Effects of the Us civil war essays

Effects of the Us civil war essays The American Civil War, from 1861-1865, marked one of the most permanent changes in American history; transforming the country economically, politically and socially, leading to the virtual reconstruction of a burgeoning nation. Whilst the war increased northern prosperity, the South's entire society consequently collapsed entirely. Today the conflict remains the USA's most important internal struggle in its relatively brief history. The war's impact on northern livelihood was a positive one, profiting immensely in areas unobtainable to the south, resulting in the devastation of southern economy and the advancement of the north's. The Civil War was largely a product of divergent economic organisation between the North and the South of the United States. Revolving around 'King Cotton', the Southern economy relied upon slave labour to work its vast plantations. "From 1790 to 1860 some 500,000 slaves grew to 4 million, and in the same period, 1000 tonnes of cotton grew to 1 million" [Zinn: 92: 1980] Slavery had become essential to the Southern way of life; agriculture was depended upon wholly and all available funds were used to perpetuate it, preventing development in other industries. "The South's was a 'low capital' economy that permitted wealth to be created by hard work, given the opportunity of free trade unimpeded by tariffs" [ findout:81: 1976.] African slaves, once paid for, were owned for life and all their children became slaves. This served to firmly establish slavery as a cheap and effective labour source for the Southern plantation owners. This lasted for more than two hundred years. " Cotton production nearly doubled in the 1850's" [Berkley:78:], illustrating increased slave labour to further develop the Gulf Plains and 'frontier' land. (Appendix 1) Eventually, the southern plantation owners went into debt to the northern traders for the transportation of slaves, and as a result a general dislike of Northerner...

How Mountains Form Through Plate Tectonics

How Mountains Form Through Plate Tectonics The Earth is made up of layers of rock and minerals. The surface of the Earth is called the crust. Just below the crust is the upper mantle. The upper mantle, like the crust, is relatively hard and solid.  The crust and upper mantle together are called the lithosphere. While the lithosphere doesnt flow like lava, it can change. This happens when gigantic plates of rock, called tectonic plates, move and shift. Tectonic plates can collide, separate, or slide along one another. When this occurs, the Earths surface experiences earthquakes, volcanoes, and other major events. Orogeny: Mountains Created by Plate Tectonics Orogeny (or-ROJ-eny), or orogenesis, is the building of continental mountains by plate-tectonic processes that squeeze the lithosphere. It may also refer to a specific episode of orogeny during the geologic past. Even though tall mountain peaks from ancient orogenies may erode away, the exposed roots of those ancient mountains show the same orogenic structures that are detected beneath modern mountain ranges.   Plate Tectonics and Orogeny In classical plate tectonics, plates interact in exactly three different ways: they push together (converge), pull apart, or slide past each other. Orogeny is limited to convergent plate interactions- in other words, orogeny occurs when tectonic plates collide.  The long regions of deformed rocks created by orogenies are called orogenic belts, or orogens. In actuality, plate tectonics is not at all that simple. Large areas of the continents can deform in blends of convergent and transform motion, or in diffused ways that do not give distinct borders between plates. Orogens can be bent and altered by later events, or severed by plate breakups. The discovery and analysis of orogens is an important part of historical geology and a way to explore plate-tectonic interactions of the past that do not occur today. Orogenic belts can form from the collision of an oceanic and continental plate or the collision of two continental plates. There are quite a few ongoing orogenies and several ancient ones that have left long-lasting impressions on the Earths surface.   Ongoing Orogenies   The Mediterranean Ridge  is the result of the African plate subducting (sliding) underneath the Eurasian plate and other smaller microplates. If it continues, it will eventually form extremely high mountains in the Mediterranean.  The Andean Orogeny  has been occurring for the past 200 million years, although the Andes have only arisen in the past 65 million years. The orogeny is the result of the Nazca plate subducting underneath the South American plate.  The Himalayan Orogeny  started as the Indian subcontinent began moving towards the Asian plate 71 million years ago. The collision between the plates, which is still ongoing, has created the largest landform of the past 500 million years- the combined Tibetan Plateau and Himalayan Mountain range. These landforms, along with the Sierra Nevada range of North America, may have induced a global cooling around 40 million years ago. As more rock is lifted to the surface, more carbon dioxide is sequestered from the atmosphere t o chemically weather it, thus decreasing Earths natural greenhouse effect.   Major Ancient Orogenies   The Alleghanian Orogeny  (325 million years ago) was the most recent of several major orogenies to help form the Appalachian Mountains. It was the result of a collision between ancestral North America and Africa  and resulted in the supercontinent of Pangea.  The Alpine Orogeny  began in the Late Cenozoic and created mountain chains on the African, Eurasian and Arabian plates. Although the orogeny ceased in Europe within the past few million years, the Alps continue to grow.

