Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Can Guilt Manifest Into Illness - 2268 Words

Can Guilt Manifest into Illness? The origin of the inquiry â€Å"can guilt manifest into physical illness† all started when I was assigned to read the novel, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, for my senior research essay in high school. The novel revolved around the character Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov and his turmoil with guilt. In the novel, Raskolnikov viewed himself to be an infallible deity, who possessed intelligence and wisdom that could not be rivaled by any other human. This superman complex eventually drove him to the conclusion that he should kill the rich pawn owner Alyona Ivanovna due to her callousness towards the people who were tardy in making payments. Raskolnikov used this iota of a flaw in Alyona to mercilessly†¦show more content†¦Since I was in college and had more resources that I had in high school, I determined it would be ideal if I started my research over. What is Guilt? In order to prove that guilt has the capability to transform itself into psychological and physicals punishment, one must first understand what guilt is, and how it can be perceived and distinguished from other emotions. One of the articles that explains and defines guilt is the article, Guilt, Shame, and Reparative Behavior: The Effect of Psychological Proximity, by Majid Ghorbani et al. In the article Ghorbani et. al. intricately analyze the differences between shame and guilt saying that guilt. Understanding how easy it is to confuse the two, they first define them in the beginning by using a quote from one of their references, â€Å"Ferguson and Stegge 1998.† In the article Ferguson and Stegge state â€Å"Guilt is defined as an agitation-based emotion of regretting a wrong action or decision, (qtd. in Guilt, Shame, and Reparative Behavior: The effect of Psychological Proximity, 313). Ferguson and Stegge’s quote is essential because it provides a concrete descriptio n when guilt occurs and what emotion type it belongs to. This is also crucial to the claim guilt can manifest into physical and psychological punishment because it gives a definition of guilt and provides a guideline for it. Although Ghorbani et. al. knew what guilt was they still needed to figure out what it looked like. To do this, they

Monday, December 16, 2019

Racial Profiling And The United Kingdom - 934 Words

Racial profiling has become a highly debatable law enforcement practice over the last two decades. There has been an overwhelming increase of reported instances in which law enforcement personnel have been accused of targeting certain minority groups. This has casted a luminous spotlight on racial profiling, as well as increased tensions between law enforcement and citizens. Two black America s by the Wilson Quarterly reported that New York City police stopped nearly 700,000 people, with 85% of them being either Hispanic or Black. Similar to America, other countries are also having problems with racial profiling such as France and the United Kingdom. Activists in the states describe profiling directed towards a variety of non-whites such as African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. But in Europe, the spectrum is pointed toward Muslim looking people. Although racial profiling has never been this bad, my question is will we ever really have a colorblind world? Although being stopped, searched and frisked is nothing new for minorities, it has been proven that it has became even more fatal due to officers shooting civilians while still in their vehicle. In his book Driving While Black, Kenneth gives his readers advice about how to handle potentially life threatening situations with law enforcement when behind the wheel. His book also details other important aspects such as Cabs that whiz by only to be seen stopping for safer-looking people just up the block; beingShow MoreRelatedCriminal Profiling1152 Words   |  5 Pagescriminal profiling. Some psychiatrists, criminologists, and psychologists believe there are specific traits, psychological factors that will separate a person from the rest of society. This thesis will explain that criminal profiling will help narrow the list of suspects from rape and homicide by formulating the type of person whom the investigators should be looking for. How long does he or she think criminal profiling has been used in law enforcement? Criminal Profiling CriminalRead MoreRacism : Racial Discrimination And Injustice1257 Words   |  6 Pagesshaping the way humans view each other, but with the aid of Young Women s Christian Association (YWCA) - Stand Against Racism, racial discrimination and injustice can be eliminated. All across the United States, African Americans are faced with racial prejudice, a negative attitude towards a group of people based on race — not on direct knowledge or experience. This kind of racial prejudice began in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Africans were brought to America as slaves. In 1756, an 11 year oldRead MoreOn August 9Th, 2014, In Ferguson, Missouri, Michael Brown,1428 Words   |  6 Pagesand technology. Due to recent media attention and advancing technology the truth behind the racial profiling, police brutality, and the failure of the American Justice System finally came to light, with many solutions being offered. Police officers racially profile minorities, with black and Latino citizens being more prone to stop, searches, and arrests. In the past few decades, most acts of racial profiling and brutality against minorities by the police have frequently been dismissed or concealedRead MoreThe Law Enforcement Must First Achieve Respect And Trust1452 Words   |  6 Pagescooperation of the public, the law enforcement must first achieve respect and trust. Respect is earned over a long period of time from doing heroic and fair acts of justice. Most Americans have a tremendous amount of respect for police officer, however, racial biased events in the past have skewed that respect. America needs its officers to be viewed with respect, but they must earn it first. That may sound very selfish and naive but it is crucial for trust between citizens and officers. The Rand CorporationRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s 1984 1608 Words   |  7 Pagesstate or not. When the citizens have their rights taken away, it is often one of the first signs that a society is becoming a police state. In North America, people are losing their rights in racially biased stop-and-frisks, in the fact that the United States has the second highest incarceration rate in the world, and that criminal investigators use forced interrogation to convict innocent civilians. In New York City, police are allowed to stop and question citizens if they seem suspicious, evenRead MoreThe Social Problem That Is Affecting The Black Community1608 Words   |  7 Pagesworld, it is more like the land of the prisoners. Our country has the highest incarceration rate in the world. It is stated, â€Å"†¦per a population of 100,000 people, 716 are incarcerated†(Wagner, web). When comparing that to the following country, United Kingdom, their ratio is 147 people are incarcerated per every 100,000. These statistics speak endless amounts of words about our country and the pr oblem is occurring right in front of our eyes. Within these high incarceration rates throughout the U.SRead MorePunk And Hip Hop Music1084 Words   |  5 Pagesrealize the troubles of the lower classes. In an aggressive attack at the upper class and even the government, The Sex Pistols wrote â€Å"God Save the Queen;† a song which would shock the entire nation. â€Å"God Save the Queen† attacked the monarch of the United Kingdom and her motives. The Sex Pistols wanted to emphasize how the government mistreated the lower/working class. The song claimed the people were slaves to the government and therefore made decisions based on how the government wanted them to behaveRead MoreWhy America Should Not Be A Multicultural Country Ever Since The 18th Century983 Words   |  4 Pagesbe considered a melting pot of cultures until people stop ‘Americanizing,’ different cultures and start focusing on law enforcement and what people are targeted the most. Within the last five years multiple hate crimes have risen from within the United States. In Ferguson, Missouri a black teenager, Michael Brown was gunned down by an armed police man. Witnesses claimed that Brown was a few yards away from the police man before he was gunned down. In protest to the police brutality people revoltedRead MoreTuskegee1630 Words   |  7 Pagesresearch always has paralleled a cure or treatment. From the beginning of the turn of the 20th century the most unspeakable appalling atrocities against human beings was The Tuskegee Syphilis Study. One of the most horrendous breaches of ethics in The United States history is Tuskegee’s studies and associated research. . The study and the publicity that surrounded the study was one of the major influences leading to the organized arrangement of laws, rules and principles of the ethical treatment forRead MoreCritically Discussion of the Issue of Stop and Search1435 Words   |  6 Pagesinvolving a black individual (Quinton et al, 2000). Despite that there is evidence suggesting that racial disadvantages will cause an increase in young blacks to be involved with crime, suggesting that these suspicions are justified (Waddington et al, 2007). Furthermore, there is little research suggesting that police enforce their prejudices when working on the streets, thus suggesting that racial views are a result of police canteen sub-culture (Waddington, 1999). There is a substantial amount

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Strategic Information System Supply Chain Management

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Information System for Supply Chain Management. Answer: Introduction Citizen Gas Company is one of the biggest residential gas suppliers in the United State that likewise manages the residential and industrial gas supply. The organization was confronting issue in their business because of a change of interest and supply in the business sector. As indicated by the case situation, Citizen Gas Company is attempting to enhance the gas supply to the household level that is likewise reliant on the climate. The utilization of gas is high in the winter season and the supply around then stays low (Joskow and Kahn 2011). The organization buys their gas from a few other pipeline organizations through contract premise along these lines; they need to store the gas to supply in the business sector amid the interest circumstance. The gas stockpiling arranging of the organization exceedingly affects this procedure of free market activity. The organization keeps up a framework in their gas stockpiling, which is not creating any advantage to the organization. At the po int when the interest is high and supply is low then they needs to abridge the supply to the business and business segment coming about colossal business misfortune (Guang Shi et al. 2012). To manage the problem organization has employed an executive of corporate planning who can give an appropriate idea of storage capacity to take care during demand. The goal of this report is to distinguish the few parts of the storage capacity issues and give appropriate planning. The report will concentrate on the new framework that gives an appropriate month-to-month planning of the entire process. Background of the organization Citizens Gas Company is a cooperative organization established in the year of 1887 in United States with a objective of supplying gas to the residential customer without any interruptions. The company is operated by the public charitable trust with a mission to benefit the customers and community. The business of the company is associated with the supply of natural gas in different customers like residential, commercial and industrial. Citizens Gas Company is operating the business in three segments but the strength of the business is domestic customer because they provide maximum revenue to the organization. Therefore the preference of gas supply also remain with the domestic customer first. Among the base of 200000 customers, they have 160000 domestic customers and revenue income from this base is 160 million. Therefore, the focus of the company is always to serve better to the domestic customer in a efficient way. Along with the domestic customer, industrial business of the compan y is also increasing that needs prior attention for a better growth. To enhance the service the company is improving the service through the proper planning of storage and supply. The company is aiming to provide an uninterrupted supply to all customers to sustain within the market competition. Corporate structure of the company The CEO who is responsible for the overall performance of the organization heads citizens Gas Company. The structure of the organization is very normal and traditional where several directors are appointed for every department. All these directors report to the CEO and manage the several functions (Chopra and Sodhi 2014). There are functional manager in each department who report to the director and provide valuable support to the employees. The structure of the organization is given in the below image. Figure 1: Organizational Structure of CGC (Source: Citizensenergygroup.com, 2016) Existing and future business opportunity The business of the company is associated with the natural gas supply that has good demand in the market. The problem of this business is the market prediction and sales forecasting. The company always fails to match the demand of the gas and the supply from the producer because of the uncertain market (Chen and Baldick 2011). The storing capacity of the company is also different and they directly store gas from supplier and supply them to their customer. It is found that the production of gas in low in the winter season and the demand of the gas is high in the same season therefore company always lose their business (Attaran and Attaran 2012). If Citizens Gas Company is able to plan their storing capacity then they will be able to store the extra gas in the summer season which will enables to match the extra demand in the winter season. The company has lot of scope in the industrial segment because they are not focusing in this segment. If the company is able to improve the situatio n then they will make more business in this segment. The residential business also has lot of scope as other company is growing in this segment as compared to Citizens Gas Company. Since the market growth is high than the market leader therefore there are lot of scope existing in this market. Existing operating system Figure 2: Current operation of CGC to supply gas to their customer (Source: Citizensenergygroup.com, 2016) The present operation of the organization is related to three levels that are purchase from the supplier, Storage of the gas and supply to the customer. The initial step is the receiving of the gas from five suppliers. CGC has is getting the supply from five pipeline company who are in contract with CGC. All the organization supplies their gas to the storing unit of the organization (Zednik et al. 2011). The buying option of the gas is associated with the character of the contract with the pipeline company. To some company CGC has to pay the contract amount irrespective of the consumption. A portion of the organization has made the agreement with a settled measure of cash and utilization. In the event that CGC is expending less then additionally they need to pay the full cash to the organization. Along these lines, this sort of agreement is acquiring misfortune for the organization since when demand is low and supply is high then they are not ready to supply gas. Purchasing is also a ssociated with the ability of the pipeline company at that point of time. The next step of the system is the storage of gas that is solely dependent on CGCs infrastructure. The company is struggling to store the excess gas because of the improper planning and low storage capacity. The company is therefore store only few amount of gas that is supplied (Winter and Knemeyer 2013). The last step is the supply of the storage gas to their customer. Since the company has three type of customers therefore they has to prioritize the supply procedure during the sort supply. The company first fulfill the requirement of the domestic customer because they are committed to them then the company distribute the extra gas to the commercial sector. Another reason to prioritize the domestic segment is that they provide higher rate to the company and most of the revenue is coming from this segment. Business performance The business performance of CGC is good because they have always developed the competitive advantage in their business to beat the competitors. The business of CGC is also associated with the customer base that no other companies have in the country. The company is making profit every year though the rate of growth is in the negative side as compared to the past. Therefore, company is focusing on the business aspect and opportunities in the market to enhance the growth of the company (Park, Hong and Roh 2013). More often, the company fails to fulfill the exact demand of the market only because of lack of planning. Therefore company is taking initiative to enhance the performance through several functional initiative. Sales and marketing Sales and marketing is the key aspect of the business because that helps to sale the product in the market better than competitors do. CGC has very less focus on the sales and marketing because they are very old organization and till today they are dependent on the relationship business. Most of the residential customer of the company is taking the service for long time therefore addition of new customer is comparatively less as compared to other company. The company is habituated in the common trend of sales that are not forecasted in the past (Mena, Humphries and Choi 2013). The new system of the company will help to make a sales forecast for the company and the marketing of the product will be done in that basis. If the company has over supply then marketing department will remain active to increase the demand in the market. Once the demand is high then they will be able to generate more business in the off-season also (Ipakchi and Albuyeh 2012). Therefore, CGC will prepare a sale s budget that will forecast the future sale for the next year. The budget will be based on the data of last year. Month Sales 2015 residential in million $ Budget 2016 in million $ Sales 2015 commercial in million $ Budget 2016 in million $ Sales 2015 industrial in million $ Budget 2016 in million $ Jan 17 19 2 2 1 4 Feb 17 16 1 2 2 5 Mar 13 15 1 2 7 6 Apr 13 13 2 3 8 7 May 11 11 3 3 9 8 Jun 11 11 3 4 10 10 Jul 10 10 3 4 9 9 Aug 10 10 3 4 8 8 Sep 12 13 1 2 6 7 Oct 14 14 1 2 2 6 Nov 15 16 2 2 2 5 Dec 17 18 3 2 1 4 Total 160 171 25 32 65 79 Total 278 Table 1: Sales budget for 2016 (Source: Created by author) Operations Operating such a big organization also includes lot of expenses. Therefore to operate such organization expense is very important to handle otherwise it will impact the profitability of the organization. During the operation, company has to deal with different type of expenses that are fixed expense and variable expense (Lund et al. 2014). Most of the fixed expenses are predictable but the variable expenses are unpredictable therefore they should be done through proper planning so that they could be done in a proper manner without affecting the profitability. Operating Expenses Actual Expense 2015 in million $ Budget 2016 in million $ Difference Accounting and Legal 0.6 0.6 0 Advertising 2.1 2 .1 Depreciation 3.1 3.5 -0.4 Dues and Subscriptions 1.5 0.9 0.6 Insurance 2.5 2.5 0 Interest Expense 4.5 4.8 -0.3 Maintenance and Repairs 5.9 8.5 -2.6 Office Supplies 0.005 0.003 0.002 Payroll Expenses 0.003 0.003 0 Rent 1.3 1 0.3 Salaries and Wages 18 20 -2 Taxes and Licenses 5.6 6.3 -0.7 Web Hosting and Domains 0.002 0.002 0 Other 1 0.5 0.5 Total Operating Expenses 46.11 50.608 -4.498 Table 3: Expense budget 2016(Source: Created by author) Procurement Procurement of the organization is associated with the sales of the product throughout the year. The company is mainly focusing to plan the procurement by developing a sales forecast based on the last year sale. If the company is able to plan the forecast properly then it will help to develop a procurement budget. The procurement will be done depending on the sale and the storage so that company will not suffer any loss due to short or over supply (Belkin, Nichol and Woehrel 2013). The company is emphasizing on the month wise procurement budget that will help to organize the purchase in the right manner. Month Purchase budget of 2015 in million $ Actual sale of 2015 in million $ Purchase budget of 2016 in million $ Jan 16 23 20 Feb 13 21 17 Mar 13 21 16 Apr 16 22 16 May 17 23 17 Jun 16 23 18 Jul 13 21 16 Aug 12 20 13 Sep 14 17 13 Oct 14 18 14 Nov 13 19 15 Dec 14 22 18 Total 171 250 193 Table 2: Purchase budget of 2016 (Source: Created by author) Taxation Taxation is one of the important aspect of the business that directly impact the net profit of the company. The company is planning to sale more in the 2016 therefore with a increased volume of business company has to pay more amount of tax (Moore et al. 2014). Therefore, to operate business by paying proper tax to the government pricing of the product is very important. CGC is planning to increase the price from the next year to increase the infrastructure. Future business plan Future planning of the organization is connected with the continuous supply of natural gas over all clients. CGC is starting to make a capacity arrangement for their storeroom that will work in a month-to-month premise however will likewise keep up yearly information. The future arranging of the organization is exceptionally centered on the month-to-month business gauge and they will make an incremental arrangement as per the past business (Monczka et al. 2015). On the off chance that the organization can estimate their business legitimately then they will have the capacity to improve their capacity arrangement. The arrangement of the new chief is to make a calculated configuration of a data framework that will center to examine the free market activity. The new framework will give a month-to-month gas plan to next five years with specific accentuation on the main year of offers. The new framework will utilize genuine information amid the year to venture interest for the following ye ar (Seuring 2013). This kind of activity will enhance the working wage of the association that will bring about more gainfulness. Future arranging of the organization is likewise connected with the arranged stockpiling that will stay full in the beginning of consistent. Proposed new system of CGC Figure 3: New system of the storage facility and uninterrupted supply to customer (Source: Created by author) Proposed new system of the company is associated with proper planning for every functionality that will help to make a planned purchase of natural gas. The proposed system of CGC therefore suggests a four tire system for operation. The first tire is the supplier of the company. Since CGC has different type of supplier, therefore they get their product through different contract (Stern 2012). According to the supply agreement, every supplier supplies natural gas when it is available from nature. The second tire of the system is the main operating system that plans monthly supply and demand of the product. When supply is more than the demand then it send the excess gas to the storage unit where it can be stored for whole year that can be utilized for the uninterrupted business. The third level is the storage facility and the objective of the company is to keep proper stock throughout the year to manage the high demanding situation. The forth tire is the supply of the gas that is again done on the priority basis. In the new system, the supply of gas has the same priority for every customer however; it can be controlled during the high situation (Wisner, Tan and Leong 2015). Identification of data for adequate planning capability Datas that are identified for the adequate planning system are described below. Number of customer Number of customer in each segment is important to incorporate into the system to understand the demand in the market. If CGC focuses on every customer consumption then it will be easier for the system to understand the usage (Ashby, Leat and Hudson-Smith 2012). According to the usage future planning will be done. Weather data Weather data is also important for the system because according to the weather condition demand fluctuate. During the winter demand remain maximum however if the weather forecast says that the span of winter will remain short then new system will procure less. Heating factors Heating factor influence the demand of natural gas. Industrial customer will procure more gas during the summer time because production remains high in this period. However, heating factor in the residential sector is in high demand in the winter season therefore CGC has to supply maximum gas at that time (Cheenkachorn, Poompipatpong and Ho 2013). Sales forecast Sales forecast of the company will depend on the system data like weather condition, therefore according to the weather forecast will be planned. Supplier contract terms Supplier contract terms is also important for the new system to plan the amount of gas to be procured from suppliers that is also associated with the storage facility. Storage field capacity The system has to aware about the storage facility to maintain the planned stock for the demanding situation. Conclusion From the above report, it can be outlined that Citizen Gas Company was inadequate in the planning part that is bringing about tremendous business loss. The organization was not able supply gas as indicated by the demand since demand and supply of the gas was not coordinating. At the point when supply was high then demand was low and when demand was high then supply stay low. To beat this circumstance CGC has chosen to execute a legitimate data framework that will comprehend the future interest in the industrial sector. The storage capacity framework in the new framework, which is distinctive, and it will store the abundance gas when demand is low with the goal that it can be used in the season of low supply. The report likewise concentrates on the present execution of the organization and it is observable that the organization was confronting loss because of uneven market activity. Reference List Ashby, A., Leat, M. and Hudson-Smith, M., 2012. Making connections: a review of supply chain management and sustainability literature.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,17(5), pp.497-516. Attaran, M. and Attaran, S., 2012. Collaborative supply chain management: the most promising practice for building efficient and sustainable supply chains.Business Process Management Journal,13(3), pp.390-404. Belkin, P., Nichol, J. and Woehrel, S., 2013. Europes energy security: Options and challenges to natural gas supply diversification.Congressional Research Service, pp.7-5700. Cheenkachorn, K., Poompipatpong, C. and Ho, C.G., 2013. Performance and emissions of a heavy-duty diesel engine fuelled with diesel and LNG (liquid natural gas).Energy,53, pp.52-57. Chen, H. and Baldick, R., 2011. Optimizing short-term natural gas supply portfolio for electric utility companies.Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on,22(1), pp.232-239. Chopra, S. and Sodhi, M.S., 2014. Managing risk to avoid supply-chain breakdown.MIT Sloan management review,46(1), p.53. Citizensenergygroup.com. (2016).Citizens Energy Group - Home. [online] Available at: https://www.citizensenergygroup.com/search?searchtext=operationssearchmode=anyword. Guang Shi, V., Lenny Koh, S.C., Baldwin, J. and Cucchiella, F., 2012. Natural resource based green supply chain management.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,17(1), pp.54-67. Ipakchi, A. and Albuyeh, F., 2012. Grid of the future.Power and Energy Magazine, IEEE,7(2), pp.52-62. Joskow, P. and Kahn, E., 2011, July. A quantitative analysis of pricing behavior in California's wholesale electricity market during summer 2000. InPower Engineering Society Summer Meeting, 2011(Vol. 1, pp. 392-394). IEEE. Lund, H., Werner, S., Wiltshire, R., Svendsen, S., Thorsen, J.E., Hvelplund, F. and Mathiesen, B.V., 2014. 4th Generation District Heating (4GDH): Integrating smart thermal grids into future sustainable energy systems.Energy,68, pp.1-11. Mena, C., Humphries, A. and Choi, T.Y., 2013. Toward a Theory of Multià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Tier Supply Chain Management.Journal of Supply Chain Management,49(2), pp.58-77. Monczka, R., Handfield, R., Giunipero, L. and Patterson, J., 2015.Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning. Moore, C.W., Zielinska, B., Ptron, G. and Jackson, R.B., 2014. Air impacts of increased natural gas acquisition, processing, and use: a critical review.Environmental science technology,48(15), pp.8349-8359. Park, Y., Hong, P. and Roh, J.J., 2013. Supply chain lessons from the catastrophic natural disaster in Japan.Business Horizons,56(1), pp.75-85. Seuring, S., 2013. A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management.Decision support systems,54(4), pp.1513-1520. Stern, J., 2012. Security of European natural gas supplies.London, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. Winter, M. and Knemeyer, A.M., 2013. Exploring the integration of sustainability and supply chain management: Current state and opportunities for future inquiry.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management,43(1), pp.18-38. Wisner, J., Tan, K.C. and Leong, G., 2015.Principles of supply chain management: a balanced approach. Cengage Learning. Zednik, J.J., Dunlavy, D.L. and Scott, T.G., Mobil Oil Corporation, 2011.Regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) aboard a transport vessel. U.S. Patent 6,089,022.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Why has Nucor performed so well in the past Essay Example

