Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Maos policy of Politics in Command set the agenda for the Chinese Essay

Maos policy of Politics in Command set the agenda for the Chinese economy for the last half of the 20th century in China. Do you agree with the statement Wh - Essay Example In the first half of the twentieth century state policy eliminated private industry and commerce resulting to a high degree of centralized and unified planned economy. But despite this the party-state showed symptoms of incapacity in terms of confronting modernization and economic growth. Aiko Ikeo (1997) cited an example: In the early stages of the creation of New China, the method of ‘three persons’ food eaten by five’ was carried out, in an effort to assist the unemployed. During the First Five-year Plan, unemployment was basically eliminated, but because of the lower level of productive forces, in order to guarantee universal employment and individual entitlement to rations, only low-wage policies could work†¦ The parity pattern of low wages, high employment and low consumption cause universal overstaffing, inefficiency and low benefits. (p. 166) By 1960 Mao Zedong launched the self-reliance model anchored on the guiding thought of â€Å"politics in command†. This theory stressed the replacement of personal desire for material and economic interests with noble political sentiments and selfless devoted spirit. This guiding thought replaced the equalitarian thought of equal wealth distribution policy in the 1950s. (Ikeo, p. 166) The basic theme of this campaign was the proper relationship between politics and business, with the basic goal of ensuring that politics is placed at the fore. More importantly, this introduced a decentralization drive which sought to give the party more control over the economy. This was achieved by having the provincial party committees supervise economic enterprises and perform a coordinating role. (Bailey 2001, p. 170) In an effort to achieve greater party control, the influence of central planning ministries was reduced. The ‘politics in command’ policy was implemented, in effect abolishing the previous equalitarian thoughts of equal

Monday, October 28, 2019

Recruiting Tanglewood Stores Essay Example for Free

Recruiting Tanglewood Stores Essay Based on the historical recruiting methods the Tanglewood stores have a couple of key issues associated with the hiring of new employees in order to provide the customer service and run their organization in a profitable manner. The corporate executives need to establish an employment brand message, and also allow the regional managers to utilize the methods of recruitment and management styles they believe work best in their geographic area (Inman, C. , Muller, C. 1996) First from a management prospective, there is not a unity of effort across the four regions as far as the hiring process is concerned. There are three unique main lines of effort between the four locations. The managers of these regions should be given a certain amount of freedom to lead their divisions, guidance and standards should be provided from the corporate management of the organization (Inman, C. , Muller, C. 1996). This will help the organization adjust to a changing technology while providing custom appeal to potential employees from each region. This will help develop an employment brand message with the public and encourage overall appeal to the company. This employment brand should be the focus of the corporate level managers. It is beneficial to the organization, to give the regional managers the latitude to administer their hiring strategy the way they see fit. Although the cost of hiring an organization to locate and recruit talent for the region at five times the cost of three of the other methods of recruitment, if that is what it takes to hire individuals in that region the manager should be given the authority to utilize that method. The establishment of an employment brand message at the corporate level, which is especially important to the specialization of the Tanglewood stores in outdoor equipment, may reduce turnover among employees. The extensive turnover needs to be addressed at the regional echelon. Turnover is extremely expensive and must be minimized. The effective recruiting of motivated, knowledgeable individuals will minimize the expense of training and recruiting employees. The Western region’s method of utilizing referrals seems to fit the outdoor lifestyle business model the best. Finding employees that fit the mindset of the company result in the least amount of turnover (Naeem Tariq, M. , Ramzan, M. , Riaz, A. 2013). Employees that are interested in and have a passion for the outdoors likely