Shakespeare's Hamlet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shakespeare's Hamlet - Research Paper Example In the process, he is involved in several occasions of double mind which puts him at a cross road in some instances (Hapgood & Shakespeare, 24). In the process he causes the deaths of several characters in the play either directly or indirectly (Shakespeare, 114). He also plays an indirect role in the death of his love Ophelia and his mother whom he mistakenly poisoned with food. However throughout the play and in Hamlet actions, he shows sense of double-mindedness as he struggles with his internal thoughts and efforts to sanity. The first instance in which Hamlet shows inability to decide on one issue is when he was not able to decide on whether you revenge or not. It is evident in the play that Hamlet is seeking the truth about his father’s death and hence believe that from that truth, he would be able to reach to the killers of his father. Generally, hamlet is seeking for truth as an effort to justify his acts of revenge (Bradley, 84). However, it is important to realize th at these acts of revenge are called for by the ghost which he does not trust. In this context, Hamlet has double minds as to whether to believe the ghost of his father or whether to reject such believes. As outlined by Bradley (85), â€Å"this is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.† This is recognition of Hamlet’s views which were divided equally and the possibility in acting in one way or the other was half possible. It is important to note that he viewed almost everything in two perspectives and hence it was difficult to decide the way to go. According to Rosenberg (440), Hamlet can be described as an individual who knows all that he wants and all that according to him would be right. However, Hamlet deliberately decides to avoid the right thing. This perspective of Hamlet is also observed by Rosenberg (441). Failure of his efforts is not linked in any way to the inability to act but on the unwillingness to act swiftly and at the right time to save t he community. Hamlet is also divided in the mind whether to revenge or not because he fears the spirits and not because he cannot revenge (Furness & Shakespeare, 24). He is very much aware that he has defied the ghost and hence he tries to assert that the spirits of the dead are more dangerous and may follow him. While Hamlet tries to find out whether he would be right to act in accordance to the ghost request, it is evident that something is ringing at the back of his mind that he has not done what he is supposed to do. It is therefore important to notice that there are two thoughts that are antagonistic in his mind. As a result he is always undecided and hence leads top several mistakes which result into deaths of his relatives. Hamlet is disturbed by the fact that he has not done something that is impressive or aggressive towards his father’s death. As a result, he wants to please his father but wants to confirm the truth about the accusations by the ghost. In this context , Hamlet is at a crossroad with double minds (Rosenberg, 439). He looks at all the alternative actions, weighs them and finds out that they are actually bear the same weight. While he understands the consequence of either action he wants to make the best decision out of the two available decisions. It is therefore important for him to please his father’s ghost at the same time do not want to revenge or what is not tangible or revenge by mistake. Moreover, the lack of action by Hamlet presents to him a lot

Sketch descartes two thoedicie. does descartes need them both or could Term Paper

Sketch descartes two thoedicie. does descartes need them both or could he get away with only one - Term Paper Example He begins by reiterating that there are only a few things he can say with certainty about the human body, a few more about the mind, and yet more about God. His first assumption is that God would never deceive him: God being perfect and all fraud and deception being imperfect in some way or the other. He proceeds to suggest that his own sense of judgment, given him by the perfect, undeceiving God, should not commit errors if used correctly. By this logic, Descartes and indeed every human being should not even be capable of erring. To explain this obvious fallacy in his reasoning, Descartes concludes that in the â€Å"Great Chain of Being†, the complete perfection of God on one end and the total absence of perfection on the other, man must lie somewhere in between. Error is considered not a negative action, but the absence of the positive. He suggests a few other possibilities also, but pertinent to the scope of this paper is the Free Will versus Understanding theory. Descartes contends that neither the will nor the understanding is the cause of errors; it is only when the will is not restricted that mistakes occur: Whence, then, spring my errors? They arise from this cause alone, that I do not restrain the will, which is of much wider range than the understanding, within the same limits, but extend it even to things I do not understand, and as the will is of itself indifferent to such, it readily falls into error and sin by choosing the false in room of the true, and evil instead of good. The root of error lies therefore in the gift of Free Will bestowed on us. As we are allowed to choose, to make decisions, and not compelled by God to live out pre-ordained situations, we are also given the option of making mistakes, of erring: something that the perfect God of Descartes is incapable of doing, by His very definition. Although occasional errors are inevitable when one has free will, no person intentionally commits them. Even if the

