Thursday, December 26, 2019

How Big Is My World - 1261 Words

How big is my world? Everyone says that Holland, or Hope College, is a bubble. In someway I can agree with that statement, but I also know that because there are other things out there, it is just a stepping-stone to find out about the world. I have been lucky enough to been able to live in a safe world due to my parents, but I have also been given the chance to explore what is out there. Some of the ways that have given me a chance to understand how big the world is around me are through two different roommate situations, previous experiences, and thinking big picture. Over the past four years, I have had many different roommates, who all come with a different backstory. It is through them that I have been given the chance to realize that my world had been bigger than theirs. My freshman year roommate was from Michigan, went to a Christian school, and was valedictorian. My high school experience was the exact opposite, Indiana, public school, and not number 1 in my class. Our experi ences were very different as she excelled in classes like religion and cultural heritage as her school focused on those, but the science classes we took together I did a lot better. This helped me see the world from understanding her background as she knew the more hypothetical and questioning aspect whereas I knew the facts of what was around me. Though our experience together, I became to realize how our educational experiences shaped us into how we saw the world. Not only did she change howShow MoreRelatedHow Big Is My World? Essay2269 Words   |  10 PagesHow big is my world? Another pile of my life view is finding the pieces that explain how big my world is. Everyone says that Holland, or Hope College, is a bubble. In someways I can agree with that statement, but I also know that because there are other places around me, Holland is just a stepping-stone to find out about the world. I have been lucky enough to be able to live in a safe world due to my parents, but I have also been given the chance to explore what is out there. Some of the ways thatRead MoreUses of Personality Testing968 Words   |  4 PagesReinhold Cognitive Style Inventory, and the Big Five inventory which assesses the Big Five Personality Traits. Finally, it will examine the convergent validity of these two inventories. The MBTI sorts people into groups based on their preferences for mental processes and mental orientations (Reinhold, 2011). Reinhold explains that there are two mental processes for which people have preferences. The first is how we take in information, and the second is how we make decisions. According to the MBTIRead MoreMy Family Essay936 Words   |  4 PagesMy family is very important to my identity and to me. Lauryn londyn , my baby sister is my favorite sibling. I cant really say why maybe its because shes a baby or because shes the cutest baby in the world. She really affects my life because i feel like if it wasnt for her i wouldnt really bond with my other siblings. She brings my family together. When she walks or even try and talk everyone in the house wants to see. I wouldnt go in my parents room or come out my room if lauryns not aroundRead MoreThe Little Things733 Words   |  3 Pagesdon’t really notice how many small things there are that can have a positive effect. Small things on their own aren’t much, but when you start to add them up they can become something huge. For instance, playing fetch with my Labrador Buddy, or giving in to that craving of chocolate and enjoying every bite are very small things in the grand scheme of things, but take either out of my life and it would be a tragedy. Every once in a while something happens that is clearly a big good thing, but theyRead MoreSymbolism In Hemingways The Old Man And The Sea1488 Words   |  6 PagesHow The Old Man and the Sea’s Symbol’s Relate to Me I always thought the Ocean was a dark and dangerous place, however Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea showed me that the Ocean is an environment that has many symbolic meanings which relate to many people’s lives. Each part of the Ocean represents something in real life and can be used to tell many stories. Throughout my life, I encountered many hardships and challenges similar, but on a smaller scale to the main character of the novel, SantiagoRead MoreMy Move to America Essay1178 Words   |  5 PagesMy story starts in the year of 2003, when I decided to follow up on my dreams and go to a far-away land, called America. My journey is full of surprises and new discoveries of a world so different from the one I am leaving behind, with its own culture and beliefs. This is the story of a young lady and her first encounter with a new society, her first time away from home and family. It was not an easy decision to leave everybody and everything behind, but I wanted so muchRead MoreThe Drawbacks Of Globalization920 Words   |  4 PagesCatch† and the article â€Å"How Sushi Went Global† by Theodore C. Bester, will explain in more detail why I am believe globalization benefits the world as a whole, a I am totally sold on globalization because of the drawbacks it does have. The video, â€Å"Where’s the Catch† talks about a big drawback for me on why globalization is hurting poor countries. In the video it emphasizes how fisherman in poorer countries are losing business, jobs, as well as food because of globalization. Big fisherman boats, andRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Business917 Words   |  4 Pagesliving in a rapidly changing world. It’s amazing how digital transformation reshapes every aspect of business. Decision-makers should always be asking themselves: What’s new? What’s next? What’s better? What technological trends will impact our business? How might the way we work, hire and collaborate change in the future? These are the questions that need to be asked inside organizations because the industries of the future, driven by artificial intelligence, robots, big data, the Internet of ThingsRead MoreMy Paper On Natural Capital1424 Words   |  6 Pages My paper on natural capital was written i n response to an essay written by Paul G. Hawkins about natural capital. The essay discusses problems like human waste and states that we should be able to fix the problem by recycling better and trying to reduce the waste humans produce. This is a big problem that we as a society face today that needs to be fixed. Another problem that we have with natural capital is poverty and how it is affecting us and our everyday lives. I suggested that we try to makeRead MoreThe Big Five Personality Theory1186 Words   |  5 Pagescontext. The primary goal of psychology is to gain a true knowledge and understanding of how and why individuals of all ages and genders behave the way they do. A popular worldwide theory is called The Big Five Personality Theory. This world-renowned theory of understanding ones personality traits has been revolutionary towards understanding the minds of people all over the world and from all backgrounds. The Big Five Personality Theory is based on five main traits which include neuroticism, agreeableness

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

How The World Has Changed Through The Eyes Of The People

The Authors use expository to show how the world has changed through the years each book was made in the eyes of the people. Also it shows how things have changed since the time they were written then and the way they are written now. â€Å"An author s purpose is the reason an author decides to write about a specific topic. The author must decide whether his purpose for writing is to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain his ideas to the reader. In To Kill a Mockingbird it takes place in Alabama during the Depression, and is narrated by the main character, a little girl named Jean Louise Scout Finch. The story shows how a small town lawyer can make a big difference in a racist community. The Help takes place in 1960s Mississippi where a†¦show more content†¦This quote is an ideal example of my selected theme because it shows how Atticus is treating everyone the same way and the way that he wants to be treated. At this time in the novel Atticus is talking to Link about the differences of blacks versus whites. â€Å"You know the truth, and the truth is this: Some negroes lie, some negroes are immoral, some negroes are not to be trusted around women. This is the same idea with white men.† (Lee chapter.23) This quote shows that some characters (well Atticus) care about others and sees that blacks are not the only bad people in this world.This quote is a good example of my theme because it shows how Atticus treats everyone the same black or white. The death of Aibileen s son Treelore. â€Å"But it wasn t too long before I seen something in me had changed. A bitter seed was planted inside a me. And I just didn t feel so accepting anymore.† (Stockett chapter 14)This quote shows that Aibileen wants equality for all. If someone kills her son it should be known to everybody. This is an important example because it shows important equality is. The presentation for equality is unique because its not show as trying to treat others the same, but to show and make everyone feel what you have to go through. Aibileen is seduced into Skeeter s plan by the sudden hope of truth â€Å"Truth†¦ It feels cool, like water washing over my sticky-hot body. Cooling a heat that s been burning me up all my life.† (Stockett chapter 15) Individuality is the

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Maslow Hierarchy Model

Question: for relevant theories you need to use Maslow's needs, alderfer's erg, McClelland etc. and must give examples of workplace, benefits like define it, how it works. Answer: Introduction The paper focuses on generating a discussion relating to different types of motivation theories like Maslows Need Hierarchy Model, Alderfers ERG Theory, Vrooms Expectancy Model and McClellands Need Theory to evaluate the manner the managers and employers are required to motivate the staffs to generate needed performances and productivity. Empirical studies enabled through the use of books, journals and articles would be used to gain required inferences. Application of Motivation Theories Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory can be effectively used in an organisation in terms of enhancing the workplace culture and also has needed impacts on the performances of the employees. It also has effective implications on the human resource management of the organisation. The Needs Theory of Abraham Maslow is reflected in the following illustration. Image 1 (Jerome, 2013) The theory can be effectively used by managers and employers to motivate the staffs and employees in terms of generation of rewards and benefits financial and non-financial, tangible and non-tangible in nature. The same is used by the managers and employers to contribute in effectively motivating the staffs to generate the right quality of performances. Similarly the Need Hierarchy Theory can also be used by the managers to help employees in earning self-actualisation in terms of understanding and evaluating ones potential and skills to contribute in the generation of greater productivity(Jerome, 2013). The safety needs reflected in the need hierarchy pyramid can also be met by the organisational managers in terms of enhancement of workplace safety. Further the need hierarchy theory also contributes in cultivating the organisational culture such that the same helps in meeting the physiological and security related needs of the people. The meeting of the physiological and security related needs of the people rightly contributes in motivating the employees to generate effective performances in the workplace(Msoroka, 2013). Moreover the focus of the managers on development of employee potentials in terms of generation of training programs and also in development of interactions rightly contributes in meeting the social needs of the people. Taking care of the basic physiological and social needs of the people contribute in developing a sense of belongingness for the employees towards the organisation. It helps in developing a sense of loyalty for the organisation thus motivating the peo ple to generate needed performances. Esteem needs of the people are addressed by the organisational managers in terms of recognising their potentials and in appraising such in the public(Kaur, 2013). Alderfers ERG Theory Alderfer ERG Theory evaluates that an individual is motivated based on three types of needs related to Existence, Relatedness and Growth parameters. Existence needs of an individual relate to the need for meeting the physiological and safety needs of the people while Relatedness needs of the individuals reflect on the social, interaction and interpersonal needs of the individual workers. Growth needs of individuals relate to their interest of excelling in their fields and thereby in earning due recognition and social status(Caulton, 2012). The use of the ERG Theory in the workplace can be effectively done in terms of understanding the means to help in meeting the Existence related needs of the people in the workplace. Managers and employers are required to focus on generating effective rewards and benefits both financial and non-financial in addition to development of safety and employee welfare policies. The same contributes in sustaining the employees in the organisation. Existence related needs of the employees are also met by the organisational managers in terms of enhancing the level of job security of the employees in the workplace (Konrad et al., 2013). Similarly the generation of training and skill development programs and also in the encouragement of teamwork in the organisation effectively contributes in meeting the Relatedness needs of the employees can also be developed in terms of encouragement of informal communication in the organisation and also in development of interaction between the different levels of the staffs in the organisation(Konrad et al., 2013). The Growth related needs of the employees and staffs in the organisation relate to the generation of increased opportunities for growth for the managerial staffs. It is evident that the managerial staffs are always in the lookout for better opportunities and thus tend to shift from one organisation to another in search for better opportunities. Organisations are thus required to develop a culture that helps in fostering a culture reflected needed innovation, empowerment and personal growth. The same would contribute in effectively reducing the attrition levels of the managerial workforce in the organisation. Managers and top executives aim to gain an effective organisational culture which would help them in taking the right quality of decisions and also in conducting of social experiments in the organisation to gain new and potential insights(Arnolds Boshoff, 2002). McClellands Need Theory McClellands Theory of Learned Needs reflects three types of needs like the need for power, affiliation and also for achievement related to the organisational managers. The theory tends to identify three specific needs of individuals like need for power, need for achievement and also need for affiliation. Individuals seeking greater power in the organisation focus on governing and monitoring the action of others like the employees and subordinate staffs to help in meeting of departmental and organisational objectives. Individuals with a strong need for achievement focus on meeting goals and objectives in an effective fashion such that it helps them to earn potential success. Finally the individual seeking increased affiliation with others employees, managers and staffs in the organisation focus on developing effective relationships, associations and networks with others in meeting of stated objectives and goals(Napolitano, 2014). The application of McClellands Theory of Motivation can be effectively exercised relating to an organisation. The staffs and managers reflecting increased need for gaining success and achievement are required to be rightly trained in that the same contributes in enhancing their skills and expertise in handling tasks and functions demanding greater responsibilities. Persons desiring increased achievement are observed to have an inclination of handling challenging tasks such that the meeting of the same contributes in generating an enhanced place in the organisation. Thus new and challenging tasks are needed to be offered to the persons desiring achievement and are also generated potential feedbacks from time to time to help in enhancing their skill base and potentials(Strycharczyk Elvin, 2014). On the other hand, the managerial individuals seeking power can be delegated to departments where there is increased competition and thereby requires the effective monitoring and governance of the staffs to contribute in the meeting of desired objectives. Managerial staffs reflecting increased need for affiliation can be encouraged to work based on a team based culture in that the same would contribute in meeting their needs for conducting the tasks in an associated and network driven environment(Worth, 2013). Vrooms Expectancy Theory The expectancy theory developed by Victor Vroom is essentially based on three different variables like value, expectancy and also instrumentality. Value relates to the significance generated to the outcome related to a specific situation. Expectancy relates to the linking of success of the situation gained by an individual to the outcome or result emanating from meeting the situation. Finally the level of instrumentality is related where the expectancy of the outcome earns effective linkage to the outcome resulting from the situation. Motivation is observed by Vroom as the product of the Value, Expectancy and Instrumentality such that Motivation = E x V x I(Burn, 2011). The implication of the Vrooms Expectancy Theory in the workplace is devised based on the following model. (Lunenburg, 2011) The expectancy parameter can be exercised by the managers in terms of making the staffs and employees understand their potential and efforts would lead to generate effective performances. The same can be done by managers in terms of evaluation and selection for the right type of individuals with required skill and knowledge in meeting the objectives and specifications related to a particular job. Further the individuals can be effective trained to contribute in enhancing their skills, know-how and potentials to gain needed confidence and solidarity in meeting the job expectations. Similarly the organisational managers are required to assign needed infrastructural and resource based support to the employees to assist them in meeting of task objectives(Bernstein, 2010). Similarly the organisational managers are continually required to interact with the staffs to contribute in gaining of needed feedbacks from them to enhance the job environment and also take part in problem-solving acti vities to rightly contribute in meeting of tasks in an enhanced and effective fashion. Change of job roles and also assigning employees greater and complex tasks based on training rightly contributes in increasing the confidence levels of the employees to proactively meet the job or task expectations(STEERS et al., 2004). In the second place, the Vrooms expectancy model can be used by the managers to make the employees believe that conducting the right type of performances would contribute in generating the right type of rewards. The same is conducted by the managers in terms of conducting job performance and evaluation of the staffs and thereby in generating rewards based on the performances generated. Historical comparisons can also be generated in terms of highlighting the manner employees have been rewarded for like performances. Thus the rewards desired by the staffs are required to be effectively linked to the performances required of them by the business managers. Effective compensation systems are needed to be set related to the performance levels of the employees Development of incentive plans and piece rate systems are made by managers in terms of linking the volumes sold or produced by the staffs to create needed motivation(Martinko et al., 2002). Finally the managers are also required to enhance the value of rewards generating from desired level of performances. Thus it is required for the managers to decide on the rewards desired or expected by the employees before aligning such with the performances desired or expected of them. It is observed that where some employees desire of earning promotions others focus on gaining of potential monetary and non-monetary incentives as a part of the incentive program. Some other employees also focus on earning of effective recognition and appraisals in terms of the performances conducted by the superiors and managers in the organisation(Hughes, 2012). Some companies have thus focused on the development of different types of incentive and benefit plans to encourage the employees in selecting such to be rewarded to them in terms of the performances conducted. The employees are however required to satiate the job and organisational objectives rather than to focus on the meeting of the group norms. The group norms are observed to require the staffs to generate minimal effort to generate lesser value where the job objectives and the organisation require the employees to generate increased or enhanced performances(Lunenburg, 2011). The above discussion thus reflects the manner in which Vrooms Expectancy Theory can be rightly implemented by the managers in the business organisation to rightly motivate the staffs in generating greater performances. Conclusion The paper effectively analyses different motivation theories like Maslows Need Hierarchy Model, Alderfers ERG Theory, Vrooms Expectancy Model and McClellands Need Theory to understand and evaluate the fashion in which the organisational managers can effectively use such in motivating the staffs to generate needed performances. Both empirical and practical discussions are carried out through the use of secondary research based on the use of books, journals and articles to essentially reflect on the fashion the motivational tools are used and strategically employed to contribute in generating greater productivity and performances related to the different departments and the organisation as a whole. It also reflects on the timeless use of such motivation models and theories related to the motivation of staffs at their respective workplaces. The use of the Maslows Need Hierarchy Model reflects the process in which the managers can effectively design motivational strategies to contribute in meeting of the different types of needs of the staffs to generate needed performances and productivity. Similarly the ERG Model of Alderfer also reflects the fashion in which the Existence, Relatedness and Growth parameters can be rightly addressed by the organisational managers to motivate the people in generating needed performances. Vrooms Expectancy Model in use also reflects the mode of formulating motivation strategies based on meeting the parameters of expectancy, value and the instrumentality parameters to enhance the motivation levels of the staffs. Likewise the McClellands Theory is depicted to be used in meeting the needs of the staffs related to power, achievement and affiliation to thereby encourage them in meeting production and performance objectives. References Arnolds, C.A. Boshoff, C., 2002. Compensation, esteem valence and job performance: an empirical assessment of Alderfer's ERG theory. International Journal of Human Resource Management , 13(4), pp.697-719. Bernstein, D., 2010. Essentials of Psychology. United States : Cengage Learning. Burn, G., 2011. Motivation For Dummies. London : John Wiley and Sons. Caulton, J.R., 2012. The Development and Use of the Theory of ERG: A Literature Review. Emerging Leadership Journeys, 5(1), pp.2-8. Hughes, C., 2012. Valuing People and Technology in the Workplace: A Competitive Advantage Framework: A Competitive Advantage Framework. London : IGI Global. Jerome, N., 2013. Application of the Maslows hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee's performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(3), pp.39-45. Kaur, A., 2013. Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory: Applications and Criticisms. Global Journal of Management and Business Studies, 3(10), pp.1061-64. Konrad, A.M. et al., 2013. Temporary Work, Underemployment and Workplace Accommodations: Relationship to Well-being for Workers with Disabilities. British Journal of Management, 24, pp.367-82. Lunenburg, F.C., 2011. Expectancy Theory of Motivation: Motivating by Altering Expectations. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND ADMINISTRATION, 15(1), pp.1-6. Martinko, M.J., Gundlach, M.J. Douglas, S.C., 2002. Toward an Integrative Theory of Counterproductive Workplace Behavior: A Causal Reasoning Perspective. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, 10(1/2), pp.36-50. Msoroka, M., 2013. Motivating Workers in Educational Institutions: Adams' Equity and Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theoretical Implications. Germany: GRIN Verlag. Napolitano, G., 2014. Motivation In The Workplace: A Procter And Gamble Case Study. United States : Babelcube Inc. STEERS, R.M., MOWDAY, R.T. SHAPIRO, D.L., 2004. THE FUTURE OF WORK MOTIVATION THEORY. Academy of Management Review, 29(3), pp.379-87. Strycharczyk, D. Elvin, C., 2014. Developing Resilient Organizations: How to Create an Adaptive, High-Performance and Engaged Organization. United States : Kogan Page Publishers. Worth, M.J., 2013. Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practice. London : SAGE.

Monday, December 2, 2019

The Evolution Of Apple - January 1976 To May 1995 Essays

The Evolution of Apple - January 1976 to May 1995 Let's take a trip back in time and review the evolution of a computer company. It's not IBM or Microsoft. This company is Apple Computers, Incorporated. In the year 1976, before most people even thought about buying a computer for their homes. Back then the computer community added up to a few brainy hobbyist. So when Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs sold a van and two programmable calculators for thirteen hundred dollars and started Apple Computers, Inc., in Jobs garage, the reach for success seemed far. But these two young business men, Wozniak 26 years old and Jobs 21 years old, had a vision. "Computers aren't for nerds anymore," they announced. "Computers are going to be the bicycle of the mind. Low cost computers for everyone." From the first day on the founders of Apple kept their vision intact, and they spoke it at every turn. They only hired people into the company that had the same visions as they did. In early 1976 Wozniak and Jobs finish work on a preassembled computer circuit board. It has no Product keyboard, case, sound or graphics. They call it the Apple I. They form the Apple Computer Company on April Fool's Day and sold the Apple I board for $666.66 at the Home brew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California. In 1977 the Apple II is available to the general public. Fully assembled and pretested, it includes 4K of standard memory, and comes equipped with two game paddles and a demo cassette. The price is $1,298. Customers use their own TV set as a monitor and store programs on audio cassette recorders. Compare this price with computers today. The price about the same, but the computer has changed tremendously. In 1979 Apple II+ is introduced, available with 48K of memory and a new auto-start ROM for easier startup and screen editing for $1,195. Apple II Pascal is also released. In 1980 Apple FORTRAN introduced and proves to be a catalyst for high-level technical and educational applications. Apple III announced at the National Computer Conference. It has a new operating system, a built-in disk controller and four peripheral slots priced at $3,495, the Apple III is the most advanced system in the company's history. Product In 1981 Accessory Products Division formed to handle production of printers, modems and other peripherals. The Apple Language Card is introduced. It allows Apple II users to run programs in either Pascal, FORTRAN or Pilot. The IEEE-488 interface card is announced and allows Apple II computers to be linked to over 1,400 scientific and technical instruments. International Business Machines came on the PC scene in August of 1981 with the IBM Personal Computer. Apple greets its new competitor with a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal with a headline that reads, "Welcome IBM. Seriously." Apple's first mass storage system was also introduced this year, the 5MB ProFile hard disk, priced at $3,499. In November of 1983 AppleWorks, an integrated package containing word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications all in one, is introduced and will soon become the world's best selling software. In February of 1985 Jobs and Wozniak receive National Technology Medal from President Reagan at the White House. The ImageWriter II, HD-20 hard disk and Apple Personal Modem were also introduced this year. In January of 1987 Apple introduced a new desktop communications products including the AppleShare file server software and AppleTalk PC Card. They are priced at $799 and $399. Also introduced in 1987 is the AppleFax Modem, priced at $699. Now you get a fax modem with the purchase of an Apple computer. In February of 1988 Apple introduces AppleCD SC, an optical storage device that gives access to huge amounts of information. Priced at $1,199, a single CD-ROM disc can store up to 270,000 pages of typewritten information. Also in 1988 Apple files suit against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard to protect its Macintosh audio visual display. The lawsuit is seen as having industry wide implications regarding copyright laws. In late 1988 Apple introduces the Macintosh IIx computer, priced at $7,769. It is the first Macintosh II computer to use Motorola's 68030 microprocessor and 68882 math co-processor. It is also the first Macintosh to incorporate FDHD, Floppy Drive High Density, Apple's new 1.44MB floppy disk drive that can read and write to MS-DOS, OS/2 and ProDOS formats. Also a new configuration is announced for the Macintosh SE. The new unit features two megabytes of RAM and an internal 40 megabyte hard drive. It retails for $5,069. From April till July of 1989

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Irregular French Verb Apprendre

The Irregular French Verb Apprendre Apprendre,  which commonly means to learn,  is a frequently used  irregular French  -re  verb. Irregular verbs do not follow regular conjugation patterns, but some verbs within an irregular verb group can share a conjugation pattern with at least one other verb. There are patterns for irregular French -re verbs, and the irregular verb  apprendre  is in one of those groups. All verbs like apprendre that end in  -prendre  are conjugated the same way. The verbs in this group drop the d in all three plural forms and take a double n in the third person plural form.   Verbs Ending in -prendre All French verbs that end in  -prendre  are conjugated the same way as apprendre  and  prendre: apprendre  Ã‚  to learncomprendre  Ã‚  to understandentreprendre  Ã‚  to undertakemà ©prendre  Ã‚  to mistakeprendre  Ã‚  to takereprendre  Ã‚  to retake, take againsurprendre  Ã‚  to surprise Apprendre: Meanings and Uses In use,  apprendre  means to learn. The pronominal sapprendre, means to be learned, as in:  Le style, à §a ne sapprend pas. Style cant be learned. Apprendre can also mean to tell, as in:Apprendre quelque chose quelquun to teach something to somebody And to hear, as in:Quest-ce que japprends, vous dà ©missionnez  ? Whats this I hear about you resigning? Apprendre:  Idiomatic Expressions On en apprend tous les jours  !   You can learn something new every day.Tiens, tiens, on en apprend des choses  ! Whod have thought such a thing!Napprend pas un vieux singe faire la grimace. ( proverb)   Dont teach an old dog new tricks.Ça lui apprendra  !   Thatll teach him!Apprendre quelque chose par cÅ“ur   learn something by heart/ by roteApprendre à ªtre patient to learn patienceOn apprend tout à ¢ge. Its never too late to learn.Apprendre lentement/vite to be a slow / fast learner Simple Conjugations of the Irregular French Verb Apprendre Present Future Imperfect Present participle j apprends apprendrai apprenais apprenant tu apprends apprendras apprenais il apprend apprendra apprenait nous apprenons apprendrons apprenions vous apprenez apprendrez appreniez ils apprennent apprendront apprenaient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle appris Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive j apprenne apprendrais appris apprisse tu apprennes apprendrais appris apprisses il apprenne apprendrait apprit apprit nous apprenions apprendrions apprimes apprissions vous appreniez apprendriez apprites apprissiez ils apprennent apprendraient apprissent Imperative tu apprends nous apprenons vous apprenez

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Food Inс. Essays

Food InÃ' . Essays Food InÃ' . Essay Food InÃ' . Essay Discussion Questions Watch the film and answer the following questions: 1. If animals should have certain rights, do you think those rights also apply to animals we raise for food, like chickens or pigs? Are there any rights that these farm animals should have? If so, what are they? One animal does not have greater importance over another, such as one human is not more life worthy than another. In this case to say certain animals should have rights whereas others should not is wrong. So yes a dog and a chicken should have rights and the same rights. The more difficult question is what exactly these rights should be. It is reasonable to try to prevent the most obvious cases of gratuitous suffering or torture of animals, but beyond that, non-human animals yes deserve to be given â€Å"rights†, but cannot simply be granted. The animals are treated like scum, kept in the dark with no concept of an outside world. Some rights they should be graced with are the right to the outdoors, and the right to roam. 2. How do you think farm animals should be treated? How do your ideas compare to what you saw in the film? It seems as if each industry in the film has the power to define cruelty. : This is as ridiculous as giving a burglar the power to determine their punishment. Why these industries are not charged with aggravated cruelty to animals is something I cannot understand. Is it not the same to kick a dog or kick a chicken with the same anger? 3. Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council says in the film, â€Å"In a way, we’re not producing chickens, we’re producing food. † What does this statement mean? Do you agree or disagree with it? How might this perspective affect the way that chickens are raised? 4. Many of us were surprised to learn that corn is so prevalent in our foods. Why o you think we were so surprised? Of course people are surprised to find out corn is so prevalent because the problem is it’s not even just in foods! When there is some kind of soy or corn in batteries, diapers, Motrin, charcoal, etc. you know there is a big problem. 5. Do you think the government and food producers have kept it a secret? Why don’t more people know this fact? This unfortunately is not something you can blame on the food producers; it’s simply the consumers fault for not looking at the ingredients on a food label. I believe people do not know the facts due to ignorance and laziness. Bottom line is if people realize what is in their food they will have to make a change which is usually not cost effective and more time consuming which these days is very undesirable. 6. Food labels actually do list corn-based ingredients, but not always in a recognizable way. How do you feel about ingredients being included in your diet without your knowledge? If you have a question about something, isn’t it common knowledge to ask about it. Google these days tells you everything you want to know and more so people can easily read the ingredients and research a word unknown to them.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Financial crises and Fair Value Accounting (Historical cost,deprival Essay

Financial crises and Fair Value Accounting (Historical cost,deprival value and replacement cost) - Essay Example hand, the supporters of fair value accounting method argued that the role of this method of valuation was minimalistic in the financial crisis and that the use of other methods of accounting could not have prevented the crisis. They identified that certain macro-economic factors like account surpluses, dispersing of loans without credibility checking, excess level of risk taking by the banks and the sharp fall in the prices of mortgage backed assets to be the main factors driving the financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 was a deep recession which impacted almost all the nations of the world. Therefore, the reasons that have caused the crisis have been extensively studied by the economists and scholars. One of the most studied topics in this respect is whether the use of the fair value accounting by the financial institutions has been a driving force for the downturn. The financial crisis of 2008 led to major debates among the researchers, academicians, banks as well as other participants of the financial markets regarding the role of Fair Value accounting in driving the failure of the financial markets in during the financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 was characterized by liquidity and volatility problems in the financial markets and the collapse or quasi breakdown of the major financial institutions of Wall Street like Lehman Brothers, Merry Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland, Citicorp, AIG, Bear Sterns and Dexia (Ryan, 2008, p.14). The non-supporters of Fair Value Accounting argued that the use of fair value accounting methods in the financial reporting of the major financial institutions was the main accelerator and amplifier of the high intensity of the financial downturn. According to them, many financial institutions marked down the asset values in their financial reports due to the drip in the value of many financial instruments. Th e marked down representation of the asset values in the balance sheets weakened the capitalization ratios of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Current Administrations Budget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Current Administrations Budget - Essay Example a higher premium for Medicares prescription drug coverage, and increasing the amount of money drug manufacturers rebate to states for prescription drugs covered under Medicaid will comprise the proposal (â€Å"Obama 2010 budget highlights by agency,† 2009). Obamas budget indicated that the environment is a main concern by providing the largest increase for the Environmental Protection Agency in eight years. The proposal nearly triples — to $3.9 billion for funding states, local governments and tribes. They can use the money for the improvement of sewage treatment plants and drinking water systems and to protect drinking water sources. These programs already received $6 billion in the recently approved stimulus package. Starting in 2012, the budget proposes to invest $15 billion a year in clean energy — money created from auctioning permits to companies that emit the gases blamed for global warming. The rest of the climate cash will be returned to taxpayers. In another move that could increase energy prices, the EPA budget calls for reinstating taxes on petroleum products, chemical feedstocks and crude oil to pay for cleaning the countrys most harmful waste sites. These taxes expired in 1995. but would set up again in 2011 under Obamas budget (â€Å"Obama 2010 budget highlights by agency,† 2009). Proposed Budget on Energy and Climate Change: The Administration is extending a comprehensive energy and climate change plan to invest in safe and uncontaminated energy, terminate our addiction to oil, concentrate on the global climate crisis, and create new American jobs that cannot be outsourced. After enactment of the Budget, the Administration will work promptly with key stakeholders and the Congress will create an economy-wide emissions reduction program to lessen greenhouse gas emissions roughly 14 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and approximately 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. The cap-and-trade system program will be implemented. This program

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Transformational Leadership Essay Example for Free

Transformational Leadership Essay In any endeavor, a leader is necessary for it to be successful. One would ask why? Is something doomed to failure if it’s instigated, implemented without a leader? Sun Tzu said: â€Å"The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected (Giles).† I would like to make a comparison here. Any action is a war – a war between success and failure. Even the simplest task of reading is a war – understanding vs. misunderstanding or enjoyable vs. boring. Let me just add that Sun Tzu further stated that: â€Å"The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are: The Moral Law; Heaven; Earth; The Commander; Method and discipline. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.† (Giles). So how important Sun Tzu’s Commander is in the way of things? Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, was reported to have issued a three-word dictum–â€Å"Don’t manage! Lead!† So when does one be classified as a manager? As a leader? What’s the difference? Whereas a manager is someone who works with and through other people by coordinating their work activities in order to accomplish organizational goals, leadership is somehow more complex. It is â€Å"the process wherein an individual member of a group or organization influences the interpretation of events, the choice of objectives, the maintenance of cooperative relationships, the development of skills and confidence by members, and the enlistment of support and cooperation from people outside the group or organization† (Yukl 2002, p. 5). Henceforth, leadership is influencing other people to realize or actualize the vision an organization must take in order to stay ahead and the leader is the one who is ahead of the pact. In the years of studying leadership, several leadership styles emerged. Literatures discussed and analyzed situational leadership, participative leadership, charismatic leadership, and transformational leadership among others. Transformational Leadership: Review of Related Literature Nigel Nicholson talked about the transformational leadership in one of his articles. In the beginning of one of his article, How to Motivate Your Problem People, he said that â€Å"[everyone] knows that good managers motivate with the power of their vision, the passion of their delivery, and the compelling logic of their reasoning† (2003, p. 57). However, he did say that this is a great image and that only remains as main fare of â€Å"idealistic leadership books† (Nicholson, p. 57). Tracey and Hinkin undertook a research on whether transformational leadership exists or it is just effective managerial practices (1998). To test their hypothesis, Tracey and Hinkin conducted the study by comparing the transformational leadership scales from Bass and Avolios Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire with four scales from Yukls Managerial Practices Survey (1998). The results provided mixed support for the distinctiveness of the MLQ. Does this mean then that there is no such thing as a transformational leader? I don’t think so. I believe that Gandhi was one, Mother Theresa was one, and even Hitler was one. So what is this transformational leadership theory? Furthermore, Sosik and Megerian found out that the transformational leadership behavior and managerial performance are correlated in several circumstances (1991).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transformational leadership was first formulated by Burns from his descriptive research on political leaders (Yukl 2002, p. 324). It is defined in terms of the transformational leader’s effect on followers: â€Å"they feel trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect toward the leader, and they are motivated to do more than they originally expected to do† (Yukl 2002, p. 325). The transformational leadership theory assumes that people will follow a person who inspires them. It also assumes that a person with vision and passion can achieve great things; and that the way to get things done is by injecting enthusiasm and energy. Given that a transformational leader seeks overtly to transform the organization, there is also a tacit promise to followers that they also will be transformed in some way, perhaps to be more like this amazing leader. In some respects, then, the followers are the product of the transformation. But then as Nicholson implied, one of the traps of Transformational Leadership is that passion and confidence can easily be mistaken for truth and reality. While it is true that great things have been achieved through enthusiastic leadership, it is also true that many passionate people have led the charge right over the cliff and into a bottomless chasm. Paradoxically, the energy that gets people going can also cause them to give up. Transformational Leaders often have large amounts of enthusiasm which, if relentlessly applied, can wear out their followers. Chen studied the impact of gender on transformational leadership (2001). His research study supported his hypothesis that gender truly affects transformational leadership due to the differing qualities possessed by each gender (Chen 2001). Because â€Å"women leaders possess qualities more in line with transformational leadership and are thus more transformational than their male counterparts† (Chen 2001). A similar study was made by Schyns and Sanders. The study was focused on the gender differences in the relationship between transformational leadership and leaders occupational self-efficacy, and aimed to explain how female and male leaders develop their self-efficacy (Schyns Sanders 2005). Unlike the Chen study, Schyns and Sanders’ study â€Å"found no significant relationship between self-rated transformational leadership and occupational self-efficacy for women, although [they] did find a positive relationship for men. No interaction effect with respect to leaders occupational self-efficacy could be found between leaders gender and follower-rated transformational leadership† (2005). The effectiveness of the transformational leadership had been studied not only in the business sector, but also in the arts. Boerner and von Streit investigated the degree to which the conductors transformational leadership style and a cooperative climate in the orchestra favorably affect the orchestras artistic quality by surveying several musicians from 22 professional German symphony orchestras (2005). Specifically, the authors studied the assertion that the conductors transformational leadership style promotes the orchestras artistic quality only if there is a cooperative climate in the orchestra (Boerner von Streit 2005). Whereas Krishnan studied the effects of leader-member exchange, transformational leadership, and perceived value system congruence between leader and follower on followers six upward influence strategies assertiveness, bargaining, coalition, friendliness, higher authority, and reasoning by using a sample of 281 managers working in various organizations in India (2004). Majority of the researches done on transformational leadership focused on the effectiveness of transformational leadership, but Felfe ad Schyns pointed out that â€Å"a little is known about similarity in the leadership behavior of leader and supervisor, and how this affects the outcomes of leadership† (2004), and both collaborated to correct this oversight. In their study, 213 supervisors from two public administration offices were asked to rate their own leadership behavior as well as their leaders behavior. Felfe and Schyns then examined the relationship between own self-rated transformational leadership and perceived transformational leadership of the direct superior, and analyzed the relationship between perceived similarity between subordinate and supervisor in transformational leadership and leadership specific outcomes (extra effort, efficiency, and satisfaction with the leader), as well as organizational outcomes (commitment, overall satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, achievement orientation, stress, and irritability) (2004). The researches on transformational leadership were conducted in several ways: review of existing literatures, interviews, and surveys. Sosik, however, conducted a laboratory experiment to evaluate the effects of high and low level of transformational leadership style and anonymity (1997). He included 36 undergraduate student work groups, and used a Group Decision Support System to perform an idea generation task (Sosik 1997). Sosik found out â€Å"that groups working under high transformational leadership generated more original solutions, supportive remarks, solution clarifications and questions about solutions and reported higher levels of perceived performance, extra effort and satisfaction with the leader than groups working under low transformational leadership† (1997). Undoubtedly, the effectiveness of a transformational leader doesn’t depend solely on that leader: no matter how good a leader is that leader’s success will always depend, in part, on the followers. Walumbwa, Lawler, Avolio, Wang and Shi studied how a transformational leader’s effectiveness is affected by followers’ work-related attitude (2005). What is interesting with this study is Walumbwa, Lawler, Avolio, Wang and Shi collected their data from three countries: China, India and United States. But, then, what makes up a transformational leadership exactly? Hoffman and Frost examine the impact of emotional, social, and cognitive intelligences on the dimensions of transformational leadership using both paper-and-pencil measures and assessment center dimensions (2006). The study found out that there are significant relationships between cognitive intelligence components and intellectual stimulation, social intelligence components and charisma, and emotional intelligence components and individualized consideration (Hoffman Frost 2006). Finally, Transformational Leaders, by definition, seek to transform. When the organization does not need transforming and people are happy as they are, then such a leader will be frustrated. Like wartime leaders, however, given the right situation they come into their own and can be personally responsible for saving entire wars. References Chen, C. (2001). Androgyny and transformational leadership: Effects of gender and sex-role identity in the collectivistic context of Taiwan, R.O.C. University of Southern California. Felfe, J. Schyns, B. (2004). Is Similarity in Leadership Related to Organizational Outcomes? The Case of Transformational Leadership. Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 10 (4), 92-103. Giles, L. (translator). Sun Tzu The Art of War. Hoffman, B. Frost, B. (2006). Multiple intelligences of transformational leaders: an empirical examination. International Journal of Manpower, 27 (1), 37. Krishnan, V. (2004). Impact of transformational leadership on followers influence strategies. Leadership Organizational development Journal, 25 (1/2), 58. Nicholson, N. (2003). How to Motivate Your Problem People. Harvard Business Review, January 2003, 57-65. Boerner, S. von Streit, C. (2005). Transformational Leadership and Group Climate-Empirical Results from Symphony Orchestras. Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 12 (2), 31-41. Schyns, B. Sanders, K. (2005). Exploring gender differences in leaders occupational self-efficacy. Women in Management Review, 20 (7/8), 513-523. Sosik, J. (1997). Effect of transformational leadership and anonymity on idea generation in computer-mediated groups. Group Organization Management, 22 (4), 460-487. Sosik, J. Megerian, L. (1991). Understanding leader emotional intelligence and performance: The role of self-other agreement on transformational leadership perceptions. T Group Organization Management, 24 (3), 367-390. Tracey, J. Hinkin, T. (1998). Transformational leadership or effective managerial practices? Group Organization Management, 23 (2), 220-236. Walumbwa, F., Lawler, J., Avolio, B., Wang, P. Shi, K. (2005). Transformational Leadership and Work-Related Attitudes: The Moderating Effects of Collective and Self-Efficacy Across Cultures. Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 11 (3), 2-16. Yukl, G. (2002). Leadership in Organizations (5th ed). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Gilbert Ryles The Concept of Mind Essay -- Concept Mind Gilbert Ryle

Gilbert Ryle's The Concept of Mind In The Concept of Mind Gilbert Ryle attempts, in his own words, to 'explode the myth' of Cartesian dualism. His primary method in this endeavour is to explain why it is a logical error to describe minds and bodies with semantically similar language; while secondarily, he proposes that even to speak of 'minds' as a second-order ontology is to take the first step in the wrong direction towards intellectual clarity. Thus, with the desire to arrive at this hypothetical locale, the following peripatetic discussion will set out with Ryle at his point of departure, viz. Descartes' Myth; it will then survey the "lay-of-the-land" at Ryle's mapped out midway point, viz. Self-Knowledge; and from there, judge whether Ryle himself is headed in the right direction, or, whether despite the ribbons and fan-fare, Ryle's excursion takes place on a circular track. Ryle begins by seeking to expose the theory of Cartesian Dualism as an absurd logical error. To do this, he accuses it of having an inherently faulty structure; that it exemplifies "one big category-mistake."1 To understand this claim we must first look at what Ryle deems a 'category-mistake.' A category-mistake is committed when one accounts for a concept by placing it in a certain logical type, or category, when in fact it belongs to a different division altogether. So to describe or qualify two items or ideas of dissimilar constitution within the same linguistic framework is to commit this mistake. Ryle provides numerous examples for the elucidation of this error, only one of which follows: "she came home in a flood of tears and a sedan chair."2 The absurdity of this statement shows the category-mistake for what it is: a failure to use langu... ...ons it is my considered opinion that despite Ryle's attempt at intellectual clarity, this clarity is an illusion. NOTES 1 Gilbert Ryle, The Concept of Mind, p. 17.Back to note location in text 2 Ibid., p. 23.Back to note location in text 3 Ibid., p. 15.Back to note location in text 4 Ibid. Back to note location in text 5 Ibid., p.21.Back to note location in text 6 Ibid., p. 23.Back to note location in text 7 I refer to John R. Searle, The Rediscovery of The Mind, in which the author states: "Mental phenomena are caused by neurophysiological processes in the brain and are themselves features of the brain." p. 1.Back to note location in text 8 Gilbert Ryle, The Concept of Mind, p. 149.Back to note location in text 9 Ibid., p. 149.Back to note location in text 10 Ibid., p. 162.Back to note location in text

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Explanation of the research proposal Essay

# central research question: Research questions steer the student’s research, and the central research question should reflect the subject of research in a concise way. # theoretical (desk) research questions: Questions should reflect relevant theoretical concepts that apply to the topic under research by the student, i.e. from marketing, finance, business environment. The theoretical framework should be taken into account when formulating theoretical research questions. New theories will receive extra points! Students can improve the structure and categorize the questions under themes (categories), such as: * Strategic management (Competitive Grid, BCG, Ansoff, Abel, 5-forces, competitive strategy, PLC, PEST, SWOT, etc), * Marketing (4Ps, positioning, targeting, branding, CRM, branding, etc). * Operations & SCM (process strategy, SCM, inventory management, lean systems, forecast & demand driven systems, resource planning , and others). * International business (FDI, strategy & organization of int’l business, entry models, barriers to trade, etc). * Finance & accounting. The choice of topics also depends on how broad or narrow the student wants the research topic to be. # empirical (field) research questions: Students should think about what they want to find out by doing field research, and formulate research questions about these issues. They will need to identify the populations that they want to research and formulate research questions for each of these populations. One way to structure empirical research questions is using the research populations at categories. What is it you want to learn from these populations? But, formulate research questions, not questionnaire or interview questions! Research objectives: Objectives should reflect briefly what the student wants to achieve by the research project. Philosophy: Interpretivism – the view that all knowledge is a matter of interpretation. From the book: â€Å"A People’s History of the United States†, Howard Zinn: â€Å"But there is no such thing as a pure fact, innocent of interpretation. Behind every fact presented to the world – by a teacher, a writer, anyone – is a judgment. The judgment that has been made is that this fact is important, and that other facts, omitted, are not important.† * Positivism: 1 + 1 = 2 * Interpretivism: 1 + 1 = 3 # research approach: deductive/inductive: * Deductive is applying theories in desk research; * Inductive is developing theories, or new insights, by doing field research. # cross-sectional/longitudinal/exploratory/ descriptive/explanatory studies. * Cross-sectional means studying the here and now. * Longitudinal means studying developments over time by doing * exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies. Research strategy # Desk research: * Theoretical research questions drive desk-research. * IP-8 is an academic assignment and presenting issues in a theoretical context is a requirement. * IP-8 requires students to apply theories and models to a ‘real life’ business problem and to organize proprietary original field research. * Desk-research Desk research is done to answer the theoretical research questions and includes selecting and studying the theories and information relevant to the research topic. Students should explain how they will collect quantitative and qualitative data by doing internet, database and literature research. # quantitative secondary data: examples of texts, authors should be given. * # qualitative secondary data: Specific sources should be presented. * # internet research: Specific sources should be presented. Use of school databases is expected. * # literature research: Use of school library sources is expected. * Theoretical framework * Area – field – topic: when selecting the theories that apply to the research topic, students will describe the theoretical framework of their research topic. In the theoretical framework allows students to broaden or narrow down their subject of research. * # The area is the broader context, such as strategic management, marketing, finance, or logistics; * # The field is more narrow, such as for example competitive strategy, customer service, flow strategies of production and distribution, financial performance measurement, etc, depending on the topic of research. * # The topic is usually the central research question. * # primary – secondary – tertiary sources of secondary data: Specific sources should be presented. * # secondary data: document/survey based (CBS): Specific sources should be presented. * # referencing method: IBMS referencing method should be used. Field-research Empirical research questions drive field-research. # case-study: When students work with a sponsor, the research is often called a case study, because they do research that applies to a particular case, the sponsor. The sponsor company provides access to empirical data. # research populations: sampling frames: Students should do the following when they organize their field research: # formulate empirical research questions that will be answered by doing field research, # choose the research populations that can answer these questions, and possibly get a sampling frame (a list with names or items in the population), # select the research methods (interviews, surveys, observations) for each of the research populations that will be used to extract the information, # then select the sampling method (probability, or non-probability sampling) for each of the research populations. # observations/interviews/survey with questionnaires: Student should explain briefly why methods are chosen for each of the research populations. Sampling method for each of the research populations: # probability sampling (simple-random/ systematic/stratified-random/cluster sampling): Student should explain briefly which sampling methods have been chosen for each of the research populations and why. # non-probability sampling (quota/purposive/ snowball/self-selecting/convenience sampling): Student should explain briefly which sampling methods have been chosen for each of the research populations and why. # sample size: Student should explain why sample sizes haven been set, and how. # reliability/validity: Student should reflect on the consistency and representativeness of potential findings from the research populations that have been identified, and the truthfulness of potential findings. Empirical framework # environment of field research: Sponsor company provides access to empirical data. Student should briefly describe the environment of their field research, the sponsor company, and the research populations. # research populations (sources of primary data): Students describe the research populations of their field research which may consist of the sponsor company, representatives of departments, experts, customers, suppliers, competitors, etc. In the empirical framework more detailed information is provided about the research methods, observations, the type of the interviews and the questionnaires used in the survey (if applicable), and the type of data that is expected to be collected. Note: There is redundancy in some of the issues presented in the checklist under field research, research populations, sampling, and empirical environment. Students may refer to earlier parts. # observations: Observation is systematically observing people and/or processes. Observation might be an option for students doing a case study, but is often difficult to organize. # interviews: fully structured/semi-structured/ unstructured: Student should provide details about the type of interviews for each of the research populations. # surveys: self-administered/ interviewer administered questionnaires: Student should provide details about the type of surveys for each of the research populations. # opinion/behavior/attribute data: Student should provide details about the types of data will be collected from each of the research populations. Time table: Is time-table realistic and meeting deadlines?

