Friday, January 31, 2020

University of Phoenix Scavenger Hunt Essay Example for Free

University of Phoenix Scavenger Hunt Essay Which three reviewing services are available to students through the Center for Writing Excellence? For a quick check, you can use WritePoint, which will do a more thorough Word-style grammar and spelling check. For more specific questions and comments, you can use the Tutor review which gives more detailed explanations and a much more thorough check. Also, the Plagiarism checker is nice for making sure you are following correct citation rules and not pulling too much information from one source. Which resource in the Tutorials Guides section of the Center for Writing Excellence offers tips about how to format a paper? * APA format and Style checker What are the University of Phoenix’s suggested resources for academic writing formatting and grammar guides? (Hint: This information is located in the Center for Writing Excellence) * Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association * University Library 1. What are the three major article databases found in the University Library? * EBSCOhost; Thompson Gale PowerSearch and ProQuest. Name three specialized article databases in the University Library. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Psych Articles, Emerald and tons and tons of others. What link would you click to ask a question of the University of Phoenix Librarian? The â€Å"Ask a Librarian† tab in the other resources. * Course Information 1. From your student Web site, how do you access your reading assignments for this course? From the â€Å"Materials† tab at the top of the screen. What chapter from the text Keys to College Studying is part of the reading assignment for Week Four of this course? Chapter 3. Where on your student Web site will you be able to find your schedule and course grades for all courses completed to date? From the â€Å"Grades† tab. Learning Teams 1. What six documents are contained in the â€Å"Toolkit Essentials† section of the Learning Team Toolkit? * Learning Team Handbook, Online Campus Learning Team Handbook, Learning Team Log, Learning Team Evaluation, Learning Team Charter, and Guide to Completing the University of Phoenix Learning Team Charter. * According to the Learning Team Toolkit section, â€Å"Why Learning Teams? † what are the four essential functions filled by Learning Teams that are especially beneficial to working adult learners? * It can make assignments better, it is a place for learning and maintaining new knowledge through other viewpoints, it gives a place to share information and is a community where people can learn how other people are handling school and life. Student Services 1. What is the phone number for University of Phoenix technical support? (Hint: Use the â€Å"Help† button in the top right corner of the page. ) * 1-877-832-4867 Where can you find information about who to contact for questions regarding student disabilities? * On the â€Å"University Diability Services† tab. What three National Testing Programs does the University of Phoenix award credit for? * DANTES, CLEP and Excelsior Name one form of misconduct in the Student Code of Conduct. (Hint: The Student Code of Conduct is located in the Academic Catalog). * Plagarism in any form.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Racial Prejudices :: essays research papers

Racial Prejudice What is prejudice? - set of learned beliefs and values that lead a person to be biased against other members of other groups. -prejudices are convenient(bequem,brauchbar,passend) and inaccurate. ----> people are not seen as individuals, biased people label other people to special groups -prejudice is mostly based on inaccurate information about people Prejudice originates from three common parts(these parts make up a prejudiced belief): 1.Generalisations -a very broad , simple statement about a group of people -here is perhaps an appropiate point to provide an example:"All catholics" or when the word "they" figures strongly -key words for generalisations are "all" and "they" --->generalisations are also very inaccurate , because we are not justified in saying that all members of these group or race share the same characteristic features. G. are unfair descriptions of people and they are mostly based on very incomplete information. Having met one member from a different group with an extraordinary behaviour ,we often assume that all mebers of this group show this same extraordinary behaviour. 2.Stereotyping -exaggerated,often negative image of a particular group of people -a stereotyp often contains a grain of truth , but this grain of truth is combined with an exaggerated and undue image of this group. Ethnocentricity -there are two types of prejudices: 1.prejudice against all outsiders-->your group is the only right and proper,all other groups are excludud,other groups are portrayed as being strange and inferior. 2.prejudice against specific groups----> you are able to cope with some other groups,but you disapprove a special group of their religion-->that's why you have a prejudice against this particular group.But this kind of prejudice does not express that your religion is the best and that all other religions are worser than your own one.You are only biased against this particular religion. ---->prejudice against all other groups is called ethnocentricity Prejudice and discrimination Discrimination: -Speaking of Discrimination against a special group we mean the combination of prejudice with actions - In this sense the word "discriminating" means that we are treating a group in a negative way. -the effect of people are discriminated against:loss in terms of money ,housing,education -the forms of Discrimination: 1.verbal abuse(anti-locution)--->through specific terms--->undermines their confidence-feeling of "I am not desired in this society" 2.Discrimination in jobs--->Refusal of jobs to a group-->disadvantage in terms of jobs,income,personal decline. 3.Attack on property-->destruction of cars-->Expulsion because there is a lack of physical security 4.Physical attack---->Assaults on group members;stabs;deaths--->further lack of security;anger;frustration;formation of self-defence groups 5.Genocide--->mass murder of all--->extermination of whole families and cultural groups Racial prejudice or racism -always aimed at special groups -racism bases on the belief that

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Environment Analysis of Toy Industry

Doing business in the worlds toy industry today, is anything but plain sailing, with the toy industry as a whole generating $21.47 Billion in 2009 and $21.65 Billion in 2008 (Riley, 2010) This producing a fiercely competitive market, but a market that is very open to new entrants,right throughout the industry. The market is also growing year on year with birth rates rising throughout the world, with the U.K. Birth rate growing this year (2014) by 13%.Risk of entryThe barrier of entry to the Toy industry is very low, this given new and up and coming entrepreneurs and companies a chance of success in this very fast paced and fiercely competitive market, to create products to capture the attentions of children and adults alike. The market environment has also pushes many well known brands to invest a major part of their budgets on research and development, allowing them to introduce new products continuously. Many well known brands such as as Hasbro, Mattel, BanDia and many other compan ies also invest huge amounts of money to compete for licensing of products connected to characters from TV shows, Films and video games,to expand their market share.Power of the BuyersThe toy industry is very concentrated, this leaving manufacturers I a very weak bargaining position with its customer, for example fives stores including Wall-mart and Toys â€Å"R† Us make up 54% or Hasbro's net Revenue in 2009. (Hasbro inc., 2009) Target, Wall-mart and Toys†R† Us also had 43 % of Net Sales of Mattel, (Datamonitor, 2007)these both figures being massive  amounts of products and given these companies power on pricing. The rise in online activity had also gave the manufacturer a door to sell direct to customer, but most of the large manufacturers still use the traditional route through supply chain.Power of the SuppliersThe materials used within the production of 1UpToys products, for example plastics, paper, cardboard, computer chips and cables, are available from a wide range of suppliers , but are susceptible to market related pricing, (e.g., copper for wiring, plastics etc.) some of which are controlled by legislation due to the chemical compounds (like Phthalates and BPA) Which could incur higher taxation brackets and could be subject to government legislation.Threat of substitute productThe threat of substitutes are growing with the continuous growth in demand, with children at a very young age having access to high technological gadgets and platformsThis has driven toy companies to incorporate more technology within their products, as toy companies are now in direct competition not only with other toy products but also with traditionally non toy products such as, Tablets, computers, smart phones and even Mp3,s offering gaming within their technological platforms. The risk from these platforms is very high and is on the increase, as with prices continue to drop on cell phones and technological other gadgets, children are adopting to them earlier in their lives, with these devices offering gaming and entertainment at a very low cost and on occasions no cost at all to download.The phenomenon of these technological devices has added extra pressure to the toy industry as a whole , to create toys with enough bells and whistles to compete with these digital device alternatives, with the cost of traditional toys significantly much higher to invent and manufacturer in comparison to  the digital format. As a result to this the profit margins of the more traditional product is significantly lower, adding to the need to sell more units per product to make profit in today’s toy market.Another major factor for the toy industry is that children at different ages have shifted preferences. Young children are expecting more stimulation from their playthings than before to capture and hold their attention. Hasbro calls this phenomenon of kids â€Å"Getting older, younger.† This threatens everyone in the toy industry b ecause the window toys and games have to make their way into children’s lives keeps shrinking. The toy industry also relies heavy on the intellectual properties of any given toy business, which they may not be able to protect from countries with loose copyright laws and regulations.This may not be a problem throughout the E.U and the United States, but is very rampant within emerging economies, for example China where products such as, DVD’s, Action Figures and nearly every other product thinking able can be copied and reproduced at a fraction of the retail price though piracy, which is a huge problem for the toy industry and a great threat to any companies looking to soften their domestic revenue losses by expanding to China or any other emerging economy.Competitive Rivalry in the IndustryThe Completive rivalry in the toy industry is fierce and diluted with numerous alternatives popping up everyday, with new platforms arising contentiously within this business sector, with companies and new toy products fighting for the limited shelf space, within all the same stores throughout the retailing world, with companies using all the resources possible to gain the competitive advantage over their competitors.This competitiveness has seen all toy companies jockeying for position and has over all lowered companies profit margins, as they compete with pricing with each other, using lower pricing strategies and offering exclusives and unique features to their customer base, at a cost to them.There is also fierce competition within the supply chain, with most toy companies have the majority of its manufacturing done in China, it can only stock as much shelf space as there is available space on large cargo container ships., with many companies fighting for the space, especially just before the holiday season, the price per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) may go up in these peak seasons and shipping costs are also very vulnerable to changes in fuel pricing, which is forever on the rise.SLEPT Analysis (see appendix 2),we can look at the (Macro) external environment for the toy industry.Social EnvironmentThe social environment of today’s toy customer base is increasingly becoming more technically driven, with children and â€Å"tweens† spending more and more of their time on the internet and social media platforms, as accessibility to these high speed internet and mobile devices enter more homes everyday. A study released in January 2010 