The Influence of Using Sequentra®

SAN BEDA COLLEGE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MENDIOLA, MANILA RESEARCH Methodology The Influence of Using Sequentra ® on the Johnson Controls Inc. – Global WorkPlace Knowledge Centre’s (JCI-GWK) Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services and to the Clients SUBMITTED TO: Dr. Milagros Malaya SUBMITTED BY: Mark Anthony M. Villasis DATE February 05, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Background of the Study2 II. Statement of the Problem3 III. Objectives of the Study:   General and Specific4 IV. Significance of the Study 4 V. Review of Related Literature5 VI. Integration of Literature Findings8 VII. Assumptions of the Study8 VIII. Operational Definition of Terms9 IX. Conceptual & Operational Framework12 X. Scope and Limitations13 XI. Hypotheses13 XII. Bibliography14 XIII. Appendices15 I. Background of the Study The business process outsourcing (BPO) invests heavily with technology and infrastructure. The Philippines to date is at par with the world’s best in technology. Due to their substantial investment in systems, networks, security, and software, most global BPO providers look for highly transactional, technology-intensive work such as portfolio database management, payroll, and records management to achieve the highest profit. With the global marketplace becoming increasingly competitive and the insatiable appetite for business information, the volume of data that must be managed and assimilated is growing at an exponential rate. Global corporations require standard processes, consistent data to enable global consolidation and the ability to transform raw data into business intelligence to support better decision making. In many cases, regions, countries and even cities have different finance systems, computerized maintenance management systems, purchase order processing and call centre platforms with inconsistent data capture and coding. Just to add to the complexity the data can be in different languages. To keep track of the data collected from business operations most companies use multiple systems. Retrieving and consolidating this information in a timely manner (e. g. month end reporting) can be a costly and resource intensive task. Information management centres have been forced to provide more services whilst reducing resource costs to remain competitive. In response to these business challenges, GWK is currently using Sequentra ®, a web-based software that allows capturing the following key areas of information in one comprehensive web-based application. Lease Administration |Transaction Management | |Rent & operating expense tracking |Project milestone tracking | |Full client chart of accounts for AP integration |Project budget tracking | |Critical lease dates & options |Performance measurement | |Key property contacts |Electronic customer satisfaction surveys | |Space allocations – internal charg e backs |Document management | |Space type allocations | | |Document management capability | | II. Statement of the Problem This study will be conducted to explain the influence of Sequentra ® to the Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services of JCI-JWK and to the customers. This study was intended to answer the following questions: ) What features does Sequentra ® offer to the Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services of JCI-JWK? 2) What benefits does Sequentra ® put forward to the customers? 3) Who are the existing clients of JCI-JWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services that benefited from Sequentra ®? III. Objectives of the Study: Main Objective: To examine the effect of using Sequentra ® based on operational advantage on JCI-GWK’s Transaction Managers and Lease Administrators, and satisfaction to the customers. Specific Objectives: 1) To find out the features of Sequentra ® that contributes an operation al advantage to the Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services of JCI-JWK? ) To discover the benefits that Sequentra ® offers to the customers’ businesses? 3) To determine whether the clients of JCI-JWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services are satisfied. IV. Significance of the Study With the global marketplace becoming increasingly competitive and the insatiable appetite for business information, the volume of data that must be managed and assimilated is growing at an exponential rate. Global corporations take advantage of the current technologies, and infrastructures, require standard processes, consistent data to enable global consolidation and the ability to transform raw data into business intelligence to support better decision making. This study intends to investigate the influence of using Sequentra ® on the JCI-GWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services and to its clients. Determining the features and benefits that Sequentra ® offers and find out if the clients, in turn, is satisfied. This study will also give confidence to the Information Technology (IT) practitioners to focus their initiatives on developing toolsets that provide operational advantages. V. Review of Related Literature On Web Based Applications According to an article on http://www. articlesbase. com entitled â€Å"Benefits of Web Based Applications†, some of the core benefits of Web Based Application are the following: 1) Compatibility. Web based applications are far more compatible across platforms than traditional installed software. 2) Efficiency. The benefit of web based solution is that they not only modernizes established business practices, but also makes services and information available from any web-facilitated personal computer. 3) Highly deployable. Deploying web applications to the end users are very easy. It simply needs to send the user a website address to log into and provide them with internet access facility. 4) Security of live data. Web based applications provide an additional security by removing the need for the user to have access to the data and back end servers. 5) Cost Effective. Web based applications can considerably lower the costs because of reduced support and maintenance, lower requirements on the end user system and simplified plans. On Operational Advantage An eHow contributor wrote an article on how can the information technology (IT) change a business. According to the article, IT has brought about a revolution at the workplace since the 90s. The recent development and fast-paced adoption of Internet communication and Web-based technologies and applications has enhanced the potential of IT. IT and computer systems deployed strategically can impact the operational aspects and productivity parameters of a business. IT and attendant technologies and tools can be used to automate key business operations, functions and activities of a business. Businesses can invest in desktop computers, workstations, laptops, minicomputers, notebook computers and high-end servers for a host of organizational tasks and functions. Market-available software, computing applications, networking and other IT productivity tools installed in computers and computer systems can help professionals, workers and staff in a business to streamline work processes and execute tasks and functions faster in order to achieve organizational-defined goals and targets. Johnson Controls has developed Sequentra ® to enhance real estate management, lease administration, project management and reporting for improved productivity and decision making. This application was developed by real estate professionals who possess a unique knowledge of other applications offered in the marketplace, and a keen appreciation of the switching costs to move to web-based applications. As a result, Sequentra ® was designed to dynamically integrate with existing legacy systems and provide web-based access to certain data managed in the legacy system. This allows corporations to gain the benefits of web access without the cost and time to replace systems, retrain staff and modify processes. In addition, Sequentra ® adds new functionality and reporting capability not otherwise present in other legacy systems. (Sequentra ® Technology for the Real Estate Industry). [pic] Figure 1. Integrated Components of Sequentra ® On Customer Satisfaction About the virtual environment, the research that has addressed the influence of perceived quality on satisfaction is limited. Rolland (2003) studied the relationship between the perceived quality of a website and satisfaction with the site. The results shows that the perceived quality of the website influence positively satisfaction. This relationship has been demonstrated by Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003) they shown that the overall quality of service, predicts strongly satisfaction of users. The same result was also confirmed by Bressolles (2004) who studied this link in a shopping experience at two sites: a site for digital products and a travel site. The results show a strong and positive relationship between the two concepts. It follows that service quality influence positively satisfaction after a purchase from a merchant site. VI. Integration of Literature Findings Through the literature review, the researcher has shown the benefits of the web-based applications, the operational advantage of adopting the information technology (e. g. adoption of Internet communication and Web-based technologies and applications), and the influence of perceived quality of a website on satisfaction. It is therefore reasonable to consider the influences of the web-based application on the operational advantage of a service and the satisfaction of the customers. Meanwhile, technology adoption generates less human contact which might result in waste of time and effort and concern about privacy and confidentiality from the customer point of view (Bitner 2001). Meyronin (2004) has indicated that electronic intermediation tends to impoverish service relations, and human interactions might create value through advanced services, so that a balance between competitive advantage and productivity gains is necessary. VII. Assumptions of the Study The assumptions of the study are as follows: 1. The researcher will identify the Sequentra ® features that have been suggested as being important for Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services. 2. The researcher will also pinpoint the Sequentra ® benefits that are known to offer business advantages to the clients. 3. The existing clients of JCI-JWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services that have benefited from Sequentra ® are ranging from regional organizations to large multi-national corporations. VIII. Operational Definition of Terms Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. Typically categorized into back office outsourcing – which includes internal business functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing – which includes customer-related services such as contact center services. BPO that is contracted outside a company's country is called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is contracted to a company's neighboring (or nearby) country is called nearshore outsourcing. (Wikipedia) Given the proximity of BPO to the information technology industry, it is also categorized as an information technology enabled service or ITES. Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and legal process outsourcing (LPO) are some of the sub-segments of business process outsourcing industry. Information technology (IT) is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications. The term in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review, in which authors Leavitt and Whisler commented that â€Å"the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology. † (Wikipedia) IT is the area of managing technology and spans wide variety of areas that include but are not limited to things such as processes, computer software, information systems, computer hardware, programming languages, and data constructs. In short, anything that renders data, information or perceived knowledge in any visual format whatsoever, via any multimedia distribution mechanism, is considered part of the domain space known as Information Technology (IT). (Wikipedia) Lease Administration Services. Lease Administration is the process of maintaining and utilizing pertinent information contained within the lease by either the landlord or tenant. It includes the performing of all activities that ensure lease compliance–consisting of both monetary and non monetary obligations. It includes calculating rent increases and the other party confirming calculations already made. It includes the process by which the tenant notifies the landlord of its intent to exercise an option to renew or its intent to vacate. It also includes the process by which landlords determine additional monetary charges a tenant may be liable for. It includes determining each party's insurance requirements under the lease. In short, it includes the entire process of determining obligations under the lease and ensuring such obligations are met by the other party. Lease administration by the tenant would include providing information (critical dates, rights and responsibilities) to its managers including facilities, operations, finance, and risk. These titles (responsibilities ultimately) may be filled by the same individual, or not. If not, they may be â€Å"outsourced† which contributes further at times to the confusion and the possibility of oversights in ensuring lease obligations are being met. Sequentra ® is an integrated, collaborative, web-based real estate software solution and serves as a central repository for all portfolio and project-related information. Sequentra was developed by Johnson Controls to provide clients with enhanced communications and accountability for all facets of real estate and project-related requirements. This real estate software also contains a lease administration module that, when combined with the project tracking feature, can fully integrate a client’s entire real estate database and reporting system. Transaction Management. Transaction management is the efficient management of real estate related dealings. Organizing information and tasks in a sequential order and makes the process easy to track by all parties involved with the transactions. Sending notifications to the transaction team members informing them that they have an active task. Ensuring that transactions are completed on schedule and that the transaction team works more efficiently thus reducing the cycle times. IX. Conceptual & Operational Framework Firstly, this study aims to explore the influence of using Sequentra ® based on operational advantage on the JCI-GWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services. Determine the features and benefits that Sequentra offers and find out if the clients, in turn, is satisfied. The researcher will start with three questions: First, is there an operational advantage that the Transaction Managers and Lease Administrators experienced in using Sequentra ®? Second, what benefits does Sequentra ® put forward to the clients? Third, who are the existing customers of the JCI-JWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services that have benefited from Sequentra ®. An in-depth interview method will be designed. Then, a questionnaire survey follows to validate how Sequentra ® influences the JCI-GWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services, and the client satisfaction. Figure 2. Conceptual Framework X. Scope and Limitations This study will be conducted mainly to explore the influence of using Sequentra ® on the JCI-GWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services and to the clients. The focus will be on the operational advantage of the services and the client’s satisfaction based on the benefits that Sequentra ® offers to their businesses. Data will be gathered through descriptive method. This will serve as the primary source of data collection. Secondary data will include related literature about the subject of the research. XI. Hypotheses The researcher proposes a direct relationship between using Sequentra ® and the operational advantage to the Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services of JCI-JWK and client satisfaction. H1. Using Sequentra ® which increases operation efficiency of service is positively related with client satisfaction. H2. Using Sequentra ® which increases operation efficiency of service is negatively related with client satisfaction when the services fail. XII. Bibliography Online Articles Sequentra ® Technology for the Real Estate Industry http://www. sequentra. com/solutions/sequentra. html Sequentra ® User Help Section http://www. sequentra. net/sequentra/help/user_help/new_help/! SSL! /FlashHelp/Sequentra_User_Help_Section. htm Business Process Outsourcing http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Business_process_outsourcing Information Technology http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Information_technology Biswajit Nag, Business Process Outsourcing: Impact and Implications, Bulletin on Asia-Pacific Perspectives 2004/05. Retrieved September 12, 2009 from ebsco. com Journals Bitner MJ (2001), Service and Technology: Opportunities and Paradoxes. Manage Service Quality 11(6):375–379 Bressolles G. (2004), The quality of electronic service, NETQUAL: scale, consequences and moderating variables, Ph. D. in Management Sciences, University of Toulouse I. Meyronin B (2004), ICT: the creation of value and differentiation in services. Manage Service Quality 14(2/3):216–225 Rolland S. (2003), The impact of Internet use on perceived quality and consumer satisfaction, PhD in Management Sciences, University Paris Dauphine. Wolfinbarger M. and Gilly M. C. (2003), E-TailQ: dimensionalizing, measuring and predicting retail quality, Journal of Retailing, 79, 183-198. XIII. Appendices Appendix 1. Sequentra Components SEQUENTRA COMPONENTS | |Project Module |Team assignment and milestone tracking (e-mail ticklers) | |   |Location deal point analysis | |   |Budget tracking | |   |Space programming | |   |Contacts database | | |Single repository for documents | | |Savings calculations | |Property Module |Rent stream and ex penses | | |Internal allocations | | |Lease clauses | | |Critical dates & options (e-mail ticklers) | | Contacts database | |Reporting |Standard reports library | | |Ad hoc reporting capability | | |Produces rich, highly formatted reports into Adobe Acrobat, Excel and HTML | |System Admin |Assigns flexible, secure access rights to end users | | |Capability to customize fields, e-mail notifications and project templates | | |Manage document templates library | Appendix 2. Specific Features and Benefits of Sequentra ® FEATURES |BENEFITS | |Project/Property Specific Bulletin |Cycle time for projects is greatly reduced as team members can communicate and collaborate on | |Board |projects anytime, anywhere. | |Web-based application |Does not require any software to be installed on a user’s local machine. The only requirement| | |is Internet access. | |Central repository for all project |  Lets users who are dispersed collaborate on files associated with each assignment. Users | |related files and document templates |always know where to go for the most recent version of a file. | |Flexible, secure access |Defined security levels ensure that users have access to applicable projects/properties. | |Process Automation, Milestone email |Communication is enhanced, as team members can be automatically e-mailed when an important | |Notifications |assignment milestone has been reached or falls behind schedule. | |Customizable |Can be customized to mirror your organization. | Appendix 3. Sequentra ®, an exclusive Real Estate Management tool with multiple advantages Because Sequentra ® was developed by real estate and e-business experts and is supported by Johnson Controls, a global real estate services and facilities management company, clients can count on a tool designed to help maximize the performance of their real estate assets. †¢ Seamless integration between property and project modules to save time and eliminate errors. †¢ Real-time collaboration and information sharing to reduce cycle time. †¢ 24/7 access to data from web-based browsers. †¢ Automated workflow ensures schedules are maintained and results are measurable. †¢ Project team members have access to project files and templates. †¢ Flexible access rights for file and project security. Embedded proactive email notifications enhance communication regarding project milestones. †¢ Fully customizable and scalable to fit the needs of any organization. †¢ Generate self-definable reports with a user-friendly interface. Johnson Controls operates in more than 50 countries, with thousands of dedicated real estate services and facilities management employees, and a billion square feet under management. Customers benefit from a worldwide knowledge network focused on delivering strategically-based services and solutions designed to contribute to enterprise goals. Appendix 4. List of Existing Clients Below is a partial list of GWK clients that have benefited from Sequentra ® Solutions. Agilent Technologies |Manpower | |Cadbury |Otis | |Carrier Corporation |Pratt & Whitney | |Hamilton Sundstrand |Ryder | |Henry Schein |Sikorsky | |Motorola |Sonoco | | |United Technologies Realty | | |WPP | ———————– Sequentra ® Features and Benefits Operational advantage on the JCI-GWK’s Transaction Management and Lease Administration Services Client Satisfaction

Why were the Bolsheviks able to take power in October 1917

There are many factors that allowed to Bolsheviks to take power in October 1917 such as the growing unpopularity of the Provisional Government at the time. Moreover, events such as the July days and the return of Lenin and Trotsky. The Bolshevik slogans â€Å"Bread, Land and Peace† and â€Å"All Power to the Soviets† also sum up the other major factors to their rise. The Provisional Government was becoming increasingly unpopular.They had failed to end the war and were blamed for food shortages and rising prices. Also, the Russian people were unable to choose their own government as the Provisional Government had not held elections which had displeased most people of Russia. The Bolsheviks took advantage of the unpopularity of the Provisional Government and increased its support. Its slogan â€Å"Bread, Land and Peace† was a really attractive offer to the Russian people. The â€Å"Bread† issue was not being solved by the government, but the Bolsheviks promi sed that they would deal with it.Lenin promised to provide the people with sufficient food, and the starving population turned to him for help. Furthermore, most peasants were furious with the government and the landowners for not giving the peasants a chance to earn their own money with their own land. Lenin, in accordance with the communist ideology, promised that the landowners' property would be split up and distributed equally, naturally attracting mass support from the majority of the population. In addition, the slogan ‘Peace' was the most ppealed out of the 3 by the Russian people.Almost everybody wanted the war to stop, as it continued for so long. The devastated economy and dwindling food supplies were all caused by the war, and people wished to return to their old lives. Lenin knew this and aptly used this as a slogan for his campaign. Being the only party which constantly opposed the continuation of the war, the Bolsheviks attracted many supporters. Additionally, t he leadership of Lenin was another factor that allowed the Bolsheviks to take power. Lenin was a dedicated, determined and skilled leader.He motivated his party and, through agitation and propaganda, the Bolsheviks became very popular in the army and in the factories. The leadership of the party was loyal to Lenin, and they followed his orders with conviction. The party had a proficient propaganda machine, producing newspapers, banners, posters and setting up recruitment drives in the army and factories. Lenin promised to bring an end to the war, to give land to peasants, to give workers control of factories, to take control of he banks and to give power to soviets of workers and soldiers set up throughout Russia.During the July Days, a political crisis erupted as soldiers in Petrograd refused to go to the front and sailors Joined the workers in anti-government demonstrations. These people were mostly Bolshevik supporters, and these riots were no doubt sparked off by party instigato rs. However, they were delivered a crushing defeat when the government managed to suppress the demonstrations and arrested a few leading Bolsheviks. Lenin himself was shot twice in the chest from close range, but urvived to escape to Finland.However, this event emphasises that the Bolsheviks Bolsheviks were able to take power in October 1917 because of Lenin's outstanding speaking skills and use of propaganda. Equally because of the state Russia was in during 1917 with shortage of food, and the need to end the war. The Bolsheviks were the only party that opposed the continuation of the war – which the majority of the Russian population wanted – promising to give the people of Russia what they urgently needed at the time, â€Å"Bread, Land and Peace†.

