Intel and AMD Processors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Intel and AMD Processors - Essay Example Dell XPS 625 Desktop Computer contains the processor developed by AMD. This processor is AMD Phenom X4 940. Another specification of the system is its 500GB hard disk and 6GB of the RAM (Dell MT2, 2009). Here we have an optional facility of the Radeon HD 2400 Pro in its place of a GeForce 8800GTX. A Creative X-Fi supplies sound, gigabit Ethernet is onboard, and eight available USB ports make sure that you will never go wanting on the accessories side. This system has an Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy. There are also 8 USB ports. On the Windows XP, we have better performance and additional functionalities. If we talk about the system performance then we will be able to see that this system is the addition of the XPS 625 is a solid player for the better performance in its series and price significantly fewer than Dell QX9650 system. The XPS 625 is a multimedia computer that is checked AMD's impending mainstream 2.83-GHz Penryn Q9550 processor was identical to the XPS 625 by means of t he over-clock enabled QX9650 CPU in each other esteem except in cost (Simms, 2007). The XPS 625's midrange tower case a modish mixture of sleek black plastic plus silvery metal-conceals the unit's simply genuine disadvantage: It was immediately one free of charge drive cove. One main feature of this system is quietness.   There is a huge amount of the ventilation in the system body so that is can be easily vacuumed. So working with it in an industrial sector is really easy. We can use it for the production area.

Robert smalls the life of a slave man to ccongressman Term Paper

Robert smalls the life of a slave man to ccongressman - Term Paper Example This is because it proved to the entire society that even African Americans are able of making good leadership. Despite the fact that he is no more, Smalls is still a national hero. Robert Smalls was born on 5 April 1839 in South Carolina at a home where his mother was working as a slave for the white Native Americans (Wikipedia.org par. 1). The fact that his mother was a slave means that he was born into slavery, something that he grew up into. What is surprising is that his father who has since remained anonymous was a white American who is thought to have forced his mother into sexual intercourse because of her slavery at the time. Like his mother, smalls were also forced to work as a slave boy in the white settlements, something which he did until the age of twelve, after which he decided to seek for a paying job in Charleston (Kennedy 27). Since Smalls had no good education and the fact that jobs were being discriminatively awarded, he managed to get employed as a laborer (Miller 4). Despite the poor, working condition, which he had to work in, Smalls were determined to get some money, which he could use to help his enslaved mother who had been rendered destitute by slavery. The condition of the job was that out of all the earnings Smalls received from the job he was only allowed to save a dollar while the rest of his earning belonged to his master. Barclay reveals that by the time Smalls turned eighteen years old he decided to strike a deal with his employer, who accepted Smalls to send him fifteen dollars every month, as opposed to the earlier deal in which Small had to take only one dollar and hand over the rest (Par. 3). This deal enabled Smalls to save much money than he did initially. It is also here in Charleston that Smalls met Hannah, whom she married on 24 December 1856. Barclay notes that, at the time of Sm alls’ marriage, he was barely seventeen years old while his wife

Financial and Strategic Evaluation of Tesco Plc

Financial and Strategic Evaluation of Tesco Plc Financial and strategic evaluation of Tesco Plc Executive Summary To understand how a business is performing, understand what might be expected in the future and determine whether the business is a risky investment. An investor, analyst, researcher or accountant needs to understand the strategy of a business and how they plan to achieve this. The capital structure of a business can determine whether the company has enough finance in order to achieve targets and investments, determining certain risks involved and level of return required. This report looks at the level of gearing Tesco has whether financed by debt or equity, going on to look at the weighted average cost of capital. Investment is also important as investors expect, and the company looks to achieve growth. With Tesco this report looks at both future and past investments, analysing the non financial and financial benefits from them. Dividend policy and yields are analysed looking into theory behind them. Tesco shares are analysed using valuation techniques, looking at what may be the reason for Tescos success through the recession, helping them stabilise share price after the peak of recession despite some contractual and ethical issues. Finally looking into how the international market has benefited Tesco by non financial means. An overview of a few strategic issues Tesco has faced over the years is provided, looking into some of the challenges and results of these issues. Problems such as competition, international expansion and contract disputes are shown in detail later in the report. 1.0 Introduction Tescos overall strategy is growth, which has helped strengthen their core business within the UK, (Tesco, 2010). Tesco plan to achieve this strategy through diversifying their product range away from food and to include financial, non financial and telecommunication services/products also by penetrating new markets globally. This report evaluates Tesco, analysing their capital structure and the level of debt discussing how this can influences the company value and investing decisions, looking at how past investments and future investments are beneficial for Tesco. Dividend policies are related to theory and share prices are questioned using different valuation techniques available to any investor. Going on to look at survival through the recession looking at different strategic issues they have faced over the years. 2.0 Capital Structure and Finance agreement Figures above referenced from FAME database, show for expansion of its business Tesco Plc increased gearing from 51.58% to 91.38% within years 2000 and 2003. Increasing debt can be a cheaper less risky option as cost of debt is lower than equity and increasing levels of debt can reduce the weighted average cost of capital. By reducing weighted average cost of capital, company value can be increased and therefore shareholder wealth is increased. WACC can be used against cash flows in order to determine the net present value of a project. Tesco probably used this as a means to decide which investments are beneficial. After this period global financial crisis began to hit the market, Tesco Plc reduced its gearing ratio and kept the ratio level at around 75% until 2007. This was sensible at the time due to recession risk of lower turnover levels could mean the ability to repay certain levels of debt more difficult. Having higher levels at the time would have meant financial risk, repayment risk etc, would affect interest rates on loans and increase the cost of equity as shareholders are taking a higher risk therefore require a higher rate of return. Tescos main competitors suffer the similar situation; ASDA and Sainsbury were also affected by the global financial crisis, they also reduced their gearing ratio level and keep it to relatively low level to about 35%. However, with the positive profit figure, Tesco changed its current strategy. Tesco have geared up its business rapidly from 2008, and reached 149.14% in 2009. As the figures show that Tesco had borrowed in a huge amount of debt in 2009. R ecently, a joint venture between Tesco and property firm British Land has refinanced its retail portfolio with a new 315 million pounds five-year term loan. (British Land, 2010) it is to believe that a rapid market expansion and investment will be followed. Years 2005 to 2009, sales and income figures of TESCO have steadily increased; it generated a very positive profit return for investors. With the global finance crisis continuing to affect UKs economics, the government may loosen its restriction towards TESCO; whatever happens, people need foods and basic living materials, it is a perfect moment for Tescos expansion. The high level of gearing may support Tesco to expand its business; however there is potential risk of default on loans. Can Tesco maintain its level of income, if not how can TESCO to repay the debt it borrowed? This problem could influence investor decisions. 3.0 Investment UKs largest retailer Tesco expanded into foreign markets attempting to increase future growth in the global retail industry. The company initiated its international expansion strategy by venturing into Central Europe, Asia and the US. Figure 1 shows Tesco PLC sales profits before recession had an impacted. This shows sales profits in the overseas market amounted to a fair percentage of Tescos profit figure. Comparing growth over 5 years in the UK with Asia, UK only generates a 49% increase when the Asian market increased 250%. Tesco has placed increasingly focuses on their international venture. Nearly two-thirds of the groups space is now overseas, although these markets still only account for a quarter of group turnover (Rigby, 2009). Tescos Summary Five Year Record Year ended February 2001 (m) 2002 (m) 2003 (m) 2004 (m) 2005 (m) Group Sales 22,585 25,401 28,280 33,557 37,070 Turnover excluding VAT UK 18,203 19,821 21,309 24,760 27,146 Rest of Europe 1,737 2,181 2,664 3,385 3,818 Asia 860 1,398 2,031 2,669 3,010 20,800 23,400 26,004 30,814 33,974 Philip Clarke, head of Tescos international operations, singled out South Korea, along with China. Mentioned as Tescos two most promising markets, planning to open 100 new stores in South Korea alone (Rigby, 2009). This is a wise decision due to current economics Britain has been impacted among some of the worst around the world, where China especially was not greatly affected with vast growth. Probable reasons for Tesco expanding internationally rather than nationally may be due to competition policy trying to limit Tescos growth, also there is little land space to continue building new structures, and Tesco already purchased the most profitable local convenience stores in the past. 3.1 Environmental Tesco, now 4th largest retailer in the world, have announced that it will open the first zero carbon store as part of its bid to be a carbon  ­neutral company by 2050. They stated its corporate commitment towards reducing climate change, for example halving its energy use per square foot by 2010, reuse and recycling packaging where possible (Leahy, 2009). A green example of this is where they use returnable ‘Green trays saving around 132,000 tonnes of cardboard packaging in 2007/08. Tesco plans to invest  £100m in sustainable environmental technology which is finding more practical ways to use renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, and to help develop the green technologies of the future (Tesco Media, 2010). Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important over the years. Climate change has become a huge focus for businesses. The Climate Change Act 2008 makes the UK the first country in the world to have a legally binding long-term framework to cut carbon emissions (OPSI, 2008). Government ensures that organisations are adapting and that its policies, programmes and investment decision are made in the context of climate change. By continuously making environmental changes Tesco builds reputation as a more ethical company. 3.2 Diversification On the other side of expansion, Tesco is looking to take advantage of the current mistrust towards banks following their role in the economic crisis. They had spent  £950m for purchasing 50% of Royal Bank of Scotlands share of TPF last year (This Is Money, 2008). It is also planning to expand its telecoms operation industry following the appointment of Tesco marketing director Lance Bachelor as Tesco Telecom chief executive. Tesco are going to attempt penetrate the finance market further by offering current accounts within two years and also offering mortgages for their first time. Offering credit cards, insurance and savings deals already Tesco has a huge customer base. They have a huge potential to increase turnover by selling more products to their existing customers. They plan to open branches globally not on in the United Kingdom which could be a huge challenge for the company. They need to time this investment perfectly, especially amidst the recession. They stated that it has to build the IT infrastructure which required supporting the bank system, and this project is described as a huge undertaking†. As a Tesco bank customer, you will also be able to accrue loyalty points under its Club card program (Tesco, 2008). 4.0 Shareholder Information An important factor in the eye of an investor is predicting the future. Shareholders are interested in company performance, both long and short term. They are also interested in the companys investment not only to expect growth but so they are able to assume levels of retained earnings and cash flows. This allows shareholders to make estimations on dividend payout, the only form of cash flows a shareholder receives and predict any growth on share price. 4.1 Dividend Policy Tesco pay cash dividends as interim and final year. The dividend is steadily increasing even through the Recession. Annual Dividends per share has increased 26.48% from 8.91p in 2007 to 11.27p in 2009 (Tesco, 2007-9). The company pay a fairly low dividend with a yield averaging 2.43% from 2007-09. Low yields can lead to possible patterns of high growth unlike high yields resulting in sharp falls (Arnold, 2008). Steady dividend payments and low dividend yield targets higher earners and those on looking for long term investment. Cash in the business is expected to be invested in projects with positive net present values as investors are looking for capital gains. This suits Tesco as one of the reasons for a lower yield and dividend is due to large investments in expanding and making the company more diverse. 4.2 Share Price Capture.PNGShares are hard to say what influences price, there are many factors which can all influence share price such as earnings per share and price earnings multiple. News can have affects such as bad press can decrease share price, disputes or contractual issues etc. Other areas may be dividends, although according to Modigliani and Miller theory whatever dividend policy is used, firms which pay more dividends offer less price appreciation and pay the same shareholder return, according to cash flows from investments and risk measurements (Arnold, 2008). This theory provides proof given assumptions of no tax, investment decisions are not affected by dividends and there are no transaction costs converting price into cash when selling stock. In the current economic position this theory would most likely be irrelevant as there are always taxes upon a business. Transaction costs would almost always apply therefore this theory has its limitations. If dividends were irrelevant, the business may be wasting time analysing which shareholder are indifferent (MM Theory, 1961). As market leader for United Kingdom Tesco has shown stability during the crisis. Share price over the peak of the recession until recently has remained more stable for Tesco than competitor Sainsbury. Sainsbury had been affected severely between August and November 2007 as Delta Two pulled out in belief Sainsburys did not have enough capital to maintain competitiveness (Birmingham Post, 2007). This was a high in the recession. Financial markets began to stop trading between each other and there was the near collapse of Northern rock, (Telegraph, 2009). The Sector was hit hardest in years however Tesco has begun to make its recovery with share price increasing unlike Sainsbury who only managed to stabilise over the last year. 4.3 Valuation Capture7.PNGInvestors may use share valuation techniques to determine whether shares are over or under value. Dividend yield valuation shows share price was fairly valued in 2007 but undervalued in 2008 and overvalued for 2009. This is calculated by dividing share price by the yield seen in Figure 3. Dividend yield was based upon Annual Dividend/ Share price. This valuation method can be affected by the level of dividend especially if the company is going to invest, which Tesco has made some huge investments purchasing 50% of RBS. This could be the reason why value is currently low here, whereas real value accounts for all affects. klll.PNGThe final method for this report is Price Earnings Valuation. Multiplying earnings per share by the P/E multiple. A higher P/E multiple indicates the price of stock is more than a lower P/E. In Figure 4 P/E*EPS shows similar results as using the dividend yield however P/E over the past 3 years has been decreasing, which shows investors are not willing to pay as much for a stock than previously. Tesco shares have remained strong, recovering after a downfall in peak of recession. Share valuation techniques however have shown share value may be overvalued in 2009. There seemed to be a recovery but using P/E and Dividend yield valuation, which provided a comparable result share value should be lower. This may mean it is safe to sell shares in Tesco now as price may fall. Dividend payment however suggest chance of expected growth in the future but looking at long term trends there have not been any dramatic changes in dividend payment or yields. 5.0 Surviving the Recession Researchers and Accountants believe Tesco was the number one company to survive the recession in the research survivability index. The information considered for this was not just cost cutting but based upon factors such as; branding, cost management, internet potential and customer targeting, (Ruddick, 2008). For instance, Tesco replaced a lot of high brand products with Tesco value products, which sell for less however attract more customers generating higher turnover, this helped reduce costs related to more expensive products. Other cost savings are through better use of IT, and from policies and management of suppliers to ensure the greatest value to the business and customer (Business, 2009). Tesco club card points and vouchers have been a huge impact for customer targeting, by offering double club card points many customers who arent regular shoppers become regulars. Tesco also monitor their customers far more intensely than other supermarkets. They analyse buying patterns and send vouchers in the post to attract customers back, or when customers have not returned for a while they send vouchers to entice them. 6.0 Competition Severe rivalry within the UK retail market is forcing cost cuts and ways news ways that they can differentiate themselves from competitors. The retail market is mature and oligopolistic in its nature, with a few major multiple retailers dominating the market (Business, 2009). Competition between the large retailers resulted in price wars with the big two, Asda and Tesco reducing price margins for the industry as a whole as other competitors have to react according to the market. The market is well regulated. The monopolies and mergers commission constantly examines the market to ensure fair competition. The government has also been active in planning restrictions for new store openings (BBC, 2004). Growth appears to come from gaining new customers, improving product offerings, and from non food products, such as financial services. In Tescos case they have expanded overseas as well as diversifying their product range. Customers are still number one in the eye of the retailers. Success in the industry is still dependent on how well the retailer can meet the customer needs. Price, particularly in the UK has become a dominant feature. Considering the recession, this will places stress on retailers to set low prices and maintain that level. The main reason being consumers are tightening their spending level and are not willing purchase luxury items and are purchasing the necessities. 7.0 Bad Credibility Tesco were faced with a big contractual issue back in 2007. Tesco delivery drivers were offered new contracts, which had worse conditions and around 3000 to 6000 pounds less pay. This resulted in drivers going on a 3day strike, causing problems for Tesco when shoppers refused to shop in their stores and many drivers rejected the new contracts which resulted in Tesco terminating their positions (BBC, 2007). This issue meant Tesco had to spend a lot of time and money with unions, whilst losing sales from shoppers refusing to shop with them and deliveries not being made. Although this issue was only in one area, the businesses image would have been damaged by news and publicity on the matter. The competition commission has started to realise that the bigger the retailer they have a stronger capability to force prices lower from suppliers. Described as a â€Å"master servant† relationship farmers complain about Tescos cancelling orders at last minute and forcing cost lower than production cost (Hird, 2005). In extreme cases farmers have protested especially over milk prices (Mullin 2009). This shows Tesco has done little to improve their relationship with farmers over the years. It could be assumed that government may begin to intervene soon as Tesco becomes more unethical. Issues like this make people lose trust, they are unsure if in the future more problems will arise. When looking at investing you must trust a company making sure they are reliable and able to give you what you want from them. Other investors who catch news of problems tend to back out and sell stock. If enough people sell share price will begin to fall, this may be an opportunity to purchase shares at a lower price as long as you accept the risks. 8.0 Environmental Issues One big issue that Tesco is facing is the environment element; as the increasing global concern of environmental problem, how Tesco react to this issue will have huge impact to its future business performance. The public demands more than ever that films should take their responsibility as a member of the society. Tesco has taken a lot of effort to respond the challenge; in 2007, Tesco unveiled its green pledges; â€Å"If we fail to mitigate climate change, the environmental, social and economic consequences will be stark and severe† Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive. (BBC news, 2007) In the statement, he promised that Tesco would cut emissions from existing stores worldwide by at least 50% by 2020, and would seek to restrict air transport to less than 1% of the firms products. Moreover, for cutting CO2 and energy saving, Tesco also introduce a series of strategy; by encourage customers to use reusable carry bag and reward shopping points to club members to reduce the usa ge of plastic bags; Tesco also introduce new energy saving store to the public; in January 2009, Tesco opened UKs most energy efficient store in Cheetham Hill. As part of the climate change program, the stores carbon footprint is 70% less than an equivalent store built in 2006. (Tesco, 2009) So far, Tesco has already made a lot of progress, yet there are much more problems waiting. 9.0 Overseas Tescos expansion internationally has not only benefited the company financial. They would develop new understandings and learn new techniques have diverse teams within the organisation. Tesco successfully penetrated the overseas market, being able to adapt to new cultures. To do this they would need incredible management with a perfect strategy. On the Tesco website they take a different approach internationally, strategy changes and their main focus is more of a cultural issue. For instance being â€Å"Flexible† as in Japan they shop in small amounts but prefer fresh items, also â€Å"Act local† such as in India, who prefer less or no packaging so they can go through piles of produce. With 10 years of experience Tesco has wide experience of cultures (Tesco, 2009). Culture isnt only going to affect Tesco through the market i.e. selling, but will be a part of the business. Tesco employees local staff this affects the organisations culture, especially within head offices and management. Teams will include people from all different ethnic backgrounds growing up to have different culture, educated with a diverse range of skills. Having this within a business can be very successful and can create more effective team working (Brooks, 2006). 10.0 Conclusion Tesco on a financial level has a lot of risk involved. They are currently very highly geared and have a huge financial risk which can and most likely will affect the company value and share holder wealth. However over the next 2 years could be a crucial time for Tesco as their investments go under way which could result in a very prosperous future for shareholders through diversification and international expansion. A lot of risk relies on customer targeting, which in the past Tesco has been very successful. Dividend yields and dividend payments seem to be targeting high earners who can face risk and are looking for long term capital gains; however share price for 2009 seems to be overvalued and may decrease. It may be safer to sell shares now and buy again after share price falls. Tesco has had a lot of success and faced many different strategic issues, some which could result in a stronger business such as cultural diversification within the company. A lot of issues have occurred though, damaging the image as a result. Little seems to have been done to improve some of these problems especially with farmers. Tesco only seems to care if regulation intervenes, then they will do something about it which could be seen with some of the environmental problems. As a result of the analysis provided throughout the report Tesco seem like an opportunity for those who are willing to take high risks. References Arnold, G. (2008) Corporate Financial Management. 4th edition. London, Pitman Publishing. BBC. 2004. Tesco sees profits jump to  £822m: New stores. [Online] BBC News. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3675164.stm [Accessed 20/3/2010]. BBC News, 2007. Tesco boss unveils green pledges [Online]. BBC News. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6276351.stm [Assessed 24/3/2010]. BBC News. 2007. Tesco dispute enters second day. [Online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6690475.stm [Accessed 20/3/2010]. BIRMINGHAM POST. 2007. Sainsbury shares plummet as Delta Two pulls out. [Online] Available at: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-170795697.html [Accessed 18/3/2010]. BRITISH LAND. 2010. Press release. [Online] British land. Available at: http://www.britishland.com/media/pressreleases/pressrelease130110 [Accessed 15/3/2010]. BROOKS, I. 2006. Organisational Behaviour: Individuals, groups and organisations. 3rd edition. Pearson Education. BUSINESS, T. 2009. Challenges and outlook for the Tesco Stores Ltd. [Online] Available at: http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/business-resources/case-study-database/tesco-case-study/ [Accessed 20/3/2010]. FAME, database. 2010. Detailed information on Tesco Plc. [Online] Available at: https://fame.bvdep.com/version2010226/cgi/template.dll?checkathens=1kick=1product=1user=n0242395%40ntu.ac.ukpw=nK9CXV0V3ZRxfmNkkx9ZjA%3d%3d [Accessed 23/3/2010]. HIRD, H and BURLEY, H. 2005. The Tesco Takeover. [Online] Available at: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/marketing_material/tesco_takeover_leaflet.pdf [Accessed 20/3/2010]. LANGFELD, M, 2009. Tesco: Consistent Earnings Growth at Attractive Price, [online]. Available at: http://seekingalpha.com/article/159992-tesco-consistent-earnings-growth-at-attractive-price [Accessed 18/3/2010]. LEAHY, T. 2009. Press releases: SCI Conference. [Online] Available at: http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/media/pr/pr2009/2009-10-16/ [Accessed 18/3/2010]. MM Theory, 1961. When Are Dividends Irrelevant? (The Miller Modigliani Proposition). [Online] Available at: http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/invfables/dividirrelevance.htm [Accessed 19/3/2010]. MULLIN, D. 2009. Farmers protest at Tesco over milk price. [Online] Available at: http://www.farmersjournal.ie/myJournal/forum/content/farmers-protest-tesco-over-milk-price [Accessed 20/3/2010]. OPSI. 2008. Climate Change Act 2008. [Online] Available at: http://opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2008/ukpga_20080027_en_1 [Accessed 16/3/2010]. RIGBY, E. 2009. Tesco trumpets strategic success overseas. [Online] Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7b824f06-2b88-11de-b806-00144feabdc0.html [Accessed 20/3/2010]. RUDDICK, G. 2008. Tesco: most likely retailer to survive recession. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/3368164/Tesco-most-likely-retailer-to-survive-recession.html [Accessed 18/3/2010]. TELEGRAPH. 2009. UK Recession: Timeline of how the British economy has been hit. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/4320827/UK-Recession-Timeline-of-how-the-British-economy-has-been-hit.html [Accessed 19/3/2010]. TESCO. 2007. Press release. [Online] TESCO plc. Available at: http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/media/pr/pr2009/2009-01-13b/ [Assessed 24/3/2010]. TESCO. 2007-9. Tesco: Annual Report 2007/8 2008/9. [Online] Available at: http://www.tescoplc.com/annualreport09/downloads/ [Accessed 17/3/2010]. TESCO. 2008. Tesco takes full ownership of Tesco personal finance and targets  £1 billion from retailing services. [Online] Available at: http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/storage/intannounce.pdf [Accessed 18/3/2010]. TESCO plc. 2009. International Strategy. [Online] Available at: http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/strategy/international/ [Accessed 19/3/2010]. TESCO. 2010. Our Strategy. [Online] Available at: http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/strategy/ [Accessed 19/3/2009]. TESCO, Media. 2010. Press releases: Tesco in  £100m to boost UK green economy. [Online] Available at: http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/media/pr/pr2010/2010-02-03/ [Accessed 18/3/2010]. THIS IS MONEY. 2008. Tesco takes on banks after RBS buyout. [Online] Available at: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=448364in_page_id=3 [Accessed 18/3/2010].