Just War Theory and a Thoughtful Realist Essay Example for Free

Just War Theory and a Thoughtful Realist Essay One important theory within International Relations shows a moral aspect on how to conduct war. This theory is called Just War Theory. Just War Theory is a doctrine of military ethics from a philosophical and Catholic viewpoint. This theory consists of two parts: Jus ad bellum (the right to go to war) and Jus in bello (right conduct within war). Jus a bellum, the right to go to war, explicitly describes how a nation-state should conduct itself before preparing for war. There are seven sub-categories within Jus a bellum: Just Cause, Comparative Justice, Competent Authority, Right Intention, Profitability of Success, Last Resort, and Proportionality. Just Cause is explained as needing to have a reason to go to war. Not just for recapturing material possessions, but if lives are in danger. Comparative Justice is described, as the suffering and injustice on one side within a war must outweigh the suffering and injustice on the opposite side. Competent Authority must be in order within a war. Nation-states that start war must only start it if the authorities within the nation-state are focused on justice. Right Intention is defined as; force may be only used for a just cause correcting a suffered wrong. Gaining or maintaining economies by a nation-state is not considered just. Profitability of Success indicates that arms are not to be used where unbalanced measures are pertinent to be successful. The Last Resort category is presented as; force in war may only be used if peaceful alternatives have been completely depleted. The final category, Proportionality, is the foreseen benefits of starting war must be proportionate to its expected wrongs. Jus in bello, right conduct within war, shows how a nation-state should handle different situations within a war. There are five sub-categories within Jus in bello: Distinction, Proportionality, Military Necessity, Fair Treatment of Prisoners of War, and No Means malum in se (evil within itself). Distinction is described as; nobody in war should attack those not involved in war. No one should bomb civilian areas where there are no military targets. Also, those in war should not target those who have been captured, surrendered, or do not present immediate threat. Proportionality is the idea that an attack cannot be launched on a military objective in the knowledge that the incidental civilian injuries would outweigh the military advantage. Military Necessity is demonstrated as the use of the most minimal force to limit the unnecessary death of civilians. Fair Treatment of Prisoners of War, under Just War Theory, is important. It prohibits the mistreating or torturing of captured enemies because they no longer pose a threat. The final category is No Means malum in se. This prohibits the use of evil weapons and methods of warfare including: mass rape, nuclear weapons, and biological warfare. The Just War Theory explicitly details on how war should be carried out by a nation-state. Although war involves deaths and destructions, this is one of the most moral ways to handle warfare. In the world of realism, a thoughtful realist would like to believe that every single one of these categories would be played out perfectly. But, there are many inhibitors with each of these. A thoughtful realist would not believe with the concepts of Just Cause and Profitability of Success because nation-states need to protect their territories and their economy to stay in their current position of power. Under the concept of Last Resort, a thoughtful realist would agree not to jump into war immediately, but if a major threat were to happen upon a nation-state, it would be necessary. Proportionality within Jus ad bellum and Jus in bello coincides with the views of the realists of stability within a nation-state. Realists understand the effects of war on civilians. Contrary to Distinction and Military Necessity, Realists recognize that within war there are many casualties and sometimes they are of civilians and those not involved in the war. With terrorist groups of today, a thoughtful realist would say that torture of those captured is sometimes pertinent to safeguard the state. This combats the view of Fair Treatment of Prisoners of War. When the safety of a country is at risk, a realist would agree that it becomes a vital interest. This vital interest could lead to nuclear or biological warfare depending on the severity of the vital interest. Within the No Mean malum in se category, it overtly condemns this. But a thoughtful realist would agree that these steps might be necessary in some situations. A thoughtful realist would agree with one part of the category, which states that mass rape is completely immoral. A thoughtful realist would want to agree with every statement within the Just War Theory. However, understanding when protection and vital interests are at stake, a thoughtful realist would agree to disregard most of the Just Law Theory to safeguard the country.

