Freedom and the Good Life free essay sample

Freedom and the Good Life Most people believe that freedom is one of the most important things in the world. Freedom is not only mandatory for a good life but it also seems to be essential for morality . In his discussion of moral philosophy and freedom, Immanuel Kant wrote that â€Å"Ought implies can†. It is often said that without freedom there cannot be morality and there would not be much worth living for. Two very important questions related to are raised that are frequently overlooked. These are; What is so important about freedom to us? And; what exactly is ‘freedom’? There are a vast number of definitions of freedom. ‘Freedom’ is generally defined as the lack of all the unreasonable restraints in our speech, movement, activity and beliefs. But this definition begins to seem vague when related to various issues relating the issue of freedom. Frithjof Bergmann outlined what he called our â€Å"schizophrenic view of freedom† in his book On Being Free, which consisted of two sides. We will write a custom essay sample on Freedom and the Good Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The first being that freedom is a wonderful thing that not only gives us humans a distinguished status thus separating us from nature, but also assumed to be a main human goal. However, the other view is that freedom is a horrible thing that humans desperately try to escape. In this view people are glad that they may easily escape the authority on a matter that seems difficult and too painful to face. This can be referred to as ‘bad faith’, coined by the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Freedom is so often a negative concept that it becomes a problem to define freedom and mention its good qualities. When people are constantly suffering under a particular oppressive leader, the meaning of freedom means ‘free form’. When something is imposed on a person and the person does it unwillingly, then relief from this imposition would be considered freedom. However, this becomes more difficult when there is no evident oppressor or nothing definite to react against. The context does not justify the conclusion at times. Freedom cannot simply be thought of as ‘freedom form’ some undesirable imposition, but also a freedom that allows one to do or have something also. Since the eighteenth century, these two concepts have been called negative freedom and positive freedom, both used together and always assuming the other when stated separately. Leaving out the positive concept of freedom would result in people demanding freedom from everything. This absolute freedom does not work since there are various situations where a certain amount of restraint is necessary in order for there to be a justifiable claim for this freedom. On the other hand, looking at only the negative concept of freedom, interference by imposing parties leads to absurd conclusions that the people who do not have anyone to impose on them are the most free, which is not necessarily the case.

Free Essays on Nights In Rodanthe

Love and Sacrifice Nicholas Sparks, an American author, wrote â€Å"Nights in Rodanthe†. This is a love story that tells about the relationship between man and woman. It shows how love can surmount the obstacles that keep these two loving humans apart. Paul Flanner, a surgeon, and Adrienne Willis, a part-time librarian, meet at the Inn in Rodanthe, North Carolina. Meeting each other was only destined by fate. They fall in love and end up splitting to their original ways only to regret leaving each other. The sacrifice they take to part their ways makes each other realize how much they love each other. Paul and Adrienne keep in contact by letters while Paul is in Ecuador. The distance between the two grows as each one is excited to see each other when Paul returns from his mission trip. The day Adrienne received the letter from Paul’s son was the most devesating day of her life. She learned how Paul died in a horrific mud slide. The regret she builds up for letting Paul travel to Ecuador to see her son is only for the good. She wanted him to go, but she lost the man who made her the happiest. She teaches her own daughter, who lost her husband to cancer, to move on with her life. Remembering the past is hard when you share wonderful memories, but one needs to live each day to the future and not ponder the past with regret. I have enjoyed this author up until now. His books seem to be all sappy love stories that have bad endings, besides â€Å"A Walk to Remember†. The theme in this story was a little difficult, but it drew out a lesson to teach the reader about moving on after death. I don’t think I would recommend this book to others, because it was a disappointment to me.... Free Essays on Nights In Rodanthe Free Essays on Nights In Rodanthe Love and Sacrifice Nicholas Sparks, an American author, wrote â€Å"Nights in Rodanthe†. This is a love story that tells about the relationship between man and woman. It shows how love can surmount the obstacles that keep these two loving humans apart. Paul Flanner, a surgeon, and Adrienne Willis, a part-time librarian, meet at the Inn in Rodanthe, North Carolina. Meeting each other was only destined by fate. They fall in love and end up splitting to their original ways only to regret leaving each other. The sacrifice they take to part their ways makes each other realize how much they love each other. Paul and Adrienne keep in contact by letters while Paul is in Ecuador. The distance between the two grows as each one is excited to see each other when Paul returns from his mission trip. The day Adrienne received the letter from Paul’s son was the most devesating day of her life. She learned how Paul died in a horrific mud slide. The regret she builds up for letting Paul travel to Ecuador to see her son is only for the good. She wanted him to go, but she lost the man who made her the happiest. She teaches her own daughter, who lost her husband to cancer, to move on with her life. Remembering the past is hard when you share wonderful memories, but one needs to live each day to the future and not ponder the past with regret. I have enjoyed this author up until now. His books seem to be all sappy love stories that have bad endings, besides â€Å"A Walk to Remember†. The theme in this story was a little difficult, but it drew out a lesson to teach the reader about moving on after death. I don’t think I would recommend this book to others, because it was a disappointment to me....

