Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Ancient Greek and Roman Republic Political Developments Essay

Throughout history there have been countless individuals who have etched their experiences and depictions of events during their lifetime. The legendary Greek poet, Homer, is a perfect example of an individual who encompassed his culture into his writing. In the Iliad Homer unknowingly stated, â€Å"A generation of men is like a generation of leaves; the wind scatters some leaves upon the ground, while others the burgeoning wood brings forth- and the season of spring comes on. So of men one generation springs forth and another ceases†. This powerful statement shows the influence a generation of men could make. Similar to the leaves scattered upon the ground, the Ancient Greek and Roman Republic imprinted their political ideals for generations to come. Like spring, new precedents have been established with the intention of preserving and advancing those statutes that the ancient world has instilled in history. Both Ancient Greece and the Roman Republic have made countless political developments, especially in division of power, legislation and execution of power. To begin, both the Ancient Greek and Roman Republic have made several political developments in the division of power. Both the Roman Republic and Ancient Greece had a domestic strife over who should possess the power of its’ respected commonwealth. Despite experiencing comparable internal turmoil, both civilizations divergently developed solutions to end the power struggle. Initially, Ancient Greece had several forms of government. During the Mycenaean period (2000-1200BC) the majority of Greece consisted of monarchies. A monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen has absolute power. Therefore all political power was held by one individual. Unfortunately, the city Mycenae was burned down, and there was a vast influx new invaders into Greece, the Mycenaean period reached its demise. Around the 8th century, poleis began to flourish in Greece. The polis according to Spielvogel, was a â€Å"community of citizens where all political, economic, social, cultural, and religious activities were focused†. Eventually more colonies began to establish their own independent poleis. As a result, each polis formed their own ideal of politics and government. Following the conclusion of monarchies, many oligarchies were established. Oligarchies were mainly aristocratic governments that held complete authority. The best example of an oligarchy is Sparta. As Spielvogel describes, Sparta was governed by two kings from two different families. In addition to the two kings there was a council of twenty-eight elders who were called, â€Å"gerousia†. Plus, there was an assembly of men, â€Å"apaella† and 5 â€Å"ephors† who were like judges. All 4 components were essential to divide the ruling power of Sparta. Unfortunately, oligarchies were neither as popular nor successful in other parts of Greece. Many citizens were disenchanted with oligarchies and tyrants began to try and take power. According to Spielvogel, tyranny in Ancient Greece was referred, to â€Å"rulers who seized power by force and who were not subject to law. † However, tyranny did not last because it began to resemble a monarchy. Again, the community did not want one individual to hold all of the power. As Theognis of Megora proposed: Their utter disregard of right or wrong, or truth or nonour-out of such a throng. Never imagine you can choose a just or steady friend, or faithful in his trust. But Change your habits! Let them go their way! One example would be the Cleisthenes who overthrew the tyrant Hippas. Cleisthenes reformed Athens pave the way for democracy. Just like the end of Hippias tyranny, many other regions experienced the new opportunity for more citizen participation in community affairs. Thus, tyranny opened the doors for democracy. By establishing the end of the reign of tyranny the opportunity to seize political power was manifested. As a result, a new model of government was erected, democracy. Democracy is a form of government run by the people or elected representatives. The first democratic government was created in Athens, in 510BC. Spielvogel explains that after the tyrannical reign of Hippias, the reform of Cleisthenes established the basis for Athenian Democracy. Spielvogel further describes the division of power in the nation. Cleisthenes made the demes, villages, and townships of Attic the basic units of political life. From there, ten tribes chose fifty members to form The Council of Five Hundred. The Council of Five Hundred controlled foreign and financial affairs and prepared the business for the assembly. Finally, the assembly consisted of male citizens who had the authority to pass laws after an open debate. By giving the citizens the power to make decisions, democracy was formed. Like Ancient Greece, The Roman Republic began as a monarchy. Many believed that many nobles overthrew the reign of Servius Tulius to maintain their position of power. After the demise of the monarchy, the Roman Republic developed an aristocratic republic which was run by an assembly of adult males who were controlled by the wealthiest citizens. Spielvogel proclaims that the wealthiest citizens elected the officials. The Senate then advised these officials. Therefore all political power was retained by wealthy men. As Sallust stated, â€Å"As soon as wealth came to be a mark of distinction and an easy way to renown, military commands and political power, virtue began to decline. This exemplifies that all the political power was held by those who were wealthy rather than those who encompassed the right qualities and values to represent the public. As a result, Rome was divided into two groups; patricians and plebeians. Both groups were citizens and able to vote. However only patricians could hold governmental offices. To distribute the power wi thin the plebeians, the Tribunes of the Plebs and the Council of the Plebs were created. Furthermore after the establishment of the Hortenson Law, both divisions could hold governmental offices. Spielvogel pronounced not only were positions created to control the sovereignty but roles were developed to maintain the right relationship between the state and the gods, â€Å"pantiffs†. All important acts of the state had to be approved by the gods. According to Spielvogel, around the 2nd century the senate was the dominate governing body of the Roman Republic. The senate was controlled by individuals in a high social class. As a result there was political turmoil over the rights and political power amongst the populares, opitimates, and equestrians. Spielvogel explains that around 133 BC the reform of Tiberius Gracchus began. He sought to help the small farmer. Unfortunately he was murdered, and his brother Gaius Gracchus took over. Gaius disrupted the dynamic of the senate by replacing some senators with equites. This strategic move allowed the equites to have more political power. According to Spielvogel a member of the nobiles, Sulla, decided to â€Å"eliminate most of the powers of the popular assemblies and the tribunes of the plebs and restore the senators to the jury of the courts†. In the last 50 years of the republic many leaders came along changing the division of power for the nation. For instance, after Sulla, Crassus and Pompey restored the power of the tribunes and allowed equites back on the jury courts. This allowed the populares to have more political power. By the populares maintaining political power, they tried to distribute more political pull that benefitted the urban plebs. This demonstrates the need for more political power for the common citizen by using representatives. Afterwards there were several political leaders such as Caesar who used the senate and state as marionettes to manipulate the political system to favor their supporting party. But ultimately it was Octavius who ended the Roman republic by becoming Emperor. Next, Ancient Greece made political developments in legislation. As Spielvogel explains, Sparta underwent a legal reform when Lycurgus created a code of laws. From the very beginning of a Spartan’s life it was a legal requirement for the state to inspect the child. The unfit children were left for dead while others were forced into military preparation and then duty when they became of age. This was one of the first noted developments in legislation which promoted a stance for the support of the military. Laws were even established regarding clothing to promote resilience in warlike conditions. According to Xenephon Instead of making them effeminate with a variety of clothes his rule was to habituate them to a single garment the whole year through, thinking that so they would be better prepared to withstand the variations of heat and cold Another big development was the Reform of Solon. Solon changed political legislation when he eliminated birth as being a qualifier to hold office. He then created a class system based upon wealth. As Solon claimed, â€Å"I gave o the mass of the people such rank as befitted their need. † He did not allow the poorest class to hold any political office. As Spielvogel states, Solon made it possible for male citizens to bring court charges against any magistrate suspected of a crime. These were big political legislation developments because it promoted citizen involvement in public affairs. Another reform that strengthened citizen participation wa s Cleisthenes’ reform. This was a major step in political legislation because it allowed for the assembly to have the final say in passing laws. This new law set the groundwork for democracy. The Roman Republic also made many strives in legislation. According to Spielvogel in 450 B. C. the Twelve Tables of Law which included the procedures for going to court; provisions on family, women, and divorce, regulations concerning private property, rules governing relationships and injuries to others; and the provision prohibiting intermarriage between patricians an plebeians This was very important because it created uproar from the plebeians and caused a clash between the social orders. In response to this, the Hortensian law was established. This crucial law forced both social orders to follow all plebiscitas and allowed plebeians to hold office. This was an important development because it allowed for change in office and binded the community together. The Plebeians and patricians were now allowed to interact together in politics to strengthen society. According to Spielvogel, in response for the need of special laws the ius gentium was created. These laws applied to both foreigners and natives. Furthermore ius natural was established which formed the Roman law according to basic principles. Another major legislation that changed politics was Tiberius’s land reform bill. This bill redistributed the land and gave it to the landless. This shift allowed for more power for the equites. The legislative developments in the ancient world created a legal system and created order in a land full of diverse citizens. By establishing lawfulness and creating positions societies have been able to build upon this outline. For instance as Polybius stated The people then are the only court to decide matters of life and death; and even in cases where the penalty is money, if the sum to be assessed is sufficiently serious, and especially when the accused have held the higher magistracies In addition, Ancient Greece made political developments in execution of power. Execution of power is referred to the individual or group of individuals who influence the state. The military executed the power in Sparta. The military controlled every aspect of life in Sparta. A male citizen was forced to be in the military and was bred to die for their country. This was an important development because it was the first example of forced military participation. After years of kings and tyrants having sole command of the public, a swarm of reforms rumbled through the cities which tried to reclaim the power from the exclusive leader. Finally, around 500BC, Athens decided to transition the main executer of power to its people. The male citizens had the final word in passing laws. This was important and became a blue print for future nations. The Roman republic also made developments. In the beginning of the Republic it was the aristocrats who had control of the republic. For instance, the patricians held all political offices; as a result they decided to execute their power to favor the wealthy. Unhappy with the decisions made by the patricians, the Plebeians tried to execute their power and established the Twelve Tables of Law. Following this more laws were created, and Plebeians finally made it on the senate in order to gain authority and make judgments that would aid their social class. After the second century BC, two types of leaders came to power and tried to execute their ideals. The optimates fought to maintain nobile control domination of the senate, while the populares tried to distinguish the reign of the aristocrats. Eventually, equites finally received power and distributed the land to the landless. All of these struggles to execute power demonstrated how the public and the wealth influence political stances and government. Ultimately, Ancient Greece and the Roman Republic have made an impact in political developments including the division of power, legislation, and execution of power. The efforts of these former societies did not happen overnight or in vein. Like the famous proverb, â€Å"Rome wasn’t built in a day†, and neither were early political developments. Political developments in both of these ancient worlds had a snowball effect, where new advancements spread like wild fires to neighboring nations. As Homer said, â€Å"Captive Greece took captive her rude conqueror†. This exemplifies that even when a new society is formed it builds upon the structure of its precursor and makes advancements. These ancient developments are the framework for politics today. Without these developments, today’s world would be a very different place.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

NeoMed Technologies Essay

NeoMed Technologies developed a diagnostic device used for cardiac testing, and is headquartered in Ohio. They developed a CAD screen system to detect coronary artery disease. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio. NeoMed Technologies was faced with a lot of difficult decisions at the beginning when it came to where their product would best fit and be most successful. They had developed a technology that could fit into many markets, but needed to choose a product path and market. Their continued challenges occurred due to the changes in the market direction of venture capital opportunities and the funding available, all due to changes in the economy at that time. Due to the lack of funding, and a continued decline in Venture Capital funding along with a downturn in the economy; I believe had the economic situation been different at the time when they needed venture capital funding, the would’ve faced less challenges. The management team and Board of Directors were selected carefully and all had the experience and the background needed for success in the product market space. NeoMed Technologies had a strong business plan, and had conducted extensive research in initial planning stages. I believe based on the reading materials in this chapter; they did all the right things in the planning and early development stages. Although NeoMed Technologies had to contend with big name competitors and major players in the diagnostic and imaging market such as GE Medical and Philips, also located in the Ohio region; their strategy to be headquartered in Ohio was a sound decision. However, they should’ve investigated further in the opportunity to obtain venture capital funding outside of the Ohio region. Perhaps they could’ve spent more time studying competitive business cases of companies like competitor, HeartCheck, who specializes in the EBCT test. The HeartCheck product, although more costly, had seen success and was widely accepted in the Medical field. Despite the added cost of the HeartCheck EBCT test, they were seeing success in the market. One strategy change I would’ve considered early on was not applying all resources of their technology into one area. NeoMed Technologies should’ve considered  applying their initial product development to the technology of screening for drugs, drug delivery applications or detecting cancer. These areas would’ve possibly allowed for a quick to market product, without the additional approvals, quality standards applied in the medical equipment space, and FDA approvals needed. Bringing a simpler product to market first could’ve brought in revenue to fund the long-term product focus of a CAD screen system. The profits from a drug screening or drug delivery product could’ve assisted in funding their long-term product focus, they missed an opportunity to develop a quick revenue steam. In addition, NeoMed Technologies could’ve seen success early on in the Homeland Defense space, for detection of nuclear weapons, or dirty bombs. With the shift later in Venture Capital funding opportunities, they could’ve experienced success in this area as well. Bottom-line, they put all their eggs in one basket; they failed to have a backup product to develop a quick revenue stream to further fund their long-term goal. However, without a crystal ball that was a difficult decision. There were clear signs of shifts in investment opportunities, the shift indicted investments being shifted towards Homeland Security, military applications, and protection from various biological and chemical threats. NeoMed Technologies should shift some of their resources to developing a product to fit into that area, thus allowing them the opportunity to obtain additional venture capital funding, and perhaps developing a profitable product in the Homeland Security space. The revenue stream from this product would allow them later to proceed with their CAD screen system. There was another area of investment that should’ve been further investigated, â€Å"Angel Investors†, most of who are Entrepreneurs themselves currently, or at some point in their career. Inviting one of the Angel investors a seat on the board, as well as leveraging the experience they have gained from starting their own company, dealing with the challenges of starting a business, and investigating further Venture capital funding areas. NeoMed Technologies should’ve reached out farther than just the Ohio-based Venture Capital firms, this would’ve allowed them a broader audience of investors and opportunity. I don’t believe holding off for perfection is necessarily wrong, especially when dealing with, and factoring in the value of human life. The NeoMed Technologies board of directors and  upper level management all appeared to encompass strong ethics and while that might be a weakness to others, ethics are important and should never be compromised. Too many companies take the short cut to success and people get hurt.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Assessment of Plato's two arguments about knowledge in the Meno and Term Paper

Assessment of Plato's two arguments about knowledge in the Meno and the Phaedo - Term Paper Example In both Meno and Phaedo, knowledge and learning are viewed as a recollection of what someone already knows. However, in Meno, Plato writes that knowledge is concerned with the recollection of necessary truths. In Phaedo, on the other hand, knowledge, according to Plato, is concerned with the acquisition of concepts, which are not necessarily truths (102b-c). In essence, Phaedo tries to imply that a person can gain knowledge simply by learning new concepts based on their individual opinions. The subject of debate in this essay is whether either form of knowledge can be independent of the other. Can a person claim to have knowledge about a subject by simply recalling some prior truths, or can a person learn new concepts based on a recollection of prior opinions? The idea of recollection or anamnesis, according to Plato, holds that if at all a person remembers something, they must have had prior knowledge of the subject (73c). Plato, in Phaedo writes that the fact that a person can hear or see something and recognize it, and even think of something alike, is all based on anamnesis (74c). In Phaedo, Plato gives an example of knowledge through recognition by stating that a person may see a lyre that reminds them of their lover (73c-e). In this context, the person’s recognition of a lyre is independent of them being reminded about their lover. However, there is a difference between seeing just any lyre and being reminded of one’s lover, and seeing a lyre belonging to one’s lover and being reminded of them. The alter explanation deals with a truth about the lover’s lyre, while the former introduces a new concept, with an opinion about any lyre. In Phaedo, Plato also explains what recollection is all about suing the example of the equal itself (74c-d). Here, the argument is that one person may see two stones or sticks as equal, while another sees them as unequal. The equality of these objects may vary according to one’s opinion, but t he equal itself is always equal, with no variations of equality. Fundamentally, this is to say that the two people both have prior truthful knowledge of what the equal itself is; what may differ, however, are their opinions concerning the equality of the objects. The two cases above require some degree of recollection, although for the former, it is a recollection of a truth about the equal itself, while the latter deals with the recollection of a personal opinion about a subject. The knowledge about the truth of the equal itself that can never be unequal is the precondition for the opinion as to whether the objects in question are equal or unequal. From this analysis, it is safe to infer that knowledge acquisition is a progression from prior truth to opinions formed in reference to the said truth. The seeing of one thing and being reminded of another, whether like or unlike, is what Plato refers to as anamnesis. However, a person can see something and instead of being reminded of a nother, they can create their own idea of something else that could be dissimilar from what they saw. This creation of an idea by a person is a new concept that does not necessarily come from a pre-existing truth. This argument, therefore, puts into doubt the idea that the pre-condition to being reminded is to have cognition of something. This is a case of having knowledge through recollection of things that are

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Strategy Briefing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Strategy Briefing Paper - Essay Example According to Nishino (1996), there is rapid expansion in the automobile industry around the world because of the growth in the demand of passenger vehicles and the overall increase in the demand for cheaper automobile components. Governments continue to make efforts in encouraging the growth of the industry in their countries. The demand for high quality vehicles is increasing because of the growth of the population of the middle class population in many countries making the purchase of a vehicle to become a sign of financial accomplishment (Goldberg 1995). As pointed by Berry, Levinsohn & Pakes (1995) the increase in the demand for automobile components has built pressure on automotive producing companies to look for alternatives of reducing the cost of production and embrace more economic methods of production. Through the process of globalisation of the world economy, governments and trade organisations continue to encourage lowering of tariffs and reduction in trade restrictions. This continues to make the industry more competitive as each international car manufacturing company has equal access to the market. Each company is therefore expanding its production to enhance their presence in the world (Orsato & Wells 2007). The focus is mostly on the supply of vehicles that meet the expectation of consumers and at the lowest costs. Apart from cost, the major focus is also on air pollution, energy efficiency and brand meaning (Kolk & Pinkse 2004). The company should come up with models that are more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and low emission of carbon dioxide to match the current demands of customers and enhance the reputation of its brands all over the world. The company has successfully been applying the culture of acquiring other players in the industry as a means of growing and expanding its operations. To enhance the rate of growth, the

