History of football Essay

Football (as well as rugby and soccer) are believed to have descended from the ancient Greek game of harpaston. Harpaston is mentioned frequently in classical literature, where it is often referred to as a â€Å"very rough and brutal gameâ€Å". The rules of this ancient sport were quite simple: Points were awarded when a player would cross a goal line by either kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player. The other team’s objective was simply to stop them by any means possible. There was no specific field length, no side line boundaries, no specified number of players per team, only a glaring lack of rules. Harpaston: Luckily (for everyone) uniforms & equipment have improved dramatically. Most modern versions of football are believed to have originated from England in the twelfth century. The game became so popular in England that the kings of that time (Henry II and Henry IV) actually banned football. They believed that football was taking away interest from the traditional sports of England, such as fencing and archery. Evolution and the Beginnings of Standardization. Football didn’t really begin to take on any consistency of rules and boundaries until it was picked up as a sport in the seven major public schools of England in the early 1800’s. Six of the seven schools were largely playing the same game (including Eton, Harrow and Winchester) – while the seventh, Rugby School (founded in 1567) was playing a markedly different version of football. The other schools moved ahead refining their rules and eventually their game became known as â€Å"association football† – or soccer, which was played back then much as it is today. Rugby School went in a different direction. How and why the game developed differently at Rugby School appears to have been lost in history, but what is known is that by the 1830’s, running with the ball at Rugby School was in common use and 18 foot goal posts had been added with a cross-bar at 10 feet above the ground. The inclusion of the cross-bar was accompanied by a rule that a goal could only be scored by the ball passing over the bar from a place kick or drop kick. Apparently this was done to make scoring easier from further out and also to avoid the horde of defenders standing in and blocking the mouth of the goal. Players who were able to â€Å"touch down† the ball behind the opponents goal line were awarded a â€Å"try-at-goal† – the player would make a mark on the goal line and then walk back onto the field of play to a point where a place kick at the goal was possible (a conversion). There was also an â€Å"off-your-side† rule used to keep the teams apart. Passing the ball forward was not allowed. By the mid-1860s British schools and universities had taken up Rugby’s game and honored the school by giving the â€Å"new football† the name of rugby. The game soon went trans-Atlantic to America and landed on fertile soil. Roots of American Football The birth date of football in the United States is generally regarded by football historians as November 6, 1869, when teams from Rutgers and Princeton Universities met for the first intercollegiate football game. In those early games, there were 20 players to a team and football still more closely resembled rugby than modern football. The game of football has a history of constant rule changes. Rule changes have been implemented to bolster the excitement of the game of football and  to increase the game’s safety. In 1873, representatives from Columbia, Rutgers, Princeton, and Yale Universities met in New York City to formulate the first intercollegiate football rules for the increasingly popular game. These four teams established the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA) and set 15 as the number of players allowed on each team. Walter Camp, the coach at Yale and a dissenter from the IFA over his desire for an eleven man team, helped begin the final step in the evolution from rugby-style play to the modern game of American football. The IFA’s rules committee, led by Camp, soon cut the number of players from fifteen to eleven, and also instituted the size of the playing field, at one hundred ten yards. In 1882 Camp also introduced the system of downs. After first allowing three attempts to advance the ball five yards, in 1906 the distance was changed to ten yards. The fourth down was added in 1912. Within a decade, concern over the increasing brutality of the game led to its ban by some colleges. Nearly 180 players had suffered serious injuries, and eighteen deaths had been reported from the brutal mass plays that had become common practice. So in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt called upon Harvard, Princeton, and Yale to help save the sport from demise. At a meeting between the schools, reform was agreed upon, and at a second meeting, attended by more than sixty other schools, the group appointed a seven member Rules Committee and set up what would later become known as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or the NCAA. From this committee came the legalization of the forward pass, which resulted in a redesign of the ball and a more open style of play on the field. The rough mass plays, which once caused so many serious injuries, were prohibited by the committee. Also prohibited was the locking of arms by teammates in an effort to clear the way for their ball carriers. The length of the game was shortened, from seventy to sixty minutes, and the neutral zone, which separates the teams by the length of the ball before each play begins, was also established. Though refinements to the game would continue to the present day, the modern game of American football had arrived.   

Art is an expression Essay

Art to me is an expression. Society has a way of creating social norms, and through this influence people to become inspired to be different, to express themselves in many ways and to share with others this passion, in the form of art. Cultures have utilized art in the form of drawings, patterns, and techniques; for example the type of clothes they wear, and type of houses they live in. Art is everywhere. Albert Einstein once said, you could look at life as if nothings a miracle or as if everything is. I think that you can look at art in the same way. I remember watching a film in class on a man and a woman who were in charge of the community project that consisted of hanging sheets for miles. I have no idea why they would do that over a different art project, but I got their message. It was all about working together, doing something that was unique and of their own works, regardless of everyone else’s opinion. They had to fight the system for a while before they were able to begin. That’s passion. After the readings I can’t help but to agree that art offers us a way to go beyond physical existence. What the author is saying to me is that art in every form changes our values our ideas in an effect change our lives. We are not robots, we don’t have to stay within regulations; we have the ability to be creative. Being creative is the most powerful tool we have some may argue. To touch back on why people make art, I can remember watching movies as a kid and there was this one kid out of the prep school that did wear the dress uniform to standard like all the other students. He was seeking to be different. Changing your uniform up a little to be different is art. Indians may paint their faces and their horses differently so that they stand out of all the others so that they can be found and identify. Same cases Indians made art was to distinguish themselves from other tribes as to not kill  their own people during a raid or battle. I used to become stressed with school and/or with relationship issues so I started drawing. I never liked being told what to draw and how to do it. I mostly like to begin with lines and later find out it looks like something that was unplanned. The reasons why I draw was take my focus off of life. Sometimes drawing something that makes you happy can help you to recall memories from good experiences and can turn your day around. Art is my tool and is my passion.

Write a critical review of a journal article Essay

Write a critical review of a journal article - Essay Example In depth studies are being undertaken due to the different contributing factors to the onset of such disabilities specifically the genetic factors, the environmental factors and the social factors. Due to the extensive number of variables needed to be considered there is also the problem of lack of baseline data that can be used for comparative analysis of studies undertaken. There are different factors covered in the study such as the causes of developmental disabilities, challenges in the research process, clinical study of toxic elements known to affect the neurodevelopment such as lead, mercury, manganese, polychlorinated biphenyls, flame retardants, pesticides, nicotine, and alcohol and other solvents. Upon analysis of the article by Schettler, it can be considered that the study is more of a library based research since the data are presented on a textual manner. It can be considered qualitative in nature based on the same reason that the topics discussed are presented in paragraph form and there are no tabulated data. According to the determination of the source of the article, it had been known that it is a derivation from another article written by the author, thus, compared to the reference article, this one can be considered as an abridged or shorter form. On a reader’s perspective, the article was able to present a general point regarding the importance of an in depth study on the factors affecting the different types of neurological disabilities but if one is interested in an in depth determination of the factors and their specific mechanisms, it is important to have a more quantitative presentation of the data. In relation to the fact that the article is based on a nother article, the data presented cannot be considered as first hand although it is written by the same author. The fact that the data in this article is only based on the article which discussed the toxic threats in child development,

Training Trends and Issues (Human Resource Class) Research Paper

Training Trends and Issues (Human Resource Class) - Research Paper Example The introduction of the internet, intranet and other multi-media devices has made training more systematic and efficient. One example of a web-based training (WBT) is the â€Å"Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS) that deals with the interface between people and software† (Heathfield, 2010). Heathfield however stated that there are some manual-based online courses which simply placed the training manuals online but did not take advantage of the â€Å"interconnectivity and the ability to publish real-time, up-to-the-minute information† (2010). The trend in multi-media training somehow puts pressure on the training and development practitioner. They must make sure that they are up to date with the latest software programs available. Training practitioners must also determine which of the available programs best suit their training needs and whether their companies can afford the cost of purchasing one. According to Holt, training practitioners stand to gain from these latest developments in training (Holt, 2000). He stated that first; there is the benefit of not having to wait for training schedules because the training can be scheduled anytime because the software is always available. The trainer’s schedule need not be divided among the employees to be trained. Some training practitioners are even looking into the possibility of integrating real live instructor and peer interaction in web-based or CD training (Heathfield, 2010). Second, Holt mentioned that since the training is rather individualized, the employee g oes through the program at his own pace. There is no need to wait for the slow learners or keep up with the fast learners. Furthermore, it is time efficient and it gives immediate feedback to the trainers. In the Journal of Instruction Delivery Systems (Winter, 1994) Verl E. Dennis as cited by Holt stated, â€Å"The reduction in instructional time when compared to the

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example ple within the company as well as the company itself so that the end result is one on which everyone solemnly agree, that is to make the company thrive from a revenue-generating angle and image building aspect in the long run. The company that we are talking about in this paper does not have decentralization embedded deep into its roots and hence the employees are not able to make decisions on their own which is a setback in its due right. However, when we compare the same with the software giant Microsoft we come to know decentralization has been applied as a principle in this organization so that it could easily mold itself with the team management concepts that are so very prevalent there. This has thus provided a sense of autonomy to the company and more so its employees who now know how to manage their own selves in the best and the worst of times as well as the ways in which they can effectively contribute in their own capacity towards the betterment of the company and their own personalities too. Similarly, the organizational structure in place for Hewlett Packard (HP) is a decentralized one, much like that of Microsoft as it has involved stakeholders at all levels to come up with their own decisio ns, however some might be challenged every now and then, so that the company functions as a single unit and not a disjointed one. The informal structure of an organization lays the foundation for the formal hierarchy, as people are more easily able to relate to each other as well as to the company for which they are working day in day out. This informal structure builds a sense of trust and belonging within the people and they can easily contribute to the single basic benefit on which the company has housed its attention upon, either to earn benefits at an exorbitant rate or to satisfy the customers/consumers with no holds barred. The grapevine can really build the basis for the formal structure and becomes quite a factor in the final analysis. Similarly, when

Health Reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Health Reform - Research Paper Example Secondary data or historical data are the kind of data that is previously gathered for some study or project, which built specially for that particular project (Zikmund, 2003, p Nd). In regards to this research, the secondary data used are gathered from the Internet, journals and other publications in order to get basic information about the nature of the health reformation within the organization. The research and the methodologies of this paper are basically qualitative in nature. The primary resources are there in this paper to prove the solid statements. However, the secondary resources are also very much important to prove the practical viewpoints of this particular paper. The data collection method is one of the most important actions in the organizational research work. The primary and secondary data are compiled in a proper blend to fetch the ultimate result. However, in this case the questionnaires were very much prominent. However, the proposed number of questions to be fil led for any research is around 25-30, where minimum 20-25 questions suppose to be answered to get a good result. However, the missing count can be taken as the margin of error, or their stipulated feedbacks could have taken as the average feedbacks. In this particular paper the five major methodologies for the research work are 1: Interview, 2: Surveys, 3: Focus group, 4: observation and 5: internal data. Among all of these the most important method is the interview and the survey. These two methods give the ultimate feedback of the employees towards the improvement of the health related issues within the organization. Data collection is one of the most important part I the research process. The data collection can be taken from the interview process of from the internal data or most of the time for the effective survey within the projected sample size for the research. However, all of the research methods are equally important prove the relevance of the research work and to predict the fruitful outcome of the research for the betterment of the health reform within the organizations. The relevance of the secondary data is very much important to justify this particular paper and that is the reason the selected five methodologies are chosen to collect the secondary data to support the study. All the five methods are discussed bellow. 1. Interview: In rearview has been taken as one of the most effective research method for collecting the secondary data from the focus group. Personal interview with the projected employees within the organization for their expectation and complains about the present health related issues are very much productive in case of finding the proper solution. There are some numbers of factors which are very much important for conducting an effective interview process. These number of factors need to be taken very seriously in designing the interview process. The basic concept of the interview is to exchange the verbal and written expressio n of the participant towards the projected questions (Watson, , p 282). The research interviews must be recorded so they can be analyzed afterwards. Most of the time, these interviews are generally audiotaped. The interviewed data are transcribed into text for the data analysis. In this case the different people from different organizations ate taken under consideration for the interview pro

LDAP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

LDAP - Essay Example Therefore, the need to use LDAP becomes largely unnecessary. In its goal to remain lightweight, LDAP does not include a security or encryption service, and with the increasing concerns about network security, this option makes it use less prevalent among businesses and individual users (Gracion Software, 2011). An open source protocol allows user contribution to the software development. When LDAP became open source, the developers intended to eliminate dependence on a select group of vendors and increase the usability options for the internet directory service (Arkills, 2003). By making LDAP an open protocol system, it enabled its usage and faster advancement in a still developing computing field of internet directory services. LDAP is a lightweight directory management program, meaning that it makes minimal use of the system resources. In addition, apart from offering the traditional directory management tasks, LDAP allows directory update tasks. For many organizations with online directories offering selective access to information, LDAP is quite useful as it allows authentication for access to directory services alongside update services in accordance to user preferences. Finally, LDAP helps computers within a network to perform such tasks such as self-authentication to other computers in the network, configure the network environment, and manage access privileges (Arkills, 2003). The use of LDAP is more appropriate for organizations that run online directories. LDAP helps manage directories, especially with regard to update and validation of access by the authorized users (Arkills, 2003). The LDAP is more beneficial to programmers with interest in developing internet directories using C and C++ programs. These programmers usually work with corporate clients such as businesses in creating effective and easy to manage directory systems. LDAP is an

Comparing NorthWest Cost and Great Plains( about Archaeology) Essay

Comparing NorthWest Cost and Great Plains( about Archaeology) - Essay Example Crop production is likely to be aff4cted by the changes of climate and atmospheric conditions. Geoff (2005): Geoff (2005): notes that evaluated CO do increase photosynthesis of plants and ultimately its production. Temperature level and precipitation amounts have a potential of affecting crop production in a negative or positive manner. Negative effect will be due to unfavorable climatic changes. The final level of CO is dependent on the local climatic conditions, for instance, summer air temperatures and higher springs may be god for crop production in northern temperature where they will increase the growing season. On the other hand higher temperatures may being negative effect to crops especially on crop maturity (Geoff, 2005) The entire region of Great Plains is characterized with low annual rainfall, in many cases there is concentration of storms though in a short duration. The temperatures in region keep on fluctuating though the region has average winds which are equivalent to those found in other areas. As historian Prescott W in his book "the great plains" suggests, the northwest European people who settled in the region was faced which three major problems, these were environmental encounters, which were; The landscap 1. Soaring summer temperature in the region 2. Arid southwest and inner west 3. Great unending grasslands which were located across the country (Prescott,1933) The Great Plains environment The landscape and undergrowth of the grasslands is amongst the slightest varied to be located in anyplace in United States. Early on settlers who followed the Oregon Trail were able to get to the Pacific coast in a single spell of travel, this was partly because of easiness to cross the grasslands. The region is located wholly within the inner lowlands physiographic area. The core sedimentary beds fall smoothly. Height increases steadily, almost unnoticeably, from the east side to the west side. Along the eastern border, the height is only 500 meters, while the west parts of Colorado, Denver, has a height of over 1,500 meters. (Zeynep et al, 2004) Geographically, the biggest part of Great Plains is known as the High Plains which stretch down the western margin of the area from south Texas going northward to the southern Nebraska. The region is covered by substantial layer of sediments which are mostly very sandy and very porous, this part is typically flat. However down streams for example, Scottsbluff on the Platte River in western Nebraska erosion has resulted in considerable local relief. (Siegried et al, 2004) Settlement patterns Pre-European settlement of the Great Plains by Indian American was restricted. Hunting, especially for buffalo, at that time was the principal economic activity. Many tribes were living alongside streams in partially permanent homes. With no ways of speedy long-distance land movement the Indians could not live far from the dependable water provisions of the water streams for any prolonged period. This was a considerable problem, since the migration of the buffalo herds meant going leaving the Indian settlers without food (Siegried et al, 2004) The initial American observation of the area as discouraging and not easy place to settle

Human Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Relations - Essay Example Researchers emphasized culture, interpersonal relations, and group coherence as the determinants of worker performance. Before industrial revolution the work was mostly performed by individual workers. Any particular skill was undertaken by an individual and was time consuming. As a result the productivity was low. With the industrial revolution the nature of work and the role of the worker underwent major changes. With the arrival of machines and factories, the production increased. Along with raw materials and capital, labor was also considered a part of the manufacturing process. The employers never considered how productivity was influenced by a worker's mental needs. As a result, motivation, social relations and working conditions were never considered important. Nevertheless it affected productivity in a major way. This movement had many followers like Keith Davis, Chris Argyris, Fred Herzberg, and Rensis Likert who assumed the underlying employee-employer harmony. They attributed restriction of output to the poor communication between workers and managers, and inadequate attention to the human side of worker. Elton Mayo (1880-1949), a Harvard professor trained in psychopathology and other researchers from Harvard University initiated what have become known as the Hawthorne Studies at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company near Chicago. (The Human relations movement (circa 1929-1951))They wanted to study how the changes in physical working conditions affect employee productivity. The study revealed that even when the physical characteristics of the job like salary were declined, and employee complaints ignored, the productivity of the employees was not reduced. On the other hand there was an increase in productivity. This phenomenon was called as Hawthorne effect where the productivity of the employees who participate in the study increases only because of the attention they receive from the researchers. This discovery forms the basis of the human relations movement because it suggests that employees are highly motivated to work better when they feel important and when their work is recognized. Over the years Hawthorne effect has been successfully used by managers to increase productivity. Implementation of "self-study committees, announcing surprise audits, establishing task forces of various kinds, and in general, keeping the workers tied up with busy-work that has the appearance of ongoing research" was undertaken. Mayo stated that the reason workers are motivated by such things is that individuals have a deep psychological need to believe that their organization cares about them, is open, concerned, and willing to listen. (The Human relations movement (circa 1929-1951)) According to mayo there should be a friendly relation between the employers and workers. At the same time the employers should consider the human values first and not the quality of the work. The employees' opinion about their work and working conditions must be taken into consideration. Further any changes in the organization must take into consideration the employees' view. This became a predominant philosophy and many theories sprung up

Illegal P2P File Sharing on Institutions of Higher Learning Research Paper

Illegal P2P File Sharing on Institutions of Higher Learning - Research Paper Example Facilitating parties such as P2P providers have been held secondarily liable for the infringing activities too. Institutions of higher learning such as colleges and universities have been targeted by the efforts of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to eradicate illegal file sharing rampant among students (Tanaka 22). Even though Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) limits the level of liability of Internet service providers (ISPs) who may provide internet connection to infringing user of P2P file sharing, RIAA argues that there is a special relationship between college networks (ISPs) and their students different from that commercial ISPs have with their customers. This is aimed at increasing the liability which colleges carry from infringing activities of students (Varian 48). There is a possibility of high financial and academic cost of restriction of P2P file sharing in campuses. The following paper explorers the solutions to illegal P2P file sharing activiti es in colleges. 2. Response to Illegal P2P File Sharing by the Music Industry Mora than 50% of college students download music illegally. In the year 2010, 1.6 billion illegal music downloads were associated with students of higher learning. Such statistics are the reason why RIAA decided to concentrate on deterring illegal P2P file sharing in college. ... of the music industry, has also introduced an education bill which ensures that colleges follow certain guidelines aimed at eradicating illegal music downloads. If these institutions fail to comply with such procedures, they risk losing all or part of federal fund assistance. According to Gopal, Sudip and Lawrence (81), â€Å"the procedures in the education bill include; (1) make college policies regarding illegal downloading and distribution of other copyrighted material publicly available for all students and employees, and (2) develop a plan to offer alternatives to illegal downloading as well as offer â€Å"technology-based deterrents† to prevent illegal activity.† 3. Relationship between College and Students The relationship between colleges and their students can be said to be special. This is because colleges have a high tendency and ability to control actions of their students. This is possible through provision of resources such as security, food and sometimes housing (Gallaway & Douglas 37). Even though majority of student are adults in their own capacity, they remain under rules and regulations designed by colleges to control the conduct of students. With this fact, college-student relations are special and can therefore warrant a duty on the college to monitor their internet networks and make efforts toward reduction or minimization of infringing activities such as illegal music downloading (Castells 77). From the argument that colleges have a great impact on the structure of a student’s life by providing them with food, housing, security and controlling their activities through rules and regulations, colleges can be said to have a special relationship with their students. This relationship is justified by comparing it to that of a parent and a child.

The Economic, Social And Physical Impacts Of ECOC Essay Example for Free

The Economic, Social And Physical Impacts Of ECOC Essay The award of European Capital of Culture to Liverpool (ECOC) 2008 in 2003 helped to revive the dreams of this south eastern city as it had been experiencing an all time economic low. As the city seeks to revive the former image of its city centre, industrial sites and economy, it has adopted the legacy of culture – led regeneration. The people of this city have been seeking to take Liverpool from economic and cultural oblivion to where it is supposed to be today. Liverpool has grown from economic decline to new improving heights of economic growth which are still on an upward trend due to numerous investment activities. The award of ECOC has seen the city achieve tremendous growth in all sectors for example the industrial, investment and cultural sectors. The economic, social and environmental impacts of ECOC In June 2003, Liverpool surprised many by being nominated to become UK’s European Capital of Culture, ECOC (2008). This decision was influenced by several factors such as the city’s art collections, a wide range of cultural collections as well as the city’s architecture. This has in some way contributed to several regeneration objectives. The award of Liverpool ECOC 2008 has greatly enabled the city to emerge from a state of economic decline to a vibrant economy. In fact Liverpool’s economy is among the leading in the entire UK. The city has been regenerated and sites which had been neglected have undergone renewal to such an extend that they now fit the class of a world-class city. Liverpool needs to strike a balance between the social, cultural and economic dimensions of urban regeneration of an event-driven nature with a view to strengthening the role played by urban cultural policy. This city will succeed to re-image and regenerate itself through special events and cultural activity. Fortunately, the opportunity to do these two most important things has been granted by the award in 2003 of ECOC. It is now upon the city to make the most of this chance and lift itself from the economic problems it has been facing for sometime now. Liverpool needs to strike a balance between the social, cultural and economic dimensions of urban regeneration of an event-driven nature with a view to strengthening the role played by urban cultural policy. This city will succeed to re-image and regenerate itself through special events and cultural activity. Fortunately, the opportunity to do these two most important things has been granted by the award in 2003 of ECOC. It is now upon the city to make the most of this chance and lift itself from the economic problems it has been facing for sometime now. The future of the cities that will become ECOC cities looks bright as the standards have been set (Booth, 1996, p. 79). They can draw from the examples of Liverpool, Glasgow and Barcelona in order to plan on how to approach the three major issues of economic growth, cultural and social development all balanced (Balibrea, 2001, p. 187-210). The growing interest to use of culture as a tool to facilitate urban regeneration is a result of efforts whose objective is to turn industrial cities into economies that are service-oriented. This legacy has been highly successful in Liverpool. It has impacted positively drawing the attention to potential investors to this city which has resulted in an economic turnaround. For over 30 years, this has been the major preoccupation of many European cities who are members of European Capital of Culture (ECOC). In 1990, Glasgow became the first city to engage actively in ECOC assessment and this has shaped the objectives of ECOC members since then. For Glasgow, this assessment bore fruits as the economic impact was instant. Liverpool on its part emphasizes strong community involvement (Gomez, 1998, p. 85). The danger with this approach is that the authorities in charge of this initiative seem to be focusing too much on social cohesion to the detriment of the projected financial and economic impacts. Future ECOC cities need to draw a balance between socio-cultural and economic objectives so as to arrive at achievable objectives for an all round development of their cities (Boyle, 1997, p. 96). ECOC 08 will be assessed in terms of economic, social and physical impacts. On the field of economics, the four areas that need to be assessed carefully are; job creation, unemployment, tourism and the business or corporate sector. The reorganization of the city’s physical features for example parks and playgrounds and the control of industrial emissions impact a lot on the environment The award of Liverpool ECOC 2008 has had both positive and negative results, but the gains outweigh the losses by a big margin. The establishment of Urban Regeneration Company paved the way for urban renaissance (Du Noyer, 2002, pp. 63-71. This was the first of its kind in the country. Another driving force was the success of the culture bid which has facilitated the starting up of many economic activities which have been of a lot of benefit to the city of Liverpool (Bianchini, 1990. pp. 41-68). This came along with various economic benefits for example in the tourism sector as the number of visitors to Liverpool in one year more than doubled. It was expected that 12,000 more jobs would be created in the tourism sector. The branding of Liverpool as ‘the world in one city’ has resulted in many economic gains, not only in the tourism sector, but in several other areas. This slogan simply implies cosmopolitanism, multiculturalism and social diversity. It has generated an additional spending of 2 billion pounds into the city’s economy which is a major boost to the overall economy which had been lagging far behind those of other cities and even that of England as a country (Duffy Hutchinson, 1997, p. 41). It is justifiable to say that Liverpool’s bid has been successful in reversing economic decline, a factor that has been occasioned by a change in the way the city’s government formulates its policies. Besides, the award has triggered a wave of numerous investments in the city. This has been a major boost to the economy of Liverpool and it is no wonder it is the most flourishing economy in the country, having outgrown that of the country itself. It is a fact that regeneration programmes that lack the component of culture can not work, and as a result of this Liverpool has incorporated into its programmes this dimension of evaluation. This has offered a chance for involvement by the community in the urban policy of the city and it is through this genuine involvement that a successful regeneration has been achieved. Urban entrepreneurialism has got a chance in the city and many investors have established various businesses in the various sectors that have come up in the wake of the award. Private sector investment has been on a sharp increase in this city especially in the retail business, call-centres, offices and hotels. The overall number of tourists visiting the city of Liverpool has increased at a very high rate and the spending of has almost doubled from 335 million pounds to 604 million pounds. The number of International passengers arriving at Liverpool airport has also increased to 190 percent. The impact of this trend is an improved economy, more job creation and an increase in social activities due to interaction with people of different cultures from all over the world and the result is an enrichment of the cities culture (Kong, L. 2000 pp 385-390). The impacts of ECOC 08 are that there has been a registered growth of employment of up to 10. 4%, and this growth is higher than that of all other major cities of the UK, for example Manchester, London and Birmingham. The economy of Liverpool has been enjoying a steady growth over the years and it is now catching up with the rest of the other cities in the UK. This has been aided by the political changes that have taken place since 2003 when it was awarded ECOC 08. The average economic growth is actually above that of the UK itself. Besides bringing considerable economic gains, Liverpool ECOC 08 has enabled investment; specifically in those projects that promote social cohesion as well as those that promote cultural activity on a grassroots level. Projects whose job is to redevelop central parts of Liverpool are increasingly becoming prominent. Paradise Street is one such part which is being developed at a cost of 800 million pounds. The benefits of this project include the creation of four thousand permanent jobs mainly in the retailing sector. Merseyside has not been left behind as private investment has been on a rapid increase, and there is a 30% increase in the investors who have shown interest in putting up investments there as announced by Mersey Partnership, a group that has been on the fore front pushing for this cause. This in turn translates to an increment in job creation and subsequently more employment opportunities. Potential investors have been flocking Liverpool to get a chance to do business in the wake of the Liverpool ECOC 08 award. The housing sector is among the greatest beneficiaries. The investors in this sector have been making supernormal profits given the fact that property prices have risen by 10 percent. This indeed is a considerable increase and the implication is that profits have also gone up by the same margin if not more. This has been brought about by speculation which has kept these prices going up (Eisinger, 2000. p. 36). This sector is experiencing speculative purchases and this is the main factor which has been driving prices up. The success story of Liverpool is attributed to the report called ‘socio-economic assessment impact’ plan which was drafted way before the city won the bid. This impact assessment would be put in place in the event of Liverpool winning the bid, which it did, and therefore it started from a point of advantage having anticipated and prepared enough for the sudden change of status and the way business would be conducted afterwards. This report had as principal focus assessment of the economic impact the award would bring to Liverpool, Merseyside including the North West region. It focuses on what the culture is able to make in terms of the urban competitiveness, critical mass in culture sport which are the basic requirements for the city as well as the national economy to be competitive. The report undertook a detailed analysis on the trends of employment industries and creative culture based in the city (Duffy Hutchinson, 1997, p. 40. The increase in investors in Liverpool has had the positive impact of the creation of 32,000 new jobs which had been projected in the report. These jobs are mainly in the cultural as well as the creative industries. This has been successful as a result of trend growth. Liverpool is a shining example of economic success. This is so because the city had been going through economic recession prior to the late 1990s when its council’s senior management had to be radically reorganized and attention was shifted to addressing the issue of economic decline which had been the case for over 30 years. The driving force to this sudden change of things was as the result of a study called the ‘Liverpool – Manchester Vision Study’ which sought to find a solution to the woes that had been facing these cities for a long time (Cochrane, Peck Tickell, 1996, pp. 3-79). The ultimate solution to this would be to draft a legacy which includes all the stakeholders, more specifically in the tourism sector where everybody had to be brought on board. Liverpool’s renaissance draws heavily from a policy agenda which is pro-growth in orientation but the problem with this renaissance is that the distribution of resources is unequal. This explai ns the rather odd fact that the poorest people in the UK are to be found in Merseyside (Evans, 2003, p. 83). These are families who earn less than 10,000 pounds per year. The council authorities in Liverpool should not lose focus neither let go of the opportunity presented by the award so as to draw up legacies that will help spur socio – economic growth. This should be done with the aim of raising the standards of living for these people, especially those of Merseyside. On the social impacts, the local people have shown an increase of interest in cultural activities and as a result almost all creative artists are local. These local artists account for 90 percent of the total number of artists that the city has, with only 10 percent coming from outside Liverpool (Landry, 2000, p. 72). This city has an encouraging record when it comes to cultural innovation but it has a very long way to go because it still has the worst cases of inequalities in the entire UK. This seems to be getting some attention because in re-branding the city, an attempt has been made to address such inequalities as well as poverty and as a result multiculturalism as well as ethnic diversity has been adopted (Cheshire, 1990. p. 39). A god example of this inequality is the Somali community in the range of 2500-300 living in Liverpool and despite their continued stay they still can not speak, write or read English (Atkinson, 2003, pp 67-95). This clearly is an indication that they have not been included in the council’s programmes and certainly something has to be done to bring them on board for purposes of cultural diversity. For a solution, the local council and the government should make it a priority to bring improvements that are sustainable and long term. This is a picture of the cultural aspects that shape the cultural and social landscape of the diverse people of the city of Liverpool. Liverpool is undergoing re-branding and therefore it needs to be on the watch out for contradictions that are likely to emerge. These developments have not had much of a negative impact on the environment as pollution has been contained. The advantage is that the city has been cleaner than before, an effort that has been put so as to attract more investors and to promote tourism. Conclusion Future ECOC cities need to draw from the example of Liverpool and draw comparisons with the big success of Glasgow in order to draw realistic objectives for the development of their cities economically, culturally, socially and industrially. This is the only way through which these cities can be sure of a future legacy. This formula has worked before and its implementation should not be very difficult if the objectives that they set are realistic. In drawing their objectives, future ECOC cities should thoroughly assess their potentials, weigh their options and get their priorities right to avoid some of the shortcomings that Liverpool has been experiencing as a result of emphasizing too much on some areas and giving others little attention. The environment should be a major consideration in policy-making. The topic of environment has been the ‘Achilles heel’ of many industrialists and this signifies the importance it should be accorded. There should be regulations on how industrial waste should be disposed of in order to avoid polluting the environment, for the safety of all. The government must ensure that the city sustains this kind of industrial growth and increase its efforts towards the coexistence of the different communities for faster growth and development. The cities that aspire to be ECOC cities should do a lot especially in the areas of cultural diversity and regeneration so as to achieve this goal.

Marketing plan for a medical distribution company in Iraq

Marketing plan for a medical distribution company in Iraq This company believes that the success of its business is highly dependent on the strategies that the management will adopt in running the business. Accordingly, there was a need to establish a business model that would be used in operating the medical distribution office (scientific bureau). The company will implement the following two business models: Business model 1: Where the distribution office purchases products from the manufacturers, and then prices them before delivering them to customers. Business model 2: Where the distribution office acts as an agent on the manufacturers behalf, such that the manufacturer pays the distributor a commission on sales according to a mutual agreement. The scientific bureau will make use of both business models in order to maximize gains from the business. The first model will help the company to gain profits by selling quality products at affordable prices. This model is also flexible because it allows the business to set prices that are compatible to the situation at hand. An example is where the business may want to attract customers through lowering prices. The second model will be useful to the company because it will reduce financial pressure as well as bringing in more capital. The business will only be required to supply products to customers on behalf of manufacturers to get commission. This essentially means that no initial capital outlays will be required since the manufacturer will be liable for all expenses. This model appeals to multi-national companies who want to get a foothold in the developing economy of Iraq, since they cant come in themselves because of the volatile security situation. CORE STRATEGY Mission statement: To continuously facilitate clients by effective provision of medical supplies and services, while considering the social, political and religious beliefs of the surrounding environment. Market scope The market segmentation for the company will be based on faith communities. Baghdad, like many other provinces in Iraq, is divided into mainly Sunni and Shiia communities.  [1]  These are the two denominations of the Muslim faith. The companys employees will be highly trained and have knowledge of how to interact appropriately with each of these communities since their traditions, political beliefs and some religious beliefs are different. The distribution office will focus on these communities in Baghdad and beyond and will address the medication needs of hospitals, health centres, physicians, and pharmacies. The individuals category will mostly be served by the hospitals and pharmacies and will further be categorized into men, women and children. Notably, each of these customer focus groups has different needs, despite requiring common medications in certain circumstances. During the start up phase the company wont be targeting the Kurdish community that lives in the north of Iraq. This is because the company is unfamiliar with their language, traditions and the way they conduct business. However, during the growth stage the company may consider working as an indirect distributor to this community by building links with Kurdish traders. They in turn will target the Kurdish community. Because the security situation in Iraq continues to be volatile  [2]  , people continue to be injured on a daily basis. The company will provide the hospitals and pharmacies with the appropriate equipment, supplies and medication to deal with these injuries. In addition to that, the company will provide medical equipment needed to revive the health industry. This industry has been damaged by 30 years that saw the Iraq/Iran war and the 1st and 2nd Gulf Wars. As the business continues to grow, it is highly probable that the products portfolio is likely to expand such that more goods will be incorporated. Examples will include dental equipments, laboratory equipments such as microscopes, X-ray machines and other radiography machines. Basis for differentiation The distribution office will ensure that the goods obtained are of high quality and that counterfeit drugs like the ones possessed by other sellers are avoided. The pricing would be such that the distribution office makes enough profits but offers a price that is lower than that of competitors. This will most definitely attract customers to the office as they seek lower prices. This is an important strategy even for a start-up company because the economy in Iraq is developing slowly. The distribution office will be the first to introduce a loyalty program, which will reward regular customers with discounts. This loyalty program will be designed in such a way that customers gain points whenever they shop at the medical distribution office, which can then be redeemed in the form of products or reduction in prices. A certain number of points will allow customers to gain goods worth a specific amount of money. This, in turn will promote customer loyalty and consequently enhance the distribution offices differentiation. STRATEGIC RESOURCES Core competencies: The companys internal resources will give it a competitive advantage; mainly its knowledge capital and the dedication of the employees. These employees will have a high standard of knowledge about the companys products and after sales care. They will undergo training courses in all these elements and be required to up-skill on a regular basis in order to be promoted within the company. They will also be highly trained in communication and will have a great cultural knowledge, which will enable them to develop unique relationships with customers from different backgrounds. This approach is unique and will be essential for the success of this business. Furthermore, the companys strategy will embrace a combination of a wholesaler/agent model. This will ensure that the companys financial resources are not depleted; while the company continues to make profit. Also, the office will enhance customer needs satisfaction due to the availability of products and fair prices. The two business models will allow flexibility in such a way that the company can easily adjust to new opportunities. These could include the sale of medical equipment such as wheel chairs, radiography equipments and surgery kits among others. Strategic assets Apart from the medical supplies, the distribution office will have three transport vehicles that will be used to ferry products from the store to the customers location. These transport vehicles, will be driven by skilled drivers, who know the ins and outs of the city of Baghdad. This is essential due to the traffic disruptions caused by highly security measures and checkpoints.  [3]  This is to ensure that goods are delivered on time thus improving customer satisfaction. The distribution office will also have special forklifts that will be used in transferring items from the store to the loading zone during a sale and from the loading zone to the store during delivery. These forklifts will not only save time but also reduce the number of staff required to work at the store. These will set the business apart from competitors because we believe this strategic asset will give the businesses an added advantage over competitors. PARTNERSHIP NETWORK Supply chain management The distribution office will use an integrated supply chain that aims at connecting the manufacturers, retailers and customers. An integrated supply chain will help to join the functions of the firms involved so that they can easily connect to one another and obtain important information. The company believes that a supply chain can only perform effectively if the right technological infrastructure is utilised. This approach is new to the Iraqi market, which has not traditionally relied on technology. The medical distribution office will make use of supplier portals  [4]  . This technology has an advantage in that it combines a variety of activities including order management, demand visibility, bar code generation, advance ship notice functions and the generation of shipment requirements. This system will assist the medical distribution office in organising its supply chain in such a way that information flows effectively between the office, the retailers and the manufacturers. As a result, supply will be continuous and factors within the supply chain including demand and order replenishment will be addressed with ease. Other key relationships The business needs to establish proper relationships with other stakeholders other than the manufacturers and customers in order to enhance co-existence. Good business in Iraq is determined by how well connected the business owners are. The strength of relationships that they have with others in the business world, government representatives and within the community cannot be underestimated. The business will join the scientific bureau consortium so as to act together in dealing with issues such as government regulation. In essence, it is advisable for a business to be part of a group with similar interest. CUSTOMER INTERFACE a- Target market: As stated above, the medical distribution office will focus on Sunni and Shiia faith communities. This market segmentation plays an important role in ensuring that the needs of each segment are met. The company will focus on pharmacies, hospitals, and governmental bodies in these communities. It will then further divide the communities in terms of men, women and children. This allows for easy collection of information regarding the needs of a particular group so that they can be served more effectively. In essence, segmentation allows specialised treatment of clients. According to recent information on the World Health Organisation website  [5]  , the following are the most common illnesses that the company will be providing medication and services for: Water-borne diseases, such as typhoid fever and hepatitis A, are on the rise as a result of the damage to water and sewage systems caused by the war. Heart diseases are a leading cause of death both cardiovascular and rheumatic heart diseases are on the rise. The second one especially, because of the uncertainty of the security situation and the country experiencing three wars in the last 30 years. Upper respiratory tract and diarroheal infections are high among children. Incidences of childhood cancer are ten times that of developed countries. This is highly contributed to the emissions from bombs during the wars. There are inadequate supplies of chemotherapeutic drugs, which is an area the company can build on. Maternal mortality rates are very high as over 40% of births occur outside of health institutions. Upon entry into the Iraqi market, competitors will react negatively and may even attempt to push the distribution office out of business. The distribution office will need to be well prepared; which will involve a proper analysis between targets and the firms resource configuration. The company will be using the combination of its core competencies (as detailed above) and its supply chain technology to achieve its targets. This approach will minimise the threats of competitors and other new entries to the market. Once the company has been established, new opportunities such as increased business within the same industry or in a different setting may be undertaken thus increasing the business profitability. b- Fulfilment and support The business will make use of direct channels to distribute the products. From the manufacturer, the distribution office will sell or deliver them straight to the individuals or organisations buying the products. This direct approach will minimise the cost and enable the office to build good relations with both the manufactures and the clients. The client base will be served by a dedicated customer support staff that will help in recording order specifications so as to ensure the right products are bought. The skilled drivers will ensure that they are delivered in time. With time, the distribution office could have a few subsidiaries within the region to supplement the main office. c Pricing structure: The pricing strategy will depend on the prices offered by the manufacturer. The strategy for the medical distribution office will be to provide a price that is slightly below that of competitors. While this may impact on profitability, it will attract more customers to the office. BUSINESS RESEARCH Opportunities in setting up a medical distribution office in Iraq It emerged that the warfare that has existed in the country for the last 30 years has put the country in disarray and not many businesses have been able to operate at an optimal magnitude. Currently, Iraqs 29,671,605  [6]  population is served by only 150 medical distribution centres. This can be attributed to the serious damages to infrastructure that occurred during the wars  [7]  . Most of the offices that exist are either small or medium sized, with a capital value of between $1million to $3million US  [8]  . This indicates that the populations demands are not being met, that the competition is not stiff, and a well-organised medical distribution office is bound to excel in the Iraq market. Local population preferences The buying habits of Iraqi people are to buy medicine from local pharmacies, as they often skip the doctors diagnosis. However, if they do get a local doctors prescription, they prefer to buy their medicine from their local pharmacies because there is a lack of medical supplies in the hospitals  [9]  . For example, a Sunni person will visit their local Sunni doctor and buy their medication from a Sunni pharmacy. These findings support the approach that this medical distribution office is taking by targeting communities. At the start the Sunni and Shiia community and, at a later stage, the Kurdish community. While some Iraqi people preferred local products because their sources could be trusted, others were of the view that imported medicine is likely to be more effective especially if it comes from the developed countries where manufacturers use more advanced production methods. Statistically, 8 out of 10 of the participants  [10]  preferred to use imported medication while the others indicated they would rather use local medications. The group in support of the imported medication maintained that international companies tend to manufacture good quality products as opposed to local companies. They tended to trust imported medications more because they used them successfully before. Furthermore, they believed that as the industrial infrastructure is damaged in Iraq it is hard for these local factories to produce good quality products. The number of products they can produce also limits these local factories. As a result, they were afraid of trying out the local medications. Participants who preferred local medications did so because they had been using them for years and didnt want to switch. These findings suggest that the business should continually supply imported medications, as these are likely to attract higher demand than local medicines. (See figu re 1) 1-MACRO ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS Political factors Political stability in Iraq is quite uncertain and businesses investing need to take proactive measures aimed at protecting their businesses from harm in case of an incident. It is notable that while things have cooled down and reconstruction efforts are underway, it may be hard to predict political unrest that is likely to occur. The political system in Iraq is composed of a number of parties of differing, specific faiths. They are either Sunni, Shiia or Kurdish parties. It is essential for the business to have political connections, as the level of corruption in Iraq  [11]  is so high that it would be very hard for a business to succeed without both political and financial support. Economic factors The International Monetary Fund predicted that Iraqs economy would grow by 7.9% in 2011  [12]  . This growth is linked to the improving security situation in the country. The level of employment will rise, therefore increasing the populations disposable income. Baghdad remains the most economically important city in Iraq, with the highest population. It is also regarded as the richest city in the country.  [13]  It is the capital city and is therefore bound to be the centre of all activity. Given its estimated population of 8 million people, the medical distribution office is likely to perform well in Baghdad. With continuous restructuring of the city to clear the effects of the war, normal business is expected to resume such that the business will perform well. Social-cultural factors Iraq is rich in terms of social and cultural aspects. Being a Muslim dominated country, with different denominations within that faith, it is notable that there are visible differences with the rest of the world in terms of social behaviour and business expectations. It is therefore important for this business to train its employees how to interact and communicate with these different communities. There are, however, some similarities that should be respected and complied with. Crossing ones hands or legs during a conversation, for example, is considered rude and should therefore be avoided. A handshake at the beginning and departure is highly regarded. Friendships and connections are highly emphasised in Iraq and it is common to find people doing business only with the people they know. Bribes are also common such that getting various tenders and privileges may require a business to part with a significant amount of money as a bribe unless the owners are well connected politically.à ‚  [14]   Technological factors Traditionally, most businesses in Iraq have not relied heavily on technology, beyond the basic use of emails, fax etc. One of the main obstacles for the use of technology has been the shortage of electricity. It is, however, an area that is developing rapidly in recent years. It is expected that it will be essential for the success of the business. This supports the companys plan to introduce supplier portals as part of its supply chain. Environmental factors Baghdad is centrally located and is therefore a viable location for business. Being at the centre of most economic activity in the country, Iraqs capital Baghdad is expected to have good returns for businesses. Since the security situation is still volatile, and the government is focusing on stabilising it and on the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure, it is putting all its efforts into these areas. The implementation of environmental legislation is not a priority for the next few years. Legal and regulatory The legal system in Iraq is improving slowly. It is however notable that bias still exists within the system for people with money or political connections. Bribery is highly apparent and one is likely to be served faster if they give a bribe than when they do not. For the medical distribution office the regulation is that all the companys products must pass the quality control insurance department test in the Ministry of Health. Also, the company must register with KIMADIA  [15]  , which is a department in the Ministry of Health. This is the only authorised governmental body to which the company can tender in order to supply the governments needs for pharmaceutical products and equipment. If the company fails to comply with these policies, it will not be able to practice in the Iraqi market. Industry Analysis Prior to the costly Iraq/Iran war, the health industry in Iraq was characterised as being one of the best in the region. Following the first Gulf War in 1991, the UN imposed sanctions to encourage Iraq to disarm its weapons of mass destruction. The effect of this had disastrous effect on the economy, especially on the health sector. UNICEF estimated that 500,000 died as a result of a lack of medical supplies, clean water and malnutrition during this time. This sanction was lifted after the invasion of Iraq in 2003  [16]  . The industry remains unstable as most businesses are still recovering from the effects of the wars. As the economy in Iraq is emerging gradually the performance of the health industry is quite encouraging. It is estimated that the health infrastructure will need around $8 billion US to be revived. As Iraq is a country with 90% of its revenue coming from the sale of oil, therefore the development of the health sector largely depends on how many barrels of oil are exported. The Iraqi budget for 2011 will be approximately $86billion  [17]  , with around 7% (or approx. $6 billion) of it to be allocated to the health sector. This excludes the private sector health facilities (pharmacies, hospitals etc). This would indicate that there is room for more than the 150 medical small to medium size distribution offices that currently serves the population. Most of the private health care facilities, including the medical distribution offices, are locally owned. As a result, the population is more likely to identify with the owners, given similarity in culture. There are very few foreign owned businesses in Iraq because of the unstable security situation and the governments inability to protect foreign investors. (See figure 1) (Figure 1) Ranking of Iraq in Protecting Investors Compared to good practice and selected economies  [18]   The health sector in Iraq is controlled by government regulation. It dictates the types of medication and medical equipment that can be brought into the country. However, the government has no legislation as regards the price of products. This falls under the individual medical distribution offices remit. Competitor Research: There are a number of scientific bureau (medical distribution offices) competitors in Baghdad. Most of these businesses are small to medium sized businesses, all of which aim at providing medication and medical equipment. The major and most respected competitors are Al Assad Scientific Bureau, Al Bashaer Scientific Bureau, and Kasim Irzzouki Scientific Bureau. Al Assad is a leading distributor and has been a main vendor for the Ministry of Health. It is well known and enjoys a high market share both in Baghdad. However, the company does not have any branches or market share in the Shiia southern region of Iraq, especially Basra. In addition to that the company has not won any tenders with the Ministry of Health for the last two years. Kasim Irzzouki is the main distributor in Iraq for Organon.  [19]  This company mainly produces anti-impotence drugs for both men and women. It has the major market share in this area and distributes all over Iraq. Al Bashaer has a wide range of Egy ptian and Indian medical products. They are well known for supplying hospitals with disposable items such as cannulae and Foley catheters. Neither Al Assad or Al Bashaer has done well outside of Baghdad. It is worth noting that none of the major competitors supply chemotherapeutic drugs, even though there is a need in the Iraqi market due to the high incidences of childhood cancer. Market analysis, planning and research The population of Baghdad is approximately 8 million. This is a considerable market size and the business could benefit immensely if it could manage to get a large market share. During the start-up phase the companys operations will be conducted in Baghdad. There are approximately 10,000 physicians in Baghdad  [20]  . Furthermore, there are around 1,500 pharmacies in the city  [21]  . There are three main governmental hospitals and three main private sector hospitals. This indicates a large potential client base for that the medical distribution office. It is notable that the medication market has widened significantly. It is projected that in the next few years, as the security situation and the economy in Iraq improves there will be a return of pharmacists and doctors who fled, for their own safety, during the last 20 years. There will also be an increase in the number of hospitals, and it is projected that the population will increase. Baghdad is divided into two main regions, Al Kahr and Al Risafa. Each of these regions has both Sunni and Shiia communities living in separate areas. There are only a few areas where you will find a mix of these communities living together. There are other minority groups too, but the company will not focus on them at first. The market strategy for the company is to target the hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and medical centres in each of these areas. The company will rank these potential clients in terms of the number of people they treat on a daily basis. During the start-up phase the priority will be to target those with the largest client base and build a relationship with them. The company will also target those with a smaller client base, but with less frequency. The Ministry of Health will be one of the major potential clients. In the expansion phase, the company will target the other provinces in southern and northern Baghdad. The southern provinces of Baghdad are mainly Shiia communities, while the provinces north of the city, as far up a Kurdustan, are Sunni communities. As previously mentioned, the knowledge capital of the companys employees will play an important role in its development. The staff will have a wealth of cultural knowledge, which is essential for the business. They will be highly skilled, which will enable them to build and maintain good relationships with customers from different communities. Repeat business should occur once good relations have been established between the institution or individual and the medical distribution office. The company will also adopt Internet advertising. The web site will include the companys details such as the address and the products they deal in, with the objective of informing customers about their work. Most of the Internet posts will contain the businesses achievements and well-known clients in order to promote a professional look. In addition to raising more capital, the companys growth strategy is to implement the same ideology in provinces other than Baghdad. It may also branch into sales in the Kurdish community as an indirect supplier, and introduce new products to the Iraqi market. ORGANISATION MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS Management team and model The team The management team will consist of the board of directors, the Chief Executive Officer, the human resource manager and the head of accounts. This team will be responsible for steering the business through addressing various aspects. The CEO will oversee the operations of the company and manage resources in such a way that the business objectives are met. The CEO will govern every employee in the company through the Human Resource Manager. The business will employ two HR officials, one of who will be the HR manager. He or she will oversee the business human resource needs and ensure that the business is well equipped with people skills to enhance smooth operations. The HR will govern the hiring process, training, payment issues and employee welfare within the business. One of the employees in the accounting department will act as the head of accounts. He or she will ensure that financial resources within the business are well managed and accounted for so as to ensure that the needs o f the business are met effectively. The head of accounts will also be responsible for effectual distribution of resources within the firm. Management model The management will apply the management by objectives model (MBO). Under this method, the company defines objectives, which should be met by all employees and then compares their performance against these objectives. This model is effective in maximizing performance and avoids indulgence in activities that deviate employees from their objectives. Accordingly, the business is likely to succeed as opposed to where employees efficiency is unaccounted for. Management philosophy Concern for employees The business intends to maintain an integrated system, whereby the management will oversee efficiency in the firm while allowing employees to actively participate in the management process. The employees remain the major assets of the firm and are definitely responsible for the success of the business. The business will go to every length to ensure that it finds; hires and trains good employees and treat them like family. The management will ensure that they communicate effectively with employees and continually acknowledge their importance through proper reward systems and involving them in management decision making. Hands-on management Managers will be expected to know the business comprehensively and guide employees through the accomplishment of the business main objectives. They will continually interact with customers and employees in order to effectively understand and meet their needs. Managers will set the pace for the employees and as many business people would attest, employees are likely to wo

Chicken Anemia Virus Strain CAT-CAV

Chicken Anemia Virus Strain CAT-CAV Figure 1. The alignment of chicken anemia virus strain CAT-CAV (Gyrovirus) and its relatives. Â   Â   Chicken Anemia Virus strain CAT-CAV is the chosen virus and its 19 relatives are shown. Therefore, 20 nucleotide sequences are involved. Figure 2. A picture of the phylogenetic tree with bootstrapping values of chicken anemia virus strain CAT-CAV (Gyrovirus) and its relatives. The molecular phylogenetic tree is evaluated by operating the maximum likelihood method established on the Hasegawa-Kishino-Yano model. In the tree, the horizontal lines represented the measurement of genetic change and the branches showed the evolutionary ancestry altering over time. The longer the branch means the greater genetic change. The scale of 0.002 is showed on the bottom which examined that the amount of genetic change is 0.002. The tree is figured to scale with branch length determined by the number of substitutions for each sites. The positions with gaps and absence of data are removed. There were a total of 2271 positions in the final datasheet. From the tree, it showed that the nearest relative of the Chicken Anemia Virus strain CAT-CAV is the Chicken Anemia Virus strain GD-N-12. Moreover, the Chicken Anemia Virus strain CAT-CAV and the Chicken Anemia Virus strain GD-N-12 have the common ancestor with Chicken Anemia Virus strain GD-C-12. Figure 3. The pairwise distance matrix of chicken anemia virus strain CAT-CAV (Gyrovirus) and its relatives. P distance is used to calculate the p-distance which compare two aligned sequences at a time and build a matrix of all possible sequence pairs. During each comparison the number of changes such as the base substitutions and the deletion or insertion events are counted and showed as a proportion of the overall sequence length. The final estimates of the difference between all possible pairs of sequences are carried out. From the table of pairwise distance matrix, the nearest relative of the Chicken anemia virus strain CAT-CAV is Chicken anemia virus strain GD-C-12 and the p-distance between them is 0.008. b) Length of alignment Number of variable sites Number of singleton sites 2325 179 105 Percentage: 179/2325x 100% =7.7% Percentage: 105/2325 x100% = 4.5% Table 1. The statistics for the length of the alignment, the number of variable and the singleton sites in it. There are 2325 nucleotides in the alignment. The variable sites involve a minimum two classes of nucleotides or amino acids and a singleton site contains minimum two types of nucleotides or amino acids with maximum one taking place several times. MEGA recognize a singleton site if minimum three sequences with explicit nucleotides or amino acids. The percentage of the number of variables and the singleton sites were calculated as 7.7% and 4.5% respectively. c) The name of the best substitution model is Hasegawa-Kishino-Yano model (HKY+G). To find the best DNA model, the models with the lowest Bayesian Information Criterion scores define the best substitution motif. The Hasegawa-Kishino-Yano model showed the BIC score of 10009.9 which is the smallest one. Moreover, non-uniformity of evolutionary rates between sites are created by adopting a distinct Gamma distribution (+G) along with 5 rate type. The G value is 0.05 in this model. The estimated value of transition or transversion bias (R) is 1.42 which is according to nucleotide frequencies and base substitutions rate for each nucleotide pairs. d) The chosen Chicken Anemia Virus was characterized under the genus Gyrovirus in the family of Circoviridae. Gyrovirus is classified by small non-enveloped DNA viruses with negative sense single-stranded circular DNA of about 2298 to 2319 nucleotides in length with three partly overlapping open reading frames which coding for the VP1, VP2, and VP3 proteins (Natesan, S, 2006). CAV is a cost-effective essential pathogen in the chicken industry triggering severe anaemia and immunosuppression in young chicken that have inadequate defensive motherly antibodies. The affected chicken contaminated with infectious bursal disease virus would be exposed to an extensive range of viral and bacterial pathogens because of the immunosuppression. Hence, this infection is determined to be economically important as the clinical disease correlated with vertical transmission and because of its capability for causing immune dysfunction on combination with other pathogens (P. Biagini, 2011). In this study, a CAV variant was identified by adopting PCR with CAV-based primers in faecal samples of stray cats. The genome of CAV variant was sequenced and the outcomes showed that it could be a recombinant viral strain from parental CAV strains. Recombination is a crucial evolutionary system that lead to genetic diversification. CAV variant is examined that it is originated from the CAV-infected chickens. The pathogenesis of this new virus still have to be explained. This study emphasizes the significance of CAV examination and it demonstrates the evidence inducing the feasibility of CAV homologous recombination in cat. Chicken Anemia Virus involve many clinical significance, Firstly, CAV proteins can be showed in plants as an substitute for recombinant protein construction in animal cells. Furthermore, the impact of VP3 expression was examined to figure out possible relationship in plants programmed cell death. Present expression levels of VP1 is still below standard to be achieved as an oral vaccine, however it can maximizing expression level in plant cells to access recombinant VP1 protein eligible to generate neutralizing antibodies, most probable by expression with VP2, serve as a low cost approach into new, economical vaccines against CAV (Goldbach, R, 2007). VP2 is established to be a powerful target for debilitation through directed-site mutagenesis and is examine debilitation of viral consequences through adjustment of VP2. This is completely different to the studies which investigating virus establishment mutated in VP3 and also were not replication capable. It is apparent that VP2 has several functions and that directed mutagenesis which sustain infectivity would retain functions essential to replication while adapting functions correlated with virulence (Browning, G.F, 2007). e) Bootstrapping value represents how well this node is supported in the model which is used to make a phylogenetic tree. Bootstrapping is a procedure where the random subset of data is taken and rerun the analysis of the phylogenetic tree. The value showed the percentage of bootstrap replicates in which the node showed up. From the tree, the optimum tree showed the sum of branch = 0.10012698. The replicate trees percentage in which the joining of taxon in the bootstrap test with 500 replicates are indicated beside the branches. From the tree, the bootstrapping value is less than 50, the branches matching to division reproduced in less than 50% replicates are collapsed. It showed the node is not well supported and it could not show up in all bootstrap replicates. References: Browning, G.F. et al, 2007, Attenuation of chicken anemia virus by site-directed mutagenesis of VP2, Journal of General Virology, v. 88, p. 2168-2175. Goldbach, R. et al, 2007. Assessing the expression of chicken anemia virus proteins in plants, Virus Research, v: 129, p. 80-86. Natesan, S. et al, 2006. Biological and molecular characterization of chicken anaemia virus isolates of Indian origin. Virus Res. 118, 78-86 P. Biagini, M. et al, 2011. Eds., Virus Taxonomy: Ninth Report of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, Elsevier Academic press, New York, NY, USA.

Suicide as the Best Option in Kate Chopins AwakeningSuicide as the Bes

Suicide as the Best Option in Kate Chopin's Awakening The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, was considered controversial at the time it was first published in 1892 because of its intense sexual context. In fact, the critics of that era wrote in newspapers and magazines about the novel "it’s not a healthy book," "sex fiction," "we are well satisfied when Ms. Pontellier deliberately swims to her death," "an essential vulgar story," and "unhealthy introspective and morbid" (Wyatt). Edna, the main character, engages in sexual relationships outside of marriage. These encounters reveal true sexual passion to Edna, which she did not receive at home with her husband. As a result of these experiences Edna’s ability to continue living in a loveless marriage dwindles, and she eventually commits suicide. Although Edna had other options such as divorce, remaining in a loveless marriage, or simply deserting her family, suicide is most viable. One alternative, a separation, could have been hard to accomplish for Edna because of the male-dominated society that she lived in. However, it was a possibility. In fact, an author by the name of Charlotte Perkins Gilman received a divorce from her husband, Walter Stetson, prior to the creation of The Awakening. Through serious bouts with depression Gilman’s marriage to Stetson became a struggle, and her divorce was granted in 1894. Stetson received custody of their daughter Katherine. Similarly, Edna would have probably lost custody of her children, but she said it herself that she is not a mother woman ("About Charlotte Gilman"). Gilman eventually moved on and remarried in June 1900. Edna’s aspirations of marrying Robert could have possibly come true. With this possibility in mind, suici... ...escaping. What made matters worse was that Edna found a real lover that would not accept being known as the man who stole Mr. Pontellier’s wife. Edna was obviously placed in situation where she was left with all but one choice. Works Cited "About Mary Cassatt." 1999. http://www.boston.com/mfa/cassat/aboutmc.htm (4 April 2000). "About the Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman." 1998. http://www.Trenton.edu/~verasteg/aboutcp.htm. (20 March 2000). Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. 1892. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. "Louisiana Civil Law: Differences Fading Over Time." 1999. http://www.theadvocate.com/help/welcome/laws.asp (18 March 2000). "The Woman’s Rights Movement." 1999. http://www.lyno.com.edu/~tlkinnon/Women’s%Rights.htm (3, March 2000). Wyatt, Neal. "Times of Kate Chopin." 1995. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/kate.htm (21 March 2000).

Graduation Speech: Who Are We? :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

We are the Class of 2012. But who are we really? In truth we are nothing but ourselves. We are the sons and daughters of baby-boomers, farmers, veterans, ex-hippies and civil righters. We have slid out of Generation X into our own. Appropriately coined Generation Y, we are the ones who ask for faster, longer, safer, fairer and better. Some of our questions include: Why are people starving when we have more than enough food? Why do we have nuclear weapons if we aren’t going to use them? Why is the smoking age 18 and the drinking age 21? Why are drive-through liquor stores legal when drinking and driving is not? Why don’t you like my music? Why can’t I have a faster computer? Why did the CIA put top secret information in a laptop anyway? And why does Mr. Sharples sing show tunes when he walks down the hall? These questions, and many others, will define not only ourselves, but the world from which we get the answers. Despite history’s trend of world conflict, my class has never known a war where military service was automatic. We now join the services for an education, not necessarily to fight. We have never felt the impact of widespread, deep-seated injustice and discontent. Oh, we may complain about the president, and hear individual cases of prejudice, but we don’t feel as if the problem is getting worse. We have never known the terror of possible nuclear war. The Cold War ended before we could understand what it was about. We have not suffered famine, global catastrophe or unpreventable, epidemic diseases. Even AIDS, which we have learned how to avoid, is being beaten back, slowly but surely. However, we are close enough to those in age who have experienced these trials. We are close enough through communication advances to see them happening in poorer countries around the world. Close enough to ask why it happened, and how we can prevent it from happening again. We are a diverse group, and accept that diversity whole-heartedly. We all have our own beliefs. We hail from the East Coast, the West Coast and all stops in-between infinity and beyond. We are actors, artists, writers and musicians. Some are mechanics, carpenters, engineers and programmers. We are runners, jumpers, hitters, throwers, kickers and catchers. And some are designers, cashiers, clerks and chefs. We are doctors, vets, entrepreneurs and therapists.

The Glaciers of Yosemite National Park Essay -- Geology

The Glaciers of Yosemite National Park One of nature's most powerful and influential forces is also one of nature's coldest and slowest processes. These great icy rivers are called glaciers and have formed some of the most beautiful scenery on this planet. These enormous frozen bodies of water are often thousands of feet wide and deep and many miles long. They cover millions of acres of land and drastically change the land into beautiful mountains with many amazing features. One of the areas where glaciers have been most influential is in Yosemite National Park in California. Here almost every glacial feature is shown. However, before this information about glaciers in Yosemite was clear, there was the Yosemite Controversy with arguments of different views of how the valley originated. Glaciers are best described in this passage by naturalist John Muir: (Bailey) (Guyton) The work of glaciers, especially the part they have played in sculpturing the face of the earth, is as yet but little understood, because they have so few loving observers willing to remain with them long enough to appreciate them. Water rivers work openly where people dwell, and so does the rain and the dew, and the great salt sea embracing all the world; and even the universal ocean of air, though invisible, yet it speaks aloud in a thousand voices, and explains its modes of working and its power. But glaciers, back in their cold solitudes, work apart from men, exerting their tremendous energies in silence and darkness. Outspread, spirit-like, they brood above the long predestined landscapes, working on unwearied though unmeasured ages, until, in the fullness of time, the mountains and valleys and plains are brought forth, channels furrowed for the rive... ... which shaped the valley even more. Rockfall has shaped the Royal Arches and Mirror Lake. Recently in July of 1996, there was a large rock fall and in January of 1997 the Merced River flooded proving that the geology of Yosemite is a forever changing process that still goes on to this day. (Guyton) Bibliography Bailey, Ronald H. Planet Earth: Glacier. Time-Life Books: Alexandria, 1982. Guyton, Bill. Glaciers of California. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1998. Huber, N. King. The Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park. Yosemite Association: Yosemite National Park, 1989. Lutgens, Fredrick K. and Edward J. Tarbuck. Earth Science. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, 2002. Matthes, Francois E. The Incomparable Valley. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1950. Tierney, Tim. Geology of the Mono Basin. Kutsavi Press: Lee Vining, 1995.

Philosophy 201 Essay

Welcome to this introductory course in philosophy. For our first lesson, we are going to examine the question: What is philosophy? There are 4 ways you can get to know what a discipline is: define it, describe it, contrast and compare it with other disciplines, and finally experience it. In this first lesson, we will aim to accomplish the first 3 of these activities. The rest of the course will be an exercise in experiencing philosophy. Tasks View and take notes of the presentation, â€Å"Misconceptions about Philosophy†. Read and take notes from chapter 1 of Philosophy: Critically Thinking about Foundational Beliefs, â€Å"What is Philosophy? † As you read, make sure you understand the following points and questions: * List 4 reasons students often presuppose a low view of philosophy. * Know Socrates’ quote: What is the unexamined life? What did he mean when he said it wasn’t worth living? * Know the etymology of the word â€Å"philosophy. † * Know the working definition of â€Å"philosophy† and explain each of its elements. * List and explain each of the 6 characteristics under the description of philosophy. * Contrast and compare philosophy with religion, science, and art. How are they different and how are they similar? * Explain the value of experiential knowledge in distinction to propositional knowledge. Terms Make sure you fully understand the following terms and concepts: * The unexamined life * The rational animal * Normative claim * Wisdom * Philosophy * Critical examination * Clarification * Justification * Evaluation * Foundational beliefs| * Presupposition * First-order discipline * Second-order discipline * Ambiguous * Vague * Worldview * Scientism * Propositional knowledge * Experiential knowledge| †¢List 4 reasons students often presuppose a low view of philosophy. 1. It’s the image that one has to be super-intelligent to do philosophy. 2. As a discipline, most students study it late in their academic development, most take their first philosophy class in college. 3. Most people don’t think it is very practical. 4. The main reason is that student simply don’t know what it is or how is can benefit them. †¢Know Socrates’ quote: â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living. † What is the unexamined life? The unexamined life is to go through the motions of life without making the effort to reflect and think about what life is about. What did he mean when he said it wasn’t worth living? When Socrates claims that the unexamined life is not worth living, he is saying that the unexamined life is a sub-human life-it is the life of a lower animal, like a dog or cow. †¢Know the etymology of the word â€Å"philosophy. † †¢Know the working definition of â€Å"philosophy† and explain each of its elements. †¢List and explain each of the 6 characteristics under the description of philosophy. †¢Contrast and compare philosophy with religion, science, and art. How are they different and how are they similar? †¢Explain the value of experiential knowledge in distinction to propositional knowledge. Terms Make sure you fully understand the following terms and concepts: †¢The unexamined life- life as an a animal such as a dog or a cow. †¢The rational animal- unlike other in the animal kingdom, man has the ability to reason and reflect about himself and the world around him. (the cognitive abilities) †¢Normative claim- makes a claim about some action, persons ought to do. (don’t lie and help our fellow man) †¢Wisdom- is knowledge applied in a way that benefits your life. †¢Philosophy- is examining life; is the love of wisdom; is actually the combination of two terms in Greeks: Phileo- is a Greek term for love, meant to express great affection for something and Sophos – is the word for â€Å"wisdom† †¢Critical examination- analysis of what is read or heard rather than taken at face value. †¢Clarification-the meaning of what was said. †¢Justification-what validate the true of this statement or observation. †¢Evaluation- the significance of what one wants clarity on. †¢Foundational beliefs- those that are central and fundamental to one’s overall worldview and yet are often not thought about. †¢Presupposition- are beliefs one usually doesn’t think about or try to prove. †¢First-order discipline †¢Second-order discipline †¢Ambiguous †¢Vague †¢Worldview †¢Scientism †¢Propositional knowledge †¢Experiential knowledge.

Network Assignments

Kim Doe Jung is a commercial attachà © in the Korean embassy. She works as an investment and financial consultant providing useful information and data to those interested to invest in Korea. Prior to the interview we had met at a luncheon organized in our college by the Korean Embassy. The luncheon was targeting students wishing to take their post graduate studies in a foreign country. Also invited along with students were business persons with an interest of investing in the expanding economy of Korea. Kim Doe Jung was a guest speaker and I was able to secure an interview through the help of one of my father’s friend who works in the embassy. She is an MBA graduate from a Korean University specializing in financial matters. The mere thought of interviewing was exciting and inspiring too. She had been able to accomplish what I have always looked forward to; she has my dream career. The interview took place inside the Korean Embassy’s expansive offices. She has a beautiful office facing the oval offices from afar. I was taken right up to her 3rd floor office by a security officer and she received me cordially which was rather flattering as I believed she had to be a very busy person. I had a large interest in knowing what her work duties and responsibilities entail. A commercial attachà © she told me was generally an agent of her own country, sent to a foreign land to represent her country’s commercial and financial affairs in that foreign land, I was hoping for a more specific answer and to get it I asked her to describe her typical average day to me. She arrives early in the morning, the first thing she does is to update the ambassador on any developments in her field. Then businessmen and women start coming in with all manner of issues. Some would wish to enquire on the likely trend that the inflation in Korea is taking and what the government is doing about it, how their investments are doing, any viable investment opportunities available. Koreans also drop by just for a casual visit, others have solid reasons like wishing the Korean government to negotiate for   trading concessions and low export duties for their goods. This is her typical day. Day in day out she is supposed to have answers to these questions as well as be able to analyze the recommendations she receives from the public. Her answers enabled me to have an idea of what to expect in my career dreams and was able to get from her responsibilities the enormity of the challenges a career diplomat goes through. To her, being a diplomat job is quite a challenge and ideal candidates for the job have to exercise diligence and good work ethics. One has to have high analytical and communication skills, be a team player, have a willingness to learn new things, physical stamina to withstand long working hours and ability to cope and interact with persons of diverse communities. This was very helpful, and this being my dream career, I was able to know the areas I needed to improve on as well as appreciating my strengths (Zachary Bromer, n.d). The working conditions are just marvelous as I could discern from what I could see: her office was smart and exotically furnished with expensive Korean rugs, she was also expensively dressed. She told me that her job is well paying as one has to be well compensated for accepting to work overseas away from her family. This interview, I must say, was an eye opener. It was my first interview with a person of such a high social standing and who represents interest of a far away state. Her confidence and intelligence were equally inspiring. Now I have a strong conviction to follow my intended career path, armed with the information that she gave to me.I have to act with reasonable diligence, work to improve on my strengths and weaknesses to achieve my life time goal of a career diplomat. Reference: Zachary Bromer, Salary.com contributor; Dream job: diplomat Available online at http://www.salary.com/careers/layouthtmls/crel-display-cat10-ser136-par236.html Accessed

Buddhism and Christianity as Social Reform Movements

Buddhism and Christianity are two great religions in the world that made a lot of contributions to the development of human beings in all aspects of life. These two religions may be worlds apart doctrinally and institutionally, but in their works for the betterment of human beings and the society, they are like wings that work together for the advancement and progress of civilizations. Buddhism and Christianity both have founders whose main teaching is the purification of the human heart.When human beings are defiled from selfishness, greed, and other wrongdoings, they will always be living in harmony not only with others but also with the environment that they are into. Both Jesus and the Buddha emphasized on the purity of the human heart. It is the heart that is important, it is the treasures of the heart that is more precious that any other wealth in the world. This is what Jesus and the Buddha wanted for people to realize to achieve a life of purpose and happiness, thus, Jesus an d the Buddha are very similar types of social reformers.Jesus and the Buddha are both great teachers that sought spiritual transformations. They both live in a time when people are ignorant of the true nature of life. The societal conditions that Jesus and the Buddha are into enabled them to seek and teach the wisdom of enlightenment, and that the value of compassion is central to the teaching of Jesus and the Buddha in attaining this enlightened path. The societal conditions during the time when Buddha and Jesus lived were characterized by chaos and greed as well as poverty conditions that made people suffered gravely.Jesus and the Buddha believe that all these sufferings that people experience are rooted on people’s ignorance on the fact that they themselves caused those problems. Human heart is full of impurities, and the only way to purify it according to the Buddha is to free oneself from earthly desires. Jesus also led an ascetic life together with his disciples, denoun cing all worldly wealth to pursue a life of spiritual transformations. Both Jesus and the Buddha advocated for radical changes in the common practices of the people in those days.The conditions during the time when Buddha preached his teaching were characterized by severe poverty, sickness and tribal wars that caused a lot of casualties. These conditions were very similar with what Jesus also experienced in his time. In responding to these societal conditions, both Jesus and the Buddha taught that people should cultivate compassion and love in their heart. It is only through selfless love that people will tolerate and respect one another.Both Jesus and the Buddha tried to fix the social problems that caused people to suffer as well as humanity’s animalistic tendencies like anger and greed, through a reformation in values and spiritual transformation. The Christian golden rule saying, â€Å"Do not do unto others what you do not want others do unto you† is very similar w ith what Buddha emphasized, â€Å"Treat others as yourself†. In these passages, one can see that Jesus and the Buddha gives importance to people’s actions and attitude towards others.People should not incur hatred in their hearts as this is similar to hating the self. One should treat other people in a way that will not hurt or belittle them as this would mean belittling oneself. Jesus and the Buddha said that when other people try to hurt you, you should not fight back with anger and hate, because fire cannot be extinguished by fire. A true human being has to be mindful of his words and deeds so as not to hurt others. This holds true with the law of karma.Whatever you do will always go back to you be it good or bad, depending on the causes you made. In Christianity, it is imperative for human beings to cultivate the self through the path of righteousness. In the same manner, Buddhism’s law on morality is highly depicted in the Christianity’s Ten Commandm ents. Buddhism and Christianity are closely related in the way they view the kind of society that we should be living in and should aspire for.Jesus and the Buddha describe an ideal society as a place where conflict does not exist and equality is always in the mind of the people. An ideal society values justice, freedom and morality. Nobody will experience sufferings; no one will have to endure cycles of poverty, disasters and epidemics. Social change begins when a person tries to rededicate all his or her effort to an intensified ethical commitment, to something that causes the person to develop more wisdom and compassion.These two religions always emphasized brotherly love towards other people, to treat other people as equal to oneself. Jesus emphasized that everyone is equal in the eyes of God, and Buddha also espoused the belief that in every human being, the Buddha nature exists regardless of race, color and culture. Both Christianity and Buddhism flowered during the time when everything seemed to be so hopeless and defiled. Both religions existed to correct people’s misconceptions of the reality, to lead people to the right path of peace and happiness.In conclusion, Jesus and the Buddha are very similar social reformers and that these two influential figures were truly great people who advocated for a just and humane society based on the values attributed to love, compassion, wisdom and respect. References Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom. Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. 2000 Hochswender, W. , Martin, G. & Morino, T. The Buddha in Your Mirror. Santa Monica, CA: Middleway Press. 2001. New American Bible. Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. : Washington, DC. 2001.