The Fire that was Allowed to Burn Essays

The Fire that was Allowed to Burn Essays The Fire that was Allowed to Burn Essay The Fire that was Allowed to Burn Essay Fourteen years ago fire rolled through a beautiful part of this country, filled with marvelous creations such as geysers and hot springs.Trees, blooming wild flowers, abundant grasses, natural landscapes, and sinuous waters lavishly filled the countryside.Almost everything was destroyed that was in the fires sight.398 blameless animals died.Many controversies aroused from the occurrence of this fire at Yellowstone National Park in 1988. These fires were allowed to burn by the Natural Burn Policy which was put into effect in 1972.The National Park Service officially recognized that fire was essential for the maintenance of an ecosystem (Ruhf).When a fire is started, the trees burn down and die.They then fall and create open areas for sunlight to reach new growth and sprout seedlings.This creates a healthier forest and helps maintain an ecosystem.All naturally caused fires, such as those started by lightning, would be allowed to burn without suppression. The fires started on June 2 2, 1988.Originally, they did not pose a threat.Ignited by lightning, they didnt threaten lives, property, or natural features.Eventually, almost the entire park was in flames.The fires, including the Storm Creek fire, the Hellroaring fire, and the North Fork fire then started to burn uncontrollably (Ruhf).By July 22, the National Park Service decided it was time to battle all of these fires.Over a course of about 3 months a total of 25,000 firefighters, including Army and Marine troops, tried to control this blaze.9,500 firefighters fought the fires at one time (Barker). The worst of the fires began on Saturday, August 20, 1988.This day is now historically named Black Saturday (Ruhf).Winds soared between 30-40 MPH with gusts reaching up to 70 MPH (Ruhf).The winds caused the fires to reach up to 200 feet high.Eventually the fires produced their own wind.On Black Saturday an

In or on - Emphasis

In or on In or on This may be a post mostly for our non-native English speaking readers. When to use in or on at any given moment is something native speakers give little thought to, simply because theyve grown up hearing where these words slot in. But it can be more confusing for those coming to the language later. And its hardly surprising, considering how many definitions these tiny but mighty words can carry. In can be an adverb, noun, adjective or preposition, while on can be an adjective, adverb or preposition. As prepositions alone, they each have over a dozen definitions. Isabel from Natural England wrote in on the subject: In Spanish, both translate as en and I am unsure when to use one or the other in many situations. Is it a matter of learning them by heart or are there any useful rules out there? The answer to that (perhaps unfortunately) lies somewhere in between. But for the most common areas where these two words share territory, this downloadable PDF will be a handy reference. Print it off, stick it on your wall or monitor, and the rules will soon be lodged in your mind. Download In or on

Book review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Book review - Essay Example He further jots that for them it is nothing more than history: not all that diverse from the Peloponnesian War. He has channeled this insight into publishing this book that gives a valuable overview, in spite of an individual’s proximity to the Cold War. He outlines three vital lessons of the cold war. First, it was in period of cold war that the military strength stopped to be defining attribute of power itself, which it had been for the past 500 years. Gaddis’ clearest explanation of this phenomenon is the fact: even after the USSR collapsed, it still had its nuclear power and military into place (Gaddis, p14). Gaddis illustrates prior to 1945, great countries fought great wars so often that they tended to be permanent features of the transnational landscape: Lenin even relied or depended on them to give the mechanisms by which capitalism would-self destruct. However, after 1945 wars were limited to those between smaller powers and superpowers, as in vitenam, Korea and Afghanistan or to wars among smaller powers. What never occurred, in spite of world fears that it might, was a full force war involving the Soviet Union, United States and their respective allies. For the first time since timely memorial, no one could be assured of triumph, or surviving a big war. Second, the cold war discouraged dictatorship. Gaddis points out that even though china, the USSR and several states in Europe had authoritarian governments back in 1948 when a well-known book about totalitarian world, 1984, by George Orwell got published, the systems did not extend to the other countries. As 20th century was about to elapse, communism fell out of favor since it failed in delivering its promise of making the workers live better. Third, the cold war period, experienced globalization of democracy, explained by the growing number of democracies as the 20th century was elapsing (Gaddis, p82).

Interview Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Interview - Article Example However, over the years, he had managed to shift from literature research into institution management for the last seven years. The policy maker was also quick to justify and defend stringent policies on use of smart phones by students in class rooms, punitive measures on plagiarism claims and his inclination towards the American degree system. On his defense of the policies on mobile phone usage in classroom, the academician noted that new technologies had transformed the minor sources of distractions into profound cause of alarm for tutors. The prevalence of mobile phone usage in classrooms furthermore amounted to disrespect of tutors in addition to negatively impacting on their teaching morale while every students is busy on their smart phones and tablets. Alternatively, Dr. Lawrence added that the new policy against phone usage was to be guided by disciplinary action. According to this interview, Dr. Lawrence stated that the disciplinary action on mobile phone usage would take two stages, the informal stage and the formal stage. The informal stage entailed warning of student caught using their gadgets in school. Failure to restrain form these offences, the students would be asked to meet the directors of Regent and Webster University for further questioning. These two steps were termed informal since no record of the i ncidences would be registered on students account. On the other hand, the formal stage entailed official disciplinary action by the disciplinary committee of the institution for students who failed to heed their subsequent warnings. Another key issue raised by Dr. Lawrence was the new policies on plagiarism offences. He noted that despite the harshness of the newly formulated policies on plagiarism, it was imperative that students appreciate that the policy aimed at promoting behavior change of students concerning their attitude towards research projects and individual efforts. The newly formulated policies provided the Regent’s students

