Keyword Research for WordPress Why It Matters and How to Do It

Succeeding online is not easy. But its a lot easier if your content ranks highly in search engines like Google, right? But to accomplish that, you need to optimize your site. To do that, performing keyword research for WordPress is one of the best ways you can improve your content and get it in front of more readers.Performing keyword research for WordPress helps you with understanding your audience and comprehending the psychology behind peoples actions. In this article, we will talk about how to rank higher in Google results pages by doing keyword research correctly. Backlinks and site authority are also a must if you want to actually rank for your target keywords, but this should be only your next concern after youre done with the keyword planning.While there are certainly other search engines, most keyword research for WordPress focuses on Google because Google powers over 76% of all global desktop search traffic and over 94% of the mobile/tablet searches.Why do keyword research for WordPress?Well, here it depends on what you want to achieve with your site. One thing is clear: if you want to monetize it, you should consider SEO as the main driving force of web content. Especially if you want to sell products and services online or you simply want to grow a publishing platform.Why?81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big purchases.Today, Google handles more than 100 billion searches every month.There are around 60,000 Google searches every second.86% of consumers stated that using a search engine allowed them to learn something new or important that helped them increase their knowledge.60% of all organic clicks go to the top 3 organic search results.These stats definitely speak for themselves. So having an optimized page would help you rank higher and get more traffic no matter what kind of conversions youre seeking sales, downloads, email subscription, social shares, etc.Long story short, keyword research for WordPress helps you get ranked by Google, thus to exist online. As a bonus, you get to know your audience/customers better by learning their thinking. Also, by seeing and monitoring what people search for, you can understand their needs better and then adjust your services based on that.How to perform  keyword research for WordPressOne of the most popular  tools in this regard is Google Keyword Planner. If you guide it well, the tool will return the most searched keywords  by using many filters. And its totally free. Heres how:Sign up for Google AdWords to get startedThe first thing you need to do is to sign in to Google AdWords. If you dont have an account already, its very easy to create one. Before starting, you have to give the tool a few pieces of information about your products, the area you want to sell in, the language youre targeting, negative keywords, date range, price range etc.Once you get through that, choose Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category and fill out the form.To get an overall look at the most searched phrases in your niche, you can just start with one simple keyword and then make refinements later on:Following the example above, these are the top searches for old books:As you can notice, Google Keyword Planner displays the competition for each entry, which indicates how many people have bid for that specific keyword in Google AdWords (not necessarily the competition for search engine optimization).The nice thing about this tool is that it doesnt display only entries containing the words you try to get keyword suggestions for, but also all the top related searches in the same field. That is, if you look for old books, the tool will also display vintage books, used books etc.Think about competition when performing keyword researchThe competition column indicates how  many people are targeting the keyword in their Google AdWords campaigns. So, the competition consists of the number of advertisers who use the keyword in their business ads. Of course, you may not want to use the keywords for an ad, but knowing their value, you can estimate their popularity and their conversion rate.Hint! The competition and the monthly searches are not the same thing. A keyword can have lots of searches and yet a low competition or vice versa. Lets take book as an example. Everybody will use this term, but its not very specific and very few people will ever convert by using the keyword book, without any additional information. Thats why fewer people will bid for book. Cheap book, instead, will always suggest that there are customers who intend to buy your books.Sometimes, youll even get a specific keyword with a large number of searches and low competition. Which could be to your benefit. Why? Because people seem to be interested in it and you dont have many opponents to compete against. So, at times, targeting a keyword with low competition will help you very much. This advice fits more publishers who just need page views and not thos e who seek conversions (sales). Usually, the keywords with the highest competition are the ones that convert the most.How to refine your keyword researchIn the sidebar placed to the left of the keywords list, you can make the desired adjustments and add some filters to make the search even more relevant:If youre selling only in your country, then youre not interested in what people from other countries search for. Therefore, dont forget to select the country and the language youre targeting. You can also select if you want to extend the search to other search engines.In Negative Keywords, you should add words that are not relevant to your product/service and might mislead your customers. If youre ranking for an irrelevant keyword, your conversion rate will drop down and the bounce rate will increase.In the date range, select the time intervals youre interested in (you might want to know only the searches made in the last month). In keyword filters, you have some options to improve t he results and you can also add new keywords you want to get ideas for.Other places to perform  keyword research for WordPressWhile the Google AdWords tool is a good starting place because its free, its lost some of its value because Google made the decision to only show a range of values in the  Avg. monthly searches column.If youd like a more exact number, as well as some assessment of how easy it is to rank your website for that keyword in Google, here are some other helpful tools:KWFinder free for up to 3 searches per dayMoz Keyword Explorer   free for up to 2 searches per dayHow and where to add keywords to your WordPress siteNow that you have the right keywords, whats the next step? Where should you add them or how can you use them to improve your SEO? Well, the keywords must be scattered through all your sites content, be it pages, blog posts, tagline, categories, headings, URLs etc. On each of these pages, its recommended to choose one focus keyword and add it multipl e times (stay within reason, though!).Google looks into every web corner in its attempt to localize and count the keywords a user searched for. As a rough  rule, the more it finds relevant keywords within your content, the better it understands what your site is about and will display it in the results page accordingly.How to add keywords to your site overallStart with adding your strongest keyword in your sites Title and Tagline (only if it fits; its not mandatory). You can do this by going to Settings → General.  If you have a rich menu, you can sneak the keyword as a category in Appearance → Menus, too:If your WordPress theme comes with a header/slider, you can add a related sentence there too. Just look into your themes settings and customize the header. Do the same if you have a sub-header. Furthermore, make sure the page headings contain keywords as well.Every image you add to your site should have descriptive alternative text. Dont leave those spaces empty b ecause youll miss one more opportunity to place your keywords on your WordPress site.How to add keywords to posts and pagesBeyond your main pages, youll also want to perform at least a little bit of keyword research for every single post that you write.Once you know the keywords that you want to optimize your post for, using  a WordPress SEO plugin  is a great way to help you optimize your post. Try to use your targeted keyword at least once at the beginning of your post, and then try to fit it in several more times if you can do so naturally.As you become more acquainted with SEO, you can even implement an SEO-friendly content structure based on your keyword research for WordPress.Taking keyword research for WordPress a little further LSI and LDABefore adding keywords to your site, keep in mind that they have to fit the content. Otherwise, you are at risk to sound weird, unprofessional, unnatural, and people might not take you seriously. No matter what youre trying to target, it can be done without sabotaging your business. Keywords are not the only thing you need for SEO, trust is also vital.Heres where Google gets smarter than just tracking exact keywords.LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) is a mathematic method created to make natural (human) connections between terms and concepts. This way, related words and synonyms are taken into consideration. If you use words semantically/lexically connected with the keyword, Google will label your site as relevant to the original meaning.For instance, your keyword is second-hand laptops. You can sneak in your content alternatives like used laptop(s), small prices, major discounts, very cheap laptop etc. and Google will understand what this is about.LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) is a topic modeling tool according to which a document (in this case, your site) is a combination of a few different topics, each topic covering a small set of words repeatedly, which Google can recognize and categorize easily.For instanc e, if the search query is piano, using descriptions with words from its lexical family such as notes, keys, hands, music(al), instrument might help you and Google mark your site as relevant. So, describe your product or service with as many characteristic words as you can, it will bring you extra points with the search engines.ConclusionBasic SEO is not hard to do. It requires training just like any other technique, after all. It comes in many steps and it can get pretty complex at times, but the most important step to start with is keyword research. If you manage to target the right keywords and add them to your site wherever theyre needed, you can then start to focus on building authority and trust.And you can only do that by delivering honest services and creating trustworthy content. Use your keywords, but try to stay true and objective at the same time. People are rarely impressed by sales-y, commercial, and incoherent website presentation. Keyword research for #WordPress is es sential. Here's how to do it

