Feathered Soul free essay sample

My earliest memories are of teetering along Baker’s Beach with my great-grandmother, watching the seagulls and reaching up frantically for her wrinkled hand when the waves crashed just a little too close for my comfort. Even though I felt small compared to that great, loud ocean, holding my Nana’s hand made me feel just a little bit braver. Long before a child understands language, she comprehends love. My faintest memories are not of words but of the uncanny power of one person’s love to make a frightened little heart feel stronger. My Nana gave me the bird when I was very little. It used to perch on the kitchen windowsill of her beach house in West Port Point many years ago. Yesterday I dug it out of safekeeping, and now it graces my bedroom windowsill with its silent song and uplifted wings- a little porcelain bird the size of my closed fist. We will write a custom essay sample on Feathered Soul or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is plain, brown, and ordinary, but it is very dear to me. It is a curious thing how objects from our childhood seem to recover in us a sense of who we are. My little bird reminds me of how cherished and adored I was as a little girl, and even now that she’s passed away, my Nana’s love reaches through my memories to make me feel strong again. In a time of my life when it is easy to forget the girl I have been in the wake of the woman I am trying to become, simple reminders like the bird on my windowsill help me to find the young lady I am. My Nana loved birds, something that was passed down to me at a young age. Birds have always enthralled me, and in their simple, carefree way they have played a significant role in my life. The first birds I remember are the seagulls I used to lean over my Nana’s porch railing to watch as they wheeled through the gray New England sky, crying their â€Å"good mornings† to me as they swooped by. The birds that share my family’s home on a quiet, forgotten country road in Connecticut have become an unforgettable part of my girlhood as well. Since we moved here when I was eight years old, the countryside birds have held me captivated. Our house sits on the lazy end of a river, where a snowy egret spends his summers, a crotchety great blue heron makes his home, and a pair of mute swans has raised its cygnets each spring for the past ten years. Along the back edge of our property runs a thick stretch of evergreens, where hundreds of chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, wre ns, goldfinches, and especially robins make their home. Our days, our nights, and our seasons here are marked by the birds that share our river valley, and their happy presence has always held an innocent, childlike magic for me. Every morning just before dawn, when the world swims in a soft, sleepy yellow, the robins sing our little neighborhood valley awake as they fly overhead by the hundreds from their evergreen nests behind our house to the oak trees that line the dairy farmer’s fields on the hill across the river. Every night at dusk, when a dying sky turns the air a dusty pink, the steady traffic of robins fly by our front porch one by one to their nests from wherever their day’s travels have taken them. Their chirping chatter as they settle down for the night reminds me of a mother’s whispered wishes of sweet dreams, and I feel safe and loved as the robins bid each other good night. Although robins far outnumber the other birds in the valley, they all share a part in our day. The chickadees are gregarious little fellows, and will often join my six and seven year old sisters as they peg sheets over the old swing set to play a feminine version of pirates. I watched one chickadee the other day as he hopped along the monkey bars, cocking his head and observing the girls as they decorated their â€Å"ship.† Eventually he tired of watching, and swooped down to snatch a sunflower seed from the feeder on the clothesline and carry it back to his perch in the nearby wisteria bushes. There I watched him crack open his precious seed and turn his head toward the girls every so often to chirp his apparent puzzlement. Other birds are shyer, such as the barn swallows that have made their timid nest in my horse’s stall for the past three years. When the stall was occupied, I would duck in quietly to muck out every morning, softly apologizing the inconvenience to the flustered couple perching on the fence nearby. They didn’t seem to mind the horses, but it took them a while to grow accustomed to my presence. By the end of the first summer, however, they had made a habit of swooping down to greet me as I traipsed out to the barn every morning and landing on the fence by the shed to chatter with me as I dished out the pony’s grain. When I had finished my chores and joined my sisters for breakfast, thinking of the swallows I would remark to my mother that sometimes conversations were the most enjoyable when you hadn’t the faintest idea what the other was saying to you. This year my barn was empty of horses, and the swallows did not return. As much as I had delighted in their company, I was still surprised how much I missed their cheerful good-mornings. While the rest of the countryside hibernates beneath the winter snow, most of the birds thrive in the freezing weather. The woodland birds are easy to spot in the snow, and many emerge from their hiding places in the woods when it gets cold to populate the feeders that dot our property. The river comes alive this time of year as well. Although the snowy egret finds our New England winters a bit too frosty for his liking, the herons and the swans make the river their winter home as well. By the time the ice sets in, they’ve been joined by a hundred or so mallards who’ve emerged from the marsh, numerous seagulls, a dozen puddle ducks, and several hundred Canadian geese that arrive to winter here as well. Years ago I raised half a dozen Indian Runner ducks, and when they spent their first winter on the pond, I took to trudging out to feed them cracked corn every morning. That same winter was one of the coldest we’d ever had, and the rest of the river had frozen ove r. The channel that ran deepest by our house was the only remaining open water on the river left for the birds, and I was soon feeding not only my runner ducks and the puddle ducks from downtown, but the mallards, swans, seagulls, some of the geese, and even a pair of wood ducks as well. I discovered the next fall that birds may have small brains, but they surely remember where to find food. Since that winter, they’ve returned every year for the corn, and I’ve happily tramped out into the snow to feed the winter residents their cracked corn every morning, no matter the weather. Some of my happiest memories of my teen years will be of teaching the wild ducks to eat from my hands. Having your hair nibbled by an affectionate duck who likes the sound of your voice is something special that stays a part of you forever. These and many more memories are what come to mind and touch my heart when my Nana’s little porcelain bird catches the corner of my eye from my bedroom sill. Its silent pose reminds me of the winged friends that have always brought me peace of mind when my heart’s wings spread in eager anticipation to soar. My Nana loved simple beauty, something I remember most about her. My birds are beautiful simplicity in a complicated world. When a wood duck squeaks at me suspiciously for a half an hour before he decides to waddle up and nibble corn from my otherwise-impatient hands, and all that matters for the moment is love and trust, the world feels like such a simpler place. Happiness is not a state of possession; it’s a position of peace. The little bird on my sill makes me smile, because it stands for my happy and secure girlhood, and the precious people that have flown in and out of my life just like the swallows that graced one summer and haunted the next. My birds are happiness to me, because they teach me that sometimes the simplest things are the most precious. For all the high-level technology that rushes our world along at a breakneck pace, the most important things in life are still love and trust. A little frozen piece of porcelain is happiness to me for its reminder that if my heart needs simplicity to stay young, perhaps the rest of the world needs a soft reminder as well.

