Smc V Akhter Essays

Smc V Akhter Essays Smc V Akhter Essay Smc V Akhter Essay SMC Electronics Limited v. Akhter Computers Limited Others Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Lord Justice Henry Lord Justice Latham and Sir Murray Stuart-Smith Lord Justice Henry: Introduction 1 The Claimant, SMC Electronics Ltd, (SMC), and the Defendants (all part of the Akhter Group of companies (Akhter)), both sell power supply units (PSUs). PSUs are printed circuit boards with capacitors and other components soldered on to them. This is Akhters appeal from the decision of HHJ Green dated 31st March 1999, sitting in the Central London County Court, allowing SMCs claim and declaring that SMC was entitled to 50% of the profits that Akhter had made on sales of certain PSUs to Pitney Bowes Plc (Pitney Bowes). This entitlement is said to arise under a commission agreement made on 26th July 1993, under which Akhter promised to share their profits with SMC, in consideration for the introduction to a major new customer for PSUs, Pitney Bowes. This is a case about the authority of the third party to these proceedings, David Bennett, to enter that commission agreement on behalf of Akhter, his employers, who now seek to avoid having to pay any commission by challenging his authority to make the contract. The background facts 3 In July 1993, David Bennett was employed by Skynet, a division of Akhter, as Director PSU Sales. In fact, he was not a director of any company in the Akhter Group. He worked from a small sales office in Basingstoke with two other people, his assistant, Andy Wall, and a secretary. David Bennetts primary duty was to promote sales and he was paid large commissions when he was successful. The judge found that he was given a very high degree of autonomy. He even had the habit, known to and permitted by his employers, of writing on Skynet notepaper and describing himself as director. This Skynet notepaper, in breach of s. 351 of the Companies Act 1985, omitted to contain the registered name, company number and address of Akhter, leaving the reader no indication as to whom David Bennett might answer. In July 1993, Pitney Bowes, a large UK manufacturer, was interested in buying large quantities of PSUs and approached, among others, SMC in order to get a quote. SMC thought the job was too big for them, and so Merhzad Koranki of SMC approached David Bennett to suggest that Skynet quote for the business. Merhzad Koranki suggested that, if Skynets tender was successful, it should share the profits of the Pitney Bowes deal equally with SMC under a commission agreement, in return for the introduction. Having checked with Andy Wall that Skynet did not already know about the invitation to quote, David Bennett agreed with the proposal. At a meeting with SMC, David Bennett brought with him a letter containing draft terms of contract. After some negotiations, Merhzad Koranki then handed him the contract document, addressed to David Bennett at Skynet. This became the commission agreement. It provided: Dear Dave, (1) Further to our telephone conversation this morning, I would like to confirm what we discussed and agreed with regard to customer projects. 2) SMC Electronics Ltd will do its utmost to sell and distribute Skynet products as part of our range, however on the occasions where we would have to pass on the project to Skynet Electronics, we agree to do so based on our agreement that the total profit will be shared equally (50% SMC Electronics, 50% Skynet Electronics) (3) This will not only apply to the current project, but any future projects and orders generated from the customer identified. 4) We anticipate a lifetime of customer designs to be in the region of five years plus, therefore any agreements made would have to cover at least the running period as well as the lifetime of the products. (5) Could you please make a record of the following customer for which the project is passed on to yourselves in order to complete for the order. (6) Of course, SMC Electronics will work along with you to help with the housekeeping with regard to costing. Mr P J Dewey Pitney Bowes 5 After a lengthy process of development, Pitney Bowes awarded the project to Skynet and the Akhter Group now supply Pitney Bowes with a large quantity of PSUs. The questions on appeal 6 There were four questions on this appeal: (1) What was David Bennetts actual authority under his contract of employment with Akhter, and did it give him express authority to enter the commission agreement, or, on the other hand, was he expressly prohibited from entering the commission agreement? (2) Did David Bennett have the implied authority, under his contract of employment, to enter the commission agreement? (3) If David Bennett did not have actual authority, express or implied, did he have ostensible authority to enter into the commission agreement? 4) Finally, if Akhter are liable to SMC, on which projects is SMC entitled to a share of the profits, on a proper construction of the commission agreement? Actual authority the terms of David Bennetts contract of employment 7 The judge found that David Bennett had no actual authority to make the commission agreement, saying there was simply no evidence of actual authority. I am unable to agree with th is, having regard to the express terms of David Bennetts contract of employment. Clause 3 of David Bennetts Terms of Employment with the Akhter Group (Holdings) Plc provided: Job Title: Director PSU Sales You must perform such duties as may be reasonably associated with your job title 8 That clause therefore delimited the scope of duties that were within David Bennetts express authority. However, in order to try and establish an express prohibition on entering commission agreements, Mr Norris relied on a document entitled Akhter Group Purchase of Goods and Services, said to be incorporated into David Bennetts contract of employment. That document stated, at clause 3: Purchase Requisition. A purchase requisition is required for any item not normally held in stock or for any Service of Capital equipment required by the company. .. Purchase requisitions for capital items and services must be signed by the Managing Director. 9 Mr Norris submitted that the commission agreement was in truth a purchase of information, that Skynet were buying the introduction from SMC, and that therefore, if it was to be authorised, a purchase requisition was required to be signed by the Managing Director, Mr Mughal. 10 Reading the provisions of his employment contract together, David Bennett had the express authority to perform duties reasonably associated with being Director PSU Sales, but was not allowed to make purchase requisitions without the signature of Mr Mughal. In my judgment, the commission agreement was clearly a deal made in the discharge of the duties reasonably associated with being Director PSU Sales. It is ingenious, but highly artificial and quite unreal, to classify the commission agreement as a purchase requisition for capital items and services and I reject Mr Norris submission to that effect. 11 The purpose of David Bennett in entering into the commission agreement was to make more sales for Akhter ( 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. ). The commission agreement was reasonably associated with that purpose. Therefore, in my opinion, the proper and clear construction of the employment contract is that David Bennett had the actual authority of his employers to enter the commission agreement, and accordingly his employers, Akhter, are bound by it. Even if clause 3 of the Terms of Employment were to be considered ambiguous, which I think it is not, the act of entering the commission agreement, if done in good faith by David Bennett, and if justified by any possible construction, would be authorised by the ambiguous clause (see Bowstead Reynolds on Agency, 16th Ed. , 1996, Article 26). 2 The finding that David Bennett had express authority is enough to dismiss the appeal on liability. Nonetheless, in deference to the careful arguments of counsel, I continue to consider briefly implied authority and ostensible authority, both of which would also merit the dismissal of this appeal. Implied authority to enter the commission agreement 13 Mr Norris, submitted that, the contract being otherwise c omplete, the court can only imply a term on the basis of the well-known tests laid down in The Moorcock (1889) 14 PD 64 and Liverpool CC v Irwin [1977] AC 235. Furthermore, he says that the term to be implied is not capable of precise formulation, which militates against any implication. 