Defining Historiography Essay

Historians do not always agree about how to interpret the events and people that they study; this leads to multiple explanations, which at times, are diametrically opposed to each other. As students progress into upper-level courses in the Department of History, they must move from the mastery of facts and analysis of primary sources encouraged by lower-level courses to a richer and deeper understanding of how history is written and the fact that events and ideas are open to interpretation. Within History 420 (Readings in History), students then move into another level of explanation, where they read intensively on a topic and provide their own historiographical explanations for a series of events/ideas. Therefore, historiography can be described as â€Å"the history of history.† What this means in practice is an exploration of a specific topic, and how historians have explained events or people over time, i.e. how their explanations have changed due to their own worldview and/or ideological bent, due to re-interpretation of previously-viewed sources, due to the availability of new sources, previously unexplored, and/or due to the application of different questions and/or methodologies to sources. Revision of prior interpretations of the past is an implicit and important element of historiography. It requires students to not only be able to explain the different schools of thought or interpretations but also potentially to develop their own explanations, based on their assigned readings. The focus of a historiographical essay is not on the event or person itself; rather, it is on the interpretations of the event or person. Process: 1. Read and analyze multiple works independently on the same topic (assigned on weekly or bi-weekly basis), including an exploration of the sources that the authors utilize or do not utilize in shaping their arguments. a. Make sure that you are not merely summarizing the author’s ideas; rather, you are providing analysis of the work’s argument, sources, and conclusions and of the author’s own interpretation of said topic. b. In addition, each author is likely to provide an explanation of the fit of his/her work within the larger historiographical context; take careful note of this as well, particularly when he/she references other assigned works. c. Another element of this process is to have a firm understanding of who the author is; be certain to conduct research into previous publications, ideological background and/or current research interests. Are there any parts of his/her background that are directly related to the subject matter and if so, what are the pr os and cons of this? 2. Questions to consider as you write your historiographical essay: Individual Works †¢ What is the â€Å"main point† or argument made by each work regarding your specific topic? Think particularly about whether or not the author is trying to reinforce an earlier perception of history or argue for a re-interpretation of the past. †¢ What kinds of sources are used, how and why? How does the author deal with counter-evidence, i.e. information that seems to weaken or contradict the thesis? †¢ What are the strengths and weaknesses in terms of argument, analysis and conclusions of the work? †¢ How does this work relate to earlier readings, i.e. do they present similar or dissimilar ideas and how/why? †¢ How do these authors or works, as a group, contribute our understanding of this series of historical events and their outcome? 3. Bring these works together in an integrated analysis that incorporates and explains the different arguments, conclusions and evidence of various authors in order to build your own explanation of a central theme. An integrated analysis is one that not only draws on different books/articles but also explains how the works agree and disagree with each other. A particularly strong historiographical essay will do this by considering multiple points of view within discussion of a sub-topic, all in one well-crafted paragraph or series of paragraphs, which is then connected back to the overall argument. Then you would move on to the next connected sub-topic, again linking back to the overall argument. You want to avoid the temptation to simply discuss one work, then the next, and then another, with little explanation or analysis of how they fit together. 4. Questions to consider as you write your historiographical essay: The Big Picture †¢ How has the historiography of your topic evolved over time? What has changed in terms of interpretation of events and ideas? What was the initial interpretation of this event, idea or person? How has it changed and why? †¢ How have ideological shifts had an impact on your topic? Are the authors under study wedded to a particular â€Å"historical school† i.e. Marxist, Feminist, Neo-Conservative, Liberal, and/or how does the author’s main lens of analysis (cultural, political, military, social, etc.) have an impact on his/her interpretations? †¢ Have the â€Å"discovery† or re-interpretation of sources caused historians to ask new questions or take their research in new directions? †¢ Have historians used different methodological approaches (e.g. quantitative, linguistic) in their work and how was this had an impact on conclusions?

What Are in Your View the Main Principles Governing International Trade Policy

Course: International Political Economy [GT27M/ GOVT 2049] ID Number: 620033630 Name: Matthew Thomas Lecturer: Sheldon Barnes Date of Submission: 7/9/2012 Question I: What are in your view the main principles governing international trade policy in the context of the WTO and which would be the main provisions in which you find these principles reflected in the WTO agreements? Please elaborateFormed in 1995 to replace its predecessor the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade  (GATT), under the Treaty of Marrakech, The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only international organization that deals and treats with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. The goal of the WTO is to aid and facilitate producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.At its core are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by a majority of the world’s trading nations and approved within their respective parliaments. These principles aid in the efficient government of international trade policy ensuring that all signatories adhere to the contract they are bind to, by this governments are now required to create national trade policies transparent by notifying the WTO about present laws in actions and measures implemented, and through regular reports by the secretariat on countries’ trade policies.The WTO agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property. They explain the principles of liberalisation, as well as the allowed exceptions. They include individual countries’ commitments to lower customs tariffs and other trade barriers, and to open and maintain open services markets. The agreements set procedures for settling disputes; prescribe special treatment for developing countries.The agreements of the WTO are detailed and intricate as they are legal texts that facilitate a wide range of activities such as: agriculture, cl othing and textiles, banking and finance, telecommunications, government purchases, industrial standards and product safety, food sanitation regulations, intellectual property, among others. A number of simple, fundamental principles run throughout all of these documents. These principles exist as the foundation of the international multilateral trading system.Given that the core of the WTO, especially leading out of the Doha Round of Trade Negotiations [2001- present], is to focus and adjust the concerns that are faced by developing nations; the main principles within the context of the WTO that validate international trade policy are: i) Trade without discrimination ii) Freer Trade iii) Promotion of fair competition v) Development and economic reform. These principles of international trade within the legislation of the WTO can be reflected in trade agreements drafted by the organisation.The principle of â€Å"Trade without discrimination† has two key underlying principles: Most Favoured Nation [MFN] and National Treatment [NT]. The MFN, in essence is simply treating other people equally. As legislated by WTO agreements, countries are prohibited from discrimination between their trading partners. Wherein one country is restricted from granting a particular country a special favour e. g. such as a lower customs duty rate for one of their products and this favour is not extended to all the other members of the WTO. This principle is known as Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment.The first article of the  General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) [1947], which is the governing legislation for the trade in goods, this article speaks to prohibition of member nations to discriminate between â€Å"like† products originating from other member nations. In Article I of the GATT it states â€Å"any advantage, favour, privilege or immunity granted by any contracting party to any product originating in or destined for any other country shall be accord ed immediately and unconditionally to the like product originating in or destined for the territories of all other contracting parties. MFN is also a focus in  Article II of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), where it states â€Å"each Member shall accord immediately and unconditionally to services and service suppliers of any other Member treatment no less favourable than that it accords to like services and service suppliers of any other country. † Likewise Article IV on the  Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)   which states â€Å"With regard to the protection of intellectual property, any advantage, favour, privilege or mmunity granted by a Member to the nationals of any other country shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the nationals of all other Members. † The agreements in essence cover all three main areas of trade handled by the WTO and gives guidelines as how to WTO member nations execut e their trade policies. Though the essence of the MFN treatment is to permit some sense of equality among WTO signatories exceptions are permitted. For example, countries can set up a free trade agreement that applies only to goods traded within the group —    discriminating against goods from outside.Or they can give developing countries special access to their markets. Or a country can raise barriers against products that are considered to be traded unfairly from specific countries. And in services, countries are allowed, in limited circumstances, to discriminate. Though these exceptions exist, they are permitted under highly strict conditions. In essence, the MFN policy acts a facilitator to ensure that every time a country lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it has to do so for the same goods or services from all its trading partners – regardless of their economic development.National Treatment eliminates discrimination between the products of national a nd foreign services or nationals, in this sense the protocol for national products are expected to be reciprocated to that of foreign entities. Once foreign goods enter a local market, the expectation exists that they should be treated equally as the locally-produced goods. This expectation extends pass produce; it should apply to foreign and domestic services, and also foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents.Given that NT covers various areas of trade it is highlighted in three main WTO agreements. In Article III of the GATT it is stated that â€Å"The products of the territory of any contracting party imported into the territory of any other contracting party shall be accorded treatment no less favourable than that accorded to like products of national origin in respect of all laws, regulations and requirements affecting their internal sale, offering for sale, purchase, transportation, distribution or use. Article XVII of  GATS  states that â€Å"†¦each Mem ber shall accord to services and service suppliers of any other Member, in respect of all measures affecting the supply of services, treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its own like services and service suppliers. † Article III of  TRIPS, speaks to the issue of Intellectual Property [IP] by stating that â€Å"Each Member shall ccord to the nationals of other Members treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its own nationals with regard to the protection  (3)  of intellectual property†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The three treaties highlights the areas of trade the WTO governs, from that of goods exchange, services exchange and the importance of ensuring the proper utilisation of Intellectual Property rights such as copyrighting and patenting. According to the WTO â€Å"National treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the market.Therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax. † In conclusion, the â€Å"Trade without Discrimination† principle with its two underlying principles of Most Favoured Nation [MFN] and National Treatment [NT] policies The National Treatment principle constitute the two pillars of the non-discrimination principle that is widely seen as the foundation of the GATT/WTO multilateral trading regime. The concept of â€Å"Freer Trade† assists in the decrease of trade barriers which acts as an excellent facilitator for encouraging trade.Such barriers include: customs duties (or tariffs) and measures such as import bans or quotas that restrict quantities selectively; it can also span to include the decrease of other administrative barriers such as red tape- including policies of exchange rate. The WTO’s global system lowers trade barriers by means of negotiation and applies the principle of non-discrimination [MFN and NT]. This brings a bout a result of a reduction in the costs of production, as imports used in production are far cheaper; a reduction in the prices of finished goods and services, which in essence can contribute to a lower cost of living.Since the GATT’s creation in 1947, there have been  eight rounds of trade negotiations. The ninth round, under the Doha Development Agenda, is still in negotiations for the past eleven years. The initial focus was geared towards lowering tariffs on imported goods; however the 1980s, the negotiations had expanded to cover non-tariff barriers on goods, with the inclusion of areas such as services and intellectual property. As a result of the negotiations, the tariffs on industrial goods declined to less than 4%, during the mid-1990s. Opening markets can be beneficial, but it also requires adjustment.The WTO agreements allow countries to introduce changes gradually, through â€Å"progressive liberalization†. Article XIX of the GATS states â€Å"†¦w ith a view to achieving a progressively higher level of liberalization. Such negotiations shall be directed to the reduction or elimination of the adverse effects on trade in services of measures as a means of providing effective market access. This process shall take place with a view to promoting the interests of all participants on a mutually advantageous basis and to securing an overall balance of rights and obligations.The process of liberalization shall take place with due respect for national policy objectives and the level of development of individual Members, both overall and in individual sectors. There shall be appropriate flexibility for individual developing country Members for opening fewer sectors, liberalizing fewer types of transactions, progressively extending market access in line with their development situation and, when making access to their markets available to foreign service suppliers, attaching to such access conditions aimed at achieving the objectives re ferred to in Article  IV. The article clearly addresses developing countries which are usually given longer to fulfil their obligations. The principle of â€Å"Promoting fair competition†Ã‚  portrays The WTO as an instrument of not just extending mechanisms of free trade but is also a system of rules dedicated to open, fair and undistorted competition. By this, the system of the WTO permits tariffs and, in limited circumstances, other forms of protection. More accurately, it is based on the rules on non-discrimination [MFN and NT] which are designed to secure fair conditions of trade.So too are those on dumping (exporting at below cost to gain market share) and subsidies. The issues are complex, and the rules try to establish what is fair or unfair, and how governments can respond, in particular by charging additional import duties calculated to compensate for damage caused by unfair trade. By removing some market barriers The WTO has promoted competition in the global trad ing market extending it beyond the borders of WTO membership; the trading principles set by the WTO are meant to allow fair and undisturbed market competition.The WTO extends and clarifies previous GATT rules that laid down the basis on which governments could impose compensating duties on two forms of â€Å"unfair† competition: dumping and subsidies. WTO agreements are geared towards the support and maintenance of fair competition in the sectors of: agriculture, intellectual property, services. The WTO Agreement on agriculture is designed to provide increased fairness n farm trade, the agreement on intellectual property will improve conditions of competition where ideas and inventions are involved, and another will do the same thing for trade in services. The construct of the WTO contributes to development and as it encourages development and economic reform geared towards to the developmental process of developing nations. Given that notion, developing countries require an urgent sense of flexibility to effectively implement the agreements drafted by the organisation.The current agreements inherit the earlier provisions of GATT that allow for special assistance and trade concessions for developing countries. The WTO cannot claim to make all countries equal however it aids in the reduction of some inequalities; by doing this it gives smaller countries more voice, and at the same time freeing the major powers from the complexity of having to negotiate trade agreements with each of their numerous trading partners.A majority of over three quarters of the WTO membership comprise of developing countries and countries in transition to market economies. The 1986-1994 Uruguay Round saw over 60 of these countries implementing trade liberalisation programmes unconventionally. At the same time, developing countries and transition economies were much more active and influential in the Uruguay Round negotiations than in any previous round, this activeness has also transpired to the current Doha Development Agenda.Developing countries were prepared to take on most of the obligations that are required of developed countries by the end of the Uruguay Round. The agreements did grant developing nations transition periods to adjust themselves to the more stringent and arduous provisions of the WTO. The GATT has a special section on Trade and Development which speaks to provisions on the concept of non-reciprocity in trade negotiations between developed and developing countries. Both GATT and the GATS allow developing countries some measure of preferential treatment.A  ministerial decision   adopted at the end of the Uruguay Round says more developed countries should accelerate the implementation of market access commitments on goods exported by the least-developed countries, while increasing technical assistance for them. More recently, developed countries have started to allow duty-free and quota-free imports for almost all products from least -developed countries. The current Doha Development Agenda includes developing countries’ concerns about the difficulties they face in implementing the Uruguay Round agreements. ——————————————– 1 ]. The Marrakech Agreement developed out of the  General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which it includes; but it supplemented it with several other agreements, on such issues as  trade in services,  sanitary and phytosanitary (plant health) measures,  trade-related aspects of intellectual property  and  technical barriers  to trade. It also established a new, more efficient and legally binding means of dispute resolution. [ 2 ]. The Secretariat has a particular responsibility to provide technical support to developing countries, and especially the least-developed countries. 3 ]. As a result of the  Uruguay Round  negotiations the treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to  service sector. [ 4 ]. (NAFTA)North American Free Trade Agreement is an example of one of the most successful trade agreements in history; it has contributed to significant increases in agricultural trade and investment between the United States, Canada and Mexico and has benefited farmers, ranchers and consumers throughout North America. The Mexican-Canadian agreement eliminated most tariffs either immediately or over 5, 10, or 15 years. 5 ]. Page 248 the proliferation of rules and regulations prescribing the conduct of decision making in bureaucratic affairs (Politics Economic Welfare) [ 6 ]. The removal or reduction of restrictions or barriers on the free exchange of goods between nations. This includes the removal or reduction of both tariff (duties and surcharges) and non-tariff obstacles (like licensing rules, quotas and other requirements). The easing or eradication of these restrictions is often referred to as promoting â€Å"free trade. à ¢â‚¬  [ 7 ].GATT (Article VI) allows countries to take action against dumping. The Anti-Dumping Agreement clarifies and expands Article VI, and the two operate together. They allow countries to act in a way that would normally break the GATT principles of  binding  a tariff and  not discriminating  between trading partners — typically anti-dumping action means charging extra import duty on the particular product from the particular exporting country in order to bring its price closer to the â€Å"normal value† or to remove the injury to domestic industry in the importing country. 8 ]. The WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures disciplines the use of subsidies, and it regulates the actions countries can take to counter the effects of subsidies. Under the agreement, a country can use the WTO’s dispute-settlement procedure to seek the withdrawal of the subsidy or the removal of its adverse effects. Or the country can launch its own investig ation and ultimately charge extra duty (â€Å"countervailing duty†) on subsidized imports that are found to be hurting domestic producers. 9 ]. This is a procedure when developed countries grant trade concessions to developing countries they should not expect the developing countries to make matching offers in return. [ 10 ]. The URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENT: â€Å"Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries†

A Comparison of the Bandar and Cowboy Star Restaurant Butcher Restauant

A Comparison of the Bandar and Cowboy Star Restaurant & Butcher Restauant The Bandar and Cowboy star restaurant butcher restaurants compare by both restaurants serving cuisine that is natural and conventional based rather than fast foods. In regard to this, both serve fresh livestock meat and seafood. Also, both restaurants have incorporated wine in their menu which is optional for customers and a separate room exclusive for alcoholic drinks for interested customers (Bandar Persian Prime Restaurant, 2018). On the other hand, they differ by offering more specified and diversified meals; Bandar incorporates vegetables in their meals while Cowboy focuses more on meat products for their customers (Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop, 2018). What positively influences both restaurants towards attracting and retaining their customers is the quality of their products. Considering they offer natural foods is a great motivation especially towards the customers who prefer organic foods. Additionally, there is the incorporation of vegetables upon request which caters well for the vegetarians since not all customers prefer meals based on meat products. Similarly, both restaurants offer meat products which can be considered as a negative influencer to the customers who totally disregard meat products and its association. Owing to this, there are customers who can entirely avoid the restaurants on the basis of animal product association. Additionally, seafood presents a mixture of reactions among customers; it is the most favorite to some while others disregard it but are comfortable with other livestock products. Furthermore, the involvement of alcoholic drinks in the form of wine or beer is not perceived positively by all customers despite being optional and may discourage potential clients of different faith/religion. Depending on the nature of customer, this may, therefore, act as a drawback.

