Harlem Renaissance Poets Analysis Essay Example For Students

Harlem Renaissance Poets Analysis Essay The Harlem Renaissance, 2011)Democracy: By Longboats Hughes Democracy won't oblige, this long ever Through trade off and dread. have as much right As the other individual hast Stanton my two feet And own the land. tire so of hearing individuals state, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is one more day. needn't bother with my opportunity when Im dead. can't live on tomorrows bread. Opportunities a solid independent an incredible need. live here, as well. need opportunities as you. In this sonnet you can see the twofold awareness being communicated in the longing of the possibility of Freedom. As an American and as a Black man outwardly glancing in, the line l live here, as well. I need opportunity Just as you begs that there is no contrast among himself and some other American. He longs for the acknowledgment to come. Included Culled was an innovator in the Harlem Renaissance. He distributed four volumes of verse during his time, just as short stories, a novel, and compositions for theater. Had a grieved youth, brimming with relinquishment. His compositions praised dark magnificence and hated bigotry and its belongings CITATION Couch 1033 (Counted Culled, 2014)From a Dark Tree We will not generally plant while others repaper brilliant addition of blasting fruit,Not consistently face, degraded and mute,That lesser men should hold their siblings cheap;Not everlastingly while others sleepwalk we boggle their appendages with smooth flute,Not consistently twist to some increasingly unobtrusive brute;We ere not made to unceasingly sob. The night whose sable bosom eases the stark,White stars is no less beautiful being dark,And there are buds that can't sprout at Allan light, yet fold, forsaken, and fall;So in obscurity we conceal the heart that bleeds,And pause, and tend our horrifying seeds. From a The twofold cognizance that is being communicated in this sonnet is appeared in the outflow of the magnificence and misery in the nature around him. This is particularly strong in the line White stars is no less flawless being dim, basically saying that dark skin is as lovely as white kinfolk and ought to be acknowledged thusly. The basic subject in the verse of the Harlem Renaissance is a basic longing to be acknowledged into standard society, not as inferiors, yet as equivalents. The affirmation of the magnificence of the African American and the acknowledgment as Patriotic equivalents is a line that seems to go through these sonnets. Raised and Repressed I raise my arms and give a yell A humble man, I am honored I remain on a dirt of opportunity Gained by progenitors unrepressed And to my knees I fall Surrendering my poise To anothers beck and call Furthermore, know somewhere down in my heart That the opportunity of which he and I likewise speak Are regularly completely different. - Holly Gaston Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY Boyd, N. (2014). The Harlem Renaissance: Novels and Poetry from the Jazz Age. Recovered from Education Portal: http://instruction gateway. Com/institute/Counted Culled. (2014). Recovered from Poem Hunter Treasure Hunter: http://www. Pentameter. Com/checked winnowed/life story/The Harlem Renaissance. (2011). Recovered from History of the Harlem Renaissance: http://historyoftheharlemrenaissance. Webby. Com/list. HTML

Unforgettable Trials free essay sample

After the thirty-minute vessel ride, the nine different Americans and I showed up in the little, yet excellent angling town of Balawing. We were still in the primary seven day stretch of our fourteen day church summer crucial to the Philippines, and were having fun in a totally depleted sort of way. Right when we ventured out of the pontoon, huge numbers of the poor occupant families welcomed us in the Philippine national language, Tagalog, which just four of our gathering could scarcely talk. We had gone to the island to pass out gave apparel, toys, and medication, just as to make a solid floor for their little church. Simply glancing around, I realized it is difficult to remain and help there †the correspondence issue was entirely apparent, and no place in sight were beds for us to stay in bed, open bathrooms or showers to utilize, or even solid blend to make the floor with. We will compose a custom article test on Extraordinary Trials or on the other hand any comparative theme explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Fortunately, we carried little tents with us, and there were a couple of interpreters there for us. The locals helped us convey our stuff to where we would set up our tents, grinning the entire time as they helped us. As we set up our tents, a considerable lot of the youngsters lounged around us, timidly viewing. For a large portion of them, this was the first occasion when they had seen individuals who didn’t communicate in their language †we resembled big names to them. At the point when we wrapped setting up the tents and placing our stuff in them, the folks in our gathering went option to work making sense of how we would make the solid. Different young ladies and I chose we’d play with the children, however we weren’t very sure how to begin. We chose to play tag with them, so one young lady in our gathering ran up and labeled one of them. They quickly got on and we had an extraordinary round of tag, despite the fact that we couldn’t even speak wi th one another. We played until supper was served, which comprised of fish (eyeballs, scales, and all), colossal shrimp, and rice, with coconut milk to drink. I scarcely contacted my food, with the exception of the rice, as I’m very little of a trial eater, and afterward went to my tent, as I was amazingly depleted. That night it poured more enthusiastically than I have ever experienced downpour in my life! I could hear thunder surrounding us and the downpour beat on our haven. The water spilled through the sides of our tents, dousing our garments and camping cots. I in the long run nodded off, yet in what felt like just a couple of moments later I woke up to certain children snickering outside my tent. We just remained in the town of Balawing for three days, however it felt like at any rate three weeks. The entire thing was perhaps the greatest test that I have ever experienced in my life. I for all intents and purposes starved from eating scarcely anything, making due on coconut milk and seared bananas. I rested in a tent outside during a genuine tropical storm. My lone showers were from super cold basins. I blended heaps of mud and shakes along with a scoop to make concrete. Every night I just got a couple of long stretches of rest. In any case, the experience was really astounding. I helped make creature inflatables for kids so as to show them God’s creation. I for one educated around fifty children to play Duck Goose without communicating in their language. A few children showed me a Tagalog little kids’ game and melody that I despite everything recollect now. I had the option to impart my confidence to certain young people through an interpreter. I siphoned water from an underground well. I began to look all starry eyed at some astonishing children that indicated me their one of a kind, brilliant characters without communicating in my language. I really moved up a coconut tree! The entire end of the week was an astounding encounter, and despite the fact that it was just a couple of days, it was my preferred piece of the entire fourteen day excursion to the Philippines. I experienced such huge numbers of preliminaries, and yet I had a fabulous time. I developed to truly adore the children I met and I will never under any circumstance overlook the experience.

Workshop in Development Practice COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

Workshop in Development Practice COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog Kelly Heindel is a SIPA student who recently spent her spring break focusing on her Workshop in Development Practice course. I asked Kelly to talk about the project and to share some pictures. Thanks Kelly! One of the main reasons I decided to attend SIPA was for the Workshop in Development Practice course taught during the final semester of study.   Labeling the workshop as a course is a bit misleading.   It is more of an experience.   As the student services office explains, “Officially, it is a spring-semester course for second-year masters degree students in the EPD program, but workshop activities begin in the fall semester through the course on Methods for Development Practice.” After gaining a firm understanding of the current methods and theories for development, students are placed in consulting teams of 4-6 people and assigned a client.   Clients are typically UN agencies, NGOs, or private firms working on corporate social responsibility projects.   The client chooses an assignment for the team that can include, evaluation of ongoing organizational activities, designing a monitoring and evaluation system for a current project, recommendations for improvement or sustainability of a development initiative, and many more. My team’s client is the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR).   IIRR uses a participatory development approach or “people-centered method” by working directly with local NGOs to build the capacity of communities to overcome challenges such as poverty and natural disasters.   One of their newest initiatives has been a community managed disaster risk reduction project on Nias Island in Indonesia.   Nias Island was greatly affected by the tsunami and earthquake in 2004 and 2005, and is still trying to rebuild physically but also economically. Over 80 UN agencies and other NGOs descended upon the island after the disasters, but most have since left.   IIRR is attempting to fill this gap by helping a local NGO, Caritas Keuskupan Sibolga (CKS), build the capacity of local communities to reduce their vulnerability to disasters through environmental management, livelihood generation, and community organizational activities. Our consulting team is conducting an independent evaluation of this project to determine the effectiveness and relevance of this approach on Nias Island.   The evaluation is a semester long project and includes a total of four weeks of field research where we conducted surveys, focus groups, and interviews with the local staff and beneficiaries of the project to inform our evaluation and subsequent recommendations. At the end of the semester we will present our findings to IIRR’s executive board and also to faculty and students at SIPA.   Being able to take classroom teachings directly out into the field is really a unique experience.   While stressful at times, the workshop has been extremely rewarding and has assisted in shaping my career goals.