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Paraphrasing - Essay Example This discovery is according to Ryan and Deci’s (2000), the assimilation of the organization’s demands with personal values and needs. Gaertner and Gaertner’s finding suggests that extrinsic rewards in combination to staff training or feedback to employees on their work have a greater impact on performance other than extrinsic rewards alone. The findings of Gaertner and Gaertner (1985), Dowling and Richardson (1997), Redman et al. (2000) and O’Donnell and Shields (2002) are supported by Frey’s (1997) contention that, once the wages and salaries go past a subsistence level, intrinsic factors are better motivators than extrinsic rewards. It also shows that using extrinsic rewards alone is difficult and motivation of staff will require intrinsic rewards such as recognition and satisfaction of a job well done and a sense of amazing work. Williams (1998) describes how different people have different values, drives and perceptions to things and that not all people are passive recipients who automatically conforms to working systems as the management would want. Etzioni (1988) and Larson (1977), values are a necessity and are crucial to an employee’s development and commitment to a particular organization in achieving required goals and objectives. Berry, Broadbent and Otley (1995) describe the control of an organization which includes elements such as, goal setting, performance measurement and rewards. Organizational control is generalized and employees in the caring services may consider remunerative motivation less effective in comparison to the normative reward of doing a job that can satisfy them As reported above in the results a null hypothesis is rejected. The Employees of this organization occur to be motivated by intrinsic rewards. The results debate with the conclusions of Gupta and Mitra (1998) that extrinsic

Semi Conductors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Semi Conductors - Essay Example If a firm manufactures a undoubtedly distinguished good, where the customers associates the good with the brand name, it will become very difficult for the new firm to come into the market and take the customers away from the old firm because here the problem is not to produce at a low cost but to produce a significantly attractive product so as to distract the loyal customers from a familiar brand.   Lower Cost for an Established FirmA monopoly is probable to have maintained expert production and marketing abilities. It is more likely to be conscious of the most proficient methods and the most trustworthy and cheapest providers. It is likely to encompass access to cheaper funding. It is therefore working at lower cost curve. New firms would consequently find it difficult to compete and would be likely to lose any price war. Ownership of, or Control over, Key Factors of ProductionIf a firm is the only owner of a particular raw material or good then it can deny supply of that partic ular good to its competent firm.Ownership of, or Control over, Whole Sale or Retail OutletsIn the same way if the firms owns and controls the outlets through which the good may be sold. It can stop it rivals from gaining access to customers.This creates a barrier to entry as it protects the existing firms by patents on necessary processes, by copy rights and also by different type’s licensing( for example a license which only allows one firm to operate in a particular region) and tariffs and also by other trade restrictions. Like many Fishing companies have got license to fish in a particular region and are also given a particular quota. Mergers and takeovers The monopolist firms takeovers new firms by putting bid on them. This increases discouragement for new firms. Aggressive tactics A monopolist who is business for quite a long time can sustain losses for a long time but a new entrant cannot and hence it would start a price cutting war, start big advertising campaigns and introduce new brands and drive the new entrants out. Intimidation In order to drive the new entrants out the existing firm May way out to different forms of harassment and which may be legal or illegal. Semiconductor Rivalry in USA: A Current Example Here we can cite the example of USA where first and second generation chip organizations like Fairchild, General Electric and RCA paved a path for the third generation companies as the

Course review of the semester Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Course review of the semester - Coursework Example The most common of all civilizations recorded in the Indian history is the Indus Civilization. When analyzing the history of the ancient civilization, (Srinivas, 2004, p.58) argues that the Indus Civilization began in the Bronze Age stage of human evolution. Among the three prehistoric culture, the Indus Civilization was the most widespread covering an approximate area of over a million square kilometers. The other civilizations were Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Another surprising fact about the Indus Civilization is that its inhabitants developed techniques such as metallurgy (melting metals such as copper and tin) and handcraft (carving and basketry). Furthermore, the civilization had cities with excellent urban plans such as drainage system, water supply system and huge residential buildings. The Vedic era was characterized by the Aryan culture that was associated with Vedas. In his work, (Srinivas, 2004) describes the Vedas as texts that are sacred to Hindu. In addition, the Vedic civilization, which lasted up to 500BC, forms the foundation of Hinduism religion and many other Indian cultural aspects. The era of the Vedic civilization marked the genesis of the present day India. Most of the current day states of the art technology can trace their roots on the Indus and Vedic civilizations. In India, religion forms a foundation in major areas of life. According to (Srinivas, 2004, p.60), about 85 percent of Indians adhere to Hindu religion while the rest are mainly Muslims. Just like Indian gods and goddesses. Hinduism has many dimensions depending on location and caste. Indians follow dharma as their moral codes while Vedas are considered as being the sacred texts. Spiritually, (Srinivas, 2004, p.63), declares that Indians believe in reincarnation. In the belief, life is a continuous process of death and rebirth. According to the belief, when someone dies, a rebirth takes place

