The Brief History of Transportation

Whether by land or by sea, humans have always sought to traverse the earth and move to new locations. The evolution of transportation has brought us from simple canoes to space travel, and theres no telling where we could go next and how we will get there. The following is a brief history of transportation, dating from the first vehicles 900,000 years ago to the modern day. Early Boats and Horses The first mode of transportation was created in the effort to traverse water: boats. Those who colonized Australia roughly 60,000–40,000 years ago have been credited as the first people to cross the sea, though there is some evidence that seafaring trips were carried out as far as 900,000 years ago. The earliest known boats were simple logboats, also referred to as dugouts, which were made by hollowing out a tree trunk. Evidence for these floating vehicles comes from artifacts that date back to around 10,000–7,000 years ago. The Pesse canoe—a logboat—is the oldest boat unearthed and dates as far back as 7600 BCE. Rafts have been around nearly as long, with artifacts showing them in use for at least 8,000 years. Next, came horses. While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when humans first began domesticating them as a means of getting around and transporting goods, experts generally go by the emergence of certain human biological and cultural markers that indicate when such practices started to take place. Based on changes in teeth records, butchering activities, shifts in settlement patterns, and historic depictions, experts believe that domestication took place around 4000 BCE. Genetic evidence from horses, including changes in musculature and cognitive function, support this. It was also roughly around this period that the wheel was invented. Archaeological records show that the first wheeled vehicles were in use around 3500 BCE, with evidence of the existence of such contraptions found in Mesopotamia, the Northern Caucuses, and Central Europe. The earliest well-dated artifact from that time period is the Bronocice pot, a ceramic vase that depicts a four-wheeled wagon that featured two axles. It was unearthed in southern Poland. Steam Machines: Steamboats, Automobiles, and Locomotives In 1769, the Watt steam engine changed everything. Boats were among the first to take advantage of steam-generated power; in 1783, a French inventor by the name of Claude de Jouffroy built the Pyroscaphe, the world’s first steamship. But despite successfully making trips up and down the river and carrying passengers as part of a demonstration, there wasn’t enough interest to fund further development. While other inventors tried to make steamships that were practical enough for mass transport, it was American Robert Fulton who furthered the technology to where it was commercially viable. In 1807, the Clermont completed a 150-mile trip from New York City to Albany that took 32 hours, with the average speed clocking in at about five miles per hour. Within a few years, Fulton and company would offer regular and freight service between New Orleans; Louisiana; and Natchez, Mississippi. Back in 1769, another Frenchman named Nicolas Joseph Cugnot attempted to adapt steam engine technology to a road vehicle—the result was the invention of the first automobile. However, the heavy engine added so much weight to the vehicle that it wasnt practical. It had a top speed of 2.5 miles per hour. Another effort to repurpose the steam engine for a different means of personal transport resulted in the Roper Steam Velocipede. Developed in 1867, the two-wheeled steam-powered bicycle is considered by many historians to be the world’s first motorcycle. One mode of land transport powered by a steam engine that did go mainstream was the locomotive. In 1801, British inventor Richard Trevithick unveiled the world’s first road locomotive—called the â€Å"Puffing Devil†Ã¢â‚¬â€and used it to give six passengers a ride to a nearby village. It was three years later that Trevithick first demonstrated a locomotive that ran on rails, and another one that hauled 10 tons of iron to the community of Penydarren in Wales to a small village called Abercynon. It took a fellow Brit—a civil and mechanical engineer named George Stephenson—to turn locomotives into a form of mass transport. In 1812, Matthew Murray of Holbeck designed and built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, â€Å"The Salamanca,† and Stephenson wanted to take the technology a step further. So in 1814, Stephenson designed the Blà ¼cher, an eight-wagon locomotive capable of hauling 30 tons of coal uphill at a speed of four miles per hour. By 1824, Stephenson improved the efficiency of his locomotive designs to where he was commissioned by the Stockton and Darlington Railway to build the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the aptly named Locomotion No. 1. Six years later, he opened the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first public inter-city railway line serviced by steam locomotives. His notable accomplishments also include establishing the standard for rail spacing for most of the railways in use today. No wonder he’s been hailed as Father of Railways. Modern Machines: Submarines, Aircraft, and Spacecraft Technically speaking, the first navigable submarine was invented in 1620 by Dutchman Cornelis Drebbel. Built for the English Royal Navy, Drebbel’s submarine could stay submerged for up to three hours and was propelled by oars. However, the submarine was never used in combat, and it wasn’t until the turn of the twentieth century that designs leading to practical and widely used submersible vehicles were realized. Along the way, there were important milestones such as the launch of the hand-powered, egg-shaped Turtle in 1776, the first military submarine used in combat. There was also the French Navy submarine Plongeur, the first mechanically powered submarine. Finally, in 1888, the Spanish navy launched the Peral, the first electric, battery-powered submarine, which also so happened to be the first fully capable military submarine. Built by a Spanish engineer and sailor named Isaac Peral, it was equipped with a torpedo tube, two torpedoes, an air regeneration system, and the first fully reliable underwater navigation system, and it posted an underwater speed of 3.5 miles per hour. The start of the twentieth century was truly the dawn of a new era in the history of transportation as two American brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, pulled off the first official powered flight in 1903. In essence, they invented the world’s first airplane. Transport via aircraft took off from there with airplanes being put into service within a few short years during World War I. In 1919, British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown completed the first transatlantic flight, crossing from Canada to Ireland. The same year, passengers were able to fly internationally for the first time. Around the same time that the Wright brothers were taking flight, French inventor Paul Cornu started developing a rotorcraft. And on November 13, 1907, his Cornu helicopter, made of little more than some tubing, an engine, and rotary wings, achieved a lift height of about one foot while staying airborne for about 20 seconds. With that, Cornu would lay claim to having piloted the first helicopter flight. It didn’t take long after air travel took off for humans to start seriously considering the possibility of going further up and toward the heavens. The Soviet Union surprised much of the western world in 1957 with its successful launch of Sputnik, the first satellite to reach outer space. Four years later, the Russians followed that by sending the first human, pilot Yuri Gagaran, into outer space aboard the Vostok 1. These achievements would spark a â€Å"space race† between the Soviet Union and the United States that culminated in the Americans taking what was perhaps the biggest victory lap among national rivals. On July 20, 1969, the lunar module of the Apollo spacecraft, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, touched down on the surface of the moon. The event, which was broadcast on live TV to the rest of the world, allowed millions to witness the moment Armstrong became the first man to ever step foot on the moon, a moment he heralded as â€Å"one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.†

The Shootings Of Michael Brown - 897 Words

The shootings of Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York have recently raised a lot of questions and debates about law enforcement’s operation in communities. The protests and riots of the public, especially of African-American, criticizing racial power imbalances in the United States. Even though the killing of the two unarmed African –American men can be viewed as visible sign of racial domination through coercion and violence, which of course is debatable, there are other nearly invisible practices such as grammar and the ideology of mestizaje(racial and cultural mixing) that are responsible for the production of racial domination. This racial power imbalance is also found through educational, economic, and political forces. The purpose of this paper is to examine through different angles how we absorb racial ideology through mass media and social interaction. I will achieve this by first outlining and summarizing The Invisible Weight of Whiteness and From Trigueà ±ita to Afro-Puerto Rican respectively from Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Maritza Quinones Rivera. Their arguments denounce white supremacy through various channels showing how people are unable to see things as they really are. I will then note the general effects this ideology has on society and people. Finally, I will link the reasons of this ideology by examining my sources. In doing so, I hope to show why order of things is produced to maintain racial domination. In â€Å"The invisible weight ofShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Shooting Of Michael Brown Essay1302 Words   |  6 PagesRodney King. Trayvon Martin. Looking at where we are today after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, it can feel like nothing has changed in the way we police the police.Many things haven’t. Juries acquitted police. Cops got their jobs back. 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I would like to start off by saying, As could be predicted, the demonization of Mike Brown has begun. You see, he stole some cigars. Therefore he deserved to be shot in the back. The fact that the Ferguson cop Darren Wilson was the shooter was almost an afterthought in this press conference. The main was to say that Brown stole cigars before the shooting and that Wilson was apparently on the lookout for him. What alsoRead MoreThe Case Of Michael Brown s Shooting Accident999 Words   |  4 Pages9, 2014, eighteen-year-old Michael Brown was shot by Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting caused protests and has drawn the world’s attention because Michael Brown was an unarmed black man while Darren Wilson is a white police officer. Cases where police officers shoot citizens has happened before, yet this case has drawn attention from the world because the officer is white, and the victim is a black man. 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With the deaths of individuals like Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, and with the assistance of social media and bias news reporting, as well as high level officials within our social structure, who’s speech and words can carry a large impact on our behaviors, there has been a picture paintedRead MorePolice Shootings Of Michael Brown And The New Age Of Police830 Words   |  4 PagesIn August of 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, an 18-year-old African American boy by the name of Michael Brown, was shot and killed by an on-duty police officer during the investigation of an alleged, strong-arm robbery (Clarke Lefte, 2014). The incident ignited protests and violent riots that continued for several weeks throughout the United States. 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Although we’ve come a long way, numerous issues of prejudice and racial discrimination still plague the country. Some people believe that the situation is gradually getting better, while others see it getting progressively worse. One thing that is for sure is that certain stories of the issue become popular and spark outrageRead MoreArgumentative Essay : The Shooting Of African American Teenager 1386 Words   |  6 Pagesis not Racist The shooting of African American teenager Michael Brown by white officer Darren Wilson has been a hot topic of debate. Those in support of Michael Brown believe that Darren Wilson racially profiled Brown and that the shooting would have never occurred had Brown been white. Those in support of Darren Wilson state that he acted in self-defense. This argument has more evidence supporting it than the argument that Brown was racially profiled. Firstly, Michael Brown is not just an innocent

