Public Budgeting- Revenue Sources Essays

Public Budgeting- Revenue Sources Essays Public Budgeting- Revenue Sources Essay Public Budgeting- Revenue Sources Essay Three revenue sources in public budgeting Property Tax: Property tax can be defined as a levy that the government issues on a person’s property. The value assessed to the property is taxed. Revenue of local governments like cities and counties are derived from property taxes. The revenue is used for administration in government and expenses concerning law enforcement, paramedics etc. ; and also to fund courts in local governments and helps for the payment of services which include civic centers, community programs, libraries, parks and recreation, and schools. Property taxes are also often used to pay some state programs such as Medicaid (in New York for example) and also to provide public assistance such as assistance to needy family (TANF), child welfare services and other social services such as supported employment, adult protective services, domestic violence and personal care assistance. This revenue can also be tracked in public safety like in juvenile detention, probation services and other mandates (corrections/ county jail, law library in county jail, staffing for state and county court, prosecution services, community colleges etc. ). Property tax revenue can be tracked in many ways, it depends on each state but all states generally use these revenues to fund almost the same programs. Intergovernmental Revenue: Intergovernmental revenue is the funds obtained from other governments. These funds usually include grants, taxes which are shared, and contingent loans and advances. Here, funding emanates from all governments (federal, state and local governments). â€Å"Financial arrangements for funding and delivering intergovernmental services can be complex according to the variability of government structure, organization, roles and responsibilities. For example, government support concerning elementary and secondary schools includes direct funds from the federal government that are passed through state and local governments to local educational agencies† (www. gao. gov). There are also funds allocated to cover costs for elementary and secondary education, these funds include the rent on school buildings for example. Charges for services: Charges for services are defined as customers’ charges and others charges coming from governmental and business activities. Charges for services within the governmental activities category include items such as licenses and permits (for example, business licenses and building permits), fines and forfeits, and operating special assessments sometimes charged for services provided outside the normal service area or beyond the normal level of services. Charges to other governments for services such as incarceration of prisoners also are reported in the Charges for Services column† (Kattelus Reck, 2007). These charges include various services rendered within the states for example park entrance fees, document fees, court-filling fees etc. It also implies any government which purchases, uses or benefits from goods and services provided. References Wilson, E. R. , Kattelus, S. C. , Reck, J. L. (2007). Accounting for governmental and nonprofit entities. (14th ed. ). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin. gao. gov/special. pubs/longterm/state/intergovrevenue. html

3 Steps To Being More Productive, Without Stressing Yourself Out

3 Steps To Being More Productive, Without Stressing Yourself Out It’s no surprise that our attention spans are shrinking and our to-do lists are spiraling hideously out of control while we procrastinate, panic, and eventually curl up into a ball watching Netflix. This is the world we live in! We all want to be more productive- the kind of people who write (and actually work through) detailed to-do lists, skipping from project to project until we’ve conquered the mountain of our goals.1. Write it downThe most important first step is to get that giant, unmanageable list out of your brain. Make a physical to-do list. Even if you already have one. Divide it into large projects and small projects so you don’t get freaked out every time you look at it thinking, AAAAH,  I HAVEN’T DONE THAT GIANT SCARY THING. Keep the giant scary things separate from the â€Å"I can do this in an hour† things. That way you can start crossing things off immediately and build enough momentum to tackle the hard stuff once you’ve se ttled into work.2. Hunker down and do itThe second step is to actually show up and do the work. That means clearing your headspace and being present and mindful of your task. Think about the parameters of each one before you start in on it. That way you’ll choose tasks that match your current state of mind at any given moment, and increase your potential for success. Sick or sad or really distracted? That’s probably not a great day to start your biggest project. Save that project for a day when you’re feeling confident and clear-headed.3. Prepare for distractionsThe final step is being able to handle the curve balls that will, inevitably, come your way. Build time and space into your work-time structure to handle the emergencies and extra assignments  as they hit you. Budgeting for this will help you not to feel that you have lost anything when you blitz through these unexpected tasks. You can go back to your existing list guilt-free.This doesn’t mean y ou’ll never again get stressed out by the piles and piles of tasks you have to do, but these guidelines should give you a strategy at how to conquer those piles without the panic. The more you practice them, the less to-do list stress you’ll have.How to Overcome Your To-Do List Anxiety

Physics MRI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Physics MRI - Essay Example The Larmor (or resonant) frequency ω0 is the frequency at which the nuclide precesses about the magnetic field. The resonant frequency is equal to the magnetogyric ratio ÃŽ ³ (specific to the nuclide) times the magnetic field B (Brandolini, 2004): the nuclide 13C at 75 MHz. From the equation above, the magnetogyric ratio ÃŽ ³ is constant so that ÃŽ ³ =ω0 /B = ω’0 /B’, where ω’0 is the resonant frequency when the magnetic field B’ = 1.5 T. Solving for ω’0 : ω’0 = (ω0 B’)/B what is the mean B and B This is explained in the sentence directly above: the single prime corresponds to the resonant frequency when the magnetic field is 1.5 T. You are asking what is meant by B’, but if you look at the sentence above, it was just defined: B’ = 1.5T. It is the magnetic field at 1.5T. B’’ is just a different value of the magnetic field (in this case 4 T) where we are trying to find the frequency w0’’ that corresponds to it. From this equation, if you know the frequency ω0 and the magnetic field B, then the ratio of these is the gyromagnetic ratio. We know the frequency at 6.9T from the reference cited above. Therefore, to find the frequency at a different magnetic field, we just use the equation w0/B = ÃŽ ³ = constant. So another set of corresponding values of w0 and B, call these new values w0’’ and B’’, will also have the same ratio: w0’’/B’’ =ÃŽ ³ constant = w0/B. Since we now have w0’’/B’’ = w0/B, we can multiply both sides by B’’ to get: w0’’ = w0 * B’’/B . Hopefully you can now see where that equation comes from. The reason I didn’t put the calculation down in this case, is because it is EXACTLY the same as the calculation before it, but with different values. You can just follow the equations that were used in the example above it, putting in the

Zillow Revolution in Realty Estate Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Zillow Revolution in Realty Estate - Case Study Example Zillow has 2.3% market shares with 4 million visitors per month. It uses Web 2.0 business model of Google and Network Television. Zillow makes money by the way of selling eyeballs and not by selling homes to buyers. On July 18th, 2006, Zillow landed a big deal with Yahoo to serve as a data point on Yahoo's real estate and search sites.[www.crunchbase.com] Moreover, Legg Mason Capital Management has invested $30 Millions in Zillow.com towards expansion of staff of 155 employees which includes 20 person national advertising sales team. In addition to Legg Mason, other institutions that have invested in Zillow.com are put down in the following table. From the above table it is evident that the corporate companies at a huge level are continuously funded Zillow.com. Zillow has stated that it is a media company and generates revenue from online advertising; however, it also holds real estate brokerage licenses in certain states. With such huge amount of funding, zillow has launched new features like Neighbourhood's, Discussions, and Personalized Home Page to foster social network to catch up with Trulia. It is evident from the above data that most of the online realtors are established much before than Zillow. Founded in 1973, Zillow gives a stiff competition to Realtor.com, whereas others are marginal ahead or behind. Just within a span of year, Zillow has been ranked 669th website most visited by the US citizens. Whereas, RE/MAX which has been founded much before Zillow is lagging behind at 740th whereas Trulia which started in 2005 is ranked at 1,160. Zillow captures eyeballs through advertisements for its earnings, which has made it successful in just 18 months from its launching period, has got 4.4 million unique users in the country, by August 2007. [http://moneycentral.msn.com] Zillow competes with Trulia, HomeGain, HouseValues, PropertyShark.com, RealEstate.com, Redfin, and others. It can be said that Zillow is facing competition from Google too. Because Google has the best keyword search, while latter has home search. Google is looking to solve the problems of local search, vertical search and personalized search. Zillow is the answer to local search, vertical search and personalized search. Real estate agents, who are concerned that their role may be diminished as more people rely on Zillow, statethat the site does not give an accurate reflection and that other factors must be taken into consideration in buying or selling a home. Realtors with specific market knowledge are more likely to know specific factors affecting the sale of a home such as the overall condition of the home, domestic issues such as divorce, job transfer pressures. Consumers have continued to rapidly change their behavior in the last 5

