EPIDEMIOLOGY and BIOSTATISTICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

EPIDEMIOLOGY and BIOSTATISTICS - Essay Example Specific Tests are required more when a rare disease in question. However for such a communicable disease, early detection is a must and hence the more sensitive test i.e Test B should be chosen. 2. Physicians practising in the general community often find that on the average chronic debilitating conditions such as multiple sclerosis or connective tissue diseases lead to less disability and fewer complications than they were led to expect from reading reports in medical literature on the natural history of these conditions. Why do you think this is the case? Ans 2. The chronic debilitating conditions mentioned in these diseases is a subjective and dependant variable concern. Multiple factors affect the incidence and complexity of the above mentioned diseases. Or it could be the case that, Medical awareness in the community is high so these conditions get cured before reaching an advance stage. Thus all this could contribute to the fact that these chronic conditions seem to occur with less disability and fewer complications than they were led to expect from reading reports in medical literature on the natural history of these conditions. 3. Surgeons at hospital A report that mortality rate at the end of one year follow up period after a coronary by-pass operation is 15%. At hospital B the surgeons report a 1-year mortality rate of only 8% after the same procedure. What would you find out before concluding that surgeons at hospital B perform the operation with greater skill? Referral Bias is an important factor to be considered while determining the skill in the above case. A might be getting more complicated disease cases. Even for the same disease, it might get a disease in a more advanced stage. Thus even for the same number of cases, the mortality rate of the two hospitals is not comparable. 4. The following table shows data from a

Anne Sexton Literary Essay Example for Free

Anne Sexton Literary Essay Anne Sexton transforms the well-known fairytale Snow White into a sardonic piece of writing that reflects societal perceptions of the woman. In her poem she explores the idea that a woman is nothing more than a doll, something that sits pretty on a shelf for all to admire. She also describes the reliance on men, and how women are becoming dependent and incompetent. She counteracts this with a women’s intelligence compared to her beauty and vanity, and what a woman should be. She explores the idea of beauty and vanity going hand in hand, meaning that even princesses can be vain. Fairytales aren’t real, and they are overrated- happily ever after does not exist, especially for those who aren’t beautiful. All fairytales have a female antagonist, and one that is usually a princess. Snow White is sexualized as the virgin. Good Day Mama,  and shut for the thrust  of the unicorn. She is unsoiled. She is as white as a bonefish. (9-13) This text explains that she innocent and untouched. All that matters to a prince is that she is beautiful and a virgin. A brand new doll with porcelain skin and glassy eyes. cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper, arms and legs made of Limoges, lips like Vin Du Rhà ´ne, rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut. (3-7) Sexton compares Snow White to a doll because she is merely an object for ones admiration and love. She is to be pampered and taken care of in return of sitting pretty on the shelf, to be admired. Beauty and vanity play the two-sided coin in this poem, you can’t have one without the other. The queen epitomizes vanity, when she asks the mirror who is the fairest of the land. When the reply is Snow White, she is outraged. Being the most beautiful person in the land is what the queen desires. She craves the attention because beauty is so valued, and Sexton makes that clear. If Snow White or the Queen weren’t beautiful, would anyone ever notice them? Sexton says,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Beauty is a simple passion.† Meaning everyone desires beauty, so those who have it are more noticed. Because Snow White is beautiful, both the prince and the dwarves value her. But with beauty comes vanity, and that is something that Sexton believes in. She believes women should be active and intelligent; beauty is just a faà §ade that relieves women of reaching their full potential. If a woman is beautiful, she can be just as successful as a smart woman without doing all the work because she can rely on men. Any man will want a beautiful wife that does not interfere with his matters. This is what the prince seeks, and finds when he falls in love with Snow White only for her beauty. He stayed so long his hair turned green and still he would not leave. The dwarfs took pity upon him and gave him the glass Snow White its dolls eyes shut forever to keep in his far-off castle. Sexton believes all women should work to be smart, and beauty is no reason not to achieve that. Snow White is unintelligent because she keeps opening the door to the queen even when the dwarfs urge her not too. Her unintelligence is linked to her reliance on a man because she ends up in the happily-ever-after position as the wife of a prince even though she did nothing to deserve it. But what Sexton is trying to show us at the end of the poem that Snow White is now obsessed with herself and her status, and that she will one day be the queen that tries to kill the next young beauty. Meanwhile Snow White held court, rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut and sometimes referring to her mirror as women do. The fairytale ending is fictional. The world isn’t Prince Charmings, beautiful princesses, and evil queens that always lose. ‘The End’ isn’t ever the end because it’s a cycle of innocence, beauty, vanity, and then ultimately envy. Beautiful women are nothing more than an item; they rely on men and are not intelligent. They are envious, and full of vanity. The  perfect women doesn’t exist, and there will never be a happily ever after.

Website For Malaysian Insurance Institute

Website For Malaysian Insurance Institute INTRODUCTION: The project aim is to setup a website for Malaysian Insurance to allow insurance agency leader to enroll their candidates for the Pre-Contract Examination. In phase 1, the author will conduct a few studies related to the electronic commerce to allow insurance agency leader to pay for the exam fees. Furthermore, additional security features to protect the website and the user will also be study to enhance the security of the website. FINDINGS: Background Study of Malaysian Insurance Institute Malaysian Insurance Institute is a non-profit organization that founded in 1968. This organization is a leading insurance institute that provide insurance knowledge, training and offer all kinds of qualifications that recognized by the international insurance company such as insurance, financial planning and risk management. MII is known as the primary insurance knowledge provider in Malaysia. It works together with other insurance company in the industry with supports and helps from the Bank Negara Malaysia and Regulator to guarantee the provided education is up to date and fulfill the changes in the insurance industry. Figure 1.1: Malaysian Insurance Institute Website 1.1 MII AS EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING BODY An average of 300 training programs is organized by MII to educate the brokers, insurers, reinsurers, adjusters and regulators. In each training program, there are about 10,000 participants from all other countries including Malaysia. These outstanding records make MII a place in the Education Board of the Federation of Afro Asian Insurers and Reinsurers (FAIR) that based in Egypt. Besides that, MII also help general and life insurance agents by providing training to them. These training will help them to provide a better service to their customers. For agency leaders, MII is ally with LIMRA (USA) to organize the Agency Management Training Course (AMTC) to upgrade their leadership and professionalism. There are two primary professional programs provide by MII. They are the Diploma of The Malaysian Insurance Institute (DMII) and the Associateship of The Malaysian Insurance Institute (AMII). These two programs are the basic requirement for the insurance industry and also for the emerging markets. 1.2 MII AS EXAMINATION CENTRE MII act as a guardian to monitor the education standards of insurance exam. Besides that, it is also the authorized exam center to conduct insurance examination. MII offers 32 major examinations that attract over 60 thousand candidates for the insurance industry in a year. Because of the outstanding management and good reputation as an education and exam centre, MII is consigned to be the primary place to conduct some others examinations that organize by others examination bodies such as The Institute of Risk Management (UK), Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters ( UK), The Insurance Institute of America ( USA), The Society of Actuaries (USA) and others. 1.3 MII AS INSURANCE INFORMATION CENTRE MII is proud to have their own library that specialized in the insurance industry and others related industry. Besides that, all kind of collection of books, magazines or journals that related to insurance is also collect by the library for public use. Moreover, MII also has an electronic library portal that publish information to the public such as online newspapers, electronic journals, links to others insurance companies, associations, regulators, university and other related sectors. 1.4 MII AS CONFERENCE ORGANIZER There are around eight conferences that conducted by MII in a year which was planned to fulfill the needs of the emerging insurance industry. Most of the conference receives massive response from all kinds of business industry from local and international. These conferences not only provide experience and knowledge to the public but also provide a chance to each other to build up their networking with other industry. 1.5 AFFILIATION WITH INTERNATIONAL BODIES MII has a firm belief in collaborating its efforts and resources together with other reputable insurance education bodies throughout the world so as to maximize and leverage on each others strengths. MIIs commitment to deliver the best quality standards in education is reflected in its international links with major insurance institutions, universities and relevant organisations. Among the collaborations that MII has established are with The Chartered Insurance Institute (UK), Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss adjusters (AICLA), Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA), Australian New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF), LOMA (USA), Institute of Risk Management (UK), LIMRA (USA) and others 1.6 INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE While addressing the domestic needs will always remain as a main focus and priority, MII has also spread its wings into the international scene, particularly in fulfilling the needs of the emerging markets. This is in line with its vision to be the preferred Institute for training solutions, education and information in insurance in Malaysia and the emerging markets. The increasing numbers and wide range of international training participants and conference delegates is a testimony of the recognition and regard for the relevant and high quality programmes being offered by MII. MIIs presence in the emerging market, particularly within the ASEAN region is quite significant. When the 10 ASEAN insurance regulatory authorities formed the ASEAN Insurance Training Research Institute (AITRI), MII was given the honour to lead as the secretariat for AITRI. AITRI is a non-profit organization to provide regional research, insurance education and training support for the regulators as well as the industry of the ASEAN member countries. Its activities are featured in international publications and have gained great recognition and international support such as the World Bank (USA), International Association for Insurance Supervisors ( Switzerland), Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions ( Canada) and others. 1.7 INTERNATIONAL AWARD MII won a title named as Professional Service Provider of the Year 2007 Award at year 2007 from The Review Worldwide Reinsurance Association in London, U.K. MII show up as the first winner that come from Asia after 14 years when the award is started. MIIs effort and their compliance for the training and the education was the reasons for them to receive the award. 1.8 List of Certification and Professional Programs The list below is the certification or professional programs that offer by Malaysian Insurance Institute. These certification or professional programs are recognized by all the insurance company in Malaysia. The agent of an insurance company must possess the related certification or professional programs to promote or sell the insurance to the customers. Diploma of Financial Services Associateship of the Malaysia Insurance Institute (AMII) Associateship of the Malaysia Insurance Institute (AMII) International Diploma of the Malaysia Insurance Institute (DMII) Diploma of the Malaysia Insurance Institute (DMII) Life Certificate of MII Insurance (CMII Insurance) Pre-Contract Examination for Insurance Agent (PCEIA) Certificate Examination in Investment-Linked Life Insurance (CEILLI) International Certificate in Risk Management (CIRM) Basic Agency Management Course (BAMC) Registered Financial Planner (RFP) Basic Certificate Course in Loss Adjusting (BCCILA) Intermediate Certificate Course in Loss Adjusting (ICCILA) Basic Certificate Course in Insurance Broking (BCCIB) Intermediate Certificate Course in Insurance Broking (ICCIB) Certificate in General Insurance Actuarial Practice (CGIAP) 1.9 Conclusion MII is a powerful organization that provides high quality education to the insurance industry and others related field. Besides that, MII is also recognized by international organization for their quality services and excellent programs. Literature Review This chapter discusses about the online electronic commerce system and the security features that plan to implement on the registration website such as on screen keyboard, multi step authentication and secure socket layer. 2.1 Electronic Commerce Electronic commerce is known as any transaction or payment that occurs through the internet. It includes a wide range of area such as auction website, retail website, registration website, banking website, and etc. The content of electronic commerce can be goods or services. It has become important with the emerging of the internet and World Wide Web. Since electronic commerce is conduct on the internet, so the customer can ignore the barrier of distance and time. The electronic commerce is growing frequently since five years ago and it is expected to growing in faster rate. When electronic commerce is conducted, it means online payment will be conduct during the transaction. There are several of payment method are available online such as credit card, PayPal, and Google checkout. (Networksolution, 2010) Credit card is the most popular payment method used by most of the electronic commerce website. A marketing research shows that an electronic business will lost 60 to 80 percent of potential customers if credit card payment is not implemented in their electronic commerce system. With credit cards payment enabled, it makes the customer has the impulse to purchase an item at anytime and also ensure the legitimacy of the electronic business to the customers. (EasyStoreCreator, 2010) Another popular online payment method is PayPal. The benefit of PayPal is it allows the merchant or customer to make online and offline transaction at anytime. Furthermore, PayPal is well known for its ease of use and no verification bounding of credit rating. The users of PayPal only need to verify their electronic mail address and their accounts personal information. Payment can be easily directed to the PayPal account with the tied electronic mail address like [emailprotected] Additionally, Google checkout is also a preference of some electronic business merchant. Google checkout fast enough to become popular is because the provided service of this system is user friendly, very stable and reliable. Another benefits of Google checkout is it charge lesser merchant fees compare to PayPal and this makes it grow at a rapid rate. (Arora.n, 2010) 2.2 Types of Electronic Commerce There are multiple types of electronic commerce that are available on the internet. Among all kinds of electronic commerce, there are 4 popular types that occupy most of the electronic commerce website. They are business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-business (C2B), consumer-to-consumer (C2C). Out of these popular types, there are also some others electronic commerce are used by those electronic business merchant such as business-to-employee (B2E), government-to-government (G2G), government-to-employee (G2E), government-to-business (G2B), business-to-government (B2G), government-to-citizen (G2C), citizen-to-government (C2G) and etc. (DigitSmith Embroidery and Screen Printing, 2006) 2.3 On Screen Keyboard On screen keyboard is a software or application that shows on the monitor of the computer. It allow user to input any kind of text by mouse or the monitors touch screen. On screen keyboard can help those mobility impairment people or those people that cannot type. Besides that, on screen keyboard also can help users to bypass those virus, Trojan or key logger to steal data (Microsoft Corporation, 2010). Figure 2.1 shows an example of on screen keyboard. It is a default application that comes with the operating system provide by Microsoft. msosk.jpg Figure 2.1 Microsoft on screen keyboard 2.4 Multi Step Authentication The single factor authentication such as the username and password process is widely used by a lot of website in the World Wide Web. Due to the demand for more security during login, an ideology named multi step authentication has been create to fulfill the public demand. Multi step authentication is a process of login and authenticates users in multiple webpage. The first step of the authentication is verify the username entered by the user. If it is match with any name inside the database, then the user will be redirect to the second step. Second step required the user to enter their password and if it is correct, then the system will redirect the user to the services they login to. (Agilewebsolutions, 2010) Besides that, this feature also block any malware that using form robot to capture password entered by the user because there is two different login processes is performing. 2.5 Secure Socket Layer Protocol(SSL) Secure Socket Layer is a well known protocol that uses to provide a secure connection between the server and the client. The purpose to secure a connection is to protect the integrity of data, privacy and authentication. SSL protect data by encrypting a plaintext message to ciphertext. Ciphertext is meaningless to everyone if someone captured the data packet try to crack it. A pair of key is used to encrypt the data. They are named public key and private key. Public key is used to encrypt data that send from the client and the private key is used to decrypt the data that received by the server. To ensure the server side is the real owner of the service provider, a digital certificate will be issue by a third party certificate authority such as GeoTrust and VeriSign. This process is to identify the domain is maintain by the recognized owner and it is legal. Figure 2.2 shows an example of digital certificate. (GeoCerts, 2010) cert.gif Figure 2.2: Digital Certificate Netscape introduced the SSL Protocol in 1994 due to the concern for the security over the internet was rising. At first, SSL is develop to secure the connection between the server and the client but modification was make to fit it in to other services such as TELNET, FTP, Email and etc. (Martz. C, 2010) 2.6 Conclusion Security feature is an important session to keep a website safe from any threats. All the features discussed is planned to implement into the website to work with the electronic commerce system and the website security. Electronic Commerce System Security It is a big challenge to maintain and securing an electronic commerce system as the internet world is emerging every day. It is important for electronic merchant to implement security for their electronic commerce website. 3.1 Components of Electronic Commerce Security There are 5 components of electronic commerce security that is important to electronic commerce website. The first component is containment that uses to prevent all kinds of attacks. The second component is compartmentalization that uses to avoid unauthorized access to the website system. Besides that, it prevents collateral damage deal to the website during attacks. The third component is continuity that guarantees website system to keep running even during DOS attacks or even during the equipment failure. The fourth component is recovery that frequently starts the recovery operation during external attacks or malicious internal activity. The fifth component is performance that ensures the network performance is not reducing due to the others security operation. 3.2 Electronic Commerce Vulnerabilities The fearful of online transaction threats has been increase with all types of attacks. Multiple vulnerabilities will be discussed to understand their characteristic. 3.2.1 SQL Injection SQL injection is a technique that inserts the SQL meta character into the user input. This technique allows the attacker to force the back-end database to execute the command entered into the system. To check whether the website is vulnerable to this attack, a single quote () character will be send into the database. An invulnerable website will return an error message which exposes the technology being used at the host machine. These information is enough for the attackers to perform further attacks to the restricted area or the operation system. SQL injection attack can be different depends on the types of database. If the attack is conduct on the Oracle database, it needs the UNION keyword to execute and it is harder to capture compare to Microsoft SQL server. (Mookhey. K. K, 2004) 3.2.2 Price Manipulation This is a new threat that threatens the payment gateway and the shopping cart. In the common case, the total price that needs to pay by the customer is saved in a hidden HTML field. A web application proxy such as Achilles can modify these figures when the information is send from the users browser to the website. The figure 3.1 is taken from one of the Symantec article showing that the price can be modify by the attackers to any value. Then, this information will be send to the merchants payment gateway. (Mookhey. K. K, 2004) achilles.jpg Figure 3.1: Achilles web proxy 3.2.3 Buffer Overflows Bad consequences will be happen when massive number of bytes is sent to an application that is not set up properly to handle these bytes. According to K. K. Mookhey, the path of the PHP functions is exposed when he sent in a very large value in the input field. Figure 3.2 shows that when a large value is sent in and the PHP script cannot process the value, the returned error message expose the location of the PHP functions. This error message reveals the admin folder that allows attackers to conduct further attacks. (Mookhey. K. K, 2004) phptimeout.jpg Figure 3.2: PHP timeout error 3.2.4 Cross-site Scripting Cross-site scripting is primary concentrated to the end user and also leverages two factors, the weak input output validation of the web application and the trust gain from the user to the well known website name. This attack required the website to take in user input, process it and shows the result together with the original user input. This sequence is commonly found in the search system. The attacker conducts the attack by embedding the JavaScript into the user input as part of the input. Then, a link will be created which contain this JavaScript and the victim will be persuaded to click on it. For example, the URL will looks similar like this: http://www.vulnerablesite.com/cgibin/search.php?keywords=alert(OK). This example will pop up an alert box that shows the text OK. The attacker can place the script they want into this link to conduct the attack. Usually, the attacker will use this method to capture the victims cookies that may contain victims sensitive information. Besides that, the JavaScript can be also use to redirect the victim to the website that contain malicious code and conduct the attack at there. 3.2.5 Weak Authentication Authentication system that does not block multiple fail login can lead to unexpected consequences. An attacker may use some brute force software to guess an accounts password by sending all kinds of combination to the server to validate the password. Another weak authentication is when the website uses basic authentication but does not transfer it through SSL. Attacker can sniff the traffic packet and discover the user information inside the packets. 3.3 Pros and Cons of Electronic Commerce System Although electronic commerce provide a lot of benefits to electronic business and the consumer, but there are also some consequences that affect both merchant and the consumer. The benefits of electronic commerce are it save the users time compare to shopping at any shops or markets. Everything transaction is conduct on the internet and just a few clicks, consumer can buy everything they want and pay it. Compare to shopping at regular shop, consumer have to travel to the shop, park the car, walk to the shop, browse the shop for the item, then pay it and that is wasting a lot of time. Electronic commerce is cheap compare to the product selling at regular shops and markets. This is because every electronic merchant does not need to pay for the rental and utilities expenses like the physical shop. That is why they can sell cheaper product when they do not need to cover these expenses. Besides that, lowering the product price is one of the marketing skills to attract customers to buy from their electronic shop. (Finnila. J, 2008) Most of the electronic commerce is supported with credit cards paying method. With this method enable, consumer does not need to download or install special plugin to make a transaction. Besides that, consumers with credit cards are always fill with impulse to buy something during every visit. Furthermore, the electronic merchant can keep the customer transaction information for future use such as follow up sales or advertise product. (Nightcats Multimedia Productions, 2010) The disadvantages of electronic commerce are the competitor is all around the world. Electronic merchant have to keep generate new marketing strategy to attract customers or keep the customers to visit them again. As the internet world is changing rapidly, there are a lot of new traps appear to steal information from the consumer such as phishing website and malicious scripts. For any electronic commerce user that unaware to these internet threats will expose their personal confidential information to those scam owners. (Finnila. J, 2008) From the point of view of most of the customers, it is an abuse to the customers personal information when the electronic merchant keeps the information for future use. The customer may want to keep their personal information in private and it is better to request for their permission before their information is used. Besides that, the customers also worry that their personal information may leak out to the public in any accident. It is a benefit for the merchant but a disadvantage to the customers. (Nightcats Multimedia Productions, 2010) 3.4 Conclusion It is important to electronic merchant to secure their electronic commerce system to prevent all kinds of incident that cause unexpected losses to the business. CONCLUSIONS: The author successfully completed objective one to three in the phase 1 of the project. The author learns how MII works in daily operation and their roles and responsibilities. Besides that, the author also learn how those additional security features works to protect the website and the users. As a proof of meeting objective one to three, the reference list below shows various information from different sites. REFERENCES (BACKGROUND READING MATERIALS): About MII (Online) (Cited 20 MAY 2010) Available from: http://www.insurance.com.my/mii2010/about.html MII Vision and Mission (Online) (Cited 21 MAY 2010) Available from: http://www.insurance.com.my/mii2010/about_vision.html Certification and Professional Programmes (Online) (Cited 22 MAY 2010) Available from: http://www.insurance.com.my/mii2010/certification.html What is Ecommerce? (Online) (Cited 23 MAY 2010) Available from: http://www.networksolutions.com/education/what-is-ecommerce/ Choosing a Merchant Credit Card Processing Vendor To Meet Your ecommerce Credit Card Processing Needs (Online) (Cited 25 MAY 2010) Available from: http://www.easystorecreator.com/choosing-vendor.asp Different Payment Methods in E-Commerce Website (Online) (Cited 26 MAY 2010) Available from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Different-Payment-Methods-in-E-Commerce-Websiteid=2073803 Ecommerce definition and types of ecommerce (Online) (Cited 26 MAY 2010) Available from: http://www.digitsmith.com/ecommerce-definition.html Handling Financial Web Site Tricks (Online) (Cited 28 MAY 2010) Available from: http://help.agile.ws/1Password3/multi_step_logins.html Two-Step Authentication Method For Online Banking (Online) (Cited 30 MAY 2010) Available from: http://priorartdatabase.com/IPCOM/000126859 Handling Financial Web Site Tricks (Online) (Cited 30 MAY 2010) Available from: http://help.agile.ws/1Password3/multi_step_logins.html Turn On and Use On-Screen Keyboard (Online) (cited 31 MAY 2010) Available from: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/accessibility/oskturnonuse.mspx SSL Secure Sockets Layer (Online) (Cited 1 JUNE 2010) Available from: http://www.birds-eye.net/definition/s/ssl-secure_sockets_layer.shtml How SSL Works (Online) (Cited 1 JUNE 2010) Available from: http://www.geocerts.com/ssl/how_ssl_works Pros Cons of E-Commerce (Online) (Cited 2 JUNE 2010) Available from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Pros-and-Cons-of-E-Commerceid=1481356 Pros and Cons for consumers when shopping online (Online) (Cited 2 JUNE 2010) Available from: http://www.nireland.com/e.commerce/Pros%20and%20Cons.htm Beginners Guide to Ecommerce (Online) (Cited 2 JUNE 2010) Available from: http://www.nightcats.com/sales/free.html 5 Essential Components of E-Commerce Security (Online) (Cited 3 JUNE 2010) Available from: http://www.intruguard.com/E-commerceSecurity.html Common Security Vulnerabilities in e-commerce Systems (Online) (Cited 4 JUNE 2010) Available from: http://www.symantec.com/connect/articles/common-security-vulnerabilities-e-commerce-systems ***END OF REPORT***

Conduit Metaphor :: Conduit Metaphor Essays

Conduit Metaphor The idea of conduit metaphor can be found in the article "Body, Brain, and Communication: An interview with George Lakeoff" by "Iain A. Boal". In this article the person interviewed is George Lakeoff a linguistics professor at University of California (Berkeley). Boal in this article discusses what the conduit metaphor really means and what significance it holds for common people. In this article, other aspect of conduit metaphor that is discussed includes communication on the World Wide Web. Conduit metaphor is a metaphor that describes communication between two mediums. Conduit metaphor proposes that ideas are objects and are transferred via a channel. Although it has its own limitations, it is very important in our society, today. Let us begin by discussing how conduit metaphor's discoverer, Michael Reddy, defined it. According to Reddy "our major metaphor for communication can be derived from a general metaphor for mind in which ideas are considered as objects and thought as manipulation of objects"; memory acts as storage. So, ideas or objects can be retrieved from the memory. Taking this into consideration he came up with the theory of conduit metaphor which he described ideas as objects that can be put into words; language was described by a Reddy as a container, and thus you send ideas in words over a conduit (a channel of communication) to someone else who then extracts the ideas from the words. So, it is implied that understanding of an idea or concept is achieved intuitively in the brain and thus a better conduit leads to a better understanding of what is being said. Lots of examples can be found from our dialect, which are in accordance with this conduit metaphor theory. E.g. "Did you get it", "The professor stuffed our heads with so many things today", "It went right over my head"etc. are all examples that imply that something (an idea) was being sent out and the listener had to grab it. One thing that comes as an immediate result of conduit metaphor is that ideas can be extracted, and that it is possible for them to exist independently of people. This implies that meaning is a thing. This may seem like a very provocative idea to a common naive person. But it is true only in certain special circumstances and fails to work in certain cases. Let's take an example. I emigrated from India to U.

Addicted to Smartphones Essay

Have you ever experienced a sudden burst of laughter from someone beside you, and when you turn your head, that person is just watching his or her cell phone without realizing that he or she is in public and disturbs others? Have you ever paid attention to what people around you are doing when waiting for a bus, sitting in the subway, or even before a meal comes to the table? How many of them are holding a smartphone with eyes focused on the screen and fingertips busy dancing back and forth on the touch panel, and never get bored? With the development of 3G and wireless technology, cell phones are no longer restricted to simple communications such as calling or texting. After the appearance of smartphones, things like surfing the Internet, socializing, taking photos or even FaceTime can be done instantly in your hand. See more: My Writing Process Essay Smartphones are becoming parts of many people’s lives. These days, a new phenomenon named â€Å"smartphone addiction† has emerged. In fact, recently in China, the spread of smartphones has attracted more and more young people into the world of virtual Internet at the expense of their interaction with real world relationships; it has also aroused heated discussions on whether or not we should take some actions on limiting this tendency. As a matter of fact, even though smartphones have created a more convenient life and have also changed our way of communication in a digital era, the improper use of smartphones is problematic in our daily lives, and the public should be aware of this. It is necessary for the Chinese to pay serious attention to the excessive dependence on smartphones, and try to lessen the negative influence of smartphones in our daily interpersonal relationships. Before talking about the impacts, we have to take a look at the smartphone market in China. According to the new figures from International Data Corporation, IDC’s worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker, China’s share of the global smartphone market will rise to 20.7%, up from 18.2% in 2011 (Moscaritolo). Wong Teck Zhung, the senior market analyst with IDC’s Asia/ Pacific client devices team, stated that â€Å"[Chinese] smartphone shipments [were] expected to take a slim lead over the U.S. in 2012[, and there would] be no turning back this leadership changeover† (qtd. in Moscaritolo). This change in leadership means that China will become the leading country-level market for smartphones. Moreover, China even â€Å"overtook the UK and became the second largest country in application downloads. A quarter of ‘Angry Birds’ global downloads lies in China. In 2011, 613,445 applications were available in China, 74% of which were free versus 25% globally† (â€Å"China at your fingertips†). By the end of the second quarter of 2012, smartphone users in China have hit 290 million, while among them, 59% lies in the age group 18-34 (â€Å"Q2 2012†), as indicated from the report released by Iimedia which is the largest telecom and wireless consulting institution in China. Therefore, young people have become major smartphone customers. In terms of the way people communicating, the smartphone revolution constitutes a second major milestone after the Internet. The report from Iimedia shows that by the end of this June, the amount of China mobile Internet users has topped 388 million (â€Å"Q2 2012†). For the first time in Chinese history, mobile Internet users have gone beyond PC netizens, and turn into the biggest Internet terminal. Since China has become the world’s largest country of smartphone consumption, Chinese are engaging more than ever with electronic media which is represented by smartphones. It is worth taking a closer look to see how dependent Chinese people are upon their smartphones through some data from a film clip done by GroupM Interaction which is the global leading media investment management group: More than 500 Chinese magazines have more digital downloads than traditional circulation. Single-day mobile transactions on Taobao during its â€Å"12.12† promotion topped RMB 200 million, while 1 in 5 Taobao users accesses the site via mobile. 2011 mobile e-commerce in China reached RMB 11.5 billion. Westerners pray before eating, while 67% of Chinese take photos and post them on-line. Smartphone users check their mobile phones every 6 minutes. 38% of smartphone users spend more than 5 hours a day on their phone. Mobile is the new cigarette. 92% of youth use their mobile phones on the toilet. Each day over 1,000 people start a new romantic relationship via their mobile phones. (â€Å"China at your fingertips†) Based on the information above, it is not difficult to see that many people have become too engaged with smartphones. As a result, this heavy engagement has led to the unique dependence on smartphones and, consequently, causes Chinese people’s addiction to them. A new study from the University of Maryland asked 200 students to undertake a 24-hour media-free assignment including their smartphones, and the conclusion found â€Å"that most college students [were] not just unwilling, but functionally unable to be without their media links to the world† (â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). Here is what the project director Susan D. Moeller, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland and the director of the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda which conducted the study, notes: We were surprised by how many students admitted that they were â€Å"incredibly addicted† to media†¦ The students did complain about how boring it was [to] go anywhere and do anything without being plugged into music on their MP3 players, [b]ut what they spoke about in the strongest terms was how their lack of access to text messaging, phone calling, instant messaging, email and Facebook, meant that they couldn’t connect with friends who lived close by, much less those far away (qtd. In â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). After 24 hours abstinence, the students’ responses show â€Å"that students’ lives are wired together in such ways that opting out of that communication pattern would be tantamount to renouncing a social life† (â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). Many students did not even realize how much their cell phones had meant to them. In a British study, 36% of the students claimed that they cannot be separated from their cell phones (Ji). Medical authorities are even considering â€Å"whether to designate Internet addiction as a disease in the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders† (Shelton). In fact, not just the U.S, China is under the same situation of this marvelous smartphone addiction. A research done by a multinational market research company, Synovateon, observed 8, ;[lm000 people from all over 11 countries, and found out that people from China and Singapore had the most obvious smartphone-obsessed symptoms (Ji). Due to the fact that almost everyone around is suffering the same condition more or less, many people in China do not consider this addiction as a severe problem. However, smartphone addiction does become influential in our daily life and affect people’s interpersonal relationship subconsciously. These days, plenty of people interrupt social conversations to check messages on their mobile devices. More and more Chinese like to take out their cell phones while gathering with friends. Looking at cell phones from time to time has become a major habit for many people in China. Barry S. Fagin, a professor of computer science, once declared that â€Å"the Internet has a strong potential to adversely affect social relationships† (Fagin). With today’s rapid growth of smartphones and wireless technology, Barry’s opinion cannot be more proper. Recently, Mr. Zhang, a citizen from Tsingtao, together with his brother went to visit their grandfather. While the old man tried to talk many times at the table, the children in front were all concentrating on their smartphones until he broke a plate with a long face, and asked them to go eat with their cell phones (Ji). More unfortunately, this case is not singular. People have entertaining conversations with strangers online via smartphones, whereas being mean to daily face-to-face talks. Chinese people are easily giving up their real life affection because of a little smartphone. I have heard my friend saying that let Siri be your friend, but then, what about your real friends? Even so, some may still argue that just like the Internet, smartphones have brought the whole world even closer and have made it possible for instant communication. With nowadays boom in technology, with smartphones and our access to the Internet being so easy, the possibility of information access from anywhere at any time means that distance might not be so important and obvious like it was. As an international student studying abroad, FaceTime does allow me to contact my family and friends over the Pacific wherever I want as long as we are both awake and have an iPhone in hand. The appearance of smartphones might seem to have reduced the distance between people. Nevertheless, it is not totally true. Studies have shown that â€Å"most people still keep in touch with their personal group of friends and social network in the real life via the Internet and phones† (Ji). A man in the U.S. will not be attracted by any Chinese home pages on Facebook, while a Chinese, in most cases, is not interested in reading in English as well. There is not too much for smartphones to contribute in bringing the world closer for many people. Instead, they make the distance even further, not physically, but mentally. Just like an online rearrangement of a proverb goes, â€Å"the furthest distance in the world is not between life and death, but when I stand in front of you, yet you are playing with your cell phone† (qtd. in Ji). In the research conducted by the University of Maryland, a student wrote: â€Å"Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort. When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable†(â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). This information is dangerous. Getting used to smartphones makes people even more lonely and isolated from the real world. People, especially the young generation tends to focus too much on their smartphones, which is partly a result of their fear of self-loneliness and the lack of the ability of being alone. If things continue in this way, people are losing the ability of daily interpersonal communicating. A study done by Stanford University shown that â€Å"every other hour people spend in front of their computers, they would cut at least 30 minutes’ face-to-face communications† (Ji), and the same happens to smartphones. This fact has made researchers worried about â€Å"the neural circuit which controls people’s ability of face-to-face communication will degenerate, thus decreasing the neurotransmitters in the brain and even losing the whole function of this part† (Ji). With time goes on, human will lose the ability of identifying the hidden meaning behind a certain expression or language from others, which we achieved from a long time evolution. If this worry ever came true, it would be the biggest tragedy in the digital era. So, after talking all above, what can be done to eliminate this addiction and help the Chinese to find better ways for using their smartphones? Experts suggested that people should take some mandatory measures (â€Å"Experts†). A game played by my friends might be able to provide some good advice. Every time hanging out for meals, we will put all of our phones in the center of the table, and whoever is the first one to reach his or her cell phone during the meal is going to pay for everyone. Besides, sports and outdoor exercises will also help. People, especially in China where they normally stay indoors with nice air-conditioning and comfortable equipment, should open themselves to more outdoor activities. When doing something outdoor, being enveloped under the bright sunshine, sweating a little bit, and completely enjoying yourself, you will find no reason to keep addicted to your smartphones. Compared to the beauty of nature, nothing really matters. There is nothing wrong with falling in love with your smartphones. However, the Chinese have to realize the effect this love may bring on to them. The improper use of smartphones not only has negative influence on themselves in real life relationships, but it is also not respectful to others. In the modern world, of course we cannot live without smartphones, but we can do something more fun. Find what you like instead of smartphones, go for it, and enjoy yourself. Smartphones are just tools, not our complete life. Do not let them take over all our joy of life. Works Cited China at your fingertips. Dir. Tony Chen. Prod. Bessie Lee. GroupM Interaction, 2012. Film Clip. â€Å"Experts teach you how to get rid of your cell phone addiction†. Medpharm & Health 9 (2012): 5-5. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. Fagin, Barry S. â€Å"The Internet Makes Distance Matter Less for Good and Ill†. The Internet. Ed. Gary Wiener. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. 22-28. Print. Ji, Guoliang. â€Å"The Furthest Distance in the World†. City National Newspaper 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 13. Nov. 2012. Moscaritolo, Angela. â€Å"China to Overtake U.S. as Top Smartphone Market in 2012†. PC Magazine Mar 2012: 1-1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Q2 2012 Chinese Smartphone Market Monitoring Report†. Iimedia (2012): n.pag. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. Shelton, Jim. â€Å"Hi, I’m (insert name here), and I’m a Facebook addict†. New Haven Register 10 Mar. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media- New UM Study†. University of Maryland Newsdesk 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Greek Theatres essays

Greek Theatres essays Very early in history, the Greeks began to collect poems that had been written in honor of their brave ancestors. These poems were often recited in public and almost everyone in the city would come to listen. Many people think that Greek entertainment evolved from these poems, but actually it did not. The word tragedy comes from the Greek word tragos-oidos, which means goat-singer. The Greeks had wild parades that consisted of people stomping around like wild goats, wearing goatskin. These people often sang, but the viewers of the parade eventually got bored of this. The officials in charge of the parade thought of the idea for the goat singers to stage conversations between each other, which would be considered acting. This concept of acting eventually evolved into the grand entertainment of the Greek theatres. This type of acting entertainment became popular and drew large crowds of people. When plays began to be performed on small stages, they also drew a large crowd. Wh en the theatres were built, they became a major part of the lives of all people and also affected play entertainment for decades to come. Before the actual theatres were built, small stages were built out of wood and set up only during festivals. The plays were performed and then the stages would be taken down. These plays attracted a large crowd of people but are nothing compared to the first Greek theatre built. The first theatre made of stone was the main one in Athens. It may be the largest facility ever made for theatrical performances. It could seat almost 20,000 people at a time. Most theatres were built just like the first in Athens. They were all large, open-air structures mainly built on hillsides. The theatres were built on hillsides because the slope could be used to support the seating. All of the Greek theatres had the same elements, which were the orchestra, theatron, skene, and paradoi. The...

unions essays

unions essays Concerned workers who wanted to defend themselves from exploitation and improve their lifestyle formed trade unions. They do this by assisting them in maintaining and improving the wage rates During the fifties and sixties, trade union membership was at its peak. In 1960 union membership represented around 52% of the workforce. In the past few decades, membership has been significantly declining; with 57% in 1985, 54% in 1990 and 33% in 1995. Australia does have higher union membership compared to the rest of the world, but there is a marked decline acceleration of union membership. There are abundant issues that are causing membership decline in most trade unions in Australia. These issues include the changing composition of the workforce, fewer large employers in traditional industries (that have had strong union membership), a smaller public sector, an increase in people employed in the service sector (that have had weak union membership), greater numbers of small to medium size enterprises, increasing numbers of workers in part-time and casual employment, an increase in women in the workforce and government legislation discouraging the union movement. Trade unions have made changes to the union movement and the way they work, however the press has continued to present negative coverage of trade unions to the general population. All these reasons, which are discussed below, cause a negative change in peoples attitudes towards trade unions. Unions believe that the Federal, State and Territory levels of government are making laws with aims to reduce the union movement in Australia, consequently causing serious damage to trade unions. This is true in which the legislation being introduced by the government attempts to minimise the role that t...

How to Identify the Theme of a Work of Literature

How to Identify the Theme of a Work of Literature A theme is a central or underlying idea in literature, which may be stated directly or indirectly. All novels, stories, poems, and other literary works have at least one theme running through them. The writer may express insight about humanity or a worldview through a theme. Subject Versus Theme Dont confuse the subject of a work with its theme: The subject is a topic that acts as the foundation for a work of literature, such as marriage in 19th-century France.A  theme is an opinion the author expresses on the subject, for instance, the authors dissatisfaction with the narrow confines of French bourgeois marriage during that period. Major and Minor Themes There can be  major and minor themes in works of literature: A major theme is an idea that a writer repeats in his work, making it the most significant idea in a literary work.A minor theme, on the other hand, refers to an idea that appears in a work briefly and that may or may not give way to another minor theme. Read and Analyze the Work Before you attempt to identify the theme of a work, you must have read the work, and you should understand at least the basics of the plot, characterizations, and other literary elements. Spend some time thinking about the main subjects covered in work. Common subjects include coming of age, death and mourning, racism, beauty, heartbreak and betrayal, loss of innocence, and power and corruption. Next, consider what the authors view on these subjects might be. These views will point you toward the works themes. Heres how to get started. How to Identify Themes in a Published Work Note the plot of the work: Take a few moments to write down the main literary elements: plot, characterization, setting, tone, language style, etc. What were the conflicts in the work? What was the most important moment in the work? Does the author resolve the conflict? How did the work end?Identify the subject of the work: If you were to tell a friend what the work of  literature was about, how would you describe that? What would you say is the topic?Who is the protagonist (the main  character)?  How does he or she change? Does the protagonist affect other characters? How does this character relate to others?Assess the authors point of view: Finally, determine the authors view toward the characters and the choices they make. What might be the authors attitude toward the resolution of the main conflict? What message might the author be sending us? This message is the theme.  You may find clues in the  language  used, in quotes from main characters, or in the final resolut ion of the conflicts. Note that none of these elements (plot, subject, character, or point of view) constitute a theme in and of itself. But identifying them is an important first step in identifying a works major theme or themes.

Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Capital Punishment - Essay Example Sadly, the most developed country of the world, United States has not given any stance on the abolishment of the death sentence, and the government still continues to sentence a certain percentage of the criminals to death. The question is do the governments have the right to give the capital punishment or not? The capital punishment announcement involves high costs to the post and the pre trial arrangements and therefore, in terms of the economic value, it is not a very unsound way of punishing an individual. Therefore it leads us to one statement that is , the capital punishment should only be practiced for the rare cases, and especially it becomes more justified where the costs of rehabilitation and reform are very high. Throughout the history of the world, capital punishment has become a staple from of punishing the individuals and many societies have bowed down in front of this form of punishment. But the question that the modern age has helped to raise is that of the justificat ion of the punishment and does state have the right to reserve this punishment for the criminals who have committed heinous crimes. â€Å"In ancient times the method of execution was particularly bloody. In addition to crucification, the bible mentions punishments such as stoning which meant being put to death by a crowd of people throwing stones.† (Marzilli, A. (2003). Capital punishment. ... hould only be awarded in the rare cases, and not in any other case, since as mentioned above the costs of the rehabilitation and reform are increasing with every day. Taking a look at the history of the capital punishment which started off with the execution as being the death penalty. Since the word capital punishment has been derived from capitalis which means related to head, therefore in the historical times, the death penalty was announced through decapitation. However with the modernization of the world, new methods were introduced where new ways of capital punishment such as boiling to death, hanging to death, stoning, shooting, disembowelment and a few others were introduced. However now in those first world countries where the capital punishment is practiced still, they have introduced more humane methods , where they make use of the lethal injections as a method of death penalty not only it is quick but also due to its efficiency and pain free nature. The costs involved wit h the death penalty are immense and they are incurred during, pre and post trial proceedings. "Using conservative rough projections, the Commission estimates the annual costs of the present system ($137 million per year), the present system after implementation of the reforms ... ($232.7 million per year) ... and a system which imposes a maximum penalty of lifetime incarceration instead of the death penalty ($11.5 million)." --California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice. (Death Penalty Cost | Amnesty International USA) According to the legislative audit in Kansas, in the year 2003, it was discovered that the costs incurred in a non death penalty case are 70% less in comparison to the death penalty case. The median costs estimated that the execution costs about $1.26 million

Somali Food Security Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Somali Food Security Crisis - Essay Example Based on the UNHCR reports almost a million of its citizens are internally displaced. The food price crisis in the country is on the rise due to a wide range of macroeconomic shocks which are principally driven by the increase in civil insecurity, and conflict which has been the worst the state has seen ever since its collapse in the early 1990s. The most overwhelming macroeconomic surprise is the dramatic devaluation of its currency. Following unrestrained and excessive printing of the shilling currency, notes began to deluge the markets in 2007, quickly increasing the money supply and sending the worth of the Somali currency into freefall. The Somali Shilling deflated by 145% in opposition to the US dollar in 2007 and by 150% in the following year. Due to this, imports have become more expensive, and the amplified costs have resulted in high prices borne by consumers. Apart from the soaring food prices, little rainfall is also to be blamed for the increase in the food crisis. Somal ia is located at the Horn of Africa where little or no rainfall is experienced in the country. Majority of the country’s land is arid or semi-arid within limited areas being fertile for farming. Lack of rainfall coupled with minimal farming activities has resulted in the lack of food that can sustain the population; hence, the crisis. Military conflicts have resulted in mass displacement, in addition to blockades of a number of big towns. This has restrained the availability of both locally produced staples and imported.

Captivity Narrative Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Captivity Narrative - Assignment Example My memory has not made me any justice yet, I could not recollect how I had gotten into this mess. The door opened, creakily. My heart beat fast, my tongue stuck as a huge figure, roughly six feet tall entered, probably male. The dark hood over his head ensured anonymity. The light that shone from the corridor made him even scarier. Slowly, it began to dawn on me. Walking from school, I had decided to use a shorter route to get home. My friend was a guest that day on a popular TV show so I got home earlier and catch up everything he said. Passing through this alley that was deserted and lonely, my instinct was spooked. However, the wave of excitation was stronger than it, so I proceeded. After all, the home was just a few meters away. I didn’t see anyone. He was quick and effective. How he carried me to this location is a mystery I am yet to unravel. But judging from the figure that stood at the door, it was easy to work for him. He had water and bread slices. He threw them at me, and since my choices were limited I ate as much as I could. I had no slightest idea what he wanted from me. Neither was he in a hurry to tell me He left and came back in approximately half an hour, accompanied by another man, a little shorter with an untidy mustache. He asked for my parent's contact and I obliged, then thinking it was a kidnap for ransom. I was threatened that if they didn’t cooperate I would be tortured, that death only wasn’t good enough for them. That is when they got my full attention. I am a sucker for pain and that idea sent wild ideas in my head, I thought of an escape but my options were just wild. Two hours later they came back, and this time around, there were in no mood of talking. The shorter guy started yelling angrily, his face turning red. Apparently, the contacts I had given him were not the ones he wanted, I tried explaining myself but from with my dry throat, I could only mumble few words. He didn’t care kicks and blows rained at an astounding speed. Initially, I tried to resist, but it was useless. I resigned to just sheltering my face. My initial screams were reduced to just mere whimpers as I became numb and number, and finally passing out.

China Global Trade Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

China Global Trade Report - Essay Example In terms of the Chinese market there are a number of overarching indicators. Currently the Chinese’ gross domestic product (GDP) is a reported $6.09 trillion making it the world’s second largest gross domestic product. In terms of growth rate, China demonstrated a 2.3% growth rate throughout 2011. China has a strong amount of exports, particularly to the United States where a strong number of production plants have implemented Chinese low-cost labor and manufacturing for item production ("Starmass"). Chinese exports include most prominently electrical machinery and equipment, followed by power generation equipment, apparel, toys, games, and sports equipment, furniture, and footwear ("Starmass"). In terms of goods imported into China, the major import items are machinery and transport equipment, these and then followed by non-edible raw materials, mineral and fuel materials, and finally chemical products ("Starmass"). There are a number of Chinese regulatory bodies that have control over internal and external economic elements. In these regards, the most prominent Chinese regulatory bodies include the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).   In addition to these aspects, there are a number of more specific trade indicators. One of the most prominent among these concerns are Chinese workforce numbers. The staggering Chinese population, currently over a billion citizens, contains equally staggering workforce figures. In these regards, the total number of the population that is economically active has been placed at 760,800,000. In terms of a specific workforce figure, the percentage has been placed at 58.9%; this number jumps to 77.7% when only individuals over age 15 are considered. With the expansive size of Chinese society virtually all forms of services and goods are produced within this country (Yifu). Chinese pillar industries continue to remain energy and heavy industries; these elem ents are aided by China’s relatively lax environmental regulations relative to Western industrialized countries. Notably, China continues to lag behind many Western countries in production of high technology innovative goods. Still, it’s notable that China has and continues to experience staggering economic growth. In terms of continued growth, the Chinese economy is estimated to grow at a 9.5% rate between 2011 and 2015 (Yifu). In terms of specific indexical growth indicators, it was recently demonstrated that China has a very high 3G growth rating (Yifu). There are still other prominent global trade measures that must be considered in terms of macroeconomic and cultural concerns. Some of the most notable of these concerns are the shifting nature of Chinese trade relations. Within this context of understanding it’s noted that recent years have witnessed an increasingly liberalization in trade matters, with regulatory bodies increasingly calling for free trade a reas. Recent years have seen the increasing establishment of trade pacts, for instance the 2005 East Asian Summit established relations with India, Australia, and New Zealand (Yifu). Recently the United States has eased trade restrictions with the country, allowing Chinese exports in at the same rate as other countries. China’s joining of the World Trade Organization (WTO) also points towards positive future global trade measures. Still, Chinese is noted to rank 29th in the Global Competitiveness Index and 135th among 179

The 2008 US Election Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The 2008 US Election - Assignment Example The United States of America usually carry out elections after every 5 years. However, during the process, there are a series of campaign strategies that must be undertaken to convincingly elect the ideal candidate with leadership capabilities. There are two main political factions within the US, mainly the Republicans and Democrats (Newport, P. 250). Before each faction selects their flag bearer there are preliminary elections where each faction select their party flag bearer whom would battle it out with the other candidates from the contesting parties (Census Bureau, 2009, P. 201). In the 2008 elections, the Democrats had a number of aspirants who included Barrack Hussein Obama, Joe Bidden, and Hillary Clinton, the wife of the former US president Bill Clinton among others. On the other hand, the Republicans who were siding with the former president George Bush junior also carried out their preliminary nominations prior to the 2008 elections and selected Senator McCain as their fla g bearer among Senator Palin just to mention (McKinney, 2010, P. 248). After the preliminaries, both the presidential candidates had to choose their running mates who were to the vice president’s should their faction win election respectively (Piano, 2009, P. 107). The Democrats chose Joe Bidden as the running mate of their presidential candidate, Obama while the Republicans chose Palin as their presidential running mate under the leadership of Senator McCain. Below is the picture of the preferred presidential running mates of Obama- Democrats- Joe Bidden and Sarah Palin of Republican’s, the Senator McCain's running mate (Census Bureau, 2009, P. 206). Fig. 1, Accessed from http://dalje.com/en-world/top-10-moments-of-us-pre-election-campaign/200091on Nov 13th, 2011. Election On the election date, both the Democrats and Republicans prepared to their best with an aim of winning then the election. However, as poll results tickled the tallying centers it was evident that th e Democrats were to carry the day with an overwhelming win over their counterparts’ republicans (Campbell, 2008, P. 39). When McCain, the Republican presidential candidate realized that all was not in accordance with his expectations as the presidential aspirant he decided to concede elections prior to the announcement of the overall presidential votes creating a conducive atmosphere for the celebration to the Democrats with their flag bearer President Barrack Hussein Obama a shoulder high (Newport, P. 252). During the celebration, Obama victory was celebrated by both the electorates and family members from both the US and Kenya where it is believed that Obama Senior who was a husband to Sarah Obama from Kogello village in Siaya district, Kenya where present. However, Kenyans too celebrated as they watched the incidents through telecast media. It was another history in the global politics being that a black American carried the day unlike the times of Martin Luther Kings†™ both senior and Junior which was full of opposition and assassination. â€Å"I have a dream† by Martin Luther King junior in 1968 (McKinney, 2010, P. 251). Obama Health Scheme During the Obama campaign, the key issues which convinced the electorates were a proposal of a broad health scheme that would take care of all ages from children to the old (Panagopoulos, 2008, P. 09).

Research paper on GMO's Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

On GMO's - Research Paper Example This is because more than 80% of the total global food requirements come from plants (WHO, 1987). As a topic, GMO’s not only concerns the fields of biotechnology and genetic engineering but also a topic of economic, political, and social cultural interests. Each of this field has a stake or role to play in adoption of GMO’s. The future of the globe interims of food sustainability depends of effective research of GMO’s. Genetic modification results when there is an alteration in the configuration of genes in the cell of an organism. This alteration can result from delectation of insertion of new genes from the cells of another species. Genes are tiny strands found in the cells of all living organism and they are known to be the carriers DNA. All organisms have unique number of genes and any alteration of the genetic material result in creation of organisms that have different characteristics from those of their parents. The reality on GMO’s was realized in 1975 when the discussion about the new invention was launched at Asilomar conference. The meeting concluded that production of GMO’s should be carried out when scientist have done considerable research on the safety of GMO’s. However, production of GMO’s plants was first carried out in Canada and the US in 1982 when farmers were given genetically modified seeds for experimental purpose. In the recent history, there has been more progress in the production of genetically modified plants than genetically modified animals. Genetic modification can be applied to produce animals that have enhanced capabilities such as resistance to certain disease (Gary, 2005). In addition, genetic modification can result in physical modification of animals. Following the current developments in biotechnology and genetic engineering, there has been concern about economic application of GMO’s. It is obvious that the focus is the growing

China Global Trade Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

China Global Trade Report - Essay Example In terms of the Chinese market there are a number of overarching indicators. Currently the Chinese’ gross domestic product (GDP) is a reported $6.09 trillion making it the world’s second largest gross domestic product. In terms of growth rate, China demonstrated a 2.3% growth rate throughout 2011. China has a strong amount of exports, particularly to the United States where a strong number of production plants have implemented Chinese low-cost labor and manufacturing for item production ("Starmass"). Chinese exports include most prominently electrical machinery and equipment, followed by power generation equipment, apparel, toys, games, and sports equipment, furniture, and footwear ("Starmass"). In terms of goods imported into China, the major import items are machinery and transport equipment, these and then followed by non-edible raw materials, mineral and fuel materials, and finally chemical products ("Starmass"). There are a number of Chinese regulatory bodies that have control over internal and external economic elements. In these regards, the most prominent Chinese regulatory bodies include the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).   In addition to these aspects, there are a number of more specific trade indicators. One of the most prominent among these concerns are Chinese workforce numbers. The staggering Chinese population, currently over a billion citizens, contains equally staggering workforce figures. In these regards, the total number of the population that is economically active has been placed at 760,800,000. In terms of a specific workforce figure, the percentage has been placed at 58.9%; this number jumps to 77.7% when only individuals over age 15 are considered. With the expansive size of Chinese society virtually all forms of services and goods are produced within this country (Yifu). Chinese pillar industries continue to remain energy and heavy industries; these elem ents are aided by China’s relatively lax environmental regulations relative to Western industrialized countries. Notably, China continues to lag behind many Western countries in production of high technology innovative goods. Still, it’s notable that China has and continues to experience staggering economic growth. In terms of continued growth, the Chinese economy is estimated to grow at a 9.5% rate between 2011 and 2015 (Yifu). In terms of specific indexical growth indicators, it was recently demonstrated that China has a very high 3G growth rating (Yifu). There are still other prominent global trade measures that must be considered in terms of macroeconomic and cultural concerns. Some of the most notable of these concerns are the shifting nature of Chinese trade relations. Within this context of understanding it’s noted that recent years have witnessed an increasingly liberalization in trade matters, with regulatory bodies increasingly calling for free trade a reas. Recent years have seen the increasing establishment of trade pacts, for instance the 2005 East Asian Summit established relations with India, Australia, and New Zealand (Yifu). Recently the United States has eased trade restrictions with the country, allowing Chinese exports in at the same rate as other countries. China’s joining of the World Trade Organization (WTO) also points towards positive future global trade measures. Still, Chinese is noted to rank 29th in the Global Competitiveness Index and 135th among 179

Research paper on GMO's Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

On GMO's - Research Paper Example This is because more than 80% of the total global food requirements come from plants (WHO, 1987). As a topic, GMO’s not only concerns the fields of biotechnology and genetic engineering but also a topic of economic, political, and social cultural interests. Each of this field has a stake or role to play in adoption of GMO’s. The future of the globe interims of food sustainability depends of effective research of GMO’s. Genetic modification results when there is an alteration in the configuration of genes in the cell of an organism. This alteration can result from delectation of insertion of new genes from the cells of another species. Genes are tiny strands found in the cells of all living organism and they are known to be the carriers DNA. All organisms have unique number of genes and any alteration of the genetic material result in creation of organisms that have different characteristics from those of their parents. The reality on GMO’s was realized in 1975 when the discussion about the new invention was launched at Asilomar conference. The meeting concluded that production of GMO’s should be carried out when scientist have done considerable research on the safety of GMO’s. However, production of GMO’s plants was first carried out in Canada and the US in 1982 when farmers were given genetically modified seeds for experimental purpose. In the recent history, there has been more progress in the production of genetically modified plants than genetically modified animals. Genetic modification can be applied to produce animals that have enhanced capabilities such as resistance to certain disease (Gary, 2005). In addition, genetic modification can result in physical modification of animals. Following the current developments in biotechnology and genetic engineering, there has been concern about economic application of GMO’s. It is obvious that the focus is the growing

Do Large Business Have an Affect on Small Business Essay Example for Free

Do Large Business Have an Affect on Small Business Essay Considering the normative statement that both large and small businesses should follow the same ethical and moral standards, this paper analyzes the perceptions of individuals based on the relative ethical behavior of small business as compared to large business. The study of ethics focuses on the differences between what is right and what is wrong in society which affects both small business and large business due to their obligation to the public and their stakeholders. Both entities are guided by the same standards and both are expected to meet all legal regulations and ethical standards. The analysis employs surveys to gauge the public’s perceptions of the ethical decision making by management in both small business and large business. The survey also analyzes the role of those ethical decisions within scenarios and their impact on the individuals’ patron behavior in small business as compared to large business. Statistical analysis has been utilized to test the authors’ overall hypothesis that the public is generally less concerned about ethical decision making of small business relative to large business. The implications of these findings for both large and small businesses are provided with the analysis and suggestions to correct the disparity between both entities. Introduction During the past decades it has been evident that ethics has become the hot topic in business. However, much of the talk is not comprised of all types of business it involves primarily the large corporations. Large corporations such as Enron have caused much grief to those around them and everyone that they employed. Due to this reason regulations such as the Sarbanes- Oxley Act have been enforced to hold large businesses accountable. While these regulations have focused solely on large corporations, efforts to regulate small businesses have been small. It is estimated that small businesses make up over 80% of all business in the United States of America. That is a huge sector which is unregulated due to its size. While the adverse actions of each entity do not do great harm to the economy; the cumulative damage of all components of the group could have devastating impacts on the general economy. Literature Review Businesses today are completely different than the businesses of years past. Today, business ethics has become an area of great concern in both corporate culture and academia. Companies such as WorldCom and Enron have caused people to reevaluate philosophy and business. Ethics can be defined by the morals that people and companies hold. Although internal and external forces influence businesses, there are three issues that affect issues in business. These three issues are systematic, corporate, and individual. To truly understand each factor one has to understand how each of these issues differs and how they influence the business itself. Systematic issues analyze ethical values in economic, political, legal, and other social systems in which the business operates (Velasquez, 2006). An example of this would be a question of morality about the current laws pertaining to accounting systems. Laws influence the actions of people because they stem through consequences with the local or federal government. People tend to be scared of a higher authority more than self punishment. 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 Winter 2010 293 The second factor is corporate issues which are issues of morality of internal activities such as policies, practices, and organizational structure (Velasquez, 2006). Corporate issues are based on corporate cultures. If a company treasures capital gains more than human capital the company would then lay off employees to save money. On the other hand, a company that treasures its employees is more likely to take a cut and keep their employees. To say that one company is more ethical because of their decision lays in a company’s moral standards. The idea of moral standards stems from the third type of issue which is the individual issues. Individual issues are issues that are based on individuals within a company along with their behaviors and decisions (Velasquez, 2006). This includes the moral standards of individuals. Moral standards are standards that are set by the individuals themselves and by no other governing body. Hence, each individual has a right to stand for what they believe in. It may be simple to take these three factors and state that this is common sense information; however, it is just as complicated to say that there can be one rule that can apply to every situation that is similar. In cases where individual morals differ from those of corporate or systematic, it is easy to assume that one would no longer pay attention to their place of business or the entity that is different. However, humans are prone to being victims of society and need to supply for their family. Knowing that something unethical is occurring at a place of business does not mean that the person will just walk away whether they have worked in small or large firms. Decisions of a business affect all tiers of the organizational structure which in turn affect the lives of all stakeholders of the company. Therefore, ethical standards have risen due to the current corruption in many large businesses. News reports of Nike and Merck have grabbed the attention for case studies and have become the top selling stories. The news ran the stories that exposed the fragile nature of the corporate worked to their affect on the country’s economy. Due to the global impact of large corporations the public’s eye is primarily on large businesses; however, ethical issues arise in small businesses as well. Lisa Miller states that small businesses â€Å"were overlooked when Wall Street’s mega-scams and scandal came to light (Miller, 2003). For people that analyze and teach ethics â€Å"business ethics have almost invariably concerned the doing, indeed generally the misdoings, of large companies (Quinn, 1997).† Quinn noted that in the late 20th century there has been an increase in the economic activity of small businesses (Quinn, 1997). He states that not only do the managers have to be observed so do the employees. The employees have want approval of their peers which is also accepted by the manager/owner (Quinn, 1997). In large businesses it seems easier to separate you personal ethics from businesses ethics. In small businesses the relationship with one’s coworkers becomes a sub-family relationship making it that much harder to make â€Å"ethical† decision. The overall factors that influence business ethics derive from personal ethics and how those ethics affect others. Miller points out that it is an assumption that small businesses do not need a code of ethics however, they have a bigger temptation to b involved in â€Å"dubious business practices (Miller, 2003). 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 Winter 2010 294 In Mark Schwartz essay A Code of Ethics for Corporate Code of Ethics, Schwartz finds that over ninety percent of large corporations have a code of ethics (Schwartz, 2002). He concluded that there a six universal moral standards in four different sources. The moral standards that he looked at included trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship (Schwartz, 2002). Due to these criteria Schwartz states that a code of ethics should be constructed on factors that could be audited. His study provides a normative foundation for evaluating a corporation’s code of ethics. In a 1981 an article by Brown and King analyzed the influences and perceptions of small business ethics. In their foundational work Brown and King realized the disparity in public awareness between small business ethics and large business ethics. Brown and King surveyed a small group of individuals consisting of â€Å"small business† respondents and â€Å"other† respondents who were mostly employed by large corporations. Brown and King’s research sought to answer three questions. First, the research asked â€Å"How high are the ethics of small business people perceived to be?† Second, â€Å"Compared to others, what causes the behavior of people in small business to be more or less ethical?† Finally, â€Å"What are the prevailing small business attitudes concerning ethical issues?† (Brown and King, 1981). Brown and King found that there was a surprisingly small difference in the responses between the two subgroups of respondents. The research conducted by Brown and King examined the perspectives of those in the various sized business. The research left a gap in the general public’s perceptions of the ethical actions between large and small business. The Center for Business Ethics surveyed Fortune 1000 industrial and service companies to see how they have instilled their ethical values to compare their results from the study they performed in the mid 1980s. Their survey showed some progress but, not enough (Center for Business Ethics, 1992). Ethical standards fall in line with legal regulations. Sandra Malach, et al. believe that incorporating legal planning into business planning to avoid legal issues and to protect the businesses most important assets (Malach, Sandra et al, 2006). While legal action is important it is important to focus on consequences in a workplace outside o f the any punishments. To further analyze ethical dilemmas it is important to observe the consequences at a workplace. One consequence that business can apply is a zero tolerance policy in a workplace. This ethical dilemma is especially interesting when applied in a small business setting, and contrasted with techniques applied in large corporations. The ethical compass of the theory for the zero tolerance policy is Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Kant’s Categorical Imperative is defined by the rule that people should â€Å"Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end (Stanford, n.d.).† Kant’s Categorical Imperative is a very restrictive rule to live by and cannot practically be applied to everyday life. However, when discussing ethical dilemmas in the workplace, the Categorical Imperative should not be overlooked. The Zero Tolerance Policy embodies the Categorical Imperative in the sense that everyone must ask himself/herself whether they would be willing to have the same behavior applied to them if the roles were reversed. In the business setting the Categorical Imperative has a special value; it helps mitigate moral hazard. 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 Winter 2010 295 Moral hazard was once described as â€Å"a situation in which a party is insulated from the consequences of its actions†¦Thus protected, it has no incentive to behave differently (Ahrens,2008).† In the business setting, moral hazard can be devastating to the culture of the company and can eat away at the profit margin. Consider an employee who is discovered to be â€Å"moonlighting† or working an untaxed second job during hours in which the employee should be giving full attention to their actual job. This behavior may seem harmless and may only warrant a verbal warning, but when the other employees discover how easy it is to get by with unethical behavior they are incentivized to act unethically. This slippery slope scenario results only in the necessary termination of the unethical employee. When an employer establishes that unethical behavior will not be tolerated the result is the strengthening of the corporate culture and the avoidance moral hazard. However, this scenario might work differently in a small business. In a small business the cost of a zero tolerance policy can be devastating. The costs associated with replacing an employee in a large corporation is easily spread across the entire entity as a fixed cost of doing business; this is not the case in the small business. The employer-employee relationship in the small business, by nature, is more flexible and more personal. This flexibility can allow for a more informal agreement, between management and employees, to be made. Finding a â€Å"win-win† solution allows for Kant’s Categorical Imperative to be upheld and moral hazard can be avoided. In a large publically traded company this kind of arrangement cannot be made because not all of those who are residual claimants (owners) can be spoken for. In the large publically owned company the zero tolerance policy should be followed, but in a small privately owned company a modified zero tolerance policy can be applied. Kant’s Categorical Imperative can be a useful tool when designing corporate policy in publically traded companies. The zero tolerance policy should be applied in publically traded companies. In addition, Kant’s Categorical Imperative should still be applied to design a modified zero tolerance policy in small private companies. To solve the issue of what the zero tolerance policy entails, the company needs to implement a code of ethics in their organization. Eberhard Schnebel and Margo A. Bienert state that a code of ethics strengthens an organizations success therefore improving the overall value of the company (Schnebel Bienrt, 2004). The value that is added is the public’s perception that the business is there to benefit the community. L. Spence studied a similar phenomenon as this essay explores. In a 1999 study L. Spence found that there is a lack of information on any correlation between small businesses and their ethical standards. The reason for this is because small firms receive little attention by the media which makes them a quick oversight (Spence, 1999). Four years later L. Spence wrote an editorial with R. Rutherfoord to explore the sociological perspective in the field of ethics (Spence Rutherfoord, 2003). Due to these two studies we have been motivated to explore the issue further and gain insight on why there is a lack of information on the issue. 2010 Small Business Institute ® National Conference Proceedings Vol. 34, No.1 Winter 2010 296 Hypotheses As discussed earlier, the objective of this pilot study was to examine the differences in respondents’ perceptions of ethical dilemmas and ethical standards in small business as compared to large business. In order to facilitate the primary research objective the following working hypotheses were formed: H1: The size of the business will have no impact on consumers’ shopping decisions when ethical dilemmas are present. H2: The size of the business will have no impact on the actions of employees when ethical dilemmas are present. H3: The size of the business will have no impact on the respondents’ perception of the incentives associated with acting ethically. H4: In general, respondents believe that small businesses should be held to the same ethical standards as large corporations. These hypotheses are based on the supposition that individuals will be more lenient or forgiving of the shortcomings of small businesses relative to their large counterparts. Methodology The study was initiated with the creation of a preliminary (alpha) survey. The alpha survey resulted in fourteen respondents and was conducted by means of convenience sampling. The alpha survey was a paper based survey consisting of thirteen questions. The survey included demographic questions as well as analysis questions. There were mixed results on the alpha survey mostly due to the confusing survey design associated with strict time constraints. While the alpha survey did not provide sufficient data, it was useful as a tool in the creation of a secondary (beta) survey. The beta survey instrument consisted of two separate surveys. One survey was specific to small business while the other was specific to large business. The surveys were created and distributed electronically using Survey Monkey. The goal for the beta survey was a total of 100 respondents for each survey resulting in an overall total of 200 respondents. The small business survey yielded 105 useable returns, a 94.6 percent return rate. The large business survey yielded 107 useable returns, an 84.3 percent return rate. Each survey included five common demographic questions, two common questions pertaining to ethics, and eight questions relating specifically to either small business or large business. The survey was distributed broadly across various social networking sites and throughout the Christopher Newport University community. Due to time and budgetary constraints the beta survey consisted mostly of opportunity sampling and snowball sampling. The authors recognize the drawback of an opportunity sample; however, the research question in this pilot study can be adequately answered using this technique. The analysis questions on both the small business and large business surveys consisted entirely of binomial data. The respondents were limited to either â€Å"Yes or No† or â€Å"I agree or I disagree.† For the purpose of testing the hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3) statistical analysis will be used to measure the difference between the proportions of the two samples. For the final hypothesis (H4) the analysis will simply state the overall proportion of respondents in both surveys who answered favorably and interpret the results. Hypotheses H1, H2, and H3 will be tested at ÃŽ ±=.10, ÃŽ ±=.05, and ÃŽ ±=.01 levels of significance.

Leadership: An Islamic Perspective

Leadership: An Islamic Perspective Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your Lord? It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in the life of this world: and We raise some of them above others in ranks so that some may command work from others. But the Mercy of your Lord is better than the (wealth) which they amass'(Quran, Zukhruuf, 43: 32). Leadership is about developing, nurturing and motivation skills and talent among people who are motivated towards working for a common goal for the organization working towards attaining an objective that people collectively seek out to attain. The term leadership is often broadly classified into two primary nodes, that of holistic leadership and also that of entrepreneurship. Leadership is looked upon as a means of motivating and guiding people in a manner and direction that is well prepared and planned such that it is in the best interest of the organization in the long term. Leadership is basically and broadly speaking, making a change for the betterment of the organization. The main objective, looking at a broader horizon and speaking entirely from the perspective of humans itself, is to be able to achieve and get for others happiness (al falah) not only in this world but also afterword (dual worldview). To attain the maximum possible output expected out of a leader, it is important to maintain a thorough obedience and sincerity in the fullest possible sense to the Shariah. Also, a leader is always required to be able to act in a way and in accordance to how the Allah and His Prophet would have him behave. Amanah, Taklif and Masuliyyah respectively mean trust, responsibility and accountability in that order, and these are qualities and principles to guide a leader in his quest. Because of the qualities desired in a leader, as well as the responsibilities that he is expected to fulfil, The Prophet Muhammad is considerable and unarguably the greatest ever leader in the history of our times. Thus, the leader is one of the most important members in any organization. In this era when the Muslims of the world are experiencing and undergoing what could be called as renaissance, more and more leaders from the Muslim community rise up, and assume larger roles at a global level. It becomes extremely imperative for the people of the world, including Non-Muslims as well, to acknowledge this fact. Most importantly, certain aspects of leadership incorporated into the religion of Islam and best epitomised by the Great Prophets, need to be understood and examined. In the Islamic context, leadership basically means to guide an organization towards success and the achievement of the common goal, and to create a system where there is happiness, or al falah, for everybody. It is befitting here to recount some of the great and exemplary qualities which some of the greatest Muslim leaders of all times have displayed and possessed- Adl-Justice ( to be impartial, fair and just) Marefah-Knowledge Tadhhiya-Self Sacrifice ( which involves putting others before oneself when required) Sabr-Patience A suitable leader is one who works in accordance with the values and moral base prescribed by Allah, the Merciful. Problem Statement The issue at hand is to deeply study the leadership in the Islamic world, and also in general, and to then present an analysis and a brief view of the all the aspects of leadership viewed in the Islamic perception. The rationale from which the objectives of this study stem is that leadership in the Islamic perspective is productive for the society, and is unknown in a major part of the world. Even though studies have been made into this area, a huge number of Muslims as well as Non-Muslims are unaware of this notion and its aspects. Furthermore, the problem has been extended to study the managerial aspects of Islamic leadership, and delve especially into the area of the aspects of management and its importance in leading as viewed and perceived in the Islamic context. Objectives The primary aim of the study is to get an overview, and then subsequently analyse, leadership from the Islamic point of view. After defining leadership, both in the general and Islamic religious context, the objective is chiefly to elaborate upon how the Muslims of the world have attempted to define leadership from a religious and ethical angle. Henceforth, Managerial Leadership has been specifically delved into, which has been followed by an elaboration that accentuates the main aspects of Islamic leadership. Since few studies have been done in this area, the reason behind the choice of this specific and particular objective is clear. Moreover, a genuine attempt has been made to identify and judge the fundamental aspects, principles and attitudes of Islamic leadership. To particularly zoom into the area of leadership of the managerial kind is also an aim which has been sought to achieve. Following this and extrapolating the results, we wish to been in a position to be able to see an d locate some of the differences that come up when we compare Islamic leadership with that of the Western world, and the purpose is also to define leadership and power in a concrete way. Importance and Significance Islam as a religion and as an ideology also, in certain ways, defines a good leader. The Holy Book Quran suggests and makes practical suggestions for the qualities that must be there in a leader so as to result in an effective leadership, in a political or societal background. Moreover, since these days the Muslim idea of leadership seems to have faded away, with its replacement with Western ideas, studies like these can help in reviving the idea of proper leadership and society. Such a study which endeavours to gain an insight into the Islamic perspective is not only important; it is extremely significant in many ways. Since it is known that till date not much research has been done in the area of management-leadership from the Islamic viewpoint, it will be useful to know and give the reader the impetus, along with the necessary rationale explaining its significance, about how leadership is defined in Islam, and especially how managerial leadership is viewed. In addition, since the knowledge interconnections between Islam and modern-day leadership may prove to be useful in many way, such as to implement them practically, this study becomes all the more significant and crucial. It has been noticed by great and erudite Muslim scholars that often Muslim leaders tend to ignore the religion of Islam and what it recommends where decision-making on practical issue is the matter of concern. Furthermore, the most proper followers of Islam, for instance the Sheikhs, only play a role in the society limited to spiritual or religious concerns. Thus, this study aims to resuscitate the idea of ethics, which is already been on the rise recently in the modern era, in the view of Islam. As more and more democracies emerge in the world, and the global map of power changes, people have been found to increasingly choose Islam, as a result of which, the Muslim community is rapidly growing, and Islam one of the fastest growing religions of the world. Hence, the importance and signif icance of the study increases manifold. As global status and power is achieved by competent Muslims individually, as well as Muslim-majority countries, it is imperative to understand the kind of leadership that takes form at the much higher level, since it can have far-reaching and huge consequences and repercussions. Hypothesis The hypothesis stated is that Islamic perspective, and more essentially, the Islamic way of leadership is beneficial to the society. To draw up the differences between Western and Islamic leadership, and hence to characterize Islamic leadership, which entails in the course of this study, to analyse and present the traits of a good Islamic leader is also a task. It is to be gravely considered that leadership in the Islamic context has to been emphasized in the Muslim community. As more and more Muslims rise up to the global level and achieve great heights in all spheres, leadership is an integral part of their day-to-day work. Hence, for Muslim leaders to properly, ethically and effectively play their part as frontrunners in various companies and organizations, the idea of leadership from the Islamic perspective needs to be disseminated, and known. In addition to this, the hypothesis on which this study has been premised involves a much ideological facet; that of the question whether leadership and power go hand in hand and to what extent, and whether the entailing authority is justified. Questionnaire First and foremost, it has to be understood that the questionnaire designed should be in a way which is easy to fill out, and not time-consuming. Since the subjects involved in the study could be many, it greatly helps to understand regional aspects and effects on the attitudes and responses towards such a study. Thus, it must first be known about the general Muslim communitys opinion, notion and formulation of leadership. The different ways of how a leader could be perceived in different parts and among different sections of the Muslim society also matters crucially. Some of the important questions which could potentially be included in the list- Do you think its important for your leader to have a deep knowledge of the Shariah? Is it absolutely necessary for the manager or the leader to look into the sources of the Islamic jurisprudence (Quran, Hadith and so on) or can the leader, at times, make use of his own judgement and conscience and make decisions? Is perfectly living by the Quran strict and compulsory? Do you think the Western philosophy of leadership differs greatly from the Islamic perspective? What is the first quality that you think a leader must have? Do you think leadership requires scholarly knowledge of religion? Does a great leader always make a good manager? In your opinion, what does leadership mean more-position or action? Rate the qualities in the leader on a scale of 1-10. (The rating should be proportional to the intensity of its requirement) Dignity Ethical competence Organization capability Initiative taker Problem Solver and Visionary Accountability or Answerability Skills related to motivation, team-building, etc. Shura (Consulting with team-mates/people during decision-making) Independence of thought Justice Do you think power and authority are same? Yes or No. In addition to this, we may add many more questions which could help us gain an insight into specific areas like managerial leadership, educational leadership, etc. Providing the subjects with enough spaces for responses, particularly in questions which require descriptive answers must be taken care of. Methodology This study is primarily desk-based and whatever research has been carried out in order for the researchers to come to a conclusion has mainly been library-oriented. This study has mainly been put to the structure such that it could be perceived in light of the objectives of the research. The methodology used in this particular research work was qualitative in nature. The conclusions driven were based on tight facts and the entire essence of the survey was in gathering information from sources that contained explanations as well as descriptions that were well grounded and thorough pertaining to local contexts. Some of these question that were put forward to various leaders and entrepreneurs were open-ended, so as to leave scope for multiple answers and not demand or be suggestive of requiring specific answers. Semi-structured interviews that were face to face were beneficial and extremely consequential in collecting qualitative data. When a need was felt for more clarification on cert ain questions, non-directive questions were asked as a follow up. The main aim and added advantage of face to face interviews is that this gives an opportunity to be able to obtain information that is very crude and applicable to the real life scenario and the ground reality, in addition to providing information that may not otherwise be so detailed and informative through media. The key significance and advantage of semi-structured interviews on the other hand is that this enables the researcher to have a better in-depth understanding of the concepts that are being surveyed, in addition to the fact that being present physically enables the researcher to develop and share a healthy rapport with the source of the information. Also, in addition to obtaining and recording data merely from what is said and conveyed by the person being interviewed alone, in a face to face interview, there is scope for collecting and assessing other kinds of data as well, for instance, that of trying to g et visual cues, making behavioural observations and recording the instant reactions of the persons being interviewed when they are asked a question. Also, in a face to face interview, there is greater scope and probability of getting an adequate response as compared to preparing a questionnaire for the person to answer. The researchers are the primary tools and instrument for all kinds of collection and analysis of all the various kinds of data that is available. Conclusion The most important conclusion to be drawn is the basic characteristics of the Islamic leadership can now be defined in a definite way. A true Muslim leader is most importantly a follower of Allah, and all of his deeds and actions and driving factors are sanctioned by Allahs message and the teachings of the Prophets. Furthermore, most significantly, we see that Islamic leadership skills are most relevant in the present day time, when it becomes necessary to have the appropriate skills for leading and managing. Hence, a leader not only works for the interested of the group or organization, but also for the broader achievements of Islam and the betterment of the Muslim community. The quality of self-sacrifice sets apart Islamic leaders from other leaders of the world, and leadership qualities recommended in Islam are the most useful for any leader. Also, the success of the organization depends considerably on the teamwork and efforts from the group as a whole. We are also able to compar e Western leaders with Islamic ones. Foremost, an Islamic leader bears allegiance to Allah, whereas no allegiance is sworn by Western leaders. As against their counterparts, the knowledge of shariah, Islamic system is required for an effective Islamic leader to play his role. Only profit-making is the primary concern for the Western leaders, whereas Islam recommends strongly that loss-sharing during difficult times must be a quality in the leader. Furthermore, most importantly the difference which is extremely relevant to the business organizations of the present-day world is the issue where the executive manager has, though only in certain circumstances, total power and right to command his subordinates, who as a consequence of his authority have to obey him. Putting this in the Islamic perspective, and linking it with the concept of shura, which implies mutual interpersonal consultation during crucial decision-making times, this does not conform to Islam. Absolute authority is opp osed and denounced, no matter what the situation, in Islam. Some of the most significant results that emerged were involved with the fact that even Muslims in the Arabic world had a vague idea and poor awareness of the way Islamic leaders are meant to be, and the way Islam provides for leadership quality recommendations which are all-encompassing. Where specifically the area of management is concerned, the Islamic model of leadership comes to pertinence. It fundamentally includes Leaders, followers and the organization, and require the leaders to have full faith in Allah after making any decision, and the followers to actively participate and work towards the success of the organization. This model was based on the rationale that leadership designs differ in the Islamic world, where the discernment of the idea of leadership is inclined more towards the betterment of the Muslim community as a whole, rather than just the material achievements. Hence, it becomes necessary to redefine l eadership when the context changes, as in this case-Islamic. Research Design The research done during the carrying out of the study basically revolves around fundamental literature related to the concept of leadership in Islam. Moreover, it is enhanced by the study of various other studies that have been made in the recent past as an attempt to put the notion of leadership in an Islamic context and present it to the world. Hence, after briefly reading the literature that concerned with principles, qualities and traits of a leader as recommended by Islam, the objective was set to find out whether the idea was existed, and if it did, to what extent was it well formulated, in the minds of Muslims as well as Non-Muslims. Browsing various other studies, and going through blogs over the internet served well in knowing what ideas and opinions Muslims in the Arabic world held relevant to leadership. The design basically included a group of subjects who were given the questionnaire. Interpretation of the responses is always subjective in these cases, and hence there c an be more than one possible result. The questions designed were not only restricted to what appeared significant and important after carrying out a thorough literature review, but also on the chief aim to know about leadership. The subjects were not obliged to disclose their identity, as to avoid any sort of bias at all.