Protecting the House of Under Armour Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Protecting the House of Under Armour - Article Example Kraft and Lee involve an evaluation of the company’s dealings in its bid to ensure success upon its product portfolio. Findings from the article indicate that the company engaged on production with a capital base amounting to $310,000 after Kevin Plank realized the need to enhance sports through manufacturing the ideal wears for each sports activity. The authors account on the initial capital base of the company as sourced from three bodies for example, $20,000 from private equity, $30,000 from borrowed finances, and $250,000 loan for small business enterprises. Eventually, the article establishes that the founders’ zeal propelled the success of the company to reach its goals in becoming a competent producer of sports equipment. Despite the variations of managing the Under Armour products to become a brand, the company’s successes remain interrelated to the strategic involvement and the indulged passion of Kevin Plank in his quest to facilitate sports. The articl e articulates that the company’s focus on the current culture, the target market share, and the involvement in brand placement are the constituent propellants to its success. The two authors successfully ascertain that the engaged programs guaranteed Under Armour to acquire its current market share and beneficial outcomes. CRITIQUE Protecting the house of under armour The article’s title, â€Å"Protecting the house of Under Armour† seeks to analyze the Under Armour brand management beginning from the initial foundation to the current state of the company. Kraft and Lee authored the article purporting to enable readers derive necessary knowledge concerning the development of products and protection of brands. The article establishes that Kevin Plank’s initial intention emanated from the urge and desire to manufacture athletes’ wears that suited their psychological and physical purposes. The article’s title entails protection of a house of und er armour. However, the article contains managerial and production activities of the Under Armour brand (Kraft and Lee, 2009, p, 113). This is a distractive course taken upon by the authors since the readers find it confusing since they have to understand the correlations of protecting and managing the brand. After the title of the article, the authors directly address the issue of the initial manufacturing processing and sourcing of capital under a subtopic named building the house. Normally, the reader would expect to read the abstract of the article in order to be certain of the context and relevance. The authors fail to acknowledge the salient need of the introduction as they engage on establishing various subtopics, which tend to be independent from each other (Kraft and Lee, 2009, p, 115). Arguably, the method of writing tends to be ill since the avoidance of introduction serves as a deception for the reader lacks an overview of the items contains in the article. The article a ccounts on Kevin’s resolutions to establish a longtime remedy to the problems that befell athletes during sports. Kraft and Lee establish the founder who is also the company’s head embarked on the production plan to help his teammates after realizing the psychological discomfort they all experienced from their sportswear. However, the article fails to account on the founder’

Self Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Self Evaluation - Essay Example I possess effective communication and listening skills, which are vital in any organization. I always listen carefully and make judgment after critical evaluation of the problem; thus likely to reduce conflicts that may arise in an origination. Besides communication and listening skills, I have learnt that effective teamwork, as well as controlling emotions is essential in the work environment. I am always read to work as a team and my future and I look forward to work in a dynamic organization that fully utilizes my potential and knowledge gained in classroom. Maxwell (34) argues that great leaders are the ones that embrace and work in a team; thus achieving success. Therefore, my aim is to deliver quality services and offer exemplary services; thus my biggest goal is to make clients happy since only if they are satisfied, then, I will also benefit from my work. My objective is to work in an organization that calls for total dedication, creativity, evaluation and effective decision; thus improving organizational performance

Material Culture in Education Essay

Material Culture in Education Essay This study explores the role of material culture in arts and design class at colleges in Singapore. Normally, students in a contemporary graphic design class face many difficulties particularly in interactive creation of arts and design. Basically, this study tends to identify and analyze the advantages of using material culture in a contemporary graphic design class. Furthermore, this paper also attempts to design an effective curriculum that will satisfy the needs of using material culture in a contemporary graphic design class. Concurrently, graphic design schools today face ever-increasing demands in their attempts to guarantee that students are well equipped to enter the workforce and navigate a complex world. Research indicates that material culture can help support learning concerning culture and past histories, and that it is especially useful in developing the higher-order skills of critical thinking, analysis, and scientific inquiry. But the mere presence of material culture in the classroom does not ensure their effective use when it comes in adding validity and substance to graphic design study. This study explores the various ways material culture can be used to improve how and what student learn in the classroom particularly in creative design and arts. Moreover, this paper pointed out the use of material culture as an effective learning tool in studying past history and culture is more likely to take place when embedded in a broader education reform movement that includes improvements in teacher training, curriculum, student assessment, and a schools capacity for change. In this study, the researcher investigated several variables that may influence the development and progress of students in different contemporary graphic design classes at colleges of Singapore. These included perceptions of problem difficulty, creative designing, value of art, and quality of work. The researcher believes that enabling the students to use material culture aided by the procedure in graphic design will result in effective learning and understanding in creative design and provides quality design and art. This research will analyze and investigate the role of material culture and personal perception of the students in Singapore. This shall include a discussion on the positive and negative variables related to material culture and contemporary graphic design, an analysis of performance of the students in school in relation to material culture was also conducted. Particularly, the research will focus on examining the role of material culture in contemporary graphic design provided by the school instructors/administrators. Basically, the results of the study will lead the researcher to the development