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Effectiveness of Legal Sanctions

Effectiveness of sanctions in our society today In today’s society we impose sanctions on individuals who break laws of the community. There are many types of sanctions such as; fines, intensive correction, community based, youth training and drug treatment orders, home detention, suspended sentences and imprisonment. Imposing sanctions among offenders is highly successful in our society today as they may deter the individual/ general community from committing/re-committing a crime, to protect the society, to punish the offender, in many cases to rehabilitate the offender and to show that the crime is unacceptable. Imprisonment is a criminal sanction which removes the offender from society by detainment in a prison. Imprisonment is effective in terms of punishment and protection of the society. Imprisonment can also be seen as a deterrence which discourages the individual/general community from re-offending / committing a crime. Many prisoners once released from prison stay on the right path and never go back to prison. This is what one hopes for when imposing the imprisonment sanction. However some prisoners, once released cannot live normal lives. In prisons there is a high amount of violence and sexual assaults, so when people are released the fear going back, therefore they cannot live normal lives. Furthermore prisoners are grouped with other prisoners and they may learn new tricks of the trade. Also it can be argued that deterrence failing in prisons. There is a high rate of individuals re-offending when released from prison. An astonishing 33% of prisoners return to prison within two years of their release. Yet even with on of the major aims of imprisonment failing, deterrence, I still believe that imprisonment is an effective sanction is it is protecting our society because the prisoner is out of the way, therefore the society is safe. An intensive correction order is another type of sanction in our society. It is a sanction involving the treatment and supervision component and a custodial component. There are numerous conditions regarding an intensive correction order. The offender cannot commit another offence while on order; there is supervision twice a week, attendance at a correction centre for 12 hours a week, community work for 8 hours a weekend and counseling. If the individual breaks any of these conditions they can be imprisoned for the remainder of the order. The main aims of an intensive correction order are deterrence and rehabilitation. It discourages the individual from re-offending but also helps the individual change and resume a normal life. The intensive corrections order is highly effective on our society as it not only punishes the individual but gives them every opportunity to get their life back on track. Attendance at a correction centre, supervision and counseling will help the individual get his/her life back on track and as a result the society becomes safer. In conclusion, there are many types of sanctions, each with their own set of potential aims to help the society and the individual. Two sanctions are imprisonment and an intensive correction order. Both are effective to our society in different ways. Imprisonment involves protecting the society and punishment while an intensive correction order involves rehabilitation and deterrence. Even though imprisonment fails in acting as a deterrent I believe sanctions are effective in our society today.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Ancient Maya and Human Sacrifice

The Ancient Maya and Human Sacrifice For a long time, it was commonly held by Mayanist experts that the â€Å"pacific† Maya of Central America and southern Mexico did not practice human sacrifice. However, as more images and glyphs have come to light and been translated, it appears that the Maya frequently practiced human sacrifice in religious and political contexts. Maya Civilization The Maya civilization flourished in the rain forests and misty jungles of Central America and southern Mexico ca. B.C.E. 300 to 1520 C.E. The civilization peaked around 800 C.E. and mysteriously collapsed not long after. It survived into what is called the Maya Postclassic Period, and the center of Maya culture moved to the Yucatan Peninsula. Maya culture still existed when the Spanish arrived around 1524 C.E.; conquistador Pedro de Alvarado brought down the largest of the Maya city-states for the Spanish Crown. Even at its height, the Maya Empire was never unified politically. Instead, it was a series of powerful, warring city-states who shared language, religion, and other cultural characteristics. Modern Conception of the Maya Early scholars who studied the Maya believed them to be pacifists who rarely warred among themselves. These scholars were impressed by the intellectual achievements of the culture, which included extensive trade routes, a written language, advanced astronomy and mathematics, and an impressively accurate calendar. Recent research, however, shows that the Maya were, in fact, a tough, warlike people who frequently warred among themselves. It is quite likely that this constant warfare was an important factor in their sudden and mysterious decline. It is also now evident that, like their later neighbors the Aztecs, the Maya regularly practiced human sacrifice. Beheading and Disemboweling Far to the north, the Aztecs would become famous for holding their victims down on top of temples and cutting out their hearts, offering the still-beating organs to their gods. The Maya cut the hearts out of their victims, too, as can be seen in certain images surviving at the Piedras Negras historical site. However, it was much more common for them to decapitate or disembowel their sacrificial victims, or else tie them up and push them down the stone stairs of their temples. The methods had much to do with who was being sacrificed and for what purpose. Prisoners of war were usually disemboweled. When the sacrifice was religiously linked to the ball game, the prisoners were more likely to be decapitated or pushed down the stairs. Meaning of Human Sacrifice To the Maya, death and sacrifice were spiritually linked to the concepts of creation and rebirth. In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya, the hero twins Hunahpà º and Xbalanque must journey to the underworld (i.e. die) before they can be reborn into the world above. In another section of the same book, the god Tohil asks for human sacrifice in exchange for fire. A series of glyphs deciphered at the Yaxchiln archaeological site links the concept of beheading to the notion of creation or awakening. Sacrifices often marked the beginning of a new era: this could be the ascension of a new king or the beginning of a new calendar cycle. These sacrifices, meant to aid in the rebirth and renewal of the harvest and life cycles, were often carried out by priests and/or nobles, especially the king. Children were sometimes used as sacrificial victims at such times. Sacrifice and the Ball Game For the Maya, human sacrifices were associated with the  ball game. The game, in which a hard rubber ball was knocked around by players mostly using their hips, often had religious, symbolic or spiritual meaning. Maya images show a clear connection between the ball and decapitated heads: the balls were even sometimes made from skulls. Sometimes, a ballgame would be a sort of continuation of a victorious battle. Captive warriors from the vanquished tribe or city-state would be forced to play and then sacrificed ​afterwards. A famous image carved in stone at Chichà ©n Itz shows a victorious ballplayer holding aloft the decapitated head of the opposing team leader. Politics and Human Sacrifice Captive kings and rulers were often highly prized sacrifices. In another carving from Yaxchiln, a local ruler, â€Å"Bird Jaguar IV,† plays the ball game in full gear while â€Å"Black Deer,† a captured rival chieftain, bounces down a nearby stairway in the form of a ball. It is likely that the captive was sacrificed by being tied up and pushed down the stairs of a temple as part of a ceremony involving the ball game. In 738 C.E., a war party from Quirigu captured the king of rival city-state Copn: the captive king was ritually sacrificed. Ritual Bloodletting Another aspect of Maya blood sacrifice involved ritual bloodletting. In the Popol Vuh, the first Maya pierced their skin to offer blood to the gods Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz. Maya kings and lords would pierce their flesh- generally genitals, lips, ears, or tongues- with sharp objects such as stingray spines. Such spines are often found in tombs of Maya royalty. Maya nobles were considered semi-divine, and the blood of kings was an important part of certain Maya rituals, often those involving agriculture. Not only male nobles but females as well took part in ritual bloodletting. Royal blood offerings were smeared on idols or dripped onto bark paper which was then burned: the rising smoke could open a gateway of sorts between the worlds. Resources and Further Reading McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. New York: Norton, 2004.Miller, Mary and Karl Taube. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. New York: Thames Hudson, 1993.Recinos, Adrian (translator). Popol Vuh: the Sacred Text of the Ancient Quichà © Maya. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1950.Stuart, David. (translated by Elisa Ramirez). La ideologà ­a del sacrificio entre los Mayas. Arqueologia Mexicana vol. XI, Num. 63 (Sept.-Oct. 2003) p. 24-29.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

A Parenthetical Puzzle

A Parenthetical Puzzle A Parenthetical Puzzle A Parenthetical Puzzle By Mark Nichol Writers sometimes trip themselves up when they try to introduce a parenthetical element in a sentence without ensuring that the main clause of the sentence remains grammatically coherent. Here’s a troublesome example of this type of error, with a discussion of possible revisions. In the sentence â€Å"Smith was one of, if not the first, female members of the organization,† the writer is attempting to communicate two related ideas too early in the syntactical structure: Smith was one of the first female members of the organization, and she may have been the first female member of the organization. The preceding sentence is a possible revision, but the two thoughts can be expressed more concisely. To untangle the original sentence, revise it so that if the parenthetical element what is positioned between the commas (or a pair of parentheses or dashes) is deleted, what remains stands as a coherent sentence. The sentence without the parenthesis, â€Å"Smith was one of female members of the organization,† is not grammatically sound, because â€Å"the first† is expected to bear the responsibility of serving both points of the sentence. With the parenthesis, â€Å"female members† is expected to apply both to â€Å"one of† and â€Å"the first,† but the phrases are not parallel in structure. How about aligning the two points by using â€Å"the first† in each phrase? â€Å"Smith was one of the first, if not the first, female members of the organization† is closer to correct, but the parenthetical phrase still doesn’t agree with â€Å"female members.† (I’ve also seen constructions like â€Å"Smith was one of the, if not the, first female members of the organization.† The sentence is valid if the parenthesis is deleted, but the full sentence, again, is not parallel in structure.) Let’s try moving the phrase â€Å"female members† before the parenthesis: â€Å"Smith was one of the first female members, if not the first, of the organization.† That’s better, but it still reads awkwardly. How about moving â€Å"of the organization† before the parenthetical, too? (â€Å"Smith was one of the first female members of the organization, if not the first.†) The parenthetical is no longer a parenthetical it’s just a truncated phrase tacked onto the end of the main clause that implies the wording â€Å"if not the first female member of the organization† but the grammatical architecture is now sound. Sometimes, as in this case, a sentence is flawed in form it just won’t support a parenthetical element and must be restructured. This post analyzes three similarly impaired sentences. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating ConjunctionsTop 11 Writing Apps for iOS (iPhone and iPad)Forming the Comparative of One-syllable Adjectives

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Managing strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Managing strategy - Essay Example On the other hand, the multi-featured cameras were given a strategy focused on differentiation, with an emphasis on providing high-priced but unique products. This can generally be viewed as a successful strategy because rival companies did not produce such products at such prices, but the marketing could have been improved. Increased competition especially in the entry-level segment demanded more innovation. This was mainly by competitors who manufactured entry-level cameras that offered affordable alternatives. More importantly, environmental concerns from authorities and activists raised the issue of shifting towards clean energy. To survive, the company will be forced to pay more attention to the concerns of environmentalist in order to appeal to consumers in ways that are ahead of competitors. First, this report will present an overview of the photography industry. Then, it will present an analysis of the industry as well as an internal analysis of Company X with a focus on the issues and challenges the company faces from which it will generate strategic growth options. The selected option will then be described in order to clarify its suitability to the company. This section will provide for the understanding of where the industry is heading by giving an insight of the trends and challenges it faces globally. Although Company X is not directly involved with taking photographs since it is not a studio, it is directly affected by trends of the industry because it supplies the key elements of the industry. The industry is agreeably undergoing a lot of change especially in the digital age, where mobile phones, tablets and other mobile devices are creating a new trend with their high resolution cameras. Essentially, this means that selling cameras (and consequentially taking photographs) is not an easy way to earn a living and needs

Friday, November 1, 2019

Technology Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Technology Plan - Research Paper Example Its head office is located at Redmond, WA. The company uses a web based platform to promote its business on the internet. It can be visited on: Clean-n-Brite.com. However, this is a static web site that only presents basic information about the company. In this scenario, the implementation of new technology based system will offer an excellent support and capability for establishing online sales. At the present, company has a large loyal customer base. In addition, Clean-n-Brite Business is basically a supplier of cleaning products to a lot of different companies and commercial areas. In addition, Clean-n-Brite Business provides different grade cleaning products for a number of different sectors. Additionally, Clean-n-Brite Business presently deals with a large number of corporations including hotels, processing industries, hospitals and public organizations, catering organizations such as leisure centers and schools. With the evolution in business, Clean-n-Brite Business has been able to see a lot of new opportunities as well as issues. Though, the greatest opportunity that business has got is in form of increased customer reorganization and business market position improvement. While talking about the problems that Clean-n-Brite Business is facing include handling the information and data gathered from various customers and corporations. As a result, the existing system which was created to manage these areas is not effectively dealing with these operations in an appropriate manner. Thus, there is need for a better system which can effectively and efficiently manage the operations and processes of business in an attempt to improve the organizational performance. For resolving this problem we have proposed the idea of application of a web based business platform. The new web based business platform will make use of the new technology based services for managing the online sales and transactions. The new system for business management will

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Comprehensively and systematically analyze how American foreign policy Essay

Comprehensively and systematically analyze how American foreign policy is made and implemented. Government American Foreign Policy - Essay Example A study of the Presidential candidates and Congressmen gives away an important truth, namely that the political leaders of the country emerge from an elite socio-economic background. As a result, their loyalties are firmly rooted to their friends in corporate America, thereby neglecting the general public. For example, former President George W. Bush has close links to major oil companies in America. Vice President Dick Cheney was formerly the CEO of Halliburtun Corporation. It is no surprise then that invading oil-rich Iraq was a key objective of their eight year reign. After the decision to invade Iraq was formally announced, the stock prices of oil and energy companies, including Halliburton shot up. The Bush Administration proceeded with the war despite vociferous public outcry against the invasion, both within and outside the United States. Such trends are far from democratic ideals and goes on to reinforce the words of caution given by former President Dwight Eisenhower, who fa mously remarked in his farewell speech that much of the policy initiatives in America are made within the framework of the Military-Industrial complex. Consequently, the foreign policy initiatives serve the vested business interests rather than the general public. Some of the liberal intellectuals in the world have pointed to the United States high-handed foreign policy measures in the last half century. These include Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Robert Fisk, etc. They correctly point out that the United States governments tend to adopt double standards in several cases. For example, the US government did not intervene during the East Timor genocide because the perpetrators of the crime was Indonesia – a strong strategic ally. The same is true with respect to Saudi Arabia. Despite the availability of copious evidence to prove the Kingdoms poor human rights standards, Washington continues to maintain cordial relations with

