How Should We Then Live Free Essay Example, 1250 words

In the book How Now Shall We Live it is said Because something is legal does not make it right. Nor can the will of the majority be confused with the will of God. They may be very different; in fact, they often are . This sentence was used in Colson s argument over the Vietnam War and his desire to lay his life down in his country s defense. Thus it can be said that society today has become so modernized that it is near impossible for the individual to try to make moral judgments by using God s words and defying those of man. This can lead to a contradiction between the individual and the State because the world today follows a dictum that is not similar to that of God s. To this Schaeffer states Humanism has no final way of saying certain things are right and other things are wrong. For the humanist, the final thing which exists that is, the impersonal universe is neutral and silent about right and wrong, cruelty and non-cruelty. Humanism has no means to give absolutes; thus as a regular consequence of humanism s standing, humanism in private morals and political life is left with that which is absolutely arbitrary. Today, almost every developed and the successful world follows the policies of a democratic charter. We will write a custom essay sample on How Should We Then Live or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page People are distinctive in the inner life of their mind what they are in their thought world leads to how they would behave by all means. This is fair and true of their value systems; it is true of their creativity. This also stands as the truth for their corporate actions, such as political decisions, and it is also a true point for their personal lives". Schaeffer warns of a world where sociological law will take over any stable authority. This will allow the authority to state anything it wants as illegal by using the majority vote, even if it defies all forms of humanity.

Is It Possible For Men And Women - 1589 Words

20 October 2015 Is it possible for men and women to be friends in the real world? I think not as I will demonstrate here. I’ll show some possible techniques to escape the friend zone and potentially turn from friend to boyfriend or girlfriend. Also, I’ll discuss this problem a bit more, sharing tips on how to avoid the friend zone in the first place. Research on Inter-Sexual Friendship Apparently this friend zone question has been on the table for about a decade. Bleske and Buss (2000) surveyed college students regarding the benefits and costs of opposite sex friendships in their lives. Generally they found that the costs and benefits were the same for both sexes. For example, both sexes enjoyed opposite-sex friends for self-esteem†¦show more content†¦Therefore, when friendships did not turn sexual or romantic, men were often left feeling rejected and used (i.e. friend zoned), while women felt uncomfortable with the unreciprocated feelings. In contrast, when friendships did turn sexual, most of these men continued to label the women as just friends - at roughly double the rate of women. This leads to the other friend zone women more routinely face, the friends-with-benefits zone, where sex is shared but commitment is not required. Women also had their own set of costs and benefits of opposite-sex friendships. They were more likely to experience the benefit of their male friends paying for outings and enjoyed the physical protection of those friends (men saw these as costs of time and money). Women also enjoyed the ability to network through male friends. However, as noted above, women found it to be a cost when those male friends desired sex or romance. They also disliked when their male friends caused difficulty in the women s other dating efforts. Revisiting the Friend Zone and Friendship Problems The research above supports the notion that men and women may sometimes have very different goals and desires in opposite-sex friendships. While women tend to have male friends without issues men tend to try to work these relationships into a full blown relationship, even if it takes

Social Work in Canada

Question: Discuss about the Social Work in Canada. Answer: Introduction The gentrification in the Downtown Eastside concerning low-income population in Vancouver is a debatable topic to discuss as it promotes the process of gentrification to the interested individual. The geographic location of Vancouver helps this place to become an important transportation hub in Canada as it connects the locations of Western Canada to Orient (Grube-Cavers Patterson, 2014). This particular discourse will concentrate on the gentrification in the Downtown Eastside, which is closely linked with the low-income population in Vancouver BC of Canada. This study will also explain the positive and negative impact because of gentrification, which can be measured and evaluated from various different aspects of the society. The detailed discussion on this specific topic will help to get a thorough and detailed knowledge on the gentrification in Vancouver and several impacts on the inhabitants of Canada and the economic condition. Discussion Several areas of Vancouver have been enriched with essential raw materials that can lead towards a budding manufacturing industry in Canada that can enhance the present economic condition of the nation in the competitive economic business world. The sudden transformation of Downtown Eastside of Vancouver has been marked by arrival of the trendy and contemporary cafes, high-priced salons and upscale grocery stores from maze of buildings towards notorious intersection of Hastings and Main of the city. The Downtown Eastside can be considered as a neighbourhood, which is best known for a series of grim and clichs news stories. On the other hand, this particular location is considered as the poorest postal code of Canada as the gritty alleys and streets are strewn with a vast story of addiction and poverty. The gentrification completely changes the functions of the provincial government, development of the city council of Vancouver for rejuvenating thrive of the inhabitants for supporting a fair social housing in affordable prices. Burnett (2014) has argued that the gentrification may completely changes the economic condition of Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, however, the low-income inhabitants of Vancouver has feared that the gentrification may bring a system in the stores, which is beyond their reach. Even the gentrification pushes the low-income residents towards the affordable rental units and products. As Downtown Eastside of Vancouver possesses very large population from low-income group, therefore the society developers always intend to upscale the every level of the neighbourhood. The activists and the neighbourhood council in Downtown Eastside pushes for building condos and for attracting completely new business to the city, which can be concerned as harmful gentrification. The argument of gentrification involves the gradual increment of the standard and cost of living of the inhabitants and displace for the low-income inhabitants, who lives for years in the city. From various aspects, it has been clearly shown that gentrification possess both positive and negative impact on the society of Canada influencing the economic condition in huge manner. The debate regarding gentrification explains the process of help to the inhabitants of Vancouver behind any kind of existing statistics in the society. Gentrification promotes and supports the new restaurants and stores all over the city for enhancing the lifestyle of the inhabitants in order to reach to the low-income population. Lees et al. (2013) have pointed out that the retail outlets and stores, for instances t he drug stores and grocery markets in Vancouver can sustain in better manner than the previous one only because of the implication of gentrification in Downtown Eastside for serving every inhabitants of the city without considering their economic position in the society. The society of Canada implies this change as gentrification, whereas, the society developers mention it as an essential lifeline as this is the only significant way of keeping an area alive as it does not possess the capability to work in otherwise manner. On the other hand, the housing activists of Downtown Eastside have identified a modest enhancement for the social housing units, which will be offset because of sudden impact of gentrification. According to Hyde (2014), the higher property values for fuel, rent has been increased at the hotels of single-room occupancy and other existing housing complex for the people of low-income. Even the impacts of gentrification are easy to observe in the society and it concer ns the accusation. However, the society developers have understood that gentrification is not a bad thing if implemented in proper manner. There is nothing wrong with the condition of low-income people as they belong to the intermixed community. Lees (2012) has contradicted with this above-mentioned statement and has stated that gentrification possess the capacity of putting every inhabitants of the society in single place and putting a fence surrounding it. Gentrification in Downtown Eastside involves a process of rebuilding and renewing the basic influx of the affluent inhabitants of Vancouver, who are into the deteriorating areas, which are displaced by the low-income residents. However, there are certain debates regarding the necessity of gentrification in the major cities across the USA during 1970s. As opined by Oulahen et al. (2015), consensus is the significant segment, which determines the gentrification that can shape the physical and social aspects of the neighbourhood. The scholars have agreed that the process of gentrified neighbourhood should be identified and evaluated in systematic manner. Gentrification in the Downtown Eastside was measured and evaluated in various existing ways that are immensely influenced in the neighbourhood studies and researches, which can assess the necessity of gentrification for neighbourhood outcomes in potential manner. Gentrification in Downtown Eastside has been attempted for revitalising the city, which has fallen on hard times. This process has observed a vast success as it completely transforms the traditional struggling cities like Vancouver and it determines the gradual development in the economic condition of the low-income people. Smith and Williams (2013) have mentioned that there are various reasons that are responsible for gentrifications, which has been concerned as an attractive redevelopment strategy for the low-income group of a city. The geographical area plays an important role for gentrification in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver as this city possess a large number of working class people rather than the other cities of Canada. In the modern era of socialisation, America encounters with a huge crisis regarding the class divisions and in come inequality. However, the politicians, business executives, cultural and social leaders possess completely different viewpoint regarding the gentrification in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver as these personalities hold the actual position in the city for justifying a further investment in the problems related to gentrification. These programmes always concern the economic condition of the low-income inhabitants of the city. As commented by Walia and Diewert (2012), the transformations in compositions of the local elites of Vancouver favour of using subsidised real estate projects, which are aimed for gentrification. On the other hand, the market forces can be sustained in appropriate manner only because of the impact of gentrification and the overall policies to change the development process. In order to determine the alignment of the multiple incentives and the lack of proven and traditional alternative models, there are universal choices for Vancouver for redevelopment of the society. However, there are several arguments related to the implication of appropriate gentrification model in Downtown Eastside of Vancouver for producing any kind of benefits in order to lower down the economic ladder. The imperative decisions involve the leaders and urban thinkers, who intend to search suitable models for denoting the success and benefits of the society (Fynes, 2013). Gentrification in the Downtown Eastside concern the city, people and the children as it clearly transforms the standard and cost of living of the inhabitants of this particular area. Downtown Eastside is situated in the middle of the city of Vancouver and this specific area has been threatened with the eco-gentrification procedure because of the local area plan in recent days. Once this particular location of Vancouver was the heart of constant improvement that was predominantly occupied by the sudden growth of the retail stores, restaurants, bars and outlets. Kluckner (2013) has mentioned that the proposed developments in Downtown Eastside have been altered by the dynamics of neighbourhood through a gentrification process, which will be concentrated on this exhibit. The present background of Eastside Downtown Vancouver reveals the fact that the gentrification procedure causes a sustainable development. On the other hand, the arguments regarding this specific process include relations in between various aspects of ecologi cal rationality, as it is closely associated with the production of various injustices for economically and politically vulnerable inhabitants and the environmental ethics (Fynes, 2013). The gentrification process in the Downtown Eastside Vancouver proposes an affordable housing practice that can force the low-income people as they live in an uncomfortable situation since several years. Gentrification process is not specified to the Vancouver area as this particular city may be experienced this process from other practices and the experiences across the world. A very good example can be considered of High Line, which is located in New York City. According to Lees (2012) gentrifications helps a city to develop its projects in order to offer an affordable and comfortable place to live for the low-income groups of the city. The bad things of gentrification suggest the minimising of this process for protecting the existing inhabitants from being priced out by the developers. On the other hand, the good things of the gentrification of Downtown Eastside imply the enhancement of the green space and the new technologies, which bring the environmental justice. Another negativ e impact of gentrification suggests the displacement of the low-income residents of Vancouver. Even it can affect the smaller projects in the city for social development in gradual process. The gradual development of the neighbourhoods, which are predominantly occupied by the low-income people of a particular area that is based on established concepts resulted after the gentrification process. Conclusion This particular discourse clearly explains the gentrification in the Downtown Eastside, which is concerned with the low-income population in Vancouver BC, Canada. Both the positive and negative impact of the gentrification process has been discussed in detailed manner. The researches on gentrification also help to understand the requirement of gentrification for further development society in this modern economic world. This discourse explains the gentrification process, which works closely with the existing community for providing a better place for the low-income inhabitants of Downtown Eastside. The changes because of the gentrification may contribute to the dissatisfaction of the present population of that particular area because of the increased vulnerability and as a result, gentrification helps the city for sustainable development. References Burnett, K. (2014). Commodifying poverty: gentrification and consumption in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside.Urban Geography,35(2), 157-176. Fynes, B. (2013). Gentrification in Vancouver: Displacing the East End.Canadian Studies Undergraduate Journal,14, 9-17. Grube-Cavers, A., Patterson, Z. (2014). Urban rapid rail transit and gentrification in Canadian urban centres: A survival analysis approach.Urban Studies, 0042098014524287. Hyde, Z. (2014). Omnivorous gentrification: Restaurant reviews and neighborhood change in the downtown Eastside of Vancouver.City Community,13(4), 341-359. Kluckner, M. (2013). A Brief History of Gentrification in Vancouver. Lees, L. (2012). The geography of gentrification Thinking through comparative urbanism.Progress in Human Geography,36(2), 155-171. Lees, L., Slater, T., Wyly, E. (2013).Gentrification. Routledge. Oulahen, G., Mortsch, L., Tang, K., Harford, D. (2015). Unequal vulnerability to flood hazards:Ground truthing a social vulnerability index of five municipalities in metro Vancouver, Canada.Annals of the Association of American Geographers,105(3), 473-495. Smith, N., Williams, P. (2013).Gentrification of the City. Routledge. Walia, H., Diewert, D. (2012). Moving on up: Gentrification in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.Rabble. ca.

Othello Essays (669 words) - Othello, Iago, Michael Cassio, Roderigo

Othello In Shakespeare's Othello, the character Iago, Othello's lieutenant, is the cause of all the tragedy which comes to pass as the play progresses. Iago is the antagonist of the play, but rather than being the direct opponent to the tragic hero, Iago is a manipulator, opposing Othello not directly but through other characters whom he tricks into acting for him. In the first scene of the play, Iago gives the audience warning that he is not all that he seems when he says, "I am not what I am." (I,i,65) He is first seen in this scene appearing to help Roderigo, a suitor to Desdemona, who has run off with Othello, the Moorish general of the Venician army. Iago hates Othello for another reason. Instead of choosing him to be his lieutenant, Othello chose Cassio, another foreigner, and relegated Iago to the position of his ancient. When Roderigo asks why Iago continues to serve Othello, in spite of how the general has treated him, Iago replies, "I follow him to serve my turn upon him." (I,i,42) He goes on to give an example of how he intends to serve him, by acting like the perfect servant, while secretly enriching himself, and later says, "In following him, I follow but myself." (I,i,58) From this, one might think that he is still fairly straightforward in his plans, that he merely intends to betray Othello at some later date. However, in the third scene, he shows the audience his ability to manipulate people, when he convinces Roderigo to follow him to Cyprus and to bring all of his money, presumably to win back Desdemona. After Roderigo has left to do what Iago has suggested, Iago says, "Thus do I ever make my fool my purse." (I,iii,37 y9) Later, in Act IV, we find that Roderigo has been giving jewels to Iago to give to Desdemona, which Iago, it is implied, has sold for his own uses. Thus, it is seen that Iago is merely using Roderigo to further his own ends, just as he said he was only serving Othello to serve himself. Also at the end of the third scene, Iago sets forth his plan to take Cassio's position, by telling Othello that his lieutenant ". . . is too familiar with his wife." (I,iii,402) It also comes out in this speech that he suspects Othello of committing adultery with his wife. Near the end of the first scene of the second act, Iago convinces Roderigo, who was observing Cassio's enthusiastic greeting of Desdemona, that Cassio and Desdemona have something going on between them. Thus manipulating Roderigo through his passion for Desdemona, Iago convinces him to provoke Cassio to anger, so that the lieutenant will be discredited in Othello's eyes and Iago can take his position. At the end of this scene, he again makes reference to his role not being what it seems: "Knavery's plain face is never seen till us'd." (II,i,324) In the last scene, after Othello has killed Desdemona, all of Iago's schemes are revealed by his wife, who was his unwitting accomplice in his schemes. After she has betrayed him, he kills her and flees, only to be caught and brought to justice. Othello's flaw, as Iago pointed out, was that he was "... of a free and open nature,/That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,/And will as tenderly be led by the nose/As asses are." (I,iii,405-408) Thus, Iago's scheming and roleplaying character made it easy for him to manipulate Othello, which led to Othello's fall. From his actions in the play, one sees that Iago is a gifted manipulator of other people who uses underhanded schemes, manipulation of others, and betrayal at appropriate times. Thus, one could say that the whole play is a parable showing the "vile success" such tactics bring, and also showing the reward awaiting those who use them. Hence, Iago in Othello is a schemer and manipulator, who causes the deaths of all of the virtuous characters in the play while attempting to advance his position and revenge himself upon Othello for a rumoured affair with his wife. He is portrayed by Shakespeare as a completely unsympathetic character.

What Camp Lejuene Rule Change Means For Veterans

What Camp Lejuene Rule Change Means For Veterans What The Camp Lejuene Rule Change Means For Veterans An upcoming rule change from the Department of Veterans Affairs is a major step in the right direction for thousands of our veterans. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina was found to have had a water contamination between 1953 and 1987. This has led to many veterans suffering from debilitating diseases.The new rule change will presume that if a veteran served a minimum of 30 days at Camp Lejeune between those years, and has one or more of the eight diseases set forth, that there is a service connection between them.The eight diseases that they have set forth are:LeukemiaAnemiaMultiple MyelomaNon-Hodgkin’s LymphomaParkinson’s Diseasesome bladder disorderskidney cancerliver cancerJust because the VA is changing their rule on this, does not guarantee that you will receive the proper disability rating. This is long overdue, and the veterans who have already been fighting this type of case are not going to be magically approved. As anyone who has g one through the disability process with the VA will tell you, nothing is guaranteed, and nothing happens overnight. Even with all of the proper documentation, these cases can still be a massive undertaking.If you have any questions about the Camp Lejeune rule, or anything else regarding veteran’s benefits, please contact our office today at 888-679-5180. Our experienced Veterans Disability attorneys will gladly assist you.

The Four Porqués of Spanish

The Four 'Porquà ©s' of Spanish Although porque, por quà ©, por que, and porquà © have related meanings, they are not interchangeable. If you find them confusing as a Spanish student, youre in good company: Native speakers often write them incorrectly as well. Por Quà © Por quà © typically is used in questions, meaning why:  ¿Por quà © celebramos el 16 de septiembre? (Why do we celebrate September 16?) ¿Por quà © estamos aquà ­? (Why are we here?) ¿Por quà © no citas tus fuentes? (Why dont you cite your sources?) Por quà © is also sometimes used in statements that form an indirect question. In such cases, it usually is still translated as why. Dime por quà © las noches son tan largas. (Tell me why the nights are so long.)Quiero saber por quà © se usa el prefijo www en las pginas Web. (I want to know why the prefix www is used for Web pages.) Porque Porque typically means because: Es simple porque se basa en el concepto de igualdad. (It is simple because it is based on the concept of equality.)Perdà ³nalos, porque no saben lo que hacen. (Forgive them, because they dont know what theyre doing.)Voy al restaurante porque tengo hambre. (Im going to the restaurant because Im hungry.)-  ¿Por quà © sales? - Porque estoy aburrida. (Why are you leaving? Because Im bored.) Por quà © and porque are far more common than the following two usages. If youre a beginner at Spanish you can probably safely stop here. Por Que Por que occurs when que as a relative pronoun follows the preposition por. If that sounds confusing, think of por que as meaning for which, although it is often translated as that or why. Esa es la razà ³n por que he querido salir. (That is why I wanted to leave. Literally, that is the reason for which I wanted to leave.)El motivo por que llegà ³ tarde fue el paro de buses. (He arrived late because of the bus stoppage. Literally, the reason for which he arrived late was the bus stoppage.) Por que also occurs when que follows a verb phrase using por. For example, the phrase for to worry about is preocuparse por. Here is an example where the phrase is followed by que: Se preocupa por que las soluciones sean incompatibles. (She is worried that the solutions will be incompatible.) Porquà © Finally, porquà © is a masculine noun, meaning reason, much like using why as a noun in English: No comprendo el porquà © de la violencia domà ©stica. (I dont understand the reason for domestic violence.)Estn acostumbrados a tomar decisiones, no a explicar los porquà ©s. (They are used to making decisions, not at explaining the reasons.)

Reconstruction after the American Civil War Article

Reconstruction after the American Civil War - Article Example After the bloody American civil war, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendment articles were guarded in the U.S constitution and aimed to offer all Americans an equal opportunity in society. During this period, African Americans were permitted to vote, look for their own employment, utilize public facilities, get the lands of former owners, and actively engage in politics. However, some people opposed these move and rallied against the freedmen. Despite the opposition, aggressive and rapid amendments were made to the constitution which laid a strong foundation for the most aggressive and radical stage of the reconstruction process. The success of reconstruction was evident by 1870 in that former slaves attained equal rights like other people in society. For instance, they were in a position to get an education and vote. It is significant to note that during the era of reconstruction, most Southern States created public education for its residents but financing was variable (Foner, 2012). The efforts of reconstruction were rolled back in 1873 until 1877 when the conservative white gained power or authority via the former Confederacy. For instance, President Hayes removed federal troops, which led to the collapse of the three Republican governments. Via the implementation of racial policies known as the Jim Crow, the conservative whites introduced racial biases and segregation, which remained in the South until the late 1960s. Initially, Republicans agreed that slavery, all acts related to slavery had to be destroyed, and the structure of Confederate nationalism had to be abandoned and suppressed. It is also important to note that white men who were in power abandoned succession and slavery but regained the issue of white supremacy (Foner, 2012). During reconstruction period, new spending on infrastructure, schools in addition to corrupted spending, and the failure of the state credit because of unreasonable spending, made the southern states to raise t ax on property. These measures were wasteful as the money meant for social amenities such as schools and development of infrastructure was embezzled. Historians provide distinct reasons as the efforts of reconstruction after the bloody civil war failed. Despite the fact that reconstruction reestablished the economy of the South, it failed. Although slavery practices in the U.S ended, sharecropping was a brutal sequence almost as awful. This is because the freed people would participate into this and barely get anything to survive. Another reason as to why reconstruction failed in the U.S is that the ability of the South to go back to previous or initial animosity or hatred with the African Americans or black tenets and the Jim Crow policies. These policies discriminated against freed slaves and made them inferior and unequal with other people in society. Groups that carried out racism could get away with heinous acts such as murder and it would not be seen as something bad with no c onsequences. For instance, the KKK was not punished for their crimes (Foner, 2012). In addition, Historians argue that the objection of the efforts of reconstruction by various factions led those who desired to continue it either give up their efforts or become discouraged to be in a position to continue.

Current event Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current event - Article Example In addition, there are also ipods, wine selection, and watches; the beauty with the scheme is that the reward can be exchanged for rewards of choices as given in the catalogue (Paterson, 2013). Moreover, the scheme is also divided in to three spheres; monthly, those that are given for the ‘star of the month’ at the level of the store, ‘star of the quarter’, for the regional level and ‘star of the year’ nationwide. Following the launch of the scheme, the reward manager at the Marks and Spencer Company, Darren McCabe confirmed that the company has reached the improvement in the reward to ensure that those with exceptional contribution are rewarded accordingly. With regard to the value of the scheme, the manager informed that they intend to raise the money through ‘charity challenge’ that envisage to raise about  £ 1 million within the first 100 days of the launch (BBC News, 2013). Paterson, J. (2010). "Marks and Spencer introduces schemes to enhance staff motivation." Employee Benefits Retrieved from