How to Use the Past Participle in Italian

How to Use the Past Participle in Italian Compound tenses such as the passato prossimo are formed with the present indicative of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle (participio passato). The past participle of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending -are, -ere, or -ire and adding the appropriate final ending: -ato, -uto, or -ito (see tables below). Using Auxiliary Verb Avere The appropriate tense of avere or essere (called the auxiliary or helping verbs) and the past participle of the target verb forms the verb phrase. Avere is used in a myriad of grammatical and linguistic situations. Learning the many conjugations and uses of the verb is crucial to the study of the Italian language. In general, transitive verbs are conjugated with avere. Transitive verbs express an action that carries over from the subject to the direct object: The teacher explains the lesson. The past participle is invariable when the passato prossimo is constructed with avere. Oggi Anna non lavora perchà ¨ ha lavorato ieri.Today Anna isnt working because she worked yesterday. The others worked yesterday too.Anche gli altri hanno lavorato ieri. When the past participle of a verb conjugated with avere is preceded by the third person direct object pronouns lo, la, le, or li, the past participle agrees with the preceding direct object pronoun in gender and number. Avere is an irregular verb (un verbo irregolare); it does not follow a predictable pattern of conjugation. Using Auxiliary Verb Essere When using essere, the past participle always agrees in gender and number with the subject of the verb. It can, therefore, have four endings: -o, -a, -i, -e. In many cases intransitive verbs (those that cannot take a direct object), especially those expressing motion, are conjugated with the auxiliary verb essere. The verb essere is also conjugated with itself as the auxiliary verb. Some of the most common verbs that form compound tenses with essere include: andare - to goarrivare- to arrivecadere- to fall, to dropcostare- to costcrescere- to growdiventare- to becomedurare- to last, to continueentrare- to entermorire- to dienascere- to be bornpartire- to leave, to departrestare- to stay, to remaintornare- to returnuscire- to exitvenire- to come Regular Past Participles Of -ARE Verbs INFINITIVE FORM- PAST PARTICIPLE camminare (to walk)- camminatoimparare (to learn)- imparatolavare (to wash)- lavatotelefonare (to telephone)- telefonato Regular Past Participles Of -ERE Verbs INFINITIVE FORM- PAST PARTICIPLE credere (to believe)- credutosapere (to know)- saputotenere (to keep)- tenuto Regular Past Participles Of -IRE Verbs INFINITIVE FORM- PAST PARTICIPLE capire (to understand)- capitofinire (to finish)- finito(to accept)- graditosentire (to feel, to smell)- sentito Below are examples of the passato prossimo with conjugated forms of the verb avere. Passato Prossimo With Regular Verbs PERSON IMPARARE (TO LEARN) CREDERE (TO BELIEVE) CAPIRE (TO UNDERSTAND) (io) ho imparato ho creduto ho capito (tu) hai imparato hai creduto hai capito (lui, lei, Lei) ha imparato ha creduto ha capito (noi) abbiamo imparato abbiamo creduto abbiamo capito (voi) avete imparato avete creduto avete capito (loro, Loro) hanno imparato hanno creduto hanno capito