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Revolutions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Revolutions - Assignment Example The American Revolution was a war of independence between the thirteen British colonies in America and Great Britain that was fought from 1775 to 1783 (Ferling, 2001). The Americans were fighting for their freedom as they sought to exist as a nation without the control of the British colonial masters. The French Revolution that started in 1789 and ended in 1799 was more like an internal strife that existed between the people of France and the tyrannical monarch, King Louis XVI, who was ruling France at that time (Feher, 1990). The French revolution was basically a period of transformation of the political system as it ushered in the change of leadership from an autocratic style to a more democratic style of leadership. The Latin American Revolution that started in 1807 and ended in 1824 was a rebellious war that involved the natives of Mexico, Central and South America and their Spanish and Portuguese colonial masters (Gilbert, 1990). The Latin Americans fought against the heavy taxa tion burdens and strict economic policies that were imposed on them by their colonial masters. George Washington was the founder of the Continental Army and he was the one that influenced the American Revolution (Ferling, 2001). General Washington played a great role in ensuring that the Americans were victorious in their revolution against the British. However, there are different people that influenced the French Revolution and some of them are Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Jacques Danton and Jean-Paul Marat (Feher, 1990). Maximilien Robespierre was a French lawyer and political activist, Jean-Paul Marat was one of the most radical political leaders during the French revolution that promoted violence against supporters of King Louis XVI, while Georges Jacques Danton gave powerful speeches that inspired the people to take part in the French Revolution (Feher, 1990). One person that influenced the Latin American

Friday, July 26, 2019

Explain the different arguments suggesting violent computer games are Essay

Different Arguments Suggesting Violent Computer Games are Morally Wrong - Essay Example Sicart ( 2009, p.35) reveals that the gaming world can itself modify the gameplay, dictating behaviours in various aspects. For instance in the game Burnout 3, the virtual world requires and encourages the player to crash into other nearby vehicles and structures such as bridges and tunnels in order to bag more scoring point and this endeavour enhances the game aggressiveness simultaneously. Likewise, Sicart ( 2009, p. 193) further reveals that in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the player has to engage in sex, and then he is made to kill the computer character in order to snatch the money back. Such games inculcate unethical values in an individual, who is in need to develop values of good to become a virtuous and devoted person which is quite contrary to what these games teach the youth and furthermore, virtual environment rewards points for unethical acts (Sicart 2009, p.193). Floridi ( 2010, p.69) further reinforces the viewpoint that the ultra-violent games such as Grand T heft Auto, Zog’s Nightmare and Manhunt encourage the players to experience manslaughter, run extermination camps, murder for snuff movies and to drive over people in order to gain extra game points. This is causing parents moral concerns with respect to the learning development of their children. To add on, Stevens and Saldamarco (2008, p. 5) state that the game Defcon is designed to encourage a hostile approach amongst the players. The game’s main objective is to trigger nuclear wars and annihilations rewarding the player who lose the least. However, the most repugnant aspect of these computer games especially in god games, surfaces when certain very fundamental religious beliefs are questioned and exploited in designing a gameplay. For instance, Cogburn and Silcox (2009, p.77) depicts that in the game Left Behind it is explained that the adherence and devotion to Christianity is a matter of one’ s personal choice but on the contrary when the player ‘conv erts’ or recruits neutral citizens into his/ her ‘force’, they are required to adhere to his/her each and every command without any question. Moreover, the writers reveal that the ‘converts’ have to wear a purple coloured uniform and they are referred to as ‘units’ than ‘people’, which seems pretty odd since they were supposed to be free will agents who have achieved salvation by adopting Christianity. Another aspect of computer that needs to be shed light onto is the ‘Game Ego’; it is not a kind of a physical manifestation, but an entity that can exert force ( Pivec 2006, p.51). The writer further states that the Game Ego is connected to the player through a motor or kinesthetic link, which removes the barrier between the inside and the outside and the gamer is in oblivious of the fact that he is sinking deeper and more deeper into the realms of the game. If the Game Ego stops responding to the strategy of the game player, the player experiences loss of self control and the feeling of helplessness prevail ( Pivec 2006, p.52).

Opposing review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Opposing review - Essay Example With the turn of the generation, PES failed to make the next-gen jump while FIFA showed it was ready to up its game.† (FIFA 12 Vs PES 12) The opening paragraph which has been quoted above is itself very debatable, PES has been getting better with every single game but the writer fails to acknowledge the same. PES has also been improving with each game, why would the same game be bought over and over again by the fans is something the writer must answer. The article goes on to say that the last game brought out by Konami the makers of PES was very different from its other games but in all fairness there were quite a few similarities between the last one and the earlier editions but significant changes were surely made. To conclude it is very fair to say that the writer has failed to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the two games. A better analysis should have been written and the two games should have been better

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Which Are The Effects Of Political Marketing In The Parliamentary Essay

Which Are The Effects Of Political Marketing In The Parliamentary Elections Of 2004 In Greece - Essay Example Opinion polls for the last year have given the right-of-center opposition New Democracy party (ND) a commanding lead, while Costas Simitis, the reformist prime minister and PASOK leader who steered Greece into the euro zone, has lost ground to Costas Karamanlis, his younger conservative rival. True, the ND party came out ahead of PASOK, winning mayoral races in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece's two biggest cities. Furthermore, the conservatives exploited farmers' dissatisfaction with declining European Union subsidies to win thirty out of fifty-two provincial governor's posts. But PASOK held on to the high-profile post of Attica governor--won comfortably by Fofi Gennimata, a rising star and one of only a handful of women in the party's upper echelons. Overall, barely two percentage points separated the two big parties. While ND is still the favorite to win the next general election--not due until spring 2004 but likely to be held earlier--PASOK has shown remarkable powers of resilience. A feel-good factor is certainly at work, with Greece's economy projected to expand this year by 3.8 percent, more than twice the EU average, and by 4.1 percent in 2003. Growth is being driven by high levels of public and private investment, backed by a five-year, $24.6-billion package of EU structural aid. A massive program of infrastructure improvements is aimed at giving the Greek capital world-class sports facilities and a modern transportation system in time for the 2004 Olympic Games. While unemployment is the second highest in the euro zone, this year it has declined to single digits (just less than 10 percent) for the first time since the mid-1990s. PASOK has expanded job creation programs targeting women and young people and has launched tax cuts for lower income workers. But they face criticism for postponing urgently needed pension system reforms and for failing to cut corporation taxes--among the highest in the euro zone at 35 percent--to boost inward investment. Foreign direct investment, averaging only around $1 billion yearly, is much lower than in the Central European countries that will join the EU in 2004. "When the EU funds start to decline after 2006, Greece will need a sharp increase in foreign investment to maintain reasonable rates of growth," says George Alogoskoufis, ND's spokesman on the economy. The Simitis government has earned praise from the US for arresting eighteen alleged members of the November 17 (N17) terrorist organization over the summer. Since its emergence in 1975, the left-wing group had claimed responsibility for more than twenty assassinations, including US diplomats and servicemen and, most recently, Stephen Saunders the UK defense attach in Athens, as well as dozens of bomb and rocket attacks. The arrests came after two years of close cooperation between Greek police and Scotland Yard over the Saunders killing. Trials are due to start early next year and are likely to last for months. The apparent dismantling of N17, together with plans to work closely with the US on security for the Athens Olympics, has brought a significant improvement in relations with Washington. In response to concerns that other members of the group were still at large, Simitis said: "We will deal thoroughly with the terrorism problem. There may be some pieces of N17 left, but we intend to expose them." This month EU leaders are due to approve the accession of Cyprus--even if it is still divided into separate Greek and Turkish Cypriot sectors--at their Copenhagen summit along with another nine enlargement candidates. Accession for the island will mark a milestone in Greek

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Patch 1,2 and 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Patch 1,2 and 3 - Essay Example People are, in most cases,compelled to learn more than one language at a time, the existing knowledge of a native language affects both the pace, and level that one learns a new language. Young learners always think in their native language and relay the information in the new language. This breaks a number of semantic rules governing the use of the new language and if not corrected in time, its effect may last to affect how he or she uses the new language. Additionally, the teacher of the new language and his native language influences the manner in which their students learn the new language. In the Western world, students of new language always seek the services of a native speaker of the new language or travel to a country of the new language to learn. In the developing world, students learn second hand languages taught by fellow natives. The teachers therefore break a number of rules and pass the broken languages to their students. This explains why the English spoken in a numbe r of African countries is either pronounced differently or infused will local pidgins. The student in the case study suffers from the influence of mother tongue too. From the way he writes, it is clear that he is not an English native speaker. French sounds like English in a number of ways, some of the French words sound and mean the same to other English words. However, the greatest difference between English and French is the French attach gender to most of its words and sentences. From the write up, it is evident that the writer is trying to keep up with the English language requirements but because he keeps thinking in French, he finds himself attaching a gender to some of the English words. A remedy to this is constant practice and the ability to detach from the use of a native language while learning a different language. It is never possible to abolish the use of the first language especially when learning another but learners need concentrate on the new language and use the semantic rules of the new language. This way, they minimize the number of grammatical mistakes they make on the new language. This also makes the learning a lot faster. Another key factor that affects a learner’s ability to learn and use a new language is age. This factor is debatable but most scholars concur that young learners usually master the rules of a new language faster than older learners do. In young age, people are not preoccupied with other businesses, as is the case in old age. Children will therefore concentrate more on the new language and master it faster. Additionally, this has also contributed to the fact that children interact more with their peers than adults do. It is in these interactions that they learn from their colleagues the new language and the rules that govern the usage of the new language. Despite the faster speed of learning a language at a younger age, it is also evident that young learners have a tendency of forgetting a language that they do not use faster. There is no remedy to this apart from continuous practice and the usage of the multiple languages one learned. The writer in this case is an adult learner. His age is best determined based on the issues he addresses in his article. Some of the themes he struggles to raise are those that children cannot possibly comprehend. Writing is different from speaking.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Child Gas-lift chair product Operator's Manual and Maintenance Assignment

Child Gas-lift chair product Operator's Manual and Maintenance Instruction - Assignment Example A gas-lift chair is meant for disabled children or those that have been bound to a chair for life. It is simplified in a way that the child is able to understand and remember the function of every feature on the chair comfortably. Implementing gas lift chair safety measures is not only important to the child but also to the manufacture. It is important for a child to know that Child Gas-lift Chair Company is not responsible of any damage or injury to child on the chair if; the damage occurred during transportation, since the chair is not meant for transport, as a result of wear and tear or due to fixation of fake accessories. All this can only be settled and avoided by following all the safety measures provided by the Child Gas-lift Chair Company (User manual, 2008). It may seem unnecessary but the child should ensure safety even on delivery and when unpacking the gas chair. This is because even as new as it may look it might be damage, posing a danger to the child if unnoticed. If the chair is damaged, the child should inform Child Gas-lift Company to either replace it or repair it (Burke, 2012). On the chair there two main features the child should consider the lever and the brake. The lever, which is usually below the seat, will help the child adjust the seats height by pulling it upwards. In case the child wishes to lower the seat, pulling the lever upwards will allow outflow of gas to a separate reservoir above the piston, effectively lowering the gas pressure below the piston and the seat goes down. To raise the seat the child need to get off the chair to allow in flow of air. The child should also understand that gas lift chairs are not meant for transport and should not be used in place of a wheel chair. In fact the child should not be on the chair during transportation. The other most important thing of all is that the child needs to know the maximum weight limit of the chair above

Monday, July 22, 2019

Eating - Pica Essay Example for Free

Eating Pica Essay Pica is a compulsion to eat non food items when it is considered to be developmentally inappropriate for a time length of no less than one month. This disorder, also known as a â€Å"phenomenon† has been around since ancient times, with certain cultures accepting this not as a disorder, but as an accepted practice. There are several categories for describing pica. Some of the most commonly described types of pica are eating earth, soil or clay (Geophagia), ice (Pagophagia), and starch (Amylophagia) in humans. (http://www. encyclopedia. com/topic/pica. aspx). Pica is usually noticed in pregnancy, developmental delay and mental retardation, psychiatric disease and autism, early childhood, poor nutrition, lack of specific nutrients, vitamins, and/or minerals, and certain specific religions and their corresponding specific traditions. The specific causes for Pica are unknown, but certain conditions and situations can increase a person’s risk: Nutritional deficiencies such as iron and zinc Dieting- consuming non food items to obtain a feeling of â€Å"fullness† Malnutrition-especially in underdeveloped countries. Cultural factors such as family practices and religious factors Parental neglect, lack of supervision, or food deprivation Developmental problems Mental health conditions Pregnancy Epilepsy Brain damage (http://kidshealth. org/PageManager. jsp? dn=KidsHealthlic=1ps=107cat_id=146article_set=22148) Research suggests that there is no known cause for this disorder. In most studies into the disorder, the â€Å"habit† of eating non-nutritive substances usually clears up on its on terms for no known reason. Nevertheless, this disorder should be considered serious, as there are multiple risk factors up to and including death that present as outcomes. Pica has been shown to be a predisposing factor in accidental ingestion of poisons, particularly lead poisoning. The ingestion of bizarre or unusual substances has also resulted in other potentially life threatening toxicities, such as hyperkalemia after cautopyreiophagia (ingestion of burnt match heads) (http://emedicine. medscape. com/article/914765-overview) To date, there are no lab studies to show the onset, cause, and /or leading factors that contribute to this disorder. It is common practice to identify and treat a person for effects only after they have become susceptible to medical treatment. Physical examination findings are highly dispersed and depend directly on what substance has been ingested. Most research suggests that pregnant woman crave a specific nutrient missing from their diet, therefore consuming a specific non food substance rich in that nutrient to fulfill what their body is looking for. Most children up to two years old are said to simply be â€Å"exploring their environment† and do so by putting everything into their mouths. Medications used to help treat Pica disorder are commonly SSRI’s such as: Olanzapine: a drug typically used to treat the symptoms of various mental illnesses that cause a loss of interest in life, unusual thinking, or inappropriate emotions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Clozapine: another drug used to treat the symptoms of various mental illnesses by transforming natural substance activities in the brain. Risperidone: used to treat the symptoms assoc. with manic states and bipolar disorder. Both Olanzapine and Clozapine belong to a class of atypical antipsychotics that are sometimes used in Pica patients to help change the way they see certain materials and reduce their negative eating habits. Risperidone can be used to treat the symptoms of Pica disorder, as well as some of the underlying causes, including depression and psychotic factors. The most successful approach to treating a client with Pica disorder is a behavioral approach. Behavioral strategies have been shown to be extremely effective in treating many forms of Pica, up to and including: Discrimination training. Mouth self-protection devices Reinforcement behaviors Screening techniques (ex: covering eyes) Aversive oral taste (mint, lemon, etc. ) Aversive smell techniques Aversive physical sensation (ex: alternative response) Brief physical restraint Consultations (http://www. health guideinfo. com/other-eating-disorders) In General, the use of medications for Pica disorder are commonly used for the person(s) with a mental handicap, or in combination with any other medical diagnosis (ex: depression, ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder). Many physicians will have a focused aim on finding out if the body is lacking a nutrient†¦usually noted to be iron. There is no evidence to say that a lack of iron is linked to the disorder. Side effects will also vary depending on the type of substance was ingested. Common side effects include: constipation, cramping, pain, obstruction of bowel or intestine due to blockage, perforation from ingesting sharp objects, contamination and infection from ingesting parasites, weight gain, malnutrition, gestational diabetes false +, and decreased absorption of nutrients in the stomach (http://www. encyclopedia.com/topic/Pica. aspx). There is no true prognosis for Pica disorder as it depends on the substance and amount of the substance taken in. Usually the side effects and complications tend to dissipate as the behavior is stopped. Pica is seen in studies to subside once the labor has been successful and in children as they age, usually around two years of age. There are no specific lab studies indicated in the evaluation of a person with pica. Lab tests are generally completed when a patient has been seen by their physician for a complaint. As a patient admitted to the E. R. , the attending Dr.may order abdominal x-rays, barium swallows of the G. I. tracts, and an upper GI endoscopy in order to get a handle of what has been ingested and the location of the substances. A list of commonly ingested non-food items consumed includes: Dirt Clay Paint chips Plaster Chalk Cornstarch Laundry starch Baking soda Coffee grounds Cigarette ashes Burnt match heads Cigarette butts Feces Ice Glue Hair Buttons Paper Sand Toothpaste Soap A common approach used is education for patients in regards to a healthy approach to consumption to adequate sources of food substances. A common failure is non-information throughout the world.

Understanding The Media And Celebrity Cultures

Understanding The Media And Celebrity Cultures Celebrity can be regarded as the subsequence of the cultural penetration of capitalist commercialism, as well as is the residual products resulted from the rising of popular cultural industry in the 20th century. The emergence and development of modern consumer society have carried on the flourish of celebrity culture. Popular culture is full of the celebrities radiance. The advantage of technology has changed peoples everyday life. The growth of income and leisure time has turned peoples attention on the issue of consumption. In order to satisfy consumers increasing desire of material and cultural consumption, celebrity and its relative industry have emerged and taken root in the ground of poplar culture. Simultaneously, the growth of social democracy, decline of religion power, and commodification of everyday life has contributed to current position of celebrities, they become the idols to the mass population in diverse aspects. In majority conditions, celebrities has become the es sential carriers of mass media, and also been fanatically imitated. Sports stars, movie actors and other kinds of public media images almost become icon and deity in many peoples mind. Celebrity culture has provided the role mode of fashion, external appearance, and personality for audience. In the world of mass media, celebrities has crosses from the range of entertainment, sports, politic, and business, to each territory of social life. From nobody to a popular superstar, the process needs an complete productive system, and undoubtedly, mass media is the best choice. Majority movements undertook by media are mainly surrounding the celebrities: the scriptwriter maybe make an executive screenplay for the celebrities; the movie director has possibility that shape a films star by classified image; the photography, light and costume might all serve the celebrity for his or her celebrification and commercial benefits. Under the impact of these series efforts, the fan group have come out , and then, a new market serving fans has emerged, by which, the deified status of stars have established and consolidated day by day. Celebrities utilize media to complete self-propaganda, media reversely use them to create substantial commercial return. However, in general, partial celebrities distaste the close supervision coming from media, similarly, media dislike celebrities arrogance as well. In this perspective, there is a kind of indivisible and hostile relationship between media and celebrities. In this study, there are two questions going to be answered, first, what kind of changes have happened on the way of getting fame under the context of contemporary consumer society? Secondly, what kind of role has mass media played in the process of celebrity production, or we can say what are the relation between mass media and celebrities? The Concept of Celebrity Culture There are many studies undertook of how the way of people getting fame has changed from ancient to contemporary period. It has primarily concentrated on the differences between hero and celebrity. Fame, as P. David Marshall (2006) stated, is only able to be gain through exemplified greatness in some way or other. In order to become great and known by everyone, a man has to possess the characteristics of making people admire his courage, talent or nobility. Shakespeare had divided great men into three categories: those born great, those who achieved greatness, and those who had greatness thrust upon them (P. David Marshall, 2006. p.72). Thomas Carlyle (1996) explained heros in six categories: divinity, prophet, poet, priest, man of letters, and king, all of who have a common feature that their process of getting fame is slow and by the natural way of becoming well known. Their fame was not made overnight, but was through a mysterious procedure as which God ruled the the generations. H owever, since the Graphic Revolution (Boorstin, 1992. p. 45), the definition of fame to people has changed into an item which can be manufactured through the channel of media. Celebrity culture has emerged, and peoples consciousness of hero have been confused. Actually, as P. David Marshall (2006) reported, the hero was distinguished by his achievement; the celebrity by his image or trademark. The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name ( p. 81). Rojek (2001) has similar point with Marshall, he believes that mass- media representation is the key principle in the formation of celebrity culture (p.13). He also induced the emergence of celebrity as a public preoccupation into three major interrelated processes: the democratization of society, the decline in organized religion, and the commodification of everyday life ( p.13). In other words, the democratic revolution challenged peoples idea of belief, they want to find the celebrities from common mankind, who can replace the monarchy as the new symbols of recognition and belonging (p.14). Simultaneously, with the development of commodification, celebrities are regarded as the best tools for mobilizing populaces consumption desire. In the following section, the primary task is to discuss celebrity culture in the context of consumer culture, and its impacts on our consumption habits. To the conception of consumer culture, there are a lot of versionsà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’Chinese economist Lezhong Wang (2002) has defined consumer culture as the presence of humans creativity in the consumption territory, and the sublimation and crystallization of individually rational practices of mankind. Consumer culture includes natural environment, human environment, material resources made by human beings, spiritual and cultural products, and the consumption behavior which is full of creativity and benefits for human health. In addition, Chinese sociologist-professor Haohui Xiao (cited in the translation of Lezhong Wang, 2002) points that broadly speaking, consumer culture is the combination of consuming material and spiritual culture; in a narrow sense, consumer culture is the reflections of consumption on peoples ideology, which are including the elements of consumer philosophy, consumer value, consumer ethics, consumer behavior, consumer taste, consumer atheists and consumer psychology, which are the ideological totality of reflecting and understanding consumer character during the consumer practice. Synthesizing former statements of the conception of consumer culture, why don not we understand it simply as a material movement in the procedure of consumption, which is accompanied with psychological thinking and value orientation. When consumer culture has become a natural environment, consumerism was going to derive. The so-called consumerism points to a kind of living style: the consumer purpose is not for satisfying realistic requirement, but pursuing the manufactured and motivated desire, constantly. In other words, what people consumed is not the value-in-use of commodity and service, but their symbolic significance (translated from Pingwen Huang, 2003). The expression of consumerism in the territory of cu ltural consumption is cultural consumerism. Respective cultural products and cultural spirits inevitably play the role of symbolic consumer goods. These spiritual products on the form of entertainment is alternative, and capable of very rapid mobility, but the innate ideological values cannot be replaced. Thus in this context of consumer culture, what role of celebrity has played? For understanding the impact of celebrity on contemporary society, Chris Rojek (2001, p. 29) provides three approaches: subjectivism, structuralism and post-structuralism. Subjectivist emphasizes the unique characteristic of celebrity. Generally, this kind of characteristic of celebrity is from innate talent, which is formed naturally, and becoming the primary force that attract audiences attention. Structuralist approaches to celebrity have attempted to provide scientific understanding of celebrity. They attributed the origination of celebrity to the influence of the cultural industry capitalism, and masculinity (Rojek. 2001). Guy Debord (cited in Rojek, 2001. p. 34) has suggested that industrial culture as a culture of signs and the purpose of celebrity culture is to shepherd the populace into imitative consumption. On the aspect of capitalism, celebrities are serving entertainment industry, and the reason why the masses can be attracted by celebrities, as Edgar Morin (1961) claime d that because celebrities could fulfill the regressive needs of the audience, which is on the level of psychology. In this respect, the celebrity can be understood as a carrier of ideology. David Marshall (1997) following this due, suggested that celebrity has a political function. It could be applied to contribute, propagate and extend certain forms of subjective values, such as individualism and heroism. Marshall also claims that mass media is the essential channel to realize this political function of celebrities. In Marshalls statement, celebrities to the audiences has taken effect as symbolic signs, which are embedded with psychological meaning. Another proposal of structuralism is that celebrity is the extension of what might be called fundamental types of character and embodiment in society (Rojek, 2001, p. 40). For this suggestion, Orrin Klapp (1962) thinks that because of the mass communications industry, the fundamental types in contemporary society have been successfully extended by the appearance of celebrities, subsequently which provides the important prototypes for the audience to emulate. The most valuable approach of understanding celebrity culture for this study is the post-structuralism, which is frequently associated with structuralism, but examine the problem of celebrity images as a whole and how those representations of these images are produced and consumed. Rojek (2001, p. 44) defined the notion of the post-structuralist approach as that star image are inflected and modified by the mass media and productive assimilation of the audience. In this respect, the images of celebrities are the common consequence of the work of media agents, press, publicists, producers, fans, and gossip columnists. As a result, the celebrity system could be used to fulfill political, economic, and cultural requirements. Associated with the consumer culture previously mentioned, the following section will concentrate on the celebrification process. Above all, the precondition of celebrity culture the context of capitalist consumer society. The logic of capitalism requires consumers to maintain increasing consumption desire for capitalist accumulation. However, peoples desire are too various to unify. For constantly maximizing the market share, manufacturers need some thing that could tie consumers attraction in a long run. In this sense, manufacturers found that celebrities are the desirable issue because, as what I mentioned, celebrity has the function of filling the psychological lack in humans mind. Rojek (2001, p. 15) claims that celebrities humanize the process of commodity consumption by the way of structuring human sentiments. Then, why celebrity could attract audiences attention on psychological level? Richard Dyer (1998) has regarded stars as a phenomenon of consumption (p.17), which originates from the four categories relationship between stars and audience: emotional affinity, self-identification imitation, and projection. This types of audience and star relation was firstly reported by Andrew Tudor (1974) in his book Image and Influence, with the range of star and individual identification and the order of consequences. Self-identification and projection belong to the high range of identification, in the contrast, emotional affinity and imitation ( of physical and simple behavioral characteristics) are classified to the low category. Dyer (1998) furthermore integrated Tudors discourse, reconstructs the way of how these four categories of star/audience relationship emerged. Emotional affinity as the weakest category, maybe is the most common sense among audiences. Audience finds there are an attachment between he or she with the star on the narrative of individual personality, and then, the sense of involvement has brought up. Self-identification happens when involvement has reached the point at which the audience-member places himself in the same situation and persona of the star (Tudor, p. 81). As for the third category-imitation, which is the primary reason for stimulating consumption as it is the commonest phenomenon among the young people, and establishing a kind of sentiment with audiences beyond the sphere of media texts. People who reaches the category of imitation are willing to consider stars as a role model and emulate their clothing, hair style and expression. For this, purchasing the products which ar e relative to the favored star is a subsequent behavior of audiences on this class. Projection as the last category is like a distillation of imitation, which pursues the deeper similarity with the adoring stars. Dyer (1998) concludes that from this accounts of the star/audience relationship, audiences participate few in the process of shaping the phenomenon, they are generally following the designed routine of celebrity production. Thus to manufacturers, celebrities are commodities in the sense that consumers desire to possess them Rojek (2001, p.15). For the stable economic growth, capitalism requires mobilizing abstract desire in the unconsciousness, and celebrity culture has been recognized as one of the most important mechanisms for mobilizing abstract desire due to it embodies desire in an animate object, which allows for deeper levels of attachment and identification than with inanimate commodities (Rojek, 2001, p.189). After understanding the impact of celebrity culture on consumption society, the next step of the celebrification process is referring to the relationship between mass media and the celebrity, or we can say how media product the celebrity. In the following part, I will integrate detailed examples to elaborate this complex. Media and Celebrification Celebrity culture is a prevalent phenomenon in contemporary society, its main mechanism is on the strength of celebrities to reach certain purposes. However, different from the great man in ancient period, modern celebrities are made through the tautology of media publicity to get audiences attention on the big names. Under the system of media institutions, the appeal of celebrity culture is