Observation of a Day Labor Site :: Immigration Labor Essays Papers

Observation of a Day Labor Site The focus of this case study was to observe the new Phoenix day labor site also named â€Å"Macehualli†. This name came from the Aztec language. This site opened on Saturday February first 2003. We visited this site on April 29th 2003 at approximately 8:15 a.m. until around 9:45 a.m. Our goal was to talk with the key people involved in the day labor project. We inquired about this programs working status. Is this program benefiting the people who come here looking for work? We choose this site because of the interest in immigration by the U.S. and how do these immigrants find work in the United States. Our goal is to find out how this pilot program is working, how it is run and has it been successful so far. This study relates to the theme of 0ur migration and culture class because it is all about how people from Mexico migrate to the U.S. and how difficult it can be finding work in the states. The area that this day labor site is in was not what we expected. It is in the North Central area of Phoenix. When driving East on Bell road and turning South on 25th street you pass an area with chain linked fence. We were expecting a building with parking, offices with a lobby area for the workers to sit, indoor restrooms and air conditioning. To our surprise there were no buildings only picnic benches with green tarps above them. Portable outhouses were provided but no misting systems to keep the workers cool during the unbearable summer heat. There was no formal office, just a notebook and containers with lottery tickets in them for the workers to register in. A circular driveway served as a pick up area. Yet these men organized themselves with a system that was working and would find way to entertain themselves by playing the guitar and visiting among themselves. They provided coffee, water and snacks by way of donations that each worker would put into a container on a volunteer basis. Day labor hours are Monday thru Saturday from 5:00 a.m. until around 2:00 p.m. The busier months are April until around October with December and January being the slowest months. On average there are around 175 people looking for work here at the Day Labor Center.

Knowledge Discovery in Databases: An Overview Essay -- Data Mining

Knowledge Discovery in Databases: An Overview Abstract In the past, the term Data Mining was, and still is, used to designate the activity of pulling useful information from databases. Now, this term is recognized to apply but to one activity in a very large process to extract knowledge from opaque databases. The overall process is known as Knowledge Discovery in Databases, (KDD). This process is comprised of many subprocesses which when linked together provide a firm foundation for knowledge acquisition from large databases. Many tools, techniques, and disciplines come together under the umbrella of KDD. Introduction Today, the topic of data mining has much interest in government, business, and research circles. With the growth of computer use within these areas has also come a greater desire to let the computers do the work that used to be done by humans. The problem, nowadays, is that the data that needs to be analyzed has become too large and cumbersome for one person or even teams of people to envision tackling without help from computers. These computers are no longer mere crunchers of numbers but now they find the patterns that the humans used to find. From this growth has arisen a vast body of knowledge concerned with this process of data analysis. As with much other information, the Internet is employed to make available the ever-growing body of information on this topic. Many general sources of information [a,b,c] are now online. These are updated and expanded upon almost a constant basis. The use of the Internet to disseminate and collect information is itself a consideration in this fi eld. The amount of information is expanding at such a rate that old methods of information disposal, such as paper journals and b... ...11) R. Lippman, "An Introduction to Computing with Neural Networks", IEEE ASSP Magazine: 4:2 (1987), pp.4-22. 12) C. Murphy, G. Koehler & H. Fogler, "Artifical Stupidity", The Journal of Portfolio Management: 23:2 (Winter 1997) pp.24-29. 13) J. Quinlan, "Induction of Decision Trees", Machine Learning: 1:1 (1986), pp.81-106. Hyperlinks a) http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~anp/TheDataMine.html b) http://www.gmd.de/ml-archive c) http://info.gte.com/~kdd/ d) http://info.gte.com/~kdd/corporate.html e) http://info.gte.com/~kdd/datasets.html f) http://info.gte.com/~kdd/siftware.html g) http://www.almaden.ibm.com/stss/ h) http://www.research.microsoft.com/research/datamine/ i) http://www-aig.jpl.nasa.gov/kdd95/ j) http://www-aig.jpl.nasa.gov/kdd96/ k) http://www.neuronet.ph.kcl.ac.uk/ l) http://www.ics.uci.edu/AI/ML/Machine-Learning.html

Mandating Writing Courses Essay

Writing is slowly becoming a lost art.   With modern technology, the writing process has become simpler; sometimes words are even completed and corrected by word processing programs for the writer.   Gone are the days of looking through dictionaries to find spellings and meanings of words. Writing is becoming shorter and more abbreviated, and many feel that since technology is cheapening our language, that college writing courses are not necessary.   They are mistaken.   College writing courses such as English 103 and 104 provide an opportunity to learn the skills that are taught through writing.   These very valuable, transferrable, and necessary skills for life and career are organization, research, and persuasion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organization is a skill that is reinforced through writing courses, specifically courses like English 103 and 104 that force the writer to think critically about the timing of his or her argument and placement of fact.   Organization is a valuable skill to grasp for both life and career.   Organization aids in the ability to provide directions or information to other people. It also is essential when speaking in front of people in order that they can follow what is being said. An organized speaker or writer can communicate more effectively, and communication is paramount in both life and career in order to be successful.   Writing classes force students to practice being prepared and to put time and effort into their work.   These are skills students cannot succeed in other classes without.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   English 103 and 104 offer also opportunities to learn to research correctly and effectively.   Research is a necessary skill for college as well as in life and career.   It enhances learning and teaches students where to look for information.   It also teaches students how to be responsible for their own learning, which will carry over into their careers as they become responsible for their own jobs. In life, researching skills allow people to take control of their own spending habits and have more consumer power through the ability to have product knowledge and healthy living information available to them.   Research also teaches time management skills and enhances reading exposure to different media.   Research is an essential tool not only in school, but in life and career.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps the most valuable skill taught in writing classes such as English 103 and 104 is that of persuasion.   Once a student can organize and research effectively, he or she can present a credible and believable argument or persuasive talk or work not only in school, but in real life.   Persuasion is what is used to get a job initially and then to be promoted.   Even relationships require persuasion.   The art of the argument will never die; writing classes are essential in teaching this skill.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is sad that as time goes by the English language, a beautiful and complex set of rules and symbols, becomes less important to society.   Colleges and universities should keep the requirements of writing courses such as English 103 and 104 for every student.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Educated people should know how to read and write well as well as posses great organizational skills, researching strategies and effective argumentation abilities.   Writing courses teach these skills.

Time Warner Essay

Time Warner Essay Time Warner Essay Time Warner EssayIn actuality, Time Warner is one of the leading media companies in the US holding a strong position in the publishing and cable television. However, at the moment, the company undergoes considerable changes and restructuring in terms of the development of new effective marketing strategies which can help Time Warner to enhance its competitive position and provide the company with an opportunity to accelerate its business development. At this point, one of the main issues that the company faces at the moment is the merger of Time Warner Cable with Comcast, which opens wider opportunities for the further business development of the company. At the same time, the company attempts to separate its publishing business, which has become unprofitable for the company in recent years and now is one of the major causes of the slowdown of its business development. Therefore, Time Warner undergoes consistent changes aiming at the improvement of its marketing performance through r eorganisation, structural changes, separation and the merger that the company expects to lead Time Warner to the new stage in its business development and help the company to break through in the highly competitive business environment.Recently, Time Warner has announced the merger of its Time Warner Cable with Comcast, the leader of the cable television (Quain, 2). In fact, the deal will involve the sale of Time Warner Cable to Comcast. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that, at the moment Time Warner still consist of two major units, the publishing business and cable television unit. Time Warner Cable represents the cable television unit of the company and this unit plans to merge with Comcast. This is an important decision in the business development of the company because it opens new opportunities for the business development of the company after the merger. The merger will involve Comcast, the largest cable television company of the US, and Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable television company in the US (Quain 2). Therefore, their merger will put them in the advantageous position in the US market, while their rivals will hardly be able to reach such a market share as the merged company uniting two behemoths of the industry.In fact, consequences of the merger are apparently very attractive for both Comcast and Time Warner Cable because the new company will have about 70 million subscribers nationwide that is about 30% of the total market share in the US (Quain, 3). The consistent market expansion opens wider opportunities for Time Warner Cable after the merger because the new company will control almost a third of the US cable television market. Therefore, the company can set the pace in the industry, while its further growth and expansion will enhance the position of the new company in the market even more.In such a situation, rivals of the company turn out to be in the absolutely disadvantageous position because not a single rival of the merged company, such as Charter Communications for instance, can even challenge the position of the merged company, while outpacing it is virtually impossible, at least in a short-run perspective. The dominant position of the new company opens wider opportunities for the faster market expansion and taking even a larger share of the market. As a result, Time Warner Cable can make a breakthrough in its business development in the cable television market, in case the merger with Comcast completes successfully. This is why both companies are so interested in the merger because, instead of the fierce rivalry, they can unite their efforts to take not just the lead in the industry but to become the company dominating over the cable television industry.Furthermore, the merger apparently secures the position of the company in the market because rivals will be unable to outpace the company, unless they introduce innovations that will revolutionize the industry. At the moment, there are no such rivals of the company and Time Warner Cable can take the lead after the merger with Comcast. The company can also raise barriers to entry that will decrease the risk of the emergence of new rivals that can potentially threaten to the position in the company and tighten the competition in the industry.On the other hand, the merger may raise the problem of the possible monopolization of the cable television market by the merged company since the company will take the consistently higher share of the market compared to rivals. Moreover, in a long-run perspective the company can increase its market share even more and take dominant or monopolistic position in the market. The monopolization can occur faster, if the company continues the strategy of mergers. However, the monopolization of the market or taking the absolutely dominant position raises the risk of the violation of the anti-trust law and investigation of policies conducted by the company. Therefore, in case of unfair on unreasonable policies of the company, when it takes the dominant position in the market, the company can face the risk of the investigation of its policies under the anti-trust legislation. The company may also face the risk of lawsuits, if its policies will breach existing anti-trust regulations and legal norms. If the company sets unreasonably high price or forces customers to buy extra-products which they do not want to buy, the company is likely to face considerable problems because of the violation of the anti-trust law, as was the case of Microsoft, for instance.However, Time Warner attempts to optimize its performance not only through the merger with Comcast but also through restructuring. For instance, Time Warner Cable spinoff has actually nothing to do with Time Warner since Time Warner Cable has focused on its own development, while Time Warner is a different company now (Flint, 1). Nevertheless, neither company plan to change their name so far, unless the merger agree ment of Time Warner Cable and Comcast may require such a change (Flint, 3). At the same time, the merger is a part of the large scale plan of Time Warner to undergo consistent restructuring. The merger is one of the key elements of the restructuring which allows the company to accelerate its business development through focusing on the cable television market mainly and taking the lead in the market through the merger. This strategy is efficient because Time Warner prioritizes the most profitable part of its business and, more important, enhances its position in the market through the merger.Moreover, Time Warner is also considering the separation of its publishing business, although at the moment, the company is the largest magazine publisher in the US. Nevertheless, the company decided to separate Time Inc. last year (Team, 2). This decision complements the decision of the company to merge Time Warner Cable with Comcast. To put it more precisely, the company refuses from its publi shing business which future may be uncertain for the company and focuses on cable television market entirely. Such a shift maximizes profits and benefits of the company.At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the move to separate Time Inc. was, in all probability determined by the steady decline of the publishing business of the company. In such a way, the decision to separate Time Inc. from Time Warner was driven by the attempt of the company to preserve only the most prospective elements of its business and become a pure media company. In fact, this means the separation of Time Inc. from Time Warner is a strategically important step, especially in the light of the upcoming merger with Comcast. When the company has just started the procedure of separation, experts (Team 6) believed the separation was driven by pragmatic concerns of Time Warner and its attempts to save costs and attract investors due the better financial performance of the company free of the publishing business burden. What is meant here is the fact that initially, experts (Team, 6) stood on the ground that Team Warner is just trying to save costs and make its financial performance healthier. The step was quite reasonable in light of the declining publishing business which slowed down the business development of Time Warner.On the other hand, cable television was and still is profitable business for the company. More important, cable television is more attractive market for the company and the business of Time Warner in this market keeps growing (Flint, 5). This is why the refusal from the publishing business of the company allows Time Warner to focus entirely on the cable television market. At the moment, the separation of Time Inc. is not completed so far but the company has already started negotiations on the merger with Comcast and this step reveals the intention of the company to accelerate its business development through the enhancement of its position in the most profitabl e industry. Moreover, unlike publishing business, cable television is likely to keep growing in the future. This is why the company can maximize benefits from the merger and shifting its business to the cable television industry mainly.In such a context, the recent merger of Time Warner Cable is a reasonable step since after the completion of the separation of Time Inc. which is likely to be completed this year, the company will merge its more perspective unit, Time Warner Cable, with Comcast becoming one of the leaders in the industry and enhancing its position in the market. This step is strategically important for the company because it elevates the company to the new level in its business development and helps the company to take the lead in the industry and keep growing in the future since the cable television industry is growing.However the merger with Comcast is driven not only by business concerns but also by the lobbying power of Comcast which can accelerate the further bus iness development of Time Warner Cable after the merger (Shields, 3).At the moment Comcast invests abundantly into lobbying and the company has increased the number of lobbyists in the 2000s consistently. The merger with such a company opens new opportunities for Timer Warner Cable to enhance its marketing position, enter new markets and increase its market share.In such a context, there is no surprise that Charter Communications, another behemoth of the media industry, has failed to negotiate the merger with Time Warner Cable and has lost the deal to Comcast (Fung, 4). Charter Communications does not have such a strong lobby as Comcast and, therefore, cannot offer Time Warner Cable such good prospects for the further business development as Comcast does.On the other hand, the merger of Time Warner Cable and Comcast can raise substantial difficulties in face of both companies because the merger will inevitably involve the restructuring of the new company. Comcast and Time Warner Cab le have their own organizational structure and culture, while the merger will raise the problem of their mutual integration. In such a situation, the risk of conflicts within the new, merged company arises because employees working in the company may be resistant to changes or oppose to changes. As a result, the risk of the failure of the merger arises because if employees of the company resist to the change, the company may face substantial difficulties with the overall successful implementation of the change.Furthermore, the restructuring of the company may raise the problem of job cuts and loss of well-qualified professionals, who, in face of the uncertainty in their future after the merger, may just transfer to another company, where they can be absolutely certain in their future. The loss of well-qualified professionals may also create substantial difficulties which the new company will have to overcome. Therefore, the merger is not always the right choice and, in spite of the obvious certainty of Comcast and Time Warner Cable in the overall success of the merger, there are still some risks and threats which may lead to the failure of the merger. At this point, it is possible to refer to other cases when mergers have failed, such as the case of Daimler-Chrysler which was considered to be one of the most prospective and strong alliances in the automotive industry but eventually ended up into the split of the two companies.Thus, at the moment, Time Warner undergoes substantial changes. The company has initiated the separation of Time Inc. which comprises the publishing business of the company. At the same time, the company is about to merge with Comcast that means the shift of Time Warner from diverse business to the relatively narrow focus of the company on cable television business mainly. In such a situation, the refusal from the publishing business is reasonable to enhance the financial performance of the company. Moreover, the merger with Comcast will allow Time Warner Cable to take the leading position in the cable television industry that keeps growing. Therefore, the company will not only optimize its performance but also become the leader of the fast growing industry that will shift the business development of Time Warner to the new, upper level.

