Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Red Headed Leagues Essays

The Red Headed Leagues Essays The Red Headed Leagues Essay The Red Headed Leagues Essay As always, it is Holmes that finally manages to deduce how the crime happened and swiftly wants to test his little theory. The use of the word little theory tells us that Holmes believes that this case is not one of great importance or magnificence, only a small affair with, what Holmes thinks is an obvious answer. The Man with the Twisted Lip has a different ending from most of the other Sherlock Holmess books as no one is arrested or blamed for the crime. In this story, it is simply because the crime did not happen and Neville St. Clair was still alive, although he was disguised as Hugh Boone. St. Clair just gets a warning to stop disguising himself as a beggar and then he leaves to go home. This is unusual for a detective story as in the majority of them, an actual crime has happened. In The Five Orange Pips, the culprits of the crime, the Ku Klux Klan, are never brought to justice for the murders they have committed, but, most probably, die on their sinking ship. Another story in which the police are involved in the catching of the criminal is The Red Headed League. This story is set completely in London and at first shows no sign of a crime, when Jabez Wilson comes to see Holmes about the fact his good-paying second job has ended. Nevertheless, Holmes decides to investigate the case, perhaps with a slight suspicion about the considerable pay-off he will ask from the bank. This story shows us of Victorian culture and Holmess love of music, when Holmes and Watson go and see Pablo Sarasate at St. James Hall. In other Holmes stories, we see Holmes, himself, playing a violin, the instrument Sarasate played. Also, the story is based around the colour of Jabez Wilsons hair, whilst The Five Orange Pips is based around a family. Both crimes appear to have no reason for happening, until later in the story when the crime and the suspects are revealed. In The Five Orange Pips, the identity of the Ku Klux Klan is not revealed until the very last moment, when it is too late for Holmes to save John Openshaw. In The Red-Headed League, the true nature of the crime is not revealed to the audience until the end, and even though Holmes knows sooner than the reader, it is unusual as he cannot realise what is happening until nearer the end of the story. Gypsies are a recurring theme in Sherlock Holmess stories. In Holmes times, they were not thought fondly of, as we know from both The Red-Headed League and The Speckled Band, in which they are called vagabonds. In every story, Holmes uses his amazing powers of deduction to be able to tell something about his clients, and their homes. In The Red-Headed League, he notices the fact that Jabez Wilson has done a lot of writing and that he has been to China. Although the clients are usually astonished at his level of accuracy, he often explains how he came to his conclusion. Holmes sees deduction as a fine art that only a few have the power of, and so often gets vexed when people, such as Jabez Wilson say, I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it, after all. Holmes is a secretive man, and often will not tell Watson how he worked out the case until the end of the story. He will often have worked out how the crime was committed long before he captures the criminal. In The Red-Headed League, he goes to Jabez Wilsons shop and beats the ground outside with his stick two or three times. When Watson asks why he has done this peculiar thing, he simply answers with, My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. Watson only finds out that he beat the pavement to find which way the tunnel was leading in the last chapters of the story. In The Red-Headed League, the story involves tunnelling from the pawnbrokers shop to the bank. Jabez Wilson is sent to the Red Headed League so that John Clay can secretly make the tunnel under the ground. The Speckled Band also involves tunnelling, but in that story, the tunnel was through a small vent above the ground. This story also uses accomplices twice: once with Duncan Ross, who leads the Red Headed League; and then with Archie who helps John Clay break into the bank. In The Man with the Twisted Lip, Neville St. Clair uses a Lascar and a Dane to keep his wife out whilst he quickly changes into Hugh Boone, the beggar. Another key part of The Red Headed Leagues plot is the notes, first the one in the newspaper and then the note telling of the disbandment of the League. Notes play a big part in The Five Orange Pips, in which each member of the family of John Openshaw each get a note, with five orange pips, telling them to put the papers on the sundial. Holmes prides himself in knowing nearly everything about everything. In The Red-Headed League, he navigates himself around London without struggle and easily tells Watson the surrounding buildings of Saxe-Coburg Street. In A Scandal in Bohemia, we find out that he keeps an index of people, most of the information he will never need to know. For example, around Irene Adlers profile are the profiles of a Hebrew Rabbi and a commander who wrote about fish. Clay believes himself to be a Royal, though he isnt officially recognised by the Royal Family. He asks to be called Sir and will only cooperate with the police when Peter Jones, sarcastically, says, Well, would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your Highness to the police-station? When Jabez is describing his assistant to Holmes, Holmes already has a very good guess of what crime could be committed. When Jabez comments on a splash of acid on his forehead: Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. I thought as much, said he. This shows us the excitement that Holmes gets from working something out. Holmes says that deduction is his stimulus, but when he is without that stimulus he resorts to cocaine, cigarettes and pipes to make his brain work. Although Watson constantly tells him about the dangers of this habit, Holmes continues nonetheless.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Chlamydomonas Lab Report Essays

