Mass Media: Sending Out the Wrong Messages Essay

Do the names, Snooki, D.J. Pauly D, The Situation, or J-Woww, ring a bell? What about the famous sayings, â€Å"grenade whistle,† â€Å"G.T.L,† or â€Å"Jersday,† now is it making more sense? MTV’s hit reality show, Jersey Shore, has coined these terms and has become a worldwide phenomenon. The cast of Jersey Shore started out as typical teenagers living their typical lifestyles. Before the reality show premiered, some of the cast woke up everyday to their monotonous jobs, while others attended college. These eight teenagers never knew that by starring in this one television show, their lives would never be the same. Jersey Shore follows eight hardcore Italians, four guys and four girls, who spend their summer months together. Instead of living like there is no tomorrow, these roommates party like there is no tomorrow! Everyday when they wake up, they get their â€Å"G.T.L† on, which means Gym, Tan, and Laundry. At night, they get completely drunk, go to the bars, and see how many guys/girls they can bring back home. Then, they wake up and do it all over again the next day. This does not sound like a normal, healthy lifestyle that these eight roommates are living now, does it? Unfortunately, these eight cast members have become idolized by young and old viewers all around the world. MTV obviously does not believe in censorship, and Jersey Shore’s lifestyle of alcohol and sexuality is being portrayed positively in society. People worship every little move the Jersey Shore makes. Advertisers are using the cast to promote their products because of how influential these eight roommates have become. Even as we speak, on television, Ron promotes a particular weight loss substance and Snooki promotes a certain brand of cashews. These partiers are setting negative trends in society because the large consumption of alcohol and sexual actions made these eight people known all over the world. By partying all day, everyday, these people went from driving Honda Civics to Range Rovers and Mercedes-Benz. This popular television show is sending out the wrong message to viewers and making idols out of the wrong people. It just goes to show how much of an impact the media can have on society. The media has an even bigger impact on the younger generation. Media has expanded from newspapers to the radio, the television, the Internet, cell phones, and gaming devices. Schools are even using media now, more than ever before. Granted, the media is an excellent way of educating our children. However, that education can only be positive to a certain extent. The media is no longer just a part of our society; this technology has taken over our world. Children are completely immersed in the media today, and parents and guardians should regulate how much time their child is spending with any type of media. A child’s brain is not fully developed until he or she is in their twenties. If children are being exposed to drugs, sex, and alcohol through the media, how can we expect children to have the knowledge of deciphering for themselves not to engage in those certain activities? It would be especially hard for those children whose parents are absent in their lives, and for those whom have parents engaged in the drug and alcohol lifestyle. There is absolutely no way for the children to know between right and wrong. Rather than parents educating their children about sex, the media is certainly doing it for them. Ideas of sex are frequently discussed in magazines, songs, television shows, the news, and movies. Jane Brown, a professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, reported â€Å"The word sex is the most popular search term used on the Internet today.† Also, according to Brown, magazines, such as Seventeen, promote the idea that sex is a tactic for girls to keep their boyfriends. â€Å"Only about one in ten of the programs on television that include sexual content mentions the possible consequences or the need to use contraceptives or protection against STDs. Unintended pregnancies rarely are shown as the outcome of unprotected sex, and STDs other than HIV/AIDS are almost never discussed† (Brown, Jane). No wonder the teen pregnancy rate is so high today! As in the Jersey Shore, it is their hobby to see how many people that they can have sex with. If the person that they are pursuing acts like they are not interested in having sex, the cast wants nothing to do with them and moves on to the next person. These people are the kinds of people that the younger generation has to look up to, which could be troublesome for the future of America. According to Children Now, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization, â€Å"Children spend more time with media than any other activity, except for sleeping.† Rather than engaging in physical activity after school or on the weekends, children are more engaged in watching the television or playing their video game. Manali Oak, an author from Buzzle.com, observes â€Å"Children, who should invest their time in reading good books, studying, playing outdoors, exercising and engaging in social activities, today, spend their evenings glued to the television.† Although Manali Oak does not have a doctorate in this area, she does have a valid point. What happened to the idea of getting up and physically playing football being fun for teenagers, rather than sitting on the couch and playing football on the X-Box? Being so inactive leads to the increase of obesity in America. Another weight problem that America faces is anorexia. The media portrays the idea that successful and attractive people are the thinnest. There are millions of people, both young and old, who are currently battling obesity, but they are also being exposed to junk food advertisements. At the same time, there are other people out there, especially women, who are obsessed with the idea that they are overweight, when in reality, they aren’t. The media makes idols out of super models and thin celebrities, causing millions of people to suffer from eating disorders. Little girls are given Barbie dolls to play with and idolize. Thus, even at a young age, girls are being misled to a certain body image that is unrealistic. Rayuso, an author from the online article database HubPages.com, emphasizes this point by stating: â€Å"Young people are in a stage of life where they want to be accepted by their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media creates the ideal image of a beautiful men and women and tells you what are the characteristics of a successful person, you can see it in movies and tv. It’s a subliminal way to tell you that if you are not like them you are not cool yet so its time to buy the stuff they buy and look like they look.† The media has such a large impact on society that it even affects us in the way we perceive ourselves. Still, the media has the potential to influence the society in a positive way. Rayuso proposes the idea that if the media created advertisements that encourage children to get active, and used celebrities like they do to promote certain products; children would pay attention and actually get active. â€Å"If there is a sport that is getting a lot of attention by the media and gains popularity among your friends and society, you will more likely want to practice the sport and be cool with all your friends† (Rayuso). The media knows how to manipulate its audience in order to get its desired result, which is definitely not a good thing. This is why companies use celebrities to advertise their products; humans are so predictable. If we see our favorite celebrity on the television talking about how wonderful a product is, then we will more than likely go out and buy it, versus if there was some random person promoting it. Because of the popularity from Jersey Shore, reality star Ron advertises a certain weight loss substance, Xenadrine, and Snooki promotes â€Å"Wonderful Pistachios.† Of course the commercials only discuss how awesome the product is, and it only flashes the negative side effects in really fine print at the end. Robert Sylwester, a specialist in the brain/stress theory at the University of Oregon, confirms â€Å"Common examples are political promises to increase services and reduce taxes, ads that indicate that a product is improved but don’t say over what, TV drug com mercials that begin with clearly promised positive results, but end with a rapid incomprehensible listing of the dangers associated with the medicine, the televised equivalent of the small print in a contract or print ad.† With this said, the media influences our perception of reality. What viewers fail to realize is that the media is only concerned with making money. In fact, they will do whatever it takes to make that money. The only way we receive news is from the media. The television in the living room, the newspaper in the mailbox, the computer in the office, and the radio in the car are just a few forms of mass communication that keep us informed about our world. Yes, this is wonderful because without the media, we would not be aware of anything going on around us. The negative aspect of this is that the media changes stories around to the way that they want to portray them. If a story is not ‘juicy’ enough, or if there is not enough conflict, the broadcasters will change the story into something that will keep the viewers coming back for more. Jennifer Akin, a research assistant at the University of Colorado, acknowledges, â€Å"Events in the larger community, the state, the country, and the rest of the world are experienced through the eyes o f a journalist. Not only do the media report the news, they create the news by deciding what to report.† Viewers always believe what the media tells us, never questioning how much of it is actually true. The media could report â€Å"Pigs are now flying in Pennsylvania,† and just like in any other media-covered situation, we would believe them and go on with our lives. We are often unaware of how much the media truly impacts our lives. The younger generation is at an even higher risk of the media negatively impacting their lives than anyone else. It is so disgusting and disappointing that children are growing up in a society where sex, drugs, and alcohol are encouraged. What is on television that is discouraging these activities? Jersey Shore started out as eight ordinary people, but their party lifestyle made them famous. By setting this example, how can we expect the young generation to know the difference in acceptable and unacceptable? The children of today are the future of tomorrow. Do we find comfort in knowing that one day, our country is going to be led by people who grew up in such a backwards, messed up society? Not only does the media lack censorship, but it also manipulates us in every possible way. The media gets us to behave exactly how they want, using our idols to tempt us. We believe whatever we read and hear from the media, which makes us the gullible audience that the media thrives off of. Wouldn’t it be safe to say that the media takes advantage of viewers? The only person to blame for this is our self. Viewers should stop being so dependent of the media. Who is to say what the ideal body image is, or what type of products we should use? That is our own decision and our own sense of independence. The media has negatively impacted our society, and we have to find it within ourselves to stop letting the media make our decisions for us!

Peer Evaluation Example Essay

The first speech I am going to evaluate is Jane Doe’s speech about why music is good for people and the positives effect of it. Jane started out very well by giving a personal example of using music in her own life which got the audience’s attention. I liked it when she started off with a story and example because it helped me understand what she was trying to say to the class. She then introduced her topic and stated her reasons of why everybody should have an iPod and listen to music. This was a good strategy because it was well organized and simple which helped her keep the audience’s focus. Being too complicated would have caused the class to lose sight of her argument. I enjoyed the outline of her speech because it was simple and straight to the point. Although her outline was well thought out, the way she presented her argument could have used a little work. Jane wrote out a paper to explain her arguments so that she would not miss anything important that she wanted to say. This is a good way to be organized; however, she kept her head down most of the time and read off her paper word-by-word. This affected her voice which made her sound ‘monotone’. Also, an important thing about giving speeches and attracting the audience’s attention is to looking at the audience, making contact with them like you are speaking directly to them. I did not feel as if she had any contact with anyone since she was reading from her paper. I think if she would have had more eye contact, the audience would have been more interested and accepted her arguments. Another thing that affected her speech presentation was that she was very quiet and it was difficult to hear her. It did not seem like she was very passionate about her topic because she stayed at one level with her tone and her dynamics throughout the speech did not seem to change. In other words, she could have used more vocal variety and projection. Overall I think Jane picked a great topic that everybody could relate to and she used great points to explain her stance. However, I think if she would have been more excited about her topic and had contact with the audience, the speech would have been even better.

Woman Warrior Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In her postmodern autobiography. Woman Warrior. Maxine Hong Kingston narrates her life as a Chinese American fighting to happen her individuality in a place permeated by ambiguity. As Kingston matures. she comes to acknowledge the destructive nature of silence. and is able to joint the malignant cause and consequence relationship silence has on the single human mind every bit good as the well being of others. Kingston begins her autobiography by depicting silence as a double-edged blade. significance that while silence has the capableness to be used as a deathly arm. it is besides harmful to one that uses silence as a tool for censoring in an attempt to alter the yesteryear. In the first chapter of her autobiography titled â€Å"No Name Woman† . Kingston opens up to a scene between Kingston and her female parent. When the two of them are entirely. her female parent imparts a awful secret about Kingston’s Aunt’s unfaithfulness. so forces her girl to take a vow of silence. pressing her to ne'er talk of her Aunt or to even admit her being: â€Å" †¦they want me to take part in her penalty. And I have†¦the existent penalty was†¦the family’s intentionally burying about her† ( 16 ) . By declining to discourse Kingston’s Aunt. the household is efficaciously ending her being. but besides giving the awful secret more power. The memory of Kingston’s Aunt is so stigmatic that subject of sex is indefinable. and even the word â€Å"Aunt† has the possible to strike her male parent with wretchedness. coercing him to dig into his painful memories. This position of silence as formidable power reflects Kingston’s position as a immature. waxy young person. racked with trepidation about the universe around her. As Kingston grows into an independent grownup. she begins to see silence as an hindrance on her self-expression. and grows to see silence with bitterness instead than with fearful fear. In â€Å"A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe† . the concluding chapter of Kingston’s autobiography. Kingston describes her web with silence throughout childhood that restricted her creativeness and self-expression. In school. Kingston. holding been raised in a Chinese family. is unable to pass on with her English-speaking schoolmates. Therefore. Kingston comes to fear any signifier of socialisation. and quails from talking openly in forepart of the category or turn toing a instructor straight. In this province of ageless silence. Kingston begins to look up to those who are non struck with panic at the idea of pass oning with other human existences. â€Å"I liked the Negro students†¦best because they laughed the loudest and talked to me as if I were a make bolding speaker too† ( 166 ) . While Kingston grows to look up to the loud. surpassing misss at school. she deplores those who are quiet and timid. much like Kingston herself. Kingston deflects her defeats onto one miss in peculiar. and accosts the soundless miss in the bathroom after school. urgently seeking to coerce her to talk: â€Å"If you don’t speak you don’t have a personality. You’ll have no personality and no hair. You’ve got to allow people cognize you have a personality and a brain† ( 180 ) . Kingston’s pleadings with the soundless miss reflect Kingston’s interior anguish she has suffered at the custodies of digesting silence. The fact that Kingston finds likeness in the soundless miss heightens Kingston’s fierce hatred for her. but besides highlights her uncertainness about her ain individuality as she struggles to happen her ain voice that is being strangled by the steely clasp of silence. As an stripling. Kingston no longer adheres to hush: Kingston detests that silence has overcome her being. and is ready to arise against its oppressive nature. By the clip she is in late high school. Kingston feels suffocated by onerous silence. Diing to voice her ideas. Kingston grows progressively edgy. and has an explosive confrontation with her female parent: â€Å"My pharynx hurt invariably. vocal cords taut to snapping†¦I looked straight at my female parent and at my male parent and screamed†¦and all of a sudden I got really baffled and lonely because at that minute I was stating her my list. and in the relation. it grew†¦no hearer but myself† ( 201-204 ) . During the climatic statement with her female parent. Kingston casts off the silence adhering her. but she besides drives a cuneus between herself and her female parent. So much of Kingston’s paranoia subdivisions non from the silence imposed upon her. but from her inability to pass on her ain feelings. Contrary to Kingston’s belief. her female parent ne'er tried to get married her off to go a slave. and her household ne'er viewed her as stupid or ugly. With the adulthood of an grownup. Kingston is able to remember her memories non through word of oral cavity. but through utilizing her pen as a literary blade. By entering her confrontationwith her female parent with painstaking truth. Kingston portrays herself in an unflattering instead than in trying to reprimand her yesteryear. In maturity. Kingston has chooses a life of factualness instead than secrecy. and eventually casts the soundless sitting shade off of her thorax. Kingston’s germinating position of the power held by silence reflects her gradual ripening and her assurance in her ain abilities. At one point Kingston cowered in forepart of the mighty and reprobating power of silence. but as she learns to believe for herself. Kingston Rebels against the silence and embraces a life free of uncertainness. happening comfort in humdrum and truth. More significantly. Kingston finds the bravery to be honest about herself. ( instead than staying soundless about her ridicule of the deaf-and-dumb person miss and her acerb outburst directed towards her female parent ) and dedicates her memoir to composing. guaranting that her memory will ne'er be eradicated or erased with clip. Therefore Kingston proves that while one may seek to overcast the truth with silence. the mighty pen can rend off silence’s pretense and set the truth free.

Emergency Medical Services Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Emergency Medical Services - Research Paper Example It is necessary to immediately begin appropriate resuscitation and at the same time arranging for possible hospital care. Clinically, the presentation of a patient with cardiac arrest is that of sudden loss of consciousness accompanied by loss of pulsation in any major artery such as femoral or carotid. The speed of pre-hospital care is the key since even very minor delays may adversely affect prognosis (Ewy, 2007). It has been recommended that the time taken to assess the circulation in such patients should not exceed more than 10 seconds, and wasting time for noting other confirmatory clinical features would be waste of time without any contribution to the diagnosis. In fact taking care of the patients with cardiac arrest in the pre-hospital settings is one of the defining characteristic EMS of professionals since they are trained to recognize and manage the undifferentiated patient with cardiac arrest, although this can be most effectively accomplished through an appropriate understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiac arrest and developing ability and skills to correlate the principles behind the resuscitation of these patients to those pathophysiological events. ... Clinically, the presentation of a patient with cardiac arrest is that of sudden loss of consciousness accompanied by loss of pulsation in any major artery such as femoral or carotid. The speed of pre-hospital care is the key since even very minor delays may adversely affect prognosis (Ewy, 2007). It has been recommended that the time taken to assess the circulation in such patients should not exceed more than 10 seconds, and wasting time for noting other confirmatory clinical features would be waste of time without any contribution to the diagnosis. d. Implications of emergency pre-hospital interventions in transit In fact taking care of the patients with cardiac arrest in the pre-hospital settings is one of the defining characteristic EMS of professionals since they are trained to recognize and manage the undifferentiated patient with cardiac arrest, although this can be most effectively accomplished through an appropriate understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiac arrest and developing ability and skills to correlate the principles behind the resuscitation of these patients to those pathophysiological events. Although a qualified physician is always involved in such resuscitation teams, the care is delivered by the paramedical staff. e. Modification the prognosis of cardiac arrest However, that does not in any way lead to compromise in the quality of such services since modern cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques such as closed chest cardiac massage, mouth-to-mouth ventilation, advances in external defibrillation techniques, and development of other relevant noninvasive techniques that can be suitably delivered in the pre-hospital settings have improved the skills of the EMS professionals to an astronomical degree in comparison to the earlier times.

Cosmopolitanism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Cosmopolitanism - Essay Example While in Europe he integrated with Romany people that his English contemporaries. His integration with the people enabled him to acquire Gypsy wandering culture. For instance while he was in Marseilles, France he learned Modern Greek, French, Italian, and Neapolitan dialect. Those languages came handy when the family traversed Europe especially France and Italy before settling in Britain. He learned an intermediate language between French and Spanish called BÃ ©arnaise in addition to classical Greek and Latin. I think Burton was an exemplary linguistic and a great European swordsperson that saw him expelled at Britain’s Oxford college since he had contravened one of its by-laws against mixing with other races. He challenged a fellow Oxford college student that had heard of his prowess with the Saber that ridiculed his walrus moustache. Burton later traveled to Asia to work for the East India Company in Sindth, India. He learned Gujarati, Marathi, Persian, and Afghan. He deepened his Arabic and Persian languages that he had started learning while in England. He traveled to the Arabian Peninsula in 1853 and admitted to Mecca and Medina as a pilgrim while he posed as a Pathan from India’s Northwest Frontier Province. Later on in 1858, he traveled to Africa together with his colleague John Hanning Speke. Historically, they were the first Europeans to see Lake Tanganyika. . Other places he visited in Africa included Somalia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Lagos, and Cape Coast.

American political parties, relatively weak compared to similar Essay

American political parties, relatively weak compared to similar nations, why and what are consequences - Essay Example mparison to other highly industrialized society because in reality and practice, the American political parties have always had severe internal divisions. In a two-part system, ideal internal ideological unity could be nothing more than political picture. The political parties are plainly too immense and varied to encourage stable internal unity. Yet, integrated party control confers an electoral incentive for party leadership to downplay, or even vigorously steer clear of, those matters on which the party is divided to protect the outward show of cohesion. In the concern of electoral success and a significant party ticket, party member find motivating incentives to downplay intraparty conflict. Alternatively, it is in my own opinion that the capability of a divided government to provoke resentment rest partly in its capability to generate prospect for intraparty conflict to arise. Moreover, in a divided government system, the prevailing congressional party has the power to compel public concern of those matters most perceptive to the president’s party. Through placing conflict-ridden issues on the agenda, the party dominating Congress compels the president’s party to discuss matters its congressional members would vigorously steer clear of. The typical justification for the irresponsible nature of American political parties is that our very Constitution makes our party system what it is. Richard Hofstadter, the historian, put it in a few words: â€Å"We have a Constitution against parties† (Disch 2002: 62). However, it is also possible that federalism contributes to national and state parties that are primarily self-governing but it is also possible that federalism is the cause. The actual problem is in fact the failure of the political parties to attain an appropriate balance of power within the federal system, which demands a higher nationalization of party influence. Furthermore, it is unfortunate that there is no focus of party leadership in the American

Analysis of Jelly Belly Candy Company Assignment

Analysis of Jelly Belly Candy Company - Assignment Example Proof-of-concept, as used in the paper refers to the necessity to proof or ascertain that a system under consideration is viable (Blount and Lamm 356). Jelly Belly management had a plan to improve their sales and marketing practices through adoption of an appropriate customer relations technological system. As a result, they acquired a CRM system but few months after its integration, the system even failed to form a viable interface with the Enterprise Resource Planning (EPR). Consequently, Jelly Belly approached Microsoft for a new CRM system. This time, they need a preliminary certainty that this new system will serve the intended purpose. Therefore, Jelly Belly consulted Webfortis to establish a proof-of-concept that the new system met all standards required for optimal performance. Jelly Belly can now manage its current customer base using information obtained from the new system. In the past, the company could lose any type of customer within their selling and purchase processes . However, the new customer relations package enables managers to identify speciality customers responsible for the voluminous purchase of their products (Blount and Lamm 357). Consequently, this new package allows sales managers to develop longer relations with speciality clients; hence reducing customer defection. As a Jelly Belly human resource manager, I would consider selecting hiring and training skilled and productive sales persons into the company’s sales team. The reason is that Jelly Belly has the requisite information on customers; hence skilled salespersons could utilize this information in improving sales through actions like direct marketing. The main reason why Jelly Belly failed in accounting for undesirable customer patterns was as a result of inefficient customer relationship culture. Jelly Belly had not employed the use of technological tools in acquiring relevant information concerning the nature of their client base. In the past, the company could lose any type of customer within their selling and purchase processes. However, the new customer relations package enables managers to identify speciality customers responsible for the voluminous purchase of their products.  

Weather Phenomenons vs. Crop Prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Weather Phenomenons vs. Crop Prices - Essay Example These elements are composed of what is known as weather phenomena such a drought, hurricane, wind, heavy rainfall, and snow. Drought, for example, tends to destroy crops, thereby decreasing its supply in the market and increasing prices. Other weather phenomena also affect the prices of the crops commodities in different ways, as will be discussed in the paper. Weather Phenomenon vs. Crop Prices Introduction In its literal meaning, weather refers to a state of the atmosphere, to the extent to which it is cold, hot, dry, wet, stormy, calm, cloudy, or clear. In general terms, it refers to the day-to-day temperature and rainfall activities. According to Arnold (2010), weather is associated with a number of phenomena that influence greatly the prices of crops. The phenomena include droughts, prolonged heavy rainfalls (El-Nino), hurricanes, hailstorms, lightning, clouds, snow, and wind. The objective of this paper is to explore the current weather phenomena and their impact on crop prices . Drought Drought refers to a period of a dry spell when there is no rainfall. It is one of the major weather phenomena that affect the prices of crops. This is due to the fact that during a dry spell, crops usually dry up in the farms leading to poor harvest. This in turn, will lead to shortage of crops in the market (Bolling, 2000). When such a shortage occurs, the demand of the crops in the market will likely outweigh their supply. This will result in an increase in the price of these crops, as many buyers will be competing to buy them. Such a situation is being witnessed in the Midwest of the USA, where persistent drought has seen the prices of corn increase tremendously over the past few weeks (Sosnowski, 2012). Johnson (2012) notes that 10-months corn futures and soybeans’ prices hitting unprecedentedly high since 2008 are due to the speculation that the spreading drought currently witnessed in the Midwest of the US will cut the US’s supplies of these crops, as i t is the world’s largest producer of the crops. This was after the meteorological department predicted that the Midwest would experience unusually hot and dry spell in the next 10 days, as occasional light showers would be too little for more than brief crop improvements. Gim Gerlach was reported as saying that the crops are shrinking daily, while prices are shooting up for less available supply of crops for domestic use and export (Johnson, 2012). Statistically, corn futures for December supply jumped 4.4% to close at $7.725 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The trade market also had hit $7.78 high early on. This general increase in corn and soybeans due to the drought would also probably lead to inflation. Demand and supply curve: Price S2 S1 P2 D2 P1 D1 D Q2 Q1 Quantity Before the drought hit Midwest, production of corn stood at Q1 at S1 supply curve while price charged was P1and demand D1. However, after the drought hit the country, the supply curve shifted to S2 and the quantity supplied moved to Q2, thereby increasing prices from P1 to P2. The price increase in this case was caused by a fall in supply of corn, as people scrambled for the few remains, shifting the demand to D2. Adequate Rainfall Theoretically, farmers perceive rainy seasons as a period of bumper harvest. This is because the proper frequency of rainfalls leads to a good yield (Libecap & Steckel, 2010). The result would be that there would be enough supply of the crop in question to feed the nation and to export. Similarly, the forces of demand and supply would help determine the prices of the crops. Since supply would be high, this means

Business Changing Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Changing Environment - Essay Example Digital Equipment Corporation, Scotland, came into existence in 1983 as a small scale test facility for computer chips made in Hudson, America. Digital is one the largest computer manufacturing company in America and its plant in Ayr, Scotland, became the first overseas plant to launch worldwide distribution of computer system which was locally designed and developed. When assembling operations were added in 1985, there was impressive growth in the output of VLSI chips and the strength of the employees grew from 14 in 1984 to 470 employees in 1989. VLSI volume rose from 2000 per week to whopping 35000 per week in 1989 which were not only more complex and sophisticated in design but also comprised of forty different product types that needed to be packed in lots of batch sizes from 50 to 100!The plant is nonunionized and has 24 hours working schedule that is divided into three shifts with the total floor area of more than 25,000 square feet. Working conditions are generally good and t he skilled and non-skilled jobs are well defined and streamlined for smooth functioning. The hierarchal managerial supervision does not encourage much collective decision making. Employees in the operation and assembling units are trained for specific jobs and have no wider understanding or knowledge of the production processes. The work is repetitive with hardly any scope for individual growth. The organization singularly lacks effective communication and knowledge sharing processes.

W2D 590 Senator Hillary Clinton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W2D 590 Senator Hillary Clinton - Essay Example edia analyses to first-hand accounts of the perceptive attitudes of the general electorate, Clinton’s presidential bid brought to the fore the indelible colored nature of the expectations that majority of Americans have about their diversity. That even though she, Hillary Clinton, possessed some of the stereotypically masculine character traits associated with leadership positions such as being assertive, competitive, and even aggressive in a measurable way to those of the opposite gender, the ballot verdict was expressive: she was still not good enough to Take Charge, beyond the conventional nurturing and collaborative role (Drexler, 2014). One of the first female personalities to strongly seek for the oval office, Clinton was not only going to be discussed and dissected for her results, but also on the basis of the conventional gender roles. Indeed as expected, she is often described as empathetic and a good listener (Wolvin, 2005); qualities that befits her as a mother besides other traits include her hardworking nature. Chris Matthews, a host on MSNBC, however, went as far as pegging her national status not because of her very inner personality but on the husband; a clear indication of how far tradition still creeps in to influence American leadership (Sheckels,

An African American Fight for Respect Essay Example for Free

An African American Fight for Respect Essay For thousands of years women have been fighting for many things, one of the most important being respect. Some people may think respect for a woman is simply holding the door for her as she walks through, pulling her chair out for her before she is seated, or maybe just standing when she leaves the table; but respect is so much more than that. Respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Respect is a feeling that cannot just be given to someone, it is a feeling that must be earned, fought for, or rewarded. For the African American woman, respect did not come by so easily no matter how hard they fought or even if they earned it. Examples of the African American woman fighting for her respect, has once upon a time been one of the many themes during all literary periods. The two works that I chose have the similar theme of respect. The literary pieces are â€Å"Sweat† by Zora Neale Hurston and â€Å"The Color Purple† by Alice Walker. These two works show the same theme of respect for black women and the struggle for it from men. Though both stories have comparisons that could go on for days, they just as well have their differences by the way the handle the theme of respect. Alice Walker has been writing stories and poetry for many years. As a graduate of Spelman College she was given great opportunities and was given a solid education. Women’s rights and respect has always been two topics close to Alice’s heart. It has been said, that â€Å"Alice Walker expresses the struggles of black people, particularly women, and their lives in a racist, sexist, and violent society. † Her writings also lean more towards the roles of black women through culture and history. On March 3, 2008 Alice Walker was arrested on International Women’s Day for crossing the police line at a rally in front of The White House. Walker has set a standard and has never had any need or want to change it. Of the many stories that Alice Walker has written, the one that stands out the most to me dealing with the female struggle for respect is the story made movie and musical, â€Å"The Color Purple. † â€Å"The Color Purple,† is a story written in 1982 that has won multiple awards and recognitions for its not so classy taste and realistic views. Some of these awards being from the Blue Ribbon Awards, Black Movie Awards, Golden Globe Awards, eleven nominations during the Oscars, and plenty more. The main characters in â€Å"The Color Purple,† are Celie Harris Johnson and Mister Albert Johnson. Celie has been abused since she was just a young girl; she had two children by her father Leonard and she is forced to marry Albert, a young widower, by the age of fourteen. During her years of being married to Albert, she is taunted, disrespected, beaten, and abused up until she turns her life around when she meets Shug Avery, a well-known Jazz singer, who comes to live with the couple. Shug takes it upon herself to help Celie raise her self-confidence so she can not only stand up to her husband and demand respect, but to feel beautiful about herself inside and out. By the end of the story, Celie stands up to Avery and is finally reconnected with the family that was once taken away from her. Another great black female author who proudly carries the theme of respect in her stories is Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston, a graduate of Howard University, was a well-known author during the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston is most known for her famous literary piece entitled, â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† which caught the eyes of readers around the world. Like Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston has also won multiple awards for her fabulous novels, short stories, and poems. The story â€Å"Sweat† written by Zora Neale Hurston takes place in a small all black town located near Orlando, Florida. This story, like many others with disrespect towards the wife, starts off with husband Sykes taunting his wife Delia by tricking her into thinking that the whip he throws over her shoulders is a snake, knowing she is deadly terrified of them. Throughout the story, Delia deals with infidelity, abuse, rumors, and taunting from her husband. Towards the end of the story, her husband buys a rattlesnake and refuses to take it back where he found it from, knowing his wife is terrified. In the end, that very snake gets loose, bites, and kills him; Delia stands their watching him die. The website articlemyriad. com states â€Å"The reader can speculate on whether or not Delia was too afraid to move to get help for her husband, but it is the general consensus that she purposefully let him die. While you could argue both, if you are going to contend that she was just afraid, you’d better take a closer look at the text before trying to defend your point. † One of the greatest comparisons in this story is the lack of respect the husbands have for their wives, a marriage is supposed to be filled with trust, respect, love, and honesty, all of which the two marriages in â€Å"The Color Purple† and â€Å"Sweat† lacked. Although there are many comparisons, there were also contrasts in the two stories, although not exactly easy to find with a closed mind. A contrast in these two stories to me that stood out the most were the personalities of the two wives in the stories. In â€Å"The Color Purple,† Celie is abused and taken advantage of, but holds a quiet tongue until the end; Delia in â€Å"Sweat† is abused and taken advantage of , but she always speaks her mind and portrays her true feelings towards something. With these two stories I felt it was good to have the personalities of the women who wanted respect to be completely different so that I could compare and contrast just a bit more clearly. One was more hidden and kept feelings to herself, the other more outgoing and stronger like all women should be. In conclusion, respect for women, especially blacks, has been a subject that will always be discussed and fought for. Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker described the struggle for respect in many similar and different ways. I stated earlier that for thousands of years women have been fighting for many things, one of the most important being respect and that respect was a feeling that cannot just be given to someone, it is a feeling that must be earned, fought for, or rewarded. I am proud of the long way that not only African American women have come, but women all race and I am blessed to have such profound women to look up to. Women in the past who have fought for our rights set a high standard for the rest of us to follow and I look forward to doing just so. Works Cited 1. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature: Second Edition Henry Louis Gates Jr. Nellie Y. McKay.

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Ericsson Mobile Platforms Using Value Chain Model Information Technology Essay

Ericsson Mobile Platforms Using Value Chain Model Information Technology Essay The value grid approach allows firms to identify opportunities and threats in a more explicit way than the traditional value chain. This research aims to test the Value Grid in a multinational company: Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP). How does the value grid model help to define the organizations Key Success Factors (KSF)? For this case study, the value grid concept proved to be an interesting heuristic tool to locate opportunities that are not evident from a traditional value chain perspective. EMP can identify indirect ways of influencing demand by playing a coordinative role with network operators. Key Success Factors for Ericsson Mobile Platforms using Porters Value Chain model The value chain model, first depicted and popularized by Michael Porter in 1985, has proved to be an effective approach to analyze and capture the value generated along a chain of activities. But, with the increasing complexity of production and service delivery, critique has arisen from both academics and professionals in terms of value chain model applicability. The value grid approach allows firms to move beyond their industry lines and to identify opportunities and threats in a more explicit way. This research aims to test the Value Grid in a multinational company: Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP). How does the value grid model help to find novel opportunities and define the organizations Key Success Factors (KSF)? For this case study, the value grid concept proved to be an interesting heuristic tool to locate opportunities that are not evident from a traditional value chain perspective. EMP can identify indirect ways of influencing demand by playing a coordinative role with netwo rk operators. 1. Models of Value The purpose of this part is to analyze the evolution of value models from the value chain to the value grid through the value system, the value network and the added value chain. The intent is to clarify the relevance of the value grid choice for studying the case of Ericson Mobile Platform. The Value chain The value chain includes all the activities involved in product making. It is a useful tool to measure the value created for each activity in the process of product creation. It is a part of a firms strategic planning to arrange these activities in a way that the total value, the value that buyers are willing to pay, exceeds the total cost. According to Porter (1985), a company can create value through a cost advantage or product differentiation. Porter (1985) identifies two types of activities in the value chain: Primary activities and Support activities. Primary activities are those that create customer value. The goal of the primary activities is to produce value that exceeds the cost, thereby resulting in a profit margin. Support activities concern procurement, human resource management, technological development and infrastructure such as accounting, legal, finance, planning, public affairs, government relations, quality assurance and general management. The activities in the value chain are not independent. Linkages may exist between activities. In fact, one process may affect the cost and performance of the others. Linkage can exist between primary activities, as well as, between primary and support activities. Therefore, competitive advantages can also be derived from the linkages between activities. This is a highly relevant situation for EMP. The Value System Porter (1985) extends the concept of the value chain; a firms value chain is a part of the Value System, which is a network of interconnected value chains between suppliers and buyers. The value system includes the value chains of the upstream suppliers and downstream channels and customers. The available total margin is spread across suppliers, distributors and customers (Recklies, 2001) in the value system. The amount of how much part of this margin is received by each member depends on its market position and negotiation power (Recklies, 2001). A firm who has higher degree of vertical integration has a better position in coordinating its upstream and downstream activities and therefore get a higher margin, however a company with low level of vertical integration can also get high margins if it can achieve better coordination with suppliers and partners. The Value Network Porter (1980, 1985) measures value chain and the five forces model extracted from the organizations activities, in terms of financial value (margin) but ignore the fact that intangible assets such as competencies, internal structures and relationship with the environment are the driving factors behind the financial results (Sveiby, 1997). New methods appear to take into consideration the intangible assets. Value Network Analysis (Allee, 2003) is a method that combines tools that analyze strategy with insight into complexity of interactions among people (Middendorp, 2005). According to this analysis, the intangible assets should be considered as negotiable and exchangeable. Peppar and Rylander (2006) introduce the Network Value Analysis (NVA) method as a way to analyze competitive ecosystems. Combinations of players co-create the value in the network and the method focus not only on the company or the industry, but the value creating system itself (Peppar and Rylander, 2006). Firms cultivate an ecosystem a set of firms that can co-create value by building relationships among the different players in the industry: suppliers, partners, allies and customers (Peppar and Rylander, 2006). Firms that understand the sources of value in the network and are able to exploit them will be the winners in tomorrows more complex industries (Peppar and Rylander, 2006). The Added-value Chain According to McPhee and Wheeler (2006), focusing on the firms internal core activities is not sufficient to generate value in todays firms. The authors propose an added-value chain model that includes a set of expanded business activities from different business models and a redefinition of value that incorporates brand, reputation, and relationship-based value drivers of the firm. In the added-value chain model, the definition of value incorporates profit margin and intangible assets like leadership quality, innovate capability, brand equity and competences in strategic-alliance development. This new value definition gives to the firms the ability to evaluate how their strategies affect both hard and soft assets of the firms (McPhee and Wheeler, 2006). This model is incomplete for example in finding and exploring non-linear value opportunities. The Value Grid New research conducted by Pil and Holweg (2006) argues that this approach can also put a stranglehold on innovation at a time when the greatest opportunities for value creation (and the most significant threats to long-term survival) often originate outside the traditional, linear view. Based on this critic, Pil and Holweg (2006) develop an evolved concept of Value Chain called Value Grid, which has a variety of new paths to enhanced performance, resulting in a three dimensional grid: the vertical, the horizontal and the integrative diagonal dimensions. Regarding the vertical dimension, firms are seeking for competitive advantages in the value chain by reducing cost, reducing lead time between activities and improving coordination between supplier and customers. However, how the benefits are distributed across the value chain depends on the balanced power between suppliers and manufactures. Therefore companies need to focus on three areas: Opportunities to influence customer demand both upstream and downstream, opportunities to modify information access in either direction, and finally opportunities to explore penetration points in multiple tiers that are not immediately adjacent (Pil and Holweg, 2006). The horizontal dimension provides opportunities for companies to move across value chains, in order to leverage economies of scale across multiple sources of demand (Pil and Holweg, 2006). The potential of this dimension is to enable companies to manage risk, seize existing value (special products with advanced technology), integrate sources of existing value and explore new ways to create value. The horizontal thinking allows parallel value chains to be viewed from different industries, in this way companies can integrate these parallel value chains to offer package or price combinations, which cannot be achieved by the single value chain approach. Finally, in the diagonal dimension, firms explore the grid in an integrative fashion, in order to increase the control over inputs and customers. Firms looks at the upstream and downstream of other value chains for controlling the critical components of the supply chain and uncovering new ways of boosting customer demands (Pil and Holweg, 2006). Pil and Holweg describe the two strategies that take advantages from this dimension: The first is pursuing Pinch-Point mapping when companies shall monitor key component supplies and negotiate alternative source of components. The second is defining demand enablers when companies that have a particular expertise in a given value chain, can examine other value chains in other industries that can leads to new opportunities to leverage key competitive advantages (Pil and Holweg, 2006). Industry Background The telecommunications industry is undergoing radical transformations through liberalization, lowering of technological barriers to entry and the diversity of players (Li and Whalley, 2002). Originally, the process of manufacturing a complete mobile phone was finished within one company. However, as with the PC industry, the value chain for making a mobile phone has become more fragmented according to a more stratified approach (Anderson and JÃ ¶nsson, 2006). Companies like Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP) and Qualcomm are examples of this change in the industry. They provide technology solutions for mobile manufactures that enable them to make a new phone model much faster without having the core knowledge like radio access. New actors and new services enlarge the mobile communications value chain in both ways, functionally and institutionally (Buellingen and Woerter , 2004; Ballon, de Munck, Poel and de Pas, 2001; Fertig, Prince and Walrod,1999). The traditional concept of value chain may not be sufficient for todays firms (Buellingen and Woerter, 2004). Barnes (2002) tries to adapt the value chain analysis for m-commerce and analyses the players, technologies and activities involved. Full-size image (36K) The basic model consists of six core processes in two main areas: First infrastructure and services, and second the area of content. Pagani and Fine (2008) consider five principal actors in the supply chain: the content providers, application providers, infrastructure providers, network providers the device providers. They assume that the end consumers create demand, set the rules of engagement and then pull the supply chain system (Pagani and Fine, 2008). In the last decade with the entry of powerful new players, rapid technological developments and increasing market turbulences (Li and Whalley, 2002), the mobile handset industry has changed from a vertical specialization to a more horizontally stratified structure. A complex and rapidly evolving value network is developing (Li and Whalley, 2002). There are more parties involved in the process of making a mobile phone. Each party focuses on areas of the value chain where they have core competences such as new technology, customer relationships management, or infrastructure management. The market is then highly complex and competitive given the fact that companies compete also with companies from other industries operating under different value propositions and economics (Li and Whalley, 2002). Methodology: Research design and data collection There are several techniques for identifying Key Success Factors, Leidecker and Bruno (1984) propose the following: environmental scanning, industry structure analysis, industrial experts opinions, competitors analysis, best practice analysis, assessment of the companys internal feeling or judgment, intuitive factors and gathered data of profit impact and market strategy. This study mixes between internal assessment of a firm and industrial experts opinions. This internal assessment technique explores the firms forces and weaknesses. The KSFs are thus concluded from the interviews with experts in the industry. - Figure 1 about here - As designed in the research model, first a value chain analysis focuses on the firms core competences from an inside perspective. In parallel, the firms value chain is positioned into the value system of the industry, to identify adjacent players and external linkages and determine firms ecosystem. An analysis of the Value Chain aims to identify competitive advantages. From the Value System and the ecosystem, the Value Grid framework identifies competitive advantages from its three dimensions. The outcomes from Value chain and Value Grid are analyzed to test the Value Grid and to extract the KSF for EMP. An ideal analysis of the KSF for EMP would be to do benchmarking with other companies from the same Industry. Then it will be possible to define EMPs real strategic advantages. However, due to availability of information this research focuses on an inside-out perspective and tests the concept of the Value Grid using one source of empirical data (a single case study). Semi-structured interviews are conducted with a specific list of topics to be covered (Bryman and Bell, 2003). The advantage of this method is that the interviewer is free to reformulate the questions or simply ask new questions that may appear as a result of the answer of the interviewee (Bryman and Bell, 2003). According to Grunert and Ellegaard (1992), this type of interview with business decision makers can measure perceived KSF. Five key persons are chosen for an interview from EMP: Robert Puskaric, head of EMP, Martin JÃ ¶nsson, from Product Portfolio Management, Fredrik Dalhgren Deputy Director of System Management, PÃ ¤r Stigmer from Sourcing and Supply and Linda Wenerman from Product Management. Empirical Findings for Ericsson Mobile Platforms Ericsson Mobile Platforms is a business unit within the Ericsson Group. It was founded in 2001 as a result of a split from the Ericsson mobile handset division, Ericsson Mobile Communications. This split ended up in Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP) and the joint-venture Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications. Before that time, Ericsson produced mobile platforms for in-house use only. Through EMP, Ericsson started to license open-standard 2.5G and 3G technology platforms to other mobile phone manufacturers and other mobile communication devices. EMP offers stable platform deliveries that include ASICs and development boards (hardware), platform software, reference design, development and testing tools, training, support and documentation. The EMP platforms contain integrated circuits and softwares needed to build a GPRS, EDGE and/or WCDMA phone. It provides all the system functions such as Network Signaling, Data communications and Multimedia services. The system architecture of EMP is a modular design that is built on a use case analysis (Kornby, 2005). Examples of use cases are: imagining, video telephony, voice call, multimedia streaming, call handling, audio and video. The following criteria have been taken into account to develop this system architecture (Kornby, 2005): complete platform software (not only protocols), stability, flexibility, scalability to different market segments, adaptability to customer software applications, one single architecture for different mobile systems (GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA), maximum reuse of components and customer applications; and backward compatibility in software over the time. Customers build their applications on top of EMP platform software stack. Examples of customers applications are: multimedia players, phone call applications, web browsers, etc. EMP also supplies a suite of core applications where customers can use as a starting point for building their applications. EMP provides a complete application suite to support customers who do not build their own applications. This is especially for customers who want to focus in the low-end market. The goal of the EMPs Application Suite is to reduce time-to-market for customers in launching their phones. EMPs business model The EMPs business model consists of two parts: to license its core technology and to sell engineering support services to the customers. EMP charges a one-time up-front fixed payment for a Platform license and a royalty per unit that represent the major source of revenue (Kornby, 2005). EMP has built an ecosystem in order to ensure the maximum value creation for EMP. The five players in the EMPs ecosystem are depicted in figure 2. - Figure 2 about here - The first set of players relates to Network Providers; these companies offer the telecom infrastructure such as wireless communications systems. The main partner with EMP is LM Ericssons network group. They work hand-by-hand to provide end-to-end solutions, align roadmaps and ensure that EMP platforms can support the new network functionality offered by Ericsson (Kornby, 2005). Second, EMP has a closer relationship with the customers to ensure that new customer requirements are collected promptly in order to implement new functionality as early as possible. The third set of players in EMP ecosystem relates to Network Operators. These companies provide the services to the end-users (subscribers). They also purchase phones from mobile manufactures that are sold to the operators subscribers. Very often operators request mobile manufactures to use a specific mobile platform (Kornby, 2005). Thus EMP has built an important relationship in order to understand future operators requirements to secure that new functionality is available in the EMPs platform. Fourth, EMP and LM Ericsson are active at work with the standardization bodies such as 3GPP, OMA, JCP and OMPT. This is done in order to ensure interoperability of EMPs mobile platforms worldwide. And finally EMP works actively with ASIC, peripheral, IP and software suppliers in order to get fair prices for building EMP products. 4.2 The EMPs Value Chain and Value System The direct activities of EMPs value chain are: supply chain Management, hardware design activity, Software development and integration activity, a system reference design activity, a System Test and Interoperability Test (IOT), Product Use, External Networks and finally a customization activity. EMP has also a prototype unit that builds prototype phones for testing early functionality. The EMPs value chain and value system are depicted in figure 3. - Figure 3 about here - 4.2.1 Supply Chain Management EMP basically does not have any regular material flow, but outsource software and hardware through licenses. The task of the sourcing and supply department is to act as an internal consultant at EMP for deciding whether to buy an IP or develop hardware/software in-house. The sourcing department works tightly with the product definition and the RD organization; they work proactively to ensure fair prices. The decisions are based on three aspects: comparing the prices of buying from others and developing by itself, assessing the risk of buying and finally evaluating the total value by an in-house development. For example, to get a new IP in the platform, the sourcing department evaluates the total cost composed of the getting IP cost from supplier and the using IP cost (license) per ASIC. In this case customers pay the license directly, the cost of integrating an IP into the suppliers ASIC (a supplier may have already the knowledge of adding this IP, thus it becomes cheaper) and the co st of the final integration into the platform (how difficult is to make drivers and APIs to control the IP). The sourcing and supply department acts differently depending of what wants to outsource. For IPs, the negotiations are based on case, for ARM and DSP cores it builds long term relationship with the suppliers, and for a specific component such as Image Signal Processor (ISP) it chooses the best price in the market. Since ASICs are costly, EMP co-develops the design with suppliers and builds long term relationship. 4.2.2 Hardware design (HW) Regarding the Hardware, EMP only designs and specifies requirements for the different hardware components in the platform. As is shown in the Error: Reference source not foundASIC suppliers (or fabs) test and manufacture the hardware. EMP verifies the hardware components only when it builds the reference design. The design of the HW is divided into two main parts, Front-End and Back End design. For the Radio Frequency (RF) hardware EMP designs the Front-End and Back-End. For the Digital Base Band (DBB) EMP only does the front-end design. Finally, the analog base band (ABB) ASIC, EMP only specifies the hardware requirements and leaves the rest to the ASICs suppliers 4.2.3 Software development and Integration Software development and Integration refers to developing software solutions for the different stacks in the software platform architecture. This activity also involves developing EMP (in-house) software stacks such as Network Signaling protocols for WCDMA, GSM/GPRS and EDGE; data communication protocols such as, TCP/IP, RTP, and IMS; multimedia protocols for streaming music and video; developing a set of application platform interfaces to control the software platform and hardware. DBB, ABB, RF, and peripheral are to implement low level drivers to control hardware components inside the mobile platform. This activity also involves integration of third party proprietary software components such as, music codecs (like MP3 and Windows media player), and operating systems. This activity also involves testing the software at different levels: module tests, regression tests and integration tests. 4.2.4 Reference design EMP builds reference boards and real-size reference phones. These non-commercial phones are produced in small quantities that are internally used for software development and hardware verification, interoperability test and early-stage test of hardware for customers. 4.2.5 System Test and Interoperability test The system test consists of the verification of the complete reference design. The tests are conducted in lab, with network vendors and interoperability test with major live networks operators in the world. This is a very costly task and it is done to uncover ambiguities in the basic standards and specification. It also covers informal type approval test for the phone (Kornby, 2005). Value Chain Analysis According to the theoretical framework a company can generate competitive advantages by analyzing the different activities in the value chain. EMPs value chain basically works only in the service domain. EMP licenses its platform solutions and let the customers manage the manufacturing process with EMPs suppliers, thus the EMPs core activities are design (both in hardware and software), integration and testing of the platform (of the whole system). EMPs advantage appears in the fact that the firm has designed a holistic system architecture which makes easy to develop and test the functionality independently. This saves considerable a considerable time amount at the integration phase. Moreover, the system is designed to be flexible and scalable, so it is easy to re-use and add new functionality. Therefore, EMPs main strength is that the firm successfully manages to develop, integrate and test very complex new technologies to deliver a stable cost-effective platform solution when techn ology development is not in a mature phase. The main EMPs competitive advantage is to be the leader in providing cost-effective solutions for the mass market when the new technologies are emerging. Another interesting strength found is that the brand image of Ericsson plays an important role when meeting with new suppliers. The reputation of the Ericsson corporation is transferred to EMP and it facilitates the starting of new agreements and business opportunities. Potential Risks The value chain is an analytical tool that helps to find value in each activity; this can also be used for finding weakness and improvement areas. From the value chain we can identify two main weaknesses. First, the base band ASICs are the most costly part in the platform, despite that EMP says that it has managed to get fair licenses prices for the ASICs. The power of the suppliers is relatively high, thus EMP cannot have full control of the hardware prices. It seems that high margins still go to ASIC manufactures. Second, at this moment, EMP does not have the competence and the resources to integrate vertically in the upstream value chain. According to the interviewees, the most valuable strategic resource at EMP resides in personnels competence in the area of radio access technology and in the skills for designing a flexible and low cost system. These two competences are the driving forces for providing a cost-optimized mobile platform. The main risk in the value chain comes from the suppliers side. When technology reached a mature market, there is a risk that the technology becomes a commodity product and thus, suppliers can acquire knowledge on how to implement these technologies in their own ASICs. This implies that ASIC manufactures can produce ultra low cost platforms, due to the fact that they can control the price of the hardware. Another identified potential risk relate to how much EMP should outsource (Varadarajan, 2009). As is shown in the value chain (figure 3), EMP outsources a number of software components. An indiscriminate software outsourcing policy may lead to the loss of competences inside the EMP value chain (such as signal processing knowledge) thus reduce the value of the platform offering. 5.2 Benchmark What are the EMPs keys factors that are considered important for success? EMP is constantly evaluating and comparing with competitors in terms of cost, size, performance and power consumption of the product offering. From an end-users perspective, EMP is interested in delivering high quality multimedia functions for providing good speech and audio quality. Other benchmark measures are purely financial measures. All the interviewees agree that there are areas of improvement for EMP from a value chain perspective. 5.2.1 Horizontal integration In most of the interviews, a potential improvement for EMP consists in the integration of the value chain from a horizontal perspective by adding others technologies for example to offer an integrated solution with WLAN, BT or FM radio. The platform today provides the flexibility to add these peripherals, but this is a work that the customer must do when he done the product design (and it doesnt add a real value for EMP). This extended platform function offering in EMP platforms has the following impacts: 1) As customers will have less control over the price for these peripherals, they will not be able to bargain the prices 2) the cost of the EMP platform for customers will increase, 3) the total PCB area will go down due to integration of the peripheral in the ASICs and 4) the final product from a customer perspective (i.e. phone ready to launch with everything in place) will result in a total cost reduction. Thus, EMP would add value into the platform and customers will benefit fro m cheaper phones. In order to integrate these peripherals, EMP should create alliances with these suppliers in a cost effective manner (HÃ ¥kansson and Ford, 2002). It is not enough to just integrate any peripheral; it should be a peripheral that can be used by almost all customers in the different platforms, in a way that provide a common platform offering. Otherwise it will end up in a customized platform and the total value added from a portfolio perspective may not be that clear. An example of a peripheral that may fit with this approach is BT devices. The goal of EMP will probably be the re-use of the same platform as much as possible; however this is not defined yet. EMP has managed to have more than one ASIC supplier. This has increased the possibilities of getting fair prices. EMP is still looking to increase the number of suppliers to gain bargaining power. 5.2.2 Vertical integration Almost all the interviews discuss the fact, if the vertically integration must be in the upstream or not. As was described, the most costly part in the platforms is the ASICs and in order to offer competitive price, alliances must be created with ASICs suppliers. However, what if EMP chooses a fabless model? EMP would need then to focus more on the design of the hardware devices (today, it leaves it to some suppliers to design the hardware). EMP should start to do more IP designs, to focus on the back-end design of all the hardware components (ASICs) and create cell libraries for them. This vertical integration implies that EMP would leave ASIC manufacturing to a silicon foundry (for example, companies like TSMC, UMC, Chartered, etc). The advantage is that EMP would be able to choose suppliers, to get better prices and thus to get higher margins. For instance the EMPs competitor Qualcomm has this approach and uses TSMC as ASIC manufacturing. Nevertheless, complete back-end design requires EMP to build specific competence and skills for the complete hardware design. Moreover, EMP would need to take care of production issues like yield management, quality and logistics. This could lead to an expensive learning experience. Since EMP is a rather small company in global terms which focuses mostly in software design and system integration, a solution would probably be to invest in a company who has already the skills and experience. But in the near future this option will be not considered. Test of Value Grid Value Grid offers a variety of new paths to enhance performance, resulting in a three dimensional grid: the vertical, the horizontal and the integrative diagonal dimensions (Pil and Holweg, 2006). 6.1 Vertical Dimension From the theory of Value Grid and the analysis of the value chain in the previous section, there is a match between the External Networks from the value-added chain concept and how to influence customer demand in the downstream. In this case the relationship between EMP and network operators plays an important coordinative role (Andersen and Christensen, 2005). EMP cannot influence demand directly since this activity is mainly driven by EMPs customers who manufacture, distribute and sell the phones to operators and end-users by other distribution channels. Indeed, network operators distribute a great part of the mobiles phones to the end-users due to their infrastructure. In order to increase traffic in their networks, they finance partly the cost of the phone by tying it with contracts (fixed subscriptions periods normally for one or two years) or offering a phone at lower cost with the restriction that the phone can only be used exclusively with prepaid SIM cards. Therefore, to inc rease sales and market share, EMP can build a strong relationship with operators and persuade them to buy mobiles phones from EMPs customers. 6.2 Horizontal Dimension In this dimension similarities were detected betwee

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Discussion In nature, there are a group of proteins which are known to produce a universal response that is the production of stress proteins namely heat shock proteins (Hsp70), expressed in response to external stimuli. They are expressed in normal state conditions hence aiding in the native polypeptides folding and its translocation to different cellular compartments (Feder and Hofmann, 1999; Hartl and Hartl-Meyer, 2002). Iwama et al. (2004) worked on whether Hsp70 are a molecular marker for indicating stressed states in fishes. Ammonia which is a common pollutant has been seen and known to interfere with cellular proteins and in turn interfere with amino acid homeostasis (Cooper and Plum, 1987). As a result of ammonia toxicity, Hsp70 protein gets enhanced and in turn helps in inducing proteotoxicity. Our observation proves that the ability of these fishes (M. cuchia) to tolerate such high concentration of NH4Cl is mainly due to the ability of Hsp70 to induce proteotoxicity, an ability to rep air partly denatured proteins caused due to ammonia toxicity. Similar observation of expression of Hsp70 was seen in brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario) exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of ammonia (Luckenbach et al., 2003). Immunocytochemical analysis clearly demonstrated the localized expression of Hsp70 in liver, kidney and brain of M. cuchia during exposure to 50 mM NH4Cl for 7 days with a slight fall of expression in 14 days 50 mM NH4Cl tissues (Fig. X). Immunopositivity to Hsp70 antibody has been detected in control as well as in 7 and 14 days 50mM NH4Cl treated tissues. In the unstressed cells Hsp70 helps in maintaining cellular homeostasis (Fink and Goto, 1998). In liver, the expression of Hsp70 was more predominant in hepatic sin... ...l red skeletal muscle of paddleï ¬ sh. To add to our observation, Poltronieri et al. (2008) also found Hsp70 immunonegativity in control tissues of carp (Cyprinus carpio) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) along with absence of immunopositivity in stressed states. The fall in immunoreactivity which was observed in 14 days of NH4Cl treated tissue might be mainly due to slight acclimatization at the end. Therefore, one needs to find out the possible implications of Hsp70 in this fish, M. cuchia, which is known to tolerate high ammonia concentrations. As Hsp70 is known to act as an important candidate for identification of stresses and also an important biomolecules acting as sentinels of contamination exposure, this stress proteins, Hsp70 might give a better understanding of how these fishes adapt themselves to such concentrations of environmental ammonia toxicity.

Use of Metaphor in Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie Essay

Use of Metaphor in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie In The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, the glass menagerie is a clear and powerful metaphor for each of the four characters, Tom, Laura, Amanda, and the Gentleman Caller. It represents their lives, personality, emotions, and other important characteristics. Laura is the owner and caretaker of the glass menagerie. In her own little fantasy world, playing with the glass animals is how she escapes from the real world in order to get away from the realities and hardships she endures. Though she is crippled only to a very slight degree physically, her mind is very disabled on an emotional level. Over time, she has become very fragile, much like the glass, which shatters easily, as one of the animals lost its horn; she can lose control of herself. Laura is very weak and open to attack, unable to defend herself from the truths of life. The glass menagerie is an unmistakable metaphor in representing Laura’s physical and mental states. Amanda is also well characterized by the glass menagerie. The glass sits in a case, open for display and inspection for all. Amanda try’s to portray herself as a loving mother, doing everything she can for her children, and caring nothing for herself, when in fact, she is quite selfish and demanding. Amanda claims that she devotes her life to her children, and that she would do anything for them, but is very suspicious of Tom’s activities, and continually pressures Tom, trying to force him in finding a gentleman caller for Laura, believing that Laura is lonely and needs a companion, perhaps to get married. Like the glass, her schemes are very transparent, and people can see straight through them to the other side, where ... ...Laura. If he had been what Amanda had wanted him to be, Laura would have become happy and so would have Amanda, and then Tom would have been able to go his own separate way, being freed of his duties to his mother and sister. However, as it turns out, the shelf seems to have broken, because the gentleman caller actually ignites the greatest fight of all between Tom and Amanda, and Laura is left shattered after she loses whatever she had left within her because the gentleman caller turned out to be a disappointment. Although the glass menagerie is meant as a direct metaphor for Laura, it also serves as a metaphor to the other characters in the play through various means. They are all interconnected in some way, depending on each other, and when things don’t turn out right, everything begins to fall into a downward spiral, with little or no hope for improvement.

Ancient Babylonia :: World History

Ancient Babylonia When studying Ancient Babylonia it is notably important to look at these factors: daily life, religion, people, society, government and economy so we can determine the development of the civilization and how it is similar to the way we live today. The Babylonian Empire is unique because their government was run by a law known as the Code of Hammurabi similarly are government is run by numerous laws. Their knowledge of science and astrology is intriguing due to the fact that they were the first civilization to form the basis of the sixteen month of thirty days calendar, their discovery of the calendar lend us to the calendars we have today. In addition to government, science and astrology their economy was very modern and played an immense part in their daily life. The way the Babylonians lived life is identical to the way we live our life today. In today's society we are governed and protected by laws, well we can say the same about Ancient Babylonia their society was governed and protected by the Code of Hammurabi(1750). The Code of Hammurabi main purposes were " to make justice visible in the land, to destroy the wicked person and the evil doer, so that the strong might not injure the weak". Our legal system is somewhat like this in terms of we sentence and enforce punishments on the criminals to protect other innocent citizens. Just like are prime minister, the Babylonian king Hammurabi wished to secure a uniform pattern of justice throughout his land, to certify that everyone was well aware of punishments and rules before breaking or committing them. The most well known term to describe this law is " an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". This quote indicated that the punishment suited the crime. The Babylonian civilization was considerably keen on science, mathematics and astrology. They were apprehensive in the cause of medicine an example of this is their belief that sin was the cause of a patient's illness. Here is an old Babylonian proverb that says " an infection without a doctor is like hunger without food". What this is saying is they depended on doctors to suit their needs just as we depend on food to suit hunger. This describes perfectly what the Ancient Babylonian civilization was like, they depended on doctors and herbal medicine just as we do today.

Pillars of Democracy in Tanzania

Democracy is a political form of government in which governing power is derived from the people, by consensus (consensus democracy), by direct referendum (direct democracy), or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy). The term comes from the Greek word (demokratia) â€Å"rule of the people†, which was coined from (demos) â€Å"people† and (Kratos) â€Å"power†. There is no universal definition of the term democracy, people like the late USA president ABRAHAM LINCOLN define democracy as â€Å"The government of the people, for the people and by the people† which means : ?Of the people means the government derives all its powers from the people ? For the people means the government is there to serve the interest of the people ? By the people means the people elect those who are to govern on their behalf According to Nnoli(20033) he defined democracy as the system of government usually involving freedom of the individual in various aspects of life, equality among citizens, justice in the relations between the people and the government and the participation of the people in choosing those in government.Democracy is devided into direct democracy where by all adult citizen of a community participate fully in a decision making on matter brought for discussion. Decision are by the popular vote YES or NO. The Anthens are the first people to practices direct democracy. It is mostly conducted in the small populated areas like classrooms in the election of the Class representative.The other type of democracy is indirect democracy where by different groups in community elect reoresentative and give them mandate to make public decision on their behalf. The representative may be one person or small group of people. Indirect democracy originated in Europe during the emergence of capitalism. In this kind of democracy periodic elected leaders are placed into power and are removed from the power through periodic elec tion, it mostly done in highly populated areas.Also these representative is divided into three categories which are parliamentary democracy Which is kind of representative democracy where by the executive is a part of the legislature here king or queen is the head of the state and prime minister is the head of government example Britain,Spain,Holland,Beigium and so on, the other category is Presidential democracy where by the executive and the legislature are independent of each other. The president is the head of both state and government and holds ffice for a fixed period example USA In order for the democracy to stand in any society the following are some of the essential pillars of the architecture of democracy; First, free and fair elections lend legitimacy to democracy by preventing one person or a small group in society from imposing certain vested interests on the general population. No one person or group should exercise a monopoly of power over the election process. In a d emocracy, political parties can be formed and can campaign without intimidation.Some countries require political parties to have a minimum level of popular support before they can participate in elections. All political parties must also have access to a free media and other means to broadcast their election manifestos. The electoral process is supervised, monitored and carried out by a neutral body, often an election commission. In Tanzania free and fair election is conducted though in other hand it is not practiced since some political parties are given more chances to broadcast their election manifestos than others.For example CCM(Chama cha Mapinduzi) is given priority to broadcast its election manifesto than other political parties like TLP(Tanzania labour Party), CHADEMA (Chama cha demokrasia na Maendeleo), CUF(Civic United Front) and others. Also there is no neutral electoral commission as the commissioner of National Electoral Commission (NEC) is appointed by the President an d it works under the President office which might violate its neutrality. The second pillar is political tolerance. Free and fair elections do not give a mandate to oppress or sideline those who have voted against the government.It also does not mean that the majority have the right to rob the minority of its civil liberties, rights, property or life. Tolerance is required for democracy to be sustained. If minority groups do not benefit equitably from the election process, there can be no peace. That absence of peace would make a mockery of efforts to be democratic. In many countries, there are examples of rewards being given only for those voters who supported the ruling party, with neglect or punishment for those who voted for the opposition. The distribution of food, water supplies and development resources has been used as a weapon of control to win elections.In Tanzania to some extents the majority rule is applying while minority rights are respected but the political tolerance is yet to stand as we saw in our last general election where Chama cha demokrasia na Maendeleo(CHADEMA) didn’t accept the win of the President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and in the opening assembly of the second phase of his term their Members of Parliament went out and didn’t recognize his position of President. That was being intolerant. The third pillar is the rule of law. There has been much debate on the meaning of this.What is clear, though, there is close connection between the rule of law and democracy. When the political process is subject to laws and the government officials exercising their power and authority within the constitution and laws of the country, it enables citizens to judge the lawfulness of the government. Democracy becomes dysfunctional when the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the legislature, the private sector, the police and the military all use their power to enrich themselves and advance their own interests at the expense of civil society. Laws n otwithstanding, corruption undermines the rule of law.To ensure the functioning of the rule of law, it is vital that the integrity and independence of the judiciary and the entire justice system are not subject to undue influence and illegal intervention. In Tanzania the practice of rule of law is very minimal the governors undermine its practice where some of the leaders who break the laws are not taken care of as the laws claims, also the problem of corruption in the judiciary branch is persisting never the less the judiciary has done its part in solving elections cases of Igunga, Ubungo, and Arusha constituents as well as private candidacy in general election by standing on the lawsThe fourth pillar is freedom of expression. What people in civil society are allowed to say, print, distribute and discuss is indicative of the democratic nature of a political system. A free press is a measure of the freedom of expression in a society. Few governments have a genuinely easy relationshi p with a free press. Yet, despite all its shortcomings, a free press, supported by open Internet access, is indispensable to keeping the public informed as part of a functioning democracy. Even in an established democracy, government may seek to manipulate a free press into serving its own ends.Governments often conduct spin campaigns, to advance their agenda and dilute the power of independent media. New technology is unleashing powerful new forces through expansion of information dissemination and space for public discourse. These new forces have made it much harder for governments to control the flow of information. The fact remains that even democratically-elected governments will go to great lengths to manipulate public opinion whether on TV, in the print media or the Internet.Taking the case of Tanzania where newspapers like Mwanahalisi was banned by the government just because it provided information that affect the welfare of some of government leaders. Also the Editor of Ta nzania daima newspaper Absalom Kibanda is also facing the court charges for allowing publishing of news that affect the current government interests so the freedom of press is denied and government create fear indirectly for the public opinions to be expressed The fifth pillar is accountability and transparency.This means that institutions of government and individuals in those institutions must be held accountable for their actions. A government must be accountable to the people who elected it. Furthermore, it must be accountable to an independent judiciary or other impartial institutions established to check government action. Decisions must not advance the agendas of vested interest groups over the public interest. As Mmuya and Chaligha(1994: pg 189) claimed â€Å"Democracy become meaningful only when political parties are accountable to the people.Moreover the government has not only to be transparent but also be accountable to the people through their representatives. † Also political parties have to be accountable and perform their duties as they are supposed to be. To some extent the Tanzania government is accountable the public can question the government actions and expenditures, officials who misuse their power are removed from their positions. Example Dr. William Mhando the former managing director of TANESCO together with his subordinates were removed from office due to misuse of public office for their own interest.To some extent the Tanzania government is transparent from time to time it inform the public about its decisions and action example now days all members of parliament and high officials are asked to disclose their wealth before start to work and after fixed period before moves out from their positions. The sixth pillar rests on local political empowerment. The closer the government is to the people governed, the more responsive the government is likely to be. At the same time, for decentralised democracy to work, here must also b e a decentralisation of funding, material and human resources and institutional capability. Decentralisation of the political process is another way to curb the concentration of power and influence exercised by political forces. Citizens become more aware, interested and willing to participate in democracy when they see their officials as neighbours and what is at stake as something close to home. Only the national government can print currency, conduct foreign policy, provide for the nation’s defence.However local matters such as community services are best managed by local or state, regional or country or provincial government. The other pillar of democracy is the Separtion of power. Is the system where by Government powers are separated and divided between the three branches namely Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Each of these branches performs its functions independently without interference from other branches. Executive is the body of government which comprises th e President, the Cabinet and civil servants. Is the rulling body which conduct all administrative works in the government.Legislature is the law enacting body which comprise of the President and national assembly and the Judiciary body comprises of court judges, magistrates and headed by Chief justice and their duty is to enforce laws. In Tanzania these three branches are ideologically there but their practice is not efficient. The President who is the head of executive branch is also part of the parliament or legislature so he might have the influence to members of parliament when they will be required to pass the bills. In that sense the legislature branch is not fully independent from the executive branch.Also the President have the mandate to appoint court judges of high court as well as court of appeal together with the Chief Justice so they will ideologically being separate as judiciary branch but their work might have the influence of the one who apoointed them hence the sepa ration of power is yet not being achieved. The other pillar is human rights which are the needs which all people deserve simply because of their humanity. For example right to live, right to vote and to be voted. Ther are individual rights, moral rights and others.In Tanzania human rights are included in the national constitution and are also maintained, like right to vote, right to have basic needs, right to live though there are actions which deny some of these rights like killing of elders in Shinyanga and the Lake Victoria zone, also albino killing which both deny the right to live. All in all the pillars of democracy outlined above are necessary but insufficient without leaders to build and maintain them. The qualities of leadership for sustainable democracy are to be found in those who act in an honest, transparent and accountable manner.They are consensus builders, open-minded and fair. They are committed to justice and to advancing the public interest. And they are tolerant of opposing positions. In admitting our father’s limitations, let us strive to avoid the mistakes of the past and look forward to a new generation of leaders who can build on the lessons of the struggles of ordinary citizens for democracy. References: ?Mmuya and Chaligha(1994) Political parties and Democracy in Tanzania, Dar-es-salaam University Press Tanzania ? Nnoli(2003) Introduction to politics, Enugu Nigeria ?www. nationmultimedia. com

Trung Nguyen Caffee

In 1996 Trung Nguyen was a small business processing coffee in Ban Me Thuoc city. At that time, Vietnam had risen once again to be one of the leading coffee producers in the world, but almost solely producing â€Å"green† coffee (unroasted beans) that were sold on the commodity market. This resulted in no control over the final coffee quality or prices. The Highland region of Vietnam is one of the world's â€Å"top 10† best environments, combining the right altitudes, soils, natural drying conditions, and temperatures for producing the finest of gourmet coffees.Yet the region was not controlling its own destiny to produce these once sought-after coffees. The owners of Trung Nguyen saw that the future for producing gourmet coffee and being reasonably independent of the world commodity markets was to once again follow the best possible growing and processing techniques to produce a world-class coffee, and carry it through all the way to the packaged product.After the revi val of this exotic coffee, the company developed the first Vietnamese franchise of coffee houses and expanded throughout Vietnam and then a number of other countries. Now the most established, respected and successful producer of branded coffee in Vietnam, Trung Nguyen seeks to bring its unique blends to the United States. The West Coast has limited selections of TN coffees available in Asian grocery stores, but most of the US has no source of TN coffees†¦ until now.We are proud to be the first and only authorized Internet shopping source of TN coffee in the US. Trung Nguyen has won numerous prizes and titles for the entrepreneurial achievement of the company, its enlightened business practices, and the excellence of its products. Trung Nguyen coffee growers have been certified by EUREPGAP and Utz Kapeh for â€Å"safe and sustainable† coffee growing practice. Trung Nguyen coffees are grown on smaller farms and using traditional sun-drying methods and natural processing.T heir cultivation supports thriving villages where growers work under contract futures with guaranteed pricing for their products. When you purchase Trung Nguyen coffees, you help preserve heirloom species of coffee and the biodiversity they provide. This protects against the dangerous popularly-held opinion that any one coffee species should be grown in monoculture around the world. Not only does this 100% Arabica movement deny the wide and delicious range of flavors of other coffee varieties, it creates a potential ecological disaster.Advocates of â€Å"1-coffee only† ignore the terrible consequences of past wordlwide Arabica blights that have threatened to change the nature of the coffee plant forever. Trung Nguyen coffees using Arabica, Robusta, Chari (Excelsa), Catimor, Liberica and other diverse varieties preserve the unique flavors and robust nature of the coffee plant and help to create bean blends that are unique and simply broader and better in flavor than any single -source coffee can be. It's good for the future of coffee and its growers; it's delicious in your cup. Enjoy!

Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution Essay

In the 1850s, Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution. His theory proposed that species evolved gradually through subtle changes from one generation to the next by means of natural selection. By natural selection, the most desirable hereditary traits become more common from one generation to the next while the less desirable, weaker traits die out. This gives rise to an organism that is more capable—fitted to—of surviving in the surrounding environment. At the time Darwin formulated his idea beginning with his trip on the HMS Beagle in the 1830s, some scientists resorted to the idea that God had preordained life by natural laws rather than by miraculous feats. While logical and correct, the idea still refers to a divine power, indicating a religious bent, so perhaps it was obvious that the ideas addressed could lead to religious controversy. As is common in science, Darwin’s concept arose from ideas garnered from a number of scientists of his time. Some researchers of the time believed that natural laws were responsible for life. While Darwin’s ideas did not account for the processes believed to account for life at the time, there was a theory at the time thought to account for life. Most thought that species were transmuted from one species into another. The problem with transmutation, an idea that is similar to evolution in some respects, is that a species may change through transmutation, but it will still be the same species. A dog may change into a different type of dog, but it will still be a dog; likewise, for a cat or any other species. Evolution dictates that the entire animal kingdom can grow through stages from one species into another over time. Birds came from reptiles, mammals came from birds and humans came from non-humans. (Lewontin, 1981) The data is unequivocal. During his voyage on HMS Beagle, Darwin found fossil remains of gigantic mammals that were recently extinct with no indication that their extinction had been caused by climate changes or catastrophic events. Although he believed that the remains he found were related to species in Africa or Europe, examination of the remains Darwin found showed that they were only related to other species found only in the Americas. Creationists insist that life came about from God in six days. While most evolutionists attack creationism on the grounds of scientific facts, there is another line of evidence virtually unnoticed by those who support evolution theory. Historians and archeologists have learned that the biblical story of creation came from the myths of another culture. Stories presented in the Bible evolved slowly over time, long before religions existed, and incorporated tales from many cultures. The story of the Garden of Eden, the serpent and the Tree of Life, for example, are said to have been depicted on an Akkadian Cylinder Seal nearly 2500 years before Christ. The serpent itself was viewed as a deity. Notice: â€Å"No one familiar with the mythologies of the primitive, ancient, and Oriental worlds can turn to the Bible without recognizing counterparts on every page, transformed, however, to render an argument contrary to the older faiths. In Eve’s scene at the tree, for example, nothing is said to indicate that the serpent who appeared and spoke to her was a deity in his own right, who had been revered in the Levant for at least seven thousand years before the composition of the Book of Genesis. There is in the Louvre a carved green steatite vase, inscribed c. 025 BC by King Gudaea of Lagash, dedicated to a late Sumerian manifestation of this consort of the goddess, under his title Ningizzida, ‘Lord of the Tree of Truth. ‘† p. 9. â€Å"The Serpent’s Bride. † Joseph Campbell. Occidental Mythology, The Masks of God. Arkana. New York. Viking Penguin Books. 1964, 1991 reprint The information in the Old T estament dates from about 1450 BC until 200 BC. This means that, contrary to the strongly held beliefs of most Christians, the creation story of Genesis is actually derived from the myths of ancient Sumerians. Therefore, the story is a myth. This means that those who against Darwin’s ideas on religious grounds based on their beliefs in the accuracy of the story in Genesis have unknowingly chosen to accept myth over facts. While they believe the myth to be factual, archeological evidence demonstrates otherwise. The scientific evidence leans heavily in support of Darwin’s ideas. While we may not fully understand some aspects behind the mechanism of evolution, we are continuously learning more about those mechanisms. (Dobzhansky, 1973) Dobzhansky states: Let me try to make crystal clear what is established beyond reasonable doubt, and what needs further study, about evolution. Evolution as a process that has always gone on in the history of the earth can be doubted only by those who are ignorant of the evidence or are resistant to evidence, owing to emotional blocks or to plain bigotry. By contrast, the mechanisms that bring evolution about certainly need study and clarification. There are no alternatives to evolution as history that can withstand critical examination. Yet we are constantly learning new and important facts about evolutionary mechanisms. Theodosius Dobzhansky, â€Å"Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in Light of Evolution†, American Biology Teacher vol. 35 (March 1973) reprinted in Evolution versus Creationism, J. Peter Zetterberg ed. , ORYX Press, Phoenix AZ 1983. Darwin (1859) believed that whales evolved from bears based on a scenario where selective pressures might cause this evolution, but he was criticized for this idea and removed the suggestion. Gould, 1995) Today, there is much more fossil evidence for the evolution of many species thus supporting the idea of evolution as a general biological principle, including the evolution of whales from lower animals. Evidence in support of evolution exists at many levels. There is paleontological evidence based on fossils, morphological evidence that relate the body morphology of higher animals to lower animals, evidence from molecular biology and from embryology. Added to this, the chronological picture that results is consistent with other lines of evidence. For example, the evidence for the evolution of whales from lower animals is convincing. Whales have been closely studied with respect to evolution. If evolution is valid, transitional stages from one level of evolution to another should exist. Although the fossil remains of whales spotty for a long time, recent fossil discoveries have more than adequately lent support to the concept of evolution for whales. Researchers state that independent lines of evidence from different disciplines confirm the pattern of evolution in whales. John Ray recognized that whales were mammals rather than fish in 1693 based on their similarity to terrestrial mammals. (Barnes, 1984) In 1883, Flower (see Barnes, 1984) found that whales had vestigial characteristics in common with terrestrial mammals just as humans have vestigial tails, the coccyx. Findings similar to these led to the concept of ‘ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. ’ This concept is briefly explained in further detail below. Flower (1883) recognized that the whales have persistent rudimentary and vestigial features characteristic of terrestrial mammals, thus confirming that the direction of descent was from terrestrial to marine species. On the basis of morphology, Flower also linked whales with the ungulates; he seems to have been the first person to do so. Today, we know that whales have vestigial features in common with lower animals. For example, they have vestigial olfactory nerve, protruding hind limbs, pelvic fins and diaphragms. Like humans, during embryological development, whales develop features similar to lower animals and abandon them as development progresses. During their development, there is also evidence that whales have terrestrial ancestors. Some whales even develop hair while in the womb although they do not retain it. In 1985, Goodman et al. demonstrated that whales are more closely related to ungulates than to other animals. (Goodman, 1985; Miyamoto and Goodman, 1986) Some studies have identified genes, enzymes and other proteins that connect whales to extinct animals. (Irwin et al. 991; Irwin and Arnason, 1994; Milinkovitch, 1992; Graur and Higgins, 1994; Gatesy et al, 1996; Shimamura et al. , 1997) We have already noted above that the creation story in the Bible was taken from the text of an ancient culture that predates the Hebrew account. Rather than to openly acknowledge that the Bible’s story of creation is a mythical legend that explains evolution and the appearance of life on ea rth, some religious groups resort to far-fetched, fictitious, generally ridiculous concepts such as ‘creationism’, ‘creation science’ and ‘intelligent design’ to dismiss or explain away the science and replace it with fantasy. Embryology and developmental biology have a concept, ‘ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny’, that simplifies and briefly but succinctly expresses the concepts presented in the first chapter of Genesis. This is like explaining a complicated scientific concept, take conception and birth for example, to a little child by using a fairy tale rather than detailed research information. The fairy tale is not accurate, but the general information it communicates is true. With this single phrase, the first chapter of Genesis is summarized and explained. The phrase means that the embryological processes of development, ontogeny, depict and encapsulate the evolutionary history of the species, phylogeny. For example, during development of the human embryo, the fetus briefly has gills and a tail like its phylogenetic ancestors. In other words, during development, the developing embryo goes through some of the same stages that humans went through as the species developed from lower animals to humans. The concept makes perfect sense and explains many aspects of human development. Obviously, we cannot provide a comprehensive review of the evidence support evolution in a few pages, and we certainly cannot provide realistic evidence against it in light of all that exists to support it. While the evidence in support of the evolution of whales is plentiful, much evidence exists for evolution in general, including in humans. As has been reported here, the evidence is not just from scientific research, but also from archeology and history. That evidence shows, among other things, that the biblical story of creation in Genesis predates the Bible by hundreds of years. Despite all the evidence in support of evolution and against the idea of the biblical creation as being anything more than a myth, we can be certain that the argument in support of the biblical creation as being the real story and representing the real facts will not go away. Humans being what we are, we will always be faced with living with the Genesis myth as if it were fact, and coping with those who insist that the earth all the universe was created in six literal days. That concept certainly will never go away no matter what facts exist to disprove it.