.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Community Service

Community service isn’t about padding one’s resume, it isn’t about doing things so that one might be proud and arrogant about it. But it is the dawning realization of to the greater understanding our humanity, our fragility and a greater appreciation of the great lives that so many of us lead and deem to be â€Å"normal† when it pretty much is extraordinary in its own respect relative to many other individuals around the world. I spent my hours, dedicated to Community service, as an intern at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital. Although taking part in this internship was initiated in order to further my knowledge and experience in the medical field, I was taught how to make relations with unknown people that were for the most part, ill. This has been one of the greatest experiences because I got the chance to interact with many different types of people including doctors, nurses, hospital staff members, and patients. This was a double gift for me because my interests in medicine have been greatly expanded and I was given the honor of being able to help those that were in need, whether it was reading a short book to them, or even closing the curtain in their room upon their request. â€Å"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. †- Mahatma Gandhi. This quote summarizes my experience at the hospital, where I was able to find myself in respect to humanity. When I first got notice that I would be working in a hospital, I was ambivalent: thrilled that I would finally get a chance to experience first-hand what people of the health profession feel, and reluctant because of the atmosphere that would surround me for three hours of a day. Though my intuitions were right to some extent, I didn’t even get a chance to notice the shortcomings of my internship at the hospital. I was always busy with some job or another; from patient interaction to clerical work, my hands were always busy. The first day I went to serve my time at the hospital was quite possibly one of the most enlightened days of my life. I learned more in the three hours than I would in a week if I were to go straight home. Throughout the winter term internship at NSLIJ Hospital I was able to observe a vast array of medical specialties. I learned what it means to be a part of the medical field, and the responsibilities that go along with that. I spent the majority of my time at the hospital shadowing doctors as they went about their daily practices: seeing patients, performing procedures, analyzing test results, collaborating with other doctors, etc. This internship was incredibly valuable as it opened my eyes to time, dedication, and care it takes to become a good doctor. Every few weeks, the interns would switch positions, so that everyone could be a part of most, if not all, departments. There was the ICU, for burn victims; the Children’s Ward, for newborns and infants; the Clerical section, where filing took place; etc. If we were lucky enough, we got the chance to see an actual birth taking place, of course the permission of both the doctor and patient was need along with a strong stomach. In my opinion, the hospital internship is one of the most effective ways in not only putting a person who wants to pursue a career in the health professions on the right path, but also in interacting with people of all sorts. The best thing about this experience was that I was able to put a smile on people’s faces. I received more than just knowledge and experience from taking part in this internship- I received blessings. What more can a person ask for? It was an elderly woman that said â€Å"God Bless You† to me after I had helped her to sit up on her bed. I encourage anyone and everyone to participate in a program similar to this one, because it was beneficial to me in many ways. I was enlightened in the field of medicine and gained experience, I got a chance to build on my people skills, and best of all, I was the source of even the little amount of happiness that I was capable of providing to the people around me! Community Service Community service isn’t about padding one’s resume, it isn’t about doing things so that one might be proud and arrogant about it. But it is the dawning realization of to the greater understanding our humanity, our fragility and a greater appreciation of the great lives that so many of us lead and deem to be â€Å"normal† when it pretty much is extraordinary in its own respect relative to many other individuals around the world. I spent my hours, dedicated to Community service, as an intern at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital. Although taking part in this internship was initiated in order to further my knowledge and experience in the medical field, I was taught how to make relations with unknown people that were for the most part, ill. This has been one of the greatest experiences because I got the chance to interact with many different types of people including doctors, nurses, hospital staff members, and patients. This was a double gift for me because my interests in medicine have been greatly expanded and I was given the honor of being able to help those that were in need, whether it was reading a short book to them, or even closing the curtain in their room upon their request. â€Å"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. †- Mahatma Gandhi. This quote summarizes my experience at the hospital, where I was able to find myself in respect to humanity. When I first got notice that I would be working in a hospital, I was ambivalent: thrilled that I would finally get a chance to experience first-hand what people of the health profession feel, and reluctant because of the atmosphere that would surround me for three hours of a day. Though my intuitions were right to some extent, I didn’t even get a chance to notice the shortcomings of my internship at the hospital. I was always busy with some job or another; from patient interaction to clerical work, my hands were always busy. The first day I went to serve my time at the hospital was quite possibly one of the most enlightened days of my life. I learned more in the three hours than I would in a week if I were to go straight home. Throughout the winter term internship at NSLIJ Hospital I was able to observe a vast array of medical specialties. I learned what it means to be a part of the medical field, and the responsibilities that go along with that. I spent the majority of my time at the hospital shadowing doctors as they went about their daily practices: seeing patients, performing procedures, analyzing test results, collaborating with other doctors, etc. This internship was incredibly valuable as it opened my eyes to time, dedication, and care it takes to become a good doctor. Every few weeks, the interns would switch positions, so that everyone could be a part of most, if not all, departments. There was the ICU, for burn victims; the Children’s Ward, for newborns and infants; the Clerical section, where filing took place; etc. If we were lucky enough, we got the chance to see an actual birth taking place, of course the permission of both the doctor and patient was need along with a strong stomach. In my opinion, the hospital internship is one of the most effective ways in not only putting a person who wants to pursue a career in the health professions on the right path, but also in interacting with people of all sorts. The best thing about this experience was that I was able to put a smile on people’s faces. I received more than just knowledge and experience from taking part in this internship- I received blessings. What more can a person ask for? It was an elderly woman that said â€Å"God Bless You† to me after I had helped her to sit up on her bed. I encourage anyone and everyone to participate in a program similar to this one, because it was beneficial to me in many ways. I was enlightened in the field of medicine and gained experience, I got a chance to build on my people skills, and best of all, I was the source of even the little amount of happiness that I was capable of providing to the people around me! Community Service Community service isn’t about padding one’s resume, it isn’t about doing things so that one might be proud and arrogant about it. But it is the dawning realization of to the greater understanding our humanity, our fragility and a greater appreciation of the great lives that so many of us lead and deem to be â€Å"normal† when it pretty much is extraordinary in its own respect relative to many other individuals around the world. I spent my hours, dedicated to Community service, as an intern at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital. Although taking part in this internship was initiated in order to further my knowledge and experience in the medical field, I was taught how to make relations with unknown people that were for the most part, ill. This has been one of the greatest experiences because I got the chance to interact with many different types of people including doctors, nurses, hospital staff members, and patients. This was a double gift for me because my interests in medicine have been greatly expanded and I was given the honor of being able to help those that were in need, whether it was reading a short book to them, or even closing the curtain in their room upon their request. â€Å"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. †- Mahatma Gandhi. This quote summarizes my experience at the hospital, where I was able to find myself in respect to humanity. When I first got notice that I would be working in a hospital, I was ambivalent: thrilled that I would finally get a chance to experience first-hand what people of the health profession feel, and reluctant because of the atmosphere that would surround me for three hours of a day. Though my intuitions were right to some extent, I didn’t even get a chance to notice the shortcomings of my internship at the hospital. I was always busy with some job or another; from patient interaction to clerical work, my hands were always busy. The first day I went to serve my time at the hospital was quite possibly one of the most enlightened days of my life. I learned more in the three hours than I would in a week if I were to go straight home. Throughout the winter term internship at NSLIJ Hospital I was able to observe a vast array of medical specialties. I learned what it means to be a part of the medical field, and the responsibilities that go along with that. I spent the majority of my time at the hospital shadowing doctors as they went about their daily practices: seeing patients, performing procedures, analyzing test results, collaborating with other doctors, etc. This internship was incredibly valuable as it opened my eyes to time, dedication, and care it takes to become a good doctor. Every few weeks, the interns would switch positions, so that everyone could be a part of most, if not all, departments. There was the ICU, for burn victims; the Children’s Ward, for newborns and infants; the Clerical section, where filing took place; etc. If we were lucky enough, we got the chance to see an actual birth taking place, of course the permission of both the doctor and patient was need along with a strong stomach. In my opinion, the hospital internship is one of the most effective ways in not only putting a person who wants to pursue a career in the health professions on the right path, but also in interacting with people of all sorts. The best thing about this experience was that I was able to put a smile on people’s faces. I received more than just knowledge and experience from taking part in this internship- I received blessings. What more can a person ask for? It was an elderly woman that said â€Å"God Bless You† to me after I had helped her to sit up on her bed. I encourage anyone and everyone to participate in a program similar to this one, because it was beneficial to me in many ways. I was enlightened in the field of medicine and gained experience, I got a chance to build on my people skills, and best of all, I was the source of even the little amount of happiness that I was capable of providing to the people around me!

Friday, August 30, 2019

Cubism as a Modern Movement

Midterm Essay Exam Analytical & Synthetic Cubism and Modern Art Analytical Cubism, invented by Pablo Picasso and Georges Baroque, is the artistic style of creating shapes and details that represent an object or person. Braque's Violin and Palette (Figure 1 below) is a great example of Analytical Cubism. Baroque took an object, the violin, and broke it down into a series of shapes that merely represent what a violin is from multiple points of view. â€Å"l no longer believe in anything. Objects don't exist for me except in so far as a rapport exists between them r between them and myself.When one attains this harmony, one reaches a sort of intellectual non-existence what I can only describe as a state of peace which makes everything possible and right. Life then becomes a perpetual revelation. That is true poetry,† Georges Baroque. Figure 1, Georges Braque's Violin and Palette Synthetic Cubism, also developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Baroque, slowly got developed through an alytical cubism. They developed it by repeating analytic designs in their work thus generalizing the objects even more making them more metrically simple and flat.Collage was a huge part of the synthetic style, replacing painted objects with the actual object glues onto the canvas. Picasso Still Life with Chair Caning (Figure 2 below) is an excellent example of synthetic cubism. Synthetic cubism's use of art made by artists combined with art made by manufacturer and is often said to be the first Pop Art. â€Å"In Cubism, in the end what was important is what one wanted to do, the intention one had. And that one cannot paint,† Pablo Picasso. Figure 2, Picasso Still Life with Chair Caning Their are quite a few distinct differences between Analytical and Synthetic Cubism.The first and most relevant being the use of collage in synthetic but not in analytic cubism. For example instead of Picasso painting the chair caning into the painting of his Still Life with Chair Caning, he si mply attached it onto the the picture as if it belonged onto the canvas. Compare that to how Baroque made the violin in Violin and Palette, everything is painted onto the picture and is somewhat recognizable as the object from which it represents. Analytical Cubism still had an element of three dimensionality whereas Synthetic Cubism lost all sense of three dimensional space and was Just two dimensional and flat.Analytical Cubism also involved using muted colors so the focus was on composition and the change of perspective while Synthetic Cubism used bright colors as well as graphics, words, and other media. Synthetic Cubism also had much more distinct geometrical patterns and textures. Analytical Cubism paved the way modern art breaks traditional meaner of how things are represented. It abandons perspective and dispenses with realistic enduring of figures and objects and replaces that by making representational shapes in the composition. Background is blended into foreground.Synthe tic Cubism paved the way for Pop Art using other media based matter and integrating it into the composition. â€Å"Cubism paved the way for geometric abstract art by putting an entirely new emphasis on the unity between the depicted scene in a picture, and the surface of the canvas. Its innovations would be taken up by the likes of Piety Mandarin, who continued to explore its use of the grid, its abstract system of signs, and its shallow pace,† (Wolf). Cubism was the first step of modern art towards abstraction. Cubism focused on developing a way of viewing that reflected the modern age.Technological advances lead to the rise of this new style, with the invention of cars, planes, cameras, phones, sound recording and cinematography, artists needed a new way of conveying these objects and advances. Cubism directly influenced Futurism, Vortices, Supremacist, Constructivism, and Expressionism. Modern art's time period includes approximately from the sass's to the sass's, cubism t akes place in the early sass's so it falls into his time frame. Modern art is art that usually dissociates the traditional style of art and experimenting with new ways of seeing the world around them.Modern art moves away from the narrative and becomes more and more abstract. This clearly fits into the cubist movement the Picasso and Baroque created. The concept of Modern Art is based on the modern thought, character, and practice of Modernism. It developed from the rise of industries, rapid growth of city life, and first world war. Modernism reflects the rise of the changes in traditional thinking that were considered to be outdated, these include art, architecture, literature, religion, social structure, and daily life.This change in thinking resulted in the the gradual change to modern art and modernism. Both forms of cubism, analytical and synthetic, follow this practice. Seeing everyday life and life's objects and figures in a new way is what cubism is. Braque's violin in Violi n and Palette and Picasso Still Life with Chair Caning show this style of thought process. Braque's violin shows every view point and angle of a violin all at the same time, challenging the idea of traditional thinking.All of the above mentioned subjects reflect on how both analytical and synthetic cubism are a part of the modern movement and how the two are different from each other. They both challenge traditional thinking and art by changing the way the world is seen and what art can be. The differences between the two include execution, the use or disuse of collage, and the color schemes involved in both. Analytic cubism doesn't use collage techniques, has a muted color palette, and is more three dimensional. Synthetic cubism uses collage techniques, has more a more vibrant lour palette, and is very two dimensional.Both are a part of modernism and both heavily influenced many of the art movements that appeared later in the modern art era. â€Å"Cubism came about because, in the process of analyzing form, something that lay in the form, a plane, could be lifted out to float on its own†¦ † Joseph Plackets). Graphic Champs De Mars: La Tour Rouge. Robert Delaney Bibliography Baroque, Georges. Cubism Art Quotes. Picasso, Pablo. Cubism Art Quotes. Plackets, Joseph. Cubism Art Quotes. Wolf, Justine. 2012. The Art Story Foundation.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

How does inequality help us understand democratization Essay

How does inequality help us understand democratization - Essay Example Economic inequality is the contrasts between the economic conditions of different persons or various groups (2). Kelly argued that inequality is social differentiation accompanied by differential moral evaluation. According to him, it is clear that inequality is present when socially differentiated groups are subject to cultural evaluations of moral worthiness (473). Inequality helps us understand the need and relevance of democracy and thus to understand democratization. Many researchers have questioned whether more democracy is a cause of more equality or more equality is a cause of more democracy. Evidences and theories show that inequality has negative influences on a democracy and thus inequality helps us understand the need for democratization. Democracy can remain powerful only when there is social stability and people are free from intense conflict. Inequality has always been a key to social anarchy and social conflicts. According to Muller, income inequality has negative impacts on a country’s level of democracy and it is grounded in the theoretical preposition that extreme inequality generates intense and irreconcilable conflicts that are in turn incompatible with stable democracy (990). Muller concluded with his empirical findings that higher levels of inequality were a reason to decline the levels of democracy during the period of 1965 to 1980 (991). Midlarsky argued that in the cross national literatures, economic equality, democratization and economic development are positively related. According to him, the evidences have proved that political participation and democratization are greater at higher levels of economic development (110). As long as there is high level of equality in a community, the political involvement and democratization will gradually grow and then to achieve economic development as well. If there is higher level of inequality, in contrast, the economic development will be comparatively lower.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Swot or FDI analysis on Human Development Indext in International Essay

Swot or FDI analysis on Human Development Indext in International busines - Essay Example To support international business the government has had to create a number of policies that are in line with the HDI measures. Human development is supported by the ability of the population to access a variety of products and services affordably. Infrastructure is therefore key to human development (Ranis, Stewart, & Samman, 2006). Since the inception of international business by the Economic committee, international business has been designated as the lifeblood for economic growth of Singapore and the impact the same has on both the finance and the logistics sectors of this economy. The SWOT based on HDI in relation to international business include: Strength- Existence of attractive trade infrastructure hence a huge trader in world oil. There is wide connectivity in terms of business and physical location (Chowdhury, & Squire, 2006). Political stability is a key requirement for international business to thrive. Weaknesses are much unwelcome as they discourage FDI and global business in the long run: these include; less pool of local professionals in trade with costs such as rent and wages rocketing high. In addition there is limited access to capital and export credit insurance. The opportunities on the other hand are vast including the international access of markets and the increased liberalization of Asia as well as demand for risk management. We experience a few threats including other locations offering better incentives and an increase in direct trade. The increased access to international business has an impact on overall Human Development Index (HDI) as the population will be able to improve in terms of living standards given the trade in variety (Chowdhury, & Squire, 2006). Human development index is directly related to the strengths and opportunities presented by the access to international business. This is due to the fact that the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Social Networking and Enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Social Networking and Enterprise - Essay Example Introduction The use of social media for the enhancement of organizational performance has been highly expanded the last years. In fact, since the appearance of social media and social networking, the terms of competition in the market have been changed. Businesses tend to focus on social media and social networking even if risks have not been eliminated. In banks and financial institutions the use of social media has an important implication: it can threaten the data stored in these organizations’ IT systems (Business Wire 2012). The case of Wells Fargo proves that social media can be successfully embraced in banks, even if changes are required so that the relevant framework to become more effective. The potential benefits of social media and social networking for Wells Fargo are explored in this case. It is proved that the organization is highly developed in terms of social media; still, the development of certain policies could allow the organization to improve its social p resence, even in the long term. 2. Main Findings 2.1 Advantages and disadvantages of social networking presence for Wells Fargo 2.1.1 Social Networking and Social Media in business environment Social networking has become a quite popular practice in organizations worldwide. In order to understand the potential value of social networking for modern businesses it would be necessary to explain primarily its general context, as described in relevant literature. According to Daft (2009) the term ‘social networking’ reflects a framework that offers to its users the potentials of ‘peer-to-peer communication and sharing of information’ (Daft 2009, p.312). In other words, social networking represents an ‘online community the members of which can interact and share personal data, information and opinions’ (Daft 2009, p.312, Figure 1). Waddill and Marquardt (2011) note that social networking refers mostly to the ‘online clustering of individuals int o groups’ (Waddill and Marquardt 2011, p.237). The terms under which these groups are developed are depended on the rules of each social networking site, as aligned with existing legislation in regard to online activities and communication. The organizations that employ social media and social networking in their daily activities are also known as social organizations (Bradley and McDonald 2011, p.18). These organizations are aware of the value of social networking and social media and are capable of using these frameworks not only for increasing their performance but also for establishing a long-lasting relationship with their stakeholders (Bradley and McDonald 2011, p.18). The level at which social networking is currently used in businesses worldwide is significant, but still there are prospects for further growth (Waddill and Marquardt 2011, p.237). In 2008 the business journal McKinsey Quarterly developed a survey in regard to ‘the use of second-generation web techn ologies, known as Web 2.0’ (Daft 2009, p.312). The survey showed that just a 28% of the organizations had incorporated social networking in their daily operations (Daft 2009, p.312). In regard to the other forms of advanced Internet technologies, such as blogs and wikis, the relevant percentages were significantly higher: 34%.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Is political art possible In your response, concentrate on three works Essay

