Maritime Logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Maritime Logistics - Essay Example Therefore to not merely survive, but to grow throughout the crisis, K&X must develop mechanisms to benefit from opportunities that this environment has created. Prior to the crisis, K&X should have allocated resources to a crisis management plan that will maintain its current operations in a financially constricted environment with limited allocated of additional resources during the actual crisis. By conducting this preparation in more ordinary financial environments, K&X ensures that it will maintain relevance during challenging times while its industry peers are caught more unaware and must then engage in cost reduction measures to maintain their core business operations (Shim, Siegel & Dauber, 2008). Having already ensured its relevance and continuance in a challenging environment, K&X will then be poised to better recognize and exploit opportunities as they arise. This is particularly valuable as few new ideas, products, or processes are introduced to market in times of crisis. Most other organisations in the industry will be developing or implementing new services, allowing K&X a unique opportunity to fill that void (Griffin, 2008). In order to position itself favourable in a challenging environment, K&X must first develop and maintain a crisis management p... With this in mind, K&X must develop a crisis management plan as a living document that is continuously revised with the most currently available data, particularly when the industry begins to forecast the potential for an economic crisis. The management of the crisis will then involve application of the mechanisms developed and specified in the plan and the updated data will ensure that the organisation is responding to the environment as it actually exists (Kao, 2007). The exact measures of K&X for crisis management have been fully explored in Part II and are aimed at mitigating the effects of the crisis and maintaining continuity of operations. This will allow the organisation to remain fully crisis conscious, making its management of the situation part of its normal operations rather than as a separate issue that is address only after the disaster strikes (Drucker, 2008). Once implemented, the first stage of the K&X crisis management plan will evaluate the current business environment, specifically to determine potential areas of failure that may have a significant effect on core business operations (Drucker, 2008). This evaluation process is particularly important as failure during this phase may result in an irrelevant plan of action that may contribute to the collapse of the organisation. As such, the evaluation phase will require the heaviest commitment of time and resources to ensure that subsequent phases of the plan remain pertinent and relevant to the current environment. The goals of the evaluation must be a high relevance as this will ensure accuracy and precision in the later actions of K&X (Chesbrough, Vanhaverbeke & West, 2006). This evaluation process will include an assessment of

Truth Essay Essay Example for Free

Truth Essay Essay The writer Oscar Wilde once said that â€Å"The truth is rarely pure and never simple. † Wilde claims that truth is hardly wholesome and unadulterated, but rather tainted, or polluted. Wilde also states how truth is never straightforward and effortless. Truth could come with questions, ambiguous feelings, and abstract thoughts. Three pieces of literature exemplify Oscar Wilde’s quote about truth. In The â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† by Plato, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, and â€Å"Dover Beach† by Matthew Arnold the concept of a vague, confusing, and tainted truth is depicted widely throughout the works of literature. In â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† Plato uses the theme of appearance versus reality to portray his perspective on truth. In this piece of literature men lay restrained underground in a cave with no way out. In their cave reality is â€Å"nothing but the shadows of those artificial objects. † The man’s life, his reality, his truth, is based among shadows cast on the walls by the fire burning behind them. They know nothing else to be true. Therefore, it may appear that the truth for these men is very simple and pure, staring them right in the face, the shadows. When one man is freed from his shackles and forced to look into the light for the first time, what he thought was reality was fictitious now. He has become enlightened in a way and breaks away from using his five scenes that he used in the physical world of the cave. The man starts to have faith, believing in something even if you can’t see it, and he looks inside to his immortal soul. He starts to reach this higher level of existence that no one in the cave is experiencing because they are trapped in a false reality guided by scenes and not by intuition. What was once pure is now tainted with his true beliefs. He realizes that physical objects aren’t real at all. Only the idea of that object is real, and forms of the object are only imperfect. Going back