Spatial Imagery in Borges Essay Example for Free

Spatial Imagery in Borges Essay â€Å"Reality is not always probable, or likely† (Borges), this quote from Jorge Luis Borges, a perfect example of what makes Collected Fictions mysterious and entertaining to read. His readings are not superficial, and must be taken by critical thought and completely different modes of thinking. Borges’ stories use many techniques to express his messages. In select fictions, the idea of geometry, which is simple and exact, is used to convey themes of infinity and perceiving reality, which are hardly exact at all. Whether Borges uses hexagons to explain a concept of infinity and God, or rhombi and labyrinths to prove an order to chaos, these fictions let the reader explore his perplexing and ambiguous philosophy through ideas of spatial imagery. The story Death and the Compass deals with spatial imagery in two ways, one being with geometric rhombi, and the other is the reader’s idea of labyrinths. A rhombus is used in this story to specifically draw the main character strait to the criminal. Borges mentions the rhombus for the purpose of simplifying the story into something that makes sense; the crimes of the story fit into a perfect, known shape. â€Å"I knew you would add the missing point, the point that makes a perfect rhombus, the point that fixes the place where a precise death awaits you† (p. 156). The end of the story proves that the simple idea is not that simple at all, it all represents how this logical order of crimes brings the protagonist to a chaotic sense of himself because of the elaborate scheme that brings him to his own demise, which becomes part of the order. The other way Death and the Compass deals with spatial imagery is the way Borges lets the reader picture what a labyrinth should look like. Labyrinths are a recurring theme in a lot of Borges’ works, but in this particular story the villain sets up a labyrinth inside the main character’s head to set him up. â€Å"†The next time I kill you,† Scharlach replied, â€Å"I promise you the labyrinth that consists of a single straight line that is invisible and endless†Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 56). This I see as spatial imagery because the reader has to decide what kind of labyrinth the protagonist is caught in, the picture is unclear. This quote suggests that there are many realities, and Borges may mean that every individual is caught in a labyrinth of perception that they cannot escape from. What one may seem as a truth may not be even close to what is real. Borges does not just use this concept in Death and the Compass, but in many of his works. The Library of Babel is another piece of well-constructed art using visual metaphors bound with ideas of infinity, God, and unachievable realities. To describe the universe, Borges sets a picture of hexagons attached to more hexagons that make up a library and that continue forever. â€Å"I declare that the Library is endless. Idealists argue that the hexagonal rooms are the necessary shape of absolute space, or at least of our perception of space† (p. 112-113). This quote suggests that Borges believes the universe is infinite, but in a very concrete way. He uses a very unique technique in allowing an unimaginable theme of infinity is described in the very real idea or a hexagon, a finite thing. A hexagon is only a hexagon if it follows certain rules, but infinity has no rules. The hexagons are the order of the universe; it is not just open space, which means there must be a builder of the hexagons. So does this mean Borges believes in a creator, or God in his own philosophy? â€Å"Mystics claim that their ecstasies reveal to them a circular chamber containing an enormous circular book with a continuous spine that goes completely around the walls. But their testimony is suspect, their words obscure. That cyclical book is God. † (p. 113) In this quote, Borges reinforces the idea of a creator as God. It seems that this creator is the master book in the giant library of books that holds everything in. The books that are held in the hexagons of life also point to an interesting idea, â€Å"the Library is â€Å"total†-perfect, complete, and whole- and that its bookshelves contain all possible combinations of twenty-two orthographic symbols† (p. 15), Borges mentions these books because although every combination possible is presented, even if unconceivable to human thought, is still only a finite number. This is an absolute contradiction of the idea of infinite hexagons with books in them. Still another problem arisen by this quotation is that there seems to be no evidence of a creator if every single book in the library is of all possibilities, but these messages expressed in these books have to be endless. Man searching for his purpose in the universe, then is meaningless, and this argument is all because of spatial imagery Borges uses with hexagons. Borges is a mastermind at manipulating the reader’s thoughts into traveling in many directions on the roller coaster of imagination. In Death and the Compass the story leads the reader in a logical direction with spatial imagery and explains alternate reality through labyrinths, and hexagons represent the idea of an infinite universe with the ambiguous existence of a creator in Library of Babel. The technique of spatial imagery can be endless and the messages that are found can be argued and lead to more questions than answers, but the next time I write this essay, all the answers will be revealed to you.

Great Expectations - Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch are Living through

Great Expectations - Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch are Living through Others In the work Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, two characters live their lives through someone else. Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch are both elderly and though someone else are able to obtain their goals that they are not able to complete themselves. Abel Magwitch lives his life through the protagonist Pip while Miss Havisham lives her life through the character Estella. Miss Havisham is an aged, mysterious lady who has much anger. This anger derives from her fiancÃÆ' ©e leaving the day of the wedding. This is the moment when she "stopped living" and decides to turn to a life of making other men miserable, just as her ex-fiancÃÆ' ©e had made her unhappy. However, Miss Havisham is too old to be able to hurt other men, so she decides to raise a child. Miss Havisham put Estella in such an environment where all Estella's compassionate feelings were erased and made very dull. Miss Havisham's influence also made Estella feel no remorse for those she hurt. Estella tells Miss Havisham, "If you had brought up your adopted daughter wholly in the dark confinement of these rooms, and had never let her know that there was such a thing as the daylightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and then, for a purpose, had wanted her to understand the daylight and know all about it, you would have been disappointed and angry?" (307). When Estella refers to the light and the dark she is referring to the light as love and compassion and the dark as the cruelty and the sense of a "stone heart." Estella, even as a young woman, cannot see or feel love because Miss Havisham has manipulated her to be just as she wanted, relentless and cold. Moreover, this personality allows Estella to ... .... When fighting with Miss Havisham, Estella says, "Only a little tired of myself." (305). It is later obvious that Estella is tired of not being happy and not being able to have any true feelings. Even though Estella and Pip were given everything they ever wanted, neither of them got fulfillment and true love from their guardians and both ended up being very melancholy. Dickens' point is to show the reader that people need more then just materialistic things to live and be happy; they need love and need to be able to feel compassion and love. This book can be considered a commentary on how the social system is misjudged because the people of the higher lifestyles are not necessarily happy even though they have most material things. This idea is important because it shows what is really needed to be happy and that is love and being able to be compassionate. Great Expectations - Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch are Living through Great Expectations - Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch are Living through Others In the work Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, two characters live their lives through someone else. Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch are both elderly and though someone else are able to obtain their goals that they are not able to complete themselves. Abel Magwitch lives his life through the protagonist Pip while Miss Havisham lives her life through the character Estella. Miss Havisham is an aged, mysterious lady who has much anger. This anger derives from her fiancÃÆ' ©e leaving the day of the wedding. This is the moment when she "stopped living" and decides to turn to a life of making other men miserable, just as her ex-fiancÃÆ' ©e had made her unhappy. However, Miss Havisham is too old to be able to hurt other men, so she decides to raise a child. Miss Havisham put Estella in such an environment where all Estella's compassionate feelings were erased and made very dull. Miss Havisham's influence also made Estella feel no remorse for those she hurt. Estella tells Miss Havisham, "If you had brought up your adopted daughter wholly in the dark confinement of these rooms, and had never let her know that there was such a thing as the daylightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and then, for a purpose, had wanted her to understand the daylight and know all about it, you would have been disappointed and angry?" (307). When Estella refers to the light and the dark she is referring to the light as love and compassion and the dark as the cruelty and the sense of a "stone heart." Estella, even as a young woman, cannot see or feel love because Miss Havisham has manipulated her to be just as she wanted, relentless and cold. Moreover, this personality allows Estella to ... .... When fighting with Miss Havisham, Estella says, "Only a little tired of myself." (305). It is later obvious that Estella is tired of not being happy and not being able to have any true feelings. Even though Estella and Pip were given everything they ever wanted, neither of them got fulfillment and true love from their guardians and both ended up being very melancholy. Dickens' point is to show the reader that people need more then just materialistic things to live and be happy; they need love and need to be able to feel compassion and love. This book can be considered a commentary on how the social system is misjudged because the people of the higher lifestyles are not necessarily happy even though they have most material things. This idea is important because it shows what is really needed to be happy and that is love and being able to be compassionate.

Leadership Attributes Of Mark Zuckerberg Essay

Mark Zuckerbreg was born on 14 May 1984 at White Plains, New York. He is best known as CEO of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg is a technology innovator, CEO, Internet Tycoon and philanthropist who earned multi-billionaire status by his mid-20s. As the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Facebook, Zuckerberg redefined the social media market and connected people in ways never thought possible. Zuckerberg recently topped a list of â€Å"Highest Rated CEOs† from online career community Glassdoor. The list was the result of employee reviews over the past 12 months. Technology Sensation Born into a well-educated family in New York, Zuckerberg developed an interest in computers at an early stage. He created his own messaging program at the age of 12, dubbed â€Å"Zucknet,† which his father used in his dental office. He would create games and programs under a private computer tutor, who later told reporters that it was hard to stay ahead of the technology prodigy. While still in high school, companies like AOL and  Microsoft expressed interest in buying his software and hiring him, which he declined. Later enrolling at Harvard University, Zuckerberg developed a reputation as a strong programmer and software developer. He created programs like CourseMatch, which helped students choose their classes based on the selections of their peers, and Facemash, which compared pictures of two students and allowed users to vote on who was more attractive. While popular, none of these programs matched to the later success of Zuckerberg’s development of Facebook. Approached by Divya Narendra, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Zuckerberg began working on a project called The Harvard Connection, a sort of dating site for the Harvard elite. Zuckerberg later dropped out and began working on his own site with friends Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin. This site, which started as thefacebook.com, allowed users to create their own profiles, upload photos, and network with users at specific universities. Run out of a dorm room at Harvard until June 2004, thefacebook.com thrived, and Zuckerberg dropped out to pursue it full time. By the end of 2004, Facebook boasted 1 million users. The site began to evolve. At first, it was only available to certain schools. Thanks to investments from venture capital firms, the site eventually opened up to other schools, then to the general public. Early on, Zuckerberg was turning down offers from Yahoo! and MTV Networks. â€Å"The thing that we are trying to do at Facebook is just help people connect and communicate more efficiently,† he said. Instead of taking lucrative offers (Yahoo! reportedly offered Zuckerberg $1 billion), Zuckerberg focused on expanding the site to bring as much value to users as possible. But legal troubles from his early dealings with The Harvard Connection plagued him, as depicted in the Academy Award-nominated movie â€Å"The Social Network.† Zuckerberg later noted that much of the story was exaggerated for Hollywood. â€Å"I just think people have a lot of fiction,† he said. â€Å"But the real story of Facebook is just that we’ve worked so hard for all this time. The real story is actually probably pretty boring, right? We just sat at our computers for six years and coded.† Despite some of the negative depictions in the movie and the lawsuit filed by the Winklevoss twins, Zuckerberg and Facebook continued to thrive. He was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2010, and Forbes has ranked him at No. 36 on its 400 list, estimating his net worth at $13.3 billion as of March 2013. Transformation from a Hacker to  a CEO and then to a Leader With Facebook’s stock price crashing and employee morale sinking, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stepped up and delivered a home run he would never have been able to hit even just a year ago. Zuckerberg has been under fire the last few months for Facebook’s plummeting stock price. A darling of Wall Street before its IPO, Facebook fell to half its IPO price in just a few months. As a result, a growing chorus of critics has called for new leadership at Facebook. Some have even called for Zuckerberg himself to resign. Zuckerberg answered his critics at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. During a wide-ranging interview with CrunchFund’s Michael Arrington, Zuckerberg addressed everything from the company’s plummeting stock price to its plans for mobile. By all accounts, Zuckerberg did a spectacular job. As a result, shares of Facebook have surged by 13 percent since then. It is a clear step in the right direction. If we compare his performance to his previous interviews, we can clearly see the change in his personality. He was stumbling during the interview and when he was asked few tough questions, he started sweating on stage. The new Mark Zuckerberg on stage at Disrupt didn’t look anything like the guy who squirmed at the D Conference just two years prior. No, this Zuckerberg was poised, confident, and articulate. He spoke fast, but only because he was clearly excited by Facebook’s future. Zuckerberg was able to simultaneously rally the Facebook troops and Wall Street with just his words. This is something he would never have been able to do even just a year ago. He wasn’t born with Steve Jobs’ onstage charm — instead, he had to work up to the comfort level he exuded on stage at Disrupt. We can witness a new chapter in Zuckerberg’s maturation. He was once a hacker who had to become a CEO. Now he’s a CEO who’s transforming into an articulate leader, the type a public company with sky-high expectations needs. Personal Traits There is one important element which can help or makes a particular person to achieve success; it is the personality of the person itself. Personality basically is the kind of personal characteristics which influence the behavior as well as perception and attitudes. It is an inner psychological  characteristic which cannot be copy such as emotion and taught. It can be build from the influence of heredity, or early childhood experiences. No doubt, personality of a person can be change due to the major life events and by the gradual maturing process. There are many personality classification methods; we had chosen the Big Five Model of Personality traits which are the most widely accepted way to classify personalities and to describe the personality which in Mark Zuckerberg. This model has been divided to five major dimensions i.e. Surgency, Agreeableness, Adjustment, Conscientiousness, and Openness to experience. Surgency personality dimension includes leadership and extraversion tr aits. Mark showed his strong surgency as he wants to be the person who is in charge instead of being the dominance of the others. Mark did not really accept or commit with the twin Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss idea which they try to hire Mark to build a dating, a social site which they called Harvard Connection. As a high surgency person, Mark does not like to be the dominance of others so he creates the website Facebook instead of working for the Winklevoss. The strong surgency has lead Mark to the success that he is enjoying today; if he had chosen to work for Winklevoss, he might still be a small potato and not much people would know about him. Dimension of agreeableness includes traits related to getting along with people. Besides that, if a person has high agreeableness, that person might be more sociable and spent more times with his or her friends. According to Mark Zuckerberg’s friends, he is an introverted person as they said he is kind of a geek who feels little uncomfortable around other people. Furthermore, they even speculated that that introverted personality of him had helped him deal with his creation of Facebook. The adjustment personality dimension includes traits related to emotional stability. Mark shows that he does not have a good adjustment personality; he created the facemash when he feels upset about a girl. Facemash is software where it uses to compare students to what kind of farm animals which seems like unethical to others. This software had helped him in the path of success as this software lends him some idea while creating Thefacebook.com. The high degree of conscientiousness of Mark has leaded him to the way of success, he is a hardworking, and always willing to put in extra time and effort to accomplish goal to achieve success. His willingness to put in extra time to complete something, such as he uses eight hours to  create the Facemash site. So, we can see that when he got an objective that need to be achieved, he will show his high conscientiousness to work on that aim in order to achieve success. The high openness to experience in Mark had made a big contribution to his success path, as he is a person who is willing to try and always willing to change. The Facebook which he had launched made a huge change in the connection between everyone in the world. Besides that, he keeps on developing the Facebook which was named as Thefacebook previously, in order to help people to connect, find new friends and share photos. He states in his Facebook account that his personal interest is about openness, making things that help people connect and share what is important to them, revolutions, information flow and minimalism. Besides that, from the beginning of Course Match until Facebook, the personalities of Mark willing to try and change had helped him to come out with something which can really connect people easily – Facebook. Situational Leadership style Leadership is the process of the influencing made by the leader to the follower to change them to achieve the organizational goal. Leadership is an important element for a successful leader, as the leader needs to have enough potential and abilities to influence his/her followers to work according to the leader’s objective or goal. However, if a good leadership style is being implemented, it can more or less help the employees to create organizational citizenship. Furthermore, the effective behavior of the leader may also determine the future or fate of the organization obviously. Besides, for Mark Zuckerberg leadership is basically about creating focus. It is about ensuring we are focused on the right stuff and getting good people in to help build what we are trying to do. From the way he doing things, we can see that Mark is actually quite a democratic style leader. He does not really act like a dictator as he is open to take and listen to others opinion and suggestion. When there was some crisis where people started to dislike Mark and said that Mark should be replaced, Reed – the recruiter of Facebook had talked to Mark. She told Zuckerberg what should he do in order to gain the favor and trust from the followers, then he did take her advice and started to get lessons on how to be an effective leader by seeing an executive coach. From the incident above, Zuckerberg shows his  high degree of acceptance to his dominance or followers ideas. Besides that, Zuckerberg is one of the people-oriented types of leader. He had asked for help from Sean Parker, who is a very talented person who created Napster, but had a bad reputation of getting around with bar, alcohol, drugs and always surrounded by girls. Zuckerberg did not concern about his bad reputation but he wanted the talent of Sean Parker who is also described as a business artist. In the end, Parker did help Zuckerberg with a lot of things in order to achieve the success of Facebook with the talent which Parker has. Zuckerberg is a good leader as we can see that he lead the Facebook to a greater and successful path. Without having the good behavior and guidance in him, Facebook would not able to be success and his followers love to work with him. Traits of Effective Leader, as seen in Mark Zuckerberg Dominance Dominance is the one of the most effective and major trait of leadership. Successful leaders want to take the charge and the responsibilities. Dominance trait effects all the other traits related to effective leaders. Mark has shown a very strong dominance trait as he has always shown this thing that he wants to take the charge and have a dominant personality. As mentioned above, if he had just followed what he was asked to do, he might not even have invented Facebook. High Energy To be a good leader, to go places, you must be willing to go further than others have and do things others won’t. He worked his ass off, did things he was uncomfortable with (like travelling across continents to speak to audiences about his vision) and did what had to be done to build his company. Intelligence No one can doubt about the intelligence of Mark Zuckerberg. Starting from very young age, inventing his own software programs, and then getting into an IVY League university and last but not the least, invention of Facebook, this all shows the very strong trait of Intelligence in Mark Zuckerberg. Flexibility Mark Zuckerberg has shown flexibility in his character. He has always been  open to change and has never been afraid of taking new steps and doing something new. Perhaps no Internet businessman has spit in the face of this attitude more than Mark Zuckerberg. Despite Facebook’s status as a social networking giant, Zuckerberg and Co. have never shied away from changing the user interface (sometimes in the face of protests) or shaking things up in the effort to break new ground. Though not all of his changes have been successful, a surprising majority of them have stood the test of time and boosted Facebook’s following. Integrity Mark Zuckerberg faces criticism for his unconventional leadership of Facebook as a business. Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission that was, to make the world more open and connected. Zuckerberg has shown strong integrity in his leadership by remaining consistent with his mission to make the world more opened and connected. He went incredibly far to make absolutely sure that this mission would not be compromised by maintaining a majority stake of the voting shares of Facebook. Locus of Control Recently, Facebook has had a lawsuit against them with the Beacon advertising system. After the court ruling, Zuckerberg made a public apology for the system and took full responsibility for the mistake. This shows that Mark Zuckerberg has an internal locus of control. Instead of blaming some other force, he took control of the situation. Self Confidence Even though Mark Zuckerberg seems to be quiet and humble, he’s also extremely self-confident. He has always had strong faith in himself and in his vision. He didn’t let naysayers along the way deter him or bring him down. He is able to persevere through criticism and any obstacles or setbacks because he continues to believe in himself no matter what anyone else says about Facebook. Sensitivity to Others Initially, it looked like Mark isn’t that much sensitive to others, as he was accused of using the idea of his class fellows and then cutting them out of the plan. But, since in 2012 he was named as the Best CEO and from the feedback that was given by his employers, it became apparent that he has  changed himself and had become sensitive to others and their feelings. Stability Mark shows that he does not have a good adjustment personality; he created the facemash when he feels upset about a girl. But as this has been mentioned earlier before, Mark has gone through a lot since he has became the CEO of the Facebook and has brought a lot of positive changes in himself, and stability is one of them as well. He has shown very strong emotional stability at various places and incidents. He has taken criticism openly and has faced all the difficulties while staying strong. Leadership Grid Theory Leadership grid theory explains leadership behavior on the basis of two dimensions which are concern for production and concern for people. Mark Zuckerberg is one of people oriented types of leader and He is also more concerned for quality and good work by employees. Due to these reasons he falls in The Team Leader style which is 9.9 in Leadership Grid Theory. Leadership Continuum Theory If we have a look at the Leadership Continuum Theory then we can see that Mark falls somewhere around 6th defined trait. He has received a 99% approval rate from his employees and they have said that they love working at Facebook reason being that what they say and think is considered and it matters to mark. Every decision taken at Facebook is a group decision. PATH-GOAL THEORY. Zuckerberg’s leadership style has been in question and will be in question as Facebook prepares to switch its funding to IPO. I believe Zuckerberg is a perfect example of path-goal theory. Path-goal leaders as we know need to adapt their style to one that allows their subordinates to achieve a specific goal. This can be done by being directive, supportive, participated, and achievement oriented. Zuckerberg fits all criteria. Throughout the growth  and development of Facebook he has changed his style to continuously achieve their overall goal. To start he began the company as a directive leader; providing guidance and instilling the psychological structure that the company needed in order to have constant expansion. It is hard to convey an idea to another, especially if it is one that could change the way society operated. Once Zuckerberg set the foundation of psychological structure, he could sit back and play a more supportive role. Being supportative allows for the vision of Facebook to take hold. Currently though Zuckerberg is the best demonstrator of a participative style. Facebook is now self sustaining and doesn’t need a hard-nosed leader under its ranks. The best way we can see this style of leadership in action is through his own Facebook page. He is currently promoting the need for driven individuals such as himself to work for the company. The Myers-Briggs Test Zuckerberg is known to be incredibly confident and decisive in his decisions. When he strives for something he reaches it and stands strong on the decision. This was shown to the many Facebookers years ago with timeline. When timeline was introduced, many users did not like it, but Zuckerberg stuck to his guns and kept it. Along with his decisiveness, Zuckerberg tends to be ‘robot like’ and socially awkward. People that have interacted with him say this because when having a conversation, Zuckerberg is straight to the point. As Time Magazine states, â€Å"He approaches conversation as a way of exchanging data as rapidly and efficiently as possible, rather than as a recreational activity undertaken for its own sake. He is formidably quick and talks rapidly and precisely, and if he has no data to transmit, he abruptly falls silent.† This shows him as being very analytical and specific. Zuckerberg is known to be an introvert as well. He doesn’t openly talk about himself and is well reserved. Even when in an interview, he answers the question that’s asked, but gives no additional or side information. From the above examples and descriptions, when taking the Myers-Briggs test, Mark Zuckerberg would be an ISTJ (Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging). ISTJ’s are quiet, serious, practical, logical, orderly, and loyal. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg tends to have high  self-efficacy. Zuckerberg has confidence in his abilities. People with self-efficacy tend to overcome obstacles and work toward a specific goal. Zuckerberg has done this with the success of Facebook. Recently, Facebook has had a lawsuit against them with the Beacon advertising system. After the court ruling, Zuckerberg made a public apology for the system and took full responsibility for the mistake. This shows that Mark Zuckerberg has an internal locus of control. Instead of blaming some other force, he took control of the situ ation. Theory Y Working for Facebook is not your typical job. The word â€Å"Hack† is written on every wall in the building. Zuckerberg’s own personal innovation encourages employees to produce new codes to wow users and attract new one. He encourages employees to constantly innovate and think of outside the box. They attempt to eliminate failure out of the equation and the programmer’s mind. The environment is geared to help employees figure out what exactly they would do without the fear of failure. Fail harder: they are encouraged to fail in a triumphant blaze of glory. For Facebook, â€Å"the riskest risk is taking no risks†(Careers at Facebook). Without complete focus and effort, the employee might never know if the project was possible. Trying new things is always encouraged. This is the kind of effort Mark Zuckerberg put into Facebook to make a huge success. He encourages his employees to put everything they have into a project. This type of support shown to employees can satisfy McGregor’s Theory Y. Facebook’s full support and belief in the abilities of their employees motivates them to give their full effort in a project. Maslow’s Self Actualization Facebook’s view on recruiting is to â€Å"discovering top talent and serving our employees seriously†(Careers at Facebook). Facebook only hires the smartest and passionate people who are ready to hard and quickly. This could give Facebook employees pride for being the Best of the best. â€Å"We expect everyone at Facebook to focus every day on how to build real value for the world in everything they do†(Careers at Facebook). This type of emphasis on building social value and create social change through their job can help employees achieve Maslowe’s self actualization. This personal  growth and higher order achievement fulfillment can inspire employees to work harder and innovate. This type of social value can suggest a need for power. Employees want their work to influence others and create a change in the world. MCCLELAND’S NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT In the early days of Facebook, Zuckerberg was known for his exuberance and sense of urgency. He would initiate a companywide lock down to launch a new campus. These â€Å"Hackathon† turned into a party including a keg and DJ in reward of the work. Zuckerberg maintains the mantra that is â€Å"done is better than perfect†(Careers at Facebook). They launched features before they are done. Facebook attempts to stay on the edge of technology, and is willing to risk flaws and imperfects to stay on the cutting edge. Facebook is â€Å"less afraid of making mistakes than we are of losing opportunities†(Careers at Facebook). This shows McCleland’s need for achievement. Facebook strives to be on the cutting edge of technology and be the first to develop new features for the site. With each new update to Facebook, they have achieved a new goal while continuing to improve on the site. Facebook does not let anything get in the way of a deadline to stay on top. Five IMPORTANT LESSONS MARK ZUCKERBERG TAUGHT US ABOUT Business Lesson 1: Be passionate about what you do If there is any way to create something that hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people will eventually use on a daily basis, you better be sure to create something that you would have passion and dedication in creating. The aforementioned isn’t exactly a revelation to anyone, but if you are not genuinely interested in what you are creating, why would anyone else be? They wouldn’t. It’s a serious problem for many entrepreneurs of both young and old. Mark Zuckerberg, however, is one of the most prominent examples in recent history of someone who has the passion. Not only did he care about his project, but he also turned down billions of dollars in order to let his company thrive. Lesson 2: Constant evaluation There are generally two types of people in business: those who prefer to play it by gut instinct and those who analyze every little measurable detail.  Both have their pros and cons; having a mix of both couldn’t hurt. Generally a person gravitates towards one or the other. Mark Zuckerberg is the analyzer. Zuckerberg always insisted that his employees create powerful analytics dashboards. Their purpose was simple: allow him and fellow employees to gauge the interest in newly released features to coordinate their global domination. While other companies were still figuring out which advertisements could be placed at which spot and generate the most return, Facebook focused on optimizing the performance of the user experience. He wanted to know which features worked and which did not. Lesson 3: Be willing to experiment In Facebook’s infancy, its founder preferred to push out enhancements and never look back. This is, admittedly, easy to do when you have a few thousand users; they expect things to change at a rapid clip. But Facebook was different. People relied on Facebook in more ways than most other websites — it was a service that connected people to each other. At this point, failure is unacceptable. Still, Zuckerberg preferred the gung ho method of development. He would regularly introduce new features — adding the â€Å"Wall,† introducing chat functionality, allowing third-party development, and changing the site’s layout. Lesson 4: Be aware of opportunity Before Facebook, there was CourseMatch, an application that allowed students at Harvard University to compare their course selections for that semester. With this, Zuckerberg indulged students’ desires to know which classes their friends were joining. He exploited an opportunity. Facemash was a similar expereince. It was Harvard’s Hot or Not for students. These students were interested in knowing where they stood socially — in some ways, we all do. And Zuckerberg, once again, saw an opportunity to exploit this as well. It isn’t magic. But it does require looking at things in a different way — to see things for what they could be, as opposed to only what they have been or currently are. Zuckerberg’s ability to notice these opportunities and execute on them gave him the edge in creating and maintaining products that  people believed in. Opportunity exists everywhere — especially with the Internet, where the ability to reach millions is easier than ever. Perhaps there is so much opportunity out there that, perhaps, we have become ignorant to spot the most obvious of opportunities. But being able to spot opportunity is an invaluable skill. Lesson 5: Make something useful Facebook isn’t simply another interesting website to visit every once in a while. It is a tool that millions of people use to connect to each other. People use it for sharing experiences and creating new ones. Most importantly, Facebook does something that no other website has been able to do as efficiently, effectively, and with such impressive scale: it creates a virtual environment to interact with your real friends. The 600 million plus members tells us how famous Facebook is. Yet it is this usefulness that makes the company a success. It is a recurring theme that all successful companies build upon. It is also something that many startups don’t seem to comprehend. Explaining what makes a product or service useful is simple: it is something that people are using repeatedly and on a regular basis. So the lesson to learn is, make something which is a everyday use thing, just like Zuckerberg did. Conclusion In order to conclude, we can say that Mark has emerged and evolved as an Employee Centered CEO, with a democratic style. He has come a long way to reach this stage with bringing a lot of changes in him. When it comes to personality traits, without any doubt his strongest trait would be his openness to experience and the willingness to always try something new which in result, has kept Facebook on the top among all other social media sites.

“Explain the concept of homeostasis with reference to the control of heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature and blood glucose levels” Essay

Homeostasis is where the body keeps a constant internal environment. This involves all the metabolic processes taking place In the body as well as the blood, tissue fluid and all the contents in the body’s cells. There are a range of variables from heart rate to the blood glucose levels that the body will take into account. Negative feedback will occur when something changes from its normal in the body. The body then will come back with a response to cancel out the difference to bring it back to its normal. An example of this is if blood glucose level falls the body will then convert the glycogen in the body to glucose which will bring back the energy in the cells to its normal amount. This system requires receptors so that they are able to detect the change in your body. As well as receptors it also needs a control centre so that the information that has just been received can be processed to then give the correct response of what the body should do. Most of the control centres can be found in the brain. It will also need effectors so that after the change has happened and the body is back to normal it can reverse the change to keep the body at its original state. The brain and the central nervous system controls something called the homeostatic mechanisms. This is when they anticipate whether there may be a rise or a fall compared to that of the normal. An example of this is the feeling of being cold or tired this is a result of having not eaten for a sufficient period of time. This has then been sent as a message to the brain which your brain will then tell you to eat so that the energy you get from the nutrients in your food will counteract those feelings and make them disappear. As this is an anticipation from the central nervous system and the brain it is called feed forward as it hasn’t happened yet. Heart rate The heart is regulated by impulses produced by nerves acting on the sino-atrial node (S-A node). These nerves are called â€Å"sympathetic† and â€Å"parasympathetic† nerves. The sino-atrial node is found in the upper part of the right atrium it is made up of a cluster of excitable cells. Both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are two branches that come off the automatic nervous system which controls the heart. The parasympathetic nervous system- This is a calming system as it is active while the heart is resting. It causes the heart to beat slower than it would normally. The main nerve involved is the vagus nerve without it the heart rate would increase. The sympathetic nervous system- This occurs when the body is feeling stressed. As a result of it, it causes the heart to beat faster it also adds a boost to the hormone adrenaline which occurs during fear. The nerves involved in this system is called the cardiac nerves. The sino-atrial node releases nerve impulses that are sent across the atrial muscle fibres which causes them to contract. Cells that form the atrio-ventricular node (A-V node) catch those impulses which are then relayed to a band o conducting tissue. This tissue is made from large modified muscle cells that are called Purkinje fibres. So that the atria can complete their contractions and allow the atrio-ventricular valves to close there may be a delay for the transmission to come through. The valves of the hear are found on a fibrous figure-of-eight. It is centred between the atrial and the ventricular muscle masses. The first part of the conducting tissue will enable the excitatory impulses to be able to cross to the ventricles. It will then split into both sides of the ventricular septum where it will then spread out into their muscles. They pass extremely quickly which result in them contracting which forces the blood to travel around the body to the organs that need it. Breathing rate To control your breathing there is a respiratory control centre this again is located in the brain stem. This will observe the levels o carbon dioxide and oxygen in your blood. It also makes sure that your breathing stays at a steady rate which will maintain balance as well as homeostasis In the body. Most of the time you don’t have to think about your breathing at all or how you control it as your brain does it automatically for you. However in some cases in aerobic activity you control your breathing for example in Pilates when instructed through each stretch you get told when to inhale and exhale during the exercises. Saying that if the oxygen levels go down below a certain point your brain will override your control and make you breathe. During exercise or any physical activity that require more oxygen than normal. The oxygen in your blood will decrease while the carbon dioxide in the blood will increase. When the respiratory control centre in the brain realises that the levels aren’t normal as a result it will increase the heart rate and the breathing rate to counteract it. The brain will slow the heart rate and breathing rate once the exercise has stopped this will make sure that it maintains the homeostasis in the blood. While resting your breathing is at a steady rate. This means that there will be the right amount of oxygen in the blood on the inhale as a result the right amount of carbon dioxide will come out the blood in exhale. Body temperature Again the brain controls the body temperature. Specifically in the brain it is the hypothalamus processing centre that controls the exact temperature the body is. The brain will trigger changes to the effectors around the body for example to the sweat glands . If the body temperature is not maintained then it can either become too cold resulting in hypothermia or too hot resulting in heat stroke either can be fatal. On average your normal body temperature is 37 °C. Our body maintains this temperature by balancing the heat we generate compared to the heat we lose in everyday life. Saying that not our whole body is 37 °C for example are fingers and toes remain at a lower temperature as a result of the energy being lost from the blood while travelling to the tips. There are temperature receptors in our skin which once detects change in the external temperature will send a message to the hypothalamus in the brain. Again in the hypothalamus processing centre (brain) which will detect the changes in temperature of the blood. There are 2 ways in which the brain tells the body to keep its temperature at 37 °C. The first one is if someone is really cold then the hair on the skin if the hair is on ends then it will trap more warmth compared to if it is flat on the skin. The second one is if someone is really hot then the glands on their skin secrete sweat which increases the loss of heat when it evaporates, as a result it cools the body down, It slows back down when the body temperature returns to normal. During vasodilatation the warm blood will flow closer to the surface of the skin so that the heat will be able to transfer into the air. As a result of this the skin will become redder. During vasoconstriction which is where the blood vessels that supply war blood constrict, as a result this will reduce the blood flow in turn this will reduce the heat that can be lost. In this case their skin will look pale. Blood glucose This involves the kidneys keeping the water balance at the correct level of water in and out of the body. This will ensure that that the cells in our body work efficiently. The kidneys is where the blood gets filtered while passing through, these molecules are made up from water, glucose, salt and a waste product called urea. It then will reabsorb what the body needs which includes glucose salts and water back into the blood. It then travels around the body. The products that haven’t been fully absorbed are excreted from the body. It mainly consists of urea but there may be left over water glucose and salts that the body doesn’t need. In the brain the pituitary gland controls how much ADH is produced and released into the bloodstream which as you know travels to the kidneys to get filtered. Which in turn controls the concentration of urine. It also checks the concentration of blood plasma. When there isn’t enough water in the body the hypothalamus will detect it and send a message to the pituitary gland which will then release the ADH hormone, this will ensure that the urine is more concentrated resulting in less water, this will be maintained by the kidneys. As a result the water levels in the blood will return to normal. Cells make their energy from the glucose in the body this is why glucose levels need to be regulated tightly. As a result of this if there is too much glucose in the body may lead to diabetes 2, if too low it may lead to starvation of the body. In the body there are many reasons for the rise and fall of the glucose levels. For example digestion after a meal and the production of insulin by the liver these both lead to a rise in the glucose levels. An example of a fall in glucose levels is the transportation of the sugar into the cells as well as the loss of glucose through the urine. The regulation of the glucose levels relies on a variety of things from molecules to organs and cell types. Bibliography Edexcel Level 3 Health and Social Care Book http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5101742_describe-regulation-blood-glucose-levels.html

Battle of Paulus Hook in the American Revolution

Battle of Paulus Hook in the American Revolution Battle of Paulus Hook - Conflict Date: The Battle of Paulus Hook took place on August 19, 1779, during the American Revolution (1775-1783).   Armies Commanders United States Major Henry Light Horse Harry Lee300 men Great Britain Major William Sutherland250 men Battle of Paulus Hook - Background: In the spring of 1776, Brigadier General William Alexander, Lord Stirling directed that a series of fortifications be built along the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City.   Among those that were constructed was a fort on Paulus Hook (present-day Jersey City).   That summer, the garrison at Paulus Hook engaged British warships as they arrived to commence General Sir William Howes campaign against New York City.   After General George Washingtons Continental Army suffered a reverse at the Battle of Long Island in August and Howe captured the city in September, American forces withdrew from Paulus Hook.   A short time later, British troops landed to occupy the post.    Situated to control access to northern New Jersey, Paulus Hook sat on a spit of land with water on two sides.   On the landward side, it was protected by a series of salt marshes that flooded at high tide and could only be crossed via a single causeway.   Upon the hook itself, the British built a series of redoubts and earthworks which were centered on an oval casemate containing six guns and a powder magazine.   By 1779, the garrison at Paulus Hook consisted of around 400 men led by  Colonel Abraham Van Buskirk.   Additional support for the posts defense could be summoned from New York through the use of a variety of signals.            Ã‚   Battle of Paulus Hook - Lees Plan: In July 1779, Washington directed Brigadier General Anthony Wayne to mount a raid against the British garrison at Stony Point.   Attacking on night of July 16, Waynes men achieved a stunning success and captured the post.   Taking inspiration from this operation, Major Henry Light Horse Harry Lee approached Washington about making a similar effort against Paulus Hook.   Though initially reluctant due to the posts proximity to New York City, the American commander elected to authorize the attack.   Lees plan called for his force to overwhelm Paulus Hooks garrison at night and then destroy the fortifications before withdrawing at dawn.   To accomplish the mission, he assembled a force of 400 men consisting of 300 from the 16th Virginia under Major John Clark, two companies from Maryland overseen by Captain Levin Handy, and a troop of dismounted dragoons drawn from Captain Allen McLeans rangers.                Battle of Paulus Hook - Moving Out: Departing from New Bridge (River Edge) on the evening of August 18, Lee moved south with the goal of attacking around midnight.   As the strike force covered the fourteen miles to Paulus Hook, problems ensued as a local guide attached to Handys command became lost in the woods delaying the column for three hours.   Additionally, a portion of the Virginians found themselves separated from Lee.   In a stroke of luck, the Americans avoided a column of 130 men led by Van Buskirk that had sortied from the fortifications.   Reaching Paulus Hook after 3:00 AM, Lee ordered Lieutenant Guy Rudolph to reconnoiter for a path across the salt marshes.   Once one was located, he divided his command into two columns for the assault. Battle of Paulus Hook - Bayonet Attack: Moving through the marshes and a canal undetected, the Americans found that their powder and ammunition had become wet.   Ordering his troops to fix bayonets, Lee directed one column to break through the abatis and storm Paulus Hooks outer entrenchments.   Surging forward, his men gained a brief advantage as the sentries initially believed the approaching men were Van Buskirks troops returning.   Swarming into the fortress, the Americans overwhelmed the garrison and forced Major William Sutherland, commanding in the colonels absence, to retreat with a small force of Hessians to a small redoubt.   Having secured the remainder of Paulus Hook, Lee began to assess the situation as dawn was rapidly approaching. Lacking forces to storm the redoubt, Lee planned to burn the fortress barracks.   He quickly abandoned this plan when it was found that they were filled with sick men, women, and children.   Having captured 159 enemy soldiers and achieved a victory, Lee elected to begin withdrawing before British reinforcements arrived from New York.   The plan for this phase of the operation called for his troops to move to Douws Ferry where they would cross the Hackensack River to safety.   Arriving at the ferry, Lee was alarmed to find that required boats were absent.   Lacking other options, he men began marching north over a route similar that used earlier in the night. Battle of Paulus Hook - Withdrawal Aftermath: Reaching Three Pigeons Tavern, Lee reconnected with 50 of the Virginians who had become separated during the movement south.   Possessing dry powder, they were quickly deployed as flankers to protect the column.   Pressing on, Lee soon connected with 200 reinforcements sent south by Stirling.   These men aided in repelling an assault by Van Buskirk a short time later.   Though pursued by Sutherland and reinforcements from New York, Lee and his force safely arrived back at New Bridge around 1:00 PM.   In the attack at Paulus Hook, Lees command suffered 2 killed, 3 wounded, and 7 captured while the British incurred over 30 killed and wounded as well as 159 captured.   Though not large-scale victories, the American successes at Stony Point and Paulus Hook helped convince the British commander in New York, General Sir Henry Clinton, that a decisive triumph could not be obtained in the region.   As a result, he began planning a campaign in the southern colonies for the following year.   In recognition of his achievement, Lee received a gold medal from Congress.   He would later serve with distinction in the South and was the father of noted Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. Selected Sources HistoryNet: Battle of Paulus Hook2nd Virginia Regiment: Battle of Paulus Hook Revolutionary New Jersey: Battle of Paulus Hook

10 Directional-Sign Disasters

10 Directional-Sign Disasters 10 Directional-Sign Disasters 10 Directional-Sign Disasters By Mark Nichol Here’s a photo gallery of directional signs that should give visitors pause. Enclosing one or more words in quotation marks when the marks are not used in the context of quoting another person is widely believed to represent emphasis, but among careful writers, this technique represents skepticism or distancing oneself from the term, as if to say, â€Å"I didn’t come up with this idea; I’m just reporting it.† Therefore, the use here of scare quotes around not creates cognitive dissonance. The photographic subject looks like an entrance to me. But’s it’s â€Å"not.† Is the author of this message conflicted about the truth of the statement? And is the â€Å"front† door not really a front door? (Solution: Just underline handwritten words for emphasis, and your existential crisis will dissipate.) By the same token, how does one open a door â€Å"slowly†? Does one merely pretend to exercise caution? Does one ignite a slapstick routine by feigning a measured widening of the aperture in the doorway and then suddenly flinging the door open? When the president of the company is the victim of such a prank, is only the perpetrator culpable, or is the sign maker fired, too? (Solution: For job security, use italics.) Metropolitan State University certainly has its protocols down to an exact science, designating a special room where VIPs can be mugged. It might have been better, however, to set aside separate rooms for staff orientation and the reception so that the muggers have enough space to work in and nobody else gets hurt. Yes, that door is very close. You are certainly correct about that. Thanks for pointing it out for me. Is there another close door that I can use? That’s something you don’t see every day. Does Hoover Dam charge admission to view the restrooms from the exhibits? Private room? You know, it’s no problem, really I think I’ll just wait until I get home. Ladie, when you’re done taking a picture of the sign, would you mind stepping aside so I can get to the me’ns room? The typographical error of upon for open is forgivable, but the second sentence is problematic not just in construction (suggested revision: â€Å"IT staff needs access until keys are obtained†) but in what’s between the lines: â€Å"Until we do get the keys, which, thanks to this company’s byzantine requisition procedure should happen sometime in the next decade, help yourself to any of the expensive, vital electronic equipment located herein.† As I said earlier, I can wait. No, really, I’m good. (I can smell the stairway from here.) Irate customer: â€Å"Open if your game enough†? It’s you’re! You’re!! You’re!!! Sales associate at the counter, talking into the telephone: â€Å"Security to the front desk, please hurry!† These images are from the websites Apostrophe Abuse, the â€Å"Blog† of â€Å"Unnecessary† Quotation Marks, and Wordsplosion. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should KnowBetween vs. In BetweenNeither... or?

A research about Moses Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A about Moses - Research Paper Example Baby Moses was found by Pharaoh’s daughter who brought him and raised him in the palace. She named him Moses saying: â€Å"Because I drew him out of the water.† 1 When he grew up, he started helping his brethren until one day when an Egyptian was killed by his hand as he was beating an innocent Hebrew. Fearing the punishment, he slipped away and lived in desert for forty years until God called upon him. During his stay in the desert, he worked for a man named Jethro, helped him looking after his herd, later, he was married to Jethro’s daughter.2 God Calls Upon Moses. It has been stated in the Bible that God appeared in the form of a burning bush in front of Moses. â€Å"But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?† 3 God instructed Moses to go to the Pharaoh and convince him to let th e people live in harmony and to let them move to the land of Canaanites and Hittites, which is the land of flowing milk and honey and the land of prosperity and happiness. He then told him that if he does not agree God will strike Egypt with all his wonders. Moses was gifted a few miracles by God which included the following: Miracles bestowed on Moses God tells Moses to grab the rod that he was carrying and drop it to the ground. The rod turned into a snake. Then, He tells Moses to pick it up from his tail, the snake transformed into the rod again. And He said, â€Å"Cast it on the ground.† So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.4 God instructed Moses to put his hand into his bosom which miraculously turned into snow. He then told Moses to place his hand again to his bosom; the hand was back to the original condition. Despite of these miracles Moses questioned God again if he was the right person to be called upon for the people as he fo und himself not fluent enough in speech. â€Å"But Moses said to God, â€Å"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?† 5 Moses was still perplexed if he was the right person for such a great task. God then ordered him to take his brother Aaron with him who will help him in calling upon the people of Egypt. God says: And God said to Moses, â€Å"I AM WHO I AM.† And He said, â€Å"Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’† 6 God’s Strike: the ten plagues in Egypt The Bible says Moses was 80 years old when he went into Egypt. When they appeared in front of the Pharaoh and asked him to let the people go and live in tranquility. â€Å"Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, â€Å"Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’†7 On refusal, Aaron dropped the rod of Moses in front of the Pharaoh which then turned into a snake. However, the magicians of Pharaoh did the same. God then showed his power by ordering the snake from Moses’ rod to demolish all other snakes formed by the vicious magicians and sorcerers. Pharaoh refused again to let the children of Israel go which resulted in God’s fury and He strike Egypt with ten different plagues.8 1. Water turned into blood 2. Swarming frogs 3.

Selecting Forensic Tools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Selecting Forensic Tools - Essay Example ion/attack. It is, hence, computer detective work. The importance of computer forensic technologies to the securitization of information and for the detection of the source of cyber crimes, manifest in the unauthorized retrieval of data, cannot be overemphasized. As both Stephenson (1999) and Carrier (2004) emphasize, organizations which do not have a digital forensics system in place are inexcusably careless and irresponsible. The implication here is that organizations which handle sensitive data, especially data which the law holds as confidential and private such as patient information, will have a digital forensics system in place. This was confirmed by our organization's IT Director who explained that a digital forensics analysis system was implemented over two years ago. While the IT Director claimed that the organization did not abide by criteria for the determination of whether to use open source or commercial tool sets, his explanation of the system and the process of its selection underscore its efficiency. Tool Selection The selection of the tool set was determined by the needs of the organization, the nature of its data and, importantly, a review of past attacks and unauthorized intrusion attempts. As a healthcare organization, the securitization of data is of primary importance since the leakage of patient information to unauthorized personnel renders the organization vulnerable to litigation. Furthermore, because of the nature of its activities, the data information combines between text, as in medical reports and demographic data, graphics, as in patient X-rays, and numbers, as in financial information. The organization, therefore, has to protect three data types. In their analysis of the various computer forensic tools, Yasinsac and Manzano (2001) maintain that the criteria for selection should be data type and organizational needs and activities. Further explaining this, they note that the tools which are used vis--vis graphical data are not effective when used for numerical or textual information. Watermarking tools are most effective where graphical data is concerned but not so in relation to textual data (Yasinsac and Manzano, 2001). Furthermore, whether commercial or open source tool sets are used should depend on an organization's size, the complexity of its functions and the volumes of data it handles (Yasinsac and Manzano, 2001). Even though he concurred with Yasinsac and Manzano's (2001) recommendations, the IT director admitted that adherence to their tool set selection criteria was not feasible. While open-source rather than commercial tools were used as a result of the complexity of the organization's processes and the volumes of data it handles, it did not distinguish between graphic and text-based data. Doing so would involve the implementation of two different digital forensics tool sets, thereby multiplying the human and non-human resources assigned

Visit Museum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Visit Museum - Essay Example Ashland is also a historic place that is maintained through donations. It has beautiful sceneries for refreshment. The political position of Henry Clay and his love for racing contributed to the Lexington, Kentucky rising as the Horse Capital of the World. His role as a Senator is still remembered today, the panel of historians and Senate leaders still regard him as one of the greatest senators of all time. Mary Todd Lincoln House is a museum that was constructed to honor the wife of the wife of the 16th President of the U.S. Mary Todd was one of the first ladies in the U.S with a very unwelcoming behavior. She spent her time in seclusion because of the hatred people had towards her. The events that take place in the museum include the Presidents Day Family Event that take place in February, an annual dinner and entertainment that take place in September, Cemetery Walking Tours that take place in October, and Mary’s Birthday celebration which is held in December. Mary Todd Lincoln House is the house in which the wife of the 16th President of the U.S. grew up. The home faces the main street in Downtown Lexington, and it is a few distance from the Lexington Convention Center. Since 1977, the House, which is the first historic museum to honor first lady, has been opened to the public to honor the first lady. I was delighted to enter such a historic house in my life. I had the chance of seeing one of the portraits that were completed while she was in the White House as the first lady. In the portrait, the first lady had flowers on the hair a signification of her hair dignity style. The house had a bedroom upstairs in which President Lincoln and his wife stayed when they visited her home. Apart from this, the house consists of fourteen rooms; a master bedroom, a nursery area, Mary’s bedroom and many other rooms that served different roles. The many numbers of rooms is a signification of how wide Mary’s family house.

Adidas Market Entry Strategy

Adidas Market Entry Strategy Adidas aims to achieve the mission of being the leading sports brand in the world. They aim to achieve this by the brands broad and unique product portfolio spanning from apparel and footwear for professional athletes to premium fashion (adidas-group, 2010). It allows Adidas to address multiple consumer needs, exploit market opportunities from various angles as well as be less affected by one-dimensional market risks. Adidas commitment to product innovation and its rich heritage differentiates the brand from competitors and provides a solid platform for future growth (adidas, 2010). For over 80 years the Adidas Group has been part of the world of sports on every level, delivering state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Today, the Adidas Group is a global leader in the sporting goods industry and offers a broad portfolio of products. Products from the Adidas Group are available in virtually every country of the world (linkedin, 2010). Adidas is a brand name which comprises of a group of companies specializing in athletic footwear, clothes and equipment. After being founded in 1948, the company has several branches, joint stock enterprises and representative offices located around the globe. Its products are sold in more than 160 countries (intercomp, 2010). Today, the total staff employed by Adidas-Salamon AG group extends to 17,000 (intercomp, 2010). Of this number, over 3000 people are employed by two basic corporate centres- its headquarters in Herzogenaurach (Germany) and its operations centre in Portland, Oregon (USA) (intercomp, 2010). Al so located in Herzogenaurach are the strategic business units for Running, Soccer and Tennis as well as the Research and Development Centre. Adidas propose to work on a simple strategy that involves continuously strengthening their brands and products to improve competitive position and financial performance. The company also operates design studios and development departments at other locations around the world, corresponding to the related business activity. Adidas Sourcing Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary headquartered in Hong Kong, is responsible for worldwide sourcing (adidas, 2010). Most marketers face many demands due to globalisation in todays marketplace. Globalisation in simple words can be said to be a trend expiring in the western world which can be easily taken into an emerging market (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). Globalisation involves global markets and global marketing which comprises of customers, competitors and the marketers who help companies to be successful. Global marketing can be defined as the marketing activities which are coordinated and integrated across multiple country markets, may involve standardised products, uniform packaging, similar advertising and coordinated sales campaigns across markets in several countries (Johansson, 2009). There can be five major classes of variables which propel companies towards globalisation in todays world. These are known as globalisation drivers and are market drivers, competitive drivers, cost drivers, technology drivers and government drivers (Johansson, 2009). Overview of Russia Russia is the largest country in the world, spanning 11 time zones and covering one-eighth of the worlds land surface. It is a combination of 89 different entities that constitute 16 autonomous republics, five autonomous regions, 10 national regions and several provinces and metropolitan cities and most of its residents live in urban areas (icmrindia, 2010). Russia is sometimes also referred to as the Russian Federation and hosts 141.9 million citizens descending from more than 100 ethnic groups (state, 2010). The capital and largest city in Russia is Moscow and is increasingly important as an economic and business centre; it has become Russias principal magnet for foreign investment and business presence. Moscow is rich in cultural tradition with many museums devoted to art, literature, music, dance, history, and science, as well as hundreds of churches and dozens of notable cathedrals (state, 2010). The second-largest city in Russia is St. Petersburg, which was established by Peter the Great in 1703 to be the capital of the Russian Empire as part of his Western-looking reforms. In Russian economy, the highest emerging industry is retail industry (Aslund, 1995). In recent years, Russia has appeared as a leading name among the countries contributing to retail environment. The fast development of retail trade and high consumer expenditure has been attracting large number of global companies to Russia (Voronkova and Lucey, 2005). Russian economy and businessÂÂ  are facing the boom period and are about to gain more momentum in the coming years. As per the estimates in the year 2007, the current financial year GDP would be around US $733 billion. As per the estimates, the GDP growth rate would remain above 5% till the year 2012 (mapsofworld, 2010).ÂÂ  Other participants ofÂÂ  Russian economy and businessÂÂ  sector are industrial productions, import and export business, agriculture and many others. The main centres of business at Russia are Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Vladivostok, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk (mapsofworld, 2010).ÂÂ   Recently thousands of private companies have been carrying out their business in Russia, adding revenue to the Russian economy (mapsofworld, 2010).ÂÂ   Overview of Bangladesh Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, is the second largest Muslim country in the world. The capital, Dhaka, has over 2000 mosques and is known as the city of mosques. Bangladesh is bordered on the west, north, and east by India, on the southeast by Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and on the south by the Bay of Bengal (mapsofworld, 2010). Bangladesh is one of the worlds most densely populated countries, with its people crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal (bbcnews, 2010). Most of the people of Bangladesh are restrained to villages, with only 26 per cent living in urban areas. More than 98 percent of Bangladeshs population are Bengalis, who are largely descended from Indo-Aryans; the remaining two per cent includes Biharis and non-Bengali Muslims who had migrated from India. Bangladeshi culture, in many ways, reflects the culture of Greater Bengal (mapsofworld, 2010). Bangladesh has been in the course of a rough economic past. Two partitions led to wide economic neglect and even producing jute in large quantities contributed very little towards economic growth, as the country could not find much investment in this sector (mapsofworld, 2010). The foremost employer is agriculture, but it is unable to meet the demand for jobs. Thus many Bangladeshis in common with citizens from other countries in the region seek work abroad, sometimes illegally. The country is trying to diversify its economy, with industrial development a priority (mapsofworld, 2010). Overseas investors have pumped money into developed and the energy sector. Onshore and offshore gas reserves hold out some chance of future prosperity. Urbanization is proceeding rapidly, and it is estimated that only 30% of the population entering the labour force in the future will be absorbed into agriculture, although many will likely find other kinds of work in rural areas (mapsofworld, 2010). PEST Analysis All organisations operate in market places that are affected by forces outside their control (Jackson and Shaw, 2009, pp 300). Factors considered within the macro environment affect not only the company but all the other members of its micro environment, namely its suppliers, consumers, etc ( Easey, 1995). An analysis of the external factors that influence the firm is known as the PEST analysis i.e. Political, Economic, Social and Technological. PEST analysis of any industry sector investigates the important factors that are affecting the industry and influencing the companies operating in that sector. Political factors include government policies relating to the industry, tax policies, laws and regulations, trade restrictions and tariffs etc. Political factors affect both the producer and the consumer in various ways (Bohdanowicz and Clamp, 1994). A stable political surrounding is the basis for long-term decisions. The economic factors relate to changes in the wider economy such as economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate, etc. Vignali et. al, (2008), express that economic trends are extremely important for the business and that they depend to a great extent on the governments politics. Social factors often look at the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, changes in tastes and buying patterns, etc. Changes in lifestyle and opinions influence the demand and the way of selling products (Vignali et. al, 2008, pp. 364). The technological factors relate to the application of new inventions and ideas such as RD activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. As in all areas of industry new technology is making great inroads to improve quality of life and increase speed and quality of manufacture (Easey, 1995). 2.1 PEST Analysis of Russia (P)olitical factors The Russian economy underwent tremendous stress in the 1990s as it moved from a centrally planned economy to a free market system. In the political system established by the 1993 constitution, the president wields considerable executive power. There is no vice president, and the legislative branch is far weaker than the executive. Difficulties in implementing fiscal reforms aimed at raising government revenues and a dependence on short-term borrowing to finance budget deficits led to a serious financial crisis in 1998. Lower prices for Russias major export earners (oil and minerals) and a loss of investor confidence due to the Asian financial crisis exacerbated financial problems (state, 2010). Russia, initially Soviet Union has faced many economic difficulties in the past. The current President Russia is Dmitry Medvedev, but the government is still thought to be run by the previous President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (bbcnews, 2010). The budget deficit of Russia rise n sharply in 2009 to around $60bn (Â £42bn). Moscows revenues are sharply down because of the plummeted oil prices due to a drop in global demand. (E)conomic factors The Russian economy is largely dependent on its export resources, oil and gas. The energy giant Gazprom is controversially close to the Russian state and critics say it is little more than an economic and political tool of the Kremlin (bbcnews, 2010). The Russian labour force is undergoing tremendous changes. Although well educated and skilled, it is largely mismatched to the rapidly changing needs of the Russian economy. Official unemployment dropped to its lowest rate of 5.4% in May 2008, and labour shortages appeared in some high-skilled job markets (state, 2010). The economic crisis which began in late 2008, however, quickly reversed this trend and the ranks of unemployed swelled to an International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated 9.5% in the first quarter of 2009; 1.8 million Russian lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2009 alone (state, 2010). , President Dmitry Medvedev claimed Russias economy will shrink by 7.5% in 2009 (bbcnews, 2010). However, real disposable income s have doubled since 1999, and experts estimate that the middle class constitutes approximately one-fourth of the population. The economic crisis, however, caused real disposable incomes to drop by 6.7% year-on-year in January 2009, and wages fell by 9.1% year-on-year in January 2009 (state, 2010). (S)ocial and Cultural Factors Russias population was 141.91 million as of January 2009, a very slight decrease from the previous year according to the government statistics service and the Ministry of Public Health The birth rate in 2008 was the highest recorded in the last 15 years. Life expectancy remains low compared to developed countries, but rose to 61.4 years for men and 73.9 for women in 2007 (state, 2010).Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, traffic accidents, and violence continue to be major causes of death among working age men. Many premature deaths are attributed to excessive alcohol consumption and smoking. A truly healthy Russia will require serious improvements in the health sector and some major changes in current cultural norms. Russias educational system has produced nearly 100% literacy. About 7 million students attended Russias 1,090 institutions of higher education in 2006, but continued reform is critical to producing students with skills to adapt to a market economy (bbcnews, 2010). Unemployment is highest among women and young people. Russia has an area of about 17 million square kilometres (6.5 million sq. mi.); in geographic terms, this makes Russia the largest country in the world by more than 2.5 million square miles. But with a population density of about 22 persons per square mile (9 per sq. km.), it is sparsely populated, and most of its residents live in urban areas (state, 2010). (T)echnological factors Russian TV broadcasting is dominated by channels that are either run directly by the state or owned by companies with close links to the Kremlin. The government controls Channel One and Russia One two of the three main federal channels while state-controlled energy giant Gazprom owns NTV (bbcnews, 2010). For most Russians, television, especially via the national networks, is the main source of domestic and international news. There are more than 400 daily newspapers, catering for every taste and persuasion and the major nationals are based in Moscow. Around 38 million Russians use the internet (bbcnews, 2010). 2.2 PEST Analysis of Bangladesh (P)olitical factors The first government of new formed Bangladesh after partition was formed in Dhaka with Justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury as President, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib) who was released from Pakistani prison in early 1972 as Prime Minister (bbcnews, 2010). The president, while chief of state, holds a largely ceremonial post; the real power is held by the prime minister, who is head of government. The president is elected by the legislature (Parliament) every 5 years. The presidents circumscribed powers are substantially expanded during the tenure of a caretaker government. In the caretaker government, the president has control over the Ministry of Defense, the authority to declare a state of emergency, and the power to dismiss the Chief Adviser and other members of the caretaker government. Despite serious problems related to a dysfunctional political system, weak governance, and pervasive corruption, Bangladesh still remains one of the few democracies in the Muslim world (state, 2010). H owever, democratic institutions and practices remain weak (bbcnews, 2010). (E)conomic factors Bangladesh has been through a rough economic past because of two partitions that led to widespread economic neglect and producing jute in large quantities contributed very less towards economic growth, as the country could not find much investment in this sector. The major employer in Bangladesh economy is agriculture, but it is unable to meet the demand for jobs. The country is trying to diversify its economy, with industrial development a priority. Overseas investors have pumped money into manufacturing and the energy sector. Onshore and offshore gas reserves hold out some chance of future prosperity (bbcnews, 2010). The Economist Intelligence Unit expects the fiscal position to remain weak in fiscal years 2009/10-2010/11 (July-June) as the government increases its efforts to implement a wide range of development projects (prlog, 2010). Real GDP growth is forecast to remain fairly stable, averaging 5.7% in 2009/10 and 5.9% in 2010/11, after the economy grew by 5.9% in 2008/09 (prlo g, 2010). Bangladesh deals almost equally in both exports and imports with total exports for Financial Year 2008 are $21.6 billion: capital goods, food grains, petroleum, textiles, chemicals, vegetable oils whereas total imports were $14.11 billion: garments and knitwear, frozen fish, jute and jute goods, leather and leather products, tea, urea fertilizer, ceramic tableware (state, 2010).ÂÂ  Urbanization has occurred rapidly in recent years and it is estimated that only 30% of the population entering the labour force in the future will be absorbed into agriculture, although many will likely find other kinds of work in rural areas (mapsofworld, 2010). (S)ocial and cultural factors The area that is now Bangladesh has a rich historical and cultural past, combining Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongol/Mughul, Arab, Persian, Turkic, and west European cultures. About 98%, Residents of Bangladesh are ethnic Bengali and speak Bangla, thus called Bangladeshis (mapsofworld, 2010). Urdu-speaking, non-Bengali Muslims of Indian origin, and various tribal groups, mostly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, comprise the remainder (mapsofworld, 2010). Most Bangladeshis (about 88.3%) are Muslims, but Hindus constitute a sizable (10.5%) minority (bbcnews, 2010). English is spoken in urban areas and among the educated. Bangladesh is one of the worlds most densely populated countries, with its people crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal. Poverty is deep and widespread; almost half of the population live on less than one dollar a day. However, Bangladesh has reduced population growth and improved health and education (state, 2010). (T)echnological factors The main broadcasters Radio Bangladesh and Bangladesh Television (BTV) are state-owned channels and are considered government-friendly. There is little coverage of the political opposition, except in the run-up to general elections when a caretaker government takes control. TV is the most-popular medium, especially in cities. Foreign, especially Indian, TV stations have large audiences in Dhaka and other cities. State-run radio covers almost the entire country. BBC World Service programmes in English and Bengali are broadcast on 100 MHz FM in Dhaka. Newspapers are diverse, outspoken and privately-owned. English-language titles appeal mainly to an educated urban readership (bbcnews, 2010). 2.3 Adidas Entry to Russian Market Adidas boasts a 25 year history of success in the Russian market (intercomp, 2010). Its products are currently sold through 700 outlets in Russia and the CIS, and it owns 70 signature stores in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, and other places in Russia and the CIS countries (intercomp, 2010). Adidas has also proven to be successful previously in Russia and other European economies. Russia has been a successfully emerging market within the last decade in comparison to Bangladesh. The gross domestic product and geographical comparison of both countries also identifies Russia to be more sound economically and larger than Bangladesh. Russia Retail Market will grow from RUB10.87trn (US$425.0bn) in 2007 to RUB22.58trn by 2013 (prlog, 2010). The other factor which supports the move of Adidas towards Russia is the 100% literacy rate in Russia which makes it easier for Adidas within an educated workforce. Bangladesh on the other hand still is a developing country with deficiencies like poverty and uneducated workforce holding the progress of the country to some extent. Similar to Adidas many other international brands have been attracted to Russia such as Nike. The emergence of free market entry in 1993 in Russia significantly made them a potential target for international brands. Bangladesh has been a target of bitter rivalry between two women- Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia both former prime ministers. They both had been jailed for suspected corruption but were released to contest the vote (bbcnews, 2010). The rivalry between these two women has been ongoing for past two decades has been a major factor in the slow economic growth of Bangladesh. Both these economies possess potential to attract international brands but Ba ngladesh still lack behind Russia in order to be the choice of market for Adidas. Higher GDP, more educated workforce, previous history of success, larger geographical area and political support are some factors which make Russia the choice of market for Adidas. ENTRY METHOD Entering an international market is never simple or nor automatic for any international brand (Burnett, 1993). There are many different ways to gain entry for companies which are largely dependent on their internal strengths and competitiveness in comparison to the regional competitors. In practice, many firms use a customised approach to entering a market. They determine their competitive advantage over other firms at home or overseas and then plan their entry strategies accordingly (Blythe, 2003). Jeannet and Hennessey (1992) cited by Blythe (2003), identified the primary market entry strategies which are more recently considered to be divided into three main groups: Exporting, Joint Venture and Direct Investment or Strategic Alliance. Exporting can be described as selling of a product in another country without making a commitment to the local production (Burnett, 1993). Exporting is further divided into direct and indirect exporting. Joint Ventures are joining of a foreign company with an outside partner to share the stock ownership of the new company. Strategic alliances are the recent method of entry into a foreign market and involve more effort than a joint venture (Burnett, 1993). The entry method of choice for Adidas to move into Russia should be either indirect exporting or by creating local manufacturing. Local manufacturing might be more useful as it will obtain create more jobs for local people and that will help in creating a good image for the company and the product. On the other hand indirect exporting has been proven to be successful in many European companies for example Japanese soap company Kao (Burnett, 1993). COMMUNICATION STRATEGY A communication strategy of a company must be integrated across the whole range of marketing activity, should include a feedback system, reflect organisational objectives and finally competition (Blythe, 2003). Careful integration and co-ordination of many communications Channels to deliver a clear, consistent and compelling message about the organisation and its products is referred as Integrated Marketing Communications (Kotler, 2001). Push and pull strategies can be described as marketing strategies with different objectives and operational methods. A pull strategy attracts customers to a brand through advertising and other communications, with the aim of persuading customers to seek the brands and products. On the other hand, push strategy involves incentivising retailers to carry and self stocks (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). Push strategy greatly depends on the personal selling ability of retailers and stockists. Adidas needs to use the pull strategy in order to successfully move into the Russian market as previously, Adidas has been creating their brand name with heavy advertising on Russian TV channels. For most Russians, television, especially via the national networks, is the main source of domestic and international news (bbcnews, 2010). Adidas, the second largest brand in the market has always flirted with fashion more overtly than nearest rivals. Adidas retain the services of global advertising agencies and use of promotional tools such as costly TV campaigns and guerrilla marketing (Tungate, 2008 ). The other factors in Russian market discussed in the PEST analysis of Russia such as stable political structure, business culture dominant environment, growing economic conditions, high growth potential, positive demographic trends, innovative/business retail culture and niche opportunities within the retail structure provides strong basis for the use of Pull strategy by Adidas (Hines and Bruce, 2001). 4.1 Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Market segmentation refers to the process of identifying a division of a wider market in order to target it effectively within the marketing mix. The selected market segment needs to be sufficiently homogenous to respond to a single integrated marketing mix (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). Although every customer is different, it is possible using segmentation, targeting and positioning techniques, to place them into understandable group and to then ensure that we deliver the right fashion products to them (Thorne cited by Jackson and Shaw, 2009, pg51). Market Segmentation takes place on many different basis such as demographic, purchasing behaviour, geographic and psycho-graphic segments of the market. The demographic segmentation relates to topics like age, gender, race, religion, family size etc, purchasing behaviour relates to benefits, loyalty level, user occasion and readiness to purchase, geographic relates to country, town, city, climate, hemisphere, travel time and psycho-graphic relates to social class, lifestyles, spending behaviour and attitudes (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). Although these factors listed above are the most common and relevant, changes in the socio-culture can force marketers to re-evaluate these according to the situation. The ultimate purpose of market segmentation is to select a target market or markets. The targeting of a market includes segments that company intends to serve and the process of determination of these segments is called target market determination (vignali et.al, 2008). Three marketing strategies can be undertaken by Adidas to identify their target market which are undifferentiated, differentiated and concentrated marketing. Undifferentiated can be described as the strategy where the company ignores some of the market segments in order to achieve benefits and thus creates and enters the market with a completely unique marketing mix. The advantage of this strategy lies in lower costs: as the identical product, promotion and price and sales efforts for the whole market ensures low costs (vignali et.al, 2008). Concentrated this approach is suitable for companies with insufficient resources for differentiated market and concentrates on one or several segments (vignali et.al, 2008). Differentiated this approach focuses on covering all the segments of the market with different marketing mix for each segment. This is appropriate for large international brand names in order to create and spread their brand to every consumer (vignali et.al, 2008). Adidas will be successful in using differentiated strategy as they will be able to concentrate on each individual segment and create their brand name with the help of right promotional tools. This approach will also be useful as Adidas has been able to advertise heavily using TV adverts previously. Positioning Positioning is the development of a service and a marketing mix to occupy a specific place in the minds of customers within target markets (vignali notes). Positioning begins with the customer. But positioning is not so much what you say about your products or company as much as it is what your customers say about you. Regis McKenna, Relationship Marketing (vignali notes). Positioning implies adjustment to all marketing activities to the consumers expectation in the given segments. The basis for product or brand positioning is market segmentation and Positioning creates competitive advantage. Adidas needs to identify their target segments, and then needs to utilize the right marketing strategy in order to provide right market positioning for their product in Russia. Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer has claimed Russia to be the biggest market in Europe for Adidas (retail news, 2008). Positioning can be achieved in six major possible ways which are specific product features, Benefits, problem solution, or needs, specific usage occasions, user category, against another product and Product class dissociation (vignali notes) 4.2 Branding and Brand Equity The purpose of a brand is to differentiate a product or service from competitor offerings, and to achieve effective positioning. (Bruce and Barnes, 2005 as cited in Littler, 2005) A global brand is one that is available in most countries in the world and shares the same strategic principles, positioning and marketing in every market throughout the world, although the marketing mix can vary. It has a substantial market share in all countries and comparable brand loyalty. It carries the same brand logo. De Mooij (2005). Branding provides visual cue to convey messages to consumers, it directs customers buying behaviour, differentiates from competitors, acts as positioning, help develop and sell brand extensions and also provides brand equity to company. Brand equity can be described as the total value of a brand including tangible and non tangible assets such as brand name, loyalty, perceived quality and associations (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). BUSINESS RISK Adidas moving into Russia have many advantages; however it also posses the potential for a few unwanted risk such as Political risk, Economic risk, Commercial risk, Taxes and legislation relating to company incorporation (Vignali notes). The political risks comprising of foreign policies and the risk of new government policies into action, economic growth is on the rise but Russia did face a crisis in 2008 from which they only recently have recovered (bbcnews, 2010), risk to competitors locally and internationally create a high risk of failure and finally the taxation and other legislation can be quite expensive and have an effect on the marketing strategies of the company. CONCLUSION/ RECOMMENDATIONS Russia and CIS countries are set to become Adidas groups biggest market in Europe by 2010, says chief executive Herbert Hainar (retail news, 2008). Russia is a very dynamic country and is known for world-class athletes as well as enthusiastic fans. By expanding our own retail network in Russia and the CIS countries, we are giving consumers access to a unique brand experience and to achieve their personal best. Martin Shankland, managing director of Adidas group in Russia and CIS (retail news, 2008). The new ÂÂ  BMI Russia Retail report predicts that the countrys total retail sales will more than double in local currency terms by 2013, growing from RUB10.87trn (US$425.0bn)ÂÂ  in 2007 to RUB22.58trn by 2013 (prlog, 2010). Rising disposable incomes, an expanding middle class and rising levels of credit penetration are key factors behind retail market expansion. . Russia has around 14 cities with more than 1mn people, and consumers are increasingly looking to modern retail outlets for aspirational purchases. The countrys large population and in particular the affluent urban population of the capital Moscow, is providing a solid base for the expansion of the retail market (prlog, 2010). Being an emerging market Russia possesses the potential for being successful for international brands and also poses some threats or risks. Adidas business entry strategy needs to be very cautious and similar to the strategies used before by them in Russian market. They also needs to have contingency plans in case of failure of the current strategies adopted by the company and also needs to carefully consider the promotional tools.