MGR #7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGR #7 - Essay Example It is evident that grace contributes to transforming us from our presumed commitment to God to a condition of delight as emphasized by Joanne. Additionally, the idea that grace is at the disposal of man to utilize in establishing a relationship with God was quite liberal. The author stresses on the use of human abilities in altering their ways. According to how the author presented her thoughts, it is noted that her book reflects her aspirations for others to reform their insights into Gods grace. She aspires that people use their abilities to change their ways God. Grace is a property of the Supreme Being demonstrated in the salvation of sinners. The Christian expectations often hold that there is an action in the relationship that exists between God and people in a way that must be seen through supernatural understandings. As much as grace is available for optional use by whoever wishes, the framework jeopardizes the salvation process as it makes Christians continuously lag behind in their spiritual

Korean Airline Porter's 5 Forces Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Korean Airline Porter's 5 Forces - Coursework Example The customers of KAL include passengers, corporate organizations as well as other actors in the aircraft industry among others. The table below highlights the industry analysis that constitutes Porter’s five forces that can impact on its operations. KAL has a total of 149 aircraft and is the largest in terms of consumers and it specializes in offering services in the following sectors: Passenger services, components and parts, aerospace services as well as cargo (KAI). However, there are other competitors in the aviation industry which include the following: Asiana Airlines which is the second largest airline in Korea, currently operating a total of 83 aircraft, on top of that, there are also five Low Cost Carriers (LCC): Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Eastar Jet, and T’Way Air. Though KAL is the largest airline, the existence of rivalry among the other existing players cannot be ignored. It poses a threat to the airline. As noted above, there are six other competitors in the aircraft industry which entails that the threat of substitutes is high. For instance, â€Å"In 2013, 4.9 million international travelers, or 9.6% of all international travelers, used LCCs,† (KAI). The number of passengers using LCCs has dramatically increased which means that they can switch from KAL to these low cost planes. On the other hand, the consumers have the power to determine prices since they can easily switch to low cost careers and this in turn can force Korean Airlines to review its prices downwards. According to KAI, the bargaining power of suppliers is low as a result of the fact that â€Å"all U.S. aerospace exports are duty-free as of March 15, 2012, and as a result of the implementation of the Korea-U.S. FTA (KORUS).† This means that this trade agreement between the two countries is specifically meant to protect the interests of both nations. Prices are regulated at acceptable levels

Additional Elements Of The Extended Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

Additional Elements Of The Extended Marketing Mix Marketing Essay This essay looks at the main elements of both the original and the extended marketing mix. This includes an introduction to the concept of the product life cycle, new product development, pricing strategies, distribution options and the promotion mix. Finally, the essay develops marketing mixes for Deans Leisure Centre to meet the needs of different target groups. Explain how products are developed to sustain competitive advantage. Sustainable competitive advantage is the focal point of a corporate strategy. It allows the maintenance and improvement of an enterprises competitive position in the market. It is an advantage that enables business to survive against its competition over a long period of time. A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices see (Appendix 1). When a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Porter identified two basic types of competitive advantage and cost advantage. See (Appendix 2) When an organisation introduces a product into a market they must consider: who is the product aimed at, what benefit will customers expect, how does the firm plan to position the product within the market and what differential advantage will the product offer over their competitors. Kotler suggested that a product should be viewed in three levels: Core Product, Actual Product and Augmented product. See Deans product levels in (Appendix 3). However, for a product to be able to sustain competitive advantage the term New Product Development has been developed. This has been invented to check and develop the viability of a product which is new to a market. Deans think about term of new product development in order to sustain or build a competitive advantage. To do this Deans follow (NPD) processes, see (Appendix 4). Deans is the market leader in providing different products like gym, spa and hydrotherapy pool as there are no competitors in this sector. There good image makes the organisation more strong. Deans is providing good quality products with qualified staff, good atmosphere and hygienic environment. Motivation level of staff is very high which make the organisation more prosperous. They have enough resources for operating different activities of the organisation. They have created good image in customers mind another big strength and even a competitive advantage is the fact that they have a full service gym; Deans can market too many different segments that other gym cannot do. For example, Deans is open to all staffs, students and community much easier than other fitness centres because most of the people are not good financially so they can attract by their low prices with good quality gym services. They are providing high range of products comparatively with low prices. Explain how distribution is arranged to provide customer convenience. Distribution really plays a very important role in enhancing the convenience of the customers therefore; distribution system of a company can appear as a major competency for the company. There are four elements of marketing mix including product, price, promotion and place. The distribution comes under the place category and the companies develop proper distribution system because accessibility of the customers enhances the potential sales for a company. Two types of channel of distribution methods are available. Indirect distribution involves distributing product by the use of an intermediary. Direct distribution involves distributing direct from a manufacturer to the consumer. For example, Deans already has its location so will therefore look at the need and wants of its customers in this area, with staff and students of the college. If Deans does not outsource its distribution services then customers may not willing to get them. They must distribute the product to the user at the right place at the right time. Deans consider on its overall marketing objectives to be efficient and effective. Explain how prices are set to reflect an organisations objectives and market conditions. One of the aspects in the marketing mix is pricing. This part of the 7 Ps are the one creating revenue and which is also why it is important that an organisation chooses the correct price. The price is determined by the discovery of what the customer finds reasonable and this is also why a lot of organisations chooses to do researches of the consumers opinions before the product goes to the markets. Pricing is difficult and must reflect supply and demand relationship. Pricing a product too high or too low could mean a loss of sales for the organisation. Pricing is one of the most important elements of the Dean Gym marketing mix, as it is the only mix, which generates a turnover for the Deans. The gym can adopt a number of pricing strategies. The pricing strategies are based much on what objectives the company has set itself to achieve, see below: Penetration pricing: Here the organisation sets a low price to increase sales and market share. Once market share has been captured the firm may well then increase their price Skimming pricing: The organisation sets an initial high price and then slowly lowers the price to make the product available to a wider market. The objective is to skim profits of the market layer by layer. Competition pricing: Setting a price in comparison with competitors. Really a firm has three options and these are to price lower, price the same or price higher. Discount pricing: This involve offering a reduced price of certain types and groups of customers. Variable pricing: An organisation can very price by customer types, level and quality of service, times and days, seasons and so on. Cost-plus pricing: Here the firm add a percentage to costs as profit margin to come to their final pricing decisions. Convincing consumers to try a new product or service is one of the biggest challenges small businesses face. Marketing can be especially difficult for membership like gyms because consumers may be wary of committing to a recurring fee. Dean Gym use pricing tactic to help build a base of customers. As there are such competitors of Deans gym which could compete with the quality of gym produced at Deans, therefore the pricing strategy adopted by Deans gym is discount pricing. Dean uses free trials because some people simply will not spend money on a gym membership unless they can try it out first, which is why they give two months free membership and it can give customers the opportunity to see if a facility suits their needs. They offering low introductory rates because it is another tactic that Dean Gym can use to attract new customers. For example, Dean has monthly membership, where members pay monthly straight out of their bank account and with no contract. They also has annual adva nce, with this option customers pay for their membership for the year up front, but they will give them two months free. Deans offer 10% discounts for families and children. Families and children often go to the gym together, which can make gym membership a group decision. However, pricing strategies can improve Deans customer loyalty and ultimately lead to better membership numbers. Illustrate how promotional activity is integrated to achieve marketing objectives. These activities are performed in order to awake and aware the consumers about the product. Promotion being a feature of marketing mix consists of communication among the consumer and supplier of that product. Promotional activities are important factor because it tells the consumer about the product from different regions and it becomes difficult in selling a product if they are not being anticipated in the market through different promotional activities. The promotional mix consists: Advertising: Presentation of the product which is wanted to be promoted- this can be done by for example bill boards, banners or posters. The advantages are: advertising can inform people about different products and services, their utilities, cost and other requirements. The disadvantage is cost because advertising is more expansive. Personal Selling: This can be done by a company by training their sales team to know all need to know about the product so it can be sold by a presentation. Personal selling is one of the ways to keep good customers relationships, but this method is expensive. Sales promotion: Here it is communicated in a time limited way to increase consumer demand by for example contests, samples or trade shows. The advantage is that sales promotion can help companies to provide right information to customers, also it encourage repeat purchases and customer loyalty, but the advantages are that it increase price sensitivity and it is generally for a short duration Public relations: This can be paid or non paid stimulations of a product. This can be a product represented in for example magazines, TV or radio etc. PR is inexpensiveness of the cost, but it is hard to predict about the responses and it increase the risk. Direct marketing: This aspect is a way to reach the consumers directly, such as fliers or street advertising. It allow to target specific customer and it can be measureable, but it is hard to get as immediate of an impact when using direct marketing and it can be quite expansive. For example, for the promotion Deans adopt advertisement, public relations and internet marketing. Analyse the additional elements of the extended marketing mix Marketing mix has three additional elements: People, Process and Physical Evidence People: This refers to the people who are in direct contact with the customer such as staff. One of the crucial parts in selling a product is the staff and its service as lot of people rely on a good service before buying a product. The employees should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, attitude and knowledge of the product. Some companies make sure to train their staff to ensure the service the customer is seeking for- this can be done by guidelines of selling or training schools in selling. For example, the employees in Dean Gym have a standard uniform and Dean specially focuses on friendly and prompt service to its customers from their employees. The employees are part time workers and full time workers. Process: This concerns the process of delivering a service. It is crucial that the company delivers as easy as possible and completing a sale without any unnecessary steps. Dean has a number of processes involved in making marketing effective in organisation e.g. processes for handling customer complaints, processes for identifying customer needs and requirements, processes for handling equipments. Physical evidence: This part of the mix is an essential part where consumers will base their decisions based on the service which is partly visible. This could be a members card, a friendly environment. Dean gym focuses on clean and hygienic interiors of its outlets and at the same time the interiors are attractive and the gym maintains a proper etiquette at its joints. The design, furnishing, layout and decoration of the gym chain as well as the appearance and attitudes of its employees will influence customer perceptions of the service quality and experiences. Plan marketing mixes for two different segments in consumer markets. Deans is focusing on target market; when it markets a product it mainly consider on demographic and physiographic segmentations; where demographic segment before it markets it identify the consumer groups in: age, sex, education, race, and occupation, and in physiographic it divides the market into different levels as: Lower class, middle class, and upper class to identify their customers, Where Deans has planned to market a new product for a different segmentation so it needs to identify the consumers. After the segmentation Deans consider on the marketing mix its also called as the 4ps. Deans gym 4Ps: Product: Deans gym offers a variety of fitness equipment for both strength training and cardio. The gym has a state of the art fitness suite equipped with the latest Technogym Visio Web cardiovascular equipment. This allows customer to browse the web, watch television, read articles or update social network account whilst working out. If you prefer a group exercise programme timetable is available. See (Appendix 5) Price: Deans offer two different price sections for the gym, one for students and staff of the college at a reduced rate but with limited hours, these hours are designed to work around students courses and another that student/staff of the college can use over more hours and use more of the facilities. The gym then offers a scheme to the public of Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum. See membership options and price list in (Appendix 6) Place: Deans Sport and leisure is located at Knights Building, Lincoln College. This is a prime location for Lincoln college students and staffs to be target as an expansion of their current market share as it is within the college. See (Appendix 7) Promotion: Deans is currently using public relations and internet marketing, where they advertise through radio, magazine, news paper, and social network like Facebook, Tweeter, and their official website. Deans spa 4Ps: Product: Deans Spa is part of membership, where they offer spa pool with loungers, sauna, steam room, tropical shower, ice shower, foot spa. Additional packages include: Spa packages, dermalogica facials, massage, body treatments, hands and feet, salon. See (Appendix 8) Price: Deans offer three different price sections for the spa: senior spa therapist, spa therapist and student therapist. See (Appendix 9) Place: Deans spa is located at Deans Building, Lincoln College. Same as Deans gym students and staffs are their target market. Promotion: same as the gym, Deans spa also use radio, magazine, news paper, and social network and their official website to advertise their products. Illustrate differences in marketing products and services to businesses rather than consumers There are some characteristics to a service such as: lack of ownership, tangibility, intangibility and inseparability. Each of these needs to be taken into account when marketing a service. Customers cannot own and store a service like they can store a product. Services are used for a period of time. For example Deans gym have membership option where customers pay for option to use monthly and annually. A product is something which is tangible where as a service is intangible. A product is much easier than the service because after marketing and selling a product there is something tangible to be seen by the customer for his/her satisfaction but in services he/she cannot because its intangible. For example, Deans gym provides a variety of products all related to the health, well being, and self-esteem of its members. Their tangible products include personal weight control, weight room, cardio, tanning, personal training, and a variety of drinks, supplements, and health items that all may be purchased at the Gym, but their intangible product is their services. Services cannot be separated from service providers. A product can be taken away from the producer but a service cannot be taken away as it involves the service provider. For example Deans provide group exercise such as strength training, cardio and dancing classes. On other hand, the marketer needs to analyse the major demand of customers in a specific market in order to find out a product that can respond the market demand. Firstly, marketers have to improve products to meet customers demand as much as possible. Secondly, the price is an important factor in product marketing because of the price must be set to match with the purchasing power of a target group. Thirdly, the place of product marketing refers to distribution channels to deliver and sell the product to customers. Lastly, the marketer also needs to create the promotion on the product in order to persuade customers and motivate the sale in a short term. Conclusion: For a company to be able to implement their marketing concept successfully the marketing mix is essential. After applying the three additional Ps it has enables the present service standard to be reached. This way a company will reach a bigger customer satisfaction as they reach their customers better in what they want and need to the easiest way for them to purchase the product. It is important when going into a different market that the companys marketing focuses on all of the different aspects in the tools of the marketing umbrella.

Allegory and Truman Show Essay -- Allegory Cave Truman Show Essays

Allegory and Truman Show The Allegory of the Cave has many parallels with The Truman Show. Initially, Truman is trapped in his own â€Å"cave†; a film set or fictional island known as Seahaven. Truman’s journey or ascension into the real world and into knowledge is similar to that of Plato’s cave dweller. In this paper, I will discuss these similarities along with the very intent of both of these works whose purpose is for us to question our own reality. In his Allegory Plato shows us how a man ascends from the darkness of a cave to the light of the outside world. In this ascent Plato’s man passes through four distinct stages of cognition: from imagination, to belief, understanding, and finally knowledge. Imagination In this first stage of cognition, the cave dweller is shackled and can only see shadows of figures on the wall in front of him. His reality is based on his imagination of these figures. â€Å"To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.† Similarly, Truman’s reality is based on this imaginary world where his parents, wife, and everyone else around him are hired actors. Early in the film Truman seems to be happy although he is already starting to imagine himself in Fiji which he points out is the furthest place from Seahaven. Belief In the second stage, the cave dweller can now see the objects that previously only appeared to him as shadows. â€Å"Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer th...

Designer Babies Essay

My interest in designer babies was first sparked by a book I was required to read in high school, Brave New World. For my class I was required to do a little research on this book, and as I was searching the Internet I came across a website on designer babies. Although Brave New World is not a book about designer babies, the altering of human genes described in the book is a concept very similar to designer babies. The possibility of a society made up of genetically altered humans, such as the one in this book, is becoming very real with the help of advancements in technology. In vision one day you and your significant other are going to the doctor because you are planning to have a baby, but you are not going to the doctor for a check up. You are going to pick out the sex, characteristic traits, and physical features (eye color, hair color skin color, etc.) of your baby. Crazy right? To think, one day we will have the technology and resources to do this. Although this topic of †Å"designing your baby† is fairly new and the science has not been perfected, it is a very big possibility in our near future. The issue with this technology is whether it should be allowed or not. Parents always want the very best for their children, but my morals lead me to believe that parents should not be allowed to alter their children in this way. In this exploratory essay I hope to find solid and specific information to help me decide my stance on this question: Should parents be allowed to design what their children look like? In English 2000 we were introduced to online search engines that could be used to find information on our topics. The search engine I found the most handy was the EBCO Host website. This site lead me to many resourceful articles that truly helped me better understand the topic of designer babies. The first resource I came across is titled Designer Babies: Eugenics Repackaged or Consumer Options? By Stephen L. Baird, technology education teacher at Bayside Middle School, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Baird describes how journalists are the ones who have coined the term â€Å"Designer Babies†. He goes onto to explain that this term is simply a shortened phrase that represents certain reproductive technologies that allow expecting parents to have more control on the birth outcomes of their child (15). Read Also:  Exploratory Essay Topics In vitro  fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) are two procedures of genetic engineering that are described through specific cases throughout this document. â€Å"Almost three decades ago, on July 25, 1978, Louise Brown, the first â€Å"test-tube baby† was born. The world’s first â€Å"test-tube† baby arrived amid a storm of protest and hand-wringing about science gone amok, human animal hybrids, and the rebirth of eugenics† (Baird 12). This â€Å"test-tube† case is the first case explained by Baird. The purpose for this example case is to describe how using the in vitro fertilization reproductive technique is not necessarily a bad thing. Although many voices of the public spoke against Brown, the â€Å"test-tube† baby, she was born as a completely normal human child. This is just one of the multiple cases that show the views and opinions of the public. Baird captures the various arguments against designer babies and arguments for designer babies. Some people share the opinion that there is nothing wrong with designer babies because they assist in preventing particular genetic diseases and reduce the emotional and financial burden for parents of children with these altered genetic diseases (Baird 15). On the other hand, certain people feel strongly against designer babies because creating â€Å"perfect† children could evolve into changes in the physical appearance of the children before they are even born (Baird 15). Baird’s document on designer babies was very informative in a way that helped me better understand the different sides of the argument on designer babies. I also felt as if this source gave me a better understanding on the basics of this topic such as the medical terms and procedures. Baird’s work could be very enlightening for individuals who do not have a complete understanding of what it means to be a designer baby. For example, before reading this I simply assumed designer babies were meant for physical alterations, and did not consider it to be beneficial to health alterations such as preventing genetic diseases. This paper did not hinder me to be for or against designer babies because I received equal information on both sides of the issue. My second source, Designing Babies: What the Future Holds, came from the same search engine as the previous article. This article was written by Dr.  Yury Verlinsky, graduate, postgraduate and PhD of Kharkov University. Verlinsky goes into detail about the different meanings the public has of designer babies. His definitions of designer babies include the sex of a child being chosen, testing embryos for unwanted disorders and diseases, or for cosmetic reasons (24). Verlinsky goes through the multiple views on the advantages and disadvantages of allowing parents to use the technology to create designer babies. One particular advantage of designer babies, pointed out by Verlinsky, that caught my attention was, â€Å"insurance companies, for example, may refuse to cover newborn malformations that could have been corrected before implantation† (25). This goes to show how people may be economically pressured into the technologies of designer babies. I found that this particular a rticle had a lot of the same factual information as the previous article. Certain ideas from the two articles stuck out in similar ways. Even some of the same phrases were repeated in both articles that I have come across. Although there were similarities, this article also brought some new ideas to my attention. The first article contained many real life cases while this article used many hypothetical possibilities. Some of the hypothetical possibilities were a little out of the box, but they really got me to think about the circumstances that the designer baby technology could lead to. Finally my third source, also coming from the same search engine, is A Brave New World of Designer Babies By Sonia Suter. This particular article goes in depth about the similarities and differences of the eugenics and neoeugenics movements. As stated by Suter, the eugenics movement can be explained as â€Å"the mission to reduce disease in the population, the efforts to protect the public fisc, and the goal of reducing suffering. What makes â€Å"eugenics† such a complex term is that its practitioners were well intentioned and it meant different things to different people† (900). Suter also explains the meaning of neoeugenics, â€Å"Neoeugenics strives towards â€Å"good birth† at the individual, rather than state level† (900). When Suter says at the individual level, he is referring to the fact that designing babies is an individual procedure that is a voluntary choice of the parent. In Suter’s mission to analyze the meaning of neoeugenics he brin gs us as far back to the times of eugenics brought about by Hitler. Hitler was responsible for a  mass genocide of individuals that did not fit his mold of the perfect human. In a way this is similar to the purpose of using gene alterations to make your designer baby. Suter describes how the main difference between eugenics and neoeugenics is the severity of the two (948). Suter states â€Å"neoeugenics appears less threatening than eugenics† (948). In the world we live in today we always want what is best for our offspring and ourselves. Suter explains, that those who disagree with designer babies could very possibly fall under the pressures of taking part in these sciences because they do not want their own children to be disadvantaged to the ones that chose to use these technological advances (965). I found that my final article gave me the most information about the perspectives people have on designer babies. Since the study of designer babies is fairly new, I like how this document uses something from the past to help me relate it to something. This article really went in depth about the positives and negatives of designer babies. Some people are certain that using designer baby technology can help prevent diseases, while others are absolutely opposed to it. These articles have tremendously improved my understanding of designer babies. I was not aware of how truly in depth this term goes. As of now, I would not say I have a solid stance on the question I proposed at the beginning of my essay; should parents be allowed to design their babies? There are just so many different things that this term means and many different sides of the argument. I do not believe that this is a straightforward yes or no question. This is a complex issue that I need to do more research on. At this point, I do not think there is a problem with parents wanting to protect their children and prevent diseases their child is susceptible to in the future, but to physically and characteristically alter a child based on how you want your child to look and act is something I still feel is not something humans should be able to control. Works Cited Baird, Stephen L. â€Å"Designer Babies: Eugenics Repackaged Or Consumer Options? (Cover Story).† Technology Teacher 66.7 (2007): 12-16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. Damiano, Laura. â€Å"When Parents Can Choose To Have The ‘Perfect’ Child: Why Fertility Clinics Should Be Required To Report Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Data.† Family Court Review 49.4 (2011): 846-859. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. Schenker, Joseph G. Ethical Dilemmas In Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 6 Feb. 2014. Suter, Sonia M. â€Å"A Brave New World Of Designer Babies?.† Berkeley Technology Law Journal 22.2 (2007): 897-969. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Feb. 2014 Verlinsky, Yury. â€Å"Designing Babies: What The Future Holds.† Reproductive Biomedicine Online (Reproductive Healthcare Limited) 10.(2005): 24-26. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Eight

From where Bonnie and Meredith sat in the car, they could just see Vickie's window. It would have been better to be closer, but then someone might have discovered them. Meredith poured the last of the coffee out of the thermos and drank it. Then she yawned. She caught herself guiltily and looked at Bonnie. â€Å"You having trouble sleeping at night too?† â€Å"Yes. I can't imagine why,† Meredith said. â€Å"Do you think the guys are having a little talk?† Meredith glanced at her quickly, obviously surprised, then smiled. Bonnie realized Meredith hadn't expected her to catch on. â€Å"I hope so,† Meredith said. â€Å"It might do Matt some good.† Bonnie nodded and relaxed back into the seat. Meredith's car had never seemed so comfortable before. When she looked at Meredith again, the dark-haired girl was asleep. Oh, great. Terrific. Bonnie stared into the dregs of her coffee mug, making a face. She didn't dare relax again; if they both fell asleep, it could be disastrous. She dug her nails into her palms and stared at Vickie's lighted window. When she found the image blurring and doubling on her, she knew something had to be done. Fresh air. That would help. Without bothering to be too quiet about it, she unlocked the door and pulled the handle up. The door clicked open, but Meredith went on breathing deeply. She must really be tired, Bonnie thought, getting out. She shut the door more gently, locking Meredith inside. It was only then that she realized she herself didn't have a key. Oh, well, she'd wake Meredith to let her back in. Meanwhile she'd go check on Vickie. Vickie was probably still awake. The sky was brooding and overcast, but the night was warm. Behind Vickie's house the black walnut trees stirred very faintly. Crickets sang, but their monotonous chirping only seemed like part of a larger silence. The scent of honeysuckle filled Bonnie's nostrils. She tapped on Vickie's window lightly with her fingernails, peering through the crack in the curtains. No answer. On the bed she could make out a lump of blankets with unkempt brown hair sticking out the top. Vickie was asleep too. As Bonnie stood there, the silence seemed to thicken around her. The crickets weren't singing anymore, and the trees were still. And yet it was as if she was straining to hear something she knew was there. None of her ordinary senses told her this. But her sixth sense, the one that sent chills up her arms and ice down her spine, the one that was newly awakened to the presence of Power, was certain. There was†¦ something†¦ near. Something†¦ watching her. She turned slowly, afraid to make a sound. If she didn't make any noise, maybe whatever it was wouldn't get her. Maybe it wouldn't notice her. The silence had become deadly, menacing. It hummed in her ears with the beat of her own blood. And she couldn't help imagining what might come screaming out of it at any minute. Something with hot, moist hands, she thought, staring into the darkness of the backyard. Black on gray, black on black was all she could see. Every shape might be anything, and all the shadows seemed to be moving. Something with hot, sweaty hands and arms strong enough to crush her- The snap of a twig exploded through her like gunfire. She spun toward it, eyes and ears straining. But there was only darkness and silence. Fingers touched the back of her neck. Bonnie whirled again, almost falling, almost fainting. She was too frightened to scream. When she saw who it was, shock robbed all her senses and her muscles collapsed. She would have ended up in a heap on the ground if he hadn't caught her and held her straight. â€Å"You look frightened,† Damon said softly. Bonnie shook her head. She didn't have any voice yet. She thought she still might faint. But she tried to pull away just the same. He didn't tighten his grip, but he didn't let go. And struggling did about as much good as trying to break a brick wall with bare hands. She gave up and tried to calm her breathing. â€Å"Are you frightened of me?† Damon said. He smiled reprovingly, as if they shared a secret. â€Å"You don't need to be.† How had Elena managed to deal with this? But Elena hadn't, of course, Bonnie realized. Elena had succumbed to Damon in the end. Damon had won and had his way. He released one of her arms to trace, very lightly, the curve of her upper lip. â€Å"I suppose I should go away,† he said, â€Å"and not scare you anymore. Is that what you want?† Like a rabbit with a snake, Bonnie thought. This is how the rabbit feels. Only I don't suppose he'll kill me. I might just die on my own, though. She felt as if her legs might melt away at any minute, as if she might collapse. There was a warmth and a trembling inside her. Elena wouldn't like it, she thought, just as his lips touched hers. Yes, that was it. But the problem was, she didn't have the strength to say it. The warmth was growing, rushing out to all parts of her, from her fingertips to the soles of her feet. His lips were cool, like silk, but everything else was so warm. She didn't need to be afraid; she could just let go and float on this. Sweetness rushed through her†¦ â€Å"What the hell is going on?† The voice broke the silence, broke the spell. Bonnie started and found herself able to turn her head. Matt was standing at the edge of the yard, his fists clenched, his eyes like chips of blue ice. Ice so cold it burned. â€Å"Get away from her,† Matt said. To Bonnie's surprise, the grip on her arms eased. She stepped back, straightening her blouse, a little breathless. Her mind was working again. â€Å"It's okay,† she said to Matt, her voice almost normal. â€Å"I was just-â€Å" â€Å"Go back to the car and stay there.† Now wait a minute, thought Bonnie. She was glad Matt had come; the interruption had been very conveniently timed. But he was coming on a little heavy with the protective older brother bit. â€Å"Look, Matt-â€Å" â€Å"Go on,† he said, still staring at Damon. Meredith wouldn't have let herself be ordered around this way. And Elena certainly wouldn't. Bonnie opened her mouth to tell Matt to go sit in the car himself when she suddenly realized something. This was the first time in months she'd seen Matt really care about anything. The light was back in those blue eyes-that cold flash of righteous anger that used to make even Tyler Smallwood back down. Matt was alive right now, and full of energy. He was himself again. Bonnie bit her lip. For a moment she struggled with her pride. Then she conquered it and lowered her eyes. â€Å"Thanks for rescuing me,† she murmured, and left the yard. Matt was so angry he didn't dare move closer to Damon for fear he might take a swing at him. And the chilling darkness in Damon's eyes told him that wouldn't be a very good idea. But Damon's voice was smooth, almost dispassionate. â€Å"My taste for blood isn't just a whim, you know. It's a necessity you're interfering with here. I'm only doing what I have to.† Contemptuously he said, â€Å"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, then?† Damon smiled and the air went colder. â€Å"Like you?† Matt just stared at him. He could feel muscles clench in his jaw. After a moment he said tightly, â€Å"You can try.† â€Å"I can do more than try, Matt.† Damon took a single step toward him like a stalking panther. Involuntarily, Matt thought of jungle cats, of their powerful spring and their sharp, tearing teeth. He thought of what Tyler had looked like in the Quonset hut last year when Stefan was through with him. Red meat. Just red meat and blood. â€Å"What was that history teacher's name?† Damon was saying silkily. He seemed amused now, enjoying this. â€Å"Mr. Tanner, wasn't it? I did more than try with him.† â€Å"You're a murderer.† Damon nodded, unoffended, as if he'd just been introduced. â€Å"Of course, he stuck a knife in me. I wasn't planning to drain him quite dry, but he annoyed me and I changed my mind. You're annoying me now, Matt.† Matt had his knees locked to keep from running. It was more than the catlike stalking grace, it was more than those unearthly black eyes fastened on his. There was something inside Damon that whispered terror to the human brain. Some menace that spoke directly to Matt's blood, telling him to do anything to get away. But he wouldn't run. His conversation with Stefan was blurred in his mind right now, but he knew one thing from it. Even if he died here, he wouldn't run. â€Å"Don't be stupid,† Damon said, as if he'd heard every word of Matt's thoughts. â€Å"You've never had blood taken from you by force, have you? It hurts, Matt. It hurts a lot.† Elena, Matt remembered. That first time when she'd taken his blood he'd been scared, and the fear had been bad enough. But he'd been doing it of his own volition then. What would it be like when he was unwilling? I will not run. I will not look away. Aloud he said, still looking straight at Damon, â€Å"If you're going to kill me, you'd better stop talking and do it. Because maybe you can make me die, but that's all you can make me do.† â€Å"You're even stupider than my brother,† Damon said. With two steps he crossed the distance to Matt. He grabbed Matt by his T-shirt, one hand on either side of the throat. â€Å"I guess I'll have to teach you the same way.† Everything was frozen. Matt could smell his own fear, but he wouldn't move. He couldn't move now. Damon's teeth were a white glitter in the dark. Sharp as carving knives. Matt could almost feel the razor bite of them before they touched him. I will not surrender anything, he thought, and closed his eyes. The shove took him completely off balance. He stumbled and fell backward, his eyes flying open. Damon had let go and pushed him away. Expressionless, those black eyes looked down at him where he sat in the dirt. â€Å"I'll try to put this in a way you can understand,† Damon said. â€Å"You don't want to mess with me, Matt. I am more dangerous than you can possibly imagine. Now get out of here. It's my watch.† Silently, Matt got up. He rubbed at his shirt where Damon's hands had crumpled it. And then he left, but he didn't run and he didn't flinch from Damon's eyes. I won, he thought. I'm still alive, so I won. And there had been a kind of grim respect in those black eyes in the end. It made Matt wonder about some things. It really did. Bonnie and Meredith were sitting in the car when he got back. They both looked concerned. â€Å"You were gone a long time,† Bonnie said. â€Å"Are you okay?† Matt wished people would stop asking him that. â€Å"I'm fine,† he said, and then added, â€Å"Really.† After a moment's thought he decided there was something else he should say. â€Å"Sorry if I yelled at you back there, Bonnie.† â€Å"That's all right,† Bonnie said coolly. Then, thawing, she said, â€Å"You really do look better, you know. More like your old self.† â€Å"Yeah?† He rubbed at his crumpled T-shirt again, looking around. â€Å"Well, tangling with vampires is obviously a great warm-up exercise.† â€Å"What'd you guys do? Lower your heads and run at each other from opposite sides of the yard?† asked Meredith. â€Å"Something like that. He says he's going to watch Vickie now.† â€Å"Do you think we can trust him?† Meredith said soberly. Matt considered. â€Å"As a matter of fact, I do. It's weird, but I don't think he's going to hurt her. And if the killer comes along, I think he's in for a surprise. Damon's spoiling for a fight. We might as well go back to the library for Stefan.† Stefan wasn't visible outside the library, but when the car had cruised up and down the street once or twice he materialized out of the darkness. He had a thick book with him. â€Å"Breaking and entering and grand theft, library book,† Meredith remarked. â€Å"I wonder what you get for that these days?† â€Å"You mean you found it? You figured it out? Then you can tell us everything, like you promised,† Bonnie said. â€Å"Let's go to the boarding house.† Stefan looked slightly surprised when he heard that Damon had turned up and stationed himself at Vickie's, but he made no comment. Matt didn't tell him exactly how Damon had turned up, and he noticed Bonnie didn't either. â€Å"I'm almost positive about what's going on in Fell's Church. And I've got half the puzzle solved, anyway,† Stefan said once they were all settled in his room in the boarding house attic. â€Å"But there's only one way to prove it, and only one way to solve the other half. I need help, but it isn't something I'm going to ask lightly.† He was looking at Bonnie and Meredith as he said it. They looked at each other, then back at him. â€Å"This guy killed one of our friends,† said Meredith. â€Å"And he's driving another one crazy. If you need our help, you've got it.† â€Å"Whatever it takes,† Bonnie added. â€Å"It's something dangerous, isn't it?† Matt demanded. He couldn't restrain himself. As if Bonnie hadn't been through enough†¦ â€Å"It's dangerous, yes. But it's their fight too, you know.† â€Å"Darn right it is,† said Bonnie. Meredith was obviously trying to repress a smile. Finally she had to turn away and grin. â€Å"Matt's back,† she said when Stefan asked her what the joke was. â€Å"We missed you,† added Bonnie. Matt couldn't understand why they were all smiling at him, and it made him feel hot and uncomfortable. He went over to stand by the window. â€Å"It is dangerous; I won't try to kid you about that,† Stefan said to the girls. â€Å"But it's the only chance. The whole thing's a little complicated, and I'd better start at the beginning. We have to go back to the founding of Fell's Church†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He talked on late into the night. Thursday, June 11, 7:00 a.m. Dear Diary, I couldn't write last night, because I got in too late. Mom was upset again. She'd have been hysterical if she'd known what I was actually doing. Hanging out with vampires and planning something that may get me killed. That may get us all killed. Stefan has a plan to trap the guy who murdered Sue. It reminds me of some of Elena's plans-and that's what worries me. They always sounded wonderful, but lots of the time they went wrong. Anyway, we're going to do it after graduation. We're all in on it except Damon, who'll be watching Vickie. It's strange, but we all trust him now. Even me. Despite what he did to me last night, I don't think he'll let Vickie get hurt. I haven't had any more dreams about Elena. I think if I do, I will go absolutely screaming berserk. Or never go to sleep again. I just can't take any more of that. All right. I'd better go. Hopefully, by Sunday we'll have the mystery solved and die killer caught. I trust Stefan. I just hope I can remember my part.

Microsoft vs Foss Essays

Microsoft vs Foss Essays Microsoft vs Foss Essay Microsoft vs Foss Essay Microsoft’s Foss Patent Infringement Holly Stark ITT Technical IT 302 Abstract This paper takes an in depth look at the claims from Microsoft that FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) committed patent infringement in 2006. It also discusses how the events have impacted FOSS, whether negatively or positively and how the actions have changed both since 2006. Microsoft’s Foss Patent Infringement Free software is wonderful and corporate America seems to love it. Its often high-quality stuff that can be downloaded free off the Internet and then copied at will. Its versatile it can be customized to perform almost any large-scale computing task and best of all its crash-resistant. More than half the companies in the Fortune 500 are thought to be using the free operating system Linux in their data centers. In 2006, Microsoft cast a shadow over Free and Open Source Software by alleging that they had violated 235 patents such as the Linux kernel, Samba, OpenOffice. org and others. Foss’s legal representative Eben Moglen contended that software is a mathematical algorithm and, as such, not patentable. Parloff, R. 2007) But what of Microsoft’s claims? Are they valid? But first to answer that you need to understand what a patent really is. A patent is essentially a limited monopoly whereby the patent holder is granted the exclusive right to make, use, and sell the patented innovation for a limited period of time. Granting exclusive rights to the inventor is intended to encourage the investment of time and resources into the develop ment of new and useful discoveries. Once the term of protection has ended, the patented innovation enters the public domain. The problem of the patentability of software has become one of the most debated issues with regards to open source software. The Supreme Court stated in a unanimous opinion that patents have been issued too readily for the past two decades, and lots are probably invalid. For a variety of technical reasons, many dispassionate observers suspect that software patents are especially vulnerable to court challenge. This ruling works in FOSS’s favor. Patents can be invalidated in court on numerous grounds; others can easily be invented around. Still others might be valid, yet not infringed under the particular circumstances. FOSS has some well known patrons working in its corner as well. In 2005, six of them IBM (Charts, Fortune 500), Sony, Philips, Novell, Red Hat (Charts) and NEC set up the Open Invention Network (OIN) to acquire a portfolio of patents that might pose problems for companies like Microsoft, which are known to pose a patent threat to Linux. So if Microsoft ever sue d Linux distributor Red Hat for patent infringement, for instance, OIN might sue Microsoft in retaliation, trying to enjoin distribution of Windows. Parloff, R. 2007) A preliminary legal analysis of FOSS licenses conducted seems to suggest that the novel licensing model used by FOSS is legally valid, a fact that lends substantial credit to the movement. Other indications as to the soundness of the licenses are also encouraging; a ruling in Germany that has recognized the validity of the General Public License (GPL) ( J. Hoppner,2004), which further serves to stress that FOSS is a global phenomenon that is revolutionizing the entire field of software development. Microsoft realized that something had to change when it comes to patents. They basically had three choices. They could do nothing, it could start suing other companies to stop them from using its patents, or, they could begin licensing its patents to other companies in exchange for either royalties or access to their patents (a cross-licensing deal). They chose to do the latter. In December 2003, Microsofts new licensing unit opened for business, and soon the company had signed cross-licensing pacts with such tech firms as Sun, Toshiba, SAP and Siemens. On November 2, 2006, Microsoft went public and announced a partnership with Novell to collaborate to help Microsofts Windows, a proprietary operating system, work with Novells Suse Linux, which is based on open-source code. In addition, the software makers struck a deal on patents designed to give customers peace of mind about using Novells open-source products. This partnership made Novell the only company in the industry that was able to provide the customer not only with the code to run Linux, but also with a patent covenant from Microsoft. Evers, Joris 2006) Some thought that it showed that Microsoft was kind of being forced to see Linux as a significant competitor and the FOSS model as a viable business model. (Upfold, Peter 2006) My personal opinion is that this was an attack on the open source community. Microsoft hasn’t actually changed its tune; it’s still actively attacking free software and trying to abolish GNU/Linux while promoting Windows and other proprie tary software as though they are complementary to free software, which they are not. It’s PR nonsense and Microsoft is good at PR. Since then, Novell was sold in 2010 to Attachmate Corp. and a concurrent sale of certain intellectual property assets was sold to CPTN Holdings LLC, a consortium of technology companies organized by Microsoft Corporation. It plays right into the hands of Microsoft’s PR campaign, which strives for a fusion where Microsoft controls both sides of the competition and then derails the side which is less favorable to Microsoft. Microsoft has done that over and over again for many years and victims include giants like IBM and Apple. While FOSS licenses generally protect end user freedom in the realm of copyright, they have no effective protection against threats from software patents, especially from entities outside the FOSS community. In responding to the threat from software patent holders, the FOSS community has created innovative licensing schemes. ( Davidson, S. J 2006) Permissive licenses, such as the Apache licenses, have different patent rights clauses from reciprocal licenses, such as the MPL and GPL. In dealing with potential patent claims, GPL 2. has a â€Å"Freedom or Death† termination clause – â€Å"any patent must be licensed for everyones free use or not licensed at all. † GPL 2. 0 does not allow the development of software that requires any kind of license payments for third party patents. (Hacker. J. n. d. ) GPL 3. 0 was drafted to cope with global software patent threats and to provide compatibility with more non-GPL FOSS licenses. The current GPL draft 3. 0 keeps GPL 2. 0’s copyleft feature and includes new provisions addressing evolving computing issues, such as patent issues, free software license compatibility, and digital rights management (â€Å"DRM†). McMillan, R 2007) As of today, Microsoft is still attacking free software with two types of tactics. The tactics largely include litigation and the use of so-called Fear-Uncertainty-Doubt (FUD) tactics designed to undermine the popular perception of the open source philosophy. This year alone they have won several cases either outright, in appeal or countersuits against Motorola’s Android features. The rest of the FOSS community seems to be on edge and waiting to see what happens next.

Change Your Life Forever by Spending 1 Hour a Day Doing These 5 Things

Change Your Life Forever by Spending 1 Hour a Day Doing These 5 Things Most people  only spend 8 hours per day at work. If you work 5  days a week, that’s 40 hours. Even if your job is super intense and you’re working 60-80 hour weeks, you still have hours and hours of time to yourself. Okay, you have to spend a lot of that sleeping- that’s important. But in the hours of leisure time left to you, there are things you could be doing to vastly improve your future. Rather than just blowing all those hours on happy hours and Netflix, why not try spending an hour a day doing these 5 things and see what happens? 1. Make your evenings matterDon’t just rely on your working hours to gain skills and knowledge and make your career magic happen. Try doing a little bit each day off the clock that will help you advance in your career, not just get your daily job tasks done. Take online classes, develop new skills, practice and master old ones. Keep pushing yourself to learn more and do more and you’ll be amazed at how much faste r you advance at work.2. Read moreIt almost doesn’t matter what you’re reading. Keeping the habit, taking in knowledge, considering other points of view- all of this makes you more interesting and interested in the world around you. One hour spent learning about a new topic makes you that much closer to being respected by your boss and peers as â€Å"in the know.† Plus, the benefits to your general knowledge and vocabulary will be palpable.3. Side projectsIf your company won’t give you the opportunity to take your new skills and interests for a test spin, try volunteering. Find a way to have practical expression of what you’re learning so it can really start to translate into workable results. If nothing else, these side hobbies and projects will help keep you feeling fulfilled.4. Build your networkEven if you just spend 10 minutes a day maintaining your contacts, reach out, participate in conversations on social media or LinkedIn, and pursue new o nes. You’ll start to see a major difference and that work will really pay off when you need to rely on your network to change jobs or take your career to the next level.5. Start nowDon’t start this next week- or after the holidays. Start tonight. Don’t put off what can become such an ingrained habit that you hardly realize it is a chore you’ve set yourself.If you can get to the point where you are doing these 5 things naturally? You’ll be well on your way to actualizing your success.

Ariel Dorfmans Death and the Maiden 40 lines analysis Essay Example for Free (#40)

Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden 40 lines analysis Essay Death (671) , Sylvia Plath (42) , Ariel (31) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints The following forty lines from Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden (1990), take place in scene 1 of Act 3, after Roberto has been tied up by Paulina and threatened with being tortured the same way as she had been, and then shot. In response to Paulinaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s threats, Roberto begins confessing the brutality of his actions and his motives. This confession may be true; however, Gerardo has advised Roberto to indulge Paulina, to confess as this would save his life. Whatever the case, the extract is important because it portrays how a man can slide into brutality, without initially meaning to. Second, the extract is important because it helps expose the iniquities of dictatorial military governments. Finally, it is also important because it gives us an idea of Roberto’s character and personality. In this extract we clearly see the stages by which a respectable doctor became a brutal sadistic torturer. Though Roberto’s brother told him that helping the torturers could be a way to â€Å"pay the communists back for what they did to [his] dad,† Roberto stresses that he accepted the job for â€Å"humanitarian reasons.† Firstly, he wanted to help the prisoners who â€Å"were dying† from the tortures as â€Å"someone to help care for them, someone they could trust.† Later on, however, Roberto became involved in more â€Å"delicate operations† and was asked to â€Å"sit in on sessions where [his] role was to determine if the prisoners could take that much torture.† This indicates that he was there while the prisoners were tortured, watching these brutal scenes. Roberto thought this † was a way of saving people’s lives,† as he â€Å"ordered them to stop or the prisoner would die;† however, watching brutalized him, and slowly the â€Å"virtue [he] was feeling turned into excitement.† Soon, â€Å"brutalization took over [his] life† and he began â€Å"to truly like what [he] was doing,† so much so that, from an observer, he became a participant. Torture became a â€Å"game† for him, a game that was â€Å"partly morbid, partly scientific,† as he tortured women to find out things like â€Å"How much can this woman take? More than the other one? How’s her sex? Does her sex dry up when you put the current through her? Can she have an orgasm under those circumstances?† By the end, Roberto had become a sadist totally obsessed with â€Å"carry[ing] out all [his] fantasies† of sexually torturing women who were â€Å"entirely in his power,† women with whom he could do â€Å"whatever [he] want[ed].† So, stage by stage, we see in the example of Roberto how men can slide from positions of respectability and motives of kindness and compassion to becoming human monsters, men who delight in the sufferings of others. The tragedy of Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s slide from being a humanitarian to being a torturer is emphasized by the style of his speech, which reveals that he is an intelligent, educated, insightful man. Firstly we see how Roberto’s diction indicates his intelligence and level of education. Words such as â€Å"brutalization† and â€Å"morbid,† and phrases such as â€Å"he lost his capacity for speech,† â€Å"humanitarian reasons† and â€Å"install a totalitarian dictatorship† clearly manifest his ability to speak articulately and in a high register. We also see how analytically capable Roberto is, as he does not just describe his own actions but explains why they occurred, carefully dissecting his his motives for working with the torturers, not to â€Å"pay the communists back† but â€Å"for humanitarian reasons.† He can organize his account in clear, logical stages, with phrases like â€Å"It was slowly, almost without realizing how,† â€Å"At first,† â€Å"But afterwards,† â€Å"By the time,† â€Å"I began to,† and â€Å"It became.† Additionally, even in the circumstances in which he is giving this confession, in fear of his life, Roberto uses figurative language, suggesting that he has good rhetorical abilities. He uses euphemism, for example, in calling torture sessions â€Å"delicate operations,† and he uses metaphors when he refers to his brutalization as â€Å"the mask of virtue fell off,† and to his descent into sadistic torture as â€Å"the swamp.† So, we see how Roberto’s use of language clearly reveals his high level of education and intelligence, and this makes us even more horrified at how such a sophisticated man could have become a brutal torturer of women. More than exposing the degeneration of individual men, exemplified in Roberto, however, this extract also exposes the iniquities of military dictatorships, like the Pinochet regime in Chile, which Dorfman himself had to flee from. We see how military governments divided families: though Roberto became a doctor devoted to saving lives, his brother, determined to â€Å"pay the communists back for what they did to [their] father,† took another path, joining the military dictatorship and becoming a â€Å"member of the secret services.à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬  We also are given the impression of how military dictatorships can convince people to support them by manipulating their sufferings under previous governments, promising some kind of compensation, as Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s brother joined the dictatorship to â€Å"pay the communists back for what they didà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to his father à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½the day the peasants took over his land at Las Toltecas.† Such governments also persuade people to support them, as Roberto did, by deceit and lies, getting Roberto involved in torture by saying the prisoners needed â€Å"someone they could help care for them,† but actually slowing criminalizing Roberto as a torturer. The fact that â€Å"they† have had such an enormous influence on Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s personality shows just how psychologically manipulative such regimes can be. Finally, the fact that, throughout his speech, Roberto refers to the government only as â€Å"they† evokes the way in which such governments work in the shadows, secretly and anonymously, to torture and terrorize. Thus this extract does not only show how Roberto and men like him deteriorate when they become involved in torture; it also shows how dictatorial regimes can manipulate such men, facilitating and enabling this deterioration to occur. In conclusion, this extract is very important as, whether Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s confession is true or feigned, it reveals how even the best of men may slide into such brutality and how military governments can create vile monsters out of exemplary human beings. Through the details of Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s confession, Dorfman is inviting his audience to consider how a man becomes sub-human. If a respectable doctor, a benefactor to the community, could turn into such a monster because of the effects of such a regime, then what would happen to the rest of society? Dorfman tries to make the reader consider that this incident that has turned Roberto’s life into a monster might happen to anybody in our society; especially in a switch of regime. Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden 40 lines analysis. (2017, Nov 13). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Human Reource management for Samsung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Reource management for Samsung - Essay Example The organizational structure also determines the approaches used in decision-making. This paper will present a report on the strategies that Samsung can adopt to register high performance and ensure a favorable working environment. Motivation and Reward This section will present an analysis of the motivation and reward procedure used by Samsung. In a bid to motivate its workers, Samsung has a very modern strategy, which offers the workers with a diverse range of possibilities. For starters, the managers in Samsung have made sure that the working hour-schedule suits the employees in conformity to their preferences, a factor that ensures that people are enthusiastic of each day’s work. Employees have a clear ascending path in the company, with the option to remain at the level of an individual contributor or become a manager (Pattanayak, 2005). It gives the employee awareness that if he does a good job, he will very likely ascend in the hierarchy, and receive a bigger salary and extra benefits. It is a strong motivational factor as the employee receives an adequate challenge, and the outcomes of staying with the company. Samsung has adopted a â€Å"pick your package† style of benefits for the employees. ... Moreover, Samsung is working on improving their workplace to offer a free catering, Starbucks gym, and social club on-site. Some optional benefits include social events, holidays, activities within the company, and many more, to maintain a good relationship between the company and the staff. This human resource strategy has shown its viability as evidenced by its adoption by companies such as Google and Kaspersky labs. The feedback collected from the employees indicates a feeling of satisfaction and a will to progress within the company (Pattanayak, 2005). Evidently, Samsung has achieved its goal in terms of motivation and reward. Samsung has also considered establishing goal incentives. This is an additional performance-based pay system to reward employees for improvement in their work efficiency. This system makes use part of the extra profit generated because of the effective performance of the management, human resource, facilities, and technology of our company (Lindholm, Yarris h, &Zaballero, 2012). When a business unit achieves good business performance, it allocates part of the extra profit to executives and employees. Under this system, part of an employee’s salary is determined based on the collective performance of the group. This is a variable reward system, under which executives and employees receive part of the profit in cases where a high performance that exceeds the goal is registered. Organizational Change and Culture This section describes Samsung's organizational change and culture, with admiration to RensisLikert’s participative decision-making theory. According to this theory, employers should seek to allow

The importance of the marketing portfolio Essay

The importance of the marketing portfolio - Essay Example The importance of the marketing department's liaising with every other department could be gauged by its hold over the market and its need to keep its ears to the ground for every single bit of information that may make or mar the fortunes of the company's future business. The marketing portfolio therefore must represent every other activity in the company, apart from its own. It must have good hold over the total management information system so that the two-way communication system of information moving from top to bottom and from the bottom level to top level in the management hierarchy is clear, unambiguous and undiluted. The marketing operational activity is primarily customer-oriented. It is not possible to stereotype customers or the market. Although the predominance of marketing over other departments does exist, it cannot abdicate its own distinct identity and responsibility and it must stay focused on its role as the frontrunner to secure maximum business from the total market pie. No other department has such colossal and strategic responsibility. If the marketing management is unable to focus on maintaining and improving upon its market share, those responsible are quickly replaced. We, that is, two colleagues and I, have been selected by Crown Manufacturing Company Limited, (CMCL), manufacturers and marketers of white goods, viz. refrigerators, washing machines, and wardrobes. The total number of temporary recruits is hundred broken up in teams of twos and threes to concentrate of several routes. Our job is to assist the existing sales force for the company's sales scheme of their products during the summer holidays. Our weekly remuneration is US$250 plus two percent commission on the basic price of every five pieces sold. The company has come up with a discount and replacement scheme and is confident of generating a very good sale. The customer is being offered brand new models with benefits of up to fifty percent discount on the basic price of any product in exchange for an old one in working condition. The scheme is being advertised on a grand scale through the electronic and print media. Retailers have been enthused with decorative window displays to herald the scheme. The company has fixed a target which is five times the number of goods sold in an average month. The Existing Sales Force The company has a staff of fifty sales executives under five sales managers each responsible for one product except for water filter and television for which there is one sales manager. The sales scheme is aimed at refrigerators, washing machines and wardrobes only. The temporary recruits of hundred sales assistants have been assigned to different sales executives. Their job is to receive customers, effect sale, and complete the data entry which basically covers information such as the customer's name, age, address, designation, choice of product model, and date or year of purchase of the old model, if available. The company's showroom is large enough to accommodate staff of hundred personnel in the mezzanine floor. It can accommodate another hundred in the building's first floor. Both the mezzanine and the first floors have enough space to receive hundred customers each at a time. Besides, five sales executives have been given the responsibility of attending to online enquiries and also receive orders with payments online. Each

Bsc in Management Studies - Business Environment-Coursework- Coursework

Bsc in Management Studies - Business Environment- - Firstgrade - Coursework Example Report also discussed as to how Intel captured the personal computer processor market and completely revolutionized it. However, the emerging trends on mobile computing suggest that the Intel may be lagging behind in this segment of the business. Extensive competition in the chip business for the smart phones and tablet computers has resulted into the vanishing of Intel’s traditional competitive advantage in the market. Trends suggest that the manufacturing of personal computers- a segment where Intel is market leader despite the fact that it’s getting tough competition from AMD- is shrinking. This reduction into the personal computer manufacturing therefore could result into the loss of market share for Intel. The final section of the report discusses some of the strategic approaches which Intel can take to overcome the challenges posed by external environment. Introduction External business environment plays a key role in shaping the current and future strategies of a firm. Learning organizations therefore always attempt to understand and explore their business environment and subsequently adjust and develop their business strategies in such a manner which can offer them competitive advantage in that business environment. ... (Kew, & Stredwick, 2005, p14). Intel is the leading semiconductor chip maker in the world and is based in California, US. Intel works in an industry where technology rapidly changes and the overall pace of change is quite rapid. Such an environment therefore requires the firms like Intel to continue to develop and invest heavily in research and development. Further, the trends are shifting towards mobile computing and more and more new products are being introduced in the market almost providing the same functionalities like a computer but they are more mobile and light in nature. These trends therefore suggest that the semiconductor chip manufacturing industry may go through a radical shift. How these factors can affect Intel in future and how Intel should respond to them is what will be discussed in this report. This report will focus on identifying key priority issues faced by Intel and how these issues can affect Intel in short term. Intel Corporation Intel Corporation started it s operations in 1968 from California, US as a computer chip manufacturer. It mainly manufacturers the microprocessors used in most of the personal computers however, it also manufactures motherboards for the personal computers, network interfaces, portable flash memory chips, integrated circuits and other technologies which are used in the communication technology. (Argyris, 1999) Intel started to manufacture memory chips initially however; it shifted its focus during 1981 when it started to produce computer microprocessors. Intel is therefore also credited with the invention of silicon based microprocessor which has completely revolutionized the personal computer industry by offering it the speed and accuracy to perform complex tasks at relative ease. Intel’s

Do Aliens Exist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Do Aliens Exist - Essay Example However these findings have yet not provided a solid proof regarding the existence of the aliens. Brockwell on this issue provides with rather interesting information regarding the existence of aliens. According to Brockwell in 1966 a space shuttle was sent to generate electricity by the earth’s magnetic field. This shuttle was launched in the orbit and the mission was known as the STS-75 Space Shuttle mission. But the experiment failed as the shuttle broke down in the orbit and electricity could not be generated. It was reported that when the shuttle broke down many unusual UFOs were sighted at the site. But this claim was brought down the officials who considered the unusual UFOs to be space debris. However an interesting claim has been made now in which a scientist examined the pictures taken from that site. The scientist using different techniques clarified the picture taken on that day and put forward the claim that the unusual UFOs were actually spacecrafts run by the al iens themselves. The pictures clearly show the electronic circuits which are a sign that it might not be debris but possibly some electronic transport which is run by aliens. Relying upon this claim by the scientist one can clearly deduce that there is some power outside this world which is living in the galaxy. The images provided by the scientists also are a sign that aliens may possibly exist but are not really showing up themselves (Brockwell 2008). The proponents of the belief that aliens exist come forward with different arguments which are related to the events that have occurred in real life. It has been found that memos of a secret agent show that an extra terrestrial space ship crashed into the US town of Roswell which was then covered up by the American government. An FBI... Many individuals come forward with the claim that there is no such thing as aliens existing in this world. According to these individuals aliens are just a perception of people and they do not exist in the galaxy. The unusual happenings in this world are just a mere coincidence and not any activity done by individuals other than the human beings. To conduct a study on the existence of aliens many studies have been conducted and one of the studies was made public. It clearly states that there is no such sign of alien existence in this world. The famous report clearly suggests that there is no such thing as alien existence in this world and all the unusual activities happening in this world are just out of mere natural forces. The report criticizes all the events reported by people who have sighted UFOs in their vicinities. The report further states using the techniques of astronomy, that all these unusual UFOs are related to the stars and meteors in the space. It puts forward the clai m that most of the happenings in the surrounding of this world which seem to be unusual are related to the electrical chemical and magnetic phenomenon occurring in the layers of the earth. Because these phenomenons are so rare in this world, they are thought to be related to forces existing outside this world.

Assimilation of Sephardic Jews Into European and Ottoman Cultures Research Paper

Assimilation of Sephardic Jews Into European and Ottoman Cultures - Research Paper Example However, the question here is whether or not they were better received, more welcomed, and assimilated into the Ottoman Empire as immigrants as a welcomed people while being turned away from other European nations because of their non-Christian beliefs and their refusal to convert to Christianity. The books and journal articles relied upon in this paper helps piece together the information needed to begin to answer the questions posed. Those works are by Avigdor Levy, The Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire (1992),1 Bernard Lews’ The Jews of Islam (1984),2 Henry Kamen’s journal article titled The Mediterranean and the Expulsion of Spanish Jews in 1492, appearing in the Oxford University Press publication Past and Present (1988),3 Benjamin Ravid, in his article titled The Legal Studies of the Jewish Merchants of Venice, 1541-1638, appearing in the Economic History Association’s publication The Journal of Economic History (1975),4 Diane Owen Hughes, whose research on the subject can be found in the collection titled Medieval Renaissance Texts and Studies: Persons in Groups, Social Behavior as Identity Formation in Medieval and Renaissance Euro;5 there emerges much in support of the notion that while a significant number of Jews whose lives were interrupted by ex pulsion from Spain in 1492, successfully resettled into other European states, they were not welcomed into those European states as readily and openly as they were received into the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512) Reliable information derived from studies that can be considered valid in support of the locales into which the displaced Jews were received and resettled, derives from records stemming from the practice of Jewish traditions like Passover, the need for and preparation of Kosher foods, and written works that suffice to make the connection between the descendants of the immigrants within the societies to which they immigrated. In each of these cases, there is sufficient evidence to suggest the existence of a Jewish community.

Connecticut local Government Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Connecticut local Government - Research Paper Example ne at the Lincoln Basset School in four areas: academics, culture, talent and climate and operations noted that the school was below standard in most areas. Shahid (2014) stated that divide among staff, lack of basic resources, such as white boards and projectors and chronic absenteeism among students was the reason for the poor performance. The school was added to the State Commissioner’s Network for underperforming schools so as to significantly improve through collaborations between the state Department of Education and local stakeholders.(Shahid , 2014) Prior to finding the article I did not know that it was an issue within my community. When reading the article what amazed me was how the afterschool program has impacted positively to the kids as it serves as a catalyst for them to indulge into other avenues other than being closed with no exposure. I believe I feel this way because the program can help chronically low performing school rise. If I lived in my classmates’ community, I would ensure that they make use of their afterschool time to be doing something productive and impact their lives positively. I am saying this because many at times students engage themselves into bad behaviors like smoking and drinking alcohol. Shahid. A, Karim (2014).New Haven after-school program aims for positive life outcomes forparticipants .Retrieved from

Assimilation of Sephardic Jews Into European and Ottoman Cultures Research Paper

Assimilation of Sephardic Jews Into European and Ottoman Cultures - Research Paper Example However, the question here is whether or not they were better received, more welcomed, and assimilated into the Ottoman Empire as immigrants as a welcomed people while being turned away from other European nations because of their non-Christian beliefs and their refusal to convert to Christianity. The books and journal articles relied upon in this paper helps piece together the information needed to begin to answer the questions posed. Those works are by Avigdor Levy, The Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire (1992),1 Bernard Lews’ The Jews of Islam (1984),2 Henry Kamen’s journal article titled The Mediterranean and the Expulsion of Spanish Jews in 1492, appearing in the Oxford University Press publication Past and Present (1988),3 Benjamin Ravid, in his article titled The Legal Studies of the Jewish Merchants of Venice, 1541-1638, appearing in the Economic History Association’s publication The Journal of Economic History (1975),4 Diane Owen Hughes, whose research on the subject can be found in the collection titled Medieval Renaissance Texts and Studies: Persons in Groups, Social Behavior as Identity Formation in Medieval and Renaissance Euro;5 there emerges much in support of the notion that while a significant number of Jews whose lives were interrupted by ex pulsion from Spain in 1492, successfully resettled into other European states, they were not welcomed into those European states as readily and openly as they were received into the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512) Reliable information derived from studies that can be considered valid in support of the locales into which the displaced Jews were received and resettled, derives from records stemming from the practice of Jewish traditions like Passover, the need for and preparation of Kosher foods, and written works that suffice to make the connection between the descendants of the immigrants within the societies to which they immigrated. In each of these cases, there is sufficient evidence to suggest the existence of a Jewish community.

Environmental Depletion Essay Example for Free

Environmental Depletion Essay 1. Individuals are affected by the environment in different ways. The environment is an essential element in mans daily sustenance. The environment is the source of fresh air which humans breath in order to live, the source of fruits and vegetables that are necessary for the better functioning of the body, and the care taker of nature which provides man with a serene view of the world. The environment is also the source of trees and other raw materials that are used in the production of the basic needs of the modern world. The environment aids man in so many ways that living without it is totally indispensable for the survival of man. However, the many blessings and benefits which man derives from the environment have caused greed and abuse. The environment, as many theorize is very sick because of mans lack of concern for it. Instead of striving to preserve and/ or cultivate all that the environment has to offer, man continues to abuse and show lack of care for the environment. Thus, the world now is experiencing too many nature related tragedies. The tragedies that are happening and the climate changes as well as global warming are all the result of mans depletion of the earths natural resource. Everything which the environment has to offer has been continually abused by man and utilized commercially to satisfy their greed for profit. What man forgets is that whatever he does with the environment will be done to him two fold. Aside from the physical effects, changes in the environment can also have physiologic and psychological effects to man. If the temperature is hot and dry, man tends to be sweaty and thirsty while if the temperature is cold, the body of man tends to cling on to something that will provide him warmth. Psychologically, a hot temperature will most likely cause man to be easily irritated and annoyed. More often than not, the patience is man is shorter when it is hot as compared when the temperature is cold. In addition, if the environment to which man lives in is rowdy or in chaos or there is too much pollution, the tendency of man is also to feel and act in chaos whereas if the environment is serene, man, most often than not, will feel relaxed and relieved. A busy and crowded environment may lead to stress but a lax setting may temper the mind and feelings of man. Individuals, generally, act in accordance with what they see and feel from the environment. There are only a few people who do not feel affected with what is happening in their environment, these are the people who have high tolerance and have a high sense of discipline to detach themselves from the environment where they are. 2. In the past five years, there has been an increased awareness in the environment because man has been feeling the wrath of nature. The effects of the pollution of the water, the seas and rivers, the air and the noise pollution that are felt world wide are starting to cause serious trouble to mans daily existence. There has been too much pollution around that man can hardly enjoy the benefits which nature used to offer. The climate changes, global warming, extinction of plants, animals and fishes, melting of glaciers and scarcity of natural resources such as water, trees and animals have caused man difficulties. In some parts of the world, such as Africa, water scarcity is very prevalent (Arriens, 2007). The people there hardly have any water to drink, cook and bath. In the years to come, it has been predicted by several scientists and researchers that water scarcity will be felt in a greater degree. If there is water scarcity, almost all resources will be affected. Lack of water will also deprive man to cultivate the soil and plant fruits, vegetables and rich thus there will be food shortage. Cost of products bought in the market will also rise. The lesser products there are available, the higher is the cost. The fear of man to experience all of these adverse effects is the reason why there has been an increased awareness of the environment, which I believe is just right. Man needs to protect and preserve the blessings of nature in order to live longer and enjoy life better.

Understanding The Conflict In Darfur Sudan History Essay

Understanding The Conflict In Darfur Sudan History Essay In the early 2000s, Darfur, located in western Sudan, was in the news. The reason was due to mass killings that took place. Scholars have isolated three predominant reasons for the killings. One being that it was an ethnic issue between the Arab North and the African South. The second being a matter of religion, the North was Muslim while the South was Christian and native religion. The third reason was natural resources and nomadic tribes that resided in the area. Most scholars believed that one or a mixture of the three reasons listed caused the violence in Darfur. This topic was important because hundreds of thousands of people have died and millions displaced due to the conflict. Another reason was due to the fact that the United Nations have not acknowledged that what happened in Darfur was genocide. If they acknowledged that fact, they would have to act. Going back through history could provide the origin of the conflict in Darfur. By doing so, it was possible to see how historians agree or disagree on these issues. Each scholar brought his or her own strength to the debate of what caused the war in Darfur, Sudan. Most of the authors narrowed their argument down to one or two main causes. Whether it was ethnic conflict, religion, land, cultural identity, politics, resources, or a mixture of any of these, each scholar used their research to the best of their ability to explain to the public why their argument best explained the root of what has seemed to be constant warfare. Amir Idris author of the 2005 book Conflict and Politics of Identity in Sudan, looked at the conflict as being the product of a radicalized state that transformed cultural identities into political identities.  [1]  He stated that this was the cause of the current conflict but he came to this thesis by looking into the past of Sudan. He focused on the enslavement of people as being where these identities emerged. He quoted Douglas Johnson on the Darfur kingdom, established in the seventeenth century AD, and how they raided the southern part of the country.  [2]  Idris continued his slavery argument by showing how in Northern and Central Sudan owning land was having a high social status but tilling ones own land was socially humiliating.  [3]  This was where the importance of slaves came in. Northern Sudan obtained slaves from Southern Sudan through raids.  [4]   These raids focused on the non-Muslim/non-Arab peoples of these states.  [5]  By attacking those who were not Arab or followed the same religion as themselves they used this as social justification for slavery.  [6]  As Northern Sudan continually invaded the South, this undoubtedly would cause tension between North and South Sudan. This also brought forth the basis of Idris argument. With the North constantly raiding the South there was a constant racialized interaction.  [7]  Northern Sudan Muslims claimed they were the descendants of distinguished Arab ancestors.  [8]  Though Southerners eventually converted to Islam, they were not accepted into society because they were African.  [9]  Idris argued that those involved with the slave trade were the ones who came up with the racialized terms.  [10]  By coming up with terms that described those who were not Arab or Muslim as inferior, slave traders could use that as justification for enslaving people. Religion and race tend to go hand-in-hand in Sudan. Idris brought up religion in passing when he stated that Muslims saw themselves as superior to those of the non-Muslim and Arab groups.  [11]  In these societies just because a person was Muslim did not mean that they were safe from enslavement as Idris pointed out.  [12]  Slave raids brought Western Sudan Muslims to the North.  [13]   Amir Idris argument about the fighting in Sudan can be applied to Darfur. Race has often been one of the issues looked at when scholars have investigated the causes behind the war in Darfur. The racial tension brought forth during the slave raids of the 18th and 19th century undoubtedly left scars that would reappear in the early 21st century. The Arab versus non-Arab conflict showed through Idris argument was a possible reason behind the systematic killings that took place in Darfur. In The Worlds Worst Humanitarian Crisis,: Understanding the Darfur Conflict, an article written by Ahmad Sikainge in 2009, he argued that the conflict in Darfur was due to an explosive combination of environmental, political, and economic factors.  [14]  The first area Sikainga explored was the environment. He gave a brief overview of the climate in Darfur. The Northern part of Darfur was vast desert, the South contained rich savanna, and the Central part of Darfur was plateau.  [15]  This striking difference between the North and the South undoubtedly caused tension. For people located in the north to see their southern neighbors with far more natural resources had to cause some feeling of animosity. Sikainge stated in his article that it was not only the vast difference in the climate that was partly responsible for the outbreak of war but also the land system, which brought fourth questions of ownership. He presented the Hakura system, which was the land ownership system established by the Fur Kingdom that ruled until 1874.  [16]  This system revolved around communal land ownership.  [17]  The local chief was responsible for allocating land to members of his group, which they would cultivate.  [18]  The chief of the Hakura would be responsible for settling any disputes that arose.  [19]  However, post-Sudanese independence rulers saw this system as outdated and put forth policies that affected the chiefs authority thus taking away his authority of settling disputes.  [20]   Sikainga highlighted one important cause of conflict was between the Northern Darfur nomads and pastoralists in the South.  [21]  As the climate changed, nomads of the North were forced down into parts of the South where the Hakura system was in place, and any conflict that arose between these two groups were settled locally as was custom.  [22]  However, as stated above post-independence rulers did away with the Hakura system, and the local chiefs were no longer able to resolve conflicts.  [23]   Sikainga, in his article, covered his basis as he also looked into the ethnic conflict that was present in Darfur. He stated that post-colonial government saw many Arabic speaking elites taking high-ranking positions.  [24]  These elites were mainly from the North and Central parts of the country, where the population was mostly Arab, and tried to forge a national identity between Islam and Arabism.  [25]  Sikainga pointed out that this national identity caused a rise in resistance in the non-Arab and non-Muslim South.  [26]   In his article, Sikainga looked at multiple viewpoints as the source of conflict in Darfur. He did not focus on one particular aspect of the conflict but instead he argued that multiple aspects led to the genocide in Darfur. He looked at the environmental issue, land ownership, and race as being explosive causes, each contributing to the conflict in Darfur. In the 2007 book Explaining Darfur: Lectures on the Ongoing Genocide, authors Agnes Van Ardenne-van der Hoeven, Mohamed Salih, Nick Grono, Juan Mendez, and Fouad Ibrahim look into the conflict of Darfur. They went about laying the groundwork with basic information. Once established, they dived into the cause or causes behind the conflict. As the authors of this book pointed out, there seemed to be a fallacy that the fighting was about resources.  [27]   Much like other scholars, these authors looked at race being one the main causes behind the fighting.  [28]  In addition to race, they looked into the heritage of slavery between Arabs and Africans.  [29]  This slavery went back to the 18th century, a topic that Amri Idris addressed in his book. As Arabs enslaved Africans, this caused the creation of an inferiority complex among those of the African ethnic groups.  [30]  The Arabs until recently were semi-nomads who commanded a larger amount of territory than their African counterparts did.  [31]  These authors pointed out that land was another contributing factor for the near constant conflict. For the Arab Janjaweed who attacked African ethnic groups their aim was to expand their territory and power.  [32]   The authors pointed out there were not always conflict between nomads and farmers. They pointed out that farmers, after harvesting their crop would allow nomads to bring in their cattle to eat the residue and fertilize the soil.  [33]  However, as the climate changed pushing the desert further south and with an increase in population, the friendly relationship turned hostile.  [34]  Traditional law once resolved this conflict over land, now the government in charge has turned a blind-eye to the conflict.  [35]   Race and religion have been presented, so far. This was most likely because these two topics are the most explored and researched by scholars. Not only are these two topics most explored but also they are both the most obvious causes to the conflict. It was also perhaps easy to research these two topics as there are more primary sources available. One scholar that went outside of the scope of these two topics in the crisis in Darfur was Fana Gebresenbet. She looked at the climate and environmental factors as being causes of the conflict in Darfur. One reason that the environment was important was due to pastoralism and dry land agriculture in the area.  [36]  In the Darfur states, there has been an irregular but marked decline in rainfall.  [37]  This decline in rainfall would be devastating for pastoralist and those who relied on the land. The area that was suffering from this decline in rainfall was Northern Darfur.  [38]  This decline naturally caused a decline in productivity.  [39]  While the people who lived in Darfur are used to harsh condition the current change in the environment has put strains on the people.  [40]   Two other authors who expanded on the work that Fana Gebresenbet did were Balgis Osman-Elasha and Amin El Sanjak. These authors looked at how droughts in Northern Darfur have driven people into Southern Darfur.  [41]  People of Northern Darfur are mostly Arabs and Muslims, while people in Southern Darfur are mostly African and either Christian or have their own religion. It was not hard to believe that there would be some conflict between these ethnically and religiously different people. Both authors recognized that the conflict was the result of many complex problems but they focused on natural resources.  [42]   As drought became more common, nomads migrated to the wetter parts of Southern Darfur.  [43]  However, as more people moved into the South, the added population put further stress on resources there. Osman-Elasha and Sanjack cited weak institutions and administrative power, because of their late response to the conflict over resources.  [44]  They stated that since the collapse of the traditional administration system, which handled conflicts over resources, it took more time to deal with these conflicts, which allowed them to grow.  [45]  Ahmed Sikainge showed the local administrative system and land ownership was set up during the Fur Kingdom, which existed until 1874.  [46]   Fana Gebresenbet, Balgis Osman-Elasha and Amin El Sanjak looked outside what other scholars have looked at by focusing on the environment and resources. As the environment changed people would undoubtedly have to adapt to the changes. However, with little resources already and with the changes in environment making the situation worse, violence over resources is a good argument into the crisis in Darfur. Sources are important to any scholars research. Other scholars will look at the sources that they decide to use for their research to see where and what types of sources they used. By looking at sources, they can also point out any sources that may be bias to what the scholar argued. A good scholar would try to incorporate sources that went against their argument so that they can disprove what that source argues. The sources that Amir Idris used are mainly secondary sources from scholars who have written on Sudan. The sources that he used backed up his argument. One author that he cited multiple times was Douglas H. Johnson. The reasons that are not many primary sources were because oral tradition was in these areas were widely used in these areas. Muslims did bring written records to the area. However, considering that Muslims were often the ones enslaving people in Southern Sudan, their records might reflect their bias. Ahmad Sikainge much like Amir Idris used secondary sources. The sources that Sikainge incorporated into his article were ones that primarily dealt with race, and the issue of land. Each author that Sikainge used he did so efficiently. He used research from Alex de Waal who has written on the subject of Darfur. The authors of Explaining Darfur: Lectures on the Ongoing Genocide used secondary sources one of which was a report done by the United Nations. What was good about bringing in a report from an international organization was that it is less likely to be biased. They also incorporated maps to show the ethnic groups of Darfur. Scholarly work was important. However, there was always the possibility of bias towards one thing or another. By bringing in work from a supposedly neutral source, they bolster their argument. The sources that Fana Gebresenbet used to show her argument are primarily based on the changing climate in Darfur. While she did use secondary scholarly work, she also incorporated works from numerous organizations. She used multiple reports published by the International Panel on Climate Change to show how the climate in Darfur has changed. Gebresenbet also used work published by the Global Humanitarian Forum and The World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism. She also used a report from the United Nations Environment Programme, another non-governmental organization. Not only did she utilize these reports in her work but she also used graphs to show how the rainfall had decreased in certain areas. These graphs are on many pages throughout her work. Balgis Osman-Elasha and Amin El Sanjak both used secondary sources and works published by non-governmental organizations. Their work focused on the environment similar to Fana Gebresenbet. Non-governmental organizations such as Food and Agriculture Organization, Foundation for Environmental Security and Sustainability, World Meteorological Organization, and African Centre for Technology Studies did some of the reports that Osman-Elasha and Sanjak used in their work. They used multiple reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and United Nations Environment Programme. Much like Fana Gebresenbet, Osman-Elasha and Sanjak used graphs and maps to show how rain decreased while the population in Darfur increased. Scholars presented their argument in a way that made it easy to pinpoint what they were trying to convey. Most of the authors focused in on one or two reasons behind the conflict in Darfur, while other authors looked at broader reasons and incorporated multiple aspects. Each of the books and articles presented has their aspects that build on the understanding of Darfur. However, each book and article has its flaws. In Conflict and Politics of Identity in Sudan, Amir Idris argued that it was fighting between Arabs and non-Arabs that has caused the conflict. Idris also brought up religion as it built upon his argument. While two aspects undoubtedly caused turmoil in the area, Idris focus was so narrow that he failed to consider that perhaps race and religion are but one of many problems for Sudan. While he did bring up valid points concerning slavery, his failure to broaden his area of focus by not including other possible arguments left his work, while good on points of slavery and the conceptions of race categories, somewhat lacking. Ahmad Sikainges article The Worlds Worst Humanitarian Crisis: Understanding the Darfur Conflict was a good article that outlines multiple aspects of the conflict. Because his focus was not so narrow, he was able to bring in more sources that better round off his argument. He looked at the environment, land ownership and the ethnic conflict as being reasons for the Darfur crisis. It was hard to find any flaws in Ahmad Sikainges article because he was incredibly thorough in covering his basis. Explaining Darfur: Lectures on the Ongoing Genocide authors Agnes Van Ardenne-van der Hoeven, Mohamed Salih, Nick Grono, Juan Mendez, and Fouad Ibrahim looked at race, slavery, land, and the changing climate as causes of the conflict. They covered many topics well. However, they did not look into the matter of religion, which is an important topic in Sudan. Fana Gebresenbet wrote that the environment and climate change was the primary cause of the conflict in Darfur. Because Gerbresenbet focused solely on the environment, she did not bring up other points of view. She did address the importance of the environment to pastoralist as they are tied to the land. However, she based the entire conflict of Darfur on the environment and land issues. While both are important for people who rely on the land for their source of food and income, she does not even address other causes that could have contributed to the conflict. Unlike Gebresenbet, Balgis Osman-Elasha and Amin El Sanjak both recognized that many complex issues contribute to the conflict in Darfur but they focused on natural resources. They do bring in the land system that other scholars have mentioned in their work. While they do not go into detail about the other complex issues, they acknowledged that the feud over land and resources was just a part in conflict. Undoubtedly, many problems contributed to the conflict in Darfur. Some scholars argue that it was ethnic feuding with religious undertones, feuds over limited resources due to changing climate, or land. The written scholarship on the conflict has been extensive. Scholars took their own unique approach to what may have caused the conflict in Darfur. They presented arguments may or may not convince readers of the origins of the conflict. However, they do show the many problems have plagued Darfur and Sudan for centuries. The genocide that was taking place in Darfur will undoubtedly not be resolved until these issues are dealt with.