Key Causes of Water Scarcity and Researched Solutions Essay Example for Free

Key Causes of Water Scarcity and Researched Solutions Essay 1.0Introduction This report is about the increase in demand for water, and its’ purpose is a twofold, firstly to examine and explore some of the causes of the ever increasing issue of the scarcity of water due to industrial, agricultural and consumer demand in society, and secondly to analyse the solutions of this concern for the Premier of Western Australia, Mr Colin Barnett. This is because water is a valuable resource that is vital for the human race and developing countries such as Australia will be facing an increase in domestic consumption of water by 70 percent in the future (Cashman and Ashley 2008). There were certain limitations surrounding this report, for example the word limit for this report was 1000 words and I was permitted to use a minimum of five scholarly sources and a maximum of seven. The methodology of my research began by using the database: proquest on the Internet, where I found these reliable sources. 2.0Causes of Demand for Water 2.1Industrial Demand Industrial Water Consumption Industries are one of the major key causes of the increased demand for water. Many industries require water to operate and perform the functions that are required to produce the goods or services in question. This is because industries such as oil and mining, are hugely dependable on extreme capacities of water thus, making them susceptible to water shortages (Holbrook 2009). Industries therefore depend on these large amounts of water for production and simultaneously are one of the essential instigators in the ever-increasing problem of water scarcity. In places such as New South Wales, Adelaide and Melbourne where mining operations are carried out, water scarcity is even more extreme. This is because of the material that is being extracted; they are mined in those areas and those areas alone, and therefore the large volume of water that is needed to extract them is adding to the concern of water scarcity. An estimate of water between 100 and 8000 litres are required to obtain one tonne of ore, and to worsen the situation, mining operations cannot be shifted causing water availability to be problematic in those areas (Holbrook 2009). This issue allows an increased strain on the local communities in which mining operations are performed thus causing a concern for the people living in those areas. 2.2Agricultural Demand Population Growth The demand for agriculture is one of the most excessive causes of water scarcity. This is because agriculture needs fresh water in the process of its production. Agriculture consumes the majority of global fresh water, making it one of the most enormous water sources of the increased water demand; the production of food is also rising due to population growth, of about 80 million people per year (Holbrook 2009). According to Irvine and Saulwick (2009), â€Å"Australia is poised to be the worlds fastest growing industrialized nation over the next four decades, with a rate of population growth higher even than India†. Thus with population increasing by a vast number every year, the demand for fresh water will additionally increase, therefore adding to the water scarcity in Australia. 2.3Consumer Demand Economic Growth The development of the economy is another cause of the increased demand for water in the world today. As the population grows, so does the demand for goods and services and therefore results in economic growth which is one of the major causes of water consumption. According to Barbier (2004), the extensive water dilemma is the result of economic development and the rise in population. The production of the increased demand for goods and services require water, and as the need for these goods increase, so will water demand. 3.0Solutions to Water Scarcity 3.1Watershed Improvement in water management is one way to reduce water demand. Water sectors that cross political boundaries amidst a certain watershed come together to meet their needs whilst protecting the ecosystem (Klausner, Mitten and Ingram 2007). 3.2Conservation Techniques In order to protect the earth, freshwater demand has to be decreased and by doing so the majority of freshwater users need to be active in the process of decreasing the chances of water shortages. Therefore by educating users about adequate water preservation techniques, water demand can be decreased. According to Klausner, Mitten and Ingram (2007), by educating farmers about the finest irrigation methods, they can have the opportunity to use water efficiently. Farmers use a vast majority of freshwater and the Australian farmers can be educated about the methods and capital required to conserve water. 3.3Reclaimed Water Reclaimed water is wastewater that has been treated to remove impurities. The substitution of this water can improve the issue of water scarcity. According to Klausner, Mitten and Ingram (2007), countries such as Japan use almost 80% of reclaimed water in their industrial sector. The limited amount of freshwater supplies makes this conservation method more accepted. It is an excellent idea, especially for the south of Australia where there is Mawson Lake and can recycle water. 4.0Conclusion The aim of this report was to outline the causes for the increased demand for water and to provide researched solutions. I provided information on the increased demand for water due to population growth, economic growth and the industrial consumption of water. The damages of water shortage are very dangerous and the consequences are deadly because of ecological and human health issues. Although demand can be reduced by the use of reclaimed water, conservation techniques and watershed methods. In Australia, the methods can be implemented to decreasing water demand for the future. 5.0Recommendations In order to improve water use in Australia, the factors that need to be considered are; water reuse by using reclaimed water to flush toilets, wash clothes and water gardens, educating farmers on water use, by informing them on irrigation techniques and watershed methods. In doing so, water demand in Australia will be reduced in the future if these methods are explored and practiced.

Meaning Of The Word Nigger Essay -- essays research papers

The Meaning of the Word â€Å"Nigger†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I can recall the first time I paid close attention to the word nigger. In junior high a school fight would occur about every week and of course the whole school would gather together and watch. Well this particular fight sticks out in my mind because it was between two boys of different races, Hispanic and black. During their conflict the Hispanic boy bluntly called the black boy a nigger, and that was when the rest of the black students became verbally involved. I remember screaming out â€Å" who do you think you are calling him that?† If the white, Hispanic, or any other race calls us a nigger, we as black people become hostile. Now that I have put more thought into that incident, I ask myself who do we think we are calling ea...

