Barclays Retail Banking in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Barclays Retail Banking in India - Essay Example Analysis of Environment 5 1.1. PEST Analysis 5 8 1.2. Industry Life Cycle 8 2.0. Competitive stance of Barclays in India 9 2.1. Porter’s Five Forces 9 Section 2 13 2.1. Scale and Scope 13 2.2. Analysis of Strategy 14 2.3. Evaluation of Sustainability 15 References 17 Bibliography 21 Introduction After realising the potential of the emerging markets, many internationally operating business institutions have shifted their focus from developed economies to developing economies, such as China, Russia, and India (Raman, 2009). Following the trend, Barclays Bank Plc, which is by its origin an England-based financial institution, decided to expand its business in India in the year 2006. Conversely, the organisation had already entered the market almost 30 years before the commencement of retail banking in the economy (Barclays, 2011). The paper focuses on the business environment of Barclays Bank Plc in India and services rendered by the company in the economy. With this concern, the paper discusses the macro-economic factors existing in the Indian Banking Sector through PEST analysis. It also intends to identify the strategic alliances adopted by the company with the assistance of Porter’s Six Forces analysis and evaluate its appropriateness in overcoming the challenges existing in the economy. With the objective to analyse appropriateness of the strategies adopted by the company, the discussion of the paper presents a comprehensive outlook of the current status of the industry in the economic region. It also represents the various facts regarding the strategic behaviour of the company. Section 1 1.0. Analysis of Environment 1.1. PEST Analysis Political Factors The Indian political system has a great influence on the commercial sector of the economy. The current scenario of the political environment in India possesses few advantages and disadvantages which in turn can affect the banking sector to a large extent. For instance, the economy possesses a wel l-structured regulatory framework to control commercial banking and on the contrary a high inflationary rate which is most likely to have an effect on the growth of the banking industry (The Times of India, 2010). Moreover, in the current fiscal year the government of India have subscribed to recapitalise the public sector banks in order to assist them in achieving a target of 15% in terms of outstanding loans (Scribd, 2011). One major reason which can be identified in this context is the growing concern of the political leaders in the economy to improve the financial market trends with an objective of stimulated economic growth. This reformation will certainly make the competition fiercer in the market and thus affect the operations of Barclays in India. Economical Factors The GDP rate of the economy is recorded to continuously increase and currently figures around 5.75% (as was recorded in March 17th 2011). According to the economists, the economic growth rate shall persist to inc rease in the next few years (Ganesh, 2011). The interest rate of the economy is forecasted to continue on a high percentage (i.e. 5.75%). However, the inflationary rates of the economy are also recorded at an increase with 9.30%. Interest Rates of the economy currently figures to 5.75% and thus reflects a challenging business environment (Ganesh, 2011; Trading Economics, 2011). The economic situation of

US-China Trade History 1980-Present Essay Example for Free

US-China Trade History 1980-Present Essay US -China relations became a breakthrough in history in 1979 when both countries came together and diplomatically ensued a positive political and economic future. A small but well beginning started in 1980 when U. S. -China trade was $2 billion, which was the summation of both imports and exports. At the time China was the United States’ 48th largest source of imports and 23rd largest export market. U. S. -China trade in the past 30 years has dramatically increased ever since. U. S. -China trade in 1981 rose from $5 billion to $503 billion in 2011. As of now China is the United States’ second biggest trading partner (behind Canada), third biggest export market (Canada being first, Mexico second), and number one source of imports. In 1985 the U. S. trade deficit with China was $0 billion with U. S. imports equaling U. S. exports to China. Being that U. S. imports from China are higher and are now increasing more than U. S. exports to China; the U. S. merchandise trade deficit has risen from $10 billion in 1990 to $296 billion in 2011. Today China currently now owns the title of having the single highest U. S. rade balance deficit (with the combined world economy leading ahead China). With OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) being second the highest, and the European Union with its 27 members being third; their combined U. S. trade balance deficit being $237. 8 billion is still no match for China’s nearly $296 billion in today’s economy. China is trading more than ever and has become a big player in the global export market. At their peak of economic growth, cheap labor is their primitive and the key to what makes their exports so attractive to foreigners. The United States, once the world’s leader of exports is now the third largest global exporter following behind Germany and China. The United States and other advanced countries are now struggling to compete with China and those other developing nations who utilize their low wage comparative advantage in manufacturing. From what looked like an unpredictable beginning for the United States and China now appears to be an economic complexity for both parties and the global economy. Beneficiaries of U. S. -China Current and Potential Trade As China’s rapidly economy grows, the standard of living of its people dealistically will too. With a determined future full of growth China is aiming to modernize and innovate itself as an advanced nation. According to the Boeing Corporation â€Å"Boeing Corporation predicts that over the next 20 years (2011-2030), China will buy 5,000 new commercial airplanes valued at $600 billion and will be Boeing’s largest commercial airplane customer outside the United States†. Besides purchasing American prestige airlines, China will also have to improve its infrastructure. In the process it must buy raw materials from the global market in order to build new roads, buildings, and etc. New homes will be built along with suburban neighborhoods filled with middle income citizens. Their demand for home appliances and personal entities will increase private consumption among the population. According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group, â€Å"in 2009, China had 148 million middle class and affluent consumers, defined as those whose annual household income was 60,000 RMB ($9,160) or higher, and that level is projected to rise to 415 million by 2020†. The rise in China’s middle class will be a targeted market for American companies thus creating future export opportunities for the United States. As stated on the GM website â€Å"For the first time in its history, General Motors (GM) in 2010 sold more cars and trucks in China (at 2. 35 million units) than it did in the United States (2. 21 million units). In 2011, GM sold 2. 55 million vehicles in China (up 8. 3% over 2010 levels) versus 2. 50 million in the United States. GM in China currently has 11 joint ventures and two wholly owned foreign enterprises and employs more than 35,000 workers†. China’s growing economy and large population of over 1. 3 billion people make it a potentially enormous market for the world and most importantly the United States. China is currently a $200 billion market for U. S. firms making it a crucial part of the U. S. economy. The top Chinese exports to the United States in 2011 were communications equipment, computer equipment, clothes, semiconductors, and manufactured goods such as toys and games. American businesses that receive Chinese imports thrive and maximize their profits because of their ability produce their product cheap at the expense of low wage labor in China. This allows them to lower costs of their product giving them a more competitive edge in the global market. Not only has trade with China over recent history benefitted entrepreneurs but American consumers as well. Wal-Mart for example sells mostly Chinese made products at a very low price. American consumers benefit greatly because of this and it allows them to buy more for less. As a result, United States trade with China has benefitted both economies throughout the course of their trading history. According to some economist, if there are economic reforms in China the United States will soon benefit from an upcoming available Chinese middle class market. World Trade Organization After 15 years of diplomatic issues that started in 1986, China in 2001 finally became a member of the international trading system. Once a member, China agreed to: a) Reduce the average tariff for industrial goods from 17% to 8. 9% and average tariffs on U. S. priority agricultural products from 31% to 14%. b) Regularly address the WTO of government subsidies it provides. c) In three years’ time after becoming a member it must give full trade and distribution rights to foreign enterprises. ) Provide equal treatment to all WTO members by treating foreign firms in China the same as to those domestic firms in China. e) End discriminatory trade policies against foreign invested firms in China regarding domestic content rules and technology transfer requirements f) Implement the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement upon entry g) Fully open its banking system to foreign financial institutions by the end of 200 6 and h) Allow joint ventures in insurance and telecommunication. In all, the intention for Chinas’ entry was good, giving hope that it would become a more dependable and secure trading partner for the United States. U. S. trade officials argue that in the first years after its entry to the WTO, China made steady progress in adopting economic reforms that promoted its conversion toward a market economy by increasing openness to trade. Nevertheless in 2006 China’s improvement towards