14 Implied actual authority of agents is dealt with in Bowstead Reynolds on Agency, 16th Ed. , 1996, Articles 27-32. Articles 27 and 30 set out the test for implication in this context, and also provide the answer to Mr Norris argument that the implied term cannot be formulated with reasonable precision, by doing just that: Article 27 provides: An agent has implied authority to do whatever is necessary for, or ordinarily incidental to, the effective execution of his express authority in the usual way. Article 30 provides: An agent who is authorised to do any act in the course of his trade, profession or business as an agent has implied authority to do whatever is normally incidental, in the ordinary course of such trade, profession or business, to the execution of his express authority, but not to do anything which is unusual in such trade, profession or b usiness, or which is neither necessary for nor incidental to the execution of his express authority. 15 So the implied authority arises from the nature of the general occupation of David Bennett. Indeed, there is a striking similarity between the implied terms as formulated by Bowstead Reynolds and the express term contained in Clause 3 of David Bennetts Terms of Employment with Akhter, which supports my opinion that David Bennett had express actual authority to enter the commission agreement. 16 In finding that David Bennett had implied authority to make the commission agreement, the judge correctly relied on several matters, which all show that the making of the commission agreement was ordinarily incidental to David Bennetts activities. The judge found support in the facts that David Bennett was allowed to the use the grandiloquent title Director PSU Sales and was allowed to describe himself as simply director. He further relied on the facts that David Bennett took an important part in making the annual budget estimate for Skynet and that Pat Swabey, an employee of Skynet, said that if anyone asked her who Skynet was she would have said David Bennett. The judge added, with some hesitation, that the use of Skynet notepaper, which infringed s. 51 of the Companies Act 1985, led SMC to believe that there was no-one more senior than David Bennett at Skynet. 17 Two further factors were relied on heavily by SMC to establish David Bennetts implied authority, first, the fact that denial of his authority was not the first reaction of Mr Mughal, David Bennetts employer, and secondly, that David Bennett had previously negotiated an allegedly similar deal with Lion Cabinets, the so-called Lion deal. They both support a finding o f either express or implied authority. 8 When SMC first approached David Bennett for their share of the profits, they were told there were no profits yet and thereafter SMC were met with a prolonged campaign of evasion, misleading and procrastination. At a meeting on 26th July 1996 and subsequently, Mr Mughal, managing director and major shareholder of Akhter, failed to make the objection that David Bennett lacked the authority to enter the commission agreement, instead relying on previous business that had been done with Pitney Bowes to try and show that the introduction had not been of any value. Mr Mughal then offered ? 5,000 to ? 0,000, because David Bennett was my employee. I agree with the judge that this was travelling a long way from a mere denial of authority and that Mr Mughals failure to challenge David Bennetts authority, when he first learned of the claim, is indicative of the latters implied authority. I do not think, as Mr Norris suggests, that Mr Mughal would have be en deterred from raising an objection by any assertion of David Bennett, who sought to renege on the deal, that the commission agreement was not a real agreement. 19 In the Lion deal, Lion Cabinets had been buying PSUs from Skynet, who sourced them from Skynet Taiwan. David Bennett arranged for Skynet Taiwan to sell directly to Lion Cabinets, with Skynet receiving 4% of Skynet Taiwans turnover on these sales. David Bennett thus cut out the problems for the intermediary, Skynet. While Mr Norris is correct that the Lion deal was different from the commission agreement, being a rearrangement of an existing sales contract, rather than a new contract granting commission to an introducer, I agree with the judge that it shows the wide degree of authority and responsibility which David Bennett was given. 0 Therefore, I agree that the commission agreement was normally incidental to the execution by David Bennett of his duties as Director PSU Sales. This is the same as saying that it was reasonably associated with his duties, under the express authority given to him. One way or another, David Bennett was employed to promote sales, and if this necessitated offering commission to an introducer or fixer in return for a lucrative contract, then that was a step that David Bennett was authorised to take. As indicated above, I do not find that the implied term is incapable of precise formulation. The term has been formulated expressly in Clause 3 of David Bennetts Terms of Employment, and is formulated with reasonable precision in the Articles from Bowstead Reynolds quoted above. A certain spectrum of authorised acts must always be inevitable in such cases as this anyway, and so I do not think that the courts should strive to find unrealistic precision in such implied terms. It is not necessary to ask whether David Bennett had the authority to enter the exact terms of this commission agreement, which with hindsight may seem foolhardy, but whether he had the authority to enter commission agreements generally, in the furtherance of his duty to promote sales. The answer is plainly yes. Did David Bennett have ostensible authority? 21 As the judge did, I have considered the ground of ostensible authority, even though it is not necessary to dispose of the appeal. 2 The judge correctly explained that ostensible authority is a form of estoppel by implied representation (see Freeman Lockyer v Buckhurst Park Properties (Mangal) Limited [1964] 2 QB 480 per Pearson LJ at 498 and per Diplock LJ at 503). The judge relied on five representations. He repeated that David Bennett was described as both Director PSU Sales and simply director, and again relied on the fact that his name and number were on all Skynet adverts, that he was known to be in charge of the Skynet sa les office and, again hesitatingly, that he was allowed to write on Skynet paper without the information required by s. 51 23 I do not agree that the judge was wrong to find that David Bennett could also have had ostensible authority. In the absence of full argument, it is not appropriate for me to elaborate on the precision required to find an implied representation amounting to an estoppel, in order to give rise to a finding of ostensible authority. I do not gain assistance from the fact that SMC initially issued against David Bennett personally, which, so Mr Norris says, shows that SMC were aware of his lack of authority to enter into the commission agreement and therefore shows that SMC cannot have relied on any representation to the contrary. Issuing against David Bennett personally was merely an attempt by SMC to flush out the true defendant and principal to the commission agreement, upon which David Bennett was being sued. Had SMC sued David Bennett for breach of warranty of authority, then it would be arguable that they had always doubted his authority, but they did not, instead basing their claim on the very commission agreement that they sought to enforce. The extent of SMCs entitlement to an account of profits 24 The judge ordered that the account extended to cover he B900 project and any other projects in which P Dewey of Pitney Bowes has ordered goods from them. This question of the construction of the contract determines whether SMC can recover for other projects in addition to the B900 PSU, which Akhter supply to Pitney Bowes. 25 Mr Norris says that the only project falling within the terms of the commission agreement, if they are liable thereunder, was the B900 project, and the account of profits should be lim ited accordingly, and I agree. 6 In my opinion, construing the agreement as a whole, it is necessary to read the words of paragraphs 2 and 3 of the commission agreement together. Paragraph 2 envisages the occasions where SMC would have to pass on the project to Skynet. Paragraph 3 extends the ambit of the commission agreement, saying this will not only apply to the current project, but any future projects and orders generated from the customer identified. The agreement clearly means that SMC may recover commission on future projects, but only where they have agreed to pass them on to Skynet. The word this in paragraph 3, refers to the occasions where an introduction has been made and a project passed on. The agreement does not mean that SMC can recover commission on any project which Skynet subsequently negotiate directly with Pitney Bowes or even Peter Dewey at Pitney Bowes, and which is not passed on by SMC. That would be an extraordinary construction, given the previous dealings that Akhter had already had with Pitney Bowes, and given that it would appear to make SMC money indefinitely, on deals to which they had contributed nothing. 