A Doll’s House: Summary

It was Christmas Eve and Norah Helmer has just arrived home after completing her Christmas shopping list which includes a horse and a sword for her male children and a doll for her female child. She paid the porter twice of how much she owed him, went inside the house and ate some macaroons before her husband, Torvald Helmer, came out of his study room and investigated the things she bought.Torvald addressed his wife with terms such as ‘skylark' and ‘squirrel' while sweetly scolding her for being a spendthrift. Nora immediately denied by saying that saves money whenever she could but she just can't help herself with the Christmas shopping because it's time that they celebrate the good fortune that is ahead of them.Norah is talking about the job promotion that Torvald got from the bank he is working for, an event which according to his wife will allow them to more extravagant this season as compared to what they had last year.However, Torvald argued by saying that the prom otion will take effect after New Year so before that, they must be more watchful with their expenses, Nora suggested that they can spend on credit until Torvald is paid but her husband immediately reprimanded and explained that there is no freedom or beauty in a home life that is based on debt.As a result, Nora finally gave up with her suggestion. Noticing his wife's disappointment, Torvald asked Nora of the gift the she wants to receive. Nora hesitated at first but eventually shared that she would want her husband to give her money instead so she could buy the things she wanted.Torvald again accused his wife of being wasteful, a trait which he believed is inherited by Nora from her father. He then asked Nora if she has eaten macaroons that day but she denied.   The couple then proceeded to discuss the misfortunes they had last year and compared it with the blessings that they are enjoying today.Suddenly, their maid, Helene, entered the room and announced the arrival of Dr. Rank, Torvald's doctor, and Mrs. Linde, Nora's friend whom she has not seen for many years.The drastic changes in Mrs. Linde's appearance, as Nora described them to be, made it hard for Nora to recognize her childhood friend. She said that Mrs. Linde looked paler and thinner and she also apologized for her inability to write her when the news about her husband's death spread.Nora inquired on the kind of life Mrs. Linde had after the death of her husband. Mrs. Linde replied by saying that it was a very dark chapter of her life since her husband left nothing to her, not even money or a child, while she was tasked to take care of an ailing mother and two younger brothers.But today, after three years of working in various jobs, nursing her mother who has recently passed away, and supporting her brothers who are grown ups now, her life is sadder because there is no one to depend on her.Nora sympathized to Mrs.Linde but wasn't able to help herself from discussing about her three lovely children , happy marriage life, and Torvald's new position at the bank. Mrs. Linde saw her opportunity and expressed her desire to have a position at the bank where Torvald works. Nora said that she will discuss the matter with her husband.Nora proceed to mention that life has not always been so good at them because Torvald was hospitalized and needed to be transported to Italy to allow himself to recuperate, an event which required Nora to borrow money and work in order to pay for it. She emphasized that Torvald knew nothing about these stuff because she was sure that her husband's pride would be greatly hurt   of the idea that he owed his life to his wife.Nora told Torvald that the money came from her deceased father but the truth is that she took job as copy writer   during the winter and locked herself inside a room to conceal her secret while making her husband believe that she was just making ornaments.She even boasted that she will be free from her debt after new year and by then, she will be able to completely assume her role as wife and mother. Krogstad, a lawyer wishing to discuss bank business with Torvald suddenly appeared on the door while Nora and Mrs. Linde were talking.Nora introduced him to her friend but Mrs. Linde said that she already knew him. Krogstad entered Torvald's study room when Dr. Rank came out from it. Nora introduced Dr. Rank to Mrs. Linde and the three of them left the house.  In the next scene, Nora was seen playing with her children. Krogstad came and talked to her explaining his belief that Mrs. Linde will replace his position at the bank. He said that Nora should influence her husband and must prevent him from firing Krogstad from his bank position.When Nora was trying to deny his influence on her husband, Krogstad tried to blackmail Nora and said that if she will not help him then he will have to inform Torvald of the debt that Nora incurred from him. He even reminded Nora of the forgery she made on her father's signature say ing that it is a serious crime that is punishable by law.Krogstad further assured Nora of the gravity of her crime and threatened her once more before leaving. Nora was left very disturbed.On Christmas day, the Helmer house is portrayed to be messy of decorations and gifts. Nora, on the other hand, is not jubilated by the occasion because she is deeply thinking on how to prevent Krogstad's dismissal.She seriously tried to persuade her husband to retain Krogstad's position but her husband declined saying that the presence of Krogstad in the bank is a disgrace for the company because Krogstad is not a reputable man. Torvald explained that Krogstad forged many signatures before and denied it, an event which damaged his reputation. Torvald then proceed to prepare Krogstad's letter of dismissal.The next day, when Nora was trying to win the favor of Dr. Rank in order to help her influence Torvald regarding the dismissal of Krogstad, Dr. Rank suddenly confessed his love to Nora and shared to her that his day are numbered because of a serious illness.Nora was shocked of the doctor's declaration of love but was saddened by the news of his impending death. Dr. Rank said that he intends to leave the town after his declaration of his feelings to Nora and said that a calling card with a black cross will be sent to the Helmer's house to signal his imminent death.After receiving his dismissal letter, Krogstad dropped a letter in Torvald's mailbox. The letter contained a detailed explanation of his transaction with Nora. Mrs. Linde became aware of the situation when she saw Nora crying. She promised to help Nora by persuading Krogstad, who happened to be her ex-lover.Torvald then appeared and Nora asked him to help her prepare the tarantella that she will dance at the costume party. Such action was actually Nora's way of preventing her husband from reading Krogstad's letter.Mrs. Linde met Krogstad at the doorway of the Helmer's house. She confessed to him that she still loved him and wants to take care of him and his children. She also explained that she left him before because she needed the money that she will get from her marriage.Krogstad was skeptical at first because he thought Mrs. Linde was only doing this in order to   prevent him from blackmailing Nora but Mrs. Linde said that she believed that Torvald deserves to know the truth. However, she agreed that Krogstad must retract from his first plans of blackmailing Nora.Krogstad eventually agreed to Mrs. Linde's proposal. Inside the Helmer's house, Torvald saw Dr. Rank's card and Krogstad's letter. He went inside his study room and read both letters then stormed out of the living room and punished Nora. He said that he now owes his reputation to Krogstad and he accuses Nora of destroying his life.He said that Nora is a hypocrite and a liar but prevents her from leaving saying that they must still maintain their marriage in order to save themselves from further disgrace. In response to this, Nor a felt calm and frozen as she began to realize the truth of her marriage. The door bell rang and their maid came with a letter for Nora.Torvald read it and suddenly expressed a change of emotion. He said that the letter came from Krogstad telling them that he will no longer blackmail Nora. As an assurance, Krogstad even attached the promissory note which Nora forged. This made Torvald very happy and explained to Nora that everything has returned to normal and that she must forget the things that he has told earlier.However, Nora has made up her mind. She said that Torvald has only treated her as a doll and not as a real human being. She now realizes that she has been blinded by her love for Torvald that she has forgotten to her own identity.Torvald explained that Nora ought to fulfill her duty to as a wife and mother but Nora replied that her duty to herself is more important. Nora removed her wedding ring, freed Torvald of all of his obligations on her, instructed him never to cont act her, walked put of the room, and finally, slammed the door.Questions:1.)  Ã‚  Ã‚   Act Three. Torvald to Mrs. Linde: Being Nora's close friend, can you advise me of ways on how to win my wife back? Is there a way for me a â€Å"glorious† thing to happen so that I can save our marriage? What changes should I do in order to make myself worthy of Nora's love again?2.)  Ã‚  Ã‚   Act Three. Torvald to Krogstad: Why did you withdraw your intentions of blackmailing my wife? I just want to be ware of the reasons that made you write a retraction letter? Don't you have any hidden agenda?

