Questions on circe and book 10 of the Odyssey Essay

1. What has happened up to the point that Odysseus meets Circe but after he leaves the land of the Cyclops Polyphemus chases after Odysseus and his men throwing boulders that narrowly miss them. Odysseus tells Polyphemus his name and Polyphemus curses Odysseus. They go to Aeolia and gets given a bag of wind by Aeolus. Odysseus falls asleep and his men open the bag as they think it contains gold. The wind comes out and gets blown of course. The stop at the Lystragonians and three of his men get eaten by the cannibal giants. When arriving at Circe’s island, he splits the men into groups and sends half away to look for the house. His men get turned into pigs by Circe and Eurylochus returns to tell Odysseus. Odysseus then ventures alone to save his men. Hermes gave Odysseus a herb to eat and how to fight off Circe. 8/10 B) How is vividness and excitement shown when Circe tries to drug Odysseus â€Å"dark forebodings pursued† uses lighting imagery to show the eerie and ominous future Odysseus sees in the forest. â€Å"high Olympus† in reference to where Hermes is returning to would be exciting to an ancient audience to see Odysseus gaining the help of Gods. The adjective â€Å"beautiful† to describe the chair vividly shows the richness and elegance Circe has in her home. Odysseus drinks the drug â€Å"without suffering any magic effects† the anticipation of whether the drug would have worked or not shows Odysseus as being immune to her â€Å"evil† intent. He â€Å"snatched my keen sword† the verb â€Å"snatched† and â€Å"rushed† shows an element of surprise to Circe adding to the dramatic fighting scene. Circe â€Å"shrieks† adding to the imagery of senses by which the audience can vividly feel her fear. Circe â€Å"clasped my knees† to which this supplication adds excitement due to the fact that the magic herb has worked so well for Odysseus. Circe’s â€Å"words had wings† which vividly shows her elegance in the way she enchantingly speaks. Circe tells Odysseus that she â€Å"was always told to expect (him) here† which emphasises excitement to which he was meant to succeed and come to her. 18/20 C) Who should be admired the most, Circe or Calypso? Both Circe and Calypso play main roles as women in the Odyssey who help and hinder Odysseus, but their wit and mannerism should be admired. Circe first comes into the Odyssey at book 10. Circe is described as â€Å"evil in her heart† which instantly doesn’t make her a good or moral character. Circe also fails to show xenia to Odysseus as although she does offer him food, she asks multiple questions to him. An ancient audience would find the lack of xenia wrong and as an insult to Zeus. Similarly, she tries to manipulate him by complementing him. Simonides wrote about emotional women who use sex as a weapon, as well as this, Aristotle said that women would destroy men if left alone, women would destroy men. This is what Circe does by living alone and burning men into pigs. She turned Scylla into a rock out of jealous which leads into Simonides poem of women. Alternatively, when we first meet Circe (before she sees Odysseus) she is weaving and singing which would be what a women should be expected to do, there for meeting moral and social expectation of a woman. As she does live alone, the fact she can defend herself and try to stay alive (by supplicating herself) shows bravery against potential harm. However, she does hinder Odysseus’ journey by a year by their own will but does end up helping them with the correction direction to sail in. Book 5 has Odysseus on Ogygia with the sea nymph Calypso for 7 years. She holds him captive as he cries on the beach every day. Calypso uses her own selfish means to keep Odysseus on her island. When Hermes comes to the island, she also doesn’t show him xenia as she bombards him with questions. She fights and argues to keep Odysseus even though it is not permitted to marry him. Her own name means â€Å"concealment† in Greek. Calpyso, like Circe, is the image of a good woman as she is also found singing and weaving. Even though she could have kept Odysseus on the island, she helps him build a raft to leave. She is able to let go of her own feelings to aid Odysseus on his journey back to Ithaca. She also obeys Zeus’ orders. To an ancient audience and for moral reasoning, Circe is to be the most admired for she greatly aids Odysseus. In saying this, without the help of Hermes, Odysseus would have been killed thus Circe’s actions are intently evil. Calypso should be admired the most for without her letting Odysseus leave, his journey would have come to an end. Although she also needed Hermes to let him go, her intentions were pure. She loved Odysseus and they often has a physical relationship. She let him go and sacrificed her feelings to make him happy.

Cognitive Development May Progress Gradually or Through a Series of Stages Essay

Cognitive development can be defined as the growth of our knowledge in understanding the world around us. This growth can be developed gradually, in other words, it is seen as a continuous process by collecting more information. Another way of developing cognitively is through a series of stages which involves some sort of revolution from one period to another in one’s lifetime. Jean Piaget, a cognitive developmentalist believed that humans go through a series of stages in life in order to reach their full cognitive ability. In this essay, we would briefly talk about Piaget’s Stage Theory and its criticisms. Piaget divided his theory into four different stages of development. The first one is known as the sensorimotor stage which is applied to infants for approximately the first two years of their lives. At this stage, infants discover the world mainly by their senses and actions. One of the main concepts Piaget penned is object permanence. This is the knowledge of the existence of objects even when we cannot directly sense it. Piaget suggested that babies lack this concept through his study; A not B task. In this study, the experimenter hides a toy under Box A then the baby would search for it under Box A. This procedure was repeated and eventually in front of the baby, the experimenter hid the toy under Box B. The baby searched for it under Box A instead of B even though they saw the experimenter hid it under Box B. Therefore, this study shows that the baby lacked the concept of object permanence. They are known to be in a state of solipsism, also known as the failure to differentiate between themselves and the surroundings. Based on observation conducted on his own children (1952), Piaget divided this stage into six different sub stages. However, Piaget’s claims on object permanence have been criticized. Baillargeon et al. (1985) found in their research that infants as young as three-and-a-half months have developed the ability of object permanence. This was backed up by Bower & Wishart (1972) whereby they discovered that even after the lights were switched off, the babies continued to search for the object shown. Hence, they do possess the ability of object permanence. The second stage is the preoperational stage which occurs when the child is aged 2 to 7. On this stage, the child solves problems by using symbols and develops the skill for languages. According to Piaget, the child is egocentric which means he sees the world from his standpoint but not others. The solution to this is to apply operational intelligence. The process of solving problems by using logic. Another concept which Piaget is concerned with is conservation. It is the understanding that any quantity remains the same even if physical changes is made to the objects holding the medium. In addition to these concepts, centration, also defined as the focus on a single aspect of a problem at a time. Piaget states that at this stage, the child fails to decenter. Conversely, Borke and Hughes (1975) found contradicting evidence against Piaget’s on his study of the three mountains task. They used the same elements of the task and discovered that children had no problem with identifying the perspectives of the others when the task is shown in a meaningful context. Hence, from the result obtained, Hughes found that the children did not display any characteristics of being egocentric. Furthermore, Gelman (1979) found in his study that four year olds altered their explanations of things to get their message across clearer to a blindfolded listener. If Piaget’s concept of egocentrism was correct then, this shouldn’t have happened. In addition, Flavell suggested an alternative to this issue by coining the Level 1 and Level 2 perspective-taking abilities. In Level 1, one thinks about viewing objects but not the different perspectives that can be seen of the objects while in Level 2, one is able to imagine the views of the objects from different angles. Flavell concluded that it is not compulsory that children think others share the same perspective as themselves but they do struggle to imagine what others can see. Therefore, this shows that Piaget’s claim on egocentrism could be correct or wrong. Moreover, in Donaldson’s Children’s Minds (1978), she argued that children misunderstood the questions which Piaget asked while conducting the studies. This was the reason why Piaget obtained the results in his studies involving the concept of conservation especially. Donaldson stated that Piaget’s tasks had no meaningful context for the children to understand, hence they answered what they thought the experimenter expected of them. This claim was supported by Rose & Blank (1974) where they found children often succeeded in the conservation task. Further research was done by Samuel & Bryant (1978) who used conservation of number, liquid quantity and substance and obtained similar conclusion with Rose & Blank’s. Donaldson also stated that children were unintentionally forced to produce the wrong answer against their own logical judgment. One of the explanations is that the same question was asked repeatedly before and after transformations presented to them and this in turn caused the children to believe that their original answer was wrong. Thus, the idea of children assuming the fact that reality changes according to appearance could be incorrect. In addition, Piaget may have underestimated a child’s cognitive ability because based on Mitchell & Robinson’s (1992) study; they demonstrated that children from the age of 4 could locate the correct answer to a solution by canceling out the alternatives. This process is also known as inference by elimination. The children were presented with a set of cartoon characters, three of which were well-known. They were asked to identify a superhero which was unknown. The researchers discovered that majority of the children selected the unknown character without doubt. Another example of a child’s ability is their capability with syllogisms which consists of logical problems accompanied by a general rule that enables people to create a statement. Dias and Harris (1990) stated a general rule that all fish live in trees and Tiddles is a fish, then it is logical to assume that Tiddles live in trees. After presenting this to the children, they insisted that Tiddles lives in the water instead. However, after the experimenters presented them with another rule, they were ready to use the rule to make inferences. Therefore, these evidences show that Piaget may have underestimated the abilities of younger children. Subsequently is the stage of concrete operation which happens to children around the age of 7 to 12. Now the child is able to solve their problems in a logical manner but the problem has to be either real or concrete. The final stage; formal operations which takes place when the child turns 12 and continue into their adulthood. In this stage, one would be able to solve problems systematically and logically even if the problem is a hypothetical situation. Wason and Johnson-Laird showed that most intelligent adults do not fulfill Piaget’s ideal cognitively developed person through selection task. This claim is proved in Cheng and Holyoak’s (1985) study where the results strongly show that majority of the participants does not display the reasoning of an adult in the stage of formal operations. In other words, this experiment is a clear indication that the formal operations stage does not exist. One of the critics of Piaget’s Stage Theory in general is John Flavell (1982) who claimed that Piaget did not define the cognitive processes clearly. Furthermore, Braine and Rumain (1983) who conducted an analysis on the contents and the structure of the theory found that Piaget’s theory could be flawed. These are only the few critics of Piaget’s Stage Theory. Thus, the theory is constantly being questioned due to its impact in the field of cognitive psychology. After stating the basic facts of the theory as well as giving some examples of the critics of Piaget’s concepts and ideas, we are now able to get an overview of the debate. Overall, there are evidences which propose some of the concepts to be reviewed again and maybe even rejected. However, from the researches conducted on Piaget’s theory as well as the impact of it, alternative theories were penned down. For example, Vygotsky’s theory which takes on a more social based view of describing the cognitive development. In conclusion, Piaget’s theory have been applied in various institutions especially education but it is also being criticized by many in the field, therefore, it is only fair to conclude that Piaget’s theory may need to be modified in order to create a more accurate theory to explain the way we understand the world.

