The Death of Balder in Norse Mythology

The Death of Balder in Norse Mythology Odin, the king of the Norse gods, often sat upon Hildskialf, the throne of the Aesir gods, with his companions, the two ravens, Hugin (Thought) and Munin (Memory), whispering in his ears. From this position, he could look out on all of the nine worlds. Sometimes his wife Frigg would sit there, too, but she was the only other god who was so privileged. Frigg was the second and favorite wife of Odin, whose daughter she may also have been. She was the only Aesir as clever and knowledgeable about the future as Odin, although her foreknowledge did not depress her as it did her husband. Frigg had her own palace, which was known as Fensalir, where she sat spinning clouds to float above Midgard. Fensalir also served as the afterlife home for married couples who wished to be together. It was a counterpart to the famous home of valiant warriors, Valhalla, where Odin spent much of his time - drinking (he is said to have stopped eating when he heard about the inevitable doom of Ragnarok) with his feasting and fighting companions and the Valkyries. Balder the Handsome The most handsome of the gods was born to Frigg and Odin. He was named Balder (also known as Baldur or Baldr). He was a god of truth and light. Balder was also knowledgeable in healing herbs and runes, which made him a favorite among the people of Midgard. Balder lived in a palace named Breidablik with his wife Nanna (n.b. there is also a Mesopotamian goddess of this name), a vegetation goddess. It was believed that no lie could pass through the walls of Breidablik, home of the god of truth, so when Balder started having frightening nightmares about his own demise, the other Aesir gods took them seriously. Unlike gods in other pantheons, the Norse gods were not immortal. They cataloged everything that might possibly cause Balder harm, from weapons to diseases to creatures. With the list in hand, Balders mother, Frigg, set out to exact assurances from everything in the nine worlds not to harm Balder. This wasnt hard because he was so universally loved. When she had completed her mission, Frigg returned to Gladsheim, the gods meeting hall, for a celebration. After a few rounds of drinks and toasts, the gods decided to test Balders invulnerability. A pebble thrown at Balder bounced off without hurting Balder, in honor of its oath. Larger weapons were used, including Thors axes and all refused to hurt the god. Loki the Trickster Loki is known as a trickster god. Sometimes he was mischievous, but he hadnt really been malicious. The giants were evil, but Loki, who was the son of a giant, hadnt been known as such. It seems his self-appointed job was to stir things up when things were going well. Its a Loki-type action that one wishes to avert when telling an actor to break a leg before a performance. Loki was disturbed by all the gaiety and decided to do something about it, so in disguise as a disgusting old hag, he went to Frigg while she was at Fensalir taking a break from the festivities. What was going on at Gladsheim, he asked her. She said it was a celebration of the god Balder. Loki-in-disguise asked why, then, were people throwing weapons at him? Frigg explained about the promises shed exacted. Loki kept at her asking questions until she finally revealed that there was one thing she hadnt asked because she thought it too small and inconsequential. That one thing was mistletoe. With all the information he needed, Loki set off to the forest to get himself a branch of mistletoe. He then returned to the festivities at Gladsheim and sought out Balders blind brother, Hod, god of darkness, who was in a corner because he couldnt aim and therefore couldnt participate in the test of Balders invulnerability. Loki told Hod he would help him take aim and handed Hod a piece of apparently innocuous mistletoe to throw. Hodur was grateful and accepted the offer, so Loki steered Hods arm. Hod launched the branch, which caught Balder in the chest. Balder died instantly. The gods looked towards Hod and saw Loki beside him. Before they could do anything, Loki fled away. Celebration turned to lamentation since the most beloved of the gods had died. Odin alone was aware of how disastrous this event really was for them all, for he knew that with the loss of light and truth, the end of the world, Ragnarok, was due soon. A funeral pyre was made that was so enormous the gods had to ask the help of the giants. They then placed their most valuable worldly possessions as gifts upon the pyre. Odin placed his golden armband Draupnir. Balders wife fell down dead of grief at the pyre, so her body was placed beside her husbands. [  The most beautiful and beloved of the gods, Balder, son of Odin, had been slain by his blind brother wielding a misletoe shaft aimed by Loki. Balders wife had joined him on the funeral pyre. After their funeral, they were in the world called Niflheim.] An attempt was made to resurrect Balder, but due to more of Lokis mischief, it failed. The goddess of death, Hel, promised that Balder could return to earth if every living creature shed tears of grief for Balder. It looked as though it would work, for everyone loved Balder, but Loki arranged for a single exception. Loki disguised himself as the giantess Thok. As Thok, Loki was too indifferent to cry. And so, Balder could not return to the land of the living. Balder and his wife remained in Niflheim. Another son of Odin, Vali,  revenged  the death of Balder, but not by getting back at  Loki. Instead, Vali slew his brother, the blind god Hod. Loki, who had fled the initial scene of Balders death in Gladhseim, and then re-appeared in disguise as the giantess Thok, tried to get to safety by turning into a salmon. The salmon-Loki hid in a waterfall. But the Aesir, who knew where he was, tried to catch him in a net. Loki was too clever for that and jumped right over the net. Thor, however, was fast enough to catch the leaping fish in his bare hands. Then Loki was bound in a cave with venom dripping onto his body, which caused him to writhe in pain - until the worlds end in Ragnarok. (The story of  Prometheus  has a similar punishment.) Sources Ragnarok. Timelessmyths.com. Roberts, Morgan J. Norse Gods and Heroes. Myths of the World, Reprint edition, Metro Books, December 31, 1899.

Learning to Learn Skills as a Foundation

Learning to Learn Skills as a Foundation Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental disabilities often lack skills that are pre-requisites for success in school. Before a child can acquire language, hold a scissors or pencil, or learn from instruction, he or she needs to be able to sit still, pay attention and imitate the behaviors or remember the content of instruction. These skills are commonly known, among practitioners of Applied Behavior Analysis, as Learning to Learn Skills: In order to succeed with children with Autism, it is important that you evaluate whether they have those learning to learn skills. The Skill Set Waiting: Can the student stay in place while you arrange materials, or begin a session?Sitting: Can the student stay seated, on both buttocks, in a chair?Attending to others and materials: Can you get the student to pay attention to you (the instructor) or when presented with materials?Changing responses based on prompts: Will the student change what he/she is doing if directed to do so, with physical, gestural or verbal prompts.Following instructions: When given instructions, will the child comply? This implies that the child has receptive language.Following choral, or group instructions: Does the child follow directions when given to a whole group? Or does the child only respond to directions given with their name? The Continuum The learning to learn skills above are really arranged in a continuum. A child may learn to wait, but may not be able to sit appropriately, at a table. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders often have co-morbid problems, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD ) and may have never sat for more than a few seconds in one spot. By finding reinforcement that a child really wants, you can often shape these primary behavioral skills. Once you have completed a reinforcement assessment (evaluating and discovering reinforcement that your child will work for,) you can begin to assess where a child is on the continuum. Will he sit and wait for a preferred food item? You can move from the preferred food item to a favorite or preferred toy. If the child has sitting and waiting skills, you can expand it to find if the child will attend to materials or instruction. Once that is evaluated, you can move on. Most often, if a child has attending skills, he may also have receptive language. If not, that will be the first step of teaching the ability to respond to prompts. Prompting. Prompting also falls on a continuum, from hand over hand to gestural prompts, with the focus on fading prompts to reach independence. When paired with language, it will also build receptive language. Receptive language is critical for the next step. Following directions If a child will respond correctly to prompts, when paired with words, you can teach following directions. If a child already responds to verbal directions, the next thing to assess is: Does a child follow choral or group instructions? When a child can do this, he or she is ready to spend time in the general education classroom. This should hopefully be an outcome for all our children, even if only in a limited way. Teaching the Learning to Learn Skills The learning to learn skills can be taught either in one to one sessions with an ABA therapist (should be supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, or BCBA) or in an early intervention classroom by the teacher or a classroom aide with training. Often, in early intervention classrooms, you will have children who come in with a range of abilities in the learning to learn skills and you will need to focus the attention of a single aide on children who most need to build the basic sitting and waiting skills. The instructional model for ABA, like the model for behavior, follows an ABC sequence: A: Instruction. This needs to fit the outcome. If the first instruction is to sit, you may have to physically guide the child into the chair, accompanied by a verbal description of what is happening: Sit down, please. Okay, were sitting with our feet on the floor, our bum on the chair.B: Behavior. What the behavior is will determine the next step.C: Feedback. This is either correcting the response or praise, either paired with reinforcement, a token (secondary reinforcement) or once you have some behavioral momentum, every second to fourth correct response, or correction. The most important thing is to be clear about what is the desired response - you never want to reinforce an incorrect response (although an approximation is appropriate when shaping behavior. Called Discrete Trial Teaching, each instructional trial is very brief. The trick is to mass the trials, in other words, bring the instruction on hard and heavy, increasing the amount of time that the child/client is engaged in the targeted behavior, whether it is sitting, sorting, or writing a novel. (Okay, thats a bit of an exaggeration.) At the same time the teacher/therapist will be spreading out the reinforcement, so that each successful trial will get feedback, but not necessarily access to reinforcement. The Goal The final outcome should be that students with Autism Spectrum Disorders will be able to succeed in more naturalistic settings, if not actually in a general education classroom. Pairing secondary or social reinforcers with those primary reinforcers (preferred items, food, etc.) will help children with more challenging disabilities function appropriately in the community, interact with people appropriately and learn to communicate, if not to use language and interact with typical peers.

Detainees in Afghanistan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Detainees in Afghanistan - Research Paper Example The collection of materials is primary objective of the HUMINTS and should be pursued with due diligence in order to enhance the credibility of their findings. The purpose of the human intelligence should be intended to enhance human and technical collection techniques with due respect to the national laws. Collection of Information Collection of information is the major duty of HUMINT operations and it must be done with utmost care to safeguard their operations and yield good results. The credibility of collected information is vital to the success of the HUMNT operations and must be safeguarded at all costs in their operation. This is because this is their core mandate in their operations both nationally and internationally. The elements of the intelligence community are authorized to collect and retain any information based on the command of the organization in which they work for and the interest of the information they pursue.2 The procedures or information use and retention sho uld also be done after the consultation with the attorney general of the concerned state. Such procedures protect constitutional and other legal rights and limit the use of such information to unlawful government purposes thus infringing the rights of the victim. The use of electronic surveillance is only limited for the purposes of training, testing and conducting countermeasures to hostile electronic surveillance and is thus avoided in most instances. Inconsequential physical searches by the elements of intelligence community are also highly restricted by the law. The attorney general is delegated the power to give the necessary legal assistance and advice in the operations of the HUMINT practices. The elements of intelligence services are expected to cooperate with other appropriate law enforcement agencies for the purposes of protecting information and property of any element of the intelligence community. The members of the intelligence are authorized to provide special equipme nt, technical knowledge and necessary assistance when the lives of the suspects are endangered and support the local law enforcement agencies in necessary sectors. The provision of personnel services is limited to the approval by the general counsel in the concerned cases. The intelligence members are permitted to render any assistance and cooperate to law enforcement agencies and other civil authorities not precluded by the law in the course of their services.3 All the operations of the human intelligence members are required to be consistent with the law and any act of violation of the constitution is punishable by the courts of law. The participants of human intelligence services are not entitled to join or participate in any organization as they wish in the course of their operations. This can only be done in accordance of the procedures established by the head of intelligence and should be of the interest of the intelligence services. HUMINT Military Regulations The HUMINT has got various limitations and capabilities with regard to military operations in any part of the world. They have the ability to collect information and cross cue from endless variety of potential sources in all respects including detainees and related documents. They are to focus on collection of information not available by other means which includes information on threat intentions

Causes and Effects of European Exploration Research Paper

Causes and Effects of European Exploration - Research Paper Example All the European nations had almost similar desires for these explorations, of which they struggled to accomplish. This exploration also had some impacts which came as a result of it. Some of the causes and effects are further discussed in the paper. The causes were as follows: the desire to find new trade routes, need of more resources, and search for more knowledge, the desire of the emperor expansion and the spread of Christianity. As a result of the exploration several things happened. Some of the impacts were: discovery of new trade routes, establishment of the line of demarcation, the spread of Christianity, the extinction of the natives, introduction of slavery, the ignition of rivalry, the establishment of the triangular trade route, the Columbian exchange and the capitalism rise. These causes and effects will be discussed further in this paper together with their importance in the study of history. Causes â€Å"Great discoveries in transportation, navigation, and communicat ion of the Scientific Revolution during and after the European Rennaissance (late 1400s- early 1500s) led to the thirst for adventure and exploration† (Bentely, Jerry, and Herbert, 2008, p.97). ... In the 1400s, refrigeration had not been discovered, so people were using salt to preserve foods like meat and other perishable food products. Therefore, they required more spices to neutralize the salty food and to minimize the bad taste of the meat that was almost going bad. â€Å"The spices and exotic items serve to whet the appetites of the European communities and arouse a great demand for much more of the same,† (Koch, 2003, p. 68). These spices were only excised in Asia that is why; these European needed an easy route to Asia. Before, the only route was through the mountains across Turkey which had become too difficult due to the hostile Turkish Empire. The prizes of these spices had risen, and the nation that could find a way of bringing these spices to Europe, would generate a lot of income and become so powerful in the region. The desire to get this possible sea route was a common aim in almost all European nations. One of the major explorations is the Christopher Co lumbus famous voyage to the new world. The voyage started from Palos Spain in the year 1497 in which they were in search of route to Asia to get these spices. Instead, they came across a new land, the land of America. After some time, other voyages followed Columbus. At first, they thought this new land was just a little land, but with time they discovered that America had valuable resources. Vasco da Gamer later made it to Asia through sea and from then, the European got an easy sea route to Asia. The other cause of the exploration was the need of the growing power and wealth within the European nations. The European nations fought many wars; they fought against themselves and also against the Empire of Turkey. During these wars, they used a lot of

