In looking at Darrius Heywaryd-Bey’s Raiders pick, I choose to be more open-minded about the pick than many in Raider Nation have proven to be. My only issue with the Raiders regarding this pick is the fact that they could have traded multiple spots to get Heyward-Bey, so I highly question his value at No. 7 overall. However, in terms of all these receivers coming into the NFL out of college, nobody and I stress NOBODY knows how this is all going to play out. This is the NFL, not the NCAA and all the stats and TDs Crabtree laid out in college don’t mean shit at this level. let me repeat. All the stats Crabtree laid out at Texas Tech don’t mean SHIT at the NFL level. Just look at all the WR busts over the years in the NFL who were studs in college. Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Troy Williamson and Reggie Williams are just a few of the first round busts that come to mind. With that in mind, I’ve researched Heyward-Bey and Crabtree and I truly believe Heyward-Bey will turn out to be the best player in the NFL and I’m about to explain why.

Over the past 10 years, 4 receivers who have been in the Top Ten of the NFL Draft have become playmakers, while the rest have been flops. They are the following:

Calvin Johnson (Detroit)

Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona)

Braylon Edwards (Cleveland)

roy williams dallas

What characteristics do these receptors share? They are all 6’3″ or taller and possessed at least above average, if not blazing speed. I don’t see either of them at Crabtree. Nobody knows how fast Crabtree really is to begin with. Only publicly recorded time Crabtree’s running the 40 is 4.53 however that came from a site that also greatly exaggerated his height so how can you really believe that add the fact that Crabtree played in a spread offense at Texas Tech and he also has a foot injury that worried numerous NFL GMs with and one has to wonder how fast Crabtree really is I’ve watched a ton of his games in college and it always seemed like he would take the DB angle instead of fly by them. Whether this was by choice in an effort to disguise his lack of speed is unknown, but one thing is for sure: Crabtree won’t be running the 100 meter relay any time soon. Plus, his height has also been exposed. Originally, crabt Ree was listed at 6’3″, but everyone found out in the draft that he’s only 6’1 1/4, so now essentially the 49ers have a short/slow receiver that they rely on for the next 10 years.

By contrast, Heyward-Bey is at least an inch or inch and a half taller than Crabtree and the speed factor isn’t even a question. Jeremy Maclin is close to his speed, but Crabtree is not. When you examine what the Raiders are trying to do, it becomes painfully clear why DHB was the pick. As I mentioned, my only problem is that they didn’t switch to get it when that could have been an option. Perhaps the Raiders could have gotten DHB and someone like University of Arizona tackle Eben Britton, thus filling 2 glaring weaknesses. However, looking at the measurables and all of the health variables, it’s also clear why the Raiders favored Heyward-Bey over Maclin and especially Crabtree and that’s not even including personality or “character” traits. All you need to see is one Crabtree interview to see that he is extremely arrogant.

Not confident. Arrogant. Arrogant to the point where I think he already has people working on his HOF bust before he’s even run and the NFL route yet. On the contrary, DHB is humble and has come to Oakland ready to work and I have liked all the interviews I have seen of him thus far. People question the production of DHB in Maryland, as well as his hands, but these concerns are unwarranted. First, unlike Crabtree, DHB did not play in a spread offense in college and both Maclin and Crabtree played far superior QBs at their respective schools than DHB did at Maryland. Everybody says that DHB is a dud and has Troy Williamson writing about it. I concede that there will likely be a WR flop from this draft class, but I differ in believing that Crabtree is much more at risk for this distinction than DHB. Bottom line: GIVE THE GUY A CHANCE!!!!! You may be surprised.

cheers and beers

The Texas Tech Red Raider football program has made great strides in the last 3 seasons, but the mad scientist known as Mike Leach is no longer the head football coach in Lubbock. Texas Tech finished 9-4 in the 2009 college football season and capped it off with a 41-31 Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State. New coach Tommy Tuberville now runs the Red Raiders, a different type of coach than Leach. Tuberville prefers running with energy and a stifling defense to the open style, Tuberville told Texas Tech that he would keep the offense spread, no one knows for how long. The Red Raiders went 7-5 against the spread, going over the total 5 times and less than 7 times in 2009. The offense was one of the most productive in college football averaging over 470 yards in total offense spent fourth in all of college football. , Texas Tech passed for over 386 yards per contest, which ranked second overall in the NCAA, and scored an average of 37 points per game, seventh in college football. The Tech defense was not as efficient, they ranked 49th in total yards giving up 353 yards per game which ranked 49th, they gave up an average of 225 yards per game in the air and 127.4 on the ground.

Tuberville hired Troy’s offensive coordinator, Neal Brown, to develop a system similar to the one the team ran with Leach. Taylor Potts passed for over 3,440 yards last season but Steven Sheffield pushes him this year, both are very capable of putting up big numbers but it looks like Sheffield will be the starter in fall camp. Whoever is under center is going to throw to a corps of wide receivers that had at least 45 receptions in 2009 and that’s impressive, heck, this sports handicapper can put up big numbers throwing to these guys. Senior Baron Batch gained 884 rushing yards and is expected to carry the load in 2010. The offensive line will be massive as usual. The smallest of the unit weighs 290 pounds Lonnie Edwards on guard.

Texas Tech’s defense will change defiantly under Tuberville, after all, he is a defensive-minded coach. Tuberville has hired Alabama linebackers coach James Willis to lead the unit and Texas Tech will go to a 3-4 defense. To fuel the passer run, star linebacker Brian Duncan moves from the middle to the outside. The team also has Donald Langley and Kenny Hyder to put pressure on. The defensive line is solid with nose tackle Colby Whitlock, who is entering his senior season as a 4-year starter. The defensive backfield allowed 12 touchdowns last season. SeCody Davis, Franklin Mitchem and cornerback Laron Moore return as starters.

What is the story? Where does it start? Who writes it? Are there superhuman forces behind the annals? Are they divine inspirations? What should be done in the face of the possibility of death? How can one leave a trace of his existence? Can you represent the history of a nation with a single image? Can a character, fictional or not, be represented by the history of a nation? What is the nature of the nation? What is the nature of the story? What is the flavor of history?
History is not something to be just read. In fact, it is impossible for a person to be just a reader of history. That is, we ourselves are history: every second we die and are reborn, until the final moment. The only difference between human beings is whether they are capable of making history or not.

By making history, I mean describing facts, but also giving them a personal identity, either by representing them from one’s own point of view, or by creating a new story for whatever reason. Writing your name in the Chronicles of Human Civilization (each with its respective name) can be done through action, but only. The act of writing them down itself is a way to ensure that your thoughts and your life are not forgotten.

The novel, published in 1981, is a magical realism epic depicting the decolonization of India with the waning influence of British rule. He was very well received in the literary world (and beyond) and was rewarded with various literary distinctions on the Continent. Since then, Midnight’s Children has been one of Rushdie’s leading names by reference and an enduring bestseller, alongside other famous and/or staple Rushdie works. The story involves various space-time frames, revolving around the central character and his country (India).

The story centers on the partition of India in 1947, which followed its newly granted independence, narrated by a parapsychologically developed individual with an unusually large nose, Saleem Sinai. Saleem’s birthday coincides with the time of independence (August 15, 1947). Thirty years later, fearing his imminent death and the subsequent urgency to leave a legacy of his existence in this world, he is forced to tell his story – mostly – to Padma. We are transported during World War I to the time when his grandparents met and got married, and then, little by little, we begin to see Saleem closer and closer until we return to the moment of the narrative.

Due to his date of birth, Saleem is burdened with a constant amount of peer pressure. He later discovers that he has telepathic abilities and can read people’s minds, a fact that he soon discovers is quite widespread among other children of his generation. Apparently everyone born in that particular time period has some kind of special powers. He discovers that, having been switched at birth by another baby, Shiva, he isn’t the only one with overdeveloped body parts. Shiva himself has overly big, super strong knees. When Saleem found out about this fact, he decided to create a bond between all these special children through the “Midnight Children’s Conference”. In any case, this is not the only narrative thread of the book: we also know a parallel development of the plot, namely the difficulties and pilgrimages of his family to survive plagues, wars and his own mental problems (amnesia, cured in the sundarban jungle). After this, Saleem chooses a politically active path, fighting against Indira Gandhi’s policies, especially the measures against the midnight children, the children born along with the Independence of India. After Gandhi’s political fall, the prisoners are released. He meets Padma, and from here we return to the point where the novel began, that is, when Saleem turns 30. Exactly one year later, on his birthday, he marries Padma and predicts her death on the same day.

At the end of his life, Saleem decides to look back at history, his own and that of his nation, he writes a chronicle dedicated to his son. The main flavor of the story he describes could be described as bittersweet: chained, but also supernatural. The comparison of Indian history to pickles is not, incidentally, an inside joke or irrelevant joke: pickles could be described as bringing pleasure and a bad taste in the mouth. That is, Salmaan’s story as an integral part of Indian heritage (if not the embodiment of itself) is not one-sided: she has sunlight, but, at the same time, she is imbued with darkness. In other words, history (your-story) is full of happy moments, achievements and/or relationships, sometimes even glorious ones, that bring with them a sense of pride (of being yourself, of belonging to something bigger, of having a story and an audience to tell it) and the security of one’s (divine) gifts. On the other hand, alongside this bright image, there is also a dark side. For India, this could mean not only centuries of British subjugation, but also internal malice (social, political, religious or philosophical issues).

As he himself admits, in his future Chronicle, Salem not only intends to use words, he announces that he will also write in pickles:

What I hope to immortalize both in pickles and in words: that condition of the spirit in which the consequences of acceptance could not be denied, in which an overdose of reality engendered a miasmatic longing for escape into the safety of dreams… But the jungle, like all lodges, was completely different, both less and more than she had expected. “I’m glad,” says my Padma, “I’m glad you got away.” But I insist: I don’t. Him. Hey, the buddha. Who, even the serpent, would still be non-Saleem; who, despite fleeing, was still separated from his past; although he wielded a certain silver spittoon in his limpet fist. (211)

Saleem himself feels the weight of this darkness to the point of personal crisis. He deals with this dark side (death) making sure that future generations don’t forget him. He leaves behind a story, his story, his family’s story, his country’s story with all its implications, whether positive or negative, and that is why the “pickle” metaphor is so important in this context. . Like we ate a gherkin together with something else to make it taste better or be easier to digest, also aware that its flavor is not exactly sweet (read good), but at the same time not bad, but rather complementary. -manufacturer (like salt, for example) that gives meaning to the specific food we are eating. In the same way history gives meaning to our lives by teaching us lessons, telling us of past successes, spicing up our existence and adding flavor to our identity. So Saleem’s only solution is to write history, not fight death.

Works Cited
1. Wikipedia contributors. Children of midnight Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. January 13, 2010. February 5. 2010.
2. SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote about the children of midnight. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Internet. January 18, 2010.
3. Collective. Salman Rushdie – Children of Midnight. Fu Jen University. February 5, 2010. February 1. 2001
4.Rushdie, Salman. Children of midnight London: Penguin Books. 2008.

Grades:
1. Referring to the world of Anglo-Saxon influence.
2. In other words, you have reached a point in your life where you can look back on your past (and not only) and analyze the present situation through the scope of history. However, the situation does not seem to be positive for him, at least not at this time (ie, August 15, 1977) and Saleem feels his body gradually deteriorating. Therefore, the only end result seems to be death.
3. His partner and future wife, who listened to him patiently, but also skeptical and down-to-earth, the opposite of Saleem in character and attitude to life.
4. Namely, the sterilization of the “magic” seen as threatening by the prime minister. All the children of midnight are reunited in a sterilization camp for the remainder of Indira Gandhi’s tenure.
5. For more information, see Midnight’s Children, Wikipedia article; Sparknotes.com information on Midnight’s Children; Fu Jen University project page on Midnight’s Children;

The Tree of Life: The mesquite is a tree or shrub that grows in desert regions around the world, areas unsuitable for most agriculture. On 25% of our planet, mesquite species can be found growing without any help from fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation or capitalization. This is not surprising, as the mesquite tree’s root system can grow more than 100 feet deep in search of water, making it a hardy survivor in harsh climates. Like many members of the vegetable family, mesquite restores nitrogen to the soil.

Mesquite forms bean-like pod fruits in the fall that have long been a nutritious food source for humans, wildlife, and livestock. Mesquite pods do not open when ripe. The pods of the 3 common species of mesquite – Honey Mesquite, Screwbean Mesquite and Velvet Mesquite – are edible, although the Screwbean is less flavorful than the more widespread Honey Mesquite. A favorite of bees and other insects, mesquite flowers produce fragrant honey.

The mesquite is known as the tree of life because of its many uses: Native Americans in the desert regions of Arizona and California used all parts of the tree. Its bark was used for basketry, ceramics, fabrics, ropes, and medicines. The trunk and branches were used in the manufacture of bows, arrows, mortars and furniture; Because it burns slowly and smokelessly, mesquite makes a good firewood. The spines were used for tattooing and to make sewing needles. The leaves were used to make tea, as an eye wash, and for headaches and stomach aches. The chicle was used as candy gum, pottery repair glue, face paint, pottery paint, and hair dye.

But it was the mesquite pod, with its nutritious and bittersweet pulp, that provided the greatest benefit to the desert peoples. The pods were collected in the fall, when they were yellowish-brown and still hanging on the tree. They were dried in the sun and then stored in large baskets for future use. The beans (both pods and seeds) were ground into a coarse flour, then, by adding water, made into a no-cook cake. Some cultures removed the seeds from the pods and ground them into a flour called pinole, from which a bread was baked.

Mesquite as food: Mesquite flour has a sweet, nutty flavor. This fragrant flour can be used in baking or as a seasoning in food and beverages.

• when used in baking, is used in combination with other flours – the ratio is generally 1 part mesquite flour to 2 to 3 cups of grain or rice flour. Since mesquite is sweet, you may want to decrease the sugar in the recipe. Try mesquite on your pancakes, muffins, cakes, cornbread, or cookies.
• how do you have spiceMesquite flour is ideal for flavoring steaks, chicken, pork, and fish. Sprinkle mesquite over meats and vegetables before grilling; add it to your breading for meat and fish. It can be added to stir-fries, scrambled eggs, cookies, breads, soups, and even ice cream.

For anyone who drinks a smoothie in the morning or uses a meal replacement drink, try adding a tablespoon of mesquite flour. Hunger will not return for another 4 to 6 hours. Or use mesquite to make a cool summer drink or tea!

• Summer mesquite drink: Add 2 tablespoons of finely ground mesquite flour to 1 cup of cold water. Stir and let sit for a couple of minutes, then strain, add honey to taste, and serve.
• mesquite tea: 1 pound square. of mesquite pods in 1 gallon of water. Boil the pods, at boiling point, for 30 minutes. Remove the pods and strain. Cool the broth and serve over ice.

And a healthy meal at that! Mesquite flour is low in carbohydrates and fat, low glycemic index, high in dietary fiber, and naturally sweet. The amount of nutrition provided by mesquite flour is astounding: it is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, protein, and lysine.

According to medical studies, mesquite “it is extremely effective in controlling blood sugar levels” in diabetics. The natural sweetness of the pods comes from fructose, which the body can process without insulin. Additionally, soluble fibers, such as galactomannin gum, in the seeds and pods delay nutrient absorption, resulting in a flatter blood sugar curve. Gel-forming fiber allows food to be slowly digested and absorbed over a 4-6 hour period, rather than a 1-2 hour period (which causes a rapid spike in blood sugar).

Mesquite as Medicine: The medicinal properties of the mesquite have long been used by many native tribes throughout the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is most commonly used to treat eye conditions, open wounds, and dermatological ailments. Acting as an antacid, it can also treat digestive problems. It is used as an antibiotic and has soothing, astringent and antiseptic properties.

Roots, bark, and leaves are cold and dry. They are antifungal, antimicrobial, astringent, antiseptic and antispasmodic. A powder or tea can be made from any of the above materials for athlete’s foot and fungal infections in general. This disinfectant wash or powder can be used for minor infections, stings, bites, sores, and scrapes.

The leaves and pods can be made into an eye wash for inflammations of all kinds, including conjunctivitis. The leaves, roots, and bark relieve diarrhea, dysentery, stomach ulcers, dyspepsia, and most gastrointestinal inflammations. As a poultice, the leaves were used topically for headaches or even fire ant bites. The young shoots, ground and roasted, were used to dissolve kidney stones.

The white inner bark is used as an intestinal antispasmodic. The bark is also helpful in stopping excessive menstrual bleeding and reducing fever.

Mesquite gum or resin is the most used element of mesquite. It is used as an eye wash to treat infections and irritations. It has various dermatological uses, including treating sores, wounds, burns, cracked and raw skin, and sunburn. It is used as a restorative after episodes of dysentery, diarrhea, stomach/intestinal upset, and food poisoning. It is used as a pain reliever for stomach/intestinal pain, ulcers, colitis, and hemorrhoids. Mesquite gum is also used as a treatment for head lice, coughs, sore throats, mouth sores, laryngitis, fever reduction, tooth and gum pain.

The size of an athlete is a very important factor in determining their athletic potential. If you want proof, all you have to do is watch the NBA pre-draft camps. All the athletes who get a big ‘buzz’ at these events are usually the ones with ridiculously large wingspans. For some reason, scouts and general managers love athletes with long arms.

Why is this?

Well, in basketball, the longer your arms are, the greater the advantage you have. This also applies to other sports that require the use of the arms, such as volleyball and American football. On the other hand, your wingspan doesn’t matter at all in a sport like soccer, where you can’t use your arms.

A longer wingspan means a more usable “length”. In basketball, your height really isn’t that important. In fact, your standing reach and wingspan are better metrics to use. All else being equal, the longer your arms, the more rebounds, blocks, steals, and pass deflections you can get.

An average wingspan is one that matches your height. So if you are 5’10” tall and your wingspan is also 5’10”, you have an average wingspan. On the other hand, if you’re 5’10” and have a 6’8″ wingspan, you have an extremely large wingspan and NBA scouts will LOVE you 🙂

Of course, other things are important in determining your athletic potential. Your skill level, work ethic, determination, speed, and vertical jump all come into play.

Unfortunately, your wingspan is entirely genetic. There is nothing you can do to increase it. That said, your skills, work ethic, determination, speed, and vertical jump are all things you CAN improve on.

If you have a large wingspan, GREAT! You have a huge advantage over your fellow athletes. If you have an average or below average wingspan, don’t despair. Just train to improve your vertical jump and improve other areas of your game.

In conclusion, both span and vertical jump are important in sports. You can’t really do anything about your wingspan, so focus on training to jump higher if you want to get an edge over your competition.

The tendency of most amateur golfers is to slice the ball rather than draw. The two main causes of a cut in golf are: you have an outside-in swing path at impact, or the clubface is open at the time you hit the ball. Some golfers even make both mistakes.

It can be difficult to catch these errors. However, you can easily tell if you have a problem swing simply by examining the flight of the ball. If you notice that your ball usually starts to the left of your target and then cuts off before reaching the target line, then it’s most likely swinging in an outside-in direction. Now, if your ball starts on the target but cuts anywhere halfway, then your clubface could be open at impact.

You’re most likely hitting a slice because you have an outside-in swing path. This means that their shoulders are too aligned to the left of the target. This problem is quite easy to fix. All you have to do is open your shoulders every time you address the ball. If possible, have someone stand behind you during the address and ask them to check where your shoulders are pointing. With your shoulders aligned correctly, your club has no choice but to follow the direction of your shoulders.

On the other hand, if you tend to hit the ball with the open clubface, check the position of your clubhead when tackling the ball. Go the extra mile to square your clubface every time you hit the ball. Doing this alone can be a quick fix to your slicing problem.

If you’re still slicing consistently even if you’ve diligently checked to see if your shoulders and clubface are square at address, then you could be unintentionally opening the clubface during your downswing. For an easy fix, try to focus on turning the club to the right at impact. You should feel the clubhead rotate through the ball so it begins to hook left. Practice this drill during your sessions on the driving range before you arrive on the course.

If you keep cutting even after you’ve regularly practiced these exercises, you may have an exaggerated swing path that’s harder to fix. If you’ve been playing golf for years, you may have developed this nasty swing defect that you should seriously consider correcting.

The best way to correct this type of cutting swing habit is to overdo a hook. Start preparing to swing from the inside out. Hit the shooting range and flatten your swing until you’re consistently hitting vicious hooks. You really have to exaggerate this move. Flatten your swing to a point where you feel like you’re swinging the club under your right shoulder, around your back. Since you’ve been so used to an exaggerated backswing, you probably feel like you’re swinging flat, even if you’re not. So you have to exaggerate an inside out swing.

During practice rounds, keep your right elbow tucked firmly into your side throughout your swing. This way, the ball is forced to make a good sling hook. This type of restricted swing may not be able to get the ball as far, but once you get a feel for the correct way to hook the ball, it’s easy to adjust later. A controlled hook shot is excellent for both power and distance. So keep practicing this hook shot until you get ball drag and eliminate that nasty cut.

Remember that the key to finally stopping cutting and fixing whatever swing flaws you’ve been suffering from for quite some time is to do the exact opposite of what you’re used to in an exaggerated way. This is the only way to literally make your body feel the change you are trying to make. You don’t want to just try to get your ball to go straight. Your goal now is to get him to consistently over-hook until he starts to master the golf draw.

There are a number of interrelated performance factors in a company’s operating style/culture (the way things are done) that can significantly influence its organizational effectiveness. Poor execution caused by organizational problems is responsible for more than 50% of corporate failures to fully implement business strategy. Furthermore, at least 60% of company mergers do not achieve the values ​​anticipated before the acquisition, and approximately 75% of all turnaround programs are unsuccessful. Because? Because organizational culture can secretly conspire against these efforts.

Culture clashes mean that what appears on paper to be a sensible turnaround solution often doesn’t work in reality unless potential organizational and unit incompatibilities are addressed during merger integration. Discovering cultural differences too late can be costly, time consuming and very frustrating.

What is the organizational culture?

Many books, which fill many library shelves, provide us with all kinds of statements and descriptions that characterize organizational culture. Organizational psychologists talk about the values, assumptions, behavior patterns, style, climate, atmosphere, norms, and observable attributes that we associate with a particular organization or group. Simply put, it’s “the way things are done here.”

Employees soon learn the ropes about the organization’s culture by experiencing how people behave with each other and about the “rules of the game” through which attention is paid to them. These standards of behavior may or may not be aligned with the company’s stated values ​​or conducive to the achievement of its stated strategy.

Examples ahead. The CEO who is adamant about the need for business creativity and innovation as a strategic imperative, and whose immediate top manager response to any voluntary creative idea is, “It won’t work.”

The corporate hub begging a bank’s front-line staff to engage in a more consultative (and slow) dialogue with customers, only to have the branch manager quietly say “hurry up” behind the line of customers. FMCG leadership extolling the end of bureaucracy, fostering operational agility and efficiency while demanding the 27 monthly reports, 50% of which no one reads.

What kind of culture is better?

These may all be examples of potential misalignment between organizational behaviors and the view from the top, but they illustrate the reality for many employees at UK Plc.

What these examples don’t really tell us, and what many organizational culture diagnostics fail to discover, is what is the “right” culture to have. Even the grandfather of organizational culture gurus, Dr. Roger Harrison, could not overcome the strengths and limitations of his model of four organizational cultures: Power, Role, Achievement, and Support. Organizations have still been left trying to figure out which type is best for them.

Ultimately, the reason organizational cultures secretly conspire against what a company is trying to achieve is because, by their very nature, they are so hard to pin down. Virtually intangible, organizational culture has been notoriously difficult to describe in terms of how it operates and its concrete impact on organizational performance, even despite the plethora of stories and examples.

Fortunately for us, the 1980s and 1990s saw an advent in corporate UK of organizational culture change initiatives with a strong emphasis on perceiving them as the key mechanism for organizational effectiveness and performance. Focus was given to answer questions including: What kind of culture do we need? What is the relationship between culture and performance?

What needs to change to change the culture? Recent writers, including Collins & Porras, Hesketh, and Kotter, have found positive relationships, in terms of process, between organizational culture and organizational performance. Models like the European Foundation for Quality Management’s Business Excellence Model also provide some hooks for understanding and measuring the impact of ‘the way we do things here’.

With these frameworks for measuring and monitoring how the way things are done influences an organization’s performance outcomes, we can begin to develop an answer not just to how “the way things are done here” helps or hinders our organizational strategy, but also allows a definition of the type of culture that is needed to achieve the strategic objectives.

So how does organizational culture help or hinder?

The body of research in this field of organizational performance appears to have certain themes in common. There are two discrete and independent scales or dimensions of organizational culture that work together to help describe a number of blended organizational characteristics.

The first of these two dimensions provides a picture of whether an organization tends to be more oriented toward tasks, processes, and quantitative goals than toward people, relationships, and qualitative goals. The second dimension describes an orientation toward collaboration, slower deadlines, and considered responses, or more toward competition, faster deadlines, and proactivity.

Instead of providing strict organizational culture labels, they offer typical behavior patterns based on their combination. The research also identifies a number of internal performance factors directly related to, and influencing, business performance and other outcomes. What all the research points to is that there are a number of highly discernible and interrelated organizational performance factors in a company’s operating style/culture (the way things are done) that can significantly influence its organizational effectiveness.

These factors, processes, ways of working and behaviors, clearly influence the psychological contract between the company and the employee and, ultimately, their performance in the market. They include the extent to which the strategy is clearly communicated and understood and aligns with the values ​​of the organization; the extent to which objectives are clear at the individual and team levels and have an explicit fit with each other and with the overall business objectives of the organization.

They include the extent to which leaders and managers operate in a manner consistent with the organization’s stated vision and values, providing psychological reward and recognition over and above financial aspects, and generating employee participation and cooperation throughout the company. They also include the extent to which the company is generally structured and organized to facilitate decision making, autonomy and control dispersed at the appropriate levels of the organization and free of layers and bureaucracy.

What research has shown is a correlated relationship between these organizational factors and levels of employee satisfaction and morale; the levels of willingness and ability to successfully initiate and manage change; the extent to which employees feel personal and responsible for customer service and business performance; the effectiveness of internal communications, cross-functional collaboration, and the ultimate effectiveness of organizational performance.

The perennial ‘problem’ with organizational culture has always been the difficulty of defining it in such a way that something tangible can be done to improve or change it. With these performance drivers, it’s much easier to identify exactly what’s operating in the organization’s style that influences the results you see. With a regression analysis of the correlation and relationship between these behavioral norms and the resulting effectiveness of organizations, it is possible to address root causes rather than symptoms.

These performance factors in an organization’s style or culture are so powerful that they can make all the difference in the successful delivery of business strategy and execution of business plans. They represent the glue that creates engaged and highly engaged workplaces. And when it works like the highly-oiled pistons of a high-performance engine, organizational culture can transform companies, as Collins describes, “From good to great.”

When the word ceramic is mentioned, most people would easily associate this material with pottery and porcelain. Today ceramic can be found in many advanced applications, not just as water vessels.

Advanced engineering ceramics are used in industries such as automotive. Ceramic is able to withstand extreme temperatures and abrasive conditions. These ceramics are coated onto metal surfaces to further enhance the physical properties of the part in use. For example, engine pistons are lined with ceramic materials to increase resistance to wear.

With more powerful motors, the friction generated could easily destroy any other material, for example metal. Disc brakes made of ceramic materials are currently used, replacing traditional braking systems that would easily wear out in a short period of time.

In the aerospace industry, ceramic materials are obvious choices as coatings for turbine blades. These turbine blades spin at very high speeds to produce enough thrust to propel an entire aircraft. Without a ceramic coating, these blades have to be replaced frequently, which is not very cost effective.

Piezoceramics are a type of ceramic material that could produce electrical potential when voltages are applied. These ceramics can be used as sensors that can pick up applied force or pressure. Since World War I, these ceramics have been used to produce sonars, which are underwater radars.

With the advancement in the field of engineering, the common materials that surround us can be harnessed in the most sophisticated devices that we would operate.

The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), together with New York-based Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., has brought Model United Nations to schools in Tampa. Originally only four high schools participated and only as an extracurricular activity. Now, more than 50 teachers teach the Global Classrooms curriculum to students in more than 120 classrooms in 35 Tampa schools. The program is supported by Tampa School District Social Studies Supervisors Dennis Holt and Martha Ford, as well as administrators from Tampa Schools, the University of South Florida, and the University of Tampa.

The Global Classrooms Model United Nations program was developed by UNA to enhance students’ understanding of international issues. His hope is to develop strong leadership and critical thinking skills in our youth, necessary to build a globally informed workforce of the future. To that end, a special Model United Nations teacher training program was recently developed that includes world trade, finance and development.

Global Classrooms deals with critical global issues such as the human rights of refugees, the prevention of nuclear terrorism, the global economy, the post-conflict transition and the reform of the UN Security Council – the same topics that world diplomats deal with daily in The United Nations. It is an excellent educational opportunity for students in Tampa schools.

Tampa schools increased their participation in the Model UN program after the April 2006 conference, held at the Tampa Convention Center. More than 500 high schools and 600 middle schools participated in the Global Classrooms conference.

Ambassador William H. Luers, President of UNA-USA, addressed students in schools in Tampa and other areas within the public schools of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Luers pointed out that today’s children must learn about the world in order to be prepared for tomorrow. The younger the child, the more open-minded he will be.

Another speaker was Shaun King, former quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, current player for the Detroit Lions, and a favorite of students in Tampa schools. Like Luers, King wants to see youngsters use whatever talent they have. He believes that he really does make a difference, especially for children from single-parent and/or disadvantaged families.

UNA-USA is a nonprofit organization that develops innovative programs to engage Americans, especially children, on issues of global concern. Promotes educational and humanitarian campaigns, as well as policy and advocacy programs. UNA’s mission is to enable people to have a global impact at the local level.

The Model UN program would not be possible without the support of companies. Merrill Lynch has donated more than $37 million in 2005 to charity, with educational organizations receiving more than half. They are responsible for bringing the April Model UN conference to Tampa and for the cost of implementing the program in Tampa schools.

Together, UNA and Merrill Lynch hope to bring the Model UN experience to urban public schools across the country, as well as to a diverse range of schools around the world.

It is a fact that the US is losing its global economic edge by falling far behind other countries in preparing its youth for the global challenges of tomorrow. With programs like No Child Left Behind that focus only on reading and math skills, America’s kids are missing out on the world and its problems. Bringing the Model UN program to students in areas like Tampa schools is an essential step. Hopefully more Tampa schools will participate in the future.

The past two seasons have been pretty much the same for these Marlins. 83 wins and around -16 units in both seasons.

The Marlins have shown some success against left-handed pitching compared to right-handed pitching. Vegas is correctly calling the Marlins’ odds against left-handed shooters, but he’s overestimating them by an average of 14 points against right-handed shooters. When he looks to bet on these Marlins, he wants them against lefties.

As a road favorite against left-handed pitching, these Marlins have gone 22-10 +9 units over the past 3 seasons. This isn’t a guarantee that the Marlins will have similar success in the 2006 season, but it’s definitely a trend we’ll be monitoring.

We put a lot of emphasis when we bet on baseball to bet on teams that are gaining momentum. The Marlins have been an exception the past two seasons. If you lose, it’s -11 units, while if you win, it’s -24 units in roughly the same number of games.

In the 2006 season, we’ll look to get the Marlins in good spots against left-handed pitching. Also if we find them motivated by a loss. For example, the Marlins are 22-12 +10 points from a loss in which they allowed double-digit runs.