Credit Crunch Uk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Credit Crunch Uk - Essay Example The US seemed to have the biggest problems, if only by the sheer magnitude of their economy and its impact on other nations around the world. Still, Great Britain felt the shock and their economy suffers many of the same ills as the system has stagnated with the same symptoms. Though the political leaders portrayed the problem as an emergency that suddenly erupted, it was actually the culmination of years of under-regulation, neglect, abuse, and corruption. The credit crisis in the United Kingdom has come about as a result of over-extended consumer credit and a banking system that has exploited the concept of free market economics. To understand the vulnerabilities in the global banking system it is helpful to understand some of the history that got it where it is today. Six hundred years ago the population of England was largely agrarian and lived as subsistence farmers. Wages earned came almost exclusively from farm labor and were very sensitive to the law of supply and demand. When times were good, the population rose and the labor supply increased. This drove down farm wages and the resulting poverty would decimate the population. As the labor supply fell, wages increased again and the cycle repeated. In fact, the real wages earned in 1740 were the same as the wages earned in 1400 (Khan 10). However, the Industrial Revolution created a larger demand for labor and created concentrated centers of capital. Technological advancements contributed to the growing economy and real wages have risen by approximately 2200 percent in the 200 years since the turn of the 19th century (Khan 10). The escalating wage scale and the concentrated capital resulted in an economy that was ever more dependent upon credit and increasingly demanding consumer goods. According to Khan, "in the 19th century, a steady rise in living standards began that has, in some sense, never ceased. As a result,

The difference between the firm's operating cycle and its cash Essay

The difference between the firm's operating cycle and its cash conversion cycle - Essay Example It would only include time for the initial payment of cash by the company and the receipt of cash from the customers. Operating cycles are either short or long and both of these have serious implications for the company. An operating cycle which is short would mean that the company`s return on investment is rapid. A longer operating cycle, on the other hand, means that the company is not getting a quick return on investment and this probably affect the company in the long run. Operating cycles also differ according to the nature of the economy. If there is an economic downturn, then the operating cycle of a company would probably last longer than the one during a period of an economic growth. The operating cycle of a company is also helps in the estimation of the amount of the working capital required by the company to maintain its growth. There are a number of factors influencing the duration or the time period of the operating cycle and these include the payment terms extended to t he company by its suppliers. Also, a higher order fulfillment policy would increase the duration of the operating cycle. The credit terms and payment policies of the company also affect the time period of the operating cycle. Therefore, operating cycles of a company are often affected the policies and decisions of a company as well as the policies of other companies towards the said company. The cash conversion cycle of a company is the time period required for a company to convert its resources cash flows. This cycle shows the time, in days, which a company takes to sell inventory, collect its receivables as well as pay all its bills. This process of cash conversion shows the financial position of the company during a certain period of time. The cash conversion ratio is calculated through the collection of three ratios which are related to the inventory turnover which is the accounts receivable. This cycle shows how long an investment is in the production stage before being turned into cash. This cash conversion cycle is also known as the net operating cycle of a company. A company`s cash conversion cycle lengthens when it takes a longer time in collecting its accrued payments. For small businesses especially, longer cash conversion cycles show the difference between its profits and bankruptcy as these companies highly rely on cash from such sales of inventories. One of the major differences between an operating and a cash conversion cycle is the difference in the calculation of both of these. In order to calculate the operating cycle, the duration of each component of the operating cycle needs to be determined and this includes raw materials, finished goods, work in progress etc. the operating cycle is found out by summing these individual components. The requirement for working capital would be higher if the operating cycle is longer. On the other hand, cash conversion cycle is calculated using the days payable outstanding ratio as well as those elements us ed in the operating cycle calculation. The days payable outstanding is the average time taken by a company to pay its suppliers. The formula for cash conversion is days inventory outstanding + days sales outstanding – days payable outstanding. All of these activity ratios are expressed in days and show the cash conversion cycle of the company. Both operating cycles and cash conversion cycles are really important for an owner as well as the company as the whole. The cash conversion cycle is extremely important for the financial analysis being done by the owner. This is because it shows the factors related to cash which is really important

Urban Water Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Urban Water Cycle - Essay Example Most urban centers receive their supply of water from a definite water entity such as a river, lake or a dam. The land area that surrounds the water source is its catchment. The level of cleanliness of a catchment area determines the water quality of the dam or river. A town that uses a dam or several dams as water reservoirs will receive water from rivers. In this regard, the state of the river will determine the water quality that enters the dam. The dam is the storage point for the water from rivers. It is normally built adjacent to a river to block a section of the flowing water and store it. It is from the dam that the urban population receive reliable water supply for their use. Although the water in the dam might look clear, it is not fit for human consumption yet. This is because it contains pollen, soil particles and dust. These particles contain viruses, bacteria together with several other microorganisms that can be harmful to human health. To remove these microorganisms, the water from the dam is first processed in a water treatment plant prior to its use. The water goes through some specific stages and steps at the treatment plant. Such stages include pre treatment, flocculation, filtration and chemical dosing. At the pre treatment level, a polymer called coagulant and alum is added to the water. The substances help to capture the solid particles that provide host to bacteria and viruses. The water free of the particles remains less turbid and clean. At the flocculation level, there is the removal of solid particle from the water. Mixing and circulation occurs for the solid particles captured in the pre treatment step to float on top in the form of froth. At the filtration level, the water is pumped through filters to get rid of the remaining particles. Finally, there is the addition of chlorine to get rid of the remaining microorganisms or germs, if any at the chemical dosing stage. This stage also involves the addition of fluorine for teeth prote ction and the adjustment of the pH level of the water.     After the above stages of treatment, the bulk main pipes supply carries the treated water to reservoirs allowing its distribution into smaller pipes into households. The reservoirs help the water stored to adjust with the changing demands. It also assists in the management of the pressure from users so that it flows to taps at expected speeds. Reservoirs can be either above or below the ground. The reservoirs supply water into homes through the service lines than branch from the mains pipe. After use at home, the water goes down the drain from where it enters the network of wastewater. The wastewater then flows into the sewerage system.

