Essay --

A volcano erupts, and lava spews everywhere, burning every living thing it touches. By the time the eruption is over, not a single blade of grass is still living in the area. Volcanoes and their magma have always been viewed as chaotic, uncontrollable objects. But what if humans could use them for their own advantage? Geothermal energy is energy from Earth’s heat. Geothermal energy has some advantages over other types of energy. One is that it is available over 90% of the time compared to coal plants only getting 75%. That means that while many power plants, like solar plants and wind turbines, and even coal plants can’t be producing energy anywhere near all of the time, geothermal energy plants can be working nearly all of the time. Recently, scientists drilling into the Krafla volcano in Ireland, led by Gumunder Omar Friedleifsson accidentally discovered that magma can be a useful way to get geothermal energy. This happened when the scientists found magma 7,000 feet into the earth. They soon realized that the water heating the drill they were using, and the extremely hot magma made a superheated steam tha could be chemically altered to power a turbine. After the discovery, scientists estimated that geothermal energy from magma could produce 25 MW of power, which is 5 times more t han current geothermal energy wells makeInterestingly enough, this more powerful energy would also be cheaper, because conventional geothermal energy needs expensive perforated piping down the entire hole, while geothermal energy from magma would only need it for about 100 meters. Also, unlike fossil fuels, another cheap energy source, geothermal energy is renewable, and it does not harm the environment a lot. This one accidental discovery the scient... ...many of the island country's economies, because they wouldn’t have to import a lot of fossil fuels for their energy. This would help the whole world in general, and could keep them from going any farther into debt. Geothermal energy from magma will be extremely useful, especially to countries with a lot of volcanoes that are in debt. Scientists have discovered that magma can be used to make geothermal energy. This would be very useful, as it is much more efficient than conventional geothermal energy, and it is better for the environment than fossil fuels, and it is renewable. There are, however, some bad parts about the energy. The plants could cause minor earthquakes, and could be destroyed by the volcano erupting. However, the advantages of geothermal energy from magma outweigh the risks, and it probably will become a very important energy type in the near future.