Online Recruitment

According to BusineeDictionary. com, â€Å"Human Resource Management includes activities such as human resources planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, training, appraisal, motivation and remuneration. It aims at developing people through work. † In human resource management, recruitment is one of the most important processes in an organisation. According to BusinessDictionary. com, â€Å"recruitment is a course of action of discovering and employing best eligible applicant, whether external or internal organisation, for a job position in a most suitable and cost effective way. There are different types of job recruitment, such as online recruitment and advertisement recruitment. In the 21st century, many of the organisations using online recruitment to search the best candidate for company, as the internet have transformed job hunting and recruitment. There are few types of online recruitment. One of the methods is professional websites. Example of professional websi te is www. shrm. org, where some candidates who are searching for human resources job go into that site. They have specific professions, skills and not general in nature. The second type is employer website. It can be developed by different employers or can be company own website. One example is www. directemployers. com, which is the first supportive, company owned online recruitment set up by Direct Employers Association. The last type is job board. Job seekers become aware of the vacancies where the recruiters post jobs and search for candidates. Example of job board is www. jobstreet. com. (Gosh, nd) In fact, there are still many other methods of online recruitment. Online recruitment has advantages and disadvantages in helping organisation for recruitment and selection. It has made more efficient on the employment process for every large and small organisation. For those companies who are still using paper applications have practised to use internet for important sections of the hiring process. The first benefit would be the reduce time for hiring. Online recruitment, is also called e-recruitment has enable a manager to have an immediate real-time communication and for everyday and every hour in job search activity. For example, a manager can post a vacancy in a very short time on a career site such as jobstreet. com without imitation. He or she can receive resumes in response immediately. In online job advertisement, the posting normally stays in available status for as long as one month and keeps on to receive candidates’ resumes as job seekers come across it. As compared with the traditional practises, job advertisement in newspaper or journal may take about one week or later but not only for one day. Therefore, employer has to wait till t he end of month to receive the responses by applicants, especially for those who need immediate vacancy and special areas industry. Bayt. com, 2009) According to Bayt. com, hiring in e-recruitment gives 70% faster than traditional recruitment practises, and the cycle of recruiting is speeded up at every process of posting, which is to receive applicant’s resumes and filter the information and call for interview. The second benefit of e-recruitment is cost effective. We need money to advertise the job vacancy in newspaper or journal, and this is not cheap for the advertisement. While the online posting is much cheaper as compared with traditional practises. According to bayt. com, the company post online to a job site such as www. bayt. com would be charged only USD250, which would be more cost-saving than the cost of job advertisement in newspaper or journal publication or the 30% of annual incomes that many personnel managers charge. Bayt. com shows a study that the costs of posting vacancy and searching for candidates on job vacancies can be up to 90% lower than the costs of adapting traditional search agencies and advertising practises. (Bayt. com, 2009) Third benefit is wider reach for manager. The information of traditional practises are normally restricted by industry, geography, career lever or other limitations while the e-recruitment can have recent and active talent databases that cover all industries, regions, and career levels. The company spent much to make sure the databases are varied, regular updated, relevant and best quality as they need to keep advertising in newspaper for changing, updating information. However, e-recruitment teams can ensure that the portals are always easily viewed by relevant applicants and are visited by the target job seekers which can easily reach to the manager. Bayt. com, 2009) Next benefit would be the wider reach for applicants. The candidates gain benefits from the wider span through internet job sites. With the click of a mouse, they are able to access different types of jobs in different companies, locations and even salaries. They can reach the company faster as they are easily contacted for interview opportunities by just send ing their resumes online. (Bayt. com, 2009) E-recruitment offers some screening or filtering tools which enable recruiters to immediately work on the right applicant using many categories on a site such as jobstreet. om, which including locations of residence, qualifications, education backgrounds, skills and past experience and employer. The process of e-recruiting and selecting good quality applicants is very efficient. This technology works by automated search engine which is set up to find the databases. For example employer can key in some of the requirements then the result would match with the candidates’ resumes. (Bayt. com. 2009) In online recruitment, company usually would set up a page like company profile or history for the candidates to view on it. Through this, employers can use this to create company brand and values to prospective job seekers. Therefore, applicants would make decision on applying that job as they have an idea about company they work for. (Bayt. com, 2009) Furthermore, through internet, recruiter can manage whole recruitment process from one mean, which enable recruiter to advertise vacancies, receive resumes, screen, contact applicants, track activities in internet. Therefore, the paper work is reduced. On the other side, the job seekers can also view their application progress at every step of recruitment process. This enhanced user experience for both job seekers and recruiters. In addition, both job seekers and recruiters can opt to maintain their confidentiality. For example, applicants can post their resumes online while keeping their names and current company’s name privately. Same thing to recruiters, they can choose to search databases without posting a job position if the vacancy nature is sensitive, and they can post a job vacancy while keeping their company name privately. Employers can also build up database, save high potential or attractive resumes from present applicants for future use. Bayt. com, 2009) Moreover, the manager has full control over the recruitment process through online recruitment, which enables direct contact with candidates which does not need a middle person to do the selection, filtering, and assessment. (Bayt. com, 2009) This is because recruiter can choose the best candidate through their details in resume and match with the position, which does not n eed so much of red tape. E-recruitment has brought so many benefits to organisations, as well as job seekers. Apart from its benefit, e-recruitment has quite a few drawbacks to the organisations. First of all, e-recruitment benefits for only applicants who knew internet knowledge. The process is limited to those computer savvy applicants. For those who know the use of internet, they have no problem to search different job websites, do screening, keywords, updating information. Therefore, it brings no benefit for those who do not know to use online job site. (Ghosh, nd) Besides that, company has to be very particular on legal consequences because it may lead to discrimination charge if the company did not aware of word used when posting the advertisement online. There is one example for Disney world, which was sued for screening applicants’ resumes by using the keywords preferred for Whites. (Ghosh, nd) As online recruitment became a trend, more and more applicants joined and apply for vacancy. The vast pool of candidates does benefits recruiters but also lead disadvantage to them. This is because they have to sit down and do a lot of deep scanning database. They might not view all the candidates which may miss out some of the best potential candidates as they might randomly choose candidates. As a result, applicants face more competition. Ghosh, nd) Furthermore, organisations face some non-serious candidates. Quite a number of candidates post their resumes just to know their employment value. Recruiters could not check whether the candidates are serious in applying job or not. When call for interview, recruiters just realised that candidates are not serious and not interested to join their company. By that time, the recruiters have r ejected some serious applicants. (Gosh, nd) The last drawback is disclosure of information. Candidate’s resumes and organisation profile are available to public. Some candidates who are still working do not want their present employer to know that they are looking for a change. Some of candidates’ particulars such as address, phone number has