Chlamydomonas Lab Report Essays Chlamydomonas Lab Report Paper Chlamydomonas Lab Report Paper Essay Topic: Whiplash The power stroke consists of beating stiffly in one direction, while during the recovery stroke the cilium is pulled back in floppy fashion close to the cell surface, thereby offering little resistance. Once in position, it straightens out and the stiff power stroke begins again. Human cilia or flagella are found in traditionally in three locations of the human body. In men, sperm is composed of a head and a tail, a tail that functions as flagella. In women, the fallopian tubes are lined with cilia projections, which help carry eggs and what creates resistance for sperm entering the vagina for fertilization. Both men and women (and all other mammals) have cilia in two other places in their bodies. One location is somewhat familiar: cilia coat the trachea and bronchial tubes leading down into the lungs. Cilia are also present in the brain and spinal cord. Cilia line the canals and ventricles, the empty spaces in the brain. The cerebral fluid in the brain and nervous system is kept in motion by the numerous cilia projections. Human cilia is very useful for multiple processes in the body, but when cilia is damaged, certain processes will not occur and defects will arise due to the lack of recesses. Cilia defects occur often in humans due to the defects in the cilia projections around the body. Cilia can suffer from genetic disorders, which are called caliphates. Caliphates usually involve proteins that localize to the primary cilia (the sensory organelles), which can cause genetic disorders such as primary cilia disease duskiness (PC) or nonproliferations or Senior-Looked syndrome. Polycyclic kidney disease can occur when there is defect in the cilia of the renal tube cells. Another genetic disorder called Barded-Bided syndrome (BBS) occurs hen the mutant gene products are in the components in the basal body and cilia. The symptoms of these diseases include physiological defects such as kidney failure, defective mucus clearance, neurosurgery deficits, and obesity. Defects in cilia or flagella in men sperm can lead to male infertility if the sperm cannot successfully move up the fallopian tube. Lack of functional cilia in female Fallopian tubes can cause octopi pregnancy, which is when the embryo implants outside of the uterine cavity. The cause of cilia defects is not really known other that genetic mutations. The cilia defects can get passes down from generation to generation. Symptoms for defects are not particularly known, but are circumstantial from defect to defect. Chlamydeous is a green plant that reproduces asexually and sexually. Chlamydeous is known for a number of different characteristics. First of all, Chlamydeous is a haploid organism. This means that it only has one allele, thus only showing one genotype for the cell. This characteristic makes it very easy during experiments to know why certain traits and description are a certain way and it makes it easy to test for variables. Chlamydeous are also known for having a generation time of two weeks (from mating of one generation to when this next generation can mate), meaning that it is easy to see results on a generation of Chlamydeous if it was test with a certain protein, as compared with the control. Chlamydeous has two interiorly inserted whiplash flagella that are similar to human cilia and contain the same flagella as humans. Chlamydeous also is not a new model organism, meaning that there are many different mutant strains that have unique characteristics from one another. Those unique characteristics sometime mimic environments inside the body and can be used to see how the body will react to the variable without actually affecting a patient. Victor Stool and his colleagues recognized that cilia play critical roles in animal physiology and development. They need to identify the gene products necessary for cilia assembly and function by running a proteomics analysis of human cilia. However, the proteomics analysis of human cilia is limited in its ability to detect low-abundance proteins. Comparative genomics was used to identify genes mound only in the genomes of organisms with cilia and flagella and was successful. This study was then implemented to find the low-abundance proteins of human cilia. Stool now found a use for the Chlamydeous because one, it has similar flagella or cilia to humans, two, most known components of cilia and flagella are strongly induced during flagella regeneration in Clampdowns and three, most of the identified human cilia disease genes have orthogonal in Chlamydeous that have been shown to be involved in flagella assembly. During process of flagella regeneration, it has been shown that many known legal components are transcriptional induced, with most transcripts reaching maximum accumulation between 30 to minis. Supplied with the Chlamydeous genome, Stool and his team set out to analyze the RNA transcriptional profile observed during flagella regeneration to identify flagella genes that have its RNA transcription activated in response to flagella regeneration. HASPS is the protein that our lab group took interest in. HASPS was up- regulated during flagella regeneration and chosen as a protein of interest. Hasps are called 70 kiloton heat shock proteins and are a family of heat hock proteins. Hasps are important for protein folding and essentially protects the cell from stress. HASPS-A or pithier, is an inhibitor of app-mediated optimism and app-dependent gene transcription such as cyclic G, app/waft, and MD expression. Our group wants to know if pithier acts as an inhibitor in the case of flagella regeneration in Chlamydeous. Based on the findings of last years Bio 111 lab group, they could not fully determine if fitting because on some cases flagella did fully regenerate, but on others it did not. Methods Chlamydeous Defoliation and Fixation Chlamydeous cells were defalcated using the pH shock method. Specifically acetic acid was added to the Chlamydeous growth medium in order to obtain a pH of 4. 5 resulting in the defoliation of the Chlamydeous cells. Defalcated cells were then immediately divided into one of three conditions. The two inhibitor conditions mixed 1 ml of cells with either a low (10 um) or high (100 um) dose of HASPS-A. In the third, control condition 1 ml of cells was mixed with 10 LU of ethanol. HASPS-A was dissolved in an ethanol vehicle; therefore, ethanol was added to the control condition in order to ensure that this ethanol id not become a confounding variable in the study. Immediately following the division of cells into the three conditions, 50 LU_ of each group was then fixed with equal parts Logos fixative. Logos fixative was used to kill, stain, and immobilizers the Chlamydeous cells to allow for measurement of the flagella regeneration. This first group of fixed cells represented time 0 of the study. This process was repeated every 15 minutes for a total of 90 minutes yielding 7 time points for each condition. As Chlamydeous is a photosynthetic organism the live samples were kept under deal light conditions in between data collection in order to ensure proper biological functioning. Non-Defalcated Chlamydeous One set of Chlamydeous was left untreated with acid in order to determine normal flagella length. These cells were also fixed with equal amounts Logos Fixative. However, non-defalcated Chlamydeous samples were only collected at one time point yielding a single baseline flagella length. Counting and Measuring Chlamydeous Flagella Lengths The Vicissitude program was used to photograph the first 20 Chlamydeous cells located on fixed slides from each time interval.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Cultural Awareness Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural Awareness - Personal Statement Example As a preliminary matter, the author was presented with a number of warnings. The United States Department of State had issued travel warnings and advisories for Thailand generally, and for southern Thailand more particularly. Potential travelers were advised to be wary of political strife in Thailand; this was as a result of increasing political protests and rumors that a military coup was possible. Moreover, travelers were advised to avoid the southern provinces, bordering Malaysia, because of a series of bombings, the burning of schools, and civil unrest between the Muslim majority in these southern provinces and the Buddhist majority in the rest of the Kingdom of Thailand. For the most part, the author heeded this advice and scheduled most of the holiday for Bangkok and northern Thailand. However, the author also spent the final four days in the southern province of Songkla, and the experience clearly demonstrated that the people being demonized and chastised in the travel advisor ies were hardly dangerous or threatening. In fact, the southern Thais proved to have been extraordinarily hospitable, more diverse than a Muslim designation might have suggested, and quite eager to mingle and talk with foreign tourists. First, the Muslim people in southern Thailand did not conform to stereotypes too often used to describe Muslim peoples and culture. The travel advisories had stirred the author's imagination. It was easy to imagine a southern Thailand replete with veiled women, mosques dotting the landscape, and suspicious gazes for tourists or other outsiders. The author's friends reinforced these stereotypes and cautioned, only half-jesting, that a kidnapping or a beheading might very well be around the corner. The reality couldn't have been more different. As an initial matter, the author was almost unable to distinguish Thai Muslims from Thai Buddhists. The shops and the streets were crowded with people wearing shorts, brand name shirts, baseball hats, and sunglasses. Veils could be detected only through the most diligent observation and a Muslim restaurant owner confided to the author that Thai Muslims enjoyed their pork and their alcohol. This lack of a strict devotion to the commonly understo od protocols of Islam could be seen and experienced everywhere. Young Thai Muslim girls decorated their faces with make-up, heavily Thai Muslim districts had karaoke bars and advertised in English, and people went about their daily business just as they seem to do here in the United States. The author, in short, experienced a southern Thailand that was fundamentally at odds with the views of friends and the statements made prior to the trip in a variety of travel advisories. By immersing oneself in a foreign culture, it is easier to strip away stereotypes, whether romantic or fearful, and to better understand the people and their way of life. Second, and quite surprising, the Thai Muslims did not view themselves as a separate nationality. One of the main reasons for the concerns of both friends and family was a firm belief that

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

There is an ongoing debate about the cost-benefit relationship of Essay

There is an ongoing debate about the cost-benefit relationship of internal controls and their ethical implications - Essay Example investigators cited that the bank lacked strict safeguards against clients laundering money, following a suspicion that illicit drug money was streaming through their internal account. The Regulations by the Federal Reserve require banks to install tight internal controls in order to detect any criminal involvements in their operations (Silver-Greenberg, 2013). This is because weak controls facilitate drug dealers and terrorists to launder money through the financial institutions. The ethical implication of Citigroup’s case is that it failed to observe the Federal’s rules of having complex control mechanisms. In this regard, money laundering might have occurred to sustain the drug traders. Banks need to ensure that they scrutinize their clients to determine the sources and the recipients of the huge sums of money. It is also evident that the management tried to manipulate its financial statements to hide transactions involving the drug dealers. The bank failed to show the money streamed through its Mexican branches into the US, which was an indication of weak controls. The Federal Reserve claims that the bank does not oversee its operations, which leads to funneling of money in support of sanctioned individuals and countries (Silver-Greenberg, 2013). The accounting ethical standards involve the reporting of accurate financial information without manipulations. This implies that organizations should not tamper with their accounting books to make them appear more profitable to the shareholders and investors. For instance, Citigroup had tampered with its records after the money laundering fraud in the backdrop of increasing dividends. Financial institutions need to observe the Bank Secrecy Act by removing tainted cash through recording of doubtful-activity reports (Silver-Greenberg, 2013). This implies that the Citigroup management failed to comply with the rules set by the Federal Reserve, which led to probing into its activities. In order to strengthen

Sunday, November 17, 2019

China online banking development Essay Example for Free

China online banking development Essay China is expected to become the largest information technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. China now ranks No. 2 in Internet subscribers in the world. Owing to Chinas large population, the countrys Internet market still has great potential. Information technology has been utilized in almost all sectors of Chinas economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in  China is expected to become the largest information technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. China now ranks No. 2 in Internet subscribers in the world. Owing to Chinas large population, the countrys Internet market still has great potential. Information technology has been utilized in almost all sectors of Chinas economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in China. Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of Perfecting our International and Distribution Business caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing Chinas capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1s management would like to make further moves and seize the opportunity. Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, Im quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. Id like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions. The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese governments policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China. Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through All in One Net, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction. To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chinas online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses. In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation from a traditional cash and carry banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system. Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Chinas online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1: The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in China. According to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2: Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60. 6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3: Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers. However, with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinas major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attractive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996. The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen. The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services. The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business [emailprotected] ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the banks outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition. ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency trading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4: Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com Chinese Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency deposits Link to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com Chinese Simplified English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com Chinese Simplified English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card information. International Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn Chinese Simplified Chinese Traditional English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services: personal banking, corporate Banking. Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the Peoples Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web. Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients include: CitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibanks Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients. Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market. Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages. Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information. Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service. China is expected to become the largest information technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. China now ranks No. 2 in Internet subscribers in the world. Owing to Chinas large population, the countrys Internet market still has great potential. Information technology has been utilized in almost all sectors of Chinas economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in China. Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of Perfecting our International and Distribution Business caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing Chinas capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1s management would like to make further moves and seize the opportunity. Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, Im quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. Id like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions. The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese governments policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China. Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through All in One Net, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction. To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chinas online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation from a traditional cash and carry banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system. Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Chinas online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1: The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in China According to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2: Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60. 6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3: Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers. However, with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinas major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attractive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996. The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen. The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services. The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business [emailprotected] ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the banks outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition. ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency trading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4: Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com Chinese Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency deposits Link to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com Chinese Simplified English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com Chinese Simplified English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card information. International Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn Chinese Simplified Chinese Traditional English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services: personal banking, corporate Banking. Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the Peoples Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web. Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients include: CitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibanks Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients. Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market. Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages.   Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information. Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service. Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of Perfecting our International and Distribution Business caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing Chinas capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1s management would like to make further moves and seize the opportunity. Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, Im quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. Id like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions. The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese governments policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China. Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through All in One Net, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction. To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chinas online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses. In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation from a traditional cash and carry banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system. Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Chinas online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1: The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in China According to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2: Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60. 6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3: Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers. However, with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinas major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attractive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996. The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen. The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services. The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business [emailprotected] ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the banks outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition. ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency trading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4: Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com Chinese Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency deposits Link to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com Chinese Simplified English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com Chinese Simplified English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card information International Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn Chinese Simplified Chinese Traditional English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services: personal banking, corporate Banking Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the Peoples Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web. Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients include: CitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibanks Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients. Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market. Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages.   Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information. Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Whitey’s: The Bar amidst the Prairies :: Free Descriptive Essay About A Place

Whitey’s: the Bar amidst the Prairies Before going to the legendary Whitey’s in East Grand Forks, MN, I had thought it was bar patroned by middle-aged people. There didn’t seem to be as many college students going there. When writing about this place, I positioned myself in a neutral ground. I am from Grand Forks, and lived there for ten years, but attend college at NDSU, not UND (NDSU’s rival). I came to see or know Whitey’s through my older sister and friends who frequented there and I actually went there for my sophomore year of homecoming with friends when it was a restaurant as well. It is strange to write about the bar now that both the bar and I have changed. What I found by visiting Whitey’s was some the joy of watching others. Listening to their conversations, hearing their whispers, feeling like a part of something in that bar was fulfilling. I came to find Whitey’s as being a place of fulfillment and satisfaction not only for the alumni of UND or the regulars, but for myself as an outsider as well. I felt comfortable at this local nostalgic bar. When coming into this place, I felt a sense of comradry and affection. It was UND’s homecoming weekend, and this was the place to be for the alumni. The first thing you see when you walk into Whitey’s is the bar to your left, the bar down the aisle, and the pool tables to your right and left, different from most bars I have been to with the dance floor being the first thing you see. There are neon signs hanging behind the bar to your left giving specials on $1.50 pints of beer. As I glided in I could feel the reunion amongst the alumni and it almost became cozy to an outsider such as myself. It happened to be very cold outside, and very warm inside, furthering the sense of coziness. I sat at the bar farthest back with friends and began to try to understand and learn about the people around me, without interfering. The first person who caught my eye was a young man, probably late 20’s. He reeked of alcohol and walked in surrounded by friends coming down that long aisle that lead to the bar.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Management of Having an Alcoholic Parent

Many kids feel that they can't do anything when a parent is an alcoholic. In fact, almost every kid who has a parent who is an alcoholic feels that there is nothing they can do. You are wrong. There are many things that you can do if you just think about the situation. If your father/mother is abusing you when he/she drinks there is much that you can do. What about if your mother/father are in denial and he/she will not listen to you when you tell them that they need counseling. There are many sides in which you can take in order to help them solve their problems. One way people can go around a certain situation is to confront the alcoholic. By doing this you can see if they are in denial with the subject. This may cause some tension is some cases, but it is worth it to know if they are in that state or not of denial. If you do ask them and they do say, â€Å"Yes† than you should talk with him or her and see what do you think that you should do in order to stop drinking. Some people will however, get the ideas that you are trying to run their lives, and make a big scene. If you just do it with out blaming the person and allow them to answer then they will understand and be cooperative about the matter. Another way to try and help an alcoholic is to get them into rehab or counseling. In many cases this is the best and most convenient way to help out him/her with their problem. By doing this you are realizing that the person or people have a problem, and need help. Some people will get offended in this matter, but that is the risk that you have to take. If they do get offended they should see that right there they need help. If they do not get mad or angry than maybe they did not have a problem at all, and you made a mistake. There are many counseling opportunities that one can go to in-order to get help. The people that end up going to rehab, are the ones that still remain having the problem. In many cases rehab only makes matters worse. It is a good idea in certain situations, but teenagers should not be going to these places. It makes them feel worse and causes them to drink more often. The other way that you can help an alcoholic parent is to do what they say. Sometimes kids feel that if they do what they say it gives them the gratitude of power. So some kids do not listen and that causes some of the parents to drink more often and frequently. This is one of the worst things that you can do when it comes to an alcoholic parent. Not listening to them makes them feel that you don't care about them at all. They think that you are thinking you can do what you want when you want to do it. It is not the case, but that is how an alcoholic parent sees it in his or her perspective. Yes there are many other ways you can approach an alcoholic parent, but these are the ways that I feel are most helpful. If you do come across and alcoholic the best thing you can do it to just be there for him/her when they need it.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Global and International Business Contexts Essay

Introduction This report has been written by the Boston Consulting Group and uses Porter’s national diamond analysis model to evaluate the attractiveness of investment opportunities in the Tunisian wine industry. Also discussed are two key management issues that need to be taken into account before developing operations in Tunisia followed by recommendations on two strategies for entry into the Tunisian wine industry market. In terms of background to this report, it should be noted that the global market for wine industry is changing significantly with substantial differences in the structure of the wine industry around the world. For instance, there are 232,900 wine producers in France but the top 10 brands control only 4% of the market. In contrast, four firms control over 75% of the Australian wine market. Hence there is a marked difference in industry structure when comparing the â€Å"New World† producers (e.g. Australia, Chile, United States) to the â€Å"Old World† fir ms. These structural differences are driven by institutional diversity and contrasting patterns of historical development in countries. However, they are also driven by the competitive strategies employed by particular firms which are determining factors discussed in Porter’s Diamond model. Porter’s diamond model allows an analysis of why some industries within nations are more competitive than others and takes into account the home base of a business (Tunisia) as one element that plays an important part in  successfully achieving competitive advantage in the global market. (See insert 1.1) Part 1: Porter’s National Diamond Analysis Porter’s national diamond analysis model has four main determinants, which are factor conditions, related and supporting industries, demand conditions as well as strategy, structure and rivalry. Factor Conditions Factor conditions are those factors that can be utilised by companies inherently found within a nation which might provide competitive advantage such as human resources, material resources, knowledge resources, capital resources and infrastructure. These factor conditions can be built upon by companies to improve their competitiveness. Factor conditions could be divided into two resources as home grown resources and highly specialised resources. As Michael Porter described, the home grown resources are important and in the case of Tunisia includes the natural resource of a climate well suited to wine growing, plenty of sunshine, fertile soil as well as limited pollution which all aid the industry of grape planting. Political and historical factors through Tunisia’s history such as the romans, French occupation which resulted in over 600 caves being created for wine aging and a recent flourish in the Tunisian wine industry after the 1980’s has left Tunisia with a number of cooperatives and engineers all with specialist skills in wine production where modern techniques are being used creating innovation, technical progress and competitive advantage. The relative low cost of employment and salary levels in Tunisia compared to European countries brings with it a further home grown Tunisian competitive advantage together with an increasingly skilled base of employees who have worked in the wine industry. (http://www.tunisieindustrie.nat) Salary Per hour rate In Tunisia: 48-hour workweek: 1.538 DT per hr – Equates to 53p (in British pounds) per hour 40-hour workweek: 1.584 DT (http://www.tunisieindustrie.nat) Demand Conditions This is the demand for products in the home market which can be influenced by three factors; the mix of customer’s needs, the scope of domestic demand and growth and how the needs of domestic market translate into the global market. Whilst the annual domestic wine consumption per person in Tunisia is only 8/9 litres compared to an average of 60 litres a year in France, a domestic wine industry is likely to encourage greater levels of demand at  home from loyal customers to increasing levels of tourists (Ariaoui, 2007). Also consumer attitudes and behaviour play a role in domestic wine consumption because wine plays a very different role in European culture as compared to American, Australian culture or even Tunisian culture. In Europe wine remains part of everyday life and consumers often drink it along with the daily meal. Financial incentives offered by the Tunisian authorities have further helped to support the domestic wine industry making it more attractive to foreign i nvestors. As in new world producers, these investments in the Tunisian wine industry have helped encourage innovation enabling Tunisian wine growers to enhance the consistency and the quality of their wines by reducing operating costs through the increasing use of machinery to harvest the grapes crops. Tunisia can also learn from the New World which has more extensive and well-developed markets for its grapes, making it easier for wineries to find multiple avenues for sourcing production. Related and Supporting Industries At present, Tunisia make wines ranging from average to high levels of quality and they export their products to the whole world including famous brand names such as Carignan, Mourvà ¨dre and Muscat of Alexandria. The Tunisia government has supported their domestic wine industry through the construction of railways and roads (national infrastructure) to enhance the innovation and technological development in wine making which in turn is benefiting other related and supporting industries such as transport, holiday and leisure industry, technology and machinery. Taxes at 18% on wine consumption in Tunisia also provide an important income for the Tunisian treasury and so restrictions are unlikely in the future as in such nations as the US, Chile, and South Africa and should ensure continued support from the Tunisian government. Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry The structure and management systems of firms in different countries can potentially affe ct competitiveness and how well a company is able to use its existing organisational structure whether it is hierarchal or flat, against current and potential competitive companies. It is very important that the Tunisian wine industry pays close attention to its industry and company structures and strategies to ensure it is suitable for expansion into the global market. Porter argues that domestic rivalry which involves company structures and the need to pursue competitive within a country like Tunisia  could help provide the wine industry with a basis for achieving global leadership. Structural differences including institutional differences in wine production countries vary considerably and are often influenced by regulatory agencies such as in France, for instance which employs very strict regulations that constrain production so that producers can only designate sparkling wine as â€Å"Champagne† if they produce it using three grape varieties grown in the region with the same name unlike Australia which has a very loose regulatory structure allowing winemakers to source grapes from diverse geographic regions within the country. Different levels of subsidies have led to structural differences globally in wine making such as European governments who often subsidise their small farmers who grow grapes whereas subsidies tend to be lower or nonexistent in most New World nations. In addition, capital markets and corporate ownership patterns differ between geographic regions where typically Europe tends to have many more privately held firms in contrast to most of the largest winemakers in the United States and Australia who have become publicly traded corporations. Land ownership and historical patterns of development represent another major factor explaining the structural differences between global wine production areas. For example in the Old World, winemaking has been organised around family farms for centuries. and the land has remained in family ownership for generations. However currently, Tunisian landowners appear to be able to exert power in particular locations where high-quality land is scarce. This appears to be a problem where most producers are small, and good new acreage in Tunisia is extremely scarce but it is worth noting that grapes now cover more than 10,000 hectares of land in Tunisia compared to around 100 hectares in 1889 and wine production ranks third in Tunisian agriculture just behind olive oil and wheat production (Ariaoui, 2007). Finally, the competitive strategies of firms can affect industry structure such as the United States and Australia where publicly traded firms are much more prevalent. These firms have altered the industry structure and competitive landscape through their acquisition strategies, consumer branding and advertising strategies, capital investment plans, and technology initiatives. Consolidation of the wine Industry began to increase over the past decade, particularly among the New World producers with the consolidation of some premium wineries merging with direct rivals such as Rosemount creating some major global producers.  In terms of industrial structure, Tunisia, as yet is a small but relatively high cost producer of wine in comparison but now successfully exports millions of litres of wine annually to Europe, Russia and the US with two thirds of its wine production being controlled by the UCCCV (Union Centrale des Coopà ©ratives Viticoles) and is looking for global partners to exploit and develop Tunisian wine production opportunities. Part 2: Contemporary Management issues Leadership Style It is undisputable that many of the global wine producing companies who used to dominate the market are now experiencing a decline in market share. There are several reasons that can be used to explain such a decline including leadership style. The appropriate leadership styles are those that can enable the manager to interact closely both with the employees and the customers and as a facilitator whose major role is to bring together and create an organisational culture that is streamlined a geared towards meeting the goals and mission of the organisation. If the Tunisian Wine Industry is keen to expand, its management team should know that leading others is not a simple task. As a people manager, a leader has to treat everyone as equal regardless of their title or position and maintain a pleasant demeanor (Ljungholm, 2014). It is about focusing on gaining trust and commitment rather than enforcing fear and compliance. To be able to lead well, leaders need to be guided by appropriate leadership theories. Some of the theories proposed include supportive leadership model and transformative leadership model. These models should enable the Tunisian wine industry to adapt new environment easily and are described below. Supportive leadership model Supportive leadership model, is where the manager supports every stakeholder emotionally and professionally in an attempt to ensure that he or she performs optimally. It also focuses in forging and creating collaborating and binding relationships among employees (Mahalinga Shiva, & Suar, 2012). The workplace is often made up of people from diverse backgrounds, with varying needs and wants and it calls for patience, understanding and proper leadership skills. The supportive model believes that influencing people to do something is more productive and sustainable than barking orders and instructions to people (Hutchinson &  Jackson, 2013). A leader should always keep in mind that as a manager, he or she has to â€Å"Treat everyone as equal regardless of their title or position and remember to smile a lot and always maintain a pleasant demeanor.