Heart of Darkness vs Things Fall Apart Essay

â€Å"Heart of Darkness† and â€Å"Things Fall Apart† show a variety of ways of depicting Africa in literature. In â€Å"Heart of Darkness†, Joseph Conrad shows the continent of Africa through the stereotypical perspective of the European sailors, who had a tendency to depict the natives of the land as savages, and in response to that matter, Chinua Achebe wrote â€Å"Things Fall Apart† through the non-stereotypical depicting perspective of the natives of the land to show Africans, not as savages or primitives, but as members of a traditional society. European prejudice is presented in a verifiable way in â€Å"Heart of Darkness†. The main character of â€Å"Heart of Darkness† or protagonist, Marlow, is a sailor who travels through Africa and describes the natives that he comes in contact with as savages. Marlow compares these different individuals to animals of some specific nature or just to the wilderness of the jungle, respectively. There was a point in this novel where Marlow’s vision came in contact with a pit in the ground. He noticed that it was a pit made for the natives to go and rest in peace or in other words die. Marlow describes those natives that were there stating, â€Å"Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth in all attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation One of these creatures rose to his hands and knees and went off on all fours towards the river to drink† (Conrad 17). This descriptive portrayal shows the natives as â€Å"shadows† and nothing more than mere â€Å"black shapes† and not as individuals or men who are simply just dying. These men are no longer men, they have been stripped of all their characteristics which makes them human to dehumanizing characteristics where none can tell the difference of one dying man to another. None of the dying men are described by oneself, which makes it difficult for the reader to see where one man ends to where the individual begins. This creates an effect where these individuals look like eometric shapes and symbols of some sort. These depictions in which Marlow stated originates from a very stereotypical saying. The saying is that all Africans are made the same and one can not tell the difference between them even if much effort is applied. Similarly, there was an African man who was crawling to the river in order to quench his thirst. The way he was crawling in general is very dehumanizing. To make the matter worse and more dramatic, he crawled on his hands and knees which is animal-like and very degrading. The man is described to be on all fours just to get a drink, but when looking towards the European side, there is no way in Heaven that they’d be described like that. None. On the other hand, the European people would drink from a tap or maybe boil water from a well of some sort in order to have a refreshing drink. The natives are compared to animals of the wild when Marlow begins describing one of the workers on the ship. Marlow states, â€Å"to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat walking on his hind legs† (Conrad 36). This worker simply shows that the savages who are the Africans have a possibility of being tamed because, â€Å"He ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank† (Conrad 37). One can see that this man has been stripped of being a human being. He is now an animal, a dog, maybe, who is being trained to do some type of trick. From Marlow’s point of view he is still an animal and none the less, this man is pretending to be a civilized being. Marlow doesn’t stop there though. He continues to downgrade this European man by describing him to be just like the natives on the land. All in all, this is stereotypical. Furthermore, Marlow keeps his ball rolling by depicting the African natives as â€Å"prehistoric† and â€Å"simple†. He states, â€Å"The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us who could tell?†¦ we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a mad house† (Conrad 35). In the mind of Marlow, the natives are so primitive that they are in an aspect denied of having a language. Marlow sits there and begins to wonder â€Å"who could tell? instead of making an effort to understand what the natives were saying out of their mouth. What can actually be inferred from this quote is that, the natives were probably jumping up and down like a bunch of kindergarten students at recess or something similar to that. One can’t really be sure, but in all Marlow didn’t even try to grasp what the native Africans were saying probably because he felt that they were savages, or maybe their intellectual mindset wasn’t as great and average to the Europeans, or the native Africans didn’t have anything reasonable to say. Joseph Conrad with respect and similarity to Marlow, may have chosen to not include a specific language probably because he was influenced by the European stereotypes of Africans. What can be inferred from this is that, the removal of a language suggests that the native Africans have nothing that is sophisticated enough to say that would be reasonable or important to add to the plot of the novel. In â€Å"Heart of Darkness†, the native Africans are very underdeveloped, just like a third world country would be, in order to have a control of language. Though, there are moments in which there is language which supports the native savage (Africans) at which this is the time a reader might even hear an African speak. Joseph Conrad uses a specific technique when he writes. He uses a limited exposure to the native Africans’ voices which tries to ignore anything that might bring stereotype about. In response to Joseph Conrad and the Europeans and their use of stereotypical depiction of Africans, Chinua Achebe, the author of â€Å"Things Fall apart† portrayed Africans in a humanizing and traditional society. The Igbo tribe goes against the European stereotype in â€Å"Things Fall Apart†. The main character or protagonist Okonkwo does not agree nor does he disagree with the European belief that is shown in the novel. He is described in the novel to be, â€Å"a man of action, a man of war† (Achebe 8). Okonkwo is a very honorable man in the Umofia village, even though he has a very displeasing streak which is of violent nature. With Okonkwo’s strength and inability to be feminine, he is afraid of anything that is of feminine nature. â€Å"His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father. Even as a little boy, he resented his father’s failure and weakness. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness† (Achebe 10). What can be inferred from this quote is that, this is probably why Okonkwo was always in need of something that was filled with action but he still didn’t fashion â€Å"idleness†. With the combination of these two aspects, Okonkwo can not handle the outcome. Instead when violence is applied to this equation, Okonkwo is as good as can be. With this being said, this further supports the European stereotype as savage-like. When looking deeply into the details that â€Å"Things Fall Apart† display, one can notice the contrasting aspects between Umofia and Okonkwo. Okonkwo doesn’t have any respect for his wives. As an Igbo man, Okonkwo man-handles his wives and children without holding back. Noticing the tone at this point in the novel, one can see that it is very much common for Igbo men in general to beat the ripe bananas out of their wives and children, but at a certain time. Okonkwo man-handled his wife during Umofia’s Week of Peace. Beating your wives and children in order for them to have respect for you is one thing, but when one disobeys the traditional setting of the clans week of peace then drastic problems do arise. â€Å"Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess. It was unheard-of to beat somebody during the sacred week† (Achebe 19). Since Okonkwo felt as if he was the man on top of all and that he could do as it pleased him so, problems arose between himself and Umofia. The feminine force is his wife. And with that being noted, Okonkwo could not remove himself from his violent streak for even a week. Just a week†¦ but when comparing this to the perspective of â€Å"Heart of Darkness† this form and lack of self-control goes to the Europeans motive that Africans are savages. Towards the end of the novel, Okonkwo commits suicide by hanging himself. When the District Commissioner look at Okonkwo’s lifeless body, he states â€Å"In the book which he planned to write The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger† (Achebe 117). What can be inferred from the title of the book is that the District Commissioner is prejudiced about the native Africans. In â€Å"Heart of Darkness†, Africans are also described as â€Å"primitive†, which shows that the European’s stereotype is so vast that it is able to be used in two very separate and different works. All in all, in â€Å"Heart of Darkness† the Europeans notions was that all Africans are the same; they are primitive, savages, and inhuman. In contrast to that stereotype, â€Å"Things Fall Apart† showed a traditional society, where the members are not inhuman. Unsatisfactorily, Okonkwo who is the protagonist of â€Å"Things Fall Apart† was not an effective representation of a civilized individual of a traditional society. But, he was an exceptional member of the society. And even though the stereotype of Africans has not been destroyed, it empowers the European beliefs.

A Person Who Has Made a Great Impact on My Life

Sometimes we come across a person who changes our whole perspective of life for better. Last summer I met Uncle Joe. My parents sent me to my uncle on holidays. I was supposed to spend my whole summer holidays with him and his family. That was the first time we have been introduced to each other. At first, I thought that it was going to be my worst holiday ever. I felt embarrassed of living with people I hardly knew and wanted to return home but days passed and I got to know my uncle better. Everyday, we used to wake up early in the morning and go for fishing.We packed our bags with provision and went to the river. He taught me how to fish and then we sat together for hours, fishing. While fishing, he used to tell a lot of interesting stories based on his own life experience. He told me stories about his student life, about his career, and about life in general. Once he asked me what I want to become and what I want to achieve in my life. I did not know what to answer  and never th ought about it before. He told me that I should  decide wisely  so that in the end I would not regret about anything I have done. I  told him  that I don't know what I want to do.Then he advised that I should do only what  I am interested in. I remember his words, he said, â€Å"Don't care about money or prestige of your occupation. Just do what you really love. † I started to list down the things which I really love and began writing them in my diary. The whole summer I spent exploring myself and finally deciding that I want to connect my future with physics and architecture. Therefore, I came to conclusion that I should study civil engineering. But this is not all what my uncle has helped me with. He also told me that I should be determined and persistent in achieving my goals.He often said that resolute determination is the truest wisdom. However, I think the most important lesson I got from my uncle is to see only positive side in any occasion. One day, we did n ot catch any fish and went home with empty hands. I looked at my uncle and noticed that he was smiling. I wondered why he was smiling as I did not see any reason to be happy. Then he said exuberantly, â€Å"We didn't catch any fish, but we had a great time. I don't see any reasons to be unhappy. † I admire his attitude. He is always grateful to everything he has and is truly happy.Uncle Joe is the person who has made an impact on my life. After that holiday, I changed my lifestyle and attitude. I used to spend a lot of time in front of my computer, playing games and surfing the net. Now, I spend more time studying, playing basketball and going out with my friends. I learned a lot of things which were new to me. I became more serious, optimistic and mature. During the time I spent with him, I also learned that no matter how smart I am or how much I know, there is always more to learn or experience. I'm grateful to him that he has helped me to find out who I am and what I want.

Case Treetop Forest Products Essay Example for Free

Case Treetop Forest Products Essay Identification (20%) Facts, assumptions and problem identification Building-grade lumber industry is competitive and product being sold is not differential; only differentiation is due to product packaging and presentation. Product packaging is biggest factor when buyers are making a purchasing decision between buying from Treetop or competitors. Over the last 2 years, Treetop has declined in ratings for package of lumber products as a result lost customers to competitors . Treetop has six departments: boom, sawmill, planer, packaging, shipping, and maintenance. All other departments have a supervisor; however, packaging department does not have one designated supervisor. Possible solution is to convert one of the workers to supervisor, or dedicate a supervisor 100% of the time to packaging To solve the issue supervisor from sawmill and planer deparments cover the shifts. Due to distance between sawmill and planing divisions, the supervisors are unable given full attention to the operations of the packaging division. (assumption) Distance cause the supervisor to visit the departments not as often as they should. Productivity in 3 divisions remained constant, Sawmill and planing division productivity increased; however, productivity decreased in packaging department and caused the following: Stockpile up Risk of damaged stock increased the inventory cost Cost Competitiveness suffered due to management placing additional employees from other divisions to solve the backlog issue faced by packaging department. Packaging department run two shifts – morning and afternoon Productivity level of afternoon shifts is less than morning shift employees Reason behind the decreased in productivity level in the department is due to following: Employees takes extended lunch and coffee breaks Leave few min early, specially afternoon shift Reallocation of temporary employees from different productive departments also follow the same practise after being in the packaging department for few days. Based on the case facts, organizational effectiveness and productivity is being effected by the in place practises of Packaging  Department. Following two major problems should be resolved to overcome the issues faced by Treetop: Packaging department’s employees are effecting the working habits of other department employees. Department wide meeting communicating the company values, performance issues of packaging department, statististics proving decline in packaging, and initiatives to stop extended lunches, coffee breaks, leaving few minutes early especially in afternoon shift Produce daily backlog reports showing increase in backlog and spoilage statistics. Use negative consequences (firing), within union contract. and positive rewards based on production and quality targets being met. Methods and implementation of rewards can be determined by using Nominal Group Technique (variation of brain storming)- 1)silently and independently document their ideas, 2)collectively describe ideas to other team members without critique, and 3)silently ad independently evaluate the ideas presented Packaging division does not have a supervisor to oversee the operation on daily bases. This needs to change immediately. If costs can’t be justified, perhaps  ½ time position added, that also is in production the other half , or Bal The packaging department is mostly at fault for majority of the Treetop Forest Productions Ltd recent decline of organisational success, not only are the packaging employees at fault, but also management for not monitoring the situation more effectively. It’s vital for Treetop Forest Products to improve and maintain their competitive edge within the building grade timber industry to ensure future success of the organisation. If solutions are not implemented immediately, the success of the organisation will continue to decline, placing Treetop Forest Productions Ltd in an unfavourable position where recovery may be implausible. Tackling the major issues illustrated within the packaging department will commence a strong positive path towards the future success of the organisation, placing them in a competitive position once again. There are possible solutions that can assist with effectively and efficiently dealing with this issue. Firstly, supervision and leadership needs a major  improvement within the packaging sector. As illustrated within all other fully supervised departments, work is completed efficiently and to a high quality standard. By providing packaging employees with the same supervision and leadership, near guarantees a positive change within the packaging department. Employing a leader with a with a transformational approach to leadership concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards and long term goals will help to improve the work ethic within the packaging department. A supervisor with transformational leadership involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more that what is usually expected of them. Furthermore, by introducing a new leader, costs will decrease due to supervised workers and the decrease of overtime; it can be implemented quickly, improv e productivity and increase the equity of work. As also explained within the issues of the packaging department, there is a lack of employee motivation. This is demonstrated through the low quality of work produced, longer breaks and early finishing times. Its important for managers to understand that each and every individual employee will have a set of drives, needs, decisions and behaviours to be motivated. By following the below diagram, Treetop Forest Products managers can use this to understand different emotional responses and resulting needs in the same situation. promote group cohesiveness and a pleasant working environment. In the short term, upper management could host a meeting or assembly between all departments to make them feel interrelated and important to the company. This could be a great motivation for the employees. In the long term, group evaluations could be necessary to measure the group’s performance and to see if the actions taken are resolving the problems. supervisor of the department. Learned Needs Theory: The Learned Needs Theory has three â€Å"learned needs† that can be defined as the â€Å"Need for Achievement†, â€Å"Need for Power†, and the â€Å"Need for Affiliation†. A need is amplified or suppressed through self-concept, social norms, and past  experiences (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc., 2002), although needs can also be learned through training whether it be strengthening or weakening the need. The members of the packaging department could have been more aware of their needs whether it is affiliation, power, or achievement and if they were more aware of what was there, there could have been more motivation on the part of the members to excel. Also, with the appointment of an actual supervisor, instead of taking them from other departments, it could have ensured that these needs be amplified through some forms of friendly competition or rewards. The â€Å"Need for Power† is stated as the need to make an impact on others, influence others, change people or events, and make a difference in life. If this need was taught to the members of the packaging department by the supervisors of the other departments, there could be a chance someone internally would strive so much for the need of power that he or she would emerge as the leader in a department with a declining productivity level. Having the ability to control others is a very powerful characteristic which everyone strives for internally, so if this need was brought forward by executives there would be an increase in competition and drive between the members to claim that position of hierarchy in the department. The â€Å"Need for Achievement† is the need and desire for excellence, competition, challenging goals, and overcoming difficulties. With the simple action as a reward put forth throughout the company internally that the employees of each section could enjoy, it could ignite an employee’s need for achievement and desire for excellence which in turn could ignite the competition in every employee to achieve success like his or her fellow employee has. People strive for recognition and success and if this need was amplified in the employees who have made it clear that they want to enjoy the benefits that come from a high productivity level, and brought out of those who believe that they don’t need success, Treetop Forest Products could internally enjoy success of their own making their business profit at its maximum rate. The â€Å"Need for Affiliation† is defined as the need for individuals maintain close, intimate relationships, or approval of other people. If Treetop Forest Products could bring out this need in the packaging department by showing them how the other departments in the company get along which in turn brings the productivity level up within the  department. Although, the employees of the packaging do well of getting along with each other by performing bad habits such as leaving early or extending their breaks, if that could be  transformed through the training of good habits such as exceeding expected productivity levels and working hard, the affiliation that is present now could be that much stronger and emphasized in the department. Also, in addition to affiliation within the department, there is also the possibility with the rise of productivity level and affiliation within the The team has strong cohesion, but needs to be turned around. (employees transferred are confor ming to the team norms of lack of punctuality)† Norms are the informal rules and shared expectations that groups establish to regulate the bahavour of their members.† Padge 225 chapter 8 Canadian Org Behaviour . It has to be set as a rethink to the department and communicating the new norms and aligning the norms with the company goals and objectives is critical. Through these simple needs that can be taught or learned, Treetop Forest Products could experience not only success from their five already successful departments but from the packaging department as well. If amplified the packaging department would benefit from the affiliation they would gain from the other departments, the power that employees could possibly gain with the increase of productivity via promotions or recognition, and the rewards that the employees of the packaging could gain through increased productivity levels. If Treetop Forest Products were to implicate these two simple theories there is a possibility that the packaging department would no longer be a harmful unit but instead an asset that Treetop can rely on. Through the Situational Leadership Theory, Treetop has the opportunity to find a leader that can adapt to the group and individuals and convert the now declining productivity level of the packaging department to an increasing level of productivity like the f ive other departments in the company. With the Learned Needs Theory, Treetop has the ability to install the needs for achievement, power, and affiliation to the packaging department to encourage friendly competition between the employees while still steadily increasing the productivity levels of the  department. Conclusion: Treetop Forest Products and Westboard Co have been suffering the consequences of the lackluster performance from their packaging department since there is no authority figure to keep the employees on task and working hard to produce sellable products for Westboard. With the packaging department not having their own supervisor, Treetop has appointed the supervisors of the sawmill and planing department as the supervisors of the packaging department during their shifts. With the packaging department being in a different location then the sawmill and planing department, it has caused the supervisors to make the packaging department an afterthought and with the productivity levels of the packaging department decreasing it has shown. After evaluating the case of Treetop Forest Product and the issues with their packaging department, they have been using the Contingency Theory which states that there is no one best way of leading and that a leadership style that is effective in some situations may not be successful in others and that while a leader may be very effective at one place and point in time may become unsuccessful either when transplanted to another situation or when factors around t hem change. This was clear in the case of Treetop Forest Product’s case because  although the leaders were very effective with their own departments, increasing the productivity levels of their respective departments, when transferred over to the packaging department their effectiveness did not follow. Each leader has their own key characteristics that play a major part in how they lead, whether it is their personality, drive, emotional intelligence, self-concept, etc. so what may be high and effective in one leader and his or her department may not be high and effective in a different department’s leader. Since the sawmill and planing departments were so successful when implanted into a failing department, the situation as well as the effectiveness of the leader changed. Instead of the Contingency Theory, there were others that if Treetop were to implement it could have made the productivity level of the packaging department go up while creating a better atmosphere within the company. If Treetop were to take the leader who was most able to conform his or her leadership style to that of the packaging department instead of just taking the top two  departments supervisors without considering the important variables such as distance and drive, Treetop could have improved the situation within the packaging department. With these simple changes to the company, Treetop could have quite easily changed the atmosphere and effectiveness of the packaging department to better the profits and trust gained from Westboard. If Treetop were to dedicate an individual supervisor based on performance and authoritative qualities within the department instead of having an external employee take on the responsibility of turning the packaging department around, the chances of increasing the productivity level of the packaging department would increase which would not only benefit the department but Treetop Forest Products and Westboard Co. respectively. Case Treetop Forest Products. (2016, Sep 15).

My organization as a learning organization in obtaining parts for Research Paper

My organization as a learning organization in obtaining parts for military vehicles - Research Paper Example Wallace (92) suggests that all organizations should learn because without learning, organization will not survive especially in the current globalization era; an organization with a strong learning culture achieves effective business performance. Organization leaders may think that by getting their organization to learn is just a matter of articulating a clear mission or vision, offering right incentives or training employees, however, there is a lot that should be done in the face of intensifying global competitive environment where there is increased technology advancement and shift in consumption preferences. A successful learning organization should offer psychological safety to employees, encourage teamwork or team learning, manage culture, communicate effective and have a shared vision. Question 1: Characteristics of the Ideal Learning Organization One of the characteristics for the ideal learning organization is existence of a shared vision, which everyone should agree on. An ideal learning organization should have an effective shared vision, which guides them, but this should be agreed by everyone in the organization; this is vital because it will enable the organization to work together towards achieving the vision of the organization effectively. Secondly, people should openly communicate with others effectively without fear of criticism, as effective communication is the key aspect towards the success of an organization; therefore, communication should be openly and information should be conveyed well across the organization, as this will contribute to successful organizational performance. Thirdly, it is an organization where people discard their way of thinking and the standard routines they employ for performing their tasks or solving problems. In other words, an ideal organization is the one, which is ready or able to change its behaviors, and mid-sets as result of experience (Marquardt 45). Lastly, an ideal organizational learning is where there is teamwork or team learning. This is where people work and share information together through learning as a team in order to accomplish the organizational goals effectively. Teamwork is crucial in any organization because it contributes to effective decision-making and accomplishment of work faster; thus contributing to effective organizational performance. Question 2: The Observable Behaviors for Each Characteristic One of the observable behaviors for shared vision is that the organization engages everyone in creating a shared vision, which directs the organization towards achieving their stated goals. For instance, the sense of purpose begins with recruiting employees with effective skills and matches their values with the organizational values. For instance, some rules in the organization are implemented by shared behaviors, values and beliefs. Culture form the basis through which an employee operates within the organization context, and secondly, there is open communication an d everything across the organization is well communicated effectively. Thirdly, people are always ready to change their behaviors through constant learning. Moreover, there are significant changes because the organization has transformed and become an innovative working environment; thus improving in terms of performance. Lastly, there is effective teamwork because the work is accomplished within the stipulated period and people always learn together as a team.

Professional Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Professional Practice - Essay Example On one bright day, on the New Year eve, the main server crashed. Though we were able to restart the server and line it up for service, the database could not be started. After much trying we decided to restore the backed up data from the earlier date. As luck would have it, the restored data also failed. If we had tried to restore this data it would have been two days work which the client might have had to do, instead if we were to restore the earlier one, we need to restore or reenter almost one week's data which is quite a volume. Taking all this into consideration we tried our best to bring back online the original data without loss of any information. It took almost two days for us to bring back the data and restart the database. This professional issue meant we are possibly missing our New Year celebrations. But for the client, it was down the day before the New Year and it was brought on line the day after the New Year. Literally, there was no down time for them. They were hap py. Professional issues many times are application of mind and common sense coupled with appropriate technical knowledge. May be I should say, 20% technical knowledge and 80% common sense. I have found along with this, there is also another major factor which plays an important role in sorting out professional issues and that is the attitude. The learning attitude and an open mind, both for criticisms, for new ideas and for sharing new thoughts, would all help in solving very many complex issues. Professional issues are welcome since they would bring in challenges that make our work more interesting, in the bargain, educating us and leave us with a sense of achievement at the end. Whereas Ethical issues are not... The researcher of this essay states that running and heading a private business is a challenging job. One, you are responsible for your staff and also for yourself and your family. Two, the customers need to be answered and the commitments made need to be honored including the time lines. As a matter of fact, the staff in your company will expect you to compensate them for the same kind of work. The responsibilities at the office are more profound and finding time to make contributions to forums of interest seems to be a difficult proposition. The researchr of this essay lists down some of the professional issues that he faced during the course of his work with various companies. As Head IT Technician, the researcher was expected to plan for ongoing and regular backups of database in a particular client site. This was done twice every week at an interval of three days every time. The idea was, in case there is any data related issue, the client would be able to roll back to a state t hat was maximum three days prior to the date of the problem. The researcher also planned it in such a way that there will be at least one more backup which will also be maintained. The researcher concluds that this course made a very important point and that is: we may not be able to satisfy every one at every point in time. Professionals need to up hold the highest professional tradition and ethic. The course made the researcher to appreciate these facts of the codes of conduct as well as the ethics and the morals behind these codes.

US Supreme Court Decision AT&T. versus Hulteen Research Paper

US Supreme Court Decision AT&T. versus Hulteen - Research Paper Example Hulteen 1). The matter in controversy is clear, if the employer does not give an employee full pension benefit by excluding the time of pregnancy leave on the ground that when the employee took pregnancy leave, the PDA Act was not operative, Can the employee file a suit for discrimination? Can the employee enforce credited leave time for such absence? Can the employee get relief under U.S. law and enforce greater pension benefit? What is the present law with regard to this matter? To find answers to the above questions, a research and in depth analysis of the case in hand would surely prove to be of great help, as discussed in the latter context of the paper. 2. The Dispute Before proceeding further into the case, knowledge of the facts of the case is essential. The petitioner of this case was the American Telegraph & Telephone Company, whereas the respondents consisted of individual respondents in the form of Noreen Hulteen, Eleanora Collet, Elizabeth Snyder, Linda Porter, and the c ollective-bargaining representative of the employees, the CWA or the Communications Workers of America (AT & T Corp v. Hulteen 3). AT & T provided pensions and other benefits to its employees on the basis of seniority system, relying upon the term of employment, which was equivalent to service at the company minus uncredited leave time. For a period extending from 1960 to mid-1970s the employees on disability leave got full service leave but those who took personal leave, which also included leaves for pregnancy, received a maximum service credit of 30 days. The respondents of this case received less service credit for pregnancy leave than they should have received, if they had taken a leave for disability. Respondent Noreen Hulteen received seven months less credit, Eleanora Collet received six months less credit, while Elizabeth Snyder and Linda Porter received two months less payment. If the total term of employment was not so decreased, they would receive greater pension benefit (AT & T Corp v. Hulteen 2-3). The individual respondents of this case and the CWA filed charges of discrimination against AT & T with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After receipt of complaint EEOC issued a Letter of determination finding that AT & T had discriminated against Hulteen and similar class. The EEOC issued a notice of right to sue to the respondent and the CWA, after which Hulteen filed a suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Certiorari was granted by the Supreme Court on this issue to resolve a split between the decision of the Ninth Circuit on the one hand and on the other hand the Sixth and Seventh Circuits on the same issue (AT & T Corp v. Hulteen 3-4). Hulteen had to take the issue to the Court without negotiating a settlement due to the fact that she had to satisfy herself with considerably low pension than she would have received, if she would not have taken the pregnancy leave. The policy of AT & T Corp. will never have allowed her to enjoy the full pension benefits and she had to file a suit. The EEOC had to resort to a case, as it had to keep in mind the interest of the other workers. Finally, AT & T had to move to the Supreme Court, as it was not satisfied with the decision of the Ninth circuit. 3. The Procedure The suit never reached the District Court at the first instance. The individual respondents of this case and the CWA filed charges of discrimination with the EEOC, stating that discrimination has taken place on the basis of sex and pregnancy in violation of Title VII. The suit

MTV Networks - the Arabian Challenge Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MTV Networks - the Arabian Challenge - Case Study Example In addition, the Middle East is exposed to diverse political forms of government, most of which excessively use religion as a basis of their governance (Frost, 2008, p. 218). Furthermore, unlike the western nations, the Arabic countries conserve cultural beliefs such as honour, shame, trust, family and socialization among others. It is therefore beyond doubt that the Arabic culture is relatively dominated with the Islamic practices, and thus any new product that aims at penetrating the Arabic nations should be in alignment with these cultural beliefs and practices. Essentially, there are various matters of concern for MTV’s special determination of entering and penetrating the Arabic television market. Even though this company has an outstanding worldwide image, it is entering a market that has individuals possessing strong cultural and conventional ties (Beyer & Beaman, 2007, p. 163). In fact, Baltaji stated that is was quite ironical for MTV, a broadcasting corporation well-known for annoying â€Å"religious, political, and conservative† societies, is operating in a region known for negatively reacting to provocative content (qt. in Centre for Management Research [CMR], 2009, p. 179). This was, therefore, a major concern for the management of MTVN since the company was bound to face excessive religious and political opposition. Besides, MTV being an American brand, thus excessively possessing America’s liberal traditional values makes it more challenging to enter a market that hold essential religious beliefs and is opposed to the airing of controversial material. Moreover, the resilient anti-American attitudes that are dominant among many Arabs, arising mostly from factors such as America’s support to its arch-enemy Israel, and its Iraq invasion, made several Arabs angry and thus this would act as a huge challenge for MTV, an American brand (Cogan & Kelso, 2009, p. 33). However, this problem was overcome by MTV through entering into a partnership with the local based Arabian Television Network (ATN).  Ã‚  

ASSIGN WRITER #4328 - Philosophy Unit - Business & Professional Ethics Essay

ASSIGN WRITER #4328 - Philosophy Unit - Business & Professional Ethics Journal Entries - Essay Example The primary role of an organisation, however, is to maximise profit, this is often best achieved by globalising, and this too is an ethical consideration for them in terms of self interest one. Thus, business imperatives and environmental concerns are often at odds with each other. Domestic household waste is also an environmental hazard yet householders are not penalised for not recycling or for purchasing products with environmentally damaging packaging, why then must there be an obligation for business owners and not wider society? Yet, the current state of the environment is a global concern with scientists only forecasting so many years before we pass the point of no return. Adopting an environmental ethic is a must for organisations but seeking a less damaging approach to globalisation is an alternative to the forced localisation that Norberg- Hodge (2001) is suggesting, which may also be unethical. Globalising businesses should place an onus on reducing carbon emissions but sh ould they have to cease international trade to do so? Childhood obesity has officially reached epidemic proportions but as Michele Simon points out in Government Abandons Children to Big Food (2006) food and beverage companies still refuse to take any social responsibility and curb advertising deliberately aimed at children. There are numerous ways that companies target children, companies deliberately purchase advertising time slots to air advertisements during children’s programming and specifically market to the child. Persistent children then harangue unsuspecting parents; the ethical consideration here is whether or not companies should be permitted to target children. This type of marketing also encourages social divide when parents can not afford or are themselves ethically opposed to the food or beverage being advertised, children who are

Environmental Scanning Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Environmental Scanning Assignment - Essay Example Environmental scanning is mainly concerned with the need to find out the effect of competition, change in fashion and preference ,taste ,custom ,religion and the ultimate effect of the dynamic technology ,the government policies ,and the outward corporate social responsibility that has at recent been a major drive and with a perception of giving back to the consumer .The need to do is to outline the possible effect on the organization ,whether the effect is long term or short term depending on the company ‘s objective ,mission and vision and the magnitude of the change. A research study about Apple Inc. as presented in The New York Times indicates business analysis report that shows various business performances. This information is significant to the Apple Inc. in the sense that it offers adequate news on the current market trends on Apple products in comparison to their market competitors. This also acts as a benchmark to the firm to check on their drawbacks and focal points on their products and services in various market platforms. The information in the newspaper assists the firm to understand their position in the global market and areas where they experience a drop in their overall economic rating. The newspaper also highlights on how Apple Inc. has been acquiring other firms and how the organization performs with fresh injections from the acquired firms. There is also information about how the organization performs after acquisition on new firms. A balanced use of financial and strategic controls will help ensure that Apple Computer both benefits from feedback on past performance and communicates the important drivers of future performance. The following criteria provide a set of measures to effectively determine the companys success. Weaknesses that have been associated with Apple products are not many however;

Boston Beer Essay Example for Free

Boston Beer Essay Boston Beer Company is the maker of Samuel Adams brand beer and the beer industry’s leading craft brewer. On the year of 1995, the Boston Beer filed a registration statement with the U. S. SEC for an initial public stock. Now let’s start from the strategy direction of Boston Beer for analyzing the company. Strategies of Boston Beer Company in its beginning stage of the business were 1) outsourcing beer production facilities instead of building new facilities which requires approximately 10 million capital investment 2) marketing customers by appealing customer’s sense of patriotism in order to attack the imported beers. Boston Beer Company’s competitive advantages can be signified by sources of beer industries and its competitors. The re-reemergence of the craft breweries segment in 1990s had affected the decline of mass-produced beer companies. An increase of health and safety consciousness of beer consumers caused the market for distinctive and flavorful beers. Because of the new trend and customer needs in beer industry, Boston Beer Company was able to grow rapidly. Exhibit 1 shows the tremendous growth of U. S.craft brewing industry barrels and Boston Beer Company is a beneficiary and one of the leading companies that take the lead of the craft brewing market growth. Furthermore, Boston Beer Company’s outsourcing facilities in its early stage of the production and marketing approach to its customers lead the company to have the strategic advantage over its rival entities within competitive beer industry. Boston Beer Company’s income statement and balance sheet (Exhibit 3, 4) show the company has been growing rapidly with a significant growth of revenue and income. Notable competitors’ public stock offering transaction also strengthen the idea that set range of the stock price (10 to 15 dollars) of the company’s bankers can be adjusted to the level of its competitors (17 to 16 dollars per share) because of the growth rate of the company and its healthy financial situation. Currently, Boston Beer using dual-class structure, Class A and Class B, for its equities part. The company’s Class A Common Stock is not entitled to any voting rights, except for the right as a class to approve certain mergers and charter and by-law amendments and to elect a minority of the directors of the company. The Class B Common Stock has full voting rights. As of today, C. James Koch was the sole holder of record of all the company’s issued and outstanding Class B Common Stock. Boston Beer chosen a dual-class structure for its IPO because it would like to ensure that the firms founders and top executives maintained control. Thus, dual-class shares satisfy owners who dont want to give up control, but do want the public equity market to provide financing. In some cases, company performance may benefit from the existence of dual-class shares. Founders often have a longer term vision than investors focused on the most recent quarterly figures. Since stock that provides extra voting rights often cannot be traded, it ensures the company will have a set of loyal investors during rough patches. On the other hand, it can be seen as downright unfair. It creates an inferior class of shareholders and hand over power to a select few, who are then allowed to pass the financial risk onto others. Normally, the existence of dual class shares would be a problem if an investor believed the disproportionate voting rights were allowing inferior management to remain in place in spite of the best interests of shareholders. For outside investors, they should always research the details of a companys share classes if they are considering investing in a firm with more than one class. Due to the sole holder of company’s Class B common stock, it means that The Class B shareholder has significant influence over the company. Mr. Koch is able to exercise substantial influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the composition of the board of directors and approval of equity-based and other executive compensation and other significant corporate matters. This could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company and will make most transactions difficult or impossible to accomplish without the support of Mr. Koch. The risk of investing in the Boston Beer Company first is located on the competitive pressures of the beer industry. With this situation, the profit margins will be declining due to competition on prices and higher production costs on specialty beers. Since the flavor is important for customer’s choices and the eruption of competition in the craft beer industry had increased the pressure to introduce new beers to maintain and grow market share, the research and development facility investment for new product development is increasing each year, together with the increased advertising, promotional and selling expenses. With the expansion of scale and size of the company, Boston Beer also invested more and more on capital expenditures, in 1995 Boston Beer invested $4. 5 million on capital expenditures increase and in 1996 invested another $13 million for related technology equipment at its contract brewing facilities. The large investment on asset-based financing arrangements could take large amount of cash flow and newer technology will raise the dilemma of more investment on updating for new equipment, which can cause the broken of normal cash flow operation. From Exhibit 5 we can see that the capital raised form initial Public Stock Offerings from 1993 to 1995 can vary a lot from $34 million in 1993 drop to about $19. 8 million in 1994, the wave of raised capital can have large effect on decision making process. There was always the potential that the IPO could be under-subscribed and therefore pulled from the market. Then the company would thus miss an opportunity to raise much-needed capital. Before the IPO, Boston Beer was organized as a limited partnership which would be dissolved in November 1995. And at the time of dissolution, the company would distribute $12. 5 million to its existing partners, The IPO proceeds would be used to immediately repay the debt incurred in dissolving the original partnership. Also, the company was planning to use $7 million of the proceeds to fund capital expenditures in 1996, while the remaining proceeds were to be used to fund working capital expenses or invested in investment grade securities. Talking about the over-capitalization, this is a situation when total of owned and borrowed capital exceed its fixed and current assets. An over capitalized company can be like a very fat person who cannot carry his weight properly, which is, in great troubles. There are many causes of over capitalization. First is the idle fund, money may be living idle in banks or in the form of low yield investments. Second is the over-valuation, some fixed assets, especially goodwill, may be over-valued. Third, the fall in value can let some inventories have much higher book value than the real economic value, according to the wave of price of inventories. And the forth, the inadequate depreciation provision can also be the reason for over-capitalization. For the fair value of stocks based on two different valuation methods; the discount cash flow model and the free cash flow model. First we use the discount cash flow method to value the Boston Beer Company’s fair value. (Please see the analyze process in Exhibit 1) First, we use the income before tax from the exhibit 3 in the year 1995. Because the case did not offer the depreciation fee, we assume the depreciation to be 0. Even though the tax rate changes slightly every year, we use the tax rate in the year 1995. From the form above, we can see the change in net working capital and capital expenditure is very small in the year 1995. But from the case we know that after the company raises money from the IPO, the company was planning to use $7 million of the proceeds to fund capital expenditures in 1996. And the remaining proceeds were to be used to fund working capital expenses or invested in investment grade securities. Because we are valuing the firm before IPO and do not know the exact number the firm will spend on the working capital and capital expenditure. We assume the firm will increase stable. We calculate the free cash flow of year 1995 using income before tax*(1-tax rate)-change in net working capital-capital expenditure. Then we use the growth rate from 1996 to 2000 to calculate each year’s estimate free cash flow. We use the discount rate 10%, the perpetuity growth rate 5% and the free cash flow of year 2000 to calculate the terminal value. Terminal value= free cash flow in 2000*(1+growth rate) / (discount rate- growth rate). Then use the discount rate, all the free cash flow and the terminal value to calculate the fair value of the company. The value of the Boston Beer Company is around 244 million. From the exhibit 3 in the case, we know the shares outstanding in year 1995 are 18273000. The case said that a total of 3984215 shares were to be offered in Boston Beer’s IPO, of which the company would issue 2540379 shares to raise capital for expansion. In addition, existing partners would sell 1443836 shares. Therefore, the new issued share would be 2540379. After add the new issued share to the original shares, we can calculate the stock price using the fair value. So the stock price=fair value/ total shares outstanding. The stock price we estimate is around 11. 74 dollar/share. The second method is for the free cash flow model in evaluating the company’s value. The first assumption is to assume that Boston Beer will pay dividend so that we can use the dividend discount model to find a fair value. The growth rates are 40% in 1996-1997 and 30% in 1998-1999 and 5 thereafter. We assumed that ROE will be constant at 47. 39% and EPS in 1995 is 0. 35 (both figures was given in the case’s exhibit 3 but should use the annualized number). Retention ratio comes from growth/ROE. All assumptions are listed in the table below. Based on these assumptions, we find that the fair value of stock at the time in the case should be $15. 42. (Please see the exhibit 2) According to the statistic and analyze, we come to summarize the opinion on the short-term and long-term current outlook for America’s brewing industry, especially with respect to its international competitors. Brewers Association announced the fact that 2,075 US craft breweries operated and 2,126 total breweries operated as of July, 2012, the highest total since the 1880s. Overall U. S. beer sales were down an estimated 1. 3% by volume in 2011, 1. 2% in 2010. Imported beer sales were up 1% in 2011 and up 5% in 2010. However, craft brewers sold an estimated 11,468,152 barrels of beer in 2011, up from 10,133,571 in 2010. These statistics suggest that imports and craft beers are in growth, while sales of main players in US beer market, such as AB InBev and MillerCoors , are declining. I assume this situation is going to last for a few years. Imports will keep increasing because a significant number of people, especially young drinks having been enjoy drinking quality beers. Craft beers are popular because the hallmark of craft beer and craft brewers is innovation and craft brewers have distinctive, individualistic approaches to connecting with their customers. In the long term, US beer companies may increase their sales by brewing imported beers in US. AB InBev began brewing Beck’s-previously imported- at St Louis brewery earlier last year. Also, though almost all craft brewers are operation at or near their full capacity, many craft brewers cannot meet growing demand. Some brewers have increased their sales by outsourcing some of production. With more craft brewers increasing investment and production, we can predict that sales of craft beers will go up more in the future. (See Exhibit 3and 4) Exhibit 1 Discount cash flow method Exhibit 2 Free cash flow method Exhibit 3US Breweries Operating as of July 1, 2012| | | Brewpubs| 1072| | Microbreweries| 922| | Regional Craft Breweries| 81| | Total US Craft Breweries| 2075| | Large Non-Craft Breweries| 22| | Other Non-Craft Breweries| 29| | Total US Breweries| 2126| | Exhibit 4.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS): Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Multiple Sclerosis (MS): Causes, Symptoms and Treatments Multiple sclerosis 1. Introduction: Neurology deals with complex and rare disorders. One of the most common neurodegenerative disorders is multiple sclerosis.[1] Multiple sclerosis is a disorder of central nervous system. It is characterized by demyelination, mononuclear cell inflammation and axonal injury. Axonal injury is rarely observed.[2] MS sclerosis is generally categorized under autoimmune disorders. Its causes are unknown.[3] Genetic as well as environmental factors play an important role in development of MS.[1] Elvin Cabalt was the first person to recognize the immune mediated infflamatory response in central nervous system of MS patients. He also found that oligoclonal immunoglobulins are present in cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients.[3]MS affects young adults more than any other age group.[4] It affects females more than males. 2.5 million individuals are affected with MS amongst which 70% are females.MS affects. The incidence of occurrence of MS in individuals varies amongst different regions. It affects northern European population more than the Asian and African population.[5] There is no much sensitive and specific diagnostic test or method for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.[6] 2. pathological process in MS: Inflammation gliosis Oligodendrocyte axonal toxicity axonal and neuronal Toxicity and axonal loss loss Remyelination Central adaptation and plasticity Ref 1. 3. Classification Multiple sclerosis: Multiple sclerosis can be classified as symptomic multiple sclerosis and asymptomic multiple sclerosis. Symptoms are not seen in case of asymptomic MS whereas symptoms are seen in case of symptomic Sclerosis.[2] symptomic multiple sclerosis can be further classified as 1. Relapsing MS: Relapses are the most important features for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Relapses may produce complete i.e permanent or temporary loss of function.[8] 2. Primary progressive MS : Primary progressive multiple sclerosis occurs most probably after the age of35. It involves spinal cord atrophy and difficulty in walking. MRI of brain shows less damage as compared to secondary progressive MS.[9] Primary progressive MS can be differentiated from relapsing-remitting MS by Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging(MRSI)[10] 3. Secondary progressive MS : secondary progressive MS is more severe than primary progressive MS. Cerebrospinal fluid of patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis shows increased level oligoclonal immunoglobulins(most probably IgG)[9].Patients with secondary progressive MS also have increased level of uric acid in their body.[11] 4. progressive relapsing MS: 5. Transitional MS.[7] The relative proportion of all the types of MS was studied in American population. The observations are as follows: Type % individuals suffering RRMS 55% SSMS 31% PPMS 9% PRMS 5% 4. Causes of multiple sclerosis: The exact cause of the disease i.e multiple sclerosis is still unknown.[3] It is generally thought that multiple sclerosis is initiated by an autoimmune response against myelin sheath and mononuclear cells of nervous system.[2]Both genetic as well as environmental factors are involved in the development of multiple sclerosis.[1] Genetic factors: The involvement of genetic factors in development of MS is confirmed by the fact that 10-12% of the people suffering from MS also have their family members suffering from this disorder. The incidence of occurrence of MS in case of monozygotic twins(28%) also confirms the involvement of genetic factors in development of MS.[7] However there are many cases where only one of the monozygotic twins is suffering from MS, this supports the involvement of environmental factors in development of MS.[2]multiple sclerosis do not show Mendelian pattern of inheritance. This is may be because number of genes involved in the development of MS are more than multiple.[12] The important genetic susceptibility locus involved in development of MS resides in the HLA-DRB gene. Presence of this haplotype increases the risk of development of MS 2-4 times more than the normal individuals[2]. Environmental factors: There are many environmental factors involved in the development of MS. Deficiency of vitamin D: Low levels of vitamin D are thought to be involved in the development of MS.[13]the amount of vitamin D present in individuals system will depend on the amount of sunlight reaching that area. So we can say that latitude also plays an important role in development of MS.[12] Smoking: Cigarette smoking increases the risk of development of MS[2]. It has proven by the survey in Northern America that more than 50% of patients suffering from MS are smokers.[12] Surgery: It has been observed that, individuals history of surgery may increase the risk of development of MS as compared to other individuals.[14]There is significant association between tonsillectomy , appendectomy and development of MS[1,14] Obesity: obesity during during young adulthood may be associated in the development of MS[2] Infection with certain viruses and bacteria : infection with certain viruses have been proven to increase the risk of development of MS{1,4,15]These viruses include Epstein Barr Virus,Herpes,Hepititis B virus and Chlamydia pneumonia[2,14] Latitude effect: It has been observed that as we go away from the latitude the percentage of individuals suffering through MS increases.[5] 5. Symptoms of multiple sclerosis: Early symptoms: Blurred vision Weakness in the arm or leg Tinging Loss of balance Thinking problems[1,4,16] Common symptoms: Tremor and ataxia: This has been observed in 75% of the patients suffering from MS. It is caused due to the degeneration of myelin sheath.[17] Bladder problems: people suffering through multiple sclerosis many times face bladder problems such as frequent urination, involuntary sphincter muscles.[16] Dizziness[1,3] Sexual trouble: Patients may have difficulty in having sexual intercourse.[1] Fatigue[1,3,4,16] Unusual sensation: patients may feel unusual sensations like itching, tearing , burning etc[16] Speech problems: people suffering through MS may sometimes develop speech problems. Swallowing problems: People with advanced stage of MS develop swallowing problems. It is important to know that the clinical symptoms of two different individuals suffering through MS differ from each other. 6. Diagnosis of Multiple sclerosis: The clinical symptoms of MS match with other common neurological disorders therefore it is difficult to diagnose MS at its early stage.[3]migraine may sometimes coexist with MS in case of females[6]therefore sensitive techniques are required for incorrect diagnosis MS .[6] some of the diagnosis methods are as fpllows: Magnetic Resonance Imaging: This is the most commonly used method for diagnosis of MS[3].MRI can detect presence of characteristic lesions of MS present in periventricular,infratentorial and juxtracortical region of the brain.[17]one of the limitations of MRI is that it cannot diagnose MS lesions in the early stage.[1] If a period of 3 months has elapse between the first MRI scan and the second MRI scan then the presence of progressive lesions is sufficient to dignose MS.[3] IT should be noted by all the physicians and radiologist that the diagnostic imaging crieteria is most effective when combined with standardise MRI protocols published by International Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis centres .[17] Presence of oligoclonal immunoglobulins: presence of oligoclonal IgG in the cerebrospinal fluid indicates the presence of MS lesions.[4] The presence of oligoclonal immunoglobulins is detected by electrophoresis. the bands obtained after electrophoresis can be isolated for further analysis.[1] Alkaline phosphatase method and peroxidase method for detecting presence of oligoclinal antibodies: It has been found that the alkaline phosphatase method is more sensitive than the peroxidase method for detecting the presence of oligoclonal bands.[18] Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting: the is the advanced method of diagnosis of MS. The cerebrospinal fluid of suspected individuals is checked by FACS. These samples are checked for the presence of cell surface markers such as CD4, CD25, CD20, CD40, CD25,CCR6 and CD45. It has been observed that B-cells/monocytes (CD20/CD14) ratio differs between MS patients and patients suffering through common inflammatory disease. Biomarkers used for diagnosis: Differential microRNA expression: microRNA’s are differentially expressed in MS patients. microRNA145 is the potential diagnostic biomarker. [18] Myelin Binding Protein (MBP): MBP is basically found in myelin sheath of a neuron. Presence of MBP in the surrounding cerebrospinal fluid indicates the presence of neurodegenerative disorder such as MS[2] Neurospecific enolase: increased level of this enzyme in cerebrospinal fluid may indicate presence of MS. This enzyme is found in the cytosol of the neurons.[1] Inflammatory markers: Glial Fibrillary acidic Protein: This protein is the major component of intermediate filaments of glial cells.[19] It increases when glial cells are associated with astrocytes. This can be used as potential biomarker for diagnosis of MS[9] Biomarkers for remyelination and repair: These biomarkers are not been systematically evaluated. Potential candidates for this type of biomarkers include Neuronal cell adhesion factors(NCAF)[20] Marker for astrocyte activation and gliosis: S-100 is a calcium binding protein found in astrocytes and Schwann cells. Its presence in CSF indicates the presence of neurodegenerative disorder.[19] 7. Treatment of MS: 1. Use of anti-CD20 antibodies: Rituximab is used to treat mostly the patients suffering from primary and relapsing remmiting MS.[20]

Invention of Gatsby :: essays research papers

The Invention of Jay Gatsby â€Å"It was a testimony to the romantic speculation that he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that is was necessary to whisper about in this world.† (48) States the narrator, illustrating the attractiveness to attention and gossip of a party host. The quote comments on a conversation of two woman gossiping about the mysterious host named Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby, a young man’s life and character is invented by his peers and colleagues, and by his own personal dream. When the reader first meets Jay Gatsby, he is portrayed as a private man who frequently threw lavish parties. Many of these parties consisted of people who were unaware of who Gatsby was. Because of his private nature many of his guests began to make assumptions about his past. The rumors created established an outlandish persona of Gatsby. Each rumor accumulated and grew until a rumor of Gatsby being a murder accrued. Rumors and stories alone created an exciting yet still mysterious character. A few of his guest become suspicious of his profligate but enigmatic style. Describing how unusual Gatsby’s kindness was for replacing a gown that a woman had ripped at one of this parties, a guest states; â€Å"There is something funny about a fellow that’ll do something like that. He doesn’t want any trouble with anybody.† (48) Though it was not Gatsby who had ripped the dress, he felt permitted to replacing it. Gatsby might not know all this guests, but he is com mitted to insuring they have a good time. This uncommon benevolence brings a sense of conspiracy and suspicion. However this guise of Gatsby was created through rumors and gossip but not without the aid of the character Gatsby portrayed for himself. Gatsby’s world appeared to resemble the ideal life. With a large house, expensive cars, and outlandish parties, Gatsby depicted the American dream. This life of luxury and the man known as Jay Gatsby was created from a dream of a young man named James Gats. Elucidating Gatsby’s dream the narrator states: â€Å"The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God-a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that-and he must be about His Father’s Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty. Invention of Gatsby :: essays research papers The Invention of Jay Gatsby â€Å"It was a testimony to the romantic speculation that he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that is was necessary to whisper about in this world.† (48) States the narrator, illustrating the attractiveness to attention and gossip of a party host. The quote comments on a conversation of two woman gossiping about the mysterious host named Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby, a young man’s life and character is invented by his peers and colleagues, and by his own personal dream. When the reader first meets Jay Gatsby, he is portrayed as a private man who frequently threw lavish parties. Many of these parties consisted of people who were unaware of who Gatsby was. Because of his private nature many of his guests began to make assumptions about his past. The rumors created established an outlandish persona of Gatsby. Each rumor accumulated and grew until a rumor of Gatsby being a murder accrued. Rumors and stories alone created an exciting yet still mysterious character. A few of his guest become suspicious of his profligate but enigmatic style. Describing how unusual Gatsby’s kindness was for replacing a gown that a woman had ripped at one of this parties, a guest states; â€Å"There is something funny about a fellow that’ll do something like that. He doesn’t want any trouble with anybody.† (48) Though it was not Gatsby who had ripped the dress, he felt permitted to replacing it. Gatsby might not know all this guests, but he is com mitted to insuring they have a good time. This uncommon benevolence brings a sense of conspiracy and suspicion. However this guise of Gatsby was created through rumors and gossip but not without the aid of the character Gatsby portrayed for himself. Gatsby’s world appeared to resemble the ideal life. With a large house, expensive cars, and outlandish parties, Gatsby depicted the American dream. This life of luxury and the man known as Jay Gatsby was created from a dream of a young man named James Gats. Elucidating Gatsby’s dream the narrator states: â€Å"The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God-a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that-and he must be about His Father’s Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty.

The Running Cycle :: Sport Run Running Athletics

There are two main phases to the running cycle: Support and Forward Recovery Support Phase: This is the phase when the runner is touching the ground, and makes up about 30%-40% of the running cycle. Foot-strike: The foot touches the ground slightly ahead of the center of mass. When the foot contact occurs, several actions take place: the knee flexes, the tibia internally rotates, the ankle plantar flexes, and the subtalar joint pronates (Miliron & Cavanagh, 1990). It is necessary to have a certain amount of pronation to disseminate the energy of the foot-strike. The foot during the foot-strike should be straight and in line with the direction of linear motion. If the feet are turned outward it reduces the distance covered, and puts more stress on the knees and lower extremities (Williams, 1990). Mid-support: The foot transforms from a mobile structure into a rigid lever that supports several times the body weight of the runner. The shape of the bones and the tension on the ligaments, allows for the foot to remain rigid. The supination of the subtalor joint forms a rigid lever for forward propulsion. This occurs through a series of events including the knee joint extending, the lower extremity rotates externally, the calcaneus inverts, the midtarsal joint locks, and the foot becomes a rigid lever. What is Supination? This is the opposite motion of pronation. This occurs when the ankle appears to be 'tipped' to the outside so the weight is on the outside border of the foot. Supination allows the foot to be a more stable, rigid structure for pushing off of. The foot naturally supinates during the toe-off stage (when the heel first lifts off the ground until the end of the step) to provide more leverage and to help ‘roll’ off the toes. Take-Off: The the mid-support period ends with an uprising heel, and is called the take-off period. 100 World Record Holder Florence Griffith Joyner in take-off period Forward Recovery Phase: This is the phase when the runner is airborne and spends most of the time.

Tobacco and the Brain Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Tobacco and the Brain Recent surveys show that 25 % of all American adults smoke despite the fact that tobacco is the No.1 cause of death (430,000 annual) and disease in this country (1). The life of a 30-year older that smokes 15 cigarettes a day is shortened by an average of more than five years (2). Why do people smoke despite the fact that it shortens their life? Why has this practice of smoking tobacco been around for 1000 years? There must be something that the human body or mind gains in spite of the threat of an early death. I realize this craving for nicotine on a personal level because I smoke. Smoker's self-reported motives for smoking include stress reduction and improved circulation (3). That sounds like my reasons. Plus smoking is like a friend that I visit and have a good time with, something that I enjoy being with. Smoking cigarettes produces a rapid distribution of nicotine throughout the body, and reaching the brain within 10 seconds of inhalation (4). The nicotine causes a release of dopamine, neurotransmitters that carries information across synaptic clefts, in the dopamine circuit. This circuit, known as the brain's pleasure center, is an anatomically small cluster of cells. It has evolved over millions of years and mainly seems to reward activities that increase the likelihood of survival, such as sex and eating. This cluster of cells might be small but it reaches into regions of the brain involved with a variety of tasks (4). . These dopamine-releasing pathways course from the evolutionary older part of the midbrain to the hypothalamus and trigger activity of other cells, that extend from one part of the midbrain to an area in the forebrain known as the nucleus accumbens (2). It also branches out t... ...reatments further improves smoke cessation success rates (4). Considering the high death rate due to smoking and the difficulty of withdrawing from this deadly addiction, it is not a good sign that America's youth cigarette usage is escalating. Smoking prevalence among adolescents has risen dramatically since 1990, with more than 3,000 additional children and adolescents becoming regular users of tobacco each day (1). WWW Sources 1)Quick Facts about Nicotine http://ctri.wisc.edu/sub_dept/quick_facts/ 2)Interesting Science http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/home?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 3) Gleitman, H., Fridlun, A., and Reisberg, D. Psychology. Fifth Edition. New York. W.W. Norton & Company. 1999 4)U.S. Government Research Reports , http://nida.gov/researchreports/nicotine/ 5)MSNBC News Website , http://msnbc.msn.com/news/263658.asp .

Andy Warhol Term Paper

Term Paper on Andy Warhol The artist that had the most influence in the 20th Century was Andy Warhol. His life was such a struggle from the beginning he contracted rheumatic fever at a young age and had neurological problems. He was born of parent's that were from Czechoslovakia and moved to Pittsburgh before his birth on August 6, 1928. His mother had a huge influence on his art and would buy him candy bars as a reward for painting. His father died when he was young and his older brother took care of him while his mother worked.Every day his brother would make him Campbell soup and a sandwich for lunch. That later became the focus of one of his painting series. Julia his mother started taking him to free Saturday art classes at a local museum. Andy would stay late and wonder the museum focusing every detail of the paintings. His father set aside the funds for Andy to go to college. In 1949 he graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology. He also showed signs of having Espalier's Syndrome or Autism throughout his life. In his teenaged years he had several nervous breakdowns and was almost suspended from college.He was very socially awkward and was very self conscious of his looks. He had nose Jobs and skin ending processes done to help with the red splotches on his face that was a result of the rheumatic fever from his childhood. Andy moved to New York and was determined to get a Job in commercial art to ultimately become famous. He started hanging out a a little cafe in Manhattan called Serendipity. At this time Marilyn Monroe was always with her friends there so she became the object of Andy obsession at that time. This is probably why she is seen in his later works.This time period in his life everyone referred to him as â€Å"Raggedy Andy' because he was always seen in the same clothes and carrying a brown paper gag with all his drawings in it. He was struggling with his homosexuality and his fear of imperfection in himself. There were several attempt a t having a relationship, but they ended with him very depressed for days. After making the conscious decision to change his view on this and forget about it so he could focus on his art. He wanted so desperately to become an recognized artist in the art community. That came later that he intended , but with more fame than he could ever imagine.Anta's work took on so much meaning and was a mirror of life under all the masks that everyone wore. He saw people from the inside and was noted at detecting retreats in people. The height of his art career was when he opened the Factory where he would have lavish parties and would begin dabbling in the film industry. Critics were very harsh on Anta's first films such as Sleep an 8 hour long movie filming a man sleeping. When asked about why he would film that he replied why not the man was his friend and he left his door unlocked. He had a desire to show beauty and greatness in the most plain things.His studio gave people from all walks of li fe a place to come and be their self. He studied these people and enjoyed them begin there while he created his art work. The atmosphere he created in the Factory was what is refereed to as the start of the ass's. He was very sensitive to many things so he would rarely indulge in any of the drug taking parting that was going on around him. Instead he would Just watch everyone and that was like his inspiration for his art. However he did have a slight addiction to amphetamines that he refereed to as giving him the power to do more work.He was able to be a art creating machine. He was quoted at saying you should Just keep creating art even when others think it is not good. That was his drive he adapted after all his failures he endured along the ay. After Andy survived an assignation attempt that left him in the hospital for several weeks his art began to change. He was more emerged in the serial reproduction of images in his art work. He was asked to do a portrait of a congress woman and he took her all over the town to photo strip booths with a baggie of coins he coached her through each picture session.Then he took them back and screen printed them in a series and she said it was the best representation of her portrait she could of ever imagined. The coaching in the photographs will later be a precursor to his directing career. Andy Whorl's art will withstand the test of time and he became everything he ever imagined his self to be. The piece of artwork that had the biggest impact on Andy Whorl's art career was a series of 32 painting's of all the varieties of Campbell soup cans. These painting's were created after Andy had several years of failed attempts to get his art work known.Always unsure of his direction with his own art it was important to Andy to get the opinion of his friends. After focusing on his painting skills so much that he was painting normal everyday household cleaners and objects over and over until he Hough it was perfect. He developed a new form of painting it got rid of brush strokes and drip marks. It had clean cut perfect edges. At this time in the art era it was Jackson Pollock's influence in art this was out of the art realm of the time. He did some coca cola paintings like this then moved on the the soup can's after one of his friends saying he should paint everyday stuff like soup can's.The Fears Gallery in Los Angels, California exhibited the entire collection for a few weeks. After that time Irving Blue called Andy and told him that for reasons he can not explain the time he pent with the painting's have changed him in such a positive way that he wanted to purchase them. He bought he collection for $1,000 and sold the collection to the Museum of Modern Art for 5 Million dollars. The Thirty-two painting's were done in 1962 the canvases were all the same size (20 x 16†³) with a chosen medium of Synthetic polymer paint.Each can is a different flavor labeled on the front. The can's are all similar on the outside, but upon close observation I noticed that each top had a series of missing spots where the glare was different on each can. I then observed the them all as a group and realized that it presents society and how by genetic makeup we are all the same, but in reality we are all very different complex creatures capable of so many amazing things. This represented hope for achieving greatness. Before this time Anta's art was viewed as lacking a emotional connection to the viewer.When he sold the collection to Irving he made him agree to keep it as an complete collection because Andy said they were all conceived at the same time. They are all still intact and together as a completely collection to be viewed at the Museum Of Modern Art. This set of paintings were very dear to Andy and had a very personal connection to them. Looking back at his childhood after his father died the soup was the only stable thing in his life at that time. He had it everyday and he always felt that the m ost ordinary objects in our everyday lives needed to be shown for their simple beauty.He wanted everyone to see beauty and feel beautiful. There is another element to these painting that everyone can connect to. Each one is entirely different than the next yet as a group are all the same. The detail that he took to individualize every one could be compared to the work of god. He was raised Byzantine Catholic and went to church every week with her. The Religious influence in his art was from this time period in his life. He was a very sheltered boy and at church he would sit and stare at all the religious artwork. This artwork was brightly colored portraits on gold plates on a grid frame of the back wall of the church.This was how he portrayed a painting he did right after Marilyn Monomer's death in 1962. This painting was called Golden Marilyn Monroe. He was able to achieve this copy printed look by silk screening all the images onto the paintings. There was a technique he developed where he would paint the color on the canvas then screen print the image over the color. This is why in this painting you see the lip color go beyond where the lips are printed and the eye shadow looks like a child put it on. Also the hair line is very Ronald McDonald looking.The precision it took to screen print on a painted canvas had to be very hard. This technique helped him add a color element to the commercial print art world he painted in. The idea behind the Marilyn paintings was to show fame in mass society. This was Just the start of Anta's famous people painting's in this time period. This was refereed to as the death and fame period in his art work. Some of his subjects were Elvis Presley and Ann Taylor. When Andy moved to New York he would sit in the ice cream shop and watch Marilyn so this painting was a way for him to immortality her forever.That is why she was surrounded by gold to show a heavenly portrayal and gave her bright colors similar to the church paintings. This painting is one of them most famous paintings of Marilyn and can been seen on so many things from clothes to purses and even phone covers. This tribute he did to here has stood the test of time as did the Campbell soup can it is still the same after all this time. This painting also represents Anta's quest for beauty and how he connected beauty to fame. Marilyn was the perfect blend of beauty and fame.After this series of paintings he moved on to some more gruesome screen prints of car crashes to show people the reality of what the news was reporting. He also wanted to pay tribute to people and things that are forgotten or lost in everyday life. Also he was noted as having the need to leave his influence in history. The reason I chose Andy Warhol is my desire to be a graphic artist and he had such an insight in the start of pop art. He was such a genius of his time with how he over came so many things. I could connect with him in so many ways through his art ND his personal li fe.His struggle to stratum took so many turns before he made it. I totally understood his need to become a machine with making art. I have recently started using markers in all my paintings and I can get one done a day where when I was painting them all by hand it took weeks. I am now extremely interested in learning more about screen printing to help me speed up the process and to use my own photographs. Just to do some paintings in his paint style with the paint first then screen print over it would be a lot of fun. I love how quick he could produce art they aid he created sass of paintings in a month.Also I loved how all the Campbell soup painting's were 16 x 20†³ that is the size of all my paintings and is a commonly starter artist canvas size. I do series of paintings on this size and from learning about his techniques I realized my art style is very similar. Even my husband said it's like you are looking in a mirror isn't it and that is very true. Andy had a huge personal connection to his are it helped him deal with all of his questions about life. It is almost like there is a quest to push all the limits of a subject to better understand it.

Exam Study Guide

Egypt- Ancient Egypt was sustained by a river as well. The Nile river valley was named Kempt â€Å"the black land† because of the rich black soil that was deposited yearly by the Nile floodwater's. The Egyptians were skilled in geometry which was important in measuring out the dimensions of property after the floods had destroyed old reporter lines. Religion was a major role in Egyptian society, so people made sacrifices to the gods in order to protect their families from the river. This Egyptian society is a great example of how the geography of the land can help shape almost every aspect of a society. . How can the Epic of Galoshes help historians better understand Sumerian Sumerian city-state of Rusk in the third millennium BCC and who was probably responsible for constructing the city walls, which archaeologists later determined had a perimeter of almost six miles. We can also look at how the society is described n the epic, and what kind of place, for example, women had i n that society. Pig 17 3. How did Sumerian advances in technology help shape society in the Fertile Crescent? Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent, the arable plain of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.The rivers deposited fertile soil in a rainfall-scant region. Irrigation and technological advances produced food surpluses for population growth. Sumerians, migrating from the north about 4000 B. C. E. , mixed with local groups to establish Mesopotamia civilization. Pig 9 4. What is the concept of matt and how did it influence Egyptian culture and society? Matt concept- truth, balance, order, law morality and Justice; Mat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the emergent Egyptian state that embraced diverse peoples with different interests.The significance of Mat developed to the point that it embraced all aspects of existence, including the basic equilibrium of the universe, the relationship between constituent parts, the cycle of the seasons, heavenly m ovements, religious observations and fair dealings, honesty and truthfulness in social interactions. 5. Compare writing systems of Mesopotamia and the Phoenicians. What are the advantages of each? Why are the systems so different? Mesopotamia Writing Systems- the Sumerians used a cuneiform; these tablets provided a valuable source of information of modern scholars.Phoenicians Writing Systems- it contained thousands of characters each, meaning that it was much easier to learn a very much smaller writing system that encoded the limited number of distinct sounds (phonemes) in a language instead of trying to encode separately all the ideas that the language could express. 6. Describe and explain the differences in the Egyptian and Mesopotamia views of he afterlife. What primary sources can be used as evidence to help answer this question? Mesopotamia afterlife- There is no resurrection.Egyptian afterlife- Mummification, which, the dead need their bodies in the afterlife. Pictures. 7. Wh y do the Phoenicians develop a simple writing system (alphabet)? It is much easier to learn and understand. 8. How might a simple writing system like the alphabet developed by the Phoenicians affect a society? It affects the culture, religion, and writing. 9. How does the religion of the Hebrews differ from most other religions of the ancient world? Use the Book of Exodus excerpt we have in our book as evidence for religions, sharing a covenant with one merciful God.There is no direct punishment. There is a code of ethics which is the Ten Commandments. 10. What are the advantages of monotheism as illustrated through the experiments of Generation in Egypt and the Hebrew nation? What are the disadvantages? Advantages of monotheism of Generation- Sharing a covenant with only one God. Disadvantages of Monotheism of Generation- There are three, which are, impersonal, priests are now unemployed, and there is a new capital and monuments, which, drains resources. Exam Study Guide The body which provides research support and bill-drafting assistance to legislators is the Legislative Council. District lines for the Texas legislature are drawn by the Texas Legislature. The authority to investigate and punish violations of Texas ethics laws is granted to the Texas ethics commission To understand the operations the Texas legislature, one must understand the power of the Correct Answer: c. lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house. The Texas body that periodically evaluates state agencies and makes recommendations as to restructuring or abolishing such agencies is the Correct Answer: b.Sunset Advisory Commission. The Texas senate has how many members? Correct Answer: c. 31 A committee action that tables legislation, effectively killing it, is called Correct Answer: b. pigeonholing. A rule in the Texas senate which allows a senator to halt consideration of a bill for forty-eight hours is called Correct Answer: d. tagging. In the Texas senate, a bill placed on the calendar solely to assure a two-thirds vote on legislation is called a Correct Answer: a. blocking bill. The Texas legislature may override a governor’s veto by a Correct Answer: c. two-thirds vote of both houses.The political power of the Texas Lieutenant governor is largely based on Correct Answer: c. the rules of the Texas Senate. The Texas legislature has historically been organized on the basis of Correct Answer: b. conservative ideology. A procedure whereby a bill can be forced out of committee for consideration by the chamber as a whole is called Correct Answer: c. a discharge petition. The governor’s legislative power stems from all the following except his Correct Answer: a. authority to appoint committee chairs. When the senate forms itself into a committee of the whole, Correct Answer: d. simple majority is required to consider legislation. The Texas house committee which controls the budget requests of all other committees is the Correct Answer: c. App ropriations Committee. In Texas, the body responsible for reviewing the expenditures of state agencies is the Correct Answer: a. Legislative Audit Committee. A committee appointed to resolve differences between the house and senate versions of a bill is known as a Correct Answer: d. conference committee. In practice, bills are taken off the Texas senate’s calendar for immediate consideration through a Correct Answer: a. suspension of the rules.Being a member of a board by virtue of holding another office is called Correct Answer: b. ex officio. A formal question to the chair regarding parliamentary procedure is known as a Correct Answer: c. point of order. Formal qualifications for membership in the Texas senate would not include Correct Answer: d. being at least 18 years of age. The selection of committee chairs in the Texas legislature is made on the basis of a Correct Answer: d. presiding officer appointment. The office responsible for giving opinions of law to state agenc ies is that of the Correct Answer: b. attorney general.The governor’s budget proposals are not as influential as those of the Correct Answer: d. Legislative Budget Board. Which of the following is an example of an ex officio board? Correct Answer: d. Texas Bond Review Board A mainly symbolic role of the Texas governor is that of Correct Answer: d. chief of state. If the Texas National Guard is called to active duty, a back up organization is the Correct Answer: c. Texas State Guard. The governor’s important bargaining tools are mainly Correct Answer: d. legislative. A role of the Texas governor not based on the constitution is that of Correct Answer: c. hief of party. The official who certifies the amount of income available for Texas’s biennial budget is the Correct Answer: d. Comptroller of Public Accounts. The individual responsible for administering the state tax system is the Correct Answer: c. Comptroller of Public Accounts. The â€Å"Iron Texas Star† consists of all the following except Correct Answer: b. the Texas electorate (voters). A formal role of the Texas governor based on the constitution is that of Correct Answer: d. commander-in-chief. The lieutenant governor of Texas is an ex officio member of all except the Correct Answer: b.Board of Pardons and Paroles. If the governor of Texas is removed from office before the end of his or her term, Correct Answer: c. the lieutenant governor succeeds. The annual salary of the governor of Texas is approximately $150,000 The attorney general of Texas is not required to Correct Answer: b. follow directives of the governor. Texas riverbeds, tidelands, bays and inlets are overseen by the Correct Answer: b. Commissioner of the General Land Office. An official who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public officials or agencies is called Correct Answer: b. an ombudsperson.The governor of Texas can be removed from office before the end of his or her term on ly by Correct Answer: d. Impeachment. Which of the following officials is appointed by the Texas governor? Correct Answer: c. Adjutant general, Texas National Guard The governor’s tools to influence the legislature include all the following except the Correct Answer: b. appointment of committee chairs. Which is probably the least significant informal qualification for Texas governor? Correct Answer: a. Age Which of the following is an appointed Texas executive position? Correct Answer: a. Commissioner, Health and Human Services Exam Study Guide Egypt- Ancient Egypt was sustained by a river as well. The Nile river valley was named Kempt â€Å"the black land† because of the rich black soil that was deposited yearly by the Nile floodwater's. The Egyptians were skilled in geometry which was important in measuring out the dimensions of property after the floods had destroyed old reporter lines. Religion was a major role in Egyptian society, so people made sacrifices to the gods in order to protect their families from the river. This Egyptian society is a great example of how the geography of the land can help shape almost every aspect of a society. . How can the Epic of Galoshes help historians better understand Sumerian Sumerian city-state of Rusk in the third millennium BCC and who was probably responsible for constructing the city walls, which archaeologists later determined had a perimeter of almost six miles. We can also look at how the society is described n the epic, and what kind of place, for example, women had i n that society. Pig 17 3. How did Sumerian advances in technology help shape society in the Fertile Crescent? Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent, the arable plain of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.The rivers deposited fertile soil in a rainfall-scant region. Irrigation and technological advances produced food surpluses for population growth. Sumerians, migrating from the north about 4000 B. C. E. , mixed with local groups to establish Mesopotamia civilization. Pig 9 4. What is the concept of matt and how did it influence Egyptian culture and society? Matt concept- truth, balance, order, law morality and Justice; Mat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the emergent Egyptian state that embraced diverse peoples with different interests.The significance of Mat developed to the point that it embraced all aspects of existence, including the basic equilibrium of the universe, the relationship between constituent parts, the cycle of the seasons, heavenly m ovements, religious observations and fair dealings, honesty and truthfulness in social interactions. 5. Compare writing systems of Mesopotamia and the Phoenicians. What are the advantages of each? Why are the systems so different? Mesopotamia Writing Systems- the Sumerians used a cuneiform; these tablets provided a valuable source of information of modern scholars.Phoenicians Writing Systems- it contained thousands of characters each, meaning that it was much easier to learn a very much smaller writing system that encoded the limited number of distinct sounds (phonemes) in a language instead of trying to encode separately all the ideas that the language could express. 6. Describe and explain the differences in the Egyptian and Mesopotamia views of he afterlife. What primary sources can be used as evidence to help answer this question? Mesopotamia afterlife- There is no resurrection.Egyptian afterlife- Mummification, which, the dead need their bodies in the afterlife. Pictures. 7. Wh y do the Phoenicians develop a simple writing system (alphabet)? It is much easier to learn and understand. 8. How might a simple writing system like the alphabet developed by the Phoenicians affect a society? It affects the culture, religion, and writing. 9. How does the religion of the Hebrews differ from most other religions of the ancient world? Use the Book of Exodus excerpt we have in our book as evidence for religions, sharing a covenant with one merciful God.There is no direct punishment. There is a code of ethics which is the Ten Commandments. 10. What are the advantages of monotheism as illustrated through the experiments of Generation in Egypt and the Hebrew nation? What are the disadvantages? Advantages of monotheism of Generation- Sharing a covenant with only one God. Disadvantages of Monotheism of Generation- There are three, which are, impersonal, priests are now unemployed, and there is a new capital and monuments, which, drains resources.