Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Persuasive Essay About Same Sex Parenting - 1273 Words

People who believe that gay couples should not be parents because it would negatively impact the children, but do not bother helping the 450,000 foster children in need of a loving family do not really care about the children. Gay couples can help lower this number of lonely foster kids since they are not able to have children of their own. Same-sex parenting should be commonly accepted because same-sex couples form relationships that are more stable than most heterosexual marriages, they are more motivated and committed to their child s life, and there has been a shortage of adoptive families in the past years. To have a better understanding on why same sex parenting should be commonly accepted, one must acknowledge the opposing†¦show more content†¦Even though they are small percentages, there is obviously a big difference in the divorce rate of heterosexual couples to homosexual couples. Additionally, a study from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy states that, [...] [88%] of teen mothers were unmarried when their child was born. and [...] those teen mothers who were [...][un]married when their child was born, only about [...][34%] went on to marry by the time their child reached [5]. (Stewart, Kaye) When teenagers become parents, they don t fully understand the responsibilities it takes to care for a child. This eventually leads to the split of the parents leaving the child only a single parent. Same-Sex couples aren t able to have children the same way heterosexual couples do, they usually adopt children that do not have their own families. Because th e legal age for most states to adopt is around age 25 it allows the couple to become more wiser and mature in how they act which leads to a better understanding on how to care for a child. Because divorce or parents splitting up affects children emotionally and mentally and homosexual couples are less likely to end their relationship than heterosexual couples, same-sex parenting should be commonly accepted so the child has less of a chance to experience that sadness of their parents ending their relationship. Another argument that same-sex parents should be accepted is that gay parents are more motivatedShow MoreRelatedThe Same Sex Marriage Should Be Equal Rights1393 Words   |  6 PagesAnother persuasive data is the constitutions which is based on the civil rights protection and ensure that each citizens has the right to participate in public social life. According to records, there are plenty of international civil rights declaration documents consider marriage and family as individuals or groups who are entitled to the protection of the government as human beings.† The US Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote on Friday that constitution guarantees a right to homosexual marriageRead MoreGender Identity As An Axis Of Social Order1611 Words   |  7 Pagesfemininity is social constructed and maintained in everyday life (Clark and Page, 2005; Mackie, 1994). Gender identity is our innermost understanding of our self as ‘male’ or ‘female’. Most people develop a gender identity that matched their biological sex (their body). Gender identity can be affected by, and is different from one society to another, depending on the way the members of society evaluate the role of females and males. Our gender identity can be influenced from the ethnicity of the groupRead MoreCause-and-Effect Relationship between TV Violence and Actual Crimes1755 Words   |  7 Pages What evidence do you find in these essays that establishes a cause- and effect relationship between TV violence and actual crimes? The subject of violence and sexuality on television has remained of great concern for both liberals and conservatives, and there are advocates on both sides of the issue in each ideological camp. While some liberals bridle at any attempts to curtail speech, others are concerned about the impact that violent television viewing has upon impressionable viewers likeRead More The Negative Effects of Advertisements on Men and Women Essay2675 Words   |  11 Pagesads using sexual images and family-oriented images, and the use of the opposite or same sex to sell a product. The questions that were asked are presented below, in order: 1. Rate the level at which you see an advertisement that makes you wish to change something about your spouse/significant other. 2. Rate the level at which you see an advertisement that makes you feel like you need to change something about yourself (clothing, hair, etc.). 3. Rate the level at which you see an advertisementRead MorePhi 210 Week 2 Phi210 Week 23502 Words   |  15 Pagesreaction to your experience of these biases. PHI 210 Week 2 Assignment 1.1 Conflicting Viewpoints Essay - Part I Prewriting Due Week 2 and worth 30 points When looking for information about a particular issue, how often do you try to resist biases toward your own point of view? This assignment asks you to engage in this aspect of critical thinking by playing the Believing Game. The Believing Game is about making the effort to believe - or at least consider - the reasons for an opposing view on anRead MoreEssay The Future of Marriage in America9335 Words   |  38 Pageshttp://marriage.rutgers.edu/Publications/SOOU/TEXTSOOU2007.htm The State of Our Unions The Social Health of Marriage in America 2007 Essay: The Future of Marriage in America David Popenoe  © Copyright 2007 Introduction In this year’s essay, David Popenoe argues that long-term trends point to the gradual weakening of marriage as the primary social institution of family life. More Americans today are living together, marrying at older ages or not at all, and rearing children in cohabitingRead MoreMarketing Plan for Entrepreneur10970 Words   |  44 Pagesdevelop your marketing strategy around them, for without an adequate market plan, any business will not be profitable. Successful marketing means providing the right service in the right place at the right price, and promoting it so that everyone knows about it. Therefore I chose the topic of term paper Marketing Plan of entrepreneur. The aim is to study and development of methodological principles of management of marketing activities, identifying weaknesses, analyses and design. The objectRead MoreMID TERM STUDY GUIDE Essay16611 Words   |  67 Pagesis able to cope with the stresses and conflicts of his or her growth and development. b. feels good about himself or herself, resulting in positive self esteem. c. has a feeling of love and belonging. d. learns how to be his/her own counselor. *** 10. Children bring three pieces of information to the counseling session. That information includes their problem or concern, their feelings about the problem, and: (www) (18) a. their expectations of themselves b. their expectations of the counselorRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesPHILADELPHIA Temple University Press 1601 North Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 www.temple.edu/tempress Copyright  © 2010 by Temple University All rights reserved Published 2010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Essays on twentieth century history / edited by Michael Peter Adas for the American Historical Association. p. cm.—(Critical perspectives on the past) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4399-0269-1 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4399-0270-7Read MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. 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Monday, December 23, 2019

A Short Annotated Bibliography of The Invisible People

Berg, Steve. â€Å"Obama Proposed Funding Increases to Fight Homelessness.† 6 March 2014. National Alliance to End Homelessness, Article. 21 March 2014. Steve Berg is the Vice President for Programs and Policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The Alliance is one of the leading advocates which seeks to find solutions to the issue of homelessness. It works collaboratively with public, private and non-profit organizations with similar goals to analyze and develop policy, and offer sensible, cost-effective solutions that help communities end homelessness. Its data driven research gives policymakers and elected officials the information they need to inform debate and educate the public. Mr. Berg’s background in economic development, human services, and housing and where those issues intersect. He has also worked on welfare reform and employment issues. I will be using data and information papers published on their website to substantiate my thesis statement. Hendricks, Kevin. â€Å"Open Our Eyes: Seeing the Invisible People of Homelessness.† Saint Paul: Monkey Outta Nowhere Press, 2010. Print. After meeting Mark Horvath, the creator of InvisblePeople.tv, Hendricks was so moved by Mark’s work that he wanted to transcribe the videos into print. InvisiblePeople.tv are the unedited video interviews of real homeless people. Mark’s own background with drug use and homelessness compelled him to tell the stories to combat the negative stereotypeShow MoreRelatedFeminism : A Social, Economic, And Social Equality Of The Sexes2051 Words   |  9 Pagesthemselves to be a feminist? I am going to begin by talking about the Women’s Rights Movement that started in 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott held a convention in Seneca Falls, New York where about 100 people attended to join the movement. Two-thirds of the people that attended were women. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.† (History, Art Archives) In 1869, these women created the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), whichRead MoreIB EE GUIDE9051 Words   |  37 Pagesto find your sources fast 11 I can’t find it on Google, where do I look? 12 All topics 12 Humanities Literature 12 Sciences 13 Encyclopaedias 14 Magazines 14 eBooks 14 Referencing, Bibliographies and Citations 15 What is a bibliography? 15 What is a citation? 15 Examples of citation bibliography 16 Website 16 e-book 16 Image online 16 Interview 16 Generic Extended Essay Feedback Form 17 Extended Essay Study Plan 20 Business Management 21 Overview 21 Choice of topic 21 TreatmentRead MoreManaging and Organizing for Innovation in Service Firms a Literature Review with Annotated Bibliography30787 Words   |  124 Pagesv i n n o va r e p o r t vr 2009:06 managing and organizing for innovation in service firms A literature review with annotated bibliography annika schilling andreas Werr stockholm school of economics Title: Managing and Organizing for Innovation in Service Firms. 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Sunday, December 15, 2019