Film Techniques in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape Essay examples -- essay

"What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" Film Techniques related to theme Theme: Struggle and Hardship In the film "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" directed by Lasse Hallstrom in 1993, one of the main ideas is that of struggle and hardship. This idea is significant to the film because it relates to each character in a different way, making the storyline more interesting. Three different techniques used by Lasse Hallstrom to illustrate the idea of struggle and hardship include Gilberts voice over, the extra close-ups of Bonnie as she climbs the stairs and the double up of dialogue, where Mrs Carver is talking to Gilbert, and Mr Carver is heard tying to entertain their children in background. One character that suffers from struggle and hardship is Gilbert. At the beginning of the film, just after the opening scene, there are a series of establishing shots of Endora. They display the town as a dead, empty place, and are accompanied by a voice over done by Gilbert Grape. Gilbert describes each shop and his house with a dreary, dull tone and a lack of enthusiasm. This indicates to the audien...

The Pre Combustion Capture Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate alteration is straight associated with increased atmospheric concentration of gases, and particularly of CO2 produced chiefly by fossil fuel burning. Therefore, accomplishing important decrease of CO2 emanations is pressing. Many different schemes need to be applied for this intent including the increased usage of renewable energy beginnings and atomic power, the betterment of energy transition efficiency and the usage of C gaining control and storage systems ( CCS ) . In planetary graduated table, energy production is extremely dependent of fossil fuels. Furthermore, the continuously increasing energy demand in combination with abundant and loosely distributed geographically coal, are factors that prohibit the decrease of conventional energy production ways. Therefore, CCS is the lone option to accomplish important CO2 emanations decreases. The C gaining control engineerings can be separated into three chief methods: pre-combustion gaining control, post-combustion gaining control and oxy-fuel burning. In this assignment, pre-combustion gaining control procedure will be examined. Basic Operation 2.1 Definition By definition, pre-combustion C gaining control refers to the remotion of C from fuel before its burning. Therefore, the burning generates zero CO2 emanations. This engineering can be applied in power workss which use hydrocarbon fuels in order to bring forth electricity. These fuels are coal, natural gas, oil but can besides be used in power workss which use non-hydrocarbon fuels such as biomass or waste. However, pre-combustion C gaining control engineering is more efficient and most developed for usage in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle ( IGCC ) power workss utilizing coal fuel and in Natural Gas Combined Cycle power workss. Procedure The chief procedure can be divided into three stairss. Initially, the hydrocarbon fuel which is typically natural gas or coal ( oil or biomass ) is reformed or gasified severally into synthesis gas, known as syngas, incorporating H and CO. Then, the syngas is reacted with steam in a Water-Gas Shift reactor ( WGS ) and the C oxide is converted to carbon dioxide and produces more H2O. The resulted syngas after the transition of the C oxide is consisted of C dioxide and H2O and is known as shifted syngas. During the 3rd measure, CO2 is separated from H2 and the rich H gas is produced which can be combusted clearly in combined rhythm power workss. Separated CO2 is so compressed, stored and transported. Between the three basic stairss, described above, there is a figure of extra units for the optimal operation of the system. These units are gas cleaners and heat money changers. Depending on the fuel used, the place and the sort of these units may differ. Figure 1 depicts the basic units of a combined rhythm power works irrespective of the fuel used as input. The water-gas displacement reactor and the CO2 gaining control unit are the extra units used in an IGCC or a NGCC power works for C gaining control. Figure 1: CC power works with pre-combustion gaining control. Figure 2 depicts an IGCC power works with pre-combustion C gaining control. From this figure the extra units can be observed. These units are the Air separation Unit ( ASU ) , the atom and the S remover. All these units will be described exhaustively in the following subdivisions of this assignment. Pre-combustion Capture Process_Vattenfall.jpg Figure 2: IGCC power works with pre-combustion gaining control. The chief difference between the IGCC power works and the NGCC power works is that the IGCC uses a gasifier for the production of the syngas and the NGCC uses a gas reformist. 5 Reformer 5.1 Natural gas constituents In combined rhythm power workss which use natural gas as fuel, a gas reformist is used for the syngas production. At this point it is of import to be mentioned that natural gas is consisted chiefly of methane in a proportion about 94 % . Table 1 cites all the constituents that natural gas is consisted of and their proportion. Table 1: Natural gas constituents 5.2 Natural gas reformation Three different commercially available engineerings for natural gas reforming have been developed. Steam reforming ( SR ) , Non-catalytic partial oxidization reforming ( POX ) and Autothermal reforming. For the hereafter, reforming in a membrane reactor could be an option. 5.2.1 Steam Reforming In steam reforming, methane reacts with H2O ( steam ) ( 700 & A ; deg ; C-1000 & A ; deg ; C ) under 3-25 saloon force per unit area in a presence of a nickel-based accelerator to bring forth H and C monoxide. It is an endothermal reaction which frequently using a nickel-based accelerator. In order to avoid the taint of the accelerator, sulfur compounds from the natural gas demand to be removed before the reformation. The basic steam reforming chemical reactions are: Methane: CH4 + H2O ( +heat ) > CO + 3H2 -?=-206kJ/mol Propane: C3H8+ 3 H2O ( +heat ) > 3CO + 7H2 Ethyl alcohol: C2H5OH + H2O ( +heat ) > 2CO + 4H2 The chief drawback of this reformist is that demand a secondary steam supply. 5.2.2 Non catalytic Power Oxidation ( POX ) Partial oxidization procedure relies on an exothermal reaction between natural gas and a limited sum of O. The merchandises of the reaction are chiefly carbon monoxide and H. The O can be supplied as pure O either signifier air or via a conveyance membrane. The basic chemical reactions are: Methane: CH4 + ?O2 > CO + 2H2 ( +heat ) Propane: C3H8 + ?O2 > 3CO + 4H2 ( +heat ) Ethyl alcohol: C2H5OH + ?O2 > 2CO + 3H2 ( +heat ) Temperature of the reaction is about 1250-1400EsC. This engineering is much faster than steam reforming but increases the entire cost of the works significantly. However, it is a really simple system with small care required. 5.2.3 Autothermal Reforming ( ATR ) The reactor in the autothermal reactor is divided into two different zones, a burning and a thermic and catalytic zone. Oxygen reacts with methane and signifiers syngas. It is an exothermal reaction and the operating temperature is in about 850-110 EsC. CH4 + O2 – CO + 2H2O ( g ) -=519KJ/mol These reformer are more widespread and common used than the other two because of its flexible operation, its compact design, its low investing cost and its broad operating conditions. Furthermore, the fact that there is no demand of secondary fuel supply makes the reformer even more efficient than the others. 5.3 Water Gas displacement reaction in NGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter. The Water gas displacement reactor is one of the most of import units of the pre-combustion C gaining control procedure and will be examined exhaustively in subdivision 5555. However it is really of import to be mentioned at this point that in NGCC power workss with pre-combustion C gaining control, the H2O gas displacement reactor take topographic point into the reformist. 7 Water Gas Shift reactor The H2O gas displacement reactor ( WGS ) is one of the most of import parts of the CO2 gaining control system in IGCC and NGCC power workss. It converts about all the CO in Syngas, into CO2 and H with an exothermal chemical reaction. The input of the WGS reactor is syngas and steam ( H2O ) . CO + H20 – CO2 + H2 ?H= -41.1kj/mol In general, the H2O gas displacement reaction occurs in an adiabatic system with the presence of a accelerator which accelerates the reaction rate. Several types of accelerators are commercially available but three of them are the most of import. These three accelerators can be divided into two classs: the clean displacement accelerators and the rancid displacement accelerators.Clean displacement accelerators:High temperature displacement accelerators Active constituent: Fe3O4 with Cr2O3 as stabilizer Operating temperature: 350 – 500 & A ; deg ; C Sulphur content syngas lower than 100 ppm. Low-temperature displacement accelerators Active constituent: Cu supported by ZnO and Al2O3 Operating temperature: 185 – 275 & A ; deg ; C Sulphur content syngas lower than 0.1 ppm.Sour displacement acceleratorsActive constituent: Sulphided Co and Mo Operating temperature: 250 – 500 & A ; deg ; C Sulphur content syngas lower than 300ppm. In NGCC power workss with pre-combustion gaining control, clean displacement accelerators are used and the chief WGS operation takes topographic point into the reformist. IGCC power workss with pre-combustion gaining control usage either clean or rancid displacement accelerators but rancid accelerators are more widespread. In these workss, the WGS reactor is an independent unit. During shift reaction, the temperature rises and restricts the farther procedure. Therefore, the transition in a individual reactor is limited. This job can be solved by utilizing a two phase H2O displacement reaction. This reaction can be achieved with the combination of a high temperature and a low temperature displacement reactor operated in sequence. Consequently, in order to acquire a higher grade of transition of the CO to CO2, two reactors are favourable compared to a one-reactor apparatus. Between these two reactors, an inter-bed chilling is used in order to keep the temperature low in the 2nd reactor. The majority of C monoxide is converted to CO2 by the high-temperature accelerators and the procedure is fulfilled by the low temperature accelerators. Figure 2 depicts a High and Low temperature displacement reactor every bit good as the different temperatures for the different phases. Figure 2: High ( left ) and Low ( right ) temperature displacement reactors. Figure ten: WGS composed by two reactors. The WGS unit influences the entire efficiency of the power works. For standard design it is observed an efficiency loss about 3-4 % . The loss of efficiency caused by the WGS ‘ steam demands necessary for sufficiently high CO transition ratios. Sulfur Removal Unit Sulfur remotion is a critical portion in the pre-combustion C gaining control processes and it is used in both IGCC and NGCC power workss. Its chief operation is to take S from the input gas. Figure†¦ . Application in IGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter. Syngas produced by the gasification contains assorted drosss. Among these drosss, Ss have a large proportion. During gasification, S is chiefly converted to hydrogen sulphide ( H2S ) and to carbonyl sulphide ( COS ) in a proportion about 3-10 % . In IGCC power workss with pre-combustion C gaining control, in order to clean the gas from sulfur constituents, a Sulfur Removal unit is used which utilizes acid gas recovery processes ( AGR ) . These procedures can be either physical or chemical based and retrieve S either as sulphuric acid or as elemental S. However, AGR procedures are efficient merely when S is in H2S signifier, COS is highly hard to be removed in this manner. Therefore the sulfur remotion unit must be equipped with a COS hydrolysis unit ( before the AGR ) which catalytically converts COS to H2S. This units converts over 99 % of the of the COS to H2S with the chemical reaction presented below: COS + H2O – H2S + CO2 With the combination of these two units i.e. COS hydrolysis and AGR process the Sulfur remotion unit achieve about 99 % of sulfur recovery. In unit 7 it underlined that in IGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter the WGS reactor can be composed either of clean or rancid displacement accelerator. In instance of clean displacement accelerators, sulfur constituents must be removed from the syngas before the WGS reactor in order to avoid accelerator taint. Therefore, in this instance the S remotion demand to be placed before the WGS reactor as Figure 66 shows. Figure 66: WGS reactor with clean displacement accelerators In instance of rancid displacement accelerators, S is required in the provender gas. Therefore the sulfur remotion unit is placed after the WGS reactor. It is really of import to advert here, that in this instance the WGS reactor except from change overing CO to CO2, besides hydrolyses COS to H2S. Consequently, there is no demand of a separate COS hydrolysis system. Figure 67: WGS reactor with rancid displacement accelerators. In every instance, a gas ice chest is necessary to be used before the Sulfur remotion unit. Application in NGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter. In this instance, both the accelerators of the reformist and of the WGS reactor are clean displacement. Therefore, sulfur remotion is necessary to be placed before the gas reformist. Hence, in NGCC power workss, the input gas of the sulfur remotion unit is natural gas alternatively of syngas ( or shifted syngas ) which was in IGCC power workss. The first measure of the remotion procedure is the transition of sulfur compounds, such as COS and mercaptans, in the natural gas to gaseous H2S. This can be achieved by utilizing a catalytic hydrogenation. After the transition, the S is removed by fluxing of the natural gas through a bed of Zn oxide granules to organize solid Zn sulphide harmonizing to reaction H2S + ZnO ( s ) > H2O ( g ) + ZnS ( s )

Mao Study Guide

Mao’s Rise To Power I. Mao first got into radical issues in his home  province  of  Hunan, because there were large spheres of influences there II. In 1920, Mao stumbled upon Professor Chen Tu-hsiu,  China’s foremost Marxist. He gave Mao a position selling party literature in a bookshop III. Mao rose in status to provincial party leader soon afterward IV. In 1923, the Nationalist Party sought help and money from another source, so they joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP was being given money from the Soviets V. Soon after the Nationalist Party leader’s (Sun Yat-sen) death, Chiang Kai-shek took leadership of the Nationalists and separated themselves from the CCP because they didn’t want  China  to turn into a Soviet satellite state VI. Chiang began killing off the CCP. Mao and the CCP went on a Long March, or retreat using guerilla tactics, to Yan’an to flee from the Nationalists. They set up their base there because it was in the north, closer to the  Soviet Union, where they could get help VII. Chiang was very violent and killed many of his political opponents in the cities. This was more visible to the people than Mao’s violence in the countryside VIII. Most people knew that Chiang’s regime was corrupt, inefficient, and could not deal with inflation and famine IX. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident led to the full-scale invasion of the Japanese in 1937. This would last until the end of WWII in 1945. During this time: a. A truce was called between the Nationalists and CCP b. The Nationalists did the brunt of the fighting against the Japanese c. The Nationalists and CCP were given weapons from the  U. S. to fight the Japanese d. The Red Army was built up and members of the CCP were built up by the â€Å"mass line†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  i. Trained communists were sent in groups into the communities, where they said they had come to listen to the desires and ideas of the people   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ii. On their return, the party would then learn what measures would appeal and adapt to their own policies which would be presented to the people e. To brainwash newcomers, Mao did the Yenan Terror during WWII: i. Used a Chinese KGB   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ii. Held denunciation rallies (you were forced to stand in front of peers and admit guilt (things that you did against the Communist ideology) even though you didn’t do them)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  iii. Singing, dancing, and humor were stopped   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  iv. All types of torture were u sed 1. Whipping 2. Hanging 3. Sleep deprivation v. No press   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  vi. Thought examination (you were forced to write down thoughts against the Communist ideology and accuse others of the same) f. After the Yenan Terror, Mao had gotten rid of enough opponents to claim himself supreme leader of the CCP X. After WWII, the Nationalists didn’t have enough manpower because  China  was so large in territory: a. Manchuria  (rich in mineral and coal deposits) was turned over from the Soviets to the CCP b. CCP took over many areas that the Japanese formerly held XI. The Marshall Mission led to a cease-fire between the Nationalists and CCP, so the Nationalists demilitarized over a million troops: a. Many troops did not have strong ties to the Nationalists (because they were former warlord troops) b. They were not helped to integrate into society, so they joined the CCP c. These troops located former Japanese weapons depots and showed the CCP how to work the weapons XII. The civil war started up again in 1946 and by October 1949, Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of  China Rise/Consolidation of Power I. Eliminated political parties and churches II. Land was seized from landlords and many were executed III. Sanfan, Wufan, and Sufan campaigns were purges against ntelligentsia and CCP IV. Hundred Flowers Campaign was sneaky way to seek out political opponents by allowing them temporarily to speak out. The Anti-Rightist Campaign got rid of anyone who had spoken out against Mao V. Cultural Revolution called for students (called Red Guards) to safeguard Mao by getting rid of art, teachers, members of the CCP, or anything counter to the revolution VI. Laogoi were forced labo r camps VII. A compilation of Mao’s essays were put together in the â€Å"Little Red Book† and taught in all schools VIII. Rectification movements† served to eliminate intellectuals who Mao thought were dangerous by sending them to the countryside or killing them IX. Used speeches, propaganda posters, media, poets, film, etc. to prop up Mao’s â€Å"cult of personality† Previous Conditions I. China  was dominated by spheres of influence – places of foreign domination where the Chinese were looked upon as inferiors II. The country was not unified and had many provinces run by warlords, who were people not subservient to the government III. Previous governments were unstable and corrupt – the Manchu Dynasty had recently fallen – 1911, Yuan Shikai (a military general) ran the country for the next four years – 1912-1916, the warlord era was a period of chaos and great disunity – 1916-1925 IV. There were many economic problems: a. Widespread poverty b. Heavy taxes c. Large disparity between rich and poor d. Backward industry e. Few owned land V. Chiang was totalitarian and used violence to suppress political opponents; his government was also corrupt and took money from the peasants Successes I. Built up a following through charm and manipulation, allowing him to rise up in the CCP II. Escaped the Nationalist army and set up base in the north during the Long March III. Built up the CCP army and following during WWII through the â€Å"mass line† IV. Used the Yenan Terror to instill the ideology, brainwash and instill fear in his followers. All were loyal to Mao after the terror V. Yenan Terror was also used to brainwash people into thinking that Chiang was the enemy so that Mao would garner more support VI. Used the end of WWII to grab former Japanese occupied territory in  China VII. Acquired and successfully used demilitarized, former Nationalist troops in the Civil War after the Marshall Mission VIII. Won the Chinese Civil War because of the weakened Nationalist army and became dictator of the People’s Republic of  China IX. Ousted all political parties so that his CCP was the only one X. Churches were closed; Christianity, Buddhism, and Confucianism were denounced – this allowed less potential sources of opposition XI. Marriage Law gave more rights to women, such as the right to own property, no more foot binding, and consensual marriage XII. Health reforms were made to take the nation off it’s opium addiction, such as harsher penalties, rehabilitation, and education campaigns XIII. Under the Agrarian Reform Law, peasants were given land from rich landlords XIV. Ousted foreigners, so he got rid of all possible spheres of influence and any semblance of outside control XV. Hundred Flowers Campaign revealed those who opposed the regime, enabling Mao to get rid of them later on through the Anti-Rightist Campaign XVI. Mao regained power (after his Great Leap Forward failure) through the Cultural Revolution, a purge of teachers, art, and party officials XVII. Used the Little Red Book, speeches, posters, badges, etc. to successfully build up his â€Å"cult of personality†. His face was everywhere Failures I. Didn’t have the amphibious forces to pursue the Nationalists in  Taiwan II. First Five Year Plan built up industry, but failed to reach the target goals and lagged behind the industry of large industrial countries III. Mao also wanted to raise output in factories, so common sense and rules went to the wayside in the name of speed. Accidents frequently caused tens of thousands of deaths IV. Anything that peasants could melt down into steel was put in backyard furnaces. Much of the steel was unusable for industry V. Forests were stripped of trees to be used as fuel, so deforestation was widespread VI. Mao ordered huge drives to build irrigation systems using poor equipment. Some of these projects are still unstable today VII. In the Great Leap Forward, collectivization failed, as food was forcefully taken from the peasants because Mao wanted to export the food for industry/weapons (he wanted to be a superpower). 38 million died of famine and disease. Agriculture continued to lag. Mao temporarily fell from power VIII. Sanfan, Wufan, Sufan, Anti-Rightist, and Cultural Revolution terror campaigns were against intellectuals (as well as others), but this got rid of most of the educated people in the country who could’ve helped the economy grow IX. One of the Cultural Revolution’s objectives was to wipe out anything cultural, so a generation of culture was wiped out X. The people responsible for carrying out the Cultural Revolution were students, so schools were closed during this time. Education was stopped completely during this period

Riding in a stage coach essays

Riding in a stage coach essays This movie is one in which you want to watch it but you keep telling yourself to turn it off. What I mean by this is that this movie is, and always will be important to film history and also known for giving John Wayne his big break. But it will make you snore your head off if youre culturally more attracted to more of the Finding Nemo or Matrix movies. Stagecoach is about a group of travelers that hear about a possible apache attack. Among those travelers are Ringo (John Wayne), who is a prisoner for killing but is later realized to have killed in self defense. Mallory (Louise Platt) a pregnant woman searching for her husband and Dallas (Clair Trevor) a prostitute. Those are some main characters to name a few. The Director John Ford is a very smart person in the way he had camera angels. What I mean is that in every scene, the camera articulated the mood of the scene perfectly. Like during one scene, where the stagecoach is being attacked, he gets camera shots that you can see more than one persons emotion and I found that rather exciting. Another thing that I did like about this movie is how he really made it feel like it was a Western. I mean you can tell from the first 5 minuets that its not a science fiction. Another thing this movie must be commended on was in 1998 the American Film Institute voted Stagecoach in the top 100 American movies of all time. And considering how many movies have been made between 1939 and 1998 that is a tremendous honor. Also when it came out originally in 1939 it was voted one of the top ten movies of that year by the New Your Times. Although it only won two Academy awards including Best supporting actor, and Best score. It still was nominated for 6 Academies. Now my opinion on the film was that it was not my style at all. It is a good movie for what it is, but in no way shape or form is it a movie that I woul...

Teaching methodology Essays

Teaching methodology Essays Teaching methodology Essay Teaching methodology Essay In analyzing second language teaching methodology, there are three important underlying interrelated terms that must be considered: approach, design, and technique. Long Richards (1987, p.146) mention in their article on the subject that Anthony (1963) originally made the distinction and clarified language-teaching methodology into these three central terms. Long Richards (1987, p.146) also point out that Anthonys (1963) distinction has been since tailored and therefore methodology is generally referred to by speaking of approach, design, and procedure. These three terms will be defined and then used to describe and critically analyze two popular second language-teaching methods: The Natural Approach and Community Language Learning. Approach:  A SLT methods approach in language teaching is based both on theory of language and theory of language learning. Teachers of second languages all naturally or academically attain or accept some theory of how learners learn language and how language is constructed in terms of the various components that comprise it (affixes, words, conjuncts, verbs, sentences, etc, etc.). A methods approach is therefore the basis on what the teacher believes are the means by which learners acquire language and, subsequently, how they go about teaching the L2 in the classroom via their chosen materials and teaching techniques. In further discussing approach and theory of language, it will be helpful to mention three prominent theories relating to second language teaching methodology which have bearing on approach, design, and procedure: the structural view, the functional view, and the interactional view. In a more concerted sense with respect to design, for example, these theories will have varying effects on the roles of the teachers and students within the classroom. The structural view sees language as a system of structurally related elements for the coding of meaning. (Long Richards, 1987, p.147). Teachers employing this theory in their teaching method, for example, will likely focus their syllabus design and choice of materials on the structural elements of language such as grammar and its functions.  The functional view sees language as a vehicle for the expression of meaning. (Long Richards, 1987, p.147). Teachers employing this view in their teaching method will likely focus their syllabus design and choice of materials less on language form and more on performing language actions from a semantic, rather than grammatical, point of view. The interactional view sees language as a vehicle for the realization of interpersonal relations and for the performance of social transactions between individuals. (Long Richards, 1987, p.147). Teachers employing this view in their teaching method, for example, may focus their syllabus design and choice of materials less on grammatical structure or functionality and more on the discovery of language content through interpersonal communication. (Some examples of common approaches had been provided in Appendix A) Design concerns the instructional materials and the corresponding activities teachers utilize in the classroom. In designing a curriculum or syllabus for SL courses, there are two factors that teachers consider: what to talk about (subject matter) and how to talk about it (linguistic matter) (Long Richards, 1987: p.148).  According to Long Richards (1987: p.148), there are four conditions in terms of design: The content of instruction (i.e. syllabus), learner roles in the system, teacher roles in the system, and instructional material types and functions. Richards Rodgers (1986) further add to these considerations: (These conditions will be discussed and used later to analyze the two methods in question). Design is the level of method analysis in which we consider: (a) the objectives; (b) the syllabus; (c) learning tasks and teaching activities (d) learner roles; (e) teacher roles; and (f) the role of instructional materials. (Richards Rodgers, 1986: p.24)  Procedure comprises the classroom practices which are consequences of particular approaches and designs. (Long, M. Richards, J., 1987, p. 146). In other words, the technical or procedural constituent (how the teacher goes about teaching) in SLT methodology is directly related and affected by a methods approach and course design. Depending on how the teacher views SLA and, for example, what materials he or she chooses for course work, a SL teachers classroom procedures will vary considerably. Other factors such as class length, environment, or class size will have relevance on the techniques or procedures used by teachers as well. A teacher employing the Grammar Translation Approach, for example, may design his or her curriculum around slightly difficult texts and little else. The teachers techniques may therefore include presenting the language content in the form of unrelated sentences that the students would then translate into the L1. The teachers instruction of the grammatical points would most likely be in the L1 and other language variables, such as listening comprehension or pronunciation, would have little importance in the drills conducted in class. Grammar instruction provides the rules for putting words together; instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words. Reading of difficult texts is begun early in the course of study. Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis. Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue, and vice versa. Little or no attention is given to pronunciation. (Mora, J.K., 1999) Contrarily, those employing the Direct Approach would most likely use no L1 in the classroom and would not include the translation of grammar. The teaching procedure for classroom exercises and drills would most likely be the elicitation of a story or dialogue from the student through student directed questions followed by a series of teacher questions (for example yes/no, or, or 5W questions) to be answered in the L2 by the students. Teachers may reverse this role and consequently have the students ask the questions to each other or to the teacher. Grammar is therefore not presented textually and is taught inductively through the controlled use of the L2 based on target language or topics contained within the classroom materials.  The mother tongue is NEVER, NEVER used. There is no translation. The preferred type of exercise is a series of questions in the target language based on the dialogue or an anecdotal narrative. Questions are answered in the target language. Grammar is taught inductivelyrules are generalized from the practice and experience with the target language. (Mora, J.K., 1999) With these definitions and examples in mind, we can now utilize them in describing and analyzing two prominent methods of second language teaching: The Natural Approach and Community Language Learning (CLL).  METHOD DESCRIPTION AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS #1:  THE NATURAL APPROACH  The Natural Approach (Terrell, 1977; 1982) is the term coined for the approach proposed by Tracy Terrell (1977) based on his methodological deductions in teaching Spanish to second language learners in California. In order to situate a theoretical foundation for his proposed approach to second language teaching, Terrell collaborated with Stephen Krashen, an applied linguist at the University of California (Richards Rodgers, 1986: 178), whose naturalistic theories on second language acquisition (Language Acquisition Theory: Krashen, 1981; 1982) have had significant influence on applied linguistics in recent years. Terrell and Krashens basis for their collaborated Natural Approach (the NA) (Krashen Terrell, 1983) shares common convention with the Natural Method (Saveur, L. 1826-1907) and the Direct Method. However, as the foundations of these methods are commonly based on the natural components of first language acquisition, the basis of the Natural Approach (Krashen Terrell, 1983) stems from Krashen Terrells naturalistic views on second language acquisition.  In the Natural Approach there is emphasis on exposure, or input, rather than practice; optimizing emotional preparedness for learning; a prolonged period of attention to what the language learners hear before they try to produce language; and a willingness to use written and other materials as a source of comprehensible input. (Richards Rodgers, 1986: p.178)

Friendship Sites Enable Women to Make New Friends

Friendship Sites Enable Women to Make New Friends Since online dating services are a proven way for women (and men) to find romance, why not apply the same matchmaking principles to friendship? Opportunities for women to make new friends are now just a mouse click away. Following in the footsteps of internet dating, websites designed to foster real-world female friendships are on the rise. Mommy Sites and Friendship Millions of women already flock to mommy sites that create community between expectant and new mothers, and the many niche motherhood sites for working moms, stay-at-home moms, even entrepreneurial moms attest to their success at establishing meaningful online relationships. But what if you want to meet other women face-to-face and form friendships in your own community? What if moving or marriage has changed your circumstances, and youre looking for new connections and new girlfriends? Wouldnt it be nice if a website facilitated those meetings the same way dating sites do? More Meet Online If youre skeptical of the idea of internet friendship sites, consider this. A 2015 Pew Research Center poll online survey found that 15 percent of American adults have used an online dating site. Twenty-seven percent of young adults (18-24 years old) and 12% of adults aged 55–64 years old report that they have used online dating. Nearly 60% of college students say they know someone who uses online dating, and 46 percent say they know someone who has entered into a long-time relationship. If the internet has become a valuable tool in forming a sexual connection, couldnt it establish a social connection as well? Matchmaking Girlfriends Thats the concept Canadian entrepreneur Amanda Blain banked on when she launched the website Girlfriend Social, a place where women of all ages and backgrounds can go to talk, share and find new female friends. One of the largest social networking sites exclusively for females 18 and older, Girlfriend Social (GFS) enables users to seek out and connect with like-minded women in hundreds of cities and communities across the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Although existing sites such as Girlfriendology and Meetup also offer opportunities for women to get together based on geographic location, Blain explained in an interview what makes GFS distinctly different: Other social networks are designed to deal with business, dating, or connecting with people you already know. Very few specialize in connecting new friends or helping you locate other people with similar hobbies. Girlfriend Social is designed purely for women to socially meet new friends and is the only free social network that allows women to create complete profiles, match with friends, chat with others, discuss hot topics, and to meet other women at live events, face-to-face. The M Stage Blain came up with the idea following a move to a new city; at her new job, her co-workers were mostly male. She soon realized the obstacles to a friendship that women face today are vastly different from those our mothers encountered. Many things have changed including the expectations women put on themselves. Many are working, have children, and find themselves trying to juggle work and family life. This isn’t as easy as it was a generation ago. Shes noticed that many women seek out new friends once they enter the M stage- moving, marriage, or motherhood- because those life transitions can alter, strain and even sever existing friendships. Many women who go through these experiences find that their circle of friends change. Sometimes the friends you have aren’t calling you anymore, you’re not calling them, or you find your priorities have changed. Adding some new people to your life can help you through these transitions. Making the Jump Older women, in particular, find it hard to meet new people after spending years in the same social circle. The demands of family life and career leave little time to step outside the ordinary routine, meet new people, and then go from there. As Blaine notes, Even if you take new classes, go for gym workouts, or start new hobbies, it’s still difficult to make that jump from acquaintance to friendship with the people you meet. Women who do not have a significant other in their lives encounter additional friendship challenges. Whether they are alone by choice, divorce, or death of a spouse, single women often find themselves out of sync with married friends who socialize as couples. Like re-entering the dating scene, trying to establish new friendships at this stage can be intimidating. All these women would just like to connect with new women, Girlfriend Socials founder Amanda Blain says, but they aren’t sure how to go about it. Meeting the Old Fashioned Way Some have gone the Craigslist route, using the popular non-commercial community bulletin board as a way to find new friends. They post in the Personals section under the heading Strictly Platonic; the w4w (women for women) listings include requests for workout/running buddies, movie buddies, travel companions and females to go clubbing with. Judging from the number of entries posted in one week in Chicago (33), Seattle (27), Boston (3) and New York City (105), women all over the U.S. are finding it difficult to make the kind of steady, reliable friendships theyve enjoyed in the past. As one woman wrote, Posting on Craigs List is not something Id normally do, but it can be difficult meeting people the old-fashioned way. But Craiglist is not foolproof. Some who have used it to seek out goods or services have been scammed or even robbed; many of the listings despite being in the strictly platonic section are not. Without any controls or means of regulating its users, Craigslist and other online community-based bulletin boards are a hit-or-miss option. Easy and Safe In comparison, a membership-based internet friendship site makes it easy and safe for women to reach out to each other and search for friends who would be most compatible. Safety is a major concern for Blain and Girlfriend Social. Although her site gives women opportunities to share personal details (helpful in matching new friends), she leaves it up to each participant to decide how much to reveal about herself. Members fill out a profile where they provide as much information about themselves as they are comfortable with. Its detailed application that matches women based on everything from sports to hobbies to movies, music, and books.  With a few simple clicks, you can match with other women in your local area who have kids the same age as yours or read the same authors as you do.   The match feature is a quick way to find women who have similar interests. A Friend Who Gets Her Whereas mommy sites cater to women with young children, GFS includes women of all ages and stages of life. Blain counts among GFS members 75-year-old grandmothers looking to play cards with others and 22-year-old students looking to get out for a night of dancing, along with new moms. Some women are looking for specific friendships based on mutual interests. Blain tells the story of a woman who loved Broadway shows, an interest her husband didnt share. Through GFS she found another woman to attend Broadway shows with. Her husband is delighted and she’s happy because now she has a friend who ‘gets’ her hobby. Blain feels that GFS and other girlfriend sites are not only long overdue but necessary because of the way women bond- a process thats a bit more complex in females than in males. The friendship instinct can be found in both genders, Blain says, but to a certain extent, I think men find themselves in situations where it’s easier to make new friends. A man can go to a local sports bar, find another guy cheering for the same team, and the next thing you know hes sitting next to the other guy, having a drink and getting invited to a barbecue. Sometimes a man is invited to go golfing with a new group and by the time he’s done playing he’s friends with every guy in the group. With women, I find getting into similar situations, or into other women’s social circles isn’t quite as easy.    Where Women are Nurtured In the end, its not rocket science- its about making new friends. Blain explains, My goal was simple: build a safe, fun and drama-free network where women of all ages and backgrounds are able to connect, participate in some new events, and come together to learn and share their unique life experiences. I built a community where the true nature of what it means to be a woman is nurtured.

In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O'brien Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O'brien - Essay Example He pictured the lake itself as â€Å"vast and cold†¦infinitely blue and beautiful and always the same† (O’Brien, p.1). This allowed the reader to feel that the lake by itself is peaceful yet elicits feelings of isolation. With this O’Brien builds mystery and fear, the lake brings a warning to the reader that something is going wrong or might go wrong while the couple settles in the cottage by the lake. Vietnam, on the other hand, is described as full of mud, mines and maze. This depicts clearly a view that this is a place of danger. John’s traumatic experiences in the Vietnam War, particularly the My Lai massacre, is a proof that he has deep inner conflicts and guilt that plagues his mind resulting not only to a crack in his psychological fitness but also deepens the gap between him and his wife. Situating the story back and forth the primary settings while inserting settings of the civilized and modern world in the form of the university campus in Minnesota, Minneapolis-St Paul and Las Vegas symbolizes the contrast between reality and delusions. This created an impact on the reader that both Vietnam and the lake symbolizes horror and secrets, both of which can destroy a person and his relationship with other people. This in fact is what happened with John and Kathy’s marriage. It has been destroyed by the secrets of both. It may seem that the settings symbolized the main characters, Vietnam for John and the lake for Kathy. The mystery and secrets behind Vietnam and the lake both resulted to their

Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Statement - Essay Example rition with focus on behavioral and social determinants of food choices, diet quality and health, human nutrition, and relationships between autism and diet. This identifies diversified topics for my dissertation and my focus in the dissertation will be household poverty and wellbeing with focus on the factors’ covariance and their individual and interaction effects on education. The dissertation may also consider demographic factors and their effects on households’ economic and social status as well as effects on academic achievements. My interest for the dissertation further extends to health conditions among poor population segments, especially obesity and diabetes. Within this scope, I may focus on the relationship between poverty levels and incidence rates of obesity as well as relationship between incidences of obesity and diabetes and food security among the population segment. The research interest identifies diversified target population segments. Of prime target are adolescent girls because of their presumed vulnerability to their environment. Other population segments for consideration in my research are parents of the adolescents, the elderly, and adults with disabilities. I have not developed a work schedule for my Qualitative II project but shall likely precede with my project on Nutrition Advertisements Influence the Perception of Adolescent Girls on their Eating Habits and Nutritional

Conjunctiva Histology and Anatomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conjunctiva Histology and Anatomy - Essay Example (Blue Histology: the eye) There are slight histological distinctions in the conjunctiva portions. The conjunctiva covering the lid margin and bulbar conjunctiva is a modified nonkeratinized, stratified squamous epithelium. The tarsal and fornix conjunctiva is covered by stratified squamous and cuboidal to columnar epithelium of diverse thickness which preserve some squamoidal characteristics, such as having numerous desmosomes and a microvillus surface. Goblet cells are profuse in the tarsus, fornix, and specialized areas as the plica semilunaris, while they are scant nearby the lid boundary and the cornea's limbus. A histological sagittal section of both eyelids and the eye are shown here: (1) cornea (2) lens (3) fornix part of the conjunctiva. (4) marginal conjunctiva (5) palpebral portion of the lacrimal gland (6) tarsal conjunctiva. The constitution of Goblet cells within the epithelium at each of these regions is fluctuant. (Anatomy of the Eye: Conjunctiva 2005) Function of Conjunctiva It moistens the eye' The production of the transparent mucous thick fluid acts as a lubricant It aids in tear production to maintain the eye cleanness. Protects the eye from pathogenic invasions Protect the eye from foreign material to directly come in contact like dust. References Anatomy of the Eye: Conjunctiva, Mission for Vision, 2005 http://www.missionforvisionusa.org/anatomy/2005/11/conjunctiva.html Blue Histology - The Eye, School of Anatomy and Human Biology - The University of Western Australia http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/CorePages/eye/eye.htm Chapter 7, Conjunctiva http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/courses/vet_eyes/conotes/con- chapter_7.html Establishment of a Cultivated Human Conjunctival Epithelium as an Alternative Tissue Source for Autologous Corneal Epithelial Transplantation http://www.iovs.org/cgi/content/full/47/9/3820 Ted M. Montgomery, 2007, Anatomy, Physiology & Pathology of the Human Eye,

Growing online gambling industry and its effects socially, Research Paper

Growing online gambling industry and its effects socially, economically - Research Paper Example Instant messaging has replaced the meet-and-greet sessions that were always held as part of family tradition (Powers 45). To add salt to an injury, the most socially revered types of gaming, gambling, was introduced into the virtual world. People were allowed to take their gambling into the virtual world with loads of money at stake and with addiction becoming a key concern amongst several social researchers (Gainsbury 21). The internet then led to an increase in the number of gambling options that an individual could ascribe to with each improvement making betting more lucrative and enticing to people. Research shows that approximately 8 million people participated in online gambling in the year 2001 with the exponential growth expected to hit a higher percentile in the forthcoming years (Shaffer and Hall 169). Despite a myriad of legislations being passed, gambling has become a lucrative business with more people joining and more side effects being felt by those who are around the players. The report herein will seek to identify any social and economic side effects that have resulted with the continued growth of online gambling in the world and what legislations have been put in place to check such increases. To start with, gambling is defined as the waging of money or anything that may of material value based on an event and its outcome. It requires one to bet and thus forfeit the placed bet in case the outcome of the event is on the contrary. The main intent of all those placing their bets is to win with the stakes depending on how the outcome is. Thus, the fact that it has been allowed to go on by the increasing number of laws and betting sites on gambling, means that it has been accepted as a legal way of doing things and has to be conducted according to the gaming rules (Powers 50). The internet brought about the virtual connectivity of each player and made it easier for people to gamble from closed doors and in the comfort of their own homes. It has

Does Globalisation Americanisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Does Globalisation Americanisation - Essay Example Another feature of globalisation is grobalisation by which â€Å"the imperialistic ambitions of nations, corporations, organisations† (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 41) promote the imposition of themselves in various geographic areas for increased power, influence and profits. Two subprocesses of grobalisation are Americanisation and McDonaldisation. Americanisation can be defined as the further spread and establishment of American ideas, customs, social patterns, language, industry, and capital around the world. The concept of Americanisation â€Å"envisions a growth in American influence in all realms throughout the world† (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 47). McDonaldization is the spread of the fast-food restaurant concept not only within the United States, but in increasing numbers of other societies throughout the world (Ritzer 2010). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to determine whether globalisation is synonymous with Americanisation. The Emergence and Evolution of Amer icanisation and Globalisation Americanisation is the larger conceptual framework that includes various interconnected phenomena, among which globalisation is one of the most important. The cultural impact of globalisation on Americanisation as a key 20th century transformation has great consequences. Mennell (2009) believes that globalisation and Americanisation should be examined together in long term perspective. The United States drove globalisation from 1945 to 2000; during this time globalisation was synonymous with Americanisation and Westernization, although terms such as â€Å"hybridity† and â€Å"flexible acculturation† which pertain to immigrants in the United States, prevailed only after 2001 (Nederveen Pieterse 2009). Globalisation is radically transforming all nations and the lives of billions of people all over the world. Globalisation theory characteristically accorded a great deal of significance to developments in the west, and its western bias also me ant that â€Å"the rest of the world had little choice but to become like it† (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 41). After the Second World War, American companies with a highly efficient industrial management system expanded to locations across the globe. This globalisation of American companies had an effect on the internationalisation of German firms between 1945 to the early 1970s, and the resultant outcomes on German corporate management and competitive strategies throws light on how global corporate players evolved. The Americans tried to recapture the markets that they lost during the war, and attempted to enter new geographic markets. To withstand the American challenge, German companies resorted to new management strategies such as the adoption of American know-how, leading to a process of catching up and globalised corporate growth in German companies (Hilger 2008). Conversi (2010) argues that the consequences of cultural Americanisation is one of the least studied areas of the phenomenon of globalisation, although it is the most critical feature. The global expansion of Americanisation can be denoted accurately through distinctive stages of expansion, followed by periods of comparative and momentary recession; this in turn is followed by increased expansion. Hence, Americanisation is the broader conceptual framework that consists of various interconnected phenomena, out of which the most important is globalisation. This has established

Should regular gasoline be replaced by hybrid cars in the next 20 Essay

Should regular gasoline be replaced by hybrid cars in the next 20 years - Essay Example Bursting fossil fills causes certified air defilement and harms the earth, since there is at some point to use up fossil fortifies. Gas is the rule fossil powers for planet force supply and the examination of power approach by Shahriar Shafiee and Erkan Topal in the University of Queensland acknowledges a steady compound rate and registers that spare utilization times of gas is harshly until 2036. That means there are only 23 years left for us to use up gas. Today air pollution is growing in perspective of nursery gases from cars. Cars accept a significant part in the social request however the natural effect by them is the vital issues on the planet additionally. Fortunately, designing in making cars is moved all around the years, hybrid automobiles have been composed and upgraded in the latest century, which is an alternate choice with environmtal and cash identified supportability. Thusly, gas cars should be exchanged by hybrid automobiles from now on. Above all, the issue of air tainting is coming to be dead serious in these decades. Dependable with Union of Concerned Scientists, "Todays on-way vehicles handle in overabundance of a third of the carbon monoxide as well as nitrogen oxides in our surroundings and over twenty percent of the a vast temperature support pollution." The investigation and examination profited by diverse experts and also specialists exhibit that automobiles release is one of the key segments to crumble the earth. Besides, there are two sorts of air sullyings through automobiles. Above all else, drain transmissions, which join risky gases, for instance, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulates. Second, vanish surges, which the nursery gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) are released into nature (Carey 12-17) while duplicating fossil forces. One of the resultant desire of gas cars is the rising of an all inclusive temperature support. Defilements especially from gas automobiles are releas ed all around

Does Globalisation Americanisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Does Globalisation Americanisation - Essay Example Another feature of globalisation is grobalisation by which â€Å"the imperialistic ambitions of nations, corporations, organisations† (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 41) promote the imposition of themselves in various geographic areas for increased power, influence and profits. Two subprocesses of grobalisation are Americanisation and McDonaldisation. Americanisation can be defined as the further spread and establishment of American ideas, customs, social patterns, language, industry, and capital around the world. The concept of Americanisation â€Å"envisions a growth in American influence in all realms throughout the world† (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 47). McDonaldization is the spread of the fast-food restaurant concept not only within the United States, but in increasing numbers of other societies throughout the world (Ritzer 2010). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to determine whether globalisation is synonymous with Americanisation. The Emergence and Evolution of Amer icanisation and Globalisation Americanisation is the larger conceptual framework that includes various interconnected phenomena, among which globalisation is one of the most important. The cultural impact of globalisation on Americanisation as a key 20th century transformation has great consequences. Mennell (2009) believes that globalisation and Americanisation should be examined together in long term perspective. The United States drove globalisation from 1945 to 2000; during this time globalisation was synonymous with Americanisation and Westernization, although terms such as â€Å"hybridity† and â€Å"flexible acculturation† which pertain to immigrants in the United States, prevailed only after 2001 (Nederveen Pieterse 2009). Globalisation is radically transforming all nations and the lives of billions of people all over the world. Globalisation theory characteristically accorded a great deal of significance to developments in the west, and its western bias also me ant that â€Å"the rest of the world had little choice but to become like it† (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 41). After the Second World War, American companies with a highly efficient industrial management system expanded to locations across the globe. This globalisation of American companies had an effect on the internationalisation of German firms between 1945 to the early 1970s, and the resultant outcomes on German corporate management and competitive strategies throws light on how global corporate players evolved. The Americans tried to recapture the markets that they lost during the war, and attempted to enter new geographic markets. To withstand the American challenge, German companies resorted to new management strategies such as the adoption of American know-how, leading to a process of catching up and globalised corporate growth in German companies (Hilger 2008). Conversi (2010) argues that the consequences of cultural Americanisation is one of the least studied areas of the phenomenon of globalisation, although it is the most critical feature. The global expansion of Americanisation can be denoted accurately through distinctive stages of expansion, followed by periods of comparative and momentary recession; this in turn is followed by increased expansion. Hence, Americanisation is the broader conceptual framework that consists of various interconnected phenomena, out of which the most important is globalisation. This has established

