Alexander the Prophet essays

Alexander the Prophet essays When Alexander the Prophet introduced Glycon the snake to the Abonoteichans, it displayed how the masses of antiquity were eager to worship some sort of God. Moreover, it really illustrated how easy it was to invent a god and watch the masses scurry to worship it. The people throughout the Roman world were so superstitious, ignorant and gullible that even a skeptic with convincing arguments and evidence had no practical effect on the credulous believers. Alexander was indeed an intelligent and resourceful man and that was part of the reason he was so successful at his cons. The other reason for his success was due to the sheer ignorance of the masses and he used both of these factors to his advantage. He understood, according to Lucians story, that hope and fear tyrannize every mans life and that anyone able to make use of either for his own good could become rich overnight. Alexander was so very good at working people in his favor, aside from swindling them for money, of course. Even when his prophesies went awry, he was quickly able to recover. He would prepare ex post facto oracles to help out the bad predictions, such as the one he gave Severianus about his march into Armenia. This was a rich and notable person, Severianus, and he trusted Glycon with his and his soldiers lives, much to his detriment. His oracles were not only listened to and believed by the commoners. There was a very large patronage of emperors and pr ovincial governors as well. Even Rutilianus, the governor of Moesia and Asia, was a devout follower, and married Alexanders daughter. Rutilianus also came to Alexanders defense when his own son had died after he asked Glycon where he should receive his education. Rutilianus simply came up with a possible positive interpretation of what the oracle may have meant. Alexanders god was so popular that people rushed all the way from Rome to consul ...