Cooper-Pearson case study Essay Example for Free

Cooper-Pearson case study Essay Healthcare benefits play a big part in employee satisfaction and retention, though many organizations do not see the importance, according to a recent survey conducted by insurance company MetLife. More than three-quarters of employees who say they have good healthcare benefits also report high job satisfaction, and 71 percent of those workers are loyal to their employers. Conversely, only about one-fourth of staff members who are dissatisfied with their benefits are happy and loyal to their organization. I have been given the task to research different medical insurance plans to assist Cooper-Pearson in selecting an insurance program for their marketing company. My aim is to provide them with enough details to make an informed decision on the different managed care plans. This information will allow them to provide their employees with a compensation package that is both affordable and desirable. Once an attractive compensation plan is in place; we expect the retention rate to improve and the recruitment of quality employees to increase. The primary differences between the HMO plan and the PPO plan is that you are required to have a primary care physician within the primary care network that you are assigned to. You dont have the option of visiting a physician outside of the network. You must have a referral from your physician to see a medical specialist and the specialist must be within the approved network. HMO plans normally cost less than a PPO but you may have a higher co-payment with a HMO plan. The PPO provides more information to the insured concerning cost sharing in or out of the network (Kongstvedt, 2007, p 25). According to (â€Å"benefithouse.com†, 2011), an indemnity plan allows you to use a medical provider of your choice to receive medical care. You must pay an annual deductible for the coverage before the insurance repayment takes effect. Once the deductible is paid then the plan will pay a percentage of your medical coverage and you pay the remaining balance. There is a cap on how much the insured has to pay towards his or her coverage with an indemnity plan. The company spends a lot of time recruiting young men and women directly out of college and are willing to provide them with a good salary to join the company. Most people who are directly out of college don’t have families and don’t focus on medical benefits. Their priorities are on making a good salary. However, over time as they begin to have families and or health issues, they come to the realization that the company doesn’t have an adequate health plan. This can lead to stress which can produce other health issues further complicating matters. It is important for this company to go with a managed care plan that has a customer focus approach. This will encourage current and future employees that the company believes in investing in quality medical care, as employees are there foremost priority. The goal is to have an understanding on what type of medical coverage is most important to the employee and use the information as a way to measure the quality provided in the managed care programs. It is common for the insured to play a key role in decisions concerning their healthcare. They are more apt to accept the cost sharing when they feel they are getting a choice on the type of care received. Once the managed care plan is made available to the employees, the desired result is to see an improvement in retention and recruitment. A possible negative impact could be an increase of cost for both the employer and the employee. However, creating an incentive plan such as a wellness program with an employee bonus could encourage a healthier lifestyle which could lead to fewer visits to a provider. Possibly cutting healthcare costs for the company and the employees. The managed care industry is increasingly using physician credentialing when seeking health care providers. The credentialing process must be conducted in a manner that meets the goals of the managed care program. When it comes to managed –care physician credentialing, it is primarily performed to protect patients. It is one of the most effective controls in medicine today and probably ranks right up there with residency training as a key to quality. Credentialing is also performed to protect the hospital and medical staff in case a patient is (or believes he/she has been) injured. Corporate negligence cases often allege that the hospital did not perform the credentialing function well. Good credentialing practices allow one’s hospital to easily demonstrate that you dotted all of the i’s and crossed all of the ts. Theres no question that if a hospital and its credentials committee do their jobs well, it becomes very difficult for a plaintiff attorney to demonstrate negligent credentialing. Employee benefit plans are dynamic. They need to be adapted to changing economic, business, demographic, and other forces that affect these plans and the business community. Otherwise, they can rapidly become outdated and unnecessarily expensive. The Prescription Drug component of the Employee Benefit program is a critical element of an employer-sponsored health and productivity benefit program. Understanding the organization’s position in relation to other employer-sponsored programs can help one measure the pharmacy benefit plan(s) relative to the employer marketplace. It also can help one compete effectively in attracting and retaining high-quality employees, managing prescription drug plan costs and developing appropriate strategies to respond to the challenges of the current economic environment. Finally, health insurance helps protect an individual or family from financial loss for costs incurred because of sickness or injury. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 85 percent of all Americans have some form of health insurance. Roughly half of all Americans with coverage get it through their employer or their spouses employer. There are a number of reasons why it makes good business sense for employers to offer insurance benefits to their employees and their families. REFERENCES: 1. Kongstvedt, P. Essentials of Managed Health Care, 5th Edition. 2007. Jones and Bartlett: Sudbury, MA. 2. Benefit House, What is Indemnity Health Insurance, 2011. Retrieved 14 September, 2012 from 3. http://www.benefithouse.com/insurance/health/indemnity.html 4. https://www.bucksurveys.com/bucksurveys/Surveys/PrescriptionDrugBenefit/tabid/81/Default.aspx 5. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-health-insurance-company-17225.html