brought to many security problems. In addition, organisations do not want their competitors know their current situation. (Ghosh, nd) To make e-recruitment more effective, there are some criteria. Firstly we must benefit the selection procedure. Company should consider about different factors to make the procedure effective. Company should analyse and compare the costs and its risks by using return on investment (ROI). It helps to estimate the return and evaluate the benefits to company. Company should have change management, is to adapt market changes by making policy proactive and flexible. Company should provide guidelines in the policy. As the whole e-recruitment process depends on the availability of candidates in the market, company should consider market labour rate and unemployment rate. Recruiter should not spend too much of time to do screening, choosing candidates because this rates will decide whether to be lenient or stringent. Ghosh, nd) Moreover, recruiter should consider the impact of providing compensation information. He or she should follow legal norms when disclose information such as salary, wage and benefit. Candidates should not be given chances for negotiation. Besides, competitors would know the compensation rate of company. When screening resume, recruiter must take precautions. He or she must avoid using key words that discriminate race, religion, and gender. For example, ‘recent’ university graduates only in an ad are not preferable. Besides, recruiter should keep updating so that the candidates know the results and changes, otherwise it will not serve any purpose. (Ghosh, nd) Come to the modern impacts of e-recruitment, one of these is speedy communication. Management and staff can communicate with each other though the blogs. So, blogs, vodcasts, podcasts can be added as a tool in e-recruitment. Vodcasts are video podcasts while podcasts are digital media files services. As a result, recruiters cannot blame of being one way communication such as faxes and mails. Secondly, candidates today can choose the company which is not only look at the financial state but culture. In past experience, employers had privilege to be selective in recruitment process, especially in screening candidates’ resumes which were not fair to candidates. Therefore, image will not influence candidates to apply for company. Next, the number of popularity of search engine ads has increased, which resulting printed ads are phasing out, as pay-per-click is very attractive and convenient. Finally, job board is holding RRS feed, one of it is Google. For those who do not have any job site, Google offers them to post the jobs on Google Base. This is a group of web feed formats to publish updated works regularly, such as news headline, blog entries in standard format. (Ghosh, nd) In conclusion, traditional practises should not be replaced by online recruitment. It should be made as an enhancement. Online recruitment can be included by traditional practises and recruitment process will be speed up, globalise due to e-recruitment. We should make it as supplement, because both traditional and online are useful. When only three vacancies and three candidates available in organisations do not have much choice, hence companies prefer to broaden their search and attract a lot of applications. However, when company received two thousands applications for three vacancies, recruiters are not possible to do in depth screening process. While internal search is effective for a method such as campus interview, but without internet, interaction with candidates becomes time consuming when receiving application in hand. Of course, there are other concerns which companies need take into account, example like managing staff expectations. Recruiter can receive all applications electronically, even overnight. Overall, online systems offer major advantages in terms of improved efficiency, cost saving, and recruiter and candidate satisfaction. References: †¢ BusinessDictionary. com. (2009) Human Resource Management (HRM). [online] Available at: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/human-resource-management-HRM. html (Accessed: 1 December 2009) BusinessDictionary. com. (2009) Recruitment [online] Available at: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/recruitment. html (Accessed: 1 December 2009) †¢ Bayt. com. (2009) The Benefits of Online recruitment [online] Available at: http://www. bayt. com/en/career-article-1121/ (Accessed: 2 December 2009) †¢ Ghosh, Arundhati. (nd) E- Recruitment: The Recent Trend of Recruitment Practices [online] Available at: http://www. 123oye. com/j ob-articles/business-corporates/e-recruitment. htm (Accessed: 2 December 2009) Online Recruitment According to BusineeDictionary. com, â€Å"Human Resource Management includes activities such as human resources planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, training, appraisal, motivation and remuneration. It aims at developing people through work. † In human resource management, recruitment is one of the most important processes in an organisation. According to BusinessDictionary. com, â€Å"recruitment is a course of action of discovering and employing best eligible applicant, whether external or internal organisation, for a job position in a most suitable and cost effective way. There are different types of job recruitment, such as online recruitment and advertisement recruitment. In the 21st century, many of the organisations using online recruitment to search the best candidate for company, as the internet have transformed job hunting and recruitment. There are few types of online recruitment. One of the methods is professional websites. Example of professional websi te is www. shrm. org, where some candidates who are searching for human resources job go into that site. They have specific professions, skills and not general in nature. The second type is employer website. It can be developed by different employers or can be company own website. One example is www. directemployers. com, which is the first supportive, company owned online recruitment set up by Direct Employers Association. The last type is job board. Job seekers become aware of the vacancies where the recruiters post jobs and search for candidates. Example of job board is www. jobstreet. com. (Gosh, nd) In fact, there are still many other methods of online recruitment. Online recruitment has advantages and disadvantages in helping organisation for recruitment and selection. It has made more efficient on the employment process for every large and small organisation. For those companies who are still using paper applications have practised to use internet for important sections of the hiring process. The first benefit would be the reduce time for hiring. Online recruitment, is also called e-recruitment has enable a manager to have an immediate real-time communication and for everyday and every hour in job search activity. For example, a manager can post a vacancy in a very short time on a career site such as jobstreet. com without imitation. He or she can receive resumes in response immediately. In online job advertisement, the posting normally stays in available status for as long as one month and keeps on to receive candidates’ resumes as job seekers come across it. As compared with the traditional practises, job advertisement in newspaper or journal may take about one week or later but not only for one day. Therefore, employer has to wait till t he end of month to receive the responses by applicants, especially for those who need immediate vacancy and special areas industry. Bayt. com, 2009) According to Bayt. com, hiring in e-recruitment gives 70% faster than traditional recruitment practises, and the cycle of recruiting is speeded up at every process of posting, which is to receive applicant’s resumes and filter the information and call for interview. The second benefit of e-recruitment is cost effective. We need money to advertise the job vacancy in newspaper or journal, and this is not cheap for the advertisement. While the online posting is much cheaper as compared with traditional practises. According to bayt. com, the company post online to a job site such as www. bayt. com would be charged only USD250, which would be more cost-saving than the cost of job advertisement in newspaper or journal publication or the 30% of annual incomes that many personnel managers charge. Bayt. com shows a study that the costs of posting vacancy and searching for candidates on job vacancies can be up to 90% lower than the costs of adapting traditional search agencies and advertising practises. (Bayt. com, 2009) Third benefit is wider reach for manager. The information of traditional practises are normally restricted by industry, geography, career lever or other limitations while the e-recruitment can have recent and active talent databases that cover all industries, regions, and career levels. The company spent much to make sure the databases are varied, regular updated, relevant and best quality as they need to keep advertising in newspaper for changing, updating information. However, e-recruitment teams can ensure that the portals are always easily viewed by relevant applicants and are visited by the target job seekers which can easily reach to the manager. Bayt. com, 2009) Next benefit would be the wider reach for applicants. The candidates gain benefits from the wider span through internet job sites. With the click of a mouse, they are able to access different types of jobs in different companies, locations and even salaries. They can reach the company faster as they are easily contacted for interview opportunities by just send ing their resumes online. (Bayt. com, 2009) E-recruitment offers some screening or filtering tools which enable recruiters to immediately work on the right applicant using many categories on a site such as jobstreet. om, which including locations of residence, qualifications, education backgrounds, skills and past experience and employer. The process of e-recruiting and selecting good quality applicants is very efficient. This technology works by automated search engine which is set up to find the databases. For example employer can key in some of the requirements then the result would match with the candidates’ resumes. (Bayt. com. 2009) In online recruitment, company usually would set up a page like company profile or history for the candidates to view on it. Through this, employers can use this to create company brand and values to prospective job seekers. Therefore, applicants would make decision on applying that job as they have an idea about company they work for. (Bayt. com, 2009) Furthermore, through internet, recruiter can manage whole recruitment process from one mean, which enable recruiter to advertise vacancies, receive resumes, screen, contact applicants, track activities in internet. Therefore, the paper work is reduced. On the other side, the job seekers can also view their application progress at every step of recruitment process. This enhanced user experience for both job seekers and recruiters. In addition, both job seekers and recruiters can opt to maintain their confidentiality. For example, applicants can post their resumes online while keeping their names and current company’s name privately. Same thing to recruiters, they can choose to search databases without posting a job position if the vacancy nature is sensitive, and they can post a job vacancy while keeping their company name privately. Employers can also build up database, save high potential or attractive resumes from present applicants for future use. Bayt. com, 2009) Moreover, the manager has full control over the recruitment process through online recruitment, which enables direct contact with candidates which does not need a middle person to do the selection, filtering, and assessment. (Bayt. com, 2009) This is because recruiter can choose the best candidate through their details in resume and match with the position, which does not n eed so much of red tape. E-recruitment has brought so many benefits to organisations, as well as job seekers. Apart from its benefit, e-recruitment has quite a few drawbacks to the organisations. First of all, e-recruitment benefits for only applicants who knew internet knowledge. The process is limited to those computer savvy applicants. For those who know the use of internet, they have no problem to search different job websites, do screening, keywords, updating information. Therefore, it brings no benefit for those who do not know to use online job site. (Ghosh, nd) Besides that, company has to be very particular on legal consequences because it may lead to discrimination charge if the company did not aware of word used when posting the advertisement online. There is one example for Disney world, which was sued for screening applicants’ resumes by using the keywords preferred for Whites. (Ghosh, nd) As online recruitment became a trend, more and more applicants joined and apply for vacancy. The vast pool of candidates does benefits recruiters but also lead disadvantage to them. This is because they have to sit down and do a lot of deep scanning database. They might not view all the candidates which may miss out some of the best potential candidates as they might randomly choose candidates. As a result, applicants face more competition. Ghosh, nd) Furthermore, organisations face some non-serious candidates. Quite a number of candidates post their resumes just to know their employment value. Recruiters could not check whether the candidates are serious in applying job or not. When call for interview, recruiters just realised that candidates are not serious and not interested to join their company. By that time, the recruiters have r ejected some serious applicants. (Gosh, nd) The last drawback is disclosure of information. Candidate’s resumes and organisation profile are available to public. Some candidates who are still working do not want their present employer to know that they are looking for a change. Some of candidates’ particulars such as address, phone number has brought to many security problems. In addition, organisations do not want their competitors know their current situation. (Ghosh, nd) To make e-recruitment more effective, there are some criteria. Firstly we must benefit the selection procedure. Company should consider about different factors to make the procedure effective. Company should analyse and compare the costs and its risks by using return on investment (ROI). It helps to estimate the return and evaluate the benefits to company. Company should have change management, is to adapt market changes by making policy proactive and flexible. Company should provide guidelines in the policy. As the whole e-recruitment process depends on the availability of candidates in the market, company should consider market labour rate and unemployment rate. Recruiter should not spend too much of time to do screening, choosing candidates because this rates will decide whether to be lenient or stringent. Ghosh, nd) Moreover, recruiter should consider the impact of providing compensation information. He or she should follow legal norms when disclose information such as salary, wage and benefit. Candidates should not be given chances for negotiation. Besides, competitors would know the compensation rate of company. When screening resume, recruiter must take precautions. He or she must avoid using key words that discriminate race, religion, and gender. For example, ‘recent’ university graduates only in an ad are not preferable. Besides, recruiter should keep updating so that the candidates know the results and changes, otherwise it will not serve any purpose. (Ghosh, nd) Come to the modern impacts of e-recruitment, one of these is speedy communication. Management and staff can communicate with each other though the blogs. So, blogs, vodcasts, podcasts can be added as a tool in e-recruitment. Vodcasts are video podcasts while podcasts are digital media files services. As a result, recruiters cannot blame of being one way communication such as faxes and mails. Secondly, candidates today can choose the company which is not only look at the financial state but culture. In past experience, employers had privilege to be selective in recruitment process, especially in screening candidates’ resumes which were not fair to candidates. Therefore, image will not influence candidates to apply for company. Next, the number of popularity of search engine ads has increased, which resulting printed ads are phasing out, as pay-per-click is very attractive and convenient. Finally, job board is holding RRS feed, one of it is Google. For those who do not have any job site, Google offers them to post the jobs on Google Base. This is a group of web feed formats to publish updated works regularly, such as news headline, blog entries in standard format. (Ghosh, nd) In conclusion, traditional practises should not be replaced by online recruitment. It should be made as an enhancement. Online recruitment can be included by traditional practises and recruitment process will be speed up, globalise due to e-recruitment. We should make it as supplement, because both traditional and online are useful. When only three vacancies and three candidates available in organisations do not have much choice, hence companies prefer to broaden their search and attract a lot of applications. However, when company received two thousands applications for three vacancies, recruiters are not possible to do in depth screening process. While internal search is effective for a method such as campus interview, but without internet, interaction with candidates becomes time consuming when receiving application in hand. Of course, there are other concerns which companies need take into account, example like managing staff expectations. Recruiter can receive all applications electronically, even overnight. Overall, online systems offer major advantages in terms of improved efficiency, cost saving, and recruiter and candidate satisfaction. References: †¢ BusinessDictionary. com. (2009) Human Resource Management (HRM). [online] Available at: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/human-resource-management-HRM. html (Accessed: 1 December 2009) BusinessDictionary. com. (2009) Recruitment [online] Available at: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/recruitment. html (Accessed: 1 December 2009) †¢ Bayt. com. (2009) The Benefits of Online recruitment [online] Available at: http://www. bayt. com/en/career-article-1121/ (Accessed: 2 December 2009) †¢ Ghosh, Arundhati. (nd) E- Recruitment: The Recent Trend of Recruitment Practices [online] Available at: http://www. 123oye. com/j ob-articles/business-corporates/e-recruitment. htm (Accessed: 2 December 2009)

Interview: Occupational Therapy and Child Essay

The current interview process is in regards to a child who is four years old and was diagnosed with autism when he was two years old. Children with autism often display deficits in language, social interaction, behaviors, and sensory and perceptual processing (Case-Smith &ump; O’Brien, 2010). Therefore, the purpose of the current interview is to investigate the child’s overall needs, strengths, and weaknesses in regards to the child’s specific condition to gain an in-depth understanding of the child. The goal of the interview is to collect thorough information about the child to allow the practitioner to gain an understanding of the child and parent’s needs for therapy. Furthermore, the interview facilitates rapport between the practitioner and the child and parent and expresses the practitioner’s desire to understand and empathize with the child. It is important to establish a relationship with the child and the parent to allow for an open discussion and a successful intervention. The practitioner should establish proper eye contact and engage with the child properly to gain the child’s trust during the interview process. Structure of interviewing The structure of the interview is made available so there are smooth transition within the interview. The questions are phrased in an open-ended form to promote more conversation with the client and allows the practitioner to gain more information about the client. The questions in the interview are directed to the parent due to the young age of the child and the child’s diagnosis of autism. Furthermore, according to Stone and Hogan (1993) â€Å"parents offer an unique perspective on the child’s behaviors, one that is acquired over time and across different contexts and input from parents provides an invaluable supplement to clinical observations.† The intake form is formatted in a style where the practitioner may easily ask the questions and transcribe the information from the client. The typical sections of the interview are the opening, body, and closure (Sommers-Flannagan,J. &ump; Sommers-Flannagan, R., 2003). The intake form contains information regarding demographics, medical history, treatment history, and developmental history in the opening section. In the body section of the interview, information about the occupational performance areas, performance skills, and performance patterns are addressed. Lastly, the interview concludes by requesting the personal goals and major concerns for the client and parent. Opening In the beginning of the session, the practitioner introduces oneself to the client by stating the practitioner’s name, qualification and role in the setting (Crepeau, Cohn, &ump; Schell, 2009). In the opening of the interview, the practitioner needs to inform the client of the purpose of the interview and the type of questions that are going to be asked (Crepeau et al., 2009) and discuss about confidentiality (Sommers-Flannagan, J. &ump; Sommers-Flannagan, R., 2003). Confidentiality is an integral aspect of the interview process and is important to the client and practitioner. Establishing confidentiality encourages the client to participate with a healthy attitude and lead to effective sessions in the future. According to Sommers-Flannagan, J. and Sommers-Flannagan, R. (2003), practitioners in the opening of the session have a duty to make a positive first impression or they will lose their client’s trust. Practitioners need to relay that they care about their clients both with verbal and non-verbal cues (Sommers-Flannagan, J. &ump; Sommers-Flannagan, R., 2003). In the current case, the practitioner seeks information about the client’s demographics, medical history, treatment history, and developmental history. Although the goal in the beginning is to create a warm setting (Sommers-Flannagan, J. &ump; Sommers-Flannagan, R., 2003), it is important to learn about the client’s background information. In order to develop a proper treatment plan for the future, it is essential to know about the client’s history. Demographics questions are posed to gain general information about the client’s age, contact information, and caretaker’s information. Questions regarding medical history are present to help provide information regarding any medical disability that may affect the client’s current condition. Treatment history questions provide how effective the previous interventions were for the client and a framework for future interventions. Information regarding the client’s developmental history are asked to understand the client’s milestones and areas that the child may display delays. These questions provide the practitioner with a thorough background about the client and enables the practitioner to formulate a direct and specific treatment plan for the client. Body The body of the interview incorporates the development and exploration phase, which is the time when the practitioner and the client collaborate together to develop the personal story (Crepeau, et al., 2009). Moreover, during this stage of the interview process, the practitioner asks questions that are related to the client’s occupation and the factors that may hinder or promote the client’s occupations. The questions in the current interview are formatted according to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF) (American Occupational Therapy Association, AOTA, 2008). Within the body of the interview, the following topics are addressed: areas of occupation, performance skills, and performance patterns. Areas of occupation According to AOTA (2008) the areas of occupation are: activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, education, work, leisure, play, social participation, and rest and sleep. In the interview, the practitioner poses questions to investigate the child’s independence regarding activities of daily living, which are bathing, eating, dressing self, and grooming. It is important to know how independent the child is in these areas to have an understanding regarding the child’s personal needs. Children with autism often are capable of learning tasks such as self-care, but it is important to know the child’s level of functioning. Due to the client’s age and diagnosis, the client is reliant on the care taker or parent to assist with instrumental activities of daily living. Education and play are the child’s primary occupations, therefore, it is important to recognize the child’s needs and capabilities in these areas. The intake interview asks questions regarding the child’s experience in school to help describe the child’s learning abilities. Children with autism often have developmental delays which impact the child’s abilities to grasp or process information (Case-Smith &ump; O’Brien, 2010). The level of functioning vary for each child on the autism spectrum, therefore, it is essential to know the specific academic experience of the individual child. Moreover, children with autism exhibit disturbances in behavior which often impacts their progress in education (Case-Smith &ump; O’Brien, 2010), therefore it is imperative to inquire about the child’s behavior issues. It is difficult to work with individuals who display behavioral issues, and therefore, children who have autism may often be refused for services, such as education. Other difficulties children with autism often experience are with social interaction and appropriate play. Practitioners need to inquire about the child’s interaction with other individuals their age and family members (Stone &ump; Hogan, 1993). It is important to have an idea of how the child interacts, if any, and what specific activities are motivators. Children with autism may react to strange settings and activities negatively, therefore it is essential to seek information regarding tasks that may offset these behaviors. Furthermore Lord, Rutter, and Le Couteur (1997) states that it important to ask questions regarding social interaction and avoidance to differentiate between children diagnosed with fragile X from those who are diagnosed with autism. Performance Skills According to AOTA (2008), performance skills are part of the occupational therapy domain and include: sensory and perceptual skills, motor and praxis skills, emotional regulation skills, cognitive skills, and communication and social skills. These areas within the performance skills are integral information that are relevant in children diagnosed with autism. The child diagnosed with autism may display difficulties in these areas. In this section of the interview, the practitioner seeks information regarding the child’s communication skills. Children with autism may not have spoken language, but may exhibit various communicative skills with the parent. According to Lord et. al (1997), questions regarding communication, such as directing attention, expressing interest in others, social interaction and imitating responses should be asked because children with autism often display disturbances in these areas. Also these forms of questions help differentiate between a child who has intellectual disability and autism (Lord et al., 1997). Other questions directed to children with autism are in regards to sensory processing skills. Children who are diagnosed with autism often haven an aversion to sensory stimulations and may over or under react to sensory input such as touch, sound, taste, and sight. Children with autism may display difficulty processing sensory information (Zager, 2005). Since children with autism often display issues with sensory processing and over stimulation, it is important to identify what specific form of sensory difficulties the child experiences. Difficulties in these areas may also pose problems with child’s ability to regulate their emotions, which leads to disturbing behavioral problems. Therefore, questions regarding these issues are pertinent to identify in order to have a successful intervention. Another focus within the performance skills domain is motor skills. Children with autism have developmental delays (Stone and Hogan, 1993) and this results in the child’s difficulty with motor and motor planning skills. Children with autism often have difficulties with praxis and therefore are often unable to perform novel tasks. Questions directed towards investigation of child’s praxis is important to identify because this provides the practitioner with an understanding of what the child is capable of doing. Understanding the child’s capabilities will allow the practitioner to have a foundation to establish proper therapeutic interventions. Performance Pattern Within this domain of the occupational therapy practice framework (AOTA, 2008), the different areas include: routines, roles, and habits. This area is relevant to children with autism because of the child’s high tendency to engage in repetitive behaviors (Zager, 2005). Therefore, it is encouraged for practitioners to inquire about the child’s daily routines, habits, and roles. Some of the habits (or behaviors) children with autism exhibit are unhealthy and practitioners should seek information about the specific behaviors that are harmful to the child. Often, children with autism display tantrums due to change in routine. If the practitioner does not seek information regarding these types of behaviors, then it may halt progress in the intervention. Closing In the last section of the interview, the practitioner needs to transition smoothly to the end the session (Crepeau et al., 2009). It is important for the practitioner to identify the child and parent’s goals and clear up any questions the client may have regarding the interview and the future sessions. The practitioner and client collaborate together to establish goals that are of primary to the needs of the client. Practitioners need to clarify any questions the client may have and provide information about the future sessions.

Pestle Company analysis Essay Example

Pestle Company analysis Essay Example Pestle Company analysis Essay Pestle Company analysis Essay Gelling in the sass. Founder Yang Way Kiang took over the then lens-grinding shop at 14 years old when his father died. The eldest child of the family took care of the shop and family while coping with his studies. During the sass, the booming of shopping centers has boasted the number of aware stores creating high demand on lens grindings. This led to the opening of second outlet in Satang Mall and never looks back since. Today, Nanning Optical Group has staff strength of more than 80 and a turnover of 10 million. Nag, 2007) External Analysis This section uses Porter Five Forces to identify the attractiveness of optical industry in Singapore. Monsoons, 2011) Threats of Entry Nanning Optical Group being pioneer has accumulated vast experience curve in the industry. Being a well known local brand has certain economies of scales in terms of accessibility to supply, distribution channels and brand awareness. Expected retaliation is expected notably from few main players like Spectacle H ut and Capitol Optical in a form of price cuts. Government Action is consistently through aids and subsidies. Differentiation of products are low as less variation. Threat of substitutes Eye laser or Alias is a threat outside this industry. Extra-industry effects are people are not willing to take surgery risk even through the risk is low. However, Alias has becoming affordable options over the past few years in terms of price and performance ratio. (Nag, 2008) Power of Buyers In Singapore context, buyers are also the ultimate consumers in the optical industry. The bargaining power of these concentrated buyers puts businesses under pressure, because buyers have low switching cost as they shop around due to low fermentation of frames and lens. Most businesses source their supplies of frames and lens from conventional suppliers like Carl Seize Lens or Paris Miss frames, these increase suppliers bargaining powers. Unless businesses perform backward vertical integration which will be discuss in details further in Strategic Options section. Power Concentrated suppliers translated to taking only mass orders to achieve economies of scales which impact smaller businesses like Nanning Optical, which have to pay higher cost for smaller orders. Unless smaller businesses have some form of awkward vertical integration to sustain low cost and differential products, but it comes with initial high switching cost. Started off as lens grinder, Nanning Optical is able to close up to the buyers by eliminating middleman for processing of lens prescription, reducing cost, time and enhance service experience. This is a form of forward vertical integration which reduces supplier competition threat. Competitive Rivalry The competitive balance is less rivalries with few dominant players like Spectacle Hut and Capital Optical, as well as smaller outskirt shops. Progressive industry growth ate is mainly on dominant players in terms of more outlets in Malaysia and China. Being mostly brick and mortar means high fixed cost. Various options include increase order capacity and scales of economies by opening more outlets. As well as reduce distribution and inventory cost using information technology. Main players in the industry have high exit barriers due to heavy initial investment on outlets and support infrastructure like distribution and warehousing software. Lastly, optical industry has low differentiation as competitors have identical brands of products. One needs to fight in terms of price, after sales service and brand awareness to reduce competitive rivalry. This section uses PESTLE framework to explain following environmental influences on businesses. Monsoons, 2011) Political and Economic Singapore which Nanning Optical is based creates an excellent environment for small businesses and startups. Singapore government has always encouraged the growth of small businesses in terms of grants and subsidies for Seems. For example, government subsidies Seems up to 40% of the upgrading IT infrastructure cost. The Singapore Government hopes that such initiatives will keep local Seems raised their productivity and innovative which will sustain and improve their position in the competitive market. Lord, 2012) Seems constitute 92% of all firms, employ 51% of the workforce and account for 34% of GAP. (Escaper, 2012) They will in turn provide quality employments and raising skills of employees through effective use of technology. These initiatives are revised according to the economic conditions, and more support from government during worse times. At regional level, Singapore overspent representative have regularly visit emerging countries lik e China and the Ouzos Tech Park in China, consist of high tech manufacturing facilities with built in residential and recreational facilities. This is a Joint development between Singapore and China. (Composer, 2012) Back at home, Singapore resembles a warming welcome environment for startups of local companies in the form of political stability. Leadership in Singapore does not change every two years. Reigning government is able to plan in a long term basis, this place the country into an advantageous mode, revived the current environment has gain solid grounds in terms of strong and sustainable economic growth, established infrastructures which is well linked to the rest of the world. Taxes are key considerations for setting up business. Singapore key advantages are being low effective personal and corporate tax rates. Personal income has a tier system that starts from nothing and cap at 20% for income above $320 000. Effective corporate tax rate for Singapore private limited companies for profits up to $300 000 is below 9% and caps at 17% above $300 000. Dividends for shareholders re tax free. Singapore has one of the lowest SST rates at 7%. (Team, 2012) Social Singapore Government has adapted a social security system of low tax rate but heavily subsidies public health care and housings finance in equal measure by employees and employers alike. The government has being actively administered necessary measures to ensure every child born here are vaccine against chronic diseases, a ready pool of funds in citizen savings with heavily subsidies aid from government for the use of hospitals, elderly homes, childcare, education and other accessible resource during different aspect of life. (Singapore Budget 2012, 2012) The above measures affect the well-being and health of the people, and are closely related to the social aspect of Singapore. There are numerous countries with inadequate social system in place which indirectly translate into increase of crime rates and unrest. For example, the current anti-Muslim movie made in the United States Innocence of Muslims has sparked protests and riots all over the world. Singapore, being a country of really strong emphasis on respecting various cultures ND religions, the nation is instantly aware that violence is never a response to prejudice, which the latter should not happen at the first place. Above mention social aspects of Singapore not only is a favorable place for local companies, it is also a magnet for foreign direct investments. Technology Singapore is in the midst of rolling out island wide fiber speed internet connectivity. Main local Telecoms are also implementing G mobile telecommunications. People can keep in touch of internet and communications even faster before no matter where they are. Businesses operations and deals are as if running virtually rounds the clock even if the brick and mortar offices are close. Neo, 2012) Rising in technology aids in developing more advance business applications at a cheaper cost in implementation, for example, warehousing and account software designed in a modular manner, which can be easily tailored to different business environment. Due to high speed internet transmission, small local companies can host their data and application with providers instead of purchasing the whole suite of software, which at times is understandi ng. (SUM, 2012)

