Father Marin Mersenne and the New Mathematical Approach during the Assignment

Father Marin Mersenne and the New Mathematical Approach during the Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century - Assignment Example Father Marin Mersenne was himself very influential in the lives of many intellectuals, and instrumental in furthering the new mathematical approach and scientific thinking in general. However, it is precisely this scientific thinking that impelled him to promote it, and the need to defend his theology. Father Marin Mersenne was a contemporary of the mathematicians Thomas Harriot, Blaise Pascal and Isaac Newton, being older than the last two but died when Newton was a child. He was also a close friend of Descartes and Fermat. In fact, he was in touch with many other mathematicians as well such as Roberval, Torricelli, Desargues, and Huygens. This is because of his role for serving â€Å"as a clearinghouse for mathematical information† through correspondence and meetings. It was also his extensive travels that enabled him to act as the prominent channel of communication, which included Rome. It is said, â€Å"when Mersenne knew something, the whole of the ‘Republic of Letters’ was shortly informed about it†. Consequently, much of the unity in mathematical interests at the time is attributable to Mersenne. His own famous contribution to Mathematics was a development of the ‘Mercenne numbers’ that are primes of the form 2p-1 where p is itself a prime; important to number theory (Selkirk, 1992:34). In addition, he inspired the invention of the pendulum clock. However, Father Marin Mersenne was most influential in disseminating the mathematical ideas of others. For example, it was due to Mersenne that Galileo’s ideas on the path of a falling object on a rotating earth were widely discussed in France.

Google Brand Strategy Essay Example for Free

Google Brand Strategy Essay This paper will give you an inside look as to how Google Inc. has evolved into a multi-billion dollar empire since it was first developed in 1996 by two Stanford University graduates working out of a garage. The paper will also compare Google to its strongest competitors in the search engine, web advertising and mobile phone industries. The paper will also reveal what the key elements to success are in those industries. The paper will also detail the resources and key competencies that Google has to make them the leading internet search engine with over 60 percent of market shares. The paper will also discuss the business model and strategies used by Google to help them become one of the fastest growing companies in history. The paper will also touch briefly on some of the threats and weaknesses they face in the marketplace. The paper will also include a recommendation to Google’s top management to help them sustain its competitive edge and financial success in the industry. Background History and Company Growth In 1996, Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin teamed up to develop a new search engine they named BackRub. They chose this name because of the engines ability to rate websites in relevancy based on metatags and keywords. Backrub was quickly gaining popularity and in 1998 Yahoo’s cofounder, David Filo talked Brin and Page into leaving school to put their focus making Backrub a major part of Yahoo. Backrub was later named Google, which was taken from the word googol. Googol is mathematical term for a number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros. The founder of Sun Microsystems was the first person to invest in Google with $100,000 in August of 1998 which raised $1 million by the end of September. Google was named â€Å"Top 100 Web Sites and Search Engines for 1998† by PC Magazine and was recorded successes at record pace. Google saw potential for profits in other segments of the market and made innovative ideas to gain market share. In 2000, their innovations included wireless search technologies, search capabilities in ten languages, and Google Toolbar browser. Google expanded its product line again in 2004 with the launch of Google News, Google Product search, Google Scholar and Google Local. Google’s index of web pages also grew to more than 8 billion and increased its country domain to more than 15. Google then entered the mobile phone market in 2004 when they created a feature allowing users to text a search request and Google would provide results to the search. Google Earth was created in 2005, which was later enhanced in 2010 when it included an Earth View mode allowing users to view 3D images of various locations at ground level. Between 2005 and 2010, Google also added Book Search, Music Search and Video Search. Google created features for its website to include Gmail software, web-based calendar, web-based documents, spreadsheet applications and language translations to accommodate 51 languages. Discuss competition in the search industry. Which of the five competitive forces seems strongest? Weakest? What is your assessment of overall industry attractiveness? Google has been able to sustain its competitive advantage because of the strong relationships they have built with Internet users, advertisers and websites. In 2010, Google was the most visited website with more than 147 million internet users visiting their site on a monthly basis to search for information. Google’s management believes its strongest rivals are Microsoft and Yahoo, although market share rankings from June 2006, June 2009 and May 2010 showed Google has more than twice their competitors combined. Yahoo was first founded in 1994 and in 2010 held the top third position for most visited search engine site. Almost any information available on the web can be viewed through Yahoo’s portal. Yahoo has many of the same features as Google such as, personal calendar, email, news, weather, television listing and online photo albums. Yahoo has also partnered with mobile phones allows users to search from their mobile devices just as Google has done and the searches performed through Yahoo accounted for 35 percent of the market in 2010. Yahoo’s many features and services have generated revenues from many sources. Yahoo’s relationship with Google goes back to 2000 and has at times been cooperative and other times adversarial. In fact, Yahoo was one of Google’s first customers, but in 2002 they parted ways when Yahoo purchased other companies to develop search engines and since then they have been considered rival companies. Another of Google’s top competitors is Microsoft whose revenues in 2009 were approximately $58.4 billion, with $14.6 billion net income. They were able to make these impressive profits through sales of computer software, consulting services, video games hardware and online services. Microsoft’s computer software Windows 7 and Microsoft office raked in half the company’s revenues in 2009 and most of its operating profits. Their online sales of $3.1 billion showed a loss of $2.3 billion during 2009. The online services generated income came from banner ads on the company’s MSN web site and other affiliated sites, as well as search-based ads displayed with Bing results. Microsoft entered the search engine industry during 2004 in an effort to compete with Google. This happened because Microsoft noticed job postings for Google were nearly identical to Microsoft specifications. Microsoft believed Google was attempting to design software applications that compared to Microsoft office such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Google is well aware of the competitive pressures created by its rival and they fully understand what it takes to hold the competitive edge. They created a strategy that would allow themselves to hold their own against its rivals. In their mind, if the competition could do it, so could they. Competition stems from all sorts of directions for Google. They must compete against their rivals like Yahoo and Microsoft in the search engine industry, new entrants to this industry, the product innovations of their rivals, as well as the bargaining powers their rivals may have that they do not. One of the biggest forces of competition is website traffic. If Google can get more internet users to visit their site over MSN or Yahoo, they will have more bargaining power with advertising sales. Google must also obtain qualified employees with the capabilities to compete with the new and innovative products that Microsoft continues to create. Because the search engine sites are so alike, this causes the rivalry between competitors to increase because the products are less differentiated. What are the key factors that define success in the industry? What are the key competencies, and resources of successful search engine companies? Success in the search industry can be defined by looking at several different factors. One of the most obvious signs of success is revenue growth. Googles revenues from its websites have grown from $792,063 in 2003 to $15,722,486 in 2009 as stated on its 10-k reports. Revenues from licensing have grown from $45,271 in 2003 to $761,759 in 2009. However the value of their stock reached the high point in 2008 at just over $700 per share and has dropped to below $300 in 2008, gained a little in 2009 and dropped again in 2010 to around $450. Some analysts believe Google’s recent decline in revenue and earnings stemmed from their decisions to increase stock prices in order to achieve revenue and growth earnings that pushed the boundaries of their corporate philosophy of making money without doing evil. In order to be successful, Google must continue to develop innovative products at features to better meet the needs of its customers. They need to offer these products at lower prices than their competitors as well. Have Google’s business model and strategy proven to be successful? Should investors be impressed with the company’s financial performance? How does the company’s financial performance compare to that of Microsoft and Yahoo? Google’s innovative products and business acquisitions have all played a part into their strategy directed at increasing the company’s market share in internet advertising. The addition of these products has increased traffic to Google’s website, and therefore, has given them more opportunities to advertise to Internet users. The strategy to dominate the internet advertising market was designed to be worldwide. China was a market that they were particularly interested in taking over since they have more than 300 million users. Unfortunately for Google, China was not as interested in this and they were faced with challenges from their local search provider, Baidu and the Chinese government. As of 2009, only 31 percent of China’s internet users searched using Google and 64 percent used Baidu. Googles business strategy included creating new products and features for the mobile phone industry. In 2010, 234 million people owned mobile phones, with 30 percent having internet access from their devices. Google first introduced its Android operating system in 2008 free of charge to any phone manufacturer marketing mobile phones with internet capability. The applications included the operating system had Wi-Fi capability, email, web-based calendar, Google Earth maps, and GPS. T-Mobile was the first to use Googles Android operating system with the launch of G1 in September 2008. The G1 had many of the same features as Apples iPhone, but much less expensive. The Android operating system was extremely successful with its market share, increasing from zero in 2008 to 13 percent in May of 2010. Another area of Googles business strategy focused on computer software programs used by businesses. Senior management believed the programs would move from local hard drives to the Internet. These is referred to as cloud computing. The market was believed to grow to as much as $95 million by 2013. The move would offer many benefits to corporate users such as lower software acquisition costs, lower computer support costs, and easier collaboration amongst employees in different locations. Google first launched its beta version of free word processing and spreadsheet in 2006 and later relaunched in 2008 to compete with Microsofts Office products. In 2008, Google launched its Chrome Browser and Chrome operating system, specifically to accommodate cloud commuting applications. The Chrome browser was created with a multiprocessor design that allowed users to operate spreadsheets, word processing, video editing and other applications simultaneously. Each tab opened a new window so if one crashed the other applications running would not be affected. Also in 2009, Google made agreements with Acer, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo to start production of netbooks that used Chrome OS and Chrome browser to access cloud-based Google apps software. Googles business strategy also included expanding into the television market. In 2010, Google teamed up with Intel, Sony, Logitech, Best Buy, DISH Network, and Adobe to develop Google TV. Google TV was built on the Android platform, running the Chrome browser to search live networks and cable programming that streamed videos from providers such as Netflix, Amazon on demand videos, and YouTube. Google TV users would be able to use their televisions to browse the web and run cloud based applications. Googles business strategy also focused on the addition of targeted advertising placed alongside search results on its website. Google Adwords increased annual revenues from $220,000 in 1999 to more than $86 million in 2001. These ads were prices using an auction system, where uses bid on keywords that described their product or service. What are the company’s key resources and competitive capabilities? What competitive liabilities and resource weaknesses does it have? What opportunities exist? What threats to its continued success are present? In order for Google to have continued success in the search engine industry, they need to have resources and capabilities to create competitive advantage over its rivals. Many of theses resources needed for success are intangibles. They included human assets and intellectual capital. This means having employees with experience, education, creativity and innovation to develop new products and features to compete with its rivals. Another important resource is their company image. Googles 10 principles of Corporate philosophy includes You can make money without doing evil. Their image is different from many other businesses. Google believes in conducting business in unconventional ways. They believe their work should be challenging, but fun. The company puts emphasis on team achievement and individual accomplishments that contribute to the companys overall success. They work in a place where there is great communication and camaraderie in order to have the tools necessary to produced Google users with the information they are seeking. Google also believes being great will not make them successful. They must anticipate the future needs of its user and develop innovate product and services in order to be successful in the search engine industry. Building relationships or alliances with suppliers is another key component of success. These relationships can help to reduce costs and enhance product quality and performance. A perfect example of this relationship is Google offering its Android operating free of charge to mobile phone providers or its collaboration with Sony, Logitech, Best Buy and DISH network to develop Google TV. Some of the tangible resources needed for success include financial assets, technological assets and organizational resources. Google must have cash and marketable securities in order to finance new products and investments as well as pay dividends to its stock holders. Some technological assets are its copyrights and production technology. Production technology refers to the processes used to develop new products to compete with its competitors. Organizational resources included the companys workstations and servers used in developing these products. Some of the threats that Google faces in the industry include new entrants in the market and product innovations from its competitors. Overall, Google has done a relatively good job in competing with the development of competitors products. They created the Android operating system in order to enter the mobile phone industry and they are developing new applications for cloud commuting to compete with Microsoft office software. They need not worry too much about the entrance of new businesses as they have developed a brand and corporate image that has already earned loyalty from many consumers. What recommendations would you make to Google’s top management team to sustain its competitive advantage in the search industry? How should it best capitalize on its strategic initiatives in mobile phones, cloud computing, emerging markets, and other venues? Because Googles rivals are competing with relatively the same products, I would suggest to Goggles top management to focus in conducting business in an ethical manner that conforms with the business philosophy. They have received much criticism recently because of their impressive revenues growth during the recession. They need to focus on building their brand image that consumers are appealed by. I would also suggest finding ways to offer products and services at a lower price to its consumers in order to dominate the market. With products being so comparable and easily substituted they need to compete on price. It would be in Googles best interest to focus on the markets in the United States and Canada , rather than in China. China does not want them competing there and they are spending too much time and money trying to get in when there is plenty of opportunity here. The only thing they are gaining from this is bad publicity. It would be in the best interest of the company to put much of their focus on the thing they do best and that is the search engine. Google should stay with the industries they have performed well in, such as search engine and mobile phones. Their biggest competitor, Microsoft, is the leader in innovative products and they will most likely be more successful than Google in the cloud commuting market because businesses are familiar with their products and have already created a following where Google has not. They should focus on the areas they do well in and leave the other markets to competitors. Management needs to add features to make their current products more appealing to consumer rather than looking for new markets to enter. References Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., Strickland III, A. J. (2012). Crafting and executing strategy. (18 Edition ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., Strickland, A. J. (2012). Cases m for crafting and executing strategy. (19 ed., Vol. 1). The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Why Athletes Choke in the Big Games? :: essays research papers

All sports fans have heard athletes comment that they â€Å"choked† or just couldn’t win the big game. The topic that will be addressed in this paper deals with the outcome of sporting events and why athletes continue to choke during and at the end of extremely important competitions. Baumeister (1992) found that â€Å"the choking reflex can be attributed to psychoneuromuscular influences†(p.3). My interest in the subject comes from being a big sports fan and a former athlete. And also from hearing people make comments such as, Scott Norwood and the entire Buffalo Bills football team are â€Å"chokers†. They can’t even win one Super Bowl in four tries. Barry Bonds can’t get one hit in the playoffs and thinks he’s the best baseball player ever. At the end of this paper you will be able to see why coaches and players go through these rough situations and what they can do to prevent them from happening again. In golf, â€Å"choking† is known as the â€Å"yips† and is defined as a psychoneuromuscular impediment of the execution of the simplest of tasks (Smith, 2000, p. 1). Adler (2003) defined the â€Å"yips† as a motor phenomenon of involuntary movements affecting golfers (p. 1). â€Å"Yips† is believed to be acquired through the deterioration of motor pathways via the basal ganglia. In some players it results from severe performance anxiety. This means that when a high level of stress and physiological arousal is present the â€Å"yips† start to show up. Basic patterns of the â€Å"yips† include sweaty palms, uncontrollable jerks, and anxiety. These symptoms continue to repeat themselves until the person that is affected learns to deal with these situations. These problems can influence quality of performance and even result in decreased playing time. â€Å"Yips† can also lead to the use of both alcohol and drugs as a coping adjacent. (Adl er, Crews, Wharen, & Laskowski 2003). Many of the best golfers in the world have had to experience this including Ben Hogan. Hogan said, â€Å"The difference between competitive golf and pleasure golf is like the difference between ice hockey and tennis† (Wertz, 86, p.

Cat’s Cradle Theme Analysis Essay

Vonnegut’s intriguing story of a writer sent to San Lorenzo pits science and truth against religion and lies. The few characters of Cat’s Cradle illustrate one trait or the other, with John, the main character and â€Å"writer† of the memoir which is the book, observing and attempting to understand each point of view. As John learns of San Lorenzo’s banned religion, Bokononism, and explores the lives of the scientists responsible for the atomic bomb and a new, dangerous, chemical called Ice-nine, he finds himself searching for his reason of living as well. Through John’s character, Vonnegut exemplifies this theme of an overall search for moral structure and a purpose for life. In order to organize the development of the theme, Vonnegut begins his novel by creating a sense of pointlessness for the characters to build off of, a blank slate. Newt, the son of Felix Hoenikker, who was the creator of the Atomic Bomb and Ice-nine, creates this mood in his description of the yarn game â€Å"Cat’s Cradle†. He asks John to point out the cat and cradle in the yarn formation, which he obviously can’t; Vonnegut is commenting on humanity’s attempts to find meaning where no meaning exists. It is with this notion in mind that John begins his exploration of science and religion. Science is John’s first stop in his search for purpose. The author points out that in scientist’s desperate search for truth, which seems to be the only thing with importance, they aren’t intelligent enough to realize that the â€Å"truth† is given a false connotation. In the Hoenikker’s case, the â€Å"truth† was the basis for millions of people being killed by the atomic bomb and the end of the world through Ice-nine. So, truth is rejected as innately good, which leaves John with nothing but lies and religion. However, in San Lorenzo, lies and religion are a good combination. John is introduced to Bokononism when he gets his hands on a copy of The Books of Bokonon. The basis of this religion is that anything considered good, whether it be an organization, a cause, or a religion, is based on foma, or lies. Vonnegut comes back to his original point of humanity trying to give things meaning. John has only experienced the futility of this concept, but through Bokonon, he is able to see a different and more easily acceptable argument: â€Å"Live by the harmless untruths that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy (Vonnegut 265, The Books of Bokonon).† He begins to understand what Bokonon was getting at: that in attempting to give the world meaning, men lied in order to make life more interesting. John’s character travels through Vonnegut’s moral maze, beginning with a supposedly meaningless world, finding that truth isn’t always â€Å"good†, and realizing that lies are not only behind everything, but are good for the soul. Vonnegut’s character and theme come to rest when Ice-nine has replaced the world’s water and brought to pass the end of the world. John, as one of the only people left living, finally understands and accepts Bokonon’s idea that, although foma may be dangerous or harmful, lies are what make life worth living.

Collaborative Working Essay

There are many different ways to define ‘Collaborative Working’. According to The National Center for Biotechnology Information bookshelf (NCIB) Collaboration in health care is defined as health care professionals assuming complementary roles and co-operatively working together, sharing responsibility for problem-solving and making decisions to formulate and carry out plans for patient care. Collaboration between physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals increases a team member’s awareness of each other’s type of knowledge and skills, leading to continued improvement in decision-making. To work collaboratively it is also important for all team members to be willing to take part and trust other health professionals to accomplish a collective outcome, which is the health and wellbeing of the patient. Thomas et al (2005) mentions that willingness is one step of developing interpersonal collaboration and trust has been seen as a vital part to assist the development of effective team working. All professionals need to trust each other and learn new competencies and be able to take on new roles without resentment, as this requires a willing and trusting approach. Therefore, to give the patient the best possible care, it is imperative to  work in conjunction with other healthcare professionals to meet the needs of the patient. Each professional has to show mutual respect for one another in order to be able to work together or else there will be conflict in the team and the outcome of the patient will suffer. Thomas et al (2005) continues to say that confidence has been pointed out as an important feature in collaborative working as professionals who are confident in their own roles have the ability to work flexibly into other boundaries without feeling jealous or threatened. Confidence shows leadership and allows others to trust the work of that individual, therefore creating a trusting environment for them all to work together. The terms interprofessional, multiprofessional and interdisciplinary are all related to collaborative working, Thomas et al. (2005) defines the prefix ‘multi ‘ as the participation of staff from different professions, and the prefix ‘inter† means collaboration in the areas of decision making thus indicating that healthcare professionals, be it consultant, nurses, social workers or community staff work together to provide a high quality care and to achieve the best outcome for the patient. With skills and knowledge coming from these colleagues that major in different backgrounds, overall the team can provide an excellent service and duty to patients due to having specialists from different areas working together in the same team. Collaborative working involves interaction of various groups or professions to accomplish a general goal, which normally in the health care setting is the care of the patient. As a result of problem solving, an open and flexible approach to the roles and tasks of individual team members provide a more patient focused healthcare. Read more:  Sharing Responsibility Role of Local and State Bodies The aim of this essay is to establish what skills and knowledge are required to work collaboratively successfully. I will describe a care pathway, which will look at the care a patient received from different services in which I participated. In the health care service, working with people is a part of the working day. According to Goodman & Clemow (2010), working with other people is a fact of everyday life, whether you will be working the in community or in a  hospital environment you will be constantly interacting with people to assess, plan implement and evaluate care provided. Goodman and Clemow (2010) go on to say Nursing work is primarily people work, be it one-to-one patient care or team care. The principle of a care pathway is to recommend the most appropriate care required to meet the patient’s needs. According to Middleton & Roberts (2000) care pathways are evidence based care which is delivered to the patient by the correct individual at the specific time and the suitable environment. Middleton & Roberts (2000) continue to say that integrated care pathways are used to determine multidisciplinary practice based on guidelines for particular patients. According to the Royal College of nursing (RCN) 2014, care pathways are also known as integrated care pathways, anticipated recovery maps, critical pathways or care maps. Communication is very important in the healthcare service to ensure that the patient will receive the correct care plan to meet their needs. According to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) 2014, communication is at the heart of everything we do in our society. It’s central to our learning, our work and our leisure interests. It is vital in health care, where patients/clients can feel vulnerable, isolated and anxious, therefore teams need to rely on good communication to help them deliver safe, coordinated and effective healthcare. Without communication between certain individuals in the team, it can cause conflict or friction between some colleagues therefore delaying the goal of impeccable patient care. Communication shared amongst teams can achieve a holistic goal that is clear and in which the outcomes are met amongst the team (RCN) 2014. Communication is not only verbal, it is also non-verbal and listening also plays a part. If health professionals are not working together then there is a failure of communication and errors will occur and the wellbeing of the patient will suffer. This may also happen when health professions used different terminologies within their profession, which others may not understand. This demonstrates the need for communication to be shared in a manner which all members can understand to avoid confusion and reduce the risk of mistakes  happening, i.e. language line, interpreters and other professionals who understands the language. Due to the importance of patient confidentiality I will be keeping the identity of my patient as anonymous and a pseudonym will be used for the purpose of the essay to protect the patient. This complies with the NHS Code of Practice on Confidentially (2003). Throughout this essay my patient will be referred to as Mr A. The Tuberculosis (TB) Services must be accessible to all health care professions in the community or hospital. An important part of the role of the TB service is to promote awareness of TB and ensuring that all suspected cases of TB are promptly referred for investigations, diagnosis, treatment, support to control the spread of TB. The most common pathway by which patients can access the TB service includes referrals from GP surgeries, accident and emergency, laboratory microbiology, hospital wards and other hospital specialties such as HIV (Gum clinic), rheumatology and paediatrics. TB services have one designated referral number, fax, email address and contact address. The care pathway for patients who show signs and symptoms of TB will require a number of investigations, which will include a Mantoux Skin test, when a small amount of Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) is injected into the arm and the results will be read 48/72 hours later, a chest x-ray, sputum samples or a bronchos copy. Once these investigations have been completed and if the results are positive for active TB, the patient will be commenced on TB treatment. This treatment will be for a minimum six months to two years depending on the type of TB diagnosed. My role as the Support worker for the TB team is to assist patients, to help them understand and come to terms with their diagnosis. In addition to this I will ensure that they receive the correct medication as distributed by the nurses, monitor any side effects and bring them to the attention of the specialist nurses who will give further advice or discuss with the senior consultant who will be able to decide on an appropriate care plan if needed. I also support patients with any welfare and social matters such as housing, immigration and social benefits. My role involves acting as the advocacy for patients and links them with the required services. In order  for this to work, I have to build a very good rapport with my patients, and I feel that this enables them to become open and honest with me, which results in us achieving our desired goal. Patient Scenario Mr A was admitted via accident and emergency complaining of chest pains, lethargy, loss of weight, cough and night sweats, the typical symptoms of TB. His chest x-ray showed left sided pleural effusion and sputum sample results were smear positive, indicating that he was infectious, His Mantoux result was 18mm and was diagnosed with smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis. Mr A was born in Romania and entered the UK originally in 2009. He was house sharing with other Romanians for three months until they were evicted by the police as they were possibly squatting and he became homeless. He was of no fixed abode with no clear connections in the UK. He has been living on the streets ever since being evicted. He has no means of contact, no money and has very limited understanding of English. Mr A was referred to the TB Service by the consultant on the respiratory ward. Due to his lack of English language, a Romanian interpreter needed to be booked to allow sufficient communication between staff and Mr A. I made a telephone call to the hospital interpreting service to book a Romanian interpreter to assist with the assessment. The TB assessment was carried out in the ward with the Romanian interpreter present. The TB assessment form was completed using Roper et al (2000) Activities of Daily Living. This assessment model looks at the patient’s needs as well as any possible problems connected with the patient i.e. social, physical, psychological and medical. According to Roper et al (2000) this model will give a holistic view of the individual instead of just the illness. This model recognises the impact of cultural, environment, and economic factors that affect both health and well-being (Barrett et al, 2012). Prior to our assessment on the ward I received a telephone call from the Infection control nurses to inform us of his sputum results. The results of his test were smear positive and this indicated that the patient was  infectious therefore he was placed in to a negative pressure side room. A negative pressure room is used to prevent the spread of TB. The National TB Centre describe a negative pressure room as a room where more air is drained than is supplied, so infectious particles are contained within the room by continuous air current being pulled into the room under the door. Therefore, when the negative pressure room is used airborne particles generated in the room cannot escape to the corridor. During this assessment it was brought to my attention that Mr A had no income and was homeless. My role as the Support Worker is to help patients with any welfare and housing issues. I was able to make a telephone call to the hospital social services for advice on Mr A and had a long conversation with the advisor. We agreed that I needed to contact Greenwich Social Services for further advice. I was informed by Greenwich Social services that Mr A was not entitled to any public funds because of his no recourse to public funds on entry to the UK. Due to Mr A’s situation, I spoke to my colleagues in Find and Treat who informed me that Mr A might be eligible for accommodation, and a referral form was faxed to me for completion with my patient. Find and Treat is a Department of Health Organisation within Public Health England that works alongside TB services to provide holistic, preventative and stabilising support to homeless people who are on TB treatment and have no recourse to public funds. The completed referral form was faxed back to Find and Treat. I received a telephone call from Find and Treat to inform me that the referral had been accepted at the homeless shelter and the next step was an interview with the shelter home manger and his allocated case worker to meet the patient to ensure that all his needs were met whilst in their care. The case worker and the manager met the patient in the ward in my presence with the interpreter to complete their full assessment for placement in view of the referral information and facts we presented. Once the meeting was complete, I had to liaison with the discharge coordinator on the ward to inform them that Mr A had been accepted at the shelter home. Prior to his discharge from the ward, the TB nurse checked  his TB medication and I booked transport for my patient to get to the organised accommodation and he was taken on the same day. The following day I made a telephone call to his case worker asking about his (Mr A) progress and how he was settling in. He was reported to be settling in well and had no concerns. Mr A had been visiting a homeless unit for food and shelter prior to this admission to the ward. Due to his smear positive sputum results; it is a requirement to refer all smear positive index cases to Public Health England (PHE) as TB is a notifiable disease. It is my duty to gather as much information as possible regarding the homeless unit. I completed an incident reporting form with all the information from the shelter unit and faxed it to PHE. I had a conversation with PHE by telephone to arrange an incident meeting between the shelter home, PHE and the TB nurses. Once a date was agreed with all parties we met at the shelter home to identify contacts and organise screening. It was agreed that all contacts who needed to be screened for TB were to be referred to the TB Service. Collaborative working sometimes may not always work smoothly as expected. Some team members may feel left out or not appreciated, Elizabeth Lark (2006) says to work collaboratively you need to be focused on a two way related dimension. The task that needs to be achieved, in this case the outcome of the patient, and the relationship with and between the people that need to be engaged in it. Therefore it is clear to say that all team members need to feel appreciated and valued in collaboration to make it work professionally. Another factor that may cause problems in collaboration is personality conflict, a lack of understanding in other professionals’ sphere and the influence of hierarchy in job roles within the multidisciplinary teams. Elizabeth Lark (2006) continues to say that these types of conflicts can be resolved by giving team members the chance to discuss their concerns in group meetings to identify clear working responsibilities before implementing the care of the pati ent. As a Support Worker collaborative working is very important to me to ensure that a service work as a team to give patients the required care they need to enable them to be able to return to their normal healthy lifestyle. When caring for patients we need to set standards and be professional regardless of the patient’s background and belief. The importance of my role as a Support Worker in advocacy and linking patients with other service has lead to the recovery of our patients, as many of our patients do not understand the diagnosis and the stigma related to the TB diagnosis. Having access to all these services has made it possible for me to help Mr A on the road to recovery and enable him to live a normal life again where he will be helped and assisted with some form of work and earn a living. Due to his lack of the English language it would have been very difficult for him to access these services by himself as I was the main link for Mr A to receive the correct care. Mr A was very happy with the care he received from all the different services, he said via the interpreter â€Å"I would not have known where to go to get help, I thank you all†. The care given to Mr A was delivered over a period of three months. He remained in hospital for 4 months, during this time I ensured that all of the hospital resources were coordinated to ensure that the highest level of service was delivered and that Mr A could return to living a normal healthy life style. My role as a Support worker in this collaborative working has helped other healthcare professionals such as ward staff, infection control nurses and hospital social services to gain better knowledge of TB and how working together to overcome obstacles to ensure that the patient can receive the correct care needed. We were able to identify the patient’s needs, which allowed the nurses and other services to coordinate and plan interventions to meet the patient’s requirements in regards to his recovery. It is evident that collaborative working does have the best outcome for patient. Working collectively has enabled me to expand my knowledge and skills required to work along side other health providers and social services. Communication is the key skill required in collaborative working to ensure and accomplish the best outcome for your patients. All services and organisations need to work well together and leave their differences, misunderstanding and challenges aside for the sake of the patient’s outcome.  Collaborative working takes away any additional stress and worry for patients who just want to overcome their illness and this was reflected in Mr A’s situation. References Barrett D, Wilson B & Woodlands A, (2012) Care Planning A Guide for Nurses, Second Edition, Essex, Pearson Education limited. Goodman B & Clemow R, (2010) Nursing and Collaborative Practice, Great Britain, MPG Books Group Lark E, (2006) Collaborative Advantages – How Organisation Win by Working Together, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan Middleton S & Roberts A (2000) – Integrated Care Pathways : a practical approach to implementation Oxford, Reed Education and Professional Publishing Ltd Roper N, Logan W & Thierney A J, (2000) The Roper Logan Tierney Model of Nursing Based on Activities of Living, Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone. Thomas,J Pollard K C and Sellman D, (2005) Interporessioanl Working in Health and Social Care. New York, Palgrave Macmillian National Centre for Biotechnology Information Bookshelf http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637/ Professional Communication and Team Collaboration – Patient Safety and Quality Access on 25/09/14 Royal College of Nursing http://rcnhca.org.uk/communication – First Steps for HCAs Accessed on 15/10/14 National TB Centre https://www.ndhealth.gov/Disease/TB/Documents/Infection%20Control.pdf Accessed on 30/10/14 NHS Code of Practice https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200146/Confidentiality_-_NHS_Code_of_Practice.pdf Accessed on 08/11/14 Royal College of Nursing http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/perioperative_fasting/good_practice/service_improvement_tools/care_pathways Accessed on 15/11/14

Symbolic View vs Omnipotent View Essay Example

Symbolic View vs Omnipotent View Essay Example Symbolic View vs Omnipotent View Paper Symbolic View vs Omnipotent View Paper This assessment covers topics you have learnt in unit 2. This is an individual assignment. No duplication of work will be tolerated. Any plagiarism or collusion may result in disciplinary action. 2. Answer ALL questions. 3. Please write your answers in the essay format. Do not answer in point- form, unless the question mentioned List or State. You dont have to write sections of introduction or conclusion in your answers. Just answer directly to what the question is asking. . The total marks for TAMA 2 is 100 and this contributes 15% towards the total weight of the course. 5. The deadline for the submission of TAMA 2 Is during Tutorial 3. Please submit your answers to your tutor. Question 1 In management theory two views about management have been put forth, one being the omnipotent view and the other the symbolic view. Differentiate between the symbolic view and the omnipotent view of management. Include specific examples of each view to support your answer. (20 marks) Question 2 An organization exists in a dynamic environment. Describe what is meant by the specific and general environments within which organizations operate. Provide examples of each type of environment. Question 3 In the modern world of globalization, international business is becoming increasingly important. List and discuss the three attitudes managers might have toward international business. Question 4 List and discuss five arguments in favor of business social responsibility and five arguments against it. Question 5 Professor Greet Hefted has conducted extensive research on national cultures which helps managers to better understand international management and Malaysia was included in his sample. List and explain Hypotheses five dimensions of national culture.

The Call of the Wild Summary by Jack London †Literature Essay

The Call of the Wild Summary by Jack London – Literature Essay Free Online Research Papers The Call of the Wild Summary by Jack London Literature Essay The Gold Rush in the Yukon and Alaska has prompted the need for big strong dogs to pull sleds over icy trails. A large and strong dog named Buck, living in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley, California, is exactly people want. Manuel, the assistant of the gardener of Buck’s master – Judge Miller, is in need for money, thus he kidnaps Buck and sells him on the black market. Buck is given to a saloon-keeper and then transported to the Northland. Buck is insulted during the trip and has worked himself into a rage. He decides to start revenge when he meets the Red Sweater. However, the painful encounters with the club push Buck into submission. He begins to learn some laws of the primitive world. Later Buck is sold to two Canadians, Francois and Perrault, with the other two dogs: Dave and Curly. While in camp, Curly is killed when she tries to show friendliness to a husky. After the experience Buck understands the law of the club and fang which dominates the new life he is headed for. He resolves never to go down in that manner. Buck and Dave join a preexisting dog team led by Spitz, a husky. By the time they are on their way to Dawson, Alaska and Skaguay, Buck learns a lot and starts to become wilder. As the power grows, he is ready to take Spitz’s place and be a new leader. Therefore, while the hunting of a rabbit one day, the two end up with a fighting to the death. Spitz is killed and Buck gets his mastery. Right after the fight, Buck â€Å"fights† for his leading position in the team with Francois. It is victorious when he finally takes the position, because Buck earns his right and no longer allows human to decide his fate completely. They are equal. When the government work is done, Buck, together with other dogs which are toiled to death, is sold to an imbecile group of people without any knowledge to survive the primitive land, Hal, Charles and Mercedes. Many dogs die because of the mistreating of their masters. Fortunately, Buck is saved by John Thornton and later becomes his favorite pet. Buck adores his master very much. Hence he does a number of miraculous deeds for him – saves his life twice and earns a large amount of money to pay off his debts. He enjoys the life with John though longing for the primitive world subconsciously. While his master is working for gold on the mine, Buck muses on the call he hears during the night in the forest. Eventually he starts to sleep away from the camp and embraces his instincts and wild tendencies. After his master, without Buck’s protection, is killed by the invading Yeehats, Buck feels no more nostalgia for mankind and returns to the primitive land where he has been longing for. He finally answers the call of the wild. * Jack London’s novel, The Call of the Wild, is the most successful work that describes the life of the Alaska dogs in the history of literature. The novel has reflected some of London’s early wishes, which were formed during his childhood, and later developed in his later experiences. The shadow of his early experiences never goes out of his mind. In psychological point of view, one might get a strong sense of struggling in such living conditions. Therefore, most of London’s novels are about this theme – struggle to survive the tough reality. (Such as The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea Wolf.) In his stories, Jack seems to show us the inner part of the animals, like the dogs, human’s loyal friends, have their innate wild instinct and acquired tameness; And a primitive world which has the overwhelming power of nature over human beings. In the primitive world, one has to struggle to survive the harsh environment; the animals are of no exceptions. As Buck, he is stolen and sold to be a sledge dog in the frozen North, thus he must try every means to adapt the cruel life. The characters in his novels have to depend on the nature to survive. And nature is sometimes their friend and sometimes their enemy. The strong will of surviving of the characters in his novels show the solid part of human and animal’s vitality?With the plot of the stories, he also discusses the delicate relationship in the nature – thus the stronger beat the weaker. At that time, the American people were facing the hard times in which the fittest survives. Thus Jack London’s novel was a great success after published because many people found it the origin of their energy. In The Call of the Wild, London may want to describe an ideal character that struggles against the tough living conditions and becomes more mature through the struggling. Buck, the main character of the novel, a strong and intelligent dog with human tendencies and dignity, fight against his fate in the harsh environment. The important reason for Buck to manage his struggling is his remarkable ability of learning and his control over his emotions – he experiences sensation and transforms it into cold and logical response. However, there is an utter lack of analyzing in his mind at first. The confrontation with the Red Sweater is a turning point which forces Buck to realize the primitive law. Buck’s experiences reveal the complicated relationship between nature and human. We are in awe of nature’s great power and challenge it a lot in order to â€Å"survive†. However we do not realize that there are various ways to survive the nature. â€Å"Challenge and conquer† may not be the only way. Like Buck in the novel, he finally merges into the nature and thus lives in harmony with the primitive creatures. This is the right attitude towards nature – to keep a balance. Furthermore, there are a lot of metaphors in the novel. From the macro perspective, nature to Buck is like what society to Jack London. Both the human and the dog have been through the struggling against their living conditions: Buck (ideally) achieves his goal – he heeds the call and returns to the primitive lands where he belongs; while poor London still doesn’t know what the future is like when he finishes the draft of the novel, and finally lives with debts, alcoholism, illness and fear of losing his creativity for the rest of his life. And from the micro perspective, Spitz may bea metaphor for London’s political opponents because he tries to provoke Buck for several times and menaces the security of Buck. It may just like the situation of London when he was a member of the Socialist Party. However, Buck again succeeds in beating his enemy and takes his place as a leader, while in reality London fails on the Socialist party ticket for mayor of Oakland and st arts steadily to be a writer. A few months before his death, London resigned from the Socialist Party. What’s more, the types of human beings in the novel are also the metaphors for the types of the upper class and the government in reality – some are cruel and only believe in club and fang, such as the Red Sweater; some are capable but work in a mechanical way, such as Francois and Perrault; some are ignorant, stupid but cling obstinately to their course such as Hal, Charles and Mercedes. The only kind of people London wants is like John Thornton, considerate and kind, yet there are few around him at that time. To sum up, the novel is the reflection of the ideal life London yearns for, cruel but hopeful. Through reading, we can get the picture of the glorious history of the human beings and animals in the primitive lands. Research Papers on The Call of the Wild Summary by Jack London - Literature EssayThe Fifth HorsemanHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionCapital PunishmentComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoWhere Wild and West MeetMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMind TravelTwilight of the UAW

Gay-Lussacs Ideal Gas Law Examples

Gays Gay-Lussacs gas law  is a special case of the  ideal gas law  where the volume of the gas is held constant. When the volume is held constant, the pressure exerted by a gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas. The law is also known as Gay-Lussacs law of pressure temperature. Gay-Lussac formulated the law between 1800 and 1802 while building an air thermometer. These example problems use  Gay-Lussacs law to find the pressure of gas in a heated container as well as the temperature you would need to change the pressure of gas in a container. Key Takeaways: Gay-Lussac's Law Chemistry Problems Gay-Lussacs law is a form of the ideal gas law in which gas volume is kept constant.When volume is held constant, pressure of a gas is directly proportional to its temperature.The usual equations for Gay-Lussacs law are P/T constant or Pi/Ti   Pf/Tf.The reason the law works is that temperature is a measure of average kinetic energy, so as the kinetic energy increases, more particle collisions occur and pressure increases. If temperature decreases, there is less kinetic energy, fewer collisions, and lower pressure. Gay A 20-liter cylinder contains 6  atmospheres (atm)  of gas at 27 C. What would the pressure of the gas be if the gas was heated to 77 C? To solve the problem, just work through the following steps:The cylinders volume remains unchanged while the gas is heated so Gay-Lussacs gas law applies. Gay-Lussacs gas law can be expressed as:Pi/Ti Pf/TfwherePi and Ti are the initial pressure and absolute temperaturesPf and Tf are the final pressure and absolute temperatureFirst, convert the temperatures to absolute temperatures.Ti 27 C 27 273 K 300 KTf 77 C 77 273 K 350 KUse these values in Gay-Lussacs equation and solve for Pf.Pf PiTf/TiPf (6 atm)(350K)/(300 K)Pf 7 atmThe answer you derive would be:The pressure will increase to 7 atm after heating the gas from 27 C to 77 C. Another Example See if you understand the concept by  solving another problem: Find the temperature in Celsius needed to change the pressure of 10.0 liters of a gas that has a pressure of 97.0 kPa at 25 C to standard pressure. Standard pressure is 101.325 kPa. First, convert  25 C to  Kelvin  (298K).  Remember that the Kelvin temperature scale is an  absolute temperature  scale based on the definition that the  volume  of a  gas  at constant (low)  pressure  is directly proportional to the  temperature  and that 100 degrees separate the  freezing  and  boiling points  of water. Insert the numbers into the equation to get: 97.0 kPa / 298 K 101.325 kPa / x solving for x: x (101.325 kPa)(298 K)/(97.0 kPa) x 311.3 K Subtract 273 to get the answer in Celsius. x 38.3 C Tips and Warnings Keep these points in mind when solving a  Gay-Lussacs law problem: The volume and quantity of gas are held constant.If the temperature of the gas increases, pressure increases.If temperature decreases, pressure decreases. Temperature is a measure of the kinetic energy of gas molecules. At a low temperature, the molecules are moving more slowly and will hit the wall of a  containerless  frequently. As temperature increases so do the motion of the molecules. They strike the walls of the container more often, which is seen as an increase in pressure.   The direct relationship only applies if the temperature is given in Kelvin. The most common mistakes students make working this type of problem is forgetting to convert to Kelvin or else doing the conversion incorrectly. The other error is neglecting  significant figures  in the answer. Use the smallest number of significant figures given in the problem. Sources Barnett, Martin K. (1941). A brief history of thermometry. Journal of Chemical Education, 18 (8): 358. doi:10.1021/ed018p358Crosland, M. P. (1961), The Origins of Gay-Lussacs Law of Combining Volumes of Gases, Annals of Science, 17 (1): 1, doi:10.1080/00033796100202521Gay-Lussac, J. L. (1809). Mà ©moire sur la combinaison des substances gazeuses, les unes avec les autres (Memoir on the combination of gaseous substances with each other). Mà ©moires de la Socià ©tà © dArcueil 2: 207–234.  Tippens, Paul E. (2007). Physics, 7th ed. McGraw-Hill. 386–387.

(choose one from the three topices) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

(choose one from the three topices) - Essay Example He asserts that human reason is his will, which government and other human institution should put first for better co-existence of the two. On the part of Marx, he argues that human reason should influence the changes that people prefer. He aims at showing that the most important thing in any society is the people. They form the institutions, thus the authorities’ and power rest on people. Freethinking and active emancipation of self conforms to Marx’s view on human reason. On the side of Machiavelli, having lived at a time of political instability, of sheer violence, war torn era characterized by betrayal and blackmail, he sees too little to rely on human reasoning (Machiavelli 25). He concludes human reason as wicked and merely a push for self-satisfaction. This paper will bring out the position of human reasoning according to the three personalities and its influence on government, property, and labor. Nicollo Machiavelli’s philosophy on human reason describes man as a fickle, unreliable creature. One should not trust his reasoning. He is content to dismiss men as a sad lot that will lie, cheat, and steal if this has benefit on them. Look at the issue of governance, Machiavelli believes that whoever comes to power is from the ordinary men. He is a prince who works his way out of the common lot of deceivers in the society. His reasoning is not far off, the lot which he was part of. Men reasoning according to Machiavelli are rich in qualities, which bring him praise or fame. Since the ruler in power or the prince is a man, he will exhibit the same reasoning behavioral to his subjects (Machiavelli 41). Thus, man is an indecisive creature. Machiavelli seems to argue that man cannot govern himself, and cannot subject a prince to conform to his reasoning. As a prince, one should put on remarkable qualities on public and wise enough not to expose his weaknesses to his subjects. If a prince depicts false strong character, then his people’ s reasoning will conclude he is indeed a good prince. By this notion, Machiavelli neglects the importance of human reasonin

Feeding of Swine Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Feeding of Swine - Lab Report Example According to this study, research has also shown that after three weeks of feeding weight gain has reached its optimum but the carcass quality continues to improve with longer feeding. However, a problem has been observed since there is a decrease in the return in the dose and feeding duration. This research found out that the greatest weight gain was in the first week and declined beyond three weeks and no gain thereafter. It was also found out that feed intake increased in the first two weeks and decreased in the following weeks. Moreover, there was a "percent yield increased logarithmically over a 4-week feeding period for both 4.5 and 9 g/ton. Finally, 9 g/ton feeding gave greater yield than 4.5g/ton dose and optimal feeding was three to four weeks before market. In addition, the study "Pig Performance by Using Paylean" by Larry K. McMullen and Arlin Karsten affirms that feeding of ractopamine "at the 9 grams/ton level in the finishing diet for 28 days increased the production parameters of grow-finish pigs and resulted in a greater economical advantage over the pigs fed a traditional finishing diet." This research is anchored on these two studies, however it has modifications as to the comparison and contrast of the swine production based on the different feeding components such as: with Paylean, high and low protein gilts or young female pigs and barrows or castrated male pigs. For each of the s For each of the study group, four pigs are used. The first group is composed of gilts fed with Paylean. These Paylean Gilts consumed 1132.2 lbs. feed during the whole duration of the study and showed increase in weight of 101.7, 127.61, 112, and 95.01 lbs. or an average of 109.08 lbs. It has also manifested an ADG (average daily gain) of 2.09475 lbs. The second group is fed Low Protein feed. The Low Protein Gilts consumed 1078.8 lbs. feed or 32 bags and showed an increase in weight of 60.6, 80.61, 76, and 55 lbs. or an average of 68.0525 lbs. It has also an ADG of 1.305 lbs. The third group is fed with High Protein diet. For the High Protein Gilts that consumed 1089.20 lbs. feed, the weight increase are 89.8, 85.5, 65.6, and 68.5 or an average of 77.35 lbs. It has also an ADG of 1.4775 lbs. The other set of pigs under study are the barrows . For the Paylean Barrows at 23.5 lbs. feed and 24 bags, there is a weight increase of 106.2, 93.2, 100.4, and 96.4 or an average of 99.05 lbs. It has also an ADG of 1.9025 lbs. The next group of barrows is fed with Low Protein diet. The Low Protein Barrows consumed 1570.8 lbs. feed over 52 days and showed an increase in weight of 77.6, 69.6, 83.4, and 89.4 lbs. or an average of 80 lbs. It has also an ADG of 1.5325 lbs. The last group of barrows is fed with High Protein feed. For the High Protein Gilts that consumed 1220.9 lbs. feed or 25 bags, the weight increase are 68.8, 85, 85.8, and 78 or an average of 79.4 lbs. It has also an ADG of 1.525 lbs. The above data imply that both Gilts and Barrows fed with Paylean yield the highest weight gain. In addition, in the Low Protein, Barrows have a slightly higher yield than High Protein feed at 0.0075 difference and for the Gilts High Protein feed is higher than Low Protein feed at 0.1725 lbs. difference. In other words, Paylean still gives a higher weight gain compared to High Protein and Low Protein feed in both Gilts and Barrows. For the High and Low Protein feed on both the Gilts and Barrows, it shows very slight difference which may indicate that the dosage of protein

An experiential Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An experiential - Essay Example tood and in this manner, we build trust as well as compassion with each other and people spontaneously look up to my leadership with gratitude and respect, voluntarily taking part in becoming a developed community that can be well-sustained in different aspects of living. Community, in our common knowledge and as the term implies, makes typical reference to that local spot or group in which find and sense belongingness in a unified body with common goals, interests, or deeds. In it we realize the natural process of a give-and-take mechanism when it comes to allocation of social influences that correspondingly affect an individual’s response and social behavior toward the rest of community members. We may go beyond such usual notion and perceive how else a community may be defined or characterized by the emerging social attitudes which are essentially patterned after a particular origin or structure. Normally, we find ourselves bound to care with one another in a community not only because we readily understand the necessity of survival through interactive relationship but even for the natural truth in historicity where there emerges discernment of historical background that enables one person to gauge the other in terms of a continuing culture they have both lived with though at separate places and time. The mutual respect or concern established toward a cultural or religious tradition, for instance, may hold us within a sensible definition of community in which while we distinguish individual selves with unique identity to develop for personal growth, we know somewhere from the inner core that our mutuality in beliefs and principles sets us apart from certain degree of plural indifference. As a community leader, I personally advocate the aforementioned findings and believe that I can significantly contribute on promoting the essence of communication by allowing more educational and recreational programs to be conducted in order to discover potentials of each

The Great War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Great War - Essay Example It was also the very effective British propaganda that developed public support in US for the allied forces (Carlisle, 2007-, p.194). Meanwhile, the telegram sent by the foreign minister of Germany, Arthur Zimmerman, to German minister in Mexico, indicating that there is a possibility of Germany engaging in a war with the US got leaked by the British and this information naturally provoked the US (Carlisle, 2007, p.194). Many US ships being destroyed by the submarine warfare of the Germans by this time was another reason why public and political pressure mounted on the US government to be a party in the war (Carlisle, 2007, p.194). Yet another reason for the US entering the war was the close financial connection between the US and the Britain (Keene, 2006 p.8). America had given â€Å"huge loans† to Britain and other allied forces and thus big money was at stake (Keene, 2006, p.5). Britain and France reacted to the American decision by asking for replenishment with fresh American fighters of their war-wearied troups in the war front (Keene, \2006, p.11). But the US did not concede to this demand of splittin g the American forces and merging them with the British and French troupes (Keene, 2006,

Economic analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic analysis - Assignment Example For the past few years, economists surveyed by NABE have concluded that fiscal policy uncertainty including efforts to rein in the deficit was constraining economic growth. However, the survey released on Monday has indicated that 57% no longer believed uncertainty was holding back the recovery. On the other hand, 38% of the citizens thought the fiscal policy was restraining the recovery compared with 80% in March 2014. According to NABE survey, almost half of the respondents believe the current fiscal policy to be about right. The rest of the respondents are divided with about a fourth indicating it is too stimulative and the other fourth too restrictive (Davidson, 2015). The Federal Research officials Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke have warned that restrictive fiscal policy creates headwinds for recovery rather than supporting it as it did during previous economic downturns. Bernanke said that excessively tight near-term fiscal policies have tremendously been counterproductive. The economists have also differed on the current shortfall with 44% criticizing it on excessive spending, 28% blaming it to the output gap, and 24% citing insufficient revenues. A quarter of the economists suggested that the Fed should raise interest rates this year. About 9 percent of them except the rate increase to occur within the first six months (Mankiw, 2014). On the other hand, two-thirds of the economists expect rates to rise during the second part of the year while a quarter believe that the Fed will keep policy on hold until 2016. In the United States, inadequate demand has tremendously constrained activities in the economy of US which has caused repeated downgrades to growth forecast. The current financial crisis and ensuing recession have put the productive capacity of the nation’s economy on a lower and shallower direction than the ones in the previous years. It is estimated that the potential

Strategic Management Unit 4 DB SA Final Week Essay

Strategic Management Unit 4 DB SA Final Week - Essay Example These laws are not different to those in the US because eventually, it is all about environmental conservation and the end goal is to protect our surroundings. Environmentally, the numerous vehicles produced by the firm poses a great danger to the environment because once in the roads, the vehicle produce emissions in gasses form to the surrounding causing air pollution. These deplete the environment through acid rains and ozone layer destruction. The commitment made by General Motors Company to conserve the environment through waste and pollutants reduction, recycling, conservation and educating the public on way to support environmental conservation is a great move (KPMG, 2010). Despite that decision by the US government to increase fuel efficiency and reduce vehicle emissions, GM is still surviving well because this move only led to demand of vehicles that have less environmental effects. The aim of the government to reduce air pollution was achieved by the move. Despite the controversial nature of the bailout in 2008, it promoted the advancement of the auto industry through development of energy-efficient vehicles. Critically, these problems are used as spark agents that ignite a change in the process of offering solutions. KPMG. (2010). The transformation of the automotive industry: the environmental regulation effect. https://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/transformation-automotive-industry.pdf . Internet

Economic analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic analysis - Assignment Example For the past few years, economists surveyed by NABE have concluded that fiscal policy uncertainty including efforts to rein in the deficit was constraining economic growth. However, the survey released on Monday has indicated that 57% no longer believed uncertainty was holding back the recovery. On the other hand, 38% of the citizens thought the fiscal policy was restraining the recovery compared with 80% in March 2014. According to NABE survey, almost half of the respondents believe the current fiscal policy to be about right. The rest of the respondents are divided with about a fourth indicating it is too stimulative and the other fourth too restrictive (Davidson, 2015). The Federal Research officials Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke have warned that restrictive fiscal policy creates headwinds for recovery rather than supporting it as it did during previous economic downturns. Bernanke said that excessively tight near-term fiscal policies have tremendously been counterproductive. The economists have also differed on the current shortfall with 44% criticizing it on excessive spending, 28% blaming it to the output gap, and 24% citing insufficient revenues. A quarter of the economists suggested that the Fed should raise interest rates this year. About 9 percent of them except the rate increase to occur within the first six months (Mankiw, 2014). On the other hand, two-thirds of the economists expect rates to rise during the second part of the year while a quarter believe that the Fed will keep policy on hold until 2016. In the United States, inadequate demand has tremendously constrained activities in the economy of US which has caused repeated downgrades to growth forecast. The current financial crisis and ensuing recession have put the productive capacity of the nation’s economy on a lower and shallower direction than the ones in the previous years. It is estimated that the potential

Week4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week4 - Assignment Example Proper waste disposal management and poor sanitation due to congestion is another problem that the American residents of the 19th century faced, this posed a health risk, as the dirty conditions would be a breeding ground for diseases related to sanitation such as typhoid. With the upsurge in population, some of the essential services had to be provided by the government to mitigate the negative effects of the congestion. Some of these services include waste management systems to ensure the cities where people lived were clean and habitable for living. Another service the government provided was security services since with congestion crime also increased therefore the need to protect the people from criminals, health care is also an essential service that the government provided to the population (Boyer 34). Assuming the government did not provide the above services, the people would probably have formed vigilante groups to counter the problems of insecurity within the neighbourhoods. Waste management may have been solved by hiring of private garbage collectors or throwing waste into empty spaces within the areas that people lived in. Private medical services providers would have come in cases where the government failed to provide the medical facilities although these services would have been expensive. Among the above problems, the hardest challenge to solve would have been provision of health care since it required professionally trained personnel and specialised equipments in treating different diseases. The high cost of the treatment when provided by private health professionals would have locked many people away from these facilities. Insecurity would also have been a major concern since with formation of vigilante groups to provide security to the residents, retaliatory attacks between the criminal gangs and the vigilante groups would become

The Development of Machine Translation Essay Example for Free

The Development of Machine Translation Essay Introduction What is machine translation? Simply put, machine translation is the application of computer text from one natural language into another natural language text translation. The translation climax in the history of China again and again set off, the translation of Buddhist scriptures in the Eastern Han to the Tang and Song dynasties, the Ming and Qing technology translation and the Opium War to the May Fourth Movement to promote the progress of history. Today, the advent of the global information age is the translation climax conditions, requirements, involved in the field of computer science, mathematics, linguistics. However, the science of translation career how? Effects? How we will develop and make progress? In this paper, a review of the development of machine translation, disadvantages, role and prospects of superficial discussion, to answer these questions. i. A history of the development of machine translation The 17th century French philosopher, mathematician Descartes and the German mathematician Leibniz put forward the idea of using the machine dictionary overcome language barriers. In 1946, the worlds first electronic computer was born, after 50 years of development, through the tortuous road success, there are setbacks, presented numerous challenges for researchers. Machine translation potential social and economic benefits, some Western countries as well as Japan and other countries have spent a lot of R D, machine translation into the boom by its start-up period of the trough, the recovery period and make showing unprecedented prosperous and developed. The following is a brief overview of the various periods of its development. That is start-up period (1947 to 1954), Trough period (1954 to 1975), Recovery period (1975 to 1989),Prosperous Period. ii. The problem of machine translation The machine translation prosperity does not mean it does not have any problems. According to statistics, machine translation with human translation, translation accuracy and readability is less than 70%, many ways, there are a large number of problems, yet computer, language experts and machine translation users to jointly overcome. Opened the translation history at a glance the criterion the eyes of the beholder, the wise see wisdom. Three Kingdoms period follow essentially, Gavin ornaments East Jindao An best of Record, not so prejudicial statements were made tour word Tang Xuan Zang, neither shall seek the truth, and shall Yu vulgar to modern Yan Fu, letter the relentless pursuit of Dayak Chinese letter, Fu Lei quite similar , environment of Qian Zhongshu Gu Zhengkun best approximation . Tytlers three principles abroad, the famous translator Nidas dynamic equivalence the the fee Road Rove equivalents, otherwise Gorlee, alleged meaning on qualitative quantity. But are all demanding translation standards. The machine is translated as a translation, of course, should pay attention to the quality of the translation. The translation quality of machine translation can understand and loyalty, it is difficult to achieve the ideal standard. These examples to illustrate (1) The erroneous translation of part of speech and meaning. These problems with the machine error on the part of speech, meaning Discrimination are inseparable. Once the parts of speech in this connection vocabulary to syntax bridge is the wrong resolution, the translation will be wrong. Therefore, it is the wrong resolution mistranslation phenomenon should arouse the attention of machine translation researchers. (2)Adverbial wrong translation Of mistranslation. Such as the num ber and type of vehi2cles be misinterpreted as such a number of types of vehicles. Comparative sentence mistranslation. The earlier a smog alert can be issued, the greater its effectiveness is as it al2low s were wrongly translated: constitutes more time this smoke alarm can be as early as issued, the greater its efficiency as it does allow and the correct translation should be: the sooner the alarm, the greater the role, because it will make the Sketch word mistranslated. Small words, such as articles, conjunctions, English is not fluent in English. Chinese On the contrary, they become redundant, this machine translation can not be a good conversion. On these issues, there have been a lot of research, but always simple description, do not be traced. I believe that the key to these problems is not a simple computer program driving hard to the issue of slavery, but the context of the language itself is not a thorough analysis, we should ponder the question is how to make the machine with minimum knowledge. How to make the long-term accumulated cultural knowledge to penetrate into the machine translation. When they make the machine and from the search context, and in a certain culture play a role in its translation, what will? Mentioned Context, we can get some inspiration from the M alinow ski and Firth, Firth linguists task should be to study the text language phenomenon and its context combination, machine translation is the translation of a natural language another natural language should be set analysis, Discrimination select processing as an integrated process, asked to do , Shindaya. Gave us think of fruitRevelation, the word of the keys on the piano, alone has no effect. Keep context together makes sense. Another factor is the cultural context. Firth social scene decided to play social role social role is limited. Therefore, the social scene is also limited. Event enables the machine translation These limited role in society, the social scene analysis processing, translation will be able to improve the understandability credibility and While this robot suspected, but this is the trend. Since the machine translation represents the high-tech should be a breakthrough in the current information age. ii. The role of machine translation. Machine translation through a saddle-type process, PaulDeposit and flourish, today turned into a tool, the reasonIt is its role in promoting. (1)Promote social progress Human leave no stone unturned to develop and complete a machine. Is translation systems, has developed a translation software, promoted by Economic development, social progress, eliminating the language in the world among people Introduction obstacles, communicate with the entire world. (2) Improve translation efficiency With the machine translation research has improved continuously, the field of translation achieved unprecedented success. In our translation work, We can make use of a variety of translation systems or software to complete the translation task, Samples can improve the speed and accuracy of the translation, translation efficiency. (3) Promote the development of other areas Machine translation to get involved in mathematics, computer science, linguistics, translation Science and other multi-discipline areas need strong development of these disciplines, substantial based on the outcome, so as to promote the development of these areas. Fourth, the outlook on the prospects for machine translation. The birth of the machine translation system, especially to people translation, who brought hope. Although machine translation the understandability and loyalty also not ideal, but if the mathematics, computer science, translation studies and language science and other researchers in the field of work together, will make the machine translation out more beautiful flowers, bear more fruit. Conclusion In the above mentioned, if the context of the language environment and cultural context for consideration in the process of programming, will be able to make the translation discourse stronger language three functions, namely the concept of function, people interpersonal function and textual function was more prominent. It is also the author most would like to suggest, hope, serve role. It should be believed that through the tireless efforts of many researchers make machine translation. Having been properly developed, thus will be able to promote vigorous translation cause development.

Music Therapy :: essays research papers

rynjulf Stige is the first Coordinator of the music therapy education program at Sogn og Fjordane University in Sandane, Norway, where he is an associate professor. With diverse experiences as a music therapist using a community based approach, Stige has written numerous articles and books on music therapy and music education. He is editor-in-chief of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, and co-editor (with Carolyn Kenny) of Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. He is one of the most insightful thinkers working within the music therapy profession. He believes that humans cannot escape culture. Through culture, we are provided the tools we need to deal with challenges of everyday life. Stige believes that culture has not been focused on enough and in his book, Culture-Centered Music Therapy, he brought the culture to the music therapy world. His book is divided into four main parts excluding the introduction, preface, etc. Part One of the book, outlines premises for the argument, examining basic concepts such as culture, humankind, meaning, "musicking," and the nature-nurture debate. Part Two highlights how culture-centered music therapy may be practiced. The scope varies from community music therapy (aimed in part on cultural change in the community), to ecological music therapy (focusing on communication at micro- and mesosystem levels), to individual music psychotherapy (considering the individual in cultural context). In Part Three, implications for describing and understanding music therapy are discussed, including a chapter on how to define music therapy as a practice, discipline, and profession. A culture-inclusive model of the music therapy process is also proposed. Part Four suggests approaches to music therapy research within a culture-centered context. A call for increased reflexivity, the ability to reflect upon one's social and cultural position, is at the heart of the discussion, along with a continuing theme of this book: the relations and tensions between local and more general perspectives on music therapy. Focusing more on Part I, the first three chapters that make up that section educate the reader on key premises that arise throughout the rest of the text.. The first chapter explores an integration of themes from biology, history and culture. It opens with a concise and scholarly history of the concept of culture, discussing etymological roots and noting different uses and misuses throughout history. Reference is made to the disciplines of anthropology and ethnography, the latter playing a significant part throughout the text.

Women Executives Essay -- essays research papers

Women Executives Even though women constitute 40% of all executives and administrative posts (up from 24% in 1976), they are still restricted mostly to the middle and lower positions, and the senior levels of management are almost entirely male domains. A 1990 study of the top Fortune 500 companies by Mary Ann Von Glinow of the University of Southern California, showed that "women were only 2.6% of corporate officers (the vice presidential level up)." Of the Fortune Service 500, only 4.3% of the corporate officers were women - even though women are 6l% of all service workers. Even more disturbing is that these numbers have "shown little improvement in the 25 years that these statistics have been tracked". (University of Michigan, Korn/Ferry International). What this means is that at the present rate of increase, it will be 475 years - or not until 2466 before women reach equality with men in the executive suite. This scenario is not any better on corporate boards. Only 4.5% of the Fortune 500 industrial directorships are held by women. On Fortune Service 500 companies, 5.6% of corporate directors are women. The rate of increase is so slow that parity with men on corporate boards will not be achieved until the year 2116 - or for 125 years. (The Feminist Majority Foundation News Media Publishing Inc., 1995) In 1980, only one woman held the rank of CEO of a Fortune 500 company. This woman came into the top management by inheriting the company from her father and husband. In 1985, this executive was joined by a second woman who reached the top - by founding the company she headed. Even though the newspapers are reporting that women have come a long way and are successful in the corporate world, women are banging into a "glass ceiling" that is "so subtle that it is transparent, yet so strong that it prevents women from moving up the corporate hierarchy". (Ann Morrison, The Feminist Majority Foundation and News Media, Inc, 1955) Women can see the high- level corporate positions but are kept from reaching the top. According to Morrison (http//www.feminist.org/research/ewb glass.ntml.) and her colleagues, the glass ceiling is not simply a barrier for an individual, based on the person/s inability to handle a higher-level job. Rather, the glass ceiling applies to women as a group who are kept from advancing higher because th... ...mily, women are not as serious about their careers, women are not suited for top management because they are not aggressive enough and lack the self confidence required for the top jobs - to mention a few.) These myths seem work to keep women in their place and to justify the lack of progress for women. Worse yet, these myths often place blame on women rather than on sex discrimination. Men in corporate management tend not to perceive discrimation as a real problem, thereby making it virtually impossible to implement effective remedies. White men have ranked problems encountered by women executives as insignificant compared to how women ranked them. Therefore, without constant pressure from the outside and strong legal remedies, the very real problems of race and sex discrimination in the executive suite may never be adequately addressed. Even though feminists have fought to establish and vigorously enforce guidelines and laws prohibiting sex discrimination in employment, women feel they are a long way from equality in the ranks of American business. They feel that further gains depend on getting more feminists into decision-making positions and creating new strategies for change.

Direct Democracy

In the United States, direct democracy takes its most evident form in ballot initiatives. According to the president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute, M. Dane Waters, a version of this practice was said to have existed as early as the 1600s in New England. The practice then was for proposed ordinances to be placed on the agenda to be discussed by the whole town and later approved by voting on them during their town meetings.However, Dane Waters continued, ballot initiative as it is known today started during the 1900s – specifically in 1978 when Proposition 13 reduced the property taxes in California from 2. 5 percent to 1 percent. That California initiative resulted to limitations in the property taxes of 43 states and a reduced rate in the income taxes in 15 states (Cato Policy Report). A Washington Post columnist, David S.Broder described ballot initiatives as a tool designed to enable the people to directly write laws and in the process, check the influence being wielded by interest groups in the legislative process. Unfortunately, Broder explained, the initiative process is flawed since the opinion of those who are in disagreement is not being heard. Because of this defect, he maintained, statutes approved through ballot initiatives are not being subjected to checks and balances, effectively robbing the minority of their right to be heard.Broder argued that this contradicts the intent of the founding fathers (Cato Policy Report). The chairman of the Cato Institute, William A. Niskanen, disagreed. He stressed that the initiative process is actually a system of checks and balances since it regulates the power of legislatures. In other words, it does not weaken the American system of government. Dane Waters supported the view of Niskanen. He maintained that ballot initiatives were not meant to introduce adverse changes in the American system of government but to enrich it.In fact, he said, even the founding fathers had recognized its wisdom. To prove his point, he quoted James Madison, one of the founding fathers, who said that As the people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the Constitutional Charter under which the several branches of government hold their power is derived, it seems strictly consonant to the republican theory to recur to the same original authority whenever it may be necessary to enlarge, diminish, or new-model the powers of government (Cato Policy Report).Ellen Ann Andersen, in â€Å"OUT OF THE CLOSESTS & into the Courts, demonstrated how a ballot initiative works. In her search for a suitable illustration, she decided to look at the effects of the initiative process on the civil rights of lesbians, gays and bisexuals (lgb’s). Her decision was baaed on the fact that until 1993, the focus of approximately 60 percent of all ballot initiatives in the country was the civil rights of lgb’s.She therefore concentrated on the most famous of these initiatives à ¢â‚¬â€œ Amendment 2 which was approved by the voters in Colorado in 1992 (Andersen). Amendment 2 was sparked by a proposed ordinance on human rights which was heard by the Human Rights Commission of Colorado Springs in 1991. The proposal sought to prohibit discrimination of any kind based on â€Å"race and color, their religion and creed, their national origin and ethnicity, their age, marital status, their sexual orientation, or their disabled condition.† It immediately encountered stiff opposition mostly from big fundamentalist Christian groups which included the biggest Christian radio ministry in the country – the Focus on the Family. Due to the relentless assault that they made against the proposed ordinance, it was finally defeated in the city council by a vote of 8-1 (Andersen). Things did not end there, however. The defeat of the proposed human rights ordinance started a statewide campaign against gay rights which culminated to the framing of Amendment 2.A grou p named Colorado for Family Values (CFV) was organized at the behest of three individuals, namely: Tony Marco, an anti-gay activist; David Noebel, head of anticommunist Summit Ministries, and Kevin Tebedo, who was the son of Maryanne Tebedo, a senator of the state of Colorado. CFV was able to establish links with national conservative organizations. It obtained the assistance of the â€Å"National Legal Foundation† in drafting Amendment 2 and used the handbook which was written by a lawyer who represented the â€Å"Concerned Women for America† as a guide for its efforts to promote the amendment.The proponents of Amendment 2 appealed to the moral values of the people and capitalized on their lack of adequate knowledge about homosexuality as they painted gays and lesbians as a hazard to society. It distributed a bulletin which alleged that Lately, America has been hearing a lot about the subject of childhood sexual abuse. This terrible epidemic has scarred countless youn g lives and destroyed thousands of families. But what militant homosexuals don’t want you to know is the large role they play in this epidemic.In fact, pedophilia (the sexual molestation of children) is actually an accepted part of the homosexual community (Andersen)! CFV also declared to the people of Colorado that homosexuals represented a great danger to the overall health of the community because they are the most relentless carriers of â€Å"sexually transmitted diseases; they are the most fertile breeders of diseases; and that by the middle of the 1990s, hospital bed would be difficult to come by due to the large number of homosexuals who are infected with AIDS (Andersen).Black propaganda such as these, coupled with the findings of a poll which was commissioned by the Denver Post which showed that 46 percent of respondents considered homosexuality to be morally wrong, 40 percent tolerated homosexuals, and 14 percent declared their neutrality, enabled the anti-gay secto rs of Colorado to deal a crushing blow to the gay militants. The CFV campaign also argued that lgb’s should not be granted protected status or â€Å"special rights† because they were not â€Å"legitimate† minorities having failed to satisfy the criteria set forth by Supreme Court decisions, namely:1. A group wanting true minority rights must show that it’s discriminated against to the point that its members cannot earn average income, get an adequate education, or enjoy a fulfilling cultural life. 2. The group must be clearly identifiable by unchangeable physical characteristics like skin color, gender, handicap, etc. (not behavior). 3. The group must clearly show that it is politically powerless (Andersen). In spite of the sting that black propaganda caused, it was the â€Å"no special rights† campaign slogan that dealt the greatest damage to the gay militants.Lawyer Jean Dubofsky said that The â€Å"no special rights† slogan was very cleve r, particularly given a time when at least white males don’t like affirmative action. The Amendment 2 people spent a lot of time talking about (how) you don’t want gays and lesbians getting in front of you in line for jobs or scholarships or college. Of course, that wasn’t what Amendment 2 was all about overall, but that’s the way it was sold†¦. People I talked with voted for it because they felt gay and lesbians should not get affirmative action (Andersen).In other words, Amendment 2 was ultimately approved by the voters of Colorado, thanks mainly to the underhanded campaign tactics employed by its proponents. Thus ended the political struggle waged by the gay activists. They were decidedly beaten in the political battle. However, it turned out that they were far from accepting defeat. Defeated in the political arena, they then turned to the legal battle. Amendment 2 proponents had only nine days to savor the taste of victory before the lgb’s petitioned the federal district court.A complaint was filed in the name of the following: Richard Evans (he was a former employee at the Mayor’s office of Denver who was open with his being gay); five other lgb’s; and a heterosexual male who was infected with AIDS. The cities of Boulder, Denver, and Aspen were also included as complainants because they had ordinances which protected the rights of lgb’s which Amendment 2 would effectively nullify (Andersen). The second aspect of the initiative process (the legal battle) turned out to be a different matter altogether.Prepared even before the election day as a â€Å"fallback† strategy, the complaint included several allegations. First, it argued that Amendment 2 violated the equal protection clause of the constitution. Then it claimed that the amendment denied lgb’s of their freedom of expression as well as association. Finally, it alleged that Amendment 2 was in violation of due process and the â₠¬Å"right to petition government for a redress of grievances† (Andersen). The difference between the political and the legal aspects of the initiative became immediately evident.Whereas the voters were the center of decision-making in the political exercise, the legal battle transferred the power to decide to the judges. A total of thirteen judges heard the arguments whether Amendment 2 should be considered constitutional. One was a district court judge; three were justices of the Supreme Court of Colorado; and nine justices came from the United States Supreme Court (Andersen). The two sides presented the same arguments that they used during the campaign.The proponents of the amendment argued that they were simply against granting homosexuals special rights and that they were interested in safeguarding the well-being of children and the family, and allow the state to allocate its resources to assisting the legitimate minorities. The gay advocates, on the other hand, argued that in fact â€Å"special rights† as employed by the proponents of the Amendment was merely a red herring to mislead people and that the Amendment would effectively deprive them of their rights and constitutionally-guaranteed protection.They further claimed that Amendment 2 was only motivated by the hostility of its proponents towards lgb’s and that homosexuality was in fact not only a â€Å"life-style choice† but is comparable to race and sexual orientation (Andersen). What happened, however, was while their arguments won for the proponents the battle for the ballot, the same arguments caused them to lose their case in court. Ironically, a dissenting judge claimed that the act of the majority justices from the Supreme Court in striking down the Amendment had been an act â€Å"not of judicial judgment, but of political will† (Andersen). Direct Democracy The assumption underlying the discussion on the initiative process is that the employment of paid petitioners is a harmful development reducing the quality of our democracy and privileging money over true commitment to causes that are put on ballot. However, this assumption is a questionable one, and counterevidence is abundant.Therefore, this essay will have the following structure: first of all, it will show little harms in employing paid signature-gatherers that are offset by possible benefits of such design of the initiative process, and, secondly, the essay will criticize the workability of the solutions offered in the concluding section of the chapter. The perceived danger in allowing paid petitioners is that only causes that enjoy considerable financial support can make their way to the ballot. Another threat, as opponents of this policy argue, is associated with the fact that it is devastating to the spirit of volunteerism and civic involvement.There is a view that ‘[p] aying petitioners degraded the signature gatherer because it came to be seen as a sales job rather than as the precious province of the public-spirited citizen’ (Ellis, 2002, p. 48). Thus, the need for mobilizing and engaging citizens becomes virtually irrelevant to policy-making process. However, there is little persuasive evidence that paid petitioners signify the death of grassroots and the advent of the ‘greenback democracy. ’ Issues that arouse strong public sentiment can recruit a sufficient number of volunteers to push their case through.There are several reasons why volunteer signatures drive will survive in the future. First of all, using volunteers in the qualification phase can help save money for the electoral contest. Secondly, volunteer petitioners often gather signatures with higher validity rates, thus the number of signatures needed decreases whenever volunteers are used. Thirdly, volunteer-based signature gathering campaigns constitute a way to mobilize and inform citizens. Fourthly, volunteer signatures drive is a powerful public relations tool, since such initiatives usually enjoy positive publicity (Ellis, 2002).Volunteer campaigns have potential to succeed only if a campaign issue can easily generate strong feelings among the public. Yet issues arousing strong public sentiment are few and far between; more often, it is an interest of a smaller group of people that is at stake, but it is undemocratic to disregard the plea of such groups of citizens only because their case does not excite hearts and minds of their fellow citizens. In the modern democracy, there are few deeply appalling wrongs that need immediate remedy and can attract crowds of concerned citizen, like the case of African Americans in the 1960s.In the modern democracy, incremental changes need to be made to accommodate different interests and to make their coexistence more efficient and pleasurable for all. Numerous notable initiatives, serving community interests best, made their way to the ballot thanks to paid petitioners. Furthermore, the ban on paid petitioners will affect different states in different ways. It will create a dangerous disparity in the quality of the initiative process in states with smaller and bigger populations.For example, it will create considerable complications for signature gathering in such states as California, where the number of signatures that are necessary for an initiative to be put on ballot can be several times higher than in other states. It is especially relevant given the everyday life constraints on citizenship and civic participation. Consumerist ideology makes long working hours an imperative and leaves people with less time to participate in politics and community affairs. People volunteer in their leisure time, and leisure is a competitive sector.It is hard to expect a large number of citizens to sacrifice their spare time for gathering signatures in favor of their cause, however strongl y they feel about it. Indeed, ‘[t]he main hurdle that most initiative proponents face is finding enough people willing and able to dedicate a large number of hours to gathering signatures’ (Ellis, 2002, p. 53). Moreover, there are legitimate concerns that the ban on paid petitioners will privilege people with abundant amount of spare time over those possessing more financial resources. In fact, paid petitioners democratize the initiative process by making it more inclusive.Many citizens do not hold strong opinions on some issues, but it by no means indicates that these issues should be excluded from the democratic debate. There are issues that are hard to frame in the way that solicits a passionate positive or negative attitude. In addition, privileging people with spare time over those with money borders on classism. For example, unemployed citizens with a lot of spare time can recruit a large number of volunteer to campaign for a welfare reform, while middle-class bus inessmen do not have such time to petition for a tax reduction.In a democracy, all groups ought to have equal access to the mechanisms of democratic participation and should be allowed to make the best use of resources available to them to ensure such participation. Therefore, as Ellis (2002, p. 54) notes, ‘the rise of paid petitioners and professional signature-gathering firms promotes democracy by increasing the involvement of a wider diversity of groups. ’ The ban on paid petitioners will not significantly decrease the role of big interests and money in the initiative process.A fact that is often overlooked by the opponents of paid petitioners concerns the evidence that recruitment, training, and coordination of volunteers mean considerable costs to an initiative sponsor, although volunteers work for free (Ellis, 2002). Moreover, the ban on paid petitioners will give an unfair advantage to organizations with better access to human resources. It ‘would advantage firms that employed large numbers of people and would make it impossible for all but the most popular causes to exercise the right of direct democracy’ (Ellis, 2002, p. 48).The opponents of paid petitioners also overlook the fact that signature gathering firms have a more professional approach to the initiative process. One of the possible advantages, as Ellis (2002) acknowledges, is that such firms have more experience in planning signature gathering campaigns and can offer a clear timeline for the process. However, there is another important advantage in employing signature gathering firms. Professionals working there can inform citizens more efficiently by presenting information about the issue at stake in a more accessible and understandable way.Thus, the indirect benefit of using paid petitioners is greater awareness of the citizenry on a wider array of issues. The proposal to ban paid petitioners also underestimates people’s ability to choose whether to sign a p etition. It is argued that signatories to petitions do not express their real opinion but agree to sign them ‘for a variety of reasons, among which are desire to be rid of the solicitor or to help him earn a day’s wages’ (Register, 1913; in Ellis, 2002). However, citizens are often more aware and concerned than this notion assumes.Many of them refuse to sign petitions that contradict their convictions. If ignorance was the case, volunteer signature drives would be as futile as professional signature gathering firms. Having proven that the harms involved in the process of employing paid petitioners in the initiative process are often exaggerated, there is a need to critique the proposed solutions to the perceived crisis. Providing more information about signature gathering will have little effect, as citizens are already overwhelmed with information on public issues.Few would dedicate their time to studying booklets on how certain initiatives made their way to the ballot. There are cognitive constraints on the amount of information citizens can consume. Furthermore, few would have enough spare time to devote it to reading booklets with information on how many volunteers and how many paid petitioners were employed to gather support for a certain initiative. The proposal to leave petitions with county registration officers can be dismissed on similar grounds: citizens do not have enough spare time to dedicate to public affairs.Valuing signatures collected by volunteers over those collected by paid petitioners is simply non-enforceable. Abandoning signature gathering altogether is also not a viable alternative, since the process of petitioning presents at least some checks on the power of large interests. Paid petitioners ensure that issues of at least some interest to at least some groups of citizens make their way to the ballot. In fact, it does not quite matter how issues are placed on ballot; what matters most is the citizens’ abilit y to express their opinion about different initiatives in a popular vote.