The comparative case study of Developed (G-8 & G-20 countries) Term Paper

The comparative case study of Developed (G-8 & G-20 countries) - Term Paper Example The United Nation’s definition of the poor indicates that they are such persons living on less than a dollar a day. The more alarming indications that the developed economies classified under the G-8 and the G-20 have their share of economic problems points out the seriousness of this issue. The world’s giant economies are classified under the G-8 whereas the G-20 are the fast growing economies of the world that have continued to be a threat to the developed nations in terms of economic power. The World Bank has made projections to the effect that developing countries or the G20 are likely to reach full capacity in terms of growth and consequently slowing growth from the year 2010’s 7.3 percent to a region of around 6.3 percent annually as from 2011-2013. On the other hand, the G8 will encounter a slowed growth from the lower growth reflected by the 2010’s 2.7 percent to the year 2011’s drop to 2.2 percent. They will experience a rise of up to 2.7 percent in the end of 2012 and a further drop to 2.6 percent in 2013, which shows a fluctuating economy in the giant economies1. If these statistics are to be believed, the developing world is steadily catching up with their developed counterparts even though there are obstacles that they must overcome. This paper examines the macroeconomic indicators of two selected countries (United States and Saudi Arabia) that are in the G-8 and G-20 categories. The period of examination shall be in the last five years a nd indicators such as the GDP, unemployment rates, GNP, consumer and producer price index and GDP per capita among others will be used to analyze their macroeconomic conditions. United States is slowly picking up from the worst economic downfall in decades. On the other hand, the Arabic nation of Saudi Arabia has not been affected much by the global economic crisis but that does not mean that the citizens of the

Summary of Frank Sinatra Essay Example for Free

Summary of Frank Sinatra Essay Growing up on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey, made Frank Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. Starting out as a saloon singer in many down-trotted bars, he got his first major break in 1935 as part of The Hoboken Four on a popular radio show, Major Bowes Amateur Hour. In 1939 Sinatra caught the attention of Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. He sang the first ever No. 1 song on Billboard, Ill Never Smile Again. That same year he married Nancy Barbato with whom he had three children, Nancy, Tina and Frank, Jr. Sinatra. In 1942 Sinatra started his earnest solo career and instantly found fame as the number one singing star among teenage music fans of the era, especially the young women and girls who were referred to as the Bobbysoxers. In 1944 Sinatras acting career was beginning and he made a statement with a lead role in Anchors Aweigh (1945) alongside Gene Kelly. The following year Sinatra was awarded a special Oscar for his part in a short film against intolerance called The House I Live In (1946). His career on high, Sinatra went from, recording his first album (The Voice of Frank Sinatra) at Columbia and starring in several movies. A scandalous public affair with Ava Gardner broke up Sinatras marriage. A second marriage to Gardner followed in 1951 was the start of a down spiral. Record sales dwindling, live appearances failing to sell out, and Sinatras vocal chords hemorrhaging live on stage their toll. Sinatra continued to act. Receiving the musical drama Meet Danny Wilson (1951) and fighting for, and winning, the coveted role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953) increased popularity. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting actor and followed this with a profound performance as the deranged assassin John Baron in Suddenly (1954) and Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, in the powerful drama The Man With the Golden Arm (1955). On record Sinatra was also back on a high having signed with Capitol records and riding high on the charts with the album In the Wee Small Hours ( 1953) and the single Young at Heart (1954). Throughout the 1950s Sinatra not only recorded a slew of critically and commercially successful albums, his acting career remained on a high as he gave strong and memorable performances in such films as Guys and Dolls (1955), The Joker is Wild (1957), Kings Go Forth (1957) and Some Came Running (1958). He also dabbled with producing in the 1950s, first bringing the western Johnny Concho to the big screen and, along with Frank Capra, A Hole in the Head (1959), in which he co-starred with Edward G. Robinson. Continuing this trend into the 1960s, Sinatra produced Oceans 11 (1960), Sergeants 3 (1963, and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) as well as starting his own record label, Reprise Records, in 1961. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965 and, in many ways, his career once again peaked, recording the album September of My Years which won the Grammy for album of the year and making his directorial debut with the anti-war film None but the Brave (1965) His final acting performance in 1987 was as a retired detective seeking vengeance on the killers of his granddaughter in an episode of Magnum P.I. entitled â€Å"Laura†. On stage, Sinatra was as prolific as ever, playing both nationally and internationally to sold out crowds in stadiums and arenas. In 1993 Sinatra stepped back into Capitol studios to record his final albums, Duets and Duets II (both of which were highly successful) Sinatra passed away on May 14th 1998. Frank Sinatra was a legendary Hollywood icon, a profound film actor, an iconic musician, and a well known ladies man. There were so many sides to Sinatra, that it’s hard to categorize him under any label. He was always himself, always living to the fullest. He was (like many celebrities) loved and hated, but that never mattered to him. Frank didn’t need anyone to like him. All he wanted was someone to listen and someone to care. That’s exactly what he got. â€Å"You gotta love livin, baby, cause dyin is a pain in the ass.† -Frank Sinatra

Transcendentalism in the Poems of Whitman Essay -- Biography Biographi

Transcendentalism in the Poems of Whitman      Ã‚  Ã‚   From looking at the titles of Walt Whitman's vast collection of poetry in Leaves of Grass one would be able to surmise that the great American poet wrote about many subjects -- expressing his ideas and thoughts about everything from religion to Abraham Lincoln. Quite the opposite is true, Walt Whitman wrote only about a single subject which was so powerful in the mind of the poet that it consumed him to the point that whatever he wrote echoed of that subject. The beliefs and tenets of transcendentalism were the subjects that caused Whitman to write and carried through not only in the wording and imagery of his poems, but also in the revolutionary way that he chose to write his poetry. The basic assumptions and premises of transcendentalism can be seen in all of Whitman's poems, and are evident in two short poetic masterpieces: "A Noiseless Patient Spider" and "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer."    In the belief of transcendentalism, the reliance on intuition, instead of rationalization, became the means for a union between an individual's soul and the soul of the world or the cosmos. Called the Oversoul by Emerson, this collective soul gathered the soul of a person upon a person's death. To understand the Oversoul, one had to first understand oneself and then look toward nature as expressions and instructions for the living of one's life (Boller 1-3). Through all of Whitman's collections of poetry, essays, and letters, he quested to find the meaning of life and to understand the Oversoul, which the great poet referred to as the "float."    In "A Noiseless Patient, Whitman presents a simple analogy that compares a lone spider searching for a hold to his soul as... ...au, Roger. The Transcendentalist Constant in American Literature. New York: New York UP, 1980. Boller, Paul. American Transcendentalism, 1830-1860: An Intellectual Inquiry. New York: Putnam, 1974. Eckley, Wilton. "Whitman's 'A Noiseless Patient Spider.'" The Explicator 22 (1963): 20. Emmanuel, Lenny. "Whitman's Fusion of Science and Poetry." Walt Whitman Review 17 (1971): 73-81. Lindfors, Berndt. "Whitman's 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer.'" Walt Whitman Review 10 (1964): 19-21. Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "An Important American Critic Views Whitman." Critical Essays on Walt Whitman. Ed. James Woodress. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983. 116-127. Whitman, Walt. "The Noiseless Patient Spider." Leaves of Grass. New York: Penguin, 1980. 347-348. Whitman, Walt. "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." Leaves of Grass. New York: Penguin, 1980. 226-227.

Models for Change Business Process Reengineering Essay

Assess Business Strategy Like many other approaches, BPR claims to align organisation change (and IT development) with business strategy. This is important because BPR concentrates of improving processes which are of primary strategic importance. The assumption is that strategy is already determined, and that it is externally focussed, dealing with customers, products, suppliers and markets. BPR is quite distinct from strategic planning. Select Processes Here we choose those processes on which we will concentrate our reengineering effort. This choice involves a number of steps. Identify Major Processes A process as â€Å"a structured,measured set of activities designed to produce a specified output for a particular customer or market, process is â€Å"an interrelated series of activities that convert business inputs into business outputs (by changing the state of relevant business entities)†. Determine Process Boundaries This is easy to say and hard to do. Some processes, such as product manufacture, are fairly obvious, though there may be doubt whether to include activities such as materials procurement within this process. Sometimes the boundaries between processes which follow one another (eg marketing and sales, delivery and installation) are hard to agree. Processes which involve more than one company can also cause boundary problems. Assess Strategic Relevance Usually reengineering will concentrate on a small number of processes. This may seem suboptimal, but provided the processes chosen are complete (not parts of processes) and the reengineering is thorough, a flow-on effect will probably mean that unsatisfactory neighbouring processes will soon become candidates for redesign. So we should begin with those processes which are most critical to the organisation’s strategy. At UTS, for instance, the major strategy might be to obtain more money from industry. Processes directly contributing to this strategy would be good candidates for reengineering. Qualify Culture and Politics This step (which is even less quantifiable than the others) assesses the culture and politics of the organisational units performing activities within the process, and how these units are viewed in wider organisational politics and culture. Processes in a medical school, for instance, may be harder to reengineer than those in a business school, both because the medical school places a high value on its independence and because it is highly regarded by the rest of the university (or even society). Since successful reengineering ultimately depends on the cooperation of those performing the process, it is better to deal with processes where the culture and politics are favourable. Creating a Process Vision â€Å"Creating a strong and sustained linkage between strategy and the way work is done is an enduring challenge in complex organizations. Because business processes define how work is done, we are dealing with the relationship between strategy and processes.In BPR, as in all design work, creating the vision is the crucial stage; and it is also the least structured. In assessing strategy and selecting processes we were trying to understand things which (in theory) already exist. Similarly when we come to assess existing processes and resources. For design and implementation we may be helped by guidelines, methodologies and examples of similar systems. But in creating a vision we are more or less on our own. There are a number of techniques, which are known to help in the creative process. When working on process visions it is also helpful to consider in which areas of the business we wish to redesign processes. Davenport deals with two aspects of vision creation: the search for a vi sion and vision characteristics. Vision – search Process visons must be related to strategy, so we may look to the organisation’s strategy for inspiration. This assumes that the strategy is sufficiently specific to give a sense of direction (eg â€Å"improve quality of service to regular customers† rather than â€Å"improve quality†). Thinking about strategy also keeps the vision search at the right level – broad but specific. Because much BPR work supports a customer focused strategy, it is important to have customer input to the vision. More generally, the â€Å"customer† is the one receiving the business output, and this includes internal customers; it is important that we know the output is â€Å"right† before we start working out how to produce it. Benchmarking, in the context of creating a project, means seeing how other people do it. This is related to the idea of adopting â€Å"best practice†, though if we want competitive advantage we may have to do better than â€Å"best†; nevertheless, it is good to find out what is best so far. We are looking for ideas, not imitating, so we may look for benchmarks in quite different types of organisation; in fact this may be easier, since our direct competitors may not wish to reveal their â€Å"best† practice to us. Vision – objectives and attributes â€Å"Process visions, like strategies, should be easy to communicate to the organization, no threatening to those who must implement (or who are affected by) them, and as inspirational as measurable targets can be.† [Davenport,p119] The process vision shows what we want our new process to do and to a very limited extent how it will do it. These are respectively the process objectives and attributes. The objectives should have a customer or business focus – they must truly be concerned with outcome. They must according to all the experts be measurable – we must be able to tell how we have done. And they should be simple and non-contradicty – we don’t want a long list of competing objectives, nor objectives whose measures are only comprehensible to a mathematician, economist or accountant. Typical objectives would be â€Å"reduce delivery time by 50%† or â€Å"double the number of potential customers contacted per month†. The attributes indicate how we intend to achieve the objectives, perhaps in terms of technology or general principles. It is somewhat unusual to develop objectives and means simultaneously but since BPR is aiming for radical objectives it is necessary to have some indication of how they will be achieved before management will be prepared to commit to the design phase. Notice that it is important at this stage to consider a variety of means before the vision is finalised. Adding attributes to our objectives might give â€Å"reduce delivery time by 50% by outsourcing delivery services† or â€Å"use to internet to double the number of potential customers contacted per month without increasing staff†. Davenport points out that radical change will only be achieved by setting ambitious objectives – â€Å"creativity must be encouraged by setting impossible goals†. Understand and Improve Existing Processes Some proponents of BPR advocate starting with a â€Å"clean slate† but most (including Davenport) recommend that we spend time studying existing processes. There are a number of reasons for this: †¢People in the organisations (and customers) will use language based on the existing processes. We need to use this language to explain our proposals. †¢When implementing the new processes we will have to plan change from the current situation – the existing processes. †¢The existing processes may be causing problems which we could easily repeat if we do not understand them. Existing processes may also contain activities for avoiding problems which we might not anticipate. †¢The existing processes are the base from which we measure improvement. Studying the existing processes includes the following activities: †¢The current process flow is described using any suitable diagramming method. Such a method should indicate the sequence of activities, trigger events, time taken for each activity and any buffering delays. †¢The current process is evaluated against the new objectives and assessed for conformance to the new attributes. †¢Problems with the current process are identified. It is important to remember that reengneering is not meant simply to rationalize existing processes. †¢Short term improvements to the current processes are proposed. It is not advisable to postpone simple improvements until complete reengineering is done. Assess Social and Technical Resources In this step we judge whether we have the resources available to proceed with the project. â€Å"Social resources† refer to the organisation and the people in it. Is the organisation used to change? Are there key supporters of BPR? Does the organisation have a tradition of team work and open discussion? Is there an atmosphere of trust? What skills are available? Are people willing to learn? If social resources appear to be inadequate, they will need to be developed before or during the reengineering project. The same applies to technical resources, though these are easier to judge. Is appropriate technology available to support the new processes? This means hardware, software and skilled people. Limitations particularly occur with network infrastructure. Again, missing capabilities will have to be developed, although in this case (unlike social resources) outsourcing is a possibility. Design and Implement New Processes Design and implementation of the new processes can use any suitable methodology, but a number of points need to be remembered. †¢Since BPR is performance oriented the methodology must be able to predict performance during design. †¢BPR projects are meant to be done quickly – the methodology should support this. †¢Stakeholders (both customers and those who will be operating the process) must be involved. †¢We are looking for radical design as well as radical vision so there will be more brainstorming. †¢For any design proposal we must be able to assess feasibility, risk and benefit. †¢It would be difficult to achieve the previous objectives unless the methodology was strongly based on prototyping. 5 stages of reengineering: †¢preparation †¢identification †¢vision †¢design – technical, social †¢transformation These stages are very similar to Davenport’s, although they go into more detail about process modelling. Manganelli pays more attention to improving existing processes and his methodology has more emphasis on entities rather than processes – ie it has more of a data base flavour. Davenport (1993) notes that Quality management, often referred to as total quality management (TQM) or continuous improvement, refers to programs and initiatives that emphasize incremental improvement in work processes and outputs over an open-ended period of time. In contrast, Reengineering, also known as business process redesign or process innovation, refers to discrete initiatives that are intended to achieve radically redesigned and improved work processes in a bounded time frame. Contrast between the two is provided by Davenport (1993):

Starbucks Going Global Fast

Cataracts is known worldwide as one of the largest and most successful coffee shops. The green circle and mermaid symbol, that has become so well known, it can be seen in nearly every US city, and the company has ambitious plans to expand rapidly off-shore. Howard Schultz started the company in 1987 when he bought out his bosses and began expanding. Cataracts expansion, so far, seems to be rather successful as they have opened over 16,000 coffee shops in 44 countries and have no plans of slowing down.Although the company has experienced exponential growth and unprecedented success It Is not without Its problems. For one, there Is an Increasing level Is dissatisfaction with employees which seems to stem from Cataracts aggressive expansion. With so many employees and stores nation and worldwide employees are becoming increasingly jaded and out of sync with the original mission statement of Cataracts, which was to focus on superior customer service, and service with a smile. Workers are also complaining about being over worked and under compensated. Still bigger problems present themselves.The baby boomers, Cataracts bread and butter consumer, are slowly disappearing, giving way to the more thrifty, down-to- earth generation X, who have become increasingly weary of powerful and rich corporations and whose focus seems to have shifted from the mainstream to the local in most consumer categories. Generation Seer's are feeling out of place In expensive coffee shops and seem to prefer cheaper alternatives, or prefer to simply make their own coffee. Generation Seer's are also wearier because of some shady practices that Cataracts engages In, such as predatory real estate, which lends toSeer's already heightened alert for corporations. Cataracts also does a lot of things right. They cater new products to new markets, such as a green tea Production that was first developed for and introduced in Japan. It has since been a hit and released in the USA. They seem to grasp the fundamental concept that not all markets are the same and understand that existing products might need to be tweaked for them to succeed abroad. They have a sound business model, which lends them ownership to all stores, meaning that stores are not franchised and the corporate hand can interfere with each store as they see fit.The company is expanding rapidly, but the US market Is quickly becoming saturated. To fuel continued expansion and maintain a 20% annual growth the company must go overseas, and this presents problems all on their own, because as we know every cultures tastes and values differ, which Is a pivotal lesson of International marketing. I think that Cataracts business model is sound. As we know the goal of any Dustless Is to maximize senatorial Investment r sucks NAS done Tanat. I nee nave recorded insane sales figures and have grown from 17 coffee shops in Seattle 15 years ago to over 16,000 outlets in 44 countries.Sales have climbed an average of 20 percent annua lly since the company went public, hitting 673 million last year. They are clearly doing something right, but in my opinion the success will be short lived. Society is shifting gears and the world is changing directions from a world of tangibles to a world of services, from a world of waste to a world of saving. While Cataracts makes a quality product there are also many viable, cheaper, even better substitutes that you can make yourself, and I think that you will see the decline of sales will coincide with a decline in the population of boomers.

Life Of Theodora EffectÑ On Theatre

Life Of Theodora EffectÃ'• On Theatre Free Online Research Papers Theodora, of Greek Cypriot de?cent,[4] wa? born a? aerted by ?ome hi?torian? on the i?le of Crete in Greece, but other one? regi?ter her birthplace a? ?yria. Nicephoru? Calli?tu? Xanthopoulo? title? Theodora a native of Cypru?. Patria, attributed to George Codinu?, aertion? Theodora came from Paphlagonia. The Patria aertion? ?he wa? ?ub?equent engaged in Con?tantinople, ?pinning wool. Michael the ?yrian, the Chronicle of 1234 and Bar-Hebraeu? location her ?ource in the town of Daman, be?ide Kalliniko?, ?yria. They contradict Procopiu? by making Theodora the female child of a accept trainer, taught in the piou? practice? of Miaphy?iti?m ?ince birth. ?he wa? pre?ented to Ju?tinian throughout one of hi? vi?it? to the to the ea?t province? and ?ub?equent married. The?e are Miaphy?ite cau?e? and record her portrayal amid?t con?tituent? of their creed. The Miaphy?ite? have tended to con?ider Theodora a? one of their own and the cu?tom m ay have been created a? a way to advance her reputation. The?e anecdote? are generally di?regarded ?upportive Procopiu?. Theodora had a aeed effect on theatre, ?upplementing an component of orientali?m in enhancing the propo?al to the imperial per?on. ?he furthermore aerted on the Empre obtaining the identical ?alute a? the Emperor from tho?e who came to the theatre. ?he wa? evidently the fir?t Empre to do ?o. According to Procopiu?, Among the innovation? of Ju?tinian and Theodora in the management of the Government there i? furthermore the following. In very vintage time? the ?enate, a? it came into the Emperor? occurrence, wa? u?ed to do obei?ance in the following manner. Any man of patrician grade ?aluted him on the right brea?t. And the Emperor would ki him on the head and then bru?h a?ide him; but all remainder fir?t angled the right knee to the Emperor and then withdrew. The Empre, although, it wa? not at all cu?tomary to ?alute. But in the ca?e of Ju?tinian and Theodora, all the other con?tituent? of the ?enate and tho?e a? well who held the grade of Patrician?, when they went into into their oc currence, would pro?trate them?elve? to the floor, flat on their face?, and retaining their hand? and feet extended far out they would feel with their lip? one ba?e of each before ri?ing.For even Theodora wa? not di?po?ed to forego thi? te?timony to her dignity, ?he who acted on a? though the Roman Empire lay at her feet, but wa? by no mean? aver?e to obtaining even the ambaador? of the Per?ian? and of the other barbarian? and to be?towing upon them pre?ent? of ca?h, a thing which had not ever occurred ?ince the ?tarting of time. And while in previou? time? tho?e who came to upon the Emperor utili?ed ea?ily to call him Emperor and hi? con?ort Empre, and utili?ed to addre each one of the other magi?trate? in agreement with hi? ?tanding at the in?tant, yet if any individual ?hould go in into dialogue with either one of the?e two and ?hould u?e the phra?e? Emperor are Empre and go incorrect to call them Ma?ter or Mi?tre, or ?hould undertake to u?e any other phra?e but ?lave? in mention ing to any of the magi?trate?, ?uch a individual would be accounted both fooli?h and too free of tongue, and, a? though he had erred mo?t grievou?ly and had treated with whole indignity tho?e who he ?hould by no mean? have ?o treated, would depart the imperial pre?ence. And while in previou? time? very couple of individual? went into the Palace, and that too with adver?ity, yet ?ince the time when the?e did well to the throne, both magi?trate? and all other one? ?imultaneou?ly ?tayed certainly in the Palace. And the cau?e wa? that in the vintage day? the magi?trate? were allowed to do what wa? ju?t and lawful a? aerted by their own judgment. Hence the magi?trate?, being u?ed by with their own admini?trative enterpri?e, utili?ed to ?tay in their own lodging?, and the topic? of the Emperor, ?ince they neither glimp?ed neither perceived of any proceed of aggreion, bothered him, a? wa? to be anticipated, very little. But the?e ruler?, habitually drawing all affair? into their own hand? to the wreck of their topic?, compelled everyone to promenade attendance upon them in mo?t ?ervile fa?hion; and it wa? likely to glimp?e, virtually every day, all the law-theatre?, on the one hand, for the mo?t part empty, but at the Emperor? Theatre, on the oppo?ing, one would find gathering? and in?olence and ?trong impelling and all the time not anything but ?ervility. And tho?e who were pre?umed to be intimate with the regal two, ?tanding there relentlely the whole day and frequently throughout the larger piece of the evening, being without doze and without nouri?hment at the common hour?, were fini?hed to death, and thi? wa? all that their appearing good trea?ure amounted to. And when at extent they were ?et free from all thi?, the poor young individual? would quarrel with each other over the inquiry of what had become of the ca?h of the Roman?. For while ?ome ?u?tained that it wa? all in the owner?hip of the barbarian?, other one? ?aid that the Emperor kept it clo?e up in a large number of exceptional room?. ?o when Ju?tinian either, if he i? a man, goe? away thi? life, or, a? being the Lord of the bad ?pirit?, lay? hi? life apart, all who have the trea?ure to have endured to that time will under?tand the truth. Garland point? that for all the accu?ation? again?t Theodora encompaed in the ?ecret Hi?tory, there i? one miing. There i? no mention of her being unfaithful to Ju?tinian. Procopiu? plea?ure? in recounting how hi? other very well liked feminine goal, Antonina, cuckolded Beli?ariu?. He continue? quiet on Theodora. In?tead he mention? her own activitie? to contradict the only rumor in relative to her commitment that i? cited in the whole work. And at one time a doubt originated that Theodora wa? ?mitten with love of one of the dome?tic?, Areobindu? by title, a man of barbarian lineage but withal hand?ome and juvenile, who ?he her?elf had, a? it chanced, nominated to be ?teward; ?o ?he, de?iring to battle the a?cribe, though they ?tate that ?he did love the man de?pairingly, determined for the in?tant to maltreat him mo?t callou?ly for no genuine origin, and after we knew not anything at all about the man, neither ha? any individual glimp?ed him to thi? day. A repetitive accu?ation of Procopiu? wa? that Theodora treated grave affair? a? topic? of ridicule. However Garland documented the demon?tration? he cite? do not appear all that ?eriou?. Indeed ?he furthermore made it her enterpri?e, when it appeared be?t to her, to change even the mo?t grave affair? to an event for buffoonery, a? though ?he were on the ?tage in the theatre. And on a certain event one of the patrician?, an vintage man who had expended a long time in agency - who?e title I will by no mean? mention, though I under?tand it well, that I may not indefinitely extend the di?grace which dropped upon him - being incapable to aemble a liability from one of the Empre dome?tic? who wa? obliged him a large addition, a?ked to her in alignment to lay a a?cribe again?t the man who had made a agreement with him and to entreat her to aid him to get ju?tice. But Theodora, di?covering of hi? rea?on in accelerate, in?tructed the eunuch? that when the patrician came before her, they ?ho uld all ?tand about him in a around and ?hould hear attentively to her a? ?he talked, propo?ing to them what phra?e? they ?hould ?tate in the kind of a re?pon?e. And when the patrician went into the women? quarter?, he did hi? obei?ance before her in the cu?tomary kind, and with a face that appeared ?tained with tear?, ?aid, Mi?tre, it i? a grievou? thing for a man of patrician grade to be in need of money. For that which in the ca?e of other men call? forward forgivene and compaion i? accounted outrageou? in men of my rank. For in the ca?e of any other man in farthe?t de?titution, it i? likely, ea?ily by aerting thi? detail to hi? creditor?, to get away ?traightway from the humilitation, but if a man of patrician grade ?hould not have the mean? to rendezvou? hi? obligation? to hi? creditor?, mo?t expected he would be embarraed to mention it, but if he did mention it, he would not ever be accepted, ?ince all men would ?eem that it i? not a likely thing for ?carcity to be a hou?emate of a man of thi? cla. But if he doe? win conviction, it will drop to hi? allotment to bear the mo?t ?hameful and cau?ing angui?h affliction of all [?ocial di?grace]. Now, my Mi?tre, I do have economic relative? with men, ?ome of who have lent their matter to me, and ?ome have ?crounged from me. A? for my creditor?, who mo?t per?i?tently dog my ?tep?, I am incapable through the di?grace correct to my place to put them off, while a? for tho?e who are in liability to me, ?ince they occur not to be patrician?, they take refuge in certain inhuman excu?e?. Therefore I entreat and ?upplicate and plead you to aid me in getting my privilege? and in getting away from my pre?ent ill?. ?o he ?poke. And the woman an?wered, in ?ing-?ong, O Patrician ?o-and ?o (naming him), and the choru? of eunuch?, catching up the damage, ?aid re?pon?ively, It? a large hernia you have! And when the man afre?h made ?upplication and uttered phra?e? re?embling what he had ?aid before, the woman an?wered afre?h in the identical damage and the choru? chanted the an?wer, until the poor wretch in de?pair made hi? obei?ance in the cu?tomary kind and going away thence went home. Garland remark? that the view took location in the relation ?eclu?ion of the women? theatreer? where Theodora could fall the imperial ritual gravity and enli?t in per?onal joke?. Procopiu? other demon?tration of mocking grave affair? anxietie? the wedding ceremony of two ari?tocratic girl?. There were two young women in Byzantium who were ?i?ter?; they were not only the off?pring of a con?ular dad and of three generation? of Con?ul?, but drew their lineage from men who from i?olated time? were of the foremo?t body-fluid of the entire ?enate. The?e had before went into into wedding ceremony, but it had arrive about by the death of their hu?band? that they became widow?. And directly Theodora cho?en two men - men who were not only of the wide?pread herd, but furthermore appalling young individual? - and made it her enterpri?e to friend them with the women, who ?he a?cribed with dwelling uncha?te live?. And they, fearing le?t thi? be conveyed to overtake, e?caped into the Church of ?ophia, and approaching into the holy bapti?mal ?leeping room, they grabbed with their hand? the font which i? there. But the Empre Theodora impo?ed upon them ?uch dire con?traint a nd pain that in their yearn to get away the?e angui?h they became keen ?ufficient to accept the wedding ceremony in location of them. Thu? for her no location ?tayed undefiled or inviolate. ?o the?e women, again?t their will?, were joined in wedding ceremony to men who were beggar? and outca?t?, much under them in ?tanding, wherea? noble ?uitor? were at hand for them. And their mother, who furthermore had become a widow, not challenging to groan or to bawl out at the calamity, came to the betrothal. But ?ub?equent Theodora, by way of expiating the ?candal, determined to con?ole them at the total co?t of public mi?fortune?. For ?he nominated both of the men magi?trate?. But no ?olace came to the young women even ?o, and angui?h incurable and intolerable dropped from the hand? of the?e men upon virtually all their ?ubordinate?. Garland point? that there i? a wide?pread denominator in both occurrence?, impo?ing mock on con?tituent? of the ari?tocracy. ?he propo?e? Theodora might have b een impo?ing repri?al again?t the preten?e? of an ari?tocratic cla which looked down on the low-born empre. Procopiu? eventually narrate? that Theodora ?pend much of the year in the palace of Herion on the on the A?iatic ?ea?hore of the Bo?poru?. ?he dwelled the utmo?t part of the year in the ?uburb? on the ?horeline, and e?pecially in the location called Herion, and con?equently the large retinue of ai?tant? were grievou?ly afflicted. For they had a ?cant provide of provi?ion? and they were revealed to the hazard? of the ocean, e?pecially when a gale came down, a? often occurred, or when the whale made a fall ?omewhere in the neighbourhood. The whale cited wa? Porphyrion, haraing the boat? in the water? of the Bo?poru? for a time ?pan of fifty year? in the 6th century. Procopiu? pre?ent? a more comprehen?ive account of it in The War?. Reference? Diehl, Charle?. Theodora, Empre of Byzantium ((c) 1972 by Frederick Ungar Publi?hing, Inc., tran?l. by ?.R. Ro?enbaum from the original French Theodora, Imperatice de Byzance). Popular account ba?ed on the author? exten?ive ?cholarly re?earch. Gibbon, Edward. The Hi?tory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (?ee volume 4, chapter 40 for Gibbon? account of Theodora.) Grave?, Robert. Count Beli?ariu?. (A hi?torical novel by the author of I, Claudiu? which feature? Theodora a? a character.) Bury, J. B. The Later Roman Empire. (Volume 2 deal? with the reign of Ju?tinian and Theodora) Research Papers on Life Of Theodora EffectÃ'• On TheatreLifes What IfsQuebec and CanadaThe Hockey GameWhere Wild and West MeetNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NicePersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThree Concepts of PsychodynamicHip-Hop is Art

Immortality of Soul

Immortality of Soul In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates reflects the events from his life and reveals the most important ideas about the immortality of soul. In particular, the philosopher introduces the theory of separateness of immortal soul from the physical body by using a number of arguments.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Immortality of Soul specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In particular, Socrates refers to the analysis of oppositions, introduces recollection theory, and explains the concept of affinity to prove that soul is immortal and it is separate from the physical body. From the perspective of the Opposites Arguments, if the physical body is mortal and physical, the soul is immortal and, therefore, it should not die. Because the body is subject to death in physical terms, the soul shapes its opposite. To explain the existence of the opposites, Plato provides the analogy of cold and fire. Thus, in case the cold cannot be dest ructed and exists separately from fire, the latter can be destroyed by cold. Although the fire is destroyed, the cold will still exist. Similar opposites can be created while exemplifying the charges of magnets. Despite the fact that cold and fire are related to each other in terms of temperature differences. They form the opposites and, nevertheless, they are linked to each other. At the same time, in case one object does not exist, the other object cannot exist. In this respect, can be said that fire can be identified as the absence of cold and, vice versa, cold personifies absence of fire. While identifying the analogy with body and soul, body cannot exist without soul and soul is the part of a body. To prove the immortality of soul, it is necessary to refer to the theory of recollection. According to this theory, an individual possesses non-empirical knowledge, which implies that he/she can know something about the surrounding world at birth, but not in the course of living. In other words, people possess knowledge that is obtained as we gain experience about the object and event around use. The theory, therefore, acknowledges the existence of previous knowledge about everything. The learning process is not associated with gaining knowledge from beyond, but recollecting what an individual is already aware of. The process of recollection is possible through proper questioning and, therefore, everything we know already can be regained.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While considering these assumptions, it is possible to assert that soul existed long before we have been born. What is more importantly, the theory also proves that the soul is immortal and it is capable of repeated reincarnation. Knowledge, therefore, forms the essence of soul eternity. Each time the soul is incarnated in a new body, the knowledge could be forgotten because of the shoc k of birth. As a result, an individual perceives the recovery of knowledge as a learning process. The theory of recollection also justifies the existence of objective reality which does not depend on subjective evaluation because the matter of things existing in the world should not depend on the perception of individuals. Finally, the evidence of existence of the soul can be analyzed from the viewpoint of affinity theory. According to this theory, the immortality is invisible and incorporeal whereas visible things are moral and corporeal. Within these perspectives, our soul is invisible and, therefore, it is immortal whereas our physical body can be seen and, therefore, it is mortal. Although human bodies are subject to death, souls continue living. Unlike the two arguments discussed above, the affinity theory focuses on the nature of the soul. According to Plato, because the concept of soul is etymologically associated with the word â€Å"to breathe†, the philosophy demonst rates that, unlike breath, human soul cannot be blown away. To shape the analogies under the affinity argument, soul is regarded as the form and it remains stable and unchanged, even when it encounters with the visible forms, such as physical body. When the body and soul are together, the latter controls the body because it is the nature of the soul to control the physical entity. In this respect, the soul can be identified with a divine being that is capable of ruling mortal beings. Hence, the soul knows different forms owing to its ability to sense the material, although the soul is invisible. The affinity argument justifies the immortality of soul because it premises on the principles of analogies. In other words, in case the soul knows forms and it is invisible, it can be imperishable. In contrast to the argument of analogy, the affinity concept can be presented as the argument about the nature of things. Therefore, the immortality of soul can be perceived as its function.Advert ising We will write a custom essay sample on Immortality of Soul specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In conclusion, there proposed arguments, including opposites theory, theory of recollection, and affinity argument, the soul is immortal and it can exist separately of body. With regard to the argument, the theory of opposites suits best for justifying the argument. In addition, the principle of analogues also contributes to understanding the concept of duality, which means that the body cannot exist without soul.

13 Situations When You Shouldnt Say Im Sorry at Work

13 Situations When You Shouldnt Say Im Sorry at Work Failing to apologize for your mistakes is a big sin in the workplace. It can cost you good coworker relationships- or worse, your job. But on the other hand, constantly apologizing, starting sentences with â€Å"I’m sorry†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or prefacing everything you say with â€Å"Sorry†¦Ã¢â‚¬  can make you seem weak, insecure, or indecisive. Politeness is one thing, being a doormat is another. It’s also not advisable to use â€Å"I’m sorry† as conversation filler, just like you wouldn’t use â€Å"like† or â€Å"um.† Here are 13 particular circumstances in which you should never say I’m sorry:1. When you’re really #notsorryPeople can tell when you’re being insecure. Just like dogs can smell fear. If your sorry is very clearly sarcastic or insecure, don’t even bother saying it.2. When you  didn’t do anythingAka when you have nothing to say you’re sorry for. It’s not polite to throw in a ton of meaningless apologies for normal things like expressing an opinion or ducking into the restroom.3. When you’re sticking to your principlesA coworker, or even your boss, is suggesting you do something off your moral tracks. It’s okay to stand up for yourself. You don’t need to preface your â€Å"I don’t believe it’s right to lie [cheat/steal/defraud/etc.]† with an â€Å"I’m sorry.† You shouldn’t be.4. When it’s your badYou’re late or you didn’t finish a project on time. Don’t just fling out a â€Å"Sorry!† and hope that you’ll be immediately exculpated. In short: don’t abdicate your responsibility too often.5. When it plants a bad seedYou may know that you didn’t spend quite enough time on that presentation, but there’s absolutely no reason to lead it off with that fact and an apology. Do the best with what you have and don’t give them a re ason to doubt your work before you’ve managed to present it.6. When you’re not prepared to own itSometimes we say sorry and consider it the end of the road. Forgiveness granted! If you’re going to wield the word, be prepared for the apology recipient not to get over it immediately. Some mistakes or wounds take time to heal and build back trust. Recognize when someone is perhaps not ready to forgive you.7. When you quitYou’re not sorry you’re taking another job. If you were, you wouldn’t be taking it in the first place. Leading with an apology in this situation also opens the door for your boss to try and guilt you into staying. Better to stand firm and get out the door with good feelings on both sides.8. When you had nothing to do with itIt’s much better to save your apologies for when you can and should assume 100% responsibility for the situation. Throwing ‘sorry’s around about things that were not in your control or in any way your fault will just take power away from you when you need to wield an apology for real.9. When someone asks you to pass their apology alongIf someone tells you to tell someone else that they’re sorry for [insert whatever actually bad thing they might have done], just stay out of it. Pass along the information that so-and-so wanted to say something to them or speak to them, and let it go at that. Don’t do their dirty work. If it’s just an innocent â€Å"Jane says sorry she couldn’t be here; she’s giving birth to her second child!† then that’s probably safe to pass along. Just stay away from the hairier stuff.10. When you’re in the middle of debateYou’re having a heated argument, or a debate full of passion. The last thing you want to do is throw in a â€Å"sorry† to minimize the conflict, i.e. â€Å"sorry, I just don’t agree†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It weakens your position and it will almost always ring in sincere.11. When you’re genuinely upsetSomeone does something legitimately upsetting to you or near you. You object. You’re more than justified in calling them out on their behavior. The last thing you want to do here is to say sorry first. â€Å"I’m sorry, but that was wrong† doesn’t leave enough room for the actual apology that you should be receiving from the wrong-doer.12. When you’re asking for somethingâ€Å"I’m sorry, but could you [help me with/do for me/save the day]† is not a good thing to say when asking for help. If you actually felt bad, you wouldn’t have asked. Instead, after asking simply, humbly, and clearly, say thank you. Which should be what you really mean to say.13. When the moment has passedEspecially if you’ve already apologized and everyone is already over it. Don’t rehash the past. Move forward! If you’re really still beating yourself up over something, then put that energy i nto making sure you never make that mistake again. No need to dredge up old drama. Keep moving forward instead.

Why abortion should not be legal in the U.S Research Paper - 1

Why abortion should not be legal in the U.S - Research Paper Example Secondly, the basic fundamentals of how the law is interpreted in favor of abortion and how this is incorrect will be briefly discussed. Firstly, one must understand that the process of an abortion is a rather violent act. For purposes of this author’s response, the violence that is associated with this procedure will not focus upon the particular manner in which the embryo is deconstructed and removed; rather, the focus will be upon the long-term effects that such a procedure portends for the mother (Emery 1). Whereas many women have abortions for different reasons, the fact of the matter is that healthcare decisions and procedures are usually implemented only at times in which no other alternative is readily available. As such, risking the current and future fertile health of the mother in such an unnecessary process is both foolish and shortsighted. Due to the fact that alternatives exist, one is left to answer a rhetorical question revolving around why someone would willfully put their body through such a process (Rothsgrove 1). Although many other factors play into the choice of whether or not to receive an abortion, the one that is concentric upon the health, well-being, and future fertility of the mother is of primal importance to this author. Due to the fact that the damages sustained during an abortion are oftentimes non-reversible and life-altering, such a course of action may well need to be outlawed until a method that is not nearly so harmful to a woman’s health is able to be produced. Rothsgrove, Carl. "9 Reasons Why Abortions Should Be Illegal." 9 Reasons Why Abortions Should Be Illegal. N.p., 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

Argument Essay, 1. I believe Existence of God. 2. God does not exist Research Paper

