Judaism and Christianity - 1462 Words

In a tree of monotheistic religions, Judaism and Christianity, despite sharing common roots and spiritual tradition associated with Abraham, for many centuries diverged and developed in their own distinct ways. The partition, based on different theological doctrines, evolves around the idea of the nature of human relationships with God, which in case of Judaism are based on the Law of Torah, and in Christianity stem from the belief in Jesus Christ and its cornerstone – the doctrine of Trinity. Beyond a doubt, the best illustration to the character of religious beliefs in Judaism, is â€Å"The Covenant at Sinai†, which despite being a part of Holy Scriptures in Christianity, draws a clear boundary between two religions. Not only it†¦show more content†¦Such doctrine appears to be in contrast with Hellenistic tradition of syncretism which perceived different local and national gods as manifestations of one deity (Dunn 27). As noted by Dunn, â€Å"the widesp read belief among cultured Hellenists in the Graeco-Roman world that Jews (and subsequently Christians) were atheists – not because they were monotheists as such, but because they were exclusive monotheists, whereas the cultured Hellenists were typically syncretistic monotheists† (Dunn 28). On the other hand, it clearly confronts with the Christian doctrine of Trinity. Among the laws given to Jewish people, a special role is attributed to the one about the Sabbath – â€Å"Remember the sabbath and keep it holy†. Based on the idea of creation of world, the seventh day had to be observed as a constant reminder of the Covenant with the Creator. Futhermore, act of creation of a man in the God’s image, which, however, does not imply biological image, since God has no physical substance, leads to the idea of creative powers given to a human being, and making him, consequently God’s â€Å"partner† in the process of creation. Thus, the next commandment places filial love and relationship with parents as parallel to the relationship with God, and makes a kind of a bridge between the moralShow MoreRelatedChristianity And Judaism : Christianity Vs. Judaism Essay1706 Words   |  7 PagesChristianity vs. Judaism â€Å"If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there would be no Christianity. Judaism does not need Christianity to explain its existence; Christianity, however, cannot explain its existence without Judaism.† – John Hagee This quote synthesizes that Judaism was a foundation of Christianity. This is the fundamental reason they are the same; however, there are numerous reasons Judaism and Christianity are different. Comparing how these two religions justify theRead MoreJudaism : Christianity And Christianity1085 Words   |  5 PagesJudaism and Christianity are two of the oldest religions known to man, with both developing out of the country if Israel. One of the biggest differences between the two religions is who Christ was, and his purpose in life. However, they share common ground when it comes to their belief in God and his teachings. In fact, Christianity would not exist without Judaism, as it the foundation that Christianity is based on. Judaism is the first and oldest religion, and because of this Judaism has a directRead MoreChristianity, Judaism, And Christianity1084 Words   |  5 Pagesimagine that there was a hell, heaven (paradise to some) or even a purgatory. That all change a few month ago when I learn that some people and some religion might believe what they want to. In this essay I have picked three religion Islam, Judaism, and Christianity to explain what each of them have and to be able to show the similarity and difference among them about the afterlife. Although each religion has its own goal, they however are similar in belief. I have found that these three religion areRead MoreJudaism Vs. Christianity And Judaism1303 Words   |  6 PagesFugate ANT 130, 75Z1 November 10, 1015 Judaism vs. Christianity Christianity and Judaism are two religions that have similarities as well as differences. I plan to explore beliefs, religious ceremonies, and religious authorities in both Christianity and Judaism. Judaism originates from the time of Abraham and God made a covenant with Abraham promising him to make his ancestry a sacred people and provide them with a holy land. Meanwhile, Christianity derives from Jesus Christ with whom theRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, and Islam1538 Words   |  6 PagesJudaism, Christianity and Islam Christianity and Islam are the most influential religions in the world. Judaism has only fourteen million followers across the continents which makes Judaism the 12th largest religion. Although Judaism is not as large as Christianity and Islam, It still has an impact on the world. Prophet Abraham is the called in Islam the father of all prophets and because of that, sometimes Christianity, Islam and Judaism are called Abrahamic Religions. There are many known differencesRead MoreChristianity And The World And Judaism1291 Words   |  6 Pagesbelonging to specific religions exhibit their own sense of authority. Christianity is a monotheistic religion that bases their faith on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion that bases their faith with the study of the Torah. Christianity is the largest practiced religion in the world and Judaism is the tenth largest. In the mid first century, Christianity began as a second temple Judaism. This being the ti me between the construction of the second temple in JerusalemRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, And Islam875 Words   |  4 Pageswhich have believed in a higher power or powers. Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the three most dominant religions are no different. They are all Monotheistic meaning they believe in one sole higher power or God. Though they share this common idea and many other similarity, they have many distinct features of their own that make them different as a whole. Many past religions have believed in the idea of multiple gods, Polytheism. Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in one Supreme creator, MonotheismRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, And Islam1679 Words   |  7 Pages Completely Different but Surprisingly Similar Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all three different religions that many may not think can even be compared. At a glance, the religions are derived from different locations, the members of the religions look and act different, and some of the widely known practices are what make the religions so distinct. However, they are more similar than most people think. In the core of the three religions, many of their beliefs and practices show to be extremelyRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, And Islam1053 Words   |  5 PagesThe world is made of three major religious traditions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion dating back to 2000 B.C.E. Monotheism is the belief in one all-powerful personal deity who created, sustains, and will judge the cosmos. This belief confirms that Jews worship one God. Often this God is beyond our ability to comprehend, but God is nevertheless present in our everyday lives. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are also grouped together as the Abrahamic religionsRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, And Islam992 Words   |  4 PagesJudaism, Christianity and Islam are three of the most recognized monotheistic religions worldwide. These religions are often referred to as the Abrahamic religions because of their history to the founding father, Abraham. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are closely related with varying differences. Christianity was born from within the Jewish tradition, and Islam developed from both Christianity and Judaism. We take a look at some of the major similarities and major differences of these widely practiced

Haiti A Democratic Government - 970 Words

I could think of various countries where a new set of political ideologies can be implemented, but I chose to go with a country that hits home—that is home. Haiti for many years have been struggling with poverty, political violence, high rate of organized crimes, unstable food resources, epidemics, and an ineffective government. Haiti being the first independent nation of Latin America could’ve been a great start of political success, unfortunately that was not the case. Since gaining independence, Haiti has experienced a pattern of dictatorial rulings and negative forces used to govern the nation. In 1986, after a 29 year dictatorship of the Duvalier hierarchical dictatorship, Haiti’s governance declined greatly causing it to be the poorest country in the world. While the citizens of Haiti may be hopeless of ever returning to being a rich, resourceful nation, I on the other hand have considered some ideas that could bring them out of their governmental let down . To start off, I believe Haiti should function under a democratic government rather than a republic. Of course they have been functioning with this form of government for years, however â€Å"we the people† should be instituted. Haiti’s citizens are primarily those who are considered to be the lower class, hence if they don’t have a voice in the government it could never get better. The bourgeoisies control the country while those who are poor remain in their positions in the social class, contributing to Haiti as theShow MoreRelatedAmericas Democratic Beacon1553 Words   |  6 Pages as a democratic beacon rather than an imperialist capitalist juggernaut is it participation in the world wars that prevented Germany from controlling Europe an authoritarian Germany in the First World War and Nazi Germany in the Second. 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The capital city of Santo Domingo is located along the southern coast of theRead MorePolitical Causes Of The Democratic Revolution1091 Words   |  5 PagesThe most important causes of the Democratic Revolution of the 1770s through the 1810s was political because citizens had no political power or say in the government and economic because many people had to pay unwanted tax payments. One of the most important causes of the Democratic Revolutions was political because many citizens didn’t have equality so they were asking for more political rights. In document number two, by the National Assembly of France, who represented the third estate. This documentRead MorePresident Clintons Foreign Relations With Cuba and Haiti Essay example1740 Words   |  7 PagesWhat justifications could the Clinton administration make when assessing their actions in both Cuba and Haiti during Clinton’s time in office? When trying to answer this question one must look at the motivation behind the administration’s actions, the principles that the administration stood behind, and the message that they were trying to deliver. The cases of Cuba and Haiti are different in various senses and in the degree of change that occurred within those countries resulting from US policiesRead MoreWho Do Not Study The Past, The Great American Philosopher And Historian George Santaya na1373 Words   |  6 Pagesfuture tomorrow. In 2010 Haiti was hit with traumatic earthquake that has still left 150,000 people not re-housed and live in tents. â€Å"It was devastating because a history of adverse social conditions and extreme ecological fragility primed Port-au-Prince for massive loss of life and destruction when the ground began shaking on January 12th.† (Farmer, 3) The history of Haiti has caused the country a great struggle to rebuild after the earthquake and the 1825 settlement between Haiti and France, the occupationRead MoreA Country Of Chaos : Haiti1635 Words   |  7 PagesA Country in Chaos: Haiti Haiti is the poorest county in the Western Hemisphere, but it once was a very wealthy nation. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean with the Dominican Republic. They are blessed with beautiful mountains and beaches, copper, gold, and oil. At one point, Haiti was more wealthy than the British colonies that were located in the Caribbean. Haiti is rich with natural resources, so why is Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere? They are the poorestRead MoreFrench and Hatian Revolutions Similarities and Differences941 Words   |  4 Pagescountries such as France and Haiti experienced dramatic economic, political, and social changes through Revolutions. A revolution occurs when change is desired by people who were mistreated and for this reason, the French and Haitian revolution occurred, leading to many different governmental changes such as the first republic of France and the rule of Napoleon, and the free republic and independent nation established by Hai ti. They also led to many similar government changes such as an establishmentRead MoreNgos Are Non Profit And Voluntary Citizens1622 Words   |  7 Pagesconcerns to governments, advocating and monitoring policies and encouraging political participation through provision of information. Some NGOs are organized around specific issues, such as human rights, environment or health (Definition of NGOs 2014). Some of the NGOs in certain countries are very helpful and NGOs in other countries hinder the improvement of the country. Although the Rwanda and Haiti have some apparent similarities, the difference between the NGOs in Rwanda and Haiti are pronouncedRead MoreThe Devastating 2010 Earthquake On The United States1610 Words   |  7 PagesExecutive Summary The devastating 2010 earthquake left Haiti in ruins. This meant Haiti would mostly rely on foreign aids to stand back to its feet. Most didn’t hesitate to come in to assist mostly the USA and other foreign aids which donated over $5 billion to help Haiti. However, so many questions have been raised on to how well these funds were used. This report includes facts to show how the funds were voluntarily misappropriated by a number of players including the foreign aids (both domesticRead MoreChristopher Columbus And The New World1579 Words   |  7 PagesSpain at first ceded the western third of the island (now Haiti) and later on the other two thirds (Dominican Republic). Haiti eventually had a revolution and became independent from the French, but because of the strong Spanish influence, Dominican Republic became independent from Haiti later on. Although the French were now in control of the whole island, the eastern two thirds still maintained a strong Spanish influence. Altho ugh Haiti and Dominican Republic are on the same island and one might

Analysis Of Ron Mueck Pregnant Woman

Question: Discuss about the Analysis of Ron Mueck for Pregnant Woman. Answer: Introduction: Every great piece of art is infused with a specific theme that contributes to its popularity. A piece of art can only become a great piece of art if it has got a universal appeal, and the theme is a key to attribute an artistic creation with an appealing theme. Moreover, it must be noted that a great piece of art should reflect on some specific social aspects and it must contribute to social progress in some way or other. It is in this respect that the artwork, Pregnant Woman, by Ron Mueck deserves special mention. Mueck has not only rendered his artwork with universality but has also depicted how certain feminine aspects (including motherhood, fertility and birth) along with aspects like creation and spirituality, can be incorporated thoroughly in order to transform a piece of art into a vehicle of conveying a social message. Muecks creation is fibreglass replication of a pregnant woman, though larger in size than a normal woman usually is. It stands in the centre of one room of the art gallery and is made of acrylic, fibreglass and silicone (OHagan, 2006). Titled as Pregnant Woman the larger-than-life sculpture looms above the visitors and her face drawn and troubled as if by the sheer weight of impending motherhood (OHagan, 2006). Motherhood is a theme that has been thoroughly ingrained in the artwork of Mueck. About Muecks creation it can be said that, Celebrating motherhood is a perennial function of art, but to come upon such a vivid likeness of a naked and heavily pregnant woman in an art gallery is a confronting experience. Our initial impulse is to avert our eyes, and yet the powerful presence of Ron Muecks Pregnant woman demands our attention (National Gallery of Australia, n.d.). Such is the power of Muecks creation, and such are the acclamations that it has received since its inception and inst allation in an art gallery. The size of the fiberglass sculpture doubles the size of an average woman, and this makes the sculpture seems larger than life. It must be noted that may be Mueck intentionally created a larger-than-life sculpture in order to amplify and emphasize the larger-than-life roles that are played by a mother in the course of giving birth to a child and in the course of bringing up the child. Mueck has, as it seems, made the sculpture bigger than average viewers in order to monumentalize motherhood which surpasses all the petty confinements of all other human relationships. Moreover, being out of scale of reality, the Pregnant Woman has justified the intentions of its creator. It must be noted that Mueck has strived to project the importance of the role of women in the society both as a mother and a source of life and this has to do a lot with some specific sociological and psychological theories. It is also to be noted that by projecting a pregnant woman, who is larger than a real-life woman, Mueck has, as may be assumed, strived to make the viewers understand that difference between the actual role of women in the society and the role that is defined, confined, and projected by the patriarchal societies across the globe. Furthermore, it must be said that the sculpture has its own unique appeal to the viewers. This uniqueness has been conveyed in the article, Ron Mueck: the making of Pregnant woman 2002, in which Kennedy (2004) has conveyed that, Pregnant womanmakes a powerful impact. For men of my vintage, it has been typical to be in attendance at the birth of children. Not so for men of a previous generation. For women who have had children, lost children, had to cope with disability, or trials of pregnancy, so many thoughts can arise. One must take into account that apart from motherhood some other themes have also been incorporated immaculately by Mueck in his creation. In this respect it is noteworthy that, apart from referring to the significance of motherhood, Mueck, in his artwork, has referred specifically to universal themes like fertility, birth, the goddess, to the iconography of the Madonna and Child, and to the wondrous journey which is known as life (National Gallery of Australia, n.d.). Emphasis on such themes has turned the sculpture into a piece of art having social value. Muecks sculpture signifies that the role of a woman in a patriarchal society is not only to serve the purposes assigned to them by the male gender; rather, women are the creators, they are the goddesses giving birth to new life, and hence, their roles and importance surpass that of their male counterparts. Such a projection of the role of women can be equated to the principles conveyed by sociological theories like the theory of f eminism. It is in this respect too, that Muecks work should be considered as an artwork having social significance and value. Apart from having a social value, the artwork of Mueck also does have a value from research perspectives. The application of the fiberglass technology in the field of art has opened new windows of opportunities for many researchers who are interested in exploring the relation of technology with art and artworks. Fiberglass is a wonder in itself as it is uniquely acquired through the application of both art and science. It is noteworthy that, fiberglass is a composite material, meaning that its comprised of two (or more) different materials mixed together. Typically, fiberglass consists of a matrix of glass fiber, saturated with a polymer resin (Fiberglass 101 The Basics, n.d.). The recent surge in the use of fiberglass in the sphere of art and architecture is due to the fact that that fiberglass has good tensile strength and it is also flexible to mold (Fiberglass 101 The Basics, n.d.). And these two specific characteristics have gradually made it a popular means for creating artwo rks, primarily in the form of sculpture (as has been used by Mueck). Moreover, artists like Mueck are in favor of using fiberglass as the medium of creation because of its strength, and due to the fact that fiberglass is a relatively light compound which is resistant to moisture and to several other chemical changes (Fiberglass 101 The Basics, n.d.). It has been observed that the popularity of Muecks work has been largely reliant on the technology that the artist has applied for creating it. One must note that, Muecks process and techniques are a source of fascination, particularly in relation to his meticulous observation of the skins surface: its pores, the follicles of hair, the softness of a mole, the hardness of a nail and the shadows of veins just beneath the skin (National Gallery of Australia, n.d.). All such details have been possible for Mueck to sculpt primarily owing to the technology he has used to give his artwork a unique (yet realistic) shape. This effort on the par t of the artist may trigger interest in many other contemporary artists to explore the opportunities provided by fiberglass technology, and this can lead to the inception of myriads of research studies on the topic. In conclusion, a great piece of art should reflect on some specific social aspects and it must contribute to social progress in some way or other. It is in this respect that the artwork, Pregnant Woman, by Ron Mueck deserves special mention. Mueck has not only rendered his artwork with universality but has also depicted how certain feminine aspects (including motherhood, fertility and birth) along with aspects like creation and spirituality, can be incorporated thoroughly in order to transform a piece of art into a vehicle of conveying a social message. The size of the fiberglass sculpture doubles the size of an average woman, and this makes the sculpture seems larger than life. It must be noted that may be Mueck intentionally created a larger-than-life sculpture in order to amplify and emphasize the larger-than-life roles that are played by a mother in the course of giving birth to a child and in the course of bringing up the child. One must take into account that apart from motherh ood some other themes have also been incorporated immaculately by Mueck in his creation. In this respect it is noteworthy that, apart from referring to the significance of motherhood, Mueck, in his artwork, has referred specifically to some other universal themes including the theme of birth and fertility. Through his artwork, Mueck has projected that women are the creators, they are the goddesses giving birth to new life, and hence, their roles and importance surpass that of their male counterparts. Such a projection of the role of women can be equated to the principles conveyed by sociological theories like the theory of feminism. Finally, by using the technology of fiberglass to shape his artwork, Mueck has opened the door for researchers to show more interest in exploring the relationship between fiberglass technology and artwork. Muecks effort may trigger interest in many other contemporary artists to explore the opportunities provided by fiberglass technology, and this can lea d to the inception of myriads of research studies on the topic. References Fiberglass 101 - The Basics. (n.d.) [online] Available at: https://centralfloridafieros.com/forum/index.php?topic=149.0;wap2 [Accessed 14 Dec. 2016]. Kennedy, B. (2004). Ron Mueck: the making of Pregnant woman 2002. [online] National Gallery of Australia. Available at: https://nga.gov.au/mueck/director.cfm [Accessed 14 Dec. 2016]. National Gallery of Australia. (n.d.). Ron Mueck. [online] Available at: https://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=122875PICTAUS=TRUE [Accessed 14 Dec. 2016]. O'Hagan, S. (2006). Ron Mueck: From Muppets to motherhood. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/aug/06/art2 [Accessed 14 Dec. 2016].

The Innovation of Google Essay Example

The Innovation of Google Essay This essay will introduce the use of three kinds of creativity tools and seven kinds of innovation management in Google, and will compare with module materials and other companies. It will give critical evaluation on the use of one creativity tool and two aspects of innovation management in Google, and two recommendations on how Google can improve its use of creativity tool and innovation management. CREATIVITY TOOLS IN GOOGLE 1. Brainstorming Based on the module materials (Week five), Brainstorming can be used to reduce the barriers for participation, and will be good for creating plenty of new ideas. Google has a loose environment to use brainstorming sharing all information and suggestions for employees (Barron, 2009). It established an ideal system by sending e-mails, all the employees could give their own ideas directly ( Iyer Davenport,2008). For Google, it is significant to collect useful ideas to create new products. In 2005, Google’s scientist Lawrence who led his team to have developed a new search engine for using Brainstorming. Then, the Google Desktop Search appears in 2006 (Stross, 2009). 3M also uses Brainstorming to get ideas ( Iyer Davenport, 2008), which is the famous 15% rule ( Mcleod Winsor 2003). We will write a custom essay sample on The Innovation of Google specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Innovation of Google specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Innovation of Google specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Both Google and 3M encourage employees to use some of their working time to do their favorite things, but Google uses more brainstorming than 3M (Iyer Davenport, 2008); they won’t accept any final decision without sharing and discussing it. (Mcleod Winsor, 2003). 2. Six thinking hats De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats (Week five lecture) requests to look at problems from different angles to find the best solution. Google uses all six hats as the creativity tool (Iyer Davenport, 2008) in different aspects of innovation. Google uses blue hat to think and manage other hats, but Corning Glass seldom uses blue hat. Therefore, Corning Glass cannot make any discussions and group studying continuously (Tidd et. al 2005). When they have to judge information and ideas coming from somewhere, both Google and Corning Glass use black hat to face the problems. (Tidd et al, 2005) Google uses blue hat to make decisions and thinks generally about new product (Iyer Davenport, 2008). While 3M directly expresses their feeling about launching new product by using red hat (Mcleod Winsor 2003). Google prefers to wear white hat in the innovation process because they trust that data drive all decisions (Barron, 2009) , but 3M wears the yellow one when they make decisions and meet the failure (Mcleod Winsor 2003). 3. Fish bone Fish bone is a creativity tool. According to module materials (Week five lecture), fish bone  offers  a  method  for  people listing the reasons of a problem and help people to find out solutions easily. Google  encourages  their staff  to  keep  trying even  after  failure. Through  the analysis of failure,  they  can  find  right  solutions for the difficulties  (Iyer  Ã‚  Davenport  2008). Google still encourage creative products even some of products from Google are failure (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Using the fish bone could help Google find some reasons which lead to failure and then have solutions for it. GOOGLE’S INNOVATION MANAGEMENT 1. Managing human resources Managing human resources is an important part to Google. Because Google thinks people are the most important asset (Barron, 2009) and this rule will attract gifted and excellent employees (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Google prefers to hire smart people because it could make them learn more with each other. Mayer, 02:53, 08/09/09) BBC company’s hiring is quickly, they just watch people’s CV. Compared with BBC, every employee of Google should have 8-15 interviews and communicate with at least 6 interviewers on average. (Barron, 2009) This kind of recruit is more likely to hire better employees 2. Managing knowledge acquisition Google uses a knowledge acquisition management system that everyone could hand in their ideas about new products or company improvement through e-mails (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Google owns information resources themselves with a great number of internet platforms. Google almost doesn’t share information with any commercial organizations (Iyer Davenport, 2008). But it shares application software and services with third-party, which could create new applications through integrating Google’s practical factors (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Google and Corning Glass have some differentiation in ideas management. Barron’s guest lecture (2009) says that Google prefers to use internal force to collect information. Whereas, Corning Glass prefers to use external power to get new ideas (Tidd et al, 2005). Corning Glass prefers to use outside sources frequently and get the ideas from other places (Tidd et. l 2005), eg. the external partners. 3. Managing the organizational culture One of the most important innovation management is organizational culture. There is a† 20% time rule â€Å", which means: staff in Google could spend 80% of time on the core business, and the 20% on their interested aspects (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Numerous great ideas come from this way, such as Google News and Google Gmail (Kiss, 2009). 3M also has a similar principle to Google, that is â€Å"Rule of 15% time†, which means 3M employees can use 15% of their daily job time to think about their own things (Mcleod Winsor, 2003). M and Google regulate different time but for same goals: To encourage their staff for creation. This rule gives staff the right control of their own time to do whatever they like, and make them feel comfortable. In this way, the employees have a good condition to create ideas. The only difference of these 2 rules by Google and 3M is offering time. 4. Managing partnerships A successful company cannot do without the partner’s support. In the case of Google, it likes to share new technology and services with third-parties which could integrate and recreate applications to Google (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Google not only supports the third-party for development, but also ally itself with other companies to improve infrastructure (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Whereas, external partners bring Corning Glass with different information and advanced technology (Tidd et. al 2005). It helps to give up their earlier internal reliance as well (Tidd et al, 2005) . While 3M did not cooperate with any external partner (Iyer Davenport, 2008). 3M uses their own creativity technology to develop in different fields. (Mcleod Winsor , 2003) Procter Gamble believes that information property should be shared by companies on win -win strategy . Managing innovation strategy Google says that it is their mission to collect and arrange the information from the world and to make it useful for users (Iyer Davenport 2008) . They have a clear opinion on getting their innovation goal with different innovation strategies and the advantages from innovation system. This innovation ecosystem produces a lot of circle for them. (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Whereas, Corning Glass makes a wrong decision on moving into the new and important fields, which make them think about how to develop next step( Tidd et al, 2005). Google says â€Å"fast is better than slow†. Innovation is a competition on the speed of time. Corning Glass also has the similar ability to â€Å"dance†, that is, to achieve knowledge together and turn it into practice at once with a high speed when the ideas were expressed clearly (Tidd et al, 2005). It is important for both Google and Corning Glass to reduce the distance from ideas to products on management of innovation. Because of the theory of â€Å"Trials by Fire† about launching for push ideas to products quickly, 3M feel pressed for the strategy of managing innovation. (McLeod Winsor, 2003) . However, Google has more patience on this, their motto is â€Å"Launch and iterate†. (Barron, 2009) 6. Managing innovation costs Google spent billions of dollars not only in infrastructure investment and third-party development support (Iyer Davenport,2008), but also spent a lot on research and development of their own technologies including their own internet-based operating platform. Moreover, Google determines the best solution by developing useful applications (Iyer Davenport, 2008). The main cost of Corning Glass on the RD exists not only on the innovation process, but also on the entrance for some new and key areas (Tidd et. l 2005). Similarly, 3M cost over one billion dollars to invest on their research and development every year (Mcleod Winsor, 2003). The difference is in that 3M does more work on the RD (about 70% of revenue) and launches new products (Mcleod Winsor, 2003). 7. Managing innovation New ideas are created by employees frequently, after being given free time on innovation in Google. (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Google gets lots of critical feedback ideas from customers or their partners about new products and services, in order to reduce failure risk (Iyer Davenport, 2008). Compared with Google, Corning Glass focuses on innovation process and gets new products by entering into different fields in the market (Tidd et al, 2005). Corning Glass prefers to obtain new information from external partners (Tidd et al, 2005) Compared with 3M, Google only has one product, ie. search engine, whereas, 3M produces a wide range of fields from transportation to office supplies. They know what to do, but do not know how to do with new product. Therefore, they do plenty of research work to look for appropriate ideas and methods (Mcleod Winsor, 2003). CRITICALLY EVALUATE 1. Brainstorming is a team work creativity tool, where people could join in freely and freewheeling is welcome. (week five lecture). In Google, they established a loose environment to share information together, and they also have an e-mail system to collect ideas directly from the staff. But it still has shortcomings. It is possible for a group to become a homogeneous team, thus to lead solutions arriving quickly because of the same taste and morale. Their ideas will be not sufficient to improve expertise and creative thinking. And collect ideas from e-mail without a face-to-face meeting will decrease the efficiency. . Barron (2009) says that one of Google’s most important rule is â€Å" hire the best†. Google has very strict system to recruit for the best employees. Obviously, this should spend lots of time and energy for Google, which we think is not necessary. For interviewees, it makes them to spend too much time and money for the preparation, and take a long time to get this job. 3. Referring to Barron’s presentation (2009), Google has a â€Å"20% time, do your own working† rule. This kind of rule gives Google’s staff a part of free time to think their own ideas and make people more creative. Numerous great ideas come from this way, and do make a large number of contributions to Google. However, this rule has shortcoming itself. Because employees might handle their time by themselves, some staff only spend 20% time on their daily job secretly and nobody else will know this (Kiss, 2009). This is not good for the entire company to improve efficiency. RECOMMANDATIONS 1. To overcome the brainstorming’s shortcoming Try to make diverse team members in different ways to work, and meanwhile, arrange some face-to-face time, besides e-mail collecting ideas method. . The recommendation for some staff misappropriate the job time secretly First, to strengthen the supervision on the staff ; Ask them what they did in 80% time and 20% time separately. Secondly, to set a deadline for every task to employees. Thirdly, to increase the staff’s awareness through continuous training on employees. CONCLUSION This essay has made analysis on the creativity tools and various innovati on management methods in Google, and made us understand Google’s successful innovation system and differences through comparison with other creative companies. We can know what we should learn from Google for the innovation philosophy, and meanwhile, we should try to avoid any shortcomings. Anyway, innovation is the way leading to success for all companies. References: 1) Anon, How Google Fuels its Idea Factory, Business Week , 29/04/08, Retrieved 08/09/09 from www. Businessweek. com 2) Barron. , P. (2009) , Presentation in Napier. 3) De Bono, . E. (2006). Six Thingking hats, London: Penguin 4) Iyer,. B,. Davenport,. T. H. , (2008) Harvard Business Review, April 2008, PP59-68. ) Marissa Mayer at Stanford University, 30/06/09, speaking about innovation in Google, You Tube, Retrieved 08/09/09 from www. youtube. com 6) McLeod. , R. Winsor. , B. (2003), Module Material. 7) PG. (2009) Connect Develop 8) Surowiecki. , J. (2008). The Open Secret of Success. The New Yorker. 12th May. 9) Tidd. , T. Bessant, . J. Pavitt, . K. (2005). Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological Market and Organizational Change. Chinchester: Wiley. 10) Week 5 module lecture 11) Week 7 module lecture 12) Week 8 module lecture

Symbolism Analysis A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Essay Example

Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Paper Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story tells us of a peculiar story of an old man appearing in the yard of a couple. The couple happened to have a sick child, and the old man happened to posses wings. This is where the story revolves: the couple’s fear that the old man might be an angel who’s going to take their child. Because of this, he was placed in a chicken coop, and was the center of attraction of the whole town. The couple decides to make a living out of the old man by charging an entrance fee for those who wish to see the other-worldly attraction. When another â€Å"unique† person shows up, the crowd loses interest with the winged man and the couple goes back to their peaceful life. With all the money they collected, they built a big house and have a good business in town. After some time, the angel was able to grow his wings back and flew away (Roberts Jacobs, 2006). Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses symbolism to give a deeper meaning to the short story. Here, the most evident symbolism is that of the old man with wings who is perceived to be an angel. He symbolizes the unknown or the unfamiliar, which happens to appear in a civilized community. In this story, the angel is not treated as someone or something from the heavens, but instead, treated as an outsider or a freak that is different from anyone in the society. The angel could also be a symbol of the people’s faith in what they believe. They were close minded in their idea of how an angel should be, so despite the enormous wings that the old man posses, it was not enough proof for the people to believe that he was indeed an angel. We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolism Analysis: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Another symbolism shown in the short story was the chicken coop where the couple kept the old man, in their fear that he is going to take away their child. The chicken coop symbolized the boxed belief of the people in the society. People from different places came to the community to know if the speculation about the old man being an angel was really true. They plucked and prodded at the old man to test whether he is what they think he is. They even tried to feed him mothballs because of the belief that it’s what angels eat. However, when the old man didn’t meet their expectations, they treated him as some freak of nature, a carnival attraction of a man who happened to posses enormous wings. This just showed how the people in the community boxed their ideas into what they believed. Instead of treating him as an angel, he was treated as some kind of wild animal or a freak of nature. Another symbolism in the short story was the introduction of another freak of nature, the woman who was turned into a spider. This symbolizes the people’s faith, and how it was easily swayed when another â€Å"unique† creature came into the community. The people finally ignored the existence of the winged old man, and shifted their attention towards the woman-spider who eats mothballs. This characterizes the weak faith of the people, and that they are ones who choose what to believe. When the old man with wings doesn’t seem to respond to their questions or give them the miracle they wanted, they turn their attention towards other things, which in the story, is the woman-spider. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,† we can see how the important things or important facts of life usually elude the weak believers. Instead of grasping the reality, they often turn to the supernatural and the magical. The truth is already in front of them: an old man with enormous wings; yet they chose to believe the story of a woman who was magically turned into a spider. Instead of the truth, they chose the supernatural. Reference: Roberts, E. V. , Jacobs, H. E. (2006). Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing (8th Edition ed. ): Prentice Hall.

Justification and Weaknesses of the Non-Interpretive Model essays

Justification and Weaknesses of the Non-Interpretive Model essays Justification and Weaknesses of the Non-Interpretive Model Brief: Justification and Weaknesses of the Non-Interpretive Model The question of Constitutional interpretation still has yet to be resolved. Should only the explicit commands of our nations Founding Fathers be referenced in courts of law, or can it be justified that an outside body should extrapolate from the specific text of the Constitution to define and defend additional fundamental rights? Further, if this body, namely the Supreme Court, bases its decisions of constitutional relevance not wholly on exact interpretation, then regardless of reason, are they wholly illegitimate? The non-interpretive model allows the Court to interpret beyond the exact wording of the Constitution to define and protect the values of a society. The question of how the non-interpretative model can be justified must be answered. Despite much remaining confusion between the two models, it is clear that history has chosen the non-interpretative model without which many of the defining points in our nations history would be unjustified. The overwhelming strength of the non-interpretive model is that it has allowed for many fundamental decisions that have served to protect the natural rights of the members of this society. If on the other hand the interpretive model is to be accepted, a significant number of decisions must be revoked. Briefly, the majority of the due process clause is no longer...

How to implement Customer Relationship Management(CRM) to engage and Essay

How to implement Customer Relationship Management(CRM) to engage and improve customer loyalty in hotel industry in UK; Case study of Marriott, Hilton, Novotel as international chain hotels in UK - Essay Example Focusing on the customers in particular is perceived to be a sure way of keeping the firm afloat the market and provides the company a competitive edge in the market (Berry 2006). This theory is called Customer Relationship Management (CRM). This paper will discuss this relatively new model and examine its effects on the operations of a company. Specifically, the paper will investigate the integration of CRM in Marriott, Hilton and Novotel hotel chains. With the purpose of providing a clear discussion on the subject, the definition of Customer Relations Management has been provided. Afterwards, the integration of CRM has been taken into consideration including the overall implications of customer loyalty to the organisation. The observations and arguments have been backed up by past and existing literature on CRM. CRM is the short form for Customer Relationship Management. It is the efficient communication between customers and a company at every contact point. Whether this communication is done by phone, website or e-mail, the important thing is that the customer counts on getting an experience from doing business with the company (Berry 2006). CRM systems are what attempt to ensure a good experience. It is a vast system of information or a database of customers and their buying habits, e-mail address, residential address, personal information such as birthday and so on. This information is then retrievable by any department whose need it to better the company. For example, the sales force can use this information to gain customer’s trust and loyalty. The system provides sales reps with the software tools and company data sources they need to support and manage their sales activities and optimize cross-selling and up-selling. It also gives them access to their customer’s profil e, describing the customer’s history with the company before they place the call. Let’s

Professionalsim, Values and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Professionalsim, Values and Ethics - Essay Example Sitting on the former site for Anglia Ruskin University, the two phase project is one of a kind in Chelmsford with its unique development plan. The project basically consisted renovation of three key historic buildings which include; the Law building, Frederick Chancellor building and finally the Anne Knight building. The project which is found in the town of Essex is strategically placed thus tend to enjoy a prime location in the town (www.chelmsford.gov.uk). The project lies adjacent to Central Park and is located opposite the Chelmsford station. Still under construction the project stands to boast of over 600 homes with a range of property types, that includes apartments, townhouses, offices, retail outlets, community use spaces and offices Therefore, this paper will seek to explore and examine various features of this project. Some of the key areas that are bound to be covered in this paper include; roles and relationship of the participants, planning and construction process, legal and contractual framework, impact of the project to its surrounding, legacy, values it expresses and the urge to find out whether the design or architecture was inspired by a particular approach. To achieve this task various research methods were applied in order to come up with a detailed description of this project. The methods used in obtaining information included browsing materials on the internet and holding interview sessions with those involved. The only limitation about this project is that it is still in progress now that the second phase is not complete (www.genesisha.org.uk). To conform to the topic, this paper will explore the professionalism, values and ethics of those involved in seeing the project come to a completion and also deliver quality products that guarantee customer satisfaction. In order to see the development of a high end product in city

Steady- State Economics and Environmental Philosophy Research Paper

Steady- State Economics and Environmental Philosophy - Research Paper Example Here Mill postulated for a future where an informed human community could reign in the increasing population to achieve a comfortable standard of living and then look outwardly toward realign social issues. John Maynard Keynes, an influential economist of the twentieth century, also referred to a society that could focus on ends (happiness and well-being) rather than means (economic growth and individual pursuit of profit). Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen recognized the connection between physical laws and economic activity and wrote about it in 1971 in The Entropy Law and the Economic Process. His insight was that the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy law, determines what is possible in the economy. Georgescu-Roegen explained that useful, low-entropy energy and materials are dissipated in transformations that occur in economic processes, and they return to the environment as high-entropy wastes. The economy, then, functions as a conduit for converting natural resources into goods, services, human satisfaction, and waste products. Increasing entropy in the economy sets the limit on the scale it can achieve and maintain. Increase in environmental problems witnessed in the early sixties and their documentation by scientists in books such as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962), Barry Commoner’s The Closing Circle (1971), and The Limits to Growth (Donnella Meadows et al. 1972) led to concerns of ecology and natural resource depletion and pollution.Out of this arose the in the final decades of the 20th century the discipline of ecological economics that envisaged the combining of environmental protection and economic sustainability. Environmental philosophy now started to become an integral factor in all growth and development strategies. The concept of a steady state or equilibrium as defined in ecological science refers to a state of a system which interacts within its multiple trophic levels such that there is a flow of energy and cycling of matt er. This steady state equilibrium has over the centuries assumed to have encompassed the entire planet such that the fluctuations in one trophic level resonated into the next and so on until an excited system vibrated within its amplitude of disturbance releasing and absorbing its energy flow within predetermined sinks to once again attain its equilibrium. Therefore it may be said that the earth has been in a steady state for centuries. The natural resources that took years to build in the form of fossil fuels, soil systems, the water and the mineral cycles, the biodiversity all remained within the limits of regeneration, replenishment and revival. With the advent of industrialization in the last century and the so called development within the cost benefit ratios of unlimited growth,a cycle of natural resource exploitation commenced..Global economic output surged some 18-fold between 1900 and 2000 and reached $66 trillion in 2006(Gardner and Prugh, 2008). An annual assessment of th e most significant risks to the world’s economies commissioned by the business-sponsored World Economic Forum found that many of the 23 diverse risks did not exist at the global level twenty five years ago. These included environmental risks such as climate change, the strain on freshwater

Parameters For Future Energy Price Scenarios

Parameters For Future Energy Price Scenarios The ground rules of forecasting methods which rely on broadening of trends, says godet is unrealistic when the nature is an ever-changing and the phenomena which need to accounted are complex and related. [1] Taking the year 2025 as a near end to analyze alternative future developments and also to assure and reproducible framework using formal models and data to and harmonize regional aspirations with global possibilities, I take the following qualitative parameters into account. 1) Population: To relate population growth and energy demand, the link amid population and energy involves two mediatory connecting elements to be recognized. They relate to the changes in financial development. Typically, the greater a regions per capita revenue, the greater its per capita consumption of energy. [2] 2) Environmental taxes: Taxes on energy consumption and carbon taxes reflect instruments which reduce the polluting releases, by economists. Practicing environmental policies, the increasing number of Western European countries has applied taxes based on the emissions or energy content of the energy products. These definitely influence the energy price scenarios in the near future. [3] 3) Investments in energy supply sector Over the period of years 2001-2030 the total investment essential for energy supply infrastructure worldwide is estimated around $16 trillion.[4].This investment must be used to enlarge supply capacity and to replace present and future supply amenities that will be drained or become out-of-date during the projection period. The energy market of the world is expected to rise by 2/3rds over the next 30years. Energy infrastructure investment is a cardinal driver for the growth of the economy. Energy-investment requirements will account for an important fact of total domestic investment in Russia and other transition economies, Africa and the hydrocarbon-rich Middle East. Between primary fossil fuels, the capital intensity of investment varies considerably. Natural gas is about six times more capital-intensive than coal for equivalent energy supplied. [5] This is a powerful consideration for capital-constrained countries. Future investment needs are subject to many uncertainties, includi ng macroeconomic conditions, energy prices, environmental policies, geopolitical factors, technological developments. [6] 4) Energy technology cost: Advanced energy technologies can influence long-term energy investment outlook. Due to high deliverance costs in an imminent market, the fuel costs of travel in hydrogen fuel equipped vehicles would greater than those of the alternative conventional fuels, but they could ultimately become equal to gasoline vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles are prone to technology development hurdles; however, there should be large decrease in price of owning an automobiles before fuel celled vehicles become attractive to the general public. Fuel storage is also a problem. The extensive use of H2 has to be intervened by the government to improve its usage, refueling facilities and vehicles. Nuclear advances can lead to designs with less capital costs, shorter construction time and flexible operation, so improving the economics of nuclear electricity. There is widespread interest worldwide in a 4th generation of nuclear power reactors, though public opposition can continue. [7] 5) Energy technology diffusion rates: Energy Technology diffusion is a sophisticated process presenting diverse dimensions for analysis. In dividing the major aspects of technology diffusion, it is in the scope of this paper to analyze the process in different dimensions. It can have a huge influence on the pricing scenario. 6) Climatic Policies: The energy policies are constantly changing, especially in relation to climate change and the energy transition. The energy markets are lacking regulations, there is an increase in the demand energy from renewable resources and there are price hikes. And further changes are yet to come into picture. Many of these improvements are interrelated and it is difficult to foresee their impact on strategies. However, with an affirmative approach to new improvements and accessing the right skill we can minimize risks and avail opportunities. 7) Terrorism: Through 2025, internal skirmishes threat the stability around the globe. Terrorist attacks are now posing serious threats to the worlds economy and energy efficiency. Between now and 2025 terrorism will grow sophistically to a new height which breaches the world peace and harmony, indirectly effecting the energy efficiency and price scenarios. Due to these internal threats the local governments are tending to invest more on internal security sophistications and hence diverting the energy investments. We can expect more lethal terrorist attacks to occur in the future. Hence, terrorism can be considered as a threat to the energy efficiency. [8] 8) Natural Calamities: No nation, expert or forecasting technique can foresee a natural disaster and prevent its damage. Natural calamities can always affect a nations economy and energy stability. Energy price scenarios are highly influenced by these disasters. The effects include the diversion of investments to alternate housing provisions for disaster struck colonies. Relief measures have to be initiated and continued which includes huge energy consumption affecting the energy price scenario. 9) National and Local Politics: Government support is essential for energy policies. Creative technologies are to be experimented and implemented under the funding of the government; hence the frontrunners are planning to invest parts of their economy for these implementations. Since the global warming and other issues became serious issues of political interests, the government will be a substantial issue in energy pricing. 10) Cumulative primary energy consumption and renewable energy production: Cumulative energy demand and efficiency can be seen as an indicator of environmental influences to estimate the exhaustion of energy resources and usage of common energy sources considering a whole lifecycle. Prospective approach always emphasizes on consumptions in the future leading to formulating theories which in return help quantification this parameter. [9] 11) Cultural effects: Generally living cultures and groups grow continuously and affect one or the other forms of environmental activities at the lowest levels. For an example, if a person has a big car and a small car he would generally prefer to use a bigger car. Let it be for prestige or whatever, our culture is that way. So, cultural effects also worry the energy price scenario of the world. Consumer culture plays a weighty role in the energy needs and production. Ans. 1b) Identification of Quantifiable Parameters: All the qualitative parameters discussed in the previous section are not quantifiable but some are definitely quantifiable. Population. Environmental taxes. Investments in energy deliver sector Energy technology cost. Cultural effects. Ans. 1c) Godets Proposition I moderately agree with this specific aspect of Godets proposition. Qualitative forecasting techniques generally depend on expert opinions. These can be applied where historical data is available. But the historical data cannot directly interpret the future. Quantitative forecasting methods are used when past data is available. In the quantitative forecasting techniques the causation relationship is also taken into account. Qualitative forecasting emphasizes much on prediction of future through the present scenario. It can sometimes be too erroneous to depend upon. The cause is that predicting the future has always been an opportunity for us to let our minds run free. Eventually we will be happy or sad to see technological development which will produce unforeseen changes. As market by Godet, imagination can deceive but sometimes it can follow a trend. Extrapolation of the prevailing trend sometimes leads to futuristic thoughts. These, sometimes, can be accurate too. But I consider that extrapolation of the variable a good method rather than a complete extension of a trend. But, we cannot alone depend on our predictions always. Future had never been predicted exactly and never will be. We cannot leave our posterity with predictions only but we must prepare them for any situation. Prospective approach can be a solution to broaden our perspective towards the future but everything cannot be predicted. [10] Ans. 1d) Commercialization of energy efficiency in Japan 1. Although many firms may be developing energy technologies and might have super features with great scientific advances but the commercialization is a bug in the ear of such firms. Market-adaptation skills and institutions to take benefits are still scarce. In table 4 of paper by Osamu Kimura on Commercialization of energy-efficient technologies in Japan, some technologies which failed to get commercialized due to lack of marketing skeletal models. Michel Godets ideas on commercialization and qualitative approach could have definitely improved the commercialization potential of the technologies which failed to get commercialized due to marketing deficiencies. The main difficulty is a deficiency of commercial awareness where the advanced, inspirational and market related abilities to turn an idea or design into a dependable commercial able product. Specifically quality is the lacking factor. These market-related deficiencies are persistent in any economy. [11] Godet believed in an eight stage strategic approach, which he called a prospective approach, can be useful in commercializing technologies to the core. The first stage hawked with the socio-organizational context which sets the tenor for the entire process. Technologies which have failed at this level cannot move any further because it justifies technology and tell us why it is introduced. The second stage hawked a 360 degree x-ray oft the enterprise, its knowledge/experience, and its productive capacities. Such a verdict will be effective in commercialization since the trademark of the developer can also affect the extent of commercialization. The third stage emphasizes on the structural diagnosis of the enterprise, whereas, the fourth analyses the dynamics of an enterprise, its strengths and weaknesses etc. Technologies like Heat Transport System using vacuum insulation which were introduced and failed to get commercialized due to organizational instabilities can be improved of their potential if they are introduced by a more stable organization, according to the second, third and fourth stages in the prospective approach.[12] The fifth stage attempts to increase certainty in key questions about the future with experts advice and expand the risks, trends etc. Technologies like High Efficiency Heat Pump Using Multi Fuel Engine and High Efficiency Heat Pump Using Hydrogen Absorbing Alloy, which were dependent on fuels not available in the foreseen future, can be effectively commercialized using efficient fuel substitution on expert advice. The sixth seventh and eighth stages dealt in compatibility and implementation. Additional significant features of commercialization are constant product maturity development and cost decline. Technologies like Compression/Absorption hybrid heat pump, Heat recovery from slag process in steel plants, Heat transport system using surfactants and Absorption pump using natural refrigerants can be commercialized if they successfully pass through the sixth, seventh and eighth stages of the prospective approach. [12] 2) I completely accept the conclusions of the study. There were mainly four conclusions of the study. First, the government funding for private RD needs to be in long tem. The creation of new technology frequently plays a significant role as a source of economic evolution. Furthermore, social return is always greater than the private return and hence all countries want to introduce their technologies through government funding so that the technology can reach the public far well. Hence such technology introductions receive more loans and subsidies. Two of the bases which lead to such a technology are market fluctuations and underinvestment in such technologies. Whenever a technology is under RD, such a technology cannot be placed under secrecy and hence it will gain public interest and in turn the government funding can initialize its commercialization to a better level than a private company. Public RD funding surges the total RD expenditure only if the contributions spur firms to research and deploy projects that would otherwise recognized on a smaller scale. So, the government funding to the private RD has to be formulated to belong term so as to assist effective commercialization. Second, responding to and influencing market demand is a key to commercialization. Commercialization is the process by which people, responding to markets, transform new knowledge and technology into economically successful products, processes, or services. Knowledge, sessions and topical studies suggest that a national method to commercialization should highlight the demand for RD and technology and organize plans close to their marketplaces. Third, the deployment policy should complement the public RD in the commercialization phase. Implementation at the pre commercial stage is the beginning of the commercial distribution. This has to be done analogous to the RD so as to find out the pros and cons of the technology in the commercial sector. Finally, assessment of cost and market demand. The profitability of innovation depends on the costs of commercialization. In some industries or technologies, the sheer size of the investment re ­quired is the largest single hurdle to commercial ­ization.  ­ Only in niche markets, with less competition and consideration of costs, can small plants compete successfully in these industries. In other industries, however, cap ­ital costs do not present as great a barrier to com ­mercialization. . Especially in new industries that are expected to demonstrate strong learning- curve effects, decision makers often cannot deter ­mine how quickly production costs will drop to a desired level. Uncertainties regarding cost also enter the decision-making process. [13] Hence arrangements have to be made in order to develop commercial storage. This helps the economy and also the interests of the geographical analysts. The ongoing investments in energy storage show an urgent need of energy storage. There have to be a regulation or a regulatory committee keeping an eye on the investments in infrastructure which proves a potential alternative for the energy supply in the energy crisis. Greater efficiency of energy throughout its usage has to improve a lot in order to lessen the energy usage and use the available energy effectively and efficiently. Answer to question 2: Internal energy market legislation according to the demand price scenario. The OPEC oil price rise in 1973: 2a) Gazproms supremacy over the European natural gas market is a growing concern among Europes policy makers. In restricting European investors from the Russian market, challenging access to regulatory distributions on the European market, while concurrently exercising its influence upon the CIS states, Russia has showed it undependability as a long-term supplier. Emergency planning faced a hindrance by lack of consistent comparison between the known definitions and the operative measures which were taken. In this context I assume myself as a large manufacturer (large energy consumer) and describe my response. Early in the crisis, Europes gas industry showed its capability to manage with several features of the problem being faced by Europe. The presence of transaction covenants and supply contracts permitted establishments to work together to preserve sources to internal customers, schools and hospitals, during the unkindest days of emergency. [14*]. Manufacturers are withstanding high energy prices and supply cuts (as in this case where Gazprom cuts its energy supplies or increase price by 200%), where energy is only a smaller component in the cost of production. Usually the problems that persist for a large manufacturer when there is an energy supply cut or a price hike are: Generally the lack of fuel-switching capability in the cardinal equipment (which requires a lot of capital investment). Unattractive attributes of some energy-saving equipment, such as differences in quality or comfort and high cost. Energy-savings may be less important than other factor-savings. Energy storage before the energy crisis occurs (before the supplies are cut). Investments to buy more energy from the supplier before the energy supplies are cut. Transportation of fuel and transportation of raw materials/products. Searching for alternating sources, and pipelining Demand at alternative sources. Being a large manufacturer I am putting forward the following solutions, The Internal Market Principle, which one part of the market should help in supplying another part at a period when there is scarcity of energy must prove valuable. There is a lack of interdependence in the EU. This has to develop to a significant scale where the EU relies much on itself rather than the Middle East countries for energy supplies. Fuel transition from have to be diversified in order to make EU a comfortable, sustainable and competitive in the energy market. A more interconnected market is always required where the flexibility and security becomes a major aspect. More fuel switching options have to be introduced in order to reduce the risks that the reliability on a single supplier introduces. Gas storage is a useful task when there is an energy scarcity has to be implemented which plays an important role in proper market functioning under energy hindrances and supply cuts. The EU has to stop relying on a single supplier and diversify its importing strategy for securing its energy needs. Increasing dependence on gaseous fuels for electricity and domestic heating, with no or limited availabilities of fuel switching technologies is a greater risk. Developments have to be made in implementing renewable energy and enact fuel switching. Transportation has to be made more energy efficient for greater energy efficiency. Developing technological innovations such as self-powering open electrical power systems which extract the required electrical supply from active vacuum and readily scalable in size and yield. Measures have to be taken by the respective governments or the organizations to resolve the conflicts that rose between the producer and the consumer. Geo-political issues come into discussion here, which is out of our interest. Limiting the production and energy usage until the conflict is resolved is another option.[15] Ans.2b) In the above response, I believed in going with both out of the box solutions and a partially conservative, incremental approaches together. As manufacturer, one of my key duties to foresee a situation and change accordingly for the sustainable development of my organization until it achieves success. If an organization is performing well, it is evident for us that there is nothing wrong with the situation and it is perfectly under control. But still we need to extrapolate continuously and new ideas to secure the perfect condition of the organization. Innovation requires us to think out of bounds and it requires unlocking creativity. In the above context I searched for other possibilities of energy crisis and so I came up with effective solutions which may prove useful in the future also. For example, fuel switching is an out of the box solution. Adapting to the energy changes with new technology and energy efficient systems is an out of the box solution. Coming to the advantages of thinking out of the box in order to achieve service excellence; every business operation expresses strategies and measures which have been or are being accomplished in their particular industry by their counter parts; or all these systems have remained standing since time because there is a mindset that the customers are most contented and pleased with the way that they are being aided. In certain occasions; schemes and measures are a result of involvement of an individual or a team who seemingly are the achievers of the trade and are considered to be born geniuses who are totally in agreement with the pulse of their customers. This sometimes can be a conservative approach. It will work well when the situations are a repeat of the past. In the above solutions, storing energy, limiting the production and internal market principles are some examples of conservative approaches. Incremental approaches are primarily conflict resolving solutions between the cons umer and the supplier. All such circumstances are very risky and waiting to bounce back at a slimmest blunder. Interactions with customers, policy makers can be made interesting by thinking out of the box and adopting systems which are efficient when compared to those in the conservative approach. Ans.2c) I believe that an incremental approach is the best solution to reduce the ill effect created by inflexible market issues. This approach takes the initiative in solving the conflict by offering help to the conflicting parties. It can also prove useful to threaten both the parties and force them to take timely decisions in resolving the conflict. It also provides the conflicting parties with optional solutions along with their advantages and disadvantages. It, however cannot resolve all conflicts but it will definitely provide some assistance in at least reducing the magnitude ill effects. This kind of approach recognizes that gradual long term approach offers the best solutions to such conflicts. It also recognizes that dividing the conflict into parts and solving each part incrementally is a sound approach. The incremental approach recommends the parties to examine the full context of the conflict and recognize the unpleasant effects of the conflict. Sometimes this incremental approach involves functions like making negotiation between the conflicting parties, in smaller issues and then move on to the more adverse issues. Fractionalization is employed in breaking the issues into smaller parts and dealing with them one by one. This incremental approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. Braking up the inflexible issues and using negotiations to solve the conflicts are some of the advantages. But the conflict resolving techniques of this approach can bring up many other problems and can sometimes utterly fail in conflict resolving. Conservative approach is a one in which the parties will insist more on conservation compared to conflict resolving. This approach can work well only for a small, certain period of time. In this kind of approach there are no attempts made to resolve the conflict. So there can arise a situation where the conflict grow up to peaks and irresolvable. Conservative approach can go along with the incremental approach for the best performance. While negotiating with the parties, following an incremental approach, an inner conservative approach have to be followed. This can continue until the problem is solved. It also has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Service brilliance can also be achieved by doing accurate things in a diverse manner or simply by improving the quality of your procedures by thinking out of the box. An approach is said to be out of the box when that is new, creative and cannot be related to normal or conventional approach. Similarly a technology which is invented through unlocking creativity is known as an out of the box technology. Approaches leading to such out of the box technologies are known as an out of the box technological approach. An out of the box technological approach is different from straight approaches in various ways. Technologies which evolve from conventional approaches are necessarily improvements of past technologies. They depend a lot on the past variables and past attributes. Such approaches generally attract people/customers who are interested in improvements to the previous technology. Markets to such conventional technologies follow trends almost similar to those followed by their parent technologies. These trends can sometimes be variable attributing those to uneven results to the customer satisfaction, extent of improvement etc. Whereas, technologies which are out of the box are new and creative. There can be some implications to such creative inventions. Technologies that are out of the box need not be entirely new. When they follow a familiar theory, their implementation may be different; when they follow a familiar implementation, their background and theory may be different; when they follow a familiar theory and a familiar implementation, their field of application may be different or new. They can sometimes be entirely new too. Markets trends to such out of the box technologies are very unpredictable. The procedures that are made or are being followed cannot be inflexible and they cannot deal with out of the book solutions for every problem. All the initia l steps of careful screening would mean that the lineup dealing with the clients is armed with the right kind of boldness that is required in service industry. There is a very thin line between being elastic while providing furnishing the customers necessities and desires and breaking the rules and procedures in the apparel of serving people. [16] Ans.2d) I feel that foreseeing a situation which is already being seen is not an intellectual way of answering this question. Nowadays we are already in a situation where we need to do with less, in terms of capital goods, travel, and levels of comfort for the benefit of all. Presently we are personally reducing the usage of plastic, this is because plastic cannot be decomposed and when we try to decompose or burn it, it will produce harmful fumes. So this can be one of the cases where we are reducing our comfort levels for the sake of others. Instead, we are using alternative methods like replacing plastic with paper. We are even keen on implementing the three rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). Similarly, lighting is essential to a modern society. Lights have transformed the way we live, our efforts and our entertainment. Today, about five percent of the energy used in the world is for lighting our homes, buildings, and streets. Nowadays we reduced the amount of energy we consume for lighting, intentionally or unintentionally, we have begun using energy efficient systems. Reducing energy usage or switching to energy efficient methods can be efficient. In the last 100 years, appliances have revolutionized the way we spend energy and our time at home. Tasks that used to take ages are now achieved in few minutes, using electricity most of the time. Until the embargos of the 1970s, people drove without thought of fuel economy or ecological impacts. Aerodynamic designs were combined and engine size condensed. More vital was that engines were enhanced to upsurge fuel efficacy with fuel injectors and electronic communications. CO2 emissions are threatening to the world. Hence we are adapting to substituting fuels. We reduce our luxury for the sake of others and energy efficiency. We are using public transport to reduce the energy usage. Thinking collectively about the present and future is an important step, but reflecting upon changes in the environment should not become an end in itself. Similarly, we do not want to shine a spotlight on the surface while leaving the center in the dark. The future is genuinely the result of human will and initiative. Local ecological influences are likely to remain to take superiority over worldwide change in the accomplishment of sustainable energy developments. [17] Answer to question 3 3a) Major changes in the UK affecting the energy during the past 50 years also brought up with them a major technological change. Some may be positive and beneficial but some may be negative and ineffective. Lets talk about them one by one. Restriction on manufacturing new types of nuclear power plants (Sizewell B reactors). These have been the most important challenges for the technologists. They have to find new technologies for producing nuclear energy based on gas-cooled reactors because there is a restriction on building water cooled reactors. They have to build new reactors, storage units etc.; this demands a lot of finance to be invested initially. New technologies have to be developed to ensure the safety of the labor in this industry, for example, radiation resistant safety suits, etc., Gas cooled reactors a second generation British technology reactors which uses graphite as moderator. The advantage of this design is that the coolant can go to higher temperature than water. Resulting higher plant efficiency (above 40%) compared to the water cooled design (around 30%). This is recognized as the most important improvement in nuclear technology. [18] The Natural gas from the North Sea is being replaced by the gas derived from the Coal. This reduced the pressure on the coal industry. But this demanded new technologies for efficient offshore fuel extraction stations and for transport. Leak proof, underwater pipelines were a huge burden initially. Refining the fuel gas also introduced new innovations. Progress in offshore technologies is exemplified by advances in production platforms and production systems which highly rely on seismic technology. Drilling technologies have also improved a lot, leading to multilateral and multi branch wells. Floating storage vessels, shuttle tanks and condensation technologies are the most recognized improvements in the transportation technologies. [19] Privatization of the coal /electricity industries and British Gas As the technologies of the government are patented, privatization generally introduces new technologies into the respective industries thus causing technological expansion. Promoting renewable energy investment by consumers. Renewable energy investments promoted the developments of technologies in a lower, domestic level. The diffusion of new and renewable technologies is determined by a logistic curve function of two key factors: the size of the economic potential and the length of the diffusion process, which are different according to the technology. New and emerging renewable energy technologies include cellulosic ethanol, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and ocean energy. Solar power panels that use nanotechnology, which is used in creating circuits out of individual silicon molecules, will probably cost half as much as traditional photovoltaic cells. The future prospects of electricity needs an innovation of nuclear and wind energies. Since earliest times, man has utilized the power of the wind. The technology has diversified over ages to include pumping water, grinding grain

How to build a computer Essay

Every fully functioning computer is made of the same basic components and here I’ll walk through the basic hardware you’ll need for your first build. There are several components a computer. However, it’s important to first understand what each component does. The processor (CPU) is like the brain of a computer, the thing that carries out the tasks you give it. Better CPUs can perform more tasks at once, and perform them faster. Not everyone takes full advantage of their processor’s full speed, so the high-end processers are only really needed if you’re performing intensive things like gaming or video editing. It’s also one of the most expensive parts of a computer, so if you aren’t doing these types of things, you don’t need to buy the latest and greatest. Another expensive part is the motherboard connects all the other components to each other, and is the physical base that you build everything else onto. It contains a lot of your machine’s core features, like the number of USB ports, the number of expansion cards you can put in (like video, sound, and Wi-Fi), and also determines how big your computer will be. The motherboard you buy will depend on the type of user you are. The case holds all of your computer’s parts together. For the most part, a case is less about features that affect how your computer runs and more about features that affect you and your home. Still, it’s an important consideration that is dependent on your other choices, so you might want to think about everything before buying one. Make sure the case buy will hold motherboard. RAM, or Random Access Memory, is like your computer’s short-term memory. It stores data your computer needs quick access to help your programs run faster, and help you run more programs at one time. That basically means the more you want to do at once the more RAM you’ll need. The graphics card, or GPU, is a processor designed to handle graphics. It’s what you hook your monitor up to, and it’s what draws your desktop and your windows on the screen. Some motherboards come with a GPU already integrated, which is enough to manage your desktop, but not enough for watching high definition video or playing games. Your hard drives are what store all of your data, ranging from your operating system to your documents, music, and movies. If the RAM is your computer’s short-term memory, your hard drive is the long-term memory. It stores the things you want to keep around for a while. An optical drive, more commonly known as a CD or DVD drive is what you’ll use to read CDs, DVDs, and even Blu-Ray discs. Not everyone needs an optical drive in his/her computer, but you’ll need one to install anything from a disc. The final major component you’ll need is the power supply. This does just as the name implies, it powers the computer. Depending on what you plan on using the computer for will determine the â€Å"size† of power supply you’ll need. Just as I said with picking the case, wait to pick this out until you figure out how much power you’ll need. Now that I’ve told you about all the components that make up a computer it’s time to start deciding which to use. While deciding make sure you read everything because you’ll need to make sure everything is compatible. Now that you’ve bought all your components, it’s time for the moment of truth: You’re ready to actually put together the machine. Assembling your computer can seem daunting, but it’s actually pretty easy. Here’s what you need to do. To start, open up your case’s box, take out the case, and open it up. Usually this involves unscrewing a few thumb screws on the back of your case and sliding the side panels off. Take a good look around your case and get acquainted; note where the hard drive bays are, where your CD drive will go, whether the power supply mounts on the top or the bottom, and so on. There should also be a bag of screws inside your case; grab that now and set it aside because we’ll need it in a few minutes. Open up your motherboard box and take out the I/O shield, which is the metal plate that protects the ports on the back of your motherboard. You should see a rectangular space in the back of your case where this should go. Snap it into place. This takes quite a bit of force, so make sure all four sides are snapped in securely. Next, pull out your motherboard and line up the ports on the back with the I/O shield. You should see that the holes on your motherboard line up with screw holes on the bottom of your case. There are probably more holes on your case than there are on your motherboard, so note which ones these are, and grab your motherboard standoffs from your bag of screws (they have a male screw end on one side, and a female screw hole on the other side). Screw the standoffs into those holes, and set your motherboard on top of them. Screw your motherboard screws into the standoffs so the motherboard is snugly mounted. Open up your processor’s box and gently take it out. Your processor is one of the more breakable parts, so this is one step in which you’ll want to be careful. Find the corner of your processor that has a gold arrow on it, and then look at your motherboard’s processor socket for a similar arrowed corner. Line these two arrows up; this is the direction your processor will go into the socket. Lift up the lever on the processor socket and put your processor in (Intel motherboards might also have a cover you have to lift up first). Pull the lever down to lock it into place. Again, do this gently—it shouldn’t require any feats of strength on your part, so if it isn’t falling into place easily, something’s wrong. Take it out and try re-setting it, make sure your two arrows are lined up, and of course, double check that your motherboard and processor are of the same socket type. Once your processor’s in, grab the cooler that came with your processor (remember, if you got an OEM processor you have to buy a cooler separately). It should already have some silver thermal paste on the bottom. If not, you’ll need to pick some up from the computer store and put a very thin line on your processor. Installing RAM is very simple. Find the RAM sockets on your motherboard, and pull the two clips on the side down. Line up the notch in your RAM stick with the notch in the socket, and press the RAM down into place. This might take a bit of pressure, so don’t worry about being overly gentle. The clips should snap back into place when the RAM is fully in the socket. For your video card (or any other PCI expansion card), find the topmost slot that fits your card and match that up with its plate on the back of the case. Remove that plate and slide the PCI card’s bracket in its place. The card should then be sitting on top of the socket, and all you need to do is press down to lock it into place. Then screw the bracket onto the case. Every case is a little bit different in how they install hard drives. Generally, there are two methods: on some cases, you have to pull out a hard drive tray, put the drive in, screw it in securely, and then slide the tray back in. Other motherboards just require you to slide the bare drive into the bay and then screw it in snug after the fact. Check your case’s manual for more detailed instructions on this case. The optical drive should be pretty self-explanatory. Just pull out the plastic cover on one of your 5. 25†³ drive bays and slide in your optical drive. Screw it into place if necessary. Once everything else is in, it’s time to install your power supply and plug everything in. (Note that if your case came with a power supply, you can skip this step, as it’ll already be installed). It should be pretty obvious where your power supply goes, as there will be a big rectangular hole on the back of your case. Some power supplies mount on the top, while some sit on the bottom of the case. Generally, they mount with the fan facing away from the edge of the case, unless that case has enough space in between the power supply mount and the end of the case to allow for airflow. Now that you have built your computer it’s time to plug it in and power it. From here it’s time to install an operating system (OS). There are several OS to pick from. The more common are Microsoft Windows and Linux. Each OS installs differently and each user has their own preference. Once you pick an OS read the instructions provided to install it. Now that you have installed the OS you now have a fully functioning computer that you’ve built.

Compulsory School Age Essay

â€Å"Any young person without a high school diploma is at a severe disadvantage in our high-tech labor market, with its accompanying demands for advanced education. We can’t prepare students for the 21st century who aren’t in school. Increasing graduation rates requires a continuum of strategies that engage students, including ensuring their presence in the classroom.† The above-mentioned quote by National Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel sizes up the situation crisply. Although critics contend that students inclined to dropping out of school will quit school anyway and education is a responsibility of local and state governments and raising the compulsory school age will have little effect, research indicates there are benefits in raising the national compulsory school attendance age to 18. Current Problem Compulsory school attendance refers to the minimum and maximum age required by each state for students to be enrolled in and attending public schools or some comparable education program as defined by law. The good news is student in the United States are graduating from high school at a rate better than any time since 1976; the bad news is about 20 percent still drop out, most of whom are minorities. The figures are from the National Center for Education Statistics’ report, â€Å"Public School Graduates and Dropouts from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2009-2010.† Dropouts face extremely bleak economic and social prospects. Compared to high school graduates, they are less likely find a job and earn a living wage, and more likely to be poor and to suffer from a variety of adverse health outcomes. The statistics are sobering. Both in the short-term, when dropouts first leave school, and in the long-term, over their entire working lives, dropouts are severely disadvantaged relative to students who complete high (Rumberger, p. 88, 2011). Dropouts are almost twice as likely to be poor—in 2009, 25 percent of high school dropouts had incomes below the poverty level compared to 14 percent for high school graduates with no college (Rumberger, p. 92, 2011). The economic disadvantages of not completing high school have grown more sizeable over time as the availability of low-skilled jobs has  declined. The median annual earnings of full-time, full-year dropouts were 15 percent less than high school completers in 1980, but increased to 21 percent by 2008 (Rumberger, p. 93, 2011). In recent years, the drop-out rate in US schools, currently estimated at over 20% overall and overrepresented among low income, Black, and Latino and other minority students, has gained a great deal of attention, because of its im pact on the students and on the communities in which they live. There are some dynamics that fuel these inordinate rates for minorities. By raising the compulsory school attendance age and providing supports for struggling students, 25 percent of likely dropouts remained in school because of compulsory schooling laws (â€Å"Raising the Compulsory School Attendance Age,† National Association of Secondary School Principals. May 2010.) To remain in school, students must devote their time and attention to their schoolwork and their school activities. They must also get along with their teachers and fellow students. But some students engage in a number of behaviors in and out of school that increase their risk of dropping out. These behaviors include misbehaving in school, delinquent behavior outside of school, drug and alcohol use, and sexual activity and teen childbearing. The research literature finds that engaging in any of these behaviors increases the risk of dropping out of school ( Sanchez p. 172). Potential dropouts will not get the specialized help if they dropout because they were not required to stay in school until the age of 18. Dropouts are generally unprepared to contribute to society and are a burden on the nation’s economy. Lower local, state, and national tax revenues are the most obvious consequence of higher dropout rates; even when dropouts are employed, they earn significantly lower wages than do graduates. State and local economies suffer further when they have less-educated populaces, as they find it more difficult to attract new business investment. Simultaneously, these entities must spend more on social programs when their populations have lower educational levels. The nation’s economy and competitive standing also suffer when there are high dropout rates. Among developed countries, the United States ranks twenty-first in high school graduation rates and fifteenth in college attainment rates among twenty-five- to thirty-four-year-olds. Dropouts represent a tremendous loss of human potential and productivity, and they significantly reduce the nation’s ability to compete in an increasingly global economy. Furthermore, recent estimates project that the future domestic workforce demands will require higher levels of education among U.S. workers. However, without significant improvements in the high school and postsecondary completion rates, the nation is on track to fall short by up to 3 million postsecondary degrees by 2018 (Junn, p. 7). Critics Those contending that raising the compulsory school attendance age would be useless are mistaken. Research indicates that approximately 25% of potential dropouts remain in school because of compulsory school laws. Compulsory school attendance laws provide for the direct enforcement and policing of school attendance. In addition, overall enrollment rates among 16 year olds are lower in states that allow them to drop out when they turn 16. Philip Oreopoulos, in two separate studies using information gathered by various surveys analyzed the issue of implementing compulsory attendance laws (Oreopoulos-2005, p. 12). Using additional information from countries like England and Ireland, he concluded that students who are compelled to complete at least one more year of school will earn 12 percent more than those who choose to drop out earlier (Oreopoulos-2005, p. 13). In the second study specifically concerning that increasing the drop out age (above 16) increases an individual’s scho oling by .12 to .16 years, thus better preparing them for the labor force. In his study he also observed a decrease of 1.2 and 2.1 percentage points in the overall dropout rate. As with some of the other studies, he concluded that the policy does not affect the rates; other factors such as funding and alternative measures must be put into place (Oreopoulos-December 2005, p. 17). Critics also argue that education is primarily a State and local responsibility. While this is established by the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution, the United States has a fundamental responsibility to promote policies nationally that effect all of its citizens. The dropout rate is alarming and could pose national security issues. An independent task force launched by the Council on Foreign Relations (2013) is warning the U.S. education system is barreling toward â€Å"a national security crisis.† The report highlights a Defense Department statistic that 75% of American youth don’t qualify for the armed forces because of a lack of a high school diploma, obesity or a criminal record. The disproportionate number of minority groups with high dropout  rates could be further investigated by the office of Civil Rights (OCR). Why are so many minorities leaving school? We live in a highly mobile society with people constantly moving from state to state. This mobility will result in different compulsory school attendance ages in different states. In 1980, Congress established the Department of Education (DOE), as a Cabinet level agency. Today, the DOE operates programs that touch on every area and level of education. The official mission of the Doe is to â€Å"†¦.promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.† Raising the national compulsory school age to 18 would carry out this mission perfectly. It is difficult to determine how many students would choose to pursue a higher education or technical training, once they graduate, it is extra difficult to reasonably argue tha t they should be allowed to give up on school. Faced with the reality of trying to get a job and raise a family, most students who dropped out wished they had remained in school. The facts are well documented—the economic consequences of dropping out are dramatic (John M. Bridgeland, John J. DiIulio, Jr.and Ryan Streeter argue: Their concerns are merited – the economic consequences of dropping out are dramatic. In the United States, high school graduates earn 43 percent more than individuals without a high school diploma, and college graduates earn more than 150 percent – one and a half times – more. Median earnings for people who have not graduated from high school are currently a mere $415 per week. Research has shown a 10 percent rise in earnings for people who simply stay in school one year longer. Over their lifetimes, female high school dropouts earn between $120,000 and $244,000 less than female graduates, and males $117,000 to $322,000 less than male graduates. College graduates earn between $800,000 and $1,387,000 more over their lifetimes than high school dropouts. Not only are earnings prospects bleak for dropouts who have jobs, but the prospect of having a job at all is not guaranteed: dropouts are much more likely to be unemployed. The unemployment rate among individuals who have not graduated from high school is 65 percent higher than it is for graduates and three times higher than it is for college graduates. Clearly, dropping out of high school is often equivalent to choosing a life of financial hardship. It also places a burden upon society as a whole. Annual public health costs for dropouts have been estimated at $58 billion, and  approximately $10 billion could be saved each year in public assistance if all our students graduated from high school. (p. 10) In their overview and survey of research on the importance of compulsory school ages (Hoor & Reynolds p 3-4) find that raising the age is an important component of confronting the dropout problem. In their study, â€Å"Understanding and Addressing the Issue of the High School Dropout Age,† the authors find evidence that raising the compulsory school age is gaining support across the United States in part because doing so helps reduce dropout numbers. The paper also provides a sampling of evidence-based interventions that help reduce the dropout rate. Solutions There is no simple way to nationally raise the compulsory school attendance age to 18 years. Just raising the age to 18 is not enough. It will take cooperation from many sectors to realize this needed policy change. Evaluating past reform efforts and the existing more recent research literature on implementation will provide information needed for developing more successful programs in the future. Though all states will benefit from raising the age to 18, states have varied factors they must consider and must do what fits for that state. Making schools and schools districts accountable for implementing and maintaining the national compulsory school attendance age of 18 is a great start. Thankfully, No Child Left Behind is is being left behind. However, a fair, consistent and reliable means of effectively addressing dropouts must be developed. The school environment itself determines whether at-risk students succeed. Students who are supported, motivated, and encouraged by their teach ers, who regard their teachers as caring, and who receive guidance from their teachers usually like school. In contrast, dropouts often report leaving school because they did not get along with their teachers or classmates. Smaller class sizes or counseling and guidance programs for struggling students are ways to improve how students perceive their teacher support networks. (Oreopoulos, Philip 2006 p. 31). Making funding available to hire and train teachers and providing smaller classes will help ease these issues. Providing other school-appropriate proven resources will also help. Currently, many school districts expel or suspend students for long periods of time, but are still  able to receive FTE (Full-time equivalent workload of a student) funding for much of the time period the student is not in school. They are not providing services, but they get the money whether the student is in school or not. This must stop. Otherwise, schools have no monetary incentive to keep students in school. School-based approaches as standalone programs are unlikely to solve the dropout crisis without providing adequate support to families and communities. In particular, even widespread school reform that raised the persistently lowest-achieving schools to even average achievement levels will unlikely raise the graduation rate sufficiently and at best eliminate about one-third of the achievement gap differences between racial and socioeconomic groups. Therefore, to improve graduation rates and to close gaps in graduation will require interventions in two other arenas: families and communities (Rumberger p. 274). Making families and communities more responsible by empowering them will go a long way. Family involvement is one of the most important contributors to school completion and success. The most accurate predictor of a student’s school achievement is the extent to which his/her family encourages learning. Success is more likely if the family communicates high, yet reasonable, expectations for the student’s education and future career and becomes involved in his/her education (Schargel & Smink, p. 99, 177). Although t he research explicitly confirms the positive and long-lasting effects of parent, family, and community involvement on student learning, this data is often overlooked in local, state, and national discussions about raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps (Berliner, p. 975). As much as the nation should be alarmed by the scope and gravity of America’s dropout problem, we should also be encouraged by the leadership that states across the country are demonstrating to address it. The District of Columbia and 17 other states already require students to be in school until they are 18. The pessimists will exclaim that changing the compulsory graduation age to 18 will not stop those determined to quit school from quitting and the responsibility of school laws should be left to states, however, there is a compelling body of research that indicates benefits to raising the compulsory age of school attendance to 18 nationally. Works Cited Allan, Kenneth. A Primer in Social and Sociological Theory: Toward a Sociology of Citizenship. Los Angeles: SAGE/Pine Forge, 2011. Print. David, Berliner C. â€Å"Our Impoverished View of Educational Reform.† Teacher’s College Record 108.6 (2006): 949-975. Print. â€Å"Despite Interventions, No-Show Students Drop Out : NPR.† NPR.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. Junn, Jane. â€Å"The Political Costs of Unequal Education.† Department of Political Science & Eagleton Institute of Politics Rutgers University (2005): 14. Web. 24 Oct. 2005. Nakamura, David, and Scott Wilson. â€Å"Middle Class is Under Threat.† Washington Post [Washington] 12 Jan. 2012: 1. Print. Roderick, Melissa R. The Path to Dropping Out: Evidence for Intervention. Westport, Conn: Auburn House, 1993. Print. Rumberger, Russell W. Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2011. Print. Rushton, Rosie, and Kathryn Lamb. Staying Cool, Surviving School: Secondary School Strategies. Puffin, 1995. Print. Sidlow, Edward, and Beth Henschen. Govt: Student Edition. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print. Smink, Jay, and Franklin P. Schargel. Helping Students Graduate: A Strategic Approach to Dropout Prevention. Larchmont, N.Y: Eye On Education, 2004. Print.