The Blue Sword CHAPTER SEVEN Free Essays

string(62) " attention any more than Sungold had, but she did not object\." She woke at once when the man of the household pushed the curtains back from her sleeping-place and set a candle on the low bronze-top table beside her pillows. She stood up, stretched, creaked, sighed; and then changed quickly into her riding clothes and gulped the malak set beside the candle. Narknon protested all this activity with a sleepy grumble; then rewove herself into the tousled blankets and went back to sleep. We will write a custom essay sample on The Blue Sword CHAPTER SEVEN or any similar topic only for you Order Now Harry went outside and found Mathin’s dark bay and her own Sungold there already. Tsornin turned his head and sighed at her. â€Å"I couldn’t agree more,† she whispered to him, and he took the shoulder of her robe gently in his teeth. Mathin appeared out of the darkness and a pack horse followed him. He nodded at her, and they mounted and rode toward the Hills that reared up so close to the camp, although she could not see them now. As the sky paled she found that they had already climbed into the lower undulations of those Hills, and the camp they had left was lost to view. The horses’ hooves made a sterner thunk now as they struck the earth of the Hills. She breathed in and smelled trees, and her heart rose up, despite her fears, to greet the adventure she rode into. They rode all that day, pausing only to eat and pull the saddles off the horses for a few minutes and rub their backs dry. Harry had to find a rock to crawl up on before she could get back on her horse, far from the conveniences of brown-clad men who knelt and offered her their cupped hands, and Sungold obviously thought this ritual of his rider calling him over to her as she perched atop some rock pile before she mounted him very curious. Mathin said, â€Å"This is the first thing I will teach you. Watch.† He put a hand at each edge of the saddle, and flung himself up and into it, moving his right hand, on the back of the saddle, gracefully out of his way as soon as he had made the initial spring. â€Å"I can’t do that,† said Harry. â€Å"You will,† said Mathin. â€Å"Try.† Harry tried. She tried several times, till Sungold’s ears lay flat back and his tail clamped between his hind legs; then Mathin let her find a small rock that raised her only a few inches, and made her try again. Sungold was reluctant to be called to her and put through the whole uncomfortable process again; but he did come, and braced his feet, and Harry did get into the saddle. â€Å"Soon you will be able to do this from the ground,† said Mathin. And this is only the beginning, Harry thought miserably. Her wrists and shoulders ached. Sungold held no grudges, at least; as soon as she was on him again his ears came up and he took a few little dance steps. They rode always uphill, till Harry’s legs were sore from holding herself forward in the saddle against the downward pull. Mathin did not speak, except to force her to practice the saddle-vaults at each halt; and she was content with silence. The country they were crossing was full of new things for her, and she looked at them all closely: the red-veined grey rock that thrust up beneath the patches of turf; the colors of the grass, from a pale yellow-green to a dark green that was almost purple, and the shape of the blades: the near-purple grass, if grass it was, had broad roots and narrow rounded tips; but the pack horse snatched at it like grass. The riding-horses were much too well mannered to do anything but eye it, even after so many days of the dry desert fare. Little pink-and-white flowers, like Lady Amelia’s pimchie but with more petals, burst out of rocky crevasses; and little stripy brown birds like sparrows chirped and hopped and whisked over the horsesâ€⠄¢ heads. Mathin turned in his saddle occasionally to look at her, and his old heart warmed at the sight of her, looking around her with open pleasure in her new world. He thought that Corlath’s kelar had not told him so ill a thing as he had first thought when Corlath told his Riders his plan to go back to the Outlander station to steal a girl. They camped at the high narrow end of a small cup of valley; Mathin, Harry thought, knew the place from before. There was a spring welling from the ground where they set the tents, two tiny ones called tari, so low that Harry went into hers on her hands and knees. At the lower, wider end of the valley the spring flattened out and became a pool. The horses were rubbed down thoroughly and fed some grain, and freed. Mathin said, â€Å"Sometimes it is necessary, away from home and in a small camp, to tether our horses, for horses are more content in a herd; but Sungold is your horse now and will not leave you, and Windrider and I have been together for many years. And Viki, the pack horse, will stay with his friends; for even a small herd is better than solitude.† Mathin made dinner after the horses were tended, but Harry lingered, brushing Sungold’s mane and tail long after anything resembling a tangle still existed. For all her weariness, she was glad to care for her horse herself, glad that there was no brown man of the horse to take that pleasure away from her. Perhaps she would even learn to jump into the saddle like Mathin. After a time she left her horse in peace and, having nothing better to do, hesitantly approached Windrider with her brush. The mare raised her head in mild surprise when Harry began on the long mane over her withers, as she didn’t need the attention any more than Sungold had, but she did not object. You read "The Blue Sword CHAPTER SEVEN" in category "Essay examples" When Mathin held out a loaded plate in her direction, however, Harry dropped the brush and came at once. She ate what Mathin gave her, and was asleep as soon as she lay down. She woke in the night as an unexpected but familiar weight settled on her feet. Narknon raised her head and began her heavy purr when Harry stirred. â€Å"What are you doing here?† said Harry. â€Å"You weren’t invited, and there is someone in Corlath’s camp who will not be at all pleased at your absence when the hunts ride out.† Narknon, still purring, made her boneless feline way up the length of Harry’s leg, and reached out her big hunter’s head, opened her mouth so that the gleaming finger-length fangs showed, and bit Harry, very gently, on the chin. The purr, at this distance, made Harry’s brain clatter inside her skull, and the delicate prickle of the teeth made her eyes water. Mathin sat up when he heard Harry’s voice. Narknon’s tail stretched out from the open end of the tent, the tip of it curling up and down tranquilly. Harry, in disbelief, heard Mathin laugh: she hadn’t known Mathin could laugh. â€Å"They will guess where she has gone, Harimad-sol. Do not trouble yourself. The nights are cold and will grow colder here; you may be grateful for your bedmate before we leave this place. It is a pity that neither of us has the skill to hunt her; she could be useful. Go to sleep. You will find tomorrow a very long day.† Harry lay down, smiling in the dark, at Mathin’s courtesy: â€Å"Neither of us has the skill to hunt her.† The thought of her lessons with this man – particularly now that she knew he could laugh – seemed a trifle less ominous. She fell asleep with a lighter heart; and Narknon, emboldened by the informality of the little campsite and the tiny tent, stretched to her full length beside her preferred person and slept with her head under Harry’s chin. Harry woke at dawn, as though it were inevitable that she awake just then. The idea of rolling out so soon did not appeal to her in the least, rationally, but her body was on its feet and her muscles flexing themselves before she could protest. The entire six weeks she spent in that valley were much in that tone: there was something that in some fashion took her over, or seized the part of her she always had thought of as most individually hers. She did not think, she acted; and her arms and legs did things her mind only vaguely understood. It was a very queer experience for her, for she was accustomed to thinking exhaustively about everything. She was fascinated by her own agility; but at the same time it refused to seem quite hers. Lady Aerin was guiding her, perhaps; for Harry wasn’t guiding herself. Mathin was also, she found out, spiking their food with something. He had a small packet, full of smaller packets, rolled in with the cooking-gear. Most of these packets were harmless herbs and spices; Harry recognized a few by taste, if not by name. The ones new to her since her first taste of Hill cooking she asked about, as Mathin rubbed them between his fingers before dropping them into the stew, and their odor rose up and filled her eyes and nostrils. She had begun asking as many questions about as many things as she could, as her wariness of Mathin as a forbidding stranger wore off and affection for him as an excellent if occasionally overbearing teacher took its place. And she learned that he was in a more mellow mood when he was cooking than at almost any other time. â€Å"Derth,† he might answer, when she asked about the tiny heap of green powder in his palm; â€Å"it grows on a low bush, and the leaves have four lobes,† or â€Å"Nimbing: it is the crushed dried berries of the plant that gives it its name.† But there was also a grey dust with a heavy indescribable smell; and when she asked about it, Mathin would look his most inscrutable and send her off to clean spotless tack or fetch unneeded water. The fourth or fifth time he did this she said flatly, â€Å"No. What is that stuff? My tack is wearing thin with cleanliness, Sungold and Windrider haven’t a hair out of place, the tents are secure against anything but avalanche, and you won’t use any more water. What is that stuff?† Mathin wiped his hands carefully and rolled the little packages all together again. â€Å"It is called sorgunal. It †¦ makes one more alert.† Harry considered this. â€Å"You mean it’s a – † Her Hill speech deserted her, and she used the Homelander word: â€Å"drug.† â€Å"I do not know drug,† said Mathin calmly. â€Å"It is a stimulant, yes; it is dangerous, yes; but – † here the almost invisible glint of humor Harry had learned to detect in her mentor’s square face lit a tiny flame behind his eyes – â€Å"I do know what I am doing. I am your teacher, and I tell you to eat and be still.† Harry accepted her plateful and was not noticeably slower than usual in beginning to work her way through it. â€Å"How long,† she said between mouthfuls, â€Å"can one use this †¦ stimulant?† â€Å"Many weeks,† said Mathin, â€Å"but after the trials you will want much sleep. You will have time for it then.† The fact that neither Harry nor Mathin could hunt Narknon did not distress Narknon at all. Every day when lessons were through, and Harry and Mathin and the horses returned to the campsite, tired and dirty and at least in Harry’s case sore, Narknon would be there, stretched out before the fire pit, with the day’s offering – a hare, or two or three fleeks which looked like pheasant but tasted like duck, or even a small deer. In return Narknon had Harry’s porridge in the mornings. â€Å"I did not bring enough to feed three for six weeks,† Mathin said the third morning when Harry set her two-thirds-full bowl down for Narknon to finish. â€Å"I’d rather eat leftover fleek,† said Harry, and did. Harry learned to handle her sword, and then to carry the light round shield the Hillfolk used; then to be resigned, if not entirely comfortable, in the short chain-stiffened leather vest and leggings Mathin produced for her. As long as there was daylight she was put, or driven, through her steadily – alarmingly – improving paces: it was indeed, she thought, as if something had awakened in her blood; but she no longer thought of it, or told herself she did not think of it, as a disease. But she could not avoid noticing the sensation – not of lessons learned for the first time, but like old skills set aside and now, in need, picked up again. She never learned to love her sword, to cherish it as the heroes of her childhood’s novels had cherished theirs; but she learned to understand it. She also learned to vault into the saddle, and Sungold no longer put his ears back when she did it. In the evenings, by firelight, Mathin taught her to sew. He showed her how to adapt the golden saddle till it fit her exactly; how to arrange the hooks and straps so that bundles would ride perfectly, her sword would come easily to her hand, and her helm would not bang against her knee when she was not wearing it. As she grew quicker and cleverer at her lessons, Mathin led her over more of the Hills around their camp in the small valley. She learned to cope, first on foot and then on horseback, with the widest variety of terrain available: flat rock, crumbling shale, and small sliding avalanches of pebbles and sand; grass and scree and even forest, where one had to worry about the indifferent blows of branches as well as the specific blows of one’s opponent. She and Mathin descended to the desert again briefly, and dodged about each other there. That was at the end of the fourth week. From the trees and stones and the running stream, she recognized where the king’s camp had stood, but its human visitors were long gone. And it was there on the grey sand with Tsornin leaping and swerving under her that an odd thing happened. Mathin always pressed her as hard as she could defend herself; he was so steady and methodical about it that at first she had not realized she was improving. His voice was always calm, loud enough for her to hear easily even when they were bashing at each other, but no louder; and she found herself responding calmly, as if warfare were a new parlor game. She knew he was a fine horseman and swordsman, and that no one was a Rider who was not magnificently skillful at both; and that he was training her. Most of the time, these weeks, she felt confused; when her mind was clearer, she felt honored if rueful; but now, wheeling and parrying and being allowed the occasional thrust or heavy flat blow, she found that she was growing angry. This anger rose in her slowly at first, faintly, and then with a roar; and she was, despite it or around it, as puzzled by it as by everything else that had happened to her since her involuntary departure from the Residency. It felt like anger, red anger, an d it felt dangerous, and it was far worse than anything she was used to. It seemed to have nothing to do with losing her temper, with being specifically upset about anything; she didn’t understand its origin or its purpose, and even as her temples hurt with it she felt disassociated from it. But her breath came a little quicker and then her arm was a little quicker; and she felt Tsornin’s delight in her speed, and she spared a moment, even with the din in her ears rising to a terrible headache, to observe wryly that Sungold was a first-class horse with a far from first-class rider. Mathin’s usual set grin of concentration and, she had thought recently, pride flickered a bit at her flash of attack; and he lifted his eyes briefly to her face, and even as sword met sword he †¦ faltered. Without thinking, for this was what she was training for, she pressed forward; and Windrider stumbled, and Sungold slammed into her, shoulder to shoulder, and her blade hit Mathin’s hilt to hilt, and to her own horror, she gave a heave and dumped him out of the saddle. His shield clanged on a rock and flipped front down, so it teetered foolishly like a dropped plate. The horses lurched apart and she gazed down, appalled, at Mathin sitting in a cloud of dust, looking as surprised as she felt. The grin had disappeared for a moment – quite understandably, she thought – but by the time he had gotten to his feet and she had slid down from Sungold’s back and anxiously approached him, it had returned. She tried a wavering smile back at him, standing clumsily with her sword twisted behind her as if she’d rather not be reminded of its presence; and Mathin switched his dusty sword from his right hand to his left and came to her and seized her shoulder. He was half a head shorter than she was, and had to look up into her eyes. His grip was so hard that her mail pinched her shoulder, but she did not notice, for Mathin said to her: â€Å"My honor is yours, lady, to do with what you will. I have not been given a fall such as that in ten years, and that was by Corlath himself. I’m proud to have had the teaching of you  œ and, lady, I am not the least of the Riders.† The anger had left her completely, and she felt dry and cold and empty, but then as her eyes unwillingly met Mathin’s she saw a sparkle of friendship there, not merely the objective satisfaction of a teacher with a prize pupil: and this warmed her more kindly than the anger had done. For here in the Hills, she, an Outlander woman, had a friend: and he was not the least of the Riders. Lessons continued after that, but they were faster and more furious, and the light in Mathin’s face never faded, but it had changed from the sturdy concentration of a teacher to the eager enthusiasm of a man who has found a challenge. The heat and strength they expended required now that they stop to rest at midday, when the sun was at its height, even though the Hills were much cooler than the central desert had been. Tsornin would never admit to being tired, and watched Harry closely at all times, in case he might miss something. He took her lessons afoot very badly, and would lace back his ears and stamp, and circle her and Mathin till they had to yell at him to go away. But during the last ten days he was content to stand in the shade, head down and one hind leg slack, at noontime, while she stretched out beside him. One day she said, â€Å"Mathin, will you not tell me something of how the horses are trained?† They were having their noon halt, and Sungold was snuffling over her, for she often fed him interesting bits of her lunch. â€Å"My family raises horses,† said Mathin. He was lying on his back, with his hands crossed on his chest, and his eyes were shut. For several breaths he said nothing further, and Harry wanted to shout with impatience, but she had learned that such behavior would shut Mathin up for good, while if she bit her tongue and sat still, hugging her irritability quietly, he would sometimes tell her more. He told her more this time: how his father and three older brothers bred and raised and trained some of Damar’s finest riding-horses. â€Å"When I was your age,† he said bleakly, â€Å"the best horses were taught the movements of war for the fineness of control necessary in both horse and rider; not for the likelihood that they should ever see battle. â€Å"My father trained Fireheart. He is very old now, and trains no more horses, but he still carries all our bloodlines in his head, and decides which stallions should be bred to which mares.† He paused, and Harry thought that was all; but he added slowly, â€Å"My daughter trained Sungold.† There was a long silence. Then Harry asked: â€Å"Why did you not stay and train horses too?† Mathin opened his eyes. â€Å"It seemed to me that a father, three brothers and their families, a wife, daughter, and two sons were enough of one family to be doing the same thing. I have trained many horses. I go home †¦ sometimes, so that my wife does not forget my face; but I have always wished to wander. As a Rider, one wanders †¦ It is also possible that I was not quite good enough. None of the rest of my family has ever wished to leave what they do, even for a day. I am the only one of us for generations who has ridden to the laprun trials to win my sword.† Harry said, â€Å"Why is it that you are my teacher? Were you – Did Corlath order you?† Mathin closed his eyes again and smiled. â€Å"No. On the day after you drank Meeldtar and saw the battle in the mountains, I spoke to Corlath, for I knew by your Seeing that you would be trained for battle. It might have been Forloy, who is the only one of us who speaks your Outlander tongue, or Innath, who is the best horseman of us; but I am older, and more patient perhaps – and I trained the young Corlath, once, when I was Rider to his father.† Forloy, thought Harry. Then it was Forloy. â€Å"Mathin – † she began, and her voice was unhappy. She was staring at the ground, plucking bits of purple grass and shredding them, and did not notice that Mathin turned to look at her when he heard the unhappiness. She had not sounded so for weeks now, and he was pleased that this should be so. â€Å"Why – why did Forloy never speak to me, before I – before you began to teach me to speak your tongue? Does he hate Outlanders so much? Why does he know the – my – language at all?† Mathin was silent as he considered what he could tell his new friend without betraying his old. â€Å"Do not judge Forloy – or yourself – too harshly. When he was your age, and before he was a Rider, Forloy fell in love with a woman he met at the spring Fair in Ihistan. She had been born and raised in the south, and gone into service to an Outlander family there; and when they were sent to Ihistan, she went with them. The second year, the next Fair, he returned, and she agreed to go to the Hills with him. She loved Forloy, I think; she tried to love his land for his sake, but she could not. She taught him Outlander speech, that she might remember her life there by saying the words. She would not leave him, for she had pledged herself to live in the Hills with him; but she died after only a few years. Forloy remembers her language for her sake, but it does not make him love it.† He paused, watching her fingers; they relaxed, and the purple stems dropped to the ear th. â€Å"I do not believe he had spoken any words of it for many years; and Corlath would not have asked it of him for any less cause.† Corlath, Harry thought. He knows the story – of the young foreign woman who did not thrive when she was transplanted to Hill soil. And she was Darian born and bred, and went willingly. â€Å"And Corlath? Why does Corlath speak Outlander?† Mathin said thoughtfully, â€Å"Corlath believes in knowing his †¦ rivals. Or enemies. He can speak the Northern tongue as well, and read and write it, and Outlander, as well as our Hill tongue. There are few enough of us who can read and write our own language. I am not one of them. I would not wish to be a king.† There were only a few days left to run till the laprun trials. Mathin, between their more active lessons, taught her more of the Hill-speech; and each word he taught her seemed to awaken five more from where they slept in the back of a mind that was now, she had decided, sharing brain space and nerve endings with her own. She accepted it; it was useful; it permitted her to live in this land that she loved, even if she loved without reason; and she began to think it would enable her in her turn to be useful to this land. And it had won her a friend. She could not take pride in it, for it was not hers; but she was grateful to it, and hoped, if it were kelar or Aerin-sol’s touch, that she might be permitted to keep it till she had won her right to stay. With the language lessons Mathin told her of the Hills they were in, and where the City lay from where their little valley sat; and he told her which wood burned best green, and how to find water when there seemed to be none; and how to get the last miles out of a foundered horse. And her lessons of war had strengthened her memory, or her ability to draw upon that other memory, for she remembered what he told her. And to her surprise, he also told her the names of all the wildflowers she saw, and which herbs could be made into teas and jams; and these things he spoke of with the mild expression on his face that she had seen only when he was bending over his cooking-fire; and even these things she learned. He also told her what leaves were best for stopping blood flowing, and three ways of starting a fire in the wilderness. He looked at her sidelong as he spoke about fire-making. â€Å"There’s a fourth way, Hari,† he said. â€Å"Corlath may teach it to you someday.† There was some joke here that amused him. â€Å"Myself, I cannot.† Harry looked at him, as patiently as she could. She knew that to question him when he baited her like this would do her no good. Once, a day or two after Mathin’s unexpected fall, she had let a bit more of her frustration show than she meant to, and Mathin had said, â€Å"Hari, my friend, there are many things I cannot tell you. Some I will tell you in time; some, others will tell you; some you may never know, or you may be the first to find their answers.† She had looked across their small fire at him, and over Narknon’s head. They were both sitting cross-legged while the horses grazed comfortably not far away, so that the sound of their jaws could be heard despite the crackling fire. Mathin was rewiring a loose ring on his chain-encrusted vest. â€Å"Very well. I understand a little, perhaps.† Mathin gave a snort of laughter; she remembered how grim and silent she’d thought him, he in particular of all the king’s Riders. â€Å"You understand a great deal, Harimad-sol. I do not envy the others when they see you again. Only Corlath truly expects what I will be bringing out of these Hills.† This conversation had made it a little easier for her when he slyly told her of things, like the fourth way of lighting fires, which he refused to explain. She didn’t understand the reasons, but she was a bit more willing to accept that a reason existed. It surprised her how much he told her about himself, for she knew that he did not find it easy to talk of these things to her; but she understood too that it was his way of making up, a little, for what he felt he could not tell her. It also, as he must have intended, made her feel as if the Hillfolk were familiar to her; that her own past was not so very different from theirs; and she began to imagine what it would have been like to have grown up in these Hills, to have always called them home. One of the things Mathin would tell her little of was Aerin Dragon-Killer and the Blue Sword. He would refer to Damar’s Golden Age, when Aerin was queen, but he would not tell her when it was, or even what made it golden. She did learn that Aerin had had a husband named Tor who had fought the Northerners, for the Northerners had been Damar’s enemies since the beginning of time and the Hills, and every Damarian age had its tale of the conflict between them; and that King Tor was called the Just. â€Å"It sounds very dreary, being Just, when your wife kills dragons,† said Harry, and while Mathin permitted himself a smile, he was not to be drawn. She did pry something else out of him. â€Å"Mathin,† she said. â€Å"The Outlanders believe that the – the – kelar of the Hills can cause, oh, firearms not to fire, and cavalry charges to fall down instead of charging, and – things like that.† Mathin said nothing; he had marinated cut-up bits of Narknon’s latest antelope in a sharp spicy sauce and was now frizzling them on two sticks over the low-burning fire. Harry sighed. Mathin looked up from his sticks, though his fingers continued to twist them slowly. â€Å"It is wise of the Outlanders to believe the truth,† he said. He dug one stick, butt-end, into the ground, and thrust his short knife into the first chunk of meat. He nibbled at it delicately, with the concentrated frown of the artist judging his own work. His face relaxed and he handed Harry the stick still in his other hand. But he spoke no more of kelar. Mathin took no more falls, and by the middle of the sixth week Harry felt she had forgotten her first lessons because they were so far in the past. She could not remember a time when the palm of her right hand did not bear stripes of callus from the sword hilt; when the heavy vest felt awkward and unfamiliar; nor a time when she had not ridden Tsornin every day. She did remember that she had been born in a far green country nothing like the kelar-haunted one she now found herself in; and that she had a brother named Richard whom she still called Dickie, to his profound dismay – or would, if he could hear her – and she remembered a Colonel Jack Dedham, who loved the Hills even as she did. A thought swam into her mind: perhaps we shall meet again, and serve Damar together. On the fourth day of the sixth week she said tentatively to Mathin: â€Å"I thought the City was over a day’s journey from here.† â€Å"You thought rightly,† Mathin replied; â€Å"but there is no need of your presence on the first day of the trials.† She glanced at him, a little reassured, but rather more worried. â€Å"Do not fear, my friend and keeper of my honor,† said Mathin. â€Å"You will be as a bolt from the heavens, and Tsornin’s flanks shall blind your enemies.† She laughed. â€Å"I look forward to it.† â€Å"You should look forward to it,† he said. â€Å"But I, who know what I will see, look forward to it even more.† How to cite The Blue Sword CHAPTER SEVEN, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Data Disaggregation and Operationalization †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Data Disaggregation and Operationalization. Answer: Introduction: It is evident that the data presented have shown a statistical trend in dissimilarities. The common top five causes of death among the two age groups are observable. The cause of death among the group is similar in between the groups. The top five causes of death include intentional self harm, assault and suicide, malignant neoplasms and diseases of the heart. These diseases are common for the younger generation and it is seen to be transmitted to the middle young generation of the age bracket of 25-35 years. Observable difference among the data is the lower bottom five differences that have shown dissimilarity. Among the younger age group of 20-24 years, congenital; malformations takes centre stage with a death rate of 0.8. This is followed by diabetes mellitus with a death rate of 0.6, both which are similar to influenza and pneumonia, pregnancy child birth and puerperium and chronic lower respiratory diseases. Among the 25-34 years old, chronic liver diseases take centre stage has a death rate of 1.7, while HIV has 1.3 death rates. There are similarities among HIV , cerebrovasuclar diseases, influenza pneumonia with a death rate of 1.3. The mortality statistics of unintentional harm, falls and suicidal case have increased in the past decade, with statistics showing that poisoning has gone up by 128%, while falls death increased to 71% while suicide case increased by 15%. Motor vehicle accidents have shown to declined in the past few years by 25%. However when ranked, suicide comes first, followed by motor vehicle traffic accidents, poisoning, accidental falls and finally homicides cases. While comparing the gender statistics it shows that female experience lower injury mortality than the male counterparts, (Peden et al., 2012). The increasing trends of intentional and intentional deaths have been shown to have spillover effect to the older generation. The characteristics of deaths and injuries occurring in the age bracket of 20-24 years have shown to spill over to the age bracket of 35-44 years as observed from the similarity in the trends shown. In both age groups it is evidence that mortality rates for the suicidal actions, poisoning and falls have increased substantially. Thus, affecting directly the population in both gender groups. When compared interdependently, it is noted that suicide has surpassed the motor vehicle accidents. Comprehensive traffic rules initiated have had a major impact in the reduction of traffic accidents mortality deaths. Homicidal cases have shown that there is similarity on age, gender and race. There is variation among the Hispanics and the whites. Hispanics and black males have indicated an increased in the relative risks which increases with age, (MacAnininch et al., 2014). Thus the injury mortality trend among the younger generation has shift upwards in the last decade. In this category there is increased rise in the rates associated with poisoning, falls and suicidal. The reason for this is the reduced sustainable safety measures which have significantly reduces over the past decade thus exacerbating the increasing trends in both groups, (WHO, 2011). This task seeks to evaluate the statistical evidence regarding racial and ethnic differences in mortality deaths in United States among two specific age group brackets that is 20-24 and 35-44 years of age. The statistical information replicated here is similar to the above on the causes of death; however narrow of focus will be the all races. The major groups that comprise the American population included in the statistical report include the African Americans, Hispanic, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders among other minority small groups. The mortality rates for the whites and the African Americans shows that the vital statistics and the census, indicate that the Black Death rates often are more prevalent than the white rates. There has been stiff competition on how the racial characteristics behave in terms of the vital characteristics. At younger ages the age specific death rates for the African American mix, have shown that the mortality rates exceeds the white rates in a ratio of 2:1 and there is gradual steady rise of narrowing of the age bracket. Currently, white mortality rates have been characteristically disadvantages the blacks in the middle ages which this trend has followed the relative increase in death rates compared to the white rates, (Kochanek, Arais Anderson,2013). This crossover effect has been attributed to the fact that survival for the fittest has taken centre stage. This indicates that the African American at younger ages have on adverse conditions faced various subjects to weakest members to high mortality incidences. Data suggest that individual races which have experienced the crossover effect have experienced unfavourable conditions in the early life tend to have experienced in elevated mortality later as years goes by, (Turra Elo, 2008). On a racial platform, black Americans have been observed as having the highest death rates among any of the Americas racial and ethnographic representation. In a wider part, this has been linked to the fact that inequalities and economic status, education and further their occupational jobs, which is linked to risks of mortality death rates. The racial differences with respect to mortality often persist in studies where those aged between 20-24 and 35-44 can be compared among individuals similar levels of income and security status. The blacks often have the disadvantage in that often the black race appears in all the major cases of death, which include those of heart diseases, cancer and stroke related deaths. However the disadvantage is that greatest death especially among the 35-44 is the HIV infection which is often at risks for the blacks at over estimate over seven times the risks associated with the white Americans. The death rates associated with American Indians are showing similar trends for the most cases; however they are substantially higher for the cirrhosis of the liver and for both intentional injuries like suicide and homicide cases. The Asian and pacific islanders and Hispanics by difference often show lower rates of mortality than the expected in the social economic status as seen in the united states, (Wallace Kulu, 2015). However, the death rates across the racial parameters have declined among the Hispanic, black and Asians/ pacific islanders among the American population. This is in line with the trends with other countries such as the Canada and UK. A comprehensive study undertaken shows that there is increase emergences of American Indians in United States. The declining rates of disease occurrences have been attributed to the fact that deaths in the age bracket of 35-44 years among the blocks, Hispanics and Asian pacific islanders were few in terms diseases such as heart diseases, HIV and Cancer however not included in the overall CDC list, (Botmann et al., 2004). This decline can be attributed to the fact that there has been a lot of effort among the public officers in an effort to reduce tobacco smoking and increase on the use of advance medical facilities. Also the whites experienced fewer deaths in terms of heart related diseases. However despite these tremendous efforts, there has been slow decline in terms of rates among the black men and the whites women. However, the overall mortality rates among the whites and the islanders pacific have been increased in the form of accidental deaths such as those of drug overdoses, suicidal attempts and liver associated diseases. In the age bracket of 20-24 years, the whites and islander pacific have experienced and observed an increased death rate which is higher that 2-5 % which is compared to other observed racial groupings of other US population, (Borell Crawford, 2008). Conclusion To conclude is that, there is wide variation of ethnic status with regard to ethnic mortality death as per the statistics of CDC. The ethnography of the individual indicates whether they are more prone to mortality to any allied cause of death. There is great variation in terms of death mortality among the different groups in the study findings. However there are other causes of mortality which cuts across the different racial group in USA population. References Bacong, A. M., Holub, C., Porotesano, L. (2016). Comparing Obesity-Related Health Disparities among Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, Asians, and Whites in California: Reinforcing the Need for Data Disaggregation and Operationalization. Hawai'i Journal of Medicine Public Health, 75(11), 337. Botman, S., Moriarity, C. L. (2000). Design and estimation for the national health interview survey, 1995-2004. Creanga, A. A., Berg, C. J., Syverson, C., Seed, K., Bruce, F. C., Callaghan, W. M. (2015). Pregnancy-related mortality in the United States, 20062010. Obstetrics Gynecology, 125(1), 5-12.. Kochanek, K. D., Arias, E., Anderson, R. N. (2013). How did cause of death contribute to racial differences in life expectancy in the United States in 2010?. McAninch, J., Greene, C., Sorkin, J. D., Lavoie, M. C., Smith, G. S. (2014). Higher psychological distress is associated with unintentional injuries in US adults. Injury prevention, 20(4), 258-265. Peden M, McGee K, Sharma G. The Injury Chartbook: A Graphical Overview of the Global Burden of Injuries. World Health Organization; 2002. Available at: https://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/924156220X.pdf. Turra, C. M., Elo, I. T. (2008). The impact of salmon bias on the Hispanic mortality advantage: New evidence from social security data. Population research and policy review, 27(5), 515. Wallace, M., Kulu, H. (2015). Mortality among immigrants in England and Wales by major causes of death, 19712012: a longitudinal analysis of register-based data. Social Science Medicine, 147, 209-221. World Health Organization. Injuries, Violence Prevention Department. (2002). The injury chart book: A graphical overview of the global burden of injuries. World Health Organization.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Porter forces model on Dell Company

Introduction Dell is a multinational company operating in the computer industry and the company has achieved great success in marketing its products in the global markets. To maintain its market position the company has embarked on manufacturing differentiated products by the application of innovative technologies.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Porter forces model on Dell Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company has focused on marketing its products in the global market and to achieve this strategy the management has established online marketing channels, retail stores and other foreign partnerships (Ignatiuk, 2009). The position of the company in the computer industry is explained by porter’s five forces analysis. Application of Porter’s Five Forces Analysis to Dell Porter’s five forces provide an analysis about the external and internal environments of an organization . The forces analyzed by the Porter’s tools are: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of suppliers, and rivalry among competitors in the industry. Dell has experienced these forces in the computing industry and these have provided threats and opportunities for the company. Threat of new entrants Entry costs The cost of establishing a computer company is very high and many investors have feared incurring the huge costs of penetrating the market. In addition, there are high costs involved in promoting new products in the global markets to enhance acceptance. The market has been unfavorable to new entrants because the costs of entering the market have been very high and this makes the existing companies to continue dominating the market (Ignatiuk, 2009). Speed of adjustment There is great need for companies to adopt better technologies in order to adjust from one products or system to another in the computer industry. This has made it impossibl e for new companies to enter the market because they lack the technologies required to adjust from one product to another (Ignatiuk, 2009). Sunk costs Starting up a computer industry requires large capitals. In addition, the investors should have adequate capital to sustain the business before profits are made. Many companies have found it challenging to sustain them in the market because there are high costs incurred before they start making profits (Gilad, 2011). Economies of scale The computing industry requires manufacturing products at large scale in order to make profits. This has restricted investors from penetrating the market because it is not possible to enter the market when a company manufactures small quantities of products. Companies without enough capitals to produce in large quantities cannot sustain themselves in the market in the long term (Kotler Lee, 2005).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Network effects The customers for Dell products are sparsely distributed and there is no single market with excess concentration of customers to an extent that they can influence the marketing polices of the company. The customers in the market have little or no control over the prices and quantity of products offered in the market (Lucas Kirillova, 2011). Reputations Firms in the computer industry are working on promoting their brands so that they can maintain a high level of reputation. Consumer loyalty is earned when the products of a company have a good reputation. As such, Dell has applied various methods, such as online retail marketing, advertising, and other strategies to promote its products (Lawton Michaels, 2001). Switching costs There are high switching costs for the consumers in the computer industry. Switching costs refers to the extra costs that consumers must incur to shift from purchasing a certain product to another. F or a customer to change from using Dell products to other products higher costs will be incurred and this makes customers loyal to specific companies (Fields, 2004). Government restraints The government has encouraged a competitive environment in the computer industry to ensure that companies offer the best products at the best prices possible. Power of input suppliers Supplier concentration There are many suppliers in the computer industry and there is no single supplier with complete dominance on the supply of materials and equipments. Many companies have entered the market and are offering competitive prices for their supplies. Therefore, the suppliers have no power to control the pricing of supplies in the market (Gilad, 2011). Price/productivity of alternative input There has been a stiff competition among suppliers in the computing industry and this has made prices to be as low as possible. Many suppliers compete in terms of lowering prices to attract more companies. Dell has enjoyed favorable prices for its supplies and this makes most of its products to be sold at fair prices (Gilad, 2011). Relationship-specific investments Dell has invested in a wide variety of businesses which are related. The company manufactures computer hardware, software, computer peripherals and other related products. As such, the company has been able to influence the suppliers in the market because it makes bulk purchases. As such, the company has been able to bargain successfully for cheaper and high quality supplies because of the control it has in the market (Kotler Lee, 2005).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Porter forces model on Dell Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Supplier switching costs Suppliers find it difficult to switch from one company to another. This has been contributed by the high costs of promoting, entering new markets among other associated costs (Lawton Michaels, 2001). Government restraints There are few restraints on the supply of computer devices. Many governments encourage investment in technologies especially in the computer industry to ensure new products are developed. This has caused the development of competitive products in the market. Thus, input suppliers are free to manufacture and sell their products locally and globally (Kotler Lee, 2005). Rivalry among competitors The computer industry has experience a very high level of rivalry among the existing firms. Product differentiation is a major aspect in the industry. Companies in the industry have developed variety of products which are differentiated as a way of promoting their market position in the global markets. There is free flow of information in the industry and there is no specific company with the monopoly to manufacture specific products. This increases the level of competition ion the market (Lawton Michaels, 2001). Switching costs for consumers are low and this make s them change easily from purchasing from one company to another. More firms are entering the market and the level of concentration is increasing. This has increased the level of competition in the market. To position their products effectively in the market, firms in the industry are focusing on improving the quality of products, reducing prices and manufacturing in large quantities to enjoy economies of scale (Lawton Michaels, 2001). Conclusion Dell has a good market position in the computer industry and the management should focus on continuing with the strategies adopted. Threat of new entrants into the market is low and the company should not fear the entrance of new companies in both domestic and global markets. Suppliers to the company have low influence on the strategies adopted by the company. It is important for the management to focus on offering competitive prices while ensuring that the quality of products is high. This can only be achieved by regulating the activities of the suppliers. Bibliography Fields, G. (2004). Territories of Profit: Communications, Capitalist Development, and the Innovative Enterprises of G.F. Swift and Dell Computer. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Retrieved from Questia database: https://www.questia.com/read/108982845/territories-of-profit-communications-capitalistAdvertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gilad, B. (2011). Strategy without intelligence, intelligence without strategy. Business Strategy Series. 12 (1). pp. 4-11. Ignatiuk, A. (2009). Analysis of Dell’s Business Strategy. Germany. GRIN Verlag. Kotler, P. and Lee, N. (2005). Corporate social responsibility: doing the most good for your company and your cause. New Jersey: NJ, John Wiley and Sons. Lucas, M. T. and Kirillova, O. M. (2011). Reconciling the resource-based and competitive positioning perspectives on manufacturing flexibility. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. 22 (2). pp. 189-203. Lawton, T. C., Michaels, K. P. (2001). Advancing to the Virtual Value Chain: Learning from the Dell Model. Irish Journal of Management, 22(1), 91+. Retrieved from Questia database: https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-88097056/advancing-to-the-virtual-value-chain-learning-from This research paper on Porter forces model on Dell Company was written and submitted by user Ernest Cameron to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Nelson Mondela Essays - South Africa, Xhosa People, Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mondela Essays - South Africa, Xhosa People, Nelson Mandela Nelson Mondela Mandela of South Africa Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa in 1994. He is the country's first black president. He was elected by the country's National Assembly. The Assembly had been chosen in South Africa's first elections in which the country's blacks were allowed to vote. Blacks won a majority of the Assembly seats, and the Assembly selected Mandela as president. These developments marked the beginning of a new era in South Africa. They resulted in blacks gaining control of the government after a long period of domination by the white minority. Since 1991, Mandela had served as president of the African National Congress (ANC), a largely black group that opposed the South African government's policy of rigid racial segregation called apartheid(Connolly 2000, 45). He had long been a leader of protests against apartheid and was imprisoned in 1962 on charges of conspiring to overthrow the white-minority government. While in prison, he became a symbol of the struggle for racial justice. After being freed in 1990, he led negotiations with white leaders that eventually brought an end to apartheid and established a nonracial system of government(Katz 1995, 103). Mandela and then-President F. W. de Klerk of South Africa won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. They were honored for their work to end apartheid and to enable the country's nonwhites to fully participate in government(Dell 1995, 180). Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Umtata, in the Transkei territory of South Africa. His father was a chief of the Xhosa-speaking Tembu tribe. Mandela gave up his right to succeed his father and instead prepared for a legal career. He attended the University College of Fort Hare, studied law by correspondence at Witwatersrand University, and received a law degree from the University of South Africa in 1942. That year, in Soweto, he and a friend opened the first black law partnership in South Africa(Conolly 2000, 99). Mandela joined the ANC in 1944 and helped form the organization's Youth League. In 1948, the South African government established its policy of apartheid. The ANC called for equality for all races and began leading open resistance to the government. In 1956, the government charged Mandela with treason and other serious crimes, but he was found not guilty in 1961. The government had outlawed the ANC in 1960, but Mandela renewed the protests and went into hiding. One night in 1963 Nelson and Winnie were awakened by the South African police.(Derenberg 1991, 104). The police took Nelson away to jail. . He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Nelson was sent to Robben Island. That was the state's most guarded prison, ships couldn't come near it. It was considered a prison that no one could escape from. In 1983 and 1984 headlines started saying things like FREE MANDELA and LET MANDELA GO. People wanted to free Nelson so much that the whole world started to notice. Soon the United States and Great Britain were naming streets and parks after him. Human rights groups and universities were giving him honors and awards(Conolly 2000, 155). In 1984 a reporter was allowed to see Nelson for the first time. Nelson was offered his freedom in 1985 by president Botha, but Nelson refused it. Botha said that in order to go free Nelson had to agree to a lot of conditions: he had to live in the transkei and formally reject violence, among others. Nelson refused(Steoff 1990 168). In 1989 F.W. de Klerk became the president of South Africa instead of Botha. In 1990 de Klerk made some amazing statements: The ANC and sixty other organizations would be allowed to operate legally. Restrictions on three hundred and seventy-four people would be lifted. There would be a temporary halt to executions. The national state of emergency would soon be lifted. The government was committed to implementing a new constitution with no domination. And I am now in a position to announce that Mr. Nelson Mandela will be released at Victor Verster Prison. . . . We would like Mr. Mandela's release to take place in a dignified and orderly manner(Derenberg 1991, 190). On Sunday the 11th of February 1990 at 4:15 Nelson Mandela was finally free. He had been in jail for 27 years. After leaving prison, Mandela

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Augsburg College's physician assistant studies program is one of many Essay

Augsburg College's physician assistant studies program is one of many program nationally. What are some of the reasons you are applying to this program - Essay Example Among all physician assistant programs offered in Minnesota, I chose Augsburg College’s physician assistant program. I got to learn about this program while working as a volunteer at Abbott Northwestern Hospital as I interacted with various students in the physician assistant program during their clinical rotation. I undoubtedly consider Augsburg College’s physician assistant program the best among the three physician’s assistant programs offered by colleges in Minnesota. Augsburg College was the first to offer physician assistant program in Minnesota, which has a strong bearing on its reputation. The program as offered by Augsburg is well established and most members of the faculty practice in the medical setting. They are also committed to serving the community which is one of the main factors that has motivated my choice of the physician assistant program. The college’s faculties are up-to-date in that they all offer new skills and are committed to lifelong learning. The PANCE test score has proven the success of the Augsburg physician assistant program as it hit 93% nationwide for the first time taker. In addition to its great teaching strategy, Augsburg’s physician program is committed to serve already underserved community of urban and rural areas. Clinical rotations are done in both rural and urban areas which satisfy my desire to work in the rural setting. In conclusion, physician assistants play a very important role in health care teams. The principles that guide my choice of best school such as commitment to undeserved population, skillful teaching strategies, and lifelong learning are the same principles that guide the physician assistant program in Augsburg College (Keizer 3). This is an assurance that this program will give me an opportunity to learn, grow intellectually through lifelong learning and dedicate my work to under-served communities. Augsburg

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Literature review of five journal articles about The Shortage of Research Paper

Literature review of five journal articles about The Shortage of Qualified Workers - Research Paper Example Increased Demand for Labor: According to Barnow, Trutko and Schede (2010), if demand for labor increases continuously and faster than the supply of labor, there occurs a is equilibrium where some work will not be done. They argue that a special phenomena may occur which would require special skills which making the specialist take time and hence during that period there will be a labor shortage. For instance, after the 2nd World War, a situation occurred where engineers were needed to deal with effect of great shock of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During that period, the demand for engineers was high than the supply. Rasool and Botha (2010) argued that it is only in time of abruptly that demand of labor supply and demand can cause a labor shortage else people will be there since supply of quality laborers is increasing with population growth. Decreased supply of labor: Hajela (2012) indicates that when bodies entitled to train professionals cannot do so due to lack of the minimum qualification to join the course, there will be a low rate of producing graduates and this will lead to lack of personnel to work on specific positions. If I quote â€Å"Shortage of skills revealed may suggest that the educators do not impart them during training. An implication that would mean that the employees’ lack competences, since they do not have the requisite skills†. This leads to graduates who cannot perform and hence labor shortage. Research by Rasool & Botha, (2011) showed that the literacy rate was 36% and numeracy rate was 35% amongst Grade 3 children. Only 10% of the children scored above 70%. This is a clear show that competent people who get out of school with needed skills are very few. Emigration: According to Rasool & Botha, (2011), emigration is another worrying factor in South Africa for the role it is playing in skills crisis. South Africa is

Monday, November 18, 2019

Research intressed Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intressed - Research Proposal Example He uses his emotional space to connect brands and then adheres to it, whether by being loyal or by never using that brand. (Blythe, 2008) Moreover, luxury brands have a very different significance, especially in such times of recession, and thus researching over the consumer behavior for luxury brands during such troublesome times would surely give interesting results, and findings which these companies can capitalize on. The research project would include thorough primary as well as secondary research. It has to be found out whether the Lexus brand name is distinct from the brand name of its maker, or if it is still being endorsed by its parent company. The more the brand starts moving towards that end of the continuum where the "branded house" stands, the more the brand becomes successful and breaks through from the parent company, and makes an identity of their own. Moreover, the elite class, which is more likely to be using the luxury brands, is going to be interviewed for their preferences, as well as for rating various luxury automobile brands on the Brand Value Pyramid (BVP), which has the features and attributes in the bottom most tier, then the middle layer has the benefits whereas the top most layer focuses on the beliefs and values. If a customer starts rating a brand as being part of the beliefs and value systems of a target market, then that brand has reached the altitude of brand success, and can be considered a top of the mind brand. This model has to be applied on Lexus, by asking for opinions of the target market. (Simmons, 2004) The recession is taking its toll on almost all big brand names. But some brands are actually emerging as the survivors and as better than their rivals. It has to be researched whether Toyota and Lexus, in particular, is one of them. The preparations for this research will be the design of a questionnaire which will help in the survey of the

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Concepts and Applications of Deep Learning

Concepts and Applications of Deep Learning Abstract: Since 2006, Deep Learning, also known as Hierarchal Leaning has been evolved as a new field of Machine Learning Research. The deep learning model deals with problems on which shallow architectures (e.g. Regression) are affected by the curse of dimensionality. As part of a two-stage learning scheme involving multiple layers of nonlinear processing a set of statistically robust features is automatically extracted from the data. The present tutorial introducing the deep learning special session details the state-of-the-art models and summarizes the current understanding of this learning approach which is a reference for many difficult classification tasks. Deep Learning is a new area of Machine Learning research, which has been introduced with the objective of moving Machine Learning closer to one of its original goals: Artificial Intelligence. Deep Learning is about learning multiple levels of representation and abstraction that help to make sense of data such as images, sound, and tex t. Introduction: Just consider we have to identify someone’s handwriting. The people have different ways of writing, for example, the numbers-Whether they write a ‘7’ or a ‘9’. We know that if there is a close loop on the top of the vertical line then we named it as ‘9’ and if it contains a horizontal line instead of loop then we think it is ‘7’. The thing we used for exact recognition of digit is a smart display of setting smaller features together to make the whole detecting distinguished edges to make lines, observing a horizontal vs. vertical line, seeing the positioning of the vertical section under the horizontal section, detecting a loop in the horizontal section, etc. The idea of the deep learning is the same: find out multiple levels of features that work jointly to define increasingly more abstract aspects of the data. So, Deep Learning is defined as follows: â€Å"A sub-field of machine learning that is based on learning several levels of representations, corresponding to a hierarchy of features or factors or concepts, where higher-level concepts are defined from lower-level ones, and the same lower-level concepts can help to define many higher-level concepts. Deep learning is part of a broader family of machine learning methods based on learning representations. An observation (e.g., an image) can be represented in many ways (e.g., a vector of pixels), but some representations make it easier to learn tasks of interest (e.g., is this the image of a human face?) from examples, and research in this area attempts to define what makes better representations and how to learn them.† see Wikipedia on â€Å"Deep Learning† as of this writing in February 2013; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_learning. The performance of recent machine learning algorithms relies greatly on the particular features of the input data. As for example marking emails as spam or not spam, can be performed by breaking down the input document intowords. Selecting the exact feature representation of input data, or feature engineering, is a technique that people can recall previous knowledge of an area to enhance an algorithms computational performance and accuracy. Moving towards general artificial intelligence, algorithms need to be less dependent on this feature engineering and better learn to classify the descriptive factors of input data on their own. Deep learning approaches is useful among many domains: it has had great commercial success powering most of Google and Microsofts current speech recognition, digital image processing, natural language processing, object recognition, etc. Facebook is also planning on using deep learning approaches to understand its users. How to build a deep representation of input data? The main idea is to learn a hierarchy of features one level at a time where the input to one computational level is the output of the previous level for an arbitrary number of levels. Otherwise, shallow representations (most current algorithms like regression) go directly from input data to output classification. Inspirations for Deep Architectures The main inspirations for studying learning algorithms for deep architectures are the following: The brain has a deep architecture The visual cortex is considered and demonstrates an order of regions all of them have a representation of the input, and signals move from one to the next. In case there are also miss connections and at some level parallel paths, so the picture is more complicated). Each level of this feature hierarchy represents the input at a different level of concept, with more abstract features further up in the hierarchy, defined in terms of the lower-level ones. Note that representations in the brain are in between dense distributed and purely local: they arelight: about 1% of neurons are active concurrently in the brain. Given the vast number of neurons, this is still a very efficient (exponentially efficient) representation. Cognitive processes seem deep Humans organize their ideas and concepts hierarchically. Humans first learn simpler concepts and then compose them to represent more abstract ones. Engineers break-up solutions into multiple levels of abstraction and processing. Introspection of linguistically expressible concepts also suggests alightrepresentation: only a small fraction of all possible words/concepts are applicable to a particular input (say a visual scene). One good analogue for deep representations is neurons in the brain (a motivation for ANN) the output of a group of neurons is given as the input to more neurons to form a hierarchical layer structure. Each layerNis composed ofh computational nodes that connect to each computational node in layerN+1. See the image below for an example: Related Work: Historically, the concept of deep learning was originated from artificial neural network research. (Hence, one may occasionally hear the discussion of â€Å"new-generation neural networks†.) Feed-forward neural networks or MLPs with many hidden layers, which are often referred to as deep neural networks (DNNs), are good examples of the models with a deep architecture. Back-propagation (BP), popularized in 1980’s, has been a well-known algorithm for learning the parameters of these networks. Unfortunately back-propagation alone did not work well in practice then for learning networks with more than a small number of hidden layers (see a review and analysis in (Bengio, 2009; Glorot and Bengio, 2010). The pervasive presence of local optima in the non-convex objective function of the deep networks is the main source of difficulties in the learning. Back-propagation is based on local gradient descent, and starts usually at some random initial points. It often gets trapped in poor local optima when the batch-mode BP algorithm is used, and the severity increases significantly as the depth of the networks increases. This difficulty is partially responsible for steering away most of the machine learning and signal processing research from neural networks to shallow models that have convex loss functions (e.g., SVMs, CRFs, and MaxEnt models), for which global optimum can be efficiently obtained at the cost of less modeling power. The applicative domains for deep learning: In natural language processing, a very interesting approach gives a proof that deep architectures can perform multi-task learning, giving state-of-the-art results on difficult tasks like semantic role labeling. Deep architectures can also be applied to regression with Gaussian processes [37] and time series prediction. Another interesting application area is highly nonlinear data compression. To reduce the dimensionality of an input instance, it is sufficient for a deep architecture that the number of units in its last layer is smaller than its input dimensionality. Moreover, adding layers to a neural network can lead to learning more abstract features, from which input instances can be coded with high accuracy in a more compact form. Reducing the dimensionality of data has been presented as one of the first application of deep learning. This approach is very efficient to perform semantic hashing on text documents, where the codes generated by the deepest layer are used to build a hash table from a set of documents. A similar approach for a large scale image database is presented in this special session. Conclusion: Deep learning is about creating an abstract hierarchical representation of the input data to create useful features for traditional machine learning algorithms. Each layer in the hierarchy learns a more abstract and complex feature of the data, such as edges to eyes to faces. This representation gets its power of abstraction by stacking nonlinear functions, where the output of one layer becomes the input to the next. The two main schools of thought for analyzing deep architectures areprobabilisticvs.direct encoding. The probabilistic interpretation means that each layer defines a distribution of hidden units given the observed input,P(h|x). The direct encoding interpretation learns two separate functions theencoderanddecoder- to transform the observed input to the feature space and then back to the observed space. These architectures have had great commercial success so far, powering many natural language processing and image recognition tasks at companies like Google and Microsoft.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Joan Didions Essay Los Angeles Notebook -- Didion Los Angeles Noteboo

Joan Didion's Essay "Los Angeles Notebook"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Santa Ana winds cause people to act more violently or unruly and makes others irritable and unhappy to a great extent. Joan Didion explains to the reader about how the Santa Ana affects human behavior in her essay â€Å"Los Angeles Notebook.† Through the use of imagery, diction, and selection of detail Didion expresses her view of the Santa Ana winds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Didion paints uneasy and somber images when describing the Santa Ana winds. â€Å"There is something uneasy in the Los Angeles air†¦ some unnatural stillness, some tension,† starts the essay off with the image of Los Angeles people in a sense of stillness or tense. She further adds, â€Å"Blowing up sandstorms out along Route 66†¦ we will see smoke back in the canyons, and hear sirens in the night,† propagating the uneasy and stark image of Los Angeles. â€Å"The baby frets. The maid sulks,† she adds, giving a depressing view into the effects of the Santa Ana winds on people. Didion, in an attempt to show the craziness associated with the Santa Ana winds, points out the Indians who throw themselves into the sea when bad winds came. At any rate, Didion attempts to show the negative effects of the Santa Ana winds through images of stillness, uneasiness, and sobriety.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In her tone, Didion remains clear, consistent, and vivid. Her choice of words remains simple as if to not alienate the readers of her essay. Her tone for the first half of the opening, primarily the first and second ...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Fifa World Cup

The FIFA World Cup Syafadzil : A very good morning to our English class teacher, Mr. Lee and to all my friends. Today, me and my friends, Amir and Firdaus are going to engage in a forum about the World Cup. Syafadzil : To explain it briefly, the World Cup is the world’s biggest sports event. It was held every 4 years since the first World Cup in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of World War 2. The tournament will be held in South Africa which involves 32 teams, each got to be in the tournament by a series of qualification phase, which took place over the three years after the recent World Cup. The host nation has automatic qualifiqation. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event, with an estimated 715 million people watching the 2006 tournament, which was held in Germany. To go with the largest sports event, there are some notable records that had been set along the month-long exhibition since it was held. Brazil holds the record for lifting the coveted trophy the most, which stands at 5. Brazil also boast the most goals in the tournament, scoring a whopping 201 goals. Moreover, it is the only country that had participated in every World Cup. individually,the most goals scored is held by Ronaldo, who plays for Brazil, with 15 goals to his name. Diego Maradona also set a record for appearing as captain 16 times for the Argentina nation. Amir : thank you for the interesting informations, Syafadzil. Shall we move on with the questions then? Syafadzil : Yes. First off, which team would you bet on to lift the crowned World Cup this year? and why do you think that? Firdaus, any thoughts? Firdaus : A very good question, Syafadzil. I think Spain would win it this year. Here are some of the reasons. Undoubtedly, they are the team at the moment. They boast one of the best records along their way to South Africa. They are currently the number 1 ranked team in the world, which comes to no surprise to many people. Footballers like Xavi, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso all but to name a few, all playing their trades for their national team. Just say their names, and it will bring a cold shiver down to the spine of their opponents. Spain is a side full of footballing talents, with their players showing great form at the moment with their respective clubs. This team has resilience and team spirit. That’s just some of the reasons why I choose Spain. But Spain is not going to have a easy run-in to the trophy. They are going to face some stern test along the way, notably Brazil who wants to lift the trophy for the sixth time. Brazil is the 2nd ranked team in the world. Their attacking talents such as Robinho, Pato, Luis Fabiano and also not to forget their midfield engine, generated by the 2007 Ballon D’or winner, Kaka. They are not going to be easy to beat, especially with some great run of form recently found by the players. Syafadzil : Looks like Spain is going to be the winner, yes? What do you reckon, Amir? Amir : Not if I have something to say about that. The team to watch by my opinion had got to be Holland. Don’t take your eyes on this team, which ranked 3rd in the world. Their star player is arguably Robin van Persie, who plays for Arsenal but his progress had been held back due to the recent serious injury to his ligament. But he will be fit to play in the World Cup. Everybody knows that no team is made up of only one player. Other key players are Arjen Robben, who recently scored a spectacular volley that sent Manchester United out of the Champions League, Wesley Sneijder, who scored the winner at Russia that sent Inter Milan to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and not to mention the footballing masterclass of Dirk Kuyt, Mark van Bommel and many other talented footballers. This team is rich in attack, and will surely run riot in the opponets defence in this upcoming World Cup. like Spain, they also thrive on an enviable record along their way to South Africa. They were the first European team to secure a place in the finals, with a perfect 10 wins out of ten in the group stages. Syafadzil : thank you for sharing your thoughts Amir. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see who will be the champions then. Moving on, who is going to outshine any other players in this tournament? Firdaus, give your take on this one. Firdaus : It’s hard to choose, but I think I will go with Messi. The plucky Argentine forward had got to be the best striker in the world. He spear-headed Barcelona to an unprecedented 6 trophies last season, and were the top scorer in the Champions League. His work rate is high, his brilliance of controlling the ball is just mesmerizing and what else can I say? He had been praised by some of the world’s best footballing legends, Diego Maradonna being one of them. And he had been dubbed as one of the best if not, the best in the business. Amir : It’s true that Messi is just spectacular when wearing the Barcelona shirt. But when he donned on the national jersey, he just could not find the form that he showed with Barcelona. Don’t get me wrong, he still scored some important goals that helped the Argentina team to qualify for the World Cup, but for a footballer by his standards, he could have done better, much better. Argentina only qualified by the skin of their teeth. They only secured their place with virtually the last game of the group stages and occupied the last automatic qualifications spot. And I just could not see that Messi will shine in the World Cup by the way things are going. Syafadzil : Amir certainly gave us something to think about. But, who do you have in mind, Amir? Amir : I’m definitely going with Fernando Torres. He’s right up there with Messi, and can perform brilliantly both in club and international level. Even though he was pampered with injuries this season, he still can come back and immediately give a marvelous performance. By my opinion, he is better than Messi, but because of his injuries, he fell short every time. His skills are amazing, his reading of the ball is just spectacular, and he can pop out from anywhere and score. He truly is one of the best in this era. Syafadzil : Thanks for that, both of you. Let’s wrap up this forum then. 32 teams, with everything to play for, vying for the most coveted trophy in sports history. All will be unveiled in this upcoming summer. Do not miss it for the world.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Presidential Election 2004 essays