Analyzing Religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analyzing Religions - Essay Example He recruited members internationally, and died in 1955. His wife, Florence, took over and prophesied the end time would occur April 23, 1959, but it didn’t, and she left under duress, three years later (Rifkind & Harper, December, 1994). Benjamin Roden took over, claiming he was King David’s successor. When he lost control, due to a meth lab, pornography, attempted ax murder, imprisonment, a desecrated corpse, prison escape, and death, his wife, Lois, took over, and prophesied that God is also female (Rifkind & Harper, December, 1994). Handyman Vernon Howell seized control and changed his name to David Koresh, declared himself the Messiah, and began preparing for the Apocalypse and Armageddon, which he taught would happen at the Waco compound, very soon. Their primary scriptural text was the Bible, especially the book of Revelations. Although they followed basic Seventh Day Adventist practices, he demanded his followers live communally, obey him totally, administer severe physical punishment to children (even infants), and he took child wives and prepared his followers to interpret the assault on the compound as the Battle of Armageddon and the Apocalypse (Rifkind & Harper, December, 1994). The 1993 government assault left 84 Branch Davidians dead, including Koresh (Sullivan, May, 1996). Koresh drank beer sometimes, but they did not support substance use, following healthy SDA dietary guidelines. Polygamy was available to Koresh, while celibacy was enforced for all other men (Rifkind & Harper, December, 1994). The relationship toward society was one of relative isolation. Although information was allowed in, not much was allowed out, with a strict â€Å"us† vs â€Å"them† mentality (Sullivan, May, 1996). In comparison, the Native American Church Peyote Way is the most widespread indigenous religion in America, practiced by more than 250,000 members among more than 50 tribes. It draws on spiritual practices in Northern Mexico, Plains Indian practices,

Environmental issues to International security Essay

Environmental issues to International security - Essay Example ..7 The Kyoto Protocol†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Climate Stress And Change†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...8 Pollution And Persistent Pollutants †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10 Deforestation And Desertification†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 Invasive Species†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...12 Military Security Implications†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...12 Nuclear Issues†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..13 The Japan Earthquake†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...13 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦17 Introduction Environmental security is a broad term which does not have a universally acknowledged definition. There are at least four major definition of the term environmental security. The first definition defines environmental security from the standpoint of how one can protect the resources which are available in a particular area. From the perspective of natural resources and ecosystem, the natural resource should be free of contamination, depletion, pollution or other forms of deprivations which are external in nature. The second definition of the term is related to the onus that the security communities of nations have in implementing the standardized environmental norms for its governmental and military operations. There are certain threats such as terrorism and war, which lead to the increase of weapons of mass destruction. Although these can potentially harm the environment greatly, it pales in front of natural disasters, which can have a detrimental effect on environmental security. The Greenhouse Gas proliferation, the destructiveness of Hurricane Katrina, the devastating tsunami which ravaged islands in the Indian Ocean are just a few examples of the effect natural disasters can have on the environment. The third environmental security definition concerns the dynamics between manmade stresses which are exerted on the environment and the eventual conflict these stress causes between the s tates and the individuals. This generally pertains to the governmental interventions with neighboring states in order to prevent the spread of environmental pollutants. Finally the fourth definition of environmental security concerns the amalgamation of the three aforementioned definitions of environmental security into one combined concept which can integrate the essence of environmental security perfectly. Therefore, environmental security is the term which takes in to account the military and governmental threats to environmental protection, the quality of environmental protection policies implemented by the country, and the effective use of resources and collaboration with other states in order to safeguard the environment. UN and Its Role In Environmental Security The United Nations

Task 3--Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Task 3--Literature - Essay Example ..slavery...stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb" (Le Guin, 1995, p. 968). The economic, social, and political freedom of the people stems from the absence of any ruling class or institutional structure (e.g. church, school, courts) that governs the daily affairs  of the city. Economically speaking, the people of Omelas live in a prosperous city which can afford "subway trains, washing machines, and all kinds of marvelous devices" but can function just as perfectly well without technological devices  (Le Guin, 1995, p. 968). Beneath this seemingly perfect city lies a moral dilemma that continuously haunts the people of Omelas. The people of Omelas, in addition, are characterized by their psychological, emotional, and moral composition. Its people are free from guilt and all forms of political and economic constraint. All of them, however, acknowledge that their happiness is entirely dependent on the suffering of a single child locked up in a broom cl oset. They feel disgust and anger upon initially learning about the child but soon accept the â€Å"terrible justice of reality† (Le Guin, 1995, p. 971). Once in a while, though, some of them leave Omelas to live with their own personal guilt rather than continue living in that morally ambiguous city.

Analyze the behavior style of the participants in both group and Term Paper

Analyze the behavior style of the participants in both group and individual situations.(CBS reality show Survivor) - Term Paper Example It is the most commonly used test for personality worldwide. It classifies individuals according to four dichotomies i.e. extroverts vs. introverts, sensing vs. intuitive, thinking vs. feeling and judging vs. perceiving (McShane & Von Glinow, 2015). Shirin can be described as an extrovert because she is very social. In an interview, she admits that she prefers making relationships based on friendship (Holmes, 2015). Shirin is also a sensitive person. Her background career as a product manager shows that she prefers having practical solutions rather than relying on intuition. Her character in the reality show also echoes the same about her. She can also be classified as a thinking rather than feeling person. People who fit into the feeling character are usually guided by their emotions rather than logic and reason. Being emotional is a character that she evidently thinks is not suitable for anyone with a role in the show (Holmes, 2015). However, she can be classified as a perceiving person. Perceiving people are spontaneous and easily adapt to change. Her personality as seen in the show as well as her character outside the show portrays her as a person who is flexible enough to make changes when necessary. The model proposes that human personality can be classified broadly into five dimensions. A lot of research has also showed that the model is effective in predicting the performance of an individual in the workplace (Barrick & Mount, 1991). The five factors are openness, emotional stability, extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Under each factor is a list of related behavior and qualities that can describe the person. In the case of Shirin Oskool, we can conclude that personality fits in the extroversion category. Extroverts are usually outgoing people and mostly derive their energy from external sources (Laney, 2002). Also, they tend to be enthusiastic, energy-oriented, and possess high group visibility and like to talk.

Legalizing the use of midicinal marijuana Essay

Legalizing the use of midicinal marijuana - Essay Example rlands, cannabis is openly tolerated and can be both purchased and consumed in one of several Amsterdam ‘coffee houses.’ Inexplicably, the city has not been thrown into anarchy which, evidently, is what the opponents of cannabis legalisation are afraid of. The evidence demonstrates that legalizing cannabis for medicinal in addition to general purposes would prove a benefit to society, evidence which is well-known throughout the scientific, political and public arena but this collective knowledge has yet to be acted upon. This discussion will examine the issue of legalisation drawing from European and American experiences. A report in The Economist expressly states concerns regarding a rising drug using and dependent population if these drugs should be made more available. While acknowledging that the price of drugs is artificially high due to the difficulties of circumventing the law, authors of this report indicate that it is precisely because of the high cost and difficulty to obtain that prevents more individuals from experimenting with them, thus becoming addicted, either physically or psychologically. Although these arguments can also be made for other substances that are currently legal, voters have argued that it is not necessary to bring in more potentially harmful substances into legal circulation at this time. To support the argument in favor of legalisation, authors pull in the theories of John Stuart Mill, who espoused that adult citizens should have the right to make their own choices regarding whether or not to participate in harmful activity as long as it does no harm to others, a theo ry that has been largely ignored in the decisions regarding alcohol and tobacco, but not cannabis. (â€Å"Case for Legalisation,† 2001) Eleven states allow the use of marijuana for medicinal use, Rhode Island the most recent joining California, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Washington and, Vermont and Maine. However, laws enacted by

Sensory Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Sensory Discrimination - Essay Example e has no sensory discrimination H1; Steve has sensory discrimination Method In this experiment, we utilize simple counts such as how many pieces of pizza were classified by the subject. The results were summarized in a 2 by 2 contingency table as shown below. The four numbers are a, b, c, and d, which are entered in the cells of the table according to the four categories. The total number of pieces of pizza which the subject can classify as Dominos Meatzza Feast or Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza is: n= a + b + c + d From the table below we see that a total of a + c pieces of pizza were guessed correctly while b + d pieces of pizza were guessed incorrectly. If the subject cannot distinguish between Dominos Meatzza Feast and Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza then a and c should be small. Conversely, if the subject can tell the difference between the two pizzas, we expect a and c to be about the same. (Weaver, 2008) Â   Guessed correctly Guessed incorrectly Total Dominos Meatzza Feast a b a + b Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza c d c + d Totals a + c b + d a + b + c + d (=n) According to Fisher the probability of obtaining the values base above is given by the hyper geometric distribution below: (Deborah, 2000) The p-value is calculated in such a way that the margins of the table are fixed and, therefore, the respondant will give guesses with correct numbers in each category of the table. This leads to a null hypothesis of independence to a hyper geometric distribution of the entries in the cells of the contingency table. When using the chi square in the analysis, the approximation is not enough when sample sizes are small or if the data is very unequally distributed in the cells of the table. Therefore the cell counts have been predicted to be low. (Agresti, 2001) In this... The p-value is calculated in such a way that the margins of the table are fixed and, therefore, the respondent will give guesses with correct numbers in each category of the table. This leads to a null hypothesis of independence to a hypergeometric distribution of the entries in the cells of the contingency table. When using the chi-square in the analysis, the approximation is not enough when sample sizes are small or if the data is very unequally distributed in the cells of the table. Therefore the cell counts have been predicted to be low.18 pieces of pizza were prepared--9 pieces of Dominos Meatzza Feast and 9 pieces of Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza. The pieces of pizza were presented to the respondent in a random order. The respondent’s task is to identify the 9 pieces of Dominos Meatzza Feast and the 9 pieces of Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza, and he is informed of the design.ParticipantsThe participant in this study was Steve David. He claims to be able to tel l the difference between Dominos Meatzza Feast and Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza since he runs a pizza store, and thus qualifies as an expert on the subject.The Fisher test is used with respect to the contingency table results. In this case, the test assesses what the expected frequencies will be if the null hypothesis is true. If there is no difference between Dominos Meatzza Feast and Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza guesses, one would expect that Dominos Meatzza Feast would have been guessed correctly six times.

Mercks transition to open innovation strategy Essay

Mercks transition to open innovation strategy - Essay Example The paper will focus on the open innovation strategy by Merck pharmaceutical company in form of merging with Schering-Plough. The writer will provide answers to the following questions: 1. Can open innovation help Merck meet the needs of its customers in creative and cost effective ways that also bring value to its shareholders. Why or why not? 2. Assuming open innovative is the path to follow, what implementation issues would you expect? How would Merck overcome its cultural resistance to change? 3. What positive or negative effects will the recent Schering Plough Merger have on Merck’s transition to a more open innovation strategy? Introduction. Merck historically believed in closed innovation strategy. This involves ideas being developed from within the company and the resulting products manufactured and marketed. On the contrary, open innovation involves the search for new ideas from outside and including them in business models. This is through bringing new ideas, personnel and technologies. Open innovation also allows some knowledge to flow outside the companies to other people. Most companies do not use their original technologies because it may be too costly making these ideas unutilized. Open innovations allows some of these good ideas to be shared to companies where they will be put into use. Therefore, open innovations make companies more creative in terms of research and development. ... It has achieved all this success at only one sixth of the cost. Since the approach has worked in other companies, it can also work in Merck. Through open innovation, Merck can develop new cost effective ideas and products. The breakthrough for such products can bring great sales for the company thus benefiting the shareholders. (Rothaemel, 2008) Question 5: Assuming open innovative is the path to follow, what implementation issues would you expect? How would Merck overcome its cultural resistance to change? Merck has been deeply rooted in the culture of closed innovation. This is the culture that they are the best in what they do and need no assistance from outside. Merck assumed that they had the best and brightest personnel. They believe that whatever they invented was the best. Merck believed that all great discoveries were to be unveiled at Merck. This overconfident notion was deeply instilled in the minds of the people at Merck. This makes everyone in the company to be very rigi d to any sought of change. Implementing the new open innovation strategy would therefore, be difficult because of this rigidness. The workers people have strong believe in themselves and would resist any new idea from outside. It would be a problem for the workers at Merck to adapt and accept this change (Rothaemel, 2008). Therefore, for successful development of open innovation at Merck, change has to start with each person. Change from the use of closed innovation to open innovation would mean that people have to change their attitudes and minds. This would erase the earlier culture of closed innovation and replaced it with open innovation. The resistance to change can be dealt with by sending top

Global Hunger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Hunger - Essay Example mbined aid of between $135 and $195 billion for the next ten years, which may seem like a lot but it is not, according to Sachs, because it would only represent a small increase in the gross domestic product percentage of each country. Sachs is a valid source on this issue, as he has worked as an economist for various institutions and countries and is even a special advisor to the United Nations on global poverty. Extreme poverty, which is defined by Sachs as having an income of less than a dollar per day, is a significant problem, as it is responsible for countless deaths worldwide each day and is solely responsible for the extreme living conditions in many developing countries. This book uses a number of significant analyses from Sachs’s own experiences, which give the book a very legitimate feel. Also, Sachs discusses many of the causes of global poverty and gives solutions to how these problems can be fixed and why the governments of these countries should listen to his th eories and implement these solutions. One of the main reasons for extreme poverty, according to Sachs, is that much of the world suffers from poor geography, poor road and rail networks, and/or poor healthcare. This makes travel to and from these locations difficult, which cuts down on the amount of trade that other countries are willing to do with that particular country. It also makes these regions unviable for tourism, which is a main source of income for many wealthy nations. This makes it very difficult to maintain any type of economic growth, as there is very little to build on. Even though â€Å"todays search for cheap labor has moved jobs from rich countries to poor,† (Landes, 520) the disparity between the countries remains. Without any immediate sources of viable income, these countries have become trapped in subsistence mode, which makes it nearly impossible for them to develop at a significant rate. All of the money that these countries do produce goes into maintaining what the

Human behavior Essay Example for Free

Human behavior Essay Behavior of individuals in various settings is at times very difficult due to ethical constraints. This includes the investigation of why people take risks or gamble with their decision making processes. However, it is quite interesting to note that on situations which are not so threatening for individuals, it is apparent that people typically take risks in picking their options or when making their final choice. The following shows available data on human motivation and the theories surrounding the topic. Risk taking is defined as engaging in any activity with an uncertain outcome, as one scholar puts it. Theories of Motivation on Risk Taking Different theories describe and explain risk taking and why human beings are motivated to pursue or engage in activities or behavior that put their lives in much danger or create an element of risk of whatever form. The following are taken from current literature in the field of human behavior analysis. 1. Psychoanalytic or Psychodynamic Theory. Following the tradition of Freud, human motivation to take risks is taken from the basic understanding that when people feel fear in a certain situation or occasion, it is not good to overcome that fear. Freudian theory condemns outrightly risk taking as plain insanity. It reasons that to risk man’s very life has no warrant at all. It is nonsense. In other important spheres of life, however, to risk is inevitable and deemed necessary. There are many successful people in the business world who are known as risk takers (Llewellyn, 2003). They succeed, in fact, because of this unique attitude in them which is considered foolhardy in other realms. While it is true that life is the most precious commodity a man could ever possess, and to risk it is foolishness, it is equally true that not to risk at all in other areas means cowardice and immobility. Psychoanalysts even treat risk-taking behavior as a symptom of â€Å"a diseased mind. † Because for them, life is not to be gambled, therefore, it is insanity when someone chooses bungee-jumping as his/her sport (Llewellyn, 2003). 2. The Evolutionary Theory. Evolutionary theory explained man’s adventurous nature as simply an expression of his primal instincts (Llewellyn, 2003). Assuming that Darwin’s theory is correct, that man evolved from apes like common animal, a human early in the evolutionary process had to fight for his life to survive. This survival nature, according to this theory, is retained in modern man’s genetic make up (Llewellyn, 2003). This is the reason why even those people in the elite echelon of society choose to use their favorite sport like riding a dirigible as their campaign tool to promote their business. The problem with this theory is that it has remained to be unproven and lacking in evidences as yet. Humans are not proven to have descended from apes. 3. Contemporary Theories a. Extroversion and Introversion Personality theories contend that this two broad scope of personality traits capture the individual’s propensity towards behaving in certain ways. Extroversion helps explain why some people tend to be outgoing and hence, the greater the probability to engage in risky decisions (Llewellyn, 2003). b. Emotional Stability and Neuroticism This is another of the Contemporary theories that shed light on traits that remain stable over a period of time, clearly indicating which may best describe an individual and what differs him/her from another. Emotionally stable people, as those who posit on this model, may take risks but have taken many things to great lengths in order to get the best possible option or alternative (Llewellyn, 2003). Conversely, people who are more on the neuroticism side manifest the greater tendency to take risks without much weighing on the consequences. The tendency to be impulsive is to a higher degree present in individuals under this category. 4. Eysenck and Costa and McCrae’s model These two theorists added their own version to the array of personality theories. The former has the Psychoticism versus Humaneness dimension while the latter two theorists added three dimensions: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. The main argument against these classifications is its narrowness in explaining and categorizing the complexities that make human behavior (Llewellyn, 2003). While they help explore different behaviors or attitudes, there are more that remained unexplained. Until now, certain serial killers or murderers, defy the above mentioned explanations of human behavior. 5. The Zuckerman ‘Sensation Seeking Trait’ Although an expansion on one of the features of Psychoticism and Humaneness model, Sensation Seeking helps also explain the differences between individuals. There are people who do have a higher degree of this trait; like more men seek sensation-enhancing-experiences or â€Å"venturesome† traits, while others have very minimal of this trait. This is what Zuckerman refers to in his Sensation seeking trait theory. What other experts consider as this theory’s limitation is embedded in the matter of other personality traits’ influence on risk taking behavior other than this trait by itself. Studies reveal that the psychological profiles of risk takers are diverse and the universality of this trait is still further being investigated (Llewellyn, 2003). Risk taking is a fascinating area of interest for many students of human behavior. When explored through the eyes of a Psychoanalyst, the subject becomes even more intriguing because Freudian understanding possesses an attractive alternative to the more cognitive way of assessing risk taking behavior. When the subject of evolutionary psychology of explaining risk taking behavior is concerned, it contains a ring of truth in it that many today are convinced of its manner of explaining behavior. Instinct is still a potent facet in behavior that cannot be eradicated from the study of behavior of humans (Llewellyn, 2003). When people are confronted with the distinctiveness of the human personality, the dimensions are almost unlimited; some experts opt for the multi-dimensional method while others choose the narrow and concise way. All of these approaches have their strengths and weaknesses; degree of breadth and limitations. However, they are good and profitable for jumpstarting further explorations into the human psyche and its accompanying expressions. Reference: 1. Llewellyn, David J. 2003. The Psychology of Risk Taking. Accessed in www. risktaking. co. uk.

