The Iliad and Song of Roland essays

The Iliad and Song of Roland essays The Iliad by Homer and Song of Roland are two enjoyable novels that both deal with the basic nature of war. They are set in different eras of history, but they both manage to depict the image of war and conquest very well. With that said, they do indeed share obvious plot characteristics. However, the manner of which the subject of war is portrayed in both novels is considerably different. The Iliad leans toward a more graphic and honest depiction whereas Song of Roland illustrates a more glorious and honorable view of battle. In The Iliad, Homer tells the tale of the war between the Achaeans and the Trojans. They are fighting an intense and gruesome battle with each other. The two warriors that stand out the most in the novel are Achilles, who is fighting on the side of the Achaeans, and Hector, who is the great Trojan warrior. They fight back and forth in many battles, asking the gods to help them with different tasks. In Song of Roland, the story is told of Charlemagne and his army, who are fighting the Muslims in Spain. Their conquest proves to be a success. This success has much to do with the mighty and skillful warrior Roland, who is the hero of the novel. He ends up dying a martyrs death and is held with the highest regard amongst his people. As you can see, these two stories both have heroes in them, and they both deal with war and battle. Song of Roland seems to glorify the attitude of war by using more of a bold and egotistical tone when describing its conquests. Charlemagnes army is off to rid the world of pagans and convert as many of them as possible into Christians. They feel themselves to be superior to the pagans due to their Muslim belief. They will stop at nothing when it comes to pushing their belief of Christianity on them; the pagans only other option being death. This self-righteous attitude prevails through ...

Reaction Rate Definition and Equation

Reaction Rate Definition and Equation The reaction rate is defined as the rate at which the reactants of a chemical reaction form the products.  Reaction rates are expressed as concentration per unit time. Reaction Rate Equation The rate of a chemical equation may be calculated using the rate equation. For a chemical reaction: a  A   b  B →  p  P   q  Q The rate of the reaction is: r k(T)[A]n[B]n k(T) is the rate constant or reaction rate coefficient. However, this value is not technically a constant because it includes the factors that affect reaction rate (most notably temperature). n and m are reaction orders. They equal the stoichiometric coefficient for single-step reactions, but are determined by a more complicated method for multi-step reactions. Factors That Affect Reaction Rate There are several factors that influence the rate of a chemical reaction: Temperature: Usually this is a key factor. In more cases, raising the temperature increases the rate of a reaction because higher kinetic energy leads to more collisions between reactant particles. This, in turn, increases the chance some of the colliding particles will have sufficient activation energy to react with each other. The Arrhenius equation is used to quantify the effect of temperature on reaction rate. It is important to note some reaction rates are negatively impacted by temperature, while a few are independent of temperature.The Chemical Reaction: The nature of the chemical reaction plays a large role in determining reaction rate. In particular, the complexity of the reaction and the state of matter of the reactants is important. For example, reacting a powder in a solution typically proceeds faster than reacting a large chunk of solid.Concentration: Increasing the concentration of the reactants increases the rate of a chemical reaction.Pressure: Increasing the pressure increases the rate of reaction. Order: The reaction order determines the nature of the effect of pressure or concentration on rate.Solvent: In some cases, a solvent does not participate in a reaction, but does affect its rate.Light: Light or other electromagnetic radiation often speeds up reaction rate. In some cases, the energy causes more particle collisions. In others, light acts to form intermediate products that affect the reaction.Catalyst: A catalyst lowers activation energy and increases reaction rate in both forward and reverse directions. Sources Connors, Kenneth (1990). Chemical Kinetics:The Study of Reaction Rates in Solution. VCH Publishers. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-471-72020-1.Isaacs, Neil S. (1995). Section 2.8.3. Physical Organic Chemistry (2nd ed.). Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman. ISBN 9780582218635.IUPAC (1997) Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the Gold Book).Laidler, K. J.; Meiser, J.H. (1982). Physical Chemistry. Benjamin/Cummings. ISBN 0-8053-5682-7.

