Ragtime essays

Ragtime essays Ragtime is one of the most powerful books that I have ever read, and E.L. Doctorow is an author unlike any other. Just as the name suggests, the seemingly serene beginnings that are presented in each of the miniature books within the book are quickly unraveled by the onslaught of complicating situations and by the unpredictable reactions of each character. The plot, containing an abundance of twists and turns, and the authors style of writing, work together harmoniously making it nearly impossible for me to stop reading. The interplay between fact and fiction is so greatly entangled that it made me wonder if certain famous characters truly did do the things that were described in the book. Doctorows style of magic realism contributed to my curiosity. For example, the scene in Book I concerning Houdini meeting the little boy, fascinated me. I asked myself, could such an incident have been possible? If so, what are the chances? Peeking into the intimate lives of several well-known people gave me the sense that I actually knew who they were. Since Doctorow describes their inner feelings so well, I was able to put aside the reality that their experiences in the book are mostly from Doctorows creativity. These great accounts of their emotion made me believe that he personally knew them and therefore knew what they have gone through and what they were feeling at particular moments. This story made me question how likely or unlikely certain events could occur and the extent to which something stops being a coincidence and instead becomes the fulfillment of a specific destiny. This is especially true about the section regarding Tateh and his daughter meeting Mother and the little boy. From one perspective, it can be hypothesized that it is pure chance that Father chose to stay at the same place as Tateh and his daughter is staying. Then again, is it time for his daughter to find a friend whom she can be comple ...

Timeline of the Titanics First and Only Voyage

Timeline of the Titanic's First and Only Voyage From the time of its inception, the Titanic was meant to be gigantic, luxurious and safe. It was touted as being unsinkable because of its system of watertight compartments and doors, which of course proved to be just a myth. Follow the history of the Titanic, from its beginnings in a shipyard to its end at the bottom of the sea, in this timeline of the building of the ship through its maiden (and only) voyage. In the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, all but 705 of its 2,229 passengers and crew lost their lives in the icy Atlantic. The Building of the Titanic March 31, 1909: Construction of the Titanic begins with the building of the keel, the backbone of the ship, at Harland Wolffs shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. May 31, 1911: The unfinished Titanic is lathered up with soap and pushed into the water for fitting out. Fitting out is the installation of all the extras, some on the exterior, like the smokestacks and the propellers, and a lot on the inside, like the electrical systems, wall coverings, and furniture. June 14, 1911: The Olympic, sister ship to the Titanic, departs on its maiden voyage. April 2, 1912: The Titanic leaves the dock for sea trials, which include tests of speed, turns, and an emergency stop. At about 8 p.m., after the sea trials, the Titanic heads to Southampton, England. The Maiden Voyage Begins April 3 to 10, 1912: The Titanic is loaded with supplies and her crew is hired. April 10, 1912: From 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., passengers board the ship. Then at noon, the Titanic leaves the dock at Southhampton for its maiden voyage. First stop is in Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic arrives at 6:30 p.m. and leaves at 8:10 p.m, heading to Queenstown, Ireland (now known as Cobh). It is carrying 2,229 passengers and crew. April 11, 1912: At 1:30 p.m., the Titanic leaves Queenstown and begins its fated journey across the Atlantic for New York. April 12 and 13, 1912: The Titanic is at sea, continuing on her journey as passengers enjoy the pleasures of the luxurious ship. April 14, 1912 (9:20 p.m.): The Titanics captain, Edward Smith, retires to his room. April 14, 1912 (9:40 p.m.): The last of seven warnings about icebergs is received in the wireless room. This warning never makes it to the bridge. Last Hours of the Titanic April 14, 1912 (11:40 p.m.): Two hours after the last warning, ship lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg directly in the path of the Titanic. The first officer, Lt. William McMaster Murdoch, orders a hard starboard (left) turn, but the Titanics right side scrapes the iceberg. Only 37 seconds passed between the sighting of the iceberg and hitting it. April 14, 1912 (11:50 p.m.): Water had entered the front part of the ship and risen to a level of 14 feet. April 15, 1912 (12 a.m.): Captain Smith learns the ship can stay afloat for only two hours and gives orders to make first radio calls for help. April 15, 1912 (12:05 a.m.): Captain Smith orders the crew to prepare the lifeboats and get the passengers and crew up on deck. There is only room in the lifeboats for about half the passengers and crew onboard. Women and children were put into the lifeboats first. April 15, 1912 (12:45 a.m.): The first lifeboat is lowered into the freezing water. April 15, 1912 (2:05 a.m.) The last lifeboat is lowered into the Atlantic. More than 1,500 people are still on the Titanic, now sitting at a steep tilt. April 15, 1912 (2:18 a.m.): The last radio message is sent and the Titanic snaps in half. April 15, 1912 (2:20 a.m.): The Titanic sinks. Rescue of Survivors April 15, 1912 (4:10 a.m.): The Carpathia, which was about 58 miles southeast of the Titanic at the time it heard the distress call, picks up the first of the survivors. April 15, 1912 (8:50 a.m.): The Carpathia picks up survivors from the last lifeboat and heads for New York. April 17, 1912: The Mackay-Bennett is the first of several ships to travel to the area where the Titanic sank to search for bodies. April 18, 1912: The Carpathia arrives in New York with 705 survivors. Aftermath April 19 to May 25, 1912: The United States Senate holds hearings about the disaster; the Senate findings include questions about why there were not more lifeboats on the Titanic. May 2 to July 3, 1912: The British Board of Trade holds an inquiry into the Titanic disaster. It was discovered during this inquiry that the last ice message was the only one that warned of an iceberg directly in the path of the Titanic, and it was believed that if the captain had gotten the warning that he would have changed course in time for the disaster to be avoided. Sept. 1, 1985: Robert Ballards expedition team discovers the wreck of the Titanic.

Information Management Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Information Management Strategy - Case Study Example Hicks (1986) states that as the world moves from the days of disparate societies to the days of integration and awareness, the need for having reliable, authentic, and verifiable means of information increases. This results from the fact that managers need processed information for taking better decisions on a routine basis, and this processed information is the output of various processes that are conducted on the initially presented and collected raw data. This raw data constitutes the information collected from various sources within the organization or from external sources, and thus the sources of information gain ultimate importance, no matter which organization it is. Subsequently, the importance of not just information but the information sources as well cannot be denied. The information sources may include, but are not restricted to, employees, stakeholders, shareholders, newspapers, industry analysis, independent news sources, media, competitor publications, etc. Data manag ement is a critical subject of concern today for management, because the reliance on availability of accurate, verifiable and timely data cannot be denied by any means. The organization under consideration in this assignment is my own organization i.e. where I work. The major operation in my organization is based on customer communication, where our source of revenue is the printing of statements, cheques, mailing, customer response, and we are also indulged in develop IT solutions for various customers that we have. The aim of our organization is to provide this wide variety of services to our wide clientele. 1.3 Information Needs of the Organization - what information is needed The focus of this assignment is mainly towards the human resource department that is facing loads of troubles as far as data gathering through various sources is concerned. Seemingly, it looks like human resource department would not require loads of data or the data resource would be fairly restricted, but neither is the case. This section details the need for data in the human resource department, while the next section sheds light on the various data resources. It is noticeable here that the term data and information would be used interchangeably, though in reality, data is the raw form of information, and information is processed data. Human resources are defined as the truest source for attaining competitive edge for an organization. Therefore, there has been tons of weightage given to subjects like management and organizational behavior, similar to the weigh given to finance and marketing, if not more or less. A major part of keeping the human resource satisfied and contented is giving them appropriate compensation, with the right and justifiable deductions. For this fact to stand true, i.e. the right compensation with proper deductions, there is need for information pertinent to attendance, ins and outs, movement of employees, late comings, proper utilization of time, presence in the right area, avoiding irrelevant movements across the firm's building, and so on. All this information needs to be gathered at the end that generates pay-slips and payments i.e. the payroll department. 1.4 Information Resources After having described the need of information for