Challenges Faced By General Motors

Challenges Faced By General Motors The United States (U.S) Multi National Enterprise (MNE) General Motors (GM) is one of the worlds largest automakers, tracing its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Golden, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel Vauxhall and Saab. In 2006 it sold over 9 million cars and trucks globally in 5 continents with a global market share of 13.5 %. GM has been involved in a range of global ventures aimed at extending their penetration in the carmakers market and has also increased its share of the market as well as sales. GM uses exports, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances to enter foreign markets based on business considerations. GM has also expanded its capabilities in manufacturing through technological competences. This was achieved by forming subsidiaries, strategic alliances and joint ventures with other automobile companies in different parts of the world. According to (GM Press Release, 2006), the company has been involved in a range of global ventures throughout its history, each of which has aimed at extending its market penetration. Partnering enables GM to rapidly expand its technical fields and brings that knowledge in-house transferring it to multiple levels within the business, even extending it sometimes to corporate issues. Through the various stages of internationalisation, GM was able to enl arge its distribution and provide access to essential materials. Additionally, the company developed and improved its operations, facilities and processes all of which have provided access to new technologies and a rich database of knowledge and new capabilities. The American automobile industry is the biggest in the world in terms of number of cars manufactured and sold. The U.S. automobile market is saturated with the global car manufacturing companies however; the majority of the market share is occupied by domestic and Japanese companies. The outcome of this is a drop in the level of consumption as there are too many entrants competing in the same industry. Because of this decrease in consumption, the automobile industry leaders have been offering attractive incentives and lower prices leading to a loss in profitability. The world-class automakers are gradually expanding into foreign markets, as new emerging markets in China, South East Asia and South America are showing signs of sustainable economic growth. GM overseas operations were a method of diversifying themselves against the risks and uncertainties in their domestic market life cycle, by setting up new operations abroad multinationals can diminish adverse economic downturns. Most MNEs also follow a pattern that has often been laid out in front of them by competitors or similar sized companies that have adopted or mimicked behaviour that has been tested and proven to be success, if the right measures are taken when adopting it. For instance, it has been argued that organizations tend to imitate actions that have been taken by large numbers of organizations, because such practices are legitimized or their success is taken for granted (Fligstein; Haunschild; Haveman; Kraatz; Lewitt). This can also have an adverse affect on an MNE when entering a new market, leaving them less cautious and with a diminished aspiration towards growth, knowing that the chances of that market already being saturated and that the first come first served knowledge is already guaranteed not to be in their possession. This often happens when the specific market they enter does not suit their domain of expertise and experience, resulting in them investing much faster and with a lesser de gree of uncertainty that they would have usually applied. GMs move to internationalise was mainly to reduce costs, attract a larger market and the creation of strategic alliances. The company strategically allied with Fiat in 2000 by acquiring 20 percent of Fiats equity to establish a joint procurement venture. With a split of 50 percent of the capital each, giving them a concentrated purchasing power of about $32 billion per annum, this alliance has the capacity to strengthen their bargaining power as well as reducing the supplier management cost. GM also moved production overseas, as the number of internal competitors grew too high in most of the emerging country home markets. GM needed to find a new incentive to manage a new market while remaining at low cost. GM is a good example of an MNE which underwent internationalization whilst maintaining its position as one of the leading carmakers. It has also followed the theories laid out about internationalisation such as the typical way a company proceeds to penetrate and enter a foreign market. Firstly it will look at the options available and analyse what will be best suited for them considering the high degree of uncertainty and risk associated with entering an unknown market. One such option is licensing but it has to be assessed in a precautious way, due to the fact that they might be risking firm specific advantages by engaging in premature licensing agreements, this is also the least preferred of all three options due to the fact that there is a risk of knowledge dissipation. The only instance when licensing will be considered as a viable option is if the revenue generated from the licensee exceeds the cost of policing it. But also, if they do choose go for an early licensing agreement it may be because their firms specific advantage is hard to duplicate or they have a tight control over the licensee, meaning that they would find it very hard and potentially dangerous to resell any kind of sensitive material to any potential competitor or a third party of any kind. The second option is the possibility that the MNE might only be willing to export at first if the demand of the local market is not high enough for them to want to engage in foreign direct investment and set up an overseas subsidiary, or they may also consider this as a possibly a bit longer down the line depending on the potential growth generated from initial sale patterns and the profitability a larger scale operation would yield. The exporting option also depends on the trade agreements, tariff barriers, taxes, transportation costs and quotas between the two countries involved which sub sequentially determine if the operation will be profitable or maybe another option should be considered. There are two strong examples of how this has been reproduced by GM. The first is the case of General Motors do Brasil, which is GMs third largest operation outside of the U.S after being recently overtaken by China. In the beginning, the activities were in the assembly of vehicles imported from the United States. After five years, GMB officially opened its first plant in 1930 in Sà £o Paulo. Here we can see that exporting lead to the full scale creation of a production facility which was so successful a second one was opened 28 years later, thus resulting in Brasil being the main exporter of GM automobiles in the whole of South America. Breaking out of their domestic market and becoming an exporter themselves in a very short space of time and for such a large operation really does provide evidence that internationalisation does not spread from one point outwards with only one epicentre at its core but rather creates and distributes smaller nodes that in time expand themselves and r epeat the process so on, just as how it is described in the network approach. Once the firm has passed the cultural barriers and had its first experience of foreign operations, it is generally willing to conquer one market after another (Carlson, 1966). The second example is when the Cadillac brand was introduced to China in 2004, starting with imports from the U.S, which then lead to the Chevrolet making its first appearance on the Chinese market one year later. They were then able to move production operations to their Shanghai GM plant which opened as a joint venture with SAIC in 1997, initially created for the Buick brand that is especially strong in China. In this case exporting was clearly used as a testing method for foreign products penetrating the Chinese domestic market, market-specific knowledge and general knowledge are important for firms internationalization (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). Dunnings Eclectic theory which sets out to explain that foreign direct investment as a theory can be unified as long as the firms applying it consider the ownership, location and internalisation of the process that will produce substantial benefits if applied accordingly. This is also the case if the extent, the form and pattern of international production is founded on the juxtaposition of the ownership to specific advantages that a firms posses when contemplating foreign production. This is reflected in GMs move to manufacture most of its China-market vehicles locally, through its Shanghai GM joint venture, GM also plans to create a research facility in Shanghai for $250m to develop hybrid cars and alternative energy vehicles. Therefore GM follows a path suggested by Dunning to gain advantage in terms of competitiveness and cost by ownership in foreign market and aim to expand. The Network Approach emphasises the industry as a system of networks, each firm within network has relationships with customers, suppliers etc†¦ These relations are important competitive advantages which the Network model also suggests the firm needs to take into account and evaluate not only its own position in the market in relation to its customers, but also the environment of that market in relation to others such as competitors, new entrants etc†¦ GM and Fiat formed a strategic alliance, with GM owning a 20% share in Fiat and Fiat SpA receiving 5.1% of GMs shares in exchange. Production and ownership have both been improved when a recent alliance took place under the form of two joint ventures (owned 50% by Fiat and 50% by GM). The first will conduct purchasing activities, while the second will produce engines and gear equipment which is mainly aimed at cutting expenses. Hence GM has followed the network model to some degree as their joint venture come in terms of rela tions with Fiat. By collaborating they have reduced the cost and the innovation has resulted in new production techniques. Which gave both of them some degree of competitiveness as they have gained purchasing power as well as reduced cost in terms of purchasing from the suppliers.

Analysis Of An American Social Welfare Policy Social Work Essay

Analysis Of An American Social Welfare Policy Social Work Essay Social welfare policies are an integral part of any political system. Many countries across the world have formulated social welfare policies to cope with the numerous social issues affecting society. There are many underprivileged people in society who include the unemployed, poor and disabled, and these require assistance from the state in order to achieve their potential. Social welfare in the US includes healthcare, empowerment, housing and other programs geared towards assisting the poor, unemployed and marginalized in society. Such programs include Medicaid, AFDC (Aid for families with dependent children), WIC (women, infants and children) programs, veteran programs and others. The US social welfare policy has been in existence for over two centuries and it traces its roots to British Poor Laws which were used by British colonies (Brown et. al. 12-17). These laws differentiated between people who were unable to work due to unemployment and those unable to do so due to physical health or age. The previous group was assisted with employment in workhouses while the latter was granted cash or other forms of assistance by the government. It is important to understand the US social welfare system in order to assess whether the objectives it was formed to attain are in fact being accomplished. This will enable us to make recommendations on whether the policy should be improved, remain the same or scrapped altogether. This paper will evaluate the US welfare policy in detail. It will assess its history and reasons why it was developed. The policy description and analysis will assist in evaluating the welfare policy. Afterwards an assessment will be made on whether the policy is effective in meeting the needs of the American society. The discussed issues will be summarized at the end of the paper. Historical background It has been stated that the US social welfare policy has been in existence for over two centuries and it traces its roots to British Poor Laws which were used by British colonies. The government realized that there were the poor and marginalized in society and that some of them were unable to meet their basic needs due to lack of employment. The huge number of unemployed people was a burden to society and contributed highly to acts of deviance which were experienced then. There was also the need to take care of war veterans who had contributed to the stability of the US through sacrificing themselves to defend their country. Congress approved programs aimed at supporting war veterans as early as 1862. Before government intervention, there was also some form of welfare which was practiced by villages. For instance, when families required assistance and friends and neighbors were unable to provide sufficient help, villages provided such help through workhouses or almshouses and poor re lief systems. There was also Mothersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ pension law which helped single mothers bring up children comfortably as well as cash allowance for the poor. In some states, aid for the blind was provided as early as the 1920s. However, these were mainly laws formulated to cater for specific objectives and were not necessarily a government policy as is in the modern world. The welfare policy was developed to cater for needs of families which suffered the Great Depression. The Great depression which occurred in 1929 and lasted for almost two decades before global economies recovered. It caused collapse of many economies and stock markets, massive unemployment, deflation of products and a general decrease in disposable incomes of most households. After the Great Depression, the government decided to develop a welfare policy which targeted families and households among other deserving groups. In 1935 the Social Security Act which defined policy programs was passed under President Roosevelt. Various social welfare policy programs including Aid to Dependent Children and unemployment compensation were developed as a result. In addition, government agencies such as Department of Labor, Department of Housing, Depar tment of Education and department of Agriculture were also formed to oversee the implementation of the welfare policy (Taylor 68-73). In subsequent years, various other policy programs were developed to meet modern needs. For instance, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act passed in 1996 under President Clinton aimed at assisting the poor and empowering them to obtain employment as opposed to dependence on aid. The problems which necessitated development of the welfare policy will be discussed in the following section of the paper. Problem description necessitating policy There were several problems which necessitated the development of the social welfare policy. It is important to understand that different generations faced various problems throughout history although most were similar. This section of the paper will analyze the reasons necessitating development of the social welfare policy at different points in time depending on problems prevailing at the time. Initially, it has been discussed that social welfare was developed due to four major reasons. The first was to address the problem of poverty and unemployment. It was realized that friends and neighbors were sometimes unable to assist the poor in society who were beginning to be a burden to society. Many unemployed people were poor and had begun participating in social vices since they were unable to afford money for basic needs. There were no clear statistics on poverty levels but it was believed that over 10% of the total population lived in poverty. The second reason which necessitated de velopment of the welfare policy was the old and especially the war veterans who had sacrificed themselves for the country. Such categories of people were unable to work effectively due to age or injury and they began receiving support from the state. However, the modern welfare policy system began due to the effects of the Great Depression. It has been discussed that the Great depression which occurred in 1929 and lasted for almost two decades caused collapse of many economies and stock markets, massive unemployment, deflation of products and a general decrease in disposable incomes of most households. The Great depression was a massive problem which caused a fall of crop prices by over 50%, collapse in construction industry, over 50% decline in tax revenues and personal incomes, collapse in logging and mining industries and an over 25% increase in overall US unemployment rate amongst other problems (Modigliani 41-43). These were huge financial problems which threatened the survival of many families and businesses and the government developed the welfare policy aimed at supporting the affected families and households among other deserving groups. This facilitated the 1935 passage of the Social Security Act which defined policy pr ograms under President Roosevelt. Other welfare policies have been passed under President Clinton and these aimed at assisting the poor meet modern challenges and empowering them to obtain employment as opposed to dependence on aid. Policy Description There are two major policies which will be discussed as far as policy description of the US social welfare system is involved. The first is the 1935 the Social Security Act passed to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act passed to cater for the poor and marginalized in society. The 1935 the Social Security Act This Act was passed under President Roosevelt and it formed the basis of developing the welfare system as is used today. The Act advocated for development of programs which limited the threats to American society including poverty, old age, burdens of widows and orphans as well as unemployment. These problems were made worse by the Great Depression which occurred during this period in history. The Act provided various benefits to unemployed people and retirees, with lump-sum payments being made after their death. The payments which were made to retirees were funded by taxes on the payrolls of current workers, with half the payments being funded by employers. The old, families with depended children and unemployed were financed by funds in various states which were advanced by the central government. Many minorities and women were locked out from these programs. This was due to the fact that the Act did not cover employees in domestic service, agricultural labor, government employees, nurses, teachers and social workers. This locked out minorities and women who dominated these sectors. The Act also discriminated against women who received insurance programs based on children or husbands. Minorities such as blacks received lower funds for assistance in some states due to the perception that blacks needed less money for maintenance. During this period, approximately $35 million was paid out in welfare programs by the central government. It is important to note that these welfare programs were long term in nature and did not have strict time limits where people could rely on welfare. 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act It has been discussed that this Act was passed under President Clinton. It had a significant impact on the goals and methods of assistance on the poor in society. The bill was passed with the belief that welfare programs were encouraging immigrants to relocate to the US where they became social burdens to society (Frum 325-327). It aimed at providing short term assistance to families as opposed to long term assistance as was being previously practiced. It also led to the change of long term welfare programs to short term ones. For instance, the 1935 Aid to Families and Dependent Children program was replaced by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. In addition to shortening the length of welfare programs, this Act also increased eligibility standards required by those claiming benefits. These included reduction in immigrant welfare assistance, stricter conditions for eligibility for food stamps and recipient work requirements (David 33-37). The objectives of the program were requi ring welfare recipients to obtain employment after 2 years, ending welfare as an entitlement form, encouraging two parent families, limiting welfare support from federal funds to 5 years and enhancing child support enforcement. Welfare support came from both the federal and state government, with $650 billion being payable in welfare programs in 2009. Policy Analysis It is important to analyze the welfare policy which has been discussed in the paper in order to evaluate its legal and ethical implications. The major goals of the modern welfare system are to prevent dependence on welfare while at the same time assisting the old, unemployed, poor and single families amongst other target groups. The aim of the previous welfare system was to assist families, the old and unemployed mitigate the effects of the Great Depression. The intention of the 1935 the Social Security Act was to provide assistance to these marginalized groups. This was a noble intention since the great depression threatened the survival of many families and businesses. However, there were defects in the programs since they discriminated against minority groups and women. They were also long term support programs which indirectly encouraged reliance on aid by the needy. Since the needy were assured of financial support, some became comfortable and did not see the need to look for em ployment since the government was supporting them. However, these weaknesses were later discovered and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act was passed. This Act corrected the weaknesses in the earlier legislation since it supported the previously discriminated groups including women and minorities. It also limited the timeline for welfare support and made welfare eligibility more difficult to discourage reliance on welfare both immigrants and native US citizens. This is an important step since it encourages people to empower themselves as opposed to relying on government support. The welfare policy enables the unemployed and poor to seek employment. This improves their relations with the rest of society since they are not seen as burdens that rely on support from public taxes as was previously the case. It also enables the recipients to improve the quality of life since it empowers them to seek financial stability and empowerment. Governments across the world should embrace welfare policies which help the needy b ut at the same time discourage them from relying on aid in the long run. Summary and conclusion The US welfare system has been discussed in detail. The system traces its roots to the 18th Century when villages assisted the needy and old in society. However, the modern form of welfare which is practiced today was developed from the 1935 the Social Security Act which was passed to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression. The Great depression caused the collapse of many businesses and loss of jobs by households due to massive unemployment. The Act aimed at providing long term support for the poor, needy, unemployed and the old in society. However, it faced two main weaknesses which were discrimination against minority groups and women, and encouraging reliance eon aid by beneficiaries. In order to solve these weaknesses, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act was passed. The Act supported the previously discriminated groups including women and minorities and limited the timeline for welfare support and made welfare eligibility more difficult to discourage r eliance on welfare both immigrants and native US citizens. This encouraged recipients of welfare to look for employment opportunities and empowered them in the long run. It also improved their relations with the rest of society since they are not seen as burdens that rely on support from public taxes as was previously the case. It is important for governments to develop social welfare policies which are similar to those applied in the US. These will assist the marginalized and empower them to seek financial empowerment through obtaining meaningful employment. Such programs should not encourage recipients of welfare to depend on it in the long run. They should have feasible timelines when recipients of welfare should cease dependence on such programs. Only recipients who are unable to gain employment due to unique circumstances such as age or disability should receive long term welfare assistance. The programs should also have strict eligibility requirements to prevent abuse by able-bodied people capable of gaining employment. This will improve the social welfare of society in general.

Eudora Weltys The Golden Apples Essay -- Eudora Welty The Golden Appl

Other Subjectivity in Eudora Welty's The Golden Apples The language, meaning, and otherworldliness of Eudora Welty's The Golden Apples, like the golden apples in Yeats' Song of the Wandering Aengus, invite yet often defy grasping. Gratefully, Lowry Pei has offered an informed and lucid perception of this collection, enabling readers to gain that much more ground towards achieving a valuable understanding of the stories, individually and as a whole. Pei states initially that with The Golden Apples the reader, as an outside observer, must take on someone else's view of the world and "experience that other subjectivity, thinking thoughts he does not necessarily understand," in a reality that is not his own (415). This "other subjectivity" and the subjectivities that create an apparent reality for the self versus the objectivity of a natural reality--apart from yet encompassing and beckoning the self--constitute the major focus of the essay. Welty's narrative style emphasizes the reader's role in perceiving and determining the essence of reality through various devices. The comparisons that she offers "have an apparent arbitrariness that challenges the reader to supply an explanation" while simultaneously "lead[ing] the reader away from what is and toward a constantly growing array of alternate realities" (Pei 416). Additionally, through non- sequiturs, unanswered questions, and narrative gaps, Welty positions the audience behind a screen of sorts--from which a character's "subjective state [is] perceptible but nevertheless impenetrable, something we can see (for a moment) but cannot share" (Pei 417). This idea echoes what Pei proposes as a major theme of the collection: "how we achieve communication between the accustome... ... through dreams, role reversal, and nature, toward a complex and distinctly objective reality in which language truly communicates. Overall, Lowry Pei's insightful essay provides, without an excess of convoluted rhetoric, essential and thought provoking interpretations of Welty's multi-layered collection. His effective use of examples from the stories heightens the impact of his generally thoughtful conclusions and his high regard for Welty's talent is apparent. Pei has achieved in effect, however in a necessarily limited way, that communicative aspect of language that marks the goal of many of the characters in The Golden Apples. Works Cited Pei, Lowry. "Dreaming the Other in The Golden Apples." Modern Fiction Review28.3 (1982): 414-420. Welty, Eudora. The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harvest-Harcourt Brace, 1980.

WVO Quines Epistemic Paradigm :: Naturalized Epistemology

WVO Quine's Epistemic Paradigm Since its publication in 1969, Quine's seminal essay entitled Epistemology Naturalized has had a polarizing effect on pursuits in this field. Many have rejected the naturalist approach to epistemology on the grounds that it is mere relativism (see below), while others have celebrated Quine's program for articulating an empirical approach to epistemology. In what follows, I will endeavour to provide a clean explanation of some of the central features of Quine's naturalism and point out what I believe are the strengths and weaknesses of these features and, I will offer a brief account of why I believe Quine's naturalism to be an exemplary approach to clarifying how epistemic pursuits ought to be carried out. 1. Quine's Naturalism What then is naturalized epistemology according to Quine? Simply stated, it is the departure from traditional philosophy insofar as it invites empirical science to play a crucial role clarifying the explanatory relation between theory and evidence. The reason that this is a departure from the tradition is because philosophical doctrine has clung to the notion that epistemology is primarily a normative inquiry concerned with the pure justification of our claims to knowledge. One of the major, and perhaps ironic, problems with the traditional view, however, is that there has been much disagreement over just which criteria are to count as justification in the first place. If we need justification to increase the liklihood that our beliefs are true, and thus wind up with knowledge, then how are we to know that our original criteria are themselves justified? The most familiar strategy1 against this risk of infinite regress is to accept only beliefs that are indubitably true, such as first-person reports of conscious phenomena or clear and distinct ideas. From this initial cache of first principles one could then, were this endeavour successful, rationally reconstruct an epistemically justified account of how we come to have knowledge. Quine characterizes this approach generously by drawing a parallel to the attempted reduction of mathematics when he says: "ideally the obscurer concepts would be defined in terms of the clearer ones so as to maximize clarity, and the less obvious laws would be proved from the more obvious ones so as to maximize certainty."2 With this kind of foundationalist epistemology, once one has defined which first principles are to be accepted as justified truths, one can then proceed with the project of explaining science (inter alia) in accordance with them.

Nature Versus Nurture: Both Play a Role in Development Essay -- child

Nature versus nurture is a commonly debated topic in the scientific world. For example were all child molesters abused as children themselves or are their genes or other factors to blame for their bad decisions? Genes seem to determine much about children, such as eye color and height, but do they also determine behavior and overall health, or is the environment the children were raised in to blame? For example, when a child is misbehaving, is it the parents responsibility to take the blame for their offspring's behavior due to how they have chosen to raise their son or daughter, or is the child's genetic makeup to blame for their faults? Can a child's environment override the genes a child is born with? Mischievous children's genes and environment are both to blame for their actions. Just because a child sees his or her parents invest their time in drugs or alcohol does not make the child themselves end up in the same situation proving that environment is not the only determining factor in a child's behavior. Genetics play an important role as well. The environment a child is ...

The Cure for Death by Lightning

Gail Anderson-Dargatz’s masterpiece, The Cure for Death by Lightning, recounts the story of Beth Weeks, a fifteen-year-old living on a farm near a reserve. Throughout the story, Beth has to endure different kinds of ill-treatment as well as an invisible predator who seems to be following her. Through her struggle, the author reveals that a character, despite being abused, and having to live in difficult conditions can evolve into a mature and responsible young woman. Beth’s encounters, as well as her choices throughout the novel, help her overcome her difficult situation and put a stop to the abuse she’s going through. Firstly, some encounters Beth has in the story help her surmount the difficult conditions she lives in. Specifically, her encounter with Nora makes her more determined and more inclined to stand up for what she wants. The following extract illustrates that rather clearly: â€Å"I’m going to see Nora tomorrow,† I said. â€Å"While Dad’s out in the field. He doesn’t have to know. † â€Å"You’ll stay here,† she [her mother] said. â€Å"I need your help. † â€Å"I’ll do the work and then I’ll go. You can tell him or not. I’ll leave after he’s gone out for lunch and come back before supper. † â€Å"You will not leave this house. † â€Å"What are you going to do to stop me? (Page 162) It is important to note that Beth is informing her mother of her plans and not seeking out her permission. Following their encounter, Beth and Nora’s relationship evolved into a very intimate friendship that means a lot to Beth. As a result, Beth is more determined to stand up to her parents to maintain that friendship. She decides to fight for what she wants rather than bow her head and obey without protest. That builds up her strength of character and make her stronger when faced with other conflicts. By the same token, Beth’s encounter with Nora make her less of a follower and more of a participant. Indeed, Beth, who is someone who doesn’t mingle much, is brought out of her shell thanks to Nora. In the following extract, Beth’s eagerness to participate to the winter house project Nora proposes is obvious; ‘â€Å"We could decorate it,† I [Beth] said. â€Å"Hang some things up the wall. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Page 131) In brief, following her encounter with Nora, Beth has become a much more determined and much less secluded character. That change helps her stand up to her fears more and make some difficult choices that she may not have been able to make without that input. Secondly, some choices Beth make throughout the novel help her evolve into the mature and responsible young woman she becomes in the end. For instance, her decision to quit school after her classmates bully her helps her detach from that disheartening environment. She can roam around freely in calming and peaceful places such as the one described in the following extract: â€Å"At first, the forest was quiet. Then I began hearing the noises that made up the quiet: trees aching, birds whistling, someone chopping wood way off. (Page 106) Quitting school turns out to be a rather therapeutic experience for Beth who can finally escape to a place a few hours a day to unload the stress her difficult situation is giving her. That enables her to be less stressed and pessimistic when faced with other conflicts. Similarly, Beth’s choice to stay home and not accompany Nora to Vancouver is a major decision that helped her resolve many conflicts. It is underlined in the following extract: â€Å"You going to come with me? † [asked Nora] I shook my head and looked at the carpetbag she carried. â€Å"What’re you staying here for? she said. â€Å"Your father’s coming back. You know he is. † â€Å"It’s home,† I said. â€Å"I don’t know anything else. † â€Å"You’re never going to if you don’t step out. † â€Å"I got things to do here first,† I said. â€Å"I’ll go when I’m ready. Anyway, Mum needs me now. † In this extract, it is uncovered that Beth is choosing to stay and face her father, whom she has great conflicts with, and her problems head-on, rather than escape and avoid them forever. She chooses the right way instead of the easy way out. It unveils how much Beth has grown and how mature and brave she has become. Finally, it is obvious that Beth’s encounters, as well as her choices throughout the novel, help her overcome her difficult situation and put a stop to the abuse she’s going through. These two factors are obviously very essential to Beth’s growth. Although I think that Beth’s development is due to her great bravery and strength of character, I don’t think that she would have achieved such maturity if she hadn’t been faced with the encounters she’s been faced with, or the choices she had to make. The turn the events took definitely helped Beth become the mature and responsible young woman she has evolved in.

Symbolism – “My Antonia”

Literary device – Symbolism Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities: symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts. â€Å"There seemed to be nothing to see; no fences, no creeks or trees, no hills or fields. If there was a road, I could not make it out in the faint starlight. There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made† (10). â€Å"In all that country it was the spot most dear to me† because when all of the land has been cleared for farming, this â€Å"island† where two roads meet is the only place where the tall prairie grass still grows undisturbed† (62). Even while we whispered about it, our vision disappeared; the ball dropped and dropped until the red tip went beneath the earth. The fields below us were dark, the sky was growing pale, and that forgotten plough had sunk back to its own littleness somewhere on the prairie† (50-51). Willa Cather My Antoni a In the book, My Antonia, Jim Burden finds himself an orphan leaving his beloved home to a new, stranger place. When he first arrives he observes the country and how different the surroundings are. Throughout the story Jim finally settles in and has a new friend, Antonia. Many things happen and soon we are mourning over the death of Mr.Shimerda. His death was a big event and effected Antonia and her family. Her family was forced to work three times harder to keep themselves alive. As you transition into book two, more conflicts are invited and new symbols. There are three main types of symbolism that are appealing to the eye. The first quote uses the prairie as a symbol of Jim’s friendship with Antonia during his childhood. It may also symbolize the immigrants and the vast size of the prairie. Which may suggest both the opportunity for a new life and the overwhelming fear that goes with trying to create a new life.The third quote is usually missed as a sign of symbolism. The gravesite is a remnant of the prairie in its purest form, and it symbolizes Antonia’s and Jim’s longing for the past. It is also unwelcoming and â€Å"the  sky cries as if in sorrow, and the elements in the new land are not friendly, just as they have not been welcoming to  Mr. Shimerda† (61). In the final quote the symbol is the plough. It symbolizes man’s â€Å"beautiful and harmonious† connection to the land. The imagery suggests Jim’s impending separation from Antonia and while Antonia remains on the prairie, Jim leaves for good. Willa Cather uses many examples of symbolism.The lighting is one that is seen in many books, such as Of Mice and Men and more. A vivid description of light shows every major change that occurs in the novel. For example, at the end of the novel, after Jim leaves Antonia for the last time, he stands alone on the prairie roads in â€Å"the slanting sunlight† and reflects on the â€Å"incommunicableâ₠¬  past he shared with Antonia. The light from the sun is setting and at this time Cather uses the light to show the ending to Jim and Antonia’s relationship. Symbolism in this novel is important in deciding the lives, actions, and moods of the characters.

Data Base

†¢Review and describe the most important criteria for selecting internetworking devices at the core, access, and distribution layer in a computer network †¢ †¢The most important criteria for selecting internetworking devices includes; processing speed, reputation and viability of the vendor, ease of configuration, number of ports, support for security standards such as WPA or 802. 1i, ability to tune the transmit power, support for QoS features, amount of memory†¦etc. †¢ †¢ Describe the key criteria involved in selecting WAN technologies and WAN providers. Discuss which criteria is the most important from your perspective and state why. The criteria used to evaluate and select a WAN provider will vary from company to company. While cost may be the most important factor for one company, reliability may be the deciding factor for another.Enterprises should choose a WAN provider based on the criteria that are most important to them include the extent of ser vices and technologies offered by the provider, the geographical area covered by the provider, best network access for each application flow, maximizing application performance, continuity and network usage, takes into account the end-to-end characteristics of each available network (quality and bandwidth) to decide in real time the best access for each application flow quality parameters like network delay, jitter and loss, as well as the available bandwidth.Evaluated in real-time, these criteria are weighted according to the type of application flow: voice will usually look for the fastest path while email may prefer the largest one.

Characterisation of Eddie Carbone Essay

Explore the ways a central character is presented in the drama text. Use examples from the text in your response. Eddie Carbone, a 40 year old Italian American Citizen from Sicily, is the tragic protagonist of A view from the Bridge by Arthur Miller. Alfieri, the chorus in the story, first introduces Eddie as a good, hard working man who does normal things like raising a family, eating, getting old, etc. However as Alfieri states, no one can know what his true self is like. Alfieri prepares us for the discovery of the secrets in the play. That two illegal immigrants Marco and Rodolfo are taking shelter in Eddies home and Eddie’s deep secret of his quasi-incestuous desire for his niece, Catherine. At first, Eddie is shown as a good man who is happy and respected by his family. Eddie behaves like a normal, fairly overprotective uncle towards Catherine and the audience would probably not have guessed that he has any desire of her other than the standard uncle and niece relationship. However it is not the standard uncle and niece relationship in Eddie’s mind but far more complex. The first sense of uneasiness we see is when Catherine lights his cigarette. Eddie receives some kind of unnatural pleasure from this experience. A woman lighting a man’s cigar can have a sexual implication and this is what Eddie see in Catherine. Knowing that Eddie has these feelings, there are clues earlier back in the text to his obsession with Catherine. When Catherine sits on her heel beside him, he criticizes the length of her skirt. He doesn’t want Catherine to look attractive in public because he is worried that some man might ask her out. He wants Catherine all to himself and does anything he can to prevent her from getting a boyfriend. Eddie also does not want her moving out of his home. He wants Catherine always within his grasp. When Catherine tells Eddie that she got a new job, he disapproves straight away: â€Å"No – no, you gonna finish school. What kina job, what do you mean? All of a sudden you-â€Å". He is very panicky and disturbed by this information that Catherine is getting a job meaning that Eddie would see Catherine less which seem like a realistic reason for an uncle to be upset about, but knowing Eddie’s true intentions, he want Catherine to be near to him as close as possible. Eddie’s inner feelings are also somewhat exposed during when Eddie and Beatrice argue. Although Eddie cannot yet grasp his own feelings, is seems like other character like Alfieri and Beatrice are aware of his interest in Catherine: Eddie: â€Å"What are you mad at me lately? † Beatrice: â€Å"Who’s mad? †¦ You’re the one is mad. † Eddie is referring to â€Å"mad† as in angry and asking why Beatrice is cross with him. Beatrice responds by referring to the â€Å"mad† as in mentally insane and suggests that Eddie had lost his mind, which he eventually does. Eddie is also show to be a selfish natured and an untrustworthy man. He reminds Beatrice not to let her tired cousins sleep in his bed because the bed is his own property. This could link with the way that he feels about Catherine; she is his personal property and that no one can ‘use’ his personal property apart from himself. Eddie’s experience with life and work has led him to become untrusting of others. He advises Catherine â€Å"the less you trust, the less you be sorry† showing that Eddie has not trusted al lot of people in his life and that when he does, it turns out going wrong. This prepares us for the suspicion and distrust he has when Rodolfo arrives. Eddie becomes increasingly jealous of Catherine’s interest in Rodolfo. â€Å"Catherine: (enthralled) Leave him finish, it’s beautiful! † Catherine likes Rodolfo from the instant she met him and Eddie, aware of this is, wants Catherine to like him in the same way instead of Rodolfo. Eddie quickly comes up with an excuse to stop Rodolfo from singing by saying that â€Å"you don’t want to be picked up, do ya? † which seems like a plausible reason – if Rodolfo sings too loud then someone might notice something strange and inquire. However Eddie’s true motive for preventing Eddie from singing is to stop Catherine from being amazed by Rodolfo. Eddie’s jealousy becomes further exposed as his face is described as being ‘puffed with trouble’ in the stage direction where Catherine is making Rodolfo coffee. He is jealous that Catherine is getting Rodolfo a drink when before Catherine was getting him a beer. Eddie state of mind is shown when Catherine is talk to Eddie after she has got back from Brooklyn Paramount with Rodolfo. Catherine has told Eddie that she likes him and the stage directions show hiswd reaction to this: â€Å"He looks at her like a lost boy†. Eddie feels a sort of saddened jealousy but he is unable to realize this dishonourable emotion and incapable of admitting this to himself. He is indeed emotionally â€Å"lost†. Eddie’s obsession with Catherine and his spiteful nature grows throughout the story. He tries to do anything he can to put Catherine of Rodolfo. In his conversation with Beatrice, Eddie says to her that he is homosexual: â€Å"Paper Doll they’re callin’ him. Canary. He’s like a weird†. Eddie is trying to make Beatrice and everyone turn against Rodolfo but ironically everyone turns on him. Eddie tells Catherine that Rodolfo only likes her because he wants to obtain an American citizenship by marrying her: â€Å"Katie, he’s only bowin’ to his passport†. Eddie is trying to make Catherine doubt Rodolfo but this is unsuccessful and ends up in Catherine distrusting Eddie. This strong obsession Edie has with Catherine did not just start when the cousins arrived but has been an ongoing process from before. This is shown in Eddie’s conversation with Beatrice where she tells him that she has worries of her own: â€Å"When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie†¦ It’s almost three months†. Eddie and Beatrice have had no sexual affiliation for three months because all that has been on his mind is Catherine. Near the end of Act 1, Eddie’s is show to be violent and cold hearted. He mocks Rodolfo’s skills in singing, making clothes and cooking and compares him to himself and say that this is no place for him. He is suggesting that he is not manly enough to be here like him and that he should be in some other place. Eddie tries to supposedly â€Å"teach† Rodolfo boxing all of a sudden: â€Å"Well, come on. I’ll teach you† However Eddie knows that Rodolfo is weaker than he is and uses this as an excuse to punch Rodolfo in the face and show everyone, especial Catherine, how weak Rodolfo is and to humiliate him however this had the opposite effect and exposes how sadistic Eddie can be. Eddies motives for his actions all originate from his quasi-incestuous love for his niece. As Alfieri describes, â€Å"His eyes were like tunnels†, he can only see Catherine and no one else. He cannot understand why he only sees Catherine but that is all he sees and refuses to let any feeling or any person enter that tunnel nd making sure that Catherine stays only in his tunnel and not anyone else’s. Significantly, the lyric of the song Rodolfo sings, â€Å"Paper Doll†, symbolically reflects Eddie’s feelings for Catherine: â€Å"It’s tough to love a doll that’s not your own† â€Å"I’m gonna buy a paper doll that I can call my own† â€Å"A doll that other fellows cannot steal. † Figuratively, Eddie is the one singing the song and Catherine is the subject of the song, the doll, and that is has been ‘stolen’ by someone – Rodolfo. This song was carefully chosen by Arthur Miller to act as an intimation of what was to come. Eddie is unable to comprehend his true feelings but other characters have a clearer view than he does. Like Alfieri, who knows of his love for his niece and describes this as â€Å"a passion that had moved into his body†. This is significant because this metaphor is close to the truth of what has happed to Eddie; this newly found passion of Catherine as grown over time and has became strong enough so that it fully controls his body, and is behind every action in Eddie’s life. Eddie’s first conversation with Alfieri shows that Alfieri knows his feelings: â€Å"sometimes even a daughter, and he never realizes it, ut through the years – there is too much love for the daughter, there is too much love for the niece. Do you understand what I’m saying to you? † But Eddie does not fully understand what Alfieri is saying, he think Alfieri mean â€Å"love† and in a Uncle and niece love, but Alfieri knows Eddies feeling and is talking about real physical love for Catherine. Eddie blindness towards his inner feeling and stubbornness in letting go of Catherine are Eddie’s tragic flaws that bring upon his downfall.