Argument Essay, 1. I believe Existence of God. 2. God does not exist. For example, like The Ontological Argument - Research Paper Example It would be no exaggeration to contend that human thought has been seized with the idea of God, from times immemorial (Safa and Ahmadi D1). Substantiations relating to the existence of God constitute some of the enduring features of philosophical discussion. Some of the classifications of the corroboration of God’s existence are those that are conceptual or dependent upon aspects of the created order (Cumming 3). It is a mystery, as regards the manner in which supernatural faith interacts with human beings. The highest knowledge relating to God that can be derived solely from philosophical considerations has been defined as the preambles of faith or the praeambula fidei. The few individuals who experience the act of belief, do not find these preambles of faith to be exceedingly enigmatic. These fortunate individuals have testified that the true believer enjoys the grace, which can be termed the intelligence provided by faith (Grzesik 258). It is indeed faith that induces one to seek God and thereby admit one’s shortcomings. As a consequence, individuals are enabled to comprehend that help from the Lord is essential to avail of the benefits provided by Him and to transform the intellect to understand the higher truths. This entire process of transcendence is critically dependent upon faith (Grzesik 259). Arguments that support or oppose the existence of God can be classified as deductive or inductive. Ostensibly, the existence of God tends to be difficult to establish, despite several of the atheists being rational human beings. This state of affairs has been attributed to certain ontological assumptions regarding the nature of the world and the nature of God (Crutcher 430). Presumptions regarding the existence or non – existence of God, tend to possess a circular nature. This is due to the fact that such arguments attempt to establish their hypothesis by making an assumption regarding the non – existence or reality of

Video Gaming Addicition Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Video Gaming Addicition - Research Paper Example Video game addiction usually begins with the child wanting to relax and enjoy in his life but as the game moves forward, the child becomes addicted to a point that games take over the majority of the time of the individual. Aim of the Research In this paper, we attempt to evaluate the term â€Å"video game addiction† and the issues related to this type of addiction. This will be done by going through the existing literature on video game addiction and coming up with a suitable means to deal with the issue in the light of the knowledge gained. Review of Literature For the review of literature, the following experts have been consulted. Griffith, in his book Gambling and gaming addictions in adolescence defines addiction as a condition whereby a person becomes so involved in an activity that it negatively impacts other arenas of his life including social, personal and academic life. In this light, video game addiction has been defined by Griffith as an addiction whereby an individual is a) compulsively involved; b) develops connections with other addicts; c) develops a lack of interest in other spheres of his life; and d) exhibits mental and physical symptoms when taken out of the gaming environment. According to Griffith, Video game addiction is a growing phenomenon around the world as gaming companies bring in more innovation and technology in their games. Also with the advent of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), there has been a substantial increase in video game addiction. ... The most pressing complaint of the parents of addicted children as found out by Griffith is that video games tend to seclude the children from their real life which includes their academic life and their social life. Griffith also believes that the cause of video game addiction is the personality of the gamer. Research has shown that certain individuals are more likely to become addicts as compared to the rest of the population. A control study developed by Griffith and managed on a group of video game addicts revealed that these gamers are highly intelligent and achievement-oriented; and this could be linked as a source for their addiction towards games. Games, both online and otherwise, fulfill the basic psychological needs of these gamers, such as their need for achievement, their room for relaxation and their freedom for daily anxieties and tensions. Griffith also goes on to state that there are certain individuals that become addicts because of the environment around them. We kn ow that people take on drugs when they wish to run away from the anxieties of their lives and in a similar way, video game addiction provides the same escape to such individuals. Griffith believes that when these individuals find it difficult to cope up with their problems, they seek solace in the virtual world of games where they can confront their enemies head on without any repercussions and without being afraid. Marko Skoric, from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Linda Ching Teo from Shriro Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore and Rachel Lijie Neo from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information are of the view that children within their academic lives, are unable to manage their home work and

Health Policy and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Policy and Politics - Essay Example These are remarkable benefits surfacing the prevailing health care reform program of the government. However, amidst all of these good promises, there still remain rumors and continuing negative feedbacks about this program. This leaves a place to reconsider this issue. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit under health care budget is said to reduce in the years to come. In fact, the projection is for each family to save maximum of $2,300 in 2014 with health care reform (Whitehouse.gov, 2011). This amount could hardly be achieved without health care reform program as indicated in the projection. There might be some truth to this. However, there are other essential environmental factors that need to be taken into account. Considering for instance the unpredictability of the economy, the costs of medicines and other related medical needs cannot be projected at some point. This only implies that the said reform needs to adhere to the prevailing economic condition and other relevant environmental factors prior to the realization of what affordability really means to people. It is true that with health care reform program the expansion of coverage is remarkable compared to the traditional health care system. In fact, young adults can now actually stay on their parents’ health insurance plan (Whitehouse.gov, 2011). This sounds good to hear, but there are other considerations when it comes to the bottom line. Insurers for instance do not just operate without taking into account how much profit they should make. Considering the dependents are increasing, there are only two remarkable impacts on this. The first is to increase member contribution and the other would be to put certain limit on the coverage or even cut something on the quality. This can still provide the benefits but the issue is about maximizing them. The people always have the final say on

Discussion Board creminal justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion Board creminal justice - Essay Example (Burright) Nonetheless, in recent past the privatization of prisons and jails found the way back into the criminal justice, once again arousing a wave of controversy and debate. Over-crowded correctional facilities, decreasing revenues, increasing crime rates, public call for more prison sentences and longer criminals' incarceration are among the factors that forced the nation's prison system to once again consider the option of private contracting to provide privatization of prisons and jails. ... Considering all these benefits, by 1987, three States had approved legislation authorizing private businesses to operate the State correctional facilities. At present, there are a lot of states and counties that have prisons being operated by private companies. So while the legal aspects of government delegating its responsibility for the custody of an individual to private organizations was much discussed in the 1980s, today it is clear that "objections to prison privatization on constitutional delegation grounds have little force". (McDonald, p.6) It is interesting that with so many privately operated correctional institutions in the country, there is no any case law to define exactly how general process standards are applied to private jails and prisons. There is no special legislation defining the authority of private contractors regarding use of force, especially deadly force. Privately run facilities usually lack legal authority to respond to various critical situations, e.g. escape and other emergencies. There is a great need for legislation that would govern these practices. Without proper legal solution to this absence of the relevant law of jurisdiction, it is quite possible that private companies will have to face civil or criminal liability. Special legal questions arise when sending prisoners from a certain jurisdiction to another, privately operated one. Some jurisdictions rely on contracts, others - on intermediary governments when placing prisoners in private jails. There is no common ground and these inter-juris dictional issues also put a question mark on the sufficiency of legal regulation and authority. To address other reasons proponents of prisons privatization offer, one should mention that there is no strong evidence to support the

Health Policy and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Policy and Politics - Essay Example These are remarkable benefits surfacing the prevailing health care reform program of the government. However, amidst all of these good promises, there still remain rumors and continuing negative feedbacks about this program. This leaves a place to reconsider this issue. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit under health care budget is said to reduce in the years to come. In fact, the projection is for each family to save maximum of $2,300 in 2014 with health care reform (Whitehouse.gov, 2011). This amount could hardly be achieved without health care reform program as indicated in the projection. There might be some truth to this. However, there are other essential environmental factors that need to be taken into account. Considering for instance the unpredictability of the economy, the costs of medicines and other related medical needs cannot be projected at some point. This only implies that the said reform needs to adhere to the prevailing economic condition and other relevant environmental factors prior to the realization of what affordability really means to people. It is true that with health care reform program the expansion of coverage is remarkable compared to the traditional health care system. In fact, young adults can now actually stay on their parents’ health insurance plan (Whitehouse.gov, 2011). This sounds good to hear, but there are other considerations when it comes to the bottom line. Insurers for instance do not just operate without taking into account how much profit they should make. Considering the dependents are increasing, there are only two remarkable impacts on this. The first is to increase member contribution and the other would be to put certain limit on the coverage or even cut something on the quality. This can still provide the benefits but the issue is about maximizing them. The people always have the final say on

Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Plan - Assignment Example Additionally, in terms of distribution strategy, it will be effectively necessary to engage with existing supply chains rather than utilize or create a dedicated LynLicious supply chain for the company. Once again, the underlying reason behind this has to do with the fact that the creation of dedicated supply chain and distribution strategy would create an unnecessary cost burden on the firm; especially in the opening stages of business development and growth. Within this dynamic, it is easy to understand why the firm would be fundamentally fearful of accruing an unmanageable level of cost with respect to a dedicated distribution network as opposed to seeking to contract existing distribution suppliers to fulfill the needs as they are exhibited by the market. Lynlicius will be competing with some of the most well represented and powerful shoe and fashion designers within the current market (Shi & Liu, 2012). For instance, New Balance, Esprit, Clark’s, and a litany of others already compete within the market for fashionable shoes that exhibit at least some certain level of comfort. Naturally, comparing this to which competitor is able to maximize both of these goals, the reader can adequately understand that the competitors strengths and weaknesses very commensurately. For instance, Clark’s focuses most heavily upon comfort with only a small level of focus on style; shifting or varying different product lines only minimally from season to season or year-to-year. By means of contrast, new balance is more of a workout and training fashion and shoe provider; one that does not necessarily place a high level of focus upon form and fashion with respect to the professional woman (He et al., 2014). Lastly, Esprit is perhaps the most relevant competition that exists within the market; due to the fact that the company places a high level of focus both upon form and fashion. However, the relatively low quality and high cost that this particular brand

Holy Moly Essay Example for Free

Holy Moly Essay Socrates is simply asking questions to get a straight answer from Euthyphro, which he is unable to do. When asked, â€Å"what is piety? † Euthyphro answers â€Å"Doing as I do†. He thinks he is doing the pious thing by bringing his father up on charges of impiety. In his words, he is saying prosecuting anyone guilty of murder, no matter who they are . Socrates , basically is not entertained by this response, because it is not an answer. When asked again â€Å"what is Piety? † Euthryphro responds with, â€Å" What is dear to the Gods is pious and what is not dear to them is impious†. Socrates asks† Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious? Or is it pious because it is loved by the gods? Euthyphro is contradicting himself. That which is dear to the gods is dear to the gods because it is first loved of them, not because it is dear to them. But the pious or holy is loved by the gods because it is pious or holy. Which is the same as saying that it is loved by them because it is dear to them. His explanation is going in circles. When asked again, Euthyphro responds, â€Å"Piety is knowing how to please the Gods in word and deed, by prayers and sacrifice† Socrates responds by saying that it is a way of doing business between the gods and men. You ask the gods what you can do and they tell you what they want you to do. Euthyphro has failed to show what pious is. I believe Socrates goal in the dialogue was to change his mind about prosecuting his father and to determine whether Euthypro’s definition of piety or impiety was sufficient enough to prosecute his own father for murder and to clear himself of his indictment. The features of the dialogue that led me to believe this was when Socrates asked, â€Å"Are you able to show your father guilty of murder or that all the gods are agreed in approving of our prosecution of him. Then says to Euthyphro† If you had not certainly known the nature of piety and impiety, I am confident, you would not have charged your father with the murder† Euthyphro, then hurries away , I am thinking to save his father from being tried for murder. If Socrates knew the nature of piety and impiety he may have been able to clear himself of Meletus and his indictment.