Paper on Financial Monitoring and Control Essay

Paper on Financial Monitoring and Control - Essay Example According to Nikolai et al (2009), efficient monitoring and control of cash ensure that there is adequate cash to undertake important activities in organizations. Cash control systems need internal control measures that are adequate and effective, which must comply with laws and regulations of any given jurisdiction where the business or project is carried out. Kutz (2003) asserts that error and lack of control over organizations assets and cash lead to business or project failure. Components of financial monitoring and control system First, roles and responsibilities form part of the components of financial monitoring and control system. Every financial or accounting officer has a role to play regarding cash receipts and disbursement as well as towards financial records. Access to cash of the organization should be limited to few authorized personnel and duties performed by different accounting and finance officers should be separated. Cash should be controlled from the time it is r eceived from customers (at the point of sale) to the point it is deposited in the bank. Point of sales terminals or cash registers need to be used. This is because point of sales terminals and cash registers allow for monitoring cash inflow. Second, financial records are components of monitoring and controlling finances. All expenses and revenue (income) transactions are recorded in general ledger. General ledgers form the foundation for generating reports and financial statements of each project. Revenue, cost and managerial accounting are used for internal purposes for planning, monitoring and controlling organization’s monies. Financial records are evidences that financial transactions took place. Financial records assist project managers to determine how much they have spent, how much they have and how much they need to spent in future (Garman and Forgue, 2007). Gross et al (2005) asserts that well kept financial records enables managers and interested parties to review r esult of financial transactions. Cash shortages and excess will be easily identified and remedial measures taken to correct the situation when proper records are kept. List of all checks received must be recorded and forwarded to the appropriate department. Cashiers must prepare daily bank deposits. Records of all billings, payables, accruals, receivables, invoices, contracts and suppliers must be kept appropriately. Third, disbursements thresholds also form part of financial monitoring and control system. Procedures that allow payments of actual expenditures must be complied with accordingly. The organization must create ceilings above which payments shall only be made through checks. For example, an organization ensures that payments above $200 must be made using checks. Furthermore, large amounts of cash to be disbursed must be authorized and approved by people who are in higher positions. For example, any expenditure above $5,000 must only be approved and authorized by the proje ct director or managing director. The organization should properly utilize petty cash systems and payments should only be made upon verification of all supporting documents. Fourth, a budget forms a component of financial monitoring and control system. Budgets reflect financial goals and objectives of a project covering a specific period of time. During budgeting, technological trends, resource pricing, employee relations, raw materials cycles, inventory levels, financial needs and seasonality should be taken into considerations (Shim and Siegel 2008). Donovan (2005) explained that before a person or organization spend what they have earned, it is important to prepare budgets to be able to focus on priorities. Therefore, every

Micro Economics Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Micro Economics Master - Essay Example Short term shut down of a business concentrates on cutting the opportunity costs or variable costs. As long as the firm produces something, it will maximize its profits by producing "on the marginal cost curve. "The firm will have to shut down if it cannot cover its variable costs. As fixed costs are anyway going to be incurred, they are not opportunity costs in the short run -- so they are not relevant to the decision to shut down. Even if the company shuts down, it must pay the fixed costs. But the variable costs are avoidable -- they are opportunity costs! So the firm will shut down if it cannot meet the variable (short run opportunity) costs. But as long as it can pay the variable costs and still have something to apply toward the fixed costs, it is better off continuing to produce. When the firm's average total cost curve lies above its marginal revenue curve at the profit maximizing level of output, the firm is experiencing losses and will have to consider whether to shut down its operations. The decisions taken by a firm in such situations is termed as Short-run shut down decisions. Short run equilibrium of a firm can be derived based on the total revenue and total cost and marginal revenue and marginal cost. As firms are price-takers, each firm in an industry tries to maximize its profit by adjusting the output to a level where Marginal Cost (MC) =Marginal Revenue (MR). Profit is the difference between the total revenue obtained from sales and the total cost incurred by the firm. The long run is defined as "a period long enough to make the cost of all inputs variable." This includes, in particular, capital, plant, equipment, and other investments that represent long-term commitments. In the long-run the decisions taken would be only exit decisions. Exit decisions are decisions taken by a firm to leave the market. They are not called as Shut-down decisions. Shut-down is only in the short-run. Long run equilibrium plays a crucial role in deciding the existence of the firm. In the long run there are enough time periods for the firm to cover its losses and earn normal profits. This is because in the long run, all inputs are variable and the firm can have the most profitable level of output i.e. the profit maximization level of output. If firms are perfectly competitive, industry is making short term surplus (profits), more firms will enter the industry. In the long run this will increase the market supply of the product and reduces the market price as well as the profits until all firms in the industry make a normal profit (break even )In the long run equilibrium, the business will be operating at the minimum point on both long - run and short - run average cost curv es obtaining full economy of scale. A Walrasian or competitive equilibrium consists of a vector of prices and an allocation such that given the prices, each trader by

