Eco Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Eco Schools - Essay Example This essay approves that eco-schools present with major advantages to the environment and to the overall sustainable development of the world. These schools improve student and adult lines of communication; it also unites the school under a common cause. These schools also develop and increase the students’ sense of responsibility – allowing the views of others, which are valued, to thrive. These schools also improve the behaviour and demeanour of students – helping them develop a sense of belongingness and pride in their school and their community. They provide opportunities for the use of real local issues in the delivery of cross-cultural themes, integrating more purpose to studies, improving pupil engagement and participation in lessons, as well as helping them in comprehending the different issues involved with each other. These are the various advantages of eco-schools. These schools however, may also have several disadvantages. This report makes a conclusion that eco-schools are a part of an international programme which aims to ensure that children and learners are taught, from a very early age, the importance of preserving the environment. It helps incorporate sustainable means of learning and later of applying such information into their personal lives. It is a beneficial programme because it helps ensure that the future generations would still get to enjoy our resources. There is a need to improve the implementation of this programme in the school curriculum in order to ensure its effectiveness and improve its impact.

From Islam to Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

From Islam to Christianity - Essay Example I never questioned the religion of my family. I had grown so used to it that it simply became a part of me. When I moved to the United States in 2000, I was met with a significantly different value system. To prevent myself from being tempted by other religions, I held strong to my Islamic beliefs. However, even with praying five times a day, and in a language that I did not understand, it always felt as though my prayers were bouncing off the ceiling. God seemed impossible to reach. The distance between God and I only seemed to grow when I found out that my mother had been diagnosed with cancer. After all the praying I had done for the health and safety of my family, I felt that God had failed. It was not long before I turned my back on God, saying blasphemous things and rejecting him entirely. During this rough time, I sought that advice of one of my closest friends, a Christian who I had met in my Physics class. I shared with him my emotional difficulties, my mother’s cance r diagnosis, and my fading belief in God. In response, my friend gave me a copy of the New Testament of the Bible and recommended that I read it. I did so, albeit with great confusion. I felt drawn to the book and to Jesus, who had suffered at the hands of disbelievers, yet still wanted nothing more than to love all people. The more that I read the New Testament, the more at peace that I seemed to be. Excited, I confided in my friend about the peace I was experiencing as I read from the Bible, and I asked him to tell me more about his Lord. As we spent time reading the Bible and discussing the stories, I knew that I was changing spiritually. I did not admit to it, nor did I openly recognize it for what it was, but a transformation was taking place. I realized what was taking place within me when my father contacted me and informed me that not only had my mother stabilized, but her cancer was almost completely gone. She was even well enough to visit me in the United States a few year s later. In sheer gratitude by these wonderful events, I thanked God. As I did so, I felt that I was thanking a God that was very different from the God I had grown up praying to, the one I had known as a Muslim. Unfortunately, as the demands of college became more difficult, I altogether stopped reading my Bible. It was not until years later when, as an assignment in a humanities class, I watched the film The Passion of the Christ, that I remembered what I was missing. As I set out to do this assignment, which also required reading selected verses from the Bible, I found myself to have new curiosities into the life and teachings of the Christ. I questioned myself, as well as my beliefs as a Muslim and my knowledge from time spent reading the Bible. If the Islamic view believed that it was the only true and perfect religion, then why do the millions of Christians not embrace Islam? The more that I searched for the answer to this question, and the answers to my doubts, the more sure I became that Christianity was the only true path. Despite my acknowledgement of this truth, and though I began to regularly attend church, I still could not bring myself to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Then came the start of my graduate program. My application was approved to teach Engineering Physics labs at the university, my family was safe and healthy, and