Monday, October 28, 2019

Mobile Operating Systems Essay Example for Free

Mobile Operating Systems Essay The purpose of this research paper is to provide a basic overview of what a mobile operating system is and the different options available to choose from. Many issues arise when determining which mobile OS is the best for each user, such as security issues, availability of apps, compatibility with other hardware, etc. These are all fundamental aspects to consider when choosing what mobile OS someone would want to invest in when choosing their smartphone of choice. The most popular mobile OS’s are developed specifically for smartphones, while other feature-rich phones use stripped down mobile version of an OS that doesn’t provide as many features and capabilities as more advanced mobile operating systems. These higher end mobile operating systems that we will be focusing on are iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and webOS. While there does exist a greater variety of mobile operating systems, the following operating systems are the main OS’s that exist in the United States and around the world. What is a mobile operating system? How do you know which mobile OS is the best one to fit the specific needs of a user or business? Those questions will hopefully be answered by analyzing the mobile OS industry and what each mobile OS has to offer in terms of features, capabilities, and the availability of services within the OS. The Smartphone Market Today Over the last few years, companies have taken the initiative to make mobility a strong focus among modern day uses. And smartphones have become a prime target to dry and develop for to achieve top market share over the competition. Mobile operating systems is an industry that is in its growth cycle, making it more and more enticing for companies to enter the market. There are a couple manufacturer-built operating systems, which is Apple’s iOS operating system, RIM’s Blackberry OS, and HP’s webOS. Third party propriety operating systems consist of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, and a few open-sourced operating systems are Google’s Android OS, etc. (Haroon, 2011) The Importance of Mobile Operating Systems In America, the importance and significance of what mobile operating system you are using has become more and more of a topic of discussion. Many tech sites and blog sites are comparing the top mobile OS and providing a side by side comparison to determine which the best one is. But the bottom line is, each mobile OS provides great features and has been polished and developed over many versions throughout the years that each one ends up being a good OS. It all ends up to what the user want, and what specific needs the user requires that is met by the right mobile OS. Around the globe, â€Å"IDC say 157. 8 million smartphones sold worldwide in Q4 2011, bringing the total for the year to 491. 4 million units. (Haroon, 2011) The first Apple iOS version was released with the iPhone in 2007. The OS’s intuitive and easy to use ability has given the OS the competitive advantage and its features. The first iteration of iOS lacked many features that other smartphone operating systems had but Apple quickly began to develop more and more features that customers requested, like copy paste, tethering, etc. Blackberry is developed by RIM and has been a tremendous success throughout the business world, and became the choice of smartphone when it was first released. Although it had a lot of success initially, it began to decline with the increase of competition of Android and iOS. HP webOS was HP’s attempt to get into the mobile industry, when Palm first initially built webOS. It did not catch on among consumers and never gained enough market share to be competitive. Android is Google’s take on how mobile operating systems should be; open and user customizable. It was developed in 2005 and saw a huge growth and has quickly become the mobile OS of choice amongst many across the world. iOS by Apple The iOS mobile OS, formerly known as iPhone OS, was unveiled on January 9, 2007 at the Macworld Conference Expo. It was then later released to the public with the release of the first iPhone later that June. The iPhone was one of the first smartphones that revolutionized the smartphone industry and set a new standard to how smartphones should be today and the vision for the future. iOS quickly became so popular that Apple began to use the iOS to operate other devices such as the iPod touch, iPad 1 + 2, and the Apple TV. Shortly after the release of the iPhone, Apple then announced that a Software Development Kit (SDK) was under development and would be in the hands of developers soon. This led to an influx of developers rushing to the mobile OS to find new and intuitive ways that users can interact with their phone through third party applications. The AppStore was a success when released and apps were being developed at an extraordinary pace for the iPhone. To develop and make apps for iOS, you must have a keen understanding to develop using Xcode and objective-C. (Since the release of Xcode 3. , Xcode is the development environment for the iOS SDK. iPhone applications, like iOS and Mac OS X, are written in Objective-C. † (O’Dell, 2012) iOS is essentially a home screen with app icons with limited customization options for the user, but this is what made the iPhone so popular. It was easy to use and intuitive. It was easy for a new person entering the smartphone market to pick up the iPhone and learn how to use it within a matter of a few minutes. Although it doesn’t provide the heavy customizing options like Android, it stands up fairly well against the competition and the sales of the iPhone, iPod, and iPad prove that. Android by Google Android, Inc. was initially founded in Palo Alto, California in 2003 by Andy Rubin. Android, Inc. was then later acquired by Google in 2005 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. With the support and funding of Google, Android quickly became a mobile OS force to be reckoned with. Android is a mobile OS that is Linux-based for smartphones and tablets. â€Å"Android has a large community of developers writing applications (apps) that extend the functionality of the devices. Developers write primarily in a customized version of Java. Apps can be downloaded from third-party sites or through online stores such as Android Market, the app store run by Google. † Google had one thing in mind when it came to Android, and that was to compete head to head against Apple’s iOS. Since the introduction of Android, many updates have been released adding new features and capabilities that kept it being on par with the iPhone, and sometimes even exceeding in areas that iOS lacked, such as multi-tasking and customization options. One of the primary reasons Android became so successful was due to its open source environment. Manufacturers from all over the world began to develop smartphones integrating the Android OS while also developing a customized version of their own take on Android on top of it. HTC, Samsung, and Motorola are a few of many that are known for providing customized versions of Android that make it a more customizable phone experience for users. (Newman, 2012) While Android has seen an extraordinary growth and positive feedback from consumers in recent years, along with the OS comes its downfalls and negatives. One aspect that has always plagued Android from the beginning and has only gotten worse is this idea of fragmentation. Google releases a handful of updates throughout the year, and due to the openness of Android, hardware manufacturers have always been given the freedom to customize Android in their own way making their devices differentiate from the competition. This has only caused these updates that Google releases during the year to not be readily available once the update is pushed out. Consumers are finding themselves craving for the latest Android update only to be waiting for months and months after it is released. Google seems to be listening and plans to reduce fragmentation across its operating system starting with the release of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4. 0). Google is making it mandatory that any smartphone or tablet that has the Android Market installed will have to by default make the new â€Å"Holo† theme that ICS introduced. This is a step in the right direction for Android and the result of this change will hopefully be speedier delivery of future Android updates. (Purewal, 2012) Google has had tremendous success no doubt with its Android mobile operating system. Following the steps of the OS version dubbed â€Å"gingerbread†, Ice Scream Sandwich followed suit implementing new features and user interface changes that make Android more modern and competitive against the iPhone. But Google is already taking its next step in the next version of Android. Android 5. 0, which will be dubbed â€Å"Jelly Bean†, is the next version Google plans to release following the Ice Cream Sandwich release. This version of the mobile OS will implement better tablet handling for the new features and UI changes that were introduced in Ice Scream Sandwich. Even though Ice Cream Sandwich just came out of its wrapper, the upcoming release of Windows 8 has supposedly inspired Google to speed up its release schedule. Android 5. 0 is rumored to have Chrome integration; Also in DigiTimes report were hints that Android 5. 0 Jelly Bean will come in two flavors: Google and Microsoft. The article said that brand vendors can either choose to adopt only Android 5. 0 or add Android 5. 0 to Windows 8 devices with the ability to switch between the two OSes without the need to shut down the computer. (Slattery, 2012) With these rumors surfacing up, it’s looking like a bright future for Android and the types of integration Google has planned for the OS among other devices. If the rumors come out to be true, Apple may have something to be worried about. Blackberry by RIM (Research In Motion) In the business world, RIM was a company that everyone knew about. Businesses from all over the world knew that if people were to have a smartphone in a business, the best choice would be a blackberry. Although RIM has lost its market share it once had, it will always be remembered as one of the best mobile OS in for a business. Blackberry is a propriety operating system developed by Research In Motion which debuted in January 1999 with version 1. 0 for the Pager Blackberry 580. Throughout the years, RIM began to continue adding new features implementing input devices such as track wheel, track ball, and most recently, the track pad and touchscreen. iOS and Android began competing for the smartphone market releasing updates for their mobile OS that in ways surpassed the capabilities and features of the once king Blackberry OS. (Kerr, 2012) In 2011, RIM released Blackberry OS 7. version which was long rumored to implement features found within other popular mobile OS. But something always plagued the Blackberry OS. Apps did not catch on within the Blackberry atmosphere as it did with the iPhone. Developers did not find it easy to develop for the OS and thought that RIM did not have the hardware support needed to have such high quality apps. RIM began finding itself lagging behind the competition and to this day are still trying to find ways to climb back up the ladder they once were. Their recent attempts with OS 7. 0 are to tie in user interface concepts found within iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Blackberry has always been an OS to differentiate itself from the competition, but this shift seems like the wrong direction for Blackberry. Instead of trying to nibble bits and pieces of other mobile OS’s, RIM needs to find new and innovative ways that it can stand out from its competition. Windows Phone 7 by Microsoft When people from all over the world speak about operating systems, Microsoft is the giant that comes to mind within the PC industry. Microsoft is a company that revolutionized the way individuals interact with computers and the capabilities available today. But Microsoft was once the giant for the mobile OS market as it was for the PC market. Windows Mobile was developed by Microsoft and it was based off of the Windows CE kernel. It supported applications that were developed by third party developers with no imposed restrictions by Microsoft. This allowed developer to build software that the Windows platform supported while also having the opportunity to profit from the software they made available. One of the most common features within Windows Mobile was the ability to multitask and also the ability to navigate a file system that was somewhat similar to that of Windows 9x/NT. The success Microsoft once had in the smartphone market soon came to an end. With the introduction of the iPhone by Apple, every competitor saw an uphill battle. Apple grabbed many developers in order to make the mobile OS a huge success like it is today. iOS introduced new features and rich native apps that were not found in any other mobile OS. In short, Windows Mobile looked very outdated compared to iOS. The success of iOS began to dethrone Microsoft from the top spot it once had, finding itself struggling to keep up with the competition. Microsoft released many software versions of Windows Mobile throughout the years; Windows Mobile 5, 6, 6. 1, 6. 5. But each software release did not have the impact Microsoft desired it to have. Microsoft knew it had to do something, and fast. So they introduced Windows Phone 7. Windows Phone 7 is the successor of the Windows Mobile operating system. It is developed by Microsoft and was launched in the second half of 2010 and early 2011 in Asia. This mobile OS was a complete redesign to what Microsoft was doing in all of its previous years with Windows Mobile. They adapted up to date technology and development tools that were relevant in today’s modern world, such as Silverlight. Microsoft had a whole new attitude with Windows Phone 7, and their mission is to see their competitors catch up to them. Microsoft offers a new user interface with its design language, Metro, integrates the operating system with third party and other Microsoft services, and controls the hardware on which it runs. One of the newest revisions of a mobile operating system has been Microsoft’s latest attempt of Windows on smartphone. Windows Mobile was an extreme failure that simply could not catch on as much as they tried. The operating system was buggy and not very user friendly for the usual smartphone customer. Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s latest attempt to try and turn around the future of Windows on mobile devices. Fackler states ten reasons why he believes it has an edge over Google’s Android operating system. The first being it’s user stream-lined user interface. â€Å"With WP7, you know what kind of interface you’re going to be working with, regardless of the handset manufacturer. † Secondly, it has an easier to user interface. WP7’s â€Å"tile† system is simply easier to organize and find the things you need to throughout the day. † Thirdly, Windows Phone 7 has a less amount of apps compared to Android that are crap. â€Å"WP7’s â€Å"tile† system is simply easier to organize and find the things you need to throughout the day. † The other reasons are, Microsoft live integration, Microsoft Mobile Office integration, less lawsuits compared to Android, stability, Zune integration, snappier keyboard, and lastly, no ad-ware. All of these reasons contribute to why Fackler states Windows Phone 7 has the competitive advantage over Android. Not everyone is clearly a fan of Android, and the important thing to always remember, is that there are other options available depending on the user and how they would prefer their mobile operating system experience to be. (Fackler, 2012) WebOS by HP There are a few varieties of mobile operating systems that exist today. iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone 7 are proving to be the more dominant mobile OS within the world. But there was an operating system that was created in the days of Palm that saw a blurry vision. Palm created webOS to compete against the iOS which is developed by Apple. WebOS was one of the first mobile operating systems from an intuitive standpoint to give iOS a run for its money. It introduced a new way for multitasking on smartphones and implemented a great strategy to do so. It was a first of its kind really on any mobile operating system. WebOS also had a feature called Synergy. What Synergy did was pull information from other networks, and integrated that information seamlessly within the OS. This was an operating system that without the necessary support it needed, later began to suffer and fell into the hands of HP. HP purchased Palm for $1. billion and the future of webOS remained a mystery. HP later confirmed that it will stop producing webOS hardware products which meant no more tablets, smartphones, etc. But that does not mark the fate of webOS. HP announced that webOS will live on as an open source platform. â€Å"HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace. † With the OS now being open sourced, will webOS finally get the hardware it deserves? This can only increase the amount of options we have available in the mobile operating systems industry. In recent months, Hewlett Packard made the decision to make the once popular webOS mobile operating system open-source. This means that developers and hardware manufacturers will have the opportunity to manipulate the OS in ways that were limited before. But some say that the problem was never in the fact that webOS was closed source; it was webOS and its initial development from the beginning that determined the failure of the mobile OS. WebOS relied on WebKit, which is an open-source software engine used by browsers to display Web pages. Mr. Mercer said that this was a mistake because it prevented the applications to run as fast enough to be on par compared to the iPhone. â€Å"WebOS app development team said the core issue with WebOS was actually Palm’s inability to turn it into a platform that could capture the enthusiasm and loyalty of outside programmers. † WebOS was developed in about nine months, and the company according to this former employee, took some short cuts to get there. Another issue that determined the outlook of webOS was recruitment. Back in 2009, it was hard to find programmers that had a good understanding and grasped the developmental oncepts involving WebKit. Mr. Mercer said that most of the top talent was already snatched up by Apple and Google. The former employees said that Jon Rubenstein, former Palm’s chief executive, because of his hardware background, he did not understand the logistics of creating a powerful new operating system, and he was ultimately responsible for the decision to rely on WebKit. Conclusion of Mobile Operating Systems Clearly, there are many options to choose from when it comes to smartphones today, and what mobile operating system is found underneath the hardware is just as important as the hardware it runs on. OS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and WebOS are all great platforms and provide different functionalities that cater to the needs of specific individuals. iOS caters more to a consumer friendly and business market, while Android caters more to people who love the option to customize their OS a lot. These mobile OS each offer new ways for you to enjoy your mobile experience, so it’s important that you realize which would be best for your individual or business need.