7 Therefore, I would vary the terms of the judges order to hold that SMC are entitled to an account by Akhter of all profits on the B900 project and any other projects with Peter Dewey of Pitney Bowes which SMC have passed on to Akhter, and that Akhter should make disclosure accordingly. There is evidence that Akhter supply Pitney Bowes with a project code-named F350, but there is no evidence that SMC introduced this or any other Pitney B owes project to Akhter, and so the effect of this judgment will be, we are told, to limit SMC to a share in the profits of the B900 project. David Bennett appearing as third party 8 David Bennett was originally a defendant to the action brought by SMC. After his employers, Akhter, were substituted for him, they then reinstated him in the action as a third party, so that if Akhter lost this action on the basis of ostensible authority alone, they could claim an indemnity against him for exceeding his authority in breach of his contract of employment. As the decision of the judge on authority has been upheld, primarily on the ground of actual authority, David Bennett cannot be liable to either Akhter or SMC. 29 I have read the judgment of Sir Murray Stuart-Smith, and am in total agreement with it. Conclusion 0 In my judgment, the answers to the four questions in this case, are as follows: (1) there was express authority, rather than any express prohibition, given to David Bennett to en ter the commission agreement, under the terms of his contract of employment, (2) there was, in any event, implied authority for David Bennett to enter the commission agreement, (3) therefore, it is not necessary to make any finding on ostensible authority, although there seems no reason to interfere with the reasoning of the judge that, if he was wrong on actual authority, then David Bennett had ostensible authority to enter the commission agreement, (4) the commission agreement only extended to cover those projects with Peter Dewey of Pitney Bowes which SMC had introduced to Akhter, and therefore it is for SMC to show that they had assisted in passing on projects for Pitney Bowes other than the B900 PSU to Akhter. 31 For those reasons, I would dismiss the appeal. Lord Justice Latham: 32 I agree that the appeal on the first issue fails, but succeeds on the second. Like Henry LJ and Sir Murray Stuart Smith I consider that Mr Bennett had, by reason of the terms of his employment contr act, express actual authority to enter into the commission agreement. It was intended to, and did, secure a sale for his employers. As far as the scope of the commission agreement was concerned, I again agree with Henry LJ and Sir Murray Stuart Smith that the meaning contended for by Mr Norris both accords with the natural meaning of the words used, and with commercial sense. Sir Murray Stuart-Smith: 33 Two issues arise on this appeal. The first is whether Mr Bennett had actual or ostensible authority to enter into the commission agreement of 26th July 1993. The second is what was the scope of that agreement, in particular to what extent it extended to further projects. The judges order is that the claimants are entitled to an account of profits not only on the B900 project but also on any other projects in which P Dewey of Pitney Bowes plc has ordered goods from them. The judge answered the first issue in favour of the claimants holding that Mr Bennett had implied actual authority. He also answered the second issue in their favour giving a wide interpretation to the contract. I agree that the appeal on the first issue fails, but succeeds on the second. I only add a few words of my own to the judgment Henry LJ, with which I agree, because I would uphold the judgment on the first issue on somewhat different grounds from those given by the judge, and because we are differing from him on the second issue. Authority 34 Actual authority can be express or implied. The judge held that it was not express; it was implied. I am not persuaded that he was right in this. When considering the scope of the agents authority one has to look in the first place at the express terms of the contract dated 30th November 1992. Mr Norris contended that Mr Bennett was expressly forbidden from entering into a contract such as the commission agreement by virtue of the attachment to the contact of employment called Purchase of goods and services. Under the heading Purchasing Procedures it is said: A purchase order must be issued to cover any expenditure incurred by the company. 35 This was not a purchase order; it is, with respect to Mr Norris, nonsense to describe the commission agreement as the purchase of information. 36 There is to my mind one provision of the employment contract which is of critical importance. It is in these terms: Job Title: Director PSU Sales You must perform such duties as may be reasonably associated with your job title 37 So far as I can see this is the only provision in the contract which amounts to a job description or specification; it also defines the scope of Mr Bennetts authority. The simple question is whether the entry into the commission agreement was reasonably associated with his job as Director of PSU Sales. To my mind there can only be one answer to this question, namely Yes. The commission agreement was necessary to secure what promised to be an extremely lucrative sale for Skynet Electronics. A similar answer would have been given to the Lion contract. 38 Mr Norris frequently referred to Mr Bennett as a salesman; he was not so described in the contract; he is described as Director which must have a wider connotation. But even if he was described as a salesman, it seems to me that the commission agreement was reasonably associated with his duties to sell Skynet Electronics products or merchandise. 39 I consider that Mr Bennett had actual express authority which was sufficiently clear. Even if it was ambiguous, it would not avail the defendants. Article 26 of Bowstead Reynolds on Agency, 16th Edition, p116, provides at paragraph 3-106: Where the authority of an agent is conferred in such ambiguous terms, or the instructions given to him are so uncertain, as to be fairly capable of more than one construction, an act reasonably done by him in good faith which is justified by any of those constructions is deemed to have been duly authorised, though the construction adopted and acted upon by him was not that intended by the principal. 40 It is clear that Mr Bennett thought he had authority; no-one has questioned his bona-fides at the time he entered into the contact, even if his subsequent conduct app ears to have been evasive. Scope of the Commission Agreement 41 In his judgment, Henry LJ sets out the relevant parts of the agreement. The question is what does the word this at the beginning of the third paragraph refer to. Mr Norris submits that it refers to the occasions where we would have to pass on the project to Skynet Electronics, we agree to do so based on an agreement etc. 42 Mr Alliott submits that it applies only to the words we agree to do so based on an agreement etc. 43 In my judgment, Mr Norris was clearly right about this. This fits the grammar of the two paragraphs. It also accords with the factual background of the agreement, namely that the claimants were asked to tender for a contract which was beyond their capability to perform by themselves. It is obvious that such a situation might occur in the future. Moreover this construction seems to me to make commercial sense, whereas that adopted by the judge would lead to a commercially unreasonable result. If the situation recurred where the claimants were asked to tender (and the defendants were not) they might well wish to enter into a similar arrangement in future and be confident they would do so on similar terms. On the other hand, if the defendants, having given satisfaction on the B900 project, were asked by Mr Dewey to tender for some new and unrelated project, they would be in difficulty in competing with other tenderers, since their profit margin would have to be shared with the claimants. Where there are two possible alternative constructions, the Court will prefer that which makes commercial sense in preference to one which is unreasonable. Order: Appeal dismissed on issues. Going to the authority of David Bennett, but allowed on single issue on the construction of the agreement; minute of order to be agreed; technology construction court most convenient

Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable

Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable By Mark Nichol Adverbs are to verbs as adjectives are to nouns: They modify action words. However, they can also support other parts of speech, such as adjectives and other adverbs, as well as clauses and even entire sentences. When writers want to add to detail in the form of answers to questions such as â€Å"Who?† â€Å"When?† and â€Å"Where?† (as well as â€Å"how much?†), they reach for adverbs. Most adverbs end in ly, but note that some adjectives do, too. You can tell the difference by the root word: Seriously (from serious) is an adverb, but timely (from time) is an adjective. Others end in the related forms ways (such as sideways) and wise (like otherwise) or consist of nouns preceded by a- (akin, for example). Others, known as comparative and superlative adverbs, end respectively in -er or -est (for instance, faster and fastest). But adverbs, unlike other parts of speech, are diverse and flexible in their function, even in the same position: â€Å"He has arrived, obviously,† for example, is subtly distinct in meaning from â€Å"He has arrived obviously.† And they can be found anywhere in a sentence: â€Å"Slowly, he opened the door,† â€Å"He slowly opened the door,† and â€Å"He opened the door slowly† all mean the same thing. (An adverb can, of course, also immediately follow a verb: â€Å"He then walked quickly toward the lamp.†) Adverbs, like adjectives, have gotten a bad rap for their cluttering qualities. They are ever so useful, and so applicable and adaptable that writers often employ them mindlessly and indiscriminately. But which of the three adverbs in the preceding phrase (not only mindlessly and indiscriminately but also often) must I mercilessly vaporize with the Delete key? Don’t hesitate to apply one or more adverbs within a sentence if they serve a purpose, but do hesitate before you cast them among your prose with Brysonian abandon. Bill Bryson, the exhaustively (and exhaustingly) amusing author of The Mother Tongue: English How It Got That Way and other books on language, as well as volumes on history, science, and more, never met an adverb he didn’t like, but he’s earned the right to break the rules. Consider this sentence from his latest work, At Home: A Short History of Private Life: â€Å"Eventually even he admitted that mostly he wished to build it simply for the slightly strange pleasure of making something really quite enormous.† Out of context, it may seem quite indulgent, but this is Bryson’s voice, a voice that would be fatally muted by this Hemingwayesque excision of the sentence’s adverbs: â€Å"Even he admitted that he wished to build it for the pleasure of making something enormous.† Admonishments to avoid adverbs (and adjectives) are often misconstrued: They are not to be avoided, but they are best not employed merely to prop up weak nouns and listless sentences. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureTen Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowNominalized Verbs

Marketing for financial services (Research project)-HSBC Bank Research Paper

Marketing for financial services ( project)-HSBC Bank - Research Paper Example The company has significant presence in the world of internet and this essay is mainly attempted to analyze this aspect of HSBC. The principle reason behind choosing HSBC for this essay is the fact that it is one of the most respected organizations among the global banking and financial companies. Furthermore, data regarding HSBC is likely to be obtained conveniently as compared to any other financial organization. This essay aims to provide a clear understanding regarding the online presence of HSBC, main reasons behind such presence and various online marketing activities that are undertaken by the company. HSBC has robust presence in the world of internet through its different websites. The company has separate portals that are developed for several of its important markets. For instance, the website that is developed for UK (www.hsbc.co.uk) is significantly different from the site that is made for Indian market (www.hsbc.co.in). Each of these websites are linked to the corporate website (www.hsbc.com) of the main holding company i.e. HSBC plc. In addition to these websites, HSBC is also present online through several of its advertisements. Such advertisements are placed in different websites of other organizations that are usually relevant to banking and financial sector. Major objectives of such internet presence of HSBC are to introduce its products and services to the target customers and promote the brand ‘HSBC’. The websites of HSBC contain all the important information regarding the company and its products. Most importantly these websites provide all the facilities of internet banking. Furthermore each of the websites includes the detail contact information so that the customers can interact with the bank and its stuffs conveniently. HSBC promotes its brand and products in the world of internet through different marketing strategies like creating special website for corporate banking and

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Hildren with emotional and behavioural disorders - Essay Example "The students with severe and profound mental disability, autism and complex needs are offered to follow the Frame Educational Programme for Special Needs Education tailored to meet their needs and built up on the principles of the national programme for compulsory education and reflecting the students special needs" http://www.european-agency.org/nat_ovs/czech/9.html SEN students need special provisions and other support system according to their individual needs, like speech therapy, additional teaching staff, psychological counselling, special pedagogical support, more hours, sign language or more material visual, audio or any other kind of compensatory assistance. Through Acts of Legislation, Governments of advanced countries have empowered themselves to open exclusive schools for SEN students and at the same time, have also taken meaningful steps towards integration and inclusion of these students into the mainstream. Special need education within the Education System has been given careful attention in most of the countries today. "Looked at in this way, inclusion, understood as a movement for educating learners with special educational needs in mainstream schools and classes, is a resolution that emphasizes the commonality pole of the dilemma. It focuses on learners who are 'different' in ways that have the most obvious educational significance, and argues for their right to be educated alongside their peers, within a common institution and, frequently, within a common curriculum" Mitchell (2005). Please put page number here; I don't have the book. Schools are wary of accepting these students, due to their low attainment, and additional responsibility. Schools are also worried about the extra demands on teachers, peer group, emotional upheavals for normal children and the possibilities of SEN students being ragged by other able-bodied children, and this so, in spite of inclusion and integration. "All learners are the same in their essential human characteristics, in the rights and entitlements which are ascribed to them and in their participation within some more-or-less loosely defined process of education" Dyson, Alan, (March 2001). British Journal of Special Education, Volume 28, No. 1, p.25. In Dyson (2001), we come across various methods of inclusions that could be adaptable and challenging and the most important are one-track, dual-tracks and multi-tracks. Almost all the countries that are tuned to inclusion are trying to adapt one system or other and sometimes both according their needs. As an explanation, it could be told that one-track means serving all students in one system, under the same curriculum, same classes without marginalising the SEN people and treating them as equal and similar to other students. Psychologists feel that this would provide permanent bonding and friendship with normal children and the inferiority complex would disappear, as they feel accepted. It also provides challenge, appreciation and hope for future. Theoretically, this is the best method in which SEN people do not feel segregated. But the practical challenges facing could be different from the best theory and children with problems might not be able to cope with the pressures and trials of rigorous education. Under such circumstances Dual-Track education could help, by way of

