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Saturday, August 31, 2019

Appearance and Reality in the School for Scandal Essay

The School for Scandal is a dramatic play written by Richard Sheridan. In this essay i’m going to discussed Appearance and Reality . There’s a characters who represent the false appearances and the really appearances. The School for Scandal’s member are the trust appearance and they distant reality. There’s a dramatic element like the disguise of Sir Oliver in his trial test on Joseph and Charles. We have the two brothers, Joseph Surface and Charles Surface. The dramatic tool used to know the good brother. And also the dramatic irony in the scene screen (the culmination of the play). The School for Scandal is formed by hypocritical characters. On the one hand Lady Sneerwell (young widow. She is attracted to Charles Surface and plots with Joseph Surface to break up Charles and Maria) , Lady Teazle (Young wife of Sir Peter. She and her husband have their little spats), Joseph Surface (Who pretends to be an honorable gentlemen but It is the bad brother. ) and Mrs Candour (A professedly kindhearted woman who speaks well of everyone in such a way as to ruin their reputations in the process. ). They are the appearance. On another hand we have the real characters. Sir Peter (Husband of Lady Teazle)and Sir Oliver Surface (Charles and Joseph’s uncle) and Charles Surface (really the good brother). Mrs. Candour and her love of gossip make her one of the most scandalous pupils of all; her true sentiment is seen only through the false accounts of others which she delivers to any listening ear, often using metaphors of money. If a scandal were to take place, she could risk losing it all, whether reputation or wealth. This can be seen as foreshadowing the fate of Joseph; he took such care to secure his financial success, and one scandal ruined it all. The object of Joseph’s financial success, Maria, who possesses neither a â€Å"screen† nor an interest in spreading lies, is greatly affected by the change in Lady Teazle, as it consequently means that her unwilling role in the scheme is over. Charles Surface has a reputation as a scoundrel. But beneath his flawed veneer, he is a decent fellow. Joseph Surface has a reputation as an upright man. But beneath his flawless veneer, he is a villain. Joseph Surface is appearance and Charles Surface is reality. Joseph is the bad brother and Charles is the good brother. Joseph lies because he wants the fortune of Maria and he wants to marry Maria for economical interest. Sir Peter and Sir Oliver want to discover the truth about the two brother, Charles and Joseph. (the reality). There’s a dramatic tool here. The disguise. Sir Oliver disguises and he makes a trial to Charles (for he known as Mr. Premium) and Joseph (for he known as Mr. Stanley) to know who is the good brother. In the scene screen, Joseph seizes upon Lady Teazle’s discontent with Sir Peter to mount a subtle argument that seeks to rationalize and justify adultery. Once the deception of hiding Lady Teazle behind the screen is in place, Sheridan fully exploits its potential for ironic double meanings and double dealings. The School For Scandal draws a humorous picture of an unfortunate reality; that many people will do anything to further elevate their characters, even if it means hurting friends and family. The characters of the play are willing to construct elaborate â€Å"screens† of sentiment in order to deceive those around them and increase their own wealth.

Disadvantages of Democracy Essay

In a democratic nation, it is the citizens who hold the right to elect their representatives and their governing authorities. According to a common observation, not all the citizens are fully aware of the political scenario in their country. The common masses may not be aware of the political issues in society. This may result in people making the wrong choices during election. As the government is subject to change after every election term, the authorities may work with a short-term focus. As they have to face an election after the completion of each term, they may lose focus on working for the people and rather focus on winning elections. Another disadvantage of democracy is that mobs can influence people. Citizens may vote in favor of a party under the influence of the majority. Compelled or influenced by the philosophies of those around, a person may not voice his/her true opinion. Every form of government is bound to have some shortfalls. Different people have different views about the various political systems. The advantages and disadvantages of any political system have to be weighed carefully in order to arrive at any conclusion. Why democracy A functioning democracy is the form of government that provides its citizens with the most freedom, the most opportunity, the greatest prosperity, and the most comfortable life. It is also the most stable form and by far the most fun. In a democracy you can choose precisely the religion that is most meaningful to you, and you can choose your spouse and your education. You can listen to any kind of music, and you are free to watch any movie and read any book that you like. You can move around freely and you do not have to ask anybody for permission to do so. You can also choose freely what kind of clothes you wish to wear. If you belong to a minority, you are protected against assault and infringement, and you have exactly the same right to go into politics and influence society as anybody else. If you are a woman, you have by law the same rights and opportunities as a man. Your father, your brothers, your cousins, your uncles, or your husband have no right to rule over you. You have the same right to education, training, and work, and you have the same opportunity for a free and a great life as boys and men have. You also have the legal right to make decisions regarding your body and to say â€Å"no† to sex if you do not desire it, even in marriage. You and all others are equal before the law, you have the right within legal limits to say and write what you want short of slander and libel, and you can meet freely with anybody. You can live without fear of the authorities. The same goes for your children and your extended family. In plain words: Democracy gives you the right to liberty, equality of opportunity, and safety, and the opportunity to earn and keep your own money and to have fun. The desire for freedom and security is in every one of us, and so is the need to have fun. Without those three things, we cannot live a happy and meaningful life. The need for equality of opportunity is a little more problematic than the other needs, since many of us would like to be a little better off than our fellows. But equality of opportunity is a prerequisite for democracy too, and it is worthwhile, as it helps to guarantee freedom, safety and fun. Therefore, democracy is not only important, it is vital! Simply because we’re all human, we all deserve to live in a democracy that works. Why democracy is better than other form of gov. Democracy is the best form of government because 1. Democracy represents the views and notions of all the citizens of the country, whether majorities or minorities. 2. It helps in solving conflicts and quarrels in a better way. 3. It provides a dignity to the people. 4. It helps in realising one’s mistakes and improving upon them. 5. There is no other form of government or an lternative better than a democracy. DEMOCRACY is the best form of govt.  Yes democracy is the best form of govt. It grants us many things. 1.Right to speech. 2.Right to information. 3.Right to vote and etc. It represents each and every citizen equally whether you are poor or you are rich. In a monarchy or dictatorship no one can say or present their point of view. They have to follow what a single man says but in democracy we have been granted by RIGHT TO SPEECH. Report Post Yes democracy is the best form of government. Democracy is the best form of government simply because no other form of government is known to work well. Democracy may have it’s flaws but all in all it works very fluidly. Socialism, for example, does not even come close to the best form of government. One can easily see this in Greece’s current state. Democracy has never led to complete government disorder like one can see Socialism does. Democracy is the best form of government As democracy means rule of people †¦ That is of the people for the people and by the people. Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives. Democracy is the best form of government simply because no other form of government is known to work well. Democracy may have its flaws but all in all it works very fluidly. Some plus points of having a democratic form of government:- 1. Freedom 2. Democracy represents the views and notions of all the citizens of the  country, whether majorities or minorities. 3. It helps in solving conflicts and quarrels in a better way. 4. It provides a dignity to the people. 5. Democracy allows various people to rule the country through the representatives. 6. It also allows people to express themselves clearly and freely. 7. It Respects & promotes Human Rights 8. In this form of government all people are equal before the law. 9. Democracy is the only form of government where the people can voice their opinion. 10. In my view there is no other alternative form of government better than a democracy.

Friday, August 30, 2019

History Of Statistics Essay

Ancient Times (3000 BC – 27 BC) * Pictorial representation and other symbols were used for Statistics back in the days. (To record numbers of people, animals, etc.) * In Babylonia and China, population is already recorded. * Sumerians, record population for taxation purposes. * Egyptians, analyze population and material wealth of the country before building pyramids. * Papyrus – where early scriptures of Statistics were written. * In Biblical times, censuses were done by Moses (1491 BC) followed by David (1017 BC) * In China, during the Zhou Dynasty, censuses were done to evaluate the available people for the army and taxation (1027 to 256 BC) * Ancient Greeks (594 BC) already did censuses * Roman Empire – first one to do expensive data collection. * Servius Tullius, the 6th King of Rome, was given credit for instituting the gathering of population data, who initiated the first census. * King William I, King of England, required the compilation of data completed in 1086 called â€Å"The Domes Day Book† or â€Å"The Book of Winchester† – first book of British statistics 18th Century * Achenwall is the man noted to be the first to introduce the word â€Å"statistics† (1719-1772) * Zimmerman and Sinclair introduced and popularized the name â€Å"statistics† in their books * The method of least squares was first described by Carl Friedrich Gauss around 1794 19th Century * Laplace’s â€Å"Theories Analytique des Probabilities† of 1812 further supported and stabilized the said theory. * The meaning of â€Å"statistics† broadened, then including the discipline concerned with the collection, summary, and analysis of data. * Social scientists used statistical reasoning and probability models to advance the new sciences. * Lambert Adolfe Quetelet applied the theory of probability to anthropological measurements and expanded the same principle to different fields of science. Because of his continued emphasis on the importance of using statistical methods, he is referred to as the â€Å"Father of Modern Statistics†. * Also, he established the Central Commission for Statistics. * Francis Galton (1822-1911) developed the use of percentiles and the correlation method. * Karl Pearson (1857-1936) originated the basic statistical concepts and procedures as standard deviation, the random walk and the chi-squares. * Ronald Aylmer Fisher (1890-1962) contributed in the field of statistics the use of Fisher Test (F-Test), analysis of variance (ANOVA) and covariance in inferential statistics. 20th century * At present, statistics is a reliable means of describing accurately the values of economic, political, social, biological and physical data and serves as tool to analyze such data. Much data can be approximated accurately by certain distributions and the results of probability distributions can be used in analyzing statistical data. Statistics is widely employed in government, business, and the natural and social sciences. Electronic computers have expedited statistical computation, and have allowed statisticians to develop â€Å"computer-intensive† methods.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Party of Liberals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Party of Liberals - Essay Example We don't believe in the theory that supporters of abortion should be called anti-life, immoral or unethical. We never advocate killing of human life but only believe in the full fledged form of women's liberation. Termination of pregnancy should not be misunderstood as killing of human life. Our party is strongly of the opinion that any human embryo carried by a pregnant woman up to the medically terminable stage should not be considered life. Even though spermatozoa, ovum, pre-embryo, embryo, fetus, newborn, and infant are different forms of human life, they don't carry the equal value in relation to its meaning (Definition of terms, human life). The issue of abortion has once again come to the fore with the Mayoral elections nearing. You may recall that we have severely condemned the practice of abortion as unethical at our last delegates meeting. We once again reiterate our commitment to stand by the resolution adopted unanimously at that meeting in which we pledged to ban all abortion clinics in our city if our party candidate became the Mayor of the city. We assure you we will go to any extent to protect your traditional rights and cultural aspects on which the society has built up the social and moral fabric over a period. Abortion is equal to killing the innocent and it is unethical and immoral too.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

American Exceptionalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American Exceptionalism - Essay Example Throughout the history, American political leaders have been "relatively autonomous" from political pressures and are able to use their autonomy to solve problems confronting the state. During the Cold War, the international policy challenged Truman administration and national security planners. In the early Cold War period was the problematic nature of life in the "atomic age," which explicitly connected public with national security policy. The battle against the Soviet Union and communism marked a new period in American political agenda. In contrast to other states, the USA followed exceptionalist policies based on the idea of the American way of life and liberty. During this period of time, America joined anti-internationalist streak and opposed participation in international institutions. These international relations led to changes on the national level. Parliamentary systems of government abound elsewhere in the world and can be divided into various categories; no other advanced industrialized democracy has emulated the American system. American institutions are exceptional. The battle against communism and anti-internationalist streak caused new worldviews help by most Americans. ... Americans expect less of government in services, particularly in the provision of social welfare, than do citizens of zither democracies; they strongly support civil liberties such as freedom of the press; and they are of course strongly in favor of a democratic form of government. Chief among the political traditions that have been strong elsewhere but almost absent from American politics has been social democracy. The United States is unique among industrialized democracies in never having had a social democratic movement with a strong popular following. After the Cold war, Americans continued their international expansion and were involved in the Gild War. Nuclear weapons revolutionized how the U.S. military was actually used, in, for example, Korea, Vietnam, or the Gulf War (Spanos 89).The argument here is first an existential claim that nuclear weapons changed the way Americans understood its place in a world. Truman administration planners charged with managing postwar national security policy did conceive of nuclear weapons as revolutionary in the sense that they believed doctrinal changes tied to the integration of nuclear weapons into the armed forces did have consequences for the state and society. The Vietnam War and the Gulf war changed national values and traditions of the nation. Exceptionalism was codified in the Weinberger Doctrine (1984) and the Powell Doctrine (1990=1991). A new period in international politics was marked by new international policies introduced by Bill Clinton. The politics of exceptionalism was embodied in Clinton's politics of enlargement and engagement, his vision of Iraqi leader and nuclear weapon (Ignatieff 94). Both Congress and the media (the presidency much less so) have

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

EC Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EC Law - Case Study Example It is essential to ensure that Community rights are enforceable against both the public and private parties to a lawsuit. Section 2(1) of the European Communities Act1 1972, which gave legal effect to EC law in the United Kingdom, states that, "All such rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictionsprovided for by or under the Treaties, are without further enactment to be given legal effect or used in the United Kingdom shall be recognized and available in law, and be enforced, allowed and followed accordingly"2. It renders effective all directly effective Community law, irrespective of whether they were made prior to or after the passing of the Act. Section 3 of this act makes it mandatory for all the courts to interpret EC law according to the rulings of the ECJ. The UK courts have all along been applying directly effective provisions without any reluctance. However, their unwillingness to apply the Von Colson principle3 is clearly evident. The purpose of this Directive is to put into effect in the Member States the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, including promotion, and to vocational training and as regards working conditions This principle isreferred to as "the principle of equal treatment"5. Nevertheless, Duke's employer being a priva... In Von Colson8, the House of Lords were of the opinion that it did not provide a power to interfere with the method or result of the interpretation of national legislation by national courts. They observed that the Equal Treatment Directive was subsequent to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and that therefore it would be unfair on Reliance to 'distort' the construction of the Act to accommodate it. The House of Lords applied similar objections in relation to the Northern Ireland legislation9, even though it was ratified after the Directive. "Direct effect means that someone may cite a Directive as law without having to cite any domestic legislation which was meant to implement that Directive"10. Indirect effect was described in Von Colson v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen11, where the ECJ observed that courts can interpret national legislation in the light of the Directive. Its exact status is unclear as it a judicial tool of interpretation rather than a static analytic method12. In respect of EC Law the ECJ's decision is final. Since, Treaty is generally couched in wide-ranging terms; the Court has to provide the necessary detail for the functioning of European law. Further, the decisions of the ECJ are binding on the courts of member states with no right of appeal. In a manner analogous to the House of Lords, the ECJ is not bound by its own previous decisions, although it usually follows them. It falls within the jurisdiction of the ECJ to hear complaints in respect of non fulfillment of treaty obligations by a member state. It is also the competent authority in deciding the legality of actions of the Council of Ministers and the

Monday, August 26, 2019

GOVERNMENT 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GOVERNMENT 1 - Essay Example Ideologies are formed by a person’s innermost beliefs, cultivated by years of thought and shaped by life’s numerous experiences. An ideological debate causes a more emotive response in individuals than does any other. Political ideologies can never die and in politically turbulent times, such as these, are very much alive. The 9-11 attacks, abortion the war in Iraq, the loss of civil liberties, global warming, health care, gay marriage, stem cell research and many other politically motivating subjects have ignited emotional ideological battles. This discussion explains the reasons for and provides examples of the current ideological fervor in the U.S. and will explain the discrepancies of a failed conservative ideology, which has been a major factor in this awakening. The tenets of Liberalism proclaim a strong conviction in democracy and belief that the constitutional authority of the people will limit a powerful, expansive government. Liberal legislative leadership, partly through necessity, has instigated steady governmental growth well beyond where the architects of the constitution and most citizens would favor. The conservative ideology is based upon their interpretation of Christian-based morality. Conservatives are against the government regulating corporations but are very much for legislation that regulates the private conduct of individuals and for advancing their religious agenda regardless of the irreparable damage to civil rights and liberties or the scientific or constitutional evidence that is contrary to their opinion. Abortion, stem cells, teaching evolution and gay marriage are preeminent examples of current ideological debates between Conservatives and Liberals. Those of a conservative ideology are against legalizing abortion. They believe it to be murder and are crusading to save babies’ lives. However,

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Transracial Adoption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Transracial Adoption - Essay Example (Fogg-Davis, 2002) Adoption has basically been seen as another way of making sure that the children who are placed at nurturing homes will have a home for themselves. A census was taken for the amount of children who are homeless, came out to be 900,000 by the beginning of 2000. There are quite many reasons for such a situation to occur. The main and most essential reason is poverty. Secondly, the mothers and fathers of the African-American children have no manners of how to keep their children. The particular styles of the African-American were a subject of debate. The African-American and White-American were compared and the particular styles of the African-American were personalized as harsh, stiff and in a few cases very corrupt. The children of African-American stay at a nurturing home for a longer period as compared to White-American children. The White-American children are allowed to have visitors; on the other hand, African-American children are not allowed to have any visitors. Due to having a decrease, in African-American adoptive families and less White-American children provided for adoption, some African-American children have been sent with White-American parents. Separate races being placed together is a process called, "transracial adoption". ... e majority of babies are adopted from North America, Asia, South America and Oceania, while the majority of children over 5 years of age are coming from Africa, Oceania and South America. (Conceive Magazine, 2005). The problem of discussion whether White-American parents should adopt African-American children has been going on for long. In 1972, the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) was much worried about the Black/ African American children who were being placed with the white race of mankind. NABSW has stated that "Black children should be placed with only Black families whether in foster care or for adoption. Black children belong physically and psychologically and culturally in Black families in order that they receive the total sense of themselves and develop a sound projection of their future." (NABSW) After the sayings of NABSW, there was an argument which lasted for nearly two decades. Criticism of transracial adoption is not bound only on NABSW, but also the Third World countries. Americans have adopted many children from Third World countries. These statements have made the researchers to find the validity time of the claims. Legislation has been introduced into dispute in the form of the Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA) of 1994. MEPA along with 1996 provisions for Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption (IEP) were made to decrease the practice of matching the races in adoption of children. MEPA-IEPA were arranged to decrease the amount of time children wait for adoption placement, to improve and help in problems and keep successful nurture and parents, and to remove degrading according to race, color, or national origin. In 1987 National Health Interview Survey (NAIC, 2000) found that approximately 8% of all adoptions

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Economics College Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics College - Research Paper Example Example of cigarette consumption by a die-hard smoker who hardly changes his smoking habit and consume as many number of cigarettes as he smoked earlier in spite of the bigger rise in its price. Unitary Elastic demand curve that may be sloping down uniformly in such a way to register equal proportionate increase or decrease in demand for a good in response to given proportionate fall or rise in its price 1.1 Demand for necessities and luxury in daily life. The rise and fall of prices of essentials makes no differences in demand pattern at least for short period. Similarly the rise in the prices of luxurious goods does not affect their demand because of the income status of the consumers in that segment is high enough to reduce the demand. 1.3 : In case the commodity has a substitute the increase in the prise of the primary one will lead consumers to shift to the substitute. In this case the demand will remain relatively elastic and the demand curve will slope down. The tea price being raised consumers would readily shift to coffee provided it satisfies the taste. 1.4 Technological changes in the product make the consumers unable to or difficult to shift its demand for cheaper or better good. Here the demand remains relatively inelastic to the change in price. ... Consumers are already using some other non electrical goods or geared to other system. Increase of electricity consumption depends upon buying and using more sophisticated electrical gadgets. Buying is not a function of electricity price but the income and need. 1.5 Imperfect knowledge about market is a factor that accounts for price inelasticity of demand in which condition the fall in price of a commodity would not lead rise in demand for that good in the short run because consumers are not aware about the change. This would not enable the demand curve to fall in short time at least. B. The effect of unitary elastic demand defined above for good in response to change in price term on total revenue is neutral because there would be equal and proportionate change in demand for goods in response to the given proportionate change in price. The amount spent on that particular good would be same as before the price change as shown in the following chart1 and diagram1: When the elasticity is unitary the demand for good changes from PQ to P1Q1 at the fall of price in such a way to spend the same amount of money to buy higher quantity P1Q1 to satisfy. Here the out lay of PROQ is equal to P1R1OQ1 Chart 1 Total Outlay method Elasticity=1 Price $ Demand/no. Outlay/$ 10 70 700 5 140 700 2 350 700 Chart 2 Total Outlay method Elasticity.>1 Price $ Demand/ no. Outlay/$ 10 70 700 5 170 850 2 500 1000 Chart3 Total Outlay Method Elasticity

Friday, August 23, 2019

Exotic Animals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exotic Animals - Essay Example Every affectionate lick or purr from your pet gives a beautiful feeling. However, there are few people and there is an emerging trend of preferring exotic animals as pets. Exotic animals are pets that generally cannot be characterized as pets and are domesticated either for fun, to preserve their species or as a status symbol. These animals are a sort of creatures that are considered very unusual ones to have as pets. These animals can include reptiles, amphibians, rodent, birds etc. Although there are many exotic animals which are not completely wild in nature they can be trained and taught how to live in houses as pets. These pets need special care and proper environment so that they can live a healthy life. These animals would not always develop a healthy relationship with their owners, which is why it is better that they may be allowed to thrive in their natural environment (Williams, and DeMello, n.p.). There are laws to prevent the sale of such animals around the world because often when some people succumb to purchasing these exotic animals from stores, online or auction it is important to understand how dangerous it is for these people. What I observed in my research throughout was the most painful process of transportation, since trading these animals is illegal. These exotic animals that we sometimes keep as â€Å"pets† usually suffer from malnutrition, loneliness and being trapped in an unnatural environment, cause deaths. We don’t consider the fact that this every precious animal that made it to the store or auctions followed countless of them to be painfully tortured to death (Allen, and Iggulden, n.p.). I always thought these animals are so afraid of being handled and taken care off because of the conditions they are made go through before coming to us. These few things always intrigued me and I always wondered what made them being so afraid. HUNTING AND TRANSPORTATION The hunting and capturing of these animals is usually done in Aus tralia, Africa and from the jungles of Brazil there are a very few laws and regulations preventing these activities. And the few laws which do exist do not motivate their dealers and smugglers to abstain from their activities. Animals that die along the way, their heads range for thousands of dollars. When these animals are hunted, stripped from their natural habitats and transported around the world, they face the extreme conditions. Animals like parrots might have their feet and beaks taped and stuffed in plastic tubes to hide in their luggage. Stolen birds and reptiles are hidden in special vests so that they can bypass x-ray machines at airports. Baby turtles are tapes from the heads and stuffed in socks in great numbers while reptiles like baby pythons are stuffed in CD cases to ship them. A man who got arrested for shipping animals illegally had Asian leopards in his backpack, birds of paradise in his luggage and monkeys in his underwear. These are the deadly conditions in whi ch these animals are moved from and round different countries. In an undercover investigation which was conducted by a welfare organization in a warehouse in Texas and more than 27,000 exotic animals were found painfully subjected to live in crowded conditions, no food, poor ventilation system, and no basic care. Half of those animals died because they were too weak to saved, hundreds of animals were already found dead along with 400 iguanas in shipping crates that were left for 2 weeks because their delivery was rejected with no food and water (Rudy, n.p.). There has been a very similar recent case of bird smuggling which got disrupted by the police the birds were immediately taken into custody. These birds were being transported in a small

Analysis of the Book After the Fact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of the Book After the Fact - Essay Example In most cases, interpretation of history depends on the expertise of the historian or the generation for which the history is interpreted. This essay focuses on the chapter on Virginia and it will try to figure out the flaws that the story brings to the surface. In addition, it will give an alternative that the historian could have used in finding the truth. The story tries to explain the historical moment of the Virginia colony in the seventeenth century. It uses the settlement in the area as evidence to support the truth about the state of affairs during that time. The story relies on the written records of Captain John Smith. He was present at the time as well as other written past records to reveal issues of the historical moment. However, this process of obtaining evidence looks over vital aspects of history that could have produced another interpretation of the historical moment. For instance, the historian did not depend on the hardworking nature of the Virginians in interpret ing Captain Smith’s account. Smith’s account focuses on firsthand information rather than a critical analysis of all systems in the society (Davidson, James and Mark 45). Therefore, this approach does not reveal critical details of Virginia but rather the ones that one can see clearly with the naked eyes. Other members of the society who had passed through various political and historical exposures were the best sources of evidence rather than using Captain Smith. These Virginians would have given the historian a wide source and range of information for making informed decisions about the historical moment. The diversity of the Virginians at the time questions the reliability of using firsthand information to make decisions about the history of Virginians. For instance, the Virginians established a new system of labor in the form of slavery, which is among the many aspects of history that are difficult to capture using the eyes (Davidson, James and Mark 75). The histor ian could have used research methods to dig out hidden information about the Virginians.     

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Visor Essay Example for Free

Visor Essay Visor, is the handheld computer which Handspring company wants to release to the market to compete its market competitor Razor which produced by 3Com company. However, what is interesting is both companies has contacted IDEO for product design. Palm company, which is one of the 3Com devisions, has a successfully achieved its targets working with IDEO through its legendary product development process to produce Palm V handheld computer. IDEO enabled to translate the vision of Hawkins which was the Palm pilot at that time to reality which gave Hawkins the trust to work again with IDEO in his company Handspring. IDEO product development process is unique, it goes through five development stages which started by understand/observe, visualize/realize, implement/detailed engineering and finally Implement/ manufacturing liaison. Each phase has its targets and deliverables that has to be achieved to move to next phase. However, IDEO has been asked to design Visor to be compatible, smaller and cheaper than Palm V within a limited time that cutes down the development process which could effect the quality of the product. IDEO now has to decide weather to proceed the clint order and take all the consequences or advice Handspring to extend the development process time to create a killer product. From a business perspective, the features that Handspring asked to be designed into its handheld product are competitive but yet its not enough to compete the current market leader. However, maybe the cost would be the main factor which effect this competition. I believe releasing the product with this lower standards wont help Handspring to achieve its targets. here will be that barrier which prevent customers to shift to the new product. what i suggest is giving more time to development process and develop that killer product which then could successfully acquire market attention. What made these companies and other worldwide companies likes Apple choosing IDEO for designing their projects is the designing philosophy that they follow. IDEO is a pioneer in combining engineering with art to produce an aesthetic allycompetent products. Additionally, IDEO has covered all the designing services that is needed for developing and manufacturing new projects such as; mechanical and electrical engineering, industrial design, ergonomics, information technology, prototype machine and cognitive psychology. IDEO is believing in flat organizational structure, no titles, positions or even dress code are existed, only the how excited the individual is in leading the project. This organizational structure is differ IDEO from other startups and big companies which are appleying bureaucratic hierarchal systems to achieve their organizational targets. However, only few big companies like google enabled to implement such a flat system. I believe that these organizational approaches are based on the nature of companys business more than randomness. Its really hard to control a company with 10,000 employes using this methodology. It would cause a managerial problems, process delays and waste of money and time. IDEO believes that failure is enlightened trial which help the company reach production accuracy. Moreover, there is no a wrong idea, any idea has rose will archived for future project. The environment which allow all employes to design his or her own workplace, awarding them by giving more competitive projects and organizing these events where individuals and groups can present there latest projects and designs, it is the culture which characterized IDEO from all its competitors, awarded and made the company a leader in designing felid. Never go to a client without a prototype and If the picture worth thousand words, a prototype is worth ten thousand Thats what prototype constitute to IDEO. It is the most valuable tool which allow the company to communicate with its customers, experts, marketers and end users. Transform the visualizing image of a product into a tangible object is helping the two parties to be ensured about the final design. In prototyping, IDEO does not aim to perfect the prototype more than creating a a quick and simple ones which allow a greater number of iteration. Rapid prototyping at IDEO followed the three Rs : Rough, Rapid and Right. which the final R focuses on creating several models with Right product aspects. In comparison with software development, both systems use a minimal planning and faster designing to make it easier to write or to make and then eligible to make any changes. Palm V is a resulted from accumulative process of five phases started as Palm which had superior features than its competitor at that time Apple by graffiti program for writing, syncing and a size of deck cards that can store address, numbers and calendar. However, after this product has introduced to the market, Startups began to enter the market acquiring market share. Hawkins decided to to contact IDEO to create a slimmer and sleeker version of the existing Palm with a new targeted market segment, Female users. When they first started, IDEO couldnt find customer feedback and data regarding the current palm product to begin with, so they decided to buy thousand of these devices and distributed them among friends and employes to generates feedback about the product. Additionally, they involved female member to the team and other females groups to achieve that targeted focus. A weekly meetings has been held to get the client in touch with development process and to make any necessarily changes. IDEO suggested serval changes and improvements to the current product such as change the battery to the rechargeable lithium ion batteries and using the industrial glue?.? Some of these changes accrued due to the lack of experience and knowledge so they shifted the manufacturing to Asia. By the end of phase 2, 20-25 prototype were produced which used the CAD to help create accurate industrial model. Finally, in last two phase they started to test prototypes and meet governmental requirements and then to production.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Marfan Syndrome Disorder

Marfan Syndrome Disorder Marfan syndrome In the early centuries some people might have had Marfan syndrome. Most will ask â€Å"What is Marfan Syndrome?† or â€Å"Do I have Marfan syndrome?† But our scientists answer theses questions about Marfan syndrome. Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue. Some in what the connective tissue does or provides is substances that support tendons, ligaments, blood vessel walls, carilages, heart valves and many other structures. In 1896 Antoine Marfan, a French doctor, discovered Marfan syndrome when he had a patient. As a boy who was fourteen years old (the patient), wanted to always become a basketball champ or at least a player but his coach didnt like the way he looks so the fourteen year old boy went to see Dr. Marfan. The doctor first didnt see but then finally he saw the problem. The young boy was more than 6 and a half feet tall. He was really skinny and had long arms, legs, and fingers. He told the young man to avoid team sports because he might have a blood vessel problem too. After investigating the young boy Then soon the doctor then named this disorder Marfan syndrome, after himself. Over the years some scientists began experimenting about Marfan syndrome and how it affects the human body. Trying to look at all the people with it and how bad it has diagnosed everyone. They soon discovered that every child with a parent that has Marfan syndrome has a 50% chance of getting it passed on to them. Although Marfan syndrome affects one person in every five thousand all over the world it is really rare. A lot of people are diagnosed with Marfan syndrome but it isnt that much noticeable to many people. You may look at a friend that is tall and skinny but that doesnt mean that they have Marfan syndrome. They might of just grown up that way in how well they ate or how well they had activity in their young childhood. If you want to find out if you have Marfan syndrome you need to go to four different doctors. You must check in with the geneticist first, then a cardiologist, an ophthalmologist, and finally an orthopedist. The geneticist looks at your disorders from genes of the family that you came from. (To see if anyone else had the disorder). A cardiologist looks at your heart and tests it out to see if you have any problems.(making sure if you have a heart related disease)Then an ophthalmologist checks your eyes to see if you have any huge or an enlarged pupils. And finally you check into and orthopedist for your bones. During this procedure the doctor(s) will check your arms, legs, ribs, fingers, and back to catch any problems or aches. Children with Marfan syndrome need to go to many doctors every single year for a long time. Because kids change and grow so quickly they got to be healthy and clean. Children with Marfan syndrome that have heart included problems need to take medicines called beta blockers, which help their heart stay on function and not leak through. Some kids even need surgery if they have a serious problem that is including Marfan syndrome. Kids with lazy eye will mostly need to wear glasses, and children with scoliosis need to wear a special back brace to help their back grow straight. As you know that many children need to get used to doing this at a very young age. Do people with Marfan syndrome have a long life? People with Marfan syndrome dont have as much chances as normal people to live up to one hundred of years old. They can but they arent really able to move. They are not as healthy to live a long life. They can not live a long life because they cant do many activities that exercise your body well enough and their hearts can not function well enough. Most people that have Marfan syndrome can not play most activities like soccer, football, hockey, tennis, and more energetic sports. They might play some games that more come and not as energetic. Most doctors might even say that they should not except to play team games. This genetic disorder (Marfan syndrome) affects mostly all people all over the world. Although you may see most boys have it, girls get affected by it more harmfully. They stop breathing or even need surgery. Females and males still do get infected by this rare disease but they still like the way their lives are. Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the fibrillin gene. This Misshapen in the fibrillin produced from the mutation weakens the tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues in the human body. Marfan syndrome is a dominant trait. Meaning that two out of four children have the disorder or disease. The baby is born with this disorder and it is unusual that you will get after you birth. Many people have been doing research on the history of Marfan syndrome and they think that Abraham Lincoln might have been affected by Marfan syndrome. They think that Abraham Lincoln had Marfan syndrome because he was very tall, had long fingers that were elongated. Today, Marfan syndrome has received attention in the media largely as a result of health problems and deaths among very tall athletes, such as most basketball players and volleyball players. In the United States, it has been estimated that 40,000 or more people have Marfan syndrome. From back then to right now people have been diagnosed badly with Marfan syndrome. Some lost lives, some got serious surgeries, and some just got hurt. Marfan syndrome has got around for ages and will still continue to the future until somebody finds a cure. Some scientists are finding new ways to help the people who have Marfan syndrome but some are just normally finding a cure. Only if this terrible disease didnt hurt the world championship players that have helped the world.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Concept Of E Recruitment

The Concept Of E Recruitment E-recruitment Issues and Challenges in HRM has become a buzz word and is being used in various contexts the world over especially in HRM E-recruitment has changed the way in which recruitment is conducted. In this paper these changes are analyzed for specific human resource management (HRM) functions: job analysis and job design, recruitment and selection. The kind of changes witnessed in India due to globalization has been dramatic and resulted in proliferation of HRM and services of E-recruitment across the country. Online recruiting is changing the way employers think about finding good employees and the way employees think about their jobs and their employers. Indeed, the Internet may completely change the way companies manage human resources All these functions are affected by changes in the Business Environment, Technology, and potential Labor force of E-commerce. These changes create challenges for Human Resource professionals who must recognize the inherent differences between E-recruitment and traditional brick-and-mortar process. HR professionals must adapt to these changes quickly in order to maximize the performance of employees. This challenges has a direct link to globalization by virtue of various activities covered in E-recruitment. This paper looks at the impact of issues and challenges in E-recruitment in HRM to expose the effects and develop solutions. The company can contact some experts in this field to solve the problems like Rajesh Siddesh Hiremath experts in erecruitment Keywords: E-recruitment, challenges, techniques, brick-and-mortar OBJECTIVES 1]. Introduction and to understand the concept of E-recruitment Online recruitment uses the power of the internet to match people to jobs. Fundamentally, it is about advertising vacancies on either job sites or corporate websites. At this very basic level it is particularly effective at getting a high level of response. While it may generate hundreds more applications than traditional print advertising, simply attracting more candidates is only part of the job. The buzz word and the latest trends in recruitment is the E-recruitment. Also known as On line -recruitment, it is the use of technology or the web based tools to assist the recruitment process. We are witnessing a change in the nature of jobs. Muscle jobs are disappearing, finger and brain jobs are growing or, to put it more formally, labor-based industries have been displaced by skill-based industries and these in turn will have to be replaced by knowledge-based industries. -Charles Handy (1984) The tool can be either a job website like naukri.com, the organizations corporate web site or its own intranet. Many big and small organizations are using Internet as a source of recruitment. They advertise job vacancies through worldwide web. The job seekers send their applications or curriculum vitae (CV) through an e-mail using the Internet. Alternatively job seekers place their CVs in worldwide web, which can be drawn by prospective employers depending upon their requirements 2]. To study the kinds of E-recruitment 1. Recruitment Sites : It is a site that the job websites linked to apply directly to the company. 2. Recruitment Agencies:- This is a Agency are need people to fill their vacancies, the candidates can register their CV and get the information about the jobs 3. Websites Links :- through the websites links a candidate can search the jobs a]. browse general recruitment sites b]. find vacation work and placements c]. look at sector specific recruitment d]. search the local councils vacancies e]. search the graduate schemes and closing dates 4. By approaching companies and offering candidates from their own files 5. Advertising jobs on behalf of companies and producing a shortlist of candidates for interview 6. Job portals i.e. posting the position with the job description and the job specification on the job portal and also searching for the suitable resumes posted on the site corresponding to the opening in the organization. 7. Resume scanner:- Resume scanner is one major benefit provided by the job portals to the organizations. It enables the employees to screen and filter the resumes through pre-defined criterias and requirements (skills, qualifications, experience, payroll etc.) of the job. Creating a complete E-recruitment / Application section in the companies own website. Companies have added an application system to its website, where the passive job seekers can submit their resumes into the database of the organization for consideration in future, as and when the roles become available. slide-4-638.jpg Job sites provide a 24*7 access to the database of the resumes to the employees facilitating the just-in-time hiring by the organizations. Also, the jobs can be posted on the site almost immediately and is also cheaper than advertising in the employment newspapers. Sometimes companies can get valuable references through the passers-by applicants. E-recruitment helps the organizations to automate the recruitment process, save their time and costs on E-recruitments. 8. The erecruitment different three strategies are (a) email recruitment through 2 types 1]. emailing lists and 2]. email snowballing (b)website recruitment through 2 types 1]. notices placed on websites and 2]. postings on online forums. (c) Internet advertising through 2 types 1]. keyword search and 2]. content-related placements. 3]. To study the need and importance of E-recruitment. The aim of this research is to examine the impact of the e-recruitment on the quality of applicants, cost and time involved in acquiring applications, wider choice of applicants and employees job search behavior and the development of the resulting conceptual model. Lower costs to the organization. Also, posting jobs is cheaper than advertising in the newspapers. No intermediaries. Reduction in the time for recruitment (over 65 percent of the hiring time). Facilitates the recruitment of right type of people with the required skills. Improved efficiency of recruitment process. Gives a 24*7 access to an e-collection of resumes. E-recruitment helps the organizations to weed out the unqualified candidates in an automated way. Recruitment websites also provide valuable data and information regarding the compensation offered by the competitors etc. which helps the HR managers to take various HR decisions like promotions, salary trends in industry etc. To support the organization such that it is able to get, maintain and improve the best talent and skills. To be certain about the present and future manpower needs of the organization in relation with planning job evaluation activities. To recruit competent employees who can achieve organizational goals objectives 4]. To understand the process techniques of E-recruitment Giving a detailed job description and job specifications in the job postings to attract candidates with the right skill sets and qualifications at the first stage. E-recruitment should be incorporated into the overall recruitment strategy of the organization. A well defined and structured applicant tracking system should be integrated and the system should have a back-end support. Along with the back-office support a comprehensive website to receive and process job applications (through direct or e-advertising) should be developed. 5]. To study the Statistics on E-recruitment in HRM Statistics between 2003 and 2005 indicate the progressive adoption of online recruitment. For ease of review, the statistics have been divided into 1]. International research Borrell Associates found that online recruitment advertising revenues hit $3.1 billion in 2003 and IDC forecasts that the world market will be worth $13 billion by 2005. Year on year the value of online recruitment is growing as both job seekers and recruitment agencies continue to adopt this method of recruitment. iLogos Research investigated the Global 500 companies with corporate Web sites and found that, in 1998, 29% recruited online (with 14% having no Web site) in comparison to 2003 where 94% of the Global 500 recruited online. According to the UK National Online Recruitment Survey (Winter 2004), 45% of job seekers use the Internet as their preferred method of looking for a job, 75% have applied for a job online and 59% have obtained an interview as a result. 44% of these have actually obtained a job through the Internet. 2]. Local findings. A Local trends from Career Junction between September 2003 and September 2004, show that over 1,5 million unique (new) career seekers have searched for jobs on Career Junctions web site, with an average of 5,500 new resumes entered each month. There were 160,000 jobs advertised during the same period, generating over 700,000 online job applications. World Wide research indicated that by the end of 2004, more than a quarter of all Internet users will be seeking jobs online. The Sunday Times Business Times Work In Life Survey of September 2004 reported that 34% of respondents use online job sites to look for jobs, while 46% will go directly to a recruitment agency, 77% look for jobs in newspaper recruitment pages, 36% through trade and other magazines, 57% have found jobs through word of mouth and 33% approach companies directly. Local findings indicate that while job seekers continue to use the Net, but this has not cut into the newspaper employment pages niche. Alliances between sites and newspapers have resulted in extended reach where companies and recruitment agencies still place ads in newspapers but give the Web address of a job advert rather than requiring an e-mail or written response Career Junction concluded a survey in March 2005, of just over 10% of the recruitment agents that use their Web site.. Part of the focus was on the relative importance of online recruitment as a medium for advertising job vacancies. The survey was conducted telephonically with a balanced mix of small, medium and large agencies. Key findings show that the main reasons for agencies using online recruitment is they view it as the most effective medium (between 25-30% of respondents). The second highest rating indicated that they saw online recruitment as successful and targeted at their needs (also between 25-30%). The third highest factor was that online recruitment is seen as the most cost-effective medium (between 20-25%). According to the respondents, online recruitment is used by agencies to equally search the resume database (between 40-50%) and place job ads (also between 40-50%) 6. To study the Advantages and Disadvantages of the topic 1. it will spread to whole Geographical Area 2. it will reach Larger Audience 3. it gives Greater chance to find right candidate quicker/with greater effectiveness 4. it access for 24/7 no waiting for issue dates 5. it access in Quicker turn-around time/cost saving 6. it Relatively cheap 7. it gives Higher quality of applicants 8. it gives Better match of workers vacancies 9. it Shift from manual screening to using HRM expertise 10. it gives Positive effect on corporate image/up-to-date image 11. it is Efficiency gain work 12. it is Cost saving/saving personnel costs 13. it Access for passive jobseekers 14. it target candidates/ Address niche markets 15. it reduce the unqualified candidates 16. it gives more opportunities for smaller companies 17. Automating the application process also gives a level playing field to all candidates Disadvantages of erecruitment 1. it needs a higher expectations regarding relocation costs . 2. the Development fees will effect for small companies 3. Name recognition required (buy banner space etc.) 4. it creates outdated rà ©sumà ©s 5. it crosses discrimination/privacy factors 6. Internet is the first option for applicants 7. it gives overwhelming number of candidates 8. it gives huge number of unqualified candidates 9. it is a time consuming sifting of application forms 10. it gives poor segmentation of the market 11. the transparency of data will damage 7]. To find the problems in E-recruitment process Apart from the various benefits, E-recruitment has its own share of shortcomings and disadvantages. Some of them are: Screening and checking the skill mapping and authenticity of million of resumes is a problem and time consuming exercise for organizations. There is low Internet penetration and no access and lack of awareness of internet in many locations across India. Organizations cannot be dependant solely and totally on the E- recruitment methods. In India, the employers and the employees still prefer a face-to- face interaction rather than sending e-mails With the convergence of greater connectivity, more cost effective software solutions and ever more competitive business environments, HR departments face a new challenge. The proliferation of Internet job-hunting resources makes finding, attracting retaining the best people more difficult than ever. The operational imperative in leading organizations today is to improve performance and reduce costs whilst staying abreast of worlds best practice. Whether your organization currently takes applications electronically or not, the stream of candidate emails, endless agency prospecting, and the need to stay abreast of competitors make E-recruitment a challenge for every organization. To succeed in this environment, organizations must go beyond brochure ware websites and outdated software. Best of breed application forms, back office recruitment systems and insightful reporting tools are needed to cope with the volume of electronically submitted job applications The growth in the E-recruitment industry has been fuelled with the adoption of technology by prospective employers and Internet penetration. Organizations have cut costs by almost 80 percent over traditional recruitment modes by moving over to the E-recruitment process. Dhruvakanth B Shenoy, Vice President-Marketing, Asia, Monster.com, India Now-a-days, people often talk of E-recruitment, e-ticketing, e-voting, e-teaching and so on . 8]. To suggest the solutions to overcome the problems of E-recruitment The cost of software for E-recruitment solutions has to be economically There is a necessity of screening and filtering of the data by different job groups which helps the employees to select easily and economically The employees have to learn the process of Internet and uses The brochures, invitation and tools of E-recruitment must be advanced and easily understandable The performance has to improve The greater connectivity of software are has to develop Individual organizations has to develop the website with different types of job groups for different qualifications, experience etc The employees has to get the advanced training for this To solve the various problems in erecruitment by various specialist in this field like Rajesh Siddesh Hiremath Rajesh Siddesh Hiremath experience in erecruitment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Around 11.5 years of industry experience including 7.5 years in SAP HR. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ More than 4 years of sound onsite experience at United Kingdom engaged with multiple projects on e-Recruitment and Nakisa à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Excellent understanding of the critical business processes coupled with exceptional functional experience à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Possess sound analytical and problem solving skills enhanced with excellent communication and presentation techniques à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Passionate attitude towards work with good interpersonal skills à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Possess exceptional ability to independently conduct business blueprint workshops, solution demos, review sessions, application testing, acceptance testing, business users training and process management to potential customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Currently employed with Wipro Technologies, Bangalore as a Project Manager e-Recruiting and Nakisa à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Positions Held: Project Manager, Consulting Manager, Senior Architect, Solution Consultant, Project Engineer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Core competence: SAP HCM E-Recruiting, Talent Management and Succession Planning. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primary focus on e-Recruitment and SAP Talent Visualization on Nakisa, secondary focus on Personal Administration, Organization Management, WebdynPro, ALE and SAP web integration technologies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Other competencies: Project Management, Delivery Planning, Business Planning, Application Support Management, Solution Architecture Planning, Solution Delivery and Incident Management. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Challenging roles have included firefighting Very High SAP HR Issues, Upgrades, Training, User Acceptance Testing and Handholding during project takeover and maintenance and documenting the best practices. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Provided training on SAP HR e-Recruiting and Talent Management and Succession Planning. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ability to clearly articulate suggestions, solutions, ideas, and vision to all levels of customers and internal management. 9. Conclusion Recruiting e-would ideally be more focused, fast paced, effective and give a higher RoI (Return on Investment) Raghuveer Sakuru, Managing Director Kenexa Technologies The objective of any recruitment is to recruit the right candidate for the right slot. The means of recruitment is also equally important. Keeping the current trends in view, emphasizing on E-recruitment is essential and ideal for effective and efficient recruitment. The days of manual recruitment are fading away gradually as organizations are moving to E-recruitment. E-recruitment is here to stay. As change is the only thing constant in this world, there is need to change the strategies in recruitment as well for maximizing the accuracy of right person for the right slot as it minimizes employee dissatisfaction and attrition. When we look at both problems and prospects, we can comfortably conclude that prospects outweigh problems in E-recruitment. The organizations must emphasize on E-recruitment for hiring better talent and must reinvent as per the needs in the 21st century. Globally online recruitment has shown consistent growth, in terms of commercial value as well as adoption by job seekers and recruitment agencies. Companies are also beginning to use their Web sites as part of the solution to recruit staff. Local findings show that there has been a consistent and growing move to use online recruitment, one that echoes international trends. However, jobseekers are using all resources, including newspapers, rather than adopting one approach over another. South African recruitment agencies are finding online recruitment as the most effective approach to finding candidates, and one that is targeted to their needs and cost effective.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Pentangle Essay -- Literary Analysis, Gawain, The Green Knight

In the anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the character of Sir Gawain is portrayed as the imperfect hero. His flaws create interest and intrigue. Such qualities of imperfection cannot be found in the symbol of the pentangle, which he displays on his shield. This contrast between character and symbol is exposed a number of times throughout the poem allowing human qualities to emerge from Gawain’s knightly portrayal. The expectations the pentangle presents proves too much for Gawain as he falls victim to black magic, strays from God, is seduced by an adulterous woman, and ultimately breaks the chivalric code by lying to the Green Knight. The pentangle, also called the â€Å"endless knot,† (630) is a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle, worn as an amulet to â€Å"avert evil from or bring fortune to the wearer† (Talisman, OED). Writer Eliphas Levi says that when the pentangle is pointing up it represents spiritual dominance over the material. Presented the other way, the physical world rules over the spiritual -often associated with dark magic (Pentagram, Wikipedia). This parallel foreshadows the trickery played on Sir Gawain by the Green Knight. The Green Knight challenges Gawain to a â€Å"Christmas game† (283) in an attempt to humble Gawain, tempting him with worldly pleasures and proving that even the greatest of knights are not perfect. Upon finding the Green Chapel, Gawain suggests that â€Å"Here might / The devil himself be seen / †¦at black midnight† (2186-8). Comparing the Green Knight to the devil proves accurate because at the end of the play, the Green Knight confess es that â€Å"the count of your kisses and your conduct too, / And the wooing of my wife—it was all my scheme!† (2360-1). Describing the midnight as â€Å"black† (... ...ain as an imperfect hero makes him an interesting character and allows the reader to see his human qualities emerge in a moralistic story. The tension between two sides of a character trait is represented through contrast with the perfection of the pentangle symbol. God and material possession, fidelity and seduction, and knight and human are all parallel to the two interconnecting triangles depicted in the pentangle. It is impossible to have one without the other. The interconnectedness of our senses, our bodies, our spirituality, our love and emotions, and our personality create a pentangle, binded by a circle: life. The pentangle perhaps places too high an expectation on perfection and does not allow room for human flaws. Such flaws lead to the downfall of Sir Gawain because he was unable to live up to the expectations of the symbol displayed on his shield.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Religion and Spirituality Essay -- Religious Christianity Essays

Religion and Spirituality Since the dawn of human life, people have eternally been searching for the purpose of existence. Humans are innately curious beings, and are blessed to have the capabilities of higher thought processes. Humans use these thought processes to ponder the question of existence. Unfortunately, the evolution of man has not brought the human race any closer to actualizing its purpose on earth. In fact, this issue is such that the more one feels he or she understands it, the more questions concerning it arise. This problem perpetuates itself by the confusion of religion and spirituality, and the roles they hold in society. As the human race evolves, it feels the need to designate structure to its world. As a means to provide structure, man creates both systems of social order, as well as systems of belief. The purpose of the two systems is to explain unknown phenomenon while creating an environment where societies can grow. Humans do this because they have an innate drive to bo th explain the unknown in addition to perpetuating a society that holds common beliefs and values. One can define these two systems as religion and spirituality. The problem lies in the fact that these two systems are so closely intertwined that oftentimes they are confused as being synonymous. However, this is most definitely not the case. On the contrary, religion’s purpose is to create social structure and congruency. Religion is driven by social purpose, and can be exploited. In fact, a small part of every religion serves a selfish purpose rather than an honorable one. Religion’s purpose is completely different from the purpose of spirituality. Spirituality, on the other hand, deals with personal beliefs about ... .... Vol. 7. 230-282. 1971. â€Å"Crusade.† Encyclopedia Britannica. Howerth, Ira. â€Å"What is Religion?† International Journal of Ethics. 1983. â€Å"Jihad.† Encyclopedia Britannica. Mathur, D.C. â€Å"The Concept of Action in the Bhagvad-Gita.† Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 1974. McClenon, James. â€Å"Human Evolution and the Origin of Religion.† Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 345-357. Sept. 1997 Radcliffe-Brown, A.R. â€Å"Religion and Society.† Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1972. Rosengren, Karl. â€Å"The Riddle of the Empty Cell.† Current Anthropology. Vol. 17. 1996. Stewart, Gutherie. â€Å"Religion: What is it?† Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 412-419. Dec. 1998.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Social Networking Essay: Boon or Bane