American Civic Values Essay Example for Free

American Civic Values Essay In America our society has always been a morals run country, from our domestic everyday lives. Our society, groups with different civic values with who have a lot of power on our lives that we live everyday which includes schools and religious groups. There are some individuals who hold our civic values to a higher standard than those who have no regard for other members in their community. When it comes to undermining American civic values our media has a lot to be blame for as they promote and glamorize violence and illegal activities and does not show how communities can help each other adhere to civic policies. It is important for large groups to have set behaviors to adhere to, and civic values are important in keeping America a peaceful place that is safe for us as well as children. America has become a haven for special interest groups. If people don’t like something you say or do, plan on your freedom turning inwards and being used against you. Our society is no longer based off a country and its people as a whole, but by individual groups. The American civic values have dropped as special interest groups are in favor of political ground. There are several penalties that fail to adhere to the civic value such as â€Å"blue laws† these laws regulate behavior and restrict activities or the sale of goods on a Sunday to accommodate religious means. For an example in parts of one county here in North-East Florida we are not allowed to purchase alcohol on Sunday this day is constituted for religious matters. Another example of a blue law is the law in Pennsylvania where hunting is prohibited on Sunday’s as this day is recognized for a day of rest according to the religious groups. American Civic Values. (2017, Feb 21).

Sexual and Urologic problems in patients with Type 1 Diabetes Essay

Sexual and Urologic problems in patients with Type 1 Diabetes - Essay Example It occurs due to a combination of peripheral resistance to insulin action and an inadequate secretory response by the beta cells. Both types of diabetes are associated with similar complications. However, since the onset of hyperglycemia earlier in type- 1 diabetes, complications are more severe and occur at a much early age than those with diabetes type-2. Diabetes results in several complications, the most important of which are neuropathy, nephropathy and retinopathy. There are several other complications which impact the quality of life like sexual and urologic complications. Sexual and urologic problems are common in diabetes population because of the damage to blood vessels and nerves. In this essay, sexual and urologic complications in diabetes, especially diabetes type-1 will be discussed. Insulin is an essential anabolic hormone secreted by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans. It is essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats (Lamb, 2009). The hormone helps entry of the glucose into muscles by stimulating the conversion of glucose to glycogen and by inhibiting liver gluconeogenesis. It also slows the breakdown of fat and protein. In type-1 diabetes, there is either absence, destruction or loss of beta cells leading to inadequate insulin production. This causes uninhibited gluconeogenesis and at the same time decreases the use and storage of glucose, resulting in hyperglycemia. Beyond a certain limit, kidneys fail to absorb glucose resulting in glycosuria, osmotic diuresis, dehydration and thirst. The protein and fat breakdown also increase causing increased ketone production and weight loss. Without appropriate insulin supplementation and management, individuals with diabetic ketoacidosis lose weight continuously and eventually succumb to diabetic ketoacidosis (Lamb, 2009). Diabetes type-1 is associated with

Valuation Under SFAS 141R Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Valuation Under SFAS 141R - Term Paper Example Any goodwill forthcoming from the merger or acquisition is examined and appraised under SFAR 142, in regards to its fair value. The whole context was aimed at adding more items to what constitutes a business when the acquisition or a merger is undertaken. The acquisition method is still followed as before, but more items are included here as well as different ways of ascertaining the fair value of assets and liabilities, which are acquired. The SFAR 141 principle of measuring goodwill requires the full goodwill approach reporting by the acquiring firm. This is explained as full measure i.e. 100% of both identifiable assets and liabilities and any non-controlling interest in the acquired firm, to be reported by the acquiring firm. Inadvertently, goodwill still stands as the salvage of the fair value of the business consideration exchange during the acquisition or merger, over the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities undertaken. Goodwill is thus spread over both the contro lling and non-controlling interests by the acquiring firm in the new rule. The rules under the new section of SFAR 141 require that companies should report retrospectively. This means that the acquiring company has to recast prior business periods to reflect the correct valuations in their books. Under the new rules, bargain purchase i.e. any occurrence of negative goodwill needs to be counterchecked before any entries are made. Previously, this negative goodwill was spread over the noncurrent assets, but the rule now states that it should be recognized as a gain over how much the fair value of assets and liabilities exceed the consideration exchange, and not as an extraordinary item. The consideration exchange during any combination is recognized on the acquisition date and not on the transaction announcement date, under the new rule. Any acquisition related costs e.g. legal fees, consultancy fees et cetera, are not included in the purchase price as the previous case. The items to be included here are cash, stock, contingent payments e.g. earn outs, and any assets transferred and liabilities assumed. Acquisition costs are expensed as they are incurred. Contingent liabilities are recorded at their fair values. This is determined on the acquisition date as the higher of the fair value amount or that amount determined under the existing guidance for nonacquired contingencies. This is unlike the old method that added the contingent considerations to the goodwill. When the valuation is made i.e. market to market to determine the fair value and subsequently paid in cash, the reporting is done in the income statement (Eric, 2008). Any in-process research and development (IPR&D) is capitalized at fair value as an intangible asset until completion or abandonment. This is irregardless to the previous rule that only recognized items that were reported in the balance sheet. These IPR&D are then written off if there is no future value for them by the acquirer on combinati on. However, on continued use, abandonment calls for a write off in the acquirer’s book and an amortization of the assets over the expected useful lives on completion of the project. Any other assets that are acquired with no intentions of using them i.e. defensive items are reported at the fair value by the acquiring firm. Valuation allowances are reported, in the new rule, on any assets acquired

The Case of Enron and Arthur Andersen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Case of Enron and Arthur Andersen - Essay Example The greed that was evident did not benefit any one party at all. When the company shares lost ground in trading, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy and the US congress were on hand to instigate reforms that had the aim of ensuring that occurrences like those at Enron could not occur again. Arthur Andersen, the auditor at Enron, could be said to have received what it deserved in terms of being forced out of the market place due to bankruptcy. Additionally, the audit firm became a template of negative audit firms. The US federal government crafted regulatory legislation that is being taken up by other countries to prevent such occurrences in the future. For example, Mexico adopted those regulations in 2006 popularly referred to as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Discussion Enron as a corporate entity was not guilty of any major crimes that were blatantly obvious. On the most part, the company was indicted for misleading the outside forces charged with consulting for it and also misrepresented its financial situation1. These misrepresentations and falsehoods cannot entirely be considered as crimes. On the contrary, fraud can be considered as a crime but the very act of proving a criminal intent to defraud is very difficult. On the other hand, Arthur Andersen was convicted of a repeated single crime which entailed the obstruction of justice. This was largely due to the destruction of Enron documents that the audit firm continuously did. The shredding of those documents, which the accounting firm was well aware could be used in an SEC investigation, was in itself a crime. The case of Enron led to a number of individuals that were charged with different tasks to be charged with serious crimes with some of them pleading guilty to some. Mostly, many pleaded guilty with conspiracy to mislead that they did by presenting unfair reports on the company finances. Both Enron and Andersen had total disregard for any ethical conduc t that was expected of them. There is no need for detailed presentation of the breaches in ethics as they were pretty blatant. This discussion is not focused on ethics despite the fact that legal ethics, financial analysis ethics and banking ethics were totally disregarded. Since the breach of ethics is not a crime, it is not pertinent to dwell on it. Enron is clearly in violation of the guidelines that are laid out in the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)2. There are three instances of the breach of GAAP that are notable in the conduct of Enron. The first is that the Special Purpose Entities? (SPEs) accounts were incorrect. The equity method of accounting was selectively utilized in the SPE accounting as well as the failure of consolidation and failure of the elimination of the impacts associated with the transactions carried among the entities. The second is that there was partial disclosure of accounts and the last is that the financial reporting was not fair. In do ing the above, Enron and Andersen can be thought of having viewed GAAP as being merely rules and not regulations. They also leaned towards the interpretation of GAAP in a more aggressive manner than normally envisaged. Additionally, they disregarded the fairness principle that is central to GAAP and in doing this, they ignored the fact that fairness is emphasized more that rules as well as accounting that focuses on the economic

Human Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Engineering - Essay Example Such act is against the morals and ethics. Individuals who possess anomalies that are heritable are benefitted from such kind of genetic testing followed by selection of the baby. If the anomaly persists then the parents tend to terminate the pregnancy and opt for the better genetic make-up of the individual. In this genetic epoch where human engineering is being utilized for the betterment of the human race and to safeguard the future of the individuals. As eugenics is directed for the enhancement of the genetic composition of the population couples testing their fetuses for Down syndrome and abort fetus practice eugenics to certain extent as it is a step towards prevention of the hassles as well as elimination of the defective genetic makeup from the gene pool as well as it prevents social discrimination. Genetic testing aids in testing genetic anomalies encompassing Huntingtons, Cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, Thalassemia, congenital malformations, deformations, chromosomal anomalies and also pre diabetics to a greater extent if it runs in the family. Although genetic test and screening does not provide any cure to the condition but affirms the carrier of the genetic anomalies leaving the decision on the parents to go or not to go for the child ("This House Would Allow Parents to Genetically Screen Foetuses For Heritable

Cultural competence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cultural competence - Essay Example Cultural accommodation strategies include covering baby’s head and burial of the placenta among others. The aforementioned strategy aims at facilitating cultural practices that are yet to be scientifically harmful. Nursing professionals advocate acknowledgment, respect, and understanding of diverse cultural beliefs. Secondly, cultural re-patterning entails working with the client in order to adjust existing cultural practices. For instance, fried foods from various cultures, abuse of a spouse, and teas for a healthy baby are some practices under cultural re-patterning. If a patient domiciles from a tribe that advocates the use of herbs, a nurse needs to convince the patient to desist from using herbs by quoting different herbs that have adverse impacts. Finally, cultural brokering entails encouraging and mediating between cultural norm of clients and the biomedical structure (Huber, 2009). Accommodation of a vast range of cultures facilitates in gaining the desired knowledge and competence. There are various challenges facing cultural competency in the nursing perspective. For instance, stereotypes, racism, and discrimination are some of the hiccups that are prevalent. However, nurses are encouraged to approach clients in a professional manner while addressing their problems (Jeffreys, 2010). Therefore, nurse-patient relationship is of vital importance in the administration of effective health care for patients with diverse cultural

Evidence-based policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evidence-based policing - Essay Example Secondly, this type of policing, can be used to reduce violence against victims. Research can be carried out by experts in that field, and come up with guidelines that can help reduce violence on victims (Nutley, 2000). This policing however, has a disadvantage, in that the evaluation is not always effective. Some officers in certain departments may be too reluctant to allow these guidelines to bring changes in their way operation. This might be as a result of the amount of the power vested on them in their offices. Initially, In Kenya, the traffic police department was the most disorganized police unit. However, numerous researches were done and the guidelines utilized. Today, it is one of the most effective departments in the police unit. In addition, the Kenyan navy has gone through numerous changes with the help of evidence based policing. It has incorporated new guidelines in its working system, and this has made cases of pirate activities in the Indian Ocean to decline significantly. In conclusion, evidence based policing has unquestionably benefitted the entire police department in one way or another (Pawson,

ASP.NET Threading Settings Essay Example for Free

ASP.NET Threading Settings Essay ASP. NET Threading Settings and High Latency Workload. If an application accesses slow resources, like a mainframe doing large, complicated queries, the threads of the ASP. NET subsystem can catch blocked and especially for a busy application ASP. NET can run out of threads. When all the ASP. NET threads are blocked, performance is blocked, as there is no ability for ASP. NET to pick up new work. The work gets queued until other requests complete, and the condition ends up affecting user response times. It is feasible to override the number of threads ASP. NET is using to process requirements. The parameter that is found in the ASP. NET configuration system can be changed at the core of the configuration system (the machine. config file), or particularly for the one case of the application (the Web configuration file in the virtual directory of the application). ASP. NET Applications and Queuing. ASP. NET requests are queued in Windows Server 2003 when the pipeline gets complicated but this becomes useful to understand performance tuning changes such as the HTTP requests that come in off the network and are received by HTTP. sys. After observing this request, HTTP. sys places the request in a queue for an application pool and then the worker process service the application pool by choosing the request and makes a decision on what type of processing environment that request wants to be implemented. For ASP. NET Web applications, the worker process hands them to the ASP. NET handler whereby it is placed on a queue and ASP. NET threads pick up individual requests and process them. ASP. NET Web Services (ASMX) with Web based Dictionary. Rich client devices such as cell phones, PocketPCs, tablet devices, etc. have the ability to run rich applications, which communicate over public networks, using a Web service style of application integration. With this in mind, this project module was designed connecting Web service over cross language translations by tracing the network packets associated with a Web service request over a physical network, and compare it to a standard ASPX Web application request made by a browser and imply the best. Application pool. Application pools are combinations of many URLs supplied by one or more worker processes. They match to a request queue contained in HTTP. sys and one or more worker processes. These pools serve requirements for one or more Web-based applications. These applications (i. e. web-based online dictionary) are assigned to the application pool based on their URL. AJAX. Completely known as Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, AJAX is an interrelated web advanced technique group utilized in generation of web applications which are interactive. Highlighted characteristics of AJAX include heightened receptiveness and ability of interaction of pages attained through data exchanges in ample amounts with the server such that the entire page need not be reloaded every time a need to get data from the server. It is expected to bring to a higher level the quality of web pages, most specifically, in terms of speed, functionality, interactivity, and usability. AJAX is can be utilized in on numerous OS, System Architectures, and Browsers. Being a cross-platform technique, such a technique is founded on the connotation of open standards like the DOM and JavaScript. Owing to its being asynchronous, requested data from server is loaded without interference to the behaviour as well as the display of the page currently accessed. AJAX function calls are usually made with the JavaScript scripting language. AJAX relies on XMLHttpRequest, CSS, DOM and other technologies for data retrieval. Its asynchronous nature makes possible to send and receive data from the server without having to refresh the page. ActiveX, Flash and Java applet are common Ajax implementations in various languages and libraries. (Di Paola Fedon 2006) Visual C#. C# is a simple, type-safe, object oriented, general-purpose programming language. Visual C# provides code-focused developers with powerful tools and language support to build rich, associated web and client applications on the . NET Framework. Microsoft SQL 2005 and ASP. NET 2. 0 Hosting. When merging SQL Server 2005 and ASP. NET 2. 0, a reasonably priced enterprise-level resolution delivering scalability, security, and availability for data and systematic applications is achieved.

An Introduction To Dialog Telekom Ltd Business Essay

An Introduction To Dialog Telekom Ltd Business Essay Dialog Telekom PLC (The Company) operates Sri Lankas largest and fastest growing telecommunication network Dialog GSM. Dialog Telekom is one of the largest companies listed under the Colombo Stock Exchange. It is a subsidiary of the Axiata Group Berhad. Due to Dialog the Sri Lankan mobile industry has achieved new heights and has come at par with the developed world. The telecom company operates 2G, 3G and 3.5G mobile services, supporting the current trends in mobile internet and multimedia services, as well as international roaming. Dialog Telekom accounts for more than 50% of Sri Lankan mobile phone subscribers. Along with the mobile telecommunication business Dialog Telekom operates a wide portfolio of international telecommunication services including retail and wholesale international voice and data services. Dialog Broadband Networks Pvt. Ltd. (DBN) is an owned subsidiary of the Company, and is an important player in Sri Lankas ICT infrastructure sector. DBN was also the first service provider in Sri Lanka to introduce high-speed broadband internet services based on Wi MAX technology. Dialog Television Pvt. Ltd. (Dialog TV) is another subsidiary of Dialog Telekom PLC. It operates Dialog Satellite TV, a Direct-to-Home (DTH) Satellite TV service. Dialog TV supports a wide range of international and local television channels. Regarding the structure of the company, Dialog Telekom Ltd. has got a Hybrid structure which is a combination of Matrix structure as well as Modular structure. As in each Strategic Business Unit (SBU) works independently and every function of each SBU has communication linkages with one another. Top down as well as bottom up communication is available and it uses worldwide resources and technologies. MICRO ANALYSIS THROUGH SWOT Analysis Strengths 1. Dialog has the first mover advantage of GSM technology in Sri Lanka. 2. Due to its strong infrastructure it has got one of the best and far reaching mobile telecommunication coverage. 3. Relationship with a telecommunication tycoon in the same region; Telekom Malaysia Group. 4. Extension in collaborations maintaining good relations with other Telecom companies has enabled Dialog to have a global approach with services such as and Satellite Coverage high roaming. 5. Dialog Telekom has got a very aggressive marketing strategy which enables it to have a good and stable Brand Equity. 6. Companys financial analysis proved excellent stability in financial statements regarding investments. 7. Strong Public Relationship that has been built up over the years. 8. Expanded CSR initiatives increased the social value of the firm. 9. High quality technical innovations has made dialog market leader in Sri Lanka. 10. Constant rise in the share prices has gained the confidence of the investors leading to value increment. 11. Strong distribution network spread throughout the entire island.. 12. Well managed customer care support techniques has increase the level of customer satisfaction. 13. Wide variety of products. 14. Management Team is efficient and hard-working. 15. High level of corporate business knowledge retention through low employee turnover Weaknesses 1. Though the investment on advertising and value addition through technical innovation is high, there is no clear aim and idea of a broader market 2. Poor performance as on ISP. 3. Compared to its competitors Dialog lags behind in innovations related to pricing strategies. 4. The head office in Colombo is of a distributed nature due to non-expandability of the current location. 5. The level of motivation of internal employees is decreasing. 6. Due to the rapidly growing customer base the trends in Quality of Service are going down by the day. 7. In the front-office employee turn-over is high. Opportunities 1. Telecom is one of the fastest growing sectors in Sri Lankas 19.5million people 2. As per estimations 4.5million users would have mobile phones by the end of 2006 3. The communication industry is growing rapidly. 3. Fixed line penetration is low. 4. The approval and acceptability of the Value Added Services (VAS) by the users has increased the probability and success of any new VAS initiative. 5. The strategic partnership of Dialog Telekom with Vodafone UK. 6. Dialog has got the potential to gain benefits of Value Chain Convergence. 7. Technology advancements especially in mobile multimedia technologies and the advent and use of the next 3G mobile communications. Threats 1. The existence of all the other three GSM Mobile service providers pose a big threat to Dialog Telekom. 2. Indias Bharti Airtel Ltd. has got the license to be the fifth mobile operator in Sri Lanka and launch the 2G and 3G services in 2007. 3. The three existing CDMA service providers also pose a different kind of threat. 4. Strongest Competitor of Dialog, the Mobile wing of fixed line telecom giant SLT is focused on cost-cutting strategy through its low cost pre-paid products in the market. 5. Rapid changes in the political, social and economic conditions as well as the laws and regulations. 6. Changes in currency exchange rates and high inflation which is inversely affecting the global business. 7. Rapid change in customer preferences and their growing needs due to high level of customer awareness. 8. Constant changes in technology. 9. Dialog had to switch off all base station in northern-province during the last few months due to military operations by the Sri Lankan Govt. forces. Thus there is an uncertainty due to the growing counter terrorist campaigns. PESTEL Analysis Political Sri Lanka has very positive foreign investment policies. However though Sri Lanka identified importance of liberalization early as in 1977, due to political interventions bureaucratic attitudes inherited from colonial reign and poor governance, the country as a whole and specifically the industry has not grown as it was foreseen at the time of liberalization. During the past two decades, terrorist activities have remained constant as well. Economical Unstable macro-economic environment and trade policy regime has a negative impact on the industry. The fall of the exchange rate over the years happened on a gradual pace. Since the inception of liberalization policy it has undergone massive reforms in this sector. However Sri Lanka lags dynamics incorporated by India to attract foreign direct investments. The attitude towards foreign direct investments needs to be improved. Socio-Cultural Sri Lanka has better social conditions for example literacy rate is high, infant mortality rate is low and life expectancy is long. The country also has an educated and trainable work force. Nevertheless Sri Lankans inherit a bureaucratic attitude from the colonial administration that results in inefficiencies and discrimination. Technological Sri Lanka depends on technology transfers from foreign direct investments. However TRCSL encourages local research and development. The country comparatively has not performed well enough to adapt technological changes on a timely manner. For example the shift from analogue to digital and the adoption of CDMA technology materialized in a slow pace. Ecological Legal TRCSL the regulatory body takes up multidimensional roles. It ensures fair enforcement of Govt. policy, hold operators accountable for performance, address consumer issues, monitor changing industry needs and provide feedback to the policy making units. However TRCSL has been criticized over the years for information asymmetry, inefficiency and discrimination. Porters Five Forces 1. Threat of New Entrants a. Indias Bharti AIRTEL has got the fifth mobile operator license in Sri Lanka b. As per TRCSL, no more licenses would be awarded c. Thus it creates an entry barrier for all others to the market 2. Bargaining Power of Customers a. Consumer protection groups are almost non-existing b. As compared to the west, consumers are not that strong in their demands c. Quality standards and supports are comparatively not major concern if they exist at a basic level d. Low switching costs e. Customers are highly cost conscious 3. Threat from Substitutes a. Almost negligible b. Alternatives are fixed line and the more recent CDMA connectivity c. This is a much smaller market as compared to the huge total market 4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers a. Local and International suppliers for Dialog b. Depends on SLT, MTT and a few other VSAT operators to access the national backbone c. Thus these particular suppliers are extremely powerful d. Acquisition of MTT and the creation of the new subsidiary known as Dialog Broadband Network 5. Rivalry Among Competing Firms a. Very high competition with constant pricing wars b. Dialog certainly has an edge because of their Value Added Services and differentiation strategy and the huge customer base c. Value Added Services are becoming very popular among the consumers Strategic Groups Adopted by the Company Dialog strategies are visible in the companys corporate, business and functional levels. They have already diversified their business across many areas during the last few years. For instance, by acquiring MTT, Dialog managed to strengthen its transmission backbone. Also recent past it has acquired CBNSAT, a satellite TV transmission company, and DERANA TV Channel with a long term objective of a value chain convergence. In addition to reach the customer, Dialog has created many alliances with other business corporations. Cargills-Dialog alliance to allow Cargills customers to settle Dialog bills is just one such example. The business plan is formulated at the beginning of the year considering main objectives of the company. The progress of each project is monitored in a monthly basis through different strategic committee meetings. On the other hand, Dialog tries to introduce latest technologies into the market considering global mega trends through its comprehensive Research and Development wing. Services Year of Implementation Remarks 01 Introduction of GSM Technology 1995 1stin South Asia 02 Short Messaging Service (SMS) 1998 1stin South Asia 03 Automatic International Roaming (AIR) 1997 1stin South Asia 04 WAP (Mobile Internet) 2000 1stin South Asia 05 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) 2001 1stin South Asia 06 Location Based Services (LBS) 2003 1stin Sri Lanka 07 Missed Call Alert 2003 1stin Sri Lanka 08 Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) 2003 1stin South Asia 09 Trial 3G Service 2004 1stin South Asia 10 Call Home Service for Outbound Roamers 2004 1stin Sri Lanka 11 EDGE Service 2004 1stin Sri Lanka Among them, the Dialogs initiative to setup the Dialog Research Lab at the University of Moratuwa is of importance because it effectively enabled Dialog to provide tailor made solutions to the local market. Nokia phones with Sinhala language support and Tsunami warning system for mobiles are just to name a few such examples. These technology initiatives can be considered as a strategy used to capture the market by effectively staying ahead from the competition in the technology and innovation sphere. Structure The Companys business and operations are managed under the supervision of the Board of Directors comprising of 5 non-executive directors and 1 executive director. The Board has the power to appoint executive directors including the CEO. Divisional structure can be identified in company level but performances of the divisions are measured through different strategic committees. Systems Apart from the technical backbone, Dialog uses several systems to execute their business strategies successfully. For example- SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) This was launched in 2006 January to integrate identified key process in the company. CCBS (Customer Care Billing System) Currently existing billing system is going to be migrated into a new system to provide more customer centric services. HRIS Used for Human Resource Management and all the day to day functions are carried out through this system. Style The management style always depends on targets and objectives. Strict deadlines are imposed while performance and progress are very closely monitored at all levels of the organizational structure. Rewards and benefit schemes are in line for the top performers and better achievements. All the employees will have a number of recreational opportunities such as trips, get-together, sports etc. to take some time off from busy work schedules. Staff The Company currently employs a workforce of 2500 who in turn are considered pivotal to the organizations growth and success. Annual manpower planning and recruitment is carried out in parallel with the business plan preparation. The capabilities required by potential employees are based on the requirements of the business plans applicable to respective departments of the company in any given year. Recruitment to the Company is governed by several policies. The core policy on filling vacancies spells out the Companys intention to attract the best with the aim of exploiting the individuals potential while providing career development opportunities irrespective of communal or gender differences. 7% of the total HR cost is devoted to training and development. The training needs for individuals and teams are identified from the competency requirements arising from the Companys business plan and employees annual performance review. Subordinate Goals All individuals with different backgrounds, different ethnics and nations are teamed up and driven towards a common set of goals and objectives at Dialog Telekom. The company has been successful in focusing the entire team towards a single vision by incorporating all individuals goals and personal objective together. Skills Dialog team consists of number of individuals with distinctive capabilities and competencies from top to bottom. Dialog is proud to have a very energetic and talented CEO in the caliber of Dr. Hans Wijesuriya. In addition to that Dialog is served by a team of top class individual in the Sri Lankan industry with lot of talent and exposures. Different Strategies Adopted by Dialog Telekom Corporate Strategy Considering the current performance, the key success factors and the SWOT analysis the directional strategy alternatives would be the following Growth strategy to expand the activities of Dialog Telekom further would be the first alternative. Since the current product lines have real growth potencial concentration of resources on those would be ideal. In concentration Dialog Telekom can follow the vertical growth strategy to take the benefit of the value chain convergence opportunity that is existing in Sri Lankan context. Stability strategy to continue with current activities without any changes to the direction would be the second alternative. Here Dialog Telekom can utilize pause/proceed with caution strategy to have only incremental improvements while the weaknesses stated are overcome. It can use this time to stabilize the organization due to the changes took place due to multiple strategies it adopted earlier such as acquisitions and investing on innovative developments, which will help to get back the loosing internal employee motivation. The first alternative will move Dialog Telekom further away from the competition and create a monopoly temporarily for converged industries of telecommunication, content, media and retail. However unfocused highspeed growth to capture the market without stabilizing the existing acquisitions can disassemble everything. The second alternative will give Dialog Telekom and its employees much needed breathing space. The recommendation would be to implement the second alternative initially to stabilize the organization without any other drastic change in the direction. And after some time they can adopt their long term beneficial value chain convergence option depicted in first alternative. Business Strategy The business strategy alternatives available for Dialog Telekom to improve the competitive position in the industries it operates would be The first alternative for the competitive strategy would be to improve on the current strategy of differentiation. It can improve this by having unique Value Added Services for each of its current strategic business units DBN, CBNSAT and Dialog Telekom itself. This can improve the customer loyalty and thereby can charge a reasonable premium rate than competitors. Second alternative which Dialog Telekom can try to implement is cost leadership to overcome the threat of lower rates provided by competitors, Mobitel. Since the VAS are less in Mobitel the switching from Dialog to Mobitel is not much in urban people who use these VASes. But people who are using purely as a voice/sms only are shifting as most of them are cost conscious and there is not much of a difference in coverage. Hence if Mobitel improves on its VASes it would become a serious threat at a stage at which only the rates would decide the attraction of that segment of the market. Typically the differentiation strategy is more likely to generate higher profits than low cost strategy. However differentiation strategy implementation may involve higher investment than low cost strategy. Competitive scope is an important factor when considering competitive strategies. The recommended alternative depends on the competitive scope in this situation. Considering both alternatives and the pros and cons of each most ideal would be to have culmination of both differing from the segment of the market. Dialog Telekom should have a focused differentiation strategy in the market where people are valuing the VASes and cost focus in the market where usage is purely for voice/SMS. Simultaneously Dialog Telekom should look at strategic alliances as a corporate strategy to gain competitive advantage by working with other organizations. Currently they have stated this with some banks and some supermarket chains as mentioned earlier. However this can be vastly improved to include alliances with insurance companies, stock brokers, popular food chains etc.