Keep up the Trainspotting Essay Example for Free

Keep up the Trainspotting Essay Escaping has been the main focus of many pieces of literature. Escaping from an actual place, reality, or even ones self. In each case the person who is trying to escape is in reality escaping from some sort of underlying persecution. The idea of escaping is very comparable to many peoples drug habits. The journey of finding an escape is prevalent in two major themes in Irvine Welshs Trainspotting. In Trainspotting Welsh tells the story of a group of friends in a run down Scottish town that are addicting to heroin. Their heroin use is not only an escape from reality but also serves as a metaphor for them trying to escape from their town. Renton, the main character in Trainspotting, (Irvine Welsh) and his group of friends wander in their neighborhood causing trouble and trying to find a fix. In their lives the trains passing was a sad reminder of them being stuck. Their dream of finally escaping is very similar to another group of people from another generation, The Merry Pranksters. Ken Kesey was the founder of the pranksters. Kesey along with friends bought a 1939 International Harvest school bus. They traveled the country experimenting with acid and video taping their journey. The Pranksters were Hippies. Hippies came after Beatniks. Jack Kerouac, who coined the phrase Beat Generation (Kesey) was not on the bus. However, Beat Neal Cassady, was on the bus, in fact, he drove the bus. Timothy Leary, the Harvard professor who garnered recognition as the LSD Guru when he coined the phrase, Turn On, Tune In Drop Out, (Online Database) was not on the bus. Many Hells Angels were on the bus and the rock group the Grateful Dead was on the bus. The Pranksters hoped the Beatles would get on the bus, but they never showed up. Kesey and the Pranksters lived out the dream of escaping. An escape, is how many drug users see their habit as. To get away from reality by taking one more hit. But what are they really escaping to a high that they will just come down from leading to an endless cycle of emptiness. They lie to themselves by saying that they just need one more hit. This lie just reveals an existential honesty, which is that they are trapped. This honesty is very prevalent in Irvine Welshs Trainspotting. Trainspotting was written in several separately published chapters. The book is more of a collection of related characters, motifs and schemes. At first I thought that this might dilute the focus of the story however, it was quite the contrary. The chapters featured different points of view, which gave the book a higher-level insight. Train spotting is a British pass time where people stand around a railroad station for hours, in all kinds of weather, writing down numbers of passing railroad cars. In one part of the story, Renton and his friend Begbie are standing in an abandoned train-station. The trains are a metaphor for getting away. Just as the train station has no trains anymore, neither do Renton and his friends have a way to escape their lives. As they are looking at the empty railroad tracks, an old wino says, Keep up the Trainspotting. (Welsh, 167) In other words, keep looking for an escape. This hobby of noting down numbers on trains in notebooks is another metaphor for the pointless lives of Britains young working class. In Trainspotting Mark Renton, the main character is addicted to heroin, which results strictly in depravity. This is Rentons escape. His four friends Spud, Sick Boy, Tommy, and Begbie are a group of crooks, liars, and psychos. Spud, is a shy, inoffensive junkie. Sick Boy, is a vicious, duplicitous con artist whos obsessed with Sean Connery. Tommy, is a virtuous young man fighting the temptation of heroin who eventually is convinced to do it by Renton. Lastly, Begbie, is a nutcase whose escape is not drugs, but beating up other people Begbie didnt do drugs he just did people (Welsh, 32). In the end, Renton chooses life against anything else. However, during the story its a struggle. When Renton is on heroin it is almost like an illusion, an illusion of happiness, much like a LSD experience. Images fill the mind, sometimes images of despair and hopelessness. Especially when Renton is off of it and struggling with coming down from his high, much like a bad trip.

The Evolution of the Telephone and Operator :: Communication Technology Papers

The Evolution of the Telephone and Operator A few nights ago I was sitting at the dining room table reviewing my research, when my roommate, Lucy, walked in and inquired as to my progress. We started talking a bit about telephones and telephone operators and she related a story about the telephone in her hometown. Lucy is from a small town in Ireland. She clearly remembers when, at the age of four (about twenty eight years ago), her family installed their first telephone. To make a call her family would turn the crank on their telephone which would then alert Mrs. Murphy at the post office who would connect the call. Everyone in the village, Lucy explained, resisted making phone calls on Christmas Day in order to give Mr. Murphy break for the holiday. It was not until Lucy was in her teens that her town phone switched to automatic. She remembers calling home from school one day and receiving a pre-recorded message informing her that her number had been changed. Needless to say, she was greatly surprised. Lucy is not much older than I am; we grew up in virtually the same period of time, but in obviously different worlds. Her story of the telephone recalls memories of the endless episodes of Little House on the Prairie I used to watch where Mrs. Nelson would nosily listen into a phone call after making a connection. Lucy's story is an abbreviated version of that of America's. What occurred in her town over a period of ten or twelve years, transpired over the late 19th and a good part of the 20th centuries in the United States. While the technology of the telephone has transformed considerably since it's creation in the late 1870's, the basic job and job-related stresses of the telephone operator have changed significantly, but to a lesser degree. Most of my data falls within two time periods: then (before the 1920's) and now (the 1990's). While we will be missing a large chunk of detailed information, what I have found allows us enough to piece together the missing periods. In the first two years after the invention of the telephone, all subscribers in a particular area were linked to each other via a telephone line. When one wished to call another party, s/he would call directly across the line indicating the desired recipient by the number of rings sounded.

Example Fo a Descriptive Essay Eng 101

Week 4 Assignment: Descriptive Essay John Barkle IV ENG 121 English Composition I Instructor: Antoinette Oesterlein 11/24/12 It is a very merry Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. For some people, Christmas lasts one day. For me it starts the week before Thanksgiving and last the whole month long. I have been celebrating month long Christmases since I was a little boy. My family owns 5 Christmas tree lots, and I have the pleasure of working on our main lot; Deejohn's Christmas Trees in San Mateo.This paper w ill discuss the sites, sounds, and smells of the Christmas tree lot, and how there is no place that says Christmas like a real Christmas tree lot. (Thesis) The first thing you notice is the lights. Most every Christmas tree lot uses the same types of lights. The temporary lighting system uses evenly spaced bare light bulbs strung methodically above each row of trees. This creates an unmistakeable pattern of lights that screams Christmas tree lot.Maybe it is just because I a m so attuned to the business, but I can recognize a Christmas tree lot from a mile away because the way the lights look from a distance is so distinct. Most people probably do not think about it, but next time you are out during the season, keep an eye off into the distance while you drive down the street. I am sure you will understand what I am talking about once you start to look for it. Of course the most distinctive feature of a Christmas tree lot is the trees. We display our trees all in a row,side by side, and sorted by height.As you walk on the lot you notice the trees all grouped together like a little green forest amongst the urban background. Something about the way the trees are arranged in even straight rows, make the little ones want to play hide and seek. Almost every kid who comes on the lot ends up hiding in the trees. Of course every one decorates the place with bright red, green, gold, and silver Christmas ornaments. We have a 5 foot tall inflatable Santa. Standing next to Santa are two 3 feet tall elves, all dress in holiday green and red, with their pointy green elf shoes and red jingle bell hats.The most famous reindeer of all Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer stands with Santa and his elves. One thing that is unmistakable about a real Christmas tree lot is the smell of fresh cut fir trees. One thing you can not get away from on our Christmas tree lot is the music. As I sit and write this essay, I am listening to Bing Crosby singing I'll be home for Christmas over the loud speakers outside the trailer. On our tree lot there is always Christmas music playing. From Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, to The Little Drummer Boy, Christmas music is playing from open to close.To be honest, we all get a little tired of it near the end of the season, but for our customers, it would just not be the same experience with out hot apple cider and Christmas Carols. I can not count the number of times I caught myself humming I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas In J uly. Another sound you hear on the lot all the time is the sound of laughter. Children dart between the rows(even though we tell them to walk for their safety) and giggle when they get â€Å"found† by their siblings and parents. For the most part, a Christmas Tree lot is the happiest place on Earth.There is something about the experience that just lends itself to good cheer. This is the one time of year Mom gets to be as picky as she wants, while Dad just sits back and says â€Å"Yes dear it is a beautiful tree, I think the your mother is going to love it. † Of course Dad always glances at me, rolls his eyes and shrugs as if to say: â€Å"What can I do? It's Christmas! † Almost everyone who comes on the tree lot comments on the fresh smell of pine, and how wonderful it is. What most people realize is there is no pine on our tree lot. All of our trees are Firs.We have Noble Fir, Douglas Fir, and Grand Fir and each has a distinctive smell. The noble fir smells lik e a traditional Christmas tree. The Noble fir smell is the smell most people relate to Christmas trees. The smell of our Douglas Firs is overpowered by the Noble and Grand firs on the lot, but when you take them home they can really perk up your lace with the smell of Christmas. My favorite tree for smell is the Grand Firs. The Grand fir has a vibrant green needle with a silver gray back. The grand fir has a powerful and pungent oil, and it has a vibrant smell that is unmatched by any other live tree I have experienced.Just rubbing a branch on your skin or clothes can leaving you smelling festive for hours. Working on a Christmas tree lot is a dirty business, but I have come home from many another job smelling much worse than I do at the end of a long day on the lot. The sights and smells of Christmas come and go, but the music stays with me the whole year round. Christmas is one time of year that brings families separated by states and nations back together; even if only for a shor t time, and the Christmas Tree Lot seems to be one experience they all seem to agree is positive and fun.From the delicious cinnamon spiced hot apple cider, the pungent aroma of fresh cut fir trees, and the joyous laughter of a game of hide and seek in the trees, a visit to the tree lot is loved and remembered by all. Come visit us, and I bet you will find yourself humming Jingle Bells or Joy to the World all the way home. Whatever you do, don't forget to grab a red and white stripped peppermint candy cane on your way out.

