Free Essays on Raymond Carvers Cathedral

As with many short stories, Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† only has a few pages to develop his main character and create a scenario he or she must learn from or achieve something from or change because of. In such a short amount of space, word choice is integral in constructing a solid impression of the characters and their personalities in the reader’s mind. Carver’s simple use of language and sentence structure combined with his choice for point of view creates an intriguing tone and believable character interaction. This story, written as the thoughts of the narrator, is about an old blind friend of his wife’s coming to visit for the first time. The story focuses on the narrator’s cynicism toward the blind man and the way his wife seems to look up to him. Through out the visit there is halting interaction between the blind man and the narrator, however in the end the narrator experiences something he never could have imagined. Through the eyes of a blind man, he gains a better understanding of who he could be. The most striking aspect of Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† is the fact that the story is written from the point of view of a man not initially involved in the set up of the story at all. The narrator relays to the reader stories he has learned from his wife about her past before relaying what is happening in the present. He tells her history as if he were speaking to himself in an interior monologue. Her story is periodically interrupted with his own thoughts of what happened and he omits items that seem to bother him. â€Å"I’m saying that at the end of the summer she let the blind man run his hands over her face, said goodbye to him married her childhood etc., who was now a commissioned officer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (218). Every time this officer that is his wife’s first husband comes up in the story, the narrator moves on to other subjects quickly. This reveals a jealousy in him that is not plainly written in the story. It allow... Free Essays on Raymond Carver's Cathedral Free Essays on Raymond Carver's Cathedral As with many short stories, Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† only has a few pages to develop his main character and create a scenario he or she must learn from or achieve something from or change because of. In such a short amount of space, word choice is integral in constructing a solid impression of the characters and their personalities in the reader’s mind. Carver’s simple use of language and sentence structure combined with his choice for point of view creates an intriguing tone and believable character interaction. This story, written as the thoughts of the narrator, is about an old blind friend of his wife’s coming to visit for the first time. The story focuses on the narrator’s cynicism toward the blind man and the way his wife seems to look up to him. Through out the visit there is halting interaction between the blind man and the narrator, however in the end the narrator experiences something he never could have imagined. Through the eyes of a blind man, he gains a better understanding of who he could be. The most striking aspect of Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† is the fact that the story is written from the point of view of a man not initially involved in the set up of the story at all. The narrator relays to the reader stories he has learned from his wife about her past before relaying what is happening in the present. He tells her history as if he were speaking to himself in an interior monologue. Her story is periodically interrupted with his own thoughts of what happened and he omits items that seem to bother him. â€Å"I’m saying that at the end of the summer she let the blind man run his hands over her face, said goodbye to him married her childhood etc., who was now a commissioned officer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (218). Every time this officer that is his wife’s first husband comes up in the story, the narrator moves on to other subjects quickly. This reveals a jealousy in him that is not plainly written in the story. It allow...

Robert Sengstacke Abbott Biography

Robert Sengstacke Abbott Biography Abbot was born in Georgia on November 24, 1870. His parents, Thomas and Flora Abbott were both former slaves. Abbott’s father died when he was young, and his mother remarried John Sengstacke, a German immigrant.   Abbott attended Hampton Institute in 1892 where he studied printing as a trade. While attending Hampton, Abbott toured with the Hampton Quartet, a group similar to the Fisk Jubilee Singers. He graduated in 1896 and two years later, he graduated from Kent College of Law in Chicago. Following law school, Abbott made several attempts to establish himself as an attorney in Chicago. Due to racial discrimination, he was unable to practice law. Newspaper Publisher: The Chicago Defender In 1905, Abbott founded The Chicago Defender. With an investment of twenty-five cents, Abbott published the first edition of  The Chicago Defender  by using his landlord’s kitchen to print copies of the paper. The first edition of the newspaper was an actual collection of news clippings from other publications as well as Abbotts reporting.   By 1916,  The Chicago Defender’s  circulation was 50,000 and it was considered one of the best African-American newspapers in the United States. Within two years, the circulation had reached 125,000 and by the early 1920s, it was well over 200,000.   From the outset, Abbott employed yellow journalistic tactics-sensational headlines and dramatic news accounts of African-American communities. The paper’s tone was militant. Writers  referred to African-Americans, not as black or negro but as the race. Graphic images of lynchings, assaults and other acts of violence against African-Americans were published prominently in the paper. These images were not present to scare its readers, but rather, to shed light on lynchings and other acts of violence that African-Americans endured throughout the United States.  Through its coverage of the  Red Summer of 1919, the publication used these race riots to campaign for anti-lynching legislation. As an African-American news publisher, Abbott’s mission was not only to print news stories, he had a nine-point mission that included: American race prejudice must be destroyedThe opening up of all trade-unions to blacks as well as whites.Representation in the Presidents CabinetEngineers, firemen, and conductors on all American railroads, and all jobs in government.Representation in all departments of the police forces over the entire United StatesGovernment schools open to all American citizens in preference to foreignersMotormen and conductors on surface, elevated and motor bus lines throughout AmericaFederal legislation to abolish lynching.Full enfranchisement of all American citizens. Abbott was a supporter of The Great Migration and wanted southern African-Americans to escape the economic disadvantages and social injustice that plagued the South. Writers such as Walter White and Langston Hughes served as columnists; Gwendolyn Brooks published one of her earliest poems in the pages of the publication. The Chicago Defender and the Great Migration   In an effort to push the Great Migration forward, Abbott held an event on May 15, 1917, called the Great Northern Drive. The Chicago Defender  published train schedules and job listings in its advertising pages as well as editorials, cartoons, and news articles to persuade African-Americans to relocate to northern cities. As a result of Abbott’s depictions of the North, The Chicago Defender became known as â€Å"the greatest stimulus that the migration had.†Ã‚   Once African-Americans had reached northern cities, Abbott used the pages of the publication not only to show horrors of the South, but also the pleasantries of the North.

