Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Business Law - Essay Example The primary concern of the questioner is whether his concern can be referred to the court. The other two concerns are: 1. Position of the concerned court with respect to end-of service gratuity for the previous period of the visa. 2. Salary difference of the actual received and mentioned in the labour contract. Response: Al Shaiba clarified about the right of questioner that he has full right to get compensation based on his actual employment duration which is three years. Regarding the salary difference, Labour Law calculates the compensation based on the current salary drawn by the employee. Therefore, both the concerns addressed clarify that the employee shall get his case referred under the concern court through the Ministry of Labour. Query#2: Gratuity Calculation The questioner worked in a company under unlimited contract for one year before tendering his resignation. Questioner has two queries: 1. The end of service gratuity was calculated on the basis of 21 days salary. 2. If the questioner is legally entitled for a return ticket to his home country as the contract was signed in the home country. Response: Al Shaiba gave the reference of Article No 137 of the Federal Labour Law No.8 of 1980. This article clarifies the doubt of the respondent. The article states, "Where a worker under an indefinite term contract abandons his work at his own initiative after a con ­tinuous service of not less than one year and not more than three years, he shall be entitled to one-third of the severance pay provided for in the preceding article. Such a worker shall be entitled to two thirds of the said severance pay if his continuous service exceeds three years up to five years and to the full severance pay if it exceeds five years". The second doubt is clarified that the employee is entitled to get the return tickets to home provided he returns back to home country and does not work with a new employer. Query 3: Arbitrary Dismissal This is a case of dismissal of an emp loyee who was working for his company from more than two years. The nature of the contract was for unlimited period. The employee received dismissal due to his absence from work for five consecutive days without excuse, 6th day he was present at work but again 7th and 8th day he went absent. The dismissal was justified under pursuant of the Article n. 120 (Labour Law) and employee was explained that he was not entitled to end-to service gratuity even after producing medical report for the absence period. The queries were: 1. Questioner wanted to know the Article 120 in detail. 2. Questioner wanted to clarify what should he do if the dismissal is not in conformity of the Article no.120 of the Labour Law 3. If there is no conformity; could he get reinstated by his company under legal obligation of Ministry of Labour/Competent court? Answer: The article No.120 of the Federal Labour Law No.8 of 1980 is as follows: "An employer may dismiss a work ­er without notice if and only if the w orker: 1. Assumes a false identity or na ­tionality or submits forged certificates or documents; 2. Is engaged on probation and is dismissed during or at the end of the probationary period; 3. Commits a fault resulting in sub ­stantial material loss to the employ ­er, provided that the latter notifies the labour department of the inci ­dent within 48 hours of his becoming aware of its occurrence; 4. Disobeys instructions on

Business ethics take home exam Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business ethics take home exam - Coursework Example However then whichever constitution that permits authoritarianism requires it, and whichever constitution that necessitates non-dictatorship disagrees with one of the other requirements, therefore, the paradox of shared choice. The set of requirements across diverse likely votes polished welfare economics as well as differentiated Arrows establishment from the pre-Arrow shared welfare utility (Kavvadias 98-99). The original position as explained by Rawls entails at least two important elements of features.   Foremost, the original position is a condition in which people are rationally self concerned.   Next, the original position is a condition in which people are deficiency of all information exact to their ultimate lives.   This information deficiency stretches from personal factors like the deposit of natural endowments a person will be conceived with, to wide shared considerations of what locality, moment as well as culture a person will be conceived into (Rawls 29-35) The â€Å"Foremost Principle† addresses the fundamentals of the legitimate composition. It maintains that society should assure every inhabitant â€Å"the same claim to a completely sufficient plan of equal essential rights and freedoms, which plan is attuned with the same plan for all.† The second standard addresses rather those features of the fundamental construction that shape the allocation of opportunities, administrative centers, wages, material goods, and in overall social advantages. The initial part of the second standard maintains that the shared structures that shape this allocation must fulfill the conditions of â€Å"fair equity of opportunity† (Rawls 29-35). c. Rawls claims that a rational individual in the original position would choose the principles of justice as fairness over the principle of average utility. What is his reasoning to support the