What is the relation between the image of the ‘rural’ and the idea of England in ‘Jude the Obscure’ and ‘Howard’s End’

The novel by Thomas Hardy, ‘Jude the Obscure', and E. M. Forster's ‘ Howard's End', are two novels narrating the lives and times of various people These chronicle the environmental and social aspects surrounding the characters in them, and their progression through life. Each delivers a stark contrast in the lives of the main characters, and the different troubles and pleasures they incur during their lifetime. This essay will show a connection between these two novels in the context that they display the image of the rural and the historic, international image that the British common wealth established amongst the rest of the worlds cultures. The first area that needs to be addressed when answering this question is the image of the rural. The simple, universal definition of the term rural in Standard English, means the characteristics of, or pertaining to the country and the people living in the country. The novel by Thomas Hardy ‘Jude The Obscure' is the best source to draw details and perceptions for this idea of the rural, as the theme and it's main character Jude, is largely based on his rural lifetime. When thinking about the rural, often one of the first images we get is the image of a livelihood based around agriculture. Agriculture and other simple professions seem to be the main stay of the economic structure of a rural environment. Evidence for this image can be found in ‘Jude The Obscure'. From Jude's early life as a boy we see him scaring away birds from crops Just now he's a-scaring of birds for farmer Troutham. It keeps him out of mischty. † (Page 17'Jude the obscure') This quote also is symbolic of the language differences within the rural and the urbane. The city linguistic system is more proper in the sense that they don't conjoin words or shorten words ‘mischty' being an example of the latter. The image of the rural, as seen in terms of their work is primitive and largely agricultural. The rural people are seen to live in a less sophisticated habitat, boarding rooms and lodges; also small farming cottages are often the main perceptions of rural habitats. Another major aspect of the perception of the rural can be described as a ‘small town attitude'. What this means, is that the people within the community are tightly knit and highly communicative. It could also be suggested that these ‘small town attitude' people have a resentment for the more urbane people, this is also in the text of ‘Jude the obscure'. They may be right in some cases but as Jude displays in Hardy's novel, he aspires to be more city like. He reads to become more intellectual, wiser and to master the various linguistic abilities of the higher social class. There are two main other cases which display common rural activities. These are the tendencies to go to church and to commune in public houses. There are several scenes set where Jude is in a Public house, either trying to assimilate himself with the more intellectual parts of society, of which he fails, and other times when he is simply drinking away his sorrows. The rural, in the sense of the image that the novel ‘Jude the obscure' portrays or proposes, suggests many common theologies about the life style. These can be summarized but may not be fully comprehended in the manner in which they where supposed to be taken. These are, in their simplest form, unsophisticated habitats, lower levels of education, primitive livelihoods, small town attitudes, simple customs, and to embody the thoughts of the urbane type, a society full of poverty which in their eyes is unhappiness. This next part of the essay will show the customs, traditions, and behavior of the different classes within the city. These will mainly be drawn from the novel by E. M. Forster's ‘Howard's End'. Howard's End' shows what most see as the idea of England at that time. What has to be taken into account is the three distinct social classes we have within this novel, and which all interact with one another in some way. Three families, the Schlegel family, the Wilcox family, and the Bast family represent the three social classes in this novel. These three families are a good depiction of the types of people dwelling in the main English cities of that time. The first of these families is the Wilcox family. Mr. Wilcox summarizes the depiction of this social class. He represents the hard working, pragmatic and chauvinistic middle class trying to step up to the upper class. He owns a rural estate, Howard's End, which he has earned through him being a prominent businessman. This is an example of his materialistic characteristics. The next class of family to be considered is the Schlegel family. In ‘Howard's End' they are depicted as being very cultured and intellectual, as well as very wealthy. They are of pure English blood, of which was important at that time due to the industrial competitiveness between England and Germany. â€Å"†Of course I regard you Schlegels as English,† said Mrs. Munt hastily – â€Å"English to the backbone. â€Å"† (Page12 ‘Howard's End') They are very cultured and of a high decorum. The remaining family, that will complete our examination of the three varying social types that coexist in the city, are the Bast family. They are on the lowest line of the middle class, enough money for food, clothes and shelter. Leonard Bast is symbolic of his class, hard working but impoverished, ever trying to enter that upper echelon, but never making it. Leonard will become a key talking point in linking the image of the rural to the idea of England. This completes a brief overview of the three social classes within an English city of the time in the novel ‘Howard's End'. The idea of England that these social classes give is fairly broad. Perceptions range from the intelligent and good social etiquette, which live for the happiness that their money brings. They classes with money visit different countries, go to plays and performances, and more importantly vacate to the rural estate, Howard's End. One can also feel the discrimination of foreign blood and cultures, feel the conceited nature of the English. An example of this was previously mentioned and quoted earlier from a conversation between Mrs. Mund and Margaret Schlegal. From this novel can be drawn the gentlemanly, chauvinistic behavior, characteristic of so many peoples perceptions of the English. If you also back this up with the manner in which the characters in ‘Howard's End' speak for example â€Å"† I hope Miss Avery is not ill,† hazarded Margaret, â€Å"Well, if you'll excuse me,† said Madge, â€Å"perhaps I ought to be leaving you now†¦ † (Page310 ‘Howard's End') Compared with the more rural language of those in ‘Jude The Obscure' â€Å"Well ye med ask it Mrs. Williams. He's my great nephew – come since you were last this way. â€Å"†(Page 16 ‘Jude The Obscure') If one were to be vicarious in thinking about the book and hear the accent, grammatical, and linguistic make up of the characters conversations it is easy to gain this idea of how the English conduct themselves in social conversational encounters. It is easy to see how other cultures such as the German, or Nigerian cultures, some of the places visited by characters in ‘Howard's End', might have perceived this behavior. But for those nations which are visited by those classes with money, they become ignorant to the fact that they are not the only class and kind of people within England. If people from these other countries where to visit not only the cities of England, as most would do, but also the rural, this idea of the English might not be so distorted as what it is. ‘Howard's End' tries to explain this. It tries to put forward the fact that, for England to exist, every social class must interact in order for the survival of the nation. In the case of ‘Howard's End', it arranges three different social classes interacting, and eventually learning to peaceably live with one another. ‘Jude The Obscure' is showing a time when this was in early stage of evolution. The rural wanted to stay rural, but an ever-increasing amount wanted to become more urbane and sophisticated. This leads to the next point of discussion. The next area of significance in answering this question is the graduation from rural to city, and the connection with which these two novels, ‘Jude The Obscure' and ‘Howard's End' explain this. There is a common relation between the theme country to city. In most cases the city and urbane society see the rural as a place to relax, in ‘Howard's End' this is an example, a rural setting for which the characters usually find peaceful. These types of people appreciate that facts of rural life but could never live the rural lifestyle like the one portrayed in ‘Jude The Obscure', they need to have the commodities in life that the city offers. But this social class would not be the same without their rural experience of Howard's End. Then the rural society has a completely different outlook. There are some who aspire to live in the city, like Jude, but there are those who are content with their ignorant conceitedness towards the city and it's population. As mentioned previously, there is a major connection between two of the characters within the novels ‘Howard's End' and ‘Jude The Obscure'. Jude and Leonard Bast are inexplicably similar in their plights in their live. They have many aspects, manners, outlooks, and aspirations in common. This will be the next area to be looked at.. There are five major traits that Leonard Bast and Jude from ‘Howard's End' and ‘Jude The Obscure' respectively, have in common, in relation to their roles and experiences within each of the novels. The first of these traits is that both are economically on the same means, just enough to get by in life without many luxuries. Jude is above all a stonemason, Leonard, a low profile insurance worker. They are both also trying to better themselves on an intellectual level by reading constantly, hoping that their further knowledge would improve their chances of prospering in life. Both of these characters hope by attaining this extra knowledge that they can become assimilated with the social class of their desire. Both characters also have dramatic, romantic relationships, especially in the case of Leonard Bast, who was eventually killed because of his romantic interests What we gain from the studies of these two texts ‘Howard's End' and ‘Jude The Obscure' is an understanding of how the image of the rural is related to the idea of England. It could be suggested that from these two novels we can see the evolution of a nation. The notion that the rural evolved into the urban is present in all developed nations, and held as fact. If it were not for the rural lifestyles, people would not have known what they would have needed to improve their standard of living. A nation's urbane did not develop its rural community; a nation's rural community developed the city and the urban lifestyle and social classes that go with it. The novel ‘Jude The Obscure' shows a progression from a very primitive rural life, to that of a very primitive urban life. From the novel ‘Howard's End' one can contrive a pattern of evolution of social class and standard of living within the text. From one perspective it could be shown that the Bast family evolved into the Wilcox family, and then from the Wilcox family, the Schlegel family evolved. This statement is using the family names as a metaphor for the social class which each of the families stand for. The image of the rural is depicted in ‘Jude The Obscure', as is the image of the urbane in ‘Howard's End'. This image of the urbane in ‘Howard's End' became what was and may still be the idea of England. In particular, this image of the urbane, and more specifically the upper class Schlelegel family, personified the idea of England and it's Common Wealth to other peoples and their nations. The idea of England became this educated, literal, and cultural view, a population of intellectuals focused on pleasure, world dominance, and traditions supported by wealth and religion, with which their military power brought them at that time. The idea of England, which is concieved by most today, is taken without any original stimulus from which to formulate such an idea. By looking into these two novels one can gain a much more educated and well-founded view of what England was, and should be perceived as in terms of a nation. What this means is that without all the social classes and development from rural to urbane, England would not exist as the nation and country that it is today. Further more, neither would any other developed nation, such as the United States and the worldly perception held of them currently. They have the rural and the urbane. The whole country is not one rich military powerhouse. It is built upon its varying social societies. This is the same philosophy, which must be taken when looking at the idea of England. This is the point that must be taken when correlating the idea of England with the image of the rural, not as independent entities, but as one entire comprehension.

The Bell Jar Chapters 1 4 essays

The Bell Jar Chapters 1 4 essays The Bell Jar is about a young reporter, Esther Greenwood, and her life during an all expenses paid trip to New York in the 1950s. Esther won the month long trip in a fashion magazine, one of only twelve winners. She is jealous of all the rich girls staying at the all female hotel, especially since it is her first time out of her humble home in New England. In the presence of all the upper class girls, she feels out of place and unwelcome. While in New York, Esther meets Doreen, a social butterfly with no definite personality. While on their way to a party, they meet a man by the name of Lenny who invites them to have drinks they end up bypassing the party. Lennys friend is obviously into Esther, and Lenny is interested in Doreen. Lennys friends feelings are unwanted, and Esther spends most of the night trying to get away from him. Eventually Esther and Doreen are invited to Lennys house, and Doreen convinces Esther to go with her. As things begin to heat up between Lenny and Doreen, Esther feels out of place and wants to go back to the hotel, but is unable to because of Doreens insisting that she must stay to stop any funny business from ocurring. Eventually, Doreen invites the funny business and Esther walks all the way back to her hotel, on the other side of the city. After that night, Esther decides that she wont be close to Doreen and begins to focus her attention on a calmer person with higher goals Be tsy. After eating as much as possible at a banquet held by the magazine theyre interning for, Esther and Betsy become ill and vomit everywhere until they nearly passed out. When Esther wakes up, she finds out that everyone got food poisoning from the food at the banquet except for Doreen, who was socializing with Lenny at the time. Doreen tells Esther that the crab everyone ate had too much bacteria growing in it. ...