â €  The leader should focus on gaining trust and commitment rather than fear and compliance (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013). This cannot be achieved without deliberately motivating the people to become better. Motivating them requires that you first understand their training and development needs. The leader should learn to foster warm relationships amongst the Tunisian employees to understand them and identify ways in which interpersonal relationships can be improved for a more fulfilling work experience. Transformative leadership model The second most important model is transformational leadership theory or model. This is a new model that was formed in around 1970s following the realisation that there was need of greater flexibility in employment. The current employment conditions have changed significantly and this model is particularly relevant to the Tunisian wine industry which is relatively new as an industry (1980’s onwards) and because most of the Tunisians of employable age are from the millennial generation. One thing to note about this new generation is that it is educated and culturally more mixed than any generation before them. In the US this typically means they are job-hoppers who hate officialdom and mistrust traditional hierarchies (Goudreau, 2013). This group of employees, according to Forbes, is willing to sacrifice pay for increased vacation time and the ability to work outside the office. According to the study conducted by Forbes, one of the ways of motivating this generation is that they want employers who offer flexibility or rather alternative work arrangement. The transformational leadership is characterised by a lot of motivation as under this leadership model, the leader is expected to provide constructive feedback, encourage employees to exert effort and to think creatively about complex problems (Xueli, Lin & Mian, 2014). Transformational leadership is based on what is called lead, learn and grow model.. A leader can implement transformational leadership by keeping track of the impact of his action, engaging in formal evaluation at the right time (Abbasi, & Zamani-Miandashti, 2013). A leader must also be willing and able to learn on an ongoing basis and should realise that learning is never complete. That is why under transformational leadership, no one is an expert (Watts, &  Corrie, 2013). Unlike in most European wine producing areas the problem with most leaders there, is that they tend to believe that they are qualified or that they are expert, whereas in Tunisia producers are looking for expertise outside of the country and seem willing to learn. Tunisia wine production has an opportunity to analyse and create and take into account the appropriate leadership style for the wine industry and country that will be maximise competitive advantage before wine production operations can be developed in the country. Part 2: Continued Contemporary Management issues Knowledge and Change Management Rapid changes in business and technology and increasing competitions means organisations have to adapt the best training and education to enable them continue to stay on top of their games. The complexity, relative newness and competitiveness of the Tunisian wine industry environment requires that Tunisian companies will have to continuously raise the bar on their effectiveness to compete globally. Top performance increasingly demands excellence in all areas, including leadership, strategy, productivity, and adaptation to change, process improvement, and capability enhancement on knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies, trust and motivation. An organisation in the wine industry should ensure that all levels of employees are given the opportunity to continue to improve by acquiring new skills through training. Much of the improvements needed in business to meet the demands of changing markets and economic conditions can only result from well-implemented organisational change measured against increased technological excellence and operational efficiency as well as productivity. Kotter (2011) defines change management as the utilisation of basic structures and tools to control any organizational change effort. Change management’s goal is to minimise the distractions and impacts of the change. Organisational change is incredibly complex and one of the key skills for managers is to understand the nature of change and to prepare themselves to lead and manage change in their unique organisational contexts. Where there is a lack of knowledge in the Tunisian wine business in terms of management strategies to deal with changing markets and economic conditions, Tunisia will need to look at their alliance business partners and those business  sectors in Tunisia that are successful in order to transfer and recruit the necessary management skills to succeed. Part 3: Market entry strategy – Strategy No 1 Formulating a mode of entry is very important factor that a company or industry intending to expand into a new market should bear in mind and predicts whether the company will turn out to be successful or not. The entry mode, according to International Business Publications (2009), is important in protecting the company from facing challenges such as legal, registration and even cultural challenges. In selecting the entry mode, the company should put into consideration the cost of doing business in destination country, and determine which entry mode will help in cutting down those costs and at the same time will ensure that the Tunisian wine industry gets maximum profits and also the largest market share in the target nation. In terms of advantages and based on the market situation, this paper proposes that the Tunisian Wine Industry should adopt cross-border strategic alliances to take advantage of a number of benefits compared with the export strategies. For example it creates different synergies in the domestic and foreign markets. In addition, it promotes production alliances, which help each of the allied firms to reduce production costs both in their domestic plants as well as their foreign plants. As far as distribution costs is concerned, the cross-border marketing, which is a product of cross-border strategic alliance, reduces the allied firms’ distribution costs in their foreign market (Qiu, 2006). Compared to other entry mode methods, cross-border strategic alliances create different synergies in the domestic and foreign markets (Qiu, 2006). Some of the synergies include production cost synergies and distribution costs synergies. These synergies will help the Tunisian wine industry to reduce the production and distribution costs and hence increase profits. In terms of disadvantages, cross-border strategic alliances can sometimes lead to a loss of control of individual wine production and their related services. Members of Tunisian wine production may well find that they can become restricted and unable to take decisions by themselves without first referring to the alliance partners. In addition, the complexity of making business alliances work is high and could further complicate business  structures, exacerbate cultural differences and have detrimental effects on intercompany working relationships. Part 3: Market entry strategy – Strategy No 2 Alternatively, the Tunisian Wine Industry may enter into new market through what is called licensing. Licensing mode of market entry allows foreign firms, either exclusively or non-exclusively to manufacture a licensed product in a certain market under specific condition and for this reason is particularly relevant to the situation faced by the Tunisian wine industry. A licensor in the home country makes limited rights or resources available to the licensee in the foreign country in which he or she is to do the business. This includes any resources may like patents, technology trademarks, managerial skills that can make it possible for the licensee to manufacture and sell in the foreign country a similar product to the one the licensor has already been producing and supplying in his home country. This enables the licensor to have several shares in similar companies without necessarily having to open a new branch in other countries. The licensor is usually paid on basis of one time payments, mechanical fees and royalty payments usually calculated as a percentage of sales resultant thereafter. The decision of making an international license agreement depend on the respect that foreign government show for intellectual property. The licensee should be able to cooperate with the licensor to avoid unhealthy completion in the market. In terms of advantages, licensing is a flexible agreement and can be adjusted any time to suit the conveniences of the both parties. However, this mode of entry can be disadvantageous to the licensee, as parts of the profits have to be shared to the licensor on these terms. Recovering the initial profit and getting reasonable profits can take a relatively longer period of time. Again it can also result in the loss of control over manufacturing and marketing of goods and export to other countries. A further risk to the Tunisian wine industry to take into account when considering this strat egy is that the foreign licensee may sell similar competitive wine products after the licensing agreement has expired. Recommendations To Board of Directors To conclude, when entering into a new market, there are many existing factors  to keep in mind. Porter’s national diamond model can help potential investors by allowing them to understand the macro environment in the Tunisian wine industry. Generally speaking, factor condition, demand condition, related and supporting industries and rivalry could encourage the entering activities. It is worth noting that the past high cost performance of Tunisian wine could also become a strong competitive advantage by restricting new entrants into the Tunisian wine producing market. As for recommendations, Tunisia offers the advantages of a natural wine producing climate and fertile soils, a relatively low cost of employment, significant financial incentives and investment in the countries’ infrastructure by the Tunisian government and unrestricted company structures and land ownership. The limitations of Tunisian wine industry relate to the relatively higher costs of wine production in Tunisia, increase in licensing opportunities across the wine industry and cross border alliances which can complicate international working relationships and introduce some uncertainty in the future as licensees from other countries continue to exploit Tunisian wine production opportunities resulting in possible delays in the release of profits available to international investing businesses. Appendices: Appendix 1 Insert 1.1 – Porters National Diamond Analysis Model References: Ariaoui Jamal, (Web) A Guided Tour of Tunisia’s Wine road, Magharebia, 2007 Rugman, A. & Collinson, S. 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Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2013/03/07/7-surprising-ways-to-motivate-millennial-workers/ Ingrid B. (2006). Facilitating to Lead. Jossey-Bass. ISBN 0-7879-7731-4 Watts, M, & Corrie, S 2013, ‘Growing the ‘I’ and the ‘We’ in Transformational Leadership: The LEAD, LEARN & GROW Model’, Coaching Psychologist, 9, 2, pp. 86-99, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. LJUNGHOLM, D 2014, ‘The Performance Effects of Transformational Leadership In Public Administration’, Contemporary Readings In Law & Social Justice, 6, 1, pp. 110-115, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. SHENG-MIN, L, & JIAN-QIAO, L 2013, ‘Transformational Leadership and Speaking Up: Power Distance And Structural Distance As Moderators’, Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journa l, 41, 10, pp. 1747-1756, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. 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Retrieved from: http://www.etsg.org/ETSG2006/papers/Qiu.pdf