Personal Knowledge and experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Knowledge and experience - Essay Example This subject is associated with a very important memory of my life where my personal knowledge and experience assisted in saving the life of my young cousin. Ever since I was a young child, my mother used to guide me to learn from the things that happened in my life and I was guided that experience teaches an individual a lot. It provides a way for a person to avoid repeating the mistakes that others may have committed. When I was a young child, I used to go to my friend’s house on weekends. We used to study together in school and he was one of my very good friends. His father was a doctor and I really admired him and his personality. He was very caring and I felt that he was very sensible. One weekend when I went to his place, an untoward incident happened. His younger brother consumed some toxic substance from a bottle that was kept in the kitchen cabinet. He was a young child and had not realized that was he was consuming could have been toxic for him. His condition deterio rated and he started vomiting as well as losing consciousness. His mother started screaming for help. His father went down and realized the situation. He saw his son and the bottle that was lying nearby. He immediately moved towards the toaster and toasted a bread slice until it was almost burnt. He brought it to his son whose condition kept on worsening and made him eat the burnt slice of bread. He then took him to the hospital. At that particular instance I had not realized the purpose of what my friend’s father had done but I remembered this incident. The next time I went to his house, I questioned him about the purpose of the burnt toast and he explained to me that it was actually activated charcoal which was the most appropriate antidote which had to be given at that time. I researched into the subject and it was a very interesting finding that I discovered. Activated charcoal is basically a universal antidote that can be given in cases of emergency at home as it is an a nti-poisonous substance which can act against most poisons. I found out that it could avoid serious damage that could result from hazardous substances until the victim could be transferred to a hospital. I believed that it was a magical trick for saving someone in danger. I had always believed that I would never have to apply this technique in my life as I was not planning to become a doctor. But I still considered this antidote to be very interesting. My thoughts were proven wrong and after years of that incident a similar accident happened at my house. My relatives came to stay at our house and their young child was wandering in the kitchen. After a while, there were many screams and we all assembled in the kitchen. I realized what had happened when I saw his condition. At the same time, I also noticed the opened bottle that was lying there. My thoughts went back and I repeated the same technique that my friend’s father had done so. It proved to be very effective. This occu rrence provided a very strong explanation of the importance of personal knowledge and experience in an individual’s life. A person can learn from his experiences. It can truly be believed that a person learns from his practical experiences more than from what he reads. There are many meaningful events in the life of every individual which carry important messages. A person should grasp from

Music paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Music paper - Essay Example atthews band applies tragic irony, paradox that is representational and imagery in a bid to express the infinite struggle by human beings in pursuit of joy and the horrific occurrences underlying the extent of discontent in the society (Wvu.edu). Additionally, the Matthew’s band inculcates multiple techniques in order to express their notions. They apply the concealed devices that allude to the other techniques through the entire masterpiece. They apply paradoxical statements, irony and oxymoron to expound on their notions. In a bid to express a contradictory notion, the band inculcates ironic imagery, paradox and mood departure as a refrain to express their sentiments in the song (Hayes). Notably, the application of imagery in the song kicks off in the beginning of the song where a picture of kids lying in a magnificent park on a beautiful day with sun shining on the grass is displayed. Then, the imagery translates immediately to that of a siren blaring and a house blazing (Wvu.edu). This notion of imagery is purely ironic since a listener does not imagine of houses blazing and a beautiful day occurring consecutively. The emergent contrast between the two instances is pertinent. Another instance of ironic imagery is in the 3rd verse where two different people are involved, one enjoying a meal and the other starving. The eventual instance of ironic imagery is the one in the sixth verse where it espouses a kid trekking ten miles to school while another drops out (Lildrizzle). Mood is somehow a longer lasting emotion or feeling that differs from simple feelings in that they are not as intense and specific. The refrain inculcates a mood departure by altering the melody and the notions depicted in the song, comparing them to the present day life (Wvu.edu). The refrain happens both in the middle and towards the end of the song. It alters the mood completely since the music increases tempo and the words are projected closer together for the need of implying that

Saudi Arabia - Trade Elasticity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Saudi Arabia - Trade Elasticity - Essay Example Frequently, trade elasticities are needed for answering policy questions regarding a country and for making judgments regarding a country’s real exchange rate (Billmeier & Hakura, 2008). It should be noted that, trade elasticities need to be estimated with respect to foreign, domestic demand and the real exchange rate and factors such as energy prices across the world. When estimating trade elasticities, several choices must be made including long-term factors that drive export and import demand. Secondly, it is important to ascertain how the recent global trade flows are dominant in these estimates. Additionally, trade elasticities are also depended on relative prices, demand, and natural resource endowment, particularly, energy such as oil (Billmeier & Hakura, 2008). In Saudi Arabia, the elasticity of export and import demand changes with variations in foreign and domestic demand. Imports, in particular, appear to be more inelastic with regards to domestic demand. This is because demand is mostly geared towards goods that are domestically produced. Interestingly, Saudi Arabian imports are, to a much larger extent, dominated by energy imports, particularly oil. Imp orts increase by 2.2 percent when the real price of oil increases by 10 percent (Billmeier & Hakura, 2008). However, both exports and imports react in the same way to foreign demand and domestic demand, respectively. To calculate import and export elasticities for Saudi Arabia, this paper will utilize results from the production theory. Using Hotelling’s lemma, the general-equilibrium supply function can be obtained from a derivative of a country’s GDP function with regard to output prices. Demand function for inputs can also be obtained in this similar way, and as such, import elasticity can be estimated. Saudi Arabian import elasticity according to (Billmeier & Hakura, 2008) is -1.915553. This is a negative and is assumed to be with the wrong sign

Cultural diversity and its effects on child development Research Paper

Cultural diversity and its effects on child development - Research Paper Example It is also of importance to consider several elements required to help reduce negative effect of cultural diversity on developing children. Conclusively, better understanding of cultural diversity of children is through introduction of education during tender ages. Cultural diversity and its effects on the development of kids Cultural diversity is a term used to denote the difference arising in diverse cultures within a certain region. The principal cultural diversity element affecting growth of children is communication, which entails mass media and journalism. The existence of many tribes in a particular region results to an increase in the effects that culture is likely to have on the progress of children. Communication differs from a tribe to another. Desire of children to learn about the moral values of other cultures increases the probability of cultural confusion. Children concerned about other cultures lack the capability to determine the best of the cultural morals. Accordin g to the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2010), lack of adverse knowledge on the culture of other tribes leads to negative influence towards progressing children. Reducing negative impact of cultural diversity a) Developing an effective way to address diversity Cultural diversity can have a positive effect on the progress of children through learning. ... Communication is vital, as it is the basis of passing over understandable information regarding the culture of other tribes. Parents should enlighten children on the importance of their culture in coming times. For instance, children need to know that strict observation of the ancient cultural morals is of importance, as it helps gain respect from other communities (Robinson, & Jones-Diaz, 2006). An additional element of improving the current way of developing children through diversity of culture in a positive manner is through educational institutions. The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (2010) asserts that teachers need to have advanced training to be able to meet the needs of various children. It is a basic requirement for teachers to take part in special training programs to be able to cope with character of children from different cultural societies. Acquisition of knowledge of various cultures helps children in that teachers necessitate the need to respect the c ulture of other states. b) Impact of diversity on development of kids Progression of children appears to be excellent when children are portraying good manners in the society. Despite the concern that the community, parents, and teachers have on the effect of culture on development of kids, ignorance of children is the principal issue to the negative effects of culture on their (young kid’s) growth. There are various ways of enhancing strategies of developing children from diverse cultures. For one, there is the need for early exposure to the values of various cultures. Children with an experience of diverse cultures since the time when then they were young throughout their adult stages are at the forefront in depicting good morals

Philosophy [Close Reading] Capital Volume I, Karl Marx Essay

Philosophy [Close Reading] Capital Volume I, Karl Marx - Essay Example The longer the time spent to create a certain product, the higher the value it will command in the market. A Marxist analysis would give us a premise that labor is the source of all value since it is a â€Å"congelation† of labor. The Marxist theory is that the amount of labor embodied in the material object would determine its value. â€Å"As values, all commodities are only definite masses of congealed labor-time.† (Capital, Vol. I, p. 40.) Unfortunately, the importance of labor is muted by the fact that according to Marx, many capitalists are exploiting labor. In the Capital Volume 1 chapter 4, Marx often described the acts of the capitalists in the wage-labor exchange with the laborers as something akin to robbery, theft and embezzlement. Marx believed that the capitalists are essential robbing the laborers of the value of their labor by denying the laborers the full price of their labor. Note that in the Marxist point of view, labor has two characters, the abstract and the concrete nature. Note that under the arguments of Marx, any act of labor expended have dual impact where one is the concrete action directed towards the making of certain products and the abstract portion which is disposable for the use of society in a given place and time. In other words, where the system separates the actual act of production from the means of production; labor itself as human labor force becomes a commodity that could be traded for value. (See Capital, Vol. 1, p. 71.) The fact that the owners of the means of production such as the capitalists tries to extract more labor for less pay is seen by Marx as form of thievery that is directed on the laborers’ labor commodity. In other words, the exploitation of labor is seen by Marx as form of violation of the rights of the laborer to the fruits of their labor. How do the owners of the means of production or the capitalists steal labor? Marx

