Temperate Grasslands (Climate, Vegetation, Animals)

Temperate Grasslands (Climate, Vegetation, Animals) Biomes are the worlds major habitats. These habitats are identified by the vegetation and animals that populate them. The location of each biome is determined by the regional climate. Grassland biomes consist of temperate grasslands and tropical grasslands, or savannas.   Key Takeaways: Temperate Grasslands Temperate grasslands are areas of open grassy plains that are sparsely populated with trees.Various names of temperate grasslands include pampas, downs, and veldts.Temperate grasslands can be found in various regions north and south of the equator including Argentina, Australia, and central North America.Temperatures vary with seasons with tornadoes, blizzards, and fires occurring in many temperate grassland regions.Temperate grasslands are home to many large and small herbivores. Temperate Grasslands Like savannas, temperate grasslands are areas of open grassland with very few trees. Temperate grasslands, however, are located in colder climate regions and receive less precipitation on average than savannas. Climate Temperatures in temperate grasslands vary according to the season. In winter, temperatures can plummet to well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas. In summer, temperatures can reach above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperate grasslands receive low to moderate precipitation on average per year (20-35 inches). Most of this precipitation is in the form of snow in temperate grasslands of the northern hemisphere. Tornadoes, Blizzards, and Fires   nickalbi/iStock/Getty Images Plus Three natural factors that impact temperate grassland biomes are tornadoes, blizzards, and fires. A stretch of the plains region in the United States is termed Tornado Alley due to tornado hyperactivity. This region extends from northern Texas through North Dakota and extends east into Ohio. Tornadoes are spawned as warm air from the Gulf meets cold air from Canada generating around 700 tornadoes per year. Temperate grasslands located in colder regions also experience icy winters and blizzards. High winds generate sudden snowstorms that spread across the plains. Due to the hot, dry summer climate, wildfires are common in temperate grasslands. These fires are usually sparked by lightning but are also the result of human activity. The thick dry grass fuels fires that can spread for hundreds of miles. While fires are destructive in nature, they also ensure that prairies remain grasslands and are not overtaken by scrub vegetation. Location Temperate Grassland Locations. Terpsichores/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0   Grasslands are located on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. Some locations of temperate grasslands include: Argentina - pampasAustralia - downsCentral North America - plains and prairiesHungary - pusztaNew Zealand - downsRussia - steppesSouth Africa - veldts Vegetation Low to moderate precipitation makes temperate grasslands a difficult place for tall plants such as woody shrubs and trees to grow. Grasses of this area have adapted to cold temperatures, drought, and occasional fires. These grasses have deep, massive root systems that take hold in the soil. This allows the grasses to remain firmly rooted in the ground to reduce erosion and to conserve water. Temperate grassland vegetation can either be short or tall. In areas that receive little precipitation, grasses remain low to the ground. Taller grasses can be found in warmer areas that receive more rainfall. Some examples of vegetation in temperate grasslands include: buffalo grass, cacti, sagebrush, perennial grasses, sunflowers, clovers, and wild indigos. Wildlife American Bison.   Juan Carlos Munoz/The Image Bank/Getty Images Plus Temperate grasslands are home to many large herbivores. Some of these include bison, gazelles, zebras, rhinoceroses, and wild horses. Carnivores, like lions and wolves, are also found in temperate grasslands. Other animals of this region include: deer, prairie dogs, mice, jack rabbits, skunks, coyotes, snakes, foxes, owls, badgers, blackbirds, grasshoppers, meadowlarks, sparrows, quails, and hawks. More Land Biomes Temperate grasslands are one of many biomes. Other land biomes of the world include: Chaparrals: Characterized by dense shrubs and grasses, this biome experiences dry summers and damp winters.Deserts: Many people assume falsely that all deserts are hot. Deserts are classified according to location, temperature, and amount of precipitation.Savannas: This large grassland biome is home to some of the fastest animals on the planet.Taigas: Also called coniferous forests, this biome is populated by dense evergreen trees.Temperate Forests: These forests experience distinctive seasons and are populated by deciduous trees (lose leaves in winter).Tropical Rain Forests: This biome receives abundant rainfall and is characterized by tall, dense vegetation. Located near the equator, this biome experiences hot temperatures year round.Tundra: As the coldest biome in the world, tundras are characterized by extremely cold temperatures, permafrost, tree-less landscapes, and slight precipitation. Sources Hoare, Ben. Temperate Grasslands. Raintree, 2011.Nunez, Christina. Grasslands Information and Facts. National Geographic, 15 Mar. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grasslands/.

Free Essays on More Just Societies

More Just Societies Let’s take a trip back in time into the 1960’s. African Americans were facing very harsh discrimination against them by white Americans. African Americans faced many hardships and were mistreated very poorly. Even earlier in history look at Native Americans. The â€Å"White Men† came onto their land and territory and mistreated and basically took over their land. Well, times have changed a lot since those days, and Americans are trying to give back to the Native Americans and African Americans were given rights as individuals and are not treated like they are not human anymore. But humans as a society still have much to work on. The United States has much to work on within our own society. There is so much mistreatment such as racism, sexism, and even ageism. Individuals look at the color of one’s skin, their sex, and even their age before they even look at the person and already begin to judge that individual. So as a society we need to look past the persons outside and see the person for who they are and what they believe in. Society has been changing for the better because there was a time when one could not get a job just because of the color of their skin, of whether or not they were male or female. Society does still a little judging of one’s skin color and by their sex, but I believe society will never be able to completely look past certain things. As a society we just need to minimize how much we judge and look upon one another. There are a few possible ways to reduce discrimination within our society today. The most affective way to reduce discrimination is to make it illegal. This method is not too logical because there is no way to affectively enforce this. People need to just keep in mind what American stands for, which is â€Å"freedom†. There are methods currently in place trying to make the U.S. a more just society. One of these methods is to have quotas that companies o... Free Essays on More Just Societies Free Essays on More Just Societies More Just Societies Let’s take a trip back in time into the 1960’s. African Americans were facing very harsh discrimination against them by white Americans. African Americans faced many hardships and were mistreated very poorly. Even earlier in history look at Native Americans. The â€Å"White Men† came onto their land and territory and mistreated and basically took over their land. Well, times have changed a lot since those days, and Americans are trying to give back to the Native Americans and African Americans were given rights as individuals and are not treated like they are not human anymore. But humans as a society still have much to work on. The United States has much to work on within our own society. There is so much mistreatment such as racism, sexism, and even ageism. Individuals look at the color of one’s skin, their sex, and even their age before they even look at the person and already begin to judge that individual. So as a society we need to look past the persons outside and see the person for who they are and what they believe in. Society has been changing for the better because there was a time when one could not get a job just because of the color of their skin, of whether or not they were male or female. Society does still a little judging of one’s skin color and by their sex, but I believe society will never be able to completely look past certain things. As a society we just need to minimize how much we judge and look upon one another. There are a few possible ways to reduce discrimination within our society today. The most affective way to reduce discrimination is to make it illegal. This method is not too logical because there is no way to affectively enforce this. People need to just keep in mind what American stands for, which is â€Å"freedom†. There are methods currently in place trying to make the U.S. a more just society. One of these methods is to have quotas that companies o...

Open innovation is a phenomenon in search of a theory. (Birkinshaw) Essay

Open innovation is a phenomenon in search of a theory. (Birkinshaw). Critically evaluate this statement, examining current aca - Essay Example Can open innovation be introduced at McDonalds at the fry cook level, or is it only feasible among people with Ph. Ds? Does every individual personality work with open innovation, or are some personality types more effective under closed system? Might open and closed be points on a continuum that should be shifted for different circumstances? Might there be hybrid approaches, such as beginning a project using open innovation and finishing it using closed? How can open innovation be balanced against the needs of management? Does open innovation reduce or increase transparency? Many of these questions have been answered only summarily, some not at all, and some might be in principle beyond the present ability to answer. Yet theory guides research just as research guides theory: Creating a theory of open innovation, however tentative and likely to change, could help to create hypotheses that could be tested, models that could be explored, and predictions that could be proven or disprove n. This paper advances a theory of open innovation that claims that open innovation is in fact a more specific case of a general balance between the costs and benefits of command and control, and that open innovation is from an organizational behavior and institutional theory perspective a shift to bottom-up practices; as such, it depends crucially on loyalty to the institution, involvement in decision-making, corporate culture, management avoiding chilling effects, and other factors. I identify open innovation as a solution to the intellectual property version of the tragedy of the commons problem and as the internal flipside of the open source movement. Open innovation will be defined for the purposes of this paper as â€Å"a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology† (Chesbrough, 2003). Open innovation involves firms creating institut ional practices to reap the benefits of internal innovation, such as with â€Å"innovation time† initiatives, and external innovation. Open innovation is in essence the model of most universities. Within the university system, a researcher's data is owned by the university and/or by the companies or stakeholders that funded or initiated the study, yet they also retain some copyright and control. The information is made publicly accessible, either subsidized to be free or for a nominal fee, so that research can be facilitated. Researchers have tremendous latitude to experiment and investigate down their own lines of inquiry. Open innovation, then, alongside the parallel but distinct concept of open source, is an attempt to replicate the intellectual output of the university and of similar institutions that allow information to be more freely created and disseminated. Albert (2008) points out how antithetical this is to many traditional notions of corporate capitalism: The assu mption made is that companies both reap 100% of the benefit of communal intellectual property yet retain 100% in-house, which are contradictory assumptions. In practice, firms are faced with a difficult dilemma. Both internally and externally, they must control access to their information to remain competitive and prevent competitors from harming them, yet doing so reduces the net amount of innovation. Innovation depends on cross-referencing. Knowledge doesn't occur in a vacuum: If someone looks at a problem and can't be sure what

Analysis of the New CIO Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of the New CIO - Assignment Example I would have to agree with the assumption. Due to the fact that has briefly been leveraged in question 1, this author can recognize that whether one considers the way that communications take place throughout an organization, the method that payments are ultimately disbursed, the means by which information systems are kept up to date, the programs that drive the economic and accounting systems that ultimately derive the bulk of the organization’s profits, or the maintenance and sustainment of the infrastructure that records timely and extraordinarily important historical data, IT forms the backbone and transit system through which each of these processes run. This has mainly developed out of a sheer under-appreciation for and lack of resources being allocated to the elements of IT within a given organization. As a function of the dotcom crash and the subsequent slowdown of the economy, resources have continually been robbed from IT and redistributed elsewhere throughout organizations. This has meant that systems and processes that should be updated and renewed on a monthly or yearly basis are left antiquated. Such a practice necessarily means that a type of capability gap with regards to what current technology, within the possession of the IT department and the organization, can effect with regards to the demands of the current economy is much limited. In a one word answer to the above question – no. The fact of the matter, as has been described by the given case study that was analyzed, is the fact that the IT manager and/or CIO has within his grasp the broadest and overarching responsibilities of any managerial position within a given firm or organization. Due to the level of interaction and tie-ins with the different departments, IT ultimately forms the backbone of the organization in question and means that this is the most dynamic management position within most organizations.  Given the fact that the dotcom madness had occurred outside of the concerns of the given firm, the fact of the matter is that the firm is open to a degree of development that other firms had already developed poor habits within.  Ã‚  

The efforts required in an intercultural marriage Essay Example for Free

The efforts required in an intercultural marriage Essay In an intercultural relationship there are more efforts and dedication that are required from the two individuals. This is due to the fact that miscommunication is a common scenario. Even the simplest factors can be the cause of misunderstandings. What is the norm of a person can be unacceptable to the other. These aspects are not limited to significant issues such as religion, norms, values, financial issues, social status, and the outlook in like specially those dealing with the nurturing and developing of the children. Issues also revolve around simple subjects and points of discussion such as the food, the duties of the couple, the clothes, the priorities, and even the friends and the social activities (Romano, 1997). These factors describe every aspect of the life that is being shared by the couple. In this view that defines a variety of facet that has a high percentage of divergence, it can be viewed that misinterpretation is inevitable. Thus, the couple exerts an extra amount of work to be able to completely understand each other and attain a successful marriage. Success in terms of marriage can be equated to the contentment and fulfillment that an individual can achieve from a relationship. Intercultural relationship is a complex process due to the fact that the success of the relationship is a product of the interplay of the complex factors associated with the dissimilar origin. This can be supported by the study conducted on the achievement of intercultural marriages taken the effect of religion. Results generated showed that even in cases wherein the couples are of the same religion, which lessens the incurred differences, the coupes that are belonging to the same race and culture are comparatively more successful. Thus, in terms of the observable parameter used, these couples have less arguments and misunderstandings (Fu, Kendall, and Tora, 2001). Another significant consideration is the pressure that can be generated by the relationship to the women. This is in relation to the roles that they have to carry out in an intercultural marriage (Fu, Kendall, and Tora, 2001). Women are commonly the one to conform in the culture and tradition of the men. The society is composed of an intricate web of interpersonal relationship. In cases such as this, the norms and traditions even in an advanced era oftentimes dictate that the women are the one to adjust to the tradition of the society from which the men belong. Women appease to this set-up due to the strong sense of duty that is given to the norms of the family (Romano, 1997). Although as the results of the study have shown that women usually take a bigger role and experience a higher degree of change in their personal life, both parties have to sacrifice a part of their well being to be able to attain a compromise and achieve a successful life together. Norms and traditions are essential part of every person’s well being and compromising in an intercultural relationship may also mean losing a part of one’s way of life. Thus, it is a struggle to maintain this type interpersonal relationship. One of the struggles that can be encountered is unconventional traditions than can be unacceptable and detestable to the partner. In cases such as this additional communication and ultimately understanding is required. Communication is necessary due to the fact performing such activities and practices are common to the partner and cannot be viewed negatively, thus, any harm done to the other person was not consciously performed. Intercultural communication is an essential and vital element in the relationship of individuals in the society and the world. It applies to every conversation, every transactions and every variation in character and culture, thus, it is worth a try to be able to attain the wanted intercultural marriage success and contentment (Casmir, 1997). Conclusion Based on the result of the research conducted, there is an increase in the efforts that is required from couples of different norms and traditions to be able to attain success in an intercultural marriage. This means a comparatively more trials and obstacles to overcome on every aspect of the relationship and each individual’s personal being. This can be trying and tedious endeavor but success is not impossible and achieving a lasting and worthwhile relationship is worth all the risk. References Bacas, J. L. (2003). Cross-border marriages and the formation of Transnational Families: A case study of Greek-German couples in Athens WPTC-02-10. Transnational Communities Programme. Retrieved July 3, 2006 from http://www. transcomm. ox. ac. uk/working%20papers/WPTC-02-10%20Bacas. pdf Casmir, F. L. (1997). Ethics in Intercultural and International Communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Constable, N. (2003). Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and Mail-Order Marriages. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Fu, X. , Kendall, H. , and Tora, J. (2001) Marital Happiness and Inter-Racial Marriage: A Study in a Multi-Ethnic Community in Hawaii. University of Calgary. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 32 (1), 47. Romano, D. (1997). Intercultural Marriage: Promises Pitfalls. Washington, DC: Intercultural Press.

