A Birthday Suprise

It was 31st May of 2013 and it was my father’s birthday. He is the type/kind of person who prefers simple dinners with his own family instead of noisy celebration with relatives and friends. It was Friday and after we wished him happy birthday, he went to work. Well my father thought that we were just going to have a dinner as always. But this is what he knew while my mom and I had organized a birthday surprise. My mom had invited all his close friends and family for a party in the evening. Everything was prepared. Even I passed all the day shopping to buy a present for my father. I couldn’t wait till my father came home. Anyway he arrived sooner, I began to get dressed. I was extremely excited. My mom had the most difficult ‘task’ if I can say so. She had to convince him to wear a suit and she made it up. I think that my dad understood that he had missed something. So he began to ask where are we going and why is he wearing a dress. I told him we changed the reservation. But finally we arrived and everyone was waiting for him. When my father entered in, all began to sing the happy birthday song. I remember the look on his face, extremely surprised and indeed flattered. He had teary eyes as we ran to embrace him. Everyone had a wonderful time during father’s birthday bash. Time by time I have a look to those photos we had. It really was a special day. 2 terbilang Bab 9 : Juara Songsang (Sabrina Halid) Ahli-ahli Pasukan Zamrud II tidak menyangka bahawa Pasukan Aura Suci bertindak jahat dengan merampas buah cempedak aneh tersebut . Mereka sungguh kecewa . Tiba-tiba Adeen memberitahu mereka bahawa cabaran Pasukan Zamrud II belum berakihir dan mengarahkan mereka mencari pasu emas itu di atas lantai terowong . Pasukan Aura Suci telah dibatalkan penyertaan mereka kerana didapati menggunakan kaedah tidak bermoral terhadap Pasukan Zamrud II. Para ahli Pasukan Zamrud II segera berpatah balik dan mencari pasu emas itu . Pauline menemukan pasu emas itu . Dengan itu , pasukan Zamrud II telah berjaya ke pusingan kedua . (Danisha Rai ) Para ahli pasukan Pertandingan Avatari untuk bersedia untuk memulakan pusingan kedua . Semasa pertandingan baru berlangsung, Adeen mendapat salah satu cip mikroelektrik penting mesin Avatari sudah hilang. Anggota apsukan Zamrud II mula resah . Adeen yang lebih tertekan . Tiba-tiba Adeen teringat akan Pak cik Tan ada membawa papan litar gentian dan cip yang sama pasti ada di atas papan litar tu . AAdeen bernasib baik kerana papan litar itu masih ada lengkap dengan cip mikroelektrik, Adeen segera memasang cip itu. Para ahli pasukan Zamrud II sudah bersedia untuk berjuang . Mereka telah mendapat jawapan kepada teka silang kata iaitu â€Å" buaya† . Jawapan itu tepat dan avatar Pasukan Zamrud II memasuki kawasan padang pasir . Mereka berada dalam zaman Mesir purba, iaitu pada zaman Firaun. Setelah melepasi halangan daripada ulat besar, mereka akhirnya berjaya sampai ke kawasan bangunan luas. Di situ mereka berjaya menemukan buaya emas. Adeen mengarahkan ahli pasukkanya pergi ke Kuil Abu Simbel untuk mengutip lebih banyak harta karun . Pasukan Zamrud II berjaya ke pusingan ketiga. ( Diana Syazhanny) Dalam pusingan ketiga, cabarannya ialah bertanding permainan tradisi . Setiap pasukan akan bertanding dengan pasukan lain untuk menentukan pasukan mana yang layak ke pertandingan akhir . Setaip pasukan mesti menguasai sebanyak mungkin permainan . Pauline memilih memanah . AIna memilih congkak . Anas memilih catur . Anjali pula memilh mahjong . Apabila pusingan ketiga tamat, Jepun menduduki tempat pertama , Rusia di tempat kedua , Australia di tempat ketiga dan Amerika Syarikat di tempat keempat . Malysia berkongsi markah dengan Thailand dan Republik Rakyat China . Oleh sebab terdapat tiga pasukan yang layak , maka satu pemecah seri akan diadakan . Halim muncul untuk menetukan pasukan mana yang mendapat tempat kelima untuk ke pertandingan akhir . Setiap pasukan akan diberi satu peluang untuk meneka apa yang ada di dalam genggaman Halim . Thailand meneka guli. China meneka wang syiling . Malysia melalui Aina meneka belalang. Tekaanya tepat . Pasukan Zmrud II layak ke pertandingan akhir .

Analyzing Barnes & Noble.com

The Barnes & Noble online store – www. bn. com – was launched in March 1997. Among its primary strengths is its offline component – the Barnes & Noble, Inc. which is a leading publisher and retailer involved in selling trade books, mass market paperbacks, children’s books, bargain books, magazines, music and movies. The big inventory of this online channel is largely attributed to its offline counterpart. Another strength that Barnes & Noble. com has is its purchase of SparkNotes. com.This website is considered as the world’s largest educational site which provides access to thousands of study guides on various poems, short stories, novels, and other literary pieces. When Barnes & Noble bought SparksNotes in 2001, the educational site already had six million registered users. This number is continuously increasing and this increase widens the market reach of Barnes & Noble. com. Apart from SparkNotes, Barnes & Noble. com is also affiliated with the Barnes & Noble University.The university offers free courses and its students are potential targets which can be reached through the direct introduction and promotion of the online store and its products. Another advantage of Barnes & Noble. com is its acquisition of an online electronic book retailer – Fictionwise. Fictionwise allows the online store to penetrate the e-book market and effectively compete with Amazon. com (its prime competitor) in distributing digital copies of books and other content. Before, the prime problem of the site was that it was not as user-friendly as Amazon. com.Fortunately, that has been resolved by changing the site’s management team. Now, the major weakness that Barnes & Noble. com has is the fact that it is still not as popular as Amazon. com. When it started its operation in 1997, Amazon was already two years ahead in operation and it has already built a very big market of registered users in its database. In 1999, it was noted that Ba rnes & Noble. com only had 1. 8 million names while Amazon had 8. 4 million. Another weakness is the fact that its product prices are not as competitive with Amazon especially when it comes to e-books.Amazon also has bigger storage capacities for its products and this enables them to provide services and ship their products very quickly. Fortunately, its recent affiliations with SparkNotes and Fictionwise pose many opportunities. Barnes & Noble. com management speculates that Fictionwise can help the company significantly reduce its marketing price in e-books. Moreover, the acquisition of SparkNotes increases the market database of Barnes & Noble. com by millions. The company can also utilize its nationwide stores as marketing venues which already have access to millions of Barnes & Noble customers.It can also foster affiliations with other online companies in order to expand its market reach and increase probabilities for future innovations. As for the threats, Barnes & Noble still faces challenges from Amazon. com, as well as other book sellers which adapted the Amazon concept of online retail. This includes Blackwell Synergy, Books-A-Million, and Powell’s Books. If these companies would merge to launch a new online library and book retailer, Barnes & Noble. com might have suffer from fierce competition. A leader in the industryBarnes & Noble. com is considered as a leader in the online bookselling as it offers a wide selection of in-stock inventory – three million from the company’s online catalogue and another thirty million listings from other book dealers of in-print books which may be new, rare, used, or out-of print. In addition to that, the website is also leading in the electronic books and publishing industry. The site has almost 5,000 e-book titles which can be purchased and readily downloaded from the site to any personal computer, laptop, or pocket PC.With its rapid expansion and tie-up with various online companies, Barnes & Noble predicts that it won’t be long before their site would offer digital companies of all of the company’s book titles. Barnes & Noble. com is also leading in the music commerce. Recently, Forbes. com voted the website as the No. 1 music site. The music store of Barnes & Noble. com has been credited for offering not just great music of jazz, world music or Broadway. Instead, it also achieved recognition for its extensive and interesting editorial features for people who want to know more about the music that they are buying.Barnes & Noble. com’s success is best demonstrated in its revenues. Based on the company records, the sales of this online channel have steadily increased in the past few years. In 2006, its sales reached $433 million for the full year. In 2007, the sales were up to $477 million for the full year – exhibiting about 13. 4% increase as compared to 2006. The revenue model of the E-commerce site Barnes & Noble. com is patterned after Am azon. com’s web catalog revenue model. Like other booksellers, Barnes & Noble.com get their revenues when customers choose from the on-site product catalogs and buy through the site. The orders can be placed and paid through the automated ordering forms and â€Å"shopping cart† of the website. What’s good about this model is the fact that it acts as an online extension of the company’s nationwide stores for its in-print products. Since the model is implemented at an online level, the revenue generation becomes more effective as potential customers can access the site, view their choices, and buy products anytime that they want to.Although there are other methods of earning which Barnes & Noble. com can use (i. e. advertising through editorial content and ad spaces), such must be utilized only at a minimal level in order to avoid comprising the site’s book selling and promotion process. Marketing on the web Barnes & Noble. com tries aims to appeal t o the general audience. To attract the target market and maintain a great share of loyal customers, the company employs various promotional methods – both offline and online. Offline, www. bn.com is introduced through the stores of Barnes & Noble. It is also popularized through the Barnes & Noble Membership Program which offers incentives to shoppers of the company’s products online and offline. The most beneficial incentive is the discounts which range from ten to ninety percent. The marketing campaign of Barnes & Noble. com is a lot more aggressive. Foremost of these is the promotional mailing. The online book retailer attempts to pitch various book clubs including the 5. 5 million members of the Bertlesmann.In addition to that, they have linked their physical stores to their site. Included in their previous strategy was to provide incentives for customers who give away their e-mail addresses to them. Through their university, Barnes & Noble gains access to the e-mai l addresses of students as well. The e-mails are then supplied with promotional offers, flyers, brochures, newsletters and product catalogs. In addition to this, the online book seller is promoted through advertorials and advertisements in Yahoo. In 2000, Barnes & Noble.com initiated a partnership with Yahoo. As a result, the site became the premier book seller that is featured in the Yahoo directory. The site was also the featured merchant on Yahoo Shopping. Moreover, graphic links of Barnes & Noble. com were presented in every search result page and in all the book category pages of Yahoo. Conclusion Barnes & Noble. com has achieved its position as a leading online bookseller through its successful acquisition, affiliations and merging with other online companies such as Yahoo, SparkNotes, Spinway, and FictionWise.Moreover, a great part of its success must also be attributed to the fact that it has a big inventory of books (in-print and e-books), magazines, and CDs and DVDs of var ious music and movies. The online book seller also has an efficient marketing campaign – online and offline – through Yahoo. com, Barnes & Noble physical stores, and through its aggressive promotional mailings distributed primarily via book clubs and the Barnes & Noble University. Barnes & Noble. com’s success is best demonstrated in its continuously increasing revenues for the past few years.Furthermore, this success is seen in its rapid expansion and continuously increasing inventory. To keep up with this success and the fierce competition with Amazon. com, the online company should make sure that it can keep up with the new innovations in marketing, new methods in presenting online product catalogs, and more efficient processes in shipping their products. It should also increase its inventory storage capacity through the acquisition of more warehouses. References: Barnes & Noble (2008). Barnes & Noble Press Release: Barnes & Noble Reports 2007 Year-End Sales, Released 03-03-2008.Retrieved 03-15-2009 from http://www. barnesandnobleinc. com/newsroom/press_releases_list. html Danielle Belopotosky (2009). E-Book Seller Fictionwise Bought by Barnes & Noble. Published 03-05-2009 in New York Times Online. Retrieved 03-15-2009 from http://gadgetwise. blogs. nytimes. com/2009/03/05/e-book-seller-fictionwise-bought-buy-barnes-noble/ Gale Group (2007). Barnes & Noble Reports Preliminary 2006 Results: Issues First Quarter 2007 Guidance. Published 03-22-2007 in Business Wire, The Free Library. Retrieved 03-15-2009 from http://www. thefreelibrary.com/Business+Wire/2007/March/22-p53 Larry Light (1999). Barnes & Noble's New Battle Plan for the Cyberbook War. Published 07-07-1999 in Business Week Online. Retrieved 03-15-2009 from http://www. businessweek. com/bwdaily/dnflash/july1999/nf90707a. htm Yahoo. (2000). Yahoo Press Release: Barnes & Noble Announces Availability Of Free Unlimited Internet Service CDs At Stores Nationwide, Released October 16, 20 00. Retrieved 03-15-2009 from http://yhoo. client. shareholder. com/releasedetail. cfm? sh_print=yes&releaseid=173692 Barnes & Noble Website: http://www. barnesandnobleinc. com

Obama and Bush in the Iraq war Essay

On April 11, 1991, the Gulf war ended with a cease fire that was negotiated between the United States and its allies and Iraq. A policy of containment was maintained by the United States and its allies towards Iraq. This policy encompassed various economic sanctions by the United Nations Security Council, the enforcement by the United States and United Kingdom of Iraqi no flying zones and inspections to prevent Iraq from developing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. In October 1998, the United States official policy toward Iraq became regime change with the enactment of the Iraqi liberation act. The act provided for the transition of Iraq to a democracy following the withdrawal of United Nations weapons inspectors. This legislation however did not correspond with the terms that were set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 which basically focused on weapons and weapons programs and made no mention of change of regime. The United States and the United Kingdom launched the Operation Desert Fox one month after the Iraq Liberation Act was passed. The rationale behind the campaign was to restrict the ability of Saddam’s government to produce chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. On the other hand, United States national security personnel hoped that the exercise would weaken Saddam’s grip on power. With the election of Bush as the United States president in 2000, the United States became actively inclined toward the policy of regime change in Iraq. The Republican’s campaign became prior to the elections called for complete implementation of Iraq Liberation Act and the ousting of Saddam. The invasion of Iraq may have been planned since the inauguration with the first National security meeting discussing the invasion (Hamilton, 2004). However, there are also claims that the National Security Council discussions were a continuation of Clinton’s administration’s foreign policy. However, little formal step was made by the Bush’s administration toward invasion despite its stated interest in liberating Iraq until the September 11, 2001 attacks on the twin towers. The rationale behind the invasion of Iraq after the 9/11 attacks has been questioned as there was little to suggest that Saddam had any cooperation with Al Qaeda. Shortly after the attack, President Bush announced the new war on terrorism which was backed by the doctrine of preemptive military action. Why Bush Started the War The Bush’s administration considered Saddam Hussein to be a major distraction and threat not only to American security but also to global peace. As such, the only way to guarantee the global stability and peace was by ousting Saddam’s regime. The administration believed that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction and thus rushed to conquer the country before they could fire any weapon. The administration also believed that Saddam was a major sponsor of terrorists and with the 9/11 attacks, the American people were thirsting for some form of action. The electorate of the United States was skillfully convinced that the best solution to the problem of terrorism was to get Saddam Hussein. As such, the main reason that was given by the Bush’s administration as a justification for the invasion was the Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Other reasons were that Saddam supported terrorism and held the people of Iraq captive. Another primary motive which was however not stated with regard to the invasion of Iraq was the consolidation of oil resources in Iraq (Holtzman, 2006). A report which was commissioned before the September attacks by Dick Cheney indicated unambiguously identifies Iraq as the main destabilizing influence to the flow of oil to the international markets from the Middle East. The report also indicated that Saddam had expressed a willingness to threaten to employ the oil weapon and to use his own export program to influence and manipulate oil markets. Iraq was a destabilizing influence to global oil flow from the Middle East and therefore United States military intervention was inevitable (Moore, 2004). Within the American grand design for the world, oil plays a major role. The Middle East id the only place that is capable of satisfying the demand for oil as it contains the world’s largest reserves. An increase in the demand for oil was conceived by the Bush administration as inevitable, and Iraq was a stumbling block. The invasion was thus necessary for the United States to guarantee its energy needs. By securing a strategic position in the Gulf region through establishing a friendly and compliant government in Iraq, the United States will not only manage check the OPEC but also influence the conduct of other global powers. Why Obama is against the war According to Obama, Iraq’s invasion without any clear rationale and without strong international support had the capacity to lead to instability not only in Iraq but also in the Middle East (Ambinder, 2007). The invasion, according to him, would fuel sectarian warfare. The Sunnis, having been empowered by Saddam, were likely to discover that they were the targets of Shia radicals who sought for revenge for the way that they were treated and power to control Iraq’s future. Iraq’s insurgency will thus be inspired, not only by the desire to kill the Americans but also by the ambition to be in power when the United States leaves. Obama also opposed the war because he envisioned a situation whereby the attacks would increase leading to the death of more American young people. The difference between Obama and Bush with regard to Iraqi war became clear in 2007. The year marked a critical turning point in the war in Iraq. It was during this period that Iraq sunk into a state of savage sectarian chaos with three thousand civilians dying every month. It was also during this period that the American people lost hope in the war and were thus prepared to bring the troops back to America. However, instead of letting the soldiers go back to America, a move that was favored by both Republicans and Democrats, Bush ordered a troop surge to ease the violence, suppress al Qaeda in Iraq and set the stage for political reconciliation. Obama had much to say concerning this issue, predicting that the surge would not be effective (Stone, 2009). Obama was not convinced that the twenty thousand additional troops would not solve the sectarian violence in Iraq. According to him, the effect will instead be reversed (Obama, 2002). This move, in his view, would not solve the long term political strife between the ethnic and religious groups in Iraq. Obama believed that strategic defense is a much more preferable approach to the entire war, an idea that many people seem to agree with. He opposed the war on the premise that the United states did not know how much it was going to cost, what the exit strategy would be and how the invasion itself will affect the relationship of the United States with the rest of the world. Again, he doubted the soundness of the American intelligence and held that capturing Bin Laden ought to have been the priority. Obama felt that because Al Qaeda had not been put to rest, it may act as distraction. Obama conceived of the invasion of Iraq unwise use of the military. According to him, the invasion brought more problems than solutions as more and more money was being used, more American soldiers were being killed and Al Qaeda had grown stronger. With regard to the reduction of the surge due to the deployment of more troops, Obama felt that it the reduction of violence was mainly as a result of the sacrifice by the soldiers. According to Obama, the Bush administration’s judgment concerning the length of the war, the conception of America by the Iraqis as the liberator and the view that there was no history of violence between the Shiite and the Sunni were all wrong. Obama referred to the war in Iraq as a dangerous distraction. His view is that central front in the war on terror was never Iraq but the terrorist themselves. As such, his position is that the terrorists should be attacked directly. His new strategy has therefore been to directly fight Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His first priority has been to end the war in Iraq as he had opposed it from the onset. With his position that the war in Iraq was unnecessary, Obama has made it his responsibility to redeploy the United States combat troops that propel Iraqi leaders toward a political solution, rebuild the military and refocus on Afghanistan and broader American security interests. His plan is to remove the combat brigades from Iraq by 2010 and to send additional combat brigades to Afghanistan. The worth of Iraqi war Assessing the worth of Iraq war requires that one reflects upon whatever would have happened in the Bush administration would have not gone to war in March 2003. There is no secret concerning the things that have gone wrong ever since the United States invaded Iraq but it cannot also be assumed that everything would have gone right if the United States had not invaded Iraq. It is a fact that there was a heavy casualty which does not go well with the American public. However, there is need to address what the alternative to war would have meant. Many people agree that Saddam was not the best leader. Other individuals like Madeleine Albright compared him to Hitler, a comparison that cannot be far from the truth in many respects. Saddam had contempt for human life, killing thousands of his own citizens beside threatening and butchering his neighbors. It may therefore be argued that removing such a man from power was worth some sacrifice. A more intriguing question is however whether the failure of the United States to go to war with Iraq in 2003 would have produced a lasting peace or would have postponed war. It may be said that Saddam would have pushed toward confrontation and war regardless of what might have been done. He brutally and patiently pushed his way to power in Iraq after which he impatiently and brutally made himself the dominant figure in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. In all these instances, he employed war and the threat of war as his principal tools. In short, Saddam was in every conceivable way a threat not only to his people but also to world peace. However, some individuals have argued that even though Saddam posed a threat to world peace and stability, he would have been contained through sanctions and no-fly zones which would have acted as deterrence (Hunt, 2008). This argument was advanced even before the war even with the belief that he had weapons of mass destruction. For the majority of Americans, the question of whether the war was worth fighting revolves around whether the weapons of mass destruction were recovered or not. However, the major issue is whether Saddam could have been contained. Even though the war in Iraq has remained unpopular, the Iraqi people can claim some success with regard to the introduction of democracy. With the help of the United States, the Iraqi people have been successful in establishing the first Arab democracy. This is a major achievement with regard to the war on terror and for the purpose of liberty. The different ethnic and religious groups can now work together in a national army. They have made important steps in repossessing their country from the insurgents that have invaded their homeland. The Iraqi troops are solely responsible for clearing the Basra and Sadr City. The oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein was ousted. Conclusion The main difference between Obama and Bush on Iraq war lies in the objective of the invasion. The bush’s administration saw it as a war against terrorism while Obama felt that there were better ways of fighting terrorism rather than invading Iraq. A sensible argument for the invasion was not that Saddam was about to attack anyone with a nuclear bomb. It was that the preservation of containment would nit have been indefinite and that Saddam was defying the international community repeatedly and that this defiance seemed to both the Clinton and Bush administration to be succeeding gradually. It may therefore be argued that if the Bush administration would have not gone to war then the United States would have faced a more daring and dangerous Saddam Hussein. References Ambinder, M. (2007, April 21). Obama’s Iraq evolution. National Journal, 39(16), 79-80. Retrieved on March 29, 2009 from EBSCO host database. Hamilton, W. (2004, April 17). Bush began to plan war three months after 9/11. The Washington Post, p. A01. Holtzman, E. (2006). The impeachment of George W. Bush; A handbook for concerned citizens, New York: Nation Books. Hunt, T. (2008. March 18). Bush: Iraq war worth it. The Huffington Post, Moore, J. (2004). Bush’s war for reelection: Iraq, the White House, and the people. John Wiley Obama, B. (2002, October). Barrack Obama’s 2002 speech against the Iraq war. Retrieved on April 23, 2009, Responsibly ending the war in Iraq. (n. d. ). The White House. Stone, M. (2009, May 9). Bush 2007 v. Obama 2009? The Global Buzz. Retrieved on March 29, 2009,

Literary Forms in the Book of Job and Ecclesiastes Essay

Literary Forms in the Book of Job and Ecclesiastes - Essay Example The book of Job has numerous frames narrative that arises from the shifts in voice, perspective, language, and scene. The most outstanding of all is the frame narrator who tells the story of Job from the perspective of God’s eye. This is done through the prefacing of the book in Job 1:1 – 2:12, the introduction of most speeches in Job 3 – 42, and giving the conclusion in Job 42 from verse 7 to 17. The perspective of the omniscient narrator is written in prose form, and it stands together with a set of human speeches in Job chapter 3 to 42. It is also written in poetry, and it develops a sense of paradoxical juxtaposition between the human and divine views of Job’s sufferings. The differing sides of Job found on the two sections of the frame (reverent and silent) and the sporadic reaction in the poetic body emphasize the juxtaposition (Enns and Longman 242). The book of Job relies heavily on lament. This literary genre is expressed in the two plays of Job i n chapter 3, 29, 30, and 31. It is important to note that lament is an important characteristic of the Joban arguments. The formal characteristics of lament normally comprise an invocation, questions of reproach, a condemnation of enemies, an affirmation of confidence, assertion of innocence, a vow, hymnist blessings, and praise, recognition of divine response, a petition for help and a description, or complaint of suffering. Lamentations made by Job resemble the accusatory laments made in chapter 10, 13, and 23 of the book of Job (Perdue 94). The lamentations are even more clamorous in criticizing God for the unjust maltreatment of an innocent and just person. In addition, from the lamentation made by Job, there are no prospects for future redemption but only the ultimate outcome of eternal death. The political role of lamentations in that period was to merge the nation as one people who relied on the divine salvation through the monarchy. Lamentations also created an outlet throug h which defeat and difficulties disappointments would be expressed. However, lamentations by Job are generally accusations against God’s justice and an attempt to bring down the conceptual model of the temple’s function in effecting divine redemption. With the denial of God’s justice, this priestly spirituality collapsed (Perdue 95). In the book of Job, dialogue is the most important literary form, and in this case, it is an argument resulting to a heated debate. Job’s passionate attack on his opponents entails ridicule and show of direct allegations of fear and foolish reliance on a disproven hermeneutic of vengeance. Job blames them of senselessly defending the justice of God who abuses the righteous and his creation. The opponents refuse to give in to Job’s accusations and argue that Job must have done something bad that resulted to his suffering. From their arguments, it is very clear that the victim (Job) deserves whatever suffering he is goin g through (Perdue 95). The book of Job expresses a bold stroke in attaining the support of a significant number of exiles, that is, the manner in which we would be ready for a new sociopolitical certainty to come into existence. The book was not just based on theological debate or a theoretical explanation of the issues of innocent

Problem solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Problem solving - Essay Example Additionally, organizations can resolve to have single mode of software installation authentication method. In this case, instead of selling licenses to customers and software users, the organizations can require that all software activation requirements are conducted online to ensure that every copy is only activated using one unique product key (Microsoft, 2015). For organizations that require software installation to a vast number of machines, the installation files can be configured to contain equivalent number of activation codes as the number of machines. For every used code, the installation media would connect to the internet verifying that the software is genuine and one among the provided codes has been used to activate one workstation. When addressing the issue of software piracy, there are various levels of consideration that organizations put take into account. For instance, the cost of data loss and the inability to generate sustainable profits are two major threats caused by piracy. With reference to the two examples, it is evident that based on value and use, different organizations address the challenge of software piracy differently. With respect to the magnitude of anticipated losses and the corresponding cost of software development, some companies invest more funds in developing anti-piracy strategies while others concentrate on economies of scale by developing free or cheap software (Microsoft,

Action Of Enzyme Catalase On Hydrogen Peroxide Lab Report

Action Of Enzyme Catalase On Hydrogen Peroxide - Lab Report Example The student feels that the more the concentration of the liver the more the enzyme that would result since more amount of oxygen would react with the hydrogen peroxide molecules. For accomplishing this, the student has taken five test tubes with the first test tube having twice the suspension as that of the fifth tube expecting that there would be twice the amount of oxygen given off. This seems that the student wants to prove that the amount of oxygen that would be evolved would be directly proportional to the amount of the liver suspension take. Since it cannot be decided in a single experiment the student repeats it three times to observe whether the desired changes have taken place in each experiment or not. The independent variable to be considered here would be the amount of liver suspension and distilled water and the dependent variable would be the amount of oxygen evolved. This experiment deals with quantitative analysis. The overall experiment can be summed up by the following table (Note: Exp indicates experiment) It can be observed that there is a significant variation in the amount of oxygen evolved in the three experiments. The variation can be clearly understood observing the graph below It can be inferred from the graph that there is a gradual decline in the amount of oxygen evolved considering the concentrations of the enzyme. (The x-axis represents experiment and the y-axis represents the amount of oxygen evolved). It is only in the second experiment that the discrepancy arises. It is highly probable that there might have been a replacement of the suspension. It can be clearly understood that there is a direct relationship between the amount of suspension and the amount of oxygen evolved. The experiment is in fact a relatively simple one and can be performed easily if the conditions are ideal. The student has done it appropriately and has a good analytic skill. The prediction is purely based on understanding as it involves mainly quantitative analysis rather than the chemical reaction. The student has opted the right materials for accomplishing this experiment. The only requirement would be to do the experiment under perfect conditions and conduct the experiment singly so as not to confuse with other experiments. The following experiment would boost the above observation Hypothesis: Iftime is increased, then more hydrogen peroxide molecules will be split into water and

Economy and Agriculture in Russia Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economy and Agriculture in Russia - Case Study Example This in turn would be related to the development of agricultural economy and vertical integration of the agricultural market. The discussion here is based on vertical integration of grain agricultural market in transition economies of Eastern Europe (such as Russia) considering both secondary and primary research methods. The deficiencies in research methods are highlighted and the focus is on the agricultural and economic possibilities in Russia and other East European countries. In the context of Russia and other transition economies, it would be essential to analyze whether the Central and Eastern European countries have sustainable levels of agricultural output. However the impediments for emergence of agro food sector may have to be found out (OECD, 1998). The key issues related to structural reforms of the agro food sector especially within transition economies would deal with credit and finance, foreign direct investment, and efficiency matters in the sector. Support levels provided to agricultural companies and initiatives should increase and transition economies are in focus as these globally emerging economies are the ones which will become more important for world markets than the more stable economies. Funke and Ruhwedel (2005) used data from 14 East European transition economies to evaluate the relationship between productivity and economic growth in these regions. The results obtained from trade data suggest that the growth model of East Europea n transition economies may be explained with outward orientation and integration of world economic patterns. Russia's development and economic growth will have to be considered against the 1998 financial crisis that was triggered with the international financial crisis. With the financial crises, declining income and rising prices and inflation led to stockpiling of products for short term needs. Crisis also increased price competitiveness of agriculture and food industry although there has been a reported overall declining performance of the Russian economy after the 1998 crisis, especially within the agro food sector (Serova et al, 1999). The poor institutional settings within Russia and extensive bartering could be detrimental for the economy. Russia follows protectionist measures and measures to counteract food shortages although Serova et al (1999) claim that this may actually increase the inconsistency of Russia's food policies. Seeth et al (1998) draws out on the case of poverty and economic problems in Russia to bring out new dimensions in poverty research, especially within the context of Russia. The urban and rural households in Russia tend to respond to crisis situations and economic stress with increasing dependence on home gardening and subsistence agriculture. Agriculture is especially important for income and food consumption among the middle income strata although the poorer sections of society have very scarce resources and small plots and gardens that may not be adequate for income or food consumption. Household labour force and opportunities available would be some of the main factors that can

Zara social media Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Zara social media - Assignment Example   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Zara’s website anchors its digital presence, and its expansive global reach is clearly apparent by the number of countries and languages that users can access the site in. Online sales were launched in March 2012, and the company has expanded aggressively in Asia recently (Interbrand). Zara boasts an active Twitter handle, a Facebook page, and a blog on Tumblr among other online ventures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In terms of paid media, Zara is different in that it relies on word of mouth and brand loyalty, rather than advertising, to boost its sales (Robin, 2013, p.2). While â€Å"most typical fashion retailer[s] will spend 20%-30% of their revenues on advertising, Zara spends less than 0.5% – a big saving,† and what advertising it does do is mostly concentrated on what its windows display on the street-level.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Relying on in-house efforts has its rewards, but also its risks. The fact that Zara has little or no paid online advertising outside of company-run sites means that outside groups have a strong say in dictating Zara’s online profile—and in the fashion world, that can be dangerous. Google Zara and the top results include a Greenpeace campaign against the company for use of toxic chemicals, a critique of the retailer for refusing to pursue plus-sized consumers, and complaints of relying on sweatshop clothing manufacturers. On the other hand, the company is praised for its streamlined business model and the ability of store managers to connect directly to local and regional designers in order to stay trendy (Robin, 2013).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, Zara’s digital strategy is spare and risky, outside of owned media, but so far, it is not affecting sales or perception in a measurable way. It is significant to note that Zara does not engage in advertising its products instead, it only advertises when it is intending to open up new stores. The company

Operatons management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operatons management - Essay Example Moreover, the advancement of the information technology is another important add-on for logistic management. With the used of the advance IT system, operators can track the flow of materials from the point of purchasing inputs for productions to the point finished products are sold in the retail stores. This gives enough data for logistics managers to make a wise decision for the overall business operations. Lastly, the principles and value chain are also discussed. The principles of logistic management give pointers for managers to help them gauge the correctness and effectiveness of their decision making. Transport and logistics, according to the report written by Shepherd, is a sector in which global value chain (GVCs) play a vital role in connecting countries. It is also responsible for spreading technologies. It also promotes best practice with all the countries in the world. Major shipping, freight forwarding, express delivery firms are just a few of the notable firms involved with this sector. Not only big and notable firms – transport and logistics also partners with local operators. It does not focus on first world countries alone as it extends hands to low income countries or commonly known as the third world countries to help boost their flow of goods, information and other valuable resources. In addition to its vital role as a global value chains, this sector also helps improve the trade performance of many countries around the world. For example, in order for manufacturing and agricultural industries to deliver their produce or goods to consumers quickly and reliably, they need the help of the transport and logistics sectors. A banana plantation industry depends on transports and logistics sectors to ship tons of harvested bananas to different countries. Without a cost-effective model of delivering these

Their bottoms are the wrong shape The theory of established outsider Essay

Their bottoms are the wrong shape The theory of established outsider relations and female jockeys - Essay Example The argument that women riders are â€Å"outsiders† within the racing figuration is derived from Elias’ theory of established and outsider relations and the method chosen for the study is a s series of eight semi-structured interviews with female jockeys who are already established in their careers. The article starts with a quotation from a female jockey who professes to hate being referred to as a â€Å"female jockey† and this highlights the tension that exists in the minds of many professional women who find themselves a focus of extra attention just because their gender is different from the large majority of participants in a certain field. The historical and cultural dominance of masculinity in sport generally encourages this tendency and racing is quite typical in this respect. Citing Cassidy (2002) and Grimes and Ray (1995) the authors demonstrate that vertical gender segregation is a feature of employment in the sport of racing, with women occupying the majority of low status roles, such as groom, while the higher status roles are generally occupied by men. The existence of male-only trainers is cited as another example of the systematic exclusion of women from prestigious roles, with the direct consequence that women obtain fewer mounts than their male counterparts. After this anecdotal introduction there is a discussion of theoretical concepts such as social habitus, insider and outsider, group disgrace and group charisma. The term â€Å"habitus† is drawn again from Elias, rather than Bourdieu, and defined as â€Å"second nature† (Van Krieken, 1998, p. 47) or â€Å"the level of personality characteristics which individuals share in common with fellow members of their group† (Mennell, 1992, p. 30). The authors emphasise a collective view of habitus, in terms of the way a whole society develops over time, again following Elias, rather than the more personal, psychogenic approach of Bourdieu, although both psych ogenic and sociogenic aspects in habitus are recognised as important. The concept of power is discussed in terms of its relational and processual role, as a constant factor in all human relationships. Here again, the collective aspects are highlighted, and the authors cite the example of group power relations between an estate and a village in the work of Elias and Scotson (1964/1994). The terms â€Å"insider† and â€Å"outsider† describe not just the physical location of these two groups, but the differences that they perceive in their own role, and the power relationship that exists between the two. The power differences in the Elias and Scotson study was internalised by both groups, so that the insider villagers developed a positive â€Å"group charisma† image while the outsider estate inhabitants internalised a largely negative we-image. This is accepted by Velija and Flynn as a valid model which can be applied to other types of interdependent groups in a fi guration, including contexts such as gender relations. A number of studies are cited to demonstrate the outsider groups tend to identify with the insider group rather than with each other and that acceptance of inferior status was generally accepted by the outsider group. The work of Ernst (2003) shows that in sport women can be categorised as outsiders and that they generally have less confidence than men, and are judged both differently and more severely. These patterns are deep seated, and even when organisational change is introduced such as in the merger of women’s and men’s cricket organisations in England and Wales, the established power relations and self-images remain (Velija and Malcolm, 2009). Jockey figuration is examined in detail, starting with the history of women’

The Evolution Of Macroeconomics in the UK Essay

The Evolution Of Macroeconomics in the UK - Essay Example According to Keynes the demand for the goods in the long run could be altered by the governments. The monetarists however argued otherwise. They criticized the long run and the short run objectives of the Keynesian model because they argued that problems like the inflationary expectations could result. According to the monetarists the Keynesian model was based on a lot of assumptions. They also argues over the rules and the discretion stating that the governments and the banks could make rules but in order to achieve the long run objectives the implementation was compulsory. This discretion was not that likely practically. They argued that discretion was necessary instead of the rules. Say’s law states that ‘the creation of one product immediately opens a vent for other products’. By this, Say wants to imply that the supply makes the demand for itself. This means that he argues that excess supply would result the demand to increase too so that the demand is ‘created’ for the supply. Keynes on the other hand believed that demand did not change all of a sudden. Rather it had to be managed by some practices. He criticized the law stating that the UK economy had been demand deficient during the war. Keynes also stated that if Say’s Law was to be true, then during the war the demand should have been created for the excess supply. On the contrary, what really had happened was that the demand had been deficient during the war. In the circular flow model, if the business sector does not produce anything, then the households do not earn any income. This is where Say’s law is reflected in the model. Keynes critique to this notion was that although the revenue earned by the production in the firms does end up as income for the households, this may not happen instantaneously. Households are likely to spend as much income as they have. In the 1940s the main change that had occurred in Britain was the switch to a market economy. The economy

Land Question and Ethnicity in Darjeeling Hills Essay Example for Free

Land Question and Ethnicity in Darjeeling Hills Essay ABSTRACT Although economic factors are often considered as essential for augmenting ethnic movements, the analytic relationship between economic issues and ethnicity is far from being clear cut. In an attempt to address the problem of ethnicity in a non-Marxist theoretical plane, most of the studies on ethnic problems inadvertently indulge such logical inconsistencies. Such a critical reading led us to conceptualize ethnicity as a lived-in category – much like the concepts of class or caste – where both the material and cultural domain of routine life congregates. With the help of a case study of the Gorkhaland movement in the Darjeeling Hills (India) and the input of a particular field of material predisposition – namely, the issues related with land and agrarian social formation, this paper attempts to argue that ethnic movements are a dynamic podium wherein the encoded meanings of material and/or economic issues/grievances are decoded in cultural idioms. Even if the discussions on ethnicity have an inbuilt tendency to develop a theoretical plane that criticizes Marxian class analysis and demands an autonomous conceptual frame duly encouraged by post-Marxist and poststructuralist/postmodernist theoretical renditions, literatures on ethnicity for the most part have stressed economic factors, in some way or the other. Hence, finding available studies, which have made considerable advances in understanding the problem of Gorkha ethnicity, that have concentrated their focus on economic factors as the root cause of ethnic antagonism and conflict in the Darjeeling Hills (West Bengal, India) is common. ‘Economic stagnation’ (Dasgupta 1988), ‘uneven implementation of development policies’ (Chakrabarty 1988), ‘economic deprivation and negligence’ (Bura Magar 1994; Lama 1988; McHenry Jr. 2007; Nanda 1987), ‘petty-bourgeoisie aggrandisements against the dominance of monopoly capitalists of the Centre and the State’ (Sarkar 1988), ‘economic negligence, exploitation, and unavailability of white-collar jobs’ (Chadha 2005), ‘growing unemployment and step motherly attitude of the state regarding the overall development of the hill areas’ (Timsina 1992), ‘uneven development’ (Dasgupta 1999; Datta 1991), ‘endemic poverty, underdevelopment, and the perception of being â€Å"malgoverned†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Ganguly 2005), are some such factors many scholars put as the root cause of the Gorkhaland movement in the Darjeeling Hills. However, none of these studies have made it abundantly clear how economic conditions – the domain of the material – are linked to the desires of ethnic separatism, which conceptually remained under the rubric of culture – the non-material. Again, if the economic factors remarkably remained so significant, as the studies show, then why ultimately the cultural warpath (i.e., 81 ethnic conflict) and not an economic one (i.e., class conflict) appeared as a suitable remedial strategy? One obvious question arises thus: how the ‘material’ is transposed into ‘cultural’? The present paper is an attempt to answer such questions by analyzing the case of the Gorkha ethnicity and movement as it emerged out of the people’s grievances experienced through their quotidian life processes cloaked in their relative positions within the structural inequality. In fact, ethnic identity much like the issues of class or caste is a lived-in category that emerges out of the perception of reality and receives constant reformulation, since the reality is itself dynamic. In our treatment ethnic identification – much like all other identifications – is overall rooted in the larger canvas of social experience, which determines the processes of framing contending relationships between and among groups based on their varying capacity of possessing the valued and scarce resources available in the society. Instead of pinpointing the causes of the movement, our analysis attempts to show that the assertion of Gorkha ethnic identity has had payoffs with respect to resource access and utilization and that the protracted struggle of the Gorkhas for separate statehood is that trajectory wherein both the cultural and material aspects of routine life coalesce. Sometimes this happens even without an immediate ethnic ‘other’. This is particularly the case, as the study shows, with the hill agrarian sector. It thus becomes imperative that the problem should be studied in a historical plane putting utmost emphasis on the social formation of the Darjeeling Hills, which would help us focus the pattern of resource distribution on an ethnic plane vis-à  -vis the question of structural inequality. The importance of treating the issue of Gorkhaland movement as a historical phenomenon can hardly be ignored, especially when one finds that the Darjeeling Hills has experienced a century long historicity of protest – sometimes accommodative, sometimes violent – to achieve a separate politico-administrative arrangement for self rule. Moreover, the historical perspective is needed to show the fundamental changes that have taken place within the social formation of the region since the colonial days and had corresponding effects for furthering the cause of the movement in the post-colonial period. Therefore, a proper historical analysis of ethnicity can help us understand how the grievances of the masses were articulated and were translated into the courses of violent action, how new equations came up because of state intervention and how the overall dynamics of the movement kept on rolling, putting ethnicity at the center stage. SOCIAL FORMATION AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Indeed, there can never be a single cause of an ethnic movement that stretched over a century.1 However, our concern regarding the causes of Gorkhaland movement is not about degree but of kind, by which we mean that Gorkha ethnicity, or for that matter the Gorkhaland movement, is embedded in the social formation of the Darjeeling Hills. It is neither entirely the product of primordial sentiments nor even the result of elite manipulation, but had been the outcome of a dynamic social formation that reproduced its productive forces, relations of production, as well as the relations of subjugation and exploitation meted out by its incumbents. The onus of social formation in augmenting the cause of social movement has been stressed by most of the major theoretical paradigms in some form or the other. For example, functionalism, though lately emerging from its erstwhile position of bracketing social movements as pathological social behavior, became increasingly concerned with the analysis of social movement as a variety of (normal) collective action and showed the necessity of framing a general hypothesis on the social system while analyzing social movements as a collective phenomenon of some sort. Likewise, symbolic interactionism and resource mobilization theory, in their attempts to analyze social movement, put stress on the relational structures and on the complex processes of interaction mediated by certain networks of belonging, respectively. The Marxist tradition, perhaps, has given utmost emphasis on the necessity to view social movements in relation to structural arrangements available in the social formation. Each social formation is rooted in a particular structure of relationship and movement is not the cause but the outcome of the differentially arranged social order in which privileges and rewards are more in possession of some minority groups compared with the majority others. Even the post-Marxist or for that matter the New Social Movement (NSM) perspective in their zeal to study the identity-based movements as manifestations of post-material claims hardly denied the importance of social formation while understanding the so-called post-material claims of the NSMs. In outlining the principles for the analysis of collective action, Melucci (1996:24) – a prominent figure of NSM school – points out that the analytical field of the NSMs depends on the systems of relationships within which such action takes place and toward which it is directed. The recorded history of the Gorkhaland movement suggests that the first spurt of the movement can be marked out in the year 1907 when the hill people submitted a memorandum – for the first time – to the colonial government urging separation from the then Bengal and the need to formulate a separate administrative arrangement for the Darjeeling Hills. ALTHUSSER, SOCIAL FORMATION, AND THE DYNAMICS OF RURAL DARJEELING Taking a cue from the centrality of social formation in the study of social movement as analyzed above, an attempt has been made to focus on the social formation of the Darjeeling Hills2 and its contribution to the development of a protracted ethnic movement in the region. Our treatment of the concept of social formation is Althusserian in inspiration and is viewed as a complex whole composed of concrete economic, political and ideological relations that provide the pretext upon which the consolidation of selfhood of the individual or the group within a given social space becomes feasible. It is worth mentioning here instead of using such terms like ‘social system’, ‘social order’ or for that matter ‘society,’ Althusser (1997) preferred the use of ‘social formation’. Since he believed while terms like ‘social system’ and ‘social order’ presupposes a structure that reduces the form of all its emanations, ‘society’ as a concept is loaded with pre-Marxist humanist conception that treats social life as ultimately the product of individual human beings. Althusser has used the concept of social formation with some broader theoretical appeal. He problematized the so-called base-superstructure module by bringing together the notions of social system, order, and society closer to his postMarxist formulation of social formation. Social formation, for Althusser, is constituted of a complex of concrete economic, political, and ideological relations, bound together and given their particular character as capitalist, feudal or whatever by the fact that economic relations, is the ‘determinant in the last instance.’ Conceived in this manner the concept of social formation presupposes that under this model social reality is neither determined, nor to be explained by a single causal variable but always by the whole structure (a notion that he labels as ‘overdetermination’), which remains amenable to the economic determinant only in the last instance. The uniqueness in Althusser’s concept of social formation lies in the fact that it problematizes the ‘base-superstructure’ relationship (that remains central, almost invariably, to the whole realm of post-Marxist scholarship) to that extreme of Darjeeling has been one of the prominent hill stations developed by the British i n colonial India.

Analysis of the UK Banking System

Analysis of the UK Banking System A strong and efficient Banking system is a key to progress in a country.To achieve an efficient a banking system one should analyze the internal and external factors of that country. For this issue I have chosen ENGLAND banking system to know its internal and external factors faced by its banks? what kinds of banks are operating in uk?,what kinds of activities are performed by them?what are the sources of finance in uk?what is the evolution of banking in uk?what is the role of central bank in uk?etc First of all a question raise in our mind what is meant by system?System is an integrated collection of different part of a body which performed specific function for example banking system of uk it has many banks in parts which perform different functions like commercial banking,investment banking,specialized banking and central bank collectively known as banking system of uk.In uk banking system it has a central bank which is Bank of England .IT is the head of all the banks it control and regulate the affair of all schedule banks like HSBC, Barclay Bank and ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND all these banks deals in day to day functions of receiving deposits and advancing finances to the public.Banking system stability depend upon the external factors such as saving ,national income,industrial growth and development,government policies and internal factors such as bank ability to channel the deposit safely to the borrowers normally industrial sector. Benefits of a strong banking system in uk is that it will channelize the idle funds from the hands of depositor to the one who required such finances to invest It in that place which is useful for the development of the uk.Strong banking system of uk is playing an important role in increasing the saving of the people by providing incentives by giving them attractive interest rates.The banking system of uk is also helpful for the creation of new industries by providing finances to the industrial sector.The banking system of uk is also providing finances for the promotion of trade and commerce. Banks provide finance to the industry and the public as well and charge interest on it and earn profit for the bank.A question comes in our mind are banks main finance provider for the industry externally or other sector contribute in it the most.i have gone through an article of colin mayer.in this article he compare the investment activities and sources of getting the finance in venture capital in some countries like uk, germany japan and other countries he concluded that the souces of funds and investment differ in different countries due to financial system,economic condition, geographical factors and sectors difference.For example the amount of fund required in germany and japan are mainly cover from banks,corporation sources in Israel and pension funds sources in UK. Sources of finance analysis In ENGLAND 44% OF THE FINANCES ARE COVER FROM BANKS BUT MAIN SOUCE IS PENSION FUNDS WHICH SHOWS 49% FINANCIAL SOURCING MEAN IN INDUSTRY. Following data displays the sources of external finance for the industry in the four diferrent countries,showed some important facts. In Germany, banks provide the main source of finance for the VC industry, and pension funds. By contrast, in the ENGLAND pension funds provide the main source of finance for the VC industry, other institutional investors, and individual investors PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN FINACEING THE INDUSTRY OF MANY COUNTRIES as many companies as banks. Contrary to popular views, government atorities also play an important role for (typically local authority) funding plays a more important role in the United Kingdom than it does in Germany, and is negligible in the other countries. Table 1. Sources of external funds for the VC industry This table reports sources of funds of VC firms in Germany, Israel, Japan and the United Kingdom based on binary and not mutually exclusive responses to a question of whether or not a particular fund uses a certain source. Panel A displays the proportion of funds that report using a given source. Panel B displays the percentage of funds using one, two, three, or four or more sources. Mean values which are statistically different from those of the United Kingdom at the 10% level. Mean values which are statistically different from those of the United Kingdom at the 5% level. Sources of funds for the Israeli VC are banks from the above figure it is shown, with industrial corporations (typically from the United States) being the single most popular source of funds. In Japan, non banking financial institutions (e.g., securities firms, credit card or leasing companies and mortgage institutions) are the single most important category of finance among Japanese funds, followed by banks and insurance companies.9 It is quite common in Japan for the owners/providers of finance for Japanese VC funds to be all affiliated with the same bank-centered corporate group, or to be otherwise related to each other. In over half of the Japanese funds in our sample, at least three of the five largest shareholder providers of finance are related to each other or affiliated with the same group. VC funds in Germany tend on average to use fewer sources of funds than do VCs in other countries (Table 1, Panel B). By contrast, funds in Israel, Japan and the United Kingdom tend to use many sources of finance; in particular, about a third of the UK funds report using at least four different sources.10 Relying exclusively on bank finance is also very common in Germany: over 60% of the VC funds that raise money from banks use this source exclusively; the corresponding figure for the United Kingdom is about one-third, and for Israel about one-fifth. Surprisingly, despite the typical characterization of the Japanese economy as bank dominated (like Germany), only one-seventh of the Japanese VC funds in our sample rely exclusively on bank finance. EVOLUTION OF BANKING IN UK AND ITS DEVELOPMENT STAGES : The birth of modern UK Banks Strange as it may seem, UK banking can trace its origins back to the days of the Roman conquest. During the period of the Roman conquest of Britain, Romans conducted two forms of banking business: one, called argentarii, of a professional nature; the other, called feneratores, of an amateur nature run by the elite nobles of the Roman Empire. What was said to characterise this institution was the two-fold service of (a) receiving deposits and (b) advancing credit. Modern UK banks evolved in the 1530s., it was not really until approximately 400 years ago, during the mid-1600s, that London really started to make its position as a financial backbone of importance when goldsmith bankers started to emerge, following King Charles I seizure of gold deposited in the Tower of London and the English Civil War, as a safe-haven (away from the clutching arms of the Crown!) for the gentry and aristocracy to deposit their money and valuables. Shortly after this period (circa. 1677), there were a recorded 44 goldsmith bankers in London acting as keepers of running cash who ran their business on a personal liability basis. However, strict legal controls on how big goldsmith bankers could become (because of the strict personal liability basis), together with poor transportation and communication, combined to restrict the growth of these i nto national UK banks [evidenced of this can be seen in the fact that in 1784 the total number of UK banks exceed 100; but only 7 had more than one office]. The wind of change Following a number of prominent UK bank collapses in the early 1820s, parliament finally relaxed the laws governing who could own banks to allow for joint stock banking (1826) [A notable exception to this was the establishment of the Bank of England as a joint stock bank some 200 years before this legislation]. Importantly, joint stock banking allowed the owners of UK banks to spread the risk among a number of proprietors. This, combined with the Industrial Revolution, better transportation and faster means of communication all resulted in a growth of more national banks in the UK. Prominent among these was the foundation, in 1833, of the National Provincial Bank of England (later to become National Westminster Bank NatWest), the first UK bank established with the specific agenda of being a national bank. Although UK banks began to expand nationally during this period, the services they (did and could) offered did not. Consequently, it was also around this time that another division in UK banks began to emerge; namely the formation of the Big Three banking sectors: Clearing High Street Banks even as recently as 1900 there were a reported 250 private and joint stock banks operating in the UK; Merchant Banks; and Other financial institutions; such as Building Societies which came into being following 1874 legislation The Bank of England founded in 1694 to act as the Governments banker and debt-manager. Since then its role has developed and evolved, centred on the management of the nations currency and its position at the centre of the UKs financial system. The history of the Bank is very interesting one. Events and circumstances over the last three hundred or so years have change and influenced the role and responsibilities of the Bank. They have adopted the culture and traditions, as well as the expertise, of the Bank which are relevant to its reputation and effectiveness and responsibilities a central bank in the early years of the 21st century.The history of the Bank passed different situation and circumstances of to the economic and financial history, political history, of the United Kingdom. If you want to get closer to the Banks history and are visiting London, the Banks Museum provides a unique insight into the history of the Bank and its business, alongside a great deal of material about the Bank today. Key moments in the Banks history a brief guide King William Queen Mary When William and Mary came in 1688, public finances were not strong. The system of money deposit and advancing it(credit) was in not working efficiently. At that time a national bank was needed to mobilize the saving and investment,the nations resources. MR Willium Peterson William Paterson proposed a loan of  £1,200,000 to the Government. In return the subscribers would be able to incorporate the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. The Royal Charter The money was raised in a some weeks and the Royal Charter was sealed on 27th July 1694. The Banking started life as the Governments banker and debt-manager, with 17 clerks and 2 gatekeepers. In 1734 the Bank moved to Thread-needle Street, gradually acquiring land and premises to create the site seen today. Commercial functions of the banks The Bank managed the accounts of that time Governments and made loans available to finance spending at times of peace and war. A commercial bank took deposits and issued notes. The 18th Century During the 18th Century the Government borrowed more and more money. These outstanding loans were called the National Debt. 1781: renewal of the Banks Charter Dependency on the Bank of England was such that when its charter was renewed in 1781 it was define as the public ex chequer. The bankers bank By now the Bank was acting as the bankers bank too. It was liable to fail if all its depositors decided to withdraw their money at the same time. But the Bank made sure it kept enough gold to pay its notes on demand. The Restriction Period By 1797 war with France had drained the gold reserves. The Government prohibited the Bank from paying claims of its notes in gold. This Restriction Period lasted until 1821. The 19th Century The 1844 Bank Charter Act tied the note issue to the Banks gold reserves. The Bank was required to keep the accounts of the note issue separate from those of its banking operations and produce a weekly summary of both accounts. The Bank Return, as its called, is still published every week. Lender of last resort In the 19th Century the Bank took on the role of lender of last resort, providing stability during several financial crises. The First World War: 1914-18 During the First World War the National Debt jumped to  £7 billion. The Bank helped manage Government borrowing and resist inflationary pressures. Gold In 1931 the United Kingdom left the gold standard; its gold and foreign exchange reserves were transferred to the Treasury. But their management was still handled by the Bank and this remains the case today. Nationalisation 1946 After the Second World War the bank was nationalised. It remained the Treasurys adviser, agent and debt manager. Financial crises During the 1970s, the Bank played a key role during several banking crises. The Bank was at the fore when monetary policy again became a central part of Government policy in the 1980s. Operational independence May 1997 In May 1997 the Government gave the Bank responsibility for setting interest rates to meet the Governments stated inflation target. The was enshrined in the 1998 Bank of England Act. Managing the modern bank The Banks governing body, the Court of Directors, as its known, is made up of the Banks Governor and 2 Deputy Governors, and 9 Non-Executive Directors (under the Banking Act 2009 There are different kinds of banks which are working in different parts of the world main banks are as follows all these banks are specialize in performing speacialized functions of banks.on the basis of different types of functions we have the following bank Bank of England is the central bank of England perform fuctions of monetory policy,fiscal policy.issue of notes,bankers banks,lender of last resort to other banks Alliance HYPERLINK http://www.alliance-leicester-group.co.uk/HYPERLINK http://www.alliance-leicester-group.co.uk/ Leicester plc Based in the UK, provides personal and business customers a comprehensive range of mortgage, investment, personal banking and insurance products, cash transmission services and corporate banking facilities. BankHYPERLINK http://www.bank-of-ireland.co.uk/ of Ireland Personal and business banking in Britain. British HYPERLINK http://www.bankfacts.org.uk/BankersHYPERLINK http://www.bankfacts.org.uk/ Association Principal representative body for banks active in the UK, with over 300 member banks from more than 60 countries. HSBC Midland HYPERLINK http://www.banking.hsbc.co.uk/Bank Personal and business banking division of HSBC. BankHYPERLINK http://www.bankofireland.co.uk/ of Ireland Northern Ireland Bank that provides private and corporate services worldwide. BankHYPERLINK http://www.bankofscotland.co.uk/ of Scotland Financial institution that provides personal banking, small-business banking and corporate services. Barclays Bank offers personal banking, student banking and international corporate banking. Bermuda Monetary Authority Responsible for the licensing of banks, deposit companies and investment businesses. Bradford HYPERLINK http://www.bradford-bingley-int.co.im/HYPERLINK http://www.bradford-bingley-int.co.im/ Bingley International Subsidiary of Bradford Bingley Building Society, a savings and loan bank. Bristol HYPERLINK http://www.bristol-west.co.uk/HYPERLINK http://www.bristol-west.co.uk/ West Specialists in mortgages, savings and investments. Cheltenham HYPERLINK http://www.cheltglos.co.uk/HYPERLINK http://www.cheltglos.co.uk/ Gloucester Provides mortgages, investments, savings and loans. HSBC Investment HYPERLINK http://www.cibm.hsbc.com/hsbcBank Provides the advisory and financing, equity securities, asset management, private banking and trustee, foreign exchange and capital markets trading, debt funding and treasury activities of the HSBC Group. Citibank UK Provides personal banking in the UK. Co-operative HYPERLINK http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/Bank Provides banking services including Internet banking. BankNet Provides on-line Banking Service. A joint venture between MarketNet and Secure Trust Bank PLC. Coutts Group International private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group offering investment, fiduciary and banking products. First Direct Member HSBC Group. Halifax Financial institution that provides personal financial services including mortgages, long-term savings accounts, home, motor and creditor insurance, retail banking, consumer credit and share dealing. Hamilton Direct HYPERLINK http://www.hdb.co.uk/Bank Division of HFC Bank PLC which provides unsecured personal loans and credit card products in the UK. Julian Hodge HYPERLINK http://www.jhb.co.uk/BankHYPERLINK http://www.jhb.co.uk/ Group Banking and financial services group owned by the Carlyle Trust. Legal HYPERLINK http://www.landg.com/HYPERLINK http://www.landg.com/ General Assurance Society Insurance company offering financial products including mortgage, investment, savings and home, life and health insurance. Leeds City Credit Union Financial cooperative offering savings and loans products to employees of selected employers in the Leeds area. Lloyds HYPERLINK http://www.lloydstsb.com/homepage/0,1001,general,00.htmlBank Financial institution that provides personal banking, small-business banking and corporate services. Lombard Financial institution that provides personal banking, small-business banking and corporate services. National Savings HYPERLINK http://www.nationalsavings.co.uk/HYPERLINK http://www.nationalsavings.co.uk/ Investments One of the largest savings organisation in the UK that offers savings and investment products guaranteed by the Government to personal savers and investors while contributing towards the Governments funding needs. NatWest Financial institution that provides personal banking, small-business banking and corporate services. Northern Rock Bank that offers savings accounts, deposit accounts, residential mortgages, investment mortgages and offshore savings accounts. Prudential Provider of portfolio management services, financial advice, mortgages and personal loans. Royal HYPERLINK http://www.rbos.co.uk/BankHYPERLINK http://www.rbos.co.uk/ of Scotland Bank specializes in corporate, private and offshore banking, as well as retail banking and private motor insurance. Scotiabank Group International Canadian banking group that provides retail, commercial, corporate, investment and international banking services to customers around the globe. Smile Internet bank, part of the Co-operative Bank PLC. Standard HYPERLINK http://www.standardbank.com/BankHYPERLINK http://www.standardbank.com/ London International merchant bank of the Standard Bank Group that offers specialist banking services and promotes trade, investment and business flows with an emerging market focus on a worldwide basis. Standard Chartered HYPERLINK http://www.standardchartered.com/Bank International commercial banking group providing consumer, corporate and institutional banking and treasury products and services with a focus on emerging markets in Asia, the sub-continent, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Standard Life HYPERLINK http://www.standardlifebank.com/Bank Subsidiary of The Standard Life Assurance Company that provides mortgages, savings and online banking. Triodos HYPERLINK http://www.triodos.co.uk/Bank UK branch of the Dutch trust bank that offers savings accounts and investments products financing projects with social and environmental benefits. Virgin Direct Personal Financial Service Ltd. Bank that offers savings accounts, deposit accounts, residential mortgages, investment mortgages and offshore savings accounts. Woolwich Financial services organization that provides mortgages, loans, investments, banking and insurance products and services. LIST OF BANKS OF ALL THE BANKS IN ENGLAND OPERATING TILL 2010 Uk major banks THERE ARE 116 BANKS OPERATE IN UK ACCORDING TO FSA website There are three types of banks, High Street Banks, Building Societies, and  Direct Banks. High Street Banks are the main banks, such as Royal Bank of  Scotland, HSBC, NatWest, Citibank, and Barclays. Building Societies such as  Woolich, Abbey National, and Halifax were created for those who wanted to  save in order to buy a house and offer pretty much the same services as the  other banks. Direct Banks such as Co-op (Smile.co.uk) and First Direct  dont have branches, but you can bank at First Direct at the Post Office  and Co-op bank at their grocery outlets. They are telephone banks which  have grown in popularity over the last few years Different Types of Banks * High Street Banks and Building Societies High Street banks and building societies are commercial banking businesses  whose primary market is consumer finance. These are the most common banks  you will encounter. * Investment Banks An investment bank is a financial company, securities firm or brokerage  house that purchases new issues of securities from private corporations and  offers them to their clients. They form a syndicate in order to sell these  securities to their customers and the general public. * Private Banks Private Banks typically provide a more personal and customised set of  services than high street banks. Marketed to individuals with large incomes  or high personal wealth, opening a private bank account usually requires a  very large minimum deposit. * Online-Only Banks Online-only banks offer the same services as traditional High Street banks  or building societies through electronic banking and the Internet. They  normally do not have branches for their clients to use. Besides online-only  banks however, a number of High Street banks also offer online services. The banking system in the UK is highly concentrated with the top 10 banks having over 90% of market share.

Sjogren Syndrome Support Group Plan

Sjogren Syndrome Support Group Plan Punit Dave TABLE OF CONTENT (JUMP TO) INTRODUCTION Overview Challenges PROPOSED PLAN Leverage Points Effectiveness Success Metrics Future Planning Schedule Staff Budget CONCLUSION REFERENCES INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW In partnership with University of Houston Medicine and Technology department and American Association of Rheumatologist we are the only national nonprofit support group to provide education, awareness, regular checkup, and research for Sjogren syndrome. In autoimmune disease the immune system attack and destroys the monsieur producing glans throughout the person’s body. Sjogren is the second most common autoimmune disease in United States; which effecting estimated 5 million people in United State. The Sjogren is three times more common than related disease like, Lupus, Multiple sclerosis and it is more common among women then breast cancer. The nine out of the ten Sjogren patients are women. The Sjogren syndrome patients suffer from verity of symptoms that range from dry eye and dry mouth to chronic fatigue and muscling joint pain. This disease also effect internal organs and internal nerve systems. In anticipation of people become familiar with disease and its symptoms; it w ill remain difficult to diagnose everyone who suffering from Sjogren syndrome. That’s why our community continues to fight for patients who aren’t able to explain their diseases or confused by the many facets of the diseases. Our community dedicated to raising awareness, so some day the patient diagnoses with Sjogren then he or she will have heard of it and will know where to turn for support and guidance. CHALLENGES With Sjogren the correct diagnosed is often difficult to obtain. It will take around 4.7 years to correctly diagnose the Sjogren, because the Sjogren’s symptoms often mimic other condition and diseases. Sjogren is often overlooked or misdiagnosed. Patients will discuss dry eye with optometrist, dry mouth with their dentist or joint pain with their primary doctors. Each symptom alone wouldn’t suggest an autoimmune disease but couple symptoms together will lead physicians to suspect Sjogren. This is why increasing awareness among the general public is very important. We strongly recommend Sjogren’s patients get treatment form one doctor. Changing the doctors won’t cure Sjogren but it often creates confusions among the doctors and patients. Getting treatment from multiple doctors’ also lead to wrong medications, diagnostic and it will hurt patients financially and medically. With a help from university of Houston medicine department and AAR we provide many medical checkup, medical guideline and nutrition plans to our members so, they always get right advice and treatments. PROPOSED PLAN LEVERAGE POINTS Sjogren Syndrome support Group is the leading advocate for Sjogren’s patients. We have dynamic volunteers, medical, scientific advisory board and researchers who work in Sjogren’s and recognized nationwide. Together with this volunteers and healthcare professionals, our group has been able to implement programs such as the first ever clinical practice guidelines for Sjogren’s. This guideline gives Sjogren’s physicians a road map for how to treat, monitor and manage sjogren in their patients. This is just one example of our support group on how we achieving our mission and changing the life of sjogren patients. EFFECTIVENESS Sjogren Syndrome Support Group stands on our founding principal of putting the patients first. From our 10 plus patients run support groups to our hundreds technical volunteers we serve our members with an ability to connect with others who have Sjogren’s. Our programs of educations always involve our volunteers to help review our educational materials, conference topics and Sjogren’s content. Our research grants from our sponsors are also awarded based on innovations. It we will help us to change the field of Sjogren’s the fastest to estimate the greatest gain for sjogren patients. I believe our group is effective because of patient voice is never forgotten. SUCCESS METRICS What are the metrics of success for our group? The Sjogren Syndrome Support Group measures the impact and success by many variables. For example our support group manages over 50 support groups in Houston area. Prints many newsletters and distribute hundreds of brochures each year. The American association of rheumatologist distributes important guidelines to each patient and provides the advice to join our support group. It will give patients an opportunity to share their thoughts with others and help others to overcome from this situation. Most importantly our support group always uses metrics to gage the success of every campaign, every program and every project. We set goals, we set objectives and then we evaluate them against the simple questions of how do these impacts on life of Sjogren’s patients. FUTURE PLANNING Additional support from CCHP would help us expand our education and awareness programs. This support would enable us to attended more professional conferences to educate healthcare professionals. Additional reassures would also allowed our support group to distribute materials to more specialist which would ultimately assist us to reaching patients who may be suffering from particular symptoms, but didn’t realize the cause could be a systemic diseases such as Sjogren. Finally, for support the patient and cure of Sjogren, more funding needed that way our support group can produce national awareness campaign and reach the 3million penitents there are not yet diagnosed. SCHEDULE (May 10 2014 – August 30 2014) STAFF We excited about future of Sjogren and we really around pace for great discoveries, but in order to make Sjogren a household name we need everyone’s support and help for more awareness, raise funds and volunteers. We have hundreds of volunteers and volunteers board of directors to help and support our group. Along with that we have healthcare professionals from Medical and Scientific Advisory Board (MSAB) and American Association of Rheumatologist (AAR) to stands for the wide range of specialties involved in Sjogren’s diagnose treatment and research. BUDGET CONCLUSION It is a proud moment for us that, we are premier organization in Sjogren research and support group funding. However more funding is needed as more talented researchers are taking interest in Sjogren. Our support group’s goal is to finding an additional funding to support these groundbreaking projects. Without increase support from research we cannot fund this projects and thus thing must be turn away. Our hope is one day all Sjogrens research and support group adequately funded so patients can have the answers for their disease. Being a Sjogren’s patient is challenging, but neither having a therapy to treat your disease nor understating what causing it is heartbreaking. REFERENCES Autoimmune Disease Coordinating Committee. (n.d.).. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://autoimmune.pathology.jhmi.edu/adrp.pdf American Collage of Rheumatology. (n.d.).. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.rheumatology.org/ Grant Writing. (n.d.).Sample Budget and Narrative -. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.netplaces.com/grant-writing/developing-a-budget-and-budget-narrative/sample-budget-and-narrative.htm Sjà ¶grens Syndrome Foundation Scientific Initiatives. (n.d.).Sjà ¶grens Syndrome Foundation Scientific Initiatives. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.Sjogrens.org/home/research-programs/scientific-initiatives Sjogrens syndrome. (n.d.).Definition. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/Sjogrens-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20020275 When an Autoimmune Disorder Forces You to Alter Your Life Plans Autoimmune Disorders Center Everyday Health. (n.d.).EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.everydayhealth.com/autoimmune-disorders/when-an-autoimmune-disorder-alters-your-life-plans.aspx

Journalistic Standards in the Matt Drudge Era Essay -- Exploratory Ess

Journalistic Standards in the Matt Drudge Era Introduction Public trust is at the heart of journalism. Such trust is built upon the credibility journalistic efforts. In the past, though mistakes have been made by even the most reputable of news providers, credibility was maintained and public trust in the journalist industry was steady. However, with the Internet taking its first infant steps into the reporting world, concern is being vocalized that public trust in journalism will be damaged by mavericks, such as Matt Drudge, who, without any foundation in reporting seek to tell the entire world every little secret he can dig up. And he’s been wrong. This paper will examine the debate surrounding online journalism, including a general look at journalistic standards and an account of Matt Drudge’s activities as an Internet investigative reporter. With the pressures of staying current with technology, news services scramble to grab a piece of the Internet â€Å"pie,† but struggle to determine what the ethical standards should be and how public trust can be maintained in an environment where anyone with a computer and online capability can be a reporter. Review of Literature â€Å"Let the future begin.† These words closed Matt Drudge’s introduction during his June 2, 1998, address before the National Press Club. His topic: â€Å"Anyone with a modem can report on the world.† Times are changing and â€Å"traditional journalism† is finding it difficult to adapt. The Internet as a mass communications vehicle is challenging many accepted norms. Journalistic standards and ethics are among the most debated topics. Though Matt Drudge is certainly not the only person reporting online news in a method inconsistent with traditional st... ...99: 24. Ryan, Leslie, â€Å"In Drudge Era, Educators Make Case of J-Schools,† Electronic Media, Vol. 17 (39) 1998: 26-27. Sandberg, Jared, â€Å"Call It the Drudgegate Affair,† Newsweek, Vol. 134 (22) 1999: 50. Snyder, Beth; Kerwin, Ann Marie, â€Å"’Clintern’ Story Raises Issues for Cyberjournalism,† Advertising Age, Vol. 69 (5) 1998: 32. Stevenson, Kerry, â€Å"The Technology, Business, and Ethics of News,† International Broadcast Engineer (IBE), Oct 1999: 44. Swaine, Michael, â€Å"Error-Correcting Journalism,† Dr. Dobb’s Journal: Software Tools for the Professional Programmer, Issue 313, 2000: 152. Webster, Nancy Coltun, â€Å"Drudge Report,† Advertising Age, Vol. 69 (26) 1998: S22. Weir, David, â€Å"Web Journalism Crosses Many Traditional Lines,† Nieman Reports, Vol. 54 (4) 2000: 35-38. Wilson-Smith, Anthony, â€Å"What’s New About the Web,† Maclean’s, Vol. 113 (29) 2000: 14.

Reconciliation for 9/11 Terrorism Essay -- September 11th Terrorist At

Since the horrible tragedy on September 11th, Americans have been brainstorming for ideas on how to fight terrorism. Minds are collaborating on what can be done to reconcile the West in the minds of Islamic nations. Many strategies for attaining peace have been introduced, and steps are being made toward the appeasement of differences. The ideas for peacemaking that have already been set in motion will be discussed along with new suggestions for reconciliation. Both political and private associations in the United States have introduced wonderful solutions that have begun the process of reconciliation between Islam and the West. On the political side, President Bush visited a mosque after the terrorist attacks to depict support for American Muslims. He stated that terrorism "is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace-they represent evil and war." (http://www.beliefnet.com/). This act helped President Bush gain the support of American Muslims who had been mistreated since the attacks. It also served as a demonstration for other Muslim countries that religion was not involved in the war. Unfortunately, since President Bush's exposure, Osama bin Laden has misled Muslims into believing that religion is a significant part of the war. In a speech he gave on November 3rd, he declares, "It is a question of faith, not a war against terrorism, as Bush and Blair try to depict it" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/). A top lieutenant to Osama Bin Laden said, "The root of terrorism is in the conflict in Palestine." Some believe that if war ends in the Middle East, a majority of the fight against terrorism will be accomplished. formerly, the United States has sided wit... ...gout place, the Arabic version of a pizza restaurant, and chat about the game, life, and whatever. Most of all, what Muslim people need to know about Americans is that we love them. Terrorism is an act of hate, and hate can be conquered only by love. God exemplified evil-dispelling love by sending his son to earth. As American Christians, we are being called to follow God's example and show our love to our neighbors, the Muslims. I will agree with the Beatles and say that in reconciliation efforts with the Muslims, "All we need is love." Now the brainstorming is done and these ideas have been introduced. It is time to act. As students of reconciliation, we must remember that Muslims and their positions can change. However, reconciliation first requires risk and sacrifice. We must take up the challenge and walk through the door of reconciliation while it is open. Reconciliation for 9/11 Terrorism Essay -- September 11th Terrorist At Since the horrible tragedy on September 11th, Americans have been brainstorming for ideas on how to fight terrorism. Minds are collaborating on what can be done to reconcile the West in the minds of Islamic nations. Many strategies for attaining peace have been introduced, and steps are being made toward the appeasement of differences. The ideas for peacemaking that have already been set in motion will be discussed along with new suggestions for reconciliation. Both political and private associations in the United States have introduced wonderful solutions that have begun the process of reconciliation between Islam and the West. On the political side, President Bush visited a mosque after the terrorist attacks to depict support for American Muslims. He stated that terrorism "is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace-they represent evil and war." (http://www.beliefnet.com/). This act helped President Bush gain the support of American Muslims who had been mistreated since the attacks. It also served as a demonstration for other Muslim countries that religion was not involved in the war. Unfortunately, since President Bush's exposure, Osama bin Laden has misled Muslims into believing that religion is a significant part of the war. In a speech he gave on November 3rd, he declares, "It is a question of faith, not a war against terrorism, as Bush and Blair try to depict it" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/). A top lieutenant to Osama Bin Laden said, "The root of terrorism is in the conflict in Palestine." Some believe that if war ends in the Middle East, a majority of the fight against terrorism will be accomplished. formerly, the United States has sided wit... ...gout place, the Arabic version of a pizza restaurant, and chat about the game, life, and whatever. Most of all, what Muslim people need to know about Americans is that we love them. Terrorism is an act of hate, and hate can be conquered only by love. God exemplified evil-dispelling love by sending his son to earth. As American Christians, we are being called to follow God's example and show our love to our neighbors, the Muslims. I will agree with the Beatles and say that in reconciliation efforts with the Muslims, "All we need is love." Now the brainstorming is done and these ideas have been introduced. It is time to act. As students of reconciliation, we must remember that Muslims and their positions can change. However, reconciliation first requires risk and sacrifice. We must take up the challenge and walk through the door of reconciliation while it is open.

Mckinsey’s Knowledge Management

Competitive Advantage over other firms – Unique Resources and Capabilities Bower’s Vision – Development of Unique Organizational Culture First Mover Advantage Between Marvin Bower, Ron Daniel, and Fred Gluck, who was the most effective strategic leader? Why do you think so? Upon evaluating each individual’s strategic leadership ability based upon the six elements of effective strategic leadership, we concluded that Fred Gluck was indeed the most effective of the three individuals. The six attributes which a strategic leader can be compared against are listed below. We found that Fred Gluck’s contributions were more pronounced in elements 1 through 4, and where there was not enough material in the case to support any arguments for or against Gluck’s superiority in elements 5 and 6 (Establishing Ethincal Practices, and Establishing Balanced Organizational Controls) we can assume that the contributions of all leaders were similar, or differences were not significant. Determining Strategic Direction Exploiting and Maintaining Core Competencies Developing Human Capital Sustaining an Effective Organizational Culture Emphasizing Ethical Practices Establishing Balanced Organizational Controls {draw:frame} Determining Strategic Direction Exploiting and Maintaining Core Competencies At one time, Daniel realized that most of McKinsey’s knowledge was spread all over the company, and was not codified. Apart from a few publications (Peter’s and Waterman’s In Search of Excellence and Kenichi Ohame’s The Mind of the Strategist), there was no way of tracking what breakthroughs might have been achieved in certain projects, or what might have been some of the creative solutions that had been applied to other client projects. Here too, the most concrete efforts to consolidate company knowledge were undoubtedly those of Fred Gluck: Gluck introduced the idea of â€Å"Practice bulletins† which were short two page summaries published and distributed company wide, which highlighting some of the new emerging ideas regarding how to tackle new projects. It was under Gluck’s instruction that the Knowledge Management Project was initiated in 1987, even a year before he became Managing Director. The recommendations of the Knowledge Management Project led to the creation of the Firm Pratice Information System (FPIS), and the Practice Development Network (PDNet). These Databases eventually became the backbone of â€Å"knowledge Management† per se – a place to electronically store written reports and documents so that they would be accessible to the entire company, therefore enabling the easier spread of ideas, knowhow, and previous knowledge implementations among consultants. The Knowledge Resource Directory (KRD) – popularly known as the â€Å"Mckinsey Yellow Pages† – was a small portable pocket sized consultants’ manual was also a breakthrough introduction that took place under Gluck’s supervision. Development of Human Capital – See â€Å"Consultant Development† above. Sustaining an Effective Organizational Culture An effective organizational culture for McKinsey would have been (or would still be) one which creates a strong synergy in employee interaction within the company, especially when its core competencies are â€Å"Human Capital† and â€Å"Knowledge†. Gluck promoted this synergy, by putting in place a structure that allow those synergies to grow. The FPIS and PDNet were important elements of that, as were the â€Å"Super Group† discussions which generated great new ideas for the company to build upon. In essence, Gluck as the leader kept encouraging and coaxing consultants to expand the company’s capabilities â€Å"mentally† also – within the minds of its employees. 3) Through application of the Balanced Scorecard and the evidence in the three mini-cases of front-line activities in the mid-1990’s, how effective was the firm in the 1990’s? As evident in the mini-cases, McKinsey was highly effective throughout the 1990’s in regards to the firm’s Balanced Scorecard. Financial Perspective McKinsey was highly effective during the 1990’s in respect to financial performance. After Fred Gluck’s change in strategic direction, McKinsey was able to double revenues to an estimated $1. 5 billion during his six year term as Managing Director. This type of sizeable growth had not been seen since the early years of the firm when it was under direction of Marvin Bower. McKinsey was able to compete with BCG through Gluck’s change in strategy and win back clients and skilled recruits. Customer Perspective With respect to the Balanced Scorecards customer perspective, McKinsey was performing extremely well. This was evident in the Jeff Peters case where his three person team was able to work with a highly respected financial services company in Sydney, Australia. They were able to have a strong client impact and added value to their client because of their access to knowledge, intellectual rigor and their ability to build understanding and consensus among a diverse management. Their client was extremely satisfied with their recommendations and believed that any failures would be due to the client’s own fault. By adding more value to their clients and increasing client satisfaction with the work McKinsey consultants provided, the client base grew thus leading to better financial performance. Internal Business Processes In each of the three mini-cases, McKinsey effectively used internal business processes to grow as a firm. In the Jeff Peters case, the knowledge necessary to provide quality recommendations to the client was accessed easily by scanning the Knowledge Resource Directory, the FPIS and the PDNet. This knowledge sharing is key in providing clients with specialized solutions and helping build the individuals. Also the constant flow of consultants across offices contributed to the transfer of knowledge. The end result of the case was the development of John and Patty, two of the team members, making them ready to take on a management role in their next assignment while still providing quality recommendations that the client was completely satisfied with. In the Warwick Bray case, the specialist promotion track and practice development was exemplified. Warwick was able to leverage his technological experience and become an expert on deregulation. Warwick was able to be promoted to a co-leadership role in the practice because he established credibility with clients and not because he had a broad-based problem solving skills. At the same time, Michael Patsalos-Fox, with the help of Warwick and Sulu Soderstom, was able to develop the practice. His first goal was to make the practice interesting to attract the best associates. Patsalos-Fox also created a practice-specific intranet link designed to spread knowledge that was more focused than the firm-wide systems like PDNet. Also in the Stephen Dull case, the B to B nitiative was established because Stephen had focused on becoming an expert in this area and developing the practice. He was able to establish credibility with his colleagues and with clients which led to more client impact. Although he was still uncertain about his promotion prospects, he was reassured that 15-20% of the firm’s partners would be functional experts within the next five to seven years. By effecti vely using its internal business process, McKinsey was able to have more client impact and customer satisfaction. Learning and Growth Perspective In the Jeff Peters case, the firm actually didn’t perform well in respect to learning and growth. The team had utilized the knowledge databases to create a recommendation that satisfied the client but they were disappointed that they had not come up with anything radical and innovative. The team was afraid that it had fallen into the trap of becoming too introverted and satisfied with their own view of the world. The best examples of learning and growth were demonstrated in the Warwick Bray and Stephen Dull cases. Warwick Bray is an example of the creation of an I-shaped consultant. He had specific knowledge of deregulation and spread his knowledge with executive clients and consultant teams. In Stephan Dull’s case, he provided an excellent example of the â€Å"stewardship model† the firm want to put in place. He had taken it upon himself to increase his knowledge of B to B and ended up helping create a new Center of Competence that provided more value to clients and increased knowledge of the consultants. What is your evaluation of Rajat Gupta’s â€Å"four-pronged† approach to knowledge development and application within McKinsey? What specific risks and benefits do you see for each of the four prongs? What specific advice would you give him to address the risks and leverage the benefits? Emphasis 1 â€Å"Capitalize on the firm’s long term investment in practice development driven by the Clientele Industry Sectors and Functional Capability Groups†¦ †¦Creating some new channels, forums and mechanisms for knowledge development and organizational learning† {draw:frame} Evaluation – NOT RECOMMENDED Emphasis 2 â€Å"Grass Roots knowledge-development approach called Practice Olympics†¦ â€Å" {draw:frame} Emphasis 3 â€Å"Six special initiatives multi year assignments focusing on issues important to CEOs.. † {draw:frame} Evaluation – NOT RECOMMENDED Adding another six dedicated centers over the already numerous pre-existing Clientele Industry Sectors and Functional Capability Groups will only add to the confusion. As it is, McKinsey is having trouble with the promotion criterion of its â€Å"Specailist â€Å"I† Consultants† where they are mostly left on their own, and it is hard to measure a specailist’s performance in his area when he is, infact, the only specialist of that area in the company. While it is getting difficult to measure contribution in these â€Å"tangible† specialist areas, it makes no sense to put in place another 6 departments focusing on â€Å"emerging issues of importance to CEO’s†. Given the changing dymanic of the consulting industry – or the entire economy given its jerks and bends, it is very likely that the issues too would change over the span of years that each of these â€Å"dedicated centres† plans to spend studying each issue. Already, Gluck’s emphasis on specialization led to the creation of â€Å"72 islands of isolated activity† which had to be trimmed down by the CPDC, this is similar to such â€Å"diversification†. Emphasis 4 â€Å"Expand on the model of McKinsey global institute†¦. † {draw:frame} Creating pools of dedicated resources that study economic trends, and are free from pressures of delivering results to clients, will definitely boost the self reliance of McKinsey on its own knowledge. By studying global and local trends – such as the present economic downturn situation or the effects on the environment, McKinsey will be able to pre-empt the kinds of problems that are likely to emerge in business today, and be prepared with a solution that is more fundamentally tied into, for example, an actually prevalent or emerging economic phenomenon or trend. Having its own â€Å"high-end economic research unit† for example, will definitely be a confidence booster for the firm consultants – they will always have an avenue to turn to if they need to validate any of their recommendations on a more fundamental level.