Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea a Lasting Society

The people of the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea have been a source of interest to anthropologists since the early 1900s, when Bronislaw Malinowski first studied them. In a time when anthropology was barely established as a formal discipline (Weiner, 1988), Malinowski had an intense interest in ethnographical field work as well as the fascinating culture of the natives of what was then called Papua, the southeastern part of mainland New Guinea. The Trobriand way of life is extremely different from that of typical western or eastern cultures. In addition to being a matrilineal society, the Trobrianders engage in markedly different courtship and marriage activities, and have been able to preserve much of their culture despite†¦show more content†¦This respect is not limited to chiefs; A woman of chiefs rank, married to commoner, retains her status, even with regard to her husband, and has to be treated accordingly (Malinowski, 1922: 55). Courtship and marriage in Tr obriand society is also interesting and unique. According to Malinowski, Chastity is an unknown virtue (1922: 53) among Trobriands. Though this description is dated, there is a marked difference in the courting rituals of Trobrianders and early twentieth-century Europe. Trobriand children begin playing erotic games around age seven or eight, and typically begin to pursue sexual partners in earnest around ages eleven to thirteen. As they mature, the Trobrianders have longer and less casual affairs, until a couple is ready for marriage. When a couple decides to wed, they appear together in public outside of the males house as a way to announce their engagement. The wedding ceremony occurs later that day, when the brides mother brings cooked yams for the couple to eat together in order to formalize their marriage. After the wedding, the grooms sister gives the bride longer skirts to replace her short ones (and to signal the end of her sexual freedom), and the brides father and m aternal uncle give uncooked yams to the groom. (Malinowski, 1922 Wiener, 1988) The Trobrianders are matrilineal, so the maternal line is followed for inheritance and

Balancing between Planned and Emergent Approaches to Business and Mark Term Paper

Essays on Balancing between Planned and Emergent Approaches to Business and Marketing Strategy Term Paper The paper â€Å"Balancing between Planned and Emergent Approaches to Business and Marketing Strategy† is a  convincing example of a term paper on management. Planning refers to the process of brainstorming, designing, and organizing the most important activities which are necessary for the achievement of the desired goals. The process does, therefore, involve the devising, implementation, and maintenance of a strategy that is in line with the goals and objectives of the organization. In this regard, planning processes are considered to be fundamental properties of the stakeholders’ intelligent behavior (Cunningham Harney 2012, 13).An aforethought process is important since it facilitates the preparation of strategic policy or the integration of a strategic policy with other types of plans. Plans can, therefore, be considered to be the representatives of combined forecasted developments that facilitate the preparation of various types of scenarios. Plans do also prese nt the manner in which the organization ought to react to the scenarios in question (Burnett 2010, 43).An important aspect that is usually ignored during planning processes is the connection between forecasting and planning. While forecasting predicts how the market’s future will be, planning predicts how the future ought to be. Managers do appreciate that planning cannot succeed without regard for spontaneous order. This paper does, therefore, endeavor to establish the connection between the planned and emergent approaches to strategy as well as why it is important to strike the balance between the two. The paper addresses each of the two approaches in-depth, and then it explicates the value of having an integrated approach (Cunningham Harney 2012, 17).Planned Approach to Business and Marketing StrategyA planned approach is where the strategist determines the mission and vision of the organization in an endeavor to facilitate the achievement of the strategic goals and objec tives in a timely manner. Research studies have established that the understanding of strategic planning is important as it enables organizations to achieve competitive advantages in a sustainable manner. In that case, it proves to be important for stakeholders to know the advantages and disadvantages of this approach so as to establish when it is most appropriate to implement them. The understanding does also enables the stakeholders to figure out what to expect once the approach is implemented (Burnett 2010, 46).According to Nallebuff and Brandenburger (2011), the overall analysis of the approach indicates that it has more advantages than limitations. In this regard, this section lists and explains five main advantages and three main disadvantages. There are other advantages and disadvantages to this approach. However, by discussing the main issues, the approach will be appropriately understood (Nallebuff Brandenburger 2011, 30; Schuler Jackson 2007, 76).Advantages of the Planne d ApproachOne of the main objectives of the planned approach is to enhance collaboration amongst functional managers. The approach facilitates this by prompting effective communication amongst managers as well as between the managers and the rest of the workforce. By communication, stakeholders are able to achieve synergism and various sections of a business organization work for a common goal (Schuler Jackson 2007, 76).Nallebuff and Brandenburger (2011) argue that managers in human resources, operations, marketing, and finance departments have equal importance. In spite of that fact, it has been proved that there are times when they engage in useless competition instead of collaborating. The situation gets worse when these departments operate with separate command structures of the subordinate staff. A planned approach to business and marketing does readily facilitate cooperation and collaboration amongst the different sections of management (Schuler Jackson 2007, 77).

Lwc1 Flashdb Free Essays

string(302) " was the Clean Air Act passed\? 1963 What year was the Clean Water Act passed\? 1977 What are the alternative dispute resolution techniques\? \*Arbitration – 3rd neutral party hears both sides and makes a binding decision, possible award, no discovery, no class action, no pulic info of outcome\." What is the definition of a contract? An agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified. Describe the various types of contracts. 1) Bilateral and Unilateral 2) Express and Implied 3) Executory and Executed What elements does a contract need to be enforceable? 1) Agreement 2) Legality 3) Consideration 4) Capacity What elements would constitute a discharge of a contract? 1) Material breach 2) Minor breach 3) Anticipatory breach 4) Mutual Rescission 5) Accord/Satisfaction What is a bilateral contract? Both parties make a promise. We will write a custom essay sample on Lwc1 Flashdb or any similar topic only for you Order Now What is a unilateral contract? One party make a promise that the other party can accept only by doing something. ex. I’ll give you $10 to mow my lawn. If not mowed no $10. What is an express contract? Two parties state all important terms of their agreement. ex. Where, when, how much, oral or written. What is an implied contract? Words and conduct of the parties indicate that they intended an agreement. What is an executory contract? When one or more parties have not fulfilled its obligations. What is an executed contract? When all parties have fulfilled their obligations? If there is a breech of contact, what remedies are available? Injuction – An order forcing someone to do something or refrain from doing something. Expectation Damages / Restitution – $ required to put on party in the position she would have been had the other side performed the contract. Specific Performance – In cases of rare property court ordered to complete the deal. Reformation – Court will rewrite contract. Describe types of acceptable performace of a contract. Strict Performance Substantial Performance What are the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts? Sherman Act of 1890 – first national law to regulate competition. Clayton Act of 1914 clarified the Sherman Act. What are the key provisions of the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts? *Prohibits all agreements that will â€Å"restrain trade† (Sherman) *Bans â€Å"monopolies† (Sherman) *Prohibits anticompetitive mergers (Clayton) *Tying arrangements (Clayton) *Exclusive dealings (Clayton) *Bans price discrimination – illegal to charge different prices to different purchasers. (Robinson-Pattman Act 1936 an amendment to Clayton -) Describe the variety of aggressive business actions that are illegal and violations of antitrust regulations. Monopolization -possessing a monopoly is not illegal; using bad acts to acquire or maintain one is. Predatory Pricing – lowering prices below cost to drive competitors out. Tying Arrangements – selling products on the condition the buyer purchases a different (or tied) product. Contolling distributors or retailers (Retail price maintenance) How is consumer credit regulated? Through the Truth in Lending Act What government regulations apply to consumer product safety? *Federal food, drug, cosmetic act *Food quality protection act What is the role of the Environmental Protection Agency? Monitor and protect the air, water and land polution. . . What requirements were specified by the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914? Unfair or deceptive acts or practices. What is the point at which a legal agreement is said to have occured? intend to contract List the types of breech of contracts. Material Breach Minor Breach Anticipatory Breach Mutual Rescission Accord/Satisfaction What is an express warranty? Seller creates with words or actions that goods meet certain standards. Created three ways: Affirmation of a fact or promise, Description of the goods, or sample or model. What is an implied warranty? Created by UCC code itself, not by an act or statement of the seller. What is a disclaimer? A statement that a particular warranty does not apply. What are the limitations on remedies for breach of warranty and product liability? Limitation of Remedy Clause – Parties may limit or exclude normal remedies permitted. What is negligence? Seller’s conduct unreasonable. Violation of a standard of care set by statute. How does negligence apply to a manufacturer? Negligent Design Negligent Manufacturing Failure to Warn What are the types of warranties? Implied, Express, Implied Warranty of Fitness, Warranty of Merchantiability. What is strict liability? A tort doctrine holding to a very high standard all those who engage in ultrahazardous activities. (ie explosives) OR who manufacture certain products. What are the defenses available to an action for negligence? Contributory Negligence – If the plantiff is even slightly negligent she recovers nothing. Comparative Negligence – Plantiff may generally recover even if she was partially responsible. What are the defenses available or an action for strict liability? None – a defendant engaging in an ultrahazardous activity is virtually always liable for any harm that results. List the remedies available. Compensatory Damages – flow directly from contract. Consequential Damages – result from the unique circumstances of the particular injured party. (Recoverable only if breaching party should have foreseen them). Incidental Damages – Minor costs an injured party incurs responding to a breach. What are the basic provisions of the Sarbanes – Oxley Act? *Created a public company accounting oversight board *Revising auditor independence rules *Revising corporate governance standards *Increasing criminal penalties for violations What are the rights of the shareholders? Right to information – including minute book, accounting records, and shareholder lists. *Right to vote *Right to Dissent *Right to protection from other shareholders. What recourse do sharholders have against corporations if shareholder rights are violated? Derivative Lawsuits – Shareholders sue corporation, but damages go to corporation. *Direct lawsuits *Class Action What are the key provisions of the Securities Act of 1933? Before offering or selling securities, the issuer must register the securities with the SEC, unless the securities qualify for an exemption. What are the disclosure requirements of the Securities Act of 1933? Initial detailed information statement when the company first registers. How did Sarbanes – Oxley change the disclosure requirements of the Securities Act of 1933? Added to the 1934 Securities Act by requiring CEO and CFO to certify that: *The information in the quarterly and annual reports are true. *The company has effective internal controls. *The officers have informed the company’s audit committee and it auditors of any concerns that they have about the internal control system. What year did the Sarbanes – Oxley Act pass? 2002 How would you define business ethics? The study of how people ought to act. What is involved in developing an ethical culture in an organization? Managers setting the example and training. What year was the Clean Air Act passed? 1963 What year was the Clean Water Act passed? 1977 What are the alternative dispute resolution techniques? *Arbitration – 3rd neutral party hears both sides and makes a binding decision, possible award, no discovery, no class action, no pulic info of outcome. You read "Lwc1 Flashdb" in category "Essay examples" *Mediation – Neutral party coaxed two disputing parties toward volunatry settlement. No decision made by mediator. *Negotiation – List the types of courts. State Courts = Trial Courts Federal Courts = Trial Courts and Specialty courts (bankruptcy, tax, etc) Appelate Courts = Describe the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Also known as Wagner Act. 1) Created NLR Board to enforce labor laws. 2) Prohibits employers from penalizing workers who engage in union activity. 3) Requires employers to bargain â€Å"in good faith† with unions. Descirbe what COBRA is, and when was it passed? Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act passed in 1985. Statute provides that former employees be allowed to continue health insurance for 18 months after leaving their job. Describe what the Fair Labor Standards Act is and when it passed? Regulates wages and limits child labor. Passed in 1938. 1. 5 time paid for overtime. Children under 14 may only work in agricultural and entertainment. 14-15 limited hours after school. 16-17 unlimited hours in non-hazardous. Descirbe what constitutes wrongful discharge under the law. Wrongful discharge prohibits an employer from firing a worker for a bad reason. They fall into three categories. 1) public policy – prohibits employer from firing someone for a reason that violates basic social rights, duties, and responsibilities. ) contract law-written or oral promises made during the hiring process can be enforceable. Employee handbook creates a contract. 3) tort law – defamation; giving a false or unfavorable reference about a former employee, or â€Å"Intentional Infliction of Emotion Distress – employers who condone cruel treatment of their employees face liability under tort of intentional inf liction of emotional distress. Explain the responsibilities of OSHA. Holds employers to a workplace â€Å"free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious injury to employees. Inspects workplaces to insure that they are safe. Describe the main points of the Americans with Disabilites Act of 1990. The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of disability as long as she can, with reasonable accomodation, perform the essential functions of the job. An accomodation is not reasonable if it would create undue hardship on the employer. What is liquidated damages clause? A provision in the contract that declares in advance what one party will receive if the other side breaches. What is necessary to prove negligence? Duty of Due Care Breach (defendant breached duty) Factual Cause Forseeable Harm Injury What does the Family and Medical Leave Act guarantee? Both men and women up to 12 weeks unpaid leave each year for childbirth, adoption, or medical emergencies for themselves or a family member. When was Social Security instituted and what does it do? Passed during the Great Depression in 1935. Benefits to workers who are retired, disabled, or temporarilly unemployed and to spouses and children of disabled or deceased workers. What is the FUTA? Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is part of the Social Security system. What is the Equal Pay Act and when was it instituted? An employee may not be paid at a lesser rate than an employee of the opposite sex for equal work. Passed in 1963. What is Title VII and what does it prohibit? Passed in 1964. It prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. More specifically, 1) discrimination in the workplace 2) sexual harassment 3) discrimination because of pregnancy. What does sexual harassment entail? unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with two major categories. 1) Quid pro quo (this for that) 2) Hostile work environment What is the EEOC? Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency to oversee Title VII cases. They may sue or issue a â€Å"Right to Sue† letter. They also oversee age discrimination cases. What are the remedies to Title VII violations? Hiring, reinstatement, retroactive seniority, back pay, reasonable attorney’s fees and damages up to $300,000. What does the Age Discrimination Act prohibit? When was it passed? Prohibits ago discrimination against employees or job applicants who are 40 years or older. Cannot fire, refuse to hire, fail to promote or force to employee to retire. Passed in 1967. What is the Norris-LaGuardia Act? declared that federal courts could not issue an injuction for non-violent labor disputes. What rights does Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantee? the right to organize and join unions, bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and egage in other concerted efforts. What does Section 8 of the NLRA guarantee against? Unfair Labor Practices – the employer cannot: *interfere with union organizing efforts. *dominate or interfere with any union. *discriminate against any union member. *refuse to bargain collectively with any union. What are the two main functions of the NLRA Board appointed by the President? *Representation – the board decided whether a particular union is entitled to represent a group of employees. *Unfair Labor Practices – adjudicates claim by either the employer or workers the the other side has committed a ULP. What is the Taft-Hartley Act? Also called the Labor Management Relations Act. A statue that ammended section 8 of the NLRA to outlaw certain ULP by unions. *interfer with employees who are exercising their right under 7. * to encourage an employer to discriminate against a particular employee because of a union dispute. refuse to bargain collectively. * to engage in an illegal strike or boycott, especially secondary boycotts. (secondary boycott is picketting innocent companies to coherce them to stop doing business with an employer) What is the Landrum-Griffin Act? Also called the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) requires union leadership to make ce rtain financial disclosures and guarantees free speech and fair elections within a union. What does Section 9 of the NLRA offer? Exclusivity – a valid recognized union is the EXCLUSIVE representative of the employees. What steps are needed to organize a union? Campaign – rally employees to form a union. Authorization Cards – signed card by employee giving union exclusity. Recognition – union asks employer to recognize it as the bargaining unit. Petition – union petitions NLRB for an election if 30% of workers are unified. Election – NLRB supervises election. What is a CBA? Collective Bargaining Agreement. What is UPA Uniform Partnership Act passed 1914. At what point is a partnership formed? The association of two or more person to carry on as co-owners a business for profit forms a partnership, whether or not the persons intend to form a partnership. What factors create â€Å"co-owners of a business for profit†? *Must share profits *Share in management of business *(optional) Share in losses *(optional) referring to yourselves as partners *Charitable business are not partnerships When does Partnership by Estoppel apply? *they allow others to call them partners * a third party relies on assertion * a third party suffers harm What agency does a â€Å"partner† in a partnership hold? *Actual authority – authorized acts * Implied authority – act resonably necessary *Apparent authority – unauthorized acts Which partner is responsible for paying the debt of the partnership? ALL – all partners are PERSONALLY liable for all debts of the partnership. (Yes, that means the house is at risk. ) What is the liability of an incoming partner? A partner is personally liable only for obligations the partnership incurred while he was a partner. His liability for debts incurred before he became a partner is limited to his investment in the partnership. What are the two categories antitrust is divided into? per se – violations are automatic (no on was hurt is not a defense criminal and civil damages) rule of reason – only if anticompetitive impact Name the three types of potentially illegal cooperative business strategies. Horizontal Agreements among competitors. (Levis and Wranglers) Vertical Agreements between participates of different stages of production (Levis and Macys) Mergers and Joint Ventures among competitors. What is market division? An effort by a group of competitors to divide it market is a per se violation of the Sherman Act. What is the FTC? Federal Trade Commission created in 1915. What options does the FTC have to enforce the law? Voluntary Compliance Administrative Hearing and Appeals Penalties What sales practices does the FTC oversee? Bait Switch Mail/Phone Order Merchandise Telemarketing Unordered Merchandise Door to Door Sales Consumer Credit What is the â€Å"Truth in Lending Act†? Requires lenders to disclose the terms of the loan in an understandable and complete manner. Truth in Lending Act (TILA) applies only if . . . *It is a consumer loan *The loan has a finance charge or will be paid in more than four installments. *The loan is for less than $25,000, or to secure a mortgage on real estate *The loan is made by someone in the business of offering credit What is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act? The act requires any supplier that offers a written warranty on a consumer product that cost more than $15 to disclose the terms of the warranty in simple, understandable language before the sale. What does the Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972 protect? Created to prevent injuries from consumer products. Instituted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to evaluate consumer products and develop safety standards. The FTC deems a practice unfair if it meets three tests. What are these tests? 1) It causes substantial consumer injury. 2) The harm of the injury outweights any countervailing benefit. ) The consumer could not reasonably avoid the injury. What is the EPA? What is the EPA’s primary function? Evironmental Protection Agency. Created in 1970. When Congress passes a new environmental law, the EPA issues regulations to implement it. What is the Clean Air Act? When was it passed? The Clean Air Act of 1970 has four provisions: 1) Primary Standards (National Ambient Air Qual ity Standards, NAAQS) – pollution that harms public health. 2) Secondary Standards – pollution that may not threaten health BUT has unpleasant effects, low visibility, harmful to plants or other materials. ) State Implimentation Plans (SIPs) States offered plans for bringing areas into compliance within a reasonable amount of time. 4) Citizen Suits – citizens can file against a polluter or the EPA for failing to enforce statute. What is the Clean Water Act? When was it passed? Passed in 1972 with two goals: 1) to make all navigable water suitable for swimming and fishing by 1983 2) to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters by 1985. What does the Safe Drinking Water Act require? When was it passed? Passed 1974. Requires: 1) EPA to set national standards ) enforcement left to states with provisions for EPA to enforce if needed. 3) Prohibits use of lead in any water pipes. 4) Requires community water systems to send annual water report to every customer. What two statutes regulate waste? The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) – regulates the production and disposal of solid waste. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) – focuses on cleaning up existing hazardous waste sites. What does EPA oversee? Air Water Waste Chemicals – shared with other agencies (FDA, OSHA, and NRC) Natural Resources What act was passed to regulate the air? Clean Air Act What acts were passed to regulate water? *Clean Water Act *Safe Drinking Water Act *Ocean Dumping Act *Oil Pollution Act What acts were passed to regulate chemicals? *Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act *Federal Food, Drug, Cosmetic Act *Food Quality Protection Act *Toxic Substances Control Act What acts were passed to regulate natural resources? *National Environmental Policy Act *Endangered Species Act What are common types of antitrust violations? Cooperative Strategies Aggressive Strategies Define ethics. The study and philosophy of human conduct, with an emphasis on determining right and wrong. *Moral philosophy *The principles, values, and standards that guide behavior in the world of business. What are the changes made to the 1933 Securities Act in 1934? *still must file initial info statement (like 1933) *Annual reports with audited financials, analysis of company’s performance, in fo about officers and directors. *Unaudited quarterly reports *Report any significant developments, bankruptcy, change in control, purchase or sale of significant assets, resignation of a director as a result of policy dispute, change in auditing firms. How to cite Lwc1 Flashdb, Essay examples

Self Reliance By Emerson Essay Example For Students

Self Reliance By Emerson Essay Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo EmersonThe quote that most provoked thought and emotion from within me comes from the essay Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. To be great is to be misunderstood was used by Emerson to explain the lagging growth of the conception of ideas and thoughts of his generation. Original and novel ideas were scorned by conservatives who believed the best method for learning was by repetition and memorization of proven classics written by previous generations. The continuing timelessness of his quote is still in effect today as the scientific community has evolved to accept unaccustomed theories, yet encounters difficulty when relating to the public new and extreme ideas that rebut the system.In history, the results of individualism has been spread world wide. Important leaders, thinkers, and philosophers with radical ideas in virgin areas of research were making significant finds rapidly. Yet progress was slowed by short-sighted men who failed to see greatness.Aberham Lincoln was a revolutionary in his time with his views on slavery and forgiveness of the South. Yet his death was the result of one mans refusal to accept what was once a proud and rich land reduced to tatters- left to ruin because of her failure to accept civil reform. Herman Melvilles work in Moby Dick was considered a classic, yet Melville died a figure with lost prestige, poor and unaccepted. When he was laid to rest in 1891, he was remembered only as the author of entertaining novels of the South Seas. It was not until 1920s when his place in Americas foremost writers was assured. His works are now great masterpieces of emotion that were misunderstood while he was still alive.Another important example is democracy. In medieval times, monarchies and kingdoms ruled the land. Today, the monarch is merely a figurehead behind the power of democracy. At the birth of the democratic rise of the United States of America, the colonists were thought of as upstart fools- dreamers believing the impossible. English royalists were aghast at the indignation of the colonies to separate from England and form their own country. In present day, the United States is the sole world power, a great country born out of dreams.Self-Reliance expressed the need for creative thinking. Society during Emersons era resisted reform and scorned the reformer. Emerson saw individualism in direct conflict with society. The effect of society, he thought, was not to strengthen the individual, but to breed conformity and fear. Although he often criticized society, he stressed more importantly the openness of the individual through the soul. The quote To be great is to be misunderstood reflected upon the lack of acceptance of new thought and theory during his time. BibliographyEmersons Self reliance

Newtons Second Law Essay Example

Newtons Second Law Essay To confirm the relationship between the net force applied to a body and the bodys acceleration.Background:This experiment has two parts; Part A: How does the acceleration of a trolley change as you change the weight of the total mass on a mass holder supported by a pulley?; Part B: How does the acceleration of a trolley change as you change the weight of the total mass on the trolley itself?When the trolley is released, it accelerates to the right due to the mass on the mass holder, passing through two light gates. A scalar timer connected to each light gate records the time taken for a card mounted on the glider to pass through the light gate The time recorded at the two light gates is used to calculate 2 different speeds of the glider, and hence the acceleration of the glider may be found.Equipment: Trolley, 2 light gates, 2 scalar timers, masses, string, card, ruler, electric scalePart A:Data Collection:Mass of Weight (g)Time (s)Trial 1Trial 2Trial 3Trial 4LG1LG2LG1LG2LG1LG2LG1LG2 300.840.440.870.450.850.440.860.44400.620.330.640.320.630.320.620.32500.520.280.530.270.530.270.530.27600.450.240.460.240.460.240.460.24700.420.220.420.220.410.210.410.21800.390.200.390.200.390.200.390.20900.370.190.360.190.360.190.360.191000.340.170.340.180.340.170.340.181100.320.170.320.170.320.170.320.171200.300.160.300.160.300.160.300.16Constants:Mass of car 607.8 gDistance between light gate 1(LG1) to light gate 2 (LG2): 30 cmCard length: 17 cmData Processing:To convert the masses to forces we must do the following. Since the measurements are taken in grams we need to divide by 1000. This makes our measurements change to kilograms. After that we need to multiply by 9.8 because 1 kg is 9.8 N.Mass of Weight (g)Force (N)300.29400.39500.49600.59700.69800.78900.881000.981101.081201.18Since we have more than one trial for each mass, we need to find the average times for each mass.Average Times:Force (N)LG1 Time (s)LG2 Time (s)0.290.860.440.390.630.320.490.530.270.590.460.240.690.420. 220.780.390.200.880.360.190.980.340.181.080.320.171.180.300.16If then to calculate the velocity we will take the length of the card (17 cm) which is d, and divide it by the average times.Velocities:Force (N)LG1 Velocity (ms-1)LG2 Velocity (ms-1)0.290.200.380.390.270.530.490.320.620.590.370.710.690.410.790.780.440.850.880.470.890.980.500.971.080.531.001.180.571.06To calculate the acceleration we will need to use the following equation for motion:The next step is to make a (acceleration) the subject of the equationThis means that, where v is final velocity, u is initial velocity, and s is the distance traveled which is a fixed value of 30 cm (Distance between Light Gate 1 and Light Gate 2)Acceleration:Force (N)Acceleration (ms-2)0.290.180.390.340.490.480.590.610.690.760.780.890.880.970.981.161.081.201.181.35There is a linear relationship in this graph; this shows that the net force is directly proportional to the acceleration.Part B:Data Collection:Additional Mass of Cart (g)Time (s)T rial 1Trial 2Trial 3Trial 4LG1LG2LG1LG2LG1LG2LG1LG200.390.200.390.200.400.200.400.20500.420.210.430.220.420.210.430.221000.460.230.460.230.450.230.450.231500.490.250.500.250.490.250.490.252000.510.260.500.250.520.270.510.262500.540.280.550.280.540.280.550.283000.580.290.570.290.590.290.570.293500.610.310.610.310.610.310.610.314000.660.340.650.330.660.350.650.344500.790.390.780.390.800.400.780.38Constants:Mass of car: 407.7 gDistance between light gate 1(LG1) and light gate 2 (LG2): 30 cmCard length: 17 cmMass on Pulley: 50 gData Processing:Mass of Cart:To find the mass of the cart we need to add the initial mass of the cart to the additional mass added onto it. We also need to convert this number into kilograms.Additional Mass on Cart (g)Mass of Cart (g)Mass of Cart (kg)0407.70.4150457.70.46100507.70.51150557.70.56200607.70.61250657.70.66300707.70.71350757.70.76400807.70.81450857.70.86Since we have more than one trial for each mass, we need to find the average times for each mass.Av erage Times:Mass of Cart (kg)LG1 Time (s)LG2 Time (s)0.410.400.200.460.430.220.510.460.230.560.490.250.610.510.260.660.550.280.710.580.290.760.610.310.810.660.340.860.790.39If then to calculate the velocity we will take the length of the card (17 cm) which is d, and divide it by the average times.Velocities:Mass of Cart (kg)LG1 Velocity (ms-1)LG2 Velocity (ms-1)0.410.430.850.460.400.790.510.370.740.560.350.680.610.330.650.660.310.610.710.290.590.760.280.550.810.260.500.860.220.44To calculate the acceleration we will need to use the following equation for motion:The next step is to make a (acceleration) the subject of the equationThis means that, where v is final velocity, u is initial velocity, and s is the distance traveled which is a fixed value of 30 cm (Distance between Light Gate 1 and Light Gate 2)Acceleration:Mass of Cart (kg)Acceleration (ms-2)0.410.900.460.770.510.680.560.570.610.520.660.460.710.440.760.370.810.300.860.24Since we are getting a hyperbola shape in the graph, we will try to graph Mass of Cart vs. Acceleration-1 to get a linear relationship.I think that the last two points are outliers and they have been subject to lots of error. This is why I will draw the graph again without including them in the trend line.These graphs show that the mass of the cart is inversely or indirectly proportional to the acceleration. This means that the mass of the cart is directly proportional to the inverse of the acceleration.Conclusion and Evaluation:Figure 1Figure 2The aim of this lab is to confirm the relationship between the net force applied to a body and the bodys acceleration. The experiment has two parts: Part As aim is to see how the net force applied to a body affects the acceleration and Part Bs aim is to see what happens to the acceleration as you increase the mass of the cart.Obviously, the higher the net force on a body, the larger its acceleration. This is the obvious thing we found out from part a. In part B we found out that as the mass of the cart increased, its acceleration decreased. This is where the errors come in.This experiment was designed in a way the friction would be very minute or inexistent. The first set-up is using an air track; this allows the vehicle to move freely without friction due to a cushion of air being blown through the air track. The second set-up is using a friction compensated runway; this runway cancels out the effect of friction. However, our set-up included friction; this means that our results are distorted. The other thing is that all the values for the acceleration are lower than the actual value. This is because of Friction; all these calculations neglect the effect of friction. Friction makes a body move slower, slow moving bodies have a large inertia, so all the values of Mass are larger than the actual value.Assume there are two bodies, body A and body B. They are traveling on different surfaces but are pushed with the same force. Body A has a smaller net force than body B; there fore you assume that Body A has a larger mass than Body B or Body B has a larger acceleration than Body A. What if I told you that this is not the case? Maybe Body A and Body B have the same mass, what would you think? It would be logical to think that there are other forces acting on the system, Friction. Body A is traveling on a wooden surface (friction is present), Body B is traveling on a slippery, frictionless surface (friction is not present). So Body A doesnt have a larger mass than Body B, its just the surfaces that make us think so. This is the same here; these calculations assumed that friction was something else, which is why there are absurd numbers.If then imagine that a tension force of 1 N is acting on a body which is accelerating a 5 meters per second squared. and and This means the mass of the body equals 0.2 kilograms. What is happening in our situation is that our acceleration is smaller than it should be due to the other forces acting on the cart, like friction a nd air resistance. For example, instead of 5 ms-2 it is 4ms-2. This causes for there to be an error in our calculations.and and . This means the mass of the body is 0.25 kilograms- but its not. This value is larger than the real value, and this is exactly what is happening to us.The same problem exists in Part B. The net force is always less than the real value, 0.49 N. This is due to the other forces acting on the body like friction and air resistance., in part B the net force is always constant and the mass and acceleration are always changing. Since the acceleration is going to be smaller than it should be (due to the other forces acting on the body) the net force will also be smaller than it should be.The other problem with including friction comes in part B. When you add weights on the cart, you increase the force of gravity acting on the cart and the force of normal reaction acting on the cart (Figure 2). But, as you increase the mass of the cart you push the cart and make it come closer to the surface it is in contact with. This increases the force of friction and makes is increase as you increase the mass of the cart.The other (smaller) errors in our lab were the following. Firstly, the way we released the weight that would pull the cart was different each time, there is no way of keeping that the same no matter how hard we try. Secondly, we drew a line that shows where we are supposed to release the cart; the cart will never be in the same position as it was the first time we released it. Finally, we did this lab in two sittings, this means the environment changed and we had to make some adjustments, this affected the accuracy of our lab.To ensure the accuracy of our lab we did many things. Firstly, we measured the distance between the light gates more than one and between trials. Secondly, we made sure that the light gates were placed parallel to the edge of the counter. Also, we drew a line that would show us where we should release the cart. Next, we did four trials instead of three or one trial. We weighed the cart more than once and we measured the length of the card more than once as well. Finally, we tried to keep the lab as accurate as possible by doing the same jobs each time because everybody does their own job in their own way and if that way was kept constant than our results would be more accurate.Next time, we will use a different set-up, preferably with an air-track and a very streamlined glider. We will take even more accurate measurements so that our data would be even more accurate than it is. We will make sure we are releasing the cart from the same place each time, even if it means we need to use a magnifying glass. We will also try to do this lab in one sitting. Finally, we will try to come up with a way in which we will release the cart so that it would be the same each time.

IR - Midterm Essays - Production Economics, Business Law

IR - Midterm Essays - Production Economics, Business Law The ongoing negotiations between The Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBA), the government and the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) have once again broken down. While most of the issues having tentatively been resolved the main sticking point are sick leave and benefits. Craig presented the input-output model of industrial relations system in the late 1960s. In his model, the actors and the context are similar to those of Dunlops model. The main component of Craigs model are: (a) the inputs or the goals, and the values and power of the actors; (b) mechanism for the conversion of inputs into outputs; (c) the outputs of the system are the financial, psychological and social rewards for the workers. The output is in the form of the rules, which govern matters such as pay, working conditions, and hours of work. One of the major objectives of theorising industrial relations is to help the practitioners to understand what is taking place and causes for the same. Industrial relations theory might be useful to practitioners if it could help them in three respects: first, to understand the present industrial relations situation; second, to forecast trends and to predict what will happen under specific given conditions; and third, to help the practitioners to bring about certain desired changes and to avoid certain other changes in the present or in the future state of industrial relations. One of the most difficult attempts in industrial relations is to build up a theory and to generalise on its activity, which is highly dynamic. A host of factors, both internal and external, and conflict generating as well as conflict resolving factors, influence the shape of industrial relations activity. The industrial relations system in an organisation works in the context of pressures, tensions and conflicts, and is mainly related to power politics, economic, cultural and other differences. An inter-mix of such dynamic factors, and key institutional variables, is necessary in theorising industrial relations. - See more at: http://ilrexpert.blogspot.ca/2009/03/approaches-to-study-of-industrial.html#sthash.lsDhrDrB.dpuf

British Company Woolworth And Causes Of Its Failure Marketing Essay

British Company Woolworth And Causes Of Its Failure Marketing Essay The British Company, Woolworths is normally categorized as a variety store dealing in retailing of a range of varying products. Historically it was established as a subsidiary of an American Company F.W. Woolworth &Co, in 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth It was incorporated in England on 23rd July, 1909 as private limited company with initial capital of 50,250 pound sterling. It, first time floated a new idea of selling all the products at a cost not more than five cents. This idea gained popularity amongst the customers resulting in fast growth of the subsidiary. Its first shop at Liverpool attracted about 60,000 people in first two days because of attractive one penny, three penny and six penny products put at sale. It continued to open new shops at various cities that attracted heavy rush of customers and visitors. It was company’s policy to purchase the products directly from manufacturers, who also were very happy due to momentum in their business as well. Some of the ma nufacturers started doing business solely with the Woolworths and labeled their products with the company’s name. Company’s business grew day by day and it had 31 shops in United Kingdoms by the year, 1914. Due to inflationary trends after the World War II, the company had to do away with its three pence and six pence price limits. It introduced self service first time in its retail side in the year 1955. Woolworth opened about 190 self-service stores by the year 1970. It created new division in the stores by establishing Woolco departmental stores in the year 1966. These stores had full range of quality products like, clothes, groceries, car service and restaurants etc. available at affordable prices. (WGP 2007: Fu 2007) The Company continued to flourish very fast because of its stated aim to remain at the customer’s heart and best kid’s retailer till 1966. But thereafter its sales as well as profits started falling because of its competitors, Marks & Sp encer who overtook its sales as well as profits. The results of the company were the worst in the year 1969, because it failed to chalk out suitable strategies necessary to take on its competitors in the market. Sales at Woolworth began to decline. Consumers were reportedly not satisfied with the quality of customer services of the company. Many of the business sites were not at prime locations. Its new products could not attract the customers because of lack of well trained staff and availability of ‘A class service’. The company tried to improve its services in the year 1971 by introducing new system of centralized payments besides closing its 23 unprofitable shops, as an attempt to trade up. The profits of the company increased to some extent as a result of these measures but it failed to boost up its profits at the desired level. (WGP 2007: Peston 2008) The competitors of Woolworth like Wal-Mart, Argos and Next very soon became more prevalent in the market because o f low prices, better service and vast range of their products. The Management of the company ultimately decided to sellout the Woolco stores in 1977. In the year 1981 it sold-out some of its valuable prime located properties to cover-up the losses suffered by the shops situated at these locations. Even then its profits went down in the said year and the company was forced to cut the dividends first time since its establishment. In the normal restructuring process during the year 1985, the company decided to abandon the sale of food and adult clothing that was contributing about 30% of its overall sales. The Management of the company sold out its 200 unprofitable shops out of about 990, during the years 1982-1991. During this decade company made a number of acquisitions in order to become more diversified in retail business. It launched Music and Video Club that specialized in CDs, videos and other entertainment products. The company succeeded in boosting its sales and turnover durin g 1990s and gave impressive results despite the fact that some of major chains like Wilkinson expanded their business in the Woolworth areas. (FRANCE 2008)

Ancient Chinese Contributions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ancient Chinese Contributions - Research Paper Example Modern day agricultural methods, astronomical observations, paper money, decimal mathematics, brandy and whisky, chess, umbrellas, wheelbarrows, multistage rockets, and so many other things came from China. Throughout 600 AD to 1500 AD, Chinese stood as worlds most technologically advanced society. Their frequent discoveries of scientific principles and new technologies influenced the development of societies throughout the world (Shaw, 2003, p.14). This paper briefly explores the most useful and ingenious innovations of Ancient Chinese. Chinese invented the art of paper making in 105 AD, Tsai Lun, a Chinese member of Imperial Court made it by grinding plant and then converting it into sheets of paper after drying. Writing system dates back to 3000 years in China, they used bamboos for writing before, paper was certainly more practical. Early Chinese paper was made by mulberry tree and other plant fibers. Early Chinese paper was also used for clothing and military body armor since it was very hard and strong. Paper use in writing was discovered after a century of its discovery. The earliest example of writing on paper was found in the form of an abandoned piece from military. That paper dated back to 110 AD and it has nearly two dozen readable characters (Shaw, 2003, p.16). Ancient civilizations may know the process of magnetizing iron by placing it near a loadstone, however, Chinese were the first who applied this rule to invent compass. The earliest picture of compass was from 200 BC made by placing spoon as needle on the table with compass points. Early compasses were not used for navigation but divination (Gies and Gies, 1994, p.94).Earliest Chinese compass used to point towards south and called south-pointer. In the Han dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), travelers used this compass. An American scholar, Derk Bodde (1909-2003) argues that we would have been

Summary and opinion of women study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary and opinion of women study - Essay Example However, that equality drops quickly in social settings. When a woman goes into an automotive store, the salesman treats her as if a child. Sports, especially male sports, are still off limits to women. Mixed Olympic wrestling, MMA, and other sports are still male only clubs. Some might argue that women are not physically capable of these sports. However, Chyna, Serena and Venus Williams, and other women are more physically capable than men. The problem is men do not want to women to cross over into certain areas. NASCAR is a perfect example. Many owners do not want to sponsor a woman. Thus women tend to stay away from these areas. Women, especially minority women, are discriminated against. These women will take any job to help their families. Women with large families are discriminated against, married or not. Taunts are directed at these women of ‘Don’t you know what causes that?’ or ‘You can’t take care of what you have.’ It is assumed that a woman with many children have a number of fathers for these children. The man needs to be held accountable as well. A mother is normally responsible for any children. Unwed fathers do not face the stigma of an unwed mother. Popular Culture tends to portray the mother or sex symbol. Ordinary women are overlooked. Hollywood ads and movies are not made about the Eleanor Roosevelts of the world. Instead June Cleaver, Roseanne, Jennifer Aniston, and so forth are promoted. Single women with power do not gain ratings. Men, on the other hand, do not age. They can still be stars long after their middle age. A woman rarely makes it past her fifties in popular culture. Rape and violence against women is a major problem in America. Husbands killing wives are in the news. Scott Peterson, Drew Peterson (no relation), and others capture the headlines. Rape in many forms is still present. The violent rape is bad, but date rape leaves a woman devastated. The power that a

The Life of the Mango Tree Essay Example for Free

The Life of the Mango Tree Essay * Johnson was an Englishman who came to Trinidad to visited Franklin on a coco estate * Johnson was very interested in local folklore * Sam fell in love with Urmilla * On Johnson’s return to England he got a rare blood disease due to the cold climate. Characters: Johnson: Gary Johnson was a young Englishman who had come to Trinidad to spend the holidays with his friend Franklin’s on his coco estate in Sangre Grande. He left England in winter as he was eager to get some sunlight. While Johnson stayed with his friend he was quite interested to learn all about the estate. Johnson enjoyed hearing and listening to the local superstition and every time he heard a story he would write it down in a notebook. He very much liked a young local girl named Urmilla who he eventually planned to marry. He became ill with a rare blood disease and had very little time to live. Sam: Sam was the overseer of the estate who worked there for many years. He is the narrator of the story. He liked Urmilla and her father spook to her to try to marry Urmilla. He never told Urmilla how much he had like her. Urmilla’s father made her promise to marry Sam before he died but Sam told Urmilla he would not hold her to the promise. Urmilla: Urmilla was a beautiful young Indian girl who worked on the estate. Her father wanted her to get married. Urmilla liked Johnson and they eventually planned to get married. Urmilla was very happy when Johnson returned to the island but was she was worried about his illness and went to the local obeah  man to get a cure for him. Socdeo: He was an elderly man who Urmilla father and wanted her to get married. Franklin: Franklin was a middle aged Englishman who had bought the cocoa estate after the price of cocoa had fall on the world’s market and the estate was going to ruin. Franklin was a kind hearted person who treated his workers well and became a god father to many children in the village. He was a good friend of Johnson and encouraged Johnson to run the estate with him.

Origin and Fate of the Empire of Mali :: World History

Origin and Fate of the Empire of Mali Introduction In its peak, the people of Mali occupied land as far west as the Atlantic Ocean. They also traveled as far east as Gao, the capital of the Songhai, as far south as the Niger bend, and as far north as the Sahara desert. They built a great empire between 1240 and 1337 that underwent a course of slow decline until the seventeenth century. History The empire of Mali originated from a small country known as Kangaba. Its people where known as the Mandingo (they have also been called the Malinke and the Mandinka). After the breakup of Ghana, the Sosso, who had caused the breakup, were still in power. Apparently Sundiata, an heir to the Mandingo throne raised an army and defeated the Sosso in the battle of Kirina. Afterward, Sundiata established the empire of Mali. He converted to Islam for support of the Muslim peoples. When Mansa Musa came into power, in the early 1300s, the empire reached its height. Mansa Musa traveled through Cairo on his pilgrimage to Mecca. It is said that he gave away so much gold that it dropped in value in Cairo for 12 years. Afterward the empire slowly declined, until, in the 1600s it was no more than it had been originally when it originated: the small kingdom of Kangaba. Government The government of Mali was a dictatorship. The dictator, who had the title of Mansa, was the sole secular and religious leader of his people, though not he did not enjoy the same power as Egyptian Pharaohs did. The base of government was located in the capital, known as Niani. It was once written by a traveler that a person could travel safely without fear of harm, and that the people of Mali hated injustice and the Mansa did not tolerate injustice at all. The military branch of government was constant. There was a standing army of professional soldiers, so that Mali was ready for a battle without having to raise an army every time. Religion The religion in Mali was divided between two groups. The merchants, traders, and government officials, including the Mansa, were Islam, though, apparently, they did not adhere to it very well. Women were allowed freedom and even the Mansa still believed in the "spirit of the land." The basic peasant farmer believed in a "spirit of the land" to whom he prayed so that

Corporate Reputation Essay

The respondents also recognize the internet as the best avenue for making one’s corporate social responsibility known to the public. Ninety five percent of the respondents (95%) believe that the internet is the best avenue for making one’s corporate responsibility known whilst only five percent believe that there are other communication strategies that could be used in making one’s corporate social responsibility known. Although the respondents’ answer vary when asked why corporate social responsibility is important, they all believe in the fact that this is important for a certain organization, thus one hundred percent (100%) of the respondents believe that this should be inherent in most organizations. They also believe in the importance of public practices in order to make the public aware of corporate social responsibility, which could be essential to the success of their businesses. One hundred percent of the respondents also show that based on their experience, public relations played a very important role in changing the image of their company that significantly affects the profit they receive. Public relations, after all tremendously alter businesses. People tend to get impressed when an image of a certain company is positively shown which then significantly affects sale of products and or services. ? As seen in this study, corporate social responsibility is essential in increasing the profits of most corporations. The concept of corporate reputation has been extensively investigated in the fields of economics (Shapiro, 1983; Wilson, 1985; Kreps & Wilson, 1982; Milgrom & Roberts, 1982, 1986) and corporate strategy (Weigelt & Carnerer, 1988; Fombrum, & Shanley, 1990; Shamsie, 2003). Herbig and Milewicz (1995, p. 18) have defined reputation as â€Å"an estimation of the consistency over time of an attribute of an entity†, and emphasize the fact that an organization can have several reputations, one for each attribute such as price, product quality, innovativeness, management quality – or a global reputation. The development of reputation research is based on the vision of imperfect information in which actors depend on proxies and signals to make logical assumptions about the intentions and future behaviors of other actors (Fombrum & Shanley, 1990). Thus, reputation models presume a strong coupling between past actions and future expectations, and organizational attributes and the assessment of firms (Weigelt & Camerer, 1988). The importance of corporate reputation in the management field is dependent on the fact that corporate audiences routinely rely on the reputations of organizations in making investment decisions, career decisions and product choices (Dowling, 1986). In addition, reputational advantages that are borne out of informational asymmetries can provide firms with a valuable resource that they can use against their rivals for a relatively long period of time (Shamsie, 2003). The intangible nature of reputation, its rarity and social complexity, makes it hard to trade and copy; therefore, reputation can contribute significantly to performance differences among organizations (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993). Corporate Trustworthiness The importance of the concept of trustworthiness is closely linked to the development of trust and trusting behavior literature. Trusting behavior suggests permitting oneself to be in a potentially vulnerable position relative to another, while possessing some knowledge of the other that inspires trust in his goodwill i. e. in his good intentions (Blomqvist, 1997). Thus, risk and some information about the potentially trusted person or situation are seen as necessary conditions for trust to exist (Lewis & Weiger, 1985; Oakes, 1990). This information about the potentially trusted person can be used to deduct the future behavior of the person. Along the same line, Good (1988) indicated that trust is based on expectations of how another person will behave, based on that person’s present and past implicit and explicit claims. In a similar position, Mayer, Davis & Schoorman (1995), in their comprehensive research, determined more than ten different individual and organizational traits that lead to trust, resuming these concepts into three constructs: ability, benevolence and integrity. In a similar setting, Blomqvist (1997) identified two main dimensions of trustworthiness, named competence and goodwill. Competence encompasses technical capabilities, skills and know-how, while goodwill suggests moral responsibility and positive intentions towards the others. Nonetheless, these organizational traits are hard to observe directly, making difficult the evaluations of corporate trustworthiness (Barney & Hansen, 1994). These concepts can be very essential to companies who would want to increase their profits. It is because of this that this study gives importance to public relations in making corporate social responsibility known to the general public. Public relations, after all tremendously alter businesses. People tend to get impressed when an image of a certain company is positively shown which then significantly affects sale of products and or services. Findings For majority of the companies who served as samples for this study, the issues related to CSR are of great importance. This is evident as most of the company websites examined have devoted a section dedicated to corporate social responsibility/corporate citizenship/sustainable development issues and that these sections are usually found in the most relevant levels of their websites, majority can be found in the home page. Obviously, the presence of this section shows the explicit recognition of the said issues. In the same manner, this serves as the companies’ recognition of the importance of corporate social responsibility on their corporate websites. They also place them between the second and third hierarchical levels which again reveal their importance. However, it is also obvious enough that these corporations have not maximized their use of communication strategies in making their social responsibility known. Recommendations For future researchers on the said topic, the author of this study recommends a case study focusing on the patrons of the aforementioned companies instead of the representatives of each organization. Through this, future research could give importance to the perception of the public on the said topic. It is also through this that one could prove that corporate social responsibility, displayed in the websites, truly provide a legitimating activity for the organization in the society. In the same manner, the public could also share their opinions and views on corporate responsibility, how important it is for them and how it affects their loyalty to a certain organization. The author of this study also recommends a case study of two different companies with different backgrounds on corporate social responsibility. In doing so, future researchers would look at how profits were affected because of publishing their CSR over the internet. It is also recommended that future researchers look into the disadvantages being faced by companies (if there are any) who do not publish their corporate social responsibility over the World Wide Web. For another research that shall look into public relations, it is recommended to look into the other communication strategies that companies use in making their consumers aware of their corporate social responsibility. Lastly, the author also recommends a study that would look into the best way of transmitting social responsibility messages to the public. A case study of such could help companies in making their businesses better. This could also help companies in devising strategies that would be beneficial to their businesses, ensuring that the money they reserve for public relations and corporate social responsibility shall be maximized and in the same way; that their programs would be advantageous to their businesses. References Becker, B. E. & Huselid, M. A. 1998. Human resources strategies, complementarities and firm performance. Paper presented to the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, July. Berle, A. Jr and Means, G. C. 1968. The Modern Corporation and Private Property, Macmillan, New York, NY. https://www.bsr.org/

Human Evolution by C.M. Davenport Essay

Since time immemorial, numerous researchers have been done to explain the mechanism by which humans were able to evolve from being ordinary, defenseless creatures in the Eastern African savanna to being the world’s most advance and high-functioning biological creatures that have ever walked on Earth. Scientific findings suggest that the aforesaid transition was characterized by a decision of our earliest human ancestors to leave their four-legged existence on trees and convert to a bipedal lifestyle on the terrestrial landscape. Such transition, which can be said to be one of the most dangerous yet most essential part of human anthropology, was driven by climatic changes in the African region. Consequently, changes in the general atmospheric conditions affected the vegetation and ecological properties of the ancient human surroundings. Scientists speculate that prior to the climatic alterations which is around ten million years ago, the East Africa was heavy forested and catered to a great diversity of tree-dwelling primates. Unfortunately, the end of the Miocene Epoch or around five million years ago, marked the start of the of the arid, grassland condition. These changes have encouraged primates to go down from the trees and convert to a two-legged manner of walking on the African plains. This transition was not easy because the early human ancestors had to face a multitude of predators on land including leopard, hyenas and lions. However, although this was the case, the need to look for food and other forms of nourishment that were no longer present in their original habitat was greater than the impending dangers they were likely to face. Hence, climate changes have commanded the onset of the start of human civilization by allowing early primates to convert to bipedalism and terrestrial living. Next to bipedalism, early human ancestors had to acquire certain bodily adaptations in order to make them fit to their new surroundings. Body adaptations included changes on speed and gait, acquisition of large buttock muscles and longer legs for running and sitting efficiency, evolution of larger body size, better vision, achievement of a sense of balance on body controls and other locomotory functions, and a more complex brain structure, physiology and function. These changes allowed early human ancestors to escape from predators and be able to gather food for nutritional survival. In this case, the author evidently placed much emphasis on the discussion of the running endurance of human ancestors. It was mentioned that along with the other adaptations, the ability to run from predators is also a very notable skill of the primates that allowed them to dominate the natural selection process. Increase in lung capacity, development of the heel bone and arched foot, ability to sweat were some of the changes that permitted running efficiency. Obviously, expansion of lung capacity accounted for a more organized breathing pattern during running activities while the heel bone and arched foot permitted improved upright position for running and load-carrying. The ability to sweat, on the other hand, is presumed to render more benefits to primates aside from thermoregulation. Reports suggest that sweat of early human ancestors were similar to the properties of the modern genetic disorder trimethylaminuria, a condition that makes a person produce sweat that smells like strong decaying fish odor but not decaying human or animal flesh (Davenport n. p. ). The chemical compound producing the odor is flavin monoxygenase 3 enzyme (FMO3) and analysis of this compound from present trimethylaminuria reveal that FMO3 has undergone molecular modifications thereby allowing the persistence of the disease from subsequent human generations. However, chemical rearrangements of FMO3 are also suspected to be the reason why sweat of humans today does not elicit the same kind of smell of the early primates, an event that is presumed to be a part of their survival strategies. Lastly, the acquisition of human intelligence was the final step in the human evolution process. The complex development of bodily functions for running endurance have also allowed for the creation of cells for specialized physiological, and neurological properties. After this, it was not long before behavioral skills were obtained and furnished. And after about five million years, the world witnessed the emergence of the modern human species equipped with all the necessary physical and mental adaptations that allowed them to be favored by natural selection and win against the other primal families. Consequently, the evolution of humans is characterized by a myriad of factors which are yet to be fully investigated and explained but all the findings we have today are enough to conclude that humans must value the properties that we have today because our ancestors have done so much effort just to let us achieve our present stature. Evolution is continuously happening and we will never know if conditions in the past will repeat themselves. Hence, everyone must continue to hone their skills and adapt with the changes of the environment in order to prevent ourselves from being selected against natural selection and for us to continue our dominance on this world.

Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq The WritePass Journal

Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq Essay on US Withdrawal from Iraq The Bush administration entered the  United States  in an armed intervention of  Iraq, a  war  that leading scholars deemed â€Å"unnecessary† at the time  (Mearsheimer and Walt, 2003). Under the false pretext of a crisis for America’s national security,  and international peace and security in general, because of the perceived threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction – that were never uncovered   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the President decided that armed intervention was the best choice of action.  With the failure to prove any significant  WMD  were in Iraq, the program of the  war  was conveniently shifted to  delivering the Iraqi people from an evil ruler to  democratic order. This process of deliverance, at best a â€Å"stalemate† (Posen, 2006), has seen an alarming loss of American lives and increasing expense of the American commitment in Iraq, while putting severe pressures  on the American economy. At this point,  the United St ates  should look for an exit strategy that totally withdrawals American  troops from  Iraq. At this point, it must be clearly understood that the recommendation  for American withdrawal is not being made on the grounds that going to  war  was itself a bad decision on the part of the Bush administration. Instead, the reasons for a fast and total withdrawal are being made on the basis of America’s long term national interests, and the lives of our troops.  As Posen maintains, the reduction of military, economic and political costs  this shall entail could then be used to  good  effect  elsewhere (2006).  The  war  in  Iraq  has resulted in thousands of American lives lost, and played part in destroying our economy. There still remains  a difference of opinions between the Democratic and Republican parties on this matter, with the Democrats favoring  a more rapid withdrawal and the Republicans making withdrawals contingent upon certain conditions. To elaborate, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had  spoken of a strategy that would help with an expedition of troops and the employment of a â€Å"new diplomatic initiative†Ã‚  (quoted at America.Gov)  asking other countries to help in Iraqs reconstruction. President Obama is still pushing for American troop withdrawal from  Iraq, pulling two brigades out every month and providing $2 billion in humanitarian aid to the  war-ravaged country (America.Gov).  Finally, the Republican position on the matter, Sen. John McCain, remains that the training and development of Iraqi soldiers is vital to an American withdrawal; unless Iraq’s security forces become stronger, the country shall be mired in civil  war  and  fall prey to  the devices of the al Qaeda, deeming the United States’ exit impossible  (America.Gov). From these contrary positions, it is clear that this debate is fiercely contested. One of the strongest cases against withdrawing is that it could lead to  Iraq  going into a civil  war. However, a closer inspection reveals that the conditions of civil  war  are already in existence; with the Baath party’s banned and the advantages of fundamentalist Islamists  due to the  war  has led to a situation of  civil  war. The continued presence of American troops and counter-insurgency operations has been unable to stop this situation, where insurgents target civilians and Iraqis kill Iraqis, all the while putting American troop’s lives at risk.  The civil  war  has already  begun to some degree, and there is no point in continuing  American engagement in  Iraq. Another important argument  against withdrawal, in line with Sen. McCain’s reasoning, is that American forces must only leave Iraq  after ensuring  that  Iraq’s security forces are competent enough to maintain order. The progress for Iraqi security forces is slow and has a long way to go. Continued American presence only makes things worse, because Iraqi politicians do not feel compelled to resolve Iraq’s issues and  poor  attempts at making improvement, have given the US existing cover. All this has done, is  produce a culture that is dependent on American assistance which, the  more  it continues, can only be harmful to  Iraq  in the long  term. Some suggest a time-bound  withdrawal  of American troops from Iraq.  Others argue that an American exit from  Iraq  at this moment would increase the growing influence of terrorists in the country, while severely undermining the stature of the  United States  in the eyes of the world. However, this is far from the truth. Firstly, the point about terrorists is a double-edged sword and is a risk that must be taken. While a withdrawal may indeed give some power to the terrorists in  Iraq, it is important to note that the continued American presence has given the al Qaeda  a reason to continue attacks on America troops . In fact, pulling out of  Iraq  may encourage the Sunnis to take the offensive to the al Qaeda and its sympathizers (Posen,  2006). Secondly, it is foolish to expect that an American withdrawal can change things, to any considerable degree.  As William Welch argues, this image of the mighty U.S was already in question once it launched an unwarranted preventive  war, and  got  further tainted when it delayed the involvement of the United Nations and other willing countries to aid of the reconstruction of Iraq. In addition, recent studies argue that the moral  backbone  of the  US,  which promotes the pursuits of democracy and liberation of  other countries as ethical responsibilities, is in itself very narrow-minded (Welch,  2010).  Instead of worrying about the U.S’ credibility over withdrawing from  Iraq, it  may, in fact, strengthen the U.S image somewhat. Finally, another important – but shaky – argument against withdrawal is that a rapid exit after such a long battle would severely demoralize the American troops. However, as Lt. Gen. William E. Odom observes, nothing could be farther from the truth: â€Å"Hiding behind the argument of troop morale shows no willingness to accept the responsibilities of command. The truth is, most wars would stop early if soldiers had the choice of whether or not to continue. This is certainly true in  Iraq, where a withdrawal is likely to raise morale among  U.S.  forces.† (2006) Thus, it is safe to say that the opposing arguments of American troops’ withdrawal do not hold much weight. But, it must be remembered that the case for a well-planned exit strategy does not only rest on this negation of contrary arguments. It is also supplied with the important consideration of America’s best interests; these are what we must now investigate to insure the withdrawal. America’s key interest  in the Persian Gulf region  is that of oil, although contrary to popular belief, the interest is not of control, but of ensuring a regular supply from the Middle East to the United States; also making sure that political adversaries do not gain control of these resources to the detriment of the US and other areas of the world dependent on energy supply from the  region  (Posen,  2006).   Stopping the ties between terrorist organizations and state administrations is also an important issue becauseâ€Å"†¦we have learned from the alliance between al Qaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that it is unwise to allow terrorists to get a foothold in a sympathetic state from which they can propagandize, recruit, organize, train, and plan  in relative security.†Ã‚  (Posen,  2006) The concerns of oil are shared by many countries and most of them would be willing to contribute to a solution, which could also be done through the U.N. Even if the  U.S  is required to maintain an active deployment in  Iraq  due to such a turn, it shall still be many times smaller than its current  operations. Furthermore, the outcome of an Iraqi civil  war  would, in all probability, be a stalemate – a result most  favorable  to American national interests (Posen,  2006). The best way to expedite this situation is to pull out of  Iraq. The worst possible thing of this stalemate could be an intensification of al Qaeda operations in the Sunni-dominated areas of  Iraq; however, as discussed above, this is a contentious issue, and it could very well be the  US’ troops themselves which are causing such a calamity. In conclusion, it is important to look at the more vivid reminders that urge for an American withdrawal from Iraq.  The unabated loss of American lives in  Iraq, since the launch of the  war, ran close to 4,400 deaths in  December, 2010; this number is far greater than those resulting from the offensive in  Afghanistan,  totaling  501 deaths in  over seven years (White,  2011).  The economic downturn for the  US  because of the  war  in  Iraq  has been immense  too, stretching well beyond $900 billion as early as January 2011.  In light of these facts, it is  increasingly difficult to argue against an American withdrawal from  Iraq. In the best interest of servicing  America’s military, political and economic interests,  the arguments against withdrawal only seem to justify the continuation of poor policy choices, and it is in the  US’ best interests that a plan for military disengagement from  Iraq  be devised without  hesitation or  delay. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Posen, Barry. â€Å"How to disengage from Iraq in 18 months.†   Boston Review. Jan. 2006. 18 Mar. 2011 http://bostonreview.net/BR31.1/posen.php 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America.Gov â€Å"Election 2008 Issues† 7 Mar. 2008. 18 Mar. 2011 america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/March/20080307131621liameruoy0.4348108.html 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mearsheimer, John J. and Walt, Stephen M. â€Å"An unnecessary War.† Foreign Policy. Jan. 2003. 18 Mar. 2011 mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/walt.htm 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  White, Deborah. â€Å"Iraq War Facts† About.com. 2 Mar. 2011. 19 Mar. 2011 http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Welch, William M. â€Å"Fight a Thousand Battles† USA Today. 2010. 22.Mar.2011 http://usacac.army.mil/blog/blogs/fight/archive/2010/07/23/doubts-about-u-s-tactics-shadow-war-in-afghanistan-by-william-m-welch-and-jim-michaels-usa-today.aspx

HBD- portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

HBD- portfolio - Essay Example This group deals in individual lifestyle hotels and provides a friendly environment to all its guests. The guests at Swire Hotel Group are served with spontaneity and freedom reflected through personalities of all hotel staff. This Group as their unique hotels located across United Kingdom, China and Hong Kong. The House Collective comprises a range of individual hotels located across Asia. East brand has its magnificent business hotels located in Hong Kong, Miami and Beijing. Chapter Hotels part of Swire Group are located in heart of British cities. They are mainly found in Exeter and Cheltenham. There are two other hotels of this Group located in Brighton and Bristol. Swire Hotel Group mainly focuses on upper income class segment. There are two categories of individuals who are mainly targeted. One belongs to business class and the other represents tourist visiting a place from around the globe. Hotel’s architecture is designed by taking into consideration taste and preferences of mentioned customer segments. Swire hotels can be stated as a profitable division of Swire Properties. Swire Properties is a wholly owned subsidiary of a blue chip company known as Swire Pacific. This Group comprises of three major luxury hotel brands such as The House Collective, Chapter Hotels and EAST. Swire Hotels was launched in 2008 and it encompasses urban hotels in United Kingdom, Mainland China and Hong Kong. The launch of Swire Hotels Group has provided wide range of choices for its entire customer segment. Synergy of investment and mixed-used developments has strengthened the market position of the firm. This Group mainly deals in luxury hotel and targets upper income class segment. The hospitality industry can be stated as an intensely competitive segment and this factor has enabled the Group not to restrict in one particular location. UK market possesses high purchasing power and this can prove to be a positive factor for growth or

Game changers in the us economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Game changers in the us economy - Essay Example Shifting through more than a dozen possible game changers to boost this sluggish growth, five such theories have been identified as feasible for US market. These five will act as a catalyst for the US market and revive it from this depressing state. These five can further be dived into: Shale energy, knowledge intensive trade, big data, infrastructure, talent development. Shale, knowledge, and infrastructure will prove to be the most effective game changers to help revive US from this crucial stage and all of the five will provide a strong foundation for long term growth and competitiveness. Shale energy is the production of natural gas and light tight oil extracted from very deep grounds. It is too costly to extract these energy resources but US possessing the 4th biggest Shale gas resources has to utilize it properly so that they can enter the market accordingly. The production of natural gas and light tight oil is already booming in places like Dakota, Texas, and Pennsylvania as t he some stakeholders have realized the importance of the energy in terms of economical progress. If utilized properly then it could add a potential boost of $380-$690 billion to annual GDP by 2020. And this will in turn generate an additional 1.7 million jobs. Moreover, by producing their own energy from natural resources the US imports will reduce to zero. But along with that the environmental risk must also be controlled to fully realize its potential.

Two Kinds, short story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Two Kinds, short story - Essay Example She did not understand that her child may not have the required talent or ability to progress at a faster pace. Instead, she just wanted her to produce the prodigy all by magic. She would scold her daughter when she argued that she simply wanted to be herself and did not want to become famous as per her mother’s wishes. At the show where Mei had to play Pleading Child, Mei introduced her boyfriend, Ali, to her mother. She was very shocked to see that her daughter had grown up to make her own decisions. She called Ali at home. During the meeting when she asked Mei to continue her piano lessons, Ali protested, and this enraged Mei’s mom. She said, â€Å"Ali! You are no one to interfere in our private matters. I already object your becoming my daughter’s boyfriend.† This was the point when Ali came to know about Mei’s mom’s aggressive nature. He said, â€Å"It was her choice,† to which she replied, â€Å"What my daughter should or should not do is my choice. So, you’d better stay away from

Huxley, Plato Comparison on Education Essay Example for Free

Huxley, Plato Comparison on Education Essay In Plato’s Republic, Plato believed the state was responsible for the education of its citizens for the purpose of their individual enlightenment. Huxley, in his work Brave New World takes this part of Plato’s utopian society and perverts it in order to indoctrinate the citizens of his state. I will attempt to argue that Huxley uses education by the state to indoctrinate its citizens and ultimately undermine Plato’s theory on education by the state for individual enlightenment. The ways in which Huxley uses education to indoctrinate the individual are diverse. Music or rather hypnopaedic sound was used to indoctrinate the citizens while they slept (Kindle, Huxley, loc 385). Eugenics but more precisely the Bokanovsky Process is used along side with Podsnap’s Technique to create the individual. These processes combined allowed the state to alter embryos and make people into whatever the state desired (Kindle, Huxley, loc 84). The use of music to educate the youth was something Plato originally stated in his utopian society. He stresses that when people are young they are more susceptible to influence (Kindle, Plato, loc 8578). Huxley’s state does this as well and plays hypnopaedic sound (music) while the young are sleeping over and over again to indoctrinate them, and slowly alter their thoughts or make them remember certain things. The uses of hypnopaedic sound vary by tones and tongue but are ultimately used to create â€Å"social stability† which is another way of saying â€Å"control of the populace†. Hypnopaedic sound is used to make the citizens never try to fix anything or use old things, but buy new ones instead. One of the sounds for this type of indoctrination is â€Å"ending is better than mending, ending is better than mending† (Kindle, Huxley, loc 1328). This process of convincing people they need to buy things is a way of gaining contentment and satisfaction as well as benefitting the state by creating a consumer society. The saying or sound â€Å"every one belongs to every one else† is also used to create a society where everyone has sex with each other and there are no relationships. The sex is not for procreation but for entertainment seeing as the state creates the individual and regulates childbirth. Plato also favored this sharing in his Utopia but only for his guardian class of citizens. Huxley applied this to his whole society but the sharing is only in-between classes never outside of classes. Another sound to further indoctrinate is â€Å"Every one works for every one else. We can’t do without any one. Even epsilons are useful. We couldn’t do without Epsilons. Every one works for every one else. We cant do without any one†(Kindle, Huxley loc 951). This is a type of farce, seeing as not all the citizens of Huxley’s world perform the same tasks or duties. Hypnopaedic sound is also used to convince people to take soma (Kindle, Huxley loc 2699). â€Å"A gramme in time saves nine† and â€Å"One cubic centimeter cures ten gloomy sentiments† are some of the hypnopaedic sounds used (Kindle, Huxley loc 1140). The drug soma was developed when the government of Huxley’s society took over the pharmaceutical industry. Soma has no side effects except providing an escape for people away from their problems, anxieties or feelings (Kindle, Huxley, loc 1328). This is really another means of control and also perversion by Huxley, which is compounded by hypnopaedic sound. The sound â€Å"everybody’s happy now† is used to make people believe they are happy and if you believe you are happy, you are happy (Kindle, Huxley, loc 968). This form of perverted education by Huxley is how the state indoctrinates the individual but this is just a part of it. Huxley’s world state employs the method of the Bokanovsky’s Process to create or rather grow its citizens some thousands at a time (Kindle, Huxley, loc 84). This process combined with the Podsnap’s Technique allows the state to mold and create the individual into whatever the state dictates by using eugenics. Plato favored a process of eugenics also as a means to breed out imperfection. Huxley took this process to creation itself instead of modification through generations (Kindle, Plato, 1252). This is Huxley’s way of specialization, which Plato also talks about in his utopian educational system as a necessary way for the state to function (Kindle, Plato loc 4953). Huxley perverts this and takes it a step further and does not give the individual a choice in what their life may be. Citizens are grown in tubes and altered by means of chemicals, additives, and even gravitational forces (Kindle, Huxley, loc 170). By these alterations people cannot think or do outside of what their task or assigned job is by the states indoctrination. The citizen can only do what it is made to do by this process and cannot question it’s purpose. In Huxley’s world state everyone regardless of their class is completely content being what they are and nothing else. This is again because they cannot think outside of what they have been made and told to be by hypnopaedic sound and state modification. (Kindle, Huxley, loc 959). Huxley’s education by means of hypnopaedic sound and eugenics indoctrinates the citizens of his world state. This indoctrination keeps the people from questioning authority and the status quo and ultimately makes them slaves to Huxley’s world state. Huxley does a fine job in Brave New World of showing what can be possible after a great tragedy occurs and the people need someone to save them. This tragedy would then lead to drastic changes in the way people live and ultimately lead to a whole brave new world. Huxley’s Brave New World does not seem possible in the actual world. Brave New World is more of a cautionary tale of what if and the totalitarian state. The real world is to globalized now and states are interdependent upon one another but hey what if?