Friday, November 8, 2019

150+ Powerful Character Mannerisms to Define Your Characters

150+ Powerful Character Mannerisms to Define Your Characters Defining Your Characters: 150+ Character Mannerisms Part of the magic of great fiction is its ability to let you see their characters in your mind’s eye. Think about Sherlock Holmes and you might picture him smoking a pipe, or stroking his chin in thought. Or Anne Shirley from Anne of the Green Gables, who might at any moment be gesturing enthusiastically and talking a mile a minute.Much of this ability to conjure actors in this theatre of the mind comes from one simple trick in the book of character development: character mannerisms. A well-observed tic or recurring behavior can unlock your characters and bring them to life in your audience’s imagination.If you’re wondering how to start going about it, you’ve come to the right spot on the Internet. We’ve split this post into three parts: what character mannerisms exactly are, how to write them into your story, and a list of 150+ mannerisms for you in case you're running short on inspiration.What are character mannerisms? 12 Types of Characters Featured in Almost All Stories Read post Mannerisms are here to helpUltimately, character mannerisms are only a small part of the bigger picture of character development. They should help reveal who your character is and that in and of itself will take some more work on your part. To understand your character on a deeper level, you can go here to download a free character profile template. Or if you’d like some character development exercises, here are eight of the best ones that you can use.So whatever mannerisms you choose in the end, remember that it should tie into your character’s personality, background, and upbringing. If you follow that route, you won’t stray far from reaching your ultimate goal: the creation of a memorable character.What memorable mannerisms and tics should be added to this list? Let us know in the comments below

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Plastic Sulfur - Simple Sulfur Polymer Demo

Plastic Sulfur - Simple Sulfur Polymer Demo Did you know that you can make a polymer from an element? Turn ordinary sulfur into rubbery plastic sulfur and then back into its brittle crystalline form. Plastic Sulfur Materials 50 g sulfur  test tube (25 mm x 200 mm)burnertest tube clampbeaker of water (500 mL or so)tongs Procedure To Polymerize Sulfur Youll melt the sulfur, which changes from a yellow powder into a blood-red liquid. When the molten sulfur is poured into the beaker of water, it forms a rubbery mass, which remains in polymer form for a variable length of time, but eventually crystallizes into a brittle form. Fill the test tube with pure sulfur powder or pieces until it is within a couple of centimeters of the top of the tube.Using a test tube clamp to hold the tube, place the tube in a burner flame to melt the sulfur. The yellow sulfur will turn into a red liquid as it melts. The sulfur may ignite in the flame. This is fine. If ignition occurs, expect a blue flame at the mouth of the test tube.Pour the molten sulfur into a beaker of water. If the sulfur is burning, youll get a spectacular burning stream from the tube into the water! The sulfur forms a golden-brown string as it hits the water.You can use tongs to remove the mass of polymer sulfur from the water and examine it. This rubbery form will last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours before reverting to the usual yellow brittle rhomic crystalline form. How It Works Usually sulfur occurs in orthorhomic form as eight-membered cyclic rings of monomeric S8. The rhomic form melts at 113 °C. When it is heated over 160deg;C, sulfur forms high molecular weight linear polymers. The polymer form is brown and consists of polymer chains containing about a million atoms per chain. However, the polymer form is not stable at room temperature, so the chains eventually break and reform the S8 rings. Safety The sulfur is safe to recycle or dispose in any waste container.Use care when handling the plastic sulfur, as it may still be hot/molten for several minutes.Its best to perform this project under a hood or outdoors, since sulfur dioxide (SO2) will be released if the sulfur ignites. Sulfur dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which is irritating and toxic. Source: B. Z. Shakhashiri, 1985, Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers of Chemistry, vol. 1, pp. 243-244. Related Projects You can use sulfur from this project to make both a mixture and a compound with sulfur and iron. If the polymer aspect of the project interested you, other simple polymers you can make include natural plastic from milk or a polymer bouncy ball. Feel free to play with the ratio of ingredients in polymer and plastic recipes to see they affect the final project.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Rights Of Workers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rights Of Workers - Essay Example Gonos, in his article entitled â€Å"Never a Fee!† explained the historical experience of the effects and consequences of the staffing industry to the real welfare of workers, stating that the few laws existing and the deregulation of the staffing business has further undermined the â€Å"workers’ ability to gain self-sufficiency† (Gonos, 2000-01). A further analysis of secret fees charged should therefore be made in order that appropriate policy changes for the protection of workers. The union organizing policy presented in the article entitled â€Å"Never a Fee!† written by George Gonos, which I think should be changed is their reliance on establishing a â€Å"national code of conduct† which appeals on all the staffing agencies concerned to make available to workers the information regarding the rate which client employers pay workers (Ziegler, 1999). This policy merely encourages and urges the staffing agencies and do not really oblige or mandate that the â€Å"hidden fees† or rates in employment contracts be revealed. Instead of lobbying for a legislation that would truly examine and delve into the fees that are charged especially on temporary and contract workers by either the client firms or staffing industries or both, they have merely settled on having such a national code of conduct (Gonos, 2000-01). The group pushing for this code of conduct consists of groups representing contingent workers and represent other diverse interests suc h as workers in the construction business, workers belonging to labor unions, professionals belonging to the high-tech industries, graduate assistants from various universities, and some undocumented immigrants (Community Partners, 2009).   There is a seeming lack of follow through or inconsistency on the part of workers’ group to lobby and support such a legislation that would reveal the so-called â€Å"hidden fees† in employment contracts which has been a

Friday, November 1, 2019

Batian Food and Wine Festival Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Batian Food and Wine Festival - Case Study Example In total the event attracted over 50,000 participants. The festival had been so well managed by the use of the SWOT analysis, HR management, financial management, marketing and promotion, sponsorship, and risk management. Good organization and management were the key pillars that led to the success of the festival. Batian food and wine festival is one of the most tremendous festivals have ever experienced. The festival involved a three day event in which there were various presentations of traditional food recipes and wines. Some of the events included brilliant musical productions, theater, gospel music's, historic presentations, wine and food presentations/techniques which were presented to the guests who had been welcomed to witness this gratifying event. The festival began with a traditional wine tasting competition which was aimed at sampling the best wine presented in the festival. This was done by professional wine tasters. The festival brought together different communities from different parts of the world. There were wine tasters from each community. The main theme of the festival was to educate people on the various traditional techniques which are used to prepare foods and wines and hence increase their knowledge on food and wine. One of the key entry criteria for the event was that each community that participated had to present a unique type of food and wine and their production technique. One each day of the event there were different activity that was performed. For the first day, there was wine sampling and tasting. Then on the second day, there was sampling of food and their recipes. On the third day, the finals were held and judgment delivered. (Abel, 2000). January 25th 2005 This was the first day of the festival. Since all the entries had been made earlier, there was no issue of registration on the first day. There was exclusive wine sampling and tasting along the beach. All the participants aligned their wine in shades and the tasters who were about 50 went from shade to shade. The day one event started at 6:30 PM and continued till late at night. After the tasters had visited all the shades, the participants were then allowed to try their buds on different sampled wines since they had a chance to vote for the best wine also. There were more than 83 wine varieties which were presented in the festival. There were traditional dances to spice up the festival. At the end of the day, every one seemed a bit tipsy. Every one was jovial while the paned of wine tasters confined themselves in a closed room where they were making their deliberations. The results were not released on that day since they had to wait for the results of the voting from the participants as well (Abraham, 2000). January 26th 2005 The event started at 8:00 Am but this was abit different from the day one event. This was a chance for the best chefs from the communities to test one another. It was during this day when so many levels of competitions were presented on the types of cooks and wines which these professional could make. It was also during this day when all those professional chefs had been invited for the festival so that they could try and compete at their many levels of cooking (Abraham, 2000). The chefs lined up with recipes in shades. Food competitions were organized in modern