ASDA Business Strategy

ASDA Business Strategy ASDA is the UKs second largest supermarket chain, holding a 17.2% market share in the UK over 2013/2014 (Kantar Worldpanel, 2014). It was purchased in 1999 and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US Public Limited Company, Walmart. In order to analyse the business environment, this essay will first consider the ASDA Groups internal environment, including their objectives, policies, organisational structure and reputation. The second focus will be the external environment; first the range of competitors in the market, followed by a PESTLE (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Legal, Environmental/Ethical) analysis, to develop a holistic summary of the external environment. Where appropriate, several sections of the PESTLE analysis have been merged to create a more accurate summary of the external environment. Internal Objectives and Policies ASDAs primary operations consist of retail of food, apparel, general merchandise and other services (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). Their strategic objectives are to provide high quality products, exceed consumer desires and reduce costs (ASDA Group Ltd, 2010; ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). They have an additional series of sustainability objectives designed to reduce environmental impact and reduce operating costs simultaneously. Walmart, ASDAs ultimate parent company, are focused on the opportunities provided by the e-commerce market (Walmart, 2014). To that end, ASDA provides both online shopping and delivery services and a Click and Collect programme, allowing customers to order products online for collection from a local ASDA branch (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). ASDA have developed a growth strategy, combining expanding reach online and physically, with reduced operating costs overall. They have also identified the need for innovation and expansion into new product ranges, expanding their brand identity. As part of the Walmart group, they benefit from the research and development of other Walmart subsidiaries (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013; Walmart, 2014). In 2013, in the midst of the recession, ASDA continued to open 15 new stores and has opened more in 2014 (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). Structure Walmart purchased ASDA in 1999, demonstrating a strategy of growth by acquisition. Following this, ASDA has used its core competencies of providing low-cost, good-quality products to gain market share and has become the second largest supermarket brand in the UK. As a subsidiary of Walmart, ASDA is provided with certain benefits. ASDA particularly benefits from the IT expertise from its parent company, in addition to benefitting from the research and development of other Walmart group members (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). Walmart also benefits by adopting best practices developed by ASDA from their online grocery shopping service (Walmart, 2014). Members of the Walmart group are also able to take advantage of intercompany loans to provide internal financing opportunities. ASDA has over 500 locations in the UK, ranging from supercentres down to supermarkets. This range of shopping facilities is designed to meet customer needs at different levels (ASDA Group Ltd, 2010; Euromonitor International, 2014). They have implemented a price guarantee, ensuring prices remain consistent across ASDA stores, regardless of their size; this is intended to challenge other brands with higher prices in smaller, local supermarket branches (ASDA Group Ltd, 2010). Reputation ASDA have also been able to leverage the reputation of their US parent company and were the first major UK retailer to introduce a Black Friday shopping event in 2013. This was repeated in 2014 by many retailers and drew many customers to take advantage of the low-cost goods. ASDAs reputation for low-cost, high-quality goods can also be leveraged in their growth strategy. Their efforts to reduce operating costs and subsequent price reductions for consumers is intended to be appealing to price-conscious consumers (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). As detailed below, this is a growing attitude among the UK supermarket customer-base and provides a possible avenue for growth. External Competitors ASDA faces direct from ALDI and LIDL, two supermarket chains who share similar core competencies to ALDI, in that they offer low-cost, high-quality goods. Unlike ASDA, however, ALDI and LIDL offer a range of limited availability products, alongside their food retail. ASDA, by contrast, offers a wider range of general products, available via their online services and in their larger hypermarkets. ASDA is second of the UKs four largest supermarkets. Tesco holds the largest UK market share with 28.7%, and Sainsburys and Morrisons are next with 16.4% and 11.1% respectively (Kantar Worldpanel, 2014). ALDI and LIDL have grown significantly in recent years (Ruddick, 2014), it has been predicted that the profit margins of larger supermarkets, including ASDA, will have smaller profit margins in the short term (Beardsworth, 2014). Political, Legal, Environmental Ethical The House of Lords released a report in early 2014 challenging food waste in the EU and particularly in the UK (Harriet, 2014; House of Lords European Union Committee, 2014). In their report they argued that retailers, including supermarkets such as ASDA, bear significant responsibility for preventing food waste. Specifically, retailers have a responsibility to ensure that customers are aware of how to store food, ensure date labelling is appropriate, avoid cancellation of grown food orders after it has been produced (Harriet, 2014; House of Lords European Union Committee, 2014). Additionally, it explicitly stated: It is clear that retailers must assume a far greater responsibility for the prevention of food waste in the home. Retailers must ensure that incentives and promotions offered to consumers do not transfer waste from the store to the household. (House of Lords European Union Committee, 2014, p. 26). The House of Commons Business Select Committee also considered investigating reports of supermarket aggression when dealing with suppliers, using their market power to demand prices that suppliers cannot sustain (Armitage, 2014). This was motivated by reports of behaviour from Tesco, a competitor of ASDA. ASDA submitted evidence to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee summarising their dedication to sustainability and positive mutually beneficial relations with suppliers in 2011 (House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, 2012). Additionally, they have instituted a policy of minimising food waste by sending no food waste to landfill sites. Instead, food is either given to charities or converted into alternative products. Another source of difficulty is the Food Standards Agencys year-long survey on campylobacter contamination in supermarket chickens. This bacteria is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK, however it can be killed via normal cooking processes as long as food is properly cooked. The interim findings of this survey showed ASDA to have the highest rate of contamination of raw chicken products across UK supermarkets, above the industry average (Food Standards Agency, 2014) ASDA has agreed to install a new steam sterilisation technology to test the efficacy in reducing contamination. The press have publicised these contamination rates in a pejorative manner, with headlines such as Asda exposed as supermarket with dirtiest chicken (Hyde, 2014) and Supermarket chickens: 70% affected by food bug (BBC News, 2014). This, combined with the condemnation of consumer groups, including Which? (Which?, 2014), poses a significant threat to ASDAs reputation. This political environment could provide new difficulties for ASDA, with the need to introduce new decontamination facilities in their factories and the associated costs this entails. Additionally, the pejorative press response could have a severe impact on ASDAs reputation. The House of Lords Committees criticism of supermarket promotions and incentives could also impact ASDAs retail activities. If such promotions are legislated against, ASDA would be deprived of a major means of drawing price-conscious consumers. Economic Socio-Cultural In 2011 Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, announced that the global financial crisis had significantly impacted standards of living and would continue to do so for the foreseeable future (Bank of England, 2011). 