Appraise the proposition that the bank failures and crisis of 2007-8 Essay

Appraise the proposition that the bank failures and crisis of 2007-8 could have been foreseen from academic work published prior to 2004 - Essay Example In the United States, the Federal Government was left with no option but to initiate a bailout program to secure the financial markets and control the crisis before it spread to other parts of the world. Over a period of time the crisis became a global financial crisis and many banking institutions around the world felt the shock. As the financial system faced rapid deterioration, many causing factors came to surface. There are many factors which have been pointed out as those which contributed to the banking crisis. This paper aims to analyze the literature which was developed prior to 2004 which contained information which could have been used to avoid the current bank failures and crisis which have reshaped the economy of the world. This paper will look at some of the root causes of the banking crisis and the ways in which it could have been avoided, while looking at the literature which was available prior to 2004 which could have been used to predict the crisis. A report by the Inter American Development Bank (2004) states that in order to avoid costly banking crisis it is essential to understand what causes them in the first place. One of the prime reasons for the banking crisis was the deregulation. In the past there have been incidents where deregulation of a particular industry showed similar trends. One such example is the airline industry which did well initially following the deregulation but eventually some of the airline service providers were forced to face bankruptcy. This is one example which could have been used to determine what the outcome of unmonitored banking and mortgage lending practices could have resulted in. Secondly banks did not consider the integrity of the borrowers when lending them huge amounts of money. Even individuals who were not fit to obtain loans were approved large sums of money. A) The US boom

Introduction to Information Systems Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Information Systems Essay Abstract For my final paper I will Identify three vital tools of knowledge management and knowledge management systems, social networking systems, (CRM) customer relationship management, and (31) business intelligence. I wlll explain how an organization can utilize knowledge management resources to assist the company in running a successful business. will also explore knowledge management as we know it today. Knowledge Management Introduction Knowledge management is crucially important to any organization for resources which aids a company In providing its staff with the most accurate data needed in uch a competitive and fast passed time. We will explore three tools that aid us in knowledge management and learn how these tools are of great benefit to a successful business. We will also look at knowledge management as we know it today. Narrative sections There are three vital tools of knowledge management and knowledge management systems I want to explore. They are as follows: social networking systems, customer relationship management and business intelligence. Information technology aids knowledge management to provide up to date and ccurate data desired on a moments notice to companVs members. A knowledge management system is of great value for any organizations in everyday situations by enabling the employee access to other colleges documents and information. Knowledge management systems allow each staffs member the capability to stay organized and utilize figures and data from the organization. Being able to share this information throughout the company can help the organization in providing a better quality job that may even lead to improvements. Each business varies in the types of knowledge management needed to run its rganization trom documents, technology, networks, just to name a few. Each type ot knowledge managements can accommodate different business methods from push strategy; pull strategy, competence management to databases. You must first distinguish between the vast types of knowledge to understand the different kinds of knowledge management needed. Different fields focus on different types like explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, and embedded knowledge. sale or a great investment opportunity. A social network allows a company to interact with its customers and employees all around the globe. More businesses are growing by staying connected with its customers with Facebook and Twitter. Social networks give a company the capability to reach a broader audience via the World Wide Web. The larges social network site today is Facebook which a lot of companies are beginning to utilize. Social networks operate through person-to-person and social influence. Companies can target their customers through social networks and optimize their social outreach. Companies also have the capability to respond to a customers concern and engage in a meaningful connection with repeat and new customers. With the hundreds of networking sites to access, it can be a challenge to manage multiple social sites, but the opportunities are endless. Customer relationship management provides an inside look to its customers purchase patterns that help plan the organizations sales activities. CRM will allow a company to target customers and generate leads for their sale items. Customer relationship management allows the business the needed information to better understand their customer base, building a more efficient business relationship between company, customer and distributer. With such important information gathered, a company can deliver customer gratification while make the most of its profits. A business can utilize CRM software to focus on the customers specific consumptions and thus tailor to their needs. CRM software provides a company with a buyer history and preferences leading to potential buys. Shoppers buying patterns can help to cross sell other items. Shoppers can be made aware of available items of their preference making for an easy marketing strategy. Business intelligence is raw information gathered from a data warehouse to help ake effective business decisions. With business intelligence you can better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your company and stay competitive in todays market. With the proper information and good IT support a company can operate with good business intelligence. There are steps to properly utilizing good business intelligence. Gathering of information and incorporating existing information is the key to decision making. Data Marts are critical to help its members gain access to specific information needed. For better decision making, each epartment can access only the portion of information it requires versus being overwhelmed with unnecessary information. Being able to access the right information and the right time will help minimize errors of duplication and help run each department efficiently. Having the right software with good IT makes for a successful business. advantage of every source available to you. Your organization will run efficiently and with minimal inaccuracies. Focus on delivering up-to-date data for timely decision making.

Student Sleep Habits and Their Grades Essay -- academic performance, sl

Introduction Sleep has always been a popular subject among humans. There have been many studies that examine sleep and its correlation with a wide variety of variables, such as depression, energy levels, and grades. Students, as a group, are widely studied. As the world’s future leaders and thinkers, there is great importance placed on their achievements. In this study the effect of student sleep habits on perceived academic performance is investigated. Many things may affect students’ academic success among these variables are sleep habits. This study will look at sleep habits and grades to see if a significant correlation exists between the two. Sleep is an interesting subject and if a correlation between it and grades may be drawn, whether negative or positive, it will help to further educate and encourage more productive habits among the young and bright individuals that society relies upon. The public should care about the study because the impact is of a nature that could affect the community. Studies have previously been conducted about sleep and students. These studies cover a variety of variables including sleep length, inductive reasoning, preference in time of day, grade-point average, sleep quality, etc. (Escribano & Dà ­az-Morales, 2013);(Gilbert & Weaver, 2010). In one study researchers used Likert scales on a one to five platform to gather information (Gilbert & Weaver, 2010), and another on a one to four scale (Gaultney, 2004). Another study had a survey that asked for objective information such as exact grade-point average (Kelly, Kelly & Clanton, 2010). Yet another study used sleep logs and divided the students into a series of three classes based on their sleep habits (Tsai & Li, 2004). This stu... ...nces, Volume 55, Issue 2, July 2013, Pages 106-111, ISSN 0191-8869 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.02.011 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886913000809) Kelly, W. E., Kelly, K. E., & Clanton, R. C. (2001). The relationship between sleep length and grade-point average among college students.   College Student Journal, 35(1), 84-86. Ling-Ling Tsai, Sheng-Ping Li, (2004) Sleep patterns in college students: Gender and grade differences, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Volume 56, Issue 2, February 2004, Pages 231- 237, ISSN 0022-3999, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(03)00507-5. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399903005075) Unknown. (unknown).  Table of critical values for pearson's r.. Retrieved on 11/17/2013 from http://www.radford.edu/~jaspelme/statsbook/Chapter%20files/Table_of_Critical Values_for_r.pdf

Process Analysis Essay on Process Writing

AnalasysiPROCESS ANALYSIS WRITING Firstly, Process  or  processing  typically describes the action of taking something through an established and usually routine set of procedures or steps to convert it from one form to another, such as processing paperwork to grant a mortgage loan, processing milk into cheese, or converting computer data from one form to another. A process involves steps and decisions in the way work is accomplished, and may involve a sequence of events. The source of this information can be found on the website: Wikipedia (www. ikipedia. com) Secondly, ANALYSIS is when you tell your results to prove or disprove your original guess or hypothesis. Explaining why your results turned out this way. For example: If a scientist believes that he has found the cure for Aids, he then has certain steps to take. He first has to observe, identify, describe and experiment the drug or substance that he is certain it is the cure for aids, he then have to state everything in steps, from what he did, from the very beginning .This is called analysis. To tie the both in one: Process Analysis is basically a form of technical writing and expository writing. † designed to convey to the reader how a change takes place through a series of stages†. Technical writing is where The description of scientific and computer-related activities, whereas expository writing is a type of writing   where the purpose is to inform, explain, describe, or define the author's subject to the reader.Expository text is meant to deposit information and is the most frequently used type of writing by students in colleges and universities. A well-written exposition remains focused on its topic and lists events in chronological order. Examples of expository writing include driving directions and instructions on performing a task. Key words such as first, after, next, then and last usually signal sequential writing. Most importantly first-person pronouns (I) should be avoide d.Expository essays do not reveal the opinion of the writer or writers. When someone is reading a matter of Process Analysis, they are most likely interested in the chronological component; this is  a sequence of events arranged in their order of occurrence in time, such as a timeline. Process Writing is an approach which encourages English as a Second Language (ESL) – youngsters to communicate their own written messages while simultaneously developing their iteracy skills in speaking and reading rather than delaying involvement in the writing process, as advocated in the past, until students have perfected their abilities in handwriting, reading, phonetics, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. In Process Writing the communication of the message is paramount and therefore the developing, but inaccurate, attempts at handwriting, spelling, and grammar are accepted, know that within the process of regular writing opportunities students will gain control of these sub-skills.Thes e skills are further developed in individual and small group conference interviews. † Some steps to process writing are: STEP 1: Pre-writing, which deals with your ideas and building on your ideas, Planning. STEP 2: Writing, this is when you do a rough draft of your plan. This stage is sometimes called the â€Å"don’t worry stage’’ you can have spelling errors, grammatical errors, here is why it is called a rough draft. Also remain focus on writing and go away from all distractions.STEP 3: Revising, here is where you do grammatical changes, omitting unimportant sentences, where you add or expand your word-count, or you can go back to your pre-writing notes for ideas as-well as re-arranging. STEP 4: Editing, this is distinct form revision. Here is where you actually go through line by line searching for errors, repetitiveness, punctuations. Also to make sure your writing is very clear and understandable and last but not least, to check for spelling.STEP 5: Publishing, this depends on what piece you are working on: student will need to produce a final copy including, bibliography, journalist will submit their copy, fiction writers sending their story to magazines. Etc. In conclusion these five steps are â€Å"a frame work of writing well and easy. † BIBLIOGRAPHY * Ali Hale -: Writing process * Heald -Taylor (1986): process writing method. *   Linda Flower and John R. Hayes in â€Å"A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing† (1981). * URL: http://leo. stcloudstate. edu/acadwrite/process. html * http://www. library. ualberta. ca/guides/index. cfm  to researching and writing essays.

Aloha Case Essay

1. What should be Aloha’s competitive strategy? Low cost? It is difficult for Aloha to compete with the industry giants like Nestle, P&G and Phillips Morris on low cost. The reason is simple – volume. These industry giants have much higher volume than Aloha and enjoy a tremendous advantage in economies of scale. It is probably suicidal for Aloha to try to adopt a low cost strategy. It will probably be crushed like an ant, unless the giants play â€Å"oligopolists† and charge high prices to maximize profits. Differentiation; i.e., selling gourmet coffee a la. Starbuck? It is probably easier for Aloha to position itself as a gourmet coffee maker, catering to the yuppie type and charging a premium price for a coffee experience different from that offered by â€Å"regular† brands. Differentiation seems to be the choice strategy for small companies in that its success does not rely on size or volume; anyone with little resources but a great idea can be the David that slays the industry Goliaths. Examples abound: Ben & Jerry in ice cream and Paul Newman in spaghetti source. In fact, while the case tells us little in this regard, I suspect that Aloha has been able to survive in this competitive industry for all these years and seems to be thriving entirely because it started out occupying a special market niche and positioning its coffee as a gourmet brand. 2. How should the roasting plants, and marketing and purchasing departments be evaluated? Roasting Plants Given the differentiation strategy, the roasting plants should be treated as a profit center, as it is already now. That is because the differentiation strategy can be successfully implemented only if the quality of the coffee lives up to its image as a gourmet brand, and evaluating plant managers on profit, rather on cost alone, motivates the managers to constantly improve the quality of the coffee and maintain it at high levels. In contrast with plant managers evaluated on cost alone, plant managers evaluated on profit are penalized if they sacrifice quality on the altar of cost minimization; when quality declines, so will revenue and profit. On the other hand, if Aloha pursues a low cost strategy, then the plant managers should be evaluated on cost control alone. For a firm adopting a low cost strategy, volume is the king in order to achieve economies of scale and the customers targeted are less conscious of the quality of the coffee brands they drink. Thus, keeping cost down would be the primary objective for the plant managers. Marketing Department Since Aloha positions itself as a gourmet coffee maker, the objective for the marketing department is to keep both the price and gross margins high. Volume would not be very important as the firm knows that it only appeals to a limited group of coffee connoisseurs. Thus, the marketing department should be treated as a revenue center and annual evaluation of its performance should be based on a comparison of actual prices with target prices. Alternatively, marketing could be treated as a â€Å"pseudo† profit center with its â€Å"profit† defined as sales minus standard cost of coffee sold. If a low cost strategy is pursued, then the marketing department should be treated as a revenue center as well. But the focus now is on volume, or more precisely, volume growth. Thus, the marketing manager and his lieutenants should be constantly reminded of the importance of sales growth over time and be rewarded for good sales growth. Purchasing Department The purchasing department currently purchases coffee on both the spot and forwards markets. The policy is to make purchase commitments (forward contracts) based on maximum potential plant requirements and sell the rest on the spot market. That sounds like speculation. One may argue Aloha should meet its need for coffee beans only on the spot market and refrain from the speculation business, which is distracting attention from is main business – grinding and selling gourmet coffee. A counter argument is that good coffee traders probably can spot market trends others cannot and are able to reduce the cost of coffee beans by purchasing forward contracts. I question that argument because it is doubtful that any market participants can â€Å"beat the market† and consistently purchase coffee beans on the forwards market at a lower cost than on the spot market. One drawback of the policy of buying forward contracts is it allows the purchasing department to transfer the most costly coffee beans to the plants and make the plants shoulder losses from their trading mistakes. Buying on the spot markets means that the purchased amount is equal to the need of the plants for coffee beans, and thus the purchasing department would not be able to burden the plants with high-cost beans and keep low-cost beans for themselves to boost trading profit. If the purchasing department is forbidden to play the forwards market, performance evaluation for the department is easy. It would be treated as a cost center, and the cost it incurs for coffee bean purchases will be compared with market price averages in the periods that the purchases take place.

Free Essays on Similarities And Differences In Windows 2000 And Unix

A process is the most fundamental tool used in modern operating systems. An operating system’s main role is to create, manage, and terminate processes. These process management functions include allocating time for implementation, managing their actions and conflicts, and allocating resources for the processes. An operating system must track each process by keeping a description, or image, which contains the address space and a control block. (Stallings 140) UNIX Process Management Unix takes advantage of a simple process capability that is easily seen by the user. It executes its process in a user process environment. Two processes are necessary for this system to develop correctly. These include a user process and a system process. The system processes are used to execute code used to carry out in-system functions of the operating system. The user processes are broken down into two separate areas; the user mode and the kernel mode. The user mode is called when the system executes a user program. The kernel mode is used when an interrupt occurs. (Stallings 135)... Free Essays on Similarities And Differences In Windows 2000 And Unix Free Essays on Similarities And Differences In Windows 2000 And Unix A process is the most fundamental tool used in modern operating systems. An operating system’s main role is to create, manage, and terminate processes. These process management functions include allocating time for implementation, managing their actions and conflicts, and allocating resources for the processes. An operating system must track each process by keeping a description, or image, which contains the address space and a control block. (Stallings 140) UNIX Process Management Unix takes advantage of a simple process capability that is easily seen by the user. It executes its process in a user process environment. Two processes are necessary for this system to develop correctly. These include a user process and a system process. The system processes are used to execute code used to carry out in-system functions of the operating system. The user processes are broken down into two separate areas; the user mode and the kernel mode. The user mode is called when the system executes a user program. The kernel mode is used when an interrupt occurs. (Stallings 135)...

How American Manifest Destiny Effects Modern Foreign Policy

How American Manifest Destiny Effects Modern Foreign Policy The term Manifest Destiny, which American writer John L. OSullivan coined in 1845, describes what most 19th-Century Americans believed was their God-given mission to expand westward, occupy a continental nation, and extend U.S. constitutional government to unenlightened peoples. While the term sounds like it is strictly historical, it also more subtly applies to the tendency of U.S. foreign policy to push democratic nation-building around the globe. Historical Background OSullivan first used the term to support the expansionist agenda of President James K. Polk, who took office in March 1845. Polk ran on only one platform westward expansion. He wanted to officially claim the southern part of Oregon Territory; annex the whole of the American Southwest from Mexico; and annex Texas. (Texas had declared independence from Mexico in 1836, but Mexico did not acknowledge it. Since then, Texas had survived barely as an independent nation; only U.S. congressional arguments over slavery had prevented it from becoming a state.) Polks policies would undoubtedly cause war with Mexico. OSullivans Manifest Destiny thesis helped drum up support for that war. Basic Elements of Manifest Destiny Historian Albert K. Weinberg, in his 1935 book Manifest Destiny first codified the elements of American Manifest Destiny. While others have debated and reinterpreted those elements, they remain a good foundation for explaining the idea. They include: Security: Simply, the first generations of Americans saw their unique position on the eastern edge of a new continent as an opportunity to create a nation without of the Balkanization of European countries. That is, they wanted a continental-sized nation, not many small nations on a continent. That obviously would give the United States few borders to worry about and enable it to conduct a cohesive foreign policy.Virtuous Government: Americans saw their Constitution as the ultimate, virtuous expression of enlightened governmental thought. Using the writings of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and others, Americans had created a new government without the hobbles of European monarchies one based on the will of the governed, not the government.National Mission/Divine Ordination: Americans believed that God, by geographically separating the U.S. from Europe, had given them the chance to create the ultimate government. It stood to reason, then, that He also wanted them to spread that governme nt to unenlightened people. Immediately, that applied to Native Americans. Modern Foreign Policy Implications The term Manifest Destiny fell out of use after the U.S. Civil War, in part to racist overtones of the concept, but it returned again in the 1890s to justify American intervention in the Cuban rebellion against Spain. That intervention resulted in the Spanish-American War, 1898. That war added more modern implications to the concept of Manifest Destiny. While the U.S. did not fight the war for true expansion, it did fight it to develop a rudimentary empire. After quickly beating Spain, the U.S. found itself in control of both Cuba and the Philippines. American officials, including President William McKinley, were hesitant to let nationals in either place run their own affairs, for fear that they would fail and allow other foreign nations to step into a power vacuum. Simply, many Americans believed that they need to take Manifest Destiny beyond American shores, not for land acquisition but to spread American democracy. The arrogance in that belief was racist itself. Wilson and Democracy Woodrow Wilson, president from 1913-1921, became a leading practitioner of modern Manifest Destiny. Wanting to rid Mexico of its dictator president Victoriano Huerta in 1914, Wilson commented that he would teach them to elect good men. His comment was fraught with the notion that only Americans could provide such governmental education, which was a hallmark of Manifest Destiny. Wilson ordered the U.S. Navy to conduct sabre-rattling exercises along the Mexican coastline, which in turn resulted in a minor battle in the town of Veracruz. In 1917, trying to justify Americas entry into World War I, Wilson remarked that the U.S. would make the world safe for democracy. Few statements have so clearly typified the modern implications of Manifest Destiny. The Bush Era It would be hard to classify American involvement in World War II as an extension of Manifest Destiny. You could make a greater case for its policies during the Cold War. The policies of George W. Bush toward Iraq, however, fit modern Manifest Destiny almost exactly. Bush, who said in a 2000 debate against Al Gore that he had no interest in nation-building, proceeded to do exactly that in Iraq. When Bush began the war in March 2003, his overt reason was to find weapons of mass destruction. In reality, he was bent on deposing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and installing in his place a system of American democracy. The ensuing insurrection against American occupiers proved how difficult it would be for the United States to continue pushing its brand of Manifest Destiny.

SWOT analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

SWOT analysis - Assignment Example Their success therefore is on people; the customers, employees and the management (Tesco, 2014). This work seeks to establish the SWOT analysis of Tesco PLC. In light of the same, it will put in place a collection of factors that make it stand out in the market putting in mind that the negative aspects also create challenges that make it more stable. The first strength is that the company has been able to benefit from the strong financial performance over the years which underline its strategic capabilities. In 2009 for instance, the company registered a turnover of  £54 billion which, at that time was an increase of 14% as compared to the previous financial period (Hingley & Lindgreen, 2003). The reasons for this exemplary performance have been a collection of factors. In accordance with demands in the market, the customization of the products and services has increasingly made the company to achieve such high status. Key performance indicators have been set to enable the company to continue realizing a profitable cause in the verge of its operations. The table below indicates the continuous improvement in performance over the years as per 2009 and it has a collection of indicators showing different variables of growth and measurement over those years from 2000-2009. The large growth has been attributed to the customer retention strategy of the company. Most of the customers in the company are those that have been referred by an existing customer and then become permanent customers due to the good services at the company. The b company operates an online non-food retail company which highly contributes to the development of the revenue status. The Tesco club card has always been the core of customer tracking and operations and has also improved the rate of customer loyalty. The second point of strength is the diversification of

Cancer (carcinoma or sarcoma) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cancer (carcinoma or sarcoma) - Essay Example In some cases the myeloma cells collect in one bone and form a single tumor known as plasmacytoma. In other cases, myeloma cells collect in many bones resulting in the formation of bone tumors. This condition is known as multiple myeloma. (â€Å"Stanford Cancer Center†) There are some cases, though, when myeloma develops from a harmless condition called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance or MGUS. This condition is indicated by the presence of monoclonal proteins produced by abnormal plasma cells in the blood. (â€Å"Mayo Clinic†) Generally, the balance between proliferation and programmed cell death is maintained by firmly regulating these processes to ensure that organs and tissues are well functioning. However, mutations in DNA that cause cancer disturb these systematized processes by affecting the programming and regulating processes. The normal balance between proliferation and cell death is apparently disrupted. (â€Å"Carcinogenesis†) Particularly for myeloma, the group of abnormal plasma cells multiplies, thus, raising the percentage of plasma cells to more than 10%. Under normal conditions, plasma cells usually make up less than 5% of the bone marrow. (â€Å"Mayo Clinic†) Although the exact cause of myeloma is not known, doctors believe that this sickness begins with a single abnormal cell in the bone marrow. This aberrant cell would then multiply. It should be noted that abnormal cells do not mature and die in the same way as normal cells do. With this, they accumulate and eventually overwhelm the production of healthy cells. (â€Å"Mayo Clinic†) Myeloma cells can also populate the other bone marrow sites in the body since they can travel in low numbers in the blood. If the growth and spread of plasma cells remain uncontrolled, bones and surrounding tissues can be damaged. (â€Å"Mayo Clinic†) Moreover, research proved that there is common abnormality in the DNA of abnormal plasma