Importance Of The Performance Appraisal Business Essay

Importance Of The Performance Appraisal Business Essay Q3. Critically assess the importance of the Performance Appraisal as a function of human resource management in either a private or a public sector organization. Use a relevant case study discussed in the seminars to illustrate the importance of the above in relation to the strategic business objective of the organization. Introduction The Human Resources Management (HRM) is rational allocation of human resources in planned way based on the requirements of development strategy of organizations, which ensure the corporate strategic objectives. The HRM is a series of corporate policies in human resources affairs and relevant management activities. A diversity of functions are included in the HRM, and the key is to determine the employment needs of an organization and whether to outsource or hire staffs to fill these vacancies, recruiting, training, evaluating performance, and guaranteeing the personnel and management performs conform to numerous rules. Performance appraisal is one of the key functions of the HRM, it has a largely effect on the success of the organizations HRM, thus, it is no need to say that performance appraisal plays an important role in either private or public sector organizations. However, due to the complicated relationship within the organizations and the difficulties in designing appraisal system, performance appraisal cannot always be effective and useful. In this paper, some basic concept of performance appraisal will be discussed at the very beginning, the importance of performance appraisal will be discussed after that, issues which leads to ineffective of appraisal will be indicated and a case will also be used to illustrate the importance of performance appraisal. The Role and Purpose of Performance Appraisal The performance appraisal is one of the most important parts of HRM system. Performance appraisal is the method of obtaining, analyzing, and recording evidence about the relative value of a staff to the organization. It is an analysis of a staffs recent performance, advantages and disadvantages, and suitability for training or promotion in the future. Besides rewards allocation, organizations also use appraisals to offer growing advice to employees, as well as to know their perspectives about their positions, departments, supervisors and organizations (Walsh and Fisher, 2005). Generally speaking, the processes of performance appraisal are in six following steps: 1. discussing and establishing standards of performance with employees; 2. setting assessable targets; 3. measuring real performance; 4. comparing real performance with the employee; 5. discussing the evaluation with employee; 6. initiating corrective action when it is necessary. As a crucial function of HRM, although there is no consensus on the purpose of performance appraisal, the purpose of performance appraisal is generally identified as to improve current performance, provide feedback, increase motivation, identify training needs, identify potential, let individuals know what is expected of them, focus on career development, award salary increases and solve job problems (Torrington, Hall and Taylor, 2002). Performance appraisal plays a verity of roles in the HRM: it encourages supervisor and staff have regular and organized dialogue, makes the provision of feedback to the employee being assessed comprehensively; it enables to evaluate past and current performance, aims to find out the possibility for improvement and how to achieve it; it identifies the needs of training and individual or professional developmental; it gives advice for promotion and secondment; it is used to decide the performance-based payment. The Importance of Performance Appraisal in Organizations It is clearly that the HRM makes a great contribution for either private or public sector organizations to achieve organization goals, therefore, as an important function of HRM, the performance appraisal has significant importance in organizations. If there is no performance appraisal system, an organization can hardly have a clear understanding of its current situation, therefore it cannot get the direction and goals for improvement for future, the situation of the organization will be dangerous. If the performance appraisal system is full of deviation or even error, it can possibly lead the organization into a wrong direction of resource inputting, thus the organization will lose its long-term competitiveness. On the contrary, an effective performance appraisal system can ensure resources of the organization invested into the most critical processes, which can improve competitive advantage of organization. Generally speaking, the importance of performance appraisal to organization is mainly reflected in three aspects: 1. Affecting the productivity and competitiveness of organization. Performance of employees has a huge effect on productivity and competitiveness of the organization. Performance can be measured from work results, work action and work attitude of employees; 2. Performance appraisal result is an important indicator of personnel decisions. Performance evaluation offers important reference when organization making personnel decisions, such as promotion or demotion, secondment, salary adjustment and so on; 3. Effectively performance appraisal leads to better staff management. It means that an organization can make better evaluation of staff performance, which results in more reasonable remuneration and incentive. It also means that an organization will be able to offer more help to employees self-development since performance evaluation can explore the potential of employees and help them know clearly about what they should do to meet expectations better. Besides, it will help to achieve better communication between superiors and staffs, which promote greater unity of purpose. It is no doubt to say that strategic control plays an important role in meeting strategic business objective of the organizations. Strategy implementation is best accomplished through high-performing people (Michlitsch, 2000), that is to say, the HRM functions are important strategic control measurements. The ability of the organization to obtain a benefit from the professional knowledge and employees vision will be limited if there is an invaluable link between human resources functions and strategic plans of organization (Humphreys, 2005), so the link between the HRM and strategic objective is so important. As one of the core functions of the HRM, performance appraisal has purpose on administration and motivation, it provides important information and feedback for the HRM, so it is necessary for leaders of organizations to understand and create accomplished performance appraisal and feedback systems, which can link human resource management activities with the strategic needs of th e business (Schuler, Fulkerson and Dowling, 1991). On the other hand, according to the research of Walsh and Fisher (2005), organizations performance appraisal processes operate in ways that are less than ideal. Performance appraisal may be leaded to useless and inaccurate situation by many factors such as time pressures, complicated forms and psychological defense. Whats more, the appraisal process may become unclear and incoherent since employees and organizations try to meet different needs by performance appraisal. That is why most organizations agree that performance appraisal is important and must be executed, but only a few organizations can execute it continuously, usefully and effectively. Besides, a performance appraisal system should build clarity and reinforce a strategic corporate mission/direction (Chadwick, 1991), different parts of the organization will make effort to achieve the objectives in their one-sided view if a performance appraisal system didnt build clarity and strengthen strategic organization objective, th is may lead to sabotaging to overall organization goal. If things come to this situation, performance appraisal cannot act as an important and useful role in the HRM, let alone in strategic control. A Case Study of Rother Homes Effective performance appraisal systems do make important contribution for either private or public sector organizations. One of the evidence is from the experience of Rother Homes, which included in the case studies we had discussed in the seminars. The strategic business objective of Rother Homes was to reorganize its top two management tiers, which needed help in plan of succession and in-house development of managers. Rother Homes wanted to create an organization capable of grasping the opportunities which independence allowed (Analoui, 2007). After preliminary restructuring, a brand new performance appraisal system was in great need and conducted gradually. According to well-planned process and customized, well designed feedback questionnaire, Rother Homes benefited from 360-degree feedback not only for their new performance appraisal system but also their program of management development. Ten-month management-development program was conducted on the base of new performance app raisal system, the program made employees expanding and applying knowledge and views better, it also made participants doing better in teamwork. This program got very positive feedback from managers. Finally, under the help of more suitable and supportive performance appraisal system, Rother Homes successfully reorganized its management tiers, whats more, they got a more cohesive and enthusiastic management group (Analoui, 2007), well met the strategic business objective. This example well illustrated the importance of performance appraisal in relation to the strategic business objective of the organization. Conclusion As one of the most important functions of the HRM, performance appraisal plays a big role in the success of the organizations HRM. Performance appraisal affects the productivity and competitiveness of organization, the results of performance appraisal is an important indicator of personnel decisions and effectively performance appraisal leads to better staff management. Performance appraisal has a big importance to either private or public sector organizations and an effectively performance appraisal system does offers great help for either private or public sector organizations to achieve strategic goals. However, since the complicated relationship within the organizations and the complications in establishing well-designed appraisal system, performance appraisal cannot always be effective and useful as we expected it. In one word, establishing an effective appraisal system is not an easy task and it can never be completed overnight (Caruth and Humphreys, 2008). The only way to deve lop a useful and effective performance appraisal system is to work hard, think carefully, plan seriously and design accurately as what Rother Homes has done, it is not easy but is definitely worth to do.

Good Vs. Evil - Analytical Sentence Outline Essay -- essays research p

Theme: Good and Evil Create a SocietyParagraph 1:CENTRAL IDEA: Conflicts heavily arise between the two topics of good and evil. THESIS SENTENCE: Through common stories good and evil are portrayed through both protagonist and antagonist view, creating morals and opinions, and how societies views have changed over time. Paragraph 2:TOPIC SENTENCE: Common stories portray good and evil through both a protagonist and antagonist view.Paragraph 3: TOPIC SENTENCE: Significant morals and opinions are shown in stories made up of good and evil.Paragraph 4: TOPIC SENTENCE: Societies views have changes over time by the reality brought out in good and evil.Paragraph 5: CONCLUSION: Good and evil represented the two different thoughts that occur through the mind of people during their extensive lifetime.Conflicts heavily arise between the two topics of good and evil. These conflicts can be extremely realistic or notably exaggerated. They both represent two powers that involve different emotions wit hin your heart. Through common stories, good and evil are portrayed through protagonist and antagonist view, creating morals and opinions, and how society's views have changed over time. Common stories portray good and evil through a protagonist and antagonist view. The first thing I think of when I hear â€Å"good vs. evil† would be a fairy tale. As in most fairy tales, there is always a good guy and a bad guy. An example of this kind of story would be Beowulf, where as Beowulf is the protagonist ...

Changing Demographics Essay

New demographic changes, economic globalization, high levels of workforce automation, and pressing health and security issues are intertwined instruments that seem to be changing the global polity. A high level of immigration into countries with a relatively stable economy has tremendous impacts on every facet of the host community. America has thus gradually become much more diverse and multiethnic than it was in past decades. The impacts of changing demographics also affect the education sector. In most American elementary schools, there have been tremendous changes from what was the usual status quo many decades ago. Changing demographics in elementary schools can have both many positive and many negative effects. The positive effects are desired, cherished and encouraged while the negative ones are regrettably unfortunate and measures should be put in place to reduce their severity. With the increasingly multi ethnic nature of elementary schools, the students are able to mingle with students from entirely different backgrounds and ethnic affiliations. This has the advantage of allowing intercultural interactions among students of various ethnic backgrounds. Difficult actions like the acquisition of foreign languages and cuisine are easily achieved. There are also many reasons to redesign our elementary schools so that they are more international in character. Part of the redesign process is focused on making it easier for foreign students to be fully integrated into the communities surrounding the schools. Since elementary schools currently have services that reaching far beyond their immediate geographical locality, many types of support services are being put together to help international students. The management and the faculty of many elementary schools are being forced to revise their curriculums with the aims of internationalizing them. This include the introduction of new foreign languages into the curriculum. It is now becoming very popular to see elementary schools teach Chinese and Arabic along with the more traditional French and Spanish. The curriculums that are inspired by changing demographics are set to make the students become more successful global citizens with adequate information about the world, its people and their traditions. The elementary school teaching profession should become more adept at teaching students of different backgrounds. This will involve professionalism and updated skills on the part of the teachers. Thus, teachers are being forced to go for re-training to be able to meet up with the millennial challenge of teaching elementary students. This is a good omen for the teachers and the schools in general because it could be totally absurd to use ancient teaching methods meant for Alaska born and based students in a class with mixed ethnicity. Due to the NCLB Act, the local educational bodies are now compelled to raise the standards of education in the various elementary schools to meet up with expectations of the parents that are bringing their children to the school. Some ethnic groups are considered to be protected minorities, and a school could face sanctions if it fails to achieve adequate performance among these groups. Studies have shown that quest for quality education is one of the driving forces in global migration. Most of the schools are now raising their standards to complete for the enrollment of students in the schools. The improved standard of education is also making it possible for investments in elementary education to be lucrative. With more foreign students admitted, more funds are being generated. This however, is a disadvantage on the side of the students both local residents and foreign that involved often have to pay exorbitant fees for the education. Like the wind, changing demographics blow students about. Sometimes exceptionally brilliant students are coughed in the wind. If blown to the right school, the skills, talents and abilities of such students could be discovered, polished and utilized to the fullest potential. Some skills are priceless in terms of the prestige that is bestowed on the students, the school and the society. A lot has been said in the positive ways that demographic changes have affected and are currently affecting elementary schools. It would be worthy be also note the problems that changing demographics can bring to the elementary schools. According to recent studies, a high influx of foreign students into elementary schools has caused an increase in the rate of ethnic intolerance. This is also evident in middle and high schools. More children are having divided feelings about belonging to the school over time. It is common to see students in their own ethnic groups rather than as a class. They tend to associate only with students for same background while these that are not are liberated and ostracized. The usual tradition of referring to the schools as a community may seem to have been long lost. The variable changes in the education system have greatly increased the worries of some students about their academic performance. Average students may be seen struggling to be in tune with the rhythm. This may be occurring because of the limitations of language barrier and totally different education methods that may lead to problems for them in class. An intense cloud of insecurity also seems to have enveloped the schools. Students of a particular background may feel threatened by students of other backgrounds. Children from Arabic backgrounds may be seen as potential terrorists. There is also a fear students being infected by an unknown disease that was carried by foreign students. In some countries of the world, most citizens are carriers of some types of parasites and possibly strange diseases or diseases such as tuberculosis. When children from that type of background mix with students with whom they don’t share close ties with, there is the possibility of them spreading communicable diseases. Competition for the limited available space in the elementary schools which are near by s is also creating problems when more students apply to schools, and various measures are employed to cut down the size. These can include exorbitant fees and overstressing the available academic resources. Being social with other people is the desire of must individuals. While having people thought of as strangers in one’s territory may bring suspicions, alienation should never be an option. Children at a delicate stage in their life deserve to be brought up in a loving and severe community and the elementary schools should not be expected to be failing in the provision of these. When the influx of immigrants seems to be going at a rate of is alarming, adjustment may be very difficult. The education system is expected to maintain standardized curriculums and it is expected to create a proper community that could facilitate qualitative education. Students in elementary schools deserve to be well educated and their satisfaction should not be taken for granted at the expense of anybody; everybody should be satisfied. Proper legislation should be put in place to check migration and adequate protection should be given so that elementary schools will not be caught unaware when bad wind blows!

The History of the Computer Mouse

The History of the Computer Mouse It was technology visionary and inventor Douglas Engelbart (January 30, 1925  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ July 2, 2013) who revolutionized the way computers worked, turning it from a piece of specialized machinery that only a trained scientist could use to a user-friendly tool that almost anyone can work with. During his lifetime, he invented or contributed to several interactive and user-friendly devices such as the computer mouse, Windows operating system, computer video  teleconferencing, hypermedia,  groupware,  email, the  Internet  and much more. Making Computing Less Cumbersome Most of all, though, he was known for inventing the computer mouse. Engelbart conceived of the rudimentary mouse while attending a conference on computer graphics, where he started thinking about how to improve interactive computing. In the early days of computing, users typed codes and commands to make things happen on monitors. Engelbart thought an easier way was to link the computer’s cursor to a device with two wheels- one horizontal and one vertical. Moving the device on a horizontal surface would allow the user to position the cursor on the screen. Engelbart’s collaborator on the mouse project  Bill English built a prototype- a hand-held device carved out of wood, with a button on the top. In 1967, Engelbart’s company SRI filed for the  patent on the mouse, although the paperwork identified it a little differently as x,y position indicator for a display system. The patent was awarded in 1970. Computer Mice Hits the Market Before long, computers designed to work with a mouse were released. Among the first was the Xerox Alto, which went on sale in 1973. A team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich liked the concept as well and built their own computer system with a mouse called the  Lilith computer, sold from 1978 to 1980. Perhaps thinking they were on to something, Xerox soon followed up with  the  Xerox 8010, which featured a mouse, ethernet networking and e-mail among various innovative technologies that have since become standard.   Ã‚   But it wasnt until  1983  that the mouse started to go mainstream. It was that year that Microsoft updated the MS-DOS program Microsoft Word to make it mouse-compatible and developed the first PC-compatible mouse.  Computer manufacturers such as Apple, Atari and Commodore would all follow suit by debuting mouse compatible systems as well.    Tracking Ball and Other Advancements Like other present forms of computer technology, the mouse has evolved significantly. In 1972, English developed the â€Å"track ball mouse† that allowed users to control the cursor by rotating a ball from a fixed position. One interesting enhancement is technology that enables wireless devices, a fact that makes Engelbarts recollection of an early prototype almost quaint. We turned it around so the tail came out the top. We started with it going the other direction, but the cord got tangled when you moved your arm, he said.   For an inventor who grew up on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon and had hoped his achievements would add to the collective intelligence of the world, the mouse has come a long way. It would be wonderful,† he said, â€Å"if I can inspire others, who are struggling to realize their dreams, to say if this country kid could do it, let me keep slogging away.

