DNA Fingerprinting :: Technology, Science

DNA Fingerprinting It is widely known that each individual has a DNA profile as unique as a fingerprint. Actually, over 99% of all 3 billion nucleotides in human DNA which we inherit from each parent are identical among all individuals. However, for every 1000 nucleotides that we inherit there is 1 site of variation or polymorphism, in the population. These DNA polymorphisms change the length of the DNA fragments produced by the digestion of restriction enzymes . The resulting fragments are called restriction fragments length polymorphisms. Gel electrophoresis can be used to separate and determine the size of the RFLPs. The exact number and size of fragments produced by a specific restriction enzyme digestion varies from individual to individual. DNA fingerprinting has proved valuable, not only for convicting felons and exonerating the innocent, but also for establishing maternity or paternity and proving family relationships. More exotic uses include the identification of missing children in Argentina, soldiers killed in war, and even the body of Nazi physician Joseph Mengele, the so-called "Angel of Death." The way it started: The fundamental techniques involved in genetic fingerprinting were discovered serendipitously in 1984 by geneticist Alec J. Jeffreys of the University of Leicester in Great Britain while he was studying the gene for myoglobin, a protein that stores oxygen in muscle cells. He found that the myoglobin gene contains many segments that vary in size and composition from individual to individual and that have no apparent function. Jeffrey called these segments minisatellites because they were small and they surround the part of the gene that actually serves as a genetic bluprint.

Customer Satisfaction in E-Commerce

In Proceedings of the 17th IEE UK Teletraffic Symposium, Dublin, Ireland, May 16-18, 2001 QUANTIFYING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH E-COMMERCE WEBSITES Hubert Graja and Jennifer McManis1 Abstract E-commerce is an increasingly significant part of the global economy. Users of E-commerce Web sites often have high expectations for the quality of service, and if those expectations are not met, the next site is only a click away. A number of performance problems have been observed for E-commerce Web sites, and much work has gone into characterising the performance of Web servers and Internet applications.However, the customers of E-commerce Web sites are less well studied. In this work, we discuss a way of assessing satisfaction for different customer types with a Web site according to various different parameters. Individual measures may be scaled for simple comparison, and combined to give an overall satisfaction rating. This methodology is applied to three Irish E-Commerce Web sites. 1) In troduction The World Wide Web is one of the most important Internet services, and has been largely responsible for the phenomenal growth of the Internet in recent years.An increasingly popular and important Web-based activity is ECommerce, in which various types of financial transactions are carried out or facilitated using the Web. It is widely expected that E-Commerce activity will continue to grow and that it will be a significant component of the global economy in the near future. A number of performance problems in E-Commerce systems have been observed, mainly due to heavier-thananticipated loads and the consequent inability to satisfy customer requirements. This has resulted in a lot of work attempting to characterise the performance of Web servers and Internet applications e. . [1]? [4]. However the customers of these E-Commerce systems are less well studied. Some surveys show considerable dissatisfaction with current E-Commerce and Web servers; for example, it has been repor ted that as many as 60% of users typically cannot find the information they are looking for in a Web site, even though the information is present [5]. In an area such as ECommerce, customers demand a high quality of the service they receive, since it is easy to move away to another site if they perceive the current one to be unsatisfactory. An important issue in designing E-Commerce systems is to characterise the ustomer's requirements for satisfactory service. Parameters which affect a customer's satisfaction with an E-Commerce system include the response time, number of clicks needed to find what they want, amount of information they are required to give, and predictability of the service received. This leads to the idea of customer classification, where customers in the same class would value parameters in a similar fashion. Customer classification may be performed either based on how they judge their satisfaction with an E-Commerce system, or on some other way (e. . large/medium /small budget; type/speed of Internet connection the customer has to the server; frequent/previous/new customer). Here we briefly present a methodology for measuring the satisfaction of customer classes. This methodology is applied to a test case consisting of three Irish E-Commerce Web sites in the telecommunications sector. We are able to demonstrate different levels of customer satisfaction among the Web sites, and also different levels of satisfaction with various parameters for each individual Web site. 2) MethodologyIn our methodology, we identify customer classes reflecting groups of customers with different behavioural characteristics, and Web site parameters relating to features of the Web site which will potentially affect customer satisfaction. We then seek to measure customer satisfaction with the various parameters in a consistent and quantifiable way. This methodology is summarised below; a more detailed discussion of the methodology may be found in [6]. 