Transportation Geography

Transportation Geography Transportation geography is a branch of economic geography that studies transportation and all aspects related to it and the geography of an area. This means that it examines the transportation or movement of people, goods, and information in or across different regions. It can have a local focus in a city (New York City for example), as well as a regional (the United States Pacific Northwest), national or global focus. Transportation geography also studies the different modes of transportation such as road, rail, aviation and boat and their relationships to people, the environment and urban areas. Transportation has been important in geographic study for hundreds of years. In the early days of geography explorers used known sailing routes to explore new areas and set up trading outposts. As the worlds economy began to modernize and develop railway and maritime shipping became increasingly important and knowledge of foreign markets was essential. Today transportation capacity and efficiency is important so knowing the quickest way to move people and products is important and in turn, understanding the geography of the regions in which these people and products are moving is vital. Transportation geography is a very broad subject that looks at many different topics. For example, transportation geography could possibly look at the link between the presence of a railroad in an area and the percentage of commuters using rail to get to work in a developed area. Social and environmental impacts of the creation of transportation modes are other topics within the discipline. Transportation geography also studies the constraints of movement across space. An example of this might be looking at how the shipment of goods varies at different times of the year due to weather conditions. To gain a better understanding of transportation and its relationship to geography transportation geographers today study three important fields that relate to transportation: nodes, networks, and demand. The following is a list of the three major branches of transportation geography: 1) Nodes are the beginning and end points for transportation between geographic areas. The Port of Los Angeles is an example of a node because it is the start and end for the shipment of goods to and from the United States. The presence of a node is important economically because it can aid in the development of a city due to jobs for example. 2) Transportation networks are the second major field in transportation geography and they represent the structure and organization of transportation infrastructures like roads or train lines through an area. Transportation networks connect the nodes and are significant because they can directly affect the capacity and efficiency of the movement of people and goods. For example, a well-developed train line would be an efficient transportation network to move people and goods from two nodes, say, from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It is up to transportation geographers to study the differences between two networks to most efficiently move items between nodes. 3) The third major field of transportation geography is demand. Demand is based on public demand for different types of transportation. For example, if commuters are in constant traffic congestion on a daily basis in a city, public demand might support the development of a transit system such as light rail to move them within the city or two and from the city and their home. Overall, transportation is a significant topic within geography because the worlds economy depends on transportation. By studying how transportation relates to geography, researchers and geographers can gain a better understanding of why cities, transportation networks and the worlds economy have developed the way they have. Reference Hanson, Susan, ed. and Genevieve Giuliano, ed. The Geography of Urban Transportation. New York: The Guilford Press, 2004. Print.

Examples of Sanctions in International Relations

Examples of Sanctions in International Relations In international relations, sanctions are a tool that nations and nongovernmental agencies use to influence or to punish other nations or non-state actors. Most sanctions are economic in nature, but they may also carry the threat of diplomatic or military consequences as well. Sanctions can be unilateral, meaning they are imposed only by one nation, or bilateral, meaning a bloc of nations (such as a trade group) is imposing the penalties. Economic Sanctions The Council on Foreign Relations defines sanctions as a lower-cost, lower-risk, middle course of action between diplomacy and war. Money is that middle course, and economic sanctions are the means. Some of the most common punitive financial measures include: Tariffs: Surcharges on imported goods, often imposed to aid domestic industries and markets.Quotas: Limits on the number of goods that may be imported or exported.  Embargoes: Restrictions on or cessation of trading with a nation or bloc of nations. These can include limiting or banning travel by individuals to and from nations.Non-tariff barriers: These are designed to make foreign goods more expensive by complying with onerous  regulatory requirements.Asset seizure/freeze: Capturing or holding the financial assets of nations, citizens, or preventing the sale or moving of those assets.   Oftentimes, economic sanctions are linked to treaties or other diplomatic agreements between nations. They could be revocation of preferential treatment such as Most Favored Nation status or import quotas against a country not abiding by agreed international rules of trade. Sanctions may also be imposed to isolate a nation for political or military reasons. The United States has imposed severe economic penalties against North Korea in response to that nations efforts to develop nuclear weapons, for example, and the U.S. does not maintain diplomatic relations, either. Sanctions are not always economic in nature.  President Carters  boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 can be viewed as a form of diplomatic and cultural sanctions imposed in protest against the  Soviet Unions invasion of Afghanistan. Russia retaliated in 1984, leading a multination boycott of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Do Sanctions Work? Although sanctions have become a common diplomatic tool for nations, especially in the decades after the end of the Cold War, political scientists say they are not particularly effective. According to one landmark study, sanctions have only about a 30 percent chance of succeeding. And the longer sanctions are in place, the less effective they become, as the targeted nations or individuals learn how to work around them. Others criticize sanctions, saying they are most often felt by innocent civilians and not the intended government officials. Sanctions imposed against Iraq in the 1990s after its invasion of Kuwait, for example, caused prices for basic commodities to spike, led to extreme food shortages, and triggered outbreaks of disease and famine. Despite the crushing impact these sanctions had on the general Iraqi population, they did not lead to the ouster of their target, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. International sanctions can and do work sometimes, however. One of the most famous examples is the near-total economic isolation imposed on South Africa in the 1980s in protest against that nations policy of racial apartheid. The United States and many other nations ceased trading and companies divested their holdings, which in conjunction with strong domestic resistance led to the end of South Africas white-minority government in 1994. Source Masters, Jonathan. What Are Economic Sanctions? CFR.org. 7 August 2017.