Marketing Essays

Marketing Essays Marketing Essay Marketing Essay EXPLORATORY RESEARCH Exploratory research is conducted to clarify ambiguous problems. Management may have discovered general problems, but research is needed to gain better understanding of the dimensions of the problems. Exploratory studies provide information to use in analyzing a situation, but uncovering conclusive evidence to determine a particular course of action is not the purpose of exploratory research. Usually, exploratory research is conducted with the expectation that subsequent research will be required to provide conclusive evidence, It is a serious mistake to rush into detailed surveys before less expensive and more readily available sources of information have been exhausted. In an organisation considering a program to help employees with childcare needs, for example, exploratory research with a small number of employees who have children might determine that many of them have spouses who also work and that these employees have positive reactions to the possibility of an on-site child-care program. In such a case exploratory research helps to crystallize a problem and identify information needs for future research. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH METHODS The quickest and the cheapest way to formulate a hypothesis in exploratory research is by using any of the four methods: Literature search Experience survey Focus group Analysis of selected cases Literature Search This refers to referring to a literature to develop a new hypothesis. The literature referred are trade journals, professional journals, market research finding publications, statistical publications etc Example: Suppose a problem is Why are sales down? This can quickly be analyzed with the help of published data which should indicate whether the problem is an industry problem or a firm problem. Three possibilities exist to formulate the hypothesis. 1. The companys market share has declined but industrys figures are normal. 2. The industry is declining and hence the companys market share is also declining. 3. The industrys share is going up but the companys share is declining. If we accept the situation that our companys sales are down despite the market showing an upward trend, then we need to analyse the marketing mix variables. Example 1: A TV manufacturing company feels that its market share is declining whereas the overall television industry is doing very well. Example 2: Due to a trade embargo imposed by a country, textiles exports are down and hence sales of a company making garment for exports is on the decline. The above information may be used to pinpoint the reason for declining sales. Experience Survey In experience surveys, it is desirable to talk to persons who are well informed in the area being investigated. These people may be company executives or persons outside the organisation. Here, no questionnaire is required. The approach adopted in an experience survey should be highly unstructured, so that the respondent can give divergent views. Since the idea of using experience survey is to undertake problem formulation, and not conclusion, probability sample need not be used. Those who cannot speak freely should be excluded from the sample. Example 1: 1) A group of housewives may be approached for their choice for a ready to cook product. .2) A publisher might want to find out the reason for poor circulation of newspaper introduced recently. He might meet (a) Newspaper sellers (b) Public reading room (c) General public (d) Business community; etc. These are experienced persons whose knowledge researcher can use. Focus Group Another widely used technique in exploratory research is the focus group. In a focus group, a small number of individuals are brought together to study and talk about some topic of interest. The discussion is co-ordinated by a moderator. The group usually is of 8-12 persons. While selecting these persons, care has to be taken to see that they should have a common background and have similar experiences in buying. This is required because here should not be a conflict among the group members on the common issues that are being discussed. During the discussion, future buying attitudes, present buying opinion etc. , are gathered. Most of the companies conducting the focus groups, first screen the candidates to determine who will compose the particular group. Firms also take care to avoid groups, in which some of the participants have their friends and relatives, because this leads to a biased discussion. Normally, a number of such groups are constituted and the final conclusion of various groups are taken for formulating the hypothesis. Therefore, a key factor in focus group is to have similar groups. Normally there are 4-5 groups. Some of them may even have 6-8 groups. The guiding criteria is to see whether the latter groups are generating additional ideas or repeating the same with respect to the subject under study. When this shows a diminishing return from the group, the discussions stopped. The typical focus group lasts for 1-30 hours to 2 hours. The moderator under the focus group has a key role. His job is to guide the group to proceed in the right direction. Analysis of selected cases Analysing a selected case sometimes gives an insight into the problem which is being researched. Case histories of companies which have undergone a similar situation may be available. These case studies are well suited to carry out exploratory research. However, the result of investigation of case histories arc always considered suggestive, rather than conclusive. In case of preference to ready to eat food, many case histories may be available in the form of previous studies made by competitors. We must carefully examine the already published case studies with regard to other variables such as price, advertisement, changes in the taste, etc. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe what exists with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The methods involved range from the survey which describes the status quo, the correlation study which investigates the relationship between variables, to developmental studies which seek to determine changes over time. Descriptive Research Methods Case Studies Detailed analysis of a single (or limited number) of people or events. Case studies are usually interesting because of the unusualness of the case . The major problem with case studies is the problem of objectivity. The person who is presenting the case usually has some theoretical orientation. It is acceptable for a theoretical orientation to affect one’s interpretation of events. In a case study the theoretical orientation can also lead to the selection of the facts to include in the case. It is not surprising that case studies often seem to provide very compelling evidence for a theory. Case studies can therefore assist psychology by illustrating how a theory could be applied to a person or events and by assisting with the development of hypotheses for more systematic testing. Observational Research Accounts of the natural behavior of individuals or groups in some setting. Unless the observation is unobtrusive, there may be some subject reactivity to being observed. This often decreases with time, a process called habituation. Observers cannot usually observe all behaviors all of the time. They may use a behavioral checklist and may also use time sampling or event sampling procedures. It is important to assess observer bias by the use of interobserver reliability. Observational research may also pose ethical problems. These can arise when the behaviors being observed are not public behaviors and when the observer joins a group in order to observe the members’ behavior – participant observation. Survey Research Structured questions to assess peoples beliefs, attitudes, and self-reports of behavior. If the researcher wishes to generalize the responses to a population, it is important to have a representative sample. Surveys that rely on self-selection (respond if you are interested) produce non-generalizable results. Surveys also provide information for co relational research. One can correlate responses to some questions (often demographic questions) with responses to other questions (often attitudes or reports of behavior). Survey question must be clear and unambiguous. Even if the questions are unambiguous and non-leading, people may display a social desirability bias and give positive or socially acceptable and desirable answers. Survey methods include: (1) the interview or face-to-face method which is generally viewed as the best method for obtaining a high rate of responses but is also very costly; (2) phone surveys, which are less expensive but have a higher non-response rate (which has probably increased with caller ID); and (3) written or mail surveys, which are least expensive but have a very high non-response rate. Follow-up messages can help increase the response rate. Archival Research Analysis of pre-existing data or records. Archival research often involves content analysis, a qualitative analysis of material. For example, one would use content analysis to determine whether there had been an increase in the frequency with which women and minorities were mentioned in US history books between 1920 and 2000. Some archival research is quasi-experimental. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH Science revolves around experiments, and learning the best way of conducting an experiment is crucial to obtaining useful and valid results. When scientists speak of experiments, in the strictest sense of the word, they mean a true experiment, where the scientist controls all of the factors and conditions. Real world observations, and case studies, should be referred to as observational research, rather than experiments. For example, observing animals in the wild is not a true experiment, because it does not isolate and manipulate an independent variable. With an experiment, the researcher is trying to learn something new about the world, an explanation of ‘why’ something happens. The experiment must maintain internal and external validity, or the results will be useless. THE BASIS OF CONDUCTING AN EXPERIMENT With an experiment, the researcher is trying to learn something new about the world, an explanation of ‘why’ something happens. The experiment must maintain internal and external validity, or the results will be useless. When designing an experiment, a researcher must follow all of the steps of the scientific method, from making sure that the hypothesis is valid and testable, to using controls and statistical tests. Whilst all scientists use reasoning, operationalization and the steps of the scientific process, it is not always a conscious process. Experience and practice mean that many scientists follow an instinctive process of conducting an experiment, the ‘streamlined’ scientific process. Following the basic steps will usually generate valid results, but where experiments are complex and expensive, it is always advisable to follow the rigorous scientific protocols. [pic]

Analysis of Strategic Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Analysis of Strategic Planning - Essay Example He explained that the success of the company depends on the strategy they chose such as cost leadership, differentiation, and focus; and a firm, for its smooth running must choose one of the strategies and work on it. Cost Leadership The cost leadership strategy helps the firm to remain as a low-cost producer in the industry. To achieve the maximum result, this strategy must be utilized on a standardized product by trying to make maximum use of the cost sources. When there is a price war, or when the industry matures, a firm with cost leadership can remain profitable for a longer period than the competing firms. Differentiation Strategy Differentiation strategy means uniqueness within the industry, having specific dimensions that buyers are ready to value and willing to pay a price premium. Even if there is an increase in the price of the product, the producer still gets the profitability, because the product has the unique attributes and the consumers are not able to find a substitu te product easily. Focus strategy This strategy tries to achieve either cost advantage or differentiation advantage, concentrating on a narrow segment. The focus strategy focuses entirely on the needs of the group, and so enjoys greater customer loyalty. The following part of the paper will discuss how some prominent retail firms have been implementing the above-said strategies in their business operation. Tesco, a world-famous retailer firm, refers to generic strategies as a tool to determine the characteristics of retailers’ response to industry structure. Big concerns like Tesco can obtain the reasonable cutthroat benefit by following any one of the three generic strategies of Porter. By utilizing the first strategy of cost leadership, Tesco can try to have the lowest production cost in the whole industry and can offer their products and service to the market at the lowest cost. The cost leadership strategy shows the ability of the firms to control their operating costs so well that they can price their products competitively. Having a greater degree of competitive advantage, they are able to generate high profit margins. If differentiation strategy is to be established, Tesco has to offer products and services which has the unique feature that is not offered by any other firm. If so, the firm gets a brand loyalty and inelasticity of price. Between these two strategies, Tesco chooses to follow the cost leadership strategy. To select between the strategies, the management had made use of the last porter’s focus strategy. For the implementation of the strategy, they introduced different tactics, such as focusing on the internal efficiencies which helped Tesco to resist the outer force from the other firms. On the way to control their cost of production, they had regular communication with the suppliers, government, and the regulatory authorities. They made a policy to supply the specific products to the broad market. These helped them in attaini ng a high position and profitability.  

Preparing to Conduct Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preparing to Conduct Business - Essay Example ductivity as the cost of laying-off the tenured employees, as well as coping for the remaining or new managers in the newly-built structure of the company. Possible research questions for the scenario are: 1) Should the functions for each job description be adjusted to suit the new organizational structure? 2) How many tenured employees must be retained in order to keep the company working smoothly as before, and at the same time within the new structure’s limits? And 3) Would the gap between costs and profits after restructuring increase or decrease, as compared to the old structure, and by how much? Possible hypotheses, which can be either a null hypothesis (no difference between X and Y) or alternative hypothesis (X is better than Y, or vice versa) for the given scenario can be deduced using the example research questions stated above: 1) Ho: The old job descriptions can still be used for the new structure of the company. Ha: Job descriptions must be updated to suit the new organizational structure. 2) Ho: No need to hire more than 3% of the original employees since this is enough to both train the new hires and keep the organization going. Ha: Hiring at least 50% of the original employees would be enough to train the new hires and keep the organization sailing. 3) Ho: The gap between cost and profits would be the same as in the old structure. Ha: Gap between cost and profit can either be: cost is greater than profits, or profits are greater than cost. While business restructuring is a strategy usually undertaken by many companies to cut costs, there are many things to be considered before undertaking such a task (Zilka 13). In order to be able to maximize profits as well as the cuts in costs, the business must have a solid program as its foundation. There must be sufficient data, analytics as well as benchmarking in order to gauge the new program’s effectiveness (14). This would ensure that the new organizational structure would be able to save more and