Evolution and religion Essay

â€Å" Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind †, said Albert Einstein. This essay concentrates on evolution, religion, and creationism. In the first phase these are defined, and later their relationships and controversies are discussed. A conclusive statement is made a the end. Evolution The theory of evolution by natural selection was first put forth by Charles Darwin in his book, â€Å" on the origin of species†, in 1859. In 1930’s Darwinian natural selection was combined with Mendelian inheritance to form the modern evolutionary synthesis. With its enormous explanatory power, this theory provides a unifying answer to diversity of life on earth. Evolution is the change in a population’s inherited traits, from generation to generation. These traits are encoded as genes that are copied and passed on to offspring during reproduction. Mutations and other random changes in the genes can produce new or altered traits, resulting in difference between organisms. Evolution occurs when these different traits become more common or rare in a population. This happens through genetic drift and is based on the reproductive value of traits through natural selection. Under natural selection organisms with traits that help them to survive and reproduce tend to have more off springs. In doing so, they will pass more copies of inheritable beneficial traits on to the next generation. This leads to advantageous traits becoming more common in each generation, while disadvantageous traits become rarer. Over time, this process can result in varied adaptations to environmental conditions. As differences in populations accumulate, new species may evolve. All known species have descended from a single ancestral gene pool through this process of gradual divergence. According to theory of evolution, life on Earth started its journey over 3 billion years ago, when oxygenic photosynthesis emerged, which made development of aerobic cellular respiration possible around 2 billion years ago. In the last billion years, multi cellular plants and animals began to appear in oceans. The Cambrian explosion originated all major body plans of modern animals. About 450 million years ago ( mya) plants and fungi colonized the land, and were soon followed by anthropods and other animals. Amphibians first appeared around 300 mya, followed by reptiles and mammals around 200 mya, and birds around 100 mya. The human genus arose around 2 mya, while the earliest modern humans lived 200 thousand years ago. This theory states that all organisms on Earth have descended from a common ancestral gene pool. Evidence for this is inferred from traits shared between all living organisms. In Darwin’s days, this statement was based on visible observation of morphologic similarities. Today genetic science has proved this. For example, every living cell makes use of nucleic acids as its genetic material and uses the same 20 amino acids as the building blocks of proteins. The universality of these traits suggest common ancestry. The roots of evolution theory were laid by Charles Darwin in 1858. He could not propose any working mechanism for inheritance. This was provided by Mendel in 1865, who proved that distinct traits were inherited in a well defined and predictable manner.( Evolution ) Religion A religion is a set of beliefs and practices generally held by human community involving adherence to codified beliefs and rituals, and study of ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, mythology, personal faith and mystic experience. It is also described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine or of the highest truth. Moral codes, values, practices, institutions, traditions, rituals and scriptures are often associated with the core belief. Religion is also described as a â€Å" way of life †. There are number of models in which religions come into being and develop. Broadly these models fall into three categories: 1) Those which see religion as social construction 2) Those which see religion as progressing towards higher, objective truth 3) Those which see particular religion as absolute truth Creationism Creationism is the belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the Universe were entirely created by a supernatural deity, God. His existence is presupposed. The term creationism is often used to describe the belief that creation occurred literally as described in the book ‘ Genesis’, for Christians and the Jews, and in ‘Qur’an’, for Muslims. In Christian context, many creationists adopt a literal interpretation of the Biblical narratives and say that Bible provides a factual account, given from the perspective of only one who was there to witness it at that time: God. Almost all churches teach that God created the Cosmos. Biblical creationism places knowledge of God central in pursuit of knowledge of anything, as everything comes from God. It says nothing about the mechanisms by which anything was created. No systematic or scientific inquiry was made into the validity of the text. Christian creationism id categorized into many types. These are : – Young Earth creationism. This is inclusive of modern geocentrism, Omphalos hypothesis, and creation science. – Old Earth creationism. This includes Gap creationism, Day-age creationism, and progressive creationism. Theistic creationism Neo-creationism, which includes intelligent design. While Christian and Islamic creationism are almost similar. Hindu creationism believes that all creatures including humans undergo repeated cycles of creation and destruction. The Hindu view of the cosmos is cyclic. ( Creationism ) Evolution and religion Religion is based on beliefs and science is based on proofs and evidences. The theory of evolution is backed by scientific proofs and is considered science beyond any doubt. The relationship between religion and science takes many forms as both are extremely broad. They employ different methods and address different questions. The scientific method adopts an objective approach to measure, calculate, and describe the natural, physical, material universe. Religious methods are more subjective, relying on notions about authority, intuition, belief in supernatural, individual experience and ‘reasoned’ observations about life or the universe, or a combination of all these. Science attempts to answer the ‘how’ and ‘ what’ of observable and verifiable phenomena, religion attempts to answer the ‘why’ question of values, morals, and spirituality. Both employ different methods to find answers to different questions. ( Relationship). A noteworthy dissimilarity between the two is that religion has been existing since ages, whereas science is too young. The earliest civilizations of human species have been worshipping a supernatural force, which was later named as ‘God ’ by Christianity and ‘ Allah’ by Islam. The two most popular religions of today’s world may be a few thousand years old only, but the concept of religion is as old as man himself. In opposition, the modern day science is hardly a few hundred years old. All the modern scientific theories and discoveries on which the world is thriving today, occurred after the renaissance era in Europe. There are two distinct views regarding relationship between religion and science. One known as ‘non-overlapping magisteria’, described by Stephen Jay Gould states that both deal with fundamentally separate aspects of human experience and so when each stays within its own domain, they can co-exist peacefully. The other view known as conflict thesis, which is not to the liking of historians but retains popular appeal, holds that science and religion inevitably compete for authority over the nature of reality. Here, religion has been gradually losing a war with science as scientific expressions become more powerful, acceptable and widespread. ( Relationship ) Evolution theory gives answers to various how life evolved and developed on this earth. Its domain is limited to explaining and proving the existence of a common genetic pool from which different species came into existence. On the other hand the combined domain of all the religions of this world is almost infinite. Answers to questions which science cannot answer are given by religion. The contents of theory of evolution are limited whereas that of all the religions combined are limitless. For example, evolution theory cannot give a satisfactory answer to the origins of universe or the starting point of life. It just assumes that there was a pool of genes from which all forms of life have descended. Religion explains that there exists a supernatural force, which is not seen by anyone and the existence of which can never be proved in a scientific way, which created the ‘ Big Bang’. Science assumes that this was the beginning of universe. Religion does have answers to questions which cannot be answered by any scientific theory. The theory of evolution has no clue about soul, which is globally accepted as a part of our body, while all religions of this world have clear answers to any question regarding soul. All scientific knowledge, if summed up, is like a small drop in an ocean of summed up knowledge offered by all religions on this world. If religion is based on assumptions, even science has assumptions at its base. Evolution is limited to various aspects of life on this planet. For any religion this is a very small chapter in a huge book. Religion not only touches the various aspects of how life developed, but numerous other topics also. As mentioned above, religion is a ‘ way of life’ and hence its perceptions are much broader than the evolution theory, touching the living and the non-living also. Conflicts between religion and evolution arise when religious fundamentalists refuse to accept the scientifically proved facts. This is true for Christian fundamentalists, especially in the United States. They are simply not ready to deviate from the Biblical teachings that God is the creator of all things and He runs the show. They tend to miss one important point that Darwin has never touched the debate on ‘why’ evolution occurred. He has simply found answers to ‘how’ it happened. The authority of God, or for that matter teaching of any religion is never questioned by the theory of evolution. As a matter of fact, there are ample proofs available which convince us that the scientific community also accepts and favors the theory of a super natural power. Writes Lovgren Stefan in his article in National Geographic news, â€Å" Some of history’s greatest scientific minds, including Albert Einstein, were convinced that there is intelligent life behind the universe. Today many scientists say that there is no conflict between their faith and their work†. He further writes, â€Å" the scientific evidence for evolution is overwhelming. Yet, in 2001 Gallup poll, 45% of USA adults said that they believe evolution has played no role in shaping humans. Darwin never said anything about God. Many scientists and theologians maintain that it would be perfectly logical to think that a divine being used evaluation as a method to create the world†. The article further argues , â€Å" there is no way to explain religious faith scientifically. It is hard to envision a test that can tell the difference between the universe created by God, and the one that appeared without God. But why did the universe exist at all ? This is a question which religion is particularly good at answering†. The same article has a report by Ted Sargent, a nano-technology expert at the University of Toronto. â€Å" Even as science progresses in its reductionist fashion moving towards deeper, simpler and more elegant understanding of particles and forces, there will still remain a ‘ why’, at the end. Why are the rules the way they are ? This is where people will find God †. Stefan comments, â€Å" To many scientists, this discoveries may not be that different from religious revelations. Scientific advancements may even draw scientists closer to religion†. ( Lovgren Stefan ) Conversely, religious fundamentalists should also accept the fats which are proven beyond any doubt. This establishes a harmony between religion and evolution. Evolution and creationism The conflict between the believers in evolution theory and creationism is more fierce than that of evolution and religion. This is especially true in the USA where it has become a political controversy. It is a dispute about the origins of Earth, humanity, life, and the universe. The level of support for the evolution theory is overwhelming in the scientific community and the academia, while support for creation based alternatives where evolution does not take place is minimal among secular scientists. Creationists argue that scientific theories are incomplete, incorrect, and inherently flawed due to the infinite regression nature of questions of origins. They argue that if science can provide answers to ‘ what caused the Big Bang ?’ or ‘ what was the nature of first life form ?’ it is likely that answers themselves will be subject to similar kinds of regressive inquiry. They firmly believe that science cannot provide answers to such questions and that their religious discourse is much more complete and more reliable than the naturalistic description provided by science. While creationists point at the limitations of scientific investigations, they intend to point towards the existence of creator God. Skeptics criticize this as ‘God of the gaps argument’. They say that religious argumentation is reduced to a place holder for gaps in human knowledge. One more argument presented is that evolution is a theory and not a fact. This is a result of misconception about the technical meaning of ‘theory’. In common usage, ‘theory’ means hypothesis and unproven assumptions. In science it means ‘ a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena†. Exploring this issue, Stephen Jay Gould wrote, â€Å" Evolution is a theory. It is also a fact, and facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing uncertainty. Facts are the world’s data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein’s theory of gravitation replaced that of Newton’s but apples did not suspend themselves from mid –air. And humans evolved from ape-like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin’s proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be disclosed â€Å". Karl Propper gave a new dimension to the debate, by evolving the concept of ‘falsifiability’. He claimed that testable theories are scientific but those that are untestable are not. He declares, â€Å" I have come to a conclusion that Darwinism is not testable scientific theory but a metaphysical research program, a plausible framework for testable scientific theories†. Debate among some scientists and philosophers of science on the applicability of falsifiabilty have been offered by some scientists: Richard Dawkins and J.B.S. Haldane both pointed out that if fossil rabbits were found in the Precarribean era, a time before most similarly complex life forms had evolved â€Å" that would completely blow evolution out of water†. Creationists have criticized the scientific evidence used to support evolution as being based on faulty assumptions and unjustified jumping to conclusions. These include: – the fossil fuel record which has significant gaps that cast doubt on evolution – the emergence of new species which has not been observed directly – radiometric dating which is inaccurate due to an inappropriate reliance on assumption of uniformitarianism While creationists claim that the problems they point out represent significant ‘holes’ in evolutionary theory. Supporters of evolutionary theory respond by arguing that these gaps of knowledge do not cast doubt on the framework the theory of evolution provides, asserting that they indicate either areas where research needs to be directed or there is misunderstanding on the part of creationists. As a matter of fact scientists and subject experts of evolution, do not spend much time on refuting the charges of creationists. Many do not respond at all. They do not think it is worth it. After all, when they reply, creationists get the publicity. ( creation-evolution controversy ) Pope Benedict XVI , in a book titled â€Å" creation and evolution†, published on 11 April 2007, states that â€Å" The question is not to either make a decision for a creationism that fundamentally excludes science, or for an evolutionary theory that covers over its own gaps and does not want to see the questions that reach beyond the methodological possibilities of natural science. I find it important to underline that theory of evolution implies questions that must be to philosophy and which themselves lead beyond the realms of science. It is also true that the theory of evolution is not a complete, scientifically proven theory†. He believes that experiment in a controlled environment h as limitations, as, â€Å" We cannot have 10,000 generations into the laboratory†. He also does not endorse creationism or intelligent design. He defends ‘ theistic evolution’, a reconciliation between science and religion, already held by Catholics. He writes on evolution, as a ‘ process itself is rational despite the mistakes and confusion as it goes through a narrow corridor, choosing a few mutations and using low probability. This inevitably leads to a question that goes beyond science- where did this rationality come from ? † to which he answers that it comes from the ‘creative reason’ of God. ( creationism – evolution controversy) Third alternative The conflict and controversy over evolution and creationism can be resolved if a third alternative is adopted. If biology had followed Pasteur’s paradigm, instead of Darwin’s, and if the theory of cosmic ancestry was prevailing today, then the mechanical theory of nature would account for the evolutionary progress and the origin of life on Earth. There would be no need for supernatural intervention. Cosmic ancestry is fundamentally different from both Darwinism and prevailing western religions. Both hold that life arises and evolves from simpler beginnings. Darwinism explains this with material causes, western religions with supernatural causes. In Cosmic Ancestry life neither arises nor evolves to more highly organized forms from simpler beginnings. With material causes life can descend from prior life at least as highly evolved as itself. Thus in Cosmic Ancestry, life only descends. The fact is that neither science nor religion seem interested in adopting Cosmic Ancestry as an alternative. ( Evolution versus creationism) Conclusion The theory of evolution proves how life originated and developed on this Earth. It has a scientific base in all its claims. It is a result of careful analysis of data. All over the world it has been accepted as a ‘truly scientific explanation’ on evolution of life. It does not have to do anything with any supernatural power. Religious fundamentalists, specially Christian, have evolved a movement called ‘creationism’, which asserts that the theory of evolution tends to wipe off the Biblical teachings and the faith they have in God. Till today, the highest priest of Christianity, the Pope, is busy trying to find ‘holes’ in the theory of evolution, when the whole world has accepted this theory before 150 years. The paradox is that evolution has never touched upon the aspects of God. In fact, scientists also believe in God and accept His existence. There is no legitimate base for ‘creationism’, and it reflects the sense of adamancy among the Christian fundamentalists. Theory of Cosmic Ancestry can be adopted as an option. Works- cited page 1. Evolution, wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 14 April 07, Retrieved on 15 April 07 from: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution > 2. Creationism, wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 14 April 07, Retrieved on 15 April 07 from : < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism > 3. Relationship, Relationship between Religion and science, wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 12 April 07, Retrieved on 15 April 07 from: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relationship_between_religion_and_science > 4. Lovgren Stefan, Evolution and religion can co-exist, scientists say, National Geographic News, 18 October 2004, Retrieved on 15 April 07, from: < http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1018_041018_science_religion.html > 5. Creation-evolution controversy, wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 13 April 07, Retrieved on 15 April 07 from: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation-evolution_controversy > 6. Evolution versus creationism, Retrieved on 16 April 07 from: < http://www.panspermia.org/ mechansm.htm >