into the cave only leads to darkness because he doesn’t believe in this false reality anymore. The other men in the cave would become agitated that one person is defacing and berating their beliefs without any proof that his reality exist. They would kill him. Literary techniques greatly help illustrate the meaning of the quote to the short story. Along with theme, symbolism is vital to portray Plato’s idea of truth. The cave in the story signifies a huge covering of the real truth, a barrier from reaching that higher plane of existence. The shadows denote the idea of what appears to be reality, what one perceives reality to be based only the physical, materialist aspect and not the spiritual one. The darkness that Plato refers to in the short story signifies the men’s narrow-mindedness with their mind set on the bodily world focusing on the external appearances and not true nature. Lastly, the sun represents the form of goodness. Plato quotes, â€Å"once it is perceived, the conclusion must follow that, for all things, this is the cause of whatever is right and good; in the visible world it gives birth to light and the lord of light, while it is itself sovereign in the intelligible world and the parent of intelligence and truth. † Since the whole short story is an allegory, everything is symbolic. The story can represent Plato’s life. Early in his life, before he was taught, he sees what reality is by senses. After the famous philosopher, Socrates, taught him, he became enlightened and started to form his own ideas of reality that contradicted the common beliefs. Thus, he was deeply criticized for holding these beliefs that were unexplainable. The rest of the Greeks were like the men in the cave, living in a false reality, while he was the one man who escaped and became enlightened. Don Quixote is another story that helps exemplify the quote by Wilde. Cervantes depicts Quixote as a person who lost his mind from reading too many books. Cervantes uses symbols to get the truth across. Books represent the importance of fiction and literature in everyday life. Books instruct and inform the ignorant people and provide an imaginative outlet for characters with otherwise dull lives, like Quixote. Quixote’s hand- made visor on his helmet denotes the idea of alienation from his physical world by hiding his face. Everybody he encounters on his journey thinks he is totally irrational and insane. Cervantes brings the theme of appearance versus reality into the light. It appears that Don Quixote is living a false, ridiculous reality, but he creates this new reality based on his actual world and this dream world he is living. Therefore, truth isn’t pure or simple; it becomes a mixture of his plain life and his ideal life. While it may appear that he has no real purpose, in reality he is enlightened and helps raise the level of society by changing their old beliefs. He starts to live in this ideal world of his. He doesn’t want to be fettered by society. He transforms this mundane reality into something better, based on books he read about the ancient chivalry that doesn’t present any reality. Thus, another theme is present, morality. His view is totally different then a person stuck in the physical world. Contradicting morals, at times, can lead to an impasse making truth that much harder to establish. Quixote believes his morals are true while the others are wrong. It appears in Quixote’s odyssey that he is crazy and foolish like when he comes across an inn. Cervantes states, â€Å"when he caught sight of the inn, it at once became a castle with its four turrets and its pinnacles of gleaming silver†¦and then a swineherd came along†¦he gave a blast on his horn to bring them together. † Characterization plays a role in portraying the quote. Quixote has good intentions but this ideal world challenges the world which the majority of the people think is reality. He tries to be noble and knight like but he receives no sympathy or compassion for his actions. He makes the matter worse at times because he lives in this ideal world. When he encounters a farmer beating his servant, he tries to intervene but makes it is to no avail. When he leaves, the farmer continues to beat the servant because he is even angrier. When Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panzo, come across windmills, Quixote reacts by saying, â€Å"you see there before you, some thirty or more lawless giants with whom I mean to do battle. I shall deprive them of their lives, and with the spoils from this encounter we shall begin to enrich ourselves†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Therefore, his perception of truth is not simple; it is cursed with constant conflicts with the parallel reality he is living beside. â€Å"Dover Beach† also illustrates the meaning of the quote. Matthew Arnold shows the meaning of Wilde’s quote by also using the theme of appearance verses reality, mood, free verse, and imagery. The poem starts off with a peaceful, tranquil scene with â€Å"sweet is the night air! Only, from the long line of spray, where the sea meets the moon-blanched land†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Arnold invