Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Importance of Roger Mason in ‘The Spire’

Roger Mason is a vital character in the novel, without whom there would be no spire at all. Even before the reader is introduced to Roger there are hints that he will be important to the plot. Jocelin's first mention of the phrase ‘cost what you like' coincides with the first introduction to Roger; this foreshadows the sacrifice of Roger and the breakdown he suffers due to the pressure put on him by Jocelin, the spire and even his relationship with Goody Pangall. In many ways Roger can be seen as the strength behind the spire. From Golding's physical description of him, using phrases such as ‘bullet head', ‘like a bear' and ‘his heavy eyebrows', the reader gains the impression that he is solid and his expertise in building shows him to be very factual and rational. Nearly all of Roger's attributes are the antithesis to Jocelin's; where Roger is down-to-earth, Jocelin is spiritual and deluded. Both men are compared to animals in the novel, Roger is likened to ‘a bear' and a ‘dog' whereas Jocelin is described as ‘an eagle' and ‘beaky', Golding's choice of animals here show the reader how the two men have completely different views of the world. Roger's confrontation with Jocelin highlights the antithesis between them. Roger, as an earthy man, can see that the spire is dangerous and a nearly impossible concept and regards Jocelin's vision with ‘contempt and amusement', whereas Jocelin believes that it will be held up simply by his faith and prayer, ‘God will provide'. These contrary descriptions reappear throughout the novel and intertwine their lives until, ironically, it becomes clear that the spire only gets built due to a combination of Jocelin's delusion and insistence on his vision and Roger's skill. Roger and Jocelin not only have opposing natures but also relationships and interactions with women. Jocelin fails, or refuses, to understand women but Roger has an unusually equal relationship for the medieval times with his wife and they are often seen together around the cathedral, ‘inseparable'. His relationship with Rachel is important as it emphasises Jocelin's inability to deal with a woman who is ‘not like a decent reticent Englishwoman' or ‘silent Goody Pangall', Jocelin spends much of the novel trying to avoid Rachel and Golding continually describes her as a ‘body' or a ‘face'. The fact that Roger can have a friendship with a woman that Jocelin cannot stand outlines their differences. Roger's other relationship with a woman is with Goody Pangall. Unlike his relationship with Rachel, his affair with Goody is passionate and is portrayed as love; Roger watches her walking ‘as though nothing and no one in the whole world mattered'. When the reader first finds out about the affair, it is through Jocelin's perspective, ‘he saw this was one encounter of many. He saw pain and sorrow'. The pain and sorrow may be Jocelin's realisation that he will never have Goody or it may be sorrow in Roger for he has been forced into this by Jocelin. The novel has an inchoate structure that not only shows Jocelin's gradual descent into complete delusion and madness but the loose time frames with some chapters taking place over a month, others over six months also show Roger's growing dependence on alcohol. Golding finally turns the attention of the reader back to Roger when Jocelin visits him at the end of the novel. Roger has suffered a breakdown and is ‘moo-ing' and the reader can see the entire effect that Jocelin and the spire have had on his life. Roger's mental breakdown has turned him into a ‘crab', he is no longer the skilled and reliable ‘bear' he was at the start of the novel. This presentation of Roger shows that he, too, has an irrational side and that he is not in fact that different to Jocelin, Roger turns to alcohol in times of stress and Jocelin turns to prayers, neither of which aid the two characters and these actions eventually end in their downfall. Roger and Jocelin are also not that different in their visions either. The first description of Roger contains the phrase ‘he could see nothing else, or hear or feel nothing else' showing that when Roger is working, nothing distracts him and he becomes oblivious to those around him. The presentation of Roger in this way once more joins him to Jocelin, before the reader has even been given a description of him. This illustrates how important Roger is to the novel and to Jocelin as a tool to build his vision. Overall I think that Golding's language when describing Roger is important because he is antithetical to Jocelin and therefore provides a comparison point. This has been used by Golding to draw attention to Jocelin's delusion and to allow the reader to see Jocelin's growing madness more clearly; however as the novel progresses it also becomes clear to the reader that Roger and Jocelin's characters become less and less contradictory. This is significant as it makes Jocelin's revelation at the end of the novel more pronounced and allows the reader to see that pure facts or pure faith are not effective, but it is a combination of the two that is needed for anything to be achieved.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Reverse Innovation