An Ethical Dilemma About Abortion Essay - 1496 Words

At some point in every person’s life they will be faced with some sort of dilemma that tests their morals and values. They will encounter a situation that forces them to weigh the good and bad against beliefs they have held their entire life and make a decision that could affect their life forever. Those core beliefs are what influences the person’s decisions, their sense of right and wrong as well as their perceptions about every situation they face. This paper will evaluate an ethical dilemma about abortion in relation to the Christian worldview s core beliefs and offer solutions and benefits based on those beliefs as well as how other worldviews may address the issue. Ethical Dilemma The case that is being evaluated is about a woman named Susan that is considering abortion. She finally becomes pregnant after years of trying but quickly finds out through a blood test that the baby has Down syndrome. Her career has become successful and important to her so she does not want to give it up but wants to obtain a healthy balance between family and work. Struggling with the decision and not completely comfortable with abortion, she seeks the advice of Richard, an evolutionary biologist who has dedicated his career to human potential and decreasing human suffering. He tells her that abortion may be the best option because it will prevent further human suffering to both the baby and her. There is no easy answer to this dilemma because it involves either terminating a humanShow MoreRelatedAbortion Ethical Dilemma1643 Words   |  7 PagesAbortion Ethical Dilemma An 18 year old girl gets pregnant and can’t decide whether to keep the baby or have an abortion. Her parents are very religious and do not believe in sex before marriage therefore would not take to kindly to their daughter being pregnant. She does not want to kill her unborn child but feels like there is no other option besides having an abortion. There are many reasons that one would decide upon getting an abortion and againstRead MoreThe Ethical Dilemma On Abortion1703 Words   |  7 PagesMuldrow CWV-101 6/22/15 Professor James Waddell Ethical Dilemma on Abortion There are many common pregnancy alternatives, but most often the resulting decision is abortion because it is effortless. Abortion is endings a women’s pregnancy by removing or forcing a fetus or embryo from the mother’s womb before it is able to survive on its own. Not all abortions are purposely done some are spontaneous like when a women that has a miscarriage. Rather abortion is done purposely or naturally it is a worldwideRead MoreThe Ethical Dilemma Of Abortion1163 Words   |  5 PagesThere are many ethical dilemmas in the world today such as euthanasia, performance enhancing drugs, pornography, abortion and more. Someone’s worldview is often a big contributor in the decisions they make in regards to the dilemma. Abortion is one of today’s most contested ethical dilemmas (Beattie, 2011). Susan is a mother that is debating whether she should have an abortion or not. Her ethical dilemma case will be analyzed and compared from a Christian worldview p erspective and other worldly perspectivesRead MoreEthical Dilemmas Of A Drug Company s Regional Sales Manager1748 Words   |  7 Pagescan be hard to make a decision, especially when an ethical dilemma is involved. Ethical dilemmas pose a challenge because there is good to be found with both choices. The problem arises when one’s personal ethics are challenged. This paper will discuss an ethical dilemma with which a drug company’s regional sales manager was faced. It will discuss: the case and explain the ethical dilemma; the four functions of management; ethical issues; ethical relativism; four values; case resolutions; and ChristianRead MoreCode Of Conduct, Care Values And Anti Discriminatory Practices1640 Words   |  7 PagesThis essay is about a dilemma of a nurse and a patient in relation to family issues and beliefs that reflects code of conduct, care values and anti - discriminatory practices, including Deontologist’s and Utilitarian’s view . Dilemma; A 12 years old girl is 22weeks pregnant and decides to have an abortion. Her parents are very religious and do not believe in sex before marriage, and would not be happy to know that their 12 years old daughter is pregnant. The girl confides in a nurse who happens toRead MoreEthical Dilemm People Face Ethical Dilemmas943 Words   |  4 PagesEthical Dilemma Essay People face ethical dilemmas every day. This brings to light what one’s personal ethics are based on. According to the lecture, â€Å"In a CWV ethics are grounded in absolute and universal moral principles that have been given by God. In modern culture, moral standards are subjective and based upon personal preference† (Lecture 16). In this essay a case study will be given and solutions to the dilemma will be given from two different worldviews. The ethical dilemma I have chosenRead MoreThe Ethical Dilemma Of Humanity1455 Words   |  6 PagesHumanity faces many ethical dilemmas in their daily lives. The ethical dilemma a person faces on what is morally right or wrong depending on their worldview and their core beliefs. Sometimes in our lives we make the right or wrong decisions, and we later face the consequences that come with it that we are unaware of. Some of the decisions that a person makes, is based on their ethical dilemma, and can significantly affect their fu ture emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. One exampleRead MoreEthics: Nursing and Abortion1645 Words   |  7 PagesProposal The Ethics for Nurses in Abortion Procedures Working in the field of abortion isn’t an easy task furthermore participating in the abortion procedures. But the field of nursing you have to follow a code of ethics, a set of rules and regulation. Nurses have their personal opinions about abortion, but because they are health professionals and their opinions are sought as such, they are obligated to understand why they hold certain views. Nurses need to be clear about why they believe as they doRead MoreToo Many Abortions in Canada830 Words   |  3 Pagesperformed abortion with a number of 28,765 recorded in year 2010 (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2014, p.2). Majority of the women getting abortion is between the ages of 20-24 years old. The Canadian Medical Associations abortion policy defines abortion as the active termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks in gestation. Canada does not have an abortion law, so abortion is governed by the same legislation as other medical procedures (Women’s Care Clinic, 2004). Abortion is oneRead More Ethical Dilemmas Surrounding Abortion Essay1430 Words   |  6 PagesEthical Dilemmas Surrounding Abortion In our society, there are many ethical dilemmas that we are faced with that are virtually impossible to solve. One of the most difficult and controversial issues that we are faced with is abortion. There are many strong arguments both for and against the right to have an abortion which are so complicated that it becomes impossible to resolve. The complexity of this issue lies in the different aspects of the argument. The essence of a person, rights, and who

Security Issues Of The Arab Spring Movement - 2310 Words

Security Issues in Syria This essay will examine how festering and fermenting animosity between Sunni and Shia factions in the region embroils issues of food security and human security with the security issues found in conflict generally. Security is a looking-glass that puts different things as priorities for whomever in question is looking. The security concerns of Bashar al-Assad are different to those of the Free Syrian Army, Jabhat al-Nusra or the Islamic State. While these actors- and there are more than just those three- are actively engaged in conflict with fiscal and military support from NATO, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia security issues will blossom for civilians in the region and globally. There is a long and complex history†¦show more content†¦The Alawite Assad family has based its power for more than four decades on the solid loyalty of its religious bloc in a loose alliance with Christians, Druze, and, sometimes, one or more of the other smaller, ethnic groups. A prominent feature of the 2011–12 rebellion is a largely Sunni Arab bid to overthrow that â€Å"coalition of minorities† regime. (Carpenter, 2013: 1-2) One cannot talk about Syria without talking about the region as a whole. Since the end of the Cold War three Western led ground operations in the Middle East have been added massive strain to societies still recovering from centuries of colonialism and the authoritarian regimes that followed the colonial era. Western interference and intervention did not cease with the independence of nation-states in the region as the numerous wars and propping up of authoritarian regimes since 1945 can attest to. The establishment of the Israeli state following World War Two has caused multiple conflicts in the region, as have longstanding animosity between Iran and Arab nations and the Iran-Iraq war. Resource Wars and Post-Colonialism Resource wars are violent conflicts fought over vital materials, the Middle East region contains some of the largest producers of petroleum and natural gas, the market for these resources however is global. As energy security forms a core part of the national