Government and Economics in China Essay -- China

Introduction China is one of the most populous countries of the world with over 1.3 billion people and covering a geographical area of about 9.6 million square kilometres. It lies on the eastern end of the large Asia continent and enjoys a remarkably long coastline. It has a large economy, given the large population and a wide array of natural resources especially mineral resources which are the backbone of its economy. With a well cultivated constitution that was put in place by the largest political party, the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has reforms underway aimed at closing the otherwise wide gap between the rich and the poor. The country suffers employment deficit, despite having one of the world’s largest economy. The people of China are largely farmers or work in the many industrial plants that are numerous. Having developed peacefully and after calming prior conflicts with different foreign countries earlier, currently China maintains peace with many countries of the worl d. Legal, Economic and Political Background of China The Chinese political system has taken a dual leadership system under which each local office is under coequal authority of the local leaders who have the overall local oversight of the relevant ministry. In the higher ranks, the larger Communist Party of China (CPC) almost entirely governs the country and apparently, the country has no relevant political opposition parties. The party has for long endorsed a system that considers people’s personal grievances although these grievances must not at all lean on any group organization. The current political directive aims at coming up with such policies that will guide any political ambitions towards lessening the rapidly increasing gap between ... ...U’s development. [Online]. Available at: [accessed 04 April 2012]. Barboza, D., 2010. In China, unlikely labour leader just wanted middle-class life, The New York Times, [Online]. Available at: global/14honda.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=unlikely%20labor%20leaders%20china&st=cse> [accessed 04 April 2012]. Child, J., 2009. Context, comparison and methodology in Chinese management research, Management and Organization Review, (5)1, p. 57–73. Howell, J.A., 2008. All-China Federation of Trades Unions beyond reform? The slow march of direct elections, China Quarterly, 196, p. 845–863. Hishida et al. 2010. China’s trade unions: How autonomous are they? A survey of 1,811 enterprise union chairpersons. Abingdon: Routledge. Wal-Mart China, China Journal, 58, p. 1–27. Government and Economics in China Essay -- China Introduction China is one of the most populous countries of the world with over 1.3 billion people and covering a geographical area of about 9.6 million square kilometres. It lies on the eastern end of the large Asia continent and enjoys a remarkably long coastline. It has a large economy, given the large population and a wide array of natural resources especially mineral resources which are the backbone of its economy. With a well cultivated constitution that was put in place by the largest political party, the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has reforms underway aimed at closing the otherwise wide gap between the rich and the poor. The country suffers employment deficit, despite having one of the world’s largest economy. The people of China are largely farmers or work in the many industrial plants that are numerous. Having developed peacefully and after calming prior conflicts with different foreign countries earlier, currently China maintains peace with many countries of the worl d. Legal, Economic and Political Background of China The Chinese political system has taken a dual leadership system under which each local office is under coequal authority of the local leaders who have the overall local oversight of the relevant ministry. In the higher ranks, the larger Communist Party of China (CPC) almost entirely governs the country and apparently, the country has no relevant political opposition parties. The party has for long endorsed a system that considers people’s personal grievances although these grievances must not at all lean on any group organization. The current political directive aims at coming up with such policies that will guide any political ambitions towards lessening the rapidly increasing gap between ... ...U’s development. [Online]. Available at: [accessed 04 April 2012]. Barboza, D., 2010. In China, unlikely labour leader just wanted middle-class life, The New York Times, [Online]. Available at: global/14honda.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=unlikely%20labor%20leaders%20china&st=cse> [accessed 04 April 2012]. Child, J., 2009. Context, comparison and methodology in Chinese management research, Management and Organization Review, (5)1, p. 57–73. Howell, J.A., 2008. All-China Federation of Trades Unions beyond reform? The slow march of direct elections, China Quarterly, 196, p. 845–863. Hishida et al. 2010. China’s trade unions: How autonomous are they? A survey of 1,811 enterprise union chairpersons. Abingdon: Routledge. Wal-Mart China, China Journal, 58, p. 1–27.

