Wars Negative Impacts

Family, friends and strangers battle for our freedom every day but at a cost of gyrfalcon their own lives. â€Å"Enemy and the casualty lists that are lengthened each week with nothing to show for the blood being spilled† (Source E 19-20). The avoidance of death should be the only reason necessary to stop the progression of wars. Soldiers on the battlefield have done nothing to deserve to die they are only trying to protect the ones they deeply care for. Deaths cause major destruction in the lives of relatives of the deceased soldiers.Many families lose a member who they depended on for support eventually forcing them Into poverty resulting in increased offering Inflicted by the effects of war. War simply changes every aspect involving people perspectives on life, relations even their personalities. During war soldiers lose the purpose of their battle. Soldiers do not even care about the effect they have on the family of the murdered, possibly leaving a child without a father. They are so over whelmed by their environment that they care for nothing but their own survival. An adventurous expedition had turned Into an exhausting, indecisive war of attrition In which we fought for no cause other Han our own survival† (Source E 21-22). People leaving their families return with a different attitude and personality than when they first left. Many soldiers become traumatized by the events they witness and participated in causing irreversible damage to the brain. This is why some people apply themselves to certain tasks differently than before, as a result their efforts to solve the specific situation back fire multiplying their problem.The Individual could even possibly cause damages not only to himself but also to his relatives and the nearby people. â€Å"Stall they changed us ND taught us, the men who fought In them; In those obscure skirmishes we learned the old lessons about fear, cowardice, courage, suffering, cruelty, and comradeship† (Sourc e E 25-27). Depression, anxiety and paranoia are a few words to describe how the war effects the members of society left at home when relatives are sent away to battle for their country.They become unable to appear in society due to their extreme fear of death both themselves and other and possible loss of loves ones. These are negative Impacts of war because when members of society return to violation they lose the abilities to function properly within society. The money involved in the processes of war could be used to help better a nation's population and standard of living instead of assisting in its destruction. If a nation does not have an advantage over the competing nation regarding the development of weapons then the resources consumed in the process will be used inefficiently.This Is because factories are forced to switch the production of their products over to assaults In ten war efforts, tans would cause ten companies Ana t employees to lose Jobs, wages and money. This would cause the countries own people to suffer due to the lack of money being provided into the economy resulting in poverty and hunger. War requires a huge amount of money that a nation does not necessarily have because is a very expensive process. Not only is it expensive regarding the production of ammunition but also the after effects of war place a huge toll on the economy.Cities may be completely destroyed which requires money to pay for workers to build and clean while also paying for the materials. It would not only remove fear and bring security; it would not only create new moral and spiritual values; it would produce an economic wave of prosperity that would raise the world's standard of living beyond anything ever dreamed of by man. The hundreds of billions of dollars now spent in mutual preparedness could conceivably abolish poverty from the face of the earth. (Source G 4-9) Another reason is the populations youth sacrifice their lives resulting in death, leaving a gap between generations. Few of us were past twenty-five† (Source E 33). Meaning the new working generation Joining the labor pool will decrease greatly in size and skill. This is because the military removes all able-bodied men from factories to place them into the army to serve their country. Necessary Jobs such as Jobs in the medical field will lose employees preventing them from performing their duties, removing required money from the economy. War effects the economy of both countries fighting in a negative way. War requires a large amount of money to fight the war while also fixing the damages that are a result of it.War is a conflict between countries thru the use of arms attempting to gain what they believe to be beneficial to their country. Many believe that war under certain circumstances is Justified but nothing can Justify the murder and long term effects that follow the events of war. But in spite of all arguments against war it still is and possibly will always exist s. As long as war exists in countries everywhere in the world it will only produce negative consequences that humanity must accept as punishment for such actions.

Constance Baker Motley: A Biography

Constance Baker Motley was born on September 14, 1921, in New Haven, Connecticut. She was the ninth of twelve children born to parents, whom emigrated from the island of Nevis in the West Indies. Her mother was Rachel Baker and she was a founder of the New Haven NAACP. Her father was Willoughby Alva Baker and he was a chef for student organizations at Yale University. At the age of fifteen, Constance joined the local NAACP were she was denied admission to a local skating rink and public beach. This is what sparked her interest in law and helped her pioneering career as a civil rights lawyer, lawmaker and judge (which spanned six decades) and was highlighted by numerous historic achievements, including the first African American elected to the New York Senate, the first black woman to hold the position of Manhattan Borough President, and the first African American woman appointed to serve as a federal district judge. Constance attended New Haven's integrated public schools. By the age of 15, she decided that she wanted to be a lawyer because of all the active reading she was doing. She also attended Fisk University and then transferred to New York University, were she received a bachelor's degree in economics. She was accepted at Columbia University Law School in 1944 and she went and graduated in 1946. In 1945, she became the law clerk for Thurgood Marshall, then became the chief counsel of the NAACP'S Legal Defense and their educational fund. Over the next 20 years, she did some hard work on some of the United States' civil rights cases, including preparing the draft complaint in 1950, for what would later become Brown v. Board of Education. In the early 1960's, Motley successfully argued for one thousand schoolchildren, who were expelled for demonstrating. She also represented a group called the â€Å"Freedom Fighters,† who rode interstate buses to test desegregation laws. From 1961 to 1964, Motley won nine of ten civil rights cases because she argued with the Supreme Court decision on every case. In the late 1960's, Motley became interested in politics and by 1964, she had left the NAACP to become the first black woman to serve on the New York State Senate. In 1965, she became the first woman president of the Borough of Manhattan. She worked to decrease racial segregation in schools. In particular, she directed the campaign that resulted in James H. Meredith admission to the University of Mississippi. Later in 1966, President Johnson nominated Motley to the federal bench in Manhattan. Over the next 40 years. Motley handled civil rights cases such as, when she made the decision in 1978 allowing a girl to change in the New York Yankees' locker room. During this time she was a big success to Dr. Martin Luther King and all the other civil rights activists. Her and King fought together so that the nation would be equal among citizens and there would not be anymore segregation. In 1982, Motley became the first female chief judge. Her style could be deceptive, often challenging a witness to get away with one lie after another. Judge Motley won cases that ended segregation in Memphis restaurants and white-only lunch counters in Birmingham, Alabama. Judge Constance Baker Motley was a tall, gracious and stately woman whose main goal was sometimes elusive: dignity for all people. Her personal approach was also dignified. As a black woman practicing law in the South, she endured gawking and more than a few physical threats. But through those trials and tribulations, she still remained positive and influenced others to do the same. Constance Baker Motley was a very famous person to remember. She did a lot of things to help young individuals. This lady changed society because she was the first to serve in high ranking categories, which gave the African American race a chance to follow in her footsteps or even go beyond that. Constance Baker Motley died of congestive heart failure on September 28, 2005, at the age of eighty-four years old. Although she had assumed senior status as a judge in 1986, handling a reduce caseload, she continued to work until her death. She was survived by her husband, Joel Wilson Motley, whom she married in 1949, and she had one son Joel Motley and several siblings. Constance Baker Motley played a vital role in today's society because there are many people that will not be active in civil rights and the well-being of themselves and others. She will always be remembered of as one of the greatest women of lifetime history because she was positively influenced, which made her work be positive. This is a true role-model for people all across America to want to do something similar to what this woman did for the African American race.

Context paper English 105 Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Context English 105 - Research Paper Example The centre has proved itself as a sign of prosperity and hope for the locals. Their primary mission is to assist children and families in the areas of Terra haute, â€Å"which is one of the most impoverished areas† (Goyder par. 2). They serve families who lack education facilities, unemployment, hunger and poverty. The main advantage of their program is that their services are free of cost to all children who walk to them for help. They provide free meals service, educational support, sports training, crisis interventions, computer education etc to the youth, who are in need of assistance. The main purpose of the Ryves Youth Center is â€Å"to address the needs of the youth and to give them a better chance in life† (The White House). The center provides after school services to youth, who lacks provisions at home and they provide free games, homework help, food and care to them. They serve thousands of inner city youth.  Most of these youths do not have guardians to take care of them and these youths belong to below poverty line. â€Å"Approximately 95% of the youths attending Ryves Youth Center live at or below the poverty level and many of them don’t have a permanent home, move frequently throughout the year, or are homeless† (Ryves Community Optimist Club (RCOC) par. 3). These children lack the advantages that other kids with parents have. Most of the children have experienced or witnessed physical, sexual and emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts, low self esteem and anger control. They are homeless or castaways and majority of those children f eel lost and alone. Ryves Youth Center provides shelter to these kids and takes care of the children like their own kids. They give them guidance and hope for the future. They shape them to be a better person, create a whole new world for them and keep them off the streets.    Education is given top priority in the

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Summary - Essay Example As it were it introduces an altered relationship as opposed to the one generally perceived in the writing on financial sector advancement. The vitality of that to the current center of the Qatari government on broadening of its economy identifies with the inquiry of how decently represented this sector is to help this arrangement as a wellspring of development, vocation and pay and how appropriate government activities are in backing of accomplishing such an objective. Qatar is an extremely youthful and little express that has accomplished enormous strides in its financial advancement since its freedom in 1971. It has moved from an economy underpinned by essential economic exercises to a rich oil-trading state. The development and advancement that went hand in hand with the solidification of its oil economy has been generous thinking of it as little populace. As indicated by the 2004 enumeration the populace was put at 744.000, an increment of 42.5 percent on the past statistics of 1997. A 2006 review demonstrated that the populace had developed to 834,754, an increment of 12.6 percent on the 2004 evaluation. In any case, late gauges demonstrate that the aggregate populace arrived at 1,650,139 in 2009. This fast increment is because of the vast onrushing of outside work to address the needs of the extending economy. Qatari nationals speak to short of what 34 percent of the aggregate populace. The nations every capita Gross domestic product surpass ed USD 54,000 in 2006 and is estimate to reach more than USD 103,500 in 2009; one of the worlds most astounding. Regularly, the little size of the populace in connection to the enormous size of its Gross domestic product is an element in this. These riches has propelled the political authority of Qatar to be amazingly yearning about putting Qatar on the world guide on account of its oil and