Is political art possible In your response, concentrate on three works with political claims and objectives - Essay Example Particularly when the artist chooses to depict recognizable subjects, future generations of viewers are able to glean some sense of how the people lived by thoroughly examining changes in depictions from one generation of artists to another, watching for deliberate misrepresentation of images and juxtaposition of elements, all of which can provide clues as to the underlying social and political structures of the era. Attempts to understand these deeper elements of art can be improved by coming to a greater understanding of literature, whose expression is closely connected to the concepts underlying artistic practices. Social theorists and academics commonly look to literature as a means of achieving greater understanding of events such as massive cultural shifts like that experienced during the post-war period and cultural hybridity. Because these concepts are difficult to define or explain, literature offers the necessary examples and analogies which bridge gaps in understanding and pose new questions to be watched for in the artworks produced. The idea of cultural hybridity has taken on great significance since the mid-20th century as social and cultural shifts prompted by globalization have had increasing impact on our world. Although commonly employed to refer to the effects of pre-war colonialism, in which a technologically dominant society overpowers a less developed nation, the concepts that have emerged from studies into cultural hybridity have taken on new significance in light of globalization and transnationalism as the artist attempts to depict the mood of an entire nation. The concepts and aftereffects of colonialism became a subject of great consideration during the postwar period particularly within the academic world and have recently, within the past few decades, become the focus of a number of political artworks and artists. â€Å"Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another† (Kohn). O riginally, colonialism was thought to apply only to the specific action of moving people from a dominant territory, like England, to a new territory, like Africa, for permanent purposes. This type of relocation effort is also commonly characterized by the expectation that those relocated individuals will continue to cling to their home rule standards of living even within the bounds of the new location. In other words, settlers were expected to adhere to their former modes of dress, behavior styles and observe the cultural standards of their original home country rather than attempt to in with or adopt the standards of the people already living in the area. Regardless of their status in the home country, these settlers were given the impression that it was their task to convince the local people to change their ‘heathen’ or ‘uncivilized’ ways so they might come into compliance with the colonizing culture’s ideals and thus be able to compete on the 'h igher' or 'better' level. Although there were reasons why this deliberate attempt to replace entire cultures was considered justifiable, the attempt was also perhaps unavoidable. The practice of colonization was considered to be important to the global community because â€Å"a temporary period of political dependence or tutelage was necessary in order for ‘uncivilized’ societies to advance to the point where they were capable of sustaining liberal institutions and self-government†

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The home video game industry pong to xbox 360 online Case Study

The home video game industry pong to xbox 360 online - Case Study Example PlayStation by Sony and Xbox by Microsoft are bitter rivals. The market share of the two is divided and one can outdo the other should innovation kick in. The PlayStation has several features that Xbox does not have. The wireless joysticks are perhaps the best features, then there is Wi-Fi connectivity and a host of several other features. These added featured attract the potential buyers and this is how a market share is created. Genesis was launched in the year 1989, it was first launched in Japan and subsequently in America. Sega a video game company produced games for Genesis, the games were graphically violent. After a few years EA Sports which also produces the FIFA series jumped on the bandwagon, all these companies entered into the new market because all this was incredibly profitable. The FIFA series has become a must have for football fans and it is sold every year in millions. The new entrants were able to capture the market share from their predecessors because they made better games which were appreciated by the fans. They bought copies of the games and the word of mouth also spread this is how they were able to capture the market share. Market leaders lost market share when they failed to innovate and make games of the next level. It is always useful to make better games and keep the fans anticipating but this failed to happen after one point. The new players on the other hand made better games and managed to capture the market share. Developing and commercializing a technology-based product needs a lot of dedication, most importantly it needs innovation. Making something new and unique always helps when it comes to a technology-based product. The case study teaches us about the importance of innovation and knowing your rivals. One must be at least two steps ahead of their rivals all the time only then can one keep growing at a consistent

Saturday, August 24, 2019

New York City Zoning Regulations Vs The Death and Life of American Assignment

New York City Zoning Regulations Vs The Death and Life of American Great Cities - Assignment Example The New York City Zoning Regulations provides rules and guidelines for shaping the city. If compared to architecture and planning, zoning has a short history in it being a means of organizing how land is used. Zoning puts into place the use and size of buildings, the location of the buildings and to a greater extent the diverse neighborhoods’ density of the city. In line with the city’s tax, ability to budget and property condemnation, zoning is an important tool for undertaking planning policy. New York City is known to be a pioneer regarding zoning from the time the first nation’s comprehensive zoning was enacted in 1916. Considering the New York City zoning regulations, we can gauge that, some of these regulations reflect what Jane Jacobs is talking about in her book while some regulations do not reflect her ideas as we are going to discuss them. In her book, Jacobs praised density and concentration as opposed to dispersal and decentralization. Jacobs announces that housing activist Catherine Bauer has derived a perfect term meant for attacking regional planners for example Lewis Mumford. Decentrists proposed decentralizing big cities like New York. They wanted to squeeze them, disorient their enterprises, and dislocate their populations into smaller and separated cities. Decentrists felt that urban streets are bad environment for humans; hence, they recommended building houses away from the street. However, they suggested building houses inward in the direction of sheltered greens. These ideas took over mainstream thinking until Jacobs shoved them away in her book. Jacobs understood the meaning that density gives critical mass. Density means good services, good stores, restaurants and cafes. It also means safety in thatthere is life in the street and round the clock activity. NYC zoning regulations reflect this idea by allowing centralization in its policy. This has greatly improved safety in the city nowadays not only because of security by the police department in fighting crime strategically but because there are always people in the streets whether its day time or night time. This idea is one of Jacob’s brilliant contributions. As she writes, â€Å"There must be sufficiently dense concentration of people, for whateve4r purposes they may be there. This includes dense concentration in the case of people who are there because of residence†. Within this concept that is critic lays several others as we continue. Greenwich Villag e was another of Jacob’s important urban lab, the denser but mainly low-rise, working-class neighborhood. As a small-town girl, she took her lessons with respect to proper urban behavior as shown by her neighbors. Like Bernie Jaffe, who owned the candy store and who guides small children traversing the street; Joe Cornacchia, who owned corner deli and kept her keys in case of visitors and emergencies; the locksmith Mr. Lacey, the one who bawled the son of Jacob for running into traffic then he reported him to his dad. Jacobs respected and celebrated working class households plus their conservative, old-world although socially attentive morals. Ethnic neighborhoods emptied out into the suburbs, either voluntarily or coercively under urban renewal. However, Jacobs for saw tragedy in their departure, she admired their territoriality and their commerce enterprises which were frequently held in contempt to be too parochial and insignificant by intellectuals and the government offi cials. Divisively

Analysis of Movie Posters (Pirates of the Caribbean) Essay

Analysis of Movie Posters (Pirates of the Caribbean) - Essay Example The main poster for Pirates of the Caribbean is very amazing. This poster was designed specifically to announce the debut of the movie and the first screening. This poster was created in the US to help create awareness of the new movie. The poster is a typical representation of movies of this genre characterized with a lot of graphic images. Its design, the use of color and images is completely attractive and persuasive for one to go see the movie. The most standing out features of the poster include the title, which has been written in a large artistic font at the bottom of the poster; names of the main actors placed at the top of the poster, a large image in the foreground of one of the main actors and a background image of a ship in stormy water. The date of the movie, which is written in red color at the bottom left corner of the poster and the name of the institution behind the movie as well as the available formats for the movie are also outstanding and give the audience someth ing to look forward to. The poster has mainly used dark colors such as black and grey in the background to create a psychological effect of war (Noble 135). The background image of the ship in a stormy sea represents a scene in the movie that takes place when the ship is attacked. This image has been used to create an urge among the viewers to go to movie theatres to watch what exactly happens in the scene. The date for showing the movie has been written in red color for it to stand out. ... Its design, the use of color and images is completely attractive and persuasive for one to go see the movie. The most standing out features of the poster include the title, which has been written in a large artistic font at the bottom of the poster; names of the main actors placed at the top of the poster, a large image in the foreground of one of the main actors and a background image of a ship in stormy water. The date of the movie, which is written in red color at the bottom left corner of the poster and the name of the institution behind the movie as well as the available formats for the movie are also outstanding and give the audience something to look forward to. The poster has mainly used dark colors such as black and grey in the background to create a psychological effect of war (Noble 135). The background image of the ship in a stormy sea represents a scene in the movie that takes place when the ship is attacked. This image has been used to create an urge among the viewers t o go to movie theatres to watch what exactly happens in the scene. The date for showing the movie has been written in red color for it to stand out. This would enable people o easily know when the movie will be showing. It is the only red color on the poster and could also have the psychological effect of expressing danger thus indicating the extent of violence in the movie. The formats of the movie such as digital 3D and Imax 3D have been written in large font at the bottom of the poster to inform the viewers of the various forms of the movie so that they can decide on their preferred option. The title of the movie stands out as having the largest artistic font together with an image of a human skull with two swords to

Friday, August 23, 2019

Merger and Acquisition in China Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Merger and Acquisition in China - Coursework Example This was undertaken in the form of a qualitative study as the author was obtaining subjective information relating to the failure of this merger/acquisition. This was undertaken in the form of primary research. The qualitative methods were also chosen as the information obtained was used to develop themes and form conclusions on the reasons behind the collapse of the DANONE and Wahaha Group deal (Cooper and Schindler 2003, Creswell 2003, Hair et al 2003, Saunders et al 2003) that will be useful for determining the advantages and disadvantages of establishing mergers and acquisitions in the Chinese market. The primary research with the head of Wahaha demonstrated the lack of openness or the no willingness to discuss this issue in great detail. The benefits derived by China from its merger and acquisitions activity with developed nations include increased development and economic activity. The benefits also include the acquisition of new technology, knowledge and skills, which would ha ve otherwise taken significantly longer to achieve, and for a relatively lower price. However, the main disadvantages are that of the lack of knowledge of mergers and acquisitions as they are mainly driven by the developed world. Mergers and acquisitions do occur in China regularly, but this is different to such activities with companies that are not Chinese. Table of Contents Table of Contents 4 1.0 Introduction 5 1.2 Significance of the study 10 1.3 Research objectives 11 1.5 Research model 12 2.1 Mergers and Acquisitions and the Stock Market 15 2.1.1 The merger and acquisition environment 16 2.2 Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions 18 2.2.1 Cross Border problems faced by Chinese companies 20 2.2.2 Countermeasures faced by Chinese companies 22 2.4 Business Culture 26 2.5 Introduction to Case Study 27 3.0 Methodology 28 4.0 Results 33 4.1 Primary Research 33 4.2 Secondary Research 34 5.0 Discussion 49 6.0 Conclusion 56 6.1 Recommendations 59 6.2 Limitations 60 7.0 References 61 1.0 Introduction The open door policy initiated by Deng Xiaoping in China in1992 with the intention to push forward China's economic progress brought in considerable wealth in the form of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) (Galbraith, 2000). This policy enabled institutional change (North 1990), which in turn created opportunities for investment into the Chinese economy. What was different about this policy was that it was a gradual change and not a sudden change as experienced in other developing countries, which led to bankruptcies and high costs (Campbell and Lindberg 1991). This policy also placed emphasis on foreign capital policy, the foreign exchange system, and it also offered promising conditions for foreign investors (Galbraith, 2000). This policy has since reaped dividends given that the main mode for FDI into the Chinese economy has been through foreign funded and joint venture companies. This has also reflected in figures which show that between 1990 and 1996, China managed to attract appr oximately $230 billion of foreign capital, with 20% of that amount coming from developing nations (Galbraith, 2000). However, the open door policy

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Analyze 3 different newspaper articles Essay Example for Free

Analyze 3 different newspaper articles Essay In this piece of coursework I am going to analyze 3 different newspaper articles. The articles are taken from The Mirror, The Times and Newsweek All three articles are about the same event, they are just portrayed in the different ways. The articles are about a jet cutting through a cable car wire allowing the cable cars to plummet to the ground, killing 20 people. The incident happened on the 3rd of February 1998, Cavalese, Northern Italy, on Alpe Cermis. The first two articles from The Mirror and The Times are reporting the story where as Newsweek is reflecting on the accident, Newsweek also issues the story a week and a half late, therefore cannot report the facts but reflect on them. Newsweek doesnt contain that much information on what actually happened in Cavalese, it skips over the details of the accident and seems to be more about what Europe, and in particular Italy are concerned about. The Mirror article tends to leave certain facts out, such as the time it occurred, which is included in The Times account. Newsweek provided no date of the event but say last week The Times article is definitely more factual as it contains a lot more technical jargon than The Mirror. It includes information about the U. S. fighter jet The Prowler is used to jam enemy signals electronically. none of which is found in The Mirror article, Newsweek also contains information about the fighter jet and also information about the military issues between America and Italy. The Mirror account includes a greater amount of detail, by listing the names of each of the witnesses alongside their quotations. In The Times, it tends to be vague and just use the term one witness said. Newsweek uses quotes from military officials and local authorities. The Times and Newsweeks report relies heavily on official interviews rather than the passers by which The Mirror relies upon. The Mirror also includes more quotations from the witnesses than The Times does. Newsweek does not use any quotations or interviews from eye-witnesses at the scene. Both The Mirror and The Times specify who the victims were 9 women, 10 men and 1 child. And also their nationalities at least 6 were German, 2 Hungarian and 2 Polish. This causes a greater sympathy because it makes the deaths seem more important and more in depth. But Newsweek says 20 tourists from seven European countries but it is reported it is only tourists from 3 different European countries. Even the sub-headline says that Europe questions Americas character. This all starts to confuse the reader and so does not give an accurate picture of the incident. The words used also try to disagree with the facts of the incident. Words like griped and claimed both suggest that there was nothing wrong and everyone was ganging up against America. In The Times, the witness interviewed is not British, so the Times keeps the story international. An unreasonable complaint is made in the first line, which may show their guilt: Cavalese had griped about the fighter jets that regularly roar up their Alpine river valley. In addition to this the paper attempts diluting the blame by saying that the fighter jets were just hot-dogging, also claiming that the Italian authorities condone low-flying: Italian military officials routinely defended low level flights Finally, the last paragraph of the report supplies an extravagantly tenuous link: The pope had personally pleaded for the convicted murderer to be pardoned. This is designed to conceal. All three articles made use of interviews, but the manner in which they were used differed; For example in The Mirror, a British couple, Neil Harmar and his girlfriend, Stacey ODonnell, gave a lengthy interview and informed us that they missed the second car by minutes. They said that all hell let loose and stated that they were shook up. Furthermore, they described the village as being in a state of complete pandemonium. The couple reiterated how thankful they were that they missed that car, and the fact that they were incredibly lucky to be alive. Even though the British couple did not provide a lot of information about the incident itself, they did help to describe the atmosphere and their feelings on the situation. The British couple were interviewed primarily because of the fact that they were British; the target audience of this British paper are British people, therefore, the majority of people would be interested in hearing about events concerning British citizens. All three articles had interviews with people who possessed various details about the aircraft prior to it hitting the cable car wire. In The Mirror, this interview was quite brief. Cristina Antoniazzi, the owner of a nearby hotel, said that she heard and saw a plane flying at a very low level. This message was also present in an interview in The Times. An anonymous witness said that the jet had seemed to have technical trouble, and described the jet as screaming through the sky like a thing in torment. Another source in The Times also stated that the jet had been flying very, very low. All three of these interviews were supplied using direct speech. In contrast, the interview in Newsweek was given using reported speech- Italys Air Force chief, Mario Arpino, said that the Prowler was four miles off course and was also flying 3,300 feet below the altitude designated in the flight plan. These particular interviews were used in order to provide an image of the events immediately before the plane hit the cable car. Each article also had interviews with people who objected to low flying by the Americans. In The Mirror, Regional President, Carlo Andreotti, was quoted as saying Weve had enough of these war games The headline of The Mirrors article is, 20 skiers killed as jet slices cable car wire The writer has used the word skiers to create more sympathy to the people that died as it shows that they were just innocent people on holiday who wanted to have a good time. The headline says killed as to imply it was not totally accidental and could have been prevented, it also shows it was unprovoked. It also says slices as this makes the incident sound more violent and deliberate and gives the reader the idea that there was no chance for the skiers inside the cable car. The article also has a few more presentational devices which the broadsheet the times does not. It has a subtitle Brits tell of horror in snow which relates to the reader as they will be British too and will want to know what this horror is. The first paragraph is in bold, which shows it is different from the rest of the article because it is there to sum up the rest of the article. The article has a box with a quote in it It opened up like a cardboard box This would attract attention to the article if the reader was flicking through the newspaper and would want to know more. At the end of the article there is a big bullet point which contains a fact about cable car accidents. This article uses language to create a much more emotional impact than The Times as it says things like, They were killed instantly when the car was ripped apart like a cardboard box. Using this metaphor is very effective as it makes the people inside seem totally helpless and creates a lot of sympathy for them. They also say, Rescuers found now survivors amid the tangled wreckage and bloodstained snow. I think this is a very effective paragraph and it creates an atmosphere of destruction and complete devastation. A graphical picture of the event in The Mirror lets the readers visualize what the scene of the accident was like, using essential details and words so that the reader can effortlessly understand the unpleasant incident. The Mirror also provides a photographical image of the scene and annotates it using dramatic words such as doomed. The Times shows a map of the area where the event was situated, making readers aware of the location of the tourist venue. And the image of the EA-6B Prowler shows readers the cause of the tragedy. The main image above the text is eye catching in the way it shows workers trying to rescues any survivors. Newsweek not using any pictures, but a headline that will catch attention Blood on the Snow. The sub-heading in a box of two lines standing out making the reader aware of what the article is about. In conclusion the news was best portrayed in The Mirror, it provided names of witnesses making the news much more reliable, and British citizens used as witnesses was also a good way to grad attention of British readers.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Origins of Hip Hop | Essay

The Origins of Hip Hop | Essay 1. Introduction Hip Hop was born in the early 1970s amongst poverty and gang violence in the South Bronx. In the beginning of Hip Hop DJing, MCing, graffiti writing, and break dancing were used as a way to channel the energy of the youth in a more positive way. Thirty years later things have changed, the game is more serious. There is a lot more money involved, there is a lot more at stake, some say it is dead. If so, who killed it? (YouTube 2) In this essay I will look at the growth of Hip Hop as an art form, from its origins in New York through to its transition into the world wide phenomenon we are familiar with today. My main focus will be to explore and understand why so many people seem to be asking the question is Hip Hop dead?. In order to answer the question is Hip Hop dead? it is first necessary to define my understanding of the question. In this essay I will be evaluating the health of Hip Hop, not in terms of its popularity or the money it generates but in terms of its health as an art form: is it still a thriving, growing, developing form or has it stagnated under the weight of its own success? I will be looking at the artistic growth of Hip Hop as well as the effect that commercialisation has had. My essay charts the decline of the rawness that was at the core of Hip Hop in its early phase of development in New York City, when it was recognised and respected for its in the moment personal creativity, where the dancing would bounce off the music, the music off the rapping, and the rapping from the sounds of the streets. 2. The Origins of Hip Hop Hip Hop is an art form that includes rapping rap music, graffiti writing, particular dance styles (including break dancing), specific attire, and a specialized language and vocabulary. (Droppin science p224) To master an art in Hip Hop required a creative and expressive skill, whether it be a physical expression, rhythmical lyrics, vocal percussion, playing with the many aspects of music or graffiti art. Hip Hop is also a cultural movement which grew and developed primarily amongst poor black kids in the streets of the South Bronx, New York City, in the mid to late 1970s. These were young Afro-American kids, descended from slaves bought over from Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries who lived in poor social conditions: broken families, poverty, poor education, lack of any job opportunities and much radical prejudice, and police prejudice. They lived in black ghettos where violence, and death were common. In the same way as their recent ancestors had been enslaved and made to work the plantations of the Southern states in places such as Mississippi and Alabama, they also felt enslaved in a system which seemed to offer them no way out. America condoned the peculiar institution of slavery from 1619 up until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude on December 18, 1865. (Bruno, Anthony (no date) [online]). When slavery was abolished in 1865 (Bruno, Anthony (no date) [online]), and the slaves were suddenly freed, the necessity to work and earn money to survive led them to emigrate to the richer Northern states of America, to cities such as Washington, Chicago and New York, where jobs were available, however low paid. As well as a large number of Africans moving to the Northern Cities, so did many Latinos who had originally emigrated from Mexico, and Puerto. The same attraction of a better life and a chance to make money spurred on their movement North. The Afro-Americans and Latino youth that grew up in the streets of these Northern cities, were the originators of Hip Hop. However, although Latino groups, particularly in New York, made a huge contribution to Hip Hop, there is no doubt that the main influences on Hip Hop came from the African American population. Lack of education and strong prejudice against African Americans led to the being stuck with the dead end, poorly paid jobs and these conditions led to a high level of crime and violence, particularly involvement of drug dealing. To many there seemed no choice, it was either poverty or crime. It is the frustration and anger created by these conditions, especially the lack of any opportunities to improve their situation, that gave rise to the birth of Hip Hop. Hip Hop became that way out, and the music and rhythms of their ancestors were reborn within Hip Hop. The ancient African tribal rhythms and musical traditions travelled with the slaves and remained an important part of the life of an African slave in America, and after 300 years of slavery in the so called Land of the Free the sounds of Old Africa became the new sounds of black America. Rapping, the rhythmic use of spoken or semi-sung lyrics grew from its roots in the tribal chants and the plantation work songs to become, an integral part of black resistance to an oppressive white society. (The roots of Hip Hop, online) Hip Hop, like its direct ancestor, the Blues, were both born out of social deprivation and the determination to use the experience in a positive way, and to escape the clutches of poverty. 3. The Development of Hip Hop YouTube Video 1 briefly shows an interview with a man on the streets of the Bronx, shot in 1986. He talks about how the music programs in the schools of New York would often cut out because of budget problems, and the only way for the kids in the schools to get music lessons would be to pay for them outside of school, which many could not afford. Hip Hop was a new form invented by the kids who struggled with money, and the place they would learn from was on the streets. They used the pieces of music from their roots, their blood, music influences such as blues, gospel and jazz to create a new genre. The genres which their ancestors would have known during the slave trade back in the South of America. A time of similar misery, and expression of the same pain and sorrow in their souls was being called out. For them there were many similarities with their ancestors. Hip Hop was something the youth could get excited about, and have a passion for. It was something that no amount of money or person could get in their way and stop them. And over the few years, whilst not only was Hip Hop gradually developing as a music, dance and art form, so was their range of listeners. More and more people outside of New York were becoming familiar with the genre, and soon an identity had been created for these youths. They had become what they had longed for, a something which was making an impact. Not only were the youth creating the music, dancing to the music but they were living the Hip Hop genre as a way of life. But not at the time were they aware of the size of impact they were going to have on the rest of the world. (YouTube 1, Dropping science 230) It was the disco DJs in the clubs where the roots of the Hip Hop music style began. An interest grew of paying attention to the blending of one track into the next one, as opposed to finishing one and the starting another. The DJs began matching tempos to make a smooth transition. The reaction from the crowds was nothing but excitement as they became witness to gradual build up beats and phases would suddenly put you into a whole new track. (P 12 The rap attack) At a similar time as DJs finding a new and exciting craze in paying attention with and playing around with the beats and tempos of tracks, originally MCing referred to today as rapping was being developed in the streets of the Bronx. Rapping is one of the main elements which had always been at the heart of the Hip Hop genre. It was seen as a skill of rhythmic talking over a funk beat. (P8 The rap attack) Lets Work Together It was not long until these new styled DJs and Rap artists would come together and put the two talents together for everyone around to hear. One of the first DJs to explore this collision was DJ Kool Herc in 1975, who is often referred to today as a godfather of Hip Hop. Another popular DJ at this time was Love Bag Starski, and was known as the first to refer to this new found culture as Hip Hop. With the fast development of rap in the early 80s, rap music records where being played everywhere around America. However in the Bronx the listeners were still excited about the beats of the records and soon became obsessed with what was known as the break of the records, where the lyrics of a track would stop and all that could be heard were the strong beats and rhythms from the drums. (P14 The rap attack) These breaks in the records would be what the listeners would be waiting for, and the dancers to do their thing. This response led DJs to open up their creativity as DJs. From just playing records from start to finish, they would use the breaks as their bass and play around with cutting, repeating, layering, using turntables, extending parts of the records however they wished and felt at the time. Their time of developing a creative identity came. Suddenly the chances of hearing one copy of a James Brown record did not exist. (P14 The rap attack) Around 1973, the new craze of longer lengths of the breaks was reflected in the longer length of improvised moves of the dancers. Soon a new name break-dancer was what these dancers started to call themselves, or b-boys and b-girls for short. The kids who were into the breaks started calling themselves B-Boys and the wild, acrobatic style of dancing which accompanied the playing of the breaks became known as breaking. The better Bronx DJs like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash started mixing two copies of the same record to make the breaks last longer; (The roots of Hip Hop, online) This was when the dancers would be creating the moves that inspired the lay down of Hip Hop dance. (online, Hip Hop History) Bringing it Back to the Streets The vocal percussion called beatboxing, is known to have grown originally as an urban form. The beat box drum machines used to create the breaking that the more established MC and DJ artists were using, could not be afforded by the majority of the Hip Hop creators on the streets. Therefore if the breaks could not be made for them, then they would make the breaks themselves through the skill of beatboxing. These soon established beatboxers were imitating drum sounds and beat patterns using the lips, tongue, mouth, throat, and voice. Its summed up with the image of a guy in a hoodie with his hands cupped over his mouth spitting and making wonderful noises. (The Real History of Beatboxing: Part 2) Hip Hop Dance The gangs of the Bronx strongly influenced the development of the Hip Hop dance style. The gang experience and forced hard and strong persona they was almost required to be taken seriously among the streets can been seen of an influence in the dance of Hip Hop. More specifically the dance style uprocking. Before gangs were going into battle, it was known that they would perform a particular dance in order to get the adrenaline running and bring an aggressive nature to the surface. The gang members would carry out movements that would resemble actions that would take place in moments of violence with an enemy. The dance would consist of kicks and strikes between the dancers. (P229 Droppin Science) In the early days, Hip Hop dance was an outwardly body expression specific to that person and their feelings spurred on from the beats and rhythms in the music being heard. The style has adopted a large range of different skills which have developed over time. The dance includes breaking, popping, locking, and free styling, while its movements indulge jumps, breakages, and rotations. Such elements make this dance style amazingly explosive and truly informal. (Hip Hop Dancing) Hip Hop dance has received a renowned respect for being a genre which demands such a high level of personal creativity. Just like the musicians, the dancers develop their own identity to how they dance, and they cannot be wrong. Dance genres such as ballet, demands a specifically noticeable technical ability which normally requires years of intense training. Hip Hop however enables an openness that most genres do not, a freedom to move however you wish. The only requirement which can be seen is an understanding and respect as a creative culture. (Hip Hop Dancing) What made Hip Hop dance so interesting when being performed in the Bronx was the ability to see such a range of new moves, new ideas, new ways of expressing. However with Hip Hop dance today, in the music videos created in the money making world, how often do we see a range of creativity? In my opinion hardly ever. Sure the choreography might involve different steps, but it will almost definitely involve a focus on female dancers, carrying out a version of booty-shaking, torso popping and hair flicking. Moves which emphasises the woman figure and create a more sexual orientated atmosphere. There is no denying that the attention to the movement of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦bum.. does not link back to moves that would have been found in African history, but Hip Hop in its original day was not all about just that. Just like how many more times can a Hip Hop artist swear in a song, how many more times can a Hip Hop dancer booty-shake? Not much more. Booty-shaking that existed originally as one of many Hip Hop moves has been taken and pushed forward to be portrayed as what Hip Hop dance is. The money making corporate world knows that sex sells, and to them the more sexy moves the better. Graffiti Graffiti is another of the main expressive elements that made up the Hip Hop culture. Graffiti represented the visual, emceeing and DJ produced the music, and B-Boying was the dance. In the early days of hip-hop, all of these elements were deeply intertwined. (graffiti and Hip Hop, online) Graffiti was normally an expression of the political activists in Hip Hop, people who wanted to mark their territory. Graffiti would be found all around the city, particularly on subways. People suddenly did not have to visit the Hispanic parts of the city to become face to face with the Hip Hop culture that was emerging, as graffiti was bought to them, a permanent reminded of the current sub-culture that was growing around them. The were adamant for their previously silent voices to be heard. Not long did graffiti progress from a scribbled tag (nickname) or club name on the wall to an elaborate art form emblazoned with Magic Marker and spray paint over every available surface of the subway trains and buildings. (P15 The rap attack) Competition Another element of Hip Hop that separates itself from other genres is how originally it would be performed in the form of a battle, whether it be rapping or break dancing. One side (or sometimes more) would go against another, and each side would take turns to show what they had to offer with a sort of you think your better than us, prove it attitude. This competitive nature stood at the heart of Hip Hop. Not only did it help displace violence and drugs such as heroin, but it also fostered an attitude of creating from limited materials. (P15 The rap attack). These young black men wanted to prove themselves to the world, and with these battles they were suddenly given a chance. I was ironic that these battles only ended up supporting the views of much of white America that young African American males are threatening, and that this then further restricted their entry into the mainstream service economy as well as other areas of mainstream life. (P229 Droppin Science) 4. The Social Impact of Hip Hop The most noticeable impact Hip Hop had on the community was the decrease conflict between the many established gangs that existed. It was within The Bronx and, to a lesser extent, Harlem that black youths developed their own alternative to the gang warfare that had risen from the dead in the late 1960s to dominate and divide neighbourhoods north of Central Park. (P12 The rap attack) The Savage Seven was the name given to the first known gang that took on the streets of the Bronx. This group of teenagers laid the groundwork for a surge of street gang activity that would overwhelm the Bronx for the next six years. One of the most well-known and influential originators of Hip Hop along with Eric B. and Rakim was Afrika Bambaataa, (more specifically in break-beat dee-jaying) is seen today the Godfather of Hip Hop Culture. Bambaataa, who was once himself not just a member but a leader of the Savage Seven, set up the group Zulu Nation, a Hip Hop group that spoke the message of factology versus beliefs. (Zulu Nation website, online] Hip Hop History) Zulu Nation spoke out of beliefs of right knowledge, right wisdom, right overstanding, right sound reasoning, to bring about right ways and actions. Bambaataa spoke out to the youths of Hip Hop with a message describing the importance of knowledge, wisdom and understanding. (Zulu Nation website) Zulu Nation effectively reached out to the large number of current gang members in the Bronx and show them a chance of an alternate path in life. The African American youths were able to express their frustration and pain now in a way which did not require violence, instead of putting it on one another; they were putting it into Hip Hop. A peacemaking was established. (Dropping Science 213) The school playgrounds, community parks and centres helped bring what were once gang enemies in the ghetto together. The former threatening gangs transformed into relatively harmonious, harmless crews, and the only battling they would have with one another was through the exciting new form of Hip Hop. The gang lives many Afro-American youths had, was never hidden away and ignored in Hip Hop. Instead, the pain and suffering they experienced bought to the forefront of much of the rapping creativity, as a chance to express how they really felt and not be rejected by it became an seized opportunity for many to release their inside emotions. An interesting description of the way Hip Hoppers reacted to media attention and the manipulation is in the book Droppin Science. William Perkins interview with a filmmaker and author of that time Michael Holman describes how the Bronx youth had created a cultural depth and confidence to talk back, when challenged by the media, staying loose, and reacting in a way which most likely spurred on even more attention to how strong the Hip Hop culture had grew to become, they stayed fresh, they maintained that certain volatility that Hip Hop craves. No fear of the end of the world, just fear of being stuck: If you became classifiable, Holman says, you became all the things that kept you in check. (P214 Droppin Science) Through Hip Hops deeply personal and expressive nature, whether it be through words, movement or art we are bought face to face with the reality of the suffering of the African Americans were experiencing at that time. Hip Hop stood out as a form which spoke of stories of everyday life experiences in the streets. (Hip Hops evolution, online) However any positive social impact from Hip Hop in the early days of its development was soon undone when the commercial pressures of the market started to take effect. 5. The Commercialisation of Hip Hop What does the term commercial mean?   It can take on various meanings, but in essence that term is used to label artists who have alienated parts of the hip-hop culture in their work.  (Hip Hop Culture Essay) There is no denying that commercialisation has helped to open up Hip Hop to the rest of the world. Originally Hip Hop was very much an Afro-American art form, however with the commercial world recognising and marketing the genre with music shows such as MTV, the audience range opened up not only to the whites of America, but the rest of the world. A world can now be said to be dominated by Hip Hop in a commercial sense, but perhaps no longer in an artistic sense. However, many people believe that commercial hip-hop has deteriorated from what so many emcees in the 80s tried to build a culture of music, dance, creativity, and artistry that would give people not only something to bob their head to, but also an avenue to express themselves and deliver a positive message to their surroundings. (Droppin Science) For instance, the dancers we see on TV in Hip Hop music videos and on stage with Hip Hop artists today might look like Hip Hop dancers and be able to do Hip Hop dance, but do they really have artistic integrity and spontaneous thrill of the originals danced on the streets of New York? Well, they are not creating the moves; most likely the steps are taught for them to copy and perform. There is little creativity or realness they learn and perfect their moves in studios, not the streets or in the ghetto clubs the realness in that sense is not in Hip Hop anymore. (mrwiggles, online) Also, Hip Hop music has become to rarely live anymore with many performers miming vocals to pre-recorded backing tracks. Thinking on the spot, being under pressure, being unpredictable and real in the moment as you do your thing, was one of the core skills originally associated with being a master of the form. How often today do we see the so called top Hip Hop artists of today think on their feet? Music videos are recorded, re-recorded, played with, special effected, deleted, you name it. We are hardly given the chance to see Hip Hop being presented as one artist showing what they can do, with the microphone, with the floor. The originators of Hip Hop did not just get involved in creativity and performance, they lived the Hip Hop lifestyle. But as soon as Hip Hop gained media attention and respect for its potential, it was not long until big business seized the opportunity to have a piece and shape the artists style in a way which they felt would make money. Vanilla Ice is a clear example of an attempt to change Hip Hop into a more poppy genre of music. Vanilla Ice was a white kid from Florida who was used to try and create a crossover between Hip Hop and pop music; a blatant and widely ridiculed attempt to manufacture a Hip Hop artist with mass appeal. Gangs were still involved in Hip Hop as it grew, and some believe that there was more gang involvement than ever before. We call them the Hip Hop record labels. They may not call themselves gangs, but through the extreme competitiveness of the record companies to be bigger and better than anyone else, the rivalry backbone still remains. The most famous and recognised record company rivalry is between the West Coast and East Coast. The West Coast record label Death Row founded by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight verses the East Coast label, Bad Boy founded by Puffy Combs. The website Knowledgerush says that the rivalry intensified as Hip Hop continued to enter the mainstream in the United States and abroad; more money entered the industry and raised the stakes. The focal point soon came to a head with Tupac Shakur on the west coast and Notorious B.I.G. (Knowledgerush, online) Tupac (West Coast) and Notorious B.I.G. (East Coast) were two talented rappers, who were friends and would occasionally see one another despite the competitiveness between their record labels. Both were murdered within six months of each in 1996 as part of feud between the East and West coast gangs. The obvious explanation behind the deaths of Tupac and Biggy is in the saying an eye for an eye, and was as a result of the rivalry between the record companies. However the most sinister theory fingers Knight for both murders, the founder of Death Row. (Hip-hop homicide, online) TAKE OUT When Tupacs body lay dead waiting for atomisation (autopsied), his infamous tattoos were fully displayed, including his signature phrase, thug life, in large letters in a semi-circle around his abdomen. (Knowledgerush, online) Despite Hip Hops development into a world full of money, the artists of Hip Hop were still living the Hip Hop culture, Hip Hop still remained their life. Many commentators were of the view that the feud between the East and West coast Hip Hop gangs and the deaths of Tupac and BIG were all primarily morivated by money. As the comedian Chris Rock said, when Tupac became worth more dead than alive, it was the end for him. (Bigger and Blacker, Chris Rock). Rivalry still exists today with Ja Rule verses DMX, Eminem verses Benzino and Jay-Z verses Nas. Not much has really changed. Mentioning and dissing of other gangs started to become a major lyrical theme within Hip Hop in the 1990s. MCs began incorporating more varied and stylistic speech, and focused on introducing themselves, shouting out to friends in the audience, and boasting about their own skills, and criticizing their rivals. (Knowledgerush, online) Not surprisingly this would result in their rivals feeling disrespected and seeking revenge. These Hip Hop artists would never work and travel as individuals, they would go around in big groups including others from their record labels, calling it an entourage. A direct link to the gangs that walked New York cannot help but be made. The bigger the entourage, the more of a successful impression they would make on the rest of the world. A genre that was originally aimed to help the stop gang violence in New York, over time has transform into a genre which can not help but seem creating violence, and glorifying gun culture. Hip Hop identity is now a world-wide phenomenon, the cutting edge of global youth culture. The gangsta identity both represents the drama of the streets, but also the merchandizing of the rhymes of violence by profit hungry media companies. As KRS-1 and others tell it, the media companies promote the most outrageous stereotypes of violent, vicious Black youth while ignoring the rappers who represent the positive and political side of ghetto life. (Hip Hop Gangs) Hand in hand with the commercialisation of Hip Hop came far more negative and misogynistic attitudes to women (or bitches as they are widely referred to within Hip Hop). A video youtube3 discusses the use of women in these Hip Hop music videos. One interviewer expresses that women have become adornments, walking objects, portrayed as walking bling. The numbers of girls in videos has increased over the years, going from maybe four or five to forty even fifty. These women are not dressed in a way that can argue this idea, as they are made to wear as little as possible, which most likely turns out to be very revealing underwear or swimwear. Surely the way these videos portray and use women, with the derogatory terms used to describe them questions womanhood today? I recognise that gender is a very key element to the Hip Hop culture in terms of it being a very much male-dominated world, females struggle to match the success levels as the men, and the degrading attitude women are faced with, however I believe to have looked into and covered that would have been a whole essay in itself. I just wish to mention that since Hip Hop has entered the commercial world it has developed into a male dominated genre which portrays women in a disrespectful, objectified and careless way. In its original day, there was never such a strong disregard for women in Hip Hop, and it can only be noticed that it began to have this misogyny opinion when the Hip Hop artist were working with the big music companies. 6. Conclusions Hip Hop came out of a life people were forced to live in of poor healthcare, no money and no hope. Once they realised they could use the media and publicity in their favour to achieve longed for wealth and a chance for more in their lives, they used it so much, they exploited it. African Americans became corrupted by letting their aim and their search for money become their integrity in life. I cannot help but say be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. As Hip Hop grew and the money in Hip Hop became bigger, more people wanted a piece of the action: managers, promoters, publicists, stylists and most importantly, producers and record companies. Hip Hop (very much like Punk music) was originally an art form that had at its core its rawness and openness you needed no musical training to rap, no instruments to beatbox and no canvass to write graffiti. But now Hip Hop has succumbed to the celebrity culture, and without a major record label, who will want to package and market you, there is little chance of getting your music heard. In the search for record sales, Hip Hop also seemed to lose its integrity and political purpose. Hip Hop, in its early days, did not glorify and encourage violence, drugs and misogyny, it expressed the anger, frustration and suffering young black men were experiencing because of the poor social conditions and lack of opportunities available to them. Today, Hip Hop lyrics and music videos seem to offer a constant diet of violence, drugs and misogyny so much so that it almost becomes bland. How sexist can you be? How many times can you swear in your record? How violent can you (pretend to) be? As Hip Hop artists competed with each other to write more and more extreme lyrics, it quickly became apparent that there was nowhere else to go Hip Hop seems to have reached a stage where everything has already been done. Like other mainstream artists, many rappers sold out and kept their mind on their money and their money on their mind. (Hip Hop Gangs) Today, many of Hip Hops most successful artists are pretenders well educated people, from privileged backgrounds some of whom studied performing arts before becoming Hip Hoppers. Kanye West and Young Jeezy are often mentioned in this way. It seems to me that Hip Hop sold out. It reached a compromise with big business in which both sides used one another to get what they wanted. The record labels would use Hip Hop to generate vast sums of money for themselves, and a few Hip Hop youths would get what they had always wanted: money, recognition for their music and a respect from others. In this essay I hope I have shown that in its early days Hip Hop had an integrity and truth rooted in the experiences of black ghetto youths in North American cities. It had an openness and accessibility any one could participate, anyone could be creative. I also hope I have shown how as Hip Hop grew it very quickly became consumed by the needs of the market and original, creative output was replaced with commercial product. I believe that as a commercial enterprise Hip Hop is still very much alive, in fact it might be said to be bigger than ever, and the gangsta rap culture identity still lives on, not just within music but in fashion, language, film and television. However as an art form I believe it is dead. Hip Hop was an art form that existed out of curiosity, play and freedom. Today through the corporate process every little element has to be questioned and often changed to make the genre be put forward in the most marketable way. The creative control has been lost by being someones money making product. In the music world it is very hard to not be a commercial product, and Hip Hop like many other genres has fallen into that existence. I believe Hip Hop began to die when the real Hip Hoppers dont own Hip Hop anymore. Money took control. The music companies did not have the same interest in Hip Hop as the originators did, their interest was making money, not keeping Hip Hop alive in its purest form. People who did not know anything about real Hip Hop were suddenly having say as to how it would sound. A realisation of this I believe has c

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Brewery Industry In Nigeria

The Brewery Industry In Nigeria The brewery industry belongs to the manufacturing sector under the Nigerian Stock Exchange (This Day, 2011). It dates back to over six decades with the birth of the pioneer company; Nigerian Breweries in 1949 with of star larger beer, followed by Guinness Nigeria in 1962 with Guinness stout. The major products in the brewery industry are beer, stout and non-alcoholic drinks (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). For the purpose of this paper, beer will be used to connote lager and stout. The industry experienced a boom in the 1970s due to the fledging oil industry and rapidly increased from less than five n 1970 to over thirty by 1980 (Obot, 2000). The ownership of the firms in the industry are either public or state-owned with or without foreign partnership. There are challenges of high operational costs due to importation, expert-skilled labour, maintenance of machinery and equipments. These challenges have lead to the closure of quite a number of the smaller firms in the early 80s leaving only the large firms with strong financial base.. At present, there are thirteen brewery (Nigerian Custom Service, 2011) companies left with only four listed under the Nigerian Stock Exchange (This Day, 2011). The industry is at the maturity stage of its life cycle but still remains one of the striving industry in the Nigerian manufacturing sector. It has a direct employment of over 30,000 personnel and an indirect employment of over 300,000 thousand personnel as a result of the firms providing ancillary services to the industry (Equity Research report, 2006). Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria are the two major players in the industry with . Nigerian Breweries leading the market with about 65% market share while Guinness Nigeria follows with about 25%. They both enjoy economies of scale and have good return on their investment (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). Analyses of Macro-environmental factors Every industry is affected by factors in the environment in which they operate. These factors which they have no direct control over, may either impact positively or negatively on the industry. The factors used for this analysis are Political, Economic, Social and Technology. Political The Nigerian political history after independence in 1960 has been characterized by a compendium of military and civilian governments. The military regimes had adversely affected the real sector, an example was the ban placed on importation of barley; the raw material for production of beer, by the military government of Buhari in 1987 (Porter Phillips-Howard, 1994). However the past twelve years of civilian government has witnessed relative stability in most parts of the country except for the restiveness in the Niger Delta region, which has dwindled the countrys crude oil revenue. It is expected that the on-going elections will successfully usher in a new civilian government that will further stabilize the polity and create an enabling environment that will attract foreign investors and stimulate the resuscitation of the real sector (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). Economic Nigeria operates a mixed economy which encourages the co-existence of both the private sectors and the state in the market place. It is an emerging economy with potential economic power given the abundant resources. The countrys economy is well diversified along sectoral classification with the oil sector accounting for over 80% of its GDP, through crude oil export thereby making its revenue highly susceptible to the vagaries of the trends in the international market (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). The economy is supported by a very resilient and strictly regulated financial system that has gone through several reforms within the past decade. While the exchange rate has been relatively stable in the past two years, interest rates have been closely regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria while efforts to bring inflation rate below single digit has been elusive. Other factors that have contributed to the harsh economic climate in Nigeria are lack of power and inadequate infrastructure. The period between years 2000 and 2010 has witnessed the closure of more than 850 industries. However, with the trend of increase in the manufacturing GDP over the past years (i.e. 2008: 3.6%, 2009: 4.2%), it is expected that a stable terrain will continue to attract investors in years to come (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). Social Nigeria with its population of about 150 million is a huge potential market for investors. The country is the second largest beer market in Africa after South Africa. South Africa with a population of 47.9million according to 2007 statistical data, has a beer consumption per capita of 50 hectolitres while Nigeria has 10 hectolitres per capita. Industry operators are of the view that the existing firms capacity are not enough to meet the demand of the market, and there is therefore room for expansion (Momoh, 2009). Nigeria is a diverse country with over 250 ethnic groups. The population of the country gives a religious spread of Muslims(50%), Christians(40%) and indigenous religions(10%). The Muslims and Pentecostal Christians do not indulge in beer consumption due to their religious beliefs (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011) The above notwithstanding, beer consumption remains a social activity in Nigeria and the sale of the commodity has continued to increase from year to year.. Technology The brewery industry is highly capital intensive. This accounts for the reason why the ownership structure is either public and/or state-owned with/without foreign partnership. The technology for the industry, spare parts and expert technicians are not available in country and therefore highly dependent on foreign exchange. Guinness for example has Diego of Ireland as its foreign partner (Trade Invest, 2009). The ban on importation of barley in 1987 necessitated the industry to settle for local substitute of maize and sorghum as raw materials for its production. The resultant plant conversion to accommodate the new raw material input-mix cost Nigerian Brewery a whopping sum of 100million naira! (Equity Research report, 2006). One of the major challenges facing the industry is the maintenance of equipments and machinery. The players commit huge financial resources in technology and upgrades in order to remain competitive (Equity Research report, 2006). Analysis of Industry Competitiveness using Porter Five Forces Industry competitiveness is said to determined by bargaining power of buyers, power of suppliers, threats of new competitors, threat of substitute products and rivalry among existing firms. The profitability of the industry is determined by these five Forces as they influence prices, costs and required investment (Porter, 1985). Bargaining Power of Buyers Buyers create demand in the market and their bargaining power would represent a strong competitive force if they have sufficient bargaining leverage to influence and obtain price concessions and other favourable terms and conditions of sale (Thompson et al, 2010). In the case of the brewery industry, consumers are scattered across specific regions in the country. Some states in the Northern part of Nigeria do not permit the sale of alcoholic beverages due to religious beliefs. The price elasticity demand for sales of brewery products is inelastic, an increase in price may not have a significant impact on demand. A decrease in consumer disposable income may have a small impact on demand, as buyers may go for cheaper brands or substitute products. The introduction of a new product into market that is not related to the brewery industry may compete with brewery products for consumer disposable income. The introduction of GSM service into the Nigerian market in 2003 created a serious competition for the brewery industry (Equity Research report, 2006). The industry has good distribution networks, in fact, they are the buyers in the industry as they control movement of the products from the producer to the retailers, and thus determine the price of the products to a certain extent. This unfortunately does not allow interaction between the producers and the consumers, however the players in the industry especially the two big players strive to maintain contact with their consumers by advertisements, promotion of events and also sponsorships of various programmes and activities (Jernigan Obot, 2006). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers in the industry include distributors of raw materials, components and finished products. Such components include bottles, crown corks, labels e.t.c. These services are outsourced because the Nigerian law does not permit the brewery firms to produce them (Equity Research report, 2006). There are more distributors and suppliers than existing brewery firms in existence. The raw materials and components being undifferentiated give the manufacturers the luxury to chose their suppliers at will (Equity Research report, 2006). Nigerian Breweries alone has about 147 distributors and wholesalers within the country (Famurewa Orekoya, 2008). However the distributors may pose a threat to the industry during industrial actions. Threat of new Entrants According to Porter, the threat of new entrants will affect the profitability of an industry (Porter, 1985) as the incumbents may be forced to lower their prices in order to discourage new entrants thereby reducing profitability. In the Nigerian Brewery industry, some factors which help to raise barrier to entry include capital requirements, legal costs, economies of scale, distribution networks (oppapers.com, 2011). Nigerian Breweries and Guinness both have foreign technical partners who provide the needed technical and financial assistance (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). The other companies are mainly public or state owned and are localised within their region. There were no new entrant into the business, until 2009 when SABMiller a South African company came on stream with the acquisition of Peabody Breweries and Standard Breweries. SABMiller strategy in gaining part of the market share was to produce low cost beer for a segment of the market who could not afford the premium brand of the existing market. However Nigeria Breweries was already producing such through Consolidated Breweries one of its subsidiary (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). Threat of Substitute The availability of substitute may impact an industrys profitability as consumers may decide to switch to a substitute product (Boeing et al, 2008). In Nigeria the consumption of traditional drinks such as burukutu, palm wine and ogogoro has a cultural affinity among consumers in the rural and urban areas. Other potential substitutes include alcoholic drinks such as wine, brandy, vodka and non alcoholic drinks such as malt, juice, soft and energy drinks. The alcoholic drinks are known to be consumed by a higher segment of the society (Jernigan Obot, 2006), while the non-alcoholic drinks are to target the non-beer consuming religious groups. Beer however remains the beverage of choice as some studies carried out have shown its predominant preference over other alcoholic beverages (Obot, 2000). Beer is known to account for 96% of alcoholic sales in Nigeria (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). Intensity of Rivalry among existing firms This is a measure of the extent to which existing firms compete among each other for customers, this could be price and non-price based (Boeing et al, 2008). In the industry as mentioned earlier, competition is between the two major players, however there are no price wars as the products are differentiated and price differences are insignificant. The industry produces 22 brands of lager and 4 brands of stout besides other non-alcoholic drinks, Nigerian Breweries dominates the market in the larger (Star) segment while Guinness dominates the stout (Guinness) segment (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). For non-priced based competition, the two companies compete on product innovations, such as packaging, branding and advertisements. Consumers have witnessed innovation of packaging from bottle to can and sip-it packs. Summary of Five Forces A summary of the five forces is hereby presented in the table below using key drivers and resultant effect on industry (Boeing et al, 2008). Table 1 Force Key drivers Effect Power of buyers Concentration is high, no bargaining leverage Low Power of suppliers Suppliers more than Producers Low Threat of substitute Increased growth in substitute industry High Threat of new Entrant High barrier to entry Low Intensity of rivalry Two major competitors Moderate Overall analysis Moderate SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis will be used to measure an organizations strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the industry on a four cell chart (Dibb et al, 2006). Figure 1 Strength Economies of scale Strong financial base Experience High staff turn-over Inflexible technology Cost Control Weakness Opportunity Technology Market growth Good distribution network Govt legislation Continued low margin Failure to capture mkt growth Threat (Dibbs et al, 2006) Recommendations With strength and opportunity, an organization in the industry can capitalize by expansion or acquisition of weaker firms. An organization with opportunity and internal weakness should watch the market slowly and formulate a strategy to build on its weakness. A weak organization facing threat should take the strategic turn-around required, by exiting the business or allow itself to be taken over by a bigger firm. An organization with strength but facing threat should use its strength to overcome its weakness (Dibb et al, 2006) Hirschmann Herfindahl Index (HHI) HHI is a measurement of the concentration of an industry. It is measured by squaring the sum of the market share within that industry . A HHI figure greater than 1800 imply an industry that is considerably concentrated (Boeing et al, 2008). Table 2 Company Revenue (2009)m Market share Market share^2 Nigerian Breweries $1,100 65% 4,225 Guinness Nigeria $ 587.7 25% 625 Others 10% 100 Total 4,950 (Corporate Nigeria, 2010/2011). The HHI measure gives a figure of 4,950 which shows a highly concentrated industry tending towards an oligopoly (Boeing et al, 2008). Conclusion The brewery industry has proved to be a sustainable business in Nigeria with over six (6) decades of operation and having survived years of unstable polity, economic downturns and different government policy and reforms. The industry has been consistently dominated by Nigerian Breweries and Guinness and is sadly tending towards oligopoly with the acquisition of five existing breweries by Nigerian Breweries (allAfrica.com, 2011). Nigeria is still considered one of the least penetrated beer market in the world in terms of its demographic population of over 150million (allAfrica.com, 2011). More investors are definitely welcome, however such investors will need to commit huge capital outlay to build plants or acquire existing firms and also create a strong distribution network in order to compete with the existing firms. Beer consumption is a win-win situation, Nigerians drink when they are happy and wish to celebrate, they also drink when they are sad or emotionally down. The brewery industry will therefore continue to enjoy a sustained growth in the country.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Galileo Essay -- essays research papers

Galileo   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early seventeenth century, Galileo Galilei began the construction of a device that would transform the scientific world. Galileo did not invent the telescope but his improvements on it made him the most scientifically successful user of this instrument in his time. However, Galileo would not stop at scientific discovery. The father of three successfully marketed the improved instrument to the Senate of Venice and the Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany in hopes of possibly furthering his career. In the telescope’s transitional form, Galileo is able to obtain a salary raise and a permanent position at the University of Padua but he is disappointed with this offer and continues to make improvements on the telescope. He realizes that his ties to Cosimo’s court, he taught the Grand Duke when he was younger, could be used to his advantage. The medium for his objective was The Sidereal Messenger. This treatise gives a direct dedication to Cosimo and his court with the hope that he will gain its favor and â€Å"patronage from the ruler of his native land.† It is also the medium through which he conveys his advocacy of the Copernican system, particularly using his telescopically enhanced observations of the moon’s irregular surface and Jupiter’s moons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Galileo saw the opportunity to gain a great deal from his telescope from the beginning of its conception. The senate of Venice offered him an increase in salary and a permanent appointment at the University based on Galileo’s first improvement which only magnified objects by ten times . He realized that the telescope could improve his financial situation but he was smart enough to not settle for his first offer. He quickly wrote to the Tuscan court about his discoveries. When Galileo heard that the Grand Duke Cosimo and his three brothers were astonished by his almost supernatural intelligence, he realized that he could use this to his advantage. The brilliant Florentine patrician had ties to Cosimo’s court because he tutored him in math as a child. The courts were also very interested in these dazzling things and wanted them for military purposes . Cosimo’s court did not stray from this generalization and Galileo knew it. It can also be theor ized that this position was much desired and after he attained the posi... ...e fixed stars would have to be at a very large distance from Saturn, the outermost planet of this time, therefore separating the planets from the fixed stars. This supported the Copernican theory. He then goes on to his observations of the moons of Jupiter. In short, he makes almost nightly observations of four heavenly bodies around Jupiter with his telescope and reports that he has found four stars, or Medician planets as he calls them, that travel around Jupiter. This suggests that the Earth is not the only center of motion in the universe and further advocates the Copernican system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Galileo successfully arranges his observations of the heavenly bodies through a magnifying instrument into an incentive for patronage and a promotion of a revolutionary universal system. He gains the patronage of his former student by dedicating to him his revolutionary work on astronomy while also suggesting that the present universal system is wrong and he can prove it. Although the telescope helped him to observe objects with greater detail than other scientists of his time, it cannot be forgotten that Galileo had a mysterious ability as an observer and scholar.