The early modern period is a term initially used b Essays

The early modern period is a term initially used by historians to refer mainly to the period roughly from 1500 to 1750 in Western Europe. Theatrical power flourishes this period and drama was even more willing to push the boundaries of what was possible. By 1400, however, Italian scholar had begun to reread with fresh eyes. English history and literary history is characterized by such breaks and unforeseen changes. Al though not a smooth change, some adopted sonnet forms that were longer narratives while others, like Wyatt and Surrey, adopted Italian sonnets. Each writer has their own characteristics to their form of writing. Lyrical poetry and romance were genres designed for audiences and readers the writers did not know. They were more often written for a close circle of friends (Damrosch and Dettmar,642). In these writings the writers could speak of pain of love or the thrill of ambition. Sir Thomas Wyatt exemplified the ambitious mixture of social and artistic skills that later ages would see as the ideal of the "Renaissance man" (Damrosch and Dettmar, 701). Wyatt's poems change the spirit of their Petrarchan themes by giving erotic subjects a satirical and even bitter twist. Sir Thomas Wyatt and They Flee from Me show the vulnerability of the writer. He appeals directly to his audience, asking for their view as to what response her actions and behavior warrant. It is possible to see the poem as a reflection on his liaison with Anne Boleyn before her union and marriage toHenry VIII. However, the tone of anger and frustration at being forsaken for another could apply equally well to Wyatt's first marr iage as he separated from his wife due to her adultery. The relationship could also be a metaphor for the courtly relations, platonic and romantic, which were born and died with dangerous haste. The view of creation was important for artist and writers because it gave them a symbolic language of correspondences by which they could refer to creatures in widely different settings and conditions (Damrosch and Dettmar, 647). These correspondences are created through strikingly unusual metaphors. The result is a pervasive sense of a universal harmony in all human experiences. The Anniversary records an obsession with earthly time, but insists the love celebrated isn't really subject to time at all, because it inhabits souls which it has so perfected that they will achieve Heavenly resurrection immediately after death. Intellectual thought, mental attitudes, religious practices, and the customs of the people fostered new relations to the past and a new sense of self. The term of modern life was formulated in this period (Damrosch and Dettmar, 649). They supported a culture in which extreme and opposing points of view were usual. The writing Tenure of Kings and Magistrates is a great example of a poem about government and war. Throughout time there have seen many different aspects to writing. In this time period one can see the drastic change from the beginning to the end. There is a difference in the writer's style and the way they make the readers feel. One writer may make one feel the pain of a loss or love while one may take you on their journey of change through time. Writers throughout history have the ability to make us tap into our senses and feeling. Work Cited Damrosch, David, and Kevin J. H Dettmar. The Longman Anthology Of British Literature . 1st ed. New York: Longman, 2010. Print.

The Characteristics of Generative Syntax

The Characteristics of Generative Syntax Introduction Until 1957, the sciences of linguistics and cultural anthropology placed language in the domain society and outside of an individual.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Characteristics of Generative Syntax specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For linguists and anthropologists, human languages were completely determined by the environment in which the child grows up, and there were no limitations on the differences between languages. In other words, the view that they embraced was that every imaginable language could, in principle, be found somewhere in the world. On the other hand, in psychology departments, behaviorism of B. F. Skinner, that run in the strand of intellectual tradition of empiricism stretching as far back in history as the work of John Lock, essentially concurred with the views of linguists and anthropologists. The behaviorist view was that language is completely a matter of the enviro nment and it is acquired through the mechanisms of imitation and negative and positive feedback. In 1957, in his book Syntactic Structures, Noam Chomsky struck at the very core of dominant intellectual traditions by proposing an entirely new view. In contrast to other linguists, he suggested that language is for the most part innate. Also, in contrast to behaviorist psychologists, he claimed that the mechanisms of imitation or reward and punishment do not play a significant role in language acquisition due to the fact that on the basis of limited, fragmentary and disorganized linguistic input, children infer incredibly complex abstract rules for producing grammatical sentences of a language. Generative Syntax The inborn device that enables children to be so effective in acquiring language contains all the rules of the Universal Grammar, which is mirrored in the underlying principles that constrain the variations between human languages.Advertising Looking for term paper on l inguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Chomsky (2002, p. 18) argues that the rules of grammar are independent of meaning and that by studying those rules one can arrive at the underlying computational system that generates the grammatical sentences of all languages, which is the Universal Grammar. Therefore, on this view, generative syntax sets out on an extremely interesting and extremely difficult journey of making sense of the incredible amount of linguistic data from the languages of the world in order to uncover those universal principles, and the crucial method in this process is discrimination between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences of a language and providing explanations as to why such differences exist. The results of this quest have been astonishing as the explanatory power of syntactic theories has already crossed the language boundaries and some concepts that are used to explain the phenomena of one language can be used with a great predictive power to account for the data in other languages. Another interesting component is that this quest has revealed a lot about the functioning of human mind because the kinds of powerful abstract explanations that syntax gives about such a mundane activity as speaking a language suggests that there is a lot more going on in the human mind than what is physically manifested (Carnie p. 5). There are many of these abstract theoretical notions that linguists use to explain certain facts about languages that have no overt physical manifestation, but their explanatory theoretical power is such that their existence can be taken with great certainty. Binding The first concept in this set is the concept of binding. According to generativists, an element binds another element if it c-commands it and if they are co-referential (Chomsky, 1980). C-command is the structural relationship between two elements in a syntactic tree such that one can be said t o c-command the other one if that other element is located in the area of the tree contained by the node that dominates the first element (Reinhart, 1976).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Characteristics of Generative Syntax specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The notion of binding is relevant and effective because it can help in explaining the contrast between the following examples: John surprised himself. *The picture of John surprised himself. One can account for this difference by claiming that the reflexive (himself) must be bound by the co-referential expression (John) within its clausal domain (Chomsky, 1980), otherwise the sentence is ungrammatical. The sentence in (2) is, thus, ungrammatical because â€Å"John† does not c-command the reflexive, but in (1) it does. The provision â€Å"in their clausal domain† is significant because (3) is ungrammatical even though â€Å"John† c- commands the reflexive because the two elements are in separate clauses. *John claims that Mary disappointed himself. Movement Movement is also one of important concepts that Chomsky (2002, p. 90) observed when discussing sentences of different types, which seem to stem from the same underlying structure and the differences are the result of reordering of elements. For instance, the example in (4) is an illustration of a construction that is said to be produced by movement. Namely, â€Å"what† is said to have moved from the position after the verb, which is marked by brackets, because this is where it gets its interpretation. What did John see ? Now, this kind of claim is not a syntactic proof, but there are plenty of syntactic arguments for this analysis. For example, one can consider the theory of binding briefly described above. If the wh-words or phrases really are in some way related to the position after the verb, than it would be possible for subjects to bind refle xives in those positions despite the fact that they appear to the left of the subject.Advertising Looking for term paper on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is because in deep structure, the subject would still c-command the wh-phrase. This prediction turns out to be correct, and the example in (5) illustrates that. Which picture of himself did John see ? This is an example of how syntactic theories and explanations are interdependent and interrelated, which shows how this approach might be capable of deriving a general theory that can explain all the phenomena of language in a uniform manner. Empty categories Another very abstract, but incredibly, convincing postulate that linguists make while discussing the issues in the generative approach to syntax is the idea of empty or phonologically null categories. Namely, if there are specific reasons to assume that there exists an empty category in a certain position in a structure, linguists might make that assumption, but then they are obliged to give a convincing argument for doing so. One such postulate is the category of PRO, which is a nominal referential element that is usually found in subjects positions (Chomsky, 1981). Linguists postulate that PRO exists on the basis of sentences like (6). John wants to become a millionaire. The problem with these sentences is that both the verb want and the verb become need some entity that â€Å"wants† or â€Å"becomes†. However, in (6), there is only one entity â€Å"John†, which has to be present in both clauses. In this situation, linguists might assume that there is an unpronounced nominal element PRO in the position marked in the example in (6) that serves as the entity that â€Å"becomes† in the embedded clause. This presupposition can only be taken seriously if it handles additional data well, and this is precisely the case. For example, there are reasons to postulate that the head of the tense phrase always requires some nominal element to be in the local relationship with it. In (7), the position of the tense head is marked by â€Å"(T)†. It requires â€Å"John† to be next to it. John (T) is running. That this requirement always applies is supported by the examples in (8) and (9) where semantically, there is no need for a subject, and yet, a pronoun â€Å"it† has to be inserted. It (T) is raining. It (T) seems that John is happy. The requirement that â€Å"it† be inserted here is purely syntactic and has nothing to do with meaning. The objection that in sentences like (6) subject is simply not necessary can be replied to by the example in (10), where we can see that as soon as the subject of the embedded clause is not co-referential with that of the main clause, it cannot be left out. John wants his sister to become a millionaire. Finally, one additional and quite convincing proof for the existence of PRO comes from binding. Binding theory would require that if PRO is really present in the embedded clauses, it should be able to bind reflexives. If there is no PRO, then the main clause subject should not be able to bind the reflexives as binding does not cross clause boundaries, and the sentence would be ungrammatical. The conditions imposed by binding turn out to fit perfectly with the theory of PRO as the sentence in (11) is perfectly grammatical. John wants to transform himself. Conclusion In conclusion, generative syntax enables us to attempt to study the notion as exciting as Universal Grammar with great scientific rigor and precision. The kind of arguments that linguists make about the abstract concepts that they introduce are incredibly strong and convincing, which is why generative syntax has been so successful. Finally, the fact that people employ such abstract concepts in their everyday speech tells us a lot about the incredible complexity of human mind. References Carnie, A. (2011). Modern Syntax a Coursebook.. Leiden: Cambridge University Press. Chomsky, N. (1980). On Binding. Linguistic Inquiry, 11, 1-46. Chomsky, N. (1981). Lectures on government and binding. Dordrecht, Holland: Foris P ublications. Chomsky, N. (2002). Syntactic structures (2nd ed.). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Reinhart, T. (1976). The syntactic domain of anaphora. Ph.D. thesis, MIT, Cambridge, MA.

Top 10 Medical Careers That Dont Require a Graduate Degree

Top 10 Medical Careers That Dont Require a Graduate Degree according to the experts over at bestmedicaldegrees.com, there are at least 30 promising career options for people  with an interest in a medical profession but without the time or resources for medical school. here are the top 10 highest paying careers that require a bachelor’s degree and either on-the-job training or professional certifications. take a look at the list and see which one will be right for you!10. dietician and nutritionist ($55k)professional dieticians and nutritionists are required to have bachelor’s degrees in nutrition science and will need some kind of partnership or mentoring from physicians or fellow dieticians. these partnerships allow access to patients so dns can practice the development and implementation of schedules and lifestyle plans. they may also work in hospitals, care facilities, or other clinic or gym settings where they can work directly with clients.9. cytotechnologist ($61k)with a  bachelor’s  degree and graduation fr om an accredited cytotechnology program, certified cytotechs work in laboratories where they research cells and cellular anomalies to contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and illnesses.8. medical sonographer ($64k)sonographers operate imaging equipment during diagnostic appointments or assist physicians and surgeons during procedures. you’ll need an associate’s degree and a professional certification.7. registered nurse ($68k)rns must be licensed to practice in hospital and physicians’ offices, but many schools are moving from a two-year diploma to a two-year associate degree or a bachelor’s of science in nursing. many medical institutions are reporting a shortage of nurses, so the job prospects are promising.6. nuclear medicine technologist ($70k)an associate or bachelor’s degree in nuclear medicine technology prepares you to operate scanners and administer drugs to assist in a diagnosis or treatment of various ailments.5. radiati on therapist ($75k)â€Å"rad techs† are responsible for administering radiation treatments, most often for cancer patients, and working alongside radiation oncologists and radiation physicists. jobs may be available in hospitals, cancer centers, and outpatient clinic settings.4. biomedical engineer ($86k)biomedical engineering is a relatively recently established field that involves the research and development of diagnostic medical technology, including imaging equipment, prostheses, and pharmaceuticals. a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and professional training on the job is necessary to secure a position in medical equipment manufacturing, hospital, or university settings.3. physician assistant ($90k)â€Å"pas† work closely with physicians to diagnose and treat patients; you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field like nursing and an accredited physician assistant educational program. this in-depth but highly supervised work may also help you discover whether you want to pursue a degree in medicine further down the road.2. cardiovascular perfusionist ($94k)a cardiovascular perfusionist is responsible for maintaining heart and lung functions during surgery, monitoring blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and blood gasses. many work in operating rooms or intensive care units and have completed perfusion training programs in addition to a bachelor’s degree in health studies.1.   medical and health services manager/administrator ($40-110k)if you like a demanding environment and excel under pressure, a position as a medical and health services manager/administrator may be for you! administrators are expected to stay up-to-date on relevant policies and laws, technological changes, and the daily operations of physicians’ offices, hospitals and clinics.

Short Term Long Term Goal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short Term Long Term Goal - Essay Example Throughout my life I have been always involved in various forms of business practices. As an eight-year old kid, I was already engaged in the art of trading cards collection. At that time, collecting trading cards with Japanese comic characters was a big craze among children like me. In fact, my classmates would pay a lot of money just to acquire the rare ones. Seeing a business opportunity, I decided to invest my lunch money on collecting and trading cards. Fortunately, I acquired a special card early on and this facilitated my trading and selling engagements with other collectors. This went on for a couple of months until I was able to sell my last card and turn my initial investment of $20 to a staggering $150, which, I believe, was no small feat for an 8-year old boy. The ability to display a basic understanding of sales and returns was inherent to me right from the start. Since then, I have never lost sight of my goals of pursuing entrepreneurship. Towards the end of my senior y ear in college, my friend and I started a clothing import company which enjoyed considerable sales. I also joined the companies of AXA Advisors, Philip Simon Developments USA, Inc and later Shoesapart, Inc to learn fundamental business structures and to have an in-depth scope into daily business operations. Despite these developments, I still wanted to achieve more because I have never been someone who is simply content to rest in his accomplishments. I believe that success is surpassing what you have previously achieved and realizing that you can actually achieve even more. These are the reasons why, for my short term goal, I am intent on getting accepted to the Tsinghua MBA program. My recent trip to China made me discover the huge amount of business potential that it holds. Not only does it offer accelerated and extensive market expansion, but it also offers a high level of penetration opportunity. I am confident that throught the Tsinghua MBA program, I will be able to build an extensive network of classmates and alumni and gather sufficient knowledge of the local market in China to streamline future business growth. Within a year of acquiring my MBA, I want to start a promising food business venture, choosing the initial location at a primary market to promote the brand and attract franchising interest. I want to work on a modular menu that can be dexterously handled by a central kitchen in preparation for franchise expansion. I will focus on expanding to other primary and secondary market within China. Meanwhile, I want to keep creating innovative and attractive menus to fend off competitors. As a long-term goal, I expect the company to have reached a considerable scale and to have accumulated adequate capital within 5 years. I plan to expand the business into other sectors of the industry either through name-licensing or self invested methods. Ultimately, I want to develop the business into a cross-industry company that has a lasting and recognizable br and. I believe that Tsinghua’s MBA program will be crucial in helping me fulfill my goals in life. I plan to focus on E-commerce and Supply Chain Management in addition to Entrepreneurship. I also look forward to

Technology works on artworks Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Technology works on artworks - Research Paper Example This essay seeks to shed light on some of the artworks done by Andison, an artist of Canadian origin. Through these, together with the themes therein, it will be discovered that text, as a form of art, is not exactly or entirely what Plato Socrates made it look like. Art as we all know is a piece of creative representation of thoughts and ideas either in form of text or images, with the intention of communicating something to the viewers. According to Plato’s Socrates, art is inhuman, artificial and very much away from reality art. This includes text. On the other hand when we study the works of Andison, it’s trying to counter the theory of Plato. It is showing the flexibility and how human and real art is. Basing our arguments on the contrast brought out by Andison about the opinion of Plato, we can have different opinions as well about the reality of art. It is so clear from an artist point of view that what matters the most is how the work of art is interpreted considering each detail of the information given either through texts or any other artistic work. In the heartbreak scrabble game, Andison is trying to bring out the fact that art is flexible contrary to Plato who thinks that any written word or piece text is rigid. It is showing how one can derive many words from the word heartbreak. By sliding the tiles of this scrabble we see the freedom which comes along with art inform of a text. She is also using a text to prove that text is not dead, this is shown by how imaginary one becomes on sliding the tiles of the scrabble. This means that a single text can grow. This is also clearly brought out by the piece showing a woman in a flower garden. It is through this that we can derive different meanings and of what the artist is communicating. It brings different imaginations and different feelings on viewing it. From the word game, â€Å"heartbreaking†, it can also be seen that art is human, contrary to

Biography of Annointed Gifts Essay Example for Free

Biography of Annointed Gifts Essay Annointed Gifts was established in September of 2006 by Rev. Dr. Johnnie E. Jordan Sr. Through Pastor Jordans’ vision he brought forth six anointed young men to spread the word of God through their musical talent of playing instruments, and their special talent of vocals. Minister Nelton Shorter Jr. (Jay-Jay) who is the minister of music at his home church Union Second Baptist been playing keyboard, singing gospel( songwriting) for over twenty years. Davell Davis (Ace) who is the minister of music at his home church Rising Star C. O.G.I.C. been playing keyboard and singing(songwriting) gospel for over fifteen years. Christopher Jordan has been playing drums, singing(songwriting ), for the lord under the leadership of his father and pastor of Greater Mt. Olive M.B.C. for over twentyfive years. Paul Washington plays lead guitar at Greater Mt. Olive M.B.C. and has been playing singing(songwriting) Gospel for over thirty years. Clarence Trotter received his calling at an early age. He has been playing bass guitar singing(songwriting) Gospel for over twenty years. Marvin Jordan began to get involved as an audio technician and sound check person at Greater Mt. Olive M.B.C. in 1986. He has over twenty years of experience in audio engineering In the short time that Annointed Gifts been together, they have been fortunate blessed to perform with some of the big names of gospel quartet. They performed with The Williams Brothers, The Mighty Clouds of Joy at The Detroit Opera House .They also performed out of state as well as all over the Michigan area with some of gospel greats such as Doc McKenzie The Hi-Lites,The Pilgrim Jubilees,Keith Wonderboy Johnson, Dewayne Watkins former member of Canton Spirituals, Park Stewart former member of Commission, Darius Twyman , George Dean The Gospel Four, Evelyne Turrtine’ Agee and even received great reviews from the Legendary Spanky. Annointed Gifts is truly a blessing from heaven abling them to pass on Gods’ message through song and praises.

Intellectual Property in an Electronic World Essay -- essays research

Intellectual Property In an Electronic World Business Law & Ethics Introduction This paper provides a general overview of some major issues facing both producers, publishers and consumers of intellectual property. The emphasis, however, is on copyright. Today, of course, that copyright includes the all-pervasive electronic environment of the internet. There are many media in which intellectual property problems arise. History and Definitions â€Å"Intellectual property† is property resulting from another’s creative efforts. Trademarks, logos, patents, books, computer files, movies, music, painting, menus, choreographic works, pantomimes, product packaging, architectural designs and even sculpture may be considered to be intellectual property. In fact, even a student paper such as this may (perhaps too generously) be classified as intellectual property. The Miller – Jenz text makes the observation that â€Å". .. the value of the world’s intellectual property now exceeds the value of physical property . . . â€Å". Clearly, then, intellectual property has become a huge factor in business, social life, entertainment, and international trade. There is much government regulation in the field of intellectual property, as well. In the past, the most important aspects of law involving intellectual property were copyright and fair use, defamation, trademarks, trade secrets and patents. Prior to statutory copyright laws, a common law of copyright existed which protected an author’s work only until it was published. After being published, if there was not statutory protection, then the author’s work entered the public domain and became unprotected! One a work is in the public domain, it cannot be protected. Statutory copyright law in the United States originated with Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution: â€Å"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.† Congress enacted the first copyright law in 1790. It was decided early that the term â€Å"writings† includes many things which might not be considered â€Å"writings† in the normal use of the term. It is possible to sue under common law copyright infringement. In fact, such a suit can be brought in a state court. However, an action for statutory copyright infringement must be brought a federal d... ...nt the infringement of intellectual property rights. Internet publishers who are unable to afford the cost of registering every single page of a web site (cost is $20 per registration) may instead register multiple works as a collection. Since copyright registration requires the sending of materials, the internet publisher faces the choice of sending screen printouts, or code, or both. If the code is more important, Field recommends treating the content of a web site like software. Copyright Enforcement If the author believes he may have to sue to prevent infringement, he is well advised to register the copyright. This is also true of copyrighted material on the internet. Copyright notice prevents the defense of innocent infringement, and increases the chances for a big bucks recovery on willful infringement, where the statutory damages can be up to $100,000. An action for statutory copyright infringement, as noted earlier, must be filed in federal court. Of course, depending on the nature of the facts involved, there may also be other theories of recovery available. BIBLIOGRAPHY Miller, L.M., and Jentz, G.A., Business Law Today, 6th Edition. (2002). South-Western College.

Organisations that fail to plan are planning to fail Essay

Churchill, a politician and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, during the World War II. The Oxford dictionary generally defines plan as â€Å"a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something†. In term of management, planning set out an organisation’s objectives and how those objectives could be achieved. Furthermore, planning can be either formal or informal. In formal planning, the time period is included along with written objectives that are distributed internally, whereas informal planning is concerned with little to no written materials (Robbins et al. 2014). Nevertheless, when the term planning is being used, it is often referred to as formal planning. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the controversial effects of formal planning on the performances of firms that were evidenced in a range of empirical studies, the influence it has on newly established ventures and its applicability at the times of environmental uncertainty. Camillus (1975) states that â€Å"companies that plan formally perform better than those which plan informally†, and he also believes that by formalising plans, the firms’ performances can be improved. An important feature of formal planning is strategic planning, which is known as â€Å"the process managers use to form a vision, analyse their external and internal environments, and select the strategies they will use to create value for stake holders† (Robbins et al. 2014). It was argued that formal strategic planning has a relationship to the financial performances of organisations, and that relationship could be positive. This argument was evidenced by a study conducted by Robert Arasa and Peter K’Obonyo (2012). The study was taken in Kenya, a developing country, paying extra attention to the strategic planning steps, and it concluded that firms that have been engaging in a high-level of strategic planning tend to perform better in both financial and non-financial aspects. This conclusion corresponds to another study conducted in 1994, where the firms were measured in term of mean capital returns for a five year period, and resulted that the firms with strategical planning have a higher chance  of survival (Capon, Farley & Hulbert 1994). Nevertheless, the relation- ship between formal strategic planning and performances of firms is considered controversial due to the fact that despite the studies that have proven the positive link between the two, there are ones that prove the complete opposite (Bhide 2000). Researchers believe that the question regarding the above relationship is â€Å"complex and difficult† and their â€Å"knowledge respective to it is limited† (Shrader, Taylor and Dalton 1984, p. 167) due to the inconsistency of the studies. The link between planning and organisations’ performances was found to be void, with the effects ranging from null to negative, as commented by Boyd on his meta-analysis review (1991). Additionally, formal planning was also confirmed to produce a small negative effect on financial performance, as it was concluded from an experiment that was conducted by banking organisations (Whitehead and Gup 1985). In spite of having studies as supporting evidences for both of the arguments, the q uestion about whether there is a positive relationship is still remains inconclusive, and the positive effect is considered to be surmised. The difference that arose from the above studies could be due to the difference in objectives of the firms and/or how they define strategic planning (Whitehead and Gup 1985). Since the positive effect on firms through planning is unconfirmed, it is important to narrow down the target population and to observe the influence of planning only on the new firms. Hence, the next section would focus on analysing the influence of planning on the newly established ventures. As an entrepreneur or prospective business owner would like to establish his/her own business, there are decisions needed to be made about whether he/she should develop the business basing on intuition, or whether it should be carefully considered through planning. This paragraph would closely scrutinise the influence of planning on new ventures, especially on the development of those ventures, including how planning influence the finance acquisition prior to the development of one firm, chances of new ventures to survive, and excluding financial approach since it is not likely for new firms to generate revenue (Stuart, Hoang & Hybels 1999). According to Delmar and Shane (2003), they focus their findings based on three dimensions of venture development, including â€Å"product development†, â€Å"venture organising activity† and â€Å"disbanding† as  they believe those  three are the most essential factors that contribute to the establishments of firms. As a result, there is an enhancement of all three factors when firms’ founders utilise planning. Other than the study of Delmar and Shane, Perry (2001) and Liao and Gartner (2006) have also found a positive link between the chance of survival of a new venture and planning. In addition, there are a number of financial providers required owners and/or entrepreneurs to present a business plan, such as Royal Bank of Canada, or the Barclays bank of Britain, as mentioned by Karlsson (2005). Nevertheless, it was argued that the importance of business plan on the development of new ventures were considered to be â€Å"overstated† in literature (Karlsson 2005). Based on the research that was completed by Bhide (2000), firms founders tend to use their personal funds or bank loans to set up their businesses, and therefore, the financial providers pay more attention to the ability to pay debts of the firms owners/entrepreneurs rather than their business plans, as evidenced by a survey that was completed by a number of American venture capital and equity firms (Gumpert and Lange 2004). The difference in policy of the financial providers might due to the difference in context or difference in regulations, as the financial providers are not from one specific context. Furthermore, there are different elements other than planning that could have contributed to the success of firms, regardless of their size, and one of those factors is the degree of environmental uncertainty . Therefore, the next component would emphasis on the applicability of planning during the times of environmental certainty. Environmental uncertainty refers to the risks that emerged from unpredictability (Cyert and March 1963), and there are disputes surrounding the applicability of planning during the time of environmental uncertainty. Examples of environmental uncertainty could be the entry of new competitors or the technological advancement of the firm’s rival. There are ones that in favour of planning in time of environmental uncertainty, suggesting that planning should be implemented by managers as it shows the possible risks (Matthews and Scott 1995; Zollo and Winter 2002), whereas there are those who suggested that in times of environmental uncertainty, firms need to rely on intuition and creativity (Mintzberg 1994; Allinson, Chell & Hayes 2000;  Bhide 1994). It was also found that planning shows managers the possible risks and hence develop solutions (Robbins et al 2 014; Matthews and Scott 1995). However, it should also be noted that due to the lack of resources, it is unrealistic for growing and/or newly established ventures to excessively focus on planning as it would be costly (Matthews and Scott 1995). On top of that, a business plan is accused for creating a rigid schedule (Robbins et al. 2014). Originally, a business plan process would comprise of external and internal analysis, formulation, implementation of strategies, and then evaluation of results (Robbins et al. 2014). Nevertheless, in reality, Mankins and Steele (2006) suggest that managers should be innovative and creative to make continuous strategic decisions responding to environmental uncertainty. They also pointed out from their researches that firms only make 2.5 strategic decisions per year on average due to their dependence on the planning process, which in turn defined shortcomings of formal planning such as insufficient time to deal with unpredictable matters. In other words, firms should continuously being innovative in making strategic decisions rather than relying on a business plan (Mankins and Steele 2006; McGrath 1995; Carter, Gartner & Reynolds 1996; Mintzberg 1994) as it might result in the lost of opportunities (Bhide 1994). In the final analysis, the significance of planning is evaluated throughout the discussion of its effects on performances of firms of different size, how it influence on the smaller/newly developed firms, and its applicability during times of uncertainty. The relationship between performances and planning is discussed mainly in term of financial performances, while the relationship between smaller/newly established firms and planning is discussed primarily in term of survival and the firms’ development processes. Lastly, the essay assesses different perspectives of analysts on whether or not planning is utilisable during the time of uncertainty. Since the results are inconclusive for the most part due to the difference in contexts of studies, it is undeniable that planning would be an important element that business owners should look at in order to improve the chance of success. It is recommended that the business owners should be innovative to fix the rigid nature of planning, and to be flexible when it comes to the time of environmental uncertainty. Additionally, if formal planning is considered to be unaffordable for smaller firms, the firms founders could be engaging in informal planning, or short-term planning rather than depending merely on intuition. Bibliography! Allinson, CW, Chell, E & Hayes, J 2000, ‘Intuition and entrepreneurial behaviour’, European Journal of Work and organizational Psychology, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 31-43. Arasa, R & K’Obonyo, P 2012, ‘The Relationship between Strategic Planning and Firm Performance’, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 2, no. 22, pp. 201-13. Bhide, A 1994, ‘How Entrepreneurs Craft Strategies’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 150-61. —— 2000, The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses, Oxford University Press. Boyd, BK 1991, ‘Strategic Planning and Financial Performance: A Meta-analytic Review’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 353-74. Camillus, JC 1975, ‘Evaluating the Benefits of Formal Planning Systems’, Long Range Planning, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 33-40. Capon, N, Farley, JU & Hulbert, JM 1994, ‘Strategic Planning and Financial Performance: More Evidence’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 105-10. Carter, NM, Gartner, WB & Reynolds, PD 1996, ‘Exploring start-up event sequences’, Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 151-66. Cyert, RM & March, JG 1963, A Behavioral Theory of The Firm, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Delmar, F & Shane, S 2003, ‘Does Business Planning Facilitate the Development of New Ventures?’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 24, pp. 1165-85. Gumpert, DE & Lange, JE 2004, Do Business Plans Matter? How Venture Capitalists Evaluate Entrepreneurs for Investment, Babson College. Karlsson, T 2005, Business Plan in New Ventures. An Institutional Perspective, vol. 30, JIBS dissertation series, Jà ¶nkà ¶ping International Business School. Liao, J & Gartner, WB 2006, ‘The Effects of Pre-venture Plan Timing and Perceived Environmental Uncertainty on the Persistence of Emerging Firms’, Small Business Economics, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 23-40. Mankins, MC & Steele, R 2006, ‘Stop Making Plans; Start Making Decisions’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 76-84. Matthews, CH & Scott, SG 1995, ‘Uncertainty and Planning in Small and Entrepreneurial Firms: An Empirical Assessment’, Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 34-52. McGrath, RG 1995, ‘Advantage from adversity: Learning from disappointment in internal corporate ventures’, Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 121-42. Mintzberg, H 1994, ‘The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 107-14. Perry, SC 2001, ‘The Relationship between Written Business Plans and the Failure of Small Businesses in the U.S.’, Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 201-8. Robbins, S, DeCENZO, D, Coulter, M & Woods, M 2014, Management: The Essentials, 2th edn, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, Sydney. Shrader, CB, Taylor, L & Dalton, DR 1984, ‘Strategic Planning and Organizational Performance: A Critical Appraisal’, Journal of Management, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 149-71. Stuart, TE, Hoang, H & Hybels, RC 1999, ‘Interorganization Endorsements and the Performance of Entrepreneurial Ventures’, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 315-49. Whitehead, DD & Gup, BE 1985, ‘Bank and Thrift Profitability: Does Strategic Planning Really Pay?’, Economic Review, pp. 14-25. Zollo, M & Winter, SG 2002, ‘Deliberate Learning and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities’, Organizational Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 339-51.

Federal Trade Comission

In the given case, the Federal Trade Commission claimed that Texas Surgeons Independent Practice Association(IPA) of 26 general surgeons in the Austin, Texas and six competing medical practice groups who are the members of this association (the respondents), Texas Surgeons P. A. (â€Å"Texas Surgeons†), Austin Surgeons, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"AS†), Austin Surgical Clinic Association, P. A. (â€Å"ASCA†), Bruce McDonald & Associates, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"BM&A†), Capital Surgeons Group, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"CSG†), Central Texas Surgical Associates, P. A. (â€Å"CTSA†), and Surgical Associates of Austin, P.A. (â€Å"SAA†), violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U. S. C.  § 45 by engaging in unlawful act of price fixing. FTC alleged complaint that the IPA organized collective refused to deal with two health plans, Blue cross Blue Shield and United Health Care of Texas, terminated the contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield and t hreatened to terminate contracts with the United Health Care of Texas if the payer refuse to agree with their demand of raising reimbursement rate. As per demand, both plans increased their rates.Blue Cross accepted a rate agreement with the respondents in early 1998 after facing problems getting an emergency room patient treated by a general surgeon. The respondents collectively secured rate agreement resulted nearly 30% above the April 1997 level. In this case, the practices of the respondents went against the welfare of the public, constitute unfair methods of competition and antitrust actions. This anti competitive action cost health plan, employers and patients, more than $1,000,000 for surgical services in 1998 and 1999 in the Austin, Texas area.In the mid-1970, the FTC formed a section within the Bureau of Competition to investigate potential anti trust violations involving healthcare. In the health care area, as in the case of any other field, the antitrust laws are enforced so check not only possible competitive harm but also the potential for pro competitive increase in efficiency, lower health care cost, provide better quality care to the consumers, enhance innovative strategy to provide improved quality care at low cost. Federal antitrust guidelines allow independent physicians to appoint a representative messenger to communicate with payers about fees and contract terms, but annot represent the competing physicians collectively. However, in this case, the Texas Surgeons IPA served as a vehicle for the six respondent medical practice groups to engage in actual refusals to deal, and to negotiate collectively, in order to receive higher prices from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and United Healthcare of Texas. The six respondent medical practice groups furthered the unlawful act through their collective control of the Texas Surgeons IPA board of directors, and through their direct participation in collective fee negotiations between United and the T exas Surgeons IPA.The commission proposed a consent order as a remedy to prevent the respondent from getting indulge in future unlawful act that is alleged in the complaint while allowing respondents to engage in legitimate joint conduct. The proposed order prohibits the IPA from a) negotiating on behalf of any physician with health plans b) refusing to deal with health plan or threatening health plans to agree on their demand c) exchanging information among Austin area physicians regarding negotiations with any health plan regarding reimbursement terms d) determining the terms on which its members deal with health plans.The order contains three provisos that permit the respondents to 1. Negotiate for physicians limited to the same medical practice group; 2. Engage in conduct approved and supervised by the state of Texas; and 3. Engage in conduct that is reasonably necessary to operate ‘qualified risk- sharing joint arrangements- so long as they give adequate pre- notification . The commission’s proposal allows the IPA to avoid such claims of price- fixing and antitrust if it acts in one of two ways: ) Financial Risk Sharing: As a qualified managed care plan which allows competing providers to negotiate prices jointly without being charged with price fixing act by the Federal antitrust agencies if they share substantial financial risk on contracts . It means that participating providers share responsibility for staying within a defined budget. The antitrust agencies believe that the competing providers should work together to achieve common, procompetitive goals of reducing cost and improving quality. Share incentives could also focus on â€Å"quality† or Health outcome† factors.Both the way of risk sharing has potential of providing high quality care to the patient at low cost. 2) Messenger Model: The fifth provision (Section II. A. 5 of the proposed order) ensures that a neutral third party who is not a physician with an active pract ice in the Austin area, be the communicator between any respondent and any payer to deal with any terms. Under this arrangement, the network organization does not negotiate agreement with the payer about any term or price; it allows the individual providers to make an individual decision, based on proposal from payer.Physician individually, through third party, conveys and receives information, offers, and responses from the payers or providers. However, the individual providers can give â€Å"sign off† authority to network organization within specified range. In addition, the commission order ensures that any respondent who are intending to use messenger model arrangement should provide prior notification to the commission. Price- fixing agreements among the competitors are not accepted by law. It is considered serious act because the consumers, plans and employers pay heavy price for it such as, †¢ Consumers loss the benefits of competition Increases the health care co st; Blue Cross, United, their individual subscribers, and employers paid more than one million dollars were paid for the services of surgeons. Therefore, review of such cases is crucial to encourage the competitor to work together as a team to improve quality of services, while reducing cost. References http://www. crowell. com/documents/DOCASSOCFKTYPE_PRESENTATIONS_705. pdf http://www. accessmylibrary. com/article-1G1-77013366/texas-surgeons-settle-price. html http://www. ftc. gov/os/2000/05/texascmp. htm Federal Trade Comission In the given case, the Federal Trade Commission claimed that Texas Surgeons Independent Practice Association(IPA) of 26 general surgeons in the Austin, Texas and six competing medical practice groups who are the members of this association (the respondents), Texas Surgeons P. A. (â€Å"Texas Surgeons†), Austin Surgeons, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"AS†), Austin Surgical Clinic Association, P. A. (â€Å"ASCA†), Bruce McDonald & Associates, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"BM&A†), Capital Surgeons Group, P. L. L. C. (â€Å"CSG†), Central Texas Surgical Associates, P. A. (â€Å"CTSA†), and Surgical Associates of Austin, P.A. (â€Å"SAA†), violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U. S. C.  § 45 by engaging in unlawful act of price fixing. FTC alleged complaint that the IPA organized collective refused to deal with two health plans, Blue cross Blue Shield and United Health Care of Texas, terminated the contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield and t hreatened to terminate contracts with the United Health Care of Texas if the payer refuse to agree with their demand of raising reimbursement rate. As per demand, both plans increased their rates.Blue Cross accepted a rate agreement with the respondents in early 1998 after facing problems getting an emergency room patient treated by a general surgeon. The respondents collectively secured rate agreement resulted nearly 30% above the April 1997 level. In this case, the practices of the respondents went against the welfare of the public, constitute unfair methods of competition and antitrust actions. This anti competitive action cost health plan, employers and patients, more than $1,000,000 for surgical services in 1998 and 1999 in the Austin, Texas area.In the mid-1970, the FTC formed a section within the Bureau of Competition to investigate potential anti trust violations involving healthcare. In the health care area, as in the case of any other field, the antitrust laws are enforced so check not only possible competitive harm but also the potential for pro competitive increase in efficiency, lower health care cost, provide better quality care to the consumers, enhance innovative strategy to provide improved quality care at low cost. Federal antitrust guidelines allow independent physicians to appoint a representative messenger to communicate with payers about fees and contract terms, but annot represent the competing physicians collectively. However, in this case, the Texas Surgeons IPA served as a vehicle for the six respondent medical practice groups to engage in actual refusals to deal, and to negotiate collectively, in order to receive higher prices from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and United Healthcare of Texas. The six respondent medical practice groups furthered the unlawful act through their collective control of the Texas Surgeons IPA board of directors, and through their direct participation in collective fee negotiations between United and the T exas Surgeons IPA.The commission proposed a consent order as a remedy to prevent the respondent from getting indulge in future unlawful act that is alleged in the complaint while allowing respondents to engage in legitimate joint conduct. The proposed order prohibits the IPA from a) negotiating on behalf of any physician with health plans b) refusing to deal with health plan or threatening health plans to agree on their demand c) exchanging information among Austin area physicians regarding negotiations with any health plan regarding reimbursement terms d) determining the terms on which its members deal with health plans.The order contains three provisos that permit the respondents to 1. Negotiate for physicians limited to the same medical practice group; 2. Engage in conduct approved and supervised by the state of Texas; and 3. Engage in conduct that is reasonably necessary to operate ‘qualified risk- sharing joint arrangements- so long as they give adequate pre- notification . The commission’s proposal allows the IPA to avoid such claims of price- fixing and antitrust if it acts in one of two ways: ) Financial Risk Sharing: As a qualified managed care plan which allows competing providers to negotiate prices jointly without being charged with price fixing act by the Federal antitrust agencies if they share substantial financial risk on contracts . It means that participating providers share responsibility for staying within a defined budget. The antitrust agencies believe that the competing providers should work together to achieve common, procompetitive goals of reducing cost and improving quality. Share incentives could also focus on â€Å"quality† or Health outcome† factors.Both the way of risk sharing has potential of providing high quality care to the patient at low cost. 2) Messenger Model: The fifth provision (Section II. A. 5 of the proposed order) ensures that a neutral third party who is not a physician with an active pract ice in the Austin area, be the communicator between any respondent and any payer to deal with any terms. Under this arrangement, the network organization does not negotiate agreement with the payer about any term or price; it allows the individual providers to make an individual decision, based on proposal from payer.Physician individually, through third party, conveys and receives information, offers, and responses from the payers or providers. However, the individual providers can give â€Å"sign off† authority to network organization within specified range. In addition, the commission order ensures that any respondent who are intending to use messenger model arrangement should provide prior notification to the commission. Price- fixing agreements among the competitors are not accepted by law. It is considered serious act because the consumers, plans and employers pay heavy price for it such as, †¢ Consumers loss the benefits of competition Increases the health care co st; Blue Cross, United, their individual subscribers, and employers paid more than one million dollars were paid for the services of surgeons. Therefore, review of such cases is crucial to encourage the competitor to work together as a team to improve quality of services, while reducing cost. References http://www. crowell. com/documents/DOCASSOCFKTYPE_PRESENTATIONS_705. pdf http://www. accessmylibrary. com/article-1G1-77013366/texas-surgeons-settle-price. html http://www. ftc. gov/os/2000/05/texascmp. htm

Farenhiet 451 Essays - Marshmallow, Sugar Confectionery, Flame

Farenhiet 451 Essays - Marshmallow, Sugar Confectionery, Flame Farenhiet 451 IT was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on 5 his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies. He wanted above all, like the old joke, to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning. 10 Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame. He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself, a minstrel man, burnt-corked, in the mirror. Later, going to sleep, he would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark. It never went away, that. smile, it never ever went away, as long as he remembered.

10 Countries with the Highest Population Density

10 Countries with the Highest Population Density Cities are known for being crowded, but some cities are far more crowded than others. What makes a city feel crowded isnt just the number of people who live there but the physical size of the city. Population density refers to the number of people per square mile. According to the Population Reference Bureau, these ten countries have the worlds highest population densities 1. Manila, Philippines - 107,562 per square mile The capital of the Philippines is home to roughly two million people. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay the city is home to one of the finest ports in the country. The city regularly hosts over a million  tourists each year, making the busy streets even more crowded. 2. Mumbai, India - 73,837 per square mile Its no surprise that the Indian city Mumbai comes in second on this list with a population of over 12 million people. The city is the financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India. The city lies on the West coast of India and has a deep natural bay. In 2008, it was dubbed an alpha world city. 3. Dhaka, Bangladesh - 73,583 per square mile Known as the city of mosques, Dhaka is home to roughly 17 million people. It was once one of the most wealthy and prosperous cities in the world. Today the city is the countries political, economic and cultural center. It has one of the largest stock markets in South Asia. 4. Caloocan, Philippines - 72,305 per square mile Historically, Caloocan is important for being home to the secret militant society that spurred the Philippine  Revolution, also known as the Tagalong war, against Spanish colonialists. Now the city is home to almost two million people. 5. Bnei Brak, Isreal - 70,705 per square mile Just east of Tel Aviv, this city is home to 193,500 residents. It is home to one of the largest coca-cola bottling plants in the world. Israels first womens only department stores were built in Bnei Brak; its an example of the gender segregation; implemented by the ultra Orthodox Jewish population. 6. Levallois-Perret, France - 68,458 per square mile Located roughly four miles from Paris, Levallois-Perrett is the most densely populated city in Europe. The city is known for its perfume industry and beekeeping. A cartoon bee has even been adopted at the citys modern emblem. 7. Neapoli, Greece - 67,027 per square mile   The Greek city of Neapoli comes in at number seven on the list of most densely populated cities. The city is divided into eight different districts. While only 30,279 people live in this small city thats impressive given its size is only .45 square miles! 8. Chennai, India - 66,961 per square mile Located on the Bay of Bengal, Chennai is known as the education capital of South India. Its home to almost five million people. Its also considered one of the safest cities in India. Its also home to a large expat community. Its been dubbed one of the must-see cities in the world by the BBC. 9. Vincennes, France - 66,371 per square mile Another suburb of Paris, Vincennes is located just four miles from the city of lights. The city is probably most famous for its castle, Chateau de Vincennes. The castle was originally a hunting lodge for Louis VII but was enlarged in the 14th century. 10. Delhi, India - 66,135 per square mile The city of Delhi is home to roughly 11 million people, putting it just after Mumbai as one of Indias most populated cities. Delhi is an ancient city which has been the capital of various kingdoms and empires. Its home to numerous landmarks. Its also considered the book capital of India due to its high readership rates.

Discuss the strategic roles of middle managers Assignment - 2

Discuss the strategic roles of middle managers - Assignment Example In their study, Currie and Proctor (2005) concur with the literature that argues that organizational performance is mainly influenced by what takes place in the middle of the organization than what happens at the top. Based on the work of Floyd and Wooldridge (1992, 1994, 1997, 2000), Currie and Proctor (2005) argue that middle managers have a significant role to play in the ‘thinking’ as well as ‘doing’ of strategy in the organization. The middle managers can actually influence the direction of strategy from top to bottom or bottom to top. According to Currie and Proctor (2005), middle managers play four significant roles in strategic decisions in the organization. First, they synthesise information about the operations of the organisation which can be channelled upwards to the executives and can be used in strategy formulation. Second, the middle managers can reshape the strategies formulated by the executives since they are closer to all activities that o ccur in the organization. Thirdly, the middle managers can also exert downward influence especially in areas that are outside the reach of the executives. The fourth point is that middle managers are responsible for implementing deliberate strategy where they translate corporate strategy into action plans. Thus, it can be noted that from the middle management perspective, the middle managers have important strategic roles to make in an organization. Without middle managers, it may be difficult to achieve consistency in the performance of the organization. Raes et al (2011, p. 102) also suggest that â€Å"the interaction of the top management team (TMT) and middle managers (MMs) is central to effective strategy formulation and implementation.† It can be argued that the middle managers are at the center of all activities in the organization. For instance, they directly link with the top executives and the supervisors and other subordinates below them. This makes then significant in strategy