History About Ebay In Japan Marketing Essay

History About Ebay In Japan Marketing Essay eBay is an online auction service that has gained much publicity since their inauguration in the September of 1995 by a 28 year old software developer, Pierre Omidyar of Apple Incorporated. A pet project he initially called AuctionWeb, he posted up a faulty laser pointer to test his algorithm in the web application he created, someone actually offered him $14.83 for the faulty laser pointer stating that he collects such items. That incident started Pierre thinking and eBay was formed. Since then, eBay has been expanding their business worldwide. One of the countries which eBay has failed badly was Japan. They had a joint venture with NEC Corporation to form eBay Japan but the final results after 3 long years of fight that has been proven as futile attempts to make a foot hold in Japan, eBay Japan had no other choice but to withdraw because they lost out for not being there earlier, not enjoying a first mover advantage, the rise of the Rakuten Auctions as contender against Yahoo! Japan Auctions further dug eBay deeper into the oblivion against ever seeing themselves as a leader in Japan. Hiring the right country manager makes all the difference, eBay did not ensure the credentials and expertise of their country manager appointed for the task. Apart from that, the typical American style of Announcing their grand arrival even before they could sniff the air in Japan, gave competitors a chance to prepare themselves against anyone trying to steal their piece of the pie in Japan. Introduction of eBay When we hear of the word, Auction we often think of the famous Christie Auction house in England, located at King Street in St. James. The function of an auction house is to showcase rare or prized items that could fetch the highest price through an elaborate process that allows individuals with deep pockets to out-bid one another to purchase these items. Thanks to modern technology, these auctions are being brought on-line via the use of the Internet. Users can buy or sell items online through the same elaborate process, but at the comfort of their room, in front of their computers without the need to physically be at the location. eBay is one such on-line auction service that has gained much publicity since their inauguration in the September of 1995 by a 28 year old software developer, Pierre Omidyar of Apple Incorporated. A pet project he initially called AuctionWeb, he posted up a faulty laser pointer to test his algorithm in the web application he created, someone actually offered him $14.83 for the faulty laser pointer stating that he collects such items. That incident started Pierre thinking and eBay was formed. AuctionWeb became a new focus for Pierre. It occupied his entire domain, www.ebay.com, acronym for Echo Bay (the name of his consulting firm). By 1996, the company was large enough to require professional help to make the concept, even more profitable. Jeffrey Skoll, Stanford MBA graduate, went onboard the profit spinning ship. Meg Whitman, a Harvard graduate soon joined the `crew and together with a formidable business team, created the modern day eBay that we know today. By 1998, the pioneers of the company were billionaires. Entry Strategies Entry Strategy 1 eBay Join Hands with NEC Corporation to enter Japan Market The joint venture with NEC Corporation to form eBay Japan seemed like a great idea. Infact, it is a great idea. Having a localized corporation to enter the Japanese market builds the credibility any foreign company will need. Having a myriad of possibilities from because they could trade with anything. eBay gained exposure through NECs contact with Biglobe, an Internet Service Provider. Much hype was anticipated as the CEO for eBay, Mr. Okawara, looked forward to bringing online auctioning to the Japanese people. However, the Japanese culture amongst the younger generation is to meet at malls, to try out new introductions into the Japanese market. Touch and Feel is what they prefer. Also, its a social norm in Japan that people meet at malls to socialize or just to look at people. What eBay tried to do, was to introduce another cultures norm into Japan. Though a workable and definitely profitable business model in the states and probably even in the western world, they failed to garner enough market sampling to warrant an entry into the Japanese market. Thats just part of the challenge they face. The other factor that had brought forth the early retreat from Japan is the presence of Yahoo Auctions in Japan. Yahoo entered the market in 1996, together with Softbank. The collaboration between Yahoo and Softbank was at the right time where the fad of the internet is still hot. They built the largest portal in Japan which in turn means their presence already had a huge market share from consumers and sellers alike who has loyalty to the company. Japanese people have high level of loyalty to product brandings and service providers. Another thing eBay Japan did not forsee is that, Japanese people, do not appreciate hand-me-downs, second hand goods. Entry Strategy 2 eBay Joins Hands with Yahoo! in Japan eBay has about 83 million users and Yahoo Japan has about 6.6 million registered users. eBay and Yahoo agreed to link their auction sites to facilitate cross-border trading and invigorate the online auction market. This would enable users of Yahoo Auctions Japan to bid for items listed on eBays US site using their Yahoo Japan ID, and eBay users in the US to buy items auctioned on Yahoo Japan using their eBay ID. The plan, which will enable registered users from Japan and North America to participate in a single marketplace. Japanese-language Website sekaimon.com, unveiled by the companies will enable Yahoo Japan users to take part in eBay auctions and is part of a strategy to implement the integration. A reverse setup, enabling North American users to shop for items from Japan under an English-language bidding system. The eBay portal will initially feature Japanese licensed-character goods, comic books, and other collectibles listed on the Yahoo Japan auction site. The integrated marketplace will also offer services to streamline payment, shipping and customs clearance. International users were able to use the US based web site consumers craved trading in local currencies and the ease that domestic transactions presented. Disadvantages of Non-first movers for Auction Disadvantage 1 Unable to garner the interested customers The first disadvantage of not being the first mover to launch the online auction services has caused eBay Japan to lose the opportunity to garner the interested customer base who are first timers that really wanted to attempt the Online Auction services. Being the first mover would have allowed the first timer customers whom are interested to sign up and attempt this online auction services that has never been provided in Japan as many analyst believes that the launch would not have been successful due to the image consciousness character of the Japanese. Therefore, being only the second launching provided, eBay Japan has lost the genuine interested first timer customers as they have already signed up for the online auction services provided by Yahoo! Japan Auction when they launched the service in September 1999, which was five months before eBay Japan. Disadvantage 2 Unable to attract over Yahoo! Japan Auction loyal customer base The second disadvantage is eBay Japan is unable to attract over the loyal customer base garnered by Yahoo! Japan Auction five months before their launch. All the loyal customer base has already been used to the services provided by Yahoo! Japan Auction has got no intention to move over to eBay Japan. In addition, Yahoo! has been an established and best known brand in Japan for other services such as Yahoo! Email, search, etc however, in contrary, eBay has only been known for online auction services and limited to overseas which is outside Japan. Therefore, Japanese, who generally only trust reputable, well-known and established brands, are more comfortable using Yahoo! instead of eBay. Disadvantage 3 Comparison of first and second online auction service launcher The third disadvantage of not being the first mover is being compared to the first launcher. The customers has done a comparison between Yahoo! Japan Action and eBay Japan on the difference in the different areas such as charging listing fees, final value fees, branding strength. Yahoo! Japan Auction has launched the online auction services before eBay Japan with all services free and no any transaction charges at all. Therefore, in comparison, Japanese who are not willing to pay for the service are not willing to sign up for services for eBay Japan. Also, it has also proven that when eBay Japan has stopped the charging the fees as per the usual practice, the customer base and the number of listings has increased. Cultural Misunderstandings Cross cultural understanding simply refers to the basic ability of people within business to recognize, interpret and correctly react to people, incidences or situations that are open to misunderstanding due to cultural differences. If no cultural awareness, cultural sensitive was established before launching into a different culture, itll cause cultural misunderstanding, in long term, resulting in business failure. Misunderstanding 1 Not fully understanding the mindset of a different culture For eBay Japan, during the initial launch into Japan, they had not understood in depth the business dealing ways of Japanese. eBay instead of modifying the American-centric service model to fit the Japanese market needs, they chose to force the Japanese consumers to fit into the current American-centric company service model. eBay charged commissions of up to 5% and required acutely risk-averse Japanese users to submit credit card information on signup. This service model did not go well with the Japanese. Most of the internet savvy people come from the young Japanese who did not own any credit card. Even so, Japan was a largely cash-based society, they preferred to pay for purchases with cash or through banks transfers instead of online credit card payments. This has therefore resulted in the poor sign-up figures after the launch of eBay Japan. Misunderstanding 2 Failing to hire the right person eBay Japan also erred in selecting for country head. In the selection of country manager, the issue of language is overplayed. They can actually hire a bilingual executive assistant, translator, or interpreter for a fraction of what it costs to hire a country manager. Making language skills a key recruiting criterion severely reduces the pool of potential candidates. Rather than focus on language skills, eBay Japan has failed to care about the truly important things, like a country managers strategic thinking ability, his track record managing comparable businesses, industry knowledge, and, ultimately, whether or not he can successfully build and motivate a local team, introduce new products, and gain market share in a highly competitive market. In Japan organization structure, the HR organization in a leading Japanese company is at the top of the hierarchy. In the US, its at the bottom. It has to be empowered, it must have very top people, it must engage with peopleits not about recruiting-eBay Japan had failed to utilize the talents of Japan based foreigners who had many years of valuable experience managing in Japan, as well as relevant industry knowledge and connections, who can help successfully navigate Japan market entry, smoothen interactions between head office and Japan-based operations. Misunderstanding 3 Unprepared for new Culture eBay Japan did something that American companies are notorious for, something that had cost them dearlynamely, they made grandiose announcements about their entry into the Japanese market, well before they had a localized product ready to launch in Japan. While missing the first mover advantage was perhaps eBays Japan single biggest blunder, the lack of traction in Japan for eBay products had too caused the failure of entry. Therefore, with the culture shock, eBay has failed to penetrate the Japan market as eBay Japan was not accepted widely by the Japanese in terms of their entry to Japan and their working style when operating the online auction services. The Current Status of eBay To recap, eBay Inc. tried to open its popular auction service under its subsidiary eBay Japan established in 1999, withdraw in March 2002 after failing to capture significant market share against Yahoo! Auction. Ebay partnered Yahoo! Japan, the Japan biggest portal offering online auction services. Together both companies designed a separate stand alone site, Sekaimon. English meaning for the Japanese term Global Shopping. Sekaimon site is able to translate items listed on eBay into Japanese, help with payments, shipping and customs clearance for Japanese shoppers. The alliance benefits users of both sites. Sellers will be able to reach out to a wider audience for their goods, meanwhile buyers will able to choose from a richer selection of products that are on offer. The impact of the deal will mean more in certain areas. For example, U.S. music fans will be able to easily purchase many of the limited edition CDs that Western artists release in Japan, while Japanese movie enthusiasts will be able to find a wider array of DVDs that are not available locally. Ebay users to have an easier time buying Japanese goods that are popular abroad, such as popular manga comics books, CDs and merchandise that feature Japanese animation characters and mascots. Yahoo! Japan users can login using their Yahoo! Japan ID and purchase translated eBay items with customize Japanese menu and online agent support. Hence, in order to achieve their vision, eBay must overcome various issues such as language barriers, government regulations, internet access and cultural differences. Ebay attempt to deal with the challenge of conducting transactions in multiple languages, where the sellers interact in one language and potential buyers in another.   Sellers using eBays Japanese site, Sekaimon, who want to offer their items on any English language eBay sites will be able to enter descriptions of up to 200 Japanese characters and get them translated within a day for about $12.34. By enabling this translation service, it helps to boost and introduce more Japanese products into eBay sites. Thus, eBay has successfully turned a challenge to its global growth into a new revenue stream while increasing its value proposition. eBay has a significant challenge in dealing with cultural differences, such as high uncertainty avoidance culture in Japan. eBay is dealing with this by structuring strategic partnerships with reliable entity when it struck a deal with Yahoo! Japan, after numerous attempts yet failing to penetrate the market independently.  eBay adopts localization strategy, where it replicates smaller and culturally sensitive portions of its content in specific markets such as Japan and China. By doing so, it value adds towards ensuring easy usage and adaptability in new or low tech markets.   Conclusion eBay made all the wrong moves in their attempt to extend their services to Japan. Not hiring the right people who can competently study the market in Japan to know if it is a viable business preposition to even attempt the creation of eBay Japan. eBay did not understand the culture in Japan. Basic business ventures to a foreign country requires everyone to understand and work with the cultural styles. eBay tried to force their American centric service model upon the Japanese people, it will never work unless they were the first to setup the service in the country where people may just think that, thats the way eBay did not pay attention to the presence of Yahoo! Japan Auctions and went in blind. To make matters worst, they announced their plans and created quite a fanfare to path their way into Japan way before they could even set foot in the country. Its like telling the enemies at war, Were coming from the south island at dawn. Recommended alternatives Conducting a business in any country requires business planners to conduct extensive market research, sampling the market sentiments for products or services that are to be introduced into the country. The people after all, are the sources of income. How can a company sell a product or service to people of a different lifestyle, who have different needs and perception of how they want to be sold a service or product? After identifying what the people want, the company should look into competitors and their position in the market as well. Gauge their own size and see if they are able to go up against on a head-on battle or to find a niche market to carve out a position for themselves and slowly expand from there. Recommendation The most important point among the alternatives that is recommended to eBay during the new set-up is to identify what their target audience wants.It is imperative that the barrier for entries be understood prior embarking on any non-localized businesses. It is very important to understand the culture of the target audience, understand the needs and the wants of the target audience before entering into a brand new market that the organization has never had their presence before. It very important to understand the direction of the target audience before entrance, in which, refers to the current competitors in the market. The current market share of the competitors, the number of competitors in the market and how does the target audience view this competitor. Need be, make a joint venture with existing service provider that has already penetrated into the market in order to leverage on their expertise and also the expertise of local talents and foreign talents living in the country.