College Essay: If You Could Meet Anyone, Who Would It Be And Why - Pol :: essays research papers

College Essay: If You Could Meet Anyone, Who Would It Be and Why - Polonius of Hamlet Polonius, father of Laertes, in William Shakespear's Hamlet, strikes me as someone exceptional. In the first act, he gives advice to his son who is departing on a journey. Polonius's advice guides me in almost every aspect of my life. I would like to talk with Polonius to gain more insight on life. Along with other advice, Polonius delivers one of te most famous quotes from Hamlet: "To thine own self be true." Polonius's quote helps me make tough decisions. Such an occasion arises when I have weighed the advantages and disadvantages of a choice, and they are equal. When faced with this situation, I ask myself, "would I be true to myself if I..." For example, I am temperate, and do not participate in certain activities harful to me such as drinking or doing drugs. Occasionally, others try to influence me to drink. Sometimes, I am tempeted; however, I know that I would not be true to myself if I submitted. I realize drinking is not somthing I want, nor is it in my best interest. Being true to myself involves acting in accordance with my values. Imust conduct myself like a gentleman and use proper etiquette for te given situation. Thus, the quote acts as a reminder for me to act properly. The next few lines are "and it must follow as the day the night, / thou canst not then be false to any man." By acting like a gentleman, I can assure muself that I will not harm nor create conlict with many people. For example, I remain calm in situations that most people would become upset and swear. Then, I am in a better position to deal with the would-be conflict. Next, Polonius covers many aspects of life. He tells us how to choose and treat friends, as well as rules for listning and speaking. We are told not to lend or borrow items becase "for loan oft loses both itself and friend," meaning one will end up losing a friend as well as what he lent "Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar" tells us to understand things that are immoral, but not to