The Manufacturing Process At Almoiz Sugar Mills Marketing Essay

The Manufacturing Process At Almoiz Sugar Mills Marketing Essay Introduction Al-Moiz Sugar Mills Limited incorporated in 2004 as a limited company and certificate of commencement of business was granted in 2005. The Head Office of the company is located at Gulberg III Lahore whereas the factory unit is located on Chashma Road in the D.I.KHAN District Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company is recognized in the local and international market as a fine quality producer of white refined Sugar, Molasses and also holds a substantial share in the market. The company is also engaged in the export of white refined sugar to Afghanistan and molasses to Euro countries and is contributing to the national economy in the form of foreign exchange. The company has strong corporate clients including Engro and Pepsi. This is the only Pakistani company with state of the art technology and is one of the very few mills in Pakistan that is providing Wapda with electricity. The sugar mills basic plant machinery was acquired and installed by The Heavy Mechanical Complex Taxila (A State Engineering Company). Other equipment such as turbines and gearboxes etc were imported from Germany and United Kingdom. Currently the plant is working at the crushing capacity of 1oooo MTCD and company is keen to increase it to 12000 MTCD. The sugar mill has a state of the art technology which is the latest technology in Pakistan. The mill produces sugar by using both sugar cane and sugar beet as a raw material.The company is committed to invest in IT with an eventual target of implementing ERP system. AL-MOIZ Sugar Mills Limited is one of the significant units of Almoiz group of industries. The company is principally engaged in the business of manufacture sales of white refined sugar molasses (as a byproduct), Crushing of sugarcane, Sugar beet raw sugar in to white refined sugar. Manufacturing Process The manufacturing process at Almoiz Sugar Mills comprises of the following steps Main Competitors Products White refined sugar: Major business of the company is to produce white refined cane sugar of intermission standard and from the erased cane and three different components are achieved that are fibber, pith and moisture. Molasses: This is a by product and it is sold to molasses contractors. One of the allied concerns, reliance commodities (pvt) limited is the main buyer of the molasses of al-moiz sugar mills limited and also the main buyer of molasses from whole the country. Reliance commodities (pvt) limited is the main exporter of molasses in pakistan. Baggase This is also a bye product of the company. Baggase is used as source of energy fuel for sugar industry for juice heating. And also used for making medium density fiber board (mdfb). Baggase is sold to the baggase contractors. Mud Mud is also the by-product of the company. It is sold to the mud contractors. This is used in making chocolates and other products. Electricity Al-moiz sugar mills also produce electricity on large quantity. The mill does not only fulfil its own energy requirements but is able to product surplus electricity which is supplies to wapda. Departments at the Factory Site Departments at the Head Office The strengths and Weaknesses of the company are as follows Strengths Attractive salary packages for employees on the site Top management. The CEO of the company is a Stanford Graduate and is a man of great vision Friendly and cooperative working environment Financial resources Agricultural assistance to the local farmers State of the art technology Corporate Social Responsibility Weaknesses Lack of skilled persons available in the region where the mill is located Shortage of residence available for employees on the site The site is prone to being affected by the flood and has been affected by the floods that occurred in the past Unavailability of modern facilities on the site Number of accidental reports are increasing Turnover rate is high Weak organizational policies Poor GSM services on the site Literature Review Sugar Industry in Pakistan JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited, (2011) described the sugar industry ranked the fifteenth largest globally and the second largest after textile industry with 86 operational factories across the country with an installed capacity of 7.0 million tons of sugar annually. It directly employed over 30,000 personnel. JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited, (2010) described the industry as the driving engine of the rural economy after agrarian economy in many countries. They also stated the sugar industrys cyclical nature as harvesting of sugar cane was dependent on weather as well as the availability of adequate water. Khushk, Memon Saeed described the Pakistan sugar industry as uncompetitive in nature due to low sugarcane yield per hectare and low content of sucrose ranging between 7-9 percent however they also described the sugar industry from a growers perspective as competitive since the growers were of the opinion that the sugar crisis was artificially created by mill owners with the motive of keeping sugarcane prices below support prices and reaping abnormal profits. (Shaukat) described Pakistan as the fifth largest country in the world in terms of area under sugar cane cultivation, eleventh by production and sixtieth in yield. The author also described the sugar industry in Pakistan as the second largest agro based industry with 81 sugar mills with annual crushing capacity of over 6.1 million tons. The author also mentioned that the Sugar industry is mostly located in the rural areas of Punjab and Sindh. A small percentage of total production is produced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Previously, Punjab was partly dependent on supply of sugar from Sindh however after the establishment of some large scale units in Punjab the Province became self-sufficient in the commodity. (Rizvi) described Pakistans sugar industry as mostly owned by politicians. The author also mentions that majority of the sugar mills were setup with the help of Development Financial Institutions normally trapped with the working capital crisis. Consequently, some of the mills were closed and it was feared that some more sick units would close down. The author also mentions the collapse of sugar mill being a loss of national assets, reduction in the sales tax revenue and an increase in unemployment. Awareness of consumers towards branded products Aaker (2000) was of the opinion that brand awareness was a remarkably durable and sustainable asset that provided a sense of familiarity especially in low- involvement products. It also provided with a sense of presence, commitment and substance. It was very vital to recall at the time of purchase. Besides the conventional media there were other effective means to create awareness such as event promotions, publicity and sampling. Chen (2001) stated that though brand awareness was a necessary asset however it was not sufficient for building strong brand equity. In this view a brand could be well known because it had inferior quality. Ramasamy et al. (2005) reported that, the buying behavior was vastly influenced by the awareness and attitude towards the product. Television commercials were said to be the most important source of information, followed by retail outlet displays. Consumers formed an opinion about a brand on the basis of various product features. A large number of respondents laid emphasis on quality and were of the opinion that price is an important factor while other respondents attached importance to image of manufacturer. Purchase Behavior of Consumers Results of the study conducted by Joshi (1993) in Dharwad on food purchasing habits and consumer awareness among rural and urban housewives indicated that majority of the urban respondents purchased sugar (69.00%) on monthly basis. Rural respondents purchased sugar (71.00%) once in week. Both rural and urban respondents purchased groceries (99.00% each) from retail shops. Price, quality and weight of the products were the important factors considered by both rural and urban respondents while purchasing of food items. Nagaraja (2004) opined that, buying behaviour is very much influenced by experience of their own and of neighbour consumers and his family. Above all, the quality of the product and its easy availability were the primary and the vital determinants of his buying behaviour. Consumers were influenced by touch and feel aspect of any promotional activity. Shivkumar (2004) showed that the consumer, irrespective of income groups, was mainly influenced by the opinions of their family members to purchase. Consumers were also influenced by the dealers recommendation, followed by advertisement. Brand Preference Kubendran and Vanniarajan (2005) described the change in consumption pattern a result of change in food habits. If income and urbanization increase among consumers, the percentage of income spent on consumption increased. Branded products were preferred my urban consumers. The major factors influencing buying decisions were accessibility, quality, regular supply, door delivery and the mode of payment. Narang (2006) claimed that, a buyer does not stick to one brand when it comes to purchasing a food item. They should be able recall different brand names when they go for purchase. Repetitive advertising can be used to aid brand recall. The product should appeal to the consumer. Kim-Hyunah et al. (2005) concluded that brand preference and brand image had considerable positive effects on brand loyalty. Thus, the companies should strive to strengthen brand loyalty through building brand preference and brand image. Brand loyalty led to increased customer visits. Low and Lamb Jr. (2000) maintained that known brands tend to exhibit multi-dimensional brand associations, consistent with the idea that consumers have more developed memory structures for more familiar brands. Consumers might be willing to expend more energy in processing information regarding familiar brands compared to unfamiliar brands. Padmanabhan (1999) conducted study on brand loyalty, which revealed that the price of the preferred brand, efficiency of the preferred brand and influence of advertisement significantly influenced the brand loyalty. Factors Influencing Brand Preference In a study conducted by Sarwade (2002) it was observed that the factor which influenced the purchasing decision as against the quality of the product was its price. Another interesting finding was that the company image and brand image were not totally considered by the households. Kubendran and Vanniarajan (2005) described the change in consumption pattern is due to changes in food habits. If income and urbanization increase among consumers, the percentage of income spent on consumption increases. The urban consumers prefer mostly branded products compared to rural consumers. The most significant factors influencing buying decisions were acceptability, quality, regular supply, door delivery and the mode of payment. Vincent (2006) elicited that quality was an important factor that draws consumer towards branded products. Branded products were accepted as good quality products. People do not mind paying extra for branded products, as they get value for money. Media is a key constituent in promoting and influencing brand. External environmental analysis Sugar Industry in Pakistan Sugar is the important sector of Pakistans economy. Sugar industry plays a vital role for development of any countries. In Pakistan this industry play a significant role for economic development. Its share in the large scale industry is 19.25% and in GDP is 1.98%. Sugar industry contribution to the government exchequer in federal excise duty 17.34% History At the time of partition in 1947 only seven sugar mills, existed in the territories of Pakistan, 5 in East Pakistan now known as Bangladesh and only 2 in West Pakistan now known as Pakistan. These two sugar mills namely Rahwali Sugar Mills and Frontier Sugar Mills established in 1936 and 1938 had a capacity of 5000 tonnes each of producing white sugar. During 1954-56 three more sugar mills were established with a capacity of 10000-15000 tonnes. By 1955-56, the sugar production capacity in Pakistan was around 45,000 tonnes. With an abrupt change in the economic activities and urbanization, the demand for white sugar was on the increase. This was attributed to the manufacture of soft drinks, confectioneries and bakery products etc. The number of sugar mills was also on the increase to meet the demand. Major Players in the Sugar Industry The major players in the sugar industry are Current Scenario The sugar industry is the second largest in the country after the textile industry. Currently there are 83 sugar mills operating in Pakistan. In Pakistan normally season starts in November and ends in April. Out of the 83 sugar mills present in the country 76 Sugar Mills are operating having crushing capacity of 361,300 tons of cane per day (TCD). Seven Sugar mills extended capacity but they are unable to utilize. Based on 160 days season these sugar mills have a total crushing capacity of 58 million tons of sugarcane capable to produce 5 million tons of refined sugar and 3 million tons of molasses. Also the weekly sugar production is conveyed to the government via Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. The environmental analysis can be classified into two major types of environments that a firm has to face. They are micro and the macro (mega) environment. These are discussed in detail below. Macro Environment Technological Environment Almoiz sugar mills position as far as the technological environment is concerned is pretty strong as of now. It uses the state of the art technology and can produce sugar using sugar beet as a raw material other than sugar cane. Other than sugar production the firm is also engaged in electricity production and is a supplier of electricity to wapda. Socio-cultural Environment The impact of societal changes, life styles and culture on Almoiz sugar mill is significant. There has been a shift in the life style, for example the type of stores customer prefer to shop from, the type of packaging they prefer sugar in. Consumers are becoming more health conscious they prefer to go for low calorie versions and are very concerned about hygienic conditions of the sugar and the shop that sugar is purchased from. Economic Environment The economic environment of Pakistan is not very stable and it continues to fluctuate every now and then. With the rise in interest rates and double digit inflation in the country, it has practically become impossible for the consumers to buy the same number of products as they used to buy a few years ago, thus the purchasing power of the consumers has sharply gone down. Political Environment The political scenario of Pakistan is the biggest threat to a business. Changing tax rates, rebates, labor strikes and the instability in general makes it difficult for Almoiz sugar mill to cope up with these changes and thus it can hamper future operations and thus profitability of the entire business. Legal Environment The legal system of Pakistan is generally not very strong and in case of a problem, a company can involve itself into years long legal implications and trials. Micro Environment Suppliers Almoiz has divided its suppliers into two zones Factory Zone: 73 % of sugar cane during the cane season is obtained from the factory zone i.e. 640,000 M .Tons Outer Zone: 27% of sugar cane during the cane season is obtained from the outer zone i.e. 240,000 M. Tons. The outer zone comprises of areas including Indus road, Bypass, Bhakkar and Mianwali. Market Demand There is a great deal of demand for sugar in households. Sugar is used in very house it may be directly consumed or may be indirectly consumed in other products such as beverages and Confectionery items such as sweets, lollipops, candy bars, chocolate, cotton candy and other sweet snack items. Competition Almoiz sugar mill has many competitors with Chashma sugar mill and Layyah sugar mill being the its two immediate competitors. The competitors also offer the same range of products with white refined sugar being the core product and several other by product including molasses however there isnt any sugar mill that generates its own electricity as Almoiz sugar mill. Skill Level of Workforce Workforce and the people in the company is the biggest asset of an organization. In the case of Almoiz sugar mill the workforce plays a very important role in the organizations productivity. The location of the factory is in Dera Ismail Khan and due to the instability in the region finding skilled workforce in that area is very hard. Hence attractive salary packages are given to attract skilled workforce from other regions of the country to come and work for Almoiz sugar mill. Marketing Intermediaries Marketing intermediaries are involved especially when it comes to sugar distribution to retailers and wholesalers. A high level of intermediary involvement makes communication difficult and increases the dependence. Porters Five Forces Model http://www.12manage.com/images/porterfiveforces.gif Porters five forces model basically gauges the intensity of competition within its industry. The collective strength of all these forces combined determines the ultimate profit potential of the industry where profit potential is measured in terms of the long-run return on investment of capital. Threat of New Entrants If someone from a political or influential background wants to set up a sugar mill they have the financial resources to obtain the machinery and contacts needed to obtain a license to start up a sugar mill. So entry into the sugar industry is not hard. There are 83 sugar mills in Pakistan out of which 76 Sugar Mills are operating. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Almoiz has a diverse range of suppliers as mentioned earlier. It has separate categories of suppliers based on distance from the factory site. Thus giving the suppliers a low bargaining power. Bargaining Power of Customers Customers have the option of switching to other sugar producers since barely one or two sugar mills have done something to distinguish themselves from other competitors in terms if having a brand name or packaging. People dont even take into consideration the brand or sugar mill name while purchasing sugar they just purchase whatever is easily available. Threat of Substitute Products Almoiz has many direct competitors. Currently there are 83 sugar mills in the country out of which 76 sugar mills are operating. The competitors also offer the exact same range of products with white refined sugar being the core product thus making the threat of substitute products high. Also other substitute products such as canderal are available for consumers who want to go for a sweetener with less sugar content Porters Generic Strategies According to this strategy, in order to cope up with competition, firms adopt three generic strategic approaches to gain competitive advantage. Overall cost leadership entails the firm to make all or possible attempts to achieve the lowest costs in production and marketing. Differentiation approach lays emphasis on achieving class leadership by providing unique characteristics to the product/service. Focus strategy attempts to serve a narrow strategic target effectively and efficiently. Thus, on the basis of these three strategies, Almoiz sugar mill follows the Overall Cost Leadership Strategy. By being the low cost leader, it increases its efficiency at all levels thus gaining a significant market share. An illustration is shown below: External Factor Analysis Summary Opportunities Entering International Markets Expanding corporate clients Technology Government and industrial projects. Minimization of cost by properly utilizing the by-products. Organic sugar Threats Seasonal Variation in sugar cane Political Instability Natural Calamities The region in which the mill is located is very risky in terms of stability Competitors in the same region can attract the skilled resource of the company by offering them a better package External Factor Weight Rating Weighted Score Opportunities Entering International Markets 0.05 3 0.15 Expanding corporate clients 0.15 4 0.6 Technology 0.03 4 0.12 Government and industrial projects 0.13 4 0.52 utilizing by-products 0.07 3 0.21 Organic Sugar 0.14 3 0.42 Threats Seasonal Variation in sugar cane 0.14 4 0.56 Political Instability 0.09 3 0.27 Natural Calamities 0.07 3 0.21 location of factory 0.13 2 0.26 Total 1 3.32 Competitor Analysis The following are the main competitors of Almoiz Sugar mills Layyah Sugar Mills Layyah Chashma sugar Mills D. I. Khan Chashma Sugar Mill (D.I.Khan) The mill was set up by the sponsors of the Premier Group in 1991. Technical and other assistance is provided to the sugarcane growers, in addition to the development of 150,000 acres of land for the cane supply. The mill production stands at 18,000 tons per day, the largest in Pakistan.   In the financial year 2010, the Company was declared a subsidiary of The Premier Sugar Mills Distillery Company Limited, under the directions of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.  . The factory is located in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company has the following strategic goals Providing Customer Satisfaction by serving with superior quality production of white sugar at lowest cost Ensuring Security and Accountability by creating an environment of security and accountability for employees, production facilities and products Expanding Customer Base by exploring new national and international markets and undertaking product research and development in sugar industry Ensuring Efficient Resource Management by managing human, financial, technical and infrastructural resources so as to support all our strategic goals and to ensure highest possible value addition to stakeholders. Products White Crystaline Sugar White Crystalline Sugar Molasses Molasses Bagasse Bagasse Layyah Sugar Mills (Layyah) Layyah Sugar Mills is a project of The Thal Industries Corporation Limited having its registered office at 23 Pir Khurshid Colony, Multan. The company was incorporated on September 07, 1953 under the companies Act 1913 (Now Companies Ordinance 1984) as Public Limited company limited by shares. Its shares are quoted on Karachi and Lahore stock exchanges in Pakistan. The company is engaged in production and sale of white refined sugar. Layyah Sugar Mills was set up by the Thal Development Authority (Defunct) with a capacity of 1200 TCD in 1954, which was enhanced, to 2000 TCD in 1979-80 and further to 2700 TCD in 1990-91. It was the first sugar mills installed and commissioned in Punjab after existence of Pakistan. After privatization the new management, by taking some drastic measures, enhanced the crushing capacity of sugar mills from 2700 TCD to 3500 TCD in year 2001. In 2002; Company undertook BMR Expansion to add new mills tandem of 4000 Tons Crushing/Day . In 2002-2003; Undertook second phase of  BMR Expansion to increase in crushing capacity and synchronize the process house with the mills house to 6700 Tons Crushed/Day (TCD),  successfully  completed during the crushing season 2002-2003. Due to which  capacity of sugar mills has been increased from 6,700 TCD to 9,300 TCD.   Financial Analysis Liquidity Ratios Year 2011 2010 2009 Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Current Ratio 0.96 0.96 1.12 0.76 0.87 1.08 1.00 0.72 Quick Ratio 0.35 0.22 0.79 0.36 0.52 0.58 0.55 0.22 Inventory to Net working Capital -13.50 -19.63 2.81 -1.62 -2.69 6.08 213.06 -1.80 The  current ratio  is a  financial ratio  that measures whether or not a firm has enough resources to pay its debts over the next 12 months. It compares a firms  current assets  to its current liabilities. The current ratio is an indication of a firms  market liquidity  and ability to meet creditors demands. Acceptable current ratios vary from industry to industry and are generally between 1.5 and 3 for healthy businesses. If a companys current ratio is in this range, then it generally indicates good short-term financial strength. Almoiz has a current ratio of less than 1 for the year 2011 as well as the year 2010 where as in 2009 the current assets of Almoiz are slightly more than its current liabilities therefore the ratio is above 1 in 2009. Out of the three sugar mills the value of current ratio for Layyah sugar mill indicates good financial strength as compared to Chashma and Almoiz sugar mills. Quick Ratio is an indicator of a companys short-term liquidity.  The quick ratio  measures  a companys  ability to meet  its short-term obligations with  its most liquid assets. A higher quick ratio  indicates a  better position of the  company. In the years 2010 and 2011 Layyah sugar mills has a higher quick ratio where as in 2009 Almoiz has a higher quick ratio. Inventory to Net Working Capital measures  a firms  capability  to finance its  inventories  from its available cash. Layyah sugar mill has a better capability to finance its inventories from available cash as compared to Almoiz and Chashma sugar mills. Leverage Ratios 2011 2010 2009 Leverage Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Debt to assets 0.70 0.71 0.81 0.65 0.68 0.80 0.65 0.82 Debt to equity 2.28 2.43 4.22 1.89 2.12 3.94 1.86 4.48 Long Term Debt to equity 1.34 0.83 1.47 1.38 1.35 1.96 1.45 2.30 TIE 1.08 1.37 1.65 0.12 2.16 1.82 0.02 0.68 Debt to Assets is A metric used to measure a companys financial risk by determining how much of the companys assets have been financed by debt. Layyah and Chashma sugar mill have a higher debt to assets ratio as compared to Almoiz sugar mill. Debt to Equity is a measure of a companys financial leverage calculated by dividing  its total liabilities  by  stockholders equity. It indicates what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. Almoiz sugar mill has a lesser debt to equity ratio as compared to Layyah and Chashma sugar mill. Long term debt to equity is a way to determine a companys  leverage. The ratio is calculated by taking the companys  long-term debt and dividing it by stockholders equity. The greater a companys leverage, the higher the ratio. Generally, companies with higher ratios are thought to be more risky  because they have more liabilities and less  equity. Overall for all the three years Layyah sugar mill has a higher debt to equity ratio as compared to Almoiz and Chasma sugar mill. Times Interest Earned (TIE) is a metric used to measure a companys ability to meet its debt obligations. It is calculated by taking a companys earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and dividing it by the total interest payable on bonds and other contractual debt. It is usually quoted as a ratio and indicates how many times a company can cover its interest charges on a pretax basis. Failing to meet these obligations could force a company into bankruptcy. In 2009 Almoiz has a very less TIE ratio Chashma and Layyah have higher TIE ratio than Almoiz sugar mill. Profitability Ratios Profitability 2011 2010 2009 Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma Layyah Almoiz Chashma GPM 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.03 0.12 0.11 0.05 0.09 NPM 0.008 0.02 0.025 -0.022 0.05 0.018 -0.217 -0.05 OPM 0.106 0.10 0.11 0.013 0.10 0.08 0.005 0.08 ROA 0.006 0.025 0.046 -0.015 0.104 0.040 -0.072 -0.062 EPS 0.16 4.9 12.23 -0.35 10.78 7.9 -7.59 Gross Profit Margin is a financial metric used to assess  a firms financial health by revealing the  proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold.  Gross profit margin serves as the  source for paying additional expenses and future savings. The GPM for Almoiz sugar mill has increased from 2009 to 2011 and in 2011 it is almost the same as Layyah and Chashma sugar mill however in between it dropped down to 0.03 in 2010. Net Profit Margin is very useful when comparing  companies in similar industries. A higher profit margin indicates a more profitable company that  has better control over  its costs compared to  its competitors. Almoiz sugar mill has a negative NPM in 2010 and 2009 since it faced a net loss and in 2011 though it didnt face a loss but the NPM is still less than that of its competitors. Operating Profit Margin is a measurement of what proportion of a companys revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. A healthy operating margin is required for a company to be able to pay for its

