Moving Away

I can still remember that day. If you asked me, I thought the world was coming to a blazing end. Well, at least my world. It was a very humid and hot summer afternoon. Unusually warm for New England, it was the type of weather found in the deep south of our country. It was quite a coincidence actually; since this was the type of weather I would have to be used to. After all here I was on my way down to the south moving to Kentucky. It was a slightly a year before when I was first told by my parents that we would be moving. At first I didn’t believe them. I thought, â€Å"What kind of sick joke is this? â€Å"But after a few minutes I realized they were serious. More serious questions came popping into my mind. Why would we move? What about my friends? Who is going to buy this junky house? These were all questions that initially ran through my jumbled mind. My parents refused to answer my questions however. This got me extremely angry. How could they force such a change in my life and ignore my questions? My parents were being cruel, not because they were making me move but because they were completely ignoring my feelings and questions. My opinions and feelings meant nothing to them because they made the choice on their own. I was a Essay on Moving Away Moving away from all of your best friends can be a real tragedy in a sixteen-year-old teenagers life. It's hard to get up and go eight hundred miles away from everyone you know and everything you grew up around. I had this happen to me about three years ago and it is the largest change I have ever had to adjust to in my life. It wasn't the changes around me that I was bothered by; it was that I did not know one living soul for hundreds of miles and all I wanted was a friend. Two days into the summer after sophomore year at Governor Mifflin High School in the little town of Shillington Pennsylvania I would find out the worse news that a sixteen year old could hear. I found out that in four days my family and I would be moving to a suburb outside of Chicago because of my dads recent job change. I was devastated, I ran to my room and cried for about an hour with thoughts of all my friends running through my head. It was like all the memories I had with all my friends were going through my head at the same time. It was beyond doubt one of the biggest challenges of my life. During the last few days I was there I went out with my friends every night ha Moving far away from family and friends can be tough on a child at a young age. It has its pros and cons. One learns how to deal with moving away from the people they love and also learn how to deal with adjusting to new ways of life. Everything seems so different and at a young age one feels like they have just left the whole world behind them. That was an experience that changed my life as a person. It taught me how to deal with change and how to adjust. It developed me from a young boy into a mature young man. The day I moved away, a lot of things were going through my young mind. As I took my last look at my home, I remembered all the fun times I had with my family and friends through out my life. Now I was moving 800 miles away from all of that with no insight on what lied ahead for me. As my family and I drove away from our Michigan home, I looked out the window wondering what Virginia would be, and what my friends were doing. A lot of things were going through my mind at the time. At the time my main worry was if I would make any friends, and how I would adjust to everything. During the whole drive down, my mother would often let me know that everything would be all right and I would like it. Trying to be strong and hold back my tears, I just shook my head no, wondering why we had to move so far away. Life would be different for me and I knew it would. Adjusting to an atmosphere and new people had its ups and downs. Everybody ta. The effects of moving to a new town or city Nowadays, as a result of looking for better conditions of life many people have been moving from their own city to another city or country. People in all over the world are developing the necessity of find their happiness, education and a better work. Moving to a new town or city can bring some negatives and positives effects to the person who is moving. The first effect of moving to a new town or city can be found in educational life. Since people are looking to a better education, they move to a country that can give them the possibility of be a good professional. For example, in Angola my country, if you want find a great job; you have to have an international certificate. This means that the people who are living in another country have more possibility to achieve the work. Sometimes the companies on my country prefer consider people who are from another country. In short, I am the exactly example because I moved from my country to U. S. A to look for a spectacular certificate. The second effect of moving to a new town or city can be found in psychologist state of a person. For example, when I arrived here I had some mental problems because always I was thinking about my family that I left in Angola. A person who is homesick suffers the consequences alone and thinks a lot about the family that is away from her. In my opinion, think about the family who people left causes serious problem and the person cannot concentrate on her real objective there. In addition, people have to be strong and control all their feelings when they are in another town. The third effect of moving to a new town is that people spend a lot of money. To start a new life sometimes because of work or studies when people move they spend a lot of money with car, house, and school until adjust the new life with the new city. Starting a new life is kind of complicated because at first time you don’t have where buy and find everything†¦.

Malunggay can be used as water purifier Essay

Aside from its potential as biofuel feedstock, the seed of moringa, locally known as malunggay, could also be used for treating water, a Filipino scientist said yesterday. Dr. Isidro Sia, a professor of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of the Philippines-Manila, said moringa seeds have been found to be one of the most effective water purifiers, based on international studies. He said the technology is being used in Kenya, Indonesia and Uganda. In the Philippines, he said UP has an ongoing project to study the water-purifying property of the local variety. According to research, moringa seeds treat water on two levels, acting both as a coagulant and an antimicrobial agent. â€Å"It is generally accepted that moringa works as a coagulant due to positively charged, water-soluble proteins which bind with negatively charged particles (silt, clay, bacteria, toxins, etc.) allowing the resulting ‘flocs’ to settle to the bottom or be removed by fil tration. The antimicrobial aspects of moringa continue to be researched,† it said. Solutions of moringa seeds for water treatment may be prepared from seed kernels or from the solid residue left over after oil extraction. Reports said moringa seeds, seed kernels or dried presscake can be stored for long periods but moringa solutions for treating water should be prepared fresh each time. In general, one seed kernel will treat one liter of water. The process of treating the water with moringa seeds would take at least one to two hours. â€Å"This clean water can then be filtered or sterilized to make it completely safe for drinking,† a report said. Moringa is also being promoted as animal feedstock. According to research, moringa has seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, three times the potassium in bananas, and two times the protein in milk. In addition to nutritional qualities, it has medicinal uses, external and internal. Its oil can also be used for cooking and for cosmetics and lubricants. Medical experts and herbalists attest to the long line of health benefits of Malunggay (scientific name: Moringa oleifera). And the most recent finding by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) shows that crushed Malunggay seeds are potent in purifying dirty water. The research has scientifically proven the practice of Filipinos and Egyptians in using crushed malunggay to purify water. The PSU researchers claimed in a paper that the protein in the Malunggay seed kills bacteria by gathering them into clusters that sink into the bottom of a container. The protein fuses the membranes that protect the bacteria, thus destroying them in one fell swoop. The proteins are reportedly potent in their cleaning ability when harvested as mature seeds during the rainy season. Writing for Popular Science on June 11, 2015, Mary Beth Griggs said the role of Malunggay seeds as water purifier would be a boon to hundreds of millions of people with little access to potable water. With Malunggay seeds as alternative, those living in remote communities need not secure nanotech filters and light-based water purifiers. Indian researchers also discovered that Malunggay improves the motility of spermatozoa, making it a favorite among men who want to sire many children. Several years ago, the Department of Agriculture (DA) launched a campaign to popularize the propagation of Malunggay through the Biotechnology Program Office (BPO) then under Dr. Alice Ilaga and consultant Dr. Satunina Halos. It was even suggested that oil from Malunggay seeds could be extracted and used for various pharmaceutical purposes. Malunggay leaves are a good source of calcium, iron, ascorbic acid and phosphorous. Filipino boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao credits soups with Malunggay leaves for boosting his energy during training. Moringa Water Purification In many parts of the world river water which can be highly turbid is used for drinking purposes. This turbidity is conventionally removed by treating the water with expensive chemicals, many of which are imported at great expense. Natural coagulants have been used for centuries in traditional water treatment practices throughout certain areas of the developing world. Crushed Moringa seeds clarify and purify water to suit domestic use and lower the bacterial concentration in the water making it safe for drinking. By  using Moringa seeds people will no longer be depending on expensive means originating from the West. Using Moringa to purify water replaces chemicals such as aluminium sulphate, which are dangerous to people and the environment, and are expensive. Moringa seed powder can be used as a quick and simple method for cleaning dirty river water. Studies showed that this simple method of filtering not only diminishes water pollution, but also harmful bacteria. The moringa powder joins with the solids in the water and sinks to the bottom. This treatment also removes 90-99% of bacteria contained in water. Water from varying sources will need different amounts of Moringa seeds powder because of the impurities present will not be the same. Experiments with a jar will help in working out the correct amount needed. Moringa In addition to food, shelter and clothing, water is one of our basic human needs and lack of potable water is a major cause of death and disease in our world.  Moringa oleifera seed contains 40 per cent by weight of oil, with the remaining presscake containing the active ingredients for natural coagulation. The high market value for the oil make the case for promoting the cultivation of the seed a strong one. The growth of Moringa oleifera trees by smallholder farmers should be actively promoted as a means of providing vegetables and raw material for oil extraction in addition to a simple, but effective natural coagulant for turbid river water. Using natural materials to clarify water is a technique that has been practiced for centuries and of all the materials that have been used, seeds of the Moringa have been found to be one of the most effective. Studies have been conducted since the early 1970’s to test the effectiveness of Moringa  seeds for treating water. These studies have confirmed that the seeds are highly effective in removing suspended particles from water with medium to high levels of turbidity (Moringa seeds are less effective at treating water with low levels of turbidity). Moringa Water Purification Theory Moringa oleifera seeds treat water on two levels, acting both as a coagulant and an antimicrobial agent. It is generally accepted that Moringa works as a coagulant due to positively charged, water-soluble proteins, which bind with negatively charged particles (silt, clay, bacteria, toxins, etc) allowing the resulting â€Å"flocs† to settle to the bottom or be removed by filtration. The antimicrobial aspects of Moringa continue to be researched. Findings support recombinant proteins both removing microorganisms by coagulation as well as acting directly as growth inhibitors of the microorganisms. While there is ongoing research being conducted on the nature and characteristics of these components, it is accepted that treatments with Moringa solutions will remove 90-99.9% of the impurities in water. Water Treatment with Moringa Seeds Solutions of Moringa seeds for water treatment may be prepared from seed kernels or from the solid residue left over after oil extraction (presscake). Moringa seeds, seed kernels or dried presscake can be stored for long periods but Moringa solutions for treating water should be prepared fresh each time. In general, 1 seed kernel will treat 1 liter (1.056 qt) of water. Dosage Rates: Low turbidity NTU250 2 seeds per 1 liter (1.056 qt) water INSTRUCTIONS TO CLEAN WATER WITH MORINGA SEEDS 1 Collect mature Moringa oleifera seed pods and remove seeds from pods. 2 Shell seeds (remove seed coat) to obtain clean seed kernels; discard discolored seeds. 3 Determine quantity of kernels needed based on amount and  turbidity of water; in general 1 seed kernel will treat 1 liter (1.056 qt) of water. 4 Crush appropriate number of seed kernels (using grinder, mortar & pestle, etc) to obtain a fine powder and sift the powder through a screen or small mesh. 5 Mix seed powder with a small amount of clean water to form a paste. 6 Mix the paste and 250 ml (1 cup) of clean water into a bottle and shake for 1 minute to activate the coagulant properties and form a solution. 7 Filter this solution through a muslin cloth or fine mesh screen (to remove insoluble materials) and into the water to be treated. 8 Stir treated water rapidly for at least 1 minute then slowly (15-20 rotations per minute) for 5-10 minutes. 9 Let the treated water sit without disturbing for at least 1-2 hours. 10 When the particles and contaminates have settled to the bottom, the clean water can be carefully poured off. 11 This clean water can then be filtered or sterilized to make it completely safe for drinking. DANGERS Secondary Infection: The process of shaking and stirring must be followed closely to activate the coagulant properties; if the flocculation process takes too long, there is a risk of secondary bacteria growth during flocculation. Recontamination: The process of settling is important. The sediment at the bottom contains the impurities so care must be taken to use only the clear water off the top and not allow the sediment to re-contaminate the cleared water. Additional contaminants: Moringa treatment does not remove 100% of water pathogens. Using Moringa oleifera as a replacement coagulant for proprietary coagulants meets the need for water and wastewater technology in developing countries which is simple to use, robust and cheap to both install and maintain. Water purified with oringa seeds, is acceptable for drinking only where people are currently drinking untreated, contaminated water.

Cross Cultural Experience

Back in 2010 when I was still a student at Singapore Polytechnic, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to serve my Internship at the Royal Bank of Scotland (IRS). I must emphasize, that the 6 months spent was one of the most memorable life experience I have had. Personally It opened my eyes to what I'll call the ‘real' working environment, as the previous jobs I held were mainly serving as an assistant in retail (part-time).I termed it ‘real' working experience because the internship also offers me the chance to work in Hong Kong. At the age of 18, the opportunities given were more than could ask for and certainly the experience and lessons learnt had an Impact on me until today. The Internship provided me the opportunity to work under two different supervisors. I can remember them vividly as they are both different in terms of their leadership and yes, culture-wise as well.The first supervisor was Mr. Christopher Kim, head of Middle Office for Asia Pacific region. Mr. Christopher comes from Korea, and in my opinion Is someone who speaks his mind and puts his ideas across well. To put it bluntly, he expects subordinates to imply with his instructions unless there is a better alternate solution. He sets high expectations, even on work placement students like myself. One of the cultural etiquette that I noticed about Mr. Christopher Is that he was always punctual.In fact, never once have I seen him report late for work. Came to understand from colleagues that he would be in office earlier by an hour every work day. One of the first few ground rules set for me as an intern is to be punctual, unless for valid reasons of course. As a head of department, Mr. Christopher certainly proved himself to be a good role model for others to look up to. In my pollen, he had on him the ‘strict and stern' appearance, which inevitably makes me feel afraid to talk to him.A month into the internship, I got a surprise when received an email from him c omplimenting me for Job well done on one of the task he had assigned. This humble demonstration of appreciation led me to see the good side of Asian culture ? treating people with sincerity. Looking back, culturally Mr. Christopher like most East Asian nations practices hierarchy within an organization where someone in a higher rank or post usually commands greater authority amongst his lower peers. Respect is meeting that Is valued highly and this can be seen evidently In Mr. Christopher.As a leader of the department, he would organize group meeting fortnightly to check on the status of each individual in a bid to ensure everyone keeps up with the pace and to feel integrated within the team. Work aside, he encourages team bonding through simple dinner and drinks every once In a while. 2 months Into the Internship, I was transferred to a project team as additional manpower was needed meet deadlines. My new supervisor is an Australian by the name of Miss Us-Ling Regress, who takes on the role of Senior Business Analyst in the bank.As a Singapore brought up in a Chinese family, I was taught since young to respect elders and to obey Instructions without questioning. Working under Miss Us-Long helped me to comprehend the meaning of cultural differences, as she had a very different approach compared to 1 OFF Mr. Christopher. The deterrence in approach probably stems trot near cultural upbringing, which encourages free thought and self-involvement at work; to be more independent in learning. Miss Us-Ling with her consultative style of management gives me the impression of being approachable and easy to talk to.Unlike most Asians who adopt hierarchical structure, she brought about a direct style of communication which encourages an open debate of ideas. Anyone, no matter his/ her position is encouraged to contribute during discussions and Miss Us-Ling is receptive to all of them. Her good man-management skills rubbed off the whole team and even as an intern I can see and feel the strong team spirit fostered. For instance, most members have no qualms working additional hours on some days if deadlines are needs to be met urgently.As opposed to Asians, she encourages freedom of beech' where challenging of ideas in meetings are not seen as disrespectful as long as it leads to getting the Job done efficiently and effectively. More importantly, she does not see herself in any way superior to her subordinates. I got the biggest surprise 4 months into the internship when I was informed I have the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong for work. The time spent in Hong Kong enabled me to grow as an individual, since it was the first time I traveled alone. I used to think that Gingersnaps are always indulged in work; they hardly have time for themselves.However, Hong Kong changed my perspective. Very much like Singapore, Hong Kong is a hustle and bustle city where everyone can hardly stop their pace for a moment. In the morning while going to the train statio n for work, I was amazed that the walking pace of the people in Hong Kong is even faster than in Singapore. I had an experience once whereby on a rainy day, a woman carrying an umbrella on the opposite direction almost walked her umbrella through' my face because she was apparently shorter and only focus on the road ahead!Otherwise, culturally people have Confucianism roots where decisions made by management are seldom contested as they are seen as rude and disrespectful. . 2. NATIONAL SERVICE In a multi-cultural Singapore, National Service is a period of unique experience for all Gingersnaps, as it bonds all of us together as one. I was enlisted to the Home Team Academy, Singapore Police Force. During this period of my life, I learnt to appreciate and respect the culture norms of the different races.NSA not only opened my eyes to the different culture among races, it also taught me the culture of an order and regimental lifestyle, where teamwork is often highlighted as they key to solving problems. The 9 months of training taught me to adapt to changes and live together ruinously. Often, people are not receptive to change and are usually bonded by friends of similar culture, and NSA is there to help rectify the problem of social integration. Besides the Chinese, the Malay Muslims form the majority of the cohort in my training batch.Of course the minority – the Indians and Eurasian are part of it as well. Living together for about 9 months taught me quite a fair bit on Malay culture I would never have come to know if not for NSA. For instance, the Malay Muslims have to pray 5 times a day, and that they have to go through a month of fasting before their new year. In adapting to one another, the rest would ensure there is quiet when they are conducting their prayers and the rest would also practice sensitivity during fasting month, such as not consuming food in their presence.I have also come to understand the Malay language, although I am not able to spe ak it dulcetly. Currently, in order to gain some experience while studying, I applied to become a brand ambassador at the Duty-Free Shop in the airport selling tobacco and alcohol. This Job provides me with the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Each work day opens my eyes to different culture as customers from different surrounds will walk into the shop and purchase duty free items. One of the most frequent visitors we have in Singapore is the Chinese (Pres).My time in UDF enabled me to see that the Chinese has very big spending power and their purchase is often linked to face'. They often snap up the exclusive items that are not available in their domestic market as having them signifies their wealth and status. This is an opinion agreed upon by the Chinese colleagues as well! 2. 0. CONCLUSION From the humble experiences I have in life, I feel it is essential to appreciate other culture of the different people we meet along the way.We should all respect and embrac e the culture norms of each individual as this will not only enable us to grow as a person, but also allows us to understand that the way one behave or act could actually stem from an upbringing that are different from us. Amidst the online saga where people are posting rude/inflammatory remarks about other cultures, I feel that this is all a result of cultural misunderstanding. We should all take a step back and reflect upon ourselves, and seek first to understand the situation before pointing the finger at others. Only then can we achieve peace and live together harmoniously as

Planning for Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Planning for Opportunity - Essay Example Under such circumstances, those providing the products feel the need of continuously developing themselves and their companies in order to meet the increasing demands. The thing is that the professionals today need to be more effective and productive than ever before in order to achieve success, and thus, innovative techniques in order to deal with such an issue must also be identified (JSBM, Tang &Murphy, 2011). It has also been observed that B2B market thus holds a lot of opportunities for companies that provide training and seminar sessions as a service. This is said so, because a few years ago professionals who followed the self-taught rule were taken as an asset to the company, regardless. Now, however, jobs have become much more difficult and an untrained employee is nothing but a burden, especially when all companies are attracting trained employees from their competition. In turn, if the employee is not trained enough, the customers switch easily that impacts the sales easily , thus affecting the overall business (Barringer & Ireland, 2008). Thus, the employees in the organizations must be educated and fully trained. Not only that but they must be able to learn and relearn according to the changing conditions, as today’s world needs more than just a skill that can be easily acquired. The companies nowadays, need productive and educated professionals. This means that, recognizing this opportunity in the market for a company that focuses on corporate training is the best solution. The organization will thus be able to provide the organizations strategies, processes, and tools that are needed to succeed in the 21st Century (Barringer & Ireland, 2008). The business description UK TRAINCO is a company that provides training as well as seminar programs. The UK TRAINCO will be focusing on corporations and companies that are medium and large sized, and will be focused on gradually increasing needs for education in professionals from all areas of the vario us industries. UK TRAINCO thus aims to provide trainings that are result oriented in order to hand out expertise in the required area at the right time for the right person. The services thus provided by the UK TRAINCO to the medium and large sized firms will cater to training programs as well as seminars like time, stress, reading management, project management and many more. The programs thus taught will use various techniques in formats of seminars or training sessions. The seminar format with which the sessions would be carried out would be a set of presentations with the audience observing. As for the training programs, it would use the seminar format with various activities and having the audience participating in the session. The Market Plan UK TRAINCO is aiming to establish the business in the corporate market of the UK. As stated earlier, the target market consists of those companies that continuously need trainings as well as seminars, and are medium and large sized. The m arket will thus be reached through referrals, word of mouth (WOM), and public seminars. Market Segmentation The large sized companies are those segments which contain more than 100 employees. These companies have specific departments that handle the training and seminar needs through a specialized department and have the respective budget available. They usually need training and seminars for usually a specific departmen

American muscle cars (supercharged are better than turbocharged) Thesis

American muscle cars (supercharged are better than turbocharged) - Thesis Example Evolution of American muscle cars began during the 1960s. According to Leffingwell and Holmstrom (2006), the development of V-8 engine technology played a substantial role in materializing the muscle car. The millions of baby boomers who entered the market during the middle of the 20th century were attracted toward V-8 engine. The American automobile customers behaved according as there curiosity and demand for the turbocharging and supercharging technologies of that time. They were not interested to create physical stereotypes for the car body. This is the reason behind the fact that diverse models of muscle cars were made available during the 1970s and 1980s. In this way, both the agile Camaro and powerful Roadrunner were accepted by the contemporary younger generations as muscle cars (Mueller, 2011). Contextually, an informative socio-technological analysis shows that muscle cars were no mere show items. Leffingwell and Holmstrom (2006) have explored the characteristics of social acceptance of the powerful turbocharged and supercharged engine techniques that culminated at the reinvention of automobile design and use with global implications. Although the different companies like Ford, General Motors, Chevrolet, etc. launched there own product categories and product line, the main objective of achieving more and more engine power remained in tact throughout the industry policy makers. And people were so obsessed with the different features of these cars that the companies continued to produce newer editions of the older models with certain new features. For example, some customers would love the sound of a turbocharged engine as it accelerated; while some other customers wished to have curves on the bonnet of the car they bought †¦ and so on! (Gunnell, 2005; McClurg, 2005). However, when the petroleum industry became turbulent due to certain international

Marketing & Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing & Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Economic Factors Marketing management This is an important factor that constitutes to business success. An existence of an enterprise implies that there must be market for its products. Despite the competition from other producers an entrepreneur ensures efficient marketing skills to make profits. Effectiveness in product marketing is an important factor hat has to be put in consideration in any business enterprise. To enhance business success in marketing management, small scale business link up with both large and medium business enterprise. This linkage facilitates their supply of products hence it becomes easier to market the products. Production management For every enterprise to succeed, their must be a proper management in the production sector. The enterprise should have a well established source of raw materials. The cost of raw materials together with the cost of production should not exceed the cost of sales. A successful enterprise is one that always reaps profit from its sales. The department of production in any business must connect with the marketing department so as to ensure every item that is produced has direct or indirect market. Financial management Financial gain is always the driving force in any entrepreneurial investment. Therefore management of finances is a very important factor in any business enterprise. ... Therefore it can be argued that it is the financial capability of every entrepreneurial activity that measures its strength against the other as suggested by Ernst (2005, 165) Personnel management The department of the personnel is another factor that determines the success of any business enterprise whether small or large. Personnel management coordinates all activities related to workers in an organization. Its contribution to the business success is through how it handles the welfare of the employees. Offering the best to the employee in terms of salary, enough time limit of work and other incentives increases their motivation to work. The more motivated the employees are the more they increase production hence large sales. The increasing in sales indicates increase in profits and the business enterprise is said to be successful. Another factor relating to entrepreneurial success is the personnel skills and knowledge. Employees who have the necessary skill are capable of leading t he business to success. Political Factors Any business entrepreneurship occurs within a particular framework or political governance. Some of the political factors that affect business enterprise include: Political environment The political environment surrounding a business enterprise determines its operation and success. The current economic structure of the country may adversely affect the success of the business. For instance incase of an inflation the entrepreneurship is not likely to succeed. Favorable government incentives like loans to starting entrepreneurs, motivates them and they are likely to succeed. The economic strategies passed by the government such specialization on the area of production

Global Geopolitics of the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Global Geopolitics of the Middle East - Essay Example Overall, the global economy continues to depend on the Middle East. This area also influenced America, as well as other world regions. On the other hand, the current international relations continue to be shaped by the factor of oil the Middle East. The key players in these relations, with regard to oil, are the US and UK. In the past, UK as an external player in the politics of the Middle East imposed its policies on the area, in relation to the state system formation in the past. Today, the aspect of diplomacy in the Middle East has been highly influenced by oil. Oil today has become a political tool, and not an objective. For instance, the USA put a ban on trade with Libya and Iran, while the UN banned Iraq. Unfortunately, these countries have hardened their access to oil in the region, because their priority is in politics. The current geopolitics in the Middle East has all along revolved around oil. More than half of the world’s energy supply comes from the Middle East, with the Persian Gulf holding vast oil wells. The reason behind the world bestowing much importance to the Middle East is the fact that, the global economy cannot survive without oil, which the Middle East produces in plenty. Different countries, especially the current and former super powers and imperialists such as the USA and UK, have developed great interest in the Middle East. The discovery of oil in the Middle East also enhanced its strategic positioning, as it lies in the center of three different continents. With this, it is in a position to control important links in the global system of transportation. The global significance of the Middle East emanates from the fact that the area is the world’s greatest producer of oil. Oil and other oil-related interests have in return influenced the political and social economy of the Middle East, both at the local and international level. Most people consider oil as a political product, since it is the main

Current Event -Values, Attitudes & Perceptions Essay

Current Event -Values, Attitudes & Perceptions - Essay Example Current Event on Values, Attitudes & Perceptions: The Definition of Workplace Values Summary The article entitled The Definition of Workplace Values written by Juarez on January 18, 2011 and published by Demand Media, Inc. aimed to determine the factors that define values, attitudes and perceptions in the workplace. As initially averred, these factors are ultimately grounded from cultural orientations that have been specifically examined by Dr. Geert Hofstede who founded five specific patterns in cultural dimensions, to wit: power distance, individualism, gender, avoidance and traditions. Background The author based the contents of the article from Hofstede’s Cultures and Organizations that examined the five dimensions of culture, found to be instrumental in determining expressions and manifestations of values and attitudes in organizational setting. The author aimed to write a concise abstract of each dimension as applicable in the workplace. The study of organizational behav ior manifests the inclusion of diversity in culture to provide a more comprehensive understanding of why and how people behave the way they do. Findings The author clearly averred that â€Å"different cultures have different workplace values along five cultural dimensions, which help us define our own workplace values† (Juarez, 2011, par. 1).

Econ 212G final essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Econ 212G final - Essay Example Individuals effectively reveal their preferences by "voting with their feet." (Stoddard 2009). In the process of moving into these communities, a population is sorted into optimum communities based on the individuals preferences. Like any model, the Tiebout hypothesis puts forth a set of assumptions -- namely, access to complete information, free consumer mobility, many buyers and sellers, and consumer rationality. Tiebout also added the assumption that an optimal city size exists and that there are no spillovers of costs and benefits to other communities. The hypothesis has been used to provide insights in public finance about the choices of communities for public goods (e.g., sanitation, education, public security) and how property values correlate with taxes and services that are provided. Zoning laws and regulations have also been explained by using the model. Above all, the hypothesis has had an impact on debates and decision making concerning fiscal federalism and the proper roles of central, regional, and local governments. (ibid.). The case of a bill passed in June 2009 by the New York Senate which was aimed to ease government consolidation, may be used to illustrate the last point (See Confessore, 2009 June). The law simplifies the complex array of laws specifying "how government officials can choose to dissolve or merge towns, villages and the hundreds of special districts that provide water, sewage treatment and other services throughout the state." The statute does not propose consolidation as such but only creates a simple, uniform process by which voters and officials can decide on and execute consolidation, requiring only that 10 percent of registered voters to propose it. It will allow county governments to abolish local government units by a majority. On the pro side, the argument is that too many layers of government have burdened residents with the highest taxes in the country, driving out

Master Harold and the Boys Essay Example for Free

Master Harold and the Boys Essay â€Å"Master Harold† and the boys, by the white South African playwright Athol Fugard, is a naturalistic play set in a Tea Room in Port Elizabeth on a rainy day in 1950. Two black servants, Sam and Willie, and their white master’s son Hally (‘Master Harold’), have deep conversations about the good time they had together when Hally was young. In the beginning of the play, Sam and Willie, practice their dancing techniques and talk about an upcoming dance contest. Fugard has created first impressions of situation and characters in the opening of the play by using set design, stage directions, duologue as well as speech and tone. The opening of the play is interpreted as being up to Hally’s first entry. Firstly, the unprofessional and for the audience surprisingly casual and light-hearted situation is created by Fugard’s choice of set design, stage directions and duologue. Secondly, Sam and Willie’s relationship is proven of unequal status, yet intimate and deep, by the difference in speech and tone, and by the choice of topics in the duologue. Finally, initial perceptions of a childish and rude Willie and an intelligent and experienced Sam are constructed through mostly speech and tone. The unprofessional impression of the Tea Room and the carefree and easy going ambiance is created by set design and stage directions, and duologue. Firstly, the amateurish impression of the business is created by the blackboard on which an untrained hand has chalked up the prices of the items, and by the few sad ferns in pots in the room. Furthermore, the fact that Fugard has chosen to clear all tables to one side, suggests that the business is not doing well, because the Tea Room is not likely to be expecting any customers. Secondly, the audience notices immediately that the mood in the room is casual, by letting Willie start off with singing a song as he mops down the floor. This strong mood is then reinforced when Willie suddenly gets up and starts dancing, Sam eagerly encouraging and correcting Willie’s dance technique. The audience must have been surprised by this casual situation, because one must not forget that at the time of the performance, around 1982, apartheid in South Africa was considerably further developed than the setting of the play. The fact that two black men, obviously workers, are without supervision of a white person and that they are enjoying themselves during work must have raised a sense of unease from the spectators, unsure how to react. The relationship between Sam and Willie is profound, yet Sam seems to have a higher status compared to Willie, as suggested by Fugard’s choice of topic of conversation and by the contrast between the terms of address and physical position. To begin with, the way in which both men communicate is very informal. Willie uses plenty of swear words, like â€Å"fuckin’ whore† or â€Å"bitch†, whereas Sam uses a higher register, but is still joking around with Willie (â€Å"How’s your pillow with the quickstep?†). This use of language suggests that both men feel at ease and that they have known each other for a very long time already. A sense of intimate relationship is also created by the topics of conversation. Willie is very open with Sam about his relationship with Hilda Samuels, as when he talks about the problems buying food for their baby of which he isn’t even sure it is his son (â€Å"Only his hair looks like me.†); he shows no hesitation to discuss the matter with Sam. Sam even knows that Willie often beats up his girlfriend, suggesting that they have been living alongside for a long time. The audience realises that it is watching an intimate conversation, which makes them attentive, curious and involved in the discussion. Secondly, Sam’s higher social position is suggested by the contrast between the way Sam addresses Willie and vice versa, almost like a teacher-student relation. Sam suggests improvements for Willie’s dance technique, as â€Å"Don’t look down!† or â€Å"But you’re too stiff!†, as well as how he could be more successful in his relationships with girlfriends (â€Å"You hit her too much.†) and Willie reacts willingly to take up the advice. Also, Sam demonstrates the dance as it should be, suggesting that Sam is more experienced. Lastly, a subtle but symbolic detail is the physical positioning of Sam and Willie at the very beginning of the play: Willie is mopping down the floor on his knees, working, while Sam is flicking through a comic book, standing, and obviously not working. Fugard has visualised their relationship by the contrast between kneeling and sitting, and working and relaxing, and this can in fact be applied to the entire rest of the play. Sam is portrayed as a confident, intelligent and experienced character through his speech and tone. The way Sam guides Willie through the learning process of the quickstep, and even demonstrates a much more accomplished dance than Willie, indicates he is a skillful dancer himself. Fugard has made the audience feel sympathy towards Sam, as he encourages Willie, â€Å"Look happy, Willie! Relax Willie!†, although Willie is a hopeless dancer. Fugard represents Willie’s character as slightly vulnerable, unexperienced, and as a bad lover through his reactions to Sam’s teasing, the difficulties he has with learning the quickstep and through his description of his relationship with girlfriends. Willie is very quickly frustrated by Sam’s advice, like â€Å"Yesterday I’m not straight today I’m too stiff!† and â€Å"I try hard because it is hard.†. Willie’s incapability to cope with Sam’s teasing once even results in a small brawl between the two of them: â€Å"It’s finish between us.† Furthermore, Willie is clearly a bad love partner, confirmed when he describes his girlfriend as a â€Å"whore† and a â€Å"bitch†, but which is, quite ironically, provoked by himself hitting his girlfriend every once in a while. This, together with his vulgar choice of language, results in an aversion from the audience to Willie. To conclude, Fugard has managed to create strong first impressions in the opening of the play in terms of situation and characters. He has used set design, stage directions and duologue to create an unprofessional and casual ambience. In terms of characters, Fugard has succeeded in associating strong characteristic features to Sam and Willie, both intimate friends, yet separated in a way by an intellectual line.

The Washington Consensus, 1989

The Washington Consensus, 1989 Introduction: Economists have been trying to develop policies as a unique pattern of guaranteed growth independently of its development level. One such attempt was called the ‘Washington Consensus presented by John Williamson in 1989, which referred to a combination of principles adopted from various international policies unified in ten main steps as a way of creating a growth pattern for a country (mostly developing and transitioning countries; especially in the region of Latin America) (Williamson, 2004). Another international organization, called the World Trade Organization (WTO), has been trying to help in creation of liberalized trade environment and push forward economically undeveloped countries by supporting their integration into a multilateral trading system worldwide. Even though, both the Washington Consensus and the World trade organization have acquired quite much negative connotation, the WC for its attempt to generalize growth pattern and the WTO for providing advantageous treatment to some of the organizations members, the positive results emerging from their existence are very visible in the international trading environment. Washington Consensus, source of many debates: The Washington Consensus, initially developed in 1989, as explained by his author John Williamson was not meant to become a policy viewed as a universal growth and development prescription but it was his way of listing ten policies that were held in the city of Washington aimed to set off the economic growth in the area of Latin America. However, according to his own words he did not necessarily include all of the policies that promote development but the primary common feature that must have been their nature of consensus. (CID, April 2003). The Center for International Development at Harvard University listed the following policies as the common denominator of the Washington Consensus provided by Washington-based institutions for the Latin America area: â€Å"Fiscal discipline, A redirection of public expenditure priorities toward fields offering both high economic returns and the potential to improve income distribution, such as primary health care, primary education, and infrast ructure, Tax reform (to lower marginal rates and broaden the tax base), Interest rate liberalization, A competitive exchange rate, Trade liberalization, Liberalization of inflows of foreign direct investment, Privatization, Deregulation (to abolish barriers to entry and exit), Secure property rightsâ€Å" (D. Bloom, D. Canning, J. Sevilla, p.58, 2003). This list of policies serving as a piece of advice for launching an economic growth rate increase in developing countries received much critique afterwards. Highly accomplished economists have expressed their opinion that this model was a huge step towards neoliberal models, which are nowadays used interchangeably with the term of the Washington Consensus. (Williamson, 2004). However, the criticism was not constructive because they perceived the idea of the ten principles from a different perspective than it was actually formulated by its author. Williamson decided to react and enter a never-ending debate surrounding his original concept and that leads to creation of two mainstream variations of his Washington Consensus. He was inspired by Mr. Stiglitz and Rodrick critics, and did his best to object them in his work The Washington Consensus as Policy Prescription for Development (Williamson, 2004). He explains that Stiglitzs critique upon the Consensus, which was marked as a ‘P ost-Washington Consensus was actually only a transformation of the former one put in different words. However, the main idea of pursuing â€Å"equitable development, sustainable development and democratic development† (Williamson, 2004) after all have stayed the same. Williamson has also applied further discussion towards the arguments of Mr. Rodrick and expresses an agreement with his description of developed countries systems and successes. On the other hand, everyone interested in international economics, international relations and international law is knowledgeable about current situation of enhanced economies and their mutual interaction. What Rodrick actually failed to do is naming resources of the well being in developed countries and assessing them as a logical pattern or a manual for less developed countries, which are to seek this kind of a growth rate hint nowadays and also in the future. Moreover, Rodrick added to the original Williamson thought other points: â⠂¬Å" Corporate governance, Anti-corruption, Flexible labor markets, WTO agreements, Financial codes and standards, â€Å"Prudent† capital-account opening, Non-intermediate exchange rate regimes, Independent central banks/inflation targeting, Social safety nets and Targeted poverty reduction.â€Å" (CID, April 2003). Another strong current, formed as an anti-globalization movement, has been criticizing the Washington Consensus and its trade liberalization. Many of the critics, including Tariq Ali and many others have seen the Washington Consensus as a labor-exploitation policy of poor and undeveloped countries. Contradiction has been found in a reduction of tariffs that allowed free movement of goods while on the other hand labor market was restricted of moving freely due to the requirements of visa and work permits and therefore leading towards restriction of human rights. (STWR, May 2007) Despite such strong arguments against the Washington Consensus, anti-globalization movement has never been taken seriously. The reason for that was found in the positive outcomes that have arisen of Washington Consensus policy, such as the positive attitude towards sustainable development of undeveloped. Basically, the Washington Consensus did take a challenge and tried to create such a pattern that could work not only on the Latin American countries but could be also applied to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on their pursuit towards economic growth. (CID, April 2003). Although, there are also many exemplary countries such as India, China, Vietnam , Chile, etc. that have achieved an extraordinary turn around in the economic development on their own without following any kind of a universal manual, such unique accomplishments will be seen in future because of the need for finding a recipe to enhance developing economies is a must-do policy. Therefore, economists like Williamson would and will continue their work of seeking the right combination of the components of an international trade policy that would prove as a helpful strategy in future economic situations. The WTO, its efforts, controversy and reflections toward future: Compilations of policies like The Washington Consensus are in the center of attention of international organization namely The World Trade Organization (WTO), which seeks to promote the international trade and economic globalization with least harmful effects. The misconceptions about the Washington Consensus as explained above have been one of the main arguments of anti-globalization movement across the world. These groupings of people perceive it as a deathtrap of powerful countries imposed on developing countries with the intention of causing even deeper crises and putting them into greater disadvantage on global market. â€Å"The World Trade organization officially was established on January 1, 1995, as the successor to GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and as the legal and institutional foundation of the international trading systemâ€Å"(D. Palmeter, P.C. Mavroidis, page 13, 1999) Moreover, the World Trade Organization is dealing with various trade regulations between the participating countries: â€Å"It provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants adherence to WTO agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.† (Fairtrade, 2010). Moreover, disputes that may arise between the countries are mostly the main topics on WTO trade negotiations Currently the negotiations dealing with great issues like agriculture, tariff and non-tariff barriers to international trade and trade concept amendments are in progress and close to the end at the 4th WTO Ministerial at Doha, Qatar. The discussions were launched in 2001 and according to Ian F. Fergusson in his Congress Research Service Report there are â€Å"three issues among the most important to developing countries, in addition to concessions on agriculture. One issue, now resolved, pertained to compulsory licensing of medicines and patent protection. A second deals with a review of provisions giving special and differential treatment to developing countries. A third addresses problems that developing countries are having in implementing current trade obligations.† (I. F. Fergusson, page 3, 2006) The special and differential treatment provisions imply prioritized position for developing countries in international trade negotiations. In terms of international politics â₠¬Å"developing countries are guaranteed: longer time periods for implementing agreements and commitments measures to increase trading opportunities for these countries provisions requiring all WTO members to safeguard the trade interests of developing countries support to help developing countries build the infrastructure to undertake WTO work, handle disputes, and implement technical standard Provisions related to least-developed country (LDC) membersâ€Å" (WTO, 2001) However, according to further findings the situation is quite different and no matter how the intentions may be stated the United States of America along with international financial institutions and multinational corporations play main role in the game of international politics no matter whether a pattern like the Washington Consensus is in place or an organization like the WTO is leading some negotiations to favor poorer nations development. To explain the argument more precisely, the WTO has a clause which guarantees one vote for each of its members but most of the decisions are not made by the voting process because they depend upon consensus. Therefore, opposing voices like to use several disputes as examples of the discrimination of the developing countries (e.g. environmental issues, banana case, textile case, etc.). One of the most visible cases was so called banana case when the decision of the WTO was presented as a move favoring the USA and putting the developing countries in disadvantage. To be more precise the decision was a ruling against the EU and not against developing countries in first place. The whole issues started and ended with tariffs set on bananas, which were preferential to African and Caribbean countries producers, mainly French and British colonies members of LomÃÆ' © Convention (The Assosiated Press, 2008). The WTO made an objective decision based on its agreements. Furthermore, there is another event to mention and it is a fact that four other developing countries out of Latin America including â€Å"Ecuador, the worlds largest banana producer (The Assosiated Press, 2008) protested together with the US against EUs banana tariffs. Yet the WTO policies contain dispute settlement clauses, which have been used quite many times successfully when fighting back the decisions made by developed countries. The developing countries also have a chance to turn in proposals for the WTOs future programmers in order to change their current position in multilateral trading system next to developed countries. Among other requests â€Å"these include: belief that better implementation of existing WTO agreements, including faster removal of textiles restrictions, longer transition timetables for developing countries and greater technical assistance, should have priority over negotiation on new issues, desire to change or ease some WTO rules which they believe give inadequate weight to their situation, disappointment at continuing barriers to their exports, particularly against processed products based on their own natural resources, concern at the practical burdens involved in taking part in WTO work for the small delegations o f developing countries, and at the cost of dispute cases.â€Å" (WTO, 1999). To conclude, an inference that the WTO favors big powerful countries and MNCs and therefore it is pain in the eyes of public audiences cannot be completely disproved at any stance. However, evidence provided above has concluded efforts of the organization and its members toward including more of the concerns about developing countries difficulties and implementation of the appropriate solutions. Summary: To sum up, both the Washington Consensus and the World Trade Organization have common vision of promoting economic development via core set of rules and policies. As to every controversial topic there are advantages and disadvantages to mention but in order to survive their results must be positive otherwise there is still room for improvement or termination. Both Mr. Stiglitz and Mr. Rodrick were right in their lectures on economic growth policy guidelines but they did not assert any statement what so ever that would be contradictory to the Washington Consensus in its fundamental essence. However, the great increase in development growth rate examples of China, India, Vietnam, etc. are spotlights in current global economic scene due to their considerable difference when compared to the Washington Consensus idea pursued by the IMF or the World Bank. Achievements of these countries are a foretoken of a completely new approach to the development of developing nations. Future predictions It is relatively hard to make any predictions considering the future of the WC and WTO. Washington Consensus did indeed create healthy basis for the WTO future but there is hardly enough space for both organizations on the international scene. Most likely the Washington Consensus will become only a term used for comparison with more current and up-to-date development approaches. The World Trade Organization, on the other hand, has a long way to go and its members are here to predefine its future path. The WTO is neither undemocratic nor it undermines the sovereignty of its member states and their governments. However, there are still many problems in relation to negotiations with developing countries to resolve and providing special and differential treatment to them will not solve those problems but may help along the way towards sustainable development.

Terrorist Attack On World Trade Center Media Essay

Terrorist Attack On World Trade Center Media Essay This paper is about how media cover and communicate important events. The term communication is strongly bound with mass media in a way by which the coverage of the media can change the information itself. In this paper I am going to analyze how media covered and communicated the terrorist attack of 9th September 2001 at the World Trade Center in Manhattan downtown and to inform the reader of this paper the role that mass media had. When I say, how media communicated this event, I mean which were the images that media showed and how explained them to the audience, also what kind of language media used and what were the emotions that media conveyed to the audience. Introduction Through history, all over the world had been many terrorist attacks. Some of them we know and still remember because of the extensive coverage from media. For the others, the large amount of people does not know them because media did not communicated them, thus mass communication which is a tool in hands of media can change viewpoints, believes or even shape cultures. What happened the day of 09/11/2001 A normal day had just started and nobody could possibly new what it was going to happen that day. The flight 11, from Boston to Los Angeles, took off at 7:59 am with 76 passengers, 5 terrorists and 11 crew members on board (AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 11). While in the same time another plain was getting ready for takeoff, it was the flight 175, from Boston to Los Angeles. The second flight, which had 50 passengers, 5 terrorist and 9 people crew personnel, was in the air at 8:14 am (UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 175). At 8:19 am was the first alert from flight 11, when flight attendances inform ground personnel that the plain had been hijacked, and the American Airlines notified FBI. At 8:24 am Mohammed Atta one of the five hijackers, of the flight 11, communicated accidentally with the ground personnel. Sixteen minutes later, at 8:40 am, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) were informed from the Federal Aviation Administration about the hijack ing in flight 11. The response of NEADS was, to send two aircraft to locate and to escort the flight 11. Unfortunately the two send aircrafts did not found flight 11 in time and at 8:46 am the north tower of World Trade Center was struck by the plane between the floors 93 to 99. 9:02 am Port Authority officials ordered to evacuate both towers from public address system, while the next minute the south tower of the World Trade Center was struck by a second plane, flight 175, between the floors 75 to 85. Few minutes later the Federal Aviation Administration stopped every takeoff and flight around Manhattan and at 9:21 am the Port Authority closes every tunnel and bridge in the Yew Your City. At 9:42 for the first time in US history the Federal Aviation Administration decides to land all aircrafts all over the US airspace for security reasons. For two and a half hours 4500 flights from which some were commercial and others were private, were guided from US to Canada. At 9:59 am the sou th tower of the World Trade Center collapsed and twenty-nine minutes later the north tower also collapsed. The mayor Rudolph Giuliani at 11 oclock ordered to evacuate the Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street, an area which includes more than 1 million people (9/11: Timeline of Events). The official report of this terrorist attack was that in both towers the number of victims was 2016. Also, 403 victims were found among firefighters, NYPD officers and port authority police officers and the vast majority of the victims were between 35 to 39 years old (September 11 by Numbers). How media covered this event Television As we know television is the most massive channel among the media which brings instantly the information to the audience by providing live images, comments, sounds, emotions, interviews from eyewitness and different viewpoints. All these together contribute to shape an opinion and convey it to the audience. The terrorist attack on the world trade center became instantly the number one news almost in every country of the world. International and local TV stations stopped their fixed program with breaking news and started broadcasting live images and information from the world trade center. CNN CNN stopped its program and started with a full screen of the flaming tower and at the down side of the screen the title WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER and also below the title were the live stock market price of Down Jones, SP 500 and NASDAQ. Few seconds after the first impression that people perceived the presenter of news started explaining what was happening and provided additional information that were not confirmed yet while her voice tone was calm and clear. The CNN covered this event with two presenters explaining the event, providing information and asking questions to interviewers. The pattern was to contact with people who were in different places and saw the first impact on the tower. The first eyewitness, who talked and gave the first information about the event, was a CNN producer. With calm voice, he first talked about a plane which crashed on the world trade center. Immediately the title changed and became PLANE CRASHED INTO WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWER while, the camera sta yed frozen on the flaming tower. The other interviewers were every-day people who saw the impact from their home, work and from the street. They were under emotional strain, distress and shock. In the mean while the presenters were mention frequently that the images were live. When the second plane crashed into the second tower the cameraman zoom out and after while we saw in slow motion the second plane hitting the tower and getting burned in it. After the slow motion, the camera zoomed at the flames and the smoke that was coming out of buildings. When the towers started collapsing one after another the CNN covered it live and from a camera down on the street started broadcasting images from the place of the tragedy. The images were from people who had been injured and had blood everywhere on their body, while their faces were black from the dust and the blood, they were scared people under shock who were screaming and looking for their relatives (Cnn 09 11 2001 Live Unedited Cnn N ews Coverage Of Wtc Attacks From 8 50Am To 11 30Am 911 Cnn Footage) BBC BBC covered this event in a totally different way from CNN. On BBC the first thing that the audience saw was the presenter who started explaining what had happened. For a while she was repeating the same and the same that an aircraft had crashed into the WTC and the worlds that she was using were dramatically, such as explosions still taking place, something that we could not see, chaos and panic. Furthermore, the presenter was saying frequently that a plane has crashed into the WTC. BBC also had a helicopter coverage in a long distance from the WTC and they lost the second hit, and BBC showed just the result of the hit and nobody could understood what had happened. After a while, BBC showed the second plane crashed into the second tower, and the presenter characterized the timing and the area that the attack took place busy time and in busy blocks. BBC showed many times the second plane crashing on the WTC and in every time the presenter was using dramatic language which convey pani c and terror to the audience. A BBC correspondent also said that the WTC had been targeted by terrorists in 1993 when a bomb had exploded. The first eyewitness was Ash Rajan, who was in the lowest floors of the WTC at the time of the first impact. With clear voice he demonstrated the events as he had experienced them but he was using dramatic worlds such as panic, huge explosion, tremendous pole of smoke and looked like a tornado. The presenter interrupted him just few times and asked him a few questions like, if he saw the plane and what people thought when they saw fires to come out of the building. The second interviewer also explained what she saw and experienced in dramatic tone and language, by using words like people screaming and panic. Additionally, the angle of the camera or the camera lens or both of them were set up in a way that the images were dark and the camera was zooming just the two flaming towers and the dark smoke in the background was. In the same way were the images that BBC broadcasted when the towers started collapsing one after another and the dust went everywhere and covered everything but because of the camera lens the images looked like the whole downtown Manhattan was under attack (BBC World FULL TV Coverage September 11, 2001 Part 1, 2, 3, 5, 8) Newspapers Another important medium for mass communication are newspapers. Newspapers come the next day of every event and covered it in depth, by providing additional information and stressing details. Newspaper is considered as a portable medium which its audience carries it around and spend time and effort to read it. Thus this mass communication medium can also shape or even change viewpoints of an event. The Arizona Republic, published in Phoenix, USA In the front-page of this newspaper the first thing that the audience will see the world TERROR in capital and bold font. Then the two pictures, the first one which was the main picture of the front-page depicted the moment just before the second plane hits the second tower and the other depicted some people running away from the dust when one of the two towers collapsed (TERROR Thousands dead as hijacked jets slam Trade Center, Pentagon). Los Angeles Times, published in Los Angeles, USA Los Angeles Times had into their front-page as a heading TERRORISTS ATTACK NEW YOURK, PENTAGON and just below this a subheading in smaller font Thousands Dead, Injured as Hijacked U.S. Airliners Ram Targets; World Trade Center Is Destroyed. In the front-page there were also two pictures at the same size from which the first illustrated the moment before the plane hit the tower and the other picture illustrated the moment just after the impact, the explosion, and at the background we could saw the fist-shaken tower. Additional, article-titles that we could saw just below of the two pictures were A Struggle to Escape Fiery Chaos, President Shoulders Historic Weight and the Choreography of Carnage Was Precisely Timed, FBI Says (TERRORISTS ATTACK NEW YORK, PENTAGON). San Francisco Examiner, published in San Francisco, USA This newspaper had in its front-page just one large photography which illustrated the moment that the plane crashed into the tower and get burned in it, when the smoke and the fire was coming out of the building as one entity. The newspaper had emphasized on the colors to make the image more impressive and alive. Also, we could clearly see the debris falling from collision point. The main title, which was placed above this photo, was the world BASTARDS and just below the photo another title colored in red stated A CHANGED AMERICA (BASTARDS!) Hartford Courant, published in Hartford, USA The first thing that the readers could instantly see on this newspaper was the large heading in capital font which stated ACT OF WAR. Then the main picture of the front-page depicted a man who was holding a fire extinguisher and was walking in the middle of the debris and at the background were two segments from the towers that had collapsed. The colors were blurry and the only thing that was distinguished was the fire extinguisher which was vivid red. Then the subheading, which was between the main title and the picture, and stated WITH CHILLING PRECISION, TERRORISTS DELIVER DEATH AS AMERICA WATCHES HELPLESSLY. On the bottom of the front-page was the indexed-content and at its right side were placed article related with the terrorist attack and in which page each article was (ACT OF WAR). The Washington Post, published in Washington, USA Washington Post had as its main title Terrorists Hijack 4 Airlines, Destroy World Trade Center, Hit Pentagon; Hundreds Dead and below it in the center of the front-page we could see two pictures one below the other and text at the two sides. The first picture illustrated the second plane just before it hit the second tower, while the other tower was in fire and black smoke was coming out of the shaken spot. The second picture was about the hit at the Pentagon, both pictures were very dark and the images were not so clear. At the right side of the pictures there was the subheading Bush Promises Retribution; Military Put on Highest Alert and below it follows the article. At the bottom of the front-page there were three different articles by which the first has as a title On Flight 77: Our Plane Is Being Hijacked, the second one has title U.S. Intelligence Point To Bin Laden Network and the last one has as a title I Saw Bodies Falling Out- Oh, God, Jumping, Falling (Terrorists Hijack 4 Airlines, Destroy World Trade Center, Hit Pentagon; Hundreds Dead). Daily News, published in New York, USA Daily News had in its front-page just a large picture which depicted the second plane just before it hits the second tower. The main title was on the picture in red font and it was stating ITS WAR (DAY OF TERROR). International Herald Tribune, published in Paris, France This newspapers front-page we could see in the main picture the point just before the second shaken into the second tower and just below it we could see a picture of President Bush when he was talking at the media about the terrorists attacks. In the right side of the Bushs picture there was another picture which illustrated the two towers and it was giving detailed information about the height and the impact side of each plane in each tower. Also, this newspaper could be characterized as grayness because its front-page was just black and white (TERROR STRIKES AMERICA). The Times, published in London, UK This front-page has nothing more than a photography in which we could see what was happening in downtown Manhattan minutes after the first tower collapsed. We could see the city being disappeared within the smoke and dust (10.02 am September 11 2001) The Daily Telegraph, published in London, UK The Daily Telegraph a Britannia newspaper had as a title in its front-page War on America and the image below illustrated the moment that the second plane exploded into the second tower of the WTC, while from the other tower was coming out dense black smoke which had covered the upper floors of the tower. The colors used to illustrate the explosion were keenly, and cause awe and fear (War on America). INTERNET The last five years the internet has faced a fast and unstoppable growth and development, and as the internet became cheaper, more and more people could afford it and thus the users community was enlarged. Internet became gradually the channel of the people because everyone can access in it, there are no limitations and borders, and everyone can express his /her thoughts and brings people together in a mental way and they can exchange their thoughts and viewpoints freely without any editing. A variety of websites, blogs, videos and images covers every event, independently from the other channels. The first scenario of 9/11 attack As I have already said the internet is accessible to everyone so someone could find in the internet a variety of different viewpoint. One interesting website is the 9/11 MEMORIAL. A website in which the internet-users can find information about the museum which is constructed in the memory of the victims. You also, can find the names of the victims and in which tower they lost their live. Additionally in this website you can find information about the volunteer activities within the museum (9/11 MEMORIAL). Another website which is the 9/11 Health. In this website the user can find information about the injured people of the attack, can learn how life changed for the children in the low Manhattan, how many people lost their relatives and how many people lost their occupation or their business just in few seconds. Moreover the user can have a clear view about the chronological order that those facts took place (9/11 Health). However, except from the information-websites about the facts of the tragedy there are other websites in which the content is totally different. For example Engineering Laboratory is a website which examines the structure and the constructions techniques were used to construct the two towers and how they collapsed in just a few hours after they were stricken (World Trade Center Disaster Study). Also, for that day there are many websites and blogs developed just to remind to the world what happened that day and why the people of the world should remember that day. For instance the website NEW MOBILITY has two stories about two different people who were working that bay within the WTC. Furthermore, in the internet we can find videos that people made and uploaded for that specific day. One of these videos is showing the moment that the first plane crashes into the first tower (Original footage of the 1st plane hitting the WTC). Another shows the emotions and the reaction that a group of students who were in their apartment and capture the second shaken (RARE HOME VIDEO OF 2ND PLANE WTC 2 IMPACT). Moreover, there are many videos which shows people jumping from the towers just to escape from the hellfire inside the building (9-11: People Jumping from World Trade Center (Warning: Graphic)), or one other got out of the building and started to climbed down when he lost his equilibrium and fell in vacuo (WTC person that tried to climb down wtc). Finally, we also can find and see videos at the WTC territory during the attacks, then officials and rescuers were working within the smoke and dust and they were wearing masks to breath, we can see the difficulty of their work i n order to rescue someone and to pull him out of the building (Inside World Trade Centre During Attack 9/11 before after North Tower). The second scenario of 9/11 attack As I have already said everyone have access into the internet and they can write freely their viewpoints. In the internet the user can find other thoughts, rumors and illustrated evidences to prove that the terrorist attack was an inside job. Thus the user can find videos in which there are evidences such as the flash at the second plane just before it hits the tower, a shadow at the bottom of the second plane (Slow motion of second plane crashing into south tower) and the way that the towers were collapsing, by examining how the debris were falling. By using these evidences and other more they are trying to prove that the terrorist attack was not a work of terrorists. (The world was lied to on 9/11/2001 by the U.S. Government and the Media. 9/11 INSIDE JOB!). Also, in the internet there are some questions that had been unanswered by the officials and these questions generate speculations and rumors. For example, it is officially recorded that the passengers of the Flight 11 had info rmed the ground about the hijacking, and the question that appears is how is this possible a passenger or crew personnel to use its self-phone, while the plane was hijacking? The answer that is found in the internet is that the plane was remote-controlled (The Attack on the World Trade Center Towers). Books By the stimuli of the WTC attack the book industry published several books which were dealing whit this historic event. Some of these books are by titles The World Trade Center: A Tribute (November 2001) by Bill Harris, the The 2001 World Trade Center Attack (January 2007) by Taylor booten Goodreads, the Another world is possible (2001) by Jonathan Cromwell Goodreads, the The World Trade Center Attack (2003) by Cengage Gale and the 9/11: The Simple Facts Why the official story cant possibly be true (August 2011) by Arthur Naiman. Communication effect Television The purpose of every communication is to convey information, emotions and viewpoints to the audience. Thus the communication of this specific event was made to accomplish communications principles. In this case, the fact was the terrorist attack on the world trade center but the information and the emotions that the audience perceived were quite different depending the channel that they chose to get informed. Now let us examine how the two main TV channels (BBC and CNN) covered and communicated the facts. The first different comes from the beginning and is the way that the two channels started broadcasting the event. CNN started by showing the flaming tower with a title which was referring to a disaster, while on the other hand the BBC started its breaking news with the presenter who briefly said what had happened and then broadcasted images from the flaming tower. In both TV channels the shown images were more or less the same but the main difference was during the presentation of the event, for example in CNN the presenter was saying frequently that the images were live, while on the BBC channel we did not hear it at all. CNN immediately started providing information about what was happening, while on the other hand the BBC presenter stated the event, that a plane had crashed into the WTC, and continuously repeated it without saying something new. This repeatability means two things firstly that the BBC had nothing new to say about this event or the presenter was shocked by this eve nt, which is the most reasonable speculation. Moreover, BBCs presenters were using dramatic language and were referring to words chaos and panic, busy time and busy blocks. These words when are heard by a news-presenter have greater value and people terrorized, while CNN presenters were calm and with a clear voice they were presenting the facts without terrorizing their audience as much as this was possible. Both channels contacted eyewitnesses from different places of the lower Manhattan area, and the presenters were asking questions about the event and how they experienced and perceived what had happened earlier in the day. Each channel continued the same pattern and with the eyewitnesses that each channel had invited for interview. On CNN the eyewitnesses were not using dramatic language as much as it was possible but they were expressing their emotions and what they had experienced and how. In contrary to the CNN, BBC invited eyewitnesses who did not conceal their panic. Moreove r, the first interviewer referred to another terrorist attack on the WTC in 1993. Both channels had their cameras concentrating on the flaming towers. Here is the main difference between these two channels: On the one hand the broadcasted images from BBC when the towers started collapsing were so dark that for people who had just opened their TV they reasonably could thought that Manhattan was collapsing and a huge area was totally destroyed, and because of the dark images you could not distinguish the smoke from the dust. On the other hand, if the same individuals switched on their TV on the CNN they would probably perceive the fact that a tower had just collapsed, because the broadcasted images were clear and the dust distinguished from the smoke. Furthermore, BBC was repeating the video which showed the second plane crashing into the second tower. Newspapers In the vast majority of the newspapers we could see more or less the same picture, which is just before the second plane hits the second tower of the WTC or the second just after the impact which illustrates the explosion. The main differences were in the main titles and the colors used which provided emphasis on different elements. The heading that Los Angeles Times used was TERRORISTS ATTACK NEW YOURK, PENTAGON and as a subheading Thousands Dead, Injured as Hijacked U.S. Airliners Ram Targets; World Trade Center Is Destroyed. This newspaper wrote about thousands of dead people and this title made various impressions and generated anger to the reader, especially when it was accompanied with pictures that showed what happened just before and after the moment of impact. One more newspaper which generated anger and made people look for revenge is the San Francisco Examiner, which had as a title the world BASTARDS and also placed emphasis on the colors of the main picture, making it loo k alive. Moreover, The Daily Telegraph is one more newspaper which caused fear to its readers because the main title stated WAR IN AMERICA and the picture that depicted the explosion of the plane into the tower also caused awe. Another newspaper which had used the same pattern of terrorizing people is The Washington Post. Its main title was Destroy World Trade Centre and Hundreds Dead and was followed by two dark pictures at the time of the impact. Also in this newspaper the reader could read about the promise that president Bush had given for retribution as well as other articles by using words from eyewitnesses which generated terror, such as the article with title I Saw Bodies Falling. However, some newspapers such as Hartford Courant emphasized on loneliness and uncertainty. The main picture illustrated a lonely man walking in the middle of the street among the ruins holding a bright red fire extinguisher and the title above this picture was AMERICA WATCHES HELPLESSLY. Internet On the internet as I have already said there are two different scenarios about this event but everyone admits that this event was a lesson and everyone who experienced this event have to remember these people who lost their lives on that bloody bay for humankind. Every video, picture and text are displayed in this way that it does not matter who was responsible for that tragedy. The important thing is that innocent people lost their lives at the WTC and nearby blocks. Images and words are placed in such way that people who experienced that day will remember it and for them those who lost their lives are appeared as heroes in some way. However, in the internet we could also read the conspiracy theories which make this event ambiguously. Conclusion So what is finally mass communication, a science or an art? The answer is quite simple. Mass communication is a science by which people get informed by different media and at the same time is an art because the way that the information is transmitted could change the information. In this case the event was straightforward. Two aircrafts crashed on the WTC and after the impact the crashed towers collapsed. But the information that the media broadcasted were the huge number of dead people which by itself generated anger and hatred, the lack of security, the fact that terrorists can hit every target that they want and finally the media proposed that this event was a reason for war and revenge in memory of the dead. Thus people in America were in favor of the war in Iraq and nobody can accuse them for these beliefs that they had, because they experienced terror that the media launched and grew this felling.

Possible Explanation of Kierkegaard’s Reasoning :: Essays Papers

Possible Explanation of Kierkegaard’s Reasoning As some philosophers suggest, an individual may only know what he knows through experience. What is sensed equals what is known. Because we understand things through our senses, then what we understand must also be expressed through our senses. We represent that knowledge through language. Language is a means of transferring our experiences to a concrete, literal form, so the sensuous can be made known in the psyche. To describe a snake (itself a linguistic representation of my experience), I might use the word, â€Å"slimy,† thus, I have distinguished one feeling from another feeling. Language also informs our perceptions of an object. We hear the sound of a word, and our brains conjur an image of the object the word represents. This image is then transferred into our own experience. If I say, â€Å"slimy,† you may think of mud or butter or a kiss, not necessarily a snake. These images are not right or wrong, but are based on your experiences. You will think of those things until, through my comparison of a snake to other objects and characteristics you do know, you can understand another thing that could possibly represent the word, â€Å"slimy.† What if someone wishes to discuss something outside of sensual or intellectual human experience? Because we cannot escape the use of sensual-psychic language to explain experience and knowledge of experience, even an experience beyond the sensual-psychic must be expressed through the common language that is received through the ear and processed through the brain. Jesus knew this full well, choosing to speak in parables rather than outlining theories and spiritual realities. We listen better to stories with objects and plots we can understand. His audience identified with agriculture, shepherding, wedding feasts, and inheritances. And although he knew the people could not comprehend the fullness of meaning behind his stories, storytelling was the most effective way to shed any light on the world of the spirit. As Paul Tillich says, once we take literally the language we use to represent â€Å"ultimate concerns† (things of the spirit), then we have made language into an idol ____________. Kierkegaard predated Tillich with his statement that â€Å"all human language about the spiritual . . . is essentially transferred or metaphorical language†(199). To prevent our understanding of language from remaining in the literal or sensuous-psychic state, and thus becoming idolatrous, then we must see it as a symbol, participating in the actual, but not the actual itself __________.

Analysis of the Canadian Human Rights Act :: Human Rights Canada Alcohol Trade Essays

Analysis of the Canadian Human Rights Act The Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and perceived disability. Disability includes those with a previous or existing dependence on alcohol or a drug. Perceived disability may include an employer’s perception that a person’s use of alcohol or drugs makes him or her unfit to work. Because they cannot be established as bona fide occupational requirements, the following types of testing are not acceptable: †¢ Pre-employment drug testing †¢ Pre-employment alcohol testing †¢ Random drug testing †¢ Random alcohol testing of employees in non-safety-sensitive positions. The following types of testing may be included in a workplace drug- and alcohol-testing program, but only if an employer can demonstrate that they are BONA FIDE OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS: †¢ RANDOM ALCOHOL TESTING OF EMPLOYEES IN SAFETY SENSITIVE POSITIONS: Alcohol testing has been found to be a reasonable requirement because alcohol testing can indicate actual impairment of ability to perform or fulfill the essential duties or requirements of the job. Random drug testing is prohibited because, given its technical limitations, drug testing can only detect the presence of drugs and not if or when an employee may have been impaired by drug use. †¢ DRUG OR ALCOHOL TESTINIG FOR REASONABLE CAUSE OR POST-ACCIDENT: where there are reasonable grounds to believe there is an underlying problem of substance abuse or where an accident has occurred due to impairment from drugs or alcohol, provided that testing is a part of a broader program of medical assessment, monitoring and support. †¢ PERIODIC OR RANDOM TESTING FOLLOWING DISCLOSURE OF A CURRENT DRUG OR ALCOHOL DEPENDENC /ABUSE PROBLEM may be acceptable if tailored to individual circumstances and as part of a broader program of monitoring and support. Usually, a designated rehabilitation provider will determine whether follow-up testing is necessary for a particular individual. †¢ MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF PRESENT OR PAST ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY/ABUSE: may be permissible for employees holding safety-sensitive positions, within certain limits, and in concert with accommodation measures. Generally, employees not in safety-sensitive positions should not be required to disclose past alcohol or drug problems. Under these limited circumstances where testing is justified, employees who test positive must be accommodated to the point of undue hardship. The Canadian

Biodiversity

In today's world people should be more concern about saving every specious of plant and animal. Every plant or animal species including man plays important role in the life cycle. Let us consider simple example, supponse in our envirnoment we do lot of deforestation for home, industry, schools, hospitals, etc..This will spoil whole natural life cycle. Lot of species will be destoryed in doing so. Suppose the loss has resulted in decreasing and increasing death ratio. Beacause of which the carnivours animal will start dying due to lack of food or we can say dependency. Then the human will have to suffer with this. No food and the environment changes like abnormal rain or temperature raise. Whole cycle will be diturbed. Global warming for example has occured due to pollutions,deforestation. Which leads to lot of recent problems like the oxygen layer is torn. There is climate changes, need of products is increased. Chipko andolan was one of the step taken by the indians in 1970's. The people hugged the tree to save it from cuting of it. Today human is running behind time and fanancial status by puting in lot of efforts. He is least bothered about the nature. Every man want his finacial status to be high.He is constructing huge and scads of building, industries, factories, bridges, roads for which they are destroying the beatiful nature. In this race we are least bothered about the nature. Resulting in weather change; heavy rain in the desert area and temperature raise in tropical regions. Human is the creator of all. We have to think and know very well that â€Å"human is dependent on nature and vise versa†. To conclude with we should try to save every plant and animal species regardless of our fanancial well being,effort,time.

Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank

9-607-010 REV: OCTOBER 4, 2007 DAVID M. UPTON VIRGINIA A. FULLER Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank Jay Dvivedi looked once more at the proposal in his email inbox, sighed and closed his laptop for the night. He owed his boss, Shinsei CEO Thierry Porte, a response and he knew that he would need to send it in morning. One of the heads of Shinsei’s business units had approached Porte directly with a proposal for a new, off-the-shelf customer relationship management (CRM) system for his business.He wanted to fund it and implement with his own personnel, but he needed approval from Porte. Before Porte responded he had requested input from Dvivedi. When Dvivedi discussed the idea with his team the opinion was divided. The information technology organization had played an integral role in the revitalization of Shinsei Bank from the ashes of Japan’s failed Long-Term Credit Bank (LCTB). In March 2000, Dvivedi had been charged with the task of developing a rev olutionary technology infrastructure for the newly formed Shinsei Bank.When he asked then CEO Masamoto Yashiro for some guidelines he was told to do it â€Å"Fast† and â€Å"Cheap†. Drawing on his wealth of experience in technology and operations in the banking industry he and his team were able to come up with a quick, robust, and inexpensive approach through which the reborn bank could deliver its newer products and services. Shinsei, which literally meant â€Å"new birth† in Japanese, was committed to providing an improved, customer-focused model with such conveniences as Internet banking, 24-hour cost-free ATMs, and fast service based on real-time database reconciliation1.Developing and organizing the technology required to enable this was a monumental task, but one that Dvivedi and his team were able to execute within one year (one quarter of the time that would be needed to implement a traditional system), and at only 10% of the forecasted cost of a tradit ional system. By 2005, the bank had 1. 4 million customers, and was acquiring new business at a rate of 35,000 customers per month. When Dvivedi discussed the proposal with his team some said that the business understood its own objectives best.If a business unit felt that it should add a new system at its own cost then that was its right. Alternatively, other team members felt that this was against all of the principles that had been used to resurrect Shinsei’s IT systems and represented a dangerous step backwards. 1 In many other banks in Japan, deposits and withdrawals did not appear until the next day in order to reconcile the transaction and primary databases. Shinsei wanted to immediately update and make visible the data for its customers. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor David M. Upton and Research Associate Virginia A. Fuller prepared this case with the assistance of Masako Egawa, Executive Director of the HBS Japan Research Office, and Akiko Kanno, Research Associate at the HBS Japan Research Office. Portions of this case draw upon â€Å"Shinsei Bank (A),† HBS No. 302-036, â€Å"Shinsei Bank (B),† HBS No. 302-037, â€Å"Shinsei Bank (C),† HBS No. 302-038, and â€Å"Shinsei Bank (D),† HBS No. 02-039 by Professor Michael Y. Yoshino and Senior Research Associate Perry L. Fagan. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2006, 2007 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-5457685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 607-010 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank Dvivedi needed to draft a thoughtful, well-reasoned reply to Porte and he would have to do it first thing in the morning. Shinsei’s Predecessor: LTCB LTCB, was established by the government in 1952 to provide long-term funding to rebuild Japan’s basic industries after World War II.This strategy proved successful until the 1980s when financial deregulation diminished the demand for loans by traditional borrowers and LTCB aggressively expanded in the real estate and construction markets. Because of Japan’s booming economy, land prices were skyrocketing and many loans were provided based on land collateral rather than an appropriate analysis of risk or future cash flow of the borrower. When the asset bubble burst and land prices plummeted in the early 199 0s, banks were left with an enormous amount of bad debt.In spite of the increase in non-performing loans, Japanese banks were slow to take action. At the time, many still believed that the fall in land prices was temporary and that they could wait out the crisis. Furthermore, Japanese banks placed great importance on long-term relationships with their borrowers and were reluctant to raise lending rates in what seemed like a temporary business slowdown. LTCB desperately explored ways to save itself. Conditions continued to deteriorate, however, and its stock price continued to fall.On October 23, 1998, LTCB finally collapsed with nearly $40 billion of non-performing loans and was nationalized. The failure of LTCB marked the largest banking failure in post-war Japan. Acquisition by Ripplewood The events that followed were unprecedented; a Japanese landmark was bankrupt, and was subsequently purchased by a U. S. private equity fund, Ripplewood Holdings, with Goldman Sachs representing the Japanese government. Masamoto Yashiro, former president of Exxon Japan who had just retired after heading Citicorp Japan, was persuaded to join the American investors in acquiring the bank.The government initially favored selling the bank to a Japanese financial institution or an industrial company, but Ripplewood eventually won the bid. On March 1, 2000, LTCB became the first Japanese bank with foreign ownership. â€Å"New Birth† The name of the bank was changed to â€Å"Shinsei,† and Yashiro became CEO. In the first few months, Yashiro moved quickly to establish a new organization and build the bank’s business in three main areas: commercial banking, retail banking2, and investment banking.LTCB had previously generated most of its revenues from corporate loans, but Yashiro was eager to move out of this low-margin business. â€Å"The asset quality [of our loans] was extremely poor, the number of corporate and individual accounts had shrunk by 40%, the trad itional business – corporate lending – was very unprofitable, and the bank’s IT infrastructure and operational capability were significantly inferior even relative to our local competition,† said Yashiro. Fortunately, the bank had received JPY 240 billion in public funds, and was able to start business with a strong capital ratio3 of 12. %. 2 Banking services for individual customers 3 The capital ratio is the ratio of a bank’s equity to a risk-weighted sum of the bank’s assets. 2 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank 607-010 LTCB did not have much presence in retail banking, with only two dozen branches throughout Japan, while major commercial banks had several hundred branches. The bank sold debentures (instead of receiving deposits) to high net worth individuals, but those individuals conducted their banking transactions at other banks which had a broader branch network.Shinsei bank needed an entirely new business strategy, and that, decided Yashiro, would be to serve retail customers. To create a retail banking business from the ground up, Yashiro needed the help of a visionary and technologist. Dhananjaya â€Å"Jay† Dvivedi looked like the right man for the job. An experienced manager of technology and operations with whom Yashiro had worked at Citibank Japan during the 1990s,4 Dvivedi had an engineering background and sought to apply manufacturing principles to the development of the new IT infrastructure. Retail Banking BusinessThe traditional methods of retail banking in Japan were anything but convenient. Business hours ended at three o’clock in the afternoon (to allow time to reconcile computer system information with the databases), no ATM usage outside of business hours, fees for ATMs, no Internet banking, long lead times for new account openings, separate accounts for each type of financial product, and other inconveniences had been an unavoidable, bitter pill for people managi ng their money in Japan. Yashiro and Dvivedi, therefore, endeavored to offer an alternative.Shinsei would have to â€Å"wow† potential customers into switching over from other banks. They had to offer something â€Å"extra† to convince customers to bank at Shinsei. The way to do this, they felt, was through outstanding customer service. Customer Service Model Yashiro believed it was better standards of service, and innovation in services, that would ultimately attract customers to the bank. â€Å"We were new. If we didn’t have something new to offer, there would be no reason for customers to come to us,† said Sajeeve Thomas, head of Shinsei’s retail group.The goal of developing new and closer relationships with customers through unique products and services became central to Shinsei’s transformation. The shift to meeting the competitive requirements of a retail bank, however, proved to be a significant undertaking for an institution speciali zing in corporate financial work. For the transformation to be effective, speed, flexibility, and cost control were paramount. A complete overhaul of the IT system would be required in order to enable this. The new customer-service-based business strategy required a scalable and robust operational and technological infrastructure.Such an infrastructure would help the new business segments grow by supporting enhanced, high quality, 24Ãâ€"7 customer service, product innovation and volume growth. This process involved nothing short of a revolutionary approach to information technology. â€Å"Indeed,† said Yashiro, rather wistfully, â€Å"the real challenge of transformation was not in painting the end state but in choosing the means to reach it effectively. † 4 Their work at Citibank included a major turnaround of that company’s IT system in Japan during the 1990s. 3 607-010Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank Thinking about Technology at Shinsei â€Å"We quickly came to the conclusion that the systems that were used at the old LCTB were of almost no use to us,† recalled Yashiro, lamenting the realization that the extant mainframe infrastructure was actually an impediment to building new business at Shinsei. Its mainframes were overloaded, with no spare capacity, and they relied on separate and disparate networks which were tied closely to the old business model. Maintenance costs were unacceptably high due to locked-in contracts with vendors.The network capacity was inadequate and too expensive. At the same time, the operational processes were inefficient and full of multi-layered, repetitive paper trails. Mainframes were large room-sized computers based on models developed in the 1960s by computing giants like IBM and Fujitsu. For banks, with their enormous amounts of customer data, daily transactions involved collecting information from millions of accounts, transferring it to the mainframe computer at midnight, th en refreshing the data by batch processing for the following day.Dvivedi believed that mainframes imposed great risks onto businesses; since they held the total data in the organization and this meant that if anything happened to that one computer, the business would be temporarily disabled while the system was transferred to backup machines. It was safer to distribute risks by designing systems that linked several smaller computers, such as servers, together. Servers were much smaller computers, often as small as a pizza box, based on cheaper microprocessors and standard UNIX or Windows operating systems.Such smaller servers were often combined into clusters of many hundreds of devices and were thus not only cheaper, but also more scalable than mainframes as capacity could be added to the system in much smaller increments. In the past, almost all banks had run on mainframe-based computer systems, but â€Å"removing the mainframes created granularity within the system,† said Dvivedi. This drastically reduced hardware maintenance costs and allowed flexibility such that services and new products could easily be added to the system. Building a New SystemOnce he had a skilled team in place, Dvivedi focused on centralizing the operations and creating a functional organization. Investigation into traditional methods of large-scale systems implementation exposed the significant risks and difficulties in adapting a traditional, monolithic, mainframe-based system to the dynamism of Shinsei’s freshly rekindled businesses. Indeed, new technology requirements were being developed even as the new business plans took shape, and they would need a scalable IT system that could grow with and even more importantly, adapt to the business. Technology delivers the product to the customer,† affirmed Dvivedi. Information technology had to be used as a driver of business, and a source of new business, rather than as a support function. Dvivedi also believed that S hinsei should forge its own IT strategy, rather than follow the examples set by other banks, so that competitors might one day turn to Shinsei for advice. Dvivedi could have chosen a gradual approach to creating a new infrastructure by improving the existing technology and processes over time, replacing one system and process after another.This would have minimized disruption but would have taken too long. Alternatively, he could have attempted a â€Å"big-bang† approach, replacing the existing infrastructure with a completely new set of systems and processes in one fell swoop. This approach, however, was deemed too risky, too disruptive, and too expensive. As part of building the new infrastructure Dvivedi focused on parsimony in selecting standards. There would be one network protocol, one operating system, and one hardware platform. Dvivedi 4 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank 607-010 did not wait for consensus before moving to new standards.Choosing one set of standards, rather than allowing a patchwork of multiple standards to build up, helped keep the complexity low, which, in turn, made the system easier to manage. The skills needed to run and maintain this infrastructure were standard and people trained in them were easy to find. Instead of looking at the whole system, Dvivedi preferred to break it down into pieces. â€Å"How can we modularize pieces so they can be used again and again? † he asked. He believed that the key to success was to keep creating new elements and to introduce them into the system without stopping the enterprise.A caveat of this, however, was the challenge of keeping things safe and secure, yet not so locked-down that they became unchangeable. The approach that Yashiro and Dvivedi decided on was at once radical and accelerated, driven by the evolution of their new business strategy. It involved implementing, as needed, a new, modular operating infrastructure that operated initially in parallel wi th, but ultimately superseded, the existing infrastructure. Dvivedi’s Vision Dvivedi made choices not simply based on available technologies; rather, he focused first on the business problem that had to be solved.Once the problem was clearly identified, it was broken down into as many logical parts as possible. â€Å"We’d keep breaking down the elements until the solution was obvious,† said Sharma Subramanian, the IT group’s Planning and Coordination Officer. In addressing each element, the team looked to its toolkit of standard modules and components, and determined whether or not any appropriate solutions existed. If not, they went to the market and sought the missing piece of technology, looking specifically for its availability as a standard component.If it was not already available as a standard component, they would ask one of their partners to build the component. They would build it so that it was reusable. For a component to be reusable, it had t o have a clear specification of the function(s) it performed, as well as a standard interface into which other components or modules could connect. The various components were assembled and reused in order to build products and services for Shinsei’s customers, and 90% of the technology components were used by more than one product. To meet Yashiro’s andate, Dvivedi devised five basic guidelines that were to govern all work going forward. His approach addressed waste and unnecessary work, and the elimination thereof, to make processes more efficient. Every job done was evaluated on the basis of these five criteria: †¢ Speed – How fast can the work be done? The goal was to build a new IT system within 18 months of conception. Changes were made in small, frequent, and predictable steps. The use and re-use of standard components enabled the team to roll out new capabilities quickly and with minimal testing (since the components already had been tested in their previous context).Cost – How low can we keep costs? For example, Shinsei understood that they did not have to build everything from scratch. By combining a number of software packages, they were able to construct the new system in a very short time. For example, Shinsei used Intel-based, Windows servers and Oracle database servers on the back-end and off-the-shelf solutions on the front-end. They used standard Dell PCs running Windows. In the process, Shinsei became the largest bank running its back-end systems on a Windows platform.Capability – What new capabilities will IT enable? For example, to support multiple currencies and financial products for retail customers the old technology platform that handled deposits, loans and other services had to be changed. †¢ †¢ 5 607-010 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank †¢ Flexibility – How easily can the system be changed to respond to business needs? Dvivedi assumed that the business needs of the company would change over time and that the IT systems had to respond to this rather than prevent ecessary change as the mainframe system had done. The infrastructure needed to be expandable and robust enough to support the operation as volumes grew. Re-usable component-based architecture would enable flexibility. To make its services flexible, Shinsei used alerts, not reports, to manage workflow. Machinedriven prompts notified employees when work went unattended, demanding attention and action when required. Similarly, when making infrastructure decisions Yashiro made a point of focusing on the business objective, not the ‘as-is’ environment.Designing an infrastructure to support a new business objective had to begin with that objective in mind and not with Shinsei’s current capabilities. If the objective could be met without changing existing infrastructure then they would not change it. If elements of the existing infrastructure were made redunda nt by the new approach, then they would become irrelevant and be superseded over time. Flexibility meant not being inhibited by previous decisions. †¢ Safety – How secure is our system? Safety was built into the process by breaking down the problems into very small parts.Smaller elements meant a smaller piece of the project that went wrong if something were to fail. Furthermore, a number of small parts meant that each part could be tackled simultaneously to fix the problem more quickly. The approach to safety could be seen clearly in Dvivedi’s decision to leverage the public Internet. Back in 2000, Dvivedi met tremendous incredulity at the notion of using the Internet for internal banking transactions. Nevertheless, the Bank went with public Internet lines as opposed to leased lines.Public Internet technology allowed Shinsei to move work to any location, including lower-cost locations, such as India. ATMs, telephones, call centers, video, and data were also connec ted through public lines, at a fraction of the cost of leased lines. â€Å"We use the Internet in two ways, for transport both within and outside the company and we use it to run different elements of our processes. The key is to ensure that each activity or session is performed in a secure manner. We assume that everything will fail. The key task is to ensure there are no single points of failure.When components fail, we assume that staff will not notice or will be busy on something else. The safety must be passive, that is to say if one component fails, the work must seamlessly move to another component all without any intervention,† said Nobuyki Ohkawa. Ohkawa had decades of experience working on these problems and was the person Dvivedi assigned the task of designing and deploying the networks and machines on which Shinsei ran its business. To ensure that the data sent over the public Internet was kept secure, Shinsei encrypted all the data it transmitted.In addition, its networks were secured by deploying the latest in network technology and by a process of continuous monitoring for unauthorized intrusions and denial of service type attacks. Should there be any indication that an attack was attempted, the source of the attack was identified and actions taken to disable or block it. Most of all, however, Dvidedi relied simply on the fundamentals of the internet itself: â€Å"The Internet is anonymous. Your messages and our data travel over the same network in a random fashion. The anonymity is our first level of security†.Given these parameters and the scope of the undertaking, Yashiro and Dvivedi did not believe they could entrust the project to one hardware vendor. Also, the fluidity of the envisioned end-state made it difficult to engage an outside vendor economically. Yashiro and Dvivedi needed to reach out to external partners to get the resources and know-how that they envisioned, as applied to their projects. Partner companies in Dvive di’s native India proved to be a tremendous boon. 6 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank 607-010 Outsourced WorkDvivedi engaged multiple Indian firms to handle different parts of Shinsei’s information technology. This outsourced work focused on areas where internal development skills were lacking and where Dvivedi felt that they were not necessary for the bank to acquire. Thus, Dvivedi was free to pull together work groups of specialists without regard to their physical location. This was a major departure from existing practices in Japan, and proved to be a culture shock for the staff. In fact, Shinsei was the only company in Japan to use solely Indian software services.Nucleus Software, in Delhi, and Polaris Software Engineering, in Chennai, were two collaborators, as well as the larger Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services companies, in developing pieces of Shinsei’s financial software. By employing translators, Shinsei acquired best-of-breed e ngineers, and did not bother trying to teach them Japanese. They could remain in their respective silos, working on a portion of the Shinsei technology, without assimilation into Shinsei headquarters. In order to outsource work, Dvivedi and his team had to divide the work up into modular parts.Removing interdependencies was key as they believed that dependency slowed down the work; without dependency, people could work at their own speeds and avoid bottlenecks. For this reason, old systems maintenance was kept separate from new systems development. If unnecessary stress was placed on old systems, the entire system would become unstable and the speed at which new ones were developed would also be at risk. With each company, Shinsei worked to establish a relationship characterized as a â€Å"partnership† rather than one of a supplier.The bank worked with its partners without requiring competitive bids, avoiding traditional requirement documents such as RFPs (request for proposa l) or RFIs (request for information). Dvivedi believed that these were superfluous process steps that added unnecessary time and overhead work to the engagement. Furthermore, Shinsei did not enter into fixed-price contracts; on the contrary, engagements were quantified on a time-and-material basis. Implementation Shinsei moved from mainframes to a Windows-based platform, supported by a high-speed, lowcost, packet based network operated as an internal utility.They centralized the decentralized, but made sure that everything was modular and highly flexible. Organizational silos were broken down in order to integrate processes. â€Å"We have learned to deliver precision where needed rather than trying to be precise in all things,† said Yashiro. Despite the carefully constructed approach to assembling the guiding principles for the company’s IT strategy both Yashiro and Dvivedi knew that just as many, if not more, IT transformation projects failed during implementation.As such, they spent a substantial amount of time creating principles to guide the implementation process. †¢ Parity – Parity allowed the old and new systems to coexist in parallel. Dvivedi believed that employees should choose to use the new system if it were placed in front of them. He did not want to appear as though he was convincing people to use the new technology. He told employees: â€Å"We will not change – but we will change the technology. † He believed the new systems should function much the same as their predecessors, and possess the same look and feel even if this mimicry resulted in extra cost.At the same time the new system should provide new capabilities so that employees would be excited about using them. As comfort with the new systems increased, the old systems were removed. Dvivedi mused: â€Å"Nothing must change for change to happen. † 7 607-010 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank †¢ Incremental steps â€⠀œ The smaller the changes, the lower the degree of disruption in the bank. The work was done on multiple parallel paths; development occurred in rapid, short cycles, with progressive delivery of requirements.As components were tested, they were implemented and reused if they fulfilled their objectives or they were promptly discarded if they did not work. Incremental steps also kept the system accessible as changes could be made on an almost continuous basis. Inclusiveness – Yashiro believed that the business strategy must always drive infrastructure change, and it was therefore imperative that senior managers be closely involved in the technology transformation. Said Yashiro: â€Å"I have learned that technology and operations are not just support functions.They also offer capabilities that can open up new strategic opportunities and businesses for us. † Transparency – Dvivedi tried to keep the technology transparent to the customer, such that the customer woul d not notice anything different when the technology changed. This would allow Shinsei to remain flexible in its technology choices at no inconvenience or disruption to the customer. Ironically, this required great discipline. Dvivedi had to resist advertising the new technology because, as he said, â€Å"the moment you say ‘this is going to improve things for you,’ you create a dependency. Dvivedi felt this was important so that the bank would be free to pick and choose its technology as systems changed, while the customer would experience only consistent service. Paperless – Any paper generated had to be checked, filed, and secured while the absence of paper made work distribution easier. Paper intensive, manual processes were replaced with a nearly paperless environment. A room dedicated to scanning services received all incoming paper correspondence and invoices. Such paper documents were scanned and then filed electronically.The paper documents did not move any further into the office than that initial receiving room. After that, everything was accessible online. †¢ †¢ †¢ All of these efforts supported Yashiro’s principle of minimizing the change required of people. Making new systems look as similar to old ones as possible, and allowing the two to co-exist in parallel, were necessary to minimize the disruption of Shinsei’s employees. Furthermore, they did not set formal replacement dates for any of the new systems they implemented.Instead, they performed parallel runs with reconciliation to ensure proper functioning of the new system. They repeated this process for as long as was necessary until they were sure that the employees were comfortable with the new systems. Only then did they turn off the old system. Getting Results Shinsei’s key success was in assembling the building blocks of its new infrastructure. The entire retail bank system was implemented faster than planned and well below budget. In the end, Shinsei achieved rejuvenation in one year (instead of the projected three years) and at 90% less than the riginal cost estimate. The cost of the overhaul totaled $50 million, while other banks in Japan had paid ten times this amount for similar initiatives. The success of the system transformation enabled 24Ãâ€"7 multiple channel access to customers rather than a single channel service that was only available from 9am to 3pm. In addition, they were able to obtain real-time balances from these channels, and roll out new products quickly by leveraging standard building blocks that were already in place. Management controls were also significantly improved through the new system.The old 6-day reporting cycle – characterized by chronically late financial ledger data – was replaced with a daily one, with the added ability to provide customer and product profitability tracking data on demand. 8 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank 607-010 They w ere also able to perform continuous reconciliation on all accounts and standardized what were non-standard, non-documented procedures. New Services â€Å"We have a very specific value proposition for customers,† incoming CEO Thierry Porte said. It’s based on convenience, ease of use, empowering customers, offering things on a low-cost basis, so our ATM system is free and we also offer free Internet transfers. At the same time, we offer high-quality products and services. † One of these new services was an innovative branch operation featuring â€Å"cashless tellers. † Dvivedi believed that a key tenet of the customer service model was the interaction between staff and customers. To enhance this interaction both paper and cash had to be eliminated from the hands of the branch staff.Paper and cash, Dvivedi felt, were â€Å"avoidable distractions† that merely got in the way of superior customer service. In eliminating paper and cash, the staff was abso lved of the traditional duties of cash-counting and receipt-printing, and could solely service the customer. Indeed, the bank’s branch services were entirely self-completed; the staff was present only to provide assistance as needed. All transactions took place online, at Internet portals in the branch. The transaction could take place anywhere, however, that the customer was connected to the Internet.Online-only transactions effectively eliminated paper from the system, and also allowed the customer to be responsible for his own transactions. The customer was asked to double-check each transaction before authorizing it. This greatly reduced the frequency of errors. Cash was available from the branch’s ATM machines; staff guided the customers to use the ATMs for both withdrawing and depositing cash. If a customer did not have his ATM card, a staff member would electronically transfer the desired sum from the customer’s account into a teller’s account, and then retrieve the cash for the customer from the ATM.ATMs Most Japanese banks charged fees of 100 to 300 yen, when ATMs were used in the evenings or on weekends, or when customers withdrew money from other banks. Shinsei, to make up for its limited branch network, allowed customers to use ATMs any time free of charge. This distinguished Shinsei from other Japanese banks. Shinsei saw this as a way to attract customers to the bank at very low cost, for they did not have to expand their branch network in order to connect with their customers; they could do it through ATMs. The operating cost of the ATMs was relatively low.In 2001, Shinsei offered a new service enabling customers to withdraw cash free of charge from ATMs outside of Japan – 650,000, to be exact, in 120 different countries, through the PLUS system offered by Visa International. Citibank also offered no-fee use of international ATMs, but was part of the CIRRUS MasterCard network, which had only 530,000 ATMs in abou t 100 countries. Hours Shinsei kept its branches open on weekends and holidays in order to offer services such as same-day account openings, targeting customers who might be too busy to visit the bank during the week.Shinsei used its computer system – operated nonstop – to enable the processing of new accounts and other applications in the same day. Other financial institutions followed suit and began staying open on Saturday and Sunday, but services were limited to mortgages and asset management consulting. Anything that required the computer system could only take place during the week as their systems shut down on the weekends. Shinsei’s branch hours of 10am to 8pm every single day of the year (except New Year’s Day) enabled ustomers to do any type of banking, including sale of mutual funds and insurance policies, at their own convenience. 9 607-010 Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank Looking Back Yoshikazu Sato, a senior member of th e Technology team at Shinsei, who worked closely with Dvivedi, revealed the apparent simplicity of Shinsei’s model: â€Å"If you stand back and examine what we have done, there is nothing unique about it. The principles we follow have been around for years. Describe what we do to a manufacturing engineer and he may well remark, ‘what’s so special about it? ’ Anybody can buy what we buy.Deconstructing a problem until a standard component can be used, or using low-cost, easily available materials (in our case Dell PCs and Windows software) has been practiced for decades,† he said. â€Å"What makes us different is our ability to focus on applying these principles repeatedly with persistence and without deviation. The manufacturing industry has been moving its operations to the lowest cost and most effective locations for decades. We have replicated it in our use of virtual organizations; people with skills needed for our work are connected in from whe rever they are located.Not having to move people around saved us time, money and gave us an extremely scalable capability,† said Pieter Franken, the architect and designer of Shinsei’s core systems. â€Å"My key task is to ensure that as we do all of this, we are also institutionalizing the work we have done and to continuously expand the technical team to take up all this work,† said Dvivedi. Looking Forward Dvivedi’s â€Å"institutionalization† of Shinsei’s system development process forced the team to think about applications of the model in the future, as well as what challenges lay ahead.Shinsei was focused on growing by acquisition and, for those acquired businesses, the objective was to change the technology and process platform to enable rapid new product roll-outs and to build better quality services. The ability to do this at lower cost would create a significant competitive advantage. â€Å"Our focus is to be able to support all t he Shinsei businesses for their Information Technology needs and help them achieve the same level of technology now being employed by Shinsei Bank,† said Dvivedi. â€Å"We can add value to our businesses with our strength and know-how. In 2006, Thierry Porte succeeded Yashiro as President and CEO of Shinsei. â€Å"Thierry has a clear vision of where he is guiding Shinsei,† noted Dvivedi. â€Å"He has outlined a growth plan for our key businesses that will require us to scale up for much higher volumes, and support a whole range of new functions and features to facilitate the launch of new products and services. † As CEO, Porte was well-aware of how Shinsei’s technology would enable his plans for the bank. â€Å"Our technology is a door-opener for new business opportunities.If we can get our customers in other industries interested in the approach we take to technology design and deployment, to look at the kind of capabilities and services we can help the m build, it will be a unique way to position ourselves and grow our core business of banking. If we can do this it will expand our franchise and be a source of additional revenues,† said Porte. Dvivedi’s Response After a night of reflection the time had come to respond to Porte’s request. Dvivedi opened an email and began typing†¦ 10