Week 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Week 10 - Essay Example Generally, the higher the proportion of operations financed by intergovernmental revenues, the greater is the risk borne by the government. Local government can keep low the risks connected with intergovernmental revenues by ensuring sound budgeting traditions. Establishing local sources of finance can reduce the relative impact of any fall in federal revenues. The ratio will determine whether the government is able to meet its obligations and supply the services that the public demand. Nonfinancial information that may be used to evaluate the performance of a college or university include: college or university governance, students satisfaction level, the level of satisfaction of employees, workers turnover, policies and objectives of the college or university. The information that provides the most insight to financial performance is turnover of employees because it points at dissatisfaction of workers, which may also indicate poor management, consequently leading to poor financial performance. The identified nonfinacial information can be said to be playing a crucial role in enhancing conventional financial reporting. They enhance the capability of the users of financial statement to appraise and forecast financial performance. Nonfinancial information is crucial predictors of financial performance. However, nonfinancial information about organizations is not usually available like financial information (Mohammadi, yusoff & Arumugam, 2011). I prefer IFRS tax approach to GAAP. Under IFRS, deferred tax allowance (DTA) is recorded at net if only it is anticipated to be realized while GAAP demands valuation if part or entire DTA will not be realized and the valuation is recorded at gross with corresponding allowance. Under IFR, the substantially enacted tax rate is applicable whereas under GAAP tax rate used for estimating deferred taxes is the prevailing tax

Art History- Comparing Renaissance and Baroque art Essay

Art History- Comparing Renaissance and Baroque art - Essay Example The Virgin with the Canon van der Paele is an outstanding painting of Virgin Mary. In the painting, Jesus is sitting on Mary’s lap. Mary is not the only person represented in this painting, there are other significant persons. An interesting aspect of the painting is the articulate and accurate coloration. In general, the painting is more real, representative of life and provides immense detail. On the other hand, The Swing (1766) is a depiction of has guarding statues of the garden swing. In this drawing, the colors are muter and it is mainly characterized with some kind of darkness and shadowy effect. However, the darkness is non-sinister, but rather is a result of illumination effect of the trees that provide privacy to the two lovers in the painting. There is therefore a bright effect emanating from the tree breaks, from where the sun’s rays maneuvers its way to illuminate the woman who is wearing a pink dress which is one of the bright spots in the picture. The two paintings bear some level of similarity. Firstly, both represent a scene characterized by multiple persons. Van Eyck’s painting shows immense detail with regard to painting backgrounds just as much as is the case in Fragonard painting (Gardner and Kleiner 571). However, as much as the details in Fragonard paintings are substantial, they are much smaller and rather it is the leaves and trees that take much of the focus instead of the swinging lady. There is also some level of contrast in the paintings. While van Eyck’s painting is more serious, more religious and sacred.

Globalization, Outsourcing, Off-shoring, and Offshore Outsourcing Essay

Globalization, Outsourcing, Off-shoring, and Offshore Outsourcing Impact on Culture - Essay Example By the first decade of 2000, it had become widespread business practice to contract knowledge reliant work to countries such as India or the Philippines. Now, the number of certain jobs decreases in the United States, but new positions and responsibilities are emerging. Along with risk comes opportunity. Next, we detail how globalization, outsourcing, off-shoring and offshore outsourcing have influenced contemporary culture. The dangers of losing important business skills and dependence upon remote suppliers looms large (Loebbecke, C., Huyskens, C., and Mitev, N.). Team disintegration due to global divisions of labor is problematic. Off shoring has affected job opportunities for graduates of information systems programs. To fill these gaps, American students train to manage offshore operations which has required adaptations of IS curricula globally. Such programs focus on thinking globally but acting locally - a set of independent interrelationships. Finally, we give the modern business person clues to solving the challenge of globalization, outsourcing, off-shoring, and offshore outsourcing.

Strategic Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Strategic Plan - Essay Example The background of the research attempted to reveal the way the researcher intends to ensure the organization's vision, mission, and people strategies and values statements align with the proposed strategic plan. A brief background of the company and objectives of the study were revealed, as well as, the mission, vision and core organizational values were presented. Additionally, the researcher carried out external and internal environmental scanning on the proposed strategic plan using relevant resources of analysis; the researcher assessed the external (threats and opportunities) and also the internal environmental analysis (strengths and weakness) of the company. Moreover, it was argued that given the information from the environmental scan, HCA should match its strengths to the opportunities, which it has identified, while at the same time addressing weakness and threats. With the controversies that have surrounded HCA, it was argued that the company needed to review its growth st rategies to ensure it redeems its image and to put it in a constant path of growth. The strategic planning process focused on the significant of employing effective strategies that aligns with the external and internal environment. Varied recommendation for the best strategy were presented and one of them included planning about the growth strategies of the company and this is through focusing on meeting the demanding needs of customers and showing their corporation ability to them. Another recommendable growth strategy that HCA should put into consideration is mergers and joint ventures. It was also argued that HCA should incorporate telemedicine in their institutions because this would help them to accelerate its growth. Employing customer-focussed strategy that will ensure the corporation attracts new customers and retains the old ones was also seen as an effective strategy for enabling the company to accelerate its growth. The implementation plan focused on the way HCA can achie ve its intended objectives by conducting an intensive environmental scan to ascertain the internal functioning of its institutions, evaluation of its position in relation to the industry’s tasks environment and evaluation of the external macro-environment factors. This was seen as vital; thus, the need to evaluate technological advancements in the field of nursing and medicine, and analysis of its preparedness to incorporate the competitive aspect of other stakeholders in the health sector. The research identified varied risks that are likely to occur in the organization and among the potential risks included the compliance to standards, fire outbreak risks, quality control risks, and changes in technology, as well as, hospital equipment failure, institutional restraints, and recruitment and retention staff issues among other risks. It was, therefore, argued that employing contingency plans is fundamental because this will enable the corporation to find efficient alternatives for managing risks in case the unplanned events occur. Strategic Plan Introduction In the contemporary highly competitive business environment, budget planning techniques have become unsatisfactory for large organizations to survive; thus HCA must engage in effective strategic planni

Media Effects on School Shooting Victims Essay Example for Free

Media Effects on School Shooting Victims Essay The participants of this study were students of Jokela High School, the school which experienced the shooting, and a control group of students from Pirkkala High school, which had not experienced a shooting. Jokela High School, at the time, had 474 students enrolled. All 474 of these students were asked to partake in the study. Participation in this study was voluntary and of the 474 students, 231 accepted the invitation to participate in the study, 180 students declined, 34 students could not be reached and 29 students consented to participate but never did. 526 students agreed to participate in the study from the control group school, Pirkkala High School. The participants were a mixture of both male and female students ranging from ages 13 to 19 years of age. Large portions of the families of the students from Pirkkala belong to the upper middle-class compared to Jokela, but there were no major differences in sociocultural background or crime rate between the two communities. The data in this study was collected by dispensing a questionnaire in a school setting in March of 2008. If a student was absent from school the questionnaire was mailed home along with the consent forms. The questionnaire started out asking basic background questions, such as socioeconomic status, living arrangements, previous psychological support or exposure to shootings. Next, students were asked to take a 36-item General Health Questionnaire to measure psychological and psychosocial symptoms. Students were also asked to complete The Impact of Event Scale to map symptoms into two categories, Intrusion and Avoidance. Students were then asked to rate their exposure to the shooter as either no exposure (control students), mild, moderate, significant, severe, and extreme. Each of these categories had descriptions to help the student choose the right option that applied to them. Lastly, students were asked questions about the media’s interactions with them. They were asked if the media interacted with them after the shooting, if they cooperated with the media, if the questions had an effect on their feelings after the shooting, and how the reporter approached them. Then they were asked if they followed the news coverage on the event over the next couple days and what type of effect the coverage had on their feelings.

Hitler Speech Essay Example for Free

Hitler Speech Essay Adolph Hitler is known by his charismatic personality, his strict military background, and his expressive and formal attitude in giving speeches. Hitler’s speech given on the 26th of September 1938, among all the millions of words that he addressed to his audience, is the most enthusiastic, optimistic, and motivated speeches I’ve read. Hitler started off his speech insisting to solve the problem he has in Europe, he showed that he is persistent, determined and eager to do so. Withdrawing and not resolving the issue was not one of his options, he was strong minded to get to the bottom of it. Hitler believed that, with the faith of God, he will succeed. Hitler used unusual words when addressing specific people and countries. Him using terms such as ‘crazy so-called’, illustrates that he was doubtful and alleged that these statesmen of Europe were not even qualified enough for their positions. Moreover, he also labeled the new states they formed as â€Å"so called states†; Hitler didn’t even identify them as real states. So-called is type of slogan used to falsely think of something. Europe thought it had skilled and entitled statesmen whom formed new states, but to Hitler; they were anything but eligible statesmen whom formed anything but upright states. Hitler, later in his speech, mentioned a person named Mr. Benes; he introduced him as â€Å"This Mr. Benes†. For Adolph Hitler to use such expressions, that proved that he pitted him, and didn’t consider him as respectful human. Hitler knew all his lies. While giving his speech he was sending a message showing that he wasn’t fooled nor tricked. Part of the speech that grabbed my attention personally was â€Å"Now the shameless part†¦.. t their own brothers† because of 2 reasons. He described the policies that were implemented by the government as terrible policies, but he didn’t mention any specific word stating that, instead by saying â€Å"policy which†¦. shoot at their own brothers† it perfectly showed exactly what kind of policies they were, policies so dreadful to fact it will turn them against each other and start a civil war. Hitler compared himself with Mr. Benes mentioning himself as decent solider, but Benes; as a sneaky man, who did not play by rules. He proclaims that he will stand against him and declare war if he has too, and he will stand by his people and protect them by saying he is their soldier. Hitler demonstrated himself as a patient man, he dealt with Benes in a sophisticated way. Hitler was so determined in gaining Germany their freedom, one way or another. Hitler was threating Mr. Benes. He showed it by giving him an offer, if he didn’t accept it, Hitler would start a war. This indorsed his strength and power, he never took no for answer. If Hitler wants something he fights for it. What made Hitler make such threats is because Mr. Benes made him wait for so long, and it exceeded his patience. Another thing I liked personally in Adolph Hitler’s speech is when he talks about himself and his public, he makes it sound as if they are all equal, and they stand side by side, all of them together. He didn’t make them feel he was a leader and that they had to follow and obey him. Hitler ended his speech with convincing his public, all the German people both men and women to fight with him, stand with him by his side against Mr.  Benes. He motivated the public and encouraged them; moreover he was building confidence in them when saying they are stronger than before. Hitler also gave them an example of himself when he was an ordinary soldier, commenting that he didn’t have doubts of succeeding, and having faith in victory. I think we was trying to point out to the public that, even though you are just a normal individual (just like himself back then), it won’t prevent you from conquering your enemy. To come to a conclusion, from my point of view, I see this speech as a motivational speech to the public to fight against whoever isn’t fair with them. It was also a kind of threat to Mr. Benes, threating him to make his decision faster or else, Hitler will start a war against him. Hitler dealt with his issue patiently, even though his patience came to an end, he didn’t attack his enemy aggressively; He simply warned him. Generally speaking, Hitler was a worldly wise man, a supreme leader, and role model to many.

The Life And Work Of Euclid

The Life And Work Of Euclid While studying geometry with Euclid a youth inquired after having learned the first proposition, What do I get by learning these things? Euclid called a slave to them and said, Give him threepence, since he must make a gain out of what he learns. [8] Euclid, a Greek mathematician and teacher, changed the course of the world. Euclids work not only affected the work of other prominent scientists to come after him, but also the lives of ordinary people, which contributed to the rise of modern science in western civilization. What is perplexing is that despite him changing the course of world, we know very little about him. Unlike some other well-known historical figures, Euclids influence did not spread simply by fame. Historians dont even know his exact date of birth. To this day, we do not know which continent he was born on, much less the city. Of the little we do know about Euclid, we know that he taught in Alexandria around 300 B.C. [9], and that he wrote, amongst approximately 10 other books, arguably one of the greatest mathematical textbooks in history, The Elements. The Elements is a geometry textbook that unified all of the previously known principles of geometry. It was unique in that it was constructive in its delivery of its principles. Basically, it explained mathematic principles from the ground up and added onto what was already established. Imagine trying to study science if one concept didnt flow into the next and everything was garbled and out of order. The Elements solved this problem through careful organization and logical delivery of its principles. The Elements wasnt a revolutionary observation or a new and exciting revelation, but rather a book of brilliant deductive reasoning, analysis, and organization. The Elements was explained so well that every Geometry textbook preceding it was practically discarded, and because of this the term Euclidean wasnt necessary or used for over two thousand years because there was no other known form of geometry[17]. Concerning Euclids deductive reasoning and analysis, his axiomatic systems are most prominent. His axiomatic systems are considered to be constructive. [18] This means that he never reached any conclusions or spoke about concepts that he did not yet explain to the reader. He arranged the geometric theorems so that they flowed logically from one to the next. [9] For example, he started with the simplest of concepts such as describing a geometric point and worked his way into derived propositions. [16] More specifically he took a small number of axioms (self-evident logical truths) and deduced many other theorems from them. He even filled in the blanks whenever it was necessary by filling in the missing steps absent from others processes, and even by developing his own proofs [9]. For example, Euclid proved that it is impossible to find the largest prime number. He proved that if you were to take the largest known prime number and 1 to the product of all the prime numbers leading up to it and including it then you will get another prime number. This is accepted as being one of the classics proofs in mathematics because of how clear and concise it is. [5] Euclid put a lot of effort into making it possible for common people to understand geometry rather than just professional mathematicians. How the natural flow and style of explanation of The Elements affected the world is self-evident. Since it is easier to understand scientific concepts when they are communicated clearly and concisely and delivered in a logical order, Euclids book made it much easier for the people to acquire a complete understanding of geometry. As newborns in this world often one of the first things we get to play with are blocks of different geometric shapes. This helps us to develop our minds both visually and mathematically. Euclidean shapes are quite literally everywhere in our society. Unlike Calculus where there is usually a fixed method for solving a given problem, when it comes to geometry, using Euclidean axioms allows people to solve any one problem in several different ways. It also inspires development of problem solving skills. One of the ways Euclidean geometry has been applied and influences our day to day lives is through construction and architecture. For example, if somebody wants to construct a wooden table. If they wanted to figure out if it was square or not they could measure each corner of the table to see if it was at a 90 angle. With Euclidean Geometry, however, they would need only to measure two of the corners. The properties of right triangles within The Elements tells us that if two corners are square then the whole shape is square. This is probably very obvious to a person of our modern day, but it was not at the tme. Unless you are a mathematician you may not even know who such properties can be attributed to and just consider them common knowledge. Another, less obvious way they could have done this is to have measured the distance between two diagonal corners of the table. If the two distances are the same then the table must be a square. The latter method I have described is a common wa y for construction workers or home-improvement workers to check their work. There are countless examples of this that common people can utilize in their everyday lives with the principles of Euclidean Geometry. Euclids influence doesnt end there. Examples of Euclidean geometry can be found in modern day computer graphics. It is used in mesh generation. A mesh is basically a combination of geometric polygons or polyhedrons that create the illusion of a curve. Although the Euclidean Geometry may be widespread within western civilization, in some third world countries there are houses are constructed as lop-sided indeterminate shapes. This is a real-life example of what our architecture would have looked like without Euclids influence.[4] It is fair to say that the study of Euclids book was one of the main contributing factors to the Scientific Revolution and subsequently the rise of science in Europe rather than in Asia. The Elements made the concept of one principle being built upon another glaringly obvious and, over the course of time, it became considered common knowledge in western civilization. Of course, scientists such as Newton, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo played significant roles as well [9], but as Sir Isaac Newton said If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants [21]. Euclids book provided for us, not just a shoulder, but an entire foundation built of giants shoulders that would have otherwise been scattered and disorganized. This solid base of knowledge allowed western civilization to reach new heights. For example, when it came to Isaac Newton and his book, Principles Of Natural Philosophy, many of his proofs were set in a geometric form similar to those found in The Elements . [12] As it is with any great work of science, The Elements allows others to build upon it or advance into new areas of discovery. Some men, such as Girolamo Saccehri, have tried to disprove or find flaws in Euclids axioms. Saccehri was an Italian mathematician who in 1733 almost discovered a form of non-Euclidean geometry. He studied for years to find a flaw in Euclids work. He was supposedly on the verge of a breakthrough but gave up before his work came to fruition. It wasnt until about a hundred years later in 1899 that a German mathematician by the name of David Hilbert found another set of geometric axioms that differed from Euclid. [13] Non-Euclidean geometry allows us to describe physical space in new ways. Following Hilbert came another German, by the name of Albert Einstein. Einstein recalls receiving two gifts that had particular influence on him as a child, one a magnetic compass, and the other Euclids The Elements. He referred to The Elements as the holy little geometry book. [3] Another example of a great scientist that was influenced by Euclid is Galileo Galilei. In his old age Galileo told his biographers that while attending the University of Pisa he would nose-drop in on lectures being given by Ostilio Ricci to the court pages on Euclid. These lectures were only available to members of the court so he would try to stay quiet whenever he attended them. His interest in Euclid got the better of him after a while and he approached Ricci to ask him questions on Euclid. Ricci noticed Galileos talent for math and eventually became his teacher. Although Galileo was supposed to be going to college to study medicine, (Galen) he secretly studied mathematics (Euclid) instead. Galileo later used Euclids Book Five, Definition Five, to show how bodies of certain arbitrary weight have weights directly proportional to their volumes. [2] This is one of the best examples how influential Euclids work was to anybody with a mind for mathematics and how he changed the course o f history by capturing the interest of a man such as Galileo. Euclids work also influenced philosophers such as Benedict Spinoza. Benedict Spinoza was a prominent philosopher of 17th century. He wrote the ambitious philosophicical book Ethics where he attempts to provide us with a coherent view of the universe and our place in it. To explain such concepts he used Euclids style of delivery complete with axioms and propositions. Speaking of the system within his book and the style in which he chose to present it in Spinoza said that it was demonstrated in geometrical order. [23] Usually philosophical books were written differently, such as Rene Descartes Meditations that was written like a diary. When it comes to mathematicians I think every mathematician alive since the time of Euclid had to have been influenced by his work in some form or another, but, of some of the most prominent mathematicians, Euclid specifically influenced the work of Bertrand Rusell, Alred North Whitehead, Blaise Pascal, Marin Mersenne , and Adrien-Marie Legendre. Interestingly enough Bertrand Russell, an English 20th century mathematician and logician, used Euclids work to push mathematics into the next level by explaining to people in his book An Essay On The Foundations Of Geometry [11] how Euclidean Geometry was being replaced by more advanced forms of geometry. Both Russell and Whitehead were co-authored the epoch Principia Mathmatica in which they referenced Euclid a number of times as evidence in their work. Pascal, a 17th century French mathematician, received a copy of Euclids Elements as a boy and before the age of 13 he had proven the 32nd proposition of Euclid and discovered a flaw in Rene Descartes geometry [25]. Mersenne, also a 17th century French mathematician, used Euclids proof on prime numbers to develop his own ways or forms as they are called, making it even easier to find large prime numbers. Prime numbers are important to modern day society because they are used in cryptographic software security systems. Basically, large prime numbers can be implemented into coding schemes that are difficult to break. Legendre, a 19th century French mathematician, wrote his most famous book Elà ©ments de Gà ©omà ©trie based entirely off of The Elements. In it he sought to simplify Euclids propositions even further. Elà ©ments de Gà ©omà ©trie was used in elementary school classrooms for over a 100 years. [13][24][6] Euclid influenced politicians such as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, as a lawyer traveling on horseback would carry a copy of Euclids Elements in his saddlebag. According to his law partner, at night Lincoln would lay on the floor for hours at night studying Euclids Elements by lamplight. [5] He was a great admirer of the logical delivery of information that The Elements contained and used Euclids systematic approach in many of his speeches. It is no coincidence that the phrase dedicated to the proposition bears such striking similarities to Euclids axioms. Lincoln, speaking of his study of Euclid, said, In the course of my law reading I constantly came upon the word demonstrate. I thought at first that I understood its meaning, but soon became satisfied that I did not. I said to myself, What do I do when I demonstrate more than when I reason or prove? How does demonstration differ from any other proof? I consulted Websters Dictionary. They told of certain proof, proof beyond the possibility of doubt; but I could form no idea of what sort of proof that was. I thought a great many things were proved beyond the possibility of doubt, without recourse to any such extraordinary process of reasoning as I understood demonstration to be. I consulted all the dictionaries and books of reference I could find, but with no better results. You might as well have defined blue to a blind man. At last I said,- Lincoln, you never can make a lawyer if you do not understand what demonstrate means; and I left my situation in Springfield, went home to my fathers house, and stayed there till I could give any proposition in the six books of Euclid at sight. I then found out what demonstrate means, and went back to my law studies. [1][5] The astronomers Johannes Kepler and Nicolaus Copernicus were also influenced by Euclids work. When it came to Keplers approach to astronomy he depended almost entirely on Euclid. Kepler, much like Galileo studied Euclid while attending a university (Tà ¼bingen). Kepler was a devout Lutheran and considered Euclid geometry to be the only geometry that could be applied to the heavens and refused to use any other form of geometry because he considered such forms to be heretical. He developed a proof of concerning planetary motion based entirely off propositions found in The Elements [22]. Copernicus used Euclids work on optics as evidence in his book On The Revolutions Of The Celestial Spheres which was considered the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the scientific revolution. All these great men of science were not able to use Euclids work as evidence simply because he was well known or famous for doing something exciting and spectacular. It was the intellectual quality of Euclids work that made the difference. We dont know enough about Euclid to either love him nor hate him and unless you happen to be a mathematician, his work is undoubtedly not awe inspiring. Nevertheless, Euclid still managed to affect some of the most important figures of the Scientific Revolution by setting the foundations necessary for the development of modern science. Sources: 1. The Lincoln year book, written by Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, passage 32 2. Galileo at Work: His Scientific Biography, written by Stillman Drake, pages 2-3 3. Einstein as a Student, written by Dudley Herschbach, page 3 4. How To Use Euclidean Geometry, written by Henri Bauholz, http://www.ehow.com/how_4461018_use-euclidean-geometry.html 5. Euclid, Math Open Reference, http://www.mathopenref.com/euclid.html 6. Great Scientists: from Euclid to Stephen Hawking, written by John Farndon, 2007 7. A Chronicle of Mathematical People, written by Robert A. Nowlan 8. Geometry Quotes, History of Mathematics Archive, http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~john/MT4521/Lectures/Q1.html 9. The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History, written by Michael H. Hart, 2000 10. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Euclid 11. The Teaching of Euclid, written by Bertrand Russell, http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Extras/Russell_Euclid.html 12. Isaac Newton, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton 13. Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians, written by Luetta Reimer Wilbert Reimer, 1990 14. The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, Prehistory to A.D. 1450, written by David C. Lindberg, 2008 15. Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers, written by Jan Gulberg, 1996 16. Euclids Elements, written by D.E. Joyce, http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html 17. Euclid, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid 18. Axiomatic Systems for Geometry, written by George Francis, 2002 19. The Thirteen Books of the Elements, written by Euclid / Thomas L. Heath 20. Mathmatical Thought, University of Arkansas, http://math2033.uark.edu/wiki/index.php/EuclidHYPERLINK http://math2033.uark.edu/wiki/index.php/Euclids_ElementsHYPERLINK http://math2033.uark.edu/wiki/index.php/Euclids_Elementss_Elements 21. Newton: Understanding the Cosmos, New Horizons, Letter from Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke, 1676, as transcribed by Jean-Pierre Maury, 1992 22. KEPLERS PLANETARY LAWS, written by A. E. Davis, http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Keplers_laws.html 23. Spinoza and Jefferson, The Teaching Community, http://teachingcompany.12.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2147 24. A History of Mathematics, written by Carl B. Boyer, 1985 25. The History of Computing Project, Blaise Pascal, http://www.thocp.net/biographies/pascal_blaise.html

Culture And Defining The Role Of Leadership Essay -- Leadership Busine

Culture and Defining The Role Of Leadership Abstract I believe a person can be taught to lead and manage but one can't be taught how to effectively and successfully lead and manage. I don't believe the corporate culture of the organization has to with it. I think leading and managing has to do with the individual person. How that person is motivated, how that person sees him/herself. Can he/she lead effectively or is managing the nitch that they have. A Leader will effectively orchestrate change, create a vision, inspire people to follow the vision and keep people focused towards an ideal future. What is Culture? I first want you to understand what culture is because to understand culture is to understand the organization. According to Anthropologist James Sparely, culture is "the acquired knowledge people use to interpret experience and generate behavior". Culture can be interpreted in many ways such as national/ethnic culture, secondary or subgroup culture, culture in the anthropological sense and the capital C culture. The national/ ethnic culture is described as how one was raised as a child such as African American culture or Chinese culture. This interpretation is a very narrow view because it is a norm and it also raises challenges in our virtual team communication. Secondary or sub-group culture is described as our social groups such as women's group or golf group. Culture in the anthropological sense refers to behaviors one shares over time and the capital C culture refers to the performing arts. Individuals from different cultures vary in terms of their behaviors and communication styles (Gudykunst, 1997). Edward Halls th... ...wing the Mission and Vision stated this company has greatly succeeded in its leadership in maintaining a healthy organizational culture. I think the key to a healthy organizational culture is truly a great leader. A leader with self motivation, a leader with life skills not just educational skills. This leader should know what to expect from his/or her members because his vision is clear and concise. This leader will not only have plans for present day activities but for future endeavors, making sure that followers can see this future and actually taste success. A great leader trains others to precede him when he cannot lead any longer making certain that his vision stays alive. References Research website www.culture-at-work.com Research website www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/schein.html Research website www.aipfl.com

Materialism In Hong Kong :: essays papers

Materialism In Hong Kong Is the Materialism serious in Hong Kong? Do people in Hong Kong dream of wealth and bodily comfort rather than spiritual and intellect things? Absolutely. Living in a thriving, busy and booming city which dreams for wealth and treat the luxuries as a sign of success through the effect of media and the attitude of enjoy-the-life-the-most, misery and impoverished characteristics are dishonoured, however, it makes the whole society in Hong Kong falls into an unlimited cliff, people would never remember what the reality and the value of their life. The most obvious way of proving materialism in Hong Kong is the flooding of advertisement and quick develop of luxuries, brand-named goods companies. The idea of become "rich" is hot around Hong Kong. There was a survey states that almost 70% of the undergraduate student looking for the goal of a better job, high salary and higher living standard after they graduate rather than study for their interest or fulfilment of their unlimited field. Theory of success has been distorted by the over loaded mass media in Hong Kong. It is easy to know where you can buy the brand-named and expensive clothes and usually they strongly mention about which successful person or movie stars have them. People then agreed with the message comes from the mass media and make themselves "look like" a successful person rather than being a "real" successful person. The dreams of wealth has the first position in Hong Kong atmosphere. Most of the children who are raised in a high living standard family and bathing in the pool of parents' adore has been receiving over loaded information from television and advertisements. Before a child enters first grade class, and before entering in any real way into our religious ceremonies, a child will have soaked in a large amount of advertisements. The time Hong Kong teenagers adsorbing advertisements more than their total stay in high school. Especially in the small area residence environment in Hong Kong. Most of the small sized families have their corresponding small sized flats since the price of real estate in the market was in hyper inflation few years ago and never fall down its price. Children spend their time in watching TV instead of going outside, doing sports or reading books compared to the other countries. They have been raised and built up their mind mostly by the commercial TV programmes such as advertisements where children receive their ethnic value, their basic grasp of worlds' meaning and therefore create the habit of buying luxury

Importance of Critical Thinking

It was Francis Bacon who said â€Å"knowledge is power† and indeed it is. We all want to know, to gain knowledge. That’s why we go to school for a large portion of our lives, why we read, watch and listen to all we can when we are awake and sometimes even when we are asleep. But what exactly is knowledge? While there isn’t a single standard definition, the oldest accepted definition was given by famous philosopher Plato; â€Å"Justified true belief. † The pursuit of knowledge I define as research. So how does one reach the goal of attaining this justified true belief?I suggest the use of critical thinking skills as a means to that end. Linda Elder defines critical thinking as follows; â€Å"Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. † That is, a method of thinking developed by a person that would allow this person to reason at the apex of his/her intellig ence, objectively. Critical thinking is an important apparatus in seeking knowledge as it addresses issues like uniformity, bias and partiality.As human beings we are naturally selfish. The phrase â€Å"looking out for number one† comes to mind. The point is that we want for ourselves. Similarly in seeking knowledge on a particular subject matter, we tend to take into consideration only the evidence that suits our opinion, which supports our stance on the issue. Critical thinking requires that we move past our biases and examine every bit of evidence with sound logic, in order to after an objective analysis, arrive at a fair conclusion. Also, when we do research, our findings are often partial or incomplete.With the application of critical thinking skills we would overcome that obstacle as thinking critically requires us to bring together and evaluate all the necessary information. So we would not only assess the pros as it relates to something, but also the cons. Nor would w e analyze one party’s view and ignore the opposition. Everything relevant would be appraised, making our pursuit complete. Lastly, the idea of uniformity. Format and order are very important in conducting research. We must be able to see a continuum or sequence in our methodology.Critical thinking is a process, therefore there are stages involved such as evaluation and inference. Our thoughts would not be jumbled nor would our ideas seem scattered and random as might be the case when we don’t dig deeper beneath the surface of a concept and reason on a higher plain. The application of critical thinking skills would undoubtedly result in coherence. To conclude, the importance of critical thinking as a tool in the pursuit of knowledge cannot be denied as our usual mode of reasoning is damaged and it is just the tool for the fix. â€Å"Those who know how to think need no teachers. †- Mahatma Gandhi.

Symbolism and Religious Drama: T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral

In 1163, a quarrel began between the British King Henry II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The men had been good friends, but each felt that his interests should be of primary concern to the nation and that the other should acquiesce to his demands. Becket fled to France in 1164 in order to rally support from the Catholic French for his cause and also sought an audience with the Pope. After being officially (although not personally) reconciled with the King, Becket returned to England in 1170, only to be murdered as he prayed in Canterbury Cathedral by four of Henry's Knights. Three years later, he was canonized and pilgrims—Henry among them—have made their way to his tomb ever since. The allure of such a story for a dramatist is obvious: there is a great conflict between human and divine power, a strong central character and a number of complicated spiritual issues to be found in his death. In 1935, T. S. Eliot answered this â€Å"calling† to compose a play for that year's Canterbury Festival; the result was a work that revitalized verse drama—a form that had not been widely employed for almost three hundred years. Critics praised Eliot's use of verse and ability to invest a past historical event with modern issues and themes, such as the ways in which lay persons react to the intrusion of the supernatural in their daily lives. In part because it is a religious drama which appeared long after such plays were popular, Murder in the Cathedral is still performed, studied, and regarded as one of Eliot's major works, a testament to his skill as a poet and dramatist. In its assessment of Eliot's importance to modern English literature, A Literary History of England argues that a shift from despair to hope-a change from â€Å"the ‘inert resignation' of those who breathe the small, dry air of modern spiritual emptiness† to something more positive and potentially transcendent-can first be detected in Eliot's â€Å"Ash-Wednesday† (1930), â€Å"of which the theme is the search for peace found in humble and quiet submission to God's Will†. This theme, clearly an expression of the Anglo-Catholicism Eliot embraced during his life, appears again throughout Murder in the Cathedral. It informs and breathes through the entire text of the play, as the commentary above has demonstrated. In Murder in the Cathedral, the â€Å"inert resignation† of modern life manifests itself in the Chorus' refusal to embrace transcendence: the women of Canterbury are content to go on â€Å"living and partly living. † As they state, even imploringly to Becket, on several occasions, they â€Å"do not wish anything to happen. They do not want the wheel of God's pattern to begin turning. As do all moderns in Eliot's estimation, they â€Å"fear the injustice of men less than the justice of God. † They are not ready to live, as Becket was, â€Å"out of time. â€Å"Yet, through Becket as he portrays him, Eliot forcefully argues that such transcendence must be achieved. In keeping with biblical testimony about the nature of spir itual power versus temporal power, however, Eliot posits that transcendence cannot be achieved by force. It arises, not through utilitarian machinations (such as those the Four Tempters propose to Becket in Part I), but by, in the Literary History's words, â€Å"humble and quiet submission to God's Will. † As Becket himself declares, â€Å"I give my life / To the Law of God above the Law of Man. † His triumphant affirmation of faith echoes the words of the New Testament: â€Å"Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard† (Acts 4:19-20); or again, â€Å"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (James 4:4). Only by valuing â€Å"friendship†-i. e. , a total alignment of mind and soul and will-with the spiritual, with God, over such friendship with the world or the temporal order of the status quo, can â€Å"peace†-that elusive goal referred to throughout the play: in Becket's fragile relationship with King Henry; as Bec ket's greeting to the Chorus in Parts I and II; as the turning of God's wheel of providence-be found. In this way, the themes of Murder in the Cathedral aptly crystallize the themes of Eliot's own life-long work. The wheel was a symbol, in medieval times, of the â€Å"wheel of life† or the â€Å"wheel of fortune,† â€Å"which never stands still, being constantly subject to the turns of fate† (Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 379). No doubt Eliot draws on these ancient associations in his text's multiple references to the wheel, but he also subverts them by stating that, in fact, the wheel of fate-or, in Eliot's Anglo-Catholic worldview, of God's providence and plan for history-has in fact been standing still during Becket's seven-year absence from Canterbury. As discussed earlier, the length of Becket's exile is itself of metaphorical importance, since seven symbolizes totality and completeness. ) Becket's task is to set the wheel turning again: to take his part, willingly and completely, in God's â€Å"pattern† (another word-image that occurs frequently in the text) so that the wheel can resume turning and that â€Å"peace† can replace the mere existence of â₠¬Å"living and partly living. â€Å"The seasons also carry symbolic freight in Eliot's play. The most notable example is the Chorus' invocations of the passage of the seasons at the beginning of Part I and then at the end of Part II. At the beginning of the play, the passing seasons are in actuality one long season of waiting, one endless Advent. But by the play's end, after Becket's martyrdom, the seasons in their cycle have become part of human beings: â€Å"Even in us the voices of seasons . praise Thee. † Eliot's use of seasonal imagery will no doubt remind readers of his work in The Waste Land (1922). That epic poem's first line, â€Å"April is the cruelest month,† reinforces the poem's dominant mood of pessimism in the face of what Eliot sees as the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the then still-young twentieth century. As in Murder in the Cathedral, the passage of the seasons in The Waste Land is not a healthy cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Life has become stuck in â€Å"living and partly living. † Still, even The Waste Land was â€Å"not merely a poem of despair of the present but of hope and promise for the future, since at the close the thunder speaks, foretelling the coming of the life-giving rain† (Baugh, p. 586). In a similar way, Murder in the Cathedral ends in hope-although more tempered by a realization of humanity's reluctance and inability to, in Becket's words, â€Å"bear too much reality. † Still, the â€Å"redemption† of the seasons is an important symbolic motif in the play, as it was in Eliot's earlier work. Becket's retur n to Canterbury is clearly framed in terms that allude to Jesus' â€Å"Palm Sunday† entrance into Jerusalem. For example, the Messenger's description of how the crowds are greeting the returning Becket-â€Å"with scenes of frenzied enthusiasm, / Lining the road and throwing down their capes, / Strewing the way with leaves and late flowers of the season†-is surely intended to remind Eliot's audience of Jesus' so-called â€Å"triumphal entry† into the holy city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: â€Å"Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields† (Mark 11:8; see also parallels in Matthew 21 and Luke 19). In some Christian liturgical traditions, Palm Sunday is also called â€Å"Passion Sunday,† to indicate that it is the beginning of Jesus' sufferings. Thus, Eliot strongly associates Becket's â€Å"triumphal entry† into Canterbury with Jesus' â€Å"triumphal entry† into Jerusalem-a seeming victory procession that leads to martyrdom and death, and can therefore be considered victorious only in hindsight, through the eyes of faith, on the far side of resurrection. (A further allusion to the Palm Sunday narrative, incidentally, occurs when the second priest tells the women to keep silent, earning himself a rebuke from Becket. In a similar way, Jesus rebuked the religious authorities of his day for ordering the crowds who welcomed him to keep silence: Jesus told them, â€Å"I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out† [Luke 19:40]. ) Overall, these parallels are meant to establish Becket as a salvific Christ-figure whose death will bring the blessing of transcendence to humanity. As Eliot wrote in Becket's Christmas sermon, mourning and rejoicing (note the repeated refrain, â€Å"Rejoice we all, keeping holy day†) commingle at Christmas; birth and death jostle for worshipers' attention; martyrdom-witness-takes precedence in the church's marking of the time. Understanding the significance of these three festival days increases our appreciation of the martyr's purpose, as exemplified in Becket's own death: to make transcendence available to human. The titular hero of the biblical book of Daniel, who remains steadfast to God (in the context of Eliot's dichotomy, read: spiritual) in the face of pressures to assimilate to a pagan (read: temporal) culture. Ezekiel 14:14, 20 also praise Daniel as an exemplar of righteousness, even as Becket is as he faces death. Ironically, of course, Daniel, according to the Bible, was delivered from the lions' den as a consequence of his faithfulness to God. No such physical deliverance awaits Becket. The archbishop does, however, seem to mirror the attitude of Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who, faced with death in a fiery furnace for refusing to worship an idol, declared, â€Å"If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us. let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king that we will not serve your gods. † (Daniel 3:17-18). Becket, like Daniel's friends, is ready to die for God (the spiritual): â€Å"Do with me as you will† (p. 76). Thus, the knights' invocation of Daniel at this point in the text creates a wealth of allusive value that illuminates Eliot's themes. The impending moment of Becket's martyrdom takes on an existential significance as the Chorus reflects upon what awaits humanity after death. The Chorus identifies Death s â€Å"God's silent servant,† and acknowledges, in orthodox fashion, that Judgment awaits mortals â€Å"behind the face of Death. † The Chorus then, however, strikes a decidedly unorthodox tone in affirming that â€Å"behind Judgment [is] the Void, more horrid than active shapes of hell† (p. 71). In terms that again echo Eliot's earlier work, The Waste Land, the Chorus describes this Void as: â€Å"Emptiness, absence, separation from God; / The horro r of the effortless journey, to the empty land / Which is no land, only emptiness, absence, the Void. † (p. 71). Ironically, however, it is this very â€Å"Void,† free of distraction, with no opportunity to avoid a truthful gazing upon oneself, that Becket is embracing in choosing to die a martyr's death. This speech of the Chorus thus seems to emphasize, once more, a distinction in Eliot's mind between men like Becket-the â€Å"saints† who cause the wheel of God's pattern in time to turn-and ordinary mortals, who are content-even though they deny it! -to merely exist, to be only and always in Advent, only and always waiting, only and always â€Å"living and partly living. † Truly, we cannot bear too much reality! We do not wish to stare into the void, the abyss. But Eliot, like other existential thinkers of the twentieth century, understand that peering into that abyss is fundamentally a salvific, liberating act, signified in Eliot's play by the â€Å"saving† consequences of Becket's death for a world that would rather not be saved. Character profilesThe Chorus is an unspecified number of Canterbury's women, is a corporate character serving the same purposes as does the chorus in Greek drama: to develop and, more importantly, to comment on the action of the play. The women's initial speech fairly defines their dramaturgic role: â€Å"We are forced to bear witness. † And yet this chorus, like its ancient Greek predecessors, is no mere, dispassionate, objective â€Å"eyewitness†; rather, it is a witness bearing testimony to truth-almost as in a legal proceeding, but that analogy fails to capture the nature of the testimony the chorus offers. In commenting upon the action of Thomas Becket's murder, the women are voicing insights into, reflections on, and conclusions about time, destiny, and life and death. In the end, they emerge as representatives of ordinary people-such as those who make up the audience of the play, or its readership-people who, mired in and having settled for an existence of â€Å"living and partly living,† are unable to greet transcendence when it is offered to them. As they state in the play's final moments, not everyone can bear the â€Å"loneliness, surrender, deprivation† necessary to become a saint. Not all can be saints-but all can pray for their intercession. Thomas Becket is the Archbishop of Canterbury, former Chancellor to King Henry II, now estranged from the monarch because he insists upon the right of the Church to rule in spiritual matters-a rule that, in practice, has ramifications for how the king ought to rule in temporal matters. Unlike the Chorus, Becket is able to stare into the existential abyss-that â€Å"Void† behind death and judgment, mentioned in Part II, that is â€Å"more horrid than active shapes of hell. Becket is often accused of pride in the play, but he is actually humble in submitting himself completely to the will of God as he comprehends it. His death offers a glimpse of how transcendence can be achieved: the only question that remains is whether the rest of humanity is able to trace the same path, to â€Å"give [its] life / To the Law of God above the Law of Man. â€Å"The Four Tempters present Becket, in Part I of the drama, with various ways of avoiding his impending death as a martyr. Their temptations correlate, to one degree or another, with the justifications of Becket's assassination offered to the audience by The Four Knights at the end of the play. In a prefatory note to the play's third edition (1937), Eliot indicated that the roles of the Tempters had been intended to be doubled-that is, played by the same actors-as the roles of the Knights, thus underscoring the connection between the two quartets in an even stronger fashion. The Three Priests serve the (admittedly little) dramatic action of Eliot's play, particularly in Part II, when they urge Becket to bar the doors of the Cathedral against the knights-although they characterize them as savage beasts-who seek his life. They could thus be seen as representing the temporal order: indeed, Becket at one point accuses them of thinking only as the world does-â€Å"You argue by results, as this world does. † On the other hand, the Priests also are capable of offering insight into the spiritual order. For example, the Third Priest affirms the Church's endurance in the face of world built on the ruins of the presumed absence of God; and earlier, he offers a key interpretive insight by stating, â€Å"Even now, in sordid particulars / The eternal design may appear. † Like so many of us, then, the priests have one foot, so to speak, in the spiritual and the other in the temporal; and they struggle to balance the two orders as best they can, as do we all. Unfortunately, according to the argument of Eliot's drama, there can ultimately be no balancing: peace-that is to say, transcendence-is to be found only in the complete submission to God's design, God's pattern, God's wheel of providence. Mortals, say both Jesus and Eliot, cannot serve two masters-and so the Priests are fundamentally impotent, unable to do anything but to pray to God with heavy reliance upon the intercession of Saint Becket, as they, in their own way but like the Chorus, go on â€Å"living and partly living. â€Å"

Be an Environmental Advocate Essay

As times have changed, so has our planet. Global warming has become a critical issue in today’s society, and it will not go away unless we do something about it. There are people all around the globe who have made the change and decided to be conscious of the health of our world. Unfortunately however, it is not enough. As long as the majority of society continues to rely on fossil fuels, continues to waste energy, and continues destroying forests, our planet will continue to suffer. If we are to change the fate of our beautiful planet, society as a whole must take immediate action. To make the world a better place, we all should become environmental advocates, and take a stand to save humanity. We must make environmentally conscious changes in our own lives, teach those around us, and lead by example to make a difference. Above all else, every single person on the planet must change the way they live day to day. We must be aware of every potential harmful affect of every activity we engage in. Every gallon of gas saved, light turned off, and computer unplugged will impact the future of the Earth. Emissions from fossil fuels are the cause of global warming, and presently our society relies on these fossil fuels to function on a daily basis. By carpooling, walking, turning off the air conditioner, and unplugging appliances that we are not using, we can each save a substantial amount of energy. If everyone does just a little, it will add up to a lot. Next we should each take the initiative to teach others about the importance of being environmentally conscious. Some people do not understand how critical global warming has become, and therefore, can only change by learning. Others do not realize how easy it is to make small changes in life that will make a big difference, such as switching to energy efficient light bulbs. If we all would simply casually mention energy saving tips to our families, friends, and co-workers, or even strangers in the light bulb aisle, we can really affect the thinking of those around us. Finally, we can lead the way by setting a good example ourselves. People do as they see more often then as they are told. If our children, friends, and even strangers see us saving energy or planting trees, they are likely to follow our lead. If enough people become example setters, the idea of living green will become a trend. Just as we strive to be fashionable by what we see on the television or in magazines, if we are constantly bombarded by stories and images of people saving the planet, more people will strive to fit in. Every single person counts, and if we can set a responsible example for even one person, it is worth the effort. Our environment is suffering at the hands of its inhabitants. Still, global warming does not have to destroy our planet or the future of mankind. If we ignore the problem it will not go away, but if we take action now, before it is to late, we can save the Earth, one person at a time. By making small changes in our lives, teaching others the importance of living green and how easy it is to do so, and setting examples for others to follow, we can each make a difference. By becoming environmental advocates, globally, we can make the world a better place.

Management Case Study Essay

I.CURRENT SITUATION A.Past Corporate Performance Indexes i.Marvel Enterprise Incorporated Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is an industry-leading firm whose core business is character-based entertainment. Marvel’s foundation and success is built on their proprietary library of over 4,700 characters featured in a variety of media for nearly seventy years (1939-2004). Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing agreements, and publishing of comic books through the division of Marvel Comics. ii.How it was formally organized: First Management Marvel had its first taste of corporate culture when founder Martin Goodman sold the publishing outfit that began life as Timely Comics to Perfect Film and Chemical– a company known for film processing and mail order drug sales in 1968. Perfect grouped Marvel under the Magazine Management brand. 1972 saw Stan Lee stepping in for Goodman as publisher, while parent company Perfect rebranded itself as Cadence Corporation the following year. The wonky Magazine Management Co. now officially became known as Marvel Comics Group. iii.New World Pictures purchased Governance of Cadence Industries for Marvel Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. (Marvel or MEG), the parent company of Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions, was put up for sale as part of the liquidation of its then parent corporation, Cadence Industries. Marvel was sold to New World Pictures. Cadence Industries, formerly Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation, was an American conglomerate owned by Martin â€Å"Marty† S. Ackerman. In 1989, Ronald Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings group of companies bought Marvel Entertainment Group from New World for $82.5 million, not including Marvel Productions, which was folded into New World’s TV and movie business. â€Å"It is a mini-Disney in terms of intellectual property,† said Perelman. â€Å"Disney’s got much more highly recognized characters and softer characters, whereas our characters are termed action heroes. But at Marvel we are now in the business of the creation and marketing of characters. iv.Going Public, Bankruptcy and Acquisition: Perelman’s Governance Marvel made an initial public offer of 40% of the stock in July 1991, giving $40 million from the proceeds to Andrews Group, Marvel’s then direct parent corporation within MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings. Marvel purchased the trading card company Fleer within a year of going public. In April 1993, Marvel acquired 46% of ToyBiz, for the rights to make Marvel toys.] The Andrews Group named Avi Arad of ToyBiz as the president and CEO of the Marvel Films division and of New World Family Filmworks, Inc., a New World Entertainment subsidiary. New World later became a fellow subsidiary of the Andrews Group. In 1993 and 1994, Marvel’s holding companies — Marvel Holdings, Inc. and Marvel Parent Holdings, Inc. — were formed between Andrews Group and MEG and issued over half a billion dollars in bonds under the direction of Perelman, secured by Marvel’s rising stock, which was passed up in dividends to Perlman’s group of companies. Marvel continued acquisitions with Panini, an Italian sticker-maker, in August 1994, and SkyBox International in April 1995. Under the governance of Perelman, Marvel also purchased Heroes World Distribution, a regional distributor to comic-book shops. Marvel’s attempt to distribute its products directly led to a decrease in sales and aggravated the losses which Marvel suffered when the comic book bubble popped.While licensing revenue reached $50 million in 1995, MEG laid off 275 employees on January 4, 1996. Perelman offered to have the Andrews Group purchase additional shares with an issue for $350 million in November 19 96, which would have required ToyBiz to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel. Meanwhile, Carl Icahn began buying Marvel’s bonds at 20% of their value and moved to block Perelman’s plan. The Marvel group of companies  filed for bankruptcy on December 27, 1996, but the note holders, led by Icahn, blocked this. v.Marvel as Disney Subsidiary On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced a deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion, with Marvel shareholders to receive $30 and about 0.745 Disney shares for each share of Marvel they own. The voting occurred on December 31, 2009 and the merger was approved. The acquisition of Marvel was finalized hours after the shareholder vote, therefore giving Disney full ownership of Marvel Entertainment. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange under its ticker symbol (MVL), due to the closing of the deal. On June 2, 2010 Marvel announced that it promoted Joe Quesada to Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment. In June 2010, Marvel set up a television division headed by Jeph Loeb as executive vice president. Three months later, Smith & Tinker licensed from Marvel the character rights for a superhero digital collectible game for Facebook and Apple’s mobile platform. On October 1, 2010, Marvel moved its offices to a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) suite at 135 W. 50th Street, New York City, New York, under a nine-year sublease contract. Stan Lee Media’s lawsuit against Marvel was dismissed again in February 2011. In July 2011, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Marvel characters co-created by Jack Kirby would remain the property of Marvel. In March 2013, Feld Entertainment agreed with Marvel to produce a Marvel Character based live arena show. Marvel was also launching a new pop culture and lifestyle web show, â€Å"Earth’s Mightiest Show†. Current Mission Marvel Enterprises Inc. aims to successfully meet the needs of its customers by continuing to design, develop, market and distribute character superheroes that made the Company’s name famous. It also aims at offering its customers fresh and different characters all the time. Not only that, but Marvel’s goal was also to secure the â€Å"best-in-class† licensing partners in all categories of its divisions in business. Current Objectives 1.To determine if Marvel can still increase the growth in their profit at a higher level. 2.To widen the range of their licensing activities. 3.To continue to maintain control over the quality of the product, from design to final engineering and execution. 4.To determine if Marvel could continue to capitalize on a limited set of prominent characters, most notably Spiderman or could decide to shift focus to a larger set of lesser- known characters that might have the potential of becoming blockbuster characters but were largely unknown to the wider public. 5.To determine if Marvel could venture beyond its current business model and take on more capital-intensive but also profitable activities. Current Strategies Marvel was acquired by Toy Biz and was named as Marvel Enterprises Inc. In line with the change of its name was the total change in its management. The start was a difficult one. Marvel’s new strategy was first aimed at monetizing the content library via licensing characters for use with media products (such as toys, apparel, collectibles, and food). Managing the library of characters to foster long-term value was the second key focus of Marvel’s new management. Retaining some form of control over the creative process- to ensure the quality of the content that featured Marvel characters was the third main strategic dimension. Marvel’s management team hired well-known artists and writers to lead its creative efforts in the publishing division, including popular writers from the film and television industry, and had started to sign exclusive contracts with key creative talent. Current Policies Some of the policies implemented by Marvel Enterprises Inc. to its management are: 1.Excluding its â€Å"Spider- Man† character from the deal with TBW (Hong Kong based independent Company) in creating the product design, marketing  and sales because Spider-Man has a separate deal with Sony Pictures. 2.Maintaining an incredible performance for its Toy division because competition was so intense at this industry. 3.Maintaining a wide channel of distribution of its products. 4.Pursuing a diversified base of studio partners, both to ensure their commitment to each project and to mitigate risks regarding Marvel’s motion picture division. 5.Widening the range of its licensing activities for its characters. 6.Investing in profitable investment-related activities. 7.Strictly implementing rules and regulations in its management. 8.Maintaining an effective internal control over its management. II.Corporate Governance A.Board of Directors i.Directors Marvel’s Board of Directors has three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms. Sid Ganis and James F. Halpin were elected at the 2008 annual meeting as Class I directors to serve a three-year term. Morton E. Handel, F. Peter Cuneo and Isaac Perlmutter were elected at the 2007 annual meeting as Class III directors to serve a three-year term. Richard L. Solar was elected, along with Avi Arad, who later resigned, at the 2006 annual meeting of stockholders as a Class II director to serve a three-year term. The Board of Directors elected James W. Breyer to replace Mr. Arad in June 2006, and Mr. Breyer is serving out the remainder of Mr. Arad’s term. In July 2007, the Board of Directors increased the size of the Board by one Board seat and elected Laurence N. Charney to serve as a Class II director until this annual meeting. Each of Mr. Solar, Mr. Breyer and Mr. Charney has been nominated for election to a new three-year term at this annual meeting. ii.Other Directors James W. Breyer (Class II), 47, has been a Marvel director since June 2006. Mr. Breyer has served as a partner of the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, Accel Partners, since 1995. Laurence N. Charney (Class II), 61, has been a Marvel director since July 2007. Mr. Charney retired from his position as a Partner of Ernst & Young LLP in 2007, having served that firm for over thirty-five years and engagement acceptance across all service lines. Mr. Charney served previously at Ernst & Young as an audit partner and was Marvel’s audit partner for its 1999 through 2003 audits. Mr. Charney is a senior advisor to Plainfield Asset Management LLC, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, CT that specializes in special and distressed situations. Richard L. Solar (Class II), 69, has been a Marvel director since December 2002. Since February 2003, Mr. Solar has been a management consultant and investor. From June 2002 to February 2003, Mr. Solar acted as a consultant for Gerber Childrenswear, Inc., a marketer of popular-priced licensed apparel sold under the Gerber name, as well as under licenses from Baby Looney Tunes, Wilson, Converse and Coca-Cola. iii.Directors Who’s Terms Are Continuing For each member of the Board of Directors whose term of office as a director continues after the annual meeting, set forth below is the director’s name, age as of March 9, 2009, principal occupation for at least the last five years, selected biographical information and period of service as a director. Sid Ganis (Class I), 69, has been a Marvel director since October 1999. Mr. Ganis is the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that awards the Oscars. Mr. Ganis has been President of Out of the Blue†¦Entertainment, a company that he founded, since September  1996. Out of the Blue†¦Entertainment is a provider of motion pictures, television and musical entertainment for Sony Pictures Entertainment and others. From January 1991 until September 1996, Mr. Ganis held various executive positions with Sony Pictures Entertainment, including Vice Chairman of Columbia Pictures and President of Worldwide Marketing for Columbia/TriStar Motion Picture Companies. James F. Halpin (Class I), 58, has been a Marvel director since March 1995. Mr. Halpin retired in March 2000 as President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of CompUSA Inc., a retailer of computer hardware, software, accessories and related products, with which he had been employed since May 1993. Mr. Halpin was a director of Life Time Fitness, Inc. from February 2005 until August 2008. F. Peter Cuneo (Class III), 64, was Marvel’s President and Chief Executive Officer from July 1999 through December 2002 and served as the part-time Special Advisor to Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer from January 2003 through December 2004. Mr. Cuneo has been a Marvel director since July 1999, and since June 2003 he has served as a non-executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Cuneo is a senior advisor to Plainfield Asset Management LLC, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, CT that specializes in special and distressed situations. Mr. Cuneo is a also director of Iconix Brands, Inc. Morton E. Handel (Class III), 73, has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Marvel since October 1998 and was first appointed as a director in June 1997. Mr. Handel served as a director of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. from June 2005 until November 2008 and as a director of Linens ‘N Things, Inc from 2000 until February 2006. Mr. Handel is also a Life Regent of the University of Hartford and is active on the boards of not-for-profit organizations in the Hartford, CT area. Isaac Perlmutter (Class III), 66, has been Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2005. Mr. Perlmutter has served as a senior executive of Marvel Characters B.V. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. that owns and licenses Marvel’s intellectual property library) and its predecessor-in-interest Marvel Characters, Inc. since January 2007 and has been employed by Marvel as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors since November 2001. Mr. Perlmutter has been a Marvel director since April 1993 and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors until March 1995. B.Management i.Board Meetings and Committees The Board of Directors held at least 10 meetings annually. Each incumbent director attended, during the year, at least 75% of the aggregate number of Board of Directors meetings and applicable committee meetings held during the period in which he served as a director. The Board of Directors’ committees include the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Film Slate Committee and Strategic Planning Committee. ii.Corporate Governance Committee The Corporate Governance Committee’s function is (i) to identify individuals qualified to become members of the Board of Directors; (ii) to recommend individuals for selection by the Board of Directors as nominees for election as directors at the next annual meeting of stockholders; and (iii) to develop and recommend to the Board of Directors a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines and the modification of those guidelines from time to time. The Corporate Governance Committee is comprised of Messrs. Halpin (chairman) and Ganis. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met three times annually. The Board of Directors has determined that each of Messrs, Halpin and Ganis is â€Å"independent† iii.Audit Committee The Audit Committee’s function is (i) to directly appoint, retain, compensate, evaluate and, where appropriate, terminate Marvel’s independent  registered public accounting firm; (ii) to assist the Board in its oversight of: the integrity of Marvel’s financial statements, Marvel’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, the independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and the performance of Marvel’s internal audit function and the independent registered public accounting firm; and (iii) to prepare the report required to be included in Marvel’s annual proxy statement, which follows. The Audit Committee is ultimately responsible for pre-approving audit and non-audit services provided by its independent registered public accounting firm including the compensation to be paid for those services. The Audit Committee has established a policy regarding pre-approval of audit and non-audit services, and has delegated its authority to pre-approve audit and non-audit services to its chairman, who reports any such pre-approvals to the Audit Committee at its next meeting. In accordance with the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policy, the Audit Committee does not engage its independent registered public accounting firm to perform non-audit services that are precluded by law or regulation or any services that would impair the firm’s independence. iv.Compensation Committee Our chief executive officer is invited to attend meetings of the Compensation Committee and to offer recommendations on compensation of other executives or directors, but he does not vote in the committee’s final determinations, and decisions concerning his own compensation are made in his absence. The Compensation Committee has the authority to retain compensation consultants to assist it in making its decisions. During 2008, the members of Marvel’s Compensation Committee were Messrs. Halpin and Ganis. Neither of those individuals was an officer or employee of Marvel, or of any of its subsidiaries, during 2008 or formerly, nor did either of them have any relationship requiring disclosure in â€Å"Transactions with Related Persons, Promoters and Certain Control Persons,† below. None of our executive officers served in 2008 on the compensation committee of any  other company that had an executive officer serving as a Marvel director. None of our executive officers served in 2008 as a director of any other company that had an executive officer serving on our Compensation Committee. . v.Executive Officers Below are the positions held with Marvel, and selected biographical information for our executive officers, other than Mr. Perlmutter, whose information is found under â€Å"About Our Directors,† above. 1.Alan Fine , 58, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Marvel Characters B.V. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. that owns and licenses Marvel’s intellectual property library) and its predecessor-in-interest Marvel Characters, Inc. since May 2007. Mr. Fine also has served as Chief Executive Officer of Marvel’s publishing division since September 2004. Mr. Fine served as Chief Executive Officer of Marvel’s toy division from August 2001 until that division was closed in early 2008. 2.David Maisel , 46, has served as Executive Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive since September 2006 and became Chairman of Marvel Studios in March 2007. From September 2005 until September 2006, Mr. Maisel served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and from September 2005 until March 2007, Mr. Maisel served as Vice Chairman of Marvel Studios. From January 2004 to September 2005, Mr. Maisel served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Marvel Studios. From October 2001 to November 2003, Mr. Maisel headed Corporate Strategy and Business Development for Endeavor Agency, a Hollywood literary and talent agency. 3.Simon Philips , 40, has served as President, Worldwide Consumer Products since October 2008 and as CEO of Marvel Animation since January 2008. Mr. Philips served as President, Marvel International from November 2006 to October 2008. From November 2003 to November 2006, Mr. Philips served as the Managing Director of 4Kids Entertainment International. Mr. Philips served as chief executive officer of LDI, a licensing and merchandising company, from 1996 to 2003. 4.John Turitzin , 53, has served as Executive Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive since September 2006. From February 2006 until September 2006, Mr. Turitzin served as Marvel’s Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Turitzin has also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel since February 2004. 5.Kenneth P. West , 50, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since June 2002. vi.Code of Ethics Marvel has adopted a code of ethics applicable to its principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller and persons performing similar functions. We have also adopted a code of business conduct and ethics which is applicable to all employees and directors. III. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS A.Social Environment Economic/Demographic Forces Entertainment industry is targeting segmented groups that have been long ignored including ethic cultures, language, religion and women and in case by case basis adult’s only products. Technological/Physical Forces Entertainment is available in variety of ways including online, cell phone, and on-demand video. Sales in traditional entertainment merchandise has dropped. Social/Cultural Forces Entertainment has reached out to the community conscious in educating it on events and beliefs in the community. Political/Legal Forces Entertainment outlets are facing parental lawsuits to prevent particular products from being place and/or sold in a market or setting. Producers must  keep vigilant on product content in order to deal with either self regulated or government regulation in order to guarantee an investment return. The threat of piracy and illegal licensing is at stake in the entertainment industry. The entertainment industry lobbies to protect copyrighted product. B.Task Environment Competitors The entertainment industry no matter how fragmented it appears much of what is produced. In terms of entertainment is held closely by three US based media conglomerates, Disney, Viacom, and Time Warner. These conglomerates direct the entertainment market and the direction of the media. The Licensing segment competes with a diverse range of entities that own intellectual property rights in characters. These include DC Comics (a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc.), The Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal, Inc. (a subsidiary of General Electric Company), DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. and other entertainment-related entities. Many of these competitors have greater financial and other resources than we do. The Publishing segment competes with numerous publishers in the United States. Some of the Publishing segment’s competitors, such as DC Comics, are part of integrated entertainment companies and may have greater financial and other resources than we do. The Publishing segment also faces competition from other entertainment media, such as movies and video games. The Toy segment competes with many larger toy companies in the design and development of new toys, in the procurement of licenses and for adequate retail shelf space for its products. The larger toy companies include Hasbro, Mattel Inc., and Jakks Pacific, Inc. Many of these competitors have greater financial and other resources than the Company. The toy industry’s highly competitive environment continues to place cost pressures on manufacturers and distributors. Discretionary spending among potential toy consumers is limited and the toy industry competes for those dollars along with the makers of computers and video games. The Film Production segment competes with other film producers, including major studios such as Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures (which also produce films licensed by our Licensing segment). Many of these producers are part of integrated ente rtainment  companies and have greater financial and other resources Threat of New Entrants There is always the possibility of new entrants in the entertainment industry. Producers and/or manufacturers may create a product to carve out a particular market or segment niche. The industry has a history of employees banding together to create a new product to compete in the already in the full field, but getting a local or national distribution is challenging smaller entertainment providers team with already established distribution unit have an excellent chance of breaking ground into the market. Threat of Substitute Products The threat of any type substitute in the entertainment industry is high. Most often than not, the threat comes in time of gift giving season when marketing dollars are spent more to sway people from one product to the other. This time of the year is also filled with hopes of new products entering the market to capture a hungry audience. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers are creating new outlets for the entertainment industry through technological advances. The winner for battle technological supremacy will lie solely on which technological outlet has the most partners. Bargaining Power of Buyers Consumers have the ability to patronize or not to patronize an entertainment outlet. However, the limited ownership prevents consumers from believing they will never deal with a company they have been dissatisfied with in the past. IV. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES A.Corporate Structure Marvel is a multidivisional company that has three segments which are highly integrated and vertically differentiated. ï‚ §Licensing – The Licensing segment earns revenues from selling rights to movies, television production companies, video game publishers, and merchandise manufacturers to use its  character properties. The licensing business concentrates on a few large licensees, and attempts to manage and re-segment opportunities with its characters, creating â€Å"classic† editions, â€Å"youth† editions, and â€Å"movie† editions to take advantage of every revenue opportunity. ï‚ §Publication – The Publishing segment produces, markets, and sells comic books. This business publishes comic books and novels about the company’s characters, and licenses characters from other sources and turns them into graphic novels. ï‚ §Toys – The Toys segment collects royalties and service fees from Hasbro. The company has an exclusive to y merchandising agreement with Hasbro (HAS) until December 31, 2011, that began in 2007. Prior to this, most revenues in the Toy segment were made from toys produced by Marvel. ï‚ §Movie Production – The movie production arm of the company was set up to independently produce films and grow revenues. The new Films segment produces films featuring Marvel’s characters like Iron Man. B.Corporate Culture Honesty and integrity are the key organizational values of Marvel. The company gives importance in maintaining company reputation as well as fairness and awareness even with competitors. Marvel considers its almost 5000 character library as 5000 assets. The company looks forward to become even larger with the Disney merger. The company shares many shared values and maintains a constant renewing process. Marvel provides its people with Corporate Governance Guidelines, Corporate Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and Code of Ethics for CEO and Senior Financial Officers. These provides them with a brief description of their obligations and offer guidance concerning how to conduct their business in a manner consistent with their high ethical value. C.Corporate Resources 1.Marketing 2.Finance 3.Research and Development 4.Operations and Logistics 5.Human Resources 6.Information Systems