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Oda Nobunagas Biography

Oda Nobunagas Biography The oda of Omwari Oda Nobunaga was born Oda Kipposhi on June 23rd 1534 and was a second son of Oda Nobuhinde who by then was a minor lord and whose family was servant to Shiba Shugo. Oda Kipposhi’s father was a very knowledgeable warrior who used much of his time in battles as a Samurai to Mikawa and Mino. At home, Oda kipposhi’s father, later Oda Nobunaga, was involved in power rivalry with his extended family over the control of Omwari province (Seal par 5).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Oda Nobunagas Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Oda family was divided into two warring branches. The Nobuhide’s branch was stationed at kiyosu and was run by three elders; the second branch of the family was housed at Iwakura castle in the north of Omwari province. At the time of his birth, Japan was a divided country as Opposed to what it used to be in earlier years before the terrible civil war of 1460s. The country was divided into more than sixty provinces each under the rule of a Daimyo. However, Daimyo were always at war with each other during which time numerous farms and villages would be burned. Oda Nobunaga was brought up in a castle in Nagoya where his father was among the chiefs from his Oda family that ruled Omwari at the time. During his youthful years, Oda was a handsome and unusually graceful man and his father had hired tutors to teach his son the arts of war and other Chinese classics. Oda however proved to be a nuisance to his tutors because of his arrogance and irrelevance. One of his trainers, Kiyohide committed kanshi after writing up a letter urging Nobunaga to take up his studies more seriously. This death made Nobunaga change some bit and honored Hirashi Kiyohide by building the Seisyu-ji in Omwari (Seal par 4). Oda Nobunaga was strange in his mode of dressing wearing odd colored short sleeve and knickknacks hanging from his waist. His moo ds were also unpredictable making people think him crazy. It was rumored that Oda acted in this manner to fool his older cousins from seeing him a rival for the power. Physically, Nobunaga had a prominent nose and a scarce beard and was of unruly behavior. At the age of fourteen, Oda Nobunaga married a daughter of the lord of Mino province. This was a politically instigated marriage based on convenience not loves. The rise of Oda Nobunaga Following Oda Nobuhinde’s death, Oda Nobunaga built a small force of not more than a thousand men and successfully built an army that later repulsed two attacks by relatives and by a rival province. He later killed his chief rival in the family and a brother who challenged his leadership.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Oda Nobunaga rose to become a minor warlord and only held a small piece of land in Omwari province. Like most other Daimyo of his time, Oda rose to power following military encounters and by the age of 25 years, he controlled a large part of Omwari province by ruthlessly taking over territories from his neighbors. By 1558, Nobunaga had successfully united his family (Morton 47). His rule was only secure in 1560 when he defeated Totomi family from the Ingawa province which was matching through his province on their way to conquering Kyoto. Following this defeat to the largest army in Japan, Nobunaga suddenly became a national figure and as a result many other Daimyos met him in a bid to build alliances (Saito 25). Like other Daimyos of the Sengoku era, Oda Nobunaga took the advantage of convenience marriages to create alliances and strengthen his leadership. To begin with, Nobunaga married his daughter to the lord of Mikawa province Tokugawa Leyasu’s son. This alliance lasted for twenty years . O-ichi, Oda Nobunaga’s sister was also married to Asai who was the lord of Omi provi nce. These alliances helped Nobunaga became the leader of a very strong and powerful coalition. This however was only a start of what Oda Nobunaga aspired to do. It was only the beginning of an empire that he intended to build (Saito 27).He multiplied his army into more than ten times. He even recruited farmer to be foot soldiers who carried spears and lances while whoever showed talent was promoted through ranks (Saito 29). His military prowess and leadership skill were again proved when in 1565 he marched into Kyoto and helped drive out a local warlord who had killed a shogun and instead installed a three year old as the new shogun. Nobunaga replaced the child shogun with Yoshiaki, the brother of the murdered shogun. He also helped rebuild the badly damaged palace and gave money to the emperor who had invited him to Kyoto. Following the rise in power of Minamoto no Yoritomo appointed in 1192, as a shogun, most emperors lost their power, the remaining shoguns too lost their power a lthough they still could appoint judges and other administrators. Nobunaga used Shogun Yoshiaki as a puppet and even obtained rights to sign document without his consent. This period saw Nobunaga become the most powerful leaders in Japan owing to his political and military might (Morton 47). Resistance The developments at Kyoto agitated a daimyo that lived outside the influence of Nobunaga. He saw Nobunaga as a force that would lead to his destruction. To him, Nobunaga could not be compared to many other warlords like Hosokama Sumimoto and Miyoshi Motonaga who were only concerned only about personal gain and prestige. Nobunaga’s gain however seemed to surpass that of the two warlords and could not be filled.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Oda Nobunagas Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He knew that Nobunaga’s aim was to rule the whole of Japan. Four other warlords during Nobunagaâ₠¬â„¢s rule: Mori Motonari, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin and hojo Ujiasu had no say in the capital as they had been removed by Nobunaga. Their movement was also curtailed by Nobunaga who occupied a strategic location. Taking Kyoto only made things better for him as he was now positioned in the middle of Japan. Nobunaga’s power was based on the point of the sword with the use of diplomacy waning as he put additional territories under his rule. Nobunaga crushed his enemies completely especially those troublesome to him (Morton 49). Real trouble The first real trouble came when Asakura Yoshikage turned down an invitation by Yoshiaki who was ordered by Nobunaga to invite all local daimyos to a banquet at Kyoto. Nobunaga took this as a symbol of disloyal to both shogun Yoshiaki and the emperor. Using this as an excuse, Nobunaga raised an army to attack Echizen which was ruled by Asakura. He made good his threat and was approaching Echizen capital, Ichijo-no-Tani, when he received news that his brother-in-law , Asai Namagasa, husband to his sister O-ichi had shifted bases and was fighting on Asakura’s side. He later moved back to Kyoto and attacked the combined forces of Asai and Asakura but the winner of this battle was no other but Nobunaga. This win propelled Nobunaga to the highest point in his military and political career (Hooker par 1). He now was a force to reckon with in the larger Japan. However, Asai and Asakura had killed Nobunaga’s own brother, Nobuharu and sought the assistance of the monks of Mt. Hiei. The fall of Monasteries In 1570, Nobunaga’s army under the command of Hideyoshi defeated his brother-in-law, Asai, who had defected from his camp to join that of his rival, Asakura. However, both Asai and Asakura could not be captured as they escaped and sought refuge in Mt. Hiei which was a home to Enryakuji, one of the oldest and holiest Tendai Buddhist monasteries at the time. It is important to know that in middle of the second millennia, Buddhist monks were not as saintly as we know them today, but were rather armed, very political and held a lot of wealth. This resulted into a lot of resentment from Nobunaga who coveted the extensive land holding they held and their use of religion to disguise their power pursuit. When he failed to annihilate Asai and Asakura, Nobunaga pleaded with the monks of Eryakuji to either maintain neutrality or face his wrath.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The monks too were in bad terms with Oda Nobunaga who took some of their lands and had threatened to tax them. They too could not understand how anyone could take the action Nobunaga was intending to fulfill of burning their eight century old monastery. In the mean time, Asai and Asakura took the opportunity to escape as the armed monks engaged in skirmishes with Nobunaga’s men. In October 1571, in the mid of a very windy night, Nobunaga’s revenge was terrible as his soldiers surrounded Mt. Hiei and set it on fire. As enormous flames engulfed the mountain city, thousands of warrior monks, women and children were consumed by the fire that reduced the Eryakuji monastery into ashes. Close to three thousand homes, schools, temples and libraries were destroyed in this fire. The whole of Japan shuddered at what Nobunaga had ruthlessly done. To this day, at the mention of Nobunaga, Japanese first thing in the mind is the burning of the Eryakuji monastery. This act of burning the monastery had the impact that Nobunaga intended as many Japanese monks were terrified and stopped maintaining armies, cease to be political and also accepted their loss of land without a word. In 1574, one of remaining defiant Buddhist sect went up in flames while a second one was suppressed with gun fire in the following year. Only the Honganji monastery on Osaka bay remained defiant as it enjoyed naval support from some western Daimyos, however, in 1580, Nobunaga’s marines in seven warrior ships destroyed close to six hundred war boats. This brought to an end the defiance of the Honganji monastery. Most other Buddhists had however lost their power by 1573. In that same year, Asai and Asakura committed suicide and Nabunaga had their skulls gold and silver plated and used them as drinking cups. As a result of asai’s death, his widow O-ichi, returned to his brother Nobunaga with three daughters and an infant son who was executed. O-ichi, with her striking beauty, wa s married off to a top general in his army, Shibata Katsue. Christian Missionaries and the Gun Powder Oda Nobunaga first interaction with the westerners was recorded by a Portuguese missionary named Louis Frois in 1569. Louis described Nobunaga as a tall man who was greatly addicted to military exercise and who scorned both Buddha and the Kami tradition medicine and who neither believed in life after death nor the immortality of the soul. Nobunaga welcomed Jesuits missionary whom he liked and from whom he received gifts such as maps, tiger skins, magnifying glasses, improved guns and who also shared his contempt for Buddhism. In 1543, three Portuguese traders sold matchlocks to the Japanese at the island of Tanega south of Kyushu. These guns were copied by the local lord’s blacksmith’s but these guns failed to function due the gunpowder failing to explode. Later, a Portuguese blacksmith settled down and began teaching the Japanese finer points of gun making. Within no time, the Japanese were making guns at a very fast rate. Sooner, the port of Okai, on Osaka bay became a major gun manufacturing center in Japan. Until 1569, this very prosperous town was under the rule of merchants but in that year, it fell under Nobunaga’s direct rule. Nobunaga’s Administrative Skills It is recorded that Nobunaga was a very skilful administrator and a good warrior. He promoted trade by minting standardized currency and also standardized weights and measures giving merchants an easy time in the process. ‘Marotoriums’ were also abolished as they exempted the dictatorial warlords from paying debts. In his attempts to further improve trade conditions in Japan, he abolished all toll barriers and guild monopolies in his territory and in major cities. The more Nobunaga expanded his territorial borders by conquering neighboring provinces, the more it became easier for merchants as trade areas increased. Nobunaga modernized his armies and in fact bought tens of thousands of guns that were used by his armies in practicing. The soldiers were trained to fast load the gun powders and to shoot and were also trained on arrangement in the battlefront especially formation of alternating rows. In this arrangement, as the first row bent to reload, the second row would shoot while the third row would be aiming. This ensured a continuous bombardment that was devastating to the rival army. He too armed peasants who at times massacred thousands of samurai swordsmen (Weston 144). Shogun Yoshiaki who too was in communication with Asai, Asakura, monks at the Eryakuji monastery and the daimyo of Akai province was too expelled from Kyoto. Nobunaga imposed taxes on the wealthy city dwellers and those who resisted had their wealth burned. This scared others who hastily complied. Yoshiaki’s life was spared and he was left to wander in Japan for close to thirty years. During this time, Kyoto stayed without a shogun with the emperor failing to persuade Nobunaga to take up the position. Nobunaga had no interest in titles and chose to remain a warrior but demanded obedience from all those ha subdued. He even requested for obedience from his general Shibata Katsue whom he warned never to have any evil thought towards him. The Azuchi Castle In 1570s, Japan was enjoying a peaceful period following the rule of Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga decided to build himself a seven storey castle on a hill in Azuchi province. This was a magnificent palace build forty miles north of Kyoto and was completed in 1579. The Azuchi castle had very beautiful rooms and were painted by top artists of the time especially Kano Eitoku who was the finest. Each room was unique and was painted in a different theme including falcons, horses, trees, Chinese scholars and even Buddha and his disciples. His tea room was painted in leaf gold and it was in this room that he held tea ceremonies. Nobunaga was a great tea lover and collected rare tea utensils and gav e them to his great generals as gifts. The castle at Azuchi underwent various changes. It was during this time that modern Japanese castles were born (Weston 145). Azuchi castle revolutionized castle building in Japan. It was among the first Hiramayajiro castles that were build on a flat topped mountain and on low hills. The hills chosen were on a plain enabling large numbers of troops to be positioned here. Other features of the Azuchi castle included a bigger and higher tenshu allowing a greater view of the plains, Masugata, multiple maru and an ishigaki at the centre of the castle. There were also secret floors within the tenshu. The Azuchi castle not only served for the defensive purposes but was also a show of power for Nobunaga. Nobunaga’s castle was later copied by other leaders who came after him such as Nagahama and Himeji castles build by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Sakamoto and Tanbakameyama castles that were build by Akechi Mitsumide. Nobunaga’s Major Achiev ements Military Nobunaga revolutionized the way wars were fought in Japan. His army was one of the most organized in the world during his time. He made many inventions and innovations that helped properly arm his forces (Murray 125). The most notable implementations were use of long pikes, advanced fire arms, ironclad ships and fortifications of castle to boost security. He also started a warrior class in which positions were assigned based on merit and not by name, tribe, rank or the size of land that one owned. Retainers were rewarded on the basis of the amount of rise that a rice farm produced not on the size of the farm. This measures ensured equality and fairness and helped reduce any complaints from his army. This system of army organization was later copied by his rivals such as Tokugawa Leyasu during the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate that was based at Edo (Murray 128). Trade Nobunaga was a very keen businessman who understood and practiced the principles of macro and m icroeconomics. He was pivotal in the modernization of both agricultural and manufacturing industries. Service bases and castle towns were established as the centers of trade and local economics. To further improve trade and ease the movement of his large army between cities, Nobunaga improved roads. He opened up Japan beyond china and the Korean peninsula to the larger Asian countries such as Philippines, Siam and Indonesia. Trade with Europe especially with Portuguese and Spain was also expanded. As a way to improve and promote trade and industry, Nobunaga instituted the Rakuizi-rakuza policies. Under this policy, Nobunaga’s goal was to abolish and prohibit monopolies and helped open up suppressed unions, associations and guilds. He established a proper tax system and exemptions and instituted laws that governed borrowing (Weston 142). Fine art With the rise of Nobunaga as a national leader, he amassed a large amount of wealth that he used to support major causes most notabl y the fine art. Nobunaga had a liking for the art and later used it to display his power and prestige. His many gardens and castles bore great artistic features with the Azuchi castle being one this great art works. In later years, Nobunaga became a devout Christian and used this as a basis for terrorizing the Buddhist Ikko monks (Peterson 85). His tea master, Sen no Rikkyu helped him established the tea ceremonies which Nobunaga used for politics and business. The westernization of Japan Nobunaga eagerly embraced the western religions especially Christianity and welcomed the Jesuits missionaries with open hands. As a result of his conversion, he became among the first Japanese leader to appear in the European histories. He also imported the western technology like the firearms into Japan. This technology coupled with offensive and defensive mechanisms imported from Europe contributed to the modernization of his forces. His armies were always retrained to cope up with new imported t actics and in addition, massive stone forts were constructed that would defy modern gun fire. He also improved his warships by iron cladding them which resulted into nearly unbeatable models (Weston 145). The Death of Nobunaga Nobunaga’s glory came to its highest point in Kyoto, august of 1581, during this day; Nobunaga had gathered nearly twenty thousand horsemen all brilliantly dressed who flew in full gallop in front of the emperor and half of the Kyoto population. Hideyoshi, one of his top brass general was not in this parade as he was on a mission to conquer the Harima province. The story was that since 1577, Harima province had put up a strong defense following the unification of all western Daimyos under the leadership of the Mori family, who were allies of the Ikko-ikki clan. This province had a united army with as many soldiers and complex gun power as Nobunaga making the war drag for years (Peterson 87). In 1582, the Mori troops were making advancement towards the c astle in Bitchu province and were overwhelming to the Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s army. Hideyoshi asked for reinforcement from Nobunaga who at once decided to head west himself. In the process, Nobunaga commanded his top Generals to join him in this worthy course. He however took a two night’s stop at a temple in Kyoto in order to make the final arrangement for a battle that never took place. June 21, 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide, the general appointed by Nobunaga to lead some ten thousand soldiers to attack Harima province chose to attack Nobunaga instead. This took Nobunaga at a sheer surprise as he was entertaining guests at a Homno temple. Nobunaga had less than a hundred board guards making escape out of question. For the first time, Nobunaga took part in a battle but was wounded by either an arrow or a spear. He decided to retreat into a room and locked himself from where he committed Seppuku, a ritual suicide (Peterson 89). The temple was then burned down and no remains of N obunaga’s body were ever recovered. His eldest son was also killed in this battle and his Azuchi castle looted and then burned down by the mob. It is not known up to today what caused Mitsuhide turn against his master and he never had time to explain as he was hunted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who took his head. At his death, Nobunaga was forty six years and ruled Japan’s thirty one out of sixty six provinces. His aim was to conquer many more and bring them under one rule. Conclusion Oda Nobunaga was truly one of the Japan’s most influential men and women and is remembered for his attempt to form a united Japan. He had a modern outlook for Japan and helped modernize warfare in Japan, broke the power of the monks, improved trade and industry, westernized Japan, gave equal opportunities to all especially the peasant and surprisingly ignored titles (Berry 35). It is however ironical that this fierce warrior who had the heart to burn thousands of innocent children and wo men was attributed to have brought peace to Japan which by the time was racked by a two hundred years of war. This peace he brought fearfully and was based on one man who ruled Japan with an iron hand. It is no surprise that his allies were also relieved following his death. But the question many ask is ‘to what length Nobunaga would have gone had his life not been cut short?’ By the time of his death, Nobunaga changed Japan forever (Berry 35). Berry M. Elizabeth. Hideyoshi. Havard: Havard University Asia center, 1989. Hooker, Richard. â€Å"World civilizations: Odo Nobunaga.† Washington State University, 1996. Web. Morton, M. Scott, and Olenik, J. Kenneth. Japan: Its History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005. Murray, David. The Story of Japan. UK: G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1894. Paterson, Paterson. Oda Nobunaga: The Battle of Okehazama. New York: Jetlag press, 2008. Saito, Hisho. A history of Japan. Tokyo: Forgotten books, 1990. Seal, F. W. â€Å"Oda Nobunaga. Samurai, Mar 5 2011.  samurai-archives.com/nobunaga.html Weston, Mark. Giants of Japan: the Lives of Japan’s Most Influential Men and Women. New York: Kodansha America, 2002.

Human Health and Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Health and Environment - Assignment Example In 1793, more than 5000 Americans died as a result of the yellow fever epidemic which started in Philadelphia. (Murphy, J., 2003) There are an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever, causing 30,000 deaths, worldwide each year. (Yellow Fever, 2009) On the other hand, The World Health Organization’s Guidelines for the treatment of malaria (2010) has reported an estimated 863,000 deaths in 2008 due to malaria. Still another similar factor yellow fever and malaria share is that they almost have the same symptoms. Both diseases make the victim feel feverish and body ache. Conversely, yellow fever can be different from malaria, too. Firstly, where malaria has a cure thanks to the medicine quinine (Agosta, W., 1997), there is only a vaccine for yellow fever and a cure dependent on the resulting illness manifested by the patient. (Hayes, J.J., 1858) The said vaccine was discovered by Max Theiler in 1937. (Monath, T., 2010) Secondly, the incubation fever for yellow fever is only for 3-4 days, malaria victims only show signs of the symptoms after 7 to 30 days. (WHO, 2010) Last but not the least, while yellow fever has mostly affected people in Africa and Latin America, deaths and cases of malaria are in sub-Saharan Africa. (WHO, 2010) 1.b) A mosquito’s bite causes malaria and yellow fever. Since North America goes through the winter season, egg production stops and there is no drive for the female mosquito to take blood meals. (Humphreys, M., 2001) Because there is no need to bite humans for blood, these diseases are not threats in North America. 1.c.) No single country in sub-Saharan African has shown a substantial decline in malaria, according to WHO’s Africa Malaria Report 2004 (Crowe, S., 2003) This can be attributed to two things: Africa is a tropical country and a poor one at that. Tropical countries only have two seasons: sunny and rainy. Inasmuch, the climate in tropical countries can be warm, humid or cool.

Different languages in the united states Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Different languages in the united states - Essay Example Spanish is ranked second after English, among spoken languages of United States. French comes third, and after these million of Americans speak  German, Italian, Chineese, Urdu, regularly.  There are two counties, where Navaho speakers are in highest concentration and Yupik speakers in one out of total thirty-five. US English Foundation Inc. reported 322 languages are spoken in the United States; among that English is the most common language. There are more than two Billions English speakers. Among all Americans, 96% are well versed with English. If languages are arranged alphabetically it starts from Abnaki to Zuni, whereas in order English, Spanish, French, Chinese, German is the most common language of United States. In numbers, it is found. Eight languages have a speaker more in 1 Million, 13 languages have a speaker in 0.5 Million and around 38 languages have a speaker in 0.1 Million. Furthermore, only English and Spanish are the languages spoken by +1 percent of total Amer ican population. California is the state where 207 different languages are spoken, whereas 169, 163, 145, 138,135,134, 132,130, and 129 different languages are spoken in New York, Washington, Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and Arizon respectively. Wyoming is the state where fewest languages are spoken in United States ("Languages in America "). ... Urdu, Punjabi, Gujratic, Hindi, Iranian, and Greek languages are also placed in this category. 3. Asian and pacific Island languages Chinese; Korean; Japanese; Vietnamese; Hmong; Khmer; Lao; Thai; and Tagalog is put in Asian and P Island languages. Furthermore, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam; Philippine, Polynesian, and Micronesian are also placed in this division. 4. Others All other languages named above are grouped in this category.  Ã‚  Uralic languages (such as Hungarian), the Semitic languages (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.), languages of Africa, and N North, South and Central America, etc. are placed in this class. English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, etc. is the most common immigrant language in the United States. English is the most common language of the United States. However, it is not the official language, instead of many recommendations of making English its native language.  Ã‚  American English is the title given to the diversity of English spoken in the United States; an d when it amalgamates with the Canadian English it makes up the group of languages known as North American English. Spanish is the second most spoken language in United States, because of rapid growth in their population, especially in the United States.  United States  is considered  as the  fifth largest population where Spanish is spoken. In all, 2,725 of the 3,141 counties (86.8 percent) in the United States had English and Spanish as their first and second most common languages – 2,690 with English first and Spanish second and 35 with Spanish first and English second. Frequency of Germany spoken is alternative to Spanish in the United States. It is the

Fiscal Policy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fiscal Policy Paper - Essay Example The taxpayers are adversely affected by the increases in the tax imposition. Recently owing to the high fiscal deficit there has been increase in the various taxes on the employers, manufacturers, wage suppression on the employees and so on. There has been a problem of inter temporal budget and the huge deficits are actually burdening the current generation as well as the future generation. One of the analysts in New York Times stated that, â€Å"taxpayers will end up paying the costs of today’s deficits tomorrow† (Ackerman, 2004). But in this situation tax regime has to be tightened for bringing dynamic stability to the US economy and sacrifice has to be made now. Future Social Security and Medicare users Owing to the huge fiscal deficit, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enacted by the current President Obama directs towards access of equality, affordable health care and transformation within the health care system necessary to contain costs. The budget o ffice of the congress determined that the act will allow coverage to more than around 94% of the Americans staying within a limit of $900 billion bending the health cost curve and reducing the deficit over the next decade. The social security administration forecasts that by the next four decades from now on the trust fund of social security will be utilized in either borrowing, increasing revenue or that of diminishing profits (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2012). University of Phoenix student With the American fiscal deficit reaching lowest levels recently hit the for -profit University of Phoenix with higher costs and tremendously declining overall enrollment. As a coping strategy the University has planned to close down around 115 locations affecting the careers of around 13000 students. The University currently has about 328,000 students declined from a peak of more than 400,000. The closure of the branches will leave around 112 locations in 36 states of Unite d States, the District of Columbia as well as Puerto Rico. Although the President of the University has assured that the affected students will be shifted to online courses but it will leave a sense of moral degradation among the students for sure (Veiga, 2012). The United State’s financial reputation on an international level The trade deficit of United States of America has widened in the month of August 2012 with exports falling to the lowest levels in the last six months indicating a sign of worry indicating that the global economy has reduced the demand for the US goods. The chamber of commerce declared that the deficit increased to a level of $44.2 billion in August which is biggest gap since May. In the global front the American made cars as well as farm goods have declined. The imports reduced but with a slight 0.1 percent to $225.5 billion as purchases of foreign-made autos, aircraft and heavy machinery fell. The cost of oil also fell significantly. A significant gro wth in the trade deficit imparts a negative vibe as it signifies that the US is earning less on an overseas scale with respect to its domestic products. The manufacturers of US have been also hampered by slumping economies in countries like Europe, China and other key export markets which accounts for at least one-fifth of U.S. exports. The economic growth also declined to an annual rate of only 1.3% in the quarter of April-June (Crutsinger, 2012). Unemployed individuals Unemployment is a serious problem which requires particular attention.

The Rise Of Green Vehicles Marketing Essay

The Rise Of Green Vehicles Marketing Essay Introduction A green vehicle is a motor vehicle that has less dangerous and less deadly effects to the environment than any regular gasoline or diesel powered vehicles. The major inspiration of the development of alternative fuels and green engineering are to reduce the harmful environmental impacts and to create the mentality of reducing dependency to oil. Based on what customers majority demand in automobile industry: low fuel consumption, low cost, low noise pollution, state-of-the-art technology, and environmentally friendly, manufactures are significantly are transforming their technology to the green vehicle technology. Green vehicles are powered by alternative fuels and include hybrids, electric cars, ethanol, hydrogen cars, natural gas, plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, and air powered vehicles. Latest trend of the green vehicles popularity was significantly caused by the rise of oil prices. People are trying to find other ways to save their money from purchasing gas for their gas/diesel powere d cars. Tax saving also contributes to the rise of green vehicles popularity in various countries such as United States and European Union. According to IRS website, The Energy Policy Act of 2005 replaced the clean-fuel burning deduction with a tax credit. A tax credit is subtracted directly from the total amount of federal tax owed, thus reducing or even eliminating the taxpayers tax obligation. The tax credit for hybrid vehicles applies to vehicles purchased or placed in service on or after January 1, 2006 (www.irs.gov). This paper will answer several questions that people might be curios about. First, I will discuss the causes of the booming market of green vehicles in the last decade. Secondly, I will discuss the controversies of GMs electric vehicle EV1 and its relation to the conspiracy theories with Oil Company. Background As mentioned before, green vehicles include hybrids, electric cars, ethanol, hydrogen cars, natural gas, plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, and air powered vehicles. Hybrids combine two or more different propulsion systems, typically a gasoline engine and one or more electric drive motors. Most hybrids on the road today compliment their gas engines by charging a battery when breaking. Engines running on diesel or other alternative fuels can also be used in hybrids. A hybrid drive is fully scalable, which means the drive can be used to power everything from small commuter cars to large buses and even locomotives. Hybrids get more MPG or miles per gallon than most non-hybrids, and usually have very low tailpipe emissions (greencar.com). Electric cars produce zero localized emissions since theyre propelled by electric motors that run on batteries charged at home, or special electric vehicle charging stations. Electric cars are extremely efficient and run for pennies per mile, much cheaper than any other alternative fuel. Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As a fuel, ethanol can be used in more than 30 flex fuel vehicle models that have been designed to run on alcohol, gasoline, or any combination of the two fuels from the same tank. Most ethanol today is produced from corn or sugar cane, although this will change as cheaper cellulosic ethanol made from fast growing woody grasses and other biomass becomes a reality. Hydrogen cars perhaps the cleanest of all alternative fuels, burning with nearly zero emissions in an internal combustion engine and with emissions of only water vapor and heat in an electro-mechanical fuel cell. Natural gas, the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, is being used by an increasing number of medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles like refuse trucks and delivery vans. Natural gas is stored and used in its liquefied or compressed states. It is most commonly abbreviated as LNG for Liquefied Natural Gas, a nd CNG for Compressed Natural Gas. While a variety of light-duty natural gas cars were once available, the only factory-produced natural gas car made today in the U.S. is Hondas Civic GX. Plug-in hybrids boast great potential for improving fuel economy. Plug in hybrid technology allows gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles to be recharged from the grid and run many miles on battery power alone. A gas engine provides additional driving range as needed after the battery power is gone. Plug in hybrids may never need to run on anything but electricity for shorter commutes. The combination of gas and electric driving technologies can already achieve up to 150 mpg. Biodiesel is a renewable alternative fuel made from various sources ranging from waste vegetable oil to soybeans. It can often be used seamlessly in diesel engines of all kinds. Biodiesel is a cleaner fuel than standard petroleum diesel. Since it can be produced locally, biodiesel has the potential to decrease our dependence on for eign countries for oil, and enhance local economies where biodiesel production is taking place. Air powered cars are relatively new to the green car scene. Compressed air is currently being explored as a viable alternative fuel to efficiently power car engines with little or no environmental impact (greencar.com). Going back to the history of green vehicles, they have been around for around almost 120 years. Jake Richardson in his article 9 Electric Cars 100 Years Old or More explains that the first green vehicle ever made was 1891 Morison. Made by William Morrison in 1891, some say the Morrison was the first electric vehicle in America. It  had a four horsepower engine, and could  carry 6-12 passengers. Top speed was about 20 mph. The batteries needed to be recharged every 50 miles. It has been said the car was actually completed in 1887 and was driven in a Des Moines parade in 1888. If that is true, the Morrison was first built 122 years ago, and it was built in America, where today they are  almost no electric cars on the roads. Next is electrobat, produced from 1894-1899.   Electrobats were made for several years in Philadelphia. The first ones were very heavy and used steel  tires to support a large lead battery. They employed twin 1.5 hp motors and  had a top speed of 20 mph. They could go 25 miles on one charge. Next is the 1900 Riker. Riker is a bulky enclosed cabin four passenger sedan that was made about the turn of the century; the Riker featured electric side lamps, wooden-spoked wheels, and a voice tube so passengers could communicate with the driver. Cabin windows could be raised and lowered. 48 battery cells were onboard, with an electric engine near each rear wheel.  The drivers seat was about 6-7 feet in the air.   Next is 1901 Riker torpedo. Andrew Riker, the founder of Riker Electric Vehicles, made the Torpedo in 1901 to be the fastest car on the road. Next is the 1902 Studebaker, 1906 Krieger, 1909 Babcock, and 1909 Bailey (http://gas2.org). It hasnt been seriously developed until the 1973 when the oil crisis strikes. Paul Lucas in his article The History of Green Motoring explains that in the 1980s, attempts to develop the green car concept reached new heights. In Switzerland for example, there was an annual race for solar-powered veh icles called the Tour de Sol. This ran from 1985-1995. In 1991, BMW created a pair of battery powered E1 concepts that failed to get past the concept stage. In the same year, the Citroen Citela was born with a range of 130 miles and top speeds of 70mph. GM also introduced its first purpose-built electric vehicle, the EV1, from 1996-1999. Since the turn of the millennium the concept of green cars has expanded at a phenomenal rate. This is because of the contribution of the expansion of hybrid cars, which effectively plug the gap between electric cars and conventional vehicles. Popular models include the Toyota Camry, which was once acclaimed as the top-selling passenger vehicle in America, and the Toyota Prius which in 2007 was the number-one selling hybrid vehicle worldwide. The concept has even been introduced into larger vehicles such as the Lexus RX400h, an off-roader. The Volkswagen BlueMotion Polo, which became available in 2007, cut CO2 emissions even further. Hydrogen fuelled cars arrived in 2006 through the BMW 7 Series, while the Ford Airstream was introduced in 2007 with a lithium battery that was topped up by a hydrogen fuel cell (www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk). Major Reasons So, what exactly encouraged the rise of green vehicle popularity? One of the major contributors to the popularity of green vehicle is the increase of oil prices all over the world. The advancement of technology is causing the green vehicles to consume less gas. Ricky Lim in his article 3 Advantages Of Hybrid Cars Over Conventional Cars explains that Combining the cleaner energy of an electric motor with the long range capacity of a gasoline engine allows a hybrid car to save as much as 30 miles a gallon (http://ezinearticles.com. One of the technologies of hybrid cars is that they will only use the gasoline engine during constant speed such as highways speed. During the stop and go traffic, the electric engine will be functioned thats resulting in saving fuel. People always wonder on why hybrids cars are extremely quiet during idle. It is because the gasoline engine is turned off. The electric engine doesnt produce any noise at all. Here are the data of gas consumption on some of the hybrid cars: Ford Escape 31.9 mpg; Honda Accord 29.4 mpg; Honda Civic 46.2 mpg; Honda Insight 55.3 mpg; Lexus GS 450H 23.5 mpg; Lexus RX 400H 25.3 mpg; Mercury Mariner 29.5 mpg; Nissan Altima 34.3 mpg; Saturn Vue 25.9 mpg; Toyota Camry 36.5 mpg; Toyota Highlander 26.4 mpg; Toyota Prius 47.5 mpg (www.greenhybrid.com). Based on www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com, Hybrid car sales statistics have shown steady growth over most of the last five years, but sales peaked in early 2008 (at 45,000 vehicles) and showed a steady decline in the second half of 2008 with sales starting to recover somewhat in spring 2009. Considering the spike in oil and gasoline prices up to about July of 2008, and their rapid decline once the economic downturn hit later in 2008, its not surprising that sales show a peak followed by a steady drop. Fortunately for hybrid car manufacturers, gasoline price increases in the second through fourth quarters of 2009 have been accompanied by a return to high er hybrid car sales (http://www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com/hybrid-car-sales-statistics.html). Take a look at this chart, which shows three data series: hybrid car sales statistics by month, a 12-month moving average of hybrid car sales, and average US gas prices per gallon, from January 2004 to December 2009: (www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com) According to carsdirect.com, the August 2009 hybrid car statistics show that of the more than 200,000 hybrid cars sold in the U.S. year-to-date (YTD), the Toyota Prius is the top selling vehicle. There were 93,810 Prius sales through August 2009, with 18,886 units being sold in the month of August alone. Behind the Prius were the Toyota Camry, which sold 17,630 YTD, Honda Insight, selling 14,045 YTD, Honda Civic at 14,014 units sold and Ford Escape in the top 5 at 11,222 units sold YTD. In the month of August, Toyota Prius sales were 49% of all August U.S. hybrid sales. Camrys August sales made up 5% of hybrid sales, Insights comprised 11%, Civics 2% and Escape sales were 4% of all August hybrid car sales.   There were 38,701 hybrid cars sold in the United States in August 2009. Sales of the Toyota Prius were 1% of all car sales in the month of August.   All hybrid sales were 3% of the car sales that were made in the month. The number of hybrids sold in the month is up 48.6% over the same time period in 2008, showing a rise in the popularity of these vehicles by American drivers. Toyota, Honda and Ford are the largest makers of hybrid vehicles, with the most sales and models.  Toyota features the top-selling Prius, Camry and Highlander models. Honda has the Insight and Civic while Ford produces the Escape and Fusion hybrid vehicles (www.carsdirect.com). Based on www.mixedpower.com, from the states hybrid sales statistics in 2008, California sold the most hybrid cars with 39,830 units followed by New York: 8,810; Florida: 8,612; Texas: 8,255; and Illinois: 6,107 (www.mixedpower.com). The increasing of environmental awareness also contributes to the rise of green vehicles popularity. Alexandria Haber in his article The Facts About Hybrid Car Emissions and Global Warming explains that hybrid cars emit far lower levels of pollutants in the air than conventional cars, resulting decreased pollution and reduced effects of global warming. Because no two people drive the same way, it is therefore difficult to estimate, but emissions can be reduced from 25% to 90%, when comparing hybrid cars to conventional gas-powered vehicles (www.buzzle.com). Ricky Lim also in his article explains that hybrid cars emit lower toxic emissions compared to conventional gasoline-powered cars due to less gasoline being burned (www.buzzle.com). It is environmentally friendly, causes less pollution and releases less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (http://ezinearticles.com). Peak oil theory also emerges and causes people to be more aware to consume more oil. Peak oil theory states: that any finite resource, (including oil), will have a beginning, middle, and an end of production, and at some point it will reach a level of maximum output as seen in the graph: (www.peakoil.com) This is the graph of world oil production from 1900-2080 taken from www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net It indicates that in the future we will have no more oil to be consumed, and the productivity of green vehicles has to be increased to decrease the dependency of oil. The last contributor to the rise of green vehicles is the tax incentives for the green vehicles buyers. It was in 2005 that Energy Policy Act of 2005 was passed by the United States congress and passed by President George W.Bush. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems, changed US energy policy by providing tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types. Consumers can itemize purchases on their federal income tax form, which will lower the total amount of tax they owe the government. In addition to federal tax incentives, some consumers will also be eligible for utility or state rebates, as well as state tax incentives for energy-efficient homes, vehicles and equipment (www.energy.gov). According to www.hybridcars.com, the exact amount of credit given by the government may vary: Current Models Make Model Tax Credit Audi A3 TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,300 Audi Q7 TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,150 BMW 335d (Clean Diesel) $900 BMW X5 xDrive35d (Clean Diesel) $1,800 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid $1,300 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid $2,200 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid $2,200 Ford Escape Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Ford Escape Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Ford Fusion Hybrid $3,400 GMC Sierra Hybrid $2,200 GMC Yukon Hybrid $2,200 Honda Civic Hybrid $2,100 Honda 2005 Civic Hybrid (auto) $1,700 Lexus GS 450h $1,550 Lexus LS 600hL $450 Lexus RX 400h $2,200 Mazda Tribute Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Mazda Tribute Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Mercedes GL 320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $1,800 Mercedes R320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $1,550 Mercedes ML 320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $900 Mercedes S400 Hybrid $1,150 Mercury Mariner Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Mercury Mariner Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Mercury Milan Hybrid $3,400 Nissan Altima $2,350 Toyota Camry Hybrid $2,600 Toyota Highlander Hybrid $2,600 Toyota Prius $3,150 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,300 Volkswagen Touareg TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,150 Despite of its cons, green vehicles have the cons as well. Phillip Dunn in his article Hybrid Cars Pros and Cons explains that all this new technology comes at a price: a hybrid car is complex and expensive. It has two motors and all the ancillary systems to manage them plus a heavy battery and a regeneration system used to produce electricity during breaking. Hybrids are the most gasoline efficient of all cars they typically get 48 to 60 mpg (claimed). Not bad, but only about 20% to 35% better than a fuel efficient gasoline powered vehicle like the Honda Civic, for example, that gets 36 mpg. But, when comparing prices hybrids cost from $19,000 to $25,000 and gas saver cars cost $14,000 to $17,000 the justification to buy becomes less clear. Much of the fuel efficiency comes from improvements in aero dynamics, weight reduction and, the biggest change: a smaller, less powerful gas engine. In fact, any car will get substantially better mileage just by reducing the engine size. The main reason this is not done has to do customer demand they want the extra power and zippiness (www.physorg.com). EV1 Controversies. Since the rise of green vehicles popularity, have the oil industries been affected tremendously? In the 1990s oil was getting scarcer and the pollution produced by combustion engines was becoming recognized as a very serious problem. Consumers began to demand some solutions that would save their world, their bank accounts and their breathing from gasolines bad effects. Like mentioned earlier, electric cars have been around for 110 years from the first time its been made. Alexandra Paul in her article Who Killed my Electric Car? explains that in 1900, electric cars outsold both gasoline and steam vehicles because electric cars didnt have the vibration, noise and dirtiness associated with gas vehicles. But soon afterward with the discovery of Texas crude oil that reduced the price of gasoline, the invention of the electric starter in 1912 that eliminated the need for a hand crank, and the mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford the electric vehicle went t he way of the horse and buggy (www.cnn.com). In the 1990s oil was getting scarcer and the pollution produced by combustion engines was becoming recognized as a very serious problem. Consumers began to demand some solutions that would save their world, their bank accounts and their breathing from gasolines bad effects. In 1990 California passed the ZEV, requiring 2% of new vehicles sold in California to be emission-free by 1998, 10% by 2003. In response to ZEV, GM launched their revolutionary car EV1. The EV1 required no gas, no oil changes, no mufflers and rare brake maintenance. The success of electric vehicles would have threatened the status quo and core business models of two of the worlds biggest industries oil and automobile. Electric cars are a threat to the profitability of the conventional gas-powered auto industry. GM said that it spent more than $1 billion to market and develop the EV1 (www.ecosherpa.com). Not only would a successful electric car program cannibalize sale s of conventional cars, but the electric car costs the auto industry in other ways: lacking an engine, it saves the driver the cost of replacement parts, motor oil, filters, and spark plugs. The EV1s regenerative braking system, in which the cars electronic controls handled much of the work of slowing down the car, spared the cars mechanical brake system from wear. Brake parts and repair is a billion-plus dollar industry alone. The EV1s efficiency was a winner for consumers but a loser for the auto industry. Despite of its advantages, EV1 still had its disadvantages: it was only available to be leased to the public; it was only available for three year leases with no option for renewal or purchase at the end lease period. Leases ranged from $299 to over $574 monthly which was pretty expensive at that time. EV1 also had a short range (around 80 miles) and no backup system. It took 12 hours to fill up the battery. All in all, GMs EV1 has brought pros and cons to the public. It was thr eatening the oil industry, yet it also had major weaknesses to sustain its existence. In conclusion, the popularity of the non-traditional energy sources is increasing since more than two decades. People have realized the importance of the green vehicles for the environment. The rise of green vehicles has been encouraged by the uncontrollable increases on gas prices, the awareness trend to save the environment, and also the tax incentives that is given by the government. The electric cars need to be existed for one more time because with the advancement of technology, it wouldnt be difficult to produce a better car than GMs EV1. Electric vehicles will help tremendously to conserve the oil that has been consumed uncontrollably.

The Stimulus and Rhythms of Atalanta :: Atalanta Gymnastics Dance Dancing Essays

The Stimulus and Rhythms of Atalanta The stimulus which, I thought would be most thought provoking and appealing was Atalanta. I found the idea of characterising a dynamic, strong vivacious woman appealing due to my strong background in theatre and acting. This enabled me to perceive hidden depths of Atalanta's character, which were not evident at first sight. Therefore, I chose this stimulus because I believed that Atalanta would be an interesting and challenging character to portray through the medium of dance. Another reason why I chose this stimulus, was the use of the cloth and costume to portray "how rhythms can be created by repeating and opposing shapes" and how "certain lines indicate motion". Due to my previous experience as a rhythmic gymnast, I was able develop original and unusual movements, because I was used to using cloth and ribbons as a means for demonstrating highly complex physical movements After receiving the stimulus, I first of all researched Atalanta. Using a variety of resources such as and the Internet, I found that Atalanta derived from Greek legend, and was a strong athletic competitor, whom no man could beat at running. This was emphasised in my dance through the use of sustained running movements and the use of pauses to emphasis the importance of the poses. This also helped to reflect the stillness of the wooden sculpture. Analysis and further research led me to conclude that the pose and expression of the sculpture Atlanta are portraying her determination and power. This was evident in the strong and dynamic movements of my dance, as well as the use of facial expressions, bodily expressions and focus. My bodily expressions were natural, controlled with an upright posture, thus helping to portray her purpose as an athlete in a race. The facial expressions portrayed her determination, thus demonstrating her strong and vivacious character, and the embodiment of power, which Atalanta represents. The combination of body and facial gestures shared in the mood and theme of both the dance and the music. Focus aided my facial expressions. It was important for the focus to be strong, not looking at the floor at any time, but either looking out into the space such as when doing an arabesque but also facing inwards to concentrate on a move, for example the running movements from the pictures. Through the use of Stanslavki's 'method-acting' I used my research to characterise a strong female woman, which was then transposed into movements. To achieve the dimensions of Atalanta's character, I profiled her, so that when I was dancing, I would embody the character, this enabled me to access her personality quickly.

The Problem Definition Stage

â€Å"The problem definition stage is perhaps more critical in the research process than the problem solution stage†. Discuss this statement. Answer: †¢ Finding the right solution to an incorrectly identified problem helps no one because the original concerns will still continue to exist. Hence, pinpointing where exactly the gap lies, for which a solution is needed, is critical. (5 marks) b. In your company’s management development program, there was a heated discussion between some people who claimed, â€Å"Theory is impractical and thus no good,† and others who claimed, â€Å"Good theory is the most practical approach to problems. What position would you take and why? Answer †¢ The statement that â€Å"theory is impractical and thus no good† illustrates a misconception of the true meaning of theory. †¢ The second quotation is more to the point: there is nothing so practical as a good theory (Kurt Lewin) because of the power it gives us to explain and predict the target phenomenon. †¢ We use theory constantly as we explain why certain events occur or why one procedure succeeds and another does not. †¢ Theory represents an identification of key causal relationships, which explain outcomes in a variety of situations.It is an effort to extract the essence of relationships, ignoring less important contextual factors. †¢ The adequacy of a theory comes from its capacity to explain phenomenon in a variety of contexts and situations and this is referred to as its capacity to â€Å"travel. † †¢ Often, theories are too simplistic, and therefore lack explanatory power across situations. †¢ The solution lies in improving the theory, possibly introducing more variables, rather than rejecting the central concept. . (10 marks) c. Sometimes business research may be unnecessary. Explain when this could occur.Answer: Business research may be unnecessary in several situations. †¢ If the value of add ressing the problem is less than the cost of the research, research is unnecessary. †¢ If the organization suffers from constraints of time, money, or skill, the research may not be appropriate. †¢ If the necessary information cannot be collected in a manner that is applicable to the research, it may not be necessary. †¢ Finally, if the decision is of low-risk anyway, research is unnecessary. (5 marks) d. Explain the meaning of deduction and induction. Provide an argument that exemplifies each form.Answer: †¢ Deduction is a form of argument that suggests a conclusion from the reasons given. The reasons imply the conclusion. A deduction is valid if it is impossible for the conclusion to be false if the premises are true. Consider the following example. o AXY employees receive a discount on all clothing purchases made at any AXY store. Sarah is an employee at the AXY store in city X. Sarah will receive a discount at any AXY store. †¢ Induction is different fro m deduction in that it draws a conclusion from one or more facts. However, other conclusions could be drawn from the facts.For example, Burger King was featured on an episode of the Apprentice. Sales figures increased in the two weeks immediately following the episode. The conclusion is that the brand placement resulted in the increase in sales. While this conclusion is possible, other explanations have not been eliminated. (10 marks) Question 2 A teacher observes that the performance of students in the class varies depending on the workload, the complexity of the tests, the extent of ambiguity in the assignments, and the stress experienced by them. She assigns to you the task of doing a research project on this and wants you to do the following: a.Give the project a suitable title; To investigate factors that affect students’ performance. b. Briefly establish why it is important to research the topic; It is important to research this topic since we would like to know how wor kload, complexity of the test, extent of ambiguity in the assignment and the stress experience do affect students’ level of understanding and thus affects their performance. c. Clearly and precisely write the problem statement; To what extent the factors such as workload, complexity of the test, extent of ambiguity in the assignment and the stress experience influence performance. . Develop a theoretical framework using the variables mentioned above, clearly delineating the network of associations among the variables Workload complexity of the test extent of ambiguity stress experience Performance ind. Var intervening var. dep. Var e. Introduce a moderating and an intervening variable in the framework, explaining how they moderate and intervene. Intervening variable = stress ecperience f. Develop three hypotheses Hypotheses 1The more workload given, higher complexity of the test and higher level of ambiguity will reduce students’ performance. Hypotheses 2 The more work load given, higher complexity of the test and higher level of ambiguity will increase more stress to the students Hypotheses 3 The higher the level of stress will lead to lower performance of students (20marks) Question 3 The new president of an old, established company is facing a problem. The company is currently unprofitable and is, in the president’s opinion, operating inefficiently.The company sells a wide line of equipment and supplies to the dairy industry. Some items it manufacturers, and many it wholesales to dairies, creameries, and similar plants. Because the industry is changing in several ways, survival will be more difficult in the future. In particular, many equipment companies are bypassing the wholesalers and selling directly to dairies. In addition, many of the independent dairies are being taken over by large food chains. How might business research help the new president make the right decisions? Sample answer: Many different studies might be helpful in th is situation.The most likely lines of investigation should be on: 1. the firm’s operating inefficiencies, and 2. its future prospects in the changing dairy industry. In the first case, the president might want to determine whether the inefficiency is caused by internal production problems, poor organization, ineffective cost controls, weak sales management, and so on. This might take the form of a company audit of internal processes. The examination of the industry and the firm’s future in it would likely be directed at discovering possible trends in consumption patterns and distribution systems.It might also entail polling the end user of the products to see if anything other than price is prompting them to buy directly from manufacturers. Having this information would allow the researcher to either support the president’s contention that inefficiency is the root problem, or rule it out. Further, it would allow him to determine such things as whether any overlo oked opportunities (markets) exist, if his company is the only one experiencing problems, if the trend is likely to reverse, and so on. (20 marks) Question 4 Evaluate the statement of the business problem in the following situations: a.A manufacturer of fishing boats: The problem is to determine sales trends over the past five years by product category and to determine the seasonality of unit boat sales by quarters by regions of the country. Answer: This is a relatively straight forward set of descriptive objectives for a secondary data study. The time period is indicated. Sales volume in units is indicated to be the variable of interest. By indicating unit boat sales, quarters as the time periods, regions of the country as the geographical units, the definition is specific. b. The marketer of a new spreadsheet software package: The purpose of this research is (1).To identify the market potential for the product, (2). To identify what desirable features the product should possess, a nd (3) To determine possible advertising strategies/channel strategies for the product. Answer: Although this is not a poor statement of the problem, it is too ambitious and it could be more specific. A major disadvantage of this problem statement is that it is too much for a single research study. Determining advertising and channel strategies, product features, and market potential indicate several distinct problems for a program strategy rather than a single project strategy. (10 marks)

The Adventures of Ezekiel Easy Rawlins

The Adventures of Ezekiel Easy Rawlins For this essay, the main topic will be the adventures of Walter Mosley’s private detective named Ezekiel â€Å"East† Porterhouse Rawlins. The discussion will be based on the three (3) novels by Mosley with regards to the escapades of Easy Rawlins. These novels are Devil in a Blue Dress, A Red Death and White Butterfly. I had personally selected this detective because I find the background of Rawlins intriguing with him being part of the black community and a World War II veteran at that draws me to the aura of his past and background.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Adventures of Ezekiel â€Å"Easy† Rawlins specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Also I find the theme of Walter Mosley’s detective series significant in the study and understanding of history because racial inequalities and discriminations among the African-Americans and other colored peoples in the 1940s to the 1960s are being tackled. In the tradition of hardboiled detective fiction, the character Easy Rawlins is clearly the same as that of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald’s characters but Rawlins differs from these earlier fictional detectives because at the beginning of the novels he is not a licensed private investigator thus he has no background and training in law or being a detective. Rawlins only acquires his license in the latter part of the series. I enjoy the writings of the author Walter Mosley because he relates historical events into his fictions which give a more real feel into his novels. I consider Easy Rawlins as a hard-boiled operative and a city gumshoe. He is a hard-boiled operative because he has the characteristics of a typical hardboiled detective, appearing cold and aloof on the outside but still remains ideal in the inside. He is considered a city gumshoe because of his many connections in the African American community in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles Californi a. Ezekiel â€Å"Easy† Porterhouse Rawlins is a black World War II veteran from Texas who becomes a private detective after helping the police solve the solve a mystery in the novel Devil in a Blue Dress. Rawlins was born in Louisiana on November 3, 1920 but shortly moved and spent his childhood and adolescent days in Houston, Texas where he lived on his own. When he was only seven (7) years old his mother died and his father abandoned the family. After the war, we find Rawlins living in the neighborhood of Watts, Los Angeles. In the first novel of the detective series, Devil in a Blue Dress, we find Rawlins interacting with his friends, Joppy a bar owner whom he met in Texas but later he kills Joppy because of his involvement with the enemy and betrayal. Another friend of Rawlins from Texas Coretta whom Easy had romantic relationship with but was killed also. Mouse who is Easy’s childhood friend from Texas is the embodiment of the latter’s dark-alter ego.Advert ising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Unlike Easy who as much as possible doesn’t want to do violence, Mouse kills anyone he comes in contact with especially if there is bad blood or conflict. Mouse relationship is decent with Rawlins although they had each other’s back in front of the enemy; Mouse was hungry for cash in Devil in a Blue Dress and violence for the rest of the novels read. In the last part of the novel Devil in the Blue Dress, Mouse took the stolen money from Daphne/ Ruby, split the money, took the half and gave the other half to Rawlins. At the end of the novel, Devil in a Blue Dress we find Rawlins adopting a mute Mexican boy, Jesus as his son. Similarly in he also adopts a stripper’s baby girl named Feather at the end of the novel, White Butterfly. Easy Rawlins’ character wants to be good in society and live a peaceful life but it seems that situations and certain circumstances are stopping him, whether be the color of his skin or the tangling web of controversies he faces throughout the three novels. In the novel A Red Death we find Easy being coerced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his newly acquired real estate which was said to be bought by untaxed income and is connected with communism. We find that Rawlins is in conflict with FBI agent Darryl Craxton, Easy is not intimidated by authorities but he still respects the law and gives in to their requests. Easy Rawlins respects people in authority he possesses a kind heart with compassion. This was evident in the novel, White Butterfly, when Quentin Naylor, a black detective from the Los Angeles Police Department asks help from Rawlins in investigating a serial killer who killed the former’s first white woman. Easy Rawlins takes on cases mostly related to investigations relating to the black Community of Los Angeles. In the first nove l, Devil in a Blue Dress, he was asked to find Daphne Monet who was hiding in African American bars after she stole a huge amount of money from Todd Carter. In Mosley’s second novel, A Red Death, Easy was investigated by the FBI for a property he has acquired through untaxed income, becoming a pawn in proving Chaim Wenzler a communist. He was considered the victim in this novel because of his color. Last in the novel, White Butterfly, we find another black detective asking help from Easy in solving a crime not only relating to the former’s white woman murdered but also the killings of several black women. Most cases Rawlins tackles relate to the underground corruptions, racial discriminations among colored peoples of Los Angeles and the social injustice experiences of these peoples. In the three (3) novels I had read the detective seems to have trusted companions in solving cases, in the first novel Devil in a Blue Dress, we find Easy Rawlins being assisted by his chil dhood friend Mouse in solving the case of Daphne/ Ruby and the stolen money. In relation to A Red Death, Mouse is again present in assisting Easy in solving the case. In the third novel, White Butterfly we find Easy being assisted by Quentin Naylor, a police detective.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Adventures of Ezekiel â€Å"Easy† Rawlins specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Easy Rawlins works as an independent investigator but often times he is assisted by friends and associates of the police department in solving crimes. Easy is someone who had no background or training in law enforcement thus it is understandable that he would be needing help from other characters to guide him through the cases presented in the three (3) novels. This idea further closes the gap of the detective’s short comings with his abrupt decision on becoming a private investigator. Easy Rawlins is a compassionate man with go od connections. He is very keen in details thus with his know about in the neighborhood in Watts and his keen eye for details not to mention his very observant nature the Los Angeles police department often asks for his services in solving a crime. He works in doing favors for the people in his community, finding a missing family member, protecting friends and other essential people and even finds illegal documents lost and could not be reported to the police. Easy Rawlins is not directly associated with law enforcement. In the three (3) novels I had read, Easy seems to distance himself in being involved with crimes and solving mysteries. He would rather live a peaceful life with his family but it seems that the police department always finds its way to Easy’s door steps asking his service in the field of bringing justice to crimes committed. All of Walter Mosley’s novels on the adventures of detective Easy Rawlins are written from a first person’s point of view . Easy Rawlins narrates his story in the novel with his voice of conscience evident in times of danger or if Rawlins is stressed and confronted with a dilemma. His narrative voice seems to show his good natured side, illustrating the character as someone who is very peaceful and loves his family very much but also he tries to give service to his local communities thus his constant involvement with crime investigations. His narrative voice also showcases his inner thoughts making the character human in a sense that he is not considered perfect. He constantly battles with his inner thoughts. In the first novel, Devil in a Blue dress, Easy is always confused on what he is doing. He questions his acts as being moral or justifiable. On the second novel, A Red Death, the shock of him being coerced by the FBI for his properties was brought out and his helplessness in the scene where he was first confronted and was linked to communism brought true human feelings to Easy’s character. The narrative voice informs the novel’s worldview in a sense that it grounds the novel making it realistic.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When I read all three (3) novels it puts me in the shoes of the detective, I could feel the conflicts he faced, the confusions and the horrors of tragedies he had encountered. After reading all there it gave me a deeper understanding of the character, his thoughts, actions, realizations and decisions in the later parts of the series. I begun to have a profound perceptive and respect for detective Rawlins. Truly this is the power of Mosley’s writing making his readers not only connect but relate and empathize with his characters. In the course of the three (3) novels, the main character, detective Easy Rawlins gradually changed in terms of his attitude and skills. In the first novel, we see him as merely a laborer financially insecure because he could not pay his mortgage and was laid off. He was afraid to be involved with people especially white men and was completely doubtful of what he was doing. Come the second and third novels, Easy Rawlins slowly becomes confident and ma tures along the way. He becomes more skilled in solving crimes and becomes keener in observing details. Reviews on Easy Rawlins show positive reviews on his character with James Hall comparing Easy to Philip Marlow but saying Easy is a much better character with his attitude being at home in the presence of the chilly tough world (Chrone.com). According to the Marilyn Stasio, Easy Rawlins is described as a â€Å"charismatic fix-it man who helps his friends and neighbors out of compromising situations, all that destructive fury proves to be a life-altering experience†(NYTimes.com). According to Digby Diehl, the Easy Rawlins detective series: â€Å"honors the hard-boiled tradition of Hammett/Chandler/Cain in its storyline and attitude, but Mosley takes us down some mean streets that his spiritual predecessors never could have because they were white. The insightful scenes of black life in 1948 provide a sort of social history that doesnt exist in other detective fiction, and t hey lend an ambiance that heightens this story of crime and violence.† (LATimes.com). Diehl, Digby. â€Å"A Stiff Shot of Black and White.† Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times,. 29 July 1990. Web. Hall, James. â€Å"James W. Hall hones crime-fiction art.† Chron Houston Chronicle Archieves. The Houston Chronicle., 2009. Web. Stasio, Marilyn. â€Å"Crime.† The New York Times. The New York Times Company,. 25 July 2004. Web.

Bob Fosse essays

Bob Fosse essays Robert Louis Fosses stage name was Bob Fosse. He was an extremely talented choreographer. He was born into a vaudeville family in Chicago the year of 1972. At the age of thirteen, he was already touring with his own dance company called The Riff Brothers. By the age of fifteen he choreographed his first number in a night club. This act already displayed his sexy dance style by having girls manipulate ostrich feathers to That Old Black Magic. He developed skills in tap, ballet, jazz and modern styles of dancing. After being in the US Navy, Fosse went to acting school for two years. In 1948, he began touring with the chorus of Call Me Mister. After touring for two year, he ended up dancing on Broadway in the revue Dance Me a Song. Not long after that Hollywood saw that he had talent and gave him a call. He had three small parts in a few films, including Kiss Me Kate (1958). That momentary success in Hollywood was short lived. Once he realized this wasnt getting him anywhere he headed back to Broadway. A director, George Abbott, took a chance with Fosse to choreograph The Pajama Game (1954). The show became a huge hit. The following year, Fosse worked with Abbott on Damn Yankees. Although most of his work was choreography, he did do some directing particularly in Redhead (1959). Its interesting that his name became more famous than the stars in the shows. He had several hits, Sweet Charity (1966, 1972, (1978). These four shows alone added up to over 5,000 performances, and Fosse finished with a total of eight Tony Awards. This was only the beginning of several awards to come. He also had a successful career in movies. His choreography of My Sister Eileen (1955), The Pajama Game (1957), and Damn Yankees (1958) was well received. He became the first man since Busby Berkeley to be given complete ...

Evaluating and reviewing a piece of pop culture Essay

Evaluating and reviewing a piece of pop culture - Essay Example haps this is the reason why it is so popular because it has a subliminal message that an average guy just like Chuck and everyone else’s could become a super spy through an unexpected circumstance. The weakness of the TV series is that it defies logic and not based on sound science. For example, how could the CIA possibly build a labyrinth of headquarters at Nerd Herd’s basement without being notice by somebody? And also, there is no scientific basis that a person can remember everything (being an intersect) by just opening an email. The TV series became popular because it brought down spy culture to the understanding of the masses. The general audience was able to relate how the life of an average person could turn into a highly adventurous, explosive and secretive life by being a spy. Chuck’s dilemma on how to keep his identity and to fulfill the function of a spy also tickles the fancy and imagination of the audience that made it popular. Because of the theme of the film which is espionage and action, the main audiences of the film are mainstream males who are into espionage films. They can relate themselves as Chuck doing extra ordinary things even if they are just a regular guy. The value of the series is the ability of the main character Chuck, to relate to the subliminal aspiration of an average male to do adventure and secretive work by being a spy. It differentiated from other TV series of the same genre as it strips the work of being a spy as unattainable and making it a possibility as portrayed in the TV series Chuck. Whereas other TV series of the same genre portrays the role of a spy to require superhuman ability such as superior intelligence and athleticism, Chuck removed this barrier by just requiring the protagonist to be at the right place and at the right time and able to do the same and even better by just being lucky. If this will be translated to a game just like other spy films, this will prove to be interesting as those

Publishing with contnet management systems Essay

Publishing with contnet management systems - Essay Example PowerPoint is a content management system and is employed for many tasks. It facilitates the users with publishing features. There are also rhetorical challenges that it offers to writers. Publishing with PowerPoint as a content management system facilitate the user with alterations in production and use of a document. The content management tasks performed by PowerPoint are content cutting, strong boundary-slides cutting, logical flow and many others related to STOP (Sequential Thematic Organization of Publications) document, Quick Scan, and Hypertext. The writers employ the technique of content cutting when they require fitting their text in a slide of PowerPoint. Content cutting can be seen as a rhetorical challenge to writers because they have to make sure that the content that is published is the most appropriate. Development of slides restricts the writers to use a minimized space for the display of their information. Writers and users of PowerPoint are also accommodated with strong boundary-slides cutting, which means that they are allowed to develop the slides according to their needs and requirements but they must display the information in an understandable manner that is easy for the readers to go through. Through logical flow, the writers are required to develop and publish slides in a manner that is logical. One idea or set of information displayed on one slide should have relevancy and flow with the next slides. The writers of slides face a challenge to manage the data and information in a logical flow. With STOP method of documentation of slides, the writers writing slides on PowerPoint can display more information in a single preview as two pages are attached and separated by means of a line. Nearly 350 to 1000 words can be displayed by means of STOP. The writers are challenged as to what kind of information and to which extent can they publish by means of STOP. Hypertext is a medium that allows the users and writers to publish their