Moeritherium - Facts and Figures

Moeritherium - Facts and Figures Name: Moeritherium (Greek for Lake Moeris beast); pronounced MEH-ree-THEE-ree-um Habitat: Swamps of northern Africa Historical Epoch: Late Eocene (37-35 million years ago) Size and Weight: About eight feet long and a few hundred pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; long, flexible upper lip and nose    About Moeritherium Its often the case in evolution that huge beasts descend from humble forebears. Although Moeritherium wasnt directly ancestral to modern elephants (it occupied a side branch that went extinct tens of millions of years ago), this pig-sized mammal possessed enough elephant-like traits to place it firmly in the pachyderm camp. Moeritheriums long, flexible upper lip and snout point to the evolutionary origins of the elephants trunk, the same way its long front incisors can be considered ancestral to tusks. The similarities end there, though: like a small hippopotamus, Moeritherium probably spent its time half-submerged in swamps, eating soft, semi-aquatic vegetation. (By the way, one of the closest contemporaries of Moeritherium was another prehistoric elephant of the late Eocene epoch, Phiomia.) The type fossil of Moeritherium was discovered in Egypt in 1901, near Lake Moeris (hence the name of this megafauna mammal, the Lake Moeris beast, various other specimens coming to light over the next few years. There are five named species: M. lyonsi (the type species); M. gracile, M. trigodon and M. andrewsi (all discovered within a few years of M. lyonsi); and a relative latecomer, M. chehbeurameuri, which was named in 2006.

How to avoid procrastinating and get writing - Emphasis

How to avoid procrastinating and get writing How to avoid procrastinating and get writing Remember last year: the pain of putting off that report day after day, finally bashing it out in a blind panic the night before it was due? Not only does this leave you a stress-addled mess, but it means your cobbled-together work wont represent the best you can actually do. It could even mean you miss out on business you really should have won. Why do we procrastinate? We procrastinate for several reasons. Feeling overwhelmed by the size of a project; feeling out of your depth; fear of failure (or even of success); perfectionism; other tasks distracting you: these may all be to blame. Ultimately, as Mark Forster points out in Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management, each of these reasons stems from our reactive mind viewing whatever it is we have to do as a threat (risking failure etc). By avoiding the work, we avoid the danger. Only temporarily of course. In reality, we all know that eventually we will be in a worse position. Stop the putting-off cycle These tricks can help you start as you mean to go on (willpower required): Lie to yourself. Procrastinators are practised self-deceivers (Ill just spend five minutes on Facebook; Ill get up at 5am tomorrow to get started; Im sure I can write the whole thing in one day). Put this skill to good use. Mark Forster recommends lying to ones own reactive brain to stop it from feeling threatened. Tell yourself: I wont start the proposal now; Ill just get out the brief. With the reactive mind thus comforted, you may find yourself carrying on without even realising. If not, just keep adjusting the lie to take you a bit further each time: I wont start writing yet; Ill just make a few notes Ill just make a spidergram of ideas and so on. Little and often. Set a time to start and stick to it. Then work in timed chunks start small if need be (say, ten or fifteen minutes) and work up. Youll find an amount of time thats best for you, but dont exceed an hour. Again, to break through panic, try telling yourself youll just work for five or ten minutes. Once those minutes have passed, youll probably be in your stride already. If not, take two or three minutes off, and start again. Increase each work session by a few minutes. Take breaks. When the time is up for one session, stop even if you are mid-sentence. Knowing a break is coming can perk you up; taking the break allows you to re-focus, letting you come back refreshed and more productive than if you drag on for hours at a time. A quick change of scene even a good stretch can do wonders here. Set goals, but keep them realistic. A daily to-do list is best theres nothing like ticking off completed items (however seemingly small) for keeping you motivated to carry on. Of course, most resolutions are fated to be thrown out after a single slip-up. But to give in to discouragement after one lost day and start procrastinating all over again would be the equivalent of giving in to one slice of cheesecake, then despairingly deciding you may as well eat everything in the fridge. Youre left feeling queasy, angry and with considerably less to show for it. You deserve better.

Business and marketing Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business and marketing Law - Essay Example infringement on the civil right of an individual, through which the wrong doer has to compensate the injured party in the community, this injured party is therefore supposed to obtain his compensation by taking the action through which his legal rights are violated. 1 So in this case of Mike and Grace, who work at an Australian post’s mail sorting centre, there existed some negligence as part of the law of tort, negligence is normally defined as the breach of a duty caused by an omission to do something which a realistic man would do or would not do, simply it means the neglect of the use of ordinary care and skills by which the plaintiff suffers an injury. To claim an action in this law the plaintiff must therefore prove that the defendant owed him a duty of care, that there has been a breach of the legal duty and also he has to prove that he has suffered an injury either to his person or to his property, without the three points, then the plaintiff is not entitled to succeed in his action. Therefore in this mail sorting case we find that various elements of the tort of negligence were practiced these include: Under this law it is said that if a man is near to another or near to a property of another, then there is a duty that lies on him not to do anything that may cause a personal injury to the other person or his properties. 2 Therefore one should take a reasonable care to avoid acts that he can reasonably foresee would injure the other person. In this case we see that mike and grace who received a strange bulging parcel that they suspected to be containing a dangerous or illegal matter, took no duty of ensuring safety by storing the parcel in an unlocked cupboard even though they suspected that the parcel contained an illegal matter and through their negligence we find that the snakes escaped from the box and went to the streets where by it caused panic and distress among the people near the centre, whereby some of them were really injured, therefore if

An Evaluation Of Four Arguments Against State-Maintained Faith Schools Essay

An Evaluation Of Four Arguments Against State-Maintained Faith Schools - Essay Example An Evaluation Of Four Arguments Against State-Maintained Faith Schools There are about 20,000 schools in England, primary and secondary combined, as of 2010. 35 % or around 7000 are faith schools. 68 % of those 7000 belong to the Church of England. Roman Catholic schools make up 30 %. Of the remaining 2 %, only 58 are non-Christians, namely, Jewish (38); Muslims (11); Sikh (4); Greek Orthodox, Hindu, Quaker, Seventh Day Adventist, United Reform Church with one (1) each (DCSF 2010). We can therefore say 65 % or about 13,000 schools are NOT state-funded faith schools. Education policy has long been reviewed by the three major political parties of UK. Conservatives or the right-wing party believes in status quo, less government interventions, and less taxes. Its members have been in favor of greater individual freedom, competition, more achievements from the individual. They believe in the inevitability of unequal distribution of wealth for reasons of differences in performance and corresponding values. Another political party, the Labour Party, wants equality, stronger government influence along with higher taxes, but more budget for Social Welfare to improve the peoples’ quality of life. It is this faction who brought about â€Å"The Children’s Plan 2007† which was created for the education and well-being of children and young people. The 3rd political party, known as Liberal Democrats of UK, believes in Social Justice, Welfare State, and less government intervention.

Occupy Wall Street Movement Essay Example for Free

Occupy Wall Street Movement Essay The Occupy Wall Street movement started from young protestors growing tired of high student loans and low grossing wages. The movement had moral and economic implications. These implications could be compared to utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics, with one that best applies to the movement. There are several people and organizations that can be held responsible for the inequality and wealth distribution in the U.S. There is an equitable outcome that would be appropriate for our capitalistic society from this movement. The movement will fade away with time with likely outcomes to come from the protests. Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement. One of the main concerns of the Occupy Wall Street movement is the rising cost of college and student loans. If student loans were forgiven, however, it wouldnt solve the fundamental problem of costly education. A government program that forgave student loans would improve the finances of people holding student loans, but it would do so at the expense of taxpayers in America. Many of these taxpayers would fall within the 99%. Furthermore, by seeking bailouts for student loans, the Occupy Wall Street movement is fundamentally no different than the banks and corporations that theyre criticizing. For the most part, media coverage of the Occupy Wall Street protest has been predictable. Stories are narrated according to the pro/con structure typical of balanced reporting or sensationalism. On the one hand, positive focus sympathetically explains why protesters have been demonstrating en masse since Sept. 17. These accounts place the activist mantra of â€Å"We are the 99%† in a historical and economic context that connects significant inequalities in wealth to violations of justice that should prompt people of conscience to demand rectification. On the other hand, negative reports argue against interpreting the protest as legitimate civil disobedience. Occupy Wall Street is an especially interesting collective action movement because it embodies a distinctive and pervasive shift in ethical orientation. The long-simmering forces that gave rise to the protests also have profoundly altered how students today view their place in society. Analyze each of the implications identified above against the utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics to determine which theory best applies to the movement. Support your position with examples and evidence. We are living in historic times. Capitalism will not be brought down in this through this movement. This is as a result of weaknesses of linkages between working class revolutionary theory and practice as represented by the partisan and broader social manifestation of this most decisive force of bringing to birth a new world on the ashes of that morass which we now live in. But it is an hour in which great leaps forward can be made and are being made. Such hours come with lessons that would be invaluable for us living today and for generations coming after us that would eventually cleanse the life of humankind of the ugliness and pains that capitalism stamps on its beauty and fullness. Utilitarian ethics on its own part conflates the expansion of wealth in society as a whole with greater happiness for the greater number of persons in society, thus losing sight of the proportional increase in unhappiness for most members of society that create the wealth, with the expansion of such wealth, which a few appropriate (Ferguson 2008). This is of particular importance for industrial relations, which addresses the site of relations in the process of production. Determine who is responsible for income inequality and wealth distribution in the U.S. In your analysis, make sure to include if this is something that happened suddenly or if it built up over time. Explain your rationale. Wealth accumulates over time. The highest earners are able to save much of their incomes, whereas lower earners can’t. That means high earners can accumulate more and more wealth as time goes on (assuming they don’t blow it all, of course). Higher-earning Americans also have the resources to pay for better tax preparation, which helps them reduce their taxes and save even more money. On the tax front, note also that people who have already accumulated wealth stand to earn a lot in capital gains, which are also taxed at a lower rate. Most of the attention paid to economic inequality pertains to what people are making each hour or each year, not what they already have stored up or what kind of cushion they have to fall back on. Perhaps that’s bec ause most people do not have a firm grasp of how much they’re â€Å"worth,† but they can always look to their paychecks to see how much they have coming in, and can make easier comparisons to their neighbors. Proposals for a wealth tax resurface periodically. The idea is always contentious since it basically requires double-taxation of earnings. There are lots of existing examples of double-taxation on the books, though. Few measures would help the long-term health of the economy more than reducing the economic and political clout of Wall Street. The financial sector exists to connect savers with investors and to do so at the lowest feasible cost and risk. In a sensible world, we would view the financial sector as nothing more than a transactions cost to be minimized along the way to producing the goods and services that the economy is really about. No society has come close to making wealth distribution equal. The great egalitarian experiments of the 20th century proved this, as attentive readers have known since the 1957 publication of Yugoslav dissident Milovan Ä ilas’ The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System, which revealed shocking disparities in quality of life in the â€Å"workers’ paradises† of Eastern Europe. China gave the world a horrific double-shot of rural poverty and relative urban wealth; it is only since the country joined global trading markets that it has seen provincial poverty decline. At the same time, income inequality in China has grown, as it does in every rising economy. Growing wealth disparities are in fact a sign that overall prosperity is increasing in a competitive marketplace. The economist Gary Becker recently described how this works: â€Å"It would be hard to motivate the vast majority of individuals to exert much effort, including creative effort, if everyone had the same earnings, status, prestige, and other types of rewards. Fewer individuals would engage in the hard work involved in finishing high school and going on to college if they did not expect their additional education to bring higher incomes, better health, more prestige, and better opportunities to marry.† Creating general equality of opportunity is among the greatest U.S. achievements. But creating equality of outcomes has caused misery everywhere it has been tried. Suggest an equitable outcome from the movement that would be appropriate for our capitalistic society. This protesting will end up in getting at least one of the following token changes enacted: Eliminating the electoral college but leaving campaign finance untouched; Outlaw lobbying and then creating a new official department with a new name that companies use to lobby through; Legalize gay marriage; Raise the tax on the rich a small amount for a few years. After winning this token victory the people will go back home to their normal lives and get stuck in the rat race again. It’s true that loan forgiveness will not solve the fundamental problem with education costs, because the real problem is that corporations just aren’t interested in paying for it, they’d rather make money off it, which is precisely what they’re doing. But this does not mean that the costs have to be shi fted to the taxpayer. The private institutions that created the debt in the first place ought to bear the burden. But there is a way that education costs can be drastically reduced without raising taxes a dime on anyone, even corporations: by slashing the defense budget. There are high-quality universities in third world countries that have negligible education costs, simply because they are funded directly by the public sector. Why the richest country on the planet can’t have inexpensive education as well is anathema. Cutting the defense budget increasing education spending are some of the main goals of the Occupy movement, which are also shared by the vast majority of the population, but unfortunately not by our politicians. Michael OHanlon examines proposed budget cuts for the Department of Defense, noting that U.S. military will have to eliminate programs and forces just to accomplish the savings goals now on the books, and outlining possible ideas for cutting spending without harming national security. Predict whether the movement will continue, fad away, or turn into something else. Provide a rationale with your response. Occupy Wall Street was at the pinnacle of its power in October 2011, when thousands of people converged at Zuccotti Park and successfully foiled the plans of billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg to sweep away the occupation on grounds of public health. From that vantage point, the Occupy movement appears to have tumbled off a cliff, having failed to organize anything like a general strike on May Day, despite months of rumblings of mass walkouts, blockades and shutdowns. If history repeats itself then the police will continually harass the protesters and make their lives miserable using nonphysical methods. It will not come to Americans getting shot by law enforcement officials. Technology and a more connected culture has changed the political landscape so that less outrages more people. And the Internet has given every person in the world a megaphone that can be heard around the world. It doesn’t take too many people with megaphones to rally the world. Americans will put their collective foot down after a few more beatings well before it comes to shooting. Plus, a lot of law enforcement personnel are pretty fed up with the system themselves. If the protesters made a more concentrated effort to win the hearts and minds of the police and the military they could speed up the process of forcing the government to throw them their victory sooner than later. The Occupy Wall Street movement started from young protestors growing tired of high student loans and low grossing wages. The movement had moral and economic implications. These implications could be compared to utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics, with one that best applies to the movement. There are several people and organizations that can be held responsible for the inequality and wealth distribution in the U.S. There is an equitable outcome that would be appropriate for our capitalistic society from this movement. The movement will fade away with time with likely outcomes to come from the protests. Reference: Business Ethics 2010 Money.msn.com Huffingtonpost.com Cleanbreak.com/ocuupywallstreet

