Benjamin Franklin Printer To Scientist To Politician History Essay

IntroductionBenjamin Franklin should be remembered as one of the establishing male parent of the today ‘s universe superpower- the United States of America. Franklin was born on January 17 1706 and lived on until April 17, 1790. Franklin a celebrated polymath was a prima pressman writer, political theoretician, postmaster, scientist, civic militant, solon every bit good as a diplomat. As a scientist, Franklin can be remembered as the major figure involved in the Enlighten of America and the history of natural philosophies for his ageless theories and finds every bit far as electricity is concerned. He is the figure behind the innovation of the â€Å" lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin range, a passenger car mileometer, and the glass ‘armonica ‘ † Franklin established the pioneering public loaning library every bit good as the first fire section in Pennsylvania1. Franklin received the rubric of â€Å" The First American † for his early on and hardworking presentation for colonial understanding ; as a writer and interpreter in London for legion settlements, and subsequently afterwards as the Prime Minister United States diplomat to France, he epitomized the budding American state. Franklin was non merely foundational but besides introductory in structuring the American ethos as a marriage of the realistic and independent values of â€Å" thrift, difficult work, instruction, community spirit, autonomous establishments, and resistance to authoritarianism both political and spiritual † , with the systematic and broad values of the light. Harmonizing to a celebrated historian Henry Steele Commager, â€Å" Franklin could be merged the virtuousnesss of Puritanism without its defects, the light of the Enlightenment without its heat. † While To Walter Isaacson, Franklin was â€Å" the most complete American of his age and the mos t influential in contriving the type of society America would go. â€Å" 2 Franklin, everlastingly conceited of his working category roots, rose up the ladder to go a successful day-to-day editor every bit good as a pressman in Philadelphia, the so taking metropolis in the settlement. He shortly turned out to be affluent after printing Poor Richard ‘s Almanack and The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin achieved planetary reputation as a scientist for his legendary experiments in electrical energy and for his many finds, peculiarly the lightning rod. He participated and besides played a important function in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and was thenceforth elected to head the esteemed American Philosophical Society. Franklin turned into a province hero in America when he led the attempt to hold the Congress get rid of the ostracized Stamp Act. As a gifted diplomat, he was extensively well-liked among the Gallic as American curate to Paris and was a cardinal individual in the growing of affirmatory Franco-American dealingss. For several old a ges, Franklin was a British postmaster for the settlements, a station which subsequently enabled him to set up the initial national communications web. Franklin was so much involved and active in society personal businesss, national and international personal businesss every bit good as colonial and province political relations. From 1785 to 1788, Franklin served as governor and towards the terminal of his life ; he unchained his slaves and hence turned out to be one of the most celebrated abolitionists3. His colorful life and bequest of political and scientific achievement, every bit good as the rank as one of America ‘s most important Establishing Fathers, have saw Franklin honoured on mintage and money ; warships ; the names of many towns, counties, educational establishments, namesakes, and companies † and even after more than two centuries since his decease, countless cultural references4. Franklin was born on Milk Street in Boston. His male parent wanted him to travel to school with the clergy but the money was merely plenty to last Franklin for merely two old ages in school. Franklin studied at Boston Latin but he did non graduate and had to go on his instruction through insatiate reading. At 10 his schooling ended and he started working for his male parent until the age of 12 when he became an learner for his brother who had a pressman and who introduced Franklin to the printing trade. At 15 Franklin established The New-England Courant, and which happened to be the first genuinely independent newspaper during the settlements. After being denied the chance to print a missive to the newspaper for publication, Franklin assumed the fabricated name of â€Å" Mrs. Silence Dogood † , a middle-aged widow. â€Å" Mrs. Dogood † ‘s letters were in print, and even a topic of duologue around town. Neither James nor the Courant ‘s readers were witting of the fast one. Franklin was forced to go forth the apprenticeship without permission shortly after his brother discovered that the popular correspondence belonged to Franklin5. At 17, Franklin took off and became a runaway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he started a new life in a new metropolis. At first he worked in several ; pressman stores available in town but nevertheless he was non satisfied by the immediate chances. It is after a few months while still working in a printing house that the so Pennsylvanian Governor convinced him to travel to London purportedly to obtain equipment required in set uping another daily in Philadelphia6. At age 17, Franklin ran off to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, seeking a new start in a new metropolis. When he foremost arrived he worked in several pressman stores around town. However, he was non satisfied by the immediate chances. After a few months, while working in a printing house, Franklin was convinced by Pennsylvania Governor Sir William Keith to travel to London, apparently to get the equipment necessary for set uping another newspaper in Philadelphia7.Franklin as a PrinterIt was non until 1727, when Franklin, by so 21 old ages established the Junto, a group of â€Å" like minded aspiring craftsmans and shopkeepers who hoped to better themselves while they improved their community. † The Junto was a argument group for all issues of the twenty-four hours and it accordingly provided rise to many associations in Philadelphia. For Junto reading was a great interest although by so books were really rare and expensive excessively. Therefore the members of the Junto group agre ed to make a library, ab initio meant for their ain books. However, this was non sufficient and that is the clip when Franklin conceived the thought of a subscription library, and which act as a signifier of pooling financess to purchase books for all to read. This signified the birth of the library company of Philadelphia. Until today the library company remains a great scholarly every bit good as a research library harbouring over 500,000 rare books8. In 1733, Franklin started to publish the celebrated Poor Richard ‘s Almanack under the nom de plume Richard Saunders, on which much of his trendy position is based. Franklin on a regular basis wrote under anonym. Even though it was known that Franklin was the writer, his Richard Saunders character often denied it. In 1758, Franklin put in print Father Abraham ‘s Sermon a twelvemonth after he ceased composing for the Almanack9.Franklin as an InventorFranklin was an impressive discoverer. In the thick of his legion creative activities was the Franklin range, bifocal spectacless, lightning rod, glass armonica, every bit good as the flexible urinary catheter. Franklin under no fortunes did he patent his innovations, and in his autobiography he wrote that, â€Å" †¦ as we enjoy great advantages from the innovations of others, we should be sword lily of an chance to function others by any innovation of ours ; and this we should make freely and liberally. To add to his lon g list of innovations are societal inventions, for case paying frontward. Franklin ‘s enthralment with invention could be regarded as philanthropic ; he wrote that his proficient plants were to be used for mounting effectivity and human development. One such development was his effort to rush up intelligence services in the class of his printing presses10. As adjunct postmaster, Franklin developed an involvement refering the North Atlantic Ocean circulation forms. It was while in England in 1768 that he overheard a ailment from the Colonial Board of Customs as to why make it took a British package ships transporting mail several hebdomads longer to make New York than it took an mean merchandiser ship to make Newport, Rhode Island. Franklin laid the job to his cousin Timothy Folger, a Nantucket whaler captain, who informed him that bargainer ships on a regular basis circumvented a strong eastbound mid-ocean current whereas the mail package captains navigated dead into it, therefore battling an unpleasant current of 3A stat mis per hr ( 5 kilometers per hour ) . Franklin so laboured with Folger and other knowing ship captains, larning every bit much as necessary to plot the current and name it the Gulf Stream, by which it is still known today11. It required many old ages for British sea captains to finally commend Franklin ‘s advice on voyaging the current ; on one juncture they did, and they were able to pare two hebdomads from their seafaring clip. But in1853, oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury a fame map maker rang a bell that Franklin merely planned and codified the Gulf Stream, but he did non detect it.Franklin as a ScientistIn 1743, Franklin established the American Philosophical Society to help scientific work forces talk about their theories and finds. It at this clip that He began the electrical probes and surveies that, together with other scientific enquiries, would prosecute him for the balance of his life, in amid turns of moneymaking and politics12. In 1747, Franklin officially retired from printing and ventured into other concerns. He entered into a partnership with his chief, David Hall, which offered Franklin with portion of the store ‘s returns for over 18 old ages. This moneymaking concern treaty non merely did it supply leisure and survey clip but besides it is during this period that be made the most finds that accorded him a repute with erudite people in Europe and particularly in France.13 All Franklin ‘s finds resulted from his scrutiny of electricity. Franklin projected that â€Å" vitreous † and â€Å" pitchy † electrical energy were non diverse types of â€Å" electrical fluid † , but instead represented the same electrical fluid under different force per unit areas. Franklin was the first individual to trade name them as positive and negative in that order, every bit good as he was the first individual to detect the rule of saving of charge.14 Electrical experiments done by Franklin paved manner to his find of the lightning rod. He discovered that music directors with a jagged instead than a level point had the ability to liberate mutely, and at a far improved distance. He construed that this information could be of great usage in protecting celebrated edifices from lightning. In grasp of his attempt with electricity, Franklin was awarded with the Royal Society ‘s Copley Medal in 1753 while in 1756 he turn out to be one of the few eighteenth century Americans to be voted as a Fellow of the Society. In add-on and an honor to him the cogs unit of electric charge has been named after him that is one Franklin ( Fr ) is equal to one stat C. Franklin and his modern-day friend Leonard Euler were the lone major scientists who showed support of Christiana Huygens ‘ moving ridge theory of visible radiation, after it was basically ignored by the remainder of the scientific community15. Harmonizing to a good recognized myth, in 1973 a storm traveling from the southwest disadvantaged Franklin of the opportunity of detecting a lunar occultation. Franklin was said to hold noted that the current air currents were in fact from the nor'-east, opposing what he had expected. In communicating with his brother, Franklin subsequently learned that the matching storm had non hit Boston non until after the occultation, in malice of the fact that Boston is to the nor'-east of Philadelphia. He inferred that storms were non needfully affected by the way of the prevailing air current, a utile construct which would hold great influence in meteorology16. In add-on, Franklin noted a theory of infrigidation by recognizing that on a really hot twenty-four hours, he stayed ice chest in his moisture shirt in a zephyr than he did on a dry 1. Harmonizing to Michael Faraday, Franklin ‘s experimentation on the non-conduction of ice is significance even though the jurisprudence of the wide consequence of liquefaction on electrolytes is non attributed to Franklin. All Franklins ‘ oceanographic findings are accumulated in his Maritime Observations and published by the Philosophical Society ‘s minutess. It restricted thoughts for catamaran hulls, sea ground tackles, shipboard buoy uping burden every bit good as H2O tight compartments. In 1736, Franklin formed the Union Fire Company, which happened to be one of the initial voluntary fire contending companies in America. It is besides during the same twelvemonth that he printed a new currency for New Jersey founded on fresh anti-counterfeiting technique which he had developed. All through his calling, Franklin was a protagonist for paper money, publishing A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency in 1729, and his pressman printed money. He was cardinal in the more unnatural and therefore winning pecuniary experiment in the Middle Colonies, which stopped up deflation without taking to inordinate inflation17.Franklin as a PoliticianAs Franklin matured, he began holding more and more concerns sing public personal businesss. For case in 1743, he went a measure in front to setup a 4th strategy for the Academy and College of Philadelphia. Franklin became caught up in Philadelphia political personal businesss and quickly developed. In October 1748, he was chosen to be a councilman, while in June 1749 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Philadelphia. In add-on, in 1751 he was voted for the first clip to the Pennsylvania Assembly. On August 10, 1753, Franklin was chosen joint deputy postmaster-general of North America. Well franklins most notable service in his state ‘s political relations was his betterment of the postal system, with correspondence sent out each week18. In 1751, Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond attain a charter from the Pennsylvania parliament to establish a infirmary. Pennsylvania Hospital was the earliest infirmary in what was to turn out to be the United States of America. In 1754, Franklin led the Pennsylvania deputation to the Albany Congress. This assemblage of legion settlements had been called upon by the Board of Trade in England to develop dealingss with the Indians and defense mechanism non in favor of the Gallic. It was Franklin who really considered a wide Plan of Union for the settlement. Whilst the program was non approved, elements of instituted their manner into being in the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.19 In 1757, Franklin was sent off to England by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a imperial agent to expostulation against the political authorization of the Penn household, the owners of the settlement. He stayed there for five old ages, determined to stop the owners ‘ privilege to turtle statute law from the voted Assembly, and their unsusceptibility from paying revenue enhancements on their land. His deficient in of of import Alliess in Whitehall made the mission to neglect. Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at the age of 84. Around 20,000 people were in attending during his funeral. He was interred in Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. The remains of B. Franklin Printer ; Like the wrap of an old Book, Its inside torn out, and stripped of its authorship and ornament, Lies here, grocery for Worms. But his Work shall ne'er be entirely lost: For it will, as he supposed, emerge one time more, in a new and even more ideal Edition, accurate and revised by the Author. In 1773, when Franklin ‘s work had had transformed from publishing to scientific discipline and politics.20 Notes 1. Isaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. New York, NY. USA. Prentice Hall Publishers. 2004. 2. Isaacson 2003, p. 491 3. Isaacson 2003, p. 492 4. Lemay, J. A. Leo. â€Å" Franklin, Benjamin ( 1706-1790 ) , † Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. erectile dysfunction. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison ( Oxford: OUP, 2004 ) . 5. Lemay, 2004, p.1709 6. Wolf, A. , History of Science, Technology, and Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century. New York, 1939. p.232 7. Van Horne, John C. â€Å" The History and Collections of the Library Company of Philadelphia, † The Magazine Antiques, v. 170. No. 2: 58-65 ( 1971 ) . 8. Isaacson 2003, p. 491 9. Isaacson 2003, p. 492 10.Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body, & A ; Early Writings J.A. Leo Lemay, erectile dysfunction. Library of America, 1987 one-volume, 2005 two-volume ISBN 978-1-93108222-8 11. Autobiography, Poor Richard, & A ; Later Writings J.A. Leo Lemay, erectile dysfunction. Library of America, 1987 one-volume, 2005 two-volume ISBN 978-1-88301153-6 12. Green, J. â€Å" English Books and Printing in the Age of Franklin, † in The Colonial Book in the Atlantic World ( 2002 ) , p.257. 13. Isaacson 2003, p. 8 14.Van Horne, 1971, p.58-65 15 Wolf, 1939, p.232 16. Isaacson 2003, p. 12 17. Isaacson 2003, p. 78 18. Isaacson 2003, p. 14 19. Green, 2002, p.257 20. â€Å" History of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology † . Bfit.edu. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved on November 19, 2010 from hypertext transfer protocol: //web.archive.org/web/20080731130624/http: //www.bfit.edu/aboutus/history.php.

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010 Essay

Read and Apply: Michael E. Porter (2008), â€Å"The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy†, Harvard Business Review, (January 2008), pp. 2-17 Assignment Questions (AQ) (a) Why has the soft drink industry been so profitable for concentrate producers? Compare the economics of the concentrate business to the bottling business: why is the profitability so different? [50% points] The soft drink industry has been extremely profitable for Concentrate producers. When we study the 5 forces analysis, we come to a conclusion that almost all the forces have contributed significantly in this massive profit generating mechanism. Threat of new entrants is low and there are multiple high barriers to entry. Despite the low cost of establishing a concentrate production plant, the producers have to develop exclusive relations with bottling plants and support them in marketing research, advertising and setting up distribution channels which is difficult for new entrants and require huge capital infusion. Bargaining power of Buyers used to be negligible as concentrate producers used to make bottlers abide by fixed price contracts which made them operate on razor thin margins. After adoption of incidence pricing, the bottling plants renegotiated for different distribution channels and different product ranges as the bargaining power shifted and the prices were increased based on consumer price index and inflation. But this bargaining power was kept in check since concentrate producers did not allow a bottling plant to gain significant market influence and they regularly bought out bottling plants to maintain their control.(Exhibit 3b) Bargaining power of suppliers was minuscule since all products are basic commodities like sweetener, caffeine and color with multiple suppliers who do not hold much bargaining power with a large corporation. Threat of substitute product is suppose to be high since there are a variety of substitutes available which meet the end purpose of quenching the thirst and consumer being open to healthy or low calorie substitutes like tea, juice or energy drink. But the conventional concentrate producer has diversified its product portfolio to meet all demands and keep its consumer base loyal. Also strengthening distribution networks and creating advertisement campaign has led to consumer retention.(Exhibit 8) Competition is high since major brands competing are Coca cola and pepsi who compete at every level, from product range and bottling plants to retailer selection and advertisement. Both concentrate producers are have deep pockets to execute swift decisions and they have adopted similar strategies to gain market share and consolidate. They have a staggering market presence controlling nearly 3/4th of the market and they have surgically acquired or contained all other competitors.(Exhibit 2) By the 5 force analysis, it is visible that the immense market experience and availability of funds had led concentrate producers to use almost all the forces in their advantage to maintain high profitability. In contrast to the concentrate producer, the bottling plants operate on one-third of the profit margin percent, this can be explained by the contrasts in the economics using the 5 force analysis for bottling plants. Threat of new entrants was traditionally low since high capital requirement acts as as high barrier of entry but the threat from the concentrate producer entity emerging as a bottler is high ever since they have started vertical integrations by providing concentration at lower rates for better margins to self-owned entities. Bargaining power of buyers is high since bottling plants have no unique value proposition and they compete with identical competitors for a vastly segmented market. They conduct extensive negotiations with different channels on stock, pricing and space. They develop complex price strategies for maintaining exclusive contracts with nation wide restaurant chains. They have to bid for higher presence among mass merchandisers and retail stores. They also have to provide low-margin fountains and vending machines services to sustain market presence. Threat of substitute is low among bottling plants since they have invested a huge capital on set-up, operational efficiency and R&D. They have a established ground of operations which cannot be easily substituted and they enjoy massive support from concentrate producers in supplier contracts, marketing research and advertisements Bargaining power of suppliers is average where commodities like packaging material and sugar can be obtained easily while concentrate producers control prices due to high dependency on them. But due to the reciprocity nature of dependency, concentrate producers extend advertising support, marketing surveys and strategic integration to loyal bottling plants to focus on volume and carry a wider range of products. The variation of business economics where bottling plants face price constraints, negotiations with every supplier at an individual level, cut-throat competition, high operating costs and an increasing threat of being acquired by the concentrate producer hits the profitability of the bottlers and gives a huge edge to the concentrate producers. (b) How would you characterize the nature of the competition between Coke and Pepsi and how has it impacted the profits of the US carbonated soft drinks (CSD) industry as a whole? [20% points] Coca-cola had maintained high profitability acting as a monopoly since its inception since it did not face any competition. When Pepsi entered the market as a prominent player, it struggled to gather market traction but after the â€Å"Blind taste test† it became a real competitor. The nature of competition has been fierce ranging from better positioning at a single store, to going beyond international borders. Although both the companies have adopted similar strategies, the timing and focus has led to significant success and more significant failures. Some major initiatives by Coca-Cola were developing infrastructure in European countries and Asia which paid heavy returns. It was also a pioneer in introducing new flavors and brands(Exhibit 2) which sharply increased its market share and vertical integration by acquiring bottling plants for better margins(Exhibit 3a) which resulted in stellar financial performances. Pepsi on the other hand gained significant domestic US market when Coca-cola focussed internationally, it was first to get exclusive contracts with restaurant chains and introduce bigger family-size bottles. It also led diversification by transforming into a beverage and food giant by acquiring Frito-Lay, Gatorade and Lipton. Pepsi Bottling Group optimized its operations and maintains a higher % profit/sales over CCE till date(Exhibit 3b). Both companies have also made big mistakes like Coca-cola introducing â€Å"New Coke† and Pepsi giving first-movers advantage to Coke in international markets. Also engaging in a bitter price wars saw their balance sheets in red(Exhibit 5). But they have also worked excellently in rectifying their mistakes like Coke diversifying by acquiring Minute-Maid and Vitamin water drinks. Since over half of Pepsi’s sales were domestic and Coke already had a lead in the International market, Pepsi focussed on markets still up-for-grabs like China, India, Africa and Middle-east. It has since gained significant market share in emerging economies after learning its lesson. Recently, both the companies have undergone significant media bashing with environmental concerns of the PET bottle, health and obesity uproars and sugary content in CSDs, so they have realized the shift in market focus to non-CSDs and diet soft drinks(Exhibit 7). New strategies include more focus on these drinks and both companies are looking to leverage their existing market domination to gain a better market shares and higher profits since margins on these drinks are much higher than CSDs. (c) Compare and contrast the structure and profitability of the emerging non-CSD industry with the key aspects of the traditional CSD industry structure that you covered in part (a). Can Coke and Pepsi repeat their success they had with CSDs in the non-CSDs industry, or will a new competitive landscape & dynamic emerge? [30% points] In late 1990s the soft-drink industry showed signs of permanent shift as the demand for carbonated soft drinks began to fizzle out(Exhibit 7) due to the rising health concern with obesity, high sugar content and perceived risks of high-fructose corn syrup. Diet sodas had already caught a lot of attention and they were quickly replacing conventional sodas, Coke and Pepsi broadened their product range by offering more Diet and herbal drinks. Pepsi was more aggressive in this transformation by acquiring Gatorade and Lipton which outsold Coke products in these categories, Coke followed suit by acquiring EnergyBrands, its largest acquisition ever, but Pepsi maintained a commanding lead in non-carb segment. Both companies also launched bottled water which is the largest sector in non-CSD market by volume(Exhibit 9) The structure and profitability in an emerging non-CSD industry has dynamics very different from the conventional CSD industry which has been played out and matured. The stark contrasts that the structure of this industry lies in the fact that this market is very young and entry of new products changes its dynamics rapidly. The threat of new entrants in this market is very high as concentrate production does not require a lot of investment and innovative products attract a lot of clientele which have led to a stronger position among competitors like Nestle, Unilever and DPS. The bottling plants have strengthened their position in this sector as they have not led Coke and Pepsi influence this market completely. They have been reluctant in introducing non-CSD products as they have no brand loyalty and their existing infrastructure does not support new products. Setting up new infrastructure and pressure from concentrate producers to increase non-CSD turnovers require higher operation costs and lesser profit margins. Concentrate producers are building better relationships with independent bottlers to push non-CSD and alternate drinks since they have much higher margins than CSD(Exhibit 10), concentrate producers are willing to assist bottling plants and they started selling finished goods to bottlers. They have also leveraged the company owned bottling plants by purchasing at lower prices and even marketing directly to retail chains to gain higher profit margin and gain market penetration It is most likely that Coke and Pepsi will repeat their success with this new industry like they did in CSDs for the first and foremost reason that these companies are financially very strong and they have the ability to acquire or contain an emerging competitor. Also they have invested and will continue to invest in understanding the market, so they have established a market trend analysis and they are prepared to tackle upcoming threats by taking the appropriate action. That is the reason that Coke and Pepsi are directly competing with every new product launched in this category and gaining popularity like tea, water or energy drinks. Early diversification in products has strengthened their brand equity which they can leverage in gaining further control in the non-CSD market. Another reason that these companies are likely to succeed is because of vertically integrated network that they have established from manufacturing concentrate to marketing to retailers, they have exclusive contracts with bottling plants and they have spent decades perfecting the distribution network. They can introduce new products in this chain with much more ease and effect rather than new players developing an entire new network. Lastly, since the market in US is moving faster towards non-CSDs than the rest of the world, Coke and Pepsi have gained experience in tackling this change and then they can apply it to the international markets and be the driving force in influencing emerging economies due to their vast strategic global presence.

Obesity Debate Essay

In the five section article, â€Å"Rethinking Weight† by Amanda Spake, the author outlines the conflict surrounding whether obesity classifies as a disease. Spake discusses the prevalence of obesity in America and sheds light on the idea that obesity may contain genetic roots. The article continues with the author’s insights into whether weight or fitness retains the most importance. Spake concludes the article with thoughts on the growing concern of insurance coverage and obesity treatment. The author claims that â€Å"At the heart of this obesity epidemic is a debate over whether obesity is a biological ‘disease’ and should be treated like any other life-threatening illness – cancer, heart disease – or whether it is simply a risk factor for these killers† (282). Spake successfully supports the claim by incorporating a narrative account, explaining the biology, psychology, and scientific research of obesity, and stating how society may already classify obesity as a disease, but Spake strays from the idea of obesity qualifying as a disease when she describes the role insurance companies play when paying for obesity treatment. The article begins with a narrative account of Maria Pfisterer. Spake uses Maria Pfisterer’s story to reveal the struggles obesity and dieting inflict upon a person. According to the author, Pfisterer’s many attempted diets, in terms of weight â€Å"All resulted in a little lost and more regained,† which supports the idea of weight and dieting inflicting a constant burden in the lives of many Americans (282). Spake also included in the story of Pfisterer’s weight battle the idea that no matter how hard Pfisterer tried to lose weight or what method Pfisterer thought to try, the weight never permanently disappeared, which in turn supports the concept of obesity being more than just a physical ailment. The author also discusses the possible treatment of gastric bypass surgery for Pfisterer, which remains unavailable to Pfisterer due to the high cost and specific criteria an individual must possess in order to receive the surgery. The narrative story provides an appeal to emotions by showing one woman’s struggle with weight and the effect that struggle embodies in Pfisterer’s life. The story also provides a persuasive element, influencing a want for Pfisterer to achieve her personal weight goals. The author pinpoints a person’s biology and psychological state as possible factors in the development of obesity. Xavier Pi-Sunyer from the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital suggests â€Å"†¦obesity is a biologically determined process† (282). Many weight researchers also believe that â€Å"obesity is controlled by a powerful biological system of hormones, proteins, neurotransmitters, and genes that regulate fat storage and body weight and tell the brain when, what, and how much to eat† (284). Rudolph Leibel, a Columbia University geneticist, also states, â€Å"I believe there are strong genetic factors that determine susceptibility to obesity† (285). The given beliefs demonstrate how obesity qualifies as more than a personal decision. A person’s biology resists changes; therefore, the idea of obesity as a biological condition contains validity for Spake’s claim. The author also includes Brian Wansink’s perspective, â€Å"†¦obesity is not just biology; it’s psychology† (286). The brain plays a key role in how obesity operates differently in individuals. The author continues to explain how, psychologically, obese individuals hold no control over the eating habits the overweight display. Spake’s inclusion of biological and psychological ideas presented by reliable professionals persuades critical audiences to agree with the author’s claim. Scientific research also plays a part in the obesity debate. Spake uses a variety of logos and ethos information to support the claim of the ongoing debate over the classification of obesity. The article incorporates the use of statistics from various studies on weight and obesity to solidify the author’s beliefs. The author gives a shocking statistic that â€Å"A majority of Americans—now 64   percent—are overweight or obese and struggling to conquer their expanding waistlines before their fat overtakes their health†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (282). A study done of twins showed that 20 to 70 percent of weight issues developed through inheritance. Another study conducted by RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions stated, â€Å"the nation is spending about $75 billion a year on weight-related disease† (283). Spake even includes the statistic saying that, â€Å"Simply eating with one other person increases the average amount eaten at meals by 44 percent,† which refers to the psychological aspect of obesity (286). The author’s use of statistical information provides a strong backing for Spake’s claim about the obesity debate. Although not officially categorized as a disease, some organizations in society already list obesity as a disease. Spake chooses to include examples of situations in society where obesity may already encompass similar characteristics to a disease. The diseases that result from excessive amounts of weight embody a prominent situation described by the author. â€Å"Almost 80 percent of obese adults have one of these conditions, and nearly 40 percent have two or more,† Spake suggests when referring to diseases, such as heart disease, Type II diabetes, and high cholesterol that relate to the presence of obesity. Another example the author mentions confirms that, â€Å"The WHO has listed obesity as a disease in its International Classification of Disease since 1979.† Spake raises concern as to why obesity still remains uncategorized as an official disease when large quantities of overweight individuals contract other diseases due to the affliction of obesity and when a substantial organization already includes obesity in a database of diseases. Another statistic included in the discussion reads â€Å"About 325,000 deaths a year are attributed to obesity† (283). This shocking statistic sparks the question of why obesity lacks the definition of a disease even further. However, the author strays from her claim when insurance problems come into the article. Bringing the topic of insurance into the discussion provides no backing for any of the author’s claim. Spake chose to incorporate that â€Å"The health insurance industry argues that obesity treatments  can’t be covered†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (287). The claim refers to whether obesity classifies as a disease, not the effect of insurance coverage on those affected by obesity. Also, the author included that â€Å"the cost†¦of treatment and health insurance will escalate† (288). The price tag of treatment and rising insurance costs gives no support to the debate of obesity classifying as a disease that Spake claims as the purpose of the article. The inclusion of the insurance debacle distracts from the key issues the article puts forth, leaving readers to question the main idea of the article. In summation, Spake successfully supports the claim by incorporating a narrative account, explaining the biology, psychology, and scientific research of obesity, and stating how society may already classify obesity as a disease, but Spake strays from the claim when she describes the role of insurance companies in paying for obesity treatment. Works Cited Spake, Amanda. â€Å"Rethinking Weight.† Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Comp. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 285-88. Print.

Legal Studies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Legal Studies - Term Paper Example The act was construed to have said that removal even for a specified period of time was removal and not suspension. The difference in terminology was construed so as to differentiate between suspension and removal as the latter would mean remove and so automatic removal was not possible. This sort of interpretation has been said to be purposive as it looks at the overall effect and tends use aids to interpretation that is dictionaries and other materials so as to differentiate between the meanings of words. (Wesley 1998) The third consideration was avoidance of circularity. The courts stated that the refusal of automatic restoration by the court would avoid circularity but this is was by an action of the court which did not fit in well as it interfered with what had been intended. This consideration dealt with the literal rule as in discussing the straight forward notion and the golden rule whereby the absurdity in result that would be caused was discussed. (Wacks et al 1989) The fourth consideration was that of giving meaning and substance to each provision whereby the true meaning was considered and thus went against automatic removal of consideration. In this situation the court took into account both sides of the argument and determined the result in accordance with the golden rule that is to refrain from reaching an absurd result. (Partington 2010) Finally the consideration of reluctance of the court to find a radical change by way of side-wind was stated. Bokhary PJ looked into the wordings of the statute that is ss.21(1) and 25(3) and the context of two words and their differences were looked into and the courts in confining themselves to the literal approach in this respect rejected the notion that both the wordings were for the same purpose. (Wesley 1998) 2. Bokhary PJ states that these rules complement each other and tends to appreciate the facts that