The European Chivalry: the Ideals and Practices

The Ideals and Practices Andrew Daniels Strayed University Abstract This paper focuses on the ideals and practices of chivalry, specifically in the Middle Ages. During this time, a list of Ten Commandments pertaining to chivalry existed. Knights were expected to uphold a certain code that impacted their country, church, king, and fellow man. This paper will elaborate on those individual commandments and explore what each mandate meant for a knight, and it will show how those obligations affected various aspects of their lives.Also, the paper will touch on heavily In relation to a knight's demeanor toward a woman, and the rules that were to be followed when engaging in courtly love. Lastly, one will see how some of these ideas have carried into modern day, though they have been altered throughout time. Picture King Arthur, a knight In shining armor, waging war against his former knight Lancelot to prove his love for Guinevere. Most people envision such scenes when they hear the word à ¢â‚¬Å"chivalry. While dragon-slaying knights and tales of rescuing damsels in distress have contributed to our notion of chivalry, many more unifying aspects make up what it means to be chivalrous. I will be delving into the true meaning behind the principles and what it means to be a knight devoted to the ideals of chivalry. Knights first evolved in the eighth century under the direction of the French ruler Charlemagne; It was from this time that the Idea of chivalry arose. Though the code of chivalry was never formally written, it was understood by all as a way of culture and moral conduct.During the Middle Ages, knights upheld the ideals and practices delineated in The Code of Chivalry. These values ranged from dedication to the church, to defending the weak and defending your country, and loading yourself to a higher standard by being faithful to your word and respecting others. The unspoken Ten Commandments revealed the duties a knight was to defend. This paper will further exp and upon the customs of knights and their chivalric ways. One of the major components of chivalry dealt with protecting the church.The first commandment stated, â€Å"thou shall believe all that the church teaches, and shall observe all its directions† (Marshall, 2002). The second commandment simply stated, â€Å"thou shall defend the Church† (Marshall, 2002). In the Middle Ages Christianity in ten Tort AT cottontails was ten only practice religion. I en snuck played a Olsten and dominate role in the majority of people's lives, not only medieval knights. Beginning as free peasants, knights often pillaged churches. Due to such violence, Rome declared knights the protectors of churches starting in the tenth century and threatening sanctions against any who ransacked churches.Later, in the 1 lath century, the Truce of God asserted that knights should not make war on all holy days, all saints days or Thursday through Sunday. Abiding to these rules meant that knights exhibi ted their chivalric duty by observing the churches directions. Not only did the knights protect the church, but the church protected the knights' estate if he embarked on a Crusade to Jerusalem, the supposed burial sight of Jesus. During his time away, the knight was also exempt from paying taxes to the church (Warrior Challenge, 2003).While knights were required to defend the church, they were also expected to defend the weak, according to the Code of Chivalry (Marshall, 2002). Knights were expected to protect the weak and innocent. Given a plot of land for their services, rather than monetary compensation, knights were required to oversee the land in order to keep agricultural procedures running smoothly and to ensure the well-being over their serfs. Another knightly duty was to avenge the wronged. This was possible with extensive training from the age of seven to twenty one.In this fourteen year span, knights learned everything from hunting and falconry to wielding a battle and v aulting on a horse in heavy armor (Martin, 1991). With a repertoire of experiences such as these, knights were surely qualified to shield anyone weaker than them. Moreover, knights â€Å"shall love the country in which thou waist born† (Marshall, 2002). Knights upheld this chivalric code by living to serve their king and country. In the eighth century when Charlemagne ruled over his vast empire he enacted many longstanding ideas both in religion and education.During this period he and his vassals were involved in protecting their borders; without such a charismatic leader knights may not have been so obliged to serve and defend their king and country. In order to exhibit love for his country, the knight was sure to obey the king, country, and Code of Chivalry. The fifth commandment found in the code of chivalry, â€Å"thou shall not recoil before thing enemy' (Marshall, 2002). In a time when battles were common, knights were expected to fight with honor and die with valor. T hese traits would have been taught to these men when they were squires training to be knights.However, knights also established principles of what not to do in battle. It was thought chivalrous to never attack an unarmed foe, never use a weapon on an opponent not equal to the attack, and never attack from behind (Marshall, 2002). By maintaining these principles a knight showed respect to themselves, their king and their country. The next commandment reads, â€Å"thou shall make war against the Infidel without sensation and without mercy,† which relates to the seventh commandment â€Å"thou snail perform scrupulously tiny Teal outlets, IT teen De not contrary to ten laws AT God† (Marshall, 2002).Certain tasks categorized under these two commandments were thought of as chivalrous. One such task stated that knights were to destroy evil in all of its atrocious forms. Knights were required to fight for the ideals of their king, country and chivalry, which meant annihilating all those that attempted to steal land or rob people within the kingdom's borders in which a knight resided. Protection of one's country by destroying the enemy remained a priority for knights, as long as they did not betray any teachings of the church.Knights also abided by the code, â€Å"thou shall never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word† (Marshall, 2002). It was thought gallant to live a life complete with respect and honor. Knights should not take for granted their freedom or their livelihood, and they must remain thankful for the opportunities provided to them. Of course, if knights kept their word of honor, they must avoid lying or cheating their fellow man. Living an existence abundant of deception would defy the principals hose chivalrous men were to uphold.Just as it was thought unethical to deceive their fellow man, it was also thought improper to desert a friend or ally in need. Likewise, knights were not to relinquish a noble cause, whether it p resented itself in the form of a battle, defending one's church, or protecting one's country (Marshall, 2002). By living a truthful, honest existence, knights became role models of suitable gentlemen, which have contributed to our current view of the word chivalry today. Additionally, the code of chivalry demands, â€Å"thou shall be generous, and give largesse to everyone† (Marshall, 2002).Sir Thomas Malory provides a glimpse into such charitable actions as he recounts a scene between King Arthur and Sir Lancelot in his legend El Mortem d'art. After Arthur learns of Lancelot and Gunrunner's affair, he wages war against Lancet's kingdom, only to find himself at the mercy of Lancelot and his kinsman, Sir Boors' sword Not so hardy, said Sir Lancelot, upon pain of thy head, that thou touch him no more, for I will never see that most noble king that made me knight neither slain en shamed.And therewith Sir Lancelot alighted off his horse and took up the king ND horsed him again, a nd said thus: My lord Arthur, for God's love stint this strife, for ye get here no worship, and I would do mine utterance, but always I forbear you, and ye nor none of yours forbear me; my lord, remember what I have done in many places, and now I am evil rewarded (Taylor, 2010, Para. L). Lancelot spares Urethra's life, remembering when Arthur once placed his faith in Lancelot by making him his knight. Despite the quarrel between the former friends over Guinevere, they still respect one another.In this instance Lancet's generosity outweighs his desire to defeat Arthur. Such demonstrations of largesse, whether legend or not, reveal the true meaning behind this commandment. The final commandment documented in the Code of Chivalry states, â€Å"thou shall be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice an Eve â€Å"(Marshall,2 I Nils last commandment Disloyally encapsulates ten tore mentioned orders, reminding knights to live for all that is virtuous and to reinforce the need to respect the authority of country, church and king.Knights were to avoid certain practices such as torture and deceit; they were to remain loyal to their friends ND those who placed their trust in them. Furthermore, the concept of respecting women was considered a significant courtesy, though not directly mentioned in the Ten Commandments of Chivalry. Men were to exhibit manners at all times, and they must be polite and attentive to women. Additionally, gentlemen showed respect to whoever should be their host.Andrea Aquaplanes, a 12th century author, wrote De Amour, known today in English as The Art of Courtly Love. In his work, he addresses the â€Å"twelve chief rules of love,† and elaborates on thirty-one aspect of â€Å"the art of courtly love. Rules that men must abide by consisted of topics such as chastity: â€Å"Thou shall keep thyself chaste for the sake of her whom thou loves† (Marshall, 2002). Within these numerous rules, one can see what was thought of as proper in a relationship and the graciousness that was displayed toward women (Marshall, 2002).Concepts such as this reveal the origins of present day views on chivalry or in some opinions, the lack of chivalry. Overall, I feel the principles that contribute to the idea of chivalry, whether or not construed by legend, are important ones. The codes that knights abided by revealed number of characteristics: faith, loyalty, strength, honesty, generosity and courtesy. I believe living an existence according to these principles, or even attempting to attain such standards, makes a person a superior, well-rounded individual.Incorporating such characteristics into one's everyday life allows a person to be more virtuous, and these values reinforce one's relationship with the church, country and allies. The romanticism of chivalry has survived to present day, though the code is not held to standards nearly as high as in the past with the majority of the ideas fall ing to the wayside. I believe a rejuvenation of several of these notions could benefit factions of society and reinstate principles that should be essential for all mankind.

Photo Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Photo Assignment - Essay Example d have to feed and teach a baby how to walk and talk, encourage a child to love school on their first day of being away from home, to develop manners and know that not all misunderstandings could be settled through a fight, support their chosen careers even when it is not really a status quo job, and learn to accept mistakes and learn from their own children as well (Theisen, C., n.d.). The perfect visualization of the love and responsibility that is brought about by parenthood is summed up into these photos above. Parents all have this innate sacrificial love for their kids no matter who they are or how they were brought up by their own parents. For sure, there are differences in parenting styles or approach that different parents take but what is for sure is that they all do it out of love for their kids and the desire to make them a better person in the future and fully equipped to face the real world and what is out there. Theisen, C. (n.d.). 8 Essential Parental Responsibilities - Parent Education - Parenting - Family Resource. Family Resource. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from

LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND COMMUNICATION Assignment

LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND COMMUNICATION - Assignment Example The goal of the speaker was to show how negatively we can use the word ‘I Am’ and delivered the message to use it positively. Pastor Joel Osteen kept the audience alive by putting a little smile on their face. He used many non-verbal skills to become the main and only focus of the audience. His gestures and facial expressions were eye catching and added more meaning to the message he wanted to deliver. Kinesics during a speech enhances the meaning of the objective and conveys the message more powerfully. In the speech ‘The Power of I Am’, the participants belonged to different race, culture, class and gender. As it was a sermon there was no racial discrimination and no class differences were seen in this video. It was a very large but well behaved and organised crowd with people from all walks of life were enjoying the speech. Men and women were together as the speech did not belong to a specific gender but was for the purpose of bringing positivity in the life of everyone. The language dialect quiz is conducted to find out about the geographical point of origin of the people who have taken this quiz. The issues that can arise during a conversation because of different accents and different terminologies will be observed from this quiz. The provided link for the quiz was conducted and a big difference was noticed between the two participant with whom the quiz was held. The participants mostly had different terminologies for words and few terms used by two different individuals were not known to each other. They had different words for the same thing and were not aware of the existence of each other’s word. They had polar accents and it was proved from the very first question of the quiz as both the participants used different pronunciations for the words. From the result of this quiz it is analysed the people belonging to different regions have

SWOT Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

SWOT Analysis - Term Paper Example At that time the start of the company was poor and it managed to manufacture a car which was known as Toyopet. However, Toyota Company came back strongly into the market in 1965. At that time they manufactured the 90-horsepower Corona sedan which became popular in the market. Since then, the company has been able to manufacture different brands which include; the Corolla, Camry, Toyota trucks, the Lexus luxury brand, Scion and the first gas and electric hybrid Prius (Hino, 2006). Prius was the first worldwide and was manufactured purposely for the 21st century. Among the many consumers of the company, Americans have remained supportive to the company. According to Kurtz, (2008), they have been attracted by the company car’s quality, dependability and its reliability. The company’s mission statement is to be able to sustain growth which is profitable through the provision of perfect customer experience and support in dealership. Toyota Company has several strengths and w eaknesses. The strengths include; Company’s High financial strength; the investment of the company in several factories located in the US and china resulted in increased profits in 2005. This was unique from the well known worldwide trend in the motor industry. The net profits of the company rose rapidly and higher sales were also witnessed. This outstanding performance of the company resulted from Toyota’s right mix of products for all the markets served by the company. The company’s segmentation, targeting and positioning is well focused in several countries worldwide (McCraw, 1997). The second strength of Toyota Company is its popularity as an Industry leader in manufacturing and production. In 2003, Toyota Company became the second largest carmaker in the world with a total of 6.78 million units. The company surpassed its top rivals like Ford which was in the third position. Toyota Company came second after the General Motors’ which had a total of 8.5 9 million units during that period. According to Bohm, (2009), several factors have contributed greatly to the company’s strong position in the industry. These include the range of the company’s product which has remained diversified; the company’s marketing which is well targeted and the continuous commitment of the company to remain lean in its manufacturing business and observation of quality. The company specialty is to make different vehicles of a wider range both for the private customers and other different commercial organizations. Its products include Yaris which consists of both the small and the large trucks. The company is also able to identify and meet different needs of customers through utilization of different marketing techniques. The brand of the company is considered to be a household brand. In addition, different manufacturing approaches which are efficient such as Total Quality Management (TQM) has enable the company to fully maximize its pr ofits. Toyota Company also has certain weaknesses which include; Just in time system, Even though the company’s JIT system is among Toyota’s competitive advantage it can also be classified as a weakness. The JIT depends largely on other systems and this requires all the suppliers to follow what company wants. In case a given supplier fails to meet the quality standards of the company, the whole production process will be interfered with. The company’

Thread Rolling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thread Rolling - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that the outcome of transferring the material molecules into thread shape instead of weakening through material removal is the thickening of the molecules at the threads critical parts, mostly in the roots and at the pitch diameter flank. The result of this all is an improvement of the quality of the thread form. Furthermore, the burnishing act that takes place at the steel dies results into a production of a magnificent micro-finish. The internal and external threads assembly is improved by the superior finish. It as well minimizes the wear between mating components thus a life extension results. A smooth finish as well results to an advantage of having rolled threaded components over the threaded components.As the discussion stresses the process involved in the thread rolling is known as the infeed roll threading. The thread types involved are pipe threads/ 600 thread type, machine screw type threads. The forms involved in the process are UNR, UNJ, AND U NC, for classes 1A, 2A, and 3A. The metric forms in the process of roll threading are DIN and ISO. The minimum size for the thread is 2mm, and maximum diameter is 63mm. The pitches in roll threading are fine, coarse and extra fine. The material hardness is cold rolling on depending material size and type. Roll threading results to flight safety threads and left and right hand while the volume that results is 1 to 100,000 pieces.

Sickle cell anaemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Sickle cell anaemia - Essay Example rised by the presence of an atypical haemoglobin type S which is rigid, fragile and crescent-like cells that easily die off making a person record low red blood cells count. The disease is inherited by children from their parents and sufferers usually experience anaemia in which the red blood cells are in low count since they (sickle cells) die within a period of about 3 weeks unlike the normal red blood cells that die after 4 months. This leaves the body with low energy and constant tiredness owing to lack of oxygen for respiration. Episodic pains are as well experienced owing to the barricade they cause along the blood vessels (Steinberg, 2009:83). Sickle cell anaemia is considered is a blood cell disorder passed from parent to child. The disorder comes when there are inflexible and hemispherical blood cells that are atypical as compared to the standard and regular red blood cells that are usually supple (Mehta, 2009:33). These abnormal cells (haemoglobin S) do not enable free flow of oxygen to the entire body as it should be for energy generation as they get wedged and jammed along the blood vessel thereby blocking the ‘blood highway’. This blockage account for the pain that patients suffering encounter and the lack of oxygen supply brings about serious fatigue. It is regarded as another type of anaemia disorder in which cells necessary for carrying oxygen are lacking or few in number. The disease is inherited in an ‘autosomal recessive inheritance’ pattern in which both parents have to transmit the genetic material to the baby for the child to suffer otherwise if its only one parent then the child w ill be a carrier and not manifest the symptoms. Since sickle cell anaemia is a blood disorder, it is diagnosed through testing the blood for individuals who have already been born although it is possible to detect the disorder even in unborn babies in which fluid in the amniotic tissue is tested to check for the presence of Haemoglobin S which is the

Computer Module Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Computer Module - Essay Example The question being asked is what constitutes the defining paradigms of quality in the phase of conflicting perceptions in the IT industry. It is against this background that the central focus of this paper is tailored towards highlighting the most classical principles that are in tune with best practices in the industry. For obvious reasons, it spares the paper the drudgery of professing speculative theories. The conventional structure of software language has always being targeted at making available a system of unambiguous programming pattern based on logical processes that are explicit in their usage.1 In a related study, Jagdish et la (2002) allude to the fact that the continuous dependence on computer software for the execution of virtually all industrial, commercial and social activities makes it imperative for the question of quality to be ranked very highly in the process of developing software-a fact that has gained unanimous support from all concerned stakeholders. Notwithstanding the consensus held about the latter, the point of division however, lies in the inability to establish a similar consensus in establishing a standardized definition of what the term "quality" really means when it comes to software technology. Its definition is always crafted to suit a specific purpose, in other words, depending on what the software in question will be used for, then an appropriation o f quality is assigned to it (Boehm 1978, Vincent et la 1998, Sefikla et la 1998). To ease this complication, Jagdish et la (2002) recommends the usage of the object-oriented paradigm to replace the conventional systems of conducting any meaningful software quality assessment (also see Li & Henry 1993). Object-oriented metrics approach is a representation of an entirely innovative system of that is able to handle a comparatively larger aggregate array of tasks than was hitherto possible. Notwithstanding, it is woefully saddled in a limitation of the magnitude and scope of the tasks it can be used to assess. Primarily, the obvious reasons are that all that is known about it and application is still in its infancy. For instance, it is known to lack the capacity to fully integrate a small quantity of discrete data, which may be terribly below the high expectations placed on quality assessment in a large scale context (Schmidt et la 2000, Brian et la 1996, Sefikla et la 1996). In another interesting study, Schmidt (2000) is not particularly enthused about the fact that prior to the implementation of the object-oriented metrics, there is no mechanism that enables any credible quality assessment check to be conducted on it during the development process. Essentially, any quality alterations that the software might stand in need of, would certainly have to be deferred until such a time that user feedback is generated. A significant amount of effort is required to get the object-oriented metrics running effectively during the early stages of the development process. Granted all the working dynamics are systemically synchronized then, much of the testing process will ensure a smooth performance of the software. Quality Appraisal In view of the limitations inherently

