HR Strategy for DeVry, Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HR Strategy for DeVry, Inc - Essay Example Wal Mart is a typical US success story. Founded in 1962 as the vision of a single man, Sam Walton, the super stores today symbolize American entrepreneurship. Wal Mart has consistently been regarded as one of the best Fortune 500 companies in the United States over the years. This has been feasible because of the unflinching commitment of the management to the customer and its focus on people including its employees denoted as associates. Wal Mart is a global company with more than 1.3 million associates, 5000 stores and wholesale clubs in over 15 countries. It is the most admired retailer and generated over $ 256 billion in global revenue with an increase in $ 26 billion in sales in 2004. The company has consistently delivered high levels of growth and benefits to customers as well as share holders. On the basis of its overall vision and culture, Wal Mart has based its personnel selection, development and growth strategies on the principles of transparency, equality of opportunity, diversity and effective use of automation. Growth is attained by providing personnel opportunities for aptitude and career alignment, training and continuous objective feed back. This achieves loyalty, affiliation and continuity for the company. The policy of diversity enables effective alignment of the associate with the customer base which is derived from all communities. The detailed nuances of the personnel development policies of Wal Mart in relation to the above facets are being covered herein:- (a) Non Discrimination in Selection. The company follows non discriminatory policy of hiring and selection of its Associates which is the first tier of employees. Wal Mart's HR Strategy comprises of development of effective processes for all its systems such as hiring, selection and so on.

Evolutionary Biology Essay Essay Example for Free

Evolutionary Biology Essay Essay Check’s article â€Å"How Africa Learned to Love the Cow† explores the studies and research of Sarah Tishkoff on genetic mutation and evolution of, more specifically, the gene that codes for lactase and lactase persistence within individuals in Africa. The frequency with which these genes occur fluctuates dramatically, which is noted in Tishkoff’s study on African populations, and account for tolerance and intolerance of lactose within humans (Check). It is interesting to see that environment may affect genetic mutation within individuals as well. Tishkoff’s research on lactose tolerance within humans in Africa is a revolutionary prospect, which allows others to study the issue of lactose intolerance in adult humans and view evolutionary trends in varied populations of humans, bringing new information and proof of evolution to the table. Only certain individuals from certain populations can tolerate milk as adults due to various factors, such as the presence of the gene that codes for the production of the enzyme lactase, natural selection, and vertical gene transfer. Lactase is essential for breaking down lactose, a sugar within cow milk that would otherwise pass through a human’s digestive system undigested (Check 1). Within adult humans, the gene that codes for the production of the enzyme lactase is sometimes inactive or missing, which causes the intolerance of milk and causes lactose to have â€Å"unpleasant results† (Check 1) if ingested by an individual. On the other hand, if this gene is present, there are multiple reasons as to why these individuals have it. According to anthropological studies in the 1960s, humans who tended and reared cattle for a living generally had tolerance for milk as adults (Check 1). This could be due to the workings of natural selection and vertical gene transfer. It is possible that the ancestors of these humans, who could tolerate milk and could take advantage of its nutritional benefits, had a higher survival rate than the individuals who could not tolerate milk; since diarrhea, which is a common result of lactose indigestion, â€Å"exacerbates dehydration† and can prove fatal during a famine or drought (Check 3). This would then lead to vertical gene transfer, which refers to the transfer of genes to offspring from sexual reproduction. If an individual with favorable genes were to mate, his genetic code could possibly be transferred to his offspring, which explains lactase persistence within humans at present. It is interesting to note that the existence of this â€Å"lactase gene† that has such specific, easily identifiable purposes, and frequency of appearance in unrelated individuals are strong indicators of convergent evolution (Check 1). The Homo Neanderthalensis is an extinct species that mainly survived on the hunter/gatherer lifestyle, scavenging for sustenance and hunting animals for food; with this in mind, it is highly possible that these individuals were lactose intolerant. Since the Homo Neanderthalensis were hunter/gatherers who relied on other methods of surviving than rearing and domesticating cattle, the idea of drinking milk from cattle rather than immediately killing it for meat was most likely foreign and is telling evidence that they most likely were lactose intolerant. This can be inferred due to the research presented earlier; that adult individuals with more exposure to cattle rearing were generally had a higher chance of lactase persistence than those who did not raise or domesticate cattle for survival. Judging by past research and Tishkoff’s study in Africa, if a population was to stop drinking milk for a prolonged period of time through multiple generations due to the introduction and increased availability of other foods and resources, that population may develop a lactose intolerance that was not present before. This is due to the idea that extended experience with milk results in a higher frequency of the gene that codes for lactase production. This effect is magnified with the presence of other evolutionary and genetic trends that occur naturally such as vertical genetic transfer. Today, lactose intolerance within adults remains a widespread issue. With the advent of lactose-free milks such as soymilk, the problem may have been somewhat appeased for lactose intolerant milk lovers. However, the fact remains that many adults still cannot tolerate milk. With the research of numerous anthropologists, geneticists, and Tishkoff, we can make sense of why this is still an issue and present educated inferences about our history.

Essay --

Cassidy Eidse Mr. Pickett Language Arts 3rd Period March 12 2014 Gandhi â€Å"You must be the change you wish to see in the world†-Gandhi.Gandhi changed the world not by violence but by a nonviolent method that changed the way, not just India but, the whole world treated people. Gandhi always tried to attain equality and peace for the people of India. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937, 1938, 1939, and 1947,but never got it. Some believe because he was a politician was the reason he did not receive it, while others believe that the work Gandhi did was not universal just in India was the reason He did not get the award("Mahatma Gandhi"). Gandhi was the fourth and last child born into his family. Gandhi’s childhood and adulthood were very different from this generation because we do not have segregation. Gandhi’s influence on the civil rights movement and his death had a big impact on the way we live today. Gandhi was born October 2, 1869 in Portbandar India. Gandhi’s full name was Mohandas Karmchand Gandhi("World Biography").Some of his nicknames later on in his life were Mahatma, father of the nation and Bapu which means, father. Gandhi’s mother was a strong hindu. His mother’s name was Purtlibai. Gandhi’s father was Karamachand Gandhi Gandhi’s father was a prime minister to a lot of Indian princes. He was born into Hinduism,and was also a vegetarian("Mohandas Gandhi").His father wanted him to study law, so Gandhi went to England to study law in 1888. Gandhi became a lawyer in 1891("World Biography"). Gandhi finished high school after getting married. Gandhi was married at the age of 13 due to his families religion. Gandhi was married to Kasturbai who was about the same age as him. Child marriage was part of Hinduism.... ... to Gandhi’s ideas. Nathura tried, but failed to shoot himself after the assassination. For the ceremony Gandhi was wrapped in a sheet and laid on a pyre of wood and burned. His ashes were scattered on lake Jumna’s waters.(Trumbull, Robert.) Gandhi’s life was different from ours because we do not have higher and lower castes. Gandhi’s impact on the civil rights movement and assassination changed the way we live our lives today.Gandhi’s childhood and early life lead up to his desire for better treatment for the people in India. Gandhi’s life had an important impact on how the people in India were treated. His influence on the civil rights movement helped the leaders of the civil rights movement become inspired. His assassination was a hard time for the people in India. Gandhi inspired a lot of people not just in India, but all over the world as well.

Examples of Good an Bad Essays

Student Essays Going for the Look |On-Demand Writing Assignment | |You will have 45 minutes to plan and write an essay on the topic assigned below. Before you begin writing, read the passage carefully and plan| |what you will say. Explain Cohen’s argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with his analysis. Support your position, | |providing reasons and examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.Your essay should be as well-organized and carefully | |written as you can make it. | |â€Å"Retailers defend the approach to hiring based on image as necessary and smart, and industry experts see the point. ‘In today’s competitive | |retail environment, the methods have changed for capturing the consumer’s awareness of your brand,’ said Marshal Cohen, a senior industry | |analyst with the NPD Group, a market research firm. ‘Being able to find a brand enhancer, or what I call a walking billboard, is critical. |Itâ €™s really important to create an environment that’s enticing to the community, particularly with the younger, fashionable market. A guy | |wants to go hang out in a store where he can see good-looking gals. ’† | |Explain Cohen’s argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with his analysis. Support your position, providing reasons and| |examples from your own experience, observations, or reading. | The sample student essays that follow reflect the EPT Scoring Guide’s criteria.Sample student essay with a score of 6: Portable Posters In today’s society, marketing is being taken to new heights. Not only do companies spend a majority of their money on advertising, they also use their employees as portable posters. If employees are supposed to be â€Å"walking billboards,† then most people would agree that not everyone will be eligible for that particular position. Discrimination is defined as showing favor unjustly. What some corporations are doing today is clearly unjust. People cannot control their appearance completely.Therefore, I must agree with Steven Greenhouse, the author of â€Å"Going for the Look, but Risking Discrimination. † Mr. Greenhouse has clearly shown in his article that only hiring certain people that â€Å"look great,† is definitely discrimination and should not occur. That is why I disagree with Mr. Cohen’s analysis. It is a known fact that one cannot sell everything by appearance alone. Mr. Cohen is a senior industry analyst with the NPD Group, a market research firm. He said, â€Å"Retailers defend the approach to hiring based on image as necessary and smart, and the industry experts see the point. I thought that people were supposed to be hired based on their ability. In fact, Stephen J. Roppolo, a New Orleans lawyer who represents many hotels and restaurants, said â€Å"I tell employers that their main focus needs to be hiring somebody who can g et the job done. † Hiring for looks must be fairly risky from a legal standpoint because even lawyers that represent the businesses are saying that they should hire based on merit so that they do not get into trouble with the law. I have seen some first hand examples of questionable hiring practices.Many of the restaurants near my home are excellent examples of hiring based on appearance. At the restaurants, I have noticed that the servers are usually Caucasian and that the bus-boys and chefs tend to be Mexican-Americans. I have also noticed that the Chinese restaurants in my area only have Asian-Americans as waiters and waitresses. I thought that America was on the way to becoming a place full of equal opportunity. Apparently, we are taking a step back, instead of moving forward. Is hiring based on how attractive people are illegal?No, there is not a specific law saying that businesses cannot. Just because it is not illegal does not mean that it should be done. I feel that Mr . Cohen’s analysis is not correct. If a company had an extremely innovative and sought after product due to its wide range of uses and quality, the company would not need to stoop to such discriminatory hiring practices. The product would simply sell itself. After all, every company would love to get by without spending one dime on advertising. Imagine a world where everyone was hired based on merit.Productivity would increase everywhere because people would be doing what they are best at instead of just standing around and â€Å"looking great. † Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guide’s criteria for a score of 6. The superior response indicates that the writer is very well-prepared to handle college-level reading and writing. †¢ The writer understands and focuses clearly on the topic raised by the quotation in the thesis, â€Å"†¦ only hiring certain people that ‘look great,’ is definitely discrimination and should not oc cur. † †¢ The summary of Cohen’s argument is clear and accurate, and the paraphrasing is effective. The writer analyzes the issue of hiring for looks thoughtfully and has developed an insightful response focused on the legal implications of the practice. †¢ The essay is coherently organized and developed with a body paragraph of analysis and a paragraph citing the example of hiring on the basis of appearance in ethnic restaurants, which extends the response beyond that which is provided in the reading passage. The conclusion makes a strong case for hiring on the basis of merit. †¢ The writer demonstrates a strong command of language and syntactic variety, alternating fluent, longer sentences with short sentences to make a point. The essay is virtually error-free and reflects the writer’s command of the conventions of incorporating the words and ideas of others into the writer’s response to an argument. Sample student essay with a score of 5: Discrimination Vs Wealth One of the biggest problems causing separation in today’s society is discrimination based on looks. Our morality is constantly decreasing due to greed and selfishness. At one point in time we focused on the well being of every human being no matter their race, color or gender; looks meant nothing while love and friendships meant everything.On the contrary to Marshal Cohen’s statement that a â€Å"brand enhancer† or a â€Å"walking bill board† is critical, hiring people based on looks is not morally correct, and morality should be held above money and reputation. Hiring by looks can cause numerous amounts of issues, both at the governmental level and the emotional level. As Olophius Perry stated in the article, Going for the Look but Risking Discrimination, â€Å"If you’re hiring by looks, then you can run into problems of race discrimination, national origin discrimination, gender discrimination, age discrimination, and e ven disability discrimination. (Greenhouse 1). Our country specifically was founded on equality and equal opportunity for all. When businesses start hiring based on looks and/or gender, our country’s morals begin to slip slowly through Uncle Sam’s fingers. Discrimination of any sort may also cause a person great emotional damage. Perhaps a hard working, well-kept, person was turned away from a job because of his or her un-attractive face, that person could be so hurt that they commit suicide; while one person gets richer because of this life changing decision they made, another person’s sanity is lost.This type of discrimination is not worth the pain and suffering of one human being in return for fame and money. Young men and women are used as sex symbols in today’s twisted society. Many companies will hire young attractive women based on their beauty with the intention of giving men something to look at as well as giving them an incentive to come into th eir store. As Marshal Cohen replied, â€Å"A guy wants to go hang out in a store where he can see good looking gals† (Greenhouse 3) shows that companies hire these girls only to bring in more profits by using them as an object, rather than a person, that men can drool over.What kind of messages are we sending to our future generations? Is it that girls must learn that they will not receive respect and that they need to weigh 110 pounds with big lips in order to be successful in life? Pressures are enormously overwhelming on today’s young adults to look â€Å"perfect† in society’s eyes. The pressures build up and eventually lead to up to unhealthy alternatives to being skinny, becoming â€Å"built†, or having the exact look being sought. While our society may look better if we allow companies to hire by looks, it is also increasingly becoming unhealthy.In conclusion, hiring based on looks solely to raise profits is ethically and morally wrong. This idea will eventually bring our morality to an end. Health rates will drop and human sanity will continue to be taken away. In order to save our society and its morals, we should ban discrimination, or as some would call it hiring based on looks. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guide’s criteria for a score of 5. The clear competence of the essay indicates that this writer is quite ready to handle college-level reading and writing. The writer understands the topic and accurately summarizes Cohen’s position, using his phrases â€Å"brand enhancer† and â€Å"walking bill board. † The essay’s thesis is clear, but the writer could have sharpened it by refraining from presenting it as a three-part divided thesis. †¢ The essay reflects the writer’s understanding of some of the complexity of the issue. The analysis of the impact of the practice of â€Å"hiring for the look† on young adults’ self-image is thoughtfu l and adds depth, but the assertion that it causes insanity and suicides is unsubstantiated. The essay is well-organized and coherent, with the writer focusing on the legal implications of hiring on the basis of looks in the first body paragraph and the individual implications in the second. Each paragraph is thoroughly developed, and the conclusion presents a strong recommendation. †¢ The essay displays some syntactic variety and facility, with occasional lapses in word choice and sentence construction. †¢ The essay has scattered errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics (e. g. , â€Å"numerous amounts of issues,† â€Å"using them as an object, rather than a person, that men can drool over†). Sample student essay with a score of 4:Beauty = Money Marshall Cohen’s argument is basically that beautiful women sell, and I strongly agree. It’s true that guys want to hang out in places where there are beautiful women. It’s also true that these wom en represent an image and that if that image is pleasing to the eye then other women will want to emulate it. Being a guy, I know the power women have over us as a gender; especially the good looking ones. The fact is that businesses know this and exploit it. Last year alone I must have spent a good 300 dollars because a cute girl would ask me to donate to the charity, or that I looked good in a pair of pants she wanted me to buy.Also, it’s how most guys decide on things. Take for instance if there were two restaurants that served similar food. We would almost always end up going to the one with the good looking waitresses. Guys are suckers for cute girls and will spend great amounts of time and money just to the around them. However, men aren’t nearly as bad as women. When the average girl sees a super model or Britney Spears wearing Abercrombie and Fitch they think the key to being beautiful and popular is to match their wardrobes. They feel that if they dress like t heir idols they’ll be more important in the public eye.I have a friend that buys every outfit she sees Mandy Moore wear on television. It’s already cost her over a thousand dollars, but she doesn’t mind just as long as people make her feel important. In the end using beautiful people to advertise your product translates to one thing: money. The equation is simple, the better the girl looks the more money you make, and as long as the public sees beauty as only skin deep this will always be true. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guide’s criteria for a score of 4.This adequate response to the topic suggests that the writer should be able to handle college-level reading and writing. †¢ The writer demonstrates a generally accurate but somewhat simplistic understanding of the passage, summarizing it as â€Å"beautiful women sell. † The writer accepts this argument on the basis of his own experience and develops his response accordin gly. †¢ The essay maintains a clear focus on the point. It is organized around the assertion that both men and women are attracted to businesses that â€Å"hire for the look. † However, it never acknowledges the legal or moral counter-arguments to this position. The personal examples support the writer’s position and are developed in some detail, but the essay would have been strengthened by more analysis of the issues. †¢ The language is fluent and often colloquial (â€Å"Guys are suckers for cute girls†), in keeping with the writer’s personal approach to the topic. However, some sentences are not formed correctly (e. g. , â€Å" . . . because a cute girl would ask me to donate to the charity, or that I looked good†¦. †; â€Å"Take for instance if there were two restaurants that served similar food. †) †¢ The essay generally demonstrates control of grammar, usage, and mechanics.Sample student essay with a score of 3: Goi ng For the Look There are three types of people in the world when it comes to style. There are the fashionable, who care what they look like and what other people think. There are the unfashionable, who think they are fashionable but do not run with the trend. Then there are the people in between. They could care less what others think. To try to get people to buy their products, a producer will look at all three types of people and chose the one that best fits the product. So the Gap would choose someone who looks good in their product.There are certain clothes that fit certain bodies certain ways. People do not want to see a fat, ugly person in tight pants and a short shirt. A place like Hot Topic wants to draw in a punk rocker crowed so they will hire people that look as if they are punk rockers. These people will have many piercings and tattoos that are visible to the public. Only certain people do not think that that stuff is not attractive and Hot Topic wants to bring them int o the store. Thrift stores and hand me down stores would hire the last type of person. People who shop at those stores do not care what they look like or cannot afford to shop anywhere else.These people cannot choose what the person selling their clothes looks like. In conclusion, there are three types of people in the fashion industry. Some are shoe-ins for certain jobs just from what they look like. Others cannot get those jobs if they tried. Cohen’s statement is correct. Now a day people hire for looks not skill. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guide’s criteria for a score of 3. Although the essay suggests a developing competence, it is flawed in significant ways that suggest the writer’s need for additional practice before being ready to succeed in college-level reading and writing. The writer does not explain Cohen’s argument, instead writing an essay about style. †¢ The thesis, â€Å"There are three types of people in the wor ld when it comes to style,† does not focus on the issue of â€Å"hiring for the look. † The writer addresses the issue in the body of the essay by saying that Gap and Hot Topic hire people who look good in the company’s clothes, while thrift stores have no choice in who they hire; however, the writer directly addresses Cohen’s argument only in the final sentences. †¢ The body paragraphs are series of assertions that lack effective transitions. Most of the sentences lack variety (e. g. , the series of â€Å"There are . . . † sentences in the introduction), and word choice is imprecise (â€Å"that stuff†). †¢ The essay has an accumulation of errors, especially in spelling and punctuation. Sample student essay with a score of 2: Going for the Look Cohen’s argument expresses his oppions and his only the may not matter in the sites of other people. I don’t agree or disagree with his argument. I hold this position because of three reasons, for starters is the retailers choice who he or she wants to hire not his.And for there businesses to expand and to grow then they must hire whoever appeals to the consumer. Last his argument may or may not be true and tell complete truth, so I’m not going to base my facts or opions on him because sometimes you should keep them to your self. As I Said before it is the retailers choice who they want to hire and if you must ensist on talking bad about these people then you must have problems with yourself maybe your jellous, just because your not in the positon to hire whoever you want doesn’t mean the people that do make those choices wheather they are right or wrong.The retailers must hire the right personel to appeal to the consumer if that means only hireing whites, just blacks or purple, green, yellow it does not matter because that is what they have to do to sell there product. My third and final reason is that I don’t really want to agree or disagree baed on the facts that he is giving me are more better things to worry about then I some stores have racial issues that is there business not yours. To conclude Cohen argument expresses his own oppions that might be better kept to himself. Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guide’s criteria for a score of 2.The serious flaws here indicate that this writer will need considerable additional practice before being ready to succeed in college-level reading and writing. †¢ The writer demonstrates a basic understanding of the passage but is unable to respond meaningfully to the topic, instead resorting to a personal attack on Cohen. †¢ The writer fails to respond to Cohen’s argument with a focused thesis. The sentence â€Å"I don’t agree or disagree with this argument† suggests a failure to understand the need to take a position and provide evidence to support it. †¢ Although the writer attempts three body paragraphs, they are severely underdeveloped. The writer lacks basic control of syntax and vocabulary. †¢ The writer has serious and persistent errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics that severely interfere with meaning. In particular, the sentence boundary errors and serious spelling errors obscure the meaning. Sample student essay with a score of 1: Their many methods of hiring people. Many markets know hire just because of the image of a person. In my opinion I agree and disagree to a certain point. Their could be certain stores that have people who have expirence, no experience, and just for the look.When you have a pearson who has experience you could expeted from them to accomplished their job. They would always be on time or even earlier. You would not hear bad comments about that person Their very reasponsible and would not complain about geting their job done Commentary This essay illustrates the EPT Scoring Guide’s criteria for a score of 1. The fundamental deficiencies of thi s essay clearly indicate that the writer needs much additional practice to be ready to succeed at college-level reading and writing. †¢ The writer indicates only a slight understanding of the passage and fails to refer to Cohen’s argument. The essay seems to be about qualifications for jobs, with one qualification being â€Å"the look. † However, the relationship of the thesis to the topic is not clear. The sentence, â€Å"In my opinion I agree and disagree to a certain point† suggests a serious lack of focus. †¢ The essay appears to be incomplete, with the second and third body paragraphs and the conclusion implied by the thesis but unwritten. †¢ The writer lacks basic control of syntax and vocabulary. †¢ The writer has serious and persistent errors in mechanics that severely interfere with meaning. Spelling and verb form errors are pervasive.

Politics In Middle East Essay

Promotions of women’s rights and empowering women have been central components in the search for democracy in the Arab world. The participation of Arab women in the political and economic arena remains among the lowest in the world. This is evident from the low percentage of women in parliament, cabinet and the workforce. Many times the women have been portrayed as veiled, oppressed, and invisible (Sadiki, 2004, 253). This is true in reality though in most cases it is unconstitutional. Sadiki argues that women’s participation in political and economic issues in Arab countries is dependent on the socio-economic and political forces in the history of the country (Sadiki, 2004, 267). Thus the problem of women’s rights is not reflective of Islamic region rather it can be explained by the patriarchal nature of the society. Men have been the ones predominantly reading and interpreting the Quran. This has led to women not being allowed work or socialize publicly. (Sadaki, 2004, 285). The economic and social position of a family also influence the rights available to a woman; for instance in Iraq, a wealthy family is more likely to educate its daughters than a poor family. Islamic religion does not relegate the woman to a position below the man, rather it points out that she is a ‘twin’ to the man and promotes inclusiveness in all issues, economic, political and social (Sadiki, 2005, 266). In an interview with Lubabah-ul-Fadh, a Muslim woman activist, Lubahah states that because she is Muslim and Islamist she is free from injustice and despotism. She therefore supports democracy that empowers women economically and politically (Sadiki, 2004, 284). She however is of the view that Muslim women’s foremost role is that of being a moral educator for the younger generation to ensure Muslim culture and religion are adhered to. For her, giving up parliamentary positions so women can pursue this goal is worthwhile (Sadiki, 2004, 284). This illustrates the effect of certain Islamist movements in Arab countries. Different alliances among female Islamists has resulted in little consensus on women’s participation in the Islamic Action Front. Western influence has to some degree enhanced authoritarian form of government in Arab countries. The focus on oil in Arab countries has led to sidelining of the issues of women rights as governments try to meet demands for oil and amass wealth for the regime in power. This however has also been used to influence decisions made by Arab country governments for example by placing embargoes on their oil so that conflicts can be resolved (Sadiki 2004, 283). Western influence therefore has not been entirely negative. Positive outcomes of western influence include improvement of family status laws resulting from incumbent governments in Arab countries wanting to show their zeal for reform which has been influenced by international pressure. The women in Iraq during Saddam’s military dictatorship experienced more human rights freedoms than during the period of Bush’s Administration Democratic Iraq. The US led occupation therefore has not benefited the struggle for women’s rights especially because it favors an extremist interpretation of the constitution. Arab women have been moving forward in the struggle for empowerment. Some of the developments include the appointment of more women to parliament in Jordan and Egypt by the Arab government. The United States is working through the MEPI to provide training on political issues to female political candidates so as to raise the number of women legislators. The Beijing Fourth World Conference in women led to other conferences which aimed at canvassing the recommendations of Beijing conference of a 30 percent quota for women in parliamentary representation. These include the Egyptian women and Democratic transformation and the Jordanian woman and Electoral Law conferences. (Sadiki, 2004, 269). In Tunisia the rigorous push for gender equity in policies led to the creation of councils for women and development to advice government departments regarding policy formulation and also the creation of a Ministry of Women and the Family and a National Observatory for Women. (Sadiki, 2004, 283). Participation of women in political and economic so far has not had an effect of changing the policies that are made. It has however helped to improve children’s welfare, the personal lives and economic power of Arab women. It however has not had much impact on the political systems of the day in Arab countries and will most likely not have much effect since in most Arab countries the political structure is such that changes in the position of women can be absorbed. This is true for countries like Egypt, Jordan and Morocco where authoritarianism and limited democratic freedoms co-exist. Islamist movements have had a negative impact on the struggle for women empowerment; fundamentalist activists consider women’s rights issues and the participation of women in the public to be ‘western’ and aimed at degrading the morals and culture of traditional Islamic region. Some women activists see that the more important role of a woman is maintaining Islam tradition and so women can until this is achieved give up involvement in political issues (Sadiki, 2004, 285). Religion has had a significant role in shaping the beliefs, policies and behavior of people in the Middle East region. Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are important points of focus as far as religion is concerned, and also in the case of Jerusalem, a significant center of conflict. The Arab-Israel conflict is not the only source of instability in the region, as evidenced by a history of conflict long before the existence of the Jewish state, Israel and also presence of conflict not related to Israel clashes between Iraq and US (Cleveland, 2004, 222-224). The departure of Britain and France from the Middle East in the 1950s, the formation of the Israel state and the importance of the oil industry all contribute greatly to the conflict in the Middle East. As a result, the US became increasingly involved in Middle East issues becoming a great force in the oil industry and a source of stability. The Soviet Union sought to open new areas for the Cold War and formed alliances with Egypt (under Nasser) and Iraq. These regimes failed to deliver on their promises leading to Arabic despotism and embracing of Islamism among counties like Iraq and Egypt. With the fall of the Soviet Union these countries (Egypt, Algeria, Syria, and Iraq) embraced Arab nationalism. This later led to Iran-Iraq war invading Kuwait and in the 1990s and the US intervened by evicting Iraq from Kuwait with the help of allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia leading to US military occupation of the Persian Gulf, a source of great offence to Muslims. (Lewis, 2005, 2-5). The current situation is one that is of continued conflicts especially Arab-Israeli conflict. Anti western regimes in Arab countries seek to destroy Israel, and defeat the US. The portions of land given to the Jews after World War II are surrounded by Muslim countries, this land and other portions that have been taken over by Israel during wars against Arab countries have continued to fuel the conflict between Palestinians and Israeli. East Jerusalem is a part of Israel, considered holy for Muslims. Palestinians see Israelis as invaders of their nation; as such they have built a military network that attacks innocent Israeli civilians. Israelis protect themselves from these attacks by using military force to control Palestinians, these involves having checkpoints for Palestinians between cities. Most of the water supply is controlled by Israelis who give Palestinians little access to water compared to their needs increasing the humiliation and sense of abuse felt by the Palestinians. (Cleveland, 2004, 22-224). Attacks by Israeli soldiers has led to destruction of much of the Palestinian government because of destruction of records, equipment, electricity supplies, roads, electricity supplies and other infrastructure. The continued construction of settlements in Palestinian territory is seen as a reason for further increase in conflict between Israel and Palestine, ruining any chances of peace in the region. (Lewis, 2005, pp2, 3). Demands of Palestinians that Palestinian refugees be allowed to have their land back have not been solvable because if Palestinians reoccupy their land, Israel as a Jewish state will end because Israel then would have more Palestinians than Israelis. As such this is not an option Israelis want to consider. Both Palestinians and Jews have been forced to live in exile at some point in their histories. The Jews have faced much persecution wile many Palestinians are misused by depots of the Middle East who have their own narrow domestic agenda. Western foreign policy, a strong Israel state and a decline in the stabilities of nations with unfriendly regimes have maintained the conflict in the Middle East. The conflict in the region is likely to continue mainly because of the nature of leadership. Despotism and autocratic rule have become part of the system so much that this remains a major obstacle to development of democratic institutions that would be more inclined to control and stop the conflict (Lewis 2005, 2-3). The information revolution is also destined to affect the present situation in the Middle East. The availability of information from various media influences the security dynamics. Television programs have been known to propagate untrue information that leads to escalation of conflict, but television has also allowed the people of Middle East to see vibrant democracies in action (like in Israel) which is unheard of in most Arab countries. This increases the likelihood for people to push for and embrace democracy that allows uninhibited disagreement and argument of ideas in an orderly manner. Pressure from the international community for political reform is likely to increase stability in the region leading to more demands of equitable distribution of resources. Political reform is slow with a greater focus on liberalization rather than democratization since liberalization allows more openness and discussion while the government of the day retains power (Benched and Byman, 2003, pp55). Slow political reform is more likely to maintain stability compared to rapid political reform. However, if the reforms do not continue at a steady pace frustrations by the people are more likely to increase causing conflict that could even lead to regimes being overthrown (Bensahel and Byman, 2003, pp55). Works Cited Lewis B, 2005 Freedom and Justice in the Modern Middle East, council on Foreign Affairs retrieved from www.foreignaffirs.org/20050511faessay84305.p50/bernard-lewis/freedom-and-justice-in -the-modern-midle-east.html Cleveland WL 2004 A history of he Modern Middle East, 3rd Ed Westview Press ISBN 0-8133-4048-9 pp 222-255 Sadiki L 2005 The Search for Arab Democracy, Columbia University Press ISBN 023112581X Bensabel N and Byman D, 2003 The Future Security Environment In The Middle East: Conflict, Stability and Political Change, RAND Corporation ISBN 0-83303290-9

An Introduction to the Interquartile Range

An Introduction to the Interquartile Range The interquartile range (IQR) is the difference between the first quartile and third quartile. The formula for this is: IQR Q3 - Q1 There are many measurements of the variability of a set of data. Both the range and standard deviation tell us how spread out our data is. The problem with these descriptive statistics is that they are quite sensitive to outliers. A measurement of the spread of a dataset that is more resistant to the presence of outliers is the interquartile range. Definition of Interquartile Range As seen above, the interquartile range is built upon the calculation of other statistics. Before determining the interquartile range, we first need to know the values of the first quartile and third quartile. (Of course, the first and third quartiles depend upon the value of the median). Once we have determined the values of the first and third quartiles, the interquartile range is very easy to calculate. All that we have to do is to subtract the first quartile from the third quartile. This explains the use of the term interquartile range for this statistic. Example To see an example of the calculation of an interquartile range, we will consider the set of data: 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9. The five number summary for this set of data is: Minimum of 2First quartile of 3.5Median of 6Third quartile of 8Maximum of 9 Thus we see that the interquartile range is 8 – 3.5 4.5. The Significance of the Interquartile Range The range gives us a measurement of how spread out the entirety of our data set is. The interquartile range, which tells us how far apart the first and third quartile are, indicates how spread out the middle 50% of our set of data is. Resistance to Outliers The primary advantage of using the interquartile range rather than the range for the measurement of the spread of a data set is that the interquartile range is not sensitive to outliers. To see this, we will look at an example. From the set of data above we have an interquartile range of 3.5, a range of 9 – 2 7 and a standard deviation of 2.34. If we replace the highest value of 9 with an extreme outlier of 100, then the standard deviation becomes 27.37 and the range is 98. Even though we have quite drastic shifts of these values, the first and third quartiles are unaffected and thus the interquartile range does not change. Use of the Interquartile Range Besides being a less sensitive measure of the spread of a data set, the interquartile range has another important use. Due to its resistance to outliers, the interquartile range is useful in identifying when a value is an outlier. The interquartile range rule is what informs us whether we have a mild or strong outlier.  To look for an outlier, we must look below the first quartile or above the third quartile.  How far we should go depends upon the value of the interquartile range.

Beer industry essays

Beer industry essays Australia is the sixth-largest credit card market globally. Credit cards represent an attractive method of payment for Australians as most domestic cards are linked to frequent-flier schemes. The Visa card is probably the most widely known credit card in the world with around 21,000 member financial institutions globally. A study made by Interbrand, an international research firm, revealed that Visa ranked 14th internationally in terms of brand recognition behind corporations such as Coca-Cola and IBM. Visa is more than just a credit card. Visa provides customers with the most secure and flexible forms of payments that presents an opportunity to make a money transfer at anytime, around the world. Visa itself does not issue cards, but there are more than 600 channels of distribution, that are Visa member financial institutions(www.visa.com.au). In Australia and Asia, there are a broad selection of Visa payment products including credit and debits cards, corporate, purchasing and busin ess cards, Travelers Cheques and Visa Travel Money. All these products provide customers with a high level of security, reliability and convenience. One of the main environmental influences that is currently impacting Visa organization is information technology. Visa has introduced many innovative technologies to further enhance their service contribution to the market. For example, network is critically important to the membership of thousands of financial institutions that jointly establish rules, standards, and interchange fees(De La Llana, 1998). Several of the business practices in using the credit card network include no-surcharge and non-discrimination rules, collective determination of interchange fees, honor-all-card provisions(www.visa.com.au). Another improvement in information technologies is that 4,000 are the maximum transactions Visa can handle per second. Last year the Visa system handled approximately 37 billion transactions, with a tota...