Essay --

With its abundance of genera, the Burgess Shale is one of the world’s most important fossil fields. It’s discovery in 1909 led to over 100 years of paleontological study in the Canadian Rockies, a majority of which has been carried out in two quarries known as the Walcott and Raymond quarries (Hagadorn, 2002). Though he was originally in search of trilobites in the Burgess Shale Formation, paleontologist Charles Walcott also discovered a diverse group of soft- and hard-bodied fossils, from algae and sponges to chordates and cirripeds (Hagadorn, 2002). Soft-bodied fossils are incredibly rare due to their delicate structure and susceptibility to decay, so it is hard-bodied fossils that more regularly occur in fossil findings. However over 75,000 soft-bodied specimens have been found in the Burgess Shale formation (Hagadorn, 2002). These specimens are preserved in layers of shale formed from deposits of fine mud. One of the most significant species discovered is the Pikaia gracilens. Believed to be an early chordate, the Pikaia gracilens existed very close to the beginning of the evolutionary path that ultimately lead to humans (McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia, 2006). The Burgess Shale formation is characteristically informative of significant events in the evolutionary path of multiple organisms. Its abundance of exquisitely preserved Lagerstà ¤tte has inspired paleontologists to refer to this mode of preservation as ‘Burgess Shale-type’ (Williams, 2009). The Burgess Shale is located in British Columbia’s Yoho National Park; Part of the ancient landmass called Laurentia (Scott, et al., 2000). Fossils found within the formation dating back 545-525 million years ago represent original species from the Cambrian explosion, a relativel... ...deposition and blanket of sediment kept the organisms compressed with little exposure to oxygen for decay. If life was predominately terrestrial during the Cambrian, the organisms predictably would have been left untouched after death long enough to decay, preventing the fine preservation of many soft-bodied organisms. Fortunately enough, it was marine life that dominated the Cambrian (Scott, et al., 2000). Over the past century, the Burgess Shale has revealed important information about the development of earth’s history. The excavation of the Burgess Shale formation provided evidence for what was once just a theory in evolution. The taphonomic findings of the Burgess Shale have played a significant role in understanding the large diversity that resulted from the Cambrian explosion, advancing the study of evolutionary assemblages for Paleontologists worldwide.

Leif Erikson: How He Discovered America Essay -- Leif Erikson

Many people think that Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in America, but this conventional belief is wrong; Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer set foot in Newfoundland almost 500 years before Columbus was even born. This paper will cover everything about Leif Erikson’s life including his grandfather’s banishment from Norway, and Leif’s father’s exile from Iceland. Leif Erikson’s early life, his family, and his visit to Norway to serve under the king. The first recorded European to see North America, Bjarni Herjà ³lfsson, and Leif Erikson’s voyage to America. This paper is also going to talk about Leif Erikson’s brother, Thorvald Erikson’s voyage to Vinland because his tale is interesting. Near the end of this research paper, it will have a paragraph on Leif Erikson’s later life. Finally at the end of this paper it is going to talk about the unknown reason why no other Europeans sailed to Vinland, and Le if’s impact on modern day North America. Leif Erikson’s grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson slaughtered a man in Jà ¦ren, Norway in 960 CE. This was the age of the Vikings, but Thorvald was still banished from the land (Mandia, n.d.). So he brought his ten year old son Erik, later to be named as Erik the Red because of his scarlet hair, to Drangar in northwestern Iceland on a farm with rather appalling soil (Where is Vinland?, n.d.). Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, and grandson of Thorvald Asvaldsson, was born around 970 CE, in Iceland (Where is Vinland?). It was a convention of norse culture that children did not grow up with their families, instead Leif grew up with a man named Thyrker, practically a foster father to Leif. Thyrker was born in Germany, but he was brought to Iceland because Erik the Red captured h... ... http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/vikings_during_mwp.html Ryne, L. (n.d.). Leif Erikson. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from Great Norwegians website: http://www.mnc.net/norway/Erikson.htm Skrà ¥mm, Y. (2004, August 14). Leif Ericsson. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from The Viking Network website: http://viking.no/e/people/leif/e-leiv.htm Soniak, M. (2013, January 23). He Could Have Discovered America, but He Wanted to See His Parents. mental_floss, Retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/33584/he-could-have-discovered-amErika-he-want d-see-his-parents Weitemier, K. A. (n.d.). Leif Erikson. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from Great Norwegians website: http://www.mnc.net/norway/LeifErikson.htm Where is Vinland? (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Canadian Mysteries website: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/vinland/home/indexen.html

Misunderstanding The Day We Were Dogs :: Day We Were Dogs Essays

Misunderstanding The Day We Were Dogs      Ã‚  Ã‚   Writers as well as many people make or mislabel stories. Magical, unreal, real, fantastic, and the sublime are just a few types of different labels that a person can use. The different types of stories are amusing and fun. The world is made up of all types of different labels of material for stories that people like to read and enjoy. Elana Garro is one of the Spanish authors who has written stories that have been mislabeled and put with other stories that were listed under the magical and the unreal. The short story "The Day We Were Dogs" is one of the stories that has been misplaced. Elana Garro wrote this story in 1993. The magical and the unreal of this story could easily be identified; during the first part of the story, the girls woke to find a day with two days inside the day. Now either this situation is unreal or it is crazy. A person can think of a day and then think of the present, or a person can think of the future and be in the present. The thought of two days being together in the same day is ludicrous; the thought of this statement being real is also ludicrous. The real aspect of this story is that the children are pretending to be dogs. The children have wild and creative imaginations. The short story has two children out in the yard with their dog, Toni. While in the yard, the children are talking to the dog and talking among themselves. "Look for your dog name, I'm looking for mine. I'm a dog? Yes were dogs"(208). Children can actually be playing and really think that they are living in their pretend world. They can actually believe that they are really living their imaginations. People who actually read stories question the plot and the story as the story progresses. The characters in the story accept everything; however, they are pretending. Questioning and receiving ideas about time and space with the identity of the characters worked well with the characters of the story. By the experience of being a reader, this person can verify that looking for a plot and the story line is very important. The attitude of the characters of the short story of "The Day We Were Dogs" did well. The way the characters acted through out the story was like real children playing out side with the pet dog.

Fasting Feasting Essay

This article attempts a cultural study offood and eating habits in Anita Desai’s Booker Prize short-listed novel, Fasting, Feasting. It shows how the ingestion offood affects acculturation process both in India and America in a multicultural context. Considering Foucault’s view that discourse is involved in the exertion of power, some of the discourses from the novel are scrutinised to reveal an oppressive power structure. Interestingly enough, the power structure of the novel revolves around a gastronomical centre; and parents through repressive familial norms exert power. The linguistic strategies, such as repetition and interruption, used to assert power are analysed by examining appropriate instances from the novel. Further, it shows how the novelist, through a transcultural bundle of representative characters as MamaPapa, Uma, Arun, the Pattons, Melanie, and Rod, assesses the cross-cultural culinary habits, divergences, and subversions involved. However, it concludes with the observation that taking the novel as a dichotomous study of two cultures, the one Indian, on account of its spiritual dimension representing ‘fasting’, and the other, American due to its plenty signifying ‘feasting,’ would result in a myopic reading. Whereas, the real charm of the novel lies in the flux shown between fasting and feasting – a digesting of the best of both the cultures. † †¦ the very essence of Indian culture is that we possess a mixed tradition, a melange of elements as disparate as ancient Mughal and contemporary Cocacola American† (Salman Rushdie) â€Å"From food, from food creatures, all creatures come to be. Gorging, disgorging, being come to be. † (Taittriya Upanishad) In the Indian cultural scenario, there has been a great outcry about the safeguarding and perpetuation of ‘ the Indianness. This implies, apart from * Dr. T. Ravichandran is a Assistant Professor in English, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, lIT Kanpur, India. LUCKNOW JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES: VOL. 1, NO. 1, JAN-JUN 2004 Downloaded From IP – 109. 161. 128. 204 on dated 23-Jan-2012 Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale www. IndianJournals. com 22 T. Ravichandran Downloaded From IP – 109. 161. 128. national identity, a culture characteristic of the country and its inhabitants in terms of originality, purity, sanctity, and exclusivity. However, in a decolonised land that lost much of its’ originality’ and’exclusivity’ in cultural conflicts, negotiations and transculturation processes besides gulping down some novelty from the colonisers and other foreign migrants, debating on a monistic culture is inappropriate.