The character of Claudius

The character of Claudius can be recognized as the major antagonist in the play. Traits such as being cleverly evil, lustful, and conniving were the factors that won him the crown as the King of Denmark.As a king, Claudius focused on protecting his throne from being relinquished from him. He was a smooth talker and had the ability to manipulate others as a faà §ade of his corrupt nature as a politician.There is great question when it comes for his love for Gertrude as it is seen to be a political move to gain power. Although, even if he did remotely cared about Gertrude, he still allowed her to drink from the poisonous goblet knowing that she would die so he would not be implicated in an attempted murder (Hylton 2000, Act V). His craftiness and love for power prevented him from showing that he sincerely cared for the people around him.The random times that he had shown genuine emotions for other people than himself was when Polonius died and the kindness he had shown for Ophelia. He could not bring himself to kill Hamlet himself because of his feelings for Gertrude. He cannot resist worldly desires and choose them over his soul. He was not a monster with absolutely no moral fiber instead he was morally weak and unable to choose good over evil.Q)2 Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother was a beautiful queen of Denmark who remarried her late husband’s brother Claudius shortly after her husband’s murder. There are significant questions to her character in terms of the purity of her intentions in remarrying as well as her involvement in Claudius’ murder of the king.She was a woman with much love for her status in society, much like her new husband, and for affection and sexual attention. Hamlet was disgusted with her inability to exist without a man by her side and how she uses them for her own self-preservation and called his mother frail (Hylton 2000, Act I).Hamlet was greatly distraught with how morally frail his mother was and was even in agony because of it. He was affected by his mother’s lack of morality and suffered because of it. There was nothing exaggerated with how Hamlet felt about his mother. It would be disheartening for anyone who would see his mother be so sickening, what more to see a queen of a nation act in such a manner.He was depressed because he had deep and genuine affections for his parents. He felt significantly associated to his mother because they were related and her corruption is directly his corruptions as well as they are family. He felt defiled by his mother’s inability to uphold moral strength that he himself exhibited such weakness in his own relationship with Ophelia. Hamlet’s focus on his mother’s morality was aligned with a son’s nature that cared about his mother’s wellbeing.Q3) There were so many similarities in the character of Hamlet and Laertes as men, although Hamlet holds some qualities that make him somewhat better than Laertes.   They we re both impulsive at different degrees when they are angered. They both sought revenge for revenge for the death of their fathers.Laertes wanted to kill Claudius when he suspected him for killing his father, Polonius (Hylton 2000, Act IV).   However, Hamlet could not bring himself to kill Claudius to avenge his father without evidence sufficient for his intellect. He was always drawn to answering philosophical and difficult questions.   He contemplated about a lot of things before acting on them while Laertes was impulsive and quick to act.Although, there had been times when both acted spontaneously because of rage, like when Hamlet killed Polonius instead of Claudius. Both men shared great love for their families and exhibited domineering qualities in the women in their clans. Laertes warned Ophelia about Hamlet’s intentions and Hamlet was troubled by his mother’s marriage. However, it is still Hamlet’s completative nature that wins out because it is always wiser to think before one act. Reference:Hylton, J. (2000). The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. From The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Retrieved on August 23, 2007 from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html.