2014 was the first time in 5 years that average pay increased more than inflation, suggesting a possible upturn in the economy (Peston, 2014). This has led to a reduction in consumers disposable income and this in turn has impacted their spending habits in stores. ASDA has been aware of this and has taken efforts to reduce operating costs to offset inflationary pressures on prices (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). Traditionally, supermarkets had a close link to cultural identity among UK shoppers, based on the British class system (Wallop, 2013). Supermarkets such as Waitrose and Marks Spencer were traditionally associated with upper-middle and upper class customers, while ASDA was traditionally seen as a working class supermarket (Jeffries, 2004). In recent years however, this sense of identity has been disrupted by a combination of the global recession, and the rise of the budget supermarkets ALDI and LIDL. Both brands have been widely accepted by the British middle class, and a wider cultural attitude of thrift and pride in finding savings and low-cost products has developed. In the 2014 Christmas season, Aldi and Lidl, the discount supermarket chains drew a significant portion of the market from other supermarket brands (Butler, 2014) indicating that consumer buying decisions are motivated by price over other socio-economic factors. This could explain ASDAs recent rise to the second largest market shareholder in Britain, due to its core competency in providing low-cost, good-quality products to customers. Where previously, consumers may have had a negative association with ASDAs emphasis on low-cost products, in the recession era, consumers are more concerned with product prices. Technological Walmart, ASDAs ultimate parent company, have noted the rising significance of e-commerce and have begun developing this across Walmart and its subsidiaries (Walmart, 2014). In the UK, there has been a particular focus on ASDAs Click Collect service (Walmart, 2014), through which customers order products online and can collect them from a local ASDA store, widening the range of products they can access. The strategy consultants, OCC, identified Click and Collect as the probable largest source of growth in e-commerce in 2015 (Felsted, 2014). ASDAs competitor, Tesco, offer a similar service, available in over 350 collection points (Felsted, 2014; Tesco, 2014). ASDA is well-suited for this focus on Click Collect and other e-commerce services; as a subsidiary of Walmart, they are provided with IT services from their parent company, giving them access to the resources of a larger firm, with a wide range of experience in e-commerce (ASDA Group Ltd, 2013). Summary Overall, ASDAs external environment is relatively troubled; UK standards of living were significantly reduced by the global economic crisis and only recently have signs indicated that this could improve. This has reduced the disposable income of ASDAs target markets. However, because of ASDAs focus on low-cost products, this could have actually benefitted ASDA, allowing them to become the second largest supermarket brand. The economic crisis has altered the UKs socio-cultural trends, encouraging a savings-focussed attitude, with customers altering their buying habits to pursue better deals. ASDA has also faced difficulties in its public reputation, particularly due to the Food Standards Agencys survey into campylobacter contamination in chicken. ASDAs chicken stocks and suppliers were found to have the worst contamination rates among supermarkets, above the industry average. This finding was well publicised in the press in late November and its full impact may not have been identified yet. ASDA have identified the difficult external environment of UK retail and have oriented their policies to suit the situation. They have endeavoured to gain price leadership, charging the same as or less than their competitors for many household products, in order to draw price-conscious customers. Additionally, they have taken efforts to minimise their own operating costs, using these savings to offset inflationary pressures and passing the savings on to consumers. ASDA have chosen to diversify their focus beyond store-based services. They have invested significantly into technological development, particularly with their Click and Collect service. External strategy consultants OCC have identified these services as having high growth potential in coming years. ASDA have chosen to capitalise on the troubled economic environment by reinforcing their core competency, providing customers with low-cost, good-quality goods, leveraging their reputation as a low-cost supermarket to take advantage of the low disposable income. They have also used this period to advance their technological development, with technical support from their parent company. References Armitage, J. (2014, September 25). MPs considering investigation of supermarkets dealings with suppliers in wake of Tesco crisis. Retrieved from The Independent:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mps-considering-investigation-of-supermarkets-dealings-with-suppliers-in-wake-of-tesco-crisis-9755557.html ASDA Group Ltd. (2010). All About ASDA. Retrieved from ASDA Group Website:  http://your.asda.com/system/dragonfly/production/2012/01/04/12_59_19_568_All_about_Asda.pdf ASDA Group Ltd. (2013, December 31). Report and Financial Statements. Retrieved from Companycheck:  http://companycheck.co.uk/company/01396513/ASDA-GROUP-LIMITED Bank of England. (2011). Speech given by Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England at the Civic Centre, Newcastle. London: Bank of England. BBC News. (2014, November 27). Supermarket chickens: 70% affected by food bug. Retrieved from BBC News:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30227342 Beardsworth, T. (2014, October 17). Aldi and Lidl to Capture 10 Percent of U.K Grocery Market. Retrieved from Bloomberg:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-17/aldi-and-lidl-to-capture-10-percent-of-u-k-grocery-market.html Butler, S. (2014, December 16). Merry Lidl Christmas for German discount supermarkets. Retrieved from The Guardian:  http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/16/lidl-christmas-supermarkets-aldi-asda-tesco-morrisons-sainsburys Euromonitor International. (2014). Passport: ASDA Stores Ltd in Retailing (United Kingdom). Euromonitor International. Felsted, A. (2014, April 21). Click and collect poised to overtake home delivery. Retrieved from The Financial Times:  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3ac9e120-c653-11e3-ba0e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3NNAjRRvL Food Standards Agency. (2014, November 27). Retail survey on levels of campylobacter in chicken published. Retrieved from The Food Standards Agency:  http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2014/13251/campylobacter-survey Harriet, D. (2014, April 6). MPs accuse supermarkets of morally repugnant food waste. Retrieved from The Telegraph:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10748455/MPs-accuse-supermarkets-of-morally-repugnant-food-waste.html House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. (2012, May 10). Written evidence submitted by ASDA. Retrieved from Parliament Publications and Records:  http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmenvaud/879/879vw21.htm House of Lords European Union Committee. (2014). Counting the Cost of Food Waste: EU Food Waste Prevention. London: The Stationery Office Limited. Hyde, D. (2014, November 27). Asda exposed as supermarket with dirtiest chicken. Retrieved from The Telegraph:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shopping-and-consumer-news/11257553/Asda-exposed-as-supermarket-with-dirtiest-chicken.html Jeffries, S. (2004, March 12). Im rich and Im living well. Shopping here is part of that. Retrieved from The Guardian:  http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2004/mar/12/foodanddrink.shopping Kantar Worldpanel. (2014, November). Market share of grocery stores in Great Britain, for the 12 weeks ending November 9, 2014. Retrieved from  http://www.statista.com/statistics/279900/grocery-market-share-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/ Peston, R. (2014, November 12). End of UKs long living-standards squeeze? Retrieved from BBC News:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30019567 Ruddick, G. (2014, August 28). Lidl sales to reach  £4bn as pressure on supermarkets grows. Retrieved from The Telegraph:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11059821/Lidl-sales-to-reach-4bn-as-pressure-on-supermarkets-grows.html Tesco. (2014). Click Collect. Retrieved from Tesco:  http://www.tesco.com/collect/ Wallop, H. (2013, January 18). How supermarkets prop up our class system. Retrieved from The Telegraph:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9808015/How-supermarkets-prop-up-our-class-system.html Walmart. (2014). Walmart 2014 Annual Report. 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Glacial Processes :: essays research papers

