Business Decision Making Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Business Decision Making - Assignment Example So as to examine the point, an exploration is directed on the espresso market of London to break down the developing business sector patterns. This would help in introducing a report to the senior administration for the presentation of another espresso based beverage for coffeehouse clients. As the item advancement facilitator of the espresso bundling organization it is significant that I should direct essential exploration. This would help in deciding the customer profile, their inclinations, perspectives and purchasing practices identified with espresso. This data would be gathered through review polls. The overview would be led on an irregular example and not fundamental one. Arbitrary inspecting will permit the advertiser to altogether break down the shopper inclination and conduct as everybody will have an equivalent possibility of being chosen (Winston, Stevens, Sherwood, and Dunn, 2013). Despite what might be expected, irregular examining may likewise creates a few mistakes, for example, the example probably won't be best appropriate for the item, and so on. Besides there is no control in arbitrary inspecting procedure. It ought to be noticed that all the information for the customer profile, inclination and purchasing conduct will be assembled with the assistance of essential exploration for example through review polls. In the wake of social event the essential information and examining the purchaser inclinations and so on the information identified with market will be gathered and investigated through auxiliary examination. In the optional examination the information will be accumulated with the assistance of contemplating market reports identified with espresso drinks (Giovannucci and Koekoek, 2003). Moreover, the optional examination will likewise distinguish and dissect some fundamental components of espresso industry, for example, showcase seriousness, which are the principle contenders, what the market structure is, and how the portions of the espresso advertise are isolated into the key players. This will be concentrated with the assistance

Hate It or Love It Essay Example for Free

Detest It or Love It Essay

Its 2017!

It’s 2017! Happy New Year, everyone! 2016 has been shuttered into the past, and the sense I got from friends on social media was a general consensus of something like relief. It was certainly a tumultuous year on a global scale: humanitarian crisis, deeply divisive politics and high-profile incidents of terrorism were one of several dark pockmarks on the face of the bygone year. On a more personal note, it definitely wasn’t my best year, but here at its tail’s end, I find myself optimistic for 2017. There are at least two camps when it comes to a new year. The first camp sees it as a reset of sorts, a time to renew life-changing resolutions, to pursue a revitalized drive towards betterness. The second camp sees it as a largely arbitrary demarcation of time, removed from the actual content of our lives, but for a spate of fireworks, making January 1 just another day. For me, it just means that Netflix is about to add some new TV shows and movies, and I have to go shopping for microwavable popcorn. Still, I can’t pretend, in spite of the last year, to not be excited about 2017. In fact, I have access to an oracle, which has let me peek through the curtains of space and time and see the forthcoming events from the year, in at least one timeline. I present to you, my 2017 Highlights Reel! What do your highlight reels look like? ** January 1, 2017 I make my resolutions for the upcoming year: I will go to the gym everyday starting January 2. I will eat great food, less red meat and more vegetables. I will explore new music and write more stories. I’m a timeworn college senior, and I will ace my final semester! I’ve got this. January 2, 2017 I wake up at 2P.M. (school isn’t in session yet, not that this is even slightly correlated to my waking up at 2 P.M.) As I order pizza from Domino’s for lunch, I decide it’s still pretty early into the year. Heck, there’s 363 days left. 363 days. The gym isn’t going anywhere on any of those days, right? I can go tomorrow, I decide, as I settle on my bed to watch Bob’s Burgers and devour several slices of a medium-size Extravangaza Feast Pizza. This situation recurs for the next 52 weeks. February 12, 2017 It’s 3:50 A.M. on a Sunday Morning. I’m in the kitchen of my floor at Random Hall, and everyone is still up. Beantown closes in 10 minutes, and Sam is asking if anyone would like to get some burritos before they close. Kevin and Andrew are working on a gigantic rocket. I’m playing Saints Row IV on my computer. We’re all watching We are number one but every one is replaced with the entire bee movie script”  which will shortly be followed by  â€œThe entire bee movie but every time they say bee it gets faster”.  These dank videos make our floor slowly approach the theoretical limit of dankness, a limit well-defined on one of our refrigerators. February 13, 2017 It’s 3:50 A.M. on a Monday Morning. I’m in the kitchen of my floor at Random Hall, and everyone is still up. We have problem sets due in less than four hours, and we’re working over the sounds of MrMrMangoHead on Youtube. I take a five-minute break to check Facebook for messages, and spend the next hour browsing old memes on the Classical Arts meme page. The problem set is due at 7:30 A.M. I turn it in at 7:27 A.M. March 1, 2017 I’m writing a short story for my final writing class at MIT, a science-fiction class taught by  Shariann Lewitt. I’m excited about it, because I get to combine sci-fi and horror, two very blendable genres, but my brain has shut down on me, and everything I know about genes seem to have disappeared. Halfway through, I delete the whole thing, all 1,234 words, and decide to get some rest, and start again tomorrow, when my brain isn’t being such a