How Judaism and Christianity Diverged

The origins of Christianity can be originated in Judaism and for that reason it is no surprise that both religions have many beliefs in common. During the earliest beginnings, Christianity was a part of Judaism, but currently they are two distinct communities. However, they are bound together by their belief in one God and to worship any other is to deny Him. The separation between both religions did not happen fast or easy. The entire division took some hundred years and the very complex separation didn’t happen all at once. Christianity began with Jesus Christ and his disciples about 2000 years ago in Judea. Throughout that duration of time, Judea was ruled over the emperor of Rome, Constantine. The Romans were pagan and had polytheistic beliefs that made it difficult for the Jews. Therefore, the Jews began to disgust Romans and wait for their Messiah as was promised. The Jewish law secures that a descendant from the house of David will come to set up God’s Kingdom on earth. Jesus Christ has been known in many names: Son of Man, Son of God and the Word. â€Å"Christ† comes from the Greek word Christos which can be translated of the Hebrew word Messiah. Jesus Christ himself followed the Jewish faith and the Jewish law. From village to village, Jesus began teaching synagogues and healing the suffering. Before long, a group of twelve men followed Jesus after his teachings motivated many people and caused instability that the Jewish authority weren’t pleased of. This had threatened the Jewish people. Jesus commenced on talking about the â€Å"new covenant† that God would bring people through him. It would restore the association between humankind and God that was gone because of sin. It would, also, re-establish the fellowship of forgiveness and love. As a prophet, Jesus knew he would be crucified on the Roman cross to pay for the sins committed by all humanity. As he was saying that he was the Son of God, the Jews weren’t opened to his message. Priests of temples have called Jesus Christ blasphemous because he didn’t fit the mold as the Son of Man, â€Å"Glory of the Heavens†, or the Messiah. He doesn’t look like a king they have imagined and thought of him as pathetic and rejected him. When Jesus first came to Israel, Jesus said publicly, â€Å"I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. † â€Å"Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? † a high priest ask him and Jesus replied, ‘I am,' †¦ And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven† (Mark 14:61-62). This haven’t convinced them that Jesus was the Messiah and condemned him to torture and death for lying. â€Å"Eli Eli lama sabachthani! † was Jesus’ last words as he was crucified as stated in the New Testament. After three days, he was resurrected and ascended to the heavens in front of six hundred people. His disciples began to spread his word to various parts of the world. After Paul, one of Jesus’ disciples and his right hand man, failed to convince the Jews, Paul had to resort to converting the Romans. Around 312 A. D. , Emperor Constantine I adopted the Christian faith and, therefore, legalized Christianity. He supported the Christian Church and tried to abandon all the pagan temples. In 325 A. D. , he sent for the Council of Nicaea to establish the Nicene Creed. The emperor wanted to enforce orthodoxy and to eradicate heretics. Christianity began to spread and detached it’s way from Judaism. The Roman government began to acknowledge its independence and the emperor let them go from paying the fiscus judaicus, a tax for Jewish people as a penalty after the revolt of 66 A. D. Finally, the success of Christianity made it the official religion of the Roman Empire in 324 A. D. The main Christian belief was that Jesus was the savior of all people. Those who believed that Jesus was the fulfillment of messianic prophesy of the Old Testament converted to Christianity, including some Jews. Judaism and Christianity both share the Old Testament and the Word of God. However, in Christian teachings Jesus Christ is the Messiah and the Savior and Judaism denies the idea of him being the Messiah. Initially being a Jewish sect in the first century, Christianity stretched into the Greco-Roman areas. During the Middle Ages it spread into Northern Europe and Russia. Currently, Christianity extended to all parts of the world and is now the largest religion in the world with around 2 billion followers. The religion has broaden to many sects such as Roman catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and so forth. Bibliography: The Bible. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. RSV Bible. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. . â€Å"Christianity. † Religion Facts. N. p. , n. d. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. . Wenner, Sarah. â€Å"History of Christianity. † MNSU. Ed. Salman Hakim. N. p. , 2009. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. . All About Religion. N. p. , n. d. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .

Balanced Scorecard in Telecom

Performance measurement concerns all stake holders of business. Owners without executive powers are obviously most keen to know how their savings and investments are deployed. Employees, especially the ones with many alternate career options, would also like to know the state of health of their organizations, apart from the aspect of how superiors view their contributions. Suppliers worry about the future prospects of the business of a client because it has cascading effects on their own fortunes.Finally, regulators use corporate performance as feedback of macro-economic policies; customers also have tangential interests in the well-being of service providers and manufacturers on whom they depend. There is an increasing disconnect between statutory financial reporting and statements by executive teams about the states of enterprises for which they are responsible. There are many significant events in a corporation’s history which do not find places in profit and loss accounts or in balance sheets.Further, all statutory reporting is historical, whereas many modern lines of business such as telecommunications are in very fluid states. Everyone wants to know the future impacts of present developments, rather than what has already transpired in the past. There is an explosion of interest in non-financial information (Neef, and Cefola). Trends in customer loyalty and retention, development of more effective human resources, the capabilities of corporation to meet future competitive pressures, and the internal ‘engine-room’ operations are typical areas about which little is known through traditional financial reporting.While executives must be pleased at the lack of comprehensive business intelligence for competitors, the lack of directional information can lead to poor coordination and loss of control inside a corporation. All levels of hierarchy require guidance in terms of overall strategy, and how broad directions bear on individual jobs. The concept of a Balanced Scorecard is a popular and widely respected method of translating strategy in to specific implementationThis document constructs a hypothetical case of a telecom company, and attempts the application of the Balanced Scorecard methodology to translate the strategy of this company in to reality. The document concludes with an appraisal of the utility of the method. Business Distinctions of Telecom It is useful to consider the broad structure of the global telecom industry in order to construct a hypothetical case of some relevance.Telecom has shot in to the limelight of late after dramatic developments in technology and extensive consolidation of the industry structure as well. The industry shares a high profile with consumers and regulators alike. The telecom business is integral to modernization of society (Bonocore, 2001). High speed, wireless communication networks have transformed lives, bringing what was almost science fiction to the realm of reality. It is now possible to stay in touch with the world from the comfort of a home, and save on travel and commute times.Convergence between mobile or cellular telephones and computers is another major trend, and the revolution in the work-place of old is now in the process of unfolding at homes, with developments such as Internet telephones and music downloads from this medium as well. The industry is full of dramatic discontinuities; some of these are due to mergers and acquisitions, while the rest is because of disruptive changes in technology (Bonocore, 2001). The technological changes are likely to continue, with exponential jumps in processing speeds of micro-processors, while costs are headed distinctly south.The huge and rapid technological improvements keep creating excess capacities (Bonocore, 2001). The fixed infrastructure costs of telecom players are not sustainable, unless price reductions spur major jumps in demand. There is a fierce battle to capture new customers, to induce t hem to use their telephones as much as possible, and to hold on to them as well. Regulatory changes are breaking restrictions, as between local and long distance telephony (Bonocore, 2001). Large global players can also now break in to new domestic territories.The industry nature as outlined above makes non-financial parameters as important drivers of success (Neef, and Cefola). It is therefore eminently suited for the application of the Balanced Scorecard methodology (Tenhunen, Ukko, Markus, Oy, and Rantanen, 2002). Hypothetical Case Construction Telephone and Data Systems Inc. is a real company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Form 10-K, 1998). It is a diversified telecommunications operator in the United States, and participates in both the wireless and line telephone segments.A hypothetical case has been created in this document on the historical basis of the company’s 10-K statement for 1997, presented to the Securities and Exchanges Commission in 1998 (Form 10-K, 1998). This document details the company’s strategy exactly a decade ago. The Balanced Scorecard methodology can be applied to this historical but factual situation in a hypothetical way. The numbers and facts in the following paragraphs are not entirely factual, with some simplifications made for the purpose of clarity. Telephone Data Systems Inc.is a relatively small and niche player in the telecom industry. It does not operate at all outside of the United States, and serves customers in only 36 States of its home country. It has less than 10 million customers. The company depends on the United States Cellular Corporation for its wireless services, which includes broad band, and has a wholly owned subsidiary for this line of business. The company operates printing and distribution activities through Suttle Straus, Inc in which it has a controlling stake.TDS is focused on rural and suburban USA. It has about 11 thousand employees. Its basic approach is to combine organic gro wth with appropriate acquisitions. It operates each lines of business through a company which it either owns wholly or controls. The company has proprietary access to technology which reduces noise, provides seamless inter-connections, and which also offers cost advantages. Its network is capable of upgrades for value-added services. However, the company does also need to enter new technology areas.The company focuses on geographic clusters in order to control costs, but emphasizes full customer satisfaction in its chosen clusters. Overall, the broad strategy of Telephone Data Systems Inc. is to hold a leadership position in rural and suburban America, making necessary investments to support such a competitive advantage. An Overview of the Balanced Scorecard Concept It is useful at this junction to consider the general nature and principles of the Balanced Scorecard before the concept is applied to the hypothetical case constructed as above.The Balanced Scorecard is essentially a wa y of translating strategic concepts in to action (Keyes, 2005). It can also be used for holistic performance appraisal of an organization. The Balanced Scorecard seeks to integrate the contributions of all stake holders and levels of an organization for the joint implementation of strategic goals (Kaplan, 2002). It eliminates gaps between visionary thinking at the top of an organization and the daily actions of people up to the periphery. The Balanced Scorecard makes a large corporation nimble and responsive.The Balanced Scorecard was first introduced in the early 1990, and is now used by about half of all U. S. corporations (Neely, 2002). Measurement is crucial for building teams and common commitments (Kaplan, 2002). This is at the heart of the Balanced Scorecard system. These measures are a part of a cause and effect link spanning the entire organization; each measure is linked to an organizational outcome. The Balanced Scorecard is built along 4 axes: the financial perspectives drive customer values, while the internal perspectives focus on productivity, and value creation.The customer perspective gives body to differentiation, while the learning and growth perspective dwells on human resources, systems, business climate, and organization culture. Overall the Balanced Scorecard is a means of implementing strategy, and works primarily through simple and transparent measurement of financial and qualitative goals (Neely, 2002). Implementation Priorities and Sequencing This section relates to the hypothetical case constructed earlier in the document. Telephone Data Systems Inc.is ready with a strategy and would like to use the Balanced Scorecard to ensure measured and effective implementation. The process must start with widespread communication of the evolved strategy, because this has been prepared by a mere handful of the most senior and trusted executives in the company (Mai, and Akerson, 2003). Telephone Data Systems Inc. has more than 11 thousand employe es, and the Balanced Scorecard system requires that each of them understands what their company wishes to achieve and how (Kaplan, 2002).Some people are formally employees of owned or controlled, but independent entities: they must also be carried in the massive effort to implement the strategy quickly and well. Share holders, financiers, and technology associates are other stake holders with important roles in strategy execution, so they too must know the direction their company has chosen to take. Finally, competitors also need to be aware of the nuances of company strategy since the industry is in a phase of consolidation.Overall, the management should make special efforts to carry people with them by integration with the Human Resources Management strategy (Kearns, 2003) and by viewing the organization as a living being Communication with such a large and diversified audience is likely to suffer from both dilution as well as distortion (Segil, and Goldsmith, J, 2002). Further, t he subject matter is a top management prerogative, so any word from anyone other than the Chief Executive Officer, will not carry adequate weight or authority (Kaplan, 2002)This communication issue is also an opportunity for the company to showcase its strengths. The Chief Executive Officer, apart from physical one-on-one meetings with the most influential stake holders, decides to use email and video conferencing infrastructure to communicate interactively with each stake holder directly. The core message is that Telephone Data Systems Inc. will be the leader in telecommunications within rural and suburban America. The company will back this super-ordinate aim with all the financial and non-financial investments needed for its realization.The Chief Executive Officer and the core strategy team have decided to launch the Balanced Scorecard on a pilot basis before extending the methodology throughout the Group (Tenhunen, Ukko, Markus, Oy, and Rantanen, 2002). This will serve as a lear ning process and will help the company deal with the potential problems which such a process may entail. Telephone Data Systems Inc. is new to the Balanced Scorecard, and it is known that some phases of the process, such as tying personal remuneration with measured goal achievement may cause instabilities.

Cruise Industry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cruise Industry - Research Paper Example The global economy is passing through the recession with high levels of unemployment as well as fluctuating oil prices. Though the traditional market for the cruise industry i.e. North America is making an economic recovery, however, conditions in Europe are relatively discouraging due to sovereign debt issues as well as low economic growth. Thus the strategy of developing long-term sustainability of the industry may face setbacks as it may fail to find lucrative and profitable alternative destinations.An overall international political environment is relatively volatile too with potential threats of terrorism as well as pirates. There has been an increased activity of pirates especially in Somalia region with the possibility that such activities may be started in other areas too. Since both the cruise liners i.e. CCL and RCL also operate in non-US areas also, therefore, the fluctuations in the foreign currency values can also adversely affect the revenue of both the cruise liners.Th ere have been concerns over the environmental protection and the potential role of cruisers in disturbing the ecosystem of the sea. It is also because of this reason that the overall regulatory environment for cruise liners may become tough. It is also because of this link between environment and cruise industry that it has been attracting negative publicity. Various environmentalist groups are advocating against the industry due to the potential damage that could be done to the environment.

Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings Essay

Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings - Essay Example The essay "Analysis of Rembrandt van Rijn's Paintings" analyzes two paintings, The Descent from the Cross and Philosopher in Meditation, both found in the art museum of The University of Arizona. The Descent from the Cross refers to a scene from the Gospels reports of Joseph and Nicodemus lowering Christ from the cross following his crucifixion. Artists also refer to it as The Deposition of Christ. Other names not stated in the Gospels who were included in illustrations of this art consist of St. John who is pictured supporting a dimming Mary Magdalene. The Gospels reveal an indeterminate number of women as witnessing the crucifixion. It also included the Three Marys: the Virgin Mary, Mary Salome and also Mary Magdalene who witnessed the burial. These and many other women and unidentified male assistant are shown in the painting. Even in early illustrations the facts and pretense of the work of art and the pose of Christ’s body are different. The scene was incorporated in medi eval cycles of Passion or the Life of Christ, from the crucifixion to the burial of Christ. The weeping of Christ and viewing the body of Christ supported by Mary might intervene between those two. This is widespread in the people’s view, mainly in sculpture. The viewing Christ’s body being moved to his tomb, anointing of Christ and showing the body laid flat on the top of the tomb is another picture that might be thought of in the painting. This is vital in the Orthodox art, where it is revealed on the Epitaph. (Rijn 7). With the resurgence, the painting became accepted for altarpieces, partially because of the challenge of the art work and the fitness of its vertical shape. The Mannerist edition of Russo Florentine is viewed as his most significant painting, and Pontormo’s altarpiece is his most determined painting. This topic of crucifixion was painted many times by both Rembrandt and Rubens. Rembrandt also liked the paintings of Rubens (Rijn 7). Rembrandt ad apted the compositional format for The Descent from the Cross from Ruben’s painting. Rembrandt though sets the theme back in time. The posture of the body Christ is also copied directly from Ruben’s work. His description of the limp and the lifeless Christ discloses a sense of brutality and sorrow which is missing in Rubens painting. Rembrandt used himself as a representation for the boy on the ladder who clings to Christ’s arm (Rijn 7). This signified his emotional connection to the painting and his religious passion. This is the only painting by Rembrandt bearing the dedication of an art dealer and modern publisher, Hedrick Van. Rembrandt’s studio at that time was situated in the publisher's house, and it was there that he met Hedrick Van’s cousin Saki. Rembrandt married Saki in 1634. The Descent from the Cross and the Pendant Christ before Pilate were both published by Cum Privileges. They were approved by the States General and are alike to the recent copyrights (Rijn 7). Philosopher in Meditation Philosopher in Me

Discuss the impact on businesses throughout the world if the European Essay

Discuss the impact on businesses throughout the world if the European Union were to partially disintegrate - Essay Example Thus, the main themes of the study will primarily focus upon this broad factor. Additionally, the main parameter that will be addressed in this particular essay will broadly reflect upon the possible amount of impacts that can prove to provide certain advantages or disadvantages in the near future to global business. A Report on the European Union For centuries, Britain has been able to develop itself in an economic manner by way of being an outward looking and an open country. In today’s scenario, the economy holds a high level of worldwide integration. Great Britain is considered to collect annual revenue of US$386,463 million which puts the country in a very dominant position (Cable News Network, 2013). The UK is considered to be the world's fifth major exporter of services and goods and the country is able to attract considerable amount of foreign direct investment as compared to any other European nation. Besides, it has been studied that the European Union (EU) is one of the largest exporters, investor and importers in the world. It has also been realized that there are lots of broad prospects of exports in the years to come. The member states of the EU strongly believe in the concept of absorption of capital and its proper utilization in order to maximize return on investment (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2013). This aspect can only be made possible when a nation becomes fully engaged in different types of business activities. The EU member states are very well versed with the business concepts and are able to perform the broad functions of the business at large. The EU member states are also very much divergent in performing the broad business activities with other foreign countries. The countries in this broad region seem to inculcate its broad business activities in the most operational sectors such as agriculture, media and audio-visual, automotive industry, business related services, biotechnology, communication and chemicals to name a fe w. In addition, the EU comprises of various other broad businesses that result in increased amount of business activities (European Small Business Portal, n.d.). The EU has been able to achieve all round sustainability in the overall context of business along with development to a very large extent. For the purpose of fulfilment of the business objectives, it has also been able to provide various business opportunities to numerous countries. Greece, Spain and the UK are some of the few countries which have been benefitted by integrating their economy with other EU member states. These countries have been benefitted as they were provided with ample amount of opportunities to expand as an ideal nation in terms of business. Large volume of exports along with imports has been able to provide classified measures in order to develop itself as a strong business destination. In addition, the

Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice - Essay Example However this is not necessary, as research shows certain cases where women are convicted to such acts just in order to gain internal satisfaction, which indicates psychological disorders. Prostitution, which is considered to be a common societal dilemma today, was not, always, a criminal offence in England. In eighteenth century; the prostitution offences were specifically soliciting, living off immoral earnings, and running 'houses of ill fame', but these were enforced selectively. Manifestly neither the proprietors, nor the women who catered for gentlemen in these establishments, were perceived as members of a criminal class or professional criminals; and at this end the profits were handsome. The less salubrious 'houses of ill fame' were more vulnerable, though even in some of the poorest districts the police did not interfere with them. (Chesney, 1970) Women could be violent. Some beat, or otherwise ill-treated, servants and apprentices; on occasions such violence went too far and landed them in court. (Crime and Punishment in Eighteenth-Century England, 1989) Women fought each other; less commonly they fought with men and, like Jane Smith, a few fought with the police. Like their men folk Irish women had a particular reputation in this respect. (The Unwritten Law: Criminal Justice in Victorian Kent, 1991) Today a chivalry perspective holds the view that male officers are reluctant to arrest females, thus reducing the number of female offenders counted. Also it is observed that most women offenders are never caught because of the types of crimes they commit. (Otto, 1950) Finally, some observers claim 'paternalism' toward female offenders in the juvenile and criminal justice systems that effectively operates as a filtering-out mechanism. Official accounts, which are largely based upon arrest and court data, are the basis for the compilation of most crime and delinquency statistics. Court data introduce the potential problems of diversion, paternalism, or chivalry, which may distort the number of female offenders. The number of female arrests presents the 'danger of using the terms arrest and crimes committed interchangeably, and arrest statistics may not be the most reliable source of data for determining actual crime rates.' (Rita James Simon, 1975, p. 36) Three different aspects can examine the dilemma of female crime; first, all the specific offenses which are historically associated with female offenders. (Carol Smart, 1976, p. 6-8). The second area of focus includes those offenses for which women and girls are more frequently arrested as indicated in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports (1978). Third, a number of offenses that are generally considered unusual from female characteristics. Violent Crimes Most crimes of violence by females take place in the family setting where the victims are usually the

Natural hazard and disasters - floods Assignment

Natural hazard and disasters - floods - Assignment Example Floods are very devastating natural phenomenon. It is a temporary condition wherein dry lands are swamped with waters coming from the outflow of rivers, tidal waters, or from the unusual rapid accumulation of water from any source. Types of floods are riverine floods, flash flooding, storm surge, and dam failure. Riverine floods are caused by heavy rainfall when catch basins are no longer able to hold excess water. Storm surge in coastal areas due to a tidal wave, high tide, tsunami or hurricane. Dam failures are explosion of dams due to earthquake that cause great floods in down streams. Another kind of flood and most common is the â€Å"flash floods† that can occur almost anywhere when there is a sudden burst of intense rainfall wherein drainage is either clogged or it has not enough capacity to absorb. Usually, flash floods stay only for short hours. It is unlike river flooding that occurs in low-lying areas adjacent to river and streams that stays flooded for several days. (Geoscience Australia, August 2013.) 2. Explain the system used to classify floods. Several systems of floods classifications have been suggested by engineers and scientists, but I have not found a universal application that is appropriate for a region. For instance, Luke Howard Classification System (n.d.), depends on clouds classification. Accordingly, his system has been used for many years. For Luke, the appearance of clouds formation dictates the amount of rainfall. But to me, this is not the systematic way of classifying floods. Experts today have arrived at a more methodological manner of classifying floods. The National Geographic (2013) said hydrologists used past flood patterns to predict when and where floods could happen, but since these are only estimates, climate , weather, and land can change. Soil scientists study how much water the soil can absorb. The type of soil and the amount of groundwater tells the hydrologist how much more water the earth can absorb. They als o determine the amount of water a runoff can absorb. Runoff water comes from natural processes such as excess irrigation, industrial wastes and sewage. Hydrologists also evaluate snowfall and snowpack. Snowfalls are also said to be contributory to flooding, and when snow melts, the grounds may not be able to absorb too much water (National Geographic 2013). Today, our weather stations use modern technology such as Doppler radar. This system helps meteorologist predict floods, it also shows them how severe a storm would be. Doppler system allows scientists to detect weather pattern and to create computerized images of rainfall. There are also automated gauges placed in rivers that measure the height and speed of river currents, and the amount of rainfall received. Scientists also designed a geographic information system that helps them to warn people if the river will overrun its banks and floods are expected. 2. Discuss the 1913 flood which occurred in Dayton, Ohio with regards to: a. The nature of the event. The Great flood in Miami in 1913 has been described as the worst flood ever experienced in the region. A large amount of rainfall that fell continuously in three days, coupled by snow melting winter produced a run-off of streams in the Miami River and other rivers to overflow. These run-offs caused every city along the river to be inundated with floodwaters . b. Issues directly related to the impact of the event . According to the report of Miami Conservancy District, â€Å"more than 360 people lost their lives and property damage exceeded $100 million (that’s more than $2 billion in today’s economy).  The amount of water that passed through the river channel in Dayton equaled the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in a four-day period† (MCD, 2009)   . c. Lessons learned and actions taken as a result of the event. People were really unprepared for this tragedy so that the citizens of Miami, came together to make plans t o prevent

Economic analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic analysis - Essay Example Structural constraints faced by the economy have also been highlighted in the economy. 2.0 Introduction The GDP growth in India has been below potential in the last financial year (2012). Real GDP in the country has grown at the rate of 6.5 percent (according to 2012 estimate) (CIA, 2013). In 2011, the rate has been 6.8 percent (CIA, 2013). Hence there has been a 0.2 percent fall in the real GDP growth. According to a report from a leading newspaper of the country, the manufacturing sector is the major factor that is pulling the country’s growth rate downwards. This sector accounts for almost 17 percent of the country’s GDP. In the third quarter of the last year, the manufacturing sector grew by a meagre 0.8 percent. While India is mainly an agrarian economy, agriculture has grown at the rate of 1.2 percent in this quarter. This is definitely a gloomy picture that suggests that the government has a role to play to push the country’s growth status. The government of India has taken expansionary monetary policy to spur economic activities in the country. 3.0 Analysis 3.1 Monetary policy In the last year (2012) the government of India had increased interest rates to control inflationary pressure since rates of consumer price inflation fluctuated around 7.5 percent in the first two quarters of 2012 (Trading Economics, 2012). However, this policy failed to reduce inflation rates to the desirable extent. The most undesirable side effect has been felt on the level of private investment activities; fresh investment (as measured by the Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)) was found to be only 33 percent of the GDP (Choudhury, 2012). GDP forecast for FY2013-14 has been scaled down from 6.2 percent to 6 percent by international brokerage firm Barclays (Economic Times, 2013a). The government has therefore taken expansionary fiscal policy to boost up investment activities in the country. The reserve bank of India has cut interest rates by 0.25 percent in May 2013, thereby reducing the repo rate from 7.5 percent to 7.25 percent (BBC, 2013). India is the third largest country in Asia and the government has cut interest rates in order to â€Å"stimulate a fresh wave of economic growth† (BBC, 2013). This policy has been adopted in an endeavour to swell money supply in the economy. Thus banks would possess more money for lending out to borrowers (NASDAQ, 2011). Rate of interest â€Å"is the opportunity cost of holding money† (Boyes and Melvin, 2008, 339). Low interest rate can be interpreted in this way; there is little opportunity cost of holding money. Money demand has negative relationship with rate of interest (Walsh, 2003). Therefore the money demand curve has a downward slope. As interest rate shrinks quantity of money demand rises. It is illustrated by the following figure: Figure: Money demand is a negative function of rate of interest (Source: Author’s Creation) As interest rates are reduced, supply of lo anable funds increase. This increases investment and consumption activities in the country. Figure: Lowering of interest rate supply of loanable funds rise (Source: Author’s Creation) Higher availability of lendable funds reduces interest rates from i1 to 12 and quantity of money demanded rises from L1 to L2. Downward trend of inflation in mid 2013

Media industry in Covering Islam by Edward W Said Essay

Media industry in Covering Islam by Edward W Said - Essay Example The book was first published in 1981. It primarily focused on the issue of Iran, cold war and war. â€Å"Covering Islam† is full of examples of the work of various media groups and journalists. The views and ideas have been appropriately supported by the facts and examples. Chomsky (2002) has raised various issues on the way media has represented various issues of war, trade union issues and terrorism. The issues ranged are from the presentation of these events by media and control of powerful groups over these mediums to control thought process of mass. Said’s work â€Å"Covering Islam† is another effort which seeks attention of readers towards the biased representation of Islam and Islamic community by mainstream media. In the words of Christopher Lehmann-Haupt for The New York Times Book Review for the same book:â€Å"[He] skilfully traces the origins of American misinformation about Islam to the way that Orientalist scholarship is financed and organized in t his country. And finally he pleads eloquently for the instrumentality of all historical knowledge and the needs of all scholars to be aware of their objectives. This plea amounts to a prescription for cultural self-awareness that will be wasted on none of us†Various studies and theories have been developed to study the development of the concept of Islamophobia. This is very clear from the previous studies and views of Chomsky, Said and others about portrayal of the Islam, Muslim and Muslim countries unfavourable from the past.

Verbal Communication Paper Essay Example for Free

Verbal Communication Paper Essay Communication can occur in two different ways, verbally and non-verbally. Whether it is verbally or non-verbally, it plays a important part in certain areas of the criminal justice system. With in this paper we will discuss the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication in the following areas police situation when concerning the press or a public announcement, courtroom setting when testifying, corrections facility when dealing with employees, peers, and inmates, and juvenile facilities when dealing with employees, peers, and inmates. It is important to know how to handle yourself within your law enforcement career when you are called upon to address the public. When dealing with the public you the public and press there are things that are ok to say and discuss and there are things that should not be said or discussed. According to our text in chapter six page 28, many officers encounter stage fright when having to speak to an informal group of people or the press and media, but as with anything practice does make perfect, the more the officer encounters situations such as this, it becomes easier to speak in public. When the officers is addressing an informal group, he or she needs to remember one key thing, and that they need to stick to the facts of the crime, and not give out more information that what is needed to be known by the general public. Now those rules may apply for informal settings, but for formal settings the situation is usually different. There are different guidelines that should be followed to help the officer speech to flow in a smooth manner. First thing first, they may want to draft a speech, now when drafting a speech it is important that they follow the following steps: 1. Prepare an outline of the topics that you will be discussing, this will help you stay on topic and assure that you will not stray from topic or give any information that should not be given. 2. Draft an outline of the main topics that you are willing to discuss, and limit it to three or four topics. By doing this it help you be able to focus on these important topics and your able to relay a clear and concise message. 3. Revise and rewrite the outline a few times to ensure that you have the right information and that you are relaying the correct information that you would like to relay. 4. Practice your speech, remember we write differently than we actually speak, so it is important that your practice your speech several times. 5. Prepare an outline and make sure that you deliver the speech in the order you have written in your outline. Also you should know the subject matter well prior to giving your speech, this way you are able to give an educated answer to any question that may come up. 6. When writing a speech, always try to start at the middle or the end, because the most difficult part will be the beginning. Usually when you begin in the middle or the end the beginning tends to write itself. (Wallace and Roberson, 2009). Those were some of the steps to delivering a successful speech according to our text. When dealing with the media, which most law enforcement will at some point in their career, can be very difficult, especially if you are not prepared and you are not fully educated on the topic in which you are speaking of to the media. Although many agencies have begun to utilize public affairs officers, there are standard operating procedures that police officers that are on the street when unexpectedly approached by a report they have procedures that they need to follow (Wallace and Roberson, 2009). These procedures are put in place to ensure conformity amongst the department (Wallace and Roberson, 2009). As you can see when dealing with the media it is very important at you are doing and saying the right things, or what you said or did can be mistaken for something else, and can ultimately have a large effect on the case that you may be working on . When an officer is in court and is called to testify, the communication is very important, because based on what he pr she says can ultimately help the jury to make a decision on whether to convict or drop the charges against the accused. In some cases an officer may be asked to give an affidavit of said events. According to our text in chapter eight page 109, there are two types of affidavits that can be retrieved. The first one is serves as evidence to assist the court in the decision of an issue or the determination of certain facts and those used to invoke the judicial process. The second type of affidavit is a certificate that is used in civil courts to provide evidence that a party has been officially notified of a pending court proceeding. Good officers usually prepare for court, in the same way that they prepare for giving a speech (Wallace and Roberson, 2009). For instance an officer may want to drive the scene of the crime, just to remember what took place on that day and what thoughts went through his mind that day when he arrived at the crime scene. That way he is well informed, and has the ability to give educated answers to the questions that he may be asked by prosecution or the defense attorneys. This also will create creditability to the officer’s testimony. It is also very critical that the officers go of the case file, so that they are even better informed of the series of events, because just as the officers are overworked so are the prosecutors. Many times the prosecutor is depending on the officers to carry their own testimony, without to much of their assistance (Wallace and Roberson, 2009). Just as there are steps to being successful when giving a speech there are steps to being a successful witness, and they are as follows: 1. Telling the truth 2. Do not guess, if you do not know say so. 3. Be sure you have a clear understanding of the question, you cannot give a honest answer if you do not understand the question 4. Take your time and answer the question answer, make sure you give as much thought to your answer to formulate an educated answer. 5. Make sure you give a loud and audible answer. 6. Do not look for assistance when you are on the stand from anyone, if you feel as though you need help request it from the judge. 7. Be aware of questions with distance involving distance and time, and if you are not sure of the exact distance or time, make sure that you make it clear that you are estimating. 8. Be courteous at all times 9. If asked if you have talked to the prosecutor, be honest and answer whether or not you have or not. 10. Avoid making jokes or wisecracks, because a lawsuit is a serious matter (Wallace and Roberson, 2009). According to our text these are the Ten Commandments that a witness should know, whether you are a seasoned officer or you are a rookie officer, these rule go across the board for everyone. Communication in the prison atmosphere is quite different than the normal communication on a day to day basis for an officer. For example many officers do not realize how much they need learn and mast verbal de-escalations skills until they work in a prison setting, where all of their weapons are taken from them. This is one of the best weapons for a correctional officer, they must be able to keep control of the prisoners with minimal to no weapons at all and they do that by utilizing their verbal de-escalation tactics. When an officers is within the prison system they must be a to calm an inmate down with just the sound of their voice, if they are not able to do that it can escalate to a very dangerous situation for the officer. Officers need to know what to say and when to say what when dealing with prison inmates, because depending on the situation they may make the situation worse, than better. Officers receive several hours of training in this type of technique, while a part of the academy, to ensure that they understand the importance of the communication with inmates. Not only is there communication with the inmates important, but also there communication with their peers are just as important for the officer. The officer should know how to speak with their fellow officer regarding certain situation. Also they need to know what not to say or do with their peers to ensure that they are following certain policies. For instance male officers need to make sure that they are not offending female officers just as female officers need to ensure that they are not offending male officers, it is a two street. This is something that transcends criminal justice and is just a normal practice of every profession not just criminal justice. It is important that you respect your peers at work and treat them the way that you would want to be treated. Also it does not just stop with the officer, this also applies to supervision staff, it is important that they speak to their staff with respect and courtesy at all times. For example I personally am a supervisor and I oversee approximately 50 associates on a daily basis, and it is very important that I treat every associate with respect and courtesy at all times. The moment that I do that I become a liability to the company, and I can be sued for many different reasons, just depending on the situation. Communication within the correctional setting is the same across the board whether the officers is within the men’s prison, women’s prison, or a juvenile correctional facility, the officers my utilize there verbal skills to de-escalate issues, they cannot always depend on weapons. As you can see communication is very important to the criminal justice systems. If the steps that were given to you in this paper are not followed then they could have serious consequences. In closing communication is not only important in the criminal justice system, but it is important in many different settings, but communication for the criminal justice system is key because that is how offenders are convicted and not let go, based on a technicality. Reference Wallace and Roberson (Ed.). (2009). Written and Interpersonal Communication: Methods for Law Enforcement . Chapter 6: Prentice Hall. Retrieved August 14, 2010, from CJA363. Wallace and Roberson (Ed. ). (2009). Written and Interpersonal Communication: Methods for Law Enforcement . Chapter 8: Prentice Hall. Retrieved August 14, 2010, from CJA363 Wallace and Roberson (Ed. ). (2009). Written and Interpersonal Communication: Methods for Law Enforcement . Chapter 1: Prentice Hall. Retrieved August 14, 2010, from CJA363

Black Diaspora in Literature | Essay

Black Diaspora in Literature | Essay â€Å"Survivors. In their diasporan souls a dream like steel† (Caryl Phillips, Crossing the River). This paper discusses in what senses post-slavery literature is structured by the idea of a diaspora. The book looks at two main texts, Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips and Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall, using the books The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness by Paul Gilroy and Black Imagination and the Middle Passage, edited by Maria Diedrich as secondary sources. The paper concludes that the diaspora, a key event in black history, is fundamental to many authors in terms of providing a framework on which to discuss issues of importance to the black community, for example, history, memory, cultural identity, cultural heritage, heritage. As Gilroy argues in his book The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness, â€Å"The specificity of the modern political and cultural formation I want to call the Black Atlantic can be defined, on one level, through a desire to transcend both the structures of a nation state and the constraints of ethnicity and national particularity. These desires are relevant to understanding political organising and cultural criticism. They have always sat uneasily alongside the strategic choices forced on black movements and individuals embedded in the national and political cultures and nation-states in America, the Caribbean and Europe† (p.19). Thus, as Gilroy argues, because of the black diaspora, black academics and black writers and artists have travelled and worked within what he terms a trans-national framework that, itself, precludes anything but only a very superficial association of their country of origin. Thus, as Gilroy argues, black post-slavery literature can only be understood in the context of a diaspora, as it is created within the framework that was created by this diaspora. It is, as argues Gilroy, â€Å"a preoccupation with the striking doubleness that results from this unique position – in an expanded West but not completely of it – is a definitive characteristic of the intellectual history of the Black Atlantic† (p.58). Diedrich’s edited volume Black Imagination and the Middle Passage examines the very specific period covering the forced dispossession of the Middle Passage, and analyses the arts (music, literature, dance etc.) that were created, on the transatlantic journey and on the continents in which the slaves were kept, and in the home continent upon their return. The book aims to represent the cultural conscience of the diaspora, as represented not only in the arts but also in myth and history, as a way of analysing what the diaspora meant for this group of people who were forcefully removed from their culture, and then had to live adrift from their culture. Many of the contributions in Diedrich argues, similarly to Gilroy, that the diapsora was a key event in the development of black literature, defining, as it does, a framework for creativity, through analyses of violence, of culture, of trans-national thinking and working. This idea is, again, highlighted in many other literary crit icisms[1]. Caryl Phillips book Crossing the River takes marginalisation and racism as central themes, using his central characters, Martha and Joyce, to explore these issues: Martha is a black woman dealing with racism in North America before and after slavery’s abolition, and Joyce, the white woman who is marginalised following her falling in love with a black man (Martha’s brother, Travis). We see, in the novel, how Martha was sold by her father, Nash, along with her two brothers, Nash and Travis, in to slavery, how Martha is separated from her children, separating her family, as occurred with many other hundreds of thousands of black families, and the novel deals a great deal, from this point on, with memory – her memory of her family, her memory of her loss, her memory of her culture that she has left behind. She grieves not only for these losses, but also for her own loss of dignity, through her placement in to slavery, and for her need to live alone, following aboliti on, no longer physically enslaved, bur emotionally enslaved by her losses and by the fragmented community in which she, and all freed slaves were forced to live. Her story does not end there, and we see the hurt and terrible conditions in which she was forced to live, post-slavery, through Phillips’ descriptions of her surroundings, and the murder of her new partner, Chester. Phillips uses several postmodern techniques to highlight all of the disjointed emotions that Martha feels, such as switching backwards and forwards across time in order to highlight how Martha reacts and feels about events, or the use of many voices in the novel (Martha, Joyce, Nash and others) in order to reiterate the fact that the novel is concerned with many people’s history – indeed, a whole generation’s history, of those people of a certain race who were forced in to slavery, and who, then, were forced in to submission for many years in a racist North American society. The James Hamilton character, the slave trader, is used by Phillips to introduce the ‘dirty’ side of slavery; with his orders for disposal of slaves (i.e., murder of slaves) and his colonial presence. Phillips’ deconstruction of Hamilton’s character, through movements across time, is a way for Phillips to explore history, as he sees it, as a re-definable present, no t an uninterpretable, unchangeable, past. Thus, Phillips’ novel Crossing the River looks at issues of slavery, racism, marginalisation using several main characters, all of whom are intertwined and all of whom are bound together by the main focus of the novel – slavery. Slavery is the theme which binds the book together, allowing Phillips to discuss issues such as cultural transpositions and the ‘diaspora’. Phillips does not, however, simply recount historical accounts of the lives of his main characters, the characters come alive through his particular sort of storytelling, which is argued by many to have an African slant i.e., it has a circular quality that is present in many African cultures in which storytelling is strong. Phillips also leaves as much untold as he tells, whilst giving historical facts surrounding the characters lives, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps and build their own version of the diasporan framework. For example, Nash’s freedom and journey to Liberia as a mis sionary poses many questions for Nash, leaving him, as it does in Africa, but in a foreign land, sometimes feeling more American than African, although as Nash points out, that is ridiculous, he is not American, any more than he is Liberian. This leaves the reader pondering ideas of culture and roots and what effects the diaspora had on the many hundreds of thousands of slaves who were displaced from their homes and forced to work, and then live freely, in a strange country, something which is reinforced, as we have seen by the character of Martha who, as we have seen, feels more for the loss of her daughter to slavery than she does for the loss of her freedom and her displacement. Thus, Phillips succeeds in showing the very human face of slavery, in terms of personal losses, not just the ‘wider’ academic picture of slavery as an exercise in intellectualising the diaspora in terms of its cultural conscience. Paule Marshall’s fiction has been described by Denniston (1995) as â€Å"an imaginative reconstruction of African history and culture, which connects all people of African descent†. Her book Praisesong for the Widow, captures African cultural patterns in contrast with North American materialism, and, as Denniston (1995) argues, through this, Marshall â€Å"reclaims African culture for black diasporan peoples†. As such, this type of fiction is not just African or black – it captures the dynamics of human struggle and so is universal. Many black commentators have denigrated this interpretation of this type of fiction, arguing that these arguments are little more than veiled racism, intended to belittle the worth of the intellectual exercise, i.e., the understanding of African history in terms of the diaspora, by reducing the arguments in these novels to universal arguments about reactions to oppression, not, as they are intended to be, arguments about black responses to the diaspora. Marshall’s novel Praisesong for the Widow also, similarly to Caryl Phillips in his Crossing the River, discusses the role of memory in the lives of the characters in the book, describing how Avey sees her body as nothing more than a repository of memory, in which physical sensations are nothing more than a way of recording emotional feelings; through this realisation, Avey comes to terms with her displacement from her natural society, and comes to accept her heritage. Through Avey’s slow realisation of her body as a respository for memory, Marshall echoes the disconnection of herself from her native culture, and thus from herself as a woman born in the Caribbean but sold to slavery in North America. Marshall uses Avey’s physical discomforts, which are described in graphic detail in the novel, to echo her disconnection from her culture, her heritage, and her subsequent journey to well-being is representative, for Marshall, of her restoration of her sense of cultur al inheritance. In addition to Marshall’s use of Avey’s body as a metaphor for displacement and representations of heritage and disposition, in terms of the slave’s body being enslaved, but their mind being free to wander, to develop, to grow, Avey’s physical journeys also somewhat recreate the journey’s her people took as slaves as a way for Marshall to explore the cultural disinheritance of the African people’s through the African diaspora[2] and the slaves’ reconnection with their heritages following their freedom. Avey’s memories are representative of African slaves memories, therefore – they were the only free part of them under the regime of slavery, and, for some slaves, whose histories were suppressed and sanitised, their only history was the one that their memory provided. As with Martha in Phillips’ novel, memory was, however, often too painful, for example, the memory of her lost daughter, with these ‘personalâ₠¬â„¢ memories being far more painful than memories of lost culture or memories of ‘home’. Avey’s constant opposition to recognising her heritage allows Marshall to explore the difficulties faced by ex-slaves when thinking about returning home, or settling in a foreign land under adverse, racist, circumstances. Avey cannot face the idea of acknowledging her heritage, as she is, as she sees it, happy as she is, without knowledge of what happened to her ancestors. Avey has constructed a life for herself based on an omission of her heritage, as a way of coping with the enormity of what happened to her family, her ancestors; her excessive consumption has blinded her to her heritage. Marshall thus seems to be suggesting, then, that the American way of life, of materialism and of consumerism, has a dulling effect, of smoothing cultural differences, and, indeed, the ‘American’ way is all-pervasive, a base laziness which calls to people’s sloth-like si des, and, through this, infiltrates every society in which it comes in to contact. As we have seen, therefore, the work of Phillips and Marshall both deal with the idea of slavery, of the diaspora, of the marginalisation felt by freed slaves in a foreign country, of ideas of cultural heritage. Both books, both examples of post-slavery literature, therefore, deal specifically with the issue of the diaspora, and what effects this had, and has, on the lives of slaves, and freed slaves, and the descendents of slaves. Phillips is, however, somewhat more concerned with the effect of loss on the lives of freed slaves than Marshall, who embodies his ideas within a character who is somewhat immune, for most of the book, to emotions. In terms, therefore, of the senses in which post-slavery literature is structured by the idea of a diaspora, as we have seen, for many authors who are concerned with this issue, through their heritage or for whatever other reason, their literature is framed by the idea of the diaspora: this is the central framework from which all other ideas con nected to this hang. The diaspora acts as a backdrop, if you like, against which all other ideas connected to this (for example, heritage, cultural identity etc.) are understood. It is the understanding of all of these other concepts (for example, heritage, cultural identity etc.) which gives thrust to the work of such authors, and through a search for an understanding of these ideas, it is hoped that the diaspora will be understood, can be come to terms with; much as Avey’s illness is characteristic of an emotional need to know of her heritage, the diaspora is, for many authors and black academics, the tool that is used to gain understanding in to black history, both in countries of origin, and in the countries in which slaves were taken, post-slavery. In terms of the senses in which post-slavery literature is structured by the idea of a diaspora, as we have seen, as Gilroy argues, black post-slavery literature can only be understood in the context of a diaspora, as it is created within the framework that was created by this diaspora. It is, as argues Gilroy, â€Å"a preoccupation with the striking doubleness that results from this unique position – in an expanded West but not completely of it – is a definitive characteristic of the intellectual history of the Black Atlantic† (p.58). Thus, for Gilroy, the diaspora is essential, fundamental, to an understanding of black history. As we have seen, Diedrich’s edited volume Black Imagination and the Middle Passage concludes, similarly to Gilroy, that the diaspora was a key event in the development of black literature, defining, as it does, a framework for creativity, through analyses of violence, of culture, of trans-national thinking and working. Thus, the diaspora, a key event in black history, is fundamental to many authors in terms of providing a framework on which to discuss issues of importance to the black community, for example, history, memory, cultural identity, cultural heritage, heritage. As we have seen in this paper, these issues provide literary fuel for many authors, and critics, and two of the most representative novels in terms of these issues, Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips and Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall, have been analysed and used to illustrate how black authors use the diaspora in this way, i.e., to discuss issues of importance to the black community, for example, history, memory, cultural identity, cultural heritage, heritage. For many authors, writing about these issues is a way of dealing with these issues for themselves personally and, as such, such books provide solace for many blacks who live with the diaspora, and its effects, as part of their history. References Denniston, D.H., 1995. The fiction of Paule Marshall: reconstructions of history, culture and gender. University of Tennessee Press. Diedrich, M. (ed.)., 1999. Black Imagination and the Middle Passage. Oxford University Press. Gilroy, P., 1993. The Black Atlantic: modernity and double consciousness. Verso Books. Marshall, P., 1983. Praisesong for the Widow. Putnam Press. Phillips, C., 2006. Crossing the River. Penguin Paperbacks. Rogers, S., 2000. Embodying cultural memory in Paule Marshall’s Praisesong for the Widow. African American Review Spring 2000. Footnotes [1] See, for example, Writings on Black Women of the Diaspora: History, Language and Identity, by Bracks; The African Imagination: Literature in African and the Black Diaspora by F.Abiola Irele, and Brent Hayes Edwards’ The Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation and the Rise of Black Internationalism. [2] See Rogers (2000) for further exploration of this concept.

Eaton :: essays research papers

The Eaton Corporation is a corporation committed to implementing and advancing the technology they use throughout the companies four-business segments Automotive, Fluid Power, Electrical, and Truck. However Eaton isn’t solely committed to the advancement and implementation of technology in the products they design and create, Eaton also works to implement technology in their everyday business practices such as Production, Sales and Marketing, and Human Resources. Production is a large part of the Eaton Corporation, â€Å"Eaton is a global leader in fluid power systems and services for industrial, mobile and aircraft equipment; electrical systems and components for power quality, distribution and control; automotive engine air management systems, power train solutions and specialty controls for performance, fuel economy and safety; and intelligent truck drive train systems for safety and fuel economy.† With Eaton’s broad range of products efficiency in the production process is extremely important to Eaton. To maximize efficiency in the production process Eaton uses the Eaton Lean Six System this system helps allow Eaton increase the performance of the company by eliminating waste, simplifying processes, reduce cycle times, and more effectively deploy resources to it’s business segments all of which work to help Eaton increase their profits. Another system Eaton uses is known as PROLaunch, this system allows Eaton to speed of the production process of its products. PROLaunch guides Eaton’s production of new products from concept to completion using a, â€Å"set of integrated processes† to help speed up the development process of Eaton’s new products. Eaton also uses technology in their approach to Sales and Marketing. Eaton has to approach Sales on an incredibly large scale, with Eaton’s sales in 2004 topping $9.8 Billion and the company selling their products to customers in over 125 countries Eaton has developed a very successful Sales strategy. By using technology such as the Internet Eaton’s vast line of products are constantly available to any potential buyers. Using the companies website www.Eaton.com the Eaton Co. allows it’s potential customers to view and access information about all of Eaton’s products and also allows those customers to make inquiries to the division of Eaton that produces those products. Eaton also uses it’s website to allow customers the opportunity of E-Business transactions giving it’s customers nearly instantaneous access to purchase products from Eaton rather than having buy the product from an Eaton supplier. Eaton also uses it’s website to help in the Marketing of their products and services.

Importance of the Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay -- Kill Mocking

Importance of the Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird      Ã‚   The trial of Tom Robinson is central to our understanding of racial and social prejudice in Maycomb. Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson's 'crime' to bring tensions in the town to a head and the author uses the trial as a way of making the ideas behind such tensions explicit for the reader.    The two people involved in the so-called crime, Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell, are at the very bottom of Maycomb society. Tom is black and Mayella one of the poorest of the poor whites. However, neither of them fits into the stereotypes held by the people of Maycomb. Tom is honest, hardworking and dependable, as Mr Link Deas's shouted testimony and his demeanour in court demonstrate. Mayella is a member of the poorest and most shiftless families in the town yet she looks after her brothers and sisters, keeps herself clean and tends to her geraniums in the most difficult of circumstances. It is clear that before the alleged rape a sort of friendship had grown up between Tom and Mayella.    Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was decent to (Mayella).    Unfortunately the ideas about race and society held at the time meant that contact between them could never be anything other than distant and respectful (quite apart from the fact that Tom was married anyway). But Mayella's yearning for some form of close human contact emerges during the trial. She had saved for almost a year to have enough nickels to give her brothers and sisters a treat in order to have her house empty when she invited Tom inside. When she made her advance to Tom he was caught by his inability to hit a white woman and the extreme taboo that Maycomb placed on any form of... ...arrated by Scout is that her childish understanding is free of adult prejudice and expectations. She and Jem measure the proceedings against simple child-like ideas of truth and justice and find them grossly wanting. On the other hand Jem is an expert on court behaviour from watching her father on other occasions so she is able to give an insightful account into most aspects of the trial.    The Tom Robinson case shows the ugliness of both racial and social prejudice. Ultimately the jurors choose to vote along racial lines without regard for truth or justice. Mayella and Tom are both victims of Maycomb's prejudice but only Tom has to pay.    Works Cited Jones, Carolyn. "Atticus Finch and the Mad Dog." The Southern Quarterly Summer 1996: 56-63. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York City, NY:   J.B.Lippincott Company, 1990.   

Catcher in the Rye Essay: The Innocence of Holden -- Catcher Rye Essay

The Innocence of Holden in The Catcher in the Rye In J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, spends several days wandering around New York. During this time, he learns many things about himself. He seems to have some sort of mental problem, but this problem fortunately begins to be less serious by the end of the story. But more interesting that the things he knows about himself are the things he does not know about himself. Holden is constantly holding children on a pedestal and dismissing adults as "phonies." Holden, though he does not know it, subconsciously protects the innocence of childhood within his mind. In the book, Holden constantly reminisces about Jane Gallagher, a friend of his that he met a few summers ago in Maine. The day that Holden leaves Pencey, Stradlater tells him that he is going on a date with Jane. Upon hearing this, Holden says to Stradlater: "...I used to play checkers with her all the time." "You used to play what with her all the time?" "Checkers." "Checkers, for Chrissake!" "Yeah. She wouldn't move any of her kings. What she'd do, when she'd get a king, she wouldn't move it. She'd just leave it in the back row. She'd get them all lined up in the back row. Then she'd never use them. She just liked the way the looked when they were all in the back row." (31-32) Holden later becomes jealous of Stradlater when he suspects that he had sex with Jane. As Holden later wanders around New York, many times he has an impulse to call Jane but does not. He never gives a reason, but subconsciously, he realizes that if he calls Jane, he will have to face a new person, who may have lost the innocence of a girl who plays ch... ... in his life to stay the same, for this keeps things simpler. Holden's need for simplicity also translates into a need for wide-eyed, childlike innocence. This worldview is simpler than the cynical, materialistic, experienced worldview of the adults Holden knows. This is why Holden prefers for people to stay innocent, and why he subconsciously protects that innocence. Holden views the world of adults as a harsh, unforgiving place. He realizes that he has been forced into this world against his will and this has hurt him. Subconsciously, he strives to keep children out of this world for as long as possible, and serves as a protector of innocence within his own mind. While he does not protect this innocence in the external world, within his mind he longs to keep children from reaching adulthood and to preserve the naïveté of childhood for them.

HBS Marriott Case

Marriott Corporation has three divisions – lodging, contract services and restaurants – with dissimilar operations. The company uses three separate hurdle rates for the three divisions to value the proposed projects. It is believed that this strategy is more appropriate that using a single firm-wide discount rate because the operations of the three divisions differ drastically. However, the company has to ensure that the company uses an appropriate discount rate for each division. Therefore, we calculate the appropriate cost of capital for Marriott as well as for each of the three divisions. A detailed analysis is presented about the appropriate calculation inputs for each of the three divisions and various assumptions, made while performing the calculations, are justified. 1) Are the four components of Marriott's financial strategy consistent with its growth objective? The first component of the strategy is to manage rather than own the hotel properties. This objective mitigates the investment needed to launch new hotels, as the general partner is not required to make significant investments. Although it may be argued that such a strategy could decrease the profit margins, the growth prospects are certainly easily achievable because of less limitation on the resources required. The second objective is an important characteristic of modern corporate finance. It believed that focusing on maximizing shareholder value should be the underlying aim of every corporation, leading to stable growth and healthy profits. With regard to the third objective, Miller and Modigliani claimed that the use of debt, in the presence of corporate taxes, could increase the value of a company through the value added by debt tax shield. In modern finance, it is commonly believed that debt can increase the value of a corporation. However, a company should be careful about high debt levels because of the distress costs associated with high debt. As stated by Marriott, a corporation should aim to optimize its debt at the most beneficial level. The repurchase of undervalued shares might not always be consistent with the growth objective. The repurchase program could make sense if the shares are believed to be highly undervalued and the company does not have more attractive investment opportunities to utilize its cash. However, the strategy could also hinder growth if the company is foregoing highly profitable investment opportunities in order to take advantage of slight under pricing in its shares. 2) How does Marriott use its estimate of its cost of capital? Does this make sense? Marriot evaluates its investment opportunities using the discounted cash flow approach, which requires an estimate of the cost of capital. Technically, the cost of capital for each investment should be commensurate with the amount of risk inherent within the investment. Thereby, if a company has ten different prospective investments, it could have ten different cost of capital estimates for the investments. However, it is impractical for companies to estimate a separate cost of capital for each investment opportunity. Usually, a company operates in a uniform line of business and has investment opportunities with similar risks. Therefore, it is normal for companies to use a single firm-wide cost of capital. However, companies with multiple divisions often use separate cost of capitals for the divisions because each division has separate operations and risks. Marriott Corporation has three separate divisions and employs three separate hurdle rates – one for each division. This treatment is consistent with theory as long as the hurdle rates adequately compensates for the risk inherent in each division’s investment and risk does not vary significantly across investments within a division. ) What is the weighted average cost of capital for Marriott Corporation as a whole? What risk-free rate and risk premium do you use to calculate the cost of equity? How do you measure Marriott's cost of debt? There is no agreed-upon measure of riskfree rate that investors could use. In fact, the available riskfree interest rate could be argued to change with changes in business cycles and economic policies. In t he US, the rate offered by US Treasury securities is often deemed riskfree because of the negligible default risk. However, there is a disagreement regarding the maturity of the treasury security that should be used as a proxy for riskfree rate. Since Marriott is seeking to optimize its debt at a long-term stable level, it is believed that the maturity of the company’s debt will be long. Therefore, the 10-year Treasury bond seems to be an appropriate measure of riskfree rate. The cost of debt is calculated by adding the specified risk premium to the selected riskfree rate. The cost of equity can be calculated using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The market risk premium is an important constituent of the CAPM. The market risk premium estimates the premium for the excess risk taken by market participants. Investors can earn a certain degree of return – the riskfree rate – without taking any risk. Therefore, the riskfree rate should be subtracted from the market return to calculate the market risk premium – the extra return that investors earn by taking risk. We already have an estimate of the riskfree rate that can be used for Marriott. Therefore, the market risk premium can be calculated by estimating the appropriate market return. The proxy for market return is usually a national stock index such as the S&P500 for US companies. In contrast to the Treasury bond market, where the yields provide an estimate of the future returns on the security, there is no consensus estimate on the future expected return on the stock market. Therefore, historical averages of stock returns are typically used to estimate the future expected return on the market. We use biggest available period – 1926 to 1987 – to estimate the average historical market risk premium. The information about riskfree rate and the market risk premium can be combined with equity beta of Marriott (provided in the case study) to calculate to cost of equity of the company. Once we have the respective costs of debt and equity, the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is simply their average – weighted using the target proportion of debt provided in the case study. The calculations in the attached spreadsheet show that the WACC for Marriott is 10. 39%. 4) What type of investments would you value using Marriott's cost of capital? The cost of capital estimates the riskiness of an average investment within the company. If an investment under consideration by Marriott has more risk than the average investment risk, the cost of capital would understate the risk and overstate the value of investment. On the other hand, if an investment has less risk than the average investment risk, the cost of capital would overstate the risk and understate the value of investment. Therefore, the cost of capital is only appropriate for valuing investments, which closely resemble the typical investments carried out by Marriot Corporation. If an investment has a different amount of risk than the typical investment in Marriott, the company should strive to calculate the cost of capital that is consistent with the investment in question. One way of estimating the appropriate cost of capital would be to look at the comparable companies where that particular investment would be a typical investment. For example, an investment in sports equipment could be evaluated by looking at the cost of capital used by a sports club that uses similar equipment. ) If Marriott used a single hurdle rate for evaluating projects in each of its divisions, what would happen to the company over time? Marriott has three separate divisions with dissimilar operations. The firm-wide cost of capital is probably a weighted average of the three individual costs of capital commensurate with each of the three divisions. While the firm-wide cost of capital might be a good measure of the risk of an average investment undertaken by the company, it is proba bly not a good measure of the investment risk inherent in each division’s average project. If the company continues to use a single discount rate for each of its three divisions, the project cash flows of the division with more than average risk would be overstated, while the project cash flows of division with less than average risk would be understated. Therefore, division with more than average risk would start accepting projects that would have been otherwise rejected if a more appropriate higher discount rate were used. On the other hand, the division with less than average risk would start rejecting projects that would have been accepted if a more appropriate lower discount rate were used. In short, the more risky division would accept negative NPV projects, while the less risky division would reject positive NPV projects. 6) What are the costs of capital for the lodging and restaurant divisions of Marriott? The division wise calculations of the cost of capital are shown in the attached spreadsheet. The weighted average costs of capital for the lodging and restaurant divisions are 9. 76% and 13. 32% respectively. It is important to note that the discount rates differ because certain inputs in the calculations are dissimilar. The most significant differences are in riskfree rates, asset betas, and debt proportions. a) What risk-free rate and market risk premium do you use in calculating the cost of equity capital for each division? How do you choose these numbers? There is no full consensus of which proxy for riskfree rate should be used. Nevertheless, it is generally believed that the maturity of the riskfree rate proxy should match the purpose for which the rate is utilized. It is mentioned that the lodging division has more long-term assets, while assets of restaurant division are short-term in nature. Therefore, one-year riskfree rate has been employed in the restaurant division, whereas a higher ten-year rate has been utilized in the lodging division. On the other hand, the market risk premium for both divisions is the same as the market risk premium previously used for the whole company. Although the asset betas for the divisions have been calculated using the past five years data, it is believed that a larger pool of data should be used to estimate the market risk premium because the recent volatility in the markets might distort results. ) Did you use arithmetic or geometric averages to measure rates of returns? The arithmetic mean adds the annual historical risk premiums and averages the results, while the geometric mean is equal to the compounded annual risk premium. In professional practice, both these methods of calculating average historical risk premiums are regularly employed. However, there is a major statistical difference between the two approaches. Geometric mean is a compounded average of risk premiums and is, therefore, a good predictor of the risk premium over multiple future time-periods. On the other hand, arithmetic mean is the best predictor of risk premium for the forthcoming time-period. In other words, arithmetic mean would be better at predicting the risk premium for the next year, while geometric mean would be superior at predicting the average risk premium over the next few years combined. In this case, we are calculating the risk premium for the purposes of using it in the CAPM model. The CAPM is a single period model, which estimates the cost of equity over a specified time interval. Therefore, the arithmetic mean might be a better method in this context. ) How do you measure the cost of debt for each division? Should the cost of debt differ across divisions? The rationale for using different riskfree rates for the division has already been explained in the preceding section. The case study also provides different levels of risk premiums that should be added to the riskfree rate to calculate the total cost of debt. It could be argued that the company only p ays a single cost of debt, and there is no need to calculate separate cost of debt for each division. However, each division has separate financial leverage, different sales, and a unique ability to cover its debt obligations. Therefore, each division’s debt should also be rated separately for more accurate capital budgeting. d) How do you measure the beta of each division? The betas for the divisions have been calculated using the pure play approach. Under this approach, the equity betas for companies, comparable to each division, are unlevered in accordance with the respective leverage. The resulting asset betas are then averaged to obtain an estimate of the asset beta for each division. Subsequently, the respective asset beta for each division is relevered, using the target debt ratio for the division, to obtain the equity beta. ) What is the cost of capital for Marriott's contract services division? How can you estimate its cost of equity when there are no publicly traded comparables? The beta for contract services division cannot be obtained directly because there are publicly traded comparable companies, which could have been used to employ the pure play approach. However, we do have informati on about the asset beta of the overall company as well as the asset betas for the remaining two divisions. Theoretically, the overall asset beta for Marriott should be a weighted average of the individual asset betas for the three divisions. The weights can be calculated using the information about identifiable assets in each division. Thereby, the only unknown in the equation is contract services division’s asset beta, which can be obtained through basic arithmetic. Subsequently, the asset beta can be levered using the target debt proportion to obtain the equity beta, which can be used is the CAPM equation to calculate the cost of equity for contract services division. The WACC for the division is simply the weighted average of its cost of equity and cost of debt. The calculations in the attached spreadsheet estimate the cost of capital to be 8. 4%. 8) Marriott also considered using the hurdle rates to determine incentive compensation. How do we link this with the Economic Value Added (EVA) approach? The objective of any company’s management should be to maximize the shareholder wealth. Shareholder wealth increases when a company consistently produces positive economic value. In this context, economic valu e added is measured as the excess operating profits over the dollar cost of capital. In mathematical terms, economic value added equals net operating profits after tax minus the product of cost of capital and capital employed (dollar amount of WACC). The concept of economic value added is closely linked to the concept of net present value (NPV) calculated using the hurdle rates. Specifically, a positive NPV project will generate positive EVA, while a negative NPV project will generate negative EVA. Therefore, if a company only accept positive NPV projects, calculated using the appropriate hurdle rates, it will generate positive EVA on the profits generated from these projects. Therefore, a manager’s compensation could be linked to the amount of positive net present value that the manager generates through new investments.

Mountain Man Brewing Company Case Analysis

Mountain Man Brewing Company does not want to go another year with revenue lost from Mountain Man Lager. By adding a light beer to the product line it could gain loyalty from a younger crowd and attract more then just the workingman. At the same time he does not want to lose the brand equality that has taken years to create. He is also faced with solid monopolies in the beer world that make it hard to keep up. Chris is faced with a hard decision, will taking a chance and changing the image really be the right move for Mountain Man. By introducing a new product line called Mountain Man Light the company would be able to reach a broader audience. They would no longer focus on the workingman, they would appeal to a younger generation of beer drinkers. They would also be able to gain a woman base, women being extremely heath cautious would be more likely to purchase the beer if it came to a â€Å"light† version with fewer calories. By launching a Mountain Man Light it would also play down most peoples perception of the Mountain Man Original being too strong and only a manly mans beer. Mountain Man Brewing Company is a beer for the workingman. It has been around since 1925 and has gained strong loyalty from the baby boomer generation. Mountain Man has strong brand awareness down south and if you asked anyone over the 21 they are more then likely able to recognize the name even if they do not drink it themselves. The brand has been able to stay in the game with strong competitors such as, Anheuser Bush, Miller, and Adolf Coors. The uniqueness of the taste along with the higher then average alcohol content is what makes its loyal customers coming back for more. One alternative to look at for the Mountain Man Brewing Company is to look and see how hard it would be to distribute it into restraints and local bars with the option to have it available on draft. By putting extra money into re-promoting the same recipe it would be a lot less costly. By offering specials at local bars such as dollar Mountain Man’s on Tuesday nights would introduce the beer to a younger generation. Since the younger generation is the one to target because they do not have a beer preference yet this is a way that could get them hooked and at the same time make them proud to share a six pack that both the young 21 year old and his 55-year-old dad would both enjoy by keeping the tradition of Mountain Man beer alive. Other alternatives could be to go with the Mountain Man Light and don’t play it safe what so ever. If you're going to be successful, your products must be different. Mountain Man should use loud colors to attract people attention, along with changing up the shape of your average beer bottle. Other ways to not play it safe while promoting Mountain Man Light could be to use non-traditional shelving system. Instead of taking valuable shelving space away from Mountain Man place 6 or 12 packs in the middle of isles in a pyramid shape, that way people do not associate the two as much. My recommendation to the Mountain Man Brewing Company would be to keep the product just how it is and not introduce a Mountain Man Light. If a brand is able to last generation after generation there is a reason for this. Strong brand awareness is hard to come by with so many new beer products appearing on the shelves each times you walk into any convenience store. The recognizable taste and working man persona is what kept them in the game year after year. If the company wants to boost revenue and assure they last in the future I would look into prompting at local bars and giving the younger crowd a chance to try the beer and even change their old perception about it. West Virginia’s beer should stay as just that and keep the tradition alive.

Freedom to live Essay

During the ancient times before imprisonment, there were executions and executions only which were rather completed by stoning. There were consisted of several reasons as to why the capital punishment was needed. The United States inherited its use of capital punishment from the European settlers in the seventeenth century but in the eighteenth century, German philosopher Immanuel Kant appealed that execution was the â€Å"fairest punishment for murder†. He presented that it is the most suitable punishment for those who have committed murder and that a person who has done wrong should suffer for it. Arguing that killers should â€Å"die in order to gain release from their suffering†, including that the crime must fit the punishment. Arguments against the death penalty expose capital punishment for what some believe is a reasonable punishment, while others view it as revenge disguised as justice but overall, is continuously an issue that would not be equally discussed an d abolished world-wide. Disagreements about the death penalty mostly turn on issues of fairness, morality and effectiveness. There consists of endless reasons as to why the death penalty is to be abolished. One of many is that executions cost more than life in prison. According to Statistic Brain, it costs nearly 2 million per person to be executed, all which consists of maximum security, counsel for defense and others. Another popular point is that the innocent may be wrongly executed. This is a high risk because evidence, DNA, and witness statements are not one hundred percent reliable. A slightly relevant case was a falsely executed man named Cameron Todd Willingham. He was executed in Texas, known to be the number one state with the highest rate of executions. He was accused of allegedly setting his house on fire that killed his three young daughters. He repeatedly claimed his innocence and the arson investigator was questioned right before Willingham’s’ execution. After his execution, an investigative report discovered the fire was an accident. Several reasons include that the death penalty punishment does not  necessarily decrease the crime rate, that life in prison also guarantees no future crimes, some religions forbid death penalty, killing is wrong even through a punishment, that it violates international human rights laws and that it promotes killing as a satisfactory solution to a difficult problem. A common factor as to why people oppose the death penalty is because of the cruelty of the act itself, such as the common contemporary methods of execution, such as by shooting, hanging, using gas, electrocution and lethal injection. According Amnesty International who are strong non-advocates of the death penalty, capital punishment is the decisive rejection of human rights. It is the â€Å"premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state†. Half the amounts of US States have banned the death penalty for example New York, finding it unconstitutional. In Just Revenge by Mark Costanzo, he states that most Americans are supportive of the death penalty in the abstract by simply wanting the government to take care of it, â€Å"cleanly and efficiently, in a distant prison†. He questions that â€Å"is it morally acceptable to subject murderers to psychological torture before we kill them?†. While others assure it is a harsh, inhuman and undignified punishment done â€Å"in the name of justice†, including that inflicting punishment on wrongdoers discourages others from wrong doing. Some may say that the death penalty is a way to lash back at those who have harmed us, but coo peratively we must be more reasonable and humane than those who commit the act themselves. Those who favor the death penalty argue that if there were no death penalty to hold over the head of prisoners, those who have been sentenced to life without parole would be free to commit whatever crimes they chose without fear of increased punishment. Death penalty supporters often press two claims of executing murderers. The first is that it is injustice to the victims of murder if we do not execute their murders. The second claim is that the death penalty is needed to frighten potential murderers. Fear of the execution chamber will restrain potential murders, knowing they could face the executioner and that those who otherwise kill will stop and innocent lives would be saved. Another factor as to why the death penalty is justified is it giving closure to victims’ families who have suffered tremendously from the loss of their loved one. And also a prisoner can escape prison and give them another chance to kill. The death penalty is said to be needed to protect society from those who would kill again. Many of these factors which relate back to revenge. In some cases, the capital punishment is a â€Å"risk taker†. There are certain cases in which killing a criminal can lead to questioning as to whether or not the individual was guilty of the crime. The death penalty fails to effectively build up a society that is free from crime. Furthermore, it does not relieve the pain and loss of the victims or their families. States have made many proposals as to why capital punishment is wrong. As citizens, the death penalty does not alleviate the fear of violent crime or better safe-guard the people and is not imposed with fairness. Pope John Paul II made a very clear point in a statement he made about the death penalty. He stated â€Å"the death penalty does not allow the opportunity for the spiritual and human reconciliation with the victim† and also that â€Å"we cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing†. This quote is a very good example to supporting the idea of abolishing the death penalty that we cannot teach that murdering an individual is wrong by killing a criminal. Depending on the country, there are different views as to whether the death penalty should be abolished or not. The factors on both sides of the argument have led to the abolition of the death penalty in Eastern Europe. For example, Ukraine has put a pause to its punishment of the death penalty, as well as South Africa, whose parliament voted to formally abolish the death penalty, which had earlier been declared unconstitutional by the constitutional court. Their constitutional court believes that death is the most extreme form of punishment. They believe every individual has the right to life, dignity, public opinion. Not only is this an issue in the United States, but very well around the world. In India, the Indian Penal Code authorizes the imposition of the death sentence as a penalty of murder. Although it is nearly impossible for the abolishment of the death penalty to be equalized and understood by both sides of the arguments, the ideas and opinions shall never fade. With several states not having the death penalty, the real question is whether or not we need the death penalty. Capital punishment is not the core of our criminal system; its only one aspect of it. Only a small percentage of murderers are sentenced to death, and only a small percentage of that are executed. The real question is whether we insist on keeping the death penalty even though we don’t need it. WORK CITED â€Å"End Capital Punishment.† Abolish the Death Penalty. Amnesty International USA, 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. Costanzo, Mark. Just Revenge: Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty. New York: St. Martin’s, 1997. Print. Bureau of Justice Statistics. â€Å"Death Penalty Statistics.† Statistic Brain RSS. Statistic Brain Research Institute, 6 Aug. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital Punishment: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Print.

Most Influential Books on Leadership Essay

Leadership is an issue which has been in the limelight in every aspect of human governance. Human development has been linked with management and directions which are part of leadership. Various characteristics of leadership have therefore been identified from various areas in life. This paper aims at identifying three different types of books on leadership which are recognized to be the most influential. The first choice is the book â€Å"Talent Is Never Enough: Discover the Choices That Will Take You beyond Your Talent† by John C. Maxwell . The author holds that talent is never enough in leadership. There are many different people in the whole world , thus showing that talent will never end. Nevertheless if acquiring that talent were just enough for everybody, then we would all be at a higher level and being full of potentials. There are therefore other things that need to be included in our talents so as to be able to discover those opportunities especially when it comes to business. People need to come up with other discoveries which would take them more steps beyond the talents they have. In businesses today, most leaders mostly concentrate more on the talents they have alone. The writer of this book, who in this case is a known expert in leadership – John C. Maxwell – argues that this is not the right way to achieving success. In his discourse, he describes how highly talented people who are globally known would be very successful if talent was the only contingency for that matter . That is not however the case. The book goes on to place more emphasis and support the writer’s decision by highlighting the fact that society is full of people who could have been great men and women if only they used other ideas apart from what they call talent. The author talks of prominent people like Jefferson, Nameth, Churchill, Bono, Oprah, and Dickens whom, apart from their talents, went steps ahead to the next level of increasing their talents and maximizing it to improve the world. They employed more efforts to what they discovered as their talent to capture other opportunities in life. That is why they are the talk of the world. According to Max, talent should therefore be present. It should however be followed by other measures that improve it. With different examples given of those people who maximized their talents, there are a few who did not. The author thus goes ahead to encourage the reader to support the author’s views and improve their lives by giving thirteen key choices one can adopt to become a person with advanced and maximized talent (Maxwell J. C(2009). The second selection of the most influential leadership books that I would recommend is â€Å"The Skinny of the Art of Persuasion† by Jim Randel. In leadership, persuasion is one of the most important skills that a leader should posses. This book provides sound and detailed information on persuasion in leadership. Moreover, it offers other important recommendations on persuasion from various prominent leaders. The book advices on persuasion thanks to the fact that the author is an attorney besides being well experienced in the field. Further, apart from his experience Randel quotes people like Kevin Hogan, James Speakman, Dave Lakhani, Dale Carnegie, Robert Cialdini, Tom Hopkins, Malcolm Gladwell, and others in his discussion on persuasion in leadership. This approach puts more emphasis on the author’s concept. He states that persuasion basically involves integrity. To add to his topic, Randell gives his personal life stories regarding leadership which still bothers him till then. To understand and get acquainted with what he is insinuating, his book finalizes with tips which are easy to understand about a good persuader in leadership (Alegre M. 2010). The third influential book on leadership is John Ferling’s new book on â€Å"The Ascent of George Washington. † It talks about the relationship between leadership and education. It is very important -especially in the current world – to link leadership with the educational backgrounds of those aspiring to be leaders in future. George Washington was an educated man in leadership. He had focus in his politics due to the great boost from his education. This is an ideal model of how leaders should learn to lead others. The author in this book goes ahead to reveal Washington as a political genius due to the fact that he was politically focused, ambitious, and was driven to succeed. Although described by the author as the most untactful and indecisive in times of crises, Washington was the only right person to lead Americans to independence. His character, boldness, judgment, industriousness, determination, and skillful political thinking were remarkable. It is a book that explains how one does not need to be perfect to achieve greatness (Alegre M. 010). Therefore, these books cover some of the most important aspects of leadership which most people fail to identify while leading others. Since most of us are leaders in one way or another, it is equally important to consider reviewing such influential leadership books to acquire various tips of leadership and also – as stated by Maxwell – to improve our talents in leadership. This strategy will not only boost our leadership qualities, but will also enable us to identify new opportunities in life and be able to pursue only the best of them.