Should School Be Compulsory? :: essays research papers

I believe that, after year 6, school should NOT be compulsory. By the time you have completed your primary education, you have learned the basic skills needed to get through life. High school is simply an extension of the basic skills learned in the primary school system, and is unneeded unless you pursue your education to a very high degree.It is not the government's decision whether or not you should have to attend high school. It should be the individual's choice, and forced on no-one, because by the time you have completed your primary education, you are old enough to make this decision.In high school there are more trouble makers who only disrupt the classes because they do not want to be there. These people disrupt the class and make it more difficult for those who are interested in the subject and want to learn. If school were optional, these students would not be in classes disrupting the class and ruining the chances of other students. Instead, they could be out in the work force making money and beginning their careers earlier, giving them more experience in the workforce and making it easier for them to rise up to a postition of responsibility. If school were optional, it would benefit both the students that want to learn and those that do not, and would rather be in the workforceThe sort of education that is offered in the high school system is not needed by all people. After primary school, students have learned the basic skills required to work in an untrained proffession, and do not need the more advanced education that high school offers. Sons or daughters often carry on the family business, and after completing their primary education, any further, more advanced education is unnecassary, because they can learn all they need to know about their future proffession from their father/mother.

Challenges of Mobile Commerce Essay

Currently, there are a number of mobile commerce applications that can be used by consumers with suitable handsets. For example, now customers in some countries like Japan and UK shop via their mobile handsets exactly similar to shopping in malls. The applications include mobile banking (financial services), advertising, product location and shopping, auction and reverse auction, and entertainment, to name a few (Varshney and Vetter, 2001). Table 1 shows summary of mobile e-commerce that is now available in market. The table also explains the relevant questions for each mobile commerce applications. Among twelve issues in mobile commerce, this paper only considers three of them; they are security issues of mobile commerce, development of complex application in limited speed of mobile processor, and human-handhelds interface through the development of attractive graphical user interface in mobile devices (Tarasewich, Nickerson, and Warkentin, Merrill, 2002). Amidst the increasing number of consumers that shop online via mobile devices, there is a potential threat that could prevent the fast adoption of mobile commerce; the threat is security. It is known that electronic commerce including e-commerce is potential to malware that contains viruses, adwares, or hijackers that collect our credit card information and sending it into a remote host for further criminal actions. In order to eliminate this threat, mobile application developers provide high-level threat into personal and corporation confidential information such as password and personal identification number (PIN). Since computer technology has gone mobile, the applications and computer program also follow. Therefore, it is also common to find many applications that tailored to work on mobile devices such as wireless e-mail and Microsoft Office for mobile handsets. However, mobile devices have some drawbacks such as limited bandwidth allocation that restricts the use of several mobile applications such as video conferencing over the phone, high-speed internet, bus on demand and may others. In addition, mobile handhelds are also limited in processor speeds in which highest processor speed for typical PDAs is about 400 MHz while desktop computers have achieved more than 2 GHz. The question is what type of interface that between the messaging services. Fortunately, to simplify and enable customers to use mobile devices, currently, there is new module called a hyperbolic tree that allows users to view and present their information on an easy-to-use, interactive, multi-dimensional tree, with additional visual navigation features. By definition, hyperbolic trees are dynamic visualizations, just like tree map, fisheye view, cone trees, cam trees, and perspective wall that based on interactive manipulation of the structure of the information (Ovaska, 2004). The interesting part in the development of visualization in mobile handhelds is that fact that such devices such as smart phone and PDA have small screen than desktop computer. This fact underlies the way information presented in the devices. Mobile commerce is the next step of online commerce. Therefore, the opportunity for mobile commerce lies on the number of mobile service penetration rates. According to ITU (2005), UK records 62% of mobile penetration rates. This considerably high penetration rate has put mobile subscribers in the U. K. to surpass those in fixed phone lines and imply that mobile commerce will be easily adoptable by U. K. consumers. Table 2 shows U. S. internet penetration rate compared to other countries in the world.