How to Construct a Blooms Taxonomy Assessment

How to Construct a Bloom's Taxonomy Assessment Blooms Taxonomy is a method created by Benjamin Bloom to categorize the levels of reasoning skills that students use for active learning. There are six levels of Blooms Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Many teachers write their assessments in the lowest two levels of the taxonomy. However, this will often not show whether the students have truly integrated the new knowledge. One interesting method that can be used to make sure that all six levels are used is to create an assessment based entirely on the levels of Blooms Taxonomy. However, before doing this, it is essential that students are given background information and knowledge about the levels of the taxonomy. Introducing Students to Blooms Taxonomy The first step in preparing students is to introduce them to Blooms Taxonomy. After presenting the levels with examples of each to the students, teachers should have them practice the information. A fun way to do this is to have students create questions on an interesting topic in each level of the taxonomy. For example, they could write six questions based on a popular television show like The Simpsons. Have the students do this as part of whole group discussions. Then have them provide sample answers as a way to help guide them to the types of answers you are seeking. After presenting the information and practicing it, the teacher should then provide them with an opportunity to practice using the material being taught in class. For example, after teaching about magnetism, the teacher could go through six questions, one for each level, with the students. Together, the class can construct appropriate answers as a way to help students see what will be expected of them when they complete a Blooms Taxonomy assessment on their own. Creating the Blooms Taxonomy Assessment The first step in creating the assessment is to be clear on what the students should have learned from the lesson being taught. Then pick a singular topic and ask questions based on each of the levels. Here is an example using the prohibition era as the topic for an American History class. Knowledge Question: Define prohibition.Comprehension Question: Explain the relationship of each of the following to prohibition:18th Amendment21st AmendmentHerbert HooverAl CaponeWomans Christian Temperance UnionApplication Question: Could the methods that proponents of the temperance movement be used in a bid to create a Smoking Prohibition Amendment? Explain your answer.Analysis Question: Compare and contrast the motives of temperance leaders with those of doctors in the fight over prohibition.Synthesis Question: Create a poem or song that could have been used by temperance leaders to argue for the passage of the 18th Amendment.Evaluation Question: Evaluate prohibition in terms of its effects on the American economy. Students have to answer six different questions, one from each level of Blooms Taxonomy. This spiraling of knowledge shows a greater depth of understanding on the students part. Grading the Assessment When giving students an assessment like this, the more abstract questions should be awarded additional points. To fairly grade these questions, it is important that you create an effective rubric. Your rubric should allow students to earn partial points depending on how complete and accurate their questions are. One great way to make it more interesting for students is to give them some choice, especially in the upper-level questions. Give them two or three choices for each level so that they can choose the question that they feel most confident in answering correctly.

Risk Assessment in Relation to Environmental Management Research Proposal

Risk Assessment in Relation to Environmental Management - Research Proposal Example The orientation is positive rather than negative. Environmental management systems are seen as adding value to products and services, creating a competitive advantage, improving community image, reducing costs, and increasing the bottom line. A risk management approach, with heavy emphasis placed on prevention, control, and technical systems, can make a positive and effective contribution to environmental management systems. Risk managers can and should be a part f developing and operating environmental management systems. While risk managers are currently involved in environmental issues, they could be much bigger contributors. Individuals or groups with undisciplined approaches to problem-solving typically derive solutions with no real understanding f the problem. This typically results in solutions that are temporary in nature and end up being costly to the organization. According to Sheldon and Yoxon (2002), an organization cannot manage what it does not measure. Effective employees, managers, and leaders in an organization are those who follow logical, systematic approaches in their quest to solve problems and make decisions in the problem-solving process. There are numerous tools that are used in the decision-making process, such as brainstorming, backward planning, incubation, and risk analysis. This paper will focus on providing an analysis f the decision-making tool called risk analysis and apply it to the world f mobile computer manufacturers. In order to understand the risk analysis technique, we must define the concept frisk. We must also clarify the distinction between the concepts f problem solving and decision-making, two concepts that are frequently confused with one another.

The Rise of Venice during the Renaissance because of Trade and Essay

The Rise of Venice during the Renaissance because of Trade and Shipping - Essay Example (Bernstein, 1998, p. 11) The rise of Venice started with the advent of using land route to Northern Europe, when Venetians started to make money by selling salt, which they used to get by dried seawater and fish for their livelihood. This livelihood gradually took the form of profession when by using trading savvy they began trading up the rivers. "With the rise of Byzantium, east-west trade expanded. With this expansion Venetians promoted as middlemen, selling goods from the East to consumers in the West and ultimately appeared as Merchants. Merchants then ran a profitable triangle by exporting timber from Venice to Egypt, then from Egypt they used to export gold to Byzantium and finally bring luxury goods to Venice. As this went round and round, Venice amassed capital and its mercantile fleet grew to be the biggest in the Mediterranean". (Steves Rick) Most of the Venetians who later engaged in trading or shipping were the citizens of those little cities, which were located on the coast of northwestern Europe. The mediaeval shipmen were not permitted to eat any kind of meat except fish. "For those shipmen who lived away from the coast and from the rivers, this meant a diet of eggs or nothing at all. A new discovery was made when early in the thirteenth century a Dutch fisherman explored a way of catching 'herring', a fish that could be transported to distant points. This created another difficulty for those who tried to earn their livelihood this way as that fish could only be caught during a few months each year so, the ships would have been idle during the rest of the time unless they had found another occupation. They were then used to carry the wheat of northern and central Russia to southern and western Europe. On the return voyage they used to bring spices from India, silks, carpets and Oriental rugs from Venice and Genoa to Bruges and Hamburg and Bremen". (2006c) Venetians started their careers as salt-boilers and fishermen, and were dependent on the mainland for the materials of life. There was no seaport in the neighbourhood to send its vessels for the salt which they prepared: they were forced to fetch everything that they required for themselves. They became seamen by necessity: they almost lived upon the water. As their means improved, and as their wants expanded, they bought fields and pastures on the mainland; they extended their commerce, and made long voyages. They learnt in the dock-yards of Constantinople the art of building tall ships; they conquered the pirates of the Adriatic Sea along with the merchants of Syria, Egypt, Barbary, and Spain. Venice Shipbuilding It was in 1320 that the Arsenal became Venice's premier shipbuilding facility at a time when most of Europe had no manufacturing more efficient than the guild system, the slow and tradition-bound way craftsmen had of passing on skills to their sons or apprentices while monopolizing production and sale of craft pieces in a given region. Arsenal at that time served as the shipbuilding centre as a munitions-making industrial powerhouse that allowed the state of Venice to be a world power