What to Do on a Long Weekend

What to Do on a Long Weekend Not sure what to do on a long weekend coming up? From Labor Day in the fall to Presidents Day in the spring, long weekends are a wonderful break from the craziness of college. Unfortunately, however, they can often slip away quite quickly, somehow leaving you with more to do than before the weekend started and no idea of where your time went. So how can you make the most of your long weekends in college? Aim for the 1-1-1 Plan A basic idea that can make your weekend all you need and more: Spend 1 day on personal stuff, like doing laundry, going to the store, catching up on sleep, and exercising. Spend 1 day doing fun and social stuff, like doing something off campus during the day, hanging out at a Greek house, and attending a campus party. Spend 1 day doing homework. The best part? While doing the fun stuff, you dont have to feel guilty, since youll already have done or scheduled in when to do the not-so-fun stuff. Get off campus You may need to head home to get some TLC. You may want to spend a romantic weekend away with your partner. Or you may just want to take a road trip with some friends to somewhere youve never been before. No matter where or why you go, though, you might be surprised at how much better and more energized you feel when you get back. Start preparing for graduate school tests Do you know youll have to take the GRE? MCAT? LSAT? GMAT? No matter what test you have to take, youll definitely have to study for it. Take the extra time you have over the long weekend to figure out a study plan- and start on it. Volunteer Nothing helps keep things in perspective like volunteering. If youre feeling overwhelmed with your responsibilities in college, consider volunteering one morning of the long weekend. Youll undoubtedly get a new look on things while helping out those who are less fortunate. Kick-start/Refocus on your health Did you plan to live a little healthier this year in school? Have those resolutions fallen by the wayside? Consider using the long weekend as an opportunity to refocus on your health. Catch up on sleep, eat well, exercise, and figure out a few healthy ways to keep the momentum going for the rest of the semester. Organize your college life Does it sound lame? You betcha. Will you be glad you did it? Holy cow, yes. Crank up the music in your room and get to work. Clean up your living space, do your laundry, organize stuff for your classes, get your time management system in order, and overall get your college life in order. True, not many people like cleaning up stuff, but nearly everyone likes clean stuff. Just focus on how much better things will feel (and work! and look!) afterward. Get a head start on your academics In looking at your course syllabi, do you know you are going to be completely slammed at the end of the semester? Consider getting a little ahead of your class projects. True, you may not need or want to finish up your research project, but doing something simple like spending a few hours focusing on a topic means you can spend time later in the semester doing research on that topic instead of aimlessly trying to find one when youre stressed out. Earn some extra cash Most long weekends come with big sales at retail shops. Consider applying for a temporary position or, if you already work in retail, asking for extra hours over the long weekend so that you can have some extra cash in your pocket. Spend time researching your future Eliminate a little stress in your life (cue your parents voices: What are you going to do after graduation? What about this summer? Have you even thought about it yet?) by at least starting to look into what your options might be. You can look at short-term options what to do for Spring Break, what to do over the summer - as well as long term options, like graduate school or job opportunities. Get your resume and a cover letter together No matter what youre doing this summer, chances are youll need a resume. Whether youre applying for jobs, looking at internships, considering studying abroad, or getting materials ready for graduate school, your resume (and possibly a cover letter) will be an important part of the process. Put something together as best you can- and then make sure to have someone at the campus career center look it over.

Wal-Mart Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wal-Mart - Case Study Example Wal-Mart is envisioned to help people save their money so that they can live a better life. It has a reputation for convenience and wide range of products all in one store (marketingteacher.com, 2011). It is however, facing some threats and challenges like any other organization. Since it is number one, it means that it is the target of both local and global competition. Also being a global retailer, it is exposed to political problems in the countries it operates in. Intense price competition is also one of the major threats it is facing which has resulted in price deflation in some ranges (marketingteacher.com, 2011). Wal-Mart is world’s largest retailer and despite of its edge in IT, control of its empire could leave it weak in some areas due to its huge stretch of control. Since it has a large product diversity ranging from food to clothing to stationary, it may not have the flexibility of some of its more focused challengers. Although the company is global, it still has i ts presence in relatively few countries across the world (marketingteacher.com, 2011). 2. What priorities did Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott set in his Wal-Mart: Twenty-First Century Leadership address (24 Oct 2005)?  ... Lee Scott set this commitment as one of his priorities and promised to abide by it. He also addressed his opportunities one by one, starting with the environment. He highlighted that by being one of the largest companies in the world, environment is their responsibility and environmental problems are their own problems. They can supply natural products such as fish, food and water only if the environment is safe and protected. This can be possible only if there is zero wastage and they are supplied by 100% renewable energy (Lee Scott, 2005). Another goal is the reduction of waste and this is one of their most visible opportunities. This can be achieved if the materials in the packaging are made up of recyclable materials. This can save them a lot of money and in turn help the environment (Lee Scott, 2005). Lee Scott’s another goal is built around the products Wal-Mart sells wherein customers should not make compromises when they buy products at Wal-Mart stores. Similarly, heal thcare and wages structure, community involvement or diversity are other areas which were emphasized by Lee Scott in his Twenty-First Century Leadership address (Lee Scott, 2005). 3. Wal-Mart’s Board discussed proposals to meet (some of) these challenges at a board retreat in 2005. To counter the challenges, the team proposed Wal-Mart to implement the nine limited-risk initiatives and five bold steps. The first initiative is to change the eligibility criteria for health insurance so that Wal-Mart becomes more competitive in the part-time labor market. The second initiative is to decrease cross-subsidization of spouses which would allow more dollars to be put towards Associates and their children. The third initiative is to provide information related to healthcare and health

How will The London 2012 Olympic Games affect the U.K. economy Essay

How will The London 2012 Olympic Games affect the U.K. economy - Essay Example The United Kingdom economy has been among the best performing economies in the world for a long time. During the period that lasted from 1990 to 2008, the U.K. economy comfortably managed a 2.3% GDP growth factor. However, in recent times, the economic state of the United Kingdom has been performing poorly (House of Commons, 2009:33). This has elicited doubt among critics that the economy may be taking a down ward turn, and that the United Kingdom may be facing imminent recession. Recent research has revealed that the United Kingdom did not manage to gain substantial growth in 2011. Records collected from the research show that the U.K. financial system only managed a skimpy 0.8% development in 2011. In calculation, the main reason behind the growth was the 0.2% plunge that happened towards the end of the year (Fussey, 2011: 79). This has driven researchers to scheme a very small band of escalation to happen in 2012, amounting to about 0.4%. The analysts forecast that the financial s ystem will undergo a double decline before it starts budding back to its former circumstances. However, the wealth faces a latent growth aid in the form of the 2012 Olympics. London is set to host the 2012 Olympic Games, an event that possesses the potential to favor the U.K. economy greatly, and on an optimistic note in terms of direct and indirect revenue (House of Commons, 2009:47).... The battle took place at the crest of a mountain that shadowed a gorge in the southwestern region of Greece. Zeus managed to conquer over his father in the battle. As a result, the Greece citizens put up a shrine and built an enormous statuette in the gorge in a bid o honor him. The name of the gorge was Olympia. Soon after, the citizens began conducting religious ceremonies with the main agenda being the reverent worship and adoration of Zeus. This was in an attempt to try to gain Zeus’ famed strength and athletic capabilities. Folklore has it that these ceremonies led to the idea of starting the Olympic Games. Though the actual date when the first Olympic event took place is still in doubt, the first recorded event took place in 776 BC. The games consisted of only one occasion, the 190-meter race, which a chef, Coroebus, won. This marked the initial Olympiad. The Olympiad was the name given to the four-year duration by which the Greek citizens traced their history (Guttman, 2003:198). As time went by, athletic contests gained so much significance to the Greek people that the occasions now tended to influence a peaceful nature on the military states. For example, Sparta was famous for its strict military rule and intensive battle training of its population. It reached a point where the Sparta administration would patiently wait for the successful completion of the games’ events before engaging in battle with rival states. Soon after, other cities imitated this unwritten rule. The initial consecutive thirteen games offered only one event, which was the one-stade run (Young, 2004:129). However, as time passed, the then administration gradually