Causes of the Fall of the Roman Republic

Causes of the Fall of the Roman Republic This paper discusses the statement, â€Å"The Roman Republic was brought down not by luxury or corruption but by fundamental flaws in the structure of its political system†. As will be argued, a statement such as this can only be discussed in relative, not absolute, terms, as no one cause for the demise of the Roman Republic can ever, realistically, be said to have been the factor that caused it’s fall. Under this framework, then, the first section of the paper discusses the various theories that have been posited to explain the fall of the Roman Republic, with the second section looking, in detail, at the political structure of the Roman Republic and how this could potentially have contributed to its ultimate demise. Gibbon’s great tome The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire essentially concludes that the Roman Empire was brought down through moral decadence. Other authors have argued for different reasons behind the fall of the Roman Republic, with recent scholars (for example Hunt et al., 2001) arguing that the Republic did not fall, rather that it was subject to a highly complex transformation, with additional confusion amongst scholars as to when the Republic actually fell: some argue that the Republic fell in 476 with the deposition of Romulus Augustus; others argue that the Republic continued until as late as 1453, and that it fell only when Constantinople was lost. This next section will present some of the most prevalent theories about the fall of the Roman Republic. Ferrill (1998) has argued that the Roman Republic fell due to it’s barbarization, that the influx of German mercenaries in to the Roman military led to lack of loyalty and complacency amongst the Roman ranks, leading to a surge in decadence amongst the Roman soldiers and citizenry. This somewhat supports Gibbon’s (1983) assertion that decadence was responsible for the fall of the Roman Republic. Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire essentially concludes that the Roman Empire was brought down through moral decadence, as he argues, through the loss of what he terms ‘the loss of civic virtue’. The influx of barbarian mercenaries, coupled with the rising popularity of Christianity, Gibbon argues, led the Roman populace to come to believe more in the afterlife, leading to the loss of social structures, and, ultimately, leading to the fall of the Roman Republic. Other historians contradict this theory of Gibbons (1983) and Ferrill (1998), arguing that the Roman Republic continued to be strong right up until the Muslim conquests in the seventh century, at which point these conquests, amongst other things, disrupted trade routes, leading to a general economic downturn in Western Europe. It is argued that this economic downturn led, ultimately, to the disbandment of the Roman way of life, leading to the ultimate fall of the Roman Republic. This theory has, however, been recently rebutted by a number of historians who have argued that trade routes would not have been so badly affected, that trade must have entered Western Europe by some other route as the discovery, and therefore existence, of Islamic currency in Roman areas is suggestive of a two-way trade. Economic explanation for the fall of the Roman Republic are popular, however, and will be looked at in further detail later in the paper. Bury’s 1923 History of the Later Roman Empire presents in-depth research in to the issue of the fall of the Roman Republic and concludes with a complex theory to explain it’s fall. Essentially, Bury (1923) argues that the Roman Republic fell due to many simultaneously occurring factors, such as a general economic decline in the region, the influence of German (Barbarian) troops on Roman soldiers, and the dependence of Roman military leaders on Barbarian manpower, the depopulation of Italy[1], various murders and treasons that occurred within the top ranks of Roman politics, and the absence of any convincing leader following the murder of Aetius. As Bury clearly states in his concluding sections, Roman power gradually collapsed, and â€Å"†¦.was the consequence of a series of contingent events.†. As he argues, no general causes can be assigned, and nothing suggested to him, through his research, that the fall of the Roman republic was by any means inevitable. Bark (1958) argues that it was the massive effort that was involved in keeping the Roman Republic together that, ultimately, led to its fall. Around this time, feudalism was developing, yet the Roman ruling classes were not well organized in terms of having a system in place to collect taxes from their people, such that it became the responsibility of the middle classes to undertake the massive task of collecting grain taxes. As such, only a small proportion of these taxes actually arrived back to the Imperial government, leading to massive losses in revenues for the Roman rulers, having massive side-effects, such as decreased investment in the Roman military, for example. In addition, currency inflation, through a reduced supply of gold in to the Republic (see Jones, 1974) led to the government leaking money, with their stock of cash being reduced, leading, ultimately, to massive cash flow problems for the Republic, with obvious implications, in terms of funding the military and fun ding public building projects, for example. These two factors, occurring in conjunction, argues Bark (1958) led to the ultimate demise of the Roman Republic. Toynbee (1939) preceded Bark’s (1958) logic that the Roman Republic was an economically poor force, with his detailed research showing that Roman leaders had no budgeting system in place, leading to obvious problems with controlling cash flow, leading, ultimately, to a dwindling of whatever cash resources were available and to a lack of cash availability for providing for military expenditure, or public works, for example. This method of budgeting had proved successful as long as the Romans continued to expand into other areas, from which they could loot existing resources, but as soon as the Roman Republic stopped expanding, this source of revenue also stopped. At this point, the Romans, without an adequate budgeting system, coupled with loss of tax money through an inadequate collection system, coupled with currency inflation (see, also, Jones, 1974), faced massive economic problems, causing, it is argued, the ultimate demise of the Roman Republic (Toynbee, 1939). Building on this theory, Tainter (1990) argues that the fall of the Republic was due to marginal returns on investments, again contributing to cash flow problems for the Republic as a whole, ultimately contributing to its decline; unlike many authors who study the collapse of the Roman Republic, Tainter (1990) argues strongly that the fall of the Roman Republic may have been a good thing for many Roman subjects, in terms of benefits arising from not having to invest in maintaining such a complex society (i.e., no taxes to pay etc.) and indeed, archeological evidence, through studies of human bones pre- and immediately post- the fall of the Roman Republic, post-fall, humans were better nourished. Rostovtzeff (1957) also subscribes to this economic theory of the fall of the Roman Republic, arguing that the free trade market economy developed by the Roman Republic worked up until the debasement of the currency in the third century, at which point inflation began to hurt citizens, who then began to move away from urban areas, to move to the country in order to undertake subsistence farming as a way of surviving i.e., they could grow their own crops for food, and in this way not have to rely on failing monetary sources to keep them alive. Bartlett (1994) continues the work of Toynbee (1939) arguing that by the third century monetary taxation had been replaced with direct requisitioning, where food and cattle, instead of money, were collected directly from farmers. This pathway, argues Bartlett (1994) led directly to the development of feudalism, with estates formed around the cultivation of crops and cattle, and not, as such, dependent on any form of trade whatsoever. This, on a grand scale, Republic-wide, is then argued to have led to a massive downturn in the economic fortune of the Republic, and to a decrease in its military capability, for example, with, again, obvious consequences for maintaining control over the entire Roman territory. The research of Heather (2005) leads to conclusions about the fall of the Roman Republic which differ from previous theories: he argues that the emergence of the Persian Empire led to the Roman Republic stripping tax collection from its Eastern edge, leading to a decline in economic revenues, a decline in governance in these areas, and a mass influx of peoples to the empire, for example, by the Barbarians, leading to massive levels of immigration to the Roman Republic, leading to obvious social problems. Through his exhaustive research, Heather explicitly rejects Gibbon’s ‘moral decadence’ theory for the decline of the Roman Republic. Neither does he see any validity in the arguments of those who support political infighting as the major reason for the fall of the Roman Republic. Heather supports the arguments of Bury (1923) who argues that the fall of the Roman Republic was not inevitable but that it occurred as a result of a series of events which, unfortunately , came together at the same time, and which, ultimately, led to the fall of the Republic. Heather’s viewpoint is argued against by Ward-Perkins in his 2005 book The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilisation which argues, in a similar manner to previous historians assessments of the situation, that the fall of the Republic occurred as a result of political instability, foreign invasions and economic instability due to reduced tax revenues. The massive, and sustained, immigrations of foreigners, such as the barbarians, Ward-Perkins (2005) argues, led to a weakening of the tax base, leading to an inability to equip the Roman army, with obvious deleterious consequences. Ward-Perkins, ultimately, however, argues, as do Bury (1923) and Heather (2005) that the fall of the Roman Republic was due to a complex mixture of processes and events which came together at the same time to lead to a definite fall in the Roman Republic. Levick (1982) looks at the morals and political system of the Roman Republic, and their relation to its fall. She argues that ‘ambitio’ – ambition – led to major political difficulties during the last century of the Roman Republic, with a thirst for ultimate power leading to in-fighting and political problems. As Levick (1982) argues, however, it is difficult to infer the Roman political structure from contemporary documentation, as much is contradictory, but it can be inferred that the Roman constitution and community was a self-regulating device, kept in perpetuity and in check by a series of checks and balances that prevented disintegration from within and also made the community better able to cope with threats from outside. To Romans, however, as Levick (1982) argues, this political system was seen explicitly as a moral obligation, with anything that upset the political balances being seen as something undesirable and immoral. Levick argues that, ultim ately, the political system had a built-in tension between the group and the individual, and that, ultimately it was this in-built tension that led to the death of the Roman Republic, through squabbles for individual power which led to the breakdown of Roman society. As we have seen in this paper, therefore, there are many different explanations for the fall of the Roman Republic, with the main theories being economic demise, immigration and overtaking by Barbarians and other groups, and political infighting which, it is argued, led to the ultimate demise of the Roman Republic through a disintergration of the moral fibre of Roman society. As to which theory of the fall of the Roman Republic one subscribes to, this depends on the literature that has been studied, and the quality of the sources used within that literature. Heather (2005) and Gibbons (1983), for example, both use quality primary sources, and yet arrive at different conclusions for the reasons behind the fall of the Roman Republic. It is perhaps most prudent, at this stage, therefore, to argue that a statement such as â€Å"The Roman Republic was brought down not by luxury or corruption but by fundamental flaws in the structure of its political system† can only be discussed in relative, not absolute, terms, as no one cause for the demise of the Roman Republic can ever, realistically, be said to have been the factor that caused it’s fall. The present paper has thus presented the various theories for the fall of the Roman Republic in this framework, in terms of offering a holistic view of the situation on the ground around the time of the fall; fundamental flaws in the Roman political system were, as we have seen, just one part of a complex situation which, together, led to the fall of the Roman Republic. References Bark, W.C., 1958. Origins of the Medieval World. Bartlett, B., 1994. How Excessive Government Killed Ancient Rome. The Cato Journal 14(2), pp. Available online from http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cjv14n2-7.html. Accessed on 23rd April 2007. Bury, J.B., 1923. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodesius I to the Death of Justinian. Ferrill, A., 1998. The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation. Gibbon, E., 1983 (Reprint edition). The decline and fall of the Roman Empire. London: Penguin Classics. Gunderson, G., 1976. Economic Change and the demise of the Roman Empire. Explorations in Economic History 13(1), pp.43-68. Heather, P.J., 2005. The Fall of the Roman Empire. Hunt, L. et al., 2001. The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures, Volume A: To 1500. Bedford: St. Martins Press. Jones, A.H.M., 1974. Inflation under the Roman Empire. Economic History Review 5(3), pp.293-318. Kagan, D., 1992. The End of the Roman Empire: Decline or Transformation? (Problems in European Civilisation). Houghton Mifflin. Levick, B., 1982. Morals, politics and the fall of the Roman Republic. Greece Rome 29(1), pp.53-62. Rostovtzeff, M., 1957. The social and economic history of the Roman empire. London: Oxford University Press. McNeill, W.H., 1976. Plagues and Peoples. Millar, F., 1984. The political character of the Classical Roman Republic. The Journal of Roman Studies 74, pp.1-19. Tainter, J.A., 1990. The collapse of complex societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Toynbee, A.J., 1939. A study of history: Volume IV. The breakdown of civilisations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ward-Perkins, B., 2005. The Fall of Rome: and the End of Civilisation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Footnotes [1] McNeill (1976) argued in his book Plagues and Peoples that a plague swept through the Roman Republic, leading to a massive population decline in Western Europe.