IntroductionPeople who live in the past can only communicate through the way of Telegrams, Letters and Telephone Calls. But with the birth of modern Technologies, wireless mobile phone and computers were invented. Then, social networking begins.With this study, there are many questions that we have to consider such as: What exactly is Social Networking? Does it have anything to do with this modern society? What are their advantages and disadvantages and what are the effects of this social networking to an individual.This study intends to tell us the use and effects of social networking and will help us to widen our knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of social networking.BodySocial Networking is way of communicating with people whether far or nearby places with the use of computers and other devices which connects to World Wide Web. It is also a simple act of expanding the number of people you know by adding friends of your friends and meeting them in social network or i n social community.In fact, many of business oriented associated person nowadays promote their existing and upcoming business with the use of it and some people looking to connect with other business contacts usually move to social networking sites. For students, social networking is the easiest way of collecting information’s about their assignments, research papers and even world’s information or job opportunities.I have list some common networking sites for references:Facebook : Facebook was founded in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes.[8] The founders had initially limited the website's membership to students of the University of Harvard, but later expanded it to colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities before it opened to high-school st udents, and eventually to anyone aged 13 and over.Facebook now allows anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old to become a registered user of the website.[9] Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, exchange messages, and receive automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categorize their friends into lists such as â€Å"People from Work† or â€Å"Close Friends†Twitter: Twitter is a very simple service that is rapidly becoming one of the most talked-about social networking service providers. When you have a Twitter account, you can use the service to post and receive messages to a network of contacts, as opposed to send bulk email messages. You can build your network of contacts, and invite others to receive your Tweets, and can follow other memb ers' posts. Twitter makes it easy to opt into or out of networks. Additionally, you can choose to stop following a specific person’s feed.Linkedln: LinkedIn is an online social network for business professionals, which is designed specifically for professional networking, to help them find a job, discover sales leads, connect with potential business partners. Unlike most of the other social networks, LinkedIn does not focus on making friends or sharing media like photos, videos and music. LinkedIn offers many resources for entrepreneurs. Brand yourself as an entrepreneur, find service providers or partners, and participate with your LinkedIn network to strengthen your profile.Myspace: On MySpace, your social network starts growing from the first day. When you join MySpace, the first step is to create a profile. You then, invite friends to join there and search for your friends on already profiled on MySpace these friends become your initial Friend Space. Once the friendship i s confirmed all the people in your friends' Friend Space become part of your network. In that sense, everyone on MySpace is in your Extended Network.Blogs: A blog is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries (â€Å"posts†) typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first). Until 2009 blogs were usually the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often covered a single subject. More recently â€Å"multi-author blogs† (MABs) have developed, with posts written by large numbers of authors and professionally edited.Hi5 : Hi5 shares many similarities with many social network sites; however, it introduces some twists that make it worthwhile for people who love trying out new and interesting online communities. However, it is not one of the popular sites in the United States. This was a strategic move from the founder, therefore, Hi5 claims around 60 millio n members from more than 200 countries other than the US. One of the site's biggest transformations is the addition of many entertainment options, including games.Tagged: Tagged is a blend of social networking features that MySpace and Facebook users will find very familiar. Tagged was designed to help users meet lots of new people with similar interests in a short amount of time. You can access and register directly or be invited by a friend to join Tagged. This is a free social network that allows you to view your friends’ newly uploaded Tagged photo album. Tagged encourages its users to meet strangers based on shared interests, with the idea of growing your network to meet as many people as possible.And Electronic Mailer or Email: This social site is the first step of all. Without this email address you will not be able to join any social  networking site although you have to register here as well but you can use this email as the key to join any social networking sites. I have list few advantages and disadvantages of social networking. The advantages are as follows:Easiest ConnectionThere is no easier on fastest way to make a connection than via social networking. Through such sites, individuals make new friends or business connections or extend their personal base by connecting and inter-acting with friends. These connections can help one with a variety of things such as finding romance, seeking a new job or seeking advice on personal issue or even in career.In many ways, social networking communities are the visual equivalent of meeting everywhere to exchange news and get update on friends and families. Plus, social networking websites can access anywhere around the globe. For other people it can help an individual to establish communication with their love ones and friends through which they can strengthen their relationships and knowledge.Increase News CycleSocial networking has revolutionized the speed of news cycle. Many news organizations ar e now partner with social networking sites in order to both collect and share information. You can understand what is going on in the world just by watching trending topics from many of these sites.Common InterestWhen you participate to a social networking community, you can pick and choose those individuals whose likes and dislikes are similar to yours and built your network around those who share your interestModern EncyclopediaUnlike to manual book, in social network one click of the mouse and the data you were looking for will appear in front of your eye. Assignment, definitions and research is just as easy as you hear it.There is a saying that â€Å"there’s no perfect in this world† meaning whenever there is advantages, disadvantages also comes into picture as always.So here are the disadvantages of social networking:Waste of TimeSome of the students used to spend hour in those social networking sites which can obviously degrade the student’s academic perfo rmance. Some of them may tend to use Facebook till midnight or even more because of the applications like farm ville to monitor their crops or whatever it is which can lead to health related problems. And children’s these generation spend more time in using social networking sites through which they lack to spend more time with their family.Personal RiskUse of social networking can expose individuals to harassment on inappropriate contact from others. Personal details like you full name, names of family members, birthday, address, phone numbers, schedules, place of employment, photos and etc. you can be easily stalked by strangers or even acquaintances and even identity thieves to replicate your online presence.Actions in the digital world can have far-reaching consequences in real life. Inappropriate posts on social media can have severe repercussions on a student's academic career, and students can lose jobs, internships and even interviews because of the information potent ial employers are finding out about students on their social networking accounts.Compromising and inappropriate pictures, statements or other information on student social networking accounts can hurt students' chances to gain employment. Employers take the images that students are portraying on social networking sites very seriously as a reflection of personal character.Real life ConnectionsA huge advantage of this social networking has a reverse side effect that is also a big disadvantage of social networking which is, they reduce face to face socialization. Because of autonomy afforded by the virtual word,  individuals are free to create a fantasy and pretend to be someone else. It’s incredibly easy to unfriend or unfollow someone or simply block their efforts to make a connection. Just one click of the mouse and your problems are over. Unfortunately, this feature of online socialization cheats people of the opportunity to learn how to resolve conflicts in the real world and it could retard or cripple ones social skills development.SummaryIt is true that this generation has a lot of changes together with the way of communication but it doesn’t mean that you have to be part of new ways because your own choice is what matters the most. If you decide to join or you’re already part of it, you should be and have to be responsible for your own safety. One wrong click and I’m sure all your effort will be waste.So, in evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of social networking it is best to be on the side of caution and information. Then, I would like to conclude that social networking is definitely a boon for those who are aware that they are using it for the right purpose.

Ethnographic Observation

I set out to find a place to begin my observations, not knowing what to fully expect, what I may find. So I decided to look around at what is close to my home that isn’t a place I frequent or have even visited at all. Then it came to me, the Starbucks that is only about a mile away is a perfect place for me to observe subjects that I would consider different from myself, seeing as how I consider such obscene prices for coffee ridiculous. Starbucks is a very popular chain of coffee vendors that describe their product as more about quality than what Americans are used to in typical coffee joints. Although I know it is poor technique of me as an anthropologist to have prejudice about any place or people that may be at that place, but I have to admit I already had set in my mind that these people would be â€Å"stuck-up† â€Å"more money than sense† type of people. So upon entering the establishment I decided to blend into as much as possible by ordering one of their Grande size coffees, which is just their basic coffee in a medium size. Then, I found a spot in the corner and began to pretend I was reading the newspaper I had brought as a prop to further help me blend into my surroundings. The aroma of the building was very pleasant blend of coffee and various mixtures of chocolate and hazelnut. It also did have a very friendly feel and accepting sense to the whole thing. So after being in Starbucks for approximately thirty minutes I decided I had enough data to discuss my findings. The business definitely drew in a particular social group. It seemed to consist of mainly white males and females that appeared to be in their early twenties to upper twenties. Also most of them seemed to be more affluent to at least upper middle-class status. I came to this conclusion by the vehicles they drove and also the clothing they were wearing. Most of them were adorned in such brands as Columbia and The North Face, which are higher-end winter apparel. Most of their vehicles appeared to be if not new only a couple of years of age and were in very nice condition. Most of the groupings were either just singular people or couples coming to pick up either a plain coffee or most of the females ordering some mixed espresso or something to that degree. There were a couple of oddities in the data such as a one older couple that came by and also one black male also stopped by to pick up some coffee. Most the behavior I observed was a very casual and relaxed as the people seemed to all be friendly and enjoying their absurd priced beverages. Once in awhile someone would recognize a fellow customer and they would proceed to great each other with either a handshake or hug. Spatial arrangement between people was typical of most American norms. They typically had about a person length in between each person making sure not to get to close to bump into one another which is considered rude in this country. I did my research at approximately 1pm to 1:30pm in the afternoon. I do believe this did influence the type of people I saw in the establishment. If it were early in the morning I believe there would have been slightly older gathering of people going to their respectable jobs. Instead a majority of the customers were college students that were coming in for that mid day pick-up. As for the norms I witnessed they were typical for American establishments, the people working greeted the customers in an almost fake friendly manner that is supposed to comfort and make the customer feel â€Å"at home† in the environment. Then, the customer would reply with what they would like to order and then finish by paying for the product, in this case coffee. In conclusion I have to say that for the most part my presumptions were reinforced which is consistent with what I figured would be the case. Although, it isn’t entirely fair because I didn’t get to truly meet my subjects and understand them fully. I only observed how they behaved in that instance which may have been completely out there norm and even their first time at Starbucks.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Pestel Analysis

