The Concept of Communication Style Essays -- Interpersonal Communicati

The Concept of Communication Style The concept of communication style has been defined by Rober Norton as "the way one verbally, nonverbally, and para verbally interacts to signal how literal meaning should be taken, interpreted, filtered, or understood"(1996.p.229) In this, Norton has identified nine communicator styles. A persons style may be dominant, dramatic, contentious, animated ,impression leaving, relaxed, open, or friendly. These dimensions measure how you interact in various situations. For example, if I speak frequently and try to control the converstaion, you might assume that I am dominant in my communicator style. In determining my own commuication style I had a questionnaire completed by both a friend, acquaintance , as well as completing one myself. The friend that I chose was my room mate Ryan Seslow. . Ryan and I have been friends since highschool so he knows me very well. The person that I chose to complete the acquaintance section was my friend Leslie Margasak. Leslie is my girlfriends roommate therefore our communication is somewhat limited. Through the following research and analysis I have created a table (Table:1) that shows the means for my friend aquaitance, and myself. The summaries and findings in which I calculated provided me with insight of my dominant yet friendly communication style. It also provided me with a different perspective as to how other people interpret my communication habits. For example, the mean for myself on the category "relaxed" scored a 1.3. However, my friends mean was 3.1 and my acquaintance was 5.1. Through the text of Interpersonal Communication, I was able to determine that this fluctuation has to do with the self concept theory. "Self -concept is defined as each person's own subjective view or image of him or herself as a person" (tremont p.213) In my opinion I do not see myself as relaxed(1.3), but my friend does as well as acquaintance. I do not see as relaxed as the others indicated in the table. Usually I feel rather more stressed and even a little nervous rather than relaxed when communicating. One calculation in which which I noticed to have simmialr realuts was based on the means for being dramtic. I scored high in this category on all three surveys.(see table:1) When a person is classified as dramatic it refers that the person "likes to act ... ...do so by staying relaxed. I scored a relatively low mean in the openess category and this is an area I would like to change. The means showed that I am not open nor am I percieved to be a very open person. Overall my communication style is very dominant, dramatic and friendly. Howvevr, despite this though Im not a very open person. I feel that my communication style does allow me to get people to listen to me closely becayse of my dramatics or ability to tell srotires in vivid detail and picturesqe. I am animated and expressive when I feel the need to emphasize a point or statement. This also helps my communication confidence since I know now that what I say often does an considerable impact on those who I am communicating with. In conclusion I am very pleased with the data which I recorded. I now understand my communciation style better yet at the same time have located areas in which I can begin to improve on. Through this assignment I learned a great deal about how I communcate as well as how others percieve my communication style. References 1.)Trenholm and Jensen, (1996). Intterpersonal Communication. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Vandalism in Malaysia

$25,000 bail set in wild ride case Man charged in girlfriend’s assault By Dave Greenslit TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF CLINTON — A man who allegedly beat, choked and raped his girlfriend before hitting her with her car in Bolton was ordered held on $25,000 bail yesterday. John D. Martineau, 31, of Tewksbury was arraigned in Clinton District Court on charges stemming from what the 21-year-old victim told police was a frightening ride from Lowell to Bolton early Monday morning. Police charged Mr.Martineau with aggravated rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, three counts of assault with intent to murder, three counts of destroying property, larceny of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, three counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident and reckless driving. Judge Martha A. Brennan set bail and continued the case to Feb. 16. The victim was able to escape from Mr. Martineau near the intersection of Rou tes 117 and 85 in Bolton after jumping out of her car, which he had driven into the parking lot of the Country Cupboard variety store.She told police Mr. Martineau had dragged her with the vehicle before she broke free and ran to a home for help. According to a report from Bolton Police Officer Yvette D. Washington, the victim gave the following account of events that culminated in Bolton just after 3 a. m. Monday: She had gotten out of her car in Lowell during an argument with Mr. Martineau, but got back in after he threatened to harm her family and friends. Her 2006 Ford Taurus then ran out of gas, and the woman called her father to bring some. While waiting, she tried running away from Mr.Martineau, who caught her, threw her to the ground, and choked her. When her father showed up with the gas, Mr. Martineau convinced him his daughter was all right. Mr. Martineau then drove onto Interstate 495 South, at one point allegedly slamming his girlfriend’s head against the car win dow and breaking the rear-view mirror off the windshield, threatening to â€Å"cut her eyes out† with it. Mr. Martineau allegedly forced the woman to perform a sex act, then cut his wrists with the broken mirror because â€Å"he wanted her to watch him die. † The victim persuaded Mr.Martineau to get off the highway in Bolton by telling him she loved him and didn’t want him to die. In the parking lot of the store, she got part of the way out of the still-moving car, but Mr. Martineau allegedly grabbed her by the hair and jacket and dragged her with the car. She broke free and ran behind a Postal Service mailbox, which Mr. Martineau allegedly hit with the car before hitting her with the vehicle and knocking her to the ground. She ran to a home on Main Street, where Mr. Martineau allegedly plowed the car into the steps before backing into a split-rail fence and driving away.The woman, who lives in Lowell, was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center — Universi ty Campus in Worcester, where she was treated and released. Mr. Martineau was later arrested at Lowell Memorial Hospital, where he went for treatment. In arguing for the $25,000 bail, Assistant District Attorney Erin Donnelly said Mr. Martineau had a long record, four cases pending in other courts, and a history of default. Lawyer Eugene Lumelsky, who represented Mr. Martineau for the arraignment, sought an unspecified lower bail, saying the suspect was a college graduate, worked in sales and had extended family in the area.

What Was the Main Cause of the Financial Crisis in 2007-2009?

The intention of this essay is to provide an in depth and critical analysis of the financial crisis that took place between 2007-2009, in particular focusing on some key issues raised by the Foote, Gerardi and Willen paper ‘Why did so many people make so many Ex Post bad decisions? ’ Whilst there were many contributing factors, it is clear that a specific few played a particularly dominant role, primarily the ‘Bubble Theory’, irresponsible regulation, toxic CDO’s and $62 trillion of CDS’s. ‘That’s what bubbles are: they’re examples of mass delusions’ (Norcera, 2011).Bubble theory’s are by no means a new school of thought, in fact they date back to the Dutch Tulip bubble in the 1630’s and it is these types of bubble that are believed, by many economists, to be the primary cause of the foreclosure crisis. The bubble theory explains the crisis as a natural progression of overly optimistic price expectations for a particular asset class, recently the US housing market. When the housing bubble began to enlarge, lenders were lulled into a false sense of security, which lead to large amounts of credit being extended to ‘sub prime’ borrowers, people who had shady or uncertified credit history.However due to the inflating house prices the banks seemed to have little concern towards the credit being repaid. Although this credit was issued to subprime borrowers through the securitised credit market, securitisation was not necessarily the definitive cause of the crisis, but what it did was act as a catalyst allowing borrowers and investors to undertake their desired transactions. With this appetite for risk from lenders and interest rates being cut to 1% by the Fed, institutional investors were eager to chase higher returns.The opportunity encouraged investment banks to anti up their leverage and create a higher yielding product which was directly linked to an ‘ever rising h ousing market’. The emergence of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV’s) allowed banks to over leverage and buy mortgages which were then bundled together into a special purpose vehicle, proportions of these were then subsequently sold off as a Collateralised Debt obligations (CDO’s), ‘an investment-grade security backed by a pool of bonds, loans and other assets’. The theory behind this SPV was to reduce the lenders liability by pooling hundreds of supposedly ndependent mortgages, meaning that in the event of any mortgage defaults the loss would be contained rather than having a simultaneous effect on the other mortgages pooled within the CDO. Given that house prices were expected to continue along the bubble’s growth path, any losses from mortgage defaults would be naturally offset by house price inflation, or so they thought. Once the Investment banks had packaged these mortgages they then sought to diversify their liability by selling off the mu tual funds to external investors, some more bullish than others and hence the segregation of tranches within the CDO packages.The riskiness of each tranche was determined by the rating agencies, Standard and Poor/Fitch, which ranged from AAA (the lowest risk, but highest price) to CCC (the highest risk, but lowest price). In the event of any mortgage defaults, the highest rated tranche, the senior tranche, was paid out first and any subsequent losses were absorbed by the junior tranches, ie junior tranches were only paid once the other tranches had been paid. Given that the Fed had cut interest rates to 1%, the opportunity proposed by these CDO’s became increasingly more attractive.The excessive demand chasing CDO’s forced banks to lower their credit requirement standard, which inevitably lead to subprime lending. This access to the credit markets for those who ordinarily would have been declined credit meant that CDO’s were becoming filled with comparatively hi gh risk mortgages. This became increasingly problematic when borrowers began to default on their mortgage payments, the domino effect lead to the collapse of house prices and over 2million foreclosures.This left worldwide investors and banks with failing CDO’s who in turn also defaulted on their payments and lead to a global ‘credit crunch’. Even the largest of investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were so confident in their products that they too maintained large holdings of ‘super senior’ tranches on their balance sheets, thus wiping billions of dollars of their balance sheets too. However whilst it is true that the bankers over zealous nature and thirst to maximise profits lead to the breaching of standards and forfeit of reliable credit checks, they were still allowed to do it.This leads to the plausible involvement of the credit rating agencies and the Governments lack of regulation and in some cases irresponsible regulation. A major concern surrounds the actions of US credit rating agencies, namely Standard & Poor and Fitch. Whilst they may not have anticipated the financial crisis, they, to a large extend suffered from institutional failure. The mathematical models that had been developed and used by the credit rating agencies were inadequate to deal with and provide accurate data concerning the riskiness of sub prime mortgages.The mathematical modelling teams continued to use traditional out-dated 30 year mortgages to asses the likelihood of default. Mortgages issued after 2004 were based on a different credit rating tool, know as FICO. A FICO score takes into account 5 factors to help determine a borrowers credit risk, length of credit history and the various types of credit used, the current level of personal debt, credit history, amount of new credit and passed payment history.These new mortgages were typically non documented adjustable rate mortgages and relied on the FICO score. It became appare nt that the agencies had minimal