Concluding Case †Custom Coffee & Chocolate Essay

Billions of people across the globe choose to have a cup of coffee each morning to start the day or as a morning work break but coffee has become more than just a drink. Coffee has become an ingrained part of various cultures and coffee shops can be found in most every city around the world. It is little wonder that coffee ranks among the world’s largest commodity markets second only to oil (â€Å"Dangerous Grounds: About the Show†, 2013). Given diversity and competition in the market, the small startup company of Custom Coffee & Chocolate will require a clear mission statement, detailed business analysis, and tactical plans that will help it to increase market share within the Seattle community. A mission statement describes a company’s fundamental purpose and how that company is unique within its product and services offerings. In writing of the company’s mission, each word must be carefully selected for consistency and there must be a commitment from the stakeholders to focus resources in the accomplishment of this mission (Ireland & Hitt, 1992). Bonnie Brewer and Stacy Kim have passed a milestone having developed regular customers within the five months of opening the first coffee house. As a statement for moving forward, â€Å"Custom Coffee & Chocolate’s mission into the community is to provide the highest quality, socially ethical coffee and chocolates while serving to keep the Seattle community connected and invigorated. † The next step towards developing a tactical business plan is to identify internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats. A common challenge among small startup companies is finance. Within the first six months, Brewer and Kim have exhausted both their savings and initial small-business loan placing the company in a precarious position. For further development of the business, these proprietors will need to seek further investment capital through another partner, reduction in salary, or incur more debt with another small-business loan. Being located near a university is a strength that entails a surrounding population that is educated and can appreciate socially and environmentally sustainable coffee and chocolate. Coffeehouses for this type of customers are not only a place to purchase caffeine but also a social gathering place for study and recreation. Many coffeehouses are able to differentiate themselves from larger chains such as Starbucks by creating a more inviting environment that encourages guests to stay longer and experience the ambiance (Grant, 2005). Custom Coffee provides currently provides quality product but needs to improve the service it provides to the area. Companies such as Starbucks, Tully’s, and Seattle’s Best have made their starts in the Seattle community and in some cases grown to be national and multi-national organizations. In some cases such as Tully’s coffee, the competition was too much and have gone into bankruptcy (â€Å"McDreamy’ saves Seattle coffee chain,† 2013). The tactical plan for Custom Coffee & Chocolates will comprise of two milestone events. Within the first year, the company will take out another small-business loan to improve its utilization of technology. The store will install high-speed wireless for its guests as well as invest in improving its website and web search analytics. Brewer and Kim will implement an in-dorm delivery service while also standardizing hiring and training practices for the new, part-time staff that will be required. The hours of operation will be lengthened to better serve students’ late night study habits as well as an increase in marketing to the university clubs and organizations. This will lead into an event schedule that may include coffee and chocolate tastings as well as an open mike night. The goal of these changes will result in the company being financially stable within the first year and better positioned for expanding into a few other locations within the second or third year. In conclusion, a company must identify its reason for existence, analyze the market, and then make a plan based on both that mission and market analysis. The Custom Coffee & Chocolate store has many challenges that lay ahead but with clear vision and planning, it is positioned to become an ingrained part of Seattle’s university communities having successfully passed the first six months of operation. A key to this success will be for the company to focus into a niche where many of the nationally franchised coffee shops lack (Grant, 2005). Custom Coffee will exceed with socially and environmentally responsible products as well as providing a friendly, social gathering point for the local community.

Hiv Film Reaction Paper Essay

The story unfolds to a freelance director of a documentary named Gil. He was tasked to document everything that covers HIV. His subjects were Heidi a prostitute, Ivy a call center agent and Vanessa a gay. So determined to finish the documentary, Gil finds no time for his girlfriend. Most of his time was spent working on the documentary. He didn’t have a hard time convincing the three to be his subjects since he tells them that they are a great help to those who needed to be informed about the disease. But as they go through shooting and editing, Heidi died, Ivy gave up and Vanessa got into trouble. Adel asked Gil why he is really so desperate to finish the documentary and why it seemed so important to him. Gil tries to keep the real reason that very hard moment. Until one day he was awakened to what Ivy has told him that she wants him to give voice to the victims of the disease then Gil ended up deciding to be just one of the subjects who would complete the story. He appeared on cam telling his audience that the documentary is about the story of the people who are trying to live despite having HIV and still sees hope. The story of Heidi, Ivy and Himself. The strong point of the film is really the screenplay which is in time and has an impact. The acting was established well since the actors suit to each of the character they portrayed. Also, it has a good cinematography. The shots and angles are just good enough to be able to leave a good impression to the audience. Seeing the film, every element is very good which leaves its audience a very positive reaction.

American Dreamer Essay

Bharati Mukherjee’s essay about an â€Å"American Dreamer† was brought across with a strong positive point which I agreed with for the most part. After reading over her essay numerous times I finally got a hold of what she was trying to get across to the reader. On one hand she explains that she admires the bill of rights and what our nation was founded upon. I think a lot of people would agree with this considering how far our nation has got with it, but then again you have those who oppose. On the other hand she expresses how she feels about being called Indian-American. The way she conveys her opinion about it makes me want to agree with her more. Her writing is very persuasive and I have to say I not only agree with her because opinion, but for the reason that if I were to go to another country, and have to work as hard as she did to become a legalized citizen. Another thing were on the same page on is having to put a hyphenated status even after becoming a fully legalized citizen. Mukherhee comparison of her culture to the United States was interesting to me. I have never seen a person express how much they value their cultures strict laws and regulations. This makes me think about how I take advantage of all the great things my country has to offer. She described her culture clearly and one of the things that lingered in my head was that the parents chose who you married. This made me grateful of the many freedoms I have in my country also. America has a lot to offer but the main reason people migrate to United States is because of the freedom. I can understand why they decide to come here, but I have always wondered why you don’t see Americans migrating to other countries as much. There are many reasons they don’t go and I comprehend them, but if there was freedom in those countries I question would it be different. Over the past twenty-five years twenty million people have migrated to the United States from other countries. That is a vast amount and it makes me speculate if that amount continues to increase will we be overpopulated in the years to come. I think America should start limit the amount of people that desire to become Americans, and start to clean out the immigrants who have decided to not be responsible and become legal citizens. I am not saying this to be racist or defrading, but I am stating this because people who come to America illegally take a lot of what our great country has to offer and use it like it was in there possession already. For example I have head of many illegal immigrants that come to America and obtain free medical care and welfare checks that our taxes pay for. All I inquire is that they become legal and not take what our great country has to offer and take advantage of it. That is my personal view of the subject though I found myself having almost the same view point as Mukherjee. This issue about any hyphenated status as an American is a controversial one, but Bharati Mukherjee has a point and it needs to be heard. After working hard to become a legal citizen you shouldn’t have to hyphenate racial status. Although some might object and have a total diverse opinion I would reply with a simple suggestion to read this short essay, because it had a positive effect on me and I hope it will have the same on you.

Marks and Spencer is one of the leading and the most recognized name Research Paper

Marks and Spencer is one of the leading and the most recognized name in the fashion industry - Research Paper Example The company, by applying prudent marketing techniques, has been able to grab market share of around 11.7% by value and 12.4% by volume. Marks and Spencer has also been actively involved in the business of marketing and selling edible products which has earned the company immense revenue in the past few years. Through its unmatchable food quality, Marks and Spencer is now regarded as one of the finest when it comes to quality food products. The financial outlook of the company also looks quite stable. During the financial year of 2012, the company has been able to increase its revenue by an impressive 2.0% to a striking ?9.9 billion though the operating profit of the company took a slight downward plunge of about 1.2%. In addition, the financial ratio analysis of the company and the comparison of the company with its competitor also show that a positive financial outlook can be forecasted. INTRODUCTION The paper presents evaluates the financial performance of Marks and Spencer, a high ly recognized name in the fashion market. Marks and Spencer is a listed company and has been operating lucratively for the past many years. The company operations have been highly successful in the past many years and it portrays sound and stable financial outlook. Following is a brief and recent financial highlight of the company Financial Highlight of the Company The paper primarily discusses the financial outlook of the company as evaluated through its financial statements. The initial section of the page discusses the key operations of the company and under what conditions it is operating in the UK market. The paper briefly discuses the historical financial performance of the company focusing group revenue and profit before and after tax. Moving forward, the paper presents a comparison of the current and last year financial performance of the company through financial statement ratio analysis. The primary reason to conduct a ratio analysis is to quantify the results of the opera tions of a company and compare them with that of the prior year(s) in order to assess different aspects of the financial feasibility. The ratios are divided into profitability, liquidity and gearing ratios. The paper identifies the areas, through ratio analysis, where the company is performing well and where it needs improvements. In conclusion the paper presents a comparison of the financial and operational performance of Marks and Spencer with one of its primary competitors, Debenhams. Major financial ratios are compared and in addition, historical share prices are also analyzed of both companies in order to identify which company has a better market capitalization and better reputation from investor’s perspective. For the purpose of the financial analysis, the historical financial information from the financial year 2012 till 2008 has been used. RECENT ANALYSIS OF UK RETAIL INDUSTRY During the current financial year 2012, the UK retail industry witnessed a mix trend. As re ported by the Marks and Spencer in its press releases, the start of the current financial year was better than expected and the company reaped great profit. However it was observed that later half of the current year proved to be more difficult for doing business, especially the month of August and September. During that particular period, the share price of Marks and Sp

Are Managers Measuring the Financial Risk in the Right Manner Article

Are Managers Measuring the Financial Risk in the Right Manner - Article Example Conversely, bankruptcy risk denotes a situation where the price of a security, for example, shares plummet without any optimism that it will improve. As such, the investor faces an imminent loss. The author explores at lengthy how different models treat bankruptcy risk differently. For instance, the CAPM model treats bankruptcy risks as unsystematic risks (Srinivas, 2013). The author subsequently verifies it by calculating its correction with future returns. The correlation is a negative figure, which is a characteristic of unsystematic risks. The author identifies the weakness of Adjusted Present Model (APV), which integrates bankruptcy in the calculation of the value of a corporate entity. As per this model, bankruptcy risk only arises due an increase in debt. However, in the corporate world companies go bankrupt due to a myriad of reasons, which include poor management, rivalry and loss of market. The article seeks to chart a new way forward in the calculation of risk by managers. However, to understand what the article proposes with regard to calculation of risk, it is vital to understand the weaknesses of the present methods of risk evaluation. Most methods such as CAPM and APV calculate risks after classification into either systematic or unsystematic risk. In the calculation of the total risk of a firm or a company, unsystematic risk is overlooked. To understand why it is overlooked, it is vital to define systematic and unsystematic risks. Systematic risk denotes the decrease or increase in returns from an investment or a security owing to events or factors, which afflict all firms unfavourably. Unsystematic risk refers to decrease or increase in the earnings from an investment or a security due to reasons particular to a single firm (Damodaran, 2010). The models only consider factors that afflict all the firms (systematic) as unsystematic risks may be addressed through d iversification of the

Mario Cuomo's Famous 1984 Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mario Cuomo's Famous 1984 Speech - Essay Example Mario Cuomo's famous 1984 speech remains persuasive, on an intellectual level at least, even when stripped down. The full text of the speech was much more convincing, and especially elicited a strong emotional response. Cuomo does an excellent job painting a picture for the listener, which engaged senses other than simply the ears, and ideas that stir the heart as much as the mind. He creates images of different Americas: â€Å"A shining city is perhaps all the President sees from the portico of the White House and the veranda of his ranch† compared to an America where â€Å"people can’t pay their mortgages, and most young people can’t afford one; where students can’t afford the education they need, and the middle-class parents watch the dreams of their children evaporate.† This imagery elicits a strong emotional response. Furthermore, he uses other rhetorical devices, such as repetition, to build a rhythm that contrasts his vision strong from the v ision that he paints of Ronal Reagan.   The passage where he describes a â€Å"credo,† connecting his ideas with religious connotations, then moves into something that sounds almost like a sermon. â€Å"We believe,† he says twelve times, trying elaborate on differences between the Republicans and Democrats. These descriptions also get progressively shorter and shorter, allowing Cuomo to build a rhythm that moves from very specific, long details to short but powerful statements, such as â€Å"we believe in civil right, and we believe in human rights† – statements that raise the hairs on one’s skin and create an incredible emotional response. Based on the above observations, it seems that logic and rhetoric are not inherently connected; rather that rhetoric can augment an already sound logical argument. I firmly believe that if Cuomo’s speech was absent from logic the stripped down version would not be persuasive at all, and the full text wo uld be less persuasive, but possibly still convincing on emotional grounds. It seems that rhetoric can add an emotional layer to a logical argument that would otherwise be absent, which convinces someone not just of the validity of one’s arguments but about the fundamental righteousness of one’s goals and mission. Also, it seems that the rhetorical devices that Cuomo employs would have been just as potent even if they were not overlaid on top of an already logical framework. The â€Å"we believe† section is almost entirely absent from the cut down version that eliminates much of the rhetorical language, show that much of that was simply imagery and rhetoric without much argument. And the imagery he uses in describing the two different visions of America can almost always be used – I doubt there has been a presidential nominee that has failed to use this rhetorical device in the past twenty years.

NO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

NO - Essay Example In as much as organizations such as Coca Cola have productively gone through the global expansion process, the efforts of several other entities have been unsuccessful. Consequently, market seekers should ascertain that they introduce strong and competitive brands into the foreign market and similarly make sure that they establish good customer relations for the investments to be rewarding (Hill, 2014). Cost minimizers take part in worldwide expansion by establishing low cost production sites in a foreign country in order to make sure that they remain cost competitive both locally and internationally. For such ventures to be successful, the entities should ensure that they put reasonable and affordable price tags on their products, as such an approach will directly benefit the customers, hence ensure that they widen their clientele. Since its establishment in 1911, IBM has unquestionably developed into one of the most reliable technological firms globally. Technology experts argue that the organization has remained relevant because of its competitive advantages that include continuous innovation, routinely introducing solid technology into the market and at the same time embracing the outside and inside practice where it listens to the input of both its employees and customers. Such advantages have fairly supplemented IBM’s efforts in global expansion. By listening to the input of its customers, the organization has for example established operations in smaller markets like Vietnam, Philippines and Czech Republic while at the same time taking advantage of growing economies like China as recommended by its market analysts. Cost-benefit analysis is different from capital budgeting analysis on the basis of their objectives, as the former focuses on both the benefits and costs of carrying out a given project over a specific period, while the latter examines the productivity of a foreign investment by incorporating the economic, political, social,

Tourism and national econmic growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tourism and national econmic growth - Essay Example One of the well known examples in tourism driven LED seen in South Africa has been the small resort named Still Bay. It has a definite tourist footfall (Binns and Nel 240). The article addresses the environmental concerns too. For example, in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, heavy demand for firewood to be used in cooking and heating had severely reduced many small riverine forests (Binns and Nel 237). The article â€Å"Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa† focuses on how the socio- environmental resources are being utilized to promote local economic development (LED) which in turn leads to national development. The article highlights the initiatives taken by the government to promote tourism as a means to bring about economic development in the country. It mentions the increase in number of the foreign tourist visits from 1994-2002 which in turn boosted the nations GDP. This article helps in understa nding how the unexplored locales in a country can be turned as hot spots for vacation. The article explains different ways for attracting tourists. It throws light on the different environmental issues that arises because of these plans. B. Travel & Tourism to boost UK economy in 2012, October 4, 2010 The website article shows the economic condition in UK and the growth in its tourism industry. The economic condition in the country has been seeing a downslide ever since the onset of the anticipated depression. So, the market has turned toward the travel and tourism industry to boost its economy. According to the article, the tourism industry would increase by 1.3% in 2012 that would be twice the rate of growth which was predicted to be only 0.6% as per the International Monetary Fund. This rate of growth will indicate that the Travel & Tourism industry would be generating revenue of ?35.6 billion and create almost 950,000 jobs within the British economy. During 2012 it is expected t hat around 30 million visitors would be coming to the UK, as reports had shown the country to maintain a good position in being a most-visited destination. In 2011, the total economic contribution from Travel & Tourism amounted to US$6.3 trillion in GDP thus creating 255 million jobs. This contribution had represented 9% of the total GDP, ranking 1 in 12 jobs (Travel & Tourism to boost UK economy in 2012). The website highlights the predicted increase in the number of international visitors in the country. It also showed the number of jobs that would be generated out of the tourism industry. The article presents a comparison between the number of visitors and the jobs created out of the tourism industry between 2011 and 2012. It shows how the industry had contributed US $6.3 trillion in GDP during the year 2011 thus drawing to the conclusion that there is tremendous opportunity to gain economic growth from the tourism industry. C. Roy, Jose, Kenya Packages Tourism as a Key Source of Economic Growth. 2010. October 4, 2010 The article in the news

Response 5 Article on india Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Response 5 on india - Article Example On the other hand, the United States maintains she is innocent, but release after India began showing mistreatment to the workers at the United States Embassy. Basically, the article focuses on the manner through, which diplomatic relationship can be jeopardized by incidences of crime among the concerned stakeholders. In the article, an Indian Diplomat has committed an offense and is subject to arrest according to the Laws of the United States. However, in Indian, the matter is taken less serious and the Government believes that their citizen is innocent. This leads to a jeopardized relationship between the US and India as indicated by India taking awkward means to solve the challenges facing it i.e. through subjecting the workers at the US Embassy to Acts of Mistreatment. Barry, Ellen, and Benjamin Weiser. "As Indian Diplomat Exits After Arrest, a Culture Clash Lingers." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.

Protection and Indemnity Clubs Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Protection and Indemnity Clubs - Article Example Ninety percent of shipowners in modern times is a part of one of these clubs. These clubs also cover the shipowner from liability to third parties, as well as coverage against injury or death of the crew-members. (Finnern, 2007, p. 5). The shipowner becomes both the insured and the insurer, because claims are paid out of the Clubs funds, and these funds are collected from all the members of the Club. (Finnern, 2007, p. 6). A normal clause of most, if not all, of the PI Clubs, is the â€Å"pay to be paid† rule. This rule states, in a nutshell, that if a shipowner has a claim for which he wants the club to reimburse him, he must first settle the claim with the injured party on his own, with his own means. (Hawkins, p. 3). He can then seek reimbursement from the Club for the money he spent out of pocket. (Finnern, 2007, p. 7). The reason for the â€Å"pay to be paid† rule is that the PI Clubs only provide indemnification for their members, as opposed to regular insurance. The difference between regular insurance and indemnification is that, with regular insurance, all claims against the insured are paid, whereas, with indemnification insurance, only the claims for which the insured has already paid are covered. With regular insurance, the insured does not have to suffer an actual financial loss to collect, and advanced payment is not necessary; with indemnification, the insured does have to suffer an actual financial loss to collect, advanced payment is necessary, and the amount that he collects from the indemnity insurance is only as much as he has already paid out. (Finnern, 2007, pp. 8-9). Further, the third party generally has to have a judgment against the insured, otherwise, the PI does not kick in. In other words, if the insured gives money to a third party to settle the claim, but the third party did not first obtain a judgment, the PI may not pay the claim, even though the insured has fulfilled the requisite requirement of payment.