There are many different glacial landforms created by glacial erosion, one of these landforms is U-shaped valleys or glacial troughs. This glacial landform has many distinct characteristics. One of these characteristics is that it has very steep valley sides caused by the glacier as it moves down the valley eroding the sides of the valley by the processes of abrasion and plucking. Abrasion is when the boulders and moraine carried by the glacier rubs and erodes the valley side as it physically moves down the valley. Plucking happens when the water in the glacier freezes inside of the cracks in the individual rocks on the valley side then the water freezes and as the glacier moves the rock is plucked or torn from the valley side producing the steep side to the valley. The valley also has wide flat floors caused by ice movement aided by large volumes of melt water and moraine has greater erosive power than that of rivers. This results in the wide floors. The greater erosive power of the glacier than that of a river also causes the valley to be very straight compared to the valley shape that a river has eroded, it has no interlocking spurs because the shear power of the glacier has slowly smashed through the original spurs of the valley. Just before the glacier forms and when the temperatures are cold enough known as the the â€Å"pre glacial† period the process of freeze thaw takes place, this aids the formation of the u shaped valley. Freeze thaw is when the water in the summer enters the cracks of rocks and the in winter when the temperatures have gone below 0 degrees centigrade the water freezes in the cracks and because when water has frozen the particles in the water have less movement and expand causing the rock to shatter. Freeze thaw therefore helps in the formation of the u shaped valley by breaking up the valley floor so that the floor is weakened so the glacier can easily and speedily erode the valley floor by all the conventional forms of erosion like plucking abrasion but with greater ease. There are many of examples of u shaped valleys around the world because wherever there has been a glacier there will be a u shaped valley that has been formed as it moves down the valley. One example of a u shaped valley is that of the valley in the Swiss Alps near san moritz

Comparison of The Arrival of the Beebox and The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock Essay

In Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"The Arrival of the Bee Box† and T. S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† both speakers are burdened by great mental anguish caused by their feeling of insignificance and powerlessness in the world. They both fear and accept the prospect of death, while acknowledging life as its opposite. These are the two sides of the human experience. Through an internal monologue, Prufrock explores his feeling of uselessness and displacement in society, while in â€Å"The Arrival of the Bee Box†, the speaker is concerned with their powerlessness over their mind, and impending consequences. Throughout â€Å"The Arrival of the Bee Box†, the speaker is concerned with their powerlessness to the noises in their mind. The speaker tends to contradict or argue with themselves as shown by contrasting tone and opinion. While the speaker knows that â€Å"(the box) is dangerous† they still â€Å"can’t keep away from it†. The speaker wishes to â€Å"be sweet God†, yet denies desiring power by proclaiming that â€Å"I am not a Caesar†. This bi-polar behaviour is also shown by inconsistent rhyming throughout the poem. In the first stanza â€Å"lift† is rhymed with â€Å"midget† and â€Å"it†, yet in other stanzas no rhyming is found at all. Inconsistently throughout the poem, internal rhymes are found – â€Å"square as a chair†, â€Å"din in it†, â€Å"It is dark, dark† – which add to the staccato feel of the poem. The â€Å"din† of the ‘bees’ is emphasised profusely by using consonance and onomatopoeia – â€Å"It is the noise that appals me most of all. The unintelligible syllables† – that highlight the true noise and confusion in the speaker’s mind. The noise of their mind is highlighted by many metaphors that compare the sound to â€Å"furious Latin†, a â€Å"Roman mob†, â€Å"angrily clambering†, â€Å"a box of maniacs† and â€Å"unintelligible syllables†. The tone of the end of the piece seems to ask for help as the speaker asks many questions such as â€Å"how hungry they are?†, â€Å"if they would forget me?†, â€Å"how can I let them out?†, and â€Å"why should they turn on me?†. The speaker expresses a desire to be in control, but accepts that they are insignificant to the power of the noise in their mind. In T. S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock†, Prufrock is concerned with his sense of his insignificance and displacement in society. Eliot makes use of metaphors – â€Å"measured out my life with coffee spoons†, â€Å"When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall† – to show that Prufrock compares life to coffee and feels like an insect on a wall. Contrastingly, Plath uses metaphors to emphasise an exact sound, the noise of the bees in the speaker’s mind. Eliot also uses much more alliteration than Plath in his poem – â€Å"Before the taking of a toast and tea†, â€Å"fix you in a formulated phrase†, â€Å"When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall† – whereas Plath nearly did not use any alliteration at all apart from â€Å"black on black† perhaps since her piece sounds more like a story using conventional words when compared to Eliot. Both Eliot and Plath personify many objects in their pieces. Plath describes the bees as a â€Å"Roman mob† and Eliot compares the yellow fog and smoke to a cat as it â€Å"licks its tongue†, â€Å"leap(s)†, â€Å"rubs its muzzle† and â€Å"curled†¦ and fell asleep†. A unique literary device that Eliot uses is anaphora – â€Å"To have†¦ To have†¦ To roll†¦ To say†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – which in this instance describes all the things that Prufrock could have done, but never did. The central connecting burden that both speakers are plagued with is a powerlessness to their Sword of Damocles; the bees ruling the speaker’s powerless mind and Prufrock’s feeling of alienation and uselessness in the real world.

