Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History Essay Example

Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History Paper The Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance provided mankind with new ways of life. Although these advancements in architecture, agriculture, education and ideas transpired in different periods of history, they both had massive effects on our way of life today. Without these revolutions, our lives today would be unrecognizable. Life was drastically different before the Neolithic Revolution. During the Paleolithic Period, people were nomads. They lived in groups of 20-30, and survived solely off their surroundings by hunting animals and gathering various plants. Roles were based on gender; men hunted and women gathered plants. They developed simple tools such as spears and axes out of materials such as stone, bone and wood. Human beings lived in this manner until about 10,000 BCC, when they started to cultivate crops and domesticate animals. This is known as the Neolithic Revolution. The Neolithic Revolution is a major turning point in human history. It was a fundamental change in the way people lived. The shift from hunting gathering to agriculture led to permanent settlements, the establishment of social classes, new technologies, and the eventual rise of civilizations. Another effect of this revolution was the advanced form of a society. We will write a custom essay sample on Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Class systems arose, with the Council of Elders at the top, and farms, merchants and craftsmen at the bottom. After a period of little education or values, Europe was ready for advancement. It was a time of creativity and change In Europe. The Renaissance was centered In Italy during the sass before spreading to the rest of Europe In the 1500 and sass. Achievements In art, literature, science and Ideas made this period a golden age. Ideas such as Humanism became widely popular during the Renaissance. Humanism stressed the Importance of education. The study of ancient Roman and Greet texts became the learning standard. Humanism also stressed the Importance of focusing on the present, rather than the afterlife. People changed the way they thought of themselves, each other and the world around them. The effects of the Renaissance are still witnessed today. From architecture to mathematical theorems, the Renaissance had a long lasting effect on society. The Pythagorean Theorem, and the use of printing presses and Humanism are all examples of this. As a cultural movement, It encompassed a resurgence of learning based on ancient texts, the development of unique perspective In painting, and gradual, yet widespread educational reform. Without the Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance, this world would be very different. Each revolution contributed to our way of life and continues to shape It through values and educational standards. Advancements In architecture, agriculture, education and Ideas back then provided a pathway towards the excelled, educated and advanced society we have today. Neolithic Revolution and the Renaissance Effects on History By recreation was a time of creativity and change in Europe. The Renaissance was centered in Italy during the sass before spreading to the rest of Europe in the 1500 and sass. Achievements in art, literature, science and ideas made this period a golden age. Humanism stressed the importance of education. The study of ancient Roman and Greet texts became the learning standard. Humanism also stressed the importance examples of this. As a cultural movement, it encompassed a resurgence of learning based on ancient texts, the development of unique perspective in painting, and different. Each revolution contributed to our way of life and continues to shape it through values and educational standards. Advancements in architecture, agriculture, education and ideas back then provided a pathway towards the civilized,

Free Essays on Definition Essay

â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall† An urban legend can be defined as a questionable story involving incidents of the recent past, often including elements of humor and horror, that spreads quickly and is popularly believed to be true. An urban legend, â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall†, that circulated in 1998 was about a woman who goes into a parking lot and someone tries to abduct her. This urban legend fits Jan Harold Brunvand’s, the renowned folklorist who made "urban legends" a household word with his delightful series of books beginning with The Vanishing Hitchhiker in 1981, definition of a true urban legend. Brunvands criteria for an urban legend is that it must be set in recent past, involve real human beings, disseminated orally or on internet, believed to be true, and gain credibility from specific details. The urban legend â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall† tells the reader to be careful who you trust and that we as Americans are afraid of the dangers in America today. In America today news travels fast. The urban legend â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall† is an urban legend that was sent by e-mail in 1998 as a warning to woman that there are creepy people in the world that might do them harm. The urban legend starts by saying, â€Å"I received this email from a friend and since I care about all of you I wanted to share it. It is just a reminder to be aware when you are out and about. There are a lot of creepy people in this world, I am sad to say.† Also ending with, â€Å"Pass this along to every woman you have access too. Never let your guard down. Good story for women to know about although with the NUTS in today's world, everyone needs to be careful (not just women).† This urban legend’s beginning and ending give the reader the sense of a sincere warning and notice. The fact that it sounds sincere makes it believable which compels people to send it to others. After reading the body of the urban legend a... Free Essays on Definition Essay Free Essays on Definition Essay â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall† An urban legend can be defined as a questionable story involving incidents of the recent past, often including elements of humor and horror, that spreads quickly and is popularly believed to be true. An urban legend, â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall†, that circulated in 1998 was about a woman who goes into a parking lot and someone tries to abduct her. This urban legend fits Jan Harold Brunvand’s, the renowned folklorist who made "urban legends" a household word with his delightful series of books beginning with The Vanishing Hitchhiker in 1981, definition of a true urban legend. Brunvands criteria for an urban legend is that it must be set in recent past, involve real human beings, disseminated orally or on internet, believed to be true, and gain credibility from specific details. The urban legend â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall† tells the reader to be careful who you trust and that we as Americans are afraid of the dangers in America today. In America today news travels fast. The urban legend â€Å"Another Close Call at the Mall† is an urban legend that was sent by e-mail in 1998 as a warning to woman that there are creepy people in the world that might do them harm. The urban legend starts by saying, â€Å"I received this email from a friend and since I care about all of you I wanted to share it. It is just a reminder to be aware when you are out and about. There are a lot of creepy people in this world, I am sad to say.† Also ending with, â€Å"Pass this along to every woman you have access too. Never let your guard down. Good story for women to know about although with the NUTS in today's world, everyone needs to be careful (not just women).† This urban legend’s beginning and ending give the reader the sense of a sincere warning and notice. The fact that it sounds sincere makes it believable which compels people to send it to others. After reading the body of the urban legend a... Free Essays on Definition Essay It’s a beautiful fall afternoon, and the cool wind has made the Illinois air fresh and crisp. A man takes his dog’s leash of the hook on the back of the laundry room door, and with a little jingle the dog comes running out of the living room right to the man’s feet. He clips the leash, and the dog is all over him until they get outside. They make for the path that starts in his backyard, but knows no end. As they get deep into the tunnel of reds, oranges, and yellows, the path they are walking on turns around the corner of a big rock, and into to a huge black bear. The man in his red flannel shirt and North Face vest freezes and the bear bats him to the ground with his paw. At this, the seventy-pound dog charges at the massive bear and again the bear raises his mighty paw to knock the dog up against a tree, and unconscious. After about an hour, the dog comes around to find his owner is laying dead in a pile of dried up leaves. The dog stands up with a bit of a limp, and makes his way over to his owner. He nudges him behind the elbow as if he wants the dead man to pet him. When there’s no reaction from the man, he circles around once, lies up against the man’s cold side, and closes his eyes. There are three parts to the definition of loyalty, and this dog displays all of them. The first part of the definition is unconditional love. As soon as the dog knew what the man wanted to do, he was at his feet. The second part of the definition is giving up rational thought and representing whoever or whatever you’re loyal to. Not only was it obvious that the dog had no chance against the bear, but he also could have easily ran to safety. The last part of the definition, is the willingness to lay down and die for someone or something. The dog could have found his way back home, but he didn’t want the home without his life long companion. The first part ...