The buying back of shares is a dangerous financial strategy as it Essay

The buying back of shares is a dangerous financial strategy as it increases the company's capital gearing. Evaluate this - Essay Example There are different motives that would attract the companies to buy back the shares and there are different techniques that can be used to go through the process of stock repurchase. Different techniques that can are used by the companies for their stock buy-back are as follow: Company offers to purchase the shares from their shareholders at a premium price thus it gives value to them and extra return over price they actually had paid for the shares when they were bought. Companies often buy back their shares from the open market like an ordinary investor purchasing shares and making investment. It is often seen that the market and shareholders perceive the decision of the company to buy back the shares as a positive move and shareholders expecting higher returns stimulates stock price of the company (Larry, 1981). Motives for stock buyback Different circumstances and requirements of business conditions can influence management of share repurchase. Such motivating factors along with their reasons are discussed below: Market perception It is the perception of the shareholders and potential investors that exists in the market matters for future of company. Company is believed to use capital or extra finance available to them to buy back its shares thus giving the perception in market that there shareholders would be valued as they are provided the opportunity to trade possessed shares at the premium price (Udo & Richard, 2003). Thus removing any negative market perceptions that the stock price of the company has fallen and they have low future expectancy that what effects dealing of shares in market. It is often due to low earnings reported by the company in past some period, its operations effected by some scandal or lawsuit thus the share buyback is used as an option to remove any negative perceptions that are prevailing regarding the company in the market (David, et al., 1995). It is becomes necessary for the company to make the share buyback as market due to such instances and incidents might value the share price way low and shares are being traded at value that is below the expectancy of company thus in order to keep a standard for their shares in market and keeping value for their shareholders alive however it is believed that hike in share prices through this approach is of nominal period (Mansor, et al., 2011). Financial Ratios It is a usual practice in the market adopted by the investors before making any investment they make decisions on the basis of research and evaluation of the companies that are seem potential for the investment. Financial ratios of the company are most basic and foremost results that are used for the evaluation of the company. It is part of rational decision making of the investor as they evaluate their choice of investment before making the final decision (Amy, 2000). Thus share buyback can be the part of an accounting technique to get the desired results for the company as however it is the personal financ e of the company that they utilize to buy-back the shares thus it is confidence that the companies have on their abilities that makes them repurchase the outstanding shares that are either absorbed or turned to treasury stock. Thus the purchase reduces assets of company as it is the cash that is being paid for purchase of the shares therefore one of most important

Determinants and Consequences of Early Marriage in Java Essay Example for Free

Determinants and Consequences of Early Marriage in Java Essay This study analyzes the determinants and patterns of early marriage and explores its consequences on marital dissolution, work status and occupation, migration, and contraceptive use in Java, Indonesia. Data from the 1991 Demographic and Health Survey are obtained on 5816 ever married women, 15-49 years old, living on Java. Early marriage occurs among women before age 20. Subjects are grouped as residing in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Jogyakarta, and Surabaya; residing in townships and other urban areas; and residing in rural areas. Findings indicate that 70% of ever married women in Java married early. Almost 80% of women who were reared in villages married early. 81.2% who still live in rural areas married early. 20% had no formal education. 74% of Muslim women married early. 79% without work before marriage married early. Dissolution was more common among women living in rural areas. 31% of women in rural areas, 20% living in big cities, and 23% living in towns were no longer in their first marriages. Women who married early were 3 times more likely to experience dissolution than women who married later. The percentage of women whose first marriages ended was highest among women who were married the longest. The effect of marriage age on current working status and the pattern of working status between early and late marriage were not significant. 80% had ever used contraception. Women who married late were more mobile and were more likely to have a higher occupational status. Logistic findings indicate that womens education, work status before marriage, husbands education, and current residence were significant predictors of early marriage. Education was the strongest predictor. The probability of dissolution was highest among uneducated, early married, Muslim women living in big cities. The lowest probability was among later married women, living in small cities, and with a tertiary level of education.

Behaviour Changes towards Conservation Projects

Behaviour Changes towards Conservation Projects Conservation scientists should be interested in social-psychological approaches, such as human behaviour changes that could influence natural-resource management, according to St John et al (2010). In my perspective, some conservation projects must consider population behaviour changes in order to shift management techniques and even policy making, and before expecting behaviour and attitudes to change, education of society has to be considered has a priority. According to Masud et al (2015) societies with higher levels of education are predisposed to positive environmental behaviour, as they are more responsible and competent with knowledge, values, and skills to improve environmental solutions. A great example how education changed community behaviour, is the environmental education projects in the islands of S.Tomà © and Principe regarding turtles conservation. When it started in 2012, turtles were still commercialized and consumed by local community, however after several projects of environmental education, focusing not only children but elders too, nowadays can be considered a success case, considering that during reproduction season, local communities help to protect new-born turtles on their way to the ocean. Taking into account the socio-economic status of communities, education itself might not be enough to change behaviours, since a lower income community will not accept changes that can decrease their welfare. Consequently, education must be linked with gaining of knowledge, so communities could benefit in improving their skills and techniques (Nilsson et al, 2016). It is the case of communities dependent of agriculture, where using fertilizers is almost mandatory, however, lack of knowledge sometimes might result in overuse and consequently pollution of watersheds. Education actions in these communities aiming the technological improvement, regarding the right amount of fertilizers per species, would benefit the environment/water quality as well as the farmers since it would reduce their investment in fertilizers. Nevertheless, to use education as a factor to change behaviours, cultural assessment of communities must be acknowledged so the ways of teaching and presenting knowledge can be adapted to achieve better results. Presenting arguments in a developed country, with educated people is not the same as presenting the same arguments to people without education in a developing country, as their understanding might be limited by lack of background knowledge. I believe cultural and socio-economic factors should be studied in advance, thus the teacher can establish a connection with the audience so they can relate to what is being said. For example, coal prices decreased recently in India, due to increased extraction, being more affordable to poor people, that until now have been using cow dung has combustible. Because coal emits more CO2 than cow dung combustion, environmental institutions are concerned about climate change effects, considering that India has around 1.3 billion of people. Approaching these communities trying to relate them to global warming and potential extreme climates changes in the future, will not be successful considering they struggle to survive comparing to western countries with vast polluting industries that have been causing the problem. In conclusion, my point of view is human behaviour should always be considered in conservation/environmental projects since human communities are inevitably connected with ecosystems. Also, because human behaviour is driven by demographic and socio-economic factors, to have behaviour adjustment, education must be considered. References Masud, M.M., Kari, F.B., (2015), Community attitudes towards environmental conservation behaviour: An empirical investigation within MPAs, Malaysia, Marine Policy 52, 138-144 Nilsson, D., Baxter, G., Butler, J.R.A., McAlpine, C.A., (2016) How do community-based conservation programs in developing countries change human behaviour? A realist synthesis, Biological Conservation 200, 93-103 St John, F.A.V., Edward-Jones, G., Jones, J.P.G., (2010), Conservation and human behaviour: lessons from social psychology, Wildlife Research 37, 658-667

Lee, Robert E. (Edward) 1807 -- 1870 Essay -- Essays Papers

Lee, Robert E. (Edward) 1807 -- 1870 General in chief of the Confederate armies in the American Civil War. Born in Virginia's Westmoreland County on January 19, 1807, the third son of Henry ("Light Horse Harry") and Ann Hill Carter Lee. Declining fortunes forced the family's removal to Alexandria, where Robert distinguished himself in local schools. His father's death in 1811 increased responsibilities on all the sons; Robert, especially, cared for his invalid mother. Lee graduated number two in his class from the U.S. Military Academy in 1829. Commissioned a brevet lieutenant of engineers, he spent a few years at Fort Pulaski, Georgia, and Fort Monroe, Virginia. At Fort Monroe on June 30, 1831, he married Mary Ann Randolph Custis, with whom he had seven children. Lee worked in the chief engineer's office in Washington, D.C., from 1834 to 1837. He was transferred to Fort Hamilton, New York, where he remained until 1846. In August 1846 Lee joined General John E. Wool's army in Texas. In the battle of Buena Vista, Lee's boldness drew his superiors' attention. Transferred to General Winfield Scott's Veracruz expedition, in the battle at Veracruz and in the advance on Mexico he won additional acclaim. Following American occupation of the Mexican capital, he worked on maps for possible future campaigns. Already a captain in the regular service, he was made brevet colonel for his gallantry in the war. Lee returned to engineer duty at Baltimore's Fort Carroll until 1852, when he reluctantly became superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point. In 1855 he was made lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Cavalry, one of the Army's elite units. The years 1857-1859 were bleak. Lee had to take several furloughs to deal with family business and seriously thought of resigning his commission. However, in 1859 he and his men successfully put down John Brown's insurrection at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. In 1860 he became commander of the Department of Texas. Talk of secession in the South grew strident during Lee's Texas sojourn. No secessionist, he was loyal to the Union and the U.S. Army; yet he had no doubts about his loyalties if Virginia departed the Union. Ties of blood bound him to the South. Lee accepted a commission as colonel of the 1st U.S. Cavalry in March 1861. But offered command of the entire U.S. Army a month later, he hesitated. If he accepted... ...in chief of all Confederate armies in February 1865, could give only general direction to lingering disaster. Sherman marched upward through the Carolinas, threatening Petersburg. Lee failed to split Grant's front. On April 2, Grant's attack snapped Lee's lines; the Confederates began evacuating Petersburg and Richmond. Lee was compelled to surrender his shadow force of no more than 9,000 soldiers at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. Arlington, the Custis family seat, was gone now; the Lees had no real home. They remained in Richmond, well treated by the Federals. In September Lee accepted the presidency of Washington College, in Lexington, Virginia, where he remained until his death. Devoted to education and to resurrecting the South, Lee became a symbol of reunification. He refused to abandon his distressed country, hoped for Southern reassimilation, and set a lofty example. Without bitterness, he obeyed the law and counseled all Southerners to do the same. Indicted for treason, he never stood trial; and although never granted a pardon, he lived in comfort and in great honor. In September 1870 he was stricken, probably with an acute attack of angina, and died on October 12.