Why You Should Avoid Checkbook Journalism

Why You Should Avoid Checkbook Journalism Checkbook journalism is when reporters or news organizations pay sources for information, and for a variety of reasons most news outlets frown on such practices or ban them outright. The Society of Professional Journalists, a group that promotes ethical standards in journalism, says checkbook journalism is wrong and shouldnt be used- ever. Andy Schotz, chairman of the SPJs ethics committee, says paying a source for information or an interview immediately puts the credibility of the information they provide in doubt. Exchanging money when youre looking for information from a source changes the nature of the relationship between the reporter and the source, Schotz says. It calls into question whether theyre talking to you because its the right thing to do or because theyre getting money. Schotz says reporters thinking about paying sources for information should ask themselves: Will a paid source tell you the truth, or tell you what you want to hear? Paying sources creates other problems. By paying a source you now have a business relationship with someone youre trying to cover objectively, Schotz says. Youve created a conflict of interest in the process. Schotz says most news organizations have policies against checkbook journalism. But lately there seems to be a trend to try to make a distinction between paying for an interview and paying for something else. This seems to be especially true for TV news divisions, a number of which have paid for exclusive interviews or photographs (see below). Full Disclosure is Important Schotz says if a news outlet does pay a source, they should disclose that to their readers or viewers. If theres a conflict of interest, then what should come next is explaining it in detail, letting viewers know you had a separate relationship other than just that of a journalist and a source, Schotz says. Schotz admits that news organizations not wanting to be scooped on a story might resort to checkbook journalism, but he adds: Competition doesnt give you license to cross ethical boundaries. Schotz advice for aspiring journalists? Dont pay for interviews. Dont give sources gifts of any kind. Dont try to exchange something of value in return for getting a sources comments or information or access to them. Journalists and sources shouldnt have any other relationship other than the one involved in gathering news. Here are some examples of checkbook journalism, according to the SPJ: ABC News paid $200,000 to Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, for exclusive rights to videos and pictures that ran on the network and its website. Earlier ABC had paid for Caylee Anthonys grandparents to stay three nights at a hotel as part of the networks plan to interview them.CBS News reportedly agreed to pay Caylee Anthonys grandparents $20,000 as a licensing fee to participate in the networks news coverage.ABC paid for Pennsylvania resident Anthony Rakoczy to pick up his daughter in Florida after a fake kidnapping attempt and for return plane tickets for Rakoczy and his daughter. ABC covered the trip and disclosed the free air travel.NBC News provided a chartered jet for New Jersey resident David Goldman and his son to fly home from Brazil after a custody battle. NBC got an exclusive interview with Goldman and video footage during that private jet ride.CNN paid $10,000 for the rights to an image taken by Jasper Schuringa, the Dutc h citizen who overpowered an alleged Christmas Day bomber on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. CNN also got an exclusive interview with Schuringa.

Dell essays

Dell essays SWOT analysis of Dell Computers History: The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, now the computer industry's longest-tenured chief executive officer, on a simple concept: that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, Dell could best understand their needs, and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. Today, Dell is enhancing and broadening the fundamental competitive advantages of the direct model by increasingly applying the efficiencies of the Internet to its entire business. Company revenue for the last four quarters totaled $19.9 billion. Through the direct business model, Dell offers in-person relationships with corporate and institutional customers; telephone and Internet purchasing (the latter now exceeding $18 million per day); customized computer systems; phone and online technical support; and next-day, on-site product service. Dell arranges for system installation and management, guides customers through technology tra nsitions, and provides an extensive range of other services. The company designs and customizes products and services to the requirements of the organizations and individuals purchasing them, and sells an extensive selection of peripheral hardware and computing software. Nearly two-thirds of Dell's sales are to large corporations, government agencies and educational institutions. Dell also serves medium and small businesses and home-PC users. Dell's Unique Direct Model: Dell's award-winning customer service, industry-leading growth and consistently strong financial performance differentiate the company from competitors for the following reasons: Price for Performance With the industry's most efficient procurement, manufacturing and distribution process, Dell offers its customers powerful, richly configured systems at competitive prices. Customization Every Dell system is built to order. Customers get exactly what they want. Reliability, Service and Su...

Knowledge Managment Initiative Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Knowledge Managment Initiative - Assignment Example The new system allowed all employees to constantly gain detailed information on products and helped them to adequately solve the problem of resigning sales people due to lack of information and resulting commission. The product pricing and availability reports incorporated by cubes to boost system functionality were only available to the retail managers who worked to set the market policy, thereby creating a knowledge barrier and hindering development. Although ample training was provided to all the managers to gain sufficient knowledge of the online repository system, the rest of the employees’ learning and development was limited to 10-minute sessions per employee and minimal encouragement to learn the rest on their own time. Despite the high traffic of customers coming to the stores, the repository system’s usage did not increase accordingly. So even though, values, accessibility, and goals were set for all employees, the circle the of learning and organization came to a gradual halt.

Sex and Relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sex and Relationship - Essay Example hese are often no longer connected to how a person is seen in legal or individual terms but some differences still divide people and cause debate where there should be none. Homosexuality or being gay is one such position where unwanted discrimination or even harassment may be conducted against a person. As discussed by the article, relationships between gay individuals should have as much legal value as they hold between straight couples. Denying this right becomes a negative influence on the relationships between gay couples. I feel that such positions are not only harmful for the gay individual against whom they are committed but also against the social setup since they harm the interests of a just and free society. What society needs to create is a legal structure for rights regarding homosexuals because the current situation offers protections to gays only pertaining to their individual rights but does allow them equal rights when it comes to creating a family. Heterosexual couples can adopt children much easier than homosexual couples. The tax/economic benefits given to heterosexual couples are much better than the ones awarded to a homosexual couple (IGLHRC, 2006). Of course, the single cause of the discrimination between the two sets of couples is their personal sexual lives. If our country remains divided on the issue and continues to enforce a pattern of discrimination against homosexual unions in marriage, we would only be reducing our total output as a country. By creating lesser human beings in legal terms and not allowing gay unions in marriage or gay rights as groups of individuals, the law makers of today would create problems for the society of tomorrow. There may not be an armed resistance movement, but the country would certainly be treating some of its citizens as lesser than the others. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as given by the United Nations declares as its first article that, â€Å"All human beings are born free and equal in