by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people, aged 8-18, spent seven and a half hours seven days a week consuming media (Music, videos, blogs, social media, etc.) While consuming, they are also multitasking. So they can fit almost eleven hours of media into that seven and a half hours (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010) and this is growing year on year, with easier accessibility and reduced cost to online access.This has rising to in 2013 and said to be having serious con sequences , with kids ages 8 to 18 spending on average 44.5 hours per week in front of screens, with parents being increasingly concerned that screen time is robbing them of real world experiences. Nearly 23% of youth report that they feel â€Å"addicted to video games† (31% of males, 13% of females.) These are the results of a new study of 1,178 U.S. children and teens (ages 8 to 18) conducted by Harris Interactive (2007) that documents a national prevalence rate of pathological video game use.Dr. Douglas Gentile, Director of the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University reports, â€Å"Almost one out of every ten youth gamers shows enough  symptoms of damage to their school, family, and psychological functioning to merit serious concern.†The industry could be more drawn to the needs of the consumer and promote games and toys that cross over online and offline platforms,and also incorporate a educational value or the use of learning a musical instrument or techniqu es involved in doing so.Legal EnvironmentThere are increasingly tight rules and regulations about the materials that need to go into toy construction in order to make them safer and more resistant to fire hazards. This has had the impact of raising costs on production within the industry, but these regulations can vary in different countries, but are generally set the same throughout the EU, with safety at the forefront of production.The Toy industry has to be very careful to follow these regulations, especially when out sourcing to places such as China who have generally a loose safety standards and could have serious consequences to any company importing products from theses areas. Loose safety standards in Chinese factories caused the massive toy recall of 2007 which over 10 million toys that contained unsafe levels of lead and small magnets which, if swallowed, could cause serious injury or death. This recall cost not only millions of dollars but severely damaged the costumer co nfidence. A problem like this looms over every toy company that uses manufacturing plants in China.The Legal environment of the toy industry is also continuously protecting and fighting for its copyright on its products. This can be very complicated and confusing for example both Mattel and Hasbro have the rights to the board game Scrabble (Hasbro has rights in North America, Mattel has them everywhere else.) Two India based brothers and programmers created free to play version of Scrabble on Facebook called Scrabulous. At the height of its popularity, Scrabulous attracted a half million players a day. Mattel and Hasbro both sued the Argawalla brothers and forced them to remove the game  from Facebook.Hasbro then made a slow and clunky official version bemoaned by fans of Scrabulous.The official version now draws 90,000 players daily. Instead of working with the creators of the knock-off and bringing the game into the fold of officially licensed content, Mattel and Hasbro caused r esentment and hard feelings in customers on the world’s most popular social network. These actions of putting a substitute cheap version of the game, could have a negative impact on your customer base, especially in the public eye, on a network like facebook that has billions of users and potential customers.Economic EnvironmentThe manufacturing of products for the toy industy for any years has mainly relied on Chinese manufactering, due to the combination of cheap labor and undervalued currency has been a very attractive recipe for keeping production costs as low as possible. This arrangement might be very profitable to the toy industry, but does make them very susceptible to problems within in China itself.In recent times with the up and coming working classes of Chinese people are demanding more pay and benefits, some that we in the UK take for granted on a daily basis (health and safety, Severance pay, etc.) in the working environment. These demands can have explosive aff ects, with the toy company Hasbro feeling the full effects. In November, 2008,a worker riot broke out at a Hasbro factory in Dongguan, China (Foreman, 2008). 80 senior migrant workers, who felt they were being jilted by management on their severance pay, quickly organized a mob of 500 people that overturned a police car, stormed the factory offices, and damaged computers.Political EnvironmentThe politiacl envirment is more driven towrds trade restriction within China and Chinese currency develpoments, as most of toy trade is manufactoered within its counry. This has been mentioned by the US in recent times, with the Chinise undervalued currency being a target by plolicy makers within the  US. Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi brought up the possibility of a new China currency bill that would give the â€Å"†¦ the [Obama] administration leverage in its bilateral andmultilateral negotiations with the Chinese government so that U.S. businesses and workers have a more level playing field in world trade.† No one really knows how much this would affect export prices from China, but it is an issue that should remain onthe radar.Technological EnviromentThe Technological Environment of the toy industry is very highly paced ,with toy fads coming and going within the toy market continiusly. Toy companies need to innovate and keep moving forward with demand and try to create the next big toy breakthrough.The toy customer in today’s market are mostly looking for intractability within the game, with many offering these platforms, such as Wii, Xbox, Playstation for example, using various platforms do so, even smaller toys such as Furbbie and tamagotchiis being very popular in their time, selling millions of units in their day or Fad as its known.This fast moving technological environment relies on getting product to the market first and is very prone to company espionages fast moving technological environment relies on gett ing product to the market first and is very prone to company espionage, which is wide spread throughout the toy industry.

Monday, January 6, 2020

A False Image Of Freedom The American Dream - 1515 Words

A False Image of Freedom: The American Dream The American Dream has been a beacon of hope for people in the US for decades now, and has inspired them to seek a lifestyle that excels their current one. However, this idealistic belief possesses a biased and dishonest nature that is undetectable to those blinded by this idea . F. Scott Fitzgerald, through his novel The Great Gatsby, lifts the veil on this American Nightmare, and shows readers it’s true nature. Rooted directly to the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the concept of the American Dream claims that all men are born equal and possess the right to pursue happiness through hard work and dedication. In spite of its reputation, this false perception of freedom, in many cases, is unjust, futile, and more closely related to one’s relations rather than dedication. In accordance to the setting of The Great Gatsby, the postulate that states everyone has an equal chance at achieving the American Dream is proven false, as one’s gender and ethnicity can greatly alter their chances at success. In The Great Gatsby, an overall disrespect is held for those with a different cultural background, compared to the background of the main characters, preventing them from achieving the American Dream. Tom Buchanan is one of the characters that directly expresses his feelings on different cultural backgrounds through his words to other characters. He considers himself to be â€Å"the dominant race† (13), and expresses his negative feelingsShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream977 Words   |  4 PagesThe American dream is a subjective idea that can mean money and fame for some or just the idea of freedom to others. What we believe is our path to reach this dream determines whether or not we are blinded by corporations’ image of the â€Å"American Dream†. 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