Measures of Dispersion

Measures of Dispersion Summary The measure of central tendency, as discussed in the previous chapter tells us only about the characteristics of a particular series. They do not describe any thing on the observations or data entirely. In other wards, measures of central tendency do not tell any thing about the variations that exist in the data of a particular series. To make the concept, let discuss an example. It was found by using formula of mean that the average depth of a river is 6 feet. One cannot confidently enter into the river because in some places the depth may be 12 feet or it may have 3 feet. Thus this type of interpretation by using the measures of central tendency some times proves to be useless. Hence the measure of central tendency alone to measure the characteristics of a series of observations is not sufficient to draw a valid conclusion. With the central value one must know as to how the data is distributed. Different sets of data may have the same measures of central tendency but differ greatly in terms of variation. For this knowledge of central value is not enough to appreciate the nature of distribution of values. Thus there is the requirement of some additional measures along with the measures of central tendency which will describe the spread of the entire set of values along with the central value. One such measure is popularly called as dispersion or variation. The study of dispersion will enables us to know whether a series is homogeneous (where all the observations remains around the central value) or the observations is heterogeneous (there will be variations in the observations around the central value like 1, 50, 20, 28 etc., where the central value is 33). Hence it can be said that a measure of dispersion describes the spread or scattering of the individual values of a series around its central value. Experts opine different opinion on why the variations in a distribution are so important to consider? Following are some views on validity of the measure of dispersion: Measures of variation provide the researchers some additional information about the behaviour of the series along with the measures of central tendency. With this information one can judge the reliability of the value that is derived by using the measure of central tendency. If the data of the series are widely dispersed, the central location is less representatives of the data as a whole. On the other hand, when the data of a series is less dispersed, the central location is more representative to the entire series. In other wards, a high degree of variation would mean little uniformity whereas a low degree of variation would mean greater uniformity. When the data of a series are widely dispersed, it creates practical problems in executing data. Measure of dispersion helps in understanding and tackling the widely dispersed data. It facilitates to determine the nature and cause of variation in order to control the variation itself. Measures of variation enable comparison to be made of two or more series with regard to their variability. DEFINITION: Following are some definitions defined by different experts on measures of dispersion. L.R. Connor defines measures of dispersion as ‘dispersion is the measure extended to which individual items vary. Similarly, Brookes and Dick opines it as ‘dispersion or spread is the degree of the scatter or the variation of the variables about a central value. Robert H. Wessel defines it as ‘measures which indicate the spread of the values are called measures of dispersion. From all these definition it is clear that dispersion measures more or less describes the spread or scattering of the individual values of a series around its central value. METHODS OF MEASURING DISPERSION: Dispersion of a series of data can be calculated by using following four widely used methods Dispersion when measured on basis of the difference between two extreme values selected from a series of data. The two well known measures are The Range The Inter-quartile Range or Quartile Deviation Dispersion when measured on basis of average deviation from some measure of central tendency. The well known measures are The Mean/average deviation The Standard Deviation and The Coefficient of variation and The Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve All the tools are discussed in details below one after the other. THE RANGE: The range is the simplest measure of the dispersion. The range is defined as the difference between the highest value and the lowest value of the series. Range as a measure of variation is having limited applicability. It is widely used for weather forecasting by the meteorological departments. It also used in statistical quality control. Range is a good indicator to measure the fluctuations in price change like that of studying the variations in the price of shares and debentures and other related matters. Following is the procedure of calculating range: Range= value of the highest observation (H) – value of the lowest observation (L) or Range = H – L Advantages of Range: Range is the simplest of obtaining dispersion. It is easily understandable and can be interpreted easily. It requires fewer times to obtain the variation in the series. Disadvantages of Range: As it considers only two extreme values, hence it doesnt include all the observations of the series. It fails to tell any thing about the characteristics of a distribution It is having very limited scope of applicability Having no mathematical treatment THE INTER-QUARTILE RANGE OR QUARTILE DEVIATION: A second measure of dispersion is the inter-quartile range which takes into account the middle half i.e., 50% of the data thus, avoiding the problem of extreme values in the data. Hence it measures approximately how far from the median one must go on either side before it can be include one-half the values of the data set. Inter-quartile range can be calculated by dividing the series of observations into four parts; each part of the series contains 25 percent of the observations. The quartiles are then the highest values in each of these four parts, and the inter-quartile range is the difference between the values of the first and the third quartile. Following are the steps of calculating the inter-quartile range: Arrange the data of the series in ascending order. Calculate the first quartile which is denoted as (Q1) by using the formula In case of grouped data the first quartile (Q1) can be calculated by using the formula Where N= number of observations in the series i.e., the sum of frequencies, L = lower limit of the quartile class, p.c.f. = commutative frequency prior to the quartile class, f = frequency of the quartile class and i = class interval. Quartile class can be determined by using the formula. Calculate the third quartile which is denoted as (Q3) by using the formula in case of ungrouped data. In case of grouped data the third quartile (Q3) can be calculated by using the formula Where N= number of observations in the series i.e., the sum of frequencies, L = lower limit of the quartile class, p.c.f. = commutative frequency prior to the quartile class, f = frequency of the quartile class and i = class interval. Quartile class can be determined by using the formula. THE MEAN/AVERAGE DEVIATION: Mean/average deviation is the arithmetic mean of the difference of a series computed from any measure of central tendency i.e., either deviation from mean or median or mode. The absolute values of each observation are calculated. Clark and Schekade opine mean deviation or average deviations as the average amount of scatter of the items in a distribution from either the mean or the median, ignoring the signs of the deviations. Thus the average that is taken of scatter is an arithmetic mean, which accounts for the fact that this measure is often called as mean deviation or average deviations. Calculations of Mean Deviation in case of Discrete Series: In case of discrete series, mean deviation can be calculated through following steps The first step is to calculate the mean or median or mode of the given series Compute the deviations of the observations of the series from the calculated mean or median or mode. This deviation is also denoted as capital letter D and is always taken as mod value i.e., ignoring the plus or minus sign. Take the summation of the deviations (sum of D) and divide it by number of observations (N). In the same way one can calculate mean deviation from median or mode in case of individual series. Calculations of Mean Deviation in case of discrete series: Mean deviation can be calculated in case of discrete series in a little bit different way. Following are some steps to calculate the average mean when the series is discrete. The first step is to calculate the mean or median or mode of the given series by using the formula as discussed in the previous chapter. Compute the deviations of the observations of the series from the calculated mean or median or mode value. This deviation is also denoted as capital letter D and is always taken as mod value i.e., ignoring the plus or minus sign. Multiply the corresponding frequency with each deviation value i.e., calculate f * D. Similarly, one can calculate the mean deviation or average deviation by taking deviations from median or mode. Calculations of Mean Deviation in case of continuous series: The first step is to calculate the mean or median or mode of the given series by using the formula as discussed in the previous chapter. In the second step, get the mid values of the observations (m) Compute the deviations of the observations of the series from the calculated mean or median or mode value. This deviation is also denoted as capital letter D = m mean or median or mode and is always taken as mod value i.e., ignoring the plus or minus sign. Multiply the corresponding frequency with each deviation value i.e., calculate f * D. Take the summation i.e., (sum of D) and divide it by number of observations (N). The formula may be Advantages of mean deviation: The computation process of mean deviation is based on all the observations of the series. The value of mean deviation is less affected by the extreme items. These are three alternatives available with the researcher while calculating the mean. One can consider the mean or median or mode. Hence it is more flexible in calculation. Disadvantages of mean deviation: The practical usefulness of mean deviation is very less. Mean deviation is not having enough scope for further mathematical calculations. Mod values are considered while calculating the mean deviation. It is criticized by some experts as illogical and unsound. THE STANDARD DEVIATION: Standard deviation or other wise called as root mean square deviation is the most important and widely used measure of variation. It measures the absolute variation of a distribution. It is the right measure that highlights the spread of the observation over and around the mean value. The greater the rate of variation of observations in a series, the greater will be the value of standard deviation. A small value of standard deviation implies a high degree of homogeneity among the observations in the series. If there will be a comparison between two or more standard deviations of two or more series, than it is always advisable to choose that series as ideal one which is having small value of standard deviation. Standard deviation is always measures from the mean or average value of the series. The credit for introducing this concept in the literature goes to Karl Pearson, a famous statistician. It is denoted by the Greek letter (pronounced as sigma) Standard deviation is calculated in following three different series: Standard deviation in case of Individual series Standard deviation in case of Discrete series Standard deviation in case of Continuous series All the above conditions are discussed in detail below. a. Standard deviation in case of individual series: In case of individual series, the value of standard deviation can be calculated by using two methods. Direct method- when deviations are taken from actual mean Short-cut method- when deviations are taken from assumed mean 1. Direct method- when deviations are taken from actual mean: Following are some steps to be followed for calculating the value of standard deviation. The first step is to calculate the actual mean value of the observation In the next column calculate the deviation from each observation i.e., find out () where is the mean of the series. In the next column calculate the square value of the deviations and at the end of the column calculate the sum of the square of the deviations i.e., Divide the total value with the number of observations (N) and than square root of the value. The formula will be . Since the series is having individual observations, some times it so happens that there is no need of taking the deviations. In such a case the researcher can directly calculate the value of the standard deviation. The formula for calculating directly is . 2. Short-cut method- when deviations are taken from assumed mean: In practical uses it so happens that while calculating standard deviation by using the arithmetic mean, the mean value may be in some fractions i.e., .25 etc. This creates the real problem in calculating the value of standard deviation. For this purpose, instead of calculating standard deviation by using the above discussed arithmetic mean methods, researchers generally prefer the method of short-cut which is nothing rather calculation of standard deviation by assuming a mean value. Following are some steps that to be followed for calculating standard deviation in case of assumed mean method: The first step is to assume a value from the X values as mean. This mean value is denoted as A. In the next step deviations are to be calculated from this assumed mean as (X-A) and this value is denoted as D. At the end of the same column, the sum of D () is to be calculated. Calculate the square of each observation of D i.e., calculate. The following formula is to be used to calculate standard deviation of the series. where N is the number of observations in the series. b. Standard deviation in case of discrete series: Discrete series are the series which are having some frequencies or repetitions of observations. In case of a discrete series standard deviation is calculated by using following three methods: when deviations are taken from actual mean when deviations are taken from assumed mean Following are the detailed analysis of the above the two methods. 1. When deviations are taken from actual mean: The steps to calculate standard deviation when deviations are calculated from the actual mean are The first step is to calculate the actual mean value of the observation In the next column calculate the deviation from each observation i.e., find out () where is the mean of the series, this can be denoted as D. In the next column calculate the square value of the deviations and at the end of the column calculate the sum of the square of the deviations i.e., Multiply corresponding frequencies of each observation with the value of D2 in the next column. Divide the total value with the number of observations (N) and than square root of the value. The formula will be 2. When deviations are taken from assumed mean: The steps to calculate standard deviation when deviations are calculated from the actual mean are The first step is to assume a mean value from the observations In the next column calculate the deviation from each observation i.e., find out () where A is the mean of the series, this deviation can be denoted as D. In the next column calculate the square value of the deviations and at the end of the column calculate the sum of the square of the deviations i.e., Multiply corresponding frequencies (f) of each observation with the value of D2 in the next column. Use the following formula to calculate standard deviation c. Standard deviation in case of Continuous series: Standard deviation in case of a continuous series can be calculated by using the following steps Calculate the mid value of the series and denote it as ‘m. Assume any value from the mid values and denote it as A Deviations can be calculated from each series i.e., calculate m – A and than divide it with the class interval value (i) i.e., Multiply the corresponding frequencies of each observation with the deviation value and take the sum at the end of the column i.e., calculate In the next column square the deviation values of each observation i.e., calculate Multiply the value of with its frequencies i.e., calculate Use the following formula to get standard deviation. Properties of standard deviation: As tool of variance, standard deviation is used as a good measure of interpretation of the scatteredness of observation of a series. It is a fact that in a normal distribution approximately 68 per cent of the observations of a series lies less than standard deviation away from the mean, again approximately 95.5 per cent of the items lie less than 2 standard deviation value away from the mean and in the same way 99.7 per cent of the items lie within 3 standard deviations away from the mean. Hence covers 68.27 per cent of the items in a series with normal distribution. covers 95.45 per cent of the items in a series with normal distribution and covers 99.73 per cent of the items in a series with normal distribution. Advantage of Standard Deviation: Following are some advantages of standard deviation as a measure of dispersion This is the highest used technique of dispersion. It is regarded as a very satisfactory measure of the dispersion of a series. It is capable of further mathematical calculations. Algebraic signs are not ignored while measuring the value of standard deviation of a series. It is less affected by the extreme observations of a series. The coefficients make the standard deviation very popular measure of the scatteredness of a series. Disadvantages of standard deviation: The disadvantages are It is not easy to understand the concept easily and quickly. It requires a good exercise to calculate the values of standard deviation. It gives more weight to observations which are away from the arithmetic mean. THE COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION: Another useful statistical tool for measuring dispersion of a series is coefficient of variation. The coefficient of variation is the relative measure of standard deviation which is an absolute measure of dispersion. This tool of dispersion is mostly used in case of comparing the variability two or more series of observation. While comparing, that series for which the value of the coefficient of variation is greater is said to be more variable (i.e., the observations of the series are less consistent, less uniform, less stable or less homogeneous). Hence it is always advisable to choose that series which is having less value of coefficient of variation. The value of coefficient is less implies more consistent, more uniform, more stable and of course more homogeneous. The value of coefficient of variation is always measured by using the value of standard deviation and its relative arithmetic mean. It is denoted as C.V., and is measured by using simple formula as discussed below: In practical field, researchers generally prefer to use standard deviation as a tool to measure the dispersion than that of coefficient of variance because of a numbers of reasons (researchers are advised to refer any standard statistics book to know more on coefficient of variance and its usefulness). GINI COEFFICIENT AND THE LORENZ CURVE: An illuminating manner of viewing the Gini coefficient is in terms of the Lorenz curve due to Lorenz (1905). It is generally defined on the basis of the Lorenz curve. It is popularly known as the Lorenz ratio. The most common definition of the Gini coefficient is in terms of the Lorenz diagram is the ratio of the area between the Lorenz curve and the line of equality, to the area of the triangle OBD below this line (figure-1). The Gini coefficient varies between the limits of 0 (perfect equality) and 1 (perfect inequality), and the greater the departure of the Lorenz curve from the diagonal, the larger is the value of the Gini coefficient. Various geometrical definitions of Gini coefficient discussed in the literature and useful for different purposes are examined here. CONCLUSIONS: The study of dispersion will enables us to know whether a series is homogeneous (where all the observations remains around the central value) or the observations is heterogeneous (there will be variations in the observations around the central value Hence it can be said that a measure of dispersion describes the spread or scattering of the individual values of a series around its central value. For this there are a numbers of methods to determine the variations as discussed in this chapter. But it is always confusing among the researchers that which method is the best among the different techniques that we have discussed? The answer to this question is very simple and says that no single average can be considered as best for all types of data series. The most important factors are the type of data available and the purpose of investigation. Critiques suggest that if a series is having more extreme values than standard deviation as technique is to be avoided. On the other hand in case of more skewed observations standard deviation may be used but mean deviation needs to be avoided where as if the series is having more gaps between two observations than quartile deviation is not an appropriate measure to be used. Similarly, standard deviation is the best technique for any purpose of data. SUMMARY: The study of dispersion will enables us to know whether a series is homogeneous (where all the observations remains around the central value) or the observations is heterogeneous (there will be variations in the observations around the central value). Dispersion when measured on basis of the difference between two extreme values selected from a series of data. The two well known measures are (i) The Range and (ii) The Inter-quartile Range. Dispersion when measured on basis of average deviation from some measure of central tendency. The well known measures are (i) The Mean/average deviation, (ii) The Standard Deviation, (iii) The Coefficient of variation and (iv) The Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve The range is defined as the difference between the highest value and the lowest value of the series. Range as a measure of variation is having limited applicability. The inter-quartile range measures approximately how far from the median one must go on either side before it can be include one-half the values of the data set. Mean/average deviation is the arithmetic mean of the difference of a series computed from any measure of central tendency i.e., either deviation from mean or median or mode. The absolute values of each observation are calculated. A small value of standard deviation implies a high degree of homogeneity among the observations in the series. If there will be a comparison between two or more standard deviations of two or more series, than it is always advisable to choose that series as ideal one which is having small value of standard deviation. Standard deviation is always measures from the mean or average value of the series. The coefficient of variation is the relative measure of standard deviation which is an absolute measure of dispersion. This tool of dispersion is mostly used in case of comparing the variability two or more series of observation. The most common definition of the Gini coefficient is in terms of the Lorenz diagram is the ratio of the area between the Lorenz curve and the line of equality, to the area of the triangle below the equality line. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: 1. Age of ten students in a class is considered. Find the mean and standard deviation. 19, 21, 20, 20, 23, 25, 24, 25, 22, 26 The following table derives the marks obtained in Statistics paper by 100 students in a class. Calculate the standard deviation and mean deviation. The monthly profits of 150 shop keepers selling different commodities in a city footpath is derived below. Calculate the mean, mean deviation and standard of the distribution. The daily wage of 160 labourers working in a cotton mill in Surat cith is derived below. Calculate the range, mean deviation and standard of the distribution. Calculate the mean deviation and standard deviation of the following distribution. What do you mean by measure of dispersion? How far it helpful to a decision-maker in the process of decision making? Define measure of Dispersion? Among the various tools of dispersion which tool according to you is the best one, give suitable reason of your answer. What do you mean by measure of dispersion? Compare and contrast various tools of dispersion by pointing out their advantages and disadvantages. Discuss with example the relative merits of range, mean deviation and standard deviation as measures of dispersion. Define standard deviation? Why standard deviation is more useful than other measures of dispersion? The data derived below shows the ages of 100 students pursuing their master degree in economics. Calculate the Mean deviation and standard deviation. Following is the results of a study carried out to determine the number of mileage the marketing executives drove their cars over a 1-year period. For this 50 marketing executives are sampled. Based on the findings, calculate the range and inter-quartile range. In an enquiry of the number of days 230 patients chosen randomly stayed in a Government hospital following after operation. On the basics of observation calculate the standard deviation. Cars sold in small car segment in November 2009 at 10 Maruti Suzuki dealers in Delhi city is explained below. Compute the range, mean deviation and standard deviation of the data series. Following is the daily data on the number of persons entered through main gate in a month to institute. Calculate the range and standard deviation of the series. Calculate the range and coefficient of range of a group of students from the marks obtained in two papers as derived below: Following are marks obtained by some students in a class-test. Calculate the range and coefficient of range. By using the direct and indirect method, calculate the mean deviation by using both arithmetic mean and mode from the following data set which is related to age and numbers of residents of Vasundara apartment, Gaziabad. A local geezer manufacturer at Greater Noida has developed a new and chief variety of geezers which are meant of lower and middle income households. He carried out a survey in some apartments asking the expectations of the customers that they are ready to invest on purchase of geezer. Calculate the standard deviation of the series. Calculate median of the following distribution. From the median value calculate the mean deviation and coefficient of mean deviation. Calculate median of the following distribution. From the median value calculate the mean deviation and coefficient of mean deviation. Calculate the arithmetic average and standard deviation from the following daily data of rickshaw puller of Hyderabad City. From the students of 250 candidates the mean and standard deviations of their total marks were calculated as 60 and 17. Latter in the process of verification it is found that a score 46 was misread 64. Recalculate the correct mean and standard deviation. The wage structure paid on daily basis of two cotton factories are derived below. In order to show the inequality, draw the Lorenz curve. Total marks obtained by the students in two sections are derived below. By using the data draw a Lorenz curve. Draw the Lorenz curve of the following data. Find the range and co-efficient of range for the following data set. The height of 10 firemen working in a fire station are 165, 168, 172, 174, 175, 178, 156, 158, 160, 179 cms. Calculate the range of the series. Now let that the tallest and the shortest firemen are get transformed from the fire station. Calculate the range of the new firemen. What percentage change is found in the earlier range and the latter range? Calculate the quartile deviation from the following derived data. Calculate the interquartile range, quartile deviation and its coefficient for the following data series. Calculate the mean deviation from the following data. Calculate the mean deviation from median and mean for the following series. The distribution derived below reveals the difference in age between husband and wife in a community. Based on the data, calculate mean deviation and standard deviation. Calculate th

The Lost Inca Indian Culture Essay example -- Pre-Columbian History Cu

The Lost Inca Indian Culture Most historians recognize the fact that the empire of the Incas in Peru was one of the great civilizations that was lost due to the expansion of the Europeans into the New World. The Incas were once an empire boasting with riches and controlling a large portion of the west coast of South America. Until the arrival of the Spanish, the Incas did their own thing within their culture, with few outside sources affecting them. This paper focuses mainly on the role that the Spanish played in changing and eventually eliminating the culture that was the Incas. Facts drawn from outside sources will illustrate the changes the Incas made from the pre-Columbian age to their unfortunate downfall. Also mentioned will be the actual invasions by the Spanish and the cultural change in the Spanish after the conquests. The Europeans at the time of Columbus' first voyage probably did not expect to find such a large array of civilizations when they landed five centuries ago. Not only was the vast number of tribes awesome, but the technology that some had was much more than anticipated. The Incas, like many other tribes, built great structures mostly as religious shrines or temples. Some well known areas are especially laden with these structures: Machu Picchu, Cuzco, and Lima. The religion of the Incas is may seem familiar to anyone who has heard of any indian religion, but it does contain a flavor that separates it from other religions. The Incas were a polytheistic culture, believing in one supreme god, and a few lesser gods. When referring to the Supreme Being, the Incas called him Viracocha. That name had been passed down over centuries, used for worship of the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. The Incas were ... ...ves any longer. They were allowed to go about their business after the conquest for the most part. Spanish men married Inca women, and the two cultures began to become interracial. Spanish ministers set up communities to help the indians learn the religion and give the sacraments. Had the Spanish not conquered these indians, another nation probably would have. The money-complex was too strong in Europe to worry about the misfortunes of other people. As long as the people of Europe were satisfied, that was all that mattered. Bibliography Means, Philip A., Fall of the Inca Empire. Gordan Press Inc., New York, 1964. Lockhart, James, Spanish Peru, 1532-1560. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1968. Baudin, Louis, Daily Life in Peru. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1962. Markham, Sir Clements, The Incas of Peru. AMS Press Inc., New York, 1969.

Management practices Essay

A. Comparison Let’s take a look at some organizations/companies that won some awards regarding the excellence in management. For the supply chain excellence, the Starbuck’s Coffee chain having the strategy model of high-speed build-to-order delivery services has been recognized. The Starbuck’s Coffee won one of the dealings on the supply chain excellence; speed. To measure the excellence in management of the Starbuck’s Coffee, a checklist was made with all the criteria of being excellent in management as the standard basis. Criteria Starbucks (does the company possess the following) YES No Strategic Planning v Effective Delivery v Accountability v Innovation v Sustainability v Learning Culture v Measurement of Achievement v Workforce Development v Enterprise v Leadership v Customers Intimacy v Another example of a company that we will evaluate is the Mississippi Power. The Mississippi Power products become out of the market and become obsolete. The company faces the deflation when their product (electricity) dramatically goes down from a hundred dollars worth per unit to the price amounting of three dollars per unit. Criteria Mississippi Power YES No. Strategic Planning v Effective Delivery v Accountability v Innovation v Sustainability v Learning Culture v Measurement of Achievement v Workforce Development v Enterprise v Leadership v Customers Intimacy v The comparison showed by each checklist each of companies have shortly tells us whether they possess the qualities an excellence in management must acquire. An excellence in management in an organization must work out to its integrated range, the organizations NEEDS, the activities/projects RESULTS, human capital/organization WORKS, and the organizations COMPETENCE. Identification of needs must be considered first. After identifying these needs, will be the formulation of objectives that will satisfy the needs of the organization. The works to be done, processes, methods, approaches, to get these results come to the third step. Through the pursuit for excellence of the organization, it will eventually improve its competitiveness in the constantly changing market. As shown in the diagram, the first is to know the needs. The needs will determine the results and then the results will determine if the needs satisfy the resulting output (Barclay, 1997). Also shown in the diagram is the competence can be achieved through empowerment of leaders and managers to do the work (motivation of workers by the leaders and manager). And the work done would define the results. Vice versa, the results will dictate regarding the work, whether the work done is appropriate for the expected result or if there is a need for an improvement. Reference: Barclay, R. O. (1997). What is knowledge management? Retrieved June 19, 2007, from http://www. media-access. com/whatis.html Pollock, N. (2001). Knowledge Management: Next Step to Competitive Advantage – Organizational Excellence. Retrieved June 19, 2007, from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0KAA/is_5_30/ai_80747127 Resources, B. (2006). Developing an Accessible Technology Plan. Retrieved June 19, 2007, from http://www. microsoft. com/enable/business/plan. aspx Studies, F. (2004). Federation Study 2001: A Study of the Incentive Merchandise and Travel Marketplace Retrieved June 19, 2007, from http://www.incentivecentral. org/Federation_Study_2001__A_Study_of_the_Incentive_Merch. 457. 0. html William K. Redmon, A. M. E. D. (2005). Promoting Excellence through Performance Management. Retrieved June 19, 2007, from http://books. google. com. ph/books? id=cQaKwOyf0G4C&dq=Excellence+through+Performance+Management&pg=PP1&ots=KGWsYsAPQz&sig=XjSUTaKJeq1qndHXpyTrz5iq5vc&prev=http://www. google. com. ph/search%3Fhl%3Dtl%26q%3DExcellence%2Bthrough%2BPerformance%2BManagement%26meta%3D&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1#PPP7,M1.

Native American Hardships Essay

Native Americans have been struggling in society since the Europeans had migrated to the United States of America. Native Americans have always tried to get along with the Europeans yet the Europeans wanted dominance over the Native American population. In American schools children learn about how the Native American were savages and how they were the cause of the tension between the Europeans and the Native Americans. Native Americans still haven’t assimilated into American culture or Society. Native Americans and Europeans have been in contact for centuries and there are stories depicting first encounters. There is one story by Sarah Winnemucca describing her life among the Piute’s tribe. In this tale there were prophecies describing White men to come to the Native American tribes and being their brothers. When the Europeans came in contact with the Native Americans the Native Americans perceived them to be their brothers because of the prophecy. Due to the prophecy the Native Americans did not take any precautions when meeting the Europeans. The Europeans wouldn’t be friends with the Native Americans and kept them at a distant. The Native Americans than had to migrate just so the White men would not cause violence to their tribes. They were skirmishes between the Native Americans and American colonizers which made more conflict between the Native Americans and Colonists. (Winnemucca 507-17) There were many wars and battles fought between the Native Americans and Colonists of America during the 1800’s. Many of these wars were ended by treaties that the Native Americans and American Government agreed upon. When reading the articles in Norton Anthology of American literature volume C, I found that the Native Americans referred to treaties quite often and they would be footnotes describing the name and details of the treaties. I found this quite interesting so I decided to look for a journal relating to Native American treaties. The article stated that there had been two million square miles of land transferred from the sovereignty of Native Americans to the United States of America. The president use to deal with the Native people directly but in 1871 the congress stripped that right. 2. 5million Native Americans living in the present-day United States and the U. S. government officially recognizes 565 tribes and Alaska Native peoples . They are concentrated in California, Oklahoma, and the Southwest. There were many treaties offered to the Native Americans and this chart displays all these different treaties even small ones that weren’t accepted. Only a portion of wars involving Native Americans were actually full fledge wars with start and finish dates as well as real planned battles such as Red Clouds War. The other type of war were small sporadic attacks such as Third Seminole War (1855–58) involved very small numbers of Indian warriors with the conflict itself small attacks on Florida settlers with less than 200 Native American Attackers. Many treaties came after wars such as all treaties do such as the Treaty of Fort Laramie which was established after Red Clouds War. A lot of treaties were followed up by Indian Removal System where the Indians would be transferred to a piece of land they could call their own but wasn’t anything close to what they deserved these pieces of land were called reservations. This article was a bit shocking considering that they didn’t mention what I actually wanted to see in a treaty article which was how the Native Americans were usually lied to and their treaties would fall apart. In the story they mentioned the treaty of Fort Laramie which the Native American in the story described how the treaty wasn’t upheld because there was gold in the black Hills, and they moved the Native Americans and also they didn’t give them supplies. I looked at several stories that were dealing with treaties and I couldn’t find a journal dealing with how the Native Americans were mistreated by treaties signed by the United States of America. (Spirling 84-97) It disappoints me greatly that as an American citizen that my government would treat Native Americans this way and blatantly lie. American citizens did make reparations. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act require federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American â€Å"cultural items† to their respective tribes. The Native Americans definitely deserve these reparations but it also disappoints me how people are misinformed about Native Americans. Most people assume since there are Native American Casinos that Native Americans are rich which is not true at all most native Americans don’t receive any money from casinos most of the money if their tribe even owns a casino goes to the high ranking members of the tribe. Native Americans have many problems in their culture and society. Some problems are alcohol problems along with poverty. America as a whole should step up and help these people just as we do for other people such as the money raised for Haiti and Japan. If we are willing to help other countries we should be willing to help people in our own country even if they are a sovereign nation. People don’t realize the problems locally because Native Americans are not associated when describing American culture and society. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s young Native Americans were sent to schools where they were being trained to be assimilate into American culture and leave all their culture behind which was not the right way to handle the situation. The young Native Americans should have been taught American culture while still being able to hold onto their own culture. There was one story that exemplifies this exact situation and it was written by Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. Their were stories of Zitkala Sa called â€Å"Impressions of an Indian childhood† and â€Å"The school days of an Indian girl† by Gertrude Simmons Bonnin and are quite sad but show a triumph when overcoming hardships. The short selections described Zitkala’s life and dealt with assimilation. There was symbolism in these stories in several different ways. She seemed miserable after attending the eastern school. She went through that school and then attended college all so she could obtain knowledge. Zitkala Sa is a young Native American girl part of the Sioux tribe. Her and her family were made to relocate and lost members of the family due to this relocation. The stories don’t blatantly state this but to my knowledge the relocation is due to when Andrew Jackson was president he made many Native Americans relocate to reservations called the trail of tears. Many presidents after Jackson continued to move the Native Americans to pieces of land that the European Americans did not want. This relocation led to her uncle and sister dying due to illness. Many native Americans dealt with death during these relocations because they would receive little or no food on the trip and travel by walking or wagons. This did not affect Zitkala as much as her mother who had a distain for the â€Å"palefaces† or European Americans. Due to these deaths in their family her mother did not want Zitkala to go with the missionaries to the school in the east where she would receive an education. There were a lot of differences shown between the European Americans and Native American values in this story. (Bonnin 1087-1094) The story allows the reader to see how a young Native American girl would have to go this school in the East and learn traditions of the European Americans. Native Americans during this time did try at the schools in the east so they could obtain knowledge and help their people assimilate into American Society. The education in the east made a gap between the older generations and the younger generations of Native Americans. In the story this young girl had to give up her traditions such as her long hair just to meet with America’s culture and lose her culture. This story exemplifies her triumph over her hardships such as many other Native Americans had to go through. Also the story talks about the trail of tears which involved Native Americans having to relocate to parts of America other colonists didn’t already live or want to live. Many people died on the relocation trips, so intern many Native American families were destroyed by these events and a bigger rift came between the Native Americans and American Government. There was a story by John M. Oskison which went to describe how an older Native American wanted to assimilate into Christianity. The story was called The problem of Old Harjo and dealt with a man named Harjo. Harjo was around missionaries a lot and wanted to become a Christian. He went to many services and was ready to convert to Christianity. The problem he had was that he had two wives and in Christianity you’re only allowed to have one. So the young missionary told the man he would have to get rid of one but they both meant a lot to him and after you read the story you realize they all like the situation and want to stay together. The young missionary sees this and does not ask him to become a Christian anymore but to be happy with his situation. (Oskison 1036-41) This story shows another way that a Native American cannot become part of American culture or society just because he cannot convert to Christianity. Religion seems to be a big part of American culture even in today’s society. This man Harjo wanted to become Christian but because of his old cultural traditions such as having more than one wife he can’t convert. This shows how two cultures even in the same country can be completely different. Native Americans have trouble trying to assimilate when their cultural traditions are so different. I had many reactions to the stories I read and the topic as a whole. I feel like Native Americans should be seen as Americans even if they have their own traditions and even if they are to be their own sovereign nation, they should still receive help from America. Americans have caused most of the problems to Native Americans just by stealing their lands and making their own country. Even though Americans have made reparations with the Native Americans we still owe them a lot and should be willing to help them out. The American government has treated them unfairly and lied to them on many occasions and even in legal documents such as the treaties discussed earlier. Native Americans have gone through enough hardships they could use the government and citizen’s help even if it is by not discriminating or judging them. This paper was written to describe how Native Americans have struggled in society and haven’t become assimilated yet still exist in American society just by being in America itself. Native Americans have gone through a lot due to the early colonization of America and wars during the 1800’s and even though most of the problems were caused by the European Americans, the blame goes onto the Native Americans. Native Americans should get to be seen in a higher light and in the American educational system they should be honest and tell student how the history really occurred. One example I could use is how in elementary school everyone learned that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves but in high school or college you learn that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves because he was losing the war and need the Emancipation Proclamation to help him win. The same thing happens when discussing Native Americans many young students end up seeing the Native Americans as savages and brutes, they get described as they did in old westerns and they weren’t savages or brutes. The Native Americans deserve to be treated equally especially after the hardships which they managed to triumph through.

LinkedIns Overused Buzzwords for 2017 - Do You Really Need to Avoid Them

LinkedIns Overused Buzzwords for 2017 - Do You Really Need to Avoid Them LinkedIns 2017 Buzzwords Are Out! Even in the midst of big changes at LinkedIn, the company has stuck to its annual tradition of posting a list of overused buzzwords. As they say, they â€Å"want to help you start the year of right†- and one way to do that is by writing a LinkedIn profile that doesn’t sound like everyone else’s. LinkedIn has gotten a sense of humor this year! They provide some amusing examples of profiles from the likes of Queen Victoria, claiming to be a â€Å"reliable monarch with a proven track record in governing empires,† and Leonardo Da Vinci, a â€Å"detail oriented self-starter with experience in drawing.† Point made! Why Do We Use Buzzwords? LinkedIn did some additional delving into why people continue to use buzzwords when everyone else is using them. They identified four main factors: Ease of use and the effort required to be creative; the sense that if other people are using the buzzwords, those people and their words must be right; the desire to â€Å"fit in† to a group or industry; and a lack of confidence in conveying one’s own achievements. While these explanations have value, I have some other thoughts on LinkedIn’s list, which I will share in a moment. The List Following is this year’s list of words to avoid. But I say take LinkedIn’s admonishment to â€Å"avoid† them with a grain of salt. Maybe there’s a good reason a lot of people use these words. Maybe some of them are important and actually work! Let’s take a look: Specialized Leadership Passionate Strategic Experienced Focused Expert Certified Creative Excellent Here are my thoughts on the top five: Specialized. This word appears on the list for the first time ever. How interesting that a word meant to make someone stand out has the effect of sounding distinctly un-special. To avoid â€Å"specialized† or â€Å"specialize† in your profile, simply state what you do, and it will be clear to your audience that you specialize in whatever that is. Recruiters are only searching on the term â€Å"specialized† if they are looking for skills in specialized equipment or specialized programs. So banish the buzzword if you don’t have one of those specific skills. Leadership. This is a tough one. Isn’t leadership the thing that everyone is looking for? I can’t see stripping it out of every leader’s profile, especially because it appears in 10 of LinkedIn’s approved Skills. Don’t overuse the term, but don’t avoid it if it’s integral to what you do. Here are effective keywords that include the buzzword and that you should continue to include in your profile if they describe you: Passionate. Demonstrate your passion! Let us hear the excitement in your â€Å"voice.† Tell us stories of how you went after things you wanted and completed challenging projects with energy and enthusiasm. Saying you are passionate is a cop-out, as demonstrated by its move to 3rd place from 4th last year. Good writing will exude passion without relying on the term itself. Strategic. This is another tough one, since phrases that contain â€Å"strategic† comprise 10 actual core competencies/skills that recruiters search for on LinkedIn. Use the word sparingly, but I would not recommend eliminating it from your profile if it’s a keyword for your industry. Experienced. Okay, yeah, this is overused. I personally like to state the number of years of experience a client has in an industry to show a depth of, well, experience. But saying you have â€Å"12 years of experience† is different than claiming to be â€Å"experienced.† LinkedIn does have four Skills that include their self-identified buzzword. But if you’re defaulting to the adjective â€Å"Experienced† to describe yourself, look for other ways to convey how many years you’ve been doing what you do and how well you know your field. What do you think about the remaining five buzzwords, Focused, Expert, Certified, Creative, and Excellent? Don’t Overdo It! Whatever our opinions on any individual buzzword, the clear fact is that putting more than one buzzword in a sentence or phrase is not going to make you stand out. It doesn’t work to default to a string of these terms in an effort to sound good, and doing so will have the opposite effect. Leonardo Da Vinci’s fake headline above is a great example of the downside of overused terminology. But you are not going to avoid using all these buzzwords! My advice: Use them in moderation. Be aware. Do your best to find other alternatives. And if there are not alternatives, use the buzzwords, very carefully, with pride. Save Save

Free Essays on Van Gogh’s Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh and his â€Å"Starry Night† A world-famous Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh created various wonderful paintings that are extremely precious and well-known today. That is why it is difficult to believe that he was a poor, unknown painter, and his contemporaries didn’t really like his works. Only after Van Gogh’s death did his paintings get the recognition and appreciation by artists and specialists that they deserve. He has been called one of the best painters of all the times and a true genuine. In 1889, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night, oil on canvas, which is considered his most famous painting and one of the most significant art masterpieces of the 19th century. Painting has always been the reflection of a painter’s vision, his own style and skills; all these factors were influenced by the epoch, events, country’s traditions and an environment in which an artist created his masterpieces. Vincent Van Gogh’s life was not long: he committed suicide at the age of 47, though he managed to depict truly unforgettable images in his paintings. He left school at the age of fifteen, to pursue his dream of being an artist. In 1869, he got a position at the art dealers, Goupil and Co. in The Hague, through his uncle, and worked with them until he was dismissed from the London office in 1873. He worked as a schoolmaster in England (1876), before training for the ministry at Amsterdam University (1877). After he failed to get a post in the Church, he went to live as an independent missionary among the Borinage miners. He then traveled to Paris (1886) and lived with his brother, Theo. (Artchive, 1). Van Gogh received some training from his cousin, but he was mostly a self-taught artist. For about ten years Van Gogh created numerous paintings, however he sold only one picture during his lifetime. So, it's no wonder that he suffered a lot of hardships, including psychological problems. As a result, he voluntarily went int... Free Essays on Van Gogh’s Starry Night Free Essays on Van Gogh’s Starry Night Vincent Van Gogh and his â€Å"Starry Night† A world-famous Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh created various wonderful paintings that are extremely precious and well-known today. That is why it is difficult to believe that he was a poor, unknown painter, and his contemporaries didn’t really like his works. Only after Van Gogh’s death did his paintings get the recognition and appreciation by artists and specialists that they deserve. He has been called one of the best painters of all the times and a true genuine. In 1889, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night, oil on canvas, which is considered his most famous painting and one of the most significant art masterpieces of the 19th century. Painting has always been the reflection of a painter’s vision, his own style and skills; all these factors were influenced by the epoch, events, country’s traditions and an environment in which an artist created his masterpieces. Vincent Van Gogh’s life was not long: he committed suicide at the age of 47, though he managed to depict truly unforgettable images in his paintings. He left school at the age of fifteen, to pursue his dream of being an artist. In 1869, he got a position at the art dealers, Goupil and Co. in The Hague, through his uncle, and worked with them until he was dismissed from the London office in 1873. He worked as a schoolmaster in England (1876), before training for the ministry at Amsterdam University (1877). After he failed to get a post in the Church, he went to live as an independent missionary among the Borinage miners. He then traveled to Paris (1886) and lived with his brother, Theo. (Artchive, 1). Van Gogh received some training from his cousin, but he was mostly a self-taught artist. For about ten years Van Gogh created numerous paintings, however he sold only one picture during his lifetime. So, it's no wonder that he suffered a lot of hardships, including psychological problems. As a result, he voluntarily went int...

The Meaning and Origin of the Last Name Thomas

The Meaning and Origin of the Last Name 'Thomas' Some of the most common names from the Middle Ages tend to come from religious backgrounds such as biblical texts and the names of saints.  Other names have come from the language spoken at the time. For example, Bennett is Latin and means blessed while Godwin comes from English and means good friend.  Along with vernacular language, some medieval surnames have been based on a job or where the person lived, and many of these names still exist today. For instance, the last name Baker could come from a family who had a maker of bread while the last name Fisher involved someone who was a catcher of fish. Patronymic Origin of Thomas Derived from a popular medieval first name, Thomas comes from the Aramaic term t’om’a, for twin. The Thomas surname is of patronymic origin, based on the first name of the father, meaning son of Thomas, much like Thomason.  The first letter of the name Thomas was originally the Greek theta which accounts for the common TH spelling. Thomas is the 14th most popular surname in the United States and the 9th most common in England. Thomas is also the third most common surname in France  and its surname origin is of Welsh and English descent. Alternate Surname Spellings If you have one of the following surnames, it may be counted as an alternative spelling to Thomas with similar origin and meaning: TomasThomasonTomasonTommasiTomaThomThomaThummThomeTomaschekTomichKhomichThomasson Famous People With the Surname Clarence Thomas: U.S. Supreme Court JusticeDylan Thomas:  Welsh poetKristin Scott Thomas:  British-born French actressDanny Thomas:  American comedian, producer, and actorM. Carey Thomas: Pioneer in womens educationDebi Thomas: Olympic figure skater; first African-American to win a medal at the Winter OlympicsJamie Thomas: Pro skateboarderIsiah Thomas: American basketball player and coach Genealogy Resources 100 Most Common US Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? Thomas Surname DNA StudyThe objectives of the Thomas project are to use Y-DNA to find connections between Thomas lines and to hopefully determine the countries of origin of these various families. All Thomas males are welcome to participate. Thomas Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Thomas surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Thomas query. FamilySearch - THOMAS GenealogyExplore over 14 million historical records, lineage-linked family trees, and other results posted for the Thomas surname and its variations on the free FamilySearch website. References: Surname Meanings and Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

The Multiple Benefits of Dual Language Assignment

The Multiple Benefits of Dual Language - Assignment Example Educators realize that dual language programs are the best way to go about this. Although according to the authors the legislation is flawed because it compares this years students with last years and it also does not give a timeframe. Thomas and Collier found that in the Houston, Texas, Independent School District the English learner students scored more highly than those in a transitional bilingual program. What they also discovered is that the scores for native speaking English students were also higher than those in the mainstream system. As a bonus, these English speaking students also scored higher in their chosen foreign language than those learning in standalone programs. Not only did students score higher grades, but they also picked up another language at the same time. Thomas and Collier found that native speakers who were in dual language programs saw improvements in both their native language and second language. This shows that the programs are effective in equipping students with the right skills to succeed. Native English speaking students can get just as much out of the programs as English learners

WALDEN, OR LIFE IN THE WOODS BY HENRY DAVID THOREAU Essay

WALDEN, OR LIFE IN THE WOODS BY HENRY DAVID THOREAU - Essay Example His vision of a successful life, having actually following through on the suggestions he received from his inner self, was to remove himself from society in order to connect himself more solidly with nature, the source of all goodness and truth. His ultimate goal was to perhaps inspire others to follow in his footsteps at least as far as learning more about the inner self through a more intimate connection with outer nature. Within a chapter entitled â€Å"Solitude† in his book Walden, Thoreau compares his experience in the wilderness with the experience of ‘civilized’ living in terms of communication, companionship and engagement, all of which suggest the same kind of closer identification with the natural world in all areas of life. The first concept involved in Thoreau’s consideration of the question of solitude could be considered the opposite of solitude in the form of communication. He begins this chapter of his book with a paragraph that highlights the deep sense of communication he gains with nature as he takes an evening stroll. The first sentence captures much of the essence of the rest of the paragraph when he says, â€Å"This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore† (Thoreau 107). He goes on to describe the temperature as perfectly attuned to his own sense of correct feeling, the sounds of the bullfrog s and whippoorwills as just the right note for the moment and the breathless sympathy he feels for the falling leaves of the forest, â€Å"yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled† (Thoreau 107). As the evening closes down, he gains a sense of the reaffirmation of life as the night hunters begin their prowl. Thus he gains a sense of himself by being in tune with the evening regardless of where he is. This is contrasted against the more distant communication he shares with his fellow man, many

Importance of Cash Management in Small to Medium Sized Businesses Essay

Importance of Cash Management in Small to Medium Sized Businesses - Essay Example Cash management is important to SME as it regulates cash flow and prevents prolonged cash shortages that result from too much difference between cash inflows and cash outflows.3 Cash inflows come from customers, lenders and investors, while cash outflows include payments made to suppliers, creditors and as employee salaries. Negative cash flow occurs when cash outflow is more than cash inflow (due to several reasons such as weak debtor collections, outdated inventory, etc.); in such a situation, the SME is forced to borrow money from lenders, otherwise it will be in bad trouble – the main source of which is non-payment of dues to creditors, suppliers and employees. SME do their best to avoid this scenario and instead strive to attain a positive cash flow, which takes place when the cash inflow is more than the cash outflow. The overall aim of the SME is to generate profit. But the amount of profit earned is meaningless if the SME does not experience a positive cash flow, simpl y because it is possible to spend cash, not Cash management techniques of SME and consumers are similar in several ways, while they also differ in many ways. SME cannot therefore practice all techniques as consumers and vice versa. There are 5 cash techniques of consumers that SME can practice, as these are sound methods conducive towards generating a positive cash flow as well as profit for the enterprise. Firstly, it is important and practical to prepare a cash flow projection for a certain period (usually 6 months), forecasting the income and expenditure over that period.5 Secondly, it is a good practice to set aside a certain amount as emergency fund to be used in case of unexpected developments.6 Thirdly, leasing of equipment presents a better alternative as compared to purchase, as the former does not result in cash blockage that is caused by the latter.7 Fourthly, the overall aim is to create profit (savings in case of

The Idea of Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Idea of Change - Essay Example This strips the students of their creative power. The educator hence strives to regulate the way that the knowledge comes to the students and thus hinders their own thinking. Freire also related this banking philosophy of education to necrophily. It is mechanical thinking wherein the necrophilous person prefers memory versus experience, and having as opposed to being. It is in this act of controlling that the actual education of a person ceases. Freire offers the solution to this problem. There is a need to â€Å"transform the structure† so that the students can become â€Å"beings for themselves† instead of just being incorporated into this system. He further argues that true liberation does not alienate people and it is â€Å"not another deposit to be made†. He termed this liberation of education as â€Å"praxis,† a problem-posing education that which aims to consider people as conscious beings. As the banking system of education strives to maintain a â€Å"submersion of consciousness†, the problem-posing method aims for the â€Å"emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality.† On the other hand, Richard Rodriguez wrote an essay on â€Å"The Achievement of Desrie.† In this essay, Rodriguez wrote an account of how he found himself through education, and how in doing so, his life had drastically changed. As a boy, Rodriguez recounts how he has always admired his teachers, and how he had always been passionate about books – anxious and fervent to learn. He claimed that as he was a very good student, he was also a bad one as he was a certain kind of â€Å"scholarship boy†, described by Richard Hoggart (from whom he derived the term in â€Å"The Uses of Literacy†) as a boy who shifts between environments, the home and the classroom, which are both culturally contradicting. The ideas that the classroom offers to

Interview Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interview Analysis - Research Paper Example The brand name played a vital role in purchasing the laptop. Apple is a household name not only in the US but also across the globe. Everyone recognizes that the products produced or manufactured by Apple are world class. Apple as a company is the best company that deals with computers, phones, and other electronic devices. Apart from these devices, Apple is well known for its operating system, Mac OS. Its line of laptops is respected for being the best in the market. In developed countries, virtually everyone is using a MacBook as his or her most trusted laptop. MacBook is a brand name on its own and when combined with Apple it becomes a force to reckon with in the world of laptops. The name indeed played a major role when choosing the type of a laptop to purchase. From the interviewee, it is apparent that the speed and graphics of this computer model were the main reason for buying the laptop. Therefore, my advice to the marketing manager will revolve around these two factors and mainly on the processor speed. For Apple to continue enjoying the leader role in the computer market, it has to continue producing these kinds of computers. If possible, the management should improve the current model in terms of speed since their competitors are doing their best to lure customers to buy their products. To keep up with a competitive and open market one has to make high-quality computers that are not only defined by their speed but also their graphics. Presently, Apple is performing extremely well in this sector.

Universal Healthcare in the United States Essay

Universal Healthcare in the United States - Essay Example This paper argues that the universal health care system would be beneficial for the United States. The statement passed by Institute of Medicine is the US is the only developed nation that does not provide universal health care system. In United States, around 84% of citizens have some form of health insurance, either through their employers, purchased individually or provided by government programs. Some publicly funded health care programs are provided for the elderly, disable, children and poor and federal law mandates public access to emergency services1. The US government schemes reported for over 45% health care expenses. This makes US government the largest insurer in the nation. Based on health care expenditure, The US government has been placed in the top ten highest spenders among the United Nations member countries in 2004. Still more than 16% of population in America is without health insurance2. The health insurance costs are increasing faster than wages and medical bills, leading to personal bankruptcy in the United States. The lack of health care for all America is fundamental moral issue. In order to understand universal health care we need to understand its concept. It is a broad concept that can be applied in many ways. Universal health care is the form of health care benefit that is provided by the government. The government introduces varieties of programs aimed at promoting the right of admittance to the public to health care as much as possible. Many countries apply universal health care through lawmaking, regulatio n and through taxes. Some of the costs are paid by the patients but later they are reduced in taxation and paid to the patient. There is a need of universal health care system in United States of America. A single paying system operated by the government will help save on bureaucracy and investor profits. In this way

Interview Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interview Analysis - Research Paper Example The brand name played a vital role in purchasing the laptop. Apple is a household name not only in the US but also across the globe. Everyone recognizes that the products produced or manufactured by Apple are world class. Apple as a company is the best company that deals with computers, phones, and other electronic devices. Apart from these devices, Apple is well known for its operating system, Mac OS. Its line of laptops is respected for being the best in the market. In developed countries, virtually everyone is using a MacBook as his or her most trusted laptop. MacBook is a brand name on its own and when combined with Apple it becomes a force to reckon with in the world of laptops. The name indeed played a major role when choosing the type of a laptop to purchase. From the interviewee, it is apparent that the speed and graphics of this computer model were the main reason for buying the laptop. Therefore, my advice to the marketing manager will revolve around these two factors and mainly on the processor speed. For Apple to continue enjoying the leader role in the computer market, it has to continue producing these kinds of computers. If possible, the management should improve the current model in terms of speed since their competitors are doing their best to lure customers to buy their products. To keep up with a competitive and open market one has to make high-quality computers that are not only defined by their speed but also their graphics. Presently, Apple is performing extremely well in this sector.

Gmo Soybeans Essay Example for Free

Gmo Soybeans Essay There GMOs in almost everything that we eat. GMO stands for genetically modified organism. â€Å"Genetic modification occurs when genes from one organism are transferred to another in ways that do not occur without human intervention. The result is a GMO, or a genetically modified organism. † (Farrell 1) Soybeans are one of the largest GMO crops being produced. With the modification of the soybean by Monsanto, it is now possible for the crop to survive when herbicides are sprayed over it. The herbicide that the soybeans are resistant to is Roundup, so farmers do not have to worry about their soybeans dying to the herbicide. I believe that the negative effects of modified soybeans so not outweigh the benefits because genetically modified soybeans so not increase the production but increase the businesses’ profit, and there are health problems that can arise. Having GM soybeans does not mean that more would be produced; it only means that businesses would raise their profits. Many European countries do not buy any GMO products from the U. S. because they are afraid of any problems that may arise in the future, so I believe that since other countries are not buying any GM food, they do not want to change back into growing food naturally with no modifications or pesticides, because they want to make a bigger profit. They prevent any change that could stop them from making more profit. They do not care if they are damaging the environment; they only care about making more money. For example, people use Roundup (an herbicide) to kill weeds in their backyards or on the sidewalk. Farmers use the same product on the food that we want; they use it to kill the weeds that are growing around the soybeans. To prevent the soybeans from also dying, they have been modified to withstand the weed killer. Scientists have modified it by adding three different genes to the plant: a gene from bacterium, from a virus, and from a petunia. (McMillen )When combine with the original gene, it looks the same but it is now resistant to the Roundup herbicide. Even with soybeans modified, farmers do not benefit from it. The modification has not helped the production go up, the only thing that has gone up is the price. â€Å"[Costs] about $6 an acre to plant the usual seeds, companies charge over $40 per acre for the genetically modified seeds [and the companies gain $34 per acre of seeds sold]. (McMillen 1) Because the seeds are seeds are patented, (which means that the one who invented it, is the only one who has the right to use or sell the product to anyone,) farmers cannot save any eeds from the ones that they have grown. Therefore; each year they have to buy more from the same business. If the farmers save the seeds, they will be fined or even taken to jail. Genetically modified soybeans can also cause health problems. Soy beans can cause food allergies. Since we don’t really know if the bacteria gene in the soybeans will cause a reaction, scientists have compared the proteins in the soy with other proteins that are known to c ause allergies. If the GM protein has sequences that cause allergies, then according to the World Health Association, the GM crop should not be sold or there should be more testing done on it. However, there are sections of proteins produced in GM soybeans that are identical to allergens, but there was no more testing done to it. (Smith 1) If there are proteins in the soy that are causing allergies, â€Å"then the situation may be made much worse by something called horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Thats when genes spontaneously transfer from one species DNA to another. † (Smith 1) Plants should naturally have barriers that keeps genes from transferring to other species, but since there are foreign genes in the soy, it is losing its ability to stop this from happening. Even though it is most common in bacteria and rare in plants and mammals, genes transfer from one species to another, and a study found that parts of the genes from the soy were found in the DNA of human gut bacteria. So even after we stop eating GM soy, we could still be exposed to this transfer of genes because it will still be produced in our intestines. (Smith 1)I believe that there should be more testing because we do not know if there are any other risks involved with eating GM soybeans. Genetically modified soybeans are not beneficial because there is no gain in product only the gain in profit of businesses, and it also causes allergies. With soybeans being resistant to weed killers, weeds are becoming resistant to Roundup, so farmers actually have to use more money to buy more herbicides because they may not be working well anymore. Also it costs more to buy GM soy that soy that has not been tampered with. Not only do businesses profit, but we the consumers can suffer from the product. There are proteins in the soy gene that are identical to genes that cause allergies. We the consumers should be able to decide what we want eat, and also decide how we want the food to be produced.

Past Is The Key To The Future Philosophy Essay

Past Is The Key To The Future Philosophy Essay The things and deeds we did in past are now to give us fruit in present and also in the future. And our present which is going to be our past will give us its fruit in the future. The topic To look to the future One must study the past revloves in the region of past present and the future of all mankind. It covers the whole story of human being. Some think it is essential to study history in order to make their future bright but some think past has no concern with the future. Other thinks that future is related to present, the things they have in present remain same as in future. Different people have different believe on the same the topic. Why is it so? Due to the different experiences they have in their past life. In some way or another experience is second name of past. What actually affect the future? Experience affects the future. Future can never be predicted but we can strive to make it better by mean of the past experiences. Without knowing the past we repeat mistakes made in the past, and destroy our future. We cant say that we are guessing future upon the past, but in some way we can perk up our future by relating it to the events take place in past, and work to make it enhanced. No one knows what will happen in the future but the past lend us a hand and lead us to our destiny. There must be some reasons why past contribute a lot in building future. It is vitally important to study history and keeping the past in mind to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and understand why things are as they are! We study history to learn where we were in the past and where we are now, to learn what worked for people in the past. We study history in order to remember the great achievements accompolished by our ancestors to make our future shine bright like diamonds and to remember the worst things happen in past and make sure not to do these things happen again in future. We study history to know what is the right thing to do and what is wrong so that we can understand what to do in life and how the wrong things happen and how we can be prevented. Just think, if we do not have a past what would we be today? Obviuosly nothing, if we dont know the hard works of our ancestor then how can we realize their great achievement, and what we can learn from their achievements and hardships and how can we pay respect to them. The biggest example is the achievement of Paskistan, if do not study history then how we could be able to compete with others and maintain or moral value. How could we realize and feel proud on our country, culture and faith. Without a past we couldnt go through life. Our personal life is also interrelated with past. We can call our past as our memory it can be good or bad. It depends upon us with whom we want go either with bad one or by good one. We can take experience from bad memory furthermore good memories give us courage to live. Its all about experiences. The more you know about history, the more you will be ready to build your future. The famous philosopher George Santayana wrote in 1896 in Reason in Common Sense, the Life of Reason, volume 1. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. No one is strictly doomed to repeat it. But Yes! History repeats itself because no one pays attention for the first time. But if someone forgot the past they will surely repeat in number of manners. The game remains same but the player changes. Of course if we forgot something which we have to do then certainly we will some face outcome and consequences. There are many interesting events in the history which indicates us and enlighten with the truth about the words said above. Learning regarding the bad things in history is a way to prevent them from happening again. Furthermore, sometimes we even know the history we repeat it because we have not learn anything from it. It can be discussed by some examples which are taken from the link given below. http://www.city-data.com/forum/history/1023429-does-history-ever-repeat-itself-ww2.html#ixzz2EucrunZh (See the exact words from the link given above) In World War I Germany lost to France. In World War II Germany defeated France. When it came to the French they learned their lesson. They failed in other areas, particularly the invasion of Russia, where I could point out that they should have taken a page from Napoleons book and re-thought the campaign. When we debunked Vietnam vs. Afghanistan but, we can find examples to put them together. Though the wars are different, they also contain some similarities. Both were being fought to combat an idea; communism in one, terrorism in the other. As we all know, we cant fight a concept. Both were essentially nation building efforts that paralleled the war. Both were reliant upon corrupt and ineffectual local central governments who were needed for success. Both contain indigenous guerilla forces opposed to our presence. Both have little geo-political value outside of combating the concept that the area is spreading. Both are being fought essentially unilaterally with little support from other allies. So, while not everything is the same one can infer that based on the lessons of Vietnam (some of which we learned from and are using to effect in Afghanistan) the entire war is essentially doomed to failure as it is by definition unwinnable. Sayings often have root in reality. Sometimes we need to look hard and be a little more liberal in our interpretation, but they are valid in some cases. Some times for some people in some ways past acts as a greatest enemy of them. That who had a worst and most awful happening in their past life and couldnt cope up with them for such people past is the greatest enemy. They rely on their past and start blaming other things that they came from this background and so on and start asking their self that why this happened to them and think if it would not happen then they would be in pleasure instead of working for the future they humiliates their past. They do not even try to come out of it and to deal with other and this will how they lose with the fear of defeat, after some time it become impossible for them to come out of this and to glow and rise again. In some ways their society wont allow them to learn from their past, they keeping on repeating their past and let them feel bad and make them realize their mistakes and make them feel ashamed. This will lead them to disappointment. We study history to think and feel proud on our country and on our motherland. History also introduces us to the important people of past they may be our idol or evil who contributed a lot in the structure of our country. There are loads of other reasons why do we prefer to study history. It tell us where were in our past life and where we are going to be in the future. It tells us our originality where we came from and how things, people and times change, how the culture and belief developed and then how suddenly with the passage of time they changed. History takes us to new era where we can judge our selves. Similarly if we can judge and understand our selves by studying our past, then simply we can guess, judge and understand other by analyzing their past. By mean of studying history we can understand about people behavior when they acted and how they behaved in such manners. If we do not understand them then how will we make interaction with them and develop relations with them. It also develops our thinking and relating skills that how we can relate one thing with another and then get better result. Many philosophers, scholars say to gain and learn from your past experience in order to understand your life and move towards golden future and to learn lessons, wisdom and intelligence. Therefore, history leads us to understand the past and use this fact and figure to work in present and get better result in future. A person with no sense of the past is a person who is a stranger both to his or her own roots and to the human condition more generally. For human beings are not creatures of nature; we are inheritors of the history that has made us what we are. Not to know our history is not to know ourselves, and that is the condition not of human beings, but of animals. And even from a practical point of view, to be ignorant of the past is to make us impotent and unprepared before the present. How can someone without a sense of medieval history have the slightest inkling of the meaning of the current impasse the West finds itself in its dealings with Islam? The Crusades were not, as is often implied by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, a unique moment of anti-Islamic aggression. They were actually but one blip in the astonishing growth of Islamic empires in Europe and elsewhere, from the time of Mohammed onwards, right up to 1683 when the Turks were turned back from the gates of Vienna and 1686 when they were expelled from Budapest. But who now remembers any of this, or ponders its consequences? It is not, needless to say, taught in National Curriculum history, which prefers to dwell on the Aztecs, about whom we have only the vaguest knowledge in comparison, and (endlessly) on the rise of Fascism (not communism) in Europe, studied by pupils who know nothing of the history of Italy and Germany before the 20th century.   Is it any wonder that, with no sense of our past or identity as, in other moods, politicians increasingly complain we are a culture obsessed with celebrity, football, and reality television? Most of our population knows nothing else, and they have no yardstick from either history or culture with which to judge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (- Anthony OHear, The Telegraph) By the mean of understanding our history and looking into the future, we can conclude in a general sense where we were and we are going to be. Then, looking into the future, we can act in ways that built our future in the direction and ways we would like to see it and make it shine like a diamond.

Labor Supply Responses to Taxes and Transfer Payments Essay -- America

A good understanding of labor supply reactions to tax and transfer policies is necessary for achieving related policy goals. Income support programs intend to alleviate poverty and create a more equitable society. However, the reaction of the labor supply can derail the intended results and need to be carefully evaluated for effective policy. Economic theory suggests that as taxes and transfer payments increase, the amount of hours and/or number of employees will decrease (Borjas 2005). The exception is transfer payments with work requirements, where the labor supply moves in the same direction as benefits. In the labor market, individuals have two basic choices: how many hours to work (intensive), and whether or not to work at all (extensive). If the labor supply has largely intensive reactions, certain types of programs, such as food stamps, are most effective, when EITC type programs are more effective for extensive reactions. Government tax and transfer policies affect the labor supply because when the real wage changes the labor supply reacts. This paper will look at the response of the U.S. labor supply to changes in taxes and transfer payments. It will determine if the response is concentrated towards intensive or extensive margins and observe the direction and magnitude of the changes. Understanding labor supply responses is crucial for governments desiring to reach intended policy goals. Labor market behavior can have significant long run effects on potential output. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the size and quality of the labor force, capital stock, and the efficiency of production, determine a country’s potential output. When policies influence relevant factors, such as the size of the labor force, the... ...e to participate at a paid wage lower than they would typically require. More people working expands the tax base while reducing the amount of transferred income. The government is able to collect more revenue and still provide a guaranteed income level. (Dickert et al.1995; Browning 1995). EITC type programs can help the government achieve its objectives with minimal negative effects to the economy. Not all labor markets have identical sizes or types of responses to government decisions. The direction and magnitude of each response will inform policy makers about optimal decisions. Section II of this paper reviews the empirical literature on tax and transfer policies and the labor market. Section III discusses the methodology. Section IV summarizes the results of this study. Section V presents the conclusion as well as identifies areas for further research.

Jurassic Park :: Essays Papers

Jurassic Park A very wealthy man has created a technique to clone dinosaurs. He is able to do so with the left behind DNA that his genius team of scientists and experts can extract. He is able to grow the dinosaurs in labs and lock them up on an island behind electric fences. He has created a sort of theme park on the island, which is located off the west coast of Costa Rica. The island is called Isle Nublar. He plans to have the entire planet come and visit his amazing prehistoric marvels. He asks a group of scientists from several different fields to come and view the park, but something goes terribly wrong when a worker on the island decides to be a traitor and shuts down the power. The main characters in the book are: John Hammond who is a billionaire developer who has used his resources to create the dinosaur filled island known as Jurassic Park. He is an old grandfather, and he dies in the book by a dinosaur known as a Procompsognathus. Dr. Alan Grant who is a famous paleontologist who agrees to visit Jurassic Park only to find out it is the home of several Dinosaurs. Unlike the movie Dr. Grant loves kids in the book. He also had a beard. Dr. Ellie Sattler is a Paleobotinist, who is also among the first people to tour Jurassic Park. There is also Tim, who is the 11-year-old grandson of John Hammond. He is kind of geeky, into computers and loves Dinosaurs. His 7-year-old sister is Alexis. She has a tomboy attitude and loves baseball. Ian Malcom is the Mathematician that uses "Chaos Theory" to predict disastrous results. He only wears black and gray. He is presumably dead in Jurassic Park the book, but somehow he shows up in the sequel, The Lost World. Finally there is Dennis Nedry. He was the computer genius who's greed and ambition bring chaos to Jurassic Park. There are many other characters that played a big part in the book, but I thought they were the best and the plot revolved around them. The characters show the greatest difference in the movie and the book. There were many opposites in the characters and even the roles and personalities of Tim and Lex were reversed. The book starts off when some of the dinosaurs have escaped form the island.

Does religion cause war Essay

War is an organized and often prolonged conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors. It is generally characterised by extreme violence, social disruption and economic destruction. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence or intervention. The set of techniques used by a group to carry out war is known as warfare. An absence of war is usually called peace. A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that are intended to explain the meaning of life and/or to explain the origin of life or the Universe. From their beliefs about the cosmos and human nature, people derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. Today we have invited our special guests of panel to discuss about the topic â€Å"Does Religion Cause War†. To discuss about the Does religion cause war? On this planet Earth, there have been many wars fought over many different things. They can range from freedom, oil, and religion. There were many wars fought over religion. For example, the thirty years war. The thirty years war was one of the major wars fought over religion. It was mostly fought in what’s now Germany. The thirty years war was one of the absolute longest and most destructive, and brutal conflicts in European history. The war was mainly between Protestants and Roman Catholics; although, this eventually turned into a war including most of the European powers. The major effect of The Thirty Years War was destroying entire regions. In Germany, the disease and famine greatly decreases population, while bankrupting most of the combatant powers. Although the regiments within each military were not strictly mercenary in that they were not guns for hire that changed sides from battle to battle, the soldiers that made up the regiments for the most part probably were. Another example of a war fought over religion was the Crusades. The Crusades were some of the most famous wars, and fought over religion. The Crusades were a series of wars blessed by the Pope, and Catholic Church. Their main goal was to regain Christian access to the city of Jerusalem, and holy places around it. The Crusades were actually originally launched to repel the expansion into Anatolia. Several hundred thousand soldiers became Crusaders by taking vows; the Pope granted them plenary indulgence. Their emblem was the cross, â€Å"crusade† is derived from the French term for taking up the cross. Many were from France and called themselves â€Å"Franks,† which became the common term used by Muslims. The term â€Å"crusade† is also used to describe religiously motivated campaigns conducted between 1100 and 1600 in territories outside the Levant usually against pagans, heretics, and peoples under the ban of excommunication for a mixture of religious, economic, and political In the eyes of many, religion is inherently conflictual, but this is not necessarily so. Therefore, in part, the solution is to promote a heightened awareness of the positive peace building and reconciliatory role religion has played in many conflict situations. More generally, fighting ignorance can go a long way. Interfaith dialogue would be beneficial at all levels of religious hierarchies and across all segments of religious communities. Where silence and misunderstanding are all too common, learning about other religions would be a powerful step forward. Being educated about other religions does not mean conversion but may facilitate understanding and respect for other faiths. Communicating in a spirit of humility and engaging in self-criticism would also be helpful. In recent times further back in history to Hinduism or Judaism along with other religious beliefs. During the same time period there have also been a large number of wars and battles between countries. Many argue that politics are the causes of these wars; however others claim that it is religion which is the main reason. Religion has had a large influence on many conflicts in the past. While some argue that religion is the cause of wars, it is inconclusive whether war would or would not exist if there was no such thing as religion. Some would say The Crusades are a major example of religion causing war. From the 11th century to the 13thcentury Christian states in Europe launched what are sometimes called Holy Wars against Muslims in the East. These wars centred on the city of Jerusalem which held a Holy significance in the Christian world. However when 3000 Christians were massacred, this began the ‘retaliation’ and therefore the beginning of The Crusades to release the Holy City of Jerusalem from the rule of Muslims. In this example, religion has clearly caused The Crusades as there would not have been any war if the city of Jerusalem did not have Christian significance. However, a contrary argument to this would be that it was the massacre of 3000 Christians which caused The Crusades to begin and not because of differing religious beliefs, although it is unquestionable that religion played a major part in the beginning of the Crusades as the massacre may not have taken place without a religious background. As the argument for religion causing war heavily outweighs the opposing argument, in this context it is fair to say that using this example, religion does cause war. The Israel-Arab wars from 1948 to the present day are often seen as wars over religion. In fact, they say, they have been about nationalism, self-defence or the liberation of territory. So why is religion a factor in war at all when all the main faiths have little time for violence and advocate peace? Because, it is suggested, leaders use differences over faith as a way of sowing hatred and mobilising support for political wars. As the American civil war leader Abraham Lincoln put it almost 150 years ago: â€Å"The will of God prevails. â€Å"In great contests, each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, but one must be wrong. â€Å"God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. â€Å"