Nonverbal Communication Essay

Among the many different ways that we as human beings communicate with one another, nonverbal communication is one of the most common yet most unnoticed form of communication. Also described as body language, nonverbal communication can be the slightest facial expression or just the certain position of your body in a conversation. Without even realizing it, your body language can show feelings of happiness, awkwardness, nervousness and much more. Furthermore, the study of the movement, facial expressions and posture is called kinesics. Having the skill to understand kinesics is a fundamental tool in all aspects of life. Being able to read other’s body language can help you in a number of situations. By learning more about kinetics, you can open your eyes to a whole new way of reading others as well as presenting yourself appropriately for a given situation. In order to utilize any nonverbal communication skills effectively, you must first be familiar with what it exactly means as well as to recognize what each motion or signal symbolizes. These signals could be anything from the twitch of a nose, to a gaze of the eyes or just the fiddling of hair. To be completely knowledgeable about studying one’s actions, you must learn the deeper meaning behind each gesture. That’s not to say, however, that each signal means the same for everyone in every situation. Noticing that your spouse is not making eye contact with you does not necessarily signify that she or she is telling a lie, although that may be a possibility. Generalizations such as avoiding eye contact or fidgeting to indicate that a person is lying are simply what many studies have shown to be more than likely true in a number of cases. There is much debate as to whether or not non-verbal communication skills should be taught as an aid for medical uses. Of course those in professions such as the psychiatric field, gain a trained eye to notice certain feelings of their patients, but there is question about if the skill is even a teachable subject. A reason being because there doesn’t seem to be any real answer or strict guideline to every action or expression, especially when it comes to discussing the differences between cultures. Yourself and certain gestures that you make can be considered as strange or even insulting. Take eye contact for example. Most people who have grown up in not only the United States, but most Western cultures, use eye contact in a positive way. When making eye contact with someone who you are speaking with, it shows that you are listening and paying close attention to what they are saying. Also, it shows a sense of respect, where the elder in a situation prefers the child to be looking them in the eye while being scolded, showing that they are understanding and paying attention to a lecture. On the other hand, there are negative connotations regarding eye contact when it is being avoided. Usually when someone is not looking you in the eye while speaking to you, it gives a sense that the person is not being truthful. This scenario takes a whole three-hundred-sixty degree change in the minds of other cultures. For example, some Caribbean cultures find eye contact to be offensive. They believe that when a child is being scolded, they should not make eye contact. It is a sign of disrespect, as the child is expected to lower their eyes and show complete remorse. Aside from eye contact, there is a whole spectrum of differences in common gestures between cultures. In many cases, Americans especially fail to understand that the world is very different from the United States. In America, the â€Å"Rock On† symbol is made by closing a fist while leaving only the index and pinky finger extended. Commonly used when listening to music or maybe simply during an exciting situation. On the other hand, traveling to Italy and preforming this hand gesture is not only insulting, but is considered an offense. In Italy, it is a sign that when given by a man to another man symbolizes that â€Å"other men are in relations with his wife†, which is obviously a huge sign of disrespect as well as a personal insult. There are many ways in which cultures differ when it comes to body language, but there are a few universal expressions that are the same across the board. British scientist, Charles Darwin, was the first to recognize the six basic facial expressions as being the same all over the world. They are happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, and anger. Darwin first made these claims in his book titled The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Darwin’s idea about the six facial gestures was later put together  in a study in the 1960’s by Paul Ekman. Ekman was a psychiatrist expert in facial expressions and decided to test the validity of Darwin’s theory. He found that all men, even those from isolated tribes, were able to recognize all six expressions for what they were, proving Darwin correct. http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap5.html http://www.businessballs.com/body-language.htm#body-language-different-cultures http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/darwin_charles.shtml Not only is it important to understand what messages you body language sends while you are in other cultures, but it may be even more important to learn how to carry and present yourself in the workplace. Knowing what sends off confident and powerful signals to your boss or employees can be a key factor in your performance and enables others to take you seriously. It could even be what makes or breaks you being accepted for a position you are applying for. As everyone knows, first impressions are incredibly strong and lasting. Before an interview is begun, there is almost always a handshake with the interviewer. Even before that, theres the moment that you are walking up to that person and your strut and presence or lack of fidgeting approaching the handshake sends signals before you can even present your credentials. They will note if you carry yourself confidently and especially if your handshake is firm or limp. When asked what percentage of communication comes from actual words and speaking, most would think it’s a high percentage. In actuality, only a surprising 7% of communication is derived from words. That leaves 38% to vocal details such as the tone, speed, or volume while speaking. So interestingly enough, 55% of communication is the reading and sending of body language signals. Now the signals that you send may give away what your feeling, or they could be a complete misrepresentation. This is why it is in your best interest to make note of how others are seeing you, so you can make any necessary changes to your behavior. This is obviously easier said  than done, especially if you are among those who have always been the nervous type and tend to perspire or fidget. Fortunately, knowing what your faults are and having the knowledge to correct them can result in making a complete change and eventually landing that promotion that you have sought after for so long. First, understanding the importance of eye contact in crucial. One step of effectively making this connection with an audience is knowing the material you are presenting. If you are constantly referring back to your powerpoint or notes, your obviously not making eye contact which in turn creates a distance that is imperative to avoid. Another tactic is to rid of all objects that could count as a barrier. Standing behind a podium or folder or even crossing your arms will create the distance between you and your audience, and may ultimately end up with a performance that was not your best. Along with making eye contact, it is a good idea to appear animated. Using hand gestures or maybe even moving about the room will create interest which in turn leaves a great impression on the audience.

Students Rights in Private School

Students Rights in Private School The rights which you enjoyed as a student in public school are not necessarily the same when you attend private school. Thats because everything pertaining to your stay at private school, especially boarding school, is governed by something called contract law. This is important to understand especially when it comes to infractions of the discipline rules or code of conduct. Lets look at the facts about students rights in private school. Fact: Students Rights in Private Schools Are Not the Same as Those in the Public School Systems The Center for Public Education notes: The hurdles erected by the U. S. Constitutions Fourth and Fifth Amendments are exclusive to the nations public schools. Private K-12 institutions have far more leeway to conduct unfettered investigations, withhold findings if they choose, and unceremoniously ask a student or faculty member to leave. Tuition and employment contracts rule private school relationships, while Americas social compact and legal contract (the Constitution) governs how public officials must act. In Loco Parentis U.S. Constitution.net weighs in on the subject of In Loco Parentis, a Latin phrase meaning literally in place of parents: As private institutions, private schools are not subject to any restrictions in terms of violations of the rights of students. Hence, while a public school might have to prove that its violations are for a higher purpose or stem from its in loco parentis responsibilities, a private school may set limits arbitrarily. What Does This Mean for Private School Students? Basically, it means that if you go to a private school, you are not covered by the same laws as you were when you attended public school. Private schools are covered by something called contract law. It means that schools have the right, and obligation, to act as legal guardians for students to ensure their wellbeing.  Practically speaking, that also means youd better follow the rules, particularly the ones which have serious penalties for any infraction. Participating in activities like hazing, cheating, sexual misconduct, substance abuse and so on, will land you in serious trouble. Mess with these and you will find yourself suspended or expelled. You dont want those kinds of entries on your school record when it comes time to apply to college.   What Are Your Rights? How can you find out what your rights are at your private school? Start with your student handbook. You signed a document indicating that you had read the handbook, understood it and would abide by it. Your parents also signed a similar document. Those documents are legal contracts. They spell out the rules which govern your relationship with your school. Freedom of Choice Remember: if you dont like the school or its rules, you do not have to attend it. Thats another reason why it is so important for you to find the school which is the best fit for your needs and requirements. Accountability The net effect of contract law as it pertains to students is that it makes students accountable for their actions. For example, if you are caught smoking pot on campus and the school has a zero-tolerance policy regarding smoking pot, you will be in a lot of trouble. You will be held accountable for your actions. The review and consequences will be swift and final. If you were in public school, you could claim protection under your constitutional rights. The process typically is lengthy and might include appeals. Making students accountable teaches them an important lesson in living. Making students accountable also creates safe schools and a climate conducive to learning. If you will be held accountable for bullying or intimidating a classmate, you probably arent going to take the chance of doing it and getting caught. The consequences are too severe. Since every student in a private school is governed by contract law and the provisions in the contract between you, your parents and the school, take time to familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations. If you dont understand something, ask your faculty adviser for an explanation. Disclaimer: Be sure to review any legal questions and issues with an attorney. Article edited by  Stacy Jagodowski