participate in these activities with like-minded individuals. Recruiting from this pool seems like a great source for employees. There is a risk that employees are seeking the reward from the company of 100 dollars. This risk is minimal given the nominal reward and the benefit of free advertising for the business. The Eastern and Northern Oregon region also have a fairly low cost method of recruiting through media. Depending on the type of media, this has a potential to reach many potential applicants. It must be monitored for returns to ensure that money is not being wasted on unyielding sources. This could be accomplished with a simple survey on how the individual discovered the job or coding responses. This media can also target demographic groups that managers believe will make the best employees. The utilization of a staffing agency seems to be the least efficient method of recruiting employees that embrace the culture of the store and proved excellent customer service. If the employees are not willing to make a personal connection with customers based on a shared passion this will affect profits (Puccinelli, N. M. et. al. 2013). Although the agency seeks individuals for the company, it is expensive and the agency is most likely not specialized to find applicants that fit the company’s culture. Although this method may be useful to hire individuals with key KSAOs, it is probably not cost effective for hiring the floor associates. If the corporate level executives produce guidance and emphasize the employment brand message and the regional managers are given the freedom to administer their stores the way they see fit, the hiring process and retention would be greatly improved. An optimization of the hiring process will result in greater retention and increased profits (Naeem Tariq, M. , Ramzan, M. , Riaz, A. 2013).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Physics of Gymnastics :: physics sport sports gymnast gymnastics

Gymnasts use physics everyday. As a gymnast I never realized how much physics went into every motion, every back handspring, every mistake on the bars. If gymnasts were physicists (or at least knew more about physics) they would be better equipped to handle the difficult aspects of gymnastics. As a gymnast I learned the motions that were necessary to complete the tricks that I was working on, and as a coach I taught others the same. I never truly understood why a particular angle gave me a better back handspring or why the angle that I hit a springboard at really mattered when completing a vault. We are going to explore some of the different apparatuses in gymnastics and a few of the physics laws that are involved in them. We will not even barely scratch the surface of the different ways that physics can explain gymnastics. Newton's Laws Newton's Laws can be found in the textbook, Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Serway. Newton's First Law An object remains at rest, or in motion, unless an external force acts upon it. Newton's Second Law The acceleration of a body or object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the body or object and is inversely proportional to its mass. F = ma Newton's Third Law For every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force. The Floor There are many aspects of physics found on the floor. The gymnast performs on a floor that "measures 12 x 12 meters, with an additional safety border of 1 metre. The performance area must have a surface elasticity, to allow for power during take-off and softness for landing." (FIG) The surface elasticity found in the floor mat gives the gymnast extra bounce which increases her momentum. Let's examine a basic tumbling run. All three of Newton's Laws can be seen in this one tumbling run. We can see Newton's first law before the gymnast takes even one step. Until she takes a step, the gymnast is at rest. When she is ready to tumble the gymnast applies the force. A gymnast takes a running start when approaching a tumbling run, and as she is moving across the floor she is increasing her momentum. This is a demonstration of Newton's second law.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Wwe’s Handling of the Chris Benoit Scandle

