Saturday, August 31, 2019

Cash Flow Problems and Solutions Essay

Sharma and Ryan are planning to share ownership of the business SIGNature Ltd. The business will manufacture plastic road signs for builders, tourist attractions and local councils. It is imperative that the business are continually monitoring and controlling their cash flow if they aim to survive, specifically making sure there are sufficient funds to cover immediate spending. However, SIGNature Ltd. should avoid holding too much cash as this is an unproductive asset, as the business could lose out on the possible profit from investing in the cash. Many businesses produce regular cash flow forecasts, listing all likley receipts (cash inflows) and payments (cash outflows) over a future time period, in this case 12 months. SIGNature Ltd. decided to invest  £12,500 each of their own money into the business totalling at  £25000 altogether, an adequate amount of money to start off the year, however; looking at their closing balance of  £5,556 this investment could have been much hi gher, the business were aware of their costs for this month of  £135,443 – a considerable sum of money to be coming out of a start-up business in the first month. The main issue with these high outgoings is the slightly low opening balance for February, which could have been avoided if precautions had been taken such as investing more money into the business or perhaps spreading the costs. In addition to the capital introduced Sharma and Ryan were granted a bank loan of  £80,000, a fairly large sum which aided the funding of machinery at  £85,000, fittings and fixtures at  £20,000 and insurance at  £1,000 totalling at  £106,000. With the uncertainty of sales these large payments in the first month may have negative results for the months to come if their sales do not meet targets, possibly landing the business into debts that will have to be repaid through external sources of finance, which will in turn incur additional borrowing costs adding pressure to the situation. Their available bank overdraft of  £20,000 could be considered, however, this would mean additional debt and additional creditors to repay, the business would then n eed to find ways of raising money themselves using the money borrowed, in order to repay all debts successfully – this would be unlikely to work as it would take time,  resources and money putting extreme pressure on the business. Many business over borrow to finance growth, increasing interest costs which not only threatens the businesses cash position but the overall control of the business. It is important for Sharma and Ryan to fund growth in a balanced way; additional funds could have been invested through savings, Sharma and Ryan could have looked into accessible external sources of finance by for example seeking financial support from family and friends who would be interested in making an investment into the business. It appears that the business invested too much on fixed assets in the first month as the initial stages of a business’ funds are limited. Spending large amounts of money on equipment, machinery and other capital items can drain resources; Sharma and Ryan should consider lease some of these fixed assets such as the machinery, leaving sufficient cash funds. Receipts are lowest in February than any other at  £41,556, a possible result of the lower opening balance from the previous month’s outgoings. Sales remained the same at  £30,000, while regular costs remained the same, including salary payments of  £6,333 in total; this may have potential effects on the business and its profit, by paying the same outflows while receiving low inflows can cause the business to eat into turnover and therefore their profits. Other payments could also be investigated, such as their courier for example, their payments of  £1,500 seem extortionate, reducing the working capital the business have available to spend on daily activity and pay expenses. This may be an example of poor financial management, an inexperience in managi ng cash or a poor understanding of the way cash flows in and out of their business may lead Sharma and Ryan into problems. For example if a business were to spend heavily just before it receives cash from their customers who have bought on credit it is likely to face problems. It is not wise to spend cash when it is not definitely there. It will help SIGNature Ltd. to save cash if they were able to delay paying their courier for services they have already bought, the courier may also be able to extend their credit period (if any) from 30 to 60 days for example. However the business should be careful that the courier do not withdraw their credit facilities and refuse to transport the business’ goods if they are waiting too long for payment. Alternatively Sharma and Ryan could look into other courier services, comparing prices on the market in order to find a company that will transport their goods at a  lower cost; leaving additional cash funds to support other business activity. Additional action that could be taken includes reducing the personal drawings from the business, owners who regularly take cash from the business could attempt to take less. Living expenses may be an issue to consider, however, making a reduction in drawings taken could reduce the amount of money that leaves the business. March sales are again  £30,000, with the addition of  £10,700 incurred in quarterly costs including payments to HMRC and telephone bills while advertising payments have risen by  £500; the result of these costs mean the closing balance drops to  £7,970 from 12,113 in the previous month, possibly impacting on April’s cash flow if sales do not rise as expected. In addition to this Ryan and Sharma are continuing to pay themselves as well as their two staff, raising costs by  £3,166 which could be spent on other aspects of the business while continuing to pay the same rates for all other costs; consequently their outgoings for the month total at  £40,143, a higher than optimum total. Businesses are subject to unpredictable external forces, meaning they must make financial provision for any unforeseen expenditure. Equipment breakdowns, tax demands, strikes and bad debts are common examples of emergency expense. In the early stages of business development it is more likely that business owners are affected by unforeseen expenditure due to lack of experience or insufficient planning. For Sharma and Ryan, it is very important they take these factors into account when financing their business, their current poor financial management could lead them to additional expenses they are not able to afford and could possibly have long-term effects on the business which will be hard to recover from. In order to raise funds SIGNature Ltd. may consider stimulating sales for cash, many business can generate cash by offering large discounts for customers who will pay in cash, reducing the amount of time waited to receive cash from sales to cover any emergency costs incurred. Sharm a and Ryan could simply delay payments, keeping this cash within the business for a longer period of time and only paying when put under pressure by creditors. Although this may be acceptable in many cases, the business should be cautious to make HMRC payments upfront to avoid future issues such as the loss of assets or additional costs as a result. Sometimes it may be possible to sell stock of raw materials, components or unfinished goods for cash. To  generate cash quickly at lower cost if necessary, however, stocks such as road signs and their materials are specialised so may prove difficult to sell. They may consider selling to collectors of plastic, although this may not generate enough to benefit the business. April and May’s sales are to rise to  £37,000 as do purchases, going from  £13,500 to  £16,650 which could impact on profits after costs are deducted, spending although sometimes necessary can have negative effects on the business inflows. While costs cons ist of mostly mandatory payments, heat and lighting remain at  £500; the approaching summer months and likely hot weather suggest that this month’s bill should be considerably lower as days become longer at beginning of spring meaning more heat and light will be naturally generated, spending cash on these bills when they are not required is an example of financial mismanagement possibly leading to additional finance issues due to lack of cash. The business should focus on making only essential purchases, postponing or cancelling nay unnecessary spending and only buying resources when required. The business should consider ways to utilise natural light effectively in order to save energy, and costs as a result; an example could be the installation of solar panels, in addition to this the temperature in this month should be higher and therefore no need for the business to be paying the amount they are for heating. Other ways to gain or regain cash involve putting pressure on customers to pay back what they owe more quickly. Allowing customers to receive trade credit can benefit as they will appreciate the extra time to pay for purchased goods, however as SIGNature’s customers are often other business they may take advantage of this act of goodwill in resistance to repay the business when asked. Therefore the business should be wary when trusting a customer with this service, as they may not repay as result of pressure and it could lead to them simply resorting to finding another supplier. June’s sales remain at  £37,000 while the second quarterly costs are du e, HMRC payments have risen to  £12,210 as a result of higher company purchases. Total outgoings for this month are  £46,233, this is higher due to aspects of outgoings such as the addition of  £300 in telephone charges,  £500 additional advertising costs and the continual payment of heat and lighting bills of  £500. Other than this the business do not seem to be taking action against managing high costs (such as the courier for example), this demonstrates a reluctance to adapt to new  situations. When dealing with their business, Sharma and Ryan should be evolving, and adapting their business to meet current demands; what suited the business three months ago may not apply currently. Sharma and Ryan may think about introducing fresh capital this month in order to improve cash flow, they may be able to use savings or take out loans using personal possessions as security. As a small business, SIGNature Ltd. may be able to friends and family to invest in it; another possibility could be the acquiring of a new business partner to add to existing funds, in addition they may be able to offer their expertise or a fresh way of thinking which could improve the business further. July to September’s sales rise to  £41,000, a  £4000 increase from April to June’s sales and an  £11,000 increase from the beginning of the year’s sales; inflows are appearing positive by this quarter, with outgoings remaining almost the same with the exception of higher purchases, the businesses profit margin has risen significantly. Sales have noticeably continued to rise after the end of each quarter when an additional  £500 is invested into advertising, from this I can say it is clear the business has potential to improve further from the use of advertisement in order to raise brand awareness and attract new and existing customers to continue using the ir business. It could be that the ‘in-between’ months are not being put to best use, if Sharma and Ryan were to more regularly invest in additional advertisement it could be that the business sales would continue to rise. From this pattern it appears their inexperience holds them from reaching full potential at the rate they could if they were to consult others (such as potential investors, or any associates within the industry for example) who may be able to offer advice or assistance. Another possible alternative as previously mentioned could be the introduction of an additional business partner, preferably one already involved within the industry, to offer their expertise through knowledge and experience while contributing a new take on the running of their business. If reluctant to allow another person have a say in the running of their organisation, there is the possibility of acquiring the new partner as a ‘silent partner’, allowing Sharma and Ryan to gain funds and guidance on the running of their business without the possible disagreements on actions taken during daily activity, which in turn would reduce any stress this may have caused while benefiting from the extra help they would receive. From  October to December sales deteriorate to  £25,000 with bills remaining this reduces profit margins; however, opening and closing balances continue to total at over  £50,000, these large sums of money remaining each month appear positive when looking at the cash flow forecast, although this is known as an unproductive asset. The money left over at the end of the month should be banked or invested, in order to gain money from either interest earned or profit received from investment; the money lost from holding the cash could set the business back from what they could have earned if they were to have invested their money. Although many businesses try to sustain demand for their products, there may be times when it falls unexpectedly. Changes in spending habits could lead to a fall in demand, leading to fall in cash sales flowing into the company; oftentimes, trade fluctuates for seasonal reasons as it appears to have done in this case. To avoid this precautions can be taken , for SIGNature Ltd. it is thought their business would continue to strive in winter due to the nature of the organisation, additional warning road signs are likely to be needed as a result of harsh weather conditions, form this I can say that the business would be wise to invest in additional advertisement for the winter months in order to boost sales. In addition to this they may be able to provide discount in order to promote their product. This situation requires careful management of the summer months in order to regulate the winter months, although it is possible to predict these changes. In conclusion I can say that there are many issues SIGNature Ltd. could face as a small start-up business, due to varying factors; some of which include their lack of experience in both the industry and the running of a business, despite this there are many courses of action they can take in order to improve and grow their business. In my opinion the furthering of their business could be achieved through the better management of their spending, in addition to the alteration of their operation; there were a number of outgoings the business were continuing to pay when perhaps they could have found a cheaper alternative, while when possessing large sums of money, were not taking action to make use of this. As new business owners, the partnership should work on the evolution of their business by finding new ways to do things to ensure their organisation is reaching full potential by increasing profit margins through the cutting of costs and in some cases, the spreading of them in order t o achieve economies of scale,  which could benefit Sharma and Ryan greatly.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Logistics and Project Planning Essay

The mission of elc was to provide consumers with access to the Internet at the lowest cost. Despite the excellent support and recognition from the public, elc was experiencing adversity of keeping their business profitable after the Internet Investment bubble burst. The original concept of owning many of the large stand-alone cafes with 250-500 PC terminals at each cafe was not working well. elc undertook a dramatic restructuring of the company by downsizing the cafes. Many of the large, original stand-alone elc stores will be run by franchisees. These franchised stores will become smaller stores which have 20 to 30 PCs terminals at each cafe and with no staff required except for regular maintenance. Less involvement with store operations allows elc to concentrate on activities of their core competence and outsource all the non-core activities. Their core competence was to continue building their ‘easy’ brand and applying the yield management model to the Internet cafe business. Their business goal was to open 4 new franchises per week over the next 3 years. In order to achieve the goal of growing their franchised Internet cafes business, an efficient, flexible and cost-effective logistics system is what they need for the provision of equipment to the franchisee. Since logistics is one of the non-core activities that is perceived as a bottleneck for scalability, the present logistics system of elc will be reviewed and findings of whether to outsource the logistics system will be presented to the management team. Background of easyGroup Stelios Haji-loannou, the founder of easyGroup, is the renowned Greek entrepreneur who utilized his family money to launch a serial of ventures. His first venture, Stelmar Tankers was found in 1992. The company very soon went into the public sector and was listed on New York Stock Exchange. In 1995, he found easyJet. easyJet was a no-frills, low cost airline company and later grew to become the largest no-frill airline in Europe and was listed on the London stock exchange in 2000. Building on the success of easyJet and to extend the ‘easy’ brand further, he formed the holding company easyGroup in 1998. easyInternetcafe was his first venture under the umbrella of the easyGroup. Other companies in the group included easyJet, easyCar, easyCinema, easy. com, easyMoney and easyValue, easyBus, easyPizza, easyCruise, and easyDorm. Low price and no-frill is the key elements of the ‘easy’ brand. Yield Management Model Stelios is an enthusiast of Yield Management Model and he applies the model to his business. According to Wikipedia, yield management is the process of understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, perishable resource (such as airline seats or hotel room reservations). Stelios believes that lowering the price will increase the demands of the customers significantly. By locating all the large internet cafes in high traffic areas, elc aimed to capture the maximum revenue by providing internet services with a variety of price points at different points in time (peak hours or off peak hours). The price for Internet access varies based on demand, raising the price in dollar per hour in mid-afternoon, when stores are nearly full. That gives bargain hunters an incentive to visit in the non-peak hours, when price is dropping. The model is well suited for business with high fixed cost and perishable supply. The large numbers of computer equipments inside the Internet cafes are capital intensive for elc. The empty seats inside the cafe in a certain time period cannot generate any revenue and thus can be said to have perished. elc uses one of their capital proprietary products, CVM, to monitor how seats are occupied and react accordingly, for example by adjusting the price to offer discounts when it appears that large amount of seats are remaining empty. However, this model is not working for elc as it does for airline and hotel industries. The customers’ willingness to pay for using the internet access at theses internet cafe is impulsive and their demands are not easy to predict. The yield management model works well for airlines and hotels mainly because their customers usually plan ahead of time on their journey. Therefore, airlines and hotels are more likely to predict their customer demands and adjust the prices accordingly. They still have time to attract customers by offering last minute deals. But for internet cafes, customers do not make reservation for their usage of Internet in advance. Customer demands are thus very hard to predict. Even though the CVM can adjust the pricing based on the vacancy of the cafe, it is difficult to attract enough customers in a short period of time to fill up the empty usage of the internet access. Since Internet was still a new technology at that time, Internet access was not yet considered to be an essential product. Customers were likely to learn when to visit the cafes so that they can pay less compared to other time period.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

A Roman Revolution Essay Example for Free

A Roman Revolution Essay ? It was May 30, 1347.  Ã‚   The city was once at the center of the world, and varying nations vied to pay homage.  Ã‚   Since that time, however, its institutions, its buildings, and its very name seem to have been forgotten by time.  Ã‚   Local nobility compete for control while the rest of the populace starved, and banditry thrived.  Ã‚   The religious shrines and public buildings were dilapidated, and worn out from neglect.   From this one day, however, and from one such ruin, issued a declaration from a man who stirred hope in people’s breast.   Ã‚   Cola di Rienzo, who in the course of time would ambitiously set himself up as a virtual dictator in the city, at that moment declared the restitution of the Roman Republic, to the cheers of an excited throng.  Ã‚   The restless crowd seemed far disconnected from the reality of a Holy Roman Empire, independent Italian city-states, Norman and Spanish sovereignty in the south, or the hundred more kingdoms and treaties that kept Italy divided and the Republic from becoming reality, but no one cared.   A brief, tragic drama began to unfold, taking hold of the city and its dreamer alike.  Ã‚   For a few months, the Roman Republic seemed to breathe life and its Dictator Rienzo came close to uniting Italy.  Ã‚   The smaller city-states and principalities all sent their delegations and intentions to forming a loose federation with Rome.  Ã‚   And the Dictator put ambitious reforms and decrees, which championed the cause of the people.   His pride, however, got the better of him, and he soon alienated the senators and the Church.  Ã‚   The senators amassed armies against him, and the Pope called to the people to reject him.  Ã‚   Having lost all his allies, he fled the city, wandering Italy to find people to rally for his cause.   Ã‚  Dejected, beaten, his spirit finally broken, he surrendered to the Pope in Avignon, and was allowed to return to Rome where the people could not long stomach his disillusionment and killed him as a traitor[1].    This brief Roman Revolution was an early experiment of that age to attempt the reconstitution of an age that seemed lost in time.  Ã‚   The people of the Renaissance, from the artisan to the poet, was fascinated with ancient Greek traditions and culture and created works of art that mimicked Classic styles.  Ã‚   Ancient texts were gathered from the libraries where it was copied and preserved, and crude attempts at translation were made to introduce these historical artifacts to the world.  Ã‚   Most of the entire Renaissance was electrified at the thought of the old â€Å"heroic† Roman Republic, and the Caesars and Ciceros that once walked the Forum.    In due course, this paper would seek to identify the sources of the ideology behind the Italian Renaissance’s fascination with the ancient Greco-Roman, and how it seemed to suit their needs.  Ã‚   The paper will then explain the various attempts to reconstitute the past in the present, and how close they were in succeeding.    The thought of a restored Rome was not unique to Renaissance thought.  Ã‚   Even as the western portion of the empire collapsed under the pressure of barbarian migrations, the eastern emperor Justinian drafted ambitious plans of gaining back the lost lands of Gaul, Italy, Spain and Africa. This having failed, the Frankish kings, and later the German emperors, stylized themselves as Caesars that had legitimacy given to them by the authority of the Pope and the acquiescence of the eastern emperor.   Italian dreams of Rome, however, had political and cultural context.   They loathed the plain ugliness of Gothic and barbarian architecture, and largely preserved the Roman tradition and culture.   They lamented Italian as a bastardized form of Latin, and deplored Dante’s use of the former as the vernacular. Italian writers, at the beginning of the Renaissance, began to collect ancient texts from faraway libraries[2].  Ã‚   Petrarch, the Father of the Renaissance, was the first of the writers to amass Greek and Latin texts, and encouraged a fellow writer, Boccaccio, to pore into Greek research.   Unique also in the Renaissance, was the way the ancient texts were interpreted. In the medieval ages, the various ancient works of art were interpreted in Christian context.  Ã‚   Pagan ideals and traditions were explained with a Christian theme. Thus, a Hercules-like figure would be used to represent Christ.  Ã‚   The Renaissance began to separate the contemporary Christian thought from the ancient texts, and began to appreciate the latter in their historical context. They read into classical texts their appropriate classical meaning; they did not allegorize Latin writings as one to justify medieval Christian Europe, but in the context of ancient Rome[3].   The thought of a united Italy was sometimes reconciled with the restoration of the ancient Greco-Roman tradition.   Ã‚  Rienzo certainly thought of this when he donned the garb of the old senatorial toga and declared the return of the Roman Republic. Petrarch saw it when he asked King Charles IV of Bohemia to unite all of Italy [4] , and many might have seen it when the son Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia, began a long campaign to win back much of the lost cities of the Papal States.    For all the dreams and ideals of the Renaissance Italians, a Roman Republic could not be reconstituted from 14 th to 15 th century Europe.  Ã‚   The Holy Roman Empire, primarily, would not stand for a united Italy outside of their control or power, as they would, and have claimed, Italy as an integral part of the empire. Neither, however, can the Holy Roman emperors be able to unite Italy, as they become too embroiled in disputes with the Pope, who has nominal sway over the Italian city-states.  Ã‚   And the Popes, for all their universal spiritual authority, would not be able to wrest control of all of Italy from powerful independent Italian city-states, the Normans and the Spanish, the Germans and the French, and even the Greeks until their collapse in the latter half of the 15 th century.   The Italian Renaissance sought to reintroduce ancient Greco-Roman thought into the mainstream, envisioning a past that was nobly glorious.  Ã‚   Several hundred years brings distance and unreality to history, even when taken from historical context.   The Italian city-states of the Renaissance was freer in practice with its people than the ancient Roman Republic, which countless times brought down reformer tribunes, and curbed attempts to relieve the proletariat in keeping the wealthy in their state.  Ã‚   The ancient Roman Empire was less free as the centuries passed, and its economy was in nightmarish shambles, a thought that the Renaissance Italians might have shuddered at.   In the end, the Renaissance Italians might have fallen in the same way their medieval counterparts have: to see the ancient culture in their contemporary values.   Certainly the Renaissance wanted to detach itself from the â€Å"barbarism† and disunity, which seemed to plague Europe, but the reforms of a Rienzo would have shocked the ancient Roman aristocracy, and Byzantine intrigue would be far closer to Roman court morals than the Renaissance Italian sensibilities.   A final word must be said of the Renaissance dream: in the 16 th century, one man came closest to uniting Italy and much of Christendom under a loose â€Å"Roman empire†.  Ã‚   Politics and religion, in the end, got in the way, and Charles V of the Hapsburg dynasty and his successors would find himself humbled by an alliance of French, Turks, Protestants and even the Pope[5]. Durant, Will. The Renaissance . New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953. Durant, Will, Caesar and Christ . New York: Simon and Schuster, 1935. Rice, Eugene Jr., The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559 . New York: W.W. Norton and Company,1971. Krailsheimer, A.J., The Continental Renaissance: 1500-1600 . Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1970. [1] Durant, Will, The Renaissance (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953) 16-21. [2] Durant, Will, The Renaissance (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953) 67-69. [3] Rice, Eugene Jr., The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559 (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1970) 72-76. [4] Durant, Will, The Renaissance (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953) 46. [5] Krailsheimer, A.J.,   The Continental Renaissance: 1500-1600 (Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1971) 93-98. A Roman Revolution. (2017, Apr 01).

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Critically assess Michel Foucault's contribution to the Essay

Critically assess Michel Foucault's contribution to the structure-agency debate - Essay Example Most sociologists, from Durkheim to Talcott Parsons and Radcliffe Brown focus on the standard structures of societies for explaining behaviour patterns. The wider acceptance of the social-structural explanations of identity is attributed to the fact that unlike an individual’s characteristics, social structure is represented by an elaborate conceptual framework (Cote & Levine, 2002: 46). However, it will be seen that sociologists such as Cooley, Blumer, Goffman and Garfinkel emphasise the significance of agency, the symbolic nature of human interaction and the ways in which humans negotiate roles and meanings on an on-going basis. According to Foucault, modern society is highly differentiated and fragmented. Power is not a commodity which can be acquired, nor is it the property of an individual or class, it is rather a structural phenomenon, an extensive network which is all-encompassing. Foucault’s view of modernity is that there exist many centres of power, and connections between various areas of power. This approach is in contrast to the Marxist emphasis and focus on the class struggle and the state, as the centres of power. Further, the mode of production, the work and the industrial sphere that Marx identified as central to power, is different from the Foucaultian view of power as existing in several different social settings and locations (Layder, 2006: 125, 126). The intellectual movement of the eighteenth century, termed as the Enlightenment developed the concept of â€Å"modernity† along with a range of disciplines which constitute the social sciences, forming the modern conception of knowledge (Billington, 1998: 6). Dawe (1970: 208) states that to solve the problem of social order the Hobbesian approach to human nature, which is: â€Å"in the absence of external constraint, the pursuit of private interests and desires leads invevitably to both social and individual disintegration† was taken into

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Reflection essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Reflection - Essay Example Evidently, civilization has seen the exchange in cultural practices and activities. Best practices have always been exchanged ever since the realization of the cultural diversity. People from different cultures tend to learn the practices of the other cultures and utilize the lessons for personal and societal benefits. However, the cultural diversity does not mean that cultures are different. Indeed, the variation attributes to the presence of similarities and differences in the human culture. This paper will use the anthropology lens in demonstrating the cultural variations using two-course books. It will elaborate the cultural variations between the American hip hop group and a Japanese hip hop group The author elaborates on the diversity between the Japanese society and American society in regards to their perception to hip hop music. In the process, it explains how a culture and music that originates halfway around the world is appropriated and remade within the Tokyo clubs and the recording studios. In the process, the Japanese cultural diversity and the rest of the world are demonstrated. The book depicts hip hop as an accepted genre of music in the American society while it is still finding its ground in Japan. Evidently, the hip hop scene in Japan is vibrant. Therefore, the many of the Japanese are grappling with the music genre to come relevant in the music industry and clubs in Tokyo. As a mimicked cultural practice, the Japanese is not able to reshape hip hop into a Japanese product. Rather, they try to mimic the whole package of the American rappers. This includes the use of derogatory terms, rhythm (Condry 137). This shows that the Japanese language does not correspon d to the hip hop nature of music. The hip hop genre requires the rappers to flow with the beats and make sense out of a particular rhythm. Therefore, the two cultures vary in language, and that influences their music industry. From the recording shows,

Monday, August 26, 2019

Cisco Topic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cisco Topic Analysis - Essay Example The next main step was taken regarding the reallocation of the majority of the IT budget to the departmental level. In this way each department will have a direct control over the departmental money. In this new structure the concept of the cartelized management has minimized. The next main transformation he has made is regarding the separation of the central IT steering committee. He has established a new structure through which IT investment decisions on application projects will be taken by the line management. In this regard the main execution of these projects will be done by the centralized IT organization (Schwartz) & (Jouret). Accoring to Pinkowski (2004), old Cisco legacy system was a UNIX based software package that maintained its operations of manufacturing, financial, and order entry. This system was crashed on January 1994 and because of this problem organization’s systems were down for two days. At that time CISCO administration realized that they should implemen t an ERP system quickly. After the time of less then one year Cisco successfully established an ERP system from Oracle (Pinkowski). NOLAN (2005) has outlined the main benefits of the ERP system and the web-centric supply chain. This offered the greater facility of the email, and server operating systems, Voicemail, desktop, meeting schedule software and office productivity suites were all standardized. Through this transformation the whole business operational structure became centralized (NOLAN). According to Schwartz (2006) through the web-enabling CISCO whole systems’ operations were standardized and Cisco was capable to carry out business activities with enhanced efficiency and more effectively (Schwartz). Through this implementation of new technology based system and large IT projects CISCO was able to standardize the overall business structure. This offered Cisco to uphold and maintain an efficient supply chain through business networked applications and also

Marketing Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing Management - Research Paper Example n which marketers try to adapt to the changing dynamics of the external environment, take valuable and crucial decisions related to product launch, its promotion, the key issues surrounding the product / service in question, as well as the various ways to address the same. Toyota Automobiles is a business segment of Toyota Industries Corporation, which was founded by Sakichi Toyoda in the year 1926. From the humble beginnings of a textile manufacturing firm to a multinational multi-million dollar company, Toyota Industries Corporation has come a long way. Such phenomenal success of the company could be mainly attributed to the strategic planning and detailed and timely execution of its plans. The company initiated diversification and expansion measures to include textile, machinery, automobiles, material handling equipment, electronics and logistics as a part of its organizational structure. Today, the company is regarded as the world’s best selling automaker and a world leader in the automobile industry. Toyota Motor Corporation deals in two broad categories of product / service which include: automotive and non-automotive products. The automotive products include major brands Toyota – the core brand which includes cars, trucks, SUVs as well as a range of automotive accessories; and Lexus – which is a luxury vehicle division of the Toyota Motor Corporation; while the non-automotive products / services include: housing, financial services, communications, marine vehicles, biotechnology etc among others (Toyota, 2010). The company aims to be a "good corporate citizen" by continuously striving to win the trust of its customers globally. The company is guided by the spirit of openness and fairness as its corporate philosophy and strives to develop cleaner and greener car technologies to make this planet a safe and better place to live (Toyota, 2010). This section includes detailed / comprehensive discussion of various aspects related to the Toyota Motor

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Leadership & Organizational Behavior Research Paper - 1

Leadership & Organizational Behavior - Research Paper Example I believe there are many efficient leaders in the past as well as in the current business scenario who gained the ability to significantly influence the business world trends with their unmatched leadership skills. However, when it comes to me, I feel Judy Schmeling is the one who has been performing extremely well as an efficient leader as the EVP and CFO of HSNi LLC (Bloomberg, 2013). I firmly support that she has the ability to perform various tasks efficiently and successfully at any position within the organization. Thus, I believe that leadership style that is being practiced by her is indeed eligible for appreciation. I strongly admit, whenever I get opportunity in my life, I would definitely try to emulate her leadership style into my professional career. Notably, there are different types of leadership styles generally followed by organizational leaders. These different styles of leadership are often observed to be duly adhered in different situations by effective leaders ra ther than focusing on a particular style. It would be worth mentioning in this context that none of the leadership styles is most perfect to act as the most efficient solution in today’s business world. Thus, the selection of the leadership style should be flexible enough to meet the changing requirement of the business and the prevailing business circumstances. I further admit that different leadership styles possess certain advantages and disadvantages. Nonetheless, in my opinion, participative leadership style contributes significantly towards performing various tasks within the company with ease (Rok, 2009). In the most general sense, participative leadership style can be defined as the leadership style wherein joint decision making is duly in practice. In other words, participative leadership style seeks to engage employees, subordinates and peers to participate in the organizational decision making. I believe that participative leadership style dramatically results in m aking the most optimum use of the ideas and creativity of those participants involved in the decision making process of an organization. The major reason why I prefer participative lea

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Assignment Example The mashup software made this map so interactive that it enabled guests to reserve or to get confirmation of the reservation or to make any query by just clicking an event on the map. Mashup even enabled the guests to receive photos of hosts and the house. Wiki was used to manage the customer relations. Information regarding location and contact were there on wiki for each volunteer. There were wine-related cartoons, advertisements on wiki. Even an interactive location map was integrated with wiki so that guests can make their reservation and get other information. Web 2.0 technologies have redefined the World Wide Web communication by permitting users to comment on a blog or create content (Gonzalez, April 6 2008). This has enhanced the quality of interaction. Stormhoek used blogs to find out the hosts and guests for 100 wine tasting events which would increase their sales. This increase in sale was due to the proper use of blog which was created and operated with the help of web 2.0 technologies. Blog spam refers to random comments posted automatically by the marketers for the purpose for promotions. It is a problem because it is an illegal use of somebody else’s blog to get more clicks. Blog spam gets the traffic away from the original blog to the visitor’s blog (Hill, 2006). Wackà ¥, F. June 18 2004, Corporate Blog – A Short definition, Your Guide to Corporate Blogging, Retrieved from http://www.corporateblogging.info/2004/06/corporate-blog-short-definition.asp (November 7,

Friday, August 23, 2019

ELECTRIC CART PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ELECTRIC CART PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS - Assignment Example These motors are powered with the help of battery packs, which are rechargeable. Electric motor offers several benefits compared to the use of internal engine combustion to power vehicles. These include zero emissions of air pollutants, fuel economy among several other benefits. Electric motors enhance the performance and greater efficiency of energy. The general costs used in maintaining and operating electric motor powered vehicles are low compared to the conventional fuel driven vehicles. Selecting as well as calculating the correct motor for the electric cart vehicle depends largely on the total weight of the vehicle, the area where the Cart will be used and the terrain of the area. If the Cart is to be used in a hilly or an area with mountains, the individual will require more engine horsepower than in a flat terrain. The speed of the motor is also dictated by the aerodynamics profile of the Cart before and after the conversion and its use. A simple cart used for commuting in a normal city traffic definitely requires a cheaper motor with less horsepower compared to the one to be used in winning races or have the fastest acceleration. Several other variables can be used in calculating the speed of an electric motor depending with its use (Chi-lan et al. 2011). The speed of an electric motor and vehicle largely depends on the battery pack voltage. Using a Direct Current (DC) motor, one hundred and forty-four (144) volts will be enough to drive the vehicle at a speed of seventy miles per hour. The available power that is stored in the batteries determines the total distance that the cart is able to go before recharging it. Power measured by calculating the voltage in the battery multiplied by the battery amperage multiplied again by the useful power that is available in the battery without damaging the cells. The chemistry of the battery is the one determining this figure. This does not indicate

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Exploring Sexuality with William Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Exploring Sexuality with William Shakespeare Essay The presence of homoerotic references in the works of William Shakespeare was a direct result of the Elizabethan attitude towards sex during the English Renaissance. Within the privacy of the sonnets, Shakespeare could effusively express a passion that the Elizabethan Era, with its social mores, stifled greatly as it frowned upon homosexuality. Given the freedom to express himself uninhibitedly, Shakespeare cast aside the homophobia of his age and inscribed love sonnets for another male, Mr. W. H. This unrestricted honesty created great tension and drama between Shakespeare and his adversary, the dark lady as well as fueling some of the greatest love poems of all time. Over hundreds of years, it comes to no surprise that many scholars have found the sonnets effective in revealing insight into the biography of William Shakespeare. The emotional pressure contained in many of the sonnets and the fact that many, if not all, are dedicated to a man named ? Mr. W. H. , provide important clues to Shakespeares life. It begins with the sonnets dedication, a passage written by Shakespeare that opens a world of controversy amongst scholars. The dedication runs as follows: To. The. Only. Begetter. Of These. Ensuing. Sonnets. Mr. W. H. All. Happiness. And. That. Eternity. Promised. By. Our. Ever. Living. Poet. Wisheth. The. Well. Wishing. Adventurer. In. Setting. Forth. T. T. (Shakespeare, 1490) The initials T. T. at the conclusion of the dedication refer to Thomas Thorpe, the original publisher of the sonnets (http://andrejkoymasky. com/liv/sha/sha00. html). However, one question remains, who is Mr. W. H? During the English Renaissance, it was customary for members of high social standings to hire established writers and poets to create masterful love sonnets and other works of literature for their entertainment. For a large portion of his adult life, Shakespeare spent his time writing sonnets for an upper class family, specifically for a young man (Rowse, 96). The beginning sonnets describe a ? lovely youth and it is believed that over time, Shakespeares sonnets became more personal as the relationship between him and his patron intensified. Scholars have professed that this patron could in fact be the only begetter of the sonnets, Mr.  W. H, or William Hughes. The majority of the sonnets were written between 1593 and 1596, however, they were not published until 1609 and then further edited in 1640, long after Shakespeares death (Auden, 86). The randomness of their order leads scholars such as Northrop Frye to question their validity in accurately capturing real life happenings (Fleperin, 96). The publisher who replicated the sonnets in 1640 actually changed the pronouns in sonnets 15 through 126 to make it seem as if the poems were addressed to a woman. The question now at hand is; are the feelings expressed in the sonnets a celebration of homosexual love? And if so, how could such feelings emerge in a time where homosexuality had no place in social life (Taylor, 39)? The sixteen hundreds were a time of strict values and high standards of living. At this time, embracing sexuality was not encouraged and questioning ones sexuality was not an option. During the English Renaissance it was common for men to wear their hair long and dress in silks and ruffles (Taylor, 45). World renowned professor, Edward Hubler, published his book, The Sense of Shakespeares Sonnets, in which he points out the Elizabethan men used the term lover between men without embarrassment (Hubler, 17). Author C. L. Barber, in his essay on Shakespeares Sonnets, reminds us that the suppressed roles of women in Elizabethan society kept them out of the theater, forcing men to play the roles of women in many of Shakespeares productions at the Globe Theater. This openness is most attributed to Shakespeares sexual curiosity, and because his masculinity was never in doubt, his sexual awakening quickly progressed. To truly grasp Shakespeares feelings for Mr. W. H, we must refer to sonnet twenty, which is the first in the series to address the mysterious love affair. Despite the fact that male friendships were openly affectionate, the sonnets powerful emotions are indicative of a deeper love (Cross, 1,490). Line two of the poem describe the subject as the master-mistress of his passion. Right away we sense a conflict between the love for a man and the love for a women. Shakespeare makes it known in lines eight and nine of the sonnet, that W. H was in fact created for a womans love and affection, telling his readers that his subject is male. Further into the poem he describes his acceptance of that fact that he was defeated by nature, but continues to acknowledge their love (Cross, 1,4940). Shakespeares persistence in his attempt to win over the heart of his acquaintance is noted in sonnets 135-137 (Cross, 1511,1512). It is here that Shakespeare emphasizes the name ? Will as seen in italics in nearly every line. It is at this point in the series where it is suspected that the poets love for W. H is being threatened by a woman. In attempts to re-establish the ? dark lady in relation to Mr. W. H, scholars have studied specific sonnets in which her character is revealed. We find that the twenty-five sonnets dedicated to a woman, the dark lady, dwell on her imperfections and falsehoods (Barber, 16). For example, in sonnet 127, Shakespeare devotes his energy to expressing a lower love toward the woman and a higher love toward the man. It is not until the later sonnets that Shakespeare begins to feel threatened by the dark lady, and begins to depict a competition for the heart of W. H. In sonnet 138, Shakespeare is almost trying to convince W. H that this woman could never love him in the manner that he was willing to (Cross, 1,870). Shakespeares main concern, in the midst of anguished humiliation, is to keep the mans love, not the womans. Shakespeares inner conflict expressed in his works evidently developed during a time when his life, outside of the ? dark lady and W. H, was relatively normal, and this is another reason as to why the sequence of the sonnets is so important. As we know, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582. She gave birth to his children soon after. Was this heterosexual fantasy life all a cover up for the love he shared with W. H? Because no one has been able to figure out the correct order of the sonnets we will never know precisely when these love affairs took place. To label Shakespeare a homosexual would be ignorant, only because the consummation of the love between the poet and his muse was never proven. We can only base our knowledge of his curiosity on the contents of the sonnets, and with that we can gather that Shakespeare was involved in affairs, not necessarily physical, with both a young man, Mr. W. H, and a reticent woman, the Dark Lady. The conflict involving these two characters sparked the fire that fueled the ingenious works of one of the greatest poets of all time, Mr. William Shakespeare. Auden, W. H. Lectures on Shakespeare. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 2000. Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books. 1998. Cross, Wilbur, L. The Yale Shakespeare. New York: Barnes and Noble Books. 1993. Hubler, Edward. The Sense of Shakespeares Sonnets. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1952 Hugh, Calvert. Shakespeares Sonnets and Problems of Autobiography. Braunton: Merilin Books, 1987. Holland, Norman. Psychoanalysis and Shakespeare. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company. 1966 Pitt, Angela. Shakespeares Women. New Jersey: Barnes and Noble Books. 1981 Rowse, A. L. The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of the Society. New York: Charles Scribers Sons. 1971. Taylor, Gary. Reinventing Shakespeare. New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. 1989. Internet Sources http://www. onlineshakespeare. com/sonnetsabout. htm http://andrejkoymasky. com/liv/sha/sha00. html http://infopt. demon. co. uk/shakespe. htm http://www. shakespeares-sonnets. com/wilde. htm http://aspirations. english. com. ac. uk/converse/essays/cgonda/loves. acds http://eserver. org/emc/1-2/halpern. html.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Brave Fighters of Islam Essay Example for Free

The Brave Fighters of Islam Essay â€Å"Those who were sure that they would meet their Lord said: How often has a small group vanquished a numerous group by Allah’s permission, and Allah is with the patient. † [AlBaqarah 2:249] â€Å"Every time they (Persians Turks Empires) come against you, they are defeated. Now, the Arabs have defeated you although they are the weakest of all creation. Their bodies are naked and their stomachs are hungry. They have neither gear nor weapons. Yet they still defeated you at Busra, Hawarn, Ajnadayn, Damascus, Ba’labakk Hims† said the Roman Emperor Heraclius. After a ridiculous argument with his priests and generals, Heraclius decided to gather his largest force to be assembled from all corners of his kingdom to face against the Muslims. Although there are differences in opinion regarding the size of the army ranging from 200,000-350,000! However others state that it ranged from 600,000-1,000,000! When the 40,000 Muslim force lead by Abu Ubaidah Amr ibn Al Jarrah found out about such a number, they decided to march towards the plains of Al-Yarmouk due to its strategical advantages. When the Roman army arrived there, they sent out an initial army of 60,000 Christian Arabs lead by Jabalah bin Al-Ayham. After numerous negotiations and pitiful diplomacy with the arrogant Romans, Abu Ubaidah slammed all talks saying: â€Å"There can never be peace between us until you pay either Jizyah or accept Islam! Failing that the sword will decide between us! By Allah! Were it not for the fact that we consider treachery to be an evil deed, I would have struck you down with my sword right now! †. The Sahabah discussed among themselves of how many soldiers they should send to face the 60,000. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb Saifullah Khalid bin Waleed were among the ones who were consulted. Khalid bin Waleed gave his opinion to fight them with the elite of Muslims and not the full army in order to drive fear into the hearts of the enemies. Abu Sufyan agreed and enquired how many should they send out. The Sword of Allah SWT, Khalid confidently replied â€Å"I propose 30 horsemen! Each of whom will have to face 2000 Christians! †. Confounded by such a ludacris answer, Abu Sufyan was the first to reply from the astonished crowd that it was ludicrous to send that much and proposed sending out 60 men, as the ayah in the Qur’an says: â€Å"if there are twenty patient ones of you they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred of you they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who do not understand. † [Al-Anfal 08:65]. Abu Ubaidah agreed to Abu Sufyan’s opinion. The individuals that Khalid choose were based on â€Å"Their patience, steadfastness and the way they forge ahead in battle†. Now dear brothers and sisters, who do who think that Khalid bin Waleed choose for this monumental task? Was it just the average Abdullah like you and me? No! Wallahi, the individuals he selected are among the best of people. ] He called out for 60 Sahabah’s! He called out the veterans of Badr! He called out the Ansar! He called out the Muhajireen! He called out the scribes of the Prophet (peace be upon him) Suhrabil bin Hasanah Amr At-Tamimi! He called out Hudaifah bin Al Yaman who Raslullah (peace be upon him) trusted with the secret list of the hyprocrites! He called out the honest Ka’ab bin Malik! He called out the brother in laws of Raslullah (peace be upon him) Abdullah ibn Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Abdur Rahman ibn Abu-Bakar As-Saddique [The sons of the 1st two Caliphs of Islam]! The cousin of Raslullah (peace be upon him) AlFadl ibn Al-Abbas. He called out Dhirar ibn Al-Azwar the bare-chested warrior descried as a â€Å"devil† by the enemies and brother of the brave female companion Khawlah bint AlAzwar! He called out Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan who was one of Khalid’s best generals brother of Amir Mua’wiya ibn Abu Sufyan! He even called out the disciple of Raslullah (peace be upon him) and one of the 10 promised paradise AzZubair ibn Al-Awaam! [May Allah SWT be pleased with them all]. After choosing 60 of the â€Å"La creme de la creme (cream of the cream,) among the Muslim army. Khalid told them â€Å"You have already defeated the legions of Rome, so when you defeat these Arabs fear will descend in their hearts and they will turn in defeat†. The 60 replied in â€Å"Oh Abu Sulayman, do with us as you please! †¦Ã¢â‚¬  in the affirmative. Next morning after Fajr, The 60 bare farewell the their loved ones and marched out with the Lion of Islam, Khalid bin Waleed in the centre of the pride. The two armies met under the blazing sun. Like a true champion, Khalid shouted to the Christians: †Oh worshippers of the sallib! Oh enemies of Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful), come to the battle and slaughter! † Jabalah and his army shrugged off the taunt due to the pitiful size of the Muslims who were at a 1000-fold disadvantage in numbers. The 60,000 Christians charged forward but the Muslims remained solid and firm. The battle was ferocious and nothing but the roars of battle-cry could be heard. Both armies fought with the clashing of bone and sinew, No one whether it be Roman or Muslim thought that the 60 would survive. The onlooking Muslim army looked anxiously at their brethren and wept with sadness, some even said â€Å"Khalid has deceived and destroyed the Sahabah of Rasullah (peace be upon him)†. On the other side the Romans were content as they were convinced that they had won. The battle continued with the Sahabah fighting with full vigour, zeal, honor, strength, determination courage. Shining knights Khalid, Az-Zubair, Abdurahman ibn AbuBakar, Abdullah ibn Umar, Al-Fadl and Dhirar fought side by side, shoulder to shoulder, sword to sword heart to heart in the intense flames of war whilst never separating. As Allah SWT says the in Qur’an: †Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way in ranks as if they were a firm and compact wall. † [Surah As-Saff 61:4]. Kh alid then cried out to rally the Muslims at a certain point whilst he himself penetrated to the centre of the enemies and was surrounded. Al-Fadl bin Abbas rushed to aid alongside the brave Az-Zubair, shouting â€Å"Leave our friends alone. That is Az-Zubair ibn Al-Awwam and I am AlFadl ibn Abbas, the cousin of Rasulallah (peace be upon him)†. The Muslims then launched a great counter strike against the Romans and fought until Maghrib time! Now the onlooking Muslim army was really worried, especially Abu Ubaidah who anxiously said â€Å"O companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Khalid and his men have doubtlessly been destroyed† and got them ready for battle. But suddenly as the smoke cleared and the dust settled. The thunderous roar of â€Å"Laillah illalah Wallahu Akbar† was heard. Each sahabah shouting the Islamic testimony â€Å"I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone, He has no partner, and Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger! †. Khalid bin Waleed emerged from the midst of the turmoil with clear signs of fatigue and exhaustion. The army of 60,000 was humiliated by a crushing defeat by 60 heroes, 10 of whom were blessed with martyrdom and 5 of them captured.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Changes in the Worldview

Changes in the Worldview WHAT IS WORLDVIEW? In basic terms world view is a concept where a person/individual or a group or a culture reacts or interacts with the world using different ideas and frameworks. Worldviews forms social values and these values create social or individual behavior. These behaviors further create different cultures. So, basically worldview of a particular culture may be different from another culture. Worldview has changed during the past a lot of times. During the premodern era the worldview had a metaphysical concept meaning the era was focused on spiritual beliefs and as the era changed, then came the modern era. As the beliefs changed in modern era so did the worldview. During the modern era society started changing their believes and dropped the idea of spiritual beliefs to humanity, here and now and physical reality. Then came the era which we call postmodern era which is the system of thoughts and beliefs being accepted and embraced after the modern age and it focused on humanism, science educat ion etc. There were a lot of changes in the western worldview over time as there are a lot of factors that help the worldview to change, for example: Social systems Political and economic system Culture The change in the western worldview could be categorized in 3 eras, the pre-modern era, the modern era and the post-modern era. There were a timely change in the worldview of how the society thinks and what does it accept which led to the change in worldviews. According to one author Christianity changed the pagan word because Christians were faithful and were even willing to die for their beliefs and morality. And thus, even Constantine legalized Christianity in AD 313. Once it was legalized chritians started following their beliefs, one of which was human being were create by the image of god. After the middle age, it was the beginning of the era what we call renaissance. It basically started when European scholar discovered classic documents and new idea to look at the world. Few events such as the Black death also brought changes to the worldview, people start believing that the cause was a result of the alignment of planets and some believes that it was a punishment of god and those who survived had a chance to leave their farmland and move to cities which in todays era we call urbanization. After the renaissance or modern era came the modernism and it rejected the post-modernism as it failed to answer humanities most troublesome problems. The objective of ethics according the Christian ethic is that few standards are visible throughout human attitude towards morality. Even though secular philosophers treat all moral ethics as relative, even they have some ethical values such as love, justice and courage. The basic importance of ethics to worldview is that ethics always comes with philosophies and philosophies are shaped by the worldview. So, to create ethics we use philosophies and to shape philosophies we need to understand the worldview. The solution for humans ethical dilemmas can affect ones worldview. The human in todays world are left with two choices between two evils: Believe at least some people will believes the values at judgments to be objective Or no one believe it. Selecting the second option means debunking all the moral and ethical values which is a new point of view and lead to a new worldview. The common aspect between the book and the articles is that all the author are conveying a message about worldview, morals and ethics and the transition of one worldview to another over a period. The ways of conveying the message are different but few things are similar between the book and the article which are morality, ethics etc. C.S Lewis in his book The Abolition of Man has a bit different approach to explain this concept. He uses human and nature to explain the worldview and ethics. He also explains the concept of Tao, a Chinese word for the realm of objective value as the basis for traditional morality. (Lewis, 1943) References Lewis, C. S. (1986). The abolition of man, or, Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools. Retrieved January 16, 2017 Christian Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2017, from http://www.allaboutworldview.org/christian-ethics.html Zacharia, R. (2016, December 20). The Death of Truth and a Postmortem. Retrieved January 16, 2017, from http://rzim.org/global-blog/the-death-of-truth-and-a-postmortem/ Anderson, K. (2016, August 07). Worldviews Through History Compared to a Christian View. Retrieved January 16, 2017, from www.probe.org/worldviews-through-history/ Smilde, A. (2015, June 3). LEWISIANA: Summary of C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man. Retrieved January 16, 2017, from http://lewisiana.nl/abolsum/index.html

Monday, August 19, 2019

THE SELLING OF ORGANS: RIGHT OR WRONG :: Ethical Issues, Human Organs

I Introduction All humans have organs. The organ is very important to the humans because without organ humans will not be able to live well. At present, there are many actions that are done by irresponsible people to sell organs. Organ sales cases occur when a person sells or transfers an organ from one body to another body for the purpose of replacing the recipient’s damaged organ. There are thousands of people dying to buy a kidney, and thousands of people dying to sell a kidney because of the lack of organs availability. Lives should not be wasted, they should be saved. Indirectly, there are many reasons why they sell the organs, where the organs mostly sold to and consequences of selling human organs. II Body A Most of the countries have organ selling issues from poor people to rich people and from less powerful people to the most powerful people. 1 The country that sell the most number of organs is India and has become one of the largest country for human organs selling and transplants in the world. a Poor people in India usually sell their organs while they are still alive (Scheper-Hughes, 1998, para. 7). b India hospitals are under investigation by the government because of the illegal organ sales (Carney, 2007, para. 4). 2 People use the body for their own benefit but they cannot change the other bodies for its own interests. a People agree to sell their organs because of their benefit. i Poor families are desperate to send their son to University (Maconachy, 2007, para. 4). ii Most parents want their daughters to marry will be collecting money for a dowry to the groom and they had to sell their organs to make the exchange. B People usually sell their organs in an underground market for human organ around the world that is called blackmarket (Maconachy, 2007, para.1). 1 Most the donors came from middle class family who’s searching clients via the internet. (Maconachy, 2007, para.3). a They find the client from specific sites where most of people posted organ selling on that websites. b The meeting can arranged if the client agree to go through the procedure. c According to Kenichiro Hokamura, he was faced two choice whether to wait for the transplant or buy organ on the internet. i He buys the organ from Japanese broker in China and get the new kidney two months later(Coonan & McNell, 2006, para. 2). 2 In China, the government is trying to strike down the black market (Coonan & McNell, 2006, para.

Dell :: essays research papers

Brief Background Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How would you like to take a $1,000 investment to start a company and turn it into 41 billion dollars revenue producing enterprise in just twenty years? I’m sure everyone would, but it became a reality for one man, Michael Dell. Michael Dell is the current CEO of Dell, Inc, one of the largest companies in the world. He started this company back in 1984 with just $1,000 at the age of 19 and now at the age of 39 he is the fourth richest man in America. (DuBrin 313) â€Å"Mr. Dell became the youngest CEO of a company to have their company ranked in Fortune 500. (Dell Annual Report) Today, Dell Inc. is ranked incredibly number 125.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dell Inc., which is located at Building 2 One Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, is one of the premier companies in computer products and services. The company current employs approximately 46,000 people and is the â€Å"biggest online seller of computers. Dell’s primary products include enterprise systems, household PCs and notebook computers. They are also currently trying to expand their way into the printer market even further.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He started with the idea of taking plain computers and adding parts to it to make it a more appealing to computers buyers. â€Å"Dell hired a small staff and began selling his machines over the phone and through the mail. Several years later he created the industry’s first on-site service program, in which the repair technician visits your office or home.† (DuBrin 313) Problem Identification   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In creating a multi-billion dollar company there were issues and problems that had to be identified and made. In being such a rapid growing company, Mr. Dell had to fill up his company with top professionals and visionaries that could continue the success. The company needed to find ways to stay competitive and stay focused on their vision. For a company to stay growing at the pace they were, which was about 50 percent a year in the 90’s, it needed to continue to add strong employees and keep the motivation going.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the computer market there are a lot of competitors, just waiting for someone to make a mistake. The fight over market share is very competitive. Dell needs to stay very aware of their business competition and what they are doing. I think that Dell has done very well picking up most of the trends and consumer needs to come out with new ideas, to stay on top.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Medical Ethics :: essays research papers

Quaestiones Disputate #3) Whether it is ethical to keep a person alive if their quality of life is not good and will not improve. In such a case, what is the responsibility of the medical profession?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The following argument will be made toward the negative, suggesting that it is intrinsically unethical to keep a person alive under certain circumstances The first issue to address is the sub-components of the Quaestione in order to better set the argument in motion as a proof. The Quaestione can be divided up into the following components [whether it is ethical to keep a person alive] , [if their quality of life is not good] , [and will not improve]. , [In such a case, what is the responsibility] , [of the medical profession].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first component is, in a general sense, unarguable. Standing alone, the statement of keeping someone alive bears a right to which every human is morally obliged to uphold. They key here is standing alone....Of course society’s code of conduct says that we must preserve life, but this can only be true to a sense until the next issue is incorporated - what if their life is not good?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What exactly is not good? If we take it from an Aristotelean point of view, we can see that Aristotle claimed that happiness or good living - being happy, healthy, prosperous, and flourishing - is the goal of human life and the basis of all ethical behavior. This eudaimonia that he begins to describe is an end, in a sense that that goal has been reached. If one can no longer reach this ultimate goal or end or is rendered unable to physically or mentally move oneself in that direction (after all, someone else can’t live your life for you to move you to happiness) their life is considered not good. A life rendered not good combined with our ethical obligation to keep someone alive, probably still not enough to grant the individual the ultimate end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now if you listen closely, this is where the turning point begins. Being a teleologist, Aristotle claims that every action is good only in so far that they achieve some good end. If life is not good, and we reach stage three where it will not improve, where is the action of keeping the individual alive reaching a good end. The life is not good, nor will it ever be good - so what is the good end that would result that would warrant this action to be a good action.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Arguments Of Canadian Politics Essay

Since the beginning of civilization, people have had a desire to form and bond with groups.   As civilization progressed, so did the organization and structure of these groups.   Groups became towns, then states, then nations; with the rise of organized nations based upon common goals of people emerges the concept of nationalism. This nationalism gives way to government system. Such a government system resides in Canada and it is often is often suggest that Canada has a form of â€Å"Prime Ministerial Government† in which the office of the Prime minister dominates the executive and legislative branches of government. The focal point of this paper is to argue the different causes of this system. Canadian politics is an admixture of different forms of government. It comprises constitutional monarchy, a federal parliamentary system welded to a tradition of democracy. The arguments whatever the number maybe revolves round certain fundamental fulcrums. It is crucial to understand the way these fulcrums work in order to understand the debates and issues of Canadian Prime Ministerial system of governing. The Canadian setup came into existence through the British North America Act that was passed in the year 1867.   The division of power was a later Canadian addition. The federal element also came in later. After the First World War the different British dominions developed a strong sense of identity, the Belfour Act being a sort of climactic marker of this predilection. Till 1982 the Canadians could not make amendments to their constitution. Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in United Kingdom continued to take decisions regarding legal affairs till 1949. Due to such circumstantial constrictions the Canadian setup is more of a constitutional democracy than a parliamentary one. The constitution is based on the Westminster system that is based on conventions that are unwritten and written legislations. Thus it is obvious that being a part of the monarchy, on theoretical ground, the governing body of the state of Canada was not eligible to be a federal authority. So, a presidential candidature or form was not possible in this context. On the other hand the position of Canadian Prime Ministerial system could be well established as a representative of the Monarch. As a result the prime minister was regarded as a CEO under the rule of the British Monarch. Thus it is obvious that Prime minister dominated the executive and legislative branches of government and even after the constitutional change the authorities did not feel to make any amendments. As a result the format is in existence till date. Secondly, there is bicameral parliament that has three divisions, namely the monarch, the senate and the House of Commons. The senate representation was based on an idea of regional representation. The prime minister sending a petition to the monarch (the present number is about 180) The House of Commons works on a separate mandate. They are elected by a plurality of popular votes. The present number hovers around 308. The size of the house is done according to the policy of representation of population. Thus it was important to have a sole authority that would cover the entire legislative system of the country and in Canada’s case the acting authority is deemed to be the prime minister. Another important reason behind the authoritative role of the prime minister is that in Canada the provinces are co sovereign and carry a considerable weight on different issues. Federal-provincial relation is a crucial and recurring issue in Canadian politics. There is basic divide between the rich states and the not so well off states. The central policy that allows the center to use the generated revenue in whatever way it would like to has been a thorn of contention for a very long time in Canadian politics. Scholars have suggested that the overstepping of the limit encroaches upon the sphere of state jurisdiction. What happens here is that the bigger states (both in terms of money and power) can align the central spending in the ways it would want. While conversely if the center seeks to work out the spending in a different way it usually hurts the bigger states more than the other relatively smaller ones. Whichever way the alignment works this revenue spending policy remains a significant reason of the federal-province strained relationships. Thus to sustain the country as a nation it is important to have a central force of authority and as the Prime Minister is the in the position to overlook all the fundamental aspects of the region it is believed that the most eligible influence in this context relies on that position. The forth most important reason behind Prime minister dominating the executive and legislative branches of government is juxtaposed with the provincial legislation of the country. Provincial legislation has an important role to play in this scheme of things. Provincial legislation is subject to limitations imposed by an Act passed in 1982. This was the Constitution Act of 1982. The parliament cannot take over the provincial autonomy. But the power of the provinces as far as amendments of provincial constitutions are concerned, are limited. Only one state has a written constitution, and that too is only a statute. (The state is that of British Columbia). Provincial legislations do not have the power to impinge upon the sphere of parliamentary affairs and in addition cannot touch the office of the Lieutenant general. This is because of the Constitution Act of 1867 that categorically says that everything not mentioned as belonging to the provincial legislatures comes under the purview of the national parliament. Yet the balance between the national legislation and the provincial legislatures is a fine one. The national legislatures have to interpret the provincial legislatures through the mediations and inflections of the provinces. Moreover social security services, one of the most important sectors of legislation is crucially dependent on the provincial legislatures. Though Parliament cannot transfer any of its powers to a provincial legislature, nor a provincial legislature any of its powers to Parliament, Parliament can delegate the administration of a federal Act to provincial agencies (as it has done with the regulation of inter provincial and international highway traffic); and a provincial legislature can delegate the administration of a provincial Act to a federal agency. Thus the central authority to control all the variables and differences of Canada is deemed upon the Prime minister and as a result of all these the Prime minister dominates the executive and legislative branches of government.    References: Lamb, D; (2004); Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata; Wellington: National Book Trust

Friday, August 16, 2019

Vishwanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand Country India Born11 December 1969 (age 40) Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India TitleGrandmaster (1988) World Champion 2000–2002 (FIDE) 2007–present (undisputed) FIDE rating 2804 (No. 1 in the November 2010 FIDE World Rankings) Peak rating 2804 (November 2010) Viswanathan Anand, (Tamil: , IPA: [? i n? a? t n ? a? n? n? d? ]; born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion. He held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split.He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. He then successfully defended his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov. As the reigning champion, he will face the winner of the Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship 2012. Anand is one of six players in history to break the 2800 mark on the FIDE rating list, and in April 2007 at the age of 3 7, he became the world number-one for the first time. He was at the top of the world rankings five out of six times, from April 2007 to July 2008, holding the number-one ranking for a total of 15 months.In October 2008, he dropped out of the world top three ranking for the first time since July 1996. Anand officially regained the world number one ranking on November 1, 2010, after having defeated the reigning world #1 Magnus Carlsen in the Bilbao Masters. Anand became India's first grandmaster in 1987. [1] He was also the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India's highest sporting honor. In 2007, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award in Indian history.Today he remains one of elite chess players in the world. [2] Anand has been described by Lubomir Kavalek as the most versatile world champion ever, since Anand is the only player to have won the world chess championships in many formats including Knockout, Tournament, Match, Rapid and Blitz. [3] Contents [hide] †¢1 Personal life †¢2 Chess career o2. 1 Early career o2. 2 World Chess Champion ?2. 2. 1 FIDE World Chess Champion 2000 ?2. 2. 2 World Chess Champion 2007 ?2. 2. 3 World Chess Champion 2008 ?2. 2. 4 World Chess Champion 2010 ?2. 2. 5 World Chess Championship 2012 o2. 3 FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion 2003 2. 4 Other results o2. 5 Rating †¢3 Personality †¢4 Controversies †¢5 Notable tournament victories †¢6 Awards †¢7 Sample game †¢8 See also †¢9 References †¢10 Further reading †¢11 External links [edit] Personal life Anand was born on 11 December 1969 in Mayiladuthurai, a small town in Tamil Nadu, India in a Tamil Iyer (South Indian Brahmin) family. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Chennai, erstwhile Madras, where he grew up. [4] His father, Viswanathan Iyer, is a retired General Manager of Southern Railways, and his mother Susheela, housewife and chess/film/club aficionado and an influential socialite.He has an elder brother, Shivakumar who is a manager at Crompton Greaves in India and an elder sister Anuradha who is a teacher at the University of Michigan. [5][6] Anand is 11 years younger than his sister and 13 years younger than his brother. He was taught to play chess by his mother. He described his start in chess in a conversation with Susan Polgar: I started when I was six. My mother taught me how to play. In fact, my mother used to do a lot for my chess. We moved to the Philippines shortly afterward. I joined the club in India and we moved to the Philippines for a year.And there they had a TV program that was on in the afternoon, one to two or something like that, when I was in school. So she would write down all the games that they showed and the puzzles, and in the evening we solved them together. Of course my mother and her family used to play some chess, and she used to play with her younger brother, so she had some background in chess, but she never went to a club or anything like that. So we solved all these puzzles and sent in our answers together. And they gave the prize of a book to the winner. And over the course of many months, I won so many prizes.At one point they just said take all the books you want, but don't send in any more entries. [7] Anand did his schooling in Don Bosco, Egmore, Chennai and holds a degree in commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. His hobbies are reading, swimming, and listening to music. He is married to Aruna Anand and lives in Collado Mediano in Spain. [8] In August 2010, Anand joined Board of Directors of Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation for promoting and supporting the India's elite sportspersons and potential young talent. [9][10][11] [edit] Chess career [edit] Early career Anand's rise in the Indian chess world was meteoric.National level success came early for him when he won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship wi th a score of 9/9 in 1983 at the age of fourteen. He became the youngest Indian to win the International Master title at the age of fifteen, in 1984. At the age of sixteen he became the national chess champion and won that title two more times. He played games at blitz speed. In 1987, he became the first Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship. In 1988, at the age of eighteen, he became India's first Grandmaster by winning Shakti Finance International chess tournament held in Coimbatore, India.He was awarded Padma Shri at the age of 18. Anand at the Manila Olympiad 1992, age 22 â€Å"Vishy†, as he is sometimes called by his friends, burst upon the upper echelons of the chess scene in the early 1990s, winning such tournaments as Reggio Emilia 1991 (ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov). Playing at such a high level did not slow him down, and he continued to play games at blitz speed. In the World Chess Championship 1993 cycle Anand qualified for his first Candi dates Tournament, winning his first match but narrowly losing his quarter-final match to Anatoly Karpov. 12] In 1994–95 Anand and Gata Kamsky dominated the qualifying cycles for the rival FIDE and PCA world championships. In the FIDE cycle (FIDE World Chess Championship 1996), Anand lost his quarter-final match to Kamsky after leading early. [13]Kamsky went on to lose the 1996 FIDE championship match against Karpov. In the 1995 PCA cycle, Anand won matches against Oleg Romanishin and Michael Adams without a loss, then avenged his FIDE loss by defeating Gata Kamsky in the Candidates final. 14] In 1995, he played the PCA World Chess Championship 1995 against Kasparov in New York City's World Trade Center. After an opening run of eight draws (a record for the opening of a world championship match), Anand won game nine with a powerful exchange sacrifice, but then lost four of the next five. He lost the match 10? –7?. In the 1998 FIDE cycle, the reigning champion Karpov was granted direct seeding by FIDE into the final against the winner of the seven-round single elimination Candidates tournament.The psychological and physical advantage gained by Karpov from this decision caused significant controversy, leading to the withdrawal of future World Champion Vladimir Kramnik from the candidates tournament. Anand won the candidates tournament, defeating Michael Adams in the final, and immediately faced a well-rested Karpov for the championship. Despite this tremendous disadvantage for Anand, which he described as being â€Å"brought in a coffin† to play Karpov,[15] Anand was able to draw the regular match 3-3, forcing a rapid playoff. However, the rapid playoff was won 2-0 by Karpov, allowing him to defend his FIDE

