The Red Turban Rebellion in China

The Red Turban Rebellion in China Disastrous floods on the Yellow River washed away crops, drowned villagers, and changed the rivers course so that it no longer met up with the Grand Canal. The hungry survivors of these catastrophes began to think that their ethnic-Mongol rulers, the Yuan Dynasty, had lost the Mandate of Heaven. When those same rulers forced 150,000 to 200,000 of their Han Chinese subjects to turn out for a massive labor corvee to dig out the canal once more and join it to the river, the laborers rebelled. This uprising, called the Red Turban Rebellion, signaled the beginning of the end for Mongol rule over China. The first leader of the Red Turbans, Han Shantong, recruited his followers from the forced laborers who were digging out the canal bed in 1351. Hans grandfather had been a sect leader of the White Lotus sect, which provided the religious underpinnings for the Red Turban Rebellion. Yuan Dynasty authorities soon captured and executed Han Shantong, but his son took his place at the head of the rebellion. Both Hans were able to play upon their followers hunger, their displeasure at being forced to work without pay for the government, and their deep-seated dislike of being ruled by barbarians from Mongolia. In northern China, this led to an explosion of Red Turban anti-government activity. Meanwhile, in southern China, a second Red Turban uprising began under the leadership of Xu Shouhui. It had similar complaints and goals to those of the northern Red Turbans, but the two were not coordinated in any way.   Although the peasant soldiers originally identified with the color white (from the White Lotus Society) they soon switched to the much luckier color red. To identify themselves, they wore red headbands or hong jin, which gave the uprising its common name as the Red Turban Rebellion. Armed with makeshift weapons and farm implements, they should not have been a real threat to the Mongol-led armies of the central government, but the Yuan Dynasty was in turmoil. Initially, an able commander called Chief Councillor Toghto was able to put together an effective force of 100,000 imperial soldiers to put down the northern Red Turbans. He succeeded in 1352, routing Hans army. In 1354, the Red Turbans went on the offensive once more, cutting the Grand Canal.  Toghto assembled a force traditionally numbered at 1 million, although that is no doubt a gross exaggeration.  Just as he began to move against the Red Turbans, court intrigue resulted in the emperor dismissing Toghto. His outraged officers and many of the soldiers deserted in protest of his removal, and the Yuan court was never able to find another effective general to lead the anti-Red Turban efforts. During the late 1350s and early 1360s, local leaders of the Red Turbans fought among themselves for control of soldiers and territory. They expended so much energy on each other that the Yuan government was left in relative peace for a time. It seemed as if the rebellion might collapse under the weight of different warlords ambition. However, Han Shantongs son died in 1366; some historians believe that his general, Zhu Yuanzhang, had him drowned. Although it took two more years, Zhu led his peasant army to capture the Mongol capital at Dadu (Beijing) in 1368. The Yuan Dynasty fell, and Zhu established a new, ethnically-Han Chinese dynasty called the Ming.

Past Participles in Spanish

Past Participles in Spanish In both Spanish and English, past participles can come in handy. Not only can they be used as parts of verbs (and not just for speaking about the past), they can also be adjectives. Past Participles Behave Similarly in Spanish and English The past participles in the two languages have similar origins, so they are not only similar in function, but also vaguely similar in the way they are formed. In English, the past participle for regular verbs is formed by adding -ed to the end. In Spanish, the past participle for regular verbs is formed by adding -ado to the stem of -ar verbs or -ido to the stem of -er or -ir verbs. To use a few examples of words that are similar in both languages, the past participle of to select is selected, and the past participle of seleccionar is seleccionado. The past participle of to exert is exerted; the Spanish equivalents are ejercer and ejercido. And just as the past participle of to comprehend is comprehended, the past participle of comprender is comprendido. Unfortunately for the learner, both languages have a fair number of irregular past participles that dont always seem logical, and these need to be learned individually. (Examples of irregular English participles are broken, said and gone.) Among the common Spanish irregular participles are abierto (opened, from abrir, to open), dicho (said, from decir, to say), escrito (written, from escribir, to write), hecho (done or made, from hacer, to make or to do), puesto (put, from poner, to put) and visto (seen, from ver, to see). Following are some of the ways past participles are used: Using Past Participles To Form Perfect Tenses As a verb form, the most common use of the past participle in the two languages is to form what are known as the perfect tenses (they are called perfect because they refer to actions that have been or will be completed). In English, the perfect tenses are those formed by using a form of the auxiliary verb to have and following it with the past participle; in Spanish, theyre formed by using a conjugated form of haber (again, haber and this usage of to have come from similar origins) and following it with the past participle. (Note: If youre a beginner, the following examples may use some verb forms and tenses you havent learned yet. You dont need to learn them to understand the examples; what is important now is to learn how the past participle is used.) He ido. (I have gone.)Habr salido. (He will have left.)Habà ­a estado enferma. (She had been sick.)Habrà ­a trabajado. (I would have worked.) Using Past Participles To Form Adjectives As in English, many past participles can be used as adjectives. As adjectives, they agree with the nouns they describe in both number and gender; plurals have an s added, and in the feminine form the final o is changed to a. Because of differences in which participles can be used as adjectives, the Spanish participles cant always be translated directly to English as an adjective. Hay tres personas heridas. (There are three wounded people.)La oficina tiene dos puertas abiertas. (The office has two open doors.)Estamos cansados. (Were tired.)Comprà © la casa renovada. (I bought the renovated house.)Los viajeros llegados fueron al restaurante. (The passengers who had arrived went to the restaurant. The arriving passengers went to the restaurant.)La ventana est rota. (The window is broken.) Using Past Participles for Passive Sentences Just as the passive voice in English can be formed by following to be with a past participle, the same can be done in Spanish by using a form of ser followed by the past participle. This construction should not be overused, as it is much less common in Spanish than in English, and it is even less common in speech than in writing. As the examples below show, the passive voice is a way of showing that a noun was acted upon without directly saying who or what performed the action. In such sentences, the past participle functions like an adjective in that it agrees with the subject in both number and gender. Fue descubierto. (It was discovered.)Fueron descubiertos. (They were discovered.)El libro ser publicado. (The book will be published.)La cancià ³n ser grabada. (The song will be recorded.)Los nià ±os sern vistos. (The children will be seen.)Las nià ±as sern vistas. (The girls will be seen.)

Vancomycin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vancomycin - Essay Example New antibiotics were introduced to fight the ever changing and more resistant strains. Vancomycin, the antibiotic of last resort, has been used to fight infections when all other drugs fail, but has recently met its match with strains that have become resistant to this last line of defense. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a highly virulent infection that has become resistant to most antibiotics. MRSA is a bacteria that is normally found in healthy people and usually is merely a passive bystander. However, it can cause skin infections and can occasionally be quite severe. By 1987 hospitals in Europe were reporting the first cases of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus. Between 1987 and 1993 the problem was escalating and had resulted in a 20 fold increase in the number of cases of vancomycin resistant enterococcus reported by intensive care units in hospitals in the United States. It was reported in 1992 that the vancomycin resistant gene from Enterococcus had been transferred to Staphylococcus aureus in a laboratory in England. The researchers were alarmed and destroyed the bacteria. According to Dr. Ricki Lewis reporting in the FDA Consumer magazine in 1995, "... bacteria swap resistance genes like teenagers swap T-shirts".

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Management - Essay Example s paper outlines the activities that can be involved when building a new house. This initiative has been underscored after realizing that it is wise to build a personal house than rely on rented accommodation. There are various factors such as financial issues that are involved in this work. It is also important for the individual involved to procure the place to build a house first before undertaking any construction work. The paper is divided into different categories that outline the different phases that can be involved in building a house. Business case: Financial and other considerations The business case involves building a house and the set budget for completing this project is ?25Â  000. However, a supplementary budget of ?5Â  000 has been set aside for this particular project. In order to complete this project there are different considerations that ought to be taken into account. There is need to procure raw materials that can be used in carrying out this project. There is also need to hire contractors who can execute this particular task. Planning assumptions and external constraints As is often the case when a project needs to be completed, proactive steps such as research, planning, communication, and review are often seen as basic tenets of project success (Josler & Burger, 2005). Basically, the term project is used to describe a set of activities that are linked and they are directed towards the attainment of a certain goal (Hellriegel 2001). A project can also be described as a onetime activity with a definite start and finish. As such, through utilization of project management methodology, a project can be completed within the expected time frame, on budget as well meeting the expected standards that satisfy all the stakeholders who may be involved. In this case, the baseline of the project is to carry out a feasibility study to establish if the project can be manageable. This is followed by outlining the cost and benefit analysis of the pro ject where the objectives are also set. When planning a project, the steps needed to obtain the goals of a project need to be outlined since this gives the team members direction to follow. A risk assessment ought to be carried out. In this case where a project involving the construction of a house is being undertaken, there are external constraints that can be encountered. As discussed in detail below, it can be noted that some of the external constraints may include the unprecedented changes in the price of raw materials used for building the house. Fluctuating labour costs can also affect the project hence the need to put contingency plans in place in order to deal with such a scenario. Options considered There are various external constraints that are likely to be encountered when carrying out a project. However, certain measures ought to be implemented in such a scenario. The last part of the paper outlines some of the contingent measures that can be implemented in case of chal lenges that can derail the progress being encountered. Benefits of building own house There are many