a free market appeared to have digressed. U. S. government and business officials realized that by 2008 China began implementing a more restrictive trade strategy among its regime. Signs of China’s failure to implement WTO agreements were noticed as China began: a) discriminating against foreign firms, while continuing to promote Chinese industrial policies and national standards b) failing to meet restrictions regarding trading and distribution rights and c) discriminating on which imports to enforce health and safety rules. In May of 2012 President Obama proposed to create a new trade enforcement unit that will facilitate unfair trading practices in major exporting countries such as China. This may eventually give rise to the amount of dispute settlement cases in the WTO against China. Conclusion The emergence of developing nations as well as some advanced nations created a window of opportunity for United States’ exports. The world’s global capitalism movement lead by the United States has helped those who wanted an American style of living by obtaining it through China’s contirbution to manufacture American goods at a low cost. The growth and expansion of American multinational corporations is due to outsourcing U.  S. manufacturing jobs to China. This has benefitted the Chinese rural population by the creation of jobs in poverty stricken areas. Even though the jobs created are low waged and offer little to no worker safety, one must realize opportunity for a better life for those who are willing to work in China. Over the course of 30 years of U. S –China trade, Americans have gained more than they have lost as a result of China’s low cost exports (whether some Americans they like to admit it or not). Analysts around the world are now providing evidence that China’s middle class is growing as rapid as its economy. With U. S. -China trade expected to grow in the next 20 years, many economic reforms in China must first be dealt with in order to secure the stability of China’s demanding middle class. China is now being seen as a potentially huge U. S. export destination and because of this Americans will soon benefit from the creation of the millions of capital based jobs in the United States in the upcoming future.

Four Basic Topologies Network And Summarize

Four Basic Topologies Network And Summarize Nowadays, there have several types of network topologies with different characteristic, price and level, it was very important to choose a suitable network. Now we are going to discuss four basic network topologies : Bus, Ring, Star and Mesh. Lets discuss bus topologies first, bus network topologies is a single cable which use to connect to different points between network, as it only have one channel to support the bus network for communication, so the total capacity will send to all the points averagely. When a point want to send instructions to another point, it will announce a message to all the points thru wire and all the points will see it but only the destination point will receive and return the message to the sender point, other points will not give any response. Bus network topologies are cheaper than other network topologies because it use less cable and materie and also the installation is easier than other topologies. But because it is a single cable, when there have many points connect to the device, it will slow down the transmission speed and the total capacity. On the other hand, once the network have problem, it cost many times to fix it as you have to check all the cable connection to find out the problems. Also in a bus topology, once a single connection failure, it will stop the passage between all points. (The image of the About.com guide) Second topologies which we are going to discuss is Ring topology. In a ring network, each apparatus connected to two users for communication purpose. It looks like a circle and the message move around the circle to each point use single direction. Each node connect to its own cable to the Medium Attachment Unit (MAU). Ring network topology is easy to install and reconfigure and also easy to add new node as only two connections need changes. However, Ring network is not too convenience for the user as the data have to pass through all the points before getting to the destination. For example, if one network have six user, when the A computer want to send message to F computer, it have to pass through B, C, D, E computer and then to F. And if one network failure, whole network will disable because it only have single pathway to transmit the data. (The image of the About.com guide ) The third network topology is Star. Star network is one of the most usual computer network topologies. It features a central connection point call hub or concentrator (Bruce A Hallberg 2005) and it will radiate to other points. The characteristic of Star network is the hub or concentrator work as a central union to provide different route for signal send out to any two sites. Data on star network will send the message to hub or concentrator first before send to the destination point. Hub or concentrator works like a repeater for the data flow. In the star network topology, if one connection stoppage, only one node will lose the connection from this site and it wont be affect to other networks. On the other hand, it will be easy to find out the problem as all network is obey to hub, so once the network out of service, mostly it must be some problem with the hub and the problem can be fix quickly instead of checking all the points. Furthermore, as hub is control everything included add or remove devices, that means Star network is easy to install. If you want to add some new devices to the network, just need to connect the cable to hub and other computer will detect the devices and can use it. It save lots times to install the devices to all computers separately in the network. Moreover, hub can also be act as a backup file, once the network is not work, you can move to another computer and using the data from hub. Although star network is more stable than other network topology, but star network is more expensive as it needs more wires to support the network. And because it is fully obey to hub, once there have many nodes, the network maybe slow down. (The image of the Florida Center for Instructional Technology College of Education, University of South Florid 1997.) Last network topology we have to share is Mesh. Mesh network is a network where all the nodes connected to each other with different ways, maybe single hop or multiple hops. In a mesh network, if one node or cable have problem occur, there will have another way to communicate with other node, it wont be halt the whole network. Mesh network will also default the short way automatically while the message moving on the mesh network, that means the data no need to pass through all the points before reach to destination, it save many times for transaction the data. Mesh network is a network which is not easy to interruption by connection problem as there have many possible patterns that can use. When one node failure to connect, mesh network will find another way to reach the destination easily. Mesh network separate to two similar types: Full mesh and Partial mesh. Full mesh which every node will connect to each other so the network can provide best redundancy function. Once one of the nodes breakdowns, connection between the networks will be stronger under full mesh network because there have more possible route to reach to destination. Because of more wires need, so full mesh network is expensive than partial mesh network and it may also affect the set up procedure because of the complexity. For the economical reasons, some of the company will prefer to use the partial mesh network. In partial mesh network, devices are only connects to a subsection node instead of all nodes. This may affect the entire network once the connection have problem because it only have one or two ways to reach the destination point. Although the communication between the networks is not as strong as full mesh network, but the cost is cheaper than it, so nowadays partial mesh network is more popular than full mesh network. (The image of the network dictionary 2004) Physical communication media is a path that can let the electronic data move from one computer to another. And now will going to describe different physical communication media, for example Twisted-Pair cable, Coaxial Cable and Fiber-optic cable. The first cable we are going to talk about is Twisted-Pair cable. Twisted-pair cable which can be subdivided as unshielded twisted pair (UTP) and shielded twisted pair (STP) (Bruce A Hallberg 2005). Both UTP and STP have eight separate brown metal wires and cover by insulate material. Besides, each pair of wires was wound to each other. UTP and STP not only have similar structure and also have similar transmission technology. Even though STP has a better protection interface and quality than UTP, but it cost more expensive and not easy to install. Using Twisted-pair cables advantage is its size is smaller than others so that it will easy to install and it cost cheaper than Coaxial cable and Fiber-optic cable. On the other hand, the transmission signal is shorter than other communication media and the coverage area is only 100 meters. Another cable we are going to talk about is Coaxial Cable. Coaxial cable is cover by 4 layers: copper wire, insulation, copper mesh and cable jacket. Coaxial cable can aid 10-100 Mbps and it coverage 500 meters. (Scribd n.d.) The advantage of Coaxial Cable is it can run for a long distance between network but use less power. The cost of Coaxial cable is cheaper than Fiber-optic cable and because of it use for many years, so it will be more popular. However, the size of Coaxial Cable not as thin as Twisted-pair cable, so it will be difficult to install and relatively the set up fee will be higher than Twisted-pair cable. The last one we have to talk about is Fiber-Optic cable. Fiber-Optic cable is made by narrow core and insulates material. It use the lights to transmission the date. Most of the corporate network will use Fiber-optic cable as back bones to connect different network. The advantage of Fiber-optic cable is it has a higher data speed and the higher bandwidth is