To What Extent, if Any, Had WWE Distanced Itself From Chris Benoit? How Had In-Ring Performances Been Affected? Chris Benoit, before his tragic death, was a world renowned, top card professional wrestler for mainstream professional wrestling company, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); formerly World Wrestling Federation (WWF). As WWE were broadcasting a tribute show in Benoit’s memory, news which addressed why the wrestler had passed began circulating. The answer to that question was indeed chilling and has led WWE to disassociating itself with their former icon and Benoit’s reputation hitting an all time low† (Ring Surf, 2009). Reports to this day reveal that, over a period of days, Benoit had choked his wife and smothered his son both to death, before taking his own life on June 2007. Previous to these events, WWE had always been under scrutiny. From the most respectable organizations, their content was deemed violent and sexist (Consoli and Torpey-Kemph, 1999 ).Also, since Chairman, Vince McMahon jr, publicly stated that professional wrestling matches are booked with predetermined outcomes, a butterfly effect-like chain of other various emerging news stories slowly began to unravel. More of which attempted to reveal further secrets behind the wrestling industry; namely depicting the neglectful treatment of performers. When journalists found Benoit’s story they had plenty of choice on what to blame; drugs, roid rage, etc. However, everyone knew that the WWE must be at fault. Lachlan, et al. 2009) states that; â€Å"the popularity attained by professional wrestling makes its presence impossible to ignore and concerns about its potential influence difficult to avoid†. For these reasons the WWE is always under high risk surveillance by press and critics. On February 2006, in response to another high profile wrestler’s untimely death, the company put a wellness policy in place, which tests for banned substances and perfor ms annual cardiac evaluations. The policy gained a positive reception and WWE looked to slowly disassociate itself from the reports that claimed to expose the wrestling industry.After Benoit’s death, most were looking to the wellness policy for an explanation; the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested that WWE hand in any material regarding the wellness policy, which had always been dealt with privately. Ashamedly, WWE had shortly after, suspended 11 wrestlers for violation of the policy and from then on have taken more stern measures when dealing with violations. It was ultimately found, by the Sports Legacy Institute, that Benoit had a severe case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy; â€Å"his brain showed an advanced form of dementia† (ABC News, 2007).ABC News (2007) quotes the neurosurgeon in question as saying that â€Å"while he can’t be certain that the brain damage caused Benoit’s actions, he believes it is the leading c ause†. Contrastingly and rather unsurprisingly, WWE have said in a later statement; â€Å"Today’s attempt to explain that Chris Benoit’s murder of his family was possibly caused by some form of dementia as a result of alleged concussions is speculative† (USA Today, 2007). Representing his WWE; Vince McMahon, in an interview with CNN (2009), further claims that these findings â€Å"haven’t even been critiqued by other members of the scientific community†.Regardless of the validity of the Sports Legacy Institute’s study; quick to dismiss the possibility of concussion, mental deterioration and any slight mistake or misconduct on the part of WWE, McMahon’s product falls under much more pressure. Continuing his interview, Vince McMahon defends that Benoit’s performances takes no responsibility for his actions. As a company constantly in the public eye, the WWE have banned chair shots to the head, but believe they have nothing more to answer for; â€Å"it’s what it is in the ring† he says.Upon learning of the tragedy, Vince had immediately recorded a public follow up statement, to air just before their next tri-weekly broadcast. Among his sincere concern for those involved, he assures (Mr. Mcmahons’ speach about Chris Benoit, 2007); â€Å"the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore†¦ there will be no mention of Mr Benoit’s name tonight†. Referring to Vince McMahon’s CNN interview (2009), he explains â€Å"anyone who becomes a murderer, I mean, you want to disassociate yourself with that individual†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Chris Benoit has not, and will not define the WWE†.However, Vince McMahon and the WWE have since been under fire from wrestling fans and observers who inadvertently claim that through disassociation, the tragic incident involving Chris Benoit has defined how the WWE has grown and in many ways hidden over the years. Ther e is a net wide view from smarks (smart fans), that in an attempt to disassociate Benoit from the company, WWE have allowed vital and simple aspects of pro wrestling’s performance art to go with him. An online fan posts; â€Å"Benoit German suplex banned from WWE? † (Yahoo Answers, 2010) â€Å"No chops? (Balderson, 2010) WWE is NOT wrestling†, states another.Certain professional wrestling moves, created a long