Harvard case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Harvard - Case Study Example The Beijing EAP Inc. is a company that provided EAPs to many customers. The nature of its operations required the employees to have strong academic backgrounds that qualified them to operate in this multinational service company. Being the largest market holder in the Mainland China, the Company had a huge customer base that categorized it as a big corporation. Amongst some customers of BEC were IBM, Siemens, Samsung, Lenovo, Guadong Mobile, and the China Development Bank. Consequently, the Company had many projects that prompted the management to subdivide the projects to different segment managers2. In this case, for instance, Mr. Yang represents a training department manager having a communicational breakdown with Ms. Song, a project manager, based on the confusion of the roles each one was to perform. In some cases, the tension escalated to a point where the employees did not know who to approach concerning the progress of projects. Both being project managers at the BEC, the two senior employees had no idea of the organizational structure. Both the employees had no clear identity of the functions that were under their jurisdiction3. This problem faces many large corporations, therefore making it difficult to execute their project as required. However, it is important to outline the authorities, responsibilities, and restrictions of the project managers. This goes a long way in ensuring that similar communicational breakdowns are avoided in the future for corporations. The major challenge that the BEC had was the lack of communication. When Mr. Yang and Ms. Song got onto the project, they assumed to understand their duties. In difficult situations, each failed to consult the other to comprehend the magnitude of the problem. As a result, the two employees endured poor working relationships. Existence of hierarchy in the management of projects was another problem that

Juveniles in the US Criminal Justice System

Juveniles in the US Criminal Justice System The juvenile court system has been in existence since 1899 (Kerbs, n.d.). Although this does not show how long juvenile crimes have been taking place, it does give one a glimpse into how long juvenile crime has been taken to courts. Politically, both sides of the spectrum; liberals as well as conservatives are calling for the abolition of the juvenile courts jurisdiction over delinquency adjudications (Kerbs, n.d.). Sadly, crimes that juveniles are committing have become more violent including rape and murder and although they are still, in fact children, they must still be punished for their crime. In most cases, a child who is over the age of 13 and commits a crime of that magnitude will be tried in an adult court. The one thing that needs to be remembered is that children are children, not adults. A possibility remains that children can be rehabilitated into becoming more productive members of society once they have gone through some sort of rehabilitation process. of course, ther e is always the exception to that rule when children just do not care and want to continue living a bad life and committing crimes. Adults have already gotten set in their ways and the chances of rehabilitating them are not as great as that of a child. Comparison between juvenile and adult courts Some differences between the two types of courts are the terminology used in each. For juveniles, they commit an act of delinquency whereas adults commit a crime (Misha, 2006). Differences in background are another way that the two courts can be distinguished. When considering the juvenile case, the courts look at both the students academic and family background. In adult courts, these issues are not considered when the adult is on trial (Misha, 2006). Juvenile courts look at rehabilitation efforts for the child who committed the delinquency. Adult courts focus more on the fact that the adult committed a crime and the community in which he or she lives or committed that crime does not approve of that crime and think the individual needs to be punished accordingly (Misha, 2006). Juveniles are not arrested but taken into custody. Adults are simply arrested. Adults are indicted and juveniles have petitions filed against them. Juvenile courts must either agree to a finding or deny the pe tition. Adults have to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest. Juvenile courts have an adjustment made. In adult courts, this is also called plea bargaining (Misha, 2006). Juvenile courts will decide if the child should go to a detention facility or childcare center; adults who are facing due process are either sent to jail or sent back to jail (Misha, 2006). Similarities are present between the two as well. Both juveniles and adults have a right to get counsel to represent them in court. Both have a right to cross-examine and also to confront witnesses. They have the right to be protected against self-incrimination and a right to be advised of the charges pending against them. Last, the prosecution in both types of courts must show proof that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before the defendant can be convicted. Implications of Juveniles in Adult Courts There are times when judges will remand a juvenile to an adult court, depending on the severity of the crime that has been committed, including rape and murder. This is called waiving jurisdiction, and it also depends on some other factors such as the age of the juvenile, and whether or not the court feels that the juvenile can be rehabilitated (Steinberg, 2000). In some states, a juvenile court judge must waive jurisdiction for certain offenses if probable cause exists that the juvenile committed the offense (Steinberg, 2000). other states have a presumption waiver in which the juvenile will be transferred to criminal court, when it is presumed appropriate. If the juvenile can prove that he or she should be in a juvenile rehabilitation program, then they will not get a presumption waiver (Steinberg, 2000). The judge will make that final decision, but the juvenile must be the one to prove it. Direct File, which is also known as Prosecutorial Discretion, exists in some jurisdictions and the prosecutor who uses his or her own discretion can file charges either in a juvenile or criminal court (Steinberg, 2000). Statutory Exclusion, which is also known as Legislative Exclusion, Mandatory Transfer, or Automatic Transfer, there are certain categories under which the juvenile can be excluded automatically from juvenile court. This exclusion is determined by a combination of age and offense (Steinberg, 2000). In some states there is a reverse waiver where a criminal court judge can waive a case to juvenile court based on various characteristics of the offender and the offense (Steinberg, 2000). In some states like New York, juveniles who are age 16 or 17 will automatically be tried in a criminal court because the juvenile court jurisdiction ends at age 15, and this is not considered a transfer. More cases are being transferred to adult courts because the list of cases being tried are growing, approximately one-third of those cases are for non-violent offenses like robbery or drugs, and there are a larger number of black and Hispanic offenders transferred than white offenders, even when they have committed the same type of crime (Steinberg, 2000). The problem that exists in this area is that there are many cases being tried in adult courts for children who are too young to really and fully understand the consequences behind their actions. The punishments they are being given are the same as adults and this does not sound like a fair deal. Punishments that are handed down to these juveniles in the adult courts should be done so with the understanding of the juvenile that they know what they have done is wrong and they can accept the consequences of their actions (Steinberg, 2000). The age of the offender needs to be taken into account and the judicial system certainly needs to realize that some juveniles, even at the age of 17, may not be emotionally mature enough to have this understanding. Societal Implications of Abolishing Juvenile Court If juvenile courts are taken away, there will be more juveniles sent to adult prisons and given much harsher sentences and punishments than they should really get. It is crucial for the U.S. to keep these courts alive and active. Sending juveniles to adult prisons can make their lives much worse, and the chances of them being rehabilitated and becoming better citizens will be reduced greatly because of the things that can happen to them in prison and the things they will learn in prison. Children should not be housed with adults who are career criminals and have spent the better part of their lives doing bad things, hurting people and stealing. No one wants their children to end up like that. It is likely that society will not allow this to happen, but if citizens and law makers alike do not fight it, abolishing juvenile courts can become a reality.