Presidential Election 2004 essays There are many issues that will play an important role in the upcoming Presidential election. The state of the economy, the outsourcing of American jobs to foreign nations, the creation of new jobs here in the United States, and the threat of terrorism are all important concerns to the American people. However, many say that the issue that will play the greatest role in deciding the American Presidential election of 2004 is the continuing conflict in Iraq. In the news each day there are stories of the conflict in Iraq. Although the war was declared over a year ago, more American soldiers have been killed after Bush declared the war over, then during the active combat phase. President Bush alluded to military intelligence that pointed to weapons of mass destruction being manufactured and stock- piled in Iraq. The President tried to convince the American public that invading Iraq would help keep America safe from an immediate threat from Saddam Hussein as well as aid the U.S. and the world in the war against terrorism. Right from the beginning there was opposition to the war by many of Americas allies. France, Germany, and Russia made it clear from the beginning that they would not participate in this endeavor. Although Tony Blair, Prime Minister of England, allied his country with the U.S., almost three quarters of the people of Britain did not support military action against Iraq. Donald Rumsfield, Secretary of Defense, informed the allies not aligned with the United States, that we had little interest in their opinions and their willingness to assist in this war. He made it clear that the United States would go into Iraq alone if necessary, with the implication that the allies would be dragged along. The assumption by the U.S. political regime in power was that these nations would be forced to join in because of their historical deference to the United States. Initially, the Iraqi people saw the U...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

вHector and Andromache

After examining the encounter between Hector and Andromache, I gained a better understanding of the relations between men and women in Homeric Greece. On the surface, it seems as though there is nothing unusual about their marriage or the way they interact under the given circumstances. However, after scrutinizing the scene several more times, I was able to infer even more about their relationship. It is clear that Hector and Andromache care very much for each other. From Andromache's perspective, her response to the situation seems natural and justifiable. Even by today's standards, no wife wants to see her husband go off to war. For that reason, it shows that she loves Hector, and even expresses that she needs him, by begging him not to join the front lines in battle. She explains how he is "everything" to her, and that if he were to die, that she and their child would be left with nothing. If Andromache's actions epitomize the role of women in Homeric Greece, then it can be argued that women very much respected and cared for their husbands and loved ones, and felt pain when they lost them. Hector fulfills the male role in this scene by replacing major priorities such as family and love with honor and glory. As Andromache states, Hector is a man possessed by courage, which will only kill him in the end. While he obviously cares for his wife and son, and worries about what will happen to them once he dies, he is still the "protector" above all else. Ironically, fighting and dying with his fellow Trojans seems more important to him than actually staying back with his family to protect them. His courage and fate on the battlefield take precedence over his duty as husband and father at home. This was probably a major characteristic of most men in that society. The scene described in The Iliad is actually very common in present day society. We see this type of situation illuminated every day in real life and in t...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Psychological and cultural insights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Psychological and cultural insights - Essay Example The binary nature of the ethnic perception has created two distinct cultural segments â€Å"the east and the west†. The segments are not only geographically separated by political borders but are also diversified in terms of psychographic nature of the residing people ((Luo, 2008). On a geographical perspective, the western countries include the nations like the UK, USA, France, Germany, etc and on contrary the eastern countries encompasses Mainland China, India, UAE, Thailand, etc. Although the geographic distinction is quite apparent, however, that is not the only rationale for diversity of perception. According to The Hofstede Centre (2015), the cultural practices vary largely across national borders. The people bear different psychological profile and engage in different social practices, which is a clear reflection of psychographic diversity.Eng and Bogaert, (2010) mentioned that the psychographic profile of an individual largely influences his perception of a particular stimulus. To put it simply, two individuals belonging from different cultural background is most likely to react differently to a same stimulus. This theory stands corrected in the Watson and Wright’s (2000) study of ethnocentric consumer behaviour. A consumer’s perception of a particular brand is largely influenced by his ethnicity. His country of origin and his cultural background plays a major role in deciding the perceived value of a brand. This is mostly because of the fact that an individual designs his perception based on his surroundings.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Scaling the Height of Patriarchy. Tambu in the Novel Nervous Research Paper

Scaling the Height of Patriarchy. Tambu in the Novel Nervous Conditions Faat Kine in Kine and Marcia in Dancehall Queen - Research Paper Example Women of Africa and the African diaspora have been through many challenges that include biased cultural practices, gender discrimination, sexism, racism, economic dependency, among others. Their problems always seem to stem from the fact that they are women. This research aims at exploring the condition of Women of Africa and the Africa diaspora and address some of the challenges that these women face and how they managed to pull through. The research focuses on three women: Tambu from Zimbabwe in the Novel Nervous Conditions (1988), Faat Kine from Senegal in the film Kine (1999) and Marcia in the film Dancehall Queen (1997). The research traces their lives and challenges that they have gone through as women and how their determination enabled them to overcome these challenges in a male dominated society. I will use literary and historical texts, articles, journals, critical essays, books/book chapters, newspapers, interviews, films, and news reports to show that although women have been oppressed based on their gender, some of them did not relent. Through the exploration of the struggles and achievements of these women, my research will address the growing concern about the role of women in social, political and economic spheres and greatly contribute to the campaign of empowering women.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Financial Performance of BAE Systems Plc Research Paper

Financial Performance of BAE Systems Plc - Research Paper Example In addition, historical figures are also reviewed to assess the change and strength of the current results. This paper will review and summarize the financial performance of one of the world's renowned manufacturer of defense systems BAE Systems Plc by making use of financial ratio analysis. To better evaluate the financial performance of BAE, its financial ratios are compared with another competitor within the same industry. Cobham Plc was chosen to be compared with BAE. Finally, outlook in the future of BAE will forecasted based on available information. The threats of terrorism have significantly boost defense systems spending especially for countries like United States. After the September 11 tragedy which shocked the global business environment becomes a grim reminder for nations to improve their defense systems. BAE Systems Plc (BAE) traces its origin to the 7.7 billion merger of Marconi Electronic Systems which is the defense electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company Plc and British Aerospace which specializes in the manufacture of aircraft, ammunition, and naval systems. Out of these prestigious business organizations, its establishment in 1999 equipped with a unique competitive advantage which enables it to position itself as the third largest global defence company and sixth largest US defense company employing 97, 500 highly skilled people. Financial ratio analysis is ... rigin to the 7.7 billion merger of Marconi Electronic Systems which is the defense electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company Plc and British Aerospace which specializes in the manufacture of aircraft, ammunition, and naval systems. Out of these prestigious business organizations, its establishment in 1999 equipped with a unique competitive advantage which enables it to position itself as the third largest global defence company and sixth largest US defense company employing 97, 500 highly skilled people. 2. Financial Ratio Analysis Financial ratio analysis is an essential tool to assess the financial health of a business entity. It enables a financial analyst to highlight specific measures and compare it with the performance of similar business enterprises within the same industry. This tool is currently utilized by business managers, investors, creditors, suppliers, and other decision makers in order to determine the financial performance and well being of a business organisation. Financial ratios are grouped into four broad categories, each showing a different aspect of a company's financial performance. These are profitability ratios, financial leverage ratios, liquidity/solvency ratios, and efficiency ratios. In order to get a deeper insight of BAE's financial performance, its computed financial ratios will be benchmarked with its competitor's Cobham Plc. The rationale of choosing these two business organizations is simple. It should be noted that both of them are regarded as important players in the global defense industry. Being in the same line of business and the same industry, it is right to assume that BAE and Cobham Plc both face the same challenges and opportunities in the sector under consideration. This assumption