Chronicles of Tao Book Review

Chronicles of Tao Book Review In reading Chronicles of Tao, this type of spirituality appeals to me in many ways. I have long been fascinated with the Chinese philosophy and practice of Feng Shui, i.e. the flow of "chi" (energy) and balance of yin and yang. I have even arranged my home in a fashion that optimizes this concept and attempts to bring "balance" into my life. Although it is obviously not a complete form of Taoism, I found many similarities and felt very comfortable with the concepts of the Tao. In addition, I have, for a long time, felt that meditation and certain rituals help to bring balance and spirituality to a person's life. This type of spirituality is completely different from the beliefs that I grew up with, but it is difficult to deny that meditation helps to calm the mind and bring some balance to the inner thoughts. Although I could not ever see myself becoming a Taoist, I agree that some of the practices can help a person become more spiritual in whatever beliefs he or she might have.Confu cianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are one, a lita...Since I know a few things about Feng Shui, reading Chronicles of Tao was entertaining because Feng Shui seems to have come from the Taoist religion. When the Grand Master was telling Saihung the story of the Two Immortals in chapter fourteen, he tells of how they became immortal. They were two little boys who happened upon a disciple of another immortal named Dong Fengshui, whose name might be coincidental or perhaps related in some way, who offered them a peach that if they ate would make the boys immortal so they ate it. In chapter seventeen, when Saihung is to be left at the cave to "discover his true self," the Grand Master gives Saihung a Bagua mirror, which...

The Devolution of Greek Economy Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Devolution of Greek Economy - Dissertation Example The humans have managed to evolve by thinking of new and different things. The ability to innovate had always helped the sons and daughters of Adam to get out of the caves that remained their home for centuries. The human race with the passage of time learned the art and science of building homes and sowing seeds. These activities have assisted the mankind in moving in the direction of industrialization. The industrialization is a trend and is also a force that caused the needs of the masses to be fulfilled over a period of long tenure. The scientific development and growth is done in order to facilitate the achievement of industrialists’ objectives and goals (Oakey, 60). The economy is always known to be controlled by the local corporate sector of the country. There are two significant powers in the world. The first one is called the power of entropy that forces any system to disintegrate over the years and the other one is the strength of evolution that with the help of huma n effort makes things better and better (Peck, 115). The scientific development and the growth in every other field are repeatedly attributed to the people who dared to think differently (Baron and Tang, 55). The different and unique people have always been defined by the ability to see the world in a different way and method. The evolution has its roots in the ability and power of the people who are blessed with the tendency to see, observe and think. The quality of life on the other hand, is directly related with the local entrepreneur’s ability to translate new product and business ideas into commercialized corporate offerings. The offerings are also not the end in themselves but they have to be made better in order to overcome the traditional power of entropy and disintegration. The disintegration is created by the nature itself in order to keep the humans attempting to evolve and inspire. The economic growth is always caused by the force of inspiration that makes people to think and try to become more than what they are in their current state (Fuglsang, Sundbo and Sorensen, 663). The leaders are famous for playing their due hand in the process of evolution as they are primarily responsible for giving direction and purpose to people. The governments are supposed to provide the services of leadership by fueling the process of development and evolution. The Chios Island is the fifth biggest one in the country of Greece and it has a population of 55,000 but the area remained much neglected in the past as the shipping served the country as a major industry in the past years. However, the tide is turning and Chios Island is finally getting all the attention it needed because it is becoming an agricultural hub of the region. The immigrants are building their homes in the Island so that they can take care of the fields while, keeping their families in the newly developing residential areas. Research Question Following is the research questions of the study : - Q.1 Would economic crisis in Greece, be the motive in rehabilitation of abandoned rural areas and its settlements? Significance of the Study The importance, value and significance of the study exist because it is going to discuss the effects of growing population in the rural areas of

Understanding - Active Listening or Maslows Hierarchy of Need Assignment

Understanding - Active Listening or Maslows Hierarchy of Need - Assignment Example Here people want to be treated with loved, affection and feel parts of groups. The next level of needs is the self-esteem and the esteem from others. When all these have been satisfies, a person would now look for self actualization, where he will be seen trying to achieve individual potential like power in the society. Maslow then sys that if we are motivated by the fact that we want to self-actualize, the every other need will just work out. As managers, we need to concentrate on the client centered skill like active listening. This is the skill that will enable a manger to listen carefully to the customer’s needs and react according to the client’s likes or dislikes. In this kind of feeling, a person is guided by the feelings displayed by the client about the kind of service being offered. It therefore requires one to actively react to such feelings in order to meet the client’s