Literature review * Political factors – Essentials of Marketing (2002) says that many of the legal, economic and social developments in society is nothing more than political decisions put into action. The political climate is of great significance to the marketing firm and has a direct effect on many aspects of the economy and society. Factors in the political environment both national and international should be carefully monitored.Modern Management (2006) describes how nationally the government can affect business through its policies in relation to industrial service development, tax incentives, capital grants and expansion schemes that are available. Internationally it describes the influences the business has through policies in relation to international trade and deregulation. The main ways in which the government influence international trade in through their input into the general agreement on trade and tariffs. Individual governments can impose embargoes or sanctions on trade with any particular country they wish.Developments in the European Union in recent years have seen the deregulation of financial markets, public utilities and the airline industry. The aim is to remove protective restrictions on operations and to allow greater competition between countries. * Economic factors – In Modern Management (2006) they describe the economic factors as being shaped by the state of the economy in a particular country and the economic policies that is implemented within that country. In Essentials of Marketing (2002) they describe economic factors as being vital to marketing firms because they influence cost, price and demand.They can be viewed as opportunities or threats. Tieran et al, (2006) describes government’s implementation of different economic policies which affect key areas such as taxation, inflation, exchange rates and economic growth. Interest rates determine the extent of an organisations loans and investments. An increase in the inflation rate results in a demand for an increase in worker’s wages. As inflation increases the purchasing power of consumer’s declines as they can no longer afford products or services that they have been previously buying.Exchange rates have a huge impact on company’s who export large amounts of their products. If the currency rises in the country that the business is exporting to, their goods become expensive and in turn reduce their competitiveness. A business needs a firm exchange rate and low inflation rate to ensure that their business grows. As Ireland is a small open economy an important development has been the emergence of global interdependencies between different economies. * Social factors – Modern Management (2006) tells us that social factors are concerned with the demographics, attitudes and behaviour of members in society.Lancaster et al, (2002) say people’s basic beliefs, attitudes and values are shaped by the society the y grow up in. Modern Management (2006) describes demographics as identifying characteristics of people living within society, these include work groups, organisations and countries. These characteristics can be measured in terms of age, gender, family size, education and occupation. Buying behaviour is influenced by social conditioning. The social culture has an impact on the business environment. The company needs to be aware of the demographics when planning recruitment, selection and training of employees.Demographics have an impact on human resource policies and on what kind of products and services are available within society. Developments in the social environment can have implications for a business in terms of the behaviour and attitudes of their workforce and consumers being more environmentally aware. * Technology factors – Affect the way goods are distributed and promoted. It increases efficiency on how products can be distributed. Tieran et al, (2006) states that no organisation is immune to the effects of technology.It can affect the company in the following ways; technology innovation, production techniques, how the company is managed and how communication takes place within the company. Essentials of Marketing state that technology has a major impact on how market research is gathered and conducted. Sales forecasting is important and has become easier to do with the technology that companies have. The laser checkout can record consumer purchases automatically and is used to analyse sales, control and re-order stock. Sales reps can use audio visual to entice people to buy their good or services.Technology has influenced developments in products such as genetic engineering and cameras. * Environmental factors – Includes the weather and climate change. No organisation can ignore environmental issue according to Mastering Marketing Management (2002). Their actions have serious consequences on land, sea and air. In Principles of Market ing (2010) companies are expected to take measures to conserve and allocate scarce resources properly. They must be seen to show active interest in the welfare of the community and the people living within it.Consumers want to buy products and services from a company that is seen to be environmentally friendly. * Legal factors – Is related to the legal environment in which the firm operates. Legal changes can affect a firms cost and demand. In Principles of Marketing (2010) organisations are affected by government monetary and fiscal policies such as import/export policies and custom duties. Anti-pollution laws impact on marketing plans and policies. Marketing policy-making is influenced by government policies and controls throughout the world.There are many laws that a company must follow some of these are health and safety, employment laws and consumer law to name a few. Introduction of company chosen The company chosen to carry out an analysis of their macro-environment is Mc Ardle Transport Ltd Callenberg, Inniskeen, Dundalk, Co. Monaghan. According to Mc Ardle transport Ltd website (www. mcardletransport. com). Mc Ardle Transport Ltd was established in 1968. It operates one of the largest fleets of road transport equipment in Ireland. It employs 80 people on their site.Mc Ardle transport Ltd has become one of the leading specialists in transport, logistics, warehousing and supply chain management. They currently operate a fleet of 45 vehicles and in excess of 125 trailers ranging from mega trailers, euro liners, box vans, box fridges and skelly trailers. They are committed to providing a well-organized, flexible service, operating integrated satellite tracking and communications solutions in order to ensure peace of mind for their customers. They try to deliver a reliable, efficient, cost effective and personal service. Services offered by the company According to Mc Ardle Transport Ltd website (www. cardletransport. com), they offer transport and distribution services which include national and international transport. This covers collection and delivery service, full load and part load service, container loads, hazardous cargoes and refrigerated cargoes. Their export and import service include food, pharmaceutical, engineered machinery, palletised cargo, hazardous cargoes and chilled cargoes. They also offer a warehousing service, they have 5 separate warehouse units on site and 16 dock levelling loading ramps. It is a customs approved premises and department of agriculture food and fisheries approved.Warehousing services include materials intake, good manufacturing practices (GMP), inspection of export containers, container loading and safe operation fork truck and pallet truck. . Finally they offer satellite tracking on their fleets, this ensures that goods are delivered to the correct location, at the correct time, in the correct condition, thus customers are satisfied. PESTEL analysis of Mc Ardle Transport Ltd For the f ollowing PESTEL analysis the author spoke to Micheal Mc Ardle of Mc Ardle Transport Ltd to ask how the macro environment affected his company. Political factors: Government policies that have a major impact on Mc Ardle Transport Ltd are taxes such as duty taxes and regulatory policies relating to employment. In the current climate these government policies push costs up within the company. Mc Ardle Transport Ltd would like the current government to abolish green diesel completely and offer a rebate to essential users of diesel. For instance farmers that use green diesel have them as essential users, and rebate them to lower the price of white diesel. This would eliminate the problems relating to the laundering of diesel. companies within Ireland import all fuel to Ireland, one of these import 80% of all fuel to Ireland. Revenue would benefit if this area was properly controlled and it would also boost their income on tax. The current government could change taxes that are charged on trucks regarding toll roads in Ireland. Trucks pay a disproportionate amount of taxes compared to other road users. The government need to change policies with regards to how trucks are taxed. Currently trucks are taxed based on weight instead of being taxed by emission, if this was changed it would entice companies to cut down emissions and to re-invest in their company. Economic factors: In regards to exchange rates this area has little effect on this company. The Euro has eliminated this problem the majority of business is done in Euro, some in Sterling and very little in Dollars. Some of the costs are in dollars for example deep sea shipments outside Europe are usually quoted in dollars. Inflation rates over the last couple of years have tended to be reasonably stable which is positive for this company. Inflation was a problem in 2006-2008 in regards to wage inflation as it was difficult to get the right quality people for the job as they were drawn to higher paid jobs in other areas.Interest rates have been very stable over the last couple of years, which has assisted this company in re-investing. Mc Ardle Transport has invested in their company this year with a new fleet of trucks and expansion of their warehousing. * Social factors: Mc Ardle Transport Ltd encourages staff to up skill. They have some of their employees in DKIT courses ranging from management, logistics, health and safety and business admin. This is positive for the company as it’s a win/win for both sides. It helps the company and the employees to adapt to the current climate. Technology factors: Mc Ardle Transport is very dependent on broadband and uses an array of technology within the company. Satellite tracking is used to track the position of all trucks on the road and is used to send messages to and from the trucks. Engine management gives every detail of the truck, number of times the brakes is pressed, speed of the truck, working time and fuel consumption. It is used to m ake sure that working time directives are followed, management of fuel consumption, maintenance of trucks is kept up to standard and also tracking temperatures of cargoes carried.The driver sets the temperature of the cargo if the temperature goes up or down the company is notified by an alarm 24/7 through e-mail or text messaging. The company can give a full download of the temperature history of the cargo to the customer on arrival. Barcode scanning is used in the warehouses. All products received are scanned on arrival, this shows what the product is, how much of it there is and the batch number. This also is used to locate a position within the warehouse and it shows the location of each pallet. The company uses e-mail, telephone and internet on a daily basis. Environmental factors: Mc Ardle Transport Ltd has all of their warehousing insulated as well as temperature controlled and monitored. There are very aware of fuel emissions and when upgrading their fleet, they look for fue l efficient vehicles. They use technology such as engine management to monitor fuel consumption of all vehicles. They have an environmental officer on site to report on energy usage on site and to assist drivers in any way possible. They work with their customers to select the best route to help them reduce their carbon footprint. They offer to track their customer’s carbon footprint from collection to delivery.One of the major problems during last winter was access from their site to the main road, it also impacted on the efficiency of the schedule they could keep. Mc Ardle Transport tries to reduce their carbon footprint by assessing their fleet and the life cycle of their vehicles every year. * Legal factors: As Ireland is part of the EU, Mc Ardle Transport Ltd must follow EU regulations such as employment law, drive time directives and authorised economic operators, this is recognised companies who are compliant with revenue. They received their department of agriculture certificate and medicine board certificate from the EU.All vehicles must be DOE approved they must be passed and issued with a certificate of road worthiness. In terms of health and safety an independent consultant comes on to the site every week. Mc Ardle Transport Ltd provide training for health and safety, drivers who are working alone, first aid, fire safety, robbery response training and drivers who are carrying hazard material training. Conclusion As you can see from the above Mc Ardle Transport Ltd is affected by all of the macro-environmental factors particularly legal and technology factors.Being a part of the European Union has many advantages. It gives common standards to similar companies like Mc Ardle Transport Ltd throughout the EU, customers can recognise these standards and can see who is compliant. In terms of technology the lack of broadband options in Ireland is putting Mc Ardle Transport Ltd at a disadvantage. They are very dependent on a good broadband system fo r the daily running of their business in terms of satellite tracking their trucks, taking orders, sending quotes etc.All of these macro-environmental factors need to be monitored in order for the company to move forward and be successful in the future. Bibliography Lancaster, G. , Massingham, L. & Ashford, R. (2002) Essentials of Marketing, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill Education Tieran, S. , Morley, M. & Foley, E. (2006) Modern Management and practice for Irish students, 3rd Edition, Gill & Macmillan Cartwright, R. (2002) Mastering marketing management, 1st Edition, New York, Palgave Dundalk Institute of Technology E- library (2011) Principles of Marketing [online], available from: http://site. brary. com/lib/dkitlib/Doc? id=10415387&ppg=47 [accessed 7 October 2011] Appendices McArdles Transport LTD 1) What government policies affect your company? 2) How has the current government affected your business? (i. e. any decisions they have made) 3) In terms of exporting your goods how has th e following affected that; a) Exchange rates? b) Inflation rates? c) Taxation changes? d) Interest rates? 4) In the current economic climate have you found that staff are up skilling in your company? (i. e. going back to college, evening courses) ) What technology does your company use? 6) How does this technology benefit your company? 7) Does the technology used benefit your customer in any way? (if yes then how) 8) During last winter how did your company cope with the extreme weather? 9) Was it a difficulty to keep on schedule during this time? 10) How have you prepared for this years winter? 11) Have you any pressure coming from environmental groups in terms of your company’s fuel emissions? 12) What measures have you taken to try and reduce your carbon footprint? 3) How has the price of fuel impacted on your company? 14) Do you find there is a pressure coming from your clients to be more eco-friendly? 15) Do you find that being a part of the EU gives your company an advan tage when doing business? 16) What are the main EU regulations that your company must abide by? 17) How did you obtain government approval for your warehouses? 18) What regulations must all your vehicles go through in order to obtain a certificate of road worthiness? 19) Brief overview of the main safety regulations that must be abided by?