History of public administration Essay Example for Free

History of public administration Essay Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Historical accounts of African public administration often highlight the colonial setting and usually overlook pre-colonial Africa. The African civil service has its roots in precolonial institutions on which European powers relied to build the colonial state and consolidate their administration. Thus, this chapter analyzes the development of African administration from the pre-colonial era up to the present. The first section discusses the pre-colonial period. The colonial system constitutes the second section. The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. 1. The Pre-Colonial Period: From the Ashes of Pharaohs to the Berlin Conference At the end of the prehistoric period (10 000 BC), some African nomadic bands began to settle more permanently in villages along the Nile River to develop the political foundation of ancient Egypt. As these early farmers increased their mastery over soil and animal life, irrigation became a key development strategy to increase food production, which in turn multiplied their populations. Eventually, different villages came to recognize their common interests, to coordinate their efforts and broaden community linkages. People from different communities joined together through confederation or conquest for purposes of commerce or defense, and developed African  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani empires, kingdoms, and chieftaincies. Two types of systems, hierarchical political systems and horizontal or acephalous societies, developed to help generate stable communities and foster prosperity. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Stateless societies were small political entities and had no bureaucracies as they were mostly based on kinship. Hierarchical societies, however, had bureaucracies to carry out certain functions such as collecting taxes, supervising ceremonies, entertaining dignitaries, and compelling people to do the rulers’ bidding. These polities, which evolved before the arrival of Europeans in Africa, were either centralized or decentralized political entities presided over by emperors, kings, chiefs, or military commanders. The following analysis covers the first hierarchical form of rule that emerged some three millennia BC in ancient Egypt, followed by a brief overview of Medieval Africa. The final sub-section discusses the African administration up to the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885. 1. 1. Ancient Civilization of Africa: The Case of Egypt Around 3300 BC, farming lineages along the Nile Valley joined together as villages to increase production of food and to defend themselves against outsiders. From these villages regional confederations of Upper and Lower Egypt developed. By 3100 BC, a central authority emerged and unified these confederations under the rule of divine pharaohs. From 2700 to 2181, six dynasties succeeded each other to form the Old Kingdom. A century and a half of civil war and provincial rivalries gave rise to the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdoms that ruled Egypt from 2080 to 1640 BC. The Middle Kingdom was replaced by the Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom from 1570 to 1090 BC. Three dynasties (18th through 20th) ruled in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period began around 1089 BC with the Kushite Kings. The Egyptian empire was multinational consequent to the conquest of foreign nations. The Old and Middle Kingdoms were highly centralized and ruled by â€Å"god-kings† or pharaohs. With its capital at Memphis, the Old Kingdom was divided into provinces. Next to the king was the vizier, the administrative hand of the king, who was also in charge of day to day administrative, fiscal, and judicial matters. Although very few administrative documents have survived, court documents provide a glimpse of the Egyptian bureaucracy. Three basic administrative divisions existed: the Department of the Head of the South, the Office of Government Labor, and the Treasury. The Palermo Stone provides further evidence of administrative structure in the collection of revenue and in the assessment of Egyptian wealth. On the Stone was documented a biennial administrative census that left nothing unaccounted for, so that taxes could be assessed even on the basis of canals, lakes, wells, and trees of an estate. The system consisted of a hierarchical structure with diverse administrative agencies spreading throughout the kingdom for effective management. Another governmental task was the administration of justice, on which was founded the concept of ma‘at (or justice), whereby some high priests bore the title of priest of Ma‘at. In addition to the capital city of Memphis, there were other towns of importance that  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani made up provinces headed by town governors, who were also chief priests in charge of temple revenue in many parts of Ancient Egypt. Provincial temples were the subject of central government regulations to avoid any strong power at the provincial level. However, during the first intermediate period, the office of governor in charge of civil affairs became the office of chief priest. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S The role of bureaucracy in these early kingdoms was to facilitate the transfer of resources from different provinces to the king’s court. If early administrations were in charge of maintaining irrigation and agricultural output, later administrations seemed to be more involved in supervising construction work and wealth transfer. The proliferation of these later types of bureaucracies, at the expense of those that used to maintain the agricultural system, would probably have produced pressures on the agricultural output and might have been the first sign of political decay in Ancient Egypt. The centralized system itself between the king, court officers, and ambitious governors may also have led to the same result. The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period generated a great mass of documentation about Egyptian political and administrative life. The form of government remained the same, based on divine kingship. The government always stressed the religious function of the political system. Under the auspices of Gods, the government was expected to maintain the integrity of Egyptian territory and expand its frontiers. The most important function of the government was to create civic and individual security, and the vizier carried out the duty of ensuring that law and regulations were obeyed throughout the bureaucracy. The society was divided into hierarchical stratifications with the king at the top, a small group of high-ranking and wealthy officials next, and a much larger group of bureaucrats (scribes), priests, soldiers, stable masters, citizens, cultivators, and herdsmen filling the bottom layer. The Egyptian political system under the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period was divided into an internal government and a government of conquests. Internally, the civil government was run by two viziers (northern and southern), overseer of the granaries of upper and lower Egypt, and the chief taxing master. The two viziers also supervised the overseer of the treasury and lower level officials in charge of bureaucracy, judiciary, and the police. At the lowest level of the administrative hierarchy were the chiefs, town mayors, and councils. The government of conquests had several governors who supervised vassal kings and their battalion commanders. Most of the Northern Lands were small and scattered, and under the direct control of various battalion commanders. The goal of this decentralization scheme was to obstruct anyone from controlling a large estate and challenging the king’s power. The governor of the Southern Lands was the Viceroy of Kush and his role became important internally at the end of the Twentieth Dynasty. He also supervised two deputies and a battalion commander. Military forces were all centralized under one commander. In addition to these administrative entities, there existed a religious government hierarchy, with the â€Å"overseer of prophets† at the top, a position held at various times by a vizier who was the head of two high priests. Below them was the priesthood bureaucracy. The corps of the centralized system was maintained by a small group of powerful officials. They headed each department and reported directly to the king who appointed  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani and removed them. The bureaucracy consisted of a group of educated scribes whose role consisted of collecting taxes, conducting censuses, regulating agriculture, and administering justice and law with a small police force. A professional army was divided into various units, each with its own hierarchy of officers. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Pressures on land and rising inflation may have been politically significant in later days of the New Kingdom, though bureaucratic inefficiency and abuse of power were probably the main causes of economic collapse. Besides the deterioration of administrative integrity, another major cause that weakened the kingship was the changing relationship between the king, civil government, army, and a few powerful families. Some families came to control major economic resources of the state, and the civil service became less susceptible to royal control. In addition, the kings’ tours of their provinces became less frequent, and royal princes and other deputies carried out religious rites formerly performed by the kings. During the ensuing Third Intermediate Period (1069 664 BC), Egypt was in perpetual crisis and the Egyptian civilization disappeared after the Roman conquest around 30 BC. In summary, the evolution of Ancient Egypt is characterized by the rise and fall of large scale governments that reflect alternating periods of unification and fragmentation. 1. 2. Medieval Africa Medieval Africa was different from the Ancient in several respects. First, Medieval leaders attempted to balance local traditions and regional autonomy in response to their peoples needs by developing and consolidating large-scale kingdoms and empires for purposes of trade or defense. A second difference was the impact of Islam on African societies. Muslims believed that one God (Allah) called on them to undertake jihads (commonly known as holy war against non-believers) when necessary. The most renowned of Africas medieval empires of Mali, Songhay and Morocco rose to the highest stages of their international influence with Islam as the imperial religion. Other medieval African kingdoms and empires developed indigenous political ideologies based on regional customs and beliefs, while Coptic Christianity remained the official state religion in the Abyssinian kingdom of medieval Ethiopia. In 969 A. D. , Muslims from the Maghreb conquered Egypt and established the Fatimid Dynasty in Cairo (c. 970-1170 A. D. ), which was highly hierarchical and whose military was highly professionalized. This strict hierarchy of officials, and the controlling powers of the vizier, left room neither for the autonomous tendencies of provincial governors nor for the growth of widespread corruption. Tolerant of other religions, the system let Copts and Jews occupy prestigious positions in the administration. The centralized administration controlled tax revenues, the payment of troops, and the allocation of military fiefs. The Fatimid administration was in charge of regulating and distributing the waters of the Nile River. Dams and canals were regularly repaired and improved; even an occasional period of low water did not greatly damage the general economic situation. When the Fatimid rule in Egypt was threatened by European Christian Crusaders (c. 1170), it was Egypts professional soldiers, or Mamluks (slave-soldier), who rallied behind Saladin to defeat the Crusaders. He then established a new Mamluk Dynasty in  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani Cairo from 1171 to1517. By the thirteenth century, the institution of the slave-soldiers became an integral part of the political and social system in many Muslim countries. The Mamluk oligarchy never accepted in its ranks someone who was not a slave soldier, so that the military establishment not only remained hierarchical, but also continued to be a caste dominated by slave soldiers. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Most Mamluk caliphates were divided into military fiefs centralized under one single Caliph. The basic administrative entity was the village because the Mamluk dynasty obtained most of its revenues from landed estates. A major innovation to ensure payment was that the peasants were prohibited from leaving their villages without permission. In addition to land taxes, the Mamluk caliphates drew their revenues from customs duties, based on ad valorem and the religion of the merchants, so that Christian importers had to pay taxes as high as 30%, whereas Muslim importers paid only 10%. This canonical tax was abolished under the reform of 1316. Several other kingdoms, such as Ghana and Mali, developed in Medieval Western Sudan. But the best known was the Kingdom of Songhay founded around the trading town of Gao (c. 1000 A. D. ). The Songhay Kingdom broke away from Mali and subsequently arose to become the third great empire in the medieval western Sudan (c. 1460-1590). Songhays founding emperor, Sunni Ali, established imperial authority northward into the Sahara in order to control international trade routes and valuable deposits of rock salt (which was mined and cut into large blocks to be traded for gold). Following Ali’s death, one of his generals, Muhammad Toure, overthrew the legitimate heir, and embarked on a hajj to Mecca. In 1496 he returned to wage jihad against nonMuslims. He conquered new territories and ruled over Songhays expanded empire as Caliph of West Africa. Under Muhammads authority (1493-1528), Songhay, especially the towns of Timbuktu and Jenne, rose to become one of the medieval worlds largest multinational empires. The administrative system was open enough to provide lower level citizens some type of upward social mobility. The empire was highly decentralized and Islam was used as a tool to assimilate different communities. Different categories of slaves cultivated fields, constructed adobe buildings and mosques, acted as porters, or served as soldiers and officials in the imperial government. Some of the latter rose through government and military bureaucracies by virtue of meritorious work to achieve high positions of administrative responsibility, as did soldier Muhammad Toure, when he rose by military merit to become a general and then became the emperor of Songhay. As emperor of Songhay, Muhammad established effective central supervision over provincial governors. He also reformed Songhays imperial government so that merit (rather than birth) became the principal criterion for advancement in bureaucracy. Eventually, after Muhammad became blind and was deposed in 1528, Songhays trans-Saharan trade declined. This was also partly due to competition from European sea traders along the West African Atlantic coast, which undercut the trans-Saharan gold trade. After severe political crises of succession disputes, rebellions and civil war that Songhay emperors faced during the 1580s, their imperial army was decisively defeated by Moroccos elite musketeers at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591. Other kingdoms and chieftaincies came up throughout Central, Eastern and Southern  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since Emizet F. Kisangani Africa. Although some of these polities were decentralized or confederated, most of them developed as centralized systems where the king or the chief represented the top, followed by the house of the king or an inner circle of advisors, and finally the Council of Elders as the legislative branch. The army and bureaucrats were in charge of maintaining security and law, collecting taxes, and conducting censuses. In most polities, age was a major social feature of stratification, while in other areas the system was meritocractic. 1. 3. Beyond the Medieval Era to the Nineteenth Century U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S In the late 1500s and through the 1700s, Europeans and Arabs introduced new weapons and made new demands for captives of war throughout Africa to meet the demands of a growing international slave trade. Consequently, many of Africa’s previous patterns of political and economic growth were disrupted, even though many of the great traditions of medieval African politics and administration continued to guide their evolution. As African kingdoms and empires continued to develop, and trade between coastal cities and interior regions expanded throughout the continent, various African peoples established political confederations based on religious ideology, commercial linkages and/or military authority. Such confederations were committed to establishing broader nationalist ideologies, promoting literacy and advancement by merit, expanding both regional and international commerce, and undertaking significant administrative and military reforms. The first great reformer and leader in North Africa was an Ottoman military commander, Muhammad Ali (1805-1848). He established the first secular schools, engineering and medical colleges, modern factories, modern printing presses, and stateowned textile and munitions factories. His successors continued his policies of borrowing foreign capital and building projects, such as the Suez Canal that was completed in 1869. In the west, the original Asante confederation, established by seven clans near the city of Kumasi (in modern day Ghana), united around the symbolic Golden Stool of their ruler Asante-Hene. This confederation built roads and promoted agriculture, commerce, industry and education through self-help and self-reliance. The Asante emperors implemented several modernization policies in administration that included promoting advancement by merit and the development of state enterprise through public investment. By 1874, the British imperial army defeated the Asante army and annexed the Fante territories into their Gold Coast colony. In East Africa (c. 1800-1885), there was also a movement toward centralization of authority and broadened commercial linkages throughout the region, from Ethiopia’s Highlands to the Limpopo River in Southern Africa. In the first half of the nineteenth century, however, Africa continued to be significantly disrupted by international trade in slaves, even as new Euro-American markets began to demand large imports of such African-based commodities as palm oil, cotton, peanuts, and ivory. By mid-century, European merchants realized that Africans could produce such valuable exports more efficiently and humanely by working in their own countries than by working as slaves in the Americas. Many other nineteenth century African nations were consciously modernizing their various political economies and shifting to regional confederacies,