Reverse Innovation Reverse Innovation, the term coined by two Dartmouth University Professors Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble refers to any innovation that is first introduced in the Developing countries with an intention to later launch it in the western or developed markets. Reverse Innovation is also popularly known as Trickle-up Innovation. It is so called because generally, all innovations have first been made in developed countries and then bought to developing economies.So far companies have been starting their globalization efforts by removing expensive features from their established product, and attempt to sell these de-featured products in the developing world. This approach, unfortunately, is not very competitive, and targets only the most affluent segments of society in these developing countries. Reverse innovation, on the other hand, leads to products which are created locally in developing countries, tested in local markets, and, if successful, then upgraded for sale and delivery in the developed world.The Evolution of Reverse Innovation: A Historical Perspective The globalization journey of American multinationals has followed an evolutionary process which can be seen in distinct phases. Phase 1 — Globalization —Multinationals built unprecedented economies of scale by selling products and services to markets all around the world. Innovation happened at home, and then the new offerings were distributed everywhere. Phase 2 — Glocalization — In this phase, multinationals recognized that while Phases 1 had minimized costs, they weren’t as competitive in local markets as they needed to be.Therefore, they focused on winning market share by adapting global offerings to meet local needs. Innovation still originated with home-country needs, but products and services were later modified to win in each market. To meet the budgets of customers in poor countries, they sometimes de-featured existing products. Phase 3 à ¢â‚¬â€Local Innovation — In this phase, the first half of the reverse innovation process, multinationals are focusing on developing products â€Å"in-country, for country. † They are taking a â€Å"market-back† perspective.That is, they are starting with a zero-based assessment of customer’s needs, rather than assuming that they will only make alterations to the products they already have. As teams develop products for the local market, the company enables them to remain connected to, and to benefit from, global resource base. Phase 4 — Reverse Innovation — If Phase 3 is â€Å"in country, for country,† Phase 4 is â€Å"in country, for the world. † Multinationals complete the reverse innovation process by taking the innovations originally chartered for poor countries, adapting them, and scaling them up for worldwide use.Of course this is a simplified view of the world, but in essence it holds true. Now, more than ever, success in developing countries is a prerequisite for continued vitality in developed ones. Why Reverse Innovation is so important Developing countries like India, today, with their increasing disposable incomes, and the largest and ever surging middle class with higher than before spending capacitates, is now a very lucrative and potent target market for many global companies to venture into and capitalise on or to establish a stronger hold.Though the middle class in India today can afford to spend an extra buck for their added necessities and interests, they still find the products developed in the western economies out of reach, highly priced or unaffordable. Clearly, the products developed in the western or developed economies for their average income families would find very less consumers in countries like India despite having the world’s largest middle class population, simply because Indian Consumers’ price to features requirements of products do not match with that of the products developed in western markets for their average income families.Simply de-featuring the product and introducing the less featuristically loaded product model in the emerging markets would not attract them any more either. FIVE SUBSTANTIAL NEEDS GAPS In fact, the needs and opportunities in the developing world are so different from those in the rich world that the very first requirements for reverse innovation success are humility and curiosity. You must let go of what you’ve learned, what you’ve seen, and what has brought you the greatest successes. In fact, it is best to assume that you have just landed on Mars.Yes, buyers in the developing world have less money — but that is only the obvious beginning. The differences run much deeper. In fact, there are at least five enormous gaps that separate needs in the rich world from those in the developing world: the performance gap, the infrastructure gap, the sustainability gap, the regulatory gap, and th e preferences gap. Performance Gap Simply put, with fewer dollars in hand, buyers in the developing world are willing to accept lower performance. This sounds simple enough, but it is not as straightforward as it at first appears.Consider a typical â€Å"good-better-best† rich-world product line. When global corporations headquartered in the rich world export to the developing world, the tendency is to focus just on the â€Å"good† offering, or perhaps even to water down the â€Å"good† offering a little bit further, from â€Å"good† to â€Å"fair,† to achieve the lowest possible price point. This seems sensible enough on the surface. The problem is that a modest price cut — say, 10 percent — is not nearly enough to make a difference to mainstream customers in the developing world, who may have only one-tenth the income of buyers in the rich world.Such low incomes, however, do not mean that developing world customers do not need innov ative products. Indeed, what they need is radically reinvented designs that deliver at least decent performance at an ultra-low price. But there is no way to deliver 50 percent performance at a 15 percent price by diluting existing offerings. The only way to get there is to start from scratch, considering entirely new technologies. Infrastructure Gap In the rich world, most every citizen has access to modern transportation, communication, and energy systems, plus schools, hospitals, banks, courts, and more.In the developing world, most infrastructure is mostly still under construction. This does not mean, however, that developing nations can only gradually catch up. Precisely because they are building from scratch, they can invest in the most modern technologies. Meanwhile, the rich world will only invest as existing infrastructure reaches replacement age, and, even then, will be constrained by the necessity to make any new systems compatible with what already exists. As a result, d eveloping nations are hot, new construction markets, while rich nations are tepid maintain, repair, and replace markets.The infrastructure gap, however, affects much more than infrastructure products and services. It affects any offering that relies on infrastructure — anything that plugs in, connects to a network, or moves from place to place, and more. Rich world offerings are designed with the implicit assumption that they will be consumed by those with access to rich-world infrastructure. Logitech’s mouse was designed for use in the office, not in the living room, because people in the rich world still largely â€Å"consume† video entertainment via cable or satellite, with no mouse in sight.Such offerings do not export well, so an innovation strategy is a must. New offerings must be designed with the developing world infrastructure in mind. In major cities, this may mean an enviable, next-generation infrastructure. In rural areas, it may mean no infrastructu re at all. When GE designed an ultra-low-cost portable EKG machine for rural India, for example, one of the top considerations was long battery life. Sustainability Gap Worldwide, as the economy grows, the conflicts between economic vitality and environmental sustainability are likely to become more severe.That said, the pressures will not rise uniformly. In many cases, the intensity of sustainability issues are highest in the developing world. Winning in emerging markets requires recognition of these differences. In certain cities in China, for example, air pollution problems are extreme. As such, it is hardly a surprise that China is poised to take the lead in electric cars. Regulatory Gap When regulations function appropriately, they eliminate business behavior that is at odds with societal good.They keep consumers safe and markets fair. That said, when regulations become too complex, captured by vested interests, or technologically out-of-date, they can become needless barriers to innovation. Regulatory systems in the rich world are the result of decades of development while those in the developing world may be incomplete. Whether this is good or bad from a societal perspective is well beyond the scope of this paper, but the difference can make the developing world a more favourable environment for innovation in certain cases.Products and services designed around rich world regulations may become needlessly complex or expensive for developing world markets. Preferences Gap The world’s great diversity of tastes, preferences, rituals, and habits adds spice to international travel. It also sometimes makes it nearly impossible to achieve full potential in the emerging economies through a simple strategy of exporting existing offerings. PepsiCo, for example, is developing new snack foods, starting with a new base ingredient. Corn is not nearly so ubiquitous in India as lentils, so Pepsi is commercializing lentil-based chips.Because of these five of enorm ous needs gaps, the commonplace strategy of trying to win in the emerging economies by making light adaptations of successful rich world offerings is inadequate. Reverse innovation is the antidote, and reverse innovation is clean-slate innovation. It starts with reassessing customer needs from scratch. Dimensions| Summary| Definitinon| Any innovation that is first introduced in the Developing countries with an intention to later launch it in the western or developed markets. Reverse Innovation is also popularly known as Trickle-up Innovation. Origin| Globalization – Glocalization- Local Innovation- Reverse Innovation| Need| Glocalization has proved effective in reaching the top segments of the market in developing nations—buyers with needs and resources similar to those in the developed world. However, most growth opportunities in emerging markets are not at the top but in the middle market and below, where the gaps between customers’ needs and those of their de veloped world counterparts are enormous. Gradually a new approach is emerging, one that starts with the recognition that if you want to succeed in emerging markets, you must innovate for them.But that isn’t the end of the story. Because the global economy is richly interconnected, innovations developed for emerging economies can be extended to other markets, including those in the developed world. To do this a company must adopt a reverse-innovation mind-set, which means valuing the products that come out of emerging markets and being willing to rethink the underlying assumptions in its developed-world businesses. | Gaps that lead to reverse innovation| There are five phases or ‘gaps’ that need to be identified and evaluated: performance, infrastructure, sustainability, regulatory and preferences. Examples| Tata Motors – Tata NanoWhile companies like Ford set up its global automobile platform in India and catered to the niche premium segments in India, Tat a introduced the Tata Nano for the price conscious consumer in India in 2009. Tata plans to launch Tata Nano in Europe and U. S. subsequently. GE – GE MAC 800GE’s innovation on the GE MAC 400 to build a portable low-cost ECG machine to cater to the rural population who cannot afford expensive health care was launched as an improved version a year later in 2009, in U. S. as MAC 800.Procter and Gamble (P&G) – Vicks Honey Cough – Honey-based cold remedyP&G’s (Vicks Honey Cough) honey-based cold remedy developed in Mexico found success in European and the United States market. Nestle – Low-cost, low-fat dried noodlesNestle’s Maggi brand – Low-cost, low-fat dried noodles developed for rural India and Pakistan found a market in Australia and New Zealand as a healthy and budget-friendly alternative. Xerox – Innovation ManagersXerox has employed two researchers who will look for inventions and products from Indian start-ups that Xerox can use for North America.The company calls them as‘innovation managers’Microsoft – Starter EditionMicrosoft is using its Starter edition’s (targeted at not so technically savvy customers in poor countries and with low-end personal computers) simplified help menu and videos into future U. S. editions of its Windows operating system. Nokia – New business modelsNokia’s classified ads in Kenya are being tested as new business models. Nokia also incorporated new features in its devices meant for U. S. ustomers after observing phone sharing in GhanaHewlett-Packard (HP) – Research Labs in IndiaHP intends to use its research lab to adapt Web-interface applications for mobile phones in Asia and Africa to other developed markets. Godrej – Chotukool RefrigeratorIn February 2010, Godrej Group’s appliances division, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd test-marketed a low-cost (dubbed the world’s lowest-priced model at R s 3,250) refrigerator targeted mainly at rural areas and poor customers in India. The product runs without a compressor on a battery and cooling chips.The company wants to use a community-led distribution model (as an alternative channel of distribution) to push for product growth. Tata – Swacch – World’s cheapest water purifierSwacch means clean in Hindi. Tata launched the water purifier – Tata Swacch targeting the rural market in India with the cheapest water purifier in the market. The product does not require running water, power or boiling and uses paddy husk ash as a filter. It also uses silver nanotechnology. It can give purified water enough to provide a family of five drinking water for a year.The company feels it will open a whole new market. Pepsico – Kurkure and AlivaPepsi is planning to give developed markets (particularly West Asia) a taste of its salted snack Kurkure (and also another snack Aliva). The product enjoys huge success in India and has become a Rs 700 crore brand within a decade of its launch. The success is attributed to product innovation and a good marketing strategy. E. g. Made from corn, rice and gram flour, zero per cent trans fats and no cholesterol, Rs-3 small packs for pushing sales in the lower-tier towns.Bharat Forge – Maintenance Management PracticeThe best practices group at Bharat Forge, a large Indian manufacturer and exporter of automobile components implemented a maintenance management practice it developed in India (developed over 15 to 18 years) in its units it acquired in countries (known for sophisticated engineering) in Germany, Sweden and U. S. The maintenance management process focused on minimizing downtime during machine maintenance and has an advanced information system that predicts problems before they happen.Consequently, Bharat Forge plants globally are very efficient and have an average down time of less than 10 per cent. KFC – Taco Bell – Yum! Res taurantsKFC test-marketed Krushers, a range of chilled drinks in the cold beverages segment in India and Australia and plans to introduce it to other markets. The launch in India was very successful as ‘Krushers’ accounts for 8 per cent of KFC’s beverage sales in India. Yum! Restaurant’s Tex-Mex chain Taco Bell has one Indian-designed dessert (tortilla filled with melted dark chocolate) on Taco Bell’s US menus.Husk Power SystemsIn India, Husk Power Systems brings light to rural population (over 50,000) by using locally grown rice husks to produce electricity (a unique and cost-effective biomass gasification technology). The company has also received seed capital from Shell foundation in 2009 to scale up operations. LG – Low-cost Air Conditioners (AC)South Korea based LG Electronics (LG) planned to develop low-cost air conditioners targeting the middle and lower-middle classes in India. Their goal was to manufacture air conditioners at the cos t of air coolers which were very common.Renault – LoganRenault designed a low-cost model of its brand Logan for Eastern European markets. It also sold in the Western European markets later on. Better Place – Smart Grid of Battery charging/Swap terminalsIn Israel, Better Place, a electric vehicle (EV) services provider (creates systems and infrastructure that support the use of electric cars), created an intelligent grid of battery-charging terminals and battery-swap stations. The company is now present in many countries like China, Japan, Australia, the U. S. , Canada, France and Denmark.GE India – Steam TurbinesIn 2010, GE’s Indian arm tied up with Triveni Engineering and Industries Ltd to manufacture steam turbines in the 30-100MW range. The company plans to then take advantage of lower input costs incurred in manufacturing and export these products to markets in West Asia, Indonesia, Europe and Latin America. Coca-Cola – eKOCoolCoca-Cola’ s Indian arm Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages introduced eKOCool, a chest cooler operating on solar energy with a capacity to store about 4 dozen 300 ml glass bottles. The innovation also charges a mobile and solar lanterns.Coca-Cola has plans to pilot the innovation in different cities in India and may be it will introduce it in other developed countries as well. Vodafone – ZoozoosVodafone, which operates in more than 30 countries has plans to make its lovable characters – Zoozoos go international. Zoozoos the black-and-white animated creatures, in fact are actual human beings and are quite a rage in India where they were launched in marketing ads and look like aliens and speak an alien language. But the brand message is very clear to people across all age groups.Vodafone has also licensed the characters (and accessories) for retail merchandise across India. Coca-Cola – Minute Maid’s PulpyMinute Maid’s Pulpy was extremely popular in China. It was bas ically an orange juice with pulp. Coca-Cola introduced it in other countries as well. Wal-Mart – Small format stores in MexicoWal-Mart learnt a lesson in Mexico. Mexican shoppers preferred smaller stores compared to the large format stores Wal-Mart had in the U. S. By 2012, Wal-Mart had 1,250 small stores (Bodegas Aurrera stores) out of 2,138 stores in Mexico.Wal-Mart then opened similar small-format stores in the U. S. and Latin America. Levi’s – dENiZEN brand imported to the U. S. In 2010, Levi Strauss & Co. launched its dENiZEN brand jeans in China. This was the company’s first brand launched outside of the United States. With success, the brand quickly spread to India, South Korea, Singapore and Pakistan markets. In July 2011, the brand began selling in the U. S. in Target stores. | Variables which Promote Reverse Innovation 1. Income gap- between the consumers of developing and developed countries . Preference Gap- Differing tastes and preferences of consumers of emerging markets 3. Infrastructure Gap- Need of development in the field of Communication Energy transportation. India doesn't have an established telecom infrastructure, for example, so they have gone straight to cellular telephones and skipped the landline. That's resulted in innovation driven by infrastructure gaps. 4. Sustainability Gap- Sustainability issues that are more pressing in poor countries than in rich countries. For instance, air pollution is a big problem in China.Air pollution is also an issue in the West, but it is a very big problem in China. If China wants to grow, it has to control air pollution. Electric cars, as a result, would be expected to be more attractive to the Chinese. 5. Performance Gap- What consumers in emerging markets need is radically reinvented designs that deliver at least decent performance at an ultra-low price. But there is no way to deliver 50 percent performance at a 15 percent price by diluting existing offerings. The only w ay to get there is to start from scratch, considering entirely new technologies. . Regulatory Gap- Regulatory systems in the rich world are the result of decades of development while those in the developing world may be incomplete. The difference can make the developing world a more favourable environment for innovation in certain cases. 7. Growth opportunities in Emerging Markets like India, China 8. Limitations of Glocalization- The top 10 percent of the people in a poor country like India are similar to those in the United States, so you don't need new innovation for them. You can send them products that Americans consume.But the top 10 percent is a very slim number. The rest of the population requires innovation. How would Reverse Innovation benefit India: Primarily Reverse Innovation would lead to further boom in industrialisation. As more and more Multinationals adopt and opt to produce and/or invent new products in India for local as well as western markets, the Indian econom y would witness an increase in FDIs and also the Indigenous Multinationals would instinctively raise their investments to build advanced R;D facilities that would inspire cutting edge innovation and engineering.It also means the engineers would experience higher employment opportunities, and the consumer market would profit from better products developed to cater to their needs at reasonable prices. Besides OEMs, Reverse Innovation would also lead to the overall development of the entire eco-system comprising of Tier I and II suppliers, technology vendors, educational institutions which support, fortify and facilitate this unprecedented growth through concurrent engineering, providing smart and agile engineering and production solutions to complex challenges, and development of resources.Reverse innovation is bringing the countries and global markets further closer by fading the global borders to make â€Å"one world, one market† phenomenon a more reality. Reverse innovation would provide further impetus to the globalization while increasing the influence of cross economic dependency and making cross border production and marketing viability plausible and effective.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Censorship - We Must Not Restrict Speech

We can not restrict racial discrimination of speech, and gender discrimination and homosexual aversion are developed in university campuses throughout the country. Correspondingly, many universities adopt policies that restrict prejudice problems by limiting speech. Many administrators believe that alternatives to this restriction are educational opportunities to enable paranoia and deprive them of their goals. The university's ability to eliminate prejudice within campus is not ultimately an ability to punish racists, but rather by deep efforts on equality and educational principles. Carol: In my opinion, John Stuart Miller's most powerful argument about freedom of speech is that, when restricting speech, it must decide which government authorities have the right to consider. It may not be a government agency that you trust that you review. Companies are easily censored. There is also a website onlinecensorship.org, another team called EFF and Visualizing Impact that seeks to track the occurrence of this situation. The straight line is very clear. If you are a very strong person, you let others leave the platform. If you are a man without power, you will not do so When talking about censorship in the United States, we often talk about how people accept results. People in our country do not actually restrict their speech in a meaningful way. They have countless ways to convey their message. They have not been imprisoned in most cases. There are defects. Do Neo Nazi's disgusting messages meet the community standards of social media sites? In fact, most social media sites claim that they prohibit dislikes that they dislikes under their terms of use. In fact, their implementation of these standards is questionable. Over the years many women and minorities have shared posts that enable discrimination by racial discrimination and gender by social media. Censorship is suppression of freedom of expression and is usually based on freedom of speech that harms or harm th e public. Expression may be restricted because it is judged to be obscene, blasphemic, non-patriotic, agitative or immoral. The term review usually applies to government restrictions on freedom of expression in public places, such as laws restricting the display of Nazi flags, government officials closing the display of public art. However, efforts to restrict freedom of expression are not review in the government's sense, but may also arise from private organizations best known as non-governmental issues. For example, a publisher may cancel a contract for a book. Theater creator opponents can advertise and boycott the financial supporters of the movie. Freedom of speech, censorship, problems other than government, review of voluntary restrictions, self-censorship Censorship - We Must Not Restrict Speech We can not restrict racial discrimination of speech, and gender discrimination and homosexual aversion are developed in university campuses throughout the country. Correspondingly, many universities adopt policies that restrict prejudice problems by limiting speech. Many administrators believe that alternatives to this restriction are educational opportunities to enable paranoia and deprive them of their goals. The university's ability to eliminate prejudice within campus is not ultimately an ability to punish racists, but rather by deep efforts on equality and educational principles. Carol: In my opinion, John Stuart Miller's most powerful argument about freedom of speech is that, when restricting speech, it must decide which government authorities have the right to consider. It may not be a government agency that you trust that you review. Companies are easily censored. There is also a website onlinecensorship.org, another team called EFF and Visualizing Impact that seeks to track the occurrence of this situation. The straight line is very clear. If you are a very strong person, you let others leave the platform. If you are a man without power, you will not do so When talking about censorship in the United States, we often talk about how people accept results. People in our country do not actually restrict their speech in a meaningful way. They have countless ways to convey their message. They have not been imprisoned in most cases. There are defects. Do Neo Nazi's disgusting messages meet the community standards of social media sites? In fact, most social media sites claim that they prohibit dislikes that they dislikes under their terms of use. In fact, their implementation of these standards is questionable. Over the years many women and minorities have shared posts that enable discrimination by racial discrimination and gender by social media. Censorship is suppression of freedom of expression and is usually based on freedom of speech that harms or harm th e public. Expression may be restricted because it is judged to be obscene, blasphemic, non-patriotic, agitative or immoral. The term review usually applies to government restrictions on freedom of expression in public places, such as laws restricting the display of Nazi flags, government officials closing the display of public art. However, efforts to restrict freedom of expression are not review in the government's sense, but may also arise from private organizations best known as non-governmental issues. For example, a publisher may cancel a contract for a book. Theater creator opponents can advertise and boycott the financial supporters of the movie. Freedom of speech, censorship, problems other than government, review of voluntary restrictions, self-censorship

Sunday, July 28, 2019

A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Good Man is Hard to Find - Essay Example He was demanding respect because he thought that he was almost a man and should be respected irrespective. The story of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard To Find† speaks ironically of how hard it was to find a good man. The irony comes out clearly from the start to the end of the story. The grandmother is trying to draw the son’s attention about why they should not go to Florida as usual but should change to east Tennessee. She was reading a journal about the man â€Å"Misfit† and the harm he was causing. According to the report â€Å"Misfit† was headed to Florida that same day. She had thought it would be a good idea to let her son read the article as well. Bailey instead ignored his mother and did not even care to look at the article. Later, as they travel to Florida, they get an accident and the â€Å"Misfit† comes across them. He kills the whole family just like he does. The two stories, â€Å"A man who was almost a man† and â€Å"A good man is hard to find† both reveal the character of the two men in question. They were big headed and disobedience. Dave did not listen to his mother that he should not get a gun. Instead, he thought that a gun would protect his title –almost a man. In his quest to protect his image, he killed Jenny. Bailey on the other hand, could not listen to his mother. Even when she spoke, Bailey kept ignoring her. He thought that now he was a grown man and did not need his mother’s advice. In the end, the whole family perished under â€Å"Misfit’s† hands. Their deaths would have been avoided had Bailey listened to his mother and read the article prior to their departure from their

The Plutonium Experiment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Plutonium Experiment - Essay Example The metal in contention is a silvery-white, artificially created, radioactive element and has a melting point of 641 C, so much higher than water and it undergoes five changes between room temperature and melting point and has 6 different physical forms. It's produced when bombarded by neutrons and is a source of energy in reactors and in nuclear explosions. The hapless victims of these experiments are injected with plutonium remaining nameless people referred to only by code numbers until Welsome's efforts uncovered the incident and brought it to the world's attention. One can't help but wonder "who these people were, what happened to them after they left the hospital with the silvery, radioactive metal circulating in their veins - if they ever left at all." This poisoning procedure however left a few loopholes that triggered further investigation into the experiment and cover-ups and denials from the government became a constant in Welsome's research. In choosing the above quote, i t shows how it taps into our humanity and asks the basic question of how far could one go to pursue a question unanswered. The human side appeals to all as all humans have the instinct to survive, prolong and preserve human life.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Online Business Technologies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Online Business Technologies - Term Paper Example Successful organizations have been at the forefront of implementing e-commerce to integrate business processes and enhance work operations within the organization. The changes heralded by ICT are likely to accelerate in the future and herald fresh technological developments within the digital economy that are likely to generate fresh fundamental approaches to e-business of economy, government, and society accompanied by social and political implications (Stephen 2005, p.2). The term e-commerce is employed to describe online transactions incorporating the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet. The advantages of e-business encompass: yielding enhanced precision, quality and time demanded to update and delivering information on products or services; awarding client s the possibility of accessing the catalogs and prices at all time. E-business allows adoption of a fast and immediate way of conducting transactions and allows the electronic delivery of products and enh anced market, competitor intelligence (Phan 2003, p.581). Indeed, e-business has led to an expansion of customer base and rise within export opportunities. E-business pursues utilizing the Internet and linked technologies to integrate and redesign the organization’s internal activities, processes, and external relations, and generate fresh ways of working that are dramatically different from, and frequently superior to what was possible previously. E-business may encompass aspects such as electronic invoicing, electronic supply chain, and electronic marketing and promoting (Lawson 2001, p.377). Some of the conditions critical for e-business entail aspects such as configuration of all processes with the internet; significant revenue contribution from the internet; 24/7electronic infrastructure; and, profit and loss focus. E-business refers to the term employed to describe the mode of utilizing the internet to operate a business. E-commerce encapsulates the ordering, purchasing , slang, and paying for products and services by utilizing the internet. E-business only mirrors a fraction of the global business and can be highlighted as a leading sector that avail entrepreneurs with a suitable platform for entering the market (AMit and Zott 2001, p.493). E-business represents the strategic employment of internet tools and technologies with the aim of enriching all aspects of a business such as marketing, sales, or back-end activities. Background The internet has over time become an increasingly critical part of people’s lives. Indeed, e-business is increasingly permeating the mainstream business culture and becoming a medium connecting consumers and enterprises. Despite the increased growth of e-business, the majority of the industries are yet to realize the full potential of the internet, and there are numerous opportunities that stand to be exploited (Stephen 2005, p.3). This should be undertaken in full knowledge of the fact that technology takes time to thrive and become broadly available. As such, society requires time to adjust to allow all stakeholders to abandon their previous ways of undertaking things, and start utilizing the new technology in such a manner that it actually generates value. Rapid development in infrastructure and services has been widely witnessed in both private and private sectors organizations. The growth that the ICT sector has witnessed has yielded to IT representing one of the biggest capital expenditure by companies/businesses. A significant part of government initiatives has frequently been targeted at increasing the investments within ICT.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Operatios Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operatios Management - Essay Example The author has presented his idea and has used different sources and reliable sources for this journal article in order to improve the information presented. Forecasting techniques can be improved and this can allow the businesses to improve their overall supply chain planning and control. The findings of this article are very much the same as of the other authors as they have also emphasized on collaborating with other players in the supply chain. Ramanathan is working in the department of Business Systems in the Bedfordshire Business School and has sufficient knowledge of business and he has used different books and research papers thus, the knowledge and information presented in the article is reliable. Article 2: Moyano-Fuentes, J., Sacristan-Diaz, M., & Martinez-Jurado, P. J. (2012). Cooperation in the supply chain and lean production adoption: Evidence from the Spanish automotive industry.  International Journal of Operations & Production Management,  vol. 32, no. 9, pp. 10 75-1096. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17048068 Journal: International Journal of Operations & Production Management Lean production is important in managing the overall supply chain in business. ... The article discusses about the evidences from the Spanish automotive industry. This article has been written by three different authors, Jose? Moyano-Fuentes, Macarena Sacrista?n-Daz and Pedro Jose? Martnez-Jurado. All these three authors work in different universities in Spain and therefore these authors have the knowledge regarding supply chain, business and operations management. Moreover, with different research studies cited by these authors, the information presented is highly reliable. Article 3: Wee, H., and Wu, S. (2009). Lean supply chain and its effect on product cost and quality: a case study on Ford Motor Company. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 335 – 341 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1810704&show=abstract Journal: Supply Chain Management: an International Journal The other article that has been used for this research study is on the company, Ford Motors. The article analyzes the lean supply chain of t he company and how this system has helped the company in improving the cost and quality of Ford Motors. The findings of the article have revealed that by implementing lean supply chain, the company has been able to reduce its cost, enhance its quality and reduce its lean time. The article also presents recommendation for the company. Wee is one of the authors of the article and he is working at Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in a university in Taiwan, Chung Yuan Christian University. The other author is Simon Wu and he is not only working in the Chung Yuan Christian University but he is also involved with the ford motors in the Ford Production System Manufacturing Division. Thus this

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Dole Food Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dole Food Company - Essay Example In July 2001, it was reincorporated as a Delaware corporation. Its headquarters is located in Westlake village, California. Dole is one of the world’s leading producers of pineapples, bananas, packed fresh vegetables, salads and fruit products. In the fiscal year ended 2, 2010, this company generated operating income of about $352 million and total revenue of approximately $6.8 billion. By January 2, 2010, Dole had total revenue of $4.1 billion. Dole has divided its business operations into three segments: the fresh vegetable segment produces and distributes fresh-packed and value added salads, and vegetables to institutional customers and retailers primarily in Europe, North America and Asia (Dole Food Company, Castle & Cooke, Inc, 2003). The fresh fruit segment is divided into several departments, which are responsible for the production and distribution of fresh fruits to retail, wholesale and institutional customers worldwide. The third segment is packaged foods segment, w hich also includes a number of divisions that process and distribute packed foods including frozen fruit, juices, fruit and healthy snack food (U.S. International Trade Commission, 2002). The writer chose to analyze the accounting process and financial statements of Dole Food Company because of its outstanding performance in the food processing industry. In addition, it was not difficult obtaining the company’s financial statement since my mother works in the company as a quality assurance manager. The financial statements used for this project were obtained from the internet, by opening the company’s Website link I was given by my mother. The main aim of this paper is to understand the analysis of the accounting process and financial statements of Companies by focusing on Dole Food Company. In the paper, I will analyze Dole’s balance sheet, statements of cash flow, and income statements. Before analyzing Dole’s accounting process and financial statements , it is necessary to understand some of the key accounting concepts and terms that are used by Dole’s accountants when recording and balancing financial statements and other transactions. 1) Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) - this principle refers to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting (Bernstein & Wild, 2000). It includes conventions, standards and principles that accountants observe when recording and balancing financial statements and other transactions. GAAP can be obtained from several sources including promulgation of the Accounting Principle Board and Financial Accounting Standards (Pefianco & Rosario, 2006). 2) Accrual Basis verses Cash Basis Accounting: accrual basis is the income earned and reported in particular periods despite of when it was received (Costales & Szurovy, 1993). It also includes the expenses that were incurred regardless of whether they were paid or not. In the financial statements used for this project, it is evident that Dole’s accountants recorded both expenses and income when they occurred. Cash basis accounting involves recording of transactions based on cash position and cash flow. Revenue is recorded upon cash receipt, and expenses when cash is paid. This accounting method is evident in Dole’s financial statements; however, it is not commonly used like Accrual Basis Accounting (Hey-Cunningham, 2007). 3) Current Assets and Liabilities verses Non-Current Items: Current assets are items that are available in cash form, or can be changed into cash within a short period (Dyckman, 2001). Example that is present in Dole’s financial statement is inventory or accounts receivable. Fixed assets, on the other hand, are assets which cannot easily be converted

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Sociolinguistic case study on the linguistic rights of Serbs in Essay

Sociolinguistic case study on the linguistic rights of Serbs in Croatia - Essay Example It is the ability to speak in more than one language and to fully understand the communication patterns. Such occurrences have been enhanced by different factors such as; love for literature, geographical diversity and historical causes. Also, politics and psychological factors like seeking identity have contributed to linguistic diversity (International journal of the sociology of language 1974, 12). The homogeneity caused by languages influences genocide of other communities. This is the systematic destruction of a particular group of individuals based on their opinions or differences in either their religion race, or language. The study is to review the situation of the ethnic minorities by exploring the history of the area, the developments of languages and the current issues facing minorities in Croatia. Croatian, Hungarian and Serbian are the commonly used languages by the people of Croatia (Hogan and Wolff 2003, 122). Serbian and Croatian were sufficiently similar to be identi fied as Serbo-Croatian. However, during the war outbreak in 1991, Croatian was identified as the main language. In the census conducted in 2001 the minority groups were Serbs, Bosniaks, Italians, Hungarians, Albanians, Roma, Slovenes and Czechs just to name a few whose percentage ranged between 0.2 and 4.5 percent. Historically, the communities gathered in the same region through migration and there was a continuous ethnic tension among the Serbian and Croatian groups mostly being political. (Varennes 1996, 78).

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Benefits of Cooperatives to the Contemporary Economy Essay

Benefits of Cooperatives to the Contemporary Economy - Essay Example According to the report findings different people have different definitions of what is and what it should be. In most cases, the term is used to define the action of the people that voluntarily come together and use reciprocally their forces and resources under an agreeable mutual management for the sake of profitability or loss. As the research stresses the identity of a cooperative is known by examining five main attributes: have a governance structure in place, tax-filing status is examined, application of a statement of principles, incorporation status and self-identification. Cooperatives are very essential in shifting the buck from the government. They are unique in the way they tackle the issues within the economy, dealing with the same aspects that affect the growing needs of those in the society. They are a good plan for farmers who want to gain anything from fertilisers, farming loans, selling their produce, getting a market to sell their services, having a rationalised mode of payment as well as maximising on the distribution of resources to even the most remote areas in a country. The farmers are the most beneficiaries across the world with so many cooperative societies targeting farmers across the world. They are able to deal with the farmers in a way the government cannot. They fight for their r ights and that keeps the farmers motivated. They are easy to form and that makes it easy to have them in any area where people come together for this purpose.

Representations of Women in Early Irish and Welsh Literature Essay Example for Free

Representations of Women in Early Irish and Welsh Literature Essay Although there are parallels between Irish and Welsh sagas of elopement, the powerful self confident women depicted in these narratives do not represent the real women of Medieval Ireland and Wales. Proinsias Mac Cana has suggested that the dominant roles of Deirdre and Grainne in their respective tales (Longes mac nUislenn and Toruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne) are ‘literary variations on the exemplar of the sovereignty goddess’ (Doan, 1985: 90). Bitel (1996: 2) asserts that Celticists have been seduced by these dominant female characters viewing them as representative of real women with considerable power over men, a depiction which if true should be reflected in the law tracts or ‘custom in action’(Stacey, 2002: 1107). This paper will argue that the ecclesiastical and legal tracts of both Ireland and Wales offer many images of women, judgements about women, and regulations for women. They do not however present the stereotypical medieval woman as the sovereignty goddess depicted in the secular sagas. Because women left no written records, we are dependent on male literature (probably all of the texts written in early Ireland and Wales) for a definition of woman and her cultural role. These male authors wrote of women in: ‘saint’s lives; poems; sagas and myths; gnomic texts; histories; chronicles; genealogies; folktales; theological tracts; and extensive ecclesiastical tracts; and secular laws’ (Bitel, 1996: 12). Although these texts offer insights on women they must be viewed through the hermeneutical lens of the socio-historical context of the era in which they were written. Early medieval Ireland was a patriarchal society and a woman’s role and identity was determined by patriarchal norms and conventions. The literati of this era did not define woman as an independent individual. Women existed only in relation to men and therefore their representation in literature was not entirely objective or according to Bitel consistent. Tensions exist between various texts. The portrayal of women as ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1995:137) presented in the eighth century wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic contrasts sharply with the recognition of a woman as home-maker and wife with limited recourse to the law depicted in Cain Lanamna or the law of couples (O Croinin, 1995: 127) . The majority of the extant Irish law books were composed between the seventh and ninth centuries. At this stage the Irish literati were members of the nobility educated in monastic communities. Many were monks but this elite group also included jurists, historians, poets and story tellers. Mc Cone has suggested that these learned elite produced literature for the monastery which was heavily influenced by Biblical texts (Bitel, 1996: 14). Donnchadh O Corrain, Liam Breatnach and Aidan Breen have argued that there exists a close connection between ecclesiastical law and Irish vernacular law (Stacey, 2002: 1108). Stacey asserts that although the legal sources from Wales (compiled in the twelfth and thirteen centuries) are later than the Irish sources there is also a significant link between ‘legal, poetic and ecclesiastical learning’ (2002: 1108). The Irish penitential books written between the sixth and the ninth centuries reveal conflict between the ideals of Christian leaders and the customs of early Irish communities. These penitentials were designed as moral guides for confessors in attributing penance in the rite of confession (Gula, 1989: 25). According to Bitel, Christian clergy were intent on transferring social control of sex from the kin group to the individual Christian (1987: 67). Fox concurs with Bitel, asserting that by liberating the individual from the bonds of clan and family, the church was attempting to reduce kinship to ‘its lowest common denominator [the nuclear family: the lowest kinship group that is compatible with reproduction] while appearing to support basic kinship values’ (1993: 109-110). The Clergy in promoting Christian morality for the individual attempted to reorganize Early Irish society. According to Bitel, the kin group were influential in controlling sexual activity. This was necessary to ensure the survival of the community as an interdependent group. Archaeological evidence suggests that houses consisted of one room. This allowed for little individual privacy and sex was a natural and visible part of family life. Illicit encounters had to take place outside of the home, and even then they were monitored by the community. Any kind of sexual relationship that had to be conducted in secrecy was considered dangerous. The survival and welfare of the clan depended on social stability and this principle determined the attitude of the pre-Christian Irish toward sexuality. Sex in itself however was not considered immoral. Celibacy was not portrayed as a virtue in the secular literature. Cu Chulainn’s sexual exploits are recorded in the sagas; however his casual encounters did not threaten the community (Bitel, 1987: 70-71). Bitel asserts that ‘the tension between individual desire and community need had always to be resolved in favour of the community’ (1987: 72), and herefore marriage was a contractual arrangement determined not by romance or love but by the necessity of producing children and the survival of the kin group. Woman’s reproductive capacities themselves are integrated into the economic life of the society. The image of woman depicted in Cain Lanamna is a woman whose social emotional and economic orientation is directed towards the family and home. Early Irish Law, commonly known as Brehon Law was a series of civil laws which governed every aspect of daily life including marriage and divorce. Marriage and divorce were interlinked by virtue of a contract agreed and a contract dissolved. Under the Brehon system, women were free to marry in one of nine ways, although the primary type of marriage, lanamnas comthinchuir was the most common. Both partners enter this marriage with equal financial resources. In the second type of marriage, lanamnas for ferthinchur, the woman contributes little or no financial assets to the marriage. In the third category, lanamnas for bantinchur, the woman contributes the greater share of the marriage assets. These three categories required formal pre-nuptial agreements. With the remaining six types of marital union (including cohabitation with a woman with family consent, voluntary eloping without family consent, voluntary abduction without family consent, illicit rendezvous, marriage by rape and marriage of two insane people) marriage entailed the assumption of financial responsibility for child rearing (O Croinin, 1995: 128). Corresponding to the wide variety of marriages recognized by law, there were many grounds for divorce. A woman might divorce a man who failed to satisfy her sexual needs because he was sterile, impotent, bisexual or homosexual. In this instance she was entitled to be paid her coibche in addition to a fine in compensation. A woman could divorce her husband on the grounds of indiscretion should he discuss intimate details of their marriage outside of the home. A woman could also divorce her husband should he abandon her either for the church or for a life on the road as he would no longer be in a position to maintain her. Physical abuse was also considered legitimate grounds for divorce. Even if the original blemish disappeared, a woman was entitled to the equivalent of her bride price as compensation. The laws are quite clear about the validity of female testimony in matters concerning consummation of marriage. This testimony is verified by a physical examination of the woman by female dignitaries. In a case where a woman refuses her husband his conjugal rights either because of a problem pregnancy or her menstrual cycle, the law regarded her objections as valid. A woman could also choose to divorce on grounds of infidelity although extra marital relations were recognized by law (O Croinin, 1995: 129). O Croinin suggests that in general terms many women were recognized by the law in ‘their capacity as wives and in their own right as individuals’ (1995: 133) Law texts are clear that a woman’s rights in divorce are specific to each type of marriage and related marriage contract. Lanamnas Comthinchuir was regarded as the most common type of marriage at this time. It was a dignified state for the wife, she was known as a be cuitchernsa, literally ‘a woman of joint dominion, a woman of equal lordship’ (O Croinin. 1995: 128). If this category of marriage ended in divorce, the woman received what she had initially contributed to the marriage in addition to a share of the profit accrued from the couple’s joint activities during the marriage period. O Croinin records that the division of property was in accordance with fixed proportions: ‘one third went to the partner who provided the land; one third to the partner who provided the stock; and one third to the partner who provided the labour’ (1995: 128). This last provision recognized the woman’s work in the home and on the farm. The second type of marriage lanamnas for ferthinchur represented a different kind of divorce settlement. Since the woman provided neither land nor stock, she was entitled to half of her own handiwork and one sixth of the dairy produce in store. If she had worked diligently on the farm and in the home she took one ninth of the corn and cured meat in store. She also received a sack of corn for a specified time. Divorce in the third category of marriage, lanamnas for bantinchur, ensured that the woman retained a life interest in the farm. She could not however transfer any rights to the estate to her children. She could however marry one of the heirs to the property and preserve her children’s right to inherit. Although the Irish lawyers appealed to Scripture, particularly to Leviticus to justify parallel cousin marriages, church law declared parallel cousin marriages incestuous (O Corrain, 1985). The Welsh tractate ‘the laws of women’ contains rules governing marriage and division of property in medieval Wales. There are four redactions of Welsh law manuscripts: the Cyfnerth and the Blegywryd redactions both derive from south Wales; Iorwerth is classed as a north Wales redaction; and finally the Latin manuscripts (there are similarities between the Latin laws and the Welsh redactions). Although the sources from Wales are dated to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, women in the Welsh tractate like women in Cain Lanamna are portrayed as wives and home-makers (Roberts, 2008: 58-59). Stacey asserts that the most ‘striking’ passage of the ‘Laws of Women’ outlines the domestic and agricultural goods granted to each partner in cases where the marriage had lasted longer than seven years (2002: 1109). This passage is common to each of the Welsh redactions of the law books and can also be found in four of the five Latin compilations. The couple must divide their possessions equally, the pigs become the property of the man and the woman takes ownership of the sheep. If there are only sheep and goats, the sheep go to the man and the goats to the woman. The children are also divided between the couple ‘two parts go to the father, the eldest and the youngest, and the middle to the mother’ (Stacey, 2002: 1111). The division of household goods is itemised: all milk vessels, except for one pail and one dish becomes the property of the woman. The man is entitled to all of the drinking vessels and the riddle while the woman is entitled to the sieve. The man is entitled to the upper stone of the quern and the woman to the lower stone. The bed clothes which cover the couple becomes the property of the woman while the clothes which they lay on belong to the man. The man receives the cauldron and the blanket and the pillows from the bed together with the wood axe, coulter and all the sickles except for one which the woman obtains. The woman is granted the pan, the broad axe, the bill hook and all of the flax, linseed and wool. She also receives the plowshare. Any gold or silver is divided equally between the couple. The man is entitled to the corn above and below the ground, all of the hens and one cat. The remaining cats become the property of the woman. The woman receives the salted meat but if it is hung it becomes the property of the man. The woman is also granted as much flour as she can carry along with the cut meat and the partly used cheese. They each retain their own clothes except for their cloaks which must be divided equally. Any balls of wool in stock become the property of the sons (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Like Irish Marriage Law, the Welsh Laws of Women attempted to secure a measure of financial independence for each partner in the event of divorce . Unlike Irish marriage law however which divided property according to specific marriage contracts, some rovisions in the Welsh divorce law appear illogical. Jenkins suggests that the Welsh division of property on divorce, attempts to ensure that each partner has the necessary provisions to survive but he asserts that the division of the quern stones is ‘curious’ since they cannot be used independently (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Similarly the coulter is granted to the man while the plowshare is received by the woman. Since both blades would have been required for planting this division appears to make little logical or practical sense. Stacey also points out that the man receives all of the corn and hens but only one cat to protect them from vermin while the woman receives the remaining cats although she has no grain or hens to protect (Stacey, 2002: 1113-1116). Welsh divorce law does not seem to be based on the wealth brought to the marriage by each party or indeed on the status of the marriage. In Irish Law the apportionment of property is determined by both of these factors (Stacey, 2002: 1113). Stacey suggests that the division of property in a Welsh divorce is symbolic of the destructiveness of divorce and failed marriage. He asserts that this was a secular ‘homily’ on the improvident nature of divorce (2002: 1124). Although the marriage property is divided the woman ultimately is disadvantaged because under Welsh Law, she has no claim to land and must be satisfied with portable goods. Although women under Welsh law were afforded the opportunity to divorce their husbands due to his impotency, leprosy or bad breath (Roberts, 2008: 63), Nerys Patterson suggests that the woman was further disadvantaged in the wake of marital separation: female virginity was highly valued and her loss of virginity would affect her chances of remarriage (2002: 1121). These medieval divorce laws clearly situate the woman in the home, rearing children, cooking, spinning wool and working on the farm. It is tempting to view these laws as depictions of a progressive egalitarian society, however the political and social realities of a woman’s life suggest otherwise. A woman’s legal definition derived from that of her father, brother or her legal husband. A legal tract on honour price (dire) defined women’s legal and social position ‘her father had charge over her when she is a girl, her husband when she is a wife, her sons when she is a [widowed] woman with children . . the Church when she is a woman of the Church [i. e. , a nun]. She is not capable of sale or purchase or contract or transaction without the authorization of one of her superiors’ (Bitel, 1996: 8). According to Bitel, these legally and socially incapacitated women were the real Medbs of medieval Ireland. When measuring a woman’s status, the laws measured women against the legal norm of the free adult male and as such a woman’s worth remained only half that of her male guardians honour price. The Irish literati along with many medieval authors considered female bodies as ‘less valuable copies of mens’ (Bitel, 1996: 19). This principle is reflected in the only extant Irish medico-legal tracts namely Bretha Crolige and Bretha Dein Checht which accorded women less medical attention and food rations than men (Bitel, 1996: 21). Women therefore were considered physically and psychologically less than man, less than human (Bitel, 1996: 23). The ninth century Triads text, Trecheng Breth Fene unveiled some basic assumptions about the nature of woman. The Triads suggested that ‘the three drops of a wedded woman’ were drops of blood (a good wife was a virgin at marriage); sweat; and tears (a good wife should be willing to suffer hardship to support her husband and children). One of the three misfortunes of a man was proposing marriage to a bad woman. According to the Triads, women were their husband’s property and were akin to animals. ‘When a man loaned either a woman or a horse, he had to expect it to be used by the borrower’ (Bitel, 1996: 23). The wisdom text also suggested that ‘like a cow’s udder, women through her womb, was one of the three renovators of the world’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). Another wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic suggested that women ‘should be feared like beasts’ because they were ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). A woman’s physical characteristics and fertility therefore were animal like and unreliable. The eighth or ninth-century wisdom text Senbriathra Fithail considered the characteristics of ‘a good wife’ (Bitel, 1996: 27). Advising his pupil Cormac mac Airt, Fithal (a druid) asserted that a good woman had ‘common sense, prudence, modesty, excellent Irish, delicacy, mildness, honesty, wisdom, purity and intelligence’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). All of these attributes according to Fithal were necessary for a woman to become a desirable wife. A bad wife on the other hand was characterised by ‘wretchedness, stinginess, vanity, talkativeness, laziness, indolence, noisiness, hatefulness avarice, visiting, thieving, keeping trysts, lustfulness, folly and treachery’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal asserted that it was possible to detect a woman’s character based on her physical appearance. He suggested that Cormac should avoid: ‘the fat short one’; ‘the slender short one with curling hair’; the fair tall one’; ‘the dark-limbed, unmanageable one’; ‘the dun coloured yellow one’; and ‘the slender prolific one who was lewd and jealous’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal determined that the worst wife was a be cairn or a whore. A successful marriage however could be assured by a union with the ‘tall, fair, very slender ones’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal admitted to Cormac however that the ideal woman may not exist and that most women had character flaws. The author of Tecosca Cormaic was adamant that all women were ‘chronically dissatisfied, bad tempered, untrustworthy, wanton, manipulative, ambitious, greedy, arrogant whiners’ (Bitel, 1996: 29). Bitel suggests that the real problem with women is that they were not men and the writers of the gnomic tracts could only define them by their many indefinable natures: they had similar physical bodies to men but were not men; they had reproductive characteristics and temperaments similar to animals but were not animals. The only certainty appeared to be was that women must be controlled and her inferior position in society maintained (Bitel, 1996: 30). The writers of ecclesiastical canons suggested that women could only be redeemed by denying their female characteristics and their female sexuality. Bitel argues that canonists established a ‘gender hierarchy’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Unlike the typologies found in secular and wisdom texts, the cannon scribes attributed a moral value to virginity and abstinence. Nuns were accorded a high moral value as were ‘widows who took the veil’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Thomas O’ Loughlin suggests that the Collectio canonum hibernesis, a systematic collection of law, codified certain patristic theories producing an understanding of marriage ‘as a state secondary to virginity’ (1997: 188). The canonists justify their position by quoting Jerome who asserts that ‘virginity follows the lamb wherever he goes’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). Jerome expands on this theme suggesting that ‘earth is populated by marriage, so heaven is by virginity’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). The underlying concept is clear, virginity is exemplified and sexuality creates problems. According to O’Loughlin this principle was the basis of ecclesiastical thinking on marriage throughout the middle ages and Jerome’s opinion that sexual activity was ‘inferior and earthy’ in comparison to virginity which was ‘noble and superior’ has been held responsible for the cult of virginity and celibacy in the Latin church (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). Augustine also considered sexuality dangerous but (quoting Paul in 1 Corinthians 7) asserted that while celibacy was the desired state, ‘lawful marriage is to be preferred to burning with desire and fornication’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). The dangers of sexuality therefore were to be contained within the institution of marriage. Although canonists admitted that clerics could fall to sexual temptation, the general consensus was that women as the weaker sex were more likely to succumb to sexual temptation.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Teaching and Learning Approach Essay Example for Free

