Friday, December 27, 2019

Top Tips for Succeeding in Statistics Class

Sometimes statistics and mathematics classes can seem among the hardest that one takes at college. How can you do well in a class like this? Below are some hints and ideas to try so that you can do well in your statistics and mathematics courses. The tips are arranged by things that you can do in class and things that will help outside of class. While in Class Be prepared. Bring paper for notes/quizzes/tests, two writing implements, a calculator, and your textbook.Be attentive. Your primary focus should be whats going on in class, not your cell phone or Facebook newsfeed.Take careful and complete notes. If your instructor thinks that something is important enough to write on the board, it should be written in your notes. The examples that are given will help you when you study and work problems on your own.Write the date and section covered in your notes at the beginning of each class. This will help when you study for tests.Be respectful of your classmates time and ask questions that are pertinent to the material being covered. (e.g. Why is the number of degrees of freedom one less than the sample size?) Save questions that pertain only to you (e.g. Why did I get 2 points taken off for problem number 4?) for your instructors office hours or after class.Dont feel the need to cram as much as possible on a page of notes. Leave plenty of room so that you can write your own comments when you use your notes to study.When test/quiz/assignment due dates are announced, immediately write them in your notes or what you use as a calendar. Outside of Class Math is not a spectators sport. You need to practice, practice, practice by working out problems in the homework assignments.Plan on spending at least two hours studying and/or doing problems for every 50-minute class session.Read your textbook. Constantly review what has been covered and read ahead to prepare yourself for class.Get in the habit of consistently doing work for your courses.Dont procrastinate. Start studying for your tests around a week in advance.Spread out work for large assignments. If you have difficulties early on you can get help more quickly than if you wait until the night before.Utilize office hours. If your schedule doesnt match your instructors office hours, ask if it is possible to make an appointment for a different time. When you come to office hours, be ready with specific questions about what you had trouble with or didnt understand.Utilize any tutoring services that your college or university provides. Sometimes these services are offered at no cost to students.Review your notes constantly. Form study groups or get a study partner in each of your classes. Meet to go over questions, work on homework, and study for tests.Dont lose the syllabus or any other handouts. Hold onto them until after you get your final grades. If you lose the syllabus, go to the course webpage to get a replacement.If you get stuck on a problem and dont make progress on it after 15 minutes, call your study partner and continue working on the rest of the assignment.take responsibility. If you know you will miss a test for any reason, let your instructor know as soon as possible.Purchase the textbook. If you have an older edition of the book, it is your responsibility - not your instructors - to see what that the sections/page numbers mentioned in class correspond within your book.If you are a statistics or math major, strongly consider keeping your textbooks and dont sell them back. Your statistics book will be a convenient reference.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Prejudice ( Pre Judgement ) Essay - 1955 Words

Prejudice (pre-judgement) is the unfavourable, unjustified and negative attitudes towards a group and its members, that is based upon insufficient information them. The most common forms of prejudice are founded on visible differences between people, in which they have no control over (i.e. race, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical/mental health). It is a form of antisocial behaviour and can cause low self-esteem, disadvantage/failure, violence, self-fulfilling prophecies and genocide. An example of prejudice in schools is through teachers and principals who don’t respect or permit a student’s religion, cultural clothes or right to express beliefs. Prejudice isn’t as open in the modern world as it once was but it still exists in society (i.e. During the 18 – 20th centuries Aboriginals were excluded or had great difficulty from activities white Australians were permitted to do). Prejudice leads to discrimination; the unequal treatment of people who should have the same equivalent human rights to other (i.e. sexism, racism and ageism). Discrimination is the action whereas prejudice is a feeling or behaviour. A study of 2000 international university students during 1995, found 73% had been discriminated while in Australia. Kee and Hsieh (1997) found discrimination was commonly verbal but 15% of students had experienced physical attacks. Scanlon Foundation survey (2013) discovered 19% of Australians were discriminated against which was a 7% increaseShow MoreRelatedPrejudice Or Pre Judgement Is An Age Old, World Wide, Unavoidable Problem1075 Words   |  5 Pages18 April 2016 Overcoming Prejudice Prejudice or pre-judgement is an age-old, world-wide, unavoidable problem in society. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes the negative impact prejudice can have on others. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson and Arthur â€Å"Boo† Radley all face differing forms of discrimination because in their own way, each one is different than the typical citizen of Maycomb County. While trying to help others and do the right thing, all three are pre-judged by those in MaycombRead MorePrejudice In The Power Of One1286 Words   |  6 PagesPrejudice is when we have a preconceived opinion about someone or a group of people that is formed without knowledge, or even a real understanding about them. Often our prejudices are based on their colour, religion, gender, age. â€Å"Prejudice is a part of life and there is nothing we can do to change it†. This quote is only half true, true in the first half ‘prejudice is a part of life’ but wrong in saying ‘there is nothing we can do to change it’. We may not be able to stop people from being pre-judgedRead MoreSocial Pyschology: Prejudice1729 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is the cause of prejudice? This is one of the few questions of interests in the field of social psychology. This essay will evaluate the social psychological approach to understanding prejudice. Social psychology is a scientific form of explaining human behaviour. It was developed by Gordon Allport in 1985, social psychology focuses on social interactions that cause various behaviours. It is scientific because behaviour can be observed therefore measured in many forms. This is an objectiveRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1012 Words   |  5 PagesPrejudice is a negative opinion or feeling formed about someone without thought or reason, and before knowing anything about them. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the citizens of Maycomb are prejudice and cruel towards Tom Robinson and he is put on trial and convicted because he is a black man. Prejudice was also destructive to Jem, and witnessing it every day left him hurt and heartbroken. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the destructiveness of prejudice is harmful to Jem and Tom RobinsonRead MoreExplain the significance of the mockingbird in the novel. Who are they and what do they represent?748 Words   |   3 Pagesto ‘kill’ or punish those without a voice and deny them the opportunity to have one. Upon meeting Boo after he saved her life, through Scout’s realisation that it was wrong to assume evil things about Boo Radley, Lee is showing us why we shouldn’t pre-judge and realise what one person says is an opinion, not a fact. However through Maycomb’s unfair treatment of Tom she presents us with how unjust society and their opinions can be, a mockingbird was shot and that was truly a sin. Boo Radley, representsRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird: the Theme of Prejudice Essay1359 Words   |  6 PagesTo Kill A Mockingbird: The Theme of Prejudice The theme of prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird is much more than just a case of black and white. The entire novel is about prejudice in its many forms, the most prominent case of prejudice is the racism and hate between the blacks and whites. The whole town of Maycomb is based on stereotypes of its inhabitants, that are passed down from generation to generation. Rumors run rampid and very little truth is usually in them. So Jem received mostRead MoreStereotyping986 Words   |  4 PagesThere is a discussion of a particular incident of stereotyping, and this incident is applied to theories relating to stereotyping. Finally, comments are given on the effectiveness of the theories of stereotyping. â€Å"Stereotyping is a form of pre judgement that is as prevalent in todays society as it was 2000 years ago. It is a social attitude that has stood the test of time and received much attention by social psychologists and philosophers alike. Many approaches to, or theories of stereotypingRead MoreCritically Evaluate the Cognitive Theory of Stereotyping.3286 Words   |  14 PagesCritically evaluate the cognitive theory of stereotyping. B231: Social Interaction, Exam Paper 1998, Question 4. Graeme Gordon Stereotyping is a form of pre judgement that is as prevalent in todays society as it was 2000 years ago. It is a social attitude that has stood the test of time and received much attention by social psychologists and philosophers alike. Many approaches to, or theories of stereotyping have thus been raised. This essay evaluates the cognitive approach that categorisationRead More Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentism - which is more objective?1042 Words   |  5 Pageswhich all others are judged would be ultimately subjective, as our perceptions of cultural differences are shaped largely by our immersion in our own culture. An ethnocentric approach stems from judging an alternate culture in relation to one’s own pre-conceived cultural values, held to be superior; the parallax phenomenon, the inability to escape our own biases, prevents objective analysis of different cultures. A cultural relativist maintains the post-modernist view that there is no moral or culturalRead MoreArgu mentative Essay : Drive Out Prejudices From The Door And They Will Return Through The Window 1514 Words   |  7 PagesNyasiah Mercado Dr. Hamilton English 1020 10/29/15 Prejudice â€Å"Drive out prejudices through the door, and they will return through the window†. Frederick the Great made the aforementioned statement in a letter to Voltaire. The statement essentially implies that it is futile to attempt to get rid of prejudice. One can try to eliminate it, but it will only come right back. One may ask, â€Å"Could prejudices be eliminated if they were made illegal?† This is the question that will be answered in this essay