and devise an effective curriculum in arts and design with respect to material culture in graphic design. Problem Statement This researcher finds the necessity for a study that specifically tackles the effects of material culture in contemporary graphic design at Colleges in Singapore. Specifically, this study intends to explore the significant impact of this material to the Colleges in Singapore that are related in contemporary graphic design. It will present the performance of the students by identifying weaknesses and inefficiencies and recommending solutions. Basically, the problem of this study is about conventional methodology in teaching which used a dry lecturer is really dull and takes a lot of time to finish a modular or syllabus of each topic depending on lecturer capabilities, skills, availability, mood and student indulgent of what their thought. That is not effective for students to get an effective way to learn, there is a need to get a new and effective approach since material culture may now touch the cultural and historical value of a certain art or design. The purpose of using material culture in a contemporary graphic design class is to develop a better learning than conventional method in colleges but through the early resistance, it emphasized their ability to appreciate art and learn it cultural and historical value perform the complex tasks needed in contemporary graphic design. Through material culture student can develop a bond and understanding of ones traditional cultures that motivate visual communication students to create strong cultural identity graphic design. Moreover, this study will try to answer the following queries: Can understanding of ones traditional cultures motivate visual communication students to create strong cultural identity graphic design? Can material culture add validity and substance to graphic design study? Purpose This study seeks to understand fully how students awareness of their traditional cultures might be the factor that motivate them to research and explore their cultures as a graphic design topic. Hypotheses This paper will work on the following hypothesis: Material culture in graphic design class in colleges plays significant effect to the students awareness of their traditional cultures. Material culture in graphic design class in colleges has significant effect to the memory retention of the students when it comes in studying traditional culture. Since it is exciting, challenging and fun to use, then it encourages students to study the material culture again and again. Material culture has significant effect to the learning improvement of the students since it attaches to ones traditional culture. Definition of Key Terms Graphic Design- Graphic Design is the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication (http://www.geemultimedia.com.au/glossary.asp). Material Culture- Material Culture is a term often used by archaeologists as a non-specific way to refer to the artifacts or other concrete things left by past cultures. An archaeologist thus can be described as a person who studies the material culture of a past society (www.encyclopedia.com). Art- Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings (www.encyclopedia.com). Education- Education encompasses the teaching of specific skills, and also something less tangible but more profound: the imparting of knowledge, good judgment and wisdom. One of the fundamental goals of education is to impart culture across the generations socialization. (www.encyclopedia.com) Knowledge- Knowledge includes, but is not limited to, those descriptions, hypotheses, concepts, theories, principles and procedures which to a reasonable degree of certainty are either true or useful. (www.encyclopedia.com) School-A school is a type of educational institution. The range of institutions covered by the term varies from country to country. (www.encyclopedia.com) Review of Literature World history has witnessed the birth, development, and achievements of the most talented people. These people have their distinct gifts and area of mastery literature, politics, arts, science, and so forth. Still, much of their success can be traced back to the kind of life and personality they had. Childhood experiences, support from people around them, environmental influences and personal motivations often determine how a gifted person makes use of his innate abilities to become an important figure in his chosen field of expertise. The world of arts is one of the most interesting topics of study. This field usually includes some of the most peculiar people who can express their personalities through unique paintings, sculptures, and drawings. Art education is culturally identified as a subject area that enables students to use their imagination and creativity to produce pieces of artwork from a wide variety of materials. This identification may also include the study of famous artists and their well-known artwork (Oliver, 2010). On the other hand, the cultural identity is constructed through various signs and symbols that the culture attribute to art education.   Symbols include art making materials (The Culture of Education in the Visual Arts, 1999). These materials that are attached to ones culture were known as â€Å"material culture†.   Material cultures are becoming known to the teachers in contemporary graphic design because of its motivational effect to their students in studying culture and art. In graphic design class, art symbol with respect to materials are crucial. An example of art education symbols are the variety of medias- both two and three dimensional that are used to illustrate subject matter. In addition to more practical symbols of art education are the humanitarian symbols which may include connecting with artists and their work, both contemporary and historical (The Culture of Education in the Visual Arts, 1999).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The art and crafts around communities, in stores and on posters will always be a symbol of a reflection of art education (The Culture of Education in the Visual Arts, 1999). Another facet of creating a cultural identity is to reflect on the cultural rituals that are often associated with art education. The most apparent rituals include the various processes that are employed to make art.   It is important to remember that such rituals/processes are influenced by the geographical location of the school district (Oliver, 2010). Another cultural ritual attributed to art education is the physical demonstration that the art teacher must provide for students in order to teach them specific techniques. This demonstration often includes safety precautions as rituals that the students will then strictly employ to create art without hurting themselves with the tools in the making (Oliver, 2010). Other ritual distinctive to art education is the practice of critiquing students art work, often done by the whole class in order to provide constructive feedback and criticism of the finished piece of art.  Ã‚   One final ritual that should be imperative to an art education program is class field trips to museums, galleries, and artists studios that connect the learning of art in the school to actually viewing art in the community (The Culture of Education in the Visual Arts, 1999). It is important to connect these cultural rituals and symbols of art education to not only show how they produce a cultural identity, but also form a sense of social solidarity among students, teachers, and communities (Oliver, 2010). The visual arts or the graphic designs are arts that we see. It has its own language-the language of feelings, emotions and ideas without words. We could discover the world outside and inside us through visual arts. The visual artist through unspoken can communicate with us when he creates visual work of arts like painting. Paintings and works of art in general are meant to move us, especially in ways that words often cant. Graphic designs inspired by material culture play a major role not only in academic purposes but also in health and medicare related aspect and in the community as well. It develops the intelligence and the overall personality of the students. Moreover, graphic designs inspired by material culture also provide meaningful self-expression of all students. It is used in therapy procedures for aiding child development. It assists in educating disabled children, especially those who are blind and have hearing problems. And finally, visual arts also help in building communities and mural projects. In studying graphic designs inspired by material culture, it shows that visual arts and cultural identity are related. The cultural identity is constructed through various signs and symbols that the culture attribute to art education.   Methodology This section of the research proposal discusses the methods to be used.   This illustrates the method of research that identifies its applicability. Likewise, the section illustrates how the research was to be implemented and how to come up with relevant findings. Moreover, this methodology part of the research underwent into several stages. In the research design, the researcher collected data from students and teachers in some Colleges in Singapore that are using material culture in their graphic design class. At the time of data collection, the researcher gathered and sum upped the data acquired from these resources. Study Setting In accordance to the goal of this study i.e. to investigate the role of material culture in contemporary graphic design, the researcher decided to conduct the investigation in 10 Colleges in Singapore. Basically, in these 10 chosen schools in Singapore, a random sample of 10 students each will be chosen. The students to be included should be familiar to graphic design and material culture. Research Design Generally speaking, there are two research positions, often call paradigms, which researchers can choose from. The first is the quantitative paradigm in which researcher attempts to understand causal relationship of existing phenomena or attempts to discern the validity of the theory in a particular social context (Creswell, 1994). And since one of the purposes of this study determine the role of material culture in contemporary graphic design, the quantitative research position is taken here because it is appropriate for the research purpose. Aside from this, the second approach, called the qualitative paradigm, is not chosen. Actually, as indicated in the paper of Daymon Holloway (2002), the qualitative design the researcher assumes this position and attempts to understand a particular social phenomenon by using the actors frame of reference. In addition, data are presented not in numerical form but in actual words which is in contrast to the aim of this research. There are few research strategies that often used for conducting research such as survey, case study, action research, Ethnography etc. According to Yin (2003), there are three conditions to be considered for choosing an appropriate research strategy i.e. : The type of research question The extent of control an investigator has over actual behavioural events. The degree of focus on contemporary as opposed to historical events From the paper of Saunders, et al. (2007), survey approach often uses questionnaires to collect a large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economical way. Therefore, the survey approach is usually able to apply a more representative sample among a massive population for the study, trying to achieve generalisibility of the results. The case study, however, according to Denscombe (1998), is an investigation that focuses on detailed, in-depth descriptions and analysis of one or a few organisations. This approach is normally use to explore the phenomenon by in-depth data gained in the research context. This implies that the research results gained by case study cannot be generalized to a larger population due to that the investigation range is limited. By considering this limitation of case study approach, the researcher opted to choose the survey method. Population and Sampling Plan The sample size consists of students, who are the logical key informant related closely to the issue under investigation, as well as the teachers numbering to 10 subjects.   There is no reason to believe that 10 teachers is not a large enough sample size because ultimately it is this individual who works directly with the issue and teachers has the most intimate knowledge of the subject. Basically, the survey respondents are asked regarding their perception towards material culture and graphic designing and students performance. In essence, Guilford Fruchter (1973) argued that in choosing sample sizes, the Slovins formula should be considered. Therefore, in selecting the sample size (100 students) in this paper was identified by Slovins formula. The Slovin (1960) formula is given as: Where: e= needed error margin (percent requirement for non-precision due to the use of the sample as an alternative of the population). N= size of population n = size of sample Data Collection Procedures Yin (2004) provides six different sources of data collection that is commonly used in case study methodology, which include documentation, archival records, interviews, direct observation, participant observation and physical artifacts. The data collection method uses survey and interview that is to take place with the students and teachers, as these are the closest people working with the subject under scrutiny here Material culture and should serve as the key informant. In addition, students are also surveyed to understand how they feel about the use of material culture in their graphic design class since the teacher may provide biased information, however accessing the students is subject to the permission of the teacher who acts as the gatekeeper. If surveying the students is possible the survey that students will fill out will be left on the teachers desk where they can fill it out and return it to a drop box in a closed envelope without a name or other identifying information. The questions for the employees are created after a thorough review of literature. For documentation that refers to secondary information about the material culture and graphic designing, such considerations have been taken to reduce concerns as they would otherwise pertain to bias or the reliability and validity of the findings. Relying on documentation are used even if the students do participate since it strengthens the findings further (Yin, 2003). Documentation specifically includes performance reports and records, or