characterized on three major aspects. Firstly, celebrity culture has promoted in various territories, the so-called celebrities are not merely refined to the range of entertainment, such as film, television, and music, but also involving sports stars and political celebrities. And in the media world, celebrities are active in all the sphere of entertainment, politic, sports, business and social life. For example, Arnold. Schwarzenegger as a successful actor of action movie, got the same achievement on the ground of politic. Secondly, the commercial application of celebrities is increasing, which also can be called as celebrity strategy. In such a circumstance of globalized economy, the combination of celebrity culture and commerce is increasingly close, to some extent, celebrity culture already, become a commercial strategy. Mass media is the key force in the activity of celebrity culture for commercial development. No matter what kind of celebrities, in modern society they have to borrow the powerful strength of mass media, especially the channel of television to increase own fame. Actually, contemporary media culture seems to turn to a kind of celebrity culture. Thirdly, the impact of celebrities is more deep and broad. Celebrities impacts are not just restricted on the film ticket results, or television audience rating, the more effective one is that they are the symbolic of fashion, success. Dyer (1998) thinks the stars, mainly film stars, have become models of consumption for everyone in consumer society (p. 39). As what I mentioned previously, this phenomenon is resulted from a psychological imitation. In this respect, celebrities are beyond the images shaped in media texts, and intervening in audiences everyday life, with providing the models of ideal personality and imaginary style which are matc hing with audiences desire. To mass media celebrities are as well as irreplaceable. In capitalist consumer society, the sustainment of media institutions is largely replying on the immense profits produced by advertising sponsors, who seek to on the strength of media propaganda to prompt commercial interests. In this perspective, media needs to use the activity of celebrities to stimulate and sustain audiences attention and desire, consequently, to maintain the consumption of sponsored products and own economic benefits. As a result, the relationship between celebrity culture and media are interdependent. However, to media, the concrete celebrity member is changeable, to some extent. In following analysis, certain film stars are picked up to elaborate the relation between celebrity and media. In a long time, film as a typical formation of media means is the breeding ground for celebrity culture. As early as the period of silent movie, the Western film industry has created the superstar-Charlie Chaplin. A top hat, sharp toe shoes, black mustache, tunic and loose trousers successfully shaped the classic Chaplin and his Ciarlo image around the world. Resulted from the preoccupation to his image, hundreds of thousand fans went to buy the small statue of the homeless image he played in the film. In 14th December of 2004, the prop-a bamboo cane, which was used by Chaplin in the film Modern Times came under the hammer in London Christies auction house, and finally got deal by 47,800 pounds. (From Internet Source, Dec, 2004). From this, maybe we can see how successful and persistent the image shaped by film is. The development of movie has contributed numerous film stars , and who are also regarded as the essential element of Hollywood films. The big name of star generally is the guarantee of ticket value as audiences are willing to pay money for their favored stars, so producers as well as prefer employing stars to make predictable profit result. With the engagement of superstars and the frenetic hype before the show time, stars and the film could both be famous. An effective instance is the Hollywood film Oceans Twelve, which was showed on 2004, and assembled the top famous stars on that time: George Clooney, Brad Pit, Matt Damon, Andi Garcia, Julie Roberts and Catherine-zeta Jones. The executive official of Exhibitor Relations Paul has said that film fans commonly prefer the films gathering all stars together, watching this kind of film will feel like one time shopping for Hollywood top stars. According to the data of Exhibitor Relations in 12th December of 2004, it showed that last week, Oceans Twelve has got the top position of the North American Box office by $40,900,000 which created the forth highest box office of opening premier in the history, just after The Lord of Ring. Many Hollywood analysts even foresaw that Oceans Twelve will extend the success of the part one Oceans Eleven, and earn much more money. In the com mentary of this film, a large part of audiences said that no matter what the narrative is, they have to watch it just for the stars (From Internet sources, 14th Dec, 2004). By comparison, the commercialization of Chinese film industry and celebrity culture took place lately. In the early film times in China, a series film stars like Linyu Ruan and Xuan Zhou had few commercial feature, they just treated acting as a professional job. Besides, at that time China was still caught in the situation of foreign invasion and repression, the development of commercial system was not complete, the aim of filming a movie, to large extent, is for diffusing and agitating populaces passion and confidence of fighting, rather than earning box office and profits. This situation has modified since the conduction of the reform and open policy, people have noticed that film industry is good way for making profits. Film producers began to concern market trends, and be aware of the importance of contenting audiences needs, trying to search what kind of film genre and film star will be preferred by Chinese people, and for what reason audiences are able to consume films. As a result, from the gradual growth of Chinese film industry, it is clear that consumption pursuit is the precondition of film production and birth of star. Star Production or Consumption Within the interdependent relationship of celebrities an mass media, a question called the production-consumption dialectic of mass communications has suggested by Edgar Morin (1968), which means stars are a phenomenon of production that arising from what the film makers provide, or of consumption that arising from film audiences demands (Dyer, 1998, p. 9). Firstly, as for the discourse of stars as a phenomenon of production, which is regarding stars as products of mass communication. For example, majority American film stars are the products of Hollywood. Hollywood production has been considered as a capitalist production, and in this sense, the function of film stars is concentrated on the economy of hollywood (Dyer, 1998). Robert A. Brady (1947) suggested that stars are a kind of capital possessed by Hollywood industry, which is characterized as monopoly, which is also the first element in the economics of Hollywood classified by Dyer (1998). The second role of stars is investment . Dyer (1998) analyzed that stars to film makers are a secure guarantee, which could promise their investment on the film has the profit value. Thirdly, stars themselves are a major investment to film makers, the commission for stars appearance takes a large portion of the whole film budget. The last element stars representing is the market. Alexander Walker (1974) reported a similar point that the use of a star to stabilize audience response (p. 15). For film producers, an effective way to organize the market is to attract audiences attention. Secondly, the question is are stars a phenomenon of consumption that arising from film audience demands?. Actually, in Part1, the account of the star/audience relationship has answered this question by the audiences role in shaping the star phenomenon is very limited (Dyer, 1998. p. 18), because stars are made by mass media to satisfy the requirement of commercial interests. However, because the feature of modern celebrity culture is largely dependent on the work of media publicity, audiences have possibility to take a part in the process of star production. To modern people living in the consumer society, being wealthy and famous as a symbol of success, which actually is equivalent with the connotation of modern star. In American culture, the individualism is a primary value, which effects American people in everyday life. It advocates that everyone has the fair right to be successful as if you can grasp a good chance, and pay hard work, regardless of talent and application. In the star system, this value should have reformed, as it requires the ordinary people who want to be star have certain talent and specialness, of course, good luck is also an indispensable element ( Dyer, 1998). In this respect, under the context of modern mechanism of celebrity culture, peoples value towards success has changed. They dream of being famous, no matter by what kind of way. Apparently, being star is a deserving way to get success, because on the strength of media, maybe the dream will be realized overnight. As a result, in contemporary society, people who have a star dream is a normal phenomenon. Like I mentioned, media get used to mobilize audiences desire to maintain consumption. when they found audiences desire of being star, they have began a new round of star production among the ordinary people, as the economic return will be more intensive, in this operation, stars are playing the role of production largely. This principle has also been noticed by Chinese media system. The television program Super girl is an typical instance, which is operated by a local television station of China. The basic program policy is that, it provides a platform for ordinary people to present their talent on singing, any female who are interested in singing all could participate in this contest, the last three winners will get ten years contract with the music corporation, which means the winners of this television singing competition will be shaped as music stars. This contest has three professional music juries, but the final determinative right is in the hands of audiences, who can vote th eir favorite participants through mobile texts. Of course, the text was charged as several times as ordinary fee, thus undoubtedly, the communication corporation is the biggest sponsor. This program almost swept the whole country in that time, the reason why it can be so successful is because, first of all, it provides a chance for ordinary people o show their talent before public, which impossible in normal life. Secondly, it transfers the power of star production to audiences, which to some extent makes audience feel like they are more close to the star system, which in ordinary life is a fantastic stuff. Lastly, through this program, someone who ever is an ordinary citizen has actually become a music star of China, this outcome further promotes audiences attention on the star they selected out, and have a kind of intimacy with the star. From this process, we can find that the biggest winner is media itself. All the program is a public projection of star production, but the producer is audience self. By this way of making audiences engaged in the production could absorb audiences attention and desire in a more broad sphere, after all, television is the most effective communication tool. Associating with this instance, the mechanism of modern media institution is apparent, under the motive of finally commercial return, stars can be manufactured randomly as a kind of production in consumer society. Conclusion The commercial flourish has led to the extension of celebrity culture. Celebrities become the living representation in this modern time. They create dreams for massive ordinary people, who have been made as the accessories of commerce unconsciously. People are relying on celebrities to make the final decision on consumption, and regarding them as the indispensable image model in realistic life, the impact is not only on the external style of outfit, but also on the psychological movement. Idol chasing, worship, and imitation already become a kind of prevailing fashion in 21st century. If say celebrities provide imaginary scene for the masses, then mass media is the producer of this fantastic picture. Relying on mass media and basic communication technology, celebrities get soil to root and grow up. We even can say that celebrities are the result of mass media production. To our audiences, since we have few influence on the process of celebrity production, the only thing we can do is to recognize the innate character of this mechanism clearly. It is not suggesting to criticize the celebrity culture entirely, but proposing to find our respective correct position in this circumstance. Like I mentioned, there are major four categories of stars/audience relationship. In real life, the person who belong to the former two category-emotional affinity and self-identification are both normal, because which just result from a sense of involvement in the films as well as other media texts. However, person who if is caught in the imitation and projection categories, the influence will be active in his/her realistic life, because it is possible of them to lose themselves just for imitating the living style of their favored stars in or beyond screen images. In this study, there are two main limitations should be pointed out. Firstly, as celebrity culture is a fairly complicated topic, this study merely provides brief introduction of the reason of the emergence of celebrity, the way to understand celebrity, and the impact of celebrity on media in consumer society. The analysis of detailed media text is for elaborating the relationship between media and celebrity culture, but the data is limited. Secondly, the impact of celebrities should be on various territories, but in this study, I narrowed the scale of celebrities in the level of film stars, as I think they are more typical and easy to get touch in. In the future, the research of celebrity culture should concentrate on the depth of certain detail, and give consideration with all possibilities in that territory. Besides, the standpoint of audience is also necessary to be involved, as they are the final information receiver, the way how they understand the propaganda, the news of celeb rities is important resources for the study of celebrity culture.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Evaluate The Corporate Strategy Being Pursued At Lvmh Business Essay

