Hakeem Olajuwon Essays - Houston Rockets, , Term Papers

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Olajuwon was raised in Nigeria, a country in Africa. Hakeem had never stepped on a basketball court until he was 17 years old, and the head of the Nigerian basketball team urged him to give the sport a try. The very first shot he took missed the hoop totally, so did the second shot, and his third shot was an air ball as well. Hakeem had lots to learn about American basketball. Coach Guy Lewis said He just flat out didnt know how to play. Before he could learn how to play, he had to get in shape. In practice he got tired after 2 or 3 minutes and after he dunked the ball his back hurt so badly he had to stop playing. Coach Lewis said Olajuwon had to strecth before he plays in practices or games. I didnt know about this stretching, said Olajuwon, but when he strecthed before practice his back problems disappeared. Hakeem got a scholarship at University of Houston and played for the Houston Cougars. Fans called the Houston Cougars The Slamma Jammas because of the way its players slammed and jammed the ball through the hoop. No team in college basketball dunked the ball like the Cougars. Once Hakeem started to play, he realized that being tall is a big advantage. The University of Houston, ranked number 1, met the University of Louisville, ranked number 2, in the semifinals of the 1983 NCAA playoffs. At the half the Louisville Cardinals was leading 41-36. Houston had 14 dunks before the game ended in a 94-81 with the Cougars coming out on top. Hakeem had an awesome game, he had 21 points, 22 rebounds, and 8 shots blocked. By the spring of 1983 Hakeem was recognized as one of the finest shot blockers and dunkers in college basketball. NBA star Mosses Malone practiced basketball with Hakeem at the gym in Houston. Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown University Hoyas met the University of Houston in the 1984 NCAA finals. Hakeem led the Cougars to two NCAA finials and was the number one pick in the 1984 NBA draft. Ralph Sampson was the center for the Houston Rockets until Hakeem joined the team. Bill Flinch was Olajuwon's first coach in the NBA. Larry Bird was already recognized as one of the NBA finest players when he and the Boston Celtics met the Rockets in the 1986 NBA finals. They lossed in the NBA finals and it was a big disappointment for Hakeem and the rest of the Houston Rockets. Bill Cartwrights collision with Hakeem resulted a serious injury. Hakeem missed 26 games while his eye injury healed. Once again the Rockets got in the playoffs and went to the NBA championship to face the New York Knicks. The best-of-seven series was a battle between Olajuwon and the Knicks star center Patrick Ewing. Houston grabbed an early lead, winning game 1, 85-78. But New York came back, winning game 2, 91-83. Houston managed to squeak by New York for a 93-89 victory in the third game. Rockets lead 2-1 before the Knicks won game 4, 91-82. Knicks also took the fifth game, 91-84, taking a lead with three games to two. Game six was close the whole game up until the final seconds. When the clock ran out, Houston led 86-84. In game seven, Hakeem led the Rockets to a 90-84 victory, making them the NBA champions for the first time in the teams history. Olajuwon also became the first player ever to be named regular season MVP, playoff MVP, and Defensive Player of the year. Speech and Communcations

How to set up a Hard Drive essays

How to set up a Hard Drive essays To set up a new hard drive, firstly you need to switch off the power supply and then remove the casing. If you were installing a new hard drive you would have to set the primary hard drive as the master and the new hard drive as a slave. To do this you would have to change the jumpers, the jumpers are located on 3 pins, and these pins should be in-between where the power cable goes and the IDE cable goes. To do this properly you would have to refer to the hard drives manual; it all depends on the hard drive itself. When you checked and changed any jumpers, you can start to put the hard drive into the computer system. If the drive bay is actually bigger than the hard drive you would need a drive bracket to hold it in place. Most modern computers have two bays specially designed to hold more than 1 hard drives. When inserting the hard drive, make sure that no wires or cables are sticking out or get caught, also make sure that the hard drive is the right way up (the label should be at the top). When the drive is inserted, secure the drive with screws provided. Now that the drive is in place, it needs to be connected to the rest of the PC. Firstly connect the IDE cable (the long, wide and grey cable) to the hard drive. This cable should already be connected to the existing hard drive, to make sure that the cable is around the right way, there should be a red line running down the side of the cable, this red line should be closest to the power cable. When the IDE cable is connected, the power cable is the next thing to connect, this power cable runs from the main power supply inside the computer and should have four different coloured wires. This cable can only connect one way. Now the new hard drive is connected, the computer now needs to recognise the new hard drive, to make the computer do this, you would need to enter the computers BIOS. To enter the BIOS, usually you need to press DE ...

Understanding FMLA Regulations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Understanding FMLA Regulations - Research Paper Example Understanding FMLA regulations Under the FMLA regulations, the group benefits in terms of health are supposed to be maintained for employees when they are on leave. These regulations are usually administered by the administration on employment standards at the division of wages and hours that falls under the Labor department of America (Business & Legal Reports, 2008). However, according to reports, the application of the FMLA regulations may be impacted by acts like the 1986 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act and the Health insurance and accountability Acts. In the year 2008, the former United States president, George Bush, signed into rule the initial expansion of the FMLA regulations since their enactment in the year 1993 thereby adding two fresh entitlements for leave to military personnel and their families. The regulations do apply to each and every agency that is state-owned, and this includes the local, state, federal level employers and employers found within the private sector. The private se ctor employers who are covered by these regulations are required to have employed over fifty employees who have worked for twenty or even more workweeks in their previous or current year of operation. These regulations also cover the successors of employees who were previously covered and their other joint employers within the country. In order for an employee to become eligible for acquiring any benefits, they are required to satisfy certain conditions. (Government Printing Office, 2009). The employees should be working for employers who are covered, worked for these employers for a period of over a year and worked for at least one thousand three hundred hours over the previous period of one year (Business & Legal Reports, 2008). However, under the FMLA regulations, the one year of employment does not require to be consecutive, if the break in services period exceeds a period of seven years, these working sessions should not be counted (Government Printing Office, 2009). In excepti on, unless the employee’s break is facilitated by his activities in the country’s National Guard or the reserve military under the laws on employment along with unemployment rights. Subsequently, the break in services period may be considered if there are written agreements that include collective bargaining agreements regarding the employer’s willingness to rehire their employee after this period is over (Goluboff, 2001). Covered employers within the United States are required by the regulations to provide employees who are legible for leave up to 12 weeks of leave that is unpaid for several reasons. In the event that an employee has a new birth and requires giving care to the young, or place their young under foster care or adoption they should be granted the leave (Business & Legal Reports, 2008). They should also be granted the unpaid leave in case they fall sick from medical conditions that are serious and cannot perform efficiently or their spouses, parent s or their children are on active military duty (Goluboff, 2001). According to previous reports, in some situations, FMLA leaves have been taken in different periods of time for different viable reasons thereby reducing their routine work schedules. The employees are therefore required to

HIPAA Violations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HIPAA Violations - Essay Example Nancy Lee states, â€Å"If Congress did not enact legislation, HIPAA requires the Secretary of HHS to propagate regulations on privacy protections† (Fernald 61). Fernald (2002) argues that the government or law enforcers should not levy medical professionals, who share a patient’s information for protection of their own because they may need to do so in order to promote high quality health care (Fernald 45). Additionally, a medical professional may at time be forced to share a patient’s medical records with the public in order to seek for financial support, in case the patient’s family or friend permits him or her to do so (Fernald 47). Nass and her Co-authors (2009) also support this opinion. They argue that,, in case of emergent diseases or infections, health professionals are faced with the challenge of designing a proper method of controlling the spread of the disease (Ness et. al. 81). One of the most valid means of controlling the spread of a disease’s outbreak is the sharing of patients’ information. Through this, they shall have violated the HIPAA regulations, but the government or law enforcers sho uld not levy penalties on them because such situations are urgent and need quick response. These situations provide valid grounds why the government or law enforcers should not levy medical professionals for protecting their own. Whenever a nurse is creating their facility’s HIPAA forms, they must be cautious in letting the patients know that it is their rights to revoke the permission for the disclosure of confidential medical information only to the people they name. â€Å"Without the information, the HIPAA form is considered invalid, and should the nurses release the information to third parties, such acts shall be considered violation of HIPAA regulations† (Gerard et. al. 187). Sometimes, the release of wrong information of a patient can occur

Four questions - short essay style Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Four questions - short style - Essay Example IMC is meant to maintain a proper and coherent communication relation as one of the most important basic principles of IMC is to ensure ‘consistency’ in messages being communicated. IMC is not only a careful coordination of some or all promotional messages such as personal selling, advertisement, sales promotion, sponsorship etc, but also a very strategic tool to ensure consistency in each and every contacts between the firm its stakeholders including management, employees and customers. As some literatures noted, IMC’s philosophy advocates that there should be a proper coordination in messaging so as to ensure that IMC facilitate multiple messaging with a single voice (Shimp, 2008). Marketing communication is a process of exchanging facts, ideas, opinions, emotions etc about the brand or the firm that are important for the marketer to impact customers’ behaviour and attitudes. An important principle of IMC suggests that marketing communication should not only influence customers’ awareness about brand, but also should encourage them to respond to the desired action. If IMC’s specific goal is to improve word-of-mouth, the messages should be able to affect customers’ positive talk about the brand. Assessing what present and future customers want and need and what can satisfy them is a critically important requirement in marketing. A firm is not supposed to offer to its customers a product or service that it simply wants to produce or provide, but rather, it should see what its customers want now and in future and then to design and develop products or services accordingly. Marketing orientation is a process of organization-wide generation of market intelligence pertaining to current and future customers’ needs and wants. There are basically three dimensions in marketing orientation- They are:- For example, the marketer of a computer manufacturing firm needs to foresee

Advantages Of Social Media

Advantages Of Social Media Connections. You are friends with people who have other friends, and so on. By using a social networking site, you can do what you can and get connected with these people to form a web of connections that can give you leverage if you play your cards right. Breadth of Knowledge -connectedness that students can experience through social media use. It is now easier than ever to know (or find out) something about almost anything in the world through connected media. Additionally, students can be connected to a broader base of opinions and world views through instantaneous global connections. Technological Literacy All social media relies on advanced information and communication technologies that seamlessly work to build and support technological literacy.. Worldwide Connectivity, No matter if you are searching for that former college roommate, your first grade teacher, or an international friend, there is no easier or faster way to make a connection than via the social network. Although Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace are probably the most well known social networking communities, there are new websites popping up regularly that are dedicated to allowing people to connect and to interact via the Internet. These connections can help one with a variety of things such as: Finding romance, Seeking a new job, Locating assistance, Getting and giving product and service referrals, Receiving support from like-minded individuals, Making or receiving advice on career or personal issues. In many ways, social communities are the virtual equivalent of meeting at the general store or at church socials to exchange news and get updated on friends and families.. Commonality of Interest, When you opt to participate in a social network community, you can pick and choose those individuals whose likes and dislikes are similar to yours and build your network around those commonalities.You can meet with your friends anytime you have an Internet connection and whenever you find them online. Real-Time Information Sharing, Many social networking sites incorporate an instant messaging feature, which means you can exchange information in real-time via a chat. This is a great feature for teachers to use to facilitate classroom discussions.In addition, the Internet is the ultimate online textbook. Students no longer need to take out six library books at a time. Much of what they need to know they can find online. Free Advertising, Whether you are non-profit organization who needs to get the word out about your upcoming fundraiser or a business owner marketing a new product or service, theres no better way to get your message in front of millions of people 24/7. The best part is it that you can spread the word through social networking profiles for free. Increased News Cycle Speed, Social networking has revolutionized the speed of the news cycle. Many news organizations now partner with social networking sites like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook in order to both collect and share information. One can get a sense of what is going on in the world just by watching trending topics from many of these sites. This has led to the development of a near instantaneous news cycle as millions of social networking updates rapidly spread news and information. Social media has the power to drive traffic to your website, blog, articles, etc. Social media is able to bring people together, especially when promoting global products or cause-related campaigns and ideas since it allows people from the different geographical location to meet at a single point and express their views. Social media could be the spark you are looking for to attract attention to your site, product or service. It could also be used to further build loyalty and long-term relations with your audience. Social media marketing could always be a fun and creative method of doing business. Facilitates open communication, leading to enhanced information discovery and delivery. Allows everyone to discuss ideas, post news, ask questions and share links. Targets a wide audience, making it a useful and effective recruitment tool. Disadvantages of Social Media: Distraction -talking not about the momentary distraction of an isolated text message, but rather the way in which social media involvement provides an acceptable diversion from intellectual pursuits. Essentially, he is arguing that it is socially safer to stay connected to peers through always-on social media, than it is to put oneself out there by having a legitimate opinion about a serious topic and disconnecting from the social networks long enough to put it out there. Pressure to Conform examples of students confiding in him that one of the main reasons behind their 24/7 connection is a fear of not keeping up with peers or appearing like a loser in public, as one of his students confided in a class journal. Risk Aversion unclear about whether students aversion to taking risks is a symptom of social media use or is directly caused by it, but the point is no less important either way. Social media engagement supports a culture of avoidance which operates in direct opposition to the idea that students need to take risks and fail in their academic endeavors in order to become successful innovators. Shallowness . Twitter, text messages, and other social media tools focus on brief, quick, shallow interactions that do not encourage either deep social engagement or intellectual exploration. There is, after all, only so much information that can be obtained in 140 characters. when you make a mistake offline, a few will know but when you make a mistake in front of hundreds or thousands of you online audience, most of them will know Face to Face Connections are Endangered, A huge advantage of these social communities has a reverse side effect that is also a big disadvantage of social networking: they reduce or eliminate face-to-face socialization. Because of the autonomy afforded by the virtual world, individuals are free to create a fantasy persona and can pretend to be someone else.It is hard to say no, be rude, or ignore someone when you are looking them in the eye. Its incredibly easy and quick to unfriend or unfollow someone or simply block their efforts to make a connection. Just one click of the mouse and your problems are over. Tweens and teens are at higher risk because those years are when they are learning to interact with others or build and maintain relationships. A report from the National School Boards Association shows that of the children in these age groups that use a social network, 41 percent spend their time posting messages. They are not spending this time in face-to-face interactions with their peers or others nor are they developing the necessary social skills for future success. Cyberbullying and Crimes Against Children, Use of social networks can expose individuals to harassment or inappropriate contact from others. Unless parents are diligent to filter the Internet content to which their families are exposed, children could be exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content.. Risks of Fraud or Identity Theft, Whether you like it or not, the information you post on the Internet is available to almost anyone who is clever enough to access it. Most thieves need just a few vital pieces of personal information to make your life a nightmare and if they successfully steal your identity, it could cost you dearly. Time Waster, A Nielsen report explains that social networking can be a big waste of time that sucks 17 percent of our Internet time down the non-productivity drain. it is also true that it is easy to become distracted and end up spending valuable time on games, chats or other non-related activities. Corporate Invasion of Privacy, Social networking invites major corporations to invade your privacy and sell your personal information. Facebook projects it will earn $3.8 billion in revenue in 2011. Thats not bad for a free site. If Facebook and other social networking sites dont charge their members, however, how do they make so much money? They do it by selling the ability to specifically target advertisements. On social networking sites, the website isnt the product, its users are. These sites run algorithms that search for keywords, web browsing habits, and other data stored on your computer or social networking profile and provide you with advertisements targeted specifically to you. At the same time, you may be giving the site permission to share your information with outside sources unless you specifically generate settings that disallow them to do so. Participating in applications like Farmville may also be allowing outside vendors access to your private information. In order to get social medias full effect, you need to understand how it works, when and how to use it and which channels to focus on depending on your end goal of using social media. Social media can have a negative influence on students and workers productivity. Employees may waste valuable time using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. They can also use social media to attack the companys reputation! When social media is used excessively or in the wrong way, it could have serious detrimental outcomes on both mental and even physical health of individuals. Opens up the possibility for hackers to commit fraud and launch spam and virus attacks. Increases the risk of people falling prey to online scams that seem genuine, resulting in data or identity theft. May result in negative comments from others about everything we put in our social media example our video in youtube Potentially results in lost productivity, especially if students are busy updating profiles, etc. Lack of Anonymity,You are putting out information about your name, location, age, gender, and many other types of information that you may not want to let others know. Most people would say be careful. As long as people can know who you exactly are, then some can find ways to do you in. Scams and Harassment, While many sites apply certain measures to keep any of these cases of harassment, cyber-stalking, online scams, and identity theft to an absolute minimum, you still may never know. Time Consuming, that it would just be a waste of time for you. The key to social networking is that it is supposed to be fun, whether you are just doing it for kicks or clicking around for study purposes. That should be reasonable enough for anyone, but there are those people who dont see the point. For them, it can be a disadvantage.

Fiber Optics :: essays research papers

Fiber Optics Assignment Many modern medical materials and equipment work on a principle which is beyond the capacity of human transducers. Comment and discuss the working principles of an endoscope, uteroscope or a rectoscope showing the illuminating path, the image path, transmission path and the liquid transfer or operating instrument ducts, showing the position of suitable valves. This will therefore explain how light travels through an optical fibre and show how such fibres are used in medicinal equipment either to transmit light or to bring back images from within a patient. Contents Fibre Optics Fibre-Optic Bundles Coherent and Incoherent Bundles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Transimission efficiency and resolution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Types of Fibres: Single mode or Multimode ?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fibre Properties Fibre-Optic Endoscopy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Fibre-Optic Endoscope   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some Applications for Fibre-Optic Endoscopy References Fibre Optics A relatively new technology with vast potential importance, fibre optics, is the channelled transmission of light through hair-thin glass fibres. The clear advantages of fibre optics are too often obscured by concerns that may have been valid during the pioneering days of fibre, but that have since been answered by technical advances. Fibre is fragile An optical fibre has greater tensile strength than copper or steel fibres of the same diameter. It is flexible, bends easily, and resists most corrosive elements that attack copper cable. Optical cables can withstand pulling forces of more than 150 pounds. Fibre is hard to work with This myth derives from the early days of fibre optic connectors. Early connectors where difficult to apply; they came with many small parts that could tax even the nimble fingered. They needed epoxy, curing, cleaving and polishing. On top of that, the technologies of epoxy, curing, cleaving and polishing were still evolving. Today, connectors have fewer parts, the procedures for termination are well understood, and the craftsperson is aided by polishing machines and curing ovens to make the job faster and easier. Even better, epoxyless connectors eliminate the need for the messy and time- consuming application of epoxy. Polishing is an increasingly simple, straightforward process. Pre-terminated cable assemblies also speed installation and reduce a once (but no longer) labour-intensive process. Fibre Optic Bundles If light enters the end of a solid glass rod so that the light transmitted into the rod strikes the side of the rod at an angle O, exceeding the critical angle, then total internal reflection occurs. The light continues to be internally reflected back and forth in its passage along the rod, and it emerges from the other end with very little loss of intensity. This is the principle in fibre optics of which long glass fibres of very small cross-sectional area transmit light from end to end, even when bent, without much loss of light through their side walls.

Portugal Exploration Essay

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Portuguese Exploration highlighted the country’s ascendancy to economic growth and power. Explorations are never easy endeavors. New lands will be discovered, wherein achieving success is indeed very uncertain. Moreover, the mere fact that the country needs to supply all the materials—from food to ship repairs, are too expensive. However, although explorations are masked by doubt and hopeless skies, its outcome can lead to enormous wealth and benefits that will enable the nation to experience abundance in succeeding years to come. When Portugal never gave up its hopes and dreams regarding land discoveries, such big decision resulted to positive results. At the onset of the 16th century, Portugal pioneered explorations in the whole course of Europe, thus, discovering more and new routes to Africa, the Atlantic, Asia and even South America (â€Å"Portugal† n.d).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the beginning, nobody has expected Portugal to literally conquer the world. The nation was then torn with poverty and to a certain extent, economic deterioration (Arnold 2002, p. 22). Given this situation at hand, domination is totally taken out of the picture. If Portugal cannot even feed its own people, then it would be readily impossible for it to support the demands of land explorations and discoveries. However, this did not prevent the nation from pursuing its dreams—from materializing the aim to make its name within the torn pages of history books. It turned out that Portugal’s seemingly hopeless case is one of its greatest blessings. Since the country was in its severe state, it has no other choice but to continue with the explorations. If success seems to be impossible within the domain of land-based expansion, then there is still hope when such is done overseas (Arnold 2002, p.22). As Arnold (2002) explained, Portugal’s navigation success basically replaced the land-based orientation of wealth and power that was established by the evolving Spanish (empire) (p. 22). Factors determining Portugal’s exploration success   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are different factors that are attributed to Portugal’s exploration successes. These three are highly characterized by maritime development as well as the undying support given by the Portuguese government. The first factor has something to do with Portugal’s geographic position (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). Portugal can be seen along the west side of the Iberian Peninsula (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). Livingstone implied (1993) that the nation is readily blessed with its strategic location (p. 41). It possesses rivers that are long enough to be navigated (Livingstone 1993, p. 41). It has â€Å"favorable winds (Livingstone 1993, p. 41)† that can take ships into their planned journeys or destination. The last but not the least is the existence of raw and organic harbors which creates a perfect and highly suitable setting for maritime development (Livingstone 1993, p. 41).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If one has to take a closer look, this aspect alone puts Portugal into a great advantage over its rivals or competitors. Once and for all, circumnavigating the world requires not only human skills, nature also plays an important role. Although, exceptional navigation talents are expected to arise, there is no doubt that if nature decides to intervene, the course would be more difficult and complicated as expected. It can be also implied that Portugal’s geographical design enabled the latter to discover more efficient routes from any angle. The crew can easily explore more unknown areas since they have good reference points that are essential in establishing maps.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, the second factor can be traced to Portugal’s developing â€Å"maritime economy (â€Å"Portugal, n.d).† The ports of Lisbon and Oporto became the cente of commerce and trade for the country (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). Mostly of the financial means that were used to support the voyages came from these trade districts (â€Å"Portugal,† n.d). However, aside from financing the navigation plans, Maddision (2006) also mentioned that the bays and coast cities of Portugal is abundant enough to supply the needs and demands of the local residents (p.22). Aside from trading per se, it can be seen that Portugal has other ways of gaining incomes, profits and revenues. But then again, perhaps the greatest contributions of the maritime industry are the vast knowledge and information that Portuguese fisherman has learned due to their constant and continuous immersion with the Atlantic seas (Maddison 2006, p.22). Their mastery of sea winds, tides and weather (Maddison 2006, p.22). It allowed Portuguese explorers and navigators to conduct more research on navigation. Yet, more than anything else, they were able to build ships that can withstand the pressures and hardships brought forth by unfathomable oceans (Maddison 2006, p.22). They created â€Å"lateen sails† and in the long run, they combined it with â€Å"square sails† which allowed them to sail through the South Atlantic and further discover more ways or routes in the Cape area (Maddison 2006, p.22).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, the third determinant of the Portuguese exploration’s success stems from the fact that its monarchy readily showed support and encouragement for these plans (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). The government ensured that â€Å"tax privileges† and insurances are available for both the ship owners and navigators (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). As a matter of fact, it is not only the king that readily lent a helping hand to make these undertakings possible. Even members of the aristocracy assured that they can be pillars of strength and encouragement (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). Obviously, without the system’s support and permission, the voyages would not happen. As previously mentioned, even if there are enough materials and supplies if the monarchy is not open to the idea, then Portugal’s domination may not come into place. The essential role of the Portuguese government, in this aspect can be briefly understood in several points. Once and for all, the tax regulations enabled the nation to satisfy the prerogatives of exploration and at the same time ensure a healthy lifestyle for its local citizens. Second, the monarchy served as a strong influence for both the explorers and local residents. If the king refused such plans, then the public would not be able to recognize its value and importance. Since local residents are the ones who are chiefly involved in production works, the explorers would have a hard and difficult time convincing these people about their dreams and visions, if the king per se, would show doubts regarding the matter. Moreover, the monarchy is in charge of making decisions on how they can possible benefit from the discoveries that they made—to be more specific, the Portuguese government is in charge of devising strategies on how they can possible gain profits and revenues on new routes and land areas. This is important for unless the people know that they benefit from it, they would continue to support such plan. A Brief History of Portugal Exploration   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to further reasons behind the success ad failure of the Portuguese exploration, it is best to have a brief discussion or outline of the nation’s navigation history. As mentioned earlier, the contributions of Portugal in the world can neither be questioned not taken for granted. Even though it has eventually declined in the long years to come, it cannot be discounted that Portugal is one of the few nations that have managed to maintain and still control its colonies by the end of the 19th century (Diffie & Winius 1977, p. 4). The mere fact that it was able to sustain such set-up exemplifies its power and strength.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diffie and winius (1977) explained that Portugal was inspired by the accomplishments of the Han and Roman Empires (p.4). However, since it cannot fully embarked on land-based conquests and imperialism, discovering other lands became the last recourse, and as discussed, nature’s blessings made a way for the nation embarked on long journeys and voyages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The foundations of the Portuguese exploration can be traced to as far as 1415 (Wiarda 200, p. 21). In those times, Ceuta was then considered as the center of spice trade in the west (Wiarda 2000, p.21). Portugal has managed to put Ceuta under its control and thus the urge to control more lands became irresistible. While Ceuta was then an important investment for Portugal, Wiarda (2000), however noted that Portugal’s main goal by that time was to spread Christianity to Morrocco (p.4). Within the aspect of colonialism, religion is an indespensbale tool. The Portuguese readily used the matter to interact with the natives. Due to language barriers, it would be hard for both the colonizers and the colony to understand or communicate with each other. Thus, the concept of having a Supreme Being bridged the gap between the two races.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But on a closer examination, the downfall of Morocco, inspired many of Portuguese warriors and soldiers to bring more honor, glory and prestige to their very own mother country (Wiarda 200, p.187). In addition to that, Prince Henry who happened to be the very first supporter of Portuguese explorations have heard stories from prisoners about lands and areas that were still undiscovered (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). The capture of Morocco allowed Prince Henry to have his first taste of the African cost (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). Having said this, indeed, his curiosity was further heightened. The excitement and passion to conquer more lands became stronger than ever. Prince Henry â€Å" The Navigator†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The success in Ceuta encouraged Prince Henry to show his undying support to explorations. Prince Henry can be best described as someone who knew how to transform his visions and ideals into realistic issues and concerns. The prince knows that explorations may not necessarily yield to positive results. But this did not discourage him. Despite of the fact that there is a strong enthusiasm and excitement on Prince Henry’s part, Wiarda (2000) stated that this does not mean that that the young leader was already aware of explorations’ benefits and advantages (p.21). According to Wiarda (2000) Prince Henry’s primary concern by then was the budding market for exotic and wild animals (p.21). But in the long run, explorations’ commercial benefit was slowly embedded into the prince’s young mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, the materialization of Prince Henry’s dreams came into the picture during the reign of Joao II (Wiarda 2000, p. 21). The foundations of an exploration plan have been successfully laid out. Gallagher (2003) noted that the first move was to discover a route from Africa that can easily lead to India (p.5). With all these endeavors, the monarchy assured that they will handle all the transactions and see to it that it profiteering activities would be efficiently managed (Gallagher 2003, p. 80). The competition against Spain led Portugal to keep its navigation development in extreme secrecy (Gallagher 2003, p.5). Even the voyages per se were kept confidential (Gallagher 2003, p5).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During those times, Cape Bojador was seen as the end of the world (Wiarda 2000, p.187). Since there is already a signal pr permission from the monarchy to explore more, Prince Henry in return, challenged his men to go beyond the limits of Cape Bojardor (Wiarda 2000, p. 187). The whole crew landed in Madeira in 1420 and seven years after, the Portuguese explorers made their first step in Azores (Keefee et. al 1977, p.60). This was also the time when Portugal finally confirmed that Cape Bojador was not the world’s end point (Keefe et.al 1977, p.60). This is simply the start of Portugal’s domination. Even though the so-called Navigator died in 1460 (â€Å"Portugal,† n.d), his legacies was continued and still promoted by the succeeding Portugal rulers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Historians and members of the academe outlined several distinct reasons regarding Prince Henry’s obsessions. One of this is the urge to know more lands beyond Cape Bojador (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). In an era wherein bigger colonies equate to more economic successes, going beyond Cape Bojador’s geographical limitations is an outright advantage. Another reason is Portugal’s aim to develop trade relations to other areas or counties (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). There is also the aim to study the strength of their rivals and at the same time, ensure that battles will be waged against those who opposed Christianity and therefore ensure that the religion would proliferate (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). Reasons for Exploration   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In general and not only for Portugal, there are three determinants of why explorations happen or occur. The first one has something to do with the spice trade (Roupp 2001, p. 236). Spices such as nutmeg, mace, ginger, cinnamon and paper are pretty popular in the European regions trade (Roupp 2001, p. 236). The Ottomans were able to take control of the Eastern Mediterranean barter trade (Roupp 2001, p. 236) Because of this, European envoys had no other choice but to look for alternative routes. Since spices are very much in demand, there is no doubt that to become a spice supplier would indeed result to an increase in profits and revenues. The supply is low and the demands are high. Therefore, those who are able to satisfy the demand can also ask for a higher price. This argument are also supported by Kiple and Omelas (2000, p.436).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kiple and Omelas (2000) mentioned that many European countries, most especially those which are engaged in exploration are also seeking for a new route to get a steady supply of spices (p. 436). This according to the two, prompted competing nations to further improve their navigation tactics and skills. The competition is stiff and they cannot remain calm. However, as for this case, since Portugal has already explored the areas beyond Cape Bojador, the challenge became an easy feat for the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the initial steps, it was the Arabs that has total control over the matter (Wolpert 1999, p.45). However, a small fleet, headed by Vasco de Gama made the Arabs surrender (Wolpert 1999, p.45). According to Wolpert (1999), although De Gama’s success enabled Portugal to establish a monopoly over spice trade (p.45). His triumph and glory is more than enough to pay from all the expenses that were spent during his journey (Wolpert 1999, p.45).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Roupp (2001) also noted that technology can be also considered as one of Portugal’s motivating force for explorations (p. 236). The technological aspect means that as man continue to develop materials and tools to satisfy their needs, this brought them other opportunities. As for the case of Portugal, since they are able to build ships and sails that are highly capable or navigating the earth, soon they found it that if they can further enhance these materials and incorporate several functions such as incorporating military weapons like the cannons, for example, they can easily defeat their enemies and those who are creating conflicts and hindrances (Roupp 2001, p. 236).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, Roupp (2001) stressed that curiosity levels were readily high during the Renaissance period and thus, it became a motivational force for many nations to explore more of the unknown world (p.236).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the meantime, if one has to critically assess it, it is apparent that the goal for profit and revenues best explains the intensity of Portuguese explorations. As readily discussed, the passing years allowed Portugal to diversify its economic hold and control. Prince Henry’s focus on the exotic animal market shifted into another realm since the monarchy has also recognized the other benefits of voyages and expeditions. It can be also remembered that Portugal is also one of the pioneers of the slave trade in Africa. Since they have discovered more lands in the said continent, colonization was reshaped. From goods that are bartered, human trade became popular too. The cheap labor rendered by captured slaves and prisoners were seen as a good source of profit and income. Moreover, there is also the spice trade which further strengthened Portugal’s domination. Since they basically spearheaded the exploration quests and technology, they have readily capitalized on it. The return of investments was more than what they have expected. Portugal’s Failure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although Portugal was basically at the apex of its exploration successes the country failed to see certain events that would eventually lead to its bitter downfall.   Perhaps this can be best explained by the country’s inability to manage all its colonies (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). It has been carefully discussed in this paper that Portugal was able to discover more lands. This readily means that once they have settled in those areas, they have to efficiently supervise all the activities that occur in it. This situation should not come as a surprise or it is rather expected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First of all, it is pretty impossible for Portugal to directly manage its colonies since they are miles away from each other. The empire has to send its people to those areas in order to ensure that everything falls in their proper places. But distant lands prohibit simultaneous coordination and interaction among the leaders. For the monarchy, it is pretty hard for it to establish appropriate solutions and regulations for their colonies unless they have actual experience of the problem that is being manifested in a particular area. It would take months and years before updates and reports can be handed to the King. The moment that actions are ratified and certain laws are promulgated, there is a strong tendency that the problem has already become worse or the approaches used are no longer applicable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition to that, viceroys and appointed leaders have to be financially supported by the monarchy. This is done to ensure that area rulers have enough supply of food and other materials to sustain their everyday lives and activities. But of course, the financial support came from the local residents’ taxes and hard-earned money. In the long run, there are also instances wherein the monarchy can no longer back-up and support these needs. This is most especially true if Portuguese leaders have already built their families in their respective colonies. As a result, the profits and revenues that they have collected from their colonies are barely enough for them to extend their stays and manage their specific domains.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also important to note that distance issues are also prone to illegal activities. Appointed leaders could be tempted by the seemingly lucrative activities that are present in their colonies. When monitoring, coordinating and interacting are rarely practiced, then there is no doubt that Portuguese found itself on the losing end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The last but definitely not the least is the death of King Sebastian (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). This sad event proved to be a golden opportunity for Spain. King Philip II, who was the Spain’s rulers and King Sebastian’s uncle took over the latter’s position. What happened to Portugal then was that, it became Spain’s province (â€Å"Portugal† n.d). Relatively, the techniques and strategies that Portugal created and developed were exploited by Spain. Thus all the forthcoming success was now done in the name of Spain instead of Portugal. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Portugal is basically engulfed with the sweet promises of explorations and land discoveries. Although Roupp (2001) suggested that curiosity plays an important role, this aspect is outlasted by the need for profit and revenues (p.236). Once and for all, since Portugal has captured Ceuta, they have already recognized that if they can discover more lands, they can use the domain’s working force to their own advantage. They can ask the natives to produce goods that are widely popular in the European market. Moreover, it is pretty impossible to conclude that Portugal simply tried to know new routes for curiosity’s sake alone. The spice trade for example and the country’s domination and supremacy on the said area are manifestations of the unrelenting drive for both economic and geographic expansion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, since offshore management was not efficiently executed, such led to the downfall of what was once considered as the globe’s superpower. References Arnold, D. 2002. The Age of Discovery, 1400-1600. Routledge: USA Diffie, B   and Winius, D. (1977).  Ã‚   Foundations of the Portuguese Empire. Minnesota, USA:   Ã‚  Ã‚   University of Minnesota Press Gallagher, A. (2003). Prince Henry the Navigator: Pioneer of Modern Exploration. New   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   York:    Rosen Publishing Group Inc Keefe, E. et. al (1977). Area Handbook for Portugal. Washington, DC: U.S. Government   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Printing Office Kiple, K and Omelas, K. 2000. The Cambridge World History of Food. Cambridge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press: Edinburgh Livingstone, D. 1993. The Geographical Tradition: Episodes in the History of A Contested   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Enterprise. Blackwell Publishing: USA Maddisson, A. 2006. The World Economy. OECD: France â€Å"Portugal† n.d. University of Calgary. Retrieved 18 March 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/portuguese.html Roupp, H. 2001. How to Prepare for SAT II. Barron’s: New York Wiarda, I. (2000). Handbook of Portuguese Studies. USA: Xlibris Corporation Wolpert, S. 1999. India. University of California Press: Berkeley   

Walmart Fighting World Hunger †How it affects Sales Essays

Walmart Fighting World Hunger – How it affects Sales Essays Walmart Fighting World Hunger – How it affects Sales Essay Walmart Fighting World Hunger – How it affects Sales Essay Essay Topic: Nashville Walmart Fighting World Hunger – How it affects Sales Name: Course: Date: Wal-Mart Fighting World Hunger – How it affects Sales Hunger has continued to be a major threat in most world countries, affecting millions of people especially in America. Nashville Wal-Mart market manager, Wade Hunt wants to make a big change to solve the issue of hunger. On a daily basis, many families countrywide have to deal with the constant task of fending for themselves and their loved ones. Indeed, the USDA reported that during the course of the year, almost sixteen percent of the population was unaware of the next source of their meal. This takes a toll on all members of the nation, with millions of people left at the brink of despair every day. This includes both children and senior citizens who are the most vulnerable members of the society. This is a major concern and Wal-Mart is inimitably positioned to make a significant impact, by working with nonprofit associates, societies and its own clientele in order to alleviate hunger in the nation. â€Å"Fighting Hunger Together† initiative was launched in 2010 by Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Foundation. It committed a $2 billion cash and in kind kitty, through to 2015, to assist in stamping out hunger across the nation. This scheme allows a room for Walmart’s expansion and leverages his magnitude and assets to offer wholesome provisions and enable the Wal-Mart Foundation to award subsidy to nonprofits that aids to solve the great issue. Donations in form of cash, mobile pantries, food, refrigerated trucks and other forms of resources are bringing a great change in the lives of many Americans. To date, the initiative has provided more that $122 million donations and 594 million pounds of provisions to counties across the country. By the end of 2015, the initiative is expected to have achieved various goals. Firstly, the initiative will have contributed in excess of 1.1 pounds of food from Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s club location and major distribution centers valued at approximately $1.75 billion. This would highly boost sales in the stores because the products would be in high demand. The Wal-Mart stores will highly demand the hunger fighting tools, mainly food and other resources from the suppliers from the agricultural sectors, which would highly boost sales in all the affected sectors and parties involved. The initiative will also honor $250 million in funding to the benefit of hunger relief associations in all levels countrywide, thus being charitable to the society. Further, it would also mobilize Wal-Mart Associates and customers to work together in the fight against hunger in America. This would create awareness among people across the country and would sensitize the people on the methods ways to curb hunger and have a long lasting solution to the problem in America. Further, the initiative aims to collaborate with the government, other foundations and corporations and food manufacturers, to better understand and eliminate hunger in America. Through the government support, the initiative will help to create awareness at all levels on the measures required in the plan to alleviate hunger in the nation. The food manufacturers will also be armed in order to supply enough food and other products in the hunger stricken areas in America. Other foundations and corporations will help to secure and provide grants to eradicate hunger in the country and act as avenues that will enable the initiative reach the affected people and areas. In the fight against hunger, the government, food manufacturers and other foundations should cooperate and have a common goal to eliminate hunger.

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