exercises control over. a. MS. b. MD (money demand). c. P (price index). The LM curve deals with interest and income and is sloping upward. When the demand of money and supply of money equal each other the market is at equilibrium. The LM curve shifts when either the supply or demand of money changes. The FED has control over money supplied. a. MS. Increasing money supplied would cause the LM curve to shift to the right. Money supplied would drop interest rates and shift the IS curve to right. b. MD. An increase in money demand would cause the LM curve to shift to the right. Consumers are wanting to spend more which raises GDP c. P. Price is the only one out of the three that a decrease is needed to shift the IS curve to the right. When prices go down wages go down and consumers have less to spend. 7. By how much will GDP change if firms increase their investment by $8 billion and the MPC is .80? If the MPC is .67? MPC .80 = 40 billion. The MPC produces a multiplier of 5. (1/(1-.8))=5. 5Ãâ€"8=40 billion MPC .67 = 24 billion. The MPC produces a multiplier of 3.03030. (1/(1-.67))=3.0303. 3.0303Ãâ€"8= 24.2424 billion 8. Suppose that private sector spending is highly sensitive to a change in interest rate. Compare the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy in terms of rising and lowering real GDP. A reduction in the national interest rate will increase the GDP because investments will be in a higher demand. If the FED raises interest rates then investments will go down and lower GDP. If the Fed keeps interest rates low like they have the last couple of years in an attempt to stimulate the economy, GDP should go up. 9. Assume that a hypothetical economy with an MPC of .8 is experiencing severe recession. By how much would government spending have to increase to shift the aggregate demand curve rightward by $25 billion? How large a tax cut would be needed to achieve this same increase in aggregate demand? Why the difference? Determine one possible combination of government spending increases and tax decreases that would accomplish this same goal. The MPC is the same as Question 7 so we know that it will give us a spending multiplier of 5. The tax cut multiplier is .8/(1-.8)=4. If we want to shift the aggregate demand curve by 25 billion, you would divide the 25 billion wanted by the multiplier of 5. 25/5= 5 billion. Same formula goes to the tax cut but with a multiplier of 4. 25/4= 6.25. Either way you are trying to put money into consumers’ pockets so they will hopefully spend more. The difference is because of the MPC. Only .8 of the tax cut will be spend by consumers. They will save the other .2. A possible combo is an increase of 1 billion in government spending and a 5 billion dollar tax cut. 10. What are government’s fiscal policy options for ending severe demand-pull inflation? Use the aggregate demand-aggregate supply model to show the impact of these policies on the price level. Which of these fiscal policy options do you think might be favored by a person who wants to preserve the size of government? A person who thinks the public sector is too large. There are several things the government can do. They can reduce government spending or increase taxes; both ways will put money back into the government’s pocket. Either way the key is putting money back into the government’s pocket. The price level will fall when it is flexible downward. The overall goal of government policy is to provide stability and not have price levels raise slowly not rapidly. Also, the do not want to reduce price levels. Democrats want to preserve the size of government. They favor more taxes and more government spending. GOP favors fewer taxes, reducing government spending, and reducing government power over the citizens. 11. Explain why relatively flat as opposite relatively steep labor demand curves are more consistent with the empirical observation that there are relatively minor changes in the real wage rate over the course of the business cycle. If the demand curve is flat then a reduction or an increment in labor demand does not alter the price (the wage is too much). On the other hand, if the demand curve is steep, then an equivalent change in demand has much bigger change in the wage rates. Empirical results suggest that wages are sticky, and the steep labor demand curve cannot explain this observation. 12. Is sustainable long-run equilibrium always reached when the AD and SAS curves intersect? Why or why not? No. The economy would be in a short-run equilibrium when the AD and SAS curves intersect, and not necessarily in long-run equilibrium. It would be in a sustainable long-run equilibrium if the economy finds itself operating on both the labor demand curve and the labor supply curve. This occurs when the labor demand and labor supply curves intersect, so there is no pressure to change. At this point the actual real wage equals the equilibrium real wage and Y = YN. At any other combination of W, P, and Y, the SAS curve will shift as expectations are adjusted. 13. If the equilibrium real wage remains constant, what happens to the nominal wage when the actual inflation rate exceeds the expected inflation rate? Real Wage Rate = Nominal Wage Rate – Inflation. Taking expectations we can say that expected Real Wage Rate = Expected Nominal Wage Rate – Expected Inflation This can be rewritten as expected Real Wage Rate + Expected Inflation = Expected Nominal Wage Rate. If the equilibrium real wage rate remains constant, while inflation exceeds expected inflation then the nominal wage rate has to rise. 14. â€Å"In the steady state, the government benefits from inflation.† Explain. The government benefits from inflation in two ways. First, it obtains an extra source of revenue, called seignorage or the inflation tax. The government can then lower ordinary taxes or increase spending more than it could otherwise. Second, the government may gain if inflation raises the nominal interest rate by less than inflation itself.

Anthem comparison

The novel 1984 takes place in a dyspepsia society in which everyone is treated equal, and the government has complete control over every aspect of a person's life. This Is much like the novel Anthem. In both books, all the citizens of the societies are equal, punishments are very strict, and the government has absolute power over all people. In 1984, every is treated equal. People In the country of Oceania cannot have friends, they have comrades, because everyone Is equal In the eyes of big brother.This Is much like the citizens In Anthem. The citizens of this society also cannot have friends, they must treat everyone the same and they are not supposed to Like one person more than another. In both novels, crimes are punished very severely. In 1984 any person who Is convicted of committing a â€Å"thought crime† Is Annealed†. This Is when the thought police kill the person and any record of their existence Is completely erased from history. In the Anthem, crimes are also punished severely.In this society, any person who breaks a rule, or does something that the council does not tell you to do, that person is sent to prison. Or if the council finds the crime to be too serious, the person is burned at the stake in the town square. Another way both stories are the same, is the way the government has complete control over all the citizens. In 1984, the ministries are in complete control of rationing food, punishing crimes, and what is allowed in the media.These ministries are very much like the councils in the Anthem. The councils are in charge of creating all laws, punishing crimes, and choosing Jobs for all the citizens of the society. In conclusion, all the citizens of the societies are equal, punishments are very strict, and the government has absolute power over all people in both 1984 and Anthem. These are only three of the many numerous ways that these two novels are similar.

Reccommendation memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reccommendation memo - Essay Example As far as financing is concerned, Wal-Mart once again showed its supremacy by making financing of at least $8 million every year. The other competitors however hardly managed to obtain $4 million on yearly basis. In terms of earning profits, Wal-Mart has performed substantially well and increased its earnings from $12 million to around $16 million in five years time. None of the other companies managed to cross even $4 million in any of the five years. Operating outflows of Wal-Mart are also quite unmatchable due to the larger size such that it remained between $10 million and $16 million in five year times. Target, another industry competitor, achieved a level of $4 million thrice in five years. However, other competitors remained far behind and hardly managed to reach $2 million in any of the five years. Wal-Mart also remained successful in reflecting the best Return on equity as compared to its competitors such that its average ROE remained around 21.5%. However, the other four co mpetitors barely managed to earn ROE of around 17% on average basis. Lastly, except the yearly sales of Wal-Mart which remained around $400 million on average basis, the other four industry participants did not even reach to the sales level of around $100 million in any of the year. It is recommended that the performance of Wal-Mart has remained substantially well as compared to other four companies. The other four companies however have remained similar in their performance in the last five

Marketing library & information services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing library & information services - Essay Example In order to provide MLIS, understanding of the working of a library and its purpose and ideology is of great importance. Marketing has played a crucial role in the Australian academic libraries. Accelerating rates of change has become the marketing reality in current times (Kotler & Caslione, 2009). The scope of marketing in MLIS has seen increase in the recent years. This is partly due to technological advancement and partly due to changes in the educational requirements that the library aims to meet. In addition to that, new marketing methods have evolved that make it necessary for libraries to incorporate effective marketing into the delivery of resources to customers. The library needs to be speaking the language of the buyer in order to market well (Scott, 2007). Also marketing serves as a useful tool in promoting and advertising the resources of the library; this can have mutual benefits for both the library and its customers: to the library since it can attract more number of customers and to its customers in easily locating and accessing the services that they need. In Australian academic libraries, the role of marketing has received a lot of attention since educational advances and technological developments along with limited budgets have made students demand more in return for the membership fees that they are paying for libraries. One of the most significant contributions of marketing to LIS is that it helps in fostering a healthy marketing relationship with its customers. A good marketing strategy aims to identify potential customers and identifying their needs. It further requires the designing of products that meet these needs. Organizations are seeing the benefits of customer loyalty and are taking a customer-centric approach to strategy (Jain & Singh, 2010). If marketing is customer-focused, it helps to assert the importance of the customer over all other

