The different between prophet Moses in the Quran and in the Bible Essay

The different between prophet Moses in the Quran and in the Bible - Essay Example In spite of the similarity in terms of citing Moses in the two texts, the Qur’an and the Bible have still varied narrations concerning the prophet-messenger’s life and miracles. This paper discusses the differences in picturing out Moses between the Qur’an text and the Bible text. It examines their variations with respect to the prophet’s (1) birth, (2) encountering the burning bush, (3) facing the Pharaoh, (4) dividing the Red Sea, (5) striking the rock, and (6) reaction to Israelite’s idolatry. First, the Qur’an and the Bible have different detailed narratives concerning the birth of Moses. In the Qur’an, for instance, the text informs its readers that it was Allah who instructed the mother of Musa (Islam’s name for Moses) to cast him onto the river water. In the Bible, however, the text suggests that it was the mother of the said prophet who decided to hide Moses for three months since she â€Å"saw him that he was a goodly child† (Ben-Chanan 103). Here, the main difference between the two texts under discussion is the decision-maker who opted on what to do with the prophet-child. It must be remembered that the historical circumstance in which the baby Moses was born was that every Hebrew male child must be put to death by the order of the Egyptian pharaoh himself. Both the Qur’an and the Bible appear to support, although implied, this historical account. In the former (i.e., in Sura), the words of Firon’s wife -- Islam’s Firon is equivalent to Christian’s Pharaoh -- are strongly indicative: â€Å"[D]o not slay him [i.e., Musa]† (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 100). And in the latter (i.e., in Exodus), the words of Moses’ mother is clearly suggestive: â€Å"hid him three months† (qtd. in Ben-Chanan 101). The term â€Å"hid† implies danger for someone’s life, otherwise, there is no need for hiding that person from the sight of the enemy. Further, the Qur’an and the Bible significantly differ from the account pertaining to the woman who adopted baby Moses. In the Qur’an text, the woman who took Moses as her own child was the wife of Firon. In the Bible, on the other hand, the woman who adopted the prophet-child was the daughter of the Pharaoh. Moreover, the Qur’an narrates Firon’s wife as uttering the line â€Å"do not slay him† while the Bible speaks of the Pharaoh’s daughter saying â€Å"she had compassion on him.† That is to say, the two texts also vary on the impression made by the woman who adopted the prophet-child. Second, the two texts in question have varied narratives concerning Moses’ experienced with the burning bush. In the Qur’an, for example, the text speaks of Musa being with his family at the time when he saw the fire. According to the Bible, however, Moses was alone by himself when he sighted the burning bush (Ben-Chanan 114). Thence, the differe nce between the two texts is the company or solitude that the said prophet was with or without. Also, the Qur’an names the place in which Musa was standing on the sacred ground with the burning bush as Tuva Valley while the Bible names the location as Horeb (Ben-Chanan 114). It appears that the two place-names are far from similar, thus, the two texts vary from their accounts of the terrain wherein the prophet was standing on the holy ground: one is in the valley while the other is on the mountain. Moreover, the Qur’an and the Bible have different stories pertaining to the role of Aaron in Moses’

A Thief of Time Essay Example for Free

A Thief of Time Essay In Tony Hillermans’ story, â€Å"A Thief of Time† (Hillerman, 2002) the author tells about murder and vanishings of people as Navaho detectives, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee search for answers as to why, on the Indian grounds, that people are vanishing and why a well-known anthropologist is missing. Fear encompasses the tale of the ancient Indian grounds where detectives take center stage in looking for clues in the buried ruins that has caused so much confusion. When the backhoe is missing, this mysterious event sets Jim Chee in motion as he tries to uncover what really happened and he won’t stop until he finds the reason. His partner in this bizarre mystery is still coping with the loss of his spouse. Joe Leaphorn just wants to complete one more detective job before retirement. The younger officer; Chee isn’t ready for any type of quitting. Chee is excited about the fact that he may uncover something that includes not only the theft of the backhoe, but he is serious about uncovering the reason that two men have disappeared. Native Americans remain mysterious but the author tries to bring to life, what their true objectives are in this story. The Navaho detectives demonstrate their deep desire to do what is right in this story and offer us a good look into the lives of the Navaho Indian culture. The rummaging through the Indian grounds, unearths many various descriptions of what it’s like to live as a Navaho Indian and as these charming detectives did deep into the ground as they search for missing bodies and mechanical equipment, they discover a mystery that is worth looking into. Reference Page Hillerman, Tony. (2002) A Thief of Time. Harper Collins.

Essay examples --

Meeting is an assembly or gathering of the staff in order to discuss and solve problem that arise. In Pejabat Dewan Undangan Negeri dan Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan, the practical trainee involved before and during the meeting. Most of the meeting held at the Meeting Room of Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan between the staff, Speaker, EXCO and YB. Firstly, the practical trainee need to type a notice or memo and paste it at the board of Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan about the meeting that will be held. The notice about the meeting should contains about the date, venue and the matters of the meeting that will be held. Besides that, the practical trainee need to make a copy of the notice or memo to the entire of the staff to ensure they alert about the meeting. For example, the practical trainee need to type a notice about the meeting to discuss about the â€Å"Persidangan Dewan Undangan Negeri 2013† and prepare a file consist of all documents that will be discussed during the meeting. Next, before the meeting, the practical trainee need to make a preparation about the facilities and equipment of meeting sessions like the visual aids and other technological equipments. The practical trainee also should ensure that meals will be served to the guests are sufficient accordingly with the numbers of the members of the meeting. Minutes of meeting is the record of a meeting. The minutes of meeting starting with list of attendance, issues by the participant and decision for the issues. The practical trainee should write down every an information that the members of the board meeting have discuss. It is very important to record the minutes of the meeting for the staff to take action. For example, the practical trainee need to record about the progress of the â€Å"... ...cted Puan Zaitun to type several letter. There are several steps in typing a letter. Firstly,the practical trainee need to open Microsoft Word and type the word â€Å"Sulit† on the left top and right bottom of the document and all the word are standardized with Arial, 12. Some of the examples of the letter that the practical trainee need to type are â€Å"Kertas Kerja Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan† that was held on the 31st July 2013, the cover letter for the â€Å"Kertas Kerja† of the meeting that was held at Alor Setar and Kuala Lumpur, â€Å"Taklimat Pantadbiran Tanah Negeri Kedah Kepada YAB Menteri Besar dan Ahli-Ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan† and Kertas-Kertas Kerja Yang Akan Dibentangkan Dalam Mesyuarat EXCO†. All the letter are private and confidential and need to be put in a file room with a password (Refer Appendix, figure 1.3).

Dramatic Impetus in a View from the Bridge

Dramatic impetus is defined as an impelling movement or force within a play. In A View from the Bridge it is dependant on conflicts between opposing sets of values in areas such as relationships, gender, age and the community. The main character we are opposed to is Eddie as his set of values towards the end of the play contradict values of society, his family and even his own. He represents the older generation and the male stereotype of the 1950’s and also demonstrates justice being put to serve by the driving human emotions. His love is unevenly spread across the family causing conflict and destruction to his marriage, his family and even his life. There are five different relationships in the play, which are all affected by one conflicting emotion, causing the most important dramatic impetus. All the characters share a love as a family, at the start, as they all would take a risk for one another in any circumstance. The Italian brothers, Rodolpho and Marco, share a brotherly love so strong that they would lay down their own lives for the other brother. Rodolpho and Catherine develop a young romantic love, one set off at the very first sight and carries on throughout the play. Beatrice and Eddie are of course married but we are told mid way through Act 1 that their love has lost its passion. Beatrice questions Eddie when she asks â€Å"When am I going to be a wife again, Eddie? † in which he replies with â€Å"I ain’t been feeling good. They bother me since they came. † This conversation is unnatural for a married couple as the act of sex is supposed to be a common activity in the marriage life and especially desirable for men. All these relationships create a tension, set off by the one relationship based upon Eddie’s emotions and pride. Eddies love for Catherine – although not admitted by him but clearly shown to the other characters and the audience – enforces the dramatic impetus. Catherine and Eddie’s love at the start is clearly affectionate like a father and his daughter however in this case; Eddie is Catherine’s uncle. Catherine says, â€Å"I’ll get you a beer, all right? to Eddie at the start of the play, which evidently shows her affection to him as a father figure. However, this love develops into an incestuous love on Eddie’s behalf which conflicts with every relationship and the value of love. This love opposes Eddie’s love for his wife, Catherine’s love for Rodolpho and the love between Rodolpho and Marco. When it comes to love in the play, dramatic impetus is dependant on the deep passion that creates jealousy and causes pain bot h to the person who loves, the person who is loved and those around them. The way in which the law takes part in a crime can never satisfy the victim’s idea of justice as our decisions are based upon the emotions that we feel and therefore it is not true justice; it is not objective. However, where should our value be put when it comes to the betrayal of family and the betrayal of the law? Where can justice satisfy either values? At the start of the play, Eddie is seen as an honourable man for taking in two relatives as illegal immigrants and providing them with a roof over their heads and work on the pier, he even warns Beatrice and Catherine to not say a word, for the mere protection of the family. His warning is carried in a story about Vinny Bolzano whose family had hidden an uncle in the house. Vinny had â€Å"snitched† to the Immigration and suffered the consequences. â€Å"BEATRICE: Oh, it was terrible. He had five brothers and the old father. And they grabbed him in the kitchen and pulled him down the stairs – three flights his head was bouncin’ like a coconut. And they spit on him in the street, is own father and his brothers. The whole neighbourhood was cryin’. † The irony in this, is that Eddie becomes the betrayer, the â€Å"snitch†, in the second act when he walks into a telephone booth and rings up the Immigration Buereau. His action goes against his own values of trust, family and honour because they have been dictated by his feelings for Catherine and against Rodolpho. The little trust that Marco had for Eddie is now gone and there is nothing more the two would want more than justice and revenge progressing into an outbreak of conflict as they fail to look for a higher principle of justice separate from their own feelings found in the law. Although Eddie values the honour in his name, Marco values the trust bonds of family, which provides the dramatic impetus of Eddie’s tragic death. Values of sexuality and gender in the play are very conflicting even when the accusations are false. Men tend to value power, strength and honour in their name and not receiving the praise for these attributes can be very demeaning and conflicting to ones self. For example, Eddie is a very honourable man at the start of the play but his honour gradually decreases due to his own emotions and when that honour in his name is taken away by Marco there is an external conflict between the two in the last scene. Both Eddie and Marco are masculine characters and their similar values are conflicting in both a competitive way and in a form of loyalty, especially in the last act where Marco defends his family’s honour. Women also have values that conflict with their own. Catherine and Beatrice have a minor conflict in that they both fight for Eddie’s attention; for male affirmation as the daughter and as the wife. They both value Eddie’s opinion at the start and so they work to satisfy his needs but when another male comes onto the scene, this changes causing the conflict between males for the woman’s attention. This is clear in the play when Rodolpho steps onto the scene and captures Catherine’s attention, dragging it slowly away from Eddie. Due to his pride and jealousy, Eddie makes accusations that Rodolpho is homosexual which was not valued in 1950’s society. Eddie tries to give evidence that Rodolpho just â€Å"ain’t right† and explains to Alfieri, â€Å"I know a tenor, Mr Alfieri. This ain’t no tenor. I mean if you came in the house and you didn’t know who was singin’, you wouldn’t be lookin’ for him you be lookin’ for her. These accusations not only create dramatic impetus but also provide a shock value when in act 2, Eddie â€Å"pins [Rodolpho’s] arms, laughing, and suddenly kisses him. † This reveals to the audience Eddie’s true thoughts and feelings in a very dramatic way. It is obvious that Eddie does not value homosexuality as he represents the masculine but his accusations to this opposin g value creates a conflict and furthermore provides dramatic impetus. Amongst different age groups come different sets of values and attitudes towards traditional manners. Rodolpho and Catherine represent the youth and when Rodolpho and Catherine decide to marry without Eddie’s permission, this is scene as disrespectful. It is generally polite and traditional in past generations to ask the parents for a daughters hand in marriage so when this tradition is broken then conflict breaks out. Eddie also does not value materialism like Rodolpho does as the consumerist generation which takes part in the conflict between Eddie and Rodolpho. It is said that wisdom comes with age and so do wrinkles, which is why the idea of beauty in older women is valued. Beatrice represents the older generation in the play and it is clear that she feels jealous of Catherine’s young beauty. â€Å"BEATRICE: You think I’m jealous of you, honey? CATHERINE: No! It’s the first I thought of it. BEATRICE: Well you should of thought of it before†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Although these values between youth and adult are not major factors of conflict, they contribute to the dramatic impetus and create a momentum towards the final outburst of built up tension between the characters. Arthur Miller creates dramatic impetus in A View from the Bridge through conflicting character values. The different types of love shared are all conflicted with the one emotion that brings about a roll of events and an outburst of tension. Justice is values only by the state of ones emotions and therefore can differ depending on the situation but will always intend to provide revenge on the criminal or victim. Gender and sexuality creates conflict through accusations as the 1950’s did not value homosexuality. The values between different generations provide dramatic impetus in the play.

Cognitive and Language Development

Whether we know it or not children begin learning from the moment they take their entrance into this world by listening, looking, and interacting with people and objects (Gleitman, 1981) that carries them from birth through adulthood. Literacy Development in children is sort of the same thing but it is focused mainly on things that help them with speaking, listening, reading, understanding, watching, drawing and writing.Infants and Toddlers are like sponges; they absorb everything about their environment (Lally, Torres, & Phelps, 1993). They learn through sensory and motor experiences (Gleitman, 1981). You might say well how I can help them with all of this it is a lot. Well here are some ways that you can help them with out having to do a lot. Infants ( Cognitive & Language Development) Put a mobile over the crib, he/she will enjoy it Let them listen to classical music Read to infants.They may not understand you but it helps develop early literacy skills Play peek-a-boo Let the infa nt play with an unbreakable mirror so they can see their reflection Sing/Talk to infants during feeding and while changing diapers Toddlers (Cognitive & Language Development) While reading to toddlers, name objects in the book and let them point the objects out Hide a toy and encourage the child to find it. For example, behind your back or under the table, etc. Encourage the child to sing songs with youEncourage to stack blocks and let them knock them over so they can see them fall If the child is saying simple words like dog or ball, try and use them in a simple sentence like â€Å"Where is the dog? † so they can start learning to put sentences together Infant & Toddler (Literacy Development) Try an use rhyming whenever you can- helps them understand the meaning of words as well as how they are created Repeat sounds you child makes, or make up sounds and see if you child can copy them Talk about the sounds animals make and ask your child to copy When you are out take a book as well as a toy with youEncourage your child to draw and write using pens, pencils, crayons, and markers Try and get them to write their name on all the art work they do Help them use play dough to make the letters of the alphabet or numbers Visit the library with your child, let choose the books they would want to take home School Aged Children (Literacy Development) Play words games that encourage children to learn sounds Talk about TV shows your child is watching, talk about the past, the future Take turns reading with your child Read stories then ask the child about themEncourage your child to read the names of items at the supermarket Select a few alphabet letters and move them around to make new sounds-bat, tab, abt and ask them which words are real Ask he/she to make you a book with a word on one side and a picture on the other Or let them write a grocery list or a restaurant menu just for play School Aged Children (Cognitive & Language Development) Learning to write letters and draw circles Identifying colors and drawing more complex people Knowing the difference between morning, noon and night The biggest thing for preschoolers is to PLAY.Playing is very important for their cognitive development. It promotes healthy brain development and helps children build confidence, begin to solve problems and work with others. These skills help them build leadership and group skills. REFERENCES: Cognitive Development for School Aged Children- http://www. livestrong. com/article/541776-why-is-cognitive-development-important-in-preschool/ Literacy Development- http://raisingchildren. net. au/articles/activities_to_promote_literacy. html/context/1217 Cognitive Development for Infants & Toddlers- www. highreach. com

Appeasement and the Munich - Smart Custom Writing Samples

Appeasement and the Munich - Smart Custom Writing Heat and TemperatureIn order to understand about heat and temperature, it is of great importance to introduce the meaning of matter as well as the Kinetic Theory of Matter. This is because heat can be seen to exist when its effects are observed on matter. Without matter heat and temperature could not be realized. Matter can be defined as anything that has mass and that can occupy space. Matter is composed of substances, and these can be seen being made up of atoms, ions and molecules. Atoms, ions and molecules are the building blocks of matter; such that the behaviors of different types of substances are determined by these primary particles. The atoms of substances contain minute particles which are referred to as protons and electrons. These subatomic particles are also considered matter since they both have weight and occupy space (Atkins Paula, 2002).   Matter exists in three distinct states namely, solid state, liquid state and gaseous state. The three state of matter are inter-convertible such that one state can be converted into another state by changing the immediate environmental conditions especially temperature. The solid state of matter is characterized by having its own volume as well having a definite shape. Liquid state of matter is characterized by having its own volume but assumes the shape of the container it occupies. Gaseous state of matter does not have both its own volume and shape but occupies entire volume of the container and as well assumes the shape of the container it occupies (Atkins Paula, 2002). Kinetic Theory of Matter states that matter is made up of very many minute particles that are in a constant state of motion. The theory can also be referred to as the Kinetic Molecular Theory of Matter.   The theory forms the basis to explain the behavior that different forms of matter exhibit simply by making simple assumptions, for example, the idea that matter is composed of widely spaced particles which are in a constant motion. The significant areas in this case are transfer or flow of heat as well as the relationship between temperature, pressure, and volume of gases. The Kinetic Theory of matter is a mere prediction regarding the behavior of matter, based on particular approximations and assumptions. These assumptions and approximations are made from experiments and observations, for instance, the fact that objects are made up of atoms or small molecules (Burshtein, 1996).   Heat can be defined as a form of energy that is associated with the motion of molecules or atoms and that can be conveyed through fluid and solid media by the process of conduction, through vacuum by the process of radiation, and through fluid media by convection process.   There are different sources of heat, for instance, heat due to friction, heat due to nuclear reactions, heat due to sun, heat due to burning of fossil fuels, and heat due to electricity. This transmission of energy from one substance to another is determined by a change in phase or a difference in temperature. Therefore temperature can be defined as the measure of the mean kinetic energy of the molecules or atoms in a given sample of matter, and it is usually expressed in degrees or units chosen on a typical scale. The relationship between heat and temperature is depicted from the definitions. Temperatures of substances rise when heat is supplied. Intense heat is characterized by high temperature (Turns, 2006). Now it will be very clear, if in the discussion of converting substances from one state to another immediate state, heat and temperature are involved. From the Kinetic Theory of Matter, it is evident that matter is made up of small particles that are in a constant state of motion. These particles may consist of molecules, ions or atoms which are held together by strong forces of attraction. In the solid state, the particles are closely packed together in fixed positions. The particles cannot move from one position to another but can vigorously vibrate within their fixed positions, and this is because the forces of attraction between the particles are very strong. With the increase in the temperature of a substance in solid state, the particles gain heat energy gradually and the kinetic energy of the particles increases. A point is reached when the particles start to move more vigorous until the forces of attraction between them weakens.   The particles can now move from one place t o another as the substance changes state from solid to liquid. The substance loses its definite shape but it still has its own volume (Atkins Paula, 2002). In the liquid state, the particles are not as closely held together as in the solid states since the forces of attraction between the particles are a bit weaker. The particles are free to move from one place to another within the structure. When the temperature of the substance is increased further, the particles gradually absorb heat energy. The kinetic energy of the particles further increases as the particles move more vigorous. A point reaches when the forces of attraction between the particles are overcome and the particles move far apart from one another. At this point the substance changes its state from liquid to gaseous state (Turns, 2006).   Reduction in temperature reverses the processes, such that the substance in gaseous state changes into liquid state and finally into solid state. This is because, as the temperature reduces, the kinetic energy of the particles goes down and the forces of attraction become stronger. Thus the particles of the substance attract one another. Heat capacity of a substance is defined as a measurable physical quantity that portrays the amount of heat needed to change the temperature of a body by a particular amount. The SI units for heat capacity are joules per Kelvin. In substances heat capacity is determined by various properties for example the amount of matter in the substance expressed in terms of its mass, the type of material of which the substance is composed of, the temperature of the substance, and the atmospheric pressure (White, 1999).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   References Atkins, P., Paula, J. (2002). Atkins' Physical Chemistry. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press. Burshtein, a., (1996). Introduction to Thermodynamics and Kinetic Theory of Matter.   London: J. Wiley. Turns, S., (2006). Thermal-Fluid Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. White, G., (1999). Heat Capacity and Thermal Expansion at Low Temperatures. New York:   Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

Thoughts on Christmas Eve

Thoughts on Christmas Eve Free Online Research Papers Wow, it’s another Christmas Eve, but this time, it’s the one of the year 2010. It’s a beautiful evening and I was feeling inspired to just leave every single thing that I was doing to come write this down. It’s coming straight from the heart. As I walked around my home, a few days ago, I realized that this Christmas season isn’t as much fun as the others have been. At first, I thought that it was just me and everyone in my home who wasn’t in the Christmas spirit, but the other day, I decided to go out and I realized that I wasn’t the only one with the feeling, the city also wasn’t alive as it ought to be, I kept wondering what is going on? Is it the economy or what? Then, this blessed Christmas Eve, I started doing what I know how to do best, fantasizing and recollecting. I began to fantasize about a perfect Christmas holiday, how perfect everything ought to be and when I was done with that, I started to recollect all the great but not perfect past Christmas holidays that I’ve had and the fun that came with it. But as I was in this crazy state of mind, something dawned on me and it was that I should enjoy the moment before it passed me by. Then, all of a sudden I stopped and I got myself back to reality, back to the present. I stopped complaining about how boring this Christmas season has been. I realized that even if I might not be having as much fun as I wanted, there’s much to be grateful for. Just the other day, I got sad news about the passing away of someone whom I used to know. I began to realize how this gift of life we take so much for granted could be easily taken away. Now, I’m in my bedroom just typing and thinking alongside. Normally, since this is Christmas Eve, I would be outside looking at the stars, making and receiving phone calls, sending and receiving text messages, or watching a movie with my family and probably making preparations for tomorrow, Christmas day. But I’m compelled to just sit back and take a break from my normal routine and thank God for the year so far. It’s been such a great year; I had the best time in school, spiritually, academically, and socially. My family also has been so blessed by God in many ways and I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for, so why complain. So now, I’ve decided to enjoy the present and thank God for everything he has done for me. I’m surrounded by the best people in the world and I ought not to complain about how boring things are, I’ve to make things as much fun as I want them to be. I have decided to give as much love as I can possibly give, God gives us little chances everyday to show kindness to people, so why not use the opportunities you have to put laughter into the hearts of others and you’ll realize that you too will definitely laugh and have a smile on your face. So, all I’ve been trying to say is don’t keep thinking about how things can get better, make things better, be thankful for everything, both the good and the bad because you know when there’s life, there’s definitely hope. Above, let’s all try and learn the lesson of living in the present and also taking time to enjoy the moment because it’s all we’ve got for now. Merry Christmas, everyone, enjoy the holidays. Research Papers on Thoughts on Christmas EveLifes What IfsThe Spring and AutumnPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraHip-Hop is ArtStandardized TestingThe Hockey GameEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenWhere Wild and West MeetCapital Punishment

Développer - to Develop - French Verb Conjugations

Dà ©velopper - to Develop - French Verb Conjugations The  French verb  dà ©velopper  means to develop. Find conjugations for dà ©velopper  in the tables below. Conjugations of  Dà ©velopper Present Future Imperfect Present participle je dveloppe dvelopperai dveloppais dveloppant tu dveloppes dvelopperas dveloppais il dveloppe dveloppera dveloppait nous dveloppons dvelopperons dveloppions vous dveloppez dvelopperez dveloppiez ils dveloppent dvelopperont dveloppaient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle dvelopp Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive je dveloppe dvelopperais dveloppai dveloppasse tu dveloppes dvelopperais dveloppas dveloppasses il dveloppe dvelopperait dveloppa dveloppt nous dveloppions dvelopperions dveloppmes dveloppassions vous dveloppiez dvelopperiez dvelopptes dveloppassiez ils dveloppent dvelopperaient dvelopprent dveloppassent Imperative tu dveloppe nous dveloppons vous dveloppez Verb conjugation patternDà ©velopper  is a  regular -ER verb

Personal statement for university explaing why did I choose that

For university explaing why did I choose that university and course - Personal Statement Example pecialize in databases and data mining, because I am really interested in learning about how large datasets and huge chunks of information can be stored in and managed so quickly and efficiently. I would love to learn about new advancements in this field, and would like to become a talented professional in my future life. For me, computer science has changed the world like no other science. Why I chose the University of New Haven, Boston Post Road West Haven, is because it offered me graduation in computer science which I wanted to avail and start my career in. The university is a private, top-tier institution, and offers globally recognized experiential education. It offers highly qualified teachers. It helps the students in various means like in getting a tutor, scholarships, free-ships, stipends, internships, and etcetera. Special training courses are also held which enable the students to apply the knowledge

The ethics of religious affiliation and social stratification Essay

The ethics of religious affiliation and social stratification - Essay Example Studies by important sociologists, economists, and politicians of the world today confirm that there is an essential connection between the spirit of modern economic life, which is supported by the theories of capitalism, and the rational ethics of ascetic Protestantism. In one of the most important work on the topic, Max Weber establishes that the spirit of capitalism in northern Europe was greatly influenced by the Protestant (predominantly Calvinist) ethic. Thus, Weber indicates that the work ethic of Protestantism immensely contributed to the growth of capitalism in the Western world, transforming the unplanned and uncoordinated mass into actions driven by the spirit of capitalism. â€Å"But not all the Protestant denominations seem to have had an equally strong influence in this direction. That of Calvinism, even in Germany, was among the strongest, it seems, and the reformed faith more than the others seems to have promoted the development of the spirit of capitalism, in the W upperthal as well as elsewhere.† (Weber, 43) Therefore, in a profound analysis of the relationship between religious affiliation and social stratification, it becomes lucid that the ethics of Protestantism has played an essential role in the development of the spirit of capitalism.

The Book by Eric Weiner The Geography of Happiness Essay

The Book by Eric Weiner The Geography of Happiness - Essay Example It is interesting to see how Weiner tries to find explanations for these high happiness ratings. During the chapter discussing Switzerland, Weiner begins to discuss the reasons for Swiss happiness. He surmises that one of the major reasons behind the happiness of this neutral nation is that they experience their emotions in moderation, neither being very happy or very sad. This may seem like a strange suggestion to make when discussing happiness, as perhaps it may seem necessary to experience happiness at the extreme to feature highly on the Gross National Happiness scale. In this case, we can say that there may be a link between geographical location and happiness, as the neutrality of the country seems to have had an impact on the neutrality of the people, and this leads to happiness. Another thing that Weiner mentions in his discussions of Switzerland is that the Swiss feel a huge connection with nature, and the way that geography contributes to this source of happiness is that Switzerland has a beautiful natural environment. Many other things are mentioned in the discussion of Switzerland, such as their huge wealth (and thus surmising that the Swiss should feel less envy than those in other countries) and their tendency to vote often (thus surmising that democracy is the route to happiness) and these too can be linked geographically to the Gross National Happiness index. These latter two reasons Weiner are also associated with Iceland, a wealthy country with a well-established democratic government. Weiner also gives other reasons which may contribute to the happiness of the Icelandic people, one of which is a tendency towards the creative. Weiner even goes on to suggest that everyone in Iceland is a poet and a dreamer, and perhaps this leads to a large number of extremely happy people here.

Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Final Exam - Essay Example Rondell Corporation traversed the path of success and growth in innovative engineering design of electrical items and radio broadcasting equipments. However, it failed to revamp its organizational structure and establish links between departments to restore mutual cooperation and consensus. This paper aims to look at the sources of conflicts at Rondell. With reference to Pondy’s model of organizational conflict, recommendations follow to improve the power relations, interdependencies and overall performance of the company. Prime culprit behind burgeoning conflicts at Rondell Corporation is ineffective organizational structure and power distribution. Though seemingly simple, poorly defined structure starts developing the following loopholes which ultimately leads to reduced agreement between departments and key personnel. Parent & Slack (1997, p. 221) opine that if an organizational is undergoing tumultuous phase due to differentiation and ambiguous roles, setting up of formalized rules, policies and norms of work practices and behavior can help solve the issues. High formality results in shaping up doubts, unclear job roles and even reciprocal interdependence. At Rondell, informal organizational structure rules the day-to-day operations. Departments have made subunits that in turn are running their individual politics and tactics to fulfill their personal interests. Lack of formalization has made departmental goals overshadow organizational objectives. Differentiation refers to dividing the tasks into smaller parts and allocating them to subunits of departments for better fulfillment of goals. Rondell has five major units or functions namely sales, engineering services, research and development (R&D), production and control. Though individual subunit orientation is necessary to contribute effectively to organization’s growth, these five departments at Rondell have deviated too far

The history of ancient India. Harppan Culture Research Paper

The history of ancient India. Harppan Culture - Research Paper Example But excavations at Harappa and Mohanjo-Daro changed the complete viewpoint and old beliefs. Starting with the finding of Harappa, almost thousand conclusions with comparable characters have been exposed. Scholars named it ‘Indus valley civilization’ (Around the Indus in 90 Slides par. 1). Indus valley civilization developed at two centers-Harappa and Mohanjodaro. Harappa is in Montgomery district of the Punjab (now in Pakistan). Mohanjodaro is in Larkana district of Sind (now in Pakistan). Mohanjodaro means ‘the mount of the dead’. The distance between these two centers is 650 Kms. According to the famous archeologist Sir John Marshall, Harappan civilization is about 5000 years old. The town planning and material life of the Harappan culture were really great. Archeologist like â€Å"Mortimer Wheeler and Stuart Piggot believed that the Harappan towns had a remarkable unity of conception† (Unit 6: Material Characteristics 21). Each town was divided int o two parts. In one part, the citadel indicated where the rulers lived. In the other part of the town, the ruled, and the poor lived. â€Å"The most ancient paw marks of human actions in India go back to the Paleolithic Age, around between 400,000 and 200,000 B.C.