Symbolism In Trifles by susan glaspell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Symbolism In Trifles by susan glaspell - Essay Example Wright and the situation which led to the main conflict that is throughout the play. The first set of symbols which are associated with the trifles are the kitchen items which are seen, all which are referred to first as being in a mess. The set of noticed items include fruit that has frozen, preserves that Mrs. Wright was working on and pans that are under the sink. The main association is with the fruit that is frozen and with the preserves that haven’t been cared for. This is significant as it becomes a meaning which is related to the marriage and how it wasn’t cared for or preserved. This is what led to the cold and icy relationship that both were a part of. This is followed by the pans that are kicked under the sink leave the same impression, which shows that the cooking and care is one which is stuffed into a corner and hasn’t been used properly, similar to the marriage which Mrs. Wright is in. The next item which becomes symbolic is the loaf of bread. This isn’t significant except it hasn’t been placed in the bread box, which causes it to dry quickly and isn’t a way of caring for the items in the kitchen. The loaf of bread becomes symbolic with the marriage not being set in the right place and instead becoming one based on the wrong understanding within the relationship. While the men state that this is related to bad housekeeping, the women that are speaking notice that the uncommon changes in the kitchen are related specifically to Mrs. Wright not being able to create the right approach to the idea of being a wife and having a husband which is able to care for the marriage. The clothing is another symbol which is noted. This becomes significant because of the types of clothing that is expected. The first is an apron which Mrs. Wright has requested. The apron is significant because it shows how Mrs. Wright only believes the marriage was good so she could offer housekeeping chores, as opposed to having a true mar riage. The second is a shawl that is required. There is also a quilt which is mentioned and which the women notice that she is piecing together. The statement which is made with this is based on knotting the quilt, instead of sewing it. The knots are significant with the thoughts of Mrs. Wright, which doesn’t offer a proper way of putting together the quilt but instead shows that her marriage is tied together loosely. The significance of the individual items are also identified with the state that each of the pieces are in. The sewing left behind is noted as being good half way through the piece then changing. Mrs. Hale states that â€Å"Here, this is the one that she was working on, and look at the sewing! All the rest of it has been so nice and even. And look at this! It’s all over the place! Why, it looks as if she didn’t know what she was about!† (Glaspell, 962). There are also noticed changes with half of the counter being clean and the other half be ing a mess. The concept of the items being half way clean and the other half messy continues with a hinge that is half way pulled off of the door. Each of these indicate that the marriage was one which was also becoming a mess and was falling apart, similar to the items seen. The last trifle which works as a symbol is the bird. This is significant because of the cage which is found; however, the bird is gone. The women looking at the trifles note that Mrs. Wright used to like to sing but stopped. They also note

Swash Zone Modeling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Swash Zone Modeling - Essay Example However, an accurate model is still lacking for at least a couple of reasons (Nielsen et al., 2001). Firstly, the water motion in the swash zone is quite different from that in the inner surf zone and not well understood. In particular, the bed shear stresses have not been measured. Secondly, there is a possibility that perpendicular to the sand surface (in/exfiltration or ventilation) and/or strong horizontal pressure, gradients near bore fronts could influence the sediment motion significantly in the swash zone. In the swash zone, the bore collapses at the shore, surface rollers are not present and consequently the velocity distribution given by Eq. (1) is not valid. Thus, this dissipation mechanism (i.e. surface roller concept) cannot be applied in this region. Instead of this, the eddy viscosity concept is adopted in order to simulate the dissipation due to turbulence in the swash zone (the run-down point is considered as the offshore limit of the swash zone). Details can be found in Karambas and Koutitas (2002). The numerical solution of the Boussinesq-type equations is based on an accurate higher order numerical scheme, which has been developed by Wei and Kirby (1995). They used a fourth-order predictor-corrector scheme for time stepping and discretize the first-order spatial derivatives to fourth-order accuracy. This discretization automatically eliminates error terms that would be of the same form as the dispersive terms, and which must therefore be corrected for if lower order scheme are used. In order to validate the above model, Karambas and Koutitas (2002) compared the numerical results with experimental data (including swash zone). As mentioned by Turner and Masselink (1998), vertical flow through a porous bed induces two effects: (a) bed stabilization-destabilization, and (b) thickening or thinning of the boundary layer. On the uprush, downwards-directed piezometric head gradients (infiltration) will increase the effective weight of sediment (i.e. bed stabilization), thereby decreasing the potential for sediment transport

Only for Expert in Public Administration (Texas), (comprehinsive exam) Assignment - 1

Only for Expert in Public Administration (Texas), (comprehinsive exam) II part - Assignment Example The local governments on both secured and unsecured property on the other hand levy property taxes. Other taxes for local governments come from franchise fees, business license tax, parimutual taxes and many others. The third main source is from licenses, permits, fees, and receipts. These rates are charged from all manner of contractors within the locality (Aronson & Schwartz, 2007). Local governments also source their finances from both external and internal loans to finance projects. The external loans are sourced from banks or financial institutions while the internal loans are sourced from their own internal savings such as the capital development funds or the Consolidated Loan Fund that form part of the internal loans for a local government. While the internal loans are quite cheap hence can be afforded to finance the budgets, the external loans are expensive since they attract high interest rates hence not a wise way of financing a capital budget. The local governments also get fund from the contributions from revenues which results as a result of purchasing a capital item, it pays from the operating income from the year of purchase and it is used to pay for small capital items in most localities given that it does not attract any interest payments (Aronson & Schwartz, 2007). National governments may also extend grants to local governments on application w hich if combined with donor funds form a substantial source of revenue to help in incurring developmental and capital expenditure. The sources of funding a local government can therefore be categorized into two major categories namely, government transfers and the revenue instruments that the government controls hence its empowered to raise its own revenue as discussed above. As indicated above some municipal services are paid for by the individuals or the public who use them. The charges by the municipalities on the services are called† tariffs† and the tariffs should be affordable both

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 194

Assignment Example lps in advicing the dest way to use these devices and on the other hand, it gives some kind of products that are very hard to use in this type of connectivity. Amazon.com is an American International electronis commerce company, the largest in the world online retailer founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos in 1994. MIS and IT look similar while they are not. MIS majors in business problems like marketing and accounting while IT focuses on the better understanding of technology (Laudon, Kenneth and Jane p. 6). When you walk out of the store, the radio waves are picked up by the coiled metal aerial in the label.The chip modifies the waves incoming and sends them back again by transmitting a unique identifier code as the receiver picks up the identifier code then sounds the alarm and so you can caught when you try stealing at the store using RFID. Critical path in a project is simply all errands that determine the end date in your project schedule. In case one of the errands is late by even a day , then the project will have to be extended by a day. Social Engineering Attack refers to the psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or even divulging very confidential

Thematic Concerns in the Open Boat Research Paper

Thematic Concerns in the Open Boat - Research Paper Example Crane’s story provides the readers with a perfect blend of human suffering, their various behaviors and natures as well as the desolation that surrounds human beings. Although the dialect is simple and smooth flowing yet he captures essence of meaning and gives a close observation of the brutalities of the Mother Nature and human suffering. As Turchi and Baxter also states, â€Å"â€Å"The Open Boat† insists on moral truths. They are confounding moral truths and many readers will be frustrated that the wisdom of the work cannot be distilled, the themes stated plainly†. Some of the major thematic concerns that Stephen Crane incorporates in the story includeshuman bonding and relations,Man vs. Nature, unavailability of God and communication gaps. A common theme that recurs in most of Crane’s works is human bonding or relationships. It appears that the writer believes that in this world an individual cannot survive on his own as this world is an unfriendly place and human beings require some sort of weapon against the brutalities of nature and that weapon is an individual’s bonding with his fellow beings. This theme is excessively apparent from not only the setting of the story but also from the gradual plot progression. Crane creates a microcosm of mankind on the dinghy. Although initially the four survivors had nothing in common and there is a certain awkwardness that is observed amongst their behaviors yet it is observed that when they realize the unpredictability and the helplessness of their dire situation they form an unannounced brotherhood to survive the brutalities of Mother Nature. As it is also stated in the text as well, It would be difficult to describe the subtle brotherhood of men that was here est ablished on the seas.... there was this comradeship that the correspondent, for instance, who had been taught to be cynical of men, knew even at the time was the best experience of his life (61). Dersch effectively encapsulates the situation of these characters by quoting Ross Muffin’s words when he says, â€Å"‘the characters are determined by forces beyond their control’ humans are presented as ‘higher-order animals fully subject to the forces of heredity and environment and life in general is an inescapable trap’† (4). Hence the characters find solace in one another and even though earlier they had communication barriers yet they overcome them and act as one another’s support and right hand in the hour of need. For example it is clear from the manner in which the captain, the cook, Billie and correspondent take turns at rowing the boat. Then again when the correspondent is up alone and he say his desire for someone else to be awake a nd find solace in another individual’s company is a proof that Crane believes that human bonding is essential for survival. Communication gap that engulfs human race is another important thematic concern that Crane reiterates in the story to further highlight the disjunct and chaos that surround human beings. The fact that the people on the shore believed the people on dinghy were mere fishermen and the hope in the four survivors that they will be rescued yet their constant observation saying that, â€Å"Funny they don’t see us† (Crane 64) creates an ironic situation. It is as if human beings exist in their individual bubbles where they tend to keep to themselves. However when finally they do realize that their fellow beings are in need they do stand up to help one another. This theme further stresses the lonely existence of man in this

Significance of Literacy Essay Example for Free

Significance of Literacy Essay Good afternoon my fellow students, and to our beloved teacher, Mrs. Leny Ibon. For you, what is literacy? Is it really important in one’s life? How can it help everyone? Well these questions will be answer by this speech. So please, lend me you ears in just a few minutes. For me, literacy is all about possessing the skills of reading and writing. Reading and writing is the right of everyone. By studying, people upgrade their mind about literacy with the help of the teachers. Reading and writing are the basic skills discussed and developed by the teachers because these are the major part in students’ life. In reading, the instructor or teachers teaches first the alphabet. They are training the children to read perfectly. In writing, the teacher train the students to write beautifully and legibly. Literacy is important in one’s life. Because, by reading and writing you can know what is good or bad. Based on the second paragraph, literacy is the basic studies of the students. If you don’t know the basic, you can’t go to the next topic because it will cause a suffering on you in the reason of it is hard. If you know about this, you can also understand how to use languages properly. When you’re knowledgeable, you can easily get job after you finish your studies that will lead you in a better life. It is also important in our life because if we know about literacy we will also know the right of everyone, the laws and the freedom of speech. Reading and writing can help us to get many information. As I said, if we go to school, the faculties will teach us the good manners and attitudes. After we graduate from high school and college, of course we will look for a job. When we get a job, we can moderately show our good attitudes based on what your parents and teachers teach you. All of these starts on literacy. That’s how literacy helps everyone. As I conclude, literacy is important and it can help us everywhere and everything. For me, literacy has good effects depends on the person if he or she doesn’t think of being lazy. It also has a good effects if we’re going to use it in a right way of living. God gave us knowledge ang wisdom to live in accordance to His will. That’s how literacy is so important. So we need to pay more attention on this matter. We also need to pursue our studies and reach our goal. Literacy is the key to our success.  thanks ..

Techno Structural Interventions

Techno Structural Interventions Employees involvement is one of the major issues in the field of management sciences; it becomes relatively more important when appears in organization development process. While going for some interventions, success without the employees involvement seems to be impossible. This paper argues that how the employees involvement affect the success of interventions process. For this Empirical study has been conducted in the textile sector of Pakistan to explore the relationship between the employees involvement and the techno-structural interventions, the results are very much likely the literature. Change tries to alter the employees status quo; if it occurs rapidly it can be very disturbing for all the stake holders of the organization (DaphneÂÂ  G.ÂÂ  Taras, JamesÂÂ  T.ÂÂ  Bennett, 2007) as the employees are the direct victims of the change thats why they feel more economic insecurity in the work place. Change can be of various types and can raise the fear in the employees, doest not matter; it has good or bad impact on the employees (ADF Price, K chahl, 2006) but on the whole change always come in the organization for the development purposes (Rikard Athin, 2004). Organization development is controlled process in which sequence of actions, activities intended to improve the organizational performance and effectiveness (Thomas G cummings; Christopher G whorley, 2002).These set of sequenced planned changes for improvement of organizational performance and development are called interventions (cummings; whorley, 1993). Interventions will only work for the or ganization if they are relevant with the organization (Chris Argyris, 1970). These interventions design varies from organizational needs and can be divided into different types of interventions (D. Coghlan 1995). At the highest level in the organization, there are strategic level interventions, which are designed to form the organization structure for achieving its objectives affectively (R. Draft 1998). The other one is the techno-structural intervention, having purpose is to form appropriate work designs and organizational structures to provide the strategic support of the organization development (E lawler III, 1974). The third component of the intervention is the people oriented interventions which focus on the fulfillment of human needs in the organization as well as the expectations of the organizational effectiveness (Frank Friedlander; LD Brown, 1974). Our main focus in this research is in techno-structural intervention, which deals with the restructuring of the organization; the restructuring is in the division of workload of overall organization in to subunits for completion of the task effectively (M Tushman, E Romanelli, 1986). Restructuring can be performed on at least five major factors, environment, organization size, technology, organization strategy and world wide operation (Thomas G cummings; Christopher G whorley, 2002). Second other major component of techno structural intervention is the employees involvement, D Glew, et al 1995 defined the employees involvement on the basis of power, information, knowledge and skills and finally reward. Final component of intervention is work design , broadly speaking work design is of two types, one is of scientific management (F. Taylor, 1911) which is task oriented, the other type of work design is motivational approach (G Susman, 1976). Muhammad Imran Muhammad Mahmood Aslam In literature, F. Herzberg, N. Mausner, B snyderman 1959, describes the work design having the opportunities for autonomy, move forwarding, responsibility and authority gives more satisfaction to the employees and increase the employees involvement. Enrichment of the job of the employees leads to the employees satisfaction as well as to the acceptance of the change (F. Hertz berg, 1974). Employees involvement plays an important role in the success or failure of the organization. Our research in this context revolves around the relationship between the employees involvement and its effect on the techno structural interventions. In this exploratory research we will describe the relationship which exists in the employees involvement and techno-structural interventions. Methodology We have used the data from three different sources i.e. Literature, Survey using questionnaire and unstructured interviews. The literature based on the interventions; which includes the previous research on the interventions as well as the case studies from national as well as from international journals have been used to provide theoretical ground to our hypothesis. Beside this, for empirical study we have selected the textile industry of Pakistan, in which changes are imminent on radically basis (Yim Yu Wong, Peng S. Chan 1993). In textile industry of Pakistan, we have selected the five readily available organizations from which we get the sample of 150 respondents by using the simple random sampling method. All the respondents were middle level managers having minimum 10-15 years of experience in the apparel industry. Beside this in our respondents are the top level management, for them we use the interviews for collecting the data. Analysis of both quantitative and qualitative da ta has been performed in our research. Scope As the Economic recession all over the world has affect the industry all over the world, but in all these circumstances under developed countries suffer more with this phenomenon (Nick Beams 2001 ). In case of Pakistani, where the major export portion is based on the apparel industry this phenomenon become more critical (Frank P. Saladis PMP, 2007) resultantly, decreasing in export give rise the manager to bring some intervention in this sector at top management level, a number of decision has been taken to bring change but the success ratio of these are very low (Areeba Khan 2001) our research in this context will bring the revolutionary change it will give the manager a new direction that how the successfully interventions can be made by involving the employees. Our study setting is contrived in which we have the minimal interference in this study so, the external validity of our study will be very high and it will provide a great support to the industry. Limitations The intervention process or any change process is not an event of day; it took from months to the year (Stuart Gilmour, et al 2006). As our study is cross sectional study in which we have gather the data in the same span of time so we can just analyze the past that in the past what are the impact made by the employees involvement in the intervention. However we can give recommendations for the future. Another thing which limit our study is that though we have selective the respondent with the random sampling methodology; however the organizations for the study are those which are readily available to us. Literature Review Changes must be preceded systematically (GuangmingÂÂ  Cao, et al 2004). The success ratio for the change increase greatly, when we use the proper model of planned change (YitzhakÂÂ  Samuel, et al 2004). In spite of all the planning and development change never successfully happened and mostly the reason behind this failure is resistance (JamesÂÂ  L.ÂÂ  Vann, 2004). To overcome the resistance and for the success of change several factors can influence, these can be management involvement and support, employees participation, information sharing and the most important is leadership (Jean E. Neumann, et al 1999). The sequenced, planned, organized and managed from the top changes are called the interventions (Beckhard 1961). While designing intervention, concept of Effective intervention has much importance which describes that effective intervention is providing the free and informed choice to the employees by the organization (C Argyris, 1970). Widely, research has been done that how to design intervention and how to make them effective to achieve the organization objective effectively (D. Warrick 1995). While designing some interventions, individual differences (skills, knowledge, need for autonomy, etc), organization factors (management structure, Employees, culture etc) and dimension of change process (management support, employees involvement, power etc) must be considered (J Porras, et al 1987).While going for interventions in the organization, four major options are available that are strategic interventions, Techno-structural Human Process and Human Resource Management intervention (Thomas G. Cummings, et al 2001 ). Strategic intervention is of broader term describes the corporate as well as business level strategic intervention like cultural change, strategic change, self design organization, and integrate strategic management (P. Evans, et al 1997). In human process, the interventions deals with the social issues which occurs among the organization members like communication gap, individual differences, conflicts and team issues (D. Ancona, et al 1992). Thirdly, the human resource management interventions, aim is to goal setting, Performance management, reward systems, career planning and development and managing work force diversity (D. McDonald, et al 1995). Techno-structural intervention is another type of the organizational intervention which mainly deals with the issues like business process reengineering, total quality management, Quality circles and work design (M. Tushman, et al 1985). Techno-structural interventions have two important components which are technological interventions and the structural interventions (J. Galbraith, R. Kazanjian 1986). Technological interventions involve introduction of new technology in the organization like in organization changes made from the manual to computerized, or to implement som e enterprise system (A. Chandler 1962). While in case of structural intervention it deals with the changing in organization structure, work design so that the organization may able to achieve the organization objective more effectively (G. Hamel, C. Prahalad 1994). In textile sector of Pakistan several techno-structural interventions have been made but the success ratios of these intervention is very low and still Pakistan is far behind than the rest of the world (Noor Ahmad Memon, Noor Zaman 2007). There are a number of reasons behind to discuss all these failure in the industry, but the most important of it is the lack of employees involvement in the intervention process which lead to this failure (S.A.J Shirazi 2007). Some researcher has defined the employees involvement on the basis of Participation in the change process and the profit sharing with the employees (Susan Schwochau 1997). Employees Involvement can be defined as on the basis of Power, information sharing, Knowledge skills and finally Reward (Thomas G cummings; Christopher G whorley, 2002). In our research we have used all the four variables which we have further sub divide into sub variables to measure this abstract into concept. Theoretical Framework Employees Involvement in relation with the Techno-structural Intervention Employees Involvement is independent variable and having sub variables are power, information sharing, knowledge and skills, while on the other hand techno-structural intervention is dependent variable. In our research we have studied the empirical relationship between the employees involvement and techno-structural intervention. Our scope of study is limited up to the textile industry of Pakistan in which we have selected the five readily available organizations. Power Information Sharing Knowledge and Skills Reward Employees Involvement Techno-structural Intervention Independent Variable Dependent Variable Figure-1: Employees Involvement in Relation with the Techno-structural interventions. In five organizations, we go through the study of 150 participants who are all the middle level managers. For data collection we further classified all these four variables into its indicators. Power is being defined as the decision making authority given by the employer to the employees up to their levels (D. Glew, et al 1995). The other indicators which we used in our research in order to find the indicators of power are management support and autonomy which gives the employees confidence and increase their participation in the intervention process (E. Lawler III 1986). The second indicator of the employees involvement is the information sharing which also encourage the employees to participate in the change process (SusanÂÂ  Schwochau, et al 2007). The information can be strategic information of the organization which deals with the organization vision, mission and objectives as well as the financial information which indicate the financial gains or loss by the organization, it also give raise to the trust between the employees and employers as well (David E. Morgan, Rachid Zeffane 2003). The third indicator of the employees involvement is the employees knowledge and skills which focuses on the Training and development of the employees regarding the interventions (D. Roche, et al 1984). Employees involvement can also be made affective by giving them assignment which are challenging and relevant to the change of the organization (K. Broosseau 1983), beside this overall technique of knowledge management and transfer of learning can be made appli cable to enhance the positive participation of the employees (R. Ruggles 1998). Finally, Reward systems of the organization also affect the intervention process in the organizations. While going for intervention, the organization have pay plans like skill based pay plans in which employees are being rewarded according to the skills they owned (V. Gibson 1995). Performance based pay plans and performance based incentive is also in voyage in modern management practices to encourage the employees to work for the change (Z Schiller 1996). After the successful intervention, Employees should be get participated in the profit which the organization actually make by the implementation of intervention, this will encourage other employees to be the part of the intervention in the future (J Belcher 1994). If the organization dont go for the direct financial benefits, than other measures like promotion can be a source of encouragement to the employees. In this way, we have developed all these variables to measure the employees involvement in the process of Techno-structural interventions. Power Decision making Authority Autonomy Management Support Information Sharing Strategic Information Financial Information Future Plans Procedures and Results Knowledge and Skills Training development Challenging Assignment Developing Skills Knowledge Management Reward Skill based plans Performance based plans Gain Sharing Promotion Employees Involvement Figure 2 Variables effecting the employees involvement Data Gathering For getting the data for our research, we developed several questionnaires in which we measure all these four variables that are power, information sharing, knowledge and skills. In questionnaire technique, all questionnaires consists of approximately 15-20 questions in which we have measured all these four variables to measure the employees involvement while techno-structural intervention has been measured by the indirect questions by asking about the work design, changing in technology and adoptability of the employees with the interventions. Analysis of Data Analysis of Data is being performed by the SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) and in which by using the regression model we analyze our findings. We used the regression analysis model for finding the empirical relationship between the employees involvement and the techno-structural interventions in the organization. This model indicates that there is positive relationship exists between the employees involvement and techno-structural interventions. If the employees involvement is greater than the employees will perform better and go for the success of the intervention, in case if the organization is not given the employees the right to involve in decision making and employees dont find enough autonomy than employees not only will resist the change but also the success ratio of the intervention will also reduced. In context with the regression analysis performs above this indicate that model is quite significant, as the value of significance is less than .05. The significance value is actually the p-value which in statistics predicts that how much reliable is your model to predict the independent variable. On the basis of the data we gather by using the likert scale, from the observation as well as from executives interviews, we well come to know that there exist a strong relationship between the employees involvement as well as in the success of the techno-structural interventions, we have also proved this by using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) where we use the regression analysis to find the correlation in between our variables. As the data is collected from the field so the externally it does not give the exact result which we expect from the study but it shows the positive relationship and model is quite significant, in spite of field study. Another reason which can also be one of the factor that it is not showing the optimum relation is the culture of Pakistan, in which most of the time employees hesitate to take the responsibility and very few go for the intervention process and want to take the responsibility another thing which we study during this empirica l study is the attitude of executives who dont want to share the information with the employees due to broken of secrecy problem they never ever trust in their employees either they are the bottom line managers or middle level managers, our study in this circumstances is just limited up to the executives and middle management as the low level managers and workers are not directly victim of the change process, they actually take the commands from the top and middle level management and act like that, in Pakistan it is more about the culture rather than the rules and regulations or policies of the company. Conclusion Recommendations Based on the data, and the calculations shown above, it has been proved that techno-structural intervention is greatly impacted by the employees involvement, if the employees found the chance to participate in the change process, than they better performed as compared to those who dont have a chance to give their views about the intervention process. So, it is better to get the participation of the employees which should be in positive manner this will enhance the confidence of the employees towards the intervention process and self responsibility of the employees will lead to the success of the intervention. In Textile Sector, as in case of Pakistan, Employees involvement can be increased by giving the employees proper participation as well as providing the opportunity to the employees so that they can get the responsibility by their own self. The all four variables which have been discussed here must be kept in mind in order to prepare the employees for the Techno-structural intervention. One of the major problems which we really face while getting the data about the employees involvement is the organization structure which is highly autocratic. At the top level, Management dont wanted from the employees side to listen any thing they just wanted to pass the orders rather than to make the decisions by the consensus of the employees. But on one way around though some employees are also enough satisfied with this culture of the organization but in real sense the employees creativity element will all shutter down, resultantly they unable to produce that thing which actually they can. Summin g up, our discussion as that as the competition is in the market is increasing, new and radical changes are being occurring in the organizations. Those organizations who get prepared their employees to accept the changes got success while other who unable to got accept the changes fail badly and one of the major reasons they have that their human resource dont accept the change made by the employer in some technical work or some structural design, resultantly it fails down.

Server Architectures of Existing Presence Services

Server Architectures of Existing Presence Services In this section, we describe the system model, and the search problem. Formally, we assume the geographically distributed presence servers to form a server to-server overlay network, G = (V,E), where V is the set of the Presence Server (PS) nodes, and E is a collection of ordered pairs of V . Each PS node ni ∈ V represents a Presence Server and an element of E is a pair (ni,nj) ∈ E with ni,nj ∈ V . Because the pair is ordered, (nj,ni) ∈ E is not equivalent to (ni,nj) ∈ E. So, the edge (ni,nj) is called an outgoing edge of ni, and an incoming edge of nj. The server overlay enables its PS nodes to communicate with one another by forwarding messages through other PS nodes in the server overlay. Also, we denote a set of the mobile users in a presence service as U = {u1,,ui,,um}, where 1 ≠¤ i ≠¤ m and m is the number of mobile users. A mobile user ui connects with one PS node for search other user’s presence information, and to notify the other mo bile users of his/her arrival. Moreover, we define a buddy list as following. Buddy list, Bi = {b1,b2,,bk} of user ui ∈ U, is defined as a subset of U, where 0 i ∈ Bj implies uj ∈ Bi.For example, given a mobile user up is in the buddy list of a mobile user uq, the mobile user uq also appear in the buddy list of the mobile user up. Note that to simplify the analysis of the Buddy-List Search Problem, we assume that buddy relation is a symmetric. However, in the design of Presence Cloud, the relation of buddies can be unilateral because the search operation  of PresenceCloud can retrieve the presence of a mobile user by given the ID of the mobile user. Problem Statement: Search Problem When a mobile user ui changes his/her presence status, the presence service searches presence information of mobile users in buddy list Bi of ai and notifies each of them of the presence of ai and also notifies ai of these online buddies. The Search Problem is then defined as designing a server architecture of presence service such that the costs of searching and notification in communication and storage are reduced. 1.2 Motivation Because of the increasing of the Internet, mobile devices and cloud computing environments can provide presence-enabled applications, i.e., social network applications/services, worldwide. Facebook , Twitter, Foursquare, Google Latitude , buddycloud and Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) , are examples of presence-enabled applications that have grown rapidly in the last decade. Social network services are changing the ways in which They exploit the information about the status of participants including their appearances and activities to interact with their friends. The huge availability of mobile devices (e.g., Smartphones) that utilize wireless mobile network technologies, social network services enable participants to share presence experiences instantly across great distances. For example, Facebook receives more than 75 billion shared items every month and Twitter receives more than 60 million tweets each day. In the future, mobile devices will become more popular than today, sensing and media capture devices. Hence, we believe it is useful and social network services will be the next generation of mobile Internet applications. A mobile presence service is an important component of social network services in cloud computing environments. The key function of a mobile presence service is to maintain an present list of presence information of all mobile users. The presence information includes details about a mobile clients or user location, availability, activity, device capability, and their choices. The service must also bind the this clients ID to his/her current presence information, as well as retrieve and subscribe to changes in the presence information of the user’s friends. In social network services, each mobile user has a friend list, typically called a buddy list, which contains the contact information of other users that he/she wants to communicate with. The mobile user’s status is known automatically to each person on the buddy list whenever he/she moves from one location to the other. For example, when a mobile user logs into a social network application, such as an Instant Messagi ng system, through his/her mobile device, the mobile presence service searches for and notifies everyone on the user’s buddy list. To maximize a mobile presence service’s search speed and minimize the notification time, most presence services use server cluster technology. Currently, more than 400 million people use social network services on the Internet. Given the growth of social network applications and mobile network capacity, it is expected that the number of mobile presence service users will increase substantially in the near future. Thus, a scalable mobile presence service is deemed essential for future Internet applications. In the last decade, many Internet services have been deployed in distributed paradigms as well as cloud computing applications. For example, the services developed by Google and Facebook are spread among as many distributed servers as possible to support the huge number of users worldwide. Thus, we explore the relationship between distributed presence servers and server network topologies on the Internet, and propose an efficient and scalable server-to-server overlay architecture called PresenceCloud to improve the scalability of mobile presence services for large-scale social network services. First, we examine the server architectures of existing presence services, and introduce the search problem in distributed presence architectures in large-scale geographically data centers. The search problem is a scalability problem that occurs when a distributed presence service is overloaded with buddy search messages. Then, we discuss the architecture of PresenceCloud, a scalable server-to-server architecture that can be used as a building block for mobile presence services. The rationale behind the architecture of PresenceCloud is to distribute the information of millions of users among thousands of presence servers on the Internet. To avoid single point of failure, no single presence server is supposed to maintain all the information about all users. PresenceCloud arranges presence servers into a quorum-based server-to-server architecture to facilitate efficient searching. It also leverages the server overlay and a directed buddy search algorithm to achieve small constant search latency; and employs an active caching strategy that substantially reduces the number of messages generated by each search for a list of searching process. We analyze the performance of PresenceCloud and two other architectures, a Mesh-based scheme and a Distributed Hash Table based scheme. Through simulations, we also c ompare the performance of the three approaches in terms of the number of messages generated and the search satisfaction which we use to denote the search response time and the buddy notification time. The results demonstrate that PresenceCloud achieves major performance gains in terms of reducing the number of messages to reduce network traffic without sacrificing search satisfaction. Thus, PresenceCloud can support a large-scale applications distributed among thousands of servers on the Internet. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, PresenceCloud is among the imporatanta architecture for mobile presence services. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shown the architecture of presence cloud that significantly best than those based distributed hash tables. PresenceCloud can also be utilized by Internet social network applications and services that need to replicate or search for mutable and dynamic data among distributed presence servers. The second contribution is that we analyze the scalability problems of distributed presenceserver architectures, and define a new problem called the buddy-list search problem. Through our mathematical formula, the scalability problem in the distributed server architectures of mobile presence services is analyzed. Finally, we analyze the performance complexity of Presence- Cloud and different designs of distributed architectures, and evaluate to prove the applications of PresenceCloud. 1.3 Existing System In this section, we describe the previous research on presence services, and survey the presence service of existing systems. Well known commercial Instant Messaging systems has some form of centralized clusters to provide presence services. Jennings III et al. presented a taxonomy of different features and functions supported by the three most popular Instant Messaging systems and Yahoo! Messenger. The authors also provided an overview of the system architectures and observed that the systems use client-server-based architectures. Skype, a popular voice over Internet Protocol application, utilizes the Global Index (GI) technology to provide a presence service for clients and people. Global Index is a multi-tiered network architecture where each node maintains full knowledge of all available clients connected to it. Since Skype is not an open protocol, it is difficult to determine how GI technology is used for presence services. Moreover, Xiao et al. analyzed the traffic of MSN and A IM system. They found that the presence information is one of most network traffic in instant messaging systems. In, authors shown that the largest message traffic in existing presence services is buddy NOTIFY messages. 1.4 Limitations of Existing System This system allows makes congestion in the network. It is not applicable for large scale network. It increases the search latency. 1.5 Proposed System Recently, there is an increase amount of interest in how to design a peer-to-peer Session Initiation Protocol. P2PSIP has been developed to remove the the disadvantages of centralized server, reduce costs, and prevent loses due to failures in server-based SIP deployment. To maintain presence information, P2PSIP clients are organized in a Distributed Hash Tables system, rather than in a centralized server. However, the presence service architectures of Jabber and P2PSIP are distributed, the buddy-list search problem we defined later also could affect such distributed systems. It is noted that few papers in discuss about the scalability issues of the distributed presence server architecture. Saint Andre observed the traffic generated as a result of presence information between users of inter-domains that support the XMPP. Houri et al. Show that the amount of presence traffic in SIMPLE can be extremely high, and they analyze the effect of a large presence system on the memory CPU loading. Those works in study related problems and developing an initial set of guidelines for optimizing inter-domain presence traffic and present a DHT-based presence server architecture. Recently, presence services are also developed in the mobile services. For example, 3GPP has defined the integration of presence service into its specification in UMTS. It is based on SIP protocol, and uses SIMPLE to manage presence information. Recently, some mobile devices also support mobile presence services. For example, the Instant Messaging and Presence Services (IMPS) was developed by the Wireless Village consortium and was united into Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) IMPS in 2005. In, Chen et al. proposed a weakly consistent scheme to reduce the number of updating messages in mobile presence services of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). However, it also suffers scalability problem since it uses a central SIP server to perform presence update of mobile users. In, authors presented the server scalability and distributed management issues in IMS-based presence service. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE SURVEY Chapter – 2 Literature Survey 2.1 Introduction In this section, we describe previous researches on presence services, and survey the presence service of existing systems 2.2 Related Paper Discussions 2.2.1 Title: A study of internet instant messaging and chat protocols Year: 2006 Author: R. B. Jennings, E. M. Nahum, D. P. Olshefski, D. Saha, Z.-Y. Shae, Description: Well known commercial Instant Messaging systems has some form of centralized clusters to maintain presence services. Jennings III presented a taxonomy of different features and functions supported by the three most popular Instant Messaging systems, AIM, Microsoft MSN and Yahoo! Messenger. The authors also provided a description of the system architectures and analized that the systems use client-server-based architectures. 2.2.2 Title: Understanding instant messaging traffic characteristics Year: 2007 Author: Z. Xiao, L. Guo, and J. Tracey Description: Xiao analyzed the traffic of MSN and AIM system. They observed and got that the presence information is one of most messaging traffic in instant messaging systems 2.2.3 Title: Ims presence server: Traffic analysis and performance modelling Year: 2008 Author: C. Chi, R. Hao, D. Wang, and Z.-Z. Cao, Description: In this, authors shown that the huge message traffic in existing presence services is searching the locations ,buddies etc. 2.2.4 Title: Peer-to-peer internet telephony using sip Year:2009 Author: K. Singh and H. Schulzrinne Description: Now a days, there is an increase amount of interest in how to design a peer-to-peer Session Initiation Protocol . Peer to Peer SIP has been developed to remove the centralized server, reduce maintenance costs, and prevent disadvantages in server-based SIP deployment. To maintain presence information, P2PSIP clients are arranged in a DHT system, rather than in a centralized server. However, the presence service architectures of Jabber and P2PSIP are distributed, the search problem we defined later also could affect such distributed systems.

