The Exploitation And Demise Of A World The Destruction Of The Native

The Exploitation and Demise of a World: The Destruction of the Native American Civilization Through US Expansion. The history of the expansion of the American frontier has been one mired in controversy. Historians, such as Frederick Turner, have always referred to American expansion and the Western frontier as the settlement of an untamed wilderness. This view, however, is false. Long before Columbus even reached the ?New World? a vast civilization, comparable to that of Europe, had established a stable and successful world. Even though they were considered to be the ?children of nature? Native Americans had established themselves as shapers and exploiters of the Earth. They, like their European counterparts, had established a civilization based on agriculture and the manipulation of ecosystems. They performed these tasks for the same reason as their counterparts; to bolster crop yields and the game animal population. Early reports by explorers and settlers indicated that Native Americans altered the landscape with fire. They did this to reduce underbrush and undesirable grasses. This act allowed them to plant crops and bolster animal populations. It also aided them in their mobility. It is, therefor, easy to understand why explorers such as John Audubon reported vast numbers of game animals. Although Native Americans seem to have lived in a ?World of Plenty? in reality they lived in a harsh natural world. In this world their lives were dictated by the elements, such as water and temperature. A bad year could spell disaster as a famine or natural plague. Plague, however, was not a major concern until Europeans arrived in the ?New World.? They carried with them such epidemic viruses as small pox, chicken pox, malaria, and yellow fever. These diseases were unchecked and devastated the Native American population. The estimated mortality rate climbed to 80-90% within only a few generations. The actual number of effected Native Americans is questionable. Europeans did not even know how many natives were alive, much less dying. One anthropologist, named James Mooney, gave a conservative estimate of roughly 1.1 million. Others at the time believed he too, was exaggerating. During the 1970s, however, new studies produced estimates among 57 to 112 million. The ?New World? was as populous as Europe! Regardless of the actual numbers one fact remains the same; European diseases destroyed the Native American civilizations. Native Americans were forced to endure another major crisis. It was a crisis based on the implementation of different methods of survival. Europeans had different methods of farming than that of the natives. Although Europeans had introduced the horse that was beneficial to the natives they also introduced other animals and plants that were highly destructive to their environment. European cattle, sheep, and pig became as much an enemy to Native Americans as Europeans. By introducing these domesticated animals' settlers drastically altered the natural ecosystems. To add to this problem they deliberately hunted game animals' en masse for trade. They also slaughtered millions of animals such as bison and prong horn to provide grazing land for their domesticated animals. Native Americans were forced to deal with these difficulties by either limiting settler activity or adopting their ways. The first usually resulted in a violent settler backlash or governmental war. The latter only prolonged the settler's inevitable reaction. One simple analysis, used by many proponents of expansion and progress, is that Native Americans stood in the way of progress. Although this is a reasonable and at times, justifiable explanation of the European mind set it is not entirely true. Native Americans had a vast civilization, equal to that of Europe. They too, had a highly advanced agricultural system and methods of exploiting nature. The reality of the struggle may not lie in just in the superficial differences of two civilizations. Europeans, throughout history, have been known for their egomaniacal racism. This may have been the overriding principle in the whole affair. It may have involved European greed. It may have involved many critical factors including both of these. Native Americans also had a tendency to be traditionalistic and even stubborn. In the end, one of the two civilizations was destined to fail. Identification: Ponokamita- Known as the ?elk dog? to Native Americans it was the name they gave to the horse. It was introduced when Europeans brought them

The Most Expensive Colleges in the US

The Most Expensive Colleges in the US In the United States of America, the total cost for an academic year can rise over $60,000. Every year, these fees are getting more and more expensive. In fact, a list of the most expensive colleges in the US for the 2015 2016 academic year has been published recently. The numbers that you will see below represent the amount of money that students have to pay for their fees and tuition. Keep in mind that books, healthcare plans and travel have not been included in these expenses. So, do you want to find out what is the most expensive college in the US? 1. Harvey Mudd College Situated in California (Claremont), Harvey Mudd College is the most expensive college in US. Describing their university as one of the most eligible science colleges in the United States, the costs of tuition, fees, board and room are huge. While there is no tuition reduction for the students, around 70% of the freshmen get financial help. Special cases of children from low-income families, receive almost $55,090 in aid during their first year. Total cost: $67,255 2014 BI Rank: 1 Room and Board: $16,506 Fees and Tuition: $50,749 2. Columbia University The legendary university is located in New York City, New York. It has come second in the top of the most expensive colleges in the US due to its spicy prices. About 50% of the undergraduates at this college in New York receive financial help so they wont have to pay the full price of tuition. However, the prices remain pretty high. Total Cost: $66,383 2014 BI Rank: 5 Board and Room: $12,860 Fees and Tuition: $53,523 3. Sarah Lawrence College Located in Yonkers, New York, Sarah Lawrence College landed the third position in the top of most expensive colleges in America. This faculty is said to offer twice the amount of one-on-one contact time with the students as compared to other educational institutions. The average financial aid is $34,000. Learning the best out of liberal arts sure does cost a lot! Total Cost $65,630 2014 BI Rank: 6 Board and Room: $14,596 Fees and Tuition: $51,034 4. New York University New York University is notoriously expensive but has an excellent reputation when it comes to the programs it offers. The kids who wish to be students of one of the most expensive colleges in the US better prepare. The college located in New York City asks for proofs that they have enough assets to cover living expenses and tuition for at least an academic year before getting accepted. Total Cost: $65, 860 2014 BI Rank: 4 Board and Room: $17,580 Fees and Tuition: $48, 280 As you can see, you have to make a lot of sacrifices to become a student at one of the most expensive colleges in the US. In some cases, high school graduates cant attend classes at these universities because of the astronomical prices. Children with a lot of potential, extracurricular activities and high grades risk attending a second-hand college because of their financial incapacity.

Analysis of company (Netflix) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Analysis of company (Netflix) - Coursework Example The company was established in 1997 by Reed Hastings. Its headquarters are located in Los Gatos, California. The organization offers proprietary recommendations and merchandising services that aid the subscribers to choose from the extensive digital title library. The company’s mission is becoming an early novel technology adapter that will satisfy consumers’ exact wants. The vision of the organization is to endeavors to be the best international entertainment distribution service. It also wants to; generate accessible markets particularly, to filmmakers; license entertainment content globally; and assist content creators globally to find an international audience. Currently, to achieve its vision, Netflix Inc. applies an extensive differentiation strategy. The differentiation was established through reducing the general prices of renting DVDs, improving customer satisfaction, providing all-inclusive customer service and constantly innovating throughout the years (Resea rch and Markets 2012, n.p) . PART 1: EXTERNAL ANALYSIS The purpose of this section is to analyse the external environment of the company. This includes the macro environment, the industry analysis, and SWOT analysis. 1.1 Macro-Environmental Analysis Like other organizations in the industry of movie rentals, Netflix is cause to experience technological, social, economic, and political macro-environmental factors. Political and Legal factors – with regard to these facets, the company could be influenced through altering laws relating to copyrights of some content types, for instance television and movie shows that Netflix depends on to offer the clients (Krengel et al. 2010, p. 23). Economic factors – To sustain a competitive advantage, Netflix is compelled to price aggressively against competitors. The Company maneuvers in an industry that depends principally on the consumer’s disposable income. If economic increase were to dwindle, while there was a negative inf luence of the consumers’ purchasing power, the organizations in the industry would experience the negative impacts of the reduced purchasing power first. Social factors – The Company depends on the movie popularity among the target market segments. The consumption becomes less popular among the older demographic as the average population age continues to become older. This leads to negative influence of the business. Business could be negatively influenced if the online movie consumption became un-preferred among large population segments. Technological factors – Technologically, since Netflix is an internet-based company, it must compete with the continuously evolving internet, since the industry progresses toward online consumptions (May 2010, p. 21). 1.2 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Porter’s Five Forces Rivalry among Organisations Direct rivals threaten the task environment of Netflix. Exclusive content contracts present as a threat to the company’s task environment. This presents as a constriction for the Netflix access to particular content (Thompson & Martin 2010, p. 92). Entry of Novel Competitors Entry of novel of

Business plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Business plan - Essay Example Thus, a business plan is essentially a road map for the organization to achieve its stated objectives (Tyson and Schell 2008). A bird’s eye view of the new institution and the education it proposes to impart With a veritable explosion in globalization and consequent exponential increase in business activities that span across continents and political frontiers the need for suitably educated and properly trained individuals to manage such gargantuan work load in an efficient and effective manner has also increased manifold. People who have an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) are equipped with precisely those skills that are required to manage transnational corporations and thus the craze for obtaining an MBA degree is increasing by leaps and bounds with each passing day (Scalzo 2008). GSBM intends to impart these much needed skills to young individuals who aspire to be dynamic managers of tomorrow. Thus, the mission statement of this new institution would be: To make st udents aware of the techniques and tools of management and how they could be applied in practical contexts To encourage students to develop their independent line of thinking and foster innovative ideas regarding various management issues and situations To adequately equip them to navigate the extremely competitive environs of global business To make students aware of cultural differences that exists across countries and continents as that is extremely necessary to successfully conduct a global business. The subjects that are intended to be taught at GSBM would include strategic management, marketing management, human resource management, adequate knowledge and expertise in finance and accounts, proper induction in the nuances of information technology, imparting the tools and techniques employed by managers in collecting business, and, most certainly, a sufficient knowledge about diverse cultures as cultural competency of an organization is imperative to survive and prosper in glob al market conditions. There is an immense impact of culture on negotiating process as negotiating practices vary from culture to culture and the manner in which people conduct themselves during negotiation process depends almost entirely on the cultural context of each country (Weiss 1994). Thus having a broad idea about prevailing cultures and being careful not to transgress the sensitivities of people belonging to alien cultures is an important lesson that any aspiring global manager needs to learn (Salacuse 1991). Market analysis of the proposed business school The institution would be a business school funded through private investments and would commence its operations initially in London with subsequent plans to open up subsidiaries, franchises or branches in Australia and India. The level of education and the course content would be totally at par with what is being

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 21

Ethics - Essay Example The construction costs are greatly reduced in this plant. The effects of the same include use of cheaper controls from Lutz and Lutz, a decision not to line the evaporation ponds that would have prevented the leakage of hazardous substances into the groundwater, and a decision not to purchase pipes and connectors of high steel or high pressure alloy materials (Mandel & Martin, 2003). In the long run, the plan was not successful as leakages were experienced in the connections as well as failure to control the system automatically; thus, leading to the plan manager doing manual controls (Mandel & Martin, 2003). Worse still, the plant manager dies whilst manually controlling the plant. This case has various stakeholders that had vested interests in the outcome. First was the Phaust administration that wanted to introduce a product that would see to a tough competition with Chemitoil’s paint remover. Fred Martinez was yet another stakeholder who aimed at getting profits from selling off Chemitoil’s design to favor Phaust Chemical manufacturers (Mandel & Martin, 2003). Chuck, the vice president of Phaust is also a major stakeholder and plays a major role in advising Fred to cut down the construction costs of the new plant in Mexico. The new plant manager who dies during the manufacturing process is also a stakeholder as he agrees to control the manufacturing process manually as opposed to automatic control (Mandel & Martin, 2003). The personality types and communication techniques of the stakeholders clearly explain the motivation behind their decisions. Phaust administration was motivation py greed to maintain the markets as the major manufacturer of the major paint remover, and the need to compete with Chemitoil so as to prevent them from taking over the industry. Fred Martinez was motivated by the need to acquire money from Phaust as

The Benefits Of Strategic Planning Business Essay

The Benefits Of Strategic Planning Business Essay Formal strategic planning is affected by the macro-environment and this is the highest level layer in the framework, this consists of a wide range of environmental factors that impact to some extent on almost all organisations. The PESTEL framework can be used to identify how future trends in the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environment and Legal environments might affect an organisation. Pestel analysis provides the broad date from which key drivers to change can be identified. By using these key drivers organisations can envision scenarios for the future. Scenarios can be used to help organisations decide if change needs to happen depending on the different ways in which the business environment may change. It is important for managers to analyse these factors in the present and how they are likely to change in the future. By analysing these, managers will be able to draw out implications for the organisation. Pestel factors are sometimes linked together i.e. technological factors can impact on economic factors. It is necessary to identify the key drivers of change these are environmental factors that are likely to have a high impact on the success or failure of the strategy. Key drivers vary by industry i.e. Primark may be concerned by social changes that can change customer tastes and behaviours. The critical issues are the implications that are drawn from the understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. The next stage is drawn from the environmental analysis specifically strategic opportunities and threats for the organisation. Having the ability to identify these opportunities and threats is extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. Opportunities and threats form one half of the SWOT analysis that shapes a companys formulation. The use of SWOT analysis can help summarise the key issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organisation that are most likely to impact on strategy development. Once the key issues have been identified an organisation can then assess if it is capable to deal with the changes taking place within the business environment. If the strategic capability is to be understood the business must remember that it is not absolute but relative to its competitors. SWOT analysis is only useful if it is comparative, that is it examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis should help focus discussion on the future choices and to what extent an organisation is capable of supporting these strategies. SWOT analysis should not be used a substitute for more in-depth analysis. In responding strategically to the environment the goal is to reduce identified threats and take advantages of the best opportunities. Peter Drucker (1954), discussing the importance of business policy and strategic planning in his book The Practice of Management says we cannot be content with plans for a future that we can foresee. We must prepare for all possible and a good many impossible contingencies. We must have a workable solution for anything that may come up. By taking advantage of the strategic gap (which is an opportunity in the competitive environment that has not been fully exploited by competitors) organisations can manage threats and opportunities. Core competencies are a set of linked business processes that deliver superior value to the customer, when these are combined they create strategic value and can lead to competitive advantage. By using Porters five forces analysis which is a framework for organisations to analyse industry and business strategy, they can draw upon the five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Three of Porters five forces refer to competition from external sources and the other two are internal threats. This analysis is just one part of the complete Porter strategic model the others include the value chain (VC) and the generic strategies. According to Porter (2008) the job of a strategist is too understand and cope with competition; however managers define competition too narrowly as if it has occurred only among today direct competitors. Competition goes beyond profits to include competitive forces such as customers, suppliers, potential entrants and substitute products; the extended rivalry that results from all five forces defines an industrys structure and shapes the nature of competition within an industry. For example Apple are good at technology and innovation therefore they can take the opportunities that give them competitive advantage and makes them leaders compared to Samsung or Nokia. Porters says there are 5 forces that shape the competition: Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of customers powerful customers usually bargain for better services which involve cost and investment Bargaining power of suppliers may determine the cost of raw materials and other inputs effecting profitability Rivalry among competitors competition influences the pricing and other costs like advertising etc. Threats from substitutes where-ever substantial investments in RD is taking place, the threat of substitutes is large. It also affects profitability. Competitive advantage is the heart of strategy and for the strategy to succeed the organisation should have relevant competitive advantage. We can see an example of this with Toshiba who operate in electrical goods, through a flexible manufacturing system it manufactures different products / varieties of some products on the same assembly lines. At Ohme it assembles nine varieties of computers on the same line and on the adjacent line it assembles 20 varieties of lap top computers. It is able to switch from one product / variety to another instantly at low cost and makes profits on low volume runs too. This flexibility of Toshiba to respond quickly and easily to the fast changing market demand is definitely one of its competitive advantages. Whereas its competitors make profits only through long volume runs of a particular model. However, there are a lot of companies who are choosing not to invest due to the recession; however Lidl and Aldi are taking advantage of supplying cheaper products giving them competitive advantage over say Waitrose. Benefits of Strategic Planning Effective strategic planning can positively improve the performance of an organisation and give them the ability to serve more clients, access additional resources or enhance the quality of service/product. It can also offer solutions to major organisational issues or challenges and gives stakeholders of the organisation an opportunity to develop harmonic solutions to long-term issues/challenges that have been affecting the organisation. Furthermore it allows for forward thinking, allowing an organisation the opportunity to pause and revisit the mission and create long-term vision. It allows clear future direction allowing stakeholders to look to the future, plan and respond to changes. Evaluation One of the major drawbacks of formal strategic planning is the uncertain dynamic environment, things change constantly and everything becomes shorter. The recession at the present time is making everything unpredictable and this is not good for strategic planning. According to Mintzberg (1994) strategic planning should be used to devise and implement the competitiveness of each business unit. Scientific management was pioneered by Fredrick Taylor (1856-1915) and involved separating thinking from doing and thus creating a new function staffed by specialists. Planning systems were expected to produce the best strategies as well as step by step instructions on how to achieve this, but this never worked well. According to Mintzberg strategic planning is not strategic thinking, the most successful strategies are visions, not plans. When an organisation can differentiate between planning and strategic thinking they can then get back to what the strategy making process should be. Once a manger has the ability to learn from all sources around him, including personal experiences and market research and can integrate this into a vision of the direction that the business can then pursue. Mintzberg suggests that strategic planning is a misconception and rests upon three unsound arguments: that prediction is possible, thats strategists can be detached from the subjects of their strategies, and that the strategy-making process can be formalised. Strategic thinkers can apply lessons learned from Mintzberg (1994) three inherent fallacies of traditional planning: The Fallacy of Prediction is the assumption that we can actually control events through a formalised process that involves people engaged in creative or even routine work and can manage to stay on the predicted course. You need more than hard facts you need the personal touch. People are not objective, they are complex. The Fallacy of Detachment is the assumption we can separate the planning from the doing, if the system does the thinking, then strategies must be detached from the tactics. Formulation from implementation, thinkers from doers. One objective is to make sure senior managers receive relevant information without having to immense themselves in the details. One fact is innovation has never been institutionalised and systems have never been able to reproduce the synthesis created by the entrepreneur or the ordinary strategist and probably never will. The Fallacy of Formulisation suggests that systems could certainly process more information, at least hard information. However they could never internalise it, comprehend it, and put it all together. Such control is more a dream that a reality. Reality tells us that anomalies, the fickle behaviour of humans and the limitations of analysis play a huge factor in the organisational outcomes and to disregard them is risky and could lead to incomplete planning. What are the limitations of strategic planning when things are changing rapidly? The limitations of formal strategic planning can be seen if the future is uncertain and the expectations divert from the plan. There could also be internal resistance to formal strategic planning due to factors including: Information flows, decision making and power relationships could be unsettled Current operating problems may drive out long-term planning efforts There are risks and fears of failure New demands will be placed on managers and staff Conflicts with the organisation are exposed Planning is expensive in time and money Planning is difficult and hard work The completed plan limits choices and activities for the organisation in the future CONCLUSIONS The question posed seems to be is strategic planning worthwhile. The answer to this lies within the organisation and is dependent upon size. It seems that the ability to learn and implement strategies contributes to the business performance of small or medium sized companies in a dynamic industry. Leadership is important and organisations today have to deal with dynamic and uncertain environments. To ensure success organisations must be strategically aware. They must understand how changes in their competitive environment are unfolding. They should constantly be on the lookout for new opportunities to exploit their strategic abilities, build on awareness and understanding of current strategies and successes. Organisations must be able to respond quickly in response to opportunities and threats. Organisations must compete effectively and out-perform their rivals in a dynamic environment; they must find suitable ways for creating and adding value for their customers. Overall they must be flexible. Organisations could think about changing their strategy to an emergent strategy which would allow them to adapt to new ideas and according to change. Emergent strategy implies that an organisation is learning what works in practice. An example of this is Groupon who provide daily deals in large cities and in return Groupon get a percentage of the deal usually 50% from the company providing the deal. The company is on track to make $500M in revenue this year and has raised its last round at a $1.35B valuation. Groupon is an example of an emergent strategy which has transformed several times. Organisations could think about downsizing production before closure as companies are killed due to an uncertain dynamic environment. In an article labelled The Real Value of Strategic Planning one manager said our planning process is like a primitive tribal ritual there is a lot of dancing, waving of feathers and beating of drums. No one is exactly sure why we do it, but there is an almost mystical hope that something good will come out of it. Another said, Its like the old Communist system: We pretend to make strategy and they pretend to follow it. Henry Mintzberg has gone so far as to label the phrase strategic planning an oxymoron. He notes that real strategy is made informally in hallway conversations, in working groups, and in quiet moments of reflection on long plane flights and rarely in the panelled conference rooms where formal planning meetings are held.

Do the media ‘construct’ social reality, or does it simply report on it

It is often suggested by scholars that the world and in all its content is ambiguous, there is no universal meaning, nothing can be interpreted the same way. Opinions are constantly clashing and facts somehow constructed, or tempered during the processes of news production. News becomes the fictions of reality; it becomes a way of story telling, made to the taste of the viewer, depending on the society of course. The same stories carry different values depending where when and how the stories are broadcasted, I will be talking about this in this essay. There are two approaches to report a piece of news; the realist, purely factual no interpretations given and very clear in usage of language. This method differs to that of the constructionist, in which events or situations are carefully analysed, and I will be talking about the implication of media â€Å"constructed† social reality. â€Å"Leaders who disillusion their followers live shorter politician lives than who learn to represent situations to their best political advantage†; (Bennett, 2007: p.111) here Bennett is almost suggesting that audience prefer to consume politically incorrectness over the truth, which could be troubling. It is true in terms of politics that politician are not always completely faithful to their promises Scheufele sited Entman’s definition of framing as ‘a scatter of conceptualization’ (1999), Conceptualization is the process of â€Å"inventing or contriving an idea or explanation and formulating it mentally† or â€Å"an elaborated concept† â€Å"framing is an extension of agenda setting† it set up a specific idea for an audience to believe in, audience is somewhat fooled into accepting one side of the story, and usually, they are unable or find it difficult to accept... ... Television in British Politics: Media, Money and mediated Democracy. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Glasser, T.L. (ed.) The Idea of Public Journalism. Chapter one. New York: Guilford Press. Luhmann, N. (2000) The Reality of the Mass Media. Cambridge: Polity Press. Richardson, J.E. (2007) Analysing Newspapers: an Approach from Critical Discourse Analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Journal articles: Barnhurst, K.G. and Mutz, D. (1997) ‘American journalism and the decline in event-centred reporting’, Journal of Communication. 47 (4): 27-53 Scheufele, D.A. (1990) ‘Framing as a theory of media effects ’, Journal of communications. 49 (1): 103-122 Links: AlJazeera English (2010) ‘China ban on dog meat draw angry outcry’ February 08 available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZLLhd_0p_c http://www.thefreedictionary.com/conceptualization

Motifs of Invisible Man Essay

Throughout Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison the narrator battles many battles continuously. These motifs that all compile into the very many themes of the literary work. The motifs range from blindness to invisibility even to the racism keeping our narrator from discovering his true identity. Blindness is the most used motif in Invisible Man. The narrator and his peers are always battling blindness throughout the novel. Throughout the novel blindness is a problem because willfully avoid seeing and confronting the true problem. †Within the American conscience with such an intensity towards his predicament† (Forward Page 2). During the time period the moral blindness of whites was a major problem, but so was the blindness of blacks. Many of the brothers remained blind to the true problem they were confronting. Also blindness takes a few literal turns. One during the â€Å"Battle Royal†, when the boys fight blindfolded, and the second the statue of the founder is described as â€Å"not having eyes†. Blindness also literally suffers from blindness. The motif, blindness, tells us about the actions and feeling of the society. The second major motif is invisibility. Not only is it in the title, but this topic plays major role throughout the novel. The book starts out with the narrator saying â€Å"I am an Invisible Man† (page 3). This motif continues to appear all the time until the epilogue. The motif of invisibility goes hand in hand with moral blindness. While blindness has a bad connotation, Invisibility can bring freedom and mobility. †I’ve overstayed my hibernation, since there’s a possibility that even an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play† (Page 571). The narrator realizes that being invisible may be a safe position, but he would never be able to make a major impact in the world. Although he is comfortable as an invisible man he emerges to go make a visible impact on the world. The last major motif, Racism, is an obstacle to finding individual identity. Throughout the novel he struggles to find his true identity. As he passes from minor society to minor society he tries to adapt their identity on to him. Each time he takes away from his individuality. The narrator finally realizes that racism just causes him to see what others want him to see. He comes to this realization when he says â€Å"and I knew it was better to live out f one’s own absurdity than to die for that of others, whether for Ras’s or Jack’s† (page 559). In the end he chooses to be productive by making his own contributions to society; force others to acknowledge, and to clarify the reality of thoughts outside of their prejudiced notions. The narrator battles blindness of others, the comfort of invisibility, and the obstacle blocking his own personal identity. Throughout this coming of age novel the narrator losses many battles, but in the end he finally wins. He ends as a visible advocate staying true to himself.

The Causes and Dangers of Yellow Snow

The Causes and Dangers of Yellow Snow Yellow snow is the topic of many a winter joke. Since snow in its purest form is white, yellow snow is said to be colored with yellow liquids, like animal urine. But while animal (and human)  markings  can indeed turn  snow yellow, these  arent the only cause of yellow snow. Pollen and air pollution can also lead to large  areas of snow cover that looks like lemonade. Here are the ways snow can acquire a golden hue. Blanketed in Spring Pollen One harmless reason for yellow-tinted snow is pollen. Common in spring snows when flowering trees are already in bloom, pollen can settle in the air and on snow-covered surfaces,  marring the white color of snow. If youve ever witnessed your car covered in a thick coat of yellowish-green mid-April, then you know how thick a coating of pollen can be. Its the same with spring snows. If a large enough tree is overhead above a snow bank, the golden appearance of the snow can be spread over a large area. The pollen may be harmless  unless you happen to be allergic to it. Pollution or Sand Snow can also fall from the sky with a yellow color. Yellow snow is real. You may think snow is white, but other colors of snow exist including black, red, blue, brown, and even orange snow.   Yellow snow can be caused by air pollution  as certain pollutants in the air can give snow a yellowish tinge. Air pollutants will migrate towards the poles and become incorporated into the snow as a thin film. As sunlight hits the snow, a yellow hue can appear. When snow contains particles of sand or other cloud seeds, it can be a source of yellow or golden snow. When this occurs,  the color of the condensation nuclei can actually tint the ice crystals yellow even as it falls through the sky. One example was in South Korea when snow fell in March of 2006 with a yellow tint. The cause of the yellow snow was an increased amount of sand in the snow from the deserts of Northern China. NASAs Aura satellite captured the event as weather officials warned the public of the hazards contained within the snow. Yellow dust storm warnings are popular in South Korea, but yellow snow is rarer. Yellow snows often cause concern that they come from industrial waste. An intense yellow snow fell in areas of the Russian Urals region in March 2008. Residents worried that it came from industrial or construction sites and preliminary reports said it was high in manganese, nickel, iron, chrome, zinc, copper, lead, and cadmium. However, the analysis published in Doklady Earth Sciences showed that it was due to dust swept up from the steppes and semidesert of Kazakhstan, Volgograd, and Astrakhan. Dont Eat the Yellow Snow When you see yellow snow, its best to avoid it. Regardless of what caused snow to turn yellow, its always safest to find fresh fallen, white snow whether youll be using it for snowballs, snow angels, or especially snow ice cream.

Conjugating Comer in Spanish

Conjugating Comer in Spanish Comer is a common Spanish verb to eat and has most of the meanings that the English verb has. Most commonly, comer means simply to consume food through the mouth: Me gusta comer pizza sin anchoas. I like to eat pizza without anchovies.El comer es uno de los placeres de la vida. Eating is one of the pleasures of life.Comieron en el aeropuerto de Lima antes de abordar el avià ³n. They ate at the Lima airport before boarding the plane.Leah come como un pajarito. Leah eats like a bird. Sometimes, depending on the context, comer refers specifically to eating lunch or dinner. Desayunamos en casa y comemos en el camino. Were eating breakfast at home and eating lunch on the road. Like eat up, comer can be used colloquially to suggest immense pleasure: Mi abuela comià ³ el libro. My grandmother ate up the book. Comer can be used figuratively to refer to corrosion, erosion or the eating up of something by natural processes. The translation varies with the context: El mar comià ³ toda la arena. The sea washed away all the sand.El cido comià ³ el concreto de la cisterna. The acid ate away at the tanks concrete. Similarly, the reflexive form comerse can be used in a variety of ways to indicate that something is swallowed up or otherwise consumed or missing:  ¿Cuntas pginas se comieron? How many pages were missing?Parece que se comià ³ la letra N. It looks like the letter N was omitted.La inflacià ³n se come el ahorro de la gente. Inflation is eating up the peoples savings. The reflexive form is also sometimes used to add emphasis. In such a case, the difference between comer and comerse is roughly the difference between to eat and to eat up. Los chicos se comieron todos los dulces. The boys ate up all the candy. Comer is conjugated regularly, following the pattern of beber.

Vietnam War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Vietnam War - Research Paper Example will become mired in other foreign affairs quagmires which again will weaken the military, economic strength and its political status within the world community. This same lesson was never learned by the long defunct Roman Empire. A similar outcome looms for America if it continues to replicate the mistake that was Vietnam. A result of justifications emanating from Cold War, anti-communism sentiments, Vietnam became the standard by which American military power limitations can be measured. Following the allied defeat of Japan in 1945, the U.S. became embroiled in a battle over military power and political ideology with the former Soviet Union that was showcased on a world-wide scale for more than four decades, the Cold War. Communism was America’s declared enemy during this era. The U.S. drew a symbolic line in the sand in Southeast Asia after the Soviets built the Berlin Wall and continued in its aspirations to dominate other Eastern European nations. The fiasco that was Viet nam triggered anti-military reactions for the majority of Americans whose subsequent response contributed to the Cold War’s end. Vietnam also forced America to rethink the fundamental purpose of its military power and question the scope of its capability to force it’s will in foreign nations whether, for example, in the deserts of the Middle East or the jungles of Southeast Asia. In addition the U.S. was forced to question its general foreign policy viewpoint and subsequent strategies. (Hogan, 2006) â€Å"U.S. foreign policy, from its abandonment of isolationism at the ending of the 19th century to its status as the sole remaining superpower, has always been centered on the promotion and conservation of its own interests and ‘the advancement of civilization,’ the exercise of power to assert itself beyond the bounds of the American continents in ‘the interest of civilization and of humanity’ and its own selfish interests.† (Olney, 2004) This re-evaluation phase lasted about 40 years, from the mid-1970’s until early 2003. The U.S. enjoined the Cold War period, Vietnam War and invasion of Iraq to ostensibly spread democracy to subjugated peoples of the world (the official explanation) and with great confidence of victory. Both military conflicts offered a comparable paradigm: the capability of the U.S. to utilize its armed forces as a political, social and ideological tool is limited. indisputably, America entered Vietnam with somewhat of a arrogance assuming the North Vietnamese would bow to the powerful American military and that the South Vietnamese would gladly accept and adjust to a western nation style of democratic governance. Former U.S. national Security Advisor under President Nixon and Secretary of State (1973-1977) Henry Kissinger stated America entered Vietnam with a â€Å"brash confidence in the universal applicability of America’s prescriptions.† (Kissinger, 2003) The ironic epilog ue to the U.S. involvement in Vietnam is that America entered into this horrific and bloody and enduring conflict believing it to be the ‘knight in shining armor’ for the South Vietnamese people. Its leaders did this without appreciating that the South Vietnamese were fighting to be free from a North Vietnamese government that symbolized the same colonialist, imperialistic ideology as did the American government. (Ignatieff, 2003) This lack of military success in Vietnam was not because the U.S. lacked fire-power. It was due to a failure to understand the opponent. Although

Organizational Leadership Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organizational Leadership - Term Paper Example The intention of this study is leadership as the ability to influence a group towards the achievement offset goals. In an organization there are leaders who may be vested with formal authority to influence the activities of the other members so that the goals of the organisation can be achieved. On the other hand, the classical approach to leadership loosely refers to a type of conditioning where an individual responds to some stimulus that would not invariably produce such a response. In as far as leadership is concerned, it can be noted that there is need to influence people within an organization to behave in a particular way so that their efforts can be pulled in the same direction towards the attainment of the set goals. However, the success of this strategy mainly depends on the type of the organisation and the leadership style that is used by the leaders. Merton defines a bureaucratic structure as one that is formal and it involves clearly defined patterns of activities and ev ery action is ideally related to the purposes of the organization. Such an organization is hierarchical in structure where power and authority follow a top to down structure. Another very important aspect of this organization is that power is vested in the office not the particular person who performs the official task. The formality of this type of organization suggests that subordinates have to take orders from their superiors and the methods of communication are also formalised where the leaders give orders to the junior employees. In a bureaucratic structure, everything is centralized and this particular type of organization cannot easily change its formalised way of operation. Another important aspect about this structure is that the decision making process is centralised and other ordinary members may not contribute their ideas. In short, the leadership style used by this organization is authoritative where focus is put on the vision of the firm. On the other hand, it can be n oted that some organizations are liberal and they welcome initiative, innovation as well as creativity. Goleman (2000) posits to the effect that the effectiveness of this particular type of organization can be attributed to the leadership style that is used. In this case, the members of the organisation are given the autonomy to contribute towards the decision making process and it can be observed that this kind of firm is flexible since it allows people to learn and adapt to changes that can take place within and outside the organisation. The success of such kind of organisation can also be attributed to the leaders’ ability to encourage the members to learn from others as well as to participate in activities that are crucial to its operation. There is a shared vision among the members and it can be noted that this structure is more flexible compared to a bureaucratic st