Saturday, December 28, 2019

The Correlation Between Down Syndrome And Alzheimer s...

The Correlation between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease Anna Lister Biology Honors, P. 3 Mrs. Creech 25 November 2015 Introduction: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a disease that slowly and progressively causes memory impairment. It will eventually inhibit abilities, such as language, planning, and perception. AD is prevalent in individuals with Down syndrome (DS), a condition where those affected had acquired three additional chromosome 21 before birth (emedicinehealth, 2014). Michael Rafii, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at UCSD, says that â€Å"people with Down syndrome represent the world s largest population of individuals predisposed to getting Alzheimer s disease† (Hamilton, 2014). There is no cure for either, and scientists are still lacking the knowledge of a complete story. Beta Amyloid, Plaques, and the Destruction of Nerve Cells: There is a large supply of amyloid plaques in the cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid plaques are clustered pieces of protein that build up between nerve cells. They speed up the production of beta amyloid, which are polypeptides of about thirty-six to forty-three amino acids long (emedicinehealth, 2014; Stanford Medicine, 2013). Amyloid precursor proteins (APP), when split into specific pieces, are producers of beta amyloid. They are found in tissues and organs, such as the brain. Amyloid precursor proteins pass through a fatty membrane on the outside of a cell. This allows them to extend from theShow MoreRelatedAlzheimer s Disease : Symptoms, Probable Causes, And Stages Of The Disease1605 Words   |  7 PagesThis paper reviews studies about Alzheimer’s disease, the symptoms, probable causes, and stages of the disease, duration, and its treatment options. It is intended to support readers engaging them with literature about the disease and a summation of available research findings and descriptive studies that include analysis of outcomes and cognitive training, rehabilitation and stimulation. Its primary goals are to find out whether the disease can be prevented or delayed. In addition to highlightingRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease : South Piedmont Community College2351 Words   |  10 PagesAlzheimer’s disease Ashley Linker South Piedmont Community College Abstract Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 8 (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal partRead MoreAging And The Aging Process1669 Words   |  7 Pagesmemory issues from such diseases as Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s. The concepts of aging are broken down into two theories widely accepted by several varying fields of studies such as gerontology, the study of the aging process, and oncology, the study of cancer and tumor development. The Cellular theory, which focuses solely on the idea that a species and individual’s lifespan and condition in life is based on genetic and cellular factors that predispose us to a variety of diseases. The second theory isRead MoreBurden of Alzheimer’s Disease High and Growing Essay2125 Words   |  9 PagesAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 85. (Beattie, 2002) Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process in humans, but rather found in a group of diseases that affectRead MoreThe Effects Of Concussions On The Football Field1553 Words   |  7 PagesA strong willed linebacker accelerates down the football field. He eyes up his opponent- the running back- both men lower their heads, bracing for impact, while helmets crunch, fans roar. Immediately after connecting, the running back s head feels undeniably d ifferent, but at this point in the game, it would cost the team playoff contention if they lose. This man is young, rich, and famous, but little does he know that each concussion he gets brings him one step closer to his own grave. MultipleRead MoreGmo And The Body : Genetically Modified Organisms2384 Words   |  10 PagesChristopher Aaron English IV 3/11/2016 GMO and the Body Genetically Modified Organisms or GMO s, are becoming a commonly used item in households across the nation. The American people don t understand exactly what GMO are or their side effects. GMO s are commonly crossed with a variety of growth hormone used in human and animals, rBGH or rHGH (Genetic Process). Also, the scientist have linked GMO to diseases such as Stroke, Dementia, and Diabetes. Knowing the risk scientist still release the patentRead MoreConcussions Sports : Dangers Unknown2290 Words   |  10 Pagesof concussions not only by the child but also the parent. When the athlete returns to play too soon, this creates another dangerous issue. Returning too soon after being concussed can possibly impose an injury known as Second Impact syndrome. This occurs when the athlete returns too soon after receiving a first concussion and is followed by a second blow to the head. This second concussion typically brings even more extreme and severe health consequences than an average concussion (Harvey)Read MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Alzheimer s Disease2317 Words   |  10 Pagesis an inevitable process that every human being goes through. It is very important to see how people change as they age and the various experiences they go through. One of the most common diseases among older people is dementia. Among the different types of dementia, the most prevalent one is Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is important to look at all of the signs and symptoms of each type of dementia to see which specific type best describes a person’s condition. There is one patient in particular,Read MoreAlzheimers Disease Essay2087 Words   |  9 PagesAlzheimer’s disease (AD), a form of degenerative, fatal dementia, is characterized by progressive cognitive decline. While AD is the most common form of dementia, its prevalence has only recently been recognized. When Alois Alzheimer first described the sequence of changes in 1907, physicians believed the disease to be an extremely rare, mid-life condition. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the same types of changes were shown to occur in both late- and early-onset forms (Cavanaugh et.al. 2008). AsRead MoreVaccines Are Harmful And Or Ineffective1964 Words   |  8 Pageshysteria started in 1998 with a medical paper published in the Lancet, which is a peer reviewed medical journal from the now discredited Doctor Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield had fraudulently created data and misused his power to create possible link between measles, mumps, rubella or M.M.R vacci ne and autism. His studies never showed a direct link, but that there is a reasonable doubt of how safe this vaccine is. Of course this news rose great concerns that spread worldwide. Wakefield was also being

Friday, December 20, 2019

Racial Stereotypes in Television Essay - 1765 Words

Racial stereotyping in the media should be stopped because it teaches thee current generation to embrace the views before them. For countless years, various religious and ethnic groups have been portrayed on television based on the popular and, many times, erroneous stereotypes. Past generations have grown up with their religion or ethnic group exposed in a light that may be very negative and insulting to their culture. Television over the years has molded the minds of its viewers – young and molding the minds of young viewers and showing them that the way a certain group of people are being portrayed, is the way they really are. Particular groups of people are though, shown in a particularly good light, but in that†¦show more content†¦On the show, the apartment in which the Evans family live is roach infested and in disrepair; in other words, they live in the ghetto (Senghas). It is interesting to note that during an interview conducted in the 1990’s, Bill Dukes (black writer, actor and director), one of the creators and head writers of the show during the first year of its run, started that he had to fight CBS Studios to even consent to have a father on the show at all. The studio executives felt that American viewers would not believe that there would be a black father living with and taking part in the life of his children. Needless to say, when the father was introduced as one of the main characters of the show, white America found it hard to believe but black America loved it. Another example of racial stereo typing during that same period in television history in the show, Chico and the Man. Chico and the Man was a situation comedy that told the story of a young Puerto Rican man who went to work in a garage for an old crabby white man. The old man constantly made wise cracks and insulted the young man’s heritage; feeding into white Americans narrow and extremely bigoted view on Hispanic Americans.Show MoreRelatedThe Portrayal Of Race On The Media1480 Words   |  6 PagesMedia Ryker M. Bolden Walla Walla University â€Æ' Abstract This paper takes a look at five popular American television shows and breaks down how race and issues involving racism are portrayed in American media, specifically television, in today’s society. We will analyze the characters, symbols, messages, and interactions in each of the five programs and how they shape the public attitude on racial and ethnic groups. The shows used in this paper are Veronica Mars, Community, Whose Line is it Anyway, PsychRead MoreThe Intersection Of Race And Media1489 Words   |  6 Pagesof progressive, even anti-racist, narrative that showcase close inter-racial friendships and camaraderie on the silver screen. (Hughey, 2012) It is certainly true that media content has gotten a lot less discriminatory since the days of blackface, American Indian depictions in old cowboy movies and really any person that was not of white Anglo-Saxon tradition. For much of U.S. history, most white-produced images of other racial groups have been unambiguously racist (Croteau 2012) But even though usRead MoreRacial Stereotypes : The Film, Crash, Director Paul Haggis1304 Words   |  6 Pagessociety are thwarted due to racial and ethnic prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. In the film, Crash, Director Paul Haggis addresses racial inequality by conveying instances of racial stereotypes, social class disparity, and police brutality. The usage of racial stereotypes constructs an unreliable generalization of all members of a race. Racial stereotypes fail to recognize the individual differences that lie within a race. Haggis demonstrates several racial stereotypes that Asians and AfricanRead MoreEverybody Hates Chris1164 Words   |  5 PagesSince television came into existence, it has evolved into a useful tool to spread ideas, both social and political, and has had a great effect on the generations growing up with these heavily influential shows. To these younger generations, television has taken the role of a teacher, with the task of creating a social construction by which many of us base our personal beliefs and judgments on. This power allows television shows take the opportunity to address problems in a manner that many audiencesRead MoreThe Entertainment Industry Is A World Of Desires, Dreams, And Film, Television, Or Live1296 Words   |  6 PagesFilm, Television, or Live performances. Today this industr y has completely change and improve as technology grows. However, entertainment is a world of desires, dreams, and what things should look and be like. It is a way for the industry to create a different world and share it to its audiences that can reach to millions. The entertainment industry has had an influx of non-white characters in film, T.V., and movies. Specifically, black individuals, today the entertainment industry is a racial challengeRead MoreTelevision s Influence On Our Vision On Worldview And Culture877 Words   |  4 Pagesmodern times, television (T.V.) has become a crucial part of our everyday lives. One relies on T.V. for news, entertainment, and knowledge. Consequently, television impairs our vision on worldview and culture. Television has an impacted influence on our judgement; as a result, it causes us to think that we are knowledgeable about everyone’s ethnic background. In actuality, we are blinded by the portrayal of cultures on television leading to ignorance of cultural history. Ultimately, television promotesRead MoreThe Effects Of Media On The Media Influences Viewers1587 Words   |  7 PagesRacial Bias in the Media Influences Viewers Television reaches more consumers for more time than any other source of media. Its use for entertainment or news is overly influential, persuasive, and authoritative. Through these characteristics, any type of information or message influences its massive audience. Because of this, what Americans see – or fail to see- has a powerful impact on how they view other races. Young children are especially vulnerable to the information they are exposed to. TVRead MoreAfrican American Stereotypes Reality Television1531 Words   |  7 PagesReality programs have dominated television networks since their rise in popularity began in the early 1990s with MTV’s The Real World. The reality genre quickly gained viewership as it redefined the formulaic set up of televisions shows from the past. Reality television has infiltrated television because networks prefer low budgets for their programs that also generate high ratings (Hasinoff, 2008). People watch reality shows because they ar e intrigued by the seemingly â€Å"real† drama with ordinaryRead MoreDoes Racial Bias Affect The Lives Of Americans? Essay1593 Words   |  7 Pages White people have a 65% higher per capita income than African Americans. This is why we must look at the causes of this racial bias and the effects. We cannot ignore the obvious disadvantages minorities face in America. When examining the ways that systemic racial bias affects the lives of Americans, it is important to first define what systemic racial bias actually is. For the purposes of this research paper, it is the tendency of racism to exist in a specified process. Throughout the past centuriesRead MoreMy Early Experiences With Trauma1298 Words   |  6 Pagesexperiences with microaggressions caused me to have improper reactions of calling people out on their statement, which usually came out with the same surprising response. I feel that most people who use microaggressions are unaware that they engage in racial commun ications that are negative or derogatory insults to people of color. Microaggressions are the current forms of discrimination that are more subtle than direct, and I’m stunned that only when I called people out on their words were they unconsciously

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Leadership Issues of WOW Sight and Sound

Question: Discuss about theLeadership Issues of WOW Sight and Sound. Answer: Introduction The purpose of this report is to discuss issues regarding leadership at WOW sight and sound and provide recommendations for the business by looking at various leadership theories. This is because each organization needs to have a unique form of leadership that works for the company (Glanz, 2002). A leadership role is usually complete when the leader is able to deliver the companys values with which they are supposed to represent. For a leader to be able to do this, then they are supposed to equip themselves with skills that can allow them to serve their company better. According to Bennis Thomas, (2006), effective leadership for the company entails being able to identify managerial skills that will enable the business achieve their strategic ambitions and also be able to manage personal leadership development and reach organizational goals. For WOW sight and sound, proper leadership is important to establishing a stronger team in good and bad economic times(Bennis Thomas, 2006). The success of the organization will be pegged on the leadership types it exercises or one that it inherits. It is thus important for the company in this case study to determine the kind of leadership it chooses by looking at several organizational areas that company should have in mind while exercising leadership. One of the main areas for a company like WOW sight and sound would be the history and current experiences that the organization is currently facing (Kouzes Posner, 2012). It is important that the management of the company assesses the characteristics and need of leadership with regard to politics, health, communication and business in general. Also according to Sandling (2015), leadership is about capability(Bozarth Handfield, 2012). It is about knowing and understanding the company and having the vision through proper communication by also taking the right action when and where it is required. Leadership should be based in building trust among employees so that they can be able to win confidence of the company and their clients they attend. There are several leadership styles that can be used by a company depending on the type of business. This report will show how good leadership will empower the organization especially in a situation where employees are included in decision making using several leadership theories. The report enables one to understand how communication and leadership goes hand in hand when it comes to the workplace and how different leadership styles are vital in achieving great participation of both the employer and employee in decision making(Bangalore, 2006). Other theories will also discuss how a particular leadership theory will hinder employees from growth in the company and also increasing markets for the organization products. The report will end by showing how WOW sight and sound can implement these theories in implementing growth for the company. Problem Statement The fall down of WOW sight and sound which is a Queensland-retailer was brought down by poor retail conditions and consumers who were constantly frightened. It is actually reported that the fall down began two years back with its 15 stores and 500 employees back in 2010. Due to poor leadership the business was actually forced to enter in to receivership under the leadership of Ferrier hodgson partners James steward, Steward McCallum and Tim Michael by a secured creditor(Briggs, et al., 2016). Due to poor management leadership, the company sunk itself into debts especially when two of their directors entered in to a property sale that involved hundreds of millions of dollars in 2010(Stafford, 2012). The co-founders Suds Sotiris and Sam Savvas also revealed that the company owned several other companies. All these properties were placed under receivership. The main problem of the company however, was highly blamed on the poor leadership of the cofounders who saw the company sinking int o more and more debts(Kramar, et al., 2012). The purpose of this report is to show how the new management can empower employees in the organization at all levels of decision making so as to regain positive perception of the business and most importantly that of their employees. Discussion (Leadership Options for WOW Sight and Sound) Situation Leadership Theory The situation leadership theory was developed in 1969 by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey (Glanz, 2002). This is a theory that can be applied well when dealing with contingencies. It looks that the effectiveness of a leader with regard to their traits and action behavior when faced with a situation in an organization. With regard to WOW situation leadership theory will look at the leadership ability to modify their actions and behavior to the level of their staff maturity. This can be done through several ways that entails directive behavior and supportive behavior. According to Hersey and Blanchard (Glanz, 2002), there are four different types of leadership behavior that one needs to concentrate on. The first one is telling, where the leader will demonstrate high level of directive behavior where he gets to have the last work on everything regarding the company(Delbecq, et al., 2013). There is also the selling behavior where the leader, though being directive, will show high support for the staff. When it comes to participating behavior, the leaders will demonstrate low directive behavior and low levels of support while delegating is a situation where then leader will demonstrate low supportive and directive behavior(Hoegle Muethel, 2016). With regard to WOW sight and sound, the overall purpose for situational leadership will be to enable each employee perform their task properly in relation to the current situation facing the company. It is important that the leaders does not allow the same practice or participation at work to continue without acknowledging the impact that this has on the business and he employees(Vecchio, et al., 2010). The function of the leader will be to d etermine the levels of employees role and levels of psychological maturity. After this is determine then they need to adjust their behavior in a way that will be most effective. Acceptance Theory to Authority This theory by Chester Barnard(Northouse, 2015) shows that formal organizations are usually made of informal groups which slowly turn in to informal organization within the main organization. The values and beliefs that these informal groups will establish become the culture of the main organization, which will determine the formal acceptance of authority. With this regard, an organization like WOW need to be both efficient and effective(Sandling, 2015). This means that it should meet the goals of its organization in a timely manner. In the same manner, efficiency should look at the degree to which the organization goals can be accomplished(Stafford, 2012). Also workers will only accept the authority, when they only feel satisfied that their needs have been met. According to acceptance theory, worker are the ones who determine the authority of the manager when they allow him to give orders and are able to comply with these orders. It is important that workers embrace the fact that the manager is the one who can give orders(Rath Conchie, 2009). It is also important that customers see a sense of leadership in the organization through employee regard to top management. The chain of command should begin with the CEO, the general manager, department managers and then the staff. WOW retailer needs to ensure that this is followed to the letter in order to realize employee acceptance of leadership. Participative Leadership The participative leadership is where the leader looks in to his team for most of the companys growth. The leader will consider employee input, ideas and observations instead of having the final word in all situations. However, this does not mean that the leader will not have the ultimate decision to make. It is only about enabling the leader to understand that the team also has skills and ideas that if incorporated well will benefit the company during the decision making process. When it comes to WOW retailer, leaders need to make sure that such a decision as buying shares of selling part of the company involves the entire team. They should ensure that they work closely with other members of the team, they focus on building of relationships and proper rapport among one another. On the other hand, this type of leadership can reveal autocratic style of leadership where the leader is more about focusing on current issues with which he may make a decision without involving the rest of t he teams input. Conclusion This report discussed leadership issues at WOW sight and sound my exploring the main leadership problem which way mainly based on poor decision making and management. With regard to managing the new organization thus, all leadership theories will be need at one point in the organization. It is the work of the leader to ensure that the right style of leadership is employed to drive the organization toward growth and realizing its vision and mission. It is however recommended that the company implements the participatory leadership so as to move itself from the current situation. References Bangalore, 2006. Rediscovering Indian Management. Indian Institute of Management. Bennis, W. G. Thomas, R. J., 2006. Leading for a Lifetime: How Defining Moments Shape Leaders of Today and Tomorrow. s.l.:Harvard Business Review Press; First Trade Paper Edition edition. Bozarth, C. Handfield, R., 2012. Introduction to operations and supply chain management. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.. Briggs, D. M., Swailes, S. Baker, S., 2016. The measurement of worker relations: the development of a three-component scale.. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 37(1), pp. 2-12. Delbecq, A., House, R. J., Luque, M. S. d. Nadia Quigley, N., 2013. Implicit Motives, Leadership, and Follower Outcomes: An Empirical Test of CEOs.. Journal ofLeadership Organizational Studies, 20(1), pp. 7-24. Glanz, J., 2002. Finding Your Leadership Style: A Guide for Educators. s.l.:ASCD. Hoegle, M. Muethel, M., 2016. Enabling shared leadership in virtual project teams: A practitioners guide.. Project Management Journal, 47(1), pp. 7-12. Kouzes, J. M. Posner, B. Z., 2012. The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations. s.l.:Jossey-Bass; 5 edition. Kramar, Syed, R. a. J, 2012. Human Resource Management In A Global Context. London: Palgrave Macmillan (658.3KRA). Northouse, P. G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and Practice, 7th Edition. s.l.:SAGE Publications, Inc; Seventh Edition edition. Rath, T. Conchie, B., 2009. Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow. s.l.:Gallup Press; 1st edition . Sandling, J., 2015. Leading with Style: The Comprehensive Guide to Leadership Styles. s.l.:CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Stafford, P., 2012. How Queensland retailer WOW was brought down by a $20 million property debt. [Online] Available at: https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/24609-how-queensland-retailer-wow-was-brought-down-by-a-20-million-property-debt/ [Accessed 28 February 2012]. Vecchio, R. P., Justin, J. E. Pearce, C. L., 2010. Empowering leadership: An examination of mediating mechanisms within a hierarchical structure.. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3), pp. 530-542.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Sigma Global Handling Effective Business Communication †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Sigma Global Handling Effective Business Communication. Answer: As an organization, based on education business, we handle diverse range of things from large amount of documents to thousands of people. Sigma Global Company is an online based learning centre approach which provides educational consultancy for overseas students and offers other training services. Various ranges of foreign universities, exam preparation, admission, scholarship assistance visa accommodation are provided by the company. More than hundred professors, MBA professionals, industry experts, Black Belt, Green Belt professionals and thousands of students are associated with the company. Sigma global focuses on the educare part from the characteristics of education, the most. The care is for the educational experts, the company employees, the customers and the students. We care for them to become a socially responsible and respected citizen and they care for us to grow in the business. Sigma Global guides the students which course they should take, which field of study they s hould to be successful. The company plays significant role in shaping the students career. Hundreds of experienced professionals work for the company in 150 countries. The agents guide the students are guided with personal care in analysing the market scenario of his profile in order to offer them the best options. The agents analyse the students priority, aspirations and financial aspects before preparing the options. Sigma Global is always careful regarding the customer satisfaction and company benefit. Company organizes studies and surveys at a regular interval to get a clear picture of the current activities in various departments. The clients spontaneously participated in a recent big survey conducted by the company for quite some time. It took more time as a large number of clients participated and the results had to be calculated flawlessly. However we have received the result and it has brought an alarming yet overlooked issue to the surface. Overlooked because company was alarmed but failed to realize its weight and alarming because it is affecting our business significantly. The survey demonstrates that few agents are engaged in deliberate miscommunication. They are creating confusion among the employees for their personal profit. The company delivers information to the agents and agents deliver them to the clients. The mishap is occurring just there. The agents are delivering wrong misgu ided information to the clients. The company had set up a board of managers who came up with few recommendations to fight against the unethical and harmful practice by the agents. Agents not only provide information or deliver messages to the students they also take important part in the monetary transaction, currency exchange and student well being. So, the agents need to possess the quality of being faithful and transparency while engaging in such processes (Holder, 2016, p. 08).They are engaging in ethical misconducts which are resulting in serious harm for the Sigma Global and for its respected clients. The ethical practice includes objectivity, integrity, efficiency and confidentially (Flite Harman, 2013, p. 04). The agent also abides by the rules and regulations of the respected countries they are working in. They should not provide wrong information to the clients or to the company. Just like we found out about an agent who provided us wrong information about his business registration (ABN refusal number: 3611471086313). He has been released from his job responsibilities, as the clients were facing serious problems dealing with his information. The company has clear roles and responsibilities to each agent which clearly defines their relationships with the company and with the clients (Dwyer, 2012, p. 204). The agents are expected to follow the company established rules and principles. In some cases it has been observed that agents are sharing wrong information in order to fulfil the marketing targets. Such procedures are strictly prohibited by the company. If the agents come to any different or fresh potentially harmless yet beneficial marketing strategies, he must approach it to his authority first. Only after the approval from the company, he should implement it. Ethical marketing should always be practiced by the agents (Rawat et al., 2015, p.23). The students future is dependent on the selection of appropriate courses and universities. The company instructs the agents to research extensively before sharing the information with the students. The decision making process is completed with the help of guidance of the agents. All the information related to the registration process, fees, holidays, breaks, student loans, discounts and the accommodation are provided by them. The agents are representing Sigma Global while communicating with the students or their parents. The reputation, prestige and business of the company are in their hands. The company offers variety of accommodation to the students depending upon their budget. The agents must make sure what they promise before, must be getting fulfilled. The students are also offered the child care and medical costs. If there is any malpractice is there, the agents are the only one to be blamed. They must evaluate their ethical strategies and the company welcomes you to take advan tage of this evaluation process (Stufflebeam Shinkfield, 2012, p. 76). Sigma Global treats and cares for the agents equally the company makes sure that they are getting what they deserve; there is a big reward system available for them (Shields et al., 2015, p. 369). Even after that if they feel they deserve better, they must approach to his or her authorities. Company will look at it with utmost care and importance. The agents must do their best to achieve Lifetime Customer Value (LCV) (Dwyer, 2012, p.280). They should apply theCustomer Experience Management (CEM) effectively to achieve that. The agents should apply data, technology and past experience to build the CEM model to satisfy the customer experience with the company (Grnholdt et al., 2015, p. 04). We have to save and nurture the company together to achieve what it desires that is to become one of the most successful platforms in the international business market. References Dwyer, J. (2012).Communication for Business and the Professions: Strategie s and Skills. Pearson Higher Education AU. Flite, C. A., Harman, L. B. (2013). Code of ethics: principles for ethical leadership.Perspectives in Health Information Management/AHIMA, American Health InformationManagement Association,10(Winter). Grnholdt, L., Martensen, A., Jrgensen, S., Jensen, P. (2015). Customer experience management and business performance.International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences,7(1), 90-106. Holder, F. (2016).Integrity in business: developing ethical behavior across cultures and jurisdictions. CRC Press. Rawat, S. R., Bhatia, K., Hegde, M., Bhat, N., Tewari, S. (2015). The Importance of Ethical Marketing Practices.Journal of Business Management and Economics,3(2), 23-30. Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., ... Plimmer, G. (2015).Managing Employee Performance Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press. Stufflebeam, D. L., Shinkfield, A. J. (2012).Systematic evaluation: A self-instructional guide to theory and practice(Vol. 8). Springer Science Business Media.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Four Basic Steps Comprise the Controlling Function of Management

There are four basic steps in management’s controlling function. The study focuses on the four basic steps of management’s control function. The study includes generating examples vividly explaining each management control function step. Setting into motion the four steps of management’s control function improves profit performances.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Four Basic Steps Comprise the Controlling Function of Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are four basic steps of management control function. First, management must establish standards of performance. Management must define the benchmarks. Management must implement goals and objectives. For example, management sets the sales benchmark at a minimum of $ 200,000. Likewise, management sets the benchmark for operating expenses at an amount lower than $50,000. In addition, management establishes transportation expenses at ten percent of revenues. Further, management requires the factory to generate a minimum 2,000 units. Management orders the employees to work an additional two hours. The overtime period contributes to the company’s goal and objectives. Management can set a minimum sales quota of $300,000 for each store outlets. Management can prevent each store outlet from exceeding a $ 70,000 monthly operating expense. Second, management measures actual performance outputs. Many entities prepare and present performance measurement reports. The actual performance outputs must be related to the standards or benchmarks established. The company collects the actual sales figures from each store branch. Likewise, management collects the actual expense amounts from the different stores strategically located in major Cities within the United States. Third, management must compare the actual performances to the preset performance standards. Management determines whether the actual production output attains established organizational goals and objectives. Comparing includes determining the variance between the actual performance statistics and the established goals and objectives.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For example, management must indicate the actual expenses are unfavorably higher than the established standards. In the same manner, management indicates that the actual operating expenses are favorably lower than established expense amounts. In addition, management comments that actual revenues are favorably higher than the established sales benchmarks. Fourth, management should take corrective actions. The actions improve current performance outputs. Management focuses its time and efforts correcting figures that vary from the established benchmarks, goals, or objectives. Management should prioritize controlling unfavorable performances. Management holds a bra instorming session. The session threshes out the reasons for the performance variances. All interested parties are invited to shed light on the discrepancy between actual outputs and benchmark figures. The employees, supervisors, managers, and other individuals encouragingly air their situational inputs. Management persuades all affected parties to give their comments, suggestions, complaints, and other recommendations. The employees request management to purchase new factory equipments. The new equipment increases current production outputs. The sales people requests management to increase its advertising expense allotments. Based on the inputs, management generates several alternatives. The alternatives contribute to reducing the variance between standards and actual performances. Management must set into motion the best alternative. Based on the above discussion, there are four basic steps in management’s control function. The basic steps focus on goal and objective attain ment. Some examples vividly explain each of the four steps of management’s control functions. Indeed, the implementation of the four steps of management’s control function enhances profits. This essay on Four Basic Steps Comprise the Controlling Function of Management was written and submitted by user Kayson Reed to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

How to Collect and Prepare a Hickory Nut for Planting

How to Collect and Prepare a Hickory Nut for Planting Of the dozen or so American hickories, shellbark and shagbark hickory trees have shown some promise as edible nut producers. These are the only two Carya species (with the exception of pecan, scientific name  Carya  illinoensis) typically planted for nut production. All the following hickory nut suggestions apply as well to the collection and preparation of pecans. Timing Hickory flowers in the spring and completes nut maturity in early fall. Beginning as early as the first of September and continuing through November, various species of hickory nuts ripen and are ready for collection. Ripening dates can vary slightly from year to year and from state to state by as many as three to four weeks, so it is not possible to use precise dates to determine maturity. The best time to collect hickory nuts, either off the tree or from the ground, is when they begin falling: It is just that simple. Prime picking is late September through the first week in November, depending on the individual hickory tree species and its location within the United States. The hickory nut is perfect when the husks begin to split. Collecting The height of the hickory nut crop in a forest canopy and the thick forest litter below can make it somewhat difficult for the casual collector to gather large numbers of nuts (although not impossible). Another challenge is harvesting nuts before wildlife does. It is also important to remember that nut availability is never an annual given. Good hickory crops (called mast) of all species are produced at intervals of one to three years, so finding nuts can be a challenge in any given fall season. With that in mind, find forest trees that are open-grown with little forest underbrush. Yard trees or trees near paved areas make for easier collection in urban and suburban areas. Always identify the tree and place tags or mark the bags, so you will know what species you have collected. Storing Storage tests with pecan and shagbark hickory have demonstrated that hickories are like most other nut and acorn species: They should be dried to a low moisture content and refrigerated if not planted immediately. To be specific, Carya nuts should be dried to below ten percent moisture and stored at around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If stored in sealed containers, the nuts should be able to retain good viability for two years. They will lose half to two-thirds of their ability to germinate after four years. Although hickory needs very little cold over a full season, studies show that viability can be improved by soaking the nuts in water at 70 degrees Fahrenheit for 64 hours. Some nut species need stratification  or a cold period of time to fully improve the germination process. Put damp peat mix or sawdust together with the dried hickory nuts in a polyethylene plastic bag that has a wall thickness of four to ten millimeters. These bags are ideal for storing nuts since they are permeable to carbon dioxide and oxygen but impermeable to moisture. Close the bag loosely and store in the refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit until planting time. Check nuts throughout the winter and keep just barely damp. Planting You can plant unrefrigerated nuts in the fall and let the winter season do what nature does- refrigerate. You can also spring-plant with stratified or cold-treated seed or take a chance on unstratified seed. For ground planting: Great results have been reported with fall seed sowing for hickory, but good mulching is necessary. Mulch should remain until germination is complete. Shading is generally not necessary, but hickory may profit from some  initial shade. Protection from rodents may be required for fall-sowings. For container planting: After determining the proper time to plant, you should place nuts in moderately  loose potting soil in one-gallon pots or deeper containers. The taproot will grow quickly to the bottom of containers and root width is not as important. Containers should have holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Place hickory nuts on their sides at a depth of one-half the width to about the width of the nut. Keep the soil moist but not wet. Keep the pots from freezing.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Mayos Theory of Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Mayos Theory of Management - Coursework Example Mayo’s studies propose some specific views on employee-manager relations. He opined â€Å"a tension between workers’ ‘logic of sentiment’ and managers’ ‘logic of cost and efficiency’†, which have the potential to lead to organizational conflicts. Lussier argues that in an organizational setting, a manager is responsible for enlightening his workers about the planned organizational changes (41). Therefore, workers get a clear idea regarding their future assignments. When the managers do not pass relevant information to employees, they would be unaware of the implemented organizational changes. Under such situations, managers and other people at the helm of affairs may unethically manipulate the workers. In my opinion, a manager would be fully responsible for unethically manipulating the worker, if the worker is unaware of the change. According to Illouz, Mayo’s management theory reflects that the workers should be seen as me mbers of a group rather than isolated individuals (p.117). He continues that the demand to belong to a group is more important to an employee than acquiring monetary incentives or satisfactory working condition. These ‘social needs’ of the workers can be met only if the managers ensure that the workers are well informed of the changes. In total, in order to integrate the workforce with organizational interests, managers must consider the employee as an inevitable element of the organization.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Emerging Technologies Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emerging Technologies Trends - Essay Example The fundamental task of this technology is to provide the users with numerous computers at any locations to execute their respective tasks (Mark Weiser, 1993). It is basically a technology that defines anywhere everywhere computing for the users of diverse necessities. This particular feature has been invented so as to enhance the communication features between the users present at various locations (Steglich.S, 2005). The Internet had grown manifolds over the past decade, which indeed had been a driving force for the research, over the improvisation of the availability of computing technology. This technology is not a simple implementation over the desktop computers. It involves all the diverse gizmos that can enable the user to communicate with various others users within a short period of time (Fujitsu.com, 2003). This is considered to be the future of the world where tasks are executed in the split of a second. The executable tasks comprise of online conferences, adding on new de als, decision that demand stern actions and many more which play a vital role in embedding a set of new tasks in a man's daily life. Thus turning into one of the favorite technologies it draws huge amount f attention from the users. WiMAX is an abbreviation for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is a technology that enhances the features of the Wireless MAN. WiMAX is also considered to be the technology that provides last mile wireless connectivity (PaloWireless.com, 2006). This concept of wireless technology is considered to wipe out the limitations of existing technologies by providing wireless connectivity to numerous computing systems spread over a large volume of area. Thus it is considered as the "last mile" connectivity which will also be available at affordable prices (RNCOS.com, 2006). WiMAX technology enables the users to communicate with each other over a wide spread area without facing any problems due to varied networks. This technology also provides the broadband connectivity at faster access rates with affordable price tags. Such a technology forms the backbone of Ubiquitous Computing so as to be implemented with ease. This technology not only supports Internet connectivity to th e computing devices present anywhere but also is being framed as a backbone for the mobile applications in near future (Intel.com, 2007). This will result in a wireless world turning into reality which indeed drives technology to higher standards. Service Oriented Architecture Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is the latest buzzword that possesses all that is needed to provide a springboard to any organization that aims at utilizing IT services to the most optimum extent possible. It induces agility and competitiveness in commercial organizations. It transforms the IT assets of a company directly into bottom-line goals and objectives. While SOA requires some upfront strategy and investment, its benefits are numerous. "Just as the Databases were at the center of design of applications of the 70s and 80s, Components are at the center of design of the applications of the 90s and the next century" - David Vaskevitch, VP, Microsoft. The researchers at Gartner have stated that studies show that by the year 2008, SOA will become the dominant framework for creating and

Sunday, November 17, 2019

A Comparitive Analysis of Women and Men Heart Diesease Leading Factors Dissertation

A Comparitive Analysis of Women and Men Heart Diesease Leading Factors - Dissertation Example While this belief that there are different treatment regimes that should be utilized depending on the gender of the patient remains controversial, it is nonetheless important to understand this problem from the perspective of the female. In considering the issue of cardiac disease among women, existing knowledge of women today regarding heard disease was analyzed, as was their beliefs and attitudes towards the risk of heart disease. This has contributed to the identification of substantial gaps in information related specifically to heart disease and its effect on women in general. These facts are confirmed in this study and outlined in the pages herein. Chapter 1: One’s state of health is most truly a reflection of the individuals ability to meet life’s many challenges head on, all the while maintaining his or her capacity for continuing to function at a high level (World Health Organization, 2010). In considering the effects that ill health has a person’s abili ty to function properly and to live a productive life, it is important various factors and risks that are inherent in society. Consider cardiovascular disease (CVD). Heart disease certainly remains the most common cause of death amongst both women and men in the developed world. This is in spite of the multiple epidemiologic and interventional studies that do demonstrate significant declines in incidences and the prevalence of CVD amongst individuals that adhere to a healthy lifestyle, and who receive treatment for a variety of risk factors (World Health Organization, 2010). Cardiovascular disease is most certainly worthy of in-depth study. The disease itself, in females, claims more lives than cancer, chronic low respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and accidents combined. This amounts to a staggering one death per minute from CVD, of approximately 422,000 female deaths annually (Roger, Go, & Lloyd-Jones, 2011). This makes heart disease, by far, the number killer of wo men in the United States (American Heart Association, 2011). While it is true that, at the age of 40, men have a 35% great likelihood of suffering from heart disease during the lifetime in comparison to women, the effects of the disease

Friday, November 15, 2019

Programming for BIG Data Project

Programming for BIG Data Project Liliam Faraon Nowadays, the amount of data generated and stored without an operation has exceeded a data analysis capability without the use of automated analysis techniques. The exponential growth of data is greater than it has ever been seen, extracting useful information from all the data generated and transform it into understandable and usable information is the challenge. There is where data mining assumes an important role, plenty of tools are available for data mining tasks using artificial intelligence, algorithms, machine learning and many others. In the present work two datasets were analysed, one with R and the other one Python. All the analysis was based in the CRISP-DM basic concepts: Business Understanding, Data Understanding, Data Preparation, Modelling, Evaluation and Deployment. The full methodology was not applied in the project, but understanding parts of its process was fundamental, the steps are pretty straight forward and give a very good idea of every stage that data mining has to go through and the feedback brought from every stage. The project scope is limited to identifying patterns in the data rather than predicting future, which could be examined as part of further study of the subject matter. The present Project was divided into two different parts: Part 1: R Dataset Analysis and Part 2: Python Dataset Analysis. It contains also a brief contextualization about the Big Data Context and the importance of data mining. We live in a time when the pursuit of knowledge is indispensable. Today, information assumes a growing importance, and a necessity for any sector of human activity, due to the many transformations we are witnessing. At every moment, we are facing new concepts and trends and we are amazed at how quickly they are occurring and affecting our lives, such as the technology that influences all sectors, social environments and touches every business and life on the planet. The article written by Bernard Marr, and published by Forbes last year brings some statistics that convince that big data really needs attention: More data has been created in the past two year than in the entire history of human race; By 2020 around 1.7 megabytes of new information will be generated every second for every human being on the planet. Every second we create new data, a good example: only on Google 40.000 searches and queries are generated every second, which makes the huge amount of 1.2 trillion searches a year. Facebook users send on average 31.25 million messages and view 2.77 million videos every minute. Only in 2015, 1 trillion photos were taken and billions of them were shared on line. In 2015, over 1.4 billion smart phones were shipped, all capable of collecting different sorts of data and by 2020 the world will have over 6.1 billion smartphone users globally. Within five years there will be over 50 billion smart connected devices worldwide, all developed to collect, analyse and share data. Retailers that leverage the full power of big data would be able to increase their operating by as much as 60%. Now, only less than 0.5% of data is analysed. All the Big Data generated, have some characteristics: Rapid increasing volume, variety, velocity and data storage and transfer, gathering and analysing it all became a huge challenge, but by using specific programs designed to analyse the information on algorithms based will overcome the challenges and the output can be used to enable the decision-making process. For the R Project, a very specific database was analysed: Tourists Visiting the South of Brazil, The information was obtained in the Government website, in the Tourism division. 1.1 Business Understanding Tourism is an important sector that has an impact on development of nation economy. For many countries, the tourism is the most important source of income and jobs generation. Brazil is the fifth biggest country in the world with 8,511,965 sq km of area and the nation is divided into 5 regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South Regions. The Best in Travel 2014, by Lonely Planet guide classified Brazil as the best tourist destination in 2014. According to the official Brazilian Tourism Website Around 6 million people visit the country every year, it is considered the main touristic market in South America and the second in Latin America. It is estimated that only around 17% of all tourists visiting Brazil go to the South region, composed by three States: Parana, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Having in mind those numbers and the knowledge that the most visited places in Brazil do not include the South of the country a dataset was analysed to get some information and find out how many visitors have been there and where they were from. 1.2 Data Understanding Source data: http://www.dadosefatos.turismo.gov.br/estat%C3%ADsticas-e-indicadores.html Format: csv, comma-separated Size: 3.46MB Number of rows: 73.392 Columns: 1 Continent 2 Country 3 State 4 Year 5 Month 6 Count The technologies used were Excel and R Studio. 1.3 Data Preparation The first downloaded version had 534.792 rows, it included the tourism information from all the 26 states and it was based on data from 1989 to 2015. It was a quite huge dataset that would not be convenient to extract useful outputs as Brazil had been through many economic and social changes in this period. Excel was used to exclude the information from other states as well as the years before 2005. As the dataset was all provided in Portuguese Language the code was used to facilitate visualization: The next step was looking at the data, for a better understanding, Dimensions, Names, Classes and Summaries codes were written: Results: Some table codes were written to count each combination of factor levels: Results: The code round was run to specify number of decimal places: Results: 1.4 Modelling A Linear Model was written to generate a better data visualization and analysis of variance:   Ã‚   Some graphs were generated to have a better understanding about how many tourists visiting each of the states: A Bar plot was generated for better visualisation: The same parameters were used to generate pie charts: Parana with 33,01% and Santa Catarina with 29,48% have a very similar number of visitors and Rio Grande do Sul is the most visited place with 37,51%. With a little bit of research the percentage can be understood, as Rio Grande do Sul is the larger of the three states, having more options for the visitors and Some of the biggest manufacturing industries factories in the country are located in that area. After visualizing where the tourists go it is important to know where they come from. For that reason, some graphs were also generated: Graphic: The same parameters were used to generate some other graphics: After analysing isolated information, a graph relating year and states was generated: It was also generated a graphic listing all countries that visited the South of Brazil in the period: A flowchart was designed to represent the algorithm workflow process: Preparing data for a plot: 1.5 Evaluation Compiling the dataset into graphics and tables facilitated data visualization and brought some very important evidence that can be used for many purposes, specially marketing reasons, on defining an action plan based on what can be done to bring more tourists to the south region. The graphs showing the percentages of tourists, were the ones that caught the attention, Europe had the larger number of visitors with 37,7%, followed by South America with 22%, Asia with 11,7%, Africa with 9,2%, Central America and Caribbean with 8,8%, North America with 5,5% and at last Oceania with 5,1%. Looking at these proportions a few questions were raised and research was necessary. Some important facts showed up: the dataset brings only the number of people travelling for leisure purposes, it does not count the amount of people on business, with could impact on the numbers, especially from North America, as many of them visit the country for business purposes and extend their stay on holidays. Another very important factor is that the information was collected in the first stop in the country, and all the three states in the South do not have a large airport, usually they arrive by connection flights coming from Sà £o Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, where the main international airports are situated. The last very important element that could impact on the number of visitors, is the fact that the south of Brazil does not have a tight control of their borders and many people arrive by land, usually driving from other countries in South America. As said before the tourism sector can be very explored and it can impact in the revenue generation. According to the International Congress Convention Association (ICCA) Brazil is the host of many international events in Latin America and the seventh in the world, so why not leverage on the information brought and attract all those events to the South of Brazil? The numbers in the dataset look a bit too similar for every year related to the count of people visiting the states, but anyway it provides very useful information. It is also very important to observe that Brazil is also accessed by boat and land, specially by tourists coming from Central and South America, as there is no border control some of the numbers might be slightly different. The project scope is limited to identifying patterns in the data rather than predicting future which could be examined as part of further study of the subject matter. 2.1 Business Understanding Every time a famous person passes away the media makes news; some deaths even take the elements of scandals, especially when there is the suspect of a suicide, people follow the reports all over the world. The year of 2016 seemed to be very sad for the famous people, with an unusual number of deaths observed. An article from the 22nd of April, 2016 on BBC News website reported that by April the number of celebrities deaths was double as the previous years, and even said: the number of significant deaths this year has been phenomenal. But comparing to the years before, is it true? Based on a dataset available on kaggle.com, that compiled information available on wikipedia.org, some questions were asked: Did more celebrities die in 2016 than in the last 5 years? Was suicide the most cause of deaths? What were the reasons for the deaths in 2016? Were the reasons different from the 5 years before? What would be the main causes of death for each age group? 2.2 Data Understanding Source data: https://www.kaggle.com/hugodarwood/celebrity-deaths Format: csv, comma-separated Size: 1.47 MB Number of rows: 14.880 Columns: 1 age 2 birth_year 3 cause_of_death 4 death_month 5 death_year 6 famous_for 7 name 8 nationality The technologies used were Excel and Python 3.6 2.3 Data Preparation The original downloaded version had 21.562 rows, with a quick look through the data, a few abnormalities were shown, a number of duplicated cells and rows was observed, also some birth_year did not correspond to real birth year, there were also some animals among humans (specially racehorses and dogs). Excel was used to exclude the duplicated data, to clear some odd information and to exclude the deaths from 2006 to 2010, as the project idea was analyse only the past five years. The first step was reading the table through pandas: Looking at the classes and missing values: As it is clear there are many missing values of cause of death. Looking at the most common causes of death: * It seems like many celebrities tend to die from cancer and heart failure. 2.4 Modelling A bar plot was generated for better visualization: The article from BBC was not entirely wrong, in 2016 more famous people died, compared to the 5 previous years. Looking for the answer for the second question, a bar plot about the suicide rates was generated, was suicide the main cause of deaths? It cannot be said that suicide was the main reason for the deaths. As seen on the previous graphic there is a percentage of celebrities that commit suicide, but comparing 2016 to the five previous years and comparing with natural deaths, a new bar plot was created: Compared to the previous years, 2016 did not seem as bad as the papers and social media claim, as the suicidal rate was only higher than 2014, in this way it cannot be affirmed that the main cause of celebrities deaths in 2016 was self-murder. Just for information a graphic was created to illustrate which is the month when more famous people tend to take their lives: As the bar plot displays September is the month showing a highest level of suicide, while June appears as the lowest. The figures generated from the data set brought a few information so far, proving that 2016 was a sad year for famous people, it also showed that suicide was not the main cause of death. To find out what the main reasons were a bar plot was created: Appears that cancer killed more famous people, at least in the year of 2016. Still comparing 2016 to the five years before an average number of deaths by cause was called, to investigate: The comparison shows that compared to the five years before more famous people died due to more Cancer and Traffic collision, all the other reasons seem to follow the same pattern. Just out of curiosity and to have a better understanding from the facts, the dataset was categorized into age groups: Some pie charts were created to illustrate the cause of death by age group: It is very important to bring to attention that in the child group there were only five rows and that is why the percentages are very high. It is very challenging trying to analyse the deaths related to the age group as there were many missing data specially when it comes to cause of death. As a matter of fact, as common sense, the older people get the age-related diseases appear more in the graphics. A flowchart was designed to represent the algorithm workflow process: In cause_of_death column = suicide 2.5 Evaluation Compiling the dataset into graphics and tables facilitated data visualization and brought some very important information about the celebrity death from 2011 to 2016. The missing values made the difference when trying to get deep information, especially when it comes to cause of death. It was pretty obvious from the data that 2011 the number of dead famous per year increased slightly, however not all the celebrities in the list would actually be considered as such by many people. It was cleared that the suicidal rates are not as high as the media claims and it is not the main cause of death and The increase in the number of news about famous peoples death can also be happening because more people have access to the internet, social media and seem to talk more about it. It is important to remember that the project scope was limited to identifying patterns in the data rather than predicting future. I could not say it was an easy task choosing and analysing two datasets. As I am not a student with any IT background some of my ideas as an outsider were completely mistaken, as I did not know how difficult it can be to write codes and get information from the datasets. It took me a while to understand the basics of how the Python an R work, and I consider I have done a good work. I can tell that I went through an incredible learning journey since I started the Data Analytics course at National College and I have learned a huge volume of new skills. To get the present project done I watched uncountable number of videos, I tried many different environments until I felt comfortable to start the project itself, it also took me a while to find the right dataset and the right questions, but after seeing the graphics and tables I realised I could really get through and do a good project. As our course dedicated more time to Python and have always reading about R as a very difficult data analytics tool I confess I was terrified about it, that is why I decided to start the R Project first, but I had a very good surprise, the program is easier to use than I thought, even with my very little knowledge. Working with a dataset that I am familiar with made it simpler as well, I have always worked in marketing environments and had the curiosity to know more about tourism in the South of Brazil, where I was raised. I consider I found out important information, that maybe could be very valuable for companies investing in services and tourism. For the Python project, I decided to work with the celebrity-deaths dataset just out of curiosity, as almost every single day during the year of 2016 I saw on twitter the #celebritydeaths2016. But after analysing the dataset I found out that there is only a slightly evidence that more famous people died during the year of 2016 it cannot be said that it was the worse year or predict anything for the future. I have also found out that suicide is not the main reason for their deaths as the social media reports. The idea of both projects was to identify and extract patterns in the data, which I believe has happened. References Big Data: 20 Mind-Boggling Facts Everyone Must Read. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/09/30/big-data-20-mind-boggling-facts-everyone-must-read/#56eaf8456c1d. [Accessed: 10 December 2016]. Business Dictionary. Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com. [Accessed: 09 December 2016]. Estatà ­sticas e Indicadores. Available at: http://www.dadosefatos.turismo.gov.br/dadosefatos/home.html   [Accessed: 09 December 2016]. Lantz B., 2013, Machine Learning with R, Packt Publishing IBM, 2011, IBM SPSS Modeler CRISP-DM Guide, IBM Corporation. Available at: http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~paulk/teaching/dmkdd/ass2/readings/methodology/CRISPWP-0800.pdf [Accessed: 11 December 2016]. Ministà ©rio do Turismo. Available at: http://www.turismo.gov.br/ [Accessed: 19 December 2016]. Skill: Data Analysis. Available at: https://15-5103.ca.uts.edu.au/skills/data-analysis/ [Accessed: 09 December 2016]. Why so many celebrities have died in 2016? Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-36108133 [Accessed: 26 December 2016]. Source data: http://www.dadosefatos.turismo.gov.br/estat%C3%ADsticas-e-indicadores.html Source data: https://www.kaggle.com/hugodarwood/celebrity-deaths

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Literary features of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Chapter 11 Essa

Literary features of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Chapter 11 Pg 70 Achebe throughout the novel uses many different literary features Literary features of ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe Chapter 11 Achebe throughout the novel uses many different literary features to bring emphasis to certain points and equally to create a plausible picture of what tribal life was like. His particular style of writing, using specific detail of everyday things, brings the characters to life; it creates a depth and complexity to the characters that makes the tribe into a realistic civilization. This technique is used primarily to challenge the preconceptions the people of the Western world have about tribal life. Details such as the ‘shrill cry of the insects’ and how the snuff Okonkwo brought had gone damp and how it was so dark there was not enough light to eat by. The chapter opens with a description of the night, we have been told in a previous chapter that the tribes people found the dark without moonlight frightening, this information helps the reader to identify w...

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Polish Immigration to the United States and Canada Essay

1. Introduction 1.1. Overview Poland is a small country, tucked away in the recesses of Eastern Europe. Surrounded by countries like Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, its population of 38.5 million is slightly more than half of the United Kingdom’s and a fraction of that of the United States. Whilst experiencing a welcome improvement in economic development and prosperity in recent years, the country and its citizens, the Polish people, can well be counted as among the more unfortunate of the world. Centuries of political turmoil, foreign rule and occupancy, decades of partitioning, and extended periods of economic distress, have scarred the psyche of the Polish people, driven them out of their surroundings, and made them into global wanderers, refugees, and migrants, searching for comfort, peace, and economic well being for themselves and their families. The mass genocide of the 1940s, which left more than 6 million Polish dead, was followed by four decades of communist rule and it was not until 1989 that the country joined the ranks of free nations. Difficult home conditions during the last few centuries have often forced the Polish people to travel out of the environs of their familiar surroundings and make their homes in strange countries, among people with different cultures, languages, religions, and traditions. Polish migrants have moved out in waves not only to other more hospitable regions in Europe but also to the new world, more particularly to the United States and Canada. Through years of hard work, toil and perseverance, the Polish have created a world wide diaspora, better known as Polonia, of people who, despite living in alien conditions for decades, have continued to be true to their culture, traditions, language and religion. Their migration to North America is not of recent origin; the first waves of people of Polish origin came to the United States in the late 1700s and to Canada in the early 1800s.[1] These original adventurers were followed by periodic streams of migrants whose numbers depended both upon the conditions of their home country as well as on the immigration policies of their host nations. Once settled in their host locations the Polish proved to be model immigrants, industrious, peace loving, cultured, lovers of art, and extremely religious. Their tale of immigration and settlement in Canada and the United States is one of courage, determination and fortitude; visible proof of how adversity brings forth the best in human beings. 1.2. Objective This dissertation takes up the issue of Polish immigration to the United States and Canada, investigating the causes of migration, the areas of choice, the challenges faced by the settlers, the ways and means adopted to overcome such problems, and the evolution of the Polish presence in their adopted countries. Whilst investigating the phenomenon, specific emphasis will be given to the differences in the adopted processes of migration and settlement between Polish Canadians and Polish Americans. A study of this nature should hopefully be of interest to students of history, international relations, sociology, immigration, demographics, and government policy. The global Polish community, immigrants or otherwise should also find such a study illuminating and interesting. 1.3. Methodology A dissertation of this nature will be well served by intensive study of the literature available on the subject. Substantial primary and secondary information is available on the topic by way of government websites, books, and journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. Whilst surveys or in-depth interviews with Polish immigrants could yield some very interesting and relevant information, such an exercise would need to cover substantial numbers of respondents in two nations and involve the deployment of resources beyond the capacity of the researcher. The dissertation as such relies fully on the information available both on line and in hard copy for its findings, analysis and conclusions. The sources of information accessed have been listed in the bibliography at the end of the study. The body of the dissertation is structured into a literature review followed by a section on findings and analysis. The concluding section details the conclusions arrived at in the course of the study along with recommendations and the limitations of the assignment. 2. Literature Review With the first Polish people travelling to North America more than three centuries ago their connection with the USA and Canada is hardly of recent origin. The phenomenon predates the American War of Independence of 1776 and has been shaped by a range of political, military, economic, social, and cultural factors, not just in their homeland but also in the other countries of Europe as well as in the USA and in Canada. This review of literature approaches the subject from specific angles, namely the historical and modern day circumstances that influenced their migration to North America, the governmental and policy approaches of the two host countries that shaped their entry and settlement, the factors behind their demographic dispersion and build-up, and the evolution of the Polish diaspora in the two countries. 2.1. Migratory Compulsions Political and Military Turmoil Whilst Poland developed into a recognisable political entity, a millennium ago, under the Piast dynasty in the tenth century, its period of greatest affluence and development, also referred as the golden age, occurred, during the 16th and 17th centuries, with the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.[2] This short lived era of freedom, parliamentary working, and economic affluence came to an end with the Swedish invasion and the Cossack Uprising towards the middle of the 17th century. These events were followed by numerous wars against Russia, three partitions of the country, in 1772, 1793, and 1795, and the division of its territories between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The reconstitution of a Polish state in 1807 by Napoleon lasted for only 8 years, the defeat of Napoleon being followed by Austrian and Russian hegemony over the country until the end of the First World War.[3] â€Å"This loss of independence created the situation that for most Poles, â€Å"Poland† as their country, became just an idea-a memory from the past, and a hope for the future. In short, in the world of the Polish spirit, it enabled men and women to live their lives in their own way in spite of the established order, and often in defiance of the law† (Davies 1990). These partitions and the disaster of the 1830 Uprising caused the Great Emigration to the Western European countries and to the overseas territories, among which the United States holds the primary position†[4] Regaining is independence in 1918, the country remained independent for just two decades until the twin invasions of the country by Germany on September 1, 1939 and Soviet Russia on September 17. Divided into 2 zones under the control of Germany and the Soviet Union, Poland suffered greatly during the Second World War; the holocaust took its greatest toll in this country with six million, half of them Jews, perishing in the first four years of the 1940s. The end of the war saw the occupation of the country by the forces of the Soviet Union and nearly 4 more decades of communist rule before the country emerged, on the back of a Solidarity movement, as a democratic nation in 1990. Joining the European Union in 2004, the country is making economic progress and integrating rapidly with the global community. [5] With the last three centuries being spent in incessant political and military turmoil it is not difficult gauge the extent of mental, physical and economic hardships suffered by the Polish people. Deprived of the security of their country and a national umbrella, the Polish left their homeland in successive waves from the 18th century to the present day. Economic and Social Conditions Whilst political and military turmoil was of course causal in driving large numbers of patriotic Polish from their homes and forcing them to seek safe sanctuary in other countries, economic compulsions also played a major role in motivating them to regions with better prospects for earnings, savings and the development of prosperity and affluence. In fact it would appear that the majority of Polish migration took place because of severe disturbances in economic conditions. Significant increases in population in the late years of the 18th century, along with industrialisation and the consolidation of commercial agriculture led to the elimination of small land holdings, exhaustion of available land, and loss of earning capacity and destitution of peasants dependent upon farming for their livelihood forcing them to migrate to areas of economic opportunity.[6] The decline of industrial production in the Russian controlled regions of Lodz and Piotrkow after the Russo-Japanese War and the 1905 revolution sparked off a significant wave of migration with hundreds of thousands of workers departing for other regions. Apart from such occurrences pressures of population, exhaustion of land and the lack of investment in industry kept the region in a perpetual state of economic deprivation and drove emigration figures upwards.[7] Whilst economic deprivation drove emigration among the economically weaker sections of society, sporadic bouts of anti-Semitism were to lead to thousands of Jews moving away to escape persecution. A wave of anti-Semitism swept through the region after the revolution of 1905. Fanned by the anti-Semitic wing of the National Democratic Party in the early years of the 20th century the movement increased steadily until the onset of the First World War and led to social ostracism and violence against Jews â€Å"Students would picket Jewish stores, threatening Poles who dared to enter. Shame was also placed upon those citizens who sought the services of Jewish lawyers, dentists and doctors. One technique that was frequently used was to photograph Poles entering Jewish residences and print the pictures. The picture, with a derogatory comment, would be placed on pamphlets that were distributed among the townspeople. Less costly but just as painful and derogatory were such incidents of Poles throwing stones at Jewish men, women and even young children. Killing Jews was contagious in an atmosphere of hate that enveloped Poland. Not only were the Polish radicals placing the blame for their problems on the Jews, but they were also gaining free media.†[8] (Reisner, Davis and Miera) Post Second World War Emigration Many of the Iron Curtain nations have experienced the phenomenon of citizens being pushed to emigrate, rather flee, in large numbers to escape political repression and economic scarcity. With most communist governments unwilling to allow their citizens to leave their borders except for official reasons, much of the ensuing emigration was illegal until travel restrictions were eased. In Poland the easing of travel curbs in the late 1950s after the cessation of Stalinist rule, led to a spurt migrants who travelled to European countries, mainly Germany, in search of lost relatives and motivated by the desire to motivate families. The next large migration occurred only in the late 1980s.[9] Whilst some of the people who left belonged to Lech Walesa’s Solidarity party and had to leave after the imposition of martial law to avoid incarceration, most of the others were young and educated and did not foresee the happening of any major political change. Their reasons for leaving were m ostly economic and they accordingly left for countries like Australia, Canada or the USA, which though far away offered the opportunity of economic improvement.[10] 2.2. Migration to the USA and Canada Polish emigration, as per extant records, appears to have been focussed on western countries, with very few Poles evincing interest of emigrating to Latin America, Africa or Asia. The only exceptions to this rule were Australia, which became a preferred destination choice for many of the Polish in the post Second World War period, and Israel, which attracted thousands of Polish Jews, from the 1960s, after the government eased travel curbs and relaxed issuance of passports. [11]The community seems to have concentrated mostly on neighbouring European nations like Germany, France, and Belgium, as well as on North American countries like the USA and Canada. Whilst there are clear motives for emigration with the range of causes being large and varied and stemming from political unrest, partition and annexation, economic deprivation, lack of agricultural land and job opportunities, political suppression (during the communist regime), and religious persecution and discomfort (for the Polish Jews), researchers are less clear on the reasons behind the choice of destination of Polish migrants. Very possibly the community felt more comfortable with settling down in countries with a majority of whites, where Christianity was the dominant religion. Migration to the USA Whilst migration of Poles, individually and in small groups, to the USA started soon after the voyages of Columbus, significant community immigration did not occur until the onset of the three partitions in the closing years of the 1700s. Records however suggest that many Polish craftsmen were hired by the London Company in 1608 to bring their skills to Jamestown, where a sizeable community grew over the next two decades. â€Å"The Poles created glass house shops, and pitch and potash burners. These products became the first exports of Jamestown. As a result of their success more Poles were invited to Jamestown. They were always cooperative and willing workers. In 1619 more Poles landed at Jamestown with the intent to manufacture pitch, tar and resin for ships. They also helped start the timber industry that was necessary for ship building. The first Legislative Assembly denied the Jamestown Poles the right to vote. As a result the Poles went to strike, refusing to work unless they had the right to vote. On July 21, 1619 the Legislative Assembly granted Poles the right to vote. Thus, the Poles were the first group that fought successfully for civil rights.†[12] Polish immigration subsequently increased from the last quarter of the 18th century when Poles participated in the American Revolution. The 1800s saw two major waves of Polish immigration, the first of which occurred between 1830 and 1863 and the second between 1870 and 1913. Whilst the first wave of migrants moved mainly into neighbouring European countries a few thousands did travel to the USA. The second wave however saw the majority of emigrants leaving for the USA, whilst the others went to Germany, France and Belgium. Approximately 2.5 million Poles, practically 95 % of the migrants landed at Ellis Island during this period whereas the balance 5 % came in through Castle Garden. This huge flow of migrants dropped sharply only after the adoption of quotas and the imposition of strict limits for immigrants by the USA in 1921.[13]   The next major flow of migrants was to occur only after the end of the Second World War when 200,000 Polish refugees were settled in the United States. Recent decades have also seen a steady flow of the Polish coming into the country. Whilst some came into the country illegally in the 1970s and the 1980s, smaller waves have come in after the overthrowing of the communist government in 1989. [14] Migration to Canada Polish migration to Canada started later than in the United States and commenced in substantial numbers only in the first decade of the 1900s. Polish migrant inflow was highest during 1901-1910, 1921 -1931, and 1946 – 1961.[15] Inflow of migrants into Canada, whilst being far lesser than into the United States, has however been considerable in absolute numbers considering the far lesser population of the country. Reasons for Polish immigration to Canada remained the same as for other accommodative and affluent destinations, namely gross overpopulation, scarcity of land, falling industrialisation, and generally depressed economic conditions in the homeland. Canada, whilst offering the opportunities of easy availability of land and an affluent and fast developing economy was however able to attract only a trickle of the vast numbers of Polish who exited their country in the 19th and 20th centuries. Governmental Policies and Demographic Distribution The United States, along with the affluent countries of Western Europe, namely Germany, France and Belgium, have always been the major destinations of Polish migrants. Whilst West European countries offered the comfort of proximity, similar cultures, and the possibility of more frequent home visits, the United States offered vast economic and other opportunities and proved to be an irresistible magnet for the bulk of Polish migrants, especially in the first two decades of the 1900s. To an economically deprived people, the country appeared to be the best option for achieving economic sufficiency and prosperity. â€Å"These Poles were called ‘za chlebem’ or â€Å"for bread† immigrants. They came to America for the sole purpose of making money. Once this was accomplished, they would return to Poland and prosper. Other Poles risked everything to travel to America. They sold all their property in hope of starting a new life. When these Poles entered America they wrote letters back to their relatives about their life here. Soon their relatives came to America to join their relatives. Some Polish people came because America was portrayed to be the land of opportunity; others came because they were encouraged by exaggerated stories of abundant job opportunity.†[16] With economic opportunities appearing so lucrative in the USA it was possibly but natural for the country to receive far more migrants, Polish and otherwise than Canada. Whilst Canada also did receive migrants their numbers invariably went up with the imposition of entry restrictions in the United States. The first such ballooning in Canadian migrants occurred in 1921 with the imposition of entry curbs in the USA in 1921 following three decades of heavy Polish migrant inflow from the closing years of the 1890s. The US introduced quotas as preliminary policy in 2 phases in the early 1920s before implementing them in their final form towards the end of the decade.[17] Annual quotas were set for each country on the basis of 2 % of the foreign born of particular countries as per the census of 1890, a decision that skewed immigration against East Europeans in favour of those from West Europe, thus shifting the source of immigrants into countries more likely to contribute skilled labour. Canada also followed the US in this regard by adopting formal restrictions in 1923. Whilst Canadian policy had restrictions similar to those of the United States, ranking immigrants by country of origin it did not impose an explicit numerical limit. Whilst the more stringent entry norms adopted by the USA had a significant diversionary impact upon canalising Polish immigration into Canada, the Canadian government opened the border still wider by authorising 2 Canadian railway companies to act as its agents for ad mission of immigrants.[18] â€Å"From 1925-1930, under what is termed the railway agreement, the Canadian government authorized the two Canadian railway companies to act as its agents for the admission of immigrants. The railway companies were given authority to screen immigrants subject to the restrictions in place. Essentially, they were allowed to recruit agricultural labor in Eastern Europe for the Canadian West. The result was a large increase in immigration from the countries in which agents of the railways were active, primarily central and Eastern Europe.†[19] The significant increase in Polish immigration to Canada was as such substantially influenced by restrictive US entry policies compared to a more liberal Canadian approach that favoured a tilt towards canalising farm workers from Eastern Europe for work in the Canadian prairies. History in a way repeated itself with the passage of the passing of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, (INA) which continued with the quota system and further allowed the US government to prohibit the entry of perceived undesirables. With the emergence and consolidation of a sharp anti-communist bias in the United States it is very possible that the INA was used selectively against people from East European communists who were very firmly identified with the Soviet Union. Whilst such biases are difficult to establish, this period coincided with a rapid escalation of migrants to Canada, where entry curbs were far lesser than in the US for all people of European origin. 3.0 Findings and Analysis Polish migration to the North American continent began tentatively soon after its settlement by British and European settlers and picked up momentum only after the ending of the Polish golden age in the mid 1700s, followed by the partitioning and dismemberment of the country. The events of the late 1700s led to the unleashing of several waves of Polish migration, which were to continue in fits and starts for the next 150 years and appear to continue even today, four years after the entry of the country into the European Union. Whilst most of the causes that led to this significant migratory shift are connected with economic reasons dealing with overpopulation, scarcity of farming land, and lack of industrialisation, they are in a sense deeply connected with the constant political and military turmoil involving Russia, Austria and Germany, which denied peace and economic development to the country and drove the residents to venture into strange countries in search of economic stabilit y and peaceful existence. The Second World War and the accompanying holocaust brought in another intense period of tragedy, displacement and deprivation, forcing hundreds of thousands of Polish refugees to seek shelter in foreign countries. Whilst the exodus has abated somewhat in recent years, the recent entry of the country into the European Union and ease of travel and employment in other EU countries appear to have motivated thousands of young Poles to move to other countries in Europe for economic improvement. The migration of the Polish to North America was in the main directed towards the United States, and though migration to Canada started within decades of the Polish beginning to go to the USA, the number of Polish in the USA today outnumber those in Canada by ten times. Furthermore such migration to Canada has been substantially influenced by governmental entry restrictions imposed by the USA first in the mid 1920s and later in the early 1950s. Whilst the incidence of migration to Canada has, apart from more flexible immigration policies, also been helped by specific proactive Canadian policies aiming to attract farm hands from Poland and other East European countries, it is debatable whether the migration to Canada would have been what it is if the USA had not tightened its entry requirements for people with Polish and other East European backgrounds. Once settled Polish immigrants in both countries remained bound together by a common culture and the Catholic religion building church centric Polish communities. Whilst cities like Chicago and Detroit in the USA saw the growth of extensive Polish populations, the Polish community in Canada developed numerous settlements in the prairie region before moving towards Ontario and building up a substantial Polish population in Toronto.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Forensic Anthropology