History of Gaming Essay Example for Free

History of Gaming Essay Gaming has been around since the late 1960’s far later than I had thought, for me I had always thought that the Atari 2600 was the first gaming system known to mankind, and after starting my research I found out how wrong I was. In this part of the teams paper I will discuss the different types of this technology thought it history. In 1967 the first gaming console ever was created and was named the â€Å"Brown Box.† A German born television engineer Ralph Baer and his colleagues created the Brown Box which worked on your basic standard television set. Working with a firm called Sanders Associates, Baer along with co-workers drew up schematics for a game which was called the chase game, and they built a vacuum tube circuit that connected to the television. Two players controlled two squares that basically chased each other on the screen, at that point in time gaming was born. Baer and his associates later added a light fun and developed a total of 12 games for the Brown Box. Fast forward five years after Baer and his associates created the Brown Box, Magnavox began production of the Magnavox Odyssey. The Odyssey was called the first commercial video-game console and was marketed in Magnavox TV dealerships. The Odyssey used six cartridges to play up to twelve games. The Odyssey downfall is that many TV dealers didn’t see any potential in it and along with the false rumor that it only worked in Magnavox televisions hurt the popularity of the gaming systems. In 1972 Nolan Bushnell founded Atari and three years later in 1975, they had their first smash hit with an arcade game called Pong. Atari sold a home version of the game Pong through Sears under the Sears Tele-games label. What made Pong unique was that it produced an on-screen score and sound all by single chip. With his first system Nolan Bushnell and Atari shot to the top of household gaming. Knowing that some of not anything last forever especially a single game system popularity, Nolan Bushnell and Atari started working on a cartridge based system, one that could play multiple games. In 1976 Bushnell Sold Atari to Warner Communications, and Warner immediately backed the Atari project, and the Atari VCS later renamed the Atari 2600 was introduced. The Atari was a big hit and had multiple game hits to go along with it, hits like the ever popular Spaced Invaders, Breakout, Missile Command, and Combat just to name a few. Atari was the first ever massed produced home video gaming system, selling 400,000 systems and hitting sales figures of $120 million dollars during the first Christmas season in 1977. In 1980 Mattel released Intellivision, and was the first to take a run at Atari’s gamming thrown. This sparked what some would like to call a console war between Atari and Mattel. Intellivision featured better game graphics and synthesized voices in video games. Both systems brought on other game developers like Coleco and Activision, but with so many of the games being unlicensed games and no household system lead to gaming industry crash in 1983-84 cause in many companies to file bankruptcy. Nintendo, a Japanese based company became part of the gaming industry in 1985 with its release of the Nintendo Entertainment System. With some of the most popular titles ever like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and Legend of Zelda and that of third party games like Tecmo Bowl and RBI baseball, the NES turned the non-believers that didn’t think it was a good idea to get into gaming after a crash, into believers. In 1987 Sega released its gaming system which dwarfed the capabilities that its predecessor, the NES, had offered. It was called the MasterSystem but it didn’t make the splash that many in the Sega camp had thought it would make, due to its lack of third-party games and other things it was the demise of the MasterSystem and the first failing of Sega. Sega went directly back to the drawing board and soon after released its first hit the Sega Genesis in 1989. Backed by many game developers like Electronic Arts, the Sega Genesis opened the door for the first ever battle for supremacy for gaming dominance. Four years after the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo released its second smash hit, with the Gameboy. Gameboy was dubbed the as the first ever handheld gaming console and had a black and white screen. Tetris one of the most popular Gameboy games ran the Gameboy sales through the roof. With many make-overs throughout the course of history Gameboy continued to stay relevant in gaming. 1990 was the release of SNK’s Neo-Geo a 24 bit home gaming system that was said to be many years ahead of its competitors and its time. The Neo-Geo had one problem, it wasn’t 2-D graphics those were great, it wasn’t its arcade level quality that was what everyone wanted, it was neither of those two things that helped the Neo-Geo fail it was its $650.00 price tag and its $200.00 games that took the Neo-Geo from great innovation to under achiever. In 1991 Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Beaten to the punch by Sega with its gaming system the Sega Genesis, the 16 bit SNES had some catching up to do. It wasn’t long before the SNES thanks to its technological superiority, had overtaken the Sega Genesis thanks to its big name games like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and Zelda. By the end of the 90’s Sega Genesis was no more than an afterthought for SNES who had taken over the 16 bit era and the gaming industry. It wasn’t till the year 1995 that Nintendo again was challenged for its gaming dominance. Sony introduced the Sony PlayStation a 32 bit CD-ROM based technology and has been said to be the most popular gaming system ever. The games had three dimensional gameplay much better than the 2-D of the past. What was the most attraction to any gamer was the price of the games which dramatically dropped compared to those of cartridge based games. It was also in 1995 the second day of September that the Sega franchise basically started its demise. This day marked the release of the Sega Saturn, which was dubbed the best worst system, according to many. Because it was pushed up to get out ahead of the newly announced PlayStation 2, it gave the Sony corporation time to sit back and polish the upcoming PlayStation 2 and learn from the mistakes that the Sega Saturn was making. In 1996 the Nintendo franchise countered the PlayStation with the Nintendo64, the last cartridge based system. Although the cartridges loaded faster than the CD-ROMS of PlayStation the Nintendo64 couldn’t even keep up with the amount of games that were released for the PlayStation, leaving the PlayStation on top of the gaming for the time being. It was in 1998 when Sega made its final push as a contender in the world of gaming with its release of the CD-based system Dreamcast, which incorporated a 128-bit processing system. The Dreamcast was the first system that had a modem which allowed for internet connectivity that brought on the ability to play online, download extra content and updated to the system itself. This would be the last time that anyone would here from the Sega franchise in the console industry. In 2001 Sega discontinued the Dreamcast and announced that it would be leaving the console market for good and taking its Sonic franchise with them. Four years after the release of the Nintendo64 and five years after the first initial PlayStation, Sony releases its second version of the PlayStation 2. The first 128 bit system featured backwards compatibility allowing the PS2 to play the older PlayStations games, and also could be used as a DVD player. Not only was the PS2 named most popular 128 bit system but with its release it marked the rise of console popularity played over the internet. 2001 was the introduction of the old guy with a new system and the new kid on the block in gaming. Nintendo hit the gaming market again going away from its usual cartridge based systems and introducing its first ever CD based system. The GameCube was marketed more for the younger demographics and is said to be what made the system flop and sell short. Along with the inability to connect to the internet it was called a one trick pony and was behind in the gaming world and home entertainment systems. The now new kid on the block Microsoft introduced its own gaming system the X-box. The PC giant used PC technology when building the X-Box which allowed for greater performance. Although the X-Box’s technology proved greater performance when compared to that of the 128 bit PS2 it still remained behind the number of sales that the PS2 had leaving Sony alone at that top of the gaming world. In 2002 Nintendo stepped back in with the Gameboy Advance and again in 2004 with the Nintendo DS. Some would argue and go as far as to say that all Nintendo did was step on its on toes with how they released the two versions so closely together. By doing so experts say that they made the Gameboy obsolete by releasing the DS so soon. Playstation soon joined Nintendo in the hand held gaming evolution, challenging Nintendo’s dominance. The PlayStation Portable like the Gameboy and DS featured wireless capability, high graphics and non-gaming functions mimicking PC-based devices. 2005 also marked the release of the Microsoft X-Box 360. The processing power of the X-Box 360 was said to be unrivaled, and all came with an internal hard drive, played DVDs and had the ability to connect four controllers at one time wirelessly, as well as connecting to the internet. The Nintendo Wii was released in 2006 and featured a built in WiFi for online game play, wireless controllers and Bluetooth. The wireless controllers weren’t new to gaming but what Nintendo did bring to the table with their wireless controllers was the motion sensor technology, allowing the game to mimic the performance of the actual player. 2006 is also when the Sony franchise again exerted its dominance and rivaled back against Microsoft X-Box 360 with the PlayStation 3. The PS3 came with an internal hard drive as well and the ability not only to play DVD’s but also Blue Ray DVD, along with its ability to connect to the internet wirelessly and connect multiple controllers wirelessly, it is said to be still atop the gaming industry, but again that’s all in who you ask. These two systems, PlayStation 3 and X-Box 360, along with the Nintendo Wii brings us to where we are now with gaming in what is called the 8th Generation of gaming. Every year the three gaming giants Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo continue to wow us with different and greater gaming innovation that keeps the rivalry for gaming dominance going on and going strong. In the last few years the X-Box 360 stepped up the gaming war and has released technology that gets rid of the hand held controllers all together! The Kinect from Microsoft has really stepped up its technology and has gotten rid of the controller period. The Kinect set the Guinness Book of World Record for the fastest gaming system ever and comes highly recommended by many consumers and game developers. Recently it was reported that Microsoft X-Box 360 is looking to compete with cable television providers announcing that its consoles will allow the gamer to watch television through it. All of the consoles allow you to watch things like Net Flicks and get on the internet and surf the net, but rivaling cable providers that’s a big step. I look for Sony and Nintendo to sit back and wait to see where this goes before they follow in the footsteps of Microsoft, as they have previously done, but I don’t think they will jump right on board with this because of fear of failure and losing money. If you are a gamer a hardcore gamer you have to be excited for the future of gaming, from a standpoint it looks bright and exciting. With rumors of Sony releasing the Playstation 4 and the system having touch screen technology; it has all the gamers grinning from ear to ear about what the future of gaming actually may be. Gaming has already developed full 3D gaming technology and 3D moti on sensors and powerful graphics and they look to continue to improve upon these technologies. Many have argued that consoles in the future will eventually fall by the wayside making way for hand held portable gaming to be the dominate gaming systems in the future. Of course this upsets many hardcore gamers because they don’t see that as being a plus since many like to play their games on a larger scaled screen. With that being said many say the IPhone 8 will probably be the future of gaming and going as far as to say it although it is a hand held device it will be able to plug into a television set or even connect wirelessly to continue to give that big game experience. Many say that the future of gaming is mobile, digital, and cloud gaming. The better gaming system is said to be one that you can take anywhere and everywhere. Most of the time even of if home many gamers are even using mobile gaming at home, some experts say up to 47% of gamers are mobile gaming even at home. Mobile gaming is not just the casual gaming it used to be and has changed the way all gamers vi ew games. Spending approximately 16 hours a week compared to that of the 18 hours of traditional gaming some say digital is the way of the future and hardware doesn’t matter anymore. The type of hardware you use never really ever did matter, it has always been about the software. Hardware will be less and less relevant in the future and it will be more about the software. With cloud gaming it is becoming more and more of a reality and with two client services already launched it is coming along full circle. The angle of cloud gaming is to offer high definition gaming on any television or device that can receive a broadband signal with even high-end games that can be played on devices that get low power. In a CNNTech report back in September of 2008 had reported that a future release of the Emotiv EPOC headset. The Emotiv EPOC headset is said to be the first Brain Computer Interface and would be able to pick up on over 30 different expressions all by processing real time brain activity. With this technology many enthusiast say that this type of technology makes movies like The Matrix and the Star Trek Holodeck more of a reality in the future. Me personally I am kind of skeptical about that type of technology, and even though experts say that being able to control a computer with your mind is the ultimate quest of human to machine interaction, I still don’t feel any better. In those movies, well all except Star Trek, the machine had a way to take over. So all I see is me playing the video game and the machine taking over my mind and it controlling me and then the earth being run by machines. Well that is how it works in the movies hopefully this won’t be the case. The goal of this though is for the interactions of machines to mimic the way interaction with humans and they say it will ultimately bring communities closer together, so I guess that is one thing we will have to wait to see in the future. So with that being said there is no clear cut way to know which way the future of gaming is actually going, but seeing how far it has come since the Brown Box it is very interesting to sit back and see what the technology produces. At one point in time it was all about transistors and diodes and now it’s about multiple processors, internal memory, and real life graphics. What’s more gaming consoles are no longer just gaming consoles they are now the full true definition of Home Entertainment, with internet connection, streaming music and video and HDD, it is truly a new age for gaming. Social media and social networks has become a big part of many of our lives, well I really should say all of our lives. With that gaming has also being a part of that as it is being input into the Social Medias like Facebook. Many game makers look to theses Social Medias to see exactly what the gamers are taking to and what they are not taking to. World of Warcraft is one of those who uses social media to help them develop more of what they think users want to see and how they want the game to operate and it is actually one of the largest virtual game worlds due to just that along with Second Life which heralds itself as a virtual social world. Social Medias focus on building blocks, identity, conversation, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups, and many gaming systems that can connect to the World Wide Web can do just that. These gaming technologies give you the opportunity to engage with others from around the world no matter where they may be. Facebook has gaming that lets you connect with others and build a farm or a city and share with each other and allows you to help keep up someone else’s farm, building relationships with people anywhere anytime. No matter what you think about gaming and the gaming technology it has come a long way from where it started and there is no telling where it will go. It is a mainstay in the lives of many of people and I am sure that the technology will only get better or more interesting from here into the future. I do myself wonder what is next will the whole computer to brain interaction ever come full circle or is it just a past thought. Will Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo continue to stay on top or will a unknown company come along and knock all of them off the throne. I guess all we can do is sit back watch wait and see what that next big technology is and who will be the first to come out with it. Right now it’s more or less of a waiting game, the Kinect was a big jump and gaming technology and, I love to sit and watch my kids play on it, I have even been known to play on it myself, gaming technology is what keeps many of us known and connected so there is nothing wrong with that. Works Cited Admin. (2012). The History of Video Game Consoles. computergameoffer.com. Bellis, M. (n.d.). Computer and Video Game History. About.com. Edwards, B. (2009). 30 Years of Handheld Game Systems. PC World. Johnson, J. (2008). From Atari Joy Board to Wii fit. BBG. Melanson, D. (2006). A Brief History of Handheld Video games. engadget.

Tennessee Williams and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof :: Biography Biographies Essays

Tennessee Williams and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof      Ã‚  Ã‚   Tennessee Williams has been described as the most literary of the major dramatists and one of America's best playwrights (Bloom, p.2). He has been praised by critics for his compassionate understanding of the spiritually downtrodden (Gale Databases, p. 8). One of his most famous plays, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, has been described as his most powerful, and deals with the then taboo subject of homosexuality (Becker, p. 2).    Tennessee Williams, whose real name is Thomas Lanier Williams, was born on March 26, 1911 in Columbus Mississippi. His father was a traveling shoe salesman and his mother was the daughter of an Episcopalian clergyman. He had an older sister, Rose, and a younger brother, Walter Dakin. In 1918 the family moved to St. Louis. Tennessee had a very difficult childhood in St. Louis and was the butt of his classmates' jokes because of his small size and lack of athletic ability (Encyclopedia of World Drama, p. 410).    In 1929, he attended the University of Missouri, and won prizes for writing. He failed ROTC because of weakness in his legs caused by childhood diphtheria. His father removed him from the university just before his senior year because of financial reasons and disappointment in his son. His father got him a job in a warehouse of the International Shoe Company. Tennessee worked by day and wrote by night. He suffered a nervous collapse and spent a month in the hospital. He went to his grandparent's home in Memphis, Tennessee to recuperate. In 1935 he attended Washington University with his grandparent's help. There he wrote plays for the Mummers Theatre Group. In 1937 he attended the University of Iowa, studied under Professor E.C. Mabie, and received his B.A. degree. After graduation, he went to New Orleans after learning of his sister's lobotomy (Encyclopedia of World Drama, p. 410).    In 1939, Story Magazine published his play A Field of Blue Children. In that year Tennessee also compiled four one act plays under the title American Blues that included Candles in the Sun, The Fugitive King, Spring Storm, and Not About Nightingales. He submitted them to the Group Theatre's American play contest and won a $100 prize which aroused the interest of New York agent Audrey Wood. She obtained a $1000 grant for him to finish Battle of Angels which was produced in 1940.

Johnson and Johnson

TERM PAPER For STRATEGIC OPERATION MANAGEMENT Submitted by: ANALIZA T. CEDILLO BSBA 4-1 (OM) Submitted To: Prof Avila JOHNSON & JOHNSON COMPANY INTRODUCTION * The Company supports the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to improve the health of mothers and children in developing countries. As a founding sponsor, Johnson & Johnson helps launch the United States’ first free mobile health service, providing health information via text messages for Pregnant women and new mothers. * They are the world’s sixth-largest consumer health company There are the world’s largest and most diverse medical devices and Diagnostics Company. * They are the world’s fifth-largest biologics company. * And the world’s eighth-largest pharmaceuticals company * Johnson & Johnson was a biggest company that caring the world and enduring strength they consistent approaching and to managing  they Business. * They have more than 250 operating companies in 60 coun tries employing approximately 129,000 people. Our worldwide. * Johnson  &  Johnson Family of Companies work with partners in health care to touch the lives of over a billion people every day, throughout the world.HISTORY: Johnson & Johnson,126 years more than a century caring. Its start on 1886 with the three brothers, Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson, found Johnson  &  Johnson in New Brunswick, New Jersey, U. S. 1901, is a Part of its commitment to first aid, Johnson  &  Johnson publishes the first Aid Manuals, using proven best practices from leading physicians. 1910, James Wood Johnson takes over the leadership of Johnson  &  Johnson until 1932. The first overseas operating company opens in the United Kingdom was on 1924. And they expand to Mexico and South Africa.On 1932, Robert Wood Johnson II. He begins leadership of Johnson  &  Johnson. Known as General Johnson, he transforms the Company into a global decentralized Family of Companies. 1963-1973, Under Chairman and CEO Philip B. Hofmann's leadership, operating companies launch new treatments for schizophrenia, family planning and personal care. Also, 1963 marks the last year that JOHNSON'S ® Baby Powder is sold in tins. They announce plans to build our new World Headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and form a public-private partnership to revitalize the city. 2002, William C.Weldon becomes Chairman and CEO of Johnson  &  Johnson, only the eighth person to lead the Company since its founding. Under his leadership, the Company enters new therapeutic areas such as HIV/AIDS, and health and wellness. 2011, They celebrates 125 years of caring and looks to the next 125 years of transforming care for patients, consumers and communities around the world. In the year of 2012, Alex Gorsky is appointed Chief Executive Officer of Johnson  &  Johnson. As only the seventh CEO in our history, he continues a legacy of leadership. Company OverviewJohnson & Johnson's commitment to innovative health care products has resulted in consistent financial performance. The Company has 29 consecutive years of adjusted earnings increases and 50 consecutive years of dividend increases. Johnson ; Johnson, through its family of companies, employs approximately 129,000 people worldwide and is engaged in the manufacture and sale of a broad range of products in the health care field in many countries of the world. Johnson ; Johnson's primary interest, both historically and currently, has been in products related to health and well-being.Johnson & Johnson was organized in the State of New Jersey in 1886. Johnson & Johnson is organized on the principles of decentralized management. The Executive Committee of Johnson & Johnson is the principal management group responsible for the strategic operations and allocation of resources of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. Johnson & Johnson's operating companies are organized into three business segmen ts: Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices and Diagnostics.A Group Operating Committee, composed of managers who represent key operations within the segment, as well as management in specialized functional departments, oversees and coordinates the activities of domestic and international companies related to each of the business segments. However, in line with the principle of decentralized management, senior management groups at U. S. and international operating companies are each responsible for their own strategic plans, as well as the day-to-day operations of those companies, and each international company is, with some exceptions, managed by citizens of the country where it is located.HR/MANAGEMENT Johnson ; Johnson Strategic Framework They believe that in serving. those who sell their product, they serve himself. Foundation The Strategic Framework starts with Credo, the guide to help navigate way through challenges and opportunities. From Credo, there Aspiration emerges – by caring, one person at a time; they are help billions of people around the world live longer, healthier and happier lives. Strategic Planning/Principles From the foundation they build a unique kind of a set.They based on a health care, First they focus on managing for the long term. Second they operate under a decentralized management approach. And then do all this through a unique culture that values and fosters the development of people. Executive management of Johnson ; Johnson, with the support and approval of the Board of Directors, has set the fundamental strategic direction of the Company to remain a broadly-based human health care company for the consumer, pharmaceutical and medical device and diagnostics markets.Strategic planning is guided by the ethical principles embodied in Our Credo, unifying our people worldwide behind a set of common values and providing a constant reminder of the Company's responsibilities to all of its constituents. With over 250 operati ng companies located in 60 countries throughout the world, Johnson & Johnson is organized on the principle of decentralized management. Each international company is, with some exceptions, managed by citizens of the country where it is located. Senior management groups at U. S. nd international operating companies are each responsible for their own strategic plans. On an on-going basis throughout the year, at meetings of the Board and Committees of the Board, management of the Company and Board members discuss the strategic direction and major developments of the Company's various businesses. The process is an interactive/on-going dialogue which provides the Directors with insight into the activities and direction of the Company's businesses. Accounting/Finance Department Corporate Governance The values embodied in the Credo guide the actions of the people of theJohnson & Johnson Family of Companies at all levels and in all parts of the world. They have done so for more than 60 year s. These Credo values extend to our accounting and financial reporting responsibilities. Management is responsible for timely, accurate, reliable and objective financial statements and related information. Such as: * Maintain a well-designed system of internal accounting controls. * Encourage strong and effective corporate governance from our Board of Directors. * Continuously review our business results and strategic choices. Focus on financial stewardship. Accounting Controls The professionally trained internal auditors travel worldwide to monitor system of internal accounting controls. This system is designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded and that transactions and events are recorded properly. The internal controls include self-assessments and internal and external audit reviews of operating companies, which concludes â€Å"Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting,† printed in Annual Report.Johnson  &  Johnson is gu ided by the values set forth in Credo, created by General Robert Wood Johnson in 1943. Credo and the principles have been woven into the fabric of the Company. The values articulated of Credo extend to accounting and financial responsibilities to Johnson  &  Johnson shareholders and investors. The Johnson & Johnson SWOT: Strengths * Worldwide sales have grown 14% indicating a strong position for the global group. * The business model adapted by Johnson and Johnson fundamentally uses the adaptation of entrepreneurial values in order to retain an edge within the market place. Working with intensive scientific notions Johnson and Johnson utilize a varied expanse of problem solving techniques in order to challenge the standard practice and capitalize on growth through emerging markets which enables associated growth. * The use of independent offices working as standalone units provides the opportunity to develop concepts with cultural considerations which can prove important when ta king a product to global markets. Weaknesses There is increasing pressure within pharmaceutical markets to reduce prices in line with medical budgets and maintain patent expirations to ensure generic programmers are updated within critical path movements. * Challenges have been faced within Johnson and Johnson where a reduction in the market demand for key products has been identified; some of these products were branded and have been replaced by generic programmers at the end of patent time lines. * Internal weakness across the industry and not isolated to Johnson and Johnson would be the level of theft and counterfeiting of drugs managed through internal personnel.Opportunity * Whilst the recent acquisition of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare will act as an opportunity in its own right to promote growth for the organization through alternative routes there is the added value capitalized through the return on investment which will be realized 12 months before plan releasing funds back in to the bottom line. * Johnson and Johnson have highlighted new developments in pharmacy products with five undergoing regulatory review which provides the opportunity to grow the existing product portfolio. Development into new functions of medical devices and diagnostics will provide new markets to entry which will result in business growth. * With the development of WTO rules to prevent the availability of cheap generic drugs there is the opportunity to reduce the level of lost profit due to generic introduction as patents run out. Whilst this will aid Johnson and Johnson where they own the brand where they are looking to capitalize on introducing generic drugs to market this ruling will become a hindrance. Threats Generally within the main pharmaceutical companies there is a high level of competition for the generics markets where patents finish and it is the first to entry where success will generally be determined. * Technological developments with bio-tech concepts will potent ially move the traditional pharmaceutical methods out of the market place in the long term although there is an economical argument that this form of development can be segregated to run alongside traditional methods and complement as opposed to replace.

Fedex Internal Analysis Essay

* History Founded by Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Express was established in 1973 and it has grown rapidly. Smith had the idea of creating a company that would deliver mail all over the United States over night. His idea was to fly mail from one location to another at night because the traffic is better and packages could be sorted, distributed and out of its original location faster. Delivering to over 220 countries and territories, FedEx today is a big global industry with a vast network worldwide. The company that started as a laid out in an economics class today is one of the biggest mail distribution corporations known by all customers as the company that â€Å"send shipment overnight† (FedEx,2013). * Employment Employing more than 245,000 workers, contractors, pilots and operational personnel, FedEx is a corporation proud of its employees. FedEx creates opportunities not only for their full time employees but the company also hires college students as part time employees. It not only provides the college students a flexible job but it also helps FedEx cut costs, especially because the corporation is not unionized except for their pilots that are associated with the ALPA. FedEx not only employees in the United States, but it also employees overseas and 13 percent of its current employees are international. * Organizational Structure The FedEx Corporation like many others is structure with a CEO, CFO, Market Development and Corporate Communications VP, Chief Information Officer, General Counsel and Secretary. Each subdivision of FedEx has a CEO, current David J. Bronczek is the CEO for the FedEx Express subdivision. Frederick W. Smith remains in the main position of President and CEO of the company as a whole (FexEx, 2013). * Location FedEx main headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee and the company has also another four headquarters which are located in Ontario, Canada; Guangzhou, China; Miami, Florida; Brussels, Belgium. FedEx also has more than 46,000 drop-off locations all over the country and many other regional hubs to help short and deliver packages. * Capacity Utilizing a hub-and-spoke sorting and distribution system FedEx Express and FedEx ground have the capacity to process 15,000 to 20,000 packages daily. The technology utilized in its 29 hubs helps to speed the process and make it more effective. Operating 675 aircrafts and 75,000 motorized vehicles worldwide, FedEx has the capacity to utilize its transportations and guarantee delivery within 24 to 48 hours. * Internal Policies and Internal Culture FedEx has been known for its outstanding Human Resources programs. The company implemented a no-lay-off policy, minority recruitment efforts, and guaranteed fair treatment practice within the organization. The company’s dedication to its employees and the technology acquired to make employees job more efficient helps empower workers. FedEx has a traditional culture where the company is centralized and very well structured. The most important component of the company is the people and that’s why their philosophy is â€Å"People-Service-Profit†. Market * Market segmentation FedEx target all ages in the market, the service is offered to everyone that needs packages delivered in a short amount of time. Service is offered to all the population in the United States and other countries. Home delivery is a great option for those who are unable to go to a FedEx store. Businesses that are in need of faster document deliveries is also benefited by FedEx because the lines in the stores are normally shorter that the regular UPS stores. Value chain analysis By offering so many options and convenience to customers FedEx has been creating value to the firm’s process. The three overnight options is an example of this value being built to the organization. Customers can choose a First Overnight, Priority Overnight, and Standard Overnight, depending on their necessity. SameDay service is offered as well if packages are up to 70 pounds. FedEx has become the second-largest ground small-package carrier in North America because of its service and its quality. Company current strategy * Generic Strategy One of the things FedEx does to cut cost is hire college students as part time employees and because of the high turnover they don’t need to unionize. FedEx also differentiate from offering home service to customers. For a small fee they can come to your house to pick up the package for you. All the work customers have to do is to get the package ready. This creates convince for customers without leaving their homes. * Corporate Strategy FedEx implemented a customer service-driven strategy to ensure and outstanding customer experience. The implementation of this strategy complements the core value of the organization which is to create a positive customer experience. The strategy has three main components to it. First is putting the customer at the heart of everything they do, second is having outside organizations measure consumer, peer, and industry satisfaction and third is to deliver a positive experience to customers, employees, and communities. Company’s current financial performance * Ratio Analysis In 2012 FedEx had a total current asset of $9,056,000 and a total current liability of 5,347,000. Those numbers led FedEx to a 1.7:1 liquidity ratio (Yahoo Finance). Since 2010 according to yahoo finance we can see that FedEx has more current assets that current liabilities. Currently FedEx holds a profit margin of 4.53 percent turning it into net income and operating margin of 7.35 percent (Yahoo Finance) * Trend Analyses On the last three years according to financial statements, balance sheets and cash flow FedEx profits have been increasing. The company have been making more investments and increasing its assets as well. Industry comparison When comparing FedEx with UPS we can see that the market capital of FedEx of $31.39 billion is smaller than USP of $76.56 billion, however it is higher when compared to the industry which is 923.76 million. FedEx also has a higher number of employees compared to UPS. When comparing revenue and net income, FedEx is still behind UPD by a significant amount of money. As we can see FedEx has been growing and expanding in the market however UPS is still leading the market of group postal service (Yahoo Finance). (Yahoo Finance) Core competencies based on key resources and capabilities Based on the financial statements revised about and the history of the company FedEx does have sustainable competencies and have sustainable competitive advantage in the industry. As mentioned before FedEx core values are focused on the customers and the corporation is trying to deliver a positive experience to customers. Being the second largest ground shipment corporation in the US is alone a sustainable advantage for FedEx. Assessment of Internal Environment * Valuable FedEx is a valuable corporation that has been in the market for many years. It’s loyalty to employees creates a better work environment and helps the organization to be recognized for its values and culture. The service FedEx provides to customers is also essential to everyday life. The commodity it offers and the speediness is convenient not only for individuals but also for many businesses. * Rare The company has some rare aspects to it. The idea of having so many hubs and aircrafts makes the company unique and efficient. Offering SameDay service is a rare option that guarantees service done on time for customers. Also the different options of night shipment and guaranteed money back if package is not delivered on time are a great options and security for customers. * Difficult to imitate The business is not difficult to imitate, the difficulty is the competition and the ability to do make the business successful. It takes time to build relationship and trust with customers and in the economy we live in today it becomes very difficult for businesses to expand as fast as FedEx did. FedEx is substitutable due to the fact that there are other options in the market for customers. However the convenience and practically of its service can possibly be non-substitutable. References FedEx Corporation, 2013. FedEx history. Retrieved from http://about.van.fedex.com/fedex-opco-history FedEx Corporation, 2013. Executive biographies. Retrieved from http://investors.fedex.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=73289&p=irol-govmanage Yahoo, 2013. Key statistics. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=FDX+Key+Statistics Yahoo, 2013. Competitors. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=FDX+Competitors Yahoo, 2013. Balance Sheet. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=FDX+Balance+Sheet&annual Yahoo, 2013. Income Statement. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=FDX+Income+Statement&annual

Differences between men and wo essays

Differences between men and wo essays The Differences Between Men and Women Everybody knows that men and women are not the same. This statement is obvious, and has been pondered on for many years. The argument is how men and women are different, and how they became different through culture and years of being together. Clashes and relationship is the history of men and women, therefore opposites attract, and become mad when they dont. I have come up with many topics proving and discussing this point. First, we can talk about a social difference that can affect a mans and womans life very strongly. This difference is the way both men and women were raised in their families. Most people will argue that girls are more spoiled in their families than boys. If a sister fights with her brother, you are very likely to find the parents stand with the sister's side. Girls are given more attention and care than boys are, unless you are the ever so unpopular Mamas boy. Boys are usually taught about how to face the hard life and be the leader of the relationship. However, they can have one benefit out of this. They have more freedom than girls do. If you are a man, and if you recall your childhood, you can remember that you were allowed to go out with your friends more than your sister was. This proves that men are taught to learn lessons on there own, and girls are shown the way a little easier. In fact men can easily establish a relationship with women, and in most cases they can easily break the relationship. In other words, men just consider this relationship as a period of dating. Women, on the other hand, are very careful when they start to build a relationship with men, and they do their best to keep this relationship going. I have a friend who has a new girlfriend for every month. He always tells me that he might miss one of his old girlfriends, but this is not a big deal for him. He thinks that he is having the best life. My cous...

Giordano Surname Meaning and Family History

Giordano Surname Meaning and Family History The Italian form of the name Jordan, the Giordano surname has its roots in Yarden, the Hebrew name of the Jordan river flowing between the countries of Jordan and Israel. Derived from  yarad, meaning descend or flow down. Its origin is Italian. Famous People With the Giordano Last Name Umberto Giordano - Italian composerTyrone Giordano - Deaf actorLuca Giordano - 17th-century Italian artistGus Giordano - Innovator of modern American jazz dance Where Do People With the Surname Live? The largest populations of individuals with the Giordano surname are in Italy, as you might expect. According to  WorldNames PublicProfiler, the Giordano last name is most popular in the southern boot of Italy- Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, and Sicilia. There is also a  slightly denser population in the Piemonte region, but the name is popular throughout Italy. It is also fairly common in Argentina. Surname distribution data from Forebears, indicates that Giordano is the 11th most popular name in Italy and the 30th most common in Monaco.Source:   Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

E-shopping and Saudi Consumer Decision Research Proposal

E-shopping and Saudi Consumer Decision - Research Proposal Example There has been an interesting impact on the Saudi consumer decision in purchasing behavior of the e-shopping facilities. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the changes in the purchasing behavior of Saudi consumer due to the e-shopping facilities. The goal of the paper is to discover the different types of changes in the Saudi consumer purchase decisions. In the Saudi countries, in the last 10 years, there has been a large increase in the use of ATM cards and plastic money. More than 90 % of the total consumer payments in the USA are done with the use of debit cards, credit cards, cash cards and ATM cards. Saudi countries are now not so much different from the USA as they are following similar trends. Electronic payment systems and the advent of e-shopping have enabled the consumers to make payments through the internet and make purchases online rather than physically visiting a store. Saudi Arabia is the center of Islamic world and generates major revenues from the export of crude oil and oil related products. Per capita income of the country in 2009 has been 18, 855 US$. A significant portion of the total population is comprised of foreign expatriates and workers. ... Saudi Arabia is the center of the Islamic world since many years and is the largest Arab economy. The taxation rates in the country are very low which encourages many multinationals to locate their offices in the Saudi land. The population mainly comprises of youth with high per capita income. Saudi is also the largest IT center in the region. Research Problems and Questions The problems that will be faced in the research are that the Saudi culture does not allow the women to participate in these types of activities. In Saudi society, the males are the dominant individuals of the family who make most of the purchasing decisions for the family. The women are also involved in the purchasing decision but are limited to household items such as appliances, clothes of children and furniture. Daily usage items and household consumables are also purchased by the women. The culture is also a hindrance for the researchers to reach the women in the households. These are the women who make most of the orders for products online using e-shopping facilities. The questions will not ask about the family details of the individuals as this is not entertained in the Saudi world. 75% of the population is not using the internet, therefore only the 25% using the internet is the choice for the researchers. In the internet using population, only the males would be available for research questions as the society does not line if women answer their personal questions to the researchers. One of the other major problems in the research process is unavailability of historic data. There is no historic data for the consumers' shopping as it has never been recorded. Hence there will be no base to make the comparisons. Most of the research questions are