Freedom Writers

FREEDOM WRITERS MOVIE REVIEW The movie Freedom Writers (directed by Richard LaGravenese , starring Hilary Swank as Erin Gruwell an excited new teacher, Scott Glenn as Steve Gruwell (Erins father), Imelda Staunton as Margaret Vail (department head), Patrick Dempsey as Scott Casey (Erins husband), Mario as Andre (student), and April Lee Hernandez as Eva (Student)) gave me the impression of sending a hidden message. In that message it said a lot to me about how anyone no matter who they are, have the right to do anything if they are willing to stand up for it.We watch as an up and coming teacher teaches a classroom of students who come and go to juvenile detention centers, homeless, and for some jail, to work together and not against. It has also been inspirational to me because it teaches people not to discriminate or stereotype others just because of their ethnic background. Set in Long Beach, California (1994–1996), Freedom Writers, based on a true story, puts into play this n egative stereotype of people within an ethnic community belonging to a crime filled environment.The high school students within the movie belong to a segregated community, where each race is divided into separate tribes. The students are represented as a central point to the movie, and the way they struggle to break free from the chaotic atmosphere around them to emerge as one, putting away the elements of the ‘separate/extra’ and accepting their classmates for who they are rather than the color of their skin or ethnicity. On her first day teaching, Erin Gruwell encounters an empty classroom and has to wait till a school officer drags the students into class.The students separate into racial groups in the classroom, fights break out, and eventually most of the high school students stop attending class. Not only does Gruwell feel hostility from her high school students, but she also clashes with her department head, who refuses to let her teach her high school students w ith books in case they get damaged and lost, and instead tells her to focus on training them discipline and obedience.As time passes on she slowly but eventually begins to earn their trust and buys them composition books to record their diaries, in which they talk about their experiences of being evicted, abused, and seeing their friends die. I believe Hilary Swank fulfilled her part as a teacher for her students because she made it seem as if she was really going above and beyond for the students. I believe Imelda Staunton who played as Margaret Vail, fulfilled the expectations but at the same time, I feel hers could have been more out there.April Lee Hernandez as Eva, was perfect for the role because she gave her character a hostile and tough demeanor. I think that made her more exciting to listen to because of what she has come from to achieve her perception of others in the movie. I was excited by this movie and would watch it again for the characters backgrounds and seeing them achieve their goals. The actors gave what was asked of them. Freedom Writers There is an obvious discrimination shown in the movie â€Å"Freedom Writers†, where everybody hates everybody and they got no choice but to live in a world full of pandemonium. Random cultural implications are shown in the movie. Where one has to accept his/her society since birth, or someone has to really join a gang to keep up and belong to a hood. In the case of the students in the movie, they are just simply hopeless and what they all just do is to keep raging flames in their hearts. Until one tough and undeniably smart professor came on their way to take action – Ms.Gruwell. As Ms. Gruwell came into the movie, I just thought that there will really be one person who will unexpectedly cross one’s life and lead you towards impunity. Same with the world or certain country where there is rampant chaos and a peacemaker leads to fight for the right. At first, Ms. Gruwell had dismay that she wasn’t able to understand everything. And because she thinks and con siders the factors she sees in her current endeavor, she came up with a very unique plan that a usual professor wouldn’t think about. FREEDOM WRITING. I guess, the maker of the movie wanted to disseminate how the therapy of writing one’s feelings comes into such a relief to those whose minds are insane and broken. This is a very good twist in the movie, where in cultural liberalism takes place. Series of difficulties are shown in the movie, and how brave Ms. Gruwell and the students faced it together. Regardless of race, nationality and status, they all worked it out and despite Ms. Gruwell’s dispute in school, everything worked out the way it is supposed to be.I felt bad because I know that the movie really happens in reality, and I have this hope in my heart that there will be more people who will understand and become more like Ms. Gruwell. The line â€Å"Everyday I worry when will I be free. † is poignant. Same as in our daily lives when we encounter suffering, we ask ourselves and feels like we’re being trapped. All we have to do is sigh, pray and breathe; There we will find peace. We shall be always open for changes for it is