Communism Business essays

Communism Business essays A sudden change in Fidel Castros heart opened a whole new ball game for the economy. He decided to let trade run free between Cuba and the United States. Being a businessman, I quickly jumped on the opportunity. I decided to open up a sporting goods store, which would sell more baseball products than any other article. I purchased land and built a building on it to run my store. I then went out and hired employees, whom were extremely easy to come across, they actually came to me; I didnt have to look for them! I also ordered products from my suppliers in the United States. Business was blooming, I was selling so much products and making all kinds of money. Unfortunately, Castro had changed his mind. He abandoned his recently new decision for free trade. He would not let anything imported or exported, and travel between the countries was abolished. Cuba had turned again, to strictly communism. This would destroy all hopes I had for my business to prosper. Now, I would not be able to get the proper products I need to sell in my store, I could only hope that few farmers could make homemade shirts of decent quality. Also, the Castro government confiscated a vast majority of my profits. He does not care for the general wealth of the people, only for him and his government. He makes all the decisions, what to sell, how to sell, when and where to sell it. All of his decisions arent good ones either, from a business standpoint. Castros practice is the reason for Cuba, and country that could have a solid economy, is doing so poorly. The people do not want to work hard because He will just take all of their earning away. Many people only work for themselves, growing their own crops to eat, without any trading or selling. They trade when they want another persons good, for example: some crops in exchange for clothes. Opening a business in a communist country is next to impossible. ...

Free Essays on Hazing

Hazing In today’s world if a person would want to get on a certain team or join a frat or sorority, that person would have to put up with one big thing, initiation. Or as most call it hazing. There not the only people that put up with hazing though. Hazing is becoming big in high schools, church events, and even professional sports. Since so many people have to put up with the issue of hazing, it has become a very big issue in today’s world. Whether it involves binge drinking, kidnapping, or some type of physical abuse, hazing is becoming an issue that is too common. Since it is becoming so common most people feel that someone needs to step in and stop hazing in all events no matter what it is. Hazing can be defined in many different ways depending on whom you’re talking to. But the actual definition is that it is any activity or situation that has been formed with the intention of causing another person mental or physical pain, embarrassment, or ridicule. Hazing can range from making a person eat ridiculous things, to even have a person take a beating from others. Hazing happens mostly in colleges, but is becoming more common with high schools and other organizations as well. People that want to join a frat or sorority have to deal with this issue on a daily basis, as well as athletes. The idea of hazing is to show how much a certain individual wants to be in a certain club. So since the people at the head of the club can pretty much do what ever they want to a certain individual, they do. They do that because it deals with the universal saying, only the strong survive. Which means the only people that will make it into the club are the ones that do whatever they say. So the heads of the clubs have each person wanting to join do outrageous things because they want to show there power as well as make the person look stupid. But that’s why the heads of these clubs make the statement that it is supposed to g... Free Essays on Hazing Free Essays on Hazing When one hears the word â€Å"hazing,† the typically first impression is that of a fraternity member with a paddle in one hand, beer in another and a young â€Å"pledge† bent over being struck by the wooden paddle. This is defiantly a case of classic hazing, however many other forms have been created and made public in the recent past. Other fields such as military, sorority, high school and athletic teams have begun to come under the same scrutiny fraternities have been for years. For someone who has never been â€Å"hazed† the issue can be quite complicated and some ignorant conclusions may be made. Hazing has different, but yet very similar definitions from various institutions. The first thing I noticed here was that fraternities were the only institution that the American College Dictionary directly addresses. Obviously the FIPG listed above goes into more detail regarding fraternity actions and focus on those activities Hazing is defined by the FIPG (Fraternity Insurance Purchasing Group) as: "Any action taken or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule. Such activities may include but are not limited to the following: use of alcohol; paddling in any form; creation of excessive fatigue; physical and psychological shocks; quests, treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, road trips or any other such activities carried on outside or inside of the confines of the chapter house; wearing of public apparel which is conspicuous and not normally in good taste; engaging in public stunts and buffoonery; morally degrading or humiliating games and activities; and any other activities which are not consistent with fraternal law, ritual or policy or the regulations and policies of the educational institution." The American College Dictionary goes on to define the action of â€Å"haze† as: â€Å"1. To persecute or harass with meaningless... Free Essays on Hazing Is It Innocent Team Bonding Or The Abuse and Endangerment of An Athlete’s Rights? Current issues have forced NCAA athletics to deal and confront the dangerous acts of team hazing. On January 14th, the University of Vermont men’s hockey season was forced to a sudden halt. With thirteen games left, the team’s 23 remaining players were read a litany of their sins by the state’s attorney general, William Sorrell. He stated the schools handling of the hazing incident(s) was â€Å"conducted loosely while specific evidence was withheld that lead to a slow indecisive investigation,† which resulted in his intervention (Hoover). Hazing is a long practiced and in many cases long accepted rite of initiation in such cliques as military and college fraternities and athletics. It is a relatively new current issue and needs to be seriously addressed. Last August Alfred (NY) University released a study that included two hundred and twenty four participating institutions that submitted names and addresses of 61,258 student athletes. From the responses, they found that 80% of responding college athletes were subjected to alcohol-related hazing and more than 20% to such other activities. Of the participating institutions, the UVM was not one of them (Hoover). Clearly, UVM and other organizations must be more vigilant. Greater and more effective efforts must be made to know what students are doing, and perhaps more importantly, what and how they are thinking. Team or group bonding experiences that attain the desired results without harassing humiliations and dangers must be developed and promoted. Across societies and time, people have initiated new members into groups through ceremonies and rituals designed to foster a feeling of belonging. Yet, sometimes those activities cross the line into hazing. Hazing, defined by Alfred University, is â€Å"any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or en... Free Essays on Hazing Hazing In today’s world if a person would want to get on a certain team or join a frat or sorority, that person would have to put up with one big thing, initiation. Or as most call it hazing. There not the only people that put up with hazing though. Hazing is becoming big in high schools, church events, and even professional sports. Since so many people have to put up with the issue of hazing, it has become a very big issue in today’s world. Whether it involves binge drinking, kidnapping, or some type of physical abuse, hazing is becoming an issue that is too common. Since it is becoming so common most people feel that someone needs to step in and stop hazing in all events no matter what it is. Hazing can be defined in many different ways depending on whom you’re talking to. But the actual definition is that it is any activity or situation that has been formed with the intention of causing another person mental or physical pain, embarrassment, or ridicule. Hazing can range from making a person eat ridiculous things, to even have a person take a beating from others. Hazing happens mostly in colleges, but is becoming more common with high schools and other organizations as well. People that want to join a frat or sorority have to deal with this issue on a daily basis, as well as athletes. The idea of hazing is to show how much a certain individual wants to be in a certain club. So since the people at the head of the club can pretty much do what ever they want to a certain individual, they do. They do that because it deals with the universal saying, only the strong survive. Which means the only people that will make it into the club are the ones that do whatever they say. So the heads of the clubs have each person wanting to join do outrageous things because they want to show there power as well as make the person look stupid. But that’s why the heads of these clubs make the statement that it is supposed to g...

Reason of hotel price changing of Hotel du vin Birmingham Speech or Presentation

Reason of hotel price changing of Hotel du vin Birmingham - Speech or Presentation Example The reasons behind this increase are economic and based on market analysis. First, there is the increasing cost of products production and services delivery globally. This implies that for the last few years, the cost of rooms in major hotels has been increasing. However, despite the expected increase which has been steady over the years, a tremendous increase must have had another reason. As reported in marketingbirmingham.com earlier this year, the tourism industry in Birmingham city has been growing since 2012. This prompted the major hotels to advance their services to meet the expected demand. The development comes with expenses, and the market demand is expected to cover those expenses and make the process profitable. This is the main reason the bookings, as well as the prices of rooms, have increased over the last one month. In addition, market psychology has also played a part in the change. With the increased demand and modernisation of services, the marketers have used the principle of market psychology in which the customers are driven to assume that the most expensive provides the best services. They have therefore increased the prices in a competitive strategy to control the reasoning of the customers in which the economists call reverse psychology of marketing. Further, there has been an increasing need for the hotel industry to embrace technology in products and services delivery. Technology is costly but a major requirement in many industries today. This has prompted the hotel to increase prices, take advantage of the current demand with tourism growth and increasing revenue. Hotel du Vin Birmingham  . http://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/du-vin-birmingham.en-gb.html?aid=311984;label=du-vin-birmingham-WwDjdb06pLcrC70B425p8gS32443427113%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=4ca5973a3f39e1501dee98b8ba487978;dcid=1;ucfs=1;srfid=942ca71d04271f7f8199ebe93a58d025d2b2eabbX1#map_closed Sinha, I. (2006).  Reverse