Coursework Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Coursework - Thesis Proposal Example This paper demonstrates the process of entry into foreign markets, the considerations to be made in decision making, the challenges involved, and the applicable organizational models that can be employed. For a better description, the paper analyses a case of a consumer product firm Coca Cola. It addresses the problems she faces on her efforts to venture into a foreign direct investment, the managerial decisions to be made, the organizational models to be used, as well as the decision making models most appropriate for the firm. Coca Cola targets its foreign direct investment in a country in Asia, the People’s Republic of China. Coca-Cola in China was selected as a case study for a number of reasons. First, Coca-Cola is the largest cocoa producer in the world and one of the largest multinational companies. Coca Cola  gets competition from its closest competitor, Pepsi-Cola, and unknown environment and versatile local market, the ability of Coca-Cola, experience and success in capturing a large market share in China seem to be an interesting Cases in which consequences can be drawn for the understanding of the market multinationals Entry in the developing countries by creating an equity joint venture (EJV).  Based on a case study of the bottling plant of Coca-Cola Tianjin, Nolan (1995) conducted the first comprehensive analysis of the macroeconomic effects work by Coca-Cola in China. He found out that the company Coca-Cola System General has positive effects on the development of labor markets, capital and products in China.   They believe that the economic multiplier effects of the investments of Coca-Cola and Power operation. China produced a total of approximately 414 000 jobs, 21.7 billion Yuan in output and 1.2 billion Yuan tax payment in 1998. Coca Cola operates in more than 100 countries through various contractual agreements. Coca Cola operates using an organizational and product line

Bulding a Second Runway at Gatwick Airport Assignment

Bulding a Second Runway at Gatwick Airport - Assignment Example Considering an increase in average aircraft size, the Airport Management predicts that approximately 40million passengers will be handled by the year 2015 86% of whom would start or end their journeys at Gatwick. Such an action will be associated with a number of benefits and costs. The benefits include creation of jobs. According to the Gatwick Airport Management, workers at the airport will benefit from an extra income of 7million a week. In addition, it is anticipated that 27,300 jobs will be created at Gatwick in 2015. The noise from Aircrafts as well as the emission of Nitrogen oxide is a cause for concern. In addition, the operation of the airport itself has a range of environmental impacts over and above those of the aircraft that use it. A second runway at Gatwick is therefore characterised by a number of costs and benefits. According to Friends of the Earth (2003) government's intention to build more airports, terminals and runways, is likely to have a disastrous effect on the world's climate. One of the main causes of climate change is Carbon dioxide pollution and aviation is one of the fastest growing sources. (Friends of the Earth, 2003). ... 1.1.2 Objectives and Hypothesis of Work Considering that a second runway has both opportunities and threats and well as costs and benefits, the objectives and hypothesis of this paper are defined within the following. The main objective of this paper will be to evaluate and analysed the problems being faced by the Gatwick Airport by operating on a single runway. In addition, the paper will analyse and find out whether a second runway at Gatwick is worth the trouble. The paper finally looks into the consequences should the government fails to construct a second runway 2.0 Summary of Literature According to Friends of the Earth (2003) government's intention to build more airports, terminals and runways, is likely to have a disastrous effect on the world's climate. One of the main causes of climate change is Carbon dioxide pollution and aviation is one of the fastest growing sources. (Friends of the Earth, 2003). According to another report by Friends of the Earth titled "Aviation and Global Climate Change", Air travel emissions are already responsible for 3.5 per cent of man-made climate change and if the industry continues to grow at its current rate it will go up to 15 per cent by 2050. (http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/aviation_climate_change.pdf). In June 2003 the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) wrote to the Government and noted that "even with the most conservative figures for growth in air travel, by 2020 aviation will be contributing 10 per cent of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions. (Friends of the Earth, 2003). In another research conducted by Friends of the Earth (FOE), it was postulated that, research, based on the Government's own data, shows how the present

Database Design Process Project (Preparation) Essay

Database Design Process Project (Preparation) - Essay Example Moreover, it offers specific built-in templates that facilitate the users to choose well suited ERD template according to the needs and requirements of the projects. Once a template has been selected by the user, the shapes (entities, relationships, category, etc.) can be drawn by just pick and drop method. The entity represents a table of a database and the relationship shape represents the relation between two tables which can be one to one, one to many, etc. After dragging an entity to the drawing board, the user can add an entity / table name, diverse columns and their names according to the requirements of the table, the data types of the created columns, selection of primary key, check / tick if a particular column must have a value and the column referred to as the foreign key (if any). In this way, the user can add several entities / tables as per the requirements of the database design under development. After adding all the entities to the drawing board, the user can add re lationships between the entities by relating the primary key with foreign key and this can be done by dragging the particular shapes. Moreover, the MS Visio provides the functionalities to add triggers, indexes and notes on entities and their relationships. When the users are done with creating the entity relationship diagram, the file can be saved in .vsd format in the hard drive of the PC / laptop; moreover, the saved file can be edited or updated when required. The MS Visio offers the functionality of viewing the complete diagram, page setup and printing the diagram (Sethi, 2006). It is required for the Riordan Manufacturing Virtual Organization to develop policies, guidelines, standards and practices to put in place for the use of the MS Visio. I would suggest the organization to use the conventional standards of ERD elements to represent an entity there should be a rectangular shape along with one row having the entity name and one rectangular shape should only represent one en tity. The primary key of the entity should be represented by a key symbol, the relationships between the entities should be represented with dotted lines and the color of the foreign key attribute should be red. Furthermore, the overall ER diagram should be easy to understand and precise to conceive by everyone, therefore, it is recommended that the users should add proper notes that would assist and aid the users to understand the diagram completely. It is pertinent to mention here that the MS Visio offers the same template to develop ER diagrams. The practices and guidelines for naming convention of the tables and attributes should be clarified to the employees and users of the MS Visio in the virtual organization. I would suggest to the management of the organization that the table / entity name should always start with ‘tbl’ characters, for example the entity name ‘tblCustomer’ i-e the entity or table having the information of the customer. The pre-char acters of the attribute name should be understandable having first character of the table name and capital characters like the attribute name ‘cFName’ can be read as the first name of the customer. The employees of the virtual organization should be given proper training on the guidelines, standards and practices for using the MS Visio to develop the ER diagrams. The employees should be guided on saving the file names and should have

Woolworths Case Study Draft Essay Example for Free

Woolworths Case Study Draft Essay Part 1: Goodwill and Discontinued Operations a) Carrying value of goodwill 24 June 2012 The carrying value of goodwill in Woolworth’s consolidated financial statements was $3221.8 Million (M) at 24 June 2012. This figure is included within ‘intangible assets’ on the consolidated balance sheet and exact amount is disclosed in the Note 11 of Notes to consolidated financial statements (Woolworths 2012, p 126). b) Movements in carrying value of goodwill The carrying value of goodwill at the beginning of the period was $3227.7M (Woolworths 2012, p 126). An additional $42.1M was recognised throughout the year due to additional acquisition of businesses, with less . 5M for disposals and $0.7M for other expenses. Woolworths also recognised an impairment loss of $70.6M for the year. There was also an effect of movements in foreign exchange rates of $24.8M, which resulted in a carrying amount of $3221.8million at the end of the period (Woolworths 2012, p 126). c) Impairment loss on goodwill i) Impairment loss on Goodwill at 24 June 2012 was $70.6M. ii) Woolworth’s accounting policy with respect to impairment testing of goodwill is consistent with AASB 139 Intangible Assets. Note 11 (Woolworths 2012, p 126) specifically states that intangible assets (such as goodwill) with indefinite useful lives are tested for impairment annually and when there is indication that the asset may be impaired, the impairment loss is recognised when the carrying amount exceeds the recoverable amount. Recoverable amount is further defined to be the higher of fair value less cost to sell and value in use. iii) Impairment loss on goodwill was a result of Woolworth’s announcement to restructure and divest the Consumer Electronics Business. The amount is also disclosed as ‘discontinued operations’ in Note 33 (Woolworths 2012, p 96) for $366.2M. AASB 5.32 defined discontinued operations to be a part of an entity that represents a separate line, or part, of business or geographical area or subsidiary acquired exclusively for resale that had been disposed or classified as held for sale. A separate line item from continuing operations is required as a single figure disclosed in statement of comprehensive income or Notes. iv) The fair value less costs to sell figure of $420M (Woolworths 2012, p 174) includes impairment loss, restructuring provisions relating to goodwill, inventory, plant property and equipment, and lease exit costs. Since the impairment loss attributed to goodwill was $70.6M. Hence (420-70.6M) = $349.4M is attributable to fair value losses related to net  assets. Since held for sale assets disclosed in the Balance sheet (Woolworths 2012, p 99) is $376.7M, the net assets prior recognising the loss would have approximately been (349.4+376.7M) $726.1M, assuming that transaction costs and lease exit costs are negligible. v) The Dick Smith Electronics brand and stores were sold for $20M (Janda 2012). As the held for sale assets was recognised to be $376.7M, the net loss Woolworths would recognise is (376.7-20) $356.7M in the 2012-2013 financial period. Part 2: Investments in controlled entities a) Woolworths Limited group structure b) Non-controlling interest The carrying dollar value of the non-controlling interest (NCI) in Woolworths Limited as at 24 June 2012 was $258.1 million (Woolworths 2012, p 103). This NCI is the dollar amount of the combined equity interests in the parent companys subsidiaries not owned by the parent. When interviewed in 2013 Professor Chris Nobes confirmed that the figure also represented the profits made by NCI’s that have not yet been allocated to them. The respective NCI for the Woolworths Limited group applies to the external equity interests held in Woolworths Limiteds subsidiaries of ALH Group Pty Ltd, Australian Independent Retailers Pty Ltd, Bergam Pty Limited, Hydrox Holdings Pty Ltd and Statewide Independent Wholesalers Limited (Woolworths 2012, p 164-167). Woolworths Limiteds annual report is not useful for non-controlling shareholders. The reason for this is the information regarding NCI is aggregated as it combines all the information from separate subsidiaries with NCIs into combined figures which cannot be separated by a shareholder. It may then be argued that information regarding NCI should be more detailed however when interviewed in 2013 Professor Chris Nobes suggested that non-controlling shareholders should only be interested in the reports of their subsidiary as they are more detailed. Fortunately there are separate financial statements available for the subsidiaries with non-controlling interests. The reason for this is that the class action, ASIC Class Order 98/1418, exempting some subsidiaries from reporting requirements only pertains to wholly-owned subsidiaries (Woolworths 2012, p. 168). Therefore separate financial statements are available for subsidiaries of Woolworths Limited that have non-controlling interests. c) AASB 3.19 The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) (2010, para 19) gives controlling entities a choice between measuring the non-controlling interest (NCI) using the 100% method or the proportionate method. The proportionate method does not assign goodwill to the NCI as it relates to the subsidiarys net identifiable assets. In comparison the 100% method requires the non-controlling interest to be measured at its fair value which includes goodwill. One reason an entity may prefer to use the proportionate method is that it does not require a calculation of fair value for the NCI. The calculation of fair value for the NCI may be difficult in circumstances where an active market does not exist. Using Woolworths Limiteds annual report we can gather information relating to which method they chose to use. Their significant accounting policies relating to goodwill state that goodwill represents the difference between the cost of the acquisition and the fair  value of the net identifiable assets acquired (Woolworths Limited 2012, p 108). Therefore this policy describes the same process for identifying goodwill as the process used in the proportionate method and it may be concluded that Woolworths is using the proportionate method. The issues regarding the choice between the two methods are interesting. The choice seems to be more beneficial for the parent entity rather than the NCI as a company such as Woolworths Limited may choose to consistently use the proportionate method. This may misrepresent the value of the NCI to be lower as this method does not have a goodwill component for the NCI which the 100% method often has. Therefore the disclosures under the proportionate method made by Woolworths Limited regarding the NCI values could be undervalued. When interviewed in 2013 Professor Chris Nobes suggested that the choice between the two methods may affect comparability of financial statements. This point is reiterated by the International Accounting Standards Board (2012, para BC210). A further issue according to the International Accounting Standards Board (2012, para BC213) is that the 100% method is more expensive to use which is one key reason for the inclusion of the proportionate method. Using all these arguments one can see that there are many perspectives about which method is better and whether a choice should have been included in the standard. Still we should not be too concerned as Professor Chris Nobes confirms in his 2013 interview that not many business acquisitions have NCI components or they have an insignificant NCI component and therefore the issue of choice under AASB 3.19 is small. Part 3: Segment note a) Reportable segments Woolworths (2012) has identified five reportable segments related to continuing operations according to AASB 8.13. Each reporting segment is managed separately due to the varying products and services they offer, as well as the requirement of ‘different technology and marketing strategies’ (Woolworths 2012, p 119) of each business unit. The reportable segments are split into two categories of Retail Operations and Hotels, with the former comprising of Australian Food Liquor, New Zealand Supermarkets, Petrol and Big W. As at 24 June 2012, the Australian Food Liquor segment comprised of 872 Australian supermarkets, totalling approximately 6.52% of total EBIT, and 160 Dan Murphy Liquor stores (Woolworths 2012). The Woolworths convenience liquor businesses; BWS and Woolworths Liquor are also included within the segment. This segment relies heavily on consumer confidence levels as the bulk of the sales stems from general groceries found at the supermarket as an alternative to fast food outlets that offer more affordable meal options. Similarly, the New Zealand Supermarkets segment specialises in the ‘procurement of Food and Liquor and products for resale to customers in New Zealand’ (Woolworths 2012, p 119). The ‘Countdown’ supermarkets operate in the same way as the Woolworths supermarkets in Australia, with a total of 161 supermarkets opened across the country as at June 24 2012. In the Petrol segment, the ‘procurement of Petroleum products for resale to customers in Australia’ (Woolworths 2012, p 119) is categorised through the Woolworths/Caltex alliance sites. This segment, coupled with the Big W segment, ; the ‘procurement of discount general merchandise products for resale to customers in Australia’ (Woolworths 2012, p 119) round off the reportable retail operations segments as the smallest, bearing not as big influence as the supermarket segments in relation to the group. Furthermore, the hotels segment is heavily affiliated with the liquor stores and supermarkets, as they provide leisure and hospitality services including alcohol and food, as well as gaming and accommodation. There are 294 hotel venues in operation as at June 24 2012, with Dan Murphy’s and BWS stores affiliated with over 500 hotels in total. b) Investment analysis When determining the ‘better’ investment between Woolworths Limited and Wesfarmers Limited amidst volatilities in the New Zealand economy and Australian groceries, liquor and petrol sectors, it is important not to make direct comparisons between the two companies encompassing different segment disclosure methods despite the compliance with AASB 8. Woolworths has identified New Zealand Supermarkets as a reportable segment, presenting comprehensive revenue data including other operating revenue and inter-segment revenue. Contrastingly, Wesfarmers does not comply with AASB 8.23 a) and b) by only disclosing the New Zealand revenue by geographical location. Nevertheless, assuming that the sales to customers was used by both companies, the following revenue calculations were calculated since the previous year: Comparability between the competing companies becomes increasingly difficult when analysing the investment in relation to the volatile groceries, liquor and petrol sectors. Whilst Woolworths identified the Australian Food Liquor and Petrol business units as different reportable segments, Wesfarmers grouped this financial information under ‘Coles’. The information regarding the allocation of revenues between operating units for Wesfarmers is not provided, hampering an ethical investing choice for external users. Despite the reporting issues, a revenue analysis was conducted in order to determine the most profitable company. Since the Coles segment was determined by a sum of undisclosed food, liquor, hotels, convenience and petrol data, the following analysis used Woolworths as a sum of its same divisions: Though abiding by AASB 8, Wesfarmers disclosed as little information as possible. It is clear that Wesfarmers possesses a fear of disclosure, and would rather present aggregated data in order to hide potential information  about risk, losses and debt levels for a particular Company 2012 $A revenue (millions) 2011 $A revenue (millions) $A change (millions) % change Woolworths 4301.8 4110.5 191.3 4.654% Wesfarmers 1283 1174 109 9.2845% Company Segment Revenue 2012 (millions) Segment Revenue 2011 (millions) Segment EBIT 2012 (millions) Segment EBIT 2011 (millions) % change in segment Revenue % change in segment EBIT Woolworths 45,815.6 43,478.4 3140 2980.2 5.34% 5.36% Coles 34,117 32,073 1356 1166 6.373% 16.3% segment. However, when removing segment reporting variability between the two companies, it is clear that greater growth opportunities exists for Wesfarmers, and is therefore the recommended investment. c) AASB 8 non-disclosures i) Despite clear disclosure of revenue for its reportable segments, Woolworths did not disclose its segment assets and segment liabilities. Therefore, it is assumed that the company did not comply with AASB 8.21 b), where information about segment assets and liabilities was not disclosed. However, AASB 8.23 states that ‘an entity shall report a measure of liabilities for each reportable segment if such an amount is regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker’ (AASB 2010, p 15). Similarly, this extends to the non-disclosure of segment assets according to AASB 25: ‘only those assets that are included in the measures of the segment’s assets that are used by the chief operating decision maker shall be reported for that segment’. Here it is agreed that the CODM of Woolworths does not believe the risk and opportunities of these items are important, thus the non-disclosure in the segment reports. ii) Whilst Woolworths was able to disaggregate the diverse aspects of their total business, Wesfarmers aggregated the majority of their core business operation within the ‘Coles’ segment. It is clear that Wesfarmers does not comply with AASB 8.20; by not enabling users to ‘evaluate the nature and financial effects of the business activities in which it engages’ (AASB 2010, p 14). However, AASB 8.22 b) states that an entity shall disclose ‘the types of products and services from which each reportable segment derives its revenues’ (AASB 2010, p 15). It is clear that Wesfarmers abide by this standard by disclosing the components of the Coles segment, instead of the revenue figures generated from each segment. d) ACCC investigation i) Acts of ‘unconscionable conduct’ such as high bargaining strength for Woolworths and Wesfarmers resulting in demands for extra payments, penalties and threat to suppliers that products will be removed from shelves (Rolfe 2013) would be highly financially beneficial to the two groups as they are significantly lowering the costs of supplies, and thus allowing opportunity to increase profit margins. This is further evidenced in Coles’ 15% increase in pre-tax earnings in 6 months (Rolfe 2013) and a 24% increase in pretax earnings for Wesfarmers despite the same level of stock. The two groups also demonstrate significant market power through ‘interesting’ competitive methods (Kidd 2013) of purchasing each  other’s profitable stores as the purchases show the ‘significant financial strength’ (ACCC 2013) of the business. ii) Coles and Woolworths can minimise disclosures as to hide ‘unconscionable conduct’ and ‘misuse of market power’ by not disclosing costs of supplies in their segment notes. AASB 8 requires a ‘management approach’ to be adopted where information used by the ‘chief operating decision maker’ internally for segment evaluation is disclosed (AASB 8.5b). This allows great  flexibility for management to aggregate figures into the disclosed segments which Woolworths had divided into geographical and operational segments. The aggregated figures disclosed are summarised and does not disclose any information about cost of supplies (Woolworths 2012, p 119). In fact, only revenues attributable to each segment is reported. Australian Food and Liquor segment reported $37,681.4M revenue, which depicts a substantially larger segment relative to New Zealand Supermarkets, Petrol, Big W and Hotels, which average at $5000M each. iii) Since Woolworths’ business in Australia is significantly larger than other segments, from the perspective of consumer groups, it would be beneficial to further divide the Australian Food and Liquor segment into State segments, for example. Currently, Australia has 872 stores, New Zealand has 161 stores and that NSW, QLD, VIC all have larger number of stores than New Zealand, it would be beneficial to further dissect the segments into regional groups.

The Impact Of The Complex Interdependence Politics Essay

The Impact Of The Complex Interdependence Politics Essay As we all know , complex interdependence is a concept developed by Robert keohane and Joseph Nye in order to demonstrate that states are completely tied together in various aspects of their national resources , whether they be economic , military , agricultural , o political amongst others. The main characteristics of Complex Interdependence are three , in first place multiple channels , because these facilitate actions between communities either they be interstate or transnational. In second place low salience , this shows the use of force as a non viable tool in international relations and offers diplomacy and policies as substitute routes , and finally in third place we have issue areas and regimes , which show us a wide agenda of topics that link states together in order to reach their objectives , in other words the line between domestic and foreign policy becomes blurred in this case, as realistically there is no clear agenda in interstate relations.. If we analyze these three points we can see this as an attempt to synthesize elements of realism with liberalism. For millennia, a large and well-equipped army was all that was required to make ones voice heard and power felt on the international scene. As technologies evolved , the possession of a powerful economy and the threat of retaliation have proved as effective , if not more effective than the exposure of weapons and the threat of war. With the growing complexity of interdependence, fewer and fewer goals are achieved by relying exclusively on military threats but also on raw economic incentives. The utility of hard power methods has in general shrunk , as it is less likely than in the past to produce the desired outcomes. The current definition of International Relations is the study of human interactions through national borders and the factors that affect those interactions. But if we look back at the origins of International Relations as a field of study in the early 20th century we can see that it was mainly centered on Great Britains affairs. After the first world war International Relations appeared as a field of study in order to understand the war , its main causes and consequences. In the early 1920s universities across Great Britain and the United States founded faculties and departments devoted on this new and vital subject that was International Relations , because experts saw the dawn of a globalization and the future ties of the states with each other , this was conceived as liberal internationalism. The first academic institution dedicated to the study of international relations was Aberystwyth University founded in 1919 in Wales. The concept of complex interdependence was created in 1977 , after the world had seen two world wars and a number of conflict situations between nations , the devastating consequences that these acts of violence left on mankind where proof of the intrinsic connections one state has with another , even if they are from different religious or political backgrounds , or if they are located on the other side of the globe. The truth is that we are all linked with each other one way or another, and that is what complex interdependence made emphasis on. This opened up a whole new world in the study of international relations , showing how dominant nations such as United States , Great Britain , and Russia where involved in interdependent relations with under developed nations. The growing rate of transnational flows and the increase in channels of communication are creating an uprising in interdependence between states and nations , these relations influence them in many ways not only referring to material needs or objects but also in political and ideological concepts. Todays complex interdependence has become a multifaceted interdependence , one that includes a diversity of issues from cultural problems to environmental concerns , far from what it used to be , solely dependant on economic objectives and the support of military strength. This in terms of international relations shows us that the evolution of international relations has gone from military and economic dominance to an environment of general concern referring to as much aspects of one notion as possible ; everything, from the strength of our economy to the safety of our cities, to the health of our people, depends on events not only within our borders, but half a world away. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ ] We must see the opportunities and the dangers of the interdependent world in which we are clearly fated to live President of the United States Bill Clinton during a press conference in 1999 -. Environmental issues are becoming very important in transnational relations today , further more than any other issue contemplated by complex interdependence. For example the biological problems we have nowadays with bacterias , viruses , and other living organisms that can have disastrous consequences to the nation that receives them. Like the A1H1 virus , that spawned in Mexico and shortly after it spread throughout the globe causing thousands of deaths and creating a tense situation for Mexicos leaders , because they were held responsible for allowing the exit of such virus to rest of the world. In the twenty-first century, British foot and mouth disease or the SARS disease originating in Hong Kong cause fear the world over , precisely because of bacteriological interdependence and the speed at which the diseases propagate through out the planet with incredible ease. Another aspect that is going through everybodys minds as far as international relations goes is ecology and all topics related , ecological interdependence is only now taking on its current importance as a result of the major advances in technology , manufacturing , transportation and mass consumption during the course of the twentieth century. One result of these qualitative changes is that any alteration in a local environment can have both major ecological and political repercussions on a global scale , creating a conservationist mentality across the globe. For example, the deforestation of the Amazon jungle has had serious repercussion as far away as Italy and Japan as well as more locally in Brazil. As a result of phenomena such as this , environmental interdependence is having increasing political impact on national societies. Japan is sponsoring tree reforestations worldwide , providing governments with monetary incentives to plant trees and creating awareness within the popul ation to help with these issues. The complex interdependence has created a major boost in international relation in the 21st century , by creating better and deeper relationships amongst nations , but certain academics have seen a growing problem in international relations in the new millennia ; while the central problem of international relations in the 20th century was states that were too strong like Germany , Imperial Japan , and the Soviet Union , the primary problems of international relations in the 21st century are states that are too weak for example Afghanistan , Pakistan , Mexico , amongst others said Thomas Friedman , of the New York times. This is mainly because these states are going to need more detailed and consistent help from the global community , this is a positive aspect for these developing nations , but it could be seen as a negative for stronger states , because of the setbacks these relations can create in their domestic economies and issues. Todays international relations experts fully understand that globalization has taken over , and that the only way nations are going to improve their qualities of life , improve their domestic economies , and be seen as a strong and potential hot spot for external investments is to create deep rooted bonds with states worldwide. Nations used to have pretty much basic foreign policies , mostly limited to imports and exports , but thanks to the breakthroughs in international relations , most foreign policies have expanded exponentially in the matters of agriculture , fiscal aid , terrorism , the environment , health , and education. After the world trade center attacks on September 11 , 2001 , the world realized that terrorism is a major threat for everyone , because it can happen to anyone , anywhere , at anytime , therefore it became a top priority topic in international relations , leaded almost entirely by the United States and Great Britain , these new alliances wanted to create a worldwide network of nations fighting against terrorism , in order to avoid such regrettable acts such as the ones lived the citizens of New York City. Another topic created taken account in recent years is the war on narcotics processing and international distribution. One clear example is the agreement between drug enforcement agencies form the United States of America and Colombia , also known as the plan Colombia which basically consists in D.E.A cooperation with police training and financial aid. Without complex interdependence international relations would never be as important and as relevant as it is today , because without it nations would still be focused on domestic issues , and wouldnt be as concerned of other aspects of nations problems , because if it wasnt for the current interdependence situation states would only be interested in military power and economic benefits they could obtain from other nations. The 21st century is only beginning and the problems that the world and its nations are going to face to face are only revealing their selves, this is going to mean more work for embassies , consulates , diplomats , and heads of state worldwide in order to join together in search for the greater good. WHICH IS THE IMPACT OF COMPLEX INTERDEPENDENCE ON THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AS A DISCIPLINE AND WHICH ARE THEIR THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY? INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ESSAY JULIO URIBE RESTREPO #200710122002 UNIVERSIDAD EAFIT MEDELLIN 2010

Canterbury Tales - Wife of Bath :: essays papers

Canterbury Tales - Wife of Bath â€Å"The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales† had numerous unique characters, but the Wife of Bath struck me as the most interesting personality. Through the narrator’s use of direct and indirect characterization, significant details, and motivations for actions I was able to analyze the distinct traits of â€Å"the worthy woman from beside Bath city.† The narrator was very successful in portraying the wife. The wealth of the wife was distinct. â€Å"Her hose of finest scarlet red† shows the fortune she possesses. The wife also had enough fortune to travel to the most important shrines in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. The narrator’s described her appearance well. â€Å"Bold was her face, handsome, and red in hue† allows the reader to picture the wife as an attractive woman of her time. The middle-aged woman had impressive large hips and â€Å"gap-teeth† which express lust. Her corpulent figure was a very favorable aspect of the time; it indicated wealth and beauty. â€Å"She’d had five husbands, all at the Church door† allows the reader to grasp much about the wife. Having five husbands shows that she is sociable and interested in love and marriage. Her experiences with marriage allow her to be very knowledgeable of love, which is â€Å"an art in which she knew the oldest dances.† â€Å"†¦ All at the Church door† shows her devotion to tradition and her faith. Her dedication to the Catholic Church and the forbidding Church rules of the time, allow the reader to infer she did not divorce her husbands. Therefore, all of her husbands passed away, which allows us to conclude she may have married older men. This wealthy world-traveler, on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, is not motivated by her faith as she travels on this mediocre trip.

Alzheimers Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

We are currently living in the age of technology. Our advancements in the past few decades overshadow everything learned in the last 2000 years. With the elimination of many diseases through effective cures and treatments, Canadians can expect to live a much longer life then that of their grandparents. In 1900 about 4% of the Canadian population was over the age of 65. In 1989 that figure tripled to 12% and the government expects that figure to rise to 23% by the year 2030 (Medical,1991,p.13). This increase has brought with it a large increase in diseases associated with old age. Alzheimer's dementia (AD) is one of the most common and feared diseases afflicting the elderly community. AD, once thought to be a natural part of aging, is a severely debilitating form of mental dementia. Although some other types of dementia are curable or effectively treatable, there is currently no cure for the Alzheimer variety. A general overview of Alzheimer's disease including the clinical description, diagnosis, and progression of symptoms, helps one to further understand the treatment and care of patients, the scope of the problem, and current research. The clinical definition of dementia is "a deterioration in intellectual performance that involves, but is not limited to, a loss in at least 2 of the following areas: language, judgement, memory, visual or depth perception, or judgement interfering with daily activities" (Institute,1996, p.4). The initial cause of AD symptoms is a result of the progressive deterioration of brain cells (neurons) in the cerebral cortex of the brain. This area of the brain, which is the largest and uppermost portion, controls all our thought processes, movement, speech, and senses. This deterioration initially starts in the area of the cortex that is associated with memory and then progresses into other areas of the cortex, then into other areas of the brain that control bodily function. The death of these cells causes an interruption of the electrochemical signals between neurons that are a key to cognitive as well as bodily functioning. Currently AD can only be confirmed at autopsy. After death the examined brain of an Alzheimer victim shows two distinct characteristics. The first is the presence of neuritic plaques in the cerebral cortex and other areas of the brain including cerebral blood vessels.... ...988).Understanding Alzheimer's disease.New York: Scribner's. Brassard, Daniel.(1993).Alzheimer's Disease.Ottawa: Library of Parliament, Science and Technology Division. Brown, Phyllida.(1992, November 7).Alzheimer's May Not be Linked to Aluminum.New Scientist Supplement,p.6. Carlton University Department of Health Sciences Freenet.(1996).Internet.http:\www.nct.carlton ca/fp/social.services/alzheimer/disease.dir Evans, Denis, et al.(1989).Prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease in a Community Population of Older Persons.Journal of the American Medical Association,272(15),1152. Institute for Brain Aging.(1996).Internet.http:\www.128.200.55.17/aboutad.html Medical Research Council of Canada.(1991).Presidents Report 1989-1990. Myers, David.(1996).Exploring Psychology.New York: Worth. Pollen, Daniel.(1990).Hannah's Heirs: The Quest For the Genetic Origins of Alzheimer's Disease.London:Oxford University Press. Statement on Use of Apolipoprotein E Testing for Alzheimer's Disease.(1996).American College of Medical Genetics/American Society of Human Genetics Working Group on ApoE and Alzheimer's Disease.Internet.http:\www.faseb.org/genetics/asng/policy/pot

10 Time Tested Tips To Quickly Avoid Plagiarism

Ten Tips on how to avoid plagiarism: Students’ GuideHow to Avoid Plagiarism?When writing a college essay or a research paper, chances are that you will need to consult various sources to develop your ideas. However, you must show where the ideas or quotes are coming from, otherwise, you would be accused of plagiarism. In this guide, we will explore how best to avoid plagiarism. First of all, let us just say that there are so many articles out there which try to explain avoiding plagiarism. As a matter of fact, when we asked Google, we came across over 308,000 results. Doing this research will get you some good recommendations, but beware bad recommendation including using free plagiarism checker. I will explain why in a second. We believe what drives everyone crazy is the fact that so many of these articles are written with the intent to promote a company than trying to provide valuable information. In other cases we came across information that was just seasonal. So, that’s what brings us to this particular topic, how to avoid plagirism. Let’s dive right in†¦ Simply put, plagiarism is any instance of taking another person’s or author’s ideas or research and representing it as your own. Most colleges and universities have advanced plagiarism detection systems, and if you are caught, you will get penalties. Here is brief guide that describes how to check for plagiarism. The consequences for being caught having plagiarising in your work can be very severe, with punishments ranging from exclusion from a course to expulsion from university; even – in some instances – to court hearings. However, plagiarism is not always committed intentionally; most plagiarised essays or dissertations are simply improperly referenced, or where students inadvertently mix their own ides with those of another, without referencing. We have already provided a guide that goes in a lot of detail regarding how to paraphrase essays and dissertations. Yes, this is all Plagiarism – Examples of Plagiarism If you use a friend’s essay to submit without changes as your own, or using a part of it to construct your own work, without referencing, and without adequate research, you will be accused of plagiarism. Universities have advanced systems to prevent cheating, and all dissertations, essays, and coursework are submitted through TurnItIn, a system that holds all student work from thousands of universities, and detects abnormal similarity levels. You can certainly check how Turnitin works, by clicking on this link provided here. Using copyrighted material from a website or online sources. You are not allowed to use some sources in your work, and this is clearly stated. This can be patents, invention, artwork, or even studies. Some sources you come across when doing your research will state that the content is copyrighted, or you need the author’s permission to use it. Building your argument on one particular work w ithout adequately referencing it. While you might not use direct quotes from the source, you still need to give credit either in the list of sources or in your footnotes, otherwise, you will be accused of plagiarism. Rewriting an original work. Some students want to save time and energy by using an original essay and trying to rewrite it using different phrases, without changing the meaning. Even though you might have a unique content, similarities will be revealed by the advanced systems universities use, and you will be caught. Direct quotes without adequate referencing. When quoting word-for-word, you need to use quotation marks, and make sure that you provide the author’s name and publication year, along with the page number, based on the required referencing style. Collusion. If you collaborate with other people to complete the essay, research, or course work, you need to acknowledge this in your essay. University Guidelines to Avoid Plagiarism When you start your course, you will be provided with a guide on how to avoid plagiarism by your institution. Make sure that you read through the guidelines, requirements for referencing, and the policies, in particular focus on the penalties issued for breaching the code of academic conduct. You also need to familiarise yourself with the referencing methods expected by your university. You can learn to incorporate Harvard Style or APA style thru our site, make sure you check out our site Journal. Tips on Avoiding Plagiarism If you use direct quotations from books, journal articles, or internet sources, always use a quotation mark, followed by the in-text reference, including the page number. If you use a website as a source, include the paragraph number instead of the page number. Reference all the sources you used. If the idea was mentioned and presented by more than one author and sources, you need to list them all, if you consulted with the papers. If you are referring to multiple sources highlighting an issue or explaining a phenomenon, give details of all of them. If you conduct interviews or ask for advice from experts, discuss your topic with other people, you have to reference their input. Find out how to reference interviews and personal correspondence to avoid plagiarism by checking out our APA referencing guide. Paraphrase. Instead of quoting everything word-for-word, you can integrate the literature you consulted with in a few sentences and provide a reference for each source. You do not have to be exact, and you will need to show your understanding of the idea by putting it into your own words. Check and double check your reference list. One of the most common mistakes students make is that they quote certain sources, but they forget to list them in their bibliography or works cited page. After you finish writing your essay or research paper, go through the content and check that all sources are included in the reference list. This is a habit that will help you avoid plagiarism. Provide a full reference for all internet sources. While you might be tempted to simply mention the name of the website you retrieved the information from, this is not acceptable in academic writing. You need to find out who the author of the blog post or article is, and include their name in your references along with the date of publication. If you do not know the name of the author, you can simply use â€Å"Anon†, but never omit this information. Check Cre ative Commons agreements. You might want to use an image of a company’s logo or store as an illustration for your dissertation and essay, however, you need to check the usage rights before you do. Always search images and graphics through the Creative Commons website, and only use sources you are allowed to. Use advanced tools to detect plagiarism. You can use different tools, such as Grammarly or PaperRater to detect plagiarism before you submit your essay or course work to your university. Always be wary of FREE plagiarism scanning tool. Some companies might take your work publish it later down the road or in some cases it might be online within weeks. So, to avoid any problems, it is always better to pay for scanning your Essays. Always make it clear who stated what. You need to avoid ambiguity and always place the in-text reference after the quote or paraphrase. This way, the reader can easily associate the thought with the source. When in doubt, always cite. Citing more than necessary is always better than omitting citations. Add references when you feel like your paper could benefit from them.How Does our site Ensure Quality with No Plagiarism?As many of you know our Brand is reputable and respected in the online content world. We employ staff that can deliver quality work with the guarantee of 2.1 quality document. In addition, we promise to provide our clients Quality work that is never plagiarised or copied from anywhere with unlimited Edits. Every piece of work that is handed to you will be custom written just for you. We guarantee it. As a matter of policy, our site always performs two Plagiarism checks on each document. Each work is scanned and checked internally before you get it. Each piece of work goes thru manual review to make sure a third party reviews each and every document. By doing so, we ensure our clients are protected. If you have any doubts, you could request a plagiarism report. Do You Need Help with Avoiding Plagiarism? If you would like to make sure that you avoid plagiarism in your essay, you can contact the professional academic editors at our site to look through, edit, and improve your citations. Contact us to get professional help. Check out our sample Essay: Money Makes the World Go Round Summary Reviewer John – our site Admin Review Date 2017-08-18 Reviewed Item How to Avoid Plagiarism? Author Rating 5

Hobbes` Rwandan Leviathan Essay

In 1994 the world publicity was shaken by the events in Rwanda, which later were written down in the history books as ‘Rwanda crisis’. According to the local sources, however, this tragedy had been rooted long before the indicated year, particularly it is reported to start in 1990. 1990 is marked by Uganda forces having invaded Rwanda. In addition, this was aggravated by the fact that two presidents of Burundi were assassinated. In order to get the more complete outlook on the situation before the crisis one should be aware that in 1994 (before the black day of the President of Rwanda, Habyarimana, killing) there were one million of displaced people in Rwanda constantly fleeing from the north of the country to the capital Kigali (1, 2006). Hence, to accommodate for all this vast mass a very huge refugee camp had been organized. After their President was killed these people rushed to the city to grab everything they could. As a result there were more than 300 000 deaths between 1990 and 1994, which prevents us from limiting the crisis to the year of 1994 only (1, 2006). But this was only a preface. In brief, the Rwanda crisis can be described as follows: â€Å"The lives of nearly a million people had been taken within 100 days in 1994, as extremist members of the Hutu majority turned on the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus, vowing to exterminate the Tutsi and their influence on Rwandan society† (2, 1994:4). This massacre was stopped only when the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) threw down the acting genocidal government. Yet, that developed into another blood bath with over two million of Hutu refugees heading for Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire (current the Democratic Republic of Congo), etc. Just five days from July 14 to 18, 1994 about 850,000 people crossed the border to Goma in eastern Zaire (2, 1994:5). Even today these to the great extent, innocent Hutus are deprived of basic human rights and numerous cases are known when their human rights have been abused by the RPF (that is now at the helm) and they were returned by force to their Motherland where they do not have any rights at all. The major part of the refugees fled out because of fear convinced (owning to Hutu Power propaganda) that the Tutsi were a â€Å"subhuman† race willing to enslave and extirpate the Hutu people. However, their genocidaires quickly took over the refugee camps. Instead of safety refugees found intimidation, starvation, tortures and death. International humanitarian organizations were powerless and forced to provide aid through the genocidaires or just leave hundreds of thousands of refugees in trouble and distress. The Rwanda crisis proved how unprepared was the international community to dealing with refugee crises that involved threats to peace and security in the world. What is more, the novel Rwandan government together with their allies from Zaire attacked and wiped the refugee camps off the face of the earth claiming that ‘the camps posed incredible and intolerable threat to Rwandan security’ (3, 2006). Thousands and thousands of refugees were killed. Thousands more fell victims to cholera that set in along with other contagious diseases (such as dysentery, malaria, etc. ) as a consequence of people’s exhaustion, lack of food and drinking water. One may suppose that the described above conflict and crises that follows may definitely be a vivid example of Hobbes’ ‘rational’ theory according to which every man lives in fear, as well as the father of rational philosophy did himself. Hobbes once mentioned: â€Å"Fear and I were born twins together† (4, 1996; I: 11). In his main theoretical work and his masterpiece, the Leviathan, Hobbes suggested that there are two methods of state formation: commonwealth by institution commonwealth by acquisition (4, 1996; XIX: 147). With regard to the former, Hobbes supposed that at the uprise of civilization, individuals existed in such state of nature, when life was a perpetual conflict in which men were one another’s enemies. Furthermore, different individuals had relatively equal power, thus being unable to guarantee actual personal security for themselves. As a result, due to such hostile environment, the individual, suffers â€Å"continued fear, and the danger of violent death † and a way of life that is â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short† (4, 1996, I: 12). Even more, â€Å"nature hath made men so equal in faculties of body and mind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  that no â€Å"man can thereupon claim to himself any benefit to which another may not pretend as well as he† (4, 1996, XVII: 118). In general, this may be regarded as a society without acting laws and authorities with â€Å"all man have a right to everything†, and situation when â€Å"no action can be unjust† (4, 1996, XVII: 118). Moreover, the described state of nature leads, according to Hobbes, to the condition of war – â€Å"war of all against all,† in which human constantly seeks to destroy each other in an incessant pursuit for power (4, 1996, XVII: 118). However, this is not the war we are used to denote with this word. It is rather a condition of awareness about enemies than the act of violence itself. Instead of promoting war, Hobbes emphasizes that war cannot bring any benefits or provide any additional security. His purpose is to convince the readers that ruling power would save people from those unnecessary perils caused by the state of nature. Hence, such unfavorable state of nature, as Hobbes puts it, should and will prompt individuals to organize a ‘civil state’ with a monopolistic sovereign on the head by means of force and coercion. Such monopoly with absolute power will be able to ensure to the individuals safety from other members of their society, as well as protect from external intrusion. Therefore, from the recognition of the necessity for social order and peace people consent to obey to the sovereign. (4, 1996; XVIII: 127). Therefore, it would be more accurate to consider Hobbes’s ‘war’ to be a kind of competition or contest not the real military operations involving victims and bloodshed. It can be compared even to the emulation between two men who want to attract some woman they both like. Moreover, the author of Leviathan himself drives us to this conclusion by the following words: â€Å"So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory† (4, 1996; XVII: 119). He explains this again by the human nature, namely its faults: â€Å"†¦ all men are by nature provided of notable magnifying glasses (that is their Passions and Self-love,) through which, every little payment appeareth a great grievance; but are destitute of those perspective glasses, (namely Moral and Civil Science,) to see a farre off the miseries that hang over them, and cannot without such payments be avoided. † From this point of view, it seems, to my mind, obvious, that Rwanda civil war is not the case of Hobbes’ ‘state of war’. For Hobbes seizure of power meant improvement of the living conditions of people, even more it was the only way of providing them. The best society organization, from his standpoint, was the commonwealth in the meaning â€Å"a multitude of people who together consent to a sovereign authority, established by contract to have absolute power over them all, for the purpose of providing peace and common defense† (4, 1996; XVII:124). As it has been mentioned, â€Å"the purpose of establishing a commonwealth is to escape the state of nature and to provide peace and the common defense of the people; the sovereign is responsible for ensuring this defense† (4, 1996; XVII: 124). Remarkably, that the so-called ‘sovereign’ should not necessarily be a single person – it (or ‘he’ as Hobbes uses denotes it) may be comprised of a group of people who purpose at a common aim. Moreover, the sovereign’s task is not limited to promoting safety of the people but according to Hobbes, it covers also promotion of economic well-being of the community, sufficient nutrition, etc. By the latter Hobbes implies â€Å"distribution of materials conducing to life : in concoction, or preparation, and (when concocted) in the conveyance of it, by convenient conduits, to the public use. † (4, 1996; XVII: 126). Furthermore, ruling from the fact that there is no such state that can fully supply itself with all necessary resources, as â€Å"there is no territory under the dominion of one commonwealth, (except it be of very vast extent,) produceth all the things needful for the maintenance of the whole body,† Hobbes supposes that the state will import goods or resources from other states through normal trade (4, 1996; XVIII: 137). Hence, as we can see the situation with Rwanda coup d’etat and Hobbes’ process ad goal of taking power are worlds apart. The same refers to the consequences. Whereas the latter should theoretically results in prosperity of the citizens, the former lead, in fact, to the numerous casualties, famine, etc. Furthermore, in Rwanda there was no realization of ‘rational choices’, rather it was the outburst of ethnic hostility than an effort to capture power in order to improve the welfare of the people. In addition, though Hobbes’ tenet primarily touches upon sovereignty established on the basis of agreement, the scientist maintains that sovereignty reached through acquisition i. e. force entails the same rights and obligations covered by the contract (also called ‘covenant’ or ‘social contract’, which is â€Å"the act of giving up certain natural rights and transferring them to someone else, on the condition that everyone else involved in making the contract also simultaneously gives up their rights. People agreeing to the contract retain only those rights over others that they are content for everyone else to retain over them†) (4, 1996; XVIII: 139). The only difference is the way in which the sovereign comes to power. If a sovereign comes to rule by institution he is supported because people fear each other. And, in contrast, if he comes to rule by acquisition he is supported because people are afraid of him himself, which does not goes apart with the theory of state of nature. Hence, in both cases, the people literally enjoy the same rights, whereas in Rwanda they were completely deprived of any rights. Nevertheless, for Hobbes the second method can be compared with slave-master relationships (without a slave having right to rebel), in Hobbes’s own words: â€Å"The master of the servant, is master also of all he hath; and may exact the use thereof; that is to say, of his goods, of his labour, of his servant, and of his children, as often as he shall think fit. For he holdeth his life of his master, by the covenant of obedience; that is, of owning, and authorizing whatsoever the master shall do. And in case the master, if he refuse, kill him, or cast him into bonds, or otherwise punish him for his disobedience, he is himself the author of the same, and cannot accuse him of injury† (4, 1996; XVIII: 141). David Gauthier also argues that â€Å"a servant is hardly involved in the decision making calculus of the master; instead the servant exists to carry out the former’s dictates† (5, 2000:114). Yet, on the Rwanda’s example, the people defended and rebelled against their genocidaires, thus, they refused to perform the role of servants presupposed by Hobbes. To sum up, the Rwanda crisis has nothing in common with possible transfer to Hobbes’ model of state organization. It was founded on the ethnic hostilities that caused in the long run change of ruling power. Moreover, the purpose of the new government, in my opinion, was not the welfare of the people and the country but mere revenge for years of oppression. What is more, the people, though proving to some extent their natural (in accordance with Hobbes) inclination to being enemies to each other, did not resign themselves to the fact that they should be obedient and humble servants but rebelled instead and fought until the last breath. Nevertheless, even if the conflict is motivated by not the ethnic animosity but the rational choice, I will not recommend Hobbes’ reform of the society organization. At first glance, the objective and functions of his Commonwealth seem to be very promising, for example, preserving the society, establishing an internal order or peace, defending that peace against external violence, etc so that after all individuals can live peaceably (4, 1996; XVIII:145). However, I do not believe in such Utopia as for me it is evident that Hobbes’ state has all features of what is considered or ca turn in future into the totalitarian state (recall those master-slave relationships, overall power of the sovereign, etc. ). Our history has already proven that this form of governing is not applicable and is out-of-date with regard to our world and our life. Whatever the conflicts are, and no matter what leaders come to the rule they should bear in mind that our future is democratic one and there is no place on the earth to dictators and totalitarianism. Bibliography 1. Rwanda the Great Genocide Debate. Retrieved from University of Dayton Library on February 14, 2006: http://www. udayton. edu/~rwanda/articles/genocide/noendinsight.html 2. Rwandan apocalypse by Chris McGreal in Goma, Ian Katz from Guardian, Saturday July 23, 1994, p. 4-6. 3. The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide 1959-1994, published by Hurst and Company Ltd, 1995. Retrieved on February 14, 2006 from: http://www. humanrightsfirst. org 4. Hobbes, Thomas (ed. ) Tuck, Richard â€Å"Leviathan†. Cambridge University Press, 1996 5. Gauthier, D. P. (2000). The Logic of the Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 114-116.

Eating Out

Eating out is a fun way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion. However, eating out should not be a part of your regular diet. If you are attempting to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is almost impossible to do so if you are eating out on a regular basis. Appetizers and rolls are the first reason why eating out is bad for your health. When you cook at home, you usually do not prepare additional appetizers to eat before the main course because it is more work, but waiters at a restaurant push the appetizers, which can easily add an additional 500+ calories to your meal depending on what you order and how much you eat, just so that they can cushion their tip and make the restaurant more money. Restaurants also provide free rolls with butter. Eating two rolls can add another 300 calories to your meal. A seemingly healthy salad is the next disastrous course when eating out. A salad by itself is healthy, but many restaurants will add croutons, bacon bits, cheese, and fatty dressings to the lettuce and a couple other vegetables. The result is enough fat to fulfil your fat content for the entire day. If you're going to indulge in a salad, avoid the croutons altogether and opt for apple cider or balsamic vinegar or oil and vinaigrette. Between the appetizer, rolls, salad, and first round of drinks most people have already consumed more than they ever would by cooking a meal at home. The problem is that all of these items are pushed by the waiter or their eating companions, making it even more difficult for someone struggling with their diet to say no. The main course finally comes and you thought you ordered something healthy, fish, and steamed veggies, but what they don't mention on the menu is that vegetables are almost always soaked in butter and the fish is covered with a high calorie sauce to disguise the fact that it has been overcooked. The problem with eating out is that everything is so readily available with no work on your part. If given the choice most people don't want to spend the time to prepare a five course meal at home, this is reserved for holidays like Thanksgiving, but when presented with the opportunity for that five course meal without having to do any of the work involved it makes it all too easy for people to say yes. You finish your meal and the waiter comes over and makes a point of asking if you'd like dessert. Then the waiter will chatter on about all of the desserts available, you think that if you split the dessert with someone else at the table it will keep you from consuming too many calories. The problem is that you have already consumed too many calories before the dessert menu has even been presented. Also, even if you do split a desert you can easily be consuming another 500 calories. When all is said and done, your one meal out most likely contains more calories than you should be consuming in an entire day. It is best not to test your will power when it comes to your diet. The next time someone suggests eating out; quickly think of a delicious meal that can be cooked at home for a fraction of the calories. This will give you control over how your food is prepared, not to mention that eating at home will also save you hundreds of rupees per month.

French and English

Many philosophers with their struggle in understanding the behavior of human beings developed different means in which ethics can be approached and this leads to various conclusions. According to Palatal (2006), ethics is involve with the systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Thus, it could be said to be the principles, norm, values which indicates what is fair or unfair, true or false. This could be argued that the right is seen to be ethical and the wrong is seen as unethical.Hence, when it comes to being ethical doing the right thing is the best action that serves the idea of honesty, integrity, morality and good management practices (Palatal, 2006) The nature of ethics can be liken to deal with individual induct which is voluntarily carried out and not because of the circumstances in which one find themselves. Hence, there is total choice of freedom and freewill attached to any of their decision making. In any organization, ethical practi ces should be applicable to any organizational behaviors because there are rules which governs the activities of the organization which may be Judged.The moral standard of any organization can be applied to the organizational policies, behavior and institutions. Milton Friedman had believed that the â€Å"primary and the only responsibility is making profit† while abiding by the law. Others argued that any company with self-interest pursuing profit will automatically benefit the whole society. Edward freeman in his argument said shareholders should not only benefit from the business but the benefit should be extended to the employees, customers and suppliers, families and also the operations of this businesses.Ethical businesses offers the company a competitive advantage and also makes the consumers loyal to ethical brands no matter the situation. Building customers' loyalty is one of the source to a long-term business. Thus, the reputation for an organizations' ethical behav ior can help to create an image that is positive in the marketplace and can also serve as an advertisement for the company. On the other hand, bad reputation due to unethical act may hurts the company. The societies in which we live in has a big influence on moral, customs and values by passing on to next generations their culture through the process of acculturation.Hence, this leading to a distinctive set of morals surrounded by every social group: relativism. Although it is sometimes argued that moral varies. So many times, there are question as to whether the societal morals being absolute can be Judged or not: absolutism. In trying to analyses the context of ethical relativism, ethical absolutism and ethical pluralism. Moral absolutism sees its culture to be right and the best which cannot be challenged. In other words, there is no right nor good culture at which could be preserved.In this context following this morality could be dangerous and this could lead an organization or someone into radicalism. For example, Muslims in some part of the world who either killed or punished people who are not Muslims. Moral relativism says you believe in your culture and I believe in my culture. Here, there is no right or rang, because different has a different moral, in other words if a culture is seen as valid or invalid, this will totally depend on that time in which the culture had existed.For example, the biblical Jesus which is seen as the son of God by the Christians and also Mohammed which is also seen by Islam as God's messenger. There is absolutely nothing wrong in this, the main issue here is, respect should be given to all culture without trying to consider if or not harm will be done to someone or not. Another example is the tradition of circumcising women in most part of Africa or the Hinduism tradition which allows women to burn themselves after the death of their husband. In moral pluralism, it is believe that every culture should be given limited room to exist.For example people from different backgrounds no matter their ethnicity all over the world is permitted to live in Canada and also maintain their culture and languages peacefully, although Canada has its official language as French and English. Pluralism believes that we cannot be 100% right as human beings. The concept of pluralism respects and value other opinion which will lead to he enrichment of the society. However, as earlier stated, there is limits to pluralism. A harmful culture to a person is not allowed in pluralism.An example will be the circumcision of women and women burning themselves is not acceptable in Canada. A UTILITARIAN PERSPECTIVE: this concept was developed by Jeremy Beneath and John Stuart Mill. Its main goal is to provide the greatest number which is guided by the value, â€Å"utility'. ( Mullahs, 2010). Here, making decisions is purely on the basis of outcomes or consequences. Utility perspective take a look at action as right if it rings happin ess to the people involve. Although there are some issues involve with this view, utilitarian perspective is also concerned with the costs of a particular action.It thus, tries to make the evaluation of ethics precise by way of accumulating every ones happiness and thereby taking away their unhappiness. As seen in the case of Swiss Bank, the credit Issue had admitted guilt and plead guilty for their action, thus, this serves as a form of moral reasoning. Utilitarian perspectives believes that the moral right of any action course in any situation should generates infinite above harm to every person affected. The management of Swiss bank did not care if the profit the bank was making was as made under lies and deceit to the general public or not.Thus, utilitarian perspective does not consider that so long as it is beneficial to all the party involve. Using utilitarianism perspective in the case of credit Issue, Swiss Bank was acting in a way that will maximize the benefit of their cus tomers. A practice is good or bad if it leads to the best possible balance of good consequences over bad ones (Bà ©chamel and Bowie, 1997:22) cited in Camel Mullahs t al (2010). Many philosophers has argued about the utilitarian perspective as it involve the substantial reproduction of a better society is being maximized.The utilitarianism assumption centers on when difficult choice is being face, the right thing to do is trying to ensure that the possible best outcome is affected by bulk people so long as it is not resulting to being suffered by the minority. In the case study given, the entire organization takes blame for the act by resulting to pay fine given. In business world today, and the frequent operation of utility today, the odder neo-classical economists tend to refer to expected utility as the key mechanism that drives individual choice. Mullahs, 2010). Organizational choices should be that each of its decision should help in the minimization of the organizational util ity. Human resource managers view consumers as utility and the become self-centered. The case of credit Issue, their basic aim was to maximize their utility whether as citizens, consumers, shareholders or organization in competition in the marketplace. THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE: this perspective hold that individual has certain basic entitlement. (Mullahs, 2010). This perspective has to do with the language of rights.They are right to freedom of association, free speech, and employees' rights and so on. The USA independence declaration emphasized that every man is given unalienable rights (Velasquez, 2014). According to Velasquez, (2014), moral right are Justified by moral standards in which most people acknowledge, but which are not necessarily codified in law. Thus this standards are being interpreted differently by different people. To some the idea to rely on right as a guide to ethical action could not be match. Right in other words can be negative, Hereford pacing more emphasize o n moral right rather than legal rights.In Cant's philosophy, morals together with notion rights gives a theoretical foundation in which human resources in other to evaluate and reformulate ethical practices. According to Karma and Seed (2012), what a person deserves or is entitle to can be evaluated using rules or law that is related to the principles of equality, fairness and retribution, and non-discrimination. It has been argued that, many do not have the fundamental freedom to exercise their right which means that there is need for some right to be limited. As in the case of Swiss bank, THE VIRTUE PERSPECTIVE: virtue perspective is also use in resolving issues in workplace.According to Karma and Seed (2012), virtue ethics is concern with the actor rather than the action. The word virtue could not be mention without linking to the Greek philosopher Aristotle. It is believe that every human being has potential virtue in them. This approach, ethically tried to over rid the criticis m of people knowing what to do but choose not to as in the case study. Human resource managers sometimes trying to use this framework may face difficult choice to make. In relation to the case study, the managers has the right to protect customer's asset and wealth, and also being loyal to is one of the bankers/ customers right.The virtue perspective, once its in the organization, it will enable the workers to compete favorably without thinking of unethical practices. THE CARE PERSPECTIVES: this approach is distinct from the moral philosophy of Kant together with others. This framework is used as an alternative approach to solve problems and it recognizes, response to the well-being of other's needs. In analyzing the Swiss case, there is equal treatment for all the customers. The customers and the employers were treated in the same way. There was no discrimination among the customer as the case did not mention.The Swiss bank, plead guilty and was charge with a fine and did not discl ose the information of the customers involve. This is like the example of the case of the one eye mother who gave her one eye to the son and the child grew up hating her because she has Just an eye. A NON-ESSENTIALIST PERSPECTIVE: there is need for ethical operations in workplaces. Although sometimes organization which operates under ethics can be associated with less profit and still ill like to stay in the competition whereas large organization has large profit which will enhance their reputations.Still there is needs for ethical behavior and also understanding the culture different is paramount in the society. Swiss bank helping their customer might be ethical in some part of the society an unethical in other part. As managers views for moral being different in the organization the find themselves so is their decision making policies different. Ethical practices should be more focus, once this is achieve, there will be positive returns. What goes around comes around (Brattiest , T. Lass lectures. CONCLUSION: Business ethics as earlier discuss are said to be issues which are said to be identifying problems or identifying situation or opportunity and looking for means actions which could be used in solving them. This is also seen as set values norms and responsibility in which members of the same organization recognizes and share same. This also relate to the way business owners conduct their business in order to make profit. A business is said to be ethical when it gives positive contribution to the society without causing any damage to its environment or in any case exploiting it Rockford.In the corporate business world, culture and tradition and strong value are being taken under condition. Corporate business organizations are part of the society, so there are certain expectations in which people are willing to see. There are corporate ethics trend in the world today, business which are socially liable respond quick to public demand in order to improve eff iciency. RECOMMENDATION: As an international human resource manager there is need for the organization to adopt ethical code of conduct which will help the organizational development.The ethical code of the organization will help the organization to obtain the organizational core values and meet it objectives. This will bring about transparency and a true and fair value. Thus giving the organization respect in the society. Leaders in organization should also understand the different in culture, language, trade union of the environment in which the business operate. There is need to improve motivation in order to achieve goals and objective of the organization.In international resource management, different culture sees and perceive thing fervently, so there is need for organization to always try to improve their brand and image in other to attract new and retain old customers. International managers has different views when it comes to moral principle, also hiring of good manager is advice. This principle should be inculcate into the workforce and strive ethically for increase and put more focus on the organizational corporate level strategies. The organization should be able to fish out bad eggs in workplaces, it is normally said a journey of hundred miles begins with a step.

Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic, and Hyperbolic geometry

Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic, and Hyperbolic geometry Free Online Research Papers Though in schools most students learn Euclidean Geometry, there are actually many different types. These different types were developed by other mathematicians who developed theories and research that may have contradicted the work of other mathematicians. This resulted in the formation of four different types of geometry. The four types are Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic(aslo known as Riemanns geometry), and hyperbolic.(Also known as lobachevskys geometry) Euclidean Geometry which is sometimes called flat or parabolic geometry is named after the greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria. Euclid lived in alexandria, Egypt and is credited for writing Elements which is considered to be the most successful textbook in the history of mathematics. Also, he is known for his use of logical reasoning to prove mathematical theorems which is still the backbone to mathematics. One of his most credited accomplishments was his reasearch of Euclidean Geometry which is based almost entirely on his studies. Euclidean Geometry is based on rules called postulates. It is different from other geometries because of the parralel postulate which states that through a point not on a given straight line, one and only one line can be drawn that never meets the given line. This is what seperates Euclidean geometry from other types such as Reimann geometry where no parralel lines exist. In Euclidean geometry each point is mapped on a rectangular coordinate system in Euclidean space with a unique set of real numbers. It is used to describe points in space or on a plane to express geometric relations. Spherical geometry contradicts Euclidean geometry in two ways. Spherical geometry states that there are no parralels to a given line through an external point and the sum of angles and triangles is greater than 180 degrees. An understanding of this geometry can be made by considering geometry on the surface of a sphere where the shortest distance between two points is an arc of a great circle reather than a straight line. This is what seperates spherical geometry from Euclidean geometry. Because spherical geometry is based on great circles, all circles meet in two points on a spherical plane meaning that no two circles can be parralel. Also, In spherical geometry triangles and other angles exist where great circles meet. The triangles are formed where three great circles meet, using a portion of the equator and two meridians of longitude whos endpoints connect to one of the poles. Because the two angles at the equator would each measure 90 degrees the sum of all three would exceed 180 degrees. Reimann geometry, which is based on the studies of german mathematician Bernhard Reimann is extremely similar to spherical geometry. Bernhard Reimann is considered to be the most influential mathematician of the mid nineteenth century. His study of geometry, called Riemann geometry or Eliptic Geometry is much like spherical geometry in the statement that there are no parralels to a given line through an external point. Reimann geometry is also known as elliptic geometry because like an elipse, a line in a plane in Reimann geometry has no point at infinity where parralels could intersect. Very opposite the studies of Reimann, is Lobachevskys geometry. Lobachevsky was a russian mathematician who is not only responsible for Hyperbolic geometry but also is credited fordeveloping a method for the approximation of roots of algebraic equations. Lobachevskys Geometry is also known as hyperbolic geometry. It is called hyperbolic geometry because just like a hyperbola has to asymptotes, a line on a hyperbolic plane has two points at infinity. Hyperbolic geometry explores the theorum that the sum of the angles of a triangle is less than 180 degrees which contradicts Reimann, spherical, and euclidean geometry. Euclidean states that the sum of the angles of a traingle always add up to 180 and Reimann and spherical geometries both state that the sum of the angles of a triangle exceeds 180 degrees. The best way to understand the hyperbolic plane is by using the image of a saddle-like or saddle-shaped surface. hyperbolic geometry states that two rays extending in either direction from a point, and not meeting a line are considered to be distinct parralels to that line. Another result of Lobachevskys geometry is the statement that there is a finite upper limit on the area of a triangle, corresponding to a traingle whose sides are parralel and all of whose angles are zero. All four of these types of geometry were developed by brilliant mathematicians and have sufficent proof that none is more correct than the other. All of been very influencial to the world of modern math and math of their own times. They are all huge contributions to the world around and are all widley used throughout the world. Research Papers on Euclidean, Spherical, Eliptic, and Hyperbolic geometryThe Hockey GameThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeTrailblazing by Eric AndersonMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductMind TravelEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenStandardized TestingResearch Process Part OneOpen Architechture a white paper

Holocaust Literature Reflection †History Essay

Holocaust Literature Reflection – History Essay Free Online Research Papers â€Å"Holocaust Literature Reflection† History Essay We lament in fields of loneliness for six million of one number torn away. Remember them. This quote is from an anonymous author who was remembering all of the innocent people that were killed during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was during World War One from the years of 1933-1945. During this period innocent people were killed because they were Jewish, handicapped, homosexual, a gypsy or any other type that the Nazis didn’t like. In the book, All But My Life, a memoir written by Gerda Weissmann Klein, a survivor from the Holocaust tells her story of what she went through. There were many memorable parts, but I can remember one part that I will never forget. The most memorable part for me was when Gerda was at Bolkenhain on page 133, Part Two, Chapter 5. Frau Kà ¼gler, a German, was in charge of everyone at this camp. One of the days at camp Gerda began to run a very high fever. The nurse, Litzi, decided to keep her from working because she was feeling terrible fatigue. Gerda had been in there for two days when Frau Kà ¼gler came running in. She told Gerda to hurry up and get dressed to go work in the factory. Gerda was really confused, but she did what she was told. When Gerda got there she started working, but felt very sick and could hardly stand. Frau Kà ¼gler rushed over to her and said, â€Å"Pull yourself together, Gerda, it is a matter of life or death!† A few minutes later she saw an SS man walk by. She learned later that the ones who were ill were sent straight to Auschwitz. Gerda learned that day that not all Germans were bad people. This was my favorite part because it showed how kind even people against you can be. In conclusion, I learned a lot from this part of the story. Next time I can help someone this much, I will definitely do it. Frau Kà ¼gler was very brave and if I could ever get to know her I would commend her. Gerda was very strong and very lucky to have such a good friend like Frau Kà ¼gler. Research Papers on â€Å"Holocaust Literature Reflection† - History EssayBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayTrailblazing by Eric AndersonThe Fifth HorsemanCapital PunishmentMind TravelThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Honest Iagos Truth through Deception

The Best SAT Prep Websites You Should Be Using

The Best SAT Prep Websites You Should Be Using SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT has been around in one form or another since 1901. Through all its changes, probably the most helpful one for you is the rise of free online practice questions and guides covering every aspect of the test. Rather than having to carry around 400-page practice books like the students of yesteryear (i.e., the 90s), you can use these online resources to prep from anywhere with the Internet. To help you discern high-quality resources from low-quality ones, this guide will break down the SAT prep websites you can use to review content, learn strategies, and find practice questions. Disclaimer: Free SAT Resources at PrepScholar This article is one of many detailed guides offered (for free!) by PrepScholar. By exploring our other articles, you'll find in-depth information and analyses of all aspects of the SAT and ACT, from suggested study schedules to how to read passages to how to choose your test dates. Plus, we like to keep on top of those high-profile cheating scandals that often result in SAT score cancellations across the globe. I personally think PrepScholar offers the most insightful, high-level guidance around every step of the testing process. Our customized online test prep program tracks your progress and does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. That's why I'll link to our various guides when appropriate in order to give you a sense of the different areas we cover and continue to add to every day. At the same time, there are several other sites with highly useful information for your SAT prep. Rather than listing them in a row, I'll organize them by the testing steps you're looking for, starting with test registration and followed by guides for scheduling, test-taking strategies, and practice questions. Official SAT Website: The College Board If you've heard of the SAT, then you've probably heard of the College Board. This group administers the SAT and sends your score reports to colleges. To register for the SAT, you must create an account on the College Board website and upload a picture of yourself. You can then use this site to register for the SAT, learn about AP tests, and research colleges across the country. But this isn't all the College Board does. For one, it breaks down the SAT's overall format and skills: you can go "inside the test" to see what concepts are tested on the Reading, Math, Writing, and Essay sections. Some descriptions are a bit wordy and confusing, so you'll have to look elsewhere if you want to learn about the test in more accessible language. This website also offers free prep material, including SAT practice questions and ten full-length practice tests. SAT questions from the test makers are the gold standard when it comes to test prep. You can access dozens of sample questions for Reading, Writing, and Math, and you'll get to see all correct answers and answer explanations. For the Essay, the College Board gives test takers two sample essay prompts, and each section of the sample essay is scored from 1 to 4. Because the full-length tests are the same as those in The Official SAT Study Guide, I advise printing them out on your own rather than buying the book. Make sure to time yourself as you take the practice tests, and spend ample time correcting your answers with the answer keys provided. Best SAT Websites for Content and Strategy What concepts are tested on the SAT? What are the different skill sets you need for Writing and Reading? What kinds of tricks can you use to keep yourself from running out of time? One key part of your SAT prep that you won't find much of on the official SAT website is strategy. The College Board doesn't want you to know that questions follow certain standardized templates, or that you'll usually find the same kinds of wrong answers on Reading questions meant to distract you from the correct one. Nor will it give you strategies for reading passages quickly and efficiently or managing your time on tricky math questions. So what resources should you use instead? The following SAT websites are the most useful for learning the content and format of the SAT and getting down critical test-taking strategies. PrepScholar Informational and Strategy SAT Guides Our SAT blog offers in-depth coverage of each section of the test. Read about what's tested on each of the four sections, learn every detail of the SAT structure, and get a comprehensive look at the most recent SAT data, including average scores and percentiles. Unlike the College Board, whose SAT-ACT comparison charts clearly favor the SAT, our breakdown of the two tests has no agenda for you to choose one college admissions test over the other! Some of our best guides to help you understand the content and format of the SAT are as follows: What's Tested on the SAT Math Section? What's Actually Tested on the SAT Reading Section? What's Tested on the SAT Writing Section? SAT Essay Prompts: The Complete List Complete Comparison Charts: SAT vs ACT I also suggest exploring our General Info articles for information on topics such as test dates; Score Choice; scoring, sending, and receiving scores; and the best books for SAT prep. Although learning about the content and format of the SAT is relatively straightforward, finding effective strategies for answering questions and saving time on it are fewer and further between. The following list contains 10 of our most useful and popular SAT strategy guides. You can find more under the SAT Strategy category as well: How Long Should I Study for the SAT? 6 Step Guide Should You Guess on the SAT? 6 Guessing Strategies The 28 Critical SAT Math Formulas You MUST Know How to Get an 800 on SAT Reading: 11 Strategies by a Perfect Scorer The Complete Guide to SAT Grammar Rules How to Write an SAT Essay, Step by Step The Best Way to Review Your Mistakes for the SAT Choose Your SAT Test Dates: When's a Good Time For You? How to Study for the New SAT in 2016 How to Get a Perfect 1600 SAT Score, by a 2400 Expert Full Score This is just a small sampling of the SAT strategy guides we offer. In addition to these, we've written tons of guides specific to Math, Reading, and Writing for students in grades 9 through 12, and for middle schoolers who are starting prep early or taking the SAT to qualify for talent competitions. Finally, we strive to keep up with trends and events in the world of the SAT, as you can see in our articles on SAT Essay length and the SAT curve. Erica Meltzer's The Critical Reader Erica Meltzer's blog is extremely useful for prepping for the SAT Reading, Writing, and Essay sections. Over the years, Meltzer's blog has evolved from covering standardized testing to addressing many issues facing students today. That means you will probably have to dig through the site's extensive archives to find SAT prep articles. Many of those posts cover general topics, like learning vocabulary in context and comma usage. Additionally, some of her SAT Reading tips have been merged with ACT Reading tips since the tests are so similar these days. That said, Meltzer offers several useful posts and will most likely continue to add to them. Here are some of her posts that are definitely worth checking out: Using the introduction to get the big picture General vs. specific in Critical Reading answer choices Finding the point The importance of transitions What parts of speech can be subjects? I suggest exploring the blog for more tips for the verbal sections. Although her posts are engaging, Meltzer ultimately leaves it up to you to seek out examples and sample questions when trying out her advice. Erik the Red While Meltzer's blog focuses on verbal skills, Erik the Red is all about SAT Math. This website lets you download PDFs containing critical math facts, formulas, strategies, and vocabulary. The resources here are useful for both the SAT Math section and the SAT Math Level I and Level II Subject Tests. However, it's important to note that this website is even less updated for the SAT than Meltzer's blog is. The math resources here have remained unchanged since the old SAT and thus don't reflect the current SAT format, question types, and skills tested. I decided to keep this website on this list because many of the math concepts explained here- especially the algebraic ones- are essential to your performance on SAT Math. The PDFs Erik the Red has are still useful review for content areas like linear equations, nonlinear equations, functions, quadratic equations, and graphs. You could use them as review, but be sure to focus on the skills that will actually appear on the SAT (and leave out the ones that are less important). For instance, you don't have to focus too much on geometry since it'll only show up in about 3-5% of SAT Math questions. Ask the Dean on College Confidential If you have general questions about the form or content of the SAT that aren't answered in the resources above, try College Confidential. This website offers several student and parent discussion threads about the SAT, which you can peruse or even comment on. The Ask the Dean forum in particular has some helpful advice about how many times to take the SAT. It suggests three- that's more than what the College Board says to do and about the same as what we recommend doing (depending on your circumstances and goals). If you have questions about the logistics of the SAT, read up on the test on College Confidential before signing up for a test date. Best Websites for Free SAT Practice Questions The College Board isn't the only website that offers an assortment of free, high-quality SAT practice questions. Below are our top three picks for the best online resources for practice questions for the Reading, Writing, Math, and Essay sections. Some of them even offer full-length tests! Khan Academy Khan Academy has designed a scaffolded SAT prep program that diagnoses your level and takes you through practice questions, step by step. It was developed in collaboration with the College Board, so all of its practice questions are official and realistic. Its combination of video and written explanations will also appeal to different learning styles. On Khan Academy's interactive site, you can set up an account and take diagnostic tests on each section of the SAT. Then, Khan Academy will suggest what level you should focus on and, much like our own customized approach, present you with targeted question types to help you improve. The site breaks down each section into subtopics and gives you helpful tips on how to structure your prep schedule. Because it keeps track of your progress, you can log in from anywhere to pick up where you left off. In addition to SAT practice questions, Khan Academy offers resources that explain the structure of the SAT. At present, there are six articles and corresponding videos that describe the format and content of each section (including the Essay) and how they're scored. The website also contains a helpful glossary of SAT terms that go over what terms like "percentile" and "raw score" mean. If you're tired of reading about the SAT and prefer to watch explanatory videos, then Khan Academy is your best source for video explanations of what's on the SAT. Though its SAT material is thorough, the limited number of practice questions and lack of test strategy mean that Khan Academy, while incredibly useful, shouldn't be your only source of practice problems. PrepScholar Collection of Old and New Official SAT Practice Tests We've compiled PDFs for all ten official SAT practice tests, which you can download, print, and take on your own. In addition, we've collected four old SAT practice tests (using the 2400 system) and four very old SAT practice tests (using the old 1600 system). While these tests use old versions of the SAT, they can still be useful for your prep as long as you focus on relevant question types and skip the ones no longer tested (such as Sentence Completion). You'll have to score these tests on your own as well as take the time to understand your mistakes and analyze your answer choices. You can also try out a 5-day free trial of PrepScholar's online test prep program. For these 5 days, you'll have access to the entire program and can try out whether this approach to test prep works for you. PrepScholar helps break down your SAT prep into manageable goals, tracks your progress, and customizes your studying so you're focusing on the practice problems where you need the most improvement. If you enjoy this approach to test prep, then you can continue on with the entire program. If not, then you can call it quits after your 5-day trial. CrackSAT.net Like PrepScholar, CrackSAT.net offers free, official, old SAT practice tests (with answer keys) that you can download for free as PDFs. While the site does have some resources for the New SAT, there aren't very many. Having said that, even old SAT practice tests are great resources for practicing test-taking strategies to maximize your time...and your score. Like some of the other resources we've mentioned, you'll have to score these practice tests yourself. Be sure to set aside time to understand and analyze any mistakes you made. Also, this website is a bit tough to navigate, but once you wind your way through it, you'll have access to plenty of SAT practice questions. Altogether, this collection of websites and blogs can give you a ton of information about the SAT, from its content and form to strategies and official practice questions. Read on to learn the steps you should take to best use these online SAT resources in your prep. How to Use SAT Websites Effectively In order to get the most out of the websites listed above, you'll need to know how to approach and use SAT websites effectively. For both the College Board and Khan Academy, you'll want to make an account and keep track of your usernames and passwords. To post on College Confidential, you'll also need to register on the site to connect with community of students and parents going through the same college application process as you. For our own SAT strategy guides and Erica Meltzer's blog, you can just read through the different articles to answer any questions you might have or to learn new tips. You can then try out the various strategies you've learned on official SAT practice tests. Although the College Board is the official site for all things SAT, I recommend against taking all of its advice as definitive. The College Board's resources don't focus on test-taking strategies, which are the key to making sure you're scoring as high as possible. In the end, your best shot is to search for high-quality strategies and insights into the SAT on these other websites, and then try them out on official practice questions or during our free, five-day SAT prep program trial. By combining strategy and content readiness with official SAT practice questions, you'll be able to improve your score a great deal across all dates you take the SAT! What's Next? I gave you links to some of our most popular SAT articles- but these aren't our only SAT strategy guides. Browse our blog to get more tips on the Math, Reading, and Writing sections of the SAT. Many of our articles cover crucial test-taking approaches like managing your time, guessing effectively, and using the process of elimination. For more information about the college admissions process, check out our complete guide to applying to college. We also have individual guides on how to get into the best colleges in the nation, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: