International Marketing Peugeot

The current strategy of Peugeot towards electric cars is clear : this is a new exponential market where there are a lot of market shares to gain. The motives of the company for internationalization can be divided Into two different kind of motives which are the proactive and the reactive motivations: * Increase the profits and realize economies of scale Gain new market shares * Improve its global vision and its brand image * Penetrate a new market with a lot of opportunities * Find an alternative to the very competitive French market which has less opportunities for car makers.Moreover, Californians are already aware of these new technologies which are well seen and appreciate. The launch of electric cars in North America could be a great opportunity for Peugeot, because it represents a new way of cars and it's becoming one of the main preoccupation of everyone who is preoccupied by the energy crisis ND the high price of oil. The second reactive motive concerns profit and growth goal s: going on a foreign market such as North America is a good way to increase profits and to make economies of scale.To launch its new car, Peugeot must take in consideration some other factors. In order to take the right decisions, the company will have to select the most adapted way to penetrate the green vehicles market; the acquisition method, the direct investment, the licensing, Joint venture technique or simply exportation. Each method has strengths and weaknesses but Peugeot Company has to find the en which will allow to increase profits while achieving economies of scale. This map shows us where Peugeot factories around the world. The most critical barriers are the politic and economic ones.American car manufacturers are helped by the U. S government. This can be very difficult for foreign companies such as Peugeot to be as competitive as companies as General Motors for example. This is about protectionism as the United States have a policy which favors US companies rather t han foreign companies. The second politic barrier is the problem of legislation which is not the same in France and in America. Moreover, the car must be adapted to the American rules and norms. Concerning the economic barrier, the most important is the problem of currency.Actually, if Peugeot chooses the exportation way to penetrate the market, the production would be in Euros and the sales in Dollars. That could be a problem in the accountancy, and a problem of higher costs of production than cost of goods sold. Moreover, the understanding of the distribution network in the United States will be another major barrier for Peugeot. They do have experience in selling cars abroad, they do export their cars in many countries across the world. However, the US market is quite different from other countries as no French manufacturer is currently exporting to the United States except Budgets with its luxurious car.Question 2: Examine the company's international competitiveness at the macro , mess The Peugeot international competitiveness consists in the three following levels: the macro, mess and micro levels. For the macro level, we'll use the Porter Diamond to analyze Peugeot national competitiveness. Then, the Porter Five Forces analysis will help us to analyze the competition in the car industry at the mess level. To finish, he Porter value chain will examine strengths and weaknesses of Peugeot on the micro level environment of the company.Macro Level In the car industry the factor conditions represent infrastructure, plants and human resources. Since the crisis in 2008, the French car industry has suffered from a decline in economic activity. Moreover, the cost of one hour of work in France being very high, the economic situation has not improved the competitiveness of Peugeot. Concerning the demand, the customers and the public opinion is concerned about car's quality and the respect of the environment. People have higher expectations doodads than in the past. T hat permits to our French car maker to reach new markets and to gain new market shares†¦. †¦. †¦.. †¦.. †¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Related and supporting industries show a vertical and horizontal integration in the French car industry, with suppliers and distributors present mainly in the European area. These networks are well distributed in the Europe†¦. . About firm strategy, structure and rivalry, the French market is highly competitive with French manufacturers such seepage's (the leader) or Citroen as well as foreign competitors such as Toyota, Fiat, BMW, Moreover, Chance is about external events which can affect the car industry economy.Many factors can have an impact on the number of car sold. For example, the high price of oil in France does not encourage people to buy a new car. More â€Å"chance† can generate important issues in the car industry, like unemployment, loss of money and loss of investments. New entrants : 2 The risk of new entrants is low because car industry requires high investments and high technology to compete on the market. It's a very tough challenge for a new competitors to enter this market but it is not impossible as big brand can invest in his direction such as in China for example where all the car makers are going.Buyers : 4 The buyers' power is very important as they have very high expectations, concerning quality and techniques. Moreover, even if cars are one of the main things that makes up an economy, if people have not money they will not buy cars. Suppliers : 4 Suppliers do not have a very important power of negotiation but they keep an important power as they can put pressure on delivery delays, which can be very difficult for the car company to handle. Moreover, the production depends on those suppliers.Substitutes : 1 Substitute of cars doesn't have a real impact or even doesn't really exist except common tra nsports such as the train or the airplane but it can not really be considered as substitutes. Peugeot is one of the main competitor on the French market. The company is focused on the middle-range target. Peugeot already have an international strategy as they are present in Asia, South America and Europe. To penetrate the American market, Peugeot should benchmark it, with analyzing which competitors he would have to face, but also with highlighting the difference of habits and knowledge.Thanks to this benchmark, they'll be able to have a global picture of the American market. The difference of habits in the USA is also a factor to consider as American customers don't have maybe the same expectations in terms of power, comfort, etc. It's necessary for Peugeot to have the â€Å"big picture† of what customers are expecting from these new kind of cars. Question 3: What economic and political barriers would impact the export of cars to the US? It will be not easy for Peugeot to be competitive with other US car maker which produces electric cars as well on their own market.Regarding the political barrier, rules and norms, which has to be adapted in order to fit the American market. Then, the economic barrier deals with the problem of currency. This raises the problem of cost of production for Peugeot in case if they export electric cars in USA. Indeed, the difference between Euros and Dollars is not for the benefit of Peugeot as they will have a higher cost of production compared to cost of goods sold in the American market. Question 4: What influence would culture have on the international marketing strategy? Use the models of Hefted and Hall as points of referenceThe culture is very influent in the internationalization strategy: the company penetrating a new market has to know the culture of the country, of the people and also how to manage it to make of this culture a positive point, and not something going against the company Power of distance: hierarchy is very present in the United States which makes the distance more important. A notion of distance is kept when people talk to you. Uncertainty avoidance: uncertainty is not common in the US, people don't like uncertainty. Something which has been planned, for an agenda for example, has to be followed.Individualism: the concept of individualism is very present in the USA and comes with social success and material wealth. Masculinity: More and more managers or directors are women, even if it depends on the field of activity. Masculinity used to be very strong a few years ago but now it's changing. The United States culture would be positioned in the Low-context part in the Hall's model. When talking to somebody, the communication and the sense of self and space are more informal compared to other developed countries. The way of managing business, hierarchy, etc. Is part of this low-context.The American culture is more likely to be † low context†, as business is business, everything and everybody is direct moreover when you talk about money. Question 5: What type of market entry modes should the French car manufacturer consider? Explain your reasons The first thing to do is to show the different types of market entry modes that Peugeot can consider in order to launch an electric car in the United States. Then, we The exportation Peugeot already experiences this system as they have a lots of factories in France and worldwide (eastern Europe, Asia, South America CB:map ).If Peugeot choose this solution to penetrate the US market it means that they will have to produce cars in France or somewhere else in the world and then export these cars to the United States. In the same time, Peugeot will not support high costs of idealization. The only costs associated to exportation are transportation, insurance for this transport, the exchange rate and import tax. Moreover, transport implies many risks of delays for example. A Joint venture Peugeot could create a Joint venture with an US car manufacturer like Chevrolet or Cadillac for example.That means that the two companies would have to create a new many that both companies share. This would enable the French company to penetrate the market easier as car industry in the United States are under State protection. Direct investment (FAD) or acquisition Peugeot could acquire assets in the United States with this method (plants, equipment, etc. ) and produce electric cars directly in the country where they will be sold. This solution solves the problem of exchange rate because as car will be produced in dollars and sold in dollars as well, there will not have fluctuations between currencies.Moreover, Peugeot will be able to control the chain from the ginning to the end, reducing manufacturing costs and delays. Licensing Peugeot also have the possibility to use licensing, which means the licensor sell the right to use intellectual property such as production techniques, patents, trademark, dra wings (intangible property). This indirect way of penetrating the US market has the advantage of requiring little investment with a high return on investment. The strategic alliance with a licensee could be the opportunity for Peugeot to enter this market without major issues.But Peugeot could lost revenues coming from manufacturing and marketing activities, for the benefit of the licensee. To conclude, Peugeot can choose between those 4 types of market entry modes: exportation, Joint venture, direct investment or acquisition and licensing. Exportation would be a bad choice if Peugeot Just wants to export its electric car to the United States. There are still too many risks regarding the fluctuations between euros and The better option for Peugeot is to consider the foreign direct investment or acquisition method as a real way to penetrate the market.This would allow Peugeot to control all the operation while getting closer to the consumers and knowing better the competitive environ ment. Even if it requires a high level of resources from the French company, the investment would be profitable as there is a huge potential for electric cars in the coming years. Question 6: What would be the limitations of acquisition as an entry strategy? The acquisition method can be risky as it requires a lot of investments to buy a new entity. If Peugeot doesn't have sufficient funds available, they can receive money from investors by selling shares for example.It may be also possible to raise funds or to issue stock options to get cash vastly. Moreover, there is a management limitation because everything would be engaged from France even if they hire American managers and it can be an issue to consider. Question 7: Describe the International Product Lifestyle and its implications for the electric / hybrid car models? There are 5 main steps in each product life cycle. Let's analyze them concerning the electric cars: Development phase: The time taken by innovation and Search ; Development to concept, design and create an electric car.Introduction stage: When Peugeot first electric car was presented in 2010 with the ion car. Growth: when it starts to be produced and sold for the mass market. Decline: When others competitors enter the market and take market shares or offer a better product. Peugeot is still in the introduction phase because the company Just started to sell its electric cars in France to rental cars company. They didn't decide yet to launch the product on the market but it should be launched in 2012. Question 8: Explain how exchange rates and inflation may affect the way you price the product?The exchange rates are quite interesting for France right now but Peugeot should be careful because the buying power is less important in America than in France as the Euro is stronger than the dollar. The price must be lower than the one in euros. Concerning the inflation, it could affect the price because it would mean an increase of the production co sts of the raw materials that are necessary for the electric car production. Inflation could also increase the unit price for a car which can be dangerous towards the customers.Question 9: Explain how personal selling may differ in the US from how it is used in France? Personal selling is an oral communication like a speech which happens when a salesman face a potential customer. In France, you let the customer act as he feels, you don't disturb him in the shop enter whereas in America you must keep taking care of him. If you're not, he feels less important and can decide to leave and buy no car and it would be only because of a failure in the personal selling.Question 10: What type of international marketing controls will the company require? Peugeot will have to use the benchmarking in order to compare performance against its other international competitors which sells also electric cars. Key areas are design, battery life, space and reliability. Peugeot will be able to improve it s cars' performance and features thanks to analyzing data from competitors and customers' expectations. Finally, we can say that the United States has a great potential for electric.Peugeot just started to sell its electric car in France and it would be reasonable form the company to wait until the end of 2012 to launch a car on the American market. That's why Peugeot must benchmark and study a lot the American habits, culture, legislation and economy, to see if they have a chance to succeed in this particular sector and country. Bibliography http://www. Peugeot. FRR http://www. Euros. FRR http://www. ]ornamented. Com Google pictures Peugeot annual report My own data as I did an internship in a Peugeot shop two years ago.

Chemistry and Biotechnology Essay

ABSTRACT Elemental analysis of organic compounds determine the elements present in them but they do not give the actual structure or the functional groups present. Since all organic compounds contain hydrogen and carbon, most tests consist of only the determination of oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen and halogens – elements that are most of the time the only ones involved in organic compounds. The experiment focused on the Sodium Fusion test, which tested for all elements except oxygen. In the test, the test compound is broken down into its elements, which then bond individually with sodium. The presence of sulfur was tested either with lead acetate or sodium nitroprusside. The presence of nitrogen was tested with ferrous ammonium sulfate and potassium fluoride. The presence of any halogen was tested by a flame test with copper wire and the identification of the exact halogen was done using silver nitrate. Careful experimentation was needed in order to avoid false positive and false negative r esults. Keywords: elemental analysis, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, halogens, sodium fusion, lead acetate, sodium nitroprusside, flame test[pic] INTRODUCTION Organic compounds are composed mainly of carbon and hydrogen, and in certain functional groups, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and halogens. When presented with an unknown organic compound, it is at times enough to determine the elements present in the compound and not the exact functional groups. The process in which the elements of a compound are determined is called elemental analysis. One of the tests done to conduct elemental analysis is the Sodium Fusion Test. In this experiment, sodium fusion test is used in elemental analysis of qualitative determination of elemental halogens, sulphur and nitrogen in a sample. Sodium is a very strong reducing agent that will able to break up the organic compounds carbon atom chain. It also will convert the atoms which are covalently bonded to the carbon chain to inorganic ions. The elements are detected by sodium fusion test. The organic compound is fused with metallic sodium to convert these elements into ionic mixture which dissolved in water and the filtrate is used to perform the tests. The sodium fusion test, in some texts known as the Lassaigne’s test, was developed by the French chemist, Jean Louis Lassaigne in the 1800’s. It is a general test performed in order to determine the presence of nitrogen, sulfur and halogens. The principle behind the test is the breakdown of the compound into its elements at high temperatures. The breakdown of a compound into its elements is possible for organic compounds as they do not dissociate and form ions when dissolved in a liquid unlike salts and other ionic compounds. These elements then fuse with sodium. These sodium compounds are then the ones tested with different solutions that reveal the presence or absence of the above elements. A limitation of this test is that it cannot test for the presence of oxygen, however, the presence of oxygen can easily be determined through the determination of the actual functional groups in the compound. It is a general test for the detection of halogens, nitrogen and sulphur in an organic compound. These elements are covalently bonded to the organic compounds. In order to detect them, these have to be converted into their ionic forms. This is done by fusing the organic compound with sodium metal. The ionic compounds formed during the fusion are extracted in aqueous solution and can be detected by simple chemical tests. The extract is called sodium fusion extract or Lassaigne’s extract (Wikipedia, 2012.) When an organic compound is heated strongly with sodium, any halogens, nitrogen, and sulfur will be converted into inorganic sodium salts such as sodium halide (for halides), sodium cyanide (for nitrogen), sodium sulfide (for sulfur), and sodium thiocyanate (for sulfur and nitrogen).The nitrogen is confirmed with ferrous sulfate i.e. iron sulfate. In this experiment, the Sodium Fusion Test was used in order to determine the elements present in an unknown compound. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was divided into 2 parts; the first part was the sodium fusion test while the second part consisted of the tests for specific elements. For the first part of the experiment, a piece of sodium metal was washed with hexane and then placed in a completely dry test tube. It was made sure that the test tube was completely dry because any drop of water in the test tube would result to an explosion due to the highly reactive property of sodium. The test tube with the sodium metal was then heated until the metal has melted. Once the vapor has reached a third of the test tube, it was removed from heating and 0.5g/15ml of the sample was added to it. The mixture was then reheated until the fusion has been completed. A successful fusion was noted by a small explosion or flash. The mixture was removed from heating. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, 1ml of ethanol was added to it and the mixture was again heated until a dull red mixture was obtained. This was done with constant stirring. Once the dull red mixture was obtained, the test tube was immersed in 10ml distilled water and was broken using a glass rod. The mixture was stirred and it was made sure that no residue was left on the stirring rod.; it was then heated to boiling and filtered using an ashless filter paper and the residue was kept aside. For the second part of the experiment, tests for sulfur, nitrogen and halogens were performed. The test for sulfur could be done in two ways: the lead acetate test and the sodium nitroprusside test. For the lead acetate test, 1ml of the sodium fusion filtrate was first tested with blue litmus paper. Acetic acid was then added dropwise until the solution becomes acidic. A few drops of 1% lead acetate solution were added to the solution and the formation of a black precipitate indicated the presence of sulfur. The sodium nitroprusside test was done by adding 2 drops of 2% sodium nitroprusside to 1ml of the sodium fusion filtrate, with the formation of a deep blue-violet color an indication of the presence of sulfur. The test for nitrogen was done through the Lassaigne Test or the Prussian Blue Test. 1ml of the sodium fusion filtrate was adjusted to pH13 through the addition of 10% NaOH solution. 2 drops of each freshly prepared ferrous ammonium sulfate solution and 30% potassium fluoride solution. The mixture was then heated to boiling and acidified through the addition of 3M sulfuric acid drop wise until the iron hydroxides have been dissolved. A positive result was indicated by the formation of a dark blue solution or precipitate. The test for halogens was done in two parts – the first part, called the Beilstein’s test was the test for the presence of halogens while the second test was the test for the identity of the halogen if it is present. For the Beilstein’s test, a copper wire with a loop at the end was heated using a Bunsen burner until no color was imparted on the flame. It was then cooled and dipped into the sodium fusion filtrate and then burned again. The appearance of a green flame was the indication of the presence of halogens. For the test for the specific halogen present, 2ml of the sodium fusion filtrate was tested with blue litmus paper. It was then acidified through the drop wise addition of 5% nitric acid solution and boiled slowly for a few minutes. The solution was then cooled and filtered if a precipitate was formed. 2 drops of 0.1M silver nitrate solution was then added to the filtrate. The formation of white, pale yellow or yellow precipitate indicated the presence of chlorine, bromine and iodine respectively. The results can be further verified through the continuous addition of 0.1M silver nitrate in ethanol in order to precipitate all the halogens. The precipitate was then tested with 2ml of 5% ammonium hydroxide. Dissolving of the precipitate indicated the presence of chlorine. Slight dissolving indicated the presence of bromine while insolubility indicated the presence of iodine. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS The following table shows the results of the elemental analysis tests and the flowchart shows the correct steps of the elemental analysis (basing on the identity of the unknown and not on the experimental results): |Cl |- |S |- | |Br |- |N |Present | |I |- |Metal |- | |F |− | | | During the sodium fusion test, the unknown organic compound was heated to very high temperatures and as a consequence, was broken down into its elements. In the presence of sodium, the compound can form different products depending on the elements present. These products can be NaCN, Na2S, NaI, NaCl or NaBr, since the most common elements found in organic compounds other than carbon,hydrogen and oxygen are nitrogen, sulfur and the halogens. For the unknown compound, sulfur was present and so Na2S was formed. If the sulfur was tested with lead acetate, the following reaction occurred: [pic] The reaction leads to the formation of PbS, which is a black precipitate. If sulfur was tested with sodium nitroprusside, the following reaction occurred: [pic] The ionic solution formed was of a deep violet color. For the unknown compound, nitrogen was presend and so NaCN was formed. For the test for nitrogen, the following reaction occurred: [pic] [pic] [pic] The resulting product is of the Prussian blue color; it was either a solution or a precipitate. The unknown compound did not contain halogens but if it did, the following reaction would have occurred for the Beilstein’s Test: [pic] In determining the actual halogen present, the following reactions occurred: AgCl, AgBr and AgI are while, pale yellow and yellow precipitates respectively. If the sodium fusion test was done in limiting sodium and both sulfur and nitrogen were present in the compound, the thiocyanate ion would be formed during the fusion instead of the cyanate ion. A blood color would emerge from the nitrogen test due to the following reaction: [pic] The organic compounds to be analyzed consist of basically of a chain of carbon atoms which various other atoms are attached. Since these elements are covalently bonded to the carbon chain, it is unable to dissolve in water to form cations and anions. However, sodium fusion test can be used to reduce those atoms that are covalently bonded to the carbon chain to inorganic soluble ions since sodium is a very strong reducing agent. In the Lassaigne’s test, the nitrogen can be reduced to form cyanide ions, CN-: [pic] For sulphur, it had been reduced to form sulfide ion, S2- in Lassaigne’s test as shown in the following: [pic] If both nitrogen and sulphur are present in the organic compound at the same time, then the chemical reaction below will take place in the test: [pic] If halogens (Cl, Br, I) are present in the compound, the halogens will be reduced to form halide ions (Cl-, Br-, I-) during the sodium fusion test. [pic] The inorganic ions in aqueous solution could be easily observed after undergo certain tests which can indicates the presence of elements in the particular compounds. In the cyanide test, the filtrate of compound A was added with ferrous sulfate, a dark green precipitate was formed. The formation of ferrous hydroxide was produced from the reaction between ferrous sulfate and sodium hydroxide. [pic] The sodium hydroxide was formed by the reaction of unreacted sodium metal with water due to incomplete reaction of sodium fusion with compound A. [pic] The FeSO4 solution was added to confirm the presence of NaOH and to react completely with it in the filtrate. At the same time, a small amount of black precipitate was formed at the bottom but it was disappeared after more ferrous sulphate was added. The formation of black precipitate may be due to the ferrous sulphide exists in the mixture. [pic] The equation below shows that the ferrous sulphate was reacted with the sodium cyanide to form sodium ferrocyanide as the main product. [pic] The sulphuric acid and increase in temperature was used to increase the suitable medium for the formation of complex. As a result, ferric-ferrocyanide complex with the colour of Prussian blue was precipitated out after ferric chloride is added to oxidize the Fe2+ to become Fe3+. This Prussian blue precipitate indicates that the unknown A contains nitrogen in the compound. [pic] Some of the Fe3+ was formed before the oxidation of ferric chloride. This might be due to the air oxidation of iron(II) ions in the mixture before the ferric chloride is added. For compounds B and C, a negative result is obtained which end up with colourless solution as results. Hence, these shown nitrogen are absent in the both organic compounds. The reduced sulfide ion can be confirmed by using two different tests which were sodium nitroprusside test and lead(II) acetate test. For the first test, the appearance of deep purple solution shows the positive result. The formation of sodium sulphonitroprusside is a complex that was formed between the sodium nitroprusside and sodium sulphide. [pic] In another test, the black precipitate will be formed if the sulphur is present in the compound. The formation of black precipitate shows a positive result for this test. [pic] There are various possible sources of errors for the experiment. One of these is the incomplete or improper fusion of the compound with sodium. If this happens, then the proper compounds would not be formed and therefore would give negative or even false positive results in the tests. Another possible source of error for the test is from the Prussian blue test. The solution must be basic because the test does not run in an acidic medium. If the solution is left acidic, the reaction will not occur and would give a false negative result. Another source of error is the determination of the flame color in the Beilstein’s test. The color should be blue-green because a blue flame indicates Cu1+ ions while a green flame indicates Cu-(non-halide). If the color of the flame was observed incorrectly, then it may give a false positive if it is observed to be blue-green instead of blue or green or it may give a false negative if it is not observed as blue-green. This was the main source of error for this trial since the presence of halogens was incorrectly deduced. Conclusion From the experiment, several conclusions could be made. First, the sodium fusion tests consist of various tests, which determine the presence of nitrogen, sulfur and halogens in an organic compound. The presence of nitrogen was confirmed by the formation of a Prussian blue precipitate or solution. The presence of sulfur was confirmed through the formation of the black precipitate PbS or the formation of a deep violet solution from sodium nitroprusside. The presence of a halogen in the compound was confirmed by a blue-green flame, when the flame test was performed with a copper wire while the exact identity of the halogen was determined by the different colors of precipitate formed with silver nitrate. It can also concluded that the experiment should be done in accuracy and care since the results can give false positive or false negative results when seemingly minor details are incorrectly deduced, for instance the pH of the solution or the color of the flame. Also, sodium is highly reactive and just a small area of contact with water can cause an explosion. REFERENCES 1. Lancashire, Robert John (2005) Qualitative Analysis of Organic Compounds., http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm/lab_manuals/c10expt25.html 2. Baluyut John Y. G., De Castro Kathlia A., Organic Chemistry Laboratory for Chemical Engineering Students Part 2, 2004 3. Klein, David (2012). Organic Chemistry. Danvers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 4. Wikipedia (2012). Sodium Fusion Test. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_fusion_test

Individual wiki Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individual wiki - Essay Example Lexington Books, 2011. Print. The authors reveal the way social media such as Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, MySpace and others have increased at an alarming rate for the past ten years. These media sources have become significant in the current business, learning environment, political campaigns and public relations industries. The authors offer a comprehensive and social analysis on the way social media impact the society, as well as, explore the emerging roles of media. The book examines the way social media have impacted and at the same time played significant roles in varied environments such as learning, public relations, legal and strategic communications (Noor and John 23). Media, Culture, and Technology. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. The Media Now is a book that empowers one to think critically on the way media creates an impact on culture, contributes to violence and antisocial behaviors, which is contrary to the prevailing norms for social conduct (Straubhaar and Robert 421). The book offers a comprehensive introduction to the current global media environmental impacts and continuing technology development, culture and varied theories for transforming the rapidly evolving media industry. The authors offer a clear understanding on the way media technologies develop, converge and impact the society. The book prepares one for varied encounters through expanding the field of Internet, social networking sites and traditional media industries. The authors employ varied theories, concepts and technical knowledge significant for enabling the reader to understand the roles and media impacts in the society. Web 2.0 Technologies. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2011. Print. The author argues that despite the recent global disaster resulting from the social media aspects, it is significant to unleash and teach emergence management to curb

Answer the questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Answer the questions - Essay Example According to them, all people are rebellious and deserve only Gods just punishment, so its up to God’s will to choose anyone, not because anyone deserves it for something but because its God’s unjust will to show his mercy as it was his kind choice. Calvin and Luther stressed that the center of the Christian faith was. "Justification by faith alone" (and related to that salvation by grace alone, not at all by works) was at the CENTER of the Christian faith, and this is the central teaching of the religion which needs to be recovered and is to b taught to everyone. Q: Thirty Years War from Ch.13, discussing why it took place? Who was on each of the sides (what countries, important personalities); important battles; and the peace that ended it? Why do you think that this was the last important of the religious wars? A: The Thirty Years War is one of the great clashes of early modern European history. it consisted of a series of declared and undeclared wars which wrath through the years 1618-1648 throughout central Europe. During the war the opponents were, on the one side, the house of Austria: the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors Ferdinand and Ferdinand together with their Spanish cousin Philip. The Habsburgs were opposed by various international opponents of House of Austria, during the long time of the Thirty Years War: the Danish, Dutch and, above all, France and Sweden. The Thirty Years War was a German civil war, in addition to the international scope. It was also; somehow, religious war among Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists. The series of conflicts, military and political, which make up the Thirty Years War, are highly complex. The main cause for this war was the inner crumble of the empire from 1555, as proved by the flaws of the majestic power, by the disgusting deficiency of patriotism evident by the lands of the empire, and by the paralysis of the

Term paper on an aspect of American history from 1607 to 1865 or Essay

Term paper on an aspect of American history from 1607 to 1865 or history of a local community or family - Essay Example This is followed by the second phase 1763-1800 that actually handles the period of the American Revolution, focusing on the war of independence and how the new country obtained its independence through the war of independence (Sage, 27). This continues with the discussion of the life of the new nation after the independence, which focuses on the development of the American constitution. This is followed by the third phase that covers the economic, democratic and the reform advancement in America, covering also the War of 1812 (Smith, 33). This then proceeds to the last phase covering the period 1840-1865, which comprised the Texas fight for independence, the Mexican- American War and extends to the turmoil experienced by the nation in the 1850s, during the secession of the Southern States, and culminate with the American Civil War (Lee, 28). The period 1607-1763 covers the history of the formation of colonies and the form of governments that were establish to administer in these colo nies. Previously, the Native Americans lived in small groups which were surviving on Agriculture and hunting. There were different tribes that were living in America, with each of the different tribes and cultural groupings occupying a different territory (Sage, 44). It is the nature of the cultures of the Native Americans that welcomed the Europeans to come and stay in the region. Nevertheless, the arrival of the European colonists upset the balance of power that was existing before then, transferring the powers from the Natives to the colonists (Weinstein and Frank, 58). The colonists established their form of administrative governments in form of formal government structures that were headed by the governors. The governor was the official the head of the government in the colonies, whose duties included ensuring the enforcement of laws and order, appointing officials for the government and overseeing the necessary legislations that would help run the colonies. The population grew rapidly through a high immigration of people, especially from the Great Britain to the America, where there was more freedom and opportunities for the colonists (Lee, 14). The economic and social factors also had improved resulting to a high birth and survival rate of the children. All these factors served to increase the population of the Americas, while affecting the Native Americans negatively because their lands were taken over by the colonists, and thus they were forced to relinquish most of their land to the colonists. Taxes were introduced and many other restrictive laws that saw the Native Americans become consistently discontented with the presence of the colonists. This discontent was the beginning of the second face running for the period 1763-1800 (Sage, 52). Through the discontent that was experienced by the Native Americans and also stringent laws and measures that the British governments introduced to the colonies led to the great desire for change among the Native A mericans, and some of the colonists. The colonists had been administered in such a way that most of them had emerged as independent nations of some sort, with others being fully royal to the Great Britain’

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 36

Reflection - Essay Example sense of developing the human capital of a leader’s subjects, most of the internal responsibilities of change become left with the leader alone to do, making it impossible for him to fit in well the tasks at hand. Another fault that was identified with the leader was that he did not value the need to give feedback to his subjects. In often cases, this leader would implement a plan or take a decision without letting the subjects under him know the outcome or results of such programs. Due to these faults, there was generally lack of cooperation on the part of subjects under the leader. I suggest that there should be a special meeting to put opinions for the development of various fields in this school. A development plan for the leadership of the school should therefore be generally focused on the need to bringing about a change in the leadership style used by the leader of the school. By change in leadership style, an advocacy is being made for the introduction of a democratic leadership style in which the leader learns to share the task of decision making with all other subordinates and subjects. The meeting should therefore address the assignment of roles to other members of staff so that the leader will not be left to do all things by himself. Secondly, the plan should clearly outline various ways by which the human capital of the staff is going to be developed. Specifically, there should be skills development and training for the staff to make them highly effective in their assigned roles. Finally, there should be a mechanism of evaluating and assessing the p erformances and outputs of the staff in accordance with the roles that are given to them. This way, it will be possible for the staff to identify their shortfalls and how these can be empowered for growth. My future job is the principle of school, so Im I developing myself by reading about leadership in the fields of education. This means that learning and knowledge acquisition have been an important

Explain the Rise and Fall of Keynesianism Essay - 1

Explain the Rise and Fall of Keynesianism - Essay Example It then goes on to discuss the all the theories that led to the rise of the Keynesianism and other potentially his radical forms of theories (Milgate and Eatwell 62). As asserted by Leeson (263), one of the factors that led to the rise of Keynesianism was the Keynes stewardship and experience with the treaty Versailles. This pushed him in making a break from the previous theory models he had put across. He involved many individuals into a treaty which led to the formation of the Economic consequences of the Peace (ECP) (Auerbach). From the book, he was established as an economy that had practical political skill to influence the policy making of the world economics at any summit. The peace treaties brought hope and expectation to the people’s development (Blinder 279). This also ensured unity and togetherness among the people. This further resulted in stability in the region and the nation at large which is requisite for a regional and economic development. Leeson (264) adds t hat another factor is the gold standard. This was a monetary system which used a particular economic unit based on a fixed weight and amount of gold. There were three types of gold standards: the first one was the gold specie standard in which the monetary unit is associated with the value of circulating gold coins or has the value of certain circulating gold coin together with other less valuable coins (Milgate and Eatwell 69). The second one, the gold exchange standard which did not involve the use of gold but a government guaranteed fixed exchange rate with another country which does not use gold (Blinder 281). Finally we have a gold bullion standard system which does not circulate gold but authorizes the selling of gold bullion on demand. This use of currency made Keynesianism a strong and powerful economy. Through this, many economies were attracted from different parts of the world in order to look for currency from them (Bleaney 265). During the 18th century when there were w ars within Europe and trade deficit with China, silver as a currency was drained from the economy of many Western European countries. Countries like United Kingdom created a massive recoinage program which acted as a currency reservoir for the UK. Unfortunately it came out that there was an exchange of unequal gold and silver currencies between the United Kingdom and Keynesianism. This later made Keynes so powerful and hence the rise (Yoshikawa 178). Keynesianism benefited from neo liberalism greatly. This is because the political philosophy they acquired enabled them to support economic liberalization. This allowed the Keynesianism to have their own economic theory and dominate it among the most powerful countries by then such as the United Kingdom and United States. Leeson (266) asserts that they had also a free trade and market control that was an advantage which made them became powerful economic and revenue gainers in the market. In addition, Keynesianism had control also over open markets and privatization of the market (Leeson, 268). They could also deregulate the laws that are enacted by other market policies in their favor. Keynesianism also had an upper hand in enacting his own market policies which would favor their market structure (Auerbach). This made them more powerful in controlling the economy of the region and hence their rise in power. Keynes had a stable monetary policy which had effectively demanded to

50 Year of US Policy in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

50 Year of US Policy in the Middle East - Essay Example The biggest asset of Middle East is the amount of oil that is concentrated in the region, which has simultaneously also emerged as one of the biggest problems. Therefore the Western population is highly accustomed to the propaganda of the Middle Eastern regions, and this has also brought Islam in the middle. It was especially prominent during the European colonial times, which was also exacerbated by Edward Said in his famous book, â€Å"Orientalism†. The way it has been negatively stereotyped has provided tremendous justification for involvement and also in ensuring a certain level of stability for the interests of powers that are present in the region (Shah, 2). Another issue, which is also pivotal to Middle East, is racism and cultural stereotyping that has become very concentrated. There are certain war films that depict an Islamic or Arab group as bad, which clearly show the current conflicts etc. A bad guy is very often an Arab from one of the rogue states and because of the 9/11 attacks perpetrated against the United States and also the War on Terror; it’s very likely that this description will continue. Another huge problem is that to maintain their dominance and supremacy in the Middle Eastern, the West has also put a lot of power, money and influence in the hands of corrupt Arab leaders, and consequently collaborated in the overthrow of those people who were seen as a threat to their interests. Furthermore, it has contributed a great deal in keeping the populations at bay, for the wealth, power and militarization of the elite class. It is also said to be done for combating the phenomena of communism.

Labor union membership Essay Example for Free

Labor union membership Essay Research Question: Is there a relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index? The two interval/ratio variables are respondent’s highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. The independent variable is respondent’s highest year of school completed and dependent variable is respondent’s socioeconomic index. The null and alternate hypotheses are Null hypothesis, H0: There is no significant relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. Alternate Hypothesis, H1: There is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. The variable highest year of school completed measures respondent’s education in terms of years of schooling completed. The unit of measurement is in years. The variable is a good example for the interval level of measurement, as it has not only a rank but also has meaningful intervals between scale points. The variable socioeconomic index measures respondent socioeconomic index scores reflecting the education, income, and prestige associated with different occupations. There is no unit of measurement for an index value. It is measured in terms of number (or percentage). The variable is a good example for the ratio level of measurement, as it have all the properties of the other three data types (nominal, ordinal and interval), but in addition possess a meaningful zero that represents the absence of the quantity being measured. The average highest year of school completed of respondents is about 13. 15 years and varies from mean by about 3. 04 years. About half of the respondents have highest year of school completed is above 13 years. The range of highest year of school completed is 20 years with minimum and maximum being 0 and 20 years, respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 12. 99 to 13. 30 years. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 13. 0 to 13. 3 years. The average socioeconomic index of respondents is about 47. 24 and varies from its mean by about 18. 76. About half of the respondents have socioeconomic index above 38. 9. The range of socioeconomic index is 80. 1 with minimum and maximum being 17. 1 and 97. 2, respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s socioeconomic index is between 46. 26 to 48. 22. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s socioeconomic index is between 46. 26 to 48. 22. The value of correlation coefficient between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index is about 0. 585. This indicates a moderately strong positive relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. In other words, there appears that as respondent’s highest year of school completed increases, respondent socioeconomic index increases. The regression equation is given by Socioeconomic Index = – 0. 255 + 3. 613(Highest Year of School Completed) The slope regression coefficient is given by 3. 613. This suggests that for every years increase in respondent’s highest year of school completed, increases respondent socioeconomic index by about 3. 613, on average. The intercept regression coefficient is given by – 0. 255 and it has no meaning in given context. The value of coefficient of determination (R2) is 0. 343. This suggests that highest year of school completed explains about 34. 3% variation in respondent socioeconomic index. However, the other 65. 7% variation remains unexplained. Thus, there is moderate effect of highest year of school completed on respondent socioeconomic index. Highest years of school completed significantly predicts respondent socioeconomic index, ? = 0. 59, t(1414) = 27. 15, p . 001. Highest years of school completed also explains a significant proportion of variance in respondent socioeconomic index, R2 = . 34, F(1, 1414) = 737. 24, p . 001. In other words, there is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. We can reject the null hypothesis at the . 05 level of significance as p-value (. 001) is less than . 05. Thus, we can conclude that the research hypothesis is valid for the population of interest and we should generalize to the population level. Since, the sample size is large; therefore, we do not risk any type of error in offering this conclusion. The only concern is that the assumptions (The errors (residuals) are normally distributed, have constant variance and are independent.) related to simple regression analysis is not checked. Research Hypothesis 2 Research Question: Is there a relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television? The two interval/ratio variables are respondent’s highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. The independent variable is respondent’s highest year of school completed and dependent variable is number of hours per day watching television. The null and alternate hypotheses are Null hypothesis, H0: There is no significant relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. Alternate Hypothesis, H1: There is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. The variable highest year of school completed measures respondent’s education in terms of years of schooling completed. The unit of measurement is in years. The variable is a good example for the interval level of measurement, as it has not only a rank but also has meaningful intervals between scale points. The variable number of hours per day watching television measures respondent number of hours per day watching television programs. The unit of measurement is in hours per day. The variable is a good example for the ratio level of measurement, as it have all the properties of the other three data types (nominal, ordinal and interval), but in addition possess a meaningful zero that represents the absence of the quantity being measured. The average highest year of school completed of respondents is about 13. 05 years and varies from mean by about 3. 08 years. About half of the respondents have highest year of school completed is above 12 years. The range of highest year of school completed is 20 years with minimum and maximum being 0 and 20 years, respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 12. 89 to 13. 30 years. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 12. 9 to 13. 2 years. The average number of hours per day watching television of respondents is about 2. 89 hours and varies from its mean by about 2. 23 hours. About half of the respondent’s number of hours per day watching television is above 2 hours. The range of number of hours per day watching television is 24 hours (may be data error) with minimum and maximum being 0 and 24 hours (may be data error), respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s number of hours per day watching television is between 2. 78 to 3. 01 hours. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s number of hours per day watching television is between 2. 8 to 3. 0 hours. The value of correlation coefficient between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television is about -0. 289. This indicates a weak moderate negative relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. In other words, as respondent’s highest year of school completed increases, number of hours per day watching television decreases. The regression equation is given by Hours per Day Watching TV = 5. 636 – 0. 210(Highest Year of School Completed) The slope of regression coefficients is given by –0. 21. This suggests that for every year increase in respondent’s highest year of school completed, decreases respondent’s number of hours per day watching television by about 0. 21 hours, on average. The intercept of regression coefficients is given by 5. 636, which suggests that individual with no education watches about 5. 6 hours of television each day, on average. The value of coefficient of determination (R2) is 0. 084. This suggests that highest year of school completed only explains about 8. 4% variation in respondent’s number of hours per day watching television. The other 91. 6% variation remains unexplained. Thus, there is very weak effect of highest year of school completed on respondent’s number of hours per day watching television. Highest years of school completed significantly predicts respondent’s number of hours per day watching television, ? = -. 29, t(1483) = -11. 64, p . 001. Highest years of school completed also explains a significant proportion of variance in respondent’s number of hours per day watching television, R2 = . 08, F(1, 1483) = 135. 52, p . 001. In other words, there is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. We can reject the null hypothesis at the . 05 level of significance as p-value (. 001) is less than . 05. Thus, we can conclude that the research hypothesis is valid for the population of interest and we should generalize to the population level. Since, the sample size is large; therefore, we do not risk any type of error in offering this conclusion. The only concern is that the assumptions related to simple regression analysis is not checked.

Critical Review for the Article Essay Example for Free

Critical Review for the Article Essay The electronic journal entitled: ‘The Long-Term Performance of Horizontal Acquisition’, by Laurence Capron of the Institut Europeen dAdministration des Affaires (INSEAD), published in 1999 by the Wiley and Sons publishing, has studied the creation of â€Å"horizontal mergers and acquisition†. In Capron’s paper, he dated his studies from mid-1980’s to early 1990’s financing strategies of firms in divesting and liquidating its assets which he referred as the â€Å"horizontal mergers and acquisition†. Capron has cited about 253 firms in Europe and America that patterns the financing strategies. According to Capron (1999), examination reveals divestment of assets and capital infusion (re-financing of liquidated assets) makes effective to â€Å"acquisition performance†, but could have potentially detrimental impact. As what Capron emphasized on the performance of acquisition based on â€Å"divestment and redeployment (re-acquisition) of resources†, his study examines the defects and compliments on effective means in â€Å"horizontal mergers and acquisition†. Key points and rationale As reviewed from the journal, the â€Å"horizontal acquisitions† may be exemplified as a means and strategy in establishing the resource-divestment scheme, in which by doing so, it â€Å"optimizes or exploits the values of cost-based and revenue-based synergies† (Capron 1999: p. 988). As explained, it may be perceived that the â€Å"synergy† patterns the continuing acquirement of business values, as a result of divestment wherein merging of the newly diversified firm or business values acquires more assets and capital budget. According to Capron (1999), the cost efficiency theory emphasizes on the significance of cost-based synergies that occur when assets have been divested resulting the integration of cost-saving measures. Thus, the firm performs effectively in enhancing its revenues that synergizes with the redistribution of the capital towards an enhanced capability. It may be analyzed from the findings of Capron that the 1980’s and 1990’s rapid growth of industries brought about by globalization have emerged more investments in the supply chain. One of which is the positioning of developed and high-end industries within raw material sources. Like, for example, diversification process has been developed in Asian countries wherein more investment in cheap raw materials and labor are available and can be acquired easily. The â€Å"horizontal acquisition† could be drawn from establishing partnership, subsidiary in operation, joint ventures and inter-dependency in export and import schemes. Hence, for example â€Å"Company A† has divested in establishing â€Å"Company B† to engage in tire manufacturing that source out the cheapest raw materials. In which case, a diversified industrial firm could venture out into â€Å"versatile† business values that optimize capital investments for a larger revenue generation translated into cost effectiveness that means substantial profitability. In Capron’s finding, the so-called â€Å"economy of scale† became the bases of diversification process that paved the way to a â€Å"large-scale† industrialization. The 20th century practice of the economy of scale has favored more industries to capture the â€Å"investment areas†, specifically in poor countries. The â€Å"dispensation of merging† through open-ended stockholding in small-medium-large enterprises units has put significant relevance in acquiring industrial partnership, wherein capital investment has a critical role in merging companies. As cited from Capron’s findings, the logical economic explanation is capturing revenue-based synergies which are commonly identified as allocating and complementing resources by providing â€Å"core competencies† or â€Å"mobilizing invisible assets† (Penrose 1959; in Capron 1999: p. 989). As cited, Capron also pointed out in his â€Å"theoretical model† of post-acquisition and target redeployment (Capron 1999: pp. 990-995). According to Capron, the theory describes the diversification process as focusing on (1) asset divestiture, (2) cost-saving, (3) resource redeployment, and (4) revenue-enhancing capabilities as an effective means of â€Å"acquisition performance† (Capron 1999: p. 992). The theoretical model refers to and explains the â€Å"basic economic behavior† as outlined in the acquisition performance. Capron further theorized that capabilities in a divested firm are being distributed as an organizational undertaking. Meaning, it can be explained that the system of corporate governance and human resources are distributed or being shared that composes the acquisition performance. However, key â€Å"organic elements† were emphasized to have been integrated in the divestment process, in which the re-deployment (or deployment) of the organizational â€Å"system or setting† are acquired. Conclusion Capron’s examination on the horizontal acquisition and projection of model in strategic post-acquisition and redeployment could be understood as a fundamental undertaking in diversification process. It may be true that most of merging firms in their acquired assets or business are mainly distributing their in-placed â€Å"organizational or corporate system†. However, the merging firms could likewise optimize or â€Å"streamline the existing organizational set-up, which is the common occurrence in most firms that undertaken a â€Å"buy-out†. It may be perceived that the revenue-generation could be largely acquired into options by streamlining the existing organizational set-up or re-organizing both human and capital resources. Capron’s findings have emphasized more on the performance capability on the theory of â€Å"horizontal acquisition† referring only to capital budget, as implied on the capital resources or fixed assets of the firms. The human resource aspect [as a critical unit] of the post-acquisition process may have not been well emphasized. What has been generally discussed in the study is the transformative business value in divestment schemes referring to capital investments and fixed asset liquidation. It could be reflected that the capital investment and fixed asset liquidation are the critical factors in the divestment schemes as the primary resource of merging stakeholder. It could be suggested that the â€Å"potentially detrimental impact† [as also pointed out by Capron] could be referred to the human resources or labor force in a diversified industry. The merging stakeholder in Capron’s findings were much given relevance on how they could effectively perform in targeting their post-acquisition and redeployment, in which the study itself envisions to complement the performance capabilities of the stakeholders. At this point, we may re-examine Capron’s â€Å"theoretical model† as giving more â€Å"weight† to the envisioning of transnational and multi-national enterprises in furtherance of globalization, in which the continuing divestment scheme competes in the large scale economy of labor market and capital build-up. We may then conclude that Capron’s findings could be re-examined with further studies relating to human resources re-deployment or deployment on its horizontal development complementing the diversification of industries, in which the parallelism envisions both human and capital divestment. Section B Morrison’s bid to Safeway The electronic magazine of the Financial Times on its December 8th 2003 issue at the www. ft. com web site has published the news article of Richard Milne entitled: ‘Countdown Starts for Morrisons Bid for Safeway’. According to the news article, the Morrison Supermarket bided 21 days from its competitors, such as Tesco, J. Sainsbury and Asda-WalMart, following the UK government’s offer to sell the Safeway supermarket. The UK Department of Trade and Industry disclosed that â€Å"Morrison was willing to sell its 53 stores if acquisition of Safeway is successful† (Richard Milne 2003; in Ft. com 2008). Morrison’s negotiation was favored by the UK Competition Commission that disqualified the three major competitors from the bidding and upheld Morrison to takeover Safeway with a share of 219-1/2 from the 279-1/2, in which Safeway acknowledged the buy out. In a follow up report in 2004, after a year of the buy out, the Safeway has gained 40% of sales growth. Financial analysts claimed that Safeway has â€Å"migrated customers† to Morrison supermarket, as it cited that â€Å"quality of sales has gone better because Morrison has stopped the Safeway policy of rolling deep discounts† (Martin Dickson 2004; in Ft. com 2008). Perception of the issue Morrison’s takeover of Safeway supermarket has gauged the situation of significant financial divestment venture. The business potentials of Safeway [being an established supermarket that solely competes with Tesco, J. Sainsbury and Asda-WalMart] were the â€Å"strong intent† of financial divestment of Morrison to even offer the sell of its 53 stores. The financial divestment of Morrison could be relating Capron’s findings on the â€Å"horizontal acquisition† of merging stakeholders by way of capital investments through diversified assets. In which case, the Safeway supermarket has found by Morrison as a â€Å"potential divestiture† that shall absorb the vulnerability from tough competitors. The merging of stakeholder through a buy-out or takeover of an established investment [like Safeway] may have validated Capron’s theory of â€Å"post-acquisition and redeployment†, in which Morrison has able to â€Å"contain† the migratory customers and could further develop the acquisition performance of divesting financial investments. The divestment process of Morrison’s takeover to Safeway has likewise described Capron’s finding on merging firms that engages in the economy of scale. One that Morrison has learned from the Safeway’s enterprise approach on rolling deep discounts, wherein it found to be defeating the â€Å"selling schemes†. Thus, managing the risks in â€Å"horizontal acquisition† has gained Morrison’s capability to undertake strategic competition that transformed the â€Å"old Morrison business† through the new outfit of Safeway supermarket. It may be then generally perceived that Capron’s theory on â€Å"horizontal acquisition† has transformative business value in enhancing the financial investment and liquidating a frozen asset [like Morrison’s 53 stores that are non-performing], of which a â€Å"unilateral† financial divestment scheme in managing risk investment, that is vulnerable to tightened competition, gains flexibility upon acquiring an established business venture. However, this assumption is perceptive of a challenge to the continuing financial divestment of core industries in the global market. List of References Capron, L. (1999) ‘The Long-Term Performance of Horizontal Acquisition’. Strategic Management Journal, pp. 987-1018, John Wiley Sons, Ltd. , CCC 0143– 2095/99/110987–32. Dickson, M. (2004). ‘Companies UK: Safeway Sale’. The Financial Times (2008). [online] available from http://search. ft. com/ftArticle? queryText=Morrison%E2%80%99s+takeover+of+Safe wayy=3aje=truex=16id=040521002246ct=0 [14 June 2008] Milne, R. (2003). ’ Countdown Starts for Morrisons Bid for Safeway’. The Financial Times (2008). [online] available from http://search. ft. com/ftArticle? queryText=Morrison%E2%80%99s+takeover+of+Safe wayy=3aje=truex=16id=031208004508ct=0 [14 June 2008]

The Practice And History Of Alchemy Chemistry Essay

The Practice And History Of Alchemy Chemistry Essay Alchemy, derived from the Arabic word al-kimia (ØلكÙÅ  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¡, ALA-LC: al-kÄ «miyÄ ), is both a philosophy and an ancient practice focused on the attempt to change base metals into gold, investigating the preparation of the elixir of longevity, and achieving ultimate wisdom, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties. The practical aspect of alchemy can be viewed as a protoscience, having generated the basics of modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many current substances. Alchemy has been practiced in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), India, Persia (modern Iran), China, Japan, Korea, the classical Greco-Roman world, the medieval Islamic world, and then medieval Europe up to the 20th century and 21st Century, in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2,500 years. HISTORY What existed before modern Chemistry? After the death of Alexander the Great of Macedon (323 B.C.), much of the conquered territories in the Persian Empire that were located in the Middle East and northern Africa, began to dissolve. Ptolemy, one of Alexanders generals, established a kingdom on the coast-line of Egypt. As its capital, Alexandria was considered to be one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world at that time; Ptolemy and Ptolemy II founded the Temple to The Muses, otherwise known as The Museum, to continue scholarly activities and studies of the day. The Museum could be considered an equivalent to a university or a research institution by todays standards. At the Temple of The Muses, Greek philosophy, considered to be the basis for western-scientific ideas and reasoning, fused with local Egyptian khemeia, the ancient art, religion, and ceremonies of embalming the dead to create Greek-Egyptian khemia. Because the art of khemeia had been shrouded in mysticism, religion, and the secretive language of obscure symbols, common people were afraid of the practitioners and their seemingly dangerous yet powerful knowledge of chemicals. There were two major unfortunate byproducts of Greek-Egyptian khemeia that were a result of these cryptic practices and obscure languages and symbols. First, the secretive nature of this field slowed its progression so that no one could profit from anothers mistakes or learn from anothers brilliance. Secondly, anyone who spoke in the obscure languages and symbols of Greek- Egyptian khemeia couldnt be understood, so just about anyone who could make up nonsensical words could pass as a scholar. As time passed, Greek-Egyptian khemeia began to fall further into obscurity, where shadowy practices of wizardry, magic, and sorcery seemed to flourish in mysticism. Of these, a Greek- Egyptian by the name of Bolos of Mendes (c. 200 B.C.) promised a tool which would allow for ways of turning common metals, such as lead and iron, into gold and silver. Although it was not completely understood how this would be done, this tool, referred to as The Philosophers Stone, was the dream of many. Although The Philosophers Stone has never been found, the actual search for it has assisted in the study of metallurgy and methodologies of modern day chemistry by refining many of the practical laboratory techniques, skills, and glassware that are still used today, such as those used in distillation, filtration, crystallization, coagulation, evaporation, and extraction. In 4th century A.D., because Roman Emperor Diocletian feared that a cheap source of silver and gold could bankrupt the already shaky Roman economy and Pope Zosimuss recognition that Greek-Egyptian khemeia was a practice of pagan learning, little was done to stop the destruction of the Alexandrian Museum and its libraries by Christian riots. As a result, the study of Greek-Egyptian khemeia went underground and would remain as a hidden practice until the 7th century, where it emerged in the middle-east. In the early 7th century, Arabic tribes unified and began to conquer much of the middle-east, western Asia, and northern Africa. These conquering armies soon began to march on Eastern Europe, where the inhabitants of Constantinople, with the help of a khemeia practicing Greek-Egyptian named Callinicus, used Greek fire as a form of defense against the intruders (670 A.D.). Greek Fire, a flammable mixture of sulphur, namptha, and quicklime, was placed into a bronze tube, mounted on a castle wall or the bow of a ship, and was lit by a torch to spout fire at anyone who approached. Although this method was able to stave off some of the attacks by land and sea, the Arabic forces soon gained control of Constantinople, discovered the philosophy of Greek science, and began to utilize the practices of Greek-Egyptian khemeia for their benefit. In Arabic, Greek-Egyptian khemeia was translated into the term al-kimiya, flourishing not only as a science of metallurgy, but with the guidance of Jabir ibn-Hayann (c.760-815A.D.), its use in medicine as well. It was Al-Razi (c.850- 925A.D.), however, who perfected the use of plaster of Paris in mending broken bone, His meticulous ability to logically organize his notes and writings showed the importance of clarity with laboratory procedures to the point where he became the first to document and describe the comparisons between smallpox and chickenpox. Many of his works were translated into Latin nearly 600 years later and made an impact on lab methodologies of performing medicine and other experimental research that are still used today. With all of the practical aspects that al-kimiya had to offer, it always had a way of returning to the mystical and what we may refer to today as non-scientific practices. Not only was there a search for The Philosophers Stone, but with a broadened focus on medicines within al-kimiya, finding a single cure for all sicknesses, The Elixir or Life, and discovering a potion for maintaining youth, The Fountain of Youth, became some of the new mystical treasures. With these new promises of magical discovery, al-kimiya remained in a shroud of mystery and the study of chemicals was still considered a dark craft. As western European Crusaders clashed with Arabic Armies in the southern and eastern Europe, an intermingling of ideas and different cultures gave way to growth and appreciation of Arabic arts, science, and mathematics in the west. By the time the last Moorish strongholds in Western Europe were pushed from Spain and Portugal in the 15th century, it became ever so clear that the Latin translations of Arabic sciences and mathematics would forever change the west, thus bringing a close to The Medieval Ages and an opening to the Scientific Renaissance. Known as alchemy, by the Latin translation from the Arabic term al-kimiya, its practice thrived in Europe after being gone for nearly 800 years. Although it was still considered pagan learning in some circles, it thrived in underground communities where the search for the three mystic treasures of The Philosophers Stone, the Elixir of Life, and the Fountain of Youth continued. As Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541A.D.), better known as Paracelsus, studied the medical works of earlier alchemists, in particular Al-Razi, he believed that searching for cures by alchemical means could have a large impact on medicine, also. Until Paracelsus, only organic plant preparations were used for cures and remedies in treating diseases, but he believed that minerals synthesized in the lab were the key to the future of health care. Although he gained many followers, his efforts wouldnt be recognized by traditional European medicine, since he was considered an alchemist. In fact, it would be well over a century after his death until others would recognize his efforts and put them into practice. One of Paracelsus followers and fellow practitioner of alchemy, Andreas Libau (1540-1616A.D.), wanted to bring more clarity and rationality to this field. In 1597 he published ALCHEMIA, which summarized medieval achievements of alchemy, writing with clarity and with minimal mysticism. When theories based upon mysticism were unavoidable, he would reluctantly include them and refer to them as Paracelsians. This book was revolutionary for the field of medicine, the emerging field of a more scientific-based alchemy, and for western science in general because it was one of the first known attempts in separating scientific facts of chemistry from mysticism. Like Al-Razi, Andreas Libau set a standard for alchemists by documentation of important laboratory methods and skills in the preparation of medicinal chemicals within his publications, explaining how mineral salts and acids could be used as curing ailments. It wasnt until Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604-1668A.D.), however, that laboratory method and procedures would lead to the synthesis of Sodium Sulfate, Na2SO4 .10H2O(s), also known as Glaubers Salt. He found that it not only made a mild laxative for medicinal purposes, but when produced in mass quantities it could be commercialized to the general public to make a profit. Etymology The word alchemy derives from the Old French alquimie, which is from the Medieval Latin alchimia, and which is in turn from the Arabic al-kimia (ØلكÙÅ  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¡). This term itself is derived from the Ancient Greek chemeia (à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ·ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¯ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±) with the addition of the Arabic definite article al- (ØÙ„Ùâ‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½).It used to be thought that the ancient Greek word was originally derived in its turn from Chemia (ÃŽÃŽÂ ·ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¯ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±), a version of the Egyptian name for Egypt, which was itself based on the Ancient Egyptian word kÄâ€Å"me (hieroglyphic Khmi, black earth, as opposed to desert sand). Some now think that the word originally derived from chumeia (à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¯ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±) meaning mixture and referring to pharmaceutical chemistry. With the later rise of alchemy in Alexandria, the word may have been mistakenly thoug ht by ancient writers to derive from ÃŽÃŽÂ ·ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¯ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±, and thus became spelt as à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ·ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¯ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±, and the original meaning forgotten. The question of the etymology of the word alchemy is still open, and recent research indicates that the Egyptian derivation of the word may be valid. Alchemy as a philosophical and spiritual discipline Alchemy became known as the spagyric art after Greek words meaning to separate and to join together in the 16th century, the word probably being coined by Paracelsus. Compare this with one of the dictums of Alchemy in Latin: Solve et Coagula   Separate, and Join Together (or dissolve and coagulate). The best-known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of common metals into gold (called chrysopoeia) or silver (less well known is plant alchemy, or spagyric); the creation of a panacea, or the elixir of life, a remedy that, it was supposed, would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely; and the discovery of a universal solvent. Although these were not the only uses for the discipline, they were the ones most documented and well-known. Certain Hermetic schools argue that the transmutation of lead into gold is analogical for the transmutation of the physical body (Saturn or lead) into (Gold) with the goal of attaining immortality. This is described as Internal Alchemy. Starting with the Middle Ages, Persian and European alchemists invested much effort in the search for the philosophers stone, a legendary substance that was believed to be an essential ingredient for either or both of those goals. Pope John XXII issued a bull against alchemical counterfeiting, and the C istercians banned the practice amongst their members. In 1403, Henry IV of England banned the practice of Alchemy. In the late 14th century, Piers the Ploughman and Chaucer both painted unflattering pictures of Alchemists as thieves and liars. By contrast, Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, in the late 16th century, sponsored various alchemists in their work at his court in Prague. It is a popular belief that Alchemists made contributions to the chemical industries of the day-ore testing and refining, metalworking, production of gunpowder, ink, dyes, paints, cosmetics, leather tanning, ceramics, glass manufacture, preparation of extracts, liquors, and so on (it seems that the preparation of aqua vitae, the water of life, was a fairly popular experiment among European alchemists). Alchemists contributed distillation to Western Europe. The double origin of Alchemy in Greek philosophy as well as in Egyptian and Mesopotamian technology set, from the start, a double approach: the technological, operative one, which Marie-Louise von Franz call extravert, and the mystic, contemplative, psychological one, which von Franz names as introvert. These are not mutually exclusive, but complementary instead, as meditation requires practice in the real world, and conversely. Several early alchemists, such as Zosimos of Panopolis, are recorded as viewing alchemy as a spiritual discipline, and, in the Middle Ages, metaphysical aspects, substances, physical states, and molecular material processes as mere metaphors for spiritual entities, spiritual states, and, ultimately, transformations. In this sense, the literal meanings of Alchemical Formulas were a blind, hiding their true spiritual philosophy, which being at odds with the Medieval Christian Church was a necessity that could have otherwise led them to the stake and rack of the Inquisition under charges of heresy. Thus, both the transmutation of common metals into gold and the universal panacea symbolized evolution from an imperfect, diseased, corruptible, and ephemeral state towards a perfect, healthy, incorruptible, and everlasting state; and the philosophers stone then represented a mystic key that would make this evolution possible. Applied to the alchemist himself, the twin goal symbolized his evo lution from ignorance to enlightenment, and the stone represented a hidden spiritual truth or power that would lead to that goal. In texts that are written according to this view, the cryptic alchemical symbols, diagrams, and textual imagery of late alchemical works typically contain multiple layers of meanings, allegories, and references to other equally cryptic works; and must be laboriously decoded in order to discover their true meaning. Psychology Alchemical symbolism has been occasionally used by psychologists and philosophers. Carl Jung reexamined alchemical symbolism and theory and began to show the inner meaning of alchemical work as a spiritual path. Alchemical philosophy, symbols and methods have enjoyed something of a renaissance in post-modern contexts. Jung saw alchemy as a Western proto-psychology dedicated to the achievement of individuation. In his interpretation, alchemy was the vessel by which Gnosticism survived its various purges into the Renaissance, a concept also followed by others such as Stephan A. Hoeller. In this sense, Jung viewed alchemy as comparable to Yoga of the East, as and more adequate to the Western mind than Eastern religions and philosophies. The practice of Alchemy seemed to change the mind and spirit of the Alchemist. Conversely, spontaneous changes on the mind of Western people undergoing any important stage in individuation seems to produce, on occasion, imagery known to Alchemy and relevant to the persons situation. His interpretation of Chinese alchemical texts in terms of his analytical psychology also served the function of comparing Eastern and Western alchemical imagery and core concepts and hence its possible inner sources (archetypes). Marie-Louise von Franz, a disciple of Jung, continued Jungs studies on Alchemy and its psychological meaning. Alchemy as a subject of historical research The history of alchemy has become a vigorous academic field. As the obscure hermetic language of the alchemists is gradually being deciphered, historians are becoming more aware of the intellectual connections between that discipline and other facets of Western cultural history, such as the sociology and psychology of the intellectual communities, kabbalism, spiritualism, Rosicrucianism, and other mystic movements, cryptography, witchcraft, and the evolution of science and philosophy. Modern connections to alchemy Persian alchemy was a forerunner of modern scientific chemistry. Alchemists used many of the same laboratory tools that are used today. These tools were not usually sturdy or in good condition, especially during the medieval period of Europe. Many transmutation attempts failed when alchemists unwittingly made unstable chemicals. This was made worse by the unsafe conditions in which the alchemists worked. Up to the 16th century, alchemy was considered serious science in Europe; for instance, Isaac Newton devoted considerably more of his writing to the study of alchemy (see Isaac Newtons occult studies) than he did to either optics or physics, for which he is famous. Other eminent alchemists of the Western world are Roger Bacon, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Tycho Brahe, Thomas Browne, and Parmigianino. The decline of alchemy began in the 18th century with the birth of modern chemistry, which provided a more precise and reliable framework for matter transmutations and medicine, within a new grand design of the universe based on rational materialism. Alchemy in traditional medicine Traditional medicines involve transmutation by alchemy, using pharmacological or a combination of pharmacological and spiritual techniques. In Chinese medicine the alchemical traditions of pao zhi will transform the nature of the temperature, taste, body part accessed or toxicity. In Ayurveda the samskaras are used to transform heavy metals and toxic herbs in a way that removes their toxicity. These processes are actively used to the present day. Nuclear transmutation In 1919, Ernest Rutherford used artificial disintegration to convert nitrogen into oxygen. From then on, this sort of scientific transmutation has been routinely performed in many nuclear physics-related laboratories and facilities, like particle accelerators, nuclear power stations and nuclear weapons as a by-product of fission and other physical processes. In literature Sir Thomas Malory uses Alchemy as a motif that underlies the personal, psychological, and aesthetic development of Sir Gareth of Orkney in Le Morte dArthur .Sir Gareths quest parallels the process of Alchemy in that he first undergoes the nigredo phase by defeating the black knight and wearing his armor. After this, Gareth defeats knights representing the four elements, thereby subsuming their power. In fighting and defeating the Red Knight (the overall purpose of his quest) he undergoes and passes the rubedo phase. Gareth, toward the end of his quest, accepts a ring from his paramour, Lyoness, which transforms his armor into being multicolored. This alludes to the panchromatic philosophers stone, and while he is in multicolored armor, he is unbeatable. A play by Ben Jonson, the Alchemist, is a satirical and skeptical take on the subject. Part 2 of Goethes Faust, is full of alchemical symbolism. According to Hermetic Fictions: Alchemy and Irony in the Novel (Keele University Press, 1995), by David Meakin, alchemy is also featured in such novels and poems as those by William Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Emile Zola, Jules Verne, Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, James Joyce, Gustav Meyrink, Lindsay Clarke, Marguerite Yourcenar, Umberto Eco, Michel Butor, Paulo Coelho, Amanda Quick, Gabriel Garcà ­a Marquez and Maria Szepes. Hilary Mantel, in her novel Fludd (1989, Penguin), mentions the spagyric art. After separation, drying out, moistening, dissolving, coagulating, fermenting, comes purification, recombination: the creation of substances the world until now has never beheld. This is the opus contra naturem, this is the spagyric art, this is the Alchymical Wedding. In Dantes Inferno, it is placed within the Tenth ring of the 8th circle. In Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, there are several references to Nicholas Flamel, and a stone that could turn metal into gold and create an elixir of immortality was sought after by both the villains and Harry and friends, for different reasons. In contemporary art In the twentieth century alchemy was a profoundly important source of inspiration for the Surrealist artist Max Ernst, who used the symbolism of alchemy to inform and guide his work. M.E. Warlick wrote his Max Ernst and Alchemy describing this relationship in detail. Contemporary artists use alchemy as inspiring subject matter, like Odd Nerdrum, whose interest has been noted by Richard Vine, and the painter Michael Pearce, whose interest in alchemy dominates his work. His works Fama and the Aviators Dream particularly express alchemical ideas in a painted allegory. The Rise and Demise of Phlogiston, the Birth of Modern Chemistry, and the importance of Measurement Chemistry (1600A.D. to present) Originated and published by J. J. Becher in the late 17th century journal Opuscula Chymica Rariora, roughly translated as The Work of Rare Chemistry, it was known as the first attempts to explain chemical burning and rusting. Becher said that many common day materials contained a substance called phlogiston, translated from Greek, meaning to set on fire. G. E. Stahl, a medical doctor of the same time period and a proponent of phlogiston, explained in a separate publication that: all inflammable objects contained phlogiston which made it possible for them to burn, and as the object burned, phlogiston was poured out into the air. Wood and coal contained a great deal of it, the ashes left after burning did not. Since communication of scientific discoveries was now common place, Stahl supported his theory with meticulous laboratory procedures and qualitative observations. Some of the qualitative observations he made while burning phlogiston rich substances are listed below: 1. Flames extinguish in airtight space because air becomes saturated with phlogiston. 2. Charcoal leaves little residue upon burning because it is nearly pure phlogiston. 3. Mice die in airtight space because air saturates with phlogiston. Phlogiston was considered to be a massless or near massless substance, since no measurement device had ever existed that could experimentally measure it. Because of this inability to quantify the mass of phlogiston, qualitative experimentation, which was limited to the description of the five human senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, was the only way in which the phlogiston theory could be supported. Another qualitative evidence of phlogiston theory was the white powder residue or rust that was found on the surface of tin after it was heated in the air. Also referred to as calx, meaning limestone, it was believed that this is what remained after phlogiston left the tin metal. Working from previous tin experiments, Antoine Lavoisier (1743- 1794A.D.), a master of building precision instrumentation, attempted to determine the mass of phlogiston with a mass balance that he had manufactured. After evacuating air from a glass vessel that contained tin Filings, he then sealed and began to heat it on his precision mass balance. If the phlogiston theory were correct, he could open the vessel let the phlogiston escape, and finally quantify a value that had eluded scientists for 5 decades. As Lavoisier opened the heated glass vessel, he instead measured a small increase in mass, which went against the phlogiston theory altogether. Although other scientists who held steadfast to the phlogiston theory would make rebuttals that phlogiston must then have a negative mass, these attempts would fall short as other experiments that utilized precision measurements began to compile. For the first time in history, Lavoisier showed that a carefully designed experiment using precision measurement technology could be used as evidence to disprove a theory. More important than disproving the phlogiston theory was the realization that precision instruments yielded important quantitative information about the field of chemistry. Less than a decade later, Lavoisier published his Elementary Treatise of Chemistry (1789), which is considered the first modern chemistry textbook. In it, one could find a well documented view of The Law of Conservation of Mass and the rejection of the existence of phlogiston, along with various new chemistry theories and laboratory techniques that relied upon BOTH qualitative descriptions and quantitative measurements with the help of measurement technology. It not to say that Lavoisier had all the correct theories within his treatise, but rather that the field of modern day chemistry would emerge, depending more heavily upon precision measurements of chemical phenomena rather than the mystical notions of alchemy, like phlogiston and the three mystic treasures.

The Importance Of Theoretical Frameworks For Understanding Foundations :: essays research papers

The Importance of Theoretical Frameworks For Understanding Foundations of Political Science The importance of theoretical frameworks is essential for understanding foundations for political science. The definition of the word framework is a theory which can be used as a lens to look at a set of facts. (E.g., journalist look at a set of facts that tell a story of what happened). These frameworks in political science help build a strong foundation and advocate a precise sense of racial balance in the political arena. A social scientist tries to organize a set of facts into systemic theoretical passion. The Social scientists are trying to accomplish the facts they create can be used to explain a theory that can be applied to other sets of facts. The importance of these frameworks helps people gather important information and compare and contrast their different strengths and weaknesses. The first traditional and most dominant framework to examine is Pluralism. Pluralism can generally be defined as group politics in a free market society. Pluralism takes its roots from the founding of the nation. James Madison saw the United States as a stronger nation if there was conflict rather than a consensus. Madison points out in Federalist #10 that citizens would be divided into many factions that would compete for benefits. The chief cause of division when Madison wrote this was economics in origin, but now race has emerged as a major factor in dividing American society. Robert Dali founder of Pluralism modernizes Madison's theory into theory of American democracy to incorporate into the theory of pluralism. Pluralism explains minority group politics in a process that attempts to show the strength of groups in the minority. In pluralism the theory assumes that there are non-cumulative inequalities in American politics. These inequalities would mean no group would be on the minority of a law being passed every time and that no group dominates every time either. The second part of the pluralism theory suggests that there is a multiple power center. A definition of multiple power center is when a minority group is denied access to influence one branch of government but may be able to influence politics or policy change in another part of the arena. Example, a group may be unable to pursue its goals of influence of the legislative branch but it might be able to influence the executive branch. The third assumption of the pluralist theory is non- cumulative groups have a number of political resources at their disposal. If a group does not have financial means it might make up for it numbers at the election booth.

History of Andersonville Prison Essay -- Andersonville Prison Civil Wa

History of Andersonville Prison When one turns on the television today they are made witness to all the crimes that are present in society. It is impossible to sit through thirty-five minutes of news without anger and rage becoming aroused. This is because society is bothered by infinitesimal paraphernalia. Society also believes in human rights and punishment for those who violate such rights. Yet what constitutes humanity? Ever sit there and watch the news and wonder just how far humanity reaches? When is it time to say this is a human rights violation? Every wonder when someone’s morals and ethics begin to effect their ability to do their job? Ever wonder why in every news story the â€Å"bad guy† always become caught? Ever wonder how many people on death row might not be guilt? Some of them could have even been used as scapegoats. Yet how does one become a scapegoat? Could someone out there have that much hatred and anger to blame one person for the faults of many? Is the need for blame significant ? Does desire lead to more hatred and evil? What does it feel like to be blamed for something that might not be wrong, and to be put on trial knowing that the jury wants to blame someone? In society and in the United States since its founding, there has been a need to place blame. Imagine how the person being blamed would feel. Henry Wirz did not have to image it; he lived through it and died for it. Someone is always to be blamed, even if they were just following orders. Orders which can only go so far until humanity takes effect. Henry Wirz was used as a scapegoat for war crimes committed during the Civil War at Andersonville Prison, however that does not justify his acts or make him an American hero. Ever take a midnight train to Georgia? No, well ever drive through Georgia? When driving through Georgia on State Road 49, there is a little town called Andersonville that is very easy to miss. To many it is just another town. Yet this town has its own trail. The Andersonville Trail is a small brown dirt road that leads visitors to the Andersonville National Historic Site (Roberts xi). This National Historic Site looks like a â€Å"well- tended† national cemetery. On closer examination, this cemetery is nothing like Arlington (Roberts xi). â€Å"In this national cemetery, the marble headstones are so close together, they almost touch. The markers appear to be one long head... ... Confederacy should face the truth as did Eliza Frances Andrews, who wrote of Andersonville: â€Å"it is horrible, and a blot on the fair name of our Confederacy† (Futch 122). That is exactly it, Andersonville was a blot on the Confederacy not on just Wirz, yet Wirz was blamed. Does this seam fair? Hardly. What happened at Andersonville was a repercussion of the Confederacy’s inability, not on the inability of Henry Wirz. Bibliography Denny, Robert. Civil War Prisons and Escapes. New York, New York: Sterling Publishing Company, 1993. Futch, Ovid. History of Andersonville Prison. Indiantown, Florida: University of Florida Press, 1968. Hillstrom, Kevin. American Civil War Biographies. Michigan: The Gale Group, 2000 Levitt, Saul. The Andersonville Trial. New York, New York: Random House, 1960. Murphy, Richard. The Nation Reunited. Canada: Time-Life Books, Inc. 1987 Roberts, Edward. Andersonville Journey. Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press, 1998 Robertson, James: Tenting Tonight: A Soldier’s Life. Canada: The Time-Life, Inc. 1984. Shaw, William B., et al. A Photographic History of the Civil War. Six Volumes. New York, New York: The Blue and Grey Press, 1987.