Evaluate The Corporate Strategy Being Pursued At Lvmh Business Essay LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, a famous luxury corporation found by Bernard Arnault in 1984. At present, a host of famous brand name peoples are associated with LVMH such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Celine, Guerlain, Tag Heuer, Moet et Chandon, Pommery etc. In the following statement, it is aim at evaluate the corporate strategy being pursued at LVMH. In order to have an in-depth analysis, it will have a brief identification of corporate strategy in LVMH and an explanation of the rationale for the strategy in the beginning. Based on those parts, it will have an evaluation of corporate strategy at LVMH. Summary statements of strategy In the following, it is going to identify the nature of the corporate strategy being implemented at LVMH. The first part is going to explore the composition of LVMH. The composition of LVMH According to the case, LVMH group had covered a large spectrum of business by commencing an active external growth strategy towards luxury product companies with high development potential. It also used an acquisition strategy to narrowly focus on luxury brands for increasing the existing portfolio of the brands. LVMH group consists of a smattering of individual brands in five different products and services Wines and Spirits, Fashion and Leather Goods, Perfumes and Cosmetics, Watches and Jewelry, and Selective Retailing. In between, these brands are grouped into different clusters. It also comprised two Paris department stores La Samaritaine and Le Bon Marche; the DFS duty-free chain and Sephora perfumery chain. These had showed that LVMH is a really big company operated in the luxury business. Besides, LVMH had pursued a corporate sponsorship strategy, which supporting a wide array of public interest initiatives and aimed at the revitalization and promotion of Frances artistic heritage. It had also sponsored a host of exhibition and retrospectives in order to spreading its central mission Western Art de Vivre. The meaning of that is a sense of style, a vivid connection with the past and its tradition, transferred into the present. It is the cult of beauty and creativity at every level, combining ancestral know-how and craftsmanship with modern and a passion for quality, referred to case. This philosophy perpetuated the tradition of the most ancient and refined craftsmanship. LVMH provided a financial aid, LVMH Young Artist Award to art students for fostering the cultural instinct of young generations into talents, especially in fine arts and music. To strive promote young talent, LVMH supported young virtuosos by lending them Stradivariuses from its collection and organizing concerts. It sponsored a complete MBA program in luxury goods management at the top French business schools, ESSEC in order to create the future recruitment. The corporate centre manages the strategic business units Here comes to the second part to discuss about the corporate centre manages the strategic business units (SBUs). SBU is a division of the organization that has a unique business mission, product line, competitors, and markets relative to other SBUs in the same corporation (Johnson et al 2008). According to Mintzberg et al, the corporate strategy is the pattern of discussions in a company that determines and reveals its objectives, purposes or goals, produces the principal policies and plans for achieving those goals, and defines the range of business the company is to pursue, the kind of economic and human organization it is or intends to be, and the nature of the economic and noneconomic contribution it intends to make to its shareholders, employees, customers, and communities. (Mintzberg et al 2002) From the above summary of LVMH cover a large spectrum of business, the group seems to adopt the portfolio approaches. LVMH has to acquire new companies continuously with new profitable business and invested into a medium or long-term view, aim to strengthen the cash flow and develop its diversity and a balanced portfolio in terms of risks. A number showed that LVMHs profit had grown by 500% in eleven years and had multiplied 15-fold under the Arnaults way of running this approach. Now, it is going to review on LVMH major policy in central functions. referring the case, being as a group, commencing of synergies had created strengths within different branches, attract and retain the best talent worldwide. The Group allowed the branches to share the variety of departments provided by Headquarter. The synergies policy made every company benefited from Group resources and synergies in different categories, such as financial resources, administration (shared service centers), purchasing, RD, advertising negotiation, production, retail networks etc. Companies can be done at Group level to get specific support instead of go to the Headquarters. Explain the rationale for the strategy Approaches to corporate level strategy There are three different approaches when choosing corporate level strategy: Portfolio approach is based only on financial synergy; Linkages approach is based on operational approach and Core competencies approach is based on sharing organization-wide core competencies (Mintzberg et al 2002). According to the case, LVMH is adopted the portfolio approach which is based only on financial synergy. The Corporate centre acts as a financial investor in a set of autonomous businesses. It also adds value by keeping strict financial control and attempts to achieve a balance of businesses across the life cycle and with complementary financial needs (Mintzberg et al 2002). Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix There is one way to evaluate the corporate-level strategy to compare and evaluate each individual investment in the portfolio to determine whether or not the investment is currently performing to expectations and what the future prospects are for the investment. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix is a relatively simple technique for assessing the performance of various segments of the business (Johnson et al 2008 and Advameg Inc 2010). It classifies business-unit performance on the basis of the units relative market share and the rate of market growth as shown in Appendix Figure 1. The five different LVMH business spectrums are put into the four quadrants. The perfumes and cosmetics spectrum is as a question mark, which had the lowest market growth within other spectrums, compared with Figure 2. The strategy for these products have to continually gain market share through strong communication and innovation in this spectrum such as new product launching, new product line or strengthen existing products. A high market share becoming a BCG matrix star and it is belongs to Fashion and leather goods, which means this spectrum has a high-growth market. Stars can generate large cash flow for the business, as same as the largest account for the revenue from LVMH in Figure 2. Stars are the targets of large expenditures for advertising and research and development to improve the product and to enable it to establish a dominant position in the industry. For instance, Louis Vuitton entered into new markets, Lebanon and Dominican Republic; accelerate global expansion of Marc Jacobs; and to maintain policy of targeted investments and rigorous cost management for other brands. The spectrum of Watches and Jewelry is located at the middle of star and question mark, which has the high potential in market growth but account for a little market share. The strategy is to continue gain the market share, pursue up-market positioning through strong innovation and selective expansion of mono-brand store network. Cash cows are Wine Spirits and Selective Retailing spectrums that have high market share in a low-growth market. They are usually well-established products with wide consumer acceptance, so sales revenues are usually high. LVMH has to continually maintain rigorous management of costs and inventories and increase marketing programs like e-commerce in order to retain the market growth. Dogs are the businesses with low market share in low-growth markets. In LVMH, no one is belonging to this quadrant. Diversification Diversification is a strategy to increases the corporation scope radically from existing markets and products (Johnson et al 2008). It is the most radical strategic direction and more value creating than others. According to Porter, there are also three tests for diversification. Attractiveness test is the business which must be structurally attractive or capable of being made attractive. Cost of Entry test is the cost of entry must not capitalise all the future profits. Better-off test is either the new unit must gain competitive advantage from its link with the corporation or vice versa (Porter 1987). LVMH has the below reasons for diversification with potential value-creating. Efficiency gains: LVMH keep its companies at human size and group them in a separate Business Groups or Branches, allow the brands in each business to coordinate strategies and develop synergies with common interests such as research, purchasing, logistics and international distribution. Companies can take the benefits from synergies to share the existing Group resources once acquired new companies. It allows sharing variety departments and resources such as financial, administration, RD etc. Sharing resources can help LVMH to experience the economies of scale to reach efficiency and effective into a new activity (Johnson et al 2008). Stretching corporate parenting capabilities: LVMH had a wide range of business covering fashion, wine, perfumes to financial media that share very few operational resources or competences but creates value by adding parenting skills. The philosophy of creativity and the nurturing of creative talents are relevant to each business spectrum. Increasing market power: LVMH is obviously gaining market power with a diverse range of business by acquired new companies, invested with a medium or long-term view. The investments had permitted LVMH to finance in new development and strengthen cash flow that developed a balanced and diversified corporate portfolio. In order to increase the market power, the group expansion and the development of new subsidiaries had supported around the world. Value-adding to LVMH In this part, it is going to identify the activities by LVMH can add value. Envisioning: LVMH provide a clear vision that guide and motivate the business to maximize corporate-wide performance. The vision in LVMH is product quality, creativity, image, entrepreneurial spirit and the willingness of its people to always question their achievements and the striving to be the best, which is indissolubly linked to the entrepreneurial spirit. Each company was free to adopt the marketing and retailing strategies best suited to its needs, capitalize on distinctive positioning. Coaching and facilitating: can help to develop strategic capabilities by improving skills and confidence. It can also facilitate cooperation and sharing across the business. In order to provide high-caliber training to the employees, the group institutes a comprehensive training program in several regions such as Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo to focus on development of personnel management and integration of LVMH. In addition, it launched a Global Leadership Program in order to step up the professional development of the most promising future executives through discussions on risk-taking and innovation moderated by business group leaders and the CEOs of Group companies. These kinds of programs are provided opportunities to learn management skills and build relationships for the group. Providing central service and resources: LVMH offer opportunities to management-level employees with internal mobility within the company, transferred to new position within the group by developed with special assignments to facilitate broadening of experience and perspective. It allows the employees to work for a defined period in a company and enable them to have varied and changing work environment and tasks. Intervening: Once the new graduates come into the company on management level are immediately given real jobs but not send to have training program first. It helps to find out if someone is not suitable for the work quickly at LVMH or find the initial responsibility too overwhelming leave soon. The way is helping them to find the people are interested by being part of something, have a dream to be achievable so that it becomes challenge to work at LVMH in order to monitor the performance and encourage performing better. Evaluate the corporate strategy being pursued at LVMH According to Rumelt, there are four criteria for strategy evaluation: Consistency: The strategy must not present mutually inconsistent goals and policies. The atmosphere of LVMH vision is scattering in each company. Its autonomy disciplines and the philosophy of creativity also bring employees loyalty toward working at LVMH. People in the group tended to have a strong feeling of ownership of their brands and cherished that they contribute to the development of the company without a lot of bureaucratic procedures and constraints. (Rumelt, 1980) Consonance: The strategy must represent an adaptive response to the external environment and to the critical changes occurring within it. LVMH had a foresight that hired new designers to run conservative traditional business become as profitable. Marc Jacobs had created new lines of product which were much more modern and identifying the brand with the desirable fashion world. He took the 146 year old LV logo and put it everywhere, starting off the trend of logomania. Thus, LVMH had given a new generation of designers the chance of their lifetime on creative design freely. It also dedicated people who are passionate about doing something of outstanding quality. (Rumelt, 1980) Advantage: The strategy must provide for the creation and / or maintenance of a competitive advantage in the selected area of activity. This is usually the result of superiority in resources, skills, or position. Customers who came to buy the products are not acquiring for functionality, they bought an image and a lifestyle, an intangible value. The employees who worked at LVMH professed to love the products they worked with and wanted to make sure that others loved their products. They were proud they were be the part of the Christian Dior family of the Louis Vuitton family and felt prestige involved in LVMH companies. (Rumelt, 1980) Feasibility: The strategy must neither overtax available resources nor create unsolvable sub-problems. The strategy should be reasonable in the light of the organizations resources: money and capital; management, professional and technical resources and time span. Companies did not go to Headquarters for specific support, they can be done the tasks by group level, tax planning, and recruitment of senior management level positions. The shared and synergies group resources enable companies increase their problem-solving capabilities and empowerment. (Rumelt, 1980) Conclusion Porters concluded that Portfolio approach is not a valid corporate level strategy in advanced economies. The first key element is to associate with corporate level strategy, to ensure that a corporate entity can achieve more profitability than the collection of different businesses under their control. There are four concepts for corporate level strategy to achieve (Porter 1987). Portfolio Management: is based on diversification through acquisition with no direct involvement of the management and strategy of subsidiary businesses by headquarters. Value adding is from maintaining strict financial controls and financial economies of scale, which the external capital markets are very efficient in capturing information about companies; and external investors can take swift action when necessary. As the size of the company grows, portfolio managers need to find more and more deals to maintain growth. Porter also concludes that it is no longer appropriate in advanced economies as it is no way to conduct corporate strategy. Restructuring: It allows for the acquisition of failing organizations and short-term measures to turn round the organization and it can only be a short term strategy as it is difficult to maintain a long term corporate strategy based only on restructuring. Linkage: A sustainable corporate level strategy can only be achieved by creating operational synergies through transferring skills and sharing activities exploit the interrelationships between businesses. Core Competence: It is based on sharing organization-wide core competencies Core competencies allow a corporate to gain access to a range of new markets and to gain competitive advantage over its competitors (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). To conclude based on the above findings, it evidence that LVMH had pursued those four corporate strategies. When LVMH choosing an effective corporate strategy, it identifies the interrelationships among the existing business spectrums and select the spectrum of fashion and leather goods as core business to become the foundation of the corporate strategy. The LVMH group structure also facilitates interrelationships among the core businesses and lays the groundwork for future related diversification. Its shared resources provide diversification opportunities and allow transferring superior skills. Restructuring is seldom used at LVMH since it had an excellence management level people with high-caliber. The remuneration for them was based on a fixed base salary, a bonus, and stock options which are merit based. Finally, the diversified and balanced portfolio enables LVMH to share organization-wide core competencies successfully. Appendix Figure 1: BCG Matrix of LVMH Source: http://www.slideshare.net/sumit_thawrani/the-deal-presentation Figure 2: LVMH H1 2010 revenue by business group Source: LVMH First Half 2010 results