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Leadership And Benefits MBO and TQM Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Questions: 1.Discuss leadership or staffing skills a Board of Directors should be looking for when hiring a senior management person to implement a major strategic plan? 2.Describe the benefits MBO and TQM can bring to a new strategic plan? 3.Evaluate the part corporate culture can play when contemplating implementing a new strategy in a firm. Describe briefly the corporate culture in your strategic audit firm (Cathay pacific airways)? 4.Discuss the three types of controls that firms can use to evaluate a strategy. Explain examples of each of these controls? 5.Describe various measurements of corporate performance? 5.Describe a specific strategic incentive management method you would use you are your strategic audit firm (Cathay Pacific airways)? Answers: 1. Board of directors must focus on the leadership attributes while hiring a senior management. A good seniormanagement can maintain the stability in the organization. Those attributes includes: Problem solving skills - Good leaders always possesses creative solution to the organizational problems. They must be capable of taking instant decision regarding investment in technology, raw materials, production report and other crucial matters (Durand, Grant Madsen, 2017). Sharing responsibilities - They must support team works and sharing of tasks. When there is sharing of responsibilities, the work gets better and faster. Achieving targets- Working in teams helps in achieving desired targets. Senior manager monitors the entire functions of the organization. Therefore, with strong leadership qualities senior manager can motivate the employees to achieve certain set targets. Rallying others- The employees of the organization cannot predict the future effects of the company. Therefore, manager should create clear vision and mission statement in order to understand the overall performance of themanagement (Ethiraj, Gambardella Helfat, 2017). Risk taking- With smart and strong leadership skills, manger must be a risk taker. The more the risk the more is the profit. An organisation achieves maximum profit when the company takes risk. 2.Benefits of Management by Objective Good managing- Main aim of the organization is to create good managements system. A goodmanagement system creates efficiency at work and more production. Clarifying roles and responsibilities - Proper assigning of roles and responsibilities according to the desired skills and talents creates better working condition for both the employees and the organization (Gans Ryall, 2017). Commitment- Certain commitments made by the board of directors for the betterment of the company. Therefore, the management promises to achieve those commitments within the set targets in order to create profit. Developing controls in regulations It ensure proper code of controlling the workings of the employees and the organization. Benefits of Total Quality Management Competitive position- With the use of good strategy management, it creates more business opportunities not only domestically but globally as well. Growth in business creates more competition in the market. High production- Customer based products creates more supply and demand for the product. When demand and supply rises, it creates market equilibrium, thereby creates more production of goods and services (Rees Smith, 2017). Reduce cost and create better management- Low cost of production and reasonable rates on products attracts large buyers and suppliers in the market. Increases customer satisfaction and loyalty- When seller meets the adequate requirements of the customers, and when customers are satisfied with the services they get, it creates more loyalty for the product and the services. Improves business performances- Constant focus on the management of improving the weakness and mistakes creates efficiency in the performances. Improvement in performances leads to increase in profits. Encourages employee motivation- Employee motivation plays a dominate role in making business profits. When employees are motivated they tend to do their work with more dedication and passion. This leads to faster growth in business output. Increases job security- Strategic management creates job security. Enhanced shareholder value- By increasing organizational profit it will automatically increase shareholder value. Encourage for innovation There must be more investment in modern technology and encouragement for the innovative ideas that creates more production and customers. 3. Corporate culture can play a very decisive role while embracing a change in the organisation. Flexibility is a key to change. Organisations with flexible culture find change as a potential option for their competitiveness. Such organisations have adaptability nature in them, which encourage those to switch with different potential options (Hill, Jones Schilling, 2014). Cathay Pacific Airways has always believed in change to enhance its competitiveness. It has considered business change to meet the rising demands in the market and to enhance the efficiency of the company in providing a high standard for customer service. A continuous development of many in house facilities such as accounting engineering system explains the positivity of the company for change (Young, 2012). 4. Strategic control helps the firm to evaluate the business performances at the time of crisis. Three types of strategy control are Premise control, implementation control and strategic surveillance that a firm uses for the evaluation purpose. Premise control includes monitoring of certain planning and predictions (Wheelen Hunger, 2017). Every strategy of the firm based on certain planning. Therefore, it identifies whether the plan is valid or not like planning a particular goal. Implementation control evaluates the plan and project of the firm. It monitors the organization thrusts in order to achieve the predetermined goal. Suppose an international grocery company decided to maintain the records on quality and price rates on various products. Using these records, it will evaluate the organization performance with other countries (Williams, Chen Agarwal, 2017). Strategic surveillance monitors the external and internal environment of the organization. Example of strategic surveilla nce is trade conferences. 5. There are various measurements of corporate performance listed below: Stakeholders measures- It includes perspective of customers, employees and other stakeholders of the organization. Customer perspectives include evaluation on the loyal customers. Customers create profit by paying for premium charges. They create new customers due to which it leads in the growth of the business (Gamble Thompson, 2014). Balanced scores measures- It measures the internal and external communication and monitors the organizational functions against strategic targets. Few innovative companies are using balanced scorecard to analyze the organisational performances. Research findings- Research finding includes the overall assessment and findings of the balanced scored measures and stakeholders perspective. It provides the merits and demerits of the organization, thereby helps in improving the organizational performances (Chatterjee, 2017). 6. A specific strategic incentive management method can be good bonus schemes for extra work and overtime of the Cathay Pacific airways (Meyer Xin, 2017). This will create more passion and dedication towards the work. It also creates employees motivation. Creating this type of strategy will lead to positive impact on Cathay Pacify airways (Bettis et al., 2016). When employees are motivated they tend to do their work with more passion and interest. This creates efficiency at work place. With the help of strategic audit firm, the report provides the strength and weakness of the Cathay Pacific airways. Auditing of the firm will help the management to understand the overall function of the Cathay Pacific airways in a detailed structured way. References Bettis, R. A., Ethiraj, S., Gambardella, A., Helfat, C., Mitchell, W. (2016). Creating repeatable cumulative knowledge in strategic management.Strategic Management Journal,37(2), 257-261. Chatterjee, J. (2017). Strategy, human capital investments, business?domain capabilities, and performance: a study in the global software services industry.Strategic Management Journal,38(3), 588-608. Durand, R., Grant, R. M., Madsen, T. L. (2017). The expanding domain of strategic management research and the quest for integration.Strategic Management Journal,38(1), 4-16. Ethiraj, S. K., Gambardella, A., Helfat, C. E. (2017). Reviews of strategic management research.Strategic Management Journal,38(1), 3-3. Gamble, J. E., Thompson Jr, A. A. (2014).Essentials of strategic management. Irwin Mcgraw-Hill. Gans, J., Ryall, M. D. (2017). Value capture theory: A strategic management review.Strategic Management Journal,38(1), 17-41. Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., Schilling, M. A. (2014).Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Meyer, K. E., Xin, K. R. (2017). Managing talent in emerging economy multinationals: Integrating strategic management and human resource management.The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-29. Rees, G., Smith, P. (Eds.). (2017).Strategic human resource management: An international perspective. Sage. Slack, N. (2015).Operations strategy. John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D. (2017).Strategic management and business policy. pearson. Williams, C., Chen, P. L., Agarwal, R. (2017). Rookies and seasoned recruits: How experience in different levels, firms, and industries shapes strategic renewal in top management.Strategic Management Journal,38(7), 1391-1415. Young, G. (2012).Beyond Lion Rock: The Story of Cathay Pacific Airways. Faber Faber.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

International Business Environment Turkey Between past and Future

Assess the positive and negative factors in Turkey’s case for EU membership Introduction Turkey’s case for EU membership is a welcome move that will help benefit the country in many ways. However, it must be noted that the move also has it shortfalls. The disadvantages are not only economical or social, but also political. Some of the advantages and disadvantages are discussed below.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International Business Environment: Turkey Between past and Future specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Economic Advantages There will be increased market for locally manufactured goods. By joining the EU, Turkey will enjoy membership benefits such as tax exemption and preferential treatment for its products from member countries. Such opportunities will increase its earnings from export on its textile products. With a home market that already totals to 70 million people, the additional mark et provided by members will help increase economic growth. As compared to other EU members, Turkey has the highest birth rate of 2.5%. By joining the EU, Turkey will be able to sell its human labour to other member countries hence reducing unemployment level and consequently increasing standard of life of its people. The ploughed back earnings from the employed people will also help boost its gross domestic earnings and economic growth. Increase in tourism activities will be another advantage. Turkey has some of the most magnificent tourist attractions around the world. It also has a very rich cultural background which most Europeans seek in Africa. By joining the EU, Turkey will be opening its beautiful white sand beaches, the house of the Virgin Mary and many other attractions to its members which will increase it income earnings. Use of one currency in trade, the euro, will make transactions easier. Businesspersons from Turkey will not have to worry about exchange rates in their daily business operations. Gain of technological knowledge. Turkey will be able to gain from the member states new technological inventions and research which will help further it economic growth which is already above 6.8% annually. Socio-cultural advantages Although Turkey has a very rich cultural background, joining the EU will still enrich and diversify their culture as a nation as people from member states will be interacting more freely with one another. These cultural exchanges will take place through education exchange programme and intermarriages. It will also promote peace among members which could in turn spread to other countries leading to a peaceful universe. Countries in one union do not wage war against each other.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Political advantages By joining the EU, Turkey will be opening a good political relationship with other EU member countries such as France which its president Sarkozy is not in favour of Turkey joining the EU. Turkey may also benefit from members military support in case of any attacks. Disadvantages of Turkey Joining the EU Turkey’s decision to join the EU could face economic challenges such as dumping. Since Turkey is the least developed of the EU members, low quality goods from other member countries could be dumped there. Its local industries may also subside due to competition from established ones. Turkey’s emerging industries are not yet mature for completion that they may face from established firms from other EU members. Since established firms command large sums of money, they can influence trade by investing more in advertisement and research which could lock out Turkish companies from their markets. Lastly, joining the EU means using the euro in transaction. The euro has been hit by the latest economic depression and is unstable which could affect Turkeys export and i mport trade. Socio-culturally, Turkeys may lose its cultural heritage to the other European influences. The influence of the EU member states has been felt in other parts of the world already. This is in terms of dressing, language and music. This poses a great threat to the culture of Turkey which has been selfishly guarded for centuries. Dumping of poor quality goods may also be a threat to its population’s health. Established firms from other EU members may choose to dump their poor quality goods which cannot be consumed at home in Turkey. These goods could affect the lives of people especially if they are consumables. Additionally, Turkey could be the only member of EU with a large number of Muslim believers. With the war on terror slowly changing direction and being a religious affair, Turkey’s citizens will feel discriminated against. What Social and cultural changes are taking place in Turkey? The socio-cultural changes in a society take place when there is a ch ange in its structure, attitudes, beliefs and values as well as technological factors. A society like Turkey having vested too much authority on the elderly, are often conservatives. This means that the country has remained loyal to its old friends for decades, has traded with almost the same nations for centuries and any changes in its political landscape is minimal.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International Business Environment: Turkey Between past and Future specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Turkey’s leadership has stressed more on conformity than individualistic approach. The interweaving of religion and government created a perfect breeding ground for bureaucracy. Such a tightly woven structure has made change in culture limited for many years as every person’s duties have been well define and deviation from it is immoral. Turkey’s cultural and social settings have remained consider ably intact for a long time. However, this year, more than any other has witnessed a great change in societal social standards, culture and ideological stand. Turkish politics which has always been considered as inclusionary and diplomatic has taken an abrupt change of direction and ideology. Led by their newly elected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has publicly condemned their long time political ally Israel while showing a strong support for Palestine. Most notably, Prime Minister Recep’s government has embarked on uniting the people of Turkey by trying to eradicate religious discrimination. In attempting to unite the country, the government has had to make constitutional changes that give more powers to the minority groups. This is viewed as a move to stop the brutal kills of innocent people by the Kurdish separatists who are so far responsible for more than 40,000 deaths. This attempt is a clear indication of existence of multiculturalism. A clear conflict ha s surfaced between Islamic elites and secular modernists. In a country with Muslim majority, there have always existed some small religious differences as the minority groups claim discrimination. The Turks language has also changed from the independent indigenous languages to Turkish. It was legally required of all citizens to write and speak Turks, which made many languages die with time. Turkish art is also changing. The traditional miniature art drawings that forbid drawing of human faces and only concentrated on landscapes are being replaced with oil mural paintings. Works Cited Adam Jamrozik, Cathy Boland, Robert Urquhart 1995, Social change and cultural transformation in Australia, illustrated edn, CUP Archive, New York.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Anderson, J 1998, Return to Tradition: The Revitalization of Turkish Village Carpets , Jordan. D’Anjou, L 1996, Social movements and cultural change: the first abolition campaign revisited, Transaction Publishers, London. Lake, M 2005, The EU Turkey: a glittering prize or a millstone?, The Federal Trust for Education Research, London. Michael Ruse, David Castle 2002, The Social and Political Structure of Kurdistan, Prometheus Books, New York. Olson, R 1989, The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion , Leank Publishers, Kabul. Richard, T 1991, Islam in Modern Turkey; Religion, Politics, and Literature in a Secular , Indy La’jaury, Chicago. Rita Arditti, Renate Klein, Shelley Minden 1984, From Empire to Republic: Essays on Ottoman and Turkish Social History , Taylor Francis, London. Shaw, SJ,AEKS 1976, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Londler Publishers, Karachi. Yokoyama, KM 2010, U.S. import statistics for animal related commo dities, 2005-2010, Transaction Publishers, London This report on International Business Environment: Turkey Between past and Future was written and submitted by user Iman1 to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