Why has Nucor performed so well in the past Paper The following section discusses the reasons that Nucor has been able to perform so well in the past. It examines the internal and external (industry) factors impacting success. Industry Analysis This section examines industry forces using Porters Five Forces Analysis (See Appendix 1). Porters Analysis illustrates that both Industry Competition and Barrier to Entry are HIGH. Threat of Substitutes and Buyer Power are Medium and Supplier Power is Low (See Appendix 1 for detailed analysis). However, even in the face of such stable and fiercely competitive market, Nucor was continually able to maintain its strong position within the industry. Thus we now look to Nucors internal characteristics as a source for competitive advantage. We will write a custom essay sample on Why has Nucor performed so well in the past specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why has Nucor performed so well in the past specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why has Nucor performed so well in the past specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Internal Analysis This section compares Nucors superior resources and capabilities to its competitors, and discusses how it has exploited them for competitive advantage. Resources Capabilities * Strong Financials Resources with forecasted growth in cash flows further strengthening its investment or borrowing capacity. * Pioneering technology and technical sophistication in Thin Slab casting * Critical Mass of existing Mills and geographic locations in proximity to customer base. * Its reputation, brand equity and relationships with suppliers within the industry. * Its large existing customer base. * Its highly motivated workforce, build through a series of performance goals and high powered performance incentives (Nucor Case, 1990) * Lower cost production through pioneering technology. * Technological Superiority for greater efficiency in volume production * Rapid supply to assist in low inventory levels for customers. * Extensive experience in building Mini Mills efficiently * Consistent investment in maintaining capacity of production. * Long Term experience and success in the industry. * Lean, flat, decentralised organisational structure for rapid decision making. Michael Porters resource-based view suggests that the key to profitability is not through doing the same as other firms, but rather exploiting differences (Grant,2002). Aside from strong financial resources, Nucor understood its greatest resource was is its people. It utilised a combination of non unionised workforce, incentive systems, training and decentralised decision making to ensure the more effective is (was) to communicate with employees and the greater autonomy they had to make rapid and effective decisions (Nucor Case, 1990). This lowered production costs and improved employee productivity. In addition, Nucor had other significant resources at its disposal such as modern technology, advantageous locations, cheaper and more co-operative labour, entrepreneurial management, and narrow product lines, that let them wrest away share from integrated steel makers in the segments they served (Nucor Case, 1990). Nucor also demonstrated superior capabilities by effectively using its resources to develop efficiencies in volume production, and bring products to market more cheaply and more quickly than its competitors. There were three components to this capability. Firstly, Nucor utilised combination of research and development activities that refined speed and efficiency of the production process. Nucor had invested steadily and heavily in upgrading its capacity, old as well as new, (Nucor Case, 1990) and leveraged this capability to lower production time and costs. In addition, Nucor was consistently able to defend itself against substitutes through its cost reduction capabilities and lower prices. Secondly, Nucor was able to lower its investment/construction costs using their extensive experience in building and remodeling Mini Mills in ways other firms were unable to emulate. Nucor designed and built plants concurrently, reducing engineering costs to 2% of total costs, from the industry standard of 10%. With this experience, Nucor was able to make adjustments on the fly, and reduce time to project completion, thus providing positive cash-flows more quickly. Finally, it had speed of delivery to customers and suppliers by locating mills in similar geographic regions. Nucor was able to leverage these competencies to create sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. From a positional advantage (Porter, 2000) perspective, Nucor used its resources and capabilities for cost advantage. It was able to utilise its superior MM technology to lower its cost structure by taking advantage of the declines in integrated steel makers demand for scrap and eliminating coke ovens and blast furnaces (Nucor Case, 1990). No other competitor in the industry has used this focus to create value for its customers and superior profits for itself as Nucor had. Nucor was the low cost leader in the market. With this unique combination of resources and capabilities, Nucors distinctive competencies enabled high levels of innovation and efficiency in Mini-Mill (MM) production technologies. Such technology had the effect of reducing the minimal efficient scale of production from millions of tons to hundreds of thousands of tons, or less (Nucor Case, 1990) as well as reducing the capital cost per ton of capacity by a factor of 10.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Third Voyage of Christopher Columbus