Rubric - Quick Guide for all Content Areas

Rubric - Quick Guide for all Content Areas A rubric is a tool that teachers use to assess many different types of assignments including written work, projects, speeches, and more. Every rubric is divided into a set of criteria (ex: organization, evidence, conclusion) with descriptors or markers of quality to explain each criterion. A rubric also has a rating scale that uses point values or standard performance levels to identify a students level of mastery for an assignment. The rating scale on a rubric makes it an excellent way to grade an assignment as well as a way to progress monitor student performance over time. Rubrics are also useful as teaching tools that spell out expectations for students to follow. Research shows that student input in constructing rubrics can improve scores and engagement. Finally, rubrics can also be used to facilitate self and peer reviews of student work. Rubric Criterion Generally, all rubrics, regardless of subject matter, contain criteria for introductions and conclusions. Standards of English, or grammar and spelling, are also criteria common in a rubric. There are, however, many different criteria or measurements in a rubric that are subject specific. For example, in a rubric for an English literary essay, the criteria might include: Purpose or thesis statementOrganizationEvidence and support In contrast, a rubric for a science lab report might feature other measurements such as: ProblemDefinitionsData and resultsSolution The descriptors for the criteria contains qualifying language for each level of performance that links the rubric assignment or task to the lesson or units learning objectives. These descriptors are what make a rubric different from a checklist. The explanations detail the quality of each element in a rubric according to a standard of mastery while a checklist does not. Scoring with Rubric Descriptors Student work can be rated on a rubric according to different scales or levels of mastery. Some examples of levels on rubric could be: 5-scale rubric: mastery, accomplished, developing, emerging, unacceptable4-scale rubric: above proficiency, proficient, approaching proficiency, below proficiency3-scale rubric: outstanding, satisfactory, unsatisfactory The descriptors on the rubric are different for each level of mastery. Take, for example, the difference in the language in a 3-scale rubric that rates student work for the criterion incorporation of evidence: Outstanding: Appropriate and accurate evidence is explained  well.  Satisfactory: Appropriate evidence is explained, however, some inaccurate information is included.  Unsatisfactory: Evidence is missing or irrelevant. When the teacher uses a rubric to score student work, the value of each element must be done in increments, and different point values can be assigned. For example, a rubric can be organized to award 12 points for outstanding use of evidence, 8 points for satisfactory use of evidence, and 4 points for unsatisfactory use of evidence. It is possible to weight one criterion or element to count more heavily in the grading. For example, a social studies teacher may decide to triple the points for the incorporation of evidence in a students response. Increasing the value for this element to 36 points when the other elements in an assignment are 12 points each indicates to the student the importance of this criterion. In this example, the assignment, now worth a total of 72 points, could be broken down as follows: Introduction or thesis- 12 pointsEvidence- 36 pointsOrganization-12 pointsConclusion-12 points Reasons for Rubrics When rubrics are given to the students before they complete their work, students have a better understanding of how they will be assessed. Rubrics may also help reduce the time spent on grading which may result in an increase of time spent on teaching. One important benefit of using rubrics for assignments is that they help teachers develop consistency in evaluating student performance across a class. When used on a larger scale, rubrics can provide a consistent scoring method across a grade,  school, or district. For some assignments, multiple teachers can grade a students work using the same rubric and then average those grades. This process, known as calibration, can help build teacher agreement around the different levels such as exemplary, proficient, and developing. More on Rubrics: Creating and Using RubricsHow to Create Rubrics

The Invention and History of the Altimeter

The Invention and History of the Altimeter The altimeter is an instrument that measures vertical distance with respect to a reference level. It can give the altitude of the land surface above sea level or the altitude of an airplane over the ground. French physicist  Louis Paul Cailletet  invented the altimeter and the high-pressure manometer. Cailletet was the first to liquefy oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and air in 1877. He had been studying the composition of gases given off by iron in the blast furnace of his fathers ironworks. At the same time, Swiss physician Raoul-Pierre Pictet liquefied oxygen using another method. Cailletet had an interest in aeronautics, which led to developing an altimeter to measure the altitude of an airplane. Version 2.0 AKA the  Kollsman Window In 1928, a German-American inventor named Paul Kollsman changed the world of  aviation with the invention of the worlds first accurate barometric altimeter, which was also called the â€Å"Kollsman Window.† His altimeter converted barometric pressure into the distance above sea level in feet. It even allowed pilots to fly blind. Kollsman was born in Germany, where he studied civil engineering. He emigrated to the United States in 1923 and worked in New York as a truck driver for Pioneer Instruments Co. He formed the Kollsman Instrument Company in 1928 when Pioneer didnt accept his design. He had then-Lieutenant Jimmy Doolittle conduct a test flight with the altimeter in 1929 and was eventually able to sell them to the United States Navy. Kollsman sold his company to the Square D Company in 1940 for four million dollars. The Kollsman Instrument Company eventually became a division of Sun Chemical Corporation. Kollsman also went on to file hundreds of other patents, including those for converting salt water into fresh water and for a slip-resistant bathroom surface. He even owned one of the earliest ski areas in the United States, Snow Valley in Vermont. He married actress Baroness Julie Luli Deste and purchased The Enchanted Hill estate in Beverly Hills. The Radio Altimeter   Lloyd Espenschied invented the first radio altimeter in 1924.  Espenschied was a native of St. Louis, Missouri who graduated from the Pratt Institute with a degree in electrical engineering. He was interested in wireless and radio communications and worked for telephone and telegraph companies. He eventually became the director of high-frequency transmission development at Bell Telephone Laboratories.   The principle  behind how it works involves monitoring a beam of radio waves transmitted by an aircraft and their time to return as reflected from the ground to calculate altitude above the ground. The radio altimeter differs from the barometric altimeter in showing altitude above the ground below rather than above sea level. That is a critical difference for improved flight safety. In 1938, the FM radio altimeter was first demonstrated in New York by Bell Labs. In the first public display of the device, radio signals were bounced off the ground to show pilots the altitude of an aircraft. Besides the altimeter, he was also the co-creator of the coaxial cable, an important component of television and long-distance telephone service. He held over 100 patents in communications technology.

Social Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social Psychology - Essay Example Although we as humans, are taught to learn and think for ourselves various factors exist, which tend to influence our independent thinking and coerce us to follow the more socially acceptable norms. This paper discusses the various popular experiments conducted during that era, and deduces, based on the observations, whether human beings are naturally built to submit to authority and comply with the rules laid down for them, or is it a case of exception rather than the norm. Finally, it concludes that human beings do have a tendency to be intrinsically motivated to conform to authority and to obey authority. Conformity refers to the transformation in behaviour or attitudes of people triggered by the need / desire to pursue the beliefs or standards set by others. It entails following the group ideologies, by totally ignoring or disregarding personal opinions. Obedience on the other hand, merely implies obeying the instructions / orders. These two concepts can be studied or explained i n a better manner by way of various experiments carried out by researchers such as Asch, Milgram, Zimbardo and the likes (Andersen, Taylor, 2007). According to a study conducted by Asch, (1951): a group of individuals were involved in an experiment to study the issues related to ‘conformity’ and the manner in which individuals behave / react in a given situation. The basic objective of the experiment was to observe the reactions of the participants and substantiate the hypotheses developed by the researchers with regard to ‘conformity’. However, for the purpose of this experiment the participants were mislead into believing that they were being involved in a study on ‘visual perception’ and kept the true purpose of the experiment, a secret. They were seated in a room along with a few stooges (i.e. individuals who were part of the team of the researchers conducting the experiment) who were made to pose as participants. The participants were show n lines on a screen and were asked to point out which one out of the three was of the same length as the target line. However, their responses were manipulated by the three stooges, who deliberately made mistakes by providing wrong answers. The purpose behind such an experiment was to measure the number of times the participants were influenced in their decisions / answers, by the responses of the stooges (Andersen, Taylor, 2007; Weiten, 2008). The method used by Asch seems quite artificial in its approach as it lacks validity. This is because the participants are required to conform when a correct answer actually exists. Disagreements do occur in everyday lives when there are hardly any right or wrong answers hence this approach seems highly illogical and invalid. Furthermore the results derived from the same may not be consistent in the long run, which is evident from the subsequent experiments conducted by British researchers Perrin and Spencer (Cox, 2002). It is also argued that Asch’s experiments were conducted at a time when the nation was exposed to an external environment which generated high levels of

Change Management in Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Change Management in Schools - Essay Example But here this paper instead of filling its contents with intentional verbosity, our approach is quite goal-oriented. In addition, many of these research areas are further convoluted with links and interactions to other, nor-related research that need to be considered. Finally, the lack of accurate measurability severely hampers the statistical assessment of suitability of a stated hypothesis. But this paper is rather unconventional and attempts to dig out the actual problems and stumbling blocks that hamper the process of change management in our institutions. While above-mentioned factor pertaining to the lack of accurate measurability is true for the entire field of education, it is particularly acute in researches directly related on such topics. For this reason, published articles have the search for an explanation of actions and phenomena in common as a general rule all, albeit from different points of views. But this paper is, as mentioned above is rather goal-oriented fraught with realistic recommendations and suggestions. Despite the fact that the field of this issue has attracted some of the best researchers within the educational realm, the lack of unity in opinion as well as a structured overview is outmost apparent. This paper attempts to overcome this lack by providing a comprehensive overview and analysis of current recruiting and retaining concepts. Nonetheless, an attempt is made with this paper to lessen the validation pressure from lack of data by providing the results of a small but comprehensive literature review thorough a number of books, journals and web-based sources. Thus, coming out from the ambit of educational concerns, this issue has become an inevitable topic to think upon in general. To date, there have been various researches conducted on this topic; similarly this paper is a humble attempt from my side not only to have a discussion on it in general but also to explore some unexplored avenues related with this issue that may furt her help us reaching at rather down-to-earth conclusion. There is no doubt that in Britain, in the last ten years, we have seen massive strides forward in the education system. The establishment of a national curriculum and other reforms have provided the basic framework for improvement in educational provision, but at a considerable cost to teachers. Since the Education Reform Act (1988), we have seen a continuous stream of systemic, top-down change which has had a major impact on teachers' professionalism. Their roles in strategic planning and decision making have been dominated by the requirement to implement externally driven initiatives, and workloads have expanded leading to high levels of stress, low levels of morale and difficulties with recruitment and retention. This study is offering a strategy to help school management reconstruct their professionalism by providing a framework within which they can play a full and active part in school improvement and school development. The research carried out and the consequent conclusion thereof offered here has the potential to bring about lasting change and has raised standards through the enhancement of teachers'

Scientific Concept Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Scientific Concept Research - Essay Example The process we call recycling is the act of making used materials into other forms of materials that will benefit the end user and the environment we live in. Everyday we live on resources and produce waste after consumption. However, millions of individuals neglect these waste materials and do not realize their worth for other functions in our environment. So one question comes to our mind, why is recycling important? An old saying goes, â€Å"it’s easier said than done.† I have seen hundreds of world leaders talk about recycling, making our earth a greener place to live in etc. but they have never successfully campaigned for recycling. As soon as they newly elected officers sit on their desk, they forget about their vision and just ride along the power trip. For me, recycling is very essential to us, human beings, because it affects not only ourselves but also our future generations to come. We must preserve the beauty of our environment for our children to see as well. The thought in recycling is comparable to the thought of reincarnation in the Christian bible. As our human bodies decay and our souls depart, we are reborn into other creatures or species and form part of society in a different perspective. When we pass away, our spirit is reborn into a different being. We may be a dog, cat, or insect in the next life. Recycling does the same function through a cycle of waste to a new form of use in society. Science tries to explain the importance of recycling because our world does not have unlimited resources. By providing an alternative of producing new light from garbage, we are able to save nature and preserve it. We can compare recycling to religious practice because religion observes certain rituals and traditions to nurture their beings. Almost any church needs rituals and weekly collection (Ackerman, 1997). They collect resources and impose a â€Å"bringing back to life† of used resources such as

Challenges, solutions, benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Challenges, solutions, benefits - Essay Example The reason for the many complications in patient’s condition is the inability of staff to recognize significant changes on the physical condition of the patient: breathing, skin colour, etc. In 2004, the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in line with its 100,000 lives campaign, â€Å"encouraged American hospitals to implement rapid response teams (RRTs) (20). The major purpose of RRT is to preclude the possibility of deaths outside the intensive care unit (ICU) by â€Å"providing a resource team that can be called to a patient’s bedside† (21) all the time. As a matter of fact, a patient’s baseline condition starts to aggravate for an average 6.5 hours before a much more critical situation could occur; and what is more interesting is that 70% of these conditions can be prevented. The early detection of the possible signs of attacks by an RRT could do a lot to reduce the number of deaths and the rate of transferring patient to higher levels of care . RRT intervention has contributed to 50% decrease on the number of cardiac arrest cases outside the intensive care unit; the rate of transfer of patient to the ICU was decreased by 58%; and deaths due to operative complications were reduced to 37%. An RRT is an immediate response team that may be composed of the following: (1) physician and nurse; (2) intensivist and respiratory therapist; (3) physician assistant alone; (4) a critical care nurse and respiratory therapist; or (5) a clinical specialist alone.

Should religious symbols be banned for workplaces in Quebec Essay

Should religious symbols be banned for workplaces in Quebec - Essay Example During this time, the Catholic Church was granted en seigneurie zones of land covering about 30% of the lands that the French Crown granted in New France (Dickson and Young 16). Due to influences from France and the religious fervor during the Counter-Reformation, Quebec was mainly religious and women joined the Roman Catholic nuns in large numbers. The 1944 election saw Maurice Dupress ascend as the premier of Quebec. He was known for his strong opposition to intellectuals, modernizers and trade unions. Due to his beliefs and policies, the period he ruled became known as the Great Darkness (La Grande Noirceur) (Courville 49). During his rule under the Union Nationale party, the society of Quebec was culturally close minded and Catholic doctrine and morality defined the way of life for most people. In 1960, the Union Nationale party lost the election to Jean Lesage’s Liberal Party who stood under the slogan â€Å"it’s time for change†, thus sparking The Quiet Rev olution (Courville 72). This period was marked by social and political transformation where Quebecois national identify took the center stage from secularism. The late 1960 also saw a gain in momentum of Quebec separatism with Rene Levesque forming the Mouvement Souverainete-Association. Bureaucracy in the government of Quebec saw a growth in friction between English-speaking Canada and Quebec. In 1968, the Parti Quebecois was formed when different separatist force joined into one under the leadership of Rene Levesque (Dickinson and Young 57). The party gained popular vote, increasing from 8% in 1966 to 30% in 1973. From 1970 to 2000, the people of Quebec grew in confidence and sought to find their path. This was a time in which people were angry at the yoke placed on them by the church. People stopped attending churches, women started leaving their convents and every form of authority was put under a microscope The Charter of Values is officially referred to as Bill 60 (Charter aff irming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests) (Edmiston 1). The charter proposes provisions to revise the Quebec Charter of human Rights and Freedoms, institute an obligation of reserve and neutrality for all employees of the state including healthcare personnel and teachers, limit wearing of religious paraphernalia for government personnel and ensure that all people have their face uncovered when giving and receiving service from the state (Gagnon 1). Items prohibited include niqab, hijab, turban, kippah and other large pendants denoting a specific religion. Small pendants such as rings and earrings that are discrete will not be affected. This prohibition will affect all personnel of the state such as teachers, nurses, doctors, police and firefighters, secretaries in government offices, public daycare employees and politicians holding government offices (Edmiston 1). Parti Quebecois proposed the charter of values to solve the controversy on reasonable accommodation in Quebec. Reasonable accommodation describes the modification that does not cause unjustified burden, to ensure that minority groups enjoy the same freedom and right as the mainstream population in cases where it is necessary (Gagnon 2). The charter was proposed mainly to promote

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Macroeconomics - Essay Example hen the economy falls into recession or deflation, Fed normally cuts the interest rates and takes suitable policies to maintain the low interest rates. The intention is to give incentive to people and businesses to borrow and spend more and thus to sustain the economy. But when the economy shows the signs of inflation and fast economic growth, Fed will raise the interest rates and keep high interest rates. This will cause the borrowing become costlier and lead to slow spending and economic growth. Here the situation needs special attention of policy makers as the economy shows the signs of deflation in some districts and inflationary trends in other districts. The states of New York and San Francisco districts shows the trends of price deflation while all other districts believe that inflation may be at hand. The groups of policy makers as well as media who fear the future outbreak of inflation believe that the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates near zero and pump the economy with credits will lead to the spread of inflation in the near future. But among the policy makers of Fed, a substantial wing believes that the already low rate of inflation will again be slow due to the unsolved real estate problems in majority of the districts. It can be pointed out that dwindling rate of inflation is an evidence of the excess capacity and need to sustain the economy with lower interest rates. The inflation is always danger, but deflation is more danger. Hence, Fed’s decision whether to keep the lower interest rate so as to widen the spending or to increase the interest rate in order to tighten the economy, is a crucial question at this stage. Though there are some trends of inflation Fed will decide to keep the lower interest and loosen the monetary policy. Hence in this present situation it is better to keep the lower interest rate and raise the short-term interest rate whenever the situation arises. At present inflation cannot be seen as an immediate

Should religious symbols be banned for workplaces in Quebec Essay

Should religious symbols be banned for workplaces in Quebec - Essay Example During this time, the Catholic Church was granted en seigneurie zones of land covering about 30% of the lands that the French Crown granted in New France (Dickson and Young 16). Due to influences from France and the religious fervor during the Counter-Reformation, Quebec was mainly religious and women joined the Roman Catholic nuns in large numbers. The 1944 election saw Maurice Dupress ascend as the premier of Quebec. He was known for his strong opposition to intellectuals, modernizers and trade unions. Due to his beliefs and policies, the period he ruled became known as the Great Darkness (La Grande Noirceur) (Courville 49). During his rule under the Union Nationale party, the society of Quebec was culturally close minded and Catholic doctrine and morality defined the way of life for most people. In 1960, the Union Nationale party lost the election to Jean Lesage’s Liberal Party who stood under the slogan â€Å"it’s time for change†, thus sparking The Quiet Rev olution (Courville 72). This period was marked by social and political transformation where Quebecois national identify took the center stage from secularism. The late 1960 also saw a gain in momentum of Quebec separatism with Rene Levesque forming the Mouvement Souverainete-Association. Bureaucracy in the government of Quebec saw a growth in friction between English-speaking Canada and Quebec. In 1968, the Parti Quebecois was formed when different separatist force joined into one under the leadership of Rene Levesque (Dickinson and Young 57). The party gained popular vote, increasing from 8% in 1966 to 30% in 1973. From 1970 to 2000, the people of Quebec grew in confidence and sought to find their path. This was a time in which people were angry at the yoke placed on them by the church. People stopped attending churches, women started leaving their convents and every form of authority was put under a microscope The Charter of Values is officially referred to as Bill 60 (Charter aff irming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests) (Edmiston 1). The charter proposes provisions to revise the Quebec Charter of human Rights and Freedoms, institute an obligation of reserve and neutrality for all employees of the state including healthcare personnel and teachers, limit wearing of religious paraphernalia for government personnel and ensure that all people have their face uncovered when giving and receiving service from the state (Gagnon 1). Items prohibited include niqab, hijab, turban, kippah and other large pendants denoting a specific religion. Small pendants such as rings and earrings that are discrete will not be affected. This prohibition will affect all personnel of the state such as teachers, nurses, doctors, police and firefighters, secretaries in government offices, public daycare employees and politicians holding government offices (Edmiston 1). Parti Quebecois proposed the charter of values to solve the controversy on reasonable accommodation in Quebec. Reasonable accommodation describes the modification that does not cause unjustified burden, to ensure that minority groups enjoy the same freedom and right as the mainstream population in cases where it is necessary (Gagnon 2). The charter was proposed mainly to promote