Amazons Marketing Strategies Free Essays

It also uses existing communication systems. Lastly it utilizes behaviors and mentalities. Combined, all of these aspects ensure that Amazon can grow a very successful company it also keeps it as strong as possible. We will write a custom essay sample on Amazons Marketing Strategies or any similar topic only for you Order Now Without some of these marketing strategies Amazon would not be what it is today. Throughout Amazons entire time, these have been some of the things that they have always looked for, in terms of trying to provide a great experience and market their company. Analysis: Starting off with freely proffers products and services. I think this is very important for Amazon to always have since there company relies on other companies selling on there site. Without the products and services that are sold on there site, think they would not be as successful as they are today. Amazons friendly interface provides the customers to feel like they are buying from a reliable source as well as feeling at ease while searching through the site. This is very important for Amazon, because many people use it because It is so easy to buy produces from the site. Amazon as a whole scales extremely easily from large to small. This can make the company better in many different aspect. Not very many companies have this ability. Amazon exploits many products and recourses and it helps everyone. It helps the customers find what they need, it helps the companies gain popularity and helps Amazon to create a much better site as a whole. How to cite Amazons Marketing Strategies, Essays

The Great Powers of Europe

Question: Discuss about the Great Powers of Europe. Answer: Introduction The Great Powers generally refer to the most powerful nations of the European State and they together formed the Concert of Europe in the year 1815. Great powers in Europe during the Napoleon time were Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia. The powers of these states, however, underwent many changes and modification during the time of World War I and World War II. All these nations had superior economic, political and military strengths. However, all these nations had their way of work and ideas, so there was a need for perfect balance for the smooth working of the "Great Powers." Among these great powers, Russia and Britain were more influential and powerful. The Navy of Great Britain was of a superior class and thereby Britain gained much popularity and global strength. The alliance of these countries worked together to defeat Napoleon and after that France also joined the alliance and became the fifth member of the "European Concert." The answer further discusses how the grea t powers maintained a balance among them and worked towards the progress of the entire nation. The theory of the balance of power clearly describes the working policy of the nations and represents the important factors included in the theory. The theory of the balance of power mainly originated in the 19th century after much of the political upheavals in Europe. The neorealist theory is a structural theory that defines the overall structure and system of a nation. It aims towards removing anarchy, building international relationships, a better future, equality in authoritative powers and so on. The theory also includes the change or conversion of the states economic wealth to military power to make the "Great Powers" protected from any foreign invasion. Another theory also includes the equal distribution of the military powers or authoritative powers so that the nations that fall under the group of Great Powers cannot dominate other countries. Balancing is another theory that also falls under the theory of the balance of powers. It means collaborating or making allies with oth er powerful nations make a more powerful group. The population and territory of the nation are also one of the theories of the balance of power since it decides the political strength of the nation. All the countries or nations that are under the "Great Powers" have their specific territories and any increase in territories adds to the strength and power of the nation. Balance in the boundary of the nations is important to maintain equilibrium and peace. The balance of powers works on the understanding of the requirements and weakness of the participating nations in a group or alliance. Some examples can be further cited to clear this statement. During the time of Cold War," the United States of Nation, as well as the Soviet Union, increased their nuclear power to have an equilibrium or balance of power. During the 19th century, the power of the nations likes Britain, Austria, and Russia abolished the great power of France and thereby initiated the fall of Napoleon. Napoleon played an important role in the history of Europe, and his legacy is an example for the modern world. His leadership brought about many changes in Europe and he totally modified the map of Europe. His decisions and strategy might have been rude and severe, but nonetheless, it brought about a new definition of power and politics in the whole of Europe. The importance of his legacy can be further highlighted by the discussion of his contributions towards the European history. Napoleon brought about the modernist norms in France, which states that the laws and rules are all based on the merits of the people. This initiated a change in France and the feudal structure of France gradually broke down, giving rise to a state governed by enlightened people. This also helped in development of art, religion, and culture of France and thereby affected the whole Europe as well. Another important contribution of Napoleon is the introduction of the Napoleonic Code of Law." This ushered in new legal laws and norms in France. The law, however, gave more authority and rights to the men and provided them quality in rights. The third important contribution of Napoleon is the reforms in the economy of France, which influenced the whole of Europe. After Napoleon came to power the economy of France changed drastically, and it developed the economy of France. International trade increased along with an increase in different luxurious industries of France. France today is known for its superior and luxurious chains of shops in the whole world, and it all started from the Napoleon era. The economic reform in France also initiated the development of infrastructure, which made France one of the memorable places in the world and the huge infrastructures, resembles the beauty and elegance of France. Among all the theories of Napoleon as discussed, above the most important for this essay is the Neorealist Theory which had a widespread effect on the whole of Europe. The Neorealist Theory is a wide aspect and includes several important points in it. The Neorealist Theory helped Napoleon in creating an advanced nation. The neorealist theory involves points like anarchy, national boundary, national concern and equal distribution of power. With the growing economy of the nation, Napoleon also tried to make Europe better and more advanced. He tried to do away with the age-old tradition and norms and initiated a new change. This helped in unifying Europe and in creating a new sense of unity and nationality. The Neorealist Theory is an important point of discussion in this context since it includes alliance or collaboration of the nations and that decides their strengths, authority, and their alikeness. Anarchy in a nation refers to any chaos and unrest that disturbs the peace of the nat ion. Equality, which is also one of the important agendas of Neorealist Theory, is important in this context. Equality here refers to the equal distribution of power among all the nations that come under the "Great Powers of Europe." Though France was quite powerful among all the four powers, Napoleon tried to unite the four nations and make Europe more strong and superior. However, this Neorealist Theory aptly applies to this essay since it states about a proper balance and configuration of the European nations. The political powers also unified and formulated their strategies and decisions in a unified way. The Concert of Europe was mainly formed to usher in some peace and national unity by the countries like Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia. However, the Concert of Europe did not last for long and their agenda of uniting the whole of Europe failed miserably. Alliance formation theory did not work for long, and certain political issues came up that gradually broke the alliance. The alliance was formed on the principles of peace, unity, security and military power of the European nations. However, the rising feeling of revolution to increase their respective territories and gain more power broke the bond and agendas of the alliance. Russia and Austria were two participating members of the Concert of Europe and was interested to know about all the internal affairs of the states of Europe. On the other hand, Lord Canning of Britain was not for the policy of interference and it is something, which was not favorable or desirable for the other European nations as well. Some causes or examples can be further cited to systematically illustrate the causes of the failure of the "European Concert," which are as follows: The alliance was mainly formed to combat the power of Napoleon, but with the death of Napoleon, the alliance was broken and became busy with their individual nations. Further France, also became a member of the "The European of Concert." This is one of the important causes of the failure of the concert. The alliance mainly consisted of the four big powers like Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia and they mainly discussed the political and national issues among themselves. The smaller European states at times were invited to the discussions, but they did not play any role in the decision-making. Their suggestions and ideas were not even entertained, which made them feel ignored and left out and due to this reason the big powers did not get any support from the smaller European states, when in need. This is also a vital reason for their failure to last for a long time. Another important cause of the failure of the alliance was a loss of mutual trust and loyalty. In the initial phase, the participating nations worked actively and sincerely, but with time, there was a lack of their cooperation and unity. Variation in ideas and thoughts also hampered their working style and approach. For example, Britain became busy with their nation and tried to implement their ideals and logic of working on all the participating nations. Hence, these are all the causes and examples that illustrate the fall of "The Concert of Europe."

How to get in free essay sample

I am applying for Harvard University. I believe I am Harvard material because my grade point average right now is a 4.0 weighted and I am currently ranked somewhere between one and fifty. My teachers are so impressed when it comes to my assignments because I like to compare my work with my peers while finishing the assignment. My papers are so well written because I like to research my topic and intertwine other scholars ideas with my own in order to embellish the overall paper.Also, you may have noticed my name. Yes you guessed right, I am a distant cousin of number 21 on the San Diego Chargers, LaDainian Tomlinson. My cousin said he would be so pleased if I was accepted into Harvard. He has already promised to visit me when he is off . He even hinted at helping out with the football program. In addition to having good greats I am also an athlete. We will write a custom essay sample on How to get in or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I joined the lacrosse team freshman year and sophomore year I was named co-captain. Half-way through my second season I was promoted to captain because Alyssa, the original captain, accidentally slipped down the stairs while we were at a party. The police suspect foul play, but I didn’t see anything. We were so distressed when we heard the sorrowful news, because Alyssa was hurt so badly, the doctors don‘t know when she will get better. Coach wanted to wait for a miracle, but their was no time to wait after all state was coming up, we needed a new captain and I was willing to take up the responsibility half-way through the season.Another reason why I would be a good choice for Harvard is because I am very well acquainted with foreign leaders, because my cousin and I travel across the globe. I make small talk with the princes and dukes, and even go out for drinks and dancing with some. They have grown so accustomed to my present, and trust me so much that they no longer grow concerned if they spill their parents up and coming political policies and military strategies. I wish I could tell you what those strategies are, but I was sworn to secrecy and would not dare breaking a promise. Don’t even bother asking them about what we talked about over drinks. They don’t remember themselves.For all these reasons I truly hope to be a student at Harvard. I hope you consider my application and treat me like all the other students applying to Harvard. Please don’t accept me based on my family but on my scholastic achievements and leadership positions. I look forward to being a student at Harvard; Class of 2014. And I really hope you accept me because I would hate to bring my resources elsewhere, such as Yale. I look forward to seeing my results. Thank you!

The Nazi Party Essays - Nazi Germany, Great Depression, Free Essays

The Nazi Party Essays - Nazi Germany, Great Depression, Free Essays The Nazi Party History How, by 1932, had the Nazi Party become the largest Party in the Reichstag? Hitler's Nazi party came to power almost entirely because of accidents. In 1929 the American Stock Market crashed, a powerful symbol of the growing depression. Germany was particularly badly affected, since Germany's economy was partly dependent on Americas prosperity and a large number of loans made by America to Germany were called back and the German economy crashed. Since the German government suffered badly in the depression the existing Weimar government, put in place by the victorious allies, was blamed. Without the depression the government was not particularly liked since it was indecisive and it had not central power. Hitler used his twenty-five points from the beginning of the Nazi party. These were a set of promises appealing to everybody, they included elements of socialism and told people what they wanted to hear. They promised to stop reparations to the victors of the First World War, end unemployment, give a strong leadership and they attacked immigrants and particularly Jews. The twenty-five points were attractive to those most vulnerable to the depression, especially ex-soldiers, the unemployed and the middle classes. In the time of crisis the German people had swung to an extreme group, and the Nazis were an easy way out, more appealing than the Communists to the industrialists, and they were also attractive since they apparently promoted the old and respected German militaristic values. In the hard times they were effective since the democratic parties could not solve any of the problems facing Germany. In the 1930 elections the Nazis greatly increased the number of seats that they held in parliament, by 1932 they had nearly 200 seats, although they did not have a majority they were the largest single party.

Explain the importance of communication in promoting the therapeutic Coursework

Explain the importance of communication in promoting the therapeutic relationship - Coursework Example The behaviours and attitudes of nurses in their caregiving duties and responsibilities highly influence the resultant relationship. It is important to highlight that therapeutic relationship is central to the client’s health and general welfare. I have realized this through my interaction with one of my medical ward patients. A number of factors have constituted my relationship with the patient, but the most important is communication. Communication played a fundamental role in building therapeutic relationship between the patient and me. This in return has enhanced definition and identification of the different users of therapeutic nursing. The role and importance of communication in promoting nurse-patient relationship is described in this paper. A number of factors have influenced my nurse-client relationship prior to my interaction with the patient and communication effectiveness therein. Vulnerability of my client required that trust be an integral component of the therapeutic relationship. Promises to either party were kept to avoid instances of mistrust. Confidentiality of the patient was an important therapeutic variable that I observed so that neither the patient’s nor my boundary was crossed. Our thoughts and opinions prior to this therapeutic relationship were diverse and dynamic. In this regard, mutual respect ensured that these two accounts were accounted for. On the same note, I understood the importance of showing empathy to my client. This way, the client felt cared for and the kind of actions that I took as the patient’s nurse greatly influenced the client’s quality of life, specifically in instances of health complications. Professional intimacy is another thing that built a favourable therapeutic relationship. Bringing the nurse and the client close to one another is integral to a beneficial nursing practice.

Managerial Control Systems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managerial Control Systems - Assignment Example The second phase is the identification of opportunities for revenues and costs that the existing system fails to report, and the specification of what changes must be adopted in the system in order to better highlight the opportunities, to make the business more profitable yet more environmentally sustainable. It requires establishing control by assigning responsibility centres and sub-centres, the drivers relevant in their cost assignment, and the setting up of records to duly report activities and allocation of corresponding costs. It also involves proper communication and consistency in applying these measures. The final phase is the trial and documentation of changes to discover how the changes will affect the results from those achieved under the current system. This trial and assessment seeks to determine whether the changes introduced leads to improved management decision-making. Included in the assessment is an evaluation of management tools introduced, how they enhance the r elevance of the information delivered to managers, and the potential and opportunities created in enhancing the type, quality and accuracy of managers’ decisions that impact on the environment and the firm’s future profits. 2. ... t generates the standard summary accounting information (chart of accounts, trial balance, the general ledger, and the income statement and balance sheet). There is no categorization or distinction among costs, all being reported together as overhead. These outputs are used to manually generate the pertinent spreadsheet leading to the more detailed income and expenditure statement and cash flow forecast, which have greater detail to support management decisions. Capital expenditures are distinguished as to capital works and capital replacements. Acquisition price form the sole criterion for deciding among projects, without taking into account the forecasted revenues/ benefits accruing therefrom. There is no system for monitoring costs after acquisition of either capital works or replacement; in the case of the latter, replacements depend upon user requests and not upon any systematic capital budgeting method. 3. Identify the environmental impacts associated with MLC’s operatio ns and explain how the costs associated with the environmental impacts are treated and flow through MLC’s accounting system (6 marks, 1 page) According to the case study, there are four environmental impacts of MLC’s operations. These are energy usage, paper usage, water usage and waste management. Each of the costs associated with these impacts are coded directly into the firm’s expenses accounts. Expenses that go into energy, paper and water usage are assigned to the broad category of â€Å"administration and general† overhead expenses, while costs incurred for waste management are recorded under â€Å"caretaking and cleaning† overhead expenses. The costs are loosely allocated between â€Å"tuition† and â€Å"boarding†; the criterion for doing so is not specifically provided for, and is

Harrisburg (state capital of Pennsylvania) Bankrupt Essay

Harrisburg (state capital of Pennsylvania) Bankrupt - Essay Example The move took place when the legislature of the state considered implementing the rescue plane. Last year many bankruptcies were expected by the municipal state analysts. However, very few localities dared to take the step. The council took the decision Tuesday night, 11 October 2011, in a 4 to 3 vote .Immediately after a petition was faxed of chapter 9 bankruptcy to the United State Bankruptcy Court by a lawyer of the Council. It all started with an inefficient incinerator which the city owned since 1960s, a political plan in 1990s by the county favored the landfills over the incinerator and by 2003 the enterprise went under $104 million dept. the situation worsened when an amateurish company was hired to fix it made and the contractor fumbled through the project badly and took the dept $130 million. So the City Council chose to bankrupt rather then state sponsored plan of dealing with the debt. Even as the dispute over the legality of the appeal filed under the Bankruptcy Court continues Lawyers are becoming active to pass legislation prà ©cising a state takeover. Lawyer hired by Mayor Linda Thompson argued that the filing violated city and state laws as city law requires the mayor and city solicitor to sign off all the hiring of the outside lawyers and solicitors approval of the rules and resolutions is required that are being considered by the council and neither was done in this case. Ms Linda Thomson called this whole event an episode of â€Å"sneak attack†.(2) Council members like Brad Koplinski, attacked the mayors financial plans and said that state backed plans were already rejected by the council and largely because it demanded too little from the creditors. Because of the mentioned reason Ms. Thompson and Council had been locked in battle for months.Ms Thompson argued that the Council is hindering the path of

The Democratic Peace Theory

The Democratic Peace Theory The primary claim of democratic peace proponents is that democratic states do not wage war against each other[1]. This theory is based on the findings of Immanuel Kant in the late 18th century. In his findings Kant argues that the natural evolution of world politics and economics would drive mankind inexorably toward peace by means of a widening of the pacific union of liberal republican states.[2] According to Kants theory liberal republics insure that the state interests are transferred from single monarch to the society thus making wars less probable. This assumption can be explained by a notion that in democratic societies the decision of waging wars is transferred from a monarch to the average citizen who bears the costs of war. Furthermore, the interdependence between national interests and citizens self-interests establishes a tendency of placing ultimate authority in the hands of the average voter[3] thus reducing the chance for well-institutionalized democracies to fight war s against each other. Michael Doyle in his publication Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs adds another principle of pacification to Kants list of three definitive articles of liberal constitutions. According to Doyle: The regular rotation of office in liberal democratic polities is a nontrivial device that helps ensure that personal animosities among heads of government provide no lasting, escalating source of tension[4]. The inner state check and balance system does not exclude the probability of war between states, but instead it explains that liberal wars are only fought for popular, liberal purposes[5]. Accordingly, most common argument of democratic peace theory is the constitutional and legal restraints on executive action. In other words placing constraints on the ability of leaders to fight other democracies are the foundations of peace in democratic states. The democratic peace theory also suggests that Democracy tends to foster economic interdependence, which reduces the likelihood of war. Firstly, it is more likely for countries who share the same values, to have close economic ties with each other. The economic interdependence significantly reduces the probability of confrontation between states. The preponderance of systematic evidence for at least the post-World War II era, however, suggests that mutual economic interdependence, measured as the share of dyadic trade to GNP in the country where that trade is proportionately smaller, is strongly associated with peaceful relations in subsequent years.[6] In other words, economic interdependence helps create transnational ties that promote peace rather than conflict. Furthermore, states have a mutual benefit from the economic relations and conflict with each other is going to harm their economy. Thus, the potential loss of trade and its negative impact on countries critical imports or exports decreases the willingness of both sides to fight. Based on historical evidence, despite the liberal claim that democracies have never gone to war with each other, there have been more conflicts than instances of cooperation situation which provides a fertile ground for realism to flourish. Up until the end of the Cold War realism was the dominant theory of international relations as it explained most of the political events. However, after the end of the Cold War started crisis of realism due to the circumstances that it failed to predict or predicted wrongly several events, especially the unification of Germany (October 1990), dissolution of Warsaw Pact (July 1991) and the end of Cold War (dissolution of USSR December 1991). None of this events resolved in a hegemonic war as many realist predicted. It seems as if other theory such as democratic peace theory is better at explaining the events after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The democratic peace theory gives a logical explanation of the events which lead to peaceful disso lution of Soviet Union and end of the Cold War. Any understanding of the change in the Soviet Unions international behavior, before its political fragmentation, and in time reciprocated by the West, demands attention to the three legs on which the liberal vision of Immanuel Kants Perpetual Peace Stands. This stands are: 1. Development of Liberalization and democratization process in Soviet Union; 2. Desire to enter western markets rise of economical interdependence; and 3. influence of the International organizations. As Emmanuel Kant has predicted in his findings the natural evolution of world politics and economics would drive mankind inexorably toward peace by means of a widening of the pacific union of liberal republican states.[7] Democracy, economic interdependence and international organizations constitute the basis of the 21st century international relations. [1] Edward D.Mansfield and Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Danger of War, P8 [2] Michael W. Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Part 2, p349 [3] Edward D.Mansfield and Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Danger of War, P21 [4] Michael W. Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, p.230 [5] Ibid. [6] Bruce Russet, a neo-Kantian perspective: democracy, interdependence, and international organizations in building security communities, Security Communities, Cambridge University Press, P.374 [7] Michael W. Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Part 2, p349

The Problems with Farm Subsidies :: Economy

The Problems with Farm Subsidies Subsidies are payments, economic concessions, or privileges given by the government to favor businesses or consumers. In the 1930s, subsidies were designed to favor agriculture. John Steinbeck expressed his dislike of the farm subsidy system of the United States in his book, The Grapes of Wrath. In that book, the government gave money to farms so that they would grow and sell a certain amount of crops. As a result, Steinbeck argued, many people starved unnecessarily. Steinbeck examined farm subsidies from a personal level, showing how they hurt the common man. Subsidies have a variety of other problems, both on the micro and macro level, that should not be ignored. Despite their benefits, farm subsidies are an inefficient and dysfunctional part of our economic system. The problems of the American farmer arose in the 1920s, and various methods were introduced to help solve them. The United States still disagrees on how to solve the continuing problem of agricultural overproduction. In 1916, the number of people living on farms was at its maximum at 32,530,000. Most of these farms were relatively small (Reische 51). Technological advances in the 1920's brought a variety of effects. The use of machinery increased productivity while reducing the need for as many farm laborers. The industrial boom of the 1920s drew many workers off the farm and into the cities. Machinery, while increasing productivity, was very expensive. Demand for food, though, stayed relatively constant (Long 85). As a result of this, food prices went down. The small farmer was no longer able to compete, lacking the capital to buy productive machinery. Small farms lost their practicality, and many farmers were forced to consolidate to compete. Fewer, larger farms resulted (Reische 51). During the Depression, unemployment grew while income shrank. "An extended drought had aggravated the farm problem during the 1930s (Reische 52)." Congress, to counter this, passed price support legislation to assure a profit to the farmers. The Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936 allowed the government to limit acreage use for certain soil-depleting crops. The Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 allowed the government to set the minimum price and amount sold of a good at the market. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, farmers were given price supports for not growing crops. These allowed farmers to mechanize, which was necessary because of the scarcity of farm labor during World War II (Reische 52). During World War II, demand for food increased, and farmers enjoyed a period of general prosperity (Reische 52).

