Wednesday, October 30, 2019
A world of Ideas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
A world of Ideas - Essay Example Early on, one was oriented to assume an open-minded orientation to embrace other people from various cultural orientations. The support for pursing greater knowledge and awareness on diverse cultures, races, and ethnic backgrounds have made me acceptable of cultural diversity and enhanced oneââ¬â¢s ability to be receptive, flexible, adaptable, and easy to adjust to the changing demands of the times. I firmly believe that despite exhibiting consistencies in oneââ¬â¢s conformity to retain cultural traditions and beliefs, I am open to accept living in new cultures anywhere in the world. As such, I do not feel alienated or pressured to live in a new culture as an outsider. I can live with people from different cultures anytime. However, this does not mean that I completely lose my cultural underpinnings. I still retain the traditional values and beliefs that have been ingrained since oneââ¬â¢s childhood. But, while living in a new culture, I get to adapt and adjust to those that could be accommodated, without compromising personal values and philosophies in
Monday, October 28, 2019
Native Americans and Early American Colonists Essay Example for Free
Native Americans and Early American Colonists Essay Grade school and even beginning level college history classes have taught early American exploration from a largely one sided view of the conflict between early explorers and Native Americans. The traditional image of the Native Americans as the sole victims, is an oversimplification of the conflict that existed between early explorers, settlers and Native Americans. Through the readings from Columbus, Bradford and some selected Native American writings, the traditional view of the Native American victim will be challenged and a broader view of the conflict will be presented. Columbus set out to explore a new land under the Spanish flag to bring riches and fame to Spain and the throne. In his letter to Santangel, Columbus (1493) explained how he hoped to find ââ¬Å"great citiesâ⬠and ââ¬Å"king[s]â⬠but instead found a primitive people and settlements he described as ââ¬Å"small hamletsâ⬠that he viewed quite devolved from the bustling civilizations of Europe (pg. 26). One can clearly see, that Columbusââ¬â¢s hopes of finding rich kingdoms and cultures were dashed; instead his presence was met with resistance from the ââ¬Å"Indiansâ⬠. This relationship with the natives was described by Baym et. all (2008) as ââ¬Å"disordered and bloodyâ⬠(pg. 25). These natives were mistreated even though one could argue that they ââ¬Å"threw the first punchâ⬠but, as Baym et. all (2008) describes earlier in the chapter, the Natives were not merely victims. They strategically used alliances with explorers and settlers to further their own interests and disputes with warring tribes and peoples. William Bradford (1897) describes quite a different account of his coming to the new world. He was part of a group of ââ¬Å"pilgrimsâ⬠seeking religious freedom. He likens their arrival to the new world, to the story in Acts were the apostles are met with such aggression from barbarians ââ¬Å"who were readier to fill their sides full of arrowsâ⬠(pg. 60). Later on in his account, he describes an attack they received from the natives he described as ââ¬Å"enemiesâ⬠(pg. 64). Later on in his account, Bradford (1897) describes some awful events surrounding early accounts of settler and native interactions in which the Native Americans treated the english as ââ¬Å"worse than slavesâ⬠and were sent around and ââ¬Å"ma[d]e sport withâ⬠(pg. 70). One last important viewpoint to give credence to is that of the Natives themselves. This account is unique and oftentimes not told. The first story mentioned is that of the freeing of John Smith as a ceremonial act that the natives hoped would earn them respect from the English. This instead had the opposite effect and eventually brought about an attack from the natives which killed over 500 colonists. In a speech from Pontiac (1763) he expresses concern over his people forgetting their heritage and blaming the English for the polluting of his peopleââ¬â¢s culture and beliefs. He holds the English in complete responsibility and calls for their blood. The traditional view of the natives as the sole victim is an oversimplification of the problems revolving around immigration and cultural diversity. Just from these three personal accounts from the time period we have three very different views of the issue. So, to say that one peoples are the victim is a gross oversimplification and misrepresentation of history. Columbus, C. (1493). Letter to Luis de Santagel Regarding the First Voyage. In Baym, N. (Ed. ). (2008). The Norton Anthology of American Literature (seventh ed., pp. 24-28). New York, NY: W. W. Norton Company, Inc. Bradford, W. (1897). Of Plymouth Plantation. In Baym, N. (Ed. ). (2008). The Norton Anthology of American Literature (seventh ed. , pp. 57-74). New York, NY: W. W. Norton Company, Inc. Pontiac (1763). Speech at Detroit. In Baym, N. (Ed. ). (2008). The Norton Anthology of American Literature (seventh ed. , pp. 208-209). New York, NY: W. W. Norton Company, Inc. Baym, N. (Ed. ). (2008). The Norton Anthology of American Literature (seventh ed. , pp. 1-218). New York, NY: W. W. Norton Company, Inc.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Piercing :: essays research papers
A Piercing Look at Society ââ¬Å"If it sticks out, pierce itâ⬠is a motto for body piercing. In the past decade, body piercing has ââ¬Å"steadily evolvedâ⬠to be part of a trendy fashion statement that is spreading like Parkey throughout the American society. ââ¬Å"Body piercing is an American style fad.â⬠(Wattenberg) The influence of fashion is the most powerful pressure there is. The once rebel art of body piercing done only by so called ââ¬Å"freaksâ⬠of society is now a trendy fashion practiced by many. The trend of body piercing was partially sparked by models and MTV. ââ¬Å"Piercing gradually shed its outlaw image and was mass marketed to the impressionable generation by music videos, rock stars, and models.â⬠(Leo) Piercings are also found on celebrities whose lives are so torn apart by the media that nothing is kept secret. News would eventually reach the public, which would spark a trend in admirers. Piercing also appears on the Tattoodles Doll in toy stores, and as games on the Internet such as Piercing Mildred. Through these style of piercing has grown to become acceptable by all ages from children means the playing with Tattoodles, to teens watching MTV, to adults on the Internet. Body piercing has excelled so much that it is now on a level referred to as body art along with tattoos. ââ¬Å"Piercing is part of the broader ââ¬Å"body modificationâ⬠movement.â⬠(Leo) It is figured that 1 out of 10 people have a piercing some where other than their ear. Todayââ¬â¢s social standards are not what they once were. Society has begun to relax on what is viewed as the ideal image. It has gone from the conservative middle class look to the open-minded, anything goes creative look. The point is not to look like the crowd anymore; rather to differentiate oneself and make a statement to the rest of society. One doesnââ¬â¢t have to have the nicest or most business like look to get far. ââ¬Å"Society has a tendency to indefinitely relax its standards to accommodate even more bizarre and anti- social extremes of behavior.â⬠(Wattenberg) à à à à à Piercing achieved mainstream recognition in American society in the 1990ââ¬â¢s. More people began to accept it. One newspaper put it well ââ¬â ââ¬Å"It moved from societyââ¬â¢s margins to the mainstream.â⬠(Leo) Piercing used to be done by ââ¬Å"outcasts of society and was often looked down upon, but now, body piercing studios expand by about one studio per day.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
China Environmental Pollution Control Essay
Report overview: Research Beam adds a report titled ââ¬Å"Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Markets in Chinaâ⬠that provides latest market trends and opportunities. The report offers detailed analysis of the Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Markets. Chinaââ¬â¢s demand for environmental pollution control equipment has grown at a fast pace in the past decade. In the next five years, both production and demand will continue to grow. This new study examines Chinaââ¬â¢s economic trends, investment environment, industry development, supply and demand, industry capacity, industry structure, marketing channels and major industry participants. Historical data (2002, 2007 and 2012) and long-term forecasts through 2017 and 2022 are presented. Major producers in China are profiled. Complete report is available at : http://www.researchbeam.com/environmental-pollution-control-equipment-in-china-market Table of contents: I. INTRODUCTION Report Scope and Methodology Executive Summary II. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Economic Outlook Key Economic Indicators Industrial Sales Population and Labor Foreign Investment Foreign Trade Financial and Tax Regulations Banking System and Regulations Foreign Exchange Taxes, Tariff and Custom Duties To Get Purchase Enquiry of Report : http://www.researchbeam.com/environmental-pollution-control-equipment-in-china-market/purchase-enquiry III. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY ASSESSMENTS Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Industry Overview Industry Structure and Composition Market Size Market Growth Drivers IV. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT SALES AND DEMAND Overview Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Industry Outlook Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Sales and Demand Air Pollution Control Equipment Sales and Demand Air Pollution Control Equipment Sales Foreign Trade Air Pollution Control Equipment Market Demand and Outlook Pricing Trend Water Pollution Control Equipment Sales and Demand Water Pollution Control Equipment Sales Foreign Trade V. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT MARKET OUTLOOK Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Markets Outlook Overview Industrial Sales by Region Northeast North Southeast Southwest Northwest VI. MARKETING STRATEGIES Distribution System in China Chinaââ¬â¢s Distribution System Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Distribution Channels Transportation and Freight Infrastructure Communications Market Entry Channels Exporting to China Export Market Overview Chinese Trading Practice VII. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT PRODUCER DIRECTORY Environmental Pollution Control Equipment Producer Profiles Distributors Trading Companies Research Institutions and Associations Get Enquiry About Report: http://www.researchbeam.com/environmental-pollution-control-equipment-in-china-market/enquire-about-report
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
The poem, ââ¬ÅJoe Lawsonââ¬â¢s Wifeââ¬Â by Lorna Crozier
The poem, ââ¬Å"Joe Lawsonââ¬â¢s Wifeâ⬠by Lorna Crozier is a symbolically rich work. The poem tells the story of a man who commits suicide, and how his wife reacts to her husbandââ¬â¢s death. There is obvious symbolism in both the sun and milk in the poem. The sun personifies Mrs. Lawsonââ¬â¢s conscious efforts to absorb and accept the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s suicide. She goes from only barely understanding what is going on, and being in complete shock to the realization that her husband is dead fully sinking in. The milk is representative of normalcy in Mrs. Lawsonââ¬â¢s life, and it is the everyday chore of milking the cows that she clings to when her husband dies. The sun plays a significant role in symbolically showing the reader how the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s death is gripping Mrs. Lawson. The sun builds up tension as it rises, symbolically representing her husbandââ¬â¢s death sinking in as she struggles to accept this morbid news. The first mention of the sun occurs in the middle of the play. The doctor attempts to get Mrs. Lawson to go into the house and away from the gruesome scene of her husband, but she refuses to leave his side. Crozier writes, ââ¬Å"The sun was rising, its splinters from the cracks in the walls falling all around herâ⬠. In these lines, the sun is representative of the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s death and the revelation that she is alone. The splinters from the sun, or small beams of light coming through the cracks of the barn show that the news is just starting to sink in, and Mrs. Lawson is only slightly aware of what is going on. The sun is referenced again toward the end of the poem, with Crozier telling the reader, ââ¬Å"The sunââ¬â¢s bright nails pounding throughâ⬠. The use of the sun, again, to describe how the death of Mr. Lawson is affecting his wife is symbolic. Whereas when she first saw her husbandââ¬â¢s body, she was in shock and barely comprehending what had happened, at this point she is fully aware of her husbandââ¬â¢s death, and the realization of this hits her much harder, like nails pounding into her. The references to milk within the poem are also very symbolically significant. The ritual of milking the cows appears to be a common, everyday chore for Mrs. Lawson. For this reason, upon the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s death, Mrs. Lawson begins milking the cows, almost in a sense of grasping for something normal in her life. The milk is symbolic of the normalcy that Mrs. Lawson had in her life prior to her husbandââ¬â¢s suicide. After the men have taken Mr. Lawsonââ¬â¢s body from the barn, ââ¬Å"She pulled the wooden stool to the stall and milked the cow. â⬠It is almost as if by milking the cows, Mrs. Lawson is attempting to go back to a time when her husband was still alive. Her complete focus, however, is on his death, as she doesnââ¬â¢t even bother to put a pail under the cow to catch the milk. Mrs. Lawson milks the cows just like she probably did every other day of her life in an attempt to return any sort of normalcy to her now chaotic life. Lorna Crozierââ¬â¢s poem, ââ¬Å"Joe Lawsonââ¬â¢s Wifeâ⬠exhibits two symbolically important elements. The first element is the sun, which represents the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s suicide sinking into Mrs. Lawsonââ¬â¢s conscious mind. At first, only a few streaks of light shine though, but by the end of the poem the light is hitting her like a nail being pounded into her. The second important symbol in this poem is the milk. The milk is representative of normalcy in Mrs. Lawsonââ¬â¢s life. Milking the cows is obviously part of her everyday routine, and she clings to this familiar chore in an attempt to return her life to any sort of normal state.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Customer Service Resume -How to Write the Perfect One (Examples)
Customer Service Resume -How to Write the Perfect One (Examples) If youââ¬â¢ve ever worked in customer service, you know that itââ¬â¢s a job that may not be glamorous, but is totally necessary. People will always need help with a product, with a product that goes wrong, with a product they havenââ¬â¢t yet received, or their feelings about a product. Being a customer service rep involves a lot of skills and it is sometimes hard to fit it all in. Here are guides to writing the perfect customer service resume. First up is Margo, who is a recent grad looking for a job in customer service.à Download this ResumeMargo Lane 54 Prince Street Minneapolis, MN 65656 (111) 222s)How to Write a Perfect Occupational Therapist ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Physician Assistant Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Receptionist Resume (Examples Included)
Monday, October 21, 2019
Pfizer corporation
Pfizer corporation Table of Consents1. Introduction2. Industry Environment3. Strategy4. Building Blocks Approach1) Short-term Liquidity2) Capital Structure and Long-term Solvency3) Asset Utilization4) Profit Margin5) Return on Investment5. Conclusion1. IntroductionPfizer is a global pharmaceutical and consumer products company, which discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets medicines for humans and animals. The company consists of three SBU's (Strategic Business Units):- Pharmaceutical- Animal Health- *Consumer Health CareThe company produces the impotence treatment Viagra, cholesterol lowering Lipitor and, for high blood pressure and angina, Norvasc. The animal division produces treatment both for livestock and pets. The company's consumer division produces the consumer drugs Listerine, Certs, Dentyne. Pfizer engages in international business both through their subsidiaries and distributors. The company's headquarters are located in New York, US.Pfizer is a leader in the research-based healthcar e industry, and its strengths lie in its innovative RD and strong marketing capabilities.English: The wharf on The Long Reach The buildings...When Pfizer's operations began in 1849, its focus was on the research and development of innovative pharmaceutical compounds, and it is this activity, which remains core to the company's interests.The company traces its origins back to 1849 when cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart founded Charles Pfizer and Company in Brooklyn, New York. In 1928, Dr. Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin started the expansion of modern medicine and offered hope in the battle against infection. But penicillin couldn't be manufactured in large quantities to help people until Pfizer pioneered its mass production."The success of penicillin lead to the company's initial public offering in June 1942. In 1950, Terramycin (oxytetracycline), a broad-spectrum antibiotic represented the result of the company's first discovery program and became the first phar maceutical sold in the US under the Pfizer label."A new pharmaceutical company had been born. The second...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
A Look at the History of Computers
A Look at the History of Computers Before the age of electronics, the closest thing to a computer was the abacus, although, strictly speaking, the abacus is actuallyà a calculator since it requires a human operator. Computers, on the other hand, perform calculations automatically by following a series of built-in commands called software. In the 20th century,à breakthroughs in technology allowed for the ever-evolving computing machines that we now depend upon so totally, we practically never give them a second thought. But even prior to the advent of microprocessors and supercomputers, there were certain notable scientists and inventors who helped lay the groundwork for the technology thats since drastically reshaped every facet of modern life. The Language Before the Hardware The universal language in which computers carry out processor instructions originated in the 17th century in the form of the binary numerical system. Developed by German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the system came about as a way to represent decimal numbers using only two digits: the number zero and the number one. Leibnizs system was partly inspired by philosophical explanations in the classical Chinese text the ââ¬Å"I Ching,â⬠which explained the universe in terms of dualities such as light and darkness and male and female. While there was no practical use for his newly codified system at the time, Leibniz believed that it was possible for a machine to someday make use of these long strings of binary numbers.ââ¬â¹ In 1847, English mathematician George Boole introduced a newly devised algebraic language built on Leibnizs work. His ââ¬Å"Boolean Algebraâ⬠was actually a system of logic, with mathematical equations used to represent statements in logic. Equally important was that it employed a binary approach in which the relationship between different mathematical quantities would be either true or false, 0 or 1.à As with Leibniz, there were no obvious applications for Booleââ¬â¢s algebra at the time, however, mathematician Charles Sanders Pierce spent decades expanding the system, and in 1886, determined that the calculations could be carried out with electrical switching circuits. As a result, Boolean logic would eventually become instrumental in the design of electronic computers. The Earliest Processors English mathematician Charles Babbage is credited with having assembled the first mechanical computers- at least technically speaking. His early 19th-century machines featured a way to input numbers, memory, and a processor, along with a way to output the results. Babbage called his initial attempt to build the worldââ¬â¢s first computing machine the ââ¬Å"difference engine.â⬠The design called for a machine that calculated values and printed the results automatically onto a table. It was to be hand-cranked and would have weighed four tons. But Babbages baby was a costly endeavor. More than à £17,000 pounds sterling was spent on the difference engines early development. The project was eventually scrapped after the British government cut off Babbageââ¬â¢s funding in 1842. This forced Babbage to move on to another idea, an analytical engine, which was more ambitious in scope than its predecessor and was to be used for general-purpose computing rather than just arithmetic. While he was never able to follow through and build a working device, Babbageââ¬â¢s design featured essentially the same logical structure as electronic computers that would come into use in the 20th century. The analytical engine had integrated memory- a form of information storage found in all computers- that allows for branching, or the ability for a computer to execute a set of instructions that deviate from the default sequence order, as well as loops, which are sequences of instructions carried out repeatedly in succession.à Despite his failures to produce a fully functional computing machine, Babbage remained steadfastly undeterred in pursuing his ideas. Between 1847 and 1849, he drew up designs for a new and improved second version of his difference engine. This time, it calculated decimal numbers up to 30 digits long, performed calculations more quickly, and was simplified to require fewer parts. Still, the British government did not feel it was worth their investment. In the end, the most progress Babbage ever made on a prototype was completing one-seventh of his first design. During this early era of computing, there were a few notable achievements: The tide-predicting machine, invented by Scotch-Irish mathematician, physicist, and engineer Sir William Thomson in 1872, was considered the first modern analog computer.à Four years later, his older brother, James Thomson, came up with a concept for a computer that solved mathematical problems known as differential equations. He called his device an ââ¬Å"integrating machineâ⬠and in later years, it would serve as the foundation for systems known as differential analyzers. In 1927, American scientist Vannevar Bush started development on the first machine to be named as such and published a description of his new invention in a scientific journal in 1931. Dawn of Modern Computers Up until the early 20th century, the evolution of computing was little more than scientists dabbling in the design of machines capable of efficiently performing various kinds of calculations for various purposes. It wasnââ¬â¢t until 1936 that a unified theory on what constitutes a general-purpose computer and how it should function was finally put forth. That year, English mathematician Alan Turing published a paper titled, On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem, which outlined how a theoretical device called a ââ¬Å"Turing machineâ⬠could be used to carry out any conceivable mathematical computation by executing instructions. In theory, the machine would have limitless memory, read data, write results, and store a program of instructions. While Turingââ¬â¢s computer was an abstract concept, it was a German engineer named Konrad Zuse who would go on to build the worldââ¬â¢s first programmable computer. His first attempt at developing an electronic computer, the Z1, was a binary-driven calculator that read instructions from punched 35-millimeter film. The technology was unreliable, however, so he followed it up with the Z2, a similar device that used electromechanical relay circuits. While an improvement, it was in assembling his third model that everything came together for Zuse. Unveiled in 1941, the Z3 was faster, more reliable, and better able to perform complicated calculations. The biggest difference in this third incarnation was that the instructions were stored on an external tape, thus allowing it to function as a fully operational program-controlled system.à Whatââ¬â¢s perhaps most remarkable is that Zuse did much of his work in isolation. Hed been unaware that the Z3 was Turing complete, or in other words, capable of solving any computable mathematical problem- at least in theory. Nor did he have any knowledge of similar projects underway around the same time in other parts of the world. Among the most notable of these was the IBM-funded Harvard Mark I, which debuted in 1944. Even more promising, though, was the development of electronic systems such as Great Britainââ¬â¢s 1943 computing prototype Colossus and the ENIAC, the first fully-operational electronic general-purpose computer that was put into service at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. Out of the ENIAC project came the next big leap in computing technology. John Von Neumann, a Hungarian mathematician whod consulted on ENIAC project, would lay the groundwork for a stored program computer. Up to this point, computers operated on fixed programs and altering their function- for example, from performing calculations to word processing. This required the time-consuming process of having to manually rewire and restructure them. (It took several days to reprogram ENIAC.) Turing had proposed that ideally, having a program stored in the memory would allow the computer to modify itself at a much faster pace. Von Neumann was intrigued by the concept and in 1945 drafted a report that provided in detail a feasible architecture for stored program computing.à à à His published paper would be widely circulated among competing teams of researchers working on various computer designs. In 1948, a group in England introduced the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, the first computer to run a stored program based on the Von Neumann architecture. Nicknamed ââ¬Å"Baby,â⬠the Manchester Machine was an experimental computer that served as the predecessor to the Manchester Mark I. The EDVAC, the computer design forà which Von Neumannââ¬â¢s report was originally intended, wasnââ¬â¢t completed until 1949. Transitioning Toward Transistors The first modern computers were nothing like the commercial products used by consumers today. They were elaborate hulking contraptions that often took up the space of an entire room. They also sucked enormous amounts of energy and were notoriously buggy. And since these early computers ran on bulky vacuum tubes, scientists hoping to improve processing speeds would either have to find bigger rooms- or come up with an alternative. Fortunately, that much-needed breakthrough was already in the works. In 1947, a group of scientists at Bell Telephone Laboratories developed a new technology called point-contact transistors. Like vacuum tubes, transistors amplify electrical current and can be used as switches. More importantly, they were much smaller (about the size of an aspirin capsule), more reliable, and they used much less power overall. The co-inventors John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley would eventually be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956. While Bardeen and Brattain continued doing research work, Shockley moved to further develop and commercialize transistor technology. One of the first hires at his newly founded company was an electrical engineer named Robert Noyce, who eventually split off and formed his own firm, Fairchild Semiconductor, a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument. At the time, Noyce was looking into ways to seamlessly combine the transistor and other components into one integrated circuit to eliminate the process in which they had to be pieced together by hand. Thinking along similar lines, Jack Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments, ended up filing a patent first. It was Noyceââ¬â¢s design, however, that would be widely adopted. Where integrated circuits had the most significant impact was in paving the way for the new era of personal computing. Over time, it opened up the possibility of running processes powered by millions of circuits- all on a microchip the size of a postage stamp. In essence, itââ¬â¢s what has enabled theà ubiquitous handheld gadgets we use every day, that are ironically, much more powerful than the earliest computers that took up entire rooms.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Historical review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Historical review - Essay Example His father would not leave his son alone either and chose to remain with him. The design was poor as it seems the gas chambers had been converted from something else probably a morgue as there were no doors, windows or even any other form of ventilation. There were no any signs of the place being coated to prevent gas from leaking. They lacked exhaust systems to let out the gas after being used and also lacked heaters or heating systems as well and hence the place was damp. The free-standing chimneys were not real chimneys to produce smoke from the gas chambers or crematorium. They were just there for show and hence the reason they were called ââ¬Å"fake chimneys.â⬠This was true because the smoke channel that produced the smoke was across the room and not where the chimney was located, hence conclusion that the chimneys were just for symbolic purposes. The interview seems to be discrediting all that is there in history books and even movies and documentaries about the holocaust and Auschwitz in particular. The issue about the gas chamber for example leaves the listeners and viewers more in doubt and confused than even before. The same is true about the liberation by the Soviet troops. However, to those not familiar with the holocaust history, then the interview sheds light on the subject and provides an account of the occurrences from another dimension which is educational and informative. It also provides the basics of the holocaust leaving the individual want to find out more about this topic than the interview provides. The article where David Cole was interviewing Dr. Franciszek Piper the director of the Auschwitz museum has some surprising information about the gas chambers that was not previously in the history books. The same is however not reflected in the other article on a first hand basis leaving some information. What seems to be true in this case is the interview with the Dr. because as
Newborn case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Newborn - Case Study Example The normal respiratory of an infant is usually between 30 and 60 breaths/min. In Baby Cunninghamââ¬â¢s case, the respiratory was significantly high as a result of the respiratory distress syndrome. She was also preterm, and her lungs had not fully matured. Baby Cunninghamââ¬â¢s temperature was significantly low at 96 degrees. The American Academy of Pediatrics shows the normal range of temperature for newborns to be between 97.7 and 99.3 degrees Farenheight. The main cause of the low temperature can be attributed to the fact that she was preterm, and her subcutaneous tissue had nod developed completely. Normal blood glucose levels in a neonate is recommended at a minimum of 30mg/dl. The blood glucose levels in Cunninghamââ¬â¢s case was 25mg/dl one hour after birth, below the recommended level. If not corrected, it can result in symptoms of hypoglycemia such as apnea, tremors, seizures, lethargy, cyanosis and poor feeding (Adamkin, 2011). Respiratory distress syndrome is characterized by several symptoms, most commonly tachypnea, nasal flaring, grunting and retractions. These symptoms are due to the difficulty in breathing, and they are managed by relieving the underlying cause. Treatment involves supplying oxygen, mechanical ventilation, surfactant replacement and supportive care. The environmental temperature can influence the chances of survival of baby Cunningham. Since she is already hypothermic and has difficulty controlling her body temperature, it is recommended to put her in a warm environment as a management measure. Due to the complications of the elective induction and the caesarean section, Cunningham was exposed to infection and, therefore, it is important to determine if she has an infection to avoid further health complications. The situation in Cunninghamââ¬â¢s birth could have been easily avoided by waiting for her to complete her gestation period. A full term infant has got higher chances of survival as compared to a preterm. Complications can
Friday, October 18, 2019
The Four IT Business Management Domains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
The Four IT Business Management Domains - Essay Example In each of the four categories highlighted, the CIOs have an integral role to play with regard to the facilitation of the overall scheme of improvement. It is high time to ensure that the budget determination techniques are stretched beyond the conventional mode of using Spread sheets and data tables. This through the incorporation of the advanced softwares and databases must be integrated into a more comprehensive and vibrant network which will allow for a robust handling of the overall budget constraints and resources. The next variable is that of the large scaled collaboration with the other networks. This will facilitate better means of communication and cooperation and in turn best outcomes extraction. At present the system of business alignment demand considerable improvements in terms of the tools and techniques used along with the broader means of communication system establishment within. Addressing the risk factor and defining the quality as a overall new concept are two other factors that are part of the overall revamp
To explore the association between congestive heart failure (CHF) and Essay
To explore the association between congestive heart failure (CHF) and household income at the federal poverty level in individuals between the ages 20 and Up - Essay Example Once an individual is poor, equitable access to preventive and remedial health for congestive heart failure (CHF) becomes a challenge (He et al, 2001). The emergence of limited small scale programs which target the address of social and health needs like CHF of the poor individuals in the society is encouraging. However the commitment of the national, state, provincial and local levels supposed to implement the policies has been inadequate (Walsh & Warren, 1980). These organs have failed to dedicate resources and funds required to expand such individual level interventions into comprehensive programs which can integrate preventions and services as well as deliver sustainable programs especially to patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) of the federal poverty level in individuals from the age of 20 and above (Braveman, 2010). People below 20 years living with this condition often receive free medical interventions from bodies like UNICEF and WHO because they are classified as ch ildren. Hence, those living with the condition and are 20 years and above have to struggle to meet their medical bills. It becomes a challenge to those from poor households because they cannot afford the costs (Lang et al, 1997). The long term solutions supposed to address the connection between poverty and CHF lie in eradicating poverty and reversing the tendency of our health care systems which discriminate against those from federal poverty levels. The mortality rates of the poor with CHF are estimated to be 3-5 times greater as compared to those with good income earnings. CHF is a major cause of mortality in poor adults from the age of 45 to 64 years (Singh & Singh, 2008). The rate is three times higher in poor individuals aged 20 to 44 years when compared to an age-matched population from good income earning population. Increased CHF mortality rates among the poor can be attributed to a complex chain between unique and traditional rates. Some
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe Essay
Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe - Essay Example ationship amongst the various processes of production, distribution, consumption and exchange, it was, nevertheless unable to visualize the importance of creating facilitating environment of growth through incentives to farmers. The farmers were therefore forced to produce not for profit but for sustenance. Another key factor that contributed to the decline of feudalism was its tendency to encourage population growth for both the peasants and the feudal lords (Dobb, 1963). The large peasant family helped in farming but it led to defragmentation of land holding and lower production in the long run. The enlarged family of local rulers strengthened their political power as the family members were absorbed in the military. This again put pressure on the farmers as surplus was used to support growing number of military. The enlarged family of rulers also witnessed reduced power as land was divided amongst larger number of inheritors. In order to strengthen the position of feudal lords, th e major states of Western Europe like Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. raised taxes and appropriation on surplus that led to the widespread revolt of the peasant (Maddison, 2007). The revolt of peasants was joined by the proletarian class which significantly helped in the fall of feudal system in Western Europe. All these factors became key issues for the decline for feudal system in Western Europe. 3. Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe in 17th to 19th century One of the most important factors that had emerged from the fall of feudalism was the development of bartering economy and expansion of trade over larger geographical areas (Ingram, 2008). The money was minted and used for payments in various economic activities like sale and purchase/ lease/ rent of land, goods and... The enlarged family of local rulers strengthened their political power as the family members were absorbed in the military. This again put pressure on the farmers as surplus was used to support growing number of military. The enlarged family of rulers also witnessed reduced power as land was divided amongst larger number of inheritors. In order to strengthen the position of feudal lords, the major states of Western Europe like Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. raised taxes and appropriation on surplus that led to the widespread revolt of the peasant (Maddison, 2007). The revolt of peasants was joined by the proletarian class which significantly helped in the fall of feudal system in Western Europe. All these factors became key issues for the decline for feudal system in Western Europe.3.à Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe in 17th to 19th centuryà One of the most important factors that had emerged from the fall of feudalism was the development of bartering economy and expansion of trade over larger geographical areas (Ingram, 2008). The money was minted and used for payments in various economic activities like sale and purchase/ lease/ rent of land, goods and services. The peasants and farm workers were more motivated because of wage based labour. Most importantly, the payment system in standardized form of money made it easy to switch the occupation, the feudal soldiers and serfs could now be replaced with paid soldiers and peasants boasting greater skills. It helped to highlight the importance of labour.