What is Forensic Anthropology? From within the specialized area of osteologythe study of bones- comes the application of the methods and techniques of analyzing skeletal remains for cases that will apply tf legal importance. Osteological analyses yield clues as to how populations of people might have lived, how old they were when they died, if they were female or male, their state of health (or disease), types of trauma they may have experienced as related to climate, warfare, and occupation. Forensic anthropologists help identify individuals who died in mass disasters, wars, or due to homicide, suicide, or accidental death, and applying the evidence to a case legally. Anthropology is the "study of humans" in a broad sense. There are primarily three subfields of anthropology, or three general areas into which the study of humans can be classified: Cultural anthropology, Archaeology, and Physical (or Biological) Anthropology. A fourth subfield, Linguistics (pertaining to language), seems to have been absorbed by the other three subfields in many cases today. Cultural Anthropology Cultural Anthropology: this subfield deals with myriad aspects of human society, culture, behavior, beliefs, ways of life, etc. It can include studies of non-technologic societies, technologic societies, past and present. Many areas of anthropology over lap eachother. For example, cultural anthropology may overlap with studies of foreign language, economics, psychology, sociology, political science, the medical field, ecology, women's studies, history, and so on. Archaeology Archaeology is the study of past cultures, through peoples' material remains (i.e. artifacts). The lifeways of past peoples can be studied from the artifacts they leave behind, which can range from items as small as bits of pottery and tools to large dwellingshuts, houses of worship, etc. Archaeological research covers a vast array of cultures throughout time and spacef... Free Essays on Forensic Anthropology Free Essays on Forensic Anthropology What is Forensic Anthropology? From within the specialized area of osteologythe study of bones- comes the application of the methods and techniques of analyzing skeletal remains for cases that will apply tf legal importance. Osteological analyses yield clues as to how populations of people might have lived, how old they were when they died, if they were female or male, their state of health (or disease), types of trauma they may have experienced as related to climate, warfare, and occupation. Forensic anthropologists help identify individuals who died in mass disasters, wars, or due to homicide, suicide, or accidental death, and applying the evidence to a case legally. Anthropology is the "study of humans" in a broad sense. There are primarily three subfields of anthropology, or three general areas into which the study of humans can be classified: Cultural anthropology, Archaeology, and Physical (or Biological) Anthropology. A fourth subfield, Linguistics (pertaining to language), seems to have been absorbed by the other three subfields in many cases today. Cultural Anthropology Cultural Anthropology: this subfield deals with myriad aspects of human society, culture, behavior, beliefs, ways of life, etc. It can include studies of non-technologic societies, technologic societies, past and present. Many areas of anthropology over lap eachother. For example, cultural anthropology may overlap with studies of foreign language, economics, psychology, sociology, political science, the medical field, ecology, women's studies, history, and so on. Archaeology Archaeology is the study of past cultures, through peoples' material remains (i.e. artifacts). The lifeways of past peoples can be studied from the artifacts they leave behind, which can range from items as small as bits of pottery and tools to large dwellingshuts, houses of worship, etc. Archaeological research covers a vast array of cultures throughout time and spacef...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Profile and Biography of Socrates

Profile and Biography of Socrates The Greek philosopher Socrates was born c. 470/469 B.C., in Athens, and died in 399 B.C. To put this in the context of the other great men of his time, the sculptor Pheidias died c. 430; Sophocles and Euripides died c. 406; Pericles died in 429; Thucydides died c. 399; and the architect Ictinus completed the Parthenon in c. 438. Athens was producing the extraordinary art and monuments for which she would be remembered. Beauty, including personal, was vital. It was linked with being good. However, Socrates was ugly, according to all accounts, a fact that made him a good target for Aristophanes in his comedies. Who Was Socrates? Socrates was a great Greek philosopher, possibly the wisest sage of all time. He is famous for contributing to philosophy: Pithy sayingsThe Socratic method of discussion or dialogueSocratic irony A discussion of Greek democracy often focuses on a sadder aspect of his life: his state-mandated execution. Family Although we have many details about his death, we know little about the life of Socrates. Plato provides us the names of some of his family members: Socrates father was Sophroniscus (thought to have been a stonemason), his mother was Phaenarete, and his wife, Xanthippe (a proverbial shrew). Socrates had 3 sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. The oldest, Lamprocles, was about 15 at the time his father died. Death The Council of 500 [see Athenian Officials in the Time of Pericles] condemned Socrates to death for impiety for not believing in the gods of the city and for introducing new gods. He was offered an alternative to death, paying a fine, but refused it. Socrates fulfilled his sentence by drinking a cup of poison hemlock in front of friends. Socrates as Citizen of Athens Socrates is remembered chiefly as a philosopher and the teacher of Plato, but he was also a citizen of Athens, and served the military as a hoplite during the Peloponnesian War, at Potidaea (432–429), where he saved Alcibiades life in a skirmish, Delium (424), where he remained calm while most around him were in a panic, and Amphipolis (422). Socrates also participated in the Athenian democratic political organ, the Council of the 500. As a Sophist The 5th century B.C. sophists, a name based on the Greek word for wisdom, are familiar to us mostly from the writings of Aristophanes, Plato, and Xenophon, who opposed them. Sophists taught valuable skills, especially rhetoric, for a price. Although Plato shows Socrates opposing the sophists, and not charging for his instruction, Aristophanes, in his comedy Clouds, portrays Socrates as a greedy master of the sophists craft. Although Plato is considered the most reliable source on Socrates and he says Socrates was not a sophist, opinions differ on whether Socrates was essentially different from the (other) sophists. Contemporary Sources Socrates is not known to have written anything. He is best known for the dialogues of Plato, but before Plato painted his memorable portrait in his dialogues, Socrates was an object of ridicule, described as a sophist, by Aristophanes. In addition to writing about his life and teaching, Plato and Xenophon wrote about Socrates defense at his trial, in separate works both called Apology. The Socratic Method Socrates is known for the Socratic method (elenchus), Socratic irony, and the pursuit of knowledge. Socrates is famous for saying that he knows nothing and that the unexamined life is not worth living. The Socratic method involves asking a series of questions until a contradiction emerges invalidating the initial assumption. Socratic irony is the position that the inquisitor takes that he knows nothing while leading the questioning.