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Corning Electronic Products Division :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Corning Electronic Products Division The By 1968 Coring realized market conditions were changing, technology was shifting to a commodity based market. Corning did not know if they wanted to be in this market. Some of the internal technical leaders were willing to turn away from this market claiming Corning developed high margin and highly technical products. Mean while sales and marketing were pushing hard to win new work in these fields disregarding the fact that Corning was not designed to compete in a fast moving commodity market. So, although sales were down Corning still relied on making their profits with out competition pressures. They relied on patents, technical know how and substantial capital investment joint. Corning started to see problems when its sales force started to focus on volume of sales without a concern for gross margins. The Sales group booked as many orders as they could to meet sales goals. Sales were giving away the store, claimed manufacturing. Marketing was just as bad. They projected a market for a product, had manufacturing make samples and spend on capital investment, only to come back later and say the market is not ten million, but, one million. Marketing claimed manufacturing was to slow to react to market conditions. Marketing clamed Product Development wasted time, up to seventy percent of product roll out was spent on process development. What happened was the trust that is necessary for departments to be able to work closely together went away. Through all of this lack of leadership, the company still held monthly meetings. Represented at these meetings in many cases were managers how did not know what was going on.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Relationship Between Ambient Airborne Fungal Levels and Meteorological

Total Spore Trap Sampling Method The spore trap method is used due to the ability to immediately identify a large spectrum of the majority of fungal spores within the air. This method is able to identify species that are unable to culture well or those that are no longer viable, but present. Alternatively within the industry there is not a consensus on the method. Downfalls include the difficulty of identifying some mold spores and there is no differentiation between non-viable and viable spores. For example, the lab analysis of Penicillium and Aspergillus is reported together due to the inability to differentiate between the two, therefore are categorized as Penicillium/Aspergillus types (Clean Air Labs, 2007). This would be an issue if trying to model either through use of the spore trap method. The spore trap method also lacks to ability to determine mold spore viability, which could be useful in determining which mold spores are able to grow when placed in the right environment (Emlab, 2011). Overall the method is questionable for industry when used alone as a method to classify and determine indoor mold problems. For the purposes of creating models based on meteorological data, those issues seem to be irrelevant if the appropriate fungus is selected for comparison. Sampling Technique Total Spore Trap sampling occurs through use of air pump with cassette. The air is pulled through the cassette and trapped on a slide, which is analyzed by a laboratory. The lab with read a count the total number of fungal spores in a small area and multiplied to determine a total spore count. This process is very quick and cost effective, but can only be used as a guide, with all reported numbers representing an estimation of the total sp... ...ions of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. spores in Zagreb (Croatia) and effects of some meteorologicial factors. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine , 303-307. Recio, M., Trigo, M. d., Docampo, S., Melgar, M., Garcia-Sanchez, J., Bootello, L., et al. (2011). Analysis of the predicting variables for daily and weekly fluctuations of two airborne fungal spores: Alternaria and Cladosporium. International Journal of Bioeteorology . Smith, G. (1990). Sampling and identifying allergenic pollens and molds. San Antonio: Blewstone Press. Trout, C., & Levetin, E. (2001). Correlation of spring spore concentrations and meteorological conditions in Tulsa, Oklahoma. International Journal of Biometeorology , 64-74. Whittaker, C. (n.d.). A rationale for collecting viable and non-viable samples for airborne fungi. Retrieved from Environmental Solutions Group.

The Human Genome Project :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Human Genome Project    With technology increasing daily in our modern society, we have to wonder what will come of all of the recent studies and large-scale research projects that have involved genetics. After recently reading two articles, I have been able to formulate some of my own predictions of what’s to come. In Lisa Sowle Cahill’s article, â€Å"The genome project: more than a medical milestone† she tells us in a concise manner, the history of the Human Genome Project. â€Å"The Human Genome (H.G. P.) began in 1990 as an international consortium of scientific terms. It planned to map systematically the entire human genome by the year 2005 on a budget of $3 billion. The major supporters of the H.G. P. are the Wellcome Trust, a large medical charity in the United Kingdom, and the U.S. federal government’s National Institute of Health. The H.G.P.’s leaders are the N.I.H.’s James D. Watson, his successor Francis S. Collins, and John. E Sulston, director of the Sanger Center in Cambridge, England. They have made it a point of seeking out international collaborators. These include experts in Germany, France, Japan, and China, all of whom have made important contributions to the recent success of the project.† A quick history it may be, but it is an extremely important one. As you can tell by the date of its beginning, the Human Genome Project is not very old by scientific standards, yet even though it may seem to be very young, the developments that have been made since its creation have been quite impressive. Personalized medicine is not very far away. This will mean that there will be drugs tailored to the individual genetic makeup of the patient, thus enhancing the effectiveness of treatments for ailments like cancer, heart disease and some forms of mental illness (Cahill). Someday, we will most likely be able to intervene in germ cell or embryos to remove or change a gene (Cahill). â€Å"Issues of confidentiality and social control take these questions a step further, into economic and political realms,† referring to whether or not genetic information will be completely private or available to others such as family members, insurance agencies, and even employers (Cahill) This last issue brings me to the next article that I read. In Jeffrey Kluger’s, â€Å"Who owns our genes?