Anti War Activism in the World of Cyberspace & Beyond Essay

The group this study examines is an anti war group, called IVAW or Iraq Veterans Against the War (http://www. ivaw. org) initially organized by veterans of the Iraq War in 2004, one year after the start of the war in Iraq, and have expanded their mission to opposing the conflict in Afghanistan. This is clearly a group with potential, with a defined core demographic, but one which is, while sophisticated in the tools it is using, failing in its fundamental mission and goals, not to mention not maximizing the considerable power of the tools it has at its disposal. Yet despite these failings, the group is extremely holistic and uses many proven tactics, albeit unsuccessfully or not maximally utilized or executed, either lifted directly or fused into a new medium, used across many historical struggles – ones for civil rights, gender equity, art as protest, AIDS activism, and even class struggle, although in the latter issue, the group is still struggling to find its way to define its strategy effectively as all social activist groups do in America on this issue. But the fact remains, you won’t find many graduates of Harvard stationed in Kabul. And in a country reeling from high unemployment it is a perfect time to hit the establishment on exactly this issue. Overall Organizational Structure National Overview The current organization is a mostly virtual 501(c) 3 (non lobbying) non profit, with a national office located in New York City, and a website. There are four full time employees, 1,700 members, who are listed online, and 61 chapters in 48 states. Figure 1: IVAW Chapters Nationally Regional Organization The regional chapters are staffed by volunteer state/field organizers to coordinate state wide campaigns of all sorts (described below). The group has volunteer speakers (mostly vets) and a board. Core Demographics & Membership The core demographic are vets, both old and young, and their families. The socioeconomic level is primarily blue collar working class and those from America’s heartland, who signed up to serve because they had no sense of American foreign policy, or enlisted in the National Guard to get a college or advanced education in the first place, without realizing that they would be called upon to serve in actual combat and for repeated tours of duty which is unprecedented in American history. To the extent that the organization provides educational outreach, they are exceptional in their holistic approach. Where the group fails is how they do not effectively use the tools at their disposal to mobilize their membership. And that failure is contributing both to their low member count and to their ability to mobilize a mass protest to both wars. Fundraising The group raises funds through membership dues, volunteer fundraising efforts and selling merchandise. What is interesting and highly unique if not commendable about the merchandising it sells, however, is that much of it is produced by members, so the group is actively contributing both through their membership dues AND through their personal experiences to support the organization financially. It is a unique, therapeutic, and self sustaining model and one that creates greater unity for members. It is also a tactic, along with alternative outlets for TV production borrowed from the AIDS movement and The Quilt, which used the same tactics, albeit not always online, although the gay community, in particular, was one of the FIRST niches as a community, to use the internet and art as a way of building community, particularly in response to AIDS and social exclusion, not to mention build a social protest movement over 20 years ago. Tactics Employed & Why Website As Information & Organizing Tool The group uses various tactics including predominant reliance on its website as an information source and organizing tool. Despite the cyber advantage, their tactics mirror many of those used in classic anti war organizing efforts, from Vietnam onwards, with a few other movements mixed in (such as ACT UP). It’s just mostly anti Vietnam war protest gone cyber. However the website also includes valuable information that includes sections for those who would not necessarily know how to find it, or have the education to even know where to look. As a result, it is a valuable information tool for its members alone, not to mention free to anyone who stumbles across the website. Information includes: Supporting War Resisters Publishing the activities and ongoing stories of those who are actively refusing to participate in the policy of stop-loss, or the policy of forcing soldiers to serve repeated tours of duty against their will. Further the group is following each case and actively encouraging its membership to support each active resister by contacting the army base in question to support the resister to the army brass. Providing Information on IRR (Resisting Individual Ready Reserve Recall) Intimidation Tactics The group provides information about DoD’s increasingly aggressive tactics to force people who are no longer required to report for National Guard Duty, how to avoid being penalized or how to get legal guidance and representation online. Resources for Active Duty Service people, National Guard and Reserves The group provides information to active duty service members about what rights they have, posted on their website. Press Aggregator/Social Media Tool The group is actively promoting its message throughout both the traditional media and the blogosphere. The articles it generates are also posted on its website as links to the other sites and these articles serve as both information for readers and as links in a social community as part of an online activist strategy. Active Projects In addition to being a passive information source, the group is actively documenting the experiences of vets both as a healing tool and as an education and outreach effort. These include: Combat Paper: A sort of AIDS Quilt project for veterans, who literally beat their uniforms into paper and make these into art projects, transforming psychological scars and wounds into art as a healing process. Warrior Writer’s Project: A collection of essays that are the culmination of creative workshops (3 already have been held) where vets talk about their experiences in a healing environment and then write these experiences down. One book has already been compiled from such writing. At the second and third exhibits, readings from the first book were combined with photographs from the war. More exhibits are planned and so is a second book. Truth In Recruiting: Small groups are organized where vets talk about the lies the military perpetuates in recruiting and what to expect of active service. Veteran Gulf Reconstruction Project: The group is trying to raise money online to help rebuild the destroyed gulf communities they believe the money going to fight the wars is being diverted from rebuilding and further, vets living in the region. Coalitions: The group is building coalitions online with other natural allies. Listed groups on the website include: Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families For Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Bring Them Home Now! Campaign, National Youth and Student Peace Coalition and United for Peace and Justice. The Blog & Social Media: The group has its own blog on its website and its members are clearly using social media networks as well (including posting video on You Tube and Vimeo for example). Field Events/Individual Speak Outs/Educational Events: The group holds events around the country, organized by the state organizers and often filmed and posted on the website. These range from policy discussions to individual vets’ who’ve served, who talk about their experiences in the field and why they are opposed to the wars. The Winter Soldier Project: By far, the most effective and powerful tool but underutilized for some unknown reason, is a project they have initiated called the Winter Soldier Project. It consists of short films, distributed almost everywhere on the internet, from the actual website of the group, to Vimeo to You Tube. One particularly powerful documentary is linked here. Why these have not gone viral is beyond comprehension, particularly given their powerful testimony, gripping video, and every day people reacting to what they hear in hardly militant circumstances, hardly the â€Å"hippy radical militant† anti war protester stereotype. The Role of the Group as an â€Å"Activist† Organization The activities of the group are clearly activist, as described in the activities above with a clearly defined agenda: to stop the wars and reinvest the money in America to build a more just and peaceful country and world. That is the fundamental definition of an activist organization, and one that uses traditional tools of an anti-war group at that, updated for the cyber age. The fact that they are so conscious and holistic in their approach to both stopping the wars and linking this to social inequity, civil rights and other societal injustices is even further evidence of their rightful appellation as an activist group. A Holistic Approach to Resistance The group is clearly using tried and true tactics as many online organizing groups before it. Unfortunately, in part, probably due to lack of funding, a mostly volunteer organization and a battered population of members, many of whom are on disability themselves, the group is severely limited in the kind of money it can raise and the ability of its members due to complicated disabilities that doctors still don’t know how to treat. Strategic and Tactical Failures Part of the group’s failure is the failure to identify the right demographics or utilize â€Å"cross niche† strategies for viral and social marketing for the powerful information they have to share and have already collected. Clearly they understand that linking to other veterans’ and student organizations is important, and clearly from the videos they produce, they are attracting a multicultural audience across middle America for their presentations, and not turning them off with militant tactics (such as Larry Kramer used or those used during the white student campus protests during Vietnam). That said, the latter two campaigns were highly effective, and achieved their goals, as much as they engendered violent reaction. One issue that is directly responsible for the group’s failure to capture more attention, is that they fall short, just as many before them, including the Obama campaign, of connecting in the way different demographic groups use the technology they have access to – in other words understanding that with the proliferation of G3 cell phones capable of accessing the internet for example, lower class people have access to the internet, but activists who want to reach them, in this case precisely the demographic this group wants to reach, but don’t know how to do so. A theory expanded upon by Lavato when he writes: â€Å"The next step of activism is for grassroots groups to connect online and offline organizing like Obama did, but targeting working-class people†¦. And the first step is for us to learn how our communities use their media and to engage them on their own terms. † This certainly answers the question for example, with a national unemployment rate as high as it is, and again falling predominantly on this demographic, why aren’t these videos, much less membership going through the roof? Even Larry Kramer was able to organize the sick and dying into an effective national organization WITHOUT THE INTERNET. That said, his tactics were very different. Perhaps that might explain why anti war efforts now including this group are so ineffective. Because the population Larry Kramer was fighting for was far more ostracized if not stigmatized than mostly straight young kids fighting for their country. How come these soldiers and vets are so ineffective seven years into two wars when Kramer effectively changed the way the government dealt with a devastating epidemic it otherwise would have ignored in far less time with far less effective tools? The answer lies in that IVAW have all the right instincts, and all the right tools, but they are fundamentally failing to implement them in the right ways. And that comes from a disconnect in strategy and class that is always present in every social movement that is driven from top down, rather than the grassroots. Which seems to be the problem here too. Strategic and Logistical Overhaul The group needs to start targeting states where there are large populations of military bases, and thus vets, and states with horrific social services (i. e. Medicaid), combined with high unemployment rates, like Texas, North Carolina, California, Colorado, etc. as shown on the map below. Figure 2: Map of 3 Month Decline in Economic Activity February – April 2010 The group needs to plot strategy demographically and economically if they are really going to make a difference, just like a political campaign. Cyberspace is a very nice place, but you have to ground it to have an effect. Feet on the ground and votes in ballot boxes are ultimately the most effective weapon in any organizational change â€Å"we can believe in,† to paraphrase a recent presidential candidate who used such techniques far more effectively. Conclusion The group is using tactics borrowed from successful grassroots and cyber online activist organizations such as Move On, (which may be the source of one of its failings) and of course political organizations of all kinds, offline and on including the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, MoveOn, ACT UP to even those used in the early days of anti-Vietnam protests. Why they haven’t connected to OTHER niche groups outside of the traditional ones they are already connected to is rather shocking, particularly given their sophistication in other areas. It also explains why they aren’t meeting their mission. Particularly as Obama has just pushed through the largest military budget in history. America is spending more for war under a Democratic administration, than even Bush, who expanded DoD’s budget to an all time high. The time is ripe for a group like this, with all the tools it has at its disposal, to explode, based on historical precedent and current widespread economic domestic suffering. It is a tragic case of a great idea, with all the right tools and dedicated people, who just don’t know how to execute their strategy and connect it to a larger, mainstream (or cross niche audiences) who will connect with the right message to help them achieve the ends they desire. An end to all wars and a reinvestment of America’s considerable resources in causes that are both domestic and associated with socioeconomic justice in America. Bibliography Cappuccio, S. N. (2006). Mothers of Soldiers and the Iraq War: Justification through Breakfast Shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC. Women and Language, 29(1), 3+. Retrieved May 11, 2010 Cox, M. S. (2006). â€Å"Keep Our Black Warriors out of the Draft†: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement at Southern University, 1968-1973. Educational Foundations, 20(1-2), 123+. Retrieved May 11, 2010 Hayes, C. (2008). MoveOn Ten Years Later. TheHollywoodliberal. com. Retrieved May 12, 2010 Juhasz, A. (1995). AIDS Tv: Identity, Community, and Alternative Video. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Retrieved May 11, 2010 Lovato, R. (2008, November/December). Upload Real Change. Colorlines, 11, 16+. Retrieved May 11, 2010 Poitier, B. (2007). Activist Larry Kramer Is Not Nice. Harvard. edu. gazette. com. Retrieved May 12, 2010 Seiler L. & Hamburg D. (2010). Obama’s first year: leading an empire in decline. Greenchange. org. Retrieved May 12, 2010 Wyatt-Morley, C. (1997). AIDS Memoir: Journal of an HIV-Positive Mother. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press. Retrieved May 11, 2010 Zuniga, R. (2002). The Work of Artists in a Databased Society: Net. Art as Online Activism. Afterimage, Vol. 29. Retrieved May 11, 2010

Critical Analysis of The Apology of Socrates by Plato Essay

Socrates was an orator and philosopher whose primary interests were logic, ethics and epistemology. In Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Plato recounts the speech that Socrates gave shortly before his death, during the trial in 399 BC in which he was charged with â€Å"corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, also being a busybody and intervene gods business†. The name of the work itself is not mean what it is appeared; here, Socrates is not apologizing, but merely speaking in defense of his beliefs and actions – the word apology is used in the context of its original meaning. During this apology, Socrates attempts to explain himself and the decisions that led to his action, educating his audience in the philosophical questions he chooses to pose. Socrates does not try to avoid death in the trial; instead, his goal is to enlighten the public for the last time before his own passing. Socrates was always fascinated with the solving of questions, both big and small; his approach was to use the Socratic method of inquiry, wherein he would break the problem down into several questions, and then systematically find the answers to each question in order to find the larger answer. It was a methodical and practical approach to show his ultimate quest for seeking the true knowledge. He says, â€Å"His wisdom is truly worthless†; this is indicative of his unending search for more and more knowledge (Apology 23b). According to him, philosophy starts by admitting that you are ignorant of the truth, which is what he does here. It is with this approach to philosophical questions and dilemmas – the use of Socratic irony – that Socrates chooses to engage with his audience and demonstrate why he did what he did. The Socratic method of dialectical investigation utilized arguments to try and determine ethics and truth. Two techniques were primarily used by Socrates: first, he would create a hypothesis, and then he would investigate any potential conflicts with that hypothesis. Assumptions and presumptions would be challenged in order to discover what was true. Socrates focused on valuing thought above all else. His primary method was asking questions, developing hypotheses, and testing them to see if the evidence supported them. Socrates, for the most part, values the integrity of society, and feels as though a group of people coming together to form a community should be respected by honoring the social contract. At the same time, there are aspects of the self that are more important than a communal whole, and a society must be made up of individuals that follow the principles shared by the whole. One should not be forced to behave in a manner inconsistent with their beliefs; an ideal society is comprised of individuals who may all subscribe to the different philosophies but are able to listen and except others idea the same time. As Socrates mentioned in the text that a person should be judge by what he have down, not by his behavior. It is only then that justice can be really served. Socrates’ approach to the trial is admirable; instead of expressing panic or desperation at the prospect of his life ending, the man instead maintains his calm and simply, effectively explains his position. He presents himself as the ideal philosopher, being unwavering in his justification for his actions and wishing to inspire his audience. Using his own use of figure of speech and his Socratic principles, he breaks down discussions he has with characters such as the Delphic oracle, Meletus, and more to expound his ideas. The beginning of Socrates’ argument relies on the aforementioned acknowledgement of Socratic irony – the most philosophical man is the one who admits his ignorance, and is able to point out the ignorance of others. When the oracle of Delphi told Chaerephon that no one is wiser than Socrates, he chose to go on a journey to deal with this paradox; he knew he was ignorant, so he could not be wiser than everyone else. To that end, he questioned politicians, poets and craftsmen, it coming to the ineffable conclusion that none of them knew what they were talking about either. At that end, Socrates claims he began to see himself as a representative of the oracle’s words; instead of pretending to know a great deal, he chose to profess his ignorance and be honest with himself about it (23e). To that end, he was able to act as himself and maintain his integrity. During the trial, Socrates holds everyone else to the same standard; when he talks about Meletus, his accuser, he calls him out on not actually caring about what he professes to care about – namely, the charges against Socrates. Through the trial, Socrates has proved not only Meletus do not care about the matter he mentioned in the charge, also he has no idea what is he talking about either a lot or a little, Socrates cleverly seduced Meletus go into his trap, by using the anger that Meletus hold against Socrates. Because obvious there are some much better answers for Meletus to answer. Socrates had very specific ideas regarding what constituted ‘the good life. ‘ To him, the most important value a person has is virtue, and the good life is spent looking for the Good. This was known as the love of wisdom. Socrates had little regard for worldly affairs, and the material or pleasurable things that many people might consider to contribute to ‘the good life’; instead, he thought that the best thing to do in life is to â€Å"pursue the love of wisdom,† instead of â€Å"money, and reputation, and public honor† (Apology 29d-30b). He defended this by living the philosophy, and emphasizing certain virtues that were purported to be the best things that humanity could offer itself. By avoiding the search for wealth and instead growing as people, Socrates attempted to build a community of better individuals. Socrates firmly believed that a higher order should be followed when conducting one’s life; whenever divine authority conflicts with human authority, one must follow divine authority first. â€Å"Gentlemen, I am your grateful and devoted servant, but I owe a greater obedience to God than to you; and as long as I draw breath and have my faculties I shall never stop practicing philosophy† (Apology). He feels he has a duty, as a philosopher, to constantly question and examining the world around him to find answers, since his professed ignorance frees him from pretending he already knows said answers. All of these arguments comment heavily on the charges against Socrates; in essence, people hated his questioning and argumentation, as well as the perception that he was insulting those whom he was interrogating. Socrates lamented the focus on material wealth and power, at the expense of eschewing internal exploration and philosophy. â€Å"Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul? † (Apology). Here, he is condemning his audience (and the people of Athens) for not working toward the greatest good, which is the study of self and the world around them; this is the reason for his interrogating, and the very thing they are punishing him for. If he has to be irritating and annoying to his peers, so be it; he will not stop until he improves the lives of the people he lives with, â€Å"and all day long I will never cease to settle here, there and everywhere, rousing, persuading, and reproving every one of you† (Apology 30e). This is a bold statement that proves his use of his defense to educate the people of Athens as to their own problems. In his second speech, after the jury voted guilty, He provided his version of penalty that he thinks he deserves. Obvious there could be a better way to persuade the jury, unfortunately it is not how Socrates wants it to down. He keeps denying the penalty and showed no respect to the jury. The conclusion to his action is Socrates knows the life he will have will never be the same, and if the life is not turn out as he wanted, then it is not worth to living. He believes what he does is the best life for human being, and he was tried to teach the audiences a lesson. He notes that it might have been possible for him to save his life by begging the court’s mercy and appealing to them. However, he did not do this; this was not out of ignorance or ineffectiveness in his approach, but he wanted to be honest and truthful about his opinions – namely, that the jury and those who were charging him were afraid of his criticism. To Socrates, it is better to die as an honest man who is unafraid of his convictions than to live having sacrificed them. Because of that, he wants to make an example of himself to the jury, proving a life lived honestly is one which brings greater peace. In his final argument, when the jury votes to execute Socrates, he regarding his impending death plays into his central thesis. According to Socrates, there are two kinds of death: death as annihilation (you go to sleep and feel and experience nothing more) and death as transmigration (where you have a soul which goes somewhere else). Definition is defended by Socrates; the annihilation should be looked forward to like you would finally going to sleep, and transmigration would simply allow him to talk to other great figures like Homer and Odysseus and learn from their wisdom. Again he use this argument to reiterate his central idea, such as people think they know about death but they actually not, and people needs keep examining, questioning, until the end of their life. In the end, Socrates even wishing his enemy well; he feels that, if you are a good man, you have nothing to fear in the life or the afterlife. He does not begrudge or hate his accusers and merely wishes to teach others to place the human good over the materialism and that corrupting his peers. His last words are, â€Å"Well, now it is time to be off, I to die and you to live; but which of us has the happier prospect is unknown to anyone but God† (42a). After all Socrates is one of the best philosophers in the human history, unfortunate he is fail to enlightening the most people in his age, the method of his is full of satirize, harsh, and direct to the sensitive position of people’s mind, it may solve the â€Å"problem†, but come with huge consequence. However, he understood it, he knows what he have down, may someday bring him to the trial even death, the determination of him pursuing the goodness is unparalleled. Even many people thought his ideas is incomprehensible, and he said in the text that he is not a good citizen, still he is as good as a human being can be. After I read the Crito, his death sentence, to him, was the unfortunate but understandable result of living in a society that oversaw its peers. Despite his innocence, and the belief that the Athenian government was in desperate need of change, he still abided by its rules; he believed that one can change the system from within, but you must still adhere to the decisions that society makes. In conclusion, Socrates’ defense at the trial, portrayed in Plato’s Apology, was simply another platform by which he sustain his philosophies about the virtue of thinking, self-improvement, and acting as a part of a greater whole of civilization. He was punished and put to death for asking too many questions and corrupting the young, when in fact he was simply wishing to point out the ignorance of his peers (which he also shares). The principle of Socratic irony, wherein people are most philosophical when they admit they know nothing, was something that Socrates was trying to get other people to admit; despite their professed knowledge, they truly were ignorant, and so they were learning nothing by not reconciling this attitude. While the trial did not save his life, Socrates did not care – his intent was to show people the true meaning of living a human life, as well as demand greater examination of themselves.