time ago and already interwoven into the fabric of the industry, as with many other wrestlers, had over time become synonymous with Chris Benoit. I have conducted a content analysis study using two samples of WWE PPV events to explore; to what extent, if any, WWE’s disassociation from Chris Benoit has had an effect on the content of their wrestling matches and the performance of their contracted wrestlers. WWE has always walked a thin, interesting line concerning the content of professional wrestling among their programming.Former professional wrest ler, Laurence De Garis remarks the following, regarding the (then) WWF’s 1999 prospectus; â€Å"Interestingly, professional wrestling is nowhere to be found in the description. The WWF’s definition of itself represents a shift in business models away from a sports-based, live-events business and more toward a television show† (Sammond, 2005). Such motives give the impression that the WWE may have assumed they had nothing to lose by disassociating itself from Chris Benoit in such a manner. In the past few years† he explains, â€Å"there has been emphasis on â€Å"mic work† and acting ability, as a professional wrestler I am primarily interested in â€Å"having matches†, hopefully good ones†. â€Å"Sampling in content analysis is subject to the same concerns it would be in any quantitative study. It should be both representative and significant† (Rose, 2007). Within my study, I was comparing two different time periods within (argu ably) a sports show; each sample I had taken had to be representative of a full year.As Rose (2007) states; â€Å"which sampling method you choose – or which combination of methods – will depend on the implications of your research question†. My research question as posed is representative of the highest quality sample, so as to investigate what kind, if any care is put into influencing the show. The sports show I am researching has designated Pay-Per-View events near monthly throughout the year. I have therefore chosen to analyse four PPV’s per sample I have. This equates to 26 hours of analysis. â€Å"Coding means attaching a set of descriptive labels (or categories) to the images† (Rose, 2007).The purpose of my study is to analyse how the relationship between Benoit and WWE has changed. As people have suggested that WWE has made an unnecessary effort to erase connotations of Benoit from any further matches, I have focused specifically on wrestli ng moves used regularly by Benoit. My analysis is categorised into three moves well used by Benoit and additionally three categories which document the use of any similar variation of those moves. These additional categories however are not as objective, as I have taken a subjective stance in determining whether they are to be counted or not.As Hansen, Cottle, Negrine & Newbold (1998) iterate; â€Å"content analysis, of course, could never be objective in a ‘value-free’ sense of the word: it does not analyse everything there is to analyse in a text (no method could, nor would there be any purpose in trying)†. Many wrestlers in the WWE have similar move sets and no two matches are ever the same. What is evident from personal experience with the WWE is that the moves I have coded aren’t necessarily only used by Chris Benoit. â€Å"A more sophisticated analysis can be developed by exploring the relations between different coding categories† (Rose, 2007 ).And as such, I had coded a further factoring category which would specify by which wrestler the move had been used; allowing me to see patterns in my results and explain further, any changes to how wrestlers are performing. Here are the written results, in chronological order of events, to accompany my graphs; emerging from the analysis I have conducted: Vengeance 2005 -Knife Edge Chop: 13. Michaels: 10, Jericho: 3 -Chop Variation: 3. Benjamin: 2, Christian: 1 -German Suplex: 3. Angle: 3 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 2. Carlito: 1, Benjamin: 1 Survivor Series 2005 Knife Edge Chop: 26. Benoit: 4, Flair: 15, Michaels: 5, Masters: 2 -Chop Variation: 3. JBL: 2, Show: 1 -German Suplex: 4. Benoit: 4 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 3. Booker: 1, Angle: 2 Royal Rumble 2006 -Knife Edge Chop: 61. Noble: 8, Flair: 8, Benoit: 23, Carlito: 1, Tatanka: 12, Murdock: 1, Mich aels: 8 -Chop Variation: 4. Show: 3, Viscera: 1 -German Suplex: 5. Benoit: 4, Angle: 1 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 1. Benoit: 1 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 1. Benoit: 1 -Crossface Variations: 3. Murdock: 1, Michaels: 1, Cena: 1 Wrestlemania (22) 2006 -Knife Edge Chop: 24.Flair: 8, Benoit: 3, Stratus: 4, Michaels: 9 -Chop Variation: 2. Flair: 1, Finlay: 1 -German Suplex: 