Most dangerous game Essay Example for Free

Most dangerous game Essay In the short story,† The Most Dangerous Game†, by Richard Connell, the author uses irony in the short story to support the theme of the book – the roles of hunter and hunted frequently reversed. In the short story, Rainsford, a big game hunter, believes that he is being persuaded by General Zaroff hunt humans with the general. However, Rainsford realizes the truth – he is going to get hunted by Zaroff, not hunting with him. â€Å"You don’t mean – â€Å"cried Rainsford. †My dear fellow,† said the general, â€Å"have I not told you I always mean what I say about hunting? †(11)is an example of situational irony because the reader didn’t expect Rainsford, the big game hunter, to become hunted . The quote supports the thesis because it shows the quick reversal of the role of hunter and hunted in the short story. This quote shows that the role of hunter and hunted are not set in stone; Rainsford realizes that he is losing a role that he had always assumed he would always have. He is big game – not a big game hunter. However, the fluidity of the roles of hunter and prey also works to Rainsford’s favor. After jumping into the ocean, Rainsford swims to Zaroff’s lair and confronts him in a duel. † I congratulate you,† He [Zaroff] said. †You have won the game. † Rainsford did not smile. †I am still a beast at bay†(15) shows the change in the roles of Zaroff and Rainsford. Rainsford infiltrated into Zaroff’s home and is now getting ready to kill the general, regardless of the fact that the â€Å"game† is over. It is what the reader least expects, thus a piece of situational irony because prey run away and get hunted down and killed by the predator Instead Rainsford becomes the hunter, and now his demands rules supreme. Zaroff was ambushed by Rainsford and is now at his mercy. He is now the prey, and the rules that he made while hunter are irrelevant. This situation was clearly different from page 11, where the general cheerfully informed Rainford that he was going to be hunted down and killed, thus supporting the thesis that the roles of the hunted and the hunter are changed around. This shows that the author used irony to show that the roles of predator and prey are interchangeable.