Thursday, August 15, 2019

I.S.U journal Kite runner Essay

Plot (important action only): The kite runner is about the life of a young boy named Amir. Amir lives in a lavish house in the richest district of Kabul, in Afghanistan. Amir has everything he could ever want except the loving attention and acceptance of his father, Baba. In their house, they have two Hazara servants. Ali and his son Hassan who are part of the minority ethnicity at the time. Hassan grew up with Amir in the same house and he was much more than just a best friend. Baba treated Hassan equally to Amir, as if they were brothers. Each year it was a tradition for the Afghan community to have a festival of kites where there would be a single victor to arise amongst hundreds. Amir was a great kite flyer and Hassan was the best kite runner there was. This year, Amir won the tournament and his dad was really proud of him. Amir was really happy to finally have some loving attention from his father. Hassan promised to run the last kite defeated for Amir. He did not return immediately so Amir went looking for him. Amir saw Hassan cornered by Assef, a bully, and two of his friends. Amir then watched Hassan take a brutal beating just to keep the blue kite for him. Amir watched him get beaten and did nothing. The relationship between Amir and Hassan has never been the same after that day. Amir felt that either he or Hassan must leave and so he puts his birthday gift under Hassan’s pillow. Later, Hassan admits that he stole them and Ali says they must leave. Baba pleads with him to stay, but Ali refuses. Years after Hassan and Ali left, the Roussi army attacked, forcing Baba and 18 year old Amir to flee the country to California. The states provided a whole new life for Baba and especially Amir. Amir attends high school and college to pursue his dream; to become a famous writer. Amir is haunted every day by the thought of Hassan getting beaten and him not reacting, pretending as if he were never there. In California, Baba finds an Afghan community in which he is quite popular already. He spends a lot of time at a flea market where there are many other Afghans too. Amir spots a young afghan lady, Soraya, at the flea market which he cannot keep his eyes off. When Amir’s father becomes ill with cancer, Amir asks Soraya to marry him. Very shortly after they get married, Baba dies. Soraya and Amir then try to have kids but fail to and it is then when Amir receives a call from a man he has not heard of in a very long time. Rahim Khan tells Amir of the death of Hassan and his wife. Amir is devastated by the news. Rahim also tells Amir that their son is now in an orphanage. Rahim tells Amir that finding Hassan’s son is his chance to redeem his sin. Amir then goes to Afghanistan to find Hassan’s son. With many obstacles, including a one on one fight to the death with Assef, the bully who bullied him and Hassan at a young age, Amir comes out of Afghanistan with Hassan’s son. He comes back to California with many injuries. Sohrab, Hassan’s son, goes to school and lives a new life in America. Hassan and his wife officially adopt him and provide him a life full of potential. The novel ends with Amir teaching Sohrab how to fly a kite, as he battles a kite and defeats it. Characters: Amir: Amir is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. He is a Pashtun boy, who evolves throughout the book to become an adult. He is also a great writer and storyteller. As readers we feel much compassion for him. His father is a wealthy man by Afghan standards, and so Amir grows up always having what he wants. He has everything he could wish for except the loving attention of his father. He does not feel a deep emotional connection with Baba and this causes Amir to feel a strong jealousy towards anyone receiving his father’s affection. Amir thinks Baba wishes he was more like him. Amir is often jealous of the way Baba treats Hassan. He notices that Hassan is much more like his father than he is. Amir is a conflicted character who struggles between the logical and emotional sides of his being. Throughout the novel, he struggles to make connections with his father. His obsession and guilty conscience, along with his adult perspective looking back at childhood events make him a good storyteller. Amir seems to be a mix of Hassan’s personality and Assef’s personality making him in the middle of good and bad. He then gets the chance to fight Assef one on one to the death which was like facing the bad side of himself. Baba: Baba is Amir’s father. Later in the novel we find out that he is also Hassan’s father. He is considered a hero and a leader in Kabul and he is always doing things for others. He always seems to expect more from Amir. Baba has excellent morals and philosophies on life that he tries to teach Amir over time. He was even willing to sacrifice himself to keep the Russian guard from raping the women travelling with them. By doing so, Amir later understands that doing what is right is better than saving yourself. Baba felt guilty through his whole life for not being able to acknowledge Hassan as his son. For this reason, he tries to redeem his guilt by providing good actions to everyone around him. He even built an orphanage. His emotions are very well hidden by his outer appearance. In the end, he is very proud of Amir. He dies happily because he was able to build the relationship he had always wanted with at least one of his sons. We also find out that Amir and Baba both shared a never-ending feeling of guilt inside of them for different reasons. Hassan: Hassan is Amir’s playmate and servant. He is a Hazara and we find out late in the novel that he is Amir’s half-brother. Hassan epitomizes the perfect servant who is not only loyal to his master, but also forgiving and good-natured. Even after he’s been betrayed, Hassan lies for Amir and he still considers him as a friend. Hassan grows up in the same place as Amir but has a different purpose. He is a servant and so he prepares Amir for school every morning by preparing his breakfast and books. He also does all the chores during the day while Amir is at school getting an education. Hassan later gets married and has a son. He dies late in the novel. Hassan represents all that is good and kind. Assef: Assef is the antagonist of the novel. Assef does not see Hazaras as equal to Pashtuns. Near the beginning of the novel, he beats Hassan violently. At the end of the novel, he fights Amir one on one to the death until Sohrab shot him in the eye. He is a villain who ends up joining the Taliban. Assef represents all that is evil and cruel. Personal reaction to the novel: The kite runner was an amazing novel. I personally loved it. I finished the book in less than a week because I simply could not stop reading it after I first opened the book. I felt a lot of strong emotions when reading this book. When Hassan was beaten violently and Amir just stood there and watched, I was really scared for Hassan. The picture was very vivid in my mind and I felt terrible for Hassan. I also felt sad for Amir because he only finds out in the end that he and his dad were much more alike than they both thought. When Baba is already dead, Amir finds out the truth about him and how they both share an endless guilt. I also really liked this novel because I got to learn a bit about Afghanistan since it was the main setting of the novel. Out of all the books that students have to read in English class throughout the years, this is one of the few that are really good. I actually really enjoyed reading this book, unlike many books read in the past years. I would strongly suggest to keep teaching this book to future students. Author’s style and voice: The kite runner written by Khaled Hosseini uses the narrative writing style. The author places himself as Amir and narrates you the story. The author also uses a lot of accurate descriptions to give the readers a vivid image of a setting, character or object. Since it is Amir narrating the story, he tells it from the viewpoint of an adult looking back across his life. It is a personal narration in an informal, conversational style, similar to dialogue rather than a self-consciously literary style of writing. Amir’s voice is pretty consistent throughout most of the novel. However, the vocabulary and diction develop as he moves from talking about his childhood years to talking about his adult years. At the beginning of the book, when he narrates his childhood life, he tends to use childlike language such as â€Å"he never told on me†1. When he gets older, the vocabulary and diction used to narrate are more advanced since Amir has evolved not only physically, but intellectually as well. The author’s voice or Amir’s voice also changes at times of stress or anxiety. After his fight with Assef, the sentence structure becomes very hesitant and broken to reflect the severe temporary damage of Amir’s mind. Themes: Redemption: Redemption is searched by two important characters through the novel. Baba and Amir are both seeking redemption for two different reasons. Baba had sex with his servant and this resulted in having a Hazara boy. Because Hassan was a Hazara, he could not publically announce that he was his son and so he kept it a secret during his whole life. The fact that he could not acknowledge Hassan as his son made him feel very guilty and he never stopped striving to redeem himself. Baba even built an orphanage to help redeem himself according to Rahim Khan. Amir is also searching for redemption ever since he saw Hassan take a beating without reacting at all. Redemption is what brings Amir to Afghanistan which is a big event in this story. Forgiveness: Hassan’s actions demonstrate that he did forgive Amir’s betrayal. Amir pretty much spends the entire novel to learn about the nature of forgiveness. Baba’s actions of redemption are an attempt to gain public forgiveness for what he has not even publically admitted to have done. When Amir finally discovers Baba’s big secret from Rahim’s letter, he ends up forgiving his father. Forgiveness plays an important role in the story. Immigrant experience: In this book, we get to know how hard it can be for immigrants to leave their homeland and to successfully arrive to their destination. Baba and Amir are among many Afghans who struggle to leave. There are plenty of calculated risks and uncertainties in the next passages for immigrants. Many immigrants die before they even reach their new homes. In addition to the difficulties of their lives in a new country, the immigrants also have to accept what or who they have left behind. When arriving to a new country, immigrants also try to maintain their traditions and some semblance of their own culture, which can be hard. Baba loses his status once they arrive in America and still has his old prejudices. Soraya and her mother also demonstrate the difficult role women have balancing the expectations of an old world culture with the new world in which they are living. Sohrab quickly adapts to his new country and has a life full of potential waiting for him. Symbols: The pomegranate tree: While Amir and Hassan are both young and carefree, they carve their names in the tree and it bears fruit. Therefore, the tree symbolizes their relationship. Much later when Hassan is dead and Amir is filled with guilt, the tree just like Amir’s memories still exists but no longer bears fruit. The tree not only symbolizes a unifying force between Amir and Hassan but also serves as a source of division. When Amir wanted Hassan to hit him with the pomegranate fruit in order to inflict physical pain as a punishment to lessen his guilt instead, Hassan breaks the fruit over his own head to prove his loyalty. The tree brings back vivid memories when Amir returns to Afghanistan. Kites and the blue kite: Kites and everything associated with them are undoubtedly the most important symbols in this novel. This blue kite is even more important because it symbolizes a chance for Amir to obtain Baba’s attention. Amir thought that the only way he’d earn his father’s attention would be to win the kite flying tournament. This blue kite is the last kite competing against Amir’s during the tournament. As he cuts the last kite’s string, Hassan runs off to fetch the kite for Amir. The blue kite also symbolizes Hassan’s loyalty. Amir wanted to show all the kids at school that he won the tournament and got to keep the last remaining kite that he faced one on one. He mostly wanted to show this kite to his father. As the novel continues, the kite becomes a symbol of betrayal which leads Amir to the will of finding redemption. Hassan sacrificed him just to bring kite back to Amir as he said he would. Hassan took a beating to keep the kite and Amir watched it happen without reacting. Amir feels guilt ever since this moment until the very end of the novel, where Amir is running a kite for Hassan’s son. At the end, the kites symbolizes happiness, freedom and peace at last. Scars: Hassan has a split lip since he was a child, and it is one of the features Amir refers to the most when describing him. The split in his lip symbolizes Hassan’s status in the society. It signifies poverty and minority as an ethnicity which is one major thing that differentiates him from Amir, because it indicates that his family do not have the money to fix his lip. Baba eventually pays a surgeon to repair Hassan’s lip as a birthday gift, signifying his secret fatherly love for Hassan. Later in the novel, Assef splits Amir’s lip in his one on one duel with Amir. Amir is left with a permanent scar very similar to Hassan’s. This scar on Amir symbolizes the fact that Amir has become like Hassan not only physically, but mentally too in the sense that he has learnt to stand up for what is right. Bibliographical information: Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, (2003) I got a 4+ on this journal , so it should do you some good 🙂