In The Late 1920s, The Great Depression Started. In The 1930s Presiden

In the late 1920's, the Great Depression started. In the 1930's president Roosevelt was elected and proposed the New Deal. In 1929 the Great Depression caused by the stock market crashing. During the 1920's an average of 600 banks failed each year. The value of farmland drops 30 to 40 percent between 1920 and 1929. In 1929 the richest one- percent owned 40 percent of the nation's wealth. More than half of all Americans was living below a minimum subsistence level. Annual per-capita income was $750 and for farm people it was only $273 every year. In 1932 10,000 banks failed since 1929. In 1933 president Roosevelt was inaugurated and it begins the first 100 days of intensive legislative activity. The Emergency Banking Bill, which strengthened, reorganized and reopened the most solvent banks, was passed overwhelmingly by Congress with little debate. On March 12, Roosevelt announced that the soundest banks would reopen. Hoover had allowed two previous bank panics to run their course, which contributed to over 10,000 bank failures and $2 billion in lost deposits. The bank holiday secured Roosevelt's political reputation, and convinced both Congress and the public that the New Deal was the right road to follow. Roosevelt's strategy consisted of two parts: first, provide relief for those who needed it most, which often involved a redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor. Second, provide long-lasting reform to the nation's economy, through reorganization and the creation of new agencies. Fixated with a balanced budget, and fretful when it was not, Roosevelt made sure that anything given to one sector of the economy was taken from somewhere else. The success of the First 1 00 Days was important, because it got the New Deal off to a strong and early start. Later, the conservative Supreme Court would declare much of the New Deal unconstitutional, and Roosevelt's political prestige would decline as his policies failed to resolve the Depression. The Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act this bill was passed in response to the Supreme Court's decision that part of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration was unconstitutional. Specifically, the Court ruled against the Domestic Allotment Plan, which paid farmers a subsidy for curtailing their production. The new act allowed the AAA to pay subsidies to farmers who planted soil-enriching rather than staple crops. This addressed the grievances of tenant farmers and sharecroppers, who had been hurt under the previous system. The Fair Labor Standards Act this act established a federal minimum wage and a maximum work week. The first ones were 25 cents an hour and 44 hours, respectively. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 was created in response to the Supreme Court's 1936 decision, allowed the AAA to determine acreages for staple export crops and award loans according to stored surplus crops. Roosevelt began relatively modest deficit spending that arrested the slide of the economy and resulted in some astonishing growth numbers. (Roosevelt's average growth of 5.2 percent during the Great Depression is even higher than Reagan's 3.7 percent growth during his so-called "Seven Fat Years!") When 1936 saw a phenomenal record of 14 percent growth, Roosevelt eased back on the deficit spending, overly worried about balancing the budget. But this only caused the economy to slip back into a recession.

How to De-Ice Your Windshield Using Brine

How to De-Ice Your Windshield Using Brine Theres no need to wait for your cars defroster to warm up to melt the ice on your windshield. You can defrost your windshield much more quickly using a few tricks from science (and, if you want, a bucket of brine). Tips and Tricks If its not super cold outside, warm water works well as a quick defroster. You can pour warm water over your windshield and use the wipers to clear it off. If its really cold outside, though, this will only add another layer of ice to your windshield (best case scenario) or, by creating an extreme temperature difference, cause it to crack (worst case). Salt water works for the same reason that salt alone works as a de-icing agent (and warm salt water is your best bet). The ions in salt water lower the freezing point of water, causing the ice to melt. After melting, the water will attempt to re-freeze, but the temperature will need to be colder than 32 degrees Fahrenheit for that to occur. When it comes to de-icing, not all salts are created equal. Normal table salt works well when it isnt too cold out. Road salt, which has a different chemical composition, works better when the temperature is very low. Salt exposure isnt great for your car, though, so keep that in mind. If you use saltwater to clear away ice, you will want to clean your car later. An even quicker way to melt the ice on your windshield is one you may already know- placing your bare hand against the windshield. This works because (a) your hand is warm and (b) your hand is solid. Warm solids contain more particles per unit area to convey heat to the windshield than warm air alone (because molecules in the air are very far apart). For this reason, any warm solid will de-ice the windshield faster than air. Any warm liquid will de-ice more quickly than air for the same reason. You dont have to use your hand, though. The sole of a warm shoe would work just as well; so would a warm book, for that matter. The denser the object, the more effective it will be. The heat capacity of the material matters, too, which is one reason why your hand is such a great defrosting tool. If its not too cold out, try using a warm, damp towel on the windshield. If its bitterly cold, the ice scraper is still your best bet. If you have a garage and live in a warm climate, you can prevent the frost from forming in the first place by parking inside. You can also use common household chemicals to defrost your windshield. These materials apply freezing point depression to clear the ice. Its a good idea to use your wipers and fluid after you apply them because they can be sticky or corrosive. Of the items listed below, rubbing alcohol is your best bet for fast defrosting without damage: Pickle juice (saltwater brine)Beet juiceKool-Aid (or any other sugary soft drink)Soda (with sugar)VinegarRubbing alcohol

Leadership Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership - Thesis Proposal Example Research on P-O fit now considers the fit between employees and their jobs, their co-workers and their supervisors, and is no longer focused on only their fit with the organisation. A number of theories, such as Schneider’s (1987) attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, suggest that employees choose employment with a company they perceive as a good fit; management employees with minimal P-O fit however will choose to leave their company of employment. Others like Chatman, Wong & Joyce (2008) claim that even though a management employee may have a low P-O fit with an organisation they still seek and gain employment with that organisation and may stay for a number of reasons connected with entrenchment (Harman, Lee, Mitchell, Felps & Owen, 2007). In such cases they often stay with the organisation but operate in less prominent or powerful positions of leadership (Meyerson & Scully, 1995). The implication from these theories is that an organisation is a single, constant and homogenous culture if employees are able to determine their fit within them.

Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire Instrument Critique Research Paper

Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire Instrument Critique - Research Paper Example In the development of the instrument, studies describing critically ill patients’ patterns of sleep were used as a theoretical basis for various items incorporated into the instrument. The instrument was validated against the polysomnograph and found to be an improvement in measuring sleep quality for patients in intensive care (Richards et al, 2000). As currently used, the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire reflects five items that are used for measuring sleep quality in ICU patients. These are the depth of sleep, ability to fall asleep, number of times the patients wake up, percentage of the time the patients are awake, and the overall sleep quality of the patients (Richards et al, 2000). The Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire, on top of these five items, also includes a rating for noise during the nighttime, which are scored using a visual analogue scale. The five scores for the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire is averaged, and the mean score used in determining sleep quality. Night shift nurses are required to complete the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire with regards to the sleep quality of their patients overnight, while the patients also fill in the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire after they wake up. The instrument was modified to measure how many awakenings the patient had during their sleep in order to d ifferentiate between patients who woke up frequently and those who did not wake up during their sleep. Further advances in the instrument involved the requirement that the items and directions on the questionnaire be read out to the patients in intensive care (Richards et al, 2000). This was because, while patients have been found to have little trouble in completing it if nurses read the items and directions out to them, majority of the critically ill patients had problems when completing the questionnaire without provision of assistance. However, for obvious reasons, this survey is only useful if the patients are awake and non-delirious. The visual analog nature of the Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire scales means that, as a measure of the latency of sleep, it is not very sensitive in comparison to other modalities of scaling (Richards et al, 2000). For this reason, there is a need to revise the instrument. This could be done in order to improve the Richard-Campbell Sleep Ques tionnaire’s ability to predict the efficiency of sleep in intensive care patients. For example, the instrument could be revised by adding more items in an attempt to predict sleep efficiency with an improved percentage of variance. However, this will be done at the risk of decreasing the practicality of outcome measurements for patients who are critically ill (Richards et al, 2000), especially as increasing the number of items may be too much for nurses who are overworked and patients who are critically ill and may be too weak to answer them. The Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire’s predictive ability could also be potentially improved by adding another section with more items for nurses. This additional section would consist of additional observations that the nurses make for the critically ill patients’ quality of sleep (Richards et al, 2000). The Richard-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire could also be revised to account for sleep characteristic

Causes of autism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Causes of autism - Essay Example Early diagnosis of autism is very important to adjust the methods of child rearing and to facilitate their social adaptation. It is believed that autism is not a mental illness, but a developmental disorder. It is thought that it cannot be cured completely, but therapy at an early stage will help the child overcome some limitations. Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man has little to do with the lives of people with autism. They usually attract attention to their unusual behavior. Our brain reacts to the stimuli and processes information through the biological process of connecting, pairing and organizing the neurons. These neurons have thread extensions through which electrical discharge travels. Neurons thus conduct these electrical impulses. Autism changes how these nerve cells function, though it is not quite known how this occurs. Since their brain cannot function properly, people affected with autism have problems in their daily life tasks including problems in interacting soc ially, communicating non-verbally and other activities that involve give-and-take, humor and adroitness. The clinical picture of autism: a number of psychomotor, speech and behavioral disorders, with different combinations of symptoms and signs of developmental delay. Early childhood autism can be detected at as early an age as three years. Such children are weak and have poor facial expressions. They are not capable of non-verbal interactions with their mother or other people – they do not look in your eyes, do not respond to their own name, do not take toys when someone gives them. You may have to line up their pencils before they can pay attention, or say the same phrase over and over to calm down. They may flap their arms to indicate they are happy, or hurting to show that they are not. Some people with autism never learn to speak. Most of the autistic children carry out repetitive movements for instance they rock and twirl, or they abuse their own selves by biting and he ad banging. Such children start talking after the normal ones and rather than calling themselves by I or me they take their name. Autistic children are not able to play with others like normal ones and some even talk in sing-song voice. They do not care for what the other person thinks or is interested in and they themselves have few favorite topics. Autistic children appear to be having an increased risk of having particular comorbid conditions, which includes fragile X syndrome (that leads to mental retardation), tuberous sclerosis (wherein tumors develop in the brain), epileptic seizures, Tourette syndrome, learning disorders and deficit disorder attention. Almost 20-30% of autistic children also develop epilepsy by the time they become adults. Although there are certain schizophrenic people who might also exhibit behavior of autism, their symptoms normally are not visible till almost adulthood is reached. A lot of schizophrenic people may also be having hallucinations and delusi ons that is not a sign of autism. As the child grows, the symptoms of autism increase. He falls into the strong disorder due to the change in the familiar environment, loud noises, bright lights or strong odors. Worst of all, the child feels alone and avoids any physical contact with parents and peers. Emotional reciprocity and