downer. April 13, 2017 So so stuck on this problem set. I give up. I compose an e-mail to my advisor. It’s short and to the point: I’ve decided to drop out of MIT. I don’t need to be an engineer when I can be happy selling my patented Frosted Flakes Milk/Cereal mix on the warm beaches of Los Angeles. Thank you for everything. It’s silly and I decide to the delete the draft. I accidentally hit Send, because of course I do. Panic overwhelms me and I start to compose a second e-mail to my advisor, explaining that I was tired and kidding, the last e-mail was a silly mistake, ignore it, yada-yada, but I get an e-mail from him before I’m done typing. It says: Sounds good. Good luck in LA! P.S. I’m here to talk if you need me. April 14, 2017 Twitter notifies me of his new tweet. I check it out and shake my head. It’s in the news five minutes later. It’s forgotten about the next day. May 30, 2017 I still can’t process that I’ve turned in my final work for the semester. I celebrate by watching a marathon of intense horror movies. I grade each of them on an A+ to F- scale (wondering for the umpteenth time why I invented the F+. What does the F+ even mean?) The grades are maintained on a Google Sheets doc. Someday, I tell myself, historians will discover this document and will ponder its significance. June 9, 2017 It’s graduation day! Tim Cook delivers our commencement speech. Shortly after, 1000+ names are called in Killian under a warm sun (we feared rain for a while, but those fears were unfounded. MIT’s secret weather machine is a real thing, and is only turned on during Campus Preview Weekend and Graduation Day). I’m in tears when I receive my diploma. My parents are screaming wildly. They catch the whole thing on camera. I hold the paper in my hand, astonished. Nobody pinch me. I spy Chris Peterson just before I leave, and he gives me the greatest bear-hug ever. I write a sappy blog-post later that night, my penultimate one, because I’d like to hold onto the blogs for a little bit longer. And then I get very drunk to my knees and thank God for a wonderful last four years. My time at MIT is over, and those words have yet to register. June 25, 2017 I land in Nigeria. It’s my first time back home in 3 years. There’s a power outage at the airport fifteen minutes after I land, and one of the staff is arguing loudly with a pregnant woman, the latter screaming that someone in the airport must have taken the cash out of her bags. We roll through the streets of Abuja in a Toyota. Heat rashes break up on my arm and neck, because the West African sun is distinct from the Boston sun. In Boston, it exists as decoration half the time, providing no ostensible warmth, just hanging there anchored to the sky. In West Africa, it shoots volcanoes down on us. I get home and all my siblings rush to hug me. They tell me I’ve gotten taller and uglier, and I threaten to knock them senseless if they keep talking. There’s jollof rice and suya in the kitchen. I wolf the whole thing down, and for the first time in 3 years, I don’t need a bottle of hot sauce to go with my meal. Later that night, we have a big family meeting and I summarize all of MIT. It takes several hours, and my little sister passes out halfway through. “Welcome home,” one of my brothers says. It feels good to be home. I try to watch Bob’s Burgers on Netflix later that night: “This service is not available in your region.” August 26, 2017 I’m 21 years old! My family sings the “Happy Birthday” song while I look on sheepishly. When, in reply, I start to sing, “I’m 21 years old today”, my youngest brother Johnpaul cuts in: “Shut up, you can’t sing.” He’s right, but that won’t stop me from whooping his ass later that night. We eat several chicken shawarmas. At 11:00 P.M., I lay down and have a minor existential crisis. I’m 21 years old. Like, where do I go from here? September 18, 2017 I’m back in the United States. New York City. It’s my first day on the job and I’m nervous. Do I even still remember how to write code? What is Python again? Will they kick me out before I even begin? But I sit down in front of the screen, and as soon as I start typing, getting a feel for the company’s enormous codebase, it all slowly starts to come back. My racing heart calms. September 24, 2017 It’s Sunday Night. I planned on going out, but the Skype call I just had with my mom got me incredibly homesick, and so I just lay on the mattress of my studio apartment. I browse Reddit for a bit. The top post on the front page is from r/funny, but Redditors are ripping the poster to shreds. Apparently, the picture is not very funny. And is badly cropped. And is a repost. All the poster’s comments in defense of himself are heavily downvoted and I feel bad for him. Then I realize I just feel bad. It’s been less than a month since I moved to New York from Nigeria. I barely know anyone. My family is thousands of miles away. I feel very alone. September 25, 2017 It’s 1:11 A.M. Monday Morning. I should be asleep, I have work in a couple of hours, but my mind is roving all over the place. I still feel homesick. I contemplate getting some comfort food from the pizzeria opposite methey’re open till 6 A.M., and my brain is still trying to parse this beautiful existence. But I decide, perhaps blasphemously, that food won’t help. Not this time. I play Taylor Swift’s song Never Grow Up. Towards the end of the song, the lyrics go: “Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room, Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home, Remember the footsteps, remember the words said, And all your little brother’s favorite songs, I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone, So here I am in my new apartment, In a big city, they just dropped me off, It’s so much colder than I thought it would be, So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on, Wish I’d never grown up.” That part always hits me hard, and this time it’s no different. This feels a lot like my first night ever on the MIT campus. Four years ago. A lifetime ago. Just like that night, I hug my pillow tightly, taking in as much warmth from it as I can. In that position, I finally drift off to sleep. October 14, 2017 The next round of monthly bills is due: rent, electricity, Internet, Netflix, insurance. Man, this adult thing is scary. October 15, 2017 I settle into bed and pull out my phone. Time to catch up on Season 2 of Insecure. October 23, 2017 23,000 words into the new book. Slowly, surely heading there. I check my e-mails but none of the publishers have gotten back to me on my newest short stories yet. I close my laptop and press my head against it, letting out a long gush of air. November 1, 2017 I stop by the Cheesecake Factory on my way after work, even though I already had dinner, and purchase two slices of Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake. Today was an especially good day of work, and I deserve to treat myself a little bit. I decide to have one slice later tonight as I watch my shows, and the other slice later in the week, but I finish off both of them before I get to the apartment. I wash my hands in the bathroom sink and take a very long nap. I wake up at midnight, feeling completely alert, even though I have work in nine hours. I idly wonder why bad things happen to good people. November 2, 2017 It’s 3 A.M. now. I tried to sleep again earlier, but my brain chose that moment to recall in painfully exquisite detail that one time I completely and utterly  messed up a presentation at MIT  . The embarrassment is High Definition, and it won’t let me sleep. I decide to pass the time by taking a quiz on Buzzfeed. This quiz claims to let me know what kind of creature I will be reincarnated as in the next life. I get Chihuahua. You know what? I can see that. Heck, I’ll be the best Chihuahua this planet has ever seen. November 25, 2017 Nostalgia forces me to visit Massachusetts for the first time in months. It’s as good a weekend as any to visit. I stop by Random Hall, where Kevin is now a senior. He graduates in a couple of months and we both freak out excitedly over this. MrMrMangoHead is on the television when I visit. There are some new faces, but it’s still the same floor. Someone calls me “cruft” as I start to leave, and I feel incredibly old. To counter this feeling of youth, I decide I’ll go to Six Flags the next day. But Six Flags New England is closed this time of year. I can probably visit a theme park when I return to New York, but I’ve been to Six Flags three times in the past. Anywhere else wouldn’t feel the same. As I walk down Mass Ave, shivering in two jackets, I wonder if I’m too sentimental, too attached to things. I decide I probably am. December 1, 2017 On Facebook, I see a meme about what a shitty year 2017 has been. Even though, it has nothing to do with the memeat least not in any clear wayI realize that I can’t remember the last time I had all-out fun. Part of me has always been a little kid, in that sense of untamed, embarrassing silliness, and that part of me has been missing for months. Heck, probably longer. I watch an old video. Im in a poorly lit room. Ive found a pom-pom I got from the Google Los Angeles office during my internship there (we attended the Special Olympics games at USC in 2015, and cheered hard with those pom-poms). It makes for great hair. I decide I want to keep this part of me eternally alive. But I’m not sure how. December 24, 2017 It’s a surprisingly nice Sunday evening, and I decide to do a little exploring on foot. At 6:58 P.M., I pass a Tango Class building in Brooklyn. A flyer declares that classes take place every Sunday at 7:30 P.M. I wonder if they’re open, since it’s Christmas Eve. Turns out they are. I make up my mind to sign up immediately, try something new and spontaneous, even as the rest of my body recoils in horror. A half hour later, I’m paired up with a partner. She’s about my height, blonde, gives me a friendly smile. I tell her I’m nervous. She tells me first-timers usually are. “You’ll be fine,” she says. Twenty minutes later, I get too self-conscious about my dancing and I accidentally stomp her toes with my feet. As she backs away, I apologize profusely. I start to head out the door, but she tells me I don’t have to leave, dancing is hard, Ill learn. “I’m not leaving ,” I reply, which is just a big lie. “I wanna use the bathroom.” “Well it’s that way,” she says, pointing towards a different door. I thank her and walk into the bathroom, realizing that to leave this building and spare myself further embarrassment, I need to walk out of the bathroom and past the dance hall. I can’t leave without them seeing me. Try something new, Vince. Really? What were you thinking? Next time you wanna try something new, how about you stick to a new buffet restaurant in Chelsea? Or a new TV show on freakin’ Netflix. I realize that there’s a large window in the bathroom. With some force, I pry it open and make my escape into the city, abandoning my jacket. It’s a cold night. December 27, 2017 I implemented a randomized algorithm at work today that I’m proud of. Thank you, 6.046. I stop by the movies after work to watch Sharknado 6: Sharks In the White House 3D, and Spicy Memes, a movie about living, breathing, anthropomorphized memes. Both of these hold a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes. They are the best movies I have ever seen in my life. December 31, 2017 It’s 11:59 P.M. It’s the final day of the year. I’ve already spoken to Mom and Dad and my five siblings and wished them a Happy New Year, because 2018 struck them six hours earlier. We spoke via Skype, over a with a spotty Internet connection. Hearing was hard, and we had to scream at each other. My voice is still a little hoarse, but seeing their faces has me wrapped in the arms of warm content. I’m in a bar not far from Times Square, watching the countdown to 2018. As an introvert, I don’t do well with crazy big crowds. I drink some beer, pondering what my life has looked like over the last four years and what it will look like over the next ten. There’s never been a point where I had all the answers, but I think unlike 2016, this year provided more answers than questions, and that’s all I could have asked for. I’m nowhere near my peak, but there’s still much to unfold, and that has me excited. As the final seconds of the year vanish, someone plops into the seat next to me. “Happy New Year,” he says, grinning. I smile back. “Happy New Year.” **

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Battle of Talas River - Background

Few people today have even heard of the Battle of Talas River.  Yet this little-known skirmish between the army of Imperial Tang China and the Abbasid Arabs had important consequences, not just for China and Central Asia, but for the entire world. Eighth century Asia was an ever-shifting mosaic of different tribal and regional powers, fighting for trade rights, political power and/or religious hegemony. The era was characterized by a dizzying array of battles, alliances, double-crosses and betrayals. At the time, nobody could have known that one particular battle, which took place on the banks of the Talas River in present-day Kyrgyzstan, would halt the Arab and Chinese advances in Central Asia and fix the boundary between Buddhist/Confucianist Asia and Muslim Asia. None of the combatants could have predicted that this battle would be instrumental in transmitting a key invention from China to the western world: the art of paper-making, a technology that would alter world history forever. Background to the Battle For some time, the powerful Tang Empire (618-906) and its predecessors had been expanding Chinese influence in Central Asia. China used soft power for the most part, relying upon a series of trade agreements and nominal protectorates rather than military conquest to control Central Asia. The most troublesome foe faced by the Tang from 640 forward was the powerful Tibetan Empire, established by Songtsan Gampo. Control of what is now Xinjiang, Western China, and neighboring provinces went back and forth between China and Tibet throughout the seventh and eighth centuries. China also faced challenges from the Turkic Uighurs in the northwest, the Indo-European Turfans, and the Lao/Thai tribes on Chinas southern borders. The Rise of the Arabs While the Tang were occupied with all these adversaries, a new superpower rose in the Middle East. The Prophet Muhammad died in 632, and the Muslim faithful under the Umayyad Dynasty (661-750) soon brought vast areas under their sway. From Spain and Portugal in the west, across North Africa and the Middle East, and on to the oasis cities of Merv, Tashkent, and Samarkand in the east, the Arab conquest spread with astonishing speed. Chinas interests in Central Asia went back at least to 97 B.C., when the Han Dynasty general Ban Chao led an army of 70,000 as far as Merv (in what is now Turkmenistan), in pursuit of bandit tribes that preyed on early Silk Road caravans. China also had long courted trade relations with the Sassanid Empire in Persia, as well as their predecessors the Parthians. The Persians and Chinese had collaborated to quell rising Turkic powers, playing different tribal leaders off of one another. In addition, the Chinese had a long history of contacts with the Sogdian Empire, centered in modern-day Uzbekistan. Early Chinese/Arab Conflicts Inevitably, the lightning-quick expansion by the Arabs would clash with Chinas established interests in Central Asia. In 651, the Umayyads captured the Sassanian capital at Merv and executed the king, Yazdegerd III. From this base, they would go on to conquer Bukhara, the Ferghana Valley, and as far east as Kashgar (on the Chinese/Kyrgyz border today). News of Yazdegards fate was carried to the Chinese capital of Changan (Xian) by his son Firuz, who fled to China after the fall of Merv. Firuz later became a general of one of Chinas armies, and then governor of a region centered at modern-day Zaranj, Afghanistan. In 715, the first armed clash between the two powers occurred in the Ferghana Valley of Afghanistan. The Arabs and Tibetans deposed King Ikhshid and installed a man named Alutar in his place. Ikhshid asked China to intervene on his behalf, and the Tang sent an army of 10,000 to overthrow Alutar and reinstate Ikhshid. Two years later, an Arab/Tibetan army besieged two cities in the Aksu region of what is now Xinjiang, western China. The Chinese sent an army of Qarluq mercenaries, who defeated the Arabs and Tibetans and lifted the siege. In 750 the Umayyad Caliphate fell, overthrown by the more aggressive Abbasid Dynasty. The Abbasids From their first capital at Harran, Turkey, the Abbasid Caliphate set out to consolidate power over the sprawling Arab Empire built by the Umayyads. One area of concern was the eastern borderlands - the Ferghana Valley and beyond. The Arab forces in eastern Central Asia with their Tibetan and Uighur allies were led by the brilliant tactician, General Ziyad ibn Salih. Chinas western army was headed by Governor-General Kao Hsien-chih (Go Seong-ji), an ethnic-Korean commander. It was not unusual at that time for foreign or minority officers to command Chinese armies because the military was considered an undesirable career path for ethnic Chinese noblemen. Appropriately enough, the decisive clash at Talas River was precipitated by another dispute in Ferghana. In 750, the king of Ferghana had a border dispute with the ruler of neighboring Chach. He appealed to the Chinese, who sent General Kao to assist Ferghanas troops. Kao besieged Chach, offered the Chachan king safe passage out of his capital, then reneged and beheaded him. In a mirror-image parallel to what had happened during the Arab conquest of Merv in 651, the Chachan kings son escaped and reported the incident to Abbasid Arab governor Abu Muslim at Khorasan. Abu Muslim rallied his troops at Merv and marched to join Ziyad ibn Salihs army further east.  