Essay about globalization Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

About globalization - Essay Example Where there is a wide range of positive effects of globalization, a variety of negative effects also exist, particularly on the local culture. Globalization has negative effects on culture in many aspects, but the greatly affected ones are food, traditions, and social values. According to The Levin Institute report (n.d), globalization has encouraged production and distribution of goods and services to people generating an access to products that were otherwise difficult to get. However, such transition has affected the viability of locally made products as well as those who manufacture them. The exposure to foreign cultural goods frequently brings about changes in local culture, values and traditions of Qatar. People of Qatar are greatly persuaded by the expansion of trade in cultural products as they are exposed to foreign cultures. In other words, gradually, foreign culture is percolating into the traditional culture of Qatar which has changed the local culture, values and traditions as a result people are undermining their own cultural identity. Due to globalization, a transition is observed in celebration of local festivals- Eid, Ramadan, Art festival where local artists display their talents. People of Qatar are greatly influenced by foreign culture and introduced celebration of some festivals such as mother’s day in a grand manner which was actually not the part of Qatar tradition. Thus, a drift is observed in local tradition and festivals as these are considered to be old fashioned, in fact, inclination and adaptation to foreign culture is

Italy' economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Italy' economy - Research Paper Example The economic crisis of 2007-2011 had a negative impact to Italy’s economy. During this crisis, the economic growth went down by 6.74%. This left Italy in a huge budget deficit. Italian debt rating was quite poor by 2011 attributed to the government’s inability to make effective decisions on national issues. However, this changed over that period when the government adopted austerity measures that led to a budget deficit of only 1.5% in 2011. According to the International Monetary Fund, measured by nominal gross domestic product, Italy’s economy is the seventh largest in the world and fourth largest in Europe preceded by Germany, France and United Kingdom (OECD 127). This is despite its late industrialization and the current economic growth being almost stagnant. Most economic growth has been contributed by industrialization, which developed rapidly in the 1950’s. There is also practice of agriculture, which contributes about 2% of its growth domestic product, and tourism is the most important industry (Rodgers & Simon 134). Industries in Italy are diversified ranging and mostly based on the North in Milan, Turin and Genoa. Over half of the labor force is employed in the manufacturing industry that deals with chemicals, food, clothing, footwear, motor vehicles and ceramics among others OECD 34). The rest are employed in agriculture that deals in livestock like goats, cattle sheep and pigs together with plants like soybean, grapes, potatoes and sugar beets. Most of these industries were state owned but recently, the trend is changing to privatization. Most scholars and analysts suggest that Italy’s economy should have been above other countries like China or even Japan. Since this is not the case, political instabilities and the problems discussed above in the history of the economy as discussed are some of

Airframe Structure Failure and Survivability Essay Example for Free

Airframe Structure Failure and Survivability Essay There are many different variables that come into play during an aircraft accident. It is an investigators job to find out what caused the failure. Failure of an aircraft primary structure is ranked high on the list of risks aircrews would rather not face. Mechanical component failure which can lead to loss of control of the aircraft is not far behind. Another issue which must be addressed in any aircraft accident is the question and of crash survivability. Even if no one was injured the investigator must find out what worked and what didnt. If there were injuries, several questions should be asked. The chapters I will be covering will give the investigator a look into what causes structural failure, and how to determine crash survivability. An aircraft accident investigators job is to determine what caused the crash. Structural failure is a vital part of the investigation. The term structure failure means where the material fails to carry below it was intended to carry. A structure can fail in one of two general ways. One way is it can be fractured, which means broken into two or more pieces. Another way is when the structure shape is changed so that it can no longer carry its load. With this kind of failure, the structure is still in one piece. It could be bent, stretched, corroded, or so worn that it can no longer do its intended job. Over the next few pages, I will be going into detail about the different ways structures can fail. There are many reasons why an airplane structure can fail. As I have just gone over a few in the last paragraph, there are many different ways this can happen. In chapter 35, the book talks about overload. This is, when an in-flight load exceeds the weight the part was designed for. All structures to include bridges, buildings or airplanes are created to withstand only specific loads. It is unrealistic to assume that airplanes can be designed and built to withstand any conceivable load it can experience. If a structure is exposed to a load greater than which it was designed for, it will structurally fail. Be it deforming, or fracturing into two or more pieces. These are two general reasons why aircraft structures fail. Aircraft structures are designed to withstand loads generated by air at some maximum airspeed and the loads generated while maneuvering at some G load. Most aircraft can be flown at speeds and G loads which can place excessive loads on the aircraft structure. Aircraft that is directly exposed to onrushing air could be damaged as the dynamic pressure of the air stream is converted to static pressure pressing inward on the structure. Excessive speed can reduce the airplanes stability. The bottom line is that a lot of bad things can happen when an aircraft exceeds it’s redline airspeed. One of the clearest reasons for failure of a structural component is that the component lacked the proper strength to withstand the loads created while the aircraft is flown at its normal operating limits. There are numerous reasons why a structural component could be understrength. It is possible that the engineering of the structure was inadequate. The designer could have possibly made an error which was not caught during the testing phase. Another reason could be that wear and tear caused a weakening to the structure. Service life issues are normally divided into four sub areas; fatigue cracking, corrosion, wear and creep. The four of these progressive failures which cannot be undone as the aircraft accumulates flight hours ground-air-ground cycles. An aircraft structure can be weakened in a somewhat short period of time. Exposure to heat can greatly reduce a metals strength. For example, some aluminum alloys that are exposed to temperatures of 400Â ° for 5 minutes can reduce the alloys strength by 80%. Jet engine hot sections and compressor bleed airlines are made of materials such as stainless steel or titanium alloys which maintain most of their strength in relatively high temperatures. This problem happens when structure which is not been designed for high temperature is exposed to high temperatures. Some aircraft which can reach high supersonic speeds require the leading edge structures to be able to withstand the extremely high temperatures generated at these speeds. There are two general areas when it comes to aircraft structures. You have a primary structure, and a secondary structure. The primary structure is parts of the aircraft that are necessary to safely fly its mission. The following components are normally considered to be part of the primary structure: wing structure, fuselage structure carrying flight, ground and cabin pressurization loads, empennage, landing gear structure, engine mounts and supporting structure. The primary structures can be further sub categorized as either critical structure or principal structure elements. Critical elements are those whose failure would result in catastrophic failure of the aircraft. Principal elements are those that contribute significantly to carrying flight, ground and pressurization loads whose failure could or could not result in catastrophic failure. The following components are considered to be the secondary structure: aerodynamic fairings, tail cones, and landing gear doors. There are other mechanical components which carry flight critical loads. Even though these components have failure modes that are closely related to those exhibited by the primary and secondary structures, they do not fall into either of those categories. Components like hydraulic pressure lines, drive shafts, electric alternators, and gear teeth in transmissions all have modes of failure which can give clues concerning the nature of the loads which caused them to fail. In aircraft accident investigator will have a firm understanding of the loads that airplane structured caries and the physical evidence that these loads leaves behind when they fail. The many types of loads are vectors and have both magnitude and direction. You can change the load by either changing its magnitude, for example increasing or decreasing the pounds of force being applied, or by changing its direction by applying force upward instead of down. Loads can take a finite length of time to be imposed. Even though loads can be applied in a very short period of time they can be applied or changed instantaneously. The fact that loads take time to apply and or change is important for the accident investigator understand. The book separates loads into three general areas; static loads, dynamic loads, and repeated loads. Knowing the difference between the three types is important because the nature of the load has a lot to do with the failure of the structure and the evidence left behind. If a load were applied so slowly that the structure to which the load was being applied to stayed equal at all times the load would be considered a static load. A static load can be either for short or long period of time. A dynamic load happens when the loads are applied fast enough to prevent the structure from carrying the load while remaining in equilibrium as the load is being applied. Dynamic loads can be divided into two subcategories, sudden, and impact. A sudden load will impose stronger internal stresses in the structure. Components such as landing gear are tested with dynamic loads. Impact loads are applied at faster rates than sudden, causing the structure to fracture almost every time. Impact loads are usually limited to high-speed bird impacts and crash tests. Repeated loads are just like they sound, loads that are repeated over and over again. Due to the behavior of dynamic impacts and longtime static loads, it makes them unlikely candidates for repeated loads. Short time static and sudden dynamic loads can be repeated over and over again. If a component goes through lots of repeated load cycles before it fails due to fatigue cracking it is said to have experienced high cycle fatigue. By lots of cycles the book means hundreds of thousands or millions or tens of millions of cycles. One of the ways investigators look at structure failure is to consider the time it took for the failure to occur. If the failure happened at the instance of a single load, it is called an instantaneous failure. If the failure took a period of time to occur, that is called a progressive failure. If a structural component contained a load that caused significant distortion, but did not exceed the materials yield stress, and the structure springs back to its original shape after the load is removed is called an elastic deformation/distortion failure. Now if the same events occur and the structure does not spring back to its original shape after the load is removed, that is called plastic deformation/distortion. This is a permanent shape change, unlike the elastic which is a temporary shape change. Now if the load reaches the point where internal stresses not only cause significant plastic deformation, they exceed the materials ultimate stress, the structure will then fracture and separate into two or more pieces. This is called a fracture failure. An experienced investigator can tell the difference between the five different types of structural failure. Another form that causes structural failures is corrosion. Corrosion is the natural disintegration of material as it is attacked by one or more substances in its environment. During the refining process, energy is added to metal ores and other raw materials in order to produce the mechanical properties necessary in structural components. Mother Nature the great equalizer, doesnt like variances in energy levels and sets to work trying to bring the material back to the low energy levels existing in the products of corrosion. When it comes to aircraft structural components, mother natures attack will reduce the strength and ductility of components turning strong metals into meek metallic oxides, hydroxides or sulfates. If these compounds are not removed from the structure they can worsen the problem by providing an environment which is ever more favorable to continued corrosion. There are many different forms of corrosion. Some can be the result of a direct chemical attack by reactive substances in the environment. Pitting is a common form of corrosion. Small holes that are randomly located across the metal surface are called pits and sometimes may be accompanied with a powdery residue. Even though pits may appear to have damaged only a small percentage of the surface, they penetrate deeply in a branching matter causing loss of strength and ductility which is way out of proportion to metals surface appearance. Chemical corrosion involves the reaction between a metal structure and some chemical agent. If you introduce corrosive acid on a metal wing, the acid and the metal will react to form new and undesirable compounds. A selective attack is when corrosive actions seem to favor one part of the components or assembly above another. The primary type of selective attack is intergranular corrosion. This type of attack centers on the grain boundaries with in a metal component before consuming the grains themselves. Similar to pitting the damage from this kind of attack causes a loss of strength and ductility which is out of portion the amount of metal that is corroded. Another form intergranular corrosion is exfoliation, whose progress and go undetected until all structural integrity is lost. Grain boundaries attacked by this type of corrosion are normally flattened and or elongated grains of extruded or rolled metals. This type of corrosion can move undetected along the grain boundaries. Slow removal of material from the surface of the component by a mechanical action is referred to as wear. In most cases wear is undesirable, wear during break in on new or overhauled equipment is often a necessary ingredient in establishing proper operation and long service life. The type of wear the book talks about is the kind that leads to premature failure and breakdown. Abrasive wear happens when small abrasive particles cut into and remove material from surfaces of two components which are held together while moving. When this type of wear happens one question an investigator must ask is, where did the particles come from? Adhesive wear occurs when microscopic projections of the surfaces of the two components which are sliding across each other may contact, weld together and break off. A question that an investigator can ask is was the surface lubricated? Erosive wear is similar to abrasive wear in that foreign particles are cutting tiny chunks out of the surface. Its a little different from abrasive wear in that the abrasive particles gain their penetrating energy by a fluid that is carrying them along. How did the particles enter into the fluids is a question an investigator could pose. To prevent structure failure, the components go through an inspection called non-destructive inspection (NDI). NDI are inspection techniques which will not do significant harm to the object being inspected. Other names for this type of inspection is called non-destructive evaluation (NDE) or non-destructive testing (NDT). There are six specific techniques for these inspections. First, visual inspection is the simplest form and most common of the NDI process and uses your God-given gift of sight. To assist this type of inspection, illumination, magnification, and remote viewing are used to help. Another type is dye penetrant. This inspection is used to detect small surface cracks and discontinuities which may not be visible during strictly visual inspections. This technique is simple, but time-consuming. The component being inspected is covered with a colored liquid which is absorbed into surface cracks. The liquid includes a phosphorescent material which when exposed to ultraviolet light glows in the dark so small surface cracks are visible to the naked eye. Magnetic particle inspection provides another way to assist the eye by increasing the conspicuity of a surface crack. This process requires more specialized equipment then the dye penetrant process, it makes the crack even more obvious if properly used. This inspection makes use of the fact that when a magnetic field is induced in a component made of Ferro-magnetic material, surface cracks will alter the components magnetic field. When magnetic particles are placed on a magnetized surface it will align themselves along the magnetic field showing any variations caused by the cracks. If the magnetic particles are phosphorescent and viewed in a dark room under an ultraviolet light pattern around the cracks will be more visible. Eddy current is the first technique that is discussed that does not require direct viewing of the crack. This process involves the use of a probe to generate both an electromagnetic field and sense and evaluate the Eddy current generated in the material being inspected. When either or surface or near surface cracks are in the material it will alter the shape of the Eddy current and magnetic field it generates. This can be as simple as a twitch on a meters needle. The equipment needed for this type of inspection must be calibrated for the specific design being inspected and the size of the crack being search. Ultrasonic inspections make use of high-frequency sound to find surface and subsurface defects. The high-frequency sound waves are generated by a transducer and then beamed through the part being inspected. The reflective waves or the remnants of waves which penetrate the part are being measured with a receiver and electronically evaluated. There are two different ways the sound waves can be applied to and retrieved from the part being inspected; immersion of the part into a fluid which carries the sound waves to and from the part and direct contact inspection where the transducer and receiver are in direct contact with the part. The direct contact technique is much more mobile allowing use in the field of the aircraft or major fabrications. Radiographic inspection in its simplest form is not much different than that of an x-ray. Very short wave electromagnetic radiation are generated and directed through the part being inspected and towards unexposed radiographic film. Rays passing through cracks, flaws, voids and corroded areas will not be attenuated as much as raise passing through sound material. To the untrained eye, cracks, flaws, voids and corrosion may appear to be just another shadow on the film. Orientation of the x-rays so as to illuminate the discontinuities and proper interpretation of the film are therefore important aspects in ensuring the thoroughness of the inspection. One of the issues which must be addressed in any aircraft accident is a question of crash survivability. Even if no one was injured, the question of what worked and what didnt work should always be asked. Did the restraint systems operate as designed? Whether or not escape hatches were needed, could they have been opened if needed? Did the emergency lighting system work? How crash survival equipment is designed is based on experience, history, and sound engineering judgment. To know if these components work correctly design requires an accident for verification. The accident is a chance to validate our judgment and we cannot afford to pass it up. To make investigation of aircraft crashes a little easier requires a systematic approach by breaking down a complicated series of events into smaller, more digestible bites. The approach chapter 36 goes over is the CREEP method. CREEP stands for: Container, Restraint, Energy absorption, Environment, and Post-crash factors. The first four of the five CREEP elements relate to the dynamic portion of the crash itself. These four factors are concerned with the initial and any subsequent impacts with the terrain, the associated deceleration forces acting on the aircraft and its current occupants, and the deformation and dislocation of aircraft structure and its contents. The fifth factor relates to the occupants attempts to egress the aircraft before suffering additional injuries not directly resulting from the dynamic portion of the crash. In order to survive a crash it is first necessary to provide a living space for the occupants during the dynamic portion of the crash. If the space is crushed or punctured, the chances of survival fall drastically. This factor is container. Now if the occupants have been provided with adequate living space, the next series of questions should deal with the restraint of the crew and its passengers and equipment and components around them. Occupants of any moving vehicle must be protected from injuring collisions with in the vehicle, for example being thrown against the sides of the living space or having objects such as cargo or equipment thrown at them. The strength of all restraints should be sufficient to prevent injury at the force levels which can be expected during the most severe but survivable crash. The investigator should examine all restraints system failures to determine if there failure contributed to injuries experienced by the crew or passengers. The deceleration forces created during a crash may be high enough to cause fatal or serious injuries, even if a safe living space, adequate crew and passenger restraints, and a delethalized flailing envelope are provided. Since crew and passenger bodies are not strongly attached to the airframe, the design of the aircraft structure and seeds may cause the acceleration forces experienced by the crew and passengers to be either amplified or attenuated. A soft deep seat cushion can greatly amplified the vertical Gs experienced by someone sitting in the seat. The deep seat cushion deforms at high loads absorbing energy as it gives can greatly reduce the vertical crash loads to which a seat occupant is subjected. Hopefully, the designers will build a secure box around the crew and passengers and secure them to it. Although we may be able to restrain the torso, it is normally impractical to secure the head and limbs of the crew and passengers. The volume through which the unrestrained extremities can be expected to move shouldve been the legalized to the maximum degree possible. Obstructions which could cause injury should either remove from within the flailing envelope or padded to reduce the severity or probability of injury. This is the environment that the creep method covers. All too commonly, crew or passengers survived the dynamic portion of the crash, only to suffer additional injuries or death when they are unable to safely exit the aircraft in a timely manner. The two primary factors in the causation of fatalities during otherwise survivable crashes is, post-crash fire and inability to quickly exit the damaged aircraft. Fire is the most significant post-crash hazard by a long shot. Not only can the fire kill and injure directly through heat, the toxic fumes and smoke produced when material and the aircraft interior burn are more often the direct cause of death. This post-crash condition is a top priority in controlling to prevent death. Design of airplane exits is predicated on the normal parked attitude and configuration. Obviously, this is not always the case. Sometimes occupants will have to exit from an airplane that is an abnormal attitude and perhaps in a very unusual configuration. Part 125 airplanes have specific emergency exit acquirements levied on them, many general aviation airplanes have only one exit which can be easily jammed in the airplane ends up inverted. In conclusion, nobody is expert on all types of structural failures. With so many different variables, it takes a highly detailed investigator to pinpoint what kind of failure causes a crash. And without a systematic approach of investigation of a crash, the investigators are left with an accident that is difficult to determine whether or not the occupants should have survived the impact.