``The Rise of Silas Lapham by Dean Howells Essay Example for Free

The Rise of Silas Lapham by Dean Howells Essay Argumentative thesis : In Dean Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham, Silas was a man victimized of the Gilded age as seem through the sudden immigration of his family to Boston and his obscure and ambitious attempt of permeating the upper social strata by means of having his daughters marry an elite of the aspired social ground, and having his business on a set back. All of which points a significance in the development of the Gilded age. Introduction The Gilded Age in American history is marked by the growth of industry and wave of immigrants along the territorial arena. Coined by Mark Twain, the age refers to the period of conspicuous luxury yet corrupted beneath. There was a development in railroad industry, and steel and oil production instantly were in great demand during this period. Some men, hence, has been prominently a subject to opportunities of formidable opulence and wealth. To name, there was John D. Rockefeller famed for his oil success and Arnold Carnegie renowned for his steel undertakings. known both as robber barons (people who acquired wealth and fortune through various ruthless business deals). While several people distinctively wore diamonds, there are however still a number of people who clothed rags. And as a consequence of the well-offs immodesty towards the working class of the time, revolts ideal of and accompanied by revenge were instilled upon the urban poors psyche. Point of view of Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham by W.D. Howells portrays the societal views of discrimination during the Gilded era. Furthermore, it highlights the changing roles of women in the context of traditional society, consequently partitioning rights unto feminists. W.D. Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham is a story about the materialist rise of an American man through the establishment of his fortune upon his fathers discovery of a vast amount of mineral grade. The narrative focuses on the societal differences distinctively acknowledged by both newly-rich and old-rich milieu. In addition, the book draws attention to the clashing and shifting of moral and financial profits of the newly-rich and the substantial growth of the old-rich society. The newly-rich social order has managed to rise above the old-rich yet still far less in culture and manners. on the other hand, it was the refinement and social sophistication that the old-rich tries and ventures to maintain. Howells’ protagonists The storys protagonist, Silas, despite being a man of affluence, still happens to possess no social standard typical of the rich ones. He still further finds it difficult to adjust his and his familys lifestyle into the new realm of wealth they have in their newfound place. Seemingly, this first and foremost conflict brought about by his sudden rise in the social class, puts him into a victims shoe during the Gilded age. Consequently, the blinding actuality of luxury and wealth deprives Silas of the notion of morality. Silas Lapham tries to attain such a social standard through the venture of having his two daughters marry an elite class from the Aristocratic family of the Corey. This particular area of the novel, however tracks down Silas fatality as a businessman. Apparently the distinct division or societal strata imposed upon by the time significantly poses the realist and materialist subjugation of Silas Lapham towards the nature and effects of the Gilded age. Archetypal of the Gilded age was the height of economic prowess among the people of America and the relocations to other places by the rich. This immigration flight is paralleled to Silas Laphams immediate acquisition of wealth and his familys resettlement to Boston. Subsequently, such reposition corrupted Silas Lapham of his previous moral obligations as seen on the first chapter of the book.   We quote a passage from the book most which most illustrative,   â€Å"she [mother] was a little frail thing, not bigger than a good-sized intermediate school-girl but she did the whole work of a family of boys, and boarded the hired men besides. Silas’ mother was depicted as frail yet did all the housework alone including taking care of the hired men. And still she managed to have time for church and teach her sons to read the Bible (Howells, 1993). Silas’ mother was good but apparently, the image and picture of a mother did not in anyway affected Silas. This despite the imagery which was highlighted by Howells wherein Silas narrated or viewing her mother kneeling while in a church service and it reminded him of his mother cleaning him up for bed on her knees washing his dirty feet. An non-immutable class Evidently, Silas at a younger age seemed to have a manner of neglect on his mothers moral inculcations while running bare all day and having then the luxury of being fixed decent for bed by his mother. This same attitude exuded by Silas appears to be distinguished upon his sudden fortune. Drowned in luxury, he administered his business in paint and ignored the goodwill of being such a business-oriented individual during the time. Furthermore, Silas Laphams extravagant objective of entering the class-above through the marriage of one of his daughters to Tom Corey, a wealthy Aristocrat in the truest sense, signaled the downfall of his entrepreneurship. This fall is significant also to the constituents of the Gilded Era. Howells’ prose is full of powerful imageries hence the book is not so a discourse but a depiction of the fundamental conflict which gave the Gilded Era its characteristic trait. Thus adversity is a friend but it took away the hope of a social success.   Wealth made the new rich but it is no guarantee of social acceptance. Hence redemption is through failure, a return to the fundamental trait and character.   Manhood to Howells’ Lapham was taken away by prosperity but prosperity was the alpha and the omega of the Gilded Age. Emptiness could be the thematic running through the lines of The Rise of Silas Lapham (Howells, 1993). This part of the book correlates the failure of Silas to belong and be among the respected class in his society. Despite the fat that Silass daughter Penelope, had accepted the marriage proffered by Tom Corey, it is evident that such means of penetrating the upper classs culture still is not enough to sustain his grasp from fortune. This could be due to the fact that the Coreys and Laphams are incongruent in class. Tom Corey could not let go of his class, could not betray class loyalty as if class is something permanent. We could see this on a passage of Howells depicting the feeling of Corey on their basic difference with Lapham. Howells offered an insight to the psyche of the aristocrat. Corey deliberated snubbed Lapham by going into the larger office, a symbolic place unreachable to Lapham.   In this scene, Corey was furious at Lapham for no other reason than culture as this passage described, â€Å"he thought of him the night before in the company of those ladies and gentlemen, and he quivered in resentment of his vulgar, braggart, uncouth nature (Howells, 1993).† The question of class of being born into was delved further by Howell. He explored allegiance to the â€Å"exclusiveness to which he was born and bred, as a man perceives his duty to his country when her rights are invaded (Howells, 1993).† The seeming innocence of Lapham, the simplicity of his social breeding has made the Corey character detest not Lapham personally but what he represents. Thus this passage of Howells depicting such social conflict connected pride, social traditions, suppressed emotions and feelings in the persona of Corey, we quote thus, â€Å"the stings and flashes of his wounded pride, all the social traditions, all the habits of feeling, which he had silenced more and more by force of will during the past months, asserted their natural sway, and he rioted in his contempt of the offensive boor, who was even more offensive in his shame than in his trespass (Howell, 1993).† As a matter of speaking in fact, one can view this attitude of Tom towards Lapham as the truth behind every breed man, that you can take an individual from his class, but you cannot take the class itself from the individual. Rather interrogating the value of his class as Why are there effective markers designated to delineate each class? Tom simply stitched himself up with his classs doctrine to have a delineation or barrier among other classes. This mindset was among the Gilded Ages contribution to American vista and notion of social stratification, unmistakably portrayed in W.D. Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham. As a player in the said age of mental framework, Silas, nevertheless, have been sightless of the potential features and indication of his forthcoming downfall. Because of being at hand with invariable riches, and mentally bolstered to acquire even more, Silas had failed to point the rationalities of his actions. He made his purchased wealth as the object of his desires, thus, casting a victimized light upon the identity of Silas himself. The way it began, hope for change To further apprehend the casualty on Silas Laphams life, we point the fall of his business and his suppression to bankruptcy. Moreover, we can aim at the abrupt shift of control over his household as he turned ill. His wife, Peris has to slot in as to what had befallen the business and run the household herself. This instance indicates the strength cultivation and advancement of women in the society. In general, the Gilded Era has been portrayed by W.D. Howell in his book The Rise of Silas Lapham. The typical recurrences of events, social state of mind and the distinction of classes of the time as participated by Silas in the story envelopes well the idea of how people have geared and approached the materialism of the present time. References Herring, R. (2005-12-05 ). The Business of Marriage in The Rise of Silas Lapham (Publication. Retrieved 20 July 2007: http://locus.cwrl.utexas.edu/herring/node/9 Howells, W. D. (1983). The Rise of Silas Lapham : Penguin Books. THE RISE OF SILAS LAPHAM by William Dean Howells Library of America PB (Publication.: http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Rise-Of-Silas-Lapham-by-William-Dean-Howells-1991_W0QQitemZ160138548936QQihZ006QQcategoryZ377QQcmdZViewItem (Publication. Retrieved 20 July 2007: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~de271296/SilasLapham.htm (Publication. Retrieved 20 July 2007: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/gilded (Publication. Retrieved 20 July 2007: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/modules/gilded_age/index.cfm (Publication retrieved 20 July 2007: http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext94/silap10.htm (Publication retieved 20 July 2007: http://locus.cwrl.utexas.edu/herring/node/9

Television and Media Essay - TV and the Impact on Children :: Media Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Television and the Impact on Children      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have you ever wondered how television affects your children?   The average child watches television 2 hours per week and most of this viewing is of violence or sexual acts.   During this time there is a violent act shown every 6 minutes and on Saturday mornings there is 20 to 25 violent acts shown every hour on prime time t.v. especially in cartoons or animated programs.   So no matter what your child is watching it is damaging their sense of imagination and creativity.   Now there is no need for children to use their imagination and creativity anymore, television has even taken that away from them.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In today's generation television has a great influence on children. Unfortunately most of the programs watched by children have a negative impact and give the wrong impression of what really happens in everyday life. It also influences their development and their behaviours.   "In fact childhood development experts say infants as young as 14 months old imitate behaviour they see on t.v and children up to the age of 5 lack the cognitive ability to distinguish fact from fantasy"(Internet; Children and television violence) Therefore what they see on t.v is what they are most likely to imitate. Cartoons are even showing numerous acts of violence and most of this violence is done by the "good guys".   For example, Power Rangers; how do they get rid of the bad guys? by fighting .   During the whole episode you see the "Rangers" kicking, punching and attacking the bad guys.   Other shows like X-men, Sailor Moon, Looney Tones, and even Care Bears show violence towards others.   It's no wonder children think it's okay to act this way when even their "Super Heroes" who are supposed to be the good guys are hurting others.   They see the good guys doing these things and think it's appropriate.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I've notice even with my own cousin that when he has finished watching an episode of Power Rangers he tends to get aggressive and hyper-active.   He copies the exact same moves that the Power Rangers use.   It's almost like he believes he is one of them.   He believes that when he punches people or kicks them that it doesn't hurt because that's what he sees on t.v.   It's not like you see the characters ever show any pain.   Even when he plays with his friends they pretend that they are Power Rangers vs. the bad guys and fight each other. Shows like this even have the use of guns, which I don't believe in.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In schools, teachers have noticed the difference between children who

Walmart Global Expansion

Wal-Mart’s Global Expansion Introduction Sam Walton established Wal-Mart at Arkansas in 1962. It has grown dramatically over the last 40 years and has become one of the world’s largest retailers with the sales of $401 billion in a year ending Jan. 31st 2009. Wal-Mart has approximately 7,000 stores globally with 2 million employees. It is the largest private employer in Mexico and Canada with the employee figures hitting around 1. 4 million in this region. It also operates 3,600 additional stores in 16 worldwide markets that include China, Japan, South Korea, India and United Kingdom. Wal-Mart does particularly well in Canada where they have a chain of 314 stores. In 2008, it had 92,284,000 dollars of gross profit. Wal-Mart serves its customers and members over 200 million times per week and ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2009 Most Admired Companies survey. Wal-Mart provides sustainability- focused products. Wal-Mart not only provides jobs for senior citizens and students but also provide opportunities to build careers with competitive salaries. The retailer claims that 75% of its stores management team joined the company as hourly sales associates. Wal-Mart has also got an impressive ethical policy which includes regular use of recycling products and creating almost zero landfill waste. The company also makes vast amount of donations to different local level charitable organizations every year for improving people’s lives, which made Wal-Mart a trusted organization for funding the community programs to address hunger, homelessness, education, job training and other basic needs. International Expansion of Wal-Mart and its Benefits By 1990, Wal-Mart realized that the opportunities for growth in United States is becoming limited because of the saturation of the market and decided to expand their business globally. Their international expansion put a greater impact on international market and has changed the way business is conducted globally. It has also increased the benefits for the consumers as it helps them spend less money on goods they purchase. The company’s relationship with their key suppliers such as General Electronics (For appliances), Unilever (For Food Products) and Procter & Gamble (For Personal care products) is very good. All these suppliers are internationally recognized with vast global expansion and because of this Wal-Mart are able to demand deeper discounts from the local operations of its suppliers. Apart from these world renowned suppliers Wal-Mart also does business with more than 2,500 minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE). The result of this good relationship with suppliers means they can lower their prices to attract more consumers, gain market share and increase their profit margins in international market. Wal-Mart claims in its data sheet for December 2009 that its international business achieved 11. % rise in sales for the whole financial year. Except the profit and market share another benefit of international expansion for Wal-Mart is the flow of different ideas for example, a double-floor store in New York was opened because of the success of multi-floor stores in South Korea. Other ideas such as the layout of the wine department in Argentina have now been used into th e layouts of company’s stores worldwide. Wal-Mart is also constantly trying to improve its reputation ethically and consistently helping over 100,000 charitable and community-focused organizations by providing financial and volunteer support. Retailer’s policy of buying fair-trade products in the international market is also attracting the attention of many consumers to shop in Wal-Mart. Risks When Entering Other Retail Markets The idea of expanding internationally was initially jeered off and the critics showed that Wal-Mart’s style of trading only suits to an American market, which in other countries is not going to work because of the different market structure, people’s taste and the popularity of already established retailers. But instead of all the critics Wal-Mart went ahead with an idea and in 1991opened their first international branch in Mexico. Expanding business internationally also brought some risks for the retailer as being new in the market they faced problems like bad infrastructure, lack of leverage from their suppliers and no knowledge about consumers taste, which resulted the rise in prices of their products and lack of interest from the consumers. One prime example of this kind of mistake was in Mexico where they merchandised products like ice skates, lawn mowers and fishing tackles which were good sellers in United States but without a surprise didn’t do well in Mexico. Managers had to reduce prices to sell that stock but it was re-ordered because of the automated ordering system. These problems created a large risk to prove the critics right about Wal-Mart not surviving internationally. Diminishing the Risks Wal-Mart learned vastly from their experience in Mexico and after that whenever they entered any international market they took strict measures on not repeating the same mistakes. To avoid risks of making past mistakes they made deals with vehicle companies which means improved and frequent distribution system, adapted local environment and merchandised goods in stores that appealed local tastes. With the grown presence of Wal-Mart in the international market their suppliers built factories near the distribution centers so they could serve the company better, which meant frequent inventory and cutting down the cost to get better market share. These are the tactics that has made Wal-Mart one of the most successful and globally recognized retailer in the world. Entering Mexico via Joint Venture Wal-Mart first entered Mexico through a joint venture with Cifera, because it was the largest local retailer in Mexico which was somehow within the standard as Wal-Mart was in the United States. The other reason it entered through a joint venture was because they wanted to be on the safe side when entering a new market considering they had no previous experience of the market they were planning to enter and hoped the experience from Cifera will help them in making their brand global, which they had planned to do after the market in America got saturated for domestic growth. Financial Aspect of Joint Venture As for the financial aspect of joint venture seems to be that both companies can benefit from the profit as well as share the risk and cost. Get a greater access to resources which both companies can share with each other and also the availability for both companies to a new market distribution. While not to forget the risk of this particular idea for a business is that every company has different objectives on how to move forward with the business. The other risk is the communication flow as one company can be centralized and the other decentralized. Purchase of Joint Venture Partner The major reason believed to push Wal-Mart to buy of their Mexican joint venture partner Cifera. Was that they had gained enough experience working in Mexico which was around about 7 years and during that time they had increased their sales of good as well as made contacts to help them prosper without the help of having a joint venture. After getting exposed and experience within the market they had considered to start their own chain of stores to have a firsthand control rather than having to collaborate with their partner to make certain decisions. The other reason could be considered that is since their deployment in the Mexico during 1991 when goods were being sold at 20 percent more than in the States due to various different conditions such as transport and production of goods. They were able to sort out the problem by at first having a deal in place with a major transport company to bring products from their factory to the stores in Mexico, which later on opted on suppliers to open factories around areas where stores were located which enabled to cut down on logistics cost. Having this in place they were able to provide the same goods in the same price as they did in the States. Difference of Strategy for Dominance Before explaining the strategy that Wal-Mart pursued it would be helpful in understanding the strategies. As per the question four different strategies were provided to consider and show the one chosen by Wal-Mart to match its strategic choice and why. The four strategies are global strategy, localization strategy, international strategy, and transnational strategy. Global standardization strategy is a â€Å"strategy that focuses on increasing profitability by reaping cost reductions from experience curve and location economies† (Hill, 2009). Localization strategy is a â€Å"plan which focuses on increasing profitability by customizing the goods or services to match tastes in national markets† (Hill, 2009). Transnational strategy is a â€Å"plan to exploit experience-based cost and location economies, transfer core competencies with the firm, and pay attention to local responsiveness† (Hill, 2009). Lastly international strategy is â€Å"trying to create value by transferring core competencies to foreign markets where indigenous competitors lack those competencies† (Hill, 2009). Domination The strategy that Wal-Mart used to go global from United States was the global strategy at first in Mexico but after noticing that the strategy has no affect rather than sales going up they had to cut down the price of goods to be able to sell them. This enabled the company to change from global to localization strategy which is to focus on increasing profitability by customizing the firm’s goods or services they provide a good match to tastes and preferences in different national markets. This enabled them to adapt to the local market and provide goods that matched the local environment. As for making sense of this strategy it was a valuable and the right decision considering the outcome from the change. As profit grew so did the hold in the market as well as outsmarting their nearest rival by having more than twice as many stores within the country. Conclusion To conclude, Wal-Mart benefited vastly from their global expansion. It experienced an increase of global market share, reputation and profit margin. It also gained economies of scales. Although, they faced massive problems when they took their business internationally but they quickly learned from their mistakes and adapted the strategies according to different international markets, which benefited them in many ways. Wal-Mart ranked 8th in 2009 Forbes Magazine’s of global companies but 1st in global retailers ranking and if they keep attracting consumers by their business strategies then without a doubt it will stay the top retailer for a long time.

Investigating Water Potential of Swed

eInvestigating water potential of swede The aim of our experiment was to investigate the water potential of swede and then use our results to help us determine the water potential of plant tissue. This overall flow of water from a dilute area of high water potential to a more concentrated solution of low water potential across a partially permeable membrane is called osmosis.I predicted that the swede cylinders which are put in a test tube with a low potential of sucrose solution would become turgid because the water molecules that are present in the swede will move away from an area of higher potential of water molecules to an area that has a lower potential of water molecules, this means that the swede sample will gain mass and become full almost to an extent where it is ready to burst.The swede samples that are going to be put in a test tube with a high potential of sucrose solution will become flaccid because the swede cylinder will have a higher potential of water molecules and so these molecules will diffuse into the sucrose solution as it has a lower water potential, this means that the potato sample will shrivel and loose mass. Equipment * Plant tissue such as swede * 1M sucrose solution * Distilled water * Boiling tubes * Cork borer size No. 5 or 6 * Scalpel, white tile and ruler * Boling rack tube to hole six tubes * Measuring cylinders * 10cm cubed syringes Chemical balance * Tweezers * Labels or Chinagraph pencil/OHP pen * Bungs to fit boiling tubes * Paper towel for blotting To ensure that our experiment gave us the best possible outcome of results and to make sure that we carried out the experiment safely we were extra cautious with the type of equipment we used and how we used it. If we used more than one swede we made sure that the swede was of the same brand and roughly the same size this helped to reduce any errors in our results. We took care with any glassware and cutting equipment that we used to reduce the risk of anyone getting injured.Th ere were quite a few factors in the experiment that we controlled, for example we put stopper caps on the test tubes to stop the solution from evaporating. Also we used a syringe when measuring the amount of sucrose solution to make sure that we put the exact amount that we needed in each test tube. A top pan balance to 2. d. p was used which meant that our results were more accurate. We also made sure that our experiment was fair by only changing one variable which was the concentration of the sucrose solution and then keeping every other variable the same. ) Prepare a series of six sucrose solutions using 1. 0M sucrose and distilled water to give a range of 0. 0 – 1. 0M 2) Measure 25cm cubed of each sucrose concentration into separate boiling tubes and label with the appropriate molarity 3) Cut six cylinders from a swede using the cork borer. Trim to remove any skin and cut to the same length. 4) Dry the swede cylinders by rolling in a paper towel – the same number o f times for each cylinder. For each of the six sucrose bathing solutions, weigh a cylinder on the top pan balance. In a suitable table record its mass against the appropriate solution molarity. ) Using forceps place each cylinder into the correct sucrose concentration and insert the bung 6) Leave the swede cylinders in the test tube for an hour 7) Remove each cylinder from the tubes in the same order that they were put in. Roll each cylinder in a paper towel – the same number of times as in step 4. Reweigh and record the new mass in your table against the correct bathing solution 8) Calculate the change in mass for each cylinder 9) Draw a graph of your processed results showing the intercept. Now work out the water potential value using a calibration table or curve. Join the points with straight lines and do not extrapolateM| Water (ml)| Measurements before (g)| Measurements after (g)| Overall % change| 0. 0| 25| 2. 09| 2. 28| 9. 09| 0. 1| 22. 5| 2. 00| 2. 15| 7. 50| 0. 25| 1 8. 75| 1. 89| 2. 05| 8. 47| 0. 5| 12. 5| 2. 09| 2. 18| 4. 31| 0. 75| 6. 25| 1. 90| 1. 90| 0| 1| 0| 2. 16| 2. 03| -6. 02| Our results show us that there is negative correlation between the potential of sucrose solution and the mass of the swede samples decreases, we know this because on our graph we can see that overall the gradient of the line is decreasing which shows that as the potential of the sucrose solution gets higher the average mass of the swede sample decreases.An explanation as to why some swede samples gained mass and others lost mass is because if the swede samples are placed in a test tube with a low potential of sucrose solution then the water molecules in the sucrose solution will pass through a partially permeable membrane to the swede sample and if the potato samples are placed in a test tube with a high potential of sucrose solution then they will do the opposite and the water molecules in the swede sample will move to the sucrose solution.There may be some limit ations with our results because the recommended time to leave the swede cylinders in the test tube with the sucrose solution was for an hour but we were unable to leave them in there for that long and so that may be the reason why there are some anomalies in our results.If I was to make improvements to the experiment then I would have took a few more mass measurements for each sample so that my results are more reliable, I would also carry out the experiment on two different substances for example eggs and courgettes so that I am able to study whether osmosis takes place in the same way and I would compare where the two different equilibrium points are.From my results I can say that my hypothesis was correct because my results show me that the swede cylinders which were put in sucrose solution that was of a low potential became flaccid because the water molecules in the swede moved into the sucrose solution and the swede cylinders that were placed in sucrose solution of a high poten tial became turgid because the water molecules in the sucrose solution moved to the potato. In the future to study osmosis further i will keep the concentration of sucrose solution the same but place the test tubes in different environments to see whether this will affect how osmosis will take place.

Huckleberry Finn Analysis essays

Huckleberry Finn Analysis essays Although there are several themes that are apparent in Mark Twains The Adventures Huckleberry Finn, there is one theme that is more distinguished throughout the course of the novel than any other. This satirical view of Twains is apparent through his story of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain uses satire to convey his views on the failings and evils of society by poking fun at the institutions of religion, education, and slavery. This satirical view of Twains is apparent through his story of Huckleberry Finn. Religion is one of the key recipients of Twain's satire throughout the novel. Huck is forced by Ms. Watson to read and learn about the important people in The Bible, and within the first pages of the book we discover Huck is not fond of the widow or her lectures. Twain uses Huck to reveal his idea that people put so much devotion into the works of long-gone ancestors of The Bible that they ignore other moral accomplishments of the present day. It is shown that religious people seem to be blind to the realities of modern civilization, and are living their lives according to old morals. This is why Huck mentions that the widow does not see any good in his works, and regardless of what Huck feels, his good deeds are not anything honorable, like biblical events, in the eyes of his elders. Huck also feels that prayer is pointless, [Miss Watson] told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warnt so. I tried it. (10). I says to myself, if a body can ge t anything they pray for, why dont Deacon Winn get back the money he lost on pork?...No, says I to myself, there aint nothing in it....so at last I reckoned I wouldnt worry about it anymore, but just let it go (12). Another time where Twains beliefs towards religion are revealed is when Huck attends church with the Grangerfords. As Huck is sitting in the church he notices that gun...

Content Marketing Strategy With CoSchedule And WordPress VIP

Content Marketing Strategy With And WordPress VIP Execute Your Enterprise Content Marketing Strategy With Ease Some of you have asked us if we would  integrate with WordPress.com VIP. Its now a reality. WordPress.com VIP is the leading WordPress solution for enterprises. Its essentially an all-in-one package for hosting and  support to help large brands rock with WordPress. will join the ranks of Facebook,  Getty Images, and Chartbeat  as one of only 22  technology partners for WordPress.com VIP users.  Technology partners like provide advanced integrations and partnerships to expand the capabilities of the core WordPress content management system. As a technology partner, will  provide the content marketing editorial calendar that combines blogging, social media, team workflow, and content marketing in a single tool. So, what does all of this mean? is available for WordPress.com VIP! Content marketing for enterprises just got easier.There is now a customized version of that integrates seamlessly with WordPress.com VIP. These special features  extend beyond the traditional editorial calendar to help WordPress.com VIP users  plan great content while saving a lot of time. Heres what you can expect from for WordPress.com VIP: 1. Use The Team Roles That Work For Your Business Every organization is different. You have your own unique names for the roles your team fills to execute your content marketing strategy. And every one of those roles has very specific responsibilities. Customize everyone’s role on your team to give them the permissions they need for their specific responsibilities. Help them use the features they need to do their work, and hide the ones that get in their way. You can even help certain team members only communicate with a few people. So if you have multiple departments or regions, theres a lot less confusion from too many conversations. 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Help Your Team Share Content With Their Private Social Profiles When your team creates content theyre proud of, theyll want to share it with their personal fans, followers, and friends. Your team can rock at social media with private social profiles and share your content with the best social sharing schedule that will get you even more  traffic. These accounts will never be accessible by other team members. 4. Know Who Published And Shared Your Content For Better Accountability Sometime, you may just have to know who published what. Its really helpful to have a full history log to know who  modified your blog and social media content. Imagine if someone sent an erroneous social media message. Now youll know exactly who did it. 5. Get  The Support You Need So You Can Focus Your Time On What Matters When your team spends time trouble-shooting, thats time they dont spend executing your content marketing strategy. Get the priority level support you need for any questions you have. 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You just need a tool that helps you build your own task templates, name those tasks, and assign them to the right custom roles for   your team. And if you need to move things around on your calendar, the  due dates for your tasks should move accordingly. That helps you work smarter, not harder. 8. Prove (And Improve)  Your Content Simply By Knowing Whats Working You already know creating content just to create content wont help you achieve your strategic goals. You need to know how your content performs to prove your ROI and learn from what you created. A great way to know how your content is performing is through your social media shares. This is a great measurement for success because: People read what they know is popular. People share what they know is popular. People subscribe to what they know is popular. Use your social media analytics to prove your success and improve your future content. 9. Use  Your Editorial Calendar How It Works Best For You Everyone on your team fills different roles. Therefore, it makes sense that theyd all use an editorial calendar like differently. Every member of your team can choose how to use (and they can mix and match their preferences at any time). Your team can use : Right in the post-edit screen in WordPress as they actually write your blog content. As a plugin in WordPress. As a standalone Web app. That makes the switch to a new editorial calendar easier since everyone can choose how theyll use the tool- but youll all be using the same tool. 10. Get The Security  3,000  Content Marketers Rely On Your  IT department explores every marketing tool you use. Theyll love since it uses the same security technology most banks use to protect your information. And our up time is impeccable. Just check out our status log whenever youd like to see stats on our up times. We will always report our up-time status clearly. 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Managing Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing Knowledge - Essay Example Knowledge is passive, analytic and atomistic (Thomas, Kellogg & Erickson, 2001). This does not imply that knowledge is power, rather applied knowledge is power. To apply knowledge, to use the abundance of information that is available in any organization today, codification of knowledge is essential. Codification of knowledge into information implies making knowledge portable, re-usable and transferable within the organization (Hall, 2006). Only when this is possible can knowledge become power. Organizational knowledge can then be used to gain competitive edge over the rivals but the organization should know how to use that power. Technological advancements have made it possible to retain knowledge and transmit it to the persons concerned within the organization. Knowledge can be a powerful weapon when retained, transmitted, disseminated and applied. It is thus important to understand the implications and the ways of retaining and applying knowledge. Knowledge has been classified into two categories - tacit and explicit. Explicit knowledge is that which has been previously defined and codified. It is usually gained through formal education, training, books and now the internet. Explicit knowledge is static and does not have the capacity to renew itself (Ehin, 2008). It requires an outside entity to keep it current. Tacit knowledge on the other hand is acquired by interacting with others and is connected to life's experiences. Tacit knowledge is the basis for generation of new knowledge or "the key to knowledge creation lies in the mobilization and conversion of tacit knowledge" (Nonaka cited by Marwick, 2001). The individual tacit knowledge characterizes the human capital of an organization. Human capital is the combination of genetic inheritance, education, experience and attitude towards life and business (Bontis & Fitz-enz, 2002). Human capital is the source of innovation and strategy. Sustained competitive advantage can accr ue from a pool of human capital. Human capital adds value and is not substitutable. An organization is not a passive repository of knowledge. The tacit knowledge in the form of organization culture may interact with the explicit knowledge of the individual. The core competencies of an organization incorporate both tacit and explicit knowledge and should be conceived as a mix of skills and technologies (Lindgren & Wallstrom, 2000). These interactions and combinations result in new knowledge as organizational learning or innovation. This knowledge has to be efficiently managed so as to derive competitive advantage. Managing knowledge Managing knowledge or knowledge management (KM) is nothing more than getting the right information to the right people at the right time. It is also known by other terms like organizational learning, organizational memory and expertise management. Most organizations may not even be aware of the knowledge they have, let alone knowing how to manage knowledge. They may under estimate the value and creation of knowledge; they may even unknowingly give away what they possess (Earl & Scott, 2001). They may defer the sharing of knowledge or under invest in the utilization of the knowledge. As organizations started recognizing these facts, they created the post of a Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO), whose popularity and demand has increased in the recent