Digital Fortress Chapter 4 Free Essays

The crypto door beeped once, waking Susan from her depressing reverie. The door had rotated past its fully open position and would be closed again in five seconds, having made a complete 360-degree rotation. Susan gathered her thoughts and stepped through the opening. We will write a custom essay sample on Digital Fortress Chapter 4 or any similar topic only for you Order Now A computer made note of her entry. Although she had practically lived in Crypto since its completion three years ago, the sight of it still amazed her. The main room was an enormous circular chamber that rose five stories. Its transparent, domed ceiling towered 120 feet at its central peak. The Plexiglas cupola was embedded with a polycarbonate mesh-a protective web capable of withstanding a two-megaton blast. The screen filtered the sunlight into delicate lacework across the walls. Tiny particles of dust drifted upward in wide unsuspecting spirals-captives of the dome’s powerful deionizing system. The room’s sloping sides arched broadly at the top and then became almost vertical as they approached eye level. Then they became subtly translucent and graduated to an opaque black as they reached the floor-a shimmering expanse of polished black tile that shone with an eerie luster, giving one the unsettling sensation that the floor was transparent. Black ice. Pushing through the center of the floor like the tip of a colossal torpedo was the machine for which the dome had been built. Its sleek black contour arched twenty-three feet in the air before plunging back into the floor below. Curved and smooth, it was as if an enormous killer whale had been frozen mid breach in a frigid sea. This was TRANSLTR, the single most expensive piece of computing equipment in the world-a machine the NSA swore did not exist. Like an iceberg, the machine hid 90 percent of its mass and power deep beneath the surface. Its secret was locked in a ceramic silo that went six stories straight down-a rocketlike hull surrounded by a winding maze of catwalks, cables, and hissing exhaust from the freon cooling system. The power generators at the bottom droned in a perpetual low-frequency hum that gave the acoustics in Crypto a dead, ghostlike quality. TRANSLTR, like all great technological advancements, had been a child of necessity. During the 1980s, the NSA witnessed a revolution in telecommunications that would change the world of intelligence reconnaissance forever-public access to the Internet. More specifically, the arrival of E-mail. Criminals, terrorists, and spies had grown tired of having their phones tapped and immediately embraced this new means of global communication. E-mail had the security of conventional mail and the speed of the telephone. Since the transfers traveled through underground fiber-optic lines and were never transmitted into the airwaves, they were entirely intercept-proof-at least that was the perception. In reality, intercepting E-mail as it zipped across the Internet was child’s play for the NSA’s techno-gurus. The Internet was not the new home computer revelation that most believed. It had been created by the Department of Defense three decades earlier-an enormous network of computers designed to provide secure government communication in the event of nuclear war. The eyes and ears of the NSA were old Internet pros. People conducting illegal business via E-mail quickly learned their secrets were not as private as they’d thought. The FBI, DEA, IRS, and other U.S. law enforcement agencies-aided by the NSA’s staff of wily hackers-enjoyed a tidal wave of arrests and convictions. Of course, when the computer users of the world found out the U.S. government had open access to their E-mail communications, a cry of outrage went up. Even pen pals, using E-mail for nothing more than recreational correspondence, found the lack of privacy unsettling. Across the globe, entrepreneurial programmers began working on a way to keep E-mail more secure. They quickly found one and public-key encryption was born. Public-key encryption was a concept as simple as it was brilliant. It consisted of easy-to-use, home-computer software that scrambled personal E-mail messages in such a way that they were totally unreadable. A user could write a letter and run it through the encryption software, and the text would come out the other side looking like random nonsense-totally illegible-a code. Anyone intercepting the transmission found only an unreadable garble on the screen. The only way to unscramble the message was to enter the sender’s â€Å"pass-key†-a secret series of characters that functioned much like a PIN number at an automatic teller. The pass-keys were generally quite long and complex; they carried all the information necessary to instruct the encryption algorithm exactly what mathematical operations to follow tore-create the original message. A user could now send E-mail in confidence. Even if the transmission was intercepted, only those who were given the key could ever decipher it. The NSA felt the crunch immediately. The codes they were facing were no longer simple substitution ciphers crackable with pencil and graph paper-they were computer-generated hash functions that employed chaos theory and multiple symbolic alphabets to scramble messages into seemingly hopeless randomness. At first, the pass-keys being used were short enough for the NSA’s computers to â€Å"guess.† If a desired pass-key had ten digits, a computer was programmed to try every possibility between 0000000000 and 9999999999. Sooner or later the computer hit the correct sequence. This method of trial-and-error guessing was known as â€Å"brute force attack.† It was time-consuming but mathematically guaranteed to work. As the world got wise to the power of brute-force code-breaking, the pass-keys started getting longer and longer. The computer time needed to â€Å"guess† the correct key grew from weeks to months and finally to years. By the 1990s, pass-keys were over fifty characters long and employed the full 256-character ASCII alphabet of letters, numbers, and symbols. The number of different possibilities was in the neighborhood of 10120-ten with 120 zeros after it. Correctly guessing a pass-key was as mathematically unlikely as choosing the correct grain of sand from a three-mile beach. It was estimated that a successful brute-force attack on a standard sixty-four-bit key would take the NSA’s fastest computer-the top-secret Cray/Josephson II-over nineteen years to break. By the time the computer guessed the key and broke the code, the contents of the message would be irrelevant. Caught in a virtual intelligence blackout, the NSA passed a top-secret directive that was endorsed by the President of the United States. Buoyed by federal funds and a carte blanche to do whatever was necessary to solve the problem, the NSA set out to build the impossible: the world’s first universal code-breaking machine. Despite the opinion of many engineers that the newly proposed code-breaking computer was impossible to build, the NSA lived by its motto: Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer. Five years, half a million man-hours, and $1.9 billion later, the NSA proved it once again. The last of the three million, stamp-size processors was hand-soldered in place, the final internal programming was finished, and the ceramic shell was welded shut. TRANSLTR had been born. Although the secret internal workings of TRANSLTR were the product of many minds and were not fully understood by any one individual, its basic principle was simple: Many hands make light work. Its three million processors would all work in parallel-counting upward at blinding speed, trying every new permutation as they went. The hope was that even codes with unthinkably colossal pass-keys would not be safe from TRANSLTR’s tenacity. This multibillion-dollar masterpiece would use the power of parallel processing as well as some highly classified advances in clear text assessment to guess pass-keys and break codes. It would derive its power not only from its staggering number of processors but also from new advances in quantum computing-an emerging technology that allowed information to be stored as quantum-mechanical states rather than solely as binary data. The moment of truth came on a blustery Thursday morning in October. The first live test. Despite uncertainty about how fast the machine would be, there was one thing on which the engineers agreed-if the processors all functioned in parallel, TRANSLTR would be powerful. The question was how powerful. The answer came twelve minutes later. There was a stunned silence from the handful in attendance when the printout sprang to life and delivered the cleartext-the broken code. TRANSLTR had just located a sixty-four-character key in a little over ten minutes, almost a million times faster than the two decades it would have taken the NSA’s second-fastest computer. Led by the deputy director of operations, Commander Trevor J. Strathmore, the NSA’s Office of Production had triumphed. TRANSLTR was a success. In the interest of keeping their success a secret, Commander Strathmore immediately leaked information that the project had been a complete failure. All the activity in the Crypto wing was supposedly an attempt to salvage their $2 billion fiasco. Only the NSA elite knew the truth-TRANSLTR was cracking hundreds of codes every day. With word on the street that computer-encrypted codes were entirely unbreakable-even by the all-powerful NSA-the secrets poured in. Drug lords, terrorists, and embezzlers alike-weary of having their cellular phone transmissions intercepted-were turning to the exciting new medium of encrypted E-mail for instantaneous global communications. Never again would they have to face a grand jury and hear their own voice rolling off tape, proof of some long-forgotten cellular phone conversation plucked from the air by an NSA satellite. Intelligence gathering had never been easier. Codes intercepted by the NSA entered TRANSLTR as totally illegible ciphers and were spit out minutes later as perfectly readable cleartext. No more secrets. To make their charade of incompetence complete, the NSA lobbied fiercely against all new computer encryption software, insisting it crippled them and made it impossible for lawmakers to catch and prosecute the criminals. Civil rights groups rejoiced, insisting the NSA shouldn’t be reading their mail anyway. Encryption software kept rolling off the presses. The NSA had lost the battle-exactly as it had planned. The entire electronic global community had been fooled†¦ or so it seemed. How to cite Digital Fortress Chapter 4, Essay examples

Buyer Decision-Making Process

Question: Analysis of the External and Internal Factors Affecting the Buyer Decision-Making Process. Answer: Consumers are continually developing their purchasing behavior based on various life circumstances. Consumer behavior denotes the process which buyers pass through when making purchases and it encompasses factors that affect their usage and decision (Berkowitz 2006, p.101). Various factors also influence consumers choice of retailers, the brands they buy, as well as their shopping habits. Moreover, consumers are always influenced by factors such as psychology, personality, membership faction, social cluster, subculture, and culture in their decision-making process (Rani 2014, p.54). Every consumer has to go through a process of decision-making when purchasing various products. The process has five stages including the recognition of a problem, information searching, alternatives evaluation, purchase decision, and after purchase behavior (Hoyer, Deborah Rik 2013, p.189). Every stage in the decision-making process is strongly affected by the psychological, personal, social, and cultur al characteristics of the consumers. Thus, the paper analyzes various internal and external factors that affect an individuals decision to purchase a car. Both external and internal factors work together and are inter-linked to help the buyer in making various business decisions. External Factors Consumer buying decisions are frequently influenced by factors or issues that are beyond their control. Consumers always encounter numerous external influences when making purchasing decisions such as an individuals household structure, subculture, culture, and groups that he/she relates to (Dudovskiy 2013, par.4). They are called external influences by business owners and marketers because the influence source emanates from the customers external environment. The following is a detailed analysis of the external factors that influence consumer buying behavior. Group Behavior People are known to be social by nature, and they love to relate with various groups. Groups signify more than two people who share common beliefs, norms, or values and interrelate to accomplish a mutual or individual goal (Wright 2006, p.24). It is evident that almost every consumer behavior occurs when an individual is in a grouping environment. Usually, the norms of a group cover every important aspect of the groups functioning and flouting those rules may result in penalties. Moreover, a consumers behavior of buying goods and services can be influenced by the groups nature. For example, a consumer can buy various products depending on the groups cohesiveness, how frequently they interact and membership exclusiveness. Currently, various groups are focusing on the nature of products including their uniqueness and visibility characteristics (Szwacka-Mokrzycka 2015, p.151). Groups such as reference groups serve as comparison points for a person in developing either specific or genera l attitudes, and values. For instance, some people purchase Chevrolet car brand because, in their group, it signifies power and wealth. Family A family is a group of more than two individuals related by adoption, marriage, or birth and living together. Peoples immediate family associates play a significant role in affecting their buying behavior (Rani 2014, p.53). What individuals adopt from their parents eventually becomes their culture. In essence, when a person sees something from childhood, it becomes his/her habit or lifestyle. The family is the greatest basic consumption entity for many consumer goods. For instance, if a person is used to seeing members in their family drive a Mercedes-Benz, there is the likelihood that he/she in future will purchase a Mercedes-Benz. Culture Culture affects consumers through various values and norms formed by the existing society. Culture is an extensive environmental aspect that affects consumers behavior. According to various scholars, culture is always inculcated as it can be passed from one age-group to another through institutes such as religion and family members (Rani 2014, p.55). Additionally, when culture evolves it can affect the advantages of a brand or product with novel values. Hence, culture can make it necessary to change various products if the value cannot gratify the society, for example, TV series, or movies. Culture enables marketing managers to concentrate on customs, beliefs and values shared by a specific generations members to make them suitable clients for exceptional marketing attention. Therefore, individuals from cultures that value power, wealth, and influence will definitely purchase a car that exhibits these attributes such as Audi, Chevrolet, or Mercedes Benz. Social Class Various forms of social stratification or social structure have existed in every society throughout human existence. The social class of a consumer denotes his/her standing and ranking in society. Furthermore, there are numerous factors that determine an individuals social class, for example, income, education, and occupation (Burrow Bosiljevac 2012, p.168). Income is a significant determinant of social class, but there are other factors that compliment earnings. For instance, an individuals area of residence, world-view, and cultural interests are vital factors that determine the social class of a person. Wright (2006, p.26), asserts that social class is measured on the basis of prestige, power, and relative wealth. Hence, there are various levels of the social class including the lower class, working class, middle class, and upper class. Each social class has its purchasing tendencies and lifestyle orientation. For example, the lower class likes purchasing the readily available go ods and love having a close family relationship. The working class loves newest appliances, food items, and sporting events while the middle class always go for products in fashion, home items, nice clothing, and goods associated with self-presentation. On the other hand, the upper class loves art, traveling, equipment, quality merchandise as well as recreation and expensive hobby. In this context, the brand of a car that individuals purchase greatly depends on their social standing in the society. For instance, an individual from the low socio-economic background cannot afford to purchase a Mercedes-Benz or Chevrolet because their disposable income cannot allow that to happen. Internal Factors Internal factors also known as psychological factors fall into four categories including learning, perception, motivation, needs as well as attitudes and beliefs (Lejniece 2011, p.1275). Needs Need recognition is an internal stimulus that tells an individual that there is a gap between his/her real situation and the desired and ideal one. Hence, need recognition is a significant and the foremost step in the process of purchasing any product (Rani 2014, p.56). Therefore, if a person wants to satisfy his/her need, he/she would not mind the type of car to purchase as long as it serves his/her need. Personality According to Lantos (2015, p.105), personality is a set of specific characteristics and traits of every individual. Personality encompasses the interaction of physiological and psychological characteristics that results in a persons consistent behavior. Eventually, personality materializes into various traits such as sociability, confidence, ambition, charisma, autonomy, shyness, adaptability, and curiosity. Consequently, the personality of a consumer will influence his/her purchasing habits and shopping behavior (Rani 2014, p.56). For instance, people tend to purchase car brands that reflect their personality in the society. Learning It is evident that people learn through actions. When people act, they learn. It means that an individuals behavior changes as he/she acquires experience and information (Nayeem Casidy 2015, p.70). For example, when a person has a bad experience with a product, he will not buy it in future because he has learned its shortcomings. However, if customers have a good experience with certain products they will buy them in future. Beliefs and Attitudes According to Barber Dodd (2009, p.53), beliefs are convictions that individuals have on something. Through the experiences that consumers acquire, their learning and their external influences, they develop beliefs that influence their buying behavior. On the other hand, attitude is a feeling, an evaluation of an idea or object and the tendency to take action in a particular manner toward that idea. Attitudes allow people to develop a consistent behavior against a group of same ideas or objects. Equally, attitudes and beliefs are anchored in the mind of an individual and are hard to change. Therefore, if an individual believes that Toyota is the quality car brand in the market, it becomes very tough to change his/her mind regarding the brand. Perception Perception is the procedure through which a person organizes, selects, and interprets any received information in order to take an action (Lejniece 2011, p.1275). The perception regarding any situation can decide how and if an individual will decide to do something. Experiences, personal characteristics, and beliefs of people will have varied perception regarding different products such as car brands. Motivation Motivation drives a consumer to develop a buying or purchasing behavior. Motivation involves a need expression which becomes persistent forcing the consumer to desire to satisfy the same need (Lejniece 2011, p.1276). Additionally, motivation works at the subconscious level, the reason it is hard to measure. In essence, motivation is linked to the need and is articulated in the similar classification type as described in the levels of the customer purchasing decision process (Jham Puri 2014, p.3). Analysis of Consumer Decision-Making Theories Utility theory posits that decisions are made by consumers based on the outcomes they expect from the decisions they make. For this reason, consumers tend to make a decision that will maximize their well-being. For example, if a consumer intends to purchase a car, he/she would search the internet to identify the brand with the highest utility. Prospect theory, on the other hand, posits that an item is considered valuable if it is owned by few individuals in the society. To showcase class and power, an individual will prefer buying car brands such as Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Consideration theory points out that a consumer always has a list of brands to choose from when making a purchasing decision. However, the consumer will always choose from the active brands in the market. The involvement theory argues that a brand is chosen based on its significance in the life of the consumer. For instance, individuals belonging to certain groups will favor certain brands because they denote a se nse of belonging. References Barber, N., Dodd, T., 2009. The Influence of Purchase Confidence on Information Source Selection: Implications for Hospitality Industry. FIU Hospitality Review, 2(1), pp. 37-57. Berkowitz, E.N., 2006. Essentials of Health Care Marketing. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Burrow, J., Bosiljevac, J., 2012. Marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Dudovskiy, J., 2013. Consumer Decision-Making Process: A Detailed Analysis. Hoyer, W.D., Deborah, J.M., Rik, P., 2013. Consumer Behavior. Australia: Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Jham, V., Puri, S., 2014. Cases on Consumer-Centric Marketing Management. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. Lantos, G.P., 2015. Consumer Behavior in Action. London: Routledge. Lejniece, I., 2011. Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior Assuming and Fulfilling Credit Liabilities in Latvia. Economics Management, 16, pp. 1274-1278. Nayeem, T., Casidy, R. 2015. Australian Consumers' Decision-Making Styles for Everyday Products. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 23, pp. 67-74. Rani, P., 2014. Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior. International .Journal of Current Research and Academic Review, 2(9), pp.52-61. Szwacka-Mokrzycka, J., 2015. Trends in Consumer Behavior Changes. Overview of Concepts. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 14(3), pp. 149-156. Wright, R., 2006. Consumer Behavior. London: Thompson Learning.

Attention Deficit Disorder Essays

Attention Deficit Disorder Essays Attention Deficit Disorder Essay Attention Deficit Disorder Essay Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is a psychosomatic condition characterized by serious and persistent difficulties in the following three specific areas: Attention span, Impulse control and Hyperactivity (sometimes). ADD is a chronic disorder that can begin in infancy and extend through adulthood in most cases. Symptoms commonly found among children with ADD under the Attention span criteria include short attention span, making careless mistakes, difficulty in performing/finishing tasks, not listening/following instructions, easily distracted, loses things and forgetful in daily activities. Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may show symptoms such as fidgeting or screaming in seat, excessive running or climbing at inappropriate time, restlessness of hands or feet and excessive talking. Other symptoms due to Impulsiveness include interrupting a conversation, or blurting out answers before question is completed and has difficulty awaiting turn. Students with ADD/ADHD have different needs and so they require a special learning environment. To establish the proper learning environment, seat students with ADD near the teachers desk, but include them as part of the regular class seating. Avoid distracting stimuli and transitions, physical relocation, changes in schedules and disruptions. Be creative! Produce a stimuli-reduced study area. Let all students have access to this area so the student with ADD will not feel different. When giving instruction, maintain eye contact, make directions clear and simple and avoid multiple commands. Monitor students frequently and maintain a supportive attitude. Avoid ridicule and criticism. Instead, reward more than you punish to build self-esteem.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to give special attention and education to students with disabilities, The Individuals Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA 97) was created. Through the 6 principles of IDEA children with disabilities can have access to a free appropriate and specialized public education. Well-trained evaluators can properly evaluate them and so their specific needs can be met. Students with disabilities can learn in a regular classroom and need not to be isolated from the normal students. They can live a normal life despite their disabilities. The Act also strengthens the role of parents in the education of their children thus making learning more effective. References Teaching Children with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder. Retrieved September 1998, from ERIC EC Digest #E569 Website: http://ericec.org/digests/e569.html

Free Essays on Abercrombie And Fitch Industry Analysis

Industry Analysis Abercrombie and Fitch is a members of the retail (special lines) industry. This means that they are focused on one certain demographic area. That being the high-end middle to upper class men and women in high school or college. Other members of this group include The Limited, Polo Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, and the GAP. The short- term outlook looks great for specialty stores due to several things. They have continued to gain market share from the bigger department stores. Predictions for 2001 have disposable personal income climbing 4.9% and consumer consumption increasing by 4.0 %. Apparel prices should remain level with last year’s, but margins will get a boost from lower sourcing cost in Asia, lower inventories, and more emphasis on cost containment. The longer- term outlook is sort of cloudy. This is to be expected with an industry that is buoyed by a strong economy. The main factor looks to be the concerns of demographics with all the baby boomers getting older. An older population will be less interested in the latest fashion trends and more focused on the priorities such as retirement, health care, and their kids’ tuition. These expectations will definitely use up a greater share of disposable income. There is also an excess of retail square footage in America, some twenty square feet for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. As a result, chains are cutting back on their expansion plans, closing under performing units, and investing in cost-cutting technology. The next big undetermined factor is the future of the traditional bricks and mortar format and will it be necessary with online shopping coming on strong. Abercrombie looks to be establishing a strong leadership role in this evolving industry. Perhaps the most important to their future success will be their Internet strategy. Abercrombie has arguably the best e-commerce division in the industry with the initial high cost o... Free Essays on Abercrombie And Fitch Industry Analysis Free Essays on Abercrombie And Fitch Industry Analysis Industry Analysis Abercrombie and Fitch is a members of the retail (special lines) industry. This means that they are focused on one certain demographic area. That being the high-end middle to upper class men and women in high school or college. Other members of this group include The Limited, Polo Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, and the GAP. The short- term outlook looks great for specialty stores due to several things. They have continued to gain market share from the bigger department stores. Predictions for 2001 have disposable personal income climbing 4.9% and consumer consumption increasing by 4.0 %. Apparel prices should remain level with last year’s, but margins will get a boost from lower sourcing cost in Asia, lower inventories, and more emphasis on cost containment. The longer- term outlook is sort of cloudy. This is to be expected with an industry that is buoyed by a strong economy. The main factor looks to be the concerns of demographics with all the baby boomers getting older. An older population will be less interested in the latest fashion trends and more focused on the priorities such as retirement, health care, and their kids’ tuition. These expectations will definitely use up a greater share of disposable income. There is also an excess of retail square footage in America, some twenty square feet for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. As a result, chains are cutting back on their expansion plans, closing under performing units, and investing in cost-cutting technology. The next big undetermined factor is the future of the traditional bricks and mortar format and will it be necessary with online shopping coming on strong. Abercrombie looks to be establishing a strong leadership role in this evolving industry. Perhaps the most important to their future success will be their Internet strategy. Abercrombie has arguably the best e-commerce division in the industry with the initial high cost o...

Contribution of Tony Garnier and Le Corbusier Essay

Contribution of Tony Garnier and Le Corbusier - Essay Example Le Corbusier contributed to urban planning in a wide variety of contexts. One of his first forays into urbanism occurred during the 1920s when he was asked to develop structural ways of dealing with the growing squalor in the Parisian ghettos. Le Corbusier’s intention was to develop new ways of developing urban settings that would raise the quality of life for residents living in the region. Through a number of buildings and texts Le Corbusier would articulate a theory of urban planning that would become highly influential to 20th century urban planning. This theory was perhaps most comprehensively articulated in his five points on architecture. Within this approach the building structures would be lifted off the ground and walls that could be designed as the architect wished; he also made room for garden terraces and a view of the yard as a means of promoting improved atmosphere. In terms of specific influences, Le Corbusier is recognized as being among the first to recognize the importance of the automobile to 20th century planning. Within his theoretical work in this realm, Le Corbusier made great contributions to the notion of space as a shifting element of the contemporary world that individuals moved between. While this was initially an abstract notion, it would lead to urban developments in the construction of freeways and other pathways for automobiles. Even as Le Corbusier made great contributions to the theoretical development of the freeway system, his ideas did not go far enough in promoting modes of interaction within this space; as a result, later developers would have to change his theories to include exits and increased emphasis on interstate interaction. He is also credited as being among the first to theorize the contemporary city landscape, and many public housing designers in Europe and the United States have adopted his designs. His ideas oftentimes took the form of modernist notions wherein the messy urban landscape was replaced by well-designed and formed city-structures, with meticulously planned green areas. While these notions had great influence on later designers they also came under attack by theorists such as Jane Jacobs who argued that such design structures promoted stolid and boring social landscapes that were bad for modern living. Within the potential negative impacts Le Corbusier’s theories had was in its adoption by post World War II commercial real estate developers who sought artistic and intellectual justification for the construction of high efficiency housing domains that capitalized on land-use for the greatest potential profit. Tony Garnier’s contributions to 20th century urban planning came through a number of theoretical texts and planning projects that he undertook throughout his lifetimes. While his contributions span a wide range of mediums, his overarching theoretical approach is perhaps best articulated in the text Une Cite Industrialle (Hall 2002). In this text Garni er established the cultural context for his theories and linked 19th century planning techniques to the 20th century urban environment. Within the social climate of Garnier’s time were the prominent changes the Industrial Revolution had on daily existence. Among the most notable changes was the influx of individuals into city environments seeking work; this

Article Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Analysis - Research Paper Example Consequent to the reduce demand, February-delivery of heating oil fell by 1.2 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This paper explores how consumption patterns over a period affect the price of heating oil – when supply remains the same; demand remains the same. The paper also reviews how price elasticity of the demand for a given commodity plays a crucial role in deciding about its demand patterns. While Supply Remains Fairly Same, Price of the Commodity May Still Fall Heating oil is a freely traded commodity and its supply and demand patterns largely decide about its prices. Heating oil is a hugely consumed commodity in the U.S and globally. Apart its industrial consumption, heating oil is largely consumed by the Northeast region of the U.S. to provide warmth in the homes during winter months. It is obvious that its demand usually surges during winter months; however, this winter, as reported in the article, heating oil experienced a subdued demand; perhaps, due to m ilder winter or due to economic recession that is going in the US for quite some time or mix of it. Market always draws inference about the likely consumption from the past data and accordingly readies itself for the supply; however, when for some reason demand does not match intended supply, the price starts plummeting to find a new equilibrium. Heating oil is a sensitive item and its prices keep on fluctuating regularly following change in supply and demand dynamics. When demand and supply positions are in equilibrium prices remain fairly stationary but that is not found in case of heating oil as consumption patterns keep on changing due to various reasons regularly. The following schematic represents how new equilibrium from E1 to E2 is quickly achieved in reference to the reduced demand. D1 Price D2 Supply E1 E2 Quantity While Demand Remaining Fairly Unchanged, Price of the Commodity May Still Rise The article speaks about the reduction in the prices of heating oil due to reduce d demand; however, reverse is also true that when supply of the heating oil plummets while its demand remains more or less unchanged, its price may still rise. Though heating oil is a refinery product but its pricing is largely linked with the price of crude oil and its supply, which is controlled by OPEC countries. OPEC being an international cartel of the major crude oil producing countries controls its supply so as to prevent prices to go down beyond certain levels. This is done largely by controlling supply of the crude through reduced production among its member countries. The law of demand and supply in price determination takes its course even then. The reduced supply arrests the fall of price to find a new equilibrium that can restore the minimum desired price by this cartel. Thus, OPEC members have been maneuvering the supply of the crude oil by administering the production quota for its member countries to maintain its prices above certain levels that in turn does not allo w the prices of all downstream products to fall below specific levels. However, in a dynamic world things keep on changing rapidly. Any new large oil finds anywhere in the world outside OPEC may alter supply dynamics of crude oil and change the price behavior of all downstream products including heating oil. The Price-elasticity of Demand of Heating Oil is Low The price elasticity is a measure of the change in demand

Business Entrepreneurship: Strategy Of Bill Gates

Business Entrepreneurship: Strategy Of Bill Gates William Henry Bill Gates born 28th October, 1955 and he is an American business magnate and chairman of Microsoft, the leading software company. He is consistently ranked among the worlds richest people and the wealthiest overall as of 2009. Gates is the most successful entrepreneurs of the world. He is capable to run a successful and a profitable entrepreneurship for many years and even today, we cannot survive in this competitive world without it. Vision and dedication are the key factors of being a successful entrepreneur and these skills were present in Bill Gates from the beginning. He has got the skills to identify the most suitable employee for recruitment. The success of Microsoft is the true example of the entrepreneurial skills of Bill Gates. The success story of Bill Gates is highly motivating for all the upcoming entrepreneurs. His hard work, dedication and self-confidence helped him to earn everything he has. He is a simple man and slightly conservative in regards of money although he is one of the richest people of the world. The youth can take inspirations from the life of Bill Gates. 2nd Entrepreneur Steven Paul Jobs another person like Bill Gates. He was born 24th February, 1955. He is a computer technical entrepreneur and at presently he is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apple inc. as a result I think the comparison between him and Billgates are perfect. His comparison with Bill gates discussed bellow. Until recently, Bill Gates has been viewed as the villain of the tech world, while his archrival, Steve Jobs, enjoys an almost saintly reputation. Gates is the cutthroat capitalist. A genius maybe, but one more interested in maximizing profits than perfecting technology. Hes the ultimate vengeful nerd. Ostracized at school, he gets the last laugh by bleeding us all dry. On the other hand, Jobs has never seemed much concerned with business, though hes been very successful at it of late. Instead, Jobs has been portrayed as a man of art and culture. Hes an aesthete, an artist; driven to make a dent in the universe. But these perceptions are wrong. In fact, the reality is reversed. Its Gates whos making a dent in the universe, and Jobs whos taking on the role of single-minded capitalist, seemingly oblivious to the broader needs of society. Gates is giving away his fortune with the same gusto he spent acquiring it, throwing billions of dollars at solving global health problems. He has also spoken out on major policy issues, for example, by opposing proposals to cut back the inheritance tax. In contrast, Jobs does not appear on any charitable contribution lists of note. And Jobs has said nary a word on behalf of important social issues, reserving his talents of persuasion for selling Apple products. Giving USA Foundation, a philanthropy research group which publishes an annual charity survey, said Jobs does not appear on lists of gifts of $5 million or more over the last four years. Nor is his name on a list of gifts of $1 million or more compiled by Indiana Universitys Centre on Philanthropy. Jobs wife is also absent from these philanthropic lists, although she has made dozens of political donations totalling tens of thousands of dollars to the Democrats, according to the Open Secrets database. Of course, Jobs and his wife may be giving enormous sums of money to charity anonymously. If they are funnelling cash to various causes in private, their names wouldnt show up on any lists, regardless of the size of their gifts. For a person as private as Jobs, who shuns any publicity about his family life, this seems credible. If so, however, this would make Jobs virtually unique among moguls. Richard Jolly, chairman of Giving USA Foundation, said not all billionaires give their money away, but a lot do, and most do not do it quietly. We see it over and over again, he said. Very wealthy individuals do support the organizations and institutions they believe in. Thats certainly true of Gates, who not only gives vast sums away, but also speaks up in support of the organizations and institutions he believes in. This is not the case for Jobs. To the best of my knowledge, in the last decade or more, Jobs has not spoken up on any social or political issue he believes in with the exception of admitting hes a big Bob Dylan fan. Rather, he uses social issues to support his own selfish business goals. In the Think Different campaign, Jobs used cultural figures he admired to sell computers figures who stuck their necks out to fight racism, poverty, inequality or war. Jobs once offered to be an advisor to Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election, and he invited President Clinton over for dinner when Bubba visited Silicon Valley in 1996 hardly evidence of deep political convictions. Jobs cant even get behind causes that would seem to carry deep personal meaning, let alone lasting social importance. Like Lance Armstrong, he is a cancer survivor. But unlike Armstrong, Jobs has so far done little publicly to raise money or awareness for the disease. On the evidence, hes nothing more than a greedy capitalist whos amassed an obscene fortune. Its shameful. In almost every way, Gates is much more deserving of Jobs rock star exaltation. Life Story of Bill Gates It can be concluded that Bill Gates is one of the ideal personalities of the world who has honestly contributed towards the worlds success. Gates was born and grew up in Seattle, Washington USA. His father, William H. Gates was an attorney and his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates was a school teacher. She was also head of the United Way Charity. Gates attended a public grade school and then the Lakeside School, a private school. When he was in Lakeside his first interest is in the relatively new field of computer programming. That time he met his friend and future business partner Paul Allen, and developed his first computer software program when his age is only 13. In 1973, Bill Gates started studying at Harvard University. That time he spent time with Paul Allen. Gates and Allen were working on a version of the programming language BASIC. He was so busy with the computer and computer software and at last he did not go on to graduate from Harvard University because he left in his junior year to start the largest computer software company in the world; Microsoft Corporation. But it is an astonish matter Gates did not think about the software giant Microsoft. Early Life (Business Development) After leaving out of Harvard University Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen created revolution to the computer industry. Gates believed there should be a computer on every office desk and in every home and now it is not the dream it is real fact. The Microsoft real giant software company was formed in 1975. Its abbreviation is microcomputer software. It soon became popular and went on to completely change the way people use computers. The company helped to make the computer easier to the users with its developing and purchasing software, and made it a commercial success. The big success of Microsoft began with the MS-DOS computer operating system and Bill Gates licensed it to IBM. Gates also set protecting the royalties and he could acquire from computer software by fighting against all forms of software piracy. At age 25, Gates obliged IBM to let him keep the proprietary rights to the DOS operating system they had him develop for a program called the pc. Actually he purchased the program from other company and modifying for the PC. Thinking the program would be quickly replaced anyway, IBM agreed to pay for a license to use it rather than purchase it outright. Now Microsoft software operates 90 percent of the worlds desktop computers. Microsoft launched Windows 1.0 in 1983, which produced a graphical user interface better graphics and multitasking. After five years Microsoft reproduced a number of windows versions which added many programs, flexibility and character. When Microsoft grew, the share price goes to the mountain, and Bill Gates became the youngest billionaire at the age of 31 in USA. In 1990 Microsoft actually organised by Bill Gates made a new version of Windows named Windows 3.0 with an improved graphics and features and it sold 10 million copies or more. After followed by Windows 3.1, 3.11 Microsoft added networking support. On success of that type of OS Microsoft developed Windows 95 and upgraded the new windows 98, windows 98se, windows 2000, Millennium Edition, Windows XP, Windows Vista and the latest version windows 7. While innovative windows came out Microsoft take market share more and along with their popular software such as Office, games etc has seen Gates become the richest man in the world and his estimated property US$46 billion. Gates also has interests not only the computer software but also in other business. He has many investments as including Corbis Corporation, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Teledesic Corporation. Being the richest man in the world Bill Gates created one of the worlds largest charity90. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donates totally more than $1 billion every year. The foundation was formed in 2000 after merging the Gates Learning Foundation and William H. Gates Foundation. The aim is to bring innovations in health and learning to the global community. From the foundation in 1975 until 2006, Gates had major task for the corporation product strategy. He effectively launch various type of products, and as a result Microsoft attained a dominant position. Hence Gates is an executive. met randomly with the senior managers and program managers. Gatess responsibility at Microsoft for most of its history was mainly a management and executive role. However, he was an active software developer in the previous years. He was officially been on a development team since working on the TRS-80 Model 100 line, but wrote code as late as 1989 that lauched in the companys products. On June 15, 2006, Gates told that he would transition out of his day-to-day role over the next two years to dedicate more time to philanthropy. He divided his responsibilities between two successors, placing Ray Ozzie in charge of day-to-day management and Craig Mundie in charge of long-term product strategy. Bill Gates is playing a very active role in the workings of the Microsoft Company, but he has handed the position of CEO to Steve Ballmer. Now Gates holds the positions of Chairman and Chief Software Architect. Now His plans to take on fewer workings at Microsoft and try to devote all his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Time magazine called Gates, one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005, and 2006. Time also collectively named Gates, his wife Melinda and rock band U2s lead singer Bono as the 2005 Persons of the Year for their caring efforts. He got vote eighth in the list of Heroes of our time in 2006. In 1999 Gates was listed in the Sunday Times power list. CEO of the year by Chief Executive Officers magazine in 1994, ranked number one in the Top 50 Cyber Elite by Time in 1998, ranked number two in the Upside Elite 100 in 1999 and was included in The Guardian as one of the Top 100 influential people in media in 2001. He has taken honorary doctorates from Nyenrode Business Universiteit, Breukelen, The Netherlands, in 2000; the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, in 2002; Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, in 2005; Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in April 2007; Harvard University in June 2007; the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, in January 2008, and Cambridge University in June 2009. He was also an honorary trustee of Peking University in 2007. An honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 was taken by Bill Gates. Some entomologists name the Bill Gates flower fly, Eristalis gatesi, in his honor. In November 2006, he and his wife were awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle for their philanthropic work around the world in the areas of health and education, particularly in Mexico, and specifically in the program Un paà ­s de lectores. In October 2009, it was declared that Gates will be awarded the 2010 Bower Award for Business Leadership of The Franklin Institute for his success in business and for his philanthropic work. With his great success it came many criticisms. With his ambitious and aggressive business philosophy, Gates or his Microsoft lawyers are fighting legal battles almost since Microsoft began. The Microsoft is dominating every market through acquisition, aggressive business policy or a combination of them. Many of the largest technology companies have fought legally against the actions of Microsoft, including Apple Computer, Netscape, Opera, WordPerfect, and sun Microsystems. The Ceativity. It is common, particularly within the management literature, to associate entrepreneurship with boldness, daring, imagination, or creativity.  [1]   These accounts emphasize the personal, psychological features of the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship, in this conception, is not a required component of all human decision-making, but a specialized activity that some individuals are well able to perform  [2]  . If these characteristics are the essence of entrepreneurship, then entrepreneurship has no obvious link to the theory of the firm at least not without further arguments. The necessary personal features can presumably be taken by contract on the market by buying advising services, project management, and the like. Moreover, the literature does not explain clearly whether imagination and creativity are necessary, sufficient, or incidental conditions for entrepreneurship. Clearly the founders of many firms are imaginative and creative. Fortunately Bill Gates have this character and he build the big software company Microsoft. Intelligent. He believes that if you are intelligent and know how to apply your intelligence, you can achieve anything. From childhood Bill was ambitious, intelligent and competitive. These qualities helped him to attain top position in the profession he chose. Visionary. Microsofts vision is A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer he will continue to stomp out the competition until he dies. Every business and household must have a computer and must run Microsoft software, was the basic guiding vision of Bill Gates. Passion. When as a student at the Harvard University, every single student would have wanted to be part of the great institute and graduate to be successful, Bill Gates decided to stop studying and pursue his dream of writing softwares for every computer in the world He was just passionate about software, coding and technology that incidentally also made him the richest man in the world Innovation. The best-known concept of entrepreneurship in economics is Joseph Schumpeters idea of the entrepreneur as innovator. Schumpeters entrepreneur informs new combinations new products, production methods, markets, sources of supply, or industrial combinations shaking the economy out of its previous equilibrium through a process Schumpeter termed creative destruction. The entrepreneur innovator is introduced in Schumpeters ground-breaking Theory of Economic Development (1911) and developed further in his two-volume work, Business Cycles (1939). Understanding that the entrepreneur has no place in the general-equilibrium system of Walrus, whom Schumpeter greatly admired, Schumpeter gave the entrepreneur a role as the source of economic change. In capitalist reality as distinguished from its textbook picture, it is not price competition which counts but the competition from the new commodity, the new technology, the new source of supply, the new type of organization . . . competition which commands a decisive cost or quality advantage and which strikes not at the margins of profits and the outputs of existing firms but at their foundations and their very lives.  [3]   Schumpeter carefully distincted the entrepreneur from the capitalist. His entrepreneur need not own capital, or even work within the confines of a business firm at all. While the entrepreneur was an owner of a firm, he is more likely to be an independent. In Schumpeters conception, people act as entrepreneurs only when they actually carry out new combinations, and lose the character of entrepreneurs as soon as they have built up their business, after which they settle down to running it as other people run their businesses.  [4]   This suggests a rather relationship between the entrepreneur and the firm he owns, works for, or contracts with. Entrepreneurship is exercised within the firm when new products, processes, or strategies are introduced, but not otherwise. Gates and Allen were assisted by a staff of six, which included four programmers. In late 1977, Gates released a version of FORTRAN language for microcomputers. In 1978, Gates and Allen introduced a version of COBOL. Around this time, Microsoft emerged as the market leader in microcomputer languages with sales exceeding $1 million. In 1979, Microsoft developed a new version of BASIC He had an early interest in software and began programming computers at the age of thirteen. Risk Taker. In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen development of new products. Charismatic leadership. Another strand of literature, incorporating insights from economics, psychology, and sociology and leaning heavily on Max Weber, associates entrepreneurship with charismatic leadership. Entrepreneurs, especially in communication the ability to articulate a plan, aset of rules, or a broader vision, and impose it on others. Casson (2000) calls these plans mental models of reality. The victorious entrepreneur exceeds at communicating models one to another, who come to share the entrepreneurs vision. Such entrepreneurs are also typically self-confident. Witt (1998a, 1998b) states entrepreneurship as cognitive leadership. He outlines an entrepreneurial theory of the firm that combines recent literature on cognitive psychology with Kirzners concept of alertness. Entrepreneurs require complementary factors they argues, which are coordinated within the firm. For the firm to be successful, the entrepreneur must establish a implicit, shared frame-work of goals, which governs the relationships among members of the entrepreneurs team. As Langlois (1998) points out, it is often easier for individuals to commit to a specific individual, the leader, rather than an abstract set of complex rules governing the firms operations. In Fiedlers model, leadership effectiveness is the result of interaction between the style of the leader and the characteristics of the environment in which the leader works Bill gates style as Fiedler Model In Fiedlers model, leadership effectiveness is the result of interaction between the style of the leader and the characteristics of the environment in which the leader works According to Fiedler, the effectiveness of a leader is determined by the degree of match between a dominant trait of the leader and the favorableness of the situation for the leader. The dominant trait is a personality factor causing the leader to either relationship-oriented or task-orientated Relation-oriented leadership: Leaders who describe their preferred coworker in favorable terms, with a high LPC, are purported to derive major satisfaction from establishing close relationships with felow workers. High LPC leaders are said to be relationship-orientated. These leaders see that good interpersonal relations as a requirement for task accomplishment. Task-oriented leadership: Leaders who describe their least preferred coworker unfavorable terms, with a low LPC, are derived major satisfaction by successfully completing a task. These leaders are said to be task-orientated. They are more concerned with successful task accomplishment and worry about interpersonal relations later The second major factor in Fiedlers theory is known as situational favourableness or environmental variable. This basically is defined as the degree a situation enables a leader to exert influence over a group. Fiedler then extends his analysis by focusing on three key situational factors, which are leader-member, task structure and position power. Each factor is defined in the following. 1. Leader-member relations: the degree to which the employees accept the leader. 2. Task structure: the degree to which the subordinates jobs are described in detail. 3. Position power: the amount of formal authority the leader possesses by virtue of his or her position in the organization. So in this case Bill Gates found most favorable place where positional power is high as he has most authorities in the firm, task structure is also defined as he gives the direction to subordinate/follower to fulfill his vision, and last leader-member relation is also good. Thats mean Bill Gates is more likely Task-oriented leader who want performance from his subordinate/follower and work has to be done to achieve the goal/objective of the company. Hard work. Bill Gates is a hard worker since the beginning of his life. In his college days, he used to work all night long on his computer. When Microsoft was started, Bill Gates used to sleep only for 6 hours in a day without skipping a single day of office. For Bill Gates, hard work is one of the main keys of success. Lackings or Criticism. The critics argued that Microsoft was not an innovative company. They said that Gates reformed existing products to satisfy customer needs instead of inventing new ones. Analysts also argued that Microsofts overwhelming market share was a major impediment to innovation in the software industry. Microsoft was not just the market leader, but also the standards provider for the industry. Impediment in development of smaller firms: Critics claimed that winning was so important to Gates that he would go to any extent to beat his opponent. James Wallace of Seattle Post-Intelligencer said, Bill Gates not only wants to win, but he wants to kill the competition. He wants to bury the wounded Sometimes Gates took things so much to heart that his emotional feeling overshadowed his rational thinking. They said that Gates intense rivalry with some of his competitors made him personalize every battle and obscured his judgment. With his ambitious and aggressive business philosophy, Gates or his Microsoft lawyers have been in and out of courtrooms fighting legal battles almost since Microsoft began. Many of the largest technology co. have fought legally against the actions of Microsoft , including APPLE COMPUTER, NETSCAPE, OPERA, WORD PERFECT , AND SUN MICROSYSTEME ETC. Penrose maintains that The term entrepreneur throughout this study is used in a functional sense to refer to individuals or groups within the firm providing entrepreneurial services, whatever their position or occupational classification may be.  [5]   The theory of entrepreneurship comes in many guises. Management scholars and economists have made the entrepreneur an upgrador, a leader, a creator, a discoverer, an equilibrator, and more. In only a few of these theories, however, is entrepreneurship connected to asset ownership (examples include Knight, 1921; Mises, 1949; Casson, 1982; Foss, 1993; Langlois and Cosgel, 1993; and Foss and Klein, 2005). Still, these approaches are not founded on any systematic theory of capital or asset attributes. This paper outlines the capital theory associated with the Austrian school of economics and derives implications for entrepreneurship and economic organization. Entrepreneur is an agent who collects the materials for manufacturing the product and prepares the goods by adjustment whose selling price is uncertain.  [6]   Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which is a French word meaning one who undertakes an endeavour. Entrepreneurs organises resources including innovations, finance and capital in a trying to transform up gradation into economic goods. This may occur in recent organizations or may be part of mature organizations in response to get opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses; however, in recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations.[1] Participating in a new business creation is a common activity among U.S. workers over their course of their careers. And in recent years has been documented by scholars such as David Audretsch to be a major driver of economic growth in both the United States and Western Europe.

Education and the Future Essay

Education and learning have always been a challenge to everyone. There are always emerging problems in our education system. Thus, a lot of issues and concerns need to be addressed. We are constantly facing challenges with our education system and children’s learning capabilities. Most of us believe that education will equip us with what we need to survive in the real world, it is highly important to come up with the most effective means to educate our children. Education is an important process that a person must experience. Education is necessary mainly because knowledge and learning will not be fully achieved without formal education. Education teaches a person many things that are essential in life such as problem solving, critical thinking and decision making. Education is also important to man as it provides man vital information that he needed to knows about his past, present and future (Khan, n. d. ). We learn through a wide array of processes. For instance, we learn through the formal process of education wherein a mentor teaches the students various concepts, ideas and principles. We also learn through our experiences in life, our observations, and our interaction with others. Our education system is bombarded with dilemmas in rendering quality education to students. There are many issues that concerning the present quality of education that our students is receiving. The various aspects of education such as teachers and curriculum largely contribute on the quality of education. What are the methods and techniques as well as solutions that can be applied in order to improve the different aspects of the education system? Every school has its own curriculum that is followed by the students. Curriculum is the set of courses that is taken by the students (Hewitt, 2006). Curriculum is the list of subjects that a student should take in the whole year. Curriculum is very important in the whole education process. It is important to have a comprehensive curriculum which includes subjects that are essential in the improvement of the students and render both basic skills and expertise in various aspects. An educational institution must always evaluate their curriculum and adhere on the latest modern trends to equip their students with skills essential in life. The curriculum of the school is anchored on the socioeconomic background of the population than the mental ability. Curriculum is a choice of the organization and its effects will be felt at the end of the schooling. Curriculum variables played a lot of their role when the student leaves his school (Marjoribanks, 1979). There is a wide array of means to create a comprehensive curriculum that is fully developed and offered strong subjects which is the key to a successful education system. First, a planning committee is important in creating or reevaluating a school’s curriculum. The planning committee should be consisted of school administrators, faculty members, board members, parents and selected students to be able to gain various perspectives from different sectors (McGee, 2008). This will be an effective way of developing a curriculum and to know how it would affect the different population. The school must set objectives for the integration and disintegration of subjects and courses offered. Teachers are also an important part of the education system. Teachers are the ones who convey the facts and information to the students. Teachers are meant to teach and guide the students while they are in school. They are the ones who teach the concepts and the things that the students need to know. Teachers are very important in the students overall education as they guide the students in the course of the learning process. Students are not able to fully grasp the concepts and principles all by themselves. Teachers need to explain these things in order to be digested by the students. It is important that the school teachers are knowledgeable and competent in order to meets the needs of the students. They must be equipped with adequate knowledge that will enable them to explain and expound on the things that they are teaching. They should also be composed of important virtues such as patience and perseverance that is essential in their line of work. The teachers should also be current and follow the modern trends of teaching as well as use strategies that are adaptive to the modern-day students. One way of refreshing our mentors is to conduct teachers’ training once in a while. This aims to refresh the minds of the teachers on the subjects that they teach. Teachers are the people, who render knowledge to our children at school, it is important that they are properly and appropriately trained on the various aspects of teaching. By definition, teacher training is a professional preparation of a teacher. Oftentimes, teacher training is a formal course work and practice teaching which includes lectures and practical applications. Teacher training or the preparatory measures varies in different education systems (â€Å"Teacher Training†, 2009). During the colonial period, teachers are only required of basic knowledge and willingness to take on the before low-waged occupation. Today, there are various requirements needed for a person to be able to teach. Teaching opportunities and qualifications advanced as we give high importance on education. Most countries required a person who went rigorous studies and extensive practice teaching in preparation for the profession (â€Å"Teacher Training†, 2009). Teacher training is important to refresh and update the minds of our mentors for them to catch up on the dynamicity of the modern world. Teacher training is composed of three important components such as familiarity on the curriculum, attitudes toward the school community and being a vital part of the institution (Velasco, n. d. ). Teachers should be familiar with the school’s existing curriculum and they should always adapt on the changes on the teaching strategies and methods to effectively teach a particular lesson. Teachers should also know what lessons should be hierarchically taught to the students to equip them with pertinent knowledge. Teachers are the role models of the students and uphold the highest standard of morality and decency. Teachers should show their best attitude to the community and try to achieve harmonious and productive relationships with the students, parents and school administrators. Teachers are also a vital part of the educational institution and they should perform their duties very well. They should be able to impart knowledge and information that will be useful for the students in the future. Education and students’ preparation for the future should not only rely on what the schools could do. Schools could only provide good teachers, good learning equipment and facilities and area conducive for learning. The motivation and willingness to learn will always be the students’ choice. Students will learn so much if they are willing to learn and help themselves. Reading is one way of learning and reinforcing the knowledge and information that is being taught by the teacher. Reading is very important in students’ educational success. Many educational researchers found a strong correlation between reading and success. Frequently, a good reader most likely passes the exams and do well in school than a student who do not often read. Good readers can easily understand individual sentences and organizational structure of a piece of literature. They most likely comprehend ideas, follow arguments, and detect implications. They also have a rich vocabulary and know a lot of trivial knowledge (â€Å"The Importance of Reading†, n. d. ). There is no crisis in the world of literature, but most parents and educators lament and pine why children do not frequently read. They are worried about the technology and how it manages to capture the hearts of the children and teenagers. The tech-savvy world is suddenly consuming the present generation and leave behind the frayed pages of the book. Before the radio and television gain popularity, it is well known that reading is the best leisure activity and source of entertainment of people. But due to the advancements of technology and inception of electronic gadgets, the invention of the various technological gadgets marked the dying passion to read. Reading is very important and may be a helpful activity in the students’ life (Sofsian, 2006). Reading offers a productive approach in enriching a person’s vocabulary. It is also commonly observed that children who love to read have high IQs. They are also more creative and intelligent and do well at school. Educational researchers highly recommend that parents inculcate the importance of reading while in an early age. Reading develops the vocabulary and forms a strong emotional bond between parents and children. Children who read at an early age are observed with better language skills and learn the variances in phonics much better. Reading largely helps in the person’s mental development and exercises the muscles in the eyes. Reading is a helpful activity that involves greater amount of concentration and adds conversational skills to the person. It also stimulates the brain function and enhances knowledge acquisition. The habit of reading helps the person to decipher uncommon words that we may come across (Sofsian, 2006). It has been a challenge nowadays to convince our students to read and focus enough attention and concentration in a page of a book. The world nowadays is full of distraction and entertainment. Reading strengthens concentration, verbal skills and higher-level of thinking. It invigorates the brain and stimulates its activities (Follos & Gantos, 2006). The initiative should always starts on the student itself. Despite the efforts of the school and the teachers in teaching the students, it is for the students to decide whether they will learn something. The preparation for our children’s future rely on each others hands. We all have our roles in preparing our children to face the real world. References Follos, A. M. G. & Gantos, J. (2006). Reviving Reading: School Library Programming, Author Visits, and Books that Rock! Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Hewitt, T. W. (2006). Understanding and Shaping Curriculum. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc. Khan, M. W. (n. d. ). The Importance of Education. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from http://www. alrisala. org/Articles/mailing_list/importance_of_education. htm. Marjoribanks, K. (1979). Families and Their Learning Environments: An Empirical Analysis. London: Routledge. McGee, S. (2008). How to Develop a Charter School Curriculum. HowtoDoThings. com. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from http://www. howtodothings.com/education/a4519-how-to-develop-a-charter-school-curriculum. html. Sofsian, D. (2006, November 9). The Importance of Reading. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://ezinearticles. com/ The-Importance-Of-Reading&id=354498 Teacher Training. (2009). The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://encyclopedia2. thefreedictionary. com/teacher+training. The Importance of Reading. (n. d. ). Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://esl. fis. edu/parents/advice/read. htm. Velasco, M. A. (n. d. ). Seaching for Meaning in Teacher Training. Analytic Teaching, 16, 112-115.

A History, a past, and a Trail Essay

The discovery of the North American continent created, literally, an entirely new world. With the congestion of Europe and a desire for agricultural land, many from the East loaded upon massive carrier ships in sight of a new life. It was a long voyage across the Atlantic. The sight of the new world from off-shore had been described as â€Å"salvation†. What these settlers did not know was that they were entering into shore-side cities that were even more cramped than their original location. The flocking to â€Å"America† is what attributed to the congestion and size of New York itself. This degraded living conditions and created an entirely new form of social status that had never been seen by Europeans. Something needed to be done to spread out the population of the Eastern shore side. Luckily our â€Å"rookie† government, fresh out of a war, had a creative idea to promote a move to the West. These politicians, in a vote of fifty-two to fifty. decided to intervene by offering any married couple six-hundred and forty acres of land. This was the equivalent to one square mile of land. They labeled the effort: â€Å"Manifest Destiny†. One can imagine how tempting this sounds to factory workers and small time farmers. Previously to this, some early explorers thought it necessary to devise a route from East to West. Lewis and Clark were the first to map the journey. The route they took covered 2,170 miles and practically covered all of the land that was accessible to wagons(Wiki). After a little â€Å"fine-tuning† by John Jacob Astor, to avoid dangerous areas of the Rocky Mountains and hostile Blackfeet Indians, the â€Å"Oregon Trail† was set in stone. This sparked many to make the dangerous move from East to West. Settlers that lived in cramped suburbs and local â€Å"Camp Towns† now had the motivation to spread out their horizons in a search for wealth and happiness. Manifest Destiny developed from a dream to a reality. With all of this came the hearsay and rumors that many viewed as dangerous. Many had heard of the â€Å"Dead Lands† located in the South Western dessert. Fatal stories were told about land that was not suited for farming. Although this caused a delay among some settlers, many had no choice to move westward, and set off on to their destination. Starting in Kansas City, the Oregon Trail began following the Santa Fe Trail. The growth of Kansas City can be attributed to being at the start of the massive trail; Local business sky-rocketed within a few years (END). The need for supplies caused many stores to become profitable overnight. Since there wasn’t much along the route to Oregon, many had to stock up for the long journey. Horses, food, and spare parts were just some of the many items a traveler would need to complete the journey (END). Many referred to the Kansas City area as â€Å"The Docks†, in reference to it being a loading dock for the expansion. After leaving Kansas City, and sticking to the rules of survival, wagons would use the natural terrain to their advantage. Many would stick to lower valleys that followed the river. After a few years, the trail was actually visible to those who traveled it; however, this does not seem to hold true for the remainder of the trip. Nebraska was in sight for most that started the trip. After crossing the Blue River it was just one river after another until arriving at the Rocky Mountains. Along the way, settlements began to form, which made the journey easier. The more who traveled, the easier it became. Many did not actually travel the entire route. If a good location or opportunity arose, families would start their new lives at that very spot along the trail (Wiki). Since many had no idea of where they were going to live when they completed their journey, it made sense that, if a good location was spotted along the way, that became their home. This is what forged cities and trade routes along the way. Even in the Rocky Mountains people began to settle. Mountain towns became good places to start the logging industry. With the rivers along the Oregon Trail flowing from North to South, logs from the Rockies found their way back down the trail to Kansas City. The direction of trade, however, was not a one-way street. The towns that were created along the trail needed supplies too. Many who traveled beyond the Rocky Mountains were sure to bring over-stocked supplies with them. Supplies were almost as valuable as gold on the Oregon Trail. Beyond the Rockies, it was pretty much a straight shot to Oregon. Following rivers one could go as far as Washington State. Many started homes in the forests of Oregon. After avoiding the southern desserts, it was clear that this area was suitable for cultivation and living. The only problem was that Oregon had harsh winters and very short windows of time for farming. New ways, such as the gold rush, were what sealed the fate of the northwestern states as being a contributing district of America. The settlers of western America were not just poor people looking for a way out of trouble. Many rich tycoons took advantage of the rising boom towns. When starting any venture, most people need a lender. Banks started to sprout at several points along the trail. In terms of business, it was common practice for towns to make their start, purely on credit. Many say that this is the reason the west side of the continent received venues for big business. It was until a newer improved method of transportation was devised that the Oregon Trail became the secondary path to the west. Until the invention of the Transcontinental Rail Road, the Oregon Trail was the main route for traversing the middle section of the country (Vance, 1961). People still relied on animal-based transportation and inefficient ways to cultivate their lands . This is where a change needed to take place the most in our country. Since the land was harder to farm and many were having a hard time finding the resources to do so, many believe that ingenuity was the only answer to the west’s problems. The need of the settlers is what sparked the inventions that farmers were looking for. New methods of plowing and irrigation were among the advancements along the trail. It seems, though, that pure luck and not the Oregon Trail is the hammer that etched the fate of the western states into stone. The Gold Rush of 1848-1855 drove the remainder of the population to the west . The search for gold and prosperity could be seen in people throughout the country. Although most were left empty handed, they had at least gained a new home in the left side of our country. This new home would suit them nicely. In the end, the Oregon Trail can be said to have carved a path of prosperity along the horizon of our nation. The details of this can often be seen in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Many started on a destination of uncertainty and ended up with more than they had bargained for. The rest worked hard and put food on the plate. History is the only area that the Oregon Trail is used today. Even though US Highway number 26 practically parallels the trail, the duration of the trail stays in the culture and heritage of families that live in the Western United States. Works Cited http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/histhome.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trail