concern towards the investors. The rating analysts within the agencies expressed their levels of apprehension towards the reliability of certain ratings, but they were cut short and dismissed. The credit rating agencies were simply concerned with maintaining or increasing their market influence by doing their job and providing the ratings that their clients employed them to generate.In many cases these ratings were later downgraded within 6 months implying that their original job was either done with a lack of due diligence or there was an ulterior motive behind providing a flawless AAA rating. This was highlighted in the residential mortgage backed security Delphinus case study where 26 dummy loans were issued that were clearly not of AAA standard, yet sailed through as AAA. This leads us to the issue of the Government and their irresponsible lack of regulation towards preventing a financial crisis.The neoliberalist argument suggests that the US Gov ernment was a big player in the demise of the financial sector. The Governments irresponsible regulation of banks allowed the passing of the Community Reinvestment Act from 1977, ‘the law was designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low and moderate income neighbourhoods’ (Wikipedia). The law actively encouraged low income earners to take out mortgages to buy a house, which in reality they could not afford.To really tempt fate congress later allowed the act to be amended, allowing potential borrowers to opt out of income screening, therefore meaning that no credit worthiness was required to take out a mortgage. It is this link to the CDO market which allowed for such disaster to unravel, had this act not been so irresponsibly been amended, the banks would not have been able to bundle toxic debt and sell it as a repackaged CDO. In fact George Bush Junior actively en couraged it in 2002 when he campaigned for an additional 5. 5million low income homeowners by 2010.By actively holding interest rates below the well-known monetary guide lines it encouraged mass risk taking, not only was money cheap but low interest rates also offered very little return in the banks so investors sought alternatives which lead them to junk CDO’s and CDO2’s. However these junk CDO’s were only half the problem, whilst they were being actively encouraged they were also being bet on and against, implying a magnitude of leveraged risk. In the 1990’s J. P. Morgan developed a strategy to hedge their loan risks know as credit default swaps (CDS’s).Essentially a CDS is a bilateral contract between two parties that provides a level of insurance. A buyer would pay a yearly premium in order to protect the face amount of the particular bond or loan, but the CDS’s unlike a traditional insurance policy were subject to counter party risk onl y. This implication meant that if the counterparty was unable to pay or had gone insolvent then essentially the buyer was no longer covered. What it also allowed for was speculators to gain exposure to markets where they didn’t actually own the underlying assets or credits, which they were now betting on.The crux of the problem arose when CDS’s were taken out on the subprime mortgage securities, which had been largely over rated by the ratings agencies, therefore providing false information upon which the investment decision and insurance policies were taken. When the defaults started to roll in the likes of AIG and Bear Stearns had billions of dollars wiped off their books. To exacerbate the problem almost all the major investment banks and investment houses had insurance underwritten by Bear Stearns, which of course was now insolvent. This domino effect lead to multi billion dollar losses across the globe.The general belief amongst economists was that financial deriv atives and their purpose was to dilute individual risk through risk sharing amid investors. In theory it should create a more efficient allocation of capital and price transparency, it is the mass trading of these derivatives that became problematic and raised a cause for concern. However whilst it is true that CDS’s, CDO’s, a vast lack of regulation and inaccurate credit ratings all facilitated the collapse in the financial sector, it is not clear that they were the actual cause of the financial crisis.What is more evident of the actual cause is the fact that financial institutions and investors, as a whole did not foresee a collapse of housing prices. The collapse of house prices created mass negative equity and consequent defaults on subprime mortgages and also the falling face value of the subprime mortgage securitisations. Investment banks were particularly caught by surprise when the ‘super superior’ AAA rated tranches of CDO’s collapsed in va lue, given that they had relatively few defaults.Another factor which points to the root cause of the financial crises was the levels of excessive leverage combined with large holdings of subprime securitisations. The rapid and unexpected losses from these large investment houses lead to the markets questioning their solvency and so a mass culture of hoarding developed along with a fire sale of assets in order to deleverage their exposure. All this combined resulted in a squeeze of cash flow due to market uncertainty and lenders became unwilling to lend. This unfolding of events lead to the CDS and CDO market getting wrapped up and associated with large losses.It is for these reasons that the financial crisis developed and continues to develop implications for the future of the financial industry. References Nocera, Joe. 2011. â€Å"Inquiry is Missing Bottom Line. † New York Times, page B1. January 29 Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 24, Number 1—Winter 2 010—Pages 73–92 Credit Default Swaps and the Credit Crisis Rene M. Stulz Cordell, Larry, Yilin Huang, and Meredith Williams. 2011. â€Å"Collateral Damage: Siz- ing and Assessing the Subprime CDO Crisis. † Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Working Paper Money morningFinancial Crisis Inquiry Commission. 2010. â€Å"Credit Ratings And the Financial Crisis. † Pre- liminary Staff Report, June 2, 2010 The Credit Rating Agencies and TheirContribution to the Financial Crisis MAUR ICE MULLARD http://www. investopedia. com/terms/c/cdo. asp#ixzz2BqfZ28TI Brunnermeier, Markus K. 2008. â€Å"Bubbles. † In The New Palgrave Dictionary of Eco- nomics, eds. Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume, second edition Foote, Christopher L. , Kristopher Gerardi, and Paul S. Willen. 2008. â€Å"Negative Equity and Foreclosure: Theory and Evidence. †

History of public administration Essay

Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Historical accounts of African public administration often highlight the colonial setting and usually overlook pre-colonial Africa. The African civil service has its roots in precolonial institutions on which European powers relied to build the colonial state and consolidate their administration. Thus, this chapter analyzes the development of African administration from the pre-colonial era up to the present. The first section discusses the pre-colonial period. The colonial system constitutes the second section. The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. 1. The Pre-Colonial Period: From the Ashes of Pharaohs to the Berlin Conference At the end of the prehistoric period (10 000 BC), some African nomadic bands began to settle more permanently in villages along the Nile River to develop the political foundation of ancient Egypt. As these early farmers increased their mastery over soil and animal life, irrigation became a key development strategy to increase food production, which in turn multiplied their populations. Eventually, different villages came to recognize their common interests, to coordinate their efforts and broaden community linkages. People from different communities joined together through confederation or conquest for purposes of commerce or defense, and developed African  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I – Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since – Emizet F. Kisangani empires, kingdoms, and chieftaincies. Two types of systems, hierarchical political systems and horizontal or acephalous societies, developed to help generate stable communities and foster prosperity. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Stateless societies were small political entities and had no bureaucracies as they were mostly based on kinship. Hierarchical societies, however, had bureaucracies to carry out certain functions such as collecting taxes, supervising ceremonies, entertaining dignitaries, and compelling people to do the rulers’ bidding. These polities, which evolved before the arrival of Europeans in Africa, were either centralized or decentralized political entities presided over by emperors, kings, chiefs, or military commanders. The following analysis covers the first hierarchical form of rule that emerged some three millennia BC in ancient Egypt, followed by a brief overview of Medieval Africa. The final sub-section discusses the African administration up to the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885. 1. 1. Ancient Civilization of Africa: The Case of Egypt Around 3300 BC, farming lineages along the Nile Valley joined together as villages to increase production of food and to defend themselves against outsiders. From these villages regional confederations of Upper and Lower Egypt developed. By 3100 BC, a central authority emerged and unified these confederations under the rule of divine pharaohs. From 2700 to 2181, six dynasties succeeded each other to form the Old Kingdom. A century and a half of civil war and provincial rivalries gave rise to the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdoms that ruled Egypt from 2080 to 1640 BC. The Middle Kingdom was replaced by the Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom from 1570 to 1090 BC. Three dynasties (18th through 20th) ruled in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period began around 1089 BC with the Kushite Kings. The Egyptian empire was multinational consequent to the conquest of foreign nations. The Old and Middle Kingdoms were highly centralized and ruled by â€Å"god-kings† or pharaohs. With its capital at Memphis, the Old Kingdom was divided into provinces. Next to the king was the vizier, the administrative hand of the king, who was also in charge of day to day administrative, fiscal, and judicial matters. Although very few administrative documents have survived, court documents provide a glimpse of the Egyptian bureaucracy. Three basic administrative divisions existed: the Department of the Head of the South, the Office of Government Labor, and the Treasury. The Palermo Stone provides further evidence of administrative structure in the collection of revenue and in the assessment of Egyptian wealth. On the Stone was documented a biennial administrative census that left nothing unaccounted for, so that taxes could be assessed even on the basis of canals, lakes, wells, and trees of an estate. The system consisted of a hierarchical structure with diverse administrative agencies spreading throughout the kingdom for effective management. Another governmental task was the administration of justice, on which was founded the concept of ma‘at (or justice), whereby some high priests bore the title of priest of Ma‘at. In addition to the capital city of Memphis, there were other towns of importance that  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I – Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since – Emizet F. Kisangani made up provinces headed by town governors, who were also chief priests in charge of temple revenue in many parts of Ancient Egypt. Provincial temples were the subject of central government regulations to avoid any strong power at the provincial level. However, during the first intermediate period, the office of governor in charge of civil affairs became the office of chief priest. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S The role of bureaucracy in these early kingdoms was to facilitate the transfer of resources from different provinces to the king’s court. If early administrations were in charge of maintaining irrigation and agricultural output, later administrations seemed to be more involved in supervising construction work and wealth transfer. The proliferation of these later types of bureaucracies, at the expense of those that used to maintain the agricultural system, would probably have produced pressures on the agricultural output and might have been the first sign of political decay in Ancient Egypt. The centralized system itself between the king, court officers, and ambitious governors may also have led to the same result. The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period generated a great mass of documentation about Egyptian political and administrative life. The form of government remained the same, based on divine kingship. The government always stressed the religious function of the political system. Under the auspices of Gods, the government was expected to maintain the integrity of Egyptian territory and expand its frontiers. The most important function of the government was to create civic and individual security, and the vizier carried out the duty of ensuring that law and regulations were obeyed throughout the bureaucracy. The society was divided into hierarchical stratifications with the king at the top, a small group of high-ranking and wealthy officials next, and a much larger group of bureaucrats (scribes), priests, soldiers, stable masters, citizens, cultivators, and herdsmen filling the bottom layer. The Egyptian political system under the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period was divided into an internal government and a government of conquests. Internally, the civil government was run by two viziers (northern and southern), overseer of the granaries of upper and lower Egypt, and the chief taxing master. The two viziers also supervised the overseer of the treasury and lower level officials in charge of bureaucracy, judiciary, and the police. At the lowest level of the administrative hierarchy were the chiefs, town mayors, and councils. The government of conquests had several governors who supervised vassal kings and their battalion commanders. Most of the Northern Lands were small and scattered, and under the direct control of various battalion commanders. The goal of this decentralization scheme was to obstruct anyone from controlling a large estate and challenging the king’s power. The governor of the Southern Lands was the Viceroy of Kush and his role became important internally at the end of the Twentieth Dynasty. He also supervised two deputies and a battalion commander. Military forces were all centralized under one commander. In addition to these administrative entities, there existed a religious government hierarchy, with the â€Å"overseer of prophets† at the top, a position held at various times by a vizier who was the head of two high priests. Below them was the priesthood bureaucracy. The corps of the centralized system was maintained by a small group of powerful officials. They headed each department and reported directly to the king who appointed  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I – Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since – Emizet F. Kisangani and removed them. The bureaucracy consisted of a group of educated scribes whose role consisted of collecting taxes, conducting censuses, regulating agriculture, and administering justice and law with a small police force. A professional army was divided into various units, each with its own hierarchy of officers. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Pressures on land and rising inflation may have been politically significant in later days of the New Kingdom, though bureaucratic inefficiency and abuse of power were probably the main causes of economic collapse. Besides the deterioration of administrative integrity, another major cause that weakened the kingship was the changing relationship between the king, civil government, army, and a few powerful families. Some families came to control major economic resources of the state, and the civil service became less susceptible to royal control. In addition, the kings’ tours of their provinces became less frequent, and royal princes and other deputies carried out religious rites formerly performed by the kings. During the ensuing Third Intermediate Period (1069 – 664 BC), Egypt was in perpetual crisis and the Egyptian civilization disappeared after the Roman conquest around 30 BC. In summary, the evolution of Ancient Egypt is characterized by the rise and fall of large scale governments that reflect alternating periods of unification and fragmentation. 1. 2. Medieval Africa Medieval Africa was different from the Ancient in several respects. First, Medieval leaders attempted to balance local traditions and regional autonomy in response to their people’s needs by developing and consolidating large-scale kingdoms and empires for purposes of trade or defense. A second difference was the impact of Islam on African societies. Muslims believed that one God (Allah) called on them to undertake jihads (commonly known as holy war against non-believers) when necessary. The most renowned of Africa’s medieval empires of Mali, Songhay and Morocco rose to the highest stages of their international influence with Islam as the imperial religion. Other medieval African kingdoms and empires developed indigenous political ideologies based on regional customs and beliefs, while Coptic Christianity remained the official state religion in the Abyssinian kingdom of medieval Ethiopia. In 969 A. D. , Muslims from the Maghreb conquered Egypt and established the Fatimid Dynasty in Cairo (c. 970-1170 A. D. ), which was highly hierarchical and whose military was highly professionalized. This strict hierarchy of officials, and the controlling powers of the vizier, left room neither for the autonomous tendencies of provincial governors nor for the growth of widespread corruption. Tolerant of other religions, the system let Copts and Jews occupy prestigious positions in the administration. The centralized administration controlled tax revenues, the payment of troops, and the allocation of military fiefs. The Fatimid administration was in charge of regulating and distributing the waters of the Nile River. Dams and canals were regularly repaired and improved; even an occasional period of low water did not greatly damage the general economic situation. When the Fatimid rule in Egypt was threatened by European Christian Crusaders (c. 1170), it was Egypt’s professional soldiers, or Mamluks (slave-soldier), who rallied behind Saladin to defeat the Crusaders. He then established a new Mamluk Dynasty in  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I – Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since – Emizet F. Kisangani Cairo from 1171 to1517. By the thirteenth century, the institution of the slave-soldiers became an integral part of the political and social system in many Muslim countries. The Mamluk oligarchy never accepted in its ranks someone who was not a slave soldier, so that the military establishment not only remained hierarchical, but also continued to be a caste dominated by slave soldiers. U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S Most Mamluk caliphates were divided into military fiefs centralized under one single Caliph. The basic administrative entity was the village because the Mamluk dynasty obtained most of its revenues from landed estates. A major innovation to ensure payment was that the peasants were prohibited from leaving their villages without permission. In addition to land taxes, the Mamluk caliphates drew their revenues from customs duties, based on ad valorem and the religion of the merchants, so that Christian importers had to pay taxes as high as 30%, whereas Muslim importers paid only 10%. This canonical tax was abolished under the reform of 1316. Several other kingdoms, such as Ghana and Mali, developed in Medieval Western Sudan. But the best known was the Kingdom of Songhay founded around the trading town of Gao (c. 1000 A. D. ). The Songhay Kingdom broke away from Mali and subsequently arose to become the third great empire in the medieval western Sudan (c. 1460-1590). Songhay’s founding emperor, Sunni Ali, established imperial authority northward into the Sahara in order to control international trade routes and valuable deposits of rock salt (which was mined and cut into large blocks to be traded for gold). Following Ali’s death, one of his generals, Muhammad Toure, overthrew the legitimate heir, and embarked on a hajj to Mecca. In 1496 he returned to wage jihad against nonMuslims. He conquered new territories and ruled over Songhay’s expanded empire as Caliph of West Africa. Under Muhammad’s authority (1493-1528), Songhay, especially the towns of Timbuktu and Jenne, rose to become one of the medieval world’s largest multinational empires. The administrative system was open enough to provide lower level citizens some type of upward social mobility. The empire was highly decentralized and Islam was used as a tool to assimilate different communities. Different categories of slaves cultivated fields, constructed adobe buildings and mosques, acted as porters, or served as soldiers and officials in the imperial government. Some of the latter rose through government and military bureaucracies by virtue of meritorious work to achieve high positions of administrative responsibility, as did soldier Muhammad Toure, when he rose by military merit to become a general and then became the emperor of Songhay. As emperor of Songhay, Muhammad established effective central supervision over provincial governors. He also reformed Songhay’s imperial government so that merit (rather than birth) became the principal criterion for advancement in bureaucracy. Eventually, after Muhammad became blind and was deposed in 1528, Songhay’s trans-Saharan trade declined. This was also partly due to competition from European sea traders along the West African Atlantic coast, which undercut the trans-Saharan gold trade. After severe political crises of succession disputes, rebellions and civil war that Songhay emperors faced during the 1580s, their imperial army was decisively defeated by Morocco’s elite musketeers at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591. Other kingdoms and chieftaincies came up throughout Central, Eastern and Southern  ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY – Vol. I – Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since – Emizet F. Kisangani Africa. Although some of these polities were decentralized or confederated, most of them developed as centralized systems where the king or the chief represented the top, followed by the house of the king or an inner circle of advisors, and finally the Council of Elders as the legislative branch. The army and bureaucrats were in charge of maintaining security and law, collecting taxes, and conducting censuses. In most polities, age was a major social feature of stratification, while in other areas the system was meritocractic. 1. 3. Beyond the Medieval Era to the Nineteenth Century U SA NE M SC PL O E – C EO H AP LS TE S R S In the late 1500s and through the 1700s, Europeans and Arabs introduced new weapons and made new demands for captives of war throughout Africa to meet the demands of a growing international slave trade. Consequently, many of Africa’s previous patterns of political and economic growth were disrupted, even though many of the great traditions of medieval African politics and administration continued to guide their evolution. As African kingdoms and empires continued to develop, and trade between coastal cities and interior regions expanded throughout the continent, various African peoples established political confederations based on religious ideology, commercial linkages and/or military authority. Such confederations were committed to establishing broader nationalist ideologies, promoting literacy and advancement by merit, expanding both regional and international commerce, and undertaking significant administrative and military reforms. The first great reformer and leader in North Africa was an Ottoman military commander, Muhammad Ali (1805-1848). He established the first secular schools, engineering and medical colleges, modern factories, modern printing presses, and stateowned textile and munitions factories. His successors continued his policies of borrowing foreign capital and building projects, such as the Suez Canal that was completed in 1869. In the west, the original Asante confederation, established by seven clans near the city of Kumasi (in modern day Ghana), united around the symbolic Golden Stool of their ruler Asante-Hene. This confederation built roads and promoted agriculture, commerce, industry and education through self-help and self-reliance. The Asante emperors implemented several modernization policies in administration that included promoting advancement by merit and the development of state enterprise through public investment. By 1874, the British imperial army defeated the Asante army and annexed the Fante territories into their Gold Coast colony. In East Africa (c. 1800-1885), there was also a movement toward centralization of authority and broadened commercial linkages throughout the region, from Ethiopia’s Highlands to the Limpopo River in Southern Africa. In the first half of the nineteenth century, however, Africa continued to be significantly disrupted by international trade in slaves, even as new Euro-American markets began to demand large imports of such African-based commodities as palm oil, cotton, peanuts, and ivory. By mid-century, European merchants realized that Africans could produce such valuable exports more efficiently and humanely by working in their own countries than by working as slaves in the Americas. Many other nineteenth century African nations were consciously modernizing their various political economies and shifting to regional confederacies,

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 18

Research Paper Example Further, Walmart has the advantage of a wide scale of operations, with its stores extending beyond the boundaries of the US and in global markets. But Walmart’s weaknesses include little differentiation, high labor turnover, and legal lawsuits. Costco is a discount retailer dealing in electronics, furniture, hardware, home dà ©cor, office supplies, grocery, and so on. Its target market belongs to low to medium income groups as it is positioned a wholesale discount retailer. Costco generated revenues of $112,640 million in 2014 (Costco Wholesale Corp, 42). Costco’s strength is its large employee pool and brand equity. The retailer has loyal customers and a large membership club chain. In addition, Costco is also a large retailer of wine. However, it offers absolutely no protection to its employees. Due to competition, its market share has remained stagnant which is why the retailer must expand its customer base. Target is a retailer and merchandiser which sells a variety of items – apparel, accessories, shoes, electronics, grocery, and other household items – at a discounted price. In 2013, Target made total revenues of $72,596 million (Target, n.pag.). Target has its presence in the US, Canada, and India reflecting that its market is segmented based on countries. Its market offerings are targeted towards a wide range of people including children, men, women, families, and so on. As such, its consumer segment is quite diverse and spans all age groups. Target has a positive image among the stakeholders for having a diverse culture, being clean and design-centered, and providing high quality products. However, Target lags behind in terms of its reach unlike Walmart which has international presence worldwide. Although Target brands itself as a value retailer, its products are highly prices relative to Walmart. Walmart focuses on growth strategy as it is evident in the retailer’s

Time management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Time management - Essay Example It never occurred to me that I could just wake up at the same time that she did and thus simplify what had been such a tiring exercise. Time management is a key factor in one’s life and how a person plans their time will determine their success rate at achieving the goals that they have set for themselves (Julie 56). My goals have changed since I was a child and now consist of an impressive academic transcript coupled with a successful job history that will enhance my Curriculum Vitae and last but not least, the development of a strong relationship with my family. In order to achieve these goals, I will need to develop a successful time management strategy as my current scheme leaves much to be desired. However, this can be improved if I put a little effort into the venture. One of the problems I am facing is the management of my study time in relation to upcoming examinations. I find that I either end revising too late for tests thus making it almost impossible to soak in all the information before D-day or I read too early resulting in my forgetting