10 Geographic Facts About Sichuan Province, China

10 Geographic Facts About Sichuan Province, China Sichuan is the second largest of Chinas 23 provinces based on its land area of 187,260 square miles (485,000 sq km). It is located in southwestern China adjacent to the countrys largest province, Qinghai. Sichuans capital city is Chengdu and as of 2007, the province had a population of 87,250,000 people. Sichuan is an important province to China because of its abundant agricultural resources which include such Chinese staples as rice and wheat. Sichuan is also rich in mineral resources and is one of Chinas main industrial centers. The following is a list of ten things to know about Sichuan Province: 1) Human settlement of Sichuan Province is believed to date back to the 15th century B.C.E. In the 9th century B.C.E., Shu (what is present-day Chengdu) and Ba (todays Chongqing City) grew to become the largest kingdoms in the region. 2) Shu and Ba were subsequently destroyed by the Qin Dynasty and by the 3rd century B.C.E., the area was developed with sophisticated irrigation systems and dams which ended seasonal flooding of the region. As a result, Sichuan became the agricultural center of China at the time. 3) Because of Sichuans location as a basin surrounded by mountains and the presence of the Yangtze River, the area also became an important military center throughout much of Chinas history. In addition, several different dynasties ruled the area; among them are the Jin Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty. 4) An important note about Sichuan Province is that its borders have remained mostly unchanged for the last 500 years. The largest changes occurred in 1955 when Xikang became a part of Sichuan and in 1997 when the city of Chongqing broke away to form a part of the Chongqing Municipality. 5) Today Sichuan is divided into eighteen prefecture-level cities and three independent prefectures. A prefecture-level city is one that is below a province but ranks higher than a county for administrative structure. An independent prefecture is an area that has a majority of ethnic minorities or is historically important for ethnic minorities. 6) Sichuan Province is within the Sichuan basin and is surrounded by the Himalayas to the west, the Qinling Range to the east and the mountainous parts of Yunnan Province to the south. The area is also active geologically and the Longmen Shan Fault runs through part of the province. 7) In May 2008, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province. Its epicenter was in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. The earthquake killed over 70,000 people and numerous schools, hospitals and factories collapsed. Following the earthquake in June 2008, severe flooding from a lake formed by a landslide during the earthquake occurred in low-lying areas that had already been significantly damaged. In April 2010, the region was again impacted by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck neighboring Qinghai Province. 8) Sichuan Province has a varied climate with a subtropical monsoon in its eastern portions and Chengdu. This region experiences warm to hot summers and short, cool winters. It is also typically very cloudy in the winters. The western part of Sichuan Province has a climate affected by the mountains and high altitude. It is very cold in the winter and mild in the summer. The southern part of the province is subtropical. 9) Most of Sichuan Provinces population is Han Chinese. However, there is a significant population of minorities such as Tibetans, Yi, Qiang, and Naxi in the province as well. Sichuan was Chinas most populous province until 1997 when Chongqing was separated from it. 10) Sichuan Province is famous for its biodiversity and the area is home to the famous Giant Panda Sanctuaries which consist of seven different nature reserves and nine scenic parks. These sanctuaries are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are home to more than 30% of the worlds endangered giant pandas. The sites are also home to other endangered species such as the red panda, the snow leopard, and the clouded leopard. ReferencesNew York Times. (2009, May 6). Earthquake in China - Sichuan Province - News - The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/earthquakes/sichuan_province_china/index.html Wikipedia. (2010, April 18). Sichuan - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan Wikipedia. (2009, December 23). Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_Giant_Panda_Sanctuaries

Funny Quotes About Work Meetings, Mistakes, and More

Funny Quotes About Work Meetings, Mistakes, and More Life at the workplace can be dreary without humor, which can serve to relieve tension and create camaraderie among team members. Teamwork improves productivity and work performance, and when people are enthusiastic, the workplace ambiance becomes fun. You look forward to working with people you enjoy and have a rapport with. This all is part of a vibrant workplace atmosphere. In this collection of funny work quotes, glimpse the lighter side of work life. Share these with your colleagues to create an upbeat environment in your workplace. Scott Adams, The Dilbert Principle Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. William Castle An expert is a man who tells you a simple thing in a confused way in such a fashion as to make you think the confusion is your own fault. Phyllis Diller What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day. Carl Zwanzig Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together. Scott Adams Give a man a fish, and youll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and hell buy a funny hat. Talk to a hungry man about fish, and youre a consultant. Tori Filler Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. Phil Pastoret Hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil- and you’ll never get a job working for a tabloid. Dennis Miller The easiest job in the world has to be coroner. Surgery on dead people. What’s the worst thing that could happen? If everything went wrong, maybe you’d get a pulse. Niels Bohr An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field. Leo Durocher I believe in rules. Sure I do. If there weren’t any rules, how could you break them? Jerome K. Jerome I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. Woody Allen Im short enough and ugly enough to succeed on my own. If a man smiles all the time, he’s probably selling something that doesn’t work. Dave Barry If you had to identify in one word the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be meetings. Proverbs 10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so are the lazy to their employers. Sam Ewing Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said couldn’t be done. Lily Tomlin â€Å"I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.† Oscar Wilde The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one. Betty Reese If you think you are too small to be  effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.† Ted Turner My son is now an entrepreneur. Thats what youre called when you dont have a job. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow â€Å"It takes less  time to do things right  than to explain why you did it wrong.† Henry Kissinger A diamond is merely a lump of coal that  did well under pressure.