Goldenrod :: essays research papers

Goldenrod is common name for certain related plants of the composite family. The Canada goldenrod is really â€Å"Solidago canadensis†. They are typical autumn flowers of the United States that grow in a great variety of habitats: woods, meadows, hills, and rocky ground. For many years goldenrod was considered a major cause of hay fever, but experiments with goldenrod pollen have indicated that it is virtually harmless. It is so heavy that certain types of bugs actually have to lift it out. It is the state flower of Kentucky and Nebraska. Goldenrods are perennial herbs with wand like stems and stalk-less leaves. They usually grow to a height of 1.2 m (4 ft), but environmental conditions and species variations give them a range of 30 cm to 2 m (1 to 7 ft). Their yellow flowers are in graceful clusters. The genus goldenrods contain about 100 species, most of which are North American in origin. The Canada goldenrod, one of the commonest species, is of average height and has large panicles of small yellow flowers. The smaller sweet goldenrod has anise-scented leaves used to make herb tea. The wreath goldenrod, a low-growing species, is found in shady places. The November goldenrod is the tallest and bears large hairy panicles of flowers. Only one goldenrod species, the European goldenrod, is native to Europe. Several species of goldenrod that have white ray flowers are commonly called silverrod. Goldenrods make up the genus Solidago of the family Compositae. The Canada goldenrod is classified as Solidago canadensis, the sweet goldenrod as Solidago odora, the wreath goldenrod as Solidago caesia, and the November goldenrod as Solidago serotina. The European goldenrod is classified as Solidago virgaurea and the silverrod as Solidago bicolor. Goldenrods attracted short-lived commercial attention when Thomas Edison found that certain species contain latex. Some species (sometimes called dyer's-weed) have yielded a dye, and the leaves of many species have long been used for medicinal preparations and teas.

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Punishment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Should Christians support the death penalty? The answer to that question is controversial. Many Christians feel that the Bible has spoken to the issue, but others believe that the New Testament ethic of love replaces the Old Testament law. Old Testament Examples Throughout the Old Testament we find many cases in which God commands the use of capital punishment. We see this first with the acts of God Himself. God was involved, either directly or indirectly, in the taking of life as a punishment for the nation of Israel or for those who threatened or harmed Israel. One example is the flood of Noah in Genesis 6-8. God destroyed all human and animal life except that which was on the ark. Another example is Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18-19), where God destroyed the two cities because of the heinous sin of the inhabitants. In the time of Moses, God took the lives of the Egyptians' first-born sons (Exod. 11) and destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea (Exod. 14). There were also punishments such as the punishment at Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 13-14) or the rebellion of Korah (Num. 16) against the Jews wandering in the wilderness. The Old Testament is replete with references and examples of God taking life. In a sense, God used capital punishment to deal with Israel's sins and the sins of the nations surrounding Israel. The Old Testament also teaches that God instituted capital punishment in the Jewish law code. In fact, the principle of capital punishment even precedes the Old Testament law code. According to Genesis 9:6, capital punishment is based upon a belief in the sanctity of life. It says, "Whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God, He made man." The Mosaic Law set forth numerous offenses that were punishable by death. The first was murder. In Exodus 21, God commanded capital punishment for murderers. Premeditated murder (or what the Old Testament described as "lying in wait") was punishable by death. A second offense punishable by death was involvement in the occult (Exod. 22; Lev. 20; Deut 18-19). This included sorcery, divination, acting as a medium, and sacrificing to false gods. Third, capital punishment was to be used against perpetrators of sexual sins such as rape, incest, or homosexual practice. Within this Old Testament theocracy, capital punishment was extended beyond murder to cover various offenses.

Rules by Which a Government May Be Reduced to a Small One

In Benjamin Franklin’s writing â€Å"Rules by Which a Great Empire May be Reduced to a Small One†, he attempts, without success, to convince the king and Parliament of Britain to change their control of policies towards the American Colonies. This publishing did very well to highlight the main issues of America caused by the British Government. Franklin’s writing uses excessive rhetorical devices to portray his patriotic opinion towards the British Crown, such as Satire, Figurative Language, and Diction. These devices serve the purpose of warning the government of Britain that the American people do not approve of how they rule their people.Benjamin Franklin uses Satire throughout his entire piece, in an effort to make his audience; the readers of â€Å"Public Advertiser† feel that the British are foolish. His use of satire is seen as early on as the second paragraph, where he says â€Å"Take special Care the Provinces are never incorporated with the Moth er Country, that they do not enjoy the same common Rights, the same Privileges in Commerce, and that they are governed by severer Laws, all of your enacting, without allowing them any Share in the Choice of the Legislators. This blatant use of sarcasm tends to make the audience feel enlightened as to what the British are really doing to the American Colonies. Sarcasm also emphasizes the main idea of the piece in that it attempts to affect the way the British govern America. Benjamin Franklin also has extensive use of figurative language. For example, he uses a simile in the very first sentence of his piece; â€Å"a great Empire, like a great Cake, is most easily diminished at the Edges. † His figurative language serves a purpose of emphasizing his use of satire.In a later example; he keeps his simile of the cake and compares it to a gingerbread baker who seems to not know how to bake, thus accentuating his use of sarcasm. Franklin’s use of figurative language creates a n expressive tone more efficiently than simple, concrete language. Lastly, Benjamin Franklin’s use of diction is also very prevalent in his writing. Just one example of Franklin’s use of diction would include: â€Å"After a Revolution is thoroughly established, are of no more use, they are even odious and abominable. His use of the words â€Å"odious† and â€Å"abominable† serve a larger purpose than simply using more generic, less descriptive words such as â€Å"hateful† and â€Å"bad†. His use of these words convey his thoughts on British tyranny over America more clearly. It provides a tone of seriousness and genuine importance. His diction affects the overall mood of the piece by giving it a sense of urgency in that something needs to change for America. In conclusion, Benjamin Franklin’s writing â€Å"Rules by Which a Great Empire May be Reduced to a Small One† attempts to cause change in the way government is being run b y Britain for the Colonies in America.His use of satire, figurative language, and diction cause his writing to be regarded as fundamental in producing the American Revolution. They change both the mood and tone of the piece, and cause his audience to think about how the British Parliament governs America. His extensive use of sarcasm throughout the piece strikes a sense of foolishness by the audience towards the British Crown. Although his attempts to change the way British Parliament governed America did not succeed, Benjamin Franklin did emphasize the problems in their system, and ultimately contributed to the American Revolution.