Teaching and Learning Approach Essay Every learner has their own strengths and weaknesses that are reflect in the group. As a Teacher I must understand and focus on utilizing each learners strengths and work to improve on their weaknesses. All learners learn in a different ways and also from one another. The ideas and views of each learner brings to the classroom can bring insight into what is being learned. The classroom is a safe zone that appreciates individuals’ views and allows room for mistakes. Learners have to be allowed to explore new ideas, try them to see if they work, and sometimes fail. When learners are encouraged to explore, they begin to learn. Being a teacher means teaching students new information, drawing on their experiences and about being successful in life. â€Å"A session plan is a detailed breakdown of your scheme of work. It will outline all the teaching and learning activities, with allocated timings, assessment activities and resources required. It will also take into account the individual requirements of your students.† (Gravells, 5th Edition, p.63) A learner can have several different ways of learning style depending on the situation and task, a students learning style for on task may not be the same for a topic, subject or task. If a difference between the students learning style and a teachers teaching style occurs, this could lead to boredom, frustration at not understanding, low self-esteem (both learners and teachers), poor grades and dropouts. It is important to include a range of different teaching styles into the lessons, to help all students learn more successfully. To meet learners’ different needs a variety of interactive teaching and learning approaches need to be employed. Active learning engages and motivates learners to learn and achieve Good statement. There are hundreds of teaching and learning methods to choose from when deciding on the method to use for a particular class. Skills are needed in identifying and classifying those methods that could be of use to the individual teacher and students and in a evaluating the outcome achieved. I would plan my lessons, embedding the driver’s handbooks (PCV/HGV) and Highway Code and various driver’s rules and regulations: (embedding them within the learning). There are various factors that will limit the way people use the information effectively. I would also draw on the learners experiences as a useful tool as periodic training is about, Revision of what you know, Updating with changes and Sharing information between drivers. The goal of teaching is to develop proper and positive attitudes towards driving needs and to prompt lifelong skill. There are many learning styles and I used Affective Learning style, (Activities are designed so students are able to develop skills that will allow them to gain the full understanding of developing their skills and responsible behaviours), Allowing students to have a chance to participate having students understanding that they are allowed to try, fail, and then try again this will help them understand they cant be perfect every time they do something. Positive help from the teacher will keep the learner focused on the goal of developing their skills. Promote the use of working together in completing a task or goal. Using peer instruction where students teach each other and provide accurate and helpful feedback. (http://cstiles5.tripod.com/id6.html) With active learning is the time-spent teaching an understanding and development of the learner’s skills and the abilities of the individuals. I used group discussions, multiple questions. This would help to improve learner’s skills and there understanding road safety. At the end I gave out hand-outs to my learner to help them remember the main points of the session. At the end of session my peers complete a feedback so I can evaluate the session and complete reflective journal as how this session went.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Types and Effects

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Types and Effects Statistics shows that one out of six couples experienced the problem corresponding with infertility (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). Infertility can be considered a disease affecting more than 80 million people around the world consisting primarily of young population accounting to around 10-15% having problems on the ability to conceive and give live births (Hochschild, Schwarze and Alam, 2008). Considering these figures, infertility becomes one of the centers of attraction especially that many couples are becoming desperate to have a child. They would just take any chances in order to have a child after for so long time having sexual intercourse but then without contraception that takes place. There are many advanced ways nowadays in order to treat infertility or even defy its capacity for couples not to experience contraception. Embryo transfer is one. Then one of the most popular is in vitro fertilization which is a technique used by 53 countries around the world today, implying that the treatment is no longer experimental but safe to use (Ezra and Schenker, 127). Causes of Infertility The continuing many studies about infertility are clear indications that the discovery on what is really is it is still on the process of creating series of scientific investigations. One of these scientific investigations is in line with knowing the probable causes of infertility. It was hypothesized that it could be due to four factors such as delayed childbearing, problem on semen quality because of bad habits such as cigarette smoking and abusive alcohol intake, changes in sexual behavior and elimination of most taboos (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). It is because of these considered factors that studies on infertile couples are focused on ovulatory factor which is present to 20% of couples, utero-tubal peritoneal factor which is present to 30% of couples, then 40% of couples have together the two previous factors and 15% of couples can be diagnosed because of no alterations (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). Statistics on IVF Statistics shows the following figures regarding in vitro fertilization (Ezra and Schenker, 127). Since it started in 1985 to be used as infertility treatment, over 53,635 women were already treated which corresponds to around 34,316 babies born by 224,473 treatment cycles then next after it were 160,518 transfer cycles. With the resulting pregnancies, around 65% to 75% were able to come up with live births then the rest went to spontaneous abortions of around 26% and ectopic pregnancies of around 5.54%. The higher rates of preterm deliveries and perinatal mortality have been expounded by around 22% of multiple pregnancy rate which was higher than the normal population. It remained to around 2.25% of chromosomal aberrations and malformations as documented within the years and success rate for in vitro fertilization did not improve within the covered period during the survey. It was noted that the procedures were becoming much more reliable due to the scope of procedures included whic h became at some point, final steps in the diagnosis. Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is part of the changes in infertility practice. It provided a right chance to study basic reproductive processes (Olmedo, Chilik and Kopelman, 173). The reason is that ART is an artificial means used in order to achieve pregnancy. In 2000, the United States reported 13.5% increase in reported cycles compared to the data presented in 1999 and overall success rate of 0.6% which represents 2.2% increase as compared to the result in 1999 (Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 1207). In 2006, Canada reported that with ART, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates continued to increase compared with the previous years, but only small rate decrease for multiple births (Gunby et al., 2189). Indicators for IVF (in vitro fertilization) Continuing studies about in vitro fertilization lead to significant findings of significant predictors for its success rate. Considering that sperm morphology is correlated with fertilization failure, then the sperm chromatin packaging was found to be significant indicator of in-vitro fertilization rates. The study of Esterhuizen et al. (657) found that sperm chromatin packaging was significantly correlated with in-vitro fertilization rates. Takahashi et al. (586) found that oocytes have great chance to be fertilized when follicles can make high concentrations of AMH in the follicular fluid. It is in this result that AMH was found to be a significant predictor for fertilization. It was found out that follicular volume can be the new indicator of oocyte maturity. The study of Fuentes et al. (616) found that SonoAVC when it comes to evaluation of stimulated ovaries can be reliable allowing further to establish new criteria for timing hCG administration on follicular volume estimation instead of the follicular size. From the result of the study of Sifer et al. (150), they found that glanula cells of humans and its resistance to apoptosis has the possibility to be associated in the success rate of IVF. There was an association between the declining of age of implanted embryo with the embryoà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s impaired growth rates (Hsu et al., 679). Based on the recent findings and investigations conducted about in vitro fertilization, the above results are just one of those showing significant indicators for the success rate of in vitro fertilization. The list goes on and on. So there are remarkable and significant indicators that can possibly be associated with IVF. Steps in the IVF Treatment Just prior to the actual IVF treatment, there are preliminary steps that need to be undergone by a patient who wants to undergo the procedure. The following are the least steps a patient who wants to undergo with IVF can possibly undergo (Falcone and Young, 93). Select infertility specialist Both partners who are involved in the treatment needs to undergo series of medical tests. Medical steps that need to be taken to address infertility needs to be considered Agreement with the infertility specialist about the chance a patient can have with IVF. IVF Techniques: The following are common IVF techniques that are commonly used to treat infertility among couples who are willing to take chances. Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) In Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) sperm is mechanically injected into the cytoplasm of an oocyte. This technique was applied initially in sea urchin, followed in mouse and hamster and was successful to humans in 1992 (Peas and Lois, 23). GIFT: Gametic Intra-fallopian Transfer As the name implies, Gametic Intra-follopian Transfer (GIFT) is the direct transfer of human gametes, sperm and oocytes in the fallopian tube which was first successful in 1984 (Serhal and Overton, 256). The good thing about GIFT is that it mimics the natural process in which the gamete is restored in the fallopian tube. Z.I.F.T. Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer Zygote intrafallopian transfer is an advanced form of gametic intrafallopian transfer. By using the gametic intra-fallopian transfer, the oocytes are harvested by transvaginal aspiration, fertilized in vitro and transfer in the fallopian tube (Schmidt and Kurjak, 85). Patients with tubal pathology cannot use zygote intrafallopian transfer as well as gametic intra-fallopian transfer (Schmidt and Kurjak, 85). T.E.T (Tubal Embryo Transfer) Tubal embryo transfer is the development of simple embryo transfer over the years. Tubal embryo transfer is part of the stage of embryogenesis transfer encompassed by zygote intrafallopina transfer in general (Allahbadia and Das, 182). P.R.O.S.T (Pronuclear Stage Transfer Just like the tubal embryo transfer, as a modification of embryo transfer, the pronuclear stage transfer is also part of the stage of embryogenesis transfer encompassed by zygote intrafallopian transfer in general (Allahbadia and Das, 182). Direct Intraperitoneal Insemination D.I.P.I In direct intraperitoneal insemination, the syringe with prepared sperm is punctured into the vaginal pouch leading to good consistency of result especially if after ovarian stimulation (Nieschlag, Behre and Nieschlag, 473). Peritoneal Occyte Sperm Transter P.O.S.T Peritoneal Occyte Sperm Transfer can be applied to women with bilateral tubal block. This procedure is an alternative to IVF. This procedure was described by Coulam et al in 1989 (Rao, 391). Direct Oocyte Sperm Transfer) D.O.S.T Another alternative to IVF is direct oocyte and sperm transfer. This can also be applied to women with bilateral tubal block. This procedure was first introduced by Craft et al. in 1982 and later in modified by Bucktt and Tan by simply having oocytes with sperm directly transferred to the uterine cavity (Rao, 392). Incubation of oocytes is done in this procedure and then followed by the actual insemination in the uterine cavity. Transuterine Fallopian Transfer) T.U.F.T Transuterine fallopian transfer is the actual placement of an embryo into the fallopian tube after IVF has been done. The procedure involves threading the tube through the uterus and placing the embryo into the fallopian tube (Blickstein and Keith, 47) Developing Embryos Embryos are formed specially because there was fertilization that took place. The fertilized egg will slowly develop into en embryo undergoing different stages. It took only 12 days in the uterus for the implantation of newly formed embryo, then it will start the development of organs within 50 days. In other words, the standard definition of embryo period is two months after fertilization (Ostnor, 3). Transferring Embryos Embryo transfer is as good as finding its failure and success. In particular, there is a great area of interest in knowing what makes embryo transfer a success or a failure. Various studies have been developed in order to find out the factors to optimize the success of embryo transfer. The study of Schoolcraft, Surrey and Gardner (863) suggested that avoidance of blood, mucus, bacterial contamination, excessive uterine contraction and trauma to the endometrium is having relationship with optimal pregnancy implantation rates after embryo transfer. More so, they also found out that unltrasonographic guidance and utilization of soft catheters will provide good chance of successful embryo transfer. Therefore, it is implied that it is important to look for factors that can be associated with embryo transfer especially on embryo implantation in maximizing IVF. The common method used in embryo transfer is transcervical intrauterine transfer. As mentioned earlier, the factors affecting its success are of great importance such as technical ability and training of personnel, catheter choice, value of a previous dummy transfer and any other factors to prevent damage of the uterine lining, bleeding and uterine contractions (Pasqualini and Quintans, 83). According to the study of Pasqualini and Quintans, the mentioned factors have negative effects on the pregnancy rates. In fact, the actual concern in embryo transfer is as much as possible eliminate or if not minimize multiple pregnancies and any unwanted side effects. Single embryo transfer and culture in the blastocyst stages are means commonly used to prevent multiple pregnancies. Techniques such as ultrasound-controlled transcervical intrauterine transfer and ultrasound-controlled transmyometrial transfer are of great interest since these are often used in order to properly and successfully i mplement embryo transfer. However there are also more invasive procedures that need to be taken consideration in embryo transfer such as the following: gamete intra-Fallopian transfer (GIFT), zygote intra-Fallopian transfer (ZIFT), pronuclear stage transfer and embryo intra-Fallopian transfer (EIFT). These techniques are commonly used when the need to use of alternative assisted reproductive technologies cannot be substantially catered by laboratories. However in todayà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s highly refined laboratories, alternative assisted reproductive technologies such as direct intra-follicular insemination, fallopian spermatic perfusion and peritoneal stage and sperm transfer and intra vaginal culture can highly be performed even with high precision. Positive and Negative Effects of IVF Treatment As mentioned earlier, IVF has already gained wider scope of acceptance in the field of medicine. However, such acceptance needs to be considered even more especially on finding the positive and negative effects of IVF treatment. Even though there is a chance for successful conception with IVF treatment, it still remains a challenge today considering that not everyone has the same level of bodily response to the treatment. There are many things that need to be considered in detail. This detail can somehow be significant factor that will slowly give more meaningful improvement in the treatment. For instance, the ovarian stimulation is said to be very important especially in the assisted reproductive technologies (Ubaldi et al. 235). The ovarian stimulation is said to be associated with several factors as far as its reduction is concerned. When it is reduced, the mutltifollicular growth will live to be a great challenge and it continues to be the most frequent aetilogical factor. Thus, it remains a challenge when it comes to predicting ovarian response. This is just one of the important considerations with respect to obtaining successful IVF treatment. The negative thing about it is that there is no enough assurance for everyone that it can be successful. Thus, there is a continuing area for the body of knowledge covering the issues about the success and failure of IVF treatment. Another thing, with IVF those couples who have been psychologically depressed and at the same time so determined to have an offspring are most likely to feel discomfort the moment procedure or treatment fails. This is a common scenario. However, there are also some couples who have been so determined and it would be enough for them knowing they still have chance with IVF. This is comforting on their side at some point knowing that they still have the chance even if that chance of getting failed is also high. Cloning and In Vitro Fertilization Cloning aside from in vitro fertilization is also one of the most highly studied areas in the field of genetics and molecular biology. There are good points about cloning especially when it comes to food production and other related aspects. However, there is a great challenge of cloning when it comes to creating human beings. The reason is that there are various ethical and political challenges when it comes to its implementation if ever it would be allowed. Cloning therefore cannot be applied to humans but for other animals and plants, it is well appreciated and even now it is already put into implementation for the purpose of food production and other related concerns. Thus, when talking about cloning and in vitro fertilization, even if there is a high chance of failure in the latter, it remains to be the mostly studied in the field of human fertilization. Conclusion Modern techniques in human reproduction have slowly evolved and even the rate of success is becoming remarkably promising. The reason is that there are continuous studies applied in this field resulting to more discoveries of promising and significant information in order to improve the methods and procedures involved in the modern techniques of human reproduction. The case of IVF is a very important contribution to the development of modern techniques of human reproduction in modern times. The emergence of different methods and techniques related to modern techniques of reproduction is a clear indication how important is reproduction to humans. In fact, the bottom line of these all is the fact that humans are designed to reproduce which is meant to be part of their biological design.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Race and Social Class :: essays research papers