good for future development. But Fiber-optic cable is not quite flexible as it cannot curve, so it will be more difficult to install and the cost is the most expensive one. Different computers have its own different purpose, we are going to compare Microcomputers, Laptop computers, Minicomputers, Mainframe computers and Supercomputers size, speed, processing capabilities, price and how many users can use at the same time. Types of computers Microcomputers Laptop computers Minicomputers Mainframe computers Supercomputer Size Fits on desk Small and conveyable Size in between microcomputers and mainframe computers Partial room of apparatus Full room of apparatus Speed Up to 400 million Up to 400 million Thousands to millions Millions Millions to billions Processing capabilities Word process Surfing the web Database management Calculations Email function Word process Surfing the web Database management Calculations Email function Web surfing Check email Basic productivity software (Daniel J.Gansle,2010) Processing data quickly and information storage, mostly using on airline system, back or insurance company. Process very large amounts of date, such as weather forecasting and government. Price of computers From $2500 up to $17000 From $2500-up to $23000 From $5000-$15000 $300,000- several million dollars Several million dollars and up Simultaneously connected users For individual use only For individual use only Two to four thousand Hundred to thousand Hundred to thousand

Preserving Minority Languages

Preserving Minority Languages On the other hand, according to Anthony Ellis, it would be trifling to insist that extinction of language causes extinction of culture because language is not whole culture but just one part of it (Ellis, 2005). Nevertheless, according to David Harrison, linguist and professor of the Swarthmore College, languages have been shaped by people to serve as repositories for cultural knowledge, efficiently packaged and readily transmittable across generations. (Harrison, 2007:7). In other words, it is crucial for human race to keep the conservation of minority language due to its cultural values: academic, ethnic and social values. The first cultural value of minority language is its academic value. Linguists especially have academic passion for protecting and researching minority languages. They should study many different languages to restore their all functions and structures of endangered languages. It must also be noted that linguists need to train many youngsters at school to transmit their native languages to next generations. Moreover, one of most important reason why it is needed to keep minority languages researching is that academically new and attractive facts are always discovered in minority languages. Ubykh, one of minority language of the North-western Caucasian group spoken by the Ubykh people until the early 1990s, was regarded as a language which has a large number of consonants (Romaine, 2007). Recent researches, however, show that some African language have more consonants than Ubykhs. Furthermore, linguists found an African language called Hixkaryana, which has about 350 speakers. The reason why this language and its adjacent languages have an attention is that they are cases of language which place their object first when they make a sentence. For an instance, if the English sentence, I love you, is made, the sentence in Hixkaryana should be you love I instead of I love you. In the case of Korean and Japanese, they have the archetypal structural order, Subject + Object + Verb(SOV). They say I you love whilst English speakers say I love you. It is clear that contemporary English has self-evident sentence order, Subject + Verb + Object(SVO). However, Irish puts its verb firs t. Unfortunately, linguists predict that object-initial languages such as Hixkaryana will vanish in the next century. (Nettle Romaine, 2000:11) At this point, it should be academically asked that why object-initial languages are hard to survive in the modern era. This is the academic question which needs to be examined by researching minority languages. There will be a number of these kinds of academic questions from minority languages. This academic knowledge will be a great legacy for human race. This is why we preserve minority languages. The second cultural value of minority language is the value about its ethnic identity. One of the most important factors of ethnic identity is language. In the time of globalisation, identity of people is defined by the language that they speak and write rather than the region that people live. For an example, although every people in London speak common language, English, it is unsure that all of them are English people because some of them have their native languages. It means that people can find their ethnic identity when they speak their native languages. The importance of ethnic identity acquired by using native languages is closely related with national stature of each country. For example, one of the urgent issues of Ukraine after independence in 1991 was to establish its linguistic identity to rise up the stature of nation-state. After breaking up Soviet-union, one of differences between other nation-states and Ukraine was the influence of Russian. Unlike other nation-states, Russians was used in more widely and still made an impact on culture, science, management and so on in Ukraine. In this situation, Ukraine declared the new constitution and it expressed clearly that there is only one national language. By this process, Ukrainian became only one official language of Ukraine. People who used Ukrainian thought that people who still used Russian didnt have any ethnic identity as the member of Ukraine (Zhurzhenko, 2002). For another example of historically dark side, during the Japanese occupation in the past, Hangeul, Korean native language made by Sejong the Great in 1443, was strictly banned to use among Koreans as a colonial policy for ethnocide. Koreans were forced to change even their Hangeul names to Japanese names. Koreas national stature could not help fall. These historical facts above clearly demonstrate that language can not be divided from the ethnic identity. For this reason, if minority languages become extinct, the ethnic identity of those who use minority language will be disappeared as well. The third cultural value of minority language is its aesthetic value. Every language has its aesthetic values. This is expressed by art works through languages such as novels, poets and even music. Research has shown that there is the tendency to regard analogies between artforms and linguistic structures as relevant and illuminating. (Kraut, 2007:177). It is said that Jazz improvisation is analogous to spontaneous speech.'(ibid). In other words, it means that all minority languages have their unique aesthetic values. For an instance, China is unified multiracial nation and 56 tribes are living together in an extensive land. The numbers of minority tribes languages are around 60. Even though they are minority languages, their aesthetic values are proved by their literatures. Tibetians literary value is excellent and its Gesaer, written in the 13th century BC, has been well-known as the longest heroic epic over the world. Dong, one of minority ethnic groups in China has their native language, Kradai. It is told that Kradai is a profusion of musical value because it has various tones and vocabularies. Kradai has been developed in unique musical ways of Dongs people. It is known that Kradai is the most complex language over the world because it has 15 tones whilst the language of the Han race in China has 4 tones. As a matter of fact, its complexity contributed to make its aesthetic value. Therefore, it is natural that this great value dies if minority languages of Chinas minority ethnic groups die. For these three cultural values, which are academic, ethnic and aesthetic values, it is self-evident that minority languages are definitely deserved to be protected and transmit to their next generations as their great legacy. That is to say, minority languages are not a part of culture and a method of communications but culture itself. When a language dies, a culture dies. Conclusion In conclusion, it is urgently asked at this time to protect minority languages. Firstly, it is essential that the endangered languages ought to be found, stabilised all linguistic functions and all people help them be transmitted to next generations. Secondly, it is needed to make preserving minority languages be an important part of Conservation ethic. It means that people should realise that our language is equally one of the great natural environments and endeavour to protect our linguistic environment. Lastly, there has to be unremitting exertion for native language education even if it is minority language. For an instance, some Korean scholars pointed out to Koreas education environment just focused on English instead of Hangeul, Korean language and predicted there will be no Hangeul after 200 years if we keep this education system. Minority language education is important especially for next generations. Therefore, the fact that extinction of a language engenders extinction of a culture should be remembered to all generations and make a great effort to preserve minority languages. Bibliography Ellis, Anthony (2005). Minority Rights and the Preservation of Languages. Cambridge Journals: 199-217. The Royal institute of Philosophy. Harrison, David. K. (2007). When Languages Die: The Extinction of the Worlds Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge. USA, Oxford University Press. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7206411.stm (Accessed 08 November 2010). Kraut, Robert. (2007). Artworld Metaphysics. Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2008. Nettle, D. and S. Romaine (2000). Vanishing voices : the extinction of the worlds languages. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Romaine, Suzanne. (2007). Preserving Endangered Languages. Language and Linguistics compass 1/1-2:115-132. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Zhurzhenko, Tatiana. (2002). Language Politics in Contemporary Ukraine: Nationalism and Identity Formation. IWM Junior Visiting Fellows Conferences, Vol. XII/2.