Iphone 5C price decision Essay Example for Free

Iphone 5C price decision Essay The fist factor that important in the pricing decision of iPhone 5C is by considering costs. For instance, since Apple Inc. wants to maximize its profits through establishing new products, the price should be set at the point where marginal revenue equals to marginal cost. We know that iPhone 5C is in the perfectly competitive market, the company can reach its maximum profit at equilibrium at X* and P*. To determine the price, Apple Inc. needs to do the marginal analysis. According to profits (Ï€) equals to total revenues (TR) minus total costs (TC), which is Ï€=(P*X)-(fixed cost+variable costs per unit *X), X is the number of units sold by Apple Inc. Of course, manager needs to ask several departments and contractors to know the cost of their product and services. From online websites, I get to know that producing a 16Gbyte iPhone, total BOM and Manufacturing Cost is about $173.45, for a 32Gbyte iPhone 5C is approximately $182.85(which accounts only for hardware and manufacturing costs and does not include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditure)(Andrew, 2013). The manager can differentiating the fixed costs and variable costs based on cost behavior, and plug those numbers into the equation and get an equation between Ï€ and X. then differentiate the equation and set it to zero, the manager can get the number of units when profit maximizing. Finally, plug X into assuming demand function, the manager can get the price and make a decision. But, in the real world, it is not easy to implement the marginal analysis method. So, managers usually try to combine cost-based approaches and market-based approach to make a profit satisfying approach, for example full cost-plus target profits, variable costs-plus percentage markup can both assess to pricing decision. However, the common and basic factor for the methods is costs. The second factor that important in the pricing decision of iPhone 5C is product line and competitors. Strategy analysis is the company needs to consider about the Competitors as well as the whole industry, and then assess to firm’s plan. We can figure out that the competitions in the smartphone market are quite intense, there are numerous competitors and are almost equal size, such as Samsung, Microsoft. So, Apple Inc. has to investigate the cost leadership and the unique producers in order to make a competitive price in the smartphone market. The website take the example of Moto X, which has 18 kinds of colors and the functions are really similar to iPhone 5C (Darren, 2013). The price of Moto X is $599, so the manager should decide a lower price than it to gain a competitive advantage. In particular, the competition is not just from the external market, we know that Apple Inc. promoted iPhone 5C as well as iPhone 5S at the same time. To iPhone 5C, the manager needs to consider about the plastic case, which is $42 less than the metal case cost of iPhone5S (Ben, 2013). So manager should also compare the 5C’s price to 5S. It is an important thing to keep secret of the product’s price before they coming out. The manager of Apple Inc. can survey the expected price of the public, or conduct some historical sample tests before making the final price decision. The third factor that important in the pricing decision of iPhone 5C is the manager should estimate the demand. Assume that we are suffering a financial crisis, most people don’t have extra money to pay for new electronic devices. They have already owned iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S and do not want to pay for another similar product. Then the manager should decrease the price of iPhone 5C to fit for people’s expectation of low pricing, using the profit margin per unit to trade for higher quantities. As I mentioned above, the estimation of demand function is also important in the marginal analysis. In order to estimate the demand, the manager should also make market survey to analyze the targeted customers. According to Pew Internet’s report, Teens and Technology 2013, 37% of U.S. teenagers now own a smartphone (which compares to 23% in 2011). And the increases of U.S. wireless carriers’ family data plans, intensive the parents to buy smartphones for their kids (Jason, 2013). Because the iPhone5C is colorful, has proper functions and easy to control, it must a first-choice for kid’s cellphone. Aimed at attracting teenagers group, the Apple Inc. manager should make the price to a certain level. What’s more, we also have to consider whether buyers are sensitive to price. In economics, we call it price elasticity of demand, which means the percentage change in the numbers of units sod to the percentage change in the price of the product. Assume most people are price sensitive, if the price of iphone5C is much higher than they expected, they will not buy it, which decreases demand a lot. So, listen to the public opinions on price is quite important. Before iphone5C facing to the public, a lot of individuals forecast that the selling price should be low enough to satisfy the low-end customers needs. Somebody was kidding that iPhone 5C is iPhone for China or iPhone for cheap. Apple Inc. wants to occupy more market percentage in developing countries, so they advertised that to make a colorful low-end smartphone. However, the price of iPhone 5C is not as low as we expected. The data shows after releasing the iPhone for 72 hours, both in China, Australia, U.S., the sales of iPhone 5S is almost 4 times compare to iPhone 5C. Especially, the graph says in the â€Å"target† country China, where the 5s is outselling the 5c five to one (Christopher, 2013). So I think the price of iPhone 5C is not reasonable. There are several reasons to explain iPhone 5C price is not appropriate. Firstly, compare to iPhone 5S, people claim 5C just looks an iPhone 5 with a candy-colored plastic shell. According to a report published by UBS, the same memory for 16 Gigabyte iPhone, 5S costs $213 in materials, whereas a 5C costs $156IPhone 5S has metal shell, Touch ID fingerprint scanner, more advanced A7 chipset, Motion Coprocessor and True tone flash for camera. The different price due to plastic case of $42 and finger print sensor of $7. However, the price of iPhone 5C is only $100 less than iPhone 5S. The UBS also estimates the gross margins of iPhone 5S is 45-55% and for iPhone 5S is 48-54% (Ben, 2013). As a rational consumer, I will buy iPhone 5S instead of iPhone 5C, since 5S has much more functions, which is not at a so much higher price. Secondly, the factors of competitor also have huge effects. Samsung is the key part for apple to make its â€Å"retina display† screen, as well as apple use Sony’s sensor in its camera. We know that Samsung and Sony are competitors. Apple Inc. is hiring, relying and paying them. But if someday, Samsung or Sony stop providing essential parts to apple, what will happen? I think Apple Inc. has to produce all manufacturing parts by themselves under a big amount of fixed cost, which will have a big effect on Apple’s price decision. Thirdly, the price of iPhone 5C is not as low as rumored. It brings the question to us, who exactly is Apple targeting? We know that Samsung has galaxy series, which with large-screen and liked by fashion people and developing markets. In china, there are a lot of really cheap phones under 1000RMB, those phones have varieties function and beautiful looking. So when Apple Inc. can really open the market to low-end customers? The price decision and targeting customer is not clear and accurate. I am kind of thinking there must be some sailing strategy when apple promoted 5C and 5S at the same time, with a huge cost performance in my opinion. Maybe Apple Inc. just wants to stimulate the sales of 5S, after people comparing these two products.

The Making of a True Person :: essays research papers

One day five years ago I meet a boy. This boy was special in every way possible, except with himself. He had always held back his feelings never sharing his thoughts with anyone. After a while this boy had grow close to me and we had started dating. The boy and I decided one day to call it off and just be good friends, but for the boy and I we didn't realize it but we had already grown to close. During a past years of being together we had dated on and off. Finding that ever time we split apart we had grown closer and could never leave each other's sight. Finally the boy and I decided to give it a long-term try, where we could talk out our differences and problems. I always knew that there was something he was holding back from me, but I could figure out what it was. The boy and I finally came to find that we loved each other not only as a couple, but also as a friend. We could always talk about what was on his mind and he would tell me little stuff such as: "I am just not happy with how things work in life." or "I can't understand how people do things like that." He would get upset so easily when he heard about parents forcing kids to believe in what the parents wanted them to against their will. I never understood why until one day when he decided to talk to me about it. When we first started to talk he told me first about the scar on his side, he told me how it wasn't a bullet mark that scraped across him but it was from when he had chicken pox. He told me about when he used to live in Bristol, and his dad was a Pasteur and how his dad had got to close to people in the church and they didn't like it so he was harassed until they moved here. His dad got his license for being a Pastuer taken away because of that. The boy said he w! as scared until I came along. He said that he felt he could trust me and knew he should give reasons on why he had hurt me before in the past. He felt that he should explain him self to me so that I knew how much I've done for him. He said I opened doorways

Buddhist Religious Traditions: Sacred Elements and Meanings

Buddhism, as a religion, has a set of beliefs and practices. Although there are many doctrinal divisions, also known as Buddhist schools, there are several concepts common to them. These sacred elements characterize Buddhist religious traditions as a whole: Gautama Buddha All Buddhist schools accept the Buddha as their teacher and founder of Buddhism. Siddhartha Gautama is generally recognized as the Supreme Buddha and his teachings are considered sacred.Middle Way, Dependent Origination, Four Noble Truths, and Noble Eightfold Path These are practices common to all Buddhist schools. The Middle Way (also Middle Path) is their practice of non-extremism which means â€Å"moderation away from extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification and toward the practice of wisdom, morality and mental cultivation. † The doctrine of Dependent Origination (also Dependent Arising) states that phenomena arise together as part of a gigantic web of cause and effect.The most fundamental te achings in Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths. These are: The Nature of Suffering (Dukkha), Suffering’s Origin (Samudaya), Suffering’s Cessation (Nirodha), and The Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering (Marga). The noble eightfold path is the way to cessation of suffering and achievement of self-awakening. Nirvana Buddhist religious traditions all point their life to buddhahood, which is considered to be the highest attainment as a Buddhist.Nirvana, which literally means â€Å"to cease blowing†, is used by Buddhists, particularly Theravadins, to describe the enlightenment and liberation of Gautama Buddha. References: â€Å"An Introduction to Buddhism. † Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/buddhaintro. html â€Å"Essentials of Buddhism: Core Concepts. † Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http://www. buddhaweb. org/ â€Å"The Religion of Buddhism. † Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http://www. religioustolerance. org/bu ddhism. htm

Definition of X- Internet Essay

Many people think the Internet and the Web are the same thing. They’re not. The Internet is a piece of wire that goes from me to you and from me to 300 million other people in the world. The Web is software that I put on my end of the wire, and you put on your end — allowing us to exchange information. While the Internet (the wire) evolves gradually, the software on the wire can change quickly. Before the Web, other software was clamped onto the Internet. WAIS, Gopher, and Usenet were the dominant systems, and there were companies that were doing commerce using those software models. I call this the â€Å"executable Internet,† or X Internet, for short. X Internet offers several important advantages over the Web: 1) It rides Moore’s Law — the wide availability of cheap, powerful, low real-estate processing; 2) it leverages ever dear bandwidth — once the connection is made, a small number of bits will be exchanged, unlike the Web where lots of pages are shuttled out to the client; and 3) X Internet will be far more peer-to-peer — unlike the server-centric Web. This scenario could be marred by two threats: viruses and lack of standards. Once executables start to move fluidly through the Net, viruses will have perfect conditions to propagate. Standards, or rather the lack thereof, will block the quick arrival of X Internet. I can’t see Microsoft, Sun, IBM, or other traditionalists setting the standards. The Web-killer’s design will emerge from pure research, academe, or open source — as did the Web. What It Means — No. 1: Web-centric companies get stuck holding the bag. They will wake up one day with hundreds of millions of dollars of legacy code on their hands. Yes, their brands will remain intact, but their technology will suddenly be very outmoded. Yahoo!, eBay, and AOL will find themselves competing with a new wave of commerce players that market, deliver, and service using the superior technology of X Internet. One of the upstarts will Amazon Amazon. What It Means — No. 2: Investors get happy. The new wave of startups will race to market with X Internet, blasting old Web infrastructure and commerce companies out of their path. Internet creative destruction, round two. What It Means — No. 3: Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking rockets. The X Internet’s â€Å"smarts everywhere† design will enable an epidemic of Napstering. Courts, legislators, governments, companies, and other rule makers will have to contend with an empowered and ever more  liberated, unruly populace — armed with technology that allows them to bypass economic toll roads and bridges. What It Means — No. 4: If you are a Global 2,500 company, get ready for another round of change. This means: 1) overhauling the skills of your technologists; 2) destroying perfectly good Web sites in favor of the X Internet; 3) dumping Web-centric suppliers; and 4) retooling organizations. Change management will get a new test. As the Internet expands, two new waves of innovation — comprising what Forrester calls the X Internet — are already eclipsing the Web: an executable Net that greatly improves the online experience and an extended Net that connects the real world. An executable Net that supplants today’s Web will move code to user PCs and cause devices to captivate consumers in ways static pages never could. Today’s news, sports, and weather offered on static Web pages is essentially the same content presented on paper, making the online experience more like reading in a dusty library than participating in a new medium. The extended Internet is reshaping technology’s role in business through Internet devices and applications which sense, analyze, and control data, therefore providing more real-time information than ever before about what is going on in the real world. The X Internet will not be a new invention, but rather the evolution of today’s Internet of static Web pages and cumbersome e-commerce mechanisms into a Net that relies on executable software code to deliver more interactive experiences. Executable Internet applications use downloaded code like Java and XML to enhance the user experience with pop-up menus, pick lists, graphics and simple calculations, according to a recent Forrester report entitled â€Å"The X Internet.† An easy way to understand how the X Internet will work is to imagine that a band wants to distribute asong over the Net. Rather than worrying about which audio player people want to use, an executable file will deliver the song and the audio player at the same time. â€Å"With an executable, you can distribute movies the same way you distribute songs,† Forrester research director and report author Carl Howe told NewsFactor Network. â€Å"It just makes the models work better.† Building the X-Net The report also employs an example of a person building a house. With today’s  Internet, a builder would have to find, then try to follow, an article detailing how to frame a window. When it was time to installthe bathroom, the would-be plumber would then have to find an article dealing with that topic. Executable Internet applications would demonstrate to a builder, step-by-step, how to frame a window. When it came time to install the bathroom, the carpenter would simply be replaced by a plumber. â€Å"Instead of reading a book, you have a conversation about the work you’re trying to do,† Howe wrote. Forrester is also predicting the widespread adoption of another X Internet — but this X stands for â€Å"extended.† The extended Internet will include the widespread adoption of real-world appliances, like air conditioners or car tires, that communicate with owners or manufacturers via the Internet. The extended Internet will come with the inclusion of cheap sensors in thousands of everyday products, an era that will begin around 2005, Forrester predicts. Many people think the Internet and the Web are the same thing. They’re not. The Internet is a piece of wire that goes from me to you and from me to 300 million other people in the world. The Web is software that I put on my end of the wire, and you put on your end — allowing us to exchange information. While the Internet (the wire) evolves gradually, the software on the wire can change quickly. Before the Web, other software was clamped onto the Internet. WAIS, Gopher, and Usenet were the dominant systems, and there were companies that were doing commerce using those software models. I call this the â€Å"executable Internet,† or X Internet, for short. X Internet offers several important advantages over the Web: 1) It rides Moore’s Law — the wide availability of cheap, powerful, low real-estate processing; 2) it leverages ever dear bandwidth — once the connection is made, a small number of bits will be exchanged, unlike the Web where lots of pages are shuttled out to the client; and 3) X Internet will be far more peer-to-peer — unlike the server-centric Web. This scenario could be marred by two threats: viruses and lack of standards. Once executables start to move fluidly through the Net, viruses will have perfect conditions to propagate. Standards, or rather the lack thereof, will block the quick arrival of X Internet. I can’t see Microsoft, Sun, IBM, or other traditionalists setting the standards. The Web-killer’s design will emerge from pure research, academe, or open source — as did the Web. What It Means — No. 1: Web-centric companies get stuck holding the bag. They will wake up  one day with hundreds of millions of dollars of legacy code on their hands. Yes, their brands will remain intact, but their technology will suddenly be very outmoded. Yahoo!, eBay, and AOL will find themselves competing with a new wave of commerce players that market, deliver, and service using the superior technology of X Internet. One of the upstarts will Amazon Amazon. Wireless Networked Digital Devices The proliferation of mobile computing devices including laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs),and wearable computers has created a demand for wireless personal area networks (PANs).PANs allow proximal devices to share information and resources.The mobile nature of these devices places unique requirements on PANs,such as low power consumption, frequent make-and-break connections, resource discovery and utilization, and international regulations. This paper examines wireless technologies appropriate for PANs and reviews promising research in resource discovery and service utilization. We recognize the need for PDAs to be as manageable as mobile phones and also the restrictive screen area and input area in mobile phone. Thus the need for a new breed of computing devices to fit the bill for a PAN. The above devices become especially relevant for mobile users such as surgeons and jet plane mechanics who need both hands free and thus would need to have â€Å"wearable† computers.This paper first examines the technology used for wireless communication. Putting a radio in a digital device provides physical connectivity;however,to make the device useful in a larger context a networking infrastructure is required. The infrastructure allows devices o share data,applications,and resources such as printers, mass storage, and computation power. Defining a radio standard is a tractable problem as demonstrated by the solutions presented in this paper. Designing a network infrastructure is much more complex. The second half of the paper describes several research projects that try to address components of the networking infrastructure. Finally there are the questions that go beyond the scope of this paper, yet will have he greatest effect on the direction,capabilities,and future of this paradigm. Will these networking strategies be incompatible, like he various cellular phone systems in the United States, or will there be a standard upon which manufacturers and developers agree, like the GSM (global system for mobile  communication)cellular phones in Europe? Communication demands compatibility, which is challenging in a heterogeneous marketplace. Yet by establishing and implementing compatible systems, manufacturers can offer more powerful and useful devices to their customers. Since these are, after all, digital devices living in a programmed digital world, compatibility and interoperation are possible. Introduction to X internet : X internet seminar topic explains about concept of new generation internet applications and its updations in software and hardware technologies. Concept of x internet will help in different aspects of businesses, education and power full ways then present standards that we see in internet. Using this technology users can connect to physical objects by adding intelligent technologies which will increase connectivity between humans and physical objects. In this paper we provide detailed explanation on the extended internet, advanced cooperative wireless technology, context awareness, built in intelligence and more.