Sustainability and built environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sustainability and built environment - Essay Example This human-caused earth warming is rising as one of the most important environmental, social, economic, and technological problem of the present century. (Todd, 1997, p. 99) The consequences of the problem are apparent in every part of the world (Johansen 2002, p. 01). The problem involves melting down of glaciers and ice caps at an accelerating rate higher than normal resulting in a dramatically increased rate of typhoons, tornados, and the hurricanes (Silverstein et al, 2003, p. 06). This has not only induced significant damage all around the world, moreover it has caused disturbance in the global ecosystem (Jabbra & Dwivedi, 1998, p. 26). Increase in earth climate, greater amount of acidity in oceans, accelerated rate of wildfires, heavy rain falls, are some other drastic results of the global warming (Oxlade 2006, p. 22). It is evident that global warming is not only an environmental threat, for instance, coastal areas are apt to remission, the rate of water consumption gets higher than the rate of water supply, and the land for agriculture turns into a waste by soil erosion (Houghton, 2004, p. 322) (Valsson, 2006, p. 116). Around the world, people are trying to find the solution to the problem of global warming and finding the techniques to mitigate its effect (Jones, 1997, p. 04). The best illustration of global collaboration against the disasters induced by global warming is that of the International Panel on Climatic Change. The organization consists of skilled and potent experts from the globe that keep an eye on climatic modeling and changes, and monitor every single alteration in the global ecosystem. IPCC is a perfect embodiment of global strives for a better and healthier mother earth (Williams, 2002, p. 15). The organization appreciates the part people around the world play in this regard, bring issues to the table, and attempt to solve the issues. Had there not be any IPCC we would not have any Kyoto Treaty or the Copenhagen Summits (Clarkson

Promoting Content Area Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Promoting Content Area Learning - Essay Example These two were all recommended by Coleman & Goldenberg (2010). Setting objectives will benefit the students because it will help set a scope of area of learning that they must cover. Feedback will also ensure that they are receiving the right form of tuition. From this week’s learning resource, the type of grouping option that would be used to promote academic language in the students is mixed competency grouping. The rationale for selecting this type is in its ability to promoting peer learning and teaching. Very often, teenage learners of English language have been found to be more comfortable seeking extra knowledge from their peers and this grouping option would help to achieve this. It is expected that the mixed competency grouping will be effective in increasing interactions at the student level. But to ensure that interaction is also promoted between students and the tutor, efforts will be made to introduce post tuition encounter with students. This will be a special session where students having difficulty even after consulting their peers can come to the tutor for further assistance and learning support. (c) What aspects of the Opportunity to Learn (OTL) framework from this week’s Aguirre-Muà ±oz and Amabisca article could you incorporate to ensure English Language Learners have the necessary language skills to comprehend the academic content that is presented during a

Interracial Marriages Essay Example for Free

Interracial Marriages Essay In any marriage relationship, it is usual or rather natural to have some adjustments in its early stage. This is so because there is a high degree of expectations in both parties; and so, because these expectations are mostly â€Å"unrealistic,† to modify or adjust them are somewhat difficult to both sides. It is a fact that when two individuals come into a marriage union, they bring with them two different perspectives in almost all respects, and this is no different with interracial marriages. However, there are more at stake when racial backgrounds or ethnicity is the core issue, as studies reveal. Marriage and the fruit of the union – the family – is the basic unit of society and regarded as one of the most principal institutions of the social order. When marriages fail and families disintegrate, there is without a doubt a â€Å"ripple† effect on the community’s functioning in terms of that community’s solidity, and law and order. Although many facets of the relationship operate as components to the enjoyment and development of the marriage bond, the common and usual fundamental rationale for the union is intimacy. It is this vital ingredient that draws couples from different persuasions, race, or creed together despite the potential drawbacks and heartaches that will soon shake the very foundations of that union. This paper dwells on these potentialities in terms of the advantages and disadvantages of interracial marriages. The author believes that despite the difficulties and at times the impossibilities that complications beset interracial marriages, for as long as both parties or the individuals involved have explored beforehand the complexities, and settled for the facts and realities, their relationship is off to a better start. This paper then offers to describe and explain the polarities that entail in a marriage coming from two different ethnic or racial backgrounds. Definition demographics In US history, many things that speak of the American way of life are deeply affected and influenced on the issue of race and especially on cross-cultural marriages. Since its â€Å"pioneer† days, being attached with another not your own color, creed, or race is neither new, nor surprising. A study of endogamy’s other extreme, i. e. mixed marriage then and now is still quite of interest to many (Rosenfeld, 2007). To tackle the subject matter that this paper endeavors to explore, the author starts by defining the main concepts used throughout the study. Definition Marriage is defined as a â€Å"socially recognized and approved union between individuals† with the idea that both will commit themselves to a lifetime of togetherness in the hope that there will be stability and happiness that the couple will enjoy in their intimate relationship (Microsoft Encarta, 2005). Such relationship has legal, cultural, economic, moral, and psychological dimensions that may impinge on its eventual longevity and permanence. Miscegenation or â€Å"intermarriage between races†, according to Encarta, is defined as â€Å"marriage or cohabitation between people of different races† (2005). Demographics According to a study by Kara Joyner, assistant professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell and co-author of a study on interracial relationships in a recent issue of the American Sociological Review (Vol. 70:4), â€Å"Hispanics had the highest rate of interracial relationships: 45 percent of 18- to 19-year-olds and 33 percent of 24- to 25-year-olds were in interracial relationships in the early 2000s, compared with blacks (20 and 14 percent, respectively) and whites (16 and 12 percent, respectively† (Lang, 2005). Although Asians are comparatively the same with Hispanics in the aspects of interracial union in Joyner’s study, the ethnic group was not included due to lack of research yields when it comes to as when they likely get into their liaisons and when these end. However, in some studies, the case of Asians engaging in interracial marriage, demographics painted a different picture. Whereas in the case of Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites who intermarry, the surveys say that as they age, the tendency of these relationships’ potential to last dwindles, the Asians’ marriages tend to increase and last longer (Lang, 2005). The US Bureau of the Census points out that intermarriage is still â€Å"relatively uncommon† basing on a 2002 survey because only 2. 9 percent of all marriages come from interracial unions (Lang in Joyner study, 2005). Review of Literature Family Values Every home has its set of beliefs or tradition that they hold in high esteem. This is referred to as family values. Anything that the family believes is important comprises a family values system. This paper attempts to explain what family values are and how people uphold their beliefs and what makes them hold on to those beliefs in a highly individualistic country such as ours. Among the values an individual possesses, the most important I believe is that a person must regard most his/her values about family as the most significant. Many people don’t usually pause and contemplate what their values are. They may not know whether these values they already have are still practical or useful in a modern day world. Moreover, they do not think how their values fit in with their kind of milieu that they evolve in. (â€Å"Values: what are they? †2007). There are families that take time out though to impart to their children what had been passed on to them when they too were yet very young. The values may not be as strong as when were yet children because the person may have adapted to his world and adjusted his values that others may be accommodated. Through the years, a family value system may be a combination of what had been passed on to an individual and the values system of one’s friends or colleagues at work. Why are family values important? The primary reason is that what we hold as important affects how we use time, money and energy or how we interact with people. If a family believes the importance of education then parents try to save for the schooling of their children which includes books among others. Family values influence how we spend our resources and make decisions. Parents then need to communicate what their own family values are, why these are important and the specifics of what are most essential that the children must also adopt or follow. Children also need to respect others who have dissimilar value system as compared to their own. Most likely values will evolve but when parents lead the children and model these beliefs, their children will be able to learn and pass these on to the next generation (â€Å"Values: what are they? †2007). Social Clock The belief that there are descriptive and prescriptive age norms concerning adults during their developmental shift involves the concept of the social clock. The social clock hinges on its description of society’s expectations where time to get married and have children at the same time attaining more of life’s burdens. For example, the traditional or what has been considered as the perception of women who have not yet entered into matrimony as individuals who are negatively appraised during their middle adulthood stage in contrast to the young adults. Social clock has something to do with an expectation that a person must somehow behave or conduct him/herself according to established developmental milestones or else, risk the consequences that may happen because the individual has allowed it to slip through (Altenbernd, 2004).

Discrimination and Civil Rights in America Essays -- Civil Rights and

â€Å" Civil rights is the term that refers to the right of every person to equal access to society’s opportunities and public facilities.† Civil rights is used to imply that the state has a positive role in ensuring all citizens equal protection under law and equal opportunity to exercise the privileges of citizenship and to participate fully in life regardless of race, sex, religion, or other characters unrelated to the value of the individual. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of civil rights is â€Å"the right s to personal liberty and to legal, economic, and social equality establish by amendments to the U.S. Constitution and by certain Congressional acts.† (Merriam-Webster) Civil rights have to with whether individual members of differing groups- racial, sexual, and the like- are treated equally by government and, in some areas, by private parties. Civil rights deal with issues of equality among the American citizens.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The concept that human beings having inalienable rights and liberties that cannot be violated by others or the state is linked to the history of democracy. It was first expressed by the philosophers of ancient Greece. In theory, Americans are equal in their rights, but in reality, they are not now equal, nor have they ever been. African Americans, women, Hispanic Americans, the disabled, Jews, American Indians, Catholics, and members of nearly every other minority group have been victims of discrimination in fact and in law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The...

Computerized Scheduling System Essay

A computerized reservations and scheduling system is provided which alternately allows transportation consumers to select from pre-scheduled transportation services provided by transportation providers or to negotiate and contract with transportation providers who have available unscheduled transportation space. The system comprises a central computerized data base. Transportation providers and consumers alike access the computer via a plurality of terminal units. The central computerized data base comprises a â€Å"maybe† file for storing information regarding available unscheduled transportation space which may be offered by a provider for service if a suitable consumer demand exists and for storing information regarding unscheduled transportation space which is needed by consumers. The â€Å"maybe† file facilitates negotiating and contracting between the parties. Scheduling is the process of deciding how to commit resources between a variety of possible tasks. Time can be specified (scheduling a flight to leave at 8:00) or floating as part of a sequence of events. The word may also refer to: * I/O scheduling, the order in which I/O requests are submitted to a block device in Computer Operating Systems * Scheduling (broadcasting), the minute planning of the content of a radio or television broadcast channel * Scheduling algorithm * Scheduling (computing), the way various processes are assigned in multitasking and multiprocessing operating system design * Scheduling (production processes), the planning of the production or the operation * Schedule (workplace), ensuring that an organization has sufficient staffing levels at all times * Job scheduler, an enterprise software application in charge of unattended background executions. * Job Shop Scheduling, an optimization problem in computer science. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheduling Scheduling is a key concept in computer multitasking, multiprocessing operating system and real-time operating system designs. Scheduling refers to the way processes are assigned to run on the available CPUs, since there are typically many more processes running than there are available CPUs. This assignment is carried out by softwares known as a scheduler and dispatcher. The scheduler is concerned mainly with: * Throughput – number of processes that complete their execution per time unit. * Latency, specifically: * Turnaround – total time between submission of a process and its completion. * Response time – amount of time it takes from when a request was submitted until the first response is produced. * Fairness – Equal CPU time to each process (or more generally appropriate times according to each process’ priority).

