Construction contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Construction contract law - Essay Example By this stage, the job had become quite extensive. It involved the demolition of the cold store and other buildings, and the construction of a workshop, a double inspection pit and a covered parking area. The overall job would require a great deal of demolition and drilling out of concrete and excavations, the construction of structural steel framing, cladding, extensive roofing and paving, the installation of equipment purchased by Clarke and the partial demolition, rebuilding and refurbishment of the office accommodation.Works progressed on a piecemeal basis with ACT submitting interim applications for payment during the course of the works. The works went on for a period of nearly two years, by which point ACT had been paid approximately  £1.3 million.At this point the parties have drifted apart. Later, ACT submitted to Clarke a "reconciliation statement" for its work. This showed that the value of the work calculated by ACT was of the order of  £1.5 million. This led to a dis pute and ACT commenced proceedings for the recovery of a claimed balance of approximately  £200,000.Analysis of court’s responseThe court initially interpreted on certain preliminary questions on existence of a contract, and if so, what were its terms as to payment, the scope of the work and the contract period? Clarke argued that there was an agreement between the parties that ACT would construct the job, including the supply and installation of the necessary workshop equipment, for a cost, which was to be not more than  £815,000.

Language and Mind Essay Example for Free

Language and Mind Essay 1. Which of the following statements about parameters is FALSE? a. They specify the limits on possible differences between languages b. They do not belong to Universal Grammar # c. Their values must be â€Å"set† on the basis of experience 2. From the viewpoint of the principles-and-parameters theory, the process of language acquisition consists of: a. Setting the choice for each parameter that fits the language that is being acquired # b. Storing words and sentences in memory c. Learning the order in which words occur in sentences 3. If some property X is true for all languages, we can conclude that: a. X may be a property that all and only languages have (i.e. a language-unique universal) # b. X must be a general property of all cognitive systems c. X is determined by the universal human articulatory apparatus 4. The fact that young infants do not forget about objects that they have seen after these objects have been taken away is called: a. object shift b. habituation c. object permanence # 5. Consider the following two question sentences: i. When did the boy say he fell out of the tree? ii. When did the boy say how he fell out of the tree? The first question is ambiguous because: a. It is not clearly formulated b. It has two different underlying deep structures # c. It has one sentence embedded in another sentence 6. The statement: perception is ahead of production means that: a. Children can articulate words before they can recognize and understand them b. Children can recognize and understand words and sentences that they cannot yet properly produce themselves# c. Children’s visual abilities are better than their auditory abilities 7. The special way in which parents speak to young infants is called a. Telegraphic speech b. Motherese or parentese# c. Recursion 8. The ‘Critical Period’ that is relevant for first and second language acquisition a. That is correct # b. That is incorrect because it is only relevant for first language acquisition c. That is incorrect because it is only relevant for second language acquisition 9. Genie’s success in acquiring English turned out to be very limited. The greatest problem she had was: a. Learning words b. Understanding what people said to her c. Forming utterances with syntactic structure # 10. Genies case provides important support for: a. The critical period hypothesis # b. The role of ‘motherese’ in language acquisition c. The Poverty of stimulus argument for innateness 11. Imagine the following scenario: Some Japanese people come to Mexico to do business. None of them speaks Spanish, and none of their Mexican partners speaks Japanese. There is no other language that these two groups have in common. Therefore, they have to develop a kind of ‘auxiliary communication system’ that can fit this special circumstance. This system is most likely to be a: a. creole b. pidgin # c. English 12. According to Derek Bickerton a creole language is created by: a. adults who are forced to communicate with each other over a long period of time without having a shared language b. people who need to have a secret language c. children whose linguistic input consists of a pidgin spoken in their community # 13. The fact that children are apparently capable of producing a creole language which has grammatical properties that are not present in the pidgin input can be used as evidence for: a. The view that children have innate knowledge of language structure # b. The view that pidgin languages have hidden grammatical structure c. The view that children are born with blank slate minds 14. For a universal to count as an argument for the IH, which of the following three conditions is NOT necessary: a. The universal must be true of languages only b. We cannot explain the universal in any other way c. The universals must be about the syntax of language# 15. Which of the following is NOT a property of creole languages? a. Creole languages have a very simplified grammar # b. Creole languages have been acquired as first languages c. Creole languages have a fully developed grammar 16. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Sign languages differ from spoken languages in being based on visual signals rather than on sound b. Sign languages have emerged spontaneously (i.e. they are not man-made or artificial) just like spoken languages c. Sign languages are fundamentally different from spoken languages in that all signs are necessarily iconic # 17. The existence of sign languages, being fully equivalent in all relevant respects to spoken languages, supports the innateness hypothesis because: a. Both types of languages are processed in totally different brain regions b. Both types of languages depend on the innate principles of the auditory or visual system c. Even though the perceptual modality (audition versus vision) is so different from the spoken language modality, the same kind of grammatical structures are present in both types of languages # 18. The stages that children, who acquire a sign language, go through (after they start babbling) are: a. The same as the stages we see in the acquisition of spoken languages # b. Different in that deaf children skip the two word stage c. Different in that deaf children never get to the point that they form full sentences 19. In the case of Nicaraguan Sign Language, the youngest children changed the unstructured signing of their older peers into a structured language. This is analogous to: a. changing a pidgin into a creole # b. changing a creole into a pidgin c. changing a spoken language into a sign language 20. A simplified form of human communication used by people with no common language is a(n): a. Pidgin language # b. Creole language c. Artificial language 21. Which of the following statements is TRUE? a. All pidgin languages have the same grammar b. All pidgin languages have very simple grammars # c. All pidgin languages have fully developed grammars 22. Which of the following statements is TRUE a. Children can acquire only one languages at the same time b. There are no fixed stages in the acquisition of sign languages c. Foreign language learning after puberty in general leads to imperfect language abilities # 23. The argument that the input that children receive is not rich enough to explain the rich knowledge that they end up with is called: a. The argument from universals b. The argument from stages c. The poverty of the stimulus argument # 24. Evidence for categorical perception in young infants comes from: a. Habituation studies # b. Diary studies c. Longitudinal studies 25. In which stage of language acquisition would children most likely produce a sentence such as â€Å"mommy want milky†? a. Holophrastic stage b. Two word-stage c. Telegraphic stage #

Free Essays - Sarcasm and Irony in A Modest Proposal :: Swift Modest Proposal Essays

Sarcasm and Irony in  A Modest Proposal In  A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift, the main objective was to draw attention to the plight of the Irish people and motivate readers to find a workable solution.   Swift shows the readers his proposal mainly through irony.   Irony can be defined as expressing the opposite of what is meant.   This is a great technique of the sense of humor used in the proposal and in Swift.     One of the voices that are present throughout the story is that of irony. The story itself is ironic since no one can take Swifts proposal seriously. This irony is clearly demonstrated at the end of the story; Swift makes it clear that this proposal would not affect him since his children were grown and his wife unable to have any more children. It would be rather absurd to think that a rational man would want to both propose this and partake in the eating of another human being. Therefore, before an canalization can continue, one has to make the assumption that this is strictly a fictional work and Swift had no intention of pursuing his proposal any further.    One of the other voices that are present throughout the entire story is that of sarcasm.   Right from the first paragraph Swift attempts to fool his readers by the sarcasm of the dreary scene that Swift presents. For example, he mentions that it is a melancholy sight to see beggars and their children on the street. The sarcastic paradox in this statement is whether it is a melancholy object for him, having to see homeless people every day, or for the beggars lifestyle? Upon first reading this one may be led to believe that Swift is a compassionate writer attempting to feel the pain of the beggars. But as the story continues, a reader can look back and note that he is using a sarcastic tone and the only sad sight that he sees is the fact that people of his status have to deal with commoners. It is a good combination that makes the reader think twice about any other statements, and the voice used, after the first paragraph.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also, one could argue that the whole context of the story must be taken into account. First of all, one must take into account the environment in which the story was written. During this time period, the beggars that Swift describes could not read, much less afford to buy one of Swifts works.

Why Homework Is Bad

For decades, teachers have delegated homework to students. The purpose of homework is to discover if students understand the material well enough to complete an assignment on their own. Yet, is homework really helping kids or hurting them? From teachers’ point of view, homework is helpful to get an idea of how well students understand the material. On the other hand, from the parents’ and students’ point of view, homework is extremely stressful and time-consuming. I believe that homework doesn’t help students and may actually be hurting them.First, homework isn't helping kids as they rarely have time to get outside and be active. Without time to get outside and exercise, more and more kids are being diagnosed with ADHD and obesity. They don’t get to have fun and let out energy so when they are at school for seven hours a day they have a harder time concentrating. This has become a growing problem with middle and high school students as many schools have taken out physical education from the school schedule.When kids get home, they won’t have time for exercise if they have hours of homework waiting for them. Second, kids are only kids once and need time to do what they want. They need creative outlets for their personal interests, like music, drama, and sports. If kids have no time to do what they want, are they going to be happy? Of course not! If they aren't happy, will they try their best in school? Doubtful. When tired kids get overwhelmed with work, they block out or miss important information in the classroom.Then, they don’t have what they need to know for their homework and what about that test next week in Spanish class? Are they going to get a good grade on that? No! Not completing homework has a domino effect. When the teacher explains tonight's homework and stressed kids don’t get it, let’s just say, â€Å"It’s going to be a very long night! † Kids can get so upset over home work; it doesn’t only affect the child but also the parents. Wouldn’t life be so much easier without homework? A third reason that homework doesn’t help is that children are growing and need more sleep.Now that homework has become a huge part of a child's night, it is still being done late into the night. Most kids are getting less than seven hours of sleep. If kids don't get a good night’s sleep, how do parents and teachers expect them to do their best in school? When kids are tired, they are more likely to get overwhelmed and stressed. If exhausted, do you think their work is going to be quality? No! Doing poorly on homework impacts kids’ grades. Homework has become something that children stress over every night. Let’s put it this way, homework is not helping.It is causing more kids to get diagnosed with ADHD and obesity since they don’t have the time to just get outside and play in the bright, sunny outdoors . Because they have ho mework piling up, they have less time to just be kids and do what they want. Also, kids don’t get enough sleep with so much homework every night! Think about what life would be like without homework. The world would be a better place and kids would be doing so much better in school. Have you ever thought about the fact that children spend most of their day doing school related things? Does homework still seem like a good idea? ?

What is a Cultural Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology is a term that is in everyday lives and topics. When one thinks of anthropology they think of the study of old remnants commonly referred to as archaeology. This, however, is not the only form of anthropology. There are four types of anthropology and they are archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. However, Cultural anthropologists are every where and study people of all walks of life. One can find a topic and find some type of study that an anthropologist has conducted on the matter. The following are five articles that explain how anthropologists are every where. Chapter: Corporate Anthropologists, page 24 The article talked about how anthropologists play an important role in the corporate environment. Anthropologists have been working with businesses since the 1930†³s, however in the 1980†³s this field experienced significant growth. This was due to the â€Å"globalization of business activity and the increased awareness of the importance of culture for business,† (Laabs 24). Cultural anthropology is the study of existing people and corporations find this information useful in trying to understand human behavior within their own organization. Business anthropologists have been studying the corporate world for years, on such varied topics as how to encourage more creativity or how best to integrate multicultural learning techniques into an organization†s training program,† (Laabs 25). Most anthropologists who work in the corporate environment do not use the title of anthropologist. There are currently over 200 anthropologists working in this field. The article then gave an account of one anthropologist†s experience in the corporate environment. The article concludes by saying what corporations think of the value that anthropologists add to the companies and that the role will continue to grow. The anthropologist that contributed to this article was Lorna M. McDougall. She works at Arthur Andersen†s Center for Professional Education, which is located in St. Charles, Illinois. McDougall is â€Å"studying why people from some cultures learn best from lectures, although others learn best through interactive learning,† (Laabs 25). McDougall has played a large part in developing Arthur Andersen†s Business English Language Immersion Training (ELIT) program. This program builds a language skill that allows for communication between two parties where English may be a second language. This program also provides an awareness of each culture†s business ethics. â€Å"The results of her work have helped instructors, who train Andersen consultants working in 66 countries, be better teachers,† (Laabs 25). McDougall is the first onsite anthropologist employed by Arthur Andersen and continues to be a great resource for the corporation. McDougall used an â€Å"anthropological methodology† by listening in on classroom sessions and conducting interviews. From the information that she gathered she noticed that â€Å"people from certain cultures are used to two-way communication in the classroom, although others just sit quietly while the ‘professor lectures†,† (Laabs 26). McDougall also teaches some of the management development classes and also contributes to the training classes. Her main areas of concentration for anthropological study include a technique where sometimes a management team proposes an idea and at other times she will propose an idea. She has also studied the meaning of gestures and colors for different cultures. She discovered that white in some cultures means marriage and in others, white means death. All her anthropological work has played a major part in Arthur Andersen†s company. I did my presentation on anthropologists and the role that they play in corporations. Until recently I was aware that culture played a defining role in companies that participated in globalization. I did not however know the role that anthropologists contributed to this topic. I recently worked a Technological Symposium for my company and this was a huge event where people from all parts of the world attended. It was at this convention that I learned that other cultures do business differently than Americans. It is not just a language barrier but a culture barrier. I am also aware of the work that anthropologists contribute to the development of web sites that are viewed worldwide. The anthropologist†s experience and mine are vastly different. She is quite a bit more experienced in the topic of corporate anthropologists. However, she and I both realized that language is not the only barrier that corporations face when expanding the operation globally. As the awareness of this field becomes known it will continue to grow. Chapter: Culture and the Evolution of Obesity, page 92 The article provides â€Å"a cross-cultural and evolutionary analysis of how both biological and cultural factors in obesity evolved. This analysis explains the sociological distribution of obesity today. It also emphasizes that peripheral body fat (characteristic of women) is a small health hazard compared to abdominal fat (characteristic of men),† (Brown 92). Peter Brown, the anthropologist who wrote the article, gave his perception on obesity. He believes that â€Å"an anthropological model of culture has significant advantages over the commonly used undifferentiated concept of ‘environment† for generating hypotheses about behavioral causes of obesity,† (Brown 93). Brown states that the problem of obesity and overweight is that today†s industry thrives on the culture belief about having the perfect body and sexual attractiveness rather on the medical perspective. Obesity and being overweight is not just a psychological issue but a serious health issue. Brown claims that there are four facts about the social distribution of society that must be addressed. They are: â€Å"1) The gender difference in the total percent and site distribution of body fat, as well as the prevalence of obesity; 2) the concentration of obesity in certain ethnic groups; 3) the increase in obesity associated with economic modernization; and 4) the powerful and complex relationship between social class and obesity,† (Brown 94). He goes on to further state that â€Å"human biology and behavior can be understood in the context of two distinct processes of evolution,† (Brown 96). The two processes are natural selection and historical changes in the structure of cultural systems. Furthermore, Brown states â€Å"Because the concept of culture is rarely considered in medical research on obesity, and because I am suggesting that this concept has advantages over the more common and undifferentiated term environment, it is necessary to review some basic aspects of this anthropological term,† (Brown 97). He provides a diagram that explains culture in relation to obesity. He concludes that fatness is â€Å"symbolically linked to psychological dimensions, such as self-worth and sexuality,† (Brown 99) but continues to state that this is not a consistent symbol. In some cultures fatness symbolizes wealth and health. Lastly he concludes that culture and its relation to obesity can be concluded practically and theoretically. â€Å"First, recognition of cultural variation in beliefs and behaviors related to obesity needs to be incorporated into health programs aimed at reducing the prevalence of obesity. The second conclusion regards the need for more research on the role of culture, as it interacts with genes, on the etiology of obesity,† (Brown 101). As a woman in today†s American society I am very aware of the problems and hype about obesity and overweight. I am constantly trying to lose weight or maintain it. I am never satisfied with the way I look. Every where we look thin women are displayed on pedestals and obese and overweight people are shunned. I personally consider somebody who is overweight lacking in sexual appeal and self-confidence. The thinner that I am the more desirable I feel. I know that other cultures do not view obesity in this manner. For example I am sure that a person in South Africa who is overweight is considered to be of great status. I just hope that one day nobody will be looked at or judged on their weight. I really enjoyed the anthropologist†s point of view on the obesity issue. The only thing that I disagree with is that such important issues such as bulimia, anorexia, and other eating disorders were not addressed. In an article in which weight is discussed these issues go hand in hand. For every person who is obese there are three that are fighting an eating disorder, and this is prevalent in all cultures. Peter Brown only once touched basis on the dieting craze that floods the world and this was very brief. Then he states that it is only wealthy women who are obsessed with dieting and this is incredibly false. Chapter: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, page 134 The article begins by the anthropologist explaining that men have privilege over women. â€Å"Denials which amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages which men gain from women†s disadvantages. These denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened or ended,† (McIntosh 135). Then the article proceeds to discuss how whites, whether they realize it or not, have a considerable advantage over other races. She lists twenty-six ways that whites have the upper hand. She then concludes with her personal analysis her experiences. McIntosh explains that as a white person she had been sheltered from the privileges that she had. â€Å"I think whites are taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege,† (McIntosh 135). She compiled a list of things that she encounters daily that are a privilege to white people that may not come so easily to a person of a different race. For example one item states that she â€Å"can turn on the television or open the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented,† (McIntosh 135). She then claims that if all these items are true that we are not living in a free country and that certain opportunities are available to whites. She concludes by stating that she hopes that social systems need to be redesigned. I am a white female so I was able to place myself in the anthropologist†s shoes. I grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood went to private school and I was still taught all about the different races. There is an entire month dedicated to Black History in schools. Thus, I experienced reverse discrimination, not a privilege for being white. When applying for scholarships upon entering college I was repeatedly turned down only to see a fellow student of a different race, with lower grades, less academic activities, and lower rank receive the scholarship because of their race. Affirmative action allows for a less qualified candidate to receive the job so that the company can have a certain number of ethnic people employed. There is a black Ms. America and a Black Ms. America, yet the former Ms. America was black. There are sororities that are specifically for particular races yet regular sororities can not discriminate on race but the race specific ones can. The anthropologist and I have very different opinions on being white. She claims that it is a privilege and that other races suffer, I strongly disagree with her. Where was her research done? Did she not look into such issues as reverse discrimination, affirmative action, and the privileges that are granted to others based on their race? The article was completely absurd. What was her basis for such an article? White people have to prove themselves where as others have doors opened for them because of the way our ancestors treated them. McIntosh needs to do a lot more exploration into the topic. â€Å"Lee Cronk discusses possible cultural misunderstandings that were involved in the creation of the unfortunate (and racist) term Indian giver. These misunderstandings were offensive to both Native Americans and whites. Europeans thought that gifts should be freely given and that the gift is less valued when there are strings attached,† (Cronk 143). Due to the before mentioned when anthropologists study gift giving rituals they are more interested in the relationship between the giver and the receiver than the actual item being given. The article makes several references to past situations and gives several examples of anthropologist†s point of view. The anthropologist†s experiences came from first hand knowledge when trying to give gifts to the people that they were studying. One anthropologist by the name of Richard Lee, from the University of Toronto, had an experience with the ! Kung hunter-gatherers. He gave the tribe an ox as a token of good will but all the ! Kung did was complain about how scrawny the ox was. â€Å"Only later did Lee learn, with relief, that the ! Kung belittle all gifts,† (Cronk 144). According to the ! Kung ridiculing gifts â€Å"is their way of diminishing the expected return and of enforcing humility on those who would use gifts to raise their own status within the group,† (Cronk 144). Another example from an anthropologist was by Rada Dyson-Hudson, from Cornell University. Dyson-Hudson gave the Turkana†s of Kenya pots, maize meal, tobacco, and other items. Much to her dismay it was less than appreciated. â€Å"A typical response to a gift of a pot, for example, might be, ‘Where is the maize meal to go in this pot? † or, ‘Don†t you have a bigger one to give me? † To the Turkana, these are legitimate and expected questions,† (Cronk 144). As a child and as an adult the whole gift giving process is different. I can remember getting a gift and never thinking anything of it. As an adult if I get a gift that is quite elaborate I always want to return a gift even better the giver. It is as if I want to one up the giver, as if it is going to make me a better person to give the better gift. As a child I remember receiving items from childhood friends and when a fight would occur the friend wanting the gift back, and this was referred to as Indian giving. Now as I get even older gift giving rituals such as Christmas has become consumer warfare. I think that gift giving is a touchy topic in all cultures. The similarities between the anthropologist†s experience and mine are amazing. It just goes to show that gift giving is a process that will never be fully grasped no matter how much research is done on the topic. Chapter: society and Sex Roles, page 159 Ernestine Friedl (Human Nature, 1978) The article begins with the anthropologist giving two contrasting examples of the roles men and women play in different cultures. Following this introduction the thesis is given that the roles will never be clearly defined as long as examples from other cultures are used in the argument. The article continues to site examples about how men are the dominant sex because they are the hunter†s and provide the resources. Several examples of tribes are given to support his hypothesis that as long as men provide the resources than they will have the upper hand. He concludes by stating that as women continue to gain positions in roles that allow them to provide the resources than they will be able to make demands to change the sex roles. Friedl makes the argument that to understand society and its sex roles one must not â€Å"toss examples from the world†s cultures at each other like intellectual stones,† (Friedl 160). He states that the differences, biologically speaking, can be â€Å"clarified by looking at known examples of the earliest forms of human society and examining the relationship between the technology, social organization, environment, and sex roles,† (Friedl 160). Friedl claims that the factors in a society that cause male dominance need to be researched because once these factors are understood than one can apply this knowledge to the constant changes in the sex roles due to the modern society. Through Friedl†s observations he learned that â€Å"The male monopoly on hunting unites men in a system of exchange and gives them power,† (Friedl 161). â€Å"Women do not hunt, I believe, because of four interrelated factors: variability in the supply of game; the different skills required fore hunting and gathering; the incompatibility between carrying burdens and hunting; and the small size of seminomadic foraging populations,† (Friedl 161). He also believes that another reason are not the dominant sex is because it is difficult to provide resources when one is pregnant. I grew up in school learning about how women†s roles in society have evolved over time. I realize that women were not and still are not the dominant sex. This is partly because it is still difficult for women to be in positions of power. I once tried for a position in a spirit organization at Texas Tech University. It was a male organization thus I was declined membership. Even in dating the men pay, open the doors for the women, and play the dominant role. I agree with Friedl in that the dominant sex is the one that provides the resources. His research was done by past observations and my experience came from personal experience in such areas as dating, work, and school. The times that I was unable to provide resources I was not dominant, but the times that I did provide the resources I had the upper hand. As we continue to grow as a society than women will be in such positions of power and than maybe an equality between the sexes can exist. My favorite article was the article titled â€Å"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack†. This was because it is such a controversial topic that gets a rise out of me and makes my temper flare. I would really like to argue my point of view with the anthropologist that wrote the article. It is a topic that is extremely controversial and will be around as long as there are people and different races. In conclusion, I now realize all the studies and broad range of topics that are discussed by cultural anthropologists. They play an important role in every day activities that I take for granted. As long as there are people and at the rate the world changes there will always be a need for cultural anthropologists.

Jaco Pastorious essays

Jaco Pastorious essays Jaco Pastorious III had a strong music career along with a remarkable lifestyle. His rapidity, and talent for composing, earned Jaco, the title the greatest bass player in the world. Jaco was born on December 1, 1951 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. As the son of a renowned jazz drummer, Jaco had been exposed to jazz at a young age. At the age of seven, he and his family moved to Ft. Lauderdale. While in Florida, he was introduced to many different styles of music ranging from Caribbean to rhythm n blues (Milkowski, 10). As a little boy, Jacos father would take him and his brother to various clubs in Philadelphia, and often push them to go on stage and sing along with the band. Jaco loved the opportunity to perform in front of an audience (Milkowski, 21). Jaco was originally a drummer, but after a football injury to the wrist, he switched to the bass. One of his first bands as a bassist was the Las Olas Brass, which he joined at the age of fifteen. Las Olas Brass was a nine-piece horn band that played well liked tunes by artists such as Aretha Franklin and James Brown. Kenny Neubauer, a bass player for the band, was planning to leave and Jaco saw this as a great opportunity to become the bands new bass player. Jaco became interested in bass music so he saved money, went to a local pawnshop, and bought a bass for fifteen dollars. He began practicing daily, for several hours. Later, he made an amplifier at shop class and attached headphones to it so that he would not upset anyone while he played. By the time he was sixteen he was one of the best bass players in South Florida. As the years passed he became better and was considered a musical genius by those who knew him. He was able to pick up an instrument and learn to play it regardl ess of what instrument it was. Jaco did not have many friends and felt isolated most of the time. It was not until he released his first album that Jaco really stood out amid ...

Trends for the Millennium essays

Trends for the Millennium essays Trends for the Millennium Companies of today must respond to change to survive the future. Change is inevitable-growth is optional. Change forces all business owners to adapt, adjust and be energetic in building their businesses. After all, there are only three things a company can do with change: ignore it, adapt to it or embrace it. By focusing on new ways of doing things, a company can revitalize their business. In particular, marketing in new ways and with different strategies not only simulates new business, but also gives a company a new vision on productivity. Companies will need to use their resources wisely as technologies and quick markets will leave companies trying to find their way to the door. Spending millions of dollars to make a product unique is a thing of the past with technology and the ever changing buying patterns and competition companies will have to use those dollars to emphasize their company values not specifically their product. Additionally education will play an important role as markets and technology is rapidly changing. Companies should develop a culture that encourages and fosters new ways of looking at things. They constantly should strive to create, develop, test and refine ideas. Organizations and associations are resources and committed to offering ideas, information, data, conferences, publications and more. In addition, local college continuing education classes, public workshops and even the library are resources that can be utilized. Learning about new ways to hire, train and motivate employees, for example, can be critical to success-especially because the labor market is so tight. Keeping abreast of trends in marketing (i.e. electronic communication, direct mail and response, telemarketing) also is important. As an independent business person I have used educational means to stay adept to new technologies as well as ...

Do-It-Yourself Giant Borax Crystals

Do-It-Yourself Giant Borax Crystals Giant borax crystals are perfect, whether you want to move on from borax crystal snowflakes or just want a big, beautiful crystal rock. These crystals can be grown in a geode shape or in multiple colors, making them great for mineral displays. Giant Borax Crystal Materials BoraxWaterFood coloringPipe cleaners (chenille craft sticks) Borax is sold with laundry detergents as a natural cleaner. Its also sold as an insecticide, usually as a roach killer. Check the product label for borax or sodium tetraborate. What You Do The large size of the crystals comes from two things: A structure or armature on which the crystals growControlling the cooling rate of the crystal growing solution The first thing you need to do is bend the pipe cleaners the shape you want for your crystal rock or geode. For a rock form, you can simply twist several pipecleaners end-to-end and crumple them up into a rock shape. Neatness really doesnt count because youre going to coat the entire mess with crystals. For a geode, you can spiral pipecleaners into a hollowed shell shape. Either works fine. You dont need to completely fill in the open spaces with pipecleaner fuzz, but you dont want giant gaps either.Next, find a container slightly larger than your shape. You want to be able to set the shape in the container, without having it touch the sides, with enough space that you can completely cover the form with liquid solution.Remove the shape from the container. Boil enough water to fill the container enough that it would cover your pipecleaner form. Stir in borax until it stops dissolving. One easy way to make sure you have as much borax as possible in the water is to microwave the mixture back to boiling. Add food coloring. The crystals will be lighter than the solution, so dont worry if it seems deeply colored.Place the pipecleaner shape in the solution. You may need to shake it around a bit to dislodge air bubbles to make sure it wont float.This is where the controlled cooling come into play. You want the solution to cool slowly in order to get the largest crystals. Cover the container with a towel or plate. You can wrap it in a hot towel or place it in a warm location,Allow a couple of hours for the crystals to start growing. At this point, use a spoon to dislodge the shape from the bottom of the container. You dont have to do this step, but it seems to make it easier to remove the crystals at the end if they are loosened early. Let the crystals grow several more hours or overnight.Remove the form from the container. The crystals may be perfect now or they may be fairly small and incompletely covering the shape (most common). If they are fine as they are, you can let them dry, othe rwise you need more crystals. Prepare a new solution, dissolving as much borax as you can in water, adding food coloring (doesnt have to be the same color), and sinking the crystal-covered shape. Fresh crystals will grow on the existing ones, larger and better-shaped. Again, slow cooling is key for best results.You can do another round of crystal-growing or finish the project whenever you are satisfied with the crystal size. Let the crystal dry on a paper towel.If you want to preserve the crystals to display them, you can coat them with floor wax or nail polish.

Web security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Web security - Essay Example This is because websites, web applications and web services, all being components of web security, create integral part of the daily operations of these industries and organisations. Information sharing or business or service delivery of these organisations now faces a lot of dangers. From invasion of their privacy, information theft, sabotage, black mailing to compromising corporate operation and end user activities. Web security analysis by various stakeholders has established that the web security threats typically result from mistakes in coding or programming the website, poor input and output sanitisation of a website. These mistakes have left a hole exploited by the hackers’ community to launch attacks on websites. The security of the web application, underlying operating system and computer network is at risk. The existence of exploit paths on a web system and the magnitude of that exploit path can be evaluated continuously to assess the risk level to the business. The type of web attack launched by hackers depends on many factors. Most factors are unique to the web attack as will be discussed in this essay. The essay will also examines the nature of these web attacks, details of their vulnerabilities, the risk levels they may raise and how to control or reduce the risk web attacks poses to organisational information and business operations. Web security risks in the name of defaced, hacked or web broken into have increased with the significant increase of the internet usage. A threat is anything that causes worry or fear, especially, because of the events there after (Consequences). Web security threats are increasing and causing big fear in organisations or individuals. According to Stuttard and Pinto (2008), the most serious attacks against web application are those that expose sensitive data or gain unrestricted access to the backend systems on which the application is running. Apparently, the total number of reported web

Privately Owned Critical Infrastructure Assignment

Privately Owned Critical Infrastructure - Assignment Example It is important to note that the type of hazards that different facilities are exposed to vary from one state or local jurisdiction to another. As such, it is important for a proper analysis to be carried out on the hazards that are particular to a given region to lay measures for the management of the various hazards. It is important to not only establish the kind of hazards that a facility is at risk of experiencing but also to determine the likelihood of occurrence of such hazards as compared to other possible hazards (Krausmann, Cozzani, Salzano, & Renni, 2011). In the assessment of the natural hazards that a chemical facility dealing with natural gases is likely to face, it is important to note the inherent risks. Incidents that involve chemical releases, fires, or explosions due to internal causes such as sabotage or accidents, or external causes including meteorological, hydrological, or geographical events, or terrorist attacks are likely to be faced (Krausmann, Cozzani, Salzano, & Renni, 2011). The two major gases manufactured by the facility include Arsenic pentafluoride and boron tribromide, which are highly toxic. These gases are stored in high quantities in insulated tanks. Given the location of the chemical facility, variations in the atmospheric stability and the wind speed form part of the meteorological conditions that may expose it to various hazardous accidents. Other natural disasters that the facility may be exposed to include earthquakes and floods. It is important to note that such natural hazards are of great concern due to their impact as some of them may initiate other events that may lead to even further damage. For instance, earthquakes result in other events such as ground failure, surface faulting, fires, landslides, and a release of hazardous materials such as the toxic gases into the environment may occur. One of the terrorist risks that the

How marriage enhance family ties in the society Essay

How marriage enhance family ties in the society - Essay Example However, this is not the context to my essay: instead I seek to show how a couple needs to work out together the family roles in a more civilized and informed manner. In the society we live in marriages are of diverse contexts and seek to examine how the same influences family ties (Markman, Scott & Susan 120). The research question is: â€Å"Does marriage as exercised between two people have a direct socio-economic impact on the familial ties in the society?† An analysis into this matter will entail a concrete and deeper understanding of the subject matter of marriage in relation to the practices that are associated with it. However, in most instances, a lot of people have questioned the indispensability of marriage itself. The essence of marriage Families as essential care institutions are varied across different cultures and they may change overtime. A good instance for the change in family occurs when a member is married or marries into the family. The implication here wou ld mean that the cultural ideologies and laws are created to enforce the adaptation brought about by marriage. It is largely expected that a marriage can lead to the growth of a society and makes it to be more complex and stratified. Consequently, a marriage in its nature improves on the quality of life and creates a sense of differentiation among the family members based on their socio-economic status. However, in most cases there is a significant difference in the marriages based on the diverse characteristics such as cultural background, education or religion of each of the partners. Therefore, the formation of a family as a social unit needs to incorporate all these aspects that are brought about due to marriage. The definition of a family unit as a social entity in itself recognizes the social essence of marriage in the society. Waite & Lehrer while talking about â€Å"the benefits from marriage and religion in the United States,† they recognize that in most cases, marri age and religion will both greatly influence life dimensions such as mental and physical health, economic wellbeings, longevity among others. Consequently, they note that marriage is associated with a higher overall hapiness rate. Everyone who claims to be in love should have the basic idea that such a plan for marriage may result in the enhancement of cross-sectional analyses of the group. When can marriage be considered a marriage? In this context, I am going to look into the argument that has been put forth by Brake in the article â€Å"Marriage and Domestic Partnership†. Considering the change in the understanding about marriage, a lot of questions have arisen which have appeared to redefine the context of marriages in the society. The stages that marriage passes and the test both couples undergo together is enough to show of the nature of marriage and whether it qualifies to be called an engagement. Today, the consideration for marriage takes into account other factors s uch as changes in laws and customs. This may broadly entail government regulations, culture and religious laws associated with marriage. Consequently, there are several civilizational and moral arguments that try to define the context in which marriage can be really considered a marriage. In the church context, the same would be easily answered as the period in time when the two people wed together. However, in other contemporary settings, marriage takes diverse forms and meanings. In some extreme cases, it is considered complete with the birth of a child. An overemphasis of this aspect categorizes marriage as a continuous process with no definite beginning or end. In my opinion, even though a lot of the revolutionary changes in the modern world

Analysing factors effecting Foreign Direct Investment in China Essay - 1

Analysing factors effecting Foreign Direct Investment in China - Essay Example The benefits in shape of capital financing it generate put forth the idea that FDI plays an important role in the modernisation of economy and increasing the growth. These benefits from the whole process make the governments of countries to provide special incentives for FDI. The growth of the global economy has given rise to the importance of notion of FDI. In the past few years China has emerged as the largest FDI receiver. Objective: The objective of this paper is to ï  ¶ The paper in the first place analyses the three phases of in flow of FDI in the Chinese Economy. ï  ¶ The next part of the paper explains the factors, which contributes in attracting the FDI towards the Chinese economy. ï  ¶ The countries, which contribute to the Chinese FDI, are also discussed. ï  ¶ In the end, we present the different challenges faced by FDI in China. ï  ¶ In the last section of the paper few recommendations are given in order to improve the FDI situation in China. With other empirical evidences a case study is also used, which will analyse the linkage between trade and FDI. The people’s Republic of China (PRC or China, for short) has had a long tradition of isolation. In 1979, Deng Xiaoping opened his country to the world. Although his bloody 1989 put-down of protestors in Tiananmen Square was a definite setback for progress, China is rapidly trying to close the gap between itself and economically advance nations and to establish itself as an economic power in the Pacific Rim. Southeast China in particular has become a hotbed of business activity.

MKT DB1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MKT DB1 - Essay Example One of the functions of the marketers drawn from these departments is to help customers and potential customers know about the product. This paper will discuss the role of a marketer in light of helping customers and potential customers know about the product. Helping customers is one of the major roles of a marketer in today’s business. In this regard, a marketer ensures that the existing and potential customers of the organization understand the product they are buying by demonstrating to them why they need to buy the product. It starts by identifying the needs of these customers and developing a marketing strategy that is most suitable in meeting the needs and wants of these customers. To be able to meet the needs of these customers, a marketer must come up with an appropriate marketing mix. This entails developing products to satisfy their needs, charge the right price, makes goods available at the right place and use promotion as a means of making known the existence of the products. For instance, the marketer must ensure that the company’s products meet the needs of the customers. This implies that the marketer must ensure that the product offered to the customers is of the right quality, quantity and branding as this will make customers identify with the product and the business easily (Pride and Ferrell, 2006). Promotion is another element of the marketing mix that marketers may use to create an awareness of the company’s products to its customers. For customers who can be reached directly through face to face communication, it will be very advisable that the marketer does this as this gives an opportunity to explain to the customers every aspect of the company’s product, location of the company and the reasons why they should purchase the products(Pride and Ferrell, 2006). Branding is also a marketing tool use in marketing products. This is because branding creates a distinctive image and

International Corporate Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Corporate Finance - Case Study Example Here the banks will use the forex rate on which they are willing to buy or sell the currency with in a month or more after the transaction.3 It can be seen that due to the volatile and unpredictable nature of the forex markets during times of political or economic crisis both these markets carry a considerable risk for the multinational firms. The preceding discussion in the other sections will assess the types of strategies which can be used to avoid these risks and their feasibility in the short and long term. There are a number of risks facing VFM right now in terms of the foreign exchange and political risks involved here. These can Credit risk , Liquidity risk , Solvency risk , Operational risk , Market risk and Interest rate risk. (Aharony, 1986.Risks like operational risks (which have been defined by the Basel Committee(Basel II) arise from 'inadequate or failed processes, people and systems or from external events'. ( Hsaio 2008) .Operational Risks cover a wide category of risks which pertain to human error or technical deficiencies.(Black,1972) and are related to all other types of risk such as capital needs, inflation, concentration of revenues (by customers, products, geographies, etc.) new competitive conditions and environmental remediation obligations(reinforced by the new concept of Corporate Social Responsibility).(Black,1972). However more serious risks pertain to losses which arise due to the failure of the obligator to perform(Credit Risk) and such losses are reported to be responsible for more that 50% of yearly business losses.(Black,1972).Today the current lending practices pertaining to credit risk management methodology have made considerable progress.Another type of risk is the market risk which related to the unpredictability surrounding future earnings, because of the volatile changes in the value of financial instruments (which again accounts for 25% of yearly bank losses) ( Staikouras 2000).Reporting risk is different from market risk and credit risk as its primary focus is on derivatives and other financial instruments and is related to the problem of Accounting Risks which are caused by the likelihood of wrongly perceiving or estimating the amounts of risk arising out of their accounting assumptions and methodologies( Staikouras 2000).However the tendency of financial institutions to suffer from Accounting risk, can be remedied by care in the preparation of financial statements.(like appropriate disclosures related to estimates contained in the financial statements) .(Black,1972,Chen 1983) Modern Market Risks are no longer defined by outright exposure and

MKT DB1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MKT DB1 - Essay Example One of the functions of the marketers drawn from these departments is to help customers and potential customers know about the product. This paper will discuss the role of a marketer in light of helping customers and potential customers know about the product. Helping customers is one of the major roles of a marketer in today’s business. In this regard, a marketer ensures that the existing and potential customers of the organization understand the product they are buying by demonstrating to them why they need to buy the product. It starts by identifying the needs of these customers and developing a marketing strategy that is most suitable in meeting the needs and wants of these customers. To be able to meet the needs of these customers, a marketer must come up with an appropriate marketing mix. This entails developing products to satisfy their needs, charge the right price, makes goods available at the right place and use promotion as a means of making known the existence of the products. For instance, the marketer must ensure that the company’s products meet the needs of the customers. This implies that the marketer must ensure that the product offered to the customers is of the right quality, quantity and branding as this will make customers identify with the product and the business easily (Pride and Ferrell, 2006). Promotion is another element of the marketing mix that marketers may use to create an awareness of the company’s products to its customers. For customers who can be reached directly through face to face communication, it will be very advisable that the marketer does this as this gives an opportunity to explain to the customers every aspect of the company’s product, location of the company and the reasons why they should purchase the products(Pride and Ferrell, 2006). Branding is also a marketing tool use in marketing products. This is because branding creates a distinctive image and

Assignment 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

3 - Assignment Example Through this style, the employees were given the freedom to come up with innovative ideas to transform the operations of the business. In addition Sir Richard involved the subordinates in decision making process. As a result, they felt as an integral part of the company. This motivated them to work hard towards the organizational goals, an aspect that was replicated in the overall performance of the firm. Sir Richard Branson also understood that the employees were the one who interacted with the customers in the market. As a result, he used them as an important source of information. He gave the workforce a role of identifying opportunities and noting any changes in the tastes and preferences of the target market. Therefore, the company was able to make the necessary changes in its operations before the competitors (Chan 2013). This gave it an upper hand in the market. Furthermore, it improves the customer relationship, thereby, increasing their loyalty levels. Sir Richard implemented a functional organizational structure in order to streamline the operations of the company. Each department is held by a manager who oversees and manages its operations. However, all functional units work together towards the common objective of the company. Setting up functional units enabled the company to maximize the returns from the employees as they are grouped according to their areas of specialization. This has been very instrumental in establishing very strong teams that are able to deal with the diverse challenges that are facing the company in the market. Sir Richard Branson led the organization from the front. He has been the role model for the rest of the workforce. In addition, he always ensured that he was there when critical decisions concerning the operations of the business were made. He has always offered suggestions but open to critics and challengers. This ensured that the decisions that were

My personal experience Essay Example for Free

My personal experience Essay This story is from my personal experience where I was involved directly with the central character in this story. This story is about a little girl who had lot of aspirations in life and wanted to make a mark in this world. Though the name doesn’t matter but for the matter of convenience, let us call her Mary. Mary’s only fault, if it was, was getting born to parents who could only afford her education by skipping one meal in a day. Mary was above average and hence scored well in her kindergarten levels. The problem started when she was promoted to 1st standard where the level of difficulty increased for her. Her parents who could not read or write were of little help. In the daily grind of earning, when they could hardly afford the meals and her education, getting a tutor for her was a distant dream. This made the little bud sink as she always wanted to be the best and was ready to work hard as well but the conditions at home and school prevented her from unlocking her potential. On one side while her parents had their own rut to handle, her school teacher was not any considerate. She would hardly teach in the class and yet expect her students to perform the best. Well, her prestige was at stake. Any weak student in the class was a pain for her and she wanted to devise ways and means to expel the student who was not able to score. The first trimester results were declared and as expected Mary flunked in most of the subjects. She was not the worst but she was not above average any more. Mary’s teacher was infuriated with the results of the class, which was not as she wanted. She felt a necessity to teach last 10 rankers a lesson. What else could be better method than to physically torture the tiny tender kids, so that they never forget the lesson the learned teacher was trying to hammer on them. In no time, last 10 rankers were asked to stand outside in the sun which was blazing at the peak summer noon. No prizes for guessing that our Mary was also asked to stand in the scorching heat. The summer sun was too harsh for the slender frame of Mary who could not sustain and passed out on the ground. She was immediately rushed in the shade and nursed. This incidence further aggravated teacher’s indignation. It was difficult for her to believe that kids of Mary’s age can not sustain such punishments. She considered Mary to be faking the whole situation. Teacher remembered the incidence and sought to vindicate it at the right opportunity. It did not take much time for the right opportunity to come in. The Semester exams were going on. Mary was trying her best to prepare for the difficult subjects. Her parents had asked me to take few classes for her as a favor. I agreed and started coaching Mary on the subjects. She was having good grasping power and unique ability to apply the knowledge as soon as acquired. Hence, my effort was quite less in teaching her and the output was beyond my expectation. I started liking to teach her. Mary was working very hard to make up the grades. She was doing well in her exams, she used to tell me. On the day of her last exam, Mary was quietly writing her paper. The paper was easy for her as she was well prepared. The teacher, as vindictive she was, was watching for a slight error from Mary so that she could throw her out of the exam hall. To Mary’s misfortune, the moment arrived. A quick gust of wind flew Mary’s question paper to her fellow students’ desk. As Mary went on to pick her question paper, she was confronted slapped hard by her teacher who left no stone un-turned in proving that she was cheating. Mary cried, cried and cried but it all went on deaf ears. Fortunately, for Mary, the principal of the school was passing by. She stopped and asked the reason for the commotion. Thankfully, the principal believed Mary and allowed her to complete her exams. This was the last straw for the class teacher to consider Mary her sworn enemy. To rub salt on her wounds, Mary’s result was just excellent in the semester exams. She had topped, though over all she was 3rd ranker but still there were six months to go and Mary hoped that she would be able to regain her original position. And then the fateful day arrived. It was one week, since the school opened and Mary was quite excited to learn the subjects further. She was quick to answer the questions asked in the class and was doing very well. Finally, on that day, the teacher got into an ego clash and asked Mary to explain something which was way beyond Mary’s scope of learning. The teacher, infuriated, threw the duster with full force towards Mary which unfortunately hit Mary directly at her temple. Immediate brain hemorrhage followed resulting in on-the-spot loss of a life which was definitely not meant to be going this way. The teacher was tried in the court but she was released due to lack of evidence and on the ground of accidental but not intended hit. Life is going on usual for me or anyone else in the world, but definitely its’ no more a fair world for me!

John Steinbecks East of Eden - Good Versus Evil Essay -- East Eden Es

Good Versus Evil in East of Eden    The idea of good versus evil is illustrated in several ways in John Steinbeck's East of Eden. This is seen through the external conflicts in the novel, the internal conflicts of the characters, and a universal understanding of the battle between good and evil.    External conflicts between the main characters, Cathy and Adam, reflect the idea of good versus evil in their relationship. Cathy, who is much like Satan, creates a huge fight between Adam and his brother Charles with her manipulations. Later, she ruins Adam's dreams and breaks his heart when she shoots him and leaves, sending Adam into a deep depression. After twelve years, Adam snaps out of his dream world and confronts Cathy. Cathy is now called Kate and works in a whore house called Faye's. Despite her actions, Adam realizes that he doesn't even hate Cathy for the hurt she has caused him. He finds peace with himself, renewing his once abandoned relationship with his sons. Then there is the relationship between Charles and Adam. Charles physically and mentally abuses Adam to the extent that he tries to kill him when Charles thinks that their father, Cyrus, loves Adam more. Throughout all this Adam still loves Charles, even after he finds out that Charles and Cathy had slept together and his sons may have even been fathered by Charles. Later in the novel, Adam forgives Charles and writes him a letter to try and put their differences aside, only to find out that Charles has died. Cal and Aron are Cathy's twin sons. In their relationship they too have many conflicts, Aron, the "good" son, studies religion and Cal, the "evil" son, gambles and visits whore houses. Aron tries to convert Cal, but Cal refuses to convert a... ...sin, while the second commands him to do so. The inconsistency results in Lee studying the original Hebrew text with his philosophical Chinese elders and a Rabbi. Together they find that the original Hebrew text uses the word timshel : thou mayest rule over sin. This verb emphasizes that a person has the power of free will, putting into his own hands the ultimate decision of whether he will do of good or evil deeds.    The idea that man's relationship with good and evil is not predestined is a central idea in this novel. The conflict between good and evil is a universal battle. Many characters in the novel, East of Eden, struggle both internally and externally with Good versus evil.    Works Cited Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men. New York: Heinemann/Octopus, 1979. pp.475 - 896.

Mediations of First Philosophy by Descartes Essay -- Philosophy Philos

Mediations of First Philosophy by Descartes In the â€Å"Mediations of First Philosophy† Descartes tries to prove the existence of God in the third meditation. He does this by coming up with several premises that eventually add up to a solid argument. First, I will explain why Descartes ask the question, does god exist? And why does Descartes think he needs such and argument at this point in the text. Secondly, I will explain, in detail, the arguments that Descartes makes and how he comes to the conclusion that God does exist. Next, I will debate some of Descartes premises that make his argument an unsound one, including circular reasoning. Finally, I will see if his unsound argument has diminished and undermined his principal goals and the incorrigible foundation of knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In earlier meditations Descartes proved that he existed through the Cogito argument. Descartes must now move on to examine and explore questions about the world around him, but instead of doing this he first stop to examine the question of whether or not God exists. Descartes wants to know that he was created by an all knowing, perfect creator that is good and wants to make sure that he was not created by an evil spirit or demon. If Descartes can prove that he was created by a perfect all knowing creator then his ideas must carry some semblance of truth, because God is not a deceiver and he must of placed these ideas in Descartes. Descartes has good reasons for searching for the answer to the question of God’s existence, now he has to come up with a good sound argument to prove it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy† Descartes gives a couple of major arguments about the existences of god, he gives one argument in the third meditation and on in the fifth meditation. The argument in meditation three and the one we will focus on is known as the â€Å"Trademark Argument†. This argument comes from the fact claimed by Descartes that inside of everyone is a supreme being, which is placed there by whatever created us. From this statement Descartes can say that a mark from a God has been place inside of every one of us. This argument involves the acknowledgement of such an idea is within ourselves, this idea that God is a being who is eternal and infinite and a creator of all things. This is Descartes first premise. His second premise is the â€Å"Causal Adequacy Principle.† The p... ... like Descartes ever has any real concrete arguments for the existence or God or himself existing or any of his theories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, Descartes made an argument to prove God’s existence and seemed to be able to prove that he existed, but after a taking a closer look and revaluating his theories you see that he uses a lot of circular reasoning. It is really tough to believe any of what Descartes is saying. After reading his meditations you are left confused, mostly because you are trying to decipher what he is saying and you end up going around and around because of the circular reasoning. Even without the circular reasoning the argument just doesn’t make any sense, especially in today’s world, without any data. To be able to fathom a sound argument for the existence of God just sounds too preposterous to believe. To believe that God exists based of faith and religion is what people today and in Descartes time, as well, believed. To say that God exists because there must have been some superior creator that put this idea in my head is very far fetched. People d on’t need to be told that God exists because most people already believe and most of them know that he does.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

The Idea of Progressivism

The idea of Progressivism came with the belief that society was capable of improvement and that continued growth and advancement were the destiny of this great nation. The muckrakers were among the first people to promote this new and profound nationalistic spirit. Many were persuasive and crusading journalists who began to direct public attention and discretion toward the political, social, and economic injustices of the US during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They strove to expose scandal and corruption to the American public. Ellen Fitzpatrick†s Muckraking: Three Landmark Articles, presents famous articles by Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, and Ray Stannard Baker which appeared in the January, 1903 edition of McClure†s Magazine. The articles examine political corruption, the emergence and behavior of giant corporations, and labor racketeering in industrial America. The article by Lincoln Steffens mostly focused on the problems and examples of corruption, as well as the challenge of reform. Steffens began to develop a somewhat paradoxical view of good and evil in city politics at a young age (Fitzpatrick, 20). This frame of mind led to his views in the article, The Shame of Minneapolis. The intertwined processes of urbanization, industrialization and immigration meant that American cites mushroomed in the late nineteenth century. â€Å"The city† became an increasingly complex organism, which required sanitation, water, building codes, zoning regulations, policing. But as the city administration expanded, so did opportunities to misuse government power. Throughout, the Progressive period calls for electoral reform and/or increased â€Å"efficiency† and â€Å"scientific management† in municipal affairs were paired with revelations of corruption in municipal politics and policing. Steffens agreed with these reforms all along as well as political thieve! Tarbell is using an historical example to illustrate the use of trusts and holding companies by entrepreneurs seeking monopoly control of various industrial sectors in the United States with her article, The Oil War of 1872. As Tarbell hints in this article, despite the failure of the South Improvement Company, John D. Rockefeller eventually succeeded in dominating the petroleum industry through the Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller pioneered the â€Å"trust† form of organization when he founded the Standard Oil Trust in 1879. Standard Oil became, along with Andrew Carnegie†s U. S. Steel, the most notorious of the powerful â€Å"trusts,† a term that came to be applied to all large industrial combinations whether or not they followed the formal â€Å"trust† model of investing. Rockefeller eventually built the largest private fortune in the United States and became perhaps the prototypical Gilded Age â€Å"robber baron,† reviled for his ruthless business practices. The federal government successful! ly prosecuted Standard Oil for monopolistic practices in 1906, and the trust was forced to disband. In a sense, this was the exact outcome Ida Tarbell was aiming for in writing this article. â€Å"She presented the â€Å"facts† of the oil scandal as she had come to understand them, believing that an objective account would best serve the evidence† (Fitzpatrick, 27). Many wondered, however, if Tarbell was prejudice toward big business. Nevertheless, Tarbell most likely just believed in fair play, taught to her by her father who was one of the men who resisted the Southern Improvement Company. Ray Stannard Baker†s article, The Right to Work, relates to the 1902 anthracite coal strike in Pennsylvania that lasted over five months. The miners wanted the mine owners to recognize their new union, the United Mine Workers of America but the owners refused to bargain with the UMW. The miners were also looking for a 10-20% increase in wages and an eight-hour work. As the winter of 1902-03 approached, President Roosevelt ordered the mine owners and UMW president to the White House to negotiate. When the mine owners still refused to compromise, Roosevelt told the owners that if they did not agree to arbitration, he would send 10,000 federal troops to seize their property and get the mines working. Previously, federal troops had only been called in to support the management side in labor disputes. The very surprised mine owners agreed to arbitration and the miners eventually went back to work with a10% increase and a nine-hour day. Although he enjoyed a public reputation as a ! â€Å"trust buster† fighting powerful capitalists on behalf of less affluent Americans, Roosevelt was not in favor of getting rid of the trusts and large corporations. He believed that large-scale capitalism brought prosperity and efficiency to the American economy. The job of the federal government was to police or regulate big business to stop the worst misuses of power. The mine owners, in Roosevelt†s view, were abusing their power and they were threatening the well-being of Americans who needed coal to heat their homes. Roosevelt†s handling of the coal strike was very popular with ordinary Americans, Baker in particular. Conclusively, these articles give the reader a broad understanding of the nature of â€Å"Progressivism. † Each of the issues presented in the three articles points out particular flaws of American society in the early 1900s. They are brought forward to the public in a manner such that people will realize these flaws and strive to change them, â€Å"progress† forward, and improve the nation. As a result, the muckrakers including Steffens, Tarbell, and Baker, played a big part in Progressivism. In my opinion, the Progressives approached these attempted social reforms just right. They were not too radical or too conservative. This is evident in how much society changed in that period for the better, and the condition of our society today for that matter. If people such as the muckrakers had not attempted to reform the nation, who knows where it would be today. They must have done something right so I would conclude that they achieved their goals just right.

Organization of Buddhism Essay

Buddhism is the religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama Buddha in Indian about 500 B.C.   Buddhism is the chief religion of Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Kampuchea, Laos and China. Buddhism is one of the oldest and biggest religions of the world. Its central deity was Buddha, â€Å"the Enlightened One†. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama who was born 563 B.C. in Kapilavastu, just inside the borders of what is now Nepal. Buddhism beganin India as a revolt against Hinduism. The origin of the religion is described in the article Buddha. Buddha himself did not leave any writings, and his teachings were not written down until several hundred years afte rhis death. Like Christianity and Islam, Buddhism is a missionary religion. Within 300 years after Buddha’s death, it had spread throughout India and reached Ceylon (Sri Lanka).   Monks and travellers carried it to other parts of Asia. Japan adopted it about the seventh century A.D. About the same time the religion reached Tibet. Here it was combined with native religions. The two major divisiobs of Buddhism probably developed in Indian monasteries before 100 A.D. A. The Life of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama was born in Kapilavastu, India (now Nepal) in about 563 BCE. At his birth, legend says, a wise man told his father that Siddhartha would either become a great ruler or a great holy man, depending on what he saw of life. Determined that his son should rule after him, his father did all he could to shield Siddhartha from the problems of the outside world. Siddhartha grew up in great luxury in his father’s palace. He married a beautiful princess and had a son. Despite this, he felt that something was missing from his life. At the age of 29, Siddhartha had an experience that changed his life. On a secret chariot ride outside the palace, he saw a sick man, an old man and a dead man. It was the first time that he had seen people suffering. Then he saw a holy man who was happy and content, despite being poor. Siddhartha vowed to give up his luxurious life and become like the holy man. That night, he left the palace and began his search for the answer to the suffering he had seen. After many years of fasting and hardship, Siddhartha came to the village of Bodh Gaya. Sitting under a great tree, he closed his eyes and began to meditate. There, at last, he gained enlightenment and became the Buddha. He realized that people suffered because they always wanted more than they had. The Buddha spent the rest of his life as a monk. He traveled around India with a group of followers, teaching people how to overcome suffering. He died, aged 80, in the town of Kushinagara in India. B. Its History –  Buddhism Buddhism began in India as a revolt against Hinduism. The origin of the religion is described in the article Buddha. Buddha himself did not leave any writings, and his teachings were not written down until several hundred years after his death. Like Christianity and Islam, Buddhism is a missionary religion. With 300 years after Buddha’s death, it had spread throughout India and reached Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Monks and travelers carried it to other parts of Asia. Japan adopted it about the seventh century A.D. About the same time the religion reached Tibet. Here it was combined with native religions and developed into Lamaism o  Ã‚   Buddhism According to Buddhism, liberation is attained through understanding and practice of the Four Noble Truths: 1. There is suffering in life. 2. Suffering is caused by desire for pleasure, existence, and prosperity. Suffering and rebirth cease when one ceases such desires, leading to enlightenment, or Nirvana, a blessed state in which peace, harmony, and joy are attained. 4. The way, or path, to Nirvana is the Eightfold Path, summarized as: –  Right understanding – Right thoughts – Right speech – Right conduct – Right occupation – Right meditation – Right mindfulness – Right effort The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Way—because of its emphasis on avoiding such extremes as following sensuous pleasures on the one hand, and self-punishment on the other. The Buddhist must at all times observe the high moral principles described in the Eightfold path, which emphasizes nonviolence and the brotherhood of all. Perhaps the best-known Buddhist scriptures are the Tripitaka (â€Å"Three Baskets†), first written down in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in authoritative edition was prepared by the Sixth Buddhist Council at Rangoon, Burma, in 1954-56. The three Pitakas are about four times as long as the Bible. C. Other Beliefs of Buddhism Buddhism’s beliefs and teachings are derived from Hinduism although there may be some slight variations in some concepts. Karma is a Sanskrit word of â€Å"action†. The action refers to volitional acts (thoughts, deeds or spoken words that are in the control of a person) as well as the forces that arise resulting form these acts. The law of Karma describes the connection between actions and the resulting forces, like good action results to good Karma while bad action results to bad Karma. Good actions are described in a Buddhist belief in the Noble Eightfold Path. A Noble Eightfold Path is a path of life that has eight stages or phases. This path consists of the right views, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Furthermore, the law of Karma states that there is a connection between the moral quality of man’s action to the resulting condition or states. The life he has now is largely dictated by what he said and did in his past life while his next life will be determined by what he is doing and saying now. In other words, the Karma of past, present and future events are connected by the law of cause and effect. For example, if one does something wrong like hurting or killing another human being; he will have to suffer the negative consequences of these actions in his present life or another lifetime. Similarly, if he does something right he will enjoy the positive consequences of that deed in his present or subsequent lifetimes.   It is important to note that the law of Karma is final. No one (including divine intervention) or nothing can stop the law of Karma from operating in a person’s life. In other words, man’s destiny is dictated only by the law of Karma itself. Rebirth as the name implies, is a process of being born over and over again (unless a person attained Nirvana or release from the cycles of birth). In simpler terms, rebirth is nothing more than a movement from one’s old body at death to a new body at birth or conception. Rebirth is necessary for the execution of Karma which needs more than one lifetime to be completed so that it can be rightly said that rebirth is nothing more than the transmission of one’s karma. Only when all accumulated karma is paid for and craving is rooted out from a person’s life that one can enter the stream that leads to Nirvana. But as long as there is delusion, greed, and aversion, which consequently fuels the desire to live, man generate karma. The Buddhists idea of Rebirth, like Karma, is derived from an Indian philosophy of Hinduism. However, the Buddhist concept of rebirth is different from Hinduism because in the Hinduism theory of rebirth there is a transmigration of souls while the Buddhist denies the existence of self or soul (the immortal version of self).   In Buddhism the idea of self or soul is merely an illusion for perceptions, consciousness, mind and body that makes up â€Å"self† is changing. The Buddhists argue that how can there be a self when in fact its composition is not permanent. Furthermore, Buddhists explained that the body is mortal and when it dies, consciousness and all mental activities cease, hence there is no more self and consequently there is no soul. According to Buddhism, liberation is attained through understanding and practice of the Four Noble Truths. First, is that there is suffering in life; Second, suffering is caused by desire for pleasure, existence and prosperity; Third, suffering and rebirth cease when one ceases such desires, leading to enlightenment, or Nirvana, and joy are attained; Fourth, the way or path, to Nirvana is the Eightfold Path summarized as; right understanding, right thoughts, right speech, right conduct, right occupation, right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation.

A Case Study on Formulation of the Information Strategy of Timberlodge Essay

Information strategy is an integral part of a business plan to improve the computer/communications architectures, hardware, software, peripherals, and training. The mentioned changes are targeted at refining business operations (Betz, 396). Accordingly, Timberlodge has benefited from restructuring of the technical aspect specifically its software/hardware architectures. Information strategy (IS) of Timberlodge should yield competitive advantage at a lower cost and higher profitability. IS is composed of three components namely information system (IS) strategy, information technology (IT) strategy, and information management (IM) strategy. In Timberlodge’s case study, they are looking to adapt the same innovative and technological approach into the product area of figurines based on the production driven by demand. The said aim is considered to be the company’s IS Strategy. Given the long business and supplier relationship of Timberlodge and Potterville, the company can meet halfway by integrating the new automated production processing system in their existing factory at Potterville. See more: Homeless satire essay In this way, the company and its highly skilled, experienced, and loyal workforce at Potterville that makes up the IM strategy. The company can make use of the same tool called KAPS Associates’ Systems Planning and Analytical Tool (SPLAT) as its IT strategy. Timberlodge can continue to achieve higher production through efficient, automated production system by integrating the new information technology into the traditional set up. The possible adverse publicity of the closure of its factory in Potterville can be avoided through adapting the new technology and retraining of the staff in Potterville. Timberlodge should also consider their loyalty and long standing job employment with the company. While these people are highly skilled, the new automated system requires low skilled people. Thus, workers must be re-assessed and rehired based on their skills.

Plato vs the gospel of John Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plato vs the gospel of John - Essay Example There is a great power of soul and this fact cannot be denied. Soul is responsible for self-movement and in case it is unable to move, then it loses its power and remains standing still on the Earth. A human being is associated with an earthy frame for the soul and once it is captured in this frame, it results in a mortal human being. In the gospel by John the main emphasis is made on the importance of a human being as a child of light. There is no serious emphasis made on motion, but it is more important to associate a human being with light. People are children of light for sure and this fact underlines that their souls and bodies are highlighted. Once a human being meets darkness and is captured by the hands of darkness, he feels destroyed. Moreover, there is more about a way of perfection in the gospel. Jesus clarifies pure truths to his followers and claims that it is necessary to follow his words and love him, because Jesus loves people and wants to breed the same feelings amon g his followers. Jesus is positioned as a mediator between God and people on the Earth. He outlines possible ways to self-perfection in the modern world. A way to God is a way of teachings and instructions of this divine entity imposed on the followers. Nevertheless, there is a strong necessity of every Christian to follow this thorny path and to live in compliance with the laws of God. A blind following the laws of God underlines a strong inner power of his follower and makes his people strong-willed and self-confident in case they are able to listen to the words of their Teacher. Therefore, in both abstracts there is a discussion about a way of perfection and the role of the soul. For Plato the role of the soul is one of the most crucial for every human being. Every soul should be open for a proper food and in this case it will not lose its wings. It is possible to claim that Plato considers a challenging way of the soul’s development on the Earth and in case this soul obta ins knowledge absolute in existence absolute than it returns to the Heaven and comes back home. Therefore, to reach the Heaven is to follow all the directions of God and be a strong person, which is striving to reach God’s goodness and tolerance. The highest part of the soul reflects its ability to be open to God’s new prospects and considerations. Thus, Plato is more focused on the power of soul and inner harmony, while in the gospel there is a clear dominance of a human ability to follow God’s laws. Still, a way of perfection and further life of the soul depends on the human ability to follow the laws of God. Otherwise it is impossible to reach forgiveness, tolerance, to love God and to be loved by him. There are different types of the souls and depending on the way the soul lived a life in certain frames, it will either survive or not in the human embodiment on the Earth. Of course, there are more philosophic considerations in the work by Plato, but there are more religious ideas in the gospel by John. Two different modes of narration are united by a common theme of God’s doctrine. Perfection of a human being is a perfection of his soul. This fact cannot be denied and it is evident that a human being has numerous opportunities to follow his way, but only the most steady, tolerant and patient ones, which are able to listen to the words of God will become immortal creatures and enable their souls to live many other life cycles. Therefore, a way of perfecti

Effects of capitalism and socialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effects of capitalism and socialism - Essay Example The system of socialism does not have the objective of accumulation of capital as followed by profit driven entities. The methods of accounting for a system of socialism does not follow financial calculations but is recorded on the basis of physical quantities, labor and time. Capitalism on the other hand is a system of economy where the means of production are owned by the corporate houses and the private businesses. The management of the ownership structure in a capitalist system is based on the production of goods and services for earning of profits. In a system of capitalism, the prices of goods and services are based on the market forces like competition, customer base, etc. The motives of capitalism are based on the accumulation of capital by the ownership structure. The methods of accounting in a capitalist structure in based on financial calculations. Effects: socialism and capitalism The systems of socialism and capitalism in the economy are different from the management of ownership of these two structures. The motives of socialism and capitalism also vary from each other. Due to this, the effects of socialism and capitalism are different from one another. The system of socialism is aimed at production of goods and services solely for the economic conditions of demand. ... The system of socialism has an effect on the labor wages and rights of the workers. The wages of labor are not reduced below a certain level in socialist economy. The minimum labor wages are sufficient to earn the livelihood in a socialist economy. However, due to absence of competition in the market, the employment level in the market is nor too high. There are a lot of people in the economy who are unemployed. Due to equitable distribution of goods and services in the structure of socialism, the demand of goods and services do not exceed the supply by much. Thus there is very little scope of inflation in a socialist economy. Also the production of goods and services are much lower in order to only meet the minimum demand of the population. Thus the GDP growth rates of the economy are much lower. On the other hand, the capitalism structure is driven by the profit motives. The system of capitalism includes the market forces of competition, labor wages, prices of goods and services fo r the growth of economy. The ultimate objective of the owners in a capitalist economy is the accumulation of business capital (Jones, 2010). The increase in competition of the market forces leads to increase in the production capacities. The increase in the production capacities and the requirement of labor for increased production gives rise to the employment level in the economy. Thus the availability of more jobs raises the bargaining power of the employers for which the labor wage rates decline in a capitalist economy. However, the rise in liquidity in the economy and shortage of employment among a few sections of the population gives rise to disparity of the

Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Scholarship - Essay Example Quite often there is nothing left after discharging my mother’s medical bills. My family’s financial struggles have put me at a disadvantage in school. We cannot afford to buy new school clothes and shoes and I am quite often wearing old and worn clothes and shoes to school and this makes me self-conscious, particularly when other school children are dressed smartly. We cannot afford a computer which puts me at a greater disadvantage. Quite often I have assignments that require the use of a computer. Although I can use the library’s computer, I can ill afford the time. Without bus fare, I have to walk home from school and using the library would cause serious delays. I quite often feel so despaired that I fear I might have a breakdown. I believe that a scholarship would greatly reduce some of the financial burdens on my family and would put my family in a better position to support my education. To begin with, I would be able to purchase a home computer and the n ecessary school supplies. With these burdens lifted I would be in a better position to focus on my education and produce at a much higher level. Part II: Counselor’s Recommendations FL is a focused student with a clear understanding of where he wants to go in life and is keenly aware of the obstacles he has to overcome to get there. He is frustrated by the obstacles, particularly the financial struggles his family faces and is aware that the solution is out of his hands. FL’s current situation is dire and if he does not obtain a resolution to his situation, it is unlikely that he will be able to remain in school. If his problems persist, it is conceivable that FL would drop out of school to help relieve his family’s financial burdens. Right now his mother’s illness appears to be the family’s number one financial priority. As a result, FL’s school needs are sorely lacking. It is therefore recommended that FL benefits from a scholarship. This is a student who is very committed to school work and academic success. He is looking ahead to the future and as a result, FL is actively engaged in college preparatory programs. In addition, he is participating in cross country running. As a dedicated and driven student, it would be a benefit to both the school community and FL if he is awarded a scholarship and therefore remains in school and able to pursue a higher education. FL’s family is struggling financially as they are living on his father’s small income. FL’s mother is suffering from diabetes and this absorbs a great part of the family’s income. As a result of the family’s financial struggles, FL is disadvantaged at school. His family cannot afford to buy a computer. He often has to walk home from school as he cannot always afford bus fare. His school clothes and shoes are used and makes him self-conscious. FL is frustrated by the obstacles to his school productivity. FL wants to go onto college. FL will likely feel better about himself and thus remain committed in school if he is granted a scholarship. EG Part I: EG’s Statement I have always aspired to attend a good university and graduate in the top 10% of my class. I am working toward achieving these goals by currently focusing on my grades and ensuring that they are good enough to get me into a good university. However, at the moment I am currently facing some financial difficulties that could interfere with my plans to get into a good

Global warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global warming - Essay Example The incidence of climatic disasters is becoming more and more frequent. Hurricanes, floods, drought etc are continuously occurring at different parts of the world. It has been Man induced changes in the environment has been causing changes atmosphere and the ecology, which is eventually leading to climate change and global warming. The objective of this easy is to analyse the causes and impacts of global warming. It has been estimated that the average temperature of the air near earth’s surface has risen by 1.3 Fahrenheit (Venkataramanan & Smitha, 2011). However, this does not mean that every corner of the earth experiences an increase in temperature. This increase in the average temperature of earth has given way to systemic changes in the physical systems of the earth. For instance, the rise in temperature is experienced most in the poles. The systemic effect that this causes is that the ice melts in the poles which cause further change in the climatic patterns and ecologica l patterns in other parts of the globe. The warming in the poles along with change in wind pattern would result in colder winters in continental Europe. Similarly, West Africa would receive more rains while central Africa won’t receive enough rain (Venkataramanan & Smitha, 2011). ... The most important source for this is fossil fuel emissions. Whenever a fossil fuel is burnt in form of fuel as in the case of cars, aero plane or industrial units, carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere and it gets accumulated. The chart below represents the sector wise contribution of green house gas emissions. Fig 1: Sector wise contribution of green house gas emission Source(Venkataraman & Smitha, 2011) The natural form of reversal of this accumulation process is the vegetation which absorbs carbon dioxide as a source of energy. However, the indiscriminate human intervention with the green cover of the earth is hindering this natural process. Deforestation limits the scope of carbon emitted into the atmosphere being absorbed by plants. Thus the amount of carbon in the atmosphere keeps increasing causing the globe to be warmer. Moreover, when plants are destroyed and they decay, the carbon stored in them is released back into the atmosphere which aggregates the problem. There are natural systems which are called ‘carbon sinks’ which stores carbon for thousands of years. The chain of activities as explained above results in these carbon sinks to fail. If the carbon stored in these carbon sinks are released, it may result in detrimental effects on earth’s various systems. It has been found that oceans which are carbon sinks are failing in their capacity to store carbon (Venkataramanan & Smitha, 2011). This is resulting in ocean water to turn acidic. This would in turn mean that ocean life will largely be affected. It is the green life within the ocean that helps the ocean to store carbon (Barnett, et al. 2005). Thus this act like a chain reaction where in the ocean turns acidic and the plants