Haitian Vodou Essay

Vodou, A Haitian religion deeply rooted in colonialism stems from several African sources, which have constructed and maintained a hybrid Africana and European diaspora in the Caribbean. In an effort to preserve African tradition and spiritual belief, slaves in Haiti prior to the Haitian Revolution of 1791, established and developed the heterogeneous religion known as Vodou. As Vodou became a more prominent aspect of slave culture in Haiti the hybridization between traditional Africana religion and European religion fashioned a new system of belief. The fusion of Catholicism from Europe and African religions make up one of the most influential religions in Haiti today, in fact Vodou plays an imperative role in Haitian life. In addition to having a tremendous effect on Haitian religious practices, Vodou also plays a fundamentally important role in driving Haitian politics, economics, community, and social relations. From a student and non-Haitian perspective I seek to obtain knowledge on how Vodou has and continues to play a detrimental role in every aspect of Haitian life. Through analyzing and cross-examination of several texts it appears that without boundaries Vodou is important. Before delving into how Vodou effects nearly every aspect of Haitian culture I would like to first analyze the importance of understanding the roots and origin of a belief and practice that has become such a prominent aspect of Haitian life. In the eighteenth century the slave trade in Haiti ushered in a number of African slaves from various groups. These groups of African people brought with them to Haiti their traditions, beliefs, and lifestyles. In â€Å"Haitian Vodou† of Creole Religions of the Caribbean, the authors state that the slave trade was in fact the European way of â€Å"destroying all cultural connections† to the homelands of the slaves (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 101). European slave owners and slave traders thought it necessary to force European ideals and beliefs onto their slaves, ridding and dismantling the beliefs and tradition of their native land. In this respect the slave trade played a significant role in the creation of Vodou, catalyzing Afro-European syncretism into a new belief system. Vodou began as a way for slaves to hold on to their cultural beliefs, and helped refute the impositions of Catholic religion that the French attempted to employ, as they saw it necessary to condition African slaves to their lifestyle (102). In my opinion Afro-European syncretism is one of the more complex and intriguing religious developments as it pertains to Vodou. In Voodoo Africa’s Secret Power author Gert Chesi describes the fusion of African and European culture stating that slaves brought with them the gods of Africa to the Caribbean where they then blended with the Saints and other Catholic and Christian symbols (Chesi 231). The imposition of Catholic and Christian beliefs by Europeans onto African slaves made it nearly impossible for African slaves to remain entirely devoted to their home land beliefs and traditions. African slaves in Haiti adopted Vodou as a means of maintaining their traditional beliefs, however, Christian and Catholic ideals were still important influential factors in the establishment of Vodou. The spirits often associated with Vodou known, as Lwa are similar to Saints in the Catholic Church. Slaves in Haiti dealt with the pressures of forcibly having to adapt to European religion by integrating their belief system with that of the European belief system. I think that Slaves in Haiti used Vodou as a stabilizing factor in Haitian culture. The ritual and practice that developed through the integration of European tradition with African tradition ensures that African tradition will remain considerably important regardless of the fact that Europeans once tried to dismantle African tradition and impose Western tradition on those slaves living in Haiti. Vodou serves as a mechanism for passing on tradition from generation to generation. In Voodoo: Truth and Fantasy the author states that Vodou has emerged as a vibrant cultural force in twenty-first century Haiti (Hurbon 126). This statement supports the idea that Vodou has and continues to have a role in Haitian life and Haitian culture. Vodou has undoubtedly helped restore an almost lost identity to African slaves in Haiti, and has allowed generation after generation to know and understand the beliefs of the homeland from which their ancestors originated. The foundation of many Haitian affairs may not be solely rooted in Vodou, however, the religion holds weight in many political spheres throughout Haiti. Starting from the moment of its development, Vodou has been politically important to Haiti. In fact, its very creation resulted from various political, cultural, and religious â€Å"struggles for freedom† (33). After analyzing the roots of Vodou it has become quite apparent that Vodou played an important role during Haiti’s revolutionary period. During and before the Haitain revolution Vodou was used as a means of protecting and politicizing the interest of Haitian slaves. From that time forward Haitian people have continued to use Vodou as a political tool to protect their interests and assets. Vodou has indeed been subjected to â€Å"persecution at the hands of both Church and state† leaving many non-believers and outsiders to attribute negative connotations to Vodou as a whole (117). In 1835 Vodou began to publically suffer from political ostracizing under president Jean-Pierre Boyer who passed a penal code that called for the imprisonment of six months to two years for followers of Vodou practicing superstitious act (118). It seems to me that the reason behind the ban on Vodou practices not only stemmed from political issues occurring at the time, but also from past political experiences in Haiti. Hurbon does not mention Boyer’s reasoning behind implementing a penal code, therefore allowing one to speculate whether or not Boyer, although Haitian had ties to France. The reason I bring this point to light is because for one, Jean-Pierre Boyer sounds relatively French and secondly Boyer implemented a code that put restrictions on a religion that has roots deep within African culture. In addition to dealing with the idea of possible imprisonment, if caught practicing Vodou, Haitians also faced the possibility of abandoning and giving up the African culture and belief that was associated with Vodou. In response to government restrictions some Haitians created secret societies in order to keep the bonds of Vodou ritual and ties to kinship in motion. In 1957 President Francois Duvalier also known as â€Å"Papa Doc† started a political rehabilitation for Vodou (118). Duvalier’s involvement in Vodou was for the soul purpose of engaging the Lwa through ceremonies in order to gain the Lwas’ good will and also to spark enthusiasm in those who practice Vodou. Papa Doc’s presidency marked a period characterized by dark magic and sorcery. This period in Haitian history displays the negative aspects often associated with Vodou. In my opinion President Francois Duvalier’s understanding of Vodou curtails from misinterpretation and misuse. Duvalier did not seem to grasp the reasoning behind certain Vodou rituals and ceremonies, using them only as a way to advance himself politically. During Duvalier’s reign Haiti saw tremendous political change resulting from the misunderstanding or misuse of Vodou. On one hand Jean-Pierre Boyer refused to let any one in Haiti practice Vodou because of the negative connotations surrounding the religion. On the other hand Francois Duvalier used Vodou to bolster his political appeal, which dismantled the meaning and reasoning behind the ceremonies and rituals performed by those who practiced and truly understood and appreciated the meaning that those Vodou acts carry. In Creole Religions of the Caribbean, the authors mention that within Vodou practices the chief communicators that draw â€Å"konesans† or connaissance/knowledge are the Oungand and the Manbo (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 107). The Oungand and the Manbo are believed to receive knowledge passed down from the Lwa. The Oungand and the Manbo act as political leaders and have rural political power within their own community because the ability to communicate with the Lwa is looked up to. In Michel Laguerre’s book Voodoo and Politics the author states that Francois Duvalier used the political power of the Oungand and the Manbo to establish legitimacy among those who practiced Vodou (Laguerre 87). Today Vodou can be represented in popular culture as dark, sadistic, and involving many acts of superstition, denying it a position central to Haitian culture. However, despite the misconceptions surrounding Vodou today many religious works are carried out by Haitian elites. This goes to show yet another transformation in Haitian politics, and Vodou’s role in shaping a new system of life. From my examination of the texts that emphasized Vodou’s relationship to Haitian politics I have concluded that Vodou does in fact affect politics in Haitian communities and Haiti as a whole. The relationship between Vodou and Haitian economics is a long-standing phenomenon that has existed prior to the Haitian revolution in 1791 and continues to exist today. The slave trades influence on the creation of Vodou links the existence of the religion and also the economics involved between masters and sellers of slaves. During this time the Haitian economy was being stimulated by the slave trade. As the slaves grew weary, a number of rebellions occurred and Vodou greatly affected the plantation economy that the Haitian people originally were forced into. According to Omos and Gerbert, the economy in Haiti shifted from one of plantation to that of a â€Å"rural economy† of â€Å"subsistent farmers† working their own lands (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 103). Vodou practices and rituals play an important role in shaping and maintaing Haitian economics. The initiation and sacrificial rituals performed by many Vodou sects involve a great amount of â€Å"financial sacrifice† (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 117). From my examination of several texts, including that of Olmos and Gerbet I have concluded that preparation for the many Vodou festivals, initiations, and temple gatherings are intensive and call for many financial sacrifices from those who may already be financially unstable. Animal sacrifice plays an important role in the finances of Haitian people. In Voodoo Africa’s Secret Power the author, Gert Chesi, included various photographs of Haitian Vodou sacrifices and rituals. Many of the photographs throughout Chesi’s book showed the sacrificing of cattle, sheep, and chicken. The cross-examination of various texts did not leave me with much information on the Haitian economy as it related to Vodou, however, I was able to infer that the economic sacrifices made by Haitian people were performed in order to obtain personal advancements or for the betterment of the community as a whole. Some sacrifices were performed to win the protection and trust of the Lwa spirits, and some sacrifices were performed in hopes that the Lwa would shed some rain to strengthen planation production. I think that the Haitian economy and the Vodou religion are dependent on each other. The dependency I see in the relationship stems from the fact that without an economy like the one in Haiti, Vodou would not be as prominent or even meaningful to the Haitian people. The economy as it is creates a buffer for Vodou as a religion. The economy allows for Haitians to use their beliefs and connections with the spirits to envoke hope, or optimism that the plantation life in Haiti will somehow flourish. This claim can be supported through the existence of rituals performed for protection, knowledge, and even rainfall. In Hurbon’s, Olmos’ and Gebert’s, Chesi’s, Laguerre and Michel’s and Smith’s descriptions of Vodou in Haitian culture one thing is for certain, Vodou has and continues to influence communities through and through. In Chesi’s pictorial account of Vodou in Haiti one can see pictures of various ways that the religion is linked to community. In one picture, Chesi captured a ritual being performed near a beach where one individual was having a ritual performed on him (ritual not clear from picture) while dozens of his Vodou community member looked on and supported him. What puzzles me the most is how instinctual and ritualized Vodou actually is. Chesi’s pictures show dozens and dozens of Haitian people flocking to support another Vodou practice, but for what reason? Why do these members feel so indebted to one another? From my observation the answer to this question comes from the simple fact that Vodou needs a sense of community mong its members to remain relevant. It was from the simple yearning to keep tradition relevant that Vodou stemmed, so it appears to me that the idea of community or family has been long standing, even deep within Vodou’s African roots. Hurbon’s choice of words within Voodoo: Truth and Fantasy shed’s lite on the communal aspect of Vodou a little differently. Like Chesi, Hurbon acknowledges the importance of community, even stating that Vodou â€Å"bring families together in large gatherings, a festive way of ensuring that religious traditions will endure† (Hurbon 14). In Hurbon’s text it appears that the family and passing of tradition from generation to generation is in fact important to the survival of Vodou. In my examination of Hurbon’s text it seemed as though Hurbon was promoting a balance of kinship and communal ties. Hurbon states that it is important to have family agreement in order to have a positive communal bond. One aspect of Hurbon’s text was that Vodou was often referred to as â€Å"a cult dedicated to spirits. † Hurbon did not let the wording of her description interfere with the way information was conveyed, however, I found it quiet bias that she would call Vodou a cult. Personally I associate the word cult with negative connotations. It is unclear whether Hurbon planned on conveying Vodou in a negative light, but one thing is for certain a cult describes a group of people or the communal bond that Vodou encourages. In Michel’s and Smith’s book, Voodou in Haitian Life and Culture: Invisible Powers, The authors proceed to explain how the â€Å"magical† or â€Å"superstitious† aspect of Vodou conveys a sense of community among its supporters. The authors show that not only is Vodou practice a family effort, but a community effort as well. Smith and Michel both depict a type of Vodou were literally everyone in a community is involved. From small children to the eldest members of a community, all play an important role in carrying on and performing the tradition of Vodou culture. The elaborate rituals and preparation described by the authors is only made possible through communal efforts. From my understanding of the community in Vodou culture, it appears that only through community and unity can tradition be kept alive. Despite any negative connotations Vodou may have, each author showed how important Vodou is in respects to several aspects of Haitian culture. Vodou is not only a religious matter, but also a political, economic, and social one as well. On May 14, 2013 guest lecturer Carnie Fabious stated, â€Å"Vodou is a way of life. † This statement alone sums up what Vodou was, and what Vodou continues to be in regards to Haitian culture. Fabious’ words show the importance that Vodou plays in all aspects of Haitian life, and demonstrates how relative the religion is to such a vast group of people.