Mexican Americans in World war I and World war II Research Paper

Mexican Americans in World war I and World war II - Research Paper Example Introduction United Sates of America is an amazing blend of different cultures. The demographic profile is very diverse having multi-cultural and multi-lingual identities. These identities generally include Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Indians, Asian, Black or African Americans and other Pacific Islanders. In United States, Mexican Americans basically involve those inhabitants living in America having Mexican Descent. This ethnic group makes up 16.3% of the total population of United States in 2010. Mexican Americans include 66% Hispanic and Latinos as well. United States is considered the second largest home for this community. A great portion of this community also resides in Canada. In 2008 there were about 7 million Mexican Americans who were undocumented but living in United States. Most of these people are the successors of native Mexicans. Some also belong to Europeans especially the Spaniards. The history of this ethnic group is wide ranging. It is round about four hundred years old. The history varies from one region to another. In the early 1900, there were so many Hispanics residing in New Mexico, Texas and California. Most of them were the successors of native Mexican, European and Spanish settlers. These settlers arrived to this region during Spanish colonial periods. So, the lineage of Mexican Americans can be traced back to early settlers of the colonial periods. History of Mexican Americans’ Contribution to US Cause It is the history of Mexican Americans that they always served United States especially in war conditions. When we look at history, we can observe that in 1861 when civil conflicts erupted in America, the Mexican Americans predominantly those situated in Texas at that time served directly or indirectly for the betterment of US. They also worked and participated voluntarily in Union Army and several other units. 10,000 personnel also served in the regular army. This ethnic group always showed extraordinary commitment and horsemanship. To facilitate their efforts, the US government had also set up four companies to utilize maximum from their services. Medal of Honors were also established by the government to facilitate those who risk their lives for their country. Hispanic and Mexican Americans received these honors for their commendable services in Civil War. Till 1898, the two previously mentioned ethnic groups scattered across the country as regular army officers and created a small, yet professional composition of personnel. Mexican Americans: Great Contributors to America’s Defense History reveals the truth that there were several Mexican Americans who served in First and Second World War with great devotion. Not only men but women also participated equally. Many men and women served in armed forces with their maximum possible dedication and loyalty. John P. Schmal writes about the publication of Defense Department. This publication declared â€Å"when our country has been in need, Hispanic Americans have had more than their share of stouthearted, indomitable men. Their intrepid actions have been in the highest tradition- a credit to themselves, their ancestry, and our nation.† So, Mexican Americans were the people who had greatly risked their lives to save and combat United States. While talking about American men during World War II, Richard Santillan mentioned that Mexican American clearly distinguished during combats for United States. They were so devoted and loyal to the

Sociology Families in a Global Perspective Essay

Sociology Families in a Global Perspective - Essay Example With the distribution of wealth in significantly different ratios across the nation, the family unit within the U.S. maintains different issues, stemming from economic and social circumstances, which directly influence family-related principles. India, a much less Westernized country, faces widespread poverty and dramatic chasms between social classes, despite its rapid growth in industry and radical social change. Indian culture maintains significantly different beliefs than that of United States families, created by economic circumstances and years of cultural values. Indian citizens, based on social status and financial realities, show marked contrast to their Western counterparts. All of these factors will be explored within this project. The United States, and its highly capitalistic economic system, creates an environment where many families tend to be more career-focused, with stern emphasis placed on the quality of higher-level education. However, the level to which education is actively stressed by parents to their children is radically different based on social class. The U.S. maintains a very wide division of classes, consisting of the significantly wealthy, upper middle class, middle class, and the lower working class. Upper middle class citizens, as one example, reflect the majority of this group as being holders of Bachelors and post-graduate degrees in high paying professional fields (Henslin, 2003). The lower working class, in opposite respect, represents the majority of U.S. blue collar workers, who rear their children with little emphasis on career-building. This group is more dominant toward their children, often using physical punishment to ensure child obedience (Henslin). This emphasis on obedience and rigorous punishment is often driven by the fact that blue-collar workers tend to work under controlling managerial environments, which is a mentality passed

No Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

No Topic - Essay Example According to Sanders, the STEM system, introduced in the 1990s, had all along been used by NSF to refer to separate subjects of â€Å"science, technology, engineering, and mathematics while some people thought it STEM education referred to interaction among the stake holders† (2009, p. 20). However, due to the global challenges and competition faced by the U.S from other countries like China and India, the STEM program was heavily backed up by the government by providing funds and advocating the integration of the STEM subjects to other ordinary school subjects (Clemson University, n.d). As a result, the current education system of K-12 in the U.S implements the STEM curriculum and education policy. On the other hand, several forms of integrative stem education can be identified in the American education system. Firstly, integration of engineering with high school education subjects, particularly science and mathematics, is one form of integrative learning that enables and tutors to address problems in the real world (North Carolina State University, 2011). Further, the North Carolina State University states that various strategies have been implemented to enable instructors to incorporate engineering concepts when training students on science and mathematics (2011). This form of integrative learning is important not only to the students but also to the nation as a whole. This is because students are able to identify problems in the real world and provide solutions based on ideas from multi-disciplinary approach. Another form of stem integration is the inclusion of arts and literary subjects to the main STEM subjects. According to North Carolina State University, students need to have an array of diverse skills in order to effective engineer solution to the problems existing in the current society (2011). In this form of integration, students get to learn effective communication skills through the literary subjects something that is important

Soda Ban NYC Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Soda Ban NYC - Research Paper Example It is in the wake of this situation that the Mayor of New York decided to undertake yet another step to help the citizenry cut back on its damaging lifestyle, reduce soda intake. This move comes at a time when three crucial issues loom over the city. The first one is that previous methods to address obesity yield minimal positive outcomes. In the past, the mayor has implemented a few notable policies. Restaurants indicate on the menu the amount of calories in each meal, but people still order big Mac’s. A ghastly depiction of the dangers of smoking did nothing to reduce the smoking rates (Hu). Stores started stocking low fat milk and replaced white bread with whole meal bread, but there is little to report in regard to positive results. As such, new more aggressive methods beckon, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking the bull by its horns. Secondly, the health of the population is at its worst compared to a decade ago. The connection between the high rates of weight gain and the lifestyle of the people is not questionable. Shockingly one of the lifestyles people choose is the high calorie giant sodas! It is shocking because people have alternative, healthy beverages, but they still prefer unhealthy soda. Doctors claim that there is an increase in diabetes, hypertension, and cardio vascular complications related to unhealthy lifestyles and weight gain (Hu). These complications are responsible for a significant portion of mortality among Americans. Sadly, even young children are catching on with the new trend of diseases previously thought to affect only adults. Doctor Dr. Steven M. Safyer is clear on the fact that consuming too many calories in the absence of exercise is a sure way of adding not just weight but excess weight. Thirdly, the cost of health care is spiking, and the amount of money spent on these health complications is crippling. Currently, over 20% of national medical spending is for addressing obesity and related

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Family Law - Essay Example U.K.’s family section 8(1) of the Children Act 1989 states that the children must live 50 percent of the growing up with one parent1. Consequently, the children will live the remaining 50 percent of their children years with the other spouse. The essence of the shared residence rule prevents the issue that one parent is better than the other parent. This was the ruling in the D v D (Shared Residence Order case) 2001 1 Flr 4952. The shared residence complies with section 1 of the Children Act of 1989. The section emphasises that the children’s welfare is paramount compared over the welfare of either of the parents. Each parent has equal time rights and decision rights to the development of the children. The Children’s Act of 1989 is grounded on the Law Commission 1986 Working Paper no. 96. The law ensures that both parents are not denied their right to make equal decisions on the children’s schooling, abode, and other related family decisions3. Childrenâ₠¬â„¢s Minister Tim Loughton stated that the state had the duty to ensure the fathers are not eliminated from the child development equation. The fathers have the right have the children live with the father on equal basis, removing the issue of discrimination. In fact, Mr. Loughton stated that the move was to reverse the current United Kingdom scene where children were not given their right to personally feel their fathers’ love, affection, and caresses. ... Consequently, most of the children were refused their right to share time with their fathers. The judge referred to the case T v T judgment stating that court should bring the greatest benefits of the children. The court should never prevent dividing the children’s rights and the father’s right to have 50 percent of the children’s time say with the father4. In terms of case law, A v B Anor [2012] EWCA Civ 285 (14 March 2012) states the court of appeals granted the father’s request to contact his child. The child was living with the spouse’s divorced wife. The wife was a lesbian5. The case states the decision is based on what is best for the children’s interest. The child’s interest includes the child’s need for the father to contribute to the child’s nurturing. The father complainant complies with all the legal requirements of a father role. Consequently, the father prays that the court grant his right to be with his chil d. The court decision states that the father should be granted his right to implement his father image. Specifically, the court can enhance his father –children relationship. The relationship includes providing for the food, clothing, shelter, school, medical, and other real life father responsibilities. By filing a complaint with the court, the court interprets the father’s complaint is convincing proof that the father is serious in his desire to fulfil his right to act as the child’s father. Eric must not get in the way of preventing the father’s right to have the children live with the parent. In the same way, Eric should not prevent the children’s right to stay with the father. By forcing Belinda to North of England, Eric can be charged for preventing the â€Å"stay with child† right of both the

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Essay Example for Free

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Essay In the late 19th century, 1886 precisely, it was discovered by the Supreme Court that the United States intestate commerce was un-regulated. Consequently, it became a Federal responsibility to fill up this vacuum. This gave birth to the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act. This act needed personnel to enforce it, but the Justice department had a shortage of investigators. Hence, the Attorney General then, Charles Joseph, took the initiative of plunging into other agencies like secret service for investigators. However, the congress frowned on this development of using Treasury staff as investigators and they promptly passed a law against this in 1870 (Kessler, 2006). The Attorney had no other option than to embark on an inception of ad-hoc investigators, so he hurriedly put together a formal group of investigators, which was named Bureau Of Investigators (BOI), with agents supplied by the secret service. These agents that became the first set of BOI agents were 12 in number. BOI later metamorphosized into FBI, invariably meaning that the first set of FBI agents were actually agents from Secret Service agents. (Timeline of FBI History) As expected, the BOI was christened several names until it was eventually named FBI. It was given the name the United States Bureau of Investigation in 1932. In the preceding year, it was adapted to the Bureau of Prohibition and renamed the Division of Investigation (DOI), until finally in 1935 it became the FBI. (Timeline of FBI History). The bureau started with precisely 34 agents, out of which 10 were agents from the secret service. In 1932, the first FBI laboratory was opened officially in order to facilitate scientific crime detection, under the directorship of J. Edgar Hoover, the first FBI director, who was formerly the director of BOI, the mother of FBI. Edgar served as a director for over 47 years and immediately after his death, a law was passed to limit the tenure of directors of FBI to a maximum of 10 years. (Timeline of FBI History) Edgar was quite articulate, he did not only champion the FBI laboratory, that developed DNA testing and pioneered identification using fingerprinting system in 1924, he was personally involved in many of the assignments and project executed by the FBI. The first official tasks these agents were assigned was to enforce The White Slave Traffic Act of June 25, 1910. (Timeline of FBI History). The agents were visiting and surveying prostitution houses. During these early years, the FBI’s jurisdiction was constrained simply because most of the investigations were already assigned to the local police and other law enforcement agencies. It was only given the responsibility of investigating bankruptcy and postal fraud, antitrust violations, destruction of government properties, and other crimes on â€Å"Native America reservation†. The Mann Act, which prohibited the transportation of ladies for prostitution and decadent acts and the Dyer Act, the Vehicle theft law both further empowered the FBI. Many of the criminals that once evaded the local police across the United States were doomed by these laws. The bureau was empowered to bridge the gap across the state where criminals choose and use to disappear from other agencies.   In the1930s, FBI declared war on crime and they achieved a great success for they either apprehended or killed several notorious criminals that were involved in crimes ranging from serial killing, kidnapping, robbing. Criminals like George â€Å"Machine Gun† Kelly, Alvin â€Å"Creepy† Karpis, â€Å"Baby Face† Nelson, to mention only a few, were all caught in the net of FBI.( Timeline of FBI History) All these names will ring a bell to historians of criminal and crimes. Irrespective of the fact that FBI was still in its early years, it succeeded in apprehending the whole revolutionary Mexican army based along the California border in the 1920s. Yet another achievement of the early FBI was the leveling of the strength and influence of the famous â€Å"Ku Klux Klan†, who influenced and sponsored many organized crimes. In later years, between 1940s to1970s, FBI delved into major espionage cases against United States and her allies Nations. These were the years FBI was gaining maturity. Eight Nazi agent plotting sabotage to American goals were arrested, six of them were executed. It was also during this period that the FBI embarked on a Joint US/UK code braking project and the bureau was able to break the â€Å"Soviet Union intelligence and diplomatic communication code†. The bureau had planted spies into the soviet intelligence working underground which must have led to the arrest of the Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel in the year 1957, yet another major early achievement of FBI. (Douglas,2007) Together with all these achievements and progress recorded by the FBI in its early years, there were occasionally allegation of digression from major espionages and crimes. FBI allegedly indulged itself in controversial issues such as probing the affairs of the civil right activists. Leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr T.R.M Howard became the focal point of FBI’s surveillance. During this period, FBI was unable to crack some major murder cases such as the killing of George W. Lee and some other black Americans. Rather than concentrating on major crimes, FBI investigated and upset the activities of political organizations in the United States including non-violent political and civil right groups. Amongst this is the popular Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Unfortunately, many of these individuals and groups could not be connected with any crime, the FBI was even alleged to indulge in blackmail in netting some of its victims. A journalist once claimed that an anonymous letter was sent to Luther King by FBI, advising him to commit suicide. Several individuals have been said to be on the record of FBI, for it investigates and files the record of virtually all the top celebrities and rich man in the United State irrespective of the sphere of life the individual operates in. From the celebrities in the entertainment industry to politicians, academicians and lots more, the FBI has a thoroughly researched document on them all. Among these individuals are: Elvis Presley, the Famous Musician, Walt Disney’s founder, Frank Sinatra, John Denver, John Lennon, Jane Fonda, Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin, MC5, Lou Costello, Sonny Bono, Bob Dylan, Mickey Mantle, to mention only but a few. (Douglas,2007 ) Such were the activities of the FBI until the murder of John F. Kennedy. The task and responsibility of investigating the killing of the president of the United State was too enormous for the local police, hence, the new president instructed the FBI to take over the case. This development led to the congress passing a law to back this development up. Therefore, thereafter, the FBI handled all homicides at such level. Till date, FBI has been in charge of investigation of murder of all federal officials. This killing of Kennedy could be said to revive the FBI, for soon after the killing the â€Å"Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act† (RICO ACT) was enacted, which enabled the FBI to dig into organized crimes networks. (Timeline of FBI History)The bureau investigated the popular crime syndicates and families that were fast becoming the brain behind all major crimes in large cities and small towns too. Today, the RICO Act is still used for all organized crime. From1910 to 1996 the congress kept coming up with different types of laws that increasingly focused on and regulated the activities of both individual and organizations, laws regulating political, personal and economic activities of all and sundry. This increasingly regulation kept on bestowing more power to the FBI. Its responsibilities were redefined to include areas that were exclusively left for local law enforcement agents.   Not only was the bureau allowed to handle cases of bank robbery, theft, fraud, gambling etc. The federal laws further empowered the FBI when some laws were enacted that narrowed the scope of privacy right by defining distribution of obscene literatures, migration across state line to indulge in non-marital sexual acts and even speeches and association that threatens the existence of the United State or promotes or protects any foreign interest as criminal. Overly, the FBI was empowered to investigate any individual’s or organization’s activity that is political in nature. These reports serve as intelligence report to the presidency, State, justice, war department and other federal agencies. The bureau does not only help alert and curb crimes, it also helps in implementing loyalty in among federal workers. The bureau is also saddled with the responsibility of disseminating information for the purpose of influencing the public opinion and reducing the powers and influence of political activists. This information dissemination authority was given to the bureau in 1940s and in 1950s, it was further refined into cognate programs. (Douglas,2007) The 1984 Olympic brought another major development in the FBI. (End of cold war,www.fib.com). The bureau formed a unit of selected agents to assist with curbing the major crimes and terrorism that could arise at the 1984 Olympics.   This development was necessary when Athletes from Israel were murdered by terrorists. This team was given the name Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) which later became the SWAT. Again, 1984 the computer Analysis and Response Team (CART) was formed. After the cold war, terrorism was reduced tremendously, this consequently reduced the task of the FBI, hence agents of the bureau were assigned the responsibility of tailing fugitives who have escaped and crossed state lines. In the 1990s, over 300 agents resigned due to fewer activities in the FBI. (End of cold war,www.fib.com)

Neurophysiological and Evolutionary Theories of Learning Essay Example for Free

Neurophysiological and Evolutionary Theories of Learning Essay In the study of learning, learning theories are categorized into paradigms or schools of thought based on viewpoints shared by scientists that provide a framework for research. Three of the major paradigms of learning theories include the cognitive paradigm, the neurophysiological paradigm and the evolutionary paradigm. The first paradigm is referred to as cognitive because theorists place their emphasis on the cognitive nature of learning. According to Hergenhahn and Olson (2005), the second paradigm is called neurophysiological because it attempts to isolate the mental and physiological correlates of things such as learning, perception, thinking and intelligence. The third paradigm is termed evolutionary because theorists attempt to explain learning processes based on an organisms evolutionary history. DiscussionThere are several theorists whose ideas are predominately cognitive. Theses theorists include the Gestalt psychologists Kurt Lewin and Kurt Koffka, as well as Jean Piaget, Edward Chace Tolman, and Albert Bandura. Wertheimer, Kohler and Lewin were founders of the Gestalt movement. According to Hergenhahn and Olson (2005), Gestalt theorists believed that we experience the world in meaningful wholes and do not see isolated stimuli but stimuli gathered together into meaningful configurations (p. 264). Kurt Lewin proposed a field theory of human motivation. He believed that behavior and cognitive processes are determined by various psychological facts that a person is consciously experiencing. The psychological facts are interdependent and any change in one can affect all the others, therefore influencing our behavior. Kurt Koffka, another Gestaltist falling under the cognitive paradigm defined the law of Pragnanz in Gestalt Theory. The law of Pragnanz states that, all mental events tend toward completeness, simplicity, and meaningfulness (Hergenhahn and Olson, 2005, p. 473). Followers of Gestalt theory used this law as a guiding principle when studying learning. Another cognitive theorist was Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget contributed several theories including intelligence, schemata, assimilation and accommodation, and interiorization. According to his theory of intelligence, intelligence  is any act that creates optimal conditions for the organisms survival under the existing circumstances (Hergenhahn and Olson, 2005 p. 295). Intelligence effects how one adapts to the ever-changing environment. In Piagets schemata theory a persons schema is a cognitive structure that allows a person to act and respond to the environment. A schema can be either overt or covert behavior. The theory of assimilation explains how a person can respond to the environment using existing cognitive structures. The theory of accommodation explains how an organism adapts to the environment by modifying cognitive structures. Piagets concept of interiorization is described by Hergenhahn and Olson (2005) as the gradual decreased dependence on the physical environment and the increased utilization of cognitive structures (p. 299). Through this process, organisms can respond to more complex situations by thinking about them. Edward Chace Tolmans ideas were also predominately cognitive. He believed that organisms develop a mental picture of the environment which he referred to as a cognitive map. The cognitive map develops when mental expectations are confirmed by experience. When an organism is faced with a problem, it utilizes the cognitive map and chooses the best solution requiring the least amount of work according to Tolmans principle of least effort that will result in satisfaction. Albert Bandura, another cognitive theorist suggested that behavior is learned through observation. He theorized that learning is influenced by four processes. The first process, the attentional process, involves the observer attending to the model. The second process is called the retentional process. This process involves the observer retaining the information gained from the observation by storing it cognitively. The third process is the behavioral production process which requires the learner to have the physical capabilities or behavioral abilities to perform what is learned. The final process, the motivational process provides incentives that motivate the learner to actually perform what has been learned. Bandura also theorized that peoples behavior is also determined by reciprocal determinism. Hergenhahn and Olson (2005) summarize Banduras concept of reciprocal determinism by stating that, behavior, the environment, and  people (and their beliefs) all interact (p. 349). Falling under the neurophysiological paradigm is the theorist Donald Olding Hebb. Some of his theories included that of restricted environments, enriched environments, cell assemblies, phase sequences, and sensory deprivation. In Hebbs theory of restricted environments, Hergenhahn and Olson (2005), explain that if an environment lacks stimulation or experience, it can have a negative impact on the growth and development of nervous system. A restrictive environment can disrupt normal intellectual and perceptual development. In contrast, an enriched environment full of stimulation and experience can enhance development. Hebb also believed that each environmental object we experience stimulates a complex pattern of neurons called cell assemblies (Hergenhahn and Olson, 2005, p. 379). The cell assemblies provide the basis of a thought. When cell assemblies become interconnected they form phase sequences. Phase sequences allow us to have streams of thoughts. According to Hergenhahn and Olson (2005), Hebb concluded in his theories that not only is sensory information necessary for proper neurophysiological development, but it is also necessary for the maintenance of normal functioning (p. 384). When an organisms experience sensory deprivation, severe cognitive disorientation, stress and fear can occur. Hebb believed that the environment had a direct effect on mental and physiological processes which influenced behavior and learning. The final paradigm is the evolutionary paradigm. Attempting to explain the learning process using evolutionary principles was the theorist Robert C. Bolles. Hergenhahn and Olson (2005) state that Bolles believed that learning involved the development of expectancies (p. 425). Expectancies are when an organism learns that one event leads to another. Bolles believed that organisms had innate predispositions for behavior and that motivation restricts response flexibility. Hergenhahn and Olson (2005) explain that an organisms natural reaction in a situation may make it difficult to learn a new response. Using the niche argument, Bolles argued that an understanding of learning must be accompanied by an understanding of the evolutionary history of the organism (Hergenhahn and Olson, (2005), p. 427). According this argument, organisms have to learn certain behaviors that they are  predispositioned for and not learn others depending on their niche and how they fit in the big picture. This can determine whether the organism is successful or not in adapting to its environment. Conclusion Although learning theorist in the various paradigms have attempted to explain learning and its processes, many questions are still unanswered. One of these questions is how does learning vary as a function of maturation? If learning occurs differently in different stages it would be beneficial to conduct research on how maturation affects the learning process. The information yielded from such research could be very beneficial in regards to education. Another unanswered question is how does learning vary as a function of species? If some organisms have the biological ability to learn certain behaviors and some do not, how can research involving different species be beneficial? If psychologists want to learn more about the learning process in humans, they should study humans rather than making generalizations across species. Other questions that remain unanswered involve learning and personality characteristics, learning as a function of the total environment, learning and associations, as well as learning and instinctive behavior. It is imperative that more research be conducted in an attempt to answer these questions about learning to give people a greater comprehension of learning. The more knowledge we have about the learning process and what affects it, the better we will be at making learning successful. References: Hergenhahn, B.R., Olson, M. (2005). An Introduction to Theories of Learning. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Lift And Drag Coefficients Of Planes Engineering Essay