Mobile Money Transfer

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Mobile money transfer Mobile money transfer, also referred to as mobile money, mobile  payment, and mobile wallet generally refer to payment services operated under  financial regulations and performed from or via a  mobile device. Instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods. Although the concept of using non-coin-based currency systems has a long history,  it is only recently that the technology to support such systems has become widely available.Similarly, Julia s. cheney defined mobile financial services from her paper examination of mobile banking and mobile payments as follows â€Å"Mobile financial services is a term applied to a range of financial activities conducted using mobile devices, such as cellular phones or personal digital assistants. These activities fall into two broad categories: mobile banking and mobile payments. Mobile banking allows bank customers to check balances, monitor transactions, obtain other account information, transfer funds, locate branches or ATMs, and, sometimes, pay bills. In the United States, depository institutions' mobile banking platforms rely on one or a combination of the following three strategies: SMS text messaging, browser-based programs, or downloadable mobile-banking applications. The term mobile payments refers to payment transactions initiated or confirmed using a person's mobile cellular phone or personal digital assistant. These may be such things as making a purchase at the point of sale, sending money to a person or a business, or purchasing a product or service remotely. Mobile payments generally fall into two categories. Those made at the point of sale are called â€Å"proximity payments† and are typically initiated using NFC technology. Mobile â€Å"remote payments,† on the other hand, are not transmitted by NFC but rather require payments to be initiated and settled through the mobile cellular phone network in combination with an associated payment network. These payments may involve person-to-person, person-to-business, or business-to-business payments and rely on SMS text messaging, wireless Internet technology, or a downloaded application in order to execute the payment.Mobile payment is being adopted all over the world in different ways (wirelessintelligence.com) (erricson.com 2011). In 2008, the combined market for all types of mobile payments was projected to reach more than $600B globally by 2013 (juniper research 2013),  which would be double the figure as of February, 2011 (bonsoni.com 2011). The mobile payment market for goods and services, excluding contactless  near field communication  or NFC transactions and money transfers, is expected to exceed $300B globally by 2013 (juniper research 2013). In  developing countries  mobile payment solutions have been deployed as a means of extending financial services to the community known as the â€Å"unbanked† or â€Å"under banked,† which is estimated to be as much as 50% of the world's adult population, according to Financial Access' 2009 Report â€Å"Half the World is Unbanked† (financialAccess.org 2009). These payment networks are often used for  micropayments.  The use of mobile payments in developing countries has attracted public and private funding by organizations such as the  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,  United States Agency for International Development  and  Mercy Corps.Mobile financial services cover a â€Å"broad range of financial activities that Consumers engage in or access using their mobile phones† (Boyd and Jacob, 2007:6). They can be classified into three separate categories: mobile banking (m?banking), Mobile money transfer (m?money transfer), and mobile payments (m?payments) (GSMA, 2008a). M?banking is subsumed under the larger category of electronic banking.Electronic banking (e?banking) refers to â€Å"the provision of retail and small value banking products and services through electronic channels. These include deposit taking, lending, account management, the provision of financial advice, electronic bill payment and the provision of other electronic payment products and services such as electronic money† (Basel 1998:3). As a form of e?banking, m?banking is defined as:†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦financial services delivered via mobile networks and performed on a mobile phone. These services may or may not be defined as banking services by the regulator, depending on the legislation of the country in question, as well as on which services are offered.† (Bà ¥ngens and Sà ¶derberg 2008: 7).Porteous (2006) further explains that mobile banking can either be additive or transformational. For the former type, m?banking is considered an additional channel for existing clients to access banking services; in the transformational category, however, it targets clients who do not have bank accounts, aiming to include them into the formal banking system. (Bà ¥ngens and Sà ¶derberg 2008). Money, on the other hand, is a form of electronic money. Electronic money refers to â€Å"stored value or prepaid payment mechanisms for executing payments via point of sale terminals, direct transfers between two devices, or over the computer networks, such as the Internet. Stored value products include hardware or card based mechanisms (electronic purses or wallets), and software or network based cash (also called digital cash)† (Basel, 1998:3?4). M? money then refers to â€Å"services that connect consumers financially through mobile phones. Mobile money allows for any mobile phone subscriber – whether banked or unbanked – to deposit value into their mobile account, send value via a simple handset to another mobile subscriber, and allow the recipient to turn that value back into cash easily and cheaply† (GSMA, 2009:7). In this way, m?money can be used for both transfers and payments. In fact, m?money is generally used in m?payments and m?money transfers rather than for m?banking. As such, m?money does not earn interest compared to bank deposits. This ensures that all e?cash (of which m?money is one) dispensed and circulating corresponds to actual funds in the system. This helps the central banks track movements in money supply1 (Mapa, 2009). With this, m?money cannot be used for savings and cannot be lent by m?money service providers (Sec 5.C and D of Circular 649) (BSP 2009). However, whether these funds should not earn interest has been questioned by some, especially when the funds that are pooled to back?up the issued e?money can be deposited in a prudentially regulated institution or invested in â€Å"lower?risk† securities (Tarazi, 2009).Thus far, the use of m?money has primarily been transactional, such as payment of bills (including payment conversion of m?money to electronic loads), transfer of funds. In microfinance, for instance, the system has largely been utilized to transfer and pay loans.Mobile banking models:Lyman et.al. (2006) makes two distinctions of branchless banking: bank led Non?bank commercial actors. This was further expanded by Goswami & Raghavendran (2009) by breaking down mobile banking variants into 5 models based on how they partner up with telecommunication providers: (1) carriers going solo, (2) banks going solo, (3) exclusive bank and telecom partnership, (4) bank telecom open partnership, and (5) open federation model. These variations indicate that there is much innovation occurring with respect to delivering m?banking/m?money services. Although innovation is important, at some point, standardization would be needed to support interoperability that would enhance services among customers (GSMA, 2008a). In fact, of the five models mentioned, the open federation model is considered by Goswami & Raghavendran (2009) as the most flexible and dynamic since it allows for a partnership between all banks and telecom companies while sharing a common platform for m? banking. The platform then expands the coverage of mobile banking and gives the unbanked a freedom to choose with whom to maintain an account. The other implication of the variety of existing models is that it creates different regulatory arrangements depending on the nature of partnerships between telecommunication carriers and financial institutions. In the case of SMART Money in the Philippines, for instance, the banking regulations have complied with by its banking partner, whereas the telecommunications aspect is addressed by the telecommunications provider. A regulatory distinction however occurs once there is e?money issuance by a telecommunication company or non?bank entity through the telecommunications operator (Lyman, et al. 2006), as was the case with Globe Telecom's G?Cash. In both cases, they had to work with financial regulators on banking regulations it was not previously concerned with. Mobile phone payments is a popular and most preferable way of sending and receiving money in Africa since the vast majority of the continents' population are ruler dwellers or uneducated (Ayo, Ukpere, Oni, Ometo, & Akinsiko, 2012; Mangudla, 2012). The concept of mobile money transfer dates back to the history of telecommunication and banking industries. There are collaborations between the two industries for the facilitation of MMT service (Ayo et.al, 2012). M-PESA was the first MMT service in Africa, which was introduced by Safaricom of Kenya (A Vodafone partner) in 2007. M-PESA (M refers to mobile, and PESA refers money in Swahili language) can be accessed from the different outlets such as the headquarter, main branches of the company, or an authorized business outlet. Safaricom registered over 20, 000 consumers for M-PESA within the first month of introducing the service (Hughes & Lonie, 2007), and the number reached more than 15 million users of MMT in Kenya after five years of launching (Michaels, 2011). He contends that there are several factors behind the wide adoption and acceptance of this service by the users including rapid migration to cities for work, a significant unbanked number of the populace, the credibility of the service provider, and finally their commitment towards families in home villages. Therefore, as asserted by Hughes & Lonie, (2007), the M-PESA is primarily designed for the unbanked populace in Kenya. The MMT also was later introduced in several African countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Somalia among others. The success of these services in South Africa and Ghana were less than the Kenya's M-PESA success (Tobbin, 2010). MMT IN SOMALIA:MMT service in Somalia was first introduced by GOLIS , HORMUD and TELESOM telecommunication companies working with puntland, south central Somalia and Somaliland respectively. SAHAL and ZAAD money transfer was the first product; however, EVC, the hormud version of MMT, was banned by al-Shabab Group. The hormud company later introduced a more advanced service named EVC Plus. Other telecommunication service providers later offered similar products with different brands. For example, Nation link offer E-MAAL and somtel offers E-DAHAB services respectively. The lack of effective government in Somalia affected the necessities of the life and the telecommunication industry filled the governmental gap by introducing revolutionary technologies (Osman, 2012). The industry provides several services such landline, mobile phones, internet and mobile banking. The mobile banking or what we can refer to mobile money transfer is very popular in the most sophisticated and active people in Africa with regard to mobile phone payment (Osman, 2012).Many diverse factors contribute to the adoption and acceptance of these MMT services in Somalia. One major reason is that the banking systems in the country are very limited. In addition, there is much risk for caring cash since the country is still politically unstable and recovering from more than two decades of chaos and civil war (Mohamed, 2013). There are huge remittances sent by the Somali Diaspora back home to their families, friends, relatives, or business associates. There is also huge migration to the major cities because of economic crisis, famine, droughts, and job seeking. All these factors can contribute to the acceptance and usage of MMT service by the Somalis as they were behind its usage in other countries especially in Africa. There are limited empirical studies on the state of art of MMT adoption in the country. Sayid, Echchabi, and Abd. Aziz (2012) examined the mobile money acceptance in Somalia by drawing on the TAM model. Sayid et.al's (2012) study suggested that perceived usefulness and security positively affected the attitude towards mobile banking, whereas social influence and perceived usefulness significantly and positively influenced the intention to accept mobile money. Furthermore, their study suggested that perceived ease of use had positive effect on perceived usefulness of mobile money. Sayid et.al's (2012) sample size was very small (N=100) which is difficult to draw a statistical conclusion from it. In addition, this study looked at the MMT in a broader scope. However, their study provided useful insights about the factors influencing the acceptance and adoption of MMT in the country.The current study will examine the trends, challenge and future of mobile money transfer and banking in puntland. The study will focus sahal service as particular as there is no such in depth analysis in this service before. This service has 597,000 sahal service active subscribers which do mobile money services across puntland, similarly it has 86,000 active mobile payment subscribers which use sahal payment as their first choice paybills.The study will focus on these customers, the regulation and the mobile network operators to study the trends, challenges and future of this service.

Macintosh Retail Group Essays - Steve Jobs, Retail, Macintosh

Macintosh Retail Group Essays - Steve Jobs, Retail, Macintosh Macintosh Retail Group The Macintosh Retail Group A short summary The Macintosh Retail Group is a Dutch holding, that today competes in the sectors of clothing, living and automotives. It consists of the companies Superconfex (clothing), Kwantum, Tonton Tapis, Bartels Decor, GP Dcors, Klerkx Group (living), Halfords (automotive) and other smaller ones. Today, the group is active in several European countries, namely the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. Some numbers for Macintosh 1990-1995 turnover in net profit in number millions of Dfl millions of Dfl of employees 1990 1,049.6 18.3 5,793 1991 1,070.1 30.5 5,730 1992 1,113.8 29.1 5,750 1993 912.1 51.3 3,616 1994 934.2 38.5 3,737 1995 999.8 22.5 4,136 In 1995 it made a profit of Dfl 22.5 million and employed 4.136 thousand workers. Looking on the results of 1994, we come to know that the group made 39% of its profit with fashion, 47% with living and 14% in the automotive sector, which is probably similar to 1995. During the history of the holding (it started with being a job creation program in 1932), the structure of the Macintosh Retail Group changed: Under the name of Cenfectie Ateliers Chas Macintosh N.V. it grew to the largest manufacturer of clothing in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, which was done by acquire other companies. In the 1960s Macintosh started producing abroad, in order to remain competitive. This continued in the 1970s, at which time the production in Western Europe was nearly phased out because of the costs, especially to Belgium, Portugal and Tunisia. With creating a separate holding company and separate operation companies, the organizational structure was totally changed in 1977. But not even that step prevented the Group of making a negative operational profit of Dfl 19 millions in 1980. As a result of that, a recovery plan was developed by the management and a strategic planning process was introduced. It consists of changing production over to retailing, which is obviously a reason for the fact, that in 1990 about 90% of total turnover was realized in the retail sector. With acquisitions of companies of the sectors living and automotive in the last 15 years, the Macintosh Group continued enlarging. A climax of this development may be seen in the year 1993, in which the Group nearly stopped its complete production activities. It can be said, that throughout this process it evolved from a tailor to a retailer. The expectations of the management for the future are significantly to increase the number of the shops (334 in 1994), and consequently of the retail floor space (300.000 square metres in 1994). The Group tries to strengthen its market positions and to improve productivity. Strengthen its market positions should be reached with expansion through acquisitions on the international market, with concentrating in northwestern Europe. With doing this, Macintosh tries to establish and increase its position in the market sectors of clothing, living and automotive. Although the sector of clothes loses its importance within the Group, it is planned to develop this sector further during the next years.

A Narrative History of the French Revolution

A Narrative History of the French Revolution Interested in the French Revolution? Read our 101 but want more? Then try this, a narrative history of the French Revolution designed to give you a firm grounding in the subject: its all the whats and whens. Its also a perfect platform for readers who want to go on and study the much debated whys. The French Revolution is the threshold between an early, proto modern Europe and the modern age, ushering in a change so huge and all encompassing that the continent was remade by the forces (and often the armies) unleashed. It was truly a pleasure to write this narrative, as the complex characters (how did Robespierre go from wanting the death penalty banned to the architect of rule by terror and mass execution), and the tragic events (including a declaration designed to save a monarchy which actually crippled it) unfold into a fascinating whole. History of the French Revolution Pre-Revolutionary FranceFrances history of piecemeal territorial expansion produced a jigsaw of different laws, rights and boundaries which some felt were ripe for reform. Society was also divided - by tradition - into three estates: the clergy, the nobility and everyone else. The Crisis of the 1780s and the Causes of the French RevolutionWhile historians still debate the precise long term causes of the revolution, all are in agreement that a financial crisis in the 1780s provided the short term trigger for revolution. The Estates General and the Revolution of 1789The French Revolution began when the third estate deputies of the Estates General declared themselves a National Assembly and verbally seized sovereignty from the King while the citizens of Paris rebelled against royal control and stormed the Bastille in search of arms. Recreating France 1789 – 91Having seized control of France, the deputies of the National Assembly began reforming the nation, scrapping rights and p rivileges and drawing up a new constitution. The Republican Revolution 1792In 1792 a second revolution took place, as Jacobins and sansculottes forced the Assembly to replace itself with a National Convention which abolished the monarchy, declared France a republic and in 1793 executed the king. Purges and Revolt 1793In 1793 tensions in the revolution finally exploded, especially in rural areas where conscription and laws against priests caused open and armed rebellion against the domination of the revolution by Parisians. The Terror 1793 – 94Faced with crises on all fronts, the Committee of Public Safety embarked on a bloody policy of terror, executing their enemies – real and imagined – with no real trials in an attempt to save the revolution. Over 16,000 were executed and over 10,000 died in prison. Thermidor 1794 - 95In 1794 Robespierre and the other terrorists were overthrown, leading to a backlash against his supporters and the laws they had en-acted. A new constitution was drawn up. The Directory, t he Consulate and the End of Revolution 1795 - 1802From 1795 to 1802 coups and military power played an increasing role in the rule of France, until an ambitious and highly successful young General called Napoleon Bonaparte seized power and had himself elected Consul for Life in 1802. He would later declare himself Emperor, and a debate about whether he ended the French Revolution would outlast him (and continue to this day). He certainly mastered the forces the revolution unleashed and tied together opposed forces. But France would search for stability for several decades yet. Related Reading on the French Revolution History of the GuillotineThe Guillotine is the classic physical symbol of the French Revolution, a machine designed for its cold blooded equality. This article takes a look at the history of both the guillotine and the similar machines which came before.

International Politics in Twentieth Century Essay

International Politics in Twentieth Century - Essay Example I will begin by giving a liberal account f the relationship between the economy, the state and power. Liberal idealism in international politics did not re-emerge, after the devastation f the Second World War, until the 1970s. Rapid advances in technology, the growth f organisations like the European Community, and the impact f events like the 1973 oil crisis pointed towards evidence f growing interdependence between states. At the same time liberal literature made significant inroads into the rigid inside/outside, domestic/international distinctions characteristic f realism, with the emergence f trans-national relations and world society. Modern interdependency theory uses free trade and the removal f barriers to commerce as prof to their claims. "The rise f regional economic integration in Europe was inspired by the belief that the likelihood f conflict between states would be reduced by creating a common interest in trade and economic collaboration amongst members f the same geographical region." European powers, instead f resolving their differences militarily, would cooperate within a commonly agreed economic and political framework for their mutual benefit. Eventually cooperation between states would increase and broaden as mutual advantages could be gained. Membership f the European Union would entail compliance with its rules, which itself would discourage the absolute pursuit f national interests and weaken state sovereignty. Liberal institutionalists such as Rosecrance argued that the "growth f economic interdependency had been matched by a corresponding decline in the value and importance f territorial conquest for states." In the modern world the benefits f trade and cooperation among states greatly exceed that f military competition and territorial control. Traditionally nation states regarded the acquisition f territory and land as the means to increasing national wealth. The state has transformed from being a 'military state' to a 'trading state'. Statesmen increasingly became aware that the accumulation f national wealth and development relied more heavily on macro-economic policies that increased the competitiveness f their economy compared to other states. Higher levels f efficiency, technology intensive modes f production and valuable human capital all give incentives for multi-national corporations and businesses to invest in the country. Neo-liberals point out that commercial relations between businesses and individuals have diminished the influence and power f the state. Although there is suspicion the role oil has played in the ongoing war in Iraq one cannot doubt the repercussions the war has had internationally. Britain and America have to some extent isolated themselves diplomatically from Europe (their closet allies) and the wider world. Nowadays due to the complications f economic interdependence it makes states less able to act aggressively because otherwise they face risking economic penalties imposed by other members f the international community.