Quality of life and functioning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Quality of life and functioning - Essay Example A holistic nursing plan is vital when caring for patients as in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. Among other things, the nurse as a care giver should work together with health facilities and community members in the promotion and maintenance of health, illness care and rehabilitation of patients. Quality of Life and Functioning Good health is desirable for all people whether they are reasonable or not. However, in some instances, human beings end up being affected by chronic diseases, such as cancer, that have grievous implications on the life of an individual. Chronic diseases like cancer can lead a person to experience grave depression as he/she tries to deal with the effects of the disease. Individuals with chronic diseases often experience challenges in their social life as they are not able to enjoy life as expected (Aldwin & Gilmer, 2004). It is important to note that persons with chronic diseases need to be given adequate care. They should be assisted to meet their personal ne eds, such as bathing, toileting and dressing. In addition, they should be given the necessary assistance in performing their daily tasks like shopping, paying bills, using telephone, as well as navigating physical and social environments. Health promotion services should be able to optimize health and healthy behavior of individuals suffering from chronic diseases. ... Dangerous diseases, such as breast cancer affecting Mrs. Thomas, have serious effects in life. They can interfere with quite a lot of everyday activities of an individual. The disease may affect the senses making it difficult for the patient to see or hear, thereby affecting personal mobility. The disease also has diverse effects on the social life of the individual. Such patients should be assisted to achieve their normal body functioning as suggested by Aldwin and Gilmer (2004). Health care is extremely necessary since it enables the improvement of patients’ lives. Caregivers should consider nutrition, dental care, exercise and physical activity when attending to patients. Care givers should also ensure that patients suffering from cancer stop smoking cigarette. The main aspects that must be addressed in the life of the patient that should be managed effectively include the physical, psychological, and social components. Health promotion and quality of life practices are ver y important in ensuring that patients suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer get necessary support from their care givers. Without health promotion tips, the patient risks suffering from depression; they may even succumb to the disease easily (Aldwin & Gilmer, 2004). Personal perceptions affect Mrs. and Mr. Thomas in several ways. The two see their heath status to bee too serious that they will eventually succumb. Patients who have personal perceptions that they can never get well are very difficult to treat. The nurse can provide the best possible care but without change in perception, there can never be change. Personal perceptions lead to more depression. Secondly, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas believe that friends have

The history of ancient India. Harppan Culture Research Paper

The history of ancient India. Harppan Culture - Research Paper Example But excavations at Harappa and Mohanjo-Daro changed the complete viewpoint and old beliefs. Starting with the finding of Harappa, almost thousand conclusions with comparable characters have been exposed. Scholars named it ‘Indus valley civilization’ (Around the Indus in 90 Slides par. 1). Indus valley civilization developed at two centers-Harappa and Mohanjodaro. Harappa is in Montgomery district of the Punjab (now in Pakistan). Mohanjodaro is in Larkana district of Sind (now in Pakistan). Mohanjodaro means ‘the mount of the dead’. The distance between these two centers is 650 Kms. According to the famous archeologist Sir John Marshall, Harappan civilization is about 5000 years old. The town planning and material life of the Harappan culture were really great. Archeologist like â€Å"Mortimer Wheeler and Stuart Piggot believed that the Harappan towns had a remarkable unity of conception† (Unit 6: Material Characteristics 21). Each town was divided int o two parts. In one part, the citadel indicated where the rulers lived. In the other part of the town, the ruled, and the poor lived. â€Å"The most ancient paw marks of human actions in India go back to the Paleolithic Age, around between 400,000 and 200,000 B.C.

Planning For Wealth, Retirement and the Great Beyond Case Study

Planning For Wealth, Retirement and the Great Beyond - Case Study Example as specified in the case study of the family is inclusive of the registered retirement savings plan of 650,000 dollars as well as the 150,000 dollars that are unused in the registered retirement savings plan. The market value of the home is estimated to be 900,000 dollars .the value is considered to inflate in the future (Roseman 2002). The investment advisor is expected to help in working out a realistic plan that will enable achievement of the goals pertaining to the long term investments. The realization now is that it will be hard to rely on the Old Age Security or the Canada Pension Plan or the employers Pension Plan to meet the expenses that emerge after the retirement. With that in mind, the time to build an investment portfolio that will help manage and support the life after retirement would be now. Having a trust company is a benefit especially when the company is the executor or the trustee (Currie, Chambers, and Brown 2001). When determining the personal asset, a variety of assets may be considered. For instance in the case presented, the family owns a home that is valued at 900,000dollars that is expected to inflate, they also own investments ranging from the real to non real that are worth a lot of money. The spouse also has an investment that will pay later. The expense that incurred includes the 90,000 dollars annual expenses and the mortgage that will be paid for the next eight years. The investment totals to 2.205 million dollars (Currie, Chambers, and Brown 2001). Having acquired the investment portfolio required, the projections for future income can hence be formulated. For instance, the sources of income after the retirement include the pension plan from the employer. Out of the salary paid, the contribution to the pension plan will be 6 percent... The case presented represents the family of a mature family. The priorities and needs of such a family have changed. This is evidenced by maturity of the children where two of them are in their twenties and have already been employed and the last one is in adolescent, due to Finish University in three years. The issue of guardian ship is not there. This stage is also marked by peak earnings years and accumulation of many considerable assets. This part requires assessing of the financial status, the personal and life goals and needs and also assessing the priorities of life now. This report makes a conclusion that life on earth is not guaranteed. Therefore, once one has died, there is the need for the estate to be managed and the property taken care of. This is the sole purpose of the will. The checklist needed in ascertaining a will includes preparation and signing of the power of attorney for the financial affairs and running of the real estate. According to Gray& budd one needs to ascertain whether the will and the power of attorney are up to date. One needs to take steps to ensure protection of the assets bought in the relationship. The will also entails naming the beneficiaries and the alternate beneficiaries of the registered retirement savings pan, the life insurance policies, the pension plans and RRIFs. These should always be up to date. The will also entails the backup executor and the back up power of attorney. All the dependants should be well provided for.

Discrimination Against Women Essay Example for Free

Discrimination Against Women Essay The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period,to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have adorned high offices in India including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Leader of the Opposition. As of 2011, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (Lower House of the parliament) both are women. However, women in India continue to face discrimination and other social challenges and are often victims of abuse and violent crimes and, according to a global poll conducted by Thomson Reuters, India is the fourth most dangerous country in the world for women, and the worst country for women among the G20 countries. History Ancient India Scholars believe that in ancient India, the women enjoyed equal status with men in all fields of life.[11] However, some others hold contrasting views.[12] Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period[13][14] Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their husband.[15] Scriptures such as Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers, notably Gargi and Maitreyi.[16] There are very few texts specifically dealing with the role of women;[17] an important exception is the Stri Dharma Paddhati of Tryambakayajvan, an official at Thanjavur around c.1730. The text compiles strictures on womenly behaviour dating back to the Apastamba sutra (c. 4th c. BCE).[18] The opening verse goes: mukhyo dharmaH smr^tiShu vihito bhartr^shushruShANam hi : women are enjoined to be of service to their husbands. Some kingdoms in the ancient India had traditions such as nagarvadhu (bride of the city). Women competed to win the coveted title of the nagarvadhu. Amrapali is the most famous example of a nagarvadhu. According to studies, women enjoyed equal status and rights during the early Vedic period.[19] However, later (approximately 500 B.C.), the status of women began to decline with the Smritis (esp. Manusmriti) and with the Islamic invasion of Babur and the Mughal empire and later Christianity curtailing womens freedom and rights.[7] Although reformatory movements such as Jainism allowed women to be admitted to the religious order, by and large, the women in India faced confinement and restrictions.[19] The practice of child marriages is believed to have started from around sixth century.[20]

Languages Essays Italian Economic Miracle

Languages Essays Italian Economic Miracle The Italian Economic Miracle Exposed: The Use of Comic Effects and Irony in Calvinos Marcovaldo. The Economic Miracle that is said to have swept across post-war Italy in the 1950s has been attributed by many scholars to the decision to open up the economy. This, in turn, gave Italy the chance to undergo a growth spurt that would help it keep pace with the rest of the world. According to Foot, the decision, made in the 1950s, to open up the country to trade and to let it integrate into the world market allowed it to catch up rapidly with the leading economies (2001:110). The growth spurt in the economy had wide-reaching effects. It changed the lives of the Italian people, many of whom found themselves transplanted from familiar rural areas to modern urban environments essentially a brand new way of life. As Foot asserts, Italys economic miracle transformed the countrys cultural landscape (2001:19). This is the world that was the setting for Italo Calvinos collection of stories, Marcovaldo, ovvero,Le stagioni in città   (Marcovaldo, or The Seasons in the City). The protagonist of these stories, Marcovaldo, appears to be a good-hearted, hard-working man. He ekes out a living as a day laborer, providing for his wife and children, but it is clearly a marginal existence. The struggle of his daily life is eased by his imagination, which leads him to become entangled in a number of amusing adventures. Marcovaldo has been described by one scholar as a man with the heros nostalgia for nature and open spaces,   whose sensitivity to the changing seasons in a cityscape polluted by all kinds of objects and living things, make sense only within the context of an urban setting (Jeannet 1977:26). These stories, or fables, as they are sometimes called, can be read on a surface level as a delightful collection of misadventures by a well-meaning but misguided individual. However, when considered in the light of this stark urban setting, they stand out as comical and ironic, a vehicle used by Calvino to expose the negative sides of this so-called economic miracle. It has been suggested that alongside the depiction of urban corruption and pollution, Calvino also, through the lovable but haplessly inept protagonist, undermines the Romantic notion of a return to nature' (Gabriele 1994:21–22). Thus, it seems that Calvino has transplanted Marcovaldo this high-spirited, though misguided, representative of rural life into the hostile new terrain of urban life. In so doing, he wrote a book that can be read as a volume of entertaining tales, and at the same time an ironic critique of the results of the economic boom. Calvinos use of comedy and irony is present throughout the book, and starts at the beginning. In the initial story, Calvinos description of Marcovaldo is wry and amusing, and it sets up the contrast between Marcovaldos simplistic nature against the backdrop of the strange new city: Aveva questo Marcovaldo un occhio poco adatto alla vita di città  : cartelli, semafori, vetrine, insegne luminose, manifesti, per studiati che fossero a colpire lattenzione, mai fermavano il suo sguardo che pareva scorrere sulle sabbie del deserto (7). Apparently, Marcovaldo is oblivious to the eye-catching distractions of the modern city; to him, they are non-existent. Instead, he is alert to the signs, however few and however bleak, of the natural world. In fact, he spends his time searching them out. The paucity of these signs does not deter him or detract from his enthusiasm. This suggests that he longs for his former, simpler life, and that he misses the rural background that he knows best. The search for signs of the natural world is rewarded when Marcovaldo discovers, to his delight, the first mushroom: Si chinà ² a legarsi le scarpe e guardà ² meglio: erano funghi, veri funghi, che stavano spuntando proprio nel curoe della città   (7). The discovery of the mushroom fills him with hope. Suddenly the drab grayness of the city melts away, and the drudgery and struggle of his daily life becomes less oppressive: A Marcovaldo parve che il mondo grigio e misero che lo circondava diventasse tutta un tratto generoso di ricchezze nascoste, e che dalla vita ci si potesse ancora aspettare qualcosa, oltre la paga oraria del salario contrattuale, la contingenza, gli assegni familiari e il carpane (7). The exaggerated happiness at the discovery of a mushroom serves to highlight the stark contrast of the urban world with his rustic background. The double reversal that follows the discovery of the mushrooms is another example of the comical irony that Calvino employs to expose the negative aspects of the economic boom. We note that Marcovaldo carefully guards the location of his discovery until Sunday, when, wife and children in tow, he heads for the mushroom site to pick them only to learn that there are bigger, better mushrooms, and that he is not the only one who is gathering them. This is the first disappointment, followed by an evening in the hospital, because it turns out the mushrooms are poisoned! Although Marcovaldo here may simply appear to be a bumbling fool, it seems plausible that Calvino is demonstrating the potential for disaster that is a result of uprooting people from the country and setting them down into a new and unfamiliar environment. Gabriele asserts that Marcovaldo knows nothing about the natural world, as is evidenced by his mishaps with the mushrooms and the pigeons. Marcovaldo has not been transplanted from a rural environment into an urban one; rather, he chases a rather indefinite dream of paradise (Gabriele 1994:21–22). Calvino might also be suggesting here that the time Marcovaldo has lived in an urban environment may have obliterated the common country logic he once had. Alternatively, perhaps this incident is used to demonstrate that Marcovaldo is, after all, a simpleton who simply does not know a good mushroom from a poisonous variety. Another possibility is that Calvino is trying to say that Marcovaldo, now an urban dweller, has taken on the greed associated with the rise of the city, and that this greed overpowers his natural instincts. The move from country to city, then, is portrayed as having deleterious effects on new urban dwellers. As Olken suggests, Calvino implies here that all growing things undergo corruption in the noxious atmosphere of the city (1984:121). Starting with the first story and continuing throughout the book, Marcovaldo embarks on a variety of ill-fated adventures, and each of them ends with a reversals or double reversal. Thus, it appears that Calvino reinforces the message albeit in a comical way that the financial prosperity that has been called the economic miracle is not a miracle for everyone indeed, it has a dark side. The final story has a twist that goes beyond this, suggesting that although Marcovaldos integration into urban life has been less than successful, that the lives of his children show a level of promise. Calvino describes a typical urban Christmas with clear irony: Tutti erano presi dallatmosfera alacre e cordiale che si espandeva per la città   festosa e produttiva; nulla à ¨ pià º bello che sentire scorrere intorno il flusso dei beni materiali e insieme del bene che ognuno vuole agli altri: e questo, questo soprattutto come ci ricorda il suono, firulà ­ firulà ­, delle zampogne, à ¨ cià ² che conta (118). Rampant materialism is juxtaposed with the feeling of good will it supposedly inspires, and the ugliness of the city clearly debases the sentiments of good cheer. In this story, Marcovaldos children must complete a school project that requires them to bring gifts to a poor child When Marcovaldo comes upon them in the midst of their preparations, he asks what they are doing and they respond Dobbiamo cercare un bambino povero e fargli dei regali (119). It occurs to him to remind them that they are poor children themselves, but apparently the spirit of materialism overcomes him and he responds Bambini poveri non ne esistono pià º (119). When the children do eventually find a poor child upon whom to lavish their gifts, it turns out to be none other than the child of   the president of the Union for the Implementation of Christmas Consumption (il presidente dellUnione Incremento Vendite Natalizie). This very spoiled child, dissatisfied with the hundreds of toys he has already amassed, is delighted by the gifts of Marcovaldos children, and he embarks on a wave of destruction that culminates in the burning down of the family home. Calvino turns the horror and humiliation that Marcovaldo feels when he learns of this incident into a clever and telling reversal. When Marcovaldo shows up for work the next day, he is certain there will be repercussions from the exploits of his children. After all, it was their actions that led to the mischief of Gianfranco and the ensuing destruction. In addition, although Marcovaldo is correct in his assumption that there will be fallout to contend with, he is wrong about the nature of that fallout. Therefore, when approached by high company officials the next day, he is not surprised, and girds himself for the worst-case scenario. However, when he arrives, he is told by the officials that there has been a change in the gift-giving program. Apparently, Gianfrancos destructive deeds have been seen in a far different light by his father: in the act of destroying everything in his wake, Gianfranco finally appeared, for once, to be happy. This has inspired the president to change the course of the gift-giving campaign. The officials inform Marcovaldo of this, exhorting him to hurry, because   LUnione Incremento Vendite Natalizie ha lanciato una campagna per il lancio del Regalo Distruttivo (123). Thus the actions of his children, for which he expected a certain and swift punishment, have actually turned around into a new commercial venture based on destruction. Calvinos portrayal of Marcovaldo as a bumbling peasant in the city can be seen as a vehicle through which he presents the negative aspects of the Italian economic miracle. He does this by setting this transplanted character into the foreign and often hostile urban environment. This volume is versatile: the adventures of Marcovaldo can be read as a series of delightful childrens tales or as a treatise exposing the dark side of the miracle. Cannon points out that Calvino had high aspirations for a literature autonomous but not divorced from political concerns (1989:33). The duality of Marcovaldo suggests that was his intention with this book. The image projected b the fiction of Calvino, suggests Cannon, seems to have become that of an increasingly indecipherable world (1989:38). She discusses the crisis of reason that is a recurrent theme in Calvinos fiction (1989:39). Oaken suggests that Marcovaldo represents the modern immigrant who tries desperately to adapt and conform. He will never really succeed, as his children may do; he is too divided between the two worlds, ill-prepared and therefore victimized (Olken 1984:122). The victimization of Marcovaldo, however amusing and ironic, is a tool Calvino uses to bring to light the negative repercussions that the sudden growth of prosperity brought with it. The final chapter does offer a glimmer of hope, in that the adaptability of Marcovaldos children, and of children in general, will better equip them to integrate into the new world. They have already done so, in fact, and with much more facility success, even than their parents. Whether Calvino believes this is positive or negative, he does not indicate here, perhaps because that has become a moot point. Change, for better or for worse, is inevitable. References Bloom, Harold, ed. 2001. Modern Critical Views: Italo Calvino. Broomall, PA: Chelsea   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   House Publishers. Calvino, Italo. 1963. Marcovaldo, ovvero,Le stagioni in città  . Giulio Einaudi editore s.p.a.,    Torino. Cannon, JoAnn. 1989. Postmodern Italian Fiction: The Crisis of Reason in Calvino, Eco,    Sciascia, Malerba. London: Associated University Presses, Inc. Foot, John. 2001. Milan Since the Miracle: City, Culture and Identity. Oxford: Berg. Gabriele, Tommasina. 1994. Italo Calvino: Eros and Language. London: Associated University Presses, Inc. Jeannet, Angela. 1977. Italo Calvinos Invisible City. Pp. 25–36 in Bloom, Harold, ed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2001. Modern Critical Views: Italo Calvino. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House   Ã‚   Publishers. Olken, I.T. 1984. With Pleated Eye and Garnet Wing: Symmetries of Italo Calvino. Ann   Ã‚   Arbor, Michigan: Universit of Michigan Press. Signorini, Luigi Federico. 2001. Italys economy: An introduction. Daedalus, Spring. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3671/is_200104/ai_n8929681

Penicillin Essay -- essays research papers fc

Penicillin was accidentally discovered at St. Mary's Hospital, London in 1929 by Dr. Alexander Fleming. As test continued, Fleming began to realize that he was on the verge of a great discovery. However, he still did not know the identity of the fungus, and had little knowledge of fungi. His crude extracts could be diluted 1,000 times and still be effective in killing bacteria. After years of working on penicillin and going nowhere, many of his co-workers grew tired of hearing about it. The first real test for penicillin came when a 48-year-old police officer nicked himself shaving. After a time, Alexander's face became infected and he developed a temperature. When he was rushed to the hospital, the doctors believed that he had only hours to live. Then Dr Fleming and his crew started to treat this patient. This was the first person that penicillin was used on. After five days, he was getting better. Unfortunately, because it was in such short supply, it had to be extracted from his urine, and the penicillin had been used up. The police officer died five days l ater. Their next attempt was successful. It involved a punctured eye. The stone was still in the eye, and normally the eye would have been amputated, but penicillin allowed the man to make a full recovery. By this time, it was now 1941, it was now acknowledged that penicillin was indeed a worthwhile drug and could save thousands of lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During World War I, death rate from pneumonia in th...

Political attack ads

Americans National University Political advertisements have been a pervasive part of politics In the united States since the dawn of television. Presidential candidates have been making an appearance In the living rooms of Americans since Dwight D. Eisenhower Introduced a series of short campaign ads to the world of television during his presidential race (livingroomcandidate. Org par-I, 2012).From the beginning researchers regarded television as a medium that had the potential to allow people to become more informed, and therefore more included leading to a nonpartisan democracy Chirurgic, Coleman, & Blubber, 2009). Individuals who, in the past, had limited access to current affairs have been able to gain a different impression of politics through the medium of television. As television became a comfortable medium for politics, electoral democracies became a game of â€Å"power, persuasion, monopolizing support for policies and politicians, and accumulating votes† (Chirurgic, Coleman, & Blubber, 2009).In this paper the writer will attempt to analyze the impact of political television ads on democracy. Throughout political history politicians have used an ray of methods such as speeches, advertising, and political rallies to obtain the winning vote, however political television ads became a popular theme in the race for president. Political attack ads are as old as television and made their first appearance in 1952 in which republicans would give one answer to one group and give a completely different answer to the same question to another group (Greer, 2006).Because of this the opposing party could not be trusted. Some of these ads had quite a lasting effect but none more than the President Johnny's ad â€Å"Daisy Girl† that sutured a little girl picking the petals off of a daisy then fades into a nuclear bomb going off (Greer, 2006). The ad was a response to Barry Goldwater statement regarding using nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War. Although t he ad was only aired once before being pulled from television, many believe It's Impact was what led to Johnson winning the presidential race In 1964 (Greer, 2006).For more than sixty years politics and television have existed In a state of reciprocated dependence. Politics provides the raw materials while television packages It, subtly reconstructs It, and livers It to the audience (Currently, Coleman, Blubber, 2009). Political advertising has become an Indispensable campaign strategy and many people regard It as fairly obtrusive. Political advertisers are not liable to any regulatory organization, voluntary or otherwise, for the accuracy of their claims (lounger, Prior, 1999).Political ads are complaining about the objectivity of the comments made about them. While television has become a fundamental part of the political process it, in turn, has widely contributed to De-plasticization (Chirurgic, Coleman, & Blubber, 2009). Greer ascertains that poll after poll confirms that the e lectoral process is marked by cynicism and dissatisfaction with contemporary campaign discourse (2006). Nearly 60% of the public in the year 2000 was dissatisfied with how candidates conduct their campaign (Greer, 2006).The focus has moved from political discourse to the personalities and faces of political leaders. Because the focus has turned to spectacle rather than ideas the educational value of election campaigns has greatly diminished. Televised presidential debates have become a battle of physical style which has moved our culture towards a new way of conducting important business Postman, 2005). The lines between show business and political discourse become more blurred with each passing day. Americans tend to have a negative preconception towards political campaign ads.They are inclined to believe that such attack ads undermine not only the election but the democratic government as well. John Greer Author of In Defense of Negativity disagrees with this theory. Greer believe s that these political ads enrich the democratic process, providing voters with relevant and substantial information before they head to the polls as they are pitched battles for control of the government (2006). Greer points out that exaggeration in political ads not only apply to negative ads, but to positive election propaganda as well (2006).Many ads point out the positive aspects of a candidates race to become president such as President Reggae's advertisement of his tax cuts, however he failed to mention the tax increase he previously signed into law. This ad and other similar political ads were not labeled as misleading (Greer, 2006). Americans tend to assume that positive political ads are practical and truthful. Greer states that Bob Squire once said â€Å"most lies in politics are told in positive ads† (Greer, 006). This statement asserts that regardless of the content of the ad it is impossible to truly assess whether or not the ad is misleading.Political attack ad s have branched off from the television and people are now turning to the internet for their political news. The television trend is currently on a downward spiral. According to research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project the number of Americans going to the internet for their presidential election campaign news has increased by 23% since 2004 while those relying on television dropped by 4% (Pew, 2008). The most popular internet resources are blobs, comedy sites, government websites, candidate sites or alternative sites (Chirurgic, Coleman, & Blubber, 2009).Audiences are increasingly becoming active participants in public communication, as senders as well as addressees of mass-circulating messages (Chirurgic, Coleman, & Blubber, 2009). Through the internet medium American audience members can intervene and participate in political discourse with a gradation of value that was impossible even twenty years ago. Political advertisement, whether positive or negative, will always mom with a degree of fabrication that misleads one American or another.Political ads set the stage for campaigning and are what gets Americans involved in democracy whether it is a commercial you watched on Television or a Youth video. Americans have been able to gain a sense of involvement that was not possible offended by political attack ads, Greer believes that positive political ads can be Just as misleading if not more. Regardless of the general consensus, political attack ads have gotten the public more involved in not only their local politics, but their national politics as well. References Greer, John G. 2006).

Religious and Moral about Clowns

Clowns are generally considered that they exist for fun and entertainment, but when one who has clear knowledge about a clown and his job, one will understand how powerful clowns are. Barbara Tedlock has studied a lot about clown across the world and he wrote an essay called, ‘The Clown’s Way’. In fact main job of clowns is to entertain, give fun and make the people laugh. Clowns often remind us about circus, how they entertain the crowd with their funny words and deeds. They are professional clowns who are into the job for earning. There is also another kind of clowns who do such things for their religion and with a fear of religious beliefs. They are religious clowns. The best moral to learn from religious clowns are to make others laugh irrespective of one’s own worries and day to life tensions. Every clown is a human in fact, and they too have some worries of life. But once they wear clown mask, they forget all their personal worries and issues, and everything they do is laugh and let others laugh, which is very healthy to anyone. Different religious clowns entertain people in different ways. Heyoka clowns do things the other way like they read backwards, walk backwards, ride the horse in backward direction, moves counter-sunwise. His voice is a thunderclap. In few religions, during festivals, the clowns open the baggage of the guests, though such things are annoying, the guest burst up in laughs looking at the way the clowns behave. In some religion, clowns pour water on the guests and they also throw coal. This is always ends up with fun, but not into fights. In few religions, clowns go door to door to beg food and tobacco, if anyone refuses; they are allowed to do anything to fetch food from any house. The theft of food is a very common issue in California. The theft of food sometimes leads up to sexual show ups like they talk or sing about sex, or they perform sexual displays in the public at women. According to Tedlock, Jemez clowns â€Å"make advances toward women†; Ponca clowns â€Å"crawl up and touch a woman’s genitalia in full daylight†; and Kwakiutl clowns jest with chiefs’ daughters, often making pointed references to sex. In the Southeast, Creek clowns, while singing obscene songs during the Crazy Dance make sexual motions and even come into bodily contact with women. (p.6). Generally it is considered by many religious clowns that they believe they will die if they do not do their job properly. Though they show things in a funny way, many of their deeds share knowledge about the religion or they teach us a moral of life. One of the best examples said by Tedlock is about Pueblo Indian Clowns. On the occasion of feeding the katchina dancers, clowns substitute ashes or sweepings for corn meal as their own sacred offerings, and they make people laugh. But this deed has a hidden moral. It shows the religious deeds of Zuni woman, who deposit sweepings at the corn field and say, â€Å"I now deposit you as sweepings but in one year you will return to me as corn†. It is just like instead of wasting corn on the floor as sweepings, they will make it purpose for future food.

Coffee and Starbucks Essay

Starbucks began in 1971 when three academics—English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker—opened a store called Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice in the touristy Pikes Place Market in Seattle. The three partners shared a love of fine coffees and exotic teas and believed they could build a clientele in Seattle much like that which had already emerged in the San Francisco Bay area. Each invested $1,350 and borrowed another $5,000 from a bank to open the Pikes Place store. Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker chose the name Starbucks in honor of Starbuck, the coffee-loving first mate in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick(so company legend has it), and because they thought the name evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders. The new company’s logo, designed by an artist friend, was a two-tailed mermaid encircled by the store’s name. The inspiration for the Starbucks enterprise was a Dutch immigrant, Alfred Peet, who had begun importing fine arabica coffees into the United States during the 1950s. Peet viewed coffee as a fine winemaker views grapes, appraising it in terms of country of origin, estates, and harvests. Peet had opened a small store, Peet’s Coffee and Tea, in Berkeley, California, in 1966 and had cultivated a loyal clientele. Peet’s store specialized in importing fine coffees and teas, dark-roasting its own beans the European way to bring out their full flavor, and teaching customers how to grind the beans and make freshly brewed coffee at home. Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker were well acquainted with Peet’s expertise, having visited his store on numerous occasions and spent many hours listening to Peet expound on quality coffees and the importance of proper bean-roasting techniques. All three were devoted fans of Peet and his dark-roasted coffees, going so far as to order their personal coffee supplies by mail from Peet’s. The Pikes Place store featured modest, hand-built nautical fixtures. One wall was devoted to whole-bean coffees; another had shelves of coffee products. The store did not offer fresh-brewed coffee by the cup, but samples were sometimes available for tasting. Initially, Siegel was the only paid employee. He wore a grocer’s apron, scooped out beans for customers, extolled the virtues of fine, dark-roasted coffees, and functioned as the partnership’s retail expert. The other two partners kept their day jobs but came by at lunch or after work to help out. During the start-up period, Baldwin kept the books and developed a growing knowledge of coffee; Bowker served as the â€Å"magic, mystery, and romance man. â€Å"1 The store was an immediate success, with sales exceeding expectations, partly because of a favorable article in the Seattle Times. In the early months, each of the founders traveled to Berkeley to learn more about coffee roasting from their mentor, Alfred Peet, who urged them to keep deepening their knowledge of coffees and teas. For most of the first year, Starbucks ordered its coffee beans from Peet’s, but then the partners purchased a used roaster from Holland and set up roasting operations in a nearby ramshackle building. Baldwin and Bowker experimented with Alfred Peet’s roasting procedures and came up with their own blends and flavors. A second Starbucks store was opened in 1972. By the early 1980s, the company had four Starbucks stores in the Seattle area and could boast of having been profitable every year since opening its doors. But the roles and responsibilities of the cofounders underwent change. Zev Siegel experienced burnout and left the company to pursue other interests. Jerry Baldwin took over day-to-day management of the company and functioned as chief executive officer; Gordon Bowker remained involved as an owner but devoted most of his time to his advertising and design firm, a weekly newspaper he had founded, and a microbrewery he was launching (the Redhook Ale Brewery). Howard Schultz Enters the Picture In 1981, Howard Schultz, vice president and general manager of U. S. operations for Hammarplast—a Swedish maker of stylish kitchen equipment and housewares—noticed that Starbucks was placing larger orders than Macy’s was for a certain type of drip coffeemaker. Curious to learn what was going on, he decided to pay the company a visit. The morning after his arrival in Seattle, Schultz was escorted to the Pikes Place store by Linda Grossman, the retail merchandising manager for Starbucks. A solo violinist was playing Mozart at the door, with his violin case open for donations. Schultz immediately was taken by the powerful and pleasing aroma of the coffees, the wall displaying coffee beans, and the rows of red, yellow, and black Hammarplast coffeemakers on the shelves. As he talked with the clerk behind the counter, the clerk scooped out some Sumatran coffee beans, ground them, put the grounds in a cone filter, poured hot water over the cone, and shortly handed Schultz a porcelain mug filled with the freshly brewed coffee. After three sips, Schultz was hooked. He began asking the clerk and Grossman questions about the company, about coffees from different parts of the world, and about the different ways of roasting coffee. Next, Schultz met with Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, whose offices overlooked the company’s coffee-roasting operation. The atmosphere was informal. Baldwin, dressed in a sweater and tie, showed Schultz some new beans that had just come in from Java and suggested they try a sample. Baldwin did the brewing himself, using a glass pot called a French press. Bowker, a slender, bearded man with dark hair and intense brown eyes, appeared at the door and the three men sat down to talk about Starbucks. Schultz was struck by their knowledge of coffee, their commitment to providing high-quality products, and their passion for educating customers about the merits of dark-roasted coffees. Baldwin told Schultz, â€Å"We don’t manage the business to maximize anything other than the quality of the coffee. â€Å"2 Starbucks purchased only the finest arabica coffees and put them through a meticulous dark-roasting process to bring out their full flavors. Baldwin explained that the cheap robusta coffees used in supermarket blends burn when subjected to dark roasting. He also noted that the makers of supermarket blends prefer lighter roasts because they allow higher yields (the longer a coffee is roasted, the more weight it loses). Schultz was struck by the business philosophy of the two partners. It was clear from their discussions that Starbucks stood not just for good coffee, but rather for the dark-roasted flavor profiles that the founders were passionate about. Top-quality, fresh-roasted, whole-bean coffee was the company’s differentiating feature and a bedrock value. It was also clear to Schultz that Starbucks was strongly committed to educating its customers to appreciate the qualities of fine coffees, rather than just kowtowing to mass-market appeal. The company depended mainly on word-of-mouth to get more people into its stores, then relied on the caliber of its product to give patrons a sense of discovery and excitement. It built customer loyalty cup by cup as buyers of its products developed their palates. On his trip back to New York the next day, Howard Schultz could not stop thinking about Starbucks and what it would be like to be a part of the Starbucks enterprise. Schultz recalled, â€Å"There was something magic about it, a passion and authenticity I had never experienced in business. â€Å"3 Living in the Seattle area also had a strong appeal. By the time Schultz landed at Kennedy Airport, he knew he wanted to go to work for Starbucks. Though there was nothing in his background (see Exhibit 2) that prepared him for the experience, Schultz asked Baldwin at the first opportunity whether there was any way he could fit into Starbucks. The two quickly established an easy, comfortable rapport, but it still took a year of numerous meetings and a lot of convincing to get Baldwin, Bowker, and their silent partner from San Francisco to agree to hire Howard Schultz. Schultz pursued a job at Starbucks far more vigorously than Starbucks pursued him. There was some nervousness at Starbucks about bringing in an outsider, especially a high-powered New Yorker, who had not grown up with the values of the company. Nonetheless, Schultz continued to press his ideas about the tremendous potential of expanding the Starbucks enterprise outside Seattle and exposing people all over America to Starbucks coffee—arguing there had to be more than just a few thousand coffee lovers in Seattle who would like the company’s products. Schultz believed that Starbucks had such great promise that he offered to take a salary cut in exchange for a small equity stake in the business. But the owners worried that by offering Schultz a job as head of marketing they would be committing themselves to a new direction for Starbucks. At a spring 1982 meeting with the three owners in San Francisco, Schultz once again presented his vision for opening Starbucks stores across the United States and Canada. He flew back to New York thinking a job offer was in the bag. But the next day Baldwin called Schultz and indicated that the owners had decided against hiring him because geographic expansion was too risky and because they did not share Schultz’s vision for Starbucks. Schultz was despondent; still, he believed so deeply in Starbucks’ potential that he decided to make a last-ditch appeal. He called Baldwin back the next day and made an impassioned, though reasoned, case for why the decision was a mistake. Baldwin agreed to reconsider. The next morning Baldwin called Schultz and told him the job of heading marketing and overseeing the retail stores was his. In September 1982, Howard Schultz took on his new responsibilities at Starbucks. Starbucks and Howard Schultz: The 1982–85 Period In his first few months at Starbucks, Schultz spent most of his waking hours in the four Seattle stores—working behind the counters, tasting different kinds of coffee, talking with customers, getting to know store personnel, and educating himself about the retail aspects of the coffee business. By December, Jerry Baldwin decided that Schultz was ready for the final part of his training—roasting coffee. Schultz spent a week at the roaster examining the color of the beans, listening for the telltale second pop of the beans during the roasting process, learning to taste the subtle differences among Baldwin and Bowker’s various roasts, and familiarizing himself with the roasting techniques for different beans. Meanwhile, he made a point of acclimating himself to the informal dress code, blending in with the culture, and gaining credibility and building trust with colleagues. Making the transition from the high-energy, coat-and-tie style of New York to the more casual ambience of the Pacific Northwest required a conscious effort on Schultz’s part. One day during the busy Christmas season that first year, Schultz made real headway in gaining the acceptance and respect of company personnel at the Pikes Place store. The store was packed and Schultz was behind the counter ringing up sales when someone shouted that a customer had just headed out the door with some stuff—two expensive coffeemakers it turned out, one in each hand. Without thinking, Schultz leaped over the counter and chased the thief up the cobblestone street outside the store, yelling â€Å"Drop that stuff! Drop it! † The thief was startled enough to drop both pieces and run away. Schultz picked up the merchandise and returned to the store, holding up the coffeemakers like trophies. Everyone applauded. When Schultz returned to his office later that afternoon, his staff had strung up a banner that read â€Å"Make my day. â€Å"4 Schultz was overflowing with ideas for the company. Early on, he noticed that first-time customers sometimes felt uneasy in the stores because of their lack of knowledge about fine coffees and because store employees sometimes came across as a little arrogant. Schultz worked with store employees on developing customer-friendly sales skills and produced brochures that made it easy for customers to learn about fine coffees. Schultz’s biggest idea for Starbucks’ future came during the spring of 1983 when the company sent him to Milan, Italy, to attend an international housewares show. While walking from his hotel to the convention center, Schultz spotted an espresso bar and went inside to look around. The cashier beside the door nodded and smiled. The barista (counter worker) greeted Howard cheerfully, then gracefully pulled a shot of espresso for one customer and handcrafted a foamy cappuccino for another, all the while conversing merrily with those standing at the counter. Schultz judged the barista’s performance as â€Å"great theater. † Just down the way on a side street, he entered an even more crowded espresso bar, where the barista, whom he surmised to be the owner, was greeting customers by name; people were laughing and talking in an atmosphere that plainly was comfortable and familiar. In the next few blocks, he saw two more espresso bars. When the trade show concluded for the day, Schultz walked the streets of Milan exploring espresso bars. Some were stylish and upscale; others attracted a blue-collar clientele. What struck Schultz was how popular and vibrant the Italian coffee bars were. Most had few chairs, and it was common for Italian opera to be playing in the background. Energy levels were typically high, and the bars seemed to function as an integral community gathering place. Each one had its own unique character, but they all had a barista who performed with flair and exhibited a camaraderie with the customers. Schultz was particularly struck by the fact that there were 1,500 coffee bars in Milan, a city about the size of Philadelphia, and a total of 200,000 in all of Italy. His mind started churning. Schultz’s first few days in Milan produced a revelation: The Starbucks stores in Seattle completely missed the point. Starbucks, he decided, needed to serve fresh-brewed coffee, espresso, and cappuccino in its stores (in addition to beans and coffee equipment). Going to Starbucks should be an experience, a special treat; the stores should be a place to meet friends and visit. Re-creating the Italian coffee-bar culture in the United States could be Starbucks’ differentiating factor. Schultz remained in Milan for a week, exploring coffee bars and learning as much as he could about the Italian passion for coffee drinks. In one bar, he heard a customer order a caffe latte and decided to try one himself—the barista made a shot of espresso, steamed a frothy pitcher of milk, poured the two together in a cup, and put a dollop of foam on the top. Schultz concluded that it was â€Å"the perfect drink,† and thought to himself, â€Å"No one in America knows about this. I’ve got to take it back with me. â€Å"5 Schultz’s Growing Frustration On Schultz’s return from Italy, he shared his revelation and ideas for modifying the format of Starbucks stores with Baldwin and Bowker. But instead of winning their approval, Schultz encountered strong resistance. Baldwin and Bowker argued that Starbucks was a retailer, not a restaurant or bar. They feared that serving drinks would put them in the beverage business and dilute the integrity of Starbucks’ mission as a coffee store. They pointed out that Starbucks was a profitable small, private company and there was no reason to rock the boat. But a more pressing reason for their resistance emerged shortly—Baldwin and Bowker were excited by an opportunity to purchase Peet’s Coffee and Tea. The acquisition took place in 1984; to fund it, Starbucks had to take on considerable debt, leaving little in the way of financial flexibility to support Schultz’s ideas for entering the beverage part of the coffee business or expanding the number of Starbucks stores. For most of 1984, Starbucks managers were dividing their time between their operations in Seattle and the Peet’s enterprise in San Francisco. Schultz found himself in San Francisco every other week supervising the marketing and operations of the five Peet’s stores. Starbucks employees began to feel neglected and, in one quarter, did not receive their usual bonus due to tight financial conditions. Employee discontent escalated to the point where a union election was called, and the union won by three votes. Baldwin was shocked at the results, concluding that employees no longer trusted him. In the months that followed, he began to spend more of his energy on the Peet’s operation in San Francisco. It took Howard Schultz nearly a year to convince Jerry Baldwin to let him test an espresso bar. After Baldwin relented, Starbucks’ sixth store, which opened in April 1984, became the first one designed to sell beverages and the first one in downtown Seattle. Schultz asked for a 1,500-square-foot space to set up a full-scale Italian-style espresso bar, but Jerry agreed to allocating only 300 square feet in a corner of the new store. There was no pre-opening marketing blitz and no sign announcing Now Serving Espresso—the lack of fanfare was part of a deliberate experiment to see what would happen. By closing time on the first day, some 400 customers had been served, well above the 250-customer average of Starbucks’ best-performing stores. Within two months the store was serving 800 customers per day. The two baristas could not keep up with orders during the early morning hours, resulting in lines outside the door onto the sidewalk. Most of the business was at the espresso counter; sales at the regular retail counter were only adequate. Schultz was elated by the test results; his visits to the store indicated that it was becoming a gathering place and that customers were pleased with the beverages being served. Schultz expected that Baldwin’s doubts about entering the beverage side of the business would be dispelled and that he would gain approval to take Starbucks to a new level. Every day he went into Baldwin’s office to show him the sales figures and customer counts at the new downtown store. But Baldwin was not comfortable with the success of the new store; he believed that espresso drinks were a distraction from the core business of selling fine arabica coffees at retail and rebelled at the thought that people would see Starbucks as a place to get a quick cup of coffee to go. He adamantly told Schultz, â€Å"We’re coffee roasters. I don’t want to be in the restaurant business . . . Besides, we’re too deeply in debt to consider pursuing this idea. â€Å"6 While he didn’t deny that the experiment was succeeding, he didn’t want to go forward with introducing beverages in other Starbucks stores. Schultz’s efforts to persuade Baldwin to change his mind continued to meet strong resistance, although to avoid a total impasse Baldwin finally did agree to let Schultz put espresso machines in the back of two other Starbucks stores. Over the next several months, Schultz—at the age of 33—made up his mind to leave Starbucks and start his own company. His plan was to open espresso bars in high-traffic downtown locations that would emulate the friendly, energetic atmosphere he had encountered in Italian espresso bars. Schultz had become friends with a corporate lawyer, Scott Greenberg, who helped companies raise venture capital and go public. Greenberg told Schultz he believed investors would be interested in providing venture capital for the kind of company Schultz had in mind. Baldwin and Bowker, knowing how frustrated Schultz had become, supported his efforts to go out on his own and agreed to let him stay in his current job and office until definitive plans were in place. Schultz left Starbucks in late 1985. Schultz’s Il Giornale Venture Ironically, as Schultz was finalizing the documents for his new company, Jerry Baldwin announced he would invest $150,000 of Starbucks’ money in Schultz’s coffee-bar enterprise, thus becoming Schultz’s first investor. Baldwin accepted Schultz’s invitation to be a director of the new company, and Gordon Bowker agreed to be a part-time consultant for six months. Bowker urged Schultz to make sure that everything about the new stores—the name, the presentation, the care taken in preparing the coffee—was calculated to lead customers to expect something better than competitors offered. Bowker proposed that the new company be named Il Giornale (pronounced ill jor-nahl-ee ) Coffee Company, a suggestion that Schultz accepted. In December 1985, Bowker and Schultz made a trip to Italy during which they visited some 500 espresso bars in Milan and Verona, observing local habits, taking notes about decor and menus, snapping photographs, and videotaping baristas in action. Greenberg and Schultz then drew up plans to raise an initial $400,000 in seed capital and another $1. 25 million in equity—enough to launch at least eight espresso bars and prove the concept would work in Seattle and elsewhere. The seed capital was raised by the end of January 1986, primarily from Starbucks and two other investors who believed in Schultz and his ideas, but it took Schultz until the end of the year to raise the remaining $1. 25 million. He made presentations to 242 potential investors, 217 of whom said no. Many who heard Schultz’s hour-long presentation saw coffee as a commodity business and thought that Schultz’s espresso-bar concept lacked any basis for sustainable competitive advantage (no patent on dark roast, no advantage in purchasing coffee beans, no way to bar the entry of imitative competitors). Some noted that consumption of coffee had been declining since the mid-1960s, others were skeptical that people would pay $1. 50 or more for a cup of coffee, and still others were turned off by the company’s hard-to-pronounce name. Being rejected by so many potential investors was disheartening (some who listened to Schultz’s presentation ? didn’t even bother to call him back; others refused to take his calls). Nonetheless, Schultz continued to display passion and enthusiasm in making his pitch and never doubted that his plan would work. He ended up raising $1. 65 million from about 30 investors; most of this money came from nine people, five of whom became directors of the new company. One of Howard Schultz’s earliest moves during the start-up process was to hire Dave Olsen, who in 1974 had opened a coffee bar, Cafe Allegro, near the busiest entrance to the University of Washington campus. Olsen was a long-standing Starbucks customer, having discovered the quality of Starbucks’ coffee beans, gotten to know the owners, and worked with them to develop a custom espresso roast for use in his cafe. Olsen’s successful Cafe Allegro had become known for cafe au lait, a concoction equivalent to the Italian caffe latte. When Olsen heard of Schultz’s plans for Il Giornale, he called Schultz and expressed an interest in being part of the new company—he was intrigued by the Italian coffee-bar concept and was looking for a more expansive career opportunity. Olsen not only had coffee expertise but also had spent 10 years in an apron behind the counter at Cafe Allegro. Schultz immediately picked up on the synergy between him and Olsen. His own strengths were in forming and communicating a vision, raising money, finding good store locations, building a brand name, and planning for growth. Olsen understood the nuts and bolts of operating a retail cafe, hiring and training baristas, and making and serving good drinks. Plus, Olsen was fun to work with. Schultz put Olsen in charge of store operations, made him the coffee conscience of the company, and gave him the authority to make sure that Il Giornale served the best coffee and espresso possible. The first Il Giornale store opened in April 1986. It had a mere 700 square feet and was located near the entrance of Seattle’s tallest building. The decor was Italian, the menu contained Italian words, and Italian opera music played in the background. The baristas wore white shirts and bow ties. All service was stand-up—there were no chairs. National and international papers hung from rods on the wall. By closing time on the first day, 300 customers had been served, mostly in the morning hours. Schultz and Olsen worked hard to make sure that all the details were executed perfectly. For the first few weeks, Olsen worked behind the counter during the morning rush. But while the core idea worked well, it soon became apparent that several aspects of Il Giornale’s format weren’t appropriate for Seattle. Some customers objected to the incessant opera music, others wanted a place to sit down, and many didn’t understand the Italian words on the menu. These â€Å"mistakes† were quickly fixed, without compromising the style and elegance of the store. Within six months, Il Giornale was serving more than 1,000 customers a day and regulars had learned how to pronounce the company’s name. Because most customers were in a hurry, it became apparent that speedy service was a competitive advantage. Six months after opening the first store, Il Giornale opened a second store in another downtown building. A third store was opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, in April 1987. Vancouver was chosen to test the transferability of the company’s business concept outside Seattle. To reach his goal of opening 50 stores in five years, Schultz needed to dispel his investors’ doubts about geographic expansion. By mid-1987 sales at the three stores were equal to $1. 5 million annually. Il Giornale Acquires Starbucks In March 1987 Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker decided to sell the whole Starbucks operation in Seattle—the stores, the roasting plant, and the Starbucks name. Bowker wanted to cash out his coffee-business investment to concentrate on his other enterprises; Baldwin, who was tired of commuting between Seattle and San Francisco and wrestling with the troubles created by the two parts of the company, elected to concentrate on the Peet’s operation. As he recalls, â€Å"My wife and I had a 30-second conversation and decided to keep Peet’s. It was the original and it was better. â€Å"7 Schultz knew immediately that he had to buy Starbucks; his board of directors agreed. Schultz and his newly hired finance and accounting manager drew up a set of financial projections for the combined operations and a financing package that included a stock offering to Il Giornale’s original investors and a line of credit with local banks. While a rival plan to acquire Starbucks was put together by another Il Giornale investor, Schultz’s proposal prevailed and within weeks Schultz had raised the $3. 8 million needed to buy Starbucks. The acquisition was completed in August 1987. After the papers were signed, Schultz and Scott Greenberg walked across the street to the first Il Giornale store, ordered themselves espresso drinks, and sat at a table near the window. Greenberg placed the hundred-page business plan that had been used to raise the $3. 8 million between them and lifted his cup in a toast—†We did it,† they said together. 8 The new name of the combined companies was Starbucks Starbucks as a Private Company: 1987–92. The following Monday morning, Schultz returned to the Starbucks offices at the roasting plant, greeted all the familiar faces and accepted their congratulations, then called the staff together for a meeting on the roasting-plant floor. He began: All my life I have wanted to be part of a company and a group of people who share a common vision . . . I’m here today because I love this company. I love what it represents . . . I know you’re concerned . . . I promise you I will not let you down. I promise you I will not leave anyone behind . . . In five years, I want you to look back at this day and say â€Å"I was there when it started. I helped build this company into something great. â€Å"9 Schultz told the group that his vision was for Starbucks to become a national company with values and guiding principles that employees could be proud of. He indicated that he wanted to include people in the decision-making process and that he would be open and honest with them. Schultz said he believed it was essential, not just an intriguing option, for a company to respect its people, to inspire them, and to share the fruits of its success with those who contributed to its long-term value. His aspiration was for Starbucks to become the most respected brand name in coffee and for the company to be admired for its corporate responsibility. In the next few days and weeks, however, Schultz came to see that the unity and morale at Starbucks had deteriorated badly in the 20 months he had been at Il Giornale. Some employees were cynical and felt unappreciated. There was a feeling that prior management had abandoned them and a wariness about what the new regime would bring. Schultz determined that he would have to make it a priority to build a new relationship of mutual respect between employees and management. The new Starbucks had a total of nine stores. The business plan Schultz had presented investors called for the new company to open 125 stores in the next five years—15 the first year, 20 the second, 25 the third, 30 the fourth, and 35 the fifth. Revenues were projected to reach $60 million in 1992. But the company lacked experienced management. Schultz had never led a growth effort of such magnitude and was just learning what the job of CEO was all about, having been the president of a small company for barely two years. Dave Olsen had run a single cafe for 11 years and was just learning to manage a multistore operation. Ron Lawrence, the company’s controller, had worked as a controller for several organizations. Other Starbucks employees had only the experience of managing or being a part of a six-store organization. When Starbucks’ key roaster and coffee buyer resigned, Schultz put Dave Olsen in charge of buying and roasting coffee. Lawrence Maltz, who had 20 years of experience in business and eight years of experience as president of a profitable public beverage company, was hired as executive vice president and charged with heading operations, finance, and human resources. In the next several months, a number of changes were instituted. To symbolize the merging of the two companies and the two cultures, a new logo was created that melded the Starbucks and Il Giornale logos. The Starbucks stores were equipped with espresso machines and remodeled to look more Italian than Old World nautical. The traditional Starbucks brown was replaced by Il Giornale green. The result was a new type of store—a cross between a retail coffee-bean store and an espresso bar/cafe—that became Starbucks’ signature format in the 1990s. By December 1987, employees at Starbucks had begun buying into the changes Schultz was making and trust had begun to build between management and employees. New stores were on the verge of opening in Vancouver and Chicago. One Starbucks store employee, Daryl Moore, who had voted against unionization in 1985, began to question his fellow employees about the need for a union. Over the next few weeks, Moore began a move to decertify the union. He carried a decertification letter around to Starbucks stores and secured the signatures of employees who no longer wished to be represented by the union. After getting a majority of store employees to sign the letter, he presented it to the National Labor Relations Board and the union representing store employees was decertified. Later, in 1992, the union representing Starbucks’ roasting plant and warehouse employees was also decertified. Expansion into Markets Outside the Pacific Northwest Starbucks’ entry into Chicago proved far more troublesome than management anticipated. The first Chicago store opened October 27, 1987, the same day the stock market crashed. Three more stores were opened in Chicago over the next six months, but customer counts were substantially below expectations—Chicagoans didn’t take to dark-roasted coffee as fast as Schultz had anticipated. At the first downtown store, for example, which opened onto the street rather than into the lobby of the building where it was located, customers were hesitant to go out in the wind and cold to get a cup of coffee in the winter months. Store margins were squeezed for a number of reasons: It was expensive to supply fresh coffee to the Chicago stores out of the Seattle warehouse, and both rents and wage rates were higher in Chicago than in Seattle. Gradually, customer counts improved, but Starbucks lost money on its Chicago stores until 1990, when prices were raised to reflect higher rents and labor costs, more experienced store manag.