Theory of Knowledge Essay (Psychology) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Theory of Knowledge (Psychology) - Essay Example Some studies have been carried out to establish how knowledge is gained, how it can be used, when can knowledge be said to be knowledge indeed, should truth be factored in knowledge etc. These factors considered in the study of knowledge consists a branch of philosophy called Theory of Knowledge (ToK). ToK as Bertrand Russell (1926) puts it is a product of doubt. He further asserts that only when you subject facts, concepts etc into sufficient doubt then you can know whether the facts, concepts etc can be said to be true and thus become knowledge. In other words knowledge is not knowledge if it isn’t true and facts, concepts, principles etc graduate to knowledge once they reach the threshold of truth. Therefore ToK ventures into four ways of knowing i.e. through emotion, language, perception (use of senses) and through reason. It also features the areas of knowledge such as Science, Arts, Mathematics, history etc while investigating how students, the actors of knowledge, gain knowledge. This paper seeks to discuss the fact that an area of knowledge is not necessarily a collection of facts. An area of knowledge, be it science or mathematics, is not a mere collection of facts even though collection of facts constitute an area of knowledge (Lehrer, 2000). Science is dependent on facts that can be ascertained to be true. A number of facts describe science. The philosophy of science entails two parts. The first part is about the process of acquiring scientific knowledge (Scientific in the sense that it can be tested and ascertained scientifically) and the second part is about the purpose, implications and uses of the scientific knowledge acquired. One most important thing to note is the fact that the facts that make up science should have a way to be tested. Therefore, an accumulation of facts alone do not make science but if the facts can be tested scientifically and ascertained, then they qualify to constitute

International Biz Management 4 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Biz Management 4 questions - Essay Example The analysis of benefits and costs of moving the plant from US to Mexico are detailed below: Strategic Implications of Moving the Plant There can be a number of different reasons behind a company’s thought to move its operation, either completely or partly, to another country. As Plenert (2002) stated, out of various reasons for a company to relocate its operation, advantages of labor cost and total costs are the major drives for US companies to take wise decisions regarding relocations (p. 378). Moving to another country is strategically important as it helps a company gains more competitive advantages, build stronger brand worldwide etc. Benefits of labor cost and total costs are more evident in cases where companies decide to move from a developed country to a developing or under-developed country. Almost all major Multinationals have shown their place in China due to the availability of cheap labor that ensures increased productivity, greater accuracy and more effectivenes s in business operation. Relocating the plant from US to Mexico is not only driven by labor or total cost factor. ... und 50 % of Mexico’s total manufacturing assets are controlled by large Multinationals, mainly in border zones, making these border zones main cities of the country (Hamnett, 1999, p. 261). Moving company’s plant to Mexico thus helps the company gain greater advantages of labor and total cost, greater efficiency and increased productivity. But, if the company doesn’t decide to move, it may not be able to gain greater competitive advantages and ensuring the efficiency in its operation. Social Responsibility of the business in Mexico Social responsibility is perhaps one of the most important buzzwords of today’s business world. No matter whether the business stays in home or goes global, social responsibility is an extremely important factor that determines how good the business is and how far it can be successful. A business should never be a profit-only oriented business, but rather, it must seek to align its values, visions and strategies with needs, view s and perceptions of its various stakeholders, including employees, customers, government and wider social interests (Mallin, 2009, p. 1) When the company plans to move its plant from US to Mexico, it is highly important that its management must consider corporate social responsibility. An extensive market research may be required to recognize the tastes, specific requirements and interests of customers that it targets. As Kotler and Lee (2005) noted, social responsibility is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of business practices (p. 3). The proposed manufacturing plant to be established in Mexico and its operational activities should be able to add values to the community well-being. Business activities that are mandated by law or are

Pakistan Energy Outlook Essay Example for Free

Pakistan Energy Outlook Essay Primary energy consumption in Pakistan has grown by almost 80% over the past 15 years, from 34 million tons oil equivalent (TOEs) in 1994/95 to 61 million TOEs in 2009/10 and has supported an average GDP growth rate in the country of about 4.5% per annum. However since 2006/07 energy supply has been unable to meet the country’s demand leading to shortages. Meanwhile per capita energy consumption in Pakistan at under 0.5 TOEs/capita remains only one-third of world average. Indigenous natural gas is the largest source of energy supply in Pakistan contributing 27. 7 million TOEs (45.4%) in 2009/10, followed by oil products, mainly imports, at 21.3 million TOEs (34.9%), hydel power at 7.5 million TOEs (12.3%), coal, mainly imports, at 3.7 million TOEs (6.1%) and nuclear power at 0.8 million TOEs (1.3%). Consumption of indigenous natural gas has grown rapidly in all sectors of the economy (residential, commercial, industrial, transport and power) over the past 15 years, driven by growing availability of gas and a low, government-controlled gas price as compared with alternate fuel prices. As a result, Pakistan has developed a vast natural gas transmission and distribution network across the country. However Pakistan’s indigenous natural gas reserves are declining and a low gas price has become a significant disincentive in attracting new gas supplies, either through increased domestic exploration activities or via imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or regional gas pipeline imports. If current gas policies persist, Pakistan’s natural gas supply is expected to decline from 4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2010/11 to less than 1 bcfd by 2025/26. This will lead to a growing gas/energy shortfall reaching 8 bcfd (over 50 million TOEs) by 2025/26 and will depress Pakistan’s average GDP growth rate over the next 15 years. It is also unlikely that Pakistan will be able to substantially develop its other indigenous energy sources of hydel power and coal by 2025/26 under current policies, and the energy import requirements of the country may grow from the present 30% to over 75% of the energy mix by 2025/26 costing over $ 50 billion per annum in foreign exchange. The government-controlled power sector in Pakistan, one of the largest consumers of primary energy, is facing growing problems due to an unrealistic power tariff, high inefficiencies, low payment recovery and the inability of the government to manage its subsidies mechanism. This has led to a serious â€Å"circular debt† issue which is becoming a barrier for future energy sector investments. This Pakistan Energy Outlook document identifies a set of energy â€Å"Blueprints† which, if implemented, could allow the energy sector in Pakistan to thrive and grow and become the engine for the social and economic development of the country, allowing accelerated GDP growth rates. As with all reform processes, the â€Å"Blueprints† will require significant political will to execute and it is hoped that the present and succeeding governments in Pakistan will rise to the occasion.

