Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 91

Assignment - Essay Example The entire history of the horses was contained in the international museum of the horse in the park where visitors get the opportunity to learn about horse history (Clarke, 2013). Apart from the world horse history, I also liked the parks sculptures of horses starting with the life-size Man O War statue that captures the attention of any visitor at the entrance of the park. Also other statues include that of Bret Hanover and the United States 1973 winner of the Triple Crown Secretariat (Clarke, 2013). While at the Kentucky Horse Farm I experienced a guided 40 minutes of horseback trail riding as a group activity and dressing in the authentic riders costume for the event. The viewing the parks sceneries from the back of a horse through the trails and bridle paths was such an exciting experience of a life time. I was enchanted as the trail took us to the immense serene view of the blue plains of Kentucky through the beautiful countryside of the park. In addition to horseback riding I got to experience a ride in the horse drawn tours and carriages through the streets of the Kentucky Horse Park just like in the ancient days in history. At the Alltech indoor arena I attended the daily equine horse presentations that were so spectacular. The event showcased the different breeds of horses in the park doing their awesome presentations to the anticipating crowd of viewers that were packed to capacity at the arena. The Kentucky Horse Park fosters the regional and community identity of the people of Lexington a town commonly referred to as the Horse Capital of the World by providing visitors with a spectacular display of man and horse relationship (Clarke,2013). The park cherishes horses that are the Lexingtons community identity together with its horse racing culture at the Keeneland Race Course. The park also keeps the history of horses in order to keep the

ICT and society portfolio section Essay Example for Free

ICT and society portfolio section Essay Microsoft word Microsoft Word is a word processor program from Microsoft. It was originally written by Richard Brodie for IBM PC computers running DOS in 1983. Later versions were created for the Apple Macintosh (1984), SCO UNIN, and Microsoft Windows (1989). It became part of the Microsoft Office. Microsoft word is a software package which can be used for school work, course work, home work or personal work such as making posters or fliers. So it is extremely useful, especially if you have untidy handwriting because Microsoft word can improve your presentation not only by improving your writing but also can improve presentation by adding pictures, this can be done using a feature called clipart which allows me too insert pictures to my work. Another good point about this is that it has a feature called spell check, which is handy if you are bad at spelling because if you spelt a word wrong then it will either automatically correct it or show you a list of words to help you. The only bad point about spell check is that it doesnt recognise every word and that sometimes it uses the American spelling of words. Other god points include the fact that if you are doing something such as an essay or coursework which requires a lot of writing because you can easily change your words if you make a mistake whereas if you were writing it out by hand then you would have to rewrite everything from the beginning. Microsoft Excel Excel 2003 enables you to turn data into information with powerful tools to analyze, communicate, and share results. Excel 2003 can help you work better in teams, and help protect and control access to your work. In addition, you can work with industry-standard Extensible Mark-up Language (NML) data to make it easier to connect to business processes. Just like Microsoft word, excel is a software package which can be used for school work, course work, home work or personal work. Mostly excel is used in business in order to keep track of financial status and to record data required to run a business. The good points about Microsoft excel is that you can use features such as auto sum which allows you to quickly and easily count up numbers, another feature is the graph function which allows you to create graphs easily, the graphs make the figures easier to understand and improves presentation. Microsoft access Microsoft Access is a relational database management system from Microsoft, packaged with Microsoft Office Professional. Microsoft Access can use data stored in Access/Jet, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or any ODBC-compliant data container. Skilled software developers and data architects use it to develop powerful, complen application software. Relatively unskilled programmers and non-programmer power users can use it to build simple applications without having to deal with features they dont understand. Microsoft Access was also the name of a communications program from Microsoft, meant to compete with ProComm and other programs. This Microsoft Access proved a failure and was dropped. Years later Microsoft reused the name for its database software. Microsoft access is normally used in areas such as hospitals in order to keep a record of all the patients. Another area where databases are used is in buissness in order to keep track of financial staus and contacts. Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft publisher Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application from Microsoft. This program helps you easily create, customize, and publish materials such as newsletters, brochures, flyers, catalogs, and Web sites. It is very neat and tidy and improves presentation. People who work in the advertising industry might find publisher very useful because it is very quick and easy to use.

Indelible Marks :: Personal Narrative Writing

Indelible Marks There was a small fish house, thick with the paint of a thousand whitewashes, sinking into the soft earth near the lake. The roof sagged a bit after a lifetime of carrying the crystalline blanket of Minnesota winter. Inside was a wooden counter-top, its surface cold and glossy after witnessing the murder of a million fish. Their life and blood was ingrained in the counter-top, preserving forever the memory of each fish. Perch, Bass, Bluegill, even Northern Pike had come to know death in this small room. Their colors could be seen reflecting in the wood of that counter-top. At night, the small light would cause the wet counter-top to shine like scales flashing against the sun. It was a place of beauty, and a place of horror. I was young, perhaps six or seven when my dad taught me to clean our catch in the small fish house. We never knew what we would catch, but we persistently threw in our lines anyway hoping to hook a keeper. I loved fishing. It was the battle with the fish that intrigued me. Each cast reeled in a new experience. I went in blind with only a hope that what I'd catch would be something I wanted. During the fight with a fish, I never knew if it were a prize Northern or a hefty Bullhead. A big Northern meant dinner, but a fat Bullhead just meant another smelly carcass on the beach for the ants and raccoons to take care of. Dad taught us to fish for Northerns. We were camping that trip, just my brothers, Dad and I. Dad got one of those great big green surplus army tents that you could park a motor home inside. He hung a Coleman lantern in the middle, and at night we would talk and play games. Every night Dad would check me for ticks, little black and red bugs that would embed themselves into your skin and drink your blood. Dad said that if you let a tick get under your skin, it will just sit there and eat away at you. We all loved the lake, especially my second oldest brother Garrett. He could fish with the best of them, and would keep everything he caught. For him, nothing was too big or too small to take to the fish house and add another stain to the counter.