â€Å"I can’t help it, that I am Black.† â€Å"Why can’t people except me the way I am?† â€Å"Do you want me to go hang myself?† Surprised that someone would say this things still in this century, well don’t be because race will always be there. These are the things that were said by a floor mate of mine name Shelly. She is so nice but she is always upset because this guy name Mike makes remarks about her and she can’t say or do anything to change how he feels. She got drunk last night and she said everything that was on her mind to Mike and all he did was walk away. The reason I told you about Shelly because she is only one of those many people who go through torcher from other people. I thought that what Mike was doing to Shelly was unfair because she and her family has worked so hard to be where they are today. To my knowledge, Shelly’s parents are probably middle class and are fitting in the society. On the other hand, Mik e’s parents are in high class level and I think that is why he is the way he is towards Blacks. He once told me that he has never lived in the same area as a Black family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Julius Wilson determines life chances and the important factors of social class. He is a Black man from Harvard University. He wrote a book called â€Å"Declining Significance of Race†. Wilson has many arguments, he argues that the city has low skilled people with low income, while the suburbs has more high class opportunity and so the suburbs have more high class people. He also argues that addressing the needs of the underclass cannot be based only on race, instead he says â€Å" it’s quite clear to me that we’re going to have to revise discussion of the need for WPA style jobs. Only these more structurally based programs, open to all in need, are likely to garner political support among the majority and to address the deep-seated problems that changes in the global economy have wrought†(Time, June 17, 1996:57).

Personal Narrative - Bad Things Happen to Bad People :: Personal Narratives

Bad Things Happen to Bad People How many times have you just finished washing your car and, while you are driving down the highway all you hear is PLOP followed by juicy, white feces splattered on your windshield. Or how furious does one get when a pile of Miss FooFoo’s dog crap that your neighbor neglected to pick up a couple of hours ago encompasses your shirt and Levis jeans, while mowing the front yard. I know that I get royally upset when I see bird bombs on my car after I just finished washing it a few hours ago, or when I step in a fresh pile of Miss FooFoo’s poo poo! But who ever puts themselves in the animal’s point of view? Who ever thinks about the fact that we are paving over all the land and cutting down all the trees that provide oxygen for our lungs and homes for the aviators? Let me tell you what, if I was a bird, I would crap all over your shiny car! Many times I have stopped and yelled at people who are driving in my car when they are about to throw things out of the window. I don’t hate, because that is an extremely powerful word, but I do despise the fact that people don’t have a problem with throwing their garbage wherever they please. Just because you finished eating your triple quarter-pounder with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and extra mayonnaise thirty seconds ago from whatever atherosclerosis causing grease pit, doesn’t mean you can take your filthy napkin and paper bag and toss it out the window like your John Elway! It seems like the majority of humankind either does not care or does not realize that the trash is either going to sit there on the side of the road or is going to be picked up by some nature nurturing chump like myself. It is absolutely horrible that people litter the land with Styrofoam cups, plastic glasses, and beer bottles that would take centuries to degrade. Mothers and fathers are forever talking about how they want their children to have it better than they did, and how they want to give their children everything within their power. But yet these ignorant individuals continuously dispose of their trash wherever and whenever they want. By the time my children are of age to realize how absolutely disgusting the world is where mankind has placed his disease ridden feet upon the soil, it will be too late.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Essay example --

I do always believe in the fact that the more knowledge you gain, the more professional you become. This made me an obvious choice to pursue graduate studies to meet the pinnacle of professional excellence. Presently I am pursuing my final semester of undergraduate study in Computer Science and Engineering I feel it is the right time to take a decision regarding my Masters that contributes for better molding of my future career in the field. The philosophy which I strongly believe in my life is â€Å"A person may not put in his complete efforts in doing a work that he is intended to do but, he will surely give his 100% if the work he does is of his interest†. In my entire journey from my schooling to undergraduate study, I was always fascinated by the tremendous advancements in technology that made many troublesome tasks convenient to the mankind. The computer technology has ushered in a revolution that is unprecedented in its sweep. Its effect on the everyday lives of ordinary people has been phenomenal. Right from the super satellite control stations to the grocer’s humble shop, the efficient office and the busy kitchen in the home this technology is all pervasive, all consuming. This is what makes it one of the most challenging fields as it not only meets needs but has the power to create new needs, rules and total environments of its own. In this pursuit of doing masters in my areas of interest, I was happy to go through coursework for Computer Science and am really interested to do my MS in CS at your esteemed university. I prefer a reputed university in US for its gamut of opportunities and good scope for research in my field of interest. It’s a great privilege t... ... punctuality for which I am physically and mentally equipped. The main aim in opting for an American standard of education is very high competence Particularly in the field of Computer Science. Being a hard working and committed student, I am certain that I will be able to cope with the rigors of an International curriculum with ease. My determination to succeed and do well will enable me to be among the better students of your college. I sincerely request you to consider my application for admission into your reputed university. I would be grateful to you if I am accorded the opportunity to pursue my higher studies and given the opportunity, I am sure that I will be able to achieve my goals keeping in touch with the expectations of the university. Looking forward to be a part of your Master’s Degree Program. Thanks for your time