Lift And Drag Coefficients Of Planes Engineering Essay The term fluid in everyday language typically refers to liquids, but in the realm of physics, fluid describes any gases, liquids or plasmas that conform to the shape of its container. Fluid mechanics is the study of gases and liquids at rest and in motion. It is divided into fluid statics, the study of the behavior of stationary fluids, and fluid dynamics, the study of the behavior of moving, or flowing, fluids. Fluid dynamics is further divided into hydrodynamics, or the study of water flow, and aerodynamics, the study of airflow. Real-life applications of fluid mechanics included a variety of machines, ranging from the water-wheel to the airplane. Many of the applications are according to several principles such as Pascals Principle, Bernoullis Principle, Archimedess Principle and etc. As example, Bernoullis principle, which stated that the greater the velocity of flow in a fluid, the greater the dynamic pressure and the less the static pressure. In other words, slower-moving fluid exerts greater pressure than faster-moving fluid. The discovery of this principle ultimately made possible the development of the airplane. Therefore, among the most famous applications of Bernoullis principle is its use in aerodynamics. In addition, the study of fluids provides an understanding of a number of everyday phenomena, such as why an open window and door together create a draft in a room. Wind Tunnel Suppose one is in a room where the heat is on too high, and there is no way to adjust the thermostat. Outside, however, the air is cold, and thus, by opening a window, one can presumably cool down the room. But if one opens the window without opening the front door of the room, there will only be little temperature change. But if the door is opened, a nice cool breeze will blow through the room. Why? This is because, with the door closed, the room constitutes an area of relatively high pressure compared to the pressure of the air outside the window. Because air is a fluid, it will tend to flow into the room, but once the pressure inside reaches a certain point, it will prevent additional air from entering. The tendency of fluids is to move from high-pressure to low-pressure areas, not the other way around. As soon as the door is opened, the relatively high-pressure air of the room flows into the relatively low-pressure area of the hallway. As a result, the air pressure in the room is reduced, and the air from outside can now enter. Soon a wind will begin to blow through the room. The above scenario of wind flowing through a room describes a rudimentary wind tunnel. A wind tunnel is a chamber built for the purpose of examining the characteristics of airflow in contact with solid objects, such as aircraft and automobiles.   Theory of Operation of a Wind Tunnel Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles (primarily  airplanes) in free flight. The wind tunnel was envisioned as a means of reversing the usual paradigm: instead of the airs standing still and the aircraft moving at speed through it, the same effect would be obtained if the aircraft stood still and the air moved at speed past it. In that way a stationary observer could study the aircraft in action, and could measure the aerodynamic forces being imposed on the aircraft. Later, wind tunnel study came into its own: the effects of wind on manmade structures or objects needed to be studied, when buildings became tall enough to present large surfaces to the wind, and the resulting forces had to be resisted by the buildings internal structure. Still later, wind-tunnel testing was applied to  automobiles, not so much to determine aerodynamic forces per second but more to determine ways to reduce the power required to move the vehicle on roadways at a given speed. In the wind tunnel the air is moving relative to the roadway, while the roadway is stationary relative to the test vehicle. Some automotive-test wind tunnels have incorporated moving belts under the test vehicle in an effort to approximate the actual condition. Its represents a safe and judicious use of the properties of fluid mechanics. Its purpose is to test the interaction of airflow and solids in relative motion: in other words, either the aircraft has to be moving against the airflow, as it does in flight, or the airflow can be moving against a stationary aircraft. The first of these choices, of course, poses a number of dangers; on the other hand, there is little danger in exposing a stationary craft to winds at speeds simulating that of the aircraft in flight. Wind tunnel Wind tunnels are used for the study of aerodynamics (the dynamics of fluids). So there is a wide range of applications and fluid mechanic theory can be applied in the device. airframe flow analysis (aviation, airfoil improvements etc), aircraft engines (jets) performance tests and improvements, car industry: reduction of friction, better air penetration, reduction of losses and fuel consumption (thats why all cars now look the same: the shape is not a question of taste, but the result of laws of physics!) any improvement against and to reduce air friction: i.e. the shape of a speed cycling helmet, the shape of the profiles used on a bike are designed in a wind tunnel. to measure the flow and shape of waves on a surface of water, in response to winds (very large swimming pools!) Entertainment as well, in mounting the tunnel on a vertical axis and blowing from bottom to top. Not to simulate anti-gravity as said above, but to allow safely the experience of free-falling parachutes. The Bernoulli principle is applied to measure experimentally the air speed flowing in the wind tunnel. In this case, the construction of Pitot tube is made to utilize the Bernoulli principle for the task of measuring the air speed in the wind tunnel. Pitot tube is generally an instrument to measure the fluid flow velocity and in this case to measure the speed of air flowing to assist further aerodynamic calculations which require this piece of information and the adjustment of the wind speed to achieve desired value. Schematic of a Pitot tube Bernoullis equation states: Stagnation pressure = static pressure + dynamic pressure This can also be written as, Solving that for velocity we get: Where, V is air velocity; pt is stagnation or total pressure; ps is static pressure; h= fluid height and à Ã‚  is air density To reduce the error produced, the placing of this device is properly aligned with the flow to avoid misalignment. As a wing moves through the air, the wing is inclined to the flight direction at some angle. The angle between the  chord line and the flight direction is called the  angle of attack  and has a large effect on the  lift  generated by a wing. When an airplane takes off, the pilot applies as much  thrust  as possible to make the airplane roll along the runway. But just before lifting off, the pilot  rotates  the aircraft. The nose of the airplane rises,  increasing the angle of attack  and producing the  increased lift  needed for takeoff. The magnitude of the lift  generated  by an object depends on the  shape  of the object and how it moves through the air. For thin  airfoils,  the lift is directly proportional to the angle of attack for small angles (within +/- 10 degrees). For higher angles, however, the dependence is quite complex. As an object moves through the air, air molecules  stick  to the surface. This creates a layer of air near the surface called a  boundary layer  that, in effect, changes the shape of the object. The  flow turning  reacts to the edge of the boundary layer just as it would to the physical surface of the object. To make things more confusing, the boundary layer may lift off or separate from the body and create an effective shape much different from the physical shape. The separation of the boundary layer explains why aircraft wings will abruptly lose lift at high angles to the flow. This condition is called a  wing stall. On the slide shown above, the flow conditions for two airfoils are shown on the left. The shape of the two foils is the same. The lower foil is inclined at ten degrees to the incoming flow, while the upper foil is inclined at twenty degrees. On the upper foil, the boundary layer has separated and the wing is stalled. Predicting the  stall point  (the angle at which the wing stalls) is very difficult mathematically. Engineers usually rely on  wind tunnel  tests to determine the stall point. But the test must be done very carefully, matching all the important  similarity parameters  of the actual flight hardware. The plot at the right of the figure shows how the lift varies with angle of attack for a typical thin airfoil. At low angles, the lift is nearly linear. Notice on this plot that at zero angle a small amount of lift is generated because of the airfoil shape. If the airfoil had been symmetric, the lift would be zero at zero angle of attack. At the right of the curve, the lift changes rather abruptly and the curve stops. In reality, you can set the airfoil at any angle you want. However, once the wing stalls, the flow becomes highly unsteady, and the value of the lift can change rapidly with time. Because it is so hard to measure such flow conditions, engineers usually leave the plot blank beyond wing stall. Since the amount of lift generated at zero angle and the location of the stall point must usually be determined experimentally, aerodynamicists include the effects of inclination in the  lift coefficient.  For some simple examples, the lift coefficient can be determined mathematically. For thin airfoils at subsonic speed, and small angle of attack, the lift coefficient  Cl  is given by: Cl = 2 where  Ã‚  is 3.1415, and  a  is the angle of attack expressed in radians: radians = 180 degrees Aerodynamicists rely on wind tunnel testing and very sophisticated computer analysis to determine the lift coefficient. Lift coefficient The  lift coefficient  (  Ã‚  or  ) is a  dimensionless  coefficient that relates the  lift  generated by an aerodynamic body such as a  wing  or complete  aircraft, the  dynamic pressure  of the fluid flow around the body, and a reference area associated with the body. It is also used to refer to the aerodynamic lift characteristics of a  2D  airfoil  section, whereby the reference area is taken as the airfoil  chord.  It may also be described as the ratio of lift pressure to  dynamic pressure. Aircraft Lift Coefficient Lift coefficient may be used to relate the total  lift  generated by an aircraft to the total area of the wing of the aircraft. In this application it is called the  aircraft  or  planform lift coefficient   The lift coefficient  Ã‚  is equal to: where   is the  lift force,   is fluid  density,   is  true airspeed,   is  dynamic pressure, and   is  planform  area. The lift coefficient is a  dimensionless number. The aircraft lift coefficient can be approximated using, for example, the  Lifting-line theory  or measured in a  wind tunnel  test of a complete aircraft configuration. Section Lift Coefficient Lift coefficient may also be used as a characteristic of a particular shape (or cross-section) of an  airfoil. In this application it is called the  section lift coefficient  Ã‚  It is common to show, for a particular airfoil section, the relationship between section lift coefficient and  angle of attack.  It is also useful to show the relationship between section lift coefficients and  drag coefficient. The section lift coefficient is based on the concept of an infinite wing of non-varying cross-section, the lift of which is bereft of any three-dimensional effects in other words the lift on a 2D section. It is not relevant to define the section lift coefficient in terms of total lift and total area because they are infinitely large. Rather, the lift is defined per unit span of the wing  Ã‚  In such a situation, the above formula becomes: where  Ã‚  is the  chord  length of the airfoil. The section lift coefficient for a given angle of attack can be approximated using, for example, the  Thin Airfoil Theory,  or determined from wind tunnel tests on a finite-length test piece, with endplates designed to ameliorate the 3D effects associated with the  trailing vortex  wake structure. Note that the lift equation does not include terms for  angle of attack   that is because the mathematical relationship between  lift and  angle of attack  varies greatly between airfoils and is, therefore, not constant. (In contrast, there is a straight-line relationship between lift and dynamic pressure; and between lift and area.) The relationship between the lift coefficient and angle of attack is complex and can only be determined by experimentation or complex analysis. See the accompanying graph. The graph for section lift coefficient vs. angle of attack follows the same general shape for all  airfoils, but the particular numbers will vary. The graph shows an almost linear increase in lift coefficient with increasing  angle of attack, up to a maximum point, after which the lift coefficient reduces. The angle at which maximum lift coefficient occurs is the  stall  angle of the airfoil. The lift coefficient is a  dimensionless number. Note that in the graph here, there is still a small but positive lift coefficient with angles of attack less than zero. This is true of any airfoil with  camber  (asymmetrical airfoils). On a cambered airfoil at zero angle of attack the pressures on the upper surface are lower than on the lower surface. A typical curve showing section lift coefficient versus angle of attack for a cambered airfoil Drag Coefficient In  fluid dynamics, the  drag coefficient  (commonly denoted as:  Ã‚  Ã‚  or  ) is a  dimensionless quantity  that is used to quantify the  drag  or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the  drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less  aerodynamic  or  hydrodynamic  drag. The drag coefficient is always associated with a particular surface area. The drag coefficient of any object comprises the effects of the two basic contributors to  fluid dynamic  drag:  skin friction  and  form drag. The drag coefficient of lifting  airfoil  or  hydrofoil  also includes the effects of lift  induced drag.  The drag coefficient of a complete structure such as an aircraft also includes the effects of  interference drag. Definition The drag coefficient  Ã‚  is defined as: where:   is the  drag force, which is by definition the force component in the direction of the flow velocity,   is the  mass density  of the fluid,   is the  speed  of the object relative to the fluid, and is the reference  area. The reference area depends on what type of drag coefficient is being measured. For automobiles and many other objects, the reference area is the frontal area of the vehicle (i.e., the cross-sectional area when viewed from ahead). For example, for a sphere  Ã‚  (note this is not the surface area =  ). For  airfoils, the reference area is the  planform  area. Since this tends to be a rather large area compared to the projected frontal area, the resulting drag coefficients tend to be low: much lower than for a car with the same drag, frontal area and at the same speed. Airships  and some  bodies of revolution  use the volumetric drag coefficient, in which the reference area is the  square  of the  cube root  of the airship volume. Submerged streamlined bodies use the wetted surface area. Two objects having the same reference area moving at the same speed through a fluid will experience a drag force proportional to their respective drag coefficients. Coefficients for unstreamlined objects can be 1 or more, for streamlined objects much less.