Africans Living With Hiv Health And Social Care Essay

IntroductionIn January 2000 the United Nations Security Council held an historic meeting ; for the first clip the Council declaring that HIV/AIDS, is wellness issues of security menace ( Elbe, 2002 )[ 1 ]. In â€Å" 2006, the US National Security Strategy declared that â€Å" the hazards to societal order are so great that traditional public wellness attacks may be unequal, asking new schemes and responses ‘ ( Collins. 2007, pp: 422 )[ 2 ]. the shifting in the security conceptualisation to including the disease threats as one of grounds which concern the homo, national and international security. In 2009, HIV/AIDS killed 1.8 million people, 1.3 million of whom were populating in sub-Saharan Africa. Major advancement has been made in presenting life-saving intervention for people populating with HIV/AIDS, but 15 million people are in demand of intervention globally, 10.6 million of whom are populating in Africa ( Alexandra E. Kendall, 2011, p:5 )[ 3 ]. The entire figure of Africans populating with HIV or AIDS is now 25.3 million. In 8 African states, at least 15 % of grownups are infected. In these states, AIDS will claim the lives of around a 3rd of today ‘s 15-year-olds in Africa[ 4 ]. South Africa besides has one of the highest Numberss of kids under 15 life with HIV/AIDS in the universe ; estimations range from 180,000 to 280,000[ 5 ]. It is estimated that over 15 million kids worldwide have been orphaned by AIDS, with 13 million of these populating in sub-Saharan Africa. In the worst-affected states, such as Zambia and Botswana, it is estimated that 20 % of kids under 17 are orphans. ( Sophie Lister, 2010 )[ 6 ]. This essay examine the drive factors and the impact of the HIVAIDS on international surveies or security surveies to be exact. I would wish to denote in my study to Africa as instance survey to analyze how this deadly disease affected the life aspects in this part. In the first portion, I will discourse how the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, where I will touch the major causes of infection and transmittal, and besides I will mention to the driving factors of and aid to the growing and spread of HIV / AIDS in Africa, and in the 2nd portion I will mention to the Threats and Effects of AIDS on Africa continent, Where I will reexamine the impact of AIDS on National Armed Forces, Political Stability Of State, consequence HIV/AIDS on Administrative corruptness And besides I will discourse the function of AIDS in impairment of African IdentitiesWhy Spread of HIV / AIDS in Africa Continent? And How?Between 1999 and 2000 more people died of AIDS in Africa than in all the wars on the continent, as mentioned by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan[ 7 ]. The decease toll is expected to hold a terrible impact on many economic systems in the part. In some states, it is already being felt. Life anticipations in some states is already diminishing quickly, while mortality rates are increasing. â€Å" Second millenary began with 24 million Africans infected with the virus. Each twenty-four hours, 6,000 Africans die from AIDS. Each twenty-four hours, an extra 11,000 are infected † ( Lester R. Brown, HIV Epidemic Restructuring Africa ‘s Population )[ 8 ].The Main Causes who lead to familial HIV/AIDSThere are merely three important paths of transmittal for HIV: From infected sexual fluids From infected blood From infected female parent to pamper during gestation and bringing ( if a pregnant adult female is HIV-positive, the babe has a 1 in 3 opportunity of being infected )[ 9 ]. Unprotected sexual intercourse ( either vaginal or anal ) with person who has HIV. Sexual contact. This is by far the most common manner that HIV spreads. HIV is present in the seeds of an septic adult male and in the vaginal fluids of an septic adult female. When two people have sex and exchange organic structure fluids, HIV may distribute from one spouse to the other. Anal sex is riskier than vaginal sex because the anal tissue is more prone to rupturing during sex than the vaginal tissue. HIV is besides transmitted through unwritten sex, though it is much less common. However, if you contract HIV through unwritten sex, transmittal is 100 % for you[ 10 ]. Sharing acerate leafs or panpipes with person who is HIV septic. Lab surveies show that infective HIV can last in used panpipes for a month or more. That ‘s why people who inject drugs should ne'er recycle or portion panpipes, H2O, or drug readying equipment. This includes acerate leafs or panpipes used to shoot illegal drugs such as diacetylmorphine, every bit good as steroids. Other types of acerate leafs, such as those used for organic structure piercing and tattoos, can besides transport HIV[ 11 ]. There are an estimated 250,000 new infections per twelvemonth as a consequence of the reuse of acerate leafs and panpipes[ 12 ], and in Africa 250 to 500 people are freshly infected with HIV each twenty-four hours as a consequence of insecure blood transfusions[ 13 ].Testing of blood is indispensable but remains absent in many low and middle-income states[ 14 ]. Infection during gestation, childbearing, or breast-feeding ( mother-to-infant transmittal ) . Any adult female who is pregnant or sing going pregnant and thinks she may hold been exposed to HIV-even if the exposure occurred old ages ago-should seek testing and guidance. Those who test positive can acquire drugs to forestall HIV from being passed on to a foetus or baby, and they are counseled non to breast-feed[ 15 ].Driving Factors for Spread HIV/AIDS in Africa:Impact Of Poverty On AIDS In AfricaAlthough there are legion factors that lead to the distributing HIV/AIDS in Africa continent, it is mostly recognized as a disease of poorness, hitting hardest where people are marginalized and enduring economic adversity. The intensifying poorness across the continent has created fertile land for the spread of the HIV/AIDS and infective diseases. Worsening living conditions and decreased entree to basic wellness services have led to distribute of AIDS/HIV[ 16 ]. Lack of money is an obvious challenge, it can drive many immature adult females and misss into forms of sex work in order to guarantee their support or that of their household, or else to obtain safe transition, nutrient, shelter or other resources. Emergencies can besides take to new forms of sex work, for case, in Mozambique the inflow of human-centered workers and transporters, such as truck drivers, can do sex workers to travel to the country. In northern Kenya, for case, drouth has led to a lessening in clients for sex workers, and the consequence is that sex workers are less able to defy their clients ‘ refusal to have on rubbers[ 17 ].Human Demographics and BehaviorPopulation growing, peculiarly in the Africa, will go on to ease the transportation of AIDS pandemic among people and parts. Frequent and frequently sudden population motions within and across boundary lines caused by cultural struggle, civil war, and dearth have been blamed for the spread diseases quickly in affected countries, peculiarly among the refugees. Refugee cantonments, found chiefly in Sub-Saharan Africa, have been identified to distribute of catching disease, such as HIV/AIDS. Well over 120 million people lived outside the state of their birth in 1998, and 1000000s more will emigrate yearly, increasing the spread of diseases globally. Behavioral forms, such as unprotected sex with multiple spouses and endovenous drug usage, will stay cardinal factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS[ 18 ].Medical IntuitionAs a consequence of several high profile incidents affecting Western medical practicians[ 19 ]every bit good as historically hapless intervention by outside powers, there are high degrees of medical intuition throughout Africa. This misgiving for modern medical specialty is frequently linked to theories of a â€Å" Western Plot †[ 20 ]of mass sterilisation or population decrease. There is grounds that such rumours may hold a important impact on the usage of medical services[ 21 ].Menaces and Effectss of AIDS:AIDS Has Negatively Affected On National Armed ForcesIn footings of the military deductions lifting from pandemic of HIV/AIDS, a convincing statement was proposed that the epidemic has negatively affected national armed forces[ 22 ]. ( Elbe,2002 ) notes that HIV rates among African armed forcess are consistently higher than the rates of the populations of the continent at big. He argues that soldiers are normally recruited from a pool of sexually active age ; their likeliness to undergo unprotected sexual dealingss as a manner to cut down their anxiousness is high. Furthermore, as soldiers trained for combat, they are more likely to ‘valorize violent and hazardous behavior ‘ in a military environment that is known to pull sex workers[ 23 ]. These facets are thought to be playing a major function in exposing the armed forces to sexually familial viruses such as HIV. It is relevant to foreground the links between AIDS in the military and the hazards for security. It is noted that AIDS is the primary cause of decease in the armed forces[ 24 ]. The epidemic can arouse, in already deteriorated ground forcess, ‘a unsafe weakening of military capablenesss ‘ by doing the loss, of non merely regular soldiers but more significantly, the decease of specialised forces and officers, â€Å" Estimates of HIV infection rates among regional ground forcess are every bit high as 50 % in Congo and Angola, 66 % in Uganda, 75 % in Malawi, and 80 % in Zimbabwe. It is the figure one cause of deceases in many ground forcess, including those like Congo ‘s which have been at war often over the last decennary 20th, It permeates the South African military to the extent that soldiers ( every bit good as constabulary ) are prohibited from giving blood † . Additionally, it was found that a lessening in preparedness and morale could hold a negative impact on the ground forces abilities to execute their responsibilities, h ence undermining deployment effectivity. From a realist ( province ) position, it is possible to reason that this ‘hollowing out ‘ and diminution in efficiency of African armed forcess may be perceived by an enemy as an chance for onslaught, hence doing HIV/AIDS a significant menace to national security.HIV/AIDS Threatens Political Stability Of StateA big portion of the literature on HIV/AIDS is dedicated to the harmful deductions of the epidemic on national armed forcess and its deterioration effects on war, while sometimes excluding the extent to which African administration has been affected. It has been argued that HIV/AIDS may set greater strains on already weakened cardinal province establishments, and its erosion effects are said to lend to possible province failure. The epidemic can sabotage African administration by doing the decease of big Numberss of forces indispensable to running efficient regulating establishments. De Waal underscores that authorities retai ner with strong political experience and professional accomplishments are cardinal to good working province organic structures. However HIV/AIDS has doing major losingss among staff possessing those properties. Furthermore, this loss in human resources would damage the lesson of the staying workers further underselling the efficiency of those national organic structures[ 25 ]. This has been replicated in several sectors, but the important point is that the virus in Africa â€Å" has tended to claim the lives of the most productive members of society, who are non easy replaced † such as instructors, wellness workers and civil retainers[ 26 ]. Second, political discontent refering the handling of the issue by authoritiess may besides originate, endangering the political stableness of the province. As cardinal establishments weaken, the assurance in authorities can diminish, and as McInnes suggests dissatisfaction may emerge from the dependence on foreign assistance[ 27 ]. This state of affairs may supply chances for ‘coups, rebellions and other political and cultural battles to procure control over resources ‘ leting warlords to make full the power vacuity and take control over certain countries[ 28 ]. This demonstrates that HIV/AIDS can lend to province failure in Africa and therefore can be considered as a major menace.HIV/AIDS Stimulates Administrative corruptness among authorities employeesIt was highlighted that corruptness has risen amongst authorities functionaries or civil retainers who are unable to afford HIV interventions for themselves or household members through lawful agencies[ 29 ]. De Waal is of sentiment that HIV/AIDS has negatively impacted population abilities to take part in the political life. He suggests that HIV/AIDS has damaged civil society due to the loss of members in administrations advancing a healthy civil society. Furthermore, because household precedences lie in caring for the sick, it is apprehensible that the population ‘readiness ‘ to take portion in elections has diminished. This combined with the de-institutionalisation of authoritiess through the loss of experient forces can in turn lead to the farther centralization of power in the manus of little opinion elite, which already characterized many African authoritiess ; hence sabotaging the development of democratic procedures at national degree[ 30 ].HIV/AIDS and The Deterioration of African IdentitiesHIV/AIDS can besides be involved in the impairment of individualities among the population of Africa, which can later present menace to African societies. As people infected by the virus are stigmatized, they become more vulnerable[ 31 ]. A more direct mechanism by which the new demographics of AIDS can rise security hazards is through its creative activity of a new pool of orphans, amplifying the kid soldier job. By 2010, over 40 million kids will lose one or both of their parents to AIDS, including 1/3 of all kids in the h ardest hit states. These include 2.7 million in Nigeria, 2.5 million in Ethiopia, and 1.8 million in South Africa. Because, they are HIV positive, their households and communities may reject them, hence losing a sense of belonging. This state of affairs creates chances for warlords to enroll those victims on the land of cultural bitterness for case, therefore fuelling cultural force. A peculiarly vulnerable population group are kids because as celebrated by Singer, ‘this mass of staccato and ill-affected kids is peculiarly at hazard to being exploited as kid soldiers ‘[ 32 ].Decision:To reason, it is indispensable to emphasize that HIV/AIDS can be considered as a major menace to African security for several grounds. It has been found that AIDS has had a weakening consequence upon African ground forcess by doing considerable losingss within the ranks particularly amongst persons with long military experience and cut downing soldiers readiness to deploy efficaciously. In Africa, it is established that the disease is progressively deteriorating the political stableness and constitution o f democracy in many states of the continent by gnawing their institutional base, in bend increasing corruptness and offering chances for rebellions as despair grows within the population. Therefore, the epidemic creates the conditions of instability within provinces favorable for armed groups to transport out onslaughts against the constitution and other enemy cultural groups. The likeliness of this scenario is reinforced by the loss of individuality that groups of population suffer. Those who have lost fond regard will turn to violence for endurance, which strengthens cultural groups and their inclination to prosecute in cultural force.Bibliography & A ; DiariesElbe, S. ( 2002 ) HIV/AIDS and the Changing Landscape of War in Africa.A International Security, A Vol. 27, No. 2. Collins, A ( erectile dysfunction. ) 2007, Contemporary Security Studies, 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press, New York ; Oxford. Alexandra E. Kendall, February 22, 2011, U.S. Response to the Global Threat of HIV/AIDS: Basic Facts. AT THE AFRICAN SUMMIT ON HIV/AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS AND OTHER RELATED INFECTIOUS DISEASES ABUJA, NIGERIA aˆ? 24-27 APRIL 2001. Republic of South Africa, Department of Health, The National HIV and Syphilis Prevalence Survey of South Africa 2007 ; 2008. Sophie Lister, 2010, The Back Story: AIDS Orphans Leader ‘s Guide. Lester R. Brown, 2000. HIV Epidemic Restructuring Africa ‘s Population, World Watch Issue Alert, 31 October 2000 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.globalissues.org/article/90/aids-in-africa HIV Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ( AIDS ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.stdservices.on.net/std/hiv-aids/details.htm entree day of the month = 26/11/2011. Gloria Edini, Introduction to HIV and AIDS: What You Need to Know. hypertext transfer protocol: //gloria.taboca.com/artigos/text2.html entree day of the month = 27/11/2012. Basic Facts About HIV/AIDS. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.amfar.org/abouthiv/article.aspx? id=3352 # How_is_HIV_transmitted? entree day of the month = 26/11/2011. UNICEF ‘Immunization: Injection safety ‘ . WHO ( 2006, 27th June ) ‘Making Safe Blood Available in Africa ‘ . All Africa ( 2009, 30th December ) ‘Africa: HIV Transmission Via Transfusions in Continent Remains High ‘ . Basic Facts About HIV/AIDS, Op. Ann-Louise Colgan, Hazardous to Health: The World Bank and IMF in Africa, Africa Action, April 18, 2002. Samuels, Fiona ( 2009 ) HIV and exigencies: one size does non suit all, London: Overseas Development Institute. DR.A GORDON NATIONALA INTELLIGENCEA COUNCIL Washington, DC 20505, ( article ) .- hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/opinion/31washington.html date=2007-07-31 entree date=2011/11/26. UNICEF â€Å" Battling anti-vaccination rumours: Lessons learned from instance surveies in Africa † .http: //www.path.org/vaccineresources/files/Combatting_Antivac_Rumors_UNICEF.pdf entree date=2011/11/26. Savelsberg PF, Ndonko FT, Schmidt-Ehry B. Sterilizing vaccinums or the political relations of the uterus: Retrospective survey of a rumour in the Cameroon. Medical Anthropology Quarterly. 2000 ; 14:159-179. Clements CJ, Greenough P, Shull D. How vaccine safety can go political – the illustration of infantile paralysis in Nigeria. Current Drug Safety. 2006 ; 1:117-119. Alex De Waal, â€Å" ‘New-Variant ‘ Dearth: How Aids Has Changed the Hunger Equation † , November 20, 2002, available at. De Waal, A. ( 2003 ) How will HIV/AIDS transform African Governance? .A African Affairs, A 102, pp.1-23. McInnes, C. ( 2006 ) HIV/AIDS and security.A International Affairs, A Vol. 82, No. 2, pp. 315-326. Ostergard, R. L. Jr. ( 2002 ) Politics in the hot zone: AIDS and national security in Africa.A Third World Quaterly, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 333-350. Peterson, S. ( 2002/3 ) Epidemic Disease and National Security.A Security Studies, A Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 43-81.

Disneyland Paris Marketing Analysis Essay

Introduction Following the success in America, Walt Disney decided to build a similar entertainment and vacation park in Europe. On April 12, 1992 the park was opened the first time as Euro Disney ® Resort. Nowadays it is known as Disneyland ® Paris, which is located close to Paris in France. It consists of two theme parks (Disneyland ® Park and Walt Disney Studio Park), one entertainment district (Disney Village)1 and 14 hotels owned by Disneyland ® Paris2 The opening of Disneyland ® Paris was debated. People were afraid of being affected by the unhealthy life style and consumption of the Americans. A French journalist wrote, â€Å"I wish with all my heart the rebels would set fire to [Euro] Disneyland† and a French philosopher said, â€Å"It is not America that is invading us. It is we who adore it, who adopt its fashions and above all, its words.† All in all people were against the opening of Disneyland ® Paris.3 How important is Disneyland ® Paris at this moment? How is it using marketing? Who are the customers, Americans and/or Europeans? Is Disneyland ® Paris a competitor in comparison to other amusement parks? Which challenges does it currently face? To find answers these questions, we will analyse Disneyland ® Paris? performance through a SWOT-Analysis, which gives us an idea of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. As we come to a conclusion, we will also give an advice to Disneyland ® Paris on what it can improve in order to perform better. Internal analysis The market Disneyland ® Paris is in a heterogeneous oligopoly. A heterogeneous oligopoly is a market in which there are a few sellers, and a lot of buyers. The sellers are in competition with each other and they are well informed about the actions of other sellers. Therefore, the decisions firms make, mostly are affected by decisions that their competitors make, and the other way around. Disneyland ® Paris is an actor in the market of amusement parks. In almost every European country you can find an amusement park. However, not all of these parks are offering accommodations and dining services, which makes the trip more of an unique and exciting experience. This market is  heterogeneous because, even though amusement parks seem the same, the feeling and experience in each one is completely different. Furthermore, only a few sellers can oversee decisions made by competitors. Next to that, there are many buyers. In 2013 14.9 million people visited Disneyland ® Paris4. Disneyland ® Paris’ position and performance As mentioned before, Disneyland ® Paris welcomed 14,9 million guests last year. This makes it the biggest tourist destination in Europe, especially compared to the Eiffel tower, which only attracts approximately 7 million visitors per year5. In comparison to other amusement parks How many visitors did other amusement parks in Europe welcome in 20136? ‘De Efteling’ (Holland) – 4 million visitors per year ‘Movie Park Germany’ (Germany) – 1.3 million visitors per year ‘Europa Park’ (Germany) – 4.6 million visitors per year ‘Gardaland’ (Italy) – approximately 7 million visitors per year Set side by side to other amusement parks in Europe, Disneyland ® Paris is doing really well on their visitors count. Financial performance Disneyland ® Land has been taking losses in 2011, 2012 and 2013. So with respect to its profit, Disneyland ® Paris is not doing that well at all. Their net loss was admittedly high in 2012, with 100.2 million euros. In 2013, they managed to cutback the loss to 78.2 million euros. See appendix, table 1. Notwithstanding, it is still a considerable amount of money. So how come that Disneyland ® Paris, the biggest amusement park in Europe, is taking a loss? 14,9 million visitors per year seems to be a high amount of visitors, but in the past three years, the number of visitors per year has decreased and the hotel occupancy rate has gone down. Even though the amount of money that visitors spent (per visitor) has slightly gone up, it is not enough to make up for the decrease in visitors. See appendix, table 2. Conclusion Despite the fact that Disneyland ® Paris is the biggest tourist attraction in Europe, and even draws more visitors than the Eiffel Tower, it is not financially healthy. Disneyland ® has again been taking a big loss.  Disneyland ® Paris has to change its strategy to achieve positive numbers and to start making profits. Value What Disneyland ® Paris offers to their guests is not only an amusement park, it is an experience. Disneyland offers two parks, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, with a total of 59 attractions. As stated by http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/: ‘Disneyland Park captures the wonder and fantasy of a classic Disney theme park while the Walt Disney Studios Park features the magic of movie-making.’ To make the Disneyland ® Paris experience complete, it offers several hotels, 63 restaurants, sport facilities, a wellness center, baby-care service, life-size Disney characters and a lot of shows and parades in the classic park as well as in the studios park. The value that Disneyland ® Paris offers is not just visit an amusement park with only fun rides, but an actual chance meet the characters from the Disney movies. Visitors can hug and take a picture with their favorite movie characters. Besides Disneyland  ® Paris made sure that its visitors stay in the Disney-feeling, even when having diner for example. Another part of the value that Disneyland ® Paris offers is that it combines the Walt Disney Studios Park with the classic park. For example ‘De Efteling’ (Holland) does not have a movie-oriented park, and ‘Movie Park Germany’ (Germany) does not have a classic park, but only the movie segment. The fact is that the customer does not need to choose between those two options at Disneyland ® Paris, but can have both at Disneyland ® Paris. A lot of other amusement parks in France or Europe also have astonishing attractions, but Disneyland ® Paris offers more than that. Disneyland ® Paris’ marketing mix As mentioned before, Disneyland ® Paris has a lot to offer. It serves their customers an amazing experience. Due to all this, the park had 14,9 million visitors last year. However, just like any other company, they used different tools to be this successful. Product Disneyland ® Paris offers several products and not just the amusement parks that people always seem to think about. Next to the two parks, they also own seven hotels owned by itself and seven partner hotels, including a free bus  connection from and to the park. Most of the hotels have their own special features, for example tennis courts, swimming pools, fitness centers, and pony ride. Furthermore, the resort includes Disney Village, which is a street where many shops, bars, restaurants, and attractions are located. Next to all this, the resort also includes a golf complex. The target segments of Disneyland are mainly families with children. When customers come to Disneyland ® Paris they expect to have a good time, not only for the children, but also for the parents. They might even want to feel as children themselves again. Disneyland ® Paris tries to give its visitors this experience using their parks, hotels and all the other features. Apart from feeling like a child again, some parents are looking for some relaxation and sports, which can be found at Disneyland ® Paris as well. All these products are part of the well-known brand Disney, even the hotels. This big mixture of products sets Disneyland ® Paris apart from other attraction parks. Even though other parks may have a brand and shops, most of them do not include a hotel. Even less parks accommodate a golf complex! These advantages make Disneyland ® Paris to what it is: a very attractive get-away. Strengths: Disneyland ® Paris offers a lot of different products. This makes it interesting for many target groups. It is not only for families with children, but can also be for groups of friends. Weaknesses: All the Disney items may become a bit too overwhelming. Price When the decision to visit Disneyland ® Paris is made, tickets need to be bought first. Tickets are sold on the website of Disneyland ® or throughout a travelling agency. The prices for tickets can be found in the appendix, table 2. As seen in the table, the park gives some discounts. For example, instead of paying for three day, one day is given for free. When the intention is to stay for more than one day, the opportunity to book a hotel is available. The tickets are already included in the price of the room. The price of the hotel for one night and one adult range from â‚ ¬111.00 to â‚ ¬663.00. Children from the age of 3 till 11 can spend the night in the hotels for free. However, these prices are not fixed but can fluctuate according to the needs and wants of customers. The prices in restaurants differ. They range from less than â‚ ¬15.- to over â‚ ¬25.-. This gives a wide range for customers and includes something for every target segment, rich or  poor. Having an inexpensive dinner might sounds great to most parents, since often the food in (other) attraction parks is very expensive. Strengths: The low prices of some of the restaurants can be considered as a strength. Usually the food in attraction parks is very expensive. Also, parents often believe that the trip itself already cost much money, so having some inexpensive restaurants gives Disneyland an advantage. Weaknesses: The entrance price of the park is very high, much higher than those of other parks, which are usually around â‚ ¬30.-. Furthermore, the stay in hotels might be too expensive for some customers. Promotion Disneyland uses several tools in promotion, such as the television, radio, advertisements and face-to-face communication. It sends out advertisement on the television on children and family senders. It also play ads on the radio, using the voice of Mickey Mouse. By reaching out to mostly children, it achieves its success. Next to these forms of promotion, it also posts advertisements for example in newspapers and children magazines. Also, there is the face-to-face communication. Visitors inform friends and family about their experience in Disneyland ® Paris, making the listener start thinking about Disneyland ® Paris positively or even negatively. Finally, there is a form of promotion that is not in the hands of Disneyland ® Paris itself, namely the media. Reporters and journalists write about Disneyland. These articles can be positive, but can also be negative. Unfortunately for Disneyland, it is very hard to prevent negative news. The only thing that Disneyland ® Paris can do is to show the journalists are wrong with their writings after their publications. Strengths: Focussing commercials on children is a smart move. Children can be very powerful towards their parents’ spending. Which parent does not want to see his or her child happy? Disneyland ® Paris is a fun experience and makes families bond. Weaknesses: Just like any other company, Disneyland can come across some negative media. Not only by journalists, but also people that have been in the park and have had a negative experience. All of them can start spreading the word about their experience. For example, in an article in The Independent, from May 6th 2010, which explains how employers of Disneyland ® Paris have had accidents or committed suicide, due to some issues with the management of Euro Disney. 7 Place Disneyland ® Paris is located very near to Paris, 32 kilometres to the east. This makes it a central point in Europe. It is well accessible by car, since the park is located near a high way. Across from the entrance of the two parks lies a train station, Marne la Vallee-Chessy. This train station has a direct high speed train service to cities like Bordeaux, Marseilles, Nice, Lyon and even Brussels. Also, the Eurostar services a direct line from London to this station. Another easy way to get to the park is to go buy bus, since there is a direct bus service provided from two international French airports, Charles De Gaulle International Airport and Orly Airport. Strengths: Disneyland ® Paris is easily accessible, which gives them a great advantage. Weaknesses: Disneyland ® Paris is located in a place where the weather is very unpredictable. You are never a 100% certain whether the weather will be good or whether it will rain all day. Also the surrounding villages might experience some troubles with Disneyland and its facilities. For example the train passing by only 200 meters from a city like Chessy. This can cause nuisance for the people living there. External Analysis An external analysis concentrates on all external variables that influence a company’s performance. They determine a company’s success, its chances and risks. Therefore it is a very important task for marketers to know the environment in case to adapt to trends. Marketers need to know and understand them in case to adjust their strategies. The external analysis is split up into two parts, which are called microenvironment and macroenvironment. 8 Micro-Environment The microenvironment is about â€Å"[†¦] the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers [†¦]† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 66). In order to handle the customers, a company?s task is to build up a good relationship with those actors, that consist of other companies, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, competitors, publics and its customers. Customers As mentioned above a company has to create value for its customers. In order  to do so, Disneyland ® Paris has to know its customers’ needs and wants. First of all Disneyland ® Paris has to divide the market into smaller segments. Afterwards it has to decide which groups to target. There are many variables to use to split up a market into smaller groups and to decide whether to enter or not. In the following consumer analysis we look at the main variables like geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural. 1 Disneyland ® Paris? consists of a consumer market, which means Disneyland ® Paris is targeting individuals and households buying services and goods. The consumer market is a combination of a local and international market. Even Disneyland ® Paris is located in France, using the geographic segmentation, which divides a market into different nations, states, regions, countries, cities or even neighbourhoods, its main target group is Europe. As we can see in table 4 (see apendix), Disneyland ® Paris? target market consists of seven major groups and the rest of the world. T he table describes the major groups with the share in percentages from 2011 to 2013. The groups are France (51%), United Kingdom (14%), Spain (8%), Belgium (6%), Netherlands (6%), Italy (3%), Germany (3%) and the rest of the world (9%). With certainty we can conclude these are the biggest groups, not only through the table, but also through the official website which is presented in many languages. 9 A company also needs to make a decision whether for example which age, gender, family size, income they want to reach. These variables belong to the demographic segmentation. The book â€Å"Principles of Marketing by Kotler and Armstrong†¦p 191† says: â€Å"Demographic factors are the most popular bases for segmenting customer groups. One reason is that consumer needs, wants, and usage rates often vary closely with demographic variables.† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 191) Transferring this strategy to Disneyland ® Paris? customers, we can easily see its target groups w ithin the geographical segmentation. Disneyland ® Paris is mainly focusing on families with children within the age of 3 to 15 years10, which remains to be a problem as analysed later on. Secondary it also provides services and attractions to adolescents and older generations. As we have analysed in the first part of the paper, Disneyland ® Paris offers services and attractions for people in each life-cycle stage.11 As a result we can see Disneyland ® Paris is not mainly focusing on children, it is primarily focusing on family activities as a whole. The family size does not play a big role, because  also singles, classes or just big groups are welcome to visit the world of Disneyland ® Paris. Other variables are psychographic and behavioural. Disneyland ® Paris is targeting consumers who are looking for adventurous and unforgettable holidays, which belongs in the behavioural segmentation. Disneyland ® Paris requires visitors who are enthusiastic, active and dreamer. To achieve holidays like that people has to pay a high amount of money, therefore Disneyland ® Paris is targeting the working class with a higher income. All in all Disneyland ® Paris typical customers are not only young families with their children, also adolescents and groups, all from Europe. Because of the fact Disneyland ® Paris is quite expensive it is focusing on families with higher income, who want to experience a unique and adventurous entertainment. Competitors A company in the same business or in a similar business is called a competitor. In order to be successful, a company has to grant higher value than its competitors do. The same applies for Disneyland ® Paris. What are its competitors and how strong are they? In Disneyland ® Paris? case its competitors are not only located in France, also in Europe (compare table 5). The amusement park business is growing at a steady rate. Still Disneyland ® Paris is the market leader in this business. To evaluate its competitors in this market, it is necessary to take a more detailed look at them. One way is to look at the customers the amusement parks are targeting. Those parks who have the same target groups are closer competitors for Disneyland ® Paris. As mentioned above, Disneyland ® Paris? target groups are families with children and adolescents, who want to make a unique experience in connection with a longer holiday stay in Disneyland ® Paris. The majority of amusement parks are listed in table 3, which are focusing on customers who just want to stay for a day. Therefore Disneyland ® Paris and the other parks in comparison have mostly different target groups and goals. Another factor are the yearly guests. The main competitors are ?De Efteling? in the Netherlands with 4.2 million visitors and ?Europa Park? with 4.6 million visitors in Germany. Even if Disneyland ® Paris has twice as much guests (16 million) (see table 5), those theme parks have the same strategy in creating an overall theme-park atmosphere while targeting the same groups (families with their children and adolescents). Nonetheless, Disneyland ® Paris has  the highest market share and is definitely the market leader in this business. Its overall appearance with the whole Disney World makes the park unique in comparison to ?De Efteling? and ?Europa Park?. But it is very important we do not leave out of account the fact, Disneyland ® Paris is struggling from its debts and losses, as mentioned before. While Disneyland ® Paris is recording losses, the other two parks are recording profits and performing better financially.12 Disneyland ® Paris needs to watch out in order to stay the market leader. Competitive Strategies Disneyland ® Paris is using an effective brand strategy. These results in having a strong image of the Disneyworld in the customers? minds and reaching a higher value people put on Disneyland ® Paris. Besides, there are four basic competitive strategies used by marketers. The first one is called overall cost leadership, which tries to achieve the highest market share while having the lowest costs as possible. Another one is focusing on creating a high differentiation within the companys? product line (differentiation). Some companies also choose to serve just a few market segments instead of reaching the whole market. The fourth strategy is called middle-of-the-road which combines the strategies. Company performances are showing they are performing worse with it.13 While following one of these strategies – overall cost leadership, differentiation, focus or middle-of-the-road- companies want to give a superior value through value disciplines. Introducing all of them, operat ional excellence concentrates on reducing â€Å"[†¦] costs and creat[ing] a lean and efficient value-delivery system.† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 537) Another strategy is to concentrate on the needs and wants of the target groups (customer intimacy), while the last discipline called product leadership is always offering new and better products to their customers. Disneyland ® Paris? strategy is to combine the differentiation strategy with the customer intimacy strategy. Through the analysis in part one, where we have seen the financial debts of Disneyland ® Paris, it is definitely not pursuing the overall cost leadership strategy. Instead Disneyland ® Paris is focusing to expand its park while creating new products and services for all stages of the age life circle. This implies for the differentiation strategy. Doing this, Disneyland ® Paris has to know  its customers’ needs and wants very well, which results in customer intimacy. Reaching this goal Disneyland ® Paris is spending a high amount in research to develop modern products and services.14 It is marketing its amusement mark through digital media and internet to reach the adolescents and teens. Disneyland ® Paris owns the position as the product leader in its business, because it is always innovating and creating new products to keep its park attractive. It is steadily offering leading-edge products and services, not only to reach new customers also to convince customers to visit Disneyland ® Paris again. Macroenvironment In comparison to the micro-environmental analysis the macro-environmental analysis is not about the close actors around the company, it is about the larger societal forces as demographic, economics, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces, that effect the microenvironment. The trends of the factors listed before form the opportunities and threats companies have to deal with15. In case of Disneyland ® Paris the demographic change is one of the most important topics. The demography is looking at the populations’ structure and its shift. As we see in figure 1 (see appendix) the economy experienced an enormous decreasing trend in the birth rates, which resulted in an aging society. Smaller family sizes are the aftereffect of this trend. More important is to take a look how the demographic change will go on in the future. Figure 2 (see appendix) gives us an economic prediction of how the current situation affects the population structure in the future until 2060. Figure 2 (see appendix) shows the development from a bell shaped population towards a form like an urn. This is an indication of an aging population with less births. In 2011 the biggest age group was defined of people in the age of 15 – 55 years. In 2060 it might happen, this group becomes less and the age group of 60 – 90 years will increase. Referring to Disneyland ® Paris, as we analysed earlier in the paper, the main target group of Disneyland ® Paris are young families with children and adolescents. Therefore the demographic trend is a threat it has to deal with. Disneyland ® Paris has to change its structure towards satisfying older generations instead of focusing only on children and adolescents in order not to lose a high amount of customers. In addition Disneyland ® Paris has to  experience a price increase i n non-renewable resources such like oil and water, which belongs in the category of the natural environment. The price increase in oil in the last years is obvious16. Through higher prices for the resources, Disneyland ® Paris has higher costs. Disneyland ® Paris could increase its ticket prices, but how would customers react? Disneyland ® Paris is saying by itself it has to learn how to use its resources mainly water, paper and energy more wisely and efficient17. Even Disneyland ® Paris is geographically not affected by the consequences of the climate change, it is fighting against it. In its ?2013 Reference Document† Disneyland ® Paris is saying it helps †[†¦] through its environmental policy, in particular with its water consumption initiatives and its efforts in preventing and fighting pollution discharges.† Also within the social environment Disneyland ® Paris is putting a high emphasis on negotiating contracts with its suppliers. Disneyland ® Paris is listing its requirements in the ?2013 Reference Document? (p. 144): â€Å"Not to use child labor or forced labor; To treat each employee with dignity and respect and refrain from adopting discriminatory practices in hiring and employment; To respect employees’ right to associate, organize and bargain collectively; To provide employees with a safe and healthy work environment and to ensure that all accommodations provided to employees comply with health and safety standards; To apply laws and regulations relating to wages and working time, environment, manufacturing, pricing and sales and distribution of merchandise, Not to use subcontractors to manufacture Disney products or components without a prior written agreement [†¦] When a breach in standards is identified, the supplier must correct it or stop producing for [Disneyland ® Paris].† These points are showing the high social responsibility Disneyland ® Paris cares about. Besides this it is also trying to market its products child-oriented, improving its food in quality and safety and provides customer health and safety. Disneyland ® Paris also agreed to support the French economy and the employment18, but we won’t elaborate about that too much right now. Strategic advice and conclusion As analysed in the paper there are many threats Disneyland ® Paris has to deal  with. But, threats are not necessary bad for the company, they can also constitute opportunities to improve its strategy. Mentioned before, the demographic change is one of the biggest threats. Disneyland ® Paris has to change its concept towards older age groups in case of not losing customers. Disneyland ® Paris has already done a lot in this direction offering products and services to those age groups.19 This does not mean Disneyland ® Paris is safe, it still need to analyse its older customers? needs and wants in order to innovate products and services satisfying them. One advice is to improve the arrival and departure. Even though Paris and therefore Disneyland ® Paris are easy to reach, it can be still improved. An idea is using the international train Thalys. Thalys is offering many routes through five European countries – namely Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Unit ed Kingdom, stopping in 31 cities20. Disneyland ® Paris could cooperate with this company to create new packages (combining Disney-tickets with traintickets) for an easier and cheaper arrival/departure. Referring to the countries mentioned above, mainly these countries are presenting the target groups within Europe. As we analysed Disneyland ® Paris need to reach new customers. A possibility is to advertise itself more in eastern European countries such like Poland and Russia, which population became more willing to spend money on holidays. As we can see on Disneyland ® Paris? website, it does not offer its official website in those languages (www.disneylandparis.com). This is a point that can be improved to reach completely new target groups. Not only those countries seem to be interesting, also emerging countries such like south-western European countries. In order to reach them, Disneyland ® Paris could try to convince Thalys to expend its routes towards these countries. Another factor is Disneyland ® Paris seriously has to keep its prices stable or even lower them. Of course it is not that easy to reduce them while resource prices and therefore costs are increasing, but Disneyland ® Paris could building its own wind farm using renewable resources to produce own energy. This fact will not only contribute in lowering prices, it will bring a new philosophy that pays attention to the environment and it earns the trust of those people who are environmental conscious. Disneyland ® Paris can include this point, in case they implement this strategy, in their advertisements. Coming away from lowering costs and prices, Disneyland ® Paris can improve its image  through higher sociable responsibility. The main advice giving Disneyland ® Paris is to introduce a sensitization campaign, which is called cause-related marketing. â€Å"Cause-related marketing has become a primary form of corporate giving. It lets companies â€Å"do well by doing good† by linking purchases of the company?s products or services with fund-raising for worthwhile causes or charitable organizations.† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 85) Considering that Disneyland ® Paris is focused on families and children, for every ticket sold a portion can be donated to a charity for poor children. Not only Disneyland ® Paris would benefit of this marketing concept through higher profits, also children living in the underclass are better off. In one sentence: Disneyland ® Paris would not only give smiles to children visiting the amusement park, it also gives smiles to children that are not experiencing the unique and exciting dream world of Disneyland ® Paris. Reference List ?De Efteling?, official website http://www.efteling.com/NL/Over-de-Efteling/Pers-en-Publicaties.html 19-02-2014 21:36 De Efteling, Press Information 2013 http://www.efteling.com/media/Pdf/Persmappen/Persmap%20ENGELS%202013%20DEF.pdf 17-02-2014 20:18 ‘The independent’ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-dark-side-of-disneyland-paris-1964505.html 16-02-2014 15:39 Disneyland ® Paris http://www.disneylandparis.com/ 20-02-2014 18:06 Disneyland ® Paris, article about Disneyland ® Paris? decline http://disneyatwork.com/2013/08/is-disneyland-paris-in-decline/ 20-02-2014 18:03 Disneyland ® Paris, brochure http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/CORP/EN/Neutral/Images/Community%20report %202012.pdf 19-02-2014 14:23 Disneyland ® Paris, financial performance http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcorporate.disneylandparis.com%2Finvestor-relations%2Ffinancial-indicators%2Findex.xhtml&h=NAQG1F7MB 20-02-2014 16:26 Disneyland ® Paris, overall information http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/about-our-company/the-narrative-of-numbers/index.xhtml 20-02-2014 18:02 EURO DISNEY S.C.A. (2013): 2013 Reference Document http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/CORP/EN/Neutral/Images/fr-uk-reference-document-2013.pdf 19-02-2014 15:48 Europapark http://www.europapark.de/lang-en/Home/c1174.html?langchange=true 20-02-2014 18:03 ?Moviepark?, article http://www.derwesten.de/staedte/bottrop/kirchhellen/1-25-millionen-besucher-im-moviepark-id6139835.html 20-02-2014 18:07 Oil prices http://moneyweek.com/prices-news-charts/oil/ 17-02-2014 16:23 Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong (2012, 14/E): Principles of Marketing, Global Edition, Pearson, Harlow, England Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong (2014, 15/E): Principles of Marketing, Global Edition, Pearson, Harlow, England

Programming a Class to Create a Custom VB.NET Control

Programming a Class to Create a Custom VB.NET Control Building complete custom components can be a very advanced project. But you can build a VB.NET class that has many of the advantages of a toolbox component with much less effort. Heres how! To get a flavor of what you need to do to create a complete custom component, try this experiment: - Open a new Windows Application project in VB.NET.- Add a CheckBox from the Toolbox to the form.- Click the Show All Files button at the top of Solution Explorer. This will display the files that Visual Studio creates for your project (so you dont have to). As a historical footnote, The VB6 compiler did a lot of the same things, but you never could access the code because it was buried in compiled p-code. You could develop custom controls in VB6 too, but it was a lot more difficult and required a special utility that Microsoft supplied just for that purpose. In the Form Designer.vb file, you will find that the code below has been added automatically in the right locations to support the CheckBox component. (If you have a different version of Visual Studio, your code might be slightly different.) This is the code that Visual Studio writes for you. Required by the Windows Form Designer Private components _ As System.ComponentModel.IContainerNOTE: The following procedure is requiredby the Windows Form DesignerIt can be modified using the Windows Form Designer.Do not modify it using the code editor.System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThrough() _Private Sub InitializeComponent() Me.CheckBox1 New System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox() Me.SuspendLayout() CheckBox1 Me.CheckBox1.AutoSize True Me.CheckBox1.Location New System.Drawing.Point(29, 28) Me.CheckBox1.Name CheckBox1. . . and so forth ... This is the code that you have to add to your program to create a custom control. Keep in mind that all the methods and properties of the actual CheckBox control are in a class supplied by the .NET Framework: System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox. This isnt part of your project because its installed in Windows for all .NET programs. But theres a lot of it. Another point to be aware of is that if youre using WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), the .NET CheckBox class comes from a completely different library named System.Windows.Controls. This article only works for a Windows Forms application, but the principals of inheritance here work for any VB.NET project. Suppose your project needs a control that is very much like one of the standard controls. For example, a checkbox that changed color, or displayed a tiny happy face instead of displaying the little check graphic. Were going to build a class that does this and show you how to add it to your project. While this might be useful by itself, the real goal is to demonstrate VB.NETs inheritance. Lets Start Coding To get started, change the name of the CheckBox that you just added to oldCheckBox. (You might want to stop displaying Show All Files again to simplify Solution Explorer.) Now add a new class to your project. There are several ways to do this including right-clicking the project in Solution Explorer and selecting Add then Class or selecting Add Class under under the Project menu item. Change the file name of the new class to newCheckBox to keep things straight. Finally, open the code window for the class and add this code: Public Class newCheckBox Inherits CheckBox Private CenterSquareColor As Color Color.Red Protected Overrides Sub OnPaint( ByVal pEvent _ As PaintEventArgs) Dim CenterSquare _ As New Rectangle(3, 4, 10, 12) MyBase.OnPaint(pEvent) If Me.Checked Then pEvent.Graphics.FillRectangle( New SolidBrush( CenterSquareColor ), CenterSquare) End If End SubEnd Class (In this article and in others on the site, a lot of line continuations are used to keep lines short so they will fit into the space available on the web page.) The first thing to notice about your new class code is the Inherits keyword. That means that all the properties and methods of a VB.NET Framework CheckBox are automatically part of this one. To appreciate how much work this saves, you have to have tried programming something like a CheckBox component from scratch. There are two key things to notice in the code above: The first is the code uses Override to replace the standard .NET behavior that would take place for an OnPaint event. An OnPaint event is triggered whenever Windows notices that part of your display has to be reconstructed. An example would be when another window uncovers part of your display. Windows updates the display automatically, but then calls the OnPaint event in your code. (The OnPaint event is also called when the form is initially created.) So if we Override OnPaint, we can change the way things look on the screen. The second is the way Visual Basic creates the CheckBox. Whenever the parent is Checked (that is, Me.Checked is True) then the new code we provide in our NewCheckBox class will recolor the center of the CheckBox instead of drawing a checkmark. The rest is what is called GDI code. This code selects a rectangle the exact same size as the center of a Check Box and colors it in with GDI method calls. The magic numbers to position the red rectangle, Rectangle(3, 4, 10, 12), were determined experimentally. I just changed it until it looked right. There is one very important step that you want to make sure you dont leave out of Override procedures: MyBase.OnPaint(pEvent) Override means that your code will provide all of the code for the event. But this is seldom what you want. So VB provides a way to run the normal .NET code that would have been executed for an event. This is the statement that does that. It passes the very same parameter- pEvent- to the event code that would have been executed if it hadnt been overridden, MyBase.OnPaint. Using the New Control Because our new control is not in our toolbox, it has to be created in the form with code. The best place to do that is in the form Load event procedure. Open the code window for the form load event procedure and add this code: Private Sub frmCustCtrlEx_Load( ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs ) Handles MyBase.Load Dim customCheckBox As New newCheckBox() With customCheckBox .Text Custom CheckBox .Left oldCheckBox.Left .Top oldCheckBox.Top oldCheckBox.Height .Size New Size( oldCheckBox.Size.Width 50, oldCheckBox.Size.Height) End With Controls.Add(customCheckBox)End Sub To place the new checkbox on the form, weve taken advantage of the fact that there is already one there and just used the size and position of that one (adjusted so the Text property will fit). Otherwise we would have to code the position manually. When MyCheckBox has been added to the form, we then add it to the Controls collection. But this code isnt very flexible. For example, the color Red is hardcoded and changing the color requires changing the program. You might also want a graphic instead of a check mark. Heres a new, improved CheckBox class. This code shows you how to take some of the next steps toward VB.NET object oriented programming. Public Class betterCheckBox Inherits CheckBox Private CenterSquareColor As Color Color.Blue Private CenterSquareImage As Bitmap Private CenterSquare As New Rectangle( 3, 4, 10, 12) Protected Overrides Sub OnPaint _ (ByVal pEvent As _ System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs) MyBase.OnPaint(pEvent) If Me.Checked Then If CenterSquareImage Is Nothing Then pEvent.Graphics.FillRectangle( New SolidBrush( CenterSquareColor), CenterSquare) Else pEvent.Graphics.DrawImage( CenterSquareImage, CenterSquare) End If End If End Sub Public Property FillColor() As Color Get FillColor CenterSquareColor End Get Set(ByVal Value As Color) CenterSquareColor Value End Set End Property Public Property FillImage() As Bitmap Get FillImage CenterSquareImage End Get Set(ByVal Value As Bitmap) CenterSquareImage Value End Set End PropertyEnd Class Why The BetterCheckBox Version Is Better One of the main improvements is the addition of two Properties. This is something the old class didnt do at all. The two new properties introduced are FillColor and FillImage To get a flavor of how this works in VB.NET, try this simple experiment. Add a class to a standard project and then enter the code: Public Property Whatever Get When you press Enter after typing Get, VB.NET Intellisense fills in the entire Property code block and all you have to do is code the specifics for your project. (The Get and Set blocks arent always required starting with VB.NET 2010, so you have to at least tell Intellisense this much to start it.) Public Property Whatever Get End Get Set(ByVal value) End SetEnd Property These blocks have been completed in the code above. The purpose of these blocks of code is to allow property values to be accessed from other parts of the system. With the addition of Methods, you would be well on the way to creating a complete component. To see a very simple example of a Method, add this code below the Property declarations in the betterCheckBox class: Public Sub Emphasize() Me.Font New System.Drawing.Font( _ Microsoft Sans Serif, 12.0!, _ System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold) Me.Size New System.Drawing.Size(200, 35) CenterSquare.Offset( CenterSquare.Left - 3, CenterSquare.Top 3)End Sub In addition to adjusting the Font displayed in a CheckBox, this method also adjusts the size of the box and the location of the checked rectangle to account for the new size. To use the new method, just code it the same way you would any method: MyBetterEmphasizedBox.Emphasize() And just like Properties, Visual Studio automatically adds the new method to Microsofts Intellisense! The main goal here is to simply demonstrate how a method is coded. You may be aware that a standard CheckBox control also allows the Font to be changed, so this method doesnt really add much function. The next article in this series, Programming a Custom VB.NET Control - Beyond the Basics!, shows a method that does, and also explains how to override a method in a custom control.

Third Grade Christmas Word Problems

Third Grade Christmas Word Problems Word problems and  problem-solving  questions  help  students to put the computations into authentic practice. Select questions that require a higher level thinking. Its also helpful to use questions that have more than one strategy available to solve them. Let students think about the way they solve their questions and let them draw pictures or use manipulatives to support their own thinking and logic. Try these Christmas-themed word  problems for third graders to stay in the spirit of things in class: 1. Ivan is putting bulbs on the Christmas tree. He has already put 74 bulbs on the tree but he has 225. How many more bulbs does he have to put on the tree? 2. Amber has 36 candy canes to share among herself and 3 friends. How many candy canes will each of them get? 3. Ken’s new advent calendar has 1 chocolate for the 1st day, 2 chocolates on the 2nd day, 3 chocolates on the 3rd day, 4 chocolates on the 4th day and so on. How many chocolates will he have eaten by the 12th day? 4. It takes 90 days to save enough money to do some Christmas shopping. Estimate how many months that is. 5. Your string of Christmas lights has 12 bulbs on it, but 1/4 of the bulbs don’t work. How many bulbs do you have to buy to replace the ones that don’t work? 6. For your Christmas party, you have 5 mini pizzas to share with 4 friends. You’re cutting the pizzas in half, how much will each friend get? How can you make sure the leftovers get shared equally? Print the PDF:   Christmas Word Problems Worksheet