Evolution And Creation :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theory of evolution and creation are the same and different in a lot of ways.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lamarck was the first person to come up with a theory for evolution. There are a lot of different creation stories in the Native American   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theory of evolution means that all plants and animals developed from earlier forms by hereditary communications of slight changes in the production or generations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The word evolution means“The historical development of a biological group (as a race or species) (Webster’s dictionary). The origin of the theory of evolution began with the French naturalist named Lamarck. This happened in around 1809. He said that the more an animal used its body parts the stronger they got. He also said that the less a animal used its body parts the smaller or weaker it became. He thought that these traits became hereditary. Later scientist disproved this theory when more was learned more about genes and how they work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  50 years later Darwin came up with a theory that most scientist believe it to this day. this is called the theory of evolution. His book was called “The Origin of Specie.'; Alfred R. Wallace, came out with a theory that was almost identical to Darwin’s theory. Darwin’s theory was much more developed and better known. For example Darwin pointed out that farmers would take certain qualities from two different plants and mix them together and it would produce the desired plant. He believed this happened in nature also and he called it “the survival of the fittest'; or “natural selection.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are a lot of different creation stories and they are the same in that since but they are all different. The creation stories start at the beginning of the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The creation myth I’ve chosen to wright about is based on what native Americans believe. Here is a quote from chief Weneinock of Yakima “God created the Indian country and it was like he spread out a big blanket. He put the Indians on it . . . and that was the time the river started to run. Then god created fish in the river and put deer in the mountains . . . then the creator gave us Indian life; we walked and as soon as we saw the game and the fish we knew they were made for us. We grew and multiplied as a people.'; (Taylor Ph.D.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another creation story is from the Iroquoian mythology. They thought sky women gave birth to twins. Their names were Iouskeha and Tawiscaron. Iouskeha was the good- minded twin, he was born normal and he made plants, animals, birds and mankind.

The Role of Government and Culture on Innovation in Greek City-States :: Essays Papers

The Role of Government and Culture on Innovation in Greek City-States A simple analysis of the culture, structure and technologies of Greek city-states reveals the fact that culture plays a vital role in the development of technologies. More specifically, an analysis of the government of Greek city-states demonstrates the very influential role of culture upon technological development. The democratic form of government first seen in Greece is reflected in the structure of the city-states. The basis for this form of government, which is more sensitive to the needs of the people, can also be seen in some of the more traditional types of technological development. Water supply fits the more traditional definition of technology, shows a concern for public well being, and is apparent in the Greek city-state. Analysis of the Greek city-state is further strengthened by comparison to Sparta. This opposing city was built into a much different culture, and as a result, was structured quite differently and produced different technologies. While it is certain that more than simply culture and form of government influence technological innovation, the evidence highlighting these factors' contributions is ample. Culture influences and is influenced by the form of government in a given region. This government and culture then influence the manner in which the environment in treated, and the innovations that occur. In his chapter on Greece, Colin Chant writes: "The system of cities was also shaped by fundamental political changes" (p. 57). This statement leads into a discussion of the rise of democracy in Greek city-states. An elected assembly wielded the authority in these city-states. Chant states, "Although the development of participatory modes of government might well be seen as a product of enlightened Greek culture, the influence of the Aegean environment must also be considered" (p.57). This assertion deserves some attention, as it insinuates that macro-level forces could be more responsible for governmental evolution than micro-level changes. The statement also walks the fine line concerning the innate political nature of individuals. In his article "The Pentagon's New Map," Thomas Barnett explains that one must be very careful with this type of thinking, as it is a definite generalization to say that something is inherent in a people making them govern themselves in a certain manner. It is a small step from this type of thinking to the statement "those people will never be like us" (Barnett, p.174). Barnett goes on to explain that it was once thought that there was something innate in Russians and Slavs that prohibited them from accepting capitalism and democracy (Barnett, p.

Essay --

Furniture design is particularly dependent on trends. During a period of time, the design or general appearances of furniture design changes over the course of history which was influenced by architectural style. Therefore, there are many different types of furniture design available in the market nowadays including wall kitchen cabinets. Most wall cabinets are simply for storage but nowadays, people require durable, sturdy, long lasting yet affordable furniture with improved functionality. At present, in order to have the above mentioned qualities dictated by changing customer demand it is necessary to develop new types of furniture with improved functionality. The desire in furniture style to create new designs or different appearances led to the development of new manufacturing methods and materials used. The design and material of furniture have to meet the customer and manufacturer requirements (Petutschingg & Ebner, 2005). Kitchen cabinet is among the most important items for a home. Cabinets are available in many varieties of styles and design and are mainly used for storage...