The Spread Of Nuclear Weapons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Spread Of Nuclear Weapons - Essay Example (Waltz, 1981) Nuclear weapons had played a vital role during the cold war. When the cold war had ended in late 1980s and the early 1990s, there was a sense of relief as a great threat to the world was over. However, right after that, the idea that the possession of nuclear weapons by some country might lead to the spread of nuclear technology in the world did worry people. People believed that this might lead to great destruction and harm to world if the usage became common, thus, making the world a dangerous place to live in. (Sir Laurence Martin) Defense - Almost every nation in today's world is under threat by one or the other nation for various reasons, example; political, resources, history and religion. Every civilian needs the head of state to take responsibility of their security and to let peace prevail. State security requires a good military force and arsenal, so that if it is attacked by a rival state, they can fight back and protect their nation and people. Nuclear weapon is although dangerous, but it is a very strong type of weaponry which gives a sense of security that fighting back will not be a problem at all. Prestige - In the post cold war world, only very strong nations such as the UK, USA, France, Russia and China possess nuclear weapons. Being a part of the nuclear block and becoming a nuclear power is a matter of pride, as you are then counted among the few dominant states of the world. For example, India and Pakistan wanted to join the nuclear club because they wanted to be declared as independent states that would stand up against their adversary without fear. Deterrence - Simply any person ruling a state that does not possess nuclear power would think a million times before attacking a state that has nuclear power. Or if both rival states possess nuclear power, both would know that their opponent is equally potent, and if nuclear weapons are used to settle the dispute, the world will face major destruction. For example, India and Pakistan have been on hostile terms for a long time now and have also had many wars with other another; but ever since both of them became nuclear powers, they don't even consider attacking the other, as they know that they will be answered back with a nuclear attack too. Thus, it can be said, that nuclear power brings about 'Balance of Terror' in the world. Disadvantages of Nuclear Power: Hazardous - The abbreviations 'MAD' and 'WMD' are often attached to nuclear weapons, which stand for 'Mutually Assured Destruction' and 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' respectively. It is common knowledge that nuclear weapons are extremely destructible, so much that alone Russia's nuclear weapons can destroy the world three to four times. The incident of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a very appropriate example to show the extent of annihilation that can be caused by nuclear weapons. Compellent - If a nation's rival becomes a nuclear power, it is an evident threat for its rivals, as no nation can fight back nuclear weapons using conventional weapons. This compels one nation to another to take a step towards the possession of nuclear weapons. India became a nuclear power because it had antagonistic relations with China, which was a nuclear power. Following that, Pakistan became a nuclear

PERSONAL ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE Assignment - 1

PERSONAL ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE - Assignment Example A leader in my own rights, I shall feel responsible in relieving tension in the environment I am living in. Life with its fast pace causes humankind to be continuously circulating in surroundings which are full of stressful conditions. My mind and body will be aware of this strain while communicating with my fellow humans. The daily issues which harass me and my friends will be solved with patience and togetherness. I would like to be in the role of mentor. The issues of ill health due to obesity and related illnesses ranging from diabetes mellitus to cardiac illness are snuffing out the lives of even young people in this fast- paced age. Sedentary lives are more common with the advent of computers. All this points to one main solution of exercising. I would set an example by jogging every morning and encouraging my friends to accompany me. If I have a say, I would motivate the other students and together we would formally request for a gymnasium for our college where all the staff and their families can work out. Physical well-being is extremely essential. My family of four members is very close to me. My father, a religious and strict personality has been my role model. He believes in keeping family ties intact. His instructions and exemplary behavior have kept this family cozy and happy. Mother insists on all of us sharing the breakfast and evening meals together. Sometimes we find it hard to reach in time. However when we remember that no one would eat without our presence, we manage to do so. We talk freely during our meals and family issues are discussed here as these are the few occasions when all are together. Paying attention to each other is another habit that we have thoroughly enjoyed. I would gladly pass on tips from my experience to my friends and acquaintances. Studying for engineering, I am lucky to have many bosom friends who have given me many wonderful

Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Disease - Essay Example The primary meaning is that these are representative of continually surfacing contagions reacting to speedy changes in the association between host and the pathogens. Current literature has identified that there are almost 1, 400 species of human pathogens. Almost 60 percent of these pathogens are zoonotic. This implies that almost 60 percent of the pathogens are infections that are transmitted between humans and vertebrates. In reference to Woolhouse et al (2012), emerging and re-emerging pathogens are most probable to be zoonotic. Viruses form a majority of this group. In addition, viruses with RNA sequences constitutes a third of all emerging and re-emerging contagions. Emergent pathogens are characteristically those with a wide host variety ranging across numerous mammalian animals. In the contemporary world, in spite of the exceptional progresses towards development of steps to counter the development of the infectious illnesses, the increased global mutuality, increased world t ravel and climate change have contributed deposits of complication to controlling and containing these contagious diseases that not only have an impact on an individual’s health but also a nation’s economy. ... Remarkably, most of the illnesses originate from animals such as rodents and bats, as shown by the presence of Nipah virus encephalitis, lassa fever and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (Howard & Fletcher, 2012). Current interest in emerging contagions has centered on three primary fields. First, it has centered on how the interaction of the environment, human societal pressures and climate can cause unanticipated outbursts of emergent illnesses. Second, it has centered on the apprehension on how viruses can be transmitted from a reservoir to a host, and thirdly on recognizing the elements of the illness process that present opportunities for treatment and prevention. Drivers of Emerging Viral Diseases in Humans i. Animals that act as reservoirs of Human diseases Many emerging illnesses arise when transferable agents in animals are passed to people. The advent of agriculture 10, 000 years ago was one of the primary factors that contributed to the rise of majority of the infections in th e present world. Agricultural activities drove people near wild animals and livestock. Notably, people put establishments in these regions (Lashley $ Durham, 2007). This offered a fertile ground for the transmission of infections from the animals to humans. Among the mammalian species, members that make up Muridae family have been the natural hosts of Hantaviruses and arenaviruses. The mamals reproduce faster and increase the population’s exposure and risk to the pathogens. Additionally, domestic livestock have also contributed to the spread and emergence of virus infections. For instance, pigs have been associated with numerous outbursts of emerging infections. A total number of 265 cases of viral infections

Location Based Services and Crime Detection Alert

Location Based Services and Crime Detection Alert CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Nowadays, many issues and trend of crimes such as robbery, drug addicts, rape, murder or snatch had arisen via the whole world. These arise of crimes was happening shows that the public especially victims seek for a proper assistance in the soonest time from emergency agencies such as police, fire fighter or hospital. To overcome those crimes a lot of effort and works had been done with many countries everywhere in the world with their goal to be a less crime country. One of a good solution through the launch of the emergency centre channel by phone number like 999 hotline number was used in Malaysia. By phone, the operator has been recorded the all information required such as location and type of emergency (Widiasa Wijaya, 2013). Then, the operator will channelling the line to the respected agencies based on the caller’s problem faced but if it identify as a prank call, the line will not proceed to related agencies. This is a common flow for the emergency call centre. The crime is solved based on the information provided and how fast the information delivered to the agencies targeted such as, a police officer who are on duty will be alerted from the provided information and have to move right away to the reported location. The major aspect for instant assistance not be able to reach at soonest time when the distance between the incident occur and the emergency agencies. Whereby via the emergency phone line, 45% robbery incidents reports used in England and Wales.(Michael Ovelgonne, 2010) The advancement in development of wireless communications and mobile database technology has provide a greatly convenience for lives nowadays and has promote the usage of cell phone. Therefore the extensive to application of Location Based Services (LBSs) for emergency handling has played an important role in deal with public emergencies and as a value-add to the 999 service. The implementation and the prototype development of Emergency Information Retrieval by using LBSs as a mobile application is hoped that will be able to solve the real distress problem. 1.1 Problem Statement All distress call will be channelled to a centralised unit called â€Å"cell centre†. The call center operator are working within 24 hours based on rotating shift duty. The operator have to be working routine like administrative works such as reporting the calls and then channeling the information throughout respective division. The existing emergency system quite primitive without having proper tools like digital map, mobile communication. The only communication between the call center and the emergency agencies is via walkie-talkie or radio based communication. According to (Peter Kolesar I, Albert Pedrinan Peter Stein B, 1976), mentioned that a lot of focus has been done on the calculation or timeframe been taken while operator on the line, call routing and call queues. The researcher focus on simplifying the flow of emergencies information flow by utilizing the usage of pull location based service. They also mentioned that the answering process during the line is busy are not on FIFO basis at that time. Therefore, if the use of location based service is utilized, the call centre operator for 999 which handled fully by Telekom Malaysia can automatically store into database. The proposed project will be targeted user like police and RSS feed and pull location based service technology will be used to retrieved information. Another constraint that faced in the emergency call workflow due to the current system are using that being used manually. This condition have been given impact when there is a few number of operator duty able to receive calls in certain reach peak hour and also involving much of wasting time while on run. If the line is busy, for those who is the callers that need for help would have to wait on the line and this waiting can turn into problem for them. It is because their information or help that they need does not arrive on that time. Perhaps, the criminal suspect can escape in that wasted time and this situation causes a lot of criminal may leave free of charge without any punished. The statistics of crimes that unsolved will increase continually. Sometimes the delivered information is not clear during the calls arrive for call centre system is being recorded. This can cause a misunderstandings between the operator for the emergency centre site and the call centre. Based on the Figure 1.1 below, the viewer may see the current flow of call handling that able to explain on the 999 call flow. Once the This figure was taken from on Project Director MERS999 (Ir Rozinah Anas, 2008). The research is on Bridging Public And Agencies For Disaster Emergency Situations under Telekom Malaysia (TM). She had already stated that once the 999 Response Center was handle by TM Call Center get the emergency details, the information then will be transmitted through making calls to related agencies like police, fire department, ambulance and civil defense based on the emergency type. Figure 1.1 : The 999 Call Flow for the MERS999 which Handle by TM in Malaysia (Ir Rozinah Anas, 2008) As stated by (Dr Rosidah Ibrahim, 2010), the current emergency call flow was happen to have no automatic routing system, high in drop call, long queue, abandon call and no access during call congestion and this will lead to a very low public confidence. By having the use of pull location based service, the flow of information is smooth as the call centre agents of 999 will just need to insert data to the database and later the information can be retrieved by using the smart phone. Time taken can also be reduced as there is no need to channel information manually. Concerning the problems discuss, this is should not be happening in Malaysia as a country that in moving towards technological oriented in terms of works and service delivery. The improves quality of life, must be enhanced the current emergency caling system to counter every possibility. Furthermore, the public citizen also need to play a major role to ensure that the country is a safe place for others. By the implementation of Emergency Information Retrieval by using local based services and through its prototype development it is hoped that it will be able to solve the real life problem. 1.2 Research Questions The main research questions for this study are given as follows: How to investigate the design considerations in providing location based services for emergency cases? How to design and develop a push location based service based on the requirement acquired? How to design a pull location based service based on the requirement acquired earlier? 1.3 Research Objectives Generally, the majority of the research objectives is to give facility who is use this project after ready to publish in the market. The purpose of this study to be achieved is to develop the web based and the mobile application related to location based services and crime detection alert. The objectives are as follows : To investigate design considerations in providing location based services for crime and emergency cases. To design and develop a pull location based service based on the requirement acquired. To design a push location based service based on the requirement acquired. 1.4 Scope of the Study The scope of the study is the boundaries, constraints or limitations of the project want to develop. This research is based on the current workflow of 999 call centre after receiving emergency calling and channelled the emergency information in connection with the related agencies. i) Scope of Target Users The prototype of research tried to use and implement for police officer. ii) Scope of Project Requirement The project requirement will be divide into three categories there are hardware, software and programming language that will used as shown in Table 1.1, Table 1.2 and Table 1.3 below. Table 1.1: Description of Software Requirement Table 1.2: Description of Hardware Requirement Table 1.3: Description of Programming Language Requirement iii) Scope of System Module The distress information such as current location will be collected in the earlier phase is transformed into services for mobile smart phones that used by police officer who are on patrol will be alerted from the provided information and have to move right away to the reported location. iv) Scope of Network System Location Based Services will be the main focus on this research will be apply on GPRS transmission. 1.5 Significance of the Study It enables to contribute to the flow of working and alert for the crime detection. Furthermore, it is hoped can increase the way of information is managed and collected. It enables to solve problems that might be face daily since the development of the prototype can be a starting point for a mobile application. It is hoped that this application may contribute to standard architecture on other mobile location based services for solving other problems. It enables the analyst to increase their management on getting information for criminal behaviour and factors that involving them for such situation since the new system will hold the push location data and caller information in one database. With the geographic data also, the analyst can study which area are mostly have criminal or emergency activities. That will be much helpful for police officer to monitor in connection with area while reducing the growth of criminal activities within that surroundings. Contributes to further development of facilities, guidelines to improve the current situation in helping the emergency line flow and alert on the way to emergency messages reached towards police officer. 1.6 Limitation of the Study There are certain limitations that have to be faced by the researcher while completing this project. The main limition of the study is the time and transportation constraints make the researcher impossible to do formal procedure in order to get information regarding call flow handling process from police department and Telekom Malaysia. There are some restricted info hidden which related to the call handling process and need for the formal procedure in order to get the requirement. There are some restricted info hidden which related to the call handling process and need higher authoritative person to involve for getting the information which hidden earlier to public people. Therefore, the data set information of crime and emergency statistic cannot be collected due to this. 1.7 Definition of Terms 1.7.1 Enabling Mobile Location Based Service A service on information or entertainment which delivered to customer or user  portability based on their handheld access. 1.7.2 Emergency Information for An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate threat to human life or serious  damage to property and is acknowledged to the recipient. 1.7.3 Police Cases Cases that involving police issues. 1.8 Expected Result After the completion, the researcher have expected to produce the web based application and another one is the mobile application development for smartphone to emergency report. Figure 1.1 shows the proposed workflow for application developed in this research by using pull Location Based Service. Figure 1.1 : Pull Location Based Service Architecture for current findings 1.9 Conclusion This chapter describes the overview of the study that will be developed. The topics covered in this chapter includes the introduction of the current emergency call system, objectives of the study, the problems that facing with the current system and the scope of the research. The purpose of this study has been set to solve the current issue cause of creating mobile location based application that able to give information for target user on crime and emergencies cases. In the next chapter is Literature Review which study will be conducted with review of related literatures from journals, thesis articles, and books regarding location based services and previous research of emergency information retrieval. WIDIASA WIJAYA, B. S., HATMA SURYOTRISONGKO,FEBRILIYAN SAMOPA, NISFU ASRUL SANI 2013. Developing Android-Based Personal Emergency Notification System with Global Positioning System as an Alternative Handling for Public Safety Information Systems International Conference (ISICO), 624 -630. MICHAEL OVELGONNE, A. C. S., ANDREAS GEYER-SCHULZ 2010. Social Emergency Alert Service A Location-Based Privacy-Aware Personal Safety Service. IEEE Computer Society, 84 89.

Comparing the Movies, Fight Club and Gladiator Essay -- Film Compare C

Comparing the Movies, Fight Club and Gladiator People today enjoy the same things that people enjoyed during the Roman Empire. In the movie, Gladiator, Maximus fights in the Coliseum in front of all the people of Rome. In the movie Fight Club they have fights between different people in front of all the people of the club. This shows that people who lived 1000s of years before us where entertained by violence just like most of us are today. The theme that ties both Fight Club and Gladiator together is people are entertained by violence. The movie Gladiator starts off by Maximus Decimus Meridas, who is played by Russel Crowe, being a respected general of Rome. Maximus leads the Roman army in a successful defeat against the barbarians. After this battle is over Maximus is confronted by the elderly Roman emperor and he tells him that he will be the next emperor of Rome when he passes away. The emperor’s son (Commodus) hears of this and murders his father. Now he is Emperor Commodus and orders to kill Maximus and his family. His family is murdered but Maximus ge...

Zappos-Amazon Acquisition

Amazon’s Acquisition of Zappos Acquisition regarding Amazon and Zappos Companies that want to be among the elite competitors in their particular fields have to be able to adapt and evolve in an always changing market place. In order to do so many large companies initiate mergers or acquisitions with smaller or similarly sized companies. They believe they can leverage and collaborate with each other in order to create more company value.The main difference between a merger and an acquisition is a merger is a situation in which two firms agree to unite as one single company rather than remain two separately operating firms owned by one company. The firms are usually the same size, and both companies’ stocks are surrendered creating new company stock issued in its’ place. An acquisition is when one company completely buys out the selling companies stock and makes itself the new owner of the company. Legally the selling company still exists as an independent legal en tity, but overall control is in the hands of the parent company.In July 2009 CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieht made the announcement of Amazon’s acquiring of Zappos. In a lengthy e-mail Tony eloquently explains the future of Zappos and what will take place in the near future at Zappos. Throughout Amazon’s reign as online shopping powerhouse, they have been consistent in one of the most important aspects–growing and developing as a long-term contender in the online shopping world. Amazon has adapted and involved in the always changing markets by expanding market share through acquisitions.In 1998 Amazon expanded itself into new markets with three key acquisitions. Two of the acquired companies, Bookpages and Telebook, were bought to expand Amazon’s market share into Europe; and the third acquisition, The Internet Movie Database (IMD), was bought to expand Amazon into a new developing market of online video sales. Amazon has always stressed customer service and cu stomer ease as a main objective throughout their development. Zappos is a company known to be a customer service company since its inception.In fact, Tony Hsieh stated in a Harvard business review article that he does not think of Zappos as a shoe company, but rather a customer service company. On the surface this acquisition seemed like a good fit for both parties, but the reality of high failure rates of acquisitions signifies there are many things to think about when considering acquiring a company. Our team will give a brief analysis on pre-acquisition activity within both companies, analysis of the acquisition itself, and give an overview of the success or failure of the acquisition.The key aspects to consider in this acquisition are as follows: the simplest and most underestimated factor is what are the specific goals of each company in regards to a possible acquisition, can the two separate companies effectively leverage each other’s strengths to create a greater compa ny value, and do these two companies align with one another in order to carry out their objectives and grow long-term. A History Of Zappos Zappos is an online selling shoe company founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn, Alfred Lin, and Tony Hsieh.The company’s key concept is that they are in the customer service business, not a shoe company. Customer service is Zappos’ main asset. They do everything a little bit differently than any other company. Tony Hsieh encourages company culture which is the core of the company allowing them to be so successful. Before the acquisition, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh had to make sure that the company will remain unchanged. Many people thought it would be end of Zappos and their culture after Amazon bought them. Amazon took over Zappos, but allowed them to run separately, keeping their company name and culture.Zappos’s goal for the future is to deliver happiness to their customers and acquisition by Amazon allowing them to leverage each ot her’s strengths. Now with the merger Zappos has much better cash flow than before. Now they can refund people’s credit cards much faster than they could before and improve their customer service even more. With the acquisition they also gained lot of experience from senior staff of Amazon and vice versa. Prior to the acquisition, Zappos had to discuss their independence with Amazon.Zappos tried to stay unchanged by the acquisition as much as possible while keeping all the benefits from the acquisition as long as they could. Zappos had big plans before the acquisition, and now with Amazon they are still focusing on their goals, but with resources from Amazon they can achieve them much faster. Zappos’ net sales in the first quarter of 2010 were almost 50% higher than the same quarter of the previous year. To ensure Zappos can grow at this fast pace they had to hire the right people. Zappos’s way to make sure that their employees really want to work at the f irm is quite nontraditional.After few weeks of training they offer their trainees money to leave. This price constantly raises and after the acquisition it was at $3000 not to take the job. Zappos didn’t change immediately after the acquisition, but now few years later we see some changes happening, but Zappos still keeps their culture untouched. The biggest change that happened in Zappos was handing over their Kentucky warehouse to Amazon. Tony Hsieh explained it as necessary move due to legal obligations. Zappos employees in Kentucky had to be transformed under Amazon with all their benefits changing.Usually during acquisition many people will get laid off due to efficiency for both firms. Zappos has actually grown since the acquisition and no one lost their job as a result of it. It was a risky move for Tony Hsieh, because in one interview he admitted that Amazon can technically sell Zappos at any time. Some of their agreement works on mutual trust and so far it works for both Amazon and Zappos. A History of Amazon Amazon. com Inc. sells just about everything, and lots of it. What drives Amazon is the desire to enhance the consumer experience, whether it's shipping or product availability or price.Over the past decade, Amazon has moved from strictly retail to both selling goods and then executing the orders, for itself and for third parties. Amazon, as much as people like to think of it as an e-commerce provider, is becoming a direct-to-consumer fulfillment company. How did Amazon become so successful so quickly? Strategy! Investing in the right plans at the right time and staying the course. Amazon embraced what is known as a â€Å"design school model† of strategy development. Despite the title, the model is simple to understand and can be highly effective.It is the one used most by professors and consulting organizations. Organizations often struggle in finding a compelling competitive position. Successful organization can begin to drift awa y and total fail at what it takes to be successful. This tool can begin to help an organization get into the game. The design school model calls for both external and internal appraisals. An external appraisal helps an organization to understand threats and opportunities that are out there in the market. The internal assessment helps the organization to understand its strengths and weaknesses. The â€Å"Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities andThreats† (SWOT) tool is one that most people are familiar with and stems from the design school model. Amazon conducted the external analysis using the following analysis frameworks: PESTEL Analysis, Industry and Competitor Analysis, Competitor Analysis, Global Internet Trends and GE Matrix. The â€Å"PESTEL† framework helped Amazon to identify trends that could impact them in six key areas: (P) Political factors: areas to focus on include political direction, taxes, trade restrictions. (E) Economic factors: includes GDP, inflatio n, interest rates, exchange rates and other macro and micro economic factors. S) Social factors: includes social trends, population growth rate, age distribution, career expectations, etc. (T) Technology factors: includes equipment, information technology, R;D. (E) Environmental factors: Includes weather and climate. (L) Legal factors: include health, safety, employment, discrimination, consumer and antitrust laws. Political, economic, social, technological progress indicates an increasing and attractive market? to be exploited by Amazon. com. The external appraisal includes Amazon looking at its competitive position to determine opportunities and risks and where it should focus.To do this, they used Porter’s 5-force tool that helped them to understand the strengths and weakness of its competitive position, and where they might consider moving forward. The competitive rivalry amongst the e-retailing industry is intense. From some of the largest to the smallest companies, dotc om businesses are abundant, making? competition intense. Amazon. com competes directly with big firms such as Barnes and? Noble and Ebay. In simplest terms, the model looks assumes there are five important forces that determine competitive power. Amazon has hundreds of competitors.The challenge is what ones to focus on. They focused on large-scale Internet retailers that offer a broad range of products. This exercise helped Amazon to better understand who their competition is. Ebay and Wal-Mart are examples. Global Internet Trends The Internet is Amazon’s key channel. The 20 top countries in Internet usage, and grow patterns were identified. A GE Matrix has been used to identify the attractiveness and competitive position of the? markets that Amazon. com operates in. GE Matrix: This is a matrix used to screen portfolios of business units.Both the attractiveness of the industry and the strength of each business unit within the industry are plotted. Industry attractiveness is d etermined by the following factors: Growth rate, Size, Demand, Competition, Profitability and Global opportunities. Business unit strength is determined by: Market share, Market share growth, Brand, Distribution channels, Production capacity and Profit margin comparisons. Knowing, constructing, and fully leveraging strengths in the best manner possible is an important key to creating long-term competitive advantage.Amazon is a great, leading-edge company that has successfully developed and implemented compelling strategies that we can learn from. Most large organizations conduct strategic planning, but in many cases real â€Å"strategy† and â€Å"planning† are missing. Instead too many strategic planning exercises are nothing more than budget positioning exercises. Not so with Amazon. Amazon has developed common sense as an organization. Becoming clear as to what will provide you a competitive advantage is paramount. We chase after the hot new industries where the risk is highest. The key is to sustained focus on smart strategies.There are three simple tools that Amazon focuses on as part of its internal appraisal process. They include: Value Chain, Resources Based View and Financial Analysis. Amazon developed a value chain of itself to internal it can operationally best add value and maintain a competitive advantage. The value chain analysis undertaken examines the operational effectiveness of activities that? enable Amazon. com to perform better than its competitors; i. e. the distinctive value chain activities that are difficult to imitate. This analysis focuses on ‘value creation’ and ‘transaction cost economies’; where Amazon. om? configures its value chain activities to create unique value for customers, reduce its costs of? carrying out these activities and reduce the cost of its customers’ transactions. Some of Amazon’s competitive advantages from a value chain perspective include: Strong technologi cal infrastructure with a single platform, High investments in technology development (e. g. , Kindle) to best leverage digital products, Great product forecasting system, Print on demand, Constantly soliciting suggestions on new products, Easy and fast payment system, 24 hour operations and Free returns within 30 days.The resource based view helps an organization to determine where to invest in critical resources to have a competitive advantage. The more valuable and rare the right resources are in the right places, the more likely the firm may have a long-term advantage over its competition. A firm utilizes its resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage. The organization’s resources and capabilities combined together constitute its distinctive competencies. Amazon successfully identified the right resources and developed its capabilities in key target areas.These investments resulted in: Sophisticated online retailing technologies, Personalization features for customers on its websites, Reliable and easily scalable IT systems all one platform, New products (100 different products in seven major geographic markets), Top customer relationship system, State of the art warehousing, New products (100 different products in seven major geographic markets). Gearing, Debt and Capital Structure Amazon’s investments are paying off. Their net sales continue to grow, their cost of goods decreases as a % of sales and their net income continues to increase.And, they continue to invest in initiatives that provide them a longer-term competitive advantage. Goals: The acquisition of Zappos by Amazon is equally beneficial in the long run for the two companies. Zappos’ goals after the acquisition are mainly focused on its own growth internally and externally. As their own independent firm they want to pursue their vision of delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors; and now they will be able to get their much faster.Amazon h as the capacity to help them grow at a pace they would not be able to by themselves. Zappos is going to remain its own independent entity and it will be run by the same owners the way they see fit. This is beneficial because one of Zappos’ best qualities is its unique culture and brand. Financially, Zappos wanted a shareholder and partner that thinks long term and will also do what is best for their existing shareholders. Amazon’s goals for Zappos are very similar to what Zappos themselves want. They like Zappos because they have a lot of growth potential.Zappos is very popular, however they are not as large nor do they have the capacity for shipping, storage, or personnel that Amazon does and they want to leverage their capabilities to help Zappos grow. Amazon wants to leverage the intangible assets that Zappos possesses; the people and the culture of the company. The Culture of Zappos is one of its best qualities that no other company can easily replicate; working to gether the companies can share and learn from one another to improve the workplace culture in both companies.Customer service is what Zappos hangs its hat on and Amazon can learn from them about their policies and even help them to provide better service. Metrics: It will take some time for Amazon and Zappos to be able to measure the effectiveness of the acquisition mainly because both firms emphasize the long term. The main focus for both sides is to grow the Zappos brand and their effectiveness in their goal to help customers. Zappos should see increased sales, more efficient distribution, and faster response times when customers have issues. Methods: Aligning the two companies and leveraging each company’s strengths to better each other.Amazon has resources, technology, and operational experience that Zappos does not. Zappos can leverage all of these to make their own operations faster and more efficient by bringing people in from Amazon and learning from them. Amazons imp roved technology will help Zappos fill orders faster and improve logistics. Zappos has a very large distribution center in Kentucky fairly close to the UPS shipping hub. Amazon now has a very important strategic advantage with access. They can now move product faster and easier making their own distribution faster and less expensive.Post- Acquisition Turnout On Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009, Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. com, emailed all of his employees to share the great news of their acquisition with Amazon. His board approved and signed a definitive agreement, in which all of the existing shareholders and investors of Zappos will be exchanging their Zappos stock for Amazon stock. After the exchange took place, Amazon became the sole shareholder of Zappos stock. Post-acquisition, Zappos continued to run their operations the same, doing what they believe is best for their brand, their culture, and their business.By leveraging each other’s strengths, Zappos reached their visio n even faster—delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors. By merging with Amazon, Zappos was able to accelerate the growth of their brand and culture. Amazon supports Zappos in continuing to grow their vision as an independent entity, under the Zappos brand with their unique culture. Hsieh also aligned his company with a shareholder and partner that think long term, just like Zappos. Zappos continued to run as an independent entity. In legal terminology, they became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.Therefore, all of their jobs were as secure as they were pre-acquisition. The Zappos brand continued to be separate from the Amazon brand. Although they now have access to many of Amazon’s resources, they continued to build their brand and their culture just as they always have. Zappos has continued to grow their headquarters out of Las Vegas, attracting the right talent for each of their departments. After acquiring Zappos, Amazon has seen more profitabili ty, more market share, greater growth and revenue, and most importantly, a better brand image.By encompassing the unique customer service aspect of Zappos, Amazon has become one of, if not the biggest, online company. Amazon has seen substantial growth in net revenue since acquiring Zappos in 2009. Online business is a growing industry—the percentage of households with at least one computer has gone up from 64% in 2004 to 87% present day. In 2009, Amazon’s revenue was $24. 5 billion. This past year, they finished with total revenue of $61. 09 billion. In 2009, Amazon’s cost of goods sold was $18. 97 billion. This past year, it has grown to $45. 97 billion, a growth of $27 billion in just three years.In 2009, before the acquisition of Zappos, Amazon’s gross profit was $5. 5 billion. Three years later, it has escalated to a staggering $15. 1 billion. Although debt as a percent of total capital increased at Amazon. com Inc. over the last fiscal year to 34. 8 7%, it is still in-line with the Internet and Catalog Retail industry's norm. Additionally, even though there are not enough liquid assets to satisfy current obligations, operating profits are more than adequate to service the debt. Accounts Receivable is typical for the industry, with 17. 78 days worth of sales outstanding.Last, inventory levels, relative to its Cost of Goods Sold, are typical for the industry and have shown a consistent decrease during the last 4 years. This implies that management is becoming more efficient. Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos was clearly a smart move on both ends. Zappos and its employees were compensated fairly, and Amazon has seen a steady increase on the balance sheet and income statement. There is no limit to Amazon’s potential, now that they have acquired the amazing and unique company that is Zappos. Closing Remarks It is clear from our analysis that Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos is a good fit for both parties.Each company ’s goals of the acquisition were made clear through pre-acquisition negotiations. Zappos wanted to expand their operations through the use of Amazon’s large market share and also be able to use Amazon’s large array of assets to create a better costumer experience. Amazon wanted to learn the intangible and effective costumer service methods that have proven to be Zappos competitive edge. So far, each company has been able to effectively leverage each other’s strengths to achieve their goals. Furthermore, these companies align with each other in moving forward to achieve long-term growth.

Marketing strategies of the mass-market chocolate industry Essay

This report is an evaluation of the marketing strategies used in the mass-market chocolate confection industry in the United Kingdom (UK). The four brands this report studies in detail are Cadbury, Galaxy, Kit Kat, and Maltesers. The UK mass-marker chocolate confectionary market is the biggest in the European Union and sales are heavily reliant on a solid marketing strategy. Using the four brands mentioned above this report investigated the following, segmentation, targeting and positioning, consumer buyer behaviour, promotion, pricing, product, and placement, social media strategies, and communication strategy. Finally, this report gives critiques on the effectiveness of the marketing strategy for the four selected brands and recommendations on how they might improve. Of the four brands studied, only Galaxy uses demographic segmentation by focusing on women but all four use behavioural segmentation by focusing on benefits sought from eating chocolate. Cadbury targets creative individuals, galaxy targets the indulgent types, Kit Kat targets tired employees, and Maltesers targets those in search of guilt free chocolate. Cadbury positions itself as a creative brand, galaxy as a treat, Kit Kat as a break bar, and Maltesers as the lighter way to enjoy chocolate Chocolate is an impulse good and need recognition is usually stimulated upon seeing the packaging, where as information search is usually omitted or happens very quickly. When it comes to evaluating alternatives consumers, positioning and brand personality come into play. Finally, the choice to buy or not to buy happens very quickly. Cadbury was the only brand found stay in contact with consumers post-purchase by sharing recipes that one could make with Cadbury products. Each of the four brands use adverts, sales promotion, sponsorship, and social media to increase brand awareness. However, no promotional material gives information about pricing because retail outlets set their own prices. Most mass-market chocolate bars are around the same price and can be found near tills at retail supermarket outlets as well as off-license stores across the nation. All four brands are connected to their consumers via social networks, with the exception of Galaxy and Maltesers who do not have twitter accounts. Each brand uses social networks to reinforce their positioning strategy. Cadbury uses it to encourage creativity and audience participation, Galaxy uses it to remind women of the irresistibility of chocolate, Kit Kat uses it to remind its fans to take a break, and Maltesers uses it to celebrate is 75th birthday. This report concludes by recommending that Cadbury should identify a clear branding message because currently its adverts are always open to interpretation. Galaxy should stay in touch with customers post-purchase with recipes for irresistible chocolate desserts. Kit Kat should continue having a strong focus for all communication material and Maltesers should communicate its original message, a lighter way to enjoy chocolate, more explicitly.

cigarrettes essays

cigarrettes essays Every ten seconds a person dies from smoking cigarettes according to the World Heath Organization. 54 million Americans smoke cigarettes while 434,000 people die a year from it . There are over 430 billion cigarettes made each year in America (thetruth.com/html/index.cfm?id=250, 2002). Cigarettes are harmful because they contain dangerous chemicals, which will cause a person to have health problems and changes in their appearance. Smoking cigarettes are good because cigarettes will make a person feel relaxed and socialized while also boosting the industry. If we did not have cigarettes, the 225,000 hard American workers for the Phillip Morris company would be unemployed (www.philipmorris.com/careers/careers_main.as, 2002). Smoking cigarettes makes people feel very relaxed and feel stress free. Teens usually start smoking to be socialized because they will have a sense of connection with other teens if they do smoke. Most smokers usually do not know all of the harmful side effects of cigarettes. A person will have many changes in their appearance if they smoke cigarettes. It is bad to smoke because smoking causes wrinkles, yellow teeth, loss of hair, and smell like smoke all the time.thetruth.com/html/index.cfm?id=250,2002) Many men think seeing women smoke is very unattractive and sickening. Smokers will have wrinkles on their skin because the smoke takes away Vitamin A from the body. Smoking cuts off oxygen through the body making a person less athletic than a non-smoker. Smokers will loose their hair because smoking weakens the immune system. Smoking cigarettes do not only cause appearance changes, it also will have health future health problems. It is bad to smoke cigarettes because it has many health problems such as cancer, heart attacks, broken bones and hearing problems. (thetruth.com/html/index.cfm?id=250,2002) There are nine kinds of cancer a person could get if they smoke cigarettes. ...

American Government and politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

American Government and politics - Essay Example Presidential speeches are dynamically recorded online in which individuals can discuss their opinions on. Furthermore, networks such as CNN and even white house are on twitter. Although this may seem risky, it allows the government to convey their message and benefit from these avenues of social networking. Law exists because it is critical for human existence. It is in human nature to engage in constant warfare. When law is implemented and citizens give up their rights to a sovereign ruler, things seem to be in harmonious manner. When someone violates the law, they are imprisoned for their actions. Prison and fines are the common ways punishing individuals who don’t abide with the law. Congress and the government makes the law to secure the freedom for the citizens of America. However, the process of laws being enacted is a long due process which can be often frustrating not to mention the rivalry that exists between Republicans and Democrats. Select ONE of the following scenarios  for the assigned chapters and complete the Critical Analysis questions.   Your written response must be at least 100 words in support of your position on the questions.   Be sure to note the chapter number and feature in your response. The concept of Shariah laws is complicated that are handled carefully with Islamic scholars. The shariah insists that a person must say the word â€Å"talaaq,† which means divorce in order to obtain that talaaq. If a person says this three times to a same person, he is not allowed to marry her every as the marriages becomes null. The problem is the fact that when men just write the word divorce instead of saying it. In essence, does it become valid if a person does it through texting or email? Indeed, Islamic jurists have pondered upon that issue. Recently though, the Saudi courts have upheld this issue and said that divorce through texting should be upheld. Freedom of expression is

Corruption in Criminal Justice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corruption in Criminal Justice - Research Paper Example It amounts to white color crimes. In other words, allow the beneficiaries to take advantage through illegal gratification from those who are at the helm of affairs and enjoying the trustable status. The gratification with the intention to influence their action, views and opinions and cash their impartiality setting aside the merits in order to have some thing in terms of goods and services that relates to commercial interests. In the broader spectrum, the man or woman who is giving or receiving the bribes can be booked on the charge of bribery (Bribery and Corruption Law 2012). In accordance of American Laws, Bribery is considered as felony which is a punishable offence that attracts either fine or imprisonment or both provided the corruption implied or proven. However, a gift can not be treated as bribe unless there is an intention of receiver to gain some thing out of it is evident (Bribery and Corruption Law 2012). In nutshell, bribery can be classified as a) general bribery and b) commercial bribery. Therefore, bribery is closely associated with the extortion of money from those who expects competent authority to speed up / expedite their work lying with them (Bribery and Corruption Law 2012). ... In America doctors at government hospitals or working in privately managed hospitals as per FCPA law considered foreign officials. In the mentioned category employees of international organizations also fall within the purview of foreign officials. Bribery can be in the shape of cash or in kind with the intent to curry favor of decision makers who are enjoying the discretionary powers (Cassin 35-36). Further, companies who are on the panel of United States bourses are bound to meet the requirement of accounting provisions. According to which companies are responsible to keep books and records of every transaction that reflects true and fair transaction for audit purpose. It also requires from companies an adequate system of accounting and internal control should be in place to promote healthy practices. To comply with the requirement of FCPA, companies are taking additional measures for their image building and to protect their reputation in tact by employing vendor services of reput e for due diligence. The organizations working in the United States of America have to follow the requirement of FCPA. Therefore, the government owned organizations have no exception to it. They are also accountable for their misdeeds or lapses which lead to corruption and corrupt practices (Cassin 44). As far as the payments to foreign officials are concerned, the cited act draws a line between the bribery and the facilitation. It is allowable under FCPA although it violates the local laws. To grease the palms of officials with the aims to expedite their performance although as per the service rules and regulations he or she is bound to get it done. Paying to foreign officials as per