8. Benoit: 3, Angle: 5 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 2. Benoit: 2 -Crossface Variations: 2. Cena: 2 24/06/07: Benoit’s death Summerslam 2008 -Knife Edge Chop: 0 -Chop Variation: 1. Kingston: 1 -German Suplex:0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 4. MVP: 1, Marella: 2, Cena: 1 Survivor Series 2008 -Knife Edge Chop: 5. Michaels: 5 -Chop Variation: 1. Kingston: 1 -German Suplex: 0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 1.Cena: 1 Royal Rumble 2009 -Knife Edg e Chop: 0 -Chop Variation: 9. Phoenix: 1, Finlay: 1, Kingston: 2, Show: 5 -German Suplex: 0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 0 -Crossface Variations: 2. JBL: 1, Cena: 1 Wrestlemania (25) 2009 -Knife Edge Chop: 21. Snuka: 1, Steamboat: 2, Jericho: 1, Flair: 5, Michaels: 12 -Chop Variation: 9. Snuka: 2, Steamboat: 3, Show: 4 -German Suplex: 0 -Similar Belly to Back Suplex: 0 -â€Å"Crippler† Crossface: 1. Michaels: 1 -Crossface Variations: 2. M Hardy: 1, Cena: 1 These findings draw a clear line in the sand from the date of Benoit’s death as to how he is to be treated in WWE.Findings blatantly point to the Knife Edge Chop. Chris Benoit was relatively famous for this, and throughout my 2005-2006, pre death sample analysis, it was used 124 times. Whereas in my 2008-2009, post death sample analysis, almost no one on the roster was using it. Lack of this move however, did seem to be a business decision. At Wrestlemania 09; the WWE’s m ost prominent PPV of the year, veteran wrestler, Shawn Michaels had his retirement match. As such, out of respect for Michaels, it seems that Vince and the WWE had given him an exception to the otherwise enforced rule; as it is also prominent in Michaels’ repertoire.It comes to mention that Wrestlemania also played host to several guest veterans; for whose match had also given exception to the rule, despite that one regular wrestler was involved in their match, also using the move. However I can’t disregard that which proves, overall, Knife Edge Chops and German Suplexes are being removed from WWE wrestling. Over the history of professional wrestling, these specific moves have been a must-have in almost every technical (particularly British) wrestler’s arsenal.Nowadays WWE remains the powerhouse of the pro wrestling world; therefore many new and inexperienced companies will follow them by example and other rising wrestlers may eliminate these moves from their re pertoire to present themselves as a more viable WWE acquisition. Thereby WWE are affecting, not just themselves but the entire industry. As said above, the WWE, and following that, many subsequent companies, are caring more about out of ring performance, marketability and self promotion. Sammond (2005) specifies; â€Å"Inside the world of professional wrestling, many veterans and old timers lament that the â€Å"art† of wrestling has disappeared†.Whereas modern wrestling companies may in fact see this as progress. Eras and changes are frequent in wrestling, and most famously, the WWE. Only a few generations ago, â€Å"the wrestling business was a closely protected, closed society. Its secrets were strongly guarded† (Sammond, 2005). Changes can yet be caused by many things. Perhaps most popular; ‘The Attitude era’ was the result of one wrestler’s character push; Stone Cold Steve Austin. Upon realising that fans were responding to this archetyp al rebel over other faces (fan favourites), the WWE responded with edgier material.Though, this era inevitably saw its end when other factors came into play. The incident involving Chris Benoit however, had caused many to monitor WWE’s content. It is for this reason that the WWE has done its best to stay above any discreditable behaviour; taking any other action they feel necessary to remove themselves from under the microscope. Enter, the era of ‘PG’ [along with the smark boom]. I am very happy with the validity of my method. However there are certain things I would be able to research further to better present an answer.Using the same methods, it would be useful to analyse both, recent WWE years and other wrestling companies. Investigating how much influence WWE does in fact have over pro wrestling, and how they are evolving. My findings indicate that WWE’s reaction has given reason to remove any reference from future competition. Although we can believe this is a fickle publicity decision, these statistics reiterate that Benoit will never be put back on his pedestal; â€Å"he’s going to be known as the family killer first and great wrestler second† (Balderson, 2010).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Bald Eagle

