Ethics The Element of Moral Philosophy by Rachels, Meditations ( Essay

Ethics The Element of Moral Philosophy by Rachels, Meditations ( Marcus Aurellius), A man For All Seasons (Bolt) - Essay Example Additionally, the origin of morals and moral behavior is relatively unknown; as is what components a person must consider when deciding whether his or her actions would be considered moral. Unlike many consequentialists, Kant asserts deontological, or "Duty Based" morals. Essentially, morals come directly from the will of the person taking action; that person will do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do. This approach to ethics is the easiest to teach, the first people learn, and the most cut-and-dry approach to ethics and moral influence available. The Kantian approach to morality relies heavily on universal acceptance and implementation of "laws" such as whether or not a person should lie, steal, or murder. Clearly, to lie, steal, or murder is wrong; therefore a moral person will never lie, will never steal, and will never murder another person. The idea of "Universal Acceptance and Application of Laws" is known as the Categorical Imperative. Kant describes this Categorical Imperative as a personal choice: act in a manner that you would like to see become a universal law. This is somewhat akin to the "Golden Rule" - in a sense. In essence, this ideal asserts that while a person is deciding whether or not to do something (such as lie) to first consider whether or not that action should be done to him. To work with the example of lying: if a person does not believe that lying should be a universally accepted practice, then that person - through logic and reasoning - should not lie under any circumstances. Deontological ethics are rarely concerned with the outcome of an action - only the action itself is measured in terms of moral evaluation. Therefore, the Kantian approach to ethics is largely impartial and more objective than other views of moral behavior. As stated by Kant, there are no exceptions within this approach to ethics and morals. If it is wrong to lie, then at no time should a person lie. No matter the outcome of a situation, deontological ethics define a person as morally right if that person did not lie. For example, people seeking employment often have to write up resumes and/or fill out job applications. Some jobs require a certain amount of experience or training within the profession - or possible a particular personality - to consider an interviewee for employment. While filling out the application, duty-based ethics would require that a person be forthright with his or her information and personality traits - even if doing so may cost him or her employment. If the result of being honest results in the loss or foreclosure of the home, the act of being honest about his or her experiences on the job application is still measured as morally correct. The Kantian approach to ethics and morals is not without its flaws; some concepts simply cannot be categorized as "universal" and other should not. For example, if one persons morals infringes upon the rights or morals of another person. The use of contraceptives can be used as an example of this. If people were to universally stop the use of contraceptives, the world would become much more populated than it already is. Teen pregnancy would being to increase, and subsequently the number of abortions and adoptions would increase proportionally. However, if everyone universally began using

Transgender Children Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Transgender Children - Research Paper Example They are transgendered children† ABC News, 2007 The terms ‘sex’ and /or ‘gender’ are used loosely and interchangeably, in today’s society, with respect to describing an individual’s gender, despite the fact that both the words have a completely different meaning, which is distinct from each other. The word ‘sex’ refers to the biological categorization of an individual into ‘male’ or ‘female’ gender, based on their reproductive organs. Gender on the other hand, is more of a social construct, and is a term coined and used by the society to classify and describe an individual typically ‘male’ or ‘female’, based on social gender descriptions of the two (Morrow & Messinger, 2006). One of the most common misconceptions with regard to the definition of the term ‘gender’ as applied by the society, refers to the fact that it is an integral part of our existence and ident ities, and that it assigns social status to newly born, at the time of their birth. The society as well as our surrounding environment such as parents, plays a key role in shaping and influencing our attitudes towards what constitute gender, and inculcate socially acceptable gender norms, by interactions with the children and is reflected in the type of toys or clothes bought for the male and the female child. Such behavior on the part of the child’s immediate environment tends to teach the ‘appropriate’ and acceptable manner of leading their lives, and teaches them to behave in a ‘gender appropriate’ manner. The term ‘transgender’ as applied in contemporary society, is an umbrella term which is used to describe individuals with gender identity issues, and display a non-conformist behavior / attitude with regard to the same, i.e., an individual, biologically born as a male tends to behave as a female trapped in a male’s body and v ice versa (Morrow & Messinger, 2006). The transgender children often insist of being born in the ‘wrong body’ (ABC News, 2007). Research questions: The key research questions addressed as a part of this study include: What does it mean to be transgendered? What are the key causes behind such gender identity issues? Are there any cures for the same? But most of all this study aims to emphasize the gravity of the issue, and delve further into the complex social and psychological implications of transexualism and its impact on the children and those around them. In order to seek answers for the above listed questions, a qualitative research method - secondary data analysis, is used, whereby data from academic and clinical journals, books, and other primary resources such as government websites and newspapers are used. 2. Literature review 2.1. Understanding Transgender Children: The term 'Transgender' refers to people who have serious gender identity issues and have diffic ulty associating and correlating with the biological sex they are born with. Such individuals do not suffer from any genetic abnormalities (Lee & Houk, 2006). Transgender children suffer from gender identity issues wherein the boys are often seen more comfortable with associating themselves with girls, dress like them and even play with dolls, display stereotypical feminine traits and vice versa (Brill & Pepper 2008). Research indicates that children normally begin to develop gender identity around the age of three years (Cohen-Hettenis & Arrindell, 1990. This theory holds true even in case of transgender child

The UK Construction Industry: Impact of the Recession

The UK Construction Industry: Impact of the Recession INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Background Information According to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the UK construction industry has 250,000 firms employing 2.1 million people, and contributes 8.2 percent of the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Construction companies provide employment for every skill level from labourers to architects as well as the opportunity to work for every size of firm from family run businesses, to major contractors. Its efficient operation and competitiveness is also essential to the fulfilment of the Governments commitment to improve public services and infrastructure. The delivery of new schools, hospitals, affordable housing, eco homes, all depend on the success of the construction sector to deliver. Key issues the construction industry is facing in 2009 With cut-backs, uncertainty and more red tape it looks as if 2009 will be a challenge. To say the year has been one of turmoil and change is an understatement. The reeling financial markets and the swelling sense of gloom overshadowing the general economic outlook have, naturally, a corollary in the construction industry always a lag barometer for the economic climate. And the uncertainty is far from over. If some experts are correct, we may be witnessing just the initial battering of the storm. Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, has admitted it is likely that the country is heading for a â€Å"prolonged and painful recession†. In the last twelve months, the national and global situation has worsened. So in this light, below are the authors predictions for the biggest issues that UK construction will face. Skills The recession is forcing employers to look at restructuring and, ultimately, redundancies. For an industry that has enjoyed a boom for years, this is going to be a massive change of mindset employers need to be very careful they manage any redundancies properly or we will see an increase in litigation in this area. However, and perhaps perversely, the industry will continue to suffer major skills shortages, particularly in the South-east, where 2012 is a tremendous opportunity, but one which casts a skills shadow. This time, project management skills will be in short supply, due to lack of training facilities or lack of investment in education sponsoring from construction companies, rather than labour, where the situation regarding migrant workers who may be returning to their native countries will continue to remain unclear into 2009. Sectors like caring, which still needs a lot of people will attract all the labour force. Temporary workers Agency workers are soon to be given similar rights to permanent staff. It is proposed that the law will change in 2010. The new law will mean that after 12 weeks on assignment, an agency worker will be entitled to ‘equal treatment meaning the same basic working and employment conditions as a comparable permanent employee, including equal pay, notice and holiday entitlement. For an industry that employs a large volume of temporary workers, this is going to be an administrative and financial challenge that will really make itself felt in 2009. Health and safety The recent downward trend in construction-related injuries may well be over, and 2009 could see a significant increase since contractors will be looking to cut down costs on training and overlooking basic safety measures. There are suggestions that considerably different levels of adherence to health and safety rules are due to the rapid influx of migrant workers. Different people behave and act in different ways although all working for UK construction companies. There are some people who are very meticulous about their work and adhere to each and every smallest safety precautions while there are others who can consider petty measures as time wasting. If evidence of this emerges in 2009, we could expect the industry to experience a crackdown from the HSE. We expect to see increasing postponement of Local Authority maintenance work, which will hit small contractors and subcontractors the hardest. The Government is talking about major investment in new schemes. The consequence is that, even allowing for more lending, spend will have to be clawed back from somewhere. It seems inevitable that this will be from maintenance. This will be counter-productive, as maintenance work which puts money into the pockets of smaller contractors, quickly is usually the fastest way to stimulate the economy. House building For what seems like forever, the Government has been hugely vocal about its target for three million new homes by 2020 and 10 ecotowns by 2020. As Construction News reported, housing minister Margaret Beckett is already re-articulating these as â€Å"ambitions† and â€Å"hopes†, rather than firm commitments. (from www.cnplus.co.uk/story.aspx) It would seem inevitable that â€Å"ambitions† might be downplayed further and become â€Å"future aspirations† before long. This will provide more worry for subcontractors who rely on the house-building sector for some of their work. The fact that the UK is still suffering a major shortage of housing particularly affordable housing, regardless of falling house prices does mean, however, that this semantic juggling will only be a 2009 phenomenon. Top 20 Construction Companies Q2 2009 The Top 20 construction companies league table, by construction news, ranks the UKs 20 biggest construction companies by turnover and profit, as follows. The table is updated quarterly, and was last updated inJune 2009. New Infrastructure New infrastructure output in the 12 months to the first quarter of 2009 was 7 per cent higher compared with the previous 12 months and the first quarter of 2009 was 2 per cent higher compared with the previous quarter. The outlook is becoming increasingly gloomy as the worsening economy hits the capital. London escaped the worst of the construction slowdown for much of 2008. Indeed, the value of underlying work starting on site fell by just 3 per cent in 2008. But construction starts in London fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008 as the worsening economic conditions took hold. The value of underlying construction starts has continued to slide during the opening months of 2009, with starts during the three months to February 35 per cent down on a year earlier. With financial and property related firms reducing their workforces, many developers have put planned construction projects on hold. The value of underlying office starts, which accounted for about a quarter of the value of underlying construction starts during 2007, fell 21 per cent last year. That said, some developers are still pressing forward with major office projects. Tighter mortgage conditions and sustained pessimism in the residential housing market are now severely impacting private housing construction in London. Having held up well during the first half of 2008, sector starts in the capital are now following a similar trend to the rest of the country. The value of underlying construction starts was  £150 million in the fourth quarter 2008, down 73 per cent on a year earlier. Construction prospects in London are becoming increasingly gloomy. The value of projects in the pre-construction pipeline has fallen away sharply, with underlying planning approvals falling by 36 per cent in value during the fourth quarter of 2008. Large projects are a significant feature of construction activity in London. At first glance the preconstruction pipeline for large projects looks promising. However, given the current economic climate, there is likely to be a higher than normal proportion of planned large projects to be either delayed or abandoned. This is due to the fact that the government is planning to spread its restricted allowable budget across several other vital sectors such as education and health. Nonetheless we should breathe a sign of relief when looking at big projects such Cross rail where preliminary works have begun this year and construction starting in 2010. We should also be looking at temporary relief projects such as the Olympics which need to be completed by mid 2012. These important projects are acting like a lifeline for major construction companies, while waiting for the bad economic climate to change a bit. Overall, construction starts has significantly deteriorated in 2009, which has affe cted small contractors a lot but there is still a glimmer of hope for major firms with very few massive projects. Chapter 2: History of recession The word recession has several meanings. The simplest one could be, a recession happens when our neighbour losses his or her job, and it is a depression when we are made redundant. Economic textbooks tell that a recession is what happens when the economy shrinks for six months on the trot. GDP is used to measure the size of the economy, and when the figures go negative for two successive three months periods (or quarters) the technical definition is met (from http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5753844.ece). When recessions are prolonged past several months, they become depressions. Unlike recession there is no widely accepted textbook definition of a depression, although some say it comes when GDP shrinks by a total of 10 per cent. It will feel distinctly like a depression if a recession goes on for more than a year. After two years, talk of recessions is sure to be replaced by ultra-glum references to depression. Credit crunch timetable Year 2007 In February HSBC gives an early sign of the crisis to come when it warns of higher than expected mortgage defaults in its US business. In August BNP Paribas suspends three funds exposed to sub-prime mortgages. European Central Bank pumps â‚ ¬95 billion into the markets. In September Northern Rock seeks emergency funding. First run on a UK bank for more than 140 years. In October UBS, of Switzerland, is the worlds first major bank to announce losses from sub-prime-related investments, totalling $3.4 billion. Year 2008 In February Northern Rock is nationalised. In March Bear Stearns, the US investment bank, seeks emergency funding and is sold to JP Morgan in a cut-price deal, sparking week of turmoil in stock markets. In April Nationwide records first annual house price fall for 12 years. In September Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, goes bust. Bradford Bingley is nationalised. In October The Icelandic banking system collapses. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS are partly nationalised. Year 2009 In January UK officially enters recession. In March Base rate cut to 0.5 per cent. The credit crunch refers to a sudden shortage of funds for lending, leading to a resulting decline in loans available. A Credit Crunch can occur for various reasons: Sudden increase in interest rates (e.g. in 1992, UK government increased rates to 15%) Direct money controls by the government (rarely used by Western Governments these days) A lack of liquidity in the capital markets The recent credit crunch was driven by a sharp rise in defaults on subprime mortgages. These mortgages were mainly in America but the resulting shortage of funds spread throughout the rest of the world. Steps to 2007 / 08 Credit Crunch US mortgage lenders sell many inappropriate mortgages to customers with low income and poor credit. It is hoped with a booming housing market, the mortgages will remain affordable. Often there was lack of controls in the sale of mortgage products. Mortgage brokers got paid for selling a mortgage, so there was an incentive to sell mortgages even if they were too expensive and high chance of default. To sell more profitable subprime mortgages, mortgage companies bundled the debt into consolidation packages and sold the debt on to other finance companies. In other words, mortgage companies borrowed to be able to lend mortgages. The lending was not financed out of saving accounts, for example. These mortgage debts were bought by financial intermediaries. The idea was to spread the risk, but, actually it just spread the problem. Usually subprime mortgages would have a high risk assessment rating. But, when the mortgage bundles got passed onto other lenders, rating agencies gave these risky subprime mortgages a low risk rating. Therefore, the financial system denied the extent of risk in their balance sheets. Many of these mortgages had an introductory period of 1-2 years of very low interest rates. At the end of this period, interest rates increased. In 2007, the US had to increase interest rates because of inflation. This made mortgage payments more expensive. Furthermore, many homeowners who had taken out mortgages 2 years earlier now faced ballooning mortgage payments as their introductory period ended. Homeowners also faced lower disposable income because of rising health care costs, rising petrol prices and rising food prices. This caused a rise in mortgage defaults, as many new homeowners could not afford mortgage payments. These defaults also signalled the end of the US housing boom. US house prices started to fall and this caused more mortgage problems. For example, people with 100% mortgages now faced negative equity. It also meant that the loans were no longer secured. If people did default, the bank couldnt guarantee to recoup the initial loan. The number of defaults caused many medium sized US mortgage companies to go bankrupt. However, the losses werent confined to mortgage lenders, many banks also lost billions of pounds in the bad mortgage debt they had bought off US mortgage companies. Banks had to write off large losses and this made them reluctant to make any further lending, especially in the now dangerous subprime sector. The result was that all around the world, it became very difficult to raise funds and borrow money. The cost of interbank lending has increased significantly. Often it was very difficult to borrow any money at all. The markets dried up. This affected many firms who had been exposed to the subprime lending. It also affected a wide variety of firms who now have difficulty borrowing money. For example, biotech companies rely on ‘high risk investment and are now struggling to get enough funds. The slow down in borrowing has contributed to a slowing economy with the possibility of recession in the US a real problem. Credit Crunch in the UK UK mortgage lenders did not lend so many bad mortgages. Although mortgage lending became more relaxed in the past few years, it still had more controls in place than the US. However, it caused very serious problems for Northern Rock. Northern rock had a high percentage of risky loans, but, also had the highest percentage of loans financed through reselling in the capital markets. When the subprime crisis hit, Northern Rock could no longer raise enough funds in the usual capital market. It was left with a shortfall and eventually had to make the humiliating step to asking the Bank of England for emergency funds. Because the Bank asked for emergency funds, this caused its customers to worry and start to withdraw savings (even though savings werent directly affected) As a result of the credit crunch, the UK has seen a change in the mortgage market. Mortgages have become more expensive. Risky mortgage products- like 125% mortgages have been removed from the market. UK Banks continue to face problems. HBOS (Owner of Halifax) struggled to finance its balance sheet. Like Northern Rock, it financed an expansion of lending by borrowing. Now money markets have frozen up, they couldnt raise enough money to maintain liquidity. Falling House prices. Now that mortgages are difficult to get, demand for houses has slumped. Therefore, house prices have fallen. Lower house prices mean many face negative equity. Therefore, mortgage defaults now cost banks even more (because they cant get back the initial loan. Bradford Bingley was nationalised because it couldnt raise enough finance. The BB had specialised in buy to let loans, which are particularly susceptible to falling house prices. How long will the Credit Crunch Last? The credit crunch could last a long time. This is because: House prices are still falling in the US, reducing the value of mortgage loans Many homeowners still face rising interest rates, when their introductory periods come to an end It can be difficult to regain confidence in the financial markets A recession in the US and global downturn could cause a further rise in bad loans The cheerfully named Profile of Depression shows the fall in UK economic growth, as measured by GDP, following some ofthe key slumps of the past century. It compares these to todays crisis. It illustrates the level of fear among experts about the financial hurricane that has disabled Britain -the ‘Noughties bust had, until very recently, actually been worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s (although it was less ‘Great in Britain than it was in the US, where GDP shrank by more than 25%). LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter 3: Effects of recession on UK construction Industry First of all, some uncomfortable facts and figures: 4,500,000 people on council house waiting lists 300,000 construction jobs in danger across the sector 90,000 predicted job losses for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) builders 71 percent fall in workload for the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) private house builders 61 percent FMB companies expecting lower workloads in 2009 quarter one 60 percent FMB companies reporting fall in workloads for fourth consecutive quarter 52 percent FMB builders warning they will be making staff cuts over the coming months 16 percent house price fall to date 8 construction companies going into insolvency every day 7.5 percent fall in building prices in the last quarter of 2008. The construction industry has been particularly badly hit as a result of the credit crunch and the down turn in the housing market. The industry is facing its biggest challenge for many years. The indicators are that many will struggle to survive in the current market, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicting the loss of over 300,000 jobs within the industry and with 52 percent of FMB members warning that they will be making staff redundant over the coming months. There is currently a crisis in the housing market with many first time buyers unable to get a mortgage let alone afford a first home. Alongside this there are more than 90,000 families living in temporary accommodation and 1.6 million families on council house waiting lists; the case for building new homes is therefore very clear. However, news from the National House Building Council shows new home starts being at their lowest level since 1924. The authors feel that current proposals to deal with this desperate situation dont go far enough in tackling the real problems affecting the UK construction industry and the wider housing sector. If the UK construction industry is to have any realistic chance of surviving this recession, these 10 key issues need to be addressed to kick start the building industry. The effects of the recession are affecting all aspects of the UK national economy. In December 2008, the construction sector shrank at its fastest pace since records began. The most considerable decline was registered in house building, while the civil engineering and commercial sub-sectors also fell at record rates during that month. As well as the decline in the housing construction sector, the housing market has also slumped. According to the Halifax, house prices fell 16.2% in 2008, the biggest annual decline since it began keeping records in 1983. This has made buying a home more affordable when set against earnings than at any time since April 2003. However, getting a mortgage is difficult for many. Data from the Bank of England showed the number of mortgage approvals fell to 27,000 in November 2008, representing at least a nine-year low (from BBC News, 2 January 2009, www.news.bbc.co.uk). Roy Ayliffe, Director of Professional Practice at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, said: Once again, the housing sector bore the brunt of the crisis as purchasing managers reported significant reductions in new business. Amidst a climate of doom and gloom, firms were forced to axe more jobs in preparation for what is set to be another year of trouble and turmoil. (from Times Online, 5 January 2009, www.timesonline.co.uk) The UK government has plans for public spending and it is hoped that these will include major construction projects, such as roads, schools and other public buildings. This would help the construction industry and those companies that supply the construction industry to ensure continued employment for many. Businesses in the construction industry therefore need to ensure they remain competitive during this difficult economic climate. At the same time, they need to prepare the business to be able to take advantage of any future upturn in the market. Everyone knows the downturn has hit the industry badly. But research commissioned by The Construction News from Emap Glenigan shows the true extent of the contraction, how it breaks down by sector and region, and what the likely outcome for the rest of the year will be. Parts of the industry private housing, offices and industrial are badly affected by the deteriorating economic conditions and the credit crunch. The situation is brighter for those with jobs in infrastructure and the Olympics, although neither of these will be enough to sustain overall industry activity. Historically, economic growth below two per cent has been associated with falls in construction output. Last month, GDP growth for the second quarter was revised down to zero. Consensus forecasts suggest prospects for growth will slow even further in 2009. The gloomy economic conditions have led to a sharp fall in the flow of new projects in the pre-construction pipeline. Glenigan expects construction starts in the UK will fall by five per cent in value during 2009. Private housing has been most affected by the credit crunch. The reappraisal of risk by the banking sector has arguably led to more appropriate criteria for accessing credit. However, as a result the asset price bubble in the housing market has burst. This is causing a long-term contraction in demand since prospective buyers can no longer borrow as much to finance house purchases. Inevitably, those in private housing construction will have to find a way to either cut per unit costs or, more likely, adjust to a new, much lower, level of housing demand. The impact of the credit crunch on other private sector parts of construction industrial, offices, retail and hotels is different. These sectors have not suffered from the asset price bubble evident in private housing. However, investment in each of these sectors is affected by the prevailing economic conditions. As such, the immediate outlook is bleak but, with the Olympics on the horizon, construction prospects for the sector should start to improve in the latter half of 2009, when all major works will need to be started in order to be ready for 2012. The Government has had an ambitious construction-related spending programme across a number of sectors. Education and health in particular will benefit from an increase in the value of construction projects this year. But the Government is not immune to the economic slowdown. The absorption of Northern Rock has already put the Governments finances under pressure. Falling retail sales, rising unemployment and a decline in the profitability of UK firms will reduce tax receipts and add to its difficulties. Looking forward, the poor state of Government finances may jeopardise some of its proposed construction schemes. Major infrastructure projects will continue to help buoy the UK construction industry. Projects such as the widening of the M25 motorway and Crossrail are set to provide a boost to the sector. Ongoing projects such as Thameslink and the Edinburgh tram line will continue to contribute to the sectors workload for some time yet. Outside transport, the sector should also benefit from increased capital expenditure by water and electricity utilities. At present, the macroeconomic and sector-specific conditions are having a much bigger impact on the UK construction outlook than regional factors. Regional variations Differences in the composition of construction sectors within each region explain much of the variation in the regions respective prospects. For instance, regions where industrial construction is relatively significant, such as the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside, will see the value of construction starts contract this year. The North-east, which has relatively less exposure to private housing than other regions, is faring better. Construction orders down 9% as property market slumps New orders in the British construction industry have continued to plunge as building firms are battered by the credit crunch. The Office for National Statistics said that orders fell by 9% in the three months to November, compared with the previous three months. They were 27% down on a year-on-year basis. The figures showed that new construction orders were particularly weak in November itself, diving 38.6% year-on-year. The private housing sector was a major casualty, with new orders down by 55% compared with a year ago. All the UK house builders have dramatically reined in their activity and cut jobs as the housing market has slumped. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the data showed that the construction sectors recession deepened markedly in the fourth quarter of 2008. He sees little prospect of conditions improving soon. â€Å"With housing market activity and prices likely to remain depressed for some considerable time to come and the commercial property sector in dire straits, the construction sector looks set for extended weakness, despite some support from the government bringing forward some public construction activity and infrastructure spending as part of its fiscal stimulus package,† Archer said. Accountants Grant Thornton said that the construction and property sector was set to be the worst casualty of the economic downturn in 2009, plummeting by 75% in profitability and 71% in turnover from the same period last year. Clare Hartnell, head of property and construction at Grant Thornton, said: â€Å"Profitability and turnover within the construction and property sector are significantly driven by sales and market value; 2008 was a turbulent year as credit dried up and confidence plummeted, causing house prices and the number of properties sold to fall sharply. The decline in the residential market consequently has had a knock-on-effect on the construction sector, where problems have been exacerbated by huge debts as many proposed developments have been put on hold.† http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tnuPqsRPvjute_-qBacPptQoid=4output=image The year 2009 is set to be a trying year to say the least. Part of the reason for this is the current state of the economy. Lack of available credit will have an adverse effect on the ailing construction and property sector. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tnuPqsRPvjute_-qBacPptQoid=6output=image The June Glenigan Index reveals that promised government funding has finally begun to filtering through to project starts. In particular a rise in educational, health and social housing projects starting on site have helped steady the Index, cutting the year-on-year decline to 20%. Workload trends: Infrastructure Infrastructure saw the value of underlying planning approvals (covering schemes under  £100M) fall sharply last year. Whilst the fall appears to have dampened the flow of project starts, with the value of underlying project starts during the first five months of 2009, 13% down on a year earlier, the overall prospects for the sector are bright. With the help of the new infrastructure planning commission, it is hoped that new planning consents for key projects can be accelerated. Impact of the recession on supply chain The construction industry has got the largest supply chain, compared with other industries. It ranges from mere nails to large modular constructions. It has been a major contributor since the dawn of this industry and has risen in vigour and strength over the years. Its integration with our industry has created a revolution that triggered the rise of new technologies powered by their contribution. This general introduction, gives us a fair knowledge of the value of supply chain to the construction industry. When this unexpected recession struck the markets with tremendous force, the construction industry felt the tremor, and its repercussions were felt throughout its branches. As the properties and developments went down, demand dropped, which in-turn left the developers with no option but to suspend majority of their works. The great â€Å"feeders† supply chain took its toll. Demand for their products vanished. Then the only rule of law that applies is â€Å"Survival of the fittest†, i.e. the one who could bring best deals could survive (both in price and Quality) and others would go bust. By and large the prices soured. Illustration with an example would clearly explain what the authors are trying to convey. Major components of our industry are cement, ready-mix, rebar and structural steel. Their price variation could indicate the trail recession took. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tnuPqsRPvjute_-qBacPptQoid=2output=image All major supply resources have dropped in price dramatically one or the other time, to merely survive this recession rather than making profit. One of the major suppliers, now are for the ODA. Even they are experiencing the crunch. All the pre-allocated works, which assured definite return, are re-examined to align with the new prices. This has created friction, and even few of them moved on for adjudication. ODA has awarded contracts to around 1036 suppliers, most of which are small to medium sized businesses. This is a government initiative to prop up the middle class players, and there-by securing best deal contracts. Similar public investments could be seen in the health and education sectors, which form large part of the construction order-book and keep the pressure off. The main issue here is the growing trend of irresponsible pricing to win the scarce bids. That is, pricing below the cost. Many experts have warned of the return of industrial dispute culture of the 1980. This could ruin the objective. Recessionary impact was clearly felt when private investments dried up and forced the government twice to dip into the contingency budget. Due to this ill demand, there has been deterioration in construction product manufacturing. All heavy side manufacturers and 91% of light side manufacturers reported that sales had fallen; unprecedented results have been collected, research shows

To Be, or Be Two Essay -- Essays Papers

To Be, or Be Two Imagine walking down the street, or seeing someone on the television and think they look just like you, or someone you know. As much as they may look like you, you pretty much know there is no relationship between you and the look-alike. However, in today's day and age, it is nearly possible that the look-alike is really a clone of you. Now of course, it is not this simple, but the point is, with science today, cells, and eventually people, are being cloned. These actions of cloning are for both human and therapeutic purposes. Cells are being cloned for the sake of fertility reasons, and to grow cells for new organs. Is this right? I personally disagree with the fact of cloning human embryos for the purpose of creating new people. I feel it is morally wrong, as well as a disadvantage for the clone of the person. Supporting my argument is research from Gary McCuens' Cloning: Science and Society, and an article from The Ithaca Journal, "Stem Cells Grow from Clones, Contro versial Reports Show." While reading Gary McCuens' Cloning: Science and Society, I came across points both for and against cloning human embryos. No matter how hard I tried to read his points with an open mind, I was not able to bring myself to terms with the reasons for cloning human embryos. A major reason some people feel it is acceptable to clone human embryos is for the benefits of infertile couples (13). These embryos would be transported through the process of in vitro fertilization, but they would not be like typical in vitro fertilization processes. Since many in vitro births do not succeed, researchers have found that it may be possible to clone the in vitro embryos and allow the couple to have more chances a... ...ve no benefit to anyone. I feel it leads to a child feeling like they are not good enough because they are not who they are expected to be. I also feel it leads to guilt within the child, and a feeling of failure. The child is always going to feel like they were not able to live up to the standards predetermined by society. A child has the right to be their own person. I feel cloning the human embryo is not necessary because society has managed to survive thus far without it, why not continue that way? I feel every child has the right to be who they want to be, they should not have to duplicate the life of someone who already lived it. Works Cited McCuen, Gary E. Cloning: Science and Society. Wisconsin: Gary McCuen Publications, 1998. Neus, Elizabeth. "Stem Cells Grow From Clones, Controversial Report Shows." The Ithaca Journal 27 April 2001.

Religious participation Essay

Women are more likely to attend church, and more likely to say they belong to a church, therefore their religiosity emphasises commitment and membership (Jacklin 1970’s) however this point was criticised by early feminist who believe women also have a strong religious belief and its absurd to say their religiosity only extents to commitment and membership, these factors exist as they are trying to set a good example for their family through providing another form of secondary socialisation. Another reason for women’s more involvement in religion is due to a concept introduced by Miller and Hoffman who claim that because of differential socialisation, girls being socialised to be passive and to act more traditional and conservative, therefore their more religious. Due to things such as gendered language and subjects at schools e. g. child care women are warmed into the traditional nuclear family ideologies and acting as mechanism of Parsons ‘warm bath’ theory taking on the expressive role. Another reason is a biological reason due to male’s higher testosterone levels religion doesn’t provide them with satisfactory answers during times when they require salvation e. g. absolute poverty therefore their more likely to take a pro-active approach such as crime. A second reason mentioned by Miller and Hoffman id differential roles and that’s the fact women have different positions to men in society, women in paid work are given a ‘second-class status’ even after the women’s liberation movements in the 1970’s, prejudice is still strong within rationalised culture of paid work e. g. women cant exceed their glass ceiling therefore all the high powered jobs are male occupied. Due to this females are discriminated against in a socially desirable manner as they are again given the traditional family roles e. g. women get a 9 month maternity leave compared to men who get 2 weeks; women through stereotypical views are given the expressive role involving the private sphere. However these points have been criticised as the economy over the past years has become increasingly more feminised just like other aspects of society and the superstructure e. g. education, these have been refereed to as the ‘gender-quake’. Neo-Marxist Zertsky would argue that women are acting as part of the safety-valve in order for the exploitation of the subject-class to continue, this is way capitalist society controlled by the oppressor has enforced such ruling-class ideologies into peoples lives. Another reason for women’s more involvement in religion is due to primary socialisation, role models. They were probably raised by a mother who placed emphasis on religion, due to feeling marginalised and going through a ‘crisis of life’ as they were in a time of uncertainty (not knowing how to raise their chills) therefore through the theodicy’s of religion which acted as a tonic of self-confidence for them they were given a guide. Another fact to consider is that women simply live longer then men, therefore during times of loneliness they turn to religion as it provides them with a sense of community, and those who migrate to other countries religion allows cultural transition (Bruce). Marxist feminist Beauvoir recognises the unjust situation of women in society and argues they are being ‘doubly-exploited’. Beauvoir believes that religion provides a theodicy of dispirivelege for women; providing them with a sacred canopy and acting as a bulwark against anomie (Berger) is a postmodern society. Stark and Bainbridge argue due to the compensation that religion provides, exchange theory, women feel more secure about life on earth as they defer their gratification.

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 7

Chapter Seven The List While Jody showered, Tommy made a list. Feed Laundry New Apartment Toothpaste Sweet Monkey Love Windex Dispose of Vampire Minion â€Å"What do we need an onion for?† Jody asked. She was having a little trouble getting her vision to focus. â€Å"Minion, minion,† Tommy said. â€Å"Mint-flavored onion? Why do we need that?† â€Å"A minion! Someone who can move around during the day who can help us out. Like I was for you.† â€Å"Oh, my bitch.† Tommy dropped his list. â€Å"Nuh-uh.† Jody picked it up and walked over to the kitchen counter where the coffee machine stood. â€Å"I would sell my soul for a big cup of joe.† â€Å"I was not your bitch,† Tommy said. â€Å"Right, right, right. Whatever. So how long do we have to do this list?† â€Å"I checked the almanac. Sunrise is at six fifty-three, so we have about twelve hours. It's almost the solstice, so we get a lot of darkness.† â€Å"Solstice? Oh my God, it's almost Christmas.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"Hello? Shopping?† â€Å"Hello? We have an excuse. We're dead.† â€Å"My mother doesn't know that. I have to find something for her that she'll disapprove of. And your family – â€Å" â€Å"Oh my God! Christmas. I was supposed to go home to Indiana for Christmas. We need to redo the list.† â€Å"You do it. I'm going to dry my hair,† Jody said. The new list read: Christmas Presents Call Home Feed Minion (not our Bitch) Hot Monkey Love Windex Write Literature Dispose of Creepy Old Vampire New Apartment Laundry Toothpaste â€Å"I think you should take monkey love off of the list,† Jody said. â€Å"What if we lose the list and someone finds it?† â€Å"Well I think ‘dispose of Creepy Old Vampire' would be a little more embarrassing, don't you?† â€Å"You're right, cut monkey love and change ‘vampire' to ‘Elijah. † Jody tapped the list with a pen. â€Å"And take off Windex and put in ‘buy coffee. â€Å" â€Å"We can't drink coffee.† â€Å"We can smell it. Tommy, I desperately need coffee. It's like the blood hunger, only, you know, more civilized.† â€Å"Speaking of blood hunger – â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, you'd better move that up the list.† â€Å"And add a bottle of whiskey. You're going to have to buy it.† â€Å"Sorry, writer boy, but we're doing this stupid list together.† â€Å"I'm not old enough to buy liquor.† Jody stepped away from him and shuddered. â€Å"That's right. Isn't it?† â€Å"Yep,† Tommy said, nodding – trying to look wide-eyed and innocent. â€Å"Well, okay then. I should have checked IDs before picking my bitch.† â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"Kidding. What are you going to do with a bottle of whiskey anyway?† â€Å"Check something else off the list,† Tommy said. â€Å"I have an idea. Get your purse.† â€Å"What did the Animals want, anyway?† â€Å"Twenty grand.† â€Å"I hope you told them to fuck themselves.† â€Å"They did that already.† â€Å"Did they suspect, you know, about what you are now?† â€Å"Not yet. Lash said I looked a little pale. I sent them to the store. If Clint knows, well – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, good move. Maybe we should just take out an ad. ‘Young vampire couple seeks angry village people to hunt them down and kill them. ; â€Å"Ha. Village people. Funny. Put self-tanning lotion on the list. I think the pale thing is giving me away.† At seven in the evening, three days before Christmas, Union Square was awash in shoppers. There was a Santa's Village set up in the raised square, with a line of children and parents that wound five hundred deep through a labyrinth of red velvet cattle gates. Around the square, the street performers, who would normally have knocked off around five, lined the granite steps up to the square. A juggler here, a sleight-of-hand guy there, a half-dozen â€Å"robots† – people painted silver and gold who would move in machine-jerk rhythm for the drop of a coin or a bill – and even a couple of human statues. Jody's favorite was a gold guy in a business suit, who stood motionless for hours on end, as if he'd been frozen in midstep on the way to work. There was a small hole in his briefcase into which people stuffed bills and dropped coins after photographing him or trying to make him flinch. â€Å"This guy used to freak me out,† Tommy whispered. â€Å"But now I can see him breathing and the aura thing.† â€Å"I watched him for a whole lunch hour one time and he never moved,† Jody said. â€Å"In the summer, you know he has to be suffering in that painted suit.† Suddenly she shuddered at the thought of Elijah, the old vampire, still encased in bronze back at the loft. Yes, he had killed her, technically, but in a way he'd just opened a door for her, a door that, no matter how bizarre, was immediate, vital, and passionate. And yes, he'd done it for his amusement, he'd said, but also because he was lonely. She wound her arm into Tommy's and kissed him on the cheek. â€Å"What was that for?† â€Å"Because you're here,† she said. â€Å"What's first on the list?† â€Å"Christmas presents.† â€Å"Skip down.† â€Å"Sweet monkey love.† â€Å"Yeah, we'll do it in the Santa's Workshop window at Macy's.† â€Å"Really?† â€Å"No, not really.† â€Å"Okay, then we need liquor.† Jody snatched the list out of his hand so quickly that most people wouldn't have even seen her move. â€Å"You are no longer in charge of the list. We're getting me a new leather jacket.† I AM HOMELESS AND SOMEONE SHAVED MY HUGE CAT. William had changed his sign. Chet the huge cat was still wearing Jody's sweater. He eyed the two vampires suspiciously as they approached. Tommy held the bottle of Johnny Walker out to William. â€Å"Merry Christmas.† William took the liquor and squirreled it away in his coat. â€Å"Most people just give money,† he said. â€Å"We're cutting out the middleman,† Jody said. â€Å"How are you feeling today?† â€Å"Great, why? Really good, you know, considering that I'm homeless and you guys shaved my cat.† â€Å"You were pretty hammered last night.† â€Å"Yeah, but I feel great today.† â€Å"That's how it used to affect me,† Tommy said. â€Å"Remember. Kind of energizing.† Jody waved Tommy away. â€Å"You didn't get light-headed or anything?† Jody asked. â€Å"I was a little hungover when I woke up, but I was fine after a couple of cups of coffee.† â€Å"Fuck!† Jody spat. Then she held her head. â€Å"Calm,† Tommy said, patting her shoulder. â€Å"Dr. Flood will make it all better. Maybe.† Jody growled, just loud enough for Tommy to hear. â€Å"Ya know,† said William, when there was a break in the pedestrian traffic and he didn't have to concentrate on looking pathetic, â€Å"I'm flush for cash, but since you're in the Christmas spirit, I'd still go for a look at Red's hooters.† â€Å"Bite me, dirtbag,† Jody said as she rolled up on William. â€Å"Honey.† Tommy caught the back of her newly purchased red leather jacket, just in case. They'd never know if his idea was going to work if Jody snapped the bum's neck. â€Å"I will not be sexually harassed by the entree.† â€Å"Something you ate isn't agreeing with you?† Tommy grinned at her when she looked back at him, but the fire went out of her eyes. â€Å"You can just cross sweet monkey love right off your list,† Jody said. â€Å"Jeez, what a bitch,† said William. â€Å"Her time of the month?† Tommy quickly wrapped his arms around Jody, lifted her off her feet, and carried her a few steps around the corner, even as she squirmed. â€Å"Let me go, I'm not going to hurt him.† â€Å"Good.† â€Å"Much.† â€Å"That's what I thought,† Tommy said, still holding her tight. â€Å"Why don't you head over to the Walgreens and I'll finish up with the huge cat guy?† A family of Christmas shoppers smiled as they passed them, thinking they were young lovers indulging in a public display of affection. The father whispered â€Å"Get a room† under his breath to his wife, which a normal person wouldn't have heard. â€Å"Count your lucky stars, buddy, we almost did it in the Santa's Workshop window. Hot, sweaty elf sex – in front of the kids. The kids would have liked that, huh?† The father hurried his family on down the street. â€Å"Nice,† Jody said. â€Å"Way to stay under the radar.† â€Å"Well, you know, I like to stay sharp,† Tommy said. Because he was nineteen and had only started having sex regularly since he met Jody, he still thought he had some sort of secret knowledge that was unavailable to other people. How can they possibly be thinking about anything else? he thought in the private part of his mind. â€Å"I'll bet it smells like peppermint,† Tommy said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Elf sex.† â€Å"Would you please put me down.† â€Å"Okay, but don't hurt the huge cat guy.† â€Å"I'm fine. I'll meet you at the drugstore in five minutes. This had better work.† â€Å"Five minutes,† Tommy said. â€Å"Cinnamon. Maybe it smells like cinnamon.† The pale couple stalked the aisles of the Walgreens, having a great time dismissing the crass accoutrements of bourgeois American life, and generally scoffing at all the conventions of traditional culture. They were elite, after all. Special. Chosen – if you will – if only by the nature of their heightened sensitivities and superior sensibilities. They both claimed the ability to look past the faà §ade put on by most people, and see the very depths of the human soul. Strange, then, that they didn't see it coming when the skinny guy in a flannel shirt popped around the corner in front of them. â€Å"Let's ask these guys,† Flannel said. â€Å"They look like heroin addicts.† Jared White Wolf and Abby Normal backpedaled from the eyeliner display where they'd been looking for something hypoallergenic. Abby's eyes had been watering all night, causing her makeup to run and giving her more of a sad-clown-of-life look than she was going for. Jared hid behind Abby, just a little, which was awkward, since he was nearly a foot taller than she. The guy in flannel was joined by a beautiful, pale redhead, carrying an armload of toiletries. What amazing hair, Abby thought, looking at the long red tresses. I'd give anything for hair like that. â€Å"Tommy, leave these poor people alone,† said the redhead. â€Å"No, wait.† Flannel turned to Abby and smiled. â€Å"Do you guys know where they keep the syringes?† Abby looked at Jared, who looked at the guy in flannel. â€Å"Well, you can't just buy them,† Jared said. He was fiddling with the leather straps on his bondage pants, looking coy. Abby slapped his hand. â€Å"You need a prescription to buy syringes,† Abby said. â€Å"Do you really think I look like a heroin addict?† Jared threw his bangs out of his face dramatically. His head was shaved except for his bangs, which reached to his chin, specifically so he could throw them out of his face dramatically. â€Å"I was, like, thinking that maybe I should bulk up. You know, eat and stuff, but – â€Å" â€Å"Well, thanks,† said Flannel Shirt. The redhead moved off down the aisle. â€Å"I was going to try some heroin, but if you can't buy needles, well, there you go. See you guys. Nice shirt, by the way.† Abby looked down at her T-shirt, black, of course, with the image of a poet taken from a nineteenth-century etching. â€Å"Like you even know who it is.† † ‘She walks in beauty, like the night, † quoted the flannel-shirt guy. He winked at her, then grinned. â€Å"Byron's a hero of mine. See ya.† He turned and started to walk away. Abby reached out and snagged his sleeve. â€Å"Hey, there are needle exchange programs all over town. They're listed in the Bay Guardian.† â€Å"Thanks,† said flannel. He turned and Abby grabbed him again. â€Å"We're going to be at the Glas Kat. There's a Goth club tonight. Five-hundred block of Fourth Street. I know a dealer there. You know, for your heroin.† The flannel-shirt guy nodded, and looked at Byron's picture on her shirt again, then at her face. Fucksocks. He's so looking at my streaking eye makeup. â€Å"Thanks, milady,† said Flannel Shirt. And he was gone, off over the dark moors of the tampon aisle. â€Å"What was that about?† whined Jared. â€Å"He's so, so Happy Days.† Jared White Wolf spent a lot of time watching Nick at Nite when he wasn't brooding or fussing with his appearance. Abby walked into the flap of Jared's black duster and pounded his slight chest with her palms. â€Å"Didn't you see. Didn't you see?† â€Å"What, you acting like a complete ho?† â€Å"He had fangs,† Abby said. â€Å"Well, so do I,† Jared said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of perfect, dentistry-quality vampire fangs. â€Å"Duh, everybody does.† â€Å"Yeah, but his grew! I saw them. Let's go,† Abby said, pulling Jared White Wolf by his great bat-wing lapels. â€Å"I have to change into something hot before we go to the club.† â€Å"Wait, I want to get some Halls. My throat is raw from all the cloves we smoked last night.† â€Å"Hurry.† The buckles of Abby's black platform boots jangled as she dragged her friend past the lipsticks and hair products before he could get interested. â€Å"Okay,† said Jared, â€Å"but if I don't meet a cute guy tonight, you have to stay up all night and hold me while I cry.† â€Å"You should try black lipstick sometime,† Tommy said to Jody as they approached their building, their arms loaded with packages. He was still thinking about the kids at the drugstore. It was the first time since tenth grade that he'd used his knowledge of Romantic poetry. For a while he'd tried molding himself into the tragic Romantic hero, brooding and staring clench-jawed off into space as he composed dark verse in his head. But it turned out that trying to appear tragic in Incontinence, Indiana, was redundant, and his mother kept shouting at him and making him forget his rhymes. â€Å"Tommy, if you keep grinding your teeth like that, they'll wear away and you'll have to have dentures like Aunt Ester.† Tommy only wished his beard was as heavy as Aunt Ester's – then he could stare out over the moors while he stroked it pensively. â€Å"Yeah,† Jody said, â€Å"because I need to make it more obvious that I'm an undead creature that feeds on the blood of the living.† â€Å"You make it sound so sordid.† â€Å"No, I meant it in a nice way.† â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"Because it's not like people wouldn't understand if they found out we were vampires, because we slipped up and, oh, I don't know, UNSHEATHED OUR FANGS IN THE FUCKING DRUGSTORE!† Tommy almost dropped his packages. She hadn't said a word about that all night. He'd hoped she hadn't noticed. â€Å"It was an accident.† â€Å"You called that girl ‘milady. â€Å" â€Å"She was impressed with my Byron.† â€Å"Yeah, well, your Byron was probably sticking out a little, too, wasn't he?† â€Å"It wasn't like that.† â€Å"You drooled.† Jody paused at their security door and dug into her jacket for her key. Tommy stepped around her. â€Å"I'm still new at this. I think I'm doing pretty well. My ghastly pallor obviously impressed the lady at the needle exchange.† He reached into his bag and fanned out a handful of sterile-wrapped and capped syringes. â€Å"Congratulations, you can now pass as an HIV-positive heroin addict.† â€Å"Trs chic.† He grinned like he imagined a sexy Italian man-whore might. â€Å"Who drools in public,† Jody said. Damn, she's immune to my sexy Italian man-whore grin, Tommy thought. He said, â€Å"Be nice, I'm new. My lips don't fit together right when my fangs are out.† She turned the key and swung the door open. There, passed out on the landing, was William the huge cat guy and sleeping on his chest, Chet the huge cat. â€Å"I told you it would work,† Tommy said. Jody stepped into the stairwell and closed the door behind her. â€Å"You go first.† Fifteen minutes later, as he placed five syringes full of blood in their refrigerator, Tommy said, â€Å"This vampire thing is going to be great.† He'd had a moment when he'd bitten William – not just getting over the idea of being that close someone who smelled that nasty, but also being close to another man period. But after cleaning William's neck with an alcohol swab they'd gotten from the drugstore, and consoling himself that most literary vampires seemed sexually ambivalent anyway, the blood hunger pushed him through. He was feeling more relaxed, now that they had the food problem solved – for a while, anyway. If his friends didn't kill them in the next couple of days, he might even enjoy life as a vampire. Then he turned to Jody and frowned. â€Å"But I can't help but think that it may be wrong, taking advantage of a homeless alcoholic.† â€Å"We could just hunt and kill people,† Jody said cheerfully. She had a little crust of William's blood in the corner of her mouth. Tommy licked his thumb and wiped it away. â€Å"We did give him a nice sweater for his huge shaved cat,† Tommy said. â€Å"I loved that sweater,† Jody said. â€Å"And we are giving him a warm landing to sleep on,† she added, diving onto Tommy's rationalization dog pile. â€Å"And if we only take a little bit each day, he'll actually feel better. I know I did.† â€Å"And we won't become alcoholics ourselves.† â€Å"How are you feeling, by the way?† Tommy said. â€Å"Better. Hair of the dog. You?† â€Å"Two-beer buzz, max. I'll be fine. You want to try the experiment?† Jody checked her watch. â€Å"No time. We'll do it tomorrow night.† â€Å"Right. So, on to the list. Looks like hot monkey love.† â€Å"Tommy, we need to find a daytime person to help us. We have to move out of this place.† â€Å"I've been thinking about Alaska.† â€Å"Okay, good for you, but we still need to find a place to live where the Animals and Inspector Rivera can't find us.† â€Å"No, I'm thinking we should move to Alaska. For one thing, in the winter, it's dark for like twenty hours a day, so we'd have plenty of time. And I read somewhere that Eskimos put their old people out on the ice when they are ready to die. It would be like people were leaving snacks out for us.† â€Å"You're kidding.† â€Å"Eskimo Pies?† He grinned. Jody put her hand on her hip and looked at him, her mouth hanging open a little, as if she was waiting for something more. When it didn't come, she said, â€Å"Okay then, I'm going to change.† â€Å"Into a wolf?† â€Å"Clothes, cadaver breath.† â€Å"I didn't know. I thought maybe you'd learned.† Tommy thought Alaska was a great idea. Just because she was a few years older, she always acted like his ideas were stupid. â€Å"The thing with William worked,† he said defensively as he put away the supplies they'd bought at the drugstore. â€Å"That was a good idea,† Jody said from inside the closet. Now what? â€Å"Well, Alaska isn't a bad idea.† â€Å"Tommy, there's like nine people in all of Alaska. We'll stand out, don't you think?† â€Å"No, everyone is pale there. They don't have sun for most of the year.† She came out of the closet wearing her little black cocktail dress and her strappy come-fuck-me pumps. â€Å"I'm ready,† she said. â€Å"Wow,† Tommy said. He'd forgotten what they were talking about. â€Å"You think the Ferrari-red lipstick would be too much?† â€Å"No, I love the Ferrari-red lipstick on you.† Hot, sweet monkey love, he thought. This was exactly why he loved her. In the midst of all of the pressure, the danger, really – she still took time to think of his feelings. She lifted her breasts until they threatened to spill out of the plunging neckline of the dress. â€Å"Too much?† â€Å"Perfect,† Tommy said, walking toward her with his hands out. â€Å"Gimme.† She breezed past him into the bathroom. â€Å"Not for you. I need to get going.† â€Å"No, no, no,† Tommy said. â€Å"Hot monkey love.† While Tommy watched from the doorway, Jody applied the Ferrari-red lipstick, checked it, then frowned and wiped it off, then grabbed a different tube off the vanity. â€Å"When I get back.† â€Å"Where?† Tommy said. Sexual frustration had reduced him to single syllables. She turned to him with the new coat of maroon lipstick. â€Å"To get your minion.† â€Å"Not like that, you're not,† Tommy said. â€Å"This is how it works, Tommy. This is how I got you.† â€Å"Nuh-uh, you weren't wearing that when I met you.† â€Å"No, but the reason you pursued me is because you were interested in me sexually, wasn't it?† â€Å"Well, that's how it started, but it's more than that now.† And it was more, but that was no reason to leave him here all aroused and stuff. She walked over to him and put her arms around him. He let his hands slip inside the low back of her dress. His pants were getting tight and he could feel the pressure of his fangs coming out. â€Å"When I get back,† she said. â€Å"I promise. You're my guy, Tommy. I picked you as my guy, forever. I'm going to find someone to help us move and do things for us in the daytime.† â€Å"They're just going to want to bone you, and when you don't do them, they'll turn on you.† â€Å"Not necessarily.† â€Å"Of course they will. Look at you.† â€Å"I'll figure it out, okay. I don't know how else to go about it.† â€Å"We could put an ad on Craig's List.† (Craig's List was a classified Web site that had started in the Bay Area and was now the first place people checked for jobs, apartments, or nearly everything.) â€Å"We're not putting an ad on Craig's List. Look, Tommy, we have more things to do than we have time. You can clean the loft and go get the laundry done and I'll get us an onion.† â€Å"Minion,† he corrected. â€Å"Whatever. I love you,† she said. Bitch! He was vanquished. Unfair. â€Å"I love you, too.† â€Å"I'll take one of the disposable cell phones you bought. You can call me anytime.† â€Å"They're not even activated yet.† â€Å"Well, get on that, buddy. The sooner I get out there and find someone, the sooner I can get back here for some hot monkey love.† She has absolutely no sense of ethics, he thought. She's a monster. And yet, there she is, only a few dress straps from being naked. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"Don't step on the huge cat on the way out.† Jody had only been gone twenty minutes before Tommy decided that cleaning and laundry sucked and that he could find a minion as well as she could, even if he didn't look as hot in a little black dress. He was careful not to wake Chet and William on his way out.

Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine Essays

Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine Essays Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine Paper Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine Paper Approximately 438,000 people in the United States die each year due to the use of tobacco or exposure to the harmful chemicals that tobacco produces.   (Industry Update, 2008)   In Aroostook county Maine, educators joined with the Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine and launched is tobacco prevention program in schools. A united effort between the Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine, the Bureau of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services began.   The multilevel program assigns various areas of responsibility to school and district administrators and faculty. A coordinator is appointed and the necessary committees and teams are formed. The responsibilities are then defined and divvied out. Proper training is also provided.   The schools then begin collaborating with students, families, the community, community organizations, health care programs and providers to begin campaigning for a tobacco-free environment. The program addresses several areas of risk that tobacco use and second hand smoke exposes us to.   Some of those risks are a lower quality of life, a shortened life expectancy, an increased risk of developing chronic diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.   Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke also increases our risk of developing serious illnesses such as cancer. The Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine was established in1997 with a portion of the funding coming from the doubled cigarette tax.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed a tobacco control program with the goals of tobacco prevention, to motivate tobacco users to quit smoking, to prevent non-smokers from having to breathe second-hand smoke, and to identify and end unfair differences between smokers and non-smokers. It would take the cumulative efforts of community, businesses, schools, families, and kids to make it successful. The role of a health educator is multifaceted.   The program was implemented by training health educators to fulfill seven areas of responsibility. It’s their responsibility to assess the individual and community need for health education, to plan strategies for education and to deliver interventions and preventive programs.   It’s also the educator’s responsibility to work as liaison between the different organizations and strengthen the spirit of cooperation in order to reach a common goal. The health educator must act a resource person, accessing and gathering information from various sources.   The health educator is responsible for encouraging the need for change and inspiring others to be involved.  Ã‚   Planning, implementing and administering the overall program are also the duties of the health educator. So far the success of the Partnership for a Tobacco-free Maine has been made progress.   The number of students who have tried smoking and are committed smokers has declined since 2001. (Maine Youth Tobacco Survey, 2004)   Despite the progress, the numbers show that one in five students are smokers and that’s one smoker too many.   There’s still a great deal of work to be done. Communities: Holding the Key to Tobacco Prevention. (2008). Retrieved September 26, 2008, from Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine: tobaccofreemaine.org/channels/communities/#building Coordinating School Health Programs. (2000). Retrieved September 27, 2008, from Maine.gov: mainecshp.com/guidelines.html Healthy People 2010: Substance Abuse. (2000). Retrieved February 20, 2008, from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.: healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/Volume2/27Tobacco.htm#_Toc489766215 Industry Update. (2008). Retrieved September 26, 2008, from Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine: tobaccofreemaine.org/explore_facts/index.php Maine Youth Tobacco Survey. (2004). Retrieved September 27, 2008, from Healthy Maine Partnerships: tobaccofreemaine.org/PDFs/2004_MYTS-MYDAUS_Report_Final.pdf .

Supply Chain Analysis of Nutria Cereals The WritePass Journal

Supply Chain Analysis of Nutria Cereals INTRODUCTION Supply Chain Analysis of Nutria Cereals INTRODUCTION DefinitionCompanySatisfying the Needs of All age groups Children’sTEENAGERSBreakfast is important for teenagers. The carbohydrates and energy provided by cereals can help in maintaining concentration power throughout the day.BULKPACKAGINGProductsStrategy and goals Supply chain management system of Nutria Company 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Primary Sector : 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Secondary Sector:3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tertiary sector:a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Supply chain competitive strategy 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beware of Cost advantage2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Supply chain as a strategic asset3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Focusing on customers How well the company’s supply chain is managed and organised? Supply chain risk managementVisibilityControlChaosBufferingConclusionReferencesRelated INTRODUCTION Definition A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources,  raw materials  and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer. In sophisticated supply chain systems, used products may re-enter the supply chain at any point where residual value is recyclable. Supply chains link  value chains.    Company Nutria Cereals is a manufacturing cereal company which is newly launched in India. This company experiments with different ways to cook cereals without losing their goodness. Though it nationalised in India in its borders but its main strategy is to expand globally in cereals, snack business through supply chain management to serve the improved diet for improved health. Today, many people regard breakfast as the most important meal of the day. A healthy diet is all about BALANCE eating more of some foods and less of others. Whole grain based cereals for breakfast, which are low in fat, low in sugar, high in fiber is a big step towards achieving a balanced diet. Satisfying the Needs of All age groups Children’s It is an excellent start for the day and will give them the energy and essential nutrients to help them enjoy their activities. TEENAGERS Breakfast is important for teenagers. The carbohydrates and energy provided by cereals can help in maintaining concentration power throughout the day. ADULTS Eating the right and breakfast will make you more alert, so taking time for breakfast is important as part of your daily routine. A cereal high in fiber like oats can also aid your digestive system, helping towards a healthier lifestyle. BULKPACKAGING We also cater to the industrial and institutional market by providing alternative picking in bulk. These bulk packing sizes range from 15kg bags to 30kg bags. The type of packaging will be as per customers requirements.    Products Nutria Cereal produces wide range of cereal products, such as Fruit cereal, Nutria Corn Flakes, Nutria special, Nuts and Fibre and Nutria Grain cereal Bars.       Strategy and goals Every Business Organisation will be focused on creation of profit but Nutria Cereals increasingly believes in acting responsibly in supply chain management and all sections rather than profit to become a better and long term business model for the customers and in terms of emission in manufacturing distribution and improving packaging. The mission is to drive sustainable growth through the power of brand by serving the needs of customers, consumers and communities. Supply chain management system of Nutria Company The following can be explained the supply chain management from manufacturing to shelf of Nutria Cereal company as follows: The industrial Supply chain management consist of 3 key sectors Primary Sector Secondary Sector Tertiary Sector 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Primary Sector : It can also be called as Extractive Sector. It provides raw materials such as oil and coal or food stocks like wheat corn. Example some raw materials are sold immediately for consumption as coal to power stations.    2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Secondary Sector: It can also be preferred as manufacturing sector which means Assemble products. Example Nutria company purchases corn for corn flakes 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tertiary sector: This can be called as providing services such as retailing, banking or transport.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The supply chain is a range of departments involved. This includes the above from Raw materials, Manufacturers, wholesalers to consumers. The business as a part of strategy, should also focus on distribute raw materials. a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Supply chain competitive strategy    1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beware of Cost advantage Firstly thinking about the competitive strategy we have if it s price then it not good because every existing company in the market will cut its prices to survive as best as possible and low cost producer. If we think strategically the company should beware of cost advantages and should focus on innovation, because innovation is more powerful than low cost. Example: Honda, Toyota collaborates with their suppliers to create an competitive strategy by focusing on innovations, including that will lower the cost of products and services throughout the entire supply chain. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Supply chain as a strategic asset Most probably supply chain is not used as a competitive strategy although it should be used so. The supply chain can be a strategic asset when the purchases are more than 40% of total corporate budget. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Focusing on customers The customers are the real root of the any Business. If the customers are not healthy in an organisation then you will inherit malady! More business is fail for the lack of sales or strategic positioning than other reasons. The company should understand the customer’s value need. The company should sell what their customers want rather than what the company want, this may lead to customers and brand loyal, for that the company should arrange the meeting with top ten or twenty customers. The objective behind is to make your customers more successful by offering them new innovations that helps us to beat our competitors, through increasing revenues and profit. How well the company’s supply chain is managed and organised? Nutria manufactures the right products on research into customers need. It off-course also focuses on its effective cost to give a competitive price to the competitors. It manages the distribution channels to place its products in different stores. The Supply chain management strategy to keeps the relationships with the retailers direct to improve its promotions of the products. All the retailers hold the less stock as they want to reduce warehousing cost. Though this strategy is more benefitted but according to latest learning of supply chain management Nutria company followed the system called JUST IN TIME to provide and efficient stock inventory system. (Just-in-Time: Just in time are that production that produces well to order and the business doesn’t hold any level of stock.) Stock control management system in Nutria corn flakes company Every company has its own capacity to maintain its stock and also depends on its size of the firm. But apart from stock maintenance the company should balance its each section of supply chain. In case of late deliveries and out of stock may lead to loss of goodwill and might lose the orders (sales) and the competitors can be benefitted with regular retailers. So the stock management should also focus in every organisation. But Inventory may be the most expensive capital asset and therefore deserves the most scrutiny when we examine business processes. By managing the supply chain to reduce inventory, companies can decrease facility, material handling, and storage equipment requirements. Using information technology infrastructure like Kellogg’s, companies can change how to schedule production, often without capital investment, and dramatically reduce work-in-progress (WIP) inventory and material handling needs. Inventory is usually managed by information systems that are relat ively flexible and easy to modify. They are certainly more flexible than facilities or material handling equipment, for that matter. Nutria Company is following the latest computerised technology in terms of maintaining stock and holding an efficient distribution system, which holds always accurate stock check, always full delivers and orders on time. This helps the company to manage its stock. Supply chain risk management Where do these supply chain risks come from? There are evidently tangible risks in the supply chain which lead to its poor performance, but what are not recognised in the same way are the intangible elements, that of the attitudes and perceptions of the users and members of the supply chain. The intangible lack of confidence in a supply chain leads to actions and interventions by supply chain members, which collectively, could increase the risk exposure. A classic example of this is the potential reaction from the customer facing end of a business. For example, if a sales team believes that order cycle and order fulfilment times are not reliable, they will devise their own means of addressing this. They may order stock so as to have supplies to support their key customers and put in phantom (ie their own private buffer stock) orders to secure supply, all causing inefficiencies. This risk spiral exists everywhere, and the only way to break the spiral is to find ways to increase confid ence in the supply chain. To do so, we need to understand the elements of the supply chain that can reduce the lack of confidence – visibility and control Visibility Confidence in a supply chain is weakened when end-to-end order cycle time, i.e., the time it takes from when an order is requested by a customer through to delivery, is excessively long viz a viz the Competitive market. The increased internationalisation of supply chains and the prevalent use of subcontract manufacturing, distribution and logistics partners can contribute to the length of time it takes to complete all the needed steps in the process. Associated with pipeline length is the lack of visibility within the pipeline. Hence, it is often the case that one member of a supply chain has no detailed knowledge of what goes on in other parts of the chain – finished goods inventory, material inventory, work-in-process, actual demands and forecasts, production plans, capacity, yields, and order status. Control In addition to visibility, supply chain confidence requires the ability to take control of the supply chain operations. Sadly, most supply chains do not have a great deal of control once the order is released. Hence, even if a supply chain manager has visibility of some part of the pipeline, he/she often could not make changes in a short time. For example, even if information is obtained on demand changes or on yield shortfalls, the supply chain manager may be helpless, since the suppliers may not be flexible to respond to any changes, or there are no expediting options Available, or the production line is inflexible and production scheduling changes are not feasible, etc. Semiconductor manufacturers are often faced with this problem of lack of control. The long lead times by factories are such that, even if the manufacturer is made aware of sudden market demand changes, it takes a long time to respond so that the market opportunities are then missed. Chaos Without supply chain confidence, members of the supply chain are liable to chaos and decision risks. Sales people start over-ordering since they do not have timely visibility of the correct demand signals, or they know from experience that supplies may be late or insufficient to fill the complete orders. Production plans are based on inflated production lead times due to similar lack of visibility and control. â€Å"Safety lead times† are commonly used in standard MRPs, since production Planners do not want to be blamed for production delays. The lack of means to expedite or flexibility in manufacturing also mean that any yield shortfalls or production downtimes have to be made up by additional production, and as a result, lead times are stretched out in production plans. The irony is that, when planned production lead times are inflated, actual lead times will gradually match the planned target, a human behaviour known as Parkinson’s Law, which states that when a goal is too lax, then the tendency is for workers to relax and actually â€Å"achieve† the goal. Buffering Without visibility and control, it is common that the supply chain is plagued with buffer inventories. Buffering is another means employed by supply chain managers to hedge against the uncertainties and risks in the supply chain. Excessive inventory of course leads to higher financial risks. Another means by which supply chain manager’s hedge against supply chain uncertainties and risks is investing in excessive capacity. The well-known episode of 1995-6 in the semiconductor industry is The condition of 1995 was chaos, with many IC orders left unfilled, lead times were excessive, and supplier unreliability’s were at an all-time high. Worried that demand would continue to outstrip supply, semiconductor manufacturers were concerned with ways to assure supply. The problems faced by fab-less semiconductor manufacturers were even more acute. Without clear demand and supply visibility throughout the supply chain, and the feeling of not having control of their own fabrication capabilities had resulted in many fab-less semiconductor manufacturers finding ways to invest in capacity Conclusion The three sections of supply chain interacted to ensure that the products and services should reach consumers through accurate supply chain management. The efficient delivery of products to the consumers can result the smooth running of business. Specialisation is more cost effective for Nutria and partnering with other industry specialist reduces the cost to the business, the customers and environment. Through the above strategy and risk management, Nutria Company, the customers and the other business can be benefitted.    References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_chain yousigma.com/benchmarking/kelloggssupplychainmanagementtoreduceinventorycosts.html eurogarden.co/about-us.html#risk-management stanford.edu/group/scforum/Welcome/Supply%20Chain%20Confidence%20021402.pdf www.thetimes100.co.uk

These 2 Recommendation Letters Got Me Into Harvard and the Ivy League

These 2 Recommendation Letters Got Me Into Harvard and the Ivy League SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When I applied to college, I was accepted into every school I applied to, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, the Ivy League, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and more.While I had a strong overall application, the two teacher letters of recommendation were CRITICAL in getting me admitted. Why? Both teacherssaid I was one of the top students they had ever taught. Both enthusiastically advocated for my personality, leadership skills, and energy. How can YOUearn recommendation letters that will get you into your top choicecolleges?I'll show you how in this article. For the first time, I'm sharing my FULL, UNEDITED letters of recommendation as examples for you. These are the exact letters submitted when I applied to college. Even better, you'll see exactly what my Harvard admissions officer underlined - what really stood out as important and noteworthy. First Things First Quick question - how confident are you in knowingwhat colleges are looking for in your recommendation letters? Do you have a strong understanding of what an effective letter consists of, and what a bad letter looks like? Manystudents have the totally wrong idea of what colleges are looking for in recommendation letters. This, naturally, leads to subpar letters for students. Before I show you my letters, I first want to explainWHYrecommendation letters from teachers are such an important part of your college application, and then WHAT makes effective letters so effective. If you're chomping at the bit and really want to jump directly to my letters, here's Recommendation Letter Example #1, and here's Recommendation Letter Example #2. BUT I highly recommend that you stick with me for the next two sections - you'll get a lot more out of this guide and get much stronger rec letters as a result. Why Teacher Recommendation Letters Are So Important for College The goal of your overall college application is to communicate who you are as a person, in an easily digestible package that can take 20 minutes to understand (or less). From this package, colleges will decide whether they want you to join their community or not. Yeah, it doesn't feel great to have your 18 years of existence compressed into a web form. But that's the best system colleges have come up with so far to deal with the tens of thousands ofcollege applications they receive every year. (UCLA with a record 112,000+ applications) What do colleges care most about? Ultimately, it boils down to two things: how likely you are to succeed in college and in your career how much you'll benefit the school community as a student and beyond These are the ultimate goals of colleges when selecting their next class of students. Your application must convince the college that you will succeed in both goals. Of course, these are complex ideas -success is not only hard to predict, but different people also have different ideas of what success means. But there are a few general principles that hold true for most colleges: previous academic success is a great predictor of future academic success, which in turn predicts career success. certain personality traits are preferred: integrity, leadership, curiosity, creativity, empathy, perseverance, motivation, ambition, collaboration, confidence, and others. You don't need to be perfect in all dimensions, but some of these should apply strongly to you. you also generally want to avoid the opposite of these traits. These are all bad adjectives: unethical,narrow-minded, unmotivated, self-centered, arrogant, rude. For the first admissions requirement of academic success, your coursework and test scores play the biggest role. If you took a rigorous courseload and got a high GPA, and you got a high SAT/ACT score, you have shown that you can handle high school academics. This means you're in a great position to succeed academically in college. Feel like your SAT/ACT scores aren't high enough to impress your top choice colleges?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your SAT/ACT score. Download it for free now: How do you show the second requirement - personality traits? Part of this is in your personal essays and extracurriculars, where you'll show what you're interested in and give voice to your personality. But of courseyou'll describe yourself as curious, creative, collaborative, kind, and so forth. Who would describe themselves as unethical and mean? This is why colleges need objective, third-party observers to comment on who you are. This is where your teacher recommendations come in, and why they're so important. The role of the rec letter is to show who you are as a person.Your teachers haveengaged with you throughout at least a year of class. They've seen you in class with other students, and possibly out of class too. There are hundreds of small interactions that piece together to form your teacher's impression of you. How do you interact with students? How do you interact with teachers? How creative was your work? How much did you participate in class discussions? How motivated were you to excel in school? Are you a jerk nobody wants to be around? Or are you someone the teacher entrusts with the future? A greatteacher recommendation tells the college all of the above. Let's Hear From Harvard's Dean of Admissions What if you don't fully believe me yet? I'm just one guy with his own admissions experiences. So I'm going to call on William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions at Harvard College: Recommendations from secondary school teachers and counselors are extremely important at Harvard and at many other colleges, particularly those with selective admissions processes. Faced with more academically qualified applicants than places in the freshman class, our admission officers review the two required teacher recommendations and the counselor report with great care, often commenting on them in writing on â€Å"reader sheets† in each application.We often project the recommendations themselves onto large screens so that all members of the Admissions Committee can see them during the subcommittee and full committee review processes in February and March.Recommendations can help us to see well beyond test scores and grades and other credentials and can illuminate such personal qualities as character and leadership as well as intellectual curiosity, creativity, and love of learning. Along with essays, interviews, and other materials in the application, recommendations can offer evidence of an applicant’s potential to make a significant difference to a college community and beyond. Source Notice how he says Harvard is "faced with more academically qualified applicants than places." What does this imply? "Among a pool of students with the same academic qualifications, we use personality traits to decide who to admit or reject."And letters of recommendation for students describe those personality traits. To beat a dead horse: your teacher recommendations add more color to your academic achievements, your test scores, and your GPA. The best recommendation letters for colleges rave about your personality and personal qualities. This is why my two letters below are so effective. You do NOT want your recommendation letters to just be repeats of your resume. This gives the admissions officer ZERO extra information about who you are a person. You do NOT want your recommendation letters to just say, "Johnny got an A and turned in his homework on time." This makes it very obvious that the teacher has no idea who you are as a person, which means it adds ZERO to your application. Great recommendations talk about more than your class performance. They discuss your personal qualities, how interacting with you feels like, and why you're likely to succeed in the future. First, I'm going to show my letters to you, with analysis of why they were so effective. You'll see the highlights made by my Harvard admissions officer, which will tell you what things she found important. Then I'll give you advice on how to build relationships with your teachers so you can get letters like this on your own. My Letter of Recommendation Samples Usually you don’t get to read letters of recommendation for students because you sign the FERPA waiver, waiving away your rights to read your application. But I was able to retrieve my full Common App and Harvard applicationfrom Harvard, complete with my original letters of recommendation. Most colleges require you to have two letters from teachers in different subjects.The two teachers I asked for letters were my favorite two teachers in all of high school. Personally, I vibed most strongly with teachers who actually cared about teaching. They gave engaged studentswith energy, treated us kindly and empathetically, and went above expectations to help students succeed. Not only did I have the most fun with these teachers, but they were also more likely to advocate for me enthusiastically in their letter. You might not vibe with teachers for the same reasons, but it's important you choose teachers you get along with and who you feel will write you very strong letters. My first letter comes from my AP Chemistry teacher from 10th grade. My second comes from my AP English Language teacher from 11th grade. As you read these letters, remember - these letters didn't come instantly. They take hundreds of small interactions over a year or more to build an impression of who you are. You can't trick a teacher into writing a great recommendation letter for you. If you honestly like learning and are an enthusiastic, responsible, engaging student, a great recommendation letter will follow naturally. The horse should lead the cart. Teacher Letter #1: AP Chemistry Teacher I took AP Chemistry in 10th grade and had Miss Cherryl Vorak (now Mynster). She was one of our younger teachers, having taught for just a few years before I had her. She was my favorite teacher throughout high school for these reasons: She clearly took pride in her work. She wasvery caring, spent a lot of time helping struggling students, and seemed to consider teaching her craft. She was universally well liked by her students, even if they weren’t doing so well. This is pretty rare. She was fair in her policies and grading, and she was kind. This was the kind of teacher where if you weren't doing well, you felt like it was your fault, not the teacher's. I participated in the US National Chemistry Olympiad (this was the major academic honor I earned) and she was my advocate and a great resource for this.She provided me a lot of training materials and helped me figure out college chemistry. By the time I applied to college in senior year,I had known her for two full years and engaged with her continuously, even when I wasn't taking a class with her in junior year. We’d build up a strong relationship over the course of hundreds of small interactions. All of this flowed down to the recommendation you see here.The horse leads the cart. First, we’ll look at the teacher evaluation page. The Common Application now has 16 qualities to rate, rather than the 10 here. But they’re largely the same. If the images are hard to read, keep scrolling down - I provide the recommendation in text form. How long have you known this student and in what context? I've known Allen as a student inside the classroom and outside the classroom in extracurricular academic activities since he was in the 10th grade.What are the first words that come to your mind to describe this student? Intelligent, motivated critical thinker; Charasmatic, well rounded, talented individual; Independent, mature, responsible student. List the courses you have taught this student, noting for each the student's year in school (10th, 11th, 12th) and the level of course difficulty (AP, accelerated, honors, IB, elective, etc.) As a 10th grader, Allen was one of the top students in my AP Chemistry class. Please write whatever you think is important about this student, including a description of academic and personal characteristics.We are particularly interested in the candidate’s intellectual promise, motivation, maturity, integrity, independence, originality, initiative, leadershippotential, capacity for growth, special talents, enthusiasm, concern for others, respect accorded by faculty, and reaction to setbacks. We welcomeinformation that will help us to differentiate this student from others. See enclosed letter. Ratings Compared to other college-bound students in his or her secondary school class, how do you rate this student in terms of: Below Average Average Good (above average) Very Good (well above average) Excellent (top 10%) Outstanding (top 5%) One of the top few encountered in my career Creative, original thought âÅ"“ Motivation âÅ"“ Self-confidence âÅ"“ Independence, initiative âÅ"“ Intellectual ability âÅ"“ Academic achievement âÅ"“ Written expression of ideas âÅ"“ Effective class discussion âÅ"“ Disciplined work habits âÅ"“ Potential for growth âÅ"“ This was the Common Application from 2004-05, over 10 years ago. In today’s Common Application, all of these ratings are retained, aside from â€Å"Potential for Growth.† Today's Common Appalso now includes Faculty Respect, Maturity, Leadership, Integrity, Reaction to Setbacks, Concern for Others, and TE Overall. You can tell that Common App teacher evaluations placea strongemphasis on personality. From Miss Vorak, you can seea very strong evaluation. First she says she's known me for over 2 years and has had interactions inside and outside the classroom. Then she's very enthusiastic with her "first words" answer, listing off a lot of strong personal traits.Finally, she gives me the highest ratings possible for all qualities. The Ratings section is really important. In one go, you're compared to all the students your teacher has ever taught. The better your ratings here, the more competitive you are relative to your classmates. What makes for good enough ratings for you? That depends on your personal college goals and your school's competitiveness. The more competitive the colleges are, the higher up your ratings need to be. If you're applying to your state school, where the admissions rate is 30%, and your high school is pretty competitve, simply being Very Good or Excellent can be a strong rating for you. On the other hand, if you're applying to the most selective colleges like Harvard, Stanford, or the other Ivy League schools,it is important to be ranked â€Å"One of the top few encountered in my career† for as many ratings as possible. If you’re part of a big school, this is CRITICAL to distinguish yourself from other students. The more experienced and trustworthy the teacher, the more meaningful this is.You really want to make sure you’re one of the best in your school class, if not one of the best the teacher has ever encountered. Next, let’s look at her letter. As you read this, think – what are the interactions that would prompt the teacher to write a recommendation like this? This was a relationship built up in a period of over 2 years, with every small interaction adding to an overall larger impression. Again, if the images are too small to read, I'll have the exact text below, so scroll down. And here's the letter in text form. I've bolded the sections that were underlined by my Harvard admissions officer: To Whom It May Concern: It is with very great pleasure that I write this recommendation for Allen Cheng to support his application for admission into Harvard. Allen has a deep passion for science and has been one of the few exceptionally gifted students that I have encountered in my career as an Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher. Among his many achievements and accomplishments, Allen’s performance on a battery of Chemistry Olympiad exams taken by approximately 11,000 students nationwide recently secured him the position as the second alternate for the U.S. Chemistry Olympiad team, ranking 6th in the country for a team which represented our nation in the International Chemistry Olympiad competition in Germany this past spring. As a senior, Allen hopes to surpass his performance once more in hopes of securing a solid position as one of the four members on the 2005 U.S. Chemistry Olympiad team this coming spring. I first encountered Allen when he was a sophomore in my AP Chemistry class. He was the youngest student in the class of upper classmen, but he was the top excelling student among the two sections of AP Chemistry classes that I taught during the 2002-2003 academic year. As a sophomore, he worked very well with others, mastered laboratory techniques, earned the top score on the AP Chemistry Exam, and was one of the top performers on the National Chemistry Olympiad Exam that year. As one of the top performers on the National Chemistry Olympiad Exam in 2003, Allen was one of twenty students in the nation who qualified to be a participant in the United States National Chemistry Olympiad National Team in the spring that year. He spent an extensive amount of time studying independently in order to ensure that he would cover all of the topics that our class did not yet study and often sought additional instruction during lunch and after school during which he asked questions and performed labs from previous Chemistry Olympiad competitions for practice. When results were published, Allen was ecstatic to have qualified as one of the twenty participants in the U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp and he enjoyed the experience training for the International Chemistry Olympiad during which he was exposed to Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc., branches of science typically encountered at the college level. As a member of my Advanced Placement Chemistry class, I have found Allen to be an intelligent, conscientious, motivated and responsible student who masters theory-and applies it well. He academically excelled among his peers, often explained concepts to confused classmates, actively participated during discussion, asked questions to ensure that he had a firm understanding of concepts, and sought additional sources for supplementary problem solving exercises. As a scientist, he was always meticulous when performing experiments, he led his lab group to successfully complete experiments, he wrote great detailed analytical lab reports, and he worked well with others. Allen is a self motivated, dedicated, hardworking student of high intelligence who can grasp difficult concepts, think critically and handle the rigor of a competitive college environment. He exhibits the qualities of a leader and promising scientist who truly loves science. Allen truly impresses me as a student who actively seeks new experiences which support his love for science. This past summer, Allen was a participant at the Research Science Institute at MIT where he conducted research in the field of neuroscience. In addition, Allen has been conducting research with the Jisan Research Institute under the guidance of a professor for two years and has recently coauthored a paper which was published and presented in the LASTED International Conference on Robotics and Applications in Hawaii this year. In addition to conducting research, Allen has also been volunteering at Methodist Hospital and in an immunology lab at the City of Hope National Medical Center where he has been able to strengthen his general laboratory skills. He is clearly an independent, active member of society who pursues personal interests. Beyond his academic excellence, Allen is a charismatic individual who is respected and liked by faculty and peers. Throughout his high school career, Allen often stopped by my room during lunch to take my AP Chemistry tests to review his general chemistry, but he also often stopped by during lunch or after school to chat about his latest developments, events in school, or other various topics. His maturity and charisma are qualities that are quite rare among high school students. He interacts well with his peers be it in the classroom setting or with the broader diverse student population where he is well known as a balanced individual with a warm personality and sense of humor. He balances his time well by excelling in a heavy course load filled with advanced placement classes and he also participates in various school and community activities, including our school’s academic teams which provide a structured yet fun forum for competition and learning. Allen is a well rounded individual who clearly enjoys a challenge. Overall, Allen exhibits the qualities of a leader as well as a great scientist who has had ample research experience and excels academically in challenging, college level courses. He is an intelligent, well-rounded, and grounded individual who challenges himself and actively seeks new opportunities and experiences. He has the determination, maturity, and intelligence to succeed in any endeavor and always maintains a positive attitude. His academic and personal achievements show that he is committed to his education and will work hard to achieve his goals. He exudes confidence and has a vivid, outgoing, and friendly personality that allows him to get along with others very well in any setting. I admire him for his intelligence, sincerity, honesty, and integrity and am impressed by his discipline as an independent learner. He is a highly motivated individual with a thirst for knowledge. Allen Cheng would truly be a superior addition to the student body at Harvard. Sincerely, Cherryl Vorak AP Chemistry, Chemistry Honors Teacher The letter here is very strong for a multitude of reasons. First, the length is notable – most letters are just a page long, but this is nearly two full pages, single spaced.This is pretty rare, since teachers often have to write dozens of letters a year. It's clear she's interacted with me a lot, cares a lot about supporting me, and is willing to put in the work to do so. The structure is effective: first Miss Vorak talks about my academic accomplishments, then about my personal qualities and interactions, then a summary to the future. This is a perfect blend of what effective letters contain.She highlights my most important extracurricular activities and awards (you can read more about it here in my Complete college application). At the detail level, her diction and phrasing are specific and supportive. She makes my standing clear with precisestatements: â€Å"youngest student†¦top excelling student among the two sections† and â€Å"one of twenty students in the nation.† She’s clear about describing the effort I put in, like studying college-level chemistry and studying independently. When describing my personality, she’s exuberant and fleshes out a range of dimensions: â€Å"conscientious, motivated and responsible,† â€Å"exhibits the qualities of a leader,† â€Å"actively seeks new experiences,† â€Å"charismatic,† â€Å"balanced individual with a warm personality and sense of humor.† You can see how she's really checking off all the qualities colleges care about and corroborating her ratings. Overall, Miss Vorak’s letter perfectly supports my application– my love for science, my overall academic performance, and my personality. The last part is especially important - she adds much more color beyond my A in AP Chemistry.This letter was important to complement the overall academic performance and achievements shown on the rest of my application. Let's go to my second Common App teacher recommendation. Curious about what my college application looked like, including personal essays, grades, test scores, and extracurriculars? You're in luck - I've published my ENTIRE college application here. This includes my complete Common Application, teacher recommendations, counselor recommendation, and Harvard supplement. This application got me into every school I applied to, including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and more. Check out how Miss Vorak's letter complemented my entire college application and my Personal Narrative. Teacher Letter #2: AP English Language Teacher My second teacher Mrs. Swift was another favorite. A middle-aged, experiencedEnglish teacher, I would describe her as â€Å"fiery,† in a good way. She was passionate, always trying to get a rise out of students in class discussions. She was challenging as a teacher and grader, and I always wanted to impress her. Emotionally she was a reliable source of support for students. First, the teacher evaluation from the Common App: How long have you known this student and in what context? 2 years, AP student. What are the first words that come to your mind to describe this student? (blank) List the courses you have taught this student, noting for each the student's year in school (10th, 11th, 12th) and the level of course difficulty (AP, accelerated, honors, IB, elective, etc.) 11th Grade AP English Please write whatever you think is important about this student, including a description of academic and personal characteristics.We are particularly interested in the candidate’s intellectual promise, motivation, maturity, integrity, independence, originality, initiative, leadershippotential, capacity for growth, special talents, enthusiasm, concern for others, respect accorded by faculty, and reaction to setbacks. We welcomeinformation that will help us to differentiate this student from others. (blank) Ratings Compared to other college-bound students in his or her secondary school class, how do you rate this student in terms of: Below Average Average Good (above average) Very Good (well above average) Excellent (top 10%) Outstanding (top 5%) One of the top few encountered in my career Creative, original thought âÅ"“ Motivation âÅ"“ Self-confidence âÅ"“ Independence, initiative âÅ"“ Intellectual ability âÅ"“ Academic achievement âÅ"“ Written expression of ideas âÅ"“ Effective class discussion âÅ"“ Disciplined work habits âÅ"“ Potential for growth âÅ"“ You can see right away that her remarks are terser. She didn’t even fill out the section about â€Å"first words that come to mind to describe this student.† You might chalk this up to my not being as standout of a student in her mind, or her just getting tired of recommendation letter requests every year. In ratings, I earned three of the â€Å"one of the top in my career† for "Motivation," "Independence, initiative," and "Intellectual ability." The rest are marked as Outstanding (top 5%). These are overall great ratings, but not as universally "top ever" compared to my AP Chemistry teacher. There are a few explanations for this. As a teacher’s career lengthens, it gets increasingly hard to earn this mark. Since Mrs. Swift was a lot older than Miss Vorak, she had run through a ton of students already, which makes it harder to be one of the top few ever encountered. I probably also didn’t stand out as much as I did to my Chemistry teacher – most of my achievement was in science (which she wasn’t closely connected to), and I had talented classmates. Regardless, I did appreciate the 3 marks she gave me. Now, the letter. Once again, as you read this letter, think: what are the hundreds of interactions, in the classroom and outside, that would have led to a letter like this? To Whom It May Concern: It is with great pleasure that I recommend Allen Cheng for admission to your school. In my three years of working with him, he has demonstrated the qualities necessary for high success in the demanding academic atmosphere of a high caliber university as well as the social skills needed to be successful in college. Academically, he is an extremely strong student, earning an A both semesters in AP Junior English (a feat few accomplish), and A’s throughout his high school career. He consistently exhibits dedication and vigor in all that he approaches. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the California Scholarship Federation, and an integral part of the Jisan Research Institute. He is a vital member of all that he is a part of. Outside of the classroom, Allen’s passion is for research. He has a brilliant and lightning quick mind; he is a fantastic scientist, one with great charisma and leadership skills. Though he is a year younger than the rest of his class, he is heads and shoulders above them. He has been more than ready for all that a major university has to offer for quite some time. Perhaps one of Allen’s most outstanding characteristics is his independence of thought and his willingness to express those thoughts. In other situations where students-would never speak their minds, he showed no hesitation to voice questions, thoughts, and ideas. He was always an active participant in class discussions, his animated character and controversial positions often being the spark that set off the entire class to an impassioned and heated period of arguing, often with him at the focal point of one side or another. His other qualities are of equal magnitude – his leadership skills came to forefront in group projects where he took charge, assuming the majority of the work and responsibility, ensuring that everything was completed in a timely manner and to his extremely high standards. He also has the ability to take the quiet and shy student and actively engage him or her, transforming that student into an active member of the class. I went out of my way to partner him with other students who needed this kind of attention and encouragement. Another quality that sets him apart from other student leaders is his strength of conviction. He will argue on any topic that has touched a nerve. He breathes with raw, unbridled passion. It is a rare gift in a person of any age; in someone just 16, it is breathtaking. He is honest, never stooping to cheat; he is entertaining, relying on wit, knowledge, and intelligence to persuade. Friends rely on him; he is attentive to their true needs. Teachers enjoy him in their classes. I recommend Allen completely, with no hesitation. He will make his mark and be known. Judith Swift Overall, this letter is very strong. It’s only one page long, but she spends a lot more time on my personal qualities. She writes with her characteristic flair: â€Å"In other situations where students would never speak their minds, he showed no hesitation to voice questions, thoughts, and ideas.† â€Å"controversial positions often being the spark that set off the entire class† â€Å"ability to take the quiet and shy student and actively engage†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ went out of my way to partner him with other students who needed† â€Å"strength of conviction†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ raw, unbridled passion†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ He will argue on any topic that has touched a nerve.† These comments support my personality strongly. I lean more towards an irreverent, straightforwardpersonality, not being afraid to speakmy mind.While this came across in my personal essays and application, an experienced teacher vouching for this adds so much more weight than just my writing it about myself. Again, this impression was built up over a year of her teaching me. It wasn't just one time I stopped by after class. It was continuous participation in class discussions, strong performance throughout the year, and likely observations of me when I didn't know she was even looking. With my two letters in mind, let's end with advice for how you can get the best college rec letters possible. How You Can Get the Best Recommendation Letters from Your Teachers By now, I've repeated my most important advice for you a few times. The important thing is that the advice sticks in, and that you actually practice it. The best recommendation letters for students gush about your personal qualities and why that makes you the promising beacon of the future. You can't trick a teacher into writing a strong letter for you. This is the wrong attitude to have, and most teachers will be able to sniff out insincerity. Don't think that you can just stop by after class three times and get the teacher to be your buddy. Instead, your teacher's impression of you is built up over hundreds of interactions - in class discussions, in group projects, in your homework, during presentations, when arguing about test scores, and even when you think she's not listening. If you honestly like learning and are an enthusiastic, responsible, engaging student, a great recommendation letter will follow naturally. The horse should lead the cart. With all this in mind, here are strategies for how you can build great relationships with your teachers and get super strong letters along the way: Starting sophomore year, identify 2-3 teachers each year you get along with. Have at least one in math/sciences, and another in the other subjects. You won't get letters from all of them, but you do want backups in case your top choice writers don't work out. Prepare well for class discussions, and don't be afraid of sounding dumb. Speak your mind and your teacher will remember it. As a teaching assistantin college and grad school, I can tell you firsthand how annoying it is to ask the class a question and have no one respond. Prep beforehand and show that you're one of the few students who actually cares about learning. In your interactions with teachers, focus on improving yourself and learning, not on getting a better grade.This applies to talking about grading, group projects, and learning what's on a test. Students who grovel for extra points on a test are really annoying. In contrast, students who try to figure out where their weaknesses are and how to improve for the future are really fun to work with. Try to make the teacher's life easier.If you can help the teacher save time, she'll love you for it. This might mean helping out classmates who are struggling, sharing notes with the class, or noticing problems she's having and trying to fix them. This will take sustained effort and energy, but it's the most reliable way to get very strong recommendation letters. Even more, you'll likely have a lot more fun in school, and you'll build a strong relationship with an adult mentor who can teach you a lot. For a lot more detailed advice like this on how to interact with teachers earnestly, check out my How to Get a 4.0 GPA and Better Grades guide. Keep Reading to Build Your College Application Do you like my advice in this guide? Great - I've written a lot more to help you build the strongest college app possible. Want more recommendation letter samples? Check out 4 more excellent recommendation letters from teachers. How to Get a Perfect SAT Score/How to Get a Perfect ACT Score Do you feel like your SAT/ACT score is lower than what your top colleges are looking for? As someone who got a perfect score on the SAT and ACT, I learned important strategies to notice your weaknesses and drill to improve them. Read these guides to boost your SAT/ACT scores. Also, check out my series on getting perfect scores in each of the sections on the SAT/ACT: SAT 800 Series: Reading | Math | Writing ACT 36 Series: English | Math | Reading | Science How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League Aiming for a top school like Harvard, Stanford, Yale, or Ivy League-level schools? Your impression of what they're looking for might be COMPLETELYwrong. In this guide, you'll learn: why collegesexist, and what that means for what students they're looking for why being well-rounded is the path to rejection what an application Spike is, and why it'll get you into every college you apply to how to develop a Spike of your own If you're aiming for top tier colleges, this is a must read for you. How to Get a 4.0 GPA and Better Grades Do you feel like you're struggling to balance a rigorous courseload with good grades? You're not alone - this is a challenge for many high school students nationwide. In this guide, I'll tell you everything I know about how to get good grades. This includes mindset and psychology; study habits you need to have; and individual subject strategies. Even if you're not aiming for a 4.0 GPA, this is well worth the read - you'll learn something that can save you hundreds of hours of study time. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: