An Interview with a homeless

After watching the film, â€Å"The Pursuit of Happyness† which starred Will Smith, one of the salient scenes that the researcher personally find strikingly disheartening is the part when Will Smith and his son struggled to joined a queue of destitute for an overnight stay on a welfare home.The number of homeless is too many for the welfare shelters to accommodate.   In the homeless population data from AHAR in 2008, 41% of white Americans, 12.3% of African Americans and 12.5% of Hispanic Americans respectively are homeless, which only proves how rampant homelessness in our nation.(US Human Rights Network Housing Caucus, 2008) It is quite ironic that homelessness is one of the pressing problems that the US faces despite being the most dominant country politically and economically in the world.While the film directly attributed homelessness to poverty i.e. Smith’s inadequate earnings, this stark reality is just a tip of the iceberg considering the vast economic opportun ities that the US provides precisely why it was dubbed the land of milk and honey.To learn more about the causes of homelessness, the researcher conducted an informal interview with a homeless woman who was randomly selected in a welfare shelter. This led to one’s discovery that homeless is not simply a result of poverty, but consequence of some socio psychological imbalances and problems that emanate from one’s family.Interview Results and AnalysisThe interviewee was an African American with two children.   She has no idea where his eldest son is at the moment.   She was not able to finish secondary school because she got pregnant early.   Her father was a drunkard who always beats them up at home.   Her mother left them for another man.She decided to leave their home by getting pregnant. Unfortunately, she also met the wrong man who only perpetuated her agony in life.   He was an ex convict who find it hard to get a real job.She stayed with her live in part ner for a year but decided to leave again as he started to get back to his monkey business.   She left her son. After seven years, she got pregnant again but has no idea who the father was because she worked as a hooker.Her 9 year old daughter stays in a foster home.   She said that there were moments in her life when she had nervous breakdowns and at one point even tried to commit suicide.   The interview was long and very emotional.   In a nutshell, the homeless woman lived a difficult and miserable life.Following a Symbolic Inter-actionist Perspective, homelessness is a symptom of a deeper problem that roots from the most basic social institution, the family.   In this short interview with a homeless woman, it must be noted that she didn’t come from a homeless family.It was homeless in the sense that it lacked the love and care needed to properly shape and guide children towards a pleasant outlook in life.   Poverty also played a critical factor in the intervie wee’s circumstances because poverty is more inclined to difficulties in relationships and family violence because it shapes circumstances that lead to the same such as lack of education and depression.ConclusionHomelessness is more than just a consequence of poverty or one’s inability to purchase a home.   It is rooted from some psychological disturbance brought about by a history of significant emotional difficulties, difficulties in relationships, and family violence, etc.This in turn inculcates the attitudes and psychological predilection to stay poor and homeless including a sense of helplessness to change one’s economic condition, psychological stability and homelessness.ReferenceUS Human Rights Network Housing Caucus (2008). Homelessness and Affordable Housing.   Response to the Periodic Report of the United States to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Retrieved from:http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ ngos/usa/USHRN28.doc

What Is Ethics

1. What is ethics? What is morality? Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. Morality refers to the belief of right and wrong, good and bad, beliefs that can include judgments, values, rules, principles and theories. 2. In what ways are we forced to do ethics? What is at stake in these deliberations? A person is forced to do ethics every time they exam any feeling, choice, or action concerning right or wrong. The thing that is at stake when doing ethics is a person’s values. 3. What is the unfortunate result of accepting moral beliefs without questioning them? Some of the unfortunate results of accepting moral beliefs without questioning them are it undermines your personal freedom meaning if you just accept belief from someone else without thinking about them they are not truly your beliefs. Another result of blindly accepting belief of someone else is when asked to defend these beliefs the person may have no sound argument to back it up. Finally it limits intellectual moral growth. 4. Can our feelings be our sole guide to morality? Why or why not? Feelings should not be sole guide to morality because by solely following feelings a person is not critically examining the problem. 5. What is descriptive ethics? In this field, what do researchers study? Descriptive ethics is the moral study of belief and practices. Researchers in this field try to explain how people actually behave and think. 6. What is normative ethics? Applied ethics? Normative ethics is the study of principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments. Applied ethics is application of moral norms applied to a specific moral issue. . What is metaethics? What is the difference between normative ethics and metaethics? Metaethics is the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs. Normative ethics job is to assume certain things about the meaning of moral terms and the logic relation among them but the job of meteethics is to question all assumptions. 8. What is the difference between judgments of value and judgments of obligation? Ju dgments of value judges what is morality good, bad, blameworthy, and praiseworthy. While judgments of obligation deal with actions and things a person feels what they should do. 9. What is the difference between moral and nonmoral value? Moral Value refer to value in the sense of morality while nonmortal value refers sense of good and bad that are not morality bad or good but rather quality. 10. What is the difference between instrumental value and intrinsic value? Instrumental values are things that are valuable as a means to something else. While intrinsic values are things that are valuable for its own sake. 11. To what does the â€Å"preeminence of reason† refer? The preeminence of reason refers to being able to critically think and logically argue a claim. 12. What is the principle of universalizability? The principle of universalizability states that if a moral statement applies to one situation it must apply to relatively similar moral situations 13. What is the relationship between morality and religion? The relationship between morality and religion is very important because same way critical reason is used to exam moral norms it can be used to exam religion. What is Ethics? Ethics are standards that differentiate right and wrong and how people should conduct themselves. Ethics refer to standards that would prevent someone from doing something wrong, like murder for example. Is it ethical to commit murder? Society has deemed murder as an unacceptable. In the same way ethics help to determine what are appropriate behavior at home, school, and the work place. How we interact with others can be considered ethical, treating others with respect, hospitality, sharing, and helping others in need would be considered good ethical behavior. Ethical standards also include virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. The Virtue Theory The virtue theory deals with the individual, the expectation is to â€Å"cultivate excellence in all that you do and all that others do (Boylan, 2009). † It deals with the character of an individual. Qualities of a virtuous person would be considered an upstanding, trustworthy, dependable, and honest. In contrast an unethical person would be selfish, unreliable, devious, or careless. People are characterized as â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad† or a combination of both, it does not leave room for a good person to make a bad choice. Once a person commits an unacceptable act, he or she may be branded as a bad person even if they have high morals and ethics instead of a good person who made a bad decision. An example of this would be of a person who drinks and drives. This is bad choice and the consequences of this choice can lead to accidents and death, but does this mean that this is a bad person? More than likely there would be no negative consequence unless the person is caught or there is an accident causing physical or property damage. The Utilitarianism Theory Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that places right and wrong on the consequence of the action that will be for â€Å"the greatest good for the greatest number† (Boylan, p. 133, 2009). The utilitarianism moves from the individual’s interest and takes into account the interest of others. An example of this would be when a team member knows that another person is a better fit for a job and steps down so that person can take the lead, which would benefit the whole team in the process. An example of this that comes to mind is: during the plot to kill Jesus, John 11:49-50 â€Å"Caiaphas, being high priest that year, spoke up, you know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man should die for the people than the whole nation perish. † This is an example of the sacrifice of one to benefit the whole group or nation† (â€Å"Caiaphas – High Priest Of The Jerusalem Temple†). The Deontological Theory Deontological theory questions right and wrong by action instead of consequences. It is considered to be wrong when the action intentionally harms others. The deontological approach defines ethics as either right or wrong, there is little or no middle ground for exceptions (â€Å"Deontology Ethics,† 2008). With the utilitarianism theory it is acceptable to lie if it is to prevent hurting a person, with the deontological theory it is wrong to lie because it is a lie. Conclusion The similarities between the ethics theories concern the idea of right and wrong, and good and bad. The differences constitute on how they interpret right from wrong, and good from bad. With the virtue theory deals with the individual, whereas the utilitarianism focus on the group where actions are right when they provide the greatest good to the largest group. The deontology determines rightness by actions not the consequences; deontology is more of an absolute, stealing is wrong, lying is wrong, and murder is wrong, anything that causes harm to another person. All three theories have a place in present society and are used interactively without conscious effort. From a young age people are taught right from wrong from parents, teachers, church, and other people they come in contact with. What Is Ethics? Ethics is not equivalent to feelings. We feel on whether a certain thing is right or wrong. Feelings actively affect our daily choices. It may sometimes prevent us from making the right ethical choices. [Peter Zafirides, 2012]. Some may feel remorse when an unethical deed is done. This can be mainly attributed to persons’ different needs and desires. In 1992, Dr. Cox, a 70 year old, with a lethal injection of potassium chloride had what rheumatologists’ described as the worst case of rheumatoid arthritis ever seen. Conventional medicine was unable to relieve her pain and repeatedly requested to die. The Independent, 1992]. In that case, Dr. Cox was charged with attempted murder. It may seem to some people that it is ethically and morally â€Å"alright† to end a persons’ suffering and misery by taking his/her life, if requested. However it is unethical to end a persons’ life for whatever the reason so. Hence, an ethical standard cannot be judged by feelings alone. Ethics is not religion as well. Many people are religious but not all are ethical. The same applies to people who are not religious are not necessarily ethical as well. However, most religions do practice an ethical code of conduct. Faith in religion does not require ethics but ethical principles apply to everyone. For example, during the 9/11 incident, what happened a decade ago was raging a â€Å"holy war† against the Americans and other western democratic nations in the name of their religion. Although the Islamic religion advocated good ethical standards, some deviate from the path and become corrupted, even in the name of their religion. Al Qaeda and the leader had taken the religion to its extreme. [Scholastic; Natalie, no date] A law abiding person may not necessarily be ethical. Although the law does embody high ethical standards generally accepted by the public, it may easily deviate from ethics as well. The law may become ethically corrupt under totalitarian regimes and turn it into a form of power to serve the interest of certain people or groups. For example, abortion is made legal in certain states and countries. Like China, where abortion is not a criminal offence but in turn is available on request by the patient and is even done by the government as a public service. Furthermore they are able to receive 2 weeks to a month of sick paid leave for abortion. [Act Now AU 2008][UN Abortion Policy, no date]. It may have been made legal by the law but that does not mean it is ethical to do so, unless in certain situation, it may affect maternal health or life. In Malaysia, an abortion is legal when there is risk of life or threat of injury to the pregnant woman. [WAO, 2011] Ethics is also not parallel to socially and culturally accepted norm. Although many cultures are ethical, some are very corrupted and even blind to ethical concerns. One good example would be the Netherlands Drug Law and Cultures. In the Netherlands weed or pot (common name of the drug marijuana/cannabis) is openly traded and consumed every day. There are even specific places (the coffee shops) in the Netherlands where they specifically cater to drug consumption. [Mark Owoll, 2000] Although it is widely accepted culturally, socially and legally in Netherlands, it is still unethical to consume cannabis/marijuana as it does harm to ones’ body through lung diseases, heart diseases, weakened immune system and many more and it is unethical to do harm to oneself. [WebMD, no date] Ethics is not a science as well. Ethics is not based off accurate calculation and scientific formulas and most certainly is unable to certainly predict the correct action to every ethical issue. However, social science and natural science are able to aid in making a better ethical decision. Science may provide the explanation but ethics provide the reason as to how we should act. For example, Cheryl, a mother of one and was pregnant with another at that time, was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant. Science had given her the option to have an abortion, and then proceed with chemotherapy or continue without chemotherapy and save the baby, but endangering her own life. Cheryl then decided to have the baby and died shortly after giving birth to her second child in an emergency caesarean birth.

Management of Marketing Channels Assignment

Management Development Institute of Singapore in Tashkent Faculty of Business Marketing Management of Marketing Channels Assignment Name: Gafurov Nodirbek Batch#: B0900377 Table of Contents Executive Summary3 Introduction4 The Role of Supply Chain Management5 Flextronics Logistics Management7 Reverse Logistics9 Flextronics in Channel Management10 References:12 Executive Summary This assignment demonstrates the most key business areas of the given, Flextronics International Ltd.It analyzes the core businesses of the company as logistics and supply chain that is subjective for the development and business achievement of the company. All findings of the company examples are gained during whole study from a range of reliable sources; such as websites, textbooks, audio materials, and other consistent newspapers. Introduction The core purpose of this statement is to draw and to discuss the role of supply chain management is playing today and how the company has capitalized it and use of Fl extronics’s technology to place its self in logistics management.Also it includes a justification of Flextronics use of reverse logistics and its relation to marketing channel and last of all personal view of Flextronics’s role in Channel Management. The report will be organized as follows: Section 1: The role of Supply Chain Management Section 2: Flextronics’ Logistic Management Section 3: Reverse Logistics Section 4: Flextronics in Channel Management The Role of Supply Chain Management Business today is in a large-scale environment.This environment forces corporations, regardless of position or key market base, to judge the rest of the world in their competitive tactic analysis. Organization cannot separate them from or skip outside factors such as economic trends, competitive situations or technology innovation in other countries, if some of their competitors are rivals or are located in those countries. Companies are going truly worldwide with Supply-chain M anagement (SCM). A company can build up a product in the United States, produce in India and sell in Europe.Companies have changed the ways in which they handle their actions and logistics activities. Changes in trade, the increase and innovation of transport infrastructures and the increase of competition have elevated the importance of flow management to levels. Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG) of the economies and organizations has fuelled the competitiveness among company. A number of issues have lead to the growing globalization of the world economy and as a result the competitive environment faced by the company has changed radically since the last decade.The drivers of globalization include: decreasing tariffs, improved transportation, communications and information technology, global manufacturing of products and availability of services across markets. These changes have enabled the global competitors to make the products and services available to custo mers worldwide, and the results have been a proliferation of choices for consumers and a need for the companies to offer greater products and service quality at lower costs in order to remain competitive.Changes in technology and globalization of products and services have also resulted in increasingly dynamic markets and greater uncertainty in customer demand. SCM tools and techniques are mechanisms that can allow the companies to respond to these environmental changes. Hence the reason as to why supply chain management has become popular during the past decade is the phenomenon of globalization. Increased competition has made business look for core competencies for enhanced performance.If a particular organization in some country has the core competence for a certain product/component/service, it will get the business for that product/service. This is called global outsourcing. A supply chain is defined as a set of three or more companies directly linked by one or more of the upst ream and downstream flows of the products, services, finances and information from a source to a customer. It consists of all the stages involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer’s demand. It not only includes the manufacturer and suppliers, but also transporters, warehouses, retailers and customers themselves.Within an organization, the supply chain includes all the functions involved in fulfilling a customer demand. These functions include, but are not limited to, new product development, marketing, operations, distribution, and finance and customer service. Flextronics International Ltd. (Flextronics), incorporated in May 1990, is a international supplier of straightly integrated complex design and electronics manufacturing services (EMS) to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The corporation designs, builds, ships and services for electronics products for its consumers throughout a network of services in 30 countries among four continents.Its set of clients consist of Alcatel-Lucent, Applied Materials, Cisco Systems, Dell, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, Huawei, Johnson and Johnson, Lenovo, Microsoft, Research in Motion and Xerox. The services the Company presents across all the marketplaces it serves consist of design and engineering services, original design manufacturing (ODM) services; components design and manufacturing, systems assembly and manufacturing, printed circuit board and flexible circuit fabrication, logistics and after sales services. In April 2012, it obtained Stellar Microelectronics. In June 2012, Tessera Technologies, Inc. s wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Optics Corporation (DOC), purchased certain assets of Vista Point Technologies from the Company. As of March 31, 2011, the Company’s whole manufacturing capability was about 25. 1 million square feet. Flextronics works directly with leading manufacturing and distribution companies and facilitates them address their business challenges. From our practic e working with key corporations in consumer products, high tech and industrial manufacturing, there are six key trends leading to significant impact and change to supply chain design and performance: Trend 1 – Demand planningTrend 2 – Globalization Trend 3 – Increased competition and price pressures Trend 4 – Outsourcing Trend 5 – Shortened and more complex product life cycles Trend 6 – Closer integration and collaboration with suppliers Moreover, our company must face corporate challenges that impact Supply Chain Management such as reengineering globalization and outsourcing. Why is it so important for the company to get products to their customers quickly? Faster product availability is a key to increasing sales, says R. Michael Donovan of Natick (Mass. 2002), a management consultant specializing in manufacturing and information systems. There's a substantial profit advantage for the extra time that you are in the market and your competito r is not,† he says. â€Å"If you can be there first, you are likely to get more orders and more market share. † The ability to deliver a product faster also can make or break a sale. â€Å"If two products appear to be equal and one is immediately available and the other will be available in a week, which would you choose? † Clearly, â€Å"Supply Chain Management has an important role to play in moving goods more quickly to their destination. † Flextronics Logistics ManagementInitially, the supply chain management was referred to the functions of logistics, transportation, purchasing and supplies. Though, the growth of the supply chain management has moved to focus on integration, visibility, cycle time reduction and streamlined channels. The new integration has a variety of activities that include: * Integrated Purchasing Strategy * Supplier Integration * Supply Base Management * Supply Chain Management Logistics activities continue living since the early 1900s. These tricks were first associated with the military as a branch of war that pertains to the movement and the supply for armies.Military forces all the time used to make use of logistics models to make sure the availability of the compulsory material at the right place and on right time. Logistics is being used by the military even today. After 1950, supply chain management got a boost with the production and manufacturing sector getting highest attention. The inventory became the responsibility of the marketing, accounting and production areas. Order processing was part of accounting and sales. Supply chain management became one of the most powerful engines of business transformation. It is the one area where operational efficiency can be gained.It reduces organizations costs and enhances customer service. The evolution led to an Internet-based application for Supply Chain Management. Within a firm’s supply chain management, logistics is the work required to move and geographically position inventory. As such, logistics is a subset of and occurs within the broader framework of a supply chain. Logistics is the process that creates value by timing and positioning inventory. Logistics is the combination of a firm’s order management, inventory, transportation, warehousing, materials handling, and packaging as integrated throughout a facility network.Integrated logistics serves to link and synchronize the overall supply chain as a continuous process and is essential for effective supply chain connectivity. While the purpose of logistical work has remained essentially the same over the decades, the way the work is performed continues to radically change. Flextronics Global Services is a supplier of aftermarket supply chain logistics services. Its set of services serve clients operating in the computing, customer digital, infrastructure, industrial, mobile and medical markets.It provides multiple logistics solutions, including supplier managed i nventory, inbound goods management, product postponement, build/configure to order, order performance and distribution, and supply chain network design. Too many of such companies will find themselves victims of the powerful new transactional systems they put in place. Unfortunately, many leading-edge information systems can capture reams of data but cannot easily translate it into actionable intelligence that can enhance real-world operations.As one logistics manager with a brand-new system said: â€Å"I've got three feet of reports with every detail imaginable, but it doesn't tell me how to run my business† This manager built an information technology system that integrates capabilities of three essential kinds. For the short term, the system enabled to handle day-to-day transactions and electronic commerce across the supply chain and thus helped align supply and demand by sharing information on orders and daily scheduling.From a mid-term perspective, the system facilitated planning and decision making, supporting the demand and shipment planning and master production scheduling needed to allocate resources efficiently. To add long-term value, the system enabled strategic analysis by providing tools, such as an integrated network model, that synthesize data for use in high-level â€Å"what-if† scenario planning to help managers evaluate plants, distribution centers, suppliers, and third-party service alternatives. Reverse LogisticsThe raise of efficiency and competitiveness of companies, as well as legal and environmental aspects, and the change in the consumption culture of consumers have stimulated the growth of reverse logistics. In many cases, the existence of a well managed reverse logistics system is essential in the decision of purchasing products or services. Clients prefer suppliers that can operate in a close relation with their teams, to improve products and processes, and that cooperate in the solving of problems which may come off. To those clients, the sale is just the beginning of a relationship. Reverse logistics is a rather wide area/function that involves all the operations related to the reuse of products and materials such as the logistics activities of collecting, dismantling and processing of products and/or materials and used pieces in order to assure a sustainable recuperation of those that do not harm the environment (Revlog, 2005). Reverse Logistics is a process whereby companies can become more environmentally efficient through recycling, reusing and reducing the amount of materials used. Viewed narrowly, it can be thought of as the reverse distribution of materials among channel members. A more holistic view of Reverse Logistics includes the reduction of materials in the forward system in such a way that fewer materials flow back, reuse of materials is possible and recycling is facilitated†. (Carter and Ellram, 1998, p. 85).The fact of reducing materials used in the processes is according to some authors (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 1998) considered as Green Logistics and not Reverse Logistics, although the same authors agree in that the bound line between both concepts is not always clear. On the other hand, Carter and Ellram seem to keep tight to the same channel in which the forward flow was generated, against the more broad view in which other companies outside the business chain could be favored from the returns flows.The Company offers a suite of integrated reverse logistics and repair solutions that are operated on globally consistent processes. With its suite of end-to-end solutions, the Company can manage its customers' reverse logistics requirements while also providing critical feedback of data to their supply chain constituents while delivering continuous improvement and efficiencies for both existing and new generation products. Its reverse logistics and repair solutions include returns management, exchange programs, complex repair, asset recovery, recycli ng and e-waste management.The Company provides repair expertise to multiple product lines, such as consumer and midrange products, printers, personal digital assistants (PDA), mobile phones, consumer medical devices, notebooks, PC's, set-top boxes, game consoles and infrastructure products. With its service parts logistics business, the Company manages all of the logistics and restocking processes essential to the operation of repair and refurbishment services. The integration of reverse logistics operations inside the logistics effort of the corporation should be the first step in the process of corporate-wide integration.In the case of Flextronics, create a center of attention senior management attention and support look like to be the hardest task concerning returns. Mapping out the reverse logistics program and identifying the various departments directly or indirectly concerned in returns handling can prove to be a valuable inventiveness. Clear tasks must be assigned to account ing, sales, finance, marketing, etc. regarding increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the reverse logistics program. Flextronics in Channel Management The role of Flextronics in Channel Management has been considered as an important competitiveness factor of other companies.This is especially important for the electronics industry given the high perish ability of its products and the complexity of its distribution channel. These factors combined make critical the relation between the members of the distribution channel. The world economy is becoming borderless and integrated, driven by global market forces, global technological forces, global cost forces and political and macro-economic forces. The integrated world economy and global competitive arena is changing the way in which companies traditionally operated.There is also geographical, functional and sectored integration, which gives a truly global playing field to the companies and results in channel management. Therefo re Channel Management is playing vital role in Global competitiveness. To conclude the practical implications, channel management’s tasks and behavior seem, on the surface, to be similar to traditional management. However, the difference in the form of a SCO as a starting point for the management is considerable. To acquire a proper SCO, the SCM literature suggests that a major change in the mindset must be achieved.To become best practice in SCM performance is therefore not easily achieved. However, SCM seems to be a promising strategy for many companies when considering the best practice companies’ profitability and growth, and this dissertation can hopefully give practitioners some advice about improved SCM performance. References: Barry, J. Girard, G. ;amp; Perras, C. (1993), Logistics planning shifts into reverse. Journal of European Business, Vol. 5, No 1, pp. 34–38. Business Dictionary (2012) Definition-What is logistics management? And its role in the bu siness Available at: http://www. usinessdictionary. com/definition/logistics-management. html#ixzz2Ar3FkYOr [Accessed on: 1st November, 2012] Flextronics (2010-2011) Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility Program Sustainability Report: Flextronics Supplier CSER Program Overview pp. 64-68 Hawks, Karen. VP Supply Chain Practice, Navesink. (2006) Reverse Logistics Magazine Available at: http://www. rlmagazine. com/edition01p12. php [Accessed on: 17th October, 2012] Melissen F. W. ;amp; A. J. de Ron (1999), Defining recovery practices – definitions and terminology, International Journal on Environmentally

Environmental Compliance and Safety Research Paper

Environmental Compliance and Safety - Research Paper Example This was evidenced by lack of coordination between the various agencies and companies involved in oil drilling operations during the disaster. This paper examines corrective mechanisms employed to control the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and agencies involved in the exercise. In addition, the paper explores the compliance regulations violated during the exercise. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was triggered by an explosion in the British Petroleum (BP) operated Macondo well on April 20, 2010. The explosion killed eleven crewmembers of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and several others suffered various levels of injuries (Ramseur, 2011). The blowout destroyed the drilling platform and it sunk two days later. Following the explosion, oil leakage was discovered on the sea floor and it continued discharging crude oil until its containment on July 15, 2010 (Uhlmann, 2011). According to Ramseur and Hargety (2011), over 4.9 million barrels were discharged into the water during the period. However, the exact volume of crude oil discharged remains unknown. The oil discharge was so voluminous that it contaminated the beaches of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida (Ramseur, 2011). The oil spill caused significant environmental and economic damage to the region. Commercial activities in the Gulf of Mexico especially commercial fishing and tourism were disrupted. Consequently, livelihoods of many people depending on these sectors were adversely affected. The impact on aquatic life was equally disastrous, killing numerous animals and plants in addition to polluting their habitats. The exact environmental, economic and social effects of the oil spill remain unknown up to date. However, the adverse environmental effects are expected to continue being felt in the affected region for many years, as demonstrated by the earlier Exxon Valdez oil discharge in 1989 (Uhlmann, 2011).

Googles Organisation Culture, Power and Control Essay

Googles Organisation Culture, Power and Control - Essay Example According to the report  Google Inc. is a US based company headquartered at Mountain View, California. It was founded in the year 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They were students at Stanford University then. Google is specialised in online advertising and internet searching. It became a public company in 2004. The mission statement of Google is: â€Å"Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful†.From this discussion it is clear that  Google is well known for its unconventional, informal, and distinct organisational culture. Organisational culture can actually be thought of or analysed at three different levels, namely Artefacts, Espoused Values, and Beliefs and the Basic Assumptions. The main belief of Google is that its organisational structure and its associated values are the representatives of spirits, assumptions, beliefs, performances, and attitudes followed by the employees of the company. Integrity of the values of the Google’s employees, which include commitment and loyalty, is an important aspect of the Google’s culture. This results in Google trying to create an organisational culture which is innovative in nature so as to provide motivational incentives for its employees to achieve the goals and objectives of the company.  For Google’s employees, money is not as important as their passion to work for the company. Everyone enjoys and feels happy about working for Google.  

International Trade & Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Trade & Banking - Essay Example According to Mishkin, globalization is essentially about economic integration, which implies the opening up of national economies to the external inflow of goods, services. Contrary to earlier beliefs, globalization is hardly a new phenomenon, dating back to the end of the 19th century and the age of industrialization. â€Å"The globalization system, unlike the Cold War system, is not static, but a dynamic ongoing process: globalization involves integration of markets, nation-states and technologies to a degree never witnessed before — in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that is also producing a powerful backlash from those brutalized or left behind by this new system†. Yet, even today it is too early to say that globalization has achieved its peak. Central banks are still in their way but far from achieving real financial globalization. The lat ter presupposes having a single global currency and a single global financial authority. According to Way, â€Å"independent central banks produce sharply lower inflation rates where Left cabinets are prevalent but at a cost of increasing unemployment†. In the absence of financial stability and global financial homogeneity, central banks acquire a new role of adjusting their decisions and exchange rates policies to the needs of the international financial community, including the issues of currency convertibility.

European Union Law Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

European Union Law Master - Essay Example For example, EU law provides that no Council decision can be binding and executory unless it was voted by two-thirds of the Council membership. This paper discusses the conflicts often engendered by acts of the Council that have not been introduced into the national laws of member states, as well as the integrity and applicability of its decisions. In so doing, the paper presents two case scenarios involving consumer welfare and fair trade promotion as embodied in acts of the Council that run into controversy. The European Council, seeking to bolster consumer protection laws in member states, adopted a directive on May 1, 2005 granting consumers the right to cancel any mail-order purchase of goods or services if done within 15 days of placement. Within seven days upon receipt of such notice, the supplier shall make a full refund of the contract price to the consumer, minus a reasonable amount for administrative and handling costs. EU member states were enjoined to implement the directive by May 1, 2007, but UK dragged its feet on the measure and was yet to incorporate this Directive into its national laws until July 5, 2007. On this exact date, Brighton businesswoman Christina ordered a new computer system from Avalon Computers Ltd., a mail-order firm in Reading specializing in computer equipment for professional graphics design. After making the full payment of 3,000 pounds, the equipment was delivered to Christina's shop a few days later. A day after delivery, however, Christina lost he r American clients who had specified new designs that required the new computer system. Without these clients, the equipment was hardly needed by Christina's design studio so she faxed Avalon for a return of the computer, which was still crated and untouched. Avalon denied the request, indicating that there is a UK law allowing the no-return policy on the purchase of goods.Problem Question: If asked to prepare a brief on Christina's problem, how would you help her obtain a refund In the event a UK court declines to hear the case, where else could she go for redress Would the complexion of the case be different if the directive were a regulation insteadAnswer: In 6/64 Costa v ENEL (1964) ECR 585, the ECJ observed that the "Treaty has created it own legal system, which becomes part of the legal system of each member state and which their courts are bound to apply." This fulfills the direct effect principle in EU law, which means that the Council directive applies to Avalon although is yet to be implemented in UK. The new EU Constitution says that the EC law, whether of general or specific application, must prevail over any national law and that even in cases of conflict, the national law must be adjusted to conform to the EC law (Craig & De Burca, 20003). The implications are that coverage of EC law does not distinguish between direct and indirect effects in regard to individual European citizens, such that they can avail of the EC law's provisions to complain against any violation. The same ruling was laid down in Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional: "In applying national

Dan Brown Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dan Brown - Research Paper Example The objective of this paper is to give the reader a thorough description about Dan Brown, details about his novels and accomplishments. Dan Brown tends to stay away from the limelight. Most of the times, the low-profile author is seen at fund-raising campaigns and seminars. A particular event that is worth quoting is the gala at his High School, Philips Exeter Academy, which he attended and announced a gift of $2.2 million to the school (Philips Exeter Academy, 2004). Despite being the author of so many bestselling novels, Dan Brown is still a friendly guy without any supernormal attitude towards others. He does not even seem to be the person who created the strange world of Da Vinci Code (Kaplan, 2009). Dan Brown, according to Kaplan, seems to be surprised that his novel started such a big controversy among the Catholic Group. He was a very religious person in his initial years of his life as he was raised an Episcopalian (Kaplan, 2009). He is much of a scientific guy and believes more in science rather than religion. He said â€Å"science makes much more sense to me†. After his graduation, Brown commenced his career in songwriting and singing. Dan Brown is 45 years of age at the moment with golden hair and blue eyes. The author wakes up early in the morning at around 4:00AM when there are no distractions and works on his novels. At this hour of the day, Dan feels more productive. He does most of his writing activities in his roof space and stops briefly after every hour to do push-ups and other exercises to stay efficient. Dan Brown’s interests in code-breaking from the early stages of his life influenced him to start writing novels which are related to underground government agencies. He graduated from the Amherst College and also studied at the Philips Exeter Academy. There he also worked as an English teacher in the day. His father was a Presidential Award winner for his book on mathematical concepts and he was also a

Consider the challenges of the forensic recovery and examination of Essay

Consider the challenges of the forensic recovery and examination of data from mobile devices - Essay Example The capability of mobile devices has increased as a result of advance in computing ability contributed by advancement of semiconductor technology used in these devices. Due to their size and portability mobile devices have become the vessels of storing, processing and transmitting information. This remarkable development of mobile technology is origin of current security challenges. The involvement of these devices in criminal activities calls for mobile device forensics and data recovery. This paper summarizes the challenges faced in forensic recovery and examination of data from mobile devices. The scope will bring into light challenges associated while carrying forensic analysis of mobile phones and elaborate various analysis techniques. It will also depict the weaknesses of mobile forensic toolkits and procedures and the crossover between phone and computer forensics 1. Introduction Mobile devices have revolutionized communications on every group in the social structure by making connection to the internet hence global information is available at touch of a button. There are slightly above 4 billion users of mobile devices users and the use of these devices in criminal activities is quite widespread and increasing rapidly. The increased usage of mobile devices particularly the mobile phones is entirely attributed to the reduced cost, the introduction of text messaging, multimedia potentialities, custom ring tones, internet connection, and games features among others. Civil and criminal investigations in the day today life and business involve digital mobile devices forensics. These devices can be connected to crime if they are: used as a communication tool in the act of crime, means of committing crime, they contain information and a data warehouse device providing evidence. Mobile devices forensics can be defined as the science of retrieval of digital evidence from mobile devices and entails methods that show how this evidence is retrieved. Mobile devices forensics is achieved through acquiring and analysing data in devices, memory cards and SIM cards. 2. Evidence items Evidence items that can be obtained by forensically examining a mobile device include the following; Name of Service Provider and Unique Id Number that are printed on back of SIM card. International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) and can be retrieved by keying in some commands such as *#06#. Network operators give facility to dial some code for finding it Location Area Identity (LAI) which is stored inside SIM Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) is Stored inside SIM and matches the number printed on SIM. International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), a unique id for every network subscriber and is stored inside SIM. Text messages data (SMS), contacts and call logs are stored on both the SIM and mobile device handset. Multimedia messages (MMS), images, sound, videos, WAP/Browser history, emails, calendar items and notes are all stored in mobile phone memory. Some mobile devices retain information of SIM cards used at earlier times. This feature is very limited in mobile devices. MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital

Revlon website Essay Example for Free

Revlon website Essay Csikszentmihalyi (1975, p. 36 cited in Rettie, 2001) states that flow is the holistic experience that people feel when they act with total involvement. Further, Hoffman and Novak (1996, p. 57 cited in Rettie, 2001) believes that flow is something which can stick you through. Further, it is said that flow can be attributed towards repeat usage. Which means, if a consumer is provided something exciting on the website, then probability of consumer visiting website again is very high? In context of Revlon, a consumer visiting website wants to see something different, he wants to have an experience and if that does not happen, them the consumer will not visit the site again. Now, the question is, what Revlon is offering to the audience is very much same as any other website is offering. Revlon is offering a make up look which is not even personalized. This will not increase the traffic on the website and will not lead to consumer satisfaction. Currently, Revlon website is offering very minimal services. The site is not very flashy as it is one of the glamorous companies. Its competitors LOreal has flashy sites with lots of features (Loreal. com) which are missing in Revlon. In a survey done by Csikszentmihalyi (cited in Rettie, 2001) the research involves finding the flow of information was that older woman prefer that if there is interactivity on the site (i. e. if there is lots of things to do on the site they will prefer to go on that site again and again. But if there is no interactivity on the site it does not interest the consumer). Revlon website offers very limited interactivity to the customers, which wont help Revlon to attract new customers and provide satisfaction to old customers. Currently, Revlon site is offering e-mails to consumers. But do Consumers really bother about these e-mails. Hoffman and Novak, 1997, Rettie, 2001, Smith and Shivkumar, 2004 (cited in Chaffey et al, 2006) believes that flow of information is important for site usability. Further, Chaffey et al,(2006) believes that flow for online marketing can be defined as information or experience, which consumer has when he moves from one page to another and also includes interactions like filling forms etc. When this theory was applied to Revlon website, it showed that navigating from one page to other is not difficult and is quite easy. But when it comes to interactivity Revlon cannot compete with LOreal as LOreal offers more tools for interactivity then Revlon. Strauss and Frost (1999) suggest that customers want speed, convenience on top variety when they get from one page to another. Consumer does not want to spend their time on giving password on the net rather; they prefer to have user friendly method on the internet. This is important for the flow of information through the website. The more the website saves time and efforts of the consumer the more likely it is for the consumer to visit the site gain. This will help to increase the customer satisfaction and enhance interactivity on the COMPETITIOR ANALYSIS Revlon is beauty care Product Company for woman. Its main direct competitors are LOreal, Maybelline. According to Chaffey et al (2006) benchmarking competitors website should be based on companies marketing performance, financial performance, marketing communication techniques and services offered. In context of interactivity, marketing communications techniques and services offered should be taken into account for competitors analysis. Based on the above analysis, the recommendations are made for Revlon to come up to its competitors. Revlons competitors have strong interactivity on the website which Revlon is lacking, therefore, future recommendations are set so that Revlon also increases its interactivity on the website and increases the customer satisfaction and interaction. RECOMMENDATIONS After analyzing Revlon website and the competitors. The following recommendations are made which will help Revlon to understand its customer needs and leads to customer satisfaction through interactive media. In view of Avery, Calder and Iacobucci (1998), interactive media has enormous growth. It is used to identify customer needs, sharing of information and creating an experience for the customer. According to Borges, Couto, Natario and Braga (2007), the range of online communication tool is growing with way of support and involving customers and communicating between one to many. In view of Hoffman, Novak, Schlosser, 2000 and Constantinides (2002 cited in Borges et al,2007) internet is not only a place which represents companys image. The main aim of the internet is to attract more customers and changing occasional visitors to prospective customers. With the support of above theories, the below are some of the recommendation to Revlon in order to increase their interactivity on the website, thus it will help to satisfy customers and will help to identify prospective clients as well. 1 ONLINE FORUMS Revlon presently, has no forums (imediacommunication, 2004). Revlon should develop forums which will help customers to interact with each other and with organization also. Chaffey et al(2006) suggests that forums are the means to promote the services of the website. It is a way of connecting to the community. According to Howard (2000) it is essential for a company to innovate on the internet by hosting on line forums, stage on line contest, live messages etc. Loreal, which is the direct competitor of Revlon, has forum, where customer can post their comments, chat with each other, participate in polls, LOreal has online live discussion forum as well (LOreal. com). According to Siegel (2006), forums are an effective way of communicate online and sharing information with people. He has provided an example of Kraft Foods interactive Kitchen where consumers share recipes and email their comments on the site. The best example for forums is YouTube, where customer can leave their comment, can discuss videos with members. Revlon should start opinion poll service, live discussion, sharing of videos on their website. Even though Revlon has certain blogs on search engines but they do not belong to the website. Customers will not find blogs in search engines to post comment, they will visit website to do so. 2 Blogs One of the most common tools for interactive communication is blogging. Blogs can be defined as webpages which are developed or used online for publishing web pages. These Blogs have comments and feedback form which makes consumer feel good. Blogs are also gets comments from other sites as well. These have been successful in media environment (Chaffey et al, 2006). According to Business Blog Consulting customers feel that Revlon should come with blogs where women can discuss their product research, can share good piece of information with other women and even develop online community. Revlon website should start Blog for its customers where they feel that they are involved in company. They can share information about recent style, trends across the world. In view of Russo (2007) where the power of blog can be known is from Perez Hiltons celebrity gossip blogger where he has created a blog which he constantly updates, makes his readers involved by publishing gossips, pictures. Revlon should form a blog which should focus on beauty and cosmetic tips given by its celebrity endorser and consumer can ask questions, post comments about beauty and cosmetics and to create positive effect of their services through these blogs. Revlon should also start competition games for beauty and cosmetic quiz type and then reward the audiences according to some points.

Concern on environmental issues worldwide

Concern on environmental issues worldwide There has been a rising concern on environmental issues worldwide nowadays. Ministry of foreign affairs statistic shows that over the years, the temperature has been rise because of carbon dioxide trapped and green house gases have affected the global climate. This change will affect the people live all over the world. This also includes access to water, health, food and the well being of the environment. Todays consumers have started to recognize that their purchasing behaviors actually cause a big impact to the environment. Therefore, companies should practice offering environmentally friendly products and service to people to prevent this world become worse. Although, Malaysia has undergone an excellent development followed governmental efforts to attract foreign investor to come and invest for a green product development in Malaysia, the action of environmental responsible behavior among Malaysian consumers are still low. One of the examples of the lack of environmental responsible behavior is shown in an article in Bernama whereby garbage thrown by one of the state in Malaysia residents is the main cause of river pollution in the state. According to a survey which was handled on by global market insight and information group, only 8% of Malaysian respondents responded that they have changed their behavior in a greatest deal to benefit the environment on the aspect of eco-friendliness of habits and behaviors In addition 83% respondents reported that their views on a companys and their Colleges friendliness to the environment would influence them to purchases a green products and services. Studying the determinants of generation-Y consumers green purchase behavior will be definitely benefit green marketers. Generation-Y (also known as a millennial) is defined as A label attributed to people born during the 1980s and early 1990s. Members of Generation Y are often referred to as echo boomers because they are the children of parents born during the baby boom (baby boomers). Because children born during this time period have had constant access to technology (computers, cell phones) in their youth, they have required many employers to update their hiring strategy in order to incorporate updated forms of technology. In a simple word, generation-Y grew up with a technology and relies on those things to perform their job and their task. In addition, when going through a literature review in Malaysian context, there are still a gap existed between environmental knowledge, intention and behavior towards green product. [Said et al. (2005)]. Even though people that have vast knowledge about green products are not necessarily would buy a green product. Therefore, factors those determine and affect Generation-Y to purchase a green product would be worth to find out. 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH Environment is defined as what surrounds a thing or an item or in other words it means the surrounding. It could be a physical element which is physical environment, that includes the built environment, natural environment such as air, water, land, atmosphere and etc or it could be human environment where people surrounding the item or thing which also known as the social environment. Today environment is getting worst and worst. Many environmental issues arise. Environmental concerns have been growing in recent years. One of the examples of environmental issue is global warming. Global warming and climate change refer to an increase in average global temperatures. Natural events and human activities such as burning garbage and waste are believed to be contributing to an increase in average global temperatures. This is caused primarily by increases in greenhouse gases such as Carbon Dioxide. The greenhouse effect keeps the earth warm when functioning normally. For the first time in h istory, human activities are altering the climate of our entire planet. According to (Jack, 2010), in less than 2 centuries, humans have increased the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 25% from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests. In addition to the natural fluxes of carbon through the Earth system, human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning and deforestation, are also releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (The Carbon Cycle; the Human Role, Earth Observatory, NASA). Green product is define as a product that produce limited carbon footprints; they may require fewer resources to produce, consume less energy or emit fewer hazardous emissions.  Green product is also a product that is non toxic, water-efficient, and also recyclable and biodegradable. There are many green products that have been produce for people in the market. For example, a household cleaner. Nowadays its nearly impossible to go shopping without finding a plethora of products that claim to be environmentally and consumer friendly. Oddly enough, many cheap and eco-friendly substances, such as vinegar, have been used for years as home cleaners. Whether you buy a green cleaning product at a store or use something on hand in your pantry, you can reap the benefits of choosing products that are gentler on you and the environment. Phosphate-free dishwasher and laundry detergents are also consider a green product because they do not discharge environment-damaging phosphates into waterway s. Other examples of green cleaning products are those labeled certified biodegradable; these have passed several stringent tests relating to biodegradability and environmental impact conducted by an independent certifying agency. According to Consumer Reports, the certified biodegradable label is more meaningful than a general biodegradable label. Glass and metal cleaners, kitchen and bathroom cleaners, and laundry detergents are products that might carry this label. The rationale for going green is twofold. Clearly, the positive effects on the environment are a key driver for purchasing green product.  Green product provides myriad environmental benefits. They can replace toxic materials that may be harmful to people or animals. Also, some products save energy and water, while others limit solid waste and manufacturing releases. Green products create a healthier environment for people through reduced exposure to cleaners, solvents, paints and other hazardous substances. Green product also can reduce allergies. Many families find that their children are suffering from allergies, even though their family history does not necessary say that there are no allergies. In some situations, chemicals found within cleaning products contain allergens. Bleaches, toxic cleaning sprays and other chemicals used to clean the home commonly contain a variety of ingredients specifically able to cause or trigger allergies in people.   Generation Y are the cool generation, they embrace brand and live in the new world of digitize communication. Thus that might be interesting to find their perception and their level of awareness towards environmental issues that the world is facing nowadays. Gen Y has grown up in a very structure, busy and over planned world. Also, Gen Y is made up of confident, optimistic young people who feel valued and wanted. In a article of science daily, Gen-Y is a people that will go all the way when it comes to saving the environment as long as it benefit to world economic and environment. They are maturing into a pragmatic generation that wants to do the right thing for the environment but also has real economic concerns 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Consumers or practically customers are the sellers and buyers that boost the countrys economy. Therefore, many firms are actually putting many efforts in order to attract more customers because these customers create businesses opportunities and generate profits to them. As the world nowadays facing so many problems regarding to an environmental issue, the consumers and their attitudes or behaviors to purchase a green product are the important factors to be considered. Consumers nowadays have more choices due to the effects of globalization. They will prefer the function of the product rather than the brand or whatsoever to ensure a healthier future. To determine the current level of Gen-y consumers preference towards the green products. To determine what are the determinants or factors of Gen-y consumer preferences towards the green product. To determine the consequences or effects of Gen-y consumer preferences towards the green product. To determine consumer level of awareness of Gen-y consumer towards green product. 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE Awareness towards environmental issue that the world nowadays facing play a major role encourage people to purchase a green product. Thus, this study is attempts to relate on the various variables that influence consumer especially generation-Y to purchase a green product. The objectives are as the following: * To study the factors affecting the consumer especially Gen-Y to purchase green product. Gen-y is a new generation and It is crucial to understand as they are more advance and modernize. Thus, several researches have been conducted in order to understand consumers in a way that how they behave, and what are the factors that cause them to behave or react to the responses of the products. Leading factors such as price and quality are always the top concerns to the consumers. Product attributes will moderate the effects of price on quality judgments. Partial of the consumers may focus on buying low prices goods and neglect the quality of the products. This group of consumers takes the price as a measure of sacrifice. For instance, consumers take the price served as the benchmark for comparing utility gains from the quality of the product. One the other hand, some portion of the consumers will be willing to pay a premium price for the quality and function of the products, as they are very sensitive to the signals of the quality of one product. Thus, it is hope that this stud y will contribute further to the understanding of factors of price and quality that may lead to the consumers prefer for a green product * To understand the awareness level of people about Go Green campaign. Nowadays, there are many environmental campaign have been organized by a government and private sector. This campaign is aim to encourage people to more concern about the environment. Thus, it is hope that this study will explore how people react to a environmental campaign and what is their level of awareness about the awareness campaign. * To examine the benefit for people involvement in Go Green program. We might be asking, how we will benefit from getting involved in this environmental campaign. Well, recently there has been an increase in events directly related to the availability of natural resources. For example energy shortages that resulted to load shedding, change in weather patterns and water shortages. As a result, civil society is recognizing the need to manage our natural resources more effectively and responsibly. In doing so, we can ensure positive effects on our health, quality of life and even the cost of living. Thus, this study will help people to getting known more about what they will gain if they participate in the environmental campaign. *To discover what consumer perception towards green product. In curiosity to identify what are the main components or criteria that consumer especially gen-Y are looking forward in order to purchase a green product. It is true that each and every one of us are special and unique in the way we are, thus, every consumer has their very own perception in purchasing a green product. Different people from different backgrounds may have different perceptions on these products. In addition to that, different demographic groups may have different perceptions to this kind of product as well. Thus, this study will help to identify whether the consumer especially gen-y prefer to buy a green product or not to safe a mother of earth. 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY This study is crucial as there are a lot of green products have been selling nowadays. Obviously, when we talk about green product, the price for that particular item might be so expensive. The study on factors affecting consumer especially Gen-Y buying a green product may allow us to know in depth why are previous efforts taken does not produce as it is thought it would be. Based on the study conducted, motivations towards the environment, knowledge on green product, social norm, awareness and self-image have an impact on the consumer especially Gen-Y buying a green product. Government may need to enhance its program in educating people green product. New and more interesting Go Green program and method is a definite necessity in motivating people to increase their interest/awareness on a green product and indirectly motivates them to purchase it. 1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY The research focus on students in Multimedia University (MMU) Melaka campus and teenagers from outside the campus which comes from various demographic backgrounds such as the faculty, ethnicity and nationality. The focused respondents are a great resemblance on the exact population in Malaysia. 1.6 ORGANIZATIONAL OF RESEARCH 1.6.1 Chapter 1: Introduction Regarding this chapter, it introduce the background of this research such as why do people as a consumer buy a green product. Thus, this will create a strong preference among the gen-y consumers locally and abroad to consume and purchase green products. These sections will explain in details in the of consumers preferences from the Malaysian perspective and as well from the global view for green products. This chapter also recognized the problem statement and the research objectives for this research. Finally, the justification of the research will help to justify the benefits and those who will gain in this research. Chapter 2 : Literature Review A thorough study will be conducted on the dependent variable and independent variables. The main purpose for this chapter is to weigh the pros and cons of the topic and to discuss in details on the ideas and knowledge concerned. In this chapter, every definition of the dependent variable and independent variables will be cited from the journals in order to strengthen every point mentioned. Several of arguments and various points of views from different authors in order to provide a stronger formation of each point can be founded in this chapter. In addition to that, this chapter explains the relationships on several independent variables relate to the dependent variables. 1.6.2 Chapter 3 : Research Methodology Research methodology is usually conducted after the thorough study of literature review. In this chapter, theoretical framework will be form to illustrate the relationships between the dependent variable and the independent variables. Hypotheses or a proposed explanation which were made on the basis of limited evidences will explain the relationships between two or more variables. All the hypotheses stated will be tested together with empirical data. This chapter also includes the description of the sampling data, data collections and as well as the development of the questionnaire for this research. Chapter 4 : Data Analysis After questionnaires are collected from all the respondents, then few tests will be conducted to test on the validity and reliability of the results. The responds of the questionnaires from the respondents are represented by a set of numbers that symbolize their own significant meanings. Whereas the tests that will be carry out are to analyze the responses from the respondents so that it will derive to a stronger conclusion at the end of this research. Chapter 5 : Conclusion This chapter will provide the final outcome of this research. Thus, the final results will be explained and we will be able to identify how the exact hypotheses that formed earlier are hold.

Factors Effecting Erp Implementation In Smes Management Essay

Factors Effecting Erp Implementation In Smes Management Essay Information systems gained popularity as these automate all management related function that an organisation needed. Large organisations implement ERP information systems that integrate all data and processes together. With increase in popularity of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and their collaboration with large enterprises, SMEs needed an ERP system which at first can automate all of their business functions and secondly they can work with large enterprises. However their successful implementation in SMEs remains an issue. As SMEs are short of resources and financially weak so they need to install an ERP system successfully so that they can avoid chances of failure. For this reason this research has been conducted to critically analyse success factors of ERP adoption. Case studies will be selected and analysis has been made on them to find out the successful elements of their implementation. At last in conclusion a general frame work will be made to help SMEs to implement ERP system successfully. Background: Today the whole world has become a global village in which organisations are competing with each other to improve their productivity and generate profits. This is not generalised to only large organisations as it has been observed from last decade that small and medium size organisations are also taking part in this race (Chen, 2001). Organisations are moving fast to adopt a package that can help their management and functional needs. They require an Enterprise package that can fulfil their demands. ERP is the solution for the enterprises, in current case for small and medium size organisations. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) gained its popularity in 1990 as an integrated application. Its functionality is to integrate different functions together and provide a common database to users and departments, with many advantages more specific to reduced inventory and improved profits. ERP evolution starts in earlier 70s when manufacturing companies were using MPS (Master Production Schedule) technique. Function of this technique was to specify the end or finished product that is required in planning period. This type of technique only did the production and scheduling of final product. Whereas manufacturing organisations required not only final product planning but they also needed planning and scheduling of raw materials associated with that final product. Therefore firms obtained MRP (Material Requirement planning) that can differentiate between final product, its parts and raw material. This technique performed production planning and inventory control in the manufacturing p rocess. Basic functionality of this system was planning and scheduling of manufacturing process. This technique became popular and in 1980s MRP systems were expanded and MRP II was introduced, it was not only production planning technique but it also integrated primary functions like (production, finance and marketing etc) into planning process. Because of this technique popularity and effectiveness in planning and production process organisations tend to move to this technique. In 1990s MRP II was further expanded into ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). The main difference between ERP and MRP II is that ERP plans and schedule supplier resources by keeping customer service in mind (Chen, 2001 and Gupta, 2000). The purpose of the research is to identify success factors of ERP adoption in SMEs. Researches done in this area were deficient of some of the key points. From last couple of years research has been conducted to critically identify success factors of implementing ERP in SMEs. (Kale et al, 2010) did study in identifying success factors of Indian SMEs and their research was based on both qualitative and quantitative. (Snider et al, 2009) studied on five Canadian SMEs but some of their critical success factors lack cultural issues. (El Sawah et al, 2008) and (Woo, 2007) both did research in SMEs, in which they covered only one country and further they intended to enhance their research by taking more SMEs of different countries. (Woo, 2007) explained in study that if cultural differences were given then considered success factors can be same to case studies in China and case studies of Western organisation. (Doom et al, 2010) used Belgian SMEs to research success factors. (Muscatello et al. 2003) did their research on four US manufacturing companies but the companies they choose were linked to large organisations and had annual revenues more then SMEs .(Loh and Koh, 2004) carried out their research in UK and their target was SMEs, they conducted interviews and distributed questionnaires. Their research is found to be more competent as compared to others but still they did not cover demographic issues.(Yusuf et al, 2004) conducted their research on Rolls Royce and found out answers of few success factors. From above studies it is obvious that most of the work has been done in large organisation and little researches were carried out on SMEs. Although, those studies considered SMEs for the research but covered only one region and were short of justification that how success factors of some specific part of world could be implemented in rest of the world. Key issues in successful implementation of ERP Key issues are the problems that arise during the implementation process. There are lot of problems that can affect ERP implementation process in SMEs which are detailed as below (Chen, 2001). Cost is one of the main issues that can fail ERP implementation. As ERP package requires huge finances and companies fail to successfully implement ERP package so they find it difficult to continue with their project. To choose right ERP package is another issue that SMEs have to take into account before implementation. Hershey Food Corp accounts SAP for their failure so choosing right ERP package is a big issue. ERP in SMEs requires some time complex customization because it focuses mostly on corporate giants. So customization is another big issue that can effect ERP implementation. Another main issue is analysis, which projects are failure and which are successful. Project failure and success all depends on judgment and analysis. Fox Meyer as mentioned below, states that their ERP systems did not fulfil their functionality and they marked that project as failure. It is explained in detail in literature review section. Likewise some enterprises termed their project failure because of cost. Project can be termed as success if they meet these criteria. It should be delivered on time It should meet project cost The project should deliver the functionality which that organisation wants. Research aim and objectives The main aim of this study is to propose a frame work for effective implementation of ERP in SMEs. This requires in depth study of literature review and case studies to critically evaluate success factors. The research will be based on the following research question: What are the key issues and problems being faced in the successful implementation of the ERP in small and medium enterprises (SMEs)? To what extent the ERP software contributes to the success factors in SMEà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s? In order to answer the above stated research questions the following stages will have to be achieved: To review and carry out in depth analysis of literature review while focal point will be ERP adoption. Critically analyse and identify success factors from different case studies. Match and analyse success factors of literature review with the case studies Develop a frame work of success factors which can help in implementing ERP successfully for Small and medium size organisations regardless of their region and cultural issues. SMEs case studies will be taken who have generally less level of employees. Case studies will be taken from different regions so that more in depth analysis will be done and cultural and demographic issues will be covered in that. This point is explained in much more detail in method of analysis section. Companies who have successfully implemented ERP application will be considered. Literature review According to (Snider et al, 2009) ERP uses common online database whose functionality is to share common database among users and enterprise functions. ERP is an integrated information system that is composed of information system and managerial thinking. One of its core purposes is to integrate all the dependent and independent information systems together and optimise systems performance. ERP system comprises of a database which is online and shared, an application with an integrated interface which means different interfaces are incorporated into one interface. (AL Mashari et al, 2003). ERP achieved its level of popularity in large manufacturing enterprises in 1990s. Large enterprises implemented it to automate their functions and to integrate all processes and data together. On the other hand as SMEs were getting popularity so after implementing ERP systems in large organisations ERP vendors now moved towards SMEs. There are many factors that can encourage SMEs to accept ERP systems. Poston and Grabski (2001) believed there are certain factors that motivate SMEs to adopt ERP systems: It can reduce cost as computer systems increases the efficiency process It can make decision making process accurate. (Oliver and Romm, 2000) suggested these reasons for ERP adoption in SMEs: Data and processes integration Avoid critical business risk Improvement of ongoing business operations. ERP adoption in SMEs is a challenging task especially when cultural issues arise. Cultural issues can occur at organisational values, means it can impact organisational structure and management or at individual value where it can impact how job works and how employees will conduct themselves if they belong to certain culture. (Straub et al., 2001). Developing countries face many problems when they use western technologies from developed countries. ERP encapsulates best business reusable practices in it. For this reason it became a demanding technology that it can use (Sawah et al, 2008) outlined cultural issue to be an important factor responsible for high demand of ERP in SMEs. With these motivational factors that attract SMEs to adopt ERP there is terrible side of this adoption as well where many ERP enterprises fail to adopt ERP systems. Below mentioned are cases of large enterprises but small and medium size enterprises can learn lesson from them by not to adopt that type of implementation. Fox Meyer Drug, a multi billion pharmaceutical company which files for bankruptcy and they blamed ERP system for their down fall. In its case, problems in ordering system leaded as system generated excessive orders more than demand which lead company to down fall. Renowned companies like Dell scrap their mega expensive project as they found system inflexible for their business. These are not only two examples of ERP failures but many other companies like Hershey, Boeing, Dow chemical etc faced same situation (Chen, 2001). In all these companies ERP systems leaded to failure and this was due to not having proper planning before installation. Above mentioned companies a re all large organisations whereas in case of small and medium size organisations, these can not bear the cost of ERP systems failure. This leads this research to critically analyse and find out the success factors in ERP adoption so that SMEs can avoid these failures. Difference Between SMES and Large enterprises: Significant amount of differences can be noticed between large and SME organisations. SMEs have informal structure and culture, their top management are found to be involved in day to day activities (Mintzberg et al., 2003,) while large organisations have structured departments and processes and their top management is not involved in daily activities (Buonanno et al, 2005). At the same time SMEs have limited resources in terms of research development, finance, human resource with limited clients and operates only in small scale (Kale et al, 2010). Due to these limited resources they find it difficult to implement projects that can be reengineered (Mc Adam, 2002). Besides these limited resources they are generating profit very well and for this reason many multinational companies in recent years collaborated with SMEs which have ERP systems installed in them. This collaboration made SMEs to adopt ERP package so that they can operate in parallel with these organisations (Rao, 2000). The major factor which can affect SMEs more as compared to large organisation is the cost as their limited resources donà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t allow them to bear high cost of implementation. This is one of the main reasons that SMEs do not want implementation to be unsuccessful. Large organisation can somehow bear the cost as large number of stakeholders bank credits etc but SMEs do not have enough resources. (Mabert et al, 2003). This research is conducted so that it can help SMEs to implement ERP successfully. Proposed research method Most of the researches conducted are in large organisations and only few of them were for SMEs. Out of these researches some used only one case study while some used different case studies and their research method remained different as well because they used questionnaires and interviews to find out success factors. After brain storming and critically analysing previous literature review I decided to use the case study approach. For this reason I decided to identify critical success factors in SME while using multiple case studies. (Stuart et al, 2002) suggested that using case study is the best approach when previous research does not find to be inline with new context while taking multiple case studies can provide even more in depth analysis and portray clear picture of critical analysis(Snider et al, 2009). In case of our research qualitative analysis will be used. First thorough literature review will be studied by means of online journals, electronic books etc. It will help to find previous critical success factors of ERP adoption in SMEs. To give practical edge to research eight different case studies will be searched and from them critically analysis will be done to find out success factors of successfully implementing ERP project. These case studies are selected with relevance to the project title and literature review. They will provide in depth analysis of ERP adoption success factors. With the help of literature review and case studies a framework will be formed of successfully implementing ERP project. Method of analysis For this research case study analysis will be used. Data will be collected from previous research that has been done in this sector and also from small and medium size enterprises that have implemented their ERP application successfully. Case studies will be collected from different parts of the world so that no demographic issues can affect our final framework of success full factors. Then final analysis will be done in between success factors of United Kingdom and rest of the world case studies to observe how much variation is there if different regions are selected. This will be the final analysis and framework of the critical success factors. Research Limitations: This study is limited to small and medium size organisations and in some cases some arguments can be taken from the large organization in order to clarify them. This research is self explanatory as it focuses in ERP adoption system of SMEs. In addition to this study concludes with the framework of ERP critical success factors which if SMEs follows can lead their implementation to success. A provisional Timetable Gantt Chart

Software Maintenance Essay -- essays research papers

SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE Abstract A consequence of the widespread utilisation of computer based technology over the past few decades has been the emergence of vast, highly complex computer systems whose content and structure are increasingly resistant to modification and change.   However fallible such legacy systems remain, many are â€Å"mission-critical† whereby their failure may lead to the collapse of the business or industry in which they serve.   In such cases, it is ultimately not possible to decommission the system in question.   The present report investigates the nature of such systems and examines why legacy systems cause problems to Software Maintenance Managers?   This report also provides a brief overview as to how such problems can be minimised and controlled. Keywords: Legacy systems, legacy system migration, mission critical systems, re-engineering, software wrapping, software evolution. 1. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚   The literature describes legacy systems in terms of being an existing software application that is predominately within the maintenance phase of its lifecycle.   Such systems are typically old and heavily modified from their original designs by years of maintenance, usually by many different people [Moor00].   Although legacy systems are technically obsolete, having been written in assembly or early third generation languages such as COBAL Fortran and Coral, they generally represent considerable investment, and maintain significant value to their users [Benn95] [Brod95].   Ã‚  Ã‚   Legacy systems typically form the backbone of information flow within an organisation, and as such, are essential for the function of its business. Failure in these systems is likely to have serious consequences hence why legacy software is often considered of a â€Å"mission critical nature† [Benn95] [Bisb99]. As can be expected, systems of this nature pose a number of problems to the users, and to the Software Maintenance Manager responsible for the upkeep of the system.   Such problems range from the cost of maintenance to the utilisation of obsolete skills and technologies.   However, several solutions have been proposed and documented in the literature in response to, and to minimise, these problems.   Generally, they are classified under four categories: maintenance, re-development, wrapping and migration [Bisb99] [Lee97].   Ã‚  Ã‚   Therefore, the remainder of this report is ... ...[Lien80] B.P. Lientz & B.E. Swanson, "Software Maintenance Management", Addison - Wesley, 1980 [Merl95] E. Merlo, P-Y. Gagne, J.K. Girard, K Kontagiannis & P. Panangaden, "Re-Engineering User Interfaces" IEEE Software Jan 1995, Vol 12 No 1 [Moor00] M.M. Moore, "Using MORPH", http://www.cis.gsu.edu/~mmoore/MORPH/dissertation/approach.html, 2000 [Nose90] J.T. Nosek, & P. Prashant "Software Maintenance Management: The Change in the Last 10 Years", Journal of Software Maintenance, 1999, Vol 2 No 3 [Press01] R.S. Pressnam, "Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach" McGraw Hill, 2001 [Somm01] Sommerville, "Software Engineering", Addison - Wesley, 2001. [Weid97] N. Weiderman, L. Northrop, D.Smith, S.Tilley & K. Wallnau, "Implications of Distributed Object Technology for Re-engineering", Technical Report CMU/SEI-97-TR-005, Carnegie Mellon University, June 1997

Fugitive Pieces :: Essays Papers

Fugitive Pieces Report on "Fugitive Pieces" Searing the mind with stunning images while seducing with radiant prose, this brilliant first novel is a story of damaged lives and the indestructibility of the human spirit. It speaks about loss, about the urgency, pain and ultimate healing power of memory, andabout the redemptive power of love. Its characters come to understand the implacability of the natural world, the impartial perfection ofscience, the heartbreak of history. The narrative is permeated with insights about language itself, its power to distort and destroy meaning, and to restore it again to those with stalwart hearts. During WWII, when Jakob Beer is seven, his parents are murdered by Nazi soldiers who invade their Polish village, and his beloved, musically talented 15-year-old sister, Bella, is abducted. Fleeing from the blood-drenched scene, he is magically saved by Greek geologist Athos Roussos, who secretly transports the traumatized boy to his home on the island of Zakynthos, where they live through the Nazi occupation, suffering privations but escaping the atrocities that decimate Greece's Jewish community. Jakob is haunted by the moment of his parents' death the burst door, buttons spilling out of a saucer onto the floor, darkness and his spirit remains sorrowfully linked with that of his lost sister, whose fate anguishes him. But he travels in his imagination to the places that Athos describes and the books that this kindly scholar provides. At war's end, Athos accepts a university post in Toronto, and Jakob begins a new life. Yet he remains disoriented and unmoored, trapped by memory and grief, "a damaged chromosome" the more so after Athos' premature death. By then, however, Jakob has discovered his m‚tier as poet and essayist and strives to find in language the meaning of his life. The miraculous gift of a soul mate in his second wife, "voluptuous scholar" Michaela, comes late for Jakob. Their marriage is brief, and ends in stunning irony. The second part of the novel concerns a younger man, Ben, who is profoundly influenced by Jakob's poetry and goes to the Greek island of Idhra in an attempt to find the writer's notebooks after his death. Ben is another damaged soul. The son of Holocaust survivors, he carries their sorrow like a heavy stone. Emotionally maimed and fearful, Ben feels that he was "born into absence.

Effect of Vandalism

EFFECT OF VANDALISM There are many effects that can be seen by the physical and emotional. Vandalism effects not by individuals but also society and the country also adversely impacted due to immoral acts and inconvenient for all parties. Vandalism may affect the individual, community, and country. Most individuals that commit with vandalism just want to release their anger and to meet satisfaction, when the individuals still to perform the same act again will affecting the problem persists. This will indirectly lead to worse things will happen such as robbery or murder.Vandalism is often underestimated by the local community. They just sit back while the vandalism occurred in front of their eyes. Finally the community will suffer the consequences of the heinous activities. Community is difficult to make contact during emergency situations public phones damaged house is on fire. In addition, the community is not comfortable while using other public property. Such as wet while waiting for the bus at the bus stop roof damage cannot be prevented because of the rain.Graffiti on the walls of public toilets worsen and encourage the younger generation to emulate this unhealthy. Many vandalism phenomena that can affect the eye can see, and this of course affects the image of the country. Total losses due to acts of vandalism are very large. Allocation of funds used for the new replacement and repair damaged facilities should be better used for other projects that are more beneficial. This course will be beneficial to society as a whole.This will certainly affect the economy because tourists are not willing to travel to our country due to adverse environmental conditions and attitudes of the people who do not concerned. In effect, the tourism industry will decline. At the same time, this will give a bad impression to the people of that country. The tourism industry contributes to other sectors such as hospitality. The hotel sector will not get reliable reception due to declining travel industry. This causes people unemployed due to lack of employment sectors.

Is Aeneas pious Essay

For many, Aeneas is the characterisation of piety: he honours his duty to the gods and his destiny, his duty to his family, to his people, community and to his fatherland and he adheres to stoic values. Arguably the most important aspect of piety is the adherence to his duty to the gods and his destiny, which I will discuss first. In book 1, Venus appears to her son, Aeneas in the guise of ‘a Spartan girl out hunting, wearing the dress of a Spartan girl and carrying her weapons’. Aeneas recognises that the girl is Augustus also deified Julius in the Lex Titia in 43 BC, which legalised the Second Triumvirate and marked the end of the Roman Republic. Augustus invoked the Lax Papia Poppaea in 9 AD to encourage marriage by making it more economically viable to be married and have children than to not. He also made adultery punishable by banishment by passing the Lex Iulia de Adulteriis Coercendis in 17 BC, and famously banished his only biological daughter, Julia the Elder in 2 BC. This encouraged family unity more than before, and encouraged fathers to stay with their wives and children, especially as there was an extra tax placed on unmarried men above the age of 30. Aeneas demonstrates an incredible sense of duty to his people, community and fatherland right from the beginning of the poem. After the storm induced by Juno and Aeolus, and Aeneas and his men are rescued by Neptune, who is furious that they were changing the natural pattern of his seas, without his permission. Aeneas thinks of his men first, and so, when he saw a herd of deer, he hunted, and killed ‘seven huge carcasses (which he laid) on the ground, one for each of the ships’. This demonstrates how he caters to their needs before his own. The household gods, which feature in book 2, are representative of the Trojan community, and so when Aeneas, ‘fresh from all the fighting and killing’, refuses to touch them because of this, it demonstrates his reverence for the community. In book 4, he also shows consideration towards the community, but Dido’s community in Carthage. Mercury tells us how he ‘caught sight of Aeneas laying the foundations of’ Carthage with Dido. This devotion to the wider community, even though it means that he is digressing from his destiny, is still demonstrating piety. Aeneas not only holds the Funeral Games in book 5 out of reverence for his father, but to also raise the morale of his men. Aeneas holds various races and matches which allow his men to be happy after the death of Dido, which they would have suspected happened, and also after the death of Anchises, and also of various men of the crew. Virgil represents Aeneas as having virtus, as he hides his true emotions inside, to protect his men. In book 1, Aeneas, although ‘he was sick with all his cares(;) he showed (his men) the face of hope and kept his misery deep in his heart’, which would have served to raise the morale of the men, if they knew their leader was not upset, they would be led by example. Augustus demonstrated his care for his community by giving 400 sercestes to each of ‘the Roman plebs’ in 44 BC out of his own money. He also ‘restored the Capitol, and the theatre of Pompey, (†¦) restored the channels of the aqueducts, (and) completed the Forum Julium and the bascilla between the temples of Castor and Saturn’ throughout his reign, up until 12 AD. Contrary to Aeneas and also Augustus, as Aeneas is a characterisation of Augustus, Mezentious is not pious in his care of his community and people. Virgil depicts him as a shocking leader and in book 8; the poet divulges how the leader devised a new form of torture ‘whereby living men were roped to dead bodies, typing them hand to hand and face to face, to die a lingering death oozing with putrefying flesh’. Mezentius’ disdain for his men contrasts to Aeneas’ care and respect for his own men, and indeed of all men, as we see Aeneas rescues the Greek, forgotten by Odysseus (Ulixes) from the Cyclopses, which enhances our views of Aeneas’ piety in comparison to this horrific leader. Aeneas’ piety is often defined by how he demonstrates stoicism, and he does so throughout the poem. Stoics believed that the notion of fate must be respected and that no mortal man could, or should interfere with fate, as it is an inevitable force. The ability to endure what fate throws at you is also an important stoic trait, and one that Aeneas demonstrates again and again. In book 1, Aeneas leads his men through the storm started by Aeolus and Juno, until they are rescued by Neptune. He endures the storm, and motivates his men to trust in him after the storm, and this is primarily why he is such a good leader- because of his resolve and endurance, which also defines his pious nature. A key stoic belief is rationality of the universe, and features within Aeneas. Stoics believed that a rational, and of course, male mind is the best leader for any community, and this is the only way for a community to thrive- under one, rational, male leader. Coincidentally Augustus Caesar fits these criteria, and so, had to kill Anthony. Likewise Cleopatra, who Dido is modelled of, had to die- she was female and so was irrational, so was a bad leader, and this also explains why she was so passionate, because the stoic stereotype of a woman, is that they are passionate, emotional and irrational. The divide between men and women is formed from the prejudice that women are irrational, and the stereotype that men are automatically rational. Throughout the poem, we are presented with the juxtaposition of the irrational females, predominantly Dido and Juno, and the rationality of Aeneas and Jupiter. Jupiter controls fate, installing rationality upon the universe and Juno attempts to derail fate, preventing Aeneas from following his destiny, which, of course, does not work. The victory of Jupiter’s fate is shown by how Jupiter guides Aeneas, which demonstrates how the rationality of the male mind cannot be overthrown by an irrational female, even one who is a goddess. Virgil was rumoured to believe that love and hate were both redundant as they were both concept which wavered from the ‘path’ of fate, creating two opposites that were equally negative to a stoic. This perhaps explains why Virgil shows that the acceptance of fate and your destiny is the only way to achieve rationality. Virgil’s association with Augustus explains why women are portrayed as negative, because Augustus was inherently a stoic, and believed that women were irrational, and destined for dominating the domestic sphere, while men should dominate politics and war. Stoics were firm believers of the concept of ‘mind over matter’, presented by the Trojan women’s matter of flames, which are extinguished by the ‘mind’ (or fate) when Aeneas has to set sail shortly after the Funeral Games. The poet presents his audience with fire for passion, desire and pain which all represent destruction. We learn from his epic poem that Virgil believes that these poisonous emotions will not succeed when faced with fate, as women are primarily linked with fire, as we see Juno frequently described as ‘burning with passion’, and we also see Turnus described as ‘burning’, importantly both effeminising him and scorning war. Aeneas often has to deal with the loss of his men so that he can achieve his destiny; one such victim of Aeneas’ fate is Creusa, who dies before they even leave Troy and another is Aeneas’ father, Anchises. He does more likely die of old age, although Aeneas still mourns his death. Aeneas must accept that there are casualties that must be endured if he can achieve his destiny. The father-son relationship was one that was influenced by stoic beliefs, as stoics believed that the father figure (pater patria) should always be obeyed as he is wise. At the beginning of the poem, Anchises is the pater patria, however once Anchises dies, Aeneas takes over as the pater patria. Aeneas shows his dedication to his father by symbolically carrying him on his shoulders out of Troy, prioritising him even over his only son. These definitions of piety are interlinked, and cannot exist without the others, however, sometimes we see that to fulfil one part of piety, Aeneas must ignore another, and so the rules of what defines a pious person are clearly not set in stone. Nevertheless, Aeneas is as good as a portrayal of a pious person there is, and he is a reflection of how Augustus wished to be viewed. Thus, we have to ask ourselves, as the Roman audience would have: Aeneas is undoubtedly pious and as pious as one man can, theoretically, be, but is he unachievably pious? And so, does this make him as much of a character of mythology as the monsters he encountered in hell, and because of this, I feel the important question is not: ‘is Aeneas pious? ’ but is instead, why is he pious? If Aeneas was not pious, and was instead a mimic of Homer’s Odysseus, who is often represented as Aeneas’ antithesis, would there be any purpose in Virgil’s poem? No, there would not, and this is why Aeneas is shown as pious, and was believed to be the ideal man by the Romans, a mould for which to cast their own characters in and form themselves by.