Academic style paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Academic style paper - Article Example In addition, the agile software engineering methodology has demonstrated to be an accepted addition to the software engineering toolbox, which is capable of considerable progress in excellence for small project development teams. This report presents detailed analysis of the agile software engineering methodology. Also, this report will investigate various areas and concepts regarding agile software engineering methodology. Levy & Hazzan (2009), state that agile methodologies have established great interest among researchers and practitioners. At the present, there are various popular agile techniques for instance, feature driven development, crystal methods, adaptive software development and dynamic systems development. The widespread standard that is fundamental to agile methods highlights supportive and cooperative software development. In addition, in agile software engineering methodologies the main focus is on people as well as on the dynamics of their connections and communications, rather than on rigid software development and complicated requirements planning procedures. A main idea encouraged by the agile policy is that people for instance, customers, software developers or other users outline the foundation of the software development procedure. Furthermore, the agile software engineering methodology was devised in 2001 by a leading software practitioners group of 17 people (Levy & Hazzan, 2 009). According to Abrahamsson, Salo, & Warsta (2002), agile software engineering is additional humanistic and collaborative technique to software engineering and is also acknowledged as ââ¬Å"agilismâ⬠, which supports ââ¬Å"individuals and connections over procedures and tools, functioning software over extensive documentation, client collaboration in excess of agreement negotiation, and reacting to transformation over following a plan (Abrahamsson P.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe Essay
Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe - Essay Example ationship amongst the various processes of production, distribution, consumption and exchange, it was, nevertheless unable to visualize the importance of creating facilitating environment of growth through incentives to farmers. The farmers were therefore forced to produce not for profit but for sustenance. Another key factor that contributed to the decline of feudalism was its tendency to encourage population growth for both the peasants and the feudal lords (Dobb, 1963). The large peasant family helped in farming but it led to defragmentation of land holding and lower production in the long run. The enlarged family of local rulers strengthened their political power as the family members were absorbed in the military. This again put pressure on the farmers as surplus was used to support growing number of military. The enlarged family of rulers also witnessed reduced power as land was divided amongst larger number of inheritors. In order to strengthen the position of feudal lords, th e major states of Western Europe like Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. raised taxes and appropriation on surplus that led to the widespread revolt of the peasant (Maddison, 2007). The revolt of peasants was joined by the proletarian class which significantly helped in the fall of feudal system in Western Europe. All these factors became key issues for the decline for feudal system in Western Europe. 3. Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe in 17th to 19th century One of the most important factors that had emerged from the fall of feudalism was the development of bartering economy and expansion of trade over larger geographical areas (Ingram, 2008). The money was minted and used for payments in various economic activities like sale and purchase/ lease/ rent of land, goods and... The enlarged family of local rulers strengthened their political power as the family members were absorbed in the military. This again put pressure on the farmers as surplus was used to support growing number of military. The enlarged family of rulers also witnessed reduced power as land was divided amongst larger number of inheritors. In order to strengthen the position of feudal lords, the major states of Western Europe like Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. raised taxes and appropriation on surplus that led to the widespread revolt of the peasant (Maddison, 2007). The revolt of peasants was joined by the proletarian class which significantly helped in the fall of feudal system in Western Europe. All these factors became key issues for the decline for feudal system in Western Europe.3.à Emergence of Capitalism in Western Europe in 17th to 19th centuryà One of the most important factors that had emerged from the fall of feudalism was the development of bartering economy and expansion of trade over larger geographical areas (Ingram, 2008). The money was minted and used for payments in various economic activities like sale and purchase/ lease/ rent of land, goods and services. The peasants and farm workers were more motivated because of wage based labour. Most importantly, the payment system in standardized form of money made it easy to switch the occupation, the feudal soldiers and serfs could now be replaced with paid soldiers and peasants boasting greater skills. It helped to highlight the importance of labour.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Marketing Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6
Marketing Management - Essay Example h East Asian countries are increasingly focusing on the liberalization of services sector by 2015 with regards to the ASEAN Economic Community agreement (Deloitte Global Services Ltd 6). The liberalization of services under this scheme will result to diversification of healthcare services by market competitors, thereby posing a significant challenge to the growth prospects of PPL (Thai News Service). A key legal issue that has to be taken into consideration is the fact of the joint imitative between the Ministry of Health, Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board, which is focusing on providing the legal frameworks and policy designing surrounding the formation of public private partnerships to drive innovation and solving the governmentââ¬â¢s long term needs (Deloitte Global Services Ltd 9). This will automatically attract a lot investment, thereby increasing the growth of competition in the healthcare service sector (Healthcare). Another key legal factor that has to be taken into consideration is the factor of various legal frameworks that are emerging with regards to the fact of positioning of the South East Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and India as medical hubs in the wake of emerging opportunities surrounding medical tourism. The favorable legal frameworks that will be designed jointly by these south East Asian countries in order to capitalize on the growth opportunities will significantly play a key role in increasing the level of competition in these markets by attracting significant amount of investments from rival healthcare service providers. The most important critical factor is the point that the global population is becoming older, which has led governments to provide various health benefits schemes which can be availed from various local public healthcare centers. Another critical factor is the fact that the healthcare group is more focused on providing premium healthcare services to high income group individuals. This
Monday, October 14, 2019
Wife and Filipino Women Essay Example for Free
Wife and Filipino Women Essay ââ¬Å"They seemed faded plants sown and reared in darkness, having flowers without perfume and fruits without the sapâ⬠, Jose Rizal said in his letter ââ¬Å"To the Young Women of Malolosâ⬠that the women were very passive to what the church teaches them but he had been proven wrong when the news of what had happened in Malolos reached him. In his letter, Rizal praised and honored the twenty brave women of the town for their victorious battle for their just demand to education and their battle to stop slavery to the friars. He also emphasized the obligations and roles of the Filipino mothers to their children; he compared the Filipino women to the Spartan women as role model. Rizal concluded his letter by encouraging the Filipino women to Let us, therefore, reflect; let us consider our situation and see how we standâ⬠¦. May your desire to educate yourself be crowned with successâ⬠. The part which struck me most is where Rizal made mention of a situation to one of the mothers of Sparta, handed the shield to her son who said nothing but to return triumph or return dead. I find the scenario a bit heartbreaking and ironic when the other Spartan mother was told by a soldier that her three sons had died and replied that she was not asking about her sons but only wants to know whether they won or not. The soldier said they were victorious and the mother just went to the temple to thank God. Rizal compared the Filipino women and the foreign women, which entails his huge respect to the Filipino women on their vital roles as mothers and wives. Being the foundation of principles and values in ensuring the progress of the nation, a mother should nourish her children with proper values, desired knowledge and shape them to become God-fearing and responsible citizens. As a wife, a Filipina must support her husband in every problem, inspire him, encourage him, take a part with him all obstacles and dangers, to sympathize and comfort him in bad times, guide him to conquer his fears and struggle to achieve their goals in life. And as a mother, she must educate her children love of honor, love of fellowmen, love of country and love of God. This is the best writing of Rizal I have read so far. I admire him and respect everything he wrote in his letter. Rizal sets his standards of an ââ¬Å"Ideal and Perfect Filipinaâ⬠, one must have fine demeanor, well-mannered, clean conscience and correct thinking. The message of the letter is clear, it focuses on the most important issues the country is facing during those times, such as the maltreatment and abuse of the friars in exercising their spiritual authority bestowed upon them by the church and the great desire for Filipino women to enjoy the privileges in education with men. The letter speaks of the duties and obligations of Filipino mothers to the youth, the roles of a wife to her husband and guidance to young women on their choice of their lifetime partner. The letter also speaks of the philosophy of freedom and independence that would be a key for the emancipation of humankind from slavery, and the necessity for education as the fundamental source of liberation, to quote from Rizal, ââ¬Å"Men are born equal, naked. God did not create men to be slaves, nor did he embellish them with reason in order to be blinded by othersâ⬠.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Management Practices in Japanese and US Companies
Management Practices in Japanese and US Companies This Research Paper makes a summary comparison of cross-cultural research conducted in the last ten to fifteen years in the areas of Human Resource Management; Management Style and Negotiation Strategies in Japanese and US companies. The different Research Studies in these three areas analyzed the learning possibilities for Japanese and US companies on two different levels: At headquarters and at subsidiary level. For each one of the three research topics, a Roadmap is drafted with concrete steps and strategies as to how these companies should adapt their management practices in these 3 areas in order to be even more successful. The findings of this paper also cover the very central debates in the international Human Resource Management literature: The Convergence vs. Divergence issue and the Standardization vs. Localization issue. The results clearly show that overall the dominance effect is most important (i.e., subsidiary practices appear to converge to the dominant US practices). Hence the results obtained in this paper lead to the rather surprising conclusion that for what might be considered to be the most localized of functions HRM convergence to a world-wide best practices model is clearly present. From the authors viewpoint his is a logical consequence of globalization in all business sectors. Key Words: Road Map; Human Resource Development; Leadership Style, Negotiation Strategies; USA; Japan; Cross-Cultural Introduction to Human Resource Management Practices in Japan and in the USA From a historic perspective, Human Resource Management (HRM) has been identified as a key ingredient for the success of Japanese companies on world markets during the 1980s. In this decade, suggestions as to how Western managers could learn from Japanese HRM practices were plentiful. Only one decade later, however, Japan went into a recession from which its business model has not yet fully recovered. Oddly enough, these formerly superior HRM practices are now being viewed as the root of the malaise of the underperforming Japanese economy A Research Perspective of HRM Practices in Japanese and US Companies In the early 1980s of the last century, the Japanese management model, and in particular its HRM model, have often been depicted as very different from Western-style management, yet much more competitive (Kono Clegg, 2001). Its deep-rooted and unique cultural and institutional characteristics usually were cited as the key reasons for these differences (Pudelko, 2006). Earlier, Frenkel Peetz (1998) described a rapidly speeding up globalization-induced trend towards increasing convergence resulting from global competitive pressures. In parallel, Katz, Darbishire (2000) noted a clear trend towards convergence in key patterns of HRM practices among industrialized countries. This phenomenon they call converging divergences. In parallel, the research of Frenkel Kuruvilla (2002) concludes that employment relations patterns are being determined by the interplay of what they define as three distinct à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¾logics of actionà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¸: The logic of global competition, resulting in the pursuit of global à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¾best practicesà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¸ and ultimately global convergence does not allow local insular cross-cultural happiness and coziness any longer. One reason that the USA has achieved its dominant status in the 1990s was its superior economic performance. The conclusion from these findings were that if the strengths of a successful economy are concentrated in industries characterized by intense international competition such as IT, computers and electronics the attention and the readiness to learn from it tends to be particularly strong. Such industries are often the pioneers for defining and producing à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¾best practicesà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¸ and the place where such global standards of management practice are set. Taylorism, or à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¾scientific managementà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¸, has been the prime example for a management concept claiming universal validity. Other examples were lean production, kaizen, re-engineering and management by objectives once strong points of the Japanese economy, when they were the best practice leader in doing so. Since the implosion of the Japanese economy and with the advent of globalizatio n, speed of action and instant flexibility to adapt to changing global market conditions were key criteria to succeed. Cultural diversity research carried out in the US and in Japan over the last one and a half decades has been that the American management model is particularly well suited to provide the required speed and flexibility to cope with rapidly changing economic and technological conditions. Consequently, the USA became again the dominant role model (Edwards, Almond, Clark, Colling Ferner, 2005). Summary Comparison of Key HRM Practices in Japanese and US Companies The following diagram shows a comparison between Japanese and US firms HRM practices. Areas discussed are: Recruitment and release of personnel; training and human resource development; employee assessment and promotion; as well as employee incentives. The comparison clearly illustrates the individualistic HRM approach in American firms as compared to the collectivism-oriented HRM orientation in Japanese firms. It is obvious that in the high technology sector especially the team and consensus oriented HRM philosophy of the Japanese is a hindrance to success. It appears that there are several other reasons for the declining importance attached to key attributes of Japanese model (kaizen, kanban, total quality management, quality circles, team work). Just like the Japanese firms have to learn from best practice solutions from other countries, these attributes have already been adopted by American HRM managers in the last 20 years, therefore are less significant in the future as sources for orientation. The changes brought about by globalization in the competitive environment probably also have played a role. For the future, fundamental developments such as globalization require substantial on-going responses from multi-national companies to maintain competitiveness. Figure 1 compares Japanese and US HRM practices and their competitive impact on HRM management in general. Figure 1: Comparison of Japanese US HRM Practices in 4 Key Areas HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 1. Recruitment Release of Personnel: Recruitment of new graduates to a permanent position Selection based on inter-personal skills Life-long employment philosophy low staff turnover rate= high loyalty Managerial positions filled with internal staff only Finding the best candidate internally or externally available Selection based on performance/expertise Job hopping philosophy pouts individual goals above company interests Positions filled with best expert available Competitive Effects of respective HRM Practices: Slowness towards innovation Lack of external expertise Promotes rapid innovation from inside or outside Low loyalty to employer HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 2. Training HRD Development: Broad training towards generalist knowledge Extensive training based on work group approach Employee is trained to fit corporate culture Specific training for specific tasks only Training is limited and focused on the individual only Little effort to mould the employee towards the corporate culture Competitive Effects of respective HRM Practices: Focused on corporate culture building Focused on individualism to promote success HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 3. Employee Assessment Promotion: Emphasis on seniority and not on performance Emphasis on group achievements Qualitative informal evaluation criteria Career path broad based in several Divisions Emphasis on individual success only Emphasis on individual achievements Quantitative measurable criteria and objectives Career path mostly confined to one functional part only HRM Sector: Japanese HRM Practices: US HRM Practices: 4. Employee Incentives: A mix of material and immaterial incentives Pay increases based upon seniority Little difference between top management pay levels and workers: Low with 20:1 Emphasis is on material incentives: Pay + bonus Pay based upon individual performance only Very large differences between top management and workers: High with 100:1 Competitive Effects of respective HRM Practices: Slow promotion for top performers Slow climate of innovation Quick promotion for top talents Innovative staff ensures innovative corporate climate Proposed cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic HRM Approach Throughout the research reports analyzed for this paper, Globalization demands a broader-based strategic HRM response by Japanese firms on this more than 90 % of the interviewed Japanese Executives agreed. The results from the American respondents showed that they considered it to be a particular strength of the American HR management. Japanese managers agree in turn, that their process based incremental improvements concepts will lose in significance in the future. Furthermore the research data clearly shows that only Japan management has a distinct desire to change its own HRM model in a rather comprehensive way. This definitely can be described as a paradigm shift. The following Figure 2 gives some key thoughts and elements for such a strategic approach to HRM tasks in the future. Figure 2: A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to HRM Tasks in the Future Drivers of Global Changes in HRM: Elements causing Changes: Impacts of Change Elements on HRM: Need to reduce costs Speed of product innovation Quality of service Knowledge of client needs Staff motivation Training in design to cost method Innovative methods in product management Staff motivation and skills training Market knowledge has to be communicated Individual performance alone counts Risks involved: Overall corporate management philosophy has to be benchmarked against industrys best practice Key Changes needed: HRM has to install and accompany a change management process Individual performance evaluation has to abolish consensus-based group performance evaluation concepts Conclusions: HRM has to become the driving integrative force for the implementation of the Corporate Business Plan Resulting Roadmap for HRM Strategy: HRM Parameters that need to improve the Competitiveness of Corporations: HRM Parameter: Expected Benefits from HRM Changes: Strategic HRM Plan has to be part of Business Plan Future staff qualifications are in sync with corporate business plan Business Plan has to contain Change Management Concept HRM develops a long term focus linked to strategic corporate objectives Innovative Career Development Allows quick promotion of top performers Innovation oriented recruiting Speed up innovation cycles Promotion based on merit only Does away with risk minimizing attitude Introduction Best HRM Practice Concept HRM does self-control of its performance against key competitors Strategic HRM Implementation Roadmap: Overall Strategic HRM Objectives: HRM is the binding link of overall corporate business strategy to the employees of the company HRM promotes innovation and change culture in the company Planning Horizon of chosen HRM Strategy: Long term plan over 20 to 30 years Strategic plan over 5 years Operative rolling plans over 2 to 3 years Top Management Support required to implement new HRM Strategy: HRM has be a board level responsibility with staffing and budget to implement HRM Strategy chosen Introduction to cross-cultural Management Styles Globalization has changed the managerial tasks of US and Japanese mangers dramatically: Many have to work now in an international environment, in Japan or in the USA. Reasons for these changes were joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and cooperation alliances. In the 1980s, Japan taught the work what kaizen; kanban, total quality control, etc meant in terms of competitive advantage. So the US managers had to learn these concepts. Towards the end of the late 1990s, the US had caught up with this cross cultural learning approach. Then the globalization effect came to full speed suddenly the individualistic type of US management proved to be much more flexible and successful then the slow consensus-based Japanese management style. Research findings towards different Business Cultures in Japan and in the US The research for this paper showed that the business cultures in Japan and in the US differ in 5 key categories: 1. Power Structure: National level versus international level; egalitarian approach versus non-egalitarian approach; centralized management forms versus decentralized management practices. In the authority-driven business environment still prevailing in Japanese companies, aspects of power play a critical role. This slows down decision making, as power issues dominate business cultures dominating innovative US companies (Browaeys 2009). 2. People Relationships: Collectivism versus individualism; team orientation versus individual focus. Japanese collectivism is documented in its overemphasis on team issues; where consensus finding warrants longer times until a decision is being taken (Dickson 2003). Management emphasizes group loyalty, relationships in groups prevail over individual tasks. Americans have lesser loyalty to their companies, they see employment as a temporary issue for the mutual benefit of employer and employee. 3.Tolerance for Risk-taking: High avoidance levels versus low avoidance levels; bureaucratic orientation versus non-bureaucratic orientation. The consensus-based Japanese business culture tries to minimize uncertainties through an over-emphasis on planning. As a result, they do not like to change plans once they were approved (Yamazaki 2008).US companies treasure the opportunities offered in risky endeavors a horror for traditional Japanese companies! 4. Masculinity/Femininity: Role differentiation between males and females at society and organizational levels. Japanese managers are expected to be assertive and decisive, with sex roles clearly defined. This means fewer women progress to managerial positions in Japan, whereas in the US women climb to executive posts on a much more regular basis (Jacofsky 1988). Work for Japanese managers is seen as the center of life interests. Edwards 2005) 5. Time Orientation: Long term view versus short term view in business planning and strategy formulation. The time perspective in their business philosophy: Past/present in Japan versus present/future perspective in US companies. American companies are a lot quicker to react to new opportunities what was successful in the past is less important than new opportunities which lay ahead in the near future (Dahl 2004). The retrospective business approach of Japanese companies has them look for long-term relationships. US companies take the present and look quicker and often farther into the future. This speeds up their decision making processes and facilitates the acceptance of risk taking among their executives (Tsui 2007). Research findings towards Key Managerial Skills in Japan and in the US Effective cross-cultural management skills have to fit the prevailing national business culture where they are being applied to on their workplaces. In individualistic business environments as in the US, new employees are being hired on the basis of their personal records. In the collectivistic business culture of Japan, recommendations from elite universities or from family members who already work for the company play a vital role. The following key managerial functions have been analyzed in research paper: Reward allocation and employee motivation; employee participation and managerial communication; executive development. 1. Reward Allocation and Employee Motivation: The proper allocation of rewards is the driving force of the individualistic US business environment: Rewards are expected to be equity based, i.e. based upon an individuals contribution to corporate success. Rewards are supposed to be equal for equal performance: Rewards have to based upon the specific needs of a position (Riley 2007). In the more equality and group oriented Japanese business culture, rewards are being allocated on a group basis. These research findings did prove that the application of inappropriate reward systems caused feelings of de-motivation and injustice (Buttery 2000) 2. Employee Participation and Managerial Communication: To get employees to participate in goal setting in a US company is daily business, as in this way it increases the employees involvement in how his work environment is being shaped. Given the individualistic US business culture team effectiveness rises if team members are personally accountable for their personal contribution, which can be measured i.e. management by objectives (Javidan 2006). In the more socially oriented Japanese Business culture, employee participation is more socially oriented and the employees display lower levels of power distance between organizational levels (Hofstede 1980) 3. Executive Development: In an American business environment, qualified staff is classified into high potential groups for future executive positions at a much earlier stage of their career and at a much younger age as compared to the Japanese business culture. This encompasses a mix of specialist type of work assignments combined with near executive project assignments, to give them an early feeling of how an executive ticks (Yamazaki 2008). Japanese companies tend to focus on generalist type of assignments with intensive functional and geographic job rotation at almost the same hierarchical levels. Promotion is by seniority criteria mostly (Saee 2010). In consequence this implies: Executive development in US companies is based upon the potential benefits seen in a junior executive, whereas the Japanese approach is more oriented towards rewards for the past performance (Raimo 2009). Proposed Roadmap for a strategic cross-cultural Management Style The following Figure 3 gives a strategic roadmap for a cross-culturally based management style which facilities quick and efficient adaptation to cross-culturally different work environment. Figure 3: A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to Drivers of cross-cultural Management Styles:Management Style Development Common Management Skills Deficiencies: Negative Impacts of missing cross-cultural Management Skills: Lack of employee motivation In-adequate communication style De-motivating reward system Slow pace of promotion system Lack of managerial skills training Performance is not recognized/rewarded Work objectives unclear=de-motivating Individual motivation not released Resistance to innovations Necessary changes do not take place Risks involved: Mix of management skills not suited for work environment High potentials are not identified and promoted High staff turnover; slow pace of innovation and change management Key Changes needed: HRD concept oriented towards cross cultural sensitivity Top management involvement in management skills profile development Cross-culturally oriented career development system Conclusions: An innovative HRD approach is needed Designed by managers with local management experience HRD skills Resulting Roadmap towards a cross-cultural oriented Management Style: Managerial Skills that need to be improved: Management Skills requiring Attention: Expected Benefits better Management Styles: Reward systems motivation tools Keep staff and attract talents Career development system for talents Quick promotion for high potentials Innovative pay system Increased motivation to innovate Clear set of managerial objectives Rewards are measurable and objective Internal PR for new management style More credibility for management styles Top managers have to practice this style Extra motivation to manage/risk changes Strategic Management Skills Implementation Roadmap: Overall Strategic Management Skill Development Objectives: Analyze requirements for necessary cross-cultural management skills Incorporate necessary changes into overall management philosophy and corporate mission Document and promote concept at all managerial levels Planning Elements for chosen Management Skill Development Strategy: Assess time and research requirements properly; involve superiors where needed Involve top management team properly and show their support in public statements/info releases Managerial Support required to implement new Management Skill Development Strategy: Develop a strategy paper involving top management and clarify roles and inputs and state resource requirements as compared to potential gains from these improved management skills Introduction to cross-cultural Negotiation Styles Cultural Diversity is one of the most critical issues in international negotiations. A key requirement for successful international negotiation is the extent to which the negotiating parties are capable of understanding the negotiating habits and thoughts of their counterparts who come from another culture (Brett 2000). When entering into an international negotiation process, the full awareness and understanding of the cultural differences, such as cultural background, national character, emotional aspects, rules and regulations of other countries, decision making styles, ways of discussing, meeting and negotiating is of vital importance in order to make the negotiation successful. The difficulty the negotiators are facing have to do with dealing on the basis of different sets of values, attitudes, behaviors and communication styles of the other party participating in the negotiation process. The proper planning and preparation for negotiations, and participating in the negotiation p rocess must take into consideration all these factors. This will avoid setbacks, surprises and shock so often faced in cross-cultural negotiations. A. Basic Research Findings linking Negotiation and Culture A nations culture in itself consists of interrelated patterns or dimensions which come together to form a unique social identity shared by a minimum of two or more people It is the unique character of a social group and the values and norms common to its members that set it apart from other social groups (Brett, 2001;). Consequently for this reason, because of the different values and norms, people from different cultures negotiate differently (Brett, 2001;). Many authors talk of a set of cultural values associated with each cultural group which actually is the determining force for the culture (Tinsley, 2001, Brett, 2001;). The knowledge of these values and norms provides insight into the choices made and influences these very negotiators cognitions, emotions, motivations and strategy. Research shows a clear differentiation: Whilst values refer to what a person considers important (more on cognitive side), norms refer to what is considered appropriate behavior (behavioral aspects) i n a specific culture. Consequently, because of these different values and norms, people from different cultures tend to negotiate differently (Brett 2001). These cultural values and norms shape implicit theories invoked in negotiations (Gelfand and Dyer 2000) and may influence a negotiators response to strategically displayed emotions. In Japanese companies, the emphasis of a group being the core nucleus for negotiations communicates these values to its members and rewards conformity. In this way a members values become thoroughly culturally constituted. Thus, culture creates an overall environment for Japanese companies and their negotiators which in many ways directly or indirectly compels the constituent members to be guided by their cultural value sets while negotiating. B. Research Findings concerning the strategic Framework of cross-cultural Negotiations According to the book The Global Negotiator: Making, Managing, and Mending Deals around the World in the twenty-First Century (Salacuse 2005) there are a total ten particular elements consistently complicating intercultural negotiations. 1) Negotiating goal: Contract or relationship? 2) Negotiating attitude: Win-Lose or Win-Win? 3) Personal style: Informal or formal? 4) Communication: Direct or indirect? 5) Sensitivity to time: High or low? 6) Emotionalism: High or low? 7) Form of agreement: General or specific? 8) Building an agreement: Bottom up or top down? 9) Team organization: One leader or group consensus? 10) Risk taking: High or low? Research shows that for a Japanese manager negotiation is also about being sensitive to the personal/emotional factors and hence may sometimes be indirect, informal, and general with less sensitivity to time whereas. On the other side for a negotiator from USA, any negotiation is to the point, direct, formal, with high consideration for time and less care for personal or emotional factors. B. Research Findings concerning Diversity Factors and Strategies in Cross -Cultural Negotiations In countries such as in the US and much of northern Europe, strong, direct eye contact conveys confidence and sincerity while in Japan, prolonged eye contact is considered rude and is generally avoided. In Japan they always prefer personal space during business dealings. With regard to the Japanese, Salacuse shows that 100 percent of the Japanese respondents claimed that they approached negotiations as a win-win process. Communication itself constitutes a basic component of negotiation framework. Diversity in this communication aspect is also very obvious and pertinent. In a culture that emphasizes directness, such as the American one, you can expect to receive a clear and definite response to the proposals and questions. In SE Asian cultures such as the Japanese reaction to proposals made to them may be gained by interpreting seemingly vague comments, gestures, and other signs. Concerning the cultural sensitivity to time, Salacuse in his study quotes Japanese tend to negotiate slowly, and Americans are quick to make a deal. Contrary to this perception of time, for Americans the objective is a signed contract and as for them time is money, they want to close a deal quickly. Americans therefore try to reduce time invested in formalities to a minimum and get down to business quickly. Japanese and other Asians, whose objective is to create a relationship rather than simply sign a contract, need to invest time in the negotiating process so that the parties can get to know one another well and determine whether they wish to embark on a long-term relationship Another crucial aspect in cross-cultural negotiations is risk taking ability. The Japanese tend to be highly risk averse in negotiations, and this tendency was affirmed by the survey conducted by Salacuse, which found Japanese respondents to be the most risk averse of the twelve cultures. Americans in this survey, by comparison, considered themselves to be risk takers. C. Research Factors concerning the Management of Conflict in cross-cultural Negotiations Research findings with regard to managing conflict in cross culture negotiation show that different cultures focus on different aspects. Tinsley (1998), revealed that when managing conflict American managers preferred to focus on interests, while Japanese managers concentrated on status power. The differences could be explained by the American value for poly- chronicity (or multitasking) and the Japanese occupation with hierarchy (or unequal social structures. It is obvious though, that awareness of emotions is vital to negotiation and it plays a key role when it comes to cross-culture negotiation conflicts. In the Japanese business culture, status and power also play an important role in conflict management where parties try to manage conflict by using differences in authority, status and power. To them it is normal that high status parties try to enforce their ideas for resolution on lower status parties. If this is not possible, Japanese negotiation parties try to enhance their st atus by co-opting people of higher status. D. Research Findings concerning cross-cultural Decision-Making styles during Negotiations Decision-making styles vary a lot between Americans and Japanese. When it comes to team based versus individual way of taking decisions one extreme is the American negotiating team with a supreme leader who has complete authority to decide all matters. The Japanese business culture stresses team negotiation and consensus-based decision making. American managers usually tend to make decisions by themselves, while Japanese managers tend to make decisions by consensus. Furthermore, Americans treasure the value of flexibility, whereas once a Japanese manager has reached a decision, may believe it is shameful to change it. Decisions can be taken either through a deductive process or through an inductive process. In his research, (Salacuse 2005) found that Americans do view deal making as a top down (deductive process); while the Japanese tend to see it as a bottom up (i.e. inductive) process. E. Research Findings concerning the Interests Strategy in cross-cultural Negotiations The process of aligning and integrating the best interests of both parties works as a catalyst for successful negotiation. This interests-based strategy promotes the resolution of dilemmas through cognitive problem solving. Research shows is essential to shift focus from position to interest. Several authors suggest that as both parties want to gain their individual interest therefore they always want to implement the negotiation. From their perspective, individual interests of parties are always more important than collective group interests. A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to Negotiation Styles The following Figure 4 shows a roadmap for the development of efficient cross-cultural negotiation styles. Figure 4: A cross-cultural Roadmap for a strategic Approach to Negotiation Drivers of cross-cultural Negotiations: Common Negotiation Difficulties: Negative Impacts on Negotiations:
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Essay --
MAURICE ââ¬Å"THE ROCKETâ⬠RICHARD Born in August 4, 1921, Maurice Richard was the eldest of eight children of Onesime and Alice Richard. Mauriceââ¬â¢s parents moved from Gaspe region to Nouveau-Bordeaux so that his father could work as a machinist at the Canadian Pacific Railway. He started playing hockey when he was a young kid and he was good in boxing as well. In 1937, a young Maurice Richard at age16, was dropped out of school and worked with his father as a machinist and that was his only income other than some income in the winter with the senior Canadiens. The depression hits and Maurice is asked by co-workers to attend meeting to deal with issues of layoff threats but he refuses in order to play hockey instead. Management observes the conversations and tries to get information from Maurice but, he refuses to co-operate therefore was sent to garbage duty after work. Maurice was angered by this but chose to perform his duties completely and even though he used to arrive late, angry and tired for the game, he transformed his aggression into motivation and scored the winning goals that clinched the victory over their only unbeaten team. Richard got married to Lucille Norchet in 1942 against the wish of her father. Mr. Norchet felt they would be poor on a machinist salary and his injuries would ruin his chances at hockey. They married anyway and Maurice was determined to succeed without family help. Trials for the Habs went well but GM Gorman feels he is too frail for the team. But Coach Dick Irvin insists so Maurice made the team. By 1940, he had moved up to the Canadians senior team in the Quebec league. Due to his fractures, he returned and played the whole 1941-42 season for the senior Canadia... ...cted his statement. He sat out the rest of the season and playoffs, Irvin finally admits to his aggressive approach to motivate Maurice to play great hockey. Maurice goes on radio to convince French fans not to cause trouble; he will be back next year. Winters in the village of Ste. Justine were long. That time on school, church, and the hockey rink, and every boyââ¬â¢s hero was Montreal Canadians hockey legend Maurice Richard. Everyone wore Richardââ¬â¢s number 9 to honor him. They laced their skates like Richard. They even wore their hair like Richard. Maurice Richard was the hero of the French Canadian people and his dedication to his game was no different from the dedication to his family and his work and his love for the French Canadian people. He went on to win many awards in hockey and in his personal life that honored him as the role model for all French Canadian.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Being Educated and Trained
Author Albert Jay Nock discusses what he termed as the change in the purpose of American education. Instead of concentrating on ââ¬Å"training,â⬠which is supposed to provide individuals with proficiency, education today centers on the intellectual gains. Nock compares the purposes of training and of education: that is, he states that in the past, training had a vocational focus that, ââ¬Å"bore directly upon what he could do or get, while his education bore directly on neither; it bore upon what he could become and beâ⬠(par. 2).However, as Nock stated, the differences between the two were ââ¬Å"practically wiped outâ⬠(par. 3). One major disadvantage of education, according to Nock, is that it prevents people from cooperating and working with each other, thus encourages competition and leaves the educated human a ââ¬Å"solitary figureâ⬠(par. 5). Training, on the other hand, tends to do the opposite as it brings people together. In addition, training typical ly encourages individuals to live a simple life and be happy with what they have attained, either in skills or earning power.Education, in contrast, tends to encourage a person to live an unsatisfied life, continuously seeking for more than what he or she already has. Looking at Nockââ¬â¢s perspectives and standards, I feel that I am both an educated person as well as a trained person. I value the processes of learning things as having its own rewards in the end and the importance of intellectual growth and development in my life. However, I also feel that I can do the things that I have been taught to do with a degree of competency and proficiency through the training I have received in school.I value individualism, personal satisfaction, and happiness, as much as I value collaborative effort or cooperation in work and activities and simplistic living. Moreover, as Nock contended, education calls for educated humans to like and value thinking, one that is critical and objective that is. As what the Columbia University president said, very few people like to do this because they do not like thinking per se and it disrupts or hinders them from what they are doing.As for me, critical and objective thinking is also one hobby or vocation that is difficult to come by. Only when crucial times call for it or when it is truly needed does thinking take over. This is because most of the time, I am more focused with my physical, emotional, and psychological well-being that critical and objective thinking only surface for academic purposes. In addition, I am more of a feeling-based person than a thinking-based one since my relationships and emotions stand above in the decisions I make.I do not see anything wrong with this because as a trained individual, this is how I value things in my life and the choices and rights I have. However, as an educated individual and as Nock held, I choose ââ¬Å"to cultivate a sense of historyâ⬠(par. 9) in my life. Learning the pas t for me is learning how to cope with the present and the future. There are a lot of life lessons we can all get from the experiences of people from the past and their mistakes serve as our guide in our personal and societal undertakings.It is part of our responsibility as educated or trained citizens of this nation to look back and know how our forefathers have fought for our democracy just so we can enjoy this freedom we currently experience. But I do not go ââ¬Å"all the way back to the politics of Rome and Athensâ⬠(par. 9) all the time to evaluate the present times. Because as a critical, objective, and educated individual, I should know that there are instances in the past that cannot be applied in the present because of the differences in time, in people, in places, and in technology.This is why history is essential for an educated society, but it is not the only factor that an educated person should consider in the present. In conclusion, I can say that I am both an ed ucated and trained individual in that I value the boring intellectual learning I have to pass through, as well as the direct training I need in attaining true education. There are prices to be paid and sacrifices to be made in attaining education, but it will be worth it in the future when I ââ¬Å"could do and getâ⬠and ââ¬Å"become and be. ââ¬
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Hamburger and Perfect Party Food Essay
I hate when my stomach feels so empty. The growling and tightening of my insides drives me insane. The only thing on my mind at the time is food. Anything else doesnââ¬â¢t matter. My three favorite foods are chicken, burgers, and last pizza. You canââ¬â¢t go wrong with chicken. It goes with many sides such as corn, potatoes, or fries. Fried chicken is the best because it makes the skin so crisp and crunchy. If I had to choose out of my top three foods chicken would most likely be number one. Second choice that I have named is burgers. The best hamburgers are the ones that come straight off of the bar -b- que pit. Usually for summer we always have burgers because they are the easiest things to make and they also go well with birthdays or holidays. The lettuce, ketchup, mustard, tomatoes, etc. all make the hamburger so delicious. Last we have pizza. My favorite type of pizza is pepperoni because it is so good. If I have to choose any other toppings I would choose meat lovers because itââ¬â¢s all different types of meat on one pizza. They seem to be the perfect party food because I usually order them when I donââ¬â¢t feel like leaving the house or when my friends and I are having a small get together. What would we do without food? Having a nice full stomach makes you happy and it also gives you energy. Food will always be something that I will cherish in life, especially my favorite three that I mentioned earlier in my essay. Food is a very important thing and I have lots of other favorites.
Paulââ¬â¢s Missionary Journey Essay
The Apostle Paul was the great leader in the momentous transition which characterized the apostolic age, the transition from a prevailingly Jewish to a prevailingly gentile Christianity. Under his guidance Christianity was saved from atrophyââ¬â¢ and death, which threatened it if it remained confined in Palestine. At the same time, by reason of his insight into the truth of the Gospel and fidelity to it, as well as by his devotion to the Old Testament and loyalty to the highest Jewish ideals in which he had been reared, he saved Christianity from the moral and religious degeneracy to which it would surely have been brought if it had broken with its past, and had tried to stand alone and helpless amid the whirl of Greek religious movements of the first and second Christian centuries. In Paul a great force of onward movement and a profound and conscious radicalism were combined with fundamentally conservative principles. Paul appears to have been born at not far from the same time as Jesus Christ. According to Acts, Paul was born in Tarsus (Acts 9:11; etc. ), received the double name Saul/Paul (13:9), and through his family possessed Tarsian and Roman citizenship (22:25-29 (Murphy-Oââ¬â¢Connor 32-33). Overall, Paul can be described as an able and thoroughly trained Jew, who had gained from his residence in a Greek city that degree of Greek education which complete familiarity with the Greek language and the habitual use of the Greek translation of the Scriptures could bring. At bottom he ever remained the Jew, in his feelings, his background of ideas, and his mode of thought, but he knew how to make tolerably intelligible to Greek readers the truths in which, as lie came to believe, lay the satisfaction of their deepest needs. At Jerusalem Paul entered ardently into the pursuit of the Pharisaic ideal of complete conformity in every particular to the Law. He was, he tells us, ââ¬Å"found blamelessâ⬠(to every eye but that of his own conscience), and, he says, ââ¬Å"I advanced in the Jewsââ¬â¢ religion beyond many of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathersâ⬠. With fiery passion he entered into the persecution of the Christian sect, was present and took a kind of part at the murder of Stephen, and undertook to carry on the work of suppression outside of Palestine at Damascus, whither he journeyed for this purpose with letters of introduction from the authorities at Jerusalem (Murphy-Oââ¬â¢Connor 52-57). At this time took place his conversion. That he was converted, and at or near Damascus, his own words leave no doubt. ââ¬Å"I persecuted,â⬠he says in writing to the Galatians, ââ¬Å"the Church of God. . . But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from my motherââ¬â¢s womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascusâ⬠(Gal i. 13-17). The change evidently presented itself to Paulââ¬â¢s mind as a direct divine interposition in his life. It came to him in a revelation of Jesus Christ, whereby (and through no human intermediary) he received the Gospel which he preached, and the commission to be an apostle. He refers to it as to a single event and an absolute change of direction, not a gradual process and development; the two parts of his life stood sharply contrasted, he did not conceive that he had slid by imperceptible stages from one to the other. ââ¬Å"What things [i. e. his advantages of birth and Jewish attainment] were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ . . . or whom I sufferedâ⬠ââ¬â as if in a single moment ââ¬ââ⬠the loss of all thingsâ⬠(Phil. iii. 7. 8). From Paulââ¬â¢s own words, then, we know that he was converted from a persecutor to a Christian, at a definite time and at or near Damascus, by what he considered to be the direct interposition of God; and it seems to be this experience of which he thought as a vision of the risen Christ (Hubbard 176-77). After Paulââ¬â¢s conversion, which took place in the latter part of the reign of Tiberius (14-37 a. d. ), about fifteen years passed before the missionary career began of which we have knowledge from Acts and from Paulââ¬â¢s own epistles. During this time Paul was first in Arabia, that is in some part of the empire of which Damascus was the most famous city, then in Damascus, and later, after a brief visit to Jerusalem, in Cilicia, doubtless at his old home Tarsus. In this period we may suppose that he was adjusting his whole system of thought to the new centre which had established itself in his mind, the Messiahship of Jesus. With the new basis in mind every part of his intellectual world must have been thought through. Especially, we may believe, will he have studied the relation of Christian faith to the old dispensation and to the ideas of the prophets. The fruit of these years we have in the matured thought of the epistles. They show a steadiness of view and a readiness of resource in the use of the Old Testament, which testify to through work in the time of preparation. Epistles written years apart, like Galatians, Romans and Philippians, surprise us by their uniformity of thought and unstrained similarity of language, in spite of the richness and vivacity of Paulââ¬â¢s thought and style. So, for the most part, the characteristic ideas even of Epliesians and Colossians are found suggested in germ in Corinthians and the earlier epistles. Paulââ¬â¢s epistles represent the literary flowering of a mind prepared by years of study and reflection (Murphy-Oââ¬â¢Connor 90-95). At Paulââ¬â¢s missionary journey and the beginning then made of churches in Asia Minor we have already looked in a previous chapter. After his return to Antioch followed that great and pivotal occasion of early Christian history, the so-called Council, or Conference, at Jerusalem, described in the fifteenth chapter of Acts and by Paul in the second chapter of Galatians. At that time Paul established his right to carry on the work of Christian missions in accordance with his own principles and his own understanding of the Christian religion. His relation with the Twelve Apostles seems then and at all times to have been cordial. His difficulties came from others in the Jewish Church. To this we know of only one exception, apparently somewhat later than the Conference, the occasion at Antioch when Peter under pressure from Jerusalem withdrew from fellowship with the gentile brethren, and called out from Paul the severe rebuke of which we read in Galatians. There is reason to believe that the rebuke accomplished its purpose. At any rate, at a later time there is no evidence of a continued breach. The idea of missionary travel had evidently taken possession of Paul, for after returning from Jerusalem to Antioch he soon started out again, and was incessantly occupied with missionary work from now until the moment of his arrest at Jerusalem. Leaving Antioch on his second journey he and his companions hurried across Asia Minor, stopping only, it would appear, to revisit and inspect churches previously established. They were led by the Holy Spirit, as the writer of Acts believed, to direct their course westward as rapidly as possible to Greece, which was to be the next stage in the path to the capital of the world. In Macedonia and Achaia Paul and his companions worked with varying success at Philippi, Thessalonica, Ber? a, Athens, Corinth. At Corinth, the chief commercial city of Greece, the Christians arrived in the late autumn. The work opened well, and Paul remained at that important centre until a year from the following spring. The date of his arrival cannot be exactly determined, but is probably one of the five years between 49 and 53 a. d. While at Corinth he wrote the First and (if it is genuine) the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. Somewhere about this time, perhaps before leaving Antioch for this journey, the Epistle to the Galatians was written. The churches of Galatia, to which it is addressed, were probably the churches known to us in Acts as Pisithan Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. After a flying trip to Syria and perhaps to Jerusalem Paul returned to Ephesus in Asia Minor, where he settled down for a stay of three years. A few incidents of this period have been recorded in the Book of Acts, and are among the most striking and realistic that we have. They include a remarkable number of points of contact with facts known to us from archeological discoveries, and in no chapters of Acts is our confidence more fully reassured in the contemporary knowledge and the trustworthiness of the writer of the book. While at Ephesus Paul had much communication with Corinth, and wrote I Corinthians, which had clearly been preceded by another letter. There are indications in II Corinthians that after this he found the difficulties in the church at Corinth such that he wrote them at least one letter which has been lost, and made a short, and in its outcome exceedingly painful, trip to Corinth and back to Ephesus. Finally he was impelled by danger to his life to leave Ephesus, and went through Macedonia to Corinth. On the way he wrote, to prepare for his own presence, the epistle we call II Corinthians. Arriving at Corinth in the early winter he stayed until spring. His literary impulse continued active, and to this winter we owe the Epistle to the Romans. Earlier letters had beenââ¬â¢ called out by special need in one or another church; in Romans Paul comes nearer to a systematic exposition of his theology than in any of his earlier writings. He knew the importance that would surely belong to the Christian Church of Rome. He had made up his mind to go there. But first he must go to Jerusalem, and there were dangers both from the risks of travel and from hostile men. Of each hind his life had had many examples. Accordingly he provided for the Roman Christians a clear statement of his main position, together with a reply to several of the chief objections brought against it, notably the allegations that his presentation of Christianity involves the abrogation of Godââ¬â¢s promises to his chosen people, and that it opened the way to moral laxity. This letter Paul sent as an earnest of his own visit to Rome. He had been for a year or more supervising the collection by the churches of Asia Minor and Europe of a contribution for the poor Christians at Jerusalem; the gentile churches should thus make a repayment in carnal things to those who had made them to be partakers of their spiritual things. This contribution was now ready, and Paul himself with a group of representatives of the chief churches took ship at Philippi and Troas for Jerusalem. The voyage is narrated in detail in Acts, evidently by one who was a member of the company. At last Paul reached Jerusalem, and was well received by the church; but, followed as he was by the hatred of Jews from the Dispersion who had recognized the menace to the Jewish religion proceeding from the new sect, he was set upon by a mob, rescued only by being taken in custody by the Roman authorities, and after a series of exciting adventures which will be found admirably told in the Book of Acts, was brought to C`sarea. There he stayed a prisoner for two years and more until on the occasion of a change of Roman Governor his case was brought up for trial, when he exercised the right of a Roman citizen to appeal from the jurisdiction of the Governor to that of the imperial court at Rome. It was late autumn, but he was dispatched with a companion whom we may well believe to be Luke the beloved physician, and from whom our account certainly comes. The narrative of Paulââ¬â¢s voyage and shipwreck, of the winter on the island of Malta, and the final arrival at Rome early in one of the years between 58 and 62 a. d. is familiar. It is the most important document that antiquity has left us for an understanding of the mode of working an ancient ship, while the picture which it gives of Paul as a practical man is a delightful supplement to our other knowledge of him(Murphy-Oââ¬â¢Connor 324). In Rome, while under guard awaiting trial, Paul probably wrote Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and the circular letter, seemingly intended for churches in Asia Minor, known to us as Ephesians. They show some new development of ideas long present with him, and some new thoughts to which his other writings give no parallel, and the style of some of them has changed a bit from the freshness of Galatians and Romans; but these are not sufficient reasons for denying that Paul wrote the letters. They are, indeed, as it seems to me, beyond reasonable doubt genuine. The Book of Acts ends with the words, ââ¬Å"And he [Paul] abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went in unto him, preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him. â⬠This period of two years is sufficient to include the composition of the four epistles to which reference has just been made, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and Epliesians, the so-called Epistles of the Captivity. What happened at the expiration of the period? Apparently Paulââ¬â¢s case, long postponed, then came to trial. Did it result in his release or his execution? The evidence is meager and conflicting, and opinions differ. It is perhaps a little more likely that he was released, and entered on further missionary work, probably carrying out his original purpose of pushing on with the proclamation of his Gospel to the west, and establishing it in Spain; but of this period there is no narrative. If after two years Paulââ¬â¢s imprisonment at Rome ended with his release, as the absence of well-founded charges against him would lead us to expect, he must have been later again apprehended, probably in connection with the persecution artfully turned against the Christians at the time of Neroââ¬â¢s fire in July of the year 64. It is probable that he was beheaded, to which privilege his Roman citizenship entitled him, and that he was ultimately buried on the Ostian Way at the spot where now stands the splendid basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
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