Sample of Cdr Templet Essay Example for Free

Sample of Cdr Templet Essay Objective Seeking a professional position in the field of electrical power engineering utilizing my technical and commercial experience and interpersonal skills, I prefer working in an innovative environment with possibility of further career development. Education University degree: Bachelor of science, Electrical power and machines section, Ain Shams University, June 1999 Overall grade: Good Project grade: Distinction Position: 17th of the successful students totalling (231) Current job since December 2004 Working for XXXXXXXX- DUBAI UAE as a senior projects engineer in the project Management Department, covering Gulf countries (UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain). Where my achievements and accountabilities are: ? Participated in establishment and development of the projects department (consultation business) in Schneider Electric Gulf. Prepared technical and commercial offers for the projects (MV, LV and packages) in different market segments. ? Strongly provided technical and commercial support to Schneider’s sales force in Gulf countries and to our agents to facilitate optimum positioning of Schneider Electric‘s offer in their Markets. ? Developed the technical tender response, in cooperation with the sales team, taking into consideration the customer needs, and managed to optimise the proposals in terms of competitive positioning to the customer which lead to profitability to the company. Followed up the contracts closely on regular basis to ensure registered margin, to meet contractual deadlines and to ensure delivery of correct equipment in accordance to customer’s requirements in time. ? Conducted and developed excel lent relations with the customers. ? February 2004 – November 2004 Working for xxxxxxx (Industrial Solutions and Services ) as a projects engineer , (CLIENT : BECHTEL Houston) in the LNG project ( liquefaction of Natural gas) ,and my accountabilities and achievements were: ? Responsible for all Bechtel’s automation tools (Setroute software and 3D Model) to achieve full co-ordination and compliance with Bechtel’s requirements as well as their reporting systems. ? Succeeded to propose optimal means to reduce equipment (materials and tools) and productivity costs. ? Provided technical support to all departments involved in the construction cycle to achieve customer satisfaction, also handling all customer’s modifications and reporting their relevant cost and delay impacts. Managed to provide solutions (drawings, BOQ, calculation notes, reports) for all electrical systems as electrical raceways, cables, lighting, earthing and switchgears. Experience This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. August 2001 to February 2004 Working for xxxxxx as a senior projects engineer in the project Management Departme nt, in the Industry, oil and gas and export Sectors (Gulf countries and East Mediterranean and south America). Where my achievements and accountabilities are ? ? ? ? ? ? Prepared technical and commercial offers for the projects in the industry, oil and gas market Segment as well as for all export jobs. Provided technical and commercial support to Schneider’s sales offices in Gulf and East Med. and to our agents to facilitate optimum positioning of Schneider Electric Egypt’s offer in their Markets. Prepared strong competing promotional and pre-qualifications files in order to penetrate new markets and to be added to suppliers lists for the huge companies in the oil and gas field in the Gulf. Responsible for achieving the annual sales budget (order intake) for the export accounts. Followed up the contracts closely on regular basis to meet contractual deadlines and to ensure delivery of correct equipment in accordance to customer’s requirements in time. Identified discrepancies between registered and actual margins, rationalized causes, and proposed improvements in the contractual process. Promoted and used standard solutions studied by the technical department to reduce production time and cost ? 12th of September 1999 to 1st of August 2001 Working for xxxxxxx as a design engineer in the design and standardisation Department where my achievements were: ? Designed Medium voltage, low voltage, power factor correction switchgears and Motor control centres (MCCs) ? Contributed to the development of optimal and economical solutions in the offer and order stage of different projects to comply with the requirements of the customer and to the international norms and standards. ? Studied and designed contracts requiring high technical knowledge to produce documents (drawings, bill of materials, calculation notes, studies and manuals) needed for the customer as well as for the manufacturing cycle. Succeeded to propose optimal means to reduce equipment and productivity costs. ? Provided technical support to all departments involved in the industrial cycle to achieve customer satisfaction. ? Managed to provide standard solutions (drawings, BOQ, programs) to be used by the company for future contracts completion. ? Resolved the non-conformities. Technical training Summer 1998 At Landis Staefa (Petrokima): included training on electrical panels m anufacturing Landis Staefa controls, and participated in some running tenders (The Meredian extension project). h th ? 15 of March to 15 of June 2000: Participated in the NRTP training program at Schneider Electric Egypt: Included training in different departments (technical office, Project Management, procurement, Quality control Department, the L. V. M. V. workshops, the sales division). ? ? This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. Software skills Microsoft office including Excel, Word, Access and power point. Haendel (Schneider’s professional drawing program). Worked intensively on professional softwares used in programming Modicon PLCs and Schneider’s microprocessor based digital multifunctional relays (Sepam range) ? ? ? ? Arabic: mother tongue English: fluent French: Fair Spoken Languages Other courses Interpersonal and soft skills as Communication skills, problem solving and decision making, negotiation skills, trainings were given by PSDP European Management Centre, held in 2001 2003. Skills and affiliations References Personal data ? Practicing sports, traveling and reading. ? References are available upon request ? ? ? ? ? Full name: xxxxx xxxxx Date of Birth: xxxxxxxx Nationality: xxxxxxxxx Marital status: Single Military Service: exempted This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. Career Episode -1 Duration : Name of employer: Designation: From October 1999 to July 2001 xxxxxx , EGYPT Electrical Design Engineer/ Project Engineer INTRODUCTION xxxxxx Egypt. s one of the best-known multinational companies and a market leader in the field of electrical equipment. The core business undertaken by the company are Electrical Engineering projects, including manufacturing, supplying, installation, commissioning and testing of electrical equipment, low voltage and medium voltage equipment, as well as control systems. 1. 1 I had the opportunity to join xxxxxx right after my graduation a s an Electrical Engineer. I had already completed the 5year full-time course in Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in Ain Shams University. The first year of the course included some papers in Mathematics, and also provided a basic knowledge of physical sciences underpinning Engineering, mechanics, and chemistry. It also provided an overview of other disciplined of Engineering. The later years concentrated more particularly on the various aspects of Electrical Engineering. Of special interest to were some papers on Electrical Machines (I and II). Included in this was the design of various Electrical machines such as Motors, Generators etc. We had to design the shaft and rotor, calculate Input and Output values, losses, and so on for the machinery. I joined xxxxxx in 1999, which is one of the market leaders in electrical switchgear manufacturing. Initially I participated in a three month training called NRTP (New Recruits’ Training Program) during which I worked with different departments (sales, project management, design office, logistics, the workshop, and the site services) to have an indepth understanding of the nature of the work undertaken by the company. On the completion of my training period, I started my responsibilities as an Electrical Design Engineer and joined the company as a permanent employee. . 2 My main responsibilities were to design, issue bill of materials and drawings for low voltage and medium voltage switchgears as well as motor control centers (MCCs), and power factor correction for projects in all market segments. 1. 3 I will detail below one of the particular tasks I was in charge of as a design engineer. It was to standardize the use of electronic motor starters (soft starters) instead of co nventional star delta starter as a starting method for squirrel cage induction motors. 1. General information regarding the project: In general, the commonly used methods of motor starting are the following: direct on line starting, star delta starting, autotransformer starters. These are the conventional methods of motor starting which depend on contactors, bi-metallic thermal overload relays†¦etc. However, electronic starters, known as ‘soft starters’, with variable speed drives using power electronics technology are rapidly replacing the old conventional starters due to various advantages to the user as well as the ease in installation. The Objective of the project were: This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. ? ? ? ? Promote the soft starter product of xxxx – (Brand name is Telemecanique). Cost reduction of motor starters of small ratings up to 15 KW. Price reduction of the MCC panels (motor control centers) which are composed of these starters. Standardize the schematic/control drawings and bill of materials to reduce time and cost of design. 1. In addition to the three months training, I had another 3 days technical specialized training on soft starters conducted by the Product manager, I also carried out an in-depth study of all the relevant catalogues and technical documents. I was well prepared to take on the full responsibility for the assigned project. My job mainly involved the following: ? Prepare standard detailed material list (BOQ) for every standard motor r ating to include all the required components with their proper quantities and part Numbers (such as the Circuit breaker, soft starter, terminal blocks, selector switch and auxiliary control relays†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦etc). Design the schematic (control circuit) where I followed the concept of value engineering which involves providing necessary functions at lowest cost, and the identification and elimination of unnecessary costs. and I prepared the complete drawing for each motor rating. Calculate the cost saving in each motor rating by comparing the prices of the conventional starter components with the electronic motor starter components. Calculate the accurate space required for each motor starter in the panel for both cases (conventional and electronic). ? ? 1. 6 In 3 weeks time the initial study was complete, and I had the complete file ready including all the Bill of quantities and drawings to be used by all the designers in their different projects. 1. 7 As shown by the study, we achieved 13% cost saving as a result of using these starters, however we had two more challenges ahead, first to increase awareness of the consultants and end-users regarding the advantages of using the electronic start ers, and secondly to further increase the cost saving by 2 or 3 % more. . 8 I started collecting data from the marketing department regarding the approximate quantities of starters required annually, market price and details of main competitors. Based on these data, I started negotiation with our soft starter supplier in France trying to get the best transfer prices. 1. 9 In few months time I was able to get our first order for MCCs including soft starters, after several technical/commercial discussions with the consultant. It was for a pharmaceutical Co. During the execution of the job, I was responsible for following up the process in the workshop to ensure we are meeting the project requirements and IEC international standards. I instructed the technicians regarding all the required precautions and installation recommendations before they started the assembly. Assembly is carried out as per the following steps: This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. ) The switchgear enclosure assembly b) Installing the main horizontal bus bars c) Then the vertical bus bars. d) Fixing the metal sheet mounting plates. e) Fixing the functional units circuit breakers. f) Fixing the motor starters (soft starters). After the switchgear manufacturing was finished, I followed up the final quality control. I had to ensure compliance to the standards and specifications by: ? ? ? ? ? Visual inspection of the switchgear Checking the compliance with the shop drawings. Mechanical checking. Checking the wiring. Testing the sequence of operation (control circuits). I also attended the customer inspection in our factory. 1. 10 As the second phase of the project, I started coordinating with the logistics department to create all the data of the components on their system, including the part numbers, full technical description, transfer prices, and also to forecast annual consumption so that we can build effective stock, as per the forecasted requirements. 1. 11 I always ensure that the technical specifications were met and the technical data sheets were well prepared. By this technique cost over-runs can be eliminated and the smooth progress of work can be ensured. 1. 12 As the number of orders with soft starters started to increase, it became necessary to provide training to all the designers. I conducted technical training sessions for the staff of the design office. As a result, the technical competency within our design team increased, and they became totally autonomous. 1. 13 We were able to achieve a high competency level internally in terms of designing, costing and logistics. I also provided technical support to the product manager and the sales force in the early bidding stages of the projects. Our team work was highly successful. Working on such a project was beneficial for me as I learnt a lot in terms of dealing with other departments, consultants and various major clients. I was able to overcome numerous problems arising on site. Solving the problems gave a boost to my managerial and technical skills in all aspects of designing, planning and execution of large projects. Working with this organisation This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. was an extremely rich experience for my career , I was able to understand Electrical Engineering in depth, and to apply what I had learnt in the work environment. Career Episode 2 Supply and commissioning of Electrical Engineering package for Gas production plant Name of employer: Duration: Designation: xxxxxxx, EGYPT FROM AUGUST 2001 TILL FEB 2004 Senior Project Engineer (Electrical) INTRODUCTION After working for almost two years in the design office in xxxx, I was selected to join the Project Management/ Operations Department in the designation of Senior Project Engineer. By this promotion , I was moving up in my career in Schneider Electric. The qualifications required for joining the Project Management Department included a minimum of 2 years of technical experience, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills since the nature of the job requires full interaction and coordination with all the internal departments, suppliers, clients and consultants. I joined the Project Management Department in August 2001, working mainly in the oil and gas, and export sectors. 2. 1 As described above it is a technical-commercial position. Since I already had good technical experience, I only had to enhance and strengthen my commercial / managerial capabilities. I was trained for one month on the different quotation tools, and financial aspects such as Letter of Credit, bank guarantees, logistics and incoterms. I also underwent some training courses to improve communication skills, negotiation skills, time management and problem solving capability. . 2 After one month’s training, I was quite ready and capable to take on my new challenge as a Project manager in the oil and gas market segment as well as for the export projects. In fact, the oil and gas sector is the most critical among all other market segments, since the oil and gas clients are all major international EPCs (Engineering, procurement and construction) including Bechtel, KBR, Technip. The nature of the oil and gas projects are of high technical specifications with strong safety and reliability requirements. 2. xxxxxx was invited for bidding in a major project for the supply of the complete electrical package. It was a targeted project for Schneider Electric, and we were very much interested in getting this prestigious project. 2. 4 I was appointed to handle this project in the tendering stage, and also in the order stage( in case of the project being awarded to our organization). This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. 2. General information on the project: The project was called Scarab Saffron development project for gas production, it was located in Idco – Alexandria – Egypt. The client was a consortium between ENPPI and Bechtel UK. The scope of the electrical package included supply, testing and co mmissioning of 3. 3KV Medium voltage switchgear, power transformers, Low voltage main distribution switchgears 4000A, LV MCCs (motor control centres), DC system (batteries and battery chargers), Bus duct, UPS and SCADA system (electrical distribution supervisory system), relay co-ordination and short circuit calculation studies. . 6 My main responsibility was divided into two main phases 1. Tendering phase: ? Study in depth the enquiry documents (technical and commercial). ? Finalize any clarifications on the tender documents with customer ? Prepare complete technical and commercial offer 2. Project Execution: ? Final negotiation of order commercial conditions. ? Contract review and acknowledgment ? Following up the project execution to meet the contractual obligations. ? Ensure achieving the registered gross margin and profitability for the company. Ensure high quality service for the customer and meeting the whole project schedule (the whole gas plant) and coordinating with differ ent suppliers in the project and with mechanical scope of the project. 2. 7 The main problem I was facing was that to remain competitive and win the contact for the project, and at the same time to fully comply with the specifications, keeping high quality in terms of reliability and safety (which can by no means be compromised in oil and gas industry). My only solution was the value engineering, exploring different alternatives to achieve required functions through the most cost effective ways. I started studying tender documents in details and clarified any vague points. Part of the ‘scope of work’ can be manufactured in our factory, and some equipment had to be sourced from different suppliers. I sent the request for quotations to the different suppliers, I evaluated their offers in co-ordination with our design engineers, held meetings with the suppliers to discuss their proposals and to try to optimize their offers. 2. I collected all the information on previous (similar) tenders, particularly regarding the prices of other competitors, and the main technical requirements. 2. 9 As a result, I was in a better position to set target prices for suppliers. 2. 10 Finally in 6 weeks time, and before the bidding closing date I was able, with the coordination of the design office and the sales department, to integrate a com petitive compliant technical and commercial offer for the complete electrical package. It was then reviewed and accepted by the top management prior to submitting the proposal. 2. 1 Proposals for all bidders went through technical evaluation by the client, and after three rounds of technical clarifications which took almost 2 months time, we were short listed as a technically successful bidder. 2. 12 During the technical evaluation rounds, we used one strong technical advantage in our offer which led to better positioning of our offer. This was the use of low voltage motor starters with coordination type 2. This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. As per IEC standards, motor starters are classified into co-ordination type 1 and 2, They both protect people and property, however in co-ordination type 1 starter , when an electrical fault occurs due to a short circuit, the starter components have to be checked, and the circuit breaker or the contactors due to contacts welding has to be changed. In this case highly qualified maintenance staff are required. This also disrupts the continuity of service, which is very crucial in oil and gas industry, as time is needed to replace the defected components and put the starter into service again. While in co-ordination type 2, after an electrical fault occurs, the starter can be put into service again without changing any components, only slight welding of contacts might be required. Inmost cases, the fault can be easily cleared by switching on and off the contactor few times. The basic idea behind co-ordination type 2 starters is selecting an oversized contactor, and the combination of starter components (circuit breaker, contactor and overload relay) are all tested together in the manufacturer’s laboratories. So this type of coordination ensures continuity of service and does not require highly qualified technicians at site. We were offering motor starters of co-ordination type 2 to comply with the project requirements, and this was a great advantage which was not offered by all manufacturers. Then the commercial proposal was evaluated Schneider Electric Egypt was awarded this contract which was the biggest in 2003, and our combined efforts were greatly appreciated by the top management. The second bidder was 4% higher in price and the overall proposed delivery time was one month more . 2. 3 At this time I had to start the second phase which is the execution of the project. I started started by finalizing and acknowledging the purchase order. Kick-off meetings were held to start the process and I worked on getting the full technical documents and drawings approved. 2. 14 I conducted a site survey with our site services engineers so that to ensure proper coordination with the overall plant system such as civil works, mechanical works, and the environmental conditions of the plant, so we better understood the process of the plant, and were fully aware of the overall system. I also checked the overall plant completion schedule, so as to prioritize our deliveries to be in-line with the overall schedule requirements. 2. 15 During the course of the project execution, the client came up with some changes and modifications in the loads (motor ratings), which had some price and delivery impacts. I had a series of meetings with the client, and the rates and technical requirements for the variations were mutually agreed upon. 2. 16 One of technical difficulties we faced was that the client changed the electrical equipment arrangement in the electrical room. As a result the space reserved for the low voltage switchboard became insufficient, and at that time we were already in the final stage of manufacturing. The designed and approved length of the low voltage switchboard was 9900 mm, however after the change in arrangement of equipment , the available space was only 4800 mm , and the civil works and the openings in the concrete slabs had been done accordingly as per the initial design. Being in late stage of the project execution made the situation even worse. I has discussions with the client to sort out this issue. Then I had to study different solutions to comply with the available space. I had to re-design the switchboard, trying out different layouts and re-arranging the electrical component layout within the switchboard. I was also trying my best to keep the components which were already installed unchanged so as to minimize further work involved and the time required for modification. This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. om – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. After 4 days of detailed study, I proposed to the customer a new layout, which was â€Å"U† shape. Also I had to change the switchboard to be of the rear connection type (cables to be connected from the rear of the panel) as this also helped in removing some of the cable ducts and hence reduce the overall width. The switchboard being a â€Å"U† shape requires 2 additional cubicles (corners) which required special design as the bus bar rating was high, 4000A. Finally, this proposal was approved by the customer, however the only remaining problem was that the time required to manufacture these 2 additional cubicles (corners) was 2 months, while delivery of the switchboard was supposed to be in 5 weeks time. So we proposed that we would deliver the switchboard partially, meaning that all the columns/cubicles will be delivered as a first batch to allow the contractor to start fixing the panels and to start cable termination, while the 2 additional corners will be supplied as a second batch. I also agreed to send our services engineer to ensure proper integration and installation of the complete switchboard at site. Also the contractor had to modify the civil works as per our recommendations. 2. 17 I attended all the witnessed FAT (factory acceptance tests), only minor modifications were required, some of these were rectified in the factory, and some others were cleared at site after delivery. 2. 18 I supervised the site activities which included the commissioning, testing and start- up of all the supplied equipment as well as testing the interface with the over-all site control system. . 18 Working on such a project for almost one and half year throughout the project life cycle has enhanced both my engineering and management skills to a great extent. It has provided me with varied experience in all aspects of project management. This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for thos e looking to make the move down under. Career Episode -3 Establishing Projects management Department in the GULF region Period : Since 26th December 2004 till present Name of employer: xxxxxxx – DUBAI Designation : Senior Project Engineer (Electrical) INTRODUCTION 3. 1 xxxxxxxx is one of the major entities of the corporate organisation, keeping xxxxxx as the market leader for Low voltage and medium voltage products in the Gulf. It is also considered as one of the fastest growing subsidiaries of Schneider Electric world-wide in terms of revenue and profitability. In line with the fast growing economy and business in the gulf region, especially Dubai and Qatar, the management decided to cope with this dynamic market by bringing expertise from different Schneider entities to build a projects consultation centre (Projects Management Team). I consider it as my greatest career opportunity to be the first to join this newly created department , and play a role in establishing this type of projects business in the region, utilizing my six years of experience in Schneider Egypt. 3. I started my new position on 26th December 2005 as a Senior Projects Engineer in the projects Department which we called ‘Local Consultation Centre. 3. 3 The project management department is responsible for: ? ? ? ? Study of tenders in depth (technically and commercially). Promote Schneider’s standard solutions and packages and better position schneider’s offer in the market. Prepare technical and commercial offers for projects electrical package. Proje cts execution and follow up ensuring delivery of correct equipment on time and meeting all contractual terms. Ensure achieving the registration margins, profitability for the company. This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. In addition to the above, my responsibilities included setting up the system in terms of forms, documentation, process, interface with other departments, suppliers and customers, as well as building a central database for all Gulf projects. 3. 4 In a very short time, (three months time) we were successful to win our first big project . Project Information †¢ †¢ †¢ a) b) c) d) e) f) g) Project : Al Ain Air College – District cooling plant. Customer : SNC-Lavalin Tabreed Scope of Schneider: Supply, testing, commissioning and start-up of the electrical equipment package comprising: 11KV Metal clad switchgear, with SF6 circuit breaker, 1250A, 25KA/3sec, IP41. 3. 3KV Metal clad switchgear with SF6 CB, 2500A, 25KA /3sec, IP41. Cast resin Power transformers 11KV/3. 3KV, 7MVA Cast resin Distribution transformers 11KV/0. 4KV, 2. 8MVA 3. 3KV Soft starters for chillers. LV/LV isolating transformers. Relay co-ordination study. 3. 5 At the beginning of the project I conducted 3 kick-off meetings with the client to figure out the real needs of the whole district cooling plant project as an over-all system, so that we provide the appropriate scheme and control system, in terms of power demand , ensuring proper sizing of all equipment including current transformers, circuit breakers and bus bars. We also had to prepare the completion schedule, ensuring we are in line with the overall system progress. We also confirmed the environmental data of the site which is located in Al-Ain in UAE, to make sure we are providing the appropriate equipment degree of protection IP, to provide anti-condensate heaters for humid conditions, to apply adequate de-ration factors for bus bars and circuit breakers in case of high ambient conditions (which is the case in this part of the world). 3. 6 The real difficulty, risk and challenge I was facing was our limited capabilities in terms of resources, tools and effective set- up since we were in the beginning stages of operation. I had only two engineers and a draftsman at that time, and we had to do the engineering drawings, BOQ, calculation notes and all technical documentation submittals; project contractual follow up, handling modifications by advising technical feasibility and their relevant commercial impacts on price and the delays involved. We also had to look into logistics issues such as following up with suppliers (in France and USA) and the forwarder. We also followed up financial aspects as invoicing, receivables and monitoring our margins. 3. The project execution period was approximately ten months, during this period the management was strongly supporting us to overcome any obstacles, and a real team work was taking place to secure the contract. I was very closely following with our suppliers in France, guiding them especially in the technical issues and ensuring that they meet the contractual dates. 3. 8 Our project scope was mainly divided into two major phases: a) Supply of the equipments t o the site. b) Site activities (supervision on installation, commissioning and start up). This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. om – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. After completion of the first phase, we started preparations in advance for the second phase by mobilization at project site, arranging for the tools and equipment necessary for testing. One of the main activities during commissioning is the setting of all the protective relays according to the relay coordination study that are prepared. I had to overcome a critical problem in this stage, which was the lack of upstream electrical network data and difficulty of achieving selectivity. The purpose of the relay co-ordination study is to achieve selectivity (discrimination) between different levels of the network, to ensure continuity of service and reliability. In other words, it is to set the protection relays with fault values and time values in such a way as to ensure that in case of any electrical fault , the closest circuit breaker feeding the fault will trip not the main upstream breaker, thus we can isolate the faulty section without interfering with other loads in the network. We needed the settings and type of curve of the existing upstream relay so that we can carry out the coordination study, but the client and AADC (AL Ain distribution company), confirmed that these data and documents are not available and that the upstream relay is an old fashion electro-mechanical relay supplied more than 20 years ago. I checked the upstream existing switchgear at site to get the exact type and model of the relay as well as the settings, and later with very much difficulty I found the curve characteristics on the internet. Then came the main problem, when it was found out that according to the information of the upstream relay it was impossible to achieve co-ordination since the upstream over current and time settings were very low. Initially we requested AADC to check the possibility of changing the upstream settings to the required settings. However, after they checked the complete upstream network they came back to us confirming that it is not possible to make any changes. It was a serious problem especially since the project start-up date was planned to be within a months’ time. It was quite obvious that the current or time selectivity cannot be achieved, so I was looking for an alternative solution, and after few days of checking the detailed technical manuals and catalogues of our microprocessor protective multifunction relays Sepam ( Merlin Gerin type), and the schematic drawings, I found that we can achieve logic discrimination between our provided 11Kv and 3. 3KV switchgears, since this feature is available in our provided relays. When a downstream relay senses a fault it will give a blocking digital input signal to the upstream relay to delay its tripping for an adjustable time, which is sufficient to let the downstream relay trip and isolate the fault. This solution was an alternative solution to the normal (commonly used) time and current discrimination. 3. 9 All site work was carried out in full co-ordination with different suppliers , such as chiller suppliers and generator suppliers, and the plant was successfully energized. 3. 10 Finally the project was completed and handed over to the client. The realized margin was in line with our targeted margin at the beginning of the project. Commissioning reports were also prepared and analysed for possible ways of improvement. It is also submitted to the Management for their reference, review and comments about improvement opportunities, if any. 3. 11 This project success was the main trigger and motivation for the company to decide increasing the resources and capabilities immediately to cope with the unbelievable fast moving business cycle in UAE. It was also decided to increase the scope of our activity to include supplying EMCS (energy management and control system) in 2006. This Free CDR Template is brought to your courtesy of gettingdownunder. com – Free Australian Immigration advice and resources for those looking to make the move down under. 3. 12 Working on this project was of great importance for me, since I had the chance to go through the whole cycle, preparing the quotation, negotiating the offer, awarding of contract, and execution of work at project site. During my career, I always ensure that my work is professional and ethical. 3. 13 In addition to this project, we also managed to win few more projects. Our internal set-up is now organized. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Trainings: Summer 1998 At Landis Staefa (Petrokima): included training on electrical panels manufacturing Landis Staefa controls, and participated in some running tenders (The Meredian extension project). 15th of March to 15th of June 2000: Participated in the NRTP training program at Schneider Electric Egypt: Included training in different departments (technical office, Project Management, procurement, Quality control Department, the L. V. M. V. workshops, the sales division). Courses undergone: Microsoft office including Excel, Word, Access and power point.