Environmental Scan Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Environmental Scan Paper - Essay Example Evaluation of the internal and external environments is then followed by crucial decisions regarding long and short term goals and finally organizes for the implementation of the plan of action. This writing describes the internal and external environments of Lego and Harley Davidson companies using an environmental scan. The argument of this writing is to carefully examine, evaluate and analyze both the internal and external environments of Lego and Harley Davidson that enable them gain competitive advantage in their respective industries. Lego is a company that has been successful in the toy and over 150 different types of products for the last 60 years and above. Lego Company has remained successful because of her great global and competitive strategies it has employed. LEGO Group has strived to beat her competitors in the industry due to her initiative of embracing new technology. Internal Environment According to Metcalf & Lafranco (2013), inbound logistics which emphasizes on r aw material is fundamental in the company’s operations. It acquires her main bulk of chemical materials from Lanxess, a German company which provides standardized ingredients without any bottleneck that may interfere with Lego’s company. Lego further focuses on her product’s future demands by ensuring proper product mix. ... The company’s patented plastic ingredient ensures durable product and desirable colors as well as adherence to the European CE-labeling thus ensuring conformation with the European Union legislation (Hjuler & Robertson, 2009). Additionally, Lego has outsourced her distribution to DHL Excel Supply Chain in Eastern Europe hence reducing excess capacity during summer when sales are low. It further helps them to concentrate in the production services and letting experts do her distributions. Lego has also diversified her operations such as entering into a strategic partnership with organizations such as Lucas Arts and Warner Bros that has enabled Star Wars and Harry Porter act as the savior of Lego (Metcalf & Lafranco, 2013). Hjuler & Robertson (2009), posit that several businesses combinations that Lego has entered itself in make it enjoy indirect marketing thus contributing to their dramatic increase in sales. The company has been expanding her production facility closer to thei r customers as well as numerous promotional strategies such as conventional media and philanthropic charity. The company also uses superior prices and avoids any engagement in price strategy and associates her high prices with better quality. It has also integrated some of her programs with educational institutions as a way of improving her products. External Environment Considering Lego’s bargaining power, her significant supplier is within the chemical market which is very competitive thus reducing the supplier’s bargaining power. The company has categorized her suppliers based on riskiness hence making their largest suppliers to be in low risk countries and smaller group of suppliers in high risk countries. Companies in the toy industries including Lego have ensured low

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Management - Essay Example . In order to shape employee behavior, a manager should â€Å"encourage self-regulation of behavior† and motivate them. This approach is based on motivation which ‘foster an intrinsic desire on the part of employees to follow organizational rules, and inspire outweighs the influence of command-and-control mechanisms† (Blader and Tyler 2006). Employee responsibilities are inseparable from organizational policies and practices. The manager can shape employees behavior using traditional insensitive and sanctions. Thus, critics argue that self-regulation approach is more effective than the old one. The manager can influence employees through informal superior-subordinate interaction to communicate employees rights and responsibilities. Suggested also is the need for interaction may be endangered by the growth of communication technology. Behavior modeling is needed for communicating shared values. Employees absorb, analyze, and then digest the behavior of managers towa rd them (Drory and Zaidman 2007). It should be noted that an organization's policies and practices may encourage or discourage responsible behavior among employees by the moral messages they convey. As a result, one would expect the way workers approach their responsibilities to be compatible with the organization's moral (and behavioral) environment. 2. Attitudes are learned throughout life and are embodied within socialization process.

