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Pablo Picasso Pablo Picassso was probably the most famous artist of the twentieth century. During his artistic career he created a large body of work that consisted of sculptures, prints and ceramics, while experimenting with several different materials. Today Picasso is known as one the forefathers of the artistic movement known as Cubism. Pablo Picasso was born on October twenty-fifth 1881, in Malaga, Spain, to Jose Ruiz and Maria Picasso. Rather than adopt the common name of his father, Picasso took the more unique last name of his mother as his own. "An artistic prodigy, Picasso at the age of fourteen, completed the one month qualifying examination of the Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona in one day." as stated by ( ). From there he went to the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid, returning to Barcelona in 1900. goes on to state that," Picasso attended one of the cities most famous cabarets of intellectuals and artist, El Quatre Gats." ( ). During the year of 1901 until 1904, Picasso went through what is now regarded as his "Blue Period". Picasso Became fascinated with unique characters as his subject manner. He began to paint images that were full of anger and sorrow. Some believe that Picasso was experiencing an early mid-life crisis because of the content of his work. All that changed in 1905, when Picasso began to paint in a more colorful manner. He became intrigued by the lifestyle of traveling circus acts. He started to paint in mid...

Free College Admissions Essays: Leader and Leadership :: College Admissions Essays

College Admissions: How would you Describe a Leader and Leadership    A significant part of effective leadership is the close connection between the leader and the follower, which often determines the success of the leader's mission. Unfortunately, this leader-follower relationship cannot be created according to some simple formula. Young leaders of today face special challenges as they try to communicate and interact with their followers and potential followers. By exploring global perspectives, human diversity, and ethics, young leaders can take yet another step forward in their development and preparation for twenty-first century leadership. Globalization has many implications for leadership today and in the future. Global perspectives are being spread to the farthest points in the world and to the most isolated people. People of different cultures come to the United States daily to live, travel, or engage in business. Leaders must respond to this challenge of globalization so they can effectively reach out to as many people as possible. Opening themselves to the world's changes allows leaders to compare and contrast their culture with the arts, language, beliefs, customs, philosophies, and ways of living of other people. By observing and questioning another culture, leaders can understand the origin of an individual's viewpoints and become more sensitive to the cultural needs of that individual. By continually exposing themselves to other cultures, young leaders can thoroughly develop this global perspective and devote themselves to making connections with the entire world.    On a more individual level, openness to human diversity plays a role in adjusting to the changes of the future. People are discovering that even within cultures, individuals come from diverse backgrounds, have different personalities, and prefer different ways of life. Young leaders can build a stronger relationship with their followers as they enhance their own appreciation for human diversity. As people become more diverse, leaders must learn how to communicate with them as individuals if a vision is to be shared, a cohesive group to be formed, and a goal to be achieved. Despite differences in opinions, the leader and followers can work together to complement each other as they move toward the mission of the group. By exposing themselves to all kinds of situation and communicating with many types of people, young leaders can develop an appreciation of human diversity. Conflicts caused by differences among individuals' personalities and cultures have created many ethical issues, and the number will only increase in this global society.

The Poverty-stricken Youth of America

America has been described as a â€Å"melting pot†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a land full of diversity. With that diversity comes a full range of income levels and statuses of its inhabitants, from the very, very rich to the destitute. Ronald Taylor†s article entitled â€Å"African-American Youth: Their Social and Economic Status in the United States† focuses on the issue of polarization. Polarization occurs when an increase of the percentage of people in poverty coincides with an increase of the percentage of people with higher incomes. Fewer people are considered ‘middle class†, but are either rich or poor. This paper will focus on the poverty-stricken youth of America. How are today†s poor white and poor non-white youth alike? How do they differ? Sociologists and researchers have found evidence to justify both, and I hope to focus on major points for both issues. Whether you†re white, African-American, or Hispanic, poverty for today†s youth has many recurring themes. A recent article by Duncan and Brooks for The Education Digest points out some very discerning facts that face today†s poor youth. â€Å"Low Income is linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence.† (Duncan& Brooks, pg. 1). They also claim that low-income preschoolers show poorer cognitive and verbal skills because they are exposed to fewer toys, books, and other brain-stimulating items at home than their higher-income classmates. Low-income adolescents, in later years, will experience conflict between their economically stressed parents, as well as lower self-esteem than other teenaged children. An article from the Ojibwe News, a Native American Magazine, gives a startling statistic discovered by research analysts for the Minnesota Private College Research Foundation. They found that a child from a family earning $25,000 or less annually is only one-half as likely to enroll in college as a child from a family with an annual income of $50,000 or more. Both white and non-white youth in poverty experience a higher rate of teenage pregnancy, AIDS, and tend to live in single-parent homes. There are several differences that exist between white and non-white youth that live in poverty. Recent research for low-income youth has shown that the most important factor that contributes to the gap between employment rates of minority and white youth can be attributed to their social network. Three reasons were cited in lecture as to what lead to the declination of life chances among African-American youth in poverty. They are as follows: 1. â€Å"Affirmative Action† primarily helped better-educated, especially professional workers. 2. Relocation of industry to suburbs or abroad reduces â€Å"living wage† jobs for non-college educated. Lack of network contacts, plus continuing discrimination, puts minorities last in line. 3. Concentration of poverty in center cities. Higher income black families go to the suburbs for jobs. Therefore, loss of network contacts, community organizations, and the like. These reasons attribute to the starling fact that Black poverty rates and unemployment rates remain at approximately 3 times the white rate. Israel and Seeborg in their article entitled â€Å"The Impact of Youth Characteristics and Experiences on Transitions out of Poverty† state that â€Å"†¦being black increases the probability of exposure to adverse social and economic conditions (i.e. underclass environment)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which, in turn, reduces the chance that new generations can get out of poverty. This leads us to another point-if African-Americans experience the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, which perpetuates continuing generational poverty, will there ever be a time when African-American adolescents get out of poverty? It is not only African-Americans that feel a more pronounced state of poverty. The Ojibwe News, a native American newspaper, focuses on the plights of Native American youth in Minnesota, as well as statistical evidence of other minority students. â€Å"Divided We Fall: The Declining Chance for College Among Minnesota Youth From Low-Income Families and Communities of Color† is based upon information from the Census Bureau, the Minnesota Department of Education and other sources, and examined high school dropout and college participation rates and how they are affected by such socioeconomic factors as race, family income, and parental education (Laird, pg. 2). The Ojibwe News showed a strong correlation between education and earnings. Considering that the present funding system for public schools usually provides from two to five times as much money for wealthy school districts as for the poorest, and that whites are twice as likely to have good access to computers, it is no surprise that this correlation exists. According to projections by the Minnesota Department of Education, 62% of all black students and 56% of all Native American students who entered public high school in the fall of 1991 will drop out by 1995. Nearly 50% of Hispanic students and 21% of Asian students were projected to drop out as well. The rate for white students? Only 16%. The article also explains how those 18 to 24 year-old dependents with at least one parent who had completed four years of college were twice as likely to enroll in college than those peers who parents had no post-secondary education (Laird, pg. 1). In summary, there exist many similarities and differences between white youth and non-white youth in American cities. A recurring solution emphasized by researches and in lecture is the idea of socialization. By integrating poor minority and poor white students with their wealthier peers, as done in the Gautreaux program, the continuation of poverty can be decreased.

Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world Essay

Concrete a composite man-made material is the most widely used material in the construction industry. It consists of a rotationally chosen mixture of binding material such as lime or cement, well-graded fine and coarse aggregate, water and admixture. In a concrete mix, cement and water form a paste or matrix which fills the voids of the fine aggregate and binds them (fine and coarse) together. The mixture then placed in forms and allowed to cure and becomes hard like stone. The hardening of concrete is caused by chemical reaction between water and cement and it continues for a long time, and consequently, the concrete grows stronger with age. The strength, durability and other characteristics of concrete depend upon the properties of its ingredients, the proportion of the mix, the method of compaction and other controls during placing and curing. Basically, concrete can be classified into two stages namely which is fresh concrete and hardened concrete. There are a few types of concrete likes polymer concrete, glass concrete, asphalt concrete and geopolymer concrete. Geopolymers are formed by alkali-activating a variety of materials including fly ash, blast furnace slag, thermally activated clays etc. to produce a cement-like material. The three most common raw binders used in polymerization are slag, calcined clays (metakaolin) and coal fly ash. The binder materials should contain high levels of aluminum (Al) and silicon (Si) in amorphous form. The raw materials play a significant role in the geopolymer reaction and affect the mechanical properties and microstructure of the final polymeric products. Generally, materials containing mostly amorphous silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3) are the source for geopolymer production. Naturally available materials like kaolin , natural puzzolana and Malaysian marine clay , treated minerals like metakaolin and waste materials like fly ash ,Construction waste , red clay brick waste , fly ash and rice husk-bark ash, fly ash and blast furnace slag etc can be used. Many different materials have already been investigated and used as the binder in geopolymer concrete mixes, including: Low calcium fly ash ( Class F fly-ash) High calcium fly ash (Class C fly-ash) Calcined kaolin or metakaolin Natural minerals containing Al and Si Silica Fume Slag Red mud Albite Geopolymer binders may be made from a variety of alumino-silicate sources. The engineering aspects of geopolymer concrete as later described in this document relate to geopolymeric materials based primarily on low calcium (or Class F) ï ¬â€šy ashes. Geopolymers incorporating significant quantities of calcium-rich materials such as slag, for instance, may have different properties to those based on low calcium ï ¬â€šy ash alone. While commercial availability of geopolymer concrete is a new phenomenon, not just in Australia but globally, geopolymer technology and its application in real projects is not new. Development of the technology has been undertaken in Europe for the entirety of the post-World War 2 era, predominantly in Ukraine during and following the Soviet rule, but significantly in France, Spain, Germany and other countries. This era of research and development resulted in the construction of numerous structures including civil waterworks, railway sleepers, pipes, pavement, roads, fire resistance coatings, conventional precast products and even a twenty-story apartment building in Lipetsk, Russia. Some of these structures are now over sixty years old and their durability has been proven in both the laboratory and most importantly, in the field. Despite this level of large-scale development, the commercial impetus to develop the technology into a business did not arise until the highly substantial carbon emissions from conventional OPC manufacture have become of concern. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1BACKGROUND OF STUDY The study of the strength of geopolymer concrete by using oven curing was done by P. K. Jamade and U.R. Kawade. Geopolymer concrete is prepared by mixing the fly ash, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide in this study case and cured at a different temperature which is 60â„Æ', 90â„Æ' and 120â„Æ'. The observation has been showing that geopolymer concrete gained a larger compressive strength at higher temperature. The curing time also affects the polymerization process which influences the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete. The polymerization process can be improved by increasing the period of the curing to increase the strength of geopolymer concrete. Steenie Edward Wallah uses four different test specimen which has the different compressive strength to test the shrinkage of geopolymer concrete. The result was compared to the drying shrinkage value which was calculated by using Gilbert method. The result showed that the geopolymer concrete has a very low drying shrinkage. However, the value of drying shrinkage calculated by Gilbert method was 5 to 7 times higher than the value measured. Monita and Hamid R. Nikraz studied the strength characteristics, water permeability, and water absorption of low calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete. Geopolymer mix was tested with different water/binder ratio, aggregate/binder ratio, alkaline/fly ash ratio and aggregate grading. The results showed that reduce the water/binder ratio and aggregate/binder ratio can obtain a good quality of concrete; the water permeability does not affect by any factor; the water absorption increased by using well-graded aggregates, reducing water/binder ratio and increasing the content of fly ash. Arya Aravind and Matthew M Paul had focused the study on the compressive strength and tensile strength of geopolymer concrete with the reinforcing steel fiber. Experiments were carried out in Box-Behnken experimental design which is a type of response surface methodology. From the result of the Box-Behnken design, it can be concluded that the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete is increased with an increase of the curing period. When the percentage of steel fiber increased, the tensile strength of geopolymer also increased. The strength obtained under the curing process with normal sunlight was 16 N/mm2.

Owens & Minor’s Case Essay

What is the value-added by Owens and Minor? Is this value-addition visible? They own and manage the inventory for the manufacture.  They take on the financial risk associated with the function of managing the inventory flow to the hospitals. They care for product returns and carry the risk for that.  They carry the receivables (cash flow issues due to long payment terms of customers; actually a 90 days credit) They carry and manage most of the inventory for the hospitals, which are sometimes even running stockless. They track and verify customer prices for contracted product purchases and monitor agreements between end-users and manufacturers The distribution has changed in a way that hospitals required the distributors to carry more of the inventory and making more deliveries in lower units of measure, while keeping the same originally negotiated prices. This has put a stronger burden on the distributors. Owens & Minor creates a clear value-add for both manufacturers and suppliers. Manufactures usually only want to produce and sell the product before getting it out of the door Hence Owens and Minor takes the full responsibility for all stressful parts of selling a product. On the other hand customers don’t want to buy and own products before they are ready to use it. Thus Owens and Minor also enables them to achieving more efficient structures, while reducing additional costs related to managing efficiently. 2. Evaluate the impact cost-plus pricing has on distributors, customers, and suppliers. Suppliers: Suppliers have no motivation to try to reduce costs and increase efficiencies since profits remain the same. Market demand is not taken into consideration. If a supplier has a markup, which takes the reseller’s price point beyond current market prices, the reseller’s demand will decrease dramatically. Distributors: Services related to inventory management are not included properly, since the percentage they gain is the same for all products. Whether they are cheap and efficiently to handle or rather problematic. Hence costs will skyrocket if customers will ask for additional services (while keeping the same price). They have the drawback of customers engaging in cherry-picking  and only enabling the distributors to manage low-margin, inexpensive products. Customers: Cost-plus pricing lead to a complicated pricing structures, since distributors and customers negotiated separate product prices from manufacturers, introduced incentives, let prices vary from customer to customer, covered some products by contract and some don’t etc. Hence purchasing managers were nearly unable to properly track actual product costs and compare quotes from competing manufacturers and distributors. 3. What effect will ABP have on customer behavior? Provide an example to illustrate. ABP connects O&M‘s fee to the level of the service they provide: Customer is motivated to keep its activities down to a minimum level and only order services that he really needs ­ ABP helps customers to optimize their service-level and hence their costs. Customers who want to extend their service-level can get this because there is a way for O&M to price a higher service-level  ­ They came up with a relatively simple matrix based on two major cost drivers—number of purchase orders per month and number of lines per purchase order. The number of orders was tied to our fixed administrative fees and the number of lines was tied to our variable costs—the number of times a worker had to go to a product rack, etc. It was a very primitive way to identify our fixed and variable costs, but it was effective in showing the customer that they could lower costs. They wanted to show the customer that instead of being locked-in to a traditional cost-plus contract, they could actually affect their service delivery fee depending on the type and amount of service requested, and the frequency and size of each request. In order for the customer to look at ABP as an honest way to do business, we had to share our numbers with them; otherwise they would have viewed it as just another pricing scheme. 4. What are the obstacles to successful implementation of ABP at Ideal? How would you address these obstacles?  ­ Internal systems at hospitals (e.g. budgeting, compensation) were tied to  cost-plus percentages.  ­Product prices with cost-plus percentages were used to determine transfer pricing between hospital departments  ­Technological barriers: Customer has to change to an EDI system (electronical data input) Hospital would have to change its systems and procedures for material handling ­ For a hospital to benefit it would have to be willing to change and shed personnel, equipment and warehousing space.  ­Culture of hospitals (e.g. surgeons have different preferences for many operating room supplies) O&M should address these obstacles with the following:  ­Offering to convert the activity fee to a cost-plus equivalent  ­O&M‘s logistical services should work closely with customers moving to ABP to help them realign processes and institute cost savings.

Drug Smuggling in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Drug Smuggling in Australia - Essay Example These only make obvious the fact that most, if not all, of the country's drugs and narcotics supply come from outside its national borders. Because the drug problem has not yet been solved, the glaring truth is that the country's points of entry and exit remain vulnerable to drug smuggling. This paper aims to explain further the gravity of the problem in the current times as well as its potential consequences should it not be solved soon. Its significance dwell on the fact if an in-depth study of the problem is made, ideas may be drawn out to solve this. Ultimately, it may result into the necessary formulation of new policies against drug smuggling or the improvement of those already in existence. Just like many highly developed countries in the world, Australia has a problem with the proliferation of illegal drugs. Since it does not have its own source for these contraband, most of these drugs came from other countries and smuggled in through different means and transit points. This condition, fortunately, has made the country achieve a lesser incidence of drug use among its citizens compared to the US and the countries of Europe. However, this is not an excuse for complacency. In a survey done in 2004, 38 percent of the population aged 14 years and above were found to have used illegal drugs at least once. Of this number, 15 percent admitted that they used it only very recently. (Crime Facts Info) In fact, the problem may have only exacerbated with rising incidence of other crimes such as physical assault, sexual assault, robberies, and kidnappings. In many instances, drug use has been found to be contributing factors in the commission of these crimes. A majority of the cri minals have admitted using drugs. Historically, drug abuse in the country worsened during the Vietnam War. US soldiers on leave stayed in the country and they happen to be the most susceptible buyers of the drugs. The 1960's was also the time when the Australian youth, influenced by the hippie movement in the US, began to experiment on illicit drugs. Members of the US armed forces stationed in Australia's key cities smuggled heroin often from war-torn areas in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Thai-Burmese border. (Hamilton) Heroin, a narcotic byproduct of opium, was abundant in these areas. It was also the top selling illegal drug in the Asian-Pacific during these times. Australia, being near to the drug sources, was a most likely victim. After a brief surge in the 70's and 80's, heroin smuggling to the country has greatly diminished in the 90's. By the 2000's, there was virtually no more high-grade heroin being sold on the streets. (Weatherburn et al) However, the drug problem never actually abated since other addictive substances came into the country. Drugs as methamphetamine, cocaine, and morphine filled the void left by the heroin of Southeast Asian origin. In a media release in early 2008 by the AFP, the authorities claimed to have arrested 33 people for smuggling drugs internally. Those arrested and charged were on flights coming from Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates. (AFP, 2008) In 2008, Afghan heroin was smuggled into the country and was seen being sold in Sydney. (Kidman) II. Internal Drug Smuggling and Transnational Organized

Governmental Market Intervention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Governmental Market Intervention - Research Paper Example The first of these which will be discussed is that of those individuals and economists that believe that any level of governmental market intervention is a net negative to the economic efficiency. This particular approach relies heavily upon the concept of deadweight loss and the loss of corresponding efficiency that is lost when the natural dynamics of supply and demand are changed according to governmental regulation/intervention. This deadweight loss represents an ultimately loss of efficiency which in turn reduces the total rewards that both the supplier and his/her component parts as well as the consumers will be able to experience within the given situation (Grawe, 2007). One of the most prominent economists that espoused such a point of view is of course Adam Smith; considered by many to be one of the most important figures in establishing a modern understanding of economics. The strength of this particular approach is the fact that it is verifiable on even the most basic of s upply and demand curves. Conversely, the greatest weakness that such an approach exhibits is the fact that it is wholly unable to account for the needs of economically at risk individuals and families that could be operating upon the very margin of society at any given time.Conversely, those that believe that government intervention can represent a net positive for the economy and society espouse the belief that the a certain degree the price ceilings and/or minimum wages that the government can regulate. The basic evidence that those who espouse such a point of view point to is the fact that it is able to regulate an otherwise cut throat environment and more appropriately bring it in line with the needs of a society that cannot be understood by simple representation of supply and demand curves (Popp et al, 2011). One of the most advocates of this particular school of thought is John Maynard Keynes; the founder of the Keynesian school of economics which has dominated the nation†™s understanding of economic concepts for over the past half century. The disadvantage of such a system is the fact that the loss of efficiency to both parties is measurable to even the most basic of economists (Pinotti, 2011). Conversely, one of the most powerful benefits of such an approach is the fact that it is one of the only economic interpretations that seeks to provide a level of social understanding to the hard and â€Å"dismal science† of providing for unlimited wants with limited resources (Boettke, 2012). Although there is probably no absolutely right or wrong approach as a function of the two which have thus far been elaborated upon,