Perceptions of the 18th Century Novel in Ian Watt’s Book, The Rise of T

Perceptions of the 18th Century Novel in Ian Watt’s Book, The Rise of The Novel The eighteenth century novel was one that changed the way novels were written in many different ways. In reading Ian Watt's book, "The Rise of The Novel," quite a few things were brought to my attention concerning the eighteenth century novel; not only in how it was written and what went into it, but how readers perceived it. This essay will look into Ian Watt's perceptions on the eighteenth century novel and how it changed from previous literature. Coming out of the Renaissance and Jacobean ages, the novel was characterized by "realism", with the term "novel" not really being used until the end of the eighteenth century. This realism was not defined like we would define realism today (defined by Webster as an interest or concern for the actual or real), but instead is grounded in the position that "truth can be discovered by the individual through his senses." (12) Instead of conforming to traditional practice (such as the classical and renaissance epic based on history and fables), the novel focused more on the individual where "the pursuit of truth is conceived of as a wholly individual matter, logically independent of the tradition of past thought." (13) By rejecting traditional plots the novel distinguished itself out from any other previous form of literature, making individual experience the replacement for collective tradition. Many other things apart from plot were changed for the novel to fully show this new take on reality. Now the plot was acted out by "particular people in particular circumstances" (15) rather than, as in the past, by general people against a pre-determined background by appropriate literary convention. The nove... ...hough much of the literature was religious oriented, there was a great surge towards secular reading by the public of which the booksellers became largely responsible as they sought to increase their pay. The eighteenth century was definitely a time of massive change for literature. Not only had the way of writing been drastically altered, but the amount of reading done by the public altered as well, bringing about a resurgence of reading, not only in the upper classes, but also in the all the classes. Though lacking in some areas, plot not being least, the novel revolutionized the eighteenth century and brought about a new way of thinking. By today's standards, it might not seem like much was done, but in the history of things, the eighteenth century novel is probably one of the biggest things to ever happen to the progression of literature throughout the years. Perceptions of the 18th Century Novel in Ian Watt’s Book, The Rise of T Perceptions of the 18th Century Novel in Ian Watt’s Book, The Rise of The Novel The eighteenth century novel was one that changed the way novels were written in many different ways. In reading Ian Watt's book, "The Rise of The Novel," quite a few things were brought to my attention concerning the eighteenth century novel; not only in how it was written and what went into it, but how readers perceived it. This essay will look into Ian Watt's perceptions on the eighteenth century novel and how it changed from previous literature. Coming out of the Renaissance and Jacobean ages, the novel was characterized by "realism", with the term "novel" not really being used until the end of the eighteenth century. This realism was not defined like we would define realism today (defined by Webster as an interest or concern for the actual or real), but instead is grounded in the position that "truth can be discovered by the individual through his senses." (12) Instead of conforming to traditional practice (such as the classical and renaissance epic based on history and fables), the novel focused more on the individual where "the pursuit of truth is conceived of as a wholly individual matter, logically independent of the tradition of past thought." (13) By rejecting traditional plots the novel distinguished itself out from any other previous form of literature, making individual experience the replacement for collective tradition. Many other things apart from plot were changed for the novel to fully show this new take on reality. Now the plot was acted out by "particular people in particular circumstances" (15) rather than, as in the past, by general people against a pre-determined background by appropriate literary convention. The nove... ...hough much of the literature was religious oriented, there was a great surge towards secular reading by the public of which the booksellers became largely responsible as they sought to increase their pay. The eighteenth century was definitely a time of massive change for literature. Not only had the way of writing been drastically altered, but the amount of reading done by the public altered as well, bringing about a resurgence of reading, not only in the upper classes, but also in the all the classes. Though lacking in some areas, plot not being least, the novel revolutionized the eighteenth century and brought about a new way of thinking. By today's standards, it might not seem like much was done, but in the history of things, the eighteenth century novel is probably one of the biggest things to ever happen to the progression of literature throughout the years.

Chipotle Essay

Executive Summary It is the findings of this report that if Chipotle were they to expand and begin serving customers in China, they would experience growth that would rival that of its United States business after 6 years. Market and Industry Analysis Overview of Chipotle Chipotle opened its first restaurant in Denver, CO in 1993 with major investor; McDonald’s Corporation. McDonald’s fully divested itself from chipotle in 2006. Since then, Chipotle has grown very fast across the Unites States and they currently have 1450 stores located in 43 states. They have also expanded their business globally to obtain a bigger market share. Chipotle opened their first European restaurant in May 2010 in London, and then opened their second European location in Paris in May 2012. Chipotle’s CEO Steve Ellis decided to change Chipotle’s quality of food and introduced naturally raised pork in 2000. Chipotle continued to expand on their naturally raised offerings and in 2002; they introduced naturally raised chicken to the menu. In 2004, they completed their quality of food transition by adding naturally raised beef and changing their frying oil to zero trans-fat oil. 2.1.1 Product/Brand The value of Chipotle’s product is in the way they cook, the quality of food they cook with, and the customizable experience that the customer has while they order their food. Their products value is increased by using sustainable, naturally raised food that is sourced locally with cooperating farmers. Their open space kitchen is designed to give customers the feeling of a fresh cooked meal and accentuate the smell that comes with it. The way the ingredients are displayed along the order line can also give the customer an impression of freshness and cleanliness. 2.1.2 Sustainability â€Å"Food with integrity† Chipotle’s sustainability perspective is slightly different from what customers usually expect; which is environment friendly. Chipotle does use 100% recycled napkins and paper bags instead of plastic, less packaging in order to reduce their trash, and emphasizes environmentally friendly service; however their main focus of sustainability is focused on how their food is produced. Chipotle decided to make their own produce standards and require farms to constantly meet them before they make contract with them. Chipotle puts a strong emphasis on sourcing their food locally from small farmers because Chipotle believes they care more about the way they raise their animals more than massive animal farms. Each of the locally sourced farms is located within 350miles from the Chipotle restaurant. The following are requirements that farms must meet for Chipotle to use their product in its restaurants: * Animals (chickens, pigs, and cows) are naturally raised with an organic vegetarian diet and stress-free environment thus eliminating the need for antibiotics to improve the product of the animals. * Milk and cheese: fully pasture-raised cows are a requirement. This means that cows have daily access to outdoor pastures, are never given added hormones, and are fed an all vegetarian, plant-based diet. Chipotle’s focus is not on only serving natural, organic food but also on educating its customers. Their new approach to customer education and  sustainability has helped Chipotle increase their sales and build a successful business model. 2.1.3 Product positioning Chipotle is on the record as saying their products are more expensive fast food in order to assure their higher quality compared to other fast food restaurants. Their target market segment is consumers between the age of 18-35, with slightly higher average income and higher education more than high school diploma. Chipotle has differentiated their restaurants as a unique fast, casual dining restaurant. This means that the customer receives food in a short period of time, but they can also enjoy their meal inside Chipotle’s restaurant at a table with a modern, sophisticated atmosphere. Chipotle’s availability and ease of product customization is also unique selling point. Their basic menu is very simple; they provide various toppings (both meat and vegetables) for customization that are added to the main meal at the direction of the customer. For example, one burrito has a selection of two kinds of rice, four to five kinds of meats, beans, vegetables, and multiple salsa options. This variety of food customization is also one of the Chipotle’s core competencies. Demographics of China China has the highest population for a country at 1.334 billion people. While their growth has slowed considerably, they are still growing and expected to hit 1.5 billion people by 2025. At the end of 2012, China had a total urban population of 712 million, or 54.3% of the total population. This percentage keeps increasing exponentially and researchers expect nearly 70% of China’s population will live in urban areas by 2035. GDP Growth The following chart show the gross domestic product (GDP) based on purchasing-power-parity. | 2006| 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| GDP| 10170| 7099| 7973| 8818| 10090| 11440| Growth in %| | -30.2%| 12.3%| 10.6%| 14.4%| 13.4%| A nation’s GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. Most economists prefer this measure when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions. From the table we can see that since 2007, this number keeps increasing with double digit percentage. In short, it means that people in China are getting wealthier and can afford a higher life style. Political and Legal Restrictions of China Doing business in China for US companies involves considerations not only of Chinese law, but also of US law. Companies need to understand the impact of both countries’ laws on their business dealings with China. China’s commercial laws are changing rapidly to correspond to Western commercial laws. There remain many uncertainties because the process is not yet complete. China is not a political risk hot spot, with little political violence, business interruption, strikes or riots. They have stability with a one-party system, but there is little transparency in the rules and what the law says and how it is implemented are not always the same. Top 10 Fast Food Chains in China The fast food market in China is considered to be a fragmented market where there are lots of small to mid size companies and even the â€Å"big players† have stiff competition. American style restaurants have been gaining in popularity since the 1990s. The following table shows the top ten largest fast food chains in China and their annual sales. As we can see from the table, four of them are owned by American companies. KFC is the top fast food company in China followed by McDonald’s, then Pizza Hut, and finally Ajisen Ramen. Name| # of Restaurants in China| Annual Sales in Billions ( ¥)| KFC| 4260| 50.7| McDonald’s| 1800| 26.5| Real Kungfu *| 380| 2| Li Hua Fast Food *| 80| .2| Dicos *| 869| 2.73| Pizza Hut| 889| 26.3| Mian Dian Wang *| 45| 2.81| Da Niang Dumplings *| 300| .3| Ajisen Ramen| 320| .391| Malan Ramen *| 439| .36| * Local Companies McDonald’s in China McDonald’s entered main land China in 1990 and opened its first restaurant in Shenzhen. Now, McDonald’s has more 1800 restaurants in China’s urban areas. The table below compares the average income of people and the price of a cheeseburger in the United States and China. This information gives Chipotle the framework on how to set their prices. From the table, we can conclude that people in China are willing to pay more for dining in an American style fast food restaurant. | 2010| 2011| | USA| Shanghai| People’s Average Income (Monthly)|  ¥14,251|  ¥4331| Price of Cheeseburger|  ¥6.7|  ¥8.00| Price of Cheeseburger/Income| .0005%| .002%| In order to cater local tastes, McDonald’s China set up a special menu which is only available in China. Products only in China:| | McVeggie Burger| – only available during special/religion holiday| Park ball| – only in Chinese New Year| Sakana Supreme| – Japanese style| Double Wasabi Filet O-fish| – Japanese style| EBI Burger| – Shrimp burger| Others:| Curry Burger, Fish Finger, Seafood Balls, Crispy Chicken Wing w/ Curry Flavor Sauce or Lemon Sauce, Bento Box w/ Rice, Pineapple Pie, Banana Pie, Curry chicken Pie, etc.| Difficulties We May Face While Entering Chinese Market While entering the Chinese market, there are a few difficulties we may face. Like other food and beverage companies, we may have a hard time with the increasing food and commodity costs which could affect our margins and discourage the company from opening new restaurants. Chipotle may need to be concerned about other competitors in the Chinese market. In the U.S., the average amount spent per customer at a Chipotle restaurant is around $11, compared to less than $4 for McDonald’s. This clearly indicates that Chipotle’s Mexican food is way more expensive than burgers and sandwiches served at McDonald’s. In addition, increasing food prices could result in lower visitor count or decreases in average amount spent per customer visit. This could eventually dampen the company’s plan of opening new restaurants. Developing Chipotle China Chipotle has already demonstrated their ability to expand into other markets with its successful European and Canadian eateries already having been open. The purpose of this section is expand on what Chipotle has already been doing in international markets and at home and how these advantages might be turned into a plan of action when establishing themselves in China. Competencies of Chipotle Core Competencies in the United States Chipotle’s competitive advantage is their product differentiation, which is formed with a combination of sustainable-high-quality food, a quick-reliable production process, well-trained employees that offer fast service, a unique casual dining concept, and product customization. While they focus on their reliable high quality food, they also focus on how they serve food. Their dining experience and quality food differentiate themselves from other fast food industry, yet they still consider themselves as a fast food. Chipotle’s concept is serve fast, and let customers spend more time on eating. Chipotle has always pursued ingredient-sourcing options within local markets. This commitment to freshness is almost unrivaled in the home market. Using a just-in-time sourcing system, Chipotle is able to maintain this level of quality in its numerous locations while still keeping costs down overall. Their well-trained staff and mangers for local restaurants use what resembles that of a traditional â€Å"kanban† or card system, which is often used in Japanese manufacturing. When a restaurant runs low on a certain ingredient, specific steps are taken immediately to get that ingredient restocked to optimum levels. These optimum levels generally only indicate the demands for a few days of orders, with new orders taking place after a pre-determined level of what has been used. As mentioned above, these food ingredients are locally sourced, that is to say, from local farmers that are within the area. Chipotle believes that this strategy is important not only to maintain freshness, but also to avoid unnecessary processed food and increased pollution in transporting ingredients from farther away to achieve a lower price point. Well-trained staff and managers are also counted among some of the highest factors of success when discussing what makes Chipotle a winner in the home market. These individuals undergo a fairly standard but rigorous training regime that starts with, and what will be expanded on in section 3.3, the customizability of and the creation of the entire menu. Everyone staffed at Chipotle is capable of executing any order at any degree of customizability. Additional cost to customers, where it applies, is often tracked on their convenient top lids so that no confusion should take place at the register should the maker focus on the next customer. All of this turns into a well-greased burrito and taco making machine, pumping out order, after order. This machine is well satisfied as well, with Chipotle experiencing very low turnover. Core Competencies Entering China Well-trained staff, though a concern to any business looking to expand abroad, is something that Chipotle can look forward to easily fitting within the Chinese restaurant experience. The serve fast, casual dining experience is unique to Chipotle because competitors like KFC have repositioned as a more normal dining experience and McDonald’s has not changed the way it serves food to customers. This style of dining might take some time to get used to but it’s expected to be very popular. Risk of Keeping Sustainable Competitive Advantage in China Entering the Chinese market might be challenging for Chipotle in terms of implementing a locally sourced food system because it could be difficult to find local farms that can meet Chipotle’s quality standard. In order to solve this problem, Chipotle can gradually educate local farms to meet their standards before they make a contract. This would bring additional costs for training and time, however it is worth to implement this strategy in order to gain Chinese local people’s trust and maintain Chipotle’s food quality standards. Competitive Advantage Entering China From our outline in section 3.1, we find that Chipotle has a number of core competencies. Unfortunately, many of these are easy to imitate and do not necessarily give Chipotle an advantage over competitors. Truthfully, many of these competencies are and have been adopted from other restaurant chains that had come before Chipotle, or from McDonalds which initially had a large stake in the company. We have, however, identified one advantage that sets Chipotle apart, namely, the customizability and interchangeability of their menu. Where one might exchange regular fries for ones without salt at McDonalds, one might replace baked beans with guacamole at Chipotle. For the same base price, with minor additions depending on the nature of the addition, you may customize your dish dozens of times without sacrificing the quality of your meal. This advantage and the process of ordering from such a wide selection when entering China becomes less overwhelming when looking at their long history an d culture of noodle making and how one might customize a noodle dish with a wide selection of ingredients based on a single product. Where that product may be a burrito or taco shell for Chipotle, this would be a simple buckwheat or flour noodle for classic Chinese noodle restaurants. We will address this advantage directly in our advertising media by showcasing our overall selection and customizability. Core Strategy Chipotle’s core strategy will be adopted primarily from restaurants, specifically American restaurants that have already experienced success in China. Though we do not seek to emulate these plans, they have proven  successful and provide significant insight into what seems to work best with Chinese consumers. Product Positioning In China, Chipotle will be still be positioned as a fast service, sit down dining restaurant. As an added bonus, Chipotle will take advantage of the country of origin effect, marketing its restaurants as â€Å"American-Mexican food† establishments. Their target market will be consumers between the ages of 15-40, with slightly higher average income and higher education more than high school diploma. This is also known as the emerging middle class. While Chipotle is targeting a larger market than normal, this will be handled by appealing to the younger ages with the â€Å"cool† and â€Å"hipness† of an American restaurant. Chipotle will market their healthy, hormone free produce, and locally sourced food to appeal to the older Chinese market. Product Adaptation Portion size is one of the key examples of how Chipotle needs to adapt to survive. Chipotle’s large, almost twelve inch burrito wraps, are too large for Chinese consumers. The Chinese also have no tradition of taking home leftover food after finishing at a restaurant. These two factors combined provide significant insight in how the menu can be tweaked in its current form to facilitate Chinese consumers. Reducing portion size by 30% will help to increase Chipotle’s margins and allow for cheaper prices to stay competitive within the market. Burrito wraps, tacos and overall serving containers need to be drastically reduced in size, providing some cost savings. Naturally, the timeline for ingredients and freshness need to be re-evaluated on this same basis. This will allow Chipotle to operate in significantly smaller restaurants, or at least maintain smaller kitchen sizes. Localize offerings by country and region in an effort to please local consumers. Additional ingredients may also be sourced from local farmers to lend themselves to a wider variety of Chinese pallets. Though certain regions may not be as receptive to spicier foods; seafood, a wider variety of beans/vegetables and alternative meat products will be introduced. These will initially serve as promotional items, but, depending on their  reception, may become common on the menu. By adapting its menu to fit Chinese consumers, Chipotle still maintains its quality ingredients, but also expands into the average daily diet of the Chinese. Market Entry Strategy The market has opened up considerably in China as they conform to Western laws. Chipotle will start a new company incorporated in China instead of doing a joint venture with an already established Chinese company. This new corporation will become a subsidiary of Chipotle and be almost entirely owned by Chipotle. To create a Chinese subsidiary, laws require that at least 25% of equity must be owned by China in the form of citizens, Chinese Corporations, or the Chinese Government. This will leave the other 75% to be owned by Chipotle. This will allow Chipotle to make a direct investment in China, hire local staff, develop and market products and services directly to China. This will allow Chipotle to become part of the Chinese community like they have in the United States. Pricing Strategy Research done shows that while China’s average income is consistently growing from year to year, it is in Chipotle’s best interest to have prices similar to main competitors (KFC and McDonald’s) in order to not price themselves out of the market. Chipotle is positioning itself as a fast service, sit-down dining style of restaurant very similar to KFC and keeping prices in line with top competitors will help keep Chipotle competitive and help improve their market presence. By doing a direct translation of pricing from the US to China that would make Chipotle’s average meal cost around  ¥50. That is why Chipotle will be using market oriented pricing. This pricing strategy uses research of the market to determine prices of the product in order to keep an organization competitive. | Cost Per Meal| Portions Reduced by 30%| Chipotle|  ¥50|  ¥35| KFC|  ¥32|  ¥32| McDonald’s|  ¥22|  ¥22| Conclusion| Directly translating prices will cause Chipotle to be too overpriced for effective market penetration.| Reducing portion size by 30% will allow us to reduce costs, making Chipotle more competitive.| Distribution – Chinese Farms Restaurants Customers With its commitment to freshness and locally sourced food, we find that, even as Chipotle expanded internationally, we find that Chipotle continued to source food locally. We expect this practice to translate well into the Chinese market. Though the Chinese market is trending, and is expected, to trend toward more urban populations, China has a strong history toward farming. Many of our base ingredients are already trending well in farms around China and can be sourced within China for this reason. Many other ingredients, otherwise not readily available or necessarily demanded by western clients in the United States, are also available and allow us even further customization. Chipotle’s logistics and overall structure we expect, overall, to be unchanged, with only partners and distribution channels changing to accommodate the more prevalent and efficient rail system to rural parts of China. This means that we are able to translate our just-in-time system to fit China, and main tain the same level of quality and overall efficiency through our order system. KFC, currently the top competitor, outlined in SECTION 2.4, enjoys a similar system, though their ingredients tend to favor poultry. By partnering with the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Chipotle will enjoy direct access to local farmers in rural parts of China, while also fostering goodwill with the country and government. It will also give Chipotle access to one of the most robust banks in China, the Agricultural Bank of China. Alternatively, Chipotle can try to gain direct access to local farmers through traditional channels. We expect this to be much less efficient overall, negatively affecting our go-to-country timeline outlined in section 3.3. Promotional Policy Chipotle will use an integrated marketing campaign to provide the same message to various segments through the use of several different mediums. Overall, Chipotle will spend 18,000,000 YMB to create a campaign to increase brand and product awareness. With over 988 million mobile phone subscribers in China, marketing through text messages, email, and Chipotle’s smartphone  application is essential. This will allow Chipotle to reach their target market in areas only near Chipotle locations with the Chipotle Application to order or deliver food. It will also increase brand awareness and word of mouth through text message/email promotions and advertisements. Increasing Chipotle’s online and social media presence in China will help increase awareness with Chipotle’s brand. Many companies use special online or social media discounts or coupons in order to attract customers in to their physical stores. Chipotle can use this to their advantage to interact with potentia l consumers and to let them know everything that Chipotle has to offer. Physical or virtual, word-of-mouth is an essential brand-building tool for companies in China. Sixty percent of Chinese consumers say friends and family members are a major source of product information, based on which they make purchase decisions. For these reasons, successful companies in China cluster investments in a few geographic markets. This allows them to gain a market share after which network effects kick in, accelerating growth and improving profitability. Since Chipotle is only targeting highly urbanized areas with a large installed population, using a word-of-mouth strategy is important for building brand awareness and consumer trust. Word-of-mouth can be kick started by offering free lunches to key influencers or persuaders in the community or by sponsoring events with lunches at Universities or schools. Financial Projections China has many cities that are based on agriculture, along with many rural areas. There is an abundant amount of farmland throughout China, therefore making produce and ingredient procurement very easy for Chipotle. According to our research, China remains the biggest driver of global GDP growth. Despite a â€Å"lower† forecast of 8.2% GDP growth in 2012, according to the World Bank, after a 9.2% rate in 2011, it is hard to argue that this country is doing anything other than booming. Chipotle had a five-year earnings growth rate of almost 40% and a stock price that has soared more than 575% since early 2007. Chipotle and China also share many of the significant similarities, for example the love for rice and beans. We believe by differentiating our product from our competitors and providing customization as well as catering and delivery services, our implementation plan will make  money in the long term. Chipotle’s main competitors (KFC and McDonald) had set their pr ice in China similar to the prices in United States. Therefore, we believe that directly translating United States pricing will be feasible strategy. KFC and McDonald both require at least 15,000,000 YMB to become a franchisee in China. This 15,000,000 YMB this price includes building construction, equipment and dà ©cor, permits, initial franchise fee, development services fee, grand opening expense, real estate, start-up inventory, training expenses and many more. We believe it is safe to estimate our starting cost around 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 YMB, since China will be a new market for Chipotle. Chipotle increased their operating margins by 220 basis points as the company benefited from lower fixed costs such as labor cost and occupancy costs, as a percentage of revenue, primarily because of a 12.7% increase in comparable restaurant sales. According to Chipotle’s financial report, their operating cost is around $1,000,000 (6,190,000 YMB) per store every year in the United States, using that as a base, we predicts that operat ing cost will be less in China due to lower labor cost and such. Expenses for each store are as following, Break Even Using Direct Translation Pricing Fixed cost| 300,000 YMB| Variable Cost| 18 YMB| Cost for Advertising in China| 18,000,000 YMB| Sales Price to Customers| 50 YMB| Currency Exchange Rate| $1 = 6.19 YMB| Break Even in Units = 50x – 300,000 – 18,000,000 – 18x = 571,875 Break Even in Price = 571,875 x 50 = 28,593,750 YMB Break Even Using Market Oriented Pricing Fixed cost| 300,000 YMB| Variable Cost| 12.6 YMB| Cost for Advertising in China| 18,000,000 YMB| Sales Price to Customers| 35 YMB| Currency Exchange Rate| $1 = 6.19 YMB| Break Even in Units= 35x – 300,000 – 18,000,000 – 12.6x = 816,964 Break Even in Price = 816,964 x 35 = 28,593,740 YMB Operating Profit Analysis

Indian Ocean Region Essay

Change and Continuity of Commerce in the Indian Ocean Region from 650 CE to 1750 CE. The Indian Ocean has always been a powerful trading region, between East Africa and China, that has caused religion, crops, languages, and people to spread. Through the rise and fall of powerful land and sea empires, trade routes shifted and control switched hands numerous times over history. The goods have remained fairly constant, compared to the traders and the powers behind them that changed from 650 C.E. to 1750 C.E. Spices, textiles, manufactured goods, and raw goods were staples on the many of the routes that led from the coast of Zimbabwe all the way to the ports of China. Early traders from Polynesia even traveled to Madagascar. With the rise of Islam and of the Mongol Empire, overseas trade slowed slightly because of the importance of the Silk Road as the main connection between China and Europe. However, as the Mongols declined, the Indian Ocean trade became more important to the empires o r kingdoms of China and the regional powers of India. The Chinese Ming Dynasty engaged heavily in foreign trade and they displayed their wealth with giant treasure ships and junks that sailed the day from China through the port of Malacca to the east coast of India. The ships carried silk and porcelain, goods that were in high demand in Europe and Arabia. The ships also picked up spices and hardwoods from Southeast Asian islands. In India, the majority of these goods were sent on dhows to the Arabian Peninsula, stopping at major important ports like Aden, and then continuing on to East Africa and the Swahili Coast states of Mogadishu, Kilwa, and Sofala. The ships sailed according to the monsoons, they then returned loaded with gold and ivory from Africa, to China where the cycle would restart. Eventually states like Gujurat and Calicut grew in importance in manufacturing and the textile production of cotton. The powers around the Indian Ocean remained in control, until the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. While Silk Road trade with Europe was thriving, Europeans wanted to cut out the Arab middlemen and get direct access to Asian goods. As the tools of navigation developed and new nation-states sought after trade and exploration, Portugal led the continent in the race to Asia. When Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498 by sailing around the tip of Africa, he was greeted with a mocking laughter of people he needed to trade with and was turned down most of the goods he had to trade. The powerful merchants of Gujarat and neighboring states were used to the highest quality goods so they did not want to trade with Gama’s poor quality goods. However, before long, Portugal took over almost all trade in the Indian Ocean, establishing ports like Goa in India and controlling strategic areas with their imperialistic manner. Around the same time, Britain also began its expansion and joined with joint-stock companies like the Dutch East India Company. They proceeded to dominate the region as well, taking land they thought suited their purposes. The sea empires and the cut off of foreign trade by the Ming dynasty did not greatly change the products traded, but did affect the overall trade system. Goods were now produced for the success of mercantilist people in European countries, not for the enrichment of local powers. While the trade routes and the goods that passed through them may not have been greatly changed, the impact of the European trading empires and the decline of nations like India and China changed who benefited from Indian Ocean trade and who were mostly involved.

Native Americans & Christopher Columbus Essay

Indubitably, the acts made upon Indians for the sake of progress were atrocious. Brutal and cruel murders of millions of Indian peoples resound to this day. Their populations may never recover from such an incredible loss; the past can be ignored but never erased. However, we as Americans, celebrate Christopher Columbus day with joy. We think only of ‘The Founding of America’ and not by the means of which our country was constructed. To Indians everywhere this holiday is simply a remembrance of the murder, torture, rape, and enslavement of their people that last hundreds of years. So why do we celebrate such an insidious act? Because we justify the imposition of others for the sake of human progress. However is this tactic progressive at all? When Zinn writes â€Å"If there are necessary sacrifices to be made for human progress, is it not essential to hold to the principle that those to be sacrificed must make the decision themselves? † he is simply asking if there is something to be lost for the gain of progress, shouldn’t the ones who are to lose make the decision to be the â€Å"necessary sacrifice†. Indeed, I believe that if the imposed party were given the choice to either be sacrificed or not, for even the sake of progress, they would not be willing. Its basic human nature, self preservation, and so the majority of people, I feel would not be logically able to make such a choice. Therefore, yes, I do believe that until people as a whole are able to make peaceful resolution and keep their word, that necessary sacrifices must be made but with only with the heaviest of heart. No one can refute that the destruction of the Native Americans and their homes was a terrible time in history that should not be repeated. I feel the genocide of these Indians was necessary to get where we are as humans today. If the Spaniards and other conquerors had led peaceful resolutions the United States would neither function, nor geographically look the same as it does today. We cannot say what a peaceful relationship between foreigners and the Native Americans could have brought, for we did not experience it and must only rely on what we know. What we know is, though terrible, the deaths of those people have brought us to the modern face of America and all the technological advances that have been achieved with it. This should not be celebrated with holidays such as Christopher Columbus Day, for it was indeed only the beginning of mass extinction for the American Indian and should only be respected for the many souls that lost their life for the sake of â€Å"human progress†. From my perspective the Columbian exchange should be viewed in a negative light. This occurrence in history has most often had a positive connotation attached to it; however, the murder of millions should never be looked upon as a positive. Crops, animals, diseases and culture were traded among the Indians and foreigners. Many of which made the America’s desirable to be cultivated and populated. It is for these reasons that historians typically categorize this event as a positive instead of the damaging situation it was. History is as said, history. We cannot alter it to suite our present or future; however we can learn from it. Humans as a whole will continue on making mistakes, minor and major, tense and bloody but the Columbian Exchange has taught Americans that they cannot repeat his occurrence in any shape form or fashion. Peaceful resolution should be met if possible, if not reached, then may with the most apprehension and fear, should war be approached. Native American numbers may never recover but we will no longer make them suffer.

Hydrogels Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hydrogels - Term Paper Example A hydrogel construction can be described as a three-dimensional jetty is made up of linear polymer chains with covalent connections, which are in turn connected together by further cross-connections. These cross-connections could be covalent, ionic grafts or crystal sections [2]. Hydrogels form due to polarity and hydrophilic nature of polar groups existing between the polymer chains cross-connections that render it insoluble. There are several known methods of synthesizing hydrogels, some of which are explained below. A simple method of constructing hydrogels is by crosslinking water-soluble polymers (with functional groups like -OH, -COOH, -NH2) in solution. In solution co-polymerization reactions, ionic or neutral monomers are mixed with a multi-functional crosslinking agent. The reaction is initiated thermally using UV-light, or by a redox initiator system. The solvent serves as heat sink and minimizes temperature control problems. The reaction is carried out in an organic solvent to prevent water from reacting with the crosslinking agent. Once crosslinked, the resultant hydrogels are washed with distilled water to remove any unreacted monomers, crosslinking agent, and the initiator. Equation 1 shows one such solution polymerization reaction conducted on 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate monomers to form a hydrogel. This solution crosslinking method is often advantageous since the starting material used can be a well-characterized, purified polymer, and the crosslinking conditions required are mild enough to be carried out in the presence of an active agent. For example, poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogels are prepared from hydroxyethyl methacrylate by this method, using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinking agent [3]. The hydrogels synthesized can be made pH- sensitive or temperature-sensitive as required by incorporating methacrylic acid or N-isopropylacrylamide [4] as monomers. Ionizing radiation, such as Co-ÃŽ ³ or

Management - Employee Participation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Management - Employee Participation - Essay Example Importance of Employees’ Participation One of the most important forms of employees’ participation is teamwork. According to Hodson and Sullivan (2012, p. 421), work groups have been instrumental in increasing an organization’s production for many years. Work groups consist of individuals with shared goals, who try to accomplish their goals through the development of efficient and effective organizational structure. Every work group should consist of approximately eight to ten workers who are assigned the same task. In most successful organizations, managers use employees’ teams to improve the quality of working life through the reduction of work intensity and pressure. When employees work in groups, their tasks and responsibilities, cease to feel like chores. This is because they complete tasks early; furthermore, work flows because the workers help each other (Hodson & Sullivan 2012, p. 421). The workers feel valued in high performing teams; thus, increa sing their commitment to the firm. Such teams are more productive making them contribute to the increase in the overall production of an organization (Wheelan 2010). As a means of forming the winning teams, the leaders in organizations should introduce training sessions where workers learn how to work effectively in teams. In some firms, teams are given names and the team members wear T-shirts that have their team names printed on them (Wheelan 2010). In addition, group work as a means of employees’ participation helps in increasing the performances of organizations because they promote proper use of resources. Teamwork enables the corporate leaders to allocate resources appropriately, which include the workers and other material things. Proper allocation of resources increases the performances of businesses since it helps in reducing the organization expenses through wastage. Teamwork increases the innovativeness of workers in a firm since members are always free to share th eir ideas enabling them to study new things from other affiliates. The teams also house many individuals from different backgrounds who have different ideas. The new ideas that will upgrade the team production are shared through the interaction of the members from different backgrounds. The implementation of some of the new ideas in the firm increases the production of the whole organization (Adair 2010). Moreover, teamwork makes the problem-solving process to become faster. Adair (2010) indicates that the various ideas presented by the team members enable the production of creative solutions. During problem solving, team members should be allowed to brainstorm since it helps in uncovering many answers. Teamwork increases corporate performance by upgrading the quality of work. It increases employees’ commitment because in teams, members feel like they are part of it. This enables them to own a project. Even if a task is hard, team members will always encourage each other to p roduce quality work compared to when managers dictate the work. Furthermore, teamwork develops synergy because of joint forces; thus, increasing business production (Adair 2010). Suggestion Schemes Suggestion scheme is a form of workers participation, which gives employees chances to present their ideas. Some organizations have suggestion boxes where employees put their written suggestions. To

Security Program Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Security Program - Case Study Example The organization under analysis is the New York public library. In this organization, security issues are taken into account as the library gather and keep personal data of users and their personal information. The New York public library consists of several branches and departments; it has regional branches and has more than 43,975,362 items. The library computerized its lending services in order to improve customer service and improve its routine work. The security program is aimed to protect users from unauthorized access to their information and protect library from attacks. Beyond that, however, all staff-especially those who deal with personal data regularly-need to be aware of what they are allowed to do, what they are not allowed to do, what security procedures they are expected to follow, and whom to ask if they are in any doubt. There must be policies spelling out what is expected, opportunities for staff to know what those policies are and what procedures are required to implement them, and regular checks on whether the policies and procedures are being followed (Data Security and Protection 2008). The security program was implemented 5 years ago. It is supposed that the biggest risk to security is almost always staff. The damage they do can be deliberate-stealing information about people, such as business contacts they want to use for their own purposes, for example, or trashing the database out of frustration on being demoted. More often it is un-thinking or inadvertent-giving information over the telephone to someone who shouldn't have it, leaving confidential files on their kitchen table for a neighbour to see when they are working at home, or chatting in the canteen about a user's borrowing habits where other people can overhear. Even with external threats, the accepted wisdom is that anyone trying to gain access is more likely to succeed by tricking staff into giving away vital information than by hacking straight into computer (Data Security and Protection 2008). The first line of defense is therefore to ensure that staff are aware of the possibilities and operate withi n a culture where information, and especially personal data, is handled carefully and responsibly. To support them, employees should take measures that make it as easy as possible for them to do the right thing. At the same time employees should not be over-anxious. Security measures must be appropriate to the threat, not 100% perfect every time. (Even government security agencies have been known to lose vital information held on laptop computers.) The kind of things the responsible person at the departmental level should be looking at include (Baschab et al 2007; The New York Public Library 2008). In the New York public library, one area that often gives rise to concern is e-mail. Although the dangers can be exaggerated, it is important to be aware that e-mail is inherently insecure. E-mails themselves may constitute personal data if the addressee is identifiable. More importantly, if e-mail is used for sending personal data to other people, some thought should be given as to whether it should be encrypted. A special attention is given to the information department of a charity. A new computer system is introduced for holding details of telephone enquiries, which