African American Contributions to American History Essay Example for Free

African American Contributions to American History Essay Many blacks contributed to the success of our country in every war that we as a people have ever fought. In order to properly thank them for their heroic effort, I as a Hispanic Caucasian must give credit where credit is due. In order to properly do so, I must begin with the contributions of â€Å"Black America† beginning with the American Revolution and continue up until the World War II. Make no mistake blacks made contributions well past World War II, but in the interest of time and accuracy I must stay within the confines of our earlier history. One main aspect that should be analyzed is the fact that no matter how hard the struggle, blacks have always overcome adversity no matter what the cost. Of course, contributions made by blacks are not limited to war alone, but include a wide spectrum of achievements that have advanced civilization as a whole. My personal respect and thanks go to all people who have served and continue to serve this country at any capacity. But we must never forget the contributions made by our black brothers and sisters who gave their lives fighting for a cause that so greatly affected their lives as well as our well being. Charles Dickens said it best in his book A Tale of Two Cities, â€Å"It was the best of times it was the worst of times†. The American Revolution was a time of great struggle for people of all races. But, Blacks in particular understood the literal meaning of patriot rhetoric, eagerly took up the cause of American freedom, fighting bravely in the early confrontations with the British. Though the revolution freed some blacks and set the country on a course toward the abolition of slavery, political accommodation to plantation owners forestalled emancipation for many blacks in the south for 90 more years. A black man was one of the first martyrs of the patriot cause. Crispus Attucks, apparently a slave who had run away from his owner 20 years before, died in the Boston Massacre in 1770. Though facts were disputed at trials then as now, witnesses said Attucks hit a British officer with a large piece of firewood, grabbed a bayonet and urged the crowd to attack just before the British fired. Attucks and two others were killed while eight were wounded, two mortally. Blacks served at the battles of Lexington and Concord. Peter Salem, a freed slave, stood on the green at Lexington facing the British when the first battle broke out with the shot that was heard around the world. One of the last men wounded in the battle as the British escaped to Boston was Prince Estabrook, a black man from West Lexington. At least 20 blacks, including Peter Salem, were in the ranks two months later when the British attacked an American position outside Boston in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Salem has been honored for firing the shot that killed Major John Pitcairn, the British officer who led the Redcoats when they had attacked his small unit at Lexington. Unable to venture outside Boston and then threatened with cannon surrounding the city, the British left Boston for New York. As the war changed from a Massachusetts endeavor to a broader conflict throughout the colonies, the politics of race changed dramatically. Blacks had been welcomed in the New England militia, but Congress initially decided against having them in the Continental army. Congress needed support from the South if all the colonies were to win their independence from England. Since southern plantation owners wanted to keep their slaves, they were afraid to give guns to blacks. Congress ordered all blacks removed from the army, but black veterans appealed directly to George Washington, who took up their cause with John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. Blacks serving in the army were allowed to stay, but new enlistments were forbidden. Though the Declaration of Independence declared that all men were created equal, many blacks soon saw more opportunity on the British side. The British governor of Virginia promised immediate freedom and wages to any slave who would join the Kings army. Hundreds flocked to the standard of the governor, Lord Dunmore, but he was denied a base on the land by the American forces and many of the blacks who joined him died of smallpox on overcrowded ships. The loyalty of blacks was a serious issue for the American leaders because blacks made up one-fifth of the two million people in the colonies. With the British soldiers already outnumbering the American troops, and recruitment difficult for the patriots, the northern colonies soon again began to enlist blacks. Rhode Island made up a regiment almost entirely of blacks. As the war continued, colonies as far south as Maryland and Virginia were recruiting free blacks for the American cause. As the war spread into the South, Congress found it needed to recruit slaves. It offered to pay South Carolina slave owners $1,000 for able-bodied male slaves. The slaves would receive no pay, but would be given $50 and their freedom at the end of the war if they served well and faithfully. The South Carolina Assembly threatened to leave the war, dooming the plan in the southernmost colonies. Recruitment of blacks to the American cause continued further north, but the patriots had less success than the British. The offer of immediate freedom extended by Virginia’s unfortunate loyalist governor was eventually made by the British throughout the colonies. Slaves joined the British by the tens of thousands. The fate of the loyalist blacks varied considerably. Some were captured by Americans and either returned to their masters or treated as war loot and sold back into slavery. Approximately 20,000 were with the British at the end of the war, taken to Canada or the Caribbean. Some became the founders of the British colony of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Even though the British offered slaves a better deal, many blacks served on the American side. They made up a sizeable share of the men in the Continental navy, state navies and the large force of American privateers. Blacks had long been in the labor force on ships and at seaports. On the water, then as now, skill counted for more than politics. The precise role of blacks in the revolution is difficult to quantify. Blacks in those days generally did not write. The people who did write early histories of the revolution were whites and concentrated on the efforts of white men. Also, many participants in the revolution were not specifically identified by race in the documents of the time and historians now have no way of knowing whether they were black. When blacks were allowed to serve in the American military, they often did work as laborers, sometimes in addition to regular soldier duties. Usually they were privates, though a few rose to command small groups of men. The words of the Declaration of Independence were taken literally by blacks and some whites. In, 1780, Pennsylvania became the first colony to pass a law phasing out slavery. Children born to slaves after that date were granted their freedom when they reached 28. Other northern states followed. The Superior Court of Massachusetts held in 1783 that slavery violated the state constitution, and New Hampshire also ended slavery by a court ruling. Vermont outlawed slavery and Connecticut and Rhode Island passed gradual emancipation laws. New York outlawed slavery in 1799 and New Jersey followed in 1804. The international slave trade was outlawed in 1808. Progress then came to a stop. A boom in cotton production spread the slave economy into the lower Mississippi Valley. Slave states were careful to control at least half the political power in the federal government, blocking any national movement against slavery until the Civil War. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the rebelling territories of the confederacy and authorizing Black enlistment in the Union Army. Since the beginning of the Civil War, free Black people in general, and Black Bostonians in particular, were ready to gather arms on behalf of the Union, yet they were prevented from doing so. Popular racial stereotypes and institutional discrimination against Blacks in the military contributed to the prevailing myth that Black men lacked the intelligence and bravery necessary to serve their country. By the fall of 1862, however, the lack of White Union enlistment and confederate victories at Antietem forced the U. S. government to reconsider its racist policy. As Congress met in October to address the issue of Black enlistment, various troops of Black volunteers had already been organized, including the First South Carolina and the Kansas Colored Troops. It wasnt until January 26, 1863; however, that secretary of war Edwin Stanton authorized the enlistment of Black troops. As a result, the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer infantry was founded, becoming the first all-Black Union regiment raised in the north. Training began for Black volunteers at Camp Meigs in Reedville, MA on February 21, 1863. Although some members of the community voiced opposition to the prevention of Black men from achieving the rank of colonel or officer, most community activists urged Black men to seize the opportunity to serve in the Union forces. The fear many Black volunteers had about the potential racism of White officers and colonels was calmed when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew assured Bostonians that White officers assigned to the 54th Regiment would be young men of military experience, of firm anti-slavery principles, ambitious, superior to a vulgar contempt for color, and having faith in the capacity of colored men for military service. Andrew held to his word, appointing 25-year-old Robert Gould Shaw as colonel and George P. Hallowell as Lieutenant. The son of wealthy abolitionists, Shaw had been educated in Europe and at Harvard before joining the seventh New York National Guard in 1861. In 1862, when Governor Andrew contacted Shaws father about the prospect of commissioning his son as colonel of the soon-to-be organized fifty-fourth, Shaw was an officer in the Second Massachusetts Infantry. Although reluctant to accept the commission, Shaw eventually became colonel. By the time training began at Camp Meigs, Shaw and his officers began work with the soldiers whose bravery would forever change public perception of Black military skill and valor. Black community leaders across the country such as Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown served as recruiting agents for the Union army. As a result, over 1000 volunteers enlisted in the 54th Regiment, a response so overwhelming that Massachusetts organized a second Black regiment, the fifty-fifth. Men of the fifty-fourth represented twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, the West Indies, and Africa. Approximately 25% of them had been slaves, over 50% were literate, and, although as civilians they had worked in forty-six different occupations, the overwhelming majorities (55%) were common laborers. Regardless of origin, occupation, or social class, the men of the 54th Regiment both inspired Bostons Black community and provided a symbol of pride for abolitionists across the country. Activists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass visited Camp Meigs to show their support. Although the organization of the 54th Regiment resolved the conflict over Black enlistment in the Union army, the struggle of Black soldiers to gain respect in the military was just beginning. Upon arrival in the south, the Black soldiers were often treated as common laborers and the potential for their valor on the battlefield was disregarded. Upon arriving in Georgia on June 11, they were ordered by Col. James Montgomery of the Department of the South to raid the town of Darien. Reports of Black soldiers burning buildings and ravaging the homes of townspeople confirmed stereotypes of Black soldiers as un-trainable brutes. Col. Shaw found the raid on Darien barbarous and distasteful, and sent a letter to Brigadier General George C. Strong, requesting that the men be used in the planned attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. On July 16, the 54th Regiment fought alongside White soldiers of the 10th Connecticut Infantry in a skirmish on James Island, SC. This battle redeemed the Black soldiers fighting ability in the eyes of White skeptics, including General Strong, who commanded the 54th Regiment to lead the assault on Fort Wagner, scheduled for July 18. Strategically, a successful attack on Fort Wagner would allow Union forces to seize control of Charleston Harbor. Located on Morris Island, Fort Wagner protected Battery Gregg overlooking Fort Sumter. Thus, seizure of Fort Wagner was valuable because it enabled the Union to shell Sumter and close the harbor to confederate blockade runners, thereby paving the way for further Union attack on Charleston. Fort Wagner was located at the northern tip of Morris Island, and was controlled by 1700 troops and 17 artillery guns. Depleted to just over 600 men by the skirmish two days previous, the men of the 54th Regiment were ordered to lead the assault on Fort Wagner with the backing of regiments from New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Pennsylvania. Before the charge commenced, Colonel Shaw ordered the regiment to prove yourselves as men. Within 200 feet of the Fort, the confederates began to attack as the brave men of the 54th Regiment struggled through darkness, four-foot deep water, and marshland. Colonel Shaw, accompanied by dwindling numbers of dying men, managed to reach the top of the parapet where a bitter hand-to-hand combat ensued, the Black Union soldiers with bayonets against the White Confederate soldiers with handspikes and gun rammers. Colonel Shaw was mortally wounded with a pierce through the heart, along with a dozen of his men. Meanwhile, members of the 54th Regiment some wounded, some dying began to retreat; those who refused to back down were taken prisoner. As the smoke cleared, evidence of Confederate victory was immediately apparent, with 174 Rebel casualties and 1515 Union soldiers dead or wounded. Of the eleven regiments who participated in the Union assault, the fifty-forth Regiment accrued the most casualties, with 256 of their 600 men dead or wounded. Despite the heavy losses, the assault on Fort Wagner proved to the nation and the world the valor of Black soldiers in general and the men of the 54th Regiment in particular. From the ranks of the fifty-forth came stories of unfailing patriotism and undying glory. The men of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, their White officers, colonel, and allies, not only struck a blow for American freedom and unity, they also proved to the nation and the world the valor, bravery, and devotion of African American soldiers. In the sacrifice made by Col. Shaw and his soldiers, Americans witnessed, for the first time, the supremacy of equality over racism, discrimination, and ignorance. Upon his death at Fort Wagner, the body of Col. Shaw was placed in a mass grave on Morris Island along with the bodies of his soldiers. The lack of proper military burial for a man who had distinguished himself as a soldier and as a leader was intended to insult the honor of Shaw and his family, who were deemed as race traitors by Confederates and White unionists alike. However, upon learning that his son had been buried with his black soldiers, Francis Shaw stated, with dignity, that We hold that a soldiers most appropriate burial place is on the field where he has fallen. This statement and the honor displayed by the Shaw family and veterans of the fifty-fourth helped immortalize Shaw and his men as symbols of the Civil War battle for unity and equality. As a result of the 54th Regiment, over 180,000 Black men enlisted under the Union flag between 1863 and 1865. AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY SERVICE from WWI through WWII. During the global conflicts of the first half of the 20th century, U. S. servicemen fought in Europe for the first time in the nation’s history. African Americans were among the troops committed to combat in World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII), even though they and other black Americans were denied the full blessings of the freedom for which the United States had pledged to fight. Traditional racist views about the use of black troops in combat initially excluded African Americans from the early recruiting efforts and much of the actual combat in both wars. Nonetheless, large numbers of African Americans still volunteered to fight for their country in 1917-18 and 1940-45. Once again, many black servicemen hoped their military contribution and sacrifice would prove to their white countrymen that African Americans desired and deserved a fully participatory role in U. S. society. Unfortunately, the deeply entrenched negative racial attitudes prevalent among much of the white American population, including many of the nation’s top military and civilian leaders, made it very difficult for blacks to serve in the military establishment of this period. African-American servicemen suffered numerous indignities and received little respect from white troops and civilians alike. The historic contributions by blacks to the defense of the United States were usually ignored or downplayed, while combat failures similar to those of whites and violent racial incidents often provoked by whites were exaggerated into a condemnation of all African Americans. In the Jim Crow world of pre-1945 America, black servicemen confronted not only the hostility of enemies abroad but that of enemies at home. African-American soldiers and sailors had two formidable obstacles to deal with: discrimination and segregation. Yet, black servicemen in both world wars repeatedly demonstrated their bravery, loyalty, and ability in combat or in support of frontline troops. Oftentimes, they accomplished these tasks without proper training or adequate equipment. Poor communications and a lack of rapport with their white officers were two additional burdens hampering the effectiveness and efficiency of African Americans in the military. Too frequently, there was little or no recognition or gratitude for their accomplishments. One of the worst slights of both wars was the willingness of the white establishment to allow racism to influence the award of the prestigious Medal of Honor. Although several exceptionally heroic African Americans performed deeds worthy of this honor, not one received at the time the award that their bravery and self-sacrifice deserved. It took over 70 years for the United States to rectify this error for WWI and over 50 years for WWII. Despite the hardships and second-class status, their participation in both wars helped to transform many African-American veterans as well as helped to eventually change the United States. Though still limited by discrimination and segregation at home, their sojourn in Europe during WWI and WWII made many black servicemen aware that the racial attitudes so common among white Americans did not prevail everywhere else. The knowledge that skin color did not preclude dignity and respect made many black veterans unwilling to submit quietly to continuing racial discrimination once they returned to the United States. In addition, the growing importance of black votes beginning in the 1930s and 1940s forced the nation’s political and military leaders to pay more attention to African Americans’ demands, particularly in regard to the military. Although it was a tedious and frustrating process, one too often marked by cosmetic changes rather than real reform, by the end of WWII, the U. S. military establishment slowly began to make some headway against racial discrimination and segregation within its ranks. The stage was set for President Harry S Truman’s landmark executive order of 26 July 1948. Another main contribution of note would be the trails and tribulations of the Tuskegee Airmen. In the 1940s, it was still believed that Blacks were incapable of flying aircraft. This myth was dispelled with the help of the U. S. Congress. On June 27, 1939 THE CIVILIAN PILOT TRAINING ACT was passed. This solitary ACT helped to create a reserve of civilian pilots to be called in case of War. Young black pilots were given the opportunity to train with U. S. approved programs located at TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE. The SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT OF 1940 also increased the opportunity for a broader participation of Blacks in the military when it banned discrimination in the selection and training of all American citizens because of race and color. The success of the CIVILIAN PILOT TRAINING ACT helped put the 99TH PURSUIT SQUADRON OF TUSKEGEE on the map. It was said that the success of Negro youth in the Army Air Force would be predicated upon the success of the Tuskegee Experiment. HBOs docudrama, THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, is a good depiction of this era of Black Americans seeking acceptance as military pilots. Because of the opportunity provided by the Civilian Pilot Training Act, the number of Blacks in the ARMY AIR FORCE jumped from 2,250 in 1941 to over 145,000 by 1944. The two major groups to see combat as AAF men were the 99TH PURSUIT SQUADRON and the 332ND FIGHTER GROUP. Out of the 332nd Group came the 100th, 301st, and 302nd Squadrons under the command of Lieutenant Colonel BENJAMIN O. DAVIS, SR. , who became Americas FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN GENERAL on October 25, 1940. By 1944, the 99th was added to the 332nd and participated in campaigns in Sicily, Rome, and Romania. The 99th and 332nd earned many DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATIONS. These historical examples are but a small sample of the many great contributions and sacrifices made by black people in order to secure freedom and prosperity for this great nation. We owe them a debt than can never be fully repaid. If anything these great contributions should curtail any negative or racial thoughts toward such a magnanimous people. You would think that with all that has transpired throughout history, that we as a people could live and coexist together with peace and harmony. My only hope is that with time people will come to realize that we are all not that different from one another and that we can thrive together for a better future for all of us.

A Brief Description Of Singapore

A Brief Description Of Singapore A Journey into Singapores Past While the earliest known historical records of Singapore are shrouded in the mists of time, a third century Chinese account describes it as Pu-luo-chung, or the island at the end of a peninsula. Later, the city was known as Temasek (Sea Town), when the first settlements were established from AD 1298-1299. During the 14th century, this small but strategically located island earned a new name. Legend, Sang Nila Utama, a Prince from Palembang founded a city The Lion City or Singapura, from the Sanskrit words simha (lion) and pura (city). At this time, the city was then ruled by the five kings of ancient Singapura. Located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, the city served as a flourishing trading post for a wide variety of sea crafts, from Chinese junks, Indian vessels etc. The next important period in the history of Singapore was during the 19th century, when modern Singapore was founded. At this time, Singapore was already an upcoming trading post along the Malacca Straits, and Britain realized the need for a port of call in the region. British traders needed a strategic venue to refresh and protect the merchant fleet of the growing empire, as well as forestall any advance made by the Dutch in the region. The then Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen (now Bengkulu) in Sumatra, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore on 29 January 1819, after a survey of the neighboring islands. Recognizing the immense potential of the swamp covered island, he helped negotiate a treaty with the local rulers, establishing Singapore as a trading station. Soon, the islands policy of free trade attracted merchants from all over Asia and from as far away as the US and the Middle East. In 1832, Singapore became the centre of government for the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of the telegraph and steamship, Singapores importance as a centre of the expanding trade between the East and West increased tremendously. By 1860, the thriving country had a population that had grown from a mere 150 in 1819 to 80,792, comprising mainly Chinese, Indians and Malays. But the peace and prosperity of the country suffered a major blow during World War II, when it was attacked by the Japanese aircrafts on 8 December 1941. Once regarded as an impregnable fortress, Singapore fell under the Japanese invasion on 15 February 1942. It remained occupied by the Japanese for the next three and half years, a time marked by great oppression and an immense loss of lives. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the island was handed over to the British Military Administration, which remained in power until the dissolve of the Straits Settlement comprising Penang, Melaka and Singapore. In March 1946, Singapore became a Crown Colony. In 1959, the growth of nationalism led to self-government, and the countrys first general election. The Peoples Action Party (PAP) won a majority of 43 seats and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore. In 1961, Singapore joined Malaya and merged with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia in 1963. However, the merger proved unsuccessful, and less than two years later on 9 August 1965, Singapore left Malaysia to become an independent and sovereign democratic nation. On 22 December that year, Singapore finally became an independent republic. Today, you can experience Singapores rich historical heritage by visiting many of the national monuments, museums and memorials located around the city. On your trip here, remember to take a walk along one of the many heritage trails or visit the well-known landmarks for a complete Singapore journey. ECONOMY OVERVIEW Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, information technology products, pharmaceuticals, and on a growing financial services sector. Real GDP growth averaged 8.6% between 2004 and 2007. The economy contracted 1.0% in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but rebounded 14.8% in 2010 and 4.9% in 2011, on the strength of renewed exports. Over the longer term, the government hopes to establish a new growth path that focuses on raising productivity, which has sunk to a compound annual growth rate of just 1.8% in the last decade. Singapore has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology production and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asias financial and high-tech hub. ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE COUNTRY Singapore is widely acknowledged as having one of the best business environments in the world one of the worlds most competitive (Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Year book), most profitable (Business Environment Risk Intelligence Report), most transparent (Transparency International Survey), with world-class intellectual property protection and enforcement (World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report). The presence of many leading global companies and local enterprises here is a testimony to Singapores excellence in manufacturing and services. There are more than 7,000 Multi-National Corporations in Singapore now days. Singapore is an attractive and competitive manufacturing location, possessing world class capabilities in the design, development and manufacture of cutting edge products for the world. As MNCs are always looking for the most cost efficient for its investment, Singapores high labor rate loses out to other developing countries e.g. Vie tnam and China. As some manufacturers have left Singapore to other countries with cheaper labor, we can see the transformation from the manufacturing activities into trading and services. In addition, by leveraging on its strength as the regional hub for services such as logistics and education, Singapore is poised to become Asias leading services hub, providing an array of world-class services. The following sections will analyze the factors (Politic, Economy, Social and Technology) that influence the business environment in Singapore and also its limitation. PEST ANALYSIS POLITICAL/LEGAL Singapore is an enterprise friendly country. The government has set up several organizations in helping the business in a very systematic way. Regulation Structure Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has its vision to make Singapore a leading global city of talent, enterprise and innovation. Its mission is to promote economic growth and create jobs, so as to achieve higher standards of living for all. It was tasked with anticipating problems ahead, identifying opportunities for growth, rationalizing existing policies and giving broad directions for the economy. The main tasks are categorized as below:- Growing economy Expanding trade Developing industries Fostering pro-enterprise environment Statutory boards are semi-independent agencies that specialize in carrying out specific plans and policies of the Ministry. One of such agencies under the MTI is SPRING Singapore. SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board) is the enterprise development agency for growing innovative companies and fostering a competitive SME sector. SPRING works with partners to help enterprises in financing, capabilities and management development, technology and innovation, and access to markets. As the national standards and accreditation body, SPRING also develops and promotes internationally-recognized standards and quality assurance to enhance competitiveness and facilitate trade. It has many programmes to encourage entrepreneurship and assisting the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). These are two available financial incentive schemes:-i) Business Angels Scheme (BAS) where they will provide Innovative Singapore-based young companies a matching dollar for every dollar invested by pre-approved angel groups, up to $1.5 million. ii) Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Startups (YES! Startups) Where they will provide youths with grants of up to $50,000 to start their innovative business. SPRING also provides business leadership and capability development where a number of training courses are conducted to improve leadership and business management skills. Several available programs are:-i) Advanced Management Programme (AMP) where it will help tobuild management capabilities of SME leaders through postgraduate and executive development courses that focus on the business management needs of SMEs. ii) Management Development Scholarship (MDS): Designed to Nurture the leadership of tomorrow for growth-oriented enterprises where it provides MBA scholarship to help the SME to develop their talent for the future. Enterprise One (One Network for Enterprises) is a multi-agency initiative managed by SPRING Singapore. Enterprise One aims to help local enterprises find the answers they need to start, sustain and grow their businesses. Its resources pose:- Rich and Deep Content Over 20 sections covering a comprehensive range of topics such as venturing abroad, hiring people, Government tenders, loans, taxes and regulations. It pulled together information from different Government agencies so the business owners dont have to trudge from agency to agency to look for answers. Industry Guides Topics are grouped by industries and organized in sections so that the business owners can easily find information relevant to your sector. The Competition Commission of Singapore (under MTI) who is a statutory body established to enforce the Competition Act and ensure a fair competition environment. Any unfair business practice can be prevented and this can ensure a healthy competition and business growth. Another MTI agency is Public Service for the 21st Century or PS21 It is about the Singapore Public Services commitment to Anticipate, Welcome and Execute change, influencing developments in order to provide Singapore with the best conditions for success. One of its main objectives is to cut red tape to achieve service excellence and efficiency. Red tape reduction definitely will encourage entrepreneurship, foreign investment and positive growth of the business sector. Ministry of Finance (MOF) The main regulatory statutes under MOF are the Companies Act, Business Registration Act, Currency Act and Accountants Act. The emphasis of the regulatory policy is on development, rather than control. MOF aims to collaborate with industry experts to make Singapore a world-class financial and business hub. The main strategy in helping the business in the Singapore is building a Conducive Business Environment by Facilitate growth of businesses and nurture an entrepreneurial environment Under the MOF, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Directorates role is: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To drive the development of a holistic and cross directorate/ agency approach to the FTA issues à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To shape and balance the outcome of the issues in the FTA negotiations to align with MOFs policies and goals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To function as a centralized focal point within MOF for information on all FTA issues. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is one of the statutory boards under the MOF with mission to provide a responsive and forward looking regulatory environment for companies, businesses and public accountants, conducive to enterprise and growth in Singapore. The focus of the statutory board will be on issues concerning businesses, such as developing the corporate law framework, accounting and corporate governance. Government E-Business Portal In an effort to promote transparency, the Singapore government has setup GeBIZ (Government E-Business Portal) who is the Singapore governments one-stop e-procurement portal. All the public sectors invitations for quotations and tenders are posted on GeBIZ. Suppliers can search for government procurement opportunities, download tender documents, and submit their bids online. Enforcement Singapore is a country where the enforcement units are very efficient and with very low corruption rate. The Singapore Police Force enjoys a relatively positive public image, and is credited for helping to arrest Singapores civic unrests and lawlessness in its early years, and maintaining the low crime rate today. Another example is the taxi services where the drivers collect fares by using the meter and do not cheat the passengers. Taxi in Singapore is regulated by the Land Transport Authority. This gives the passengers especially tourist peace of mind in using taxi service. Any bad taxi service may hamper the tourism industries. Corruption Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) Singapore is reputed to be one of the few countries in the world where corruption is under control. This is due mainly to the strong political will to curb corruption, firm actions taken against the corrupt regardless of their status and background, and the general public who do not accept corruption as a way of life. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is an independent body which investigates and aims to prevent corruption in the public and private sectors in Singapore. The bureau is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the public service and encouraging corruption-free transactions in the private sector. Deregulation Liberalization Singapore has deregulated several markets, e.g. the electricity and telecommunication. The government no more monopolized these markets, but it is open for competition among the industry players. Even since 1989, the government of Singapore started eliminating restrictions on the sale of telecom consumer goods to make businesses more competitive. From this we can see the competitive telecommunication markets nowadays, which benefit to the end consumer and the business as well. Singapore is reliant on foreign direct investments and exports so competition from countries with lower costs such as China and India is exerting pressure on the government to reduce the costs of doing business here. Electricity cost is one of these. Deregulation is believed to be able to bring about lower electricity costs due to the various efficiency gains possible. Since corporatization the power industry has become more efficient and more reliable. Customer service has improved. Investments in new power pl ants and transmission network infrastructure have increased significantly. The industry is also making healthy profits through efficiency and productivity gains, and lower cost of purchase of power equipment and cables. One of the deregulation result is YTL Power of Malaysia has acquired 100% interest in Power Seraya Limited recently. Also the China Hua Neng Power has acquired100% stake in the Tuas Power Ltd. We can see the deregulation has attracted foreign direct investment into the countries and thus accelerate its economic growth. Being Asias first liberalized electricity market, the Singapore government has liberalized the electricity wholesale and retail market. This means contestable consumers will have greater choice about how they purchase their electricity. Non-contestable consumers continue to buy electricity from SP Services Ltd at regulated tariffs. Eventually, all consumers in Singapore will become contestable. This certainly has reduced the electricity bills for the i ndustrial/ business user and consumer. The government must be very careful and governing the deregulated market