Strategies for promoting excellence in a time of scarce resources essay

Strategies for promoting excellence in a time of scarce resources essay Strategies for promoting excellence in a time of scarce resources essay Strategies for promoting excellence in a time of scarce resources essayGM is one of the largest US car manufacturers, which holds a leading position not only in the US but also in the world. In spite of the steep decline the company has faced since the economic recession in the US in 2008, the company is on its way to recovery. At any rate, GM still holds a strong position in the US as well as in the international market being one of the largest car manufacturers in the world. In spite of the steep decline and bankruptcy run under Chapter 11 in 2009, the company has undergone consistent reorganization and has started the recovery to regain its position as the world leader in the car manufacturing industry.The vision, mission, and stakeholders of a firm and their impact on the firm’s overall successThe vision of the company is the creation of the brand number one car manufacturer in the world that brings customers high quality vehicles that match their expectations and are manu factured in accordance with GM traditions. The company is also involved in socially responsible operations and serves to interests and needs of its employees and local communities (GM Investors, 2014).The mission of the company is to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles that leads to a healthy balance sheet of the company and world-class products that are winning in the market place (GM Corporate Strategy, 2014).Key stakeholders of GM involve employees of the company, managers, top executives, share holders, suppliers, customers and members of local communities, where production facilities of the company are located.PESTELThe political environment is positive for GM because since 2009, when the company ran bankrupt under Chapter 11, the company relies heavily on the government support, while the government accelerates the reorganization of the company that leads to the enhancement of the marketing position of the company in the US as well as the global market (McC racken, 2009). At any rate, the government backup turned out to be crucial for the survival of the company in 2009 and, at the moment, the company has started revival through the complex reorganization.The economic environment is still quite challenging because the global economy faced a considerable downturn in the late 2000s but the early 2010s have brought the steady recovery, while at the moment the car manufacturing industry in the US is growing fast and has already regained its position as car sales have reached one of the highest levels within a decade (DePamphilis, 2012). However, GM as well as other American car manufacturers face the tight competition from the part of Japanese and other leading car manufacturers, such as Toyota and others.The social environment is also quite challenging because, on the one hand, the company attempts to bear the social responsibility with regard to its employees, while, on the other hand, the company has to save costs that means the reducti on of spending on social programs to optimize the marketing performance of the company. In addition, the company faces the pressure from the part of local communities, which grow concerned with environmental issues as well as economic ones (Gustin, 2008). In this regard, one of the main concerns of communities, where American production facilities of the company are located, involves the economic impact of GM and employment opportunities the company creates for those communities.The technological environment is positive and friendly in relation to GM because the company traditionally focuses on innovations. Technological innovations allow GM to introduce new products and improvements that make its vehicles more attractive to customers than products of rivals. However, at the moment, the company focuses on the introduction of innovations oriented on the enhancement of fuel efficiency of GM’s vehicles and their minimal impact on the environment (Breneman Taylor, 2009). For exa mple, the company develops new cars, which use alternative fuels, including hybrid vehicles using gasoline and electricity, or all-electric vehicles, or hydrogen vehicles, or flexible-fuel vehicles, which use either ethanol, or gasoline, or both.Environmental issues have become particularly important today and the company has to deal with them effectively to preserve their strong position in the global market. In fact, customers in well-developed countries grow more and more concerned with environmental issues. This is why the company has to match demands of customers but the problem is that GM was traditionally oriented on manufacturing of large vehicles, which have never been fuel efficient. As a result, today, the company has to change its production and introduce innovations to make its vehicles fuel efficient and, therefore, less harmful for the environment.The legal environment is basically favorable for the successful business development of the US. GM is the US-based company but the company operates globally. The US legislation is stable and does not raise barriers on the way of the company to its successful business development. Problems may and sometimes emerge, when GM enters new markets, where the company has to deal with the new legal environment. As a rule, the company respects the corporate standards and enters markets, where legal norms and rules are clear and transparent. Nevertheless, the international market expansion may raise certain legal difficulties, when the company has to create partnerships, for example, to enter new markets. Nevertheless, the US and other major markets have the stable legal environment that contributes to the successful business development.Five forcesThe bargaining power of suppliers of GM is basically high since the company uses reliable suppliers, which have the extensive experience of cooperation with GM. The major suppliers of the company are reputable and reliable companies, which are, to a significant extent, dependent on GM.The bargaining power of buyers have started to increase and reached the high level recently, although in 2008-2009, the company faced a considerable downturn in its sale rates.The threat of substitutes is growing to be higher today, as other car manufacturers tend to develop new vehicles using alternative fuels, instead of gasoline and fossil fuels, which prevail among cars manufactured by GM.The threat of new entrants is relatively low because the world car manufacturing market is saturated and the competition is tight. This is why new entrants will face extremely high barriers to entry, which they may not be capable to overcome. Therefore, the threat of new entrants is low. In addition, GM and other US-based car manufacturers count on the government support, which helps them to keep barriers to entry high.The industry rivalry is high and this is probably the major threat for the position of the company in the US and global market today. In fact, the development of the