indispensible and constant. We shall all be brave and continue life as it is by fighting for the truth.We shall always voice out our thoughts and prevent misjudges because of races and kinds. We must be united despite the challenges in life. We shall not condemn one but ourselves too when society has its crisis and it breaks dow. And when WE break down, we shall stand UP – one by one. The book „Outliers? is basically are success stories wherein Malcolm Gladwell, a renowned writer, gives practical explanations of how extraordinary people gain success. The stories situated in the book always involve different aspects of success such as the environment, patience and hard work, coincidences and other things happening around.Basically, the ideas give „common-sense? answer to the quest ion. These people have succeeded because of the things that surrounds them and not just only by themselves. As stated â€Å"It makes a difference where and when we grew up†, this clearly explains that a person don? t achieve success not only by himself but it matters on the situations and opportunities that lies around him. Gladwell investigates place, time and culture of these success stories in order to come up with practical explanations behind it.This also includes the relevant events that happened in certain period of time where these people are part and been to these events. So in other words, these people have been to certain event in their lives that made them succeed. Gladwell thought of these idea to see the logic about being successful or not, in this case is by asking where these people came from. One way Gladwell explains it is by determining the important events in certain period of time which are based on patterns of birthdates of a group of people such as the Canadian hockey team, Czechoslovakian National Junior Soccer team and the people behind today? technology, MAC and PC. There are many different stories that Gladwell shared in order to produce one perspective of defining success. And, this all comes to one conclusion what? s behind success. 10,000 Hour Rule The 10,000 hour rule is my most favorite part of the book, where it explains patience and hard work. These are the most important things that I believe about success. Practically, we need practices in order to make things perfect and in order. It? s a universal idea of how things became successful with more practices you do to be closer to perfection and success.There are thousands of stories behind success that involves practicing and perseverance. From the „Outliers? , especially with the musicians in the stories, it will take a lot of practices and experiences to produce series of great performances. The Beatles – Lennon and McCartney started playing in 1957 but b ecame known in the U. S. in 1964, which they took seven years to succeed. To compare it with other genre, Smashing Pumpkins started playing in 1988 in Chicago, Illinois; they succeeded in the U. S. in 1992 and entered the international music industry in 1995.Charice Pempengco started to join singing contests at the age of 7, and joined hundreds of it before she performed in Star King in Korea at the age of 14 where Ellen DeGeneres discovered her in YouTube, and she started her international career with David Foster at the age of 15. Her success became unstoppable, but it took years of experiences in order to gain her continuous success. You can actually compare a lot of stories to 10,000 hour rule, this is very common to every success stories around the world. That? why this is the idea I believe and appreciated most. Decoded Numbers Gladwell presented many arguments regarding years, birth-dates, numbers and patterns. And basically, this numbers does show something and it’s a bout success. But what I am trying to figure out is if there are millions of numbers of combinations that can be presented by anyone and Gladwell actually showed only about 10 or 20 sets of numbers and dates in tables to prove this logic, and basically this can just occasional and coincidences in my opinion.I do actually believe in his investigations as presented in the book, but it was actually rare and likely can be occurred in just some point in time. In other way, if we compare other set of numbers in the same procedure, these are just a few samples and would be good as basis for success. For example, the birth dates of Chicago Bulls in NBA during the time of Michael Jordan where they became phenomenal and very famous because of winning six championships in 8 years during the 1990? s and they also won the finals over Utah Jazz in 1998 which is the one of the most popular game in NBA.Below are the rosters for Chicago Bulls in 1997-1998. Technically, you cannot see any pattern exc ept that all of them are born between 1961 to 1974 and above 90% went to college. And also the hall of famer trio, Jordan, Pippen and Rodman do not have anything in common with their birthdates and where they studied. Gladwell actually showed patterns in certain stories but there? s still a lot of success that does not have any methodological patterns. In my opinion, this can still be considered but not a good perspective for success

Case Study Methodology Essay

Increase learning through real world case analysis situations. ?Develop skills of teamwork and cooperation. ?Develop points of view, opinions, and frame of references to help one become a more understanding, useful, and productive member of an organization, and this course in particular. ?Develop experience of management and cooperation with virtual working groups. Preparing a Case analysis: The first step in preparing a case is to assemble the facts, information, and circumstances surrounding the case described. As in real life, non-relevant descriptive materials may be presented and should be eliminated from further analysis–you have to decide those items as a study group and an individual. You must sift through all the information you can gather and determine what is important to your final decision. Many times personal experience and knowledge may need to be used or additional information gathered from the Internet, then these can be used to base a final analysis for the study group. Outline of Case analysis Approach: ?Define the central issue. ?Select and gather pertinent areas of consideration, make assumptions where needed about data, and other items that might drive your analysis towards one solution or another. ?Analyze the considerations and determine their relative importance. ?Investigate all the possibilities to solve the central issue, but strive to identify at least three different options. ?Select and state the best solution. ?Describe how you would implement that best solution. ?Defend, from textbook readings and other sources, how you would insure success. Answer the Questions at the End of the Case Study† Dr. Jim Young-Kaplan University.

The Hobbit1 essays

The Hobbit1 essays Entry 1 #4 2/2/00 Finished with book. 4. The main conflict in this novel is ultimately the acquisition of the lost treasure of the dwarves hoarded by Smaug (the great dragon under the mountain). This treasure actually has great physical and sentimental value. The dwarves to which most of this horde belonged to loved gold and all fine physical things such as jewels and precious metals, but they also were very emotionally attached to this cache once kept by Thrain the great king under the mountain. It seems that as the author of the novel Tolkien is attempting to reveal that the dwarves are very fond of this treasure but also feel almost a since of need for this great legendary horde. As a whole the conflict is developed over a time period of a year or so. The main way that it is developed is by the ingenious use of small side quests and troubles dotted until the final conflict is over. In this novel Tolkien uses many smaller conflicts to add to the already heaping portions of adventure and intrigue contained within the c overs. Some are very thrilling such as the time all of the dwarves and the hobbit are captured and taken down to the goblins lair, or the time Bilbo comes in contact with that strange creature Gollum. ...

The Word ” Civilization ” Essay Example

The Word † Civilization † Essay Example The Word † Civilization † Essay The Word † Civilization † Essay Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: The Word â€Å"Civilization† Introduction The Oxford Dictionary of Word defines civilization as the â€Å"stage of human social development and organization, which is considered most advanced. It is the development of human cultures, which become complicated daily. The development of science and technology affects civilization. The concept of civilization is central to the historical theories identified by Arnold J. Toynbee. Toynbee described history as the process of the rise and decline of civilizations. Civilization is also central to the political beliefs of Samuel P. Huntington who argues that the defining characteristic of the 21st century will be the interaction and conflict between civilizations (Lord Kenneth Clark). Civilization has many positive and negative impacts on culture. Discussion The civilization movement has been there for many centuries. Lord Kenneth Clark notes that, â€Å"From a native European Christian ethnocentric viewpoint, human history is the history of progress.† This view contributed to the development of civilization as represented by the European Christian culture. This was associated with the European colonialism, and with the relation of Europeans and Americans with the indigenous people such as the Native Americans. Unlike before, where progress was seen from a Christian perspective, other viewpoints hold that â€Å"there are and there have been many advanced civilizations in human history and that no one culture is inherently superior.† The role of civilization on culture has been an integral part of colonialism. The Europeans were the major colonizers in human history and wherever they went, their main agenda was to introduce Christianity as one of the ways of introducing civilization, they considered their culture superior an d they sought ways of introducing it to the people they colonized. Civilization has however not been confined in the early European viewpoint. According to C. H. Hacksins, â€Å"The one who contemplates the reason modern science and technology have taken giant steps and advanced to the present state would certainly agree that it is due to Islamic civilization, which transmitted and introduced vast amounts of knowledge and produced many scholars.† The advancement of the Islamic faith was instrumental to bringing civilization and defining the progress of humanity. Positive Effects realized through Civilization One of the most important benefits of civilization has been technology. Technology has been introduced in all aspects of human life and it has changed the way things used to be done. The internet is one of the major achievements of technology. This was made possible by the advancement of computer technology. The internet was first used by a few individuals when it was first introduced. Nowadays almost everybody in the world has access to the internet. It is practically impossible to imagine life without the internet. As Bill Gates noted, â€Å"Today, the internet is far from obscure-it is the center of attention for business, governments and individuals around the world. It has spawned entirely new industries, transformed existing ones, and become a global cultural phenomenon. but, despite its impact, today’s internet is still roughly where the automobile was during the era of Henry Ford’s Model T. we have seen a lot of amazing things so far, but there is much more to come. We are only at the dawn of the internet age. No industry can survive without the internet today. It has greatly contributed to civilization because it has caused progress. People have however fully utilized its use and for progress to be fully achieved, the internet has to be utilized fully. Negative Effects Realized through Civilization Despite the many and obvious benefits of civilization, there are still those who assert that it has caused negative effect on people’s lives. Most of the arguments are based on the bad effects of civilization on technology. Other negative effects of civilization have been noted on a health basis where opponents argue that civilization had a role in the increased number of bacteria and germs. Junji Takano questions the role played by civilization in the health sector. He alleges that, â€Å"It is true that civilization creates bacteria and viruses. It means that more diseases are surfacing to the world. Civilization created thousands of modern sufferings as you can see in medical books of the world. What did civilization do to us? Who did it? Is it not scientists of today? Are they facing to right direction? Are they not leading us to wrong world?† Although many diseases were eradicated, the human race has been faced with more diseases such as Alzheimer’s, which w ere not known previously. Takano also notes that civilization has also had an affect on the quality of food. â€Å"Pork, beef, chicken, and even fish are cultured artificially in a cage. Fruits you eat are no longer the taste we knew several decades ago. Vegetables at supermarkets we buy are all house cultured without soil. It is very difficult to find meats and vegetables grown in the wild. Food itself has no power of immunity from bacteria and other foreign diseases.† The use of chemical herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides affect the quality of food and makes them unhealthy and non-beneficial for human consumption. Foods grown in natural habitats add more benefit to humans because they are full of nutrients. Conclusion Civilization has, and continues to play a big role in human life. It is not limited to one culture and no culture can be seen as more civilized since civilization entails many things. It has had both negative and positive effects. The positive benefits of science and technology have especially been instrumental in improving living standards and conditions of people. Civilization has contributed negatively especially in the health sector. Despite all this, the positive effects realized through civilization outweigh the negative.

Simulation Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing Writer #1497 Essay

Simulation Using Perceptual Maps in Marketing Writer #1497 - Essay Example The purpose of this report is to describe the actions taken by the student during three phases of the simulation and to discuss important marketing concepts such as differentiation, positioning and product lifecycle. The purpose of the simulation is to develop a positioning strategy for the company. The first phase of the perceptual map simulation involves selecting the parameters related to the motorcycle industry that aligned with the product the company is offering. The simulation taught me that the optimum amount of parameters that should be chosen for a particular product is four. Choosing more than four does not allow the marketer to highlight the product’s strengths in order to create effective marketing campaigns. The nine parameters I had to choose from were: lifestyle image, product design, cool, product uniqueness, service offering, price, engine capacity safety, and quality engineering. Based on the company’s status as a provider to motorcycle in the high-end of the marketplace I choose these four parameters: lifestyle image, product design and styling, price and product uniqueness. The result of my selection was that I ended up choosing three of the four optimum parame ters for this particular product. The parameter that I should not have selected was product uniqueness. In this case quality engineering covers the important aspects of product uniqueness. An important parameter that I failed to choose was service offering. Service offerings are utilized to ensure loyalty among customers and distribution channels which include club memberships, maintenance training, and financial services (Perceptual Maps in Marketing Simulation, 2008). The second phase of the simulation involved making a decision about the company future positioning in the marketplace. Tough economic times along with an aging focus group of customer were endangering the company solid 40% market share. The two primary choices were repositioning the CruiserThorr model or

Product channeling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product channeling - Essay Example These systems can be integrated vertically or as separate, independent entities. Insurance distribution can be found using any or all of these methods collectively. The ability to navigate distribution channels would require understanding of optimal timing. "Choosing the right channel for the life cycle stage of the product can have a dramatic impact on sales, and often it determines the success or failure of any new or existing product." (Combs, L. S.; The Right Channel at the Right Time; Industrial Management; 46(4); July -August 2004) But in essence, there are many methods toward choosing either a singular channel or multiple channels for distribution purposes, especially in the world of insurance. "The proliferation of disconnected distribution channels is a product of the competitive nature of the insurance industry." (Toth, W.; Navigating Distribution Channels; Insurance & Technology, 30(7), S6-S8; 2005) This alone speaks volumes in the realm of the life cycle considered to be prominent in insurance sales, that during peak times the effectiveness of disconnected distribution channels, or independent distributors or contractors, would in f act be of benefit toward the industry. The most effective channels for insurance would have to be independent marketing organizations for two reasons; this gives the co