The Success Factors Of The Nintendo Company Marketing Essay

The Success Factors Of The Nintendo Company Marketing Essay Nintendo Co., Ltd is a multinational public listed company but privately held that develops, manufactures ,and auction home entertainment products (Reuters).The company is currently the one dominating the handheld console market with its Nintendo DS as well as its preceding incarnations of its best-selling Game Boy handheld (Nintendo). Nintendo Company was Founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi ,a Japanese man in the year 1889 (Ben, 2011) .The current president of Nintendo however is Satoru Iwata. The company is based in Kyoto, Japan (Marketwatch, 2012) and has a large number of employees both hardware and software based people, this includes programmers ,business people and thinkers . The name of the company is derived from a Japanese proverb, when translated in English language means Leave luck to heaven (Dominic, p. 1). Nintendo company is widely acknowledged for making video games (Ben, 2011) and is considered as one of the most successful gaming industry worldwide (Dominic, p. 1) . The co mpany has branches in America and Europe with Japan being the leading market (Nicole, Jann, Kelsey, 2005). and operates in more than 26 sub branches and five associated companies. The companys branches consist of the Nintendo of America Inc., Nintendo of Canada Ltd., Nintendo of Europe GmbH, Nintendo France S.A.R and along with others. Products Nintendo offers include but are not limited to :- leisure machine such as portable and console game like the Wii , Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DSi as well as the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Entertainment System(NES), Nintendo 64 till the latest product the Wii U (Nintendo, 2012). 1.2. Reason For Choosing Nintendo : The company is considered as a technology-based venture as it produces high technology games, uses 3D gaming technology as in the case of the Nintendo 3DS systems , graphics, digital images and so forth. The company has revolutionize the gaming world by changing the way video games is perceived today (Sebastian, 2008). The reason for which the company has been chosen was not limited to the creativity and innovation they emphasize on their products which grabs attention nor for their console being user-friendly , portable making it easy to use , but also due to the fact that the company offers a brilliant example of one that has been able to stand on difficult moments, face failure at some point and succeeded in a market dominated by larger competitors (Sony and Microsoft) by continuously innovating and improving their products. 2. Nintendo Company (An Overview) : 2.1.History of Nintendo: The Company started as a manufacturer of Hanafuda  [1]  playing card in the town of Kyoto , due to its popularity at the time the company expanded all over Japan (Dominic, p. 2). During World War II, meanwhile the Japan economy was distraught , the demand for playing cards however decreased slightly and thrived in the years that followed the war. In the year 1949, Nintendo welcomed its new president Hiroshi Yamauchi who tried to modernize the company by developing plastic playing cards earning its place as the largest playing card company in Japan at the time (Fukuine). In 1959, Nintendo and Disney signed an agreements that allows Nintendo to print their card with Disney cartoon on it and by the year 1962, Nintendo went out public. Due to the success of their cards, and huge sales , the company extended its branches all over the world (Minami-ku) . The company later made an attempt for other business like clothing ,taxi service ,TV network, food company and toy-making company but only the toy-making company turned out to be the successful while the rest of the buisness experiment led to major failures. The toy-making company experienced success in the late 190s when Gunpei Yokoi a developer at Nintendo designed an extending arm toy The Ultra-hand. The creativity nature of Gunpei led to future release such as the baseball throwing machine and other related products (Manali) . Nintendo later turned into the video market which in later years proved to be their most profitable decision (Wikia). Nintendos first global large scale success came in the year 1981 with the release of the arcade game Donkey Kong. This game provided colorful graphics, Disney cartoon figures and had multiple levels where by players had to jump over barrels, ride elevators and many others. The goal of the game was to save a princess from obstinate gorilla, the game was alluring and the story attracted people. Alongside the release of the arcade Donkey Kong, was Mario Bros which allowed p layers to kick enemies using the game display established Nintendos place firmly in the video game industry. In 1985, Nintendo began to advertize their console in America and other parts of the world beneath the name of Nintendo Entertainment System(NES). In 1989, Nintendo introduced the first portable by hand game system , the Game Boy and its successive iterations mainly the Game Boy Color, Pocket, Light and other. The years that followed introduced the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System(SNES) in America alongside with Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda : A Link to the Past and more for use with the SNES (Eric, 1999) which was a huge success . Moreover Nintendo began losing it grounds to their competitors mainly Sony and Microsoft when Sony released its play station console in 1991 (Dominic, p. 2). This however let them to the launch the Nintendo N64 ,with a 64-bit home video game system by the year 1996 which led to huge sales and its come-back featuring the adaptat ion of the previous arcade game and enhancing the game features (Eric, 1999). In the years that followed, Nintendo products gained popularity while others were failures or criticized. In 2001, Nintendo introduced the WII, a home video game console which target people of all age group and gender as it is easy to use and attractive. It was a year later that Satoru Iwata succeeded Hiroshi as President (Manali). Nintendo further launched the Nintendo DS devices in 2004 followed by the Nintendo DS I the most recent the Nintendo 3DS version enabling players to play virtually on 3D platforms without the need of any glasses, the release of the 3DS was on 2011 and drifted a huge success (Yahoo). With the release of the latter products, Nintendo earned worldwide reputation (Manali). The latest Nintendo product is an incarnation of the Wii namely the Wii U which launch date is settled on the 17 November 2012 . The picture below summarizes the key historical dates of the Nintendo company . 2.2. Success Factors Nintendo : The key to Nintendo success is the incorporation of the hardware and software needed to develop their products .Meanwhile different factors exists that makes the Company successful, three out of all are discussed as follows : 2.2.1. Good Working Environment : A Good working environment is one in which the employees and the entrepreneur/president of the company entertain a good and stable relationships .The employees are happy about their work and are encouraged to work harder. The entrepreneur/leader encourages employees to speak freely and express their ideas without restrictions. This motivates employees to be open-minded ,express their creativity and work harder towards the achievements of the same goal. Nintendo, provide a good working environment , the employees feels like they all belong to the same family as most of them have been working under Nintendo name for many years (Ben, 2011). Employees are encouraged to take decisions, and speak-up their ideas, share their knowledge, by doing so, Nintendo keeps the most talented employees as was the case with Gunpei Yokoi, the maintenance engineer working at Nintendo who had the idea to design the Ultra Hand product and was given full support by the company president to design the product which later proved to be successful in the late 1970s (Manali). The creative nature of Gunpei in the years that follows beneficiated Nintendo company as the product designated under his whelm let to huge sales. Other than Gunpei, Nintendo has talented employees like who worked together all as a whole. 2.2.2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) : CRM describes the way an enterprise interacts with its customers. It is a strategic issue that the company undertakes to make sure they handle customers interactions and provide better way to respond to customers requests or through their strategy , target what the customers need (Wendy). Nintendo uses Disney cartoons figures as stated earlier. This grabs children attention and encourage them to afford a Nintendo product. They target their customers at an earlier age and their games are kid-friendly and educative gaining them popularity parents. For Nintendo , Expanding the gaming industrys customer was their vision. They wanted to attract more people , people that are not usually used to play video games. The company were the first to target players from all age groups and gender not just the normal age 5-22 but rather 3-120 . Unlike Sony and Microsoft , Nintendo did not try to impress their customers by adding more technical features on their products, rather than doing that, they continuously search for a way to adapt to their customers needs and make radical innovation. They fit their products to best benefit their customers and this is one of the most important success factor the company has. Nintendo provide a discussion forum for their product in their website . The forum is open and is accessed by all Nintendo fans as well as potential consumers . People can interact with each other discussing their experience with the Nintendo product they own or think of purchasing , the product they liked the most , dislike, what they think could be done to improve on any of the Nintendo product, or just stipulate their expectation. Nintendo later uses this information as a step forward to adapt the need of their customers to their product. This maintains a firm relationship between Nintendo and their customers and shows how much they care about their needs . Nintendo also provides reasonable prices for their products as compared to their competitors. they make sure the common people will gain or benefit from their products thereby increasing their own profit (Nicole, Jann, Kelsey, 2005, p. 14). They have incorporated a free game with each Wii unit with a price of $250 that surely was not comparable as the playstation3 of Sony with a price of $350 by the time (Brian, 2012). With the venture of the Nintendo WII product, came the WII sport feature. Nintendo decided to launch WII sport trying to find a healthy way for people not to become obese by spending their whole time playing game, those who wants to loose weight or just normal people wanting to stay fit by doing sports without going out of their homes. They realized the adult population needed it, and requested it, so they launch the WII sport feature, which was easy to learn and to use, adapting itself to normal life. The product brought in a new sort of social and physical interactive entertainment in a new form that can be played with friends or family , The console did not only revolutionize the gaming industry by giving the market a product that suits their needs and desires but also helped Nintendo strengthen its place as a leader in the video industry. 2.2.3. Innovation and Technology : It is important for an enterprise to identify the technology required for its buisness to keep growing as technology is changing in order to widen their audience and keep their target customers beneath (Marian, 2000). When coming to technology and innovation issues, Nintendo moves as fast as technology changes occur. Since players often purchase the game they want based on the features that the console offers. Nintendo succeeded by adapting its consoles with the features and needs its target audience desires . From history Nintendo has been the leader of hardware design, they were the first to feature shoulder buttons on the controller for the Super Nintendo, they implement joystick first, enabling gamers to have a hold on their games and this rendered the games more interesting even to casual gamers (Joshoua, Randolf, Bradley). Nintendo has always been innovative continuously adding up new features on their existing product as well as creating a total new sort of product to target new audience. At each steps forward, Nintendo continuously figured out a way to improve on their product by applying new technology as was the case for the Nintendo 3DS which opened up a new generation of gaming systems. Nintendo 3DS was the first game represented in 3D that was played without any glasses. Players would not need to bother themselves and could actually live the experience. This pretty much attracted interest, adding-up to the beautiful amazing graphics processing it offers. Nintendo keenness to revisit old-fashioned technologies that many gamers thought outdated was one of the reason they are successful today. They did concentrate themselves on selecting the correct technologies that its target audience will apply, find it easy to use while having fun. With the release of the wii, Nintendo showed to the world a new way to control a device through the use of the wii remote control. A new air for the gaming industry began. Their way of integrating technology is just amazing, just like their latest product WII U Gamepad which has added a touch screen , a technology never used before in the video game world to control games. This relates that the games played on the Wii U will offer a player any way he wants to control the game . The gamer can choose to control the game using either buttons, knobs, Wii remote control or lately through the touch screen. 3. Conclusion : Nintendo would likely be the first game child-play ever . Throughout the years, it has faced huge failures and extremely strong competitors as Sony and Microsoft, though the Nintendo products cannot be comparable to those two due to the complicated hardware they use, and their technology advancement, Nintendo still stands as the number one in the Video game Industry for hand-held console. The Company brilliant working team, managerial process , relationship with their customers and continuous innovation has earned them along lasting position in the gaming industry. One cannot go without saying that Nintendo products has changed the way we look at video games today. They may not be tough in front of Sony and Microsoft but they are most inevitably the most creative. The value they offer with the technology that matches up the needs is what makes Nintendo an outstanding and successful company .

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton :: Cry, The Beloved Country Essays

Chapter One: The first chapter of Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country begins with a description of a road that runs from the village Ixopo into the hill and then leads to Carisbrooke and to the valleys of Africa. The grass is rich and matted, a holy ground that must be kept and guarded for it keeps and guards men. Analysis: Alan Paton begins Cry, the Beloved Country with a description of the land surrounding Ixopo, the village where the pastor (and protagonist) Stephen Kumalo lives. Paton establishes this as a rural and isolated area, which is significant to develop the character of Kumalo and his relationship to the larger urban area of Johannesburg where he will soon find himself. The style of this first chapter is grandiose, equating the survival of the soil to no less than the survival of the human race, but this serves an important function, relating the life and health of the country (in both its meanings) to the health of its inhabitants and, by extension, the novel's characters. Chapter Two: A small child brings a letter to the umfundisi (pastor) of the church, Stephen Kumalo, who offers the little girl food. This letter is from Johannesburg, and thus may be from either his sister Gertrude, who is twenty-five years younger than he, his brother John, a carpenter, or his only child Absalom, who had gone and never returned. Both Stephen and his wife hesitate when opening the letter, thinking it may be from their son, but it is instead from the Reverend Theophilus Msimangu, who relates to Stephen that Gertrude is very ill and advises him to come to the Mission House in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, to help her. Kumalo sighs, and tells his wife to get him the money intended for Absalom's education at St. Chad's, for now that Absalom has gone to Johannesburg, he will never come back. His wife tells Stephen to take the entire twelve pounds, five shillings and seven pence, just in case. Analysis: This chapter serves as the introduction to the protagonist of Cry, the Beloved Country, the pastor Stephen Kumalo, establishing his main conflicts and character traits. From his first encounter with the small child, Paton establishes Kumalo as a kind man yet powerful and respected within his community despite his poverty, as shown by the small savings that he and his wife had scraped together for their son's education.