Jewellery Technology :: Visual Arts Paintings Art

Jewellery Technology 1. What was the first type of jewellery made by people? Jewellery had begun in Africa about ten thousand million years ago. Africans in the Semlike River Valley of Congo (Zaire) in 100,100 BC to 70,000 BC were creating complex tools from stones, shells, bones and any other material found in the area. Some materials came from animals and humans. Inside the Blombos Caves of South Africa, there were facts of engraved pictures on the walls such as a block of red ochre which is dated to be about 70,000 to 100,000 years old. In the exact same cave, the very first evidence of jewellery was found and to be over 50,000 years old. 2. What sort of people made this jewellery? People who made this kind of jewellery I believe were the Africans and their unique tools made from stones and bones. Some of these jewellery might have come from the environment itself but people claimed it too be their own. Only people who have the skills to make jewellery and who have the tools. 3. What type of material is used today in the manufacture of jewellery? Metal Gold Silver Bronze Plastic Glass Diamonds 4. Why has change in Jewellery material occurred over time? The making of Jewellery using ivory was banned because of the people needed it more than just Jewellery and they were running out on supplies for it. Due to the policy, instead of using ivory to make jewellery, they have been using plastic or bone. In the future, they might plan to use ivory again. 5. How has Jewellery been used in society over time? People have been using Jewellery mainly for fashion designs and decoration; I believe that countries that use diamonds often to just cut glass, since diamonds are sharper and stronger than a plane old knife. People might use Jewellery as tools instead of wearable piece. 6. How has Jewellery affected the natural environment? Jewellery has endangered and affected the natural environment in many different ways. People in our world have been mining all over the world. They have been destroyed forest caves, banks, hills and rivers. Some cruel people still mine. In ancient times, people make special temples from the side of a mountain or cliff just to hide their treasure. Major Impacts on the environment can occur at most stages of mining, from exploration through to mine closure, and may result from both large- and small-scale mining operations. Impacts could have an effect on the natural environment such as the water, soil, air and even human beings health. The public understands on the environment which has changed very much in the recent years and the mining Jewellery Technology :: Visual Arts Paintings Art Jewellery Technology 1. What was the first type of jewellery made by people? Jewellery had begun in Africa about ten thousand million years ago. Africans in the Semlike River Valley of Congo (Zaire) in 100,100 BC to 70,000 BC were creating complex tools from stones, shells, bones and any other material found in the area. Some materials came from animals and humans. Inside the Blombos Caves of South Africa, there were facts of engraved pictures on the walls such as a block of red ochre which is dated to be about 70,000 to 100,000 years old. In the exact same cave, the very first evidence of jewellery was found and to be over 50,000 years old. 2. What sort of people made this jewellery? People who made this kind of jewellery I believe were the Africans and their unique tools made from stones and bones. Some of these jewellery might have come from the environment itself but people claimed it too be their own. Only people who have the skills to make jewellery and who have the tools. 3. What type of material is used today in the manufacture of jewellery? Metal Gold Silver Bronze Plastic Glass Diamonds 4. Why has change in Jewellery material occurred over time? The making of Jewellery using ivory was banned because of the people needed it more than just Jewellery and they were running out on supplies for it. Due to the policy, instead of using ivory to make jewellery, they have been using plastic or bone. In the future, they might plan to use ivory again. 5. How has Jewellery been used in society over time? People have been using Jewellery mainly for fashion designs and decoration; I believe that countries that use diamonds often to just cut glass, since diamonds are sharper and stronger than a plane old knife. People might use Jewellery as tools instead of wearable piece. 6. How has Jewellery affected the natural environment? Jewellery has endangered and affected the natural environment in many different ways. People in our world have been mining all over the world. They have been destroyed forest caves, banks, hills and rivers. Some cruel people still mine. In ancient times, people make special temples from the side of a mountain or cliff just to hide their treasure. Major Impacts on the environment can occur at most stages of mining, from exploration through to mine closure, and may result from both large- and small-scale mining operations. Impacts could have an effect on the natural environment such as the water, soil, air and even human beings health. The public understands on the environment which has changed very much in the recent years and the mining

To what extent did the domestic reforms of Napoleon complete the work of the Revolution?

Napoleon had a plan for the revolution. The idea of it was that France would become an equal state. The main things that the revolution came forth with was the ability to give freedom of a religion, a more enforced law which would help try and deal with the crimes that were being committed throughout France, with the criminals getting away with their crimes. Napoleon’s main reform was to get France out of the huge debt they were in. Napoleon also heavily concentrated on the education reform, throughout all of France.One of Napoleons biggest accomplishments throughout France was that he gave people the right to practise their own religion wherever they wanted to without them having any consequences, such as being punished for not being a Christian. Napoleon even helped pass a new act, called the Citizen’s Act. This was a huge accomplishment for Napoleon as it meant it guaranteed freedom of religion, meaning you could practise any religion you wanted in France. Napoleon e ven granted a homeland for the Jews, he helped create a group to represent them which was elected by the Jews, to ensure they had what they desired in the elected group.One of his greatest accomplishments in religion was ensuring that Jews were no longer restricted to living only in the â€Å"Ghettos†. On top of this in 1807 he made sure that Judaism was made one of the already several official religions in France. Overall Napoleon was very successful with his freedom of religion as he was able to pass a citizens act and allowed Judaism to be added to the official religions of France, because of this Napoleon became increasingly popular with the Jews. Napoleon needed to improve the law and its enforcement during his domestic reform.He established and created something called the Prefecture. This was built up of several departments, each having its own leader of the department with the crime what was being committed in its area. Once this had been created France saw a fall in crime levels, so was reasonably successful in reducing the crime rate within France. Napoleon was very keen on improving the education throughout France. Napoleon had many ideas that he out into action. One of his most important idea was to introduce 4 different types of schools, these included; Primary school.Secondary school, lycees schools which were military schools run on the lines for the soldiers and technical schools. Depending on what the individual wanted to do as their chosen career, depended on what they were taught. For example, if a student wanted to be in a military background the school would teach the student things such as maths, physics and military tactics. Other jobs would teach students languages and philosophy. This procedure was proven to be extremely successful as more than 18,000,000 were attending the 36 schools on the military lines out of Frances 30 million people.Napoleon made sure that once a student has finished their selected teachings for their care r, they were guaranteed and job in the career they had chosen. Napoleon even tried to promote equality within his education reform by allowing females to study things such as religious studies. Napoleon was extremely successful with his education policies as he was able to get millions of people educated within France and got them all jobs after they had finished school, and even educated women. Napoleon continued to use the two types of money which were being used, the assignat and the franc.He also created of the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury as he also believed this would help France better their wealth overall. Napoleon used the National lottery, he did this so people would buy tickets so he could generate an income, and this generated around 9 million francs. Napoleon then also took about a further 3 million francs from bank loans. At the time, many of the tax collectors were corrupt and would take a lot of the money, to overcome this Napoleon employed 840, new and profe ssional tax collectors.This was done to get rid of the corrupt tax collectors stealing the money, which was intended to go the government. Once these tax collectors were employed, the French government gained about 660 million francs. The bank of France was also set up, where people could take out a loan with 6% interest. This increased the amount of money that the bank earned by quite a lot. Napoleon also decided to increase the tax on some of the items being sold in France. These included things such as tobacco and carriages.These items were on of the highest sellers in France, especially tobacco, which meant the government generated a huge amount of income from the tax on these items. The French government also bought and gave bread to the poor; this meant Napoleon never had to devalue the currency and was able to control inflation. Napoleon was also able to reduce poverty, while reducing the cost of living. Napoleon generated a huge income from these policies, generating 660 mil lion francs from tax collection alone. In conclusion, I think that Napoleon did complete the work of the revolution.He was able to give equal rights to people practising different religions such as Judaism. He was able to give a successful education to individuals to become a professional in their career and was even able to give women an education. He was successful in restoring law and order by giving each area a department in which they could control the law. He was incredibly successful in increasing income for France by increasing tax and replacing tax collectors. Overall I believe that Napoleon was very successful in restoring successful domestic reforms and was able to successfully complete the work of the revolution.

Essay on Venture Capital †Motivations For Corporate Venturing

1. Introduction Traditionally, the interest of companies in creating venture funds was influenced by the venture capital climate. Increased rates of corporate venturing activity recorded in the 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s were in correspondence with the flourishing venture capital investments (Narayanan et al., 2009). Despite the deterioration in private equity investment owing to the fall of the dot-com sector in early 21st century, corporate venturing is still considered to be an important business activity in large business organisations (Gailly et al., 2014). However, corporate venturing is marred with complexity including the disconcerting array of existing corporate venturing forms (Guerrero & Pena-Legazkue, 2013). As Garg (2013) argues, for many years, large business organisations have been cautious about the idea of corporate venturing. Some have witnessed a failure of their venture initiatives while others have given up so easily. Generally, the lifespan of corporate venturing initiative is aro und one year (Basu & Wadhwa, 2013). Even business organisations with a strong capital base have struggled to utilise knowledge that is gained from start-up initiatives (Basu et al., 2011). Certainly, it is not easy to run a corporate venture capital successfully. However, as the rate of discontents in research and development increase, corporate venturing is gaining respect and appreciation in the business world (Masulis & Nahata, 2009). To clearly position the reasons that motivate organisations to consider corporate venturing, it is imperative to analyse the concept of growth and development as a result of the effectiveness of research and development initiatives at the organisational level. 2. Venturing and Firm Innovativeness Ideas that are innovative can be produced via internal R&D or access externally through activities such as corporate venture capital initiative. Companies must not limit themselves to in-house R&D as a source of innovativeness. In spite of the high prevalence of internal R&D as a source of innovativeness in many business organisations from a historical perspective, a decision to limit an organisation to sourcing its innovativeness from internal R&D has its limitations (Srivastava & Agrawal, 2010; Guerrero & Pena-Legazkue, 2013). As research on economic-based industries suggests, monopolies lack efficiency which results in the costs associated with inefficiency being passed down to the final consumer (Narayanan et al., 2009; Napp&Minshall, 2011). This idea is also recognised in corporate entrepreneurship research. Specifically, Gaba and Bhattacharya (2012) argued that elevated R&D expenditure at the organisational level is an indicator of internal inefficiencies and elevated agency co sts rather than successful innovative initiatives or antagonistic risk-taking approaches. Therefore, it is necessary for corporations to eliminate the monopoly enjoyed by their R&D units. Economics positions the existence of competing players as a source of efficiency when compared to a monopoly state (Basu et al., 2011). At organisational level, structuring of corporate innovative initiatives can be realised through the development of several R&D centre or supporting various technological initiatives through approaches such as corporate venture capital. Furthermore, research has raised concerns over the possibility of collusion pitfalls in cases where the number of players is limited (Napp & Minshall, 2011; Basu & Wadhwa, 2013). This can be addressed by offering a significant geographical dispersion of R&D centres. Indeed, according to Gaba and Bhattacharya (2012), having numerous research sites that are geographically distributed enhances corporate innovativeness by providing assistance in disabling organisational inertia, offering variety, and ultimately speeding up th e development of new capabilities and technological advancement. The option of multiple technological activities that is founded on corporate venture capital initiatives is also common among various leading companies on a global scale in the recent past. A decision to introduce the concept of competition in processes that generate organisational innovativeness has been found to eliminate inefficiencies in organisational innovativeness activities (Maula et al., 2009). Agency theory emphasises on inefficiencies that emanate from contracting associations between a firms engaging another firm to undertake certain activity on its behalf, which entails a decision to delegate a significant decision-making authority to an agent (Srivastava & Agrawal, 2010). The consideration, in this case, is that both players in the contract are rational, self-interested, risk-averse, and opportunistic. Consequently, the opportunistic behaviour of the agent may not be in agreement with the best interests of the principal (Garg, 2013; Bruneel et al., 2013). The agent†™s opportunistic behaviour is manifested via adverse selection, moral hazards, and hold-up (Cumming & Johan, 2010). In addition, any form of misalignment that exists between the principal’s and the agent’s interests implies enduring loss by the principal (Maula et al., 2009; Souitaris & Zerbinati, 2014). A typical situation where an agency problem is applicable is the case of a relationship between business managers and owners (Cumming & Johan, 2010). However, this situation can easily be applied to the relationship between a firm’s R&D unit and its top management. In this case, the internal R&D unit is positioned as an agent of the firm’s top management that is involved in technical advancement. Therefore, selection process that is adverse may be a significant issue if the R&D unit initiates a project that extends beyond its expertise. The issue of moral hazards is common in cases where actions taken by an agent cannot be verified which is a common occurrence in complex research and development projects, where observable results rather than behaviours that cannot be verified is the solution (Narayanan et al., 2009). Hold-up challenges may emerge when internal projects that are not successful are not suspended from corporate funding even when the outcomes are useless in spite of significant corporate expenditure. Therefore, a decision to create a corporate venture capital initiative is a solution to some of the problems associated with agency challenges. Specifically, corporate venture capital plans provide internal R&D units with a significant challenge over their monopoly on generating organisational innovation. According to a research done by Basu et al. (2011), challenging the monopoly by internal R&D unit on innovation production has assisted several business firms to directly move into successful business initiatives that would have been assumed under normal internal R&D situation. As much as corporate venturing is considered to be dangerous due to the threat of opportunism (Garg, 2013), a decision to limit innovative activities to internal R&D unit is more problematic (Cumming et al., 2009). The challenges associated with monopolies are just part of the challenges. Without sufficient level of diversity, strategic renewal, which is considered a major entrepreneurship, can never be reali sed. Development of corporate venture initiatives is, therefore, significant in minimising moral hazards and adverse selection (Maula et al., 2009). Allocating an organisation’s funds to a corporate venture is a significant threat to the availability of funds that can be applied in internal R&D projects, which spurs competition based on the economic perspective analysed above. 3. Motives that Drive Corporate Venturing Research has established that a corporate venture capital fund is more flexible, can move faster, and is generally cheaper when compared the conventional research and development in assisting an organisation in the process of responding to changes in business models and technologies (Maula et al., 2009; Napp&Minshall, 2011). According to Garg (2013), such a fund can be used in the process of stimulating demand for a firm’s products. Furthermore, corporate venture capital is an investment that may earn a company a return that is attractive. It is, therefore, a tool that is used by a firm in capturing ideas that ultimately influence the future of an organisation. There are various benefits that come with venture capital including faster response, better analysis of business threats, easier disengagement, enhanced investment impacts, increased demand, and higher returns.3.1. Venturing and Business ResponseThrough offering an inside perspective of new technological areas as well as an approach that can lead to possible ownership and use of novel ideas, corporate venturing allows businesses to swiftly respond to changes in the market. In a study done by (Narayanan et al., 2009) about venturing initiatives, it was established that companies that were able to make successful financial investments experienced better success levels. Consequently, such development capabilities that are experienced under venture capital initiative take a longer period of time to be realised if done by a firm on its own and is generally more expensive (Souitaris & Zerbinati, 2014). Given the resources and time needed to modernise research facilities and recruit researchers with the right skills and expertise, expanding a firm’s internal research and development can be generally painstaking (Phan et al., 2009).3.2. Venture Capital in Threat ManagementVenture fund can be used by an organisation as an approach to gathering intelligence, which assists the firm in protecting its elf from emerging threats to its competitiveness in the market. For instance, Analog Devices, the silicon-chip specialist formulated a venture program in the 1980s focused at investing in a variety of competing technologies (Basu et al., 2011). The goal, in this case, was to collect strategic information at a lower cost. The process resulted in a discovery that it was difficult and expensive to make chips using non-silicon materials. This resulted in a hike in Analog’s market valuation. In this case, the decision to utilise corporate venturing program offered the company a source of insurance. In this case, if the alternatives that the company had opted to explore had been viable, it was covered from the risk of being faced out of the market by its competitors. Conventional approaches to research and development does not offer data that can be used in predicting sources of competitive forces. Specifically, most corporate research and development units focus on projects that a re narrow which can result in neglect of areas that can cause a significant disruption from external competitors. Accordingly Phan et al. (2009) argue that most business managers in firms with versatile internal R&D functions face challenges when it comes to determining whether their companies are blindsided with regard to new innovative developments that may threaten their competitiveness3.3. Venturing and Easier DetachmentAnother positive aspect of venturing that is related to the ability of a firm to speed up its response to threats and change is that it offers organisational management a faster approach to detach from investments that appear to be doomed to fail. In particular, many firms find it challenging to abandon innovations that are not very good but are developed internally (Rohrbeck et al., 2009). Such projects can remain in a firm’s product development for many years resisting termination. This can well be illustrated by Nokia’s continued focus on develo ping its mobile phones based on the Symbian operating system even when most of its competitors had opted to go into free fall, which negatively affected the competitiveness of Nokia in the market. The relationship that exists between firms and their venture funds which is arm’s-length is advantageous in this respect. In particular, as much as a firm may be reluctant to terminate an initiative that is unpromising, the presence of co-investors provides a platform for forcing the decision.3.4. Venture Capital and Increased Impacts of InvestmentVenture Capital provides business firms opportunities for combining their capital with other venture capitals, which results in the magnification of the effects of an investment to a firm. These benefits are particularly apparent in cases where technological uncertainty is significantly higher. The iFund, which was supported by Apple Company and introduced in the market by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venerable VC firm, provides an illustration of this case. This investment enabled Apple to build applications for its new mobile phone products at the lowest cost possible. This was in contrast to the case of Nokia, which was a major market rival to Apple Company whose operating system, Symbian was unsuccessful and very costly. As a result of the success of the iFund, similar such initiatives have been positioned by many other companies including famous venture capital developments such as Facebook and Research in Motion.3.5. Venturing and Market DemandVenture firm provides a firm with several sources of leveraging. This can be illustrated by the iFund case. In particular, a decision by venture capitalists to promote the development of technologies that were reliant on the parent firm business platforms results in increased demand for the firm’s products. This approach was considered by Intel Capital in the late 1990s when it founded a capital that speeded the adoption of Intel’s next generation c hips in the market (Rohrbeck et al., 2009). This fund was invested in numerous hardware and software makers who were mostly Intel competitors and their products capitalised on the power presented by the new chip developed by Intel. These investments resulted in the accelerated adoption of Intel chip within a short period of time. Intel capital was also involved in seeding firms that were developing wireless internet products founded on a platform that had been championed by Intel. This resulted in rapid adoption of wireless products from Intel in the following years, which illustrated the success of the company in applying corporate venturing in creating a network of wireless actors.3.6. Venturing and ReturnsResearch has also established a financial benefit that is associated with venturing. Specifically, the main objective of any venture capital initiative is to generate revenue for the partners. With regard to corporate venture capital, the main goal is gaining a strategic advant age in the market, which ultimately culminates in increased profitability as much as the initial income generated as a result of the venture itself is insignificant with regard to the bottom line of corporate firms (Masulis & Nahata, 2009). Business organisations introduce value in start-ups that they find, which is commonly in the form of resources, skills, and reputation (Phan et al., 2009). This also changes the perception of the new entity’s prospects in the face of external investors. Public and private equity investors generally believe that start-ups that are founded on venture capital will be absorbed by the investors at an attractive valuation. Accordingly, Basu et al. (2011) established that business start-ups that are funded by corporations are more likely to attract more attention among high-quality players in the market when compared to ordinary start-ups. It also emerged that such start-ups that are backed by corporate venture funds have a better performance wit h regard to stock price when compared to those that are backed by traditional investment groups. 4. Conclusion The analysis of the corporate venture capital and its significance in the business world demonstrated a clear picture of its implication in growth, development, and competitiveness of business organisations in the wake of a globalised business environment. Specifically, it was apparent that corporate venture capital initiative could be applied by business organisations in increasing their innovativeness and the general firm efficiency and ultimately their competitiveness. Consequently, corporate venture capital initiatives demonstrate entrepreneurial aspects that are associated with significant effects on business corporations. Consequently, based on the deeper analysis of the strategic aspects of corporate venture capital investments, this paper has affirmed that it plays a strategic role in competitiveness and sustainability of corporate entities in the contemporary business settings hence an attractive initiative in most corporations. 5. References Basu, S., & Wadhwa, A. (2013). â€Å"External venturing and discontinuous strategic renewal: An options perspective.† Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(5), pp. 956-975. Basu, S., Phelps, C., Kotha, S. (2011). â€Å"Towards understanding who makes corporate venture capital investments and why,† Journal of Business Venturing, 26(2), pp. 153-171. Bruneel, J., Van de Velde, E., & Clarysse, B. (2013). â€Å"Impact of the Type of Corporate Spin?Off on Growth.† Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(4), pp. 943-959. Cumming, D., & Johan, S. (2010). â€Å"Venture capital investment duration.† Journal of Small Business Management, 48(2), pp. 228-257. Cumming, D., Fleming, G., &Schwienbacher, A. (2009). â€Å"Corporate relocation in venture capital finance.† Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(5), pp. 1121-1155. Gaba, V., & Bhattacharya, S. (2012). â€Å"Aspirations, innovation, and corporate venture capital: A behavioural perspective.† Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 6(2), pp. 178-199. Gailly, B., Da Gbadji, A. G., & Schwienbacher, A. (2014). â€Å"International analysis of venture capital programs of large corporations and financial institutions.† Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Forthcoming. Garg, S. (2013). â€Å"Venture boards: Distinctive monitoring and implications for firm performance.† Academy of Management Review, 38(1), pp. 90-108. Guerrero, M., & Pena-Legazkue, I. (2013). â€Å"The effect of intrapreneurial experience on corporate venturing: Evidence from developed economies.† International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 9(3), pp. 397-416. Guerrero, M., & Pena-Legazkue, I. (2013). â€Å"The effect of intrapreneurial experience on corporate venturing: Evidence from developed economies.† International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 9(3), pp. 397-416. Masulis, R. W., &Nahata, R. (2009). â€Å"Financial contracting with strategic investors: Evidence from corporate venture capital backed IPOs.† Journal of Financial Intermediation, 18(4), pp. 599-631. Maula, M. V., Autio, E., & Murray, G. C. (2009). â€Å"Corporate venture capital and the balance of risks and rewards for portfolio companies.† Journal of Business Venturing, 24(3), pp. 274-286. Napp, J. J., &Minshall, T. (2011). â€Å"Corporate venture capital investments for enhancing innovation: challenges and solutions.† Research-Technology Management, 54(2), 27-36. Narayanan, V. K., Yang, Y., & Zahra, S. A. (2009). â€Å"Corporate venturing and value creation: A review and proposed framework.† Research Policy, 38(1), pp. 58-76. Phan, P. H., Wright, M., Ucbasaran, D., & Tan, W. L. (2009). â€Å"Corporate entrepreneurship: Current research and future directions.† Journal of business Venturing, 24(3), pp. 197-205. Rohrbeck, R., Dohler, M., & Arnold, H. (2009). â€Å"Creating growth with externalization of R&D results—the spin?along approach.† Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 28(4), pp. 44-51. Souitaris, V., & Zerbinati, S. (2014). â€Å"How do corporate venture capitalists do dealsAn exploration of corporate investment practices.† Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 8(4), pp. 321-348. Srivastava, N., & Agrawal, A. (2010). â€Å"Factors supporting corporate entrepreneurship: an exploratory study.† Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective, 14(3), pp.163-171.

The History of Barbed Wire or the Thorny Fence

The History of Barbed Wire or the Thorny Fence Patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted by the U.S. Patent Office, beginning with Michael Kelly in November 1868 and ending with Joseph Glidden in November 1874, that shape the history of this tool. Thorny Fence vs. Wild West The swift emergence of this highly effective tool as the favored fencing method changed life in the wild west as dramatically as the rifle, six-shooter, telegraph, windmill, and locomotive. Without fencing, livestock grazed freely, competing for fodder and water. Where working farms did exist, most properties were unfenced and open to foraging by roaming cattle and sheep. Before barbed wire, the lack of effective fencing limited farming and ranching practices, and the number of people who could settle in an area. The new fencing changed the West from vast and undefined prairies/plains to a land of farming, and widespread settlement. Why Wire Was Used Wooden fences were costly and difficult to acquire on the prairie and plains, where few trees grew. Lumber was in such short supply in the region that farmers were forced to build houses of sod. Likewise, rocks for stone walls were scarce on the plains. Barbed wire proved to be cheaper, easier, and quicker to use than any of these other alternatives. Michael Kelly Invented the First Barbed Wire Fencing The first wire fences (before the invention of the barb) consisted of only one strand of wire, which was constantly broken by the weight of cattle pressing against it. Michael Kelly made a significant improvement to wire fencing, he twisted two wires together to form a cable for barbs - the first of its kind. Known as the thorny fence, Michael Kellys double-strand design made fences stronger, and the painful barbs made cattle keep their distance. Joseph Glidden Was Considered the King of the Barb Predictably, other inventors sought to improve upon Michael Kellys design; among them was Joseph Glidden, a farmer from De Kalb, IL. In 1873 and 1874, patents were issued for various designs to compete against Micheal Kellys invention. But the recognized winner was Joseph Gliddens design for a simple wire barb locked onto a double-strand wire. Joseph Gliddens design made barbed wire more effective, he invented a method for locking the barbs in place, and invented the machinery to mass-produce the wire. Joseph Gliddens U.S. patent was issued on November 24, 1874. His patent survived court challenges from other inventors. Joseph Glidden prevailed in litigation and sales. Today, it remains the most familiar style of barbed wire. Impact Living patterns of the nomadic Native Americans were radically altered. Further squeezed from lands they had always used, they began calling barbed wire the Devils rope. More fenced-off land meant that cattle herders were dependent on the dwindling public lands, which rapidly became overgrazed. Cattle herding was destined to become extinct. Barbed Wire, Warfare, and Security After its invention, barbed wire was widely used during wars, to protect people and property from unwanted intrusion. Military usage of barbed wire formally dates to 1888, when British military manuals first encouraged its use. During the Spanish-American War, Teddy Roosevelts Rough Riders chose to defend their camps with the help of barbed fencing. In turn-of-the-century South Africa, five-strand fences were linked to blockhouses sheltering British troops from the encroachment of Boer commandos. During World War I, barbed wire was used as a military weapon. Even now, barbed wire is widely used to protect and safeguard military installation, to establish territorial boundaries, and for prisoner confinement. Used on construction and storage sites and around warehouses, barbed wire protects supplies and persons and keeps out unwanted intruders.

Trifles A One-act Play by Susan Glaspell

Trifles A One-act Play by Susan Glaspell Farmer John Wright has been murdered. While he was asleep in the middle of the night, someone strung a rope around his neck. Shockingly, that someone might have been his wife, the quiet and forlorn Minnie Wright.   Playwright Susan Glaspells one-act play, written in 1916,  is loosely based on true events. As a young reporter, Glaspell covered a murder case in a small town in Iowa. Years later, she crafted a short play, Trifles,  inspired by her experiences and observations. The Meaning of the Name Trifles for This Psychological Play The play was first performed in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Glaspell herself played the character, Mrs. Hale. Considered an early illustration of feminist drama, the themes of the play focus on men and women and their psychological states along with their social roles. The word trifles typically refer to objects of little to no value. It makes sense in the context of the play due to the items that the female characters come across. The interpretation may also be that men do not understand the value of women, and consider them trifles. The Plot Summary of a Family Murder-drama The sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and the neighbors (Mr. and Mrs. Hale) enter the kitchen of the Wright household. Mr. Hale explains how he paid a visit to the house on the previous day. Once there, Mrs. Wright greeted him but behaved strangely. She eventually stated in a dull voice that her husband was upstairs, dead.  (Though Mrs. Wright is the central figure in the play, she never appears onstage. She is only referred to by the on-stage characters.) The audience learns of John Wright’s murder through Mr. Hale’s exposition. He is the first, aside from Mrs. Wright, to discover the body. Mrs. Wright claimed that she was sound asleep while someone strangled her husband. It seems obvious to the male characters that she killed her husband, and she is been taken into custody as the prime suspect. The Continued Mystery With Added Feminist Critique The attorney and sheriff decide that there is nothing important in the room: â€Å"Nothing here but kitchen things.† This line is the first of many disparaging comments said to minimize the importance of women in society, as noticed by several Feminist critics.  The men criticize Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping skills, irking Mrs. Hale and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters. The men exit, heading upstairs to investigate the crime scene. The women remain in the kitchen. Chatting to pass the time, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notice vital details that the men would not care about: Ruined fruit preservesBread that has been left out of its boxAn unfinished quiltA half clean, half messy table topAn empty birdcage Unlike the men, who are looking for forensic evidence to solve the crime, the women in Susan Glaspells Trifles observe clues that reveal the bleakness of Mrs. Wright’s emotional life. They theorize that Mr. Wright’s cold, oppressive nature must have been dreary to live with. Mrs. Hale comments about Mrs. Wright being childless: â€Å"Not having children makes less work- but it makes a quiet house.† The  women are simply trying to pass the awkward moments with civil conversation. But to the audience, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters unveil a psychological profile of a desperate housewife. The Symbol of Freedom and Happiness in the Story When gathering up the quilting material, the two women  discover a fancy little box. Inside, wrapped in silk, is a dead canary. Its neck has been wrung. The implication is that Minnie’s husband did not like the canarys beautiful song (a symbol of his wife’s desire for freedom and happiness). So, Mr. Wright busted the cage door and strangled the bird. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do not tell the men about their discovery. Instead, Mrs. Hale puts the box with the deceased bird into her coat pocket, resolving not to tell the men about this little â€Å"trifle† they have uncovered. The play ends with the characters exiting the kitchen and the women announcing that they have determined Mrs. Wright’s quilt making style. She â€Å"knots it† instead of â€Å"quilts it†- a play on words denoting the way in which she killed her husband. The Theme of the Play Is That Men Do Not Appreciate Women The men within this play betray a sense of self-importance. They present themselves as tough, serious-minded detectives  when in truth, they are not nearly as observant as the female characters. Their pompous attitude  causes the women to feel defensive and form ranks. Not only do Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters bond, but they also  choose to hide evidence as an act of compassion for Mrs. Wright. Stealing the box with the dead bird is an act of loyalty to their gender and an act of defiance against a callous patriarchal society. Key Character Roles in the Play Trifles Mrs. Hale: She had not visited the Wright household for over a year because of its bleak, cheerless atmosphere. She believes that Mr. Wright is responsible for crushing the merriment out of Mrs. Wright. Now, Mrs. Hale feels guilty for not visiting more often. She believes she could have improved Mrs. Wright’s outlook on life.Mrs. Peter: She has tagged along to bring back clothes for the imprisoned Mrs. Wright. She can relate to the suspect because they both know about â€Å"stillness.† Mrs. Peters reveals that her first child died at the age of two. Because of this tragic experience, Mrs. Peters understands what it is like to lose a loved one (in Mrs. Wright’s case- her songbird).Mrs. Wright: Before she was married to John Wright, she was Minnie Foster, and she was more cheerful in her youth. Her clothes were more colorful, and she loved to sing. Those attributes diminished after her wedding day. Mrs. Hale describes Mrs. Wright’s personality: She was kind of like a bird herself–real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and- fluttery. How- she- did- change.

Ageism in Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ageism in Nursing - Research Paper Example As the discussion declares the country identified to manifest the highest shares of aged population (those with citizens 60 years old and above) was Japan as of 2011 and projected way into 2050. Likewise, in addition to the challenges facing the size and quality of workforce who would be qualified and competent to address ageism, other challenges which were noted included addressing non-communicable diseases and pension issues, to name a few.From this paper it is clear that  the causes of ageism was expounded through identifying the factors that allegedly contributed to its perpetuation. It was noted that culture, media, language and the perception of old age have led to enforcement of stereotyped beliefs on the aged population. Among the language or colloqualist terms apparently associated with the older population are: â€Å""geezer," "old fogey," "old maid," "dirty old man," and "old goat"†. Other contributory factors to ageism that were identified include institutions (o rganizations which preclude aged people from being promoted or from being hired); a reported focus of the American health care system on acute care and cure, rather than practicing chronic care which is identified to be most needed by this segment of the population; and government policies that seem to skew regulations and benefits to other sectors more than to the elderly.  The negative stereotyped beliefs add to the dilemma and non-disclosure or dissemination of factual information on the aged population.... d in the study written by Bloom, Boersch-Supan, McGee, and Seike (2011) have disclosed some relevant findings, to wit: â€Å"while aging is taking place in almost all countries of the world, rich or poor, very high longevity is still a matter of very high income levels† (p. 4). In fact, the country identified to manifest the highest shares of aged population (those with citizens 60 years old and above) was Japan as of 2011 and projected way into 2050. Likewise, in addition to the challenges facing the size and quality of workforce who would be qualified and competent to address ageism, other challenges which were noted included addressing non-communicable diseases and pension issues, to name a few. Different studies have been conducted to closely examine relevant issues that pertain to ageing in contemporary times. Authors Kane and Kane (2005) have delved into disparities related to ageism between long-term care and acute care as well as issues related to age-based rationing. Another study by Nolan (2011) examined dimensions of ageing and belonging as well as the effects of ageism. The various challenges faced by health care practitioners in addressing diverse needs and health-related issues of the aged population were expounded by Bloom, Boersch-Supan, McGee, and Seike (2011). There were negative myths and stereotypes that were also apparently presented by Palmore (1990) which have been vividly clarified through presentation of facts on concerns such as illness, impotency, ugliness, mental decline, mental illness, uselessness, isolation, poverty, depression, and political power (Chapin, Nelson-Becker, Gordon, & Terrebonne, 2002). The causes of ageism was expounded through identifying the factors that allegedly contributed to its perpetuation. It was noted that culture,