Production of tpa using eukaryotic n prokaryotic cells Essay - 1

Production of tpa using eukaryotic n prokaryotic cells - Essay Example course of production, safety precautions have to be strictly adhered to, as the drugs are poisons in nature and could cause severe body harm if misused. A method for producing tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in eukaryotic host cells is disclosed. Enhanced levels of t-PA production are obtained by co-amplification of the t-PA gene through treatment of cultures transformed with mutant or wild type DHFR with methotrexate. Â  A cell culture comprising methotrexate (MTX) sensitive recombinant host cells transformed with an expression vector comprising a first DNA sequence encoding a dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) protein with a low binding affinity for MTX, and a second DNA sequence encoding human tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), tPA encoded by said second DNA sequence, and an effective amplifying concentration of MTX. The invention herein relates to the production of human tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in a transformant host cell culture. More specifically, the invention relates to vectors, cells, and methods of producing tPA in conjunction with expression of the sequences for coding for dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) protein in such cells. Another example that describes use of CHO cells as host cells, and expression vectors which include the SV40 origin of replication as a promoter. However, it would be well within the skill of the art to use analogous techniques to construct expression vectors for expression of desired protein sequences in alternative eukaryotic host cell cultures. If cells without formidable cell wall barriers are used as host cells, transfection is carried out by the calcium phosphate precipitation method as described by Graham and Van der Eb, Virology, 52:546 (1978). However, other methods for introducing DNA into cells such as by nuclear injection or by protoplast fusion may also be used. Construction of suitable vectors containing the desired coding and control sequences employ standard ligation techniques. Isolated plasmids or

Influence of Advertising Essay Example for Free

Influence of Advertising Essay The Influence of Advertising The Influence of advertising on our lives for both children and adults has been enormous. In today’s society, it stands for communication, motivation, opportunities, information as well as art. However at the end, the purpose of all of these factor is business. Every advertisement has a clear purpose, no companies will put out an ad on tv or radio without a clear purpose because the cost for putting out an ad in today’s society is immense. In today’s society, beauty ads have large party of advertising, beauty ads not only have effects on the older generation, they also have effects on the young generation. For the young generations, beauty ads convey the message of the secrets or methods to stay young, and for the older generations, beauty ads convey the message of how to become and look young again. The beauty ads today are not only advertising their product but advertising the belief they’re trying to sell to the people, mostly females. The companies are trying to make their customer believe that if they use the product they’ll look ten years old younger even though it is not true. For those people who are old â€Å" To age is to learn the feeling of no longer growing, of struggling to do old tasks, to remember familiar actions. As curtin mentioned. However As the belief of beauty product can make people stay young, more and more older generations started to forget their ages because of their temporarily younger appearance . For those people who are young, the companies are trying to sell them the idea of the secret of retaining young. It is a false method to make the young generation to believe they can stay young forever because eventually one day they will wake up and realize all the money they spent on their beauty product was a waste, and there is nothing that can keep them young forever. The negative effect of beauty products that apply to all generations is the obsession of buying these products, and pay too much attention about their physical appearance. This negative effect will create a false sense of needs in people, when in fact they do not really need the items and the products that they are buying. and thanks to advertisements, this illusion is easily perpetrated, The products being offered through advertisements appear to be the tickets to happiness and ageless.

Incompetent Job Performance In Public Service Essay -- Work Employment

Incompetent Job Performance In Public Service Historically public employees have been viewed by the general public as being overpaid, inefficient, ineffective and unresponsive to the needs of the public. The news media’s constant reporting of scandals, financial misappropriations and unethical behavior in the public service further substantiate the growing lack of confidence the public has in the competence of public service organizations. In 1989 the National Commission on the Public Service, the Volcker Commission, reported that the need for competence and trustworthiness in public service was steadily growing not diminishing. (Nigro, 9) The goal of the Volcker Commission was to identify the necessary changes to personnel policies and practices that would counteract the increasing public lack of confidence in the ability of public service organizations to satisfy public demands. Many local governments that experienced the budget cuts, fiscal restraints and organizational turmoil of the 1990’s have determined that to enhance their competence, gain public trust and to avoid future financial difficulties, it is imperative that the staff of public service organizations become more professional, better trained and responsive to public needs. Managers in public service organizations have a vitally important role in the effort to create competence and gain public trust. Traditionally, the job of a manager has been defined as one who keeps things going in an organization. Generally the focus of a manager is on monitoring, directing and refining the current performance of the organization. (Whetten, 14) A manager gets things done through people. Leaders are those who establish the vision and set the direction of t... ...ers, Inc., 1996 5. Nigro, Lloyd G., Felix A. Nigro. The New Public Personnel Administration. Itasca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1994 6. Scott, Michael P. â€Å"7 PITFALLS for MANAGERS WHEN HANDLING POOR PERFORMERS and HOW TO OVERCOME THEM† February 2000 Online. Available: http://web5.infotrac-college.com/wadsworth 7. Segal, Jonathan A. â€Å"Performance Management For Jekyll and Hyde† February 1999 Published in HR Magazine, Legal Trends. Online. Available: http://www.wolfblock.com 8. Vaughan, Susan. â€Å"Rethinking Employee Evaluations† Los Angeles Times, 8 April 2001 Work Place, Part W, Page 1 9. Whetten, David A., Kim S. Cameron. Developing Management Skills, 4th ed. New York: Addison-Wesley Inc., 1998

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Essay

Willy Loman is often recognised as the tragic hero of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman but arguments can be made against Biff being the contemporary hero and thus the true hero of the play. The purpose of a tragedy is to create pity and fear in the audience. A traditional tragedy consists of the central character, the tragic hero, creating chaos in the community he lives in. The hero becomes tempted by something, leading to the exposure of the character’s fatal flaw. The fatal flaw becomes the dominant characteristic of the hero and ultimately leads to the hero’s downfall and demise. After the hero’s death, at the end of the tragedy, order is restored, leaving the audience with a sense of catharsis. Miller creates an American tragedy, as opposed to a Greek or Shakespearean. America has never had a king or nobility who could represent a tragic hero in a traditional tragedy and Miller wanted to give a voice to the ordinary working class man, showing their lives can also be tragic. He once stated â€Å"I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for a tragedy as kings are† (New York Times. 27th Feb 1949). Despite critics arguing against it being a tragedy Linda declaring â€Å"attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person† (Page 44) recognises the tragic status of the play. She also highlights the importance of the ordinary working class, who too can be tragic heroes. The tragic hero is seen to be punished out of proportion for one fatal mistake they make. Willy’s mistake is his belief in the American Dream which he continues to chase relentlessly. His fatal flaw -his hamartia – is his insecurity, which leads him to suffer throughout the play. Willy is an unsuccessful salesman, living in the city, struggling to face reality and re-living memories which he had reinterpreted to fit his dreams (Page. 2003. Page 62). Willy has bought into the American Dream, chasing it relentlessly throughout his life, but his dreams are unrealistic. Dave Singleman, an eighty-four year old salesman, became his inspiration and role model, after he â€Å"realized selling was the greatest career a man could want† (Page 63). Willy saw Singleman as loved and adored by everybody and so his insecurity led him to follow the same career path, in the hope he would lead the life that Willy saw Singleman as living. â€Å"Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four†¦ and be remembered and loved and helped by so many people?† (Page 63). Willy’s perception of Singleman is a warped perception. Just like his perception of the American Dream, it is just an illusion. Willy fails to realise this and gain a grasp of reality, leading to his death and making him a tragic hero. Willy has lived the wrong dream; he should be out in the countryside with his family, working in a job making use of his hands. He put his own ceiling in his living room and is oblivious to the amount of skill it takes to do such a job. Charley: â€Å"Yeah. That’s a piece of work. To put up a ceiling is a mystery to me. How do you do it?† Willy: â€Å"What’s the difference?† (Page 34). Biff recognizes Willy â€Å"had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.† (Page 110). However, Willy always worked hard for his family, showing courage and determination. Willy wants success to be able to spend more time with his wife and family but is often dismissive of them, even berating Linda for buying the wrong cheese. â€Å"Why do you get American when I like Swiss?† (Page 12). Willy is incapable of relinquishing his dream and another character flaw, his pride, stands in the way of him accepting a job from Charley. â€Å"What the hell are you offering me a job for?† – Willy (Page 33). Willy’s relentless pursuit of his dream makes him a tragic hero. Willy was abandoned by his father and brother at a young age. Singleman then became his role model and father figure. Throughout the play Willy struggles with insecurity, a result of being abandoned. During times he relives the past and escapes into old memories he often talks to his older brother Ben. It is not an accurate representation of his real memories of Ben – it is unlikely he ever saw Ben again at all – but Willy uses Ben as a voice to criticise his own life. During Willy’s memories Ben spends a lot of time putting Willy down and trying to leave. â€Å"Haven’t the time, William.† – Ben (Page 66). Although Willy’s main character flaw is his insecurity he has others. Willy is often contradictory, calling Biff a â€Å"lazy bum†, then saying Biff is â€Å"not lazy† (Page 11). Willy fails to berate Biff for stealing a ball, even saying â€Å"Coa ch’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative!† (Page 23). He does not reprimand Biff for his stealing, often encouraging him. Willy is contradictory, telling Biff â€Å"just wanna be careful with those girls†, yet has a mistress himself (Page 21). The introduction of his affair â€Å"[From the darkness is heard a laughter of a woman]† (Page 29) turns Willy’s memories darker, as it was Biff finding out about the affair that caused their relationship to break down. Willy exaggerates his success, telling Linda he did â€Å"five hundred gross in Providence and seven hundred gross in Boston† and then changing to â€Å"roughly two hundred gross on the whole trip† (Page 27). He exaggerates to boost his self confidence and fight against his insecurity. Willy has bought into the materialistic concept of the American Dream. His motto is â€Å"be liked and you will never want† (Page 25). . Willy believes to be successful you must be well liked, believing â€Å"a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being liked† (page 68). He believes he has to be successful for Biff to love him but ironically Biff has loved him all along. Willy is a good man, proving this by showing his happiness for Bernard success – â€Å"Willy: [genuinely shocked, pained and happy]† (Page 75). Despite Willy pursuing the wrong dreams he shows courage, determination and a love for his family, creating pity and sympathy in the audience. However his several flaws, the biggest of which is insecurity, lead to his demise, making him a tragic hero. A contemporary hero has qualities such as strength, honesty, morality, integrity, self-reliance and the courage to face up to reality. At the start of play Biff has not managed to relinquish his father’s dreams completely. He works out on a ranch, a job he loves, but comes back every spring because of his guilt, to try and succeed in sales, a career he hates. â€Å"It’s a measly manner of existence† (Page 16). He realises he would do better in the country and all he truly desires â€Å"is to be outdoors† (Page 16) but he hasn’t been able to abandon his father’s dreams completely. Biff is physically attractive and could have been a top football star but his confidence has diminished. â€Å"Biff Loman is lost† (Page 11.) It is evident from the beginning of the play that Biff is worried about Willy’s struggle with reality and his past. â€Å"Does he know Mom can hear that?† (Page 20). From a young age Willy encouraged the wrong ideals in Biff. Willy often condoned and ignored Biffs tendency to steal, rather than reprimanded. â€Å"Shut up! He’s not stealing anything!† (Page 40). Biff stole after feeling humiliated to regain a sense of power. By the end of the play Biff is honest about his stealing, even admitting he â€Å"stole a suit in Kansas City and was in jail† (Page 104). Stealing a pen from Ben Oliver’s office forces him to realise the things he loves in the world and the stupidity of his stealing. â€Å"What the hell am I grabbing this thing for?† (Page 105). Biff has a moment of self-realization at the end of the play, accepting reality and being honest about his life. He realises they have spent their lives chasing the wrong dreams and his father must abandon the American Dream. â€Å"Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?† (Page 106). He tries to force the rest of his family into facing reality, managing to force Willy into face it for a brief moment. Willy refuses to let go, relinquishing the chance to become the true hero, and remaining the tragic hero of Death of a Salesman. Biff had always been conceited, a result of Willy’s constant praise – â€Å"Good work, Biff† (Page 22) – throughout his youth, when they had a great relationship, until Biff found out about Willy’s affair. However, by the end of the play Biff realises he’s â€Å"a dime a dozen† (Page 105), ridding himself of the self-superiority he has spent years carrying around. He understands Willy spent so much time praising him that he became egotistical. â€Å"I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air that I could never stand taking orders from anybody† (Page 104). Biff realises his arrogance, facing up to reality, admitting he is â€Å"not a leader of men† (Page 105). Biff has always felt some reluctance to follow the American Dream. By the end of the play he realises Willy and the Lowman family had always been chasing the wrong dreams and he faces and accepts reality. He accepts he was never anything more than a shipping clerk and realises his family have been living in a fantasy world. â€Å"We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years† (Page 82). Biff finds self-assurance, and is comfortable with who he is. â€Å"I know who I am, kid† (Page 111). He matures and faces up to the world of reality. Biff finds his identity, faces reality, is honest about his life and finds a personal, as well as physical strength. He shows a lot of the qualities found in a contemporary hero. Miller uses expressionism and realism in Death of a Salesman. Realism accurately portrays characters and situations through human characteristics and language, costumes, and sets. Expressionism is concerned with portraying the inner emotions and psychology of a character. Dialogue tends to become more poetic and lighting is used to create atmosphere in expressionism. Realism looks at the objective; expressionism looks at the subjective. Miller uses realism in the play through the life-like sets, the realistic American-English language and the typical costumes. Expressionism is used when Willy is re-living the past, reinterpreting memories to suit him; he often lives in this world. He is happier in his past memories, before the affair and before his and Biffs r elationship broke down. Willy often tries to escape to the past and into expressionism. Realism and the present are too painful for Willy as he has to live with his strained relationship with Biff, his failure as a salesman, and his guilt of an affair. Happy has been influenced by Willy to chase the American Dream but does not pursue it to Willy’s extent, ruling him out as the tragic hero. He is not as successful as he would like to be. â€Å"All I can get do is wait for the merchandise manager to die (Page 17). He sleeps with women to avenge men who have surpassed him on the career path; similar to Biff seeking revenge on those who have humiliated him by stealing. Happy lives in the Loman dream world, refusing to face reality. He is happy to allow Willy to live in a dream world, to carry on humoring him. â€Å"Sure, have lunch tomorrow!† (Page 88). Even after Willy’s death Happy is unable to relinquish Willy’s desire to fulfill the American Dream. â€Å"I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Lowman did not die in vain† (Page 111). Happy appears to be jealous of Biff being Willy’s favorite â€Å"How do you like that damned fool! (Page 47). This could be a possible reason why he follows the dream – to seek his father’s approval. Linda regularly defends Willy and excuses his behavior, which only keeps Willy trapped in his destructive dream. Miller’s opening stage directions suggest Willy creates and structures Linda’s ideals for her â€Å"his massive dreams and little cruelties†¦longings which she shares, but lacks the temperament to utter and follow to the end† (Page . Linda is the mediator of the family, often discovering the reasons behind Willy’s cruelties whilst mediating. She adores Willy but kindness such as buying him special cheese is just thrown back in her face, something she accepts without argument. Linda knows Willy has impossible dreams, but unlike Biff she cannot bring herself to acknowledge the fact. Linda will not allow Willy’s dreams to be crushed because he is the â€Å"dearest man in the world† (Page 43) to her and she will not have anyone â€Å"making him feel unwanted and low and blue† (Page 43). What she does not realise is by leaving Willy to continue chasing his dreams, he will become a tragic hero (Page. 2003. Page 71-73). Willy is a tragic hero; he continues to chase his dreams relentlessly failing to recognise he should be in a job making use of his hands, living in the country. Willy only saw a warped perception of Singleman’s life, Willy’s inspiration, role model and father figure, after his father and brother abandoned him. Willy uses Ben’s voice to criticise himself in his reinterpreted memories. His abandonment led to his insecurity, leading to his death. His insecurity led to his affair, which led to the breakdown of the relationship between him and his son, Biff. Despite Willy’s flaws, he loves his family and shows he is a good man, inspiring pity and sympathy in the audience, provoking sadness with his death, making him a tragic hero in the traditional sense, but not the true hero. Biff could have been a top football star and is physically strong. He is courageous; he is the only member of the Loman family at the start of the play to have partly relinquished the American Dream and by the end he has completely relinquished it. He faces reality and attempts to make his family face it to, even managing to make Willy face it for a brief moment. He is finally honest about his life – his career and his stealing. He shows morality and integrity. One of the hardest things to do in life is to face up to reality and Biff alone manages to do this making him the true hero of Death of a Salesman. Is Biff the true hero of death of a salesman The question posed here, â€Å"Is Biff the true hero of death of a salesman† asks the writer to asses’ weather or not Biff is the ‘true’ hero of Death of a salesman as oppose to Willy Lowman’s role given to him by the author A.Miller as being the tragic hero. Miller broke from the norm of traditional characterization when creating the character Willy Lowman, in that the archetypal Tragic hero had to be a descendant of nobility or aristocratic decent, who’s demise affects not just those close to him but a group of people e.g a population, state of notoriety or kingdom. America had never had the Kings and Queens that a traditional tragedy had historically needed, Miller’s intention was to show how the common working class man could be shown to be a tragic hero and an American tragic hero as oppose to a Greek or Shakespearian one. Linda becomes Millers voice in the play â€Å"attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person† (Page 44) showing that in Millers eyes a regular person can and should be seen as a tragic hero. Biff in Death of as salesman must be seen to be the main protagonist due to his ability to see the proverbial holes in the proverbial fabric of not only his, Willys and all the Lowman’s lives but also the holes that people fall through in pursuit of a dream. The dream in this case being Millers idea of the American dream. The idea of the American dream stems from the notion that America is or was the ‘land of opportunity’ a bountiful land of infinite horizons and opportunities waiting to be explored and taken. Miller paints Biff as a character who initially buys into his farther idealistic view that a â€Å"well liked† person will have doors opened for them, in this sense Willy felt that the reputation of a person directly reflected its self in sales figures which translates directly in to wealth which he would use to translate into time spend more time with his family showing that Willy was a good man who’s goal was for the well being of his loved o nes, its just that his dream was wrong, â€Å"all wrong†. This idea of the acquisition of wealth and being well liked (not to suggest that to be well liked should be avoided, but to actively seek it out above all else can bare negative connotations) detracts Willy from the main goal in anyone’s life to be happy and develop a sense of fullness through honest self discovery. Given that at the time of Millers play the idea of the American dream was tarnished only by a few American writers of that the time and was still a prevalent driving force in American society a relatively young society, Miller Gives the reader the sense that this dream or the pursuit of it is not the only dream or even the right dream for all people. In the United States Declaration of Independence listed among the ‘unalienable rights’ is written â€Å"We hold these truths to be self–evident, That all men are created equal, That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness†, This extract from the defining piece of American literary history supports Millers character Biff Lowman’s idea of discovering ones self in America as oppose to simply discovering wealth. Willy’s dream was not him, it was not who he was or what he wanted to do. Willies own American dream was lived through the idea of acquisition of wealth and gaining notoriety as oppose to finding his own dream and perusing it. Biff buying into his fathers dream goes to see Oliver with the intention of getting twenty thousand dollars in-order to set up in business with his brother happy however Biff sitting in Oliver’s office realizes that he never has been a sales man nor was it his intention to be one, â€Å"How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there?† (Page 82) it was his fathers dream. Bill Oliver doesn’t recognize Biff and in the frustration of the realization he had lied to himself Biff takes Oliver’s pen. The taking of this pen is symbolic in the sense that Biff has always been overly praised by his farther giving him an over inflated ego, he was never told not to steal and Willy often praised him for it â€Å"Shut up! He’s not stealing anything!† (Page 40) in addition the taking of the pen by Biff at the office of Mr Oliver can also be seen as Biff taking something for himself, something physical, from a life in which he feels he plays no real part, the act of taking the fountain pen, something physical, sees this object become the reparations he seeks from following his farther faulty ideals and beliefs. Towards the end of the play this acceptance of stealing becomes more prevalent when he admits he stole a suit and spent time in prision for the theft. Biff is the only one who voices his opinion that they had been following the wrong dream realizing he was not a leader of men and that he was good, like willy, with his hands and he should be out west being practical bui lding something or working as a farm hand. Willies adoration of Dave Singleman a man he met whilst a traveling salesman is one of a warped view. Singleman becomes a farther figure, role model and source of inspiration for Willy, â€Å"Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four†¦ and be remembered and loved and helped by so many people?† (Page 63). The name Dave Singleman however can be seen to imply Singleman is a ‘single’ man a man who lives out of a suitcase moving from hotel to hotel in solitude and isolation. The characteristics of this interpretation of Singleman Willies role model seem reflect on Willie in his life, adopting the idea of a salesman who is well liked will be a success however once again this is the wrong dream for Willie to be following. At the time Biff catches Willie his farther with another woman he is going to Willie for help, to see if he can speak to his math’s teacher to get him to bump up his mark so that he could graduate and take up his college football scholarship, he goes expecting his farther the â€Å"well liked† salesman with all the charm and charisma in the world to be able to get him out of having to re-sit his exam however he comes to realize Willie is not who he makes himself out to be when he uncovers this deception, â€Å"Biff Don’t touch me you – liar! Willy â€Å"Apologize for that!† Biff â€Å"You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!† from this moment on Biff starts to se Willie for who and what he truly is and most importantly seeing his fathers flaws, this is important because it allows biff later in life to see through the ‘vie en rose’ and deluded image that Willie tries to purvey thus allowing him to start to discover ad pursue hi s own dream. Willie believes he has to be successful for Biff to love him but Biff rather ironically has loved him all along which Willie realizes at the end of the play when Biff breaks down and cries in front of him to which he says â€Å"isn’t that – isn’t that remarkable? Biff – he like me!† (Page 106). This realization however does not detract Willie from his mission to take his own life, shortly after he has another delusion of Ben (the delusion of him being his older and more successful brother although he had not seen his brother since he had left him in thier youth) this shows that Willie has gone too far in his mental degradation when his conversation with Ben even after his realization with Biff spurs him on even more to take his own life. Ben says to Willie that â€Å"the jungle is dark but full of diamonds† (page 106) suggesting that willies death is the dark jungle and that from his death he will receive diamonds, the diamonds in this case being insurance money the family more notably Biff was to receive from his death, money that he would have left to biff to start up a business, once again this shows that Willy still can’t see what Biff was trying to say to him and that he was never going to give up on the pursuit of his dream. Biff up on returning home after he and happy had left Willy in the chop house realises he must be honest with his farther about who he is in order to realise his dreams â€Å"Biff- Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you!, Willy – I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Lowman and you are Biff Lowman!, Biff – I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you.† For Biff it is in renouncing Willy and willies dreams that he becomes free to dictate his own future and it is here that for the first time in his life completely rids himself of the oppressive shackles of willies dreams. This can be interpreted also as the death of Biff as the sales man, the death of his affiliation and obligation to willies ideologies allowing him to be free to start his new life out west, bringing new life withe the death of an old one, the death of a salesman. In conclusion since Biff is the only member of the family to renounce Willys idea of the American dream with the addition of realizing his own dream and what he must do to peruse it, Biff therefor must be seen to be the true hero. It must be added also that the American dream can still apply to Biff’s pursuit only Biff’s pursuit as stated in the American constitution is a pursuit of happiness the happiness Willie never managed to gain for himself or his family by following his own American dream.

Alleviating Urban Blight

Alleviating Urban Blight Mariah Beatty-Adams Kent School of Social Work University of Louisville Urban Blight in Louisville Louisville is known for internationally for the annual derby, that the upper-class and wealthy attend as a group for recreation, and entertainment. It is a time that economically, that the city is in its element. Millions of dollars are spent on derby paraphernalia, horse paraphernalia and alcohol for the masses. The city is becomes a city that never sleeps. Patrons of the derby are attracted to the large three malls, the hustle and vibrancy of the â€Å"hipster† mini- town of Bardstown Rd. and are seen at all the touristic options throughout town; especially those that are directly related to our city’s most prized possession, Muhammad Ali. Although patrons are excited to learn about Muhammad’s hometown, no one frequents past 9th street, an area that is infamously known for crime, and drugs. West Louisville is an area of the city that is kn own for not only crime that is birth from the area, but also falling victim to urban blight, similar to other urban and inner city areas of large cities nationally and globally.According to the US Census, out of more than 5000 properties in the five neighborhoods that make up West Louisville, 22. 1% of the homes are vacant or abandoned. An area that used to thrive with African American businesses, and industrial powerhouses that were less than environmentally friendly, has fell victim to the counter- productive action of urban renewal. There are only a slew of fast food restaurants, and an even larger number of liquor stores; unfortunately leading to the area become a food desert.An area where residents cannot acquire the ideal nutrients that are set by the FDA that every person should digest to remain healthy and active. However minorities are often limited to processed package foods, due to their only being one grocery store in the area. The only businesses there are seen in the a rea are barbershops, beauty salons, payday loan businesses, and a handful of makeshift retail stores. Leaving several residents without means for an income, becoming even more impoverished. Out of the 61,251 people inhabiting West Louisville, on average 13. 4% are unemployed.This doesn’t take account the several workers who are underemployed, struggling to make ends meet in an area that is not known for upward mobility. A change must be brought to the area that does not have a negative impact on the inhabitants, but a solution that will bring in a sense of promise and change the lives of the people who live in the constant fear that their local government has truly forgot about. In the year of 1957, Louisville constituents voted on a $5 million urban renewal project. Urban renewal refers to the public efforts to bring life into the aging and decaying inner cities across that nation.The term was heavily used and introduced to cities following World War II. Unfortunately the pa th to urban renewal is too destroy what is deemed destructive. Several businesses and public housing homes were tore down leaving the inhabitants to fend for themselves and business owners on the streets with their dreams in stride. Instead of working with already strong foundations and beautiful architecture, these pieces of history were demolished, destroying the sense of community with the debris caused by destruction.Thrown up in the place of these businesses and homes, were new pieces of architecture, still leaving the cause of West Louisville’s blight unharmed. Ethical Analysis and Ideologies of Current Solution Urban renewal in Louisville embraces the private good over the well-being of the public. Similar to the theory presented in the analysis titled The Economics and Ethics of Private Property by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, where he goes even far as to describe in great detail the fallacies of the public good.Results of the destruction caused by urban renewal have shadows o f the historical ideologies that our nation’s closed mind, white superiority foundation. Ideologies such as Individualism, Independence and the Protestant Work Ethic. Where the results have left the residents of the community on their own(individualism) The protestant work ethic is founded on the vision of wealth. â€Å"Hard work and wealth are signs of personal and moral worth† unfortunately minorities the west end work hard and have no wealth, nor anything to show for their work efforts. Those who are poor are considered as not having a proper or sufficient work ethic and are often considered inferior†. (Enoch,2012) When constituents are living in poverty and are feeling forgotten, you have not worried about those who are affected, or an ends to a mean. Nor did the urban renewal ordinance use funds to access the source of urban blight or the lack of income in the community. Unemployment and lack of economy of the area are the crooks behind the hundreds of desol ate and abandoned homes all over the West end.Non- profit organizations, such as the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, struggle to combat urban decay; yet have not found viable and visual solutions to the social issue. Proposed Solution To combat the social issue of urban decay, we must educate the residents of the area, many residents who are unhappy with their environment; yet have not been given the voice to help create and foster change in their own community. For change to be truly progressive, the need for change must be truly felt by those who are affected.Education is a key source of change. We must hear and allow residents to speak up on the changes that they want to be seen, the problem with social issues are that the activists are often times people who are not living in the environment that they work to change. We have no idea what changes are truly needed from residents, and they may be unaware that the changes that they need to live are in fact available or tangible. Wit h a united need for change, activists and groups such as MHC, need to work with residents to establish a sense of community.Areas throughout the west end and their inhabitants are often portrayed in the news and media as enemies, several people who grew up in neighboring areas are seen slain, both victims of death and self-hate. If we are working for the same change, how would that be tangible without a sense of unity? To establish education and also a sense of community, there needs to be monthly West End hall meetings, where Advisory boards from each of the five neighborhoods in West Louisville speak amongst each other and activists on the changes that need to be seen and together produce a set of actions to complete the changes needed.Also establish classes in simple do-it- yourself projects that could be done in abandoned homes to rebuild them together, and also throw park clean up parties to get rid of the trash and debris that are in the park and renovate parks that are deemed desolate. To get youth involved establish youth advisory boards, similar to Pact in Action, to speak on the changes they would see and provide the youth with the resources and voice needed for their educational career and changes. To nd the downward mobility that has only been available to several of the residents. Also coordinate neighborhood block parties and barbeques so it can be a sense of community that could not only be felt but seen by residents. To reestablish a flow of economy in the neighborhoods, and reduce the money going to fast food restaurants and liquor stores; have communities and neighborhoods raise money to purchase abandoned pieces of land that are full of garbage and debris, and turn them into a community garden.It would slowly but surely put an end to the food desert that the West has grown to be and reestablish healthy habits within the community. Every weekend there could be an organized farmer market between the neighborhoods where residents could sell the food they hand grew, and supplement a form of income in the several homes that are in need. Possibly establishing a shopping district, similar to the ones that were owned by African Americans in the 50’s and 60’s, to give residents a steady means of income.Instead of selling and advertising areas such as downtown, and east Louisville as business gems, sell west Louisville to possible business prospects by stating the cheap rent rates and the vast number of available lots and homes that can be â€Å"flipped†, instead of spending a fortune on new buildings and offices. Establish a working relationship with business prospects and the community to introduce prospective employees. Working relationships should be facilitated by the Council for a compassionate city, the mayor’s office, and also the governor’s office.The governor could benefit by acquiring skills and knowledge to produce the same action plans in cities in the state that are also victims o f white flight and urban blight. To efficiently reduce and hopefully alleviate the social issue. Several people who have lived in the city of Louisville have not ventured past 9th street. I believe it is due to the 7th street connector and 9th street connector or â€Å"Great Wall of Louisville† as I affectionately refer to it. Which is constructed I’m sure was constructed at a time where city ordinances were processed to segregate African Americans from white neighborhoods and areas.As a suggestion from Louisville Mag, this construction needs to be demolished similar to the homes and businesses of the impoverished to allow the West End community and the other areas to not only allow economic growth but a sense of community that can lead to resources in the renovation of west Louisville. However in its opposite it is proposed that there is a connection from the water front and connectors from the west end. Possibly leading to shopping districts to the west end. Also pro vide access with two lane roads and to businesses. Ethical Analysis of Proposed Solution/ TheoryThese actions adopt both deontological theories and Rawlsian liberalism. Deontological theories believe that you do not harm individuals especially minorities; and is about moral obligations. Meaning it is based on the community as a whole and will not allow an individual to fall underneath the economical cracks. According to Rawlsian Liberalism, each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others. (the Liberty Principle) Meaning every person should have the right to healthy food, and the basic necessities for living.Families in the area currently have a high rate of unemployment, and can’t acquire the things they need on the lack of income, or no income they have. With these plans the conditions of both will improve, may not be the first day but one day. Work Cited 1. moss, J. (2013, march 13). West of ninth. Louis ville Magazine, Retrieved from http://loumag. epubxp. com/i/111400/30 2. Stemle, C. (2013, march 13) So close, but so far. Louisville Magazine, retrieved from http://loumag. epubxp. com 3. Jimenez, J. (2011). Social policy and social change. Long Beach: Sage publications.

Government Involvement in the American Economy

Government Involvement in the American Economy As Christopher Conte and Albert R. Karr have noted in  their book,Outline of the U.S. Economy,  the level of government involvement in the American economy has been anything but static. From the 1800s to today, government programs and other interventions in the private sector have changed depending on the political and economic attitudes of the time. Gradually, the governments totally hands-off approach evolved into closer ties between the two entities.   Laissez-Faire to Government Regulation In the early years of American history, most political leaders were reluctant to involve the federal government too heavily in the private sector, except in the area of transportation. In general, they accepted the concept of laissez-faire, a doctrine opposing government interference in the economy except to maintain law and order. This attitude started to change during the latter part of the 19th-century, when small business, farm and labor movements began asking the government to intercede on their behalf. By the turn of the century, a middle class had developed that was leery of both the business elite and the somewhat radical political movements of farmers and laborers in the Midwest and West. Known as Progressives, these people favored government regulation of business practices to ensure competition and free enterprise. They also fought corruption in the public sector. Progressive Years Congress enacted a law regulating railroads in 1887 (the Interstate Commerce Act), and one preventing large firms from controlling a single industry in 1890 (the Sherman Antitrust Act). These laws were not rigorously enforced, however, until the years between 1900 and 1920. These years were when Republican President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), Democratic President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) and others sympathetic to the views of the Progressives came to power. Many of todays U.S. regulatory agencies were created during these years, including the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission. New Deal and Its Lasting Impact Government involvement in the economy increased most significantly during the New Deal of the 1930s. The 1929 stock market crash had initiated the most serious economic dislocation in the nations history, the Great Depression (1929-1940). President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) launched the New Deal to alleviate the emergency. Many of the most important laws and institutions that define Americans modern economy can be traced to the New Deal era. New Deal legislation extended federal authority in banking, agriculture and public welfare. It established minimum standards for wages and hours on the job, and it served as a catalyst for the expansion of labor unions in such industries as steel, automobiles, and rubber. Programs and agencies that today seem indispensable to the operation of the countrys modern economy were created: the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the stock market; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which guarantees bank deposits; and, perhaps most notably, the Social Security system, which provides pensions to the elderly based on contributions they made when they were part of the workforce. During World War II New Deal leaders flirted with the idea of building closer ties between business and government, but some of these efforts did not survive past World War II. The National Industrial Recovery Act, a short-lived New Deal program, sought to encourage business leaders and workers, with government supervision, to resolve conflicts and thereby increase productivity and efficiency. While America never took the turn to fascism that similar business-labor-government arrangements did in Germany and Italy, the New Deal initiatives did point to a new sharing of power among these three key economic players. This confluence of power grew even more during the war, as the U.S. government intervened extensively in the economy. The War Production Board coordinated the nations productive capabilities so that military priorities would be met. Converted consumer-products plants filled many military orders. Automakers built tanks and aircraft, for example, making the United States the arsenal of democracy. In an effort to prevent rising national income and scarce consumer products from causing inflation, the newly created Office of Price Administration controlled rents on some dwellings, rationed consumer items ranging from sugar to gasoline and otherwise tried to restrain price increases.

World Risk Society Essay Example

World Risk Society Essay Example World Risk Society Essay World Risk Society Essay Furthermore they argue that the conditions leading to the emergence of a mathematical theory of probability were dependent on a combination of the Marxist theories concerning changes in the economic means of production as well as Mertons theory concerning the link between religion, the Protestant reformation, and scientific developments; and to relatively recent theories which link the emergence of modern science to a complex chain of scientific, technological, political, economic, religious, institutional and ideological changes (no date:522). Today, notions of risk and probability are complex and incorporate the concepts of risk analysis and management. Lupton illustrates Castels view that the obsession with the prevention of risk in modernity is built upon a grandiose technocratic rationalizing dream of absolute control of the accidental, understood as the irruption of the unpredictable (Castel cited in Lupton, 1999:7). She infers that modern representations of risk are in fact very similar to early forms although today we fear being the victim of a crime, falling prey to cancer, being in a car accident, losing our jobs, having our marriage break down or our children fail at school (1999:3) rather than pre-modern concerns of hunger, epidemic disease and war. For Covello and Mumpower, modern risk analysis has its twin roots in mathematical theories of probability and in scientific methods for identifying causal links between adverse health effects and different types of hazardous activities (no date:523). However, what makes it unique to modern day is its sophistication. They depict that most current ideas about societal risk management are rooted in four basic strategies or mechanisms of control: insurance, common law, government intervention and private sector self-regulation. Beck conveys how modern risks have acquired a fluidity in that they can be changed, magnified, dramatized or minimized within knowledge, and to that extent they are particularly open to social definition and construction (Beck cited in Adams, 1995:181). From the above exploration of events, set in chronological order, it is clear that the emergence of notions of risk and probability cannot be restricted to one particular form or any one period of time. The process was slow and spanned out over thousands of years before reaching the level of sophistication and complexity that we are familiar with today. This essay has attempted to show that the story of risk, in its crudest form, began as early as the human race itself, in the form of the ideology that all life is subject to the risk of death. With this as a starting point, a number of ancient societies, cultures, and individuals, each in very specific ways, propelled the development of risk and probability forward. It is also argued that it was a complex combination of changing cultural beliefs and mathematical experimentation and mastery that, together, allowed risk and probability theory to begin to mushroom during the later part of the Renaissance movement. Firstly, the ancient societies that settled in the Tigris-Euphrates valley were aware of the significance of risk in the context of their expanding appetite and capability for trade and travel. They were yet unaware however of any mathematical notions of probability and cultural belief led them instead to look to signs of the Gods to determine the future. Later, within the realm of ancient Greece, probability theory began to be developed subsequent to the Greeks love of gambling. At this stage however, the limitations of the Greek numbering systems seemed to hinder any further development. Probability theory was not yet being expressed quantitatively and any knowledge of probability theory still failed to be applied to notions of risk, which were still attributed to the supernatural and the will of the gods. This ideology only began to dissipate with the increasing popularity of Christianity which allowed people to feel as if they have some sense of control over their world. The subsequent collision of the Christians with an Arab group brought about the combination of the Christians faith in the future and the Arabs knowledge of the Hindu numbering system that had been developing parallel to that of the Greeks. This was a fundamental breakthrough. Yet it was not until the Renaissance, and the development of applied quantitative probability in risk through the form of business processes such as commercial bookkeeping, that risk and probability theory was able to flourish. Throughout history then it is clear to see that trade, travel and insurance have played a large part in the development of theories of risk and probability. Although their discovery cannot be traced to a particular form, it is the juncture at which mathematical ability, cultural belief and economic drive meet, during the Renaissance, that modern notions of risk and probability begin. Bibliography Adams, John (1995) Risk. London: UCL Press Limited Beck, Ulrich (1999) World Risk Society. Cambridge: Polity Press. Beck, Ulrich (1992) Risk Society cited in Adams, John (1995) Risk. London: UCL Press Limited Bernstein, Peter. L. (1998) Against the Gods: The remarkable story of risk. Chichester: Jon Wiley and Sons, Inc. Castel, R (1991) From Dangerousness to Risk cited in Lupton, Deborah (1999) Risk. London Routledge Covello, Vincent and Mumpower, Jeryl (no date) Risk Analysis and Risk Management: A Historical Perspective in Covello Menkes and Mumpower Risk Evaluation and Management. New York: Plenum Press

Mothers Day Quotes From Daughters

Mothers Day Quotes From Daughters They may not know it, but young daughters often emulate their mothers. Deep in her heart, every girl is like her mother. A mother understands this well. So she tries to protect her daughter from the setbacks that she faced in her youth. Some mothers are known to be very tough on their daughters. I have seen this myself. When I asked a few moms, why they tighten the reins for daughters, the common reply is, I have to prepare her for the world to face the hard knocks of life. I have often wondered if this approach is correct. But I cannot deny that beneath the strict facade, there is a mother who loves her daughter. This is why a mother is a daughters best friend. Here are Mothers Day quotes from daughters who have achieved great success. Kate Beckinsale My daughter comes with me everywhere. I don’t leave her behind. But it is hard. I mean, I think any working mother will tell you that what kind of falls by the wayside, you know, are the hours of sleep that you wish you had, and all that. I feel incredibly lucky and blessed, but I do sometimes feel like that exorcist lady! Ann Taylor Who ran to help me when I fell, / Or kissed the place to make it well? My mother. Sarah Josepha Hale No influence is so powerful as that of the mother. Katherine Butler Hathaway Mother is the one we count on for the things that matter most of all. Lisa Alther Any mother could perform the jobs of several air-traffic controllers with ease. Beverly Jones Now, as always, the most automated appliance in a household is the mother. Carrie Latet My mom is literally a part of me. You cant say that about many people except relatives, and organ donors. Dorothy Canfield A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary. Helen Rowland It takes a woman twenty years to make a man of her son, and another woman twenty minutes to make a fool of him. Maya Angelou To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Barbara Kingsolver The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.

Mathematical Formula in Material Cost Accounting and Control Essay

Mathematical Formula in Material Cost Accounting and Control - Essay Example Also, overstocking requires more storage space which, in turn, means an increase in insurance expenses, storage costs and deterioration in quality and depreciation in quantity. On the other hand, if materials are understocked, frequent orders have to be placed in small quantities and there is a chance of "stock outs" also. Hence, the tack of the manager is to find the most economic order which s very essential for cost management and control. The cost of carrying the inventory and the ordering cost is inversely proportional to each other. The costs of placing the order decreases as the size of the order increases, because with the bigger size of the order, the number of the orders will be lower. However, simultaneously the costs of carrying the inventory will go up because the purchases have been made in large quantities. It may be possible to have appointed which provides the lowest total cost and the point, which is the ideal size of the order is known as the Economic Order Quantity(EOQ). The EOQ is one where the cost of carrying inventory is equal or almost equal to the cost of not carrying inventory (cost of placing the order), i.e., at EOQ level, the total of inventory carrying cost and the ordering cost is minimum which can be determined mathematically s follows: The EOQ is 600 units, i.e., 10 orders per year are needed.

Corporate governance in Poland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Corporate governance in Poland - Essay Example lf-regulation in the global business markets has resulted in the establishment and standardisation of corporate governance policies and codes (Maassen, Bosch and Volberda, 2004). This paper will explore the concept of corporate governance in Poland drawing from the privatisation movement of the 1990s, which resulted in massive changes in the corporate structure and organization, thereby prompting the practice of corporate governance in the country. In the business context, the concept of corporate governance refers to the system through which management teams direct and control their organisations in pursuit of the organizational goals and objectives (Rossouw, 2008). Organisations have a set of goals and objectives, which they pursue following premeditated strategies, with the intention of maximizing outcomes; in that respect, governance provides the fundamental framework that organisations follow in setting up objectives and achieving them (Pucko, 2005). In other words, corporate governance is the mechanism through which the management is able to monitor the actions, policies, and decisions of corporations while ensuring that the partisan interests among the different organizational stakeholders are properly aligned for effective operations (Witherell, 2000). Corporate governance has emerged to be a crucial aspect of the corporate world today (Rossouw, 2009), following the global demand for accountability in corporations, whi ch has been prompted by the succession of numerous cases of malpractices in global corporations (Todorovic & Todorovic, 2012). Generally, corporate governance is a very fundamental concept in the corporate management practice especially in today’s highly dynamic and complex global business environment that requires formal organizational structures for operational effectiveness (Sreejesh, 2012). Corporate governance in Poland was introduced in the 1990s following the privatization of numerous State Owned Enterprises through the issuance of

The Importance of Recruitment and Selection in Public Sector Business Essay

The Importance of Recruitment and Selection in Public Sector Business - Essay Example 2. Recruitment and Selection are two different but related terminologies. This project shall therefore be an opportunity of identifying the difference that exists between these two terms and how each of them contributes to the success of the organization. 3. Through this project, the research shall seek to look into the difference between processes and merits of recruitment private sector and public businesses though the public sector shall be made the experimental sample. 4. Within the public sector business, the researcher shall scrutinize various reasons why human resource managers undertake recruitment and selection on regular basis. 5. Clearly, the various merits or importance of recruitment and selection cannot be realized if certain factors are not adhered to. Through this project therefore, the researcher shall find out the various factors that human resource managers within the public sector business setup must stick to in order to ensure that they benefit from the importanc e of recruitment and selection. 6. ... LITERATURE REVIEW Having noted that human resource personnel in the public sector have always been involved in recruitment and placement, one is left with not more than to ask of the importance of recruitment and placement in the public sector that human resource personnel cannot seem to stop the practice. There indeed exists a number of importance of undertaking recruitment and placement. Five major reasons, merits or importance behind recruitment and selection in the public sector have been discussed below. Satisfies Legal and Social Obligations of Organizations The first importance of undertaking recruitment and selection in the public sector is that it is a process that goes a long way to satisfy the legal and social obligations of institutions. International and various labor laws provide that public institutions make their placement processes very fair and open. For that matter, placement must be done only after certain stipulated guidelines have been fulfilled (Gilmore and Wil liam, 2009). In labor provisions, undertaking recruitment and selection is the legally mandated means to get employees to occupy vacancies. By undertaking recruitment and selection therefore, public organizations are getting themselves out of legal entanglements and fulfilling their social obligations of making the lives of deserving skilled and unskilled personnel better (Thompson and McHugh, 2009). Previously, activities of public sector managers regarding placement was not seen as a social task but strictly business and corporative. Today, it has come to be accepted that there could not be any better way for public institutions to be socially responsible to the people than employing as many deserving people as possible (Arnold, J. et al 2005). This is because research has

Foster Children That Received Improved Relationship From Foster Essay

Foster Children That Received Improved Relationship From Foster Parents Can Develop Secure Attachment - Essay Example This is due to the lack of time for working parents, specifically mothers, to nurse for their children. Likewise, growing costs of home care also allowed for professional foster caregivers a better option. It is therefore necessary to find out and seek best environments for children needing foster care but this cannot be established without extensive research and findings. Dozier et al (2001) suggested that babies in foster care "organize their attachment behavior around the availability of their new caregivers" although acknowledged that it is possible that previous experiences lessen the babies' chances of forming trusting relationships with new caregivers. This study will specifically find out if foster children that received improved or high quality relationship from the foster parents can develop secure attachment. It will answer the question will foster children that received high quality or improved relationship from the foster parents can develop secure attachment Since there are several acknowledged factors that suggest attachment behaviors are organized around the availability of caregivers (Dozier et al, 2001), this study proposes that foster children that received improved or high quality... It will try to establish definitive structure of a "quality relationship" and "secure attachment" and how these could be developed in a foster care setting. Likewise, it will also distinguish foster parental from professional foster care in relation to caring foster children in the process. This study will be relevant as a guide for future and present caregivers, whether foster parents or professional care providers for children from infanthood to pre-school or even schooling children. Dozier et al (2001) suggested that it is necessary to establish attachment quality "because it reflects the quality of the (children's) relationship with the caregiver and [] it is associated with the child's later interpersonal functioning." Likewise, the three aspects: internalizing behavior, externalizing behavior and trouble with peers shall also be considered in this research as these are qualitative factors that define the aim of this study. Background of the Study: Marcus (1991) established that children are "placed in foster care when any local Department of Social Services and the courts have determined that current parental care for those children has fallen below acceptable community standards and the child is at risk to be harmed." While Ericksona and Egeland (1987) proposed that "foster care may be haven from further neglect or abuse," it is possible that child may bring to this arrangement the sequel of maltreatment, including feelings of rejection, lowered self-esteem, mistrust and resentment. Marcus (1991) provided for basis of quality care in the form of social supports, perception of affection from adults, and the quality of

Marketing management MMP 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing management MMP 2 - Essay Example The projected sales of the company for the year 2008 is followed by the objectives for the year and marketing strategy, the means to achieve the projected sales and bottom line numbers. Magic Carpets Inc is a 15-year-old company specializing in the carpet cleaning and is among the top four carpet-cleaning companies based in California. The company decides to get proactive in handling the growing competition in the field especially from the large players in the janitorial services who have a pan American presence and a few multi nationals who are planning to venture into the market in a big way. Magic Carpet believes that it is high time it consolidates is business, capitalizes on its strengths and makes a few smart moves to increase market share and wallet share. The entire approach of Magic Carpet is built around establishing the brand, building loyalty, making differential pricing strategies, acquiring new markets, building new channels of business, nurturing business partners and coming out with innovative service offerings to build value to its services. The action plans are worked out in accordance to the 4P framework – Product, Pricing, Place and Promotion. (Kotler Philip, 2004, Marketing Management) The 4P’s are applied across two broad market segments – existing markets and new markets. The following are the major action plans made to achieve the business objectives of ’08: For Magic Carpets, the elaborate business plans made for 2008 necessitated elaborate controls. With different process owners involved at various stages of execution of the action plans, there was a definite need to build adequate checks and balances at every stage of the plans to ensure successful completion to derive the necessary results. It is not important for Magic Carpets to achieve the results only. The means by which the result is achieved is equally important. Hence, process adherence is of paramount importance to successful

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Dance at Bougival Essay

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Dance at Bougival - Essay Example The essay "Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Dance at Bougival" analyzes Pierre-Auguste Renoir's painting called Dance at Bougival. The â€Å"Dance at Bougivel† painting has two emotions in it, perplexed by the use of different colors and the impressions on the faces of characters present on it. There is a gentleman in a classic-blue old suit and a yellow hat that is holding a lady and they seem to dancing to the tune of a classic song. The man is faces her lady in a romantic way trying to create an impression on her while she does not face him directly. It created a kind of romanticism that is not different from what we know today; the extent a person goes to create an impression to his lover, but she is reluctant to reciprocate her feelings to him until she is sure that she is â€Å"safe†. The two lovers are clad in a manner that suggests that this dance was a special moment for them, a date. One may wonder what was in the mind of Paul Durand-Ruel when he finished this piece of art. Literature reveals that Ruel paid attention to impressionism. He dedicated his art to creating paints which portrayed passion and which, has influenced the modern way of life. During the year 1883, Ruel is said that he used his work to illuminate the experiences he had encountered in romance. His passion for art began when he inherited art gallery that was founded by his parents. Paul Durand-Ruel was born 1831 and died in 1922. Paul developed an interest in painting and he invested in promoting the work of the young artists.

Marketing management MMP 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing management MMP 2 - Essay Example The projected sales of the company for the year 2008 is followed by the objectives for the year and marketing strategy, the means to achieve the projected sales and bottom line numbers. Magic Carpets Inc is a 15-year-old company specializing in the carpet cleaning and is among the top four carpet-cleaning companies based in California. The company decides to get proactive in handling the growing competition in the field especially from the large players in the janitorial services who have a pan American presence and a few multi nationals who are planning to venture into the market in a big way. Magic Carpet believes that it is high time it consolidates is business, capitalizes on its strengths and makes a few smart moves to increase market share and wallet share. The entire approach of Magic Carpet is built around establishing the brand, building loyalty, making differential pricing strategies, acquiring new markets, building new channels of business, nurturing business partners and coming out with innovative service offerings to build value to its services. The action plans are worked out in accordance to the 4P framework – Product, Pricing, Place and Promotion. (Kotler Philip, 2004, Marketing Management) The 4P’s are applied across two broad market segments – existing markets and new markets. The following are the major action plans made to achieve the business objectives of ’08: For Magic Carpets, the elaborate business plans made for 2008 necessitated elaborate controls. With different process owners involved at various stages of execution of the action plans, there was a definite need to build adequate checks and balances at every stage of the plans to ensure successful completion to derive the necessary results. It is not important for Magic Carpets to achieve the results only. The means by which the result is achieved is equally important. Hence, process adherence is of paramount importance to successful

Antigone and Euthyphro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antigone and Euthyphro - Essay Example The nature of piety was altercated in ancient literature through the characters of Antigone and Euthyphro. Antigone and Euthyphro’s individual’s beliefs and perception of how rules must be taken were the forces that influenced them to choosing decisions that shaped their recognition about the nature of piety. The life story of Antigone indeed began with a tragedy, which had provoked her to make a decision that changed the course of her life, or perhaps, has become the instrument to ending her life through unjust means. Antigone was trapped in a situation, where she had to choose between what is right based on her conscience, and on what is right based on the legal code of Thebes. Apparently, conflicts were brought by the opposing view of Antigone and Creon on the type of law that must be sustained, referring to the divine law and the human law. Despite this conflicting belief, Antigone was certain that the human law does not surpass the divine law, when it comes to what is morally right for people. For this reason, she stood by her conviction that religious piety supersedes whatever law is created by people, who claim as rulers or kings in this world. For Antigone, even the punishment of death will not defy her devotion to the divine law. Antigone’s views adhere to the idea that there is more to life than being devoted to an earthly government, whose doctrines do not agree with the authentic nature of piety. That is, decisions in life must not dwell on human laws that dishonor the essence of the divine law -- the laws, which are there to guide people of what is morally right and wrong. By and large, Sophocles’s Antigone encapsulates the weaknesses of an earthly government, where the elected military leaders reap the benefits of them having judicial authority. Antigone is being oppressed by the tyranny of an earthy government that is ruled by a male leader, whose interpretation of justice violates the divine law. Still, in spite of th eir oppression, Antigone was willing to sacrifice her life so that Polyneices may rest in eternal peace. No earthly law hindered here to fulfilling her duty to the corpse of her brother Polyneices. In the end, Antigone may have died, but her pious devotion became the instrument to amending the flaws of the justice system in a city that is oppressed by tyrants. The story of Euthyphro, on the one hand, narrates the experiences of Euthyphro as he pushes for the prosecution of his own father, who had murdered a servant. Similar to Antigone, Euthyphro’s desire to let his father bear the consequences of his actions was a result of him believing that what he was doing was a pious thing. However, the presence of Socrates in this story made the character of Euthyphro confused over the real meaning of piety, for Euthyphro has always believed that making his father liable for killing an individual is the right thing to do, and that his father has committed a wrongdoing, which is impious . Socrates was the key to letting Euthyphro realize that his own beliefs of what is pious do not justify the act of being pious itself. Euthyphro agrees to the nature of piety but he did not fully understand how it may apply in seeking for authentic justice not in the eyes of an earthly court, but in the eyes of the gods. He was adamant to defend not his own father, but the victim, who his own father has killed, and for Euthyphro this is deemed an act of piety. It is an act of piety not because it is

American Airlines and US Airway’s Merger Essay Example for Free

American Airlines and US Airway’s Merger Essay Abstract American Airlines has suffered tremendous profit losses over the last few years. The losses have been so great that the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The news for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was a shock to many, considering the fact that they had enough money to operate and cover their losses through the following year. The merger indeed was great decision on behalf of American Airlines. The merger itself was questionable. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against regarding concerns that it could raise prices for consumers. A settlement was reached and the world largest airline has been formed. American Airlines has been suffering for many years. The company has suffered more losses than profits. Jobs have been cut; benefits have been scaled back, and the pilots of American Airlines are paid a lot lower salaries than their competitors. Many of them have been furloughed. All of these and many other factors have contributed to American deciding to create the world largest airlines with US Airways. In this essay I will discuss the circumstances that resulted in the merger, assess the significant positive (or negative) effects of the merger, and examine the organizational structure that has resulted from the merger. American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in November 2011. According to an interview with Richard Quest of CNN, Thomas Horton the new CEO of American Airlines stated that the company was forced into bankruptcy because of the cost disadvantages it faced compared to it’s competitors that had already gone through a bankruptcy. The news came as a shock to many. The company had enough money  to sustain the losses that it may incur through the next year. Although the company had the money to operate, the company still decided to go through with filing for bankruptcy (Isidore Ellis, 2011). At one time American was the world largest carrier, it had dropped to third in the recent years. The company has reported only one quarter where a profit was made since 2007, and lost 4.8 billion over those three and a half years. The company was projected to continue to suffer losses. Now that the merger has been approved, American will be able to get themselves out of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (Isidore Ellis, 2011). Now that the merger is complete, the new American Airlines has ordered over 600 new aircrafts that are updated and more modern. The new aircrafts will allow them to compete with their competitors. In the past they have lost a great deal of money from their business class travelers due to their lack of the amenities that their competitors carry on their aircrafts (American, US Airways reach merger deal., 2013). The two jo ining airlines will offer over 6,700 daily flights to 336 destinations in 56 countries. The merger will not distress any of the hubs presently served by American Airlines and US Airways. American Airlines has been in bankruptcy for a little over a year, and the merger will be effected pursuant to a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11. The combination of American and US Airways brings together two highly complementary networks with access to the best destinations around the globe and gives us a strong platform to provide our customers the most connected, comfortable travel experience available, Horton said The operational and financial strength of the combined airline is expected to enable continued investment in new products and technologies and will create exciting new opportunities for our people, even as we deliver strong cash flow and sustainable profitability. (American, US Airways reach merger deal., 2013). The merger with Us Airways allowed American Airlines to come out of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. Being able to do so was the first time that a ma jor airline has been able to satisfy a bankruptcy with a return on equity for its shareholders. By deciding to partner with a smaller, but stable US Airways, the company was able to raise the value of the combine stock. Pursuant to the plan of reorganization, so-called double-dip, single-dip, and intercompany claims were settled through a delivery process which distributed the proceeds of America Airlines estate based on the  trading price of the new companys common shares. This quick fix solution lessens the opportunity of appraisal disputes by guaranteeing creditors got a current market value. When it was all said and done, American Airlines creditors, including its unsecured creditors were given payment in full. For the first time in a major airline reformation, shareholders were able to accept a return on their equity. The approved stock exchange merger left American Airlines shareholders with 72% of the new company and the US Airway investors with the lingering 28%.US Airways decided to do what most company who are going through a merger wouldn’t. They negotiated with American Airlines unions before finalizing the merger. This established a foundation of a cooperative negotiating agreement for the new company, so that labor disagreements would not disrupt or lengthen the merger development. Following numerous noteworthy airline merges it was predictable that the formation of one of the worlds largest carriers would raise some anti-trust hurd les. The first curtailed from the US government. The airline seized a proactive tactic, agreeing to surrender some of it apertures at airports around the US, leading to court approval of the merger (Thomas, 2014). Although the two companies have merged and are legally one entity, they have both agreed to operate separately until they can integrate both systems successfully. As with any merger, both sides will suffer losses of their employees. Majority of the top leadership positions will be held by US Airways top executives in the new American Airlines. US Airways CEO Doug Parker will head the merged carrier. Of the top eight executive positions, five of those positions come from the US Airways side. American CEO Tom Horton will be the chairman of the board, and will continue on through until the first meeting of the new board next year. Parker will keep the executives that he is more familiar with. The new leadership team includes US Airways President Scott Kirby and others who have worked alongside Parker for several years (American and US Airways name merged airline leadership, 2013). American Airlines has suffered tremendously over the last few years. Us Airway which is a smaller company, was in a better position financially than American. Although Us Airway was more stable, they didn’t have access to many of the locations that American Airlines did. The merger was a great idea for both. American was able to get out of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier than anticipated. They have switched over from the Star  Alliance and move to One world global alliance. The new company now has over a 100,000 employees worldwide. Nothing but positive results seems to be coming from the merger of the two. In the beginning, the merger was questionable, and the Justice Department along with six other states filed a lawsuit against the company. The reason for the lawsuit is that they were in fear of the creation of the world largest airline raising prices on travelers. The slight raise in ticket sales, fees for flight changes, check bags, would be detrimental to consumers. American Airlines and US Airways were able to settle the suit and bring everyone to ease. In summary, the merger has run smoothly thus so far and according to plan. Currently both companies are operating individually although they are legally identified as one entity. The companies are working to collaborate their systems together as well. At the point in time, they are honoring each other’s flier miles and plan. Some of them have been eliminated to coincide with the polices of the company. American Airlines decided to merge with Us Airways to regain its place as the world largest airline. The reason for the merger has been negative on American’s side, but will benefit their company in the long run. In my essay, I have attempted to explain In the circumstances that resulted in the merger, assess the significant positive (or negative) effects of the merger, and examine the organizational structure that has resulted from the merger.

Food Supplies: Purchasing, Receipts and Storage

Food Supplies: Purchasing, Receipts and Storage The purchase, receipt and storage of food Choosing a supplier It is essential to purchase food from approved suppliers who have demonstrated a commitment to high standards of food hygiene Controls to minimize hazards from supplies/suppliers Select the least hazardous materials/ingredients e.g. pasteurized egg and ready-prepared vegetables. Specify the standard and quality of product required including the delivery temperature. Branded products usually preferable. Delivery and unloading of food The main hazards associated with deliveries are contaminated food and the multiplication of bacteria as a result of prolonged delays after unloading and before refrigeration. Unsatisfactory delivery vehicles or drivers or drivers may indicate unsatisfactory deliveries. High-risk food should be delivered below 5?, frozen food at-18?. Controls All food should be inspected before placing in storage. Deliveries should be checked for freshness, temperature, colour, odour, contamination, infestations and satisfactory packaging and labeling. Contaminated food from unapproved sources, perishable food above 8?, frozen food above -15?, food with evidence of pest activity and food which is not covered or in damaged packaging or which is out of date is suspect and may need to be rejected. The supervisor and the supplier should usually be notified. As far as practicable, external packaging should not be brought into food preparation areas. A separate deboxing area is recommended. Unloading should be completed as quickly as possible. Staff should be trained to deal with deliveries effectively and to prevent contamination occurring. Records of deliveries should be retained to enable traceability in the event or food poisoning or a food complaint. Safe food storage Correct storage is fundamental to the hygienic operation of any food business. Failure to ensure satisfactory in the event of food poisoning or a food complaint. Safe food storage Correct storage is fundamental to the hygienic operation of any food business. Failure to enable satisfactory storage conditions will result in hazards (contamination and multiplication of bacteria), mould, spoilt food, discoloration, staleness and pest infestation. Dry food stores Rooms used for storage of cereals, dried and canned foods should be suitable for this purpose, vermin-proof and kept clean and tidy. Hazards encountered include soiled delivery trays, pest infestations, damaged and leaking cartons, out-of-date stock, soil from root vegetables and chemical contamination. Controls Keep stores dry, cool, well lit and well ventilated. Effective pest control measures, storage of food at least 15cm above the floor and stock rotation systems are essential. Care with deboxing/opening sacks will avoid foreign body contamination. Food should be stored away from the walls and pipes affected by condensation and on suitable shelves such as tubular stainless steel racks, or in mobile rodent-proof bins. Spillages should be cleared away promptly. If possible, fruit and vegetables should be stored separately from other food. Fruit should be examined regularly as mould spreads rapidly. Vegetables heavily contaminated with soil should be stored below, for example, fruit or lettuce on the vegetable rack. Potatoes should be stored in the dark to prevent sprouting or turning green. A separate store should be used for storing cleaning chemicals. Blown, badly dented, seam-damaged, holed or rusty cans should be rejected. Staff should be trained to store food correctly, to remove spi llages, how to rotate stock and to recognize signs of pests and unfit food. Chilled storage High-risk and perishable foods should be stored under refrigeration to prevent most pathogenic bacteria bacteria from multiplying and to slow down the rate of spoilage. Refrigerators and freezers should be sited in well-ventilated areas away from heat sources, such as oven and the rays of the sun. Operating temperatures and monitoring Refrigerators usually operate between 1? to 4?. The display temperature should be checked every time the fridge is used. It should be recorded at least twice a day. The actual food temperature should be recorded at least weekly and whenever the display temperature is unsatisfactory. temporary rises in display temperatures will occur if doors are left open or a large quantity of food at room temperature are loaded into the fridge, for example, bottles of soft drinks or lemonade. Temperatures should return to normal very quickly and food temperatures must not rise above 8?. Contamination and covering of food Raw food must always be kept apart from high-risk food to prevent contamination of high-risk food with food poisoning bacteria. Separate refrigerators are preferred, although, if in the same unit, the raw food must always be placed at the bottom to avoid contamination. Food should be covered to prevent drying out, cross-contamination and absorption of odour. Care should be take to protect foods such as lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers from dripping blood. Packing and stock rotation refrigerators must not be overloaded, and food should never be left between products for air circulation. Only perishable foods should be stored in the refrigerator. This includes vacuum packs and pasteurized cans of meat. Stock rotation is essential to avoid spoilage. New stock should be placed behind existing stock to facilitate stock rotation. Open cans of food Opened and part-used cans of food, especially acid food such as fruit, fruit juice or tomatoes, must not be left in the can as this may result in chemical contamination. The unused contents should be emptied into a suitable container, such as a plastic bowl, covered and placed in the refrigerator. Defrosting and cleaning Defrosting and cleaning should be carried out in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. Most units defrost automatically and should be cleaned and disinfected at least weekly. Bicarbonate of soda (one tablespoon to 4.5 litres of water) may be used, but perfumed cleaning agents must not. Food should be placed in another refrigerator whilst the cleaning is being carried out. Staff training All food handlers must receive instruction on the correct use of the refrigerator especially in relation to contamination and temperature control. They should be told not to keep the door open for longer than necessary. Corrective action If the fridge temperature remains too high this may be a result of overloading, e.g. completely blocking a shelf or because the thermostat is too high. Inform your supervisor immediately. If the problem cant be solved, an engineer should be brought in. Food should be placed in an alternative fridge, unless it has been above 8? for more than 4hours, when it should be destroyed. Freezers and frozen food Commercial freezers should operate at -18? or slightly below. At this temperature food will keep for a reasonable time with no bacterial growth. However, spores and dormant

Elimination of Corruption in the WA (Western Australia) Police Force E

WA (Western Australia) Police Force began their chapter in history of Australian Policing in 1829 when few constables were appointed to patrol Perth and Fremantle. The first woman police officer was appointed in 1917 for some specialised services until they were fully incorporated in 1970s (WA Police, 2011). Today WA Police mans 2.5 million square kilometres which is the largest single jurisdiction (WA Police, 2011). Currently WA Police force is under a lot of scrutiny due to numerous corruption charges against the police officers. The public has a negative perception of police force and they no longer feel secure, neither do they trust the police force to keep them safe. Issue – Corruption Probable Causes of Corruption – Different things motivate different people. Some can motivate people to perform beyond expectations and some can lead astray from moral and ethical values. When dealing with corruption, first question to ask or to clarify is what corruption is. NSW Research (2002) describes corruption anything from gaining materialistically by virtue of position (for eg. getting a special discount at stores) to engaging in ‘direct criminal activities’ (eg. selling drugs). Newburn (1999) believes that there is a thin line between the definition of ‘corrupt’ and ‘non-corrupt’ activities as at the end, it is an ethical problem. For common people, however, bribery generalises corruption. Different researches and enquiry commissions have come up with different reasons as to why corruption prevails in the police force. We will look at some of the most probable causes which apply to WA Police. Decision Making – Police officers have considerable decision making powers at their own discretion. This is true for low ranki... ...at WA Police will try to achieve. Consolidate Improvements – After a while it may seem that the change is successful, but it doesn’t takes long for the old methods to creep in. Therefore, although we should celebrate success, there cannot be slackness in the change process. New ways of evaluation and monitoring should be carried out to check the credibility of the success. Every effort should be made to find any chink in the new armour of cultural change and to repair it. Institutionalize Change in Organisational Culture – One important question is when does the process end. The successful culmination of change process is when the objectives of that process become a part of the daily organisational culture. When the next generation of management takes over, the objectives should be a part of the whole organisation and not just a single process or department. Elimination of Corruption in the WA (Western Australia) Police Force E WA (Western Australia) Police Force began their chapter in history of Australian Policing in 1829 when few constables were appointed to patrol Perth and Fremantle. The first woman police officer was appointed in 1917 for some specialised services until they were fully incorporated in 1970s (WA Police, 2011). Today WA Police mans 2.5 million square kilometres which is the largest single jurisdiction (WA Police, 2011). Currently WA Police force is under a lot of scrutiny due to numerous corruption charges against the police officers. The public has a negative perception of police force and they no longer feel secure, neither do they trust the police force to keep them safe. Issue – Corruption Probable Causes of Corruption – Different things motivate different people. Some can motivate people to perform beyond expectations and some can lead astray from moral and ethical values. When dealing with corruption, first question to ask or to clarify is what corruption is. NSW Research (2002) describes corruption anything from gaining materialistically by virtue of position (for eg. getting a special discount at stores) to engaging in ‘direct criminal activities’ (eg. selling drugs). Newburn (1999) believes that there is a thin line between the definition of ‘corrupt’ and ‘non-corrupt’ activities as at the end, it is an ethical problem. For common people, however, bribery generalises corruption. Different researches and enquiry commissions have come up with different reasons as to why corruption prevails in the police force. We will look at some of the most probable causes which apply to WA Police. Decision Making – Police officers have considerable decision making powers at their own discretion. This is true for low ranki... ...at WA Police will try to achieve. Consolidate Improvements – After a while it may seem that the change is successful, but it doesn’t takes long for the old methods to creep in. Therefore, although we should celebrate success, there cannot be slackness in the change process. New ways of evaluation and monitoring should be carried out to check the credibility of the success. Every effort should be made to find any chink in the new armour of cultural change and to repair it. Institutionalize Change in Organisational Culture – One important question is when does the process end. The successful culmination of change process is when the objectives of that process become a part of the daily organisational culture. When the next generation of management takes over, the objectives should be a part of the whole organisation and not just a single process or department.

Matteo Ricci

The year 1982 was a ‘Ricci-year’: scholarly meetings in different places around the world, from Chicago (US), over Macerata (Italy) to Taibei (Taiwan), commemorated Matteo Ricci’s entry in China. It was exactly four hundred years since his arrival in the Portuguese settlement of Macao in 1582 and his entry into the mainland one year later. In 2001, there were new celebrations of Ricci, in Hong Kong and in Beijing, commemorating his definitive settling in Beijing in 1601. The year 2010 is again a ‘Ricci-year’, this time commemorating his death in Beijing in 1610.Is there anything new to be said about Matteo Ricci after this time-lapse of twenty-seven years, which corresponds to the period of Ricci’s own ascent to and settling in Beijing? Well, his writings have become more accessible to the academic and wider community: for instance, in Chinese there are now readily available editions of his Chinese writings and several translations of his Della entrata della Compagnia di Giesu e Christianita nella Cina (‘About the Christian expedition to China undertaken by the Society of Jesus’) – a strong contrast to the prudent two-page article in Renmin huabao(‘China Pictorial’) of July 1982.But publications not only flourished in Chinese. The Ruggieri-Ricci manuscript of the Portuguese-Chinese dictionary was published for the first time; Ricci’s letters and the Italian version of Della entratawere reprinted (2000-2001)[1]; others works have been translated: the catechism Tianzhu shiyi (‘The True Meaning of God’) into English, Japanese, Korean and Italian; the treatise on friendship Jiaoyoulun into Italian, German, and French; the treatise on mnemotechnics (the art of memory), Xiguo jifa into German.There were numerous secondary sources: at least 200 articles, many of them in Chinese, illuminate various aspects of his life and works. The most well-known work is possibly Jonathan Spe nce’s Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (1984), also translated into Chinese (two translations), French, Spanish and Dutch. [2] All this is very impressive and underscores the fact that Ricci remains an attractive figure both on the academic and the more popular level.Yet a close look at these writings reveals in particular the excellence of research accomplished earlier: the quality of Pasquale d’Elia’s annotated edition of the primary sources (Fonti Ricciane, 3 vols. , 1942-1949)[3] and the analysis of the method of evangelisation by d’Elia’s student Johannes Bettray (Die Akkommodationsmethode des P. Matteo Ricci S. I. in China, 1955)[4] is rarely matched today. Since these writings are in Italian and German respectively, they have unfortunately often been neglected.Compared to these writings, recent publications rarely bring to light new elements about Ricci himself, they rather nuance Ricci’s ‘success story’ by putting his accom plishments and writings in a broader context. For instance, it appears that Ricci was less accommodative than often assumed,[5] and that fellow Jesuits such as Niccolo Longobardo (1565-1655) had a better knowledge of the Chinese Classics and the Neo-Confucian commentaries than Ricci himself. How then to tell Ricci's story in the year 2010?One major development in recent years is the historiography of the contacts between cultures, with a primary question of the perspective from which one needs to look at the missionary: from his own perspective or from the perspective of the receiving culture? Taking benefit from these developments, this article will reread Ricci's story and ask how Ricci was shaped by the other, especially by the Chinese. [6] Four characteristics of Jesuit missionary strategy in China As a starting point one can make a first – rather traditional – reading of Ricci’s life by focusing on the missionary himself.The ‘Jesuit missionary strateg y’ in China was conceived by Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606), who was the former novice master of Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) and who was Jesuit visitor for East Asia during the period 1574-1606. His strategy was creatively put into practice by Matteo Ricci. Later generations, well into the eighteenth century, associated this strategy with Ricci and called it the ‘Ricci-method’. It can be described by four major characteristics[7]: 1. A policy of accommodation or adaptation to Chinese culture. 8] Valignano, who had been disappointed by the limited degree of the Jesuits’ adaptation to Japanese culture, insisted in the first place on knowledge of the Chinese language. Therefore he called a few Jesuits to Macao in 1579 ordering them to focus their attention entirely on the study of language (fellow Jesuits criticised them for spending all their time studying Chinese). Two years later Michele Ruggieri (1543-1607) entered China through the south, and Matteo Ricci followed one year later. Probably inspired by the Japanese situation, they dressed like Buddhist monks. In 1595, after nearly fifteen ears of experience, they changed this policy and adapted themselves to the life-style and etiquette of the Confucian elite of literati and officials. Ricci was responsible for this change. This new policy remained unchanged throughout the whole seventeenth century and for most Jesuit missionaries Matteo Ricci became the reference point with regard to the accommodation policy. 2. Propagation and evangelisation ‘from the top down’. Jesuits addressed themselves to the literate elite. The underlying idea was that if this elite, preferably the Emperor and his court, were converted, the whole country would be won for Christianity.The elite consisted mainly of literati, who had spent many years of their life preparing for the examinations they needed to pass to become officials. For these examinations they had to learn the Confucian classics an d the commentaries. After having passed the Metropolitan examinations, which took place in Beijing every three years and at which about three hundred candidates were selected, they entered the official bureaucracy and received appointments as district magistrates or positions in the ministries.As in modern diplomatic service, the offices usually changed every three years. In order to enter into contact with this elite, Ricci studied the Confucian classics and, with his remarkable gift of memory, became a welcome guest at the philosophical discussion groups that were organised by this elite. 3. Indirect propagation of the faith by using European science and technology in order to attract the attention of the educated Chinese and convince them of the high level of European civilisation.Ricci offered a European clock to the Emperor, he introduced paintings which impressed the Chinese with their use of perspective, translated mathematical writings of Euclid with the commentaries of the famous Jesuit mathematician Christophorus Clavius (1538-1612), and printed an enormous global map which integrated the results of the latest world explorations. By these activities Ricci established friendly relationships which sometimes resulted in the conversion of members of the elite: Xu Guangqi (1562-1633; baptised as Paul in 1603) and Li Zhizao (1565-1630; baptised as Leo in 1610) are the most famous of Ricci's time. . Openness to and tolerance of Chinese values. In China, Matteo Ricci encountered a society with high moral values, for which he expressed his admiration. Educated in the best Jesuit humanistic tradition, he favourably compared Confucius (552-479 BC) with ‘an other Seneca’ and the Confucians with ‘a sect of Epicurians, not in name, but in their laws and opinions’. [9] Ricci was of the opinion that the excellent ethical and social doctrine of Confucianism should be complemented with the metaphysical ideas of Christianity.However, he reject ed Buddhism, Taoism, and Neo-Confucianism, which in his eyes was corrupted by Buddhism. Ricci pleaded for a return to original Confucianism, which he considered to be a philosophy based on natural law. In his opinion it contained the idea of God. Finally, he adopted a tolerant attitude towards certain Confucian rites, such as the ancestral worship and the veneration of Confucius, which soon were labelled ‘civil rites’. Methodological questions There are several reasons why these four characteristics can rightly be identified as typical for Ricci and his fellow-Jesuits in a broader sense.First of all, one can easily find a justification for them in the Jesuit official documents of Ignatian inspiration, especially the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises, which often insist on accommodation. Secondly, one can contrast these policies with those adopted by the contemporary Franciscans and Dominicans. These orders appeared less acco mmodative, less elite-oriented, less involved with sciences, and, lastly, less tolerant towards local ritual traditions.Finally, in publications about Jesuits in China in modern times, both by Jesuits and non-Jesuits, these elements are in one way or another presented as ‘typically Ricci’ or as ‘typically Jesuit’. There are also several reasons why these characteristics of strategy can be questioned. First, it can be questioned whether it is a ‘Jesuit’ strategy. Here, the comparison with the mission in Japan is quite determining. The first thirty years of Jesuit mission in Japan show quite a different picture, since before Valignano's arrival the accommodation policy was very restricted.Thus the actual strategy was determined to a large extent by the inspiration of an individual such as Valignano rather than by a common ‘Jesuit’ formation or training. A second problem with ‘strategy’ is that it seems to refer to a pre- set and well-thought policy that was consistently executed over time. Yet, some scholars have convincingly argued that Ricci himself ‘had not formed a precise opinion on the problem of evangelisation in China and that his judgment concerning the means and methods to adopt in order to convert the Chinese varied in the course of the years he spent on this task. [10] Thus the systematic labelling of any action as issuing from a ‘Ricci-method’ is probably an overestimation. Thus, while these four characteristics of the Jesuit strategy in China are certainly not invalid, they possibly present only one side of the story. The major methodological objection that can be raised is that an identity is not only formed through the isolated effort of the Self, but is shaped through constant interaction with the Other. This is true for individuals, but also for groups.Therefore, what we call the Jesuit missionary strategy in China is not only the result of a conscious and well-d efined policy conceived by Valignano and the proactive and creative elaboration of it by missionaries like Matteo Ricci. To a large extent, it is also the result of their reaction to what China was and who the Chinese were. In other words, their identity was shaped by the Chinese Otheras well. If Ricci became who he became, it was also because the Other encouraged him actively or passively to become like that.Thus the story should not only be told from the perspective of the missionary (Ricci), but also from the perspective of the receiving community (the Chinese). I will therefore review the four different characteristics and try to demonstrate how the Chinese ‘Other’ helped shape the Jesuit mission. I will bring into the picture the results of recent research on Christianity in late Ming China. These results have often been obtained by focusing on the point of view of the Chinese, ‘the Other’, and by taking the Chinese texts as primary source for research . Shaped by the Other 1.Accommodation to Chinese culture. The most obvious example of the interference of the Other in the field of accommodation is the change from a policy of adaptation to Buddhism to a policy of adaptation to Confucianism (and subsequently the rejection of Buddhism). The Other was already present in the original decision to adopt the Buddhist dress, since it was the Governor of Guangdong who either insisted that this was the way the missionaries should dress, or who approved the proposal of Michele Ruggieri to do so. [11] The accommodation to the Buddhist life-style was not without advantages.It enabled the Jesuits to make contact with the majority of the Chinese population more easily and allowed them to focus conversation directly on religious matters. But there were also disadvantages. From a Confucian perspective, Buddhism and Christianity shared many religious elements and were very similar to each other. Both can be classified as an institutional religion w ith a system of theology, rituals and organisation of its own, independent of so-called secular institutions. Confucianism, on the other hand, resembles a diffused religion.Its theology, rituals, and organisation were intrinsically tied up with the concepts and structures of secular institutions and the secular social order. [12] Moreover, Christianity shared elements with Buddhism such as belief in afterlife, the idea of heaven and hell, the practice of celibacy, etc. which were very un-Confucian. From Ricci's Della entrata and later apologetic works one can observe that precisely this similarity to the Other (the Buddhists) forced the Jesuits to dissociate themselves from the Other and emphasise their differences.The first (unconscious) reason for this change was that within the Chinese religious context there was too much competition between Buddhism and Christianity. Jesuits were in fact subjected to the phenomenon of ‘inflated difference’: i. e. the phenomenon in w hich a minority group, pressed to consolidate its own identity, is prone to dis-identify with others and to play up otherwise negligible differences between those inside and those outside its boundaries. [13] The only way to dissociate themselves from the Buddhist monks (who were considered to be very low on the social ladder) was to turn to Confucianism.In fact, it was the Other represented by Confucian literati such as Qu Taisu (Qu Rukui) (b. 1549) who encouraged Ricci to institute this change. [14] Here a second important element in which the Other determines the Self needs to be mentioned. It was labelled ‘cultural imperative’ by Erik Zurcher, and belongs to the deep structure in Chinese religious life in late imperial China. [15] No marginal religion penetrating from the outside could expect to take root in China (at least at a high social level) unless it conformed to a pattern that in late imperial times was more clearly defined than ever.Confucianism represented what is zheng (‘orthodox’) in a religious, ritual, social and political sense. In order not to be branded as xie (‘heterodox’) and be treated as a subversive sect, a marginal religion had to prove that it was on the side of zheng. The authority of Confucianism, and its sheer mass and attractive power, were such that any religious system from outside was caught in its field, and was bound to gravitate towards that centre. These two elements, inflated difference and cultural imperative, show the heavy influence of the Other in Ricci's strategy of accommodation.The Chinese made Ricci adapt to the particular Chinese situation. One may also point out that the refinement and sophistication of the Other imposed some limits on the accommodation by the Jesuits. It is indeed remarkable that the Jesuits apparently were not able to accommodate themselves to certain aspects of Chinese culture because they were too difficult to master or were too different from the Euro pean background. Here one touches on aspects of Jesuit corporate culture in Europe and many parts of the world that were not put into practice in China.The clearest example is that of schools and education. Despite their hope to replace the subject-matter of the Chinese exams by Aristotelian philosophy, the Jesuits were never able to influence the well-established Chinese education system. There were also aspects that did not belong to their corporate culture, but that were also too sophisticated to learn or to adopt. In the field of arts, one usually cites the successful adaptation of Jesuit painters like Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), but there is hardly any adoption of, or interest in, Chinese calligraphy.Yet, every member of the educated Chinese elite spent long hours when they were young learning calligraphy, and quite a few continued to practise it every day of their lives. Although the Jesuits’ effort was directed at this elite, in their copious writings there is ha rdly any indication that the Jesuits appreciated the aesthetic dimension of calligraphy and the pivotal role that it played in Chinese culture. [16] In the field of Chinese customs, Ricci and his fellow-Jesuits found it impossible to let their finger nails grow very long, as was the custom among the Chinese literati. 17] These are negative examples of influence that clearly show how Chinese culture imposed limits on accommodation. 2. The propagation ‘from the top’ is a second field in which the role of the Other can be amply shown. First it should be pointed out that the motive of Ricci’s ‘ascent to Beijing’[18] was not necessarily the conversion of the Emperor. The initial objective of Ricci, as expressed in his Della entrata, was not to reach Beijing, but just to have a residence on the mainland.It was because of the many difficulties Jesuits encountered in obtaining permission to enter China and in establishing a permanent residence there that the y gradually made a plan to go to Beijing in order to obtain the support of the ‘King of China’. [19] In this move to Beijing they largely depended on the elite. [20] There certainly were proactive or planned decisions by Ricci and his companions: they preferred the centre to the periphery and they chose to live in a city rather than in the countryside. ‘Centre’ meant the administrative centre, the place with a higher concentration of magistrates and literati.Thus they preferred Zhaoqing to Canton, because the Governor was residing in Zhaoqing, and Canton was only second choice. [21] The choice of the city was quite obviously connected with the choice of the centre. But these proactive or planned decisions by Ricci should be supplemented by two reactive or guided decisions, which were as important if not more important: many movements were arranged through personal relationships (guanxi) and a number of residences were established because the Jesuits were ex pelled from or not allowed to live in certain places.In both of these decisions the Other played a key role. The concept of guanxi or relationships is central to any understanding of Chinese social structures. It denotes an essential part of network-building within Chinese social life. The many difficulties encountered by Ricci and his companions in trying to establish a residence in various cities are often attributed to the fact that they were foreigners. While this is certainly true, the Jesuits also lacked the necessary guanxi to secure the social resources needed for their goals.They lacked common attributes: they could not refer to a common kinship, locality, religion or examination experience. Chinese society very quickly made the Jesuits aware of the importance of this network building and the originality of Ricci is to have understood it. It took the Jesuits a long time, but after more than ten years they succeeded in acquiring some ‘attributes’. The two most i mportant were their behaving like Chinese literati, and subsequently, the establishment of a network based on common Christian rituals.The role of the Other mediated by guanxi became very important in the move from the south to the north of the country and the establishment of new mission posts, and the Jesuits’ decisions were taken in response to the initiative or circumstances of these guanxi. The case of Michele Ruggieri travelling to Shaoxing (Zhejiang) is a fine example of this reactive or guided decision-making. [22] He was not travelling to Shaoxing because of a planned decision on his part, but rather because he had a guanxi who happened to be travelling to Shaoxing and who wanted to take Ruggieri with him.Another pattern was closely linked to this one. Chinese converts would settle in a new place (or return to their place of origin), expand the network of believers, and then invite a missionary. This pattern became more common as the community of believers increased and came to include some converts of higher social standing (especially after 1600). Here some structures of Chinese administrative life played an important role. Like other literati, Christian literati changed offices regularly (in principle every three years), or returned to their native towns. Their moves determined those of the missionaries.Another way of establishing a community in a given city was also a reaction to decisions made by others: Jesuits decided to settle in one place because they were not allowed to settle in the place of their original choice. In some cases this was even linked to direct expulsion. 3. The use of science in the service of the propagation of faith too was largely determined by the Other, as can be shown in the writings of the Jesuits and their converts. The first presentation of European science was made in the form of curiosities like a clock and prisms, with the result that at the beginning Jesuits were considered as alchemists.The first writings of the Jesuits, however, (i. e. what they wrote with only limited influence of the Other), were not scientific but entirely religious and catechetical in nature. It was due to the quest of Chinese scholars, who could not believe that educated scholars could come from far away, that Ricci engaged himself in composing a Chinese version of the world map he had in his room, in order to show where he came from. [23] A further step was the translation of works on mathematics and astronomy. Many scholars have pointed out that this translation took place in the particular context of Late Ming learning.If Chinese scholars were interested in the science brought by the Jesuits, it was because prior to their arrival Chinese literati had developed an interest in practical learning. The search for ‘solid learning’ or ‘concrete studies (shixue) was a reaction against some intuitionist movements originating from the Wang Yangming school in the late sixteenth century. According t o Wang Yangming (1472-1528), the principles for moral action were to be found entirely within the mind-and-heart (xin) and not outside.In the early seventeenth century, the influential intellectual and political movement of the Donglin thinkers re-established the importance of ‘things in the world’. Officials and scholars searched for concrete ways to save the country from decay. [24] It is this preceding quest that led to the unique interaction between the Chinese literati and the Jesuits. The Jesuits themselves were initially not much interested in translating mathematical works, but in response to the insistence of converts such as Xu Guangqi they again and again undertook this kind of time-consuming and long-lasting activity.Later, this insistence by the Chinese (converts) on practical learning was one of the reasons that prevented Jesuits from engaging in projects such as translating the Bible. Early missionaries such as Ricci had no particular advanced training in sciences (even if they were versed in them) and were not sent to spread scientific knowledge. Only later missionaries with a specific scientific training were sent to respond to the quest of the Other and to guarantee the protection of the Church by the Chinese Court.The acceptance of Western sciences by the Chinese thus confirms a generally agreed-upon interpretation of cultural exchange: when a foreign element is accepted relatively easily by a culture into which it has been introduced, that acceptance is owing to the presence of some internal disposition or movement to accept the new element. What is true in the field of the sciences is true also with respect to the moral teachings of the Jesuits, which were accepted because they fitted the quest of the Donglin thinkers for a heteronomous morality.Moreover, the large-scale translation and publication of Western writings was possible only because the Late Ming had a very developed system of (private) publishing and printing. Thus Jesuits did not have to introduce the printing press. Moreover, by contrast with Europe, there was no pre-printing censorship in China. As a result, the Chinese context enabled the Jesuits fully to put into practice their ‘Apostolate through Books’[25] and freely to express their ideas. 4. Tolerance towards Confucian rites. Here too the cultural imperative of the Other played a determining role (as it did not in Japan).Because of the power of Confucianism as a diffused religion, Christianity, just like Buddhism, Judaism and other marginal religions, had to accept the state orthodoxy and the ritual traditions of Confucianism. The repeated and public rejection of the rites approved by the State (and listed in the Official ‘Canon of Sacrifices’) would have caused the missionaries to be labelled ‘heterodox’ and to be rejected (as happened later to missionaries and papal delegations on several occasions during the Rites Controversy).Yet, during the initial years of the Ricci period there was a whole evolution in their attitude, which became more tolerant due to the presence of the Other. This can clearly be observed from the attitude of the missionaries towards funerals, which were and still are the most important ritual of passage in China. [26] In the beginning, the Jesuits were hardly aware that the importance of funeral rites in China would have consequences for themselves.For instance, when Antonio de Almeida (1557-1591), died in Shaozhou (Guangdong), the Chinese could not understand why Ricci and his companions did not wear a mourning garb. The Jesuits, Ricci says, explained that ‘we religious, when we enter into religion, are as though dead to the world, and therefore we do not make such a thing of this fate. ’ Thus the Jesuits did not accommodate to local customs, except for purchasing a first-class coffin, ‘in order to show to the Chinese the quality of the Fathers, because herein they demonstrate their way of honouring the dead. The major reason for buying a coffin, however, according to Ricci’s explanation, was that they could not bury de Almeida in a church, as would have been done in Europe and the Jesuits did not want to follow the Chinese practice of burying him ‘on a hill far away from the house. ’ Subsequently the coffin was kept in their residence for two years until he was buried in Macao. [27] As far as the specific funerary rituals are concerned, in these early years the Jesuits adopted an approach that can be qualified as purist concerning the Christian tradition and exclusivist with regard to the Chinese traditions.In general, Ricci and his fellow Jesuits were less tolerant in the early stages of their missionary activities than later, though in doing so they did not adhere to a specific regulation. If death occurred, the Jesuits’ priority was to bury the deceased – Chinese Christian or foreign missionary – according to C hristian rites. There was little intention towards accommodation to local – usually Confucian – customs. The abstention from local rites by Christians was seen by the Jesuits as a sign helping to strengthen and spread the Christian faith.Only gradually were some Chinese funerary customs accepted. This happened first through the initiative of the Chinese themselves and was largely due to the network in which the deceased Jesuit or Christian had been involved. As long as this network was very small, the funeral could be limited to an exclusively Christian ceremony. When this network was larger, however, the chances of interaction with Chinese funeral practices increased. It is typical for funerals to be such an ‘open’ ritual.For instance, when the Jesuit Joao Soerio died in Nanchang in 1607, his fellow Jesuits did ‘not give expression to their sentiments, as was usual in China,’ because ‘it did not correspond to our profession. ’ Ye t their friends, dressed in mourning, came to their house to condole with them. These Chinese friends installed a bier and covered it as if his body was there. ‘They made four genuflections, and touched each time with their head the ground. ’ Many are said to have mourned the death of this Jesuit in this traditional way. 28] As the Christian communities continued to grow, the interaction with local rituals increased as well. The death of Matteo Ricci in Beijing in 1610 was a turning point in some ways, because his funeral and burial were the cause of the Jesuits themselves becoming involved in more Chinese funerary customs. The first critical step was the decision about his burial place. At the initiative of a Christian convert, the Jesuits asked the Chinese emperor to offer an appropriate burial ground. This burial in the mainland was contrary to the practice of the burials of Jesuits in Macao until then.Meanwhile, Ricci’s corpse was kept in a traditional Chines e coffin. While some Chinese practices, such as the habit of condolence, were accepted, others, such as the funeral procession, were only applied in a limited way, because the Chinese procession was considered to resemble an act of ‘triumph’ and did not conform to Jesuit ideals of poverty and modesty. On the day of the burial itself, 1 November 1611, all the regular Christian ceremonies were celebrated: the recitation of the Office of the Dead, the funeral Mass, an ecclesiastical procession, and the prayers at the tomb in front of a painting of Christ.But in the end, there were also some Chinese rites: ‘Many days afterwards gentile friends came flocking in to perform their usual rites for the deceased. ’[29] Thus it was the presence of the Chinese that brought gradual change in the hesitant approach by the missionaries. As Johannes Bettray has shown, the Jesuits missionaries were, after thirty years of presence in China, apparently allowing the performance of these particular local customs. [30] Conclusion Looking at Ricci, one can discern several characteristics that can be labelled the ‘Ricci method’.However, this method has too often been presented as the result of the proactive Self, at the neglect of the influence of the Chinese Other. I have tried to show that the role of the Other in the formation of Ricci’s identity is certainly as important as the activity of Ricci’s Self. Though Ricci might have reacted in ways other than he did, in all cases the Other played a decisive role in the reactions he showed. One could even argue that the Other made it possible for Ricci to become who he became. Without the Other, this would not have been possible.