Birth Control Through the Times Essay -- Contraceptives, Birth Control

The idea of men and women having control of their familial future is nothing new. In fact, the use of contraception dates back to ancient Egyptian times. Despite the controversy that often surrounds the use of birth control, history shows that the need for pregnancy prevention existed even before most modern religions were established. This paper will cover the colorful history of what we now know as birth control, through the centuries and up to modern times. Hopefully, this can give the audience a good idea about how necessary this concept is, and to look at the idea of controlling your destiny with objectivity. Beginning in ancient times, people saw a need to control the amount of children that they may have. One civilization in particular, the ancient Egyptians, had novel approaches to birth control. Drawings found from the time, around 3000 B.C., depicted men wearing condom like devices. This civilization also had what is called a pessary, which is an object or mixture that is inserted into the vagina to block or kill sperm. Some of their mixtures may have included pebbles, crocodile dung, or even rock salt. The Egyptians also used sea sponges drenched in lemon juice; much like a woman today might use a sponge with a spermicidal. The Egyptians weren’t the only ancient civilization to utilize birth control methods; the ancient Greeks used a method of post coital birth control. This method was employed when the couple was done with sexual intercourse, and the woman was to squat and apply pressure to the abdomen to rid the vagina of semen. Yet another approach from within the same ti me period was that of Aristotle, who recommended that women â€Å"anoint that part of the womb in which the seed falls† with olive oil, cedar oil, or f... ...e or not to have children. This is a pattern that will no doubt persist in the future as long as laws allow it. With that said, hopefully some insight can be gained by learning about the history of birth control, and perhaps it can demystify this taboo that no one wants to talk about. Works Cited Clemmitt, Maricia. "Controversies of Women's Access to Birth Control." Women's Health 2006. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Feb. 2012 Cornblatt, Johanna. "The History of Birth Control." Newsweek - National News, World News, Business, Health, Technology, Entertainment, and More - Newsweek. Newsweek, 2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. "Religious Views on Birth Control." Wikipedia. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. http://www.wikipedia.org. Stacey, Dawn. â€Å"What Do Religions Say About Birth Control and Family Planning?† About.Com 2011. www.about.com. Web. 5 March. 2012.

Plato :: essays research papers

Few definite details are known of Plato's life. He was born in Athens c. 427 BC and was the youngest son of Ariston, of an old and wealthy family. It is claimed that his real name was Aristocles, with "Plato" (meaning "the broad") being a nickname given to him because of his wrestler's physique. He served in the last years of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, and after democracy was restored in Athens in 403 BC he hoped to enter politics. However, the realities of political life as well as the execution of his mentor Socrates in 399 BC drove him to abandon this goal. After the death of Socrates, Plato left Athens and traveled in Italy, Sicily and Egypt, where he learned the function of a water clock. In Italy he came in contact with the ideas of Pythagoras, which gave him a new appreciation of mathematics. After serving again in the military, he returned to Athens in 387 BC and founded his Academy, which he presided over until his death in 347 BC and which survived for nearly a thousand years after. His works include discussions of mathematics, ethics, science and philosophy, usually in the form of dialogues. Some of the most famous are the Republic, Phaedo, and Symposium. Famous quotations by Plato: A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men. All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one Workman; and however we deceive ourselves, as dear unto God is the poor peasant as the mighty prince. Courage is a kind of salvation. Courage is knowing what not to fear. Cunning... is but the low mimic of wisdom. Democracy... is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike. Democracy passes into despotism. Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. He was a wise man who invented beer. He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden. Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty. Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.

the devil and daniel webster Essay -- essays research papers fc

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story I had read was the Devil and Daniel Webster it was written by Stephen Vincent Ben’et. This story is a lot alike most of his other stories discussing what it means to be an American. Also this story is one of his most famous stories it combines folk-lore and history also it has been made into a play and so to be coming out a movie. Story Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this story it begins speaking about a character named Daniel Webster, which was from Marshfield, but, later the story begins to unravel and they begin speaking about a character named Jabez stone. Jabez Stone was from Cross Corners, which makes both Webster and Stone from New Hampshire. As you read you see that Jabez has had the worst luck if he was to grow corn they would get borer. If he was to get horses he it would get spavins then trade it in to get one that had staggers. Also say the neighbors had rocks in their soil he would have boulders luck was not on Jabezs side. So one day as Jabez is plowing he broke his plowshare on a boulder. This was the last straw for Jabez and he says, â€Å"I vow it’s enough to make a man want to sell his soul to the devil! And I would, too, for two cents!† Soon after this he felt a chill run through his body being a New Hampshireman he wouldn’t take it back. Later that night a man pulled up in a nice bug gy and went to the door and asked for Jabez Stone he told the family it was a lawyer but, at heart he knew who it was. Then they begin to speak he asked his name he responds with I have a lot of names but you can call me Scratch. Then they soon discuss the contract and Jabez sells his soul the dark man took out a shiny silver pin and made him sign his name in blood. Then things began to go smoothly for him his horses were healthy, his cows got fat, and his crops were the talk of the neighborhood. The man stopped by a year a later to discuss the mortgage and Stone said I beginning to have doubts then Scratch takes out the contract to remind him. As he took out the contract there was a moth that spoke to him it was the voice of mister Stevens. Embarrassed the dark man says he should really be in the collecting box then he slips up in a way and says someone like Daniel Webster needs a special made box. They make a deal Jabez and Scratch they have a 4-year extension. Stone didn’t realize ... ...ylvania, and went to school at Yale University. Some of his works consist the volume of poetry Heavens and Earth, the novels Young People's Pride and Spanish Bayonet, and the narrative poem John Brown's Body, about the American Civil War. For the later work, Benà ©t won a Pulitzer prize for poetry in 1929. Thirteen O'Clock, a collection of short stories, includes â€Å"The Devil and Daniel Webster,† which he adapted into a words for a folk opera in 1939 and which was made into a motion picture, All That Money Can Buy, in 1941. For Western Star, an unfinished narrative poem on the settling of America, Benà ©t won a second Pulitzer Prize in 1944. Benà ©t's works are remarkable in their imaginative trace of the American scene. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion I believe this story was very good although hard to follow I would enjoy reading more of his stories. I would recommend this story to a lot of different people because the story is kind of weird in a weird kind of way. Works Cited http://www.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/devil/devil.htm http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=v&id=1800056764 http://www.seacoastnh.com/lawyers/websterhouse.html

Teen Dating Violence

Teen dating violence Teen dating violence is becoming a huge issue among schools across the nation. In fact most teens don’t even think their relationships are abusive or they know but they are too scared to do anything about it. Teen dating violence is on the rise. This violence spans across all socioeconomic levels and knows no race. Even famous people can be victims of dating violence. Dating violence is a real issue and needs to be addressed in all schools and workplaces across the nation. Teen dating violence is on the rise and is ultimately one of the biggest issues among teens and adolescents today.Teen dating violence can be defined in many ways it can be anything from a pinch to telling your girlfriend/boyfriend they’re worthless. There are many types of teen dating violence here are 4 †¢Physical- is when the partner is being pinched, hit, shoved, tripped etc. †¢Emotional-this means threatening a partner or harming his or her sense of self worth †¢Sexual- this is forcing a partner to engage in a sex act when she or he does not or cannot consent. †¢Stalking- this referrers to a pattern of harassing or threating tactics used by a perpetrator that is both unwanted and causes fear in the victim. 0% of teens have reported being physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend in the past 12 months. Nearly one-half of adult sex offenders report committing their first sexual offences prior to the age of 18. Between 1993 and 1999, 22% of all homicides against females ages 16-19 were committed by an intimate partner these are real numbers and facts the violence hides from no one. Teen dating violence is a public health issue. A lot of teens who experience dating violence often stop making school their number one priority and grades start to slip as they get depressed.They also might experience high anxiety levels because of what there abuser might say to them or do to them. Many teens do not feel as if they can tell someone about w hat is going on because they are afraid of the outcome if their abuser finds out. No teen is insusceptible to teen dating violence, but the ones that run more of a risk are teens who have †¢Trauma symptoms †¢Alcohol use †¢Having a friend involved in teen dating violence †¢Having problem behaviors in other areas †¢Belief that dating violence is acceptable †¢Exposure to harsh parenting †¢Exposure to inconsistent discipline Lack of parental supervision, monitoring, and warmth So if you have been exposed to something above statically you have more of a chance harming your partner. A lot of teens think that it will never happen to them even though 40% of teenage girls (14 to 17) know someone their age that has suffered from dating violence. And 80% of all girls who have been physically abused in their relationship continue to date their partner. There are a few different reasons for this one is there abuser won’t let them leave the relationship a nd mentally destroys the victims mind and makes them think that they cannot do any better.Also some victims are deeply in love with their partner and have high hopes on the situation getting better which usually progressively gets worse. The media plays huge roles in the ongoing issue magazines newspapers television all make teen dating violence and dating violence seem justifiable when its not. All the time you will see or hear about some famous star that was a victim of dating violence like Chris brown when he allegedly beat up Rihanna, or when Charlie sheen beat and abused his wife he was all over the news for weeks and still is today.What the media need to do is try to get a message out to the youth that teen violence is not a joke and it is not something to be taken lightly. One of my friends was a victim of teen dating violence, he was driving in his car and he had said something that made his girlfriend mad and she started punching him in the face repeatedly and did not stop until his face was beat red and bleeding he had black and blue marks all over his face. Its really sad to hear story’s of some teen that don’t care what happens my friend was driving on a highway je could have turned the wheel and both of them could have died.That’s why teens need to learn that its not healthy and some need to get help. I know another friend that almost got arrested and went to jail because his ex-girlfriend put a TRO (temporary restraining order) and the accusations that were made in the TRO were that he stalked her hit her mentally abused her and raped her all of the allegations she had made were false. Its sad that teens are more and more like adults and have to deal with stuff like this now.Teens should be worrying about their studies and other teenage things not if their boyfriend is going to hurt them or girlfriend is going to get jealous if they’re talking to another girl. Teen violence is one of the biggest issues among teens and it is most defiantly getting worse, young teens are scared to talk to adults so if you see any signs of a distressed teen ask them and maybe make a bonded friendship with them because you could save that child’s life by getting them away from a potentially dangerous situation. This is something that parents need to be educated on as well because they should have the ability to see them first.

Business Buying Behavior

Business buyer Behavior| | | | In last Lesson we discussed the Consumer Buying behavior. Today We will discuss business buyer behaviour, types of buying situations, participants in the business buying process, and major influences on business buyers so our today’s topic is:BUSINESS MARKETS AND BUYING BEHAVIORThe  business market  includes firms that buy goods and services in order to produce products and services to sell to others. It also includes retailing and wholesaling firms that buy goods in order toects resell them at a profit. Because asp of business-to-business marketing apply to  institutional  markets  and  government markets, we group these together. The business marketer needs to know the following: Who are the major participants? In what decisions do they exercise influence? What is their relative degree of influence? What evaluation criteria does each decision participant use? The business marketer also needs to understand the major environmental, interpersonal, and individual influences on the buying process. A. What is a Business Market? The business market comprises all the organizations that buy goods and services for use in the production of other products and services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others. It also includes retailing and wholesaling firms that acquire goods for the purpose of reselling or renting them to others at a profit. In the business buying process business buyers determine which products and services their organizations need to purchase, and then find, evaluate, and choose among alternative suppliers and brands. Companies that sell to other business organizations must do their best to understand business markets and business buyer behavior. B. Characteristics of Business MarketsIn some ways, business markets are similar to consumer markets. Both involve people who assume buying roles and make purchase decisions to satisfy needs. However, business markets differ in many ways from consumer markets. The main differences, are in the market structure and demand, the nature of the buying unit, and the types of decisions and the decision process involved. Business markets also have their own characteristics. In some ways, they are similar to consumer markets, but in other ways they are very different. The main differences include:1. Market structure and demand. Business markets typically deal with far fewer but far larger buyers. They are more geographically concentrated. Business markets have derived demand  (business demand that ultimately comes from or derives from the demand for consumer goods). Many business markets have  inelastic demand; that is, total demand for many business products is not affected much by price changes, especially in the short run. A drop in the price of leather will not cause shoe manufacturers to buy much more leather unless it results in lower shoe prices that, in turn, will increase consumer demand for shoes. Finally, business markets have morefluctuating demand. The demand for many business goods and services tends to change more—and more quickly—than the demand for consumer goods and services does. A small percentage increase in consumer demand can cause large increases in business demand. Sometimes a rise of only 10 percent in consumer demand can cause as much as a 200 percent rise in business demand during the next period. 2. Nature of the Buying Unit:Compared with consumer purchases, a business purchase usually involves more decision participants and a more professional purchasing effort. Often, business buying is done by trained purchasing agents who spend their working lives learning how to make better buying decisions. Buying committees made up of technical experts and top management are common in the buying of major goods. Companies are putting their best and brightest people on procurement patrol. Therefore, business marketers must have well-trained salespeople to deal with well-trained buyers. 3. Types of Decisions and the Decision ProcessBusiness buyers usually face  more complex  buying decisions than do consumer buyers. Purchases often involve large sums of money, complex technical and economic considerations, and interactions among many people at many levels of the buyer's organization. Because the purchases are more complex, business buyers may take longer to make their decisions. The business buying process tends to be  more formalized  than the consumer buying process. Large business purchases usually call for detailed product specifications, written purchase orders, careful supplier searches, and formal approval. The buying firm might even prepare policy manuals that detail the purchase process. Finally, in the business buying process, buyer and seller are often much  more dependent  on each other. Consumer marketers are often at a distance from their customers. In contrast, business marketers may roll up their sleeves and work closely with their customers during all stages of the buying process—from helping customers define problems, to finding solutions, to supporting after-sale operation. They often customize their offerings to individual customer needs. In the short run, sales go to suppliers who meet buyers' immediate product and service needs. C. Business Buyer BehaviorThe model in Figure suggests four questions about business buyer behavior: What buying decisions do business buyers make? Who participates in the buying process? What are the major influences on buyers? How do business buyers make their buying decisions? a. A Model of Business Buyer BehaviorAt the most basic level, marketers want to know how business buyers will respond to various marketing stimuli. Figure shows a model of business buyer behavior. In this model, marketing and other stimuli affect the buying organization and produce certain buyer responses. As with consumer buying, the marketing stimuli for business buying consist of the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. Other stimuli include major forces in the environment: economic, technological, political, cultural, and competitive. These stimuli enter the organization and are turned into buyer responses: product or service choice; supplier choice; order quantities; and delivery, service, and payment terms. In order to design good marketing mix strategies, the marketer must understand what happens within the organization to turn stimuli into purchase responses. Within the organization, buying activity consists of two major parts: the buying center, made up of all the people involved in the buying decision, and the buying decision process. The model shows that the buying center and the buying decision process are influenced by internal organizational, interpersonal, and individual factors as well as by external environmental factors. b. Major Types of Buying SituationsThere are three major types of buying situations. At one extreme is the  straight rebuy,  which is a fairly routine decision. At the other extreme is the  new task,  which may call for thorough research. In the middle is themodified rebuy,  which requires some research. In a  straight rebuy  the buyer reorders something without any modifications. It is usually handled on a routine basis by the purchasing department. Based on past buying satisfaction, the buyer simply chooses from the various suppliers on its list. â€Å"In† suppliers try to maintain product and service quality. In a  modified rebuy, the buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers. The modified rebuy usually involves more decision participants than the straight rebuy. The in suppliers may become nervous and feel pressured to put their best foot forward to protect an account. Out suppliers may see the modified rebuy situation as an opportunity to make a better offer and gain new business. A company buying a product or service for the first time faces a  new-task  situation. In such cases, the greater the cost or risk, the larger the number of decision participants and the greater their efforts to collect information will be. The new-task situation is the marketer's greatest opportunity and challenge. The marketer not only tries to reach as many key buying influences as possible but also provides help and information. The buyer makes the fewest decisions in the straight rebuy and the most in the new-task decision. In the new-task situation, the buyer must decide on product specifications, suppliers, price limits, payment terms, order quantities, delivery times, and service terms. The order of these decisions varies with each situation, and different decision participants influence each choice. c. Participants in the Business Buying ProcessThe decision-making unit of a buying organization is called its buying center: all the individuals and units that participate in the business decision-making process. The buying center includes all members of the organization who play any of five roles in the purchase decision process. †¢Ã‚  Users  are members of the organization who will use the product or service. In many cases, users initiate the buying proposal and help define product specifications. †¢Ã‚  Influencers  often help define specifications and also provide information for evaluating alternatives. Technical personnel are particularly important influencers. †¢Ã‚  Buyers  have formal authority to select the supplier and arrange terms of purchase. Buyers may help shape product specifications, but their major role is in selecting vendors and negotiating. In more complex purchases, buyers might include high-level officers participating in the negotiations. †¢Ã‚  Deciders  have formal or informal power to select or approve the final suppliers. In routine buying, the buyers are often the deciders, or at least the approvers. †¢Ã‚  Gatekeepers  control the flow of information to others. For example, purchasing agents often have authority to prevent salespersons from seeing users or deciders. Other gatekeepers include technical personnel and even personal secretaries. The buying center is not a fixed and formally identified unit within the buying organization. It is a set of buying roles assumed by different people for different purchases. Within the organization, the size and makeup of the buying center will vary for different products and for different buying situations. Business marketers working in global markets may face even greater levels of buying center influence. The buying center concept presents a major marketing challenge. The business marketer must learn who participates in the decision, each participant's relative influence, and what evaluation criteria each decision participant uses. The buying center usually includes some obvious participants who are involved formally in the buying decision. d. Major Influences on Business BuyersBusiness buyers are subject to many influences when they make their buying decisions. Some marketers assume that the major influences are economic. They think buyers will favor the supplier who offers the lowest price or the best product or the most service. They concentrate on offering strong economic benefits to buyers. However, business buyers actually respond to both economic and personal factors. Far from being cold, calculating, and impersonal, business buyers are human and social as well. They react to both reason and emotion. Today, most business-to-business marketers recognize that emotion plays an important role in business buying decisions. When suppliers' offers are very similar, business buyers have little basis for strictly rational choice. Because they can meet organizational goals with any supplier, buyers can allow personal factors to play a larger role in their decisions. However, when competing products differ greatly, business buyers are more accountable for their choice and tend to pay more attention to economic factors. Figure lists various groups of influences on business buyers— environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and individual. Major Influences on Business Buyers†¢Ã‚  Environmental FactorsBusiness buyers are influenced heavily by factors in the current and expected  economic environment,  such as the level of primary demand, the economic outlook, and the cost of money. As economic uncertainty rises, business buyers cut back on new investments and attempt to reduce their inventories. An increasingly important environmental factor is shortages in key materials. Many companies now are more willing to buy and hold larger inventories of scarce materials to ensure adequate supply. Business buyers also are affected by technological, political, and competitive developments in the environment. Culture and customs can strongly influence business buyer reactions to the marketer's behavior and strategies, especially in the international marketing environment. The business marketer must watch these factors, determine how they will affect the buyer, and try to turn these challenges into opportunities.   