11 Easy Ways to Save (and Make) Money in College

College life ain’t cheap. Here’s some tried and true ways to save a buck (or two). 1.Food doesn’t have to be expensive. Buy in bulk. Go shopping with your token Mom Gave Me A Costco Card† buddy and stock up on essentials like rice, veggies, and meats (if that’s the way you roll, man). Set a dollar limit for how much you can buy. $50 can go a long way, especially if you freeze the stuff you can’t use right away. And remember, don’t shop when you’re hungry. 2. Look for ways around buying pricey textbooks. Why pay $200 for your Chemistry textbook when you can buy it on Thriftbooks or Amazon for half the price? For many of your classes, professors will have textbooks available on reserve in the library to check out. And even better yet, more and more texts are becoming available online! Do a little research before you drop hundreds on books you may never need after graduation. When you do buy them, make sure to keep them in decent condition and sell them back at the end of the quarter/semester. 3. Trade your clothes! Places like Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange and others will offer to pay for your used clothes. Use the cash to buy yourself a new sweatshirt, or stash it for later. To sell successfully just use the right strategy. Bring stuff people would actually want to wear. Sell your old sweaters just before winter comes around, save your shorts for spring. 4. Share costs, whenever possible. Opt for housing with other people. Sure, you’ll have less privacy, but you’ll also save bucket loads on rent and utilities. Also, without being a mooch, talk to friends about going in for bigger price tag items together. Couches, Netflix, and gym memberships are meant to be shared! 5. Craigslist is your friend. For cheap furniture and houseware items, this is the way to go. It’s not the sketchy, weird place TV shows make it out to be. I’ve purchased couches, shelves, speakers, mattresses, lamps and more from Craigslist with no issues. Selling is easy too, if you’re smart and friendly about it. Emails and postings should be specific and clear. An example: â€Å"Hi there! I’d like to buy your Hello Kitty Waffle Maker. If it’s still available, I can pick it up tomorrow at noon. Feel free to call/text me any time at __-__-___, thanks!† 6. Wait to get a pet. We know - who doesnt want a puppy? But unless you’ve got a bunch of extra cash lying around, the cost of feeding an animal every day can take a toll on your wallet - and that’s in addition to pricey veterinary bills! Besides, between classes, work, and extracurriculars, you won’t have the time your little poofball deserves. Instead, consider walking dogs. Surprisingly you can make bank doing this. Apps like â€Å"Wag† make finding business super easy. (Or, if you simply love animals, donate your time to an animal shelter). 7. Get a job at a pizza place. You’ll essentially get paid to eat pizza. Work is generally laid back, and you can find pretty flexible shifts. Cha-ching. (Technically this one applies to any kind of restaurant, but there’s probably a superfluous number of pizza places in your college town. And there’s always leftover pizza, that’s just fact.) 8. Test out of classes. Look at course requirements and options for testing out of certain classes. Why spend time and money on material you could easily test out of? This trick is most often applied to language courses, but can be used for lower division math, science, and English courses as well. 9. Walk, bike, or use public transportation. Seems like a no brainer, but chances are you could be getting around for a lot cheaper. Walking or biking may take longer, but ultimately you’ll save big on gas and insurance. Take advantage of discounts offered to students by your local public transportation services - all you’ll need is your Student ID. 10. When holidays and birthdays come around, ask for gift cards. Don’t be pushy about it, but do drop hints to family and friends. Yeah, you could tell grandma you want a hoverboard for your 20th. But you could also ask for a Safeway gift card and avoid having to pay for groceries the next two months. Imagine the luxury of buying an avocado without a second thought! 11. Take advantage of FAFSA. It’s a pain to fill out, but the payoff can be huge. Even if you apply Freshman year and don’t receive any big scholarship, try again each year. The government likes to invest in students their 3rd and 4th years.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

My Last Duchess Cel Essay Example

My Last Duchess Cel Essay Example My Last Duchess Cel Essay My Last Duchess Cel Essay Essay Topic: The Coquette The Heart Goes Last The text I have selected to discourse is My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning. which was written in 1842. My Last Duchess is a dramatic soliloquy of one side of a conversation between a Duke and a Count’s courier who are negociating a matrimony to the Count’s girl. The Duke’s address about his Last Duchess’ reveals possibly more than he foremost intended to. The Duke shows the Count’s envoy a picture of his Last Duchess. ’ he talks lovingly of the picture and goes on to depict the Duchess. He describes her as beautiful. easy pleased and coquettish. The scene of this verse form is the sixteenth century. where adult females were considered mere ownerships. objects. kid carriers. –not people– and taught to obey orders without contradiction. which could be punishable by decease. In this essay I intend to discourse what I consider to be the poem’s intent and significance. In My Last Duchess the Duke appears to be a really proud. covetous. and good educated adult male. He complains that the Duchess treats his gift to her of a 900 twelvemonth old name as if it were of the same value as the bough of cherries and the white mule given to her by some officious’ sap. He is genitive and commanding. and it is his covetous nature that causes the duchess’s decease. It would non be just to state that the Duke ordered for the Duchess to be disposed of. merely because she flirted with other work forces. he gave her warning and she disobeyed him. In the sixteenth century this would hold been considered a great abuse. Womans were treated as slaves. and if they disobeyed their hubbies or male members of their household so they would be known as an embarrassment to their household and their hubbies. who would hold nil more to make with them. The duchess insults the duke. who is already covetous of her relationships’ with other work forces. who has given her warning. and who she has insulted and go an embarrassment to. the Duke feels he has no other pick but to dispose of her. The Duke chooses his words really carefully when discoursing the decease of the duchess with the minister plenipotentiary. dropping merely little intimations. but giving adequate grounds to take us to believe that did so get rid of her’ . Her decease would hold been quiet and discreet ; which I believe would hold been the Duke’s manner. no dither and no incommodiousness for the duke. Due to the rubric of the verse form. and how the duke describes the duchess as simply his last’ . doing it appear as though there has been many duchesses before her. She was his trophy married woman. and he prided himself on holding a beautiful. immature married woman. but was unable to command his green-eyed monster over those who besides appreciated her beauty. I think the duke has married many times to procure land. money and more significantly. power. The Duke craved power. money and wanted the perfect married woman. who was beautiful and followed his every bid. The Duke is covetous of the manner the Duchess treats other people. non because he loves her and wants all her love for himself. but because he wants her to admit his power over her. The Last Duchess’ was a immature miss when she married the Duke. she could hold been around 13 or 14 old ages old. At this age. although she is old plenty to cognize right from incorrect. and will non be every bit immature as a 10 or twelve twelvemonth old. it is dubious that she is old plenty to get by with so much duty. to be married to the duke for the remainder of her life and to avoid going an embarrassment to her household. To the reader. she may look as if she is simply smiling at other work forces. thanking them for their gifts and crimsoning at regards. Though. to the duke she is smiling at other work forces. the same manner she smiles at him. this causes him to worry that she is being unfaithful. She besides rates his gift of a nine-hundred-year old name the same as any other old gift. non genuinely understanding the value and importance that he believes his name to be. She blooms and smilings. when paid regards. naming that spot of joy into her cheek. of which the Duke is so genitive over. He besides comments that She had a heart- how shall I state? - too shortly made glad. excessively easy impressed ; she liked whate’er she looked on. and her expressions went everyplace. By stating this. he is connoting that she was excessively easy impressed. she liked anyone she seen. and she looked at everyone. The duchess. is immature and immature. she has been warned by the duke she must halt flirtation with other work forces. or face the effects. She sees the Duke’s weak topographic point. his green-eyed monster over her. and returns to tease him. possibly smiling at work forces when she knew she was being watched. this finally. is the cause of her death- her inability to halt smile. He says. Oh sir. she smiled. no uncertainty whene’er I passed her ; but who passed without much the same smiling? This grew ; I gave bids ; so all smilings stopped together. There she stands as if alive. The duchess still smiles at the duke. but besides at anyone else who passes. this annoys the Duke. who. when she disobeys him has decided that he can non take it any more. It all of a sudden dawns on the reader that the Duke has non stopped her from simply smiling. he has stopped her from take a breathing. it is a chilling disclosure. He has ordered her to be disposed of. and so he all of a sudden changes the subject back to the picture. about as if he can’t be bothered to discourse the affair any farther. I think the Duke and Duchess may hold had feelings for each other. and instead than appreciate the feelings of the Duke. she decides to ache them. to badger him. to do him covetous. demoing her immatureness and her naivete of disregarding his warnings. In the opening scene of the verse form. the Duke describes the picture. That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall. Looking as if she were alive. I call that piece a admiration. now. This could easy be mistaken for fancy of the duchess. but he is truly congratulating the picture. He casually tells us that it is his Last Duchess’ on the wall. non trouble oneselfing to call her. as if she were his ownership and refers to her as my. ’ He comments on the painter’s accomplishment and ability to paint her. doing her expression as if she were a existent individual in forepart of them. When the duchess was being painted by Fra pandolf’ . the painter pays her a compliment. which calls a spot of joy to her cheek. which the Duke feels should be reserved merely for himself. He is careful non to uncover his feelings towards the Duchess. although he does unwittingly through his green-eyed monster. He did care for the Duchess. possibly he did non love her. or possibly he thought of her as a ownership and was selfish. declining to portion her smiling with anyone else. but he did hold feelings for her. These feelings grew. and so did his green-eyed monster. the consequence of which unhappily ended in the Duchesses decease. The duke was. at first. lenient with the Duchess. leting her to chat up with other work forces. and when it becomes excessively much for him. warning her. and when she does non take attentiveness of his warning and he worries that his repute will be tarnished he has to move. and act he does. with the Duchess’s decease. Although. at the terminal of the verse form. he asks the minister plenipotentiary to lift. to run into the company that is waiting downstairs. they discuss the dowery which the Duke will have when he marries the Count’s girl. The count so moves on to discourse the statue of a walrus. which he describes the same as he did the picture . doing it look that he did so hold no particular feelings towards the Duchess. and he values the walrus. the same as the duchess. I believe that this verse form is set in the sixteenth century. in the Renaissance period. where the Italian nobility ruled Italy. the hapless had no say and the aristocracy at the clip treated adult females like slaves. In this period of clip. it was unacceptable for a adult female to demo her legs. excessively much of her weaponries. to be caught entirely with other work forces. whether they were guiltless or non. or to be unloyal to those who had taken attention of her. The verse form is set in the duke’s palatial’ house. there could be so be a party downstairs. perchance to compliment the Duke and the Count’s girls future nuptials. There will be many of import people invited. such as the Count. his girl and his tribunal every bit good as many other of import people of the clip. The minister plenipotentiary. after discoursing the dowery with the Duke. will return to the party. to speak to the Count and it will be decided the size of the dowery. and whether the nuptials will go on. This is an of import party for the Duke and he will desire to demo that he has wealths. wealth. power and influence to the Count. so that he will be acute for his girl to get married the Duke. The Duke’s house is large. and filled with art. he seems the type of individual to hold retainers who will be taking attention of the party downstairs. The chief subjects of this verse form are wealths. wealth. power. green-eyed monster and the male dominated society of the sixteenth century. Though there is no subject of love in this verse form. this is non grounds that the Duke did non love the Duchess. he may hold loved the duchess so much. that he could non bear to see the Duchess coquette with other people. The wealths. wealth and power are conveyed through the blue scene of this verse form. the people involved. such as the duke. the count. the duchess. the people who they consider to be below them. such as the minister plenipotentiary. the officious fool’ who gave the duchess a bough of cherries and a white mule that could non perchance compare with the duke’s 900 twelvemonth old name. There is a running subject of green-eyed monster throughout this verse form. and besides a sense of paranoia. the Duke sees the Duchess smiling at other work forces and the thought signifiers in his head that she is traveling to go forth him for anyone she smiles at. Therefore. in decision I have tried to demo what I consider to be the poem’s intent and significance. I have tried to demo how the duke was genitive over the duchess. how she tormented and teased him. how he eventually could non take any more. and she was disposed of. How he did hold feelings for her. but valued her every bit much as a statue of a walrus made out of bronze. How he discusses his Last Duchess’ and his hereafter duchess as if they were points. used for fiscal addition. The duke’s green-eyed monster is a running subject throughout the verse form. and he is unable to command it. or the duchess and he did non desire to lose face to the remainder of the nobility. The Renaissance was a clip when the violent death of adult females for the simplest of things was considered politically right. I have besides tried to demo that I consider this poem’s intent and significance to be about the Duke’s green-eyed monster and low ego regard to do him c onceive of that the Duchess is traveling to go forth for him for anyone and everyone.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Totalitarianism and the individual using the book Under a Cruel Star Essay

Totalitarianism and the individual using the book Under a Cruel Star and two other readings - Essay Example horrible living conditions and galling transportations can be used to describe the camp as trying to establish one’s life and a family was hardly possible due to starvation and violence. Another form of totalitarian form of governance was in Moscow where purge was conducted as authors were controlled over the content with which they are to publish. Those carrying out the purge are described as lacking sophistication and stupidity. Under controversial circumstances, books were withdrawn and example being Lenin’s book because they were listed under Marx’s â€Å"Communist Manifesto† with Riazanov’s forward, but in many other instances this explanation breaks down. The â€Å"Authoritative† and â€Å"Educated† bunch of people were forming purging committees and recommending the removal of controversial readings. Under â€Å"philosophy† the Leningrad instructions propose that â€Å"idealistic philosophy should be removed entirely fro m circulation and this would leave only Kant’s and Hegel’s works in circulation since their writing and ideologies went in line with the governing authorities. Questions were raised over the withdrawal of many writers especially those who by the humblest and most general assessment are on a higher level and less pernicious than the hundreds of junky kinds of belles-lettres that Gosizdat put out even at this time. The kind of leadership being experienced was resulting in a totalitarian form as the main instructions of Glavpolitprosvet are more restrained and balanced, TBTW. The recommendation was to remove all the prerevolutionary literature that was concerned with upbringing and education, all prerevolutionary mathematics textbooks, all anthologies of Russian literature, collections of pieces for recitation, oral public reading and narrations from the local public libraries to central and pedagogical libraries (Kova?ly 17). On the other hand, Adolf Hitler being an arde nt militarist, during his rule rejected democracy terming it a bankruptcy and promoted an authoritarian form of politics based on the leadership principle. He was of the belief that war was a crucial test of a nation’s vigor and the defeat of Germany in 1918 was not the result of military failure but rather the product of the diseased condition of the German society in general, (Hitler 513). The corruption and weakness that was evident in the country was caused by the diabolical machinations of the Jewish people, whom Hitler had portrayed as a degenerate race engaged in an international conspiracy designed to destroy the national principle binding the German people together as a â€Å"master race† and Hitler then offered himself as the leader of the revitalized militantly nationalist Germany purged of all those who would weaken or diminish the racial purity of the German people. Hitler’s thoughts were centered along an obsessive preoccupation with racial â€Å" hygiene† which according to him was a basis of national strength. According to Hitler (517), the Jewish people with all their apparent intellectual qualities are nevertheless without any culture of their own and the sham culture which the Jew possess today is the property of other people and is mostly spoiled in their hands. He furthers the opinion that the state is a means to an end, and

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Case Study - A Question of Contamination Assignment

Case Study - A Question of Contamination - Assignment Example re to this, if he is a person that values integrity, he should ensure that the selfish preferences of the prominent individuals should not surpass the well-being of the society. He should be accountable to the public by solving the conflict, because keeping silent would mean the government is unresponsive to its people. Additionally, being a public representative requires him to be accountable to the community in terms of what he knows and says (Box, 2013, pp.111-112). Blowing the whistle in this case would mean advocating for the public good, hence not being part of the corrupt individuals. This can be done by holding those involved in the deal responsible for the loss suffered by the community. Since the issue is a public affair, and it affects the whole community, it would be morally wrong to conceal the issue. Continued use of the chemical leads to the loss of economic resources that could be used to improve the economic position of the entire nation, and rapid steps need to be taken to save the nation. According to Lee, Neeley, and Stewart (2011) Erickson should formulate a plan of ending the crisis caused by the dangerous fertilizer. This would include reporting the incident to the respective regulatory body for the product to be banned from the market. He should also formulate a response plan to the public that should help them learn the importance of discontinuing the product in their farms. These strategies would curb further loss of animals, leading to the betterment of society. On the evidence, he now has of the possible environmental dangers of the fertilizer, should he inform the public? If so, should he leak the information to the press or identify himself as the source? What would be the likely consequences of each action? Informing the public about the danger of the fertilizer would help the community to save their herds. They would stop using the fertilizers, thus promoting their interest, and that of the nation, as great savings on survival of

Sunday, November 17, 2019

American Tool Works Essay Example for Free

American Tool Works Essay This course focuses on improving the performance of the firm and its supply chain through coordination among multiple sites, functions, and economic actors (customers and suppliers). Students will know how to design and implement strategies for structure and management, both cross-functionally, with the firm, and across an industry value chain among interacting firms. These strategies include restructuring supply chain facility networks, coordinating information and materials flow, managing supplier relations, and managing customer order fulfillment processes. The theme of the course is that strategies that enhance integration throughout the supply chain can lead to improved performance (in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, quality, customer satisfaction, cost, flexibility, etc. ), providing firms with a source of competitive advantage. TEXTBOOK: D. Simchi-Levi, P. Kaminsky, and E. Simchi-Levi, Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies, and Case Studies, 3rd ed. , McGraw Hill/Irwin, New York, 2008, ISBN 978-0-07-298239-8. READINGS:Additional articles and cases will be made available through WebCT and http://cb. hbsp. harvard. edu/cb/access/5023124 SOFTWARE:The Beer Game simulation software is available on the web and will be used for real-time ordering, planning, forecasting decisions in the supply chain. The Risk Pool Game is available on the CD that comes with the text. The Global Supply Chain Management Simulation is available through harvardbusinessonline. com and allows students to manage product design, procurement, and production for four simulated years. Excel will be used for inventory management, supply contracts, and for optimal resource allocation and distribution network configuration. PREREQUISITES: Second year standing COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1. Recognize salient challenges and opportunities for managing supply chains. 2. Become familiar with supply chain strategies that have been adopted by leading companies. 3. Learn to use several analytical tools to assess tradeoffs and support decision making. METHOD: This course stress those models, concepts, and solutions methods that can be applied to the design, control, operation, and management of supply chain systems. The course includes lectures, case discussions, presentations, and hands-on, practical exercises and games to provide both a sound base of learning and an opportunity to test and develop skill. Students should do all of the assigned readings and cases before coming to class, and prepare for, and contribute to, class discussions. Excel is used to support the quantitatively intensive topics. STUDENT TEAMS: Teams will consist of about five students who will work together as the presenting and questioning teams for cases and articles as described below. The teams may allocate the work as desired, as long as all team members agree with the allocation. The team should let a member know if they are not performing at an appropriate level, and should contact the instructor if problems persist. Each team member will provide the instructor with an evaluation of their team members’ performance at the end of the term by allocating 100 total points (no self-allocation) between the other members. This information will be used to adjust team work grades. CASE PRESENTATIONS: Each student team will have the opportunity of serving as the â€Å"presenting team† for two of the cases and the â€Å"questioning team† for one of the cases that we will discuss in class. The â€Å"presenting team† will provide the background and content of the case, an analysis of what the company did correctly or incorrectly, and suggestions about what the company should do in the future. They should also address any questions given as part of the case write-up or indicated by the instructor. The â€Å"questioning team† will be responsible for questioning the presenting team, offering alternative solutions, and for leading the rest of the class in a discussion of the case. The questioning team will submit a written list of questions prior to the presentation. The members of the class will be asked to assess the performance of both teams. The instructor will incorporate the class evaluations into the presentation grades.

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Existing System For Payslip Generation

The Existing System For Payslip Generation The purpose of the proposed project is to automate the Payslip generation process which replaces the traditional system of Payslip generation that used to print the employee salary details onto a paper. This project includes a single user who is authorized to initiate the application. The privileges are given only to the individual in a department who is responsible for generating the PaySlips for the employees. The application takes in the Excel Spreadsheet as input and generates an encrypted PDF PaySlip for each employee. This PDF PaySlip is mailed to the respective employee by using their mail-id which is provided in the Excel sheet. This application generates PaySlips of each employee every month. The PaySlip spreadsheet is uploaded to the system. The application uses an excel parser to read this spreadsheet. The excel parser parses the excel sheet in a row-wise fashion and generates an xml string for each row. This xml string contains the salary data of each employee. The salary data is converted into a password-protected PDF document as per a pre-defined template. These salary statements (in PDF) are emailed to respective users. The email process is logged. 1.2 Existing System: The existing System for PaySlip generation includes manual entry of the pay details of all the employees in an excel sheet and converting them to word document. Each row from the excel sheet is taken and then converted into the word document. This word document contains the Pay details of the employee. This document is printed on to a paper and then distributed to all the employees. The Existing System requires manual effort in converting the excel sheet data into the word document. The word document which contains the salary details should be generated for all the employees which in turn delays the whole process of distributing the payslips. As the paper is used in distributing the payslips this even includes the wastage of paper. This is till the part of generation of pyslips itself. When talking about distribution each and every paslip has to be signed by the authority, stamped and then folded which is placed in the envelope.this has to be distributed to all the employees near the desk has to take an acknowledgement that the employee has received by signing on paper. If the employee is not at the desk or out of station then distribution has to be postponed for that employee till he is available. That is he cant check it immediately after its been issued. Making it remotely accessible is also another aspect of it. 1.3 Proposed System: The proposed System for generating the PaySlips is a Web based Automated System for generation and distribution of PaySlips. Proposed System is efficient enough as it includes Less Manual effort. Manual effort is needed in only logging into the application and uploading the appropriate excel sheet into the application. Just a click on the upload button is sufficient, then the application itself will generate the payslips and distribute them to the respective employees mailid. Optimal performance of the application is achieved as delay is reduced in generation of Payslips with the existing system. Paper conservation is achieved, as the PaySlips are sent to the employees through mails, This makes the payslip remotely accessible 2.1 Functional Requirements Modules: Authentication/Authorization Upload File Excel Parser PDF Generation Email Module Description: Authentication/Authorization Module: This application is used to generate payslips of the employees for every month. Payslips, that depict all the salary details, is very confidential and hence this work should be carried out by an authorized person. For this purpose the user is presented with a login and is granted access to the application only after supplying a valid username and password. This needs database connectivity that stores all the details of the users who can use the application with their password. This module is implemented using Struts. As this partitions the presentation and implementation the login UI is built using Java server pages. When the user submits the user name and password the servlet gets invoked handling the process that connects to the database, verifies and accordingly an action is taken that forwards to another UI. Upload File: This module uploads the Excel spread sheet into the application in which details of all the employees are present with the present months salary details. The details of the employee includes the name, empid, designation etc .The Excel spread sheet that is needed to be uploaded should be in a specified format i.e., all the details should be in the same chronological order according to the specifications. The uploaded spread sheet will not be saved any where as the data in the Excel sheet is very confidential. This module is implemented using Struts. The File Upload UI is built using Java server pages. When the user uploads an Excel file a servlet gets invoked handling the process that directs an action. Excel Parser: This module takes the uploaded excel sheet as input and parses it in a row wise fashion, organizes the data in xml format For this a special software tool is used In this module we also retrieve the employee-id, mail-id and month for which the payslip is generated. The software tool used for parsing the Excel document is POI. This needs a POI.jar added in the library where some predefined methods are defined. The POI consists of APIs for manipulating various file formats based upon Microsofts OLE 2 Compound Document format, and Office OpenXML format, using pure Java. In short, you can read and write MS Excel files using Java. In addition, you can read and write MS Word and MS PowerPoint files using Java. POI is your Java Excel solution (for Excel 97-2007). However, we have a complete API for porting other OLE 2 Compound Document formats and welcome others to participate. OLE 2 Compound Document Format based files include most Microsoft Office files such as XLS and DOC as well as MFC serialization API based file formats. Office OpenXML Format based files include the new (2007+) xml based file formats, including Microsoft office files such as XLSX, DOCX and PPTX. PDF Generation: This module creates a PDF file per employee based on pre-defined template and a randomly generated Password is used to encrypt the PDF file. This password is used by the employees to retrieve the PaySlips. The template is designed using XSL independently and values are taken from the Excel and filled into PDF using java. The PDF is encrypted using a random generated password and the password is attached to the mail. The encrypted PDF document is mailed to the employee. The software tool used for generating a PDF document is XSL-FO. XSL-FO is a language for formatting XML data . XSL-FO stands for Extensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Objects . XSL-FO is a W3C Recommendation . XSL-FO is now formally named XSL . XSL-FO is an XML-based markup language describing the formatting of XML data for output to screen, paper or other media. Styling is both about transforming and formatting information. When the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) made their first XSL Working Draft, it contained the language syntax for both transforming and formatting XML documents. Later, the XSL Working Group at W3C split the original draft into separate Recommendations. XSLT, a language for transforming XML documents . XSL or XSL-FO, a language for formatting XML documents. XPath, a language for navigating through elements and attributes in XML documents. This is more advantageous because this seperates the presentation or template of the PDF and the implementation how the data is filled in. Email Module: This Module emails the Payslips (Password protected PDF files) to the respective employee by using their mail id. The mailing details are saved in a batch log with the time and date at which the mail is sent to the employee for verification. This module sets the mail attributes like the subject, from_address, to_address and message body. Also a partial random generated password is sent in the mails which need to be personalized by the employee. This module also inserts values into the email log with the details of mailing. The Protocol used for mailing the PDF document to a particular employee is SMTP. The JavaMail API provides a platform-independent and protocol-independent framework to build mail and messaging applications.This is binded with Simple Mail Transfer Protocol for mailing. 2.2 Non-Functional Requirements Accessibility This application is easily accessible by the user who is authorized to use the system for generating PaySlips every month. Performance This system can generate PaySlips for any number of employees considering the same speed. Reliability This system is consistent and performs required functions under stated conditions. Security Unauthorized access to the system and its data is not allowed. The person who wants to access the system is authenticated against a username and password. The PaySlip mailed to the employee is also password protected. This ensures unauthorized access of the PaySlip. Usability This system enhances usability by incorporating well structured user interfaces, end-user interactions, informative error messages etc. 2.3 System Requirement Specification: Software Requirements: Language: Java/J2EE Operating system: Win 2000/XP or higher Web Server: Apache Tomcat Server Excel Parsers: POI(Poor Obfuscation Implementation) PDF Generator Tools: XSL-FO(Extensible Style sheet Language-Formatting Object) Back End: MySQL Database Hardware Requirements: Processor: P4 or higher RAM: 1 GB or higher Hard disk: 10 GB 3.1 Technical Architecture A Technical Architecture breaks down operational (business) processes into functional components and capabilities. It describes the structure and behaviour of the technology infrastructure of an enterprise, solution or system. The following diagram depicts functional components of the application. Browser Web Container (Tomcat) MySQL PaySlip Generation System The web container in detail handles the following operations as depicted in the following diagram As the web container receives the request from the browser it invokes the parser functionality and does the excel parsing row-wise and generates an xml String. The string data is used in generating the PDF. These PDFs which are generated are mailed to the respective employees by the mailer component. The entire email process is logged in a file. Once the application is deployed in the server we can access it locally or from remote using public IP or giving some domain name to the application. 3.2 Software Architecture Software architecture alludes to the overall structure of the software and the ways in which the structure provides conceptual integrity for a system. In the simplest form software architecture is the hierarchical structure of program components (modules), the manner in which these components interact and structure of data that are used by these components. The software architecture of a program or computing system is the structure or structures of the system, which comprise software components, the externally visible properties of those components, and the relationships between them. 4.1 Design Objectives: Design is the first step in the development phase of a process or system in sufficient details to permit its physical realization. Without design specifications, the design will be unguided. It is difficult to know when the process is complete and to measure the progress. Design is used to plan what information needs to be displayed and entered and how it relates to other information. Design is the only way to translate the requirements into a finished system. A well designed program will be easier to implement, distribute and maintain. 4.2 UML Diagrams 4.2.1 Usecase Diagram: 4.2.2 Class Diagram: 4.2.3 Sequence Diagram: 4.2.4 Collaboration Diagram: 4.2.5 Activity Diagram: 4.3 Data Flow Diagrams: Level 1 4.4 Database Design: 4.4.1 E-R Diagrams 4.4.2 Database Tables: Database Tables: 5.1 Pseudo Code Login Module Login form: public class LoginForm extends ActionForm { /**Declare two string variables that holds the username and password values entered in the form Define getter and setter methods **/ } Login Action: public class LoginAction extends Action { Public ActionForward execute(ActionMapping mapping, ActionForm actionForm, HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws Exception { /**Create an object to the login form Retrieve the username and password entered in the form and save in some variables Create an object for the implementation and call the function validate() with the retrieved username and password as arguments Savetoken() Depending on its return value forward the action to success page or failure page**/ } Login Interface: public interface LoginDAO { /**Declare th method validate(string , string)**/ } Interface Implementation: public class LoginDAOimpl extends BaseDAO implements LoginDAO { Constructor() { } Validate () { /**Declare two string variables that holds the values of the username and password from he database Get the connection to the database using the predefined method in java Retrieve the username and password from the database using a SQL query(select) Compare both username, password from form and database Return a Boolean value according to the comparision**/ } } Login.jsp: CTE Pay Slip Generation System Employee Login function validateLogin(){ if(document.loginForm.username.value!=""&& document.loginForm.password.value!="") { return true; } else { alert("Please Enter UserName and Password."); return false;} } Login UserName : Password : Copyright  © 2009 Cambridge Technology Enterprises. All rights reserved. Upload File Module: Upload form: public class UploadForm extends ActionForm { /**Define a variable file of type file Also define the getter and setter methods **/ } Upload Action: public class StrutsUploadAction extends Action { public ActionForward execute ( ActionMapping mapping, ActionForm form, HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws Exception { /** If the token is valid then Create an object for upload form to retrieve parameters like contentType, fileName, fileSize. Create an object to interface to all the method parseExcel(file) Return success Else Return failure **/ Upload.jsp CTE Pay Slip Generation System Employee Login function isFileName() { var fileName = document.forms[0].theFile.value; // uploadform is the form name if (fileName =="") { alert("Please select a file"); return false; } Else { if(fileName.substr((fileName.length)-3,fileName.length) == "xls") { document.forms[0].action = "FileUpload.do"; document.forms[0].method = "post"; document.forms[0].submit(); return true;} Else { alert("Please Upload an Excel file"); return false; }}} File Upload value= > Select File Copyright  © 2009 Cambridge Technology Enterprises. All rights reserved. window.NREUM||(NREUM={});NREUM.info={"beacon":"bam.nr-data.net","licenseKey":"de6e6cfad9","applicationID":"221047987","transactionName":"bl0HMhMFDEYCWhJeWlcXMBQISwdGEFgfRBpYShEPAggHGxNRFg==","queueTime":0,"applicationTime":1,"atts":"QhoERFsfH0g=","errorBeacon":"bam.nr-data.net","agent":""} Upload interface: public interface PaySlipDAO { declare a method parseExcel() } /**Upload interface implementation(Excel Working and PDF Generation Modules **/ ) public class PaySlipDAOImpl extends BaseDAO implements PaySlipDAO { Constructor() { } public String parseExcel(String fileName) throws Exception { Define a String array str[]={sno,month,NoofDays,empid,empname,desg,Basic,HRA,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦} That defines the sequence in which Excel file should be in. /**Define a string variable that holds the root tag declare an input stream and initialize it to null now define a new input stream and initialize it to file (Excel file) initialize POIFSFileSystem to inputstream define a new HSSFworkbook get the sheet count get the sheet with count zero iterate the rows if the sheet has rows then iterate the cells from that retrieve the 4th,2nd and 21st cell values. 4-mployeeid 2-month 21-Email id For every cell value append the opening tag using the string array**/ /**According to the cell value get the value Like Numeric Formula String After adding the value append the closing tag Like wise iterate till all the cells are completed At the end append the closing root tag With this we are ready with our xml string. Using this xml string as the argument make the call to the generatPDF() Return empids of employees for whom the mail is sent and to whom the mail is not sent with a # appended in between.**/ } PDF Generation Module: public int genPDF( HSSFCell empid, HSSFCell mailid, HSSFCell monthyear, String xmlStr ) /**Set the path of the base directory to the current directory Define a file in which we save the xslt file that is used in designing the payslip Also define a PDF file with parameters like where to save(current directory),with what name(employee-id) and with what extension(.pdf) Create new instances for fop factory and fo user agent Get the random generated password which is of six characters length Now define two random numbers and retrieve th characters at that ndex in the employee id Append these two characters to the random generated password Encrypt the pdf using method PDFEncryptionParams() and set the Boolean parameters like allow print, allowCopyContent, allowEditContent, allowEditAnnotations and also the keys to encrypt configure foUserAgent as desired. Setup output. Construct fop with desired output format Setup XSLT Setup input for XSLT transformation Resulting SAX events (the generated FO) must be piped through to FOP Start XSLT transformation and FOP processing**/ /**Call the sendmail method by creating its object Save the returnvalue in a variable If that is equal to one then save that email id as sentmailid and append all other of this kind in the Excel sheet to this**/ /**If thats is equal to zero save that email id as failedmailid and append all others of this kind in the Excel sheet to this After mail is sent save that in the log using the user defined method insertIntoEmailLog (mailid, monthYear,status)**/ } private void insertIntoEmailLog(HSSFCell mailid, String monthYear, int status) { /**Get the data base connection Insert into table the values of status,month nd the mailed**/ } public static String getPassword(int n) { /**Generate n random characters may it be alphabets(upper and lower),numbers and symbols Return a string of length n characters**/ } MailService Module: public class MailService { MailService (); { } /**Define the host, transport_protocol, authentication needed, debugging needed etc.**/ public int sendMail(String empId,String monthYear,String emailid,byte[] pdfBytes,String randompwd,int randomposition1,int randomposition2) { /**Set the parameters like frommail, tomail, subject, messagetext, content type etc Define a new mail session Declare a new MIMEmessage() for this mail session set the source to PDF bytes send that message as mail to the tomailid**/ } } Failure.jsp CTE Pay Slip Generation System Employee Login response.setHeader(Cache-Control,no-cache); //HTTP 1.1 response.setHeader(Pragma,no-cache); //HTTP 1.0 response.setDateHeader (Expires, 0); //prevents caching at the proxy server response.setHeader(Cache-Control,no-store); //HTTP 1.1 %> Invalid username or password Please Try Again Copyright  © 2009 Cambridge Technology Enterprises. All rights reserved. Uploadsuccess.jsp CTE Pay Slip Generation System Employee Login response.setHeader(Cache-Control,no-cache); //HTTP 1.1 response.setHeader(Pragma,no-cache); //HTTP 1.0 response.setDateHeader (Expires, 0); //prevents caching at the proxy server response.setHeader(Cache-Control,no-store); //HTTP 1.1 %> File Successfully Uploaded EMail sent to: String maildata = (String)request.getAttribute(emailEmpId); int splitCount= maildata.indexOf(#); String sentEmailIds=maildata.substring(0,splitCount); String failedEmailIds=maildata.substring(splitCount+1,maildata.length()); %> EMail failed to:

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Comparing the Reaction Rates of Alkanes and Alkenes Essay

Introduction Alkanes are hydrocarbons with only single bonds between the atoms. Saturated hydrocarbon is the other term for it. They are used as fuels because they are non-reactive and also do not conduct electricity. For this reason they do not form hydrogen bonds and are insoluble in solvents such as water while alkenes are hydrocarbons that contain at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond. Unsaturated hydrocarbons are the other term for alkenes. They are stable compounds, but more reactive than alkanes due to the presence of carbon-carbon bond. Objectives: * To know if potassium permanganate solution will show reactions with oil and fat samples. * To determine if the results of the performed experiment are saturated or unsaturated and alkane or alkene if the samples are mixed with potassium permanganate. Hypothesis: If the fats and oils will be added by potassium permanganate solution then we will know if it is an alkane or an alkene. Materials and Methods * We obtained 2 full droppers (medicine dropper) of each oil sample, such as coconut oil, canola oil, corn oil, linseed oil and castor oil and placed it in different test tubes each. Different droppers were used to gather each sample. * We then melted the solid samples; butter, lard, and margarine using the warm water bath provided by the laboratory and tested them as liquids. * After getting all the samples needed, we added one dropper full of potassium permanganate solution to each samples and with the use of stirring rod, we stirred it then was covered with stoppers. The solid samples at the room temperature were turned to liquid when it was heated using the warm water bath method, while the liquid samples was still liquid at the room temperature. The butter and lard din not mixed well with the potassium permanganate  (KMnO4) and has some unmixed reactant which was at the bottom of the test tubes. Others, such as canola oil, coconut oil, linseed oil, castor oil, corn oil, and margarine has reactions as seen at table 1. Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) discharges its color to the samples if it is unsaturated fat, however some have special cases like margarine and coconut oil.  Alkanes are not reactant with most reagentsbecause they have good orbital overlap, and their C-C and C-H bonds are strong. Alkane is not acidic nor basic due to the C-H bond and the electronegativity of both elements. Due to similarities the bond becomes a little polarity. Less polarity mean the proton loss would be difficult. Saturated fats are hydrocarbons consisting of no double bonds between carbon atoms of the datty acid chain. Excessive consumption is not good because of their association with atherosclerosis and heart diseases. Unsaturated fats are considered good to eat if you have control with you cholesterol. It increases good cholesterol or bad cholesterol. The following samples are unsaturated fats based on our results: Lard, Canola Oil, Linseed Oil, Corn Oil and Castor Oil. In chemical sense, fats  are called â€Å"unsaturated† because they have spots that could potentially be filled with hydrogen atoms. â€Å"Monounsaturated† are fats that don’t have hydrogen. â€Å"Polyunsaturated† are fats that have more than one spot of hydrogen. Summary With the use of the Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) the reaction of the samples were compared and determined whether the substance is an alkane or an alkene. It helps saturated fats from unsaturated fats by discharging its colors to the samples. After following the methods of the experiment, we began to research on some facts about the alkanes and alkenes. All of the samples of liquid at the room temperature changed its color including margarine, while butter and lard did not mix well with the Potassium permanganate (KMnO4). Conclusion Therefore we conclude that potassium permanganate (KMnO4) will have a reaction when mixed with unsaturated fats (alkenes), while saturated fats will have less reaction due to its structure because it has no double or triple bond.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Importance of external factors Essay

In an organisation there are several factors influence the growth and performance of the organisation. There are some factors which are influence the organization can be controlled by the management but some factors are beyond the organisation management control. The factors which are controlled by the organisation known as internal factors and factors which are beyond the management control known as external factors such as Political, economical, social and technical factors. Political Factors: For BA political factors are very important for business growth. As this company is operating around the world and involved in air transport, country’s political tension can hamper its normal operation as well as the revenue income. Economical: economical factor is another important factor for such company. As still air travel is expensive, people’s ability to travel and economic conditions should be considered when planning for BA. As an example BA faced a huge loss when the European recession started. Technological: Total business related to BA is based on the technology. As the air transport sector is too competitive, all companies are always ready to grab the new technology as a gift for their potential customers. So, as leading company BA always has to consider the technological factors within its business. Expectations of a stakeholders Stakeholders include those individuals, groups, and other organizations who have an interest in the actions of an organization and who have the ability to influence it. The stakeholder approach systematically integrates executives’ concerns about organizational strategy with the organization’s interests in marketing, human resource management, public relations, organizational politics, and social responsibility. This integrative perspective assumes that an effective organization strategy requires  consensus from a plurality of key stakeholders about what it should be doing and how these things should be done. The level of stakeholders expectations are depends on the various factors and types of stakeholders in a company. Considering all afcts BA’s stakeholders expectations are stated below: o Risk management of the company, o Technological change within the company, o Financial and economical performance of the company, o Environmental and ethical engagement, o Contibution to social, cultural and economical, o Policy for the future external and internal factors, o Program to address any negative impact, o Future development and goals. Major changes in the external environment As a company in airline sector BA is operating and has many offices around the world. So the socio-economic factors regardless of geographic areas can be a good factor fro its strategic planning process. For example, BA had closed their all operation and office from most of south Asian countries due to the continuous loss. The main reason for that loss was economic bad conditions in that area. Like this many socio-economic factors can be the major issues for BA’s strategy making. During the political tension in middle-east many people ignored to travel with BA, which caused a huge loss for its yearly revenue. Another important change that could affect BA’s strategy is legal issues. BA faced various legal obligations in different countries that played a huge impact on their future staretgy. Many countries has different rules for their airline sector and BA has to follow those rules to operate its fleet in those countries. A SWOT analysis of BA can be included here to evaluate its possible major changes in external environment. Strength:​ 1. Merger and Acquisition ​ ​ 2. Opensky agreement, ​ ​ 3. Strong brand image ​ ​ 4. Expansion of fleet Weakness: ​ 1. Cost of management, ​ ​ 2. Decline profitability ​ ​ 3. Labour strike Opportunities: 1. Emergence of new market, ​ 2. Increased travel business in europe, ​ 3. Economic restoration, Threats: ​ 1. Raising fuel cost, ​ 2. Changing of consumers’ behaviour, ​ 3. Unstable political issues worldwide. PESTEL Analysis In order to measure success in airline industry, en external environmental analysis is very important. This PESTEL analysis will explain the BA’s position in the market, particularly in terms of competitors and how it assessing to meet its current and future challenges. Factor Key Points Implications for BA Political 1. Heavy regulations, 2. Increased security due to past attacks. 1. Compliance is essential, 2. Sufficient security measures should be in place. Economic 1. Global Economic Crisis, 2. Oil price is not stable, 3. UK consumer saw largest decline in spending. 1. Possible reduction of business travel. 2. Directly affecting the BA’s cost base. Social Technological 1. UK has an aging population, 2. Increasing unemployment. 1. Online user normally use comparison site. 2. Online booking and reservation becoming more popular. 1. Potential opportunity for growth as older person will spend more time in holiday. 2. Increased bargaining power for new employees. 1. Increased bargain power for both parties. 2. Must ensure that BA’s remain up to date. Ethical 1. Noise pollution control 2. Cancellations of flight and baggage loss. 1. New legislation, 2. Such ethical issues could have a detrimental effect on reputation if left unresolved. Legal 1. Collusion and price fixing. 2. Open skies agreement. 1. Restriction on mergers will have an impact on BA’s proposed alliance with American Airlines. 2. Opportunity for BA and its competitors to freely transport aircraft between the EU and US. Task 2 Analyse the effects of current business plan Any organisation has to have a detailed plan for their business. This plan determines the mission and vision of that organisation. The strategic planning team develop this business plan for the organisation. By assesing this plan any stakeholder or other external entities can get idea about the type and area of business. There are many tools for analysing the effects of such plan over the organisation. These analysis tools includes: SWOT Analysis, Value Chain Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces Analysis etc. To consider the effects of business plan on BA, author will use Porter’s Five forces tool here. British Airways- market position, by Porter’s Five forces: Force Strength 1. Competitive Rivalry: b. BA caters for other flights, c. There are very small diffrentiation between BA and other competitors in terms of pricing, d. Short Haul market is more fragmented by small players. 2. Power of Supplier: a. Only two suppliers for aircrafts, b. BA restricted by sole supplier of fuel to the airport. 3. Power of Buyer: a. For long haul, customers has no choice most of the time, b. Availability of flight and seats are not enough c. Price normally changes according to demand. 4. Threats to new Entrants: a. Competitive Environment, b. High regulatory requirements, c. High cost requirements. 5. Threats to substitutes: a. Very few direct closed substitutes, b. Short Haul flight: Euro Star or Ferry, c. Long Haul flights: No notable substitutes. High High Medium High Low Current Market poistion of BA In startegic manageemtn various tools are used to analyse the current market position of any organisation. These tools are proven technical analysis tools in management sector. The analysis tools that mostly used for the market position analysis are: BCG Matrix, GAP Analysis, Life Cycle Analysis, Market Share Analysis etc. In order to undertake the BA’s current market share analysis as asked in the course work, author here used two tools. These are below, BCG matrix Figure 1: BCG Matrix (Source: Emerald Insight 2012) British Airways had a great market share and low growth in last few years. It is evident that, they did not make any big investment either in their fleet or increasing the destination, which could make them cash cow. In recent, they changed their staretgies and concentrating on increasing fleet as well as expanding the geographical market. BA’s another big strategic decesion was merger with Liberia which finally done on the end of 2010. This merger will help to increase BA’s revenue as a one of the top in the avaiation inductry. By doing so, BA will not only generate the large amounts of money they will also consume large amount of money per year. Therefore the cash in every direction approximately nets out. This kind of activities proves that British Airways is becoming a Star but in slow process. Product/Service life cycle Introduction Stage By the 1920’s Britain had a lot of airline companies but due to strong competition many private British air carriers were forced out of business. In 1923 all these companies merged to form a single british international air carrier called the Imperial Air transport. Meanwhile, the british airways, had begun to impose a big threat and competition to imperial air transport which resulted in the formation of the British Overseas Airways Cooperation was formed (BOAC) that later combined with the BEA and 2 smaller companies formed the British Airways (BA) Growth Stage The growth can be easily marked by the introduction of the concorde into the BA. In 1985 British Airways was made a public limited company. In February 1987 the privatization was finally consummated when 720.2 million shares of British Airways stock were sold to the public for one billion pounds. Expansion of fleet and routes were even more noticeable after mergers with other carriers like Bcal (British Caledonian). Due to the expansion of BA, another carrier Laker Airways were also forced out of business. This marked how dominant BA was turning out to be in the air carrier sector. Maturity Stage The BA mergers assured the dominance of the carrier in the home market secure for the time being. During this stage alliances and mergers made/attempted by BA with other carriers in different markets were numerous: Aliiance with Aeroflot in Russia to create Air Russia. Attempted merger with KLM royal dutch airways. Broke down due to valuation of the two firms. Purchased 25% of Qantas airlines in Australia. Gained 49.9% of the French, TAT European Airlines. Started a german carrier called Deutsche BA with 49% ownership. Evaluate the competitive strength and weakness According to Jhonson (2008), a value chain analysis is undertaken when a authentic approach to develop competitive advantage has made. In here, in order to analyse the British Airways competitive advantages, value chain analysis has done. Figure 2: Value Chain Analysis (Source: Emerald Insight 2008) Value Chain Analysis: Primary activities within value-chain analysis are the ones that directly affect the business within short period of time and their affect is easy to monitor. They are inbound logistics, operations, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and post-sales services. Inbound logistics. Goods received from company suppliers are referred to as inbound logistics. Competitive advantage is achieved in inbound logistics stage of the business by BA through establishing on-going relationships with suppliers, sophisticated system for stock control and professional training that has been accredited by UK City and Guilds (BA Press Office, 2008) Operations. Generally, operations stage of the business involves preparing goods and services to be sold to customers. BA has a range of competitive advantages in operations part of the business through offering its customers increased security for their luggage, offering quick check-in services and also offering some services such as ticket bookings and booking of other services online. Marketing and sales are considered to be one of the main grounds for gaining competitive advantage and usually is utilised by many companies fully. Competitive edge gained in marketing and sales by BA involve  marketing activities not only to customers, but also to all stakeholders of the company. Also, BA senior management large amount of budget for marketing and sales initiatives for the company. Task 3 Strategic options for British Airways In order to develop strategic options for an organization using modeling tools, author here used Ansoff matrix. Here is the discussion with this tool. The Ansoff implies business growth either by marketing new or existing products in existing or new markets (Shaw 2011, 83). Market Penetration Although BA already has presence in the existing market it is facing stiff competition. For example, in the short haul market, rapidly saturating with budget airlines, BA lost  £1 billion in revenues by end of 2009/2010 financial year. The major options currently are 1) Improving on people processes including bag handling 2) Further investment on information technology especially on internet bookings (British Airways 2010, 58) Market development Market development strategy focuses on non-buying clients in already currently targeted segments and focuses on new customers in new segments (Angwin, Cummings , Smith 2011, 73). BA is trying to regain some business class customers from Virgin airlines and other competitors. Product development Product development entails the process used to bring new products into the market. For example, BA introduced a new in-flight entertainment system in the Boeing 777-300 ERs in 2010 and the First Cabin, a sophisticated ne cabin that offers customers the chance to work, recreate, eat and sleep (British Airways 2010, 67). Diversification Diversification is a business strategy that attempts to increase profitability by introducing new products in new markets. Formation of alliances is a relatively new trend in new markets, for instance; by collaborating with India’s Kingfisher airlines, BA will increase destination connections and improve flight schedules (British Airways 2010, 76). Selection of the most viable strategic options The best way of doing this is by eliminating the least viable options to remain with the most viable options.   Renovation of brand image: British Airways already possesses the advantage of having a globally recognised brand name (Buckingham 2011, 13). Introduction of complimentary services: essentially requires the diversion of capital funds to implement. Currently, it does not significantly enhance Product development (Ansoff) (Punzel 2011, 32). Diversifying into other transport markets- Diversification is currently not a priority relative to other more beneficial strategies (Punzel 2011, 32). Supply chain migration: As part of diversification (Ansoff), this is also not a viable strategy at this time (Belobaba, Odoni, Barnhart 2009, 67). Options for future organisational strategy Through market segmentation , companies divide large heterogeneous markets into smaller segments that can be reached more efficiently with products and services that match their unique needs.(kotler, 2009) British Airways has divided it market segmentation into different variables. There are number of variables involved in consumer market segmentation, alone and in combination. These variables are: †¢Geographic variables †¢Demographic variables †¢Psychographic variables †¢Behavioral variables Occupation- British Airways give extra benefit for High Class .Some of the benefits like Club Card. Income- People who are into business class can travel in British airways as airfare are very high. Nationality – In british airway all different kind of nationality travel.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Christmas at the White House In the 19th Century