Jazz Concert Report

Before taking Jazz class I barely knew anything about this type music. Six different bands performed fifteen pieces. Most of the pieces are written by popular Jazz composers, such as â€Å"Cantaloupe Island† by Herbie Hancock or â€Å"Donna Lee† by Charlie Parker. Also, there was one band that performed pieces written by its members, which really impressed me. For example, â€Å"Preparation† was composed by Alex Reiff, who plays bass in the band called Krista White 3 PM Combo. In this report I would like to pay attention on two pieces that I enjoyed the most.The first piece is â€Å"A Phone Call with Janet† written by Jessie Crossen, trombonist in the band Krista White 3 PM Combo. One of the band’s members said that Janet happens to be Aaron Smith’s trumpeter’s mother. What was noticeable is that the composition starts with bass playing. The dynamics are very quiet in the beginning, as if somebody was starting a conversation on the pho ne really quietly. When trombonist starts improvising, the rhythm starts to get faster and dynamics get louder and louder. I associated faster rhythm and loud dynamics with a phone argument between two people.The pianist was improvising last. Here dynamics got softer and quieter, and rhythm gets slower, which makes it seem that the argument was resolved. In the conclusion, all instruments end the composition. The second piece I wanted to pay attention to is â€Å"Take the A Train† that was originally composed by Billy Strayhorn. At the Sac State Jazz Combos Concert it was performed by Oliver Graham Combo band. It so happened that 2 days before this concert I read about Billy Strayhorn in my Music class and it was very interesting to listen how these guys would perform it. The composition starts with all instruments playing.Then pianist improvised first. After pianist, alto took turn to improvise. One could notice a very interesting and a little bit unusual exchange between gu itarist and drummer. The form of â€Å"Take the A Train† composition is 32-bar. The rhythm gets faster toward the middle of the song and dynamics are moderate throughout the composition. Overall, the concert was really great opportunity to experience a new style of music. I never thought Jazz could be the type of music I could listen to. This concert was the first Jazz concert I went to and I am looking forward to attend more in a future. Jazz Concert Report Before taking Jazz class I barely knew anything about this type music. Six different bands performed fifteen pieces. Most of the pieces are written by popular Jazz composers, such as â€Å"Cantaloupe Island† by Herbie Hancock or â€Å"Donna Lee† by Charlie Parker. Also, there was one band that performed pieces written by its members, which really impressed me. For example, â€Å"Preparation† was composed by Alex Reiff, who plays bass in the band called Krista White 3 PM Combo. In this report I would like to pay attention on two pieces that I enjoyed the most.The first piece is â€Å"A Phone Call with Janet† written by Jessie Crossen, trombonist in the band Krista White 3 PM Combo. One of the band’s members said that Janet happens to be Aaron Smith’s trumpeter’s mother. What was noticeable is that the composition starts with bass playing. The dynamics are very quiet in the beginning, as if somebody was starting a conversation on the pho ne really quietly.When trombonist starts improvising, the rhythm starts to get faster and dynamics get louder and louder. I associated faster rhythm and loud dynamics with a phone argument between two people. The pianist was improvising last. Here dynamics got softer and quieter, and rhythm gets slower, which makes it seem that the argument was resolved. In the conclusion, all instruments end the composition.The second piece I wanted to pay attention to is â€Å"Take the A Train† that was originally composed by Billy Strayhorn. At the Sac State Jazz Combos Concert it was performed by Oliver Graham Combo band. It so happened that 2 days before this concert I read about Billy Strayhorn in my Music class and it was very interesting to listen how these guys would perform it. The composition starts with all instruments playing.Then pianist improvised first. After pianist, alto took turn to improvise. One could notice a very interesting and a little bit unusual exchange between gui tarist and drummer. The form of â€Å"Take the A Train† composition is 32-bar. The rhythm gets faster  toward the middle of the song and dynamics are moderate throughout the composition.Overall, the concert was really great opportunity to experience a new style of music. I never thought Jazz could be the type of music I could listen to. This concert was the first Jazz concert I went to and I am looking forward to attend more in a future.

New Jersey Revenue Reform

In his State of the State speech, Governor Corzine identified five broad areas of revenue reform in New Jersey, i.e., pensions and benefits, shared services, debt reduction, modernization of the tax structure, and sustainability.   The centerpiece of the direct property tax relief is the tax credits in the form of 20%, 15%, and 10%, depending on the amount of income per household.   Governor Corzine was explicit about this in his speech.He was equally explicit in stating that for the tax credit system to work, there must be a solid, concrete source of funding.   For this, he pointed out the sales tax revenues and the redirected homestead rebates will supply the first influx of financing.   As for the succeeding years, the balance is proposed to come from the following: 1) cost savings achieved through regular and independent auditing by a new, nonpolitical state comptroller; 2) consolidations and shared services; 3) collective bargaining on pension and health benefits; 4) ass et monetization designed to reduce the state's credit card payments and provide the capacity to make capital investments in the future of the state; and 5) 4% cap on the increase in the property tax levy, claimed to be the key for sustainability of the tax credit system.   Each of these is supposed to contribute to the sustainability of the reform program, with the cap and the credit working off each other to attain the goal.Reacting to the speech, Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce stated that â€Å"sadly, after five years of Democrat control, the state of our state has never been worse.   The toxic mix of high property taxes, public corruption, a mountain of debt, wasteful state spending and anti-economic growth policies are making New Jersey unaffordable for middle class families† (The Associated Press 2007).Superficially, Governor Corzine’s recommendations seem to be nothing more than political grandstanding, since all 120 legislative seats are slated for el ections this year.   Clunn (2006) points out that in 2005, State House representatives promised to enact real property tax reforms by year-end of 2006, with no results.   The recommendations of the State House were effectively countered by the Governor’s apparent desire to negotiate benefits reforms rather than make tax cuts, something that the State House representatives endeavored to get approved for five months.Corzine’s actions since his election have lead to the creation of a blogspot on the internet, called NJ Fiscal Folly, where citizens voice out their criticisms against the Governor.   Many individuals reacted negatively to the raising of sales taxes from 6% to 7%, the refusal of essential state spending reforms, and the addition of $270 Million to the Governor’s already significant pork (NJ Fiscal Folly 2006).For the bloggers, â€Å"any talk about setting aside a portion of the tax increase is simply blather, nothing more than lipstick on the pi g† (NJ Fiscal Folly 2006).   More so when paired with the proposed alternative budget for 2007, which involved barely any spending cuts, save for a lower contribution to the pension system, and the Governor’s threat to shut down state government unless the legislature approves his proposed budget (NJ Fiscal Folly 2006).   The sales tax increase was supposed to supply $1.2 Billion in revenues for the government.There are a few people, however, that are trying to look past the politics and are objectively assessing whether or not the proposals are actually feasible or if they will produce the desired results.   Senator Gormley, a Republican, thinks that the speech given by the Governor gave a â€Å"matter-of-fact outline of what needs to be done†, but it remains to be seen whether or not it will be done (Rispoli 2007), since talk of revenue reform has been just that, talk, for the past half a decade, with New Jersey’s property tax reliance at double th e nationwide rate.   Hester (2007) reports that legislators are hoping to have the new tax system of property tax credits in place before the bills go out this summer, which are checks mailed to homeowners as tax relief.Others reacted more constructively to the Governor’s empowered speech, such as William G. Dressel, Jr. Executive Director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.   Dressel (2006) applauded some of the proposed reforms while rejecting others, but stated that the recommendations will â€Å"generally help to limit future pension and benefits costs.†After a preliminary analysis of the proposed recommendations, Dressel (2006) pointed out that there are certain things lacking therein which the special session needs to provide for, such as the burdensome relationship between the real property tax payers and the members of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, and the enforcement of the moratorium on new benefits.   Dressel (2006) r ejected outright the proposal to ban dual elective office holding and the tying a portion of property tax relief funding to adherence with the Efficiency Commission.He also commented that with respect to the original recommendation by the governor on shared services, there seemed to be a deviation in the course being taken by the special session.   He pointed out that thus far, there were no recommendations on debt reduction and no specific provisions for sustainability, and that the proposals to modernize the tax system were deficient in supplying a funding source for the changes sought, specifically the tax credit system reducing residential property taxes by 20%.Hester (2007) reports that this 20% cut would require $2 Billion per annum and be funded by money previously allocated for property tax rebates and sales tax revenue, with the government relying on the previous year’s excess sales tax revenue to serve as initial funding, but with the need to find $400 Million mor e each year to fund the tax cut past the current year.Caslander (2007) opines that with the proposed changes, New Jersey would be better of changing its name from the Garden State to the â€Å"Tax Capital†.   