rivalry in the industry resulted in the difficult position of GM, when the company has faced the downturn in its business development in 2008. However, the company used to be the world leader among car manufacturers. Prior to the crisis of 2008, GM was the largest car manufacturer in the world. But after 2008, the company has lost its leading position and Toyota has outpaced GM and become number one car manufacturer in the world.The external environment for opportunities and threatsIn spite of the considerable downturn in the economic development of GM, the company still has considerable opportunities to expand its business and maintain the leading position in the US and global market. The company has huge production capacity and can keep growing, on the condition of the development and implementation of the successful marketing strategy that allows the company to optimize its marketing performance and enhance its position globally.In addition, the company can enhance its brand image and become the multinational corporation that promotes environment-friendly policies and conducts the policy of social responsibility for its employees as well as local communities.On the other hand, the company faces the threat of the tightening competition and increasing the public pressure because of the environmental issues. The tightening competition can undermine the position of the company in the global market.The internal environment of a company for strengths and weaknessesThe internal environment of GM contributes to the enhancement of its competitive position in the global market. The company has the experienced personnel and well-developed research and development department which contribute to the steady and successful development of the company.In addition, the company has a solid production base along with the extensive network of reliable suppliers at the domestic and international level.On the other hand, the company has a number of weaknesses which need imme diate elimination. One of the main weaknesses of the company is the production of large vehicles with low fuel efficiency. As a result, the company needs to develop new vehicles, which are fuel efficient that may be achieved either through the reduction of size of vehicles or introduction of technological innovations to save fuel and make them more fuel efficient.Furthermore, the company has to enhance its brand image through the development of the positive attitude of customers. For example, the US customers are not always confident in GM vehicles, which they consider to be unreliable compared to Japanese cars, for instance.Various levels and types of strategy in a firmThe company has several layers of levels and respective types of strategy. At this point, it is possible to distinguish three major levels: local, national and global. At the local level, the company focuses on the development of the production line, identification of local suppliers or supply of required parts from other units of the company. As a rule, this is the plant level, when the plan manufacturing GM vehicles develops its operations and operates in accordance to the corporate strategy.At the national level, the company develops the marketing strategy for the national market, like the US, for example. Operations and strategy at the national level involves the large scale business plan and long run strategy oriented on the development of the company within the national market. In this regard, the US market is the major target market for GM but, today, the company attempts to enhance its position globally and expands its operations entering national markets of other countries, including the EU, South Africa, Asian countries and others.At the global level, the company elaborates the global strategy oriented on the international market expansion and taking the leading position in the global market. At the moment, GM attempts to regain its leading position in the global market and to reach t his goal the company has to have the global strategy which determines the global development of the company.Ways in which corporate governance will affect strategic decisionsThe corporate governance has a considerable impact on strategic decisions taken by the company. For example, the centralized corporate government implies that strategic decisions are taken by the board of the company at the top level. This way of the corporate governance is not effective in case of GM because the excessive centralization slows down the decision making process and raises the problem of the low effectiveness of strategic decisions taken by the company. For example, if the company needs to take a strategic decision at the national level, the outlet of GM located in this country could take a faster and more effective decision than the decision taken by the board in the US. Similarly, the local management can take decisions at the local level more effectively and successfully than the board.Another w ay of the corporate governance focuses on the decentralization of the corporate governance, which is more effective in case of GM. To put it more precisely, the decentralization of the corporate governance implies the autonomy of outlets of the company located in different parts of the world. Their autonomy allows them to take strategic decisions autonomously in response to the changing business environment and particular challenges that they face at the national or local level. This corporate governance strategy is more effective because it makes the corporate governance and strategy more flexible. The board determines the strategic framework within which all outlets and departments of the company operate and they use their autonomy in the decision making process to maximize their effectiveness and to match the corporate strategy and strategic goals determined by the board.The relationship between strategy and organizational structureThe company’s strategy depends on the org anizational structure. The corporate strategy is grounded on the organizational structure but, at the same time, the corporate strategy influences the organizational structure. The complex organizational structure of GM forces the company to develop flexible global strategy which grants local outlets of the company wide autonomy to make the entire corporation flexible and capable to confront changes in the business environment.In addition, the company has undergone reorganization since 2009 to optimize its marketing performance. The reorganization mirrored the new marketing strategy of the company oriented on the improvement of its financial and organizational performance. The company discontinued some brands and sold others, as was the case of SAAB, for example. Instead, the company focused on those brands which were popular and had the greatest marketing opportunities.ConclusionThus, GM is a strong company operating in the car manufacturing industry. The company is recovering afte r the steep decline, which GM faced in 2009 and which led the company on the edge of survival. However, after restructuring and reorganization the company is regaining its position fast not only in the US but also globally.