Observation Of A Court Visit

Observation Of A Court Visit On 8th December 2009, I went to visit the Stratford Magistrate Court with few friends for a trial at 10. As I entered the court I was checked for security reasons and also had a bag check. I have visited this court before with a class when I used to be at college so I was familiar with the surrounding. It was on an opening day when I last visited and the court gave the whole class a tour around but however, I did not watch a trial. This was my first time to observe a trial, which I was looking really forward to. At the reception, we approached a lady who told us there is a case with police evidence in Court 5 so we decided to wait for this case as it grabbed our attention. However, the trail was supposed to start at 10 am and it had delayed up to an hour. We were waiting at the waiting room for the trail to start and few people were waiting for their trails with their representations. A number of police officers were there sitting around waiting to give evidence. I was getting really impatient to why the trail hasnt begun yet and looked at the notice board to see the parties name and it was written Syed Ali from Bethnal Green. I came back and sat down and in front of me, I could see a guy looking really tensed and walking around. My friends and I thought this could be the defendant to whose trial we will be observing. Finally, someone came out of the court 5 and called out for Syed Ali and the defendant who was at the waiting room we believed would be Syed Ali entered the court and we followed him into the public viewing section. When we entered, we sat down and then the magistrates entered and everyone stood up and sat back down. The trail of Syed Ali was short, the magistrates didnt explain what the offences were as they have read it and told Syed he had to pay a fine of 100 pound and the charges against him would be dropped. He was bound to keep peace for 6 months to which he had agreed after this the court was dismissed and the prosecution lawyer came out and told the police officer he had got a fine. I was wondering how come the police did not give any evidence as we were told. When I observed the five minute trial, I was not satisfied and wanted to watch a trial which is more in depth and has a lot of legal issues attached to it. The case of Syed Ali did not expand in details and the court did not mention what the offences were which made it hard to understand the overall case. This case was very hard to understand when no legal issues were raised by the court and it was very simplistic. So we went back to the reception and informed the lady that it was a very brief trail and wanted to see another one. She took us to Court 3, where the trail was already in progress and told us to go in quietly. The parties of this case are Mahmood and Hassan vs. Koppech. As soon as I entered there were more people involved in this case and as I sat down a police officer named Pc Merit was giving evidence and was talking about the incident. I was observing but I didnt quite understand the facts of the case as I just entered. The police immediately was told to leave and to call for another police officer who was involved. In the court the three magistrates were at the bench and the clerk in front with both the prosecution and the defence lawyers facing the bench. On the right, inside the box there were the defendants who were Asian males sitting with the interpreter. I recognised them from the waiting room. The victim was a white male sitting with a lady right in front of us. The Police officer enters for whom the court was waiting for. He walks to the witness box and reads out the oath and has some evidence in his hand and introduces himself to the court. His name is Pc Harris and that he works at the Forest Gate Police station. The Prosecution lawyer stands up and starts to ask the officer some questions related to the incident and what actually happened. The Officer starts off by explaining to the court how the white male was in the pavement in Essex road on Friday 10th October at 6.00pm. The defendant, Koppech was at a boxing stunt image and the two defendants, Mahmood and Hassan had also ripped his t-shirt off and thrown paints on it. They were fighting with each other and then the two defendants went to a fully loaded skip where they picked up planks of wood and one of them had a nail on it and then they surrounded the white male at a 45 degree angle. Then at this particular moment the police described how he and his colleague came out of the vehicl e and shouted out police get down repeatedly. The Police also stated that the defendants complied with the instructions straight away. The prosecution lawyer also asked what the police thought would have happened if the police didnt approach at this particular time. The police replied that he believed the white male would have been in a bad state with bruises and attacked brutally, he showed the two pieces of wood to the court as evidence. The Police also had the T-shirt and jacket of the white male and showed the court how it was ripped apart and had paints and mud on it. The defence lawyer stood up and started asking the police if he believed that the defendants had the woods on their hand as a self defence and the police replied no comments. The police rounded the incident off by saying that he had escorted the other officer and white male and arrested the defendants and reported them in the Plaistow police station. During the hearing of the case, someone stood up and said other cases are to be looked at and see if any cases should be considered or applied before giving a verdict on this case. The magistrates decided to put the defendants and the white male on bail until the next hearing. As I walked out of the court room, the defendants and the victim were walking out as well. I looked at the notice board for this case as I did not get a chance before and I realised what the lady meant when she mentioned about other cases. I could see a list of other cases all at the same time, which meant that various other cases where linked to this case. When I stepped in to the waiting room, I could see the victim and the defendants sitting next to each other at the waiting room although the court warned that they should stay away from each other. I found it quite strange how the two parties were next to each other. In a case like this normally a fight would kick in but these people were behaving as if they didnt know each other but however, they were just staring at each other. Both Court rooms I attended was very small and it did not have much space for public sitting and it contained three justices of peace but however, the waiting room was quite big with few benches where many people were sitting down on and some of the people seemed really tensed, which showed that they were here for a trial but not everyone was formally dressed and I assumed the ones with a casual look were here for other reasons but that wasnt entirely true. As this was a very small court, there wasnt really serious cases heard in this magistrate court and someone told me that if I wanted to hear a more dramatic case I should attend a hearing at the Thames Magistrate Court situated in Bow, where more action is likely to take place and it is not very far to get to. The Court being small does have an effect on its proceedings as they dont have really serious cases heard and I could see that some of the youths who came for the trial were dressed casually, which shows how serious people were about going for a trial. My first impression of the court was that it was not organised as I had thought it would have been. They havent followed the timetable, which was set by the court itself. It just gave the impression of how laid back the court was, which led to many people waiting for the trial to start. I could see a lot of intense on peoples face and people were feeling really agitated. The court was very busy as people were walking around the aisle, which is also the place to wait for the trail. It wasnt as noisy as I had expected to be with the number of people but people were quiet and anxious for the proceeding to go ahead. Overall the Magistrates court solves criminal cases by the people who have no expert knowledge on law, which shows that justice is more likely to take place as it is unlikely to be biased as these people are not professionals but are normal people just like the members of the public. This relates to the English Legal System as the Magistrates Court is where the criminal cases are first heard and if any of the parties are not satisfied with the verdict then they can appeal to the Court of Appeal or have their case heard at the Crown Court. Magistrates court is where 95% of criminal cases are dealt with. The court plays a huge role in the English legal system, firstly, vast majority of criminal cases in the English legal system are heard by the magistrates. The lay magistrates have the authority to give sentence up to 6 months or a 5,000 pound fine. This lets the higher courts to focus on more serious cases. The magistrates court helps the legal system to work faster as it is easier for a trial to take place in a magistrates court then it is to a crown court and the cost of a magistrates court is less expensive than a crown court, which helps the cases to reach a quicker verdict. Total number of words: 1,781

Roger Maris :: essays research papers

Roger Maris is probably one of baseball’s most misunderstood baseball heroes. Still now after almost 40 years Maris has still not achieved his rightful place in baseball history, the Baseball Hall of Fame. Roger Maris has had a picture-perfect life starting in Hibbing, Minnesota to where he grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. His young life was marked with athleticism. He excelled at many sports not just baseball. Roger was affluent in football and track among others. His baseball career began with the Cleveland Indians in 1957 and he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in 1958. In 1966, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Maris retired from baseball following the 1968 season. Roger Maris was born in the small town of Hibbing, Minnesota. He only lived there for a few years until he moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he stayed until he was ten. Maris began to realize his talent for athletics during those years. His father remembered that Roger could always play sports better than all of the other kids. More specifically he recalls that no other kid in the neighborhood could begin to match the distance in which Roger could hit the baseball. He was one of the fastest members of the track team. He was also prominent on the basketball and football teams. He was a local champion of stickball, being the only one who could hit the ball nearly 200 yards. Rogers’ family then moved to Fargo, North Dakota. His athletic skills were never used to their potential by the school so he changed high schools to Shanley high school where he was more appreciated. His football, track and basketball talents were used to the maximum potential and Roger gained a local fame.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like many other baseball stars, Roger Maris began his career in American Legion baseball. He played outfield and he also pitched. In this league he was named the Most Valuable Player on the North Dakota championship team in 1950. After graduation Roger had to choose between football and baseball. It was a hard choice for him and he could go far in either sport. Thank goodness for baseball he chose it. He briefly considered college but he turned down the University of Oklahoma and numerous other colleges that made him offers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A scout report that was made by Frank Fahey in 1950 resurfaced in 1961 and as a result of this the Cleveland Indians asked him to a tryout camp.

Three Cups of Tea: Story of Courage, Empathy, and the Will to Make a Change

Three Cups of Tea presents a remarkable story of courage, empathy and most importantly the will to help out and make a change. It takes us through the journey of a lifetime that Greg Mortenson experienced while embarking through Pakistan and Afghanistan. His incredible character and motivation helped change the lives of thousands of Pakistani citizens, but mostly those women and children. He accomplished this through building 141 schools across Pakistan, as in his mind an education is the most important thing a person can receive. Mortenson put all his own needs and wants behind himself in order to fulfill those of others. The road to all his success was not an easy one though. He had to overcome many barriers in his final goal of educating a developing world like that of Pakistan. The author believes that the barriers to educating the poor are social issues, financial issues and cultural differences, this paper will prove that to be correct as I will highlight some of the major events and problems he had to work though on his pathway to success. The Will to Make a Change In our world of today many people want to help out those in need and really make a difference before they leave this world. It’s really nice to say that, and many people do but only a select few actually take action and do it. In my opinion a lot of people just don’t know how to get started. How can they, just one person, start something big enough to impact the lives of so many people? So to get some insight lets go back to the very start of Greg Mortenson’s journey to improving the world in his own way. Mortenson came from a family that loved to travel and also had a great passion for helping others. His upbringing was what really helped shape his character and personality. He was born in America, but when he was very young his family moved to Tanzania, Africa. His father, along with others helped to build a teaching medical centre in Kilimanjaro, and his mother helped to build a school in Moshi. His parent’s great acts to help out others really influenced the way he looked at the world. Mortenson was a very active and adventurous person and had a passion for mountaineering. In 1993 he planned out a trek to climb the world’s second high peak, K2 in Kenya, along with 4 others. He planned this trip as a memorial to his sister who he had lost a few years earlier. After spending 70 days on the mountain they had to make a dramatic 72 hour life saving rescue for one of the other climbers. This took a lot out of Mortenson, physically and mentally which prevented him from making it to the top. So he began his descent, but took a wrong turn along the way, getting lost from the group. He ended up in a small and very poor village called Korphe. He was suffering from fatigue, dehydration, altitude sickness and vertigo. The village people took him in and did everything they could to care for him and ensure his well being. As he recovered he was blown away at their amazing hospitality and loving nature towards him. The village had no school and the kids tried to learn by writing in the dirt with sticks. Mortenson was shocked that these people had no resources to learn and improve their quality of life, a thing that so many people take for granted back in America. While he regained strength he wanted to help out those who had so greatly helped him recover. Mortenson had lots of medical training and so he used what little supplies he had to treat as many people as he could. He left the village leaving anything that could be helpful to these people such as pens, flashlights, small containers and even any clothes he wasn’t wearing. Before he departed to return home he made a promise, one that would forever change his life. He promised the Balti people of Korphe that he would build them a school. In his eyes education is the biggest factor in being able to be successful. Education is the stepping stone to improving your quality of life and being able to prosper. While doing research for the country comparison assignment I noticed that the developed countries such as Canada, who had very high education rates for both genders, had less high percentages in categories such as infant mortality, population, poverty level and literacy rate. I think that a big link between these things is educating women. Women are just as capable in any position as men, they just need the same resources. So he to give these people the same opportunities that everyone was getting back in America. So off he set home, with inspiration in his mind and hope in his heart. His main goal was to educate and empower women. I think that this is so important because throughout this course we have learned many reasons why educating women is so crucial for solving many of the world’s big issues. For example we learned that educating women can be a big factor in reducing the problem of overpopulation. There have been studies shown that if women in third world countries are educated they are less likely to have as many children and they will be more successful in the long run. Mortenson wanted to give them a chance to learn and prosper in such a male dominated part of the world. Upon arriving home to California, Mortenson was brought to reality where he really realised what he had done. While on the plane home he felt empowered and ready for such a challenge but back in America he felt stuck. This is usually the part that most people get to. They have some inspiration and great ideas to help but they don’t know how to take action. Or they realise how much work and money will be involved in the process of making a change. All that he owned to his name was a small storage locker with some possessions in it. He looked around at fancy business people walking down the streets, only concerned with when their next Starbucks break would be. He was going through culture shock, jet lag and just plain confusion. How can these people think their problems are so important when people halfway across the world are struggling just to get a basic education? Mortenson suddenly felt lost in his previous home. He didn’t fit in with these people. He wanted to be back in Afghanistan with, what was in his eyes, his real family. So to get there he had to tackle one of his biggest obstacles, money. He knew that he could get a job at the local hospital, as he had healthcare degrees from university, but he knew that this would not be enough. Before he had left he roughly estimated how much it the whole thing would cost. His estimate came to about $12,000. How on earth was he supposed to come up with this money? So Mortenson came up with an idea, he would get sponsors. So first he needed to get his message out and get eople aware and interested. Being not very technologically advanced, even in the year 1993, he rented a typewriter to write out letters to several famous people explaining his situation and asking for any donations. The only problem with typewriters is that if you make any mistakes you have to start over. After 5 hours of work he had only completed 4 successful letters. Since the letters would take him a lot longer tha t he had predicted he was saving in every aspect that he could. He lived out of his car and worked as many shifts as he could as a registered nurse at the local hospital ER. Whenever he wasn’t working he painstakingly typed out more letters and mailed them off to every important person he could think of. One day one of his problems was dramatically solved though, as he was introduced to a computer for the first time. He got a tutorial from a friend and was now was able to print out as many letters as he could think of people to send them to. Slowly things were looking up for him. His first donation came from students from his mom’s class who had organised a penny fundraiser, bringing in $623. 45. Out of all 580 letters he had sent out he only got one reply, along with a cheque for $100 and a wish good luck. Although he had received a couple donations, Mortenson felt like he was making little to no progress. Other famous climbers had foundations that had people knocking on their doors to give them thousands of dollars. Things also got rocky as his current girlfriend was getting annoyed at all the nights spent in the car and the tightness of cash. His situation dramatically changed one day as a friend of his suggested he visit a man named Dr. Jean Hoerni, a successful physicist who had made quite the fortune in his work. Hoerni was a no nonsense man, who greatly intimidated Mortenson. After a short phone call with Hoerni, Mortenson walked away $12,000 richer towards his school. So he sold the rest of his possessions to get extra cash for any miscalculations or emergencies. Finally he painfully drove his car to the dealership and sold his home for the past year to buy a plane ticket. So far he had completed phase one of his plan, raising enough funds. So as he boarded the plane he embarked on a journey that would forever change the course of his life. Never an Easy Route Greg arrived back in Afghanistan, fully determined and ready to start building his school. He had exactly $12,800 dollars, $12,000 for the school and $800 to get him through while building the school. He was on a strict budget, every rupee counted and anything wasted, in his mind, was just taking away books or pencils that he could buy for the students. Greg had some friends to help him was ready to jump right into it, but the way people operate there is much more relaxed than the fast paced American society. So after a couple days he was finally able to get started and gather materials. Mortenson wanted only the best materials for his school; he didn’t want it to crumble to the ground after a long hard winter. Although this became the first of many problems for him, this one being more of a social issue more than anything. People who be bought from didn’t know him or what he was doing. They just looked at him by his appearance, an American. To them he came from far away and did not know their culture and ways of life. So they could rip him off. Charge him high prices for cheaply made materials. Another problem with this part of the world is that everyone wants their share. If you’re paying me to transport the wood for you I get to keep some. This frustrated Mortenson as he had worked so hard and was on a very tight budget. He needed to remind himself though that this way just the way their world worked. Mortenson really wanted to connect with these people and was eager to learn about their culture and religious beliefs. Religion plays a huge role in the everyday lives of Muslims. They have several prayer times throughout the day where the whole city stops, no matter where they are, to pray. Mortenson knew this could be a touchy subject, but he finally asked one of his friends to show him how to pray. He struggled through it, not fully understanding the process but hoped to improve and really immerse into their culture. He wanted to be respected and wanted to be able to understand these people. Finally about a week after arriving, Mortenson was finally ready with all his materials to make the 3 day trek to the small, isolated village of Korphe to build his school. After purchasing all his materials his financial situation was even lower than he had expected, which posed as a possible big problem, leaving small room for error. The journey to Korphe was in itself a whole story. Upon arriving in Korphe he was very kindly greeted by hundreds of village people. They were surprised yet happy to see him. Many climbers come through their villages and make promises to them that rarely get fulfilled. Here before them was Greg, who was ready to build them a school, to give them the gift of education. As he discussed plans with the village leaders, he was presented with what would be the biggest problem to date. They wanted the school to be built inside the village of Korphe. Mortenson had planned for it to be built just outside the village as the only way into the village was across a small rickety pulley system that went over a large ravine with the Braldu River running through it at the bottom. The village leaders thought it would be most beneficial for them to be able to be connected with the outside world if they were to build a bridge, and that way they would also be able to transport all the materials across the bridge into the village. This would cause Mortenson a lot more work and a lot more funding. He also agreed that it would be a good idea to connect them with the outside world a bit more though, as they were very isolated. Almost a full year later Mortenson had finally succeeded in building a school, and a bridge for the village of Korphe. He felt amazing. He really knew how much this would help their people and how much it would impact their lives. Mortenson didn’t want to stop here though. So with the financial help of his close friend Jean Hoerni he was able to start a foundation called Central Asia Institute or CAI. Hoerni gave him a large donation to start off, but that wouldn’t last forever. So whenever Mortenson was back in America he would travel around to give presentations in hopes of getting some donations. This was another barrier for him, as it was difficult to get people interested and he has quite the fear of public speaking. Sometimes he would be in a venue with 500 chairs set up and he would be presenting to only 3 people. It became even more difficult to get people interested after 9/11 happened. No one wanted to help him. Everyone questioned why he wanted to help these people. Mortenson received hate letters and even death threats constantly. This greatly frustrated him as they didn’t know the individual hardworking and kind people that he knew. They were judging a whole population off one extremist group. It was unfair to these people who did nothing wrong. He lost a lot of the support that he previously had from his own country. This was a huge social issue for him as now his own people didn’t understand what he was doing. Even today in 2013, 12 years after the 9/11 attacks people still judge Islamic people and look down upon them. I think when most people hear the term terrorist the associate it with an Islamic person, which is extremely racist and unfair towards these people. What Mortenson was able to realize was that at the end of the day, they are just the same as us. They want the best for their kids. They want to enjoy life, family and friends. Yes, there are cultural differences but when it comes down to it we are all humans on the same Earth. There are extremist groups in any culture, and it is unjust to blame a whole society of people for a small groups actions. Regardless of this Mortenson was still able to keep going with his projects in Pakistan and was building schools at a very fast rate. People were contacting him from all over wanting him to build schools in their villages. Along with building schools he also built community centers for people to go, with resources like sports and libraries. He gave special donations to certain people who contacted him personally who wanted money for further studies. In one particular case he funded a young woman who went on to do a 4 month medical course. With this she was able to return to her village and help out so many people. People there no longer had to worry of death from something as small as a cold. The women even said that there is not a single person in the area that believes that women should not be educated. People were starting to realize the importance and great benefits of educating women. She couldn’t believe the progress and improvement it had made for her own life and the lives of so many people she was able to save because of it. She wants to pass on her training and education to other women in hope that it can benefit them as well. There were a couple personal stories like this throughout the story which gave a great perspective on the actual effect of Mortenson’s work and how it really helped. His project to educate the poor was really working, and had successful examples of people that it helped out significantly. In the long run I think that what Mortenson is doing can greatly help out their economy. He has set them on a pathway for a more bright and prosperous future by giving them so many resources to succeed. Impact for the Future Greg Mortenson had so far successfully built 141 schools across Pakistan. He started as a small organization of one person typing out letters in hopes to get donations and build one school. That has turned into so much more. The impact that he has made is just incredible. Without him so many kids would grow up with no bright future and living in extreme levels of poverty. He gave them purpose and reason to keep going. His motivation and great attitude can serve as an inspiration everyone. He encountered so many barriers, whether it be social, financial, political or religious. Mortenson did so much more than just build schools. He really changed the opinions of so many Pakistani people. Before he came, they had a preconceived idea of Americans. In a country so corrupt like Pakistan the people have little opportunities to learn. Most people, especially in rural areas don`t have access to the internet or incoming media. All their beliefs come from word of mouth, and higher powers within their government. The Taliban gave a horrible impression of Americans. They painted a picture of evil people who were someone that they should hate. The people believed them, having no other sources for information. When Mortenson first came in, there were many social and political barriers he had to overcome. He was even captured at one point and held hostage for several days before being released. People saw him and immediately didn`t like him. They judged him on the sole fact of what he looked like, an American. After a while, when word got around of what he was doing, this slowly started to change. People got wind of the fact than an American was here, in their own country to help them out. This confused them. Weren`t Americans bad? Slowly their opinions were changed. The Taliban wasn’t building schools for them and educating their people. All they were doing was causing more conflict and stress to their lives. The American was here helping them and improving their lives. People gained more respect for Americans and less for the corrupt power that was doing nothing for them. He changed the lives of many, changed their impressions and gave people hope. He managed his whole foundation with very little help. He didn’t have a secretary for the longest time, and he made all arrangements himself. He has almost single handily created a movement for educating and inspiring people in such a corrupt, developing nation. He is a true hero of our century. Conclusion Reading the novel Three Cups of Tea has really given me a better perspective on different types of culture and ways of life. I feel more educated and enlightened on many topics now. I feel as though I have a much better understand on many of the conflicts occurring in the Middle East. It really gave an unbiased view rather than what we hear from the media daily. I feel as though I really know both sides of the story now when I hear different stories published in the news. Greg Mortenson was brave to publish his story, but I’m glad that he did as it is an incredible one that should be praised. I would even go so far as to say that I think he would be a deserving candidate of a Nobel Peace Prize. Throughout reading the novel and writing the report I was able to connect it to many stories we read about in class and different discussions that we had. I could compare it to many different social, political, economic and environmental issues that occurred throughout the novel. It was interesting to get an insider view on their ways of life and how they live their daily lives.

Amazon Case Analysis Essays

Amazon Case Analysis Essays Amazon Case Analysis Essay Amazon Case Analysis Essay The case Analysis Outline Introduction- Brief summary of the firm, officers, industry and location Problem identification: major problems to be resolved-use the 4ps model Swot Analysis: strengths: weakness: opportunities: threats Alternatives: strategic choices-solutions to the problems identified Analysis of alternatives: cost/benefit analysis of the solutions. Recommendation: best/optimal solution based on the cost/benefit analysis 1. Introduction Amazon began in 1994 created by Jeffrey Bezos a computer science and electrical engineering graduate from Princeton University. Amazon was created to be an online bookstore that would be customer friendly, be easy to navigate, provide buying advice, and offer the broadcast possible selection of books at low prices and submit product reviews. Bezo operated from his garage in Seattle. Bezo launched his online venture in 1995 with 7 million in borrowed capital. Because Amazon was one of the first major Internet or dot com retailers, it received a huge amount of free national publicity, and the new venture quickly attracted more and more book buyers. Amazon has a 200,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center. Amazon employed a relatively small number of workers about 2500 worldwide. Amzon employees own over 10% of their company, a factor behind Amazon. com’s rapid growth. Amazon has pizza teams that are given considerable autonomy to develop their ideas and experiment without interference from managers. Those pizza teams come up with most of the innovation. 2. Problem identification Product- Amazon has a customer review section on its website so that a customer may display any problems that he or she has sustain with the Amazon product purchased. However maintaining the physical infrastructure to to obtain supplies of books from book publishers and then to stock, package and ship the books to customers were much higher than anticipated. Price- Amazon was at a competitive advantage with their low prices * Maintaining the physical side of amazon’s value chain was the source of the greatest proportion of its operating cost, which were draining profitability even though Amazon w as at a competitive advantage with their low prices. * Price competition was also heating up due to the other companies such as Barnes and Noble and Borders who were also selling books online. Place- Amazon place in the book selling market changed the industry forever since it was the first online book selling company. * People can purchase books from anywhere as long as they can use the internet. Promotion-Since Amazon was the first online book seller it received a lot of free publicity. * Amazon was able to capture customer’s attention and establish a first mover advantage. 3. SWOT Analysis Strengths- -First online Book selling website. -low pricing -purchase from anywhere -offers 1. 5 million books -product reviews * Weaknesses -operating costs * Oppurtunities -Global expansion -retailer -aquiring small companies -New software -Branching in new market segments * Threats -opposing companies -price wars Pressure on profit margins 4. Alternatives * Forging allies with other companies so that when customers wanted a purchase immedi ately they could pick it up from one of the alliance retailers such as office depot or circuit city. Continue being innovative with prices such as having buy one get one half off sales or reducing prices by certain percentages on particular days. 5. Analysis of Alternatives * Buy sharing profit with allies the high product stocking and distribution costs were avoided. * Profit sharing also turned the company from book seller to â€Å"leading internet product provider. 6. Recommendation Allow any small business that operate a website to become affiliated to amazon by putting a official Amazon hyperlink to Amazon’s website on its own website.

Technological Determinism in the Matrix essays

Technological Determinism in the Matrix essays Technological Determinism in The Matrix Technological Determinism, a theory developed by Marshall McLuhan, is the belief that inventions in technology, especially communication inventions, has invariably caused cultural change. He believed that specific changes in modes of communication shaped human existence. The Matrix, a 1999 film by Andy and Larry Wachowski, does an excellent job of outlining the ideas behind McLuhans theory. The Matrix is about a computer hacker named Thomas Anderson, who goes by the alias, Neo, who with the help of a band of freed rebels, discovers that the life that he has known to be real is nothing more than the Matrix, computer-generated dream world created by humanitys own invention, cyber-intelligence. The purpose of this facade is to blind humans while their life essences are transformed into energy to feed the Matrixs campaign of domination of the real world. The central concept behind The Matrix is that the world humans believe they live in is in actuality, not the real world. Humans are controlled and influenced by forces they do not easily see. As Morpheus, one of the freed rebels and a main character in the movie, states that the Matrix is the world they have pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. This idea in the movie is very reflective of McLuhans claim that channels of communication are the primary cause of cultural change. Family life, careers, schools, friendships, health care, recreation, religious activities, are all in someway affected by communication technology. McLuhan feels that humans are blinded by such technologies and begin to lose a sense of the real world, much like the humans in the Matrix who are lost in their fantasy facade that the cyber-intelligence has created for them. In the film, the humans are so locked in the false consciousness of the Matrix, that they completely forget ...

Partnering and Preparing for the Professional Event Essay

Partnering and Preparing for the Professional Event - Essay Example The reporter discusses that "these three elements are an integral part of good leadership as they help to promote goal-oriented path for higher achievement and productive outcome. The empowered decision making is the vital aspect of leaders that highlight their critical thinking that helps to opt for the best course of action. Humility encourages trust building and developing a long-term relationship with the followers. Indeed, for personal and professional growth as the trusted leader, acquisition of knowledge becomes the hugely vital ingredient of good leaders. This not only increases their communication skills but also provides them with critical information for making ethically correct decisions which could influence the larger welfare of their followers. Most importantly, it provides them with the flexibility to embrace change and move forward constructively. Shamir and Eilam’s article was very enlightening that provided me with a new perspective of leaders and leadership. Indeed, one’s life stories hugely influence the personality and ideologies of an individual. A person becomes what he is because of the life that he leads and the lessons that he learns from his experience. The construction of meaning from one’s experience considerably impacts his/ her values and motivates one to evolve goals that conform to one’s values as developed from experience. The incidents and events of life become meaningful elements of authentic leaders who do things because of utter conviction and not because of what is expected of them. I do realize now that I am very much influenced by my past experience."

History research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History - Research Paper Example ilm Gandhi, which belongs to the genre of epic biography, portrays the life history of Gandhi on one side and analyses the Indian independence movement and the related complex confluence of imperialism, nationalism, and decolonization on another side, because different methods adopted by Gandhi, like non-violent struggle, civil disobedience movement, the Salt March etc, eventually helped India to be free from the British rule. This research study is broadly divided as: Film as an epic biography: Gandhi’s life history, Analysis: Gandhi’s influence on Indian independence movement, Gandhi’s methods and Indian independence movement, and personal opinion. One can see that epic biography as a movie genre deals with life histories of historically significant individuals. Within this scenario, the film Gandhi primarily deals with the life history of Gandhi in general. To be specific, the opening scene (say, Gandhi’s death) proves that the director’s aim is to make use of flashback technique to narrate Gandhi’s life history. Martha NUSSBAUM stated that, â€Å"Mohandas K. Gandhi has been the subject of such vast discussion and such widespread veneration that even readers with little knowledge of Indian history are likely to have a reasonably accurate picture of him-especially if they have seen Richard Attenborough’s excellent 1982 film, in which Ben Kingsley successfully conveyed many aspects of Gandhi’s complex personality† (94). But the director does not try to unearth Gandhi’s earlier life because it is less significant within this context. Besides, the director portrays Gandhi’s political activism in South Africa. When Gandhi reached South Africa as a lawyer, the nation was under British imperialism. To be specific, some Indian merchants residing in South Africa asked Gandhi to help them to save them from discriminatory laws implemented by the government. When he reached South Africa, he realized that the Indian merchants are facing marginalization