Journeys End by RC Sheriff - How does the Opening Grab the Audience’s Attention? :: English Literature

How does the Opening of Journey’s End grab the Audience’s Attention? R.C Sheriff’s â€Å"Journey’s End† is a piece of First World War literature and presents a realistic picture of life in the trenches as he had known it and a interpretation of the horrors from the war. It is set in 1918, and opens on Monday March 18th. It is placed in a dugout in the British Trenches before St Quentin. It is a powerful play expressing many different sides of the war from the death and fighting to the way the recruits spend their spare time. This play involves the â€Å"C† Company including a Company Commander and four officers. In Act 1 scene 1 the previous company has had a quiet posting with only irregular attacks and the German troup movements are just starting. The opening is one example of the way R.C Sherriff has tried to make it fun as well as stern. He opens with Hardy singing a song, â€Å"One and Two, it’s with Maud and Lou†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , which also shows that some parts are unrealistic and not showing a war the way we all know a war to be like. The first two characters we are introduced with are Hardy and Osborne. Hardy is the incompetent, casual and good humoured soldier which brings the hilarity and light hearted side of war to the audience’s attention. Osborne on the other hand is the opposite from Hardy. He displays experience and discipline to the dugout. He is also very fair-minded and level headed. In this scene they introduce Stanhope to the viewers but they have conflicting views on him. Hardy quotes: â€Å"Stanhope really is a freak† showing he doesn’t have a positive opinion on Stanhope. Whereas Osborne quotes in his favour â€Å"He’s a long way the best company commander we’ve got†. With the contrast in views and the appearance of Stanhope yet to be seen is making the audience question: â€Å"What is Stanhope really like?†. During the conversation between Hardy and Osborne we’re told that they are expecting a new officer, from Osborne saying, â€Å"I hope we’re lucky and get a youngster straight from school. They’re the kind that do best†. There is also a question over â€Å"The Big Attack† which we are yet to be knowledgeable about. This is known because the conversation, â€Å"†¦the big German attack’s expected any day now†¦ I should think you’ll get it right in the neck† between the two officers tells us so, which keeps us interested to find out more. This play is a slice of real life with documentary realism. It has all the right parts to it from the comic of Hardy’s jokes to the

Coroprate Restructuring

Restructuring also conveys the certain information of the business decision to another party. It also can be because of poor performance, hence restructuring loud pull out the business entity from the parent company and make it a standalone company. Most occasions, restructuring is to correct the poor strategic decisions made in the past. The company we are going to talk about is â€Å"Sony† it is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation. Its diversified business is primarily focused on electronics, games, entertainment and financial services sectors.The first form of restructuring include divestitures, it is the sale of a business segment to another party. Sony has decided to sell off its AVIVA line of PC's in a move that effectively takes the Japan based company out of the PC market. This is a result of Sonny's poor sales performance, by doing this the organization get rid of a business entity that was pulling them down and it provides a sharper focus for the manage ment. Hence their shares would be increased as their drop their poor performance sector.Divestitures may arise due to negative synergy arising from poor decisions on past acquisition on poor decisions made during periods of high growth. Much evidence seems to show generally that by announcement of selling companies results in a positive share prices response. Spin off has been done recently by Sony as they have detached a business entity with TTS own assets and liability. It allows the management to focus on their core business. What it does is they debut independent company by detaching part of a parent company's assets and operations.They are trying to spin off their Titration TV. This is because of strong competition from both locally and internationally with Phillips and Samsung as their strong competitors. It allows the shareholders to have shares in both companies. The next method would be Carving Out. This method is very similar Spin off, with the difference being a very tech nical one which is the carving out of shares of the new many is offered to the public. It leads to lower premiums and higher gains for the buyers and for the sellers.They increase the likelihood of successfully closing the deal. Capturing these advantages would require them to look beyond the financial to understand the challenges ahead associated with the change. The carved out company trades as an independent company. Government owned company to private investors. The reason for prevarication is to increase efficiency, individual share ownerships and revenue for the government. In Japan, the Japan Post was a government owned corporation in Japan existed from 003 to 2007.It has over 400,000 employees throughout Japan was the nation's largest employer. As being a government-owned corporation, would allow more efficient and flexible use of the company's funds that would help revivalist Japan's economy, which was recovering from recessions in 1991. Prevarication also prevents corrupti on and patronage. This can be accomplished by the sale or lease. It can be accomplished by the government selling 100% of an enterprise, or selling 51%, or even by selling a minority stake as long as the private sector is given full managerial control.Another major step in restructuring is the leveraged buyout or leveraged restructuring, it would mean the takeover of a company using the acquired firm's assets and cash flow to obtain financing. These transactions are done by conglomerates selling off an unwanted subsidiary to private investors. Lobos also have been financed with high-yield debt or Junk Bonds and have also been done with the interest rate capped at a fixed level and interest costs above the cap added to the principal. For commercial banks, Lobos are attractive because these financing have large up-front fees.They also fill the gap in corporate lending created when large corporations begin using commercial paper and corporate bonds in place of bank loans. Sony used thi s method to acquire Metro-Golden-Mayer on September 23, 2004 which is a good deal for the company as a report suggests that they may reach $1 million to $million in 2005. Private Equity of firms or funds is to raise money from investors to invest the money in privately held companies. The sale of AVIVA to a local private equity fund after several strategic buyers balked at taking on the personal computer business.PC sales have been hurt globally by the growing sales of tablet devices. Worldwide shipments have fallen by 13. 5 per cent over the past two years. Private equity firms will then try to improve the financial results and prospects of the company in the hope of reselling the company to another firm or cashing out via an PIP. In short with the sale of AVIVA too private company, Sony is able to use the fund to focus more on their primary core business as they were having problems with competing with personal computers overseas.However the most common method in restructuring is the laying off of workers. As Japan has lots of financial crisis the biggest lay off happen when they offload its PC business and its plans to lay off 5,000 workers by March 2015. This is very common around the world. This is to conscious use of permanent personnel reduction in an attempt to improve management as one of the preferred routes to turning around declining organization by cutting cost and improving organizational performance as a form to cutting cost.When budget is tightened, many managers will start to cut the training budget thinking that training is a luxury it would make their employees more marketable Hereford leaves the company for the better Jobs. However the layoff of workers is made harder with restrictions of the country. Mergers today are the survival of the fittest. Sony Mobile Communications ABA formerly known as Sony Ericson Mobile ABA. Telecommunications equipment company Ericson under the name of Sony Ericson.Ericson, which had been in the mobile phone ma rket for decades, and was the world's third largest cellular telephone handset marker was struggling with huge losses. This was mainly due to this fire and its inability to produce cheaper phones eke Monika hence the merger with Sony in 2001. Restructuring deals the organization to maintain its competitiveness in an evolving consumer electronics market. In order for Sony to maintains its position as a leader in the electronics industry pushing the limits of innovation with products and experiences exclusive to Sony.They would have to conduct and economic model of the processes of the organization, to give a detailed view of where and the value is created to ensure that resources can be funded to different part of the organization. It allows the organization like Sony to achieve market focus, invent new businesses and change the rules of competition through technology via breakthrough. These are steps to implement to increase market share in organization. A company would be stagnant unless they introduce new market or enhanced strategies to combat competition or to introduce themselves to reach new market.The need to increase asset base may lead to mergers. This will improve the capital of the organization, acquisitions can help an organization by ward off competition. Organizational leaders often find it necessary to change how their units operate for seasons like changing unit priorities, initiating new programs. A successful organizational requires careful advance preparation and planning that addresses programmatic needs, support services required to advance organizational goals and effective workforce planning and communication.Proper communication is very important when it comes to corporate restructuring, the workers should know their limitations and their options. It is very important for the company to follow the guidelines set by the governing country to minimize the PASTEL during their pursuit of corporate restructuring process. The results from the essay have revealed that there has been significant change in profitability post restructuring program.Like Sony, many companies have responded favorably that the corporate restructuring have helped the firms to have an increase in their profitability to make their shareholders happy. Overall the analysis has indicated that Sony have successfully implemented restructuring program. It is suggested that companies at the core level should identify the problems and accordingly plan for restructuring of the required processes for achieving success so hat they can enhance shareholder's value like implement the different processes Sony have implemented.

Americanisation Is the Large Influence

Americanisation is the large influence that the United States has on other countries. This particular presentation will focus on the impact of American culture on Australia. Americanisation had started in Australia in the 1950’s, with the introduction of the Television. Since then, Australian culture has been influenced dramatically by America. Americanisation has caused Australia’s popular culture to imitate American society and culture. This presentation agrees with this thesis and will argue that Americanisation has a positive effect on Australia.In particular, it will examine American impact on Television and food, as well as Australian fashion. Television is one of the major indicators of Americanisation in Australia. It is an influential tool that shows how American culture works and operates, and affects the cultural mindset of the Australian people. In Australia, the amount of American shows to Australian shows is very huge. This is in turn provides a higher var iety of entertainment to Australian TV, at a cheap price. Many shows like Two and a Half Men and Seinfeld, are shown more than Local-variety TV shows like Home & Away and Neighbours.This means that Australia is introduced to more American culture on TV than Australian culture, and is an indicator that Americanisation is very present in Australia although food and cuisine is also highly-affected by Americanisation. Australian diets are impacted on by American chain-restaurants such as KFC, McDonalds, and Subway, all of which have chains located in Australia. These chains have turned Australian diets that are of no difference to Americans, and have introduced a wide variety of American food products.This means that Australians have a higher number of options to choose from, along with their own variety of local foods, such as lamingtons and meat pies. America’s chains in Australia have included some big-brand and highly popular names, such as McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and Burger King, along with our own unique brand names, such as Oporto, Baskin-Robins, and Hungry Jacks. This creates a unique blend of Australian cuisine, highly influenced by American culture. This is evidence of the imitation of American culture, as our diets have been made to fit theirs, and our food selections are also ainly American. Australian diets, and Aussie entertainment, have all been influenced by America, and fashion is no exception. Australian fashion is highly Americanized. This means our Aussie fashion has been has been stylized to imitate America, to suit American values and culture. A recent example of this would be the snapback hats and varsity jackets, clothing usually only seen in American Major-league sport, which have been recently introduced into Australian fashion earlier this year.This is an example of American culture seeping into Australian society, and has introduced a broader variety of clothing and styles in Australia. But even before the snapbacks, America alre ady had an extreme influence on what we wear, and how we wear it. This is proved in the sports-wear brand Nike. Nike had introduced themselves as a sport-wear company, and eventually introduced their own brand of clothing lines into Australia. Another example would be the introduction of bandannas and wearing baseball caps back-to-front.These are all examples of Americanisation on Australian culture, and what they wear, affects what we wear, and how we wear it. Australian society has a feint international presence in the world. We are a highly Americanized nation, following American culture and society, and have imitated what they do, how they entertain, what they eat, and what they wear. This means we live in an Australian society, with American culture, values, and mind-set, and has had a positive affect on Australia.

How to Structure News Stories With the Inverted Pyramid

How to Structure News Stories With the Inverted Pyramid There are a few basic rules for writing and structuring any news story. If you’re accustomed to other types of writing – such as fiction – these rules may seem odd at first. But the format is easy to pick up, and there are very practical reasons why reporters have followed this format for decades. Inverted Pyramid in News The inverted pyramid is the model for news writing. It simply means that the heaviest or most important information should be at the top – the beginning – of your story, and the least important information should go at the bottom. And as you move from top to bottom, the information presented should gradually become less important. In the age of internet news, many online news outlets have tweaked this format to align with search engines. But the basic premise remains the same: Get the most important information at the top of the news story. How to Write with the Inverted Pyramid Let’s say you’re writing a story about a fire in which two people are killed and their house is destroyed. In your reporting, you’ve gathered a lot of details including the victims’ names, the address of their home, what time the blaze broke out, and possibly what officials believe may have caused the fire. Obviously, the most important information is the fact that two people died in the fire. That’s what you want at the top of your story. Other details – the names of the deceased, the address of their home, when the fire occurred – should certainly be included. But they can be placed lower down in the story, not at the very top. And the least important information - things like what the weather was like at the time, or the color of the home - should be at the very bottom of the story (if included at all). Story Follows The Lede The other important aspect of structuring a news article is making sure the story follows logically from the lede (this is a deliberate misspelling of lead, which prevented confusion among typesetters in the early days of newspapers). So if the lede of your story focuses on the fact that two people were killed in the house fire, the paragraphs that immediately follow the lede should elaborate on that fact. You wouldnt want the second or third paragraph of the story to discuss the weather at the time of the fire, for example. Details such as the peoples names, their ages and how long they had lived in the home would all be important to include immediately following the lede sentence. History of the Inverted Pyramid The inverted pyramid format turns traditional storytelling on its head. In a short story or novel, the most important moment – the climax - typically comes about two-thirds of the way through, closer to the end. But in news writing, the most important moment is right at the start of the lede. The inverted pyramid format was developed during the Civil War. Newspaper correspondents covering that war’s great battles relied on telegraph machines to transmit their stories back to their newspapers’ offices. But often saboteurs would cut the telegraph lines, so reporters learned to transmit the most important information – General Lee defeated at Gettysburg, for instance – at the very start of the transmission to make sure it got through successfully. The use of the inverted pyramid also grew in popularity because as the news cycle grew shorter with the advent of television and online news, readers attention spans grew shorter as well. Now, theres no guarantee readers will continue to the end of a story, so getting the most important information at the top of the story is more important than ever.

3 Steps to Create an Online Course From Your Book

3 Steps to Create an Online Course From Your Book 3 Steps to Create an Online Course From Your Book Authors don’t just make money from books. Often, the majority of their income comes from what is behind the books. Recently my friend Gregory was four weeks out from publishing his first book. He had spent the better part of a year writing and preparing to launch his book. Just a few weeks out from the launch he realized he had neglected to think about something important: how was he going to monetize the back end? The journey of self-publishing hits a major milestone with the launch of a first book, but it does not end there. While a well-launched book can certainly earn a good income, if you do not monetize the back-end of the book by  consulting, speaking, or creating online courses then you are not realizing the full potential of self-publishing.As they say, a book is the new business card. But, you can’t just have a business card you need the business behind the business card as well.There are several ways to monetize the back end of a book:ServicesSoftwareConsu lting / CoachingSpeaking / WorkshopsCreate Online Course (fastest and most scalable)While I am biased, my absolute favorite method is to create  an online course. It doesn’t take 6-12 months to develop like a software product would, and it doesn’t rely on your personal time like offering services, consulting, and speaking.Knowing that I specialize in online courses, Gregory reached out to me for help with producing a course for the new book he was about to publish. I’ll be sharing  3 steps to create online courses from your books. With these tips you too can maximize the results of your next (or a previous) book. Imagine if you take every book you have published, which people are buying for $5-$10, and quickly transform the same content into a parallel product for which you can charge 10 to 100 times  that amount.3 Steps to Create an Online Course From Your BookAs the owner of a course production company, people often have the same question when it comes t o turning a book into an online course:What’s the difference? Why would people pay more for the same material?Great question. There are a couple key differences between a course and a book (aside from the obvious differences in format).Step 1 Understand the differences between a book and a courseTone If you were to read your book out loud, verbatim, that would be an audiobook which has a very different feeling to an online course.Focus Again, using the audiobook example, your audiobook might be 15 hours long, while you course is 5 hours long. A large part of the value of a book is exploring the â€Å"why† of a topic or possibly the history, while a course is designed to be extremely actionable. That means the content requires great focus.Specificity Books are filled with great stories and great ideas. They plant important seeds in your mind, and might even have some simple exercises at the end of the chapters. That being said, it takes a lot of effort to apply what you learn from a book. A significant part of the value of an online course is how easy it is to take action. If it’s a course about networking, you can provide email templates, step-by-step guides to follow, software tools you can use. It’s designed to be immediately actionable, while a book on networking might discuss more general concepts on networking such as why it’s a good idea to go to a conference, to make good eye contact, to introduce people to each other, etc.If you want to see some real life examples of the differences, check out the audiobook and the online course version of Gregory’s book to compare (you can do a free preview of each to see what I mean). Both are based on the same content, but the tone, structure, focus, and specificity is quite different. Step 2 Build an online course from a book or a manuscriptHere is the exact process we used to build courses in dozens of different industries, following our Course In A Box Method:1.) Dec ide the Format   There are many ways to build a course. You can build a text-based course, a video-based course that focused on live filming, or on recording your screen while you teach someone to program, or by recording slides as you teach. Usually it’s a mix. You can also have courses two hours long, or 20 hours long. With or without PDF handouts. With or without bonus content (such as expert interviews).Here is what we decided on  for Gregory’s course: Ultimately 3 modules, with 3-5 lessons each The lesson length would average about 10 minutes (although it ranges from 5-15) The content style would primarily be a mix of recording well-designed slides, mixed with bonus content like expert interviews, follow-along PDF guides, etc.Pro tip: How do you decide the course length/structure? One module should bring people through a major milestone. For example, setting up a website before beginning to write content and market the site in later modules. One video should have one clear, stand-alone step in the process. For example, video 3 of module 1 for Building Your New Website might entail setting up the site hosting, video 4 might be configuring wordpress, etc.2.)Turn the manuscript into a course script This means cutting the fat and changing the tone as discussed above. Your course should clearly get people from point A (where they are now) to point B (where they want to go) and this should be clearly reflected by the course script. Even if your book is quite long, you can do this in about a week if you maintain focus3.) Turn the script into a slide plan This is a document which matches up the main ideas in the script with slides that you will be recording. Most people jump straight from script to slide design, but this (quick) intermediary step ensures that your course has a good flow to it and stays organized4.) Turn the slide plan into slides Create a slide template that you like, then customize slides to match your slide plan. Or better yet, outsource this process to a professional.5.) Record the scripts as an audio file Sit down and read your script as enthusiastically as possible.Pro tips: Don’t try to record your screen with the slides at the same time, the quality will be lower. Record the audio separately then match the slides in post production.Leave a pause and say â€Å"SLIDE X† between slides. This will help with the next step, editing.6.) Combine the slides and audio file into a video file Self-explanatory. It is not  recommended that you do this yourself, as a professional likely would do it better/faster. Invest a few hundred bucks to get it done right the first time.7.) Find useful places to add extra materials PDFs, expert interviews, new examples, templates, etc. Just ask yourself every time you say do this, â€Å"how can I help them do that?†8.) Clean up, edit and structure everything into a finalized course Did everything stay organized? We recommend using a google drive folder structure that we link to below to keep things organized.9.) Upload the course to your website If you want the simplest option possible, go with Teachable. This is what we used for Gregory’s course as well. If you want something more sophisticated, go with MemberMouse (another popular option we use with clients).Step 3 Connect the book and the courseNow that youve completed the course, how do you get people from your book to find your course, and vice versa?  The simplest way is to directly link from your book to your course website. However, sometimes people will complain about that approach â€Å"they are just trying to sell their other products!!!†Another way is to direct people to a companion website which offers additional resources and downloads for free in exchange for their email address. Then you will want to set-up an email autoresponder which offers additional value and guides them through the process from having read the book to wanting to delv e  deeper and buy  the course. Pro tip:  Add this download link to the beginning AND the end of the book, and preferably a few times in the middle. Not everyone finishes every book they buy, so you want to make sure they see the link even if they stop after the first chapter. In fact, you can even include the page with the link in the â€Å"free preview† of the book on the kindle store to get even more people to see it.What kind of results would this really get?Let’s say you get 5,000 downloads as part of your book launch, then 1,000 purchases per month after that20% of those people who grab the book also check out the linkThen 50% of the people who visit the page submit their email addressFinally, 10% of those people who join your list also purchase your courseResults:You now instantly have 500 more people on your email list, and 100 more people per month ad infinitum50 people buy your course during your book launch, and 10 more people buy every monthIf your cou rse is priced at $500, then that is $25,000 in additional revenue during your book launch, and $5,000 every month after thatand that, my friends, is the power of combining a book with an online course.I know writing a book is hard (I’ve written several myself) and by the time it’s done and published you may feel done yourself. But, don’t forget that offering a course is your chance to either kick start or rapidly grow your business. The best way to maximize the value of your book is to lead people from your book to discover other parts of your brand.Give the people who  love your book the opportunity to work with you further, either through an online course or through one of the other methods discussed above. Leave a comment with questions about this process, or share your  results creating an  online course from your book.  I look forward to hearing about your success.

Organizational Effectievness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Effectievness - Essay Example Rational, open and natural systems approaches are among the strategies that can be adopted to accomplish organizational goals. This paper presents a critique as to why most managers find rational approaches to organizations and organising appealing. It highlights with examples how taking an open or a natural systems approach benefits managers. Rational Approaches The rational system perspective views organizations as mechanisms intended to accomplish particular goals. The approaches provide a means to the goals but not a basis for development of goals. In other words, rational approaches facilitate the achievement of organizational goals regardless of whether they are smart or not (Marnet 2007). According to Gans (1996), rationality requires specific goals that are formalized to enhance their accomplishment. This is necessitated by the fact that rational approaches involve various segments that contribute to the attainment of organizational goals. Goal specificity is usually appealin g to managers since it allows them to make appropriate choices regarding the available alternatives without ambiguity. It allows the prioritization and assignment of various functions and resources in the organization (Das 2003). The organizational structure also highly depends on specificity of goals. Generally, specific goals guide decision making as to what particular tasks need to be performed, the nature of human resources to be engaged as well as how funds are to be distributed among the team players within the organization (Tolbert & Richard 2008). The significance of goal specificity can be illustrated through the functioning of military organizations. Although people might argue regarding the role of the military, there is a specific goal of enhancing defence in a particular jurisdiction. People are assigned particular. The decision making process is clearly defined and therefore there can be no confusion in accomplishing the organizational goals. Rationality applies regard less of whether the goals of the military organization are indecorous or not (Gans 1996). Rational approaches allow formalization of the organizational structure which in turn promotes ownership of the goals among members. Formalization enhances standardization of behaviours among members thereby maintaining predictability of outcomes of various actions (Provan & Milward 1995). Generally, formalization guides actions of various people involved in the accomplishment of goals. It also allows the presence of a smooth transition in a situation whereby replacement of an employee is needed. The incoming employee is selected on the basis of skills as stated in the formal structure (Handel 2002). Taylor’s model of scientific management is among the rational approaches that managers have found useful in accomplishing organizational goals. It involves assessing tasks in the workplace and ensuring that the processes involved produce maximum output with minimal inputs in terms of labour and materials (Christian 2003). All processes are experimented and proved to serve the desired purpose before putting them in practice. Scientific management helps to eliminate procedures that lead to time wasting and inefficiency. At a glance, managers are in a position to tell what activity every person in the organization is involved in. Workers do not have to wait for instructions to perform tasks. Rather, they have a scheme that they follow on daily basis (Tolbert & Richard 2008). Scientific management ensures that workplace rules govern the behaviour of individuals making management functions easy to undertake. Workers are selected scientifically through assessment of their

Nagarjuna's Concept of Emptiness versus Buddhist Philosophical Essay

Nagarjuna's Concept of Emptiness versus Buddhist Philosophical Teaching - Essay Example The beliefs of emptiness is not just an ultimate error but the foundation for attachments that humans have, besides this, it is responsible for the adhering to and development of numerous prejudices. On the other hand, Buddhist philosophical teaching has narrations which are a style of representing a topic and not its theme; this is the core of Buddhist art. The representation becomes a narrative when its representation unfolds as a chain of events or at times it becomes a story that consists of various episodes; the representation revolves around an action that progress into time and later into space. Nagarjuna's concept of emptiness has the notion of intrinsic and independent existence that is often incompatible with causation because causation signifies contingency and dependence; therefore, something that poses independence is usually immutable and self-enclosed. Everything is composed of events that are dependently related and have phenomena that are continuous interacting with an essence that is not fixed or immutable hence they have a relation that is constantly changing. Both occasions and possessions are bare and do not possess permanent essence, realities that are intrinsic or an absolute being that make them afford impartiality. Infirmity takes place when there is grasping of autonomous existence; this eventually leads to a series of actions that are destructive, sufferings, and reactions. In addition to this, the theory of Nagarjuna emptiness has profound ethical and psychological implications (Olson, 45). For instance, ideologies responsible for dividing humanity come from the tendency of people to perceive things to be inherently divided and disconnected; this misconception brings about the belief that the divisions are essentially independent and self-existent. On the other hand, Buddhism narration involved ancient classics and the story and all related action unfolds out of disclosure; they often evolve from a chain of stories that are not linke d together. Discourse and introduction of the story initiates moral in the story and supports it, same applies to the other story and the other except for the case of visual narration which is somewhat different. In visual narration, moral is deducted but does not come at the beginning of the narration; likewise, it has the discourse technique but it is not on the ground to take off. The narrator is required to be precise when selecting episodes that are able to reveal the whole story; moreover, the narrator has to know how to portray actors, represent spaces in the story and shape the time during which the story unfolds (Edelglass, 602). Literary narratives have stories that manipulate time and space; for instance, in a sentence that talks about two people who met in France after five years and they both had grown beards has time and space appearing in the narrative body. It is said that in one of his first sermons, the Buddha made a prescription of a middle path between the charac ters of self indulgence and self mortification, stating that there had to be a balance between the two. Nagarjuna, who came in a later period, made a citation of the same but while this was the case, he went even further by stating that there was a middle way between existence and non-existence and also between what is permanent and what is not. According to this philosopher, the development of ignorance among individuals tends to be the source of all the suffering that they