Disembowelment In Japanese History

Honor was defined in Dr Johnson’s Dictionary in several senses. The first sense described honor as â€Å"nobility of soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness. † This sort of honor derives from the perceived virtuous conduct and personal integrity of the person endowed with it. On the other hand, Johnson also defined honor in relationship to â€Å"reputation† and â€Å"fame†; to â€Å"privileges of rank or birth†, and as â€Å"respect† of the kind which â€Å"places an individual socially and determines his right to precedence.†This sort of honor is not so much a function of moral or ethical excellence, as it is a consequence of power. Finally, for women, according to Dr Johnson, honor is synonymous with â€Å"chastity†. On the other hand, dishonor means loss of honor, respect, or reputation; the condition of having lost honor or good repute. Many Japanese heroes choose to engage in disembowelment because it forms the way of gr aceful suicide by a samurai in Japan. By this method, samurais are deemed to be free from the dishonor. A samurai is a professional warrior belonging to the Japanese feudal military aristocracy.Disembowelment or evisceration is the removing of some or all of vital organs, usually from the abdomen. The results are, in virtually all cases, fatal. It has historically been used as a severe form of capital punishment. The last organs to be removed were invariably the heart and lungs so as to preserve the victim's life force for the full procedure. In Japan, disembowelment also formed part of the method of execution of or graceful suicide by a samurai. In killing themselves by this method, they were deemed to be free from the dishonor resulting from their crimes.The most common form of disembowelment was referred to in Japanese as seppuku (where the term â€Å"hara-kiri,† literally â€Å"stomach cutting,† is regarded as vulgar), involving two cuts across the abdomen, sometim es followed by pulling out one's own innards. The act of beheading, in most cases by one's best servant, was added to this ritual suicide in later times in order to shorten the suffering of the samurai or leader, an attempt at rendering the ritual more humane. In the English language, hara-kiri and seppuku are often treated as synonyms.Seppuku was a key part of bushido, the code of the samurai warriors; it was used by warriors to avoid falling into enemy hands, and to attenuate shame. Samurai could also be ordered by their daimyo (feudal lords) to commit seppuku. Later disgraced warriors were sometimes allowed to commit seppuku rather than be executed in the normal manner. Since the main point of the act was to restore or protect one's honor as a warrior, those who did not belong to the samurai caste were never ordered or expected to commit seppuku. Samurai women could only commit the act with permission.In his book The Samurai Way of Death, Samurai: The World of the Warrior (ch. 4) , Dr. Stephen Turnbull states: Seppuku was commonly performed using a tanto. It could take place with preparation and ritual in the privacy of one's home, or speedily in a quiet corner of a battlefield while one’s comrades kept the enemy at bay. In the world of the warrior, seppuku was a deed of bravery that was admirable in a samurai who knew he was defeated, disgraced, or mortally wounded. It meant that he could end his days with his transgressions wiped away and with his reputation not merely intact but actually enhanced.The cutting of the abdomen released the samurai’s spirit in the most dramatic fashion, but it was an extremely painful and unpleasant way to die, and sometimes the samurai who was performing the act asked a loyal comrade to cut off his head at the moment of agony. Sometimes a daimyo was called upon to perform seppuku as the basis of a peace agreement. This would weaken the defeated clan so that resistance would effectively cease. Toyotomi Hideyoshi used an enemy's suicide in this way on several occasions, the most dramatic of which effectively ended a dynasty of daimyo forever, when the Hojo were defeated at Odawara in 1590.Hideyoshi insisted on the suicide of the retired daimyo Hojo Ujimasa, and the exile of his son Ujinao. With one sweep of a sword, the most powerful daimyo family in eastern Japan was put to an end. In time, committing seppuku came to involve a detailed ritual. A Samurai was bathed, dressed in white robes, fed his favorite meal, and when he was finished, his instrument was placed on his plate. Dressed ceremonially, with his sword placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloths, the warrior would prepare for death by writing a death poem.With his selected attendant (kaishakunin, his second) standing by, he would open his kimono (clothing), take up his wakizashi (short sword) or a tanto (knife) and plunge it into his abdomen, making a left-to-right cut. The kaishakunin would then perform daki-kub i, a cut in which the warrior was all but decapitated (a slight band of flesh is left attaching the head to the body). Because of the precision necessary for such a maneuver, the second was often a skilled swordsman. The principal agreed in advance when the kaishaku made his cut, usually as soon as the dagger was plunged into the abdomen.This elaborate ritual evolved after seppuku had ceased being mainly a battlefield or wartime practice and become a para judicial institution. The second was usually, but not always, a friend. If a defeated warrior had fought honorably and well, an opponent who wanted to salute his bravery would volunteer to act as his second. In the Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote: From ages past it has been considered ill-omened by samurai to be requested as kaishaku. The reason for this is that one gains no fame even if the job is well done.And if by chance one should blunder, it becomes a lifetime disgrace. In the practice of past times, there were instances w hen the head flew off. It was said that it was best to cut leaving a little skin remaining so that it did not fly off in the direction of the verifying officials. However, at present it is best to cut clean through. Some samurai chose to perform a considerably more taxing form of seppuku known as jumonji-giri (. â€Å"cross-shaped cut†) in which there is no kaishakunin to put a quick end to the samurai's suffering.It involves a second and more painful vertical cut across the belly. A samurai performing jumonji-giri was expected to bear his suffering quietly until perishing from loss of blood, passing away with his hands over his face. While the voluntary seppuku described above is the best known form and has been widely admired and idealized, in practice the most common form of seppuku was obligatory seppuku, used as a form of capital punishment for disgraced samurai, especially for those who committed a serious offense such as unprovoked murder, robbery, corruption, or treas on.The samurai were generally told of their offense in full and given a set time to commit seppuku, usually before sunset on a given day. If the sentenced was uncooperative, it was not unheard of for them to be restrained, or for the actual execution to be carried out by decapitation while retaining only the trappings of seppuku; even the short sword laid out in front of the victim could be replaced with a fan. Unlike voluntary seppuku, seppuku carried out as capital punishment did not necessarily absolve the victim's family of the crime.Depending on the severity of the crime, half or all of the deceased's property could be confiscated, and the family stripped of rank. Seppuku as judicial punishment was officially abolished in 1873, shortly after the Meiji Restoration, but voluntary seppuku did not completely die out. Dozens of people are known to have committed seppuku since then, including some military men who committed suicide in 1895 as a protest against the return of a conquer ed territory to China by General Nogi and his wife on the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912; and by numerous soldiers and civilians who chose to die rather than surrender at the end of World War II.In 1970, famed author Yukio Mishima and one of his followers committed public seppuku at the Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters after an unsuccessful attempt to incite the armed forces to stage a coup d'à ©tat. Mishima committed seppuku in the office of General Kanetoshi Mashita. His second, a 25-year-old named Masakatsu Morita, tried three times to ritually behead Mishima but failed; his head was finally severed by Hiroyasu Koga. Morita then attempted to commit seppuku himself.Although his own cuts were too shallow to be fatal, he gave the signal and he too was beheaded by Koga. In 1999, Masaharu Nonaka, a 58-year-old employee of Bridgestone in Japan, slashed his belly with a sashimi knife to protest his forced retirement. He died later in the hospital. This suicide, which became widel y known as ‘risutora seppuku', was said to represent the difficulties in Japan following the collapse of the bubble economy. Well-known people who committed seppuku: Disembowelment in Japanese History Seppuku or ritual disembowelment is often considered by those of us in the western world to be a common form of institutionalized (by ritual) suicide: an ancient custom dating back to the age of Samurai under the code of bushido. However, in Japanese culture, it escapes this easy stereotype and is considered something much more complex and meaningful than mere suicide. T. Harada, writes: ‘It was not mere suicide. It was an institution, legal and ceremonial†¦by which warriors could expiate their friends or prove their sincerity'.From historical evidence as well as by contemposrary Japanese cultural identification with seppuku we can ascertain that â€Å"it is at least questionable whether thinking of seppuku as a variety of suicide is justified† (Fairbairn 144). Seppuku, in its original form as practiced by the bushi, involved slicing open the abdomen normally with a cross-cut from left to right and then slicing upward to the navel. The method might result in the vic tim living on for hours before death. For a bushi who was accused of a crime, whether innocent or guilty, seppuku was often the only honorable death.One central reason for the form of seppuku was the fact that the Japanese believed the soul or spirit of a person resided in the abdomen. By cutting open his abdomen the bushi could ‘lay bare his soul' and show his firmness to atone for his crime, or demonstrate innocence and earnestness. For a bushi who actually committed crimes seppuku was considered a lenient punishment, which preserved his honor and property. â€Å"A samurai might commit seppuku after having felt duty- bound to give his lord sensible but unwelcome advice, as a means of demonstrating his absolute sincerity† (Blomberg 75).Disembowelment in Japanese History Page -2- The sensational nature of seppuku as a painful and self-punishing act, as it is most commonly viewed by Western eyes is founded on a number of divergences in philosophy and spirituality that di vide the East and West culturally. Foremost among these divergences is the perception of death. In Western society death is viewed in linear terms, with little or no expectation that the â€Å"soul†would be reborn into earthly life.Japanese culture regarded death as cyclical and based in reincarnation; therefore to die honorably was more important than to live at all costs. â€Å"The connection with death is another part of the image we have of the samurai. The way of the samurai is found in death. aspects of the samurai connection with death figured prominently in Shogun† (Hurst 520). The belief in honor, coupled with the belief in reincarnation and in the cyclical, ever-present force of death, allowed the Japanese to regard seppuku as an act of preservation rather than an act of suicide.To Western eyes, the samurai willingly commits suicide, but to the Samurai, death and disembowelment is a much preferable remedy to shame or disgrace than living on past the point of moral or martial defeat. To atone for a crime or to accept responsibility for some error, by seppuku, or to gain glory and honor by the sword in battle: these concepts are one and the same to the Eastern mind. The samurai were conditioned to slaying others, especially peasants, with calm.â€Å"Although the bushi alone were entitled to be executed by decapitation with a sword, zanzai, a public execution was regarded as a disgrace† (Hurst). Disembowelment in Japanese History Page -3- â€Å"The convicted criminal was paraded through the streets to the common execution ground, with placards recording his crime carried before him. He had to kneel on the ground in order to be dispatched by the public headsman, and his severed head was then gibbeted for a certain period,with a wooden sign proclaiming his name and the nature of the crime† This disgraceful type of public ridicule disgusted the bushi; â€Å"only samurai proper could be sentenced to commit seppuku as punishment for a crime† (Hurst 521). So, far from an appalling and self-despising act, seppuku evolved out of a Japanese sense of honor and integrity, which, in its formality and tradition becomes rigidly different from contemporary Western standards for moral, ethical or legal punishment. For the Samurai the punishment lay in living, not dying.Because the seat of the soul was in the abdomen, the naked â€Å"exposure† of one’ soul also confirmed that the act of seppuku was not so much rooted in suicide or self-abnegation, but in revelation and in a (final) demonstration of personal will and moral fortitude. Over the centuries, common citizens sought to copy the ethical system of the leading elite, widening the practice of seppuku far beyond its original elitist conception. In fact, the tradition persisted well into the twentieth century: â€Å"Especially among military men of bushi stock the custom of seppuku lingered on [†¦] Many of the conspirators behind the attemp ted military coup of 1936 killed themselves in this manner when the coup failed† (Blomberg 191). In due time a non-lethal, symbolic variant of seppuku penetrated Japanese culture: â€Å"Imagine that the ritual of seppuku was further attenuated so that it involved nothing more than reaching out to a ceremonial dagger after which the seppuku's aide whirled a ceremonial sword round his head Disembowelment in Japanese History Page -4- three times, then shook the seppuku's hand.In this case, seppuku could not be suicide because the individual engaging in it would be aware that by doing so he could not arrange his death. And yet he would have done seppuku†(Fairbairn 145). If there is a widely understood Western parallel to the Japanese practice of seppuku, it may lie in the famous death of Socrates which has been much discussed by historians and philosophers. Socrates' death as recorded by Plato noted that he had been accused, among other things, of introducing unusual religi ous practices and of corrupting young people. At his trial he defended himself but was found guilty and sentenced to death.In the month leading up to his execution by means of a self administered cup of hemlock, Socrates did not accept the possibility for escape arranged by friends because it would have gone against his sense of duty to avoid the punishment decreed by Athens. Then on the appointed day, he drank the hemlock before the hour stipulated for his death. (Holland, 1969, p. 74) Though Socrates drank the cup of hemlock (and so could technically be said to have died by his own hand) â€Å"yet even this cannot make a man a suicide, given the fact that his death was not decreed by him [†¦]. Suicide would have to have been the case that by acting as he did Socrates intended not only to do that which he ought to do or had to do, but that he wanted to be dead and intended to bring about his death† (Fairbairn 148). The ritual of seppuku is, then, far from being a desper ate act of a suicidal nature, an act of self and soul preservation that, viewed through the prism of Japanese history and culture, emerges as a strong symbol of national and racial orientation, particularly impacting views of ethics, honor, and personal responsibility.

List of Copper Alloys and Their Composition

List of Copper Alloys and Their Composition This is a list of copper alloys or alloys in which copper is usually the base metal. Arsenical copperBeryllium copper (beryllium)Billon (silver)Brass (zinc)Calamine brass (zinc)Chinese silver (zinc)Dutch metal (zinc)Gilding metal (zinc)Muntz metal (zinc)Pinchbeck (zinc)Princes metal (zinc)Tombac (zinc)Bronze (tin, aluminum or any other element)Aluminum bronze (aluminum)Arsenical bronzeBell metal (tin)Florentine bronze (aluminum or tin)GlucydurGuani ­nGunmetal (tin, zinc)Phosphor bronze (tin and phosphorus)Ormolu (Gilt Bronze) (zinc)Speculum metal (tin)Constantan (nickel)Copper-tungsten (tungsten)Corinthian bronze (gold, silver)Cunife (nickel, iron)Cupronickel (nickel)Cymbal alloys (Bell metal) (tin)Devardas alloy (aluminum, zinc)Electrum (gold, silver)Hepatizon (gold, silver)Heusler alloy (manganese, tin)Manganin (manganese, nickel)Nickel silver (nickel)Nordic gold (aluminum, zinc, tin)Shakudo (gold)Tumbaga (gold) What Is Latten? Through the 18th and 19th century, a copper alloy was called latten. Usually, latten referred to brass or bronze. However, sometimes latten referred to a lead alloy, tin plating on iron, or any metal prepared as a thin sheet. For this reason, copper alloys are known by more specific names today. Sources Edge, David, Paddock, John Miles (1996) [1988].  Arms and Armour of the Medieval Knight. London: Saturn Books.Erik Oberg, Franklin D. Jones and Holbrook L. Horton (1992).  Machinerys Handbook. New York: Industrial Press Inc. p.  501.

Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2017

Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2017 Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2017 Start a Freelance Writing Career in 2017 By Daniel Scocco Every year more and more businesses discover the potential of the Internet, websites and social networks to generate leads, customers and sales. Every website or social media account needs fresh content, however, and that is why the demand for freelance writers keeps growing. If you like to write, this is a big opportunity. Today we are launching the 2017 edition of our Freelance Writing Course. It is a 6-week program aimed at helping people get started with freelance writing online. You will get all the information and tools you need to start writing, promote yourself and land your first clients! Every week you get access to a new module with four lessons and assigned tasks you are supposed to complete. Here is the list of topics covered: 1. Increasing Your Writing Productivity to Multiply Your Profits 2. Website Setup, Promotion and Guest Blogging 3. Writing Content For The Web, A Totally Different Beast 4. Finding Clients and Developing High Paying Jobs 5. Running A Freelance Writing Business Efficiently 6. Using Social Media To Promote Yourself and Land More Writing Jobs As I mentioned before, the explosion of social networks has a role in this increased demand for freelance writers. Businesses need to be where their customers are, and that is why companies must have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and so on. Someone needs to create content for the business accounts on those social networks! In fact one of the topics covered in the course is how you can leverage this new trend and offer services beyond simple articles, effectively becoming a marketing and social media consultant for those businesses. Over 1300 students took the course in the past, and the feedback received is always positive. On top of that there is a full money-back guarantee, meaning that you can take the whole course and only then decide whether or not it worked for you. Ready to join us? Click here to visit the official page! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†Ã¢â‚¬Å"As Well As† Does Not Mean â€Å"And†Plurals of Proper Names

Achieving Service Excellence(Strategies for healthcare) by Myron D Essay

Achieving Service Excellence(Strategies for healthcare) by Myron D Fottler, Robert C Ford, Cherrill P Heaton - Essay Example The efforts that we put towards betterment of our employees are reflected in the sincere efforts of our staff towards our customers. Health sector is primarily a service oriented sector and hence it is imperative for the people in this industry to have a flexible mindset which is well trained for selfless servicing. At Core Medicos we follow an internal empowerment policy under which special measures are taken for upliftment of our employees in all regards. Our staff is our strength and our success is much dependent on the way they execute their responsibilities. We understand that it is through them that we can achieve what we want to achieve and hence we pay uncompromising attention to their betterment. Through our staff oriented policies we are able to achieve customer satisfaction via the satisfaction of our employees. Services in health sector require immense focus and expertise as it is literally a matter of life and death. As a responsible institution Core Medicos we pay uncompromising attention while recruiting employees and during their training. Our competent HR department follows a comprehensive recruitment policy. All the candidates are first short listed on the basis of their academic and medical qualification. Apart from a testing written examination, an exhaustive practical test is also held to test their operational skill. Candidates who not only qualify our examinations but also fit within our professional values are then recruited. Apart from appropriate compensation, we also encourage interested candidates to pursue further medical courses on company’s funding. Their growth as an individual forms the basis of our growth as an organization, and hence we do not hesitate to invest in their development, be it financial, social or academicals. We aim for complete growth, we aim to see our employees as happy individuals and their families as happy families and

Our bodies our politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Our bodies our politics - Essay Example Hale in the article Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism suggests that non-transsexuals are writing about transsexuals, they should humbly approach their topic since they are not well informed about Transsexuality or transsexualism (2). They should not represent intersex people as all the same while writing. Various social factors such as class and medical conditions affect lives of intersex, and they can never be the same (Hale 3). Additionally, they should not ignore what transsexuals write and say or deny them their academic credentials by demanding that they should possess such credentials when not seriously taken (Hale 5). Further, in the article Suggested Guidelines for Non-Intersex Individuals Writing about Intersexuality and Intersex People, Koyama proposes that while writing one should not uncritically quote non-transsexual who are not experts about intersex people (3). They also believe one should start writing with a working hypothesis to guide his/her writing. They plead not to be judged based on the political agenda of the writer without consulting if it conflicts theirs and might not be superior to theirs. In addition, they say a writer should solely focus on what transsexualism tell him/her about his/her life and not about Trans. The writer should ask himself/herself if he/she can make it in the Transworld. Trans argue that writers cannot write about the figure, trope and discourse of Trans without writing about the subjectivities, lives and experience of Trans (Koyama 6). They conclude by warning writers that if Trans engage in angry, detailed criticism writers should not take that as rejec tion, unnecessary ranting or effects of testosterone, but merely consider it as a gift and a compliment. According to the article Some Very Basic Tips for Making Higher Education More Accessible to Trans Students and Rethink

International corporate reporting issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International corporate reporting issues - Essay Example Literally, the differences in the financial reporting system in varying countries have acted as an obstacle in the integration of national economy with global economy (Verschoor, 2011; Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, 2007). Thus, in order to deal with these challenges, IASB and FASB together have been duly engaged in promoting harmonization of financial reporting systems (Whittington, 2008; Mogul, 2003). Emphasising on these aspects of the international accounting standards, this paper intends to identify and explain the six major qualitative characteristics of accounting information. Furthermore, this paper aims to evaluate the application of these qualitative characteristics by Diageo plc focusing on three particular areas. ... The institutions in the accounting standards namely International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) have been involved in developing conceptual framework for enhancing the financial reporting system. The primary objective of this conceptual framework has been related with identifying the major purpose of financial reporting in business in accordance with the prevailing economic circumstances (Obaidat, 2007). In other words, the conceptual framework developed in accumulation of the principles specified by IASB and FASB deals with establishing objectives and guidelines which are expected to serve as the basis for the preparation of financial accounting and reporting standards. It is worth mentioning that conceptual framework mainly consists of four major items which includes: Objectives related with financial reporting Elements concerning with financial statements Recognition and measurement concepts Qualitative characteristics of accountin g information Additionally qualitative characteristics are considered to be one of the vital components of the conceptual framework that supports decision-usefulness and stewardship. Moreover, there are six primary qualitative characteristics that are considered to be vital for economic as well as business decision making according to the specified guidelines in the international standard (Obaidat, 2007). These six elements of qualitative characteristics have been further explained below in relation to their usefulness in terms of decision making and stewardship. Relevance In order to ensure the obtained accounting information to be relevant to creditors, investors and other interested parties, it has been argued that such accounting information

Bob Crachit Essay Example for Free

Bob Crachit Essay How does Dickens use imagery and language to present the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in Stave one of A Christmas Carol? Charles Dickens started writing A Christmas Carol in the 18th Century. Whilst writing the novel he was experiencing a world that had totally forgotten about Christmas and had no time for it. It was the industrial revolution, things were changing and with it the people were. They did not have time to enjoy Christmas they were more bothered about earning money. This is the kind of character Scrooge is which I will explain later on. Being in this kind of world affected Dickens novel; but it also influenced him to create a character called Scrooge. Who wouldnt care about Christmas; and only caring for business and money. Dickens knew that if he could get people into the Christmas spirit by attracting their attention to his novel. But little did he know he was about to re-inject the Christmas spirit into Britain. Dickens kicks off his extravagant novel by introducing a dead character with the name of Marley who he chose to create as a Ghost. By starting off his novel like this Dickens is directly addressing the reader by using the word You: You will therefore permit me to repeat emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. By addressing the reader like this it automatically draws the reader into the story as though they are experiencing what Dickens is trying to make them experience by making them apart of the story by being addressed directly. It also makes the reader want to know more for example they might want to know why Marley is dead and therefore this makes them read on. The main character of the novel is named Scrooge. He is present by dickens as a: Squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! By doing this it makes the reader think that Scrooge is an old, mean, miserable man. Of which has no friends in existence excluding his past. Dickens mentions that Scrooge is: Squeezing Meaning that he would Squeeze every last drop out of anything he could, not only money but make people work over their limit. For example Bob Cratchit, his apprentice would work as hard as he could each day, and make Scrooge feel that Bob hasnt got away with easy money. Scrooge is described by Dickens in many different ways; for example Dickens compares him with other things:External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he. In this small paragraph dickens has used a good use of imagery weather imagery. He compares Scrooge with the weather and shows that he a cold person who could never be warm hearted. Dickens shows that Scrooge has no feeling, nothing can chill him, and nothing can warm him. Scrooge is immensely described as worse than the weather: No wind that blew was bitter than he This meaning nothing could be worse than Scrooge; Dickens insults his own character with no grief. Nothing could be worse than having Scrooge on your case he is bitterer than the wind. Dickens goes on to downgrade Scrooge to nothing by saying rain, show, hail and sleet could: Boast an advantage over him, they often came down handsomely and Scrooge never did. This meaning that the weather could come down gently and calmly but Scrooge is an old man who is not gentle or calm instead fierce and very uptight. Myself as a reader I would feel that Scrooge is an old hag who is most likely very lonely and despises everyone but himself; and that he is very selfish and would never spare a penny to anyone but himself. I would also feel that Dickens is trying to get across a strong description of Scrooge. When Dickens was describing Scrooge a key line is: The cold within him froze his old features. The line above has no meaning, for example it adds to his description and as a reader it could feel as though the cold within him has frozen his good side like an ice age. It exists inside him but he cant release it. Another example is: Hard and sharp as a flint This is a simile; it shows two sides of Scrooge. Flint is a rock; which was used by humans in the Stone Age. It was used for two things, which shows two sides of Scrooge. They used it for warmth which shows that Scrooge could have a good side in him, and they also used it for weapons, to harm things i. e. a tool could cut you. This shows the bad side of Scrooge he is two faced. Once the reader hears about Scrooges appearance, we think as if Scrooge was a ghost, or he was dead with his corpse still existing. Dickens uses adjectives like: Blue lips Red eyes These lines make us think as if Scrooge was dead because he has frozen lips and bloodshot eyes as if he doesnt sleep. It makes the reader feel aware of how dangerously scary Scrooge looks to go with his attitude and lifestyle. The place in which Scrooges house is situated also shows his personality. His house is away from other houses and is in the middle of a business district. Also, inside his house it is dark and gloomy he double locks the doors as if to lock himself away form the world. His house sets the scene for later in the novel. His house reminds the reader of a haunted house; linking Scrooge with his description of being like a ghost. Scrooge doesnt like Christmas. The word which he uses to sum up Christmas is: Humbug Meaning nonsense. Scrooge makes a speech about Christmas to his nephew, part of it is: Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! Whats Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer This sums up what he feels about Christmas. He doesnt see the fun side of it, or the religious side of celebrating a special time in the Christian faith. He just looks at the gloomy side, and thinks it is a waste of time. Also Scrooge talks bout money, saying you find yourself a year older, and not an hour richer, and also saying it is just a time where you have to pay the bills showing again he is thinking bout his money and nothing else. Scrooge also says that the poor dont have a right to be happy: What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? Youre poor enough. Hes saying that the poor should be unhappy, that they are not rich enough to be happy, and that they should be gloomy and sad and not have the right to have a good time. This shocks the reader. Before, the reader just feels that Scrooge is gloomy and lonely, but now they feel as though Scrooge is a cold-hearted, nasty, mean old man who doesnt care about anybody but himself. Later in the novel we find out more about why Scrooge may be like this. I think Scrooge thinks this way about Christmas because of how he was treated by his father when he was a child. His father used to leave him alone and not take him home from boarding school but leave him there in a dull little room reading books. Scrooge once fell in love with a woman called Bell. This brought the Christmas spirit into him but then they broke up and that made Scrooge go back to hating Christmas. When people saw Scrooge in the street nobody would stop him to talk, everyone would leave him alone and not dare speak to him. Even the blind mens dogs appeared to know him; and they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would their tails as thought they said, no eye at all is better than an evil eye This sentence shows what everyone thought of Scrooge.