International Slave Trade Outlawed In America in 1807

International Slave Trade Outlawed In America in 1807 The importation of African slaves was outlawed by an act of Congress passed in 1807, and signed into law by President Thomas Jefferson. The law was rooted in an obscure passage in the U.S. Constitution, which had stipulated that importing slaves could be prohibited 25 years after the ratification of the Constitution. Though the end of the international slave trade was a significant piece of legislation, it actually did not change much in a practical sense. The importation of slaves had already  been decreasing since the late 1700s. However, had the law had not gone into effect, the importation of slaves many have accelerated as the growth of the cotton industry accelerated following the widespread adoption of the cotton gin. Its important to note that the prohibition against importing African slaves did nothing to control the domestic traffic in slaves and the interstate slave trade. In some states, such as Virginia, changes in farming and the economy meant slave owners did not need great numbers of slaves. Meanwhile, planters of cotton and sugar in the Deep South needed a steady supply of new slaves. So a thriving slave-trading business developed in which slaves would typically sent southward. It was common for slaves to be shipped from Virginia ports to New Orleans, for instance. Solomon Northup, the author of the memoir Twelve Years a Slave, endured being sent from Virginia to bondage on Louisiana plantations. And, of course, an illegal traffic in slave trading across the Atlantic Ocean still continued. Ships of the U.S. Navy, sailing in what was called the African Squadron, were eventually dispatched to defeat the illegal trade. The 1807 Ban on Importing Slaves When the US Constitution was written in 1787, a generally overlooked and peculiar provision was included in Article I, the part of the document dealing with the duties of the legislative branch: Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.   In other words, the government could not ban the importation of slaves for 20 years after the adoption of the Constitution. And as the designated year 1808 approached, those opposed to slavery began making plans for legislation that would outlaw the trans-Atlantic slave trade. A senator from Vermont first introduced a bill to ban the importation of slaves in late 1805, and President Thomas Jefferson recommended the same course of action in his annual address to Congress a year later, in December 1806. The law was finally passed by both houses of Congress on March 2, 1807, and Jefferson signed it into law on March 3, 1807. However, given the restriction imposed by Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution, the law would only become effective on January 1, 1808. The law had 10 sections. The first section specifically outlawed the importation of slaves: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,That from and after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eight, it shall not be lawful to import or bring into the United States or the territories thereof from any foreign kingdom, place, or country, any negro, mulatto, or person of colour, with intent to hold, sell, or dispose of such negro, mulatto, or person of colour, as a slave, or to be held to service or labour. The following sections set penalties for violations of the law, specified that it would be illegal to fit out ships in American waters to transport slaves, and stated that the U.S. Navy would enforce the law on the high seas. In subsequent years the law was often enforced by the Navy, which dispatched vessels to seize suspected slave ships. The  African Squadron patrolled the west coast of Africa for decades, interdicting ships suspected of carrying slaves. The 1807 law ending the importation of slaves did nothing to stop the buying and selling of slaves within the United States. And, of course, the controversy over slavery would continue for decades, and would not be finally resolved until the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

The influence of cultural disversity on employees workplace Essay

The influence of cultural disversity on employees workplace performance in transnational corporations in algeria - Essay Example issues are considered to be very important and are expected to be even more important in the near future due to the increasing differences in the Algerian population. Companies should put their focus on diversity and look for ways to become totally inclusive organizations since diversity has got the potential to yield greater productivity and competitive advantages (Shachaf, 2012, P.32) Given the significant transformations in cultural diversity over the past half-century in Algeria, Both the academia and the media have developed more interest in a better understanding of the social and economic impacts of cultural diversity, ethnicity and multiculturalism in organizations (Watson, Kumar & Michaelsen,2013,P.23). There has been enough research to establish facts on how cultural diversity can improve the performance and productivity of the employees as opposed to a homogeneous cultural workforce, thus this research contributes to the existing body knowledge. This research seeks to find out the possible benefits that come with cultural diversity in an organization and how they can contribute positively influence employees workplace performance (Cox & Blake, 2004, P.32).Managing and valuing diversity is a vital component in effective management of employees and can improve workplace productivity (Newman & Nollen 2013) To achieve this objective, I plan to use interviews as my as my data collection tools .I will use both structured and unstructured type of interviews. Bogdan & Biklen (2013) says that the use of interviews as research tools is based on the knowledge that is being generated between two parties often experienced through a well-focused conversation. Interviews are done to allow both the interviewer and interviewee to exchange information on certain phenomenal issues and then give personal perspective interpretations. The interviews will be conducted using a sample of five of the senior managers of the organizations including the human resource managers