McDonald’s Corporation

McDonald's Corporation is the world's leading food service organization. The corporation started out as a small drive-through in 1948 by two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald. Raymond Albert Kroc, a salesman, saw a great opportunity in this market and advised Dick and Mac to expand their operation and open new restaurants. In 1961 Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers. By 1967 McDonalds expanded its operations to countries outside the U.S.A. This unyielding expansion led the Corporation to open 23,000 McDonald's restaurants in 110 countries in 1994, producing $3.4 bn in annual revenues. In addition, McDonald's opens a new restaurant every three hours. Also, McDonald's has twice the market share of its closest U.S. competitor, Burger King, representing 7% of total U.S. eating-out sales. Similarly, McDonald's serves about 1% of the world's population on any given day through its 23,000 restaurants internationally. â€Å"Big Mac†, the world's most sold hamburger was developed by Jim Delligutti in 1967 to feed construction workers. ‘Big Mac' is the biggest attraction and backbone of the corporation. Moreover, McDonald's maintains its competitive advantage by constantly creating new items to add onto its menu. This shows us that McDonald's practices an analyzer type of strategy, introducing new items and defending its existing ones. â€Å"We serve people with good quality food, fast and at low cost.† McDonald's vision is to dominate the global food-service industry. Global dominance means setting the performance standard for customer satisfaction and increases market share and profitability through successfully implementing our convenience, value and execution strategies. To have a clear picture of McDonald's corporation we need to look at its Task Environment, which includes its: We shall also explore McDonald's Workforce Diversity and its Total Quality Management. Customers are those who pay money to acquire an organization's goods or services. For many years McDonald's mostly targeted the young people, however this has changed in this decade; McDonald's has turned towards a more general market. By doing this McDonald's concentrates on the family, targeting a diverse market which includes consumers ranging from children to elderly people, using products such as the â€Å"happy Meal† for children and â€Å"Egg McMuffin† for the elderly. McDonald's also realized the changing world we live in and the need for healthier food, since there is an ever changing demographic group, who demand fast, top quality food that is low in calories. McDonald's responded to this opportunity and introduced a new and innovative product. This new product was a regular hamburger that tasted like the real thing but was made of plant material like Soya beans. This same product also targets another demographic group, vegetarians. McDonald's mostly uses psychographic segmentation targeting the working and middle classes. These are the people that are more susceptible to enter a fast food restaurant, since these are the people that lead a fast moving life and thus require a fast meal. In brief McDonald's customers are of all classes, but largely working and middle classes, and people of all ages. A competitor is an organization that competes with other organizations for resources. In our findings, McDonald's has two types of competitors in the Lebanese market: Indirect refers to firms producing one or two products that compete with McDonald's products and therefore be a threat to the company. We have identified four indirect competitors: Henry J. Beans, T.G.I. Friday, K. F. C. and Popeye's. Henry J. Beans offers hamburgers and fries on its menu, therefore competing with McDonalds for customers of these products. However, Henry J. Beans also known as Hank's is a more of a bar restaurant and therefore a hang out place, as a result charging more money for its products. Hank's targets middle to upper class customers, so where most of these customers overlap are in the middle class. T.G.I Friday is another indirect competitor reflecting the same characteristics as Henry J. Beans. Other indirect competitors are K. F. C. and Popeye's, both competing for the chicken nuggets and fries customers. In brief, Hank's and T.G.I. Friday's competes with McDonald's by offering hamburgers and fries, whereas K. F. C. and Popeye's compete with McDonald's by offering chicken nuggets and fries. Direct competitors refers to firms producing the same products or services as McDonald's does. Here we found that McDonald's has three direct competitors: Burger King, Wendy's and Hardee's. McDonald's closest rival is Burger King, which operates a total of 9644 restaurants in 110 countries. Wendy's is McDonald's second largest rival, which is also in the fast food business, where Wendy's operates 6776 restaurants in 32 countries. Hardee's, McDonald's third largest rival is also in the fast food business and is the only direct competitor apart from Juicy Burger in the Lebanese market. Hardee's operates 3080 restaurants in 20 countries. As we have illustrated McDonald's faces stiff competition from three major competitors, Burger King, Wendy's and Hardee's. Suppliers is an organization that provides resources for other organizations. McDonald's has practiced a backward vertical integration, by replacing most of its suppliers. It has done so for two reasons, 2) To ensure that its products are of top quality. These supplies include beef and milk to be used in its products, which it gets from its farms. Other suppliers include local grocery stores that supply McDonald's with fresh vegetables. Soft drinks are supplied exclusively by Coca-Cola, which is also its ally. McDonald's supplies also include raw material such as flour, sugar, yeast, etc.,. A strategic ally is an organization working together with one or more other organizations is a joint venture or a similar arrangement. McDonald's has formed a strategic alliance with: Walmart, Chevron, Amoco, Disney and Coca-Cola. Walmart, which is a large shopping mall chain in the U..S. and several neighboring countries, is allied with McDonald's, which offers great opportunities for both companies. McDonald's has restaurants in each Walmart, offering its customers conveniences and excellent fast food at a low cost ease of accessibility. McDonald's corporation describes it best in this scenario: â€Å"Imagine a busy shopping day at your local Walmart and having the ability to sit down with the kids and enjoy many of our McDonald's favorites, like ‘Big Mac' sandwiches, world famous fries and kids favorite ‘Happy Meal'. McDonald's understands your busy lifestyles and the demands on your time. That's why we are making it easier for you to do more things in less time.† McDonald's is engaged in an alliance with two petrol companies, Chevron and Amoco. This alliance represents the ultimate in convenience. At these locations, one finds a full-menu McDonald's restaurant with dining room service. Nothing can be more convenient, because one can fill up the car with gas and get a meal all in one stop. Another important alliance that McDonald's has is with Disney. Here McDonald's has the sole right to sell fast food in Disney's theme parks around the U..S. and other Disney operations in the world. Under the terms of the agreement, McDonald's will operate restaurants and Disney will promote its films through McDonald's. Regulators are groups or governmental agencies that can control and influence the organization's policies and practices. An example is Lebanon a few years ago when the U..S. government banned all U..S. citizens and organizations to come or operate in Lebanon. Another good example would be the embargo imposed on Iran where U..S. organizations were banned to operate in this country. Another group of regulators called interest groups can and have influenced McDonald's to treat its animals (cow and chickens) in a much more humane manner, which resulted in the restructuring of McDonalds' farms throughout its operations around the world. The summary of the task environment which is by definition a specific organizations or groups that affect the organization, which includes competitors, suppliers, customers, strategic allies and regulators. Here we described the task environment's importance to McDonald's, where McDonald's faces both opportunities and has threats in its environment. Diversity exists in a group or organization when its members differ from one another along one or more important dimensions such as age, gender, and ethnicity. Diversity is very important for McDonald's. Here millions of teens start out by working at McDonald's. Here some of the teenagers move on to get various jobs such as movie stars, skilled workers, famous athletes, management positions and other educated positions in society. At McDonald's two thirds of middle and upper management started out as crewmembers in a McDonald's restaurant. There are opportunities for everybody in McDonald's from teenagers to elderly workers, and from people just entering or reentering the job market. Moreover, McDonald's offers special jobs for people who have disabilities, such as people who are in wheel chairs and those who must use crutches permanently. Furthermore, McDonald's offers their workers flexible working hours. For example, hours for people seeking just a few hours of work per week and those who seek full time positions. The work force at McDonald's also have some say in their working hours, such as if they prefer the morning, mid-day, or evening shifts in the restaurant. So, McDonald's uses diversity to create a good atmosphere in their work places among workers and management. Here they offer work to all kinds of people without discrimination and the workers have flexible hours that provides customer satisfaction. Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. For McDonald's, total quality management (TQM) involves that the employees are at work on time, are neatly dressed, and are clean. The employees must make sure that the customers constantly receive safe food, which implies that the employees must wash their hands often to remain clean. Moreover, the employees must follow certain Standard Operational Procedures, so the customers always receive exceptional quality and service. This includes the employees using plastic gloves when they prepare the food, that the meat and fries are properly fried, and that the vegetables are thoroughly washed when used in the food. Another TQM is that the employees rely on teamwork and high energy to get the job done, so that the customers do not have to wait long for their food. Furthermore, McDonald's management emphasizes that their restaurants should be clean. This involves that the restaurants are tidy, sparkling and spotlessly clean. As McDonald's illustrates the quality is that the employees delivers fast, accurate and friendly service with a smile.

How to Address a Stranger

How to Address a Stranger How to Address a Stranger How to Address a Stranger By Maeve Maddox A frequent source of miscommunication is to assume that the people we address attach the same connotation and meaning to words that we do. A case in point is a recent letter-to-the-editor in my local paper. A young man working in a restaurant expressed his frustration at the lack of tipping from the customers he serves. He explained that he is unfailingly polite and still receives few tips. As an example of his courteous behavior, he described the way he greets the people whom he will be serving by saying, â€Å"Hi guys, I’ll be your server tonight.† He made it clear that he never deviates from â€Å"Hi guys† because to him it is a friendly, neutral greeting. Other readers responded to the server’s letter by remarking that he might get more tips if he changed his greeting. The consensus of the responses was that to some people, â€Å"Hi guys† comes across as downright rude. It may be that no neutral greeting for strangers remains in English. â€Å"Dear Sir† as the greeting on a business letter has its opponents: Starting a Business Letter with â€Å"Dear Mr.† â€Å"Ma’am† as a polite form of address for women pleases some, but draws enraged reactions from others: â€Å"Ma’am† and Regional Colonialism NOTE: Nowadays, maam as a courteous term of address for women is regarded as a US Southernism. Objections to it come chiefly from women in other parts of the country. However, dialogue in an old movie I watched recently suggests that this has not always been the case. Set in Boston and produced in the 1940s, the film shows an upper-class character address a young woman as maam in a polite social context. Baby talk and terms of endearment stir passions in eldercare and the marketplace: Hypocorisma Addressing people by their first names because you saw the name on a deposit slip or credit card also has its perils. Most Americans tolerate the practice, but some may resent it enough to take their business elsewhere: A clerk at a store where I used my credit card called me by my first name. I told him that if he wanted me to come back, hed better call me Mr. [surname]. In the United States, food servers and store clerks frequently wear nametags proclaiming their first names. Here are two comments on a forum discussion of the practice of having to wear such a nametag at work: It kind of creeps me out when someone calls my by my first name. Especially when I forget I have a nametag on and a random stranger calls me by name. I would say 95% of the time that a customer ever used my name while I was wearing a name tag, they were using it to demean me and assert their dominance. Even when people are nice about it, its still sort of weird and feels like somebody is sort of invading my space. A reader of the Boston Globe dislikes the telemarketing practice of calling strangers by their first names: I often get calls from telemarketers who begin, â€Å"Is this Alfred?’’ When I respond in the affirmative, they proceed to use my first name. It seems to me that if I were in such urgent need of money that I had to phone total strangers for their help, I would address them as â€Å"Mr.† or â€Å"Mrs.† I might even say, â€Å"Sir.’’ I certainly would not address them as if they were a buddy. Over the years, I’ve found this most annoying. I haven’t been able to find a US poll on the subject, but a poll reported in the Daily Mail indicates that most British speakers dislike the practice: Almost two-thirds of us hate cold callers who address customers by their first name and start conversations with ‘hi’, a study found. Nearly a third of the 1,000 polled said it annoyed them when someone they didn’t know called them by their first name. Not everyone objects to the practice. For example: I only like to be called by my first name. I dont like anyone calling me by my last name. Calling someone by their last name, to me implies some sort of difference in social level. Its not very friendly. As for saluting a stranger with hey or hi, plenty of business prospects will react negatively to marketing emails that begin this way: Hey guys, Hi! Opinions will continue to differ as to what constitutes a courteous manner of addressing a stranger. It’s impossible to please everyone, but a reasonable practice in a business context is to err on the side of formality. Servers and store clerks who cringe when a stranger addresses them by their first names might consider using an alias on their tags. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†Social vs. SocietalEach vs. Both

Landsat - An Overview of the Landsat Satellites

Landsat - An Overview of the Landsat Satellites Some of the most popular and valued remote sensing images of the Earth are obtained from the Landsat satellites which have been orbiting the Earth for over 40 years. Landsat is a joint venture between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey that began in 1972 with the launch of Landsat 1. Previous Landsat Satellites Originally known as the  Earth Resources Technology Satellite 1,  Landsat 1 was launched in 1972 and deactivated in 1978. Landsat 1 data was used to identify a new island off the coast of Canada in 1976, which was subsequently named Landsat Island. Landsat 2 was launched in 1975 and deactivated in 1982. Landsat 3 was launched in 1987 and deactivated in 1983. Landsat 4 was launched in 1982 and stopped sending data in 1993.   Landsat 5 was launched in 1984 and holds the world record  for being the longest-serving Earth-observing satellite in operation, serving for more than 29 years, until 2013. Landsat 5 was utilized for longer than expected because Landsat 6 was unable to attain orbit following the launch in 1993. Landsat 6 was the only Landsat to fail before sending data to the Earth.   Current Landsats Landsat 7 remains in orbit after having been launched on  April 15, 1999.  Landsat 8, the newest Landsat, was launched on February 11, 2013.   Landsat Data Collection The Landsat satellites make loops around the Earth and are constantly collecting images of the surface through the use of a variety of sensing devices. Since the beginning of the Landsat program in 1972, the images and data have been available to all countries around the world. Landsat data is free and available to anyone on the planet. Images are used to measure rainforest loss, assist with mapping, determine urban growth, and measure population change. The different Landsats each have different remote-sensing equipment. Each sensing device records radiation from the surface of the Earth in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Landsat 8 captures images of the Earth on several difference spectrums (visible, near-infrared, short wave infrared, and thermal-infrared spectrums). Landsat 8 captures about 400 images of the Earth each day, far more than the 250 a day of Landsat 7.   As it orbits the Earth in a north-south pattern, Landsat 8 collects images from a swath about 115 miles (185 km) across, using  a push broom sensor, which captures data from the entire swatch at the same time. This is different than the whiskbroom sensor of Landsat 7 and other previous Landsat satellites, which would move across the swath, more slowly capturing imagery.   The Landsats orbit the Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole on a continual basis. Landsat 8 captures imagery from approximately 438 miles (705 km)  above the surface of the Earth. Landsats complete a full orbit of the Earth in about 99 minutes, allowing the Landsats to achieve about 14 orbits per day. The satellites make a complete coverage of the Earth every 16 days.   About five passes cover the entire United States, from Maine and Florida to Hawaii and Alaska. Landsat 8 crosses the Equator every day at approximately 10 a.m. local time. Landsat 9   NASA and the USGS announced in early 2015 that Landsat 9 is being developed and scheduled for launch in 2023, ensuring that data will be collected and made freely available about the Earth for another half-century.   All Landsat data is available to the public free of charge and is in the public domain. Access Landsat imagery through NASAs  Landsat Image Gallery. The Landsat Look Viewer from the USGS is another archive of Landsat imagery.

Streer Bike Stunters write-up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Streer Bike Stunters write-up - Essay Example Street bike stunting in the streets of California is one thing that brings a lot of young people to craze and it has helped to develop friendship and amity among the youths. I set out to find out how bike stunting had been incorporated in the society as a culture. Many youths during their early life experiences, tend to incline to a certain group usually informally, this is because of the same age, or live same street e.t.c. I learnt from my friend that street bike stunts in many American states helps young people to socialize and interact at personal levels offering each other support in their activities. Theses activities help to build friendships and give the young people an opportunity to discover their talents and encourage them to work even harder to achieve greater heights. I have experienced the street bike stunts of San Jose of California and found out that all they do is more than just stunting on the streets. A friend of mine by the name Jonathon says â€Å"these stunts give us an opportunity to socialize and discover full potential in a person†. Affinity groups may develop formally as a result of being included in the same school team, or same class (Glaser 1999, 21). â€Å"How did you guys meet?† I asked him. â€Å"Actually we were not strangers we grew up in the same neighborhood† Jonathon explained. â€Å"How do you identify yourselves?† I asked â€Å"The name of the group is Stunters, Street Battlers† we came up with the name to build in ourselves a psyche and motivation to achieve greater heights. The group works to entertain people as well as build on their skill and to earn experience of what they do best. I think the stunts pool together youths who are ambitious to develop their talents and the stunts are occasionally graced with prizes and cash for the best stunts. People usually give money to support the events for the love of the sport and this is wholly a non profit making