Christmas at the White House In the 19th Century Christmas celebrations at the White House have fascinated the public for decades. And especially since the 1960s, when Jacqueline Kennedy had the presidents house decorated based on the theme of The Nutcracker, First Ladies have supervised elaborate transformations for the holiday season. In the 1800s things were quite different. That isnt entirely surprising. In the early decades of the 19th century Americans viewed Christmas as a religious holiday to be celebrated in a modest manner with family members. And the high point of the holiday social season at the White House would have taken place on New Years Day. Tradition throughout the 1800s was that the president hosted an open house on the first day of each year. He would patiently stand for hours, and people who had waited on a long line stretching out to Pennsylvania Avenue would file in to shake the presidents hand and wish him Happy New Year.   Despite the apparent lack of Christmas celebrations at the White House in the early 1800s, a number of  legends of White House Christmases circulated a century later. After Christmas had become a widely celebrated and very public holiday, newspapers in the early 1900s routinely published articles presenting some highly questionable history. In these creative versions, Christmas traditions which hadnt been observed until decades later were sometimes ascribed to early presidents. For instance, an article in the Evening Star, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, published on December 16, 1906, related how Thomas Jeffersons daughter Martha decorated the White House with Christmas trees. That seems unlikely. There are reports of Christmas trees appearing in America in the late 1700s in specific regions. But the custom of Christmas trees did not become common in America until decades later. The same article also claimed that the family of Ulysses S. Grant family celebrated with elaborate Christmas trees in the late 1860s and early 1870s. Yet the White House Historical Society claims the first White House Christmas tree appeared fairly late in the century, in 1889. Its easy to see that many stories of early Christmases in the White House are either greatly exaggerated or simply untrue. In part, thats because an essentially private holiday celebrated with family members would naturally have gone unreported. And the absence of reliable information led to the creation of comfortable yet  fake history. An apparent need to exaggerate the history of Christmas in the White House may have been motivated in part by something often overlooked today. For much of its early history, the White House was a residence seemingly cursed with a number of tragedies. A number of presidents were in mourning throughout part of their time in office, including Abraham Lincoln, whose son Willie died in the White House in 1862. Andrew Jacksons wife Rachel died just days before Christmas in 1828, a month after he was elected president. Jackson traveled to Washington and took up residence in the Presidents House, as it was known at the time, as a grieving  widower. Two 19th century presidents died in office before celebrating a Christmas (William Henry Harrison and James Garfield), while one died after celebrating only one Christmas (Zachary Taylor). Two wives of 19th century presidents died while their husbands were in office.Letitia Tyler, the wife of John Tyler, suffered a stroke and later died in the White House on September 10, 1842. And Caroline Scott Harrison, wife of Benjamin Harrison, died of tuberculosis in the White House on October 25, 1892. It could seem that the story of Christmas in the first century of the White House is simply too depressing to think about. Yet, one of those who would be touched by tragedy in the White House was, a few years previously, the unlikely hero who emerged late in the 1800s to make Christmas a major celebration in the big mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue. People today tend to only remember Benjamin Harrison because he holds a unique place in presidential trivia. His single term in office came between the two non-consecutive terms of Grover Cleveland. Harrison holds another distinction. He was the president credited with having the first White House Christmas tree, installed during his first Christmas in the White House, in 1889. He was not just enthusiastic about Christmas. Harrison seemed eager to let the public know he was celebrating it in grand style. Benjamin Harrisons Lavish Christmas Benjamin Harrison was not known for celebrations. He was generally considered to have a fairly bland personality. He was quiet and scholarly, and after serving as president he wrote a textbook on government. Voters knew that he taught Sunday school. His reputation was not for frivolity, so it seems odd that he would be known for having the first White House Christmas tree. He took office in March 1889, at a time when most Americans had adapted to the idea of Christmas as a celebratory holiday symbolized by Santa Claus and Christmas trees. So its possible that Harrisons Christmas cheer was simply a matter of timing. It is also conceivable that Harrison took a great interest in Christmas because of his own family history. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was elected president when Benjamin was seven years old. And, the elder Harrison served the shortest term of any president. A cold he caught, probably while delivering his inaugural address, turned into pneumonia. William Henry Harrison died in the White House on April 4, 1841, only a month after taking office. His grandson never got to enjoy a Christmas in the White House as a child. Perhaps thats why Harrison made an effort to have elaborate Christmas celebrations in the White House focused on the amusement of his own grandchildren. Harrisons grandfather, though born on a Virginia plantation, had campaigned in 1840 by aligning himself with common folk with the Log Cabin and Hard Cider campaign. His grandson, taking office at the height of the Gilded Age, had no embarrassment about showcasing an affluent lifestyle in the White House . The newspaper accounts of the Harrison family Christmas in 1889 are packed full of details which must have been willingly passed along for public consumption. A story on the front page of the New York Times on Christmas Day 1889 began by noting that many presents intended for the presidents grandchildren had been stowed away in a White House bedroom. The article also mentioned the wonderful Christmas tree, which is to dazzle the eyes of the White House babies... The tree was described as a foxtail hemock, 8 or 9 feet tall, liberally decked with glittering glass balls and pendants, while from the topmost branch to the edge of the square table on which the tree stands it is showered over with countless strands of gold tinsel. To add to the brilliant effect, the end of every branch is capped with four-sided lanterns of various colors and finished with a long point of shining glass filled with quicksilver. The New York Times article also described a lavish array of toys President Harrison would be giving to his grandson on Christmas morning: Among the many things which the President has purchased for his favorite grandchild is a mechanical toy an engine which, on being wound up, puffs and snorts at a terrific rate as it speeds over the floor, carrying behind a train of cars. There there is a sled, a drum, guns, horns without number, tiny blackboards on miniature easels, with crayons of every hue and color for the baby fingers, a hook-and-ladder apparatus which would send a thrill of delight to the heart of any little boy in creation, and a long slim box containing parlor croquet. The article also noted that the presidents young granddaughter would be receiving a number of gifts, including jumping jacks with cap and bells, a tiny piano, rocking chairs, all manner of furry coated animals, and bits of jewelry, and last, but by no means least, at the base of the tree is to stand a real Santa Claus, three feet high, laden with toys, dolls, and stockings filled with bonbons. The article concluded with a florid description of how the tree would be lit late on Christmas Day:   In the evening, between 4 and 5 oclock, the tree is to be lighted, that the children may view it in its full glory, when they will be joined by several little friends, who will add their quota to the joyous clatter and din incident to Christmas. The first White House Christmas tree to be decorated with electric lights appeared in December 1894, during the second term of Grover Cleveland. According to the White House Historical Association, the tree lit with electric bulbs was placed in the second floor library and was enjoyed by Clevelands two young daughters. A small front-page item in the New York Times on Christmas Eve 1894 seemed to refer to that tree when it stated, A gorgeous Christmas tree will be lighted at twilight with vari-colored electric lamps. The way Christmas was celebrated in the White House at the end of the 19th century was vastly different than when the century began. First White House Christmas The first president to live in the Presidents House was John Adams. He arrived to take up residence on November 1, 1800, in the final year of his single term as president. The building was still unfinished, and when his wife, Abigail Adams, arrived weeks later, she found herself living in a mansion that was partly a construction site. The first residents of the White House were almost immediately plunged into mourning. On November 30, 1800, their son Charles Adams, who had suffered from alcoholism for years, died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 30. Bad news continued for John Adams as he learned in early December that his attempt to gain a second term as president had been thwarted. On Christmas Eve 1800 a Washington, D.C., newspaper, the National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser, published a front-page article showing that two candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, would surely place ahead of Adams. The election of 1800 was eventually decided by balloting in the House of Representatives when Jefferson and Burr became locked in a tie in the electoral college. Despite this cascade of bad news, it is believed that John and Abigail Adams held a small Christmas celebration for a four-year-old granddaughter. And other children of official Washington may have been invited. A week later, Adams began the tradition of holding an open house on New Years Day. That practice continued well into the 20th century.