Practical proposal about ATM fraud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Practical proposal about ATM fraud - Essay Example Smart phones can be used to make withdrawals and payments in retail stores instead of credit cards. This will protect the PIN numbers and other personal information. According to Abagnale, the use of smart phones will not apply universally as this will require one to become an expert of some electronic gadget, a task that is not so easy. However, technology is just part of the inevitable change that happens as we become more civilized. The same way people got training on computers, is the same way they can get training on use of these efficient gadgets (Abagnale, 108). The investment is actually worthwhile for varied reasons. First, it is impossible to record the PIN as done on an ATM. Secondly; the same smart phone can be used to keep track of one’s expenses as it records when and where the transaction was made. This information can also be accessed through emails. Also, some of these gadgets are so advanced that they also utilize the use of genes and fingerprints. A good example in this case is the use of gene coding in most bank vaults which has proved to be safer over the

Should firms price discriminate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Should firms price discriminate - Essay Example Therefore, PD can be defined as the situation in which price charged to a customer can be based partly on the value of the good to the customer, rather than just on the cost of producing the good itself (Paul, 1987). As a result, allowing a firm to capture all or most of the consumer surplus, increasing overall profit of the firm. Although this definition is different, it highlights an importance of utility and consumer surplus theorems allowing us to analyze how firms might use their monopoly power. In other words, how PD could be applied, so maximum profit can be gained in different monopoly markets. First of all in order to discuss the usefulness of PD as a profit maximizing tool, we should identify the conditions that firm must meet in order to price discriminate. According to Fritz Machlup, (Fritz, 1955)there are three main prerequisites, firstly, a firm has to have the monopoly power in order to set the price. For example, if a firm is a price taker and its operates in perfectly competitive market it cannot price discriminate as demand curve is perfectly elastic, therefore there is no consumer surplus to capture, whereas if a firm is a monopoly it has a downward sloping demand curve therefore, there are some consumers who are willing to pay more than the uniform price. Secondly, for different groups of consumers it is necessary to have different price elasticity. For example, assume that all consumer groups have the same price elasticity then ceteris paribus; monopoly firm does not have an incentive to apply PD as the profit will be the same as a firm would have applied sing le price strategy. The third criteria, is that a firm must be able to prevent an arbitrage, in other words preventing resale of its products. For instance, why do Apple restricts on the number of IPhones that can be purchased, it is not because Apple products are exclusive, the reason is to prevent an arbitrage. Some people might buy IPhones in the US and sell them in the

Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to people. Essay Example for Free

Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to people. Essay Belonging is the complex process whereby perceptions of self and social allegiances are formed. As You Like it by William Shakespeare and Chocolat directed by Lasse Hallstrom are two texts that explore how perception of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to people. William Shakespeare’s As You Like It is a play that follows exiled characters into the forest, where relationships are mended and formed under the healing role of nature. Dramatic irony is used to convey belonging when Ganymede tells Orlando in Act 3 Scene 1: â€Å"I would cure you if you would but call me Rosalind and come everyday to my cot to woo me. † The dramatic irony creates humour as everybody but Orlando knows that Ganymede is, in fact, Rosalind. In Rosalind’s lines, she tries to outline how Orlando mistakes his love for her with true belonging. Although Orlando does not know he is in contact with her, the audience is able to view how Orlando, in actuality, does find a true sense of belonging in her through his adamance in wooing Rosalind, despite Ganymede’s discouraging attempts. The dramatic irony allows the characters to establish a sense of belonging, as Rosalind is able to comprehend Orlando’s genuine feelings for her and grow an attachment toward him. A soliloquy is used to reveal the unspoken reflections of Oliver as he refers to his brother, â€Å"I hope I shall see an end to him. For my soul – yet I know not why – hates nothing more than he†¦ that I am altogether misprized.† It is clear in his words that Oliver is jealous of Orlando. Through his unjust actions and unnatural feelings, a wedge is forced between the two brothers, ceasing their feelings of filial connection. The soliloquy is able to prove how despite being a member of a group, it does not mean true belonging is achieved. The notion that perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced  by connections to place is further justified through the use of simile between court and country life. Their opposing qualities are contrasted by Duke Senior in Act 2 Scene 1, â€Å"Are not these woods more free from peril than the envious court?† The simile immediate displays Duke Senior’s attachment to the Forest of Arden. By comparing the safe haven of Arden with the evil nature of the ‘envious court’, a feeling of belonging is not only established, but also, Duke Senior’s estrangement from the court and its citizens are highlighted. The technique portrays how belonging cannot only be found in relationships and people, but also within places. Through Duke Senior’s pejorative feelings of the court, it is apparent that although he once was a member of the group, he did not feel as though he truly belonged. Chocolat is a film that explores the idea of ‘never confuse membership of a group with true belonging’. The town is set in a small provincial town of Casquenet, France. The story follows Vianne, a chocolatier as she faces the obstacles to overcome the struggle of finding a sense of connection with the townspeople. The community is portrayed as a conservative group of people who follow a set of rigid rules that shape what is acceptable of not. Immediately, the idea that belonging can not be found in connections to groups and communities as the townspeople conform to one another and find a sense of unity in doing so. This is indicated in the voice over, â€Å"If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happened to forget, someone would help remind you†¦ Villagers held fast to their traditions.† Although a sense of belonging within the community is established, the voiceover also highlights the absence of individuality in the town. Through the oppressive guidelines the townspeople must follow, there is a disconnection between an individual and their sense of self-identity – a significant platform needed to belong. Josephine is disconnected to those around her as she fails to conform to her fellow tonspeople. : â€Å" Josephine Muscat, she waltzes to her own tune.† Through Josephine’s dialogue, â€Å"You just don’t misbehave around here. Did you know that? If you don’t go to confession, if you don’t†¦ then you’re crazy!†Ã‚  it is revealed how the pressure to conform has caused Josephine’s anxiety and her feeling of alienation. Although Vianna becomes a member of the town, her true sense of belonging is not present. With her arrival, she is the subject of great curiosity and judgement. Though costuming, characterization and facial expression, Vianne’s character is juxtaposed against the dull villagers. Viannce, always with a friendly, smiling countenance and dressed in bright, colourful clothing, is portrayed as a lively character who shakes up the mundance patterns of the townspeople’s everyday lives. With the opening of her chocolaterie, people’s lives are enriched. They are happier as their inner desires are awoken and they are encourage to embrace their individuality. The techniques of costuming, characterization and facial expression demonstrate not only how mere membership can be confused with belonging but also how individuals can challenge or enrich a group or community. Through the various literary and filmic techniques discussed above, the two texts, As You Like It and Chocolat are able to explore†¦

a place without time :: essays papers

a place without time From the mountains, you can see it coming. Time sits on the horizon like rain clouds, holding out. In the cities you carry it around in your pocket. Time is organized around where you have to be. You dash blindly around busy corners, always racing against it. But in the mountains, the world sits on the horizon, refusing to move. Before I ever went to the city, I used to know what that meant. Now I found myself trying to remember, waking up every morning to look at the mountains and see what they held. If there were clouds there, you knew there might be rain. But I knew there was something to wait for. I could watch time coming. I returned home because I was still longing for the clouds to roll over the skyline and the water to flow from the hills. It was if time was losing her memory, as the city had made me lose mine. My father used to say, when he would look down at his feet, "they look the same, but the ground is different." I don't know if he was forgetting things too, or remembering them all so well. My father carried it too, in his pocket, so he wouldn't forget. When people asked about it, he would bring it out and laugh. My sister and I needed our father to hold together our memories, to hold together the world before we were born. The world before our time. Where I lived, there were smashed bugs on the windshield, skittish coyotes, and, of course, trout. My dad remembered the river where he taught me about the sands of time, and how to fish. He said that in the days before me there had been fish the size of small children willing to take what ever gift God, or my dad, had to offer. So when I came home, I brought my dad to that stream, looking for a cure. Anyone who lives long enough begins to be infected by a search for time. You look for it everywhere because it is life. After a while, you can feel it in the ground beneath your feet, in the creeks in the back canyons, in the clouds over the hills that may never come back.

Critically assess porter’s contribution to strategic thinking

Henry Mintzberg, Abraham Maslow and Michael Porter are renowned gurus whose hard works have left a footprint on management. Some of their works has helped in explaining the success and failure of big businesses over the past few decades and question marks have been raised in recent years if their work can still be applied to our present environment considering the rapid rise in globalisation and technological innovations. Few of the works done by these management experts have been on significant topics such as leadership, strategy and motivation, but this essay will focus on the effort of Porter in elucidating how businesses can gain competitive advantage in our growing competitive environment. The essay aims to assess Porter's contribution to the way in which people in an organization think about, assess, view, and create the future for themselves and their associates. However, given the space available the essay will only take a detailed look at the most criticised work of Porter and only few of his other works will be described. This essay will be based on previous researches by academics and strategists, and all information should not be judged as accurate but as a springboard since they are mostly based on historical theories. In order to get a grip of the essay; it is necessary to highlight the key words related to the topic of the essay as any precise delusion can de delusive. To start with, Wit and Meyer (2002) defined strategy in terms of organisational objective as a course of action for achieving an organization's purpose. For Kay (1996), strategy is the match between the organisation's internal capabilities and its external relationships, describing ‘how it responds to its suppliers, its customers, its competitors, and the social and economic within which it operates' (cited in Boddy, 2002 page 165). Both definitions are acceptable but assessing various strategies is the theme of the essay that is why a well defined structure of the essay is required. The first part will introduce Porter's works, the major assumptions of five forces analysis and Resource Based View. The second part will detail the fundamental differences between Porter's work and recent works such as RBV before highlighting key areas of debate principally those presented by D'Aveni, Hamel and Downes. The third part will give a brief evaluation on how Porter's work has developed our understanding of Strategy which will help develop a conclusion to the essay. From the eighties, Porter has developed a number of models for businesses on how to gain competitive advantage. Porter developed models such as three generic strategies, five forces analysis, Porter's diamond and value chain. In his three generic strategies model, Porter (1980b, 1985) identified two basic types of competitive advantage namely low cost or differentiation (cited in Wit & Meyer, 2002 page 350). He developed a third generic strategy from this called focus and proposed that an organization that hopes to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage must implement one of the three strategies. This is not the first and the very last of Porter's works and another model he developed was value chain analysis (1985) where Porter argued that it is necessary to examine activities separately in order to identify sources of competitive advantage (Boddy 2002, page 166-167). The value chain provides a way to identify a firm's sources of differentiation where it results from actual uniqueness in creating buyer value and from the ability to signal that value so that buyers perceive it (Toby Harfield, Strategic Management and Michael Porter: a postmodern reading). However, it is five forces analysis that has attracted the most number of criticisms. The model, developed by Michael E. Porter in his book â€Å"Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors† in 1980 (www3) pointed out that the state of competition in an industry is determined not only by the existence of competitors but also by the strength of buyers (customers) and suppliers, by the existence of substitute products or services and by the ability of new competitors to enter the industry which he collectively referred to Porter's five forces. However, he argued that whatever the collective strength, the corporate strategist's goal is to find a position in the industry where his or her company can best defend itself against these forces or can influence them in his favour (Mintzberg et al, pg 61). Thorelli 1977; Masson & Quall 1976 explained that forces mentioned above determine the conduct of firms, which in turn determines firm performance (Toby Harfield, Strategic Management and Michael Porter: a postmodern reading). Although the five forces analysis has become an important device for analyzing strategy the vast number of criticisms received consequently led to the development of a different approach called the Resource Based View (RBV). RBV, which has received the highest number of plaudit since the evolution of Porter's work was first spotted in Wernerfelt's article in 1984 before further development by Rumelt 1984, Barney (1986a; 1986b; 1988; 1991) (power point). RBV explains how a company's resources drive its performance in a dynamic competitive environment (David J. Collis et al, 1995, pg 118-128). The idea behind the development of RBV is to state the importance of resources to gaining competitive advantage over rivals where resources are heterogeneous in nature. In clarifying the prerequisite of resources Barney (1991) explained that a firm resource must be valuable, rare, and imperfectly imitable and substitutable in order to be source of a sustained competitive advantage (cited in Henderson and Mitchell, 1997). However, both frameworks have received appraisals but conflicting assumptions have been made by both theories which further developed more theoretical views. Porter 1980 assumes that understanding the external environment and decision making (or â€Å"moves†) according to the five forces is the primary role of strategy, thus opposing the argument of Barney 1986a who argued that analyzing internal skills and capabilities produces more accurate information on the potential value of strategic resources than does environmental analysis (www2). Barney's argument wasn't wholly accepted by Priem and Butler (2001 a & b) but argued that Barney's (1991) statement â€Å"if a resource is valuable and rare, then it can be source of competitive advantage† is necessarily true if the concepts ‘valuable' and ‘competitive advantage' are defined in the same terms (cited in Henderson and Mitchell, 1997). It is obvious from this point that Porter's assumptions have developed other strategist notions which are cited further. Another underlying assumption made by Porter is the homogeneity of firms which revealed that all firms have the same ability to implement the right strategy, which contradicts the basic premise of the RBV that all firms are different and consequently do not have the same ability to implement a given strategy (www1). Even though both theories have been applauded, theorists have not been totally overwhelmed by the five forces analysis and RBV; different strategies are still in constant development which they deem useful for our current environment. D'Aveni (1995) in his article â€Å"Coping with hypercompetition† claimed that no organization can build a competitive advantage that is sustainable in our dynamic environment as any advantage gained is only temporary, therefore companies must actively work to disrupt their own advantages and the advantages of competitors by employing a new 7S's framework. IBM is an example mentioned to have suffered from ignoring this approach. Firstly, this view opposes that of Porter and RBV as its strategy does not believe in a sustainable competitive advantage. Secondly, it can be deduced from D'Aveni's article that Porter's model assumes a relatively static market structure (Porters five forces article www3) by saying that the forces mentioned by Porter such as buyer and supplier power (Five forces analysis) that raises barrier to entry and leadership in price and quality (three generic strategies) are not enough to guarantee success. Downes (2001) saw a similar argument in his article â€Å"Beyond Porter† where he quoted that â€Å"Porters theories base on the economic situation in the eighties and the period was characterised by strong competition, cyclical developments and relatively stable market structures†. He condemned the view made by Porter that competitive advantages develop from strengthening the own position within the five forces framework and stated that three new forces namely digitalization, globalization and deregulation should be taken into context has the main driver for change today is technology. Hamel (1996) also conducted a work on strategy in an article called â€Å"Strategy as Revolution† where he categorised companies based on their successes into rule makers, rule takers and rule breakers. Logically, IBM whose strategy was also questioned by Downes (2001) was tagged as a rule maker because they have shaped their industry but subsequently failed. Tagged with rule breakers (the industry revolutionaries) is Dell Computer whose intent is to overturn the industrial order with the support of the crumbling oligarchy under the weight of deregulation, technological upheaval, globalization and social change. It is evident that Porter's five forces analysis is extremely influential in the field of strategic management as it has developed other strategic views and further improved our understanding of strategy. Porter's work has been the basis for recent strategic notions and his work has received more criticism than RBV which followed suit. Referring back to the question, Porter has developed numerous strategic frameworks with the most criticised work being the five forces analysis which has the most impact on strategic thinking. His work mystified many strategists because of the one-sided approach of the model where it made certain assumptions such as external environment is the primary role of strategy, homogeneity of firms and market structures are relatively stable. These assumptions led to the development of RBV whose main unit of analysis was the internal environment. RBV claimed that the key to sustaining competitive advantage is to have resources which are valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable and substitutable. Briem and Butler debated this approach where they said it is the way the concept are defined that determines if it is a source of competitive advantage. Other strategists were not left in the cold and they voiced out their criticisms of Porter's work. D'Aveni stated that there is no sustainable competitive advantage and market structures are dynamic. Downes claimed that three new forces namely digitalization, globalization and deregulation should be taken into context has the main driver for change today is technology and not just the forces mentioned by Porter. Lastly, Hamel in his article explained that companies can either be a rule taker, maker or breaker. In order to give a valid conclusion to the essay, it is important to reconsider the definition made by Kay (1996) where strategy definition was given has the match between the organisation's internal capabilities and its external relationships. It would be correct to state that a successful strategy will take both the internal and external environment into consideration when developing its strategy. It is obvious that neither the five forces analysis nor the RBV has done so in this case; none of the theories can be considered capable of achieving competitive advantage but will only be valuable if both approaches are combined. Based on the level of knowledge of this essay it would be interesting to see a strategist which will develop a strategy that will link the internal resources with the external environment.

Feminism and Art Essay

Feminist activity had been a rising concern in the late 1900’s which is based merely off of the emotional significance of personal and psychological reasoning. Rather than reacting on this issue based on historical evidence, the issue is based on immediate needs on the feminist attack. Linda Nochlin, and other important scholars and philosophers explain the psychology, philosophy, sociology, and history of art and the feminist movement pertaining to art. Linda Nochlin was the author of this piece, and used both her own knowledge to write this piece, as well as other scholars and philosophers arguments, injected them into her writing, and elaborated on their ideas and arguments. When pertaining to psychology, the issues mentioned and elaborated on were how women were rejected, which led to their thoughts, feelings, and emotions being affected. Because of this, this changed their way of interpreting things, and their views of things were different from men. From a philosophical stand point, Nochlin refers to John Stuart Mill who says that he suggests that we tend to accept things that come natural to us, or that are natural, like male domination; this means that males dominate over women, and women having no say in anything, accept what is natural because back in the day, male domination was a normal thing to women and was a natural behavior. Thinking about sociology, in society, men had to work and had to be educated. Women on the other hand were not allowed and treated as objects, and stayed home to have children and to continue on the male name. â€Å"In general, women’s experience and situation in society, and hence as artists, is different from men’s, and certainly the art produced by a group of consciously united and purposefully articulate women intent on bodying forth a group of consciousness of feminine experience might indeed be stylistically identifiable as feminists, if not feminine art. † Historically, women weren’t allowed to be educated unless they were wealthy, or had and greater importance over other women. This is why women didn’t know how to paint because they weren’t allowed to learn how, this is also why there were not so many women artists back then, and if there were, they were not well known. An important question that has been posed multiple times within this piece was, â€Å"Why have there been no great women artists? † 3 3 â€Å"Why have there been no great women artists† is what Linda is arguing. Her argument is that there are no great women artists that compare to all of these great and well-known artists that art historians study. These famous artists studied today are, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Delacroix, Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, etc. Linda also states that it is in human nature that men dominate women. It is an instinct that has been created ever since humans walked this earth, and is something that is still being battled today. By answering the question, â€Å"Why have there been no great women artists†, which has been questioned by many, Linda proves her arguments by referring to many who have either answered, or attempted to answer this question. Those who have either done it or attempted it are: John Stuart Mill, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Mary Ellmann. All of these theorists/writers attempted to answer the same exact question by simply reinforcing the negative implications, or by saying that there is a different kind of greatness that exists for women, and also how experiences that women go through in society affects their art, which may mean that they were not accepted by the great viewers, which were men. Men and women have different values and interpretation of art, and to men, women’s art was nothing. When structure of this essay is concerned, it is in fact structured in a number of 4 4 ways which include, historical events, arguments, theories, and facts. The argument is pronounced using different methods, which explains subjects using points from the other scholars and their explanations. Initially, the argument made was intangible, later it becomes clear when Nochlin first talks about the battle against feminism, and how it has been around for years, even decades. Later, she begins to say how feminism caused such emotional, and psychological damage and pain to women for a long period of time. Many reasons why feminism had occurred was explored by Nochlin, and answered the question by John Stuart Mill’s response to male dominancy. Her reasoning for why there were no famous female artists was because of men, and how they overruled women in society; her argument was supported with many arguments written from other writers in the past. At the end of each of her arguments, she ends with the famous question, â€Å"Why have there been no great women artists†, and leaves it to be answered by another writer. Many say it is in male nature to dominate, or maybe women just can’t achieve as much greatness as men. Maybe women paint from their psychological views of things, and this was frowned upon by men; women were not allowed to think, let alone paint about what they were thinking. When comparing known women artists to well known male artists, no woman artist compares to the master of art, Michelangelo. The next division of this essay was â€Å"The Question of the Nudes. † â€Å" We can now approach our question from a more reasonable standpoint, since it seems probable that the answer to why there have been no great women artists lies not in the nature of individual genius or lack of it, but in the nature of given institutions and what they forbid or encouraged in various classes or group of individuals†, p. 158. Since the 1800’s, nude models were females, and would go to school to help the new and sprouting artists to learn and practice art. Females who wanted to participate and learn to paint the human body were rejected because society did not allow women to look at another female or male nude. Men were allowed to study the female nude because to them, they were objects. However, male nudes (models) were never classified as objects. â€Å"As late as 1893, â€Å"lady† students were not admitted to life drawing at the Royal Academy in London, and even when they were, after that date, the model had to be â€Å"partially draped. † P. 158. Women had very little knowledge in painting and therefore were quite timid because of all the pressure that was placed on them by the society, and most commonly, men. Many of those who studied nude models and produced nude figure drawings later became doctors, and professional artists; once again women were not permitted to become either of those. In order to become a professional artist, however, you needed to be good in literature, and had to have knowledge of many techniques. It was uncommon for women to be educated because school’s had high expectations. There were consequences if a woman wanted to be a painter. If you were a woman painter, and were substantially committed to painting, you were expected to forget about having a future. This included a husband, family, career, etc. This was the case in the 19th century because women â€Å"couldn’t focus† on more than one thing at a time according to men and society, therefore our only options were to become a painter and have no outside life, or forget about being a painter and have a family. Women had come a long way by this time, and women were allowed to play music, sculpt, and draw, but were considered weak, and couldn’t pursue any labor work. One of the great women artists, Maurice Bompard, suffered greatly with her paintings because society classified them as being too sexual, and not serious enough; she struggled greatly to achieve the greatness she deserved. Rosa Bonheur was another well known woman artist, and her success changed the view of society on women artists, but still struggled because of her gender. Her father was a drawing master, so she loved to draw and paint at an early age. Rosa created a new style of painting in the 19th century, and this was to paint in smaller scale. She has the ability to capture naturalism, soul, and individuality, and was well known for her â€Å"Barbizon† landscapes. 6 , 6 The rhetorical method in this piece would be repeating the question, â€Å"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists†, and this depicts the importance of this issue which has been raised by all of the philosophers, writers, and art historians that have been attempting to answer this question for decades. The tone of voice used in the essay is persuasion, frustration, and even determination, and this makes it easier for the reader to understand and illustrate what exactly the issue is and how important it is. In Nochlin’s â€Å"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists†, she states the importance of women’s history, and makes women aware of how grateful they should be with everything women are allowed to do today. Because of those many strong women who stood up for what they believed in, women today have equal rights to men, and can pursue any path they so wish to take.

Sales and Non-Sales Functions Essays

Sales and Non-Sales Functions Essays Sales and Non-Sales Functions Essay Sales and Non-Sales Functions Essay Essay Topic: Fun Home To be a well rounded company, management must ensure that the sales and non sales areas work together. Without a team effort the company will not function well and it may cause irreparable financial damage to the company. Black and Decker is a company that works well together on both the non sales and sales areas. Black and Decker is one of the largest power tool manufactures in the world and as such they must have communication between all function of the company, from the product design all the way through to the sales of the product. The company relies heavily in the sales people to sell the product and to keep inventory moving. Without this step the company would have large amounts of inventory in a warehouse and would eventually have to slow or stop production of its tools and this would in turn reduce the sales dollars the company depends on to keep operating. Coordination between the sales and non sales function of Black Decker is essential. Any lack of communication would result in unacceptable backlogs of product, the potential of accounts receivable not being collected or slow collections, slow production of product, poor customer service and eventually the loss of sales. Each of the function listed will have a negative effect on the sales staff and will inhibit the forward momentum of the company. The role of the sales people not just to sell the product, but to sell the right products to the right people, without communication between the company as a whole, the sales people cannot effectively service the customers. Every spring Black and Decker rolls out the pressure washers in Home Depots across the nation and encourages the Retail Specialists (RS) to sell, sell, sell. During this time the RS is required to meet a specified number of product orders in each store they service. However, as the RS continues to order the product the production of the pressure washers is slow and the product that is available is being carefully shipped to high volume stores. Here is where the problem lies; Each RS has met with store management to encourage them to order additional product and gain additional floor space only to see very few if any product arrive. The lack of communication between corporate and the sales people has created a negative situation at the store level. The non sales function i.e. territory managers, production, shipping, have inadvertently created a negative situation for the sales people. Management required that all RS meet a certain quota and the production and shipping functions have put a strain on the relationship between store management, store sales people, and customers. Communication between production and corporate should have taken place before to ensure there was sufficient product available. Territory management should have communicated with the RS to obtain preliminary information on the required amount of units and forwarded that to the production function. In essence the RS cold have taken pre-orders and would not have had to make promises they could not back up. Each function of a company plays a specific role in the success of a company. In this case the non sales functions had dramatic effects on the sales function. The role of the sales department of any company is to increase revenue, sell the right product to the right people and meet sales goals noted in the strategic plan. In the pressure washer situation Black and Decker was put into an inventory back log business and created a lack of trust between the RS and store management. This lack of communication between the sales and non sales disabled the company to utilize the strategic plan and put the company at risk of loss of sales in the future. The sales department is the link between the customer and the company, to maintain or increase sales it is essential to keep communication open. This will allow the company to utilize the strategic plan and to increase the performance of the sales staff, thus increasing revenue and keeping the warehouse inventory to a minimum.

10 Fascinating, Little-Known Moth Facts

10 Fascinating, Little-Known Moth Facts Moths arent just the dull brown cousins of our beloved butterflies. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Before you dismiss them as boring, check out these 10 fascinating facts about moths.   1. Moths Outnumber Butterflies by a 9 to 1 Ratio Butterflies and moths belong to the same order,  Lepidoptera.  Over 90% of known Leps (as entomologists often call them) are moths, not butterflies. Scientists have already discovered and described well over 135,000 different species of moths. Moth experts estimate there are at least 100,000 more moths still undiscovered, and some think moths actually number half a million species. So why do a few butterflies get all the attention? 2. Most Moths Are Nocturnal, but Many Fly During the Day We tend to think of moths as creatures of the night, but this isnt always the case. Some moths are quite active during daylight hours. Theyre often mistaken for butterflies, bees, or even hummingbirds. The clearwing moths, some of which mimic wasps or bees, visit flowers for nectar during the day. Other diurnal moths include some tiger moths, lichen moths, wasp moths, and owlet moths.   3. Moths Come in All Sizes Some moths are so small theyre referred to as micromoths. Generally, moth families in which the member species measure just a centimeter or two are considered micromoths. But a still undescribed species collected in Africa is likely the smallest moth of all, with a wingspan of just 2 mm. At the other end of the moth spectrum is the white witch moth (Thysania aggrippina), a neotropical species with a wingspan that reaches up to 28 cm, or the size of a dinner plate. 4. Male Moths Have a Remarkable  Sense of Smell Keep in mind that moths dont have noses, of course. An insects sense of smell is essentially its ability to detect chemical cues in the environment, called chemoreception. Moths smell these cues with highly sensitive receptors on their antennae. And male moths are the champions of chemoreception, thanks to feathery antennae with lots of surface area to grab those molecules from the air and give them a sniff. Female moths use sex attractant pheromones to invite potential mates to mingle. Silk moth males seem to have the strongest sense of smell of all and can follow a whiff of female pheromones for miles. A male promethea moth holds the record for tracking a scent through the air. He flew an astounding 23 miles in the hope of mating with the girl of his dreams and was likely disappointed when he realized hed been tricked by a scientist with a pheromone trap. 5. Some Moths Are Important Pollinators We dont often think of moths as pollinators, perhaps because we arent outside in the dark watching them work. While butterflies get all the credit, there are plenty of moths moving pollen from flower to flower, including geometer moths, owlet moths, and sphinx moths. Yucca plants require the help of yucca moths to cross-pollinate their flowers, and each yucca plant species has its own moth partner. The yucca moths have special tentacles with which they can scrape and gather pollen from yucca blossoms. Charles Darwin famously predicted that orchids with exceptionally long nectaries were pollinated by insects with equally long proboscises. Though ridiculed for his hypothesis at the time, he was later vindicated when scientists discovered the Madagascan sphinx moth, an orchid-pollinating species with a 30 cm proboscis. 6. Some Moths Do Not Have Mouths Some moths dont waste time once they reach adulthood. They emerge from their cocoons ready to mate, and content to die soon afterward. Since they wont be around for very long, they can get by on the energy they stored as caterpillars. If you dont plan on eating, theres really no point in developing a fully-functioning mouth. Probably the best-known example of a mouthless moth is the luna moth, a stunning species that lives just a few days as an adult. 7. Not All Moths Eat, but They Are Often Eaten Moths and their caterpillars make up a lot of biomass in the ecosystems where they live. And they arent just empty calories, either. Moths and caterpillars are rich in protein. All kinds of animals feed on moths and caterpillars: birds, bats, frogs, lizards, small mammals, and in some parts of the word, even people! 8. Moths Use All Kinds of Tricks to Avoid Being Eaten When everything in your world is intent on eating you, youve got to get a little creative to stay alive. Moths employ all kinds of interesting tricks to avoid predation. Some are masterful mimics, such as caterpillars that look like twigs and adult moths that blend in with tree bark. Others use startle markings, like the underwing moths that flash brightly colored hindwings to distract pursuing predators. Tiger moths produce ultrasonic clicking sounds that confuse sonar-guided bats. 9. Some Moths Migrate Everyone loves migrating butterflies, like the famous long-distance flights of the North American monarchs. But nobody gives props to the many moths that also migrate, perhaps because they tend to fly at night. Moths tend to migrate for practical reasons, like to find a better food supply, or to avoid uncomfortably hot and dry weather. Black cutworm moths spend their winters on the Gulf Coast but migrate north in the spring (like some senior citizens). Olympic trivia buffs may remember the hordes of migrating Bogong moths that pestered athletes during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 10. Moths Are Attracted to Light Bulbs, Bananas, and Beer If the previous 9 facts convinced you that moths are pretty cool insects, you might be interested in attracting moths so you can see them for yourself. Moth enthusiasts use a few tricks to lure moths closer. First, many moths will come to lights at night, so you can start by observing the moths that visit your porch light. To see a greater diversity of the moths in your area, try using a black light and a collecting sheet, or even a mercury vapor light. Some moths might not come to lights but cant resist a mixture of fermenting sweets. You can mix up a special moth-attracting recipe using ripe bananas, molasses, and stale beer. Paint the mixture on a few tree trunks and see who comes for a taste. Sources: Australias Bogong moth invasion turns even yawning into a potential health hazard, The Independent. November 4, 2013.Capinera, John L. Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd edition.Corcoran, A.J., Barber, J. R., and Conner, W. E. Tiger moth jams bat sonar. Science. July 17, 2009.Cranshaw, Whitney and Redak, Richard. Bugs Rule! An Introduction to the World of Insects.Kritsky, Gene. Darwins Madagascan hawk moth prediction. American Entomologist, Volume 37, 1991.Largest Lepidopteran Wing Span, University of Florida Book of Insect Records, April 17, 1998.  Moisset, Beatriz. Yucca Moths (Tegeticula sp.). US Forest Service website.Smallest Moth in the World?, UC David Department of Entomology and Nematology website, June 29, 2012.Status of Pollinators in North America, by Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America, 2007.Waldbauer, Gilbert. The Handy Bug Answer Book.

Ethics in Business Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Ethics in Business - Case Study Example Businesses must act ethically to all stakeholders, yet the different stakeholders have differing interests. To balance the needs of the various stakeholders becomes a challenge for businesses, which usually results in corporate scandals that have ethical and other long lasting effects. It is for that reason, that this discussion explores the recent ethical issues in businesses, in the United States. The following is a comprehensive list of recent ethical issues, the moral issue, as well as what should be done to resolve the moral dilemma. Marketers looking for edgy corporate advertising usually risk character and shut doors on social responsibility in search for a breakthrough moment. While drawing up competitive advertisements, corporations yearn to be in the limelight, but such advertisements end up bringing unexpected and negative upshots among the audiences or the intended recipients. Recent miscarriages of advertisements are such as the McDonald’s, Pepsi, general motors, ford and Hyundai. The above corporations’ recent advertisements were originally intended to be humorous, although they were unwrapped as insensitive and offensive typecasts. An advertisement by the Pepsi Corporation dubbed the Mountain Dew ad has attracted criticism of propagating racism and venerating cruelty against women. The ad features an African American wrapper, and is deemed as the most insensitive and racist ad in united states. McDonald’s advert â€Å"You are not alone† has been criticized on grounds that it makes light of people suffering from mental illness. General motors run an advert with 1930s settings and incorporates a contemporary remix of a 1930s song that makes references to Chinese people. The general moral issue in the general motors and the Pepsi advert are that they are portraying a racial stereotype. At the