Racism Essay -- essays research papers fc

Institutional Racism in American Society "Racist" and "racism" are provocative words in American society. To some, these words have reached the level of curse words in their offensiveness. Yet, "racist" and "racism" are descriptive words of a reality that cannot be denied. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans (people-of-color) live daily with the effects of both institutional and individual racism. Race issues are so fundamental in American society that they seem almost an integral component. Some Americans believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities. Some Americans behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiority in European Americans (whites). In fact, such individuals respond to people-of-color and whites differently merely because of race (or ethnicity). As a consequence, people of color are injured by judgments or actions that are directly or indirectly r acist. Much of the attention of the last 20 years has focused on individual racist behavior. However, just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can behave in ways that are overtly racist (i.e., specifically excluding people-of-color from services) or inherently racist (i.e., adopting policies that while not specifically directed at excluding people-of-color, nevertheless result in their exclusion). Therefore, institutions can respond to people-of-color and ... Racism Essay -- essays research papers fc Institutional Racism in American Society "Racist" and "racism" are provocative words in American society. To some, these words have reached the level of curse words in their offensiveness. Yet, "racist" and "racism" are descriptive words of a reality that cannot be denied. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans (people-of-color) live daily with the effects of both institutional and individual racism. Race issues are so fundamental in American society that they seem almost an integral component. Some Americans believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities. Some Americans behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiority in European Americans (whites). In fact, such individuals respond to people-of-color and whites differently merely because of race (or ethnicity). As a consequence, people of color are injured by judgments or actions that are directly or indirectly r acist. Much of the attention of the last 20 years has focused on individual racist behavior. However, just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can behave in ways that are overtly racist (i.e., specifically excluding people-of-color from services) or inherently racist (i.e., adopting policies that while not specifically directed at excluding people-of-color, nevertheless result in their exclusion). Therefore, institutions can respond to people-of-color and ...