The bald eagle or Haliaeetus leucocephalus, a specie of sea eagles, is the only eagle that is unique to North America. Recognized for being the national bird of the United States, it can be found today over the North American expanse from northern Mexico, to Canada and to Alaska where approximately half of the estimated total population of 70,000 live (Bald Eagle Information).Together with the Golden eagle, the bald eagle or American bald eagle, is the largest of the eagles. It has a wingspan that reaches some 79 to 89 cm.  long, an average weight of around 14 pounds for males (females are slightly larger and heavier) and a strong and large hooked beak two inches long and one inch deep (Merry  ¶ 1).Classification Class: Aves (birds) Order: Falconiformes (along with falcons, hawks, old-world vultures, condors, buzzards, kites, caracars, ospreys, harriers, accipiters, secretary birds and bateleurs) Sub-family: Buteoninae (together with true buzzards, true eagles and other sea eagle s) Family: Accipitridae (hawks and eagles) Genus: Haliaeetus (all sea or fish eagles) Species: leucocephalus (derived from the Latin word â€Å"leukos† that means white)There are two sub-species of bald eagles: Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus or the traditional â€Å"southern† variety, which lives in the gulf states, south of 40 degrees north latitude and the slightly larger Haliaeetus leucocephalus alascanus or â€Å"northern† bald eagle, which inhabit the states north of 40 degrees north latitude across North America (Bald Eagle Information P 1-3). Living Habits Bald eagles inhabit North America because of the abundance of their diet sources. The rivers and streams in Washington, Montana and Alaska are visited by the American eagles in large numbers during the spawning seasons of salmon, shad and eulachon.The bald eagle is primarily a scavenger bird that feeds on dead, dying or weakened fish and other prey but they have the predatory skills and equipmen t when needed (Merry  ¶ 4-5). Based on radio telemetry, the American bald eagles have been shown to regularly roost right after dawn, alternatively glide and flap on its flight direct to their favorite feeding perch and roost back in the evening (Merry  ¶ 8). Maturity, Mating and Nesting At juvenile age, the American bald eagle is a mix of brown and white feathers. They attain sexual maturity when they reach four or five years of age.Adult eagles are covered with white head, neck and tail feathers and blackish-brown breast and back feathers (General Fact). They build their eyries or nests atop tall trees near bodies of water or coasts where they perch. Bald eagles, who mate for life or until the death of their partners, use and add sticks and leaves to the same eyrie year after year. Two to three eggs are laid every spring; the males help the females in incubating the eggs from 35 to 40 days. The eaglets, when hatched, are covered with grayish-white downy and will need to be fed by their parents until they become six eight weeks old.At 9 to 14 weeks, they fledge and at 4 months old, the eaglets come of their own. As Endangered Specie The American bald eagle was categorized as endangered for over half a century until the United States Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded its status to ‘threatened' in July 1995. Earlier in 1967, the specie was officially listed as an endangered species in most of the lower parts of the country because of continuing decline for several decades because of the loss of habitat, prey and the then widespread use of the pesticide DDT.In 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed in a bid to halt the loss of several endangered animal species and to help reverse environmental degradation. The Endangered Species Act has been shown to be at least fairly effective at preventing the extinctions of many animal species, including the bald eagle whose number increased from under 500 in 1963 to over 9,000 pairs in 2006 (Wikipedia, Endan gered Species Act  ¶ 19). References bald eagle. (2007). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved March 5, 2007, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online: http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-9011927 Endangered Species Act. (2007, March 1).In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:35, March 5, 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Endangered_Species_Act&oldid=111852673. General Facts About Bald Eagles. American Bald Eagle Information Site. Retrieved 05 March 2007 from http://baldeagleinfo. com/eagle/eagle-facts. html. Homepage. American Bald Eagle Information Site. Retrieved 05 March 2007 from http://baldeagleinfo. com/index. html. Merry, Sondra. Species: American Bald Eagle or Haliaeetus Leucocephalus. University of Wisconcin. Retrieved 05 March 2007 from .