books and journal articles discussing material culture and graphic design. Accessing of the teacher is going to take place by first, sending the school an outline of the study and ethical content forms and arrange meeting, through the telephone or MSN given geographical constraints, to explain what it is the research wishes to do and how it will benefit the organization. Ultimately, what the researcher wants to do is discern how training is able to increase students performance and the mechanisms that school in Singapore has in place to assure this. Executing the above step is useful since the gatekeepers are going to want to protect the interests of their students and the organization (Holloway Walker, 1999). Overall, the approach above is based on negotiation, which as researchers note, â€Å"Access is negotiated and re-negotiated throughout the research process† (Gubrium, Holstein, 2001, p. 301). The teacher was also assured that confidentiality by not releasing information that they do not want to be released and anonymity by using pseudonym s for students, participants and settings will be secured (Daymon Holloway, 2002). It is not unreasonable for the teacher to participate in the study given the steps executed above which are suggested by research methodology practitioners. Finally, research questions are based from the literature as is suggested by research methodology practitioners. Data Analysis To determine the perceptions of the student respondents pertaining to material culture and graphic design, the researcher a set of guide questions for the interview and prepared a questionnaire. A non-threatening questionnaire in nature that can be completed within 30 minutes are considered. The respondents graded each statement in the survey-questionnaire using a Likert scale with a five-response scale wherein respondents are given five response choices. The equivalent weights for the answers are: When the entire information consumer responses have been collected, the researcher used statistics to analyse it; and was assisted by the SPSS in coming up with the statistical analysis for this study. For the details gathered from journals, an evaluation was drawn in order to identify the role of material culture to contemporary graphic design. Moreover, this research will utilise the several statistics in order to determine the differences between their perceptions towards the impact of material culture on students performance and art appreciation. As stated above, the researcher was aided by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) in the making and creation of the statistical analysis for this study. SPSS is one of the mainly and extensively accessible and potent statistical software packages that has a extensive range of statistical practices, which permits a researcher to sum up information (e.g. calculate standard deviations and means), identify whether there are major differences between groups (e.g., ANOVA t-tests), observe relationships among variables (e.g. multiple regression correlation) and graph output (e.g. line graphs, bar charts, pie chart, etc.) (Sauders, Lewis Thornhill 2007).   Concluding Remarks Significance This study will be a significant endeavour in promoting culture awareness among graphic design students. This study will be beneficial to future leaders. By understanding the needs of the students and the benefits of quality education, these practitioners will be assured of a larger progress performance. Moreover, this research will provide recommendations on how to value students as they are taking a large part in the overall performance of the school quality education. This study would also be of help to those school and market scientists who are interested in finding out the social implications of the boom and the bust phases of the school industry. Moreover, educators can gain from this study, as they find the connection between how they have designed their curriculum and what are the actual needs of the citizens.   In that way, they would be able to make immediate changes, if necessary, or continued improvement of their programs, through further studies. Furthermore, it is hoped that this study would help the students to improve learning and appreciation skill through Material culture in Art and Design at colleges in Singapore because Material culture has many advantages/effectiveness such as retention and motivational factors in accordance to the leaning behavior of student. Thus, student can go deeply into each topic areas they need to learn without lecturer involvement because material culture is related to the history of the arts they are perceiving. Moreover, this paper introduced important changes in our educational system and gives a huge influence to the way we communicate information with students. It would make them as an active participant in their own learning process, instead of just being passive learners of the educational content.   Apparently, this research also hoped can provides an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the factors that impact on the students experiences of material culture in learning pr ocess. Finally, this study would benefit future researchers in the field of the, education, arts and design management, business and the social sciences since it depicts the future of the school industry and its varying effects to many sectors of society. Limitations This study will only cover material culture as part of studying contemporary graphic design in arts and design for the college students in some colleges in Singapore. Basically, this paper will only cover students selected from semester 1, conducted from some colleges in Singapore. As there are numerous issues surrounding the school, this research will primarily examine program development and performance progress. The outcome of this study will be limited only to the data gathered from books and journals and from the primary data gathered from the result of the questionnaire survey and interview that will be conducted by the researcher. As the research was completed in a relatively short period of time other factors and variables are not considered. This might have an impact on the results of the study.   Basically this research study will enable the researcher to design a quality curriculum that will satisfy the needs of the students. References: (1999). The Culture of Education in the Visual Arts. Retrieved March 24, 2010, from www.orgsites.com Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research design. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. Daymon, C. Holloway, I. (2002). Qualitative research methods in public relations and marketing communications. Routledge. Denscombe, M. (1998), The Good Research Guide, Buckingham, Open University Press. Guilford, J.P. Fruchter B. (1973). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education, 5th Edition. New York: Mc Graw-Hill. Holloway, I. Walker, J. (1999). Getting a PhD in health and social care. Wiley. Oliver, S. (2010). The Importance of Visual Arts in Schools. A Free Article. Retrieved March 24, 2010, from www.afreearticle.com Sauders M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A.(2007). Research method for business students, FT Prentice Hall, Harlow. Yin, R.K. (2003). Case Study Research Design and Method (2nd ed), Sage, Thousand Oaks.

Violence in Video Games Essay -- Media Violence

Violence in the media is a very complex subject; extracting what actually causes aggression and what is just arbitrary circumstance can be a very sticky process. For instance, as a recreational player of video games, I play what might be considered violent games (mostly an online "shoot 'em up" game called Counter-Strike) in the eyes of someone who perceives what I am doing as "killing" or as violent, but there in lies the problem: I make no association with the death, killing or violence. Yes, I realize that on the screen there are guns and that to someone unfamiliar with the game it might look like mindless killing, but for me, it is truly just a challenge, a very engrossing and difficult one at that (due to the nature of the game I play, online, I am playing other people with real minds trying just as hard as I am to "come out on top"). The object isn't killing, the object is winning, competition and honing your skill, which takes practice, like anything else. Now, admittedly this is a bit tangental, but the point I am making is that it is not the actual video games that are causing these deviant behaviors, but rather outside stimuli cause the ills we are experiencing as a culture. Now, having said that, if the conditions are right, I definitely believe that video games and other types of media violence can at least influence an unstable target, but banning video games or censoring everything is not the correct approach, not given my experience, not based on the friends I have as models (given their video game history) or those whom which I have interacted with in gaming community at large (we've been under attack for some time now from these crusading Christian bible thumpers!). Video games are an intrical part of a large percentage of males in my generation's lives and to have this outlet reduced to the whim of outsiders who have never enjoyed beating a level or vanquishing an opponent, who see these games as purely degenerative and wasteful, to me is just ridiculous. Look at parenting, look at T.V., look at the politics, look at social unrest, look at economic pressures, hell even look at video games if you really want, but to resign to the notion that some game actually causes these real life tragedies is a simply ludicrous and short-sighted in scope (90% percent of the time). Unfortunately for the quiet throngs of video game practitioners world/n... ...ic violence in video games in recent years, I thought I would conclude by citing a piece I heard on NPR Radio that reported a study done at University of Rochester, in the magazine Nature (http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/segment.jhtml?wfId=1278017); the study showed considerably heightened visual attention skills amongst "hardcore gamers"(who played what are called "fps" or "first person shooters" in which you carry the first person perspective and can only see your gun/weapon and it's crosshair) and were even able to increase the original control group's (those that hadn't previously played video games) perceptual awareness dramatically in 10 short hours of involved training (learing to play video games). The question that concluded the piece, was one that posited whether non-violent video games could produce the same positive effects without some of the known ills of violent video games. Finally, the question of media violence, and distinguishing between what is harmless enter tainment and what the possible negative effects are can include a lot of grey area, but it's important to know the facts and decide for yourself what place video games/media entertainment has in our lives. Violence in Video Games Essay -- Media Violence Violence in the media is a very complex subject; extracting what actually causes aggression and what is just arbitrary circumstance can be a very sticky process. For instance, as a recreational player of video games, I play what might be considered violent games (mostly an online "shoot 'em up" game called Counter-Strike) in the eyes of someone who perceives what I am doing as "killing" or as violent, but there in lies the problem: I make no association with the death, killing or violence. Yes, I realize that on the screen there are guns and that to someone unfamiliar with the game it might look like mindless killing, but for me, it is truly just a challenge, a very engrossing and difficult one at that (due to the nature of the game I play, online, I am playing other people with real minds trying just as hard as I am to "come out on top"). The object isn't killing, the object is winning, competition and honing your skill, which takes practice, like anything else. Now, admittedly this is a bit tangental, but the point I am making is that it is not the actual video games that are causing these deviant behaviors, but rather outside stimuli cause the ills we are experiencing as a culture. Now, having said that, if the conditions are right, I definitely believe that video games and other types of media violence can at least influence an unstable target, but banning video games or censoring everything is not the correct approach, not given my experience, not based on the friends I have as models (given their video game history) or those whom which I have interacted with in gaming community at large (we've been under attack for some time now from these crusading Christian bible thumpers!). Video games are an intrical part of a large percentage of males in my generation's lives and to have this outlet reduced to the whim of outsiders who have never enjoyed beating a level or vanquishing an opponent, who see these games as purely degenerative and wasteful, to me is just ridiculous. Look at parenting, look at T.V., look at the politics, look at social unrest, look at economic pressures, hell even look at video games if you really want, but to resign to the notion that some game actually causes these real life tragedies is a simply ludicrous and short-sighted in scope (90% percent of the time). Unfortunately for the quiet throngs of video game practitioners world/n... ...ic violence in video games in recent years, I thought I would conclude by citing a piece I heard on NPR Radio that reported a study done at University of Rochester, in the magazine Nature (http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/segment.jhtml?wfId=1278017); the study showed considerably heightened visual attention skills amongst "hardcore gamers"(who played what are called "fps" or "first person shooters" in which you carry the first person perspective and can only see your gun/weapon and it's crosshair) and were even able to increase the original control group's (those that hadn't previously played video games) perceptual awareness dramatically in 10 short hours of involved training (learing to play video games). The question that concluded the piece, was one that posited whether non-violent video games could produce the same positive effects without some of the known ills of violent video games. Finally, the question of media violence, and distinguishing between what is harmless enter tainment and what the possible negative effects are can include a lot of grey area, but it's important to know the facts and decide for yourself what place video games/media entertainment has in our lives.

Business Plan for a Clothing Company

The product I will be supplying to society will be a fashion store called FrSh. Popular culture is no longer regional. The tradition of cable television and the Internet has created a world where a fashion statement can make you or break you .FrSh will offer young customers the youth-oriented products and clothing that are popular in large urban areas but not available locally. The target customer is in their late teens to their mid 20s, who enjoys the urban scene and the city look, participates in youth sports like skateboarding and basketball, and looks toward new urban clothing trends in large city areas for inspiration. FrSh will provide the distinctive clothing, shoes and products that are just ahead of the fashion curve. I will create a cost-effective operation that will quickly bring new fashionable clothing and products to the customer. I originally cam up with this idea because I was fed up of people wearing the same clothes to fit in and wanted to find an alternative to what everyone was wearing so that I would stand out whilst fitting in. I have always enjoyed going to parties and with that comes the responsibility of looking good. I also made shirts whilst in high school and sold them to people. My goals for FrSh will be†¦.. * Accessible store where you always find something new that you want. * Excellent vendor relationship that will facilitate quick shipment of orders. * Establish an effective strategy for advertising to our target customers. * Create a store image that our target customers see as both attractive and trendy. FrSh competitive advantage is offering product lines that make a statement but won't leave you broke. The major brands are expensive and not distinctive enough to satisfy the ever changing taste of our target customers. FrSh offers products that are just ahead of the curve and so affordable that our customers will return to the store often to check out what's new. Another competitive factor is that products for this age group are part of a lifestyle statement. FrSh is focused on serving the Urban youth. We want to represent their style and life choices. We believe that we will create a loyal customer base that will see FrSh as part of their lives. We will pride ourselves by setting the most affordable prices for our consumers. We will cover all of our liabilities and make sure we will have contracts will all of our partners which we will be considering into bringing into the company. W will be running a close cooperation. FrSh will advertise in the Universities and daily student newspapers and free Weekly papers, which is focused on FrSh target customer groups. FrSh will also plan three events to raise its visibility with target customers. We will assemble a group of boy and girl Dancers and sponsor them with the FrSh logo. The Dance competition will be followed by a street basketball game. Smokejumpers will book a local popular alternative college group to play at the event. We will find co-sponsors for the events that are also focused on the same target customers. At these events, FrSh will distribute stickers, hats, t-shirts, and promotional material offering 50% discount on purchases this will draw us customers.

You Decide 1

Memo To:John & Jane Smith From: Re:Memo summarizing various tax issues 1. John Smith's tax issues: Issue a) How is the $300,000 treated for purposes of federal tax income? Applicable Law ; Analysis: http://www. irs. gov/businesses/small/selfemployed/index. html Conclusion: The $300,000 will be treated as self- employed income. Generally you are self-employed if you carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor, independent contractor, or if you are a member of a partnership. Self-employed individuals are required to file an annual return, and pay estimated tax quarterly.Issue b) How is the $25,000 treated for purposes of federal tax income? Applicable Law ; Analysis: www. irs. gov Conclusion: The $25,000 will be treated as self- employed income as well. John was awarded the 25,000 that paid up front expenses, so the number will cancel each other out. Issue c) What is your determination regarding reducing the taxable amount of income for both (a) and (b) above? Applicable Law ; An alysis: http://www. efile. com/tax-credit/federal-tax-credits/. Publication 526- Charitable contributions. Section 170-charitable contributions and gifts ( c).Section 48- energy credit Conclusion: Establish a self- employed retirement plan, make IRA contributions, make charitable donations including asset donations according to organizations described in section 501 (c)(3), make energy efficient improvement to the home according to IRC code 48. Issue d) Do I get better tax benefits for paying the lease on office space or for buying the building? What are the differences? Applicable Law ; Analysis: IRC Code 167- there should be allowable reasonable depreciation for wear and tear on property used in the trade or business. http://www. law. cornell. edu). http://www. microsoft. com/business. IRC Code 179-allows tax payers to deduct the cost on certain types of property. Conclusion: There are better tax benefits for buying the building. Owners of rental property can write of repairs imme diately. Deprecation on commercial buildings is taken over 39 years; you can also deduct interest on the purchase loan, property tax, and other qualifying expenses. (www. microsoft. com/business). The total amount you can deduct under section 179 cannot be more than $500,000. (www. irs. gov).When leasing a building, the monthly lease payment is tax deductible, but the tax payer cannot deduct interest, property tax, or depreciate. 2. Jane Smith tax issues: Issue a) What are the different tax consequences between paying down the mortgage (debt) and assuming a new mortgage (debt) for federal income tax purposes? Applicable Law ; Analysis: www. law. cornell. edu Conclusion: Satisfying the mortgage will cancel tax deductions for that mortgage loan. Without the mortgage interest, a customer could be placed in a higher tax bracket. This will cause the tax payer to possible owe more money.Assuming a new mortgage have benefits rather than consequences. Issue b) Can John and Jane Smith utiliz e a 1031 tax exchange to buy a more expensive house using additional money from John's case? Applicable Law & Analysis: IRC code 1031. The IRC code 1031 allows deferral of taxes on the exchange of two assets. IRC code 1031 also allows one to sell an asset with the intension to use proceeds to invest in a like asset. (http://financial-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/Internal+Revenue+Code+section+1031) Conclusion: John and Jane cannot utilize a 1031 tax exchange.Owners of investments and business property may qualify for a section 1031 deferral. Both properties in the exchange must be held for use in a trade or business or for investment. Property used primarily for personal use does not qualify for like-kind exchange treatment. Issue c) Does Jane have a business or hobby? Why is this distinction important? Applicable Law & Analysis: IRC code 183. The IRC code 183 is also called the â€Å"hobby loss rule†, it minimize losses that can be deducted from income from hobbies or o ther non-profit activities.Conclusion: Jane has a business. If time and effort put into the activity is intended to make a profit, this is considered a business. Business versus hobby is important because taxpayers who incorrectly report losses from hobby activities can be subject to additional taxes, interest and penalties in an audit (http://www. irsvideos. gov/Professional/HobbyBusiness) Issue d) Would Jane (and John) realize better tax benefits if she had a separate business for her jewelry-making activities? Applicable Law & Analysis: www. irs. govConclusion: Jane and John would have better tax benefits if Jane had a separate business for her jewelry- making activities. Cost of goods sold is deducted from your gross receipts to figure your gross profit for the year; this could include the cost of material. Jane can also deduct expenses for the business use of her home. Jane can also deduct car expenses mileage rates from 1/1/11-6/30/11 is . 51 per mile and from 7/1/11-12/31/11 . 55 per mile (www. irs. gov) Issue e) What tax benefits would John realize if he invested $15,000 in Jane's jewelry making? Applicable Law ; Analysis: http://perlmutter. house. ov/index. php? option=com_content;view=article;id=707;Itemid=88- Business tax benefits under the recovery act. Conclusion: Small Business Investment: Spurs investments in small businesses by cutting the capital gains tax on investors in small businesses who buy stock (in the next two years) and hold it for more than 5 years. (www. perlmutter. house. gov) Issue f) Can Jane depreciate her vehicle or jewelry-making equipment? How? Applicable Law ; Analysis: Section 179. Section 179 allows business to deduct the full purchase price of equipment purchased or financed during the tax year. (www. section179. org)Conclusion: Section 179 deduction enables small businesses to deduct up to $250,000 of the cost of machinery, equipment, vehicles and furniture. To qualify for the section 179 deduction, your property must h ave been acquired for use in your trade or business. (http://www. irs. gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=213666,00. html). The total depreciation deduction (including the section 179 expense deduction) you can take for a passenger automobile (that is not a truck or a van) that you use in your business and first placed in service in 2009 is $2,960 ($10,960 for automobiles for which the special depreciation allowance applies. www. irs. gov) 3. John and Jane Smith tax issue: Issue a) Should John and Jane file separate or joint tax returns? Applicable Law ; Analysis: IRC Code 1- The law that impose federal income tax on income, and sets the amount of tax to be paid. Conclusion: Married individuals filing joint returns will pay $75,528. 50 plus 39. 6% of income over $250,000. If Jane establishes her activities as a trade or business they would have to pay less in taxes.

Medieval science lab report copy Essay Example

Medieval science lab report copy Essay Example Medieval science lab report copy Paper Medieval science lab report copy Paper In this lab we conducted a scientific test of astrological predictions, test for psychic abilities, test the conception that quartz has on curative properties, and roommate an experiment to test the conception that a good luck charm will affect the outcome of future events. Many people believe that they have some form of psychic abilities including: telepathy, clairvoyance, etc. For our first experiment we will be testing psychic abilities depending on the ability to read symbols on a card which was not visible to the partner. For the second experiment we will be testing to see if quartz crystal can change the recessive mutation of flies. Quartz crystals are often found to possessed powers that could help heal illness. In this part of the lab we will est.. This hypothesis. For the third experiment we will be testing to see if we can see the relationship to a persons day based on their horoscope. The 8 different zodiac signs each correspond to a persons date of birth. So we test to see if the persons future was already written in the stars. Methods In experiment one there were 5 symbol, each on five cards, on a total of 25 cards. The person is essentially guessing which symbol is represented on the card. If we look at this experiment logically then they, the person guessing, has a 1 in 5 chance in guessing the card correctly, so the average person has a 20% hence of success in this experiment, taking in the probability of a false positive. In experiment two, the study was conducted from 8 cultures of vestigial flies. Four cultures were placed close to the quartz crystal with the healing power, which were the treatment group. The other four cultures developed with the absence of mediation and quartz crystal, which were the control group. All the adults in these cultures were removed and all that was left was he larvae which were allowed to develop. Data was collected from a squarer with the formula In experiment three eight paragraphs, describing peoples days were typed n cards, each one labeled with a letter. Eight horoscopes, from an astrologer matched to the day it was written, and the appropriate zodiac sign. Data was collected on the amount of matches, incorrect matched and the total attempts. If the average person were guessing they would have a 1 in 8 chance at success. Results For experiment one, the data that was collected was that the viewer guessed 7 out of 25 matches, which was higher than the average viewer guessing 5 out of 25 therefore showing that viewer had little to no psychic ability. Experiment two: This shows the EX. Contingency table which can be used to induct a chi-square test of independence, to see if the chance of being cured/ normal is independent of whether the fly was in the control group or the crystal group. Hauser: (n(ad x ((a+b)(c+d)(a+c)(b+d)) the results show: (n(xx -xx 6. 23. This data shows that there is no correspondence of the quartz crystal to the recessive mutation of flies. Observed vestigial X group = 10 Observed normal X groups =15 Total X flies= 25 Observed vestigial Y group = 12 Observed normal Y groups =13 Total Y flies= 25 Total vestigial flies-22 Total normal flies=28 Total flies-50 For experiment three: This table is expected t o show if the horoscopes be matched to the predictions more often then one would predict by chance. Total number of matches=3 observed accurate=14 expected accurate=2 observed inaccurate matches=28 Expected inaccurate= 12 Discussion: In experiment one the hypothesis was about whether a set of cards could predict psychic ability, although for the average person guessing there is a 1 and 5 chance of success. However, the viewer guessed 7 out of 25 which is hardly any greater than the mere 20% of the average person. In conclusion, if we are going y the hypothesis would conclude that a set of cards could possibly show psychic ability but this viewer has little to no ability. In experiment two the hypothesis contested that quartz crystal has some healing powers. In order to achieve this conclusion physical proof is needed. The physical proof in this experiment is if the healing powers of the quartz crystal will cure the flies of a recessive mutation. The data concluded that the quartz crystal indeed did not heal the flies of the recessive mutation. In experiment three: the daily horoscopes is said to have a correspondence teen the events of a persons day and their horoscope for that day. In this experiment, there were eight journal entries that one needed to be matched with the correct zodiac sign. With the data correlated it shows that number of matches has nothing to do with the zodiac sign and the journal entries. In conclusion, all of these hypothesis tested were concluded to all be false. These experiments show that no experiments can show psychic ability and that a future is not held in the stars but in life itself. Work cited: Adventures in Populations and Communities: Lab manual for Bios 101, Dry. Mollusk.