The Intervention of the Judicial System in Violence Against Women Essay

The Intervention of the Judicial System in Violence Against Women Women in this country have been a part of violence for an enormous amount of time. This violence includes pornography, rape, and even domestic violence. The United States judicial system has intervened into the so-called private sphere and eradicated women in society, providing precedent and even updating statutes as well as other types of legislation. Without intervention women may still have no rights as human beings and the victims of much worse violence. Not to say that the violence that comes about is not extremely painful and an obscene amount of torture for women, but without our judicial system to minimize some of these violent acts would be in total chausses. Throughout these acts of violence women are treated as animals, beaten, slaughtered, and killed eventually. For some, this may seem unthinkable and unrealistic but pornography, rape, and domestic violence does just this. These women who sell their bodies through porn usually-not all- have unusual childhood backgrounds. These backgrounds include, molestation, rape, incest, are penetrated with objects as children, sold for child porn by their parent or parents, being tortured through every moment of their lives. When these women grow up into adults what kind of life are they expected to have? A loving family, a college education, and a respectable profession? Or no education, broken family, and for them to fall into the same profession their parents taught them? These women don?t understand that parents are supposed to love their children unconditionally. What else should we expect from women who all of their lives they have been treated as inhumane. Rape, also a sexually violent act that women enco... ... most popular remedy for battered women. This remedy always involves the state or state vs. someone and proves beyond a reasonable doubt. The second remedy is Civil law where the burden of proof is the highest. This involves private individuals, or an individual and some branch of government. The continuing of violence is dangerous to women especially the first 72 hours after she leaves. Statute 16-25-20 states if there is an injury a police officer must arrest but if only fear is involved police have discretion. Self-defense is another aspect of domestic violence. What if she decides, no more beatings and kills him. Has he drove her to insanity or should she control her anger and just leave after so many times of asking him to stop? What if she does control her anger and he kills her for leaving? These are questions that must be addressed in helping battered women.

An African American Fight for Respect Essay

For thousands of years women have been fighting for many things, one of the most important being respect. Some people may think respect for a woman is simply holding the door for her as she walks through, pulling her chair out for her before she is seated, or maybe just standing when she leaves the table; but respect is so much more than that. Respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Respect is a feeling that cannot just be given to someone, it is a feeling that must be earned, fought for, or rewarded. For the African American woman, respect did not come by so easily no matter how hard they fought or even if they earned it. Examples of the African American woman fighting for her respect, has once upon a time been one of the many themes during all literary periods. The two works that I chose have the similar theme of respect. The literary pieces are â€Å"Sweat† by Zora Neale Hurston and â€Å"The Color Purple† by Alice Walker. These two works show the same theme of respect for black women and the struggle for it from men. Though both stories have comparisons that could go on for days, they just as well have their differences by the way the handle the theme of respect. Alice Walker has been writing stories and poetry for many years. As a graduate of Spelman College she was given great opportunities and was given a solid education. Women’s rights and respect has always been two topics close to Alice’s heart. It has been said, that â€Å"Alice Walker expresses the struggles of black people, particularly women, and their lives in a racist, sexist, and violent society. † Her writings also lean more towards the roles of black women through culture and history. On March 3, 2008 Alice Walker was arrested on International Women’s Day for crossing the police line at a rally in front of The White House. Walker has set a standard and has never had any need or want to change it. Of the many stories that Alice Walker has written, the one that stands out the most to me dealing with the female struggle for respect is the story made movie and musical, â€Å"The Color Purple. † â€Å"The Color Purple,† is a story written in 1982 that has won multiple awards and recognitions for its not so classy taste and realistic views. Some of these awards being from the Blue Ribbon Awards, Black Movie Awards, Golden Globe Awards, eleven nominations during the Oscars, and plenty more. The main characters in â€Å"The Color Purple,† are Celie Harris Johnson and Mister Albert Johnson. Celie has been abused since she was just a young girl; she had two children by her father Leonard and she is forced to marry Albert, a young widower, by the age of fourteen. During her years of being married to Albert, she is taunted, disrespected, beaten, and abused up until she turns her life around when she meets Shug Avery, a well-known Jazz singer, who comes to live with the couple. Shug takes it upon herself to help Celie raise her self-confidence so she can not only stand up to her husband and demand respect, but to feel beautiful about herself inside and out. By the end of the story, Celie stands up to Avery and is finally reconnected with the family that was once taken away from her. Another great black female author who proudly carries the theme of respect in her stories is Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston, a graduate of Howard University, was a well-known author during the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston is most known for her famous literary piece entitled, â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† which caught the eyes of readers around the world. Like Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston has also won multiple awards for her fabulous novels, short stories, and poems. The story â€Å"Sweat† written by Zora Neale Hurston takes place in a small all black town located near Orlando, Florida. This story, like many others with disrespect towards the wife, starts off with husband Sykes taunting his wife Delia by tricking her into thinking that the whip he throws over her shoulders is a snake, knowing she is deadly terrified of them. Throughout the story, Delia deals with infidelity, abuse, rumors, and taunting from her husband. Towards the end of the story, her husband buys a rattlesnake and refuses to take it back where he found it from, knowing his wife is terrified. In the end, that very snake gets loose, bites, and kills him; Delia stands their watching him die. The website articlemyriad. com states â€Å"The reader can speculate on whether or not Delia was too afraid to move to get help for her husband, but it is the general consensus that she purposefully let him die. While you could argue both, if you are going to contend that she was just afraid, you’d better take a closer look at the text before trying to defend your point. † One of the greatest comparisons in this story is the lack of respect the husbands have for their wives, a marriage is supposed to be filled with trust, respect, love, and honesty, all of which the two marriages in â€Å"The Color Purple† and â€Å"Sweat† lacked. Although there are many comparisons, there were also contrasts in the two stories, although not exactly easy to find with a closed mind. A contrast in these two stories to me that stood out the most were the personalities of the two wives in the stories. In â€Å"The Color Purple,† Celie is abused and taken advantage of, but holds a quiet tongue until the end; Delia in â€Å"Sweat† is abused and taken advantage of , but she always speaks her mind and portrays her true feelings towards something. With these two stories I felt it was good to have the personalities of the women who wanted respect to be completely different so that I could compare and contrast just a bit more clearly. One was more hidden and kept feelings to herself, the other more outgoing and stronger like all women should be. In conclusion, respect for women, especially blacks, has been a subject that will always be discussed and fought for. Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker described the struggle for respect in many similar and different ways. I stated earlier that for thousands of years women have been fighting for many things, one of the most important being respect and that respect was a feeling that cannot just be given to someone, it is a feeling that must be earned, fought for, or rewarded. I am proud of the long way that not only African American women have come, but women all race and I am blessed to have such profound women to look up to. Women in the past who have fought for our rights set a high standard for the rest of us to follow and I look forward to doing just so. Works Cited 1. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature: Second Edition Henry Louis Gates Jr. & Nellie Y. McKay.