The Notion Of Machine Translation English Language Essay

The Notion Of Machine Translation English Language Essay The translation process was mentioned as being one of the most effective that is a means of communication especially among cultures of different languages. Translation as a concept has existed hundred years ago, but it is only during the second half of the twentieth century that it emerged as an independent academic. A terrible need for translation has prompted specialized and theorists in the field to seek for more sophisticated methods and techniques for quick, cheap and effective translation. Thus, a new type of translation has appeared to compete with Human Translation which is called Machine translation or the automatic translation. Nowadays the use of machine translation is very important than we may think, because different aspects of modern life have direct for more efficient methods of translation, thus the demand for translation is not satisfied, because there are not enough human translators, or because individuals and organizations do not recognize translation as a complex activity requiring a high level of skill, and therefore they are not prepared to pay what it is worth. This research attempts to compare the most important linguistic aspects of machine translation and to analyze its main problems. The purpose of the given research is to analyze the difficulties of machine translation. The hypothesis that we postulate for this research is that the interlingua approach display the greatest degree of difficulty in the process of translation. The specific objectives of the research are: to define the notion of Machine Translation; to identify and compare different machine translation approaches; to analyze the main problems of machine translation; The research methods employed in the work are analysis, which was used for the study of machine translation and determining its essential features; diachronic analysis, that focuses on historical development of machine translation; the classification method was used for classifying the strategies of machine translation and their problems of ambiguity. We chose this topic, because the machine translation is a tool that allows people to have information about a variety of things in different languages and to understand it without knowing the language. Furthermore it permits us to have the meaning of a word or expressions in a rapid and effective way. As well Machine Translation provides translators useful tools that help them to make their job more efficiently and faster. The most important sources that have been used are: Concise History of the Language Sciences: from the Sumerians to the cognitivists by Koemer E.F., An Introduction to Machine Translation by W. J. Hutchins and Harold L. Somers, Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications by Munday J., Machine Translation by Maegaard B., and Machine Translation: An Introductury Guide by Arnold D. J, Language is the major method for people communicating with each other, but people can only communicate each other with language they both know. Unfortunately there are around 7000 different kinds of languages in the world, and these languages may have different writing systems, grammar and pronunciation. On the other hand, the fast grows of international communication (such as international businesses, national diplomacy, and international conferences) making the demand of translation (such as business document translation, legal document translation and scientific and technical documents translation) is also growing rapidly, cheap and fast translations are required. In this case machine translation becomes a solution. Identifying different definitions of Machine Translation Machine translation of natural languages, commonly known as MT, has multiple personalities. Sergei Nirenburg and Yorick Wilks, in their book Machine Translation claim that,first of all, machine translation is a venerable scientific enterprise, a component of the larger area of studies concerned with the studies of human language understanding capacity. They write that MT is also a technological challenge of the first order. It offers an opportunity to test the understanding of the syntax and semantics of a variety of languages by encoding this vast, though rarely comprehensive, knowledge into a form suitable for processing by computer programs. Also in this book Machine Translation they state that MT has a strong connection with the needs of modern societies. It can be understood as an economic necessity, considering that the growth of international communication keeps intensifying both at government, for instance, European Union, NAFTA, GATT and business and commerce levels, for instance, the exporters need product documentation in the languages of the countries where their products are marketed [12]. In the article Brief History of Machine Translation Research Leon Dostert mentions that the story of the genesis of machine translation was traced with care in the first compendium of essays on the subject entitled Machine Translation of Languages, edited by William Lock and A. Donald Booth. In which they write that the transference of meaning from one patterned set of signs occurring in a given culture into another set of patterned signs occurring in another related culture by means of an electronic computer [7]. In the report Language and Machines Computers in Translation and Linguistics is stated that machine translation means that it should go by algorithm from machine- readable source text to useful target text, without recourse to human translation or editing [1]. In An Introduction to Machine Translation W. John Hutchins and Harold L. Somers explain that the term Machine Translation is the traditional and standard name for computerized systems responsible for the production of translations from one natural language into another, with or without human assistance. Machine translation can be named as mechanical translation and automatic translation. These terms are now rarely used in English, but their equivalents in other languages are used, for example in French traduction automatique, or in Russian à Ã‚ °Ãƒ Ã‚ ²Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾Ãƒ Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ Ã‚ °Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ Ã‚ ¸Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ ºÃƒ Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ Ã‚ ¹ à Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã‚ ²Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾Ãƒ Ã‚ ´. Also in this book is written that the term does not include computer-based translation tools which support translators by providing access to dictionaries and remote terminology databases, facilitating the transmission and reception of machine-readable texts, or i nteracting with word processing, text editing or printing equipment, but, however, it includes systems in which translators or other users assist computers in the production of translations, including various combinations of text preparation, on-line interactions and subsequent revisions of output [16]. M.Kay and Xerox Parc in their article Machines and People in Translation write that we should distinguish a narrower and a wider use for the term machine translation. In the narrow sense, the term refers to a batch process in which a text is given over to a machine from which a result is collected which is the output of the machine translation process. When we use the term in the wider sense, it includes all the process required to obtain final translation output on paper [8]. In the article Machine Translation Workstation is stated that the MT is a general tree-manipulation system with several built-in inference strategies. They demonstrate the process of machine translation through the following scheme: And they say that when a user applies the machine he/she writes a rule base to control the execution of the machine and chooses the appropriate inference strategy. The machine takes well-defined linguistic trees as input and produces as output trees which represent meaning-preserving transformations of the input trees. Furthermore the MT is language independent, because it impose restrictions on what kinds of transformations are possible [4]. In conclusion we can say that machine translation is an automatic linguistic translation, namely, a word-by-word translation and it refers to the utilization of software to translate text from one language to another language. Machine Translation Strategies In the article Machine Translation and Computer-Assisted Translation Craciunescu states that Machine translation is an autonomous operating system with strategies and approaches that can be classified as follows: the direct strategy the transfer strategy the pivot language strategy She says that the direct strategy is based on a predefined source language-target language binomial in which each word of the source language syntagm is directly linked to a corresponding unit in the target language with a unidirectional correlation, for example from English to Spanish but not the other way round. But the transfer strategy  is based on the level of representation and involves three stages. The analysis stage describes the source document linguistically and uses a source language dictionary. The transfer stage transforms the results of the analysis stage and establishes the linguistic and structural equivalents between the two languages. It uses a bilingual dictionary from source language to target language. The generation stage produces a document in the target language on the basis of the linguistic data of the source language by means of a target language dictionary. The pivot language strategy  is based on the idea of creating a representation of the text independent of any particular language. This representation functions as a neutral that is distinct from both the source language and the target language. This method reduces the machine translation process to only two stages: analysis and generation. The analysis of the source text leads to a conceptual representation, the diverse components of which are matched by the generation module to their equivalents in the target language [5]. Another characterization of strategies of MT we find at W.J. Hutchins and Jonathan Sloculn in their articles Machine Translation: A Brief History and Its History, Current Status, and Future Prospects distinguish three basic strategies. The first strategy is referred to the direct translation approach. Direct translation is characteristic of a system designed from the start to translate out of one specific language and into another. For example, Russian is the language of the original texts-the source language, and English is the language of the translated texts-the target language. Translation is direct from the source language (SL) text to the target language (TL) text [14]. Arnold in his book Machine Translation represents the direct approach through the following scheme[3]: Text SL Direct Translation Text TL The second basic design strategy is the Interlingua approach, which assumes that it is possible to convert SL texts into representations common to more than one language. Furthermore the Interlingua approach is characteristic of a system in which the representation of the meaning of the source language input is intended to be independent of any language, and this representation is used to synthesize the target language output [14]. In his book Machine Translation Arnold represents the Interlingua approach through the following scheme [3]: IL Analysis Synthesis Direct Translation Text SL Text TL The third basic strategy is the less ambitious transfer approach. The transfer approach is characteristic of a system in which the underlying representation of the meaning of a grammatical unit (e.g., sentence) differs depending on the language from which it was derived or into which it is to be generated; this implies the existence of a third translation stage which maps one language-specific meaning representation into another: this stage is called Transfer. The transfer approach operates through three stages involving underlying (abstract) representations for both SL and TL texts. The first stage converts SL texts into abstract SL-oriented representations; the second stage converts these into equivalent TL-oriented representations; and the third generates the final TL texts. Whereas the Interlingua approach necessarily requires complete resolution of all ambiguities in the SL text so that translation into any other language is possible, in the transfer approach only those ambiguit ies inherent in the language in question are tackled; problems of lexical differences between languages are dealt with in the second stage (transfer proper) [14]. Arnold also represents the third approach, the transfer approach, through a scheme as follow [3]: Analysis IS SL Transfer ISTL Synthesis TEXT SL Text TL Direct Translation In brief, the interlingual machine translation  is one of the classic approaches to  machine translation. In this approach, the source language the text to be translated is transformed into an interlingua an abstract language-independent representation. The target language is then generated from the interlingua. Furthermore, the interlingual approach is an alternative to the direct approach  and the  transfer approach. Main problems of machine translation The major problems of all MT systems concern the resolution of lexical and structural ambiguities, both within languages (monolingual ambiguity) and between languages (bilingual ambiguity). The lexical ambiguity is when a word has more than one meaning, but when a phrase or sentence can have more than one structure it is called structural ambiguity [3]. Hutchins in his article Machine Translation: History and General Principles mentions that any monolingual ambiguity is a potential difficulty in translation since there will be more than one possible equivalent. For instance, homographs and polysemes (English cry, French voler) must be resolved before translation (French pleurer or crier, English fly or steal); ambiguities of grammatical category (English light as noun, adjective or verb, face as noun or verb) must likewise be resolved for choice between lumià ¨re, clair or allumer, etc. He states that the examples of monolingual structural ambiguities occur when a word or phrase can potentially modify more than one element of a sentence. And he explains this through the following example, old men and women, the adjective old may refer only to men or to both men and women [15]. Prepositional phrases can modify almost any preceding verb or noun phrase, e.g. (a) The car was driven by the teacher with great skill. (b) The car was driven by the teacher with defective tyres. (c) The car was driven by the teacher with red hair. Lexical and structural ambiguities may and often combine: He saw her shaking hands, where shaking can be either an adjectiveÆ’Â   hands which were shaking or a verb component Æ’Â  that she was shaking hands [15]. Bilingual lexical ambiguities occur primarily when the TL makes distinctions absent in the SL: E.g. English river can be rivià ¨re or fleuve (Fluss or Strom); English eat can be German essen or fressen; English wall can be French mur or paroi, German Wand, Mauer or Wall. Hutchins implies that an example which can inllustrate this is the translation of wear from English to Japanese. Although there is a generic verb kiru it is normal to use the verb appropriate to the type of item worn: haoru (coat or jacket), haku (shoes or trousers), kaburu (hat), hameru (ring or gloves), shimeru (belt, tie or scarf), tsukeru (brooch or clip), kakeru (glasses or necklace), hayasu (moustache) [15]. Also in this article is pointed out that the bilingual structural differences cover both general facts, for instance, in English the adjectives generally precede nouns but that they usually follow them in French, and differences conditioned by specific lexical differences. A familiar example occurs when translating the English verb likeÆ’Â   She likes to play tennis, as a German adverb gern Æ’Â  Sie spielt gern Tennis [15]. Other examples are: simple verbs (trust) rendered by circumlocutions (avoir confiance à  ); single clauses Æ’Â  He pushed open the door restructured as a subordinate clause Æ’Â  Il a ouvert la porte en la poussant [14]. The structural differences combine with lexical differences, for instance the translation of know into French or German, where choice of connaà ®tre (kennen) or savoir (wissen) affects both structure Æ’Â  Je connais lhomme. (Ich kenne den Mann); Je sais ce quil sappelle. (Ich weiss wie er heisst) and the translation of other lexical items (what as ce que and wie) [14]. The morphological analysis is concerned with the identification of base forms from infected forms of nouns, verbs and adjectives (irregular forms being entered as units in dictionaries), with the recognition of derivational forms (e.g. English -ly as an adverb derived from an adjective, German -heit as a noun from an adjective), and with the segmentation of compound forms in languages like German (Dampfschiff, Dampfhammer) [14]. In the An Introduction to Machine Translation Hutchins reveals that all MT systems have problems with unknown words, especially with the neologisms and new combinations. He says that if derivational elements and components can be correctly identified then can be translated with the international equivalences of many elements, for instance, French demi- and English semi-, French -ique and English -ic) [16]. However, segmentation can be problematic, e.g. extradition analysed as both extradit+ion and ex+tradition, cooperate as both co+operate and cooper+ate. He suggests that these would be resolved by dictionary consultation, but sometimes alternative segmentations are equally valid (German Wachtraum could be guard room (Wacht+Raum) or day dream (Wach+Traum), until one is eliminated at a later stage [16]. In his article Machine Translation: A Brief History Hutchins writes that in MT there are three basic approaches to syntactic structure analysis. The first aim is to identify legitimate sequences of grammatical categories, for instance, in English article + adjective + noun. This approach is based on predictive analysis, which is a sequence of categories predicted that the following category would be one of a relatively limited set. The second aim to recognize groups of categories, for instance, as noun phrases, verb phrases, clauses, and ultimately sentences. These are based on phrase structure or constituency grammar. The third aim to identify dependencies among categories, for example, reflecting the fact that prepositions determine the case forms of German and Russian nouns, that the form of a French adjective is determined by the noun it modifies. The basis is dependency grammar [14]. He also claims that SL structures are transformed into equivalent TL structures by conversion rules, in the case of phrase structure or dependency trees by tree transducers, which may apply either unconditionally, for example, English adjective+noun to French noun+adjective or conditionally, followed by specific lexical items, for example, English like to German gern [15]. Another problem which identifies Arnold is the multiword units like idioms and collocations. The real problem with idioms is that they are not generally fixed in their form [3]. Hutchins in his article Machine Translation: History and General principles points out that MT systems can fail for many practical reasons, for instance, unknown words Æ’Â  neologisms or new compounds, misspellings Æ’Â  supercede, persue, British orthography instead of expected American Æ’Â  traveller for traveler, typographical errors Æ’Â  from instead of form, wrong usages Æ’Â  principle as an adjective, ungrammaticalness Æ’Â  none of them were present. Even if full disambiguation cannot be achieved, a crude translation may be obtained with basic phrase structure identification. It is now common for systems to retain information from all levels of analysis; thus transfer (or interlingual) representations will combine morphological, syntactic, semantic and thematic information [15]. Historically, MT systems have progressively introduced deeper levels of analysis and transfer. Early word-for-word systems were restricted to bilingual dictionaries and simple morphology. Later direct systems introduced syntactic analysis and synthesis. Phrase structure and dependency analyses provided the basis for simple transfer systems with little semantic analysis. Conclusion The use of machine translation is more important than we may think. It could be claimed that the resources available to the translator through information technology imply a change in the relationship between the translator and the text, that is to say, a new way of translating. However, there is the development of new capabilities, which leads us to point out a number of essential aspects of the current situation. Translating with the help of the computer is definitely not the same as working exclusively on paper and with paper products such as conventional dictionaries, because computer tools provide us with a relationship to the text which is much more flexible than a purely lineal reading. Furthermore, the Internet with its universal access to information and instant communication between users has created a physical and geographical freedom for translators that were inconceivable in the past. Translators need to accept the new technologies and learn how to use them to their maxi mum potential as a means to increased productivity and quality improvement. As we mentioned there are problems of ambiguity when working with MT, and those problems are also common for us. A clear example would be translations from Spanish to Basque.  In those translations, apart from ambiguity problems, there would be structural problems, because structurally Spanish and Basque are completely different. Having analyzed some theoretical sources we came to the following conclusions: Machine translations enable people to have information in many languages, helping to understand it without knowing the language; MT provides translators useful tools that help them to make their job more efficiently and faster; It can output much larger volumes of translation than any team of translators; Machine translation rarely reaches accuracy levels above 70%; Machine translation is a venerable scientific enterprise, a technological challenge of the first order and it can be understood as an economic necessity; Machine translation is an automatic linguistic translation, namely, a word-by-word translation; Machine translation refers to the utilization of software to translate text from one language to another language; In the process of translation Machine Translations encounter some problems of ambiguity that make that their use to be hard. This research could be a good basis for a further development of this topic, namely, a profound analysis of different machine translation and their accuracy in translating. We consider that the given study might be of great use to researchers in the field of translation and linguistics. It may serve as a reference point for the elaboration of year and graduation papers. Finally, we should point out that machine translation has an important role in the process of translation and is very helpful for translators.