The Three Little Users and the Big Bad Wolf Essay examples -- Creative

The Three Little Users and the Big Bad Wolf Once upon a time, there were three little computer users of three different professions and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes. The first little user with the screen name LiLestPiggy, the youngest, bought his computer at the local chain computer store CompUSA, and had just recently installed a modem so he could surf the net. Email being the primary reason for the use of his computer, LiLestPiggy purchased a computer with the most basic set up. He was planning to surf the web and play games online, pursuing a job as an English teacher at the nearby elementary school. It was the most basic set up for a beginner. The second little user with the screen name LiLPiggy, the middle of the three, bought a laptop, installed Norton Anti-Virus, and installed a cable modem to insure a fast and safe internet connection. He was planning to pursue a business job so he needed a fast and safe computer. The third little user with the screen name of IllestPiggy, the eldest of three, built his own computer, installing several Anti-Virus programs and setting up a firewall and top-notch secret government security devices. A firewall protects your network from unwanted Internet traffic. The primary functions of a firewall are to let good traffic pass through while ‘bad’ traffic is blocked. The most important part of a firewall is its access control features that distinguish between good and bad traffic. One night, a hacker with the screen name BigBadWolf, who dearly loved to ruin little pigs lives, was out and about. The BigBadWolf instant messaged (IM’ed) LiLestPiggy who has the most basic internet connection. The BigBadWolf said, â€Å"Hello, I was wondering if ... ...estions brought up was whether the government should take action and patrol cyberspace for possible dangers. Some of the blame of the extensive abuse of the First Amendment can be pointed at the government. However, cyberspace is a place for people to act as they wish and speak freely, unless it would be breaking the first amendment of freedom of speech. If the government took action, there would most likely be conflict and it would be a big deal. In conclusion, hackers have tremendous power to cause trouble due to the unlimited resources and possibilities of the internet. Although they are capable of trouble, most hackers create viruses because of the purposes of it being challenging and entertaining. In this case, the government should step in and regulate cyberspace to a certain degree. We cannot let people commit crime and let them get away with it.