Treating the proposals as being analogous to â€Å"finding free cheese in a mouse trap†, Caslander (2007) believes that the solutions will alleviate the problem only for a short term, but that the problem will remain, and in effect, the current proposed solutions will only end up compounding the problem, because the solution involves granting tax relief now but providing for its funding later.Rebovich (2006), after the first special session, commented that perhaps an ideal real property tax reform program would involve an extension of the sales tax, an increase in income tax rates, and savings from benefit reductions, as in effect, the burden would be shared or distributed among different people, and the effects on business and the economy would not be so harsh. Considering that the Governor’s state of the state speech cannot be expected to expound completely the mechanics of the proposed reform, that could perhaps account for the lack of details as to how the proposed changes will work.   At first glance, the proposals seem to conform to Rebovich’s picture of what would be an ideal real property tax reform program to alleviate the current situation in New Jersey.   Both public and private sectors are affected, and it seems that the burden is spread out.   However, there are still many things that need to be addressed.For example, how exactly will the tax credit system work?   How much will it take to develop the system and install it in place of the current system?   How will the new system be funded in order to be put in place?   These questions are as important as determining where the funding for the credits themselves will be taken.   Without concrete plans for the working and implementation of the credit sy stem, it will definitely not work, and the reforms desired will not be attained.Also, what will be the cost of implementing a new system of auditing?   And what guarantee is there that the new state comptroller will be, as he is described â€Å"nonpolitical†?   What about consolidation and shared services?   The Governor stated that this area needs some review, but there must be a specific set of rules or criteria to help determine which areas or branches should be consolidated, and which should remain independent, as well as which particular services should be shared.   As for reduction of pension and health benefits, is there potential liability on the part of the state for those who claim a vested right to the value of the benefits they receive, especially with respect to pension and retirement benefits of those who have been receiving them for years?   Spreading the burden of paying for the proposed reforms is a good idea, but is it just?   What if the state e nds up spending more because of litigation?   Then the expenses would merely be redirected elsewhere, but the burden would still be heavy for a lot of people.   The idea of banning dual elective office holding is a good idea, whatever curtailing effects it might seem to have on the right of suffrage of the electorate.Public office is a public trust, and from the person in office should be expected no less than the duty of utmost fidelity and loyalty to the people he represents.   The tendency in holding dual offices is that the efforts of the public officer will be divided, and the quality of his services might be diminished.   As for Dressel’s arguments against the Efficiency Commission, perhaps a set of rules to govern the proceedings and determinations made by the Commission, as well as a mode of appeal or review of its determinations, would be enough of a safeguard against the danger of subjectivity pointed out.Objectively, the recommendations given are feasible, but more work needs to be put in fine tuning the plans and executing them.   The cooperation of everyone is needed; instead of blindly criticizing, constructive comments and active participation can make the proposals for reform work.Reference List:Dressel Jr., William G. Legislators Haven’t Gone Far Enough For Taxpayers. 23 November 2006. 12 January 2006. ;http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006611230369;Hester J., Tom.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Corzine: Time is Now For Property Relief.† Courier Post Online.   9 January 2007. 12 January 2007. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/NEWS01;The Associated Press. Reaction to Corzine’s Speech. 9 January 2007. 12 January 2007. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770109023;Rispoli, Michael. â€Å"Corzine Reiterates Need For Pension, Health Care System Reforms.† Courier Post Online. 9 January 2007. 12 January 2007. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbc s.dll/article?AID=/20070109/NEWS01;Hester Jr., Tom. â€Å"Democrats See New Deadline for Tax Reform, Hope System Will be in Place Before Bills Go Out This Summer.† Daily Record. 11 January 2007. 12 january 2007. ;http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007601110373;Caslander, Thomas Paine. â€Å"New Jersey Should Change Its Nickname from the Garden State to the ‘Tax Capital’†.   10 January 2007. 12 January 2007.   ;http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701100329;Clunn, Nicholas. â€Å"Hopes For Tax Reform Crashed and Burned.† Courier Post Online. 27 December 2006. 12 January 2006. ;http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061227/NEWS01/612270446/-1/ARCHIVES;Blogger. NJ Fiscal Folly. 8 July 2006. 12 January 2007. ;http://njfiscalfolly.blogspot.com/;Rebovich, David P. Political Interests and Economic Reality Clash at Special Session. 2 August 2006. 12 January 2007. ;http://politics.nexcess. net/rebovich/2006/08/political_interests_and_econom.html;

Personal Narrative and First-Hand Observation Essay

Personal Narrative and First-Hand Observation in a Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the Ballot or the Bullet, and Dance with the Devil By davidleny Personal narrative and first-hand observation are key components if an author wishes to be effective in his writing. Through the use of personal narrative and first- hand observation, the author is able to gain sympathy from or relate to the audience. Although it can be argued the use of these two components does not result in effective writing, it is proven to be true in Frederick Douglass’ A Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X’s The Ballot or the Bullet, and Immortal Technique’s Dance with the Devil. In A Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Frederick uses his personal life experience to demonstrate the inhumane brutality and mistreatment against the African American slaves. Douglass is effective in his writing and attracts the attention of the audience. For example, earlier in the narrative Frederick mentions how loving and caring his grandmother was and how she took care of and nurtured every slave child. Later on in the narrative he mentions that when his old masters die, his grandmother was isolated and taken away from her children to live alone in the woods in a mud chimney hut. Text 1) The use of Douglass’ personal experience with his grandmother captivates his audience because the African American enslaved community, whom this narrative at the time was directed towards, also had a grandmother who nurtured them. Likewise in The Ballot or The Bullet by Malcolm X, Malcolm discusses that even though people have differences, we all face the same problem. Malcolm expresses that whether you are Muslim, Baptist, or Methodist, we all are going to suffer the decisions of the man that is in charge of us. (Text 2) The audience is able to connect to his experience because e involved people of all religions. Malcolm’s experience allows the audience to become aware of what is to come and that they will all suffer the consequences. Malcolm is effective in his writing because he includes the rights of every human. The audience concerning their well being of is captivated and becomes aware of the situation. Furthermore in Dance with the Devil by Immortal Techniques, the artist reveals the truth that not everyone is good, that everyone has evil in them. The artist’s engagement of all races and of the welfare of the people gains the attention f the audience and is effective. For example, the artist says that the person right next to you could be the devil and that the devil consumes the hearts of the selfish and the wicked. (Text 3, Lines 1,2, and 5. ) His use of the devil as evil supports his belief that not everything is good. First-hand observation and personal narrative is required to have effective writing in order to grasp the attention of the audience. This is evident in Frederick Douglass’ A Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X’s The Ballot or the Bullet, and Immortal Technique’s Dance with the Devil.

Marketing Strategy for Business ''Express Star'' Essay

Marketing Strategy for Business ''Express Star'' - Essay Example The company is looking for ways to use the brand value of MNA and gain trust held within the market it serves (Andereck, 2005). At present the company is setting up a new business arm completely different from the present business units. It has decided to open up a new recruiting agency by the name Star Employment Service. Other than that there are plans to build new revenue streams, which will either complement the existing media products or will lead to new business opportunities away from the traditional business model (Abratt et al. 2011). The present research paper endeavors to produce a rough sketch of the marketing strategy that Express & Star can follow. The current strategy of Express & Star and its applicability, benefits are discussed in the present business environment. Then a detailed external and internal analysis is produced to reflect the best strategic option available to Express & Star. The choice of the most suitable strategy is explained with justification, and th en followed up with subsequent implementation. It is finished off with the inclusion of the control systems to keep the changes within the desired level. Integration of the marketing problem-solving modes and marketing management support system There are more than 5 different types of marketing management models in the market. Some of the marketing management models have core statistical application and controlling techniques. There are vast differences in the marketing management models like in Marketing Information System, the main idea is to support the marketing management team with critical marketing information processed and filtered by applying statistical techniques. There is another type of model which is called the Marketing Decision Support System (Wierenga and Bruggen, 1997). The marketing decision support system helps to derive different strategic decisions using statistical concepts combined with strategic concepts and ideas. Again there is another different set of too l called the Marketing Management Support System. The marketing management support system helps to achieve a different set of benefits which are completely different than the other marketing management techniques discussed above. The different marketing management techniques have unique set of benefits and applications which distinguished them from each other. Although one thing that must be noted is that all the different kinds of marketing management techniques have more or less the same origin. The origin of the different marketing concepts lies in the marketing problem solving modes, which is short formed as the ORAC framework (Wierenga and Bruggen, 1997). The ORAC framework includes the optimizing option, reasoning option, analogizing option and the creating option. It is important that there is proper correlation between the ORAC framework and the marketing management support system. The following diagram gives an indication of the correlation between the marketing management support system and the ORAC framework Source: (Wierenga and Bruggen, 1997) The diagram indicates the relationship between the MPMS and the MMSS. Optimizing leads to development of the marketing model estimation, reasoning leads to MKIS, MDSS, MNN and MKBS. Analogizing leads to the development of MCBR and MNN. Creating leads to the d

Social Information Processing Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Information Processing Theory - Essay Example Media-Richness Theory agrees with Social Presence Theory because it classifies CMC as incapable of expressing rich verbal and non-verbal cues. Walther differs in opinion to these theories because he believes that, as long as sufficient social messages are exchanged and subsequent relational growth is attained, CMC can also produce close relationships. Walther proposes the Social Information Processing Theory which states that through CMC, people exchange interpersonal information, form impressions, and decide how to use these impressions to form or not form close interpersonal relationships. Social Information Processing Theory helps understand how I formed close relationships with people in my G+ communities, specifically Elena and Hermie. I have recently been active in G+ communities, especially those involved in health and fitness. Walther is right to say that even if CMC does not present exactly the same cues as face-to-face communication, online users compensate by using cues th at are available to them. Cues refer to a wide range of verbal and non-verbal impressions that are not always directly stated but rather personally observed. Impression formation, according to Social Information Processing Theory, refers to the formation of mental images about other people. When I interconnect with my G+ community members, my impression from them is formed through what they share with our community, whether they are words, or words with images, or any article, blog entry, images, and videos that say something about their ideas, beliefs, practices, and aspirations. From reading and seeing these expressions of themselves, I can form impressions of their personalities. For instance, Elena, one of my Health community members, is the same age as I am, but she studies in India. She is overweight and very much interested in losing weight through changing her lifestyle and mindset about beauty and health. I know her goals through my interactions with her through our communi ty and the health news and health changes she shares with us. Hermie is older, 55 years old, and she lives in the U.S., but, like Elena, she is into healthy and natural living. I like her because her posts are funny and inspiring. She shares inspirational messages and stories from other people and herself through our G+ communities. I understand the personalities of Hermie and Elena through the direct information we share with one another and form impressions about them through these online interactions. In turn, people who are in my G+ communities can also generate impressions about who I am through my own posts on the communities and on my own G+ account. For instance, when I share something about the benefits of virgin coconut oil and how it can be used for different health purposes, others who view my posts will understand that I am the kind of person who wants and prefers natural products over commercial ones. Elena, for instance, once wrote to me that she has been wanting to f ind something natural to help her lose weight and that since she saw my post on virgin coconut oil, she thinks that drinking two tablespoons of it every day has helped her break her weight plateau. From there, we continuously interact to get different kinds of information from one another. These kinds of information may be personal knowledge and experiences, or any form of sharing that we get from our communities. Social Information Processing

Homework 5 Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homework 5 - Speech or Presentation Example 2) Historically, the average amount of time to assemble an electronic component on a production line has been 14 minutes. The supervisor of this production line is interested in determining whether this is no longer true. Assume that assembly time is normally distributed with a known population standard deviation of 3.4 minutes. The supervisor times the assembly of 25 randomly chosen components, and finds that the average time to assemble is 12.6 minutes. Is there sufficient evidence to suggest that the population mean assembly time is not 14 minutes at the 1% level of significance? What is the p-value? 3) The manufacturer of a new chewing gum asserts that at least 80% of dentists prefer their type of gum. An independent consumer research firm decides to test their claim. The findings of a sample of 200 dentists indicate that 76% of respondents actually prefer the manufacturers gum. At the 5% level, is there sufficient evidence to suggest that the population proportion of dentists who prefer the manufacturers gum is less than 80%? What is the p-value? 4) A college professor is interested in determining the relationship between the number of hours a student sleeps prior to an exam and a students exam grade. The joint distribution is assumed bivariate normal. The professor draws a random sample of four students and records each students exam grade and hours of sleep preceding the exam. These data are found in the table below. The professor runs a simple regression, but has misplaced her regression output. Recognizing that Exam Grade is the dependent variable and Hours of Sleep is the sole independent variable, she asks you to perform the