The Third Voyage of Christopher Columbus After his famous 1492 voyage of discovery, Christopher Columbus was commissioned to return a second time, which he did with a large-scale colonization effort which departed from Spain in 1493. Although the second journey had many problems, it was considered successful because a settlement was founded: it would eventually become Santo Domingo, capital of the present-day Dominican Republic. Columbus served as governor during his stay in the islands. The settlement needed supplies, however, so Columbus returned to Spain in 1496. Preparations for the Third Voyage Columbus reported to the crown upon his return from the New World. He was dismayed to learn that his patrons, Ferdinand and Isabella, would not allow the taking of slaves in the newly discovered lands. As he had found little gold or precious commodities for which to trade, he had been counting on selling native slaves to make his voyages lucrative. The King and Queen of Spain allowed Columbus to organize a third trip to the New World with the goal of resupplying the colonists and continuing the search for a new trade route to the Orient. The Fleet Splits Upon departure from Spain in May of 1498, Columbus split his fleet of six ships: three would make for Hispaniola immediately to bring desperately needed supplies, while the other three would aim for points south of the already explored Caribbean to search for more land and perhaps even the route to the Orient that Columbus still believed to be there. Columbus himself captained the latter ships, being at heart an explorer and not a governor. Doldrums and Trinidad Columbus’ bad luck on the third voyage began almost immediately. After making slow progress from Spain, his fleet hit the doldrums, which is a calm, hot stretch of ocean with little or no wind. Columbus and his men spent several days battling heat and thirst with no wind to propel their ships. After a while, the wind returned and they were able to continue. Columbus veered to the north, because the ships were low on water and he wanted to resupply in the familiar Caribbean. On July 31, they sighted an island, which Columbus named Trinidad. They were able to resupply there and continue exploring. Sighting South America For the first two weeks of August  1498, Columbus and his small fleet explored the Gulf of Paria, which separates Trinidad from mainland South America. In the process of this exploration, they discovered the Island of Margarita as well as several smaller islands. They also discovered the mouth of the Orinoco River. Such a mighty freshwater river could only be found on a continent, not an island, and the increasingly religious Columbus concluded that he had found the site of the Garden of Eden. Columbus fell ill around this time and ordered the fleet to head to Hispaniola, which they reached on August 19. Back in Hispaniola In the roughly two years since Columbus had been gone, the settlement on Hispaniola had seen some rough times. Supplies and tempers were short and the vast wealth that Columbus had promised settlers while arranging the second voyage had failed to appear. Columbus had been a poor governor during his brief tenure (1494-1496) and the colonists were not happy to see him. The settlers complained bitterly, and Columbus had to hang a few of them in order to stabilize the situation. Realizing that he needed help governing the unruly and hungry settlers, Columbus sent to Spain for assistance. Francisco de Bobadilla Responding to rumors of strife and poor governance on the part of Columbus and his brothers, the Spanish crown sent Francisco de Bobadilla to Hispaniola in 1500. Bobadilla was a nobleman and a knight of the Calatrava order, and he was given broad powers by the Spanish crown, superseding those of Colombus. The crown needed to rein in the unpredictable Colombus and his brothers, who in addition to being tyrannical governors were also suspected of improperly gathering wealth. In 2005, a document was found in the Spanish archives: it contains first-hand accounts of the abuses of Columbus and his brothers. Columbus Imprisoned Bobadilla arrived in August 1500, with 500 men and a handful of native slaves that Columbus had brought to Spain on a previous voyage: they were to be freed by royal decree. Bobadilla found the situation as bad as he had heard. Columbus and Bobadilla clashed: because there was little love for Columbus among the settlers, Bobadilla was able to clap him and his brothers in chains and throw them in a dungeon. In October 1500, the three Columbus brothers were sent back to Spain, still in shackles. From getting stuck in the doldrums to being shipped back to Spain as a prisoner, Columbus’ Third Voyage was a fiasco. Aftermath and Importance Back in Spain, Columbus was able to talk his way out of trouble: he and his brothers were freed after spending only a few weeks in prison. After the first voyage, Columbus had been granted a series of important titles and concessions. He was appointed Governor and Viceroy of the newly discovered lands and was given the title of Admiral, which would pass to his heirs. By 1500, the Spanish crown was beginning to regret this decision, as Columbus had proven to be a very poor governor and the lands he had discovered had the potential to be extremely lucrative. If the terms of his original contract were honored, the Columbus family would eventually siphon off a great deal of wealth from the crown. Although he was freed from prison and most of his lands and wealth were restored, this incident gave the crown the excuse they needed to strip Columbus of some of the costly concessions that they had originally agreed to. Gone were the positions of Governor and Viceroy and the profits were reduced as well. Columbus’ children later fought for the privileges conceded to Columbus with mixed success, and legal wrangling between the Spanish crown and the Columbus family over these rights would continue for some time. Columbus’ son Diego would eventually serve for a time as Governor of Hispaniola due to the terms of these agreements. The disaster that was the third voyage essentially brought to a close the Columbus Era in the New World. While other explorers, such as Amerigo Vespucci, believed that Columbus had found previously unknown lands, he stubbornly held to the claim that he had found the eastern edge of Asia and that he would soon find the markets of India, China, and Japan. Although many at court believed Columbus to be mad, he was able to put together a fourth voyage, which if anything was a bigger disaster than the third one. The fall of Columbus and his family in the New World created a power vacuum, and the King and Queen of Spain quickly filled it with Nicols de Ovando, a Spanish nobleman who was appointed governor. Ovando was a cruel but effective governor who ruthlessly wiped out native settlements and continued the exploration of the New World, setting the stage for the Age of Conquest. Sources: Herring, Hubert. A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the Present.. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962 Thomas, Hugh. Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan. New York: Random House, 2005.

Friday, November 22, 2019

How to Add Privacy and Security to Your Coschedule Account + Content

How to Add Privacy and Security to Your Account + Content We’ve all heard stories about [insert any terrible instance of brand sabotage]. Stories of a little too much trustand not enough security. The stories of users deleting content or publishing a blog post too soon (by accidentor not) or someone with incorrect permissions seeing something they shouldn’t†¦ And the worst casesomeone leaving a company (usually not by choice)  and doing everything they can to take it down with them. Not cool. How To Add Privacy To Your Calendar and Secure Your [Awesome] ContentThe information age can be a scary place, one where your brand’s reputation is always on the line. Here at , we want to give you peace of mind and know that the security of your calendar is our absolute *TOP*  priority. Plus, we make it easy to manage your calendar’s users, roles, and permissions. With you can: Add multi-layered privacy to your calendar with custom user + role permissions. Know exactly what each team member has access to (at any given moment). Limit  the visibility of content on your calendar  by managing the access of multiple teams or users, so they can focus on the content that matters to them (nothing more, nothing less). Control your content  by granting users read only, drafting or full editing rights. Easily restrict publishing rights to specific users, so you can rest assured your content gets published (the right way) every time. Because our goal is to keep your calendar marketing efforts†¦ †¦AND your brand’s reputation as secure as possible. ðŸ‘Å' Add Multi-Layered Privacy To Your Calendar You’ve got quite a few people inside your calendar. †¦.with each person contributing in a different way. Which is great! But, since they aren’t all in the same  roles, each person on your team might need varying permissions when it comes to accessing your calendar. With , you can easily create + edit custom user permissions based on the level of access you want a specific person to have. For example, your intern probably needs WAY less access to all the content on your calendar than your marketing manager. Or if you work in an agency with multiple clients on the same calendar, you can easily set up both your clients and agency team members with custom user permissionswithout making it difficult for everyone to work inside your calendar. And creating a layer of privacy, especially when there may be confidential items that may be listed on your calendar, is a nice option to have. It’s real nice. Get Started Using Custom User Permissions For example’s sake, let’s pretend you’ve just hired a new employee. To invite a new user and customize their permissions, head into your Settings, and select â€Å"Team† from the left hand side bar.  Once you get to the Team Page, select â€Å"Invite New User.† Choose â€Å"Invite via Email† and add an email address. (skip the WordPress Author piece for now. If they end up being able to post blogs through your calendar, you can add a WordPress Author at a later time). Then, select the role (or level of access), you want to give each new team member. If you’re just starting with team permissions, the only option you’ll have is to assign the new person as a â€Å"User† or a â€Å"Guest.† Once you start creating custom roles, that’s where you can get really specific with access levels. For a breakdown of the difference between a â€Å"user† and a â€Å"guest†Ã‚  check out the comparison below: If you choose to give â€Å"user† access, your team member can also be given â€Å"admin†Ã‚  access by turning the button from â€Å"OFF† to â€Å"ON.† Users without admin access can only access Social Profiles in the calendars settings (no other settings options will be visible). So, they won’t even be able to see the Team Settings page that you’re in now unless they are given â€Å"admin† access. Once you have successfully added a new user, you will be directed back to the main Team page. Here you will notice that you can view all the varying levels of access each current team member has, and easily edit the permissions of a specific user if needed. For instance, if you have to let someone go from your team, you can use the team permissions page as a kill switch by quickly editing their permissions to â€Å"read-only† so you can protect your content and your calendar. *whew* With , you can even create custom role permissions  within your team settings. Basically, custom role permissions allow you to create a permissions template if you have (or are going to have) multiple people you consider to be in the same role. This saves you time from having to manually assign the same permissions in the future. ^^#timesaver So by creating custom roles, the next time you hire a project manager or social media intern, it’s quick and easy  to set them up with specific levels of access in your calendar. Besides being able to add internal users (and customize their permissions) to your calendar, you can also add an outside user as a â€Å"Guest† within your calendar (Team Pro or Multi Calendar plans only). Why is that awesome? If someone is added as a â€Å"Guest† the only thing they can view and edit is the project they have been assigned to by a user inside the calendar. For instance, if you are working with another company on a single campaign or blog post, you might not want them to see everything your team is working on. Easily set up custom user and role permissions within your calendar to give yourself peace of mind. Waithow does it do that?! Because now you will know if each person in your calendar has the correct amount of access they need to effectively work on their content saving you time AND your precious mental energy. No more worrying for you! And that’s pretty awesome. Limit The Visibility Of Content On Your Calendar You use your calendar for EVERYTHING. Every marketing campaign, every blog post, every social promotion, and every task. But sometimes†¦ there might be private or confidential information  that you still have to plan for†¦ or you want to limit who can see what because it’s not relevant  to them†¦ And that’s when the idea of sharing everything on your calendar with everyone†¦ suddenly becomes a little less than ideal. But luckily, with you can easily  limit the visibility of content on your calendar. For instance, if you work at a company with multiple teams, you may want each team to see only their specific content (to eliminate clutter on their calendars, or, I don’t know, to actually keep a top secret project, a secret). And if you’re an agency with multiple clients on your calendar, you can use this feature to easily adjust each client’s visibility settings so they can only see the content they should seeand nothing more. For example, if your client is â€Å"Pho Shizzle†Ã‚  you are able to create a new role within your team permissions and actually call it â€Å"Pho Shizzle† Once you’ve given the role a name, simply select the permission settings that will work best for you: Content: Decide what they can see (content they own or are following versus  all content on the calendar), if they can create content, edit it, delete content, or if they can publish the content. Social Messages:  Decide which profiles they are allowed to see or post from. Events + Notes:  Decide if they are allowed to create, edit, or delete events or notes. ReQueue Groups:  Decide if they will be able to add, modify or delete ReQueue Groups AND ReQueue Messages. Team Filtering:  Decide if they can interact with other team members (and who). Admin Settings:  Decide if they are a social, team, or full admin of the calendar. And while using a single calendar and creating custom roles is pretty darn effective, if you are an agency with a lot of clients, we recommend a Multi-Calendar plan as your simplest + easiest solution for keeping client work separate from  other  client work. The the biggest perk of being able to create custom roles? As the admin, you can still see EVERYTHING that is going on within your calendarwhile everyone else can only see the specific content that matters to them. Sometimes there are things you don’t want everyone to see. Like a top secret feature launchor another client’s marketing campaign†¦ or that super-hilarious blog post called the â€Å"Top 10 Reasons to Open a Hot Dog Stand† you’ve been planning†¦(no judgement here). Whatever your reason, easily limit the visibility of content on your calendar with . ðŸ™Å' Control Your Content Remember when it was just you managing your calendar? Every editpublishing date†¦social messageit was up to you to make the final call. Times may have changed (or maybe never existed if you’ve always worked in a large team), but that doesn’t mean you need to give up complete control of your content. With , you can grant users read-only, drafting or full editing rights  when it comes to your content. For instance, if you work in an agency and have a client who has access to your calendar, you can easily control the amount of access based on what works best for your partnership. Or, if you work in a large company and your boss (or bosses) only needs to be able to view documents (but will never make any edits directly in the calendar), it’s simple to give them â€Å"read-only† access. You can even restrict publishing rights  to specific users (or single user) so you can rest assured your content gets published the right way,  every time, by someone you trust. Simply find the user you want to adjust within your â€Å"Team† page, and decide the level of publishing access you want to give them throughout your [entire] calendar. Why are restricted publishing rights useful? Let’s say you have an intern and want them to have the ability to draft content, but unable to publish to your blog or social accounts. (Recommended!) Or you want to limit the users who can publish (for accountability’s sake), because you’ve established a good amount of trust in them and don’t want so many hands in the mix. And let’s be realyou’re also trying to avoid some pretty terrible marketing mishaps: *like when Rhode Island accidentally posted a promo video about their state with footage from Iceland on their Twitter account* (someone could have checked, right) OR *when someone accidentally posted on the US Justice Department’s Twitter account instead of their own*  (signing in and out of accounts could be avoided if you scheduled your social through just saying) Tisk, tisk. Plus, as an extra level of control, you can easily check and see who posted any  of your content using our handy Security Access Logs (located within your Team Settings). We know that the security of your calendar is SUPER important†¦ and we also know how much of a task it can be just managing all the settings on your calendar. Which is why we make it EASY to manage your permissions. Set it and forget it OR easily update a user at a moment’s notice. Just call yourself Security Captain†¦ because with , your marketing calendar (and your brand’s reputation) has never been safer.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Reflection and Refraction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection and Refraction - Essay Example On the other hand, when light moving in one direction meets a transparent substance, it is deflected and changes the angle of direction. The properties mentioned above represent reflection and refraction respectively. Reflection is visible when the direction of light is obscured by an opaque substance. Although some light may be absorbed by the substance, most of it bounces off the substances and moves in the opposite direction. The laws of reflection explain that both the angle of reflection and incidence are equal (Stille 37). However, this depends on the nature of the surface that lights bounces off. A smooth surface will produce an equal angle of reflection as that of incidence. However, a rough surface will produce multiple rays reflected at different angles. The laws of reflection were visible during the lab experiment where rays of light were shone on a mirror. In addition, the laws explain how images are formed by mirrors. Snell’s law explains how light behaves when it moves from one form of matter to another. When light travels from one medium to another, it produces transmitted rays that appear to be bending (Stille 38). Refraction is influenced by both the densities of the two media and the angle of the incident ray. The laws of refraction were visible in the lab experiment where students viewed a coin immersed in a glass

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

A Midsummer Night's Dream Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Assignment Example Another instance that people make decisions for others is Demetrius wants to marry Helena but since his father has asked him to marry Hermia then he has to obey. Another situation is where the decision to love is placed on a cupid. In the play there is a quote â€Å"Cupid painted blind. Nor hath loves mind of any judgment taste†¦ Because of the choice, he is so oft beguiled. The writer of the play has bestowed the decision to love or not to love on Cupid. This might not be a person making a decision for another but rather leaving this to fate. Theseus makes a comment in the last scene that says that people let fear distort people’s senses and make people see things that do not exist. In a literal sense allowing fear make decisions for you is a sense of control. This quotes shows it â€Å"Or in the night, imagining some fear, How easy is a bush supposed a bear?†.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Effects of Agriculture Essay Example for Free

Effects of Agriculture Essay Because it was tremendously essential for survival, had a monumental impact immediately on society and continues to affect us even to this day, agriculture was the most influential development of the early civilizations. The people of the first civilizations needed agriculture because it was an easy, more efficient way of obtaining food. The early peoples had to hunt and gather their food, and, â€Å"Hunting depended on the careful observation of behavioral patterns† (Duiker, W. J. Spielvogel, J. J. 2001). It must have been challenging to always be moving and searching, just so they could find food that day. However, deciding to stop and grow food, in one reachable convenient location, would have solved the issue of having to go through all the extra steps of hunting down animals. After a long time of humans living successfully in the Old Stone Age, and ice age occurred cause a devastating drought, which killed off most of the vegetation. â€Å"All living things started clustering around sources such as lakes and river† (Howe, H. , Howe, R. T. 1992). Because all living things clustered around water sources, there was more competition, human and non-human alike, for the already diminished food supply. Naturally, the people of the early civilizations would need to grow their own food in order to sustain their population. Shortly after farming’s conception many life-changing discoveries, like trade, were made. â€Å"Some people became artisan, made weapons, and jewelry that were traded with neighbors† (Duiker, W. J. Spielvogel, J. J. 2001). When people started to farm they began producing more food then they need. These food surpluses allowed people to do other things with their time such as, make weapons and jewelry that could in turn be traded for other people’s goods. The change to farming also immediately affected the relationships between men and women. â€Å"Men assumed the primary responsibility for working in the fields and herding animals, jobs that kept them away from the home. Women remained behind caring for the children and weaving cloth, making cheese from milk, and jobs that required considerable labor in one place† (Duiker, W. J. Spielvogel, J. J. 2001). The men had to go work in the fields because planting, growing and harvesting crops required long hours of great physical labor that the women couldn’t take. Also the work in the fields was seen as more important, and so men assumed a more dominant role in society. Not only did agriculture immediately change society, but the changes it created are still evident today. Trade is done in the almost same way and for the same reasons as in ancient times. People still make goods and perform services in exchange for something else. However, rather than exchanging work for another good or service, people today use the cash system. In the cash system people provide labor so they get money in return. The money they earn can then be used to by various products or services. The relationship between men and women established because of agriculture is prevalent today as well. Not only do men still have a more dominant role in society but they still do more difficult and important work. The standard of men working while the women stay home and care for the house is still typical for families today. If the women do work though, they almost never have physically demanding jobs with long, hard hours like being a construction worker or farmer. Also not only are the vast majority of politicians, C. E. O. s, business owners, and other powerful workers men, but men also more often than not get paid higher than women. Truly, because of the fact the early people needed a more steady food source, it almost instantaneously changed humankind, and it evidently still affects the world today, agriculture was the most significant advancement of the early peoples. Bibliography Duiker, W. J. Spielvogel, J. J. , (2001) Third Edition World History Comprehensive Volume. assBelmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc. Howe, H. , Howe, R. T. , (1992) A World History. White Plains, NY: Longman

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Theme and Setting in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Theme and Setting in Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is a novella that is one story being told by Marlow within the actual story by Joseph Conrad. The novella is set on a boat, the Nellie, on the Thames river in England, but the story that Marlow tells is set in the Belgian Congo. When relating the theme of this novella to the setting it has to be looked at from both the Thames and Congo rivers. Heart of Darkness shows the superiority of whites over blacks in a context where the blacks are considered to be savages and whites are supposed to be civilized. Marlow is telling the story to his friends in the dark of night on the Thames river. As he begins the day is just ending "in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance." It is a very sombre and dull atmosphere and as the calmness begins to fade it becomes more profound. At one point Marlow stops and is interrupted by the unknown narrator who describes the setting on the Nellie. "It had become so pitch dark that we listeners could hardly see one another. For a long time already he, sitting apart, had been no more to us than a voice....I listened, I listened on the watch for the sentence, for the word, that would give me the clew to the faint uneasiness inspired by this narrative that seemed to shape itself without human lips in the heavy nightair of the river." As the story ends the setting on the Thames river is once again described by the unseen narrator. "The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky-seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." The superiority of whites over blacks in the novella faces the harsh reality that the whites are there not to colonize the Congo but to conquer it. As Marlow puts it "They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force-nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. Theme and Setting in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays Theme and Setting in Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is a novella that is one story being told by Marlow within the actual story by Joseph Conrad. The novella is set on a boat, the Nellie, on the Thames river in England, but the story that Marlow tells is set in the Belgian Congo. When relating the theme of this novella to the setting it has to be looked at from both the Thames and Congo rivers. Heart of Darkness shows the superiority of whites over blacks in a context where the blacks are considered to be savages and whites are supposed to be civilized. Marlow is telling the story to his friends in the dark of night on the Thames river. As he begins the day is just ending "in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance." It is a very sombre and dull atmosphere and as the calmness begins to fade it becomes more profound. At one point Marlow stops and is interrupted by the unknown narrator who describes the setting on the Nellie. "It had become so pitch dark that we listeners could hardly see one another. For a long time already he, sitting apart, had been no more to us than a voice....I listened, I listened on the watch for the sentence, for the word, that would give me the clew to the faint uneasiness inspired by this narrative that seemed to shape itself without human lips in the heavy nightair of the river." As the story ends the setting on the Thames river is once again described by the unseen narrator. "The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky-seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." The superiority of whites over blacks in the novella faces the harsh reality that the whites are there not to colonize the Congo but to conquer it. As Marlow puts it "They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force-nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Erving Goffman Focuses on Form of Social Interaction

Examine the view that Erving Goffman’s work focuses on forms of social interaction but ignores social structure. Erving Goffman was born on the 11th June 1922 in Mannville, Canada. In 1939, Goffman enrolled at the University of Manitoba where he pursued an undergraduate degree in chemistry; however he then took an interest for sociology while working temporarily at the National Film Board in Ottawa.This was the motivation that he then needed to go on and enrol at the University of Toronto where he studied anthropology and sociology, then after graduating with a degree he began a masters in sociology at the University of Chicago, which was one of the centres’ of sociological research in the United States. In the decade from 1959-1969 Goffman published seven significant books, this was a remarkable achievement, and so has been considered as the most influential sociologist of the twentieth century. The focus of his work was the organisation of observable, everyday behavio ur, usually but not always among unacquainted in urban settings.He used a variety of qualitative methods; he then developed classifications of the different elements of social interaction. The assumption of this approach was that these classifications were heuristic, simplifying tools for sociological analysis that did not capture the complexity of lived experience. Goffman was heavily influenced by George Mead and Herbert Blumer in his theoretical framework, and went on to pioneer the study of face-to-face interaction, elaborate the â€Å"dramaturgical approach† to human interaction, and develop numerous concepts that would have massive influence.Goffman mainly concentrated on the detailed analysis of encounters and the norms governing these encounters, therefore the evaluation of face-to-face interactions, paying close attention to the small details of these interactions and discovering things that may seem insignificant yet actually are what structure behaviour and behavio ur norms. In doing so, Goffman investigated gestures, such as shaking hands or placing a hand on someone else’s shoulder and facial expressions during interactions. These types of gestures came to be known as ‘grammatical structures’ of social interactions.Social interactions create the world to be a predictable place and saw interactions as rituals, in the sense that ‘interaction order’ as Goffman called it is a social order, when we disrupt interaction we disrupt society. Goffman argued that our interactions give us a sense of our social belonging and our sense of inviolability of people. When discussing social interaction Goffman uses notions from the theatre in his analyses. The concept of social role originated in a theatrical setting. Roles are socially defined expectations that a person in a given status, or social position, follows.Goffman sees social life as though played out by actors on a stage, as how people act depends on the roles that they are playing at that time. Goffman then suggests that social life is divided into regions and back regions. The front regions are social occasions or encounters in which individuals act out formal roles; they are essentially, ‘on stage performances’. An example of this would be within the family between a husband and wife who may take care to conceal their quarrels from their children, preserving a front harmony, only to fight bitterly once the children are safely tucked up in bed.The back regions may resemble the backstage of the theatre, where people can relax and open up about their feelings and styles of behaviour they keep in check when on stage. Back regions permit ‘profanities, open sexual remarks, elaborate griping, use of dialect or substandard speech’. (Goffman, 1959). Thus, a waitress may be the soul of quiet courtesy when serving a customer, but become loud and aggressive once behind the swing doors of the kitchen. Goffman (1959) argued that performance teams routinely use backstage regions for such purposes.This approach by Goffman is usually described as ‘dramaturgical’; that is, it is an approach based on an analogy with the theatre, with its front and backstage regions. However, Goffman is not suggesting that the social world really is a stage, but that, using the dramaturgical analogy, we can study certain aspects of it and learn more about why people behave in ways they do. (Giddens: 268: 2009). In The Presentation of Everyday Life (1959), Goffman outlined a conceptual framework in which any occasion of face-to-face interaction can be interpreted as a theatrical performance.Expanding the ideas of Kenneth Burke, who pioneered a ‘dramatist’ approach. Burke identifies five elements that have to be taken account of in any discussion or analysis of social interaction. The first being act, which refers to what is done. Typical acts such as telling jokes, drinking a cup of coffee and so on are all interpreted, all symbolic displays communicating to the audience of what’s going on. Then the scene, it is the situation, the context, the setting and the props and it is what the actors relate to. The agent relates to the ndividual that carries out the action, they act but with an identity, with an image of self that is presented to the audience. Burke argues image of self is going to relate to the acts that have been carried out and the context in which the act is being carried out. He states that self’s are not things which are not fixed, they are something presented to the audience. Purpose, why do people do things? One reason being because they have motives, they are taken very seriously and are the reason for people’s behaviour. Purposes are not fixed; they depend on what is being carried out.Finally the last element which Burke discusses is agency which is the theoretical points, he claims that the whole lot is realised through language. From these el ements Goffman then went on to develop his own ‘dramaturgical’ investigations based on six themes: the performance, the team, the region, discrepant roles, communication out of the character and impression management. Nothing of Goffman’s dramaturgical world is quite what it seems. Rather, people are all portrayed as performers enacting rehearsed lines and roles in places that are carefully constructed in order to maximise the potential of deception.He then goes on to suggest that as performers people both ‘give’ and ‘give off’ impressions. It has been suggested that Goffman’s dramaturgical world is thus one of misdirection in which general suspicion is necessary; he developed an interest in espionage practices mainly because he recognised these as extensions of everyday behaviour. Goffman then went on to identify five moves in social interaction which are the ‘unwitting’, the ‘naive’, the ‘covering ’, the ‘uncovering’ and finally the ‘counter uncovering’ move (1959: 11-27).Each of these moves is designed either to achieve some advantage directly, or to reveal the strategies of other players. These moves are used in social worlds, or as Goffman called them, ‘situated activity systems’. Each is regulated by adopted norms known by system’s members. Rather than concentrating on the production of meanings, the definition of the situation and relevant symbols, as Bulmer advocated, Goffman proposed the study of ‘strategic interaction’ using the vocabulary outlined above.However, for reasons which are uncertain, neither Goffman nor anyone else developed this proposal, and the relationship between symbolic interactionism and strategic interaction has been largely ignored. For Goffman, the concern between the individual and society was through ritual. Goffman’s use of ritual was indebted to Durkheim; arguing that t he ‘self’ in modern society becomes a sacred object in the same way that the collective symbols of more primitive societies, operated in Durkheim’s â€Å"The Elementary Forms of Religious Life†.The ‘self’ as â€Å"sacred object must be treated with proper ritual care and in turn must be presented in a proper light to others† (1967:87). The rituals of modern social life that individuals perform for each to maintain, â€Å"civility and good will on the performer’s part† and acknowledge the â€Å"small patrimony of sacredness† possessed by the recipient are ‘stand ins’ for the power of supernatural entities described by Durkheim (Goffman, 1961:62).As Goffman put it, â€Å"Many gods have been done away with, but the individual himself stubbornly remains as a deity of considerable importance† (1967:95). In Asylums (1961), Goffman analysed the extreme backstages of society, such as the schizophrenic wa rds of mental hospitals. He proposed the concept of â€Å"total instituations† for places where all aspects of life are subject to all encompssing authority that allows no private backstages for the individuals.Goffman argued that patients engage in resistance through bizarre behaviour which is beyond insitutional controls. Thus, the official social processing of persons as deviant tends to promote further deviance. Mental illness, in Goffman’s view, is not a characteristic of the individual so much as a social enactment, a spiral of violations of the ritual properties of everyday life. Therefore Goffman drew upon his fieldwork to make a point that one becomes labeled as mentally ill because one persistently violates minor standards of ritual proriety.He claims that these mentally ill patients are deprieved of backstage privacy, props for situational self-presentation, and most of the other resources by which people under ordinary conditions are allowed to show their w ell demeaned selves and their ability to take part in the reciprocity of giving ritual deference to others. This research is familiar to that of Durkheim’s research on suicide, not so much to show why people kill themselves but to reveal the normal conditions that keep up social solidarity and give meaning to life. George Simmel was another major influence for Goffman.Goffman looked at the details of everyday life not simply as illustrations or data for theoretical abstractions, but to provide an accurate description of the social world. Simmel’s concept of â€Å"pure sociation† established the study of interaction as basic to sociological analysis. Goffman continued this tradition in his insistence that face-to-face interaction comprised an independent area of sociological analysis. â€Å"My concern over the years has been to promote acceptance of this face to face domainas an analytically viable one† (1983b:1).These methods that Gofman has used of incor porating the Simmelian micro level of interaction and the macro level analysis of Durkheimian ritual behaviour have been described as empirically electric, for example, in his book â€Å"Behaviour in Public Place†, Goffman noted that the data which he used came from different studies which he had carried, they included ones of a mental hospital, a study of a Shetland Island community and even some from manuals of etiquette which he had kept in a file of quotations that he found interesting. 1963:4). His approach was basically identifying the ways in which individuals in a variety of social contexts accomplished interaction. Thus, he paid attention to speech as well as silence. Goffman expected Frame Analysis (1974) to be his crowning achievement. In this book he stated that he was concerned with â€Å"the structure of experience individuals has at any moment of their lives† and made â€Å"no claim whatsoever to be talking about the core matters of sociology-social org anisation and social structure† (1974:13).However, this does not mean that Goffman or integrationists generally ignore society and social structures. Goffman’s position was that the nature of society and its structures or institutions is discovered in the behaviours of individuals. He suggested, â€Å"If persons have a universal human nature, they themselves are not to be looked to for an explanation of it. One must look rather to the fact societies everywhere, if they are to be societies, must mobilise their members as self-regulating participants in social encounters. Fundamentally what Goffman is saying is that society frames interaction, but interaction is not dependant on macrostructures. Furthermore, interaction can have a transformative impact on social structures. There is a key point in Goffman’s work, which is that he rejected the classical sociological opposition between the individual and social structure that still retains credibility in current soc iological theory. For Goffman, â€Å"individual and social structure are not competing entities; they are joint products of an interaction order sui generis† (Rawls 1987:138).As people in their daily life spend in the presence of others, people are then socially situated and so this social situatedness gives rise to â€Å"indicators, expressions or symptoms of social structures such as relationships, informed groups, age grades, gender, ethnic minorities, social classes and the like†, these ‘effects’ should be treated as â€Å"data in their own terms† (1983b:2). Furthermore, social structures are â€Å"dependent upon, and vulnerable to, what occurs in face-to-face encounters† (1983:246).Although social structures don’t determine displays such as rituals and ceremonies, they do however â€Å"help select from the available repertoire of them† (1983b:251). Thus, there is a sense of â€Å"loose coupling† that lies between tha t of interaction and social structure. An example which can be used to explain this is that of a small number of males, â€Å"such as junior executives who have to wait and hang on others’ words† in a manner similar to that of women involved in informal cross-sexed interaction (1983:252).What this observation allows Goffman to do is create a role category of subordination that â€Å"women and junior executives share† (1983b:252). It can be said that Goffman does not intentionally ignore social structure; he just does not provide any definition of it, other than to point out their constructed and framing nature. Frames can be seen as basic assumptions enabling people to understand what is going on in any encounter or situation and the interaction enabling the individual to respond appropriately.Frame Analysis is an investigation of what occurs when individuals ask themselves and others, â€Å"what is going on here? † (1974:153). Meaning that Goffman is not dealing with the structure of social life but with the structure of experience that individuals have at any moment of their social lives, when they believe they understand â€Å"what is going on†, they will â€Å"fit their actions to this understanding and ordinarily find that the on-going world supports this fitting† (1974:158). Goffman believes that everyday activities carried out by individuals are â€Å"framed† in different ways, although they are performed sequentially.In conclusion it can be said that Goffman’s work cannot be easily â€Å"placed† in any on theoretical tradition. His work was and remains a constant source of renewal in many different directions for sociological theory, which have been discussed throughout the duration on this essay. Goffman described his work as the promotion of the â€Å"face-to-face domain as an analytically viable one-a domain which might be titled†¦the interaction order- a domain whose preferred met hod of study is microanalysis† (1983b:2).However, Anthony Giddens (1984) pointed out that Goffman’s sociological analysis still needs to bridge the divide between the micro and macro, between face-to-face interactions and social structures. As his contribution to social theory consists in the idea of an interaction order sui generis this derives its order from constraints imposed by the needs of a presentational self rather than social structure. There are errors in the interpretation of Goffman’s work which have contributed to the misunderstanding of this contribution.Firstly, while the notion of presentational self has presumably been understood, it has nevertheless been re-embedded in the traditional dichotomy between agency and social structure. Consequently Goffman has been interpreted as documenting the struggle between the two; secondly, because of the attention Goffman gave to strategic action, it is assumed that Goffman considered this to be the basic fo rm of action.Thirdly, Goffman has been interpreted as focusing on the details of the interactional negotiation of social structure and fourthly, Goffman is thought to have ignored the important issues such as inequality and institutional constraint. Bibliography * Durkheim E. 1912. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. * Goffman E. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. * Goffman E. 1961. Asylums Harmondsworth: Penguin. * Goffman E. 1963. Behavior in Public Places: Notes on the Social Organization of Gatherings * Goffman E. 1971. Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order Basic Books: New York. Goffman E. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience, Harper and Row, New York. * Goffman E. 1983b. ‘The Interaction Order’ American Sociological Review Vol. 48. * Goffman, Erving. 1967. Interaction Ritual: Essays in Face-to-Face Behavior. Chicago: Aldine. * Giddens A. 1984. The Constitution of Society. Berkeley: University Of Califor na Press. * Giddens A. 2009. Sociology 6th Addition. * Rawls Warfield A. 1987. The Interaction Order Sui Generis: Goffman’s Contribution to Social Theory. Sociological Theory, Volume 5, Issue (Autumn,1987).

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Welcome home

What did I do before I came to Blue Ridge Job Corp.? My name is Iodine Jackson I was born in Long Island, New York. I am 22 years old and I dropped out of school at a very young age. I have two children that are both two years old Sauvignon Jackson & Shall Brown that I have been taking care of by myself, but right as now there with my father.I used to work at a restaurant called Dyne's for about 8 months I also Volunteered at a Nursing home helping create ; make activities for them while they are there I currently reside In Hampton, Virginia with my sisters and family, and I hope to become a productive Individual one day. Being here Is an opportunity of a Lifetime to create a better life for me ; my children. Who Influenced me to attend Blue Ridge Job Corp. ? My family Influenced me to come to Job Corp. because Its free It also helps me become more employable, responsible : a productive citizen.Job corps Is a place where I can receive my High school Diploma, Drivers Licenses earn: al so become trained in a variety of trades. At this point I really had no choice in whether I was going to attend or not this was my only choice. The main reason why I came here with for my family ; children. Why am I here? I am here to prove that I can be .

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Aircraft Solution Essays

Aircraft Solution Essays Aircraft Solution Essay Aircraft Solution Essay Aircraft Solutions is a well respected equipment and component fabrication company who ? provides a full spectrum design and implementation solutions to several industries which? includes; electronics, aerospace, commercial and the defense sectors. Aircraft Solutions employs ? a range of highly qualified professionals and houses an immense production plant, with an ? overall goal of providing high-quality solutions to accommodate specifications from a wide? range of customer demands. The following report is a security assessment on Aircraft Solutions? nd the primary objective in this assessment is to identify the existence of vulnerabilities present ? within the global context of Aircraft Solutions’ operations. An evaluation of the associated ? threats will be deduced, accompanied by the exposed weaknesses. This will be followed by an? analysis of the degree of risk present. Finally, there will be a focus on the consideration of the? consequences resulting from revealing of po tential threats. Assessment ? Hardware and policy will be the main focus of this investigation. It will be narrowed down more ? o hardware issues. It is very curious that there is no firewall implemented between the? commercial division and the Internet. The Defense Department must be routed through? Headquarters, but the Commercial department is connected straight to the Internet. This is a? significant vulnerability. The second weakness that will be examined is the security policy? stating router and firewall rule sets should be evaluated every two years. Such a time span? between rule-set evaluations is also a substantial liability to the continued and unimpeded? success of the organization. Further elaboration of the identified security vulnerabilities is ? presented. Hardware Vulnerabilities: The issue pertaining to Aircraft Solution’s hardware weakness is that of the lack of adequate? protection implemented between its Commercial Division and the rest of the world, connected to ? the Internet. In one view of AS’s network infrastructure, it even appears as though the CD must? transmit through the Internet in order to connect to Headquarters. The fact remains in either case ? that there is a significant increase of this division of AS operations to outside threat. The threat? ere is characterized by the inability of the CD to filter web traffic, which is effectively? equivalent to inviting the world in to see everything there is to see. (Northrop, T. 2010) In this ? case, this might include AS’s commercial client’s confidential information, classified divisional? statistics pertaining to budgets, deadlines, or contracts, confidential employee information, etc.? The vulnerability is the absence of a firewall. The threat is an open exposure to the uncertainties? of the Internet, to any number of automated or personalized attacks or attempts to exploit? ompany vital statistics and/or confidential or classified data. To help illustrate the risks of such a ? threat occurring, a typical Risk Matrix, which is commonly used by a number of companies and ? organizations, to include the military, will be utilized. This matrix was borrowed from the? Scottish Government’s, Risk Management website.? Because the possible consequences of the threat of company infiltration by malicious parties ? could result in not only devastating company-wide data leak but also the potential of client data? xploitation, modification, or even blackmail, the potential consequences would be marked ? ‘Extreme’. Because the likelihood is not only possible, but quite feasible between likely and certain (optimistically), this brings the level of risk to a near state of emergency, being ? characterized in the chart either by orange or red.? A possible worst-case scenario might involve a company’s data being hi-jacked. The severity of ? the event would be factored by all of the client’s data being exposed. This could lead to possible ? tampering with of client orders. Client devastation is to be expected on these kinds of situations. ?Information could be sold to a rival organization, which could then effectively be used to gain? considerable competitive advantage over AS. Several events could occur in these situations, it ? includes, either a tremendous loss of monetary assets and depleted of reputation, or worse yet,? the data could be exploited in such a way as to be manipulated for years undetected, leading to? countless losses on all fronts. Policy Vulnerability ?The vulnerability in company policy exists in its security directive stating ule sets for routers? and firewalls be evaluated at intervals of two years. Obviously, a lot can happen in two years to ? warrant a much more frequent evaluation timeline. There are many vendors who specialize in? constant rule-set monitoring, like RedSeal. net, which prevent the exploitation of vulnerabilities ? caused by outdated security configurations.? There is no definitive and quantitative rule for th e frequency of evaluation of rule-sets should be? conducted. Certain measurable changes within the company’s infrastructure should be expected? o change as a result of responding to economy situations and sales fluctuations. This should also ? be applied to rule-sets for router and firewall security configurations. Leaving rule-sets stagnant? for two years presents the risk of improperly configured security configurations for firewalls and ? routers due to the natural evolution of the company’s assets and network infrastructure. As a? result, the potential exists for malicious programming initiated by hackers to exploit these out? dated rule-sets, which could lead to disaster. Outdated rule-sets, with a little imagination, could? e likened to a bank that accumulated too much money to keep in their vault, and as a result,? decided to store it in the lobby instead. Perhaps not as blatantly drastic, but out dated rule sets? would potentially dictate the wrong rules at the wrong time for the wrong reason. The likelihood? of this vulnerability being exploited by hackers isn’t at first glance as high as the risk present in ? the last example, because there isn’t any way to know how much the company would change in ? two years. Feasibly, if there were no changes, than two years may suffice, but if one thing has? een consistent throughout the ages, it is change. If indeed significant change within two years? can be assumed, then the vulnerability grows with time, as does the company’s exposure to? threat, and the chances of such vulnerabilities being exploited would logically agree with a? ‘possible-to-likely’ rating on the risk matrix. The consequences of these potential vulnerabilities? being exploited could be numerous and severe, or it could amount to a disgruntled ex-employee? causing harm through unexpired access rights. In the worst case scenario, an intelligent IT ? mployee alerts a group of malicious persons of the weakness, and then the opportun e time is? waited for, when the most damage to the company, and/or benefit to the hacker might be caused.? This could amount to forced resignations, lost contracts, lawsuits, lost monetary assets, public ? image, and a shrunken client base, in short, disaster.?

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Resume styles that will get you the job

Resume styles that will get you the job Job hunting today is serious business. Simply put, the competition is tougher than ever for available jobs, which means that every aspect of your job hunting game needs to be razor sharp- including your resume. Don’t forget, in many ways your resume is your â€Å"calling card†- it will make your first impression on potential employers for you, and if the first impression you make isn’t great, chances are you’re closing the door on new opportunities. Crafting a professional and polished resume should be a top priority for you when you’re looking for a new job. Sure, we understand that you want to stand out from the job hunting crowd, but there are ways you can make yourself stand out for all the wrong reasons, and doing so will not do you any favors when you’re trying to land your next great position. This includes the â€Å"flashy resume,† which can take on a variety of bizarre forms. We’re all familiar with the resumes that try and get too creative and make use of multiple colors, pictures, wacky fonts, and too-clever styles- sure, your resume might get noticed by an HR professional or hiring manager, but when it does it’ll also likely not be taken seriously or it’ll be laughed right into the delete folder. Not a great start to any job hunt.Regardless of what industry you’re job hunting in, there are some clear dos and don’ts in the world of resumes, from fonts to styles, colors, and more. Consider following these general guidelines when you’re sending your next resume out for consideration.Resume Dos and DontsDespite all the advancements in technology and how we look for jobs in recent years, the world of resumes is still a somewhat traditional one, where clarity and substance trumps excessive amounts of style. When choosing a font for your resume, it’s always a good idea to choose a traditional font that’s easy to read. Remember, your resume is one of doz ens (sometimes even hundreds) that will be reviewed for any given job opening, so making it as easy as possible for hiring personnel to read is always a smart move.VelvetJobs recently published an article that covered a wide array of font sizes to consider for your resume. A few good clean and attractive fonts that are commonly used and well-received on resumes include Times New Roman, Calibri, Cambria, Verdana, and Arial. Don’t opt for an overly stylized font that’s hard to read, even if you think it looks cool or really shows off your aesthetic. Don’t select a font that’s too humorous or cute either. Also, choose a legible font size- an 11-point or 12-point font is a good choice for maximizing legibility. Don’t try to pull off a smaller font size in an effort to fit more text on a page- if you want to shrink things down, reduce the amount of text on the page instead of the font size.In terms of typography and structure, a clean and classic look t hat promotes maximum readability of your resume information (which becomes even more important as you gain experience and talking points over time) is still well-received in all industries. You may have the urge to show off your creative side with a clever resume design, but resist the urge to get too cute- a design that throws your readers into a confusing maze of information will not be appreciated or followed. Also, avoid including any pictures or graphics unless it’s expected in the position or industry that you’re job hunting in. A resume design that clearly showcases each position you’ve held, along with succinct bullet points that highlight your responsibilities and accomplishments, is always a good way to go.Keep it simple!A good rule of thumb when you’re crafting your resume is to always opt for substance over style, clarity over cleverness. Your final product should be a clear and polished document that conveys why you’re the ideal candid ate for the job, and should entice readers to want to learn more about you- hopefully over a face-to-face interview, where you can really show off your stuff. Use these dos and donts for crafting a resume when you’re on your next job hunt. Good luck!

Sunday, November 3, 2019

La Noche Triste (the night of sorrows) Term Paper

La Noche Triste (the night of sorrows) - Term Paper Example Due to the fact that the Cortes letters to Charles V were the only written sources of information available then, the conquistador’s words were mostly credited as the truth. The description that the Spanish army was just victims of treachery committed by the Aztecs and that it fought bravely and wisely under the able leadership of Cortes were concepts that were widely considered as accurate. However, as an increasing number of historians came to explore further the details of La Noche Triste, it was soon found out that the letters sent by Cortes to the king of Spain may not be the most accurate source of information regarding the events that took place prior to it. One observation is that made by Jonathan Loesberg, who points out that that Cortes actually used a style of writing that puts him in position to influence instead of just obeying the king. In the letter Segunda Relacion, he used a style in which the king would develop support and sympathy for Cortes and his troops. This would naturally serve Cortes’s self-interests later. ... According to Inga Clendinnen in his book Aztecs: An Interpretation, â€Å"the traditional tale being too much in accord with European preferences to be easily surrendered, and the story the victors told continues to for truth.†2 To base the an analysis of an important historical event on the narratives of one man who happens to have a vested interest related to it would certainly produce inaccuracies that may be upheld as truths in the end. This is the reason why, in order to objectively appreciate such event, it is necessary to seek information from other sources as well. Cortes’s accounts are the bases of the theory that Spain intention of exploring the New World and colonizing it is to the introduce Christianity to pagan natives. Under such pretext, all actions Spaniards in the Caribbean as well as in the mainland of what is now known as Latin America were made with missionary work as the excuse. However, as mentioned earlier, Cortes has his own selfish intentions of gaining political power by getting the favor of the king as well as discovering gold for the crown and for himself. These alone are already powerful motivations that drove Cortes to lead his outnumbered but well-equipped army into the Mexican interior. Prior to this, Cortes had heard about the existence of a relatively advanced civilization among the natives. The city-state of Tenochtitlan was the seat of Aztec power in Mexico and its capture could mean the unquestionable dominance of Cortes’s army. The expedition towards Tenochtitlan proved to be productive for the small Spanish army. They met native tribes who happen to be enemies of the Aztecs, such as the Tlaxcaltecas and the people of Tliliuquitepec. Cortes treated these natives as friends although this was all according