Newspapers : A thing of the past

Good Morning, My name is Mohana Soman and I am going to talk about Newspapers. Initially, when we hear ‘Newspapers’, you envision stuffy politicians on the front page, juicy reports of the latest scandal or even a grisly murder case. That, is what the Newspaper has become. From being the one source of true information being passed around as common knowledge, it has become a kind of daily entertainment. Mum may read about some old actress, while Dad mutters about how the country is down in the dumps.I think that Newspapers are a thing of the past. They are because: We can simply get all the information and news we need faster and cheaper from the internet than waiting for the newspaper. Plus if we stop printing newspaper we will be able to save a lot more trees which will help us in the fight against global warming. Nowadays sitting and reading the whole newspaper consumes a lot of time which is a waste of precious time, it is better if we just sit on the internet and typ e what we want and have it in front of us.Therefore the internet is a better and more popular thing than newspapers. Obviously newspapers are not completely ‘a thing of the past' because they still provide news for the elderly and those traditionalists, yet it is inevitable that their death will occur due to the technological progression. Purely for convenience, an hourly publication is more accessible than a daily one. In this day and age, people enjoy ‘being in the know', and they are able to do this by checking for live updates rather than waiting for the newspaper the next day.

Interactive Simulation Paper Essay

Workplace discrimination can be reflected in many ways, gender, age group, race, nationality or disability and can have legal and fiscal consequence for a company (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are some of the laws and regulations that make discrimination unlawful in the conditions and terms of job, for example hiring, evaluation, and promotion. It’s important for administrators to identify different types of discrimination and defend against employees in the place of work (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007). The measures a company may have the appropriate adjustments for employees with disabilities, or those with a known drug abuse problem, the employees with a known drug abuse problem, the companies must have an arrangement on announcing a pre-employment in addition to a post-employment alcohol and drug test. An employee with a drug abuse issue may be in the company code of breach. The company can offer technique to re-employ the employee in matters of rehabilitation status is complete. Alternatively if the employee has an alcohol abuse the company should inform the employee of internal or external counseling aid or treatment (UOP, 2014). The alternatives for the employee are termination, counseling or therapy, or warning. These solutions can benefit the employee and employer. As for disable persons applying for a job, there is The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) employment agencies, labor unions, and joint labor-management committees (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007). Executive agencies of the United States government are exempt from the ADA, but these agencies are covered instead by similar nondiscrimination requirements and additional affirmative employment requirements under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007). The challenges may include inaccessible equipment or amenities or perhaps a procedures or regulations should meet the criteria. Good accommodating dismisses these challenges for a disabled employee. This where the ADA brings in companies to establish accommodations for their disabled employees, . Therefore, they appreciate the privileges and benefits of the  employment. Factors according to per sonality, attitude toward work, and future upward mobility should be considered when hiring. A candidates goal-settings, work attitudes, and, are considered elements that justify the process of employment. These characteristics are essential and effective to the companies’ modern office environments. In addition, applicants may believe a possible discrimination towards themselves regarding the company but it is not the case in the hiring process. The two applicants selected were a female and Judaic. The female employee made accusations of sexual harassment regarding two co-workers in her work group and had assumptions of her manager behavior was unjust when evaluating her work performance concerning the reported accusations. The issue should examine thoroughly, and companies indeed react with the professional manner in this sort of conduct to remain clear of any sexual harassment. The Judaic employee reported of his religious beliefs on the project given to him by a manager regarding the advertisement of a meat product. This was altered for the employee regarding reli gious affiliation but costly. This cases that have arisen with the two candidates selected had legal advice from the company Legal Counselor for HHP. Her choices include credentials and abilities for the workplace; not sex, impairment of faith, and not race. The company president concern’s with a female employee working in the surroundings of a white male environment and Manager, the Executive Director uncertainty of employee’s support of African-American rights in addition to feminist status. These characteristics should not be an interest of concern in the hiring process (UOP, 2014). Title VII is a federal government law and a work contract, verbal or written and should comply with the laws and regulations of the job. Title VII may bypass the job atmosphere and conditions specified in a written job agreement between a company and worker. The job contract won’t bypass Title VII; but, Title VII will bypass the contract. Before Title VII, the company could employ and terminate an employee for any given reason. Title VII forbids discrimination in employing, firing, coaching, promotion, discipline or any other office decisions. (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cover all private employers, state and local governments, and education institutions which use fifteen or over persons (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007). A work agreement doesn’t permit or  legalize any action o f discrimination that is covered by Title VII. Title VII overrode the job atmosphere and office conditions (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007). Religious values should be accommodated with a good faith effort by the company (UOP, 2014). Moreover, the Executive Director was worried about the employee having the ability to travel to deal with customers; however he is a protected under the rules of ADA. With the introduction of the latest technology could allow the specific employee to able to teleconferences or net conferences with customers and still meet his job conditions (UOP, 2014). Reference Bennett- Alexander, D. D., & Hartman, L. P. (2007). Employment law for business (5th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. UOP. (2014). Simulations: Preventing Workplace Discrimination [Multimedia]. Retrieved from UOP, MGT/434 website.

Pakistan’s Banking Sector Current Situation And Critical Issues

Pakistan’s banking sector reforms which were initiated in the early 1990s have transformed the sector into an efficient, sound and strong banking system. The most recent comprehensive assessment carried out jointly by the World Bank and the IMF in 2004 came to the following conclusion: â€Å" for reaching reforms have resulted in a more efficient and competitive financial system In particular, the predominantly state-owned banking system has been transformed into one that is predominantly under the control of the private sector. The legislative framework and the State Bank of Pakistan’s supervisory capacity have been improved substantially. As a result, the financial sector is sounder and exhibits an increased resilience to shocks. † The major changes that have occurred in the banking sector during the last decade or so can be summarized as follows: a) 80 percent of the banking assets are held by the private sector banks and the privatization of nationalized commercial banks has brought about a culture of professionalism and service orientation in place of bureaucracy and apathy. ) The banks that were losing money due to inefficiencies, waste and limited product range have become highly profitable business. These profits are, however, being used to strengthen the capital base of the banks rather than paying out to the shareholders. The minimum capital requirements have been raised from Rs. 500 million to Rs. 6 billion over an extended period in a phased manner. The consolidation of the banking sector into fewer but stronger banks will lead to better management of risk. c) The banks that were burdened with the non-performing and defaulted loans have cleared up their balance sheets in an open transparent, cross-the-board manner. Contrary to the popular myth the main beneficiaries of the wirite-offs of the old outstanding and unrecoverable loans have been from almost 25 percent to 6. 7 percent by Dec. 2005. Small individual borrowers the ratio of non-performing loans of the Commercial Banks to total advances has declined. d) The quality of new assets has improved as stringent measures are taken to appraise new loans, and assure the underlying securities. Online Credit Information Bureau reports provide updated information to the banks about the credit history and track record of the borrowers. Loan approvals on political considerations have become passe. Non-performing loans account for less than 3 percent of all new loans disbursed since 1997. e) The human resources base of the banks has been substantially upgraded by the adoption of the principles of merit and performance throughout the industry. Recruitment is done through a highly competitive process and promotions and compensation are linked to training, skills and high performance. The banks now routinely employ MBAs, M. Coms, Chartered Accountants, IT graduates, economists and other highly educated persons rather than Clerical and Non Clerical Workers. The banking industry has become the preferred choice of profession among the young graduates. f) Banking Technology that was almost non-existent in Pakistan until a few years ago is revolutionizing the customer services and access on-line banking, Internet banking, ATMs, mobile phone banking and other modes of delivery have made it possible to provide convenience to the customers while reducing the transaction costs to the banks. Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Smart Cards etc. are a thriving and expanding business in Pakistan. Once the RTGS is put in place the payment system in Pakistan. Would enter a new phase of modernization. ) Competition among the banks has forced them to move away from the traditional limited product range of credit to the government and the public sector enterprises, trade financing, big name corporate loans, and credit to multinationals to an ever-expanding menu of products and services. The borrower base of the banks has expanded four fold in the last six years as the banks have diversified into agriculture, SMEs, Consumers financing, mortgages, etc. The middle class that could not afford to buy cars or apartments as they did not have the financial strength for cash purchases are the biggest beneficiaries of these new products and services. ) Along with strong regulation, supervision and enforcement capacity of the State Bank of Pakistan a number of measures have been taken to put best corporate governance practices in the banking system. ‘Fit and proper’ criteria have been prescribed for the Chief Executives, members of the Boards of Directors, and top management positions. Accounting and audit standards have been brought to the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the International Audit Codes. External audit firms are rated according to their performance and track record and those falling short of the acceptable standards are debarred from auditing the banks. These practices were put in place in Pakistan long before the scandals of Enercon, World Call and Pramalat had shaken the corporate world. i) The foreign exchange market that was highly regulated through a system of direct exchange controls over suppliers and users of foreign exchange has been liberalized and all purchases and sales take place through an active and vibrant inter-bank exchange market. All restrictions have been removed with full current account convertibility and partial capital account convertibility. Foreign investors can now bring in and take back their capital, remit profits, dividends and fees without any prior removal and directly through their banks. Similarly, foreign portfolio investors can also enter and exit the market at their own discretion. The main lesson learnt from the last decade suggest that financial sector functions effectively and efficiently only if the macroeconomics situation is favorable and stable. The need to maintain macroeconomic stability will thus remain paramount in the years to come. The agenda for further reforms in the financial sector is still quite formidable and the challenges to spread the benefits of financial liberalization among the middle and low income households and small and medium farms and enterprises are still enormous. There are several areas of dissatisfaction with the banking sector that need to be addressed. The most serious complaint against the banking system in Pakistan today is that the depositors are not getting adequate return on their bank deposits. The difference between the monthly weighted average rates of lending and deposits is taken as an indicator of the spreads earned by the banks. It is true that these spreads have widened in the recent months land this phenomenon has caused resentment among those whose only source of income is their returns from bank deposits. But it is important to examine the facts and their form judgments The monthly comparisons are meaningless because PLS deposit rates are changed every six months, while the lending rates are continuously adjusting because they are automatically linked to T-bills or KIBOR rates. During the last eight months the weighted average deposit rate has risen from 1. 6 percent in July – Feb, 2005 to 3. 9 percent in July – Feb, 2006. This trend reflects that the return on the new deposits mobilized is much higher than what the average rate indicates. The old deposits are earning much lower rate because they were lodged at the time when the overall structure of interest rates had come down significantly. This lag is adjustment between the deposit and lending rates is due to the costs incurred by the depositor in shifting deposits from one bank to the other. The additional deposits mobilized in the last twelve months amounted to Rs. 382 billion i. e. a growth rate of 16. 8 percent. This growth rate took place despite deceleration in the volume of Resident Foreign deposit accounts. So if the deposit rates were unattractive then this high growth rate in deposits mobilized by the banks appears to be puzzling. The reason for this high growth is that the fresh deposits were fetching an average return of 6. 2 percent in March, 2006 compared to 3. 5 percent in July, 2005 – rise of 270 basis points in nine months. In the coming months the average rate is likely to move further upwards bringing them to positive real interest rates. Why have the profits of the banks risen so sharply in the last few years? There are several reasons that need to be understood: First, the drag of non-performing loans has been eased considerably reducing the need for setting aside the provisions for loan losses. As these provisions were made at the expense of the profits the banks are now reaping the benefits of building up substantial provisions and taking the hit on their profits in the past. Second, the corporate income tax rate on banks’ profits has gradually come down from 58 percent to 38 percent saving on their tax deductions. These savings not only get translated in to higher profits but also act as incentives for better performance because the tax rate no longer acts as a penalty. Third, the diversification of the banks assets into new and so far underserved segments such as agriculture, mortgage, auto, SMEs, Consumer and Credit Cards have raised their net interest margins. As competition has become quite tough in the corporate segment the margins on corporate loans have been squeezed considerably. But the spreads earned in these new segments are quite attractive. Thus a large part of the profits originate from lending to these underserved segments of the population. This is a Win- Win situation as small farmers, small businesses and middle class consumers, who had so far been denied access to bank credit, are able to get financing the banks are able to earn higher spreads. Fourth, there has been a shift in the maturing profile of both the banks’ deposits and banks’ loans. Half of the total deposits are now placed for short term duration earning negligible rates of return compared to the past where the distribution of deposits were concentrated in medium to long duration earning much higher returns. On the assets side, more of the bank loans are being disbursed for fixed investment purposes. These have long maturity structure and pay higher interest rates in double digits. This shift in the composition of deposits and advances has helped earn the banks a higher spread boosting their profitability. As the majority of the banks are operating in the private sector they will remain guided by the bottom line considerations i. e. the profits. Consolidation and market competition will act as a deterrent on abnormal profits but it is the responsibility of the regulator to ensure that these profits are not made by taking excessive risk with the depositors’ money or by banks indulging in collusive practices. The regulator has to ensure that the access to credit is further broadened and small farming households, small and medium businesses and middle classes are able to meet their legitimate credit needs. At the same time the regulator has to take stringent action against those banks found guilty of anti-competitive or collusive practices. Another popular indictment against the banking sector is that they are financing speculative activities such as stock market trading, real estate, commodities, auto etc. The facts do not support this indictment. Direct and indirect exposure by banks in stock market equities has been limited to 20 percent of their capital i. e. the maximum amount all the banks can collectively provide for this activity is only 40 billion. The outstanding stock of bank advances in March, 2006 stood at Rs. 2063 billion. Thus the bank credit allocated for stock market equity trading is less than 2 percent of the total advances of the banking system. If we further assume that some amounts are diverted from consumer loans or corporate loans also the exposure of the banks may double to as much as 4 percent but the securities and collaterals against the diverted loans may not necessarily be the scrips themselves. Real estate financing by banks is restricted to mortgage loans only and the purchase of plots cannot be financed by the banks. Mortgage loans can be disbursed in installments after physical verification of the various phases of construction. The total disbursements of loans for mortgage amounted to Rs. 11. 4 billion in FY 05. Commodity financing and its prevailing rates are not attractive for the borrowers as there has been net retirement of commodity loans in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The regulatory environment for the banks to indulge in lending for speculative purposes is not very propitious. The State Bank of Pakistan supervisors are not only vigilant in their on-site inspection but they monitor the banks on a continuous basis and can detect irregularities and violations fairly quickly. The more deterrent effect of strong oversight by the supervisors is enough to discourage such activities. The penalties imposed by the supervisors on recalcitrant banks are quite severe.

Arthur Miller's use of capitalism in death of a salesman Research Paper

Arthur Miller's use of capitalism in death of a salesman - Research Paper Example He held on to the former taught business ideals of individualism from the previous generation to use in the present, which could not be acceptable revolutionized society. According to Karim, Willy’s failure resulted from his inability to revolve but continued to apply the ‘winner take all business’ principle in an urban society that was passed that stage (67). One could consider him as an outdated individual who clings in the past knowledge in the hope that he can attain a goal, even after having to depend on the same wisdom in the past. He believed that winning the trust and likeness from the society, was the ultimate way to achieve his long waited success. However in the past, as the transition from old ways were been replaced by the modern methods of conducting businesses, Willy as one of the American people who held on to the former faith of individualism, as an early frontier ethic in business had the several opportunities of his former success, but he could no longer manage to compete in the climate of the business that was favored by capitalism. Everyone plans to live a happy and satisfied life. However the means to achieve the desire varies in different personalities. For some, even if it takes illegal means, it does not matter as long as the end goal is achieved. Others prefer honesty and integrity as a moral character and value. This was what directed the history of America towards certain individuals’ success before capitalism in early 19th Century, as illustrated by the stories told, for whatever it took to become successful (Cullen 60). Willy Loman was no different, and he strived hard in his sales job to sustain his family, and fulfill his desires of living an American dream. His Social status best expressed as a middle class was accompanied with hardship in acquiring wealth, and hence he had to depend on how the society would take him, based on likeness for him to thrive in the sales job. The principle of self made man, and though being helpful before, failed as capitalist would attain the American dream more easily than using the former strategy. The growing capitalism taking over in the business world forced Willy out of the sales job, because it came with better ways of producing and distributing goods, for much more profit that Willy could not keep up with. Loman suffers frustration after been declined for a job knowing he had retired as a salesman, which he struggled tirelessly all through his life. Through capitalism, power is associated with capitalist like Howard, who dares fire Willy after his long service in the company, without even minding the moral decency of setting him aside for retirement (Sterling 5). Indications of an old car, non profit making individual, and financial struggles show that his financial status was worse to raise capital, so that he could start a business of his own closer to home. As an investor, Howard hoped for delivery of an efficient service as he also paid w ages to his workers, which determined his profit too. As a capitalist, it would then be arguable whether Willy’s firing was justified or not. The aim of capitalism is to acquire more profits after sales and production. Capitalism will make use of the working class to efficiently expand the profit margin,

Are immunities of senior state officials applicable to jus cogens Essay

Are immunities of senior state officials applicable to jus cogens violations - Essay Example As such, the question whether acts of State officials are applicable to violations of jus cogens is necessary to be tackled in the light of several cases decided by the International Court of Justice (ICJ for brevity) and in recent times, by the International Criminal Court (ICC) under the Rome Statute. It is well to be emphasized at the outset that under the present generally accepted principles of international law, heads of states and senior state officials are not exempted from the responsibility in the international community for international crimes. 1 Any controversy that may emerge would fall under the jurisdictional question relating to the procedural aspect of the law. Hence, in this paper, several cases would be cited particularly those which sparked heated debates among scholars and imminent jurist in international law. At this juncture, it is worthy to mention the two principles of immunities under international law which are immunity ratione personae and ratione materiae. The former being attributed to the person and it follows him wherever he may be, and for his conduct which may be official or not. The latter on the other hand pertains to immunity which is necessarily included in the conduct of a head of state and senior state officials which relates to their offici al functions as representative of his or her State. It is then important to take a look at the history of state immunity and discern how it evolved over time. The Evolution of State Immunity Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the doctrine of foreign state was regarded as absolute since foreign states were recognized as having the privilege of complete immunity from another forum's jurisdiction. By the early twentieth century, after World War I, Allied nations adopted a limited approach to immunity to address the complexity of the growing participation of states in global trade. Thus, the concept of acta jure imperii, wherein a state's conduct which are governmental in nature were acknowledged as having full immunity, and acta jure gestionis, wherein commercial or private acts of states that deals with trade are not endowed with immunity. 2 Thus, if the act falls under the category of acta jure imperii, full immunity is accorded to state officials. However, for those falling under commercial ventures or otherwise termed as acta jure gestionis, a state may be sued for breach of contract along with the concerned state official. On the other hand, as the world shrunk, so to speak, violations of fundamental human rights have been discovered and made public. These violations are apart from the ones which were the cause of wars between nations. Several jurists, commentators and heads of states argued that there should at least be an impartial tribunal which would render judgment upon persons accused of war and crimes against humanity. The concept of state immunity was thus regarded as applicable only to those acts of states which do not transgress norms which are regarded as necessary to attain order in the international community. Consequently, several statutes were enacted and tribunals were established precisely to address the growing concern of the states about serious violations of peremptory norms, from which violators would only invoke state immunity to avoid punishment. At present, State immunity is not regarded as an absolute state right under the international law. Instead, state immunity

Environmental agency Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Environmental agency - Case Study Example Economic competition on a global scale brought about by the movement towards globalization has also contributed immense pressures on the environment. This is also argued in the context that sustainable development among poor nations had been a difficult task, given the tendency of these countries to undertake exploitive economic activities (mostly through extractive industries such as mining, forestry and agriculture). The depletion of their natural resources have only given these underdeveloped countries temporary economic activities which would disappear as soon as their resources have been depleted. It is often perceived that free trade and globalization only benefits those whio have the financial leverage, and at the expense of those who do not. Among the Third World countries facing such problems in terms of environmental degradation and growing economic pressures in the face of an ever-increasing population is the Philippines. A prime example of the high price the country has to face in its struggle for economic survival is the plight of the Pasig river. The Pasig River is the main river system in Metro Manila. Technically an estuary channel, its 25-kilometer stretch connects the large lake known as Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Laguna Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world had for centuries been a source of food, raw materials and the site of various economic activities. ... In the wet season when water elevation in the lake is higher than that of Manila Bay, the natural channel flow is from the lake emptying into the sea. The river is an invaluable ecosystem linking the lake and the sea. It is among the Philippines' numerous irreplaceable natural resources. Fish have spawned and their fries and fingerlings have been nurtured by the mineral-rich contents of this estuarine channel. Settlements have long occupied portions of the Pasig River even before the Spaniards colonized the Philippines. It served as the main highway among settlements located along its banks and functioned as the umbilical cord to other settlements within the interior locations both near and distant from Laguna de Bay. Like many rivers all over the world, the Pasig River has suffered from abuse and neglect. The Pasig River and its tributaries have long been pressed into service and these have taken their toll on the river. The once pristine and sparkling waters which provided clean drinking water to the elegant Spanish villas lining its banks has now been transformed into a virtual waste basin for an economically struggling industrial center that serves as the heart of a nation. More than 300 factories and 10,000 households have replaced the dainty native huts and romantic Spanish villas of old. The sweet and quenching waters have become a reeking soup of industrial and domestic wastes. The once abundant fish and plant life have been replace by only the toughest of scavengers, both animal and human alike. It is estimated that 330 tons of domestic and industrial wastes are discharged into the river every day. This

Strategy, Business Information and Analysis Essay - 1

Strategy, Business Information and Analysis - Essay Example In particular, Porter has contributed mainly the following: five forces model (1980); generic competitive strategies of cost leadership, product differentiation, and focus (1980; 1985); competitive advantage (1985; 1987); four corners model (1980); value chain (1985); diamond model (1990), and market positioning strategies. Since Porter’s contributions have created a pervasive influence on business theory and practice, a lot of strategists from different fields have considered examining, recommending or applying his ideas. Nonetheless, given that his contributions have received widespread attention, it is the case that his ideas have been subject to criticisms. As a matter of fact, despite the fact that it made his 1980 book entitled â€Å"Competitive Strategy† the ninth most influential management book of the 20th history (Bedeian & Wren, 2001: 223), Porter’s five forces model received criticisms. In this regard, this paper delves mainly at critically analyzing and evaluating Michael Porter’s contribution to the field of strategic management. In order to give more focus and attention to the works of Porter to the strategic management area, this paper is limited to evaluating only three contributions. Basically, it aims at answering three points. First, it plans to look at Porter’s concept of competitive advantage. After analyzing the concept, second, this paper examines one of the specific types of strategies, his five forces model. The consideration of choosing this particular contribution is because of the fact that despite this model made his book the ninth most influential management book of 20th history, still, it received criticisms. Third, it also intends to assess his generic competitive strategies of cost leadership, product differentiation and focus. This work is selected because he considers such strategies to be generic. Meanwhile, the exigency to critically assess Porter’s contribution is because there is a need to understand why he has happened to be one of the most influential characters in the field of strategic management. This paper is of significance because it offers a deeper understanding of key concepts, ideas and debates in the said field. Likewise, the importance of this paper is that it can offer a critique of Porter’s work. To pursue the objective of this paper, this paper is structured in giving initially an overview of each contribution of Porter which is then followed by a particular critique of his work: competitive advantage, five forces model, and generic competitive strategies of cost leadership, product differentiation and focus. Lastly, it discusses the outcomes of this critical assessment. A Critical Assessment of Michael Porter’s Contribution to the Field of Strategic Management Overview of Competitive Advantage As a concept, competitive advantage is meant by Porter (1980) as a competence achieved via attributes as well as resources in order for higher level performance relative to

Compare and contrast two artworks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Compare and contrast two artworks - Essay Example More than rationale and thought of the artwork, romanticism gives focus and concentration on the storytelling and the mood behind every art piece (Romanticism para 3). Having said these facts, an individual usually and commonly thinks of romanticism as a style having overflowing sensibilities and personalities rather than a style possessing only a distinct taste which could make it a stand-out as compared to other art forms. As matter of fact, artists cultivating the romantic style do not share a special and discrete form of approaches in order to come up with a finished product. What is so special with romantic artists is their excellent use of their individualistic differences and understandings to promote a piece of art. In the minimum, romantic artists are linked by individualism as well as of freedom of expression. These characteristics, in many ways, break the convention set by the contemporary art. On one hand, Venetian Renaissance artworks as compared to romanticist art forms do not even concern feelings and intimacy but are more focused with politics and religion in the entirety. Venetian Renaissance is characterized mainly by rich colors and textures which symbolizes excellent and good changing economic stability and trade. In its deepest meaning, the artworks during the Venetian Renaissance era talks and depicts more about secularization and anti-religiosity. Also, base from a number of reasons which involve wealth, abundance, success, prosperity and affluence, the Venetian art focuses more of its understanding towards earthly pleasures, jovial way of living and myths (Kleiner 485). For this paper, I have decided to look with Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres’ Grand Odalisque painted in 1814 using the romantic art style. Also, I would be examining Titian’s Venus of Urbino painted in 1538 during when the Venetian Renaissance art style flourishes at its finest all throughout Europe. I have decided to examine these two classic works since they both depict and project a seemingly similar understanding and comprehension about women and the characteristics associated with the female race but in a totally different viewpoint and perspective. As can be seen in the Grand Odalisque by Ingres, the woman is depicted and portrayed as a passive element of resistance. As part of the intrigue in the artwork, you can see that there is something passionate and striking about the artwork’s personification and over-all impact. Seeing through the woman’s eyes, you can sense no fear about what is all happening in the background. In fact, the woman is so calm and very comfortable being nude and showing off with no clothes. Having said those facts, I believe that the portrayal and depiction of the whole artwork is so magnificent and extraordinary that it can efficiently talk across with the observer. It is very consistent in the narrative that it wants to translate, this is since it has been very effective in telling a story ab out an odalisque, which in common terms pertain to a concubine or a prostitute, having no choice to become anyone else but to be slaves for manly pleasure and sex. As stated above, the main character is an odalisque. And that fact is so important in order to understand more the nature of the art piece before being able to identify how similar and different it is to other artworks. Why so? Mainly because, the nature of the odalisque says it all what should the

Major market segments and trends in biotech industry Essay

Major market segments and trends in biotech industry - Essay Example Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. Of the many different definitions available, the one formulated by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the broadest: "Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use." (Article 2. Use of Terms). Another definition can be: Biotechnology is the manipulation of organisms to do practical things and to provide useful products.2 Biotechnology is a scientific knowledge base--a rapidly evolving technology--that has economically valuable applications in diverse industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics, agriculture, bio-environmental remediation and chemical processing. Biotech is still at an early phase and there are many opposing hypotheses about its future development.3 The biotechnology industry serves both medical and non-medical markets as well. The medical market includes human therapeutics and human diagnostics as well as applications in veterinary medicine. Non-medical markets cover both agriculture and industrial applications. Agricultural applications cover making plants and crops pest resistant, providing improved seed quality, modulating growth and ripening times, enhancing nutrient content of foods, and providing simple and inexpensive diagnostics for use in field testing for contaminants and toxic materials. Industrial uses of biotechnology encompass many diverse sectors and include industrial enzymes, waste management, bioremediation, energy biomass, cosmetic formulations, and diagnostics for toxicity determinations.4 The Medical Market Most of U.S. biotechnology companies are aiming at markets in human medical purposes. Nearly 29 percent of biotechnology companies are involved in therapeutics, while the primary focus of 17 percent of companies is in diagnostics. Biotechnology companies in the human health care field concentrate on discovering and creating ways to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure the dozens of life-threatening and serious diseases and conditions for which satisfactory medical therapies or preventive agents currently do not exist. The market for human therapeutic biotechnology products is expected to grow from $7.6 billion in revenues in 1996 to more than $24 billion in 2006, an average annual growth rate of 13 percent while the human diagnostics biotechnology product sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 9 percent from $1.8 billion in 1996 to approximately $4 billion in 2006. Colony stimulating factors, insulin, human growth hormone, beta and gamma interferon, and vaccines comp rises much of the outstanding market. A 1996 survey of biotech drugs under development by companies belonging to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) found that there were 284 biotechnology drugs in human trials, a 21 percent jump over the number (234) in development reported by PhRMA in the previous year. The survey also found 18 drug applications pending approval at the FDA and 49 in

Business Policy and Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business Policy and Strategic Management - Essay Example At a time when people are struggling to pay their bills Starbuck $4 coffee appears to be a luxury in comparison to say, Dunkin’ Donuts $2 coffee. Secondly from section 1 we do not see Starbucks coming out as an organization with a strong strategy to tackle the competition that is increasing within its industry. Starbucks may be the leading coffee chain currently but the threat posed by its biggest competitors is very high. Firstly, its two main rivals are McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts. Within the United States, Dunkin’ Donuts is winning the battle for the no frills, cost-conscious coffee drinker and also the market segment tired of the ubiquity of Starbucks. In the global arena, McDonalds has more outlets than Starbucks and therefore poses a big threat abroad. Also we cannot fail to mention that McDonalds has $23.5 billion in revenue as compared to Starbucks’s $9.8 billion (Schwartz 1). This implies that McDonald could easily deploy more resources targete d towards pulling away consumers from Starbucks. Work cited Schwartz, Ariel. â€Å"Sustainability Faceoff: McDonald's vs. Starbucks.† Fast Company 17 May 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. 

Company law Essay Example for Free

Company law Essay Applying this doctrine to the case study, Alicia can be regarded as one of the promoters of Batco Ltd, since she had involved in the formation of the company and ranked as one of the three directors after the registration. It’s also noticeable that the other two directors, Adam and Robin, were former employees of Alicia. Thus, even though Alicia didn’t play an active role in the formation of the company, the connection between her and Batco before and after the registration was solid. According to Aequilas v AEFC (2011) 19T ACLC 1006, the legal consequence of a person being identified as a promoter is that such person owes stringent fiduciary duties to the company and its shareholders. They are required to act in good faith and place the company’s benefits over their own (Harris, Hargovan and Adams 2011). More specifically, in Erlanger v New Sombero Phosphate Co (1878) 3 CA 1218, the House of Lords held that promoters have the duty of fully disclosure to a board of independent directors of the material facts when they enter into contract relations with the company; Or, as stated in the in Aequilas v AEFC (2011) 19T ACLC 1006, the court also accepts an explicit disclosure made to shareholders. Taking these judgments into account, Alicia, as a director of Batco Ltd, as well as a promoter, breached her fiduciary duties. Because Alicia, as a party to the contract with Batco, didn’t make known the notification she received from a government clerk to the company before they entered into the contract. Although without official announcement, the rezoning of the area was only a speculation, the unveiling of this information could prevent Batco from buying the site at that price, as the reassigned area could have a change in value. What more, a secret profit was obtained by Alicia in the selling of property. Despite that she made a disclosure of the actual profit she earned to Adam and Robin, these two directors could not fall into the group of independent directors. Additionally, even after Alicia had informed them about her real gain, in the prospectus Batco Ltd made to its shareholders, the profit number was falsely presented. Thus, Alicia also contravened the promoter’s duty of disclosure to the company’s shareholders. Once the breach of fiduciaries is established, Batco Ltd and its shareholders can sue Alicia, Adam and Robin for remedies. Under s 729(1) in Corporation Act 2011(Cth), the damaged party has right to recover the amount of the loss or damage resulting from contravention of duty of disclosure. And under s 729(3), the time for taking a legal action under s 729(1) is limited to in 6 years after the happening of the breach of disclosure duty. In Erlanger v New Sombeoro Phosphate Co (1878) 3 CA 1218, the judgment rescinded the initial contract and the damaged party was allowed to recover the purchase price. Similarly, in Glukstein v Barnes (1900) AC 240, a promoter was required to account to the company on the secret profit he realized from the breach of fiduciary duties without voiding the contract. Therefore, one likely outcome in this case study is Batco and its shareholders suing Alicia to rescind the purchase contract within 6 years after the happening of the breach of disclosure duty. As a result, Batco can recover the purchase price and return the site to the vendor, Alicia. Another possibility is Batco suing Alicia for breach of fiduciary duties and only require her account to the company for the secret gain. However, considering the unpredictable effect of rezoning on the purchased site, the former one would be a better option for Batco. According to Frino and Segara (2012), there are two elements of transaction costs, being the explicit and implied costs. Explicit costs include brokerage fees, exchange fees and government taxes which will not be discussed in this report as the trading exercise was performed without incurring such costs. Implied costs emerge when share prices become unfavourable due to effect of the share trades. These unfavourable expenses are difficult to estimate and deduce as they usually happen in a random manner (Frino and Segara, 2012). There are three types of implied costs which will be discussed below. Firstly, every trader will be exposed to bid-ask spreads (Frino and Segara, 2012). Bid-ask spreads are the gaps between the highest purchase price and the lowest selling price at which the dealers are keen to trade upon. Thus, the median of the bid-ask spread is deemed as the reasonable price. According to Frino and Segara (2012), when a dealer needs to complete a particular transaction urgently, the deemed reasonable price mentioned above will be forgone as the dealer will require immediate liquidity by purchasing or selling the shares at the stated bid or ask price. There are many ways and choices for a company of fundraising their commercial scheme and activities. One of the choices is through corporate fundraising to offer securities to attract public and outside investors. The statutory provisions in related to the process is located under Ch 6D. Under the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 1999, the required standard full-disclosure document while public companies undertaking fundraising is as prospectus (zuozhe 267). In the case, Jaan Company wants to expand its market and decides raising funds through offering securities and has two options to choose: the first one is raising 10 million and keeps domestic; another one is raising 20 million and expand international. They decide to use offer securities to raise fund which means they will need to face a standard required prospectus to the public. According to Section 709, there are four types of disclosure documents. First is prospectus, which is the most common form of disclosure document and under Ch 6D s709 (1), it must generally be prepared for an offer of securities. However, if the raising capital fund is not exceeding 10 million, the prospectus is not compulsory to be prepared. The second type is short form prospectus. This type is permitted to reduce the length and complication of prospectus that are distributed to potential investors. The third type is an offer information statement. Under an offer information statement, the amount to be raised from the issue of securities is 10 million or less. The last one is profile statements. This type is prepared as an addition to a prospectus and a reform to simplify policy objective and reduce the volume of disclosure objects. Under the circumstance, for the option 1, an offer information statement is appropriate. The offer information statement is comparative simplified and according to the Corporations Acts, it is intended to facilitate more efficient capital raising, especially for start-up and small and medium sized enterprises(zuozhe, 268). The disclosure requirements are lower level than for a prospectus. Under offer information statements, the company is required to state the information about the company (including xplain the company’s business and the nature of securities, the financial audited statements within the previous 6 months), explain why the company needs to fundraising, disclose details about risks involved and all amount payable. In addition, it also must state to investors that it’s different and lower level compare with prospectus, remind the investors should acquire professional advice. Furthermore, the copy has been lodged with ASIC who takes no responsibility for its contents is required. For option 2, a detailed, full-disclosure prospectus is required. The obligations are concluded as following (zuozhe, 266): firstly, all the information, which is also guaranteed reliable and available at the same time, need to be provided in a prospectus to all investors that they might realistically need to know in order to make a decision about the company’s investment proposal; secondly, the documents must enclose all the risks associated with the concerned industry in which the company operates; thirdly, it is necessary that the disclosure of material information is in an effective way for fundraiser to undertake inquiries as well as disclose details which can enable investors to make a more accurate assessments about securities in a cost-effective way. I will recommend option 1in this case. Jaan is a small manufacturing business and not a mature company; it has not enough experience and comparative low capital base as well less able to meet the costs of raising capital. Compare with mature company, Jaan is less able to meet the risks to challenge the market changes and adapt quickly. Offer information is particularly suitable for the small and mid-sized enterprises; it has lower requirements than prospectus and also more flexible for the company. Part 2 According to S 728, if a disclosure document has following characteristics, then it would contravene: misleading or deceptive conduct; omission form; a circumstance that is required to disclose in the document but the company has not and the circumstance is raised as a problem. In this case, Jaan has a very positive forecast in the sales and profit in the following years; however, it has not happened. The company said the market needs of snowboarding are huge and the company has confidence to forecast that they have made a right choice. Unfortunately, the company is circulated these forecast without reasonable basis and inadequate marketing research. Furthermore, in order to attract investors, the company is using New Zealand’s snowboarding popularity diagram rather than global or Australia. Under this circumstance, the company has misled the investors and make them have a wrong perception of the company’s vision. In addition, the company also comes out a new circumstance: abnormal weather patterns caused by global warming will make the company to face a huge loss. This is unexpected but this circumstance should have been disclosed in the document. Under the Ch 6D, the company should disclose all the relevant risks to enable the investors to make a cautious decision. Nevertheless, the company only focus on the bright side of the future and miss to present the potential external factors that may influence the sales of the company. All these would be the facts that the company’s disclose document has contravened and will face a remedy for the investors. Similar case for Jaan’s investors can look at is Cadence Asset Management Pty Ltd v Concept Sports Ltd (2005): the defendant were misleading the investors about the company’s outlook, the court decision is disagree the defendant’s defence and upheld the plaintiff to recover the loss suffered. Defendants may avoid their liability if they can satisfy the defences set out in ss 731-733. In this case, according to section 731, Jaan may avoid liability if they can provide evidence that their sales forecast is based on reasonable grounds, there is no misleading for the investors. And in order to defend successfully, the company also needs to show that they undertake that they can confirm their information is based on reasonable basis and the accuracy is creditable in the prospectus (zuozhe, 288). Furthermore, Jaan should also to prove that they were unaware of the changing weather to make the company to bear the loss. These can be potential defences for the company. However, the case Cadence Asset Management Pty Ltd v Concept Sports Ltd (2005) has shown that if the company has a behaviour of misleading the investors in breach of s 728 (zuozhe, 287), Jaan may not be succeed in the defences based on the following facts: they use the wrong popularity diagram to forecast the sales (besides, the company also know this fact), this is misleading to the investors; in addition, the changing weather should be a relevant risk which must be disclosed to the investors. Investors have rights to know the risks associated with the operation. Base on those facts, the company may fail to defence.

Trifles Film Adaptation Essay Example for Free

Trifles Film Adaptation Essay Susan Glaspell’s Trifles is a play about a murder mystery that is loosely based on an actual murder case that the author covered while working as a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News (Ben-Zvi 143). Since the play is written in 1916, a time when the boundaries between the private and public spheres are beginning to break down, it strongly reflects on the culture-bound notions of sex roles and gender. Back then, women are thought to be concerned about insignificant issues that hold little to no importance to the true work of society, also known as trifles, just as the title of the play suggests. In 2008, Ghost Ranch Productions, with director Pamela Walker, who plays Mrs. Wright herself, produces Trifles, a film adaptation of Glaspell’s famous play. Through the creative use of literary elements and some small alterations to the plot, dialogue, and setting, Walker effectively demonstrates the play’s major theme of gender differences in the film. Exposition is the first difference between the beginning plot in Glaspell’s play and the film adaptation. Exposition or introduction â€Å"brings out everything the audience needs to know to understand and follow what is to happen in the play† (Roberts and Zweig 890). In the first part of the play, the plot begins when the sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and a man named Mr. Hale and his wife all enter the Wright’s disheveled kitchen where they assemble and plan for the investigation of Mr. Wright’s murder. The play’s exposition shows its audience that the entire play is about finding the evidence needed to solve the crime. At the beginning of the film, on the other hand, a scene showing Mrs. Wright’s strange and depressed demeanor, particularly in a scene where Mr. Wright’s voice is heard harshly yelling at his wife in the background, points its audience toward the intriguing thought that she may be a victim of domestic violence. The creative exposition of the film reaches beyond what the play originally describes. It not only tells the audience what they need to know about what will happen next, but also creates a scenario that progresses to a more dramatic climax. The film adaptation shows some dialogue alterations, particularly in the part where the county attorney interviews Mr. Hale, the first man to discover Mr. Wright’s lifeless body. In Glaspell’s play, Mr. Hale describes everything verbally when he is asked for the details of what transpired on the day he discovered Mr. Wright’s murder. In the film, instead of Mr. Hale describing all the details and telling his side of the story, a different scene is created. The scene shows Mr. Hale paying John Wright a visit and being greeted by an expressionless Mrs. Wright sitting on her rocking chair. All the dialogue in this scene is exactly as described by Mr. Hale in the play except for one line where he says: â€Å"And then she—laughed. I guess you would call it a laugh† (917). In the film, Mrs. Wright did not laugh or show any kind of expression associated with laughing. Her unemotional facial expression and vocal tone are consistent throughout the scene, which can be interpreted as someone who does not care about her husband’s death or someone who is emotionally battered by the thought that her husband was just murdered. The setting of the story is during a cold winter in the early twentieth century, and the action happens in the kitchen of a farmhouse in the American Midwest. Unlike in Glaspell’s play, the film shows several series of short scenes at the beginning that help establish not only the events that take place in the kitchen, but also the surrounding area and the nearby town. The setting is described as the â€Å"natural, manufactured, and cultural environment in which characters live and move, including all their possessions, homes, ways of life, and assumptions† (Roberts and Zweig 1448). Glaspell’s play only describes a setting of a gloomy kitchen in an abandoned farmhouse. On the other hand, the film shows a broader scope, including the gloomy and snowy weather, which makes Mr. Hale’s shivering coming from the outside more realistic. The alteration to the setting in Glaspell’s play not only helps with the mood of the story, but also helps the audience to visualize what is going on and connect to the characters better. Overall, despite the minor differences and alterations to the plot, dialogue, and setting, both the film adaptation and Glaspell’s play effectively illustrate the main theme of gender relationships and power between the sexes. On the surface, it seems that Trifles is only about the competing roles and different perspectives of men and women; however, this is only one important part of the play. Digging deeper, one sees that Trifles is about a concept that is even more profound. It is about how we pursue the truth, how we come to explain and interpret it, and how we value it.

Distinctions Between Whats True, Whats False

Distinctions Between Whats True, Whats False The statement There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false is both correct and incorrect when examining certain areas of knowledge and ways of knowing. To evaluate the statements accuracy we must understand the meaning of the words true, false and absolute. In my opinion something that has been proven as correct or real is true. On the other hand, something which has failed to be proven true is false, yet this definition itself may be incorrect as others might argue that a claim which has not been credited as true does not necessarily mean it is false. Lastly, the term absolute is something perfect or unlimited. However, how can something be proven true, and if it has, then who determines when there is enough proof to make it true? Normally we rely on evidence to help us prove the validity of a claim, particularly for historical and scientific claims. On the other hand, evidence used could contain problems of knowledge due to bias which could be associate d with it. Therefore, what kind of evidence is needed to have a justified truth in the different areas of knowledge? In my opinion, perception is one of the most important ways of knowing, since we often depend on it to determine whether a claim is true or false. For example, the existence of light is considered a fact due to perceptionyet to a person who has been blind their whole life, light would be considered a myth since they have never perceived it. On the other hand, perception can deceive us and lead us away from the truth. Take for instance a schizophrenic patient. Science has proven that people who suffer schizophrenia are delusional.  [1]  The people they interact with are true to them but their existence to us is false. What gives us the right to deny their existence? Perhaps we are the ones who have a barrier to our senses that stops us from seeing what schizophrenic patients see. Therefore perception could be considered relative as it creates different truths to different individuals and is therefore subjective. Nevertheless it is not just perception alone which leads us to the tr uth. Science is a discipline that is based on hard, objective and systematic evidence before truths can be reached. Through tests and observations possible explanations or hypotheses are formed and later developed into scientific claims which could be regarded as true or false. For example, the cell theory, which states that all living organisms are composed of cells, that cells are the smallest units of life and that they come from pre-existing cells, was derived from several similar hypotheses and then confirmed after many scientists experiments and observations.  [2]  The cell theory is considered true by a large number of scientists yet it can be argued that we cannot claim that the theory is an absolute truth since new evidence can appear and contradict explanations to the theory which could lead, after further experimentation, to new and improved knowledge and a more accurate truth. This is apparent when examining the induced-fit model by Koshland which was discovered after the lock and key model was developed to describe the mechanism of enzyme action.  [3]  The induced model highlighted that certain enzymes could catalyse several similar reactions contradicting the belief that enzymes were as rigid as previously proposed by the lock and key model. From the above examples we can see that scientists are able to distinguish between a true claim and a false one, to a certain extent, and that new truths are built from previous claims which were/are believed to be true but, that it is almost impossible to state that a claim is the absolute truth. I believe the problem with scientific claims is that most scientists have not tested the validity of the previous scientific truths on which they build their new scientific claim. This makes the previous scientific truths, subjective truths, but scientists use these subjective truths in the hope of finding objective truth. Meanwhile, not all scientific claims which have been proven true remain true. Science has witnessed paradigm shifts such as the shift in the belief that stress and spicy food were the causes to stomach ulcers. This was thought because the idea of bacterium surviving in the acidic environment of a stomach was not a possibility, yet it was later proven that the true cause of ulcers was a bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori which lives in the mucus layer near the stomach wall cells.  [4]  This example shows that science has its limitations at certain points of time and that what we believe is true today may not be true tomorrow, therefore embracing Karl Poppers idea of falsification. These paradigm shifts also lead to the idea that there may be no absolute proof in science that can verify nor falsify the validity of a scientific hypothesis. Therefore, should science embrace the concept of relativism, the idea that some claims are true for some people but not necessarily true for all?  [5]  If we deny the concept of relativism, would it prevent us from moving forward and gaining new knowledge since scientific knowledge comes from known truths? I believe that we should bear in mind the chance that any scientific claim known now could be altered or changed at any moment, but as knowers ourselves we should avoid gullibility by continuing to question these scientific claims especially during classes such as the sciences where we as students are exposed to these claims through secondary sources. History is an area of knowledge where determining true historical claims is very different from in science since knowers cannot directly observe the past.  [6]  It is up to historians and the evidence left behind to develop historical claims and prove their validity. During a History class, I was asked to evaluate a few sources of evidence in relation to the Vietnam War. Each source showed different aspects of the war. Here, I was introduced to propaganda and how far off from the truth it can lead people. Certain evidence such as photographs can deceive us again due to our perception as each person may conclude something different. The media is often accused of using certain photographs which appear to convey a certain message leading to biases. Reasoning, one of the ways of knowing, is used in order to conclude on past events. However, how reliable is the historical evidence? Is it all correct, or does it consist of fabricated facts? I once gave a seminar on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the central conflict in the novel One More River, by Lynne Reid Banks. Countries such as the US have failed to solve this conflict due to the two stories of each nation. For both Palestinians and Israelis, most of the evidence they have is based on their beliefs and stories. However stories in history are often not considered as legitimate evidence, for the truth to be determined. Where does the truth really lie with the assumption that previous generations of both sides may have tried to hide the truth in order to insure that future generations could continue to claim the land as their own? Other nations are involved in trying to resolve this conflict, and emotions can play a major part in determining whose side you take through religious or linguistic affinity. The media play on emotion and help shape peoples opinions towards certain topics through the very language, tone and imagery that are used. Language and emotions can either mask the truth or make it clearer. The media are full of news stories that project their own biases, often negatively influencing the perception of the readers/viewers. In such instances, it is almost impossible to establish what is true and what is really false. Mathematics is an area of knowledge which begins logically from a set of axioms (assumptions)  [7]  from which objective truth is stereotypically claimed to be present. For example, 1+1 will always equal 2 yet this example faces counter-claims such as the fact that 1+1= from an artistic perspective forms a window. It could also be argued that when looking at a real life situation where 1 man and 1 woman enter a house we should have 2 people in the house according to the definition, but what if the woman is in the early stages of pregnancy? Therefore in contrary to perception, there would be more than two living human beings in the house, disproving the mathematical definition. An example of objective truth in mathematics is the fact that parallel lines never meet. If they meet, then they would no longer be parallel. In my opinion, math is the not the strongest area of knowledge which agrees with the statement at hand since distinctions between true and false mathematical claims i s possible. However, some areas in mathematics remain subjective. For instance, it could be argued that in order to solve a mathematical equation, mathematical theories and laws must be accepted, making the truth in maths subjective. Over all, after examining three of the six main areas of knowledge, mathematics seems to least support the claim that There are no absolute distinctions between what is true and what is false, as there is much objective truth in mathematics. We see that different areas of knowledge use different ways of knowing as evidence to distinguish between true and false statements in addition to the problems associated with them. Lastly we see how difficult it is to state that absolute truths exist as well as form an absolute distinction between what is true and what is false. Word count: 1598

Essay --

Courage and Honesty in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Approximately 6000 years ago in the late 1300’s, a poem by the title of â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† was written by an anonymous author. The poem was initially written in medieval literature with a very unique rhyme scheme, but was later translated to regular English for the purpose of studying and reading by high school students and researchers. The setting in the beginning of the story is in King Arthurs Court at a New Years Celebration. The celebration seems to be going well until the arrival of an uninvited guest. The Green Knight is introduced to the story when he arrives at the feast and asks the bulk of knights if they are willing to join him in a game. The point of the game is that he will allow which ever knight that chooses to challenge him one swing with an ax to try and chop off his head, but in order to play the game, the accepting knight must meet the green knight one year later at the green chapel so that he may do the same. After a great deal of taunting, the Green knight had finally provoked one of King Arthurs knights to accept his challenge. It just so happens that the bold knight Sir Gawain was the knight to step up to the plate. With only one swing, Sir Gawain is successful in chopping off the Green Knights head. To much astonishment, immediately after the knight is decapitated, he stands up, picks up h is head and is on his way. After a year, Sir Gawain sets off a journey to find the Green Chapel. While on his travels, Sir Gawain arrives at castle and is invited by the Lord to stay for the remainder of his trip.On the first morning of his stay, the Lord makes a deal with Sir Gawain. The deal is that the Lord will go out and search for the Green Cas... ...ed what he got. On the third day while the lord was hunting his wife gives Gawain this magic girdle that she tells him it will save him from the green knight. Gawain takes it and doesn't share what was rightfully the lords. For that woven garment you wear is my own girdle. My wife wove it, *so I know it well. I have missed no facts concerning your acts and kisses, Nor my wife's wooing of you; I brought it all about. I sent her to test you. You withstood her stoutly. You're the most faultless solider who walks on foot! This is explaining how the lord set up this trap for Gawain to fall into. This was to test his honesty and see if he would share this magic girdle that would save his life. Gawain was to the point were he wasn't looking to be honest with the lord and give him back the girdle. He knew if would of given up the girdle the green knight would of killed him.

The Allegory of the Cave: Turn Around :: essays research papers

The Allegory of the Cave: Turn Around   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Putting the Allegory of the Cave into my own words seems comparable to the Christian idea of using the lord's name in vain. First, I'd like to introduce a phenomenon I have observed throughout my life time. I call it soul resonance. Bear with me here. When two objects emit sympathetic vibrations, the sound or force multiplies. Example: Two tuning forks of the same frequency are struck upon each other and held a few feet apart. The vibration is much stronger. Something basic about each object recognizes a similar quality in the other, and amplifies it. As with so many other laws of science, this law applies to many other phenomena. I believe this is what people feel when they first hear the Allegory of the Cave . . . soul resonance. Somehow, something deep inside tells them that here we have found a singular truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Allegory, taken as the story of one man, narrates his life from ignorance to enlightenment. He sits within a cave, facing away from a blazing fire. He stares at the wall opposite him, watching pretty shadow puppets. He listens to the exotic, wonderful, and large words whispered in his ears by the puppeteers. He would naturally turn around, or perhaps even stand, but chains bind him to the ground, and the puppeteers have servants who hold his head in place. One day, a situation arises where he finds that the chains are broken, and he stands. This is against the will of the servants, but they have no physical power over him, if he does not allow it. He turns round and sees the fire and the puppeteers and then he realizes that all has been lies. He is not what they have told him. He does not feel what they have said he does. The fire blinds him. The puppeteers, seeing they have lost another to knowledge, quickly get rid of him by pushing him into the dark cave that looms off to the side, hoping for his demise. The man is lost, he has gone from darkness to light to darkness once again. Something within him tells him to climb, and he does, scrabbling. He cuts himself many times, and many times he almost falls to his demise on the rocky ground below. He pauses often. Until there comes a time when he sees a distant light at the exit/entrance to the cave. When he sees this light, he is not sure whether this is yet another shadow puppet on the wall, but it is upward and that is where he must go.

Cuban Revolution Essay -- essays research papers

Fidel Castro, inspired by Josà © Martà ­ who first dreamt of a Cuban Revolution who died a martyr before he could succeed, wanted to overthrow the corrupt government under Fulgencio Batista. Castro gathered an army of revolutionaries known as the Fidelistas who were driven by nationalism, idealism, patriotism, and the thought of possibly becoming a martyr, a historical glory of Cuba. The result of this revolution in Cuba was an overthrow of the government and the start of a Communist state that still remains today. Several events occurred that led up to the Cuban Revolution. The first war for Cuban independence lasted from 1868 through 1878 and became known as the Ten Years' War. The following year, the "Little War" began and lasted just over one year. The next attempt for independence began in 1892 by Josà © Martà ­. In 1901 the United States passed the Platt Amendment which further angered the Cubans and increased the desire for independence. The Revolution of 1933 was led by a series of small uprisings. Then, in 1952 when Fulgencio Batista seized power and ended the constitutional government in Cuba. The 26th of July movement, also known as M-26, in 1953 was another step toward revolution. Although the M-26 was a physical fight, the first operations of the revolution did not occur until late in 1956. Fighting continued until 1959 when Batista fled the country. The Ten Years' War be...

Net Widening: Big Brother Is Watching You

Privacy is a right that many Americans take for granted. Americans, for the most part, feel that they have privacy. But do they really? In order for one to achieve individuality and autonomy one must have privacy, which is the key factor. For the rapid advances in technology, however, one exchanges their privacy. Should one happen to use a computer to use the Internet, for example, their level of privacy is decreased substantially as you open the door to social control. As Orwell says in 1984, â€Å"Big Brother is watching you. † Ever since the creation of the Internet, more specifically the World Wide Web, the government has utilized Orwellian tactics of surveillance. â€Å"Many parts of the Internet are still kind of like the raw frontier and the Government wants to stake its claim† (TechnoCulture). For instance, in December of 1995, news was released concerning the Government’s intention to fund another ten thousand closed circuit surveillance systems. Even though civil libertarians were assured this action had no sinister motive, responses from most were leery to say the least (â€Å"Big Brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). This technology is very similar to that which Steven Mann, MIT computer specialist, uses. His â€Å"wearable wireless webcam† provides anyone logged onto his Internet home address live views of his daily routine. â€Å"The Internet is sprouting eyes. And ears. And vending machines, hot tubs, coffeepots, robot gardeners, and model railroads. The armada of devices plugged into the Internet, in fact, is transforming the network into a bizarre place that falls somewhere between George Orwell’s 1984 and Candid Camera run amok† (TechnoCulture). Intel currently uses the same technology for the cameras they sell for consumers to put on top of their monitors in order to be seen by others. This technology is inside your very computer monitor (â€Å"Eyes On The Net†). How do you know it’s not being utilized to oversee you? Is Big Brother watching you? â€Å"A year ago, there were only a few devices connected to the Internet that any person could freely use. But the number of devices is exploding. Uses for these things are as diverse as a person’s imagination. As devices have proliferated, imaginative applications of telepresence technology have attracted a huge following among rank-and-file Internet users. The implications of such devices have devastating potential† (â€Å"Eyes On The Net†). Another bit of a shocker is that Web pages can actually keep track of the Internet addresses of visitors. This intrinsically is a complete invasion of privacy. Just imagine someone else knows about every Web page you go to. So what? What’s the big deal? The big deal is that this infringement of privacy strips one of their individuality and autonomy. This form of social control can kill individuality. According to JM Balkin, â€Å"Each of us has both a public and private self; the public self we reveal to the world, and the private self we retain control over by withholding it from others. Our ability to provide or withhold aspects of our private selves preserves and constitutes our autonomy. The exchanges of private information, signal intimacy and trust, and their disclosure to third parties is usually thought of as a sign of betrayal† (Understanding†¦). Even if one is unaware of the infringement against them it will still harm their individuality because what you withhold from others is a part of what makes up your individuality. Once others know what you don’t want them to, your individuality is opened and destroyed (Understanding†¦). These violations are already presented in several businesses and educational institutions throughout America (â€Å"WARNING†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). These violations produce what Edward Bloustein describes as â€Å"†¦a being that is not an individual. â€Å"A man compelled to live every minute of his life among others and whose every need, thought, fancy, or gratification is subject to public scrutiny merges with the mass and is deprived of individuality and human dignity. † (â€Å"Privacy as an†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). When a collective conscience, in this instance the government, penetrates deeply into everyday affairs, what seems to be trivial can soon escalate into devastation. Privacy vi olations are no different from Nazi totalitarianism. In totalitarian governments, like Nazi Germany, the collective conscience can penetrate all relations between individuals. Such totalitarian governments have killed approximately 115 million people. Once America is filled with non-autonomous drones and a totalitarian stage is set, government genocide, massacres, and other mass killings could likely take place as well. No matter how extreme the possibilities, they must be looked at. Another example of social control is utilized widely on the Internet by the Government but is not as Orwellian as the previous examples. Internet censorship is a form of privacy invasion. The very essence of the Internet is absolute freedom. It’s a cyber-anarchy in which there is peace. However, buried within the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a clause restricting indecent material from being transmitted across the Internet. â€Å"Note that this is indecent material, not obscene material. There is, in the legal sense, a difference. Obscenity, which is not protected by the First Amendment, must meet this three-pronged test: An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find the material appeals to prurient interest. The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by law. And, the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. That is the law's definition of obscenity, and it is not protected by the First Amendment. It is illegal in all mediums Internet included. What we are talking about is indecency, which is a whole new ball game. These laws will criminalize material ‘available to a person under 18 years of age that depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs. ’ This is basically fancy talk for indecent material† (â€Å"Censoring Internet is wrong†). That is much broader than the three-pronged definition. It hypothetically includes anything from objectionable music lyrics to movie sound clips to drug store pornography. This is stuff that is all legal, although some of it to people 18 and older. Yet the bill labels it to be illegal to ALL when on the Internet. Whether in electronic form or in a magazine, the material is unchanged. Yet its restrictions change dramatically. While its intentions may be pure the government cannot be allowed to establish the precedent of censoring legal material in any medium at all (â€Å"Censoring Internet is wrong†). Once this happens, we are one step closer to George Orwell's 1984, where not only computers, but thought as well, are regulated by the Powers That Be† (â€Å"Censoring Internet is wrong†). Now one must also look to the opposite end of the spectrum in all fairness. The technological advances may be worth the sacrifice, if there even is one. As a practical matter, scie ntists and engineers see real advantages to telepresence. NASA routinely guides spacecraft millions of miles away, but the Internet offers rudimentary telepresence for the masses. Astronomers at the University of Georgia and three other southeastern universities now operate a 30-inch robot telescope on a mountain in Arizona without ever leaving their offices. Internet users can access government data buoys in the middle of the ocean to check local wind and wave conditions. Californians can now track stream-flow in remote rivers from instruments connected to the Internet. Anyone on the World Wide Web can access a battery of â€Å"weathercams† enabling him or her to actually see the weather. â€Å"Given the groundswell of interest, the day may not be so far off when people water their own plants from afar. Maybe they’ll even figure out a way to feed the cat and walk the dog via the Internet† (TechnoCulture). Does this technology have to be bad? Steven Mann stated: â€Å"Sometimes women ask me to give them a safe escort back to the dorm. If we really want safer streets, maybe we should distribute cameras like mine to everyone. In addition to having a little fun, wearable videocams could become personal safety devices† (TechnoCulture). In fact, this same surveillance technology has succeeded in trapping under-age drinkers and drug users on tape. Police have also used the technology to target local criminals. The video evidence has proven incontrovertible thus leading to swift punishment and safer communities. Just like anything of great responsibility, in the right hands this new technological era can bring forth much good, however, in the wrong hands can bring forth much peril. These advances bring societies closer to Orwellian ones but they also better the societies. If the abuse of this technology does indeed exist, all there is now is the speculation of such an activity. Hopefully it will stay that way. Is Big Brother Watching You? Works Cited Balkin, JM â€Å"Understanding Legal Understanding: The Legal Subject and the Problem of Legal Coherence† (1993) 103 Yale Law Journal 105-176. 1997. â€Å"Big Brother is watching you. † Nd. : n. pag. Online. Internet. 06 May 1998. Available WWW: http://malone. math. soton. ac/postgraduate/students/ Polton/December_1995. html Edward J. Bloustein. â€Å"Privacy as an aspect of human dignity – An Answer to Dean Prosser. † Philosophical Dimensions of Privacy: An Anthology, ed. Ferdinand Schoeman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984) 177. â€Å"Eyes On the Net. † Home Page. Nd. : n. pag. Online. Internet. 06 May 1998. Available WWW: http://www. mitchell. net/article. htm Orwell, George. 1984 New York, Signet. 1949 â€Å"TechnoCulture Archive† Home Page. Nd. : n. pag. Online. Internet. 06 May 1998. Available WWW: http://www. mitchell. net/ant/article. htm â€Å"WARNI NG: Big Brother is watching you† Home Page. Nd. : n. pag. Online. Internet. 06 May 1998. Available WWW:http://www. diku. dk/students/ballerp/big-brother. html

Hollifield Family Reunion Essay

Every year around the last week of July my father’s family all meets for a two day reunion in the small town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Hollifield’s have resided in the area for over 100 years! There are many streets named after us and if you’re walking around town some people even notice you’re a Hollifield just by looking at you. Although it is only two days long, the reunion is something I cherish deep in my heart, for it’s the only time I get to see my father’s family. One night in 1974, my grandpa and a few other family members were sitting around reminiscing about their childhood. They were laughing at all the memories and good times they’ve had and all the trouble they got into. My grandpa was telling everyone he had been thinking of a way that everyone could make some time to all come together for a couple days once every year. His uncle told him that they should start a family reunion. So starting in July of 1974 the annual Hollifield reunion began. Everyone gets to the hotel Friday night and gets settled in and reacquainted a lot of hugging, kissing, laughing, and eating. My sister and I get our own hotel room so most of our cousins bring sleeping bags and stay both nights in our room. We talk about what we’ve all done that year, who’s dating who, what kind of cars we’ve bought; we pretty much talk each other’s ears off. The next morning we all get up and find somewhere to eat and walk around town. Downtown Spruce Pine is absolutely beautiful. There are flowers and pine trees growing everywhere, and you can smell all the bakeries and barbeque pits. There are little stores with antiques and instruments, florists, wedding dress shops, and candy stores. It could go from 90 degrees with the sun shining to a humid rain in a matter of minutes. When it rains you can smell it a hundred times better than in California. After we walk through town we get to a huge, long wooden bridge. It’s been there for years and underneath it flows a beautiful creek and a park filled with laughing children frolicking in the sunlight. We normally go to the park and mess  around on everything then make our way to the creek. You have to go down a steep hill made of dirt and freckled with little patches of bright green grass. The boys catch crawdads and crayfish while us girls dip our feet in the clear chilly water and wait for the train to pass. The train is large and used to transport coal and freight. Personally, the train is one of my favorite parts of Spruce Pine. It’s loud yet still soothing and controlled. After a few hours the rest of the family begins to show up at the park with fresh, good old-fashioned southern food. They unload the cars of barbeque, slaw, potatoes, mac and cheese, collard greens, green beans, pasta salads, and more desert than any amount of people should ever consume. Following our meal is the baseball game. The whole family plays and we get chosen randomly for two teams. In the end my grandpa tells us that everyone won and an MVP is chosen from each team who receives a golden trophy of a boy or girl with a tiny body and huge head, holding a baseball bat. We all clean up then head back to the hotel to get swimsuits and drive over to the pool. A few hours into swimming we decide to go to the hotel and shower then all the kids find a place to eat supper. Upon leaving the restaurant someone informs us that the annual hide-n-seek game has begun. We take off running towards the hotel to find a hiding place while the person chosen as â€Å"it† stays and counts for 5 minutes. The game involves a lot of pushing, shoving, screaming, laughing, and those little chills you get when you’ve found a place and you know that any second you could be found. After the game we all head back to my sister and I’s room and hang out. We stay up all night talking about everything that happened, who did the most embarrassing thing, which was the funniest, and other things we had encountered that day. As the night goes by we start to notice our time is almost up. Most of my cousins live in NC so they see each other all the time, but as the hours pass my sister and I notice that our time in NC is almost over; that we’ll have to wait yet another slow, California year before we get back to the peaceful happiness of NC. Around 9 in the morning our cousin’s head back to their rooms to get ready for our last meal together. For breakfast Sunday morning the whole family fills the back room of The Western Sizzler. Western Sizzler may be the best place to get breakfast ever. It’s is 3 large buffet tables covered in bacon, sausage, ham, eggs,  fruit, veggies, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy, yogurt, granola, hash browns, country potatoes, varieties of juices, milks, sodas. And at the end there is a huge dessert bar. We eat and talk and talk and eat. And eat some more†¦ and then a little bit more. We catch up with some of the older members of the family and tell them what we did all weekend. My aunt Vicki walks around and takes millions of pictures with her big nice camera that has a flash that could blind the whole family at the same time. When everyone has finished my grandpa stands up and talks about all the great things that have gone on during the weekend, all the graduates and birthdays, all the births and deaths. We end the reunion by hugging and some crying (I won’t lie; Ià ¢â‚¬â„¢m one of the criers). If my family had never got the idea to have a reunion, I don’t know when I would ever see them. The reunion brings us together in a quick two day span filled with great food, laughter, and all around happiness. It seems like when we’re all together nothing can go wrong. My cousins and I have vowed that when our time comes, we will carry on the tradition of the Hollifield Family Reunion until the day we die.

Leadership Communication Styles Inventory Essay

As a manager or leader of an organization of any kind, the power and ability to effectively lead others are in the choices made to build a healthy, motivational, and productive relationship with people on your team. We all influence others in some way, its Just that we seldom realize that we do or how we do it. Power in the workplace has traditionally been defined as force, dominance, assertiveness, strength, invincibility, and authority. In forward thinking corporations, power requires a commitment and a plan of action (Hale, 2010). Power and influence are somewhat interchangeable. Power is the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others. Power is not the act of changing someonws attitudes or behavior; it is only the potential to do so. You might feel powerful or think you have power over someone else, but this is not power unless you truly have the capacity to influence that person (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). One of the hardest lessons of management is that practically everything that has to be done must be done by others. Manager ¤Ã‚ ¬ws duties not only include directing employees ut controlling the budget, assets, and other Jobs within the organization as well. Leadership is the ability to get people to do what they don ¬wt want to do and like it. In other words, the core problem for leaders in any organization involves getting others to do what is required to accomplish the organization ¤es goals (Michelson). The concept of power and its application to leadership and management has gotten a bad reputation. Terms such as power hungry, abuse of power and corrupted by power have diluted powerws real use and meaning and deprived some leaders f the opportunity to understand and use various forms of power to good purposes (Wood, 2010). I like to believe people misuse their power simply because they have it and are unaware of it. When used in a positive, moral, and ethical manner, power is an excellent resource. It requires the perception of dependence, so people might gain power by convincing others that they have something of value, whether or not they actually control that resource. Consequently power exists when others believe that you control resources they want (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 010). People rely on their emotion more frequently than they realize to make decisions, so to become a more powerful influencer, it is wise to consider othews values, personality, and intelligence and express confidence in the personws ability to accomplish the Job. The type of power applied affects the type of influence the power holder has over the other person or work unit. Everyone has power and I d believe that to be a bad thing. The issue becomes what kind of power a person has and how it is used. The most powerful source is based on one osition within an organization and the authority given in that position (Wood, 2010). An abusive boss can lose respect and influence from their team members. As a leader, your influence and power are not only about getting the Job done, itws about the relationships you develop in the workplace. A supervisor on my Job is retiring in a couple ot months and it seems ner whole attitude and demeanor nas changed. She seems to be on a quest to get all the people she wants out of the company and all that she wants promoted before she leaves. The influence and respect that she once possessed is no longer apparent or given to her and the orale in the office is very low. Her tactics to get the Job done are threatening, humiliating, and demeaning for some of the employees. They are afraid to go above her for the fear of retaliation, so they wait and hope that their Jobs are safe until she retires. French and Raven, social psychologists, identified five sources of power – legitimate, coercive, reward, expert, and referent – that help the dependent person directly or indirectly achieve his or her goals. Legitimate, reward and coercive are sources of power granted formally by the organization and informally by co-workers; hey are positional powers (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). Legitimate power is an agreement among organizational members that people in certain roles can request certain behaviors of others. It depends on mutual agreement from those expected to abide by this authority (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). True and lasting power comes from being a leader worthy of respect and admiration. If you treat people with dignity and respect, you will build a trusting relationship and people will look up to you, listen to what you say, and want to be like you. Reward power derived from the person ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sanctions. Managers have power over the distribution of organizational rewards such as pay, promotions, time off, vacation schedules, and work assignments (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). This power comes with the position and can be taken away if the position is removed. Coercive power is the ability to apply punishment. Employees also have coercive power to ensure that co-workers conform to team norms (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). You have this kind of power when youwre in a position to punish others if they don ¬wt do what you want. People fear the consequences of not doing what has been asked of them. Expert and referent powers are based on an individuws personal power. These powers are based on charisma, likeability, and positive feelings the leader generates among subordinates (Wood, 2010). There is research suggesting that charismatic leadership is negatively related to harmful behaviors in the workplace. For example, transformational leadership was negatively associated with safety accidents which harisma is a large component of (Hale, 2010). These powers originate from the power holders characteristics and are power bases brought to the organization. Expert power is an individualws or work uws capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that others value (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). This power is based on what you know and will quickly gain you respect and influence in the workplace. It is all about knowing your Job and doing it well and not being afraid in learning all that you can. It could potentially be the basis for a managerial role for an employee. Referent power is a function ofa perso ¬ws interpersonal skills which allows others to identify with them, like them, or respect them and is associated with charismatic leadership (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). People are well liked and are considered role models because of their connection and concern for other people. People who are well-liked and respected nave a tremendous amount ot reterent power. A wise leader knows now and when to apply the right amount of power to influence an individual, group, or situation to move an agenda forward (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). In order to be an effective leader, a person cannot rely solely on either of these positions of power. Leading by example, offering rewards, or threatening punishments all can be used as power tools to accomplish goals, however more power can be gained by sharing it among the team in a more subtle and counterintuitive way (Wood, 2010). If you want your team to be ethical and respectful of each other, I believe the example should start from the top. Using influence tactics well requires a healthy combination of interpersonal, communication, presentation, and assertiveness techniques, verbal skills such as asserting, probing, ersisting, speaking conversationally, and willingness to ask for favors ( (Selling and Persuaion Techniques ). Influence refers to any behavior that attempts to alter someonws attitudes or behaviors (McShane, Steven L, Mary Ann Von Glinow, 2010). You may try to exert your influence through coercion and manipulation and you might even get things done but that isn ¬wt really influencing. Thatws forcing people to do what you want them to do and often against their will. Effective leaders use combinations of various strategies for different purposes under different onditions which can be classified under three categories: retribution, reciprocation, and reason (Michelson).