Analysis of 2010 Old Spice Campaign

Analysis of 2010 Old Spice Campaign Introduction This essay aims to analyse the 2010 Old Spice Campaign which began with the release of the â€Å"Man Your Man Could Smell Like† commercial and finishing with the interactive â€Å"Response† campaign. The first part of the essay will explain about the brand Old Spice and the stiff competition it faced which resulted in Old Spice having to change their brand image. The second part of the essay will explain the 2010 Old Spice campaign in detail by explaining the rationale behind its conception, its launching and its audience reception, which was further bolstered by the launching of the â€Å"Response† campaign. The third part of the essay aims to analyse the campaign’s overall effectiveness in terms of a rhetorical context and an audience, market and social cultural context. Finally, the essay concludes by explaining the impact and overall significance of the campaign. Old Spice Old Spice is a well-known brand of male grooming products that has been around since 1938 and was acquired by Proctor and Gamble (PG) from the Shulton Company in 1990, who soon shifted its target audience from the older generation of 40 to 60 year olds, to focus on the younger generation of 13 to 34 year old men. Old Spice soon grew in prominence after PG released several new products under its brand that grew to become leaders in the market, like its men’s deodorant line (Belch and Belch, 2012). Problem However, by 2003 competition arises from the Unilever Axe brand, who are market leaders in Latin America and Europe. Axe’s advertising campaigns relied on suggestive images of provocative woman and evocative taglines (Belch and Belch, 2012). By 2009, stiff competition have resulted in Old Spice falling behind and big losses in market share. By the time of the 2010 Super Bowl, Unilever would begin a campaign for Dove Men’s body wash during the event, which therefore endeavoured Old Spice to shift focus back to them in order to boost sales and inhibit further losses in market share (Gold Effie Winner, 2011). Market Research Severe competition from Axe prompted Old Spice to revitalize their brand image in order to keep up, and thus approached advertising company, Wieden + Kennedy (W+K) in order to achieve it. Research done by W+K found that Old Spice’s target audience of the 13-to 34-year-old males were perplexed from the many types of body grooming products. The target audience was quite withdrawn to spend time and explore the options thoroughly, deeming them too confusing, too lady-like, or frankly â€Å"unsuitable for them†. Most men also perceive body wash as being a female product which is unnecessary for them to use. Old Spice also lacked a manly image and has the fixed perception of being used by old people, which did not appeal much to their target audience of younger generation males. The results prompted W+K to relocate Old Spice as the easy, masculine choice for serious men amidst the complicated, crowded and confusing, body product category (Belch and Belch, 2012). Campaign In February 2010, Old Spice released the â€Å"Man Your Man Could Smell Like† campaign. Objectives: The main objective for this advertising campaign was to change the perception of Old Spice being the product of the baby boomer generation in order to fit and appeal with Old Spice’s new target audience of younger men, which resulted in the creation of the â€Å"Old Spice Guy† (former NFL sportsman, Isaiah Mustafa). Target Audience: Despite the targeted market of the Old Spice product being men aged 13 to 34 years, the campaign targeted women instead as research revealed that most purchases regarding body cleansing made by men were decided by their female counterparts. Old Spice decided to directly reach out to women by telling them that â€Å"I am the man your man could smell like†, which would prompt them to purchase Old Spice in order for their male counterparts to smell like the Old Spice Guy. The aim was to spark a discussion between women and men about the benefits of having masculine-smelling body wash (Old Spice) for men over â€Å"female-scented† brands (Gold Effie Winner, 2011). Commercial: A 33 second video was filmed featuring Isaiah Mustafa as the â€Å"Old Spice Guy† explaining the benefits of using Old Spice over â€Å"lady-scented† body wash brands. Description of commercial as follows: The Old Spice Guy faces the camera and greets the women, wearing nothing but a bath towel, prompting the viewer (in this case, ladies) to look at their male counterparts and back to him a few times in order to compare their attractiveness. He concludes that unfortunately, their male counterparts do not look like him but an alternative is, that they are able to smell like him when they stop using lady-scented body wash and switch to Old Spice. The set then transitions smoothly to a boat out at sea, in which he holds up an oyster that contains, â€Å"two tickets to that thing you love†, before turning into many diamonds flowing down from his hand, and then exclaiming again that, â€Å"anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady†, while the Old Spice product materializes from the diamonds, before the camera pulling back and revealing that he’s on a horse (Old Spice, 2010). Launch: It was decided that the video would be released on social media platforms, rather than the Super Bowl. W+K thus secured search engine keywords that would direct users to the commercial when searching for Super Bowl commercials in order to generate buzz. The video was soon released on YouTube on February 4th, 2010, before going on television soon after. Old Spice’s website and social media pages was altered in order to adapt to the commercial. The website displayed visuals of youthful males participating in various â€Å"masculine† activities. Their Facebook and Twitter pages also featured images of the â€Å"Old Spice Guy†. Print ads also accompanied the release. Post-launch, the advertisements aimed to fulfil another criteria which is: getting males and females to start conversations about the campaign. The media buy was thus aimed at environments where men and women would be viewing it together. Examples like American Idol, the Winter Olympics, the TV show Lost and most importantly, in cinemas during the weekend of Valentine’s Day. Soon, the campaign became increasingly widespread and popular, achieving millions of views and multiple parodies. The â€Å"Old Spice Guy† also made appearances on talk shows like Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres. The campaigns popularity, resulted in the â€Å"Response† campaign, an event which went on for two days, in which the â€Å"Old Spice Guy† recorded over 186 personal video messages to internet users who posted comments about the commercial on social media platforms, which was then uploaded online (Wieden Kennedy New York, 2010). Reception: *Both Sources from Golden Effie Award, (2011) As shown in the pie chart above, Old Spice managed to achieve its primary objective of the campaign by dominating online conversations about body wash with 76% of the majority share throughout the period of January and March, 2010. By April, â€Å"The Man Your Man Could Smell Like† video garnered more than 10 million views on YouTube, which was more than 10 times the amount of views accumulated for Dove’s Super Bowl commercial (Wieden Kennedy New York, 2010). The â€Å"Response† campaign reached 20 million views on YouTube in just three days, and Old Spice’s social media following increased substantially. After the â€Å"Response† campaign, followers increased about 2700% and 60% for Twitter and Facebook respectively. YouTube subscribers increased from 65,000 to 150, 000, as well as traffic to the Old Spice website increasing up to 300%. As shown in the graph above, sales of Red Zone Body Wash also increased up to 125% from the time of the campaign’s launch to July 2010. Old Spice soon became the number one All-Time Most Viewed branded channel on YouTube. (Wieden Kennedy New York, 2010). Own View Old Spice succeeded in reinvigorating its image by adding a youthful, masculine and alluring appeal to its personality and image. It also established a positive reputation for itself through the commercial’s use of humour by becoming, â€Å"the brand with hilarious commercials†. Audiences will now immediately assume that future Old Spice commercials will be entertaining and thus will pay attention to them. This has allowed Old Spice to break free of the crowd of other commercials and prompts audience to focus on the messages. Although subsequent commercials may not be as interesting or persuasive, audiences are still likely to be watchful for any Old Spice advertisements expecting entertainment. The commercial’s humour was sufficiently good and enough as well. Old Spice Guy’s exaggerated masculinity was the right amount of funny to stimulate the viewer’s sense of humour. The Response campaign was also brilliant in every way as it allowed for higher interactivity and a real intimate engagement and relationship with the target audience as well as providing quality entertainment value. Rhetorical Analysis This section aims to provide a rhetorical analysis of the first â€Å"Man Your Man Could Smell Like† commercial video (Old Spice, 2010). The campaign targets women, hence, Old Spice Guy initially addresses women in order to appeal to their desire of making their male counterparts more attractive, however, he indirectly targets insecure males who themselves want to BE more attractive to women, which is the product’s main target audience. The ethos (narrators’ character and credibility in gaining approval) of the Old Spice Guy is by exhibiting the good traits he possesses; muscular, good-looking and tall which reinforces the credibility of the product and suggests that anyone who uses it would be as desirable as he is. The commercial also displays diamonds materializing out of the Old Spice Guy’s hand in which suggests that the character is wealthy and the sequence with the â€Å"two tickets to that thing you love† coming out of the oyster suggest that he can get anything a women desires. This reinforces the perception that he is the exemplary man. Next, the character uses pathos (seeking to arouse emotion in order to obtain approval) to appeal to the viewer’s insecurity and their perceptions of the perfect man. Old Spice Guy stimulates the viewer’s sense of humour and his dramatic delivered dialogue allows him to seem charming and charismatic. Also the use of imagery, like the Old Spice product materializing from a handful of diamonds, uses pathos to influence the audience into associating Old Spice with opulence. The commercial’s lacks logos (logical reasons to support argument) as the commercial is immensely absurd and improbable. Its main logical argument is that using Old Spice would make you smell better and thus become more attractive and exciting. This can be associated with a logical fallacy called, â€Å"The Slippery Slope† in which is the belief that taking a certain action (in this case, using Old Spice), would result in a chain of events with no logical explanation (attractiveness, luxury, etc.). While it is reasonable to suggest that the product WILL make you smell better, it cannot be proven logically that it would lead to you becoming more interesting or becoming rich and obtaining lavish possessions like diamonds or a boat. This can be related to the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) under the peripheral route to persuasion in which the audience is deemed lacking the ability or motivation to compute information and would not probably undertake any thorough cognitive processing. This is when the viewer depends on the peripheral cues in the message and makes a decision, rather than evaluating the information and making sense of the argument. Positive peripheral cues like the attractiveness of the â€Å"Old Spice Guy† and luxurious materials being associated with the Old Spice product can overshadow the overall logic of the message to the viewer (Belch and Belch, 2012). The commercials overall effectiveness was in being able to relay positive peripheral cues to the viewers as quickly and directly as possible before the viewer could comprehend the overall sense behind it. The exigency (urgent demand or need) of the commercial is created by people’s desire to be attractive (e.g. men would like to be attractive to women) thus, the commercial portrays the perception that Old Spice users automatically becomes so thanks to the positive visuals being portrayed in the commercial. The tone and speed in which the way the Old Spice Guy speaks (which is direct and rather in a hurry) out his argument further reinforces the sense of urgency. The argument’s effectiveness ultimately depends on the viewer’s subconscious overlooking the fallacies of the argument presented within the commercial as well as being stimulated to action by the commercial arousing emotions over confidence and attraction. Audience, Market, Socio-Cultural Context Old Spice’s target audience (13 to 34 year old males) are able to be influenced by the commercial as they are inclined to feel insecure about themselves when it comes to attracting the opposite sex, in which purchasing Old Spice would give them a confidence boost, even though it is clear that the connection between the product and its benefits are non-existent. This would still influence an individual’s decision-making without being cognitively aware. Old Spice’s target market put greater emphasis on the need for fragrances. Their psychographic of the target audience believes that good deodorant and smelling good is essential as it eliminates the need for a cologne, and good and proper grooming is an important aspect to overall attractiveness to the opposite sex. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explains that the primary motivation for consumers to buy grooming products is a result of their need for â€Å"esteem†, in which the target audience is driven by concerns regarding developing masculine identities and to be perceived as attractive to the opposite sex, all in which would encourage the consumer to seek products that would allow them to achieve their desired image (Belch and Belch, 2012). Old Spice also managed to establish a strong sense of brand loyalty among its consumers through the â€Å"Response† campaign, by allowing them to get personally invested in the brand through social media interaction. A personal connection with Old Spice allowed its consumers to fulfill Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs of Self-Actualization which is the need for self-fulfilment (Belch and Belch, 2012). Conclusion Old Spice’s managed to achieve its goal of re-branding itself from being considered a â€Å"grandfather† product to appealing to both men and women of the younger generation through the 2010 Old Spice Campaign. The overall significance of the â€Å"Response† campaign innovated advertising by introducing real-time brand building through establishing an interactive an intimate relationship with the target audience that modernized and humanized Old Spice as a brand, an endeavour that would certainly be considered as the most popular and rapid growing interactive campaigns of all time.

Peer Pressure and Drinking Essay -- Peer Pressure Essays

High school is normally the time when teenagers begin to dabble in the world of alcohol – to discover their limits and develop habits and this experimentation carries over into college. That is the norm and its not a bad thing, but of course there are a few exceptions. In high school I never went to a single party, was never invited to one, and barely ever even heard about them. It was something that none of my close friends were a part of and the thought of drinking never really crossed my mind. I was so busy with my school work, my job, and the cross country team that I didn’t have much spare time, and when I did I wanted to relax and hang out with my friends. My parents raised me in the faith of the Catholic Church and this background gave me a strong moral base. I always laugh and I have fun doing the simplest things so it was easy for me to find activities to be a part of besides drinking. It was only the summer after high school graduation that I began to fe el peer pressured to drink and the fact that I am always sober started to make me feel a bit isolated. When high school began, none of my close friends had ever drunk alcohol or had any interest in it, but as years went by, more and more of them began to try alcohol. Drinking is a personal choice and I had no problem with them experimenting, but by the end of my senior year some of my friends began to try and convince me to try it myself. Everyone knew that I am conservative when it comes to that sort of thing and people joked about me going crazy once I got to college and was no longer governed by my parent’s strict rules. Unbeknownst to them, this kind of talk repeated over and over, though I always denied it, began to make me feel curious. However I couldn... ...ound. So I always try to make everyone feel included, although I am still one of the more quiet people in the world. Lastly, my parents have taught me to work hard for the rewards that I gain. This has always been a major driving factor in my desire to do well with my schoolwork and in sports. I know that if I work hard enough I can do well and if I don’t get the results I want, it is no one’s fault except my own. With regards to drinking, I know that my parents would have been disappointed in me if I made the decision to start drinking in high school. When I take into account all the wonderful lessons they have taught me and all the love they have given me, it never made sense to make them unnecessarily upset. As clichà © as these things sound, I honestly know that these morals have helped guide me through my life and helped me make the best decisions I could.