The Arabs were determined to teach General Kao a lesson... and incidentally, to assert Abbasid power in the region. The Battle of Talas River In July of 751, the armies of these two great empires met at Talas, near the modern-day Kyrgyz/Kazakh border. Chinese records state that the Tang army was 30,000 strong, while Arab accounts put the number of Chinese at 100,000. The total number of Arab, Tibetan and Uighur warriors is not recorded, but theirs was the larger of the two forces. For five days, the mighty armies clashed. When the Qarluq Turks came in on the Arab side several days into the fighting, the Tang armys doom was sealed. Chinese sources imply that the Qarluqs had been fighting for them, but treacherously switched sides midway through the battle. Arab records, on the other hand, indicate that the Qarluqs were already allied with the Abbasids prior to the conflict. The Arab account seems more likely since the Qarluqs suddenly mounted a surprise attack on the Tang formation from the rear. Some modern Chinese writings about the battle still exhibit a sense of outrage at this perceived betrayal by one of the Tang Empires minority peoples. Whatever the case, the Qarluq attack signaled the beginning of the end for Kao Hsien-chihs army. Of the tens of thousands the Tang sent into battle, only a small percentage survived. Kao Hsien-chih himself was one of the few who escaped the slaughter; he would live just five years more, before being put on trial and executed for corruption. In addition to the tens of thousands of Chinese killed, a number were captured and taken back to Samarkand (in modern-day Uzbekistan) as prisoners of war. The Abbassids could have pressed their advantage, marching into China proper. However, their supply lines were already stretched to the breaking point, and sending such a huge force over the eastern Hindu Kush mountains and into the deserts of western China was beyond their capacity. Despite the crushing defeat of Kaos Tang forces, the Battle of Talas was a tactical draw. The Arabs eastward advance was halted, and the troubled Tang Empire turned its attention from Central Asia to rebellions on its northern and southern borders. Consequences of the Battle of Talas At the time of the Battle of Talas, its significance was not clear. Chinese accounts mention the battle as part of the beginning of the end of the Tang Dynasty. That same year, the Khitan tribe in Manchuria (northern China) defeated the imperial forces in that region, and Thai/Lao peoples in what is now Yunnan province in the south revolted as well. The An Shi Revolt of 755-763, which was more of a civil war than a simple revolt, further weakened the empire. By 763, the Tibetans were able to seize the Chinese capital at Changan (now Xian). With so much turmoil at home, the Chinese had neither the will nor the power to exert much influence past the Tarim Basin after 751. For the Arabs, too, this battle marked an unnoticed turning point. The victors are supposed to write history, but in this case, (despite the totality of their victory), they did not have much to say for some time after the event. Barry Hoberman points out that the ninth-century Muslim historian al-Tabari (839 to 923) never even mentions the Battle of Talas River. Its not until half a millennium after the skirmish that Arab historians take note of Talas, in the writings of Ibn al-Athir (1160 to 1233) and al-Dhahabi (1274 to 1348). Nevertheless, the Battle of Talas had important consequences. The weakened Chinese Empire was no longer in any position to interfere in Central Asia, so the influence of the Abbassid Arabs grew. Some scholars quibble that too much emphasis is placed on the role of Talas in the Islamification of Central Asia. It is certainly true that the Turkic and Persian tribes of Central Asia did not all immediately convert to Islam in August of 751. Such a feat of mass communication across the deserts, mountains, and steppes would have been utterly impossible before modern mass communications, even if the Central Asian peoples were uniformly receptive to Islam. Nonetheless, the absence of any counterweight to the Arab presence allowed Abbassid influence to spread gradually throughout the region. Within the next 250 years, most of the formerly Buddhist, Hindu, Zoroastrian, and Nestorian Christian tribes of Central Asia had become Muslim. Most significant of all, among the prisoners of war captured by the Abbassids after the Battle of Talas River, were a number of skilled Chinese artisans, including Tou Houan. Through them, first the Arab world and then the rest of Europe learned the art of paper-making. (At that time, the Arabs controlled Spain and Portugal, as well as North Africa, the Middle East, and large swaths of Central Asia.) Soon, paper-making factories sprang up in Samarkand, Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, Delhi... and in 1120 the first European paper mill was established in Xativa, Spain (now called Valencia). From these Arab-dominated cities, the technology spread to Italy, Germany, and across Europe. The advent of paper technology, along with woodcut printing and later movable-type printing, fueled the advances in science, theology, and history of Europes High Middle Ages, which ended only with the coming of the Black Death in the 1340s. Sources The Battle of Talas, Barry Hoberman. Saudi Aramco World, pp. 26-31 (Sept/Oct 1982).A Chinese Expedition across the Pamirs and Hindukush, A.D. 747, Aurel Stein. The Geographic Journal, 59:2, pp. 112-131 (Feb. 1922).Gernet, Jacque, J. R. Foster (trans.), Charles Hartman (trans.). A History of Chinese Civilization, (1996).Oresman, Matthew. Beyond the Battle of Talas: Chinas Re-emergence in Central Asia. Ch. 19 of In the tracks of Tamerlane: Central Asias path to the 21st Century, Daniel L. Burghart and Theresa Sabonis-Helf, eds. (2004).Titchett, Dennis C. (ed.). The Cambridge History of China: Volume 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906 AD, Part One, (1979).

The Evaluation of TOEFL test Free Essays

The test is used in college admissions for non-native English speaking students to an English- peaking country purposes. Although it provides scores of test takers so that college administrators can know their English proficiency directly, the test is not aim at ranking. The test divides criteria into four parts: reading, listening, speaking and writing. We will write a custom essay sample on The Evaluation of TOEFL test or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to process, reading comprehension is the first part should be measured. This part tests test takers’ ability to comprehend academic reading materials. In this section, the format of questions Is multiple choices and content of test questions Involves In various ways such as testing vocabulary, details, and mall Ideas. To avoid creating an advantage to examinees In any one field of study, sufficient context Is provided so that no specific subject can be used to answer the questions. It is a big advantage of the test. Moreover, other advantage is like that, due to diversified questions, it helps learners to know how to get information effectively in a limited time. It also encourages test takers to read more academic materials involving in different area and critically think how to read deferent academic articles when they are learning. However, the questions of reading test mostly adopt multiple choice rather than short answer. It may limit takers to think more about their own opinion. For example, when testing about vocabulary, the question Just gives four choices and asks examinees to choose the best one. Actually, there are also have a lot of words can be selected. The goal of the question Is to assess test takers about their understanding of this word. Therefore, I think If questions may ask examinees to write down their own words based on their comprehension that Is better. In the listening section, it involves in dialogues and academic talks. The purpose of this section is to test listening comprehension in academic environment. In other words, it measures test takers’ ability of listening for basic comprehension, listening for pragmatic understanding and to connect and combine ideas presented in multiple information sources. Like reading section, the formats of questions also adopt various ways. Moreover, examinees’ note taking can be practiced and improved from the listening test. Dialogues and lectures talking will last more than one minute. To most of them, they cannot memorize the whole content without noting. Therefore, how to write down key information in a limited time can be a skill for test takers who will study In an academic atmosphere. Furthermore, diverse formats provide a good opportunity for them to realize how to master essential Information with thinking different ways. The speed of listening Is normal speed and sometimes, the listening test involves in different voices of pronunciation to make test takers know and listening test as we discussed above. I think the way that listening test needs to improve is similar to reading test. It also means that using open questions replace multiple choices can be thought. Next part is speaking test. This section will test ability to communicate effectively in a variety of situations. The ability of synthesizing and summarizing what test takers have read in their textbooks and heard in and outside of the class, the skill of forming their own opinions in response to the information they have processed, well-developed, coherent and clear idea with effective use of grammar, and good pronunciation and intonation these are main goals to assess speaking ability. The strength of this part is to combine reading with speaking and to provide opinion-based questions. Moreover, the degree of each question be tested is gradually harder. The topic for examinees may also from familiar to a little hard to understand. In my opinion, the speaking test can be a bad section as well as a good one in TOEFL. The good way is that it not Just evaluates speaking ability in academic way but also involves in common environment. It not just has output but input first such as reading, and then speaking. Nevertheless, due to the test is based on Internet, that is, speaking section also needs to be tested in the computer, and it brings a problem. Compared with talking to examiners, it is not flexible. It has no communication between examinees and examiners. For my perspective, test takers also may feel anxiety because there has no response when hey speak and feel nervous or without good preparation to speak due to time limited. The last component in TOEFL is the writing section. It measures ability to write in standard academic English. It divides into two parts: integrated writing task and independent writing task. The goal of the first part integrated writing task asks examiners to demonstrate that they have understood material coming from different sources (reading and listening) and to combine the information from those sources in a coherent, well organized, summarized written form to draw conclusions of the important points. The independent writing task aims to measure the students’ ability to state their opinions or express their comments on topics which are based on their personal knowledge and experience. In general, if test takers want to get a higher score, they should know steps of essay and practice more in academic ways. The good thing of this TOEFL writing test is using academic materials to integrate reading and listening to write a summary. Although topic of independent writing task is not necessary referring to academic issues, the writing steps should follow in academic steps. Moreover, owing to computer-based writing, the score is not influenced by handwriting. Nevertheless, it may also be a problem due to time limit especially for some people who are not good at typing or have not well speediness. It is a little hard to deal with except encouraging these persons to practice more about their typing. To sum up, I think TOEFL test is a good test though it brings some challenge to me. There have a lot of benefits of this test. Firstly, it ensures that test- takers are being measured objectively on the same material. The grading is standardized based on rubrics provided by TEST, so test scores are the same no matter whom or what is scoring them. Secondly, there is no age, no gender and no nationality limit for taking the test. Anyone who wants to assess their English language performance especially for people who need to study aboard in English feedback. When persons received their result, score will definitely appear in their paper and evaluation of each section will be provided so that examinees are able to know the strength and weakness of themselves in general ways. Finally, the speaking and writing parts integrate some input tasks such as reading and listening to test rather than be measured separately. The integrated tasks may be considered more Hellenizing in the test will help learners build the confidence needed to communicate in the academic environments they plan to enter because students need to be able to combine their language skills in the classroom. Appropriate challenge will improve learners to more think about their weakness of language learning and hence to find effective ways they can develop. However, there still have some limitations in the test. In the first place, although test takers can be offered some feedbacks from the organization, the feedbacks of scores Just simplify the degree of their performance. They cannot get more individual feedback about the strength and weakness they have according to the test. Likewise, each level still has its deviation. Even though examinees can get same level of sections for each test, they may confuse about the score why last time they can get a high score whereas this time is a low score. In the second place, I feel the time arrangement also has its problem. In general, the test will last three hours at least but Just ten minutes for break from morning to afternoon. For many test