Juvenile Corrections Essay

Juvenile corrections encompasses the portions of the criminal justice system that deal with juvenile offenders. Many of these facilities and programs seem to mirror jails and prisons, but juvenile corrections are not meant for long term sentences. Sometimes sentences for juveniles are only several weeks long. Juvenile corrections also have a strong focus on rehabilitation because studies have shown that juvenile offenders are more prone to rehabilitation than adult offenders. These programs and services were aimed to help to teach these youthful offenders how to better deal with situations and how to avoid entering the into the criminal justice system again. (wisegeek) The judges who handle these juvenile cases specialize in working with juvenile offenders and their crimes. Others who specialize in juvenile crime are a part of the juvenile corrections system as well. This includes social workers, probation officers, as well as others. Their aim is usually not to punish the juveniles alone, but to use the punishment as a way to rehabilitate them as well. (USLegal) Historical Background of Juvenile Corrections The origins of juvenile corrections are not entirely clear. Juvenile and adult offenders have been treated differently for some time, but what ages are considered to be juvenile has changed over time. The United States’ perspective on juvenile ages and law was greatly influenced by English law. In the 1700s, William Blackstone, an English lawyer, published his Commentaries on the Laws of England, where he identified that young persons are incapable of committing crime. Generally, anyone under of the age of seven was incapable of committing crime. Any child over the age of 14 was able to be tried as an adult. Children between the ages of 7 and 14 are a gray area, but were generally not held accountable for their actions unless it could be shown that they knew what was right or wrong. Punishments for being found guilty of crime included the death penalty, even for juvenile offenders. (ABA, 2011) The juvenile corrections system began to change and be reformed in the nineteenth century. â€Å"Social reformers began to create special facilities to rehabilitate troubled juveniles, especially in large cities†, (ABA, 2011, p 5). These reformers stated that they wanted to protect these juvenile offenders by keeping them separate from the adult populations because they were better able to be rehabilitated. The first court system for juveniles in the United States started in 1899 in Illinois. These courts also aimed to rehabilitate the juvenile offenders. They had juvenile court systems in most states by 1824. The courts became the â€Å"guardians† of the juvenile offenders, or their â€Å"parens patriae†. These court proceedings were considered to be civil matters and not considered to be criminal matters. Their basic focus was on rehabilitating the juvenile offenders. (ABA, 2011) The juvenile courts changed again in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1967, the case of Gerald in In re Gault, the Supreme Court granted many juveniles some, but not all, due process rights in the course of their court proceedings. This included the right to be notified of their pending charges, the right to have an attorney, the right to protect themselves against self-incrimination, and the rights to confront and cross-examine their witnesses. Three years later, in In re Winship, the Court also established that the accused must be proven guilty â€Å"beyond a reasonable doubt†. In 1971, in McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, the Courts ruled that juries are not required for juvenile proceedings. In most cases, the judge in charge of the juvenile corrections department will hear the case, judge the offender, and sentence the offender. (ABA, 2011) Recidivism Rates in Juvenile Corrections When it comes to measuring a correctional agency’s facilities and programs, recidivism rates are most frequently used. These rates guide spending and funding decisions aimed to effectively combat crime. While there is no standard rate that is aimed for, the idea is to try to reduce the recidivism rate or even keep it the same opposed to raising it. When the recidivism rates are not progressing in the manner expected, these agencies must try to find other avenues and strategies that will make a positive impact on the recidivism rates, and in the long run, these juvenile’s lives. (CJCA, 2011) â€Å"The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) defines recidivism as a return to incarceration within three years of the offender’s date of release from a state correctional institution.† (Schelle, 2012) The 2011 recidivism rate for all juvenile offenders was 36.7%. The recidivism rate for African American juvenile offenders was 43.8%. Eighty-two percent of the juveniles who recidivated did so with a new crime, and the other 18% returned because of technical violations. â€Å"Of all juveniles released in 2008, 40.9% of males returned to IDOC, while only 15.8% of females returned,† (Schelle, 2012). Surprisingly, juvenile sex offenders had the lowest recidivism rate at 13.6%. (Schelle, 2012) Risk-Focused Juvenile Crime Prevention Risk factors for juvenile delinquency have been identified from multiple studies. These risk factors are different for older and younger juveniles. When focusing on the individual juvenile between the ages of 6-11, delinquency risk factors include; being male, having a low IQ, having antisocial attitudes and beliefs, dishonesty, having medical and physical problems, hyperactivity, exposure to television violence, petty offenses, having poor attitude and performance at school, and substance use. In this same age group, the child’s family environment can also include risk factors as well. Some of these risk factors are; being in a low socioeconomic status or poverty, having antisocial parents, having poor relationships, receiving harsh or inconsistent discipline, having a broken home, being separated from their parents, and having abusive or neglectful parents. (Przybylski, 2008) For children between the ages of 12 and 14, the individual risk factors include; general offenses, having a low IQ, displaying antisocial behavior, committing crimes against others, using physical violence, being male, displaying risk taking behaviors, displaying aggression, having low concentration, restlessness, and general offenses. Other factors also include having a poor attitude in school, academic failure, having weak social ties, and gang membership. Living in a community with high neighborhood crime, drugs, and disorganization are also factors. In this same age group, the child’s family environment can also include risk factors as well. Some of these risk factors are; lax or harsh discipline by parents, lack of adult or parental supervision, lack of parental involvement, having antisocial parents, having poor relationships, coming from a broken home, living in poverty, being abused, and experiencing family conflict. With all of these risk factors being mentioned, â€Å"It is important to recognize that risk factors cannot be used to identify which particular children will grow up to be offenders,† (Przybylski, 2008, p 84). There are also protective factors that may help counter-act the risk factors mentioned above. These include the individual juvenile; having a strong attitude or being intolerant toward deviance, having a higher IQ, being female, having more positive social skills and orientation, and understanding the sanctions for any transgressions. Some familial protective factors include; having warm, strong, and supporting relationships with caregivers, good monitoring by parents, and the general support of the juvenile’s friends by the juvenile’s parents. Other protective factors include; the juvenile being committed to their education, gaining recognition for extracurricular activities, and having friends who are also against deviant behavior. (Przybylski, 2008) What Rehabilitation Efforts Work for Juveniles and Which Do Not There has been much research on what programs work to rehabilitate juvenile offenders. The general results have been that the majority of the programs have no real effect on the juvenile recidivism rate aside from a few exceptions. The reason why juveniles have lower recidivism rates is believed to be because juveniles are not completely aware of the ramifications of their actions and do not always understand the true damage they inflict on their victims. (Lieb, 1994) The results of multiple studies indicate several approaches to rehabilitation that do not work. Those include; visiting a probation officer one time per month, diagnostic assessments, behavior modification for any complex behaviors, broad discussion groups, attending school as a single approach, field trips, work programs, psychodynamic counseling, and therapeutic camping trips. The research used 50 different juvenile correctional programs and came to the conclusion that the results were, â€Å"far from encouraging,† and â€Å"correctional treatment has little effect on recidivism,† (Lieb, 1994, p 5). The results showed that some behavioral approaches received more positive results. An analysis used 90 residential and community programs for juvenile offenders. The analysis concluded that, â€Å"Behavior approaches had the most success in reducing recidivism although the effects were so small that â€Å"they could not reject the null hypothesis.† Group therapy and transactional analysis programs were more likely to produce negative effects,† (Lieb, 1994, p 5). What does seem to work is using correctional treatment and service utilizing three principles that include; getting service to the high-risk juveniles, paying attention to the risk factors mentioned above, and using different styles of treatment depending on the needs and learning styles of the individual juvenile offender. (Lieb, 1994) References ABA. (2011, June 29). The History of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from American Bar Association: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/publiced/features/DYJpart1.authcheckdam.pdf CJCA. (2011). Recidivism Committee. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators: http://cjca.net/index.php/initiatives/recidivism-committee Lieb, R. (1994). Juvenile Offenders: What Works? ; A Summary of Research Findings. The Evergreen State College. Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Przybylski, R. (2008). What Works; Effective Recidivism Reduction and Risk-Focused Prevention Programs. Denver: RKC Group. Schelle, S. (2012). Juvenile Recidivism 2011. Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Correction. USLegal. (n.d.). Juvenile Corrections Law & Legal Definition. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from USLegal.com: http://definitions.uslegal.com/j/juvenile-corrections/ wisegeek. (n.d.). What is Juvenile Corrections? Retrieved November 22, 2012, from wisegeek.com: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-juvenile-corrections.htm

African American Politicians

During the reconstruction era over two thousand African Americans served in federal, state, and local offices. Information on these individuals is difficult to find, seeing as during this time black lawmakers were condemned as subhuman, and in no need of documentation. Eric Foner, author of Black Politicians in the Reconstruction Era, stated that of the two thousand he only found about 1465 for his book. A great deal of the information on these men and the offices they held was obscure and incorrect. Many scholars had false information about the education level of these African American lawmakers. For example, many scholars claimed that most black delegates to the Georgia convention were illiterate, actually twenty-two of these thirty-seven could read and write. This was impressive seeing as it was against the law in many states for African Americans to be taught how to read or write. The basic research on these politicians was not done because these scholars thought they knew all they needed to know. These lawmakers were black; many were ex-slaves, so they must have been ignorant, corrupt, and incompetent, this was the stereotype, but it was not so! Many of the African American leaders saw fit to educate themselves. Men like John Roy Lynch, who took time off from his photographer†s studio to observe a white classroom from across an alley. He continued this until he had mastered all of the classes taught there. Situations like this show the desire and determination these men had to learn. He used this training to become speaker of the Mississippi house and later a member of congress. These are only two of the many examples of African Americans who self educated themselves in a time when African Americans were banned from education. Others did have a formal education. In South Carolina, State Treasurer Francis L. Cardozo attended Glasgow and London. He was a minister in New Haven and a principal for the School for Blacks in Charleston. These were better credentials than some white politicians had. Economically black politicians were in no way reaping the monetary rewards that Conservatives and white carpetbaggers enjoyed. While African Americans status impressive compared to other freedmen, most could not translate political power into a share of the economic growth of their states. Even prominent leaders such as Hiram Revels, who was the first the first black man to serve in the United States Senate sometimes found it necessary to take small loans from white politicians to meet every day expense. The reconstruction era was a difficult time for African American politicians. In a time when negative stereotypes where all too common, and the color of your skin determined your level of intelligence in the eyes of many. Black leaders had to work twice as hard to accomplish half as much. An extremely relevant point, and a credit to the African American politicians was the fact that there was a very small amount of vindictiveness in their actions and words. They had no dreams or desires to take advantage, or become greedy with the power they were beginning to acquire. They seemed more fixated on receiving what they thought they were entitled to. Beverly Nash, a member of the South Carolina convention, asserted in his first speech, â€Å"the white man is a true friend of the black man. He went on to say, â€Å"I you could see the scroll of the society that banner represents, you would see the white man and the black man standing with their arms locked together, as the type of friendship we desire. † Even when some leaders such as Henry McNeal Turner, who was almost universally disliked by whites, still did what he could to assist in helping the white economy recover its economic strength. Even after all that was done to them, the black leaders held no resentment, and worked for the benefites of blacks and whites as a whole. In conclusion, there are many misconceptions about African American leaders during the era of reconstruction. From their level of education, to the positions they held, and the lifestyles they lead. Black leaders were equally, if not more qualified than their white counter parts for political positions. Unfortunately they were not being compensated in the same manner as the white politicians.

Materialism in America essays

Materialism in America essays We are all materialistic, to one extent or another; but what are our motives when we pursue our materialism? Are we working towards happiness in our lives? Are we letting materialism become the most important part of our lives? Are there any emotional aspects of too much materialism? Through the American philosophy we learn that America is and has always been obsessed with material possessions. What is materialism? Materialism is the tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values. Lets face the facts; materialism is a major part of the world we live in, this is shown in the quote, "Materialism is fundamentally a doctrine concerning the character of the concrete natural world we inhabit" (Campbell). This explains that materialism is very important in the world we live in; so important that it is considered a doctrine of one's character. Keith Campbell shows that the more extreme materialistic individuals believe that the entire world is material when he says, "Extreme materialism asserts the real world is spaciotemporal and consists of material and nothing else" (Campbell). The world is nothing but an empty space consisting of material objects. Materialism is very important in the world we live in, and history shows that it always has been. Materialism has always been an important aspect in America's history, dating all the way back from the 18th century to the modern era. During the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment sparked up. The Enlightenment was Mankind's final coming of age, the emancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error and the idea of materialism became very intriguing. The quote that best shows this would be, "One important movement in American philosophy during the 18th century was the importance of materialism, or the belief that all essential reality and phenomena are caused by physical matter" ("American Philosophy...

Brazil and India business environment comparison Essay Example for Free

Brazil and India business environment comparison Essay The United States and Brazil entered into a common agreement targeting to improve democracy in the Western Hemisphere and to bring an accelerated growth in regional trade and development so that the governments of the region can ensure its citizens better scope for greater prosperity. (Common Goals and Challenges in Brazil-US’s Agenda) The prospects for conducting business in Brazil are tremendous in view of its 150 million possible consumers, a hugely diversified economy and a gross domestic product worth of US7 billion. However, till the nation attains improved market and economic reforms, majority of the opportunities for US companies are prone to hover around particular sectors and projects. (Jennings, 14) The closed markets and heavy government interventions marked the economic development of Brazil during the last thirty years. During the 1960s and 1970s, such policies of import substitution and huge levels of international debt generated accelerated growth and industrialization however, giving rise to long term problems like long term economic difficulties, inclusive of high inflation, foreign debt difficulties and non-competitive industries. During the year 1990 the Government of Brazil initiated remarkable market liberalization measures including reduction of trade and investment barriers, declining import duties over 100% to a high of 35% inclusive of an average of 14%. Market liberalization also incorporated several tax and regulatory variations that have been of advantage to the foreign investors. The reduction of taxes on profit remittances and simplification of procedures and withdrawal of some of the disincentives to reinvest the profits have provided increasing scope for business activities in Brazil. As a result, the trend of the reaction of US companies was seen to be remarkable. (Jennings, 14) US companies exported goods of worth $6 billion enabling Brazil to be among the top 20 export markets of the world. The United States tends to maintain the position of being the single country supplier to Brazil constituting about one-third of the total of the Brazilian imports. The telecommunication and informatics market of Brazil extends fabulous prospective for US business, for the equipment manufacturers as well as for the service providers. The Telecommunication sector provides a market worth of $3 billion in Brazil. The US companies have presently extended limited involvement in the telecommunication sector and are exploiting the benefits of extending private networks as well as equipments. The energy sector in Brazil also entails good prospects for US technology as well as equipment. The current agreements and subsequent legislations at higher government levels and the private sectors assures for future prospects. The US equipment manufacturers are encouraged to actually take benefit of the opportunities that already prevail and are prone to expand with regard to the internal demand that promotes the expansion of this sector. (Jennings, 15) The Indian markets along with its over one billion population, provides profitable as well as diverse opportunities for US exporters with the right kind of products, services as well as commitment. Such opportunities are accelerated with the depreciation of dollar in the recent years in relation to its competitive currencies. The infrastructure, high-tech, energy, health care, environmental, transportation as well as defense sector are prone to surpass the tens of billions of dollars mark in the mid-term as the Indian economy tend to globalize as well as emerge stronger. In the year 2005, the total bilateral trade was $26. 77 billion. The US exports to India in 2005 was enhanced to $7. 96 billion, which was a 30. 3 percent growth in comparison to the previous year. (India – Market of the month) The potentiality of India for US companies is promising since India is the second largest small car market of the world; India is one among the three countries that manufactures its own supercomputers; India is the one among the six nations that is able to launch its own satellites and; India is having the second biggest group of software developers immediately after the US. The Indo-US relation is presently growing through a remarkable transition. The two nations which were having a gap between them in political and economic terms during the latter part of the 20th century, presently consider their national goals converging on several areas. (India – Market of the month) Indian tariffs have been decreased considerably since the early part of the 1990s. Irrespective of the fact that the tariff and poor infrastructure entails remarkable challenges for foreign investment and development, the infrastructure needs in India also entail trade and investment facilities for US companies. The best prospects for US firms and US exports on the basis of estimated Indian imports from the US has been earmarked to be â€Å"Airport & Ground Handling, Computer and Peripherals, Education Services, Electrical Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution Equipment, Food Processing & Cold Storage Equipment, Oil & Gas Field Machinery, Pollution Control Equipment, Safety and security equipment, Telecommunication equipment, Textile Machinery, water etc†. (India – Market of the month) Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State for United States and Celso Amorim, Brazilian Foreign Minister in their meeting on 26th April, 2005 in Brazil had a discussion in relation to the common agenda of the two nations as well as that of the unique challenges which were confronting the entire hemisphere. (Common Goals and Challenges in Brazil-US’s Agenda) Brazil as well as Argentina poses certain particular business challenges to be confronted by the US firms. For example, legal provisions with regard to importing technology materials require payment of duties, tariffs and a value added tax — VAT which is as much as 22 percent of the total cost in Brazil. The business is even more complex in Brazil due to the variation of importation laws from one province to another. The fluctuating currency exchange rates as well as local economic issues pose grave challenges for conducting business. (Business Spotlight: Arrow South America) Franklin L. Lavin, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi on May 1st, 2006 remarked that the Indo-US relationship have improved on many fields and have great prospects in the sphere of trade. However, US face remarkable challenges as well. Irrespective of the fact that India has exhibited good trade statistics and the progress in the sphere of economic reforms and are opening markets during the last one and half decade there still need to be improvement in several spheres in order to reflect India’s important part in the world economy. The economic philosophies of Fabian socialism as well as third world nationalism are holding India hostage for many years. As a result of this it has been pointed out that even with 30 percent growth in US exports to India during the last year, India could constitute only 1 percent of all exports of US. The economic reforms in India is in relation to world reforms as a result of this the momentum of India is not impressive in the context of the competition for global attention. (Remarks by Franklin L. Lavin Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi) The annual US exports of $8 billion dollar is what the US ships to Canada within two weeks. In terms of the US foreign direct investment in India the cumulative figure is only $6. 2 billion at the end of 2004, US being the largest investor while the US FDI in Singapore remains amounts to be $56. 9 billion. Irrespective of the fact that tariff for non-agricultural products have significantly reduced, it still remains at 40% in case of agricultural products. The vibrant IPR regime is considered critical to the enhancement of a creative, technologically advanced economy. Irrespective of the fact that India has opened up a silver of its retail sector to foreign investment, presently, the sector is still considered to be closed to most of the American retailers. US companies required to obviate the aggressive competition exerted by the companies from Europe, Canada, Korea and Japan by knowing how to adapt their products as well as facilitate their activities in order to take advantage of the huge potential in India. (Remarks by Franklin L. Lavin Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi) The trading companies are generally prone to four types of risk such as strategic risk, operational risks, internal financial risks and compliance risks. (Sadgrove, 83) The trading risks in Brazil are considered substantially greater in comparison to the developed nations. The political risks like dismissal or appointment of a key government minister can exert influence on the value of the share of the company to have fluctuations. The purchase of shares of Brazilian companies is subject to increasing risks of fluctuations in the exchange rates that may exert considerable losses. Exchange rates also have a tremendous impact on the profitability. Inflationary trends also influence much on the profitability by making the services of the company more expensive. (Sands, 27) For US Government, for over several years Brazil has been a bastion of anti communism while the other states of South America seem to be leaning towards communistic. Moreover, the US companies in Brazil never desire to take the risk by means of their operations being disrupted by that of the shipping turmoil. (Fitzgerald, 20) The US companies engaged in outsourcing of their software development to India are prone to be hurt by the industrial espionage and poor intellectual property safeguards. However, India is seen to have a far outstanding cultural and legal climate for IP protection than many other nations offering offshore coding. (Pedraja; Toman, 164) References Business Spotlight: Arrow South America. We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Underachievement in gifted and talented children Essay - 1

Underachievement in gifted and talented children - Essay Example s that relate to academic motivation and the special needs that may correlate to students’ challenges that may be inconspicuous to many classroom educators. In this regard, this paper aims at forming a critical analysis of the factors that underlie underachievement in talented students with a view of presenting some precise interventions to address the issue. Underachievement can be defined as the demonstration of a severe discrepancy between the anticipated achievements or results and the actual achievements in talented or gifted children or students. In this regard, the expected results are measured by intellectual or cognitive ability evaluations or some standardized achievement test scores. On the other hand, the actual results are measured by teacher evaluations or class scores in the classroom set-up. In order for a child to be regarded as an underachiever, the difference between the projected and the observed accomplishment need not be the unswerving outcome of an identified learning infirmity. Therefore, talented underachievers often exhibit superior scores on assessments of expected achievement (Mc Coach, 2000: p. 157). Majority of the recent research studies that have investigated the characteristics of underachieving children have placed much focus on the clinical, qualitative, and single-subject research methodology. The studies, such as Sousa (2009), Cassady (2010), and Callahan and Davis (2012), have documented several causes of underachievement in gifted children. According to these studies, the most common factors associated with underachievement in talented children include the following; The determination on why some high potential students exhibit low levels of achievement is often challenging since underachievement is precipitated by varying reasons (Callahan, & Davis, 2012). Nevertheless, practitioners and scholars have to explore the causes of underachievement in order o come with succinct solutions. Firstly, it is important to understand