Organizational FactorsEach buying organization has its own objectives, policies, procedures, structure, and systems. The business marketer must know these  organizational factors  as thoroughly as possible. Questions such as these arise: How many people are involved in the buying decision? Who are they? What are their  evaluative criteria? What are the company's polici es and limits on its buyers? Interpersonal FactorsThe buying center usually includes many participants who influence each other. The business marketer often finds it difficult to determine what kinds of  interpersonal factors  and group dynamics enter into the buying process. Participants may have influence in the buying decision because they control rewards and punishments, are well liked, have special expertise, or have a special relationship with other important participants. Interpersonal factors are often very subtle. Whenever possible, business marketers must try to understand these factors and design strategies that take them into account. Individual FactorsEach participant in the business buying decision process brings in personal motives, perceptions, and preferences. These individual factors are affected by personal characteristics such as age, income, education, professional identification, personality, and attitudes toward risk. Also, buyers have different buying styles. Some may be technical types who make in-depth analyses of competitive proposals before choosing a supplier. Other buyers may be intuitive negotiators who are adept at pitting the sellers against one another for the best deal. D. The Business Buying ProcessThere are eight stages of the business buying process. Buyers who face a new-task buying situation usually go through all stages of the buying process. Buyers making modified or straight rebuys may skip some of the stages. We will examine these steps for the typical new-task buying situation. a. Problem RecognitionThe buying process begins when someone in the company recognizes a problem or need that can be met by acquiring a specific product or service. Problem recognition can result from internal or external stimuli. Internally, the company may decide to launch a new product that requires new production equipment and materials. Or a machine may break down and need new parts. Perhaps a purchasing manager is unhappy with a current supplier's product quality, service, or prices. Externally, the buyer may get some new ideas at a trade show, see an ad, or receive a call from a salesperson who offers a better product or a lower price. In fact, in their advertising, business marketers often alert customers to potential problems and then show how their products provide solutions. b. General Need DescriptionHaving recognized a need, the buyer next prepares a general need description that describes the characteristics and quantity of the needed item. For standard items, this process presents few problems. For complex items, however, the buyer may have to work with others—engineers, users, consultants—to define the item. The team may want to rank the importance of reliability, durability, price, and other attributes desired in the item. In this phase, the alert business marketer can help the buyers define their needs and provide information about the value of different product characteristics. c. Product SpecificationThe buying organization next develops the item's technical product specifications, often with the help of a value analysis engineering team. Value analysis is an approach to cost reduction in which components are studied carefully to determine if they can be redesigned, standardized, or made by less costly methods of production. The team decides on the best product characteristics and specifies them accordingly. Sellers, too, can use value analysis as a tool to help secure a new account. By showing buyers a better way to make an object, outside sellers can turn straight rebuy situations into new-task situations that give them a chance to obtain new business. d. Supplier SearchThe buyer now conducts a supplier search to find the best vendors. The buyer can compile a small list of qualified suppliers by reviewing trade directories, doing a computer search, or phoning other companies for recommendations. Today, more and more companies are turning to the Internet to find suppliers. For marketers, this has leveled the playing field—smaller suppliers have the same advantages as larger ones and can be listed in the same online catalogs for a nominal fee: The newer the buying task, and the more complex and costly the item, the greater the amount of time the buyer will spend searching for suppliers. The supplier's task is to get listed in major directories and build a good reputation in the marketplace. Salespeople should watch for companies in the process of searching for suppliers and make certain that their firm is considered. e. Proposal SolicitationIn the proposal solicitation stage of the business buying process, the buyer invites qualified suppliers to submit proposals. In response, some suppliers will send only a catalog or a salesperson. However, when the item is complex or expensive, the buyer will usually require detailed written proposals or formal presentations from each potential supplier. Business marketers must be skilled in researching, writing, and presenting proposals in response to buyer proposal solicitations. Proposals should be marketing documents, not just technical documents. Presentations should inspire confidence and should make the marketer's company stand out from the competition. f. Supplier SelectionThe members of the buying center now review the proposals and select a supplier or suppliers. During supplier selection, the buying center often will draw up a list of the desired supplier attributes and their relative importance. In one survey, purchasing executives listed the following attributes as most important in influencing the relationship between supplier and customer: quality products and services, on-time delivery, ethical corporate behavior, honest communication, and competitive prices. Other important factors include repair and servicing capabilities, technical aid and advice, geographic location, performance history, and reputation. The members of the buying center will rate suppliers against these attributes and identify the best suppliers. As part of the buyer selection process, buying centers must decide how many suppliers to use. In the past, many companies preferred a large supplier base to ensure adequate supplies and to obtain price concessions. These companies would insist on annual negotiations for contract renewal and would often shift the amount of business they gave to each supplier from year to year. Increasingly, however, companies are reducing the number of suppliers. There is even a trend toward single sourcing, using one supplier. With single sourcing there is only one supplier to handle and it is easier to control newsprint inventories. Using one source not only can translate into more consistent product performance, but it also allows press rooms to configure themselves for one particular kind of newsprint rather than changing presses for papers with different attributes. Many companies, however, are still reluctant to use single sourcing. They fear that they may become too dependent on the single supplier or that the single-source supplier may become too comfortable in the relationship and lose its competitive edge. Some marketers have developed programs that address these concerns. g. Order-Routine SpecificationThe buyer now prepares an order-routine specification. It includes the final order with the chosen supplier or suppliers and lists items such as technical specifications, quantity needed, expected time of delivery, return policies, and warranties. In the case of maintenance, repair, and operating items. h. Performance ReviewIn this stage, the buyer reviews supplier performance. The buyer may contact users and ask them to rate their satisfaction. The performance review may lead the buyer to continue, modify, or drop the arrangement. The seller's job is to monitor the same factors used by the buyer to make sure that the seller is giving the expected satisfaction. We have described the stages that typically would occur in a new-task buying situation. The eightstage model provides a simple view of the business buying decision process. The actual process is usually much more complex. In the modified rebuy or straight rebuy situation, some of these stages would be compressed or bypassed. Each organization buys in its own way, and each buying situation has unique requirements. Different buying center participants may be involved at different stages of the process. Although certain buying process steps usually do occur, buyers do not always follow them in the same order, and they may add other steps. Often, buyers will repeat certain stages of the process. E. Institutional and Government MarketsSo far, our discussion of organizational buying has focused largely on the buying behavior of business buyers. Much of this discussion also applies to the buying practices of institutional and government organizations. However, these two nonbusiness markets have additional characteristics and needs. In this final section, we address the special features of institutional and government markets. a. Institutional MarketsThe institutional market consists of schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other institutions that provide goods and services to people in their care. Institutions differ from one another in their sponsors and in their objectives. Many institutional markets are characterized by low budgets and captive patrons. For example, hospital patients have little choice but to eat whatever food the hospital supplies. A hospital-purchasing agent has to decide on the quality of food to buy for patients. Because the food is provided as a part of a total service package, the buying objective is not profit. Nor is strict cost minimization the goal—patients receiving poorquality food will complain to others and damage the hospital's reputation. Thus, the hospitalpurchasing agent must search for institutional-food vendors whose quality meets or exceeds a certain minimum standard and whose prices are low. Many marketers set up separate divisions to meet the special characteristics and needs of institutional buyers. . Government MarketsThe government market offers large opportunities for many companies, both big and small. In most countries, government organizations are major buyers of goods and services. Government buying and business buying are similar in many ways. But there are also differences that must be understood by companies that wish to sell products and services to governments. To succe ed in the government market, sellers must locate key decision makers, identify the factors that affect buyer behavior, and understand the buying decision process. Government organizations typically require suppliers to submit bids, and normally they award the contract to the lowest bidder. In some cases, the government unit will make allowance for the supplier's superior quality or reputation for completing contracts on time. Many companies that sell to the government have not been marketing oriented for a number of reasons. Total government spending is determined by elected officials rather than by any marketing effort to develop this market. Government buying has emphasized price, making suppliers invest their effort in technology to bring costs down. When the product's characteristics are specified carefully, product differentiation is not a marketing factor. Nor do advertising or personal selling matter much in winning bids on an open-bid basis. Key TermsBusiness Markets:The  business market  includes firms that buy goods and services in order to produce products and services to sell to others. Straight Re-buythe buyer reorders something without any modifications. Modified Re-buy  the buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers. New Task Buying  A company buying a product or service. Users  are members of the organization who will use the product or service. In many cases, users initiate the buying proposal and help define product specifications. Influencers  Often help define specifications and also provide information for evaluating alternatives. Technical personnel are particularly important influencers. Buyershave formal authority to select the supplier and arrange terms of purchase. Decidershave formal or informal power to select or approve the final suppliers. Gatekeeperscontrol the flow of information to others. |