As population increases the needs of housing, electricity, motor cars will also increase

As population increases the needs of housing, electricity, motor cars will also increase

As population increases the needs of housing, electricity, motor cars will also increase. This means that more and more of fossil fuels which generate the much needed energy to power homes and a variety of other things that use energy will have to be increased. This energy resource has to be limited in use and conserved for the future so we will have to look at alternate sources of energy generation like bio gas, solar power, wind power etc to meet the growing needs of the people. Looking for alternate sources of power will help not only in less worry for countries all over the world but it will also be able to conserve the fast depleting fossil fuel energy resources. Since the heat of the sun and wind are natural resources and cannot be depleted, they are the best alternates to meet the needs of the growing population. The over dependence on non renewable resources of energy has made consumers of energy look out for alternate sources of renewable energy. Two different energy alternatives to fossil fuels are solar energy and wind energy. These are alternatives because they are freely available and are non exhaustible. Population increase can be easily countered by using these alternates.

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Ascertainment and U.S. Elections Transition Process

Ascertainment and U.S. Elections Transition Process

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Ascertainment and U.S. Elections Transition Process

Ascertainment as defined under the U.S. elections laws is the process through which administrator of the federal General Services Administration ascertains the “apparent successful candidate” in the general election and the siting president begins the transition process. This process is well documented and all presidents are required to honor it to ensure that the country remains peaceful and the incoming leader is able to take powers in the most convenient way possible. One of the major reasons for the Ascertainment is to ensure that there is no power vacuum and the country remain under good leadership that is essential for security matters (Rinfret et al., 1364). “An election cannot give a country a firm sense of direction if it has two or more national parties which merely have different names, but are as alike in their principals and aims as two peas in the same pod.” The formal presidential transition doesn’t begin until the administrator of the federal General Services Administration ascertains the “apparent successful candidate” in the general election. Neither the Presidential Transition Act nor federal regulations specify how that determination should be made.

Trump’s agency tasked with the transition process is yet to begin its work and this is creating worries among many people. The major reason for the delays is because President Trump is yet to publicly admit defeat after the November 2020 elections. The danger here is that Biden’s team will have difficult time after they take power because of the short time they will get to familiarize themselves with the government affairs. Under the U.S. election laws, the sitting president is required by law to help in the transition process by helping the incoming president with the key tools required in handling the government. To this date, Trump and his team have adamantly refused to own up this role and this is harming the core essence of Ascertainment. This is deeply analyzed by a quote that was put forward in trying to define democracy; “A government of laws, and not of men.”—John Adams Still, the failure to engage with the incoming president has delayed the vital processes that would allow the country address key issues like the pandemic and racial divisions. The Ascertainment is thus a vital process that should be honored at al cost as it endures that the country’s governing cycle remain strong (Sievert & McKee 1057).

It is the high time the country unites and realizes that there are more challenges that divide Americans (Rinfret et al., 1357). One of the best legacies Trump can leave behind is to bridge that division by first accepting the outcome of the results and working with the President Elect to bring the country together. One of the underlying issues in the U.S. is the hurting economy and the worried Americans pressured by Covid-19 pandemic. In a time when an urgent solution to the high number of deaths and infections is needed, a smooth transition would be a great step to healing. Today’s the U.S. is more divided than ever, to counting the biting danger of the pandemic that has left many jobless and many families unable to out up with life (Abramowitz et al., 12). There is a need to ensure that the country gets going to ensure that its global image is upheld as the global super power.

The solution to this lies in Trump’s administration to accept begin the transition process by allowing the incoming administration to access vital tools they need in fighting the pandemic and governing the country. It is so worrying that most Americans believe that trump may refuse to hand over power peacefully that would push the country into more internal chaos amid the intensifying Covid-19. To start with, the trump’s administration needs to lay their ambitions aside and come to the rescue of the country’s image and future that for now looks tainted globally due to the November 2020 election. Works Cited

Abramowitz, Alan I., and Steven Webster. “The rise of negative partisanship and the nationalization of US elections in the 21st century.” Electoral Studies 41 (2016): 12-22.

Rinfret, Sara, and Christina Barsky. “The gatekeepers of US elections: Exploring street level bureaucrats in Montana.” International Journal of Public Administration 43.16 (2020): 1357-1365.

Sievert, Joel, and Seth C. McKee. “Nationalization in US Senate and gubernatorial elections.” American Politics Research 47.5 (2019): 1055-1080.

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Assessment 02 Case Study Individual Assignment Draft

Assessment 02 Case Study Individual Assignment Draft

Assessment 02 Case Study Individual Assignment Draft

Author’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Individual Assignment Draft

Leadership Style Choice in Managing the Highlighted Project TeamOng et al. (2009) emphasise that project managers’ leadership styles, together with the application of project management techniques and tools, governance support, and project risk management are critical project success determinants. Among the six leadership styles discussed by Scheid (2011), I would choose the team leader and authoritative leadership styles over the democratic, all for one & one for all, and pacesetter leadership styles in managing the project team at Acorn Industries (Kerzner, 2006). This company underwent significant project management changes that could align well with these two leadership styles.

Tools and Techniques for Influencing the Project TeamWong (2007) proposes seven team-facilitation tools and techniques some of which I could leverage as a project manager to influence and advance the project team at Acorn Industries. The first is the technique of going slow to go fast, which entails an early investment in time to organise and clarify things before launching the project to enable the project team to move faster once the project commences (Wong, 2007). The second technique entails opening and narrowing team members’ thinking. The third technique involves breaking team stalemates by knowing what to do when the project team cannot make decisions. Another tool that would be vital in influencing the project team is the use of process checks.

Tools and Techniques for Managing CommunicationWhen commencing projects at Acorn Industries, individuals within impact groups, communities, and influential stakeholders outside the enterprise are involved. Also, once the project is complete, communication with parties outside the project group continues to relay information about the project evaluation and monitoring, including project benefits. Two tools and two techniques are deemed appropriate for managing communication outside of the Acorn project group. The first tool is a formal communications plan. The second tool includes various electronic communications means such as instant messaging, videoconference, web conferencing, and emails geared towards reaching remote stakeholders with important project information. Regarding communication management techniques, I would employ communications management analysis and scheduled meetings.

Power Types in Motivating the Project TeamAmong the five types of power described by Shenoy (2016), the two I would employ to motivate the team members to work collaboratively and impact the project success at Acorn Industries are the reward and expert power.

Approaches to Developing Self-Managed Teams for Agile ProjectsAgile projects deal with complex computational iterations and coding for software developments. Four approaches are essential to creating such teams, namely, hiring agile-oriented talent, empowering the team to collaborate, creating forums for innovation, and maintaining consistent, clear, and feedback-cantered communication.

Reasons for Selecting These ApproachesThe reasons for selecting these approaches revolved around the teams’ contribution to project success, the importance of team creativity, and the value of feedback-centred communication for team success.

Steps in Alleviating Challenges Faced By Project TeamsThey include making a focused execution strategy, reviewing skills, responsibilities, and accountability, refining project goals to ensure alignment with team efforts, providing proper and adequate information and resources, and identify and manage risk factors.

ReferencesKerzner, H. (2006). Project management case studies (2 Ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ong, V., Richardson, D., Duan, Y., He, Q., & Johnson, B. (2009). The role of project leadership in achieving effective project management. In Proceedings of the European Conference on Management, Leadership & Governance (pp. 157-163).

Scheid, J. (2011). Project management leadership styles -Which one is the best?. Monitoring and Controlling the Project. Bright Hub Project Management. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from http://www.brighthubpm.com/monitoring-projects/64679-project-management-leadership-styles/.

Shenoy, S. (May 13, 2016).14 types of power you can use as a project manager. PMExamSmartNotes.com powered by Simplified Education Systems. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from http://www.pmexamsmartnotes.com/5-types-of-power-to-a-project-manager/.

Wong, Z. (2007). Human factors in project management: concepts, tools, and techniques for inspiring teamwork and motivation. John Wiley & Sons.

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Assessment 2 Case Study Research

Assessment 2 Case Study Research

Assessment 2: Case Study Research

Author’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Assessment 2: Case Study Research

Chosen Case Study Research Question

How has the content and appearance of Google changed over time?

Case Study Selection Rationale

The case study on the changes in appearance and content of Google Search, Google’ primary website, over the years is selected because of four reasons. Firstly, Google has witnessed the most profound changes in its search algorithm. This multinational technology giant has consistently tweaked and fine-tuned its search algorithm, facilitating the customization of its websites’ features and appearance. This has greatly influenced its website design transformation. Secondly, Google changes the definitions, content, and configurations of Google Search frequently, making it the website that best befits the selected research question.

Thirdly, this search giant’s primary website provides the best tool for extracting rich snippets of any information and online content that one wishes to search from the Internet (Enginess, 2016). Lastly, this website is selected for the case study research endeavor because it offers the best web experience in universal usefulness and accessibility. This means that with Google controlling virtually every Internet aspect, its website offers exceptional experiences for online information organization, online information search, and information relevance.

Data Obtainment Methods

Many data collection methods exist, but those used in collecting data about changes in Google Search’s content and appearance in this case study research are website tracking, web analytics, and online surveys. The website tracking data collection approach entails a non-invasive and in-website data obtainment technique that gathers data based on website traffic, website content ratings, cookie information, website user data points, and other elements. This method is suitable for data collection in this research because it gathers data on website structure, content, language, content user authentication, multiple sites’ services, third party content provisioning, website information architecture, website usability testing, content personalization, and web documents’ style (Bujlow et al., 2015; Ermakova et al., 2018; Nermend et al., 2013).

The web analytics method collects website-related data using web analytics packages such as Google Analytics. These packages collect data via approaches that leverage log files and JavaScript (Murdock, 2006). The log file method in web analytics collects data by tracking files routinely stored on the target website hosts’ server. The JavaScript method of web analytics-based data collection encompasses leveraging JavaScript code included with the website. The code tracks and collects website-related data and sends it to web analytics service providers from where processed analytics of the website can be sourced (Turner, 2010). Both web analytics-based methods collect data on website traffic (visitor numbers, visit durations, visitor behaviors, visitor activity), content visited, website media, content metrics (benchmarks, key performance indicators, and indices), and other website elements (Booth & Jansen, 2010; Kaushik, 2009).

The online survey method collects data about the website content and appearance changes either by creating flexible and customizable surveys embedded on the host website or using a third party. Online surveys are a convenient data collection method because they can be administered via multiple channels, including shared links on websites, social media, emails, and webpage popups. The merits of leveraging online survey for collecting data on this website include quick returns, easy access to broad and geographically dispersed populations, and simplified data entry. Other advantages are convenience, flexibility, data collection timeliness and speed, survey customization, ongoing digital research innovations, and inquiry diversity (Evans & Mathur, 2018).

Ethical Challenges and Implications of Using These Methods

The principal ethical challenge of using these methods is the data privacy and security concern. Collecting data using the web analytics-based method that relies on JavaScript codes raises privacy issues because it entails placing cookies (first party and third party cookies) on unsuspecting website users’ devices and channeling that data to independent companies for storage and review (Murdock, 2006). Another ethical challenge of using these digital data collection methods is user consent. Placing such cookies on users’ device without their consent can culminate in personal data compromises, leading to anonymity and confidentiality issues relating to personal data (Florea & Florea, 2020; Hand, 2018).

Data handling is the third ethical challenge. It requires adopting safeguarding practices such as storage location, data encryption, pseudonym usage, and secure server technologies to ensure data regarding the target website stays safe (Facca et al., 2020). Other ethical challenges associated with using these methods include data ownership (influenced by website copyright) and purpose of use specifications. One implication of employing these methods involves verifying the trustworthiness and validity of the website-related data gathered. Other implications entail delineating data collection lawfulness, determining data property explicitness or ownership rights (differentiating between data user and data-owner), and the aspects of data portability, data sharing, and data reuse (Facca et al., 2020; Florea & Florea, 2020; Hand, 2018).

Research Findings

The research findings indicates that Google Search’s content and appearance have greatly evolved since its inception in 1998. Between this year and 2001, the website’s appearance included only its registered trademark, simple graphics, and adwords (Ionos, Inc., 2018). Its content incorporated only a few million webpages from the 25 million webpages that constituted the web (Khan, 2018). Between 2001 and 2005, the website’s appearance became more complex to include new elements such as news feeds, synonymy developers, location maps, product promotion features, and stock quotes. The content also advanced, moving from simple keywords to longer and tailored conversations (Khan, 2018). From 2004 to 2009, this website progressed in content and appearance to include features for universal search, sports and movie chronologies, patent development, video, Google search application, weather, and flight (Ionos, Inc., 2018).

Its content expanded from conversations to camera enabled content following advancements in visual recognition technology. By 2013, the website’s appearance and content were more sophisticated, as they included featured snippets such as Google instance search, search engine optimization (SEO), customized search tools, advanced desktop voice search, knowledge graphing, and image-based search (Ionos, Inc., 2018). Today, Google Search is one of the most advanced websites and search engines, with artificially intelligent search options, image carousels, algorithmic webpage filtering, mobile friendly sites, (Enginess, 2016), multiple machine learning-based Google apps, search engine results organization and updating, and other complex content and appearance developments that allow Google to control sites everywhere.

Brief Project Expansion Commentary

I might expand this project in three ways. The first is the integration of other scientific research methods, including quantitative, qualitative, or mix-research methods. The second is by brainstorming the research project with available references (peers, experts, industry specialists, and others) and incorporating their suggestions. The third entials visiting several topical guides on the topic for additional inquiry insights into the project.

References

Booth, D., & Jansen, B. J. (2010). A review of methodologies for analyzing websites. Web technologies: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, 145-166.

Bujlow, T., Carela-Español, V., Solé-Pareta, J., & Barlet-Ros, P. (2015). Web tracking: Mechanisms, implications, and defenses. ArXiv preprint arXiv: 1507.07872. Arxiv.org Digital Library.

Enginess. (April 15, 2016). Google’s impact on web design. Enginess. Retrieved May 25, 2021, from https://www.enginess.io/insights/google-changes-web-design.

Ermakova, T., Fabian, B., Bender, B., & Klimek, K. (2018, January). Web tracking-A literature review on the state of research. In Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 4732-4741. Doi: 10.24251/HICSS.2018.596.

Evans, J. R., & Mathur, A. (2018). The value of online surveys: A look back and a look ahead. Internet Research, Doi: 10.1108/IntR-03-2018-0089.

Facca, D., Smith, M. J., Shelley, J., Lizotte, D., & Donelle, L. (2020). Exploring the ethical issues in research using digital data collection strategies with minors: A scoping review. Plos One, 15(8), e0237875. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237875.

Florea, D., & Florea, S. (2020). Big Data and the Ethical Implications of Data Privacy in Higher Education Research. Sustainability, 12(20), 8744. Doi: 10.3390/su12208744.

Hand, D. J. (2018). Aspects of data ethics in a changing world: Where are we now?. Big data, 6(3), 176-190. Doi: 10.1089/big.2018.0083.

Ionos, Inc. (2018). Google search results: The evolution of the SERPs. Ionos Digital Guide. Ionos, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2021, from https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/online-marketing/search-engine-marketing/the-evolution-of-google-search-results-1998-to/.

Kaushik, A. (2009). Web analytics 2.0: The art of online accountability and science of customer centricity. John Wiley & Sons.

Khan, S. (October 2018). The evolution of Search. Google APAC. Retrieved May 25, 2021, from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/evolution-search/.

Murdock, K. (2006). Web analytics: Data collection methods. Practical Ecommerce. Confluence Distribution, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2021, from https://www.practicalecommerce.com/Web-Analytics-Data-Collection-Methods.

Nermend, K., Shihab, A., & Wąsikowska, B. (2013). The application of web-tracking method for research of local government units’ websites utility. Szczecin, Poland. Szczecin University.

Turner, S. J. (2010). Website statistics 2.0: Using Google Analytics to measure library website effectiveness. Technical Services Quarterly, 27(3), 261-278. Doi 10.1080/07317131003765910.

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The British Empire in the 18th and 19th century conquered many countries including the United

The British Empire in the 18th and 19th century conquered many countries including the United

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The British Empire in the 18th and 19th century conquered many countries including the United States of America, as it was their tradition the British mistreated the Native Americans just like they had killed, maimed and took land of the Natives of other countries they had conquered. In his book “a different Mirror”, Takaki brings out the suffering the American Natives underwent from their own perspective.

When the British started pouring into America, they did not take into concern of the people living there; they were only interested in taking the land away from the Natives. The British had low regards of the Natives way of life and regarded the Indians as savages, beasts, and other names such as cannibals, and uncivilized Heathens. The British did not like the Indians way of life, they said that the “they lived like herds of deer” (Takaki, pg 33).

The British that their culture was much superior to any other culture in the United States and their way of life much civilized that the Native Americans. They therefore classified the Indians as animals. As more British came to the United States the Natives slowly became the minority, the high numbers of the British meant that they needed more space to settle. In order to the space Indians were evicted from their land and whoever resisted was killed without a second thought. The perception that they were superior pushed the British to even kill Indians and ravage their land as they were animals that were not fit to live amongst them (Takaki, pg 34).

The need to get more land by the British and to push the Indians out resulted to the enacting of a bill known as the Indian Removal Act. The act was enacted on the 28th of May 1830 by Andrew Jackson (Takaki 33). The act directed that the Native Indians should trade the land they wee occupying for another land to the west of the Mississippi. The act was not however without conditions, the president promised “aid” for those people who wanted to move or to those who were moving. The Indians were also assured that the land they were trading would always belong to them regardless who were occupying it, the rule however an exception. The treaty stated that if “Indians become extinct, or abandon the same” then “…such lands shall revert to the United States”. The Indians were also offered protection from any harassment if they moved. After examining the treaty and the accompanying promises, five different tribes resolved to move to the land on the other side of Mississippi with the destination being Oklahoma also known as the Indian Territory (Takaki, pg 33).

Trail of Tears

Over 70,000 Natives embarked on the trek to Oklahoma, a journey that took almost ten years to reach Oklahoma. The trek was given the name Trail of Tears due to the big number of the Natives who died. What had looked as a good deal soon turned into tears as a big number of Natives died along the way due to exhaustion and starvation. One of the tribes that were moving known as the Cherokee lost approximately 3,000 members. The other tribes also lost thousands of their members, and for those who were lucky enough to get to Oklahoma a majority were not spared by diseases and died as a result (Takaki, pg 53).

Nez Perce Tribe

The Nez Perce Tribe was not willing to the designated lands, thus about 750 members of the tribe moved to Montana. They managed to settle in Montana but were not aware of an impending attack from Howard, having fought before to protect their land the Montana attack took them by surprise a significant number of people were killed. Sensing that the whole tribe might be wiped out the chief surrendered and eventually the tribe was forcefully moved to the one of the reservation. In the reservations the natives were not allowed to move freely as they used to, the living conditions were not favorable and a majority died of diseases and hunger (Takaki, pg 53).

African-Americans

The Indians were not the only persons that the British killed or mistreated the African Americans were also tortured by the British, made to work for long hours. Some African –Americans even died from being overworked by the British. The British regarded the African-Americans as uncivilized, and animals. The British were however afraid of the African – Americans, they could not tell what their emotions were the British could not tell when they were angry or happy. Even when mistreated to the extreme the African – Americans did not care, this resulted in the British calling them“Sambo” (Takaki, pg 106). The British however did not bar the African- Americans from living with them; this is because they needed their manpower unlike the Indians (Takaki, pg 50).

Conclusion

The British used intimidation so as to look superior to the other tribes; they knew it was only by instilling fear in the Natives by killing them, taking their land and destroying their crops that they could control them. They had no respect for the cultures of the other tribes and worked hard to destroy them, as they realized there were some cultures that brought the tribes together which could work to their disadvantage.

Work Cited

Takaki, Ronald T.. A different mirror: a history of multicultural America. New York: sage, 2010. Print.

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Odysseus The Journey

Odysseus The Journey

The Journey

Introduction

Odysseus is the chief character of the novel Odyssey, and it records his homecoming journey since his departure from Troy. Odysseus is seen to be present in the Iliad, but he has a different mission from that of the poem. The story talks about the challenges he encountered on land and sea. The story also gives an account of how he will avenge the honor of his family from the suitors, who are surrounding his house waiting for his wife to choose another man. Through out his journey he is assisted by Athena but to be disillusioned by Poseidon who says that “I will make his journey very difficult because he blinded my son”. Telemachus is the son of Odysseus, and he wants to stop the suitors from taking advantage of his father’s estate. He searches for his father’s news so that they can proclaim their estate. Telemachus and Odysseus journey is similar to some extent because both of them face challenges in their trips.

Odysseus

Odysseus is portrayed as a leader with Homeric character. He is powerful, confident, and courageous, and he wants to achieve glory. Odysseus has a character trait that makes him different from the others since he is extremely intelligent, and this is evident by his calculations before an action. His intelligence and quick thinking helped him in difficult situations that he encountered. His intelligence saves him when he escapes from Cyclops cave, and when he hides the suitor’s slaughters “please play the wedding song for the guests”. Odysseus is remarkably eloquent in his speeches, and he manipulates and convinces the audience (Steinruck, Pp 23). His soft tongue makes many people in the audience favor and agree with him. This is evident when he wins the trust of Nausicca by using a comforting approach when addressing them. Just like other Homeric heroes, Odysseus is striving to achieve glory from the society by the good deeds and he also wants to go home.

He is an adventures person, and this is portrayed by his luxurious life with calypso in an exotic land even though it lasts for a moment. He practices infidelity with Calypso for a short time and realizes he wants to go back home because Calypso does not compare to his wife. He is concerned about his home, and this is evident because he constantly thinks about home while spending time with Phaeacians. Odysseus is torn between the quest of getting home and achieving glory. Most of his time of getting home is wasted by his search for glory. He is troubled when he looses men and time while sacking land. Odysseus is a patient man “I will wait for as long as it takes in these caves” while enjoying milk and cheese (Steinruck, Pp 35). His patience makes him trapped in the cave when the Cyclops returns.

Homeric characters are presented to be static since they are complex and realistic. These characters do not move from their mission and course of work as portrayed by characters in modern novels and stories. However, this rule is broken by Odysseus and Telemachus. Odysseus is consumed by his quest of achieving glory, and this makes him reveal his identity to the Cyclops, thus bringing Poseidon’s anger on him. He is willing to temper his pride with patience at the concluding part of the epic. Even when he is disguised as a pauper Odysseus does not react to the abuse, “I will wait until the traps I have set and loyal people will place me at a suitable position for striking back” (Steinruck, Pp 44).

Telemachus

Telemachus was a child when his father left for Troy. At the beginning of the novel, Telemachus is still growing up. He is encountered with many challenges because he does not know how to protect the land from the suitors. Athena tells Telemachus to fight for his father’s estate as she tells him “you are no longer a child” (Steinruck, Pp 54). He is facing this challenge because he recently became aware of the real intentions of the suitors. Telemachus is told by Athena that his father is still alive and he must make a journey to Pylos and Sparta to enquire about any news of his father. While he prepares to move make his journey to Pylos and Sparta, Athena visits masked as a mentor. She tells Telemachus “your journey will be successful” (Steinruck, 2008). Athena moves to town and assembles a crew to sail with Telemachus on his journey. He is courageous like his father because he takes the open sea with faith that God is on his side. When Telemachus and Athena arrive at Pylos they witness a religious ceremony where dozens of bulls are sacrificed. Telemachus is not good as his father in public speaking and this is evident as he fears to talk to city king. Athena encourages Telemachus by telling him “go and speak to King Nester”. Telemachus is then accompanied by Pisistratus the son of the king to Sparta and the two set out on land. Telemachus resembles his father as he is quickly identified by the queen of Sparta Helen “you are the son of Odysseus” (Steinruck, Pp 60). When Telemachus is told that his father is imprisoned in an island, he returns back to pylos to set sail for Ithaca. He faces the same challenge like his father because the suitors want to ambush him. Telemachus is courageous like his father as he moves alone around southern Greece to learn of his father’s fate. Telemachus is has the skill of impressing host and this is evident as he impresses the host in Ithaca.

Telemachus confronts the suitors and commands them to stop taking advantage of his father’s estate. He takes control of the estate even when Penelope and Eurycleia become angry of his actions. Telemachus is different from his father because he has different talents. He is portrayed as a person with a stout heart, intelligent mind and a little bit of a temper. However, he does not have the skills of speaking fluently and softly as Odysseus. He is a careless man because he leaves the weapons store open and this allows the suitors to take arms. Even if, Odysseus makes mistakes on his course during the epic, he can not afford to make a careless mistake like that of Telemachus. Telemachus is different from his father because he has not inherited his pride. He has not developed perfectly as his father, and this is evident while he tries to string the bow. He nearly does it but not quite and this shows the he cannot match his father’s skills, but he is on his way.

Telemachus and Odysseus journey is similar to some extent because both of them face challenges in their trips. Telemachus wants to be ambushed by suitors while Odysseus is imprisoned in an island by calypso. Both of them are protected by the gods in their journey to reach their destination. Telemachus is different from his father since he does not have the skills of public speaking and convicting a crowd. Although he is courageous like his father, he is not intelligent as Odysseus because he makes serious mistakes. Odysseus has a character trait that makes him different from the others since he is extremely intelligent, and this is evident by his calculations before an action. Just like other Homeric heroes, Odysseus is striving to achieve glory from the society by the good deeds and he wants to go home. Odysseus is torn between the quest of getting home and achieving glory. Most of his time of getting home is wasted by his search for glory. Telemachus is courageous like his father as he moves alone around southern Greece to learn of his father’s fate.

Conclusion

Odysseus has been transformed because of the challenges he experienced throughout his journey. He has learnt not to trust everybody because some people do not have good interest of him in heart. He has learnt this because the people who betrayed his family are those who were close to his father. His journey has transformed in that he has become a patient man and he is focused on achieving his goal. He has learnt to listen to other people advice first before making a decision.

Works cited

Steinruck, Mogn. The Suitors in the Odyssey: The Clash between Homer and Archilochus. New York: Peter Lang. 2008

Related article: https://www.applewriters.com/troy-paper-prompt-telemechus-heroic-journey

Technologies

Technologies

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Informative Speech about Uber Technologies

Topic: Uber Technologies

General purpose: To inform

Specific purpose: To inform my audience about one of the most successful and globally renowned black-car service company, Uber technologies.

Thesis statement: This speech highlights the challenges and ethical issues experienced by Uber Technologies. It further proposes innovative policies and strategies to address the challenges as well as strategies that can be employed in achieving an equitable, cross-cultural, and multicultural work environment.

Introduction

Attention Getter: Although Uber came into existence in 2009 and started as a black-car hire, it has expanded widely across many continents and countries. What makes the Uber industry stand out is the fact as opposed to traditional car hire services, it employs a digital approach to ensure a win-win situation for the client, the driver, and the company. In short, Uber Technologies runs all its services on an application that connects riders to clients. The most intriguing part of the business is the simplicity of the business. The Uber services took the ridesharing services to the next level because it capitalized on convenience. Think of it this way, people are always on the move, traveling to a different destination, the store, to work, and even tending to emergencies. Uber Technologies stands out as it was the first company to develop an application that uses GPS to link a client to a driver. The fact that one can log in into an application request for a ride and have the rider pick them from their location is very attractive to my clients.

Reason to listen: Over the years, Uber has faced many disruptive challenges and fought many rivals transforming the company from a black-car service to an empire for self-driving cars and food delivery.

Thesis statement: This speech highlights the challenges and ethical issues experienced by Uber Technologies. It further proposes innovative policies and strategies to address the challenges as well as strategies that can be employed in achieving an equitable, cross-cultural, and multicultural work environment.

Credibility statement:

I have always been interested in matters pertaining to how technology has revolutionized the transportation industry over the years.

At every opportunity I get, I try to learn as much as possible about the million dollar black-car services in the world.

Preview of main points:

First, I will discuss the challenges and ethical issues experienced by Uber Technologies.

Second I will discuss innovative policies and strategies to address the challenges.

Finally, I will discuss strategies that Uber can employ in achieving an equitable, cross-cultural, and multicultural work environment.

Although both the Uber drivers and clients face challenges, there are hardly any downsides for customers.

One of the greatest challenges facing the industry is safety concerns

In many states and cities that have lax transport industry regulations, average citizens can easily infiltrate the system as service providers.

Although it has a positive impact on the number of drivers, there is no way to guarantee that the drivers will maintain professionalism and safety.

Another issue is surge pricing, which controls free markets by lowering and increasing pricing based on demand

This hurts customers as sometimes the fare could triple or double during peak hours.

Low fares also impact negatively on drivers due to low earnings.

According to Kovoor-Misaram in cities like New York, drivers are encouraged to get luxury cars and the latest models to keep with their customers’ needs.

Price competition has had a negative impact on the transport industry. This has to do with the fact that Uber and other e-hail taxi services are always competing to provide the cheapest service. Further, they are also in competition with traditional taxi- services.

Another challenge facing the Uber business is the lack of accessibility features for people with disabilities

In some countries, car hire companies are mandated by the law to have a given number of wheelchair accessible vans for use.

This is not always the case as most drivers don’t have access to the resources making it difficult to comply with the law.

Maheshwari notes that over the past few years, Uber has found itself at the center of unethical scandals ranging from sexual assault, sabotage, the issue of multi-tasking, and privacy.

There have been cases of customers raising sexual assault accusations against Uber drivers. This is because the process of bringing drivers on has been negligent. Word is, Uber does not meet with drivers before approving their applications. It is expected that such a multi-billion company can afford to run background checks on their drivers as it is the only way to ensure clients’ safety.

Furthermore, Uber has been found to employ techniques of sabotage against their competitors to ensure they remain in business.

Several Uber drivers were found to request rides from Lyft, their main competitor, only to cancel them.

This causes the Lyft drivers to waste gas and have low availability leading customers to request Uber rides instead.

The fact that Uber bases its operations on using GPS to reach potential clients presents a drawback from a safety perspective.

This is because drivers have to keep checking their mobile drivers while driving, increasing the chances of causing accidents.

Uber has also been accused of disregarding its clients’ privacy as it has an application used in tracking their customers’ location.

Transition: Now that I have discussed the challenges and ethical issues experienced by Uber Technologies, I will now address the innovative policies and strategies that can be used to resolve them.

B. One of the strategies Uber can employ to avoid scandals is putting safeguards in place.

Putting sufficient safeguards provides a way of nullifying the negative publicity that faces them.

Uber has been accused of sexual violations and drivers cheating their clients. According to Garud, while some of the allegations were true they lead to negative implications on the company’s brand.

Another strategy would be to offer its employees more flexible schedules to attract more people in need of additional income streams

Another strategy is adjusting its income claims by reducing commission.

Currently, Uber collects commissions ranging from 20%-28% of earnings.

According to Wong, Uber should develop a grievance handling and sexual harassment policy in its company to help address cases of sexual harassment against its customers.

Implementation of such a policy can help address the issue and improve their brand image.

To maximize profits, Uber must recognize the changing nature of its business by diversifying its services. Recently, Uber has started leveraging technology for optimal driver allocation and cab bookings.

Moreover, with the current situation, Uber should continue to scale up alternative businesses, including Uber Eats and Uber Freight.

Transition: Now that I have discussed about the innovative policies and strategies to address the challenges, I will touch on the strategies that Uber can employ in achieving an equitable, cross-cultural, and multicultural work environment.

C. A multi-cultural environment must consider not only race and gender but also sexual orientation

1. Uber Technologies recognizes that having inclusive and diverse teams is their greatest asset.

a. It drives innovation which provides them with a competitive advantage.

b. Uber technologies have doubled its commitment to create a work environment where people from all backgrounds can thrive and function.

c. increasing the representation of underrepresented groups, including women by increasing women workforce to 50%, increasing women’s representation in technology and leadership positions.

d. This means including people who identify as LGBTI in the workforce to ensure a diverse and equitable workforce.

Conclusion:

Review of main points:

First, I discussed the challenges and ethical issues experienced by Uber Technologies.

Second I discussed innovative policies and strategies to address the challenges.

Finally, I discussed strategies that Uber can employ in achieving an equitable, cross-cultural, and multicultural work environment

Restate Thesis: This speech highlights the challenges and ethical issues experienced by Uber Technologies. It further proposes innovative policies and strategies to address the challenges as well as strategies that can be employed in achieving an equitable, cross-cultural, and multicultural work environment.

Closure: To address these problems, Uber Technologies must realize the need to keep their employees happy, reduce commissions, run background checks on drivers, and have safeguards.

Works Cited

Garud, Raghu, et al. “Liminal movement by digital platform‐based sharing economy ventures: The case of Uber Technologies.” Strategic Management Journal (2020).

Kovoor-Misra, Sarah. Crisis management: Resilience and change. Sage Publications, 2019.

Maheshwari, Nidhi. “Uber taxi cab-handling crisis communication.” Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies (2017).

Wong, Julia Carrie. “Uber concealed massive hack that exposed data of 57m users and drivers.” The Guardian 22 (2017).

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The Cold War.

The Cold War.

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The Cold War.

Cold war refers to the period of open yet restricted rivalry that took place after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies. The rivalry was established along economic, political, and propaganda fronts with limited use of weapons. The war lasted through the span of the Truman Doctrine of 1947 to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term “cold” comes into play because these two superpowers did not record large-scale fighting. This conflict was a construct of geopolitical and ideological struggle for global supremacy following their victory from a temporary alliance formed against Nazi Germany in 1945.Further, these two superpowers employed indirect means such as espionage, psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, far-reaching embargoes, and rivalry at technological competitions or sports events to express their dominance. George Orwell first used the phrase “cold war” in 1945 in an article he had published (McCauley, 45). He foresaw a nuclear standoff involving two superpowers, whereby each possessed disastrous weapons capable of killing millions of people in a matter of seconds.

The alliance between Great Britain and the United States on one hand and the Soviet Union on the other unraveled as a result of Nazi Germany’s surrender in May 1945. By 1948, the Soviets had set up left-wing governments in Eastern Europe countries freed by the Red Army. The Americans and the British feared the permanent domination of eastern European countries by the Soviets. This posed the threat of having communist parties dominating western Europe democracies (Peng 67). In addition to the global spread of communism, the Soviets wanted to maintain eastern Europe’s control to secure it from renewed threats from Germany. By 1948, the cold war solidified when aid provided by the United States’ Marshall plan in western Europe brought together countries that had been influenced by Americans. By this time, the Soviets had already established a communist system of government in eastern Europe.

The United States and its European allies created the National Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 in response to Soviet attacks and declared their global policy in containing Soviet influence. In response to formation of NATO, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Major crisis including the Berlin blockade, the Korean war, the Chinese civil war, the Suez, the Cuban Missile of 1962, and the Berlin crisis of 1961 took place. At this point, the United States and the Soviet Union were competing to decolonize Asian and African states and influence the Middle East and Latin American countries. The Cuban Missile crisis led to the split between the Soviet Union and China, which further complicated political relations in the communist sphere. Consequently, France, an ally of the United States, increased its demand for autonomy of action. In 1968, The Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to suppress the Prague Spring, while the United States went through internal unrest from opposers of the Vietnam War and civil rights movements (Westad, 12). An international peace movement began to sprout globally in the 1960s. Campaigns against nuclear disbarment and arms testing were on the rise and by 1970s, both parties were receptive to addressing peace and security, resulting in eased relations that eased strategic arms limitation talks and opened US relations with China. Eventually, détente collapsed, leading to the increased military, economic and diplomatic pressures on the Soviet Union by the United States.

The close of the cold war happened after President Richard Nixon took office and adopted a new approach towards international relations. As opposed to viewing the world as bipolar, he suggested the use of diplomacy as opposed to military action. President Nixon encouraged recognition of the communist Chinese government by the United Nations following his trip there which led to establishment of diplomatic relations with Beijing. Worth noting, at this point, President Nixon had adopted the détente policy of relaxation towards the Soviet Union. In 1962, President Nixon, signed the Strategic Arms Limitation with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhev, which banned the production of nuclear missiles by each side. This step was turning point because it eliminated the threats of nuclear war that had lasted decades. Noteworthy, despite all the efforts made by President Nixon to end the war, it spouted again under the rule of Ronald Regean who was president between 1911 and 2004. Just like many leaders of his time, he was of the idea that the spread of communism anywhere would threaten freedom everywhere in the world. As s result, President Reagan worked to provide military and financial aid to insurgencies and anticommunist governments across the world.

Works Cited

McCauley, Martin. Origins of the Cold War 1941-1949. Routledge, 2015.

Peng, Juanjuan, and Hongjie Wang. “World History II (GA Southern).” (2018).

Westad, Odd Arne. The Cold War: a world history. Basic Books, 2017.

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Social Factors that Motivated Reform Movements in the North before the Civil War

Social Factors that Motivated Reform Movements in the North before the Civil War

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Social Factors that Motivated Reform Movements in the North before the Civil War

Both non-violent and occasionally violent in nature, the Pre-Civil War era is probably marked as one of the most chronically monumental in the history of America. This period occurred between 1815 and 1850 AD and was characterized by numerous civil, social, moral, political, and religious controversies. It is worth noting that many socialists and historical political scientists credit this period as the genesis of American reforms. It is the series of reformations, civil rights activism, demand for better services, equal rights for women, enlightening, and evangelical revivalism that gave rise to activities inspiring change. Socially considered, a number of societal political transformations, religious factors, cultural establishments, and economic developments took center-stage in inspiring reforms directly or indirectly.

In general, most reforms had two fronts of societal approach. In the first, reformers hoped that collective movements would help in relieving the social problems that the society had presented in the era. Typically, a characteristic violent and vehement society had emerged in the preceding period. Perhaps, reformists believed that the changes they advocatedwould help secure them a safer society. There also existed a constantly widening gap in class divisions, societal stratification, and wealth distribution. Thus, there were some few, but extremely rich individuals with a contrasting majority languishing in abject poverty. The implication of this was that opportunities would differ in relation to wealth and financial ability; with the rich accessing better education, healthcare, and other services. Analytically, this social element is common for spurring revolutions across the history of humanity. The probable aim of revolts related to this scenario is the hope to achieve an equal society that distributes resources fairly and offers equal opportunities to its populations. The second front was religious and evangelically oriented.

Considering political establishments and transformations, numerous occurrences increased relative individual freedom and expanded space for political activism that would later result in reform movements. As explained by Blau, it is this range of political activities that were later to be called Jacksonian Democracy (94). Between 1815 and 1840, the laws that required individuals to own certain amounts of property in order to be able to vote or hold various offices got abolished. Again, shouting loudly to garner higher amounts of votes during elections also got discredited. Notably, various institutions previously entrusted with the task of handpicking individuals to hold political and administrative offices had this privilege taken away from them and given to the electorate (Blau 373). The consequence was an increased voter participation in the election with improved enthusiasm towards political activities. Undoubtedly, these and other political changes were partly responsible for motivating reform movements.

Religion, morality, and the general spirit of societal reformation are other social factors motivating movements and activism in the pre-civil war era. Increasingly, absence of the rule of law, violence, continuous transgression, and evildoing became the order of the day. While religious reformers sought to give people an opportunity to serve the supernatural and live Godly lives, moral reformers battled societal evils like drunkenness, prostitution, profanity, and all social ills. On the other and social reformers sought positions that would ensure societal uprightness in terms of education, enlightenment and development. Thus, as explained by Mintz, there was increased establishment of prisons to curb crime, advocacy for the abolishment of slavery, and the fight for equal rights amongst men and women. Not only did reformers advocate for the establishment of good public schools, but also did they fight for Especially Education for the hearing impaired, visually impaired, physically handicapped, and other health impairments previously sidelined in the provision of education (50-79). Hence, the social elements of religion and morality spurred numerous reform movements that aimed at establishing improved living conditions and more moral lifestyles for the citizens.

Characterized by typical inventions, innovations and discoveries, the 19th Century America was probably one of the most emerging economic societies. Just to mention but a few, the reaper, electric light, steam locomotive, miner’s lamp, stethoscope, typewriter, matches, electromagnets, and the stereoscope were all invented during this period (Parish 685). The most instrumental of these discoveries were in transport, communication, and construction industries. Thus, the construction or modern roads, railways, and the invention of steam engines and steamboats facilitated rapid economic growth. Ultimately, cities began to rise along transportation lines. Interaction and enlightenment increased. Most of all, major parts of the population were empowered economically (Parish 215). The fact that manufacturing and improved transportation increased production also acted as a catalyzing factor to of Reform movements in the north before the civil war. Additional reasons why this was achieved included socialization in the process of trade and enlightenment through interaction.

Undeniably, numerous reform movements and civil activities characterized the pre-civil war era. Each of these advocated different elements in the society. Commonly, the social structure of the society presented various factors that made it suitable for reform movements to occur. These included politics, religion, culture, and economic developments.

Works Cited

Blau, Joseph L. Social Theories of Jacksonian Democracy: Representative Writings of the Period 1825-1850. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 2003. Print.

Mintz, Steven. Moralists and Modernizers: America’s Pre-Civil War Reformers. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995. Print.

Parish, Peter J. Reader’s Guide to American History. London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997. Print.

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Use of Suffering in the Creation of Meaning

Use of Suffering in the Creation of Meaning

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Use of Suffering in the Creation of Meaning

Writers differently use their intellectual capacity and literary skills to appeal to the empathetic moods of readers. Scenarios are created that depict subjection to unfolding suffering that is the writer’s point of connection with the reader. This paper does a literary appreciation and explains how pain has been used to create meaning in two pieces of literature; Orwell’s Such, Such Were the Joys and Diamond’s Last American.

Such, Such Were the Joys

After his admission at Crossgates, the writer tells, he began experiencing a series of interconnected suffering that left both psychological and physical impacts on him.The first suffering was the withdrawal from home that often leaves children with a sense of insecurity and the stress of adoption to a new environment. Children become sick when taken away from home and grow lonely so to miss their family settings.The first suffering subjected the writer to his tribulations that have made him hate the school memories and loathe the idea of visiting his former school.The new environment had a psychological impact on him, something that he now believes happens to every child who has been taken away from home. He started bedwetting, again, at the age of eight. Seemingly, he had been relieved of this uncontrollable problem four years prior, at the age of four. The problem further scaled his isolation as he was the only one bedwetting in their dormitory. He felt odd and that the others must have been looking down upon him because the problem was considered to plague only generations of the younger age. The author wants to connect to the readers in this case by making them understand his situation and then sympathize. He portrays his state of bed pissing as something he did not will, but something that plagued him. He also wants the reader to understand his state of loneliness.Bed pissing was compounded by several other problems that tormented the writer mentally and brought physical pain along. When he is called and warned by Mrs. Bingo, the author develops an enormous amount of fear. He misconceives everything that he is told at this point as a result of little focus resultant of the fear. The fear inspired in him on that day was so great that he seriously prayed to God to take away from him the problem of bedwetting. Suffering is taken to another level when the writer awakes to realize that God did not answer his prayers to stop his problems. Psychological torture scales and the author fails to understand why even after praying and making resolutions with God, his problems still persist.At this state, the matron asks him to report to the Headmaster in which case he gets punished by cane. When he makes a confession to his mates that the punishment wasn’t that painful, he is subjected to a repeat of the same. Moreover, the second punishment is harsher than the first. The writer suffers physical torture from parties who do not understand that his bedwetting is not deliberate. When he is getting punished, he feels like he is in the world in which he is a loner.The author also makes us realize that there is a group of bigger boys, referred to as the Sixth Grade that are warranted to mete out punishments to the younger smaller boys. The more adolescent boys, hence, live in a state of fear not of just the administration, but of fellow students.The writer through all his suffering makes to clear that he is a loner in that school and that none, including the management, understand the problems that befall him. He clarifies his innocence, and the psychological torture that is not tended to, but serves to subject him to more suffering.

The Last American

The literary piece covers the environmental inequities that man commit that have negative repercussions on his life.The overexploitation of environmental resources weakened Agriculture and other economic activities that always played the backbone of ancient empires. Implications of a degraded environment went even further as enemies always sought to take advantage and attack the legendary countries, a factor that always led to their subsequent collapse. Water scarcity could result from overuse of land and land clearance that left the soil bare and incapable of holding enough water. Underground reservoirs could only serve too long but were subject to depletion after which such populated cities were left in a quagmire.Helplessness that resulted from agriculture was caused by poor agricultural practices that did not aim at increasing Agricultural Production to sustain the large populations while protecting the environment.Relevance of protection of the environment is elaborated further in the modern world. Clearing of vegetation and establishing of towns and cities in dry places with no adequate supply of water, deprives man of clean water. Environmental degradation also takes the green cover along with it. The writer lays bare the risks including health hazards that man exposes himself to when he falls short in accomplishing his roles of caring for the environment as he supposedly should.Hampered Agriculture creates a state of malnutrition and weakness. Malnutrition is the source for slowed production and subjection to foreign rule. It can also set way for health plagues.The writer wins the readers to his side when clarifies the suffering that people are subjected to and acts to stem out the root causes. He links the issues to each other and then to the root cause. He further goes to the extent of explaining the actions that should have been taken at that time, and the actions that should be taken at the present. He elaborates how scarcity of some resources results from overexploitation of others, or how poor leadership catapults man’s problems. By associating the ancient dynasties to the present world, the author is implying that if no drastic measures are taken, the current dynasties night just end in the same state as the previous.

Conclusion

Suffering is always used by the writers to appeal to the reader’s intellect to understand the situation at hand. It has been used in the first instance by Orwell to win the reader to his side of questioning just how the ancient curriculum was run. In the second case, it is used by Diamond to help the reader understand the repercussions of poor environmental care and impacts of poor leadership on the well-being of the country. That achieved, the reader develops the same attitude as the writer and wants to help protect the environment.Suffering as a literary tool, is used to create meaning for literary pieces and win the readers’ sympathy. Moreover, it is used to develop a new mentality in the readers.

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