Modern technology is enhancing social life

Technology is indispensable in solving modern problems, enhancing social life and ensuring a better future (Diamond 240). Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to reach among others industrial and commercial objectives of an organization or a society. It has cultural, organizational and technical aspects (Freeman and Francisco 142). Technology has become a powerful tool that is being used to improve social life and solve human problems like poverty and deceases. In addition, technology has increased the power of human beings to control and manipulate nature thereby enhancing our ability to adapt to the environment (Global Scenario Group Report 19).Despite all the benefits of technology, it has negative side effects like unemployment. It is therefore important to assess dangers and promises of a technology in order to formulate safeguards to eliminate its negative impacts or its misuse. It is also important to put limits on some technologies like biotechnology so as to harness their full potential without lowering the dignity of human beings (Freeman and Francisco 327).DiscussionThere are many areas in which technology impact positively in the society. The globalization of the internet for example, has extended and empowered the human network (Cisco Systems E25). It has changed positively the manner in which social, political, commercial and personal interactions are occurring. The internet presents a platform on which businesses can be run, emergencies can be addressed and individuals can be informed. It is being used to support education, science and government. (Global Scenario Group Report 24).Education has immense impact on a society. It trains the human mind to think and make right decisions. Through education, one acquires knowledge and information which can be used to solve problems like unemployment in a society (Cisco Systems E27). Technology enhances the processes of communication, collaboration and engagement which are fundamental bui lding blocks of education. It supports and enriches students learning experiences.It helps to deliver learning materials like interactive activities, assessments and feedbacks to a larger number of students faster and cheaper. In contrast to traditional learning methods which provide only two sources of expertise, that is, the textbook and the instructor which are limited in format and timing, online courses can contain voice, data and video which enhance understanding (Cisco Systems E30). Technology has thus removed geographical barriers to education and improved students’ learning experiences.Technology has facilitated the formation of global communities through social networks like facebook. This has fostered social interactions independent of geographical location (Global Scenario Group Report 27). The online communities enable sharing of valuable ideas and information capable of increasing productivity and opportunities in a society. For example, one can post to a forum to share health and treatment information with other members of the forum from all over the world. Though this kind of interaction is not physical, people are still able to share their social experiences and values more efficiently with people from diverse backgrounds.Technology has also helped to reduce poverty. Advancement in technology has led to new efficient sources of energy even to poor rural communities. The availability of cheap sources of energy opens up a society to investments and economic activities (Diamond 253). For example, technology has made it possible through genetic engineering to engineer crops that convert solar energy to fuels more efficiently.Governments are thus able to provide cheaper efficient sources of energy even to poor rural communities since solar energy is available virtually anywhere in the world (Freeman and Francisco 307).   Genetic engineering can also be used to create plants that produce valuable products like silicon chips for computers ef ficiently. This can result in improved income and living standards to members of a society. Technology can therefore bring about social revolution by enriching villages thereby attracting people and wealth from cities (Freeman and Francisco 331).Technology enables farms in remote places to function as part of the global economy. Through advancement in technology, agricultural outputs have improved thus ensuring food security. Technology helps farmers to avoid losses caused by natural disasters like drought. For example, a farmer can use a laptop enabled with a Global Positioning System to plant his or her crops with precision and efficiency resulting in high harvests.At harvest time, the farmer can use technology to co-ordinate harvesting with the availability of grain a transporter and storage facilities using mobile wireless technology. This can help to reduce losses caused by delays. The grain transporter can monitor the vehicle in-route to maintain the best fuel efficiency and s afe operation. In addition, through technology changes in status can be relayed to the driver of the vehicle instantly (Cisco Systems E34).   Technology has thus improved efficiency and effectiveness in the agricultural sector. It has enabled societies to have abundant healthy food.Modern technology is also widely used in the entertainment and travel industries. The internet has enabled people to share and enjoy many forms of recreation, regardless of their location. For example, one can explore different places interactively without having to visit them. Technology has also enabled the creation of new forms of entertainment, such as online games (Cisco Systems E36). Entertainment is important in a society since it reduce stress and problems caused by depression.Fears have been raised about some technologies such as nuclear weapons being used to cause massive destructions in the world (Freeman and Francisco 308). But the global community has the ability to enforce controls and lim its on technology use to ensure that technology is not misused.   A beneficial technology cannot therefore be abandoned when measures can be put in place to shape and direct its use. Moreover, governments in the form of regulatory institutions and professional bodies have the potential to regulate technologies that are susceptible to misuse to ensure that they do not impact negatively on values of the society (Freeman and Francisco 316).ConclusionTechnology is embedded in all aspects of our society and has extensive implications on culture and social activities. Technology has significantly improved health, agriculture, education, transport and communication sectors. These are critical sectors in any society as they contribute to development and improvement of living standards. Although some technologies might have side effects, measures can be put in place by governments and the international community to ensure that all technologies are used for the benefits of the society.Analy sis and evaluation1.The sources I used are qualified on the subject of technology and its social impacts. Cisco Corporation is a leading and credible technology firm. Its products are widely accepted all over the world. In the Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility Report of 2009 the organization outlined its key activities and how they contribute to the social welfare of the community. Cisco also offers certification courses that are very popular world wide.The Cisco Networking Academy Program is a good example of how technology can be used to enhance learning experience. In the program, the instructor provides a syllabus and establishes a preliminary schedule for completing the course content. The expertise of the instructor is supplemented with an interactive curriculum comprising of text, graphics, audio and animations. In addition, a tool called packet tracer is provided to build virtual representations of networks and emulate functions of various networking devices (Cisco Syste ms E31).Freeman and Francisco in their book give a lot of examples of how technology can be used to enhance social life. They also point out some side effects of modern technology and how they can be addressed. In addition, the publisher of this book, Oxford University Press is a credible publisher and the source can thus be relied on.Some social impacts of the modern technology are common in homes and workplaces. For example, the impacts of the internet on commerce are common. Majority of people have embraced electronic commerce and are buying goods and services online from the comfort of their homes. Electronic commerce has thus opened new doors of opportunities that are being exploited in the society.Diamond in his book explores the rise of civilization, discussing the evolution of agriculture and technology and their impact on the society. He gives clear examples of how technology has improved the social welfare of communities especially through improvements in agricultural prod uction. Some of the examples he gives are common and can easily be related to what is going around.The Global Scenario Group report is a credible source. Its main sponsors who include Stockholm Environment Institute, Rockefeller Foundation, the Nippon Foundation, and the United Nations Environment Programme are advocacy organizations in the fields of technology and the environment. The research explored the historical background of technology, the current situation and what the future might look like. It gives clear examples of major scientific discoveries that are driving technology and their potential impacts.If I had adequate time, I would do additional research to find more information on effective measures the international community can take to ensure that technology is not misused. I would particularly focus on tools the international community can employ to protect technology from irresponsible individuals like terrorists. This is because technology itself is not bad, but it is the human beings who in some cases use it irresponsibly. Therefore, if correct measures and controls are put in place technology can be used for the benefit of all in the society. This can eliminate fears and most of the side effects of technology.2a. Technology shapes institutions, values and day to day activities in our society. It affects identities, relationships, social structures and economic activities (Freeman and Francisco 316). Technology is thus inevitable in the modern world. The internet has enhanced our social, political, commercial and personal interactions enabling us to share information and ideas more efficiently. Technology has significantly improved the quality of education. It has enabled learning materials to reach a larger number of students efficiently and cheaply. An improvement in the quality of education enhances the social life of a community since it enables individuals to make creative decisions capable of solving social problems.Technology has faci litated the formation of online communities were members can share their diverse experiences and ideas. This has the potential of increasing productivity in a society. In addition, technology has helped to reduce poverty. It has resulted in efficient sources of energy even in rural areas thereby opening up rural areas for investments and developments. Modern technology has also improved efficiency in the agricultural sector therefore ensuring food security. Moreover, I discussed how modern technology has been used in the entertainment and travel industries to create new forms of entertainments like online games. Finally, I noted that although some technologies have side effects, governments and the international community have the potential to direct and control the use of technology for the benefit of the society.2b.Some of the evidences I used include the Cisco Networking Academy Program which is an example of how technology can be used to improve quality of education. The second evidence is of a farmer using a laptop enabled with a Global Positioning System to plant his crops with precision and efficiency. The example illustrates how technology can be used to improve agricultural production. The third evidence illustrates how genetic engineering can be used to engineer crops that convert solar energy to fuels more efficiently. The energy can then be used in the rural areas to create wealth and employment opportunities. Finally, I illustrated how technology has been used in the entertainment and travel industry to create new forms of entertainment like online games.2c.The major assumption I made is that the international community has the potential to control and direct the use of technology. This is only possible if there is peace and cooperation among all countries of the world. But this is not the case especially in the Middle East. The instability in countries like Iran and the existence of extremists have increased fears of technology being used to caus e massive destruction.3.Someone might ague that technology is a problem because we rely on it so much and that although it makes us better it also make us worse. My position is that in any human community there must be control and order. It is therefore the responsibility of governments to ensure that the society is protected from negative effects of technology.   Some people might point out the destructive effects of technology on the environment to ague against it. But if correct measures are put in place we will be able to assess the dangers and promises of any technology in order to formulate effective safeguards against its side effects.Works citedCisco Systems, Inc. Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility Report. cisco.com. Cisco Systems, Inc. 2009. Web. 2009.Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel:   The Fates of Human Societies. New York.   W.W. Norton. 1999. Web.Freeman, Chris and Francisco Louca. As Time Goes By:   From the Industrial Revolutions to the Information Re volution. England. Oxford University Press. 2001. Web.Global Scenario Group Report. Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead.     gsg.org. Global Scenario Group. Web. 2002.