Monday, September 30, 2019

Anne Hutchinson: A Pioneer Of Feminism And Religious Freedom Essay

I walked into the schoolroom, and I could see my children sitting in rows based on their grade. I had been asked by the teacher, Miss Ashbury, to come and talk about the remarkable journey that led me to the Narragansett, an Indian territory in the liberating colony of Rhode Island. I sat down in the creaky wooden rocking chair and began my tale: â€Å"Hello, children! I will be telling you the story of how I ended up in Rhode Island, where we all live. It all began a long time ago, when I first arrived here in America. â€Å"In a mere blink after I first set foot upon this mysterious, new land called America, two years flew by. The fall of 1636 was fast approaching. Leaves turned bright hues of yellows and orange, though mostly brown, and there was a subtle bite that crisply lingered about the air at daybreak. It was only five o’clock when I slipped out of the house, as silent as the night that had come and gone. This was my thinking time. Usually, I walked around the estat e, which lay just outside of Boston, and that day was no different. I most likely started my walk by reminiscing of my hometown in Mother England. Alford in Lincolnshire, England had been wonderfully picturesque and quaint. On July 20, 1591, I was baptized as Anne Marbury by my loving parents, Francis Marbury, a reverend, and Bridget Dryden, my wonderful mother. We moved around a lot, mostly because Father was banned from preaching at several churches due to his radical philosophies. In fact, he had been imprisoned and put under house arrest more than once (Reuben 2). I supposed the reflection of my childhood was brought about by the evening before. There had been the birth of the Atkins’ twin boys, Hugh and Silas, as well as the Doran’s, who had their firstborn, Humility (Barnett 1). Being one of the most trusted midwives in the area, of course I was there to help them (Reuben 2). Goody Atkins, after the successful delivery of two rosy cheeked boys, queried about when the next conventicle would be. I told her that they were held every Wednesday at two o’clock at my place. I told her that nearly fifty people, though mostly women, came regularly to discuss their beliefs about the great Puritan faith. What had begun as an intimate gathering had blossomed into a town-wide affair. She told me eagerly that once she was back on her feet, she would definitely join. I met her enthusiasm with even greater zeal on my part, recounting the numerous advancing theological thinkers that came. At this time, there were even a couple public religious leaders that had begun to join, like John Cotton, my idol and inspiration. An avid supporter of intellect, Sir Henry Vane, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, appeared at a few recent meetings too. I found this was a terrific way to pass time in a culture where virtually every other activity was banned or considered sinful (2). The women who came to these meetings found them as an effective outlet to express their views on serious topics without being mocked, ignored, or worse, punished. In this society, a womanâ €™s voice was vanquished by the overpowering male population that governed the colony. â€Å"I had been out walking for an hour or so, and it was now six o’clock. The sun’s rays just brimmed over the horizon. Hurriedly, I went into the kitchen where William, to whom I owe the lovely surname Hutchinson, was. Bread, milk, and porridge were on the table, prepared for another glorious day (Olver 3). Filing down the stairs, all fifteen of my pious and healthy children greeted us each with a somnolent, â€Å"Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father.† They shuffled around the table, said a prayer of thanks, and began to eat. Since it was a Saturday, we cleaned the home, dusted, polished, washed the laundry, and did other chores. It was to be spotless for the Lord’s Day. When everyone finished, it was supper time. Another meal and prayer of gratitude was enjoyed. After, we turned in early, ready for church the next day. â€Å"Ever since I could walk, I had been going to church. My father being a pastor, no matter how outrageous, I was brought to almost all his discourses. As an adult, I found the most amazing mentors. Clergymen John Cotton and John Wheelwright had both preached near Alford, Lincolnshire. Once, when we were still in England, I made the thirty mile trip to attend one of Reverend Cotton’s famed sermons. It was instant admiration of the utmost level. John Wheelwright had been introduced to me when I married William, since William’s sister Mary was married to Wheelwright. They influenced my beliefs and theories of religious and as chance would have it, wound up in the Boston area. My family attended the Boston Church, which had the largest congregation around (Lewis 2). Dressed in our Sunday best, we piled into the horse drawn wagon and headed to church for a blissful day of worship. Life could not be any better. â€Å"My days as a simple midwife and mother continued for a year, give or take. By then, a singularly particular thing had changed in regards to the meetings I held. Over a hundred people, men and women alike, now attended. They became biweekly. During these gatherings, I voiced my interpretations of Reverend Cotton’s and other ministers’ sermons. I elucidated that God did not have to speak to us through religious figures, such as priests; man could have his own personal relationship with Him. Moreover, I believed in salvation by grace, in that one could not prepare to be saved by performing virtuous deeds, which I knew upset many a congregation member. People disagreed with my sights, but, after all, this was the New World, a land of religious freedom, where people could believe what they wanted to and not be prosecuted for it, unlike in England. Oh, the irony of it all. Instead, I found the oppression of the Puritan faith, dare I say, even greater than that of the Anglican Church. Here, in Massachusetts, the Bible is law. No more, no less. But I disagreed, and this was accepted without much grace in the community (2). â€Å"John Winthrop, a politician who strongly opposed, nay, hated my opinions, ran against dear Governor Vane. After losing to Winthrop, the beloved Governor Vane returned to England in August. My brother-in-law John Wheelwright had been promoted to the head of the Boston Church some time before. Not long after Winthrop’s succession, Wheelwright was banned from the colony for alleged sedition. Then, the final leaf in the book of misfortune was turned. It was the fall of 1637, a scant year after I had thought of my life as the epitome of the New World success story. Reverend John Cotton, a man whom I respected and followed, turned against me. He joined forces with the powerful Governor John Winthrop. Together, they brought me before the colony’s General Court on the charges of sacrilegious views and sedition, not unlike my brother-in-law (2). I knew had no chance. My sex would be of no help either. Still, I had to try. â€Å"The trial was nothing more than a sham. The judges were the prosecutors and they were all Winthrop’s supporters. My followers had barred from activities that held any leverage in the community because of their theological dissent. The outcome was inevitable, so I publicly repented my sins in court, claimed to wholly espouse the orthodox Puritan ways, and prayed to God. Miraculously, I was permitted to stay, while under the custody of the sheriff Joseph Weld. During this time, I was brought to Reverend Cotton, where he and others attempted to further the orthodox ways into my morals. Not long after the trial ended, I could no longer accept the ludicrous ideals of the rigid Puritan culture and confessed to my true controversial views. On accounts of deceit under oath, I was tried again. Known as perjury, it is, put plainly, illegal. Immediately excommunicated by the Boston Church, I packed up my belongings, family, and moved to Rhode Island, dubbed â€Å"The Sewer.† I purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and have been living comfortably and at liberty ever since (2). â€Å"Today, I simply hope for a brighter future for your generation and those afterwards. Perhaps there will be justice and liberation for them, and I would certainly like to think that I, Anne Marbury Hutchinson, was proscribed from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a place I cherished, for the benefit of the future of mankind. Thank you.† Works Cited Barnett, Jill. â€Å"Colonial Names: Great Names from American History.† Nameberry.com. N.p., 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. . Lewis, Jone Johnson. â€Å"Anne Hutchinson.† About.com Women’s History. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. . Olver, Lynne. â€Å"The Food Timeline: Colonial America.† The Food Timeline: Colonial America. Food Timeline, 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. . Plant, David. â€Å"Sir Henry Vane (the Younger) 1613-62.† Sir Henry Vane, the Younger, 1613-62. British Civil Wars and Commonwealth Website, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. . Reuben, Paul P. â€Å"PAL: Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643).† PAL: Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643). N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. .

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Ir and Globalization

Ir and globalization CONENT: Introduction Body 1. What is Globalization and how it is related with the International Relations; 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Globalization; 3. Effectiveness of the Globalization Conclusion NTRODUCTION In my work I talk about the Globalization and its relation with the Globalization where I dwelled upon the Globalization. In the second part I did survey and focused on the advantages and disadvantages of globalization as the statistics show. After hammering out the two factors I wrote about de facto effectiveness of the Globalization and at the end I stated my estimation and conclusion.International Relation and Globalization As more nations, people, and cultures adapt to the ever changing international community, diplomats, politicians, and representatives must meet and deal with accordingly to the needs and wants of nations. Diplomacy can be exerted in many forms; through peace talks, written constitutions, field experiences, etc. Culture is a familiar term and remains unchanged by definition. However, globalization and international relations have constantly altered culture both positively and negatively.Globalization increases worldwide technology, and the readability of fast, effective communication and consumption of popular products. Globalization links cultures and international relations on a variety of levels; economics, politically, socially, etc. International relations have used globalization to reach its goal: of understanding cultures. International relations focus on how countries, people and organizations interact and globalization is making a profound effect on International relations. Understanding culture, globalization, and international relations is critical for the future of not nly governments, people, and businesses, but for the survival of the human race. In today’s increasingly interdependent and turbulent world, many of the leading issues in the news concern international affairs. Whethe r it is the continuing impact of globalization, Globalization – the process of continuing integration of the countries in the world – is strongly underway in all parts of the globe. It is a complex interconnection between capitalism and democracy, which involves positive and negative features, that both empowers and disempowers individuals and groups.From the other hand Globalization is a popular term used by governments, business, academic and a range of diverse non-governmental organizations. It also, however, signifies a new paradigm within world politics and economic relations. While national governments for many years dictated the international political and economic scene, international organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization have now become significant role players. In this â€Å"Global Village† national governments have lost some of their importance and perhaps their powers in favour of these maj or international organizations.As a process of interaction and integration among people, companies and governments of different nations Globalization is a process driven by the International Trade and Investment and aided by Information technology. This process on the environment on culture, on political system, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world. Advantages and Disadvantages of Globalization Globalization has a range of advantages while it has also disadvantages. The Advantages include GDP Increase; statistics shows that GDP in developing countries has increased twice as much as before.Unemployment is reduced. Education has increased. Competition on Even Platform: The Companies all around the world are competing on a single global platform which allows better options o consumers. It increased fee trade between nations; The Corporations have greater flexibility to operate across borders. Global mass media ties the w orld together. Increased flow of communications allows vital information to be shared between individuals and corporations around the world. It increases in environmental protection in developed nations. Spread of democratic ideas to developed nations. Reduced cultural barriers ncreases in the global village effect. The Disadvantages are considered to be Uneven Distribution of Wealth, Income Gap Between Developed and Developing Countries, where the wealthof developed countries continues to grow twice as much as the developing world. Next disadvantage is Different Wage Standards for Developing Countries, which is explained by the following fat that the technology worker may get more value for his work in a developed country than a worker in a developing country thus there are in the later many dynamic, industrious and enterprising people who are well educated and ready to work with rigor.The reveal of Globalization is also considered as a disadvantage which is explaining by future fa ctors such as war that can be demand the reveal of the globalization and current process of globalization may just be impossible to reverse. There is also another aspect of disadvantage of globalization in media sphere. The threat that control of world media by a handful of corporations will limit cultural expression. And the final in my estimation is the chance of reactions for globalization being violent in an attempt to preserve cultural heritage.Effects of Globalization With the roster of the mentioned disadvantages and advantages Globalization culminates also effective facts. The following are considered the Effects of Globalization; * enhancement in the information flow between geographically remote locations * the global common market has a freedom of exchange of goods and capital * there is a broad access to a range of goods for consumers and companies * worldwide production markets emerge free circulation of people of different nations leads to social benefits * global envi ronmental problems like cross-boundary pollution, over fishing on oceans, climate changes are solved by discussions * more trans border data flow using communication satellites, the Internet, wireless telephones, etc. * international criminal courts and international justice movements are launched * the standards applied globally like patents, copyright laws and world trade agreements increase * corporate, national and sub-national borrowers have a better access to external finance * worldwide financial markets emerge multiculturalism spreads as there is individual access to cultural diversity. This diversity decreases due to hybridization or assimilation * international travel and tourism increases * worldwide sporting events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are held * enhancement in worldwide fads and pop culture * local consumer products are exported to other countries * immigration between countries increases cross-cultural contacts grow and cultural diffusion takes place * there is an increase in the desire to use foreign ideas and products, adopt new practices and technologies and be a part of world culture * free trade zones are formed having less or no tariffs * due to development of containerization for ocean shipping, the transportation costs are reduced * subsidies for local businesses decrease * capital controls reduce or vanquish * there is supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions, i. e. , patents authorized by one country are recognized in another CONCLUSIONIn conclusion I would like to state m estimation that despite all the formidable obstacles and stumbling blocks the effectiveness of the Globalization and cohesive efforts of people and the government will help to stand a positive stead prevail over the disadvantages. It will fortify to prevent migration which is inherent in third-world and back water countries and reduce social inequality which in its turn will benefit the advantages of the Globalization. A ll these mentioned facts are time-consuming and labour-intensive process but it will distinctly fortify and develop the Globalization. Ir and Globalization Ir and globalization CONENT: Introduction Body 1. What is Globalization and how it is related with the International Relations; 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Globalization; 3. Effectiveness of the Globalization Conclusion NTRODUCTION In my work I talk about the Globalization and its relation with the Globalization where I dwelled upon the Globalization. In the second part I did survey and focused on the advantages and disadvantages of globalization as the statistics show. After hammering out the two factors I wrote about de facto effectiveness of the Globalization and at the end I stated my estimation and conclusion.International Relation and Globalization As more nations, people, and cultures adapt to the ever changing international community, diplomats, politicians, and representatives must meet and deal with accordingly to the needs and wants of nations. Diplomacy can be exerted in many forms; through peace talks, written constitutions, field experiences, etc. Culture is a familiar term and remains unchanged by definition. However, globalization and international relations have constantly altered culture both positively and negatively.Globalization increases worldwide technology, and the readability of fast, effective communication and consumption of popular products. Globalization links cultures and international relations on a variety of levels; economics, politically, socially, etc. International relations have used globalization to reach its goal: of understanding cultures. International relations focus on how countries, people and organizations interact and globalization is making a profound effect on International relations. Understanding culture, globalization, and international relations is critical for the future of not nly governments, people, and businesses, but for the survival of the human race. In today’s increasingly interdependent and turbulent world, many of the leading issues in the news concern international affairs. Whethe r it is the continuing impact of globalization, Globalization – the process of continuing integration of the countries in the world – is strongly underway in all parts of the globe. It is a complex interconnection between capitalism and democracy, which involves positive and negative features, that both empowers and disempowers individuals and groups.From the other hand Globalization is a popular term used by governments, business, academic and a range of diverse non-governmental organizations. It also, however, signifies a new paradigm within world politics and economic relations. While national governments for many years dictated the international political and economic scene, international organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization have now become significant role players. In this â€Å"Global Village† national governments have lost some of their importance and perhaps their powers in favour of these maj or international organizations.As a process of interaction and integration among people, companies and governments of different nations Globalization is a process driven by the International Trade and Investment and aided by Information technology. This process on the environment on culture, on political system, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world. Advantages and Disadvantages of Globalization Globalization has a range of advantages while it has also disadvantages. The Advantages include GDP Increase; statistics shows that GDP in developing countries has increased twice as much as before.Unemployment is reduced. Education has increased. Competition on Even Platform: The Companies all around the world are competing on a single global platform which allows better options o consumers. It increased fee trade between nations; The Corporations have greater flexibility to operate across borders. Global mass media ties the w orld together. Increased flow of communications allows vital information to be shared between individuals and corporations around the world. It increases in environmental protection in developed nations. Spread of democratic ideas to developed nations. Reduced cultural barriers ncreases in the global village effect. The Disadvantages are considered to be Uneven Distribution of Wealth, Income Gap Between Developed and Developing Countries, where the wealthof developed countries continues to grow twice as much as the developing world. Next disadvantage is Different Wage Standards for Developing Countries, which is explained by the following fat that the technology worker may get more value for his work in a developed country than a worker in a developing country thus there are in the later many dynamic, industrious and enterprising people who are well educated and ready to work with rigor.The reveal of Globalization is also considered as a disadvantage which is explaining by future fa ctors such as war that can be demand the reveal of the globalization and current process of globalization may just be impossible to reverse. There is also another aspect of disadvantage of globalization in media sphere. The threat that control of world media by a handful of corporations will limit cultural expression. And the final in my estimation is the chance of reactions for globalization being violent in an attempt to preserve cultural heritage.Effects of Globalization With the roster of the mentioned disadvantages and advantages Globalization culminates also effective facts. The following are considered the Effects of Globalization; * enhancement in the information flow between geographically remote locations * the global common market has a freedom of exchange of goods and capital * there is a broad access to a range of goods for consumers and companies * worldwide production markets emerge free circulation of people of different nations leads to social benefits * global envi ronmental problems like cross-boundary pollution, over fishing on oceans, climate changes are solved by discussions * more trans border data flow using communication satellites, the Internet, wireless telephones, etc. * international criminal courts and international justice movements are launched * the standards applied globally like patents, copyright laws and world trade agreements increase * corporate, national and sub-national borrowers have a better access to external finance * worldwide financial markets emerge multiculturalism spreads as there is individual access to cultural diversity. This diversity decreases due to hybridization or assimilation * international travel and tourism increases * worldwide sporting events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are held * enhancement in worldwide fads and pop culture * local consumer products are exported to other countries * immigration between countries increases cross-cultural contacts grow and cultural diffusion takes place * there is an increase in the desire to use foreign ideas and products, adopt new practices and technologies and be a part of world culture * free trade zones are formed having less or no tariffs * due to development of containerization for ocean shipping, the transportation costs are reduced * subsidies for local businesses decrease * capital controls reduce or vanquish * there is supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions, i. e. , patents authorized by one country are recognized in another CONCLUSIONIn conclusion I would like to state m estimation that despite all the formidable obstacles and stumbling blocks the effectiveness of the Globalization and cohesive efforts of people and the government will help to stand a positive stead prevail over the disadvantages. It will fortify to prevent migration which is inherent in third-world and back water countries and reduce social inequality which in its turn will benefit the advantages of the Globalization. A ll these mentioned facts are time-consuming and labour-intensive process but it will distinctly fortify and develop the Globalization.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Sociology in Everyday Life

Sociology in Every Life One central and important study of sociology is the study of everyday social life. Everyday life and sociology are definitely two distinct terms and situations, but they hold a close relationship. While sociology studies human interaction, everyday life consists of everyday human interaction. Everyday life is filled by human beings interacting with one another, institutions, ideas, and emotions. Sociology studies the interactions with all of these and shows how mere interaction resulted in things like ideas and institutions.Everyday that you wake up and come into contact with what you do and the people you speak to is sociological. You wake up and interact with objects. Some of these objects you see yourself in such as your clothes, and your music, would be called the sociology of identification. If you live with your parents and siblings, you wake up and interact with them, by saying good morning and having breakfast with them. You recognize and participate i n the family institution. When you go to school, or church, or your job, you know what's expected of you and you know how to act in the way that is labeled normal.Therefore, you interact with a set of norms by conforming to them or breaking them which is deviance. The fact that we have an everyday life in which there are patterns in ways of living is what sets a foundation for sociological analysis and for being a witness in what we do, in order to understand ourselves better. You use sociology in many ways everyday. Race and ethnicity are important concepts in the field of sociology and are ones that are studied a great deal.Race plays a large role in everyday human interactions and sociologists want to study how, why, and what the outcomes are of these interactions. There are several sociological theories about why prejudice, discrimination, and racism exist. Current sociological theories focus mainly on explaining the existence of racism. The three major sociological perspectives are, functionalist theory, symbolic interaction theory, and conflict theory they each have their own explanations to the existence of racism. The Structural-Functional theory  argues that in order for race and thnic relations to be functional and contribute to the conduct and stability of society, racial and ethnic minorities must assimilate into that society. Assimilation is a process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of a dominant culture. It is believed that deviance encourages social change. A good example of this would be how race and ethnicity are strongly linked to crime rates. The amount of African Americans that were involved in crimes was a higher proportion than any other race. African Americans makes up 13 percent of the population but were accounted for 28. percent of the arrest. There are several reasons why arrest for African American could be this high but the main cause would probably be because of social standing. Some disadvantages to the African Ame rican population are that white people have an overall higher occupational standing and they also receive schooling beyond high school. Many people of this race are brought into single parent homes which lead to a huge gap in wealth and these children receive less supervision which puts them in a greater risk of living in poverty.Over 40 percent of African American children grow up in poor families leaving the high crime rates to not be a surprise. Prejudice is also another factor to the high crime rates because white police tend to arrest black people more readily. If crime involved drunk driving, business fraud, embezzlement, and cheating on tax returns the white population rate of crime would rise dramatically. These factors have made many people of this race strive for the best while others are still not trying at all.Although we operate from a class system it seems like many African Americans are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Individual achievement isn’t happeni ng. If more people would aim for individual achievement, social standing wouldn’t be such an issue in today’s time. I believe categorizing people according to their color, sex, or social background is wrong. The only way to overcome these negative stereotypes is to stand above the descriptions that have been applied to your race. I have learned that hardwork is the key to success, whether it is in life, work, or your social standing.Even though social stratification carries over from generation to generation it doesn’t mean you have to have the same life your parents had. Everyone is able to achieve a better life if they work for it. Social stratification is found everywhere and what is equal and unequal is different in all societies. In my society it seems like wealth and power is the key element of difference. People who are poor or have lower position are downed on. While writing this paper, I learned many things. I learned society has a huge impact on my lif e and those around me. Related post: Social Studies SBA on Teenage PregnancyI learned that personal issues can manifest into a social issue that affects the whole society as a whole, just as the major social issues can affect my personal life. Overall, writing this paper has benefited me to look closer at society and see how different issues affect me in my life. References Macionis, J. (2009). Society the basics. (12th ed. ). The sociology of race and ethnicity  . (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. trinity. edu/mkearl/race. html Winant, H. (n. d. ). Race and race theory. Retrieved from http://www. soc. ucsb. edu/faculty/winant/Race_and_Race_Theory. html

Friday, September 27, 2019

Government Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Government Policy - Essay Example I learned about this â€Å"don't ask, don't tell† policy (DADT) from reading it in the news but I learned more about it when one of my relatives who is serving in the military service had come back home on a furlough for the holidays. It was a bit of a shock at first but I realized it had more to it than just the simple issue of allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military. A fellow soldier had committed suicide because when he came out in the open about being a gay soldier, the other soldiers in his unit ganged up on him, sort of in a psychological way and not physically. He was ostracized and suffered some humiliation and told he was a disgrace. The topic is important to me because it exemplifies how all people should be treated equally, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Gay soldiers perform quite well on the battlefield despite some misconceptions regarding their conduct in actual combat.   Homosexual soldiers (gays and lesbians) serve the country with distinction and courage in all situations and they deserve recognition and respect from their peers and the public. Part of the reason why people are fighting for the repeal of the DADT policy is to get the same benefits.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

1 - Assignment Example The double entry system identifies and records all the accounting transactions. Measurement of accounting information involves making subjective judgment about the value of assets or liabilities relating to a business. It also involves measurement of profits or losses made in an accounting period. Accountants also record accounting data which is presented as economic information to users. It is referred to as economic information since it relates to the economic or financial activities of a business. The main financial statements that accountants prepare are the income statement, balance sheet and the cash flow statements (Warren et al, 2008). The balance sheet indicates the resources owned and owed by a business at a particular point in time. It also shows the investments made by the business and the sources of these investments. The income statement shows the profitability of a business while cash flow statement reflects the cash movement in and out of business. The preparation of all financial statements require the accounting professionals to apply all the set accounting processes to the latter in order to ensure relevance, reliability and understandability of the financial statements by the users. This is an indication that too much value of the accounting process is exercised by professionals in the identification, measuring, recording and communication of economic events. Q1. ... For example, Australia has adopted International Accounting Standards (IAS) to oversee accounting regulation in the country. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in the same country also identifies those priority issues in need of regulation. The following are the reason as to why regulation of the Preparation and presentation of accounting information is necessary in an organization. a) Accountability Accountability is one reason behind accounting regulation. It is based on the fact that the citizens and the stakeholders have the right to know. Financial information presented by accountants enables a business to be accountable. This is because the actions and activities of the business are produced in the reports. Information may be communicated through management reports, annual reports and accounts (Birt and Boland, 2010). Users need the information to make decisions. They get information on the financial position of the business and on its performance. Users of financial informa tion include governments, lenders, employees, shareholders and society at large. b) Transparency and Disclosure Transparency and disclosure of financial statements helps in preventing and detecting errors and fraud (Lee, 2007). Therefore, through preparation and preparation of financial statement errors and frauds can be detected. An auditor through tests can detect any errors or fraud and reflect them in the audit reports. Disclosure in financial statements must include the financial position like the balance sheet, performance like income statement and compliance like the notes to accounts. Investors can only provide funds for any investment in a company if they quite confident of ‘true’ and ‘fair’ presentation of financial statements. Transparency and

Environmental Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Environmental Economics - Essay Example The article, Food Waste Is Becoming Serious Economic and Environmental Issue, Report Says, was authored by Ron Nixon and published in The New York Times on February 25, 2015. The article provides research findings on the huge impact of food waste on the economy and the environment. The figures used include United States wasting food valued at $162 billion and amounting to 60 million metric tons and that 1/3 of food produced globally is not consumed but end up as waste costing $400 billion annually. A reduction in food waste, according to the article of between 20 and 50 percent by 20130 would result in saving of between $120 and $300 billion annually (Ron, Par. 4). The article projects an increase of food waste cost to $600 billion if the problem is not tamed and links the contribution of food waste to climate change owing to the use of fertilizer, water, and land in vast amounts in food production (Ron, Par. 8). Food waste relates to global change through the decomposition in landfi lls resulting in the production of methane amounting to 3.3 billion metric tons in a yearly (Ron, Par. 9). That is 7% of world’s greenhouse gas emission only surpassed by China and the United States, depicted the high global warming effects it results and the cost in millions of food waste. The article then provides measures being taken to combat the issue of food waste including the provision of grants to consumers and local businesses and non-profits for recycling of food waste to compost in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Clarifying expiration dates, sale of small amounts of food, donation of excess food, and changing manufacturing processes are some of the measures being taken to reduce food waste. Economics plays an important role in the food waste problem where there is a demand for food with 870 million people going hungry while food is wasted in industrialized countries. The concepts of the scarcity of resources and distribution of wealth and resources globally

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Teaching and Learning Algebra Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teaching and Learning Algebra - Essay Example According to the report findings if an instructor uses a version of some of these examples, students may be denied a useful frame of reference from the very start of their algebra studies. The last example does relate algebra to arithmetic, a subject which most students will have studied, may know reasonably well and may actually use in their daily lives. But even though algebra and arithmetic both involve signs, equations, numbers and computation, approaching algebra with an arithmetic mindset can cause students major problems. As the paper declares when introduced to algebra, students must reorient their thinking and recognize that â€Å"the expressions on both sides of the equals sign are of the same nature (or structure), and that there are actions which give meaning to the equality of the expressions (for instance, the action of substituting a numerical value for the unknown)†. The process to handle the minus sign before parentheses results in simplifying the expression. Thus, in the above example, 5x – (3 – x) becomes 6x – 3, a more concise and clearer way of restating the original expression without changing its value. In algebra, there is another rule for simplifying expressions, known as combining like terms, which is the third major issue confounding algebra students. Unlike the issues of the equals sign and the minus sign, solving the issue of combining like terms is a matter of following concrete rules rather than grasping concepts.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management Essay - 1

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management - Essay Example The Business Plan The business plan is the enterprise on paper. It is an attempt to capture in so many words and graphs what the business would be or look like when it is eventually implemented. It is an attempt to depict on paper the idea brewing in the mind of a would-be entrepreneur that he feels very strongly would transform into a successful venture. The business plan is the idea initially taking textual and graphic form. Literature is abundant with what makes a good business plan. Many authors would establish business plan formats containing the elements that would make a sound plan composition together with the elements’ sequencing. This paper however shall not dwell on the creation and development of these elements but shall focus on the process of planning, providing weight to the issue of the why and the how of the planning process. Business Plan Elements and the Planning Process Kuratko and Hodgetts (2009) offer the following elements in a business plan: executive s ummary, the business opportunity, market potential, market analysis, competition analysis, technical data of product or service, commercial strategy, methodology of operation, vision-mission and financial projections. These elements however are outputs of an enterprise planning process that proceeds with the idea generation, setting up of strategic objectives, analysis and research of market, understanding competition, understanding the financials and formulating the competitive strategies (Kuratko and Hodgetts, 2009). Critical Analysis Seeding the Idea: It s simple logic that there is always a purpose or reason for business, and if one pursues the economic theory... The paper tells that it is simple logic that there is always a purpose or reason for business, and if one pursues the economic theory that business is meant to generate profits for its owners, it follows that the business must be attractive to its intended customers to generate a green bottom line. An enterprise begins with an idea, whether it is a product or service, and that idea must answer a need of the market. This process of idea generation is otherwise known as the creative process or simply, creativity. Of course, it is now known, courtesy of brilliant thinkers such as Harper and Drucker, that creativity is the seed of innovation, where innovation is the finished product or service that benefits the market. It was Drucker who said that â€Å"innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship – the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.† It would be necessary as an approach to this analysis to first define what an entrepreneur is b efore proceeding to create the attribute silhouette of the successful enterprise owner. As literature has an abundance of such a definition, this paper shall adopt the version of Drucker in his famous book Entrepreneurship and Innovation. An entrepreneur, according to Drucker, is one who always searches for change, responds to it and explores to the maximum its potential as an opportunity. Many authors and researchers have ventured into identifying the attributes that successful entrepreneurs possess.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Management problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management problem - Essay Example Therefore, preparing a good business proposal and business plan is a requisite of any business that wishes to be successful. While a business proposal should contain the specific goals that the project seeks to meet, explaining in details the technical aspects and activities to be undertaken to accomplish the project and indicating the expected results (Mullins, 2002 p305), a business plan serves as a road map to the business (George and Jones, 2002 p26). A business plan helps the owners of a business to confirm the business idea, making it possible for the owners of a business to set clear business objectives and allow the business stakeholders, partners, sponsors and financiers to make a decision regarding whether and how to work with the company (Brown, 1995 p20). Thus it is necessary for any business seeking to succeed to formulate a business proposal and a business plan. This two documents act as a tool for a business to negotiate with the potential suppliers, distributors, part ners, shareholders and clients on the necessities that the business requires to succeed. In our case, the organization lacks a well formulated business plan, while its business proposal is just a ten page document of idea. There is a need to address these issues, if the housing development project for the organization is to succeed. As a consultant, in response to the lack of a well formulated business plan, the advice to the business is that a business plan is requisite for the organization to successfully achieve its housing development project. Considering that the organization experiences a problem of undertaking its housing development project due to a lack of funding available to sustain the development, then, a business plan is the required tool for use in negotiating for funding of the project by financiers. There are various reasons as to why the business entity requires having a well formulated business plan. Possession of a well formulated business plan serves to indicate to the potential financiers that the business has a mission and an objective that it seeks to meet, and that it is serious in its desire to meet this. The plan serves to indicate to the potential investors the nature of the management team that the business has and how it is committed to achieving its set goals and objectives (Camal, 2003 p52). The plan also serves to indicate to the potential investors and financiers that the business understands the needs of its customers and that is committed and dedicated to meet these needs in the best way possible, to the satisfaction of the customer. The plan also serves to show the investor and financiers that the business is well positioned to deal with the products and services the organization seeks to offer and it understands them well (Mullins, 2002 p321). It is still an advantage of the organization to have a well formulated business plan, since it shows the investors how the organization seeks to market its products and how it is equ ipped to overcome market risks, challenges and competition. A proposal on the other hand is required so as to communicate the business prospects of the organization to its stakeholders. This goes a long way to ensure that the business has secured the support of all its stakeholders in undertaking the project in question. In this case therefore, the organization should modify the ten page document comprising of business ideas into a well formulated housing development proposal for the organization. This way, the organization is able to negotiate for support from all its stakeholders, who include the shareholders, the employees and the potential investors. It serves to show that the project is important for the organization to undertake (Carnwell and Buchanan, 2005 p19). The proposal should

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Business Payment Methods Essay Example for Free

Business Payment Methods Essay At this time of building my business I need to consider the ways in which I will permit my customers to pay for the books that they buy from my book store. Today there are a wide array of payment solutions available for any buyer of goods and services and to buy books, almost all modes of payment available can be used by the customer whether it is electronically or by direct use of card at the shop or by paying in cash. If the customer is   regular and can be trusted or is a regular bulk customer, check payments can also be accepted. In view of the competitions in the sale of books I have to take some element of risk in this regard in keeping with the business practices. For direct sales at the store a wide choice of payments are available to the customer. He can pay directly in cash or by credit or debit card. I believe cash payment has the least hassles applicable as the money has already come in the moment a sale is done. In the ase of debit and credit cards a wide margin has to be provided for without any applicable discounts since a percentage of the sale amount has to be given to the financial institutions as part of the applicable commission for use of their services. The business of electronic payments is growing rapidly in view of the convenience involved and a wide array of payment options are available which are acceptable in the case of my book store. In addition to the tradition card payments other options are also cceptable to me such as mail order, online payments, acquiring bank payments and through payment bureaus. I understand that as long as a sale is taking place I can accept 2 any of these payment modes provided the financial institution is reputed to make fast payments and is reliable for its transparency in fair dealings. In such cases I may have to reduce my margins a little, but that is ok since most businesses work on volumes and hence I can make up on the low margins.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Advantage and Disadvantage of Data Collection

Advantage and Disadvantage of Data Collection There are many techniques that can elicit the requirements for Macquarie Car Insurances problem. MCI could use any of the following techniques; Interviews, Joint Application Design (JAD) and Questionnaires or they could use unobtrusive techniques; Hard data and STROBE. Each technique has certain advantages and disadvantages over the others, in most cases interviews can be seen as an important method for data collection, but a lot of preparation must be involve before it can be of any use. Interviews must establishing objectives, and have a prepared question and structure types. The questions can be phase in an open or closed state, open-ended questions allows the responder to answer how they wish and closed-ended questions give a precise answer. The structure of the questions is also important; it can be structured in a Pyramid, Funnel or Diamond arrangement. The pyramid structure commences with closed-ended questions, gradually expanding to a more open-ended question. This lets the interviewees open up to the topic that they might be reluctant to discuss. While the funnel structure commences in reverse to the pyramid. The funnel structure begins with open-ended questions then narrowing to closed-ended questions. This provides a causal nonthreateni ng environment, useful when the interviewee is emotionally attached to the topic. Whereas the diamond structure combines the strengths of both the pyramid and funnel structures. The diamond structure begins with closed-ended questions then gradually opening up to opened-ended questions, concluding with closed-ended questions. A joint application design (JAD) offers quick insight to the problems by organising group sessions as an information gathering tool. During the JAD requirements are agreed upon, as a whole, improving the users sense of ownership. JAD can use for organisations with little time and resources to waste, that requiring a system in place quickly. Questionnaires are the most common approach in gathering information about attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and characteristics from key members in an organisation. Questionnaires also use question and structure types and are designed to be simple, specific and free of bias but a poorly designed questionnaire can lead to Leniency, Central Tendency and Halo Effect. Leniency is when raters provide undeservedly high or neutral scores, naively marking the easy answers, this can be avoided by moving the average category to the left or right of center scale making the rater think about what to mark down. Central tendency occurs when the raters mark everything as average, adjusting the strength of descriptors, improving the differences smaller at each end and creating more points will avoid central tendency. Halo effect is when an impression is made in one question that carries through to the next question. This can be solved by placing one trait and several items on each page. Hard data is the analysis of collected documents; this can be broken down into two groups, Quantitative document analysis and Qualitative document analysis. Quantitative document analysis uses reports such as; Sales, Production, Performance and Summary reports, Records, Data capture forms and ecommerce transactions or any other transactions. Qualitative document analysis uses Manuals, handbooks, websites, emails and memos. Both these methods collect organisation data to make decisions on. STROBE (STRuctured OBservation of the Environment) is a techniques used for observing the decision- makers physical environment like; office location, desk placement, props, lighting etc the advantage of STROBE is that you dont have to ask questions you observing behaviour. For Macquarie Car Insurance (MCI) since the main process is to handled customer requests I believe that having Interviews would be the best solution. Interviews would gather all the relevant information needed such as, processes, opinions and users vocabulary. Joint Application Design (JAD) requires a large block of time for both users and workers, and can be at times dominated by intimidating participants, Questionnaires can suffer from validity and reliability in the responses, hard data can gather the requirements of the problem but doesnt give clear insights to the external users requirements, and STROBE doesnt gather information of the users requirements as well. Interviews would require research into background materials about the interviewees and the MCI organisation, and then interviewers would have to establish the interviewing objectives, decide upon whom to interview, prepare question types and structure. From the interviews the interviewer would be able to gather relevant information about insurances policies and customer views about the construction of an automated system. In closing the interview the interviewer would summaries the recordings, provide feedback and arrange any future appointments if necessary. A report would then be constructed to summaries the results and reviewed with the appropriate individuals. Question Two Prepare an SRS in IEEE format with the following sections below. Write one sentence under each subsection which includes the type of content that would be relevant in that section. Provide a full description for Sections 1.2 (scope) and Section 2.3 (user characteristics). Section 1.2 should include a context diagram. For Section 3.1 (functional requirements) provide 5 functional requirements; for Section 3.2 3.3, give two requirements for each; and for Section 3.4, give one design constraint. Students wishing to obtain a high mark (> 70%) should provide more content throughout the document and demonstrate a good understanding of the proposed system and their ability to structure the requirements. (4.25 mark) Software Requirements Specification Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose 1.2 Scope 1.2.1 Context Diagram 1.2.1 Level 0 Diagram 1.3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations 1.4 References 1.5 Overview 2. General Description 2.1 Product Perspective 2.2 Product Functions 2.3 User Characteristics 2.4 General Characteristics 3. Specific Requirements 3.1 Functional Requirements 3.1.1 Database 3.1.2 User Interfaces 3.1.3 Hardware 3.1.4 Software 3.1.5 System communication 3.2 Performance Requirements 3.3 Non-Functional Requirements 3.3.1 Security 3.3.2 Maintainability 3.3.3 Scalability 3.4 Design Constraints 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose Competitors have started adopting automated systems to handle customers requests; this has caused problems in Macquarie Car Insurance market share. The CIO of Macquarie Car Insurance (MCI) aims to overcome this by introducing an automated information system (AIS) to assist customers with their insurance policy enquires. The AIS would assist customers in ordering, quoting, modifying and/or cancelling insurance policies. The AIS would also allow customers to choose different payment methods, delivery methods and offers the option to be put in touch with a Human Insurance Agent (HIA). This would give MCI the advantage in the market place, increasing its competiveness in the market share. 1.2 Scope The systems requirements specification (SRS) report will document the requirements for the automated information system (AIS), and clarifies the processes of what the AIS will do. The specification is written in a format conforming to IEEE standard 830-1984. Subject to approval, the specification will meet the Requirements phase and will be followed by detailed design, implementation, and testing of the system. The product will be known as the Automated Information System (AIS). The AIS will handle customer inquiries about policies. Customers will be able to log in to system and gain information, quotes and account profiles. Customers can then purchase, change and cancel insurance policies. Two additional modules, Smart Detection Module (SDM) and Voice Recognition Module (VRM), are to be designed and implemented at a later date. The goal of AIS is to accommodate both individual and business users in answering online inquiries, quoting, purchasing, changing and cancelling insurance policies and user profiles. 1.2.1 Context Diagram 1.2.1 Level 0 Diagram 1.3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations SRS System Requirements Specification MCI Macquarie Car Insurance AIS Automated Information System SDM Smart Detection Module VRM Voice Recognition Module GUI Graphical User Interface RTA NSW Road Traffic Authority of NSW HIA Human Insurance Agents FI Financial Institutions CIO Chief Information Officer

Friday, September 20, 2019

Concepts of Business Communication

Concepts of Business Communication RITU MUDLIAR Active listening skills are ways to become a good listener. It basically means that listeners are hearing various messages, understands its meaning and verifies the feedback. Characteristics of active listeners are that more time is spent listening than talking. Five active listening skills in making your communication with your trainees are attending, encouraging, reflecting, interpreting or questioning. Attending- this makes the speaker aware whether the staffs are active listeners or not. This also implements that staffs will be taking precautions measures to resolve anything discussed in the meeting. Encouraging- shows what the speaker is saying and discussing. Reflecting- it shows that you are listening and understanding whatever the speaker is saying. Interpreting- analyzing whatever the speaker has said and summarizing it to be put into practice into their own words Questioning- shows that the staff were attentive and by asking questions they are really attentive and aware of all the happenings. Interpersonal skills are the skills we are using every day for communication and mixing around with other people. This is done either individually or in groups. Many people have worked really hard in their professional and personal lives. Four interpersonal communication skills are: Being optimistic- where people make opinions about the work done or to be done so that when launching a new product everyone’s opinion is taken into account. Patient- patience is very important in any organization as with this person can be in total control of the work pressure and staffs pressure. Confidence- doing anything or any project in any organization is very important and with total confidence anyone can do anything impossible into possibility. With that belief staffs and employers tend to move forward their business. Charming- this is very interesting character as whoever is charming can work their ways into anything. This interesting character has the charms to work things out. Assertiveness means where one person stands ground for another and standing up for that person. This normally is called bullies. Many people seek to be assertive through using methods and techniques that can be achieved. Those whom seek can dramatically can increase their effective influence and strength by using these methods. Some methods and techniques used in this process are: Have faith as this normally can lead to progressive reports. Prepare questions and ask to whom it is suitable to and this will in return than will prove worthy or not. Read inspirational things that reinforce your faith in proper values-this will always give good examples and ideas towards business minded people and strategy. Negotiation is where two parties come to a mutual agreement to any issue. This however will than become the mutual agreement between them. This resolution always tends to work in any organizations to resolve company issues related to workers or management. Feedback is very important in any organization as this is the only way any company can get feedbacks about their products being sold out in the market. This way the company can always have a fair idea as to where they stand and can than intent to launch other products. This is important as constructive measures can be taken in accordance to improve anything. Clarification is what we don’t understand and ask questions to clarify the doubts anyone has in their minds. This is helpful to managers as this gives both the interviewee and the manager a fair idea as to whether that particular person has understood or not. Question and discussion makes it easier as this way all clarifications are out from both parties and whatever questions are there are cleared before proceeding to another process. Feedback is a very important factor in any organization. This gives the whole progress report as to where the company stands and if it’s safe to launch new products into the market or to grow the existing one. Customer’s point of view gives the result of the market value and this decides the company’s outcomes towards the profit. Follow up gives proper record of the sales market and makes you keep product market value at high level. For example since Alliance Leicester is dealing with banking, insurance and this all are rel ated to money. If the company decides to launch more investments, it will apply all the theory of feedback, follow up, clarification, question and answers as this will give the correct figure as to where the company’s status stands and whether the company is liable to precede this product in the market. Also using rapport can be a solution too. Finding common grounds of communication to support your theory also portrays a huge role n the stock market. Displaying respect and empathy is also another one of the methods. Chairperson Build a team of your committee by bringing people along with you, working with them Interpret the purpose and programs of the organization to the committee Understand and interpret the community to the organization an committee members Be knowledgeable about services of other organizations Use skills in human relations and knowledge of your committee members to help each attain the peak of performance Accept and understand your committees goals and objectives as they come to you from the planning process Guide your committee in long and short range planning In the budget process, have your committee estimate costs of objectives and identify any income Monitor implementation of committee objectives When appropriate, decide with committee to take part in implementing objectives Delegate responsibilities to committee members Recognize conflicts and disagreements and use problem-solving skills to deal with them. Participants Rights and Responsibilities Have certain responsibilities which include: Making every effort to gather sufficient information that will allow them to make an informed decision about their participation, in good faith .While participating, they should also make every reasonable effort to comply with protocol requirements and inform the investigators of unanticipated problems. Participants always have the right to withdraw from their participation in research at any time and for any reason without penalty or loss of benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled. Minute recorder A minute recorder or secretary is the person who takes notes of all the meetings and makes it into a proper report for both the parties to keep. Their duties include keeping all records of conversations done between the two parties and then conveying the message to a full report made into written or verbal communication. This way a record is made as to what has happened during the meetings and what the outcomes are. Traditional views of the communication process in school organizations have been dominated by downward communication flows. Such flows transmit information from higher to lower levels of the school organization. School leaders, from central office administrators to building-level administrators, communicate downward to group members through speeches, messages in school bulletins, school board policy manuals, and school procedure handbooks. Information passed from the top managers or executives to the middle and low managers are called downward communication. For example executive manager passes a message that a new product has to be launched in Alliance Leicester and this message has to be passed on from one stage to another. The downward flow of communication provides a channel for directives, instructions, and information to organizational members. However, much information gets lost as it is passed from one person to another. Moreover, the message can be distorted if it travels a great distance from its sender to the ultimate receiver down through the formal school organization hierarchy Implementation of goals, strategies, and objectives. Communicating new strategies and goals provides information about specific targets and expected behaviors. It gives direction for lower levels of the school/school district, community college, or university. For example: The new reform mandate is for real. We must improve the quality of products in order to succeed further in the market and increase our sales value:† Implementation of goals, strategies, and objectives. Communicating new strategies and goals provides information about specific targets and expected behaviors. It gives direction for lower levels of the school/school district, community college, or university. For example: The new reform mandate is for real. We must improve the quality of student learning if we are to succeed. Supervisors are invested with decision making powers or increasingly complex decision making powers they farther you to go up the hierarchy chain of command. People in a hierarchy know who is to make the decision on a particular issue or at the very least, which is ultimately responsible for the decision (the top person in the hierarchy). Advantage of this is often more efficient than other methods such as group decision making. At the same time preventing those on the bottom of the hierarchy from making or participating in a decision. Structures are always centralized and decentralized in hierarchy chains. It defines the nature of the relationship with other employees with narrow control which gets under them more. Two communication technologies used by Alliance Leicester are electronic and oral communication. Electronic communication is done by telephone for internal external communication, email, internet, fax and computers. This is required for making reports in the finance department where all records are kept. It keeps people connected regardless of their locations instantly. Some advantages are: Messages passed on are fast and efficient. It is delivered and reply comes back as soon as the receiver receives it. Disadvantages of electronic communication are: Everyone is relying on electronic devices rather than their own minds as it used to happen in the old days. It seems businesses are running and depending more on these than the book records. Oral communication is another source of technology of communication. Some advantages of oral communication are: It is time saving as action is required to be taken immediately into account. It is always best to transmit a message orally. If the executives workload is high than they stop writing and by oral instructions they complete their message transmission. Some disadvantages of oral communication are: There are no records of instructions passed on. Messages are difficult to record. Sorting out becomes impossible to preserve the message for future purpose. This creates issues amongst the management where all records are to be kept safe for future purpose use.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Filippo Brunelleschi Essays -- Classical Italian Architecture Italy Es

Filippo Brunelleschi Fillippo Brunelleschi is famous for such ideas and projects as the â€Å"Cupola of the Duomo† in Florence and for the way he convoluted forms of classical architecture according to the new spirit of his age. In the Florentine workshops he was trained as a sculptor and goldsmith and in 1401 he became well known by winning a competition for the second door of Baptistery â€Å"Ex Aequo† with Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was commissioned to carry out the work. The Bargello Museum holds the panels of the â€Å"Sacrifice of Isaac† that the two artists carried out for this competition. It is believed Brunelleschi most likely spent the next three years studying sculpture and architecture with his friend Donatello in Rome. In 1401 he joined the Guild of Goldsmiths. However, his interest in mathematics and ancient monuments sent him toward the direction of architecture (Lombroso 1). Starting in 1409, he worked on the Santa Maria del Fiore’s construction and was immediately attracted by the cupola’s problem; in 1418 his design won the competition and he was put in complete charge of the building works in 1423. The completion of this important construction and a special design technique that made it possible to create the huge cupola’s curves without a supporting framework, presumed most of his life. This formed the basis of Renaissance architecture. In 1434 the main structure was finished and then the lantern completed it by 1436 and finally the four tribunes in the apse in 1438 (Lombroso 2). During this period Brunelleschi also worked on the Pazzi Chapel in the Cloisters of Santa Croce in 1430, the Spedale degli Innocenti in 1424, the reconstruction of San Lorenzo in 1423, on the design for Santo Spirito in 1436, and finally t... ...ful monarchs that finally succeeded in gradually unifying each country. England’s unity came under Henry VII while France was united around the time of the death of Louis XI in 1483. Major ideas of the Renaissance also began to influence the cultures of England and France. The reign of Queen Elizabeth I was perhaps one of the most culturally rich times for England during the Renaissance. Shakespeare’s plays and works were also written and glorified during this time (Cedar Rapids 7). Works Cited: Cedar Rapids Community Schools, Government of the Renaissance. Web. 3 April 2015. http://www.cr.k12.ia.us/Renaissance/government.htm Encyclopedia4U.COM, Leone Battista Alberti. Web. 3 April 2015. http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/l/leone-battista-alberti.html Megavia Lombroso, Filippo Brunelleschi. Web. 3 April 2015. http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/pers/fibru.htm

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Hamlet: A Sane Character Essay -- Hamlet Essays

The story Hamlet was composed by the playwright William Shakespeare, and is regarded as a timeless piece in both literature and theatre. Now, over four hundred years after Hamlet was written, society still continues to analyze its complex characterization (Reiss 769). In a Psychiatric Times article, twentieth century physician Alan Stone says, â€Å"Even today in our era of cultural diversity, Shakespeare remains the greatest figure of world literature, performed on every continent, surviving translation† (Allan 20). The protagonist Hamlet is a particularly multifaceted character. He is an intelligent being who appears to have been overcome by self-conflict due to the sudden murder of his father, the King of Denmark. The transgressions of the murderer, his uncle Claudius, drive Hamlet to a point of questionable sanity. It is Hamlet’s psyche which is a large topic of scholarly debate concerning the play. â€Å"Shakespeare’s understanding of the human condition mi raculously transcends his culture and place,† says Stone (Allan 20). Shakespeare had a particular interest in the human mind, mental conditions, and nosology. Upon evaluation of Hamlet’s sanity, it becomes apparent that these subjects are present in the play. The subject of Hamlet’s sanity is a vastly complex but not necessarily unexplainable topic. There is arguably evidence to support the protagonist’s sanity with: the seven soliloquies, the psychoanalysis of Hamlet’s character, and the utterance Hamlet makes in Act III. To begin, the seven soliloquies serve as a strong testament to Hamlet’s sanity because they convey his coherence like no other remarks made in the play. As the story digresses, there is an apparent shift in Hamlet’s demeanor. The rivaling question is, is Hamlet... ...Marian. "Hamlet’s seven soliloquies."  Philip Allan Literature Guide (for A-Level): Hamlet. Oxfordshire: Trans-Atlantic Publications, 2011. . Print. Crawford, Alexander W.  Hamlet, an ideal prince, and other essays in Shakesperean interpretation: Hamlet; Merchant of Venice; Othello; King Lear. Boston R.G. Badger, 1916.  Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2009. . Reiss, Benjamin. "Bardolatry in Bedlam: Shakespeare, Psychiatry, and Cultural Authority in Nineteenth-Century America." ELH. Vol. 72. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP., 2005. 769-97. Print. No. 4. Shakespeare, William.  Hamlet. 1603. Reprint. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1992. Print. Stone, Alan A. "Shakespeare and Psychiatry: A Personal Meditation."  Psychiatric Times  30: 20-21.  ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. Web. 5 May 2014.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Android Technology Essay

Android technology is a type of OSS (open source software), which is a type of software readily available with a source code that isn’t held exclusive by copyright laws. Android is made specially for mobile devices and includes: software that provides common services for computer applications, middleware, which lets multiple applications run at the same time or connect, and many other key applications like social networking, games, and business modules. Android is modeled after Linux kernel, the first operating system of free and open-source software. However, Android is moving to increase the number of people with web access via mobile devices (cell phones). In August of 2005, Google purchased the original software developer of Android. Android technology includes the hardware devices, operating systems, and computer-programming languages used by the Android phone. Android developers write in java language, which is why the majority of the open-source software stack consists of Java applications on a Java-based framework that is object-oriented. Some of the most popular android products are HTC-EVO 4G and Droid X, 2, and Pro smart phones as well as one of it’s latest developments, the Motorola XOOM, an Android tablet. Android continues to progress in its production of newer software, smart phones, etc. To date, there are over two hundred thousand applications offered for Android. Lastly, Android technology has improved mobile technology by forming the Open Handset Alliance, a group of handset manufacturers, service providers, and chip producers whose goal is to form the ecosystem for Android operating systems. Android technology hosts a number of potential benefits to possible consumers. Android is powered by open-source software stack, which means it is free to obtain and can be accessed from the Internet. In fact, Google has out sourced codes of Android technology on the web to be trialed. It safe to say that Google sees an importance in the customers familiarizing themselves with the product before purchasing say a smart phone, tablet, etc. that comes equip with Android technology. In saying this, it would be incorrect to say that Android manufacturers don’t believe in customer service. Another, benefit of Android is its push to increase the number of people with mobile web access. A benefit of mobile access to the web relieves the hassle of trying to find a desktop or waiting until one gets home to check emails, Google groups, social networking sites that hold important information, etc. Android Technology is provided in a wide array of products, such as the Motorola Droid X. More specifically, benefits of Droid X are perks like: its 4. 3 inch vivid display allowing for pocket-sized home theater quality, the ability to control your home’s Frontpoint security system, an advanced 8 mega-pixel camera with dual flash that captures pictures and records HD videos, and an HDMI output that is capable of connecting to your home HD television to view your HD videos. Ultimately, each product carrying Android technology has it’s own little perks whether that’s software, elongated battery life, etc. The potential benefits of this kind of technology outweigh any potential pitfalls. According to Marguerite Reardon in her CNET news article Living with Technology: Google Android and the Wireless Future, â€Å"much of the software’s success will be determined by what others in the ecosystem choose to do with it† (Reardon 1). This means benefits can be endless, because with android technology you get what you put in, as cliche as that sounds, the more applications you add to your device the more sufficient you and your mobile device will be. Like all other advancements in technology, Android technology is a modification of what came before it (Linux kernel). Due to nature of it being a new and exciting type of technology, people have begun to voice perspective on legal, social, ethical, and security conditions of products including the software. First, to clear up any confusion Google only has rights to the software or operating system; it is not there job to supply the build or make devices. Rights to manufacture phones/smart phones and other devices using Android operating systems powered by Google are companies like LG, HTC, Samsung, and Motorola. Also, service providers like Verizon and T-Mobile only provide cell phone service; they don’t manufacture the phones or write the software that is put into them. This is something that catches people off guard when they see these devices being sold at local Verizon and T-Mobile stores. The main determinant of social perspectives is feedback whether that’s in the form of a review or letter. Mobile technology specialist Ian Fogg had this to say, â€Å"Android offers some key advantages. Handset manufacturers can get a leg up, a quicker start, because they’re using Android as a base, they can still differentiate with software, and they get the advantage of having compatibility with all the applications out in the Android marketplace. † The idea of taking something like a cellular phone and inserting Android technology exponential improves the user’s capability to interact with others based on a number of different applications and simply by mobilizing web access. Opinions of Ethical standards in terms of Android technology go hand in hand with opinions of its security policies. First, in order to activate the software you must purchase a data plan, which is billed monthly in addition to the total cost of the device itself. This rules out the obsoleteness of the software, because although it is freely obtainable it is not in free and workable condition without a data plan. This is a feature of Android technology that society rewards; being able to main exclusivity underlines the importance, safety, and integrity of the company. Also, in terms of perspectives on ethics and security, phones have in put GPS devices that signal where the phone is, if it is ever to lost or stolen. Lastly, ethics are built on societal needs and coming through with them. One of the many pre-installed application that comes with an Android device is an application called â€Å"places†. This application allows people to locate necessary â€Å"places†: gas stations, ATM’s, and dining facilities in their vicinity with just the touch of a button. One of the biggest obstacles that caused a minor setback for Google’s Android during the beginning of its expansion was its absence of Bluetooth API (application programming interface). Ken Dulaney, a Gartner analyst, pointed out that although there was no Bluetooth API, â€Å"Android’s partial support for headsets would alleviate some concernsâ€Å" (Ruffolo 1). However, it didn’t take away all potential problems. Dulaney continued by saying, â€Å"one of the major side effects of the missing Bluetooth API – and of the open source platform in general – is that the Android-based handhelds will suffer from serious fragmentation across the various vendors using the platform, [ultimately] complicat[ing] the development process† (Ruffolo 1). Yet, these weren’t obstacles that couldn’t have been overcome. The author talks about how even Apple had problems with the iPhone in its manufacturing stages; all that was needed was time for developers to grow and their product to further mature. Android technology is a open-source software that has created numerous possibilities with its many potential benefits such as: applications, mobile web access, and growing popularity/dependability. It has received positive feedback from the public in terms of applications and software that apply to legal, social, ethical, and security perspectives. Lastly, although it is apparent that minor set backs have occurred in the developing of products with Android technology, time will allow them to grow and improve from stages of experimentation.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Ethics Paper Essay

There are many factors to consider when implementing a strategic plan including considering stakeholder’s needs, the needs of the company, as well as the needs of the employees; however, one factor that is often overlooked is the need and desires of the consumers. This act includes fulfilling the social responsibility to benefit their community to implement economic growth or other equally important acts to benefit the society as a whole. It is a task in its own to balance the needs of the involved parties, and, unfortunately, sometimes the best decisions get trampled by the stakeholder’s agendas, and the community as a whole suffers. As a part of the community, the company has certain ethical and social responsibilities that are expected of them. These responsibilities are unwritten rules that are often implemented by the competitive nature of the business. Some standalone companies can continue with business without the support of their local community while other companies are unable to profit without the outside influencing factors of the community. If the community is directly affected by the interactions of a business, a social responsibility should be personalized to benefit the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, more often than not, social and ethical responsibilities are often overlooked by the company in order to benefit the stakeholders, and detrimental factors are swept under the run in order to provide a bigger return to investors. McDonalds is one of the biggest companies worldwide that fail to comply with social and ethical responsibilities. Though McDonalds is known as the pioneers of the fast food industry, and remain the highest grossing fast food chain for roughly the past 30 years (Whitt 2010). ETHICS PAPER 5 3 Although the sales have remained among the highest in the United States as well as other competing countries, McDonalds continues to cut corners to turn an even larger profit. This company developed an uniform production method by mass producing every ingredient form the hamburger meat to their French fries. These issues include â€Å"using frozen beef patties instead of fresh ground beef and developing a genetically-modified potato rather than using locally grown produce to ensure that all McDonald’s fries have the same uniform taste† (Whitt 2010). Along with using ethical ingredients for their friend, McDonalds also uses questionable practices when it comes to their meant. Research shows â€Å"a typical fast-food hamburger patty contains meat from more than one thousand different cattle, raised in as many as five countries† (Gibson, 2014). The unknown origin of this meat would make contaminated product hard to trace and even harder to prevent in the future. Aside from the unethical choice of using genetically mutated produce, McDonalds has failed to uphold the social responsibility of the wellbeing of their consumers. With a company that cashes in over $30 billion dollars a year in sales, you would think that they would be able to afford to revamp their menu with healthier lifestyle choices. Instead, they chose to market meals that contain 1,250 calories and 66 grams of fat per serving (â€Å"McDonald’s Nutrition,† 2014)- that is over 300% of the recommended American consumption per meal. Along with neglecting their contributions to obesity, raised cholesterol, heart disease, McDonalds has embraced the American addiction of greasy cheeseburgers and fries and has gone as far as increasing the original serving portion by more than 24% (â€Å"McDonald’s Nutrition,† 2014). ETHICS PAPER 5 4 Efforts can be made by the McDonalds cooperation to undo the severe damage that the company has inflicted on the society. Their efforts can be shifted to focus on offering healthier alternatives to the famous greasy burger and fries combination they have profited on. The first improvement could be on using all natural ingredients including produce grown from local farms. This change would eliminate the producers being collected from hundreds of different locations and reduce the risk of potential diseases and the spreading of harmful pesticides, all while making an effort to support their local producers. Along these same lines, McDonalds can also chose to use fresher and leaner meats and cook them in olive or coconut oil instead of the fat or lard that is currently used. These small alternatives can be implemented immediately in order to show their efforts to fulfill their social and ethical responsibility. Making an effort to improve their nutritional options means that they are investing in a better future for the consumers. Unfortunately, the questionable ingredients and lack of concern of the diet offered is only a small piece of McDonald’s unethical and blatant disregard of their social responsibility. In order to ensure the stakeholders agendas, McDonalds currently upholds an endless list of labor related issues, as well as legal battles, backlash from the negative impact on foreign countries, and nonchalant approaches to backlash and lawsuits. It is painfully obvious that McDonalds is only interested in continuing the profits for their stakeholders, at any and all cost†¦. including the health and wellbeing of their consumers. ETHICS PAPER 5 5 References Gibson, A. (2014). McDonald’s: A Good Image with Bad Ethics. Retrieved from http://www. neumann. edu/academics/divisions/business/journal/review_08/gibison. pdf Schlosser, E. (2004) Special report on slow food. In J. Johnson (Ed. ), Global Issues, Local Arguments. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Whitt, R. (2010). McDonald’s: A Good Image with Bad Ethics, Dallas Observer. Pennino, M. (2012). Nuggets of wisdom; Author paints picture of out Fast-Food culture. Intelligence Journal. McDonald’s Nutrition. (2014). Retrieved from http://nutrition. mcdonalds. com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts. pdf. Ethics Paper Essay A senior management responsibility is determined the strategic plan, direction, and decisions in strategic planning; he has to deal with conflicts and resolved with ethical responsibility for creating an adaptable strategic plan. Business responsibilities are four economic (goods and service), legal (laws), ethical, and discretionary. Ethics and social responsibility within organization are part important of developing strategic plan. Ethical responsibility is follow believes about behaviors society (Wheelen and Hunger, 2010). Also the social responsibility is the way how an organization makes activities that may not be harmful, and it can be good for the community (Abdullah, 2013). In this paper develops the role of ethics and social responsibilities in strategic plan considering the stakeholders needs and agendas. An example of an organization violated ethical principles and prevents ethical violations. The Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility The role of ethics and social responsibility is as mentioned before is important in strategic plan. The ethical responsibility in strategic plan is following commonly beliefs about behavior in a society. The role of social responsibility is the actions for the organization that act to development social goods, beyond make profit. Social responsibility is both ethical and discretionary, which is focusing the obligations that assume that organization with the society. The difference between them is people expect more than of each responsibilities. The role of Ethical and social responsibility in developing a strategic plan is achieve the society’s demands and obligations that organization assume (Wheelen and Hunger, 2010). If an organization do not considering ethical and social responsibility that other two responsibilities are affected too, and it would be more government regulations that affected the organization. Also ethics and social responsibility have to act with transpa rency also improves the company’s honesty with stakeholders (Abdullah, 2013). A stakeholder is anybody who is affected by the activities of a business as customers, suppliers, and society. When a strategic plan is developing, management needs to consider the stakeholders’ needs. An organization is constantly monitoring stakeholders’ needs because it allows to meeting its economic and legal responsibilities. For example, an employee wants fair days and benefits. A customer wants good product and lower prices; suppliers want bill paid. An organization has the obligation to treat a stakeholder equally. As mentioned before ethics and social responsibility have to act with transparency also improves the company’s honesty with stakeholders; ethical and social responsibilities support the implementation of strategies and notify the activities to stakeholders. A positive opinion of the company can increase profits and satisfy the stakeholders’ needs and agendas. Company Overstepping Ethical Behavi ors One the most common reason the companies act unethical is that the values between a company and stakeholders. One example is Target impress the marketing industry when the company could predict with a high degree a woman is pregnant and her expected due date only for the items that she purchases. The more customers information that a company have; the company can offer specific products and services (Gillikin, 2013). Target not broke the law, but the company cross the limit about customer privacy. The preventive measure would take to avoid this type of situation is to ask to the customers if they want to provide personal information. The company has the obligation to explain to the customers the benefits of sharing personal information with the company. The most important is to respects the customer’s privacy. In conclusion as mentioned before a senior management responsibility is determined the strategic plan, direction, and decisions in strategic planning; he has to deal wit h conflicts and resolve them with ethical responsibility for creating a strategic plan. The role of ethical and socially responsibility in developing a strategic plan considering the stakeholders needs and agenda is achieve the society’s demands and obligations that organization assume (Wheelen and Hunger, 2010). If an organization does not consider its responsibilities as economic, legal, social responsibilities, the organization is affected with more government regulations. References Abdullah, A. (2013, August). Five important issues of ethics & social responsibility in the strategic planning process read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8618109_five-responsibility-strategic-planning-process.htm Gillikin, J. (2013). Ethical boundaries with customer profiling. Retrieved from http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/ethical-boundaries-customer-profiling-13231.html Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010). Concepts in strategic management and business policy: Achieving sustainability (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Mayan Civilization and ruins

Since the dawn of mankind, there has always been civilizations have that have made a lasting impression on the world. There very few civilizations that have been that have achieved the term greatness associated with it and ‘Mayan civilization’ is one of the rare few. It can be dubbed as one of the longest serving civilizations of the ancient times as it is noted that it started around 1000 B.C but ended by 1500 A.D. It was considered as they were one of the most advance civilizations on the western hemisphere until the arrival of the Europeans. This civilization was located in Central America and was found from the north central down to the southern part of Mexico. This was a civilization that went through periodical changes in its living due to external factors associated with it. This Native American culture is noted in the history as one of the advance civilizations of that era. There has been a popular belief that has been associated with the Mayan civilization that it was an amalgamated empire. In actual terms it was a whole host of divided units having a common cultural background. The entire ‘Yucantan Pennisula’ had around 20 states which were all ruled by different sovereign leadership, but on an inventive logic, they were a nation on their own with religion being an important aspect of their lives. Since the Mayan civilization was spread on a large area, the geographical conditions for the civilization varied with extremities, which can adjudged from the fact they had volcanic mountains from the highlands in the south to porous limestone areas dominating the central and the northern regions of the civilization. Mayan civilization can be categorized into three categories, pre-classic period, classic period and post classic period. The entire culture has revolved and evolved around these three periods. The civilization had huge forests and because of the diversity of the topographical situation of the civilization, varied no of animals like the ‘caiman’, a fierce kind of crocodile to different kinds of monkeys was found. Mayan pre classic period This was supposed to be the period of formulation in which the population boomed and new innovative techniques were made for agriculture. The leaders were chosen from strong spiritual backgrounds and it was considered as that the lowlands of the civilization held acute importance because it was supposed to be a ceremonial centre. The following will explain the Mayan professional inclinations and techniques: ‘In the Preclassic period, they adopted intensive farming techniques such as continuous cultivation involving crop rotation and fertilizers, household gardens, and terraces. In some areas, they built raised fields in seasonal swamps. Their main crops included maize (corn), beans, squash, avocados, chili peppers, pineapples, papayas, and cacao, which was made into a chocolate drink with water and hot chilies. Rabbits, deer, and turkeys were hunted for making stews. Fishing also supplied part of their diet. Turkeys, ducks, and dogs were kept as domesticated animals. When they were not hunting, fishing, or in the fields, Maya men made stone tools, clay figurines, jade carvings, ropes, baskets, and mats. The women made painted pottery vessels out of coiled strands of clay, and they wove ponchos, men’s loincloths’ (Encarta) Mayans were very much influenced by spirituality and had gods for almost every thing that even included gods for rains, good harvest. As time passed by the study of astronomy became popular in that era leading to studies of astrology on the basis of sun moon and other planets. Major edifices were constructed then like ‘kaminaljuyu’ and ‘tikal’ were constructed which were pyramid shaped high temples, where the system of sacrifice was started to be used. More and more massive pyramids started building in that era and the priests started enjoying super powers. Women weren’t that important from political point of view and it was a very rare sight to see women on top chieftain positions. Mayan Classic period This was an era of the Mayan civilization that can be considered as its prime era and here the system of king and kingship started which had a system of the king’s family continuing as future leaders. There was also a hierarchical system in which the government functioned.   There was major research done in the field of medicine and writing was developed extensively. The subject of astronomy had become more enhance with calculative movements predicting rains to fortune to the cities.   This was the time when societies had turned into complex models the king was noted the highest figure after which there were the priests and then the nobles who mainly responsible for protecting land and attacking enemies. This was the time of more gore and violence and mini wars were constantly waged between one and other. What mad this era special was the Mayan civilization themselves started noting rituals and their history with their elaborative writing skills. The transition of power from generations to ethical rituals along with its architectural secrets was all jotted down on stone and wood. Later on folding tree books were made as they were more handy then carrying stones. Due to the high humidity and invasions, these books didn’t survive and only 4 books are known today, i.e., the Dresden codex, the Madud coded, the Paris codex and the Grolier codex. The learning also was limited to mostly priests and few nobles and a monopoly was played so that only few people could learn and use their knowledge on others. The writing also consisted of mostly pictures and pictography was first devised by Mayan civilization for learning purposes. This was also an important era that marked trade as an important aspect of the civilization. Sacrifice was an important aspect for the culture and the following would hard line the fact of Mayan civilizations involvement in sacrifices:‘Indian pictorial texts known as â€Å"codices,† as well as Spanish accounts from the time, quote Indians as describing multiple forms of human sacrifice. Victims had their hearts cut out or were decapitated, shot full of arrows, clawed, sliced to death, stoned, crushed, skinned, buried alive or tossed from the tops of temples. Children were said to be frequent victims, in part because they were considered pure and unspoiled. The first researchers tried to make a distinction between the ‘peaceful' Maya and the ‘brutal' cultures of central Mexico and But in carvings and mural paintings, he said, â€Å"we have now found more and greater similarities between the Aztecs and Mayas,† including a Maya ceremony in which a grotesquely costumed priest is shown pulling the entrails from a bound and apparently living sacrificial victim’ (Mark Stevenson). Mayan post Classic period This can be considered as a time when the decline of the Mayan civilization started step by step. Since the governments had become much segmented, there was more violence and war during that phase, where entire villages would get destroyed in the name of war. There was also the Toltec domination followed by Spanish invaders taking over Mexico by the early 16th century.   This was however the phase of having plastered walls and painted murals. Socially the civilization had peaked and it was mandatory for guests to bring in gifts while visits. Slave culture flourished in this era and slaves which were mostly people who were captured from wars were highly mistreated and often sacrificed after their masters dies, as they had an ideology that they would serve their masters in afterlife. Mayan Ruins Ruins of Mayan civilization can still be found it the entire peninsula. Their culture had so many architectural advancements that it is today possible to watch quiet a lot of their ruins and gather more information about them. Ruins like ‘the temple of the inscriptions’ in Mexico and the ‘palenque’ are very prominent ruins of the civilization. The former rises 75 feet and it is rested neatly over a hill and is one of the prime examples free standing pyramids. Another site in Mexico located in Coba, was built around 4 large lake structures and had been inhabitant for more than thousand years. The biggest pyramid of that site 120 feet and is known as Nohoch Mul. The following piece will explain the beauty and architectural genius of the civilization: ‘Miguel à ngel Asturias, named Nobel Laureate in 1967, wrote â€Å"Only Guatemala is comparable to itself,† describing it as â€Å"a land of natural dreamscapes†¦mysterious presences and absences.† Tikal, the largest known Mayan city, is incomparable in the same way; its size imposing and intimidating, its setting lush and teeming with wildlife, and with a mysterious and overwhelming atmosphere best described in the writing of Asturias’ Works Cited: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Encarta, â€Å" Mayan civilization†. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mark Stevenson, â€Å"Evidence may back human sacrifice claims†. http://www.livescience.com/history/human_sacrifice_050123.html 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maya Ruins, â€Å"Photos of Tikal†. http://www.mayaruins.com/tikal.html 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://archaeology.about.com/od/archaeologic7/Ruins_of_the_Maya_Civilization.htm                   Â