and not to repeat the failure encountered by the US deregulated energy market, where expenditures become higher and consumers suffered from the higher energy cost and was a failure in the USA energy policy. Another example is the liberalization of the civil aviation industry where the flyers can fly at lower cost. Tiger Airways, the major airlines also reduce the air fares significantly and this help in driving down business expenses and accelerated growth especially in the tourism related industries e.g. hotel, FB services and local retail business. Licensing Singapore government has been very careful in allowing foreign hyper market to operate in Singapore. So far only the Malaysians Giant (4 outlets) and Frenchs Carrefour (2 outlets) are allowed to operate on the island. Strict control has been taken to protect the retailer especially. Non Government Organization (NGO) NGO play an important role as pressure group in the government policy and implementation. As part of an effort to bolster tourism as more manufacturing jobs shift to countries with lower labor costs and in view of the possibility that Singapore would lose out in its status as a tourist hub as well as the economic benefits from tax revenues, Singapore government has revisited the idea of building casino in Singapore in 2004. This had generated substantial and intense public debate and objection from the NGOs as this was not just a socio-economic policy dilemma, but has potential to touch the sensitive nerves of social identity, public morality and values and has bad implication on Singapore as a clean, sterile, corruption-free and crime-free city. Further the NGOs protested that this development will be at the expense of the environment as the developer has to reclaim the sea for extra land where ecology system will be spoilt. However, after much debate about the tangible and intangib le facts and costs, the government finally approved the casino plan and it is now under construction. The completion of this casino together with the entertainment resort and other infrastructure will certainly attract more foreign tourists and boosting the domestic economy once the plan is completed. ECONOMY The Singapore economy is an example of a vibrant free-market economy that is developing at a rapid pace 1. The per-capita income of the country is the highest in ASEAN. The business sector has been supported and strengthened by a corruption-free environment, an educated and motivated workforce, and well-established legal and financial business framework. In recent years, the Singapore government has invested heavily in diversifying the economy. This has led to growth in the tourism industry, the pharmaceutical industry with a particular focus on biotechnology, financial services, business consultation services, education, multimedia, retail and leisure, and the medical technology industry. Productivity Significantly from 2008-Q3 onwards, economic growth was rapidly slowing down because of the financial crisis, while commodity prices hit unprecedented heights, creating sharp inflationary pressures in Singapore and other economies. The data for this section are for the year 2010. Singapore achieved GDP (current market value) of S$257,419 million, which is a 2.3% increment from the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the economy contracted by 4.2 per cent, after posting flat growth in the third quarter. Unemployment rate as of end 2008 is 2.3%, which is a 0.2% increment from year 2007. However, the retrenchment rate has almost doubled from year 2009s 7,700 to year 2010s 13,400 workers. This is certainly the consequence of the global economic crisis, where almost not a single country can be escaped. Gross national income per capita was S$51,739 which is the highest per capita income in ASEAN and making its citizen income on par with the developed nations. In fact, the city st ate is the only developed country in ASEAN. The services producing industries made up 68.8% of the overall economy and manufacturing weighted at 19.4%. Financial services and business services has become more and more important and made up 13.1 and 14.0% respectively of the overall economy. We can observe a transition from the manufacturing based into services oriented and this demands more professional and intellectuals. The government spends a lot of effort to attract foreign professional and talented individual to work and migrate to Singapore to support the local business. Of course they do not left out to attract foreign direct investment. However the drawback will be the outflow foreign exchange. Petroleum refined products top the export list with 23.7%. This can be attributed to the petrochemical complexes in Jurong Island. This initiative has boosted the heavy petrochemical industries in the country and has attracted foreign direct investment like the Exxon-Mobile Refinery. The limitation will be the pollution to the environment which will increase the social cost like healthcare services. Exchange Rates Currency exchange rate is about US$1.00 to S$1.50 range lately. Due to its high exchange rate to the Ringit Malaysia (S$1.00 = RM2.40 approximately), many Singapore residents like to cross the Tebrau Straits to Malaysia for weekend spending. Additionally, the comparative cheaper petrol price in Malaysia has attracted Singaporean to fill up their vehicle fuel tank in Malaysia. These have directly affected the Singapore domestic businesses and the petrol retailers. Therefore the government has set the rule for the car owner to have at least the fuel tank  ¾ filled when travelling outbound to Malaysia. On the other hand, the high exchange rate to Ringgit Malaysia and Indonesian Rupiah has attracted many white and blue collar labors from these two neighboring countries. Especially the high numbers of skilled workers from Malaysia has contributed to Singapores GDP growth but on the other hand remarking loss in foreign exchange. On the other hand, construction and heavy industries in Sin gapore are over dependant on foreign workers which in one hand has become a threat to the social identity and safety. Monetary and Fiscal Policies The success of Singapores fiscal policy over the years lies in the governments prudent expenditure patterns and conducive taxation policies that have complemented monetary policy in promoting sustained and non-inflationary economic growth. Singapores tax policies, although providing the main source of funding for the government, seek to enhance its economic competitiveness and attract foreign investments to Singapore. In its Budget 2009, the Singapore government has announced The Resilience Package totaling $20.5 billion to help Singaporeans preserving their jobs and helping viable company stay afloat. The government spent S$5.8 billion to stimulate bank lending. It also would spend S$2.6 billion to enhance business cash flow and competitiveness. Further, it also allocated S$4.4 billion to develop Singapore as a global city and best home for Singaporean. Under the severe global economy crisis, Singapore government has justified withdrawal from its past reserves to fund the Jobs Credit Scheme and Special Risk-Sharing Initiative to ensure that the Resilience Package will stimulate the business sector. This combination of fair tax policies and prudent expenditure programs, augmented by high economic growth has enabled Singapore to enjoy consistent budget surpluses over the years. Singapore is one of the very few countries who enjoy surplus in its economy nowadays. In 2008, as part of the governments move to share the nations surpluses with its citizens, the government has allocated S$1.06 billion as growth dividend for this purpose which benefited about 2.4 million Singaporean, especially those of the lower income. This allocation has help the lower income group to cope with the higher living cost and in turn has stimulus the buying power in the market. However, the effectiveness for the market stimulation is only for the short term. Th e Official Foreign Reserves at Feb 2009 is US$163,549.4 million and Singapore government does not bear any foreign debt. This again proves that Singapore economic and financial performance is well managed and the local business can enjoy strong support and enterprise friendly policies from the government. International Trade International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is the lead agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapores external economic wing. Its mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. At the same time, IE works to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies. In championing international trade, IE Singapore contributes to the Singapore economy through active promotion of export of goods and services, and offshore trade. Singapores Global Trader Program (GTP) which provides incentives to attract international trading companies to set up their base in Singapore. The IEs Enterprise Group manages and develops a range of broad-based services for Singapore-based companies wanting to export internationalized goods. In 2007, Singapore was ranked the 14th largest trading nation in the world, amounting to total of $846.6 billion of external trade, with Malaysia remained as the biggest trade partner, followed by EU. The Port of Singapore is the world busiest port in term of total shipping tonnage. It is also the world busiest container port and transshipment port. The Port of Singapore is not only a mere economic boon but an economic necessity as it is lack of natural resources and land. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore was established with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre. The establishment of Malaysias Port of Tanjung Pelepas has threaten the Singapore Port status as the rival has attracted prestigious maritime companies like Maesk and Evergreen to switch over to Tanjung Pelepas. Surely, the Singapore Port operator will be facing more fierce competition ahead. The Singapore Tourism Board aims to triple tourism receipts to $30 billion and double visitor arrivals to 17 million visitors by 2015. It is working closely with international in vestors to develop new world-class attractions (e.g. the casino), and attract strategic business and leisure events to Singapore. SOCIAL CULTURAL Singapore is an eastern country who still follows the traditional family values, but the younger generation has started to adopt to western culture and values. Society Values and Principles As nowadays, many Singaporean have the mindset of Kia-su which means afraid of lose out to others. Many Singaporean works very hard to retain or fulfill their materialism desire. In some extent this has positively increased the nation productivities and the business sectors can expect a higher purchasing power from the consumers. On the other hand, some family and social values have to be sidelined. Demographic Profile The current population is about 5,353,494 (July 2011 est.). Singapore ethnic mix is Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census). Most of the Singaporean dislikes blue collar works like construction and other works in hard environment. These are considered hard and dirty works and therefore not welcome especially by the younger generation. This created the window for importing foreign workers to fill up blue collar vacancies. With the cheaper labor from neighboring countries, the business sector has enjoyed cost saving and therefore more can be reinvested for further expansion. Education Singapore has codified compulsory education for children of primary school age, and made it a criminal offence if parents fail to enroll their children in school and ensure their regular attendance. English is the primary language used in Singapores education systems. Good command of English has given Singapore an edge advantage for attracting foreign investment and international trade. Further the Chinese language proficiency among the Chinese ethnic has attracted the investor from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and on the other hand enable investing ventures into these countries easily. The latest statistic shows that the literacy rate stands at 92.5% whilst secondary or higher qualification holders are 89%. This is the driving force for the government to promote knowledge. Economy which is less labor incentive but more talent and intellectual are on demand. Besides, owing to the kia-su mindset, the parents here are very concerned about the performance of the kids in school. This has led to blossoming of tuition centers and other arts/musical learning classes. TECHNOLOGY Technology is the power behind to change our life style and improve out quality of life. The Internet Comprehensive infrastructure setup has been a fundamental attractiveness for foreign investment and local business establishment, not to mention about the IT infrastructure. Currently, the household broadband internet penetration rate has achieved more than 70%. The successive of e-commerce and e-B2C model highly relies on the broadband internet. As of latest, 10 Mbps of broadband internet service is available. The comprehensive IT infrastructure also has encouraged MNC to setup their regional operation in Singapore. The successful of the financial and IT services business are highly rely on the state of the art IT infrastructure. On the other hand, the Singapore government is moving towards an electronic government era. Many useful resources and information are available in the relevant ministries/ department or government agencies website. For instance, the Customs Office of Singapore has provided e-service, these are few examples:- Application for: Manufacturers Registration New Product Line(s) Application for Registration of Companies/ Firms and Signatories for Customs and/ or GST Transactions Application for GST relief on household articles and personal effects. This approach enables to cut red tapes and enhanced the efficiency. Water Due to its lack of water resources and the government would like to reduce its dependence on the Malaysian supplied water, the Singaporean has ventured into water recycling and desalination. NEWATER is the brand name given to reclaimed water produced by Singapores public utilities. More specifically, it is treated wastewater (sewage) that has been purified using dual-membrane (via microfiltration and reverse osmosis) and ultraviolet technologies, in addition to conventional water treatment processes. Many experts suggested that Singapore could become the worlds water hub for water recycling and desalination technology and could export this technology to the world including China. With the new technology in water reclamation, waste water would become the most important sustainable water resource in the future. Singaporeans expertise in the water recycling will definitely give its edge advantage if its exports this expertise and technology in the future. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTH Manufacturing constituted 26% OF Singapores GDP in 2005. The manufacturing industry is well diversified with significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing sectors. Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world, with thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations. As of 2009, Singapore has 16 bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with 24 trading partners. Singapore is a popular travel destination, making tourism one of its largest industries. About 10.2 million tourists visited Singapore in 2007.