People all over the world, of all body styles, siz Essay Example For Students

People all over the world, of all body styles, siz Essay es, races and backgrounds occupy their time and gain physical fitness through games and activities referred to as sports. From professional leagues around the world, school sports, and neighborhood games, fun and strategy come together to form a worldwide phenomenon that has come to be loved. Whether your watching them or participating in them, sports have touched a part of everyones lives. Since the development of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, the development of its sports has progressed with the country. Over four hundred million Chinese people take part in physical activities regularly. Not only the group sports, but the competitive sports too. Since 1949, five hundred and sixty sports facilities of all kinds have been constructed to satiate the needs of the growing sports industry in China. Over four hundred existing associations exist today in China for individual events. Fifty-six of these associations have been put in the hands of management individuals. The others are owned by the nation itself. Also, fourteen administrative headquarters for the sports have been built to house the Chinese sports (Chinese Olympic Committee). Rong Guotuan was the first Chinese man in history to win a gold medal in the mens singles table tennis event in the 1959 Olympics. He was also the only man in Chinese history to be a world champion. Since Rong Guotuan, the Chinese have won nine hundred and fifty-six world titles and set over eight hundred world records. Some of the more preferred sports in Communist China consist of table tennis, basketball, soccer, and golf (Chinese Olympic Committee). Also the people of China Participate in the traditional sports. These sports include Wushu and Qigong. Both of these sports combine mental and physical power to complete a task. They both also work in promoting ones physical fitness. Not only traditional oriental sports increase fitness, many modern sports do also. One such sport is practiced in Brazil as well as all over the world. The preeminent sport exercised and cherished by the Brazilian population is the sport of soccer or Futbol. The people of Brazil are devout soccer fans. It is a national pastime. Soccer is more than a game, and it is often forgotten what the goal of the game is. The spectators become so enraptured by the game that they sometimes can become riotous and people have even been injured, while only watching the game. It is thought to have been brought to South America but the Dutch in the nineteenth century, but this is one of a few theories (Dani.Danial). The heroes of this sport are called craques in Brazil, or in Spain and England cracks. The word craque refers to the best of the best. In America, we merely refer to them as superstars (Pavan). Other sports found to be practiced by the Brazilians are Surfing and Deep Sea Diving. Brazil has over one thousand kilometers of clear unadulterated beaches along its shore. This makes the conditions perfect for the sport of surfing to be prominent. The Bahia coast is the most pleasing to even the most demanding surfers. The water along this coast is home to many spectacular creatures, such as humpback whales and sea turtles (Pavan). These creatures arent alone. Also in the waters along the Brazilian coast are millions of tropical fish that make this area exemplary for divers. This is also a sport practiced in Brazil. There are many clubs throughout the country that support divers and even fund some expeditions. Many of these clubs even offer safety courses in the sport of diving. They also keep them updated in environmental awareness to keep the waters clean and healthy (Pavan). Also having a large quantity of coastal area is England, which is known for its gentleman sports such as cricket and polo, not diving and futbol. It is also known for the brutal game of rugby which is like American football, but without all of the padding and protective equipment. Cricket is said to have originated as a major sport in England as early as the seventeen hundreds. It is also said to have been played back as far as thirteen hundred. In 1744, the first set

During The 60s, There Were Social Unrest On Campuses Across America A

During the 60's, there were social unrest on campuses across America as students became active in politics. Students at UCB organized sit ins and other demenstrations against the racial discrimination. When the university banned the students from the demenstrations, students gathered together to form the Free Speech movement. The university acted on the university charter law to ban politics on the college campus. Even though the law was not supposed to be interperated in that way, the university started enforcing the law. This made the students very angry and rebelled towards the university. The students began their free speech movement against the unconstitutional restrictions. The largest sit in happened at Sproul Hall, were police had to intervene, arresting more than 700 people. These were mostly students that wanted to advocate freedom of speech, but instead were dragged off to jails. The university soon changed its policies and allowed free speech as long as the demenstations were annonced ahead of time. Mario Savio, the leader of the movement advocated non violence, but this would not be upheld. The movement at UCB led way to many other campuses across the country. By the 70's, the movement ended across college campuses. Black Radicalism was on the move during the 60's as the Black Panthers formed. This group under Huey Newton and Bobby Seale represented African Americans in a different way other then the Civil Rights Movement. The group felt that African Americans were being wrongly targeted by white police officers. They were sick of the racism and wanted to be able to protect themselves as much as possible. The intentions of the Black Panther were to use non violence to defend themselves. Although they were non violent, they would carry guns just in case violence broke out. The Panthers were not a racist group, but one that is for protection from all harm no matter who it was. They believe that they are fighting a class struggle and not a race struggle. The hostility between the Panthers and the police erupted in the late sixties. These conflicts led to violence and deaths on both sides. By the 70's, the Panther's radicalism declined due to inner conflict between Newton and another group member by the name of Cleaver. Latin Americans also had their share of challenges in America during the 60's. The Bracero program had brought in temporary labor from Mexico to help in the fields. This led to exploitation of the workers by giving them low wages and inhuman living conditions. In 1959, the AFL fought for the rights of the laborers and asked the farmers to become a union. The farm workers were skeptics at first because they didn't want to lose there source of income if they went on strikes. Cesar Chavez led the way as he organized an independent union called the NFWA(National Farm Worker's Association) He wanted the owners of the farm to provide fair wages as well as better benefits. In 1965, Chavez joined in on the strike at Delano. It was hard for him to win because strike breakers were brought in to end the problem. As the movement progressed, it got stronger and stronger. They had convinced stores to not buy their grapes and the dock workers would not load them. Chavez had won and the farm owners signed contracts that led to a better life for the latino farmers.

Using Your Finger Like a Weathervane

Using Your Finger Like a Weathervane Your index finger has many uses, but I bet you didnt know a weathervane is one of them. If youve ever seen someone lick the tip of a finger and stick it into the air, or done this yourself, this is the very reason behind this peculiar gesture. But, while youll often see people stick their finger in the air as a weather joke, its actually a legitimate way to estimate wind direction. So the next time you find yourself on a deserted island, Survivor style, or simply without a weather app, heres what to do: Stand as still as possible. (If your body is moving, it will be harder for you to get an accurate wind reading.) If you happen to know which way is north, south, east, etc., face this way it will make determining the final wind direction easier.Lick the ball of your index finger and point it upwards.Observe which side of your finger feels the coolest. Whichever direction the cool side of your finger is facing (north, south, east, west), thats the direction the wind is coming from. Why it Works The reason why your finger feels cool has to do with the speedy evaporation of the moisture on your finger as the winds air blows across it. You see, our bodies heat (through convection) a thin layer of air just next to our skin. (This layer of warm air helps insulate us from the surrounding cold.) But whenever the wind blows across our exposed skin, it carries this warmth away from our bodies. The faster the wind blows, the faster the heat is carried away. And in the case of your finger, which happens to be wet with saliva, the wind will lower the temperature even more quickly because moving air evaporates the moisture at a quicker rate than still air would. Not only does this experiment teach you about evaporation, but its also a neat way to teach kids about the wind chill and why it cools our bodies down below the air temperature during wintertime. Dont Use Your Finger in Humid or Hot Weather Since using your finger as a weathervane depends on evaporation taking place, it doesnt work as well at helping you estimate wind direction on humid or muggy days. When the weather is humid, it means that the air is already filled with water vapor, and so, it will carry away the additional moisture from your finger more slowly; the slower the moisture from your finger evaporates, the less youll be able to feel the winds cooling sensation. This weathervane hack also wont work as well when the weather is hot, sine the warm air will dry your finger before youve had a chance to feel the evaporative cooling sensation.

What does true friendship require Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What does true friendship require - Essay Example Since Finny trusts Gene as his friend, he does not believe what h says concerning the fall. In ‘The Hobbit’, true friendship is helping the ones in need such as the case in the book in which Gollum helps Bilbo to escape from the tunnel (Falconer 3). True friendship means helping one another and loving the other person in any difficult situation. In the ‘Thank you M’am’ the fat woman helps the boy with 10 dollars for buying Swede shoes (Hughes 5). The act shows true friendship as Mrs. Luella shows some affection to the poor boy who tried to steal from her. In the book ‘A Separate Path, Finny cannot believe that is the best friend can cause him to fall and break his legs. Finny loves his friend so much and his ready to help him by advising him to train as an athlete (Knowles 4). In the book, The Hobbit Gollum assists Bilbo to get out of the cave, and Gandalf rescues the team when it goes underground (Falconer 3). The theme of friendship and love is evident considering the help Bilbo gets from Gollum and the rescue. In the three books, the themes of friendship and love are portrayed clearly. In conclusion, true friends love each other as demonstrated by the themes of the three stories. In the first case, the fat woman helps the boy while in the second book Finny does not believe that his true friend can betray him causing him to fall. In the Hobbit, the team gets help from Gandalf and Bilbo gets help from Gollum, which portrays a lot of love and

Art Analysis # 4 Expressive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Art Analysis # 4 Expressive - Essay Example This is a comic painting that is in contrast with the late Pollock or the tragic vision of the Rothko, it would miss a point if seen as being figurative. Nonetheless, it creates new areas of erotic everyday life to the abstract art. The painting is an abstract that does not exists; it is the woman that only exists on the mind of the painter (Mark and Annalyn 42). Moreover, the fabulation of brushwork and color, with the pushed, splattered, realized paint telling unequivocally that which is furiously sexual. Regardless of the fierce heterosexuality that exists in the painting of Woman I, the artists who have followed de Kooning into the new space between real world and abstraction dealt in the sexual ambiguity. Indeed, closer to the de Kooning’s cartoon painting are the Oldenburg’s fantasies of the mass produced consumables sexualized and inflated. Indeed, the exaggerations made on the woman including the giant lipstick are simply a portrayal of the emotional and romantic state of the painter’s mind (Mark and Annalyn 51). In a nutshell, the painting is an abstract that only portrays the emotional state of mind of the painter. It shows that woman the painter fantasizes off during the painting period. It is therefore not a real life painting but rather an

Cost Analysis Within The Zara Company Marketing Essay

Cost Analysis Within The Zara Company Marketing Essay Describe how Zara uses technology to improve operational responsiveness to customer expectations, and at the same time to reduce costs in certain areas. Zaras main strategy is to give a quick answer to end consumer demands and anticipate consumer trends through information technology and human resources. It operates on the basis of heavy backward vertical integration, working its way from the end consumer all the way back to the manufacturing and distribution. It ensures a very tight control of production through simple and effective IT systems as well as a high tech distribution center (DC.) It realizes cost optimization on its basic items for production and also time optimization in terms of speed to market of its fashion items making use of technology. Zara adapted to trends and differences across markets by interacting regularly with the store managers using the PDA and phone systems to get updates on customer feedback, fashion sense etc. The Point of Sale system (POS) in the store computers also provided valuable sales data to the distribution center which had a mobile tracking system that docked hanging garments in appropriate bar coded areas. The various garments were given Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and orders were placed from the hand-held computers in the stores twice a week or more, to the distribution center where if particular items were in short supply, allocation decisions were made on the basis of historical sales levels and other considerations. After the orders were approved, the warehouse issued lists for delivery to the stores. Zara design teams tracked customer preferences and used sales information such as sales analysis, store trends and product life cycle information from the store managers, based on a consumption information system to transmit repeat orders and new designs to internal/external suppliers and the DC. The design teams thereby bridged merchandising and the backend of the production process and they developed the right products within the season to meet consumer demands. Zaras product development teams attended high fashion fares and exhibitions to translate the latest seaso nal trends into the designs. Hence, a super fast rate of operational responsiveness to customers was maintained and the DC was more of a place to merchandise than merely for storage. Technology also helped keep Zaras costs under control. By using the POS systems in store computers, handheld PDA devices for store managers and phone systems, accurate information regarding orders required were transmitted to the DC. The SKUs ensured accuracy in terms of which products needed to be produced and in what quantities and the DCs could use all this information and feedback from the design teams to make orders of the right quantity of each kind of product. Thus, inventory costs were very low, runs were limited and production costs were maintained at very manageable levels in spite of the large number of new items that are continuously produced. Zaras factories were also heavily automated, specialized by garment type and focused on the capital intensive parts of the production process, like pattern design and cutting as well as final finishing and inspection. A Just-in-time system was installed in collaboration with Toyota in these factories and this helped in faster comple tion of work and controlling of costs through continuous improvement processes. Management Information System technology plays a crucial role in Zaras customer responsiveness and cost control measures. From what you see in the case, does Zara price to market or on the basis of other factors? Zara always followed a market based pricing method. In each country, Zara always placed more focus on the market prices (local pricing levels) rather than on its own costs to forecast prices of items in particular markets. These forecasts were later overlaid on cost estimates that included all considerations such as distance, tariffs, and taxes and so on to see whether the potential market could achieve profitability in a year or two of opening the first store. Zara followed a different pricing strategy in each country, for example, in Italy and Paris the focus was more quality oriented and so the price of the same items were much higher, however, in Germany where consumers are price sensitive the items were lesser priced. This figured in the different marketing strategy followed in each country. Zara controlled its costs through its production and distribution processes and was positioned in many countries as high fashion at affordable prices which though were centrally determined, much lower than competitor prices for comparable products in its major markets. Percentage margins still held up, this was possible because of the direct efficiencies of short, vertically integrated supply chain, reduced advertising costs, and markdown requirements. Thus Zara competed at reasonable prices through a cost leadership strategy, completing Porters generic strategy through differentiated products and broad segmentation. Zaras customers in many countries bore the extra costs of supplying the items from Spain though the prices were market based, for example, prices were 40% higher in Northern Europe and 70% higher in the Americas than in Spain. This could be seen on the garments price tag which was an atlas to the customers. These higher prices outside Spain affected Zaras positioning overseas as high end instead of mid market range products to better validate the price differences. Like in Mexico where the target consumer base is narrow, it is geared towards the upper and middle class that knows fashion. Moreover, as in Europe, the artificial scarcity that Zara creates of its products in its stores urge the customers to pay the price and buy rather than wait it out. Markdowns are very low for Zara in Europe and elsewhere, 15-20% of its sales as compared to 30-40% for its European peers. Zara does not completely compete on basis of price as the usual Zara customer is not that price sensitive; instead, it competes on fashion and its quick response capability. Zara (2010) has just launched an on-line, e-retail distribution service.     For an apparel retailer what are the advantages and disadvantages of online distribution?   Can Zara make it work? Inditex has long used the internet to promote its various lines and corporate image and is also popular on Facebook, where it has 4.5m fans. Its Smartphone application, launched about a year ago, has been downloaded by 2m people. Zara can very easily make its online e-retail distribution service work successfully. Familiarity with the Zara stores thus provides name recognition for the online retail site, and the combination of customer data gathered by the store and the online retail site (through Google Analytics, for example) could lead to substantial personalized marketing efforts, using various channels. With Zaras policy of a lean advertising budget, an online retail portal will add greatly in terms of branding and awareness. Zara had initially decided not to sell clothes on the internet since the returns rates were too high. However, as of September 2010, Inditex put Zara branded products online for its customers, waiting for online demand to build. Customers can choose from the usual range of paying methods and opt either for a free store pick-up or paid-for postal delivery. The online return and exchange policy is identical to the store system, with shoppers given 30 days to change their minds. iPhone and iPad applications that allowed purchasing will soon be available and online sales will help Zara reach potential customers who have no easy access to physical stores. For an apparel retailer, the advantages of online distribution would be providing convenience to the shoppers to buy from the comfort of their home, save on travel time and costs and have easy access to the products. Customers will have 24 hour access to the shopping platform online and make better buying decisions through online chat and discussion. Researchers identify convenience as a fundamental objective related to online shopping (Schaupp Belanger, 2005). This is relevant to 72% of online shoppers claim that they would rather surf online than go to retail store to attain information about a product (Lokken et al., 2003). Costs on human resources (Vendors, shop assistants, managers) can be saved by the retailer and customers can make relaxed wise buy decisions without pressure from vendors. Infinite shelf space will be available in that, products available at all store locations and around the world without geographical boundaries, to the customers to choose from. Comparison sh opping in terms of styles and prices will be easier on the online portal than in the store for the consumer. Boston Consulting Group analysts Evans and Wurster theorize that the three main strategic draws of online retail are reach, affiliation and richness. Reach is defined as access and connection: how many customers a business can access and how many products it can offer. Moreover, a retailers range of product offerings was traditionally limited by the size of its stores and the cost of carrying inventory while online retailers as intermediaries between customers and suppliers need not necessarily have an inventory at all, only a catalog, often transparent to the customer. Affiliation refers to whose interests are represented by the online retailer who can treat the products from their various vendors more objectively, providing more objective information and better product comparisons for their customers. Richness refers to the depth and detail of information, about products and about customers. Evans and Wurster argue that traditional retailers still are at an advantage to supply expe rt information about products to their customers, and that they also are still in a better position to gather information about product sales and customer profiles and buying patterns. Online retailers are quickly catching up, however, gathering data about customer browsing behavior, purchasing history, and demographics. Online retailers are subsequently able to use this data to provide their customers with a fully customized online shopping environment, including individualized web pages, targeted ads and offers, and specific product suggestions, something traditional retailers cannot effectively do at their retail outlets. Some of the disadvantages of online retail would be the difficulty to gather trend information, product sales and customer suggestions. Zara could remedy this by using analytics and customer feedback forms online that are user friendly and attractive. The experience of shopping in a Zara store would be lost, but Zara would need to make its retail platform very interactive and spellbinding. Zaras prime store locations cost a lot of investment, and the advent of online shopping could mean cannibalization of its retail outlet sales and a waste of upkeep costs, this could put Zara into a fix. Customers will not be able to touch and try the product like they can in an actual store, [t]he likelihood of purchasing on the Internet decreases with increases in product risk (Bhatnagar, Misra, Rao, 20000, p. 100). Apparels in particular had negative rating in online shopping because of it is difficult to feel and see the texture of colour online that is incomparable to going to a retail store. The biggest drawback itself would be the concept of infinite shelf space that an online distribution will bring, for Zara. Being a company that thrives on the creation of artificial scarcity of its products, the online distribution channel will have to be very carefully controlled to ensure that customers buy the products with the same fervour as when they visit the store, knowing that it might not be available the following week. Zara can remedy this situation by advertising only a limited number of units of each product online so customers will know if the numbers are dwindling and that they need to act fast in order to acquire the product just as in the case of the actual store.

Clarion Boys Case Essay

One problem in the Clarion School for Boys case is that employees did not have enough training on the system. On the survey taken, most employees responded that they were dissatisfied with the training they had received and most had training of only 1-3 hours. Since there was little training given on the system, the users were uncomfortable using it. It seemed that if they could not figure something out, they would give up and go back to doing it the old way. The bookkeeper commented, â€Å"I have been trying to finish this month’s books for the last two days, but I am having the same problems as last month. The accounts receivable software program is still giving me difficulties. I think I’ll just do them by hand this month.† When the system was first installed, the staff was excited about it but as time passed and there was no learning progression of the system, people became bored with it and stopped using it as much. Another comment made by the education supervisor was, â€Å"There was a lot of initial excitement about e-mail, but I haven’t heard much about it since then. I know I’ve been too busy to lean it myself, and I missed the training sessions because of other meetings.† I personally worked with a company where a new system was implemented and because of the lack of training and tutorials, there were major problems. For months the system was incorrect, causing many hours of overtime as well as many mess ups that had to be corrected. Familiar to this case, there was not a plan of action nor any goals set or a timeline for certain projects to be mastered. There was a lack of training causing the staff to have little confidence in their abilities to work the system. This problem falls under strategic planning. One component of strategic planning is training. Under strategic planning, the employees should be encouraged to be active in the system. They should be encouraged through training programs and help sessions. The team should establish goals and time lines of what they want to have accomplished by a specific date. In this case, there was not a formal plan or measures set. They were not able to judge how they were doing because they did not make a strategic plan to begin. I think this is a minor problem. I think the major problem is that once the system was implemented, there was no enforcement created. It seemed that the users did not want to get out of their comfort zone and learn something new. There was not much communication at the beginning and everyone seemed to be doing their own thing.