takers, the time may make them feel exhausted and influence their performance more or less. In the third place, the procedure of the test may also have its weakness. In order to avoid cheating in the test, examiners require learners to answer extra section such as reading or listening based on different individuals randomly. Hence, it will result in the time of speaking section beginning different. It is unfair to the individuals who are doing speaking earlier while others who are still doing reading or listening part can have a chance to listen others’ speaking and have more time to prepare during the break. The final point I want to mention is that there have a lot of test preparation for each section test. Learners will make more focus on searching or studying methods in order to get a higher score rather than improve their language ability. As we discussed above the limitation, not all can get right solution. But I think we still are able to find some ways to improve. Firstly, the examiners can provide rubrics of each specific score for test takers instead of the level of performance. That is, I think they need to list more details of each point and make learners more better understanding about why they can get this point and why they cannot get. The feedback should mainly reflect individual’s strength and weakness instead of general errors. The general problem also can be placed in the reflection but not in the domain way. Secondly, when talking about dealing with the procedure, I think administers may provide another place for test takers about test speaking. In other words, when finishing their reading and listening part, examiners need to go the place which dedicated to speaking test after having a rest. Finally, due to various test preparation, in my opinion, I believe that form of diversification can be a good way to assess. For example, applying more open questions instead of multiple choices may be helpful for improving learners high order thinking. How to cite The Evaluation of TOEFL test, Papers

Criminal Procedure free essay sample

After reading the situation and being asked five questions, I have come up with answers for each one of them. In this paper I will let you know what the answers to each one of the questions are. I will also provide you with the reasoning on why I chose the answers that I did. First, I believe that Officer Smith did have reasonable suspicion to make the stop of the vehicle. In all actuality, any reason is good enough for an officer on patrol to pull you over. It does vary as far as the type of tape you have over the taillight goes.If you were to use transparent tape than it would make the light more visible. Therefore, you would have less of a chance of being pulled over. Section 4(2) provides exceptions stipulated in s. 23, 24, 25, 27 and 28 of the penal code committed by a Ugandan outside Uganda. Such as Treason, acts intended to annoy the person of the President, concealment of treason, terrorism, promoting of war on chiefs and many others. It should be noted however that under international law, there is no restriction on the competence of the court to prosecute its own nationals for crimes committed outside its territorial jurisdiction if this right to national jurisdiction is conferred by statute. In Uganda vs Mustapha Atama 1975 HCB 254, where the accused a Kampala business man was charged in the chief magistrate’s court with obtaining money by false pretence contrary to section 9 of the PCA cap 106 now cap 120. The prosecution alleged that the accused while in the republic of Zaire obtained shs. 3360/- from the charge-d’ affaires of the Ugandan embassy by falsely pretending that he required the money for the maintenance of eight Ugandan soldiers who were stranded in Zaire while on an official mission. On the issue on whether Ugandan courts had jurisdiction over the matter as the offence had been committed in the Republic of Zaire, though in Uganda’s embassy. It was held that s. 6 of the PCA cap 106 now cap 120, confers jurisdiction to courts in Uganda to try offences committed partly within and partly without Uganda. While s. 2(b) merely presupposes the existence of a law conferring extra territorial jurisdiction to the courts in Uganda, in the absence of a Law enabling Uganda Courts to try nationals for acts committed whole outside Uganda, the Chief magistrate would have no jurisdiction to try such cases. Secondly, Local jurisdiction’s Magistrates are usually appointed to specific magisterial areas with reference to s. 5 of the MCA. The general rule is that every offence must be tried by a court within the local limits of the jurisdiction where it was committed under s.  31 of the MCA cap 16. Should the accused be found outside the area in which the offence was committed, the court in whose local limits of jurisdiction he is found will have him brought before it and cause him to be removed, in custody, to the court having jurisdiction to hear the case under s. 32 of the MCA. i. e the offence is committed in mbale and the fugitive is in Masaka, the court in Masaka will hand him over to t he Mbale court which has Local jurisdiction over the offence that was committed by the accused. However where the offence is committed partly within and partly without the Local limits of jurisdiction, any court having jurisdiction in either the two places may hear the case with reference to s. 37 of MCA. Thirdly on jurisdiction, the power to try cases, where an offence is committed in Uganda within the territorial boundaries and is committed within the local limits of jurisdiction of a particular magisterial area, the judicial officer handling the case will still have to ask himself whether he has the power to try the case, or whether the court he presides over , has jurisdiction to hear the case. For instance the Anti Terrorism Act No 14 of 2002 section 6, provides thus; The offence of terrorism and any other offence punishable by more than ten years imprisonment under this act are triable only by the high court and bail in respect of those offences may be granted only by the High court. Only the High court has powers to try the offence of terrorism under the Anti terrorism Act. The original jurisdiction of a chief magistrate’s court is governed by section 161 (1) (a) MCA. A chief magistrate may try any offence other than an offence in respect of which the maximum penalty is death. Example of these are murders, treason, rape, aggravated robbery, etc. However, a chief magistrate may pass any sentence authorized by law under section 162(1) (a) MCA. This means that he can pass a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life and can impose a fine of any amount. A magistrate grade 1 may try any offence other than an offence in respect of which the maximum penalty is death or imprisonment for life. Under 162 (1) (b) MCA, as amended provides that a magistrate grade 1  may pass a sentence of imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or a fine not exceeding four million, eight hundred thousand shillings or both. In Uganda vs Nicholas Okello (1984) HCB 22, The charge in this case was for attempted defilement contrary to section 123(3) PCA cap 106 of which the maximum sentence was 18 years imprisonment. The magistrate 1 tried this offence and sentenced the accused to 18 years imprisonment. He appealed against sentence and conviction. It was held that the magistrate had no powers to try such offence and therefore the trial was a nullity. A magistrate grade 2 may try any offence under any written law other than the offences and punishments specified in the first schedule of the MCA. Section 161(1) c) MCA. The sentencing powers of a magistrate grade 2 are limited to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding half a million shillings S. 162(1) c) MCA. In the Uganda vs c. Kiwanuka [1979] HCB 210, In this case the magistrate grade 2 tried the accused of the offence brought under the fire arms Act, which was an offence stipulated under the first schedule to the MCA to which a magistrate grade 2 had no powers to try. It was held that the conviction of the accused and sentence imposed on him by the magistrate grade 2 in disregard of the provisions of the first schedule was illegal. Article 129 of the constitution gives a list of the courts of judicature in Uganda such as, the Supreme court which is a superior court of record and a final court but does not have original jurisdiction like high court but has appellate jurisdiction. With reference to article 132(2) of the 1995 constitution of Uganda provides that it hears appeals from the Court of appeal. The court of appeal has appellate jurisdiction and hears decisions of the high court with reference to article 134(2) of the 1995 constitution, also has powers to hear cases or petitions regarding any questions as to the interpretation of the constitution according to article 137, Constitutional court. According to article 139(1) of the constitution, confers High court unlimited original jurisdiction in all matters with such appellate and other jurisdiction as may be conferred on it by the court or any other law. Section 1 of the T. I. A cap 23 provides that the high court has unlimited jurisdiction to try any offence under any written law and may pass any sentence authorized by law. Except that no criminal case can be brought under the cognizance of the high court for trial unless the accused person has been committed for trial to the high court in accordance with the M. C. A. Section 2 of the T. I. A provides the sentencing powers of the high court whereby it may pass any lawful sentence combining any of the sentences which it is authorized by law to pass. High court hears decisions of the Chief magistrate and magistrate grade 1 as provided in section 204(1) a) of M. C. A. with reference to section 168 of the M. C. A.  provides for committal proceedings where, When a person charged with an offence to be tried by the High Court appears before a magistrate and the Director of Public Prosecutions has complied with subsection (1), the magistrate shall give the accused person a copy of the indictment together with the summary of the case, read out the indictment and the summary of the case and explain to the accused person the nature of the accusation against him or her in a language he or she understands and inform him or her that he or she is not required to plead to the indictment, commit the accused person for trial by the High Court and transmit to the registrar of the High Court copies of the indictment and of the summary of the case. According to the law in Uganda, judicial officers are not entitled or empowered to make any phone calls to the accused to appear before court. There is a clear procedure on the issuing of summons. With reference to the Blacks law dictionary summon refers to a writ or process commencing the plaintiffs action and requiring the plaintiffs to appear and answer. A criminal summon is a simple court document that contains a number of facts justifying an inquiry into a complaint against an accused person and requiring him to attend the inquiry. It is a document issued by court to be served on the person addressed in it requiring that person to appear before court on the date specified in the document to answer charges brought against him or her. Most importantly every summon must be in writing, prepared in duplicate, signed and sealed by the magistrate or such other officer as the chief justice may from time to time direct with reference to section 44(2) of the M. C. A. Every summon must be directed to the person summoned and shall require him or her to appear at a place, date, time indicated therein before the court having jurisdiction to inquire into and deal with the complaint or charge as provided in section 44(2). In section 44(3), a summon must also state shortly the offence with which the person against whom it is issued is charged. This is basically for purposes of letting the accused know and prepare for the charge he is being compelled to answer. Service of summons to accused is supposed to be in person. According to section 45(1) of MCA every summon must be served by a police officer or an officer of the court issuing it or any public servant but in practice, a summons is served by a police officer or an officer of the court called a process server. A summons must be served on to the persons to whom it is addressed personally but the section states, if practicable. The summons is served on the accused by giving him a duplicate of the summons and in practice he must sign the original copy of the summons. Section 45(2) of the MCA provides that every person on whom a summons is so served, shall if so required by the serving officer, sign a receipt of it on the back of the original summons. In a situation where service of summons to an accused who cannot be found, service of summons maybe effected by leaving the duplicate of the summons for the accused with an adult member of the family or the accused’s servant who normally resides with him or by leaving it with his employer as provided in section 46 of the MCA. The person with whom the summons is left, if so required by the process server, must sign receipt of it on the back of the original summons. The procedure when service cannot be effected is provided in section 47 of the MCA, the process serving officer shall affix the duplicate of the summons to some conspicuous part of the house or homestead in which the person summoned ordinarily resides and thereupon the summons shall be deemed to have been duly served. Where the person summoned is in the active service of the Government or of the East African Community, the court issuing the summons shall ordinarily send it in duplicate to the head of the office in which that person is employed, and the head shall thereupon cause the summons to be served in the manner provided by section 45, and shall return it to the court under his or her signature with the endorsement required by that section. That signature shall be evidence of the service as provided by section 48 of the MCA. A summon can too be issued to a company with reference to section 49 of the MCA, that provides that service of summons on an incorporated company or other body corporate may be effected by serving it on the secretary, local manager or other principal officer of the corporation or by registered letter addressed to the chief officer of corporation or by a registered letter addressed to the chief officer of the corporation at the registered office of the company or body corporate in Uganda. Service of criminal summons on a body corporate can be done by sending the summons by registered mail addressed to the chief officer of the company, secretary, local manager or other principal officer of the company. These officers of a company are deemed competent to plead on behalf of the company. In showing proof that service was effected, section 50 provides where a summon can be served, that is at any place in Uganda. Where the summons was served outside the local limits of jurisdiction of the presiding court or if the accused for whom the summons was intended doesn’t appear at the place, date and time indicated, the court might either on its own or upon application by the prosecution decide to issue a warrant for his apprehension. But before the court does so, it will be necessary to show by evidence that the accused was served and had deliberately refused to obey the summons. According to section 51 of the MCA, ordinarily proof of service of summons shall be given by calling the process server to give evidence on oath that service was effected. But where the officer is not present or the summons was served outside the local limits of the jurisdiction of the issuing magistrate, proof maybe effected by the person with whom the summons was left, swearing an affidavit before a magistrate and presenting the original summons duly endorsed in the manner described above. Even if the original summons is not endorsed, the affidavit shall be admissible in evidence if the court is satisfied from the statements made in it that service of the summons has been effected properly with reference to section 51(2) of MCA.