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Case Studies in Busines - Essay Example The Army has been forced to deal with several high-profile sexual harassment cases. Its former top enlisted man was court-martialed on sexual-misconduct charges, but a jury cleared him of all but an obstruction of justice count. A retired major general was convicted at court-martial of having affairs with the wives of his subordinate officers. (Scarborough, 2000) The case of sexual harassment is related to the top-ranking generals of the United States army – Lt. General Claudia Kennedy and Major General Larry Smith. The incident was occurred in October 1996. Initially, the incident was avoided even it was not confirmed that whether the inquiry was in progress or not. Later, it was confirmed that the Army inspector general (IG) was investigating Gen. Kennedys charge. Kennedy became famous and had been the focal point of the media in the year 2000 as a general who has accused another general. She lodged her complaint when she was the deputy chief of staff for intelligence that she was accused by the Major when she was a major general and assistant deputy chief for intelligence. During the case, Kenneth Bacon, spokesman for Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said that the Pentagon policy is "a zero tolerance for harassment. And thats been made clear by Secretary Cohen and by all military leaders. There are established channels for reporting allegations of harassment. And the IG is one of those channels." (Scarborough, 2000) Major General Smith gave his clarification by saying that he did not harass her and denied the charge. He told the investigation team that he only gave her a hug and perhaps a light kiss as they concluded an Oct. 11, 1996, meeting. The critiques also raised some concerns as why did she go to the army inspector general with her complaint about the Smith’s act, when he was announced to be the next deputy inspector general of the army, a

Economics - DQ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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APPLIED DECISION METHODS CLASS; MOD4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

APPLIED DECISION METHODS CLASS; MOD4 - Essay Example As such, this can’t exactly be used as a basis on determining the overall relation betweenthe cost charged and the SATs scored. The model as from the computations is invalid meaning it can’t be used to assess the question given As computed, the correlation coefficient of the created model is a weak positive number of 0.17577. Thisshows a weakrelationship of the model. The overall significance of the model should be less than 0.05. In our case, our model gives a value of 0.547796. This shows the model isn’t statistically valid rendering our model inaccurate. Then again, the variability of the dependent variableas explained by the independent variable is 0.030895 which yields a percentage of 3.0895 which is a very weak number. Consequently, the variables aren’t statistically significant as they are close to 0.05. (0.049008). This can be estimated by multiplying the payroll with the strength of the relationship described by the model. We subtract 17.577% from 100% to get 82.423%.We then multiply this by the payroll spent by the team that is 82.433%/100% * 79 and we obtain roughly about 65 victories. Despite the moving average being an accurate method of forecasting sales, the weighted moving average is even more accurate as one can weigh the more recent periods a little heavier than the older

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The Wal-Mart Effect Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Wal-Mart Effect - Research Paper Example Thought Wal-Mart does not manufacture its products, it attains economies of scope because it has lower average cost in selling one or more products together than separately, thereby offering competitive low-priced products. Some mom-and-pop stores, on the opposite, focus on one type of brand or product alone, which reduces their economies of scope, and they cannot lower their prices without affecting their margins. Moreover, Wal-Mart has large and numerous stores with different product types and brands that allow it to shape critical economic factors that can affect purchasing behaviors. Fishman (2006) depicted the swift expansion of Wal-Mart: â€Å"Ten years later, by the end of 2000, Wal-Mart had opened 888 Supercenters, an average of seven new Supercenters per month, 120 months in a row† (p.8). The more shops that Wal-Mart opens, the more it is able to keep its prices lower due to product and sales volume. Hence, economies of scope is a large advantage that small shops cann ot easily beat; hence, they can die or have died due to lower competitiveness in pricing and variety.Aside from economies of scope, large companies can gain economies of scope. Wal-Mart and other firms generate cost savings because of their size in the industry. Wal-Mart has economies of scale because the average cost of selling falls as the volume of products sold increases. It can negotiate with, though some critics would call it â€Å"force,† suppliers to sell goods to them at a lower price since they can purchase larger volumes.

Discrete Mathematics(Mathematical Algorithms) Research Paper

Discrete Mathematics(Mathematical Algorithms) - Research Paper Example The comprehensive study of how discrete objects come together through one another and the likelihoods of a diversity of outcomes is acknowledged as combinatory. Further areas of mathematics which are known to be component of discrete mathematics comprise graph theory as well as the theory of computation. In addition, subjects that are related to number theory like that resemblances and recurrence relations are as well renowned as a division of discrete mathematics (Wolfram Research, Inc. , 2010). This paper presents a detailed analysis of the existing one of most famous paradigms of discrete mathematics which is known as â€Å"Mathematical Algorithms†. Mathematical Algorithms are presently one of the hot areas in discrete mathematics because of their extensive and effective use in the field of computer and information technology. This paper will provide comprehensive analysis of main features and areas of â€Å"Mathematical Algorithms†. The comprehensive study and areas of interest in discrete mathematics generally comprise the analysis and systematic study of algorithms, their efficiencies and implementations in various fields of life. Discrete mathematics is also acknowledged as the language of mathematics used in conjunction with computer science, as well as its significance has increased noticeably in recent few decades (John & Weisstein, 2010). In a broad sense, an algorithm can be thought as instruction (or a set of commands or course of actions) according to that a specific procedure has to take place. We can say that a computer program is an illustration or an accomplishment of an algorithm. This command/instruction has to be organized in such an accurate manner so that it is proficient to be executed by an operator that is capable to comprehend as well as efficiently run the algorithms commands. Several cases of consideration of algorithms are the strategies planned for summing up and finding difference be tween two or more

Discussion of question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion of question - Essay Example As clearly expounded, one of the most easily identifiable measures of results is sales activities, which was defined therein as â€Å"activities that do not alter the physical, financial, or demographic realities of the community, but rather inform and persuade firms and investors. They include calls on firms, speeches to Rotary Clubs, public relations, advertising, writing and dissemination of brochures, attendance at trade shows and other events, and "networking."3 These activities, also synonymous with marketing activities are easily measured from one point in time to another. Thus, it is an effective gauge of an economy’s progress or regress, depending on the outcome that is measured. However, from the article written by Blair and Reese, the authors have indicated that â€Å"enhancing quality of life is emerging as an important economic development (ED) strategy.† 4 Therefore, not only do government officials focused on aiming to generate sales activities, but more so, the need to address issues that enhance the quality of life, is of equal importance. These reasons actually â€Å"helps local government look good and it secures the position of the economic developer and his or her agency† 5 Economic indicators such as sales or marketing activities, as well as opportunities to enhance quality of life through greater access to health care, for instance, or immediate response by the police force in addressing criminality within the locality, are measures that make the image of economic legislators and policy makers either good or bad, in the perceptions of the citizens. Therefore, these government officials make economic development a priority in the list of government programs that are earmarked to be addressed on a year to year basis. Furthermore, as the economy grows, citizens and businesses give back to the community in terms of higher purchases and taxes which provide

Eassy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Eassy - Essay Example According to Bardhan and Dwight, several factors can endear a company to outsource its business operations. Off shore labor laws, wage laws and tax laws favor the idea of outsourcing as there is almost a certainty of maximizing profits through low cost labor. Workers abroad are often willing to work longer hours for less pay than those in the United States where there could also be a lack of expertise in certain areas of business process. In addition to this, the company is offered a great diversity of skill and kept abreast with emerging technology from various ends of the globe that go a long way in improving service delivery and quality of service. Further still, the company that off shores acquires global status and recognition in the world market which is a huge plus in its operations. This in addition to the fact that off shoring some business operations actually enables a company to shift focus to other crucial areas of the business is of unparallel value to the company growth and development (Bardhan and Dwight, 22). However endearing these advantages of outsourcing may be, several negative implications and concerns also lie in wait, both to the company and the United States economy. The good that may result from the endeavors of outsourcing almost always serves the interest of the top brass of the company only. Little or nothing at all of the entire benefits actually trickles down to the middle level workers or the public in general. Quality concerns arise as a result of outsourcing. As long as the outsourcing contracts are honored, the outsourcing company may tend to be motivated by profit to decrease expenses and condone shoddy work. The employees of the company may not also have the loyalty to the business, a trait that is often priceless in ensuring success of the operations. Workers may change jobs or move to greener pastures whenever they please or sense danger leaving the company in turmoil and incurring further costs as such with hiring and rec ruitment as cited by Cromie (54). There are also numerous hidden costs that arise from off shoring business functions. For instance, the process requires the hiring of a lawyer(s) and signing of contracts. Major budgetary loopholes appear for exploitation to the detriment of the company and anything not covered in the contract will be basis for the company to pay the additional charges. Other regulations regarding this exploit also seem to secretly add to costs of operations. Failure to pay wages strictly as stipulated can result in several implications like fines, back pay awards or even disqualification from filing any further H1B1 visa petitions for future workers. There is the risk of a company exposing some of its important and confidential operation information to third parties as a result of off shoring. This may render the company weak in the face of any arising or already established competition. The company also loses management control of outsourced business functions lea ving several critical decision makings out of their hands. Some of these outside decisions may at times lead to bankruptcy. Language barrier and other cultural issues often come to play a negative role during outsourcing, majorly resulting in breakdowns in communication and even rejection of certain company products and services on cultural and religious grounds. Other problems include inappropriate categorization of responsibilities causing mayhem and a complete eyesore (Bergsten,

Founding of the City Essay Example for Free

Founding of the City Essay Oslo is Norway’s capital city. The name Oslo was derived from the Old Norse word â€Å"†¦os† meaning mountain and lo meaning plain or river â€Å". Thus, Oslo can be described as a place that is located beneath the mountains. The city of Oslo was founded around1000 AD. The first evident settlement in Oslo took place in the 8th century. During the periods 1300 – 1600 AD, there were no significant buildings except for a few wooden houses. People of German origin may have settled along the Oslo Fjord who moved up to the north from mainland Europe (Zelko 63). The first people who inhabited Oslo lived in humble settings with the houses made of wooden and turf grass that was surrounded by pens or sheds for goats, sheep and cows. In 1286 Oslo became the city of Hansa league with close ties to the Rostock City, in northern Germany. Like all the other settlers of Norway, the people were grouped together in form of tribes with landowners meeting with his other landed neighbors in a public assembly called Thing. Legislative assemblies were called Lagtings (Zelko 63). During the Viking age, AD800-1000 Oslo settlers grew rapidly as it had become the center for trade and shipbuilding activities and later it earned the name the† Viking Capital† (Oslo 1). Viking means â€Å"a man from â€Å"Vik†, a huge bay between the Cape Lindesnes in Norway and the mouth of Gota River in Sweden (Britannica 1033). Norwegian Vikings, like other Vikings of Denmark and Sweden, were feared all over Europe as they had â€Å"superior ships and weapons as well developed military organization†. They were basically endowed with extraordinary hunger for adventure (Britannica 1034). Norwegian Vikings were known to be ruthless and brave fighters who killed their victims and greedily loots their conquered settlements and when they were done plundering destroyed the place with fire. They changed the face of Europe as they engaged in raiding and trade and then finally attracted by their conquered lands settled to live there. Their target places were mostly western European countries such as England, Scotland, and Iceland. Their active participation in trading had renewed the neglected European commerce of the middle Ages. Their contact with Western Europe was instrumental for their Christianization and eventually unification of Norway (Britannica 1033). In 885 the first Viking Monarch, Harold the Fair-haired united Norway (Halsey 239). During his reign the settlers of Norway, including Oslo, were commonly engaged in blood feuds, fightings that involve almost, if not all, disagreeing families. Even minor disputes can trigger the killing and maiming of both members of the quarreling families and if not settled can start an endless round of retaliation. The violence can be finally stopped when offending families pay the wronged families which they called â€Å"bot†. Sometimes family feuds were brought to the attention of the Lagtings who will decide the outcome of the disputes and impose penalties. The worst penalty they can give at that time was known as outlawry—a sentence that regarded the offender as if he died already. All his goods were taken away from him and he cannot exercise or claim any legal rights. In fact, anyone can kill him without facing the risk of penalty. These condemned people were left with no choice but to leave their homeland or live in the forest as an outlaw (Tseng 24). In 1050 Harald Hardrade or as commonly as King Harald III officially founded Oslo and made it the center of southern Norway. This site was located at the eastern side of the harbor on the left bank of the small Akers River (Halsey 239). Harald died in 1066 and his death ended the Viking period as raidings stopped (Norway 3). Oslo experienced a great era during the reign of Haakon V who was crowned in 1299. He decided to build the Akershus fortress in Olso to serve as his home with his wife Euphemia of Rugens, a Northern German princess (â€Å"Oslo† 1). He made Oslo the capital of Norway replacing Bergen. This time Oslo and the rest of Norway enjoyed relative peace (â€Å"Norway† 2007). In 1318 Norway was united with the kingdom of Sweden when Duke Erik of Sweden married Princess Ingebjorg, daughter of Queen Euphemia and Hakon V Magnusson. The unification of both countries was officially signed in the Bishops castle; now presently know as Oslo Ladergard (â€Å"Oslo: City† 2006). The saddest event that occurred in the early history of Oslo was the Black Death that terrorized the world in 1349. It was estimated that half of Oslo’s population died during the time of the Black Death or â€Å"bubonic† plague. Bubonic plague was carried by fleas in rats from England (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). Because of the loss of its inhabitants and damage to agriculture Norway united together with Denmark and Sweden via the Union of Kalmar 1397(â€Å"Norway† 2007). During this time Copenhagen, instead of Oslo, was selected as the actual capital of Norway. Consequently Oslo lost its political importance and was only regarded as a provincial administrative center while the kings lived in Copenhagen and Stockholm from 1400-1500 (â€Å"Oslo: City† 2006). In 1523, however, Sweden dropped out of the union, and weaker Norway was left in the care of Danish Kings (â€Å"Norway† 2007). Part 2 Modern Era Reformation Period Like the rest of mainland Europe, Oslo was greatly affected by the Lutheran Protestant Reformation of 1537 when the German Monk Martin Luther questioned the laws of Roman Catholic Church and sought to reform the religious beliefs of the Europeans. Oslo citizens were engaged in religious conflicts(Thodock 2003). The catholic bishop of Oslo, Hans Rev was converted to Protestantism despite the reluctance of the citizens ( â€Å"Oslo: City† 2006). Since Oslo had slightly lost its political and economic importance as a city at this time as it was being ruled by Denmark, most of the buildings constructed there were only made of wood. The city was easily destroyed by fire in 1624. King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway decided to move the town to the right bank of the Akers River and rebuild it near the Akershus Fortress. The city buildings were constructed in a Renaissance city style with rectangular blocks and renamed Christiania (Halsey). Scientific Revolution The scientific revolution changed the world’s beliefs entirely, and Norway in the heart of its Religious beliefs was proven wrong and questions concerning the scientific approach were answered. Copernicus first with his opinion on the heliocentric theory, Galileo second with proof of Copernicus theory, and Newton third with the laws of gravity to explain how and why the planets revolved around the sun. Enlightenment During the 1700’s the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment flourished in Europe particularly to the Norwegian trading partners of Great Britain and Holland. In these places people were trying to improve their lives with the use of reason instead of following traditional religious or the conventional accepted beliefs. Contact with the â€Å"enlightened† British and Dutch affected the daily life of the inhabitants of Christiania. Norwegian traders brought home with them not only the prized cargoes of tobacco, coffee, tea and spices but also enlightened and â€Å"innovative† ideas. They constructed luxurious houses with magnificent gardens in accordance with the style borrowed from western Europe (â€Å"Oslo: City† 2006). Napoleonic wars At first, Denmark and Norway attempted to remain neutral in the Napoleonic wars between France and England and their respective allies in 1805. However, in 1807 England attacked the entire Danish fleet and as a result Denmark joined the war together with France against Britain (Britannica 1034). Britain cut-off trading with Norway and set up a continental blockade against Denmark and Norway wherein British navy prevented the goods from both Norway and Denmark in reaching its trading partners . This action greatly affected the economy of Norway. The export of fish and timber from Christiania as well as the import of grain from Denmark were blocked. As a result, citizens of Christiania faced an economic crisis and suffered hunger. To end their trouble, Britain loosened up its ban on Norway in 1810-13(â€Å"Oslo† 1991). In 1814 the king of Denmark was forced to give up Norway to Sweden in a Treaty of Kiel when Napoleon I was defeated (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). Eager to rebuild their government the Norwegian created its first constitution on May 17 the same year and Christiania became the capital city. In time, Christiania replaced its rival Bergen as Norway’s largest city. The people celebrated with joy as Christiania was expected to reclaim its old glory without giving much thought at first that they were still under the control of a foreigner, Sweden. As a capital city, Christiania once again became important politically and economically. For its newly acquired role, new monumental buildings were erected as venue for important functions. . They were the Royal Palace, Bank of Norway and the stock exchange Oslo Bors. Later, most Christiania citizens joined with the rest of Norway in demanding for a complete control of their own affairs. They did not want to recognize the provisions of the Treaty of Kiel and instead preferred a Danish King to rule them. Because of the political unrest , Sweden was forced to make the Act of Union of 1815,that gave Norway the privilege of having its own army, navy and parliament (Storting) and was permitted to control their own internal affairs in exchange for their strict compliance to the Treaty of Kiel (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). Renaissance Period Because of their internal independence, Christiania’s economic and political power rose. By mid 1800’s, Christiania grew into a major administrative, economic and military center. The economic success brought about by the shipping and agricultural industry made Christiania a dominant economic city of Norway (World Book 1981). The site of rapid industrial revolution in Oslo started at the Aker River around 1840. The development of Industries relied in the electricity provided by this River. Old buildings along the River were demolished and replaced with concrete large textile industrial buildings . Because of the increased jobs offered by industries the population of Christiania increased as peasants and rural populace moved to the cities hoping find work. In the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, Christiania’s industrial workers, like most of European industrial cities, lived in poverty as a result of low income. They mostly lived in crowded houses meant for workers in where sanitation was bad. As a result, diseases were common and spread easily. To augment family income, the children aged below ten were forced to work in the industries, an environment that was not conducive for their well-balanced growth. In fact, industries were noisy and dusty. They caused water and air pollution. Because of this, the health of the children was at a risk and many contracted diseases. Resistance to diseases decreased as they lacked the time to play and sleep. In fact, schoolwork was unavoidably neglected (â€Å"Off â€Å"2007). Revolutions of 1848 The political revolutions in Europe in 1848 had increased the desire of Norway to demand for independence from Sweden. In the late 1800’s popular Norwegian playwrights Henrik Ibsen and Bjornstjerne Bjorjornson staged a play in Christiania’s theater with a theme about political hypocrisy, rights of women and social problems. These plays helped Norwegians develop a sense of nationalism. In 1901 the city of Christiania was selected by the notable Swedish inventor, Alfred Nobel to be the site for the awarding of the most prestigious Noble Peace Prize (Lundestad 2001). By 1905 Sweden granted independence to Norway and Christiania at last was freed from foreign interference that began 1300’s (Halsey 240). Industrial Revolution World War I was inevitable due to industrialization and the desire for each country had to become supreme grew. Firstly, relationships between the nations of the world were dramatically altered by the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century. Tensions between the industrial powers began to rise. The intensity between the industrial powers grew more and more as each country sought to expand its sphere of influence at the expense of others. Secondly, there was a growing desire by ethnic populations within the larger countries to become independent nations. Norway separated from Sweden and revolts occurred in colonies such as China, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Ireland. War broke out in the Balkans in 1912 and again in 1913, as Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, and Greece fought first the Ottoman Empire and then Austria-Hungary. Lastly, Colonies around the world were a valuable asset for supporting the host countrys economy. The great European powers needed raw materials and outlets for their goods. They wanted to expand into new colonies while still protecting the ones they already had.

Actplan Limited: Fleet Management Engineering Functions

Actplan Limited: Fleet Management Engineering Functions By Nassim Bouhbal The centralization of Actplan limited  fleet management engineering functions The world of organizations has always been confronted with major changes. These changes, varied, can take several recurring forms and are generally known as reorganization, restructuring or even revitalization. In this perspective, the company Actplan is faced with an internal problem mainly in the logistics, which creates loss and waste of resources. This is compounded by conflict and ignorance of the staff who no longer know what role to play. Thereby, the report that follows provides a general solution to the change required by the new CEO, which is to centralize the system VFMS into the corporate headquarter, and to dismiss some of the staff. Thus, the method of change of Kurt Lewin will be used for this case and the plan will be mainly oriented towards communication, analysis as well as the training. Further that, since a change manager will not be able to do this plan on his own, the creation of a team and a new change manager have been approved. Thus, the analysis made on the different behaviour required of the individuals. Allowed us to compose this team using the method of Belbin team roles. Thereby, the new change manager will be a Coordinator, while the team will consist of a Plan, a Monitor evaluator, a Resource investigator, and an implementer. I. Change management : I.1. Reason for change: Actplan is a multinational engineering company with a divisional structure specialized in the manufacture of electrical components for domestic and industrial use. The company is divided into several districts that have full control over their geographic area and are headed by division managers. These ones manage the technical, marketing, financial and commercial aspects, and are directly responsible to the general manager in the corporate headquarters. There is thus both a great autonomy of the different districts and a strong centralization of the powers around the divisional managers. Figure 1: Actplan company organisation The main mission of each division is the distribution and marketing and maintenance of the different products in their respective regions while managing the administrative aspects proper to them. However, after the former CEO retired and the set up a new CEO has been done, this one has processes to an evaluation of the entire company, so the financial reports showed gaps in the resulting division resulting in the waste of resources and loose of money. With particular intent on the logistics side where resources are used randomly and without control. I.2.Type and Scope of change: Since the ideas are initiated by the hierarchical summit organizing and planning the process of innovation. We can conclude that the process of change is of the top down type. In this case, the CEO will take the steps and promulgate measures to obtain the participation of the actors concerned. Figure 2: Top down diagram In this perspective, in order to share his vision of the situation as well as the purpose of change, the meeting that brought together the CEO and the different managers of the DHQ and CHQ concluded that the main changes will be: Full stakeholders benefits with transparent streamlined business Centralisation of a new VFMS and fleet acquisitions and removing the old system. Transfer of functions from DHQs to CHQ. 2 years change transition. I. 3. The change management approach: Being designate for change, the first step before starting the change process itself, must be an interrogation on the definition of the goals and the relevance of the change. Why change? What ambition to aim for? This step of observation concerns the preliminary analysis of the situation, with briefings with the project manager or the CEO, or We will seek to determine what we want to change and how far the change must go, how This is likely to solve the problems found and to improve the degree of adaptation and efficiency of the organization These aspects relate in particular to the organizational diagnosis. According to Autissier and Moutot (2003) there are two criteria for characterizing changes, so they consider that change is defined according to its intentionality and rhythm: the criterion of intentionality (voluntary vs. imposed) the criterion of temporality (brutal vs progressive) The meeting of the axes progressive / brutal and imposed / voluntary allows to identify 4 types of change that we can see in this matrix.    Table 1: Type of change matrix Thus, taking into account the situation of our study case, the change will be prescribed, in the sense that it is imposed by the CEO and progressive over a period of 2 years. Also. According to Kurt Lewin, the whole process of change follows roughly a progression that can be described in three main phases (Figure 3), this tool will be used for the change management process in this case of study. Figure 3: Kurt Lewin change process The keywords and the main process for each step are: Unfreeze: Helping actors understand change and its causes; Informing about objectives and issues. Expect a resistance. Transition: Help actors to change: listen, understand, support, encourage, accompany, debate and respond. Put in place the necessary training facilities. Refreeze: Supporting individuals in their new roles. Encourage reflection on learning and change. Celebrating Success and Behaviours. I .4. Change management process: a-The unfreeze: The first stage of the unfreeze, begins with a large communication campaign plan (Annex 1), for this purpose, each DHQ and CHQ manager has the task of communicating the current events for his team, the purpose of this manoeuvre is to reduce mistrust and stress regarding the new CEO in a way where it remains a new unknown person for the staff of the company, unlike managers who collaborate with them longer. During these communication sessions, we handed out to managers a survey for all employees of the organization. This self-administered survey is composed of closed-ended questions, with a cover letter, providing the necessary recommendations for responding, including anonymity and confidentiality. The survey consists of five parts (Annex 2): the first one looks at the working environment; The second on changes, and the third on general issues related to the workplace; The results of these survey will be counted and treated later to find points of the old system failure and to see emotions as well as to detect possible resistance. In addition to meeting the reality of the environment, several meetings took place with the union and the members of the committee. These meetings aimed at ensuring consistency between the survey and the organizational reality. b- Transition: The transition stage is the most delicate step of the change, in the way where it is here that the communication plan put in place will be implemented. Following the CEOs recommendation, the first change was to centralize the VFMS system, thus controlling the logistics fleet will be supervised by the CHQ with the mission of tracking different lorries, as well as support for maintenance operations, by installing GPS tag and a GSM Diagnostic System in each truck. However, this change will greatly alter the way the engineers works in each DHQ. The biggest fear is the use of a centralized system for people who have been working independently for a long time. The manipulation of this system leads to fears for both good and bad engineers especially that we are in a transition phase where the worst engineers are afraid because they will be controlled and the best are afraid of the new technology. Even for the staff of the CHQ where the new system will be installed, it will bring a new unknown task to all, which will generate fear, stress and the anguish of spending more hours to work. At this level of the transition and before starting the training of the new system, forms of resistance can be imposed and creates conflicts, especially with the potential for the imminent dismissal of the staff. Thus, the brief observation phase that will follow in collaboration with the human resources of each division will bring to light the disruptive elements that will totally contradict the new system. This denial will be mainly in the form of absenteeism and refusal of collaboration; those will have to be decommissioned according to the CEOs recommendations, the idea is that the training of these elements will be a waste of money and time. On the other hand, the development of an early retirement formula for employees aged 50 and over with at least 20 years of seniority will be negotiated with the union so that we will save time as the training of older people will take longer. Having the field clear, the training phase on the new VFMS system and the accompaniment of the staff will begin. Training the most important step in change projects because this brings knowledge about the current change in the project, technology that come with it and understanding to the future role, so the methodology of training needs to be adapted to peoples, their roles and their functions. Thus, E-learning or distance learning, maybe a technological opportunity for this project. In fact, this method brings, many advantages: -It adapts to the constraints of time and the organization of each one. -It allows to work autonomously and independently. -It develops the spirit of curiosity and research. -The cost of training is reduced (booking class rooms, traveling trainers). -It avoids transport costs due to geographical distance. c- Refreeze: During this stage, new practices become natural. They integrate in the person and in the context. Now is the time to make adjustments so that residual problems do not compromise the results obtained. The aim here is to reinforce the changes made and to make them resistant to possible changes or regressions. In conducting change, observing these phases ensures better chances of achievement and is part of a rather participatory mode of change. It makes it possible to target the actions undertaken according to the stage in which we are located. Thus, the template in Annex 3 summarise the change management plan and the new company organisation will be as shown in the following figure. Figure 4: New Actplan organisation A change manager cannot plan change by himself. In order to achieve this transformation, the manager has to be surrounded with the necessary resources throughout this phase, thus creating a team that will help and support change is mandatory. Moreover, in this case being close to the withdrawal of the current manager, a new replacement has to be set up in order to continue the procedures after the departure of the enclosure In this circumstance, it is necessary from the outset to work closely with the human resource department and the Belbins methodology, with one main aim being to detect leadership. II.1. The definition of a leader The leader is the one who possesses a strong potential who can be subjected to experiments to develop this potential. It has its own specificities that appears during the evolution within the company. Thus, the leader is the one who opens the way for individuals to make major changes. It is the who influences others through his credibility, ability and commitment. In our case study, the task of a leader is to produce the change. this task goes beyond the control, recruitment and problem solving; It is about meeting the challenges in order to ensure growth, performance and learning, and he will be called upon to bring those around him to communicate change, adjust their values, modify their perspectives and to acquire new habits. To do so, he must detect opportunities and locate existing skills. II.2. Defining the new change manager: Following the definition above and following the Belbins team roles (Figure 5), the new change manager within the company will be designed following the test, the proper role for manager in this should be a coordinator, Thus the choice will be made among the potential leadership that will have the most concordance in this role by the test observer. Moreover. This new change manager will be designed at the early stage of the process change, to let him have all the knowledge about every step before the retirement. II.3. The establishment of a change management team At the start of the project, the manager will set up a change management team, which will be different from the functional team in charge of managing the project itself. The aim is to create a multidisciplinary and motivated team with the skills and competences to manage the change process over its entire duration: group work capacity, degree of mastery of the project management culture, capacity of animation and especially negotiation. The creation of the change management team can only be done with internal resources, but the use of external providers is often necessary because external resources can be a guarantee of objectivity and neutrality, and they have skills, Methods, and communication techniques that do not have internal resources. Thus, following the Belbin test, we should find resources can be useful in communication actions because they know the structure, can identify the right people, or be informed more quickly of possible obstacles. Finally, the typical change management team roles will be: A Plan, a Monitor evaluator, a Resource investigator, and an implementer. With this configuration, we will have two cerebral roles for the planning and the monitoring and a one people orientated role for the investigation, and finally one action orientated roles for the execution. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Figure 5: Belbins team roles The Communication Plan: (Template source: https://www.smartsheet.com/free-change-management-templates) The survey Sample: (Template source: http://www.hr-survey.com/EmployeeSurveyQuestions.htm) Change management plan: (Template source: https://www.smartsheet.com/free-change-management-templates)      Ã‚  

Legacies of the French Revolution

Legacies of the French Revolution What were the major legacies of the French Revolution to Nineteenth century Europe? Since the beginning of the nineteenth century the legacies of the French revolution have been hotly debated by historians and political analysts alike. The revolution of 1789 gave birth to the concept of differing political ideologies. [1] Being a defined doctrine of the optimum forms of social and political organisation, this concept of new political ideologies went against the tried and testedAncien Rà ©gime that was in place in France at the time; so hated that it is considered one of the main causes of the French revolution. Before the revolution (With the newly formed United States being the greatest exception) most European nations lived under the traditional form of government that had been used for generations, that of hereditary monarchy.[2] After the revolution, no form of government could be accepted without justification; this gave birth to various other political ideologies such as Nationalism, liberalism, socialism and eventually communism.[3] This increased political consciousness was not however the only legacy of the French revolution, neither was it the only political legacy from it, merely the tip of a huge iceberg of cultural social economic and political upheaval that was felt throughout the world. Shaping the lives of nineteenth century Europeans and some argue still shapes the world we live in today. This essay will hope to examine the major legacies of the French revolution and offer explanations as to why they were so important and how they influenced the way of life in nineteenth century Europe. Political Legacies Some of the longest lived and prominent legacies of the French revolution were political, whilst this could be seen to be expected as it was a political revolution. The extent of the political change from what was considered the norm in France at the time to what it became is astounding. To accurately note the extent of change, one must first decide when the revolution ends in France. For most the end of the French revolution came on 27th of July 1795 with the fall of the National Convention.[4] The National Convention was a political system implemented in September 1792, this was the first time in France that the rule of the people came to the people, it was lead by Maximilien de Robespierre[5], who was a first among equals, this ruling of France by the National Convention became known as the ‘Reign of Terror’. Approximately 20-40,000 people were executed as enemies of the revolution.[6] The guillotine being the weapon of choice, no longer were aristocrats beheaded by s words, but peasant and king alike faced the guillotine as a weapon of equality, albeit in its most barbaric fashion.[7] Although barbaric and bloody in most eyes the Convention did implement many measures that had a lasting effect in France and a legacy that spread throughout Europe, the fixing of grain prices known as ‘The Maximum’ give a maximum price on bread,[8] this spawned socialist ideas and would become a major influence to early Marxist ideologies.[9] They also introduced conscription in a military capacity in service to France with the Jourdan Law[10], an act that endured until 2001.[11] The National Convention held control through fear and encouraged the act of informing on people.[12] The fall of the National Convention spelled the end for the French revolution, as such consequences that happened because of a direct link to the actions pre conventional fall could be thought of as a legacy of the French revolution. After the fall of the National Convention, t here came the Directory.[13] The mob had failed at governing itself as shown with the fall of the Convention; it was now the middle classes turn to offer a measure of stability. They kept the continuity of bread pricing that was introduced by the Convention. And they introduced some measure of democracy to France, albeit with a much reduced electorate. The qualifying criteria being that a voter must be Male aged 40 or more, and paying rates and either married or widowed.[14] This first stab at democracy left a lasting legacy in France with the implemented system being tweaked over time to eventually include universal suffrage and calls for votes for women,[15] long before the introduction of the same ideas in Britain.[16] Britain at this time had a hard political stance; this was through fear of the French revolution. Britain and governments throughout Europe wished never again to see the excesses of the French revolution, and so implemented acts to limit the ability to congregate, in response to the riots in London of 1916 and the Peterloo Massacre also of 1816, there was acts to limit mass political organisation; as a measure of control through fear of the French revolution.[17] The directory also implemented the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen, this drew heavily from the newly instated American constitution,[18] in fact there is an argument that Thomas Jefferson one of the signatories of the American constitution and second president of the United States, influenced the writing of this document whilst staying in France through his close friend the Marquis de Lafayette.[19] The document promised equality of law, the freedom of expression and religion, and that a criminal was innocent until proven guilty.[20] This document is still in use in France today and is one of the longest enduring legacies of the French revolution. They are also the basis for the Bill of Human Rights used by the United Nations.[21] When talking about the French Revolution, one could almost give the answer, which one? If the earlier proposed premise is to be believed; that the French Revolution ended with the fall of the National convention. Then all subsequent could be thought of as a direct legacy of the first, did the Storming of the Bastille on 14th of July 1789 open a door that could not be closed. If this is true then it could be said that the subsequent revolutions in France such as the coup of Napoleon, or the revolutions of 1848, which sparked huge civil unrest in the rest of Europe, were a legacy of the initial French revolution, and that its lasting legacy was the ability to propagate more revolution. The French Revolution continued to provide instruction for revolutionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries, as peoples in Europe and around the world sought to realize their different versions of freedom. Karl Marx would, at least at the outset, pattern his notion of a proletarian revolution on the French Revolution of 1789.[22] And 200 years later Chinese students, who weeks before had fought their government in Tiananmen Square, confirmed the contemporary relevance of the French Revolution when they led the revolutionary bicentennial parade in Paris on July 14, 1989.[23] The aforementioned ‘no government could be accepted without justification’, challenged not only the right to rule in France but also throughout Europe, and challenged the preconceived ideas on the divine right of kings. Clearly, society in France and to a lesser extent in other parts of Europe would never be the same. Once the ancient structure of privilege was smashed, it could not be pieced together again. The French revolution also ushered in an age of liberalist thinking, the liberalism which emerged for the revolutionary regime promoted a central state, but also a free market economy in France. The regime abolished all institutions of civil society and recreated them under the authority of the ce ntral state, Loi Le Chapelier’of 1791 banned guilds and fraternities opening up the market to all.[24] Nationalism One of the main legacies of the French revolution, not just in France but the rest of the world was Nationalism. People getting themselves willingly organised for a cause of national interest came as a direct result of the French revolution.[25] In France the rise of nationalism is apparent when looking at Napoleon Bonaparte, Nationalism enabled Napoleon to become such and heroic symbol of France that his glory was easily picked up by his Nephew who then went on to become Emperor Napoleon III.[26] Increase in Nationalism also spread to the rest of Europe. Following the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 wanted to ensure no one came so close to conquering the whole of Europe again. They organized boundaries for a stable Europe and coalitions of Nations, so that one nation could not get out of hand,[27] this along with the alliances formed by the ‘Iron Chancellor’ Otto Von Bismarck, created what became known as the Balkan powder keg in Europe all natio ns poised to defend their allies at the slightest provocation. This coming together of countries was a direct result of the French revolution, the creation of Belgium and the subsequent emergence of unionism was also another.[28] Increased Nationalism in the Habsburg Empire, led to the creation of independent countries where once it was a joined empire.[29] It could be said that although the variables that led to the First World War, were minute and numerous. The French Revolution was a major contributory factor to the First World War, without it the coalitions of nations and Bismarck’s policy of alliances would not have been implemented. Nationalism would not have gained such popularity if not for the French Revolution, which would in turn prevented the breaking down to some extent of the Habsburg empire, without the French Revolution it could be said that the murder of Franz Ferdinand, the spark to Europe’s powder keg, would not have been as severe without the legacy of the French revolution. Furthermore without the creation of Belgium as a direct link to the Congress of Vienna, Britain would not have had to fulfil its oath to protect Belgium, agreed upon in the treaty of London 1839, and get dragged into conflict.[30] Cultural Legacies Art A direct legacy of the French revolution was also the transformation of art styles in France and throughout Europe, before the revolution academies were strongly influenced by the government and aristocracy to reflect ideals favourable to the rich French aristocrats who sponsored these works, and influenced artists in salons.[31] The Rococo style exemplified by Jean-Antoine Watteau, of outdoor events, which pictured peasants as happy and simple, pandered to the laissez-faire attitude of governance, shown by the French upper classes at the time, and was a stark contrast to the poverty and strife that inflicted their day to day lives.[32] These ideals post revolution were challenged and brought in the era of Neo-Classicism. And a truer more realistic depiction of life of the lower classes was not only shown but became acceptable and popular.[33] The French Tricolour flag was also first established as the flag of France during the French revolution and continues to be used to this day,[ 34] alongside their national anthem Le Marseilles, written in 1792.[35] The French motto which became prevalent in the time of the revolution has also been included in every city hall since the revolution, that of Libertà ©, Egalità ©, Fraternità ©. The Revolution also abolished slavery in France,[36] and opened up opportunities to those that were before excluded for their religion or social status. Building the idea that a nation is not a mass of royal subjects, but a collection of equal citizens. Religious Legacies Religion Religion was a main target of the French revolution, the separation of Church and State was something that the revolutionaries implemented, this fundamental secularism of the revolutionary powers offended those that preferred state power be dependent on religious authority.[37] Post revolution as previously mentioned ushered in new thinking where no governance could be achieved without justification, and to the revolutionaries the church had none, the new regime stripped their power to educate the young and created new schools where the church could no longer educate the youth of France. When Louis XVIII was for a short time put back on the throne, he attempted to reverse this. Followed by his brother Charles X, who gave the control of education back to the church,[38] this like so much of the work of Louis XVII and Charles X was a contradiction, they took something that worked and replaced it with something that did not. This was rectified by ‘the Commune’ who implement ed a complete separation of church and state, with the policy of laà ¯cità © in 1905[39] this continues to this day in France, and it is still one of the most secular countries in the world. The French Revolution demonstrated the power of the masses. It challenged the old regimes of monarchy and through it developed Frances first republic, it ushered in ideologies of nationalism alongside liberalism, and was a major influence on early communist thinking. It created a class consciousness that was previously unknown in Europe at the time, the lower classes were expected by their governments to accept their lot, and not rise above their station, the French revolution gave people not only the opportunity to realise that they could fight for a better life if there were unfair practices, but it was also a wakeup call for the rest of Europe to think about the persecution of their working classes, and how it might eventually turn on them. The attempt to re instate a monarchy with Philip L ouis shows just how much the French revolution changed not only the thoughts to monarchy, but their thoughts to governance as a whole, whilst it could be said monarchy was hated. Napoleons rise to emperor was accepted because of the strength he displayed, showing the acceptance of an autocratic style of leadership as long as they displayed strength. This is evident in the separation of church and state, whilst originally separating the two, under Louis XVII and Charles X they were again joined, though it was later separated by ‘the Commune’ this shows the continual Revolutionary thinking in the French mindset, particularly as it is still in place today. The attempted turning back of the clocks in France and their reluctance to return to a pre-revolution state shows just how deep the effect of the revolution was. The spread of different political ideologies changed the face of Europe and the way it was governed, the proposed legacy of the French revolution being a major cause of the First World War. Shows just how far reaching not only geographically but chronologically the French Revolution was. The legacies of the French revolution, whether speculated upon, or cold hard fact. Are varied and numerous, whilst trying to explain many this essay pales in comparison to the absolute weight of legacy that Europe experienced as a direct result of that day in July 1789. Or in the words of Premier Zhou Enlai, is it still too early to tell? [1] Theda Skocpol,States and social revolutions: A comparative analysis of France, Russia and China. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1979) p. 155 [2] Archibald Alison, History of Europe (from 1789 to 1815). (1843) p. 827 Obtained for free on Kindle at https://archive.org/details/historyeuropefr37alisgoog (accessed 23/04/2014) [3] Eric J. Hobsbawm,Nations and nationalism since 1780: Programme, myth, reality. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012.) p.19 [4] George Rudà ©,The French Revolution. (New York: Grove Weidenfeld. 1988)p.199 [5] Joseph I. Shulim, Robespierre and the French Revolution,American Historical Review(1977) 82#1 pp. 20-38 [6] Shulim, â€Å"Robespierre and the French Revolution† pp.20-38 [7] Ludmilla Jordanova, â€Å"Medical mediations: Mind, body and the guillotine.† History Workshop Journal(Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 39-52). (Oxford: Oxford University Press.September 1989) [8] Eugene White, The French Revolution and the Politics of Government Finance, 1770–1815.The Journal of Economic History1995, p 244 [9] Albert S. Lindemann,A history of European socialism. (Yale University Press, 1984.) p.14 [10] Alan Forrest,Conscripts and Deserters: The Army and French Society during the Revolution and Empire (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.) p. 35. [11] â€Å"France salutes end of military service† http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1682777.stm (accessed 23/04/2014) [12]M. Darrow, Economic Terror in the City: The General Maximum in Montauban.French Historical Studies1991, p 511 [13] Hugh Chisholm ed. â€Å"The French Revolution† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1911) [14]William Doyle,The Oxford History of the French Revolution(2 ed.). (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. 1990) p.319 [15] â€Å"History of women’s right to vote† available http://www.france.fr/en/institutions-and-values/history-womens-right-vote.html (accessed 23/04/2014) [16] Although proposed the right to vote for women was not granted in France until 29th April 1945. [17] â€Å"The French Revolution’s Legacy† Our Time, Melvyn Bragg, BBC Radio 4, London: 14th June 2001. [18]Jeffrey Kopstein, Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.2000) p.72. [19] George Athan Billias, ed. American Constitutionalism Heard Round the World, 1776-1989: A Global Perspective. (New York: NYU Press. 2009) p.92. [20] All 17 articles of the Declaration available at http://www.constitution.org/fr/fr_drm.htm (accessed 23/04/2014) [21] Bill of human rights available http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ (accessed 23/04/2014) [22] Franà §ois Furet,Marx and the French Revolution. (Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1988.) p.12 [23] Dave Martin, Enquiring History: The French Revolution (Hodder Education 2013) p.12 [24] Adrian Pabst, â€Å"Liberty, Equality and Fraternity? On the Legacy and Enduring Significance of the French Revolution† Available at http://wpfdc.org/blog/our-columnists/adrian-pabst/18825-liberty-equality-and-fraternity-on-the-legacy-and-enduring-significance-of-the-french-revolution (accessed 23/04/2014) [25] Michael Rowe, The French Revolution, Napoleon, and Nationalism in Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2013) p.10 [26] Alexander J. Motyl, Encyclopedia of Nationalism, Volume II. (Massachusetts: Academic Press.2000) [27] Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna: A Study in Allied Unity: 1812-1822 (New York: Grove Press 2000)pp.20-32 [28] â€Å"Belgiums independence† http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/country/history/belgium_from_1830/ (accessed 24/04/2014) [29] Peter F. Sugar, The Rise of Nationalism in the Habsburg Empire.Austrian History Yearbook3, no. 01 (1967) p. 91-120. [30] Eric Van Hooydonk, Chapter 15. In Aldo E. Chircop, O. Lindà ©n.Places of Refuge: The Belgian Experience. (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff. 2006) p.417 [31] Monique Wagner,From Gaul to De Gaulle: An Outline of French Civilization.(Peter Lang, 2005)p. 139. [32] â€Å"France’s Economic Crisis† Available at http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h33-fr.html#sub (Accessed 23/04/2014) [33] Fritz Novotny,Painting and Sculpture in Europe, 1780–1880, (Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1978) p.21 [34] Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier Lafayette (marquis de),Memoirs, correspondence and manuscripts of General Lafayette,vol. 2, p. 252. [35] Eugen Weber, Peasants Into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870–1914. (California: Stanford University Press 1976) p.439. [36] Whilst revolutionary France abolished slavery, it was re introduced by Napoleon in 1802. [37] Michel Troper, French Secularism, or Laà ¯cità ©.Cardozo L. Rev.21 (1999):p. 1267 [38] Frank Tallet,Religion, Society and Politics in France Since 1789(London: Continuum International Publishing 1991) pp. 1-17 [39] Evelyn M. Acomb,The French Laic Laws, 1879-1889: The First Anti-Clerical Campaign of the Third French Republic, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1941) p.41

Exemplification Essay: The Dead-end of Professional Sports

In 1995 Scotty Thurman was on top of the world. Thurman led the Arkansas Razorbacks to a NCAA basketball championship with one great performance after another. After this miracle season, Thurman made a decision that would change his fortunes. Rather than come back for his senior year and get his degree, he elected to make himself eligible for the NBA draft. With a NCAA championship under his belt, Thurman was confident he was ready for the NBA, but NBA scouts had different ideas. Thurman could only sit and watch the draft from start to finish. Today Thurman finds himself without a college education and still chasing his NBA dream in the Continental Basketball Association. With nothing left to turn back on, basketball is all Thurman has left. Thurman is only one example of the tragic events surrounding many young NBA prospects. Dreams of fame and fortune often lead these young adults to pass up on the tremendous opportunities to attend top universities on full scholarship. Athletic scholarships give student athletes the opportunity to receive an education and to compete on the collegiate level. NCAA basketball allows athletes to develop both physically and mentally. The skills developed in a college atmosphere go well beyond the basketball court. Still each year anywhere between four and thirty-five athletes prematurely declare themselves eligible for the NBA draft (NBA.com). The chance of success on the professional level is slim yet many continue to take the risk. By choosing not to complete a higher education the future of these athletes is severely limited. Despite the odds of failure, the influx of early entry candidates continues to rise. Marcus Fizer, a standout junior at Iowa State University, mad... ...ke the right decisions in life. The money offered by the NBA will always be a possibility, but the pride gained by earning a degree is something that will last a lifetime. Â   Works Cited Kindred, Dave. Jump Through Hoops? College Sham Continues. The Sporting News April 2000. Decoury, Mike. A New College Trend: Returning for Senior Year. The Sporting News March 2000. Forde, Pat. Love Him or Hate Him, Bearups a Player. Home Page. 19 Apr. 2000. ESPN. NBA.com. Early Entry Candidate History. Home Page. Mark David. Florida Cracks Down On Corrupt Agents. Associated Press 17 Apr. 2000. Donovan, John. An Age Old Question CNN/SI. 3 July 1999.

Commanding a Fair Price for Artistic Services Essay -- work, quality, p

Assigning a value to creative work is like juggling liquid. No matter how artist try to handle it, things get messy. Artists often find themselves in the dilemma of doing too much work and getting too little pay. Pricing is a controversial area because people look at the output and often underestimate the value. Rarely will an artist encounter a situation when the customer feels undercharged for the work. The agreement of respectable prices varies from one person to another, so the argument remains on how to command a fair price. Time and time again, I’m faced with clients challenging the price of my work. Never have I been questioned about the quality, but more times than I care to remember about the price. I spend hours taking pictures then more time editing and perfecting the pictures. When it’s time to hand over the prints to the client and collect payment, I hear the feedback â€Å"$200 for pictures is too much money!† Pricing is a common issue in the photography community and in many other artistic jobs. The challenge is how the photographer/artist create an understanding with clients that the value of your time spent on the artwork is worth the value of their precious money. In this essay, I will be discussing the problem of getting clients to understand the value of work and time in artistic services along with how to present cost to clients. There is a quote that says, â€Å"Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time† Jim Rohn (brainyquote.com). Time is one of the most valuable things in the world, and when an artist is working on an artistic project, they usually spend a lot of time making sure the work is perfect. As with any other job, photographers get paid for their ti... ...s my art because it is one of a kind not the labor required to make. As an artist you can never devalue your own vision because it’s unique and therefore valuable (gloriamarie.com). Works Cited "An artist is not paid for his labor, but for his vision. – James Whistler, Painter, 1834- 1903." gloriamariecom. Gloria Marie, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. "How Much Should You Charge For Design Work?." Co.Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. "How to deal with price-shopping clients and charge what you ´re worth." CHRISTINA GREVE PHOTOGRAPHER AND LIFE COACH RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014 "How to Set the Price for Your Photography - Digital Photography School." Digital Photography School RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014 "Jim Rohn quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. "Why do professional photographers charge so much?." modelmayhem.com. N.p., n.d.

Taking Care of Your Pet Essay -- Animals Essays

Taking Care of Your Pet Many of you received your first pet when you were three. Buddy was his name and he was your cat. He was your companion. He would curl up beside you for a nap. He would listen when you talked. Though he wasn't very good for giving you advice, you enjoyed his company. You loved that cat and showed your appreciation by carrying the cat around everywhere you went. You had tea parties with him, you dressed him up in you doll clothes, and made sure to tell him goodnight before you went to bed. So by the time you were five the cat was really broke in and knew how to hide from you. Now you were telling your parents you wanted a dog. Their response was that it is a big responsibility to take care of a dog. Responsibility was a big word to you when you were five. You were determined to prove to your parents you could do it. Because cats are more independent than dogs there is more to taking care of dogs than just loving them. Cats are a loner type they come to you when they want attention and hide when they want to be alone. Dogs crave your attention from their owners and act out when they don't receive attention. Taking care of your pets are a responsibility that you need to have. Pet care involves taking you pet to the vet, giving your pet a nutritious diet, and giving your pet plenty of exercise. First of all, it is recommended that you take your pet to the vet at least once a year. Dogs and cats alike can both benefit from regular yearly checkups. This ensures that your pet can have a healthy life. Also you can get many medicines that your pet might need from you vetinarian. Like heartworm medicine for example. Heartworm medicine should be given to your pet at least o... ...ove you unconditionally. Remember these three important things about pet care, and your closest friend will be with you for a long time. You will have learned the responsibility of caring for your pet. Sure at five you are not really going to understand the full meaning of responsibility but you will learn as you grow and your pet grows with you. Over the years you will strengthen the bond and when it comes to a time that you have to depart from your pet it will be hard. But then you will have your own children and you get them a pet to teach them responsibility, just like your parents did for you. Having a pet enhances the lives of the pet owners. It helps children learn responsibility. But most of all having a pet that you have grown to love can lead to a happier, fuller life. Full of memories of a special bond that formed between you had your pet.