of half of the topics I have studied. Needless to say, this has affected my grades as a result making it harder for me to achieve the rainbow colors I so desperately seek in my transcripts. The solution to this problem I have discovered is quite simple, instead of focusing my study time on one particular time I can simply manage my revision so that I read a little each day instead of trying to cram everything at once. By doing this, I am able to retain the information that I study with greater ease compared to my previous marathon sessions. The combination of a demanding part time job and academic obligations have also made it difficult for me to get to work on time as it involves shifts and I either arrive too early for the start of mine or too late. The manager of course notices whenever I am late, and no doubt that will affect the level of praise he will heap on me with regard to my performance if I ask him to be a referee thus affecting the shining aspect I aiming for in my developing Curriculum Vitae. However, this conundrum can be fixed by a simple change of the means of transport I use to a more stable one. By using a taxi instead of taking the bus to work I am not left at the mercy of the bus drivers’ time schedules which unlike me, they are not as eager on keeping. Though this may be more expensive, it will improve my timing making it worth the extra cost. The complications that have risen in the management of my work and academic obligations have meant that the amount of time that I spend with my family has dwindled over time. Where we were once close with my mother and siblings, I find that I hardly know what goes on in their lives anymore affecting my goal for strong family bonds. Unlike the first two concerns, no simple solution is found for this except the obvious. I will have to give up some of my extra curricular activities such as the time I spend unwinding wit h colleagues and replace it with time spent with the family. I am able to unwind just as well if not better with my family as I am with my friends and this will give me time to catch up with the events that have occurred in their lives. The aim of achieving academic, career and family success lies in my ability to manage the time given to me the best way I can. By doing this, I will be

Charging of a 6-12V lead acid battery through the use of a solar panel Essay

Charging of a 6-12V lead acid battery through the use of a solar panel - Essay Example Currently, man used the fullest potential of the solar system that able the man to use it as the source of renewable energy research. The project that includes in this research used the solar power as the source of energy for the circuit.This study used a solar cell battery charger, which is an instrument that sum up all the energy in a rechargeable battery by driving an electric current on it. There are given two tasks that need to take note in commonly using lead-acid based battery charges. First, it is task to fully pay attention for the self-discharge, frequently faster as practical in order to have a consistency in its capacity. Second, it is tasked to restore capacity. For both tasks cases, ideal operation needs to exactly identify the voltage of the battery. The aim of this project is to formulate a circuit that through the use of photovoltaic cells as a main basis would charge a 6-12V lead acid based battery. Depending to the given technology and capacity of the battery that being charge will determine the charge current. In this case, it is preferable to use 6V and 12V batteries. For this project to be able to complete, it is recommended to choose a voltage regulator circuit that has the ability to constantly maintain a certain voltage level; It is also recommended to use a voltage circuit checker in order to trace the voltage in the given battery before charging. Project Aim The aim of this project is to formulate and improve a circuit that has the ability to charge a 6-12V lead acid based battery, through the use of a solar panel as the main source of energy that will be carried out on the circuit; that will be able to allocate a wide range of use. Statement of Objective 1. To improve a charging circuit that can charge a 6-12V lead acid based battery through these of photovoltaic panels as a DC source. 2. To know how battery charger works. 3. Tounderstand more the Solar panel energy. Introduction This section explains the global history of solar ener gy. It also conducts a literature review. There are figures that this review includes; full corresponding details are stated. Word History - Solar energy Figure 1 Solar Energy The sun’s radiant light and its heat are the main sources of solar energy. Earth's weather and climate are being controlled by solar energy, as it gives life to all living things in the earth. Solar energy is a word that is being indicated as solar power; furthermore, solar power also refers to electricity generated from solar radiation. Biomass and hydroelectricity are said accountable for most of the present movement of renewable energy on Earth. However, for example wave power and its wind, solar energy only establishes minor energy resources. Actually, solar energy technologies have the ability to supply electrical generation through heat engines or photovoltaic means. Passive solar buildings also bring safe water use as potable in drinking, hot water, daylight, and for thermal energy; this excludes geothermal energy that was carried out from the energy that comes from the sun. Solar radiation is mainly included in this industrial type of solar energy that is recommendable to use for practical ends. There are two characteristic of solar technology: active or inactive. The solar cell captures, disseminates and translates sunlight. There are also solar energy techniques in order to convert sunlight into functional outputs, such as pumps, photovoltaic