2. 1) Customer Classification Customers may be classified in various ways, such as their behaviour or according to how they measure satisfaction with a Web site.However this classification is made, a representation of the customer class must then be made. This representation has two components: first, customer behaviour; and second, customer satisfaction measures 1 Performance Engineering Laboratory http://www. eeng. dcu. ie/~pel School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland [email  protected] dcu. ie, [email  protected] dcu. ie for various Web site parameters. We define customer behaviour in terms of the interaction with the Web site. A trace behaviour is defined as the series of clicks and other information that the customer exchanges with the site.Typically, behaviour for a customer class is defined as one or more traces. For a customer class, a weighting may be associated with the traces indicating how likely it is for the customer to perform that particular trace behaviour. That is, some behaviour may be exhibited more frequently by a user in a class, and this behaviour should be given higher weighting. 2. 2) Customer Satisfaction Measures The factors which might affect customer satisfaction with a Web site are contained in a parameter list.It is important that for each parameter in the list satisfaction should be quantifiable. Some quantification measures are easily defined. For instance, if the parameter is the number of clicks, the quantification may be defined as an integer value. Other parameters may have more subjective quantifications. For instance, how does one quantify the â€Å"quality† of information available at a Web site? In order to compare the satisfaction measured for different parameters, the quantifications must be mapped to a fixed scale. For instance, all measures could be mapped to a scale of 0 to 10.This mapping is what allows us to represent customer valuation of the same parameters. For instance, some cu stomers will tolerate delay better than others. This may lead to one customer mapping a download time of 5 seconds to 10 and another mapping a download time of 5 seconds to 0. Studies such as [7] indicate that this mapping can be complex and context dependent. 2. 3) Analysis of Customer Satisfaction for a Web Site Using the above, for each trace it is possible to associate a satisfaction value with every parameter.The trace weightings may then be used to arrive at a weighted average of the satisfaction values associated with the parameters. This gives a measure of how satisfied a given class of customers is with a given parameter. Finally a weighting of parameters can be defined, allowing for an overall satisfaction measure of a class for the Web site. By varying this weighting, we can study how different parameters affect customer satisfaction. 3) Test Results The most difficult part of this exercise is in relating customer trace behaviour to the satisfaction vector. How parameter satisfaction is measured nd how it is mapped onto a fixed scale must be addressed on a case-by-case basis, although experience using the methodology may lead to the definition of some standard cases. Also, since multiple executions of the same trace may lead to different values, some statistical analysis may be required. We have applied our methodology to three Irish E-Commerce Web sites in the telecommunications sector (designated here as Web sites A, B, and C). 3. 1) Customer Classification Customers for the three Web sites we examined have been divided into two distinct classes: Private and Business.Traces are associated with searching for specific information that the customers might be interested in. Six customer tasks are identified in Table 1 and for each Web site a trace is devised to perform the task. For the sake of convenience, we call all traces associated with a given task by the same name, even though the trace is obviously specific to the Web site. Data services is sp lit into T4a and T4b because Web site B provided different pages depending on whether the customer was private or business.Trace T1 T2 T3 T4a T4b T5 T6 Task Where to buy a phone Coverage Tariffs WAP Data Services Data Services for Business Roaming List Business Tariffs Table 1: Tasks The Private and Business customer classes are defined as a collection of the above tasks, and an associated weighting is given which is indicative of the relative likelihood of customers of a given class seeking to perform that task. Trace weightings for the Private and Business classes are given in Table 2. The interpretation is that for a group of Private users roughly half might want to know where to buy a phone, 30% might want to know about tariffs, 10% ight want to know about coverage and 10% might want to know about WAP services. The Business users exhibit different behaviour with 30% wanting to know about coverage, 30% being interested in the roaming list, 20% being interested in data services an d 20% being interested in business tariffs. Customer Class Private Trace T1 T2 T3 T4a T2 T4a, T4b T5 T6 Trace Weighting 0. 5 0. 1 0. 3 0. 1 0. 3 0. 2 0. 3 0. 2 Business Table 2: Trace weightings for different customer classes 3. 2) Satisfaction Measures Three parameters were identified: Complexity, Time, and Quality.Complexity was measured as the number of clicks to reach the destination. Time was measures as total download time in seconds. Quality was a subjective measure of the quality of the information contained in the site (could the information be found, and how easy was it to find? ). Quality was measured using a small-scale user survey where the users were asked to examine the end page for each task and rate their satisfaction with the information they found there on a scale of 0-100%. A scale of 0-10 (with 0 being worst and 10 best) was chosen for a uniform comparison of satisfaction values.The measured satisfaction values were mapped onto the 0-10 scale as follows: Complex ity: Time: Quality: 10(20-(n-1)/10), where n is the number of clicks 10(10-t/60), where t is the trace download time in seconds x/10, where x is the average value of user satisfaction with the quality of the page For Quality a straightforward linear mapping was applied. More complex mappings were employed for Complexity and Time, and are shown in Figure 1. Examining the Time mapping we see that 60 seconds is regarded as an unacceptable download time, and even 30 seconds leads to a fairly poor rating.Similarly, for Complexity, 10 clicks is regarded as unacceptable, and even 5 clicks is fairly poor. Note that we have chosen one among many possible mappings. It is up to the tester to decide how to choose a mapping that best reflects customer preferences. Also note that, in this case, all customers use the same mappings, and thus are seen to perceive the parameters in a similar fashion. It is an easy extension to attach different scale mappings to different customer classes or to differ ent traces. Figure 1: mapping time and complexity measures to a 0-10 scale 3. ) Satisfaction Measurement for Web Sites Once the satisfaction measures are determined, it remains to test the Web sites and compare results. Data was gathered using the Web Performance Trainer 2. 1 tool [8] to execute each of the traces on the Web site in question. This was necessary solely to take time data, and was carried out on a weekday. The other two satisfaction values can be determined by an examination of the Web sites. Tables 3, 4, and 5 summarise the satisfaction measures for the three Web sites respectively. Web Site A Customer Class Trace Complexity rawSatisfaction Measures Time raw 37. 6 34. 0 34. 7 28. 6 34. 7 46. 9 28. 6 38. 7 scaled 2. 4 2. 7 2. 6 3. 3 2. 6 2. 6 1. 7 3. 3 2. 3 2. 4 Quality raw 80 72 67 68 61 69 66 64 scaled 8. 0 7. 2 6. 7 6. 8 7. 5 6. 1 6. 9 6. 6 6. 4 6. 5 scaled 4. 1 3. 0 4. 1 4. 1 3. 8 4. 1 3. 0 4. 1 4. 1 3. 8 Private Business T1 T3 T2 T4a weighted avg. T2 T5 T4a T6 wei ghted avg. 4 5 4 4 4 5 4 4 Table 3: Customer Satisfaction for Web Site A Web Site B Customer Class Trace Complexity raw scaled 4. 1 7. 4 5. 5 5. 5 5. 4 5. 5 4. 1 4. 1 7. 4 5. 2 Satisfaction Measures Time raw 16. 7 11. 2 17. 1 13. 9 17. 1 14. 39. 7 12. 3 scaled 5. 3 6. 5 5. 2 5. 9 5. 7 5. 2 5. 7 2. 2 6. 2 4. 9 Quality scaled 8. 6 7. 6 7. 6 7. 4 8. 1 7. 3 7. 5 6. 4 7. 6 7. 2 raw 86 76 76 74 73 75 64 76 Private Business T1 T3 T2 T4a weighted avg. T2 T5 T4b T6 weighted avg. 4 2 3 3 3 4 4 2 Table 4: Customer Satisfaction for Web Site B Web Site C Customer Class Trace Satisfaction Measures Complexity Time raw scaled 4. 1 5. 5 7. 4 5. 5 5. 0 7. 4 7. 4 5. 5 7. 4 7. 0 raw 14. 0 13. 0 11. 1 12. 4 11. 1 10. 2 12. 4 10. 9 scaled 5. 8 6. 1 6. 5 6. 2 6. 0 6. 5 6. 8 6. 2 6. 6 6. 5 Quality scaled 8. 1 6. 8 6. 8 5. 8 7. 4 6. 1 5. 3 6. 5. 3 5. 7 raw 81 68 68 58 61 53 60 53 Private Business T1 T3 T2 T4a weighted avg. T2 T5 T4a T6 weighted avg. 4 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 Table 5: Customer Satisfaction for Web Sit e C The overall satisfaction measures are summarised in Table 6. Some interesting conclusions can be drawn from these measures. Firstly, for all Web sites and all parameters, there was a variation in satisfaction levels between the customer classes. Thus, not all users find the Web sites equally good. This is most noticeable for the Quality parameter: Private users rated Quality higher than Business users in all cases.If Business customers are considered valuable, this gap is not desirable. There is also a large difference in satisfaction ratings for the Time parameter of Web site B, again favouring Private customers over Business customers. Secondly, for all users and all measures, there are a range of values across the Web sites. For instance, the Time satisfaction for Business users varies from 6. 5 for Web site C down to 2. 4 for Web site A. This indicates that Web site C might have an edge in attracting Business customers. Finally, for a given user class and Web site, different satisfaction levels are observed.For example, Private users of Web site A have a Time satisfaction value of 2. 6 and a Quality satisfaction value of 7. 5. The exact interpretation of this is difficult, since the different parameter satisfaction values are dependent on the mapping of the raw data, which of necessity, differs for each parameter. However, it does perhaps indicate a favouring of form over efficiency. Customer Class Satisfaction Customer Web Site Class Web site A Private Web site B Web site C Web site A Business Web site B Web site C Satisfaction Measures Complexity Time Quality 3. 8 5. 4 5. 0 3. 8 5. 2 7. 0 2. 6 5. 7 6. 2. 4 4. 9 6. 5 7. 5 8. 1 7. 4 6. 5 7. 2 5. 7 Table 6: Customer Class Satisfaction for Web sites A, B, and C Finally, an overall assessment of customer satisfaction may be found by weighting the various parameters. Table 7 displays the overall satisfaction results under several different weighting schemes: Weighting 1 gives all parameters equal weighting ; Weighting 2 gives Time and Complexity equal weighting and Quality zero weighting; Weighting 3 considers Time only (zero weighting for Quality and Complexity). These weightings reflect possible values the tester places on the various parameters.We can see that for all the weightings, Business users have a clear order of preference, ranking Web site C highest, then Web site B, and finally Web site A. The order of preference for Private users varies according to the weighting used, although Web site A is worst under all three weightings. Customer Class Satisfaction Customer Web Site Class Web site A Private Web site B Web site C Web site A Business Web site B Web site C Satisfaction Measures Weighting 1 Weighting 2 Weighting 3 4. 6 6. 4 6. 1 4. 2 5. 8 6. 4 3. 2 5. 6 5. 5 3. 1 5. 1 6. 8 2. 6 5. 7 6. 0 2. 4 4. 9 6. 5 Table 7: Customer satisfaction with a Web site ) Conclusions Modelling customer satisfaction with Web and E-commerce sites is not as well studied as Web server modelling, but determining whether and how the customers of these sites are satisfied with their interactions is becoming increasingly important as the Web matures. We have proposed a methodology for estimating how satisfied defined classes of customers are with a Web site. Our approach recognises that customer satisfaction is a complex issue and includes factors which are not easily measured. We have applied our methodology to the study of three Irish E-Commerce Web sites.These sites were chosen for representative purposes only and the results do not necessarily generalise to other Web sites. Choices for the tester include not only what customer categories and what Web site parameters to examine, but also how to interpret the measured data such as download time. The flexibility of the methodology means that it will be necessary for the tester to carefully consider all of their options. The next step is to investigate whether ‘generic’ categories of users can be defined, and/or wh ether they care about ‘generic’ Web site parameters (e. . it seems download time will always be a factor in user satisfaction). Given a specific Web site, we will explore methods for mapping these generic user types and satisfaction parameters into the site's content. If an analysis of the resulting satisfaction measures shows that there is a disparity in the satisfaction of different user types, we will study how the Web site designer or administrator should take this into account, and whether their reaction can be determined dynamically while the user is interacting with the site.References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Nakamura et al, `ENMA: the WWW Server Performance Measurement System via Packet Monitoring', INET99. Cottrell et al, `Tutorial on Internet Monitoring and PingER at SLAC' available from http://www. slac. stanford. edu/comp/net/wan-mon/tutorial. html Kalidindi and Zekauskas, `Surveyor: An Infrastructure for Internet Performance Measurements', INET99. Hava and Murphy, `Performance Measurement of World Wide Web Servers' Proc. f 16th UK Teletraffic Symposium, May 2000. http://www. ecai. ie/usability_online. htm Graja and McManis, ‘Modelling User Interactions with E-Commerce Services’, to be presented at ICN01, Colmar, France, July 2001. Bouch, Kuchinsky, and Bhatti, ‘Quality is in the Eye of the Beholder: Meeting Users’ Requirements for Internet Quality of Service’, HP technical report HPL-2000-4, http://www. hpl. hp. com/techreports/2000/HPL-2000-4. html Web Performance Incorporated, http://www. Webperfcenter. com

Chile Case Analysis Essay

Introduction The Multi-Product Chile case showed all the characteristics of a decision case. At the end of the case, Mr. Thompson, the new manager, had to face with a decision whether or not continuing with the changes started by the company. Therefore, we approached at the case with a decisive standpoint. 1. What are the specific problems & issues facing the company? Managers organization structure chart shows that the work distribution could not be done well. There are too many managers and this might lead to a very high individual competition. The working structure of the company does not promote teamwork, each division is working individually and the staff is not working as a team and this decreases the effectiveness of the compensation system, which has also been held as an individual activity. Another major issue is the lack of trust on each other, caused mainly by cultural aspects that lead the employees to be more individual: everyone is only interested in themselves, not in the area they work in. Sales representatives are only interested on the product they are specifically selling and that causes differences with what the clients are looking for. Therefore, the company struggles to accept changes happening right now. 2. How do you evaluate the approach the firm has taken so far? Multi-Products Chile has tried to keep up with the new trends in the market by meeting the new and constantly evolving customer’s needs. Before Thompson’s arrival, the Key Accounts review and Integrated Solutions program were already been launched. The new identification of company’s Key Accounts as a strategic relationship with the customers was aimed to create a long-term competitive advantage for the firm and creating new benefits for the clients. Integrated Solutions meant a completely different approach in the relationship with the customers: the sales representatives focused their efforts from one product and many clients to one client and a different set of products. The role of the sales representative had to evolve becoming a â€Å"consultant† for the customer. The issue of Chilean cultural barriers to overcome, in order change their sales policy, was not an easy one. They are a closed culture and the mentioned lack of trust that emerged between the co-workers represented an issue in the team working approach required by the transition to an integrated sales model. In our view the firm has moved in the right direction. Even though the sales were doing well with no sign of a crisis, the profit margin was decreasing. The customers were asking for a different kind of service and, in order to be competitive in the future and coherent with the innovative spirit of the firm, a step forward was necessary. Meet the customer needs is the key to success and now the big challenge is trying to align the approach with the Chilean culture. Moving from a traditional selling model to an integrated also represented an opportunity to align their strategy with all the other Multi-Products branches all over the world. 3. What actions should the firm take going forward? From an integrated solutions model standpoint, every single employee should be on the same page in terms of team motivation, company coherence, and content on the multi-products structure. This innovative model from the traditional business model has a lack of adaptability in the Chilean culture because the company’s implementation isn’t in its full effect. Therefore, a change in a more streamlined and lean management structure that coincides with the integrated sales model, which could be tweaked according to the Chilean culture, could be the way forward, especially when the profit margin  is decreasing where the times of culture adaptability change are needed. The fact that the Chileans are â€Å"workaholics,† and they are dedicated, in turning their dedication to a team oriented strategy could suffice for the â€Å"one voice, one face, one company,† as part of their integrated solutions model. The incentive structure could be tweaked as well for sales representatives, where a higher commission and bonus model for higher sales in effect could boost the company’s performance. If this is streamlined, this could be the factor increase in the company’s market share from a low profit margin. Due to the fact that Chileans are naturally competitive work oriented people, an innovative competition structure that is internal and fun could be established whereby, workers motivate themselves to beat each other, which could overall beat the benchmark targets for the sales and marketing segment in the integrated solutions model. In going forward, merging the integrated solutions model, key accounts and the Chilean culture norms, mores and values of their work standards, where the team as whole could leverage their core strengths in competition, hard work with their sales representatives, could be their main factor advantage in the market. 4. What are the key supply chain(s) links in this case? How might the supply/value chain be used as an analytical framework for understanding the organizational and managerial challenges facing the company? This case shows different key actors of the supply chain. Starting with the initial inventory with its way of procurement. Then, they explain the way they deliver their products, which is via truck shipment mostly. The new sale solution they are implementing affects the way they will manage their orders. Adding more services in the process, as customer will need advices. Its overall way of retail is challenged in this case, aside from facing an overhaul in the sales division; its supply chain has to be adapted to answer the new needs. The company will need to pivot from a push production to a pull production. Hence, most of the supply chain is affected. This is the main organizational challenge, because every aspect of their current supply chain will have to change. They want to reach the next level, going from a simple offering of products to a retailer of solutions, as mentioned earlier. For the supply chain, that means, more reactivity and flexibility. Several layer tools needs to be implemented. They should apply a just in time production, meaning that they will have, at least, to use the lean manufacturing to eliminate the wastes in their production. They will work with smaller trucks to sale more often. A reduction of their waste in the manufacturing process, and the pace they can change their production should be as low as it can. Its sales people need to learn how to work together, but the top management needs to be on the same page regarding this project, everything will start with their support. And it’s a real mistake that they still have people openly doubting the overall at this point of the process. The challenge would be to rally those executives. Then create an atmosphere where collaboration is valued and useful. The entire success of this overall relies on the way people can adapt to it. And it won’t be easy regarding the social value that Chile people developed. The organizational side is important, but should not be the main focus, as it is motioned in the case that they are still delivering in time their products. But keeping these changes in mind is important for the long term, which is also a switch in the company’s culture. 5. How have STEEPLE factors impacted the company? The social aspect of Chile has a direct impact on our company, as people in Chile are workaholics where they are more focused on individual goals than the company’s goal. The use of incentives to individual sale representatives will help increase the sales but this will again drive them towards their own individual goals. Technological innovation helps us in deriving 30 percent of sales. There is potential in the market but the economy is increasing slowly as compared to other Latin American countries. Being political stable since last 10 years, there are legal issues regarding regulation and standards while dealing with other countries. Conclusion To conclude, the wisest option for Thompson is to continue the overhaul of the company’s management and organizational systems. Because Multi-product Chile is at a critical point where it has to adapt in order to stay  competitive. Even if the project faces difficulties, it has to be achieved. The main factor for success, aside from the technical parts, would be to rally the employee towards this project. Starting with the executive, this is inconceivable that they are still facing trust issue from the managers at this point of the project. Regarding the technical part, in order to be able to deliver according to the new standards, they will have to switch their production from a push production to a pull production. We would recommend starting with the basic tools of the lean manufacturing.

China Communist Party

Communist Victory The victory of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the Nationalist faction in the Chinese Civil War was a direct result of numerous influences, both internal and external. However, three important reasons for the CCP’s victory can be attributed to the Japanese attack and occupation of China during World War II, the CCP’s treatment of the Chinese people, and the political failures of the nationalist forces. The combination of these historical events provided a situation that allowed the CCP to defy the odds and take over China.The Japanese invasion of China in 1937 was the setup for the eventual success of the CCP. Although it cost the CCP manpower and resources, the Japanese attack allowed for the formation of a political environment that favored the spread of the communist party. The Japanese help legitimize the CCP by singling it out as a special enemy and instructing the Japanese supported puppet government in the job of exterminating the communi sts in their jurisdictions. The phrase, â€Å"the enemy of my enemy is my friend† applies in this situation.After the mistreatment the Chinese population endured under Japanese occupation, it is easy to comprehend why the Chinese people would gravitate towards a group that was so despised by their main tormenter. The added attention that the CCP received from the Japanese occupiers showed the Chinese people that the CCP was a force to be reckoned with, and a possible threat to Japanese interests in China. This publicity put the CCP’s in the minds of the people as a counter to the Japanese. The Japanese invasion left a power vacuum for the CCP to fill.As the Japanese forces advanced, â€Å"the traditional ruling elite evacuated†¦ and left peasants to defend for themselves during the eight years of occupation. † This allowed for the CCP to move in to the areas without leadership and gave the CCP the opportunity to win over public support. The Japanese militar y expansion into the region forced the KMT forces out of the area, but as Japanese units left the area, the CCP moved in, taking the place of the KMT government. The invasion of China also changed how the peasants viewed China as a whole.Before the invasion, the people â€Å"were a passive element in politics†¦absorbed in local matters and only had the dimmest sense of ‘China’. † However, the Japanese invasion changed how many peasants saw their role in greater population, and focused more on issues like â€Å"national defense, citizenship, treason, legitimacy of government, and the long-range betterment of the Chinese state. † The Japanese attacks on the Chinese people motivated them into shifting their thinking. They now had to think about who was going to protect their lives and property.With both nationalist and communist factions fighting the Japanese army, the interactions of the people and anti-Japanese forces would influence on what side the p eople agreed. In Edgar Snow’s Red Star Over China, Snow shares his account of what he witnessed during his time in China reporting on the actions of the communist party. Snow noticed, â€Å"most of the peasants†¦seemed to support the communists and the Red Army†¦and when asked whether they preferred it to the old days, the answer was nearly always an emphatic ‘yes. † Snow provides detail about the policies that allowed the peasants to favor the new communist rule in their region, writing that, â€Å"the Reds gave land to the land-hungry peasants, †took land and livestock from the wealthy classes and redistributed them among the poor. † The CCP polices also allowed for upper classes to not lose everything but rather †both the landlord and the rich peasant were allowed as much land as they could till with their own labor. † Although some may question the total accuracy of Snow’s work, it cannot be disputed that the policies Snow refers to did indeed influence the people into supporting the communists.Another key point on how the CCP won over the peoples’ support is the rules and policies to which Mao’s followers were forced to adhere. Simple orders like do not steal, return what your borrow, replace what you break, and be courteous allowed the CCP to earn the loyalty of the Chinese people. The communists showed special effort in appealing to women, as they hoped to win over a group of people who were traditionally an oppressed class. Instead of using only force, this respectful behavior towards the people wooed them into the supporting the CCP. The CCP actively took the communist message to the people.The communist way was presented as an ideal society for the Chinese to thrive under, and offered hope to the masses. The CCP sent out propagandists and troupes of actors teaching and entertaining the people the new superior communist way. Nationalist feelings were also stirred by the CCP in the war against the Japanese, aiding in uniting the people under the organized communist resistance. The KMT also played a vital role in the eventual communist victory in main land China. Before the second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, the KMT focused not on the growing Japanese threat, but instead the communist faction in China.The communist forces retreated, but were not entirely eliminated. This move left open the opportunity for the CCP to grow, adapt and eventually take on the nationalist forces again at a later time. The war with Japan highlighted the failures of the nationalist regime. Hsi Chi in his work Nationalist China at War states that the abuse of the people at the hands of the nationalists â€Å"made the government appear in the people’s eyes as symbol of oppression and exploitation, and provoked widespread disillusionment and alienation among the people.This attitude in relation to the government allowed for the CCP to have a better chance at persuading t he people to join the communist movement. This failure to gain the support of the people is seconded by a soldier in the nationalist army in a letter to America. The soldier, Rau Huang, writes, â€Å"In the early stages of our war against the communists, our government was negligent in not seeking the support of the masses†¦the communists did not neglect this opportunity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The communist victory in the Chinese Civil War was a major moment in the 20th century.The communist had the fortune to have an environment that allowed their efforts to carry on despite being targeted by two other factions. A prolonged Japanese invasion permitted the CCP to move into regions and garner support from the people that may not have been available otherwise. Without a Japanese attack, a sense of nationalism may have been harder to produce from the populace. The party’s organization and methods to gain the support of the masses would prove vital in the victory as well, showing th e people a new future that could be achieved.The nationalist forces were defeated in part because they didn’t eliminate all the communists before the war with Japan, and their own disorganization and inability to gain support from the people proved to be too much to overcome. Certainly, these are not the only reasons why the CCP succeeded in taking control of China, but these elements each played their part in the puzzle that led to final victory of the Chinese Communist Party. Works Cited Babb, Geoff, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War† (presentation, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, October 29, 2012). Chi, Hsi. Nationalist China at War: Military Defeats and Political Collapse, 1937-45.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1982. Huang , Ray. â€Å"Letter From Nanking. † Military Review, December 1948. Johnson, Chalmers. Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, etc. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1966. Snow, Edgar. Red Star over China. New York: Grove Press , 1968. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Johnson, Chalmers. Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, etc. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1966), 32. [ 2 ]. Johnson, Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, 70. [ 3 ]. Johnson, Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, 69. [ 4 ].Johnson, Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, 69. [ 5 ]. Snow, Edgar. Red Star Over China. (New York: Grove Press, 1968), 222. [ 6 ]. Snow, Red Star Over China, 222. [ 7 ]. Snow, Red Star Over China, 222. [ 8 ]. Babb, Geoff, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War† (presentation, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, October 29, 2012). [ 9 ]. Babb, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War†. [ 10 ]. Babb, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War†. [ 11 ]. Chi, Hsi. Nationalist China at war: military defeats and political collapse, 1937-45. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1982), 190. [ 12 ]. Huang , Ray. â€Å"Letter From Nanking. † Military Review, December 1948.

Arguments of Definition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arguments of Definition - Assignment Example Yes. I was honestly surprised about that piece of information from the talk. I have always made an assumption that whatever information I was searching for online and the results I got as a result would be available exactly what anyone else searching would get as well. This is the reason the talk was not only important but provided revealing information that shocked me. This information about the filter bubble should be passed around to as many people as possible so that they can be keen on the search results they get from the first search and compare it to results of other searches as well. I was worried over Pariser’s information that the content being released in the internet is tailored which is very inconveniencing. If one can be searching for a particular topic and each and every piece of information about it but ends up getting the wrong information, irrelevant information as well as misplaced information, then one will start to really not trust the internet at all. It is supposed to not only connect people but keep them abreast at all times of everything taking place around the world. As a result of the filter bubbles, this reality is being taken away from the users. Privacy indeed matters as very few people would like to be seen at their weakest or most vulnerable moments. This is the reason according to Greenwald (2014) that most people as explained by the speaker prefer doing stuff in private than in the public eye. They lack the courage to be criticized or people to change their point of view about them hence the reason they hide in private. People should respect the privacy and not brand people as bad or good for it. Having taken the same experiment taken by Pariser’s student, I was shocked to realize that it is true. I tried it several times taking different screen shots and the results were still different each and every time. The most shocking of all research was the fact

International business(fail in emerging economies) Essay - 1

International business(fail in emerging economies) - Essay Example This is because globalization of markets, as Czinkota, et al (2010) says, has also led to the globalization of business risk. There can be a myriad of reasons for these divestments but there has not been any detailed research to investigate the underlying factors that affect the divestment. The most generic definitions of divestment is a situation where a business willingly sells off some of its assets as a result of a discontinuation of part of it operations (Nees, 1978). Divestments can therefore happen locally or in a situation where a firm requires divesting from a one of its overseas branch (Davis, 1974, p. 16). There are some generic reasons why a firm may opt to divest. These include raising funds, need to focus on core business, specialization, asset consolidation and cleansing (removing dysfunctional parts of the firm) etc (Hamilton & Chow, 1993, p.479). The current trend to divest from international markets may indicate that none of these may be involved and therefore there is a need to investigate the real dynamics behind multinational divestments from emerging markets. Wal-Mart is one of the oldest and most successful retail chains in the US. The firm runs hundreds of stores in America and across a number of other countries across the world (Wall Mart, 2013). Wal-Mart was one of the first retail chains to use information technology to help in meeting customers’ needs and also in increasing efficiency. To achieve this, the firm uses high end computer servers and system that make data sharing easy and efficient. The firm is able to have a real time data sharing using a wide area network that connects all its stores. With this kind of sharing of data the firm is able to increase efficiency and therefore make customer service better (Wall Mart, 2013). For instance, data collected at the point of sale units in every Wal-Mart satire is sent to a computer in real time. This data is used in managing inventory and also in helping

Wedding Ceremony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wedding Ceremony - Essay Example 2:18, 21-24: "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'...and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh." Over the years however wedding ceremonies have lost their original worth as world has become highly media-sensitive and couples plan their "dream weddings" according to what wedding planners suggest. That was not how things used to be in old times. This definition however fails to highlight the actual meaning and worth of a wedding ceremony. In most cultures weddings underscored the need for transition from one stage of life to another. It may no longer be seen that way but in Greek cultures for example, wedding marked the transition of a woman from one "oikos" to her new "oikos". "She changed from a parthenos, a maiden, to a nymphe, a married woman without children, when she married and then finally to a gyne, an adult woman, when she bore her first child. The entire set of marriage rites focused on the bride and her relocation to a new oikos and kyrios, the most important transition in her life." (Powers, 1997)... She would also get rid of her toys and childhood belongings. However the most important part of the ceremony was the hairdo and the dress. Roman bride would wear the dress only once and her hair would be styled in a particular manner. The veil was a must and it had to be worn by all brides. The veil had a very high symbolic value: It continued as one of the main symbols and components of the wedding ceremony, routinely mentioned by many authors. Indeed, the verb used of the woman marrying, nubo, is related to nubes, a cloud, and means literally 'I veil myself'. From this come nupta, a married woman, nova nupta, a bride, and nuptiae, the wedding. The event turns on the bride and her veiling. (Treggiari, 163) The veil was again an important symbol in Indian weddings. Brides would wear a red dress which was called a sari. This dress would be adorned heavily and the girl would keep her head low so as to appear docile and shy on the day of her wedding. The actually wedding day was preceded by Mayoon, a ritual where girl would be covered with yellow color tumeric mix called Ubtan. This was done to make her body glow. There would be many other rituals than followed including goad-bharri which was done to make sure that the bride will have children. This was a way of blessing the bride with good omen. In most cultures, wedding was also a sacred ceremony. It had strong religious and cultural worth. In many Muslim cultures for example, bride and groom's families would arrange Milad where people would come together and recite the Holy Quran to invoke God's blessings on the couple. Similar rituals would take place in other cultures too according to their sacred beliefs. Things