Thursday, December 26, 2019

Globalization Myths and Threats - 559 Words

GLOBALIZATION –MYTHS AND THREATS Globalization is not a new concept its has been in existence, where transcontinental trade and human movement has started far back 2500 years over the centuries going down lane of the ancients silk road trade route, the system has brought more about international relationship but the human nature can never change. The word â€Å"Globalization† is bringing people together, that is, arising from the world view, products, ideas and even some area of our culture. Again, with the coming of globalization, industries like the telecommunication and transportation have improved on their workspace, this includes the upgrade of the telegraph and internet which are the two major contributors of globalization processes by bringing more interdependence of the global economic and its cultural programmes. Globalization today may have a stronger pace, which allowed for more wealth and touches more lives, also the concept of globalization is perfect with good ideas that when actualized it will bring about global peace, again, is a dream we accept forgetting our human truth. The idea of globalization is to unite the human race by making the world to see better future with abundance possibilities. On the contrary, globalization is something more purely economic phenomenon showing itself on a global scale. Actually, there are stronger international movement of goods and services, financial capital and people that we can visualize. In addition, there areShow MoreRelatedHow Globalization Went Bad1206 Words   |  5 PagesHOW GLOBALIZATION WENT BAD Article 51: How Globalization Went Bad From Terrorism to Global Warming Emily Hudak Dr. Trautman January 20, 2011 Abstract Steven Weber believes that â€Å"evils of globalization are even more dangerous than ever before.† In his article he describes what has gone wrong, gives reasons for the instability, and provides solutions. Article 51: How Globalization went Bad From Terrorism to Global Warming In the Article â€Å"How globalization Went Bad† by Steven WeberRead Moreis globalization undermining state sovereignty?1559 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough primitive trade and migration, globalization has become a major factor in the world organization since the twentieth century. With the creation of transnational companies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, political and economic associations appeared new powerful actors that cannot be left apart in states’ decisions and whose influence may, according to some, threaten the authority of nation-states. Indeed it can be thought that globalization is causing the end of borders betweenRead MoreHow Globalization Has Influenced Hollywood Essay917 Words   |  4 Pages Globalization is an issue that is a hotly debated topic in the world today. Rarely ever does a conversation about the world go on with out globalization being included. Globalizations appeal has not passed the tentacles of Hollywood, who has taken advantage of all the hot issues that have come out of globalization so that it can maximize its profits. Topics such as blood diamonds, global warming, and ethnocentrism by other cultures in regard the United States have become popular topics for multi-millionRead MoreWhat Are The Benefits Of International Trade?986 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand why people would boycott the practice of free trade, although, it is something that I don’t see us (people in general) being able to live without. It seems a lot is at stake however. There are debates about job loss due to cheaper labor and the threat of US jobs being replaced (Chmielewski), as well as, mass farming which impact the environment negatively. As explained in the article, Neg ative Effects of Free Trade, â€Å"According to critics, the increase of corporate farms in developing countriesRead MoreWhat Are The Benefits Of International Trade?976 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand why people would boycott the practice of free trade, although, it is something that I don’t see us (people in general) being able to live without. It seems a lot is at stake however. There are debates about job loss due to cheaper labor and the threat of US jobs being replaced (Chmielewski), as well as, mass farming which impacts the environment negatively. As explained in the article, Negative Effects of Free Trade, â€Å"According to critics, the increase of corporate farms in developing countriesRead MoreThe Monsters And Their Origin1412 Words   |  6 Pagesprejudices and fears date back to prehistory and the developments in evolution that have occurred throughout in humanity. The prehistory gives an account of the concerns that people have in today s world. The author uses the term monster to describe myths and physical deformities. Stephen Asma uses the term to describe that there are fears in the post-modern and advanced world of technology (11). Stephen T. Asma has satisfactorily achieved the goal of defining monsters. The monsters have changed, andRead MoreGlobalization Is Not A Myth? Essay2166 Words   |  9 Pagesto the issue of definition, but whether or not globalisation is in fact a myth (Scholte 2000). As a result of this, globalisation attracts both advocates and sceptics, each of which present a different interpretation of the term. This essay will examine various sectors in which globalisation is said to be occurring such as economy, technological and culture. In doing so this essay will assert that globalisation is not a myth, however will also note the limitations of the process. Despite the controversyRead MoreHumanitarian Intervention Is An Unacceptable Assault On Sovereignty Essay804 Words   |  4 Pagessupport the humanitarian intervention. The defence of this principle and the realization of this task rely on the UNSC, the only authority accountable of the determination of any threats to the international peace as the article 39 of the UN Charter says: â€Å"The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintainRead MoreRelations Between China And The United States1498 Words   |  6 PagesChina and the United States have considerably evolved since the end of the two Wars, and especially since 1978, when Deng Xiaoping gained a de facto leading position in China, taking the country out of isolation and introducing it to modernity and globalization. Since then, China and the United States have undergone through periods of antagonism and collaboration. After a long era in which the US dominated the international system as a hegemonic power, China started to rise and to gain more and more importanceRead MoreMotivating Employee Motivation For The Success Of An Organization1003 Words   |  5 PagesAn important factor that contributes to the success of an organization is employee motivation. Organizational size complexity, competition due to globalization, advancement in information technology has led managers to try to figure out ways to motivate employees to get the most out of them to stay competitive. Motivating employees is a challenging task as organization must deal with the diverse work force. Employees change their jobs frequently when employers don’t meet certain expectations

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Questions On The Literature Review - 1322 Words

Table of Contents 1 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 The Fear of Allah 3 1.3 The Fear of Hell 3 1.4 The Fear of Apostasy 4 1.5 The Fear of their Life Situation 5 1.6 The Fear of Democracy 5 1.7 The Fear of the West 5 1.8 Al-Bassmala: the Verse of Mentioning the Name of God Being used to Instill fear in their Faithfuls 6 1.9 Surat Al-Ikhlas: Chapter 112, titled The Purity (of faith) Used by Muslim Leadership to inculcate Fear 13 1.10 Ayatul Kursi: The Verse of the Chair 15 1.11 Ayatun Nour: The Verse of the Light that Portrays Muslim God as light and anything else as Darkness that Must be Avoided at all Costs 20 Verses Mentioning God s Physical Characteristics as another weapon Subjugate Believers 24 1.12 Reference†¦show more content†¦They include: Chapter one Fear of the Foreign West Chapter two Fear of the Imam Chapter three Fear of Democracy Chapter six Fear of Freedom of Thought Chapter seven Fear of Individualism Chapter eight Fear of the Past Chapter nine Fear of the Present In looking at numerous of these groups, it is clear that the regular Muslim stays in fear. This is particularly factual to those who currently reside within the West. Here are 6 basis why Islam is a religion of fear. 1.2 The Fear of Allah He is not the affectionate God that we learn in Christianity except one who reigns by means of an iron fist. The Koran informs the readers that they must fear Allah. Not only do they fear their God but also they are deadly fearful of being forever ruined by an enraged Allah. Their religion does not present much guarantee of salvation (Abu-Raiya, Pargament, 2011, p. 95). The simply Muslims assured a spot in Heaven is those who pass on in a Jihad or those who pass on when on a pilgrimage to Mecca. They trust they will be permitted into Heaven, except there is no assurance. This is why Islam is the peak of a works religion. They have to do each that the Koran informs them to perform if they are going to have any possibility of entering Heaven (Abu-Raiya, Pargament, 2011, p. 103). 1.3 The Fear of Hell According to Qutb, (1996) In Islam, Hell is explained in

Monday, December 9, 2019

Corporate Responsibility Is a Part of the Business Approach

Question: How Service Providers Should Maintain Effective Communication With The Clients? Answer: Introducation: At the current scenario, the emergence of child labor has become a raising issue due to which large number of children has to face violence after being associated with a private firm. Due to the social and economic barrier people, belonging to the backward society has to impose their children in earning bread and butter for their family. In this kind of situation, the social life balance is getting hampered day by day. Large sections of people tend to involve themselves in business firms rather than developing their skills and competencies. In this kind of situation, the society is getting underdeveloped day by day. This particular study has provided an in-depth analysis about this specific social issue (Schneider and Schmidpeter 2012). Child labor has become an emerging issue at the current scenario. After the evaluation of this social problem, large number of organizations has stretched their hands to deal with these kinds of social issues. In this specific study, Red Cross has been selected as the chosen organization. As per the current market scenario of Red Cross this particular organization is one of the largest and recognizable brands (redcross.org.au. 2017). This particular organization primarily aims to grab their brand identity and image by fulfill various corporate social responsibility (Carroll 2015). While running their entire business process in the market Red Cross primarily deals with various corporate social responsibilities. Re-connecting families, disaster recovery, child rescue are the necessary activities that this particular organization tends to follow. Among all these corporate responsibility approaches, the issue of child labor is most emerging at the current scenario. The research and development team of Red Cross has observed that millions of children belonging to the backward society tend to invest their entire attention in a business firm. As a result, they get little scope to maintain their e ducation process (Aguinis and Glavas 2012). In this kind of situation, this particular organization has decided to stand beside those children who have to take the burden of their family. In order to deal with those children Red Cross has implemented various approaches towards corporate (Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim 2014). On one hand, their approaches help to develop the mind of society people; on the other hand, Red Cross is able to grab the attention in global market after evaluating these corporate responsibilities. Goals and objective of CR approach: Corporate responsibility is a part of business approach that primarily helps a business organization to establish their brand in the global market with the help of maintaining some of the major corporate ethics and responsibilities. People belonging to different geographical market cannot be aware of the products and service process of an organization (Dhaliwal et al. 2012). Therefore, in order to grab the attention of people belonging to different geographical market corporate responsibility can be considered as one of the most effective business strategy and policy. The primary goal of corporate responsibility approach is constituted with two factors. On one hand, the organization like Red Cross gets the scope to achieve the recognition of their brands and products. On the other hand, the business organization helps to resolve the emerging social problems in order to maintain balance within the society. Based on that particular social problem that is child labor this organization h as raised their voice fervently (Brammer, Jackson and Matten 2012). Red Cross is successful to rescues thousands of children from the private firm and gives them a social peaceful life. After this kind of initiative, this organization has achieved immense recognition and prestige in the market of Australia and beyond Australia as well. However, the primary objectives of CR approaches are as follows: To gain the organizational reputation in the international market by spreading their hands towards the development of society To educate the society so that the people can get the right path for their further progress To provide some of the major recommendations on how the society can be developed by taking some of the most effective measures In this particular study, the various goals and objectives of maintaining CR approach for Red Cross has been highlighted. Red Cross being one of the most prestigious non-profit brands prevailing in the market of Australia has focused to maintain CR approach in order to enhance their entire business process (Servaes and Tamayo 2013). It has been observed that child labor in the market of Australia is an emerging social issue. Larger number of non-profit organizations is taking initiatives in order to resolve this issue. Therefore, Red Cross being a reputed brand had to face major market threat from its competitors. In this kind of situation, the business experts have decided to take an effective step regarding this specific issue. The organizations experts have arranged to make an effective counseling session with the parents of those children in order to make them understand about the value of education (Singh 2016). Ethical consideration: In order to run the business process in the market every organization has to follow a proper ethics, values and beliefs. People belonging to different geographical boundaries tend to face this kind of issue like child labor. Therefore, as per the organizational ethics Red Cross has to pay equal priority and response to every kind of people belonging to different religions and attitudes (Mirvis 2012). However, while leading the organization in the market of Australia Red Cross should follow some of the major ethical considerations and that are as follows: Service providers should maintain effective communication with the clients: After conducting an effective survey it has been evaluated that large number of children have to support their parents to lead the members of family. People belonging to different geographical boundaries can take an effective service of Red Cross. Therefore, the service providers are responsible to maintain an effective communication with the clients. Clients may be from different geographical corners having various linguistic styles. Therefore, the customer service executives have to be flexible in various languages so that they can handle the problems of different clients (Kilkenny 2014). In order to maintain equality the business experts of Red Cross has instructed the customers service executives to follow both verbal and non-verbal communication. The persons who are having language barrier can maintain an effective non-verbal communication so that they can express their needs. One of the most recognizable factors of Red Cross is that the organization is much flexible in dealing with the clients of different geographical markets (Jo and Harjoto 2012). After rescuing the children the organizational experts can provide benefits and facilities for maintaining their higher education: As per the ethical beliefs of Red Cross, rescuing those children from being exploited to a business owner is not the only mission of business experts. After rescuing those children, Red Cross tends to provide necessary facilities and benefits to the children either by cash or by kinds so that those children can settle down in their career (Ju?ius and Snieka 2015). In addition, the organization is very much flexible to communicate with the parents in order to make them understand about the importance of education and skill. It is evident that this specific initiative has saved large number of children from being tortured in the hand of firm owners. Red Cross should follow necessary acts and regulations at the workplace as well for the benefit of employees Along with the outside service process, Red Cross should follow corporate responsibility towards their employees as well. In order to render the success of business the employee performance is one of the most effective factors based on which a specific organization set a goal (Salib et al. 2015). However, large number of employees is intimately associated within the service process of Red Cross. Therefore, the organization has decided to implement some of the major acts and regulations at the workplace such as health and safety act, right to information act, anti-discrimination act, data protection act and gender equity act. Key sites of value creation: In order to enhance the performance level of employees the business experts of Red Cross tends to follow some of the major values in order to get quality service from the employees. Value creation is the business strategy and policy with the help of which the performance level of the employees can be enhanced. This particular strategy motivates the employees towards reaching the business goal (Bank 2012). However, the key sites of value creation that Red Cross tends to follow include skilled corporate management, incentives for the individual employees, growth of financial resource, structured corporate governance and so many. In order to gain the trust and image of an organization Red Cross has maintained their corporate management process effectively in the market. Millions of children who had been exploited in the hands of business owners had been rescued. As a result, people belonging to different geographical boundaries would have been treated with equal respect and dignity. As per the value creation strategy of Red Cross, it is undeniable that employees play a major role in rendering the performance of an organization. Therefore, employees motivation is one of the most effective factors based on which employees can be encouraged towards the business process (Hopkins 2012). Employees of Red Cross get incentives and other rewards and recognitions while providing good services towards the business organizations. On one hand, the organization is getting benefited. On the other, employees receives immense courage for performing well towards the business process. Summary: While maintaining the corporate responsibilities Red Cross had to face innumerable challenges in order to make the business strategy successful. After identifying the social problem, the business experts intended to visit the residence of those parents first. As per the concept of those parents the education and mental development is less important than earning money. In order to lead a family children have to work hard. Therefore, to some extent parents are helpless in this kind of situation. However, after collecting data from the parents, the volunteers of Red Cross intended to take an effective session with those parents. While conducting the session the concerned persons had to face innumerable difficulties. Parents were unable to make an effective response to the volunteers due to their language barrier. On the other hand, their way of approach was not very much suitable for the employees of Red Cross to an effective communication. However, despite facing innumerable challenges the volunteers intended to take an effective measure for convincing the parents. At the same time, it is also undeniable that people belonging to different geographical markets have issues with psychology. Red Cross as per their ethical issue was not restricted within certain geographical boundaries. Therefore, in order to expand their entire process of business in various geographical markets the business experts had to design their service process in an innovative way. As a result, the customers of different psychological backgrounds and beliefs can use the service. However, before gathering data regarding the current needs and demands of market, this particular business organization had to make an effective marker review. The survey executives had to face innumerable difficulties while collecting necessary information regarding the needs and demands of the customers belonging to various boundaries and markets. Reference List: Aguinis, H. and Glavas, A., 2012. What we know and dont know about corporate social responsibility a review and research agenda.Journal of management,38(4), pp.932-968. Bank, D., 2012. Corporate social responsibility.retrieved on,19(12), p.2012. Brammer, S., Jackson, G. and Matten, D., 2012. Corporate social responsibility and institutional theory: New perspectives on private governance.Socio-economic review,10(1), pp.3-28. Carroll, A.B., 2015. Corporate social responsibility.Organizational Dynamics,44(2), pp.87-96. Cheng, B., Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., 2014. Corporate social responsibility and access to finance.Strategic Management Journal,35(1), pp.1-23. Dhaliwal, D.S., Radhakrishnan, S., Tsang, A. and Yang, Y.G., 2012. Nonfinancial disclosure and analyst forecast accuracy: International evidence on corporate social responsibility disclosure.The Accounting Review,87(3), pp.723-759. Hopkins, M., 2012.The planetary bargain: Corporate social responsibility matters. Routledge. Jo, H. and Harjoto, M.A., 2012. The causal effect of corporate governance on corporate social responsibility.Journal of business ethics,106(1), pp.53-72. Ju?ius, V. and Snieka, V., 2015. Influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive abilities of corporations.Engineering Economics,58(3). Kilkenny, S., 2014. Corporate Social Responsibility.Network Journal,21(3), p.24. Mirvis, P.H., 2012. Corporate Social Responsibility.The Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management: Short Entries, pp.153-159. Mousavi, Z., Beiranvand, F., Moeinfar, Z. and Amouzesh, N., 2013. Corporate Social Responsibility.Life Sci J,10(6s), pp.8-10. Redcross.org.au. 2017.Humanitarian Aid - Donate or Join Us | Australian Red Cross. [online] Available at: https://www.redcross.org.au/ [Accessed 13 May 2017]. Salib, J., Sun, D., Wu, J., Wen, X. and Huang, C.C., 2015. Corporate Social Responsibility. Schneider, A. and Schmidpeter, R., 2012. Corporate social responsibility.Verantwortliche Unternehmensfhrung in der Praxis, Berlin ua. Servaes, H. and Tamayo, A., 2013. The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm value: The role of customer awareness.Management Science,59(5), pp.1045-1061. Singh, B.J.R., 2016. Corporate social responsibility in India.International Journal of Higher Education Research Development,

Monday, December 2, 2019

Shirley JacksonS The Lottery Essays - Dystopian Literature, Films

Shirley Jackson'S ?The Lottery? Shirley Jackson's ?The Lottery?, raises many questions in the back of a reader's mind towards the destructive yet blind rituals of mankind. ?The Lottery? clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind's evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of the short story with the use of symbols and setting. The setting of ?The Lottery? supports the theme. Settings are constructed to help build the mood and foreshadow things to come. In the lottery though, the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. The story begins with a description of a seemingly cheerful environment. Jackson creates a comfortable atmosphere by describing the activities of the residents of the town. She describes children breaking into ?boisterous play and their talk still of the classroom? (310). Men and women are gathered in the center of the town talking about farming and taxes or into gossip. The date of the story is June twenty-seventh which Helen E. Nebeker states in American Literature, has ?symbolic overtones which alerts us to the season of the summer solstice with all its overtones of ancient ritual? (102). Jackson's description of the setting supports the theme of the story by showing how mankind is capable of cruel acts regardless of their environment. Symbolism in the story also supports the theme of ?The Lottery?. The very names of the characters in the story are laden with meaning. The names of Summers, Graves, Warner, Delacroix and Hutchinson hint at the true nature of the characters. Mrs. Delacroix's name means of the cross in Latin; therefore hinting at Tessie's sacrificial killing. Even tough Mrs. Delacroix seems to be a friend to Mrs. Hutchinson it is she who is shown to pick up the largest rock and promotes other people to stone Tessie. Mr. Summers' name symbolizes life but in reality it is he who is in charge of the lottery which instead of giving life to its winner it gives death. Graves is the man who carries in the black box and the three-legged stool. His name hints to what will happen to Tessie Hutchinson. It is also from Mr. Graves whom the citizens get the papers from, therefore it is almost like he is the one who has the most influence over whose grave it will be next. Old Man Warner, as his name indicates, warns the villagers of the unknown danger of stopping the yearly ritual. The irony here is that even though the old are know for being wise, Old Man Warner seems to be a very ignorant and superstitious being who blindly follows tradition. The names of all the prominent characters in ?The Lottery? support the idea that everybody hides their evil nature by way of hypocrisy. Tessie Hutchinson's character also provides considerable information on the theme of the story. Her name reminds one of the historical Anne Hutchinson not only because of the name but also because of the small town setting. Anne Hutchinson was a willing martyr who died for her religion and was exiled from her town. Tessie Hutchinson though may at first of the story appear to be a very good-natured and good human being by the way she comes in to the story. She comes in jokingly kidding with a friend of hers about how she almost forgot about the lottery but as soon as she remembered came running. Tessie seems to be a willing participant at the start but when her family's mane is drawn she shows her true nature. Instead of trying to protect her children she instead demands that her married daughter take part in the drawing just to improve her own chances of survival. Mrs. Hutchinson is a perfect example of how evil exists in everyone and when pushed it can take a mother to risk her own child's safety. The symbolism found in the black box is a key point in understanding the importance of tradition in the theme of ?The Lottery?. The introduction of the black box into the story changes the mood and atmosphere of the crowd of people. The reason

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Why Lithium Batteries Catch Fire

Why Lithium Batteries Catch Fire Lithium batteries are compact, lightweight batteries that hold considerable charge and fare well under constant discharge-recharge conditions. The batteries are found everywhere  -   in laptop computers, cameras, cell phones, and electric cars. Although accidents are rare, those that do occur may be spectacular, resulting in an explosion or fire. In order to understand why these batteries catch fire and how to minimize the risk of an accident, it helps to understand how the batteries function. How Lithium Batteries Work A lithium battery consists of two electrodes separated by an electrolyte. Typically, the batteries  transfer electrical charge from a lithium metal cathode  through an electrolyte consisting of an organic solvent containing lithium salts over to a carbon anode. The specifics depend on the battery, but lithium-ion batteries usually contain a metal coil and a flammable lithium-ion fluid. Tiny metal fragments float in the liquid. The contents of the battery are under pressure, so if a metal fragment punctures a partition that keeps the components separate or the battery is punctured, the lithium reacts with water in the air vigorously, generating high heat and sometimes producing a fire. Why Lithium Batteries Catch Fire or Explode Lithium batteries are made to deliver high output with minimal weight. Battery components are designed to be lightweight, which translates into thin partitions between cells and a thin outer covering. The partitions or coating are fairly fragile, so they can be punctured. If the battery is damaged, a short occurs. This spark can ignite the highly reactive lithium. Another possibility is that the battery can heat to the point of thermal runaway. Here, the heat of the contents exerts pressure on the battery, potentially producing an explosion. Minimize the Risk of Lithium Battery Fire The risk of fire or explosion increases if the battery is exposed to hot conditions or the battery or internal component is compromised. You can lessen the risk of an accident in several ways: Avoid storing at high temperatures. Dont keep batteries in hot vehicles. Dont allow a blanket to cover your laptop. Dont keep your cell phone in a warm pocket.  You get the idea.Avoid keeping all your items containing lithium-ion batteries together. When you travel, especially on a plane, youll have all your electronic items in one bag. This is unavoidable because the batteries have to be in your carry-on but usually, you can keep some space between battery-containing items. Although having lithium-ion batteries in close proximity does not increase the risk of a fire, if there is an accident, the other batteries can catch fire and make the situation worse.Avoid overcharging your batteries. These batteries do not suffer memory effect as badly as other types of rechargeable batteries, so they can be discharged and recharged many times nearly back to their original charge. However, they do not fare well if they are completely drained before recharging or are over-charged. Car chargers are notorious for overcharging batteries. Using any charger other than the one intended for the battery can increase the risk of damage.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Leanpub Serial and Continuous Publishing, by Len Epp

Leanpub Serial and Continuous Publishing, by Len Epp Serial and continuous publishing, an interview with Len Epp of Leanpub Last updated: 07/31/2017Serial publishing is not new. Many of Dickens books were published serially. This and Eric Ries' Lean Startup approach is what drove co-founders Len Epp, Peter Armstrong and Scott Patten to create Leanpub. This fascinating (and successful) startup has built  a lean publishing model where you "publish early, publish often" in order to build an audience.Our co-founder and CEO Emmanuel decided to have a chat with their co-founder Len Epp. Press "play" below if you want to hear a passionate discussion about publishing, Dickens, serializing, book marketing, and new forms of writing. Basically, they're imagining the future of publishing, and their vision might be quite accurate. Alternatively, we have supplied, as always, the transcript right below! Welcome to a new Reedsy podcast. So today I'm very happy to talk with Len Epp, Lead Customer Development and Co-Founder of Leanpub. So well Sir, good morning or good afternoon - depending on wherever you are. Yes, it’s morning here on the West Coast of America.Yeah, it's evening now in London, so dark! So I'm pretty excited to have you today. I've been a big Leanpub fan for a while actually and think the model is super interesting. You guys created a concept where authors can continuously publish their books – and even if they’ve only written the first chapters, people can already buy it. We also decided to do this interview to announce that Reedsy and Leanpub will start working together to help Leanpub users create beautiful covers for their books - since it's one of the main things to discover books on Leanpub. So just for our listeners, who may not know about Leanpub, can you tell us a bit about yourself, and then about the vision for the company and the team? So Leanpub has 3 co-founders - Peter Armstrong, Scott Patten and myself. Peter and Scott actually had the idea back in 2010, when Peter had written a programming book.He’d realized that he didn't want to wait until the book was completed before he started getting it out to readers. And there were a number of reasons for that, one of which was motivation and another one was community copy editing. And so he creatively added a link to a special chat room that you could access if you bought the book. He built this community of avid followers of his computer program – they would help him if they found errors and make suggestions. And it was a feedback loop of motivation. People were asking for the next chapters, and he wanted to give it to them - and that worked really well.So how would it work for fiction? Isn’t it harder to work with your readers to release new chapters based on their feedback?Fiction is a really interesting application. Serial fiction is a really old idea. Many of Dickens books were published serially: "The Brothers Karamazov", "Crime and Punishment", "'War and Peace", and "Middlemarch" all started out being published serially. And serial publishing was more or less the norm. "Many of Dickens books were published serially: serial publishing was more or less the norm." @leanpub That opens up really interesting ideas. For example, a novel is not a book, right? Like we say, "I wrote the book", but you actually wrote a text. It's only a book if it's published in that particular format. For example, if I had all of the copies of all the magazines in which one of Mary Elizabeth Braden’s novels were published, I've got the novel but I don't have the book. I also have the pamphlets that â€Å"Middlemarch† was published as: I don't have a book, but I have a novel. So Leanpub enables serial publishing so you would publish chapters as separate books serially.Now, I think what you're getting at, which is really good, is the idea of â€Å"in-progress publishing†, which is different from serial publishing (serial publishing is publishing finished works in serial).Exactly.I think the only person working on a novel that way is me. But that's kind of like performance art in a way, right? I think most people would find it frustrating to read the first c hapter of a novel and have the author go, "I changed it."You came up with that continuous publishing concept and now you're coming up with this idea: a book is only a book if you decide to make your text a book. But in fact maybe people don't want to read a book, they want to read a series of novels or something that's constantly evolving.I’d like to come back to the fact that Leanpub is mainly for technical writers at the moment. And for it to work well, you've integrated Leanpub with many services such as GitHub, Dropbox and a few others. What's the proportion of the authors using them and how does it change the way they write their books?Most of our authors use Dropbox, fewer use GitHub. We've got an option on Leanpub to download what you've been working in the e-pub, PDF or mobi formats - or all 3 if you want.All authors say that working with Dropbox is kind of magic because when you're working through Dropbox, you've got a file on your computer, and you just press "save" when want to. And you work on whatever text editor you like. And then, because you're sharing that file with Leanpub through Dropbox, when you want to publish a new version - you just go to Leanpub and hit the publish button, and it's done! There's no emailing back and forth, nothing. It just takes away a huge amount of complication from the conventional process.You have also built the Leanpub editor where authors write using Markdown. How popular is it?For anyone who isn't familiar with Markdown, Markdown is a mark-up language or syntax that was developed to make it easier to write webpages. And so Leanpub books are written in what we call â€Å"Leanpub flavored Markdown†, which is essentially plain text: you don't see the bold thing turn bold in the text that you're writing - any more than you would if you were writing on a typewriter, and it's very very simple.And do you think this tool could be adopted more broadly, outside of the tech community?I do, but I know from exp erience that for a lot of people, as soon as you tell them they have to learn something new and you use a technical word they're not exactly running to the hills. But the analogy for that is the typewriter, right? When the typewriter came out, you had to buy and object and learn how to use it, which was time-consuming.I think that people are going to learn Markdown, in the same way that they learned to use the typewriter. The 5 minutes it will take you to learn this new way of typing out books is way better. It will catch on. It will become a convention. People will understand that it's better but it's going to take time. "People are going to learn Markdown, in the same way that they learned to use the typewriter." @leanpub So let's say, so I've written my manuscript and I'm publishing it with Leanpub, now what happens?You would create a landing page for your book with information like â€Å"about the book†, â€Å"about the author†, maybe a bit of a teaser and then you would hit one button: "publish". If you've used our writing workflow, from one source text you get all those ePub, PDF and mobi versions magically created, then your book is up for sale on Leanpub.You can also set up variable pricing: you set a minimum and a suggested price for your book and as soon as you hit "publish" it's available for sale at those prices. Readers will see a slider at the suggested price, but they can slide it down to the minimum price that you've set, or they can slide it up and pay more.Since Leanpub pays such a high royalty rate compared to other publishing platforms, 90% minus 50 cents per sale, how much we pay authors is a feature. So underneath the slider that shows how much you pay, it shows how m uch the author is getting. This is why we'd see people paying strange prices like $11.67 and we'd be like. In fact, that corresponds to $10 to the author. So they were taking the author slider, "How much do I want to give the author for this book?" 10 bucks.So this variable pricing totally changes the relationship with readers: if you go into a conventional bookstore, you're automatically in consumer mode, "I want to pay as little as I can for as much as I can get." "If you go into a conventional bookstore, you're automatically in consumer mode." @leanpub But with Leanpub and with variable pricing, because it gives you a choice, all of a sudden you're making a decision about how much you can afford to pay and how much you think it's worth. "With Leanpub and variable pricing, you make a decision about how much you think a book is worth." @leanpub There are tons of people setting up a crowdfunding campaign for their publishing projects. And they're like, "Okay, I'm going to raise some money so that I can keep on writing my book, and then produce it at some point." What you're doing with Leanpub is you say, "Okay, I'm going to write the first chapter and I'm going to find readers who are really interested in what I'm writing and start making money out of my book so I can potentially invest more for the coming chapters." Do you feel like crowdfunding for books should work this way, and not the way Kickstarter works - where you wait for months before you can actually read the book?I would say that when it comes to writing, for most projects, the best thing to do is to make a little bit first and get it out there, and see if you are getting attention before you ask people to start giving you money for it.At Leanpub there's a page where you can ask people if they'd be interested in reading a book if you wrote it. It's possible at s ome point we'll do pre-sales, because pre-sales are becoming quite big in publishing land. Personally, I don't think I would want to personally give a writer an advance on a book they hadn't started writing yet though.My co-founder Ricardo has interviewed quite a few publishing startups and that concept of customer validation before you actually invest everything into your book keeps coming back.So let’s say I've decided to put my book out there on Leanpub, then what happens? How do you help authors find their readers?We’ve got a bookstore that has various categories, sellers. But mostly, right now, it's up to Leanpub authors to go outside the Leanpub ecosystem. It's up to them to bring readers.So how many books have been published through Leanpub so far?Nearly 2,000 authors, and we've had nearly 3,000 books published.You talked about that mailing list that authors can build on Leanpub. Is it mainly for people coming from the Leanpub community, or just anyone coming to the book’s page and thinking, "I'm interested, I'm going to sign up." And then, the author can use this mailing list the way they want?The way the mailing list works is that if you express interest in a book that hasn't been published, you can subscribe to get notified when it gets published. You choose whether or not you want to share your email address with the author. If you do, we have integration with MailChimp.So let's talk about when the book is ready. Peter, your co-founder was telling me about Leanpub authors who were looking to get a finished product to distribute on different ebookstores or even a physical version of their book. And that’s why there is now a referral program in place for Leanpub authors who can get a Reedsy coupon of $20 towards editing or design services on Reedsy. Awesome. It's really exciting. We've had our most successful Leanpub authors make a print version and also try other channels like putting their book up on Amazon or the iBookst ore.People say "don't judge a book by its cover". In the 20th century romantic modernism, the publishing house made the cover with very little input given to the author. So my joke is that you can't judge a book by its cover†¦ if a traditional publisher publishes it. Traditional publishers have this whole apparatus for selling that has nothing to do with writing. "  You can't judge a book by its cover†¦ if a traditional publisher publishes it." @leanpub But with a self-published book you can often judge a book by its cover: if the author took the time and care and chose a good designer to make a good cover, it means that they probably wrote a good book too. Having a cover that shows care is profoundly important. "Traditional publishers have this whole apparatus for selling that has nothing to do with writing." @leanpub It's also a form of art. There’s a deep relation between that cover and what you've been writing. It's going to be interesting in the coming months to see if there are great covers coming from this collaboration. I look forward to it. So thanks a lot I think that was really interesting for our readers to learn more about Leanpub.Okay, thanks very much and I look forward to interviewing you next week for the Leanpub podcast!Follow Leanpub and Reedsy on Twitter:  @leanpub  and  @ReedsyHQWhat do you think of Leanpub's publishing model? Would you be ready publish early in order to build an audience? Leave us your thoughts, or any questions for Len, in the comments below!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

American Government and Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Government and Constitution - Essay Example They had wanted the government to disperse its operations. America comprises of people of different diversities; different religions, Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Quakers and Calvinists, people from different origin, Sweden, Canada, England, France and many other parts of the world. They therefore, had and still have differing opinions on how the government should be run. In the past years, the number of immigrants into the United States has grown; therefore, diversity has augmented, making the nation grow stronger in unity. The constitution defends the rights of people without considering their backgrounds and by limiting the powers of both the state and national governments. In the bill of rights, amendment I states that, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and the government for a redress of grievance † (Schultz, p 273). This amendment does not include that a certain race is not represented; it includes all the American people. Many of the features of the constitution are meant to ensure that not any department of the state achieves control over the others and anything that can oppress its citizens. However, the constitution did not resolve the crisis of majorities imposing oppressive rules on the minority groups. The problem of tyranny until today has not been determined and needs to be addressed appreciably. This is an area that the federal government has been unsuccessful Race, ethnicity and color are the key characteristics of the minority groups in the United States of America, and although the government is trying to phase out the problem, it is extremely hard because people have it all in their minds. For example, some private schools cannot admit students from some ethnic groups or some races. In the earlier days of slavery, slave trade was operational in the south because the economic and communal status of the southerners was remorseful, and was justified to depend on the trade to make a living. The white homes in the south had been depending on slavery, ending the vice would have been a significant blow for them and the north still needed them for supply of raw materials. The blacks did not have any other option other than to be slaves, without education, socialization and a majority of whites living in the south. It is no surprise that the southerners felt that they were not being properly represented in the government. Their representatives’ were not heard whenever they tabled a problem in the congress. In my judgment, the idea of phasing out the majority rule by the federal government does not seem to be happening soon. Firstly, the federal government is composed of two houses, the House of Representatives and a senate with the representatives being more than the senators (Edwards, Wattenberg and Lineberry, p 34) If the government would have been aware of the rule of majority, it could have established one ‘major house’ whereby they cold have voted out the tyrannical rule. Senators alone, being 100 cannot vote out the majority rule since the majority vote wins. Liberal governments do not value the rule of minority; this means that a small number of the elected council will make rules and verdicts that govern the country as a whole. According to the constitution, democracies must apply majority rule and safeguard minority rights; many Americans consider that it is very

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Brain Drain Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brain Drain - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that brain drain is an issue that is of a great concern to the various countries of the world. Brain drain is also referred to as human capital flight, and it depicts the emigration of educated or talented people. This movement of educated or talented people has the capability of destroying or sabotaging the economic system of a state. Â  This is mainly because the country under consideration will lack professionals who are skilled enough to transform their domestic economies. Zweig and Chen argue that this term is on most occasions used to refer to the departure of skilled professionals such as financial experts, doctors, engineers, and scientists. When these people emigrate from the country, the country is vulnerable in two major ways. At first, the country will lose a supply of skilled labor. The second method is that there will be a reduction in spending within an economy. This is because these professionals normally earn a large sum o f money, and they use this money within an economy. This ensures that there is a circulation of money within an economy. When they move outside the country, there will be a limited circulation of money, and this may cause inflation or negative economic growth within a country. The United States is one of the leading countries that normally attract professionals of all calibers. This is because the country has one of the best education systems, and it has a stable economy that would guarantee employment opportunities to these professionals.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Federalist Papers, John Jay Essay Example for Free

The Federalist Papers, John Jay Essay John Jay remarks in Federalist Number 3 that â€Å"[t]he safety of the people doubtless has relation to a great variety of circumstances and considerations, and consequently affords great latitude to those who wish to define it precisely and comprehensively   (Jay, 1787).†Ã‚   By this he means that the new government has the ability to define and defend the people against all threats.   Jay also discusses wars.   He says that â€Å"[t]he number of wars which have happened or will happen in the world will always be found to be n proportion to the number and weight of the causes, whether real or pretend (Jay, 1787). † His solution against the threat of war from foreign powers is to have a United America versus a disunited America.   He also feels that it is in the best interests of all concerned to have a national government that will collectively â€Å"observe the laws of nations towards all these powers (Jay 1787).†Ã‚   Under a national government, treaties would be created and observed, because states can be arbitrary and capricious.   Jay carries over his logic for a federal government because he states that â€Å"such violences are more frequently caused by the passions and interests of a part than of the whole; of one or two States than of the Union. Not a single Indian war has yet been occasioned by aggressions of the present federal government (Jay, 1787).†Ã‚   Jay says in Federalist Number 4 that we should not invite hostilities, but in order to assure that hostilities are not invited, we should stand together as a nation.   As he puts it, [a]s the safety of the whole is the interest of the whole, and cannot be provided for without government, either one or more or many, let us inquire whether one good government is not, relative to the object in question, more competent than any other given number whenever (Jay, 1787). Jay also intimates that a strong central government will be able to stand up to the long-established powers of Britain, Spain and France.   He also says in Federalist Number 5 that as a united nation, we would be free of all â€Å"jealousies† and we would be â€Å"joined in affection (Jay, 1787). It is at this point that Alexander Hamilton takes over the argument to discuss â€Å"dangers and dissentions between the states (Hamilton, 1787).†Ã‚   The first problem he sees is the problem of possible territorial disputes.   By having a   strong national government, the prospect of having this kind of dissention is diminished. Another source of dissention would be commerce.   According to Hamilton, â€Å"[t]he states less favorably circumstanced would be desirous of escaping from the disadvantages of local situation, and of sharing in the advantages of their more fortunate neighbors (Hamilton, 1787).†Ã‚   With independent states, there lies the threat of some states holding power over others that have less means.   There would be various duties that would have to be paid among the different states, and would negatively affect the buying power of the receiving state.   By having a unified national government, he argues, these fears would be allayed. Next, Hamilton discusses the public debt of the union.   He discusses the reapportionment of the debt, and how, under a weak federal government it would be impossible to determine each state’s individual liability.   By having a national government, would allow the debt to be paid collectively or discharged collectively, with no one or two states bearing the burden of repayment. Hamilton next addresses the â€Å"union as a safeguard against domestic faction and insurrection (Hamilton, 1787).†Ã‚   He starts out in Federalist Number 9 with a strong statement—â€Å"a firm union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States, as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection (Hamilton 1787).† By having a strong union, there is less likely to be internal strife or problems.   This is not a new idea, according to Hamilton.   This goes back to the days of Montesquieu, and his theories, however, Montesquieu recommended a small republic rather than an expanded one such as the United States.   If we were to go by his theory, according to Hamilton, we would â€Å"be driven to the alternative either of taking refuge at once in the arms of monarchy, or of splitting ourselves into an infinity of little, jealous, clashing, tumultuous commonwealths (Hamilton 1787).†Ã‚   He also says that a larger body of smaller states â€Å"arrive to such a degree of power as to be able to provide for the security of the united body (Hamilton, 1787).† He also states that â€Å"[s]hould a popular insurrection happen in one of the confederate states the others are able to quell it.   Should abuses creep into one part, they are reformed by those that remain sound.   The state may be destroyed on one side, and not on the other; the confederacy may be dissolved, and the confederates preserve their sovereignty (Hamilton, 1787).† In Federalist Number 10, James Madison takes up the fight.   He argues that factions are bad for the country because the majority forces its will on the minority with no consideration for their ideas or thoughts.   He argues affectively that a national government can control factions because the effects can be controlled. The administration of democracy effectively deals with the effects from factions and quells minority dissent.   In a republic, Madison says, â€Å"the public voice, pronounced by the representatives of the people, will be more consonant to the public good than if pronounced by the people themselves, convened for the purpose (Hamilton, 1787).†Ã‚   He also notes that in a smaller society, there are fewer factions than in a larger society.   That makes it more probable that fewer people will dominate the society and the will of a few will rule the many.   In a larger society, there   is more of a chance that the will of all the parties will be heard and at some level be represented. Hamilton takes over at this point to talk about state connections and common ties that motivate the adoption of the new United States Constitution.   In Federalist Number 11, Hamilton talks about the â€Å"utility of the union in respect to commercial relations and a Navy (Hamilton, 1787).†Ã‚   He notes that the government is best able to handle the large amount of farming and beginning manufacturing interests.   Additionally, the union will benefit from a navy, and having a national navy will perpetuate the idea of the United States as a player on the world stage.   He also takes on revenue.   He notes that â€Å"[t]he ability of a country to pay taxes must always be proportioned, in great degree, to the quantity of money in circulation (Hamilton, 1787).† Hamilton takes on economy in government next.   This has to do with saving money and spending it wisely.   He talks of territory, stating that â€Å"at the natural limit of a democracy is that distance from the central point which will just permit the most remote citizens to assemble as often as their public functions demand (Hamilton, 1787).†Ã‚   He notes finally that â€Å"nothing can be more evident that the thirteen States will be able to support a national government (Hamilton, 1787).† In many ways, there is a dichotomy in what the Framers had to say about the new constitution.   They discuss many issues, from foreign and domestic threats to the threat of faction to how the new government will help facilitate the fledgling democracy.   The union is also meant to safeguard against domestic faction, help form a Navy, facilitate commerce and trade, and help maintain that democracy over the vast territory of the country.   The Framers had it right, that is, the new form of government was destined to be more complete and beneficial to the new country than the old Articles of Confederation. The Federalist Papers give us a new way to look at our Constitution and see it as a living document and not as a static display of old values and charm.   We must do our part to understand not only the document, but the fundamental readings that surround it, so that we are better able to make this Constitution OUR Constitution, and forever see it as an amazingly crafted document that will live in perpetuity. Works Cited Hamilton, Alexander. Federalist Number 6. The Federalist Papers. 2007. Founding   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fathers.org. 10 Mar 2009 http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/. Hamilton, Alexander. Federalist Number 7. The Federalist Papers. 2007. Founding

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Essays --

It is important to expose children to many social situations. These different social experiences help children learn how they should behave in certain situations. As they grow and start to socialize with other children more often, they will learn how to communicate, share, and cooperate. Relationships with other children provide an opportunity for children to practice and advance their social skills and their relationship skills. These relationships also help children learn how to join groups of children already playing together, form/maintain friendships, share personal info, avoid the bully, take turns, resolve conflicts, help others. Interaction provides companionship and important life skills. A child starts interacting with others at a very young age. When the child is still an infant, they are beginning to learn the social skills that they will need throughout life. A baby knows that there are other people besides them existing, but they don’t understand that they have feelings that are not the same as theirs. Because the child is so young, they believe that everyone thinks the same way. They are not aware of socializing and it is meaningless to them at such a young age. Even when they’re not old enough to play, it’s good for infants to be with other infants. Interaction with other children begins in the early toddler years. A child between 12 and 24 months will start to realize that they are separate from others and that their feelings may be different than other people around them. At this age, their interaction limited to complementary and reciprocal play. For example, you may witness children chasing each other, playing simple games of hide and seek, and sharing toys with each other. At this point, children’s’ friendshi... ...ing into legal trouble. The lack of social skills can affect safety in schools. Children with poor social skills are likely to be aggressive or violent and are less likely to be able to control their bad behavior. Academics are also affected. These children are likely to be rejected by peers and develop self-esteem problems and depression, which makes it hard to focus their mind on their school work. Children who are not exposed to social interaction are hurt in the long run. The consequences are negative and they usually stick with the child throughout their life. However, if an isolated child is still young, there are several things you can do to help them. These include: figuring out why the child is isolated, helping to teach the child social skills, arranging for the child to be in groups with peers, and showing other children the child’s strengths and talents.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Res Sisters Essay

* Zain Mehdi Prof: Mary Nordick English – 110. 07 Thursday, March 7th What have you learned about life on the reservation from Highway’s play? Has the play changed any of your opinions or perceptions? The play The Rez Sisters was written by Tomson Highway, a Cree from the Brochet reserve in north-western Manitoba, at the end of the twentieth century. Through a group of seven native women, Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters reveals the lives of aboriginal people and their community on an Indian Reservation. The play shows the harsh realities of Indian reservations of joblessness, prejudice and alcoholism.The old Aboriginal rituals have slowly been forgotten and replaced by the cliches of consumerism. While the people of the community don’t lack the attitude of get–up-and-go, they really have no place to go to. The inhabitants of the Wasy Rez are part of a community that is falling apart. Most of the people are stuck on the welfare, and just getting by on the dirt roads of the Rez. Moreover, they don’t have any control over their lives. Throughout the play, the main characters state, â€Å"Everyone here’s crazy† (Highway, 518). Since there is no work on the Rez, it makes most of the people on welfare go crazy.Some of the men have to go hundred miles to find work while the young boys have to go all the way to Toronto because it is â€Å"the only place educated Indian boys can find decent jobs these days† (Highway, 518). There is constant drinking, fighting and adultery. There is â€Å"nothing to do but drink and screw each other’s wives and husbands†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Highway, 518). Infidelity is so common on the Rez that some of the families have â€Å"†¦fourteen of them (children)†¦Imagine†¦and all from one father† (Highway, 522). * * After reading The Rez Sisters, I was a little surprised by the life on a reserve.I was raised in Toronto, where I did not personally know any Na tive Americans and everything I knew about them was from the books. In the books it describes the Native Americans as being very religious, so when I heard about a big Pow Wow (a native gathering) and I decided to go. I learned a little about the traditional beliefs so when I moved from Toronto to Saskatoon, and it was a complete shock. You see a lot of Native Americans but you rarely see ones who actually follow the traditional beliefs. Most of them have cut their long hair, or never even grew it out.The Rez Sisters focuses on such undervalued lives and brings them up to size. * * Highway’s play is trying to deliver a social massage that if the Native Americans had enough job opportunities and freedom to live wherever they wanted, they would succeed in rebuilding their falling community. I agree with that one hundred percent because they are put down so much, that they have decided to stay in that one spot and not bother trying to work up to something much better. In The Rez sisters Philomena says that: â€Å"the place gets in your blood, you can’t get rid of it and it can’t get rid of you† (Highway, 517).I was really impressed by this statement because it shows that they really do honor their heritage a lot, but it’s difficult for them to leave the only thing they have always known. * * The story of The Rez Sisters dictates the life is tough, but poses the question: What else they are going to do? Well they can always go play bingo. Which is humorous because Highway uses bingo as a form of escape from the life on a reserve. I gained more respect for Native Americans because I never really had an idea of the life on reserves. I figured the people on the reserve followed the traditional beliefs and kept to themselves.I realized they don’t get much help from the government and are left on their own to manage, and with the people not having enough jobs, all they have left to do is kill time, and that is where the alcohol and adultery comes in. * * * * * * * * | Works Cited | * â€Å"Pride and Prejudice (1813 Novel):A  Why Was Caroline Bingley so Desperate for Social Advancement and Wealth? † Quora. N. p. , n. d. Web. < http://www. quora. com/Pride-and-Prejudice-1813-novel/Why-was-Caroline-Bingley-so-desperate-for-social-advancement-and-wealth/answer/Ashley-Knight-1> â€Å"Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice. N. p. , n. d. Web. â€Å"Pride and Prejudice. † Google Books. N. p. , n. d. Web. http://books. google. ca/books? id=s1gVAAAAYAAJ â€Å"Pride and Prejudice. † SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n. d. Web. http://www. sparknotes. com/lit/pride/themes. html â€Å"Pride and Prejudice Study Guide & Essays. † Pride and Prejudice Study Guide & Literature Essays. N. p. , n. d. Web. < http://www. gradesaver. com/pride-and-prejudice/> * â€Å"Styles and Themes of Jane Austen. † Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation *

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Positive and Negative Impact of Genetically Modified Food Essay

Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g. through the introduction of a gene from a different organism. Currently available GM foods stem mostly from plants, but in the future foods derived from GM microorganisms or GM animals are likely to be introduced on the market. Most existing genetically modified crops have been developed to improve yield, through the introduction of resistance to plant diseases or of increased tolerance of herbicides. In the future, genetic modification could be aimed at altering the nutrient content of food, reducing its allergenic potential, or improving the efficiency of food production systems. All GM foods should be assessed before being allowed on the market. FAO/WHO Codex guidelines exist for risk analysis of GM food. Positive and Negative Impacts Genetically Modified Food Has on the World The term ‘genetically modified food’, also known as ‘genetically modified organisms’, is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. The reason these plants are being modified today is to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides (pesticides used to kill unwanted plants) or improved nutritional content. In order to create these genetically modified foods, scientists must introduce specific changes to their DNA by using extremely precise genetic engineering techniques. While there are some benefits that genetically modified foods may offer, there are also some risks and negative affects that these foods can cause as well. Genetically modified foods have been helpful in many aspects of the world. Firstly, they have the ability to help meet the growing demands for food supply as the world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years or so. Ensuring enough food supply for this booming population is going to be a major struggle in years to come, and genetically modified foods will help do this in a number of ways. For example, crop losses from insect pests can be shocking, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. By growing genetically modified foods such as B.T. corn, farmers can help eliminate the production of chemical pesticides that cause potential health hazards, and there will be higher crop yields that many experts argue can help to feed people in these countries. In addition to this, plants can be genetically modified to be resistant to bacterial, fungal or viral infestation. For example, sweet potatoes have been modified to improve viral resistance, and bananas have been modified to resist the Black Sigatoka fungus. Growing genetically modified foods will therefore lead to less†¦ [continues] Harmful Effects of the Agent Genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) are a broad group of plants, animals, and bacteria that are engineered for a wide variety of applications ranging from agricultural production to scientific research. The types of potential hazards posed by GMO’s vary according to the type of organism being modified and its intended application. Most of the concern surrounding GMO’s relates to their potential for negative effects on the environment and human health. Because GMO’s that could directly effect human health are primarily products that can enter the human food supply, this website focuses on genetically modified food. To date, the only types of products that have been approved for human consumption in the U.S. are genetically modified plants (FDA website). All genetically modified foods that have been approved are considered by the government to be as safe as their traditional counterparts and are generally unregulated (FDA website). However, there are seve ral types of potential health effects that could result from the insertion of a novel gene into an organism. Health effects of primary concern to safety assessors are production of new allergens, increased toxicity, decreased nutrition, and antibiotic resistance (Bernstein et al., 2003). Food Allergy Food Allergy affects approximately 5% of children and 2% of adults in the U.S. and is a significant public health threat (Bakshi, 2003). Allergic reactions in humans occur when a normally harmless protein enters the body and stimulates an immune response (Bernstein et al., 2003). If the novel protein in a GM food comes from a source that is know to cause allergies in humans or a source that has never been consumed as human food, the concern that the protein could elicit an immune response in humans increases. Although no allergic reactions to GM food by consumers have been confirmed, in vitro evidence suggesting that some GM products could cause an allergic reaction has motivated biotechnology companies to discontinue their development (Bakshi, 2003). Increased Toxicity Most plants produce substances that are toxic to humans. Most of the plants that humans consume produce toxins at levels low enough that they do not produce any adverse health effects. There is concern that inserting an exotic gene into a plant could cause it to produce toxins at higher levels that could be dangerous to humans. This could happen through the process of inserting the gene into the plant. If other genes in the plant become damaged during the insertion process it could cause the plant to alter its production of toxins. Alternatively, the new gene could interfere with a metabolic pathway causing a stressed plant to produce more toxins in response. Although these effects have not been observed in GM plants, they have been observed through conventional breeding methods creating a safety concern for GM plants. For example, potatoes conventionally bred for increased diseased resistance have produced higher levels of glycoalkaloids (GEO-PIE website). Decreased Nutritional Value A genetically modified plant could theoretically have lower nutritional quality than its traditional counterpart by making nutrients unavailable or indigestible to humans. For example, phytate is a compound common in seeds and grains that binds with minerals and makes them unavailable to humans. An inserted gene could cause a plant to produce higher levels of phytate decreasing the mineral nutritional value of the plant (GEO-PIE). Another example comes from a study showing that a strain of genetically modified soybean produced lower levels of phytoestrogen compounds, believed to protect against heart disease and cancer, than traditional soybeans (Bakshi, 2003). Antibiotic resistance In recent years health professionals have become alarmed by the increasing number of bacterial strains that are showing resistance to antibiotics. Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics by creating antibiotic resistance genes through natural mutation. Biotechnologists use antibiotic resistance genes as selectable markers when inserting new genes into plants. In the early stages of the process scientists do not know if the target plant will incorporate the new gene into its genome. By attaching the desired gene to an antibiotic resistance gene the new GM plant can be tested by growing it in a solution containing the corresponding antibiotic. If the plant survives scientists know that it has taken up the antibiotic resistance gene along with the desired gene. There is concern that bacteria living in the guts of humans and animals could pick up an antibiotic resistance gene from a GM plant before the DNA becomes completely digested (GEO-PIE website). It is not clear what sort of ris k the possibility of conferring antibiotic resistance to bacteria presents. No one has ever observed bacteria incorporating new DNA from the digestive system under controlled laboratory conditions. The two types of antibiotic resistance genes used by biotechnologists are ones that already exist in bacteria in nature so the process would not introduce new antibiotic resistance to bacteria. Never the less it is a concern and the FDA is encouraging biotechnologists to phase out the practice of using antibiotic resistance genes (GEO-PIE website).

Friday, November 8, 2019

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The So essays

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The So essays Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712. One Sunday evening in March 1728, when he was not yet sixteen, Rousseau found himself shut out of Geneva after a walk in the country. He had forgotten the time, and the city gates were closed when he reached them. This had happened to him twice before, and his master had beaten him for staying out all night. This time he decided he would not go back at all. So his life of wandering began. Rousseau was never able to adjust to life in any country. How much of his trouble was of social or psychological origin, and how much of it was due to his physical malady, a urological disorder that caused him discomfort and embarrasement throughout his life, cannot be known. He had tried to do what a young man making his way in the world was supposed to do. He had various love affairs. He had given up his ancestral Protestantism and entered the catholic Church. He had enjjoyed the patrinage of the high born. He hah used influence to be appointed secretary ti the French embassy at Venice. He had written operas that were well received,and he had also been accepted by Diderot and other enlightenment thinkers, and was affected by their views. Enlightenment thinkers felt that they were leading a mission of liberation, that by striking th ematch of reason the darkness of the past would be dispelled and humanity woul quickly and easily liberate itself. They attacked war and the military values of the traditional aristocracy. Tjey rejected artificial social distictions. They lauded most forms of freedom, including freedom of the press, speech, and of religious belief. They supported the application of science to economic activity, a view appealing to the middle class and liberal aristocracy. They believed that hteir eighteenth century civilization eas ready for enlightenment and the great progress that wuld result. Yet, the optimism of...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Grant Writing Tips

Grant Writing Tips Grant Writing Tips Grant Writing Tips By Guest Author This is a guest post by Cristy Rodriguez. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. A grant is a simple request for funds that entails a description of a specific need and the proposed program that will fill that need. It is the applicant’s responsibility and goal to present a strong enough case to convince a possible funder that they are worthy of receiving a grant. There is a basic format that can be followed and used as an outline when putting a grant together. Many funding organizations and foundations have different sets of guidelines that should be followed. It is important that you carefully research each foundation’s mission, area of interests and grant guidelines. Look to answer these questions and any others that seem relevant to your search. What is their sole basis for setting funds aside for this call for proposals? What program areas are they looking to fund? Are they only considering awarding funds to certain entities (non-profits, schools, churches, etc.), certain geographic areas or populations? Do not overlook their funding restrictions, some foundations list what they do not accept and or fund. Make sure your program and needs match with the foundations scope. You must also gather information from the organization (who you are writing for) to help put the grant together. Meet with the organization’s key contacts to plan out a program design. Find out what kind of grant they are looking for, what important needs need to be met. What do they hope to accomplish through this proposed program? Discuss what their plans for sustainability are. The feedback you receive is quite vital to the grant layout and presentation. Gather materials on the organization’s background, mission and list of past and former programs and activities. Once you have chosen a foundation and have gathered all your research materials, you are now ready to begin writing a grant. Most of what is detailed here is what foundations are looking for in a grant. The following can be used as a guide to get you started on the grant writing process. 1. Executive Summary- Usually one page Proposed program summary Solution- What the program will accomplish Program cost Organization experience and capacity- Brief statements to establish credibility with similar programs 2. Statement of Need- Two pages Reason(s) proposed program is needed, supported with statistical information Reasons the organization is the right candidate to fulfill those need(s) 3. Program Description- Three pages Program design and implementation Goals and Objectives Methods- Steps taken to accomplish program objectives Program Evaluation- The methods for reporting program results, by whom and when. How will you measure success? What are your plans for improvement? Plan for sustainability- How will the program continue once funding is gone? Program staff 4. Organizational Information- One page Mission and History Summary of past and former programs Accomplishments 5. Program Budget- One page Provide an outline of all program costs and expenses. Be sure to review their guidelines on what they do not fund. 6. Attachments- Varies 501 Â © 3- Tax exemption letter Organization Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation List of Board members Financial Statements Letters of support When you have compiled all these elements you will now have a basic draft or model to use for future grant writing projects. Of course, this is to give you an idea of what most foundations ask for. You should always follow their grant guidelines and instructions. About the author: Cristy Rodriguez, former grant writer and a regular contributor to Associated Content. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Types of RhymeComma Before ButStarting a Business Letter with Dear Mr.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Methods of marketing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Methods of marketing research - Essay Example This differentiate it from Quantitative Research in which a large group of respondents provide data that are statistically analyzed. Qualitative research methods are used primarily as a prelude to quantitative research. They are used to define a problem, generate hypotheses, identify determinants, and develop quantitative research designs. They are expensive and slow. Because of the low number of respondents involved, these exploratory research methods cannot be used to generalize to the whole population. They are however, very valuable for exploring an issue and are used by almost all researchers. Quantitative research is an overall presentation of a research. It defines the problem, the research design and the method of data collection and most of all the data is interpreted using the various statistical tools like The data collected is interpreted and presented using charts, graphs and diagrams to be easily understood. The quantitative technique is more accurate because it involves a large number of sample compared to the qualitative technique. As qualitative technique is a proceeding event to the quantitative technique, it is used to define a problem, generate hypothesis identify determinants, and devel... They are expensive and slow. Because of the low number of respondents involved, these exploratory research methods cannot be used to generalize to the whole population. They are however, very valuable for exploring an issue and are used by almost all researchers. Examples: include focus groups, in-depth interviews, and projective techniques. Why Quantitative is more important in marketing research Quantitative research is an overall presentation of a research. It defines the problem, the research design and the method of data collection and most of all the data is interpreted using the various statistical tools like Parametric tests of a single sample: t test, z test. Parametric tests of two independent samples: two-group t test, z test. Parametric tests of two independent samples: two-group t test, z test Nominal/ordinal level test of a single sample: chi-square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov one sample test, runs test, binomial test and many more The data collected is interpreted and presented using charts, graphs and diagrams to be easily understood. The quantitative technique is more accurate because it involves a large number of sample compared to the qualitative technique. As qualitative technique is a proceeding event to the quantitative technique, it is used to define a problem, generate hypothesis identify determinants, and develop quantitative research designs, and qualitative research design cannot be used to generalize the whole population as it involves a less number of respondents. Example : If pepsi wants to launch its soft drink in a country and the manager wants to research that whether his soft drink (pepsi) would be suitable and profitable to launch in that country, then

Friday, November 1, 2019

EC 313 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

EC 313 - Essay Example Firstly, the ASF (Aggregate Supply of Funding) will remain constant with respect to any interest rate changes therefore we will depict it as a vertical line as shown in the above graph. Suppose that due to certain shocks in the economy, the APE line shifts to the right. The increase in APE will require funding to support it but the ASF will remain unresponsive to the change. As consumers move to gain funding, the lenders will drive up the interest rates. Increase in interest rates will crowd out the demand and the output and price levels will remain unchanged. What if the amount of gold in an economy increased or decreased. Based on the quantity of gold the ASF line would shift to either left or right. If ASF had a rightward shift than it implies that there will be an excess of funding in the economy. Thus the lenders will be willing to provide their money at lower level of interest rates. This lower level of interest rates will induce the consumers to spend more therefore increasing ADF. Now ADF will cross ASF at a decreased interest rate level and both will exceed the GDP level. Increase in a funded demand will cause the firms to increase their prices. This increase in Price Level brings a fall in ASF which will also decrease APE. Prices will continue to move in upward direction until & unless interest rate, APE & ASF return to their original level. Prior to the Great Depression of 1929, the classical macroeconomics functioned as it was required. There were no economic slumps and employment and GDP’s were stable throughout the period. The assumption of classical macroeconomists regarding the invisible hand was proved to be almost true. There was no need for government policies or intervention to control the economy and macroeconomics was taking care of itself. Suddenly, the Great Depression of 1929 made its way in the economy and plunged economies in state of chaos. Some faltering economies almost experienced a decline of 30% in their GDP and as much

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Criminology - Essay Example How is it possible, for example, to justify the actions of a criminal, who killed a little child? It is absolutely impossible to let this person exist further, moreover to give him a chance to appear among other members of the society again one day. Such people should be eliminated, they should not exist, because their behavior can’t be corrected anyhow. So, death penalty is very helpful here and should be used. On the other hand modern world is trying to follow democratic principles. Notwithstanding that the majority of European countries and many states of the US cancelled death penalty, in some countries death penalty is still widely used. For example, in China it is applied every day to any kinds of crimes (Evans, 2012). Is it right? No, it is absolutely wrong because it contradicts humanistic and democratic principles. The best way is to use death penalty only sometimes for the most severe crimes. However, cases are rarely considered separately, the law is the same for everybody, and many innocent people are still in risk. Thus, the issue remains

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Case Study: Hearing And Visual Impairments

Case Study: Hearing And Visual Impairments This document discusses the most prevalent sensory impairments: hearing and visual impairments. The impact caused on academic and individual development are addressed as well as the significant role which educators of these special categories of people can play in the education sector in order to make learning possible. Visual impairment This refers to occurrences of partial or complete vision loss. Milder forms of visual impairment are treatable with glasses or even contact lenses while others require surgery or some medication. Severe cases of visual impairments are irreversible. Types and causes of visual impairment Four categories of visual impairment exist. Partially sighted refer to individuals with some level of difficulty in identifying information and as such special assistance in learning and reading is required. Low vision is a more serious visual impairment which does not permeate reading at normal distances. Supportive tools like the popular use of Braille assist people diagnosed of low vision to read. Legally blind is a vision which is less than 20/200 or characterized by limited range of vision. Totally blind refers to a person with no vision at all thus such individuals cannot process any images. They utilize non-visual resources like Braille in order to learn. Several factors cause blindness in individuals. Congenital blindness occurs at birth due to heredity or infection. Cataracts which are cloudy collections of protein in the eye lens cause light not to pass through the lens leading to the condition. Amblyopia is a condition of the eye which results into blindness due to the bra ins discontinued processing of images present in the misaligned eye. The degeneration of macular situated at the retina of the eye especially in older people results into visual impairment or even loss of vision (Webster Roe, 1998). Hearing impairment The disability Act defines hearing impairment as the limited ability to effectively detect process or differentiate sound. Types and causes Conductive hearing loss is exhibited when sounds are unable to go through the inner ear from the outer ear. This is as a result of blockage of the ear canal caused by build-up of earwax or fluid. Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by the percived damage to the hair cells located at the cochlea or auditory nerve. The damage would occur due to aging or perhaps injuries. Mixed hearing loss is present when the above two hearing loss types are present. Impact of visual and hearing impairments on a persons development Sensory Development A child born with hearing and visual impairment is negatively affected especially in regard to sensory development. This is because other senses appear to diminish. For instance, the child gets inconsistent, unverified as well as discrete fragments of information. Although hearing is usually the only sense available to the blind child, control over the available sound present in their environment is not present. Vision is vital in verifying sounds otherwise lack of verification means that the sound is noise emanating from a non-specified location (Webster Roe, 1998). Motor development A person who is sensory impaired possesses significant developmental delays in the ability to implement the functionality of hands. Even at 5months, a blind childs hands are normally held up in a fist at shoulder height. Mutual fingering as well as midline engagement with the hands common with sighted children of this particular age are not exhibited. Ultimately, delays in hand utilization results in delayed development of fine and gross motor skills. Achieving appropriate posture for the blind child takes considerable a longer duration of time. Developmental achievements requiring self initiated mobility like elevating arms in prone or walking alone are significantly delayed. Passive behavior like self-stimulation is exhibited in blind children due to the inability to move around the environment. Cognitive development The ability to coordinate elements in high levels of abstraction is limited. Thus a different construct of world and reality is developed contrary to that given by sighted persons. A blind person has problems in establishing the concept of defining attributes as well as relationships due to the limited guidance available (Webster Roe, 1998). Though the blind child is continually involved in problem solving, the activity is certainly difficult and less rewarding for her/him. The ability to obtain object permanence is achieved on sound clues only. Blind children achieve this almost a year later than the sighted children. Sensory impaired persons have difficulties in forming and maintaining casual relationships due to the inability to retain pleasurable stimuli. Social development Due to inexistent subtle clues and facial expressions, the social interactions of visually and hearing impaired persons are complicated. While a sighted child will signal attachment and recognition to familiar people through a smile, a blind child will smile upon recognition of his mothers voice after about 2 months. Sensory impaired persons have ambivalent emotional involvement with peers. They also appear non-communicative and disinterested on the on-goings thus they are overprotected or rejected by their peers, relatives as well as strangers. Language development is also limited in sensory impaired children (Webster Roe, 1998). Impact of visual impairments on a persons academic achievement Vision loss impacts negatively a persons academic achievement since special adaptations are required to steer the student to success. Vision is important in understanding the underlying concepts being taught in a classroom situation thus most visually impaired students often complete schooling without good mastery of skills and knowledge which is vital in enabling them further their education or gain employment (Sacks, 2001). Visually impaired students are taught using critical skills like Braille and travel skills like canes. Shortage of mobility specialists as well as qualified visually impaired teachers restricts dissemination of education. Visually impaired persons require the use of large print formats as well as audiotapes to learn. Making presentations from these materials slows down the learning process considerably. Impact of hearing impairments on a persons academic achievement Hearing impairments affect learning and teaching of the hearing impaired students thereby causing substantial difficulties in academic achievement. The deaf learners experience massive linguistic problems owing to the inability to develop spoken language and understandable utterances (Sacks, 2001). Many difficulties are exhibited in written work whereby glaring mistakes are seen in written work. For example wrong sentence structures, omissions of words as well as wrong tense and verb usage is prevalent. Due to the complexity of lip reading, most deaf learners find it difficult to undertake this task. Attributable to lack of hearing as well as auditory memory, hearing impaired learners are unable to adequately rehearse what they are able to write thus learning requires lengthy period. The syntax as well as the grammar of BSL is different from that of spoken English thus confusion arises in the course of disseminating the information. Deaf students take considerable long time to be abl e to read. The developed vocabulary is minimal thus understanding the message being communicated becomes difficult. Unfamiliar words cannot be lip read thus continued advancement of vocabulary becomes difficult. Deaf learners thus require to research on technical jargon as well as the perceived simple and commonplace language in order to effectively communicate. Thus a lot of time is spent in doing simple assignments as compared to the hearing students. Unlike the case of hearing learners who gather information from reading newspapers, discussions with peers or listening and watching television, the deaf students have to rely of their instructors to learn. Thus their written work largely lacks in-depth analysis and is marked by uninformed opinions (Sacks, 2001). Group work and discussions prove problematic to hearing impaired students due to their inability to contribute equally as the other students. What Educators can do In order for the hearing and visually impaired students to adequately fit in the learning situation, teachers and trainers need carefully structure the learning modalities, learning environment as well as putting in place necessary resources (Chen Downing, 2006). Classroom activities need be accessible to the hearing impaired students through incorporating tutorial groups as well as incorporating computer based learning. For the hearing impaired, course notes need be provided in advance so as to acquaint the learners beforehand what is expected of them. Through the use of visual aids like PowerPoint presentations will largely help in proper understanding of the spoken language. For the visually impaired, educators must ensure that all the visual materials given to the students are accompanied by verbal descriptions. Narrations need be emphasized at all learning stages in order to enhance understanding. Learners with some functional vision should be given handouts printed out in large print so as not to have learners strain as they read. Audiotapes as well as Braille formats of the class presentations and lessons should be given to students (Chen Downing, 2006). Conclusion Owing to the several challenges confronting sensory impaired persons, several adjustments need be put in place to ensure such learners adapt adequately to the learning environment. Hearing and visual impairments are quite prevalent and cause severe consequences during the development of language, speech as well as cognitive skills. Through proper education, effects associated with hearing and visual impairments are identified thereby advancing early detection and management strategies.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Competitive Analysis of Metro Holdings Ltd Essay -- Business Analysis

1. Introduction Metro Holdings Ltd is a multi-national company that operates two major business segments, namely Property Development and Investment, and Retail. This report explores the retail arm of Metro, which manages three department stores and four specialty â€Å"accessorize† stores in Singapore, and another five department stores in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia. 2. Competitive Environment of Metro Ltd The competitive environment of Metro Holdings Ltd would be evaluated based on Michael Porter’s 5 forces Model. The factors affecting each force would be critically analysed to determine the competition faced by the business. As the nature of department stores and specialty â€Å"accessorize† stores is vastly different, the report would focus on the analysis of department stores which accounts for a bigger portion of the company’s income and presence in the industry. 2.1 Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants is relatively low in the department stores industry. Department stores do not manufacture products nor create their own brands of merchandise, their products are not differentiated. As a result, consumers have low switching costs, customer loyalty is low, as they can easily purchase similar products elsewhere. These lower the barriers to entry, allowing new entrants a chance to gain customers. On the other hand, most factors prove otherwise. The retail industry does not have high Economies of Scale to be exploited in general . Yet, it is impossible to run department stores like Metro on a small scale . A large retail space, inventory, and warehouse are necessary to host a specialized portfolio of brands and products to better attract both customers and suppliers. Heavy capital requirements and operational expen... ...Michael Porter’s Five-Force Model. †¢ Able to make valid and clear conclusions about the competition faced by the business, based on the analysis. †¢ Demonstrate a clear understanding of the business and the actual environment it operates in. Works Cited https://www.metro.com.sg/storefront/ContentDetail/AboutUs3.asp?ContentId=458 http://digilander.libero.it/fschivardi/images/schivardiviviano.pdf Charles A. Ingene, Scale Economies in American Retailing: A Cross-Industry Comparison Engle, J., How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Retail Business http://secure-online-purchasing.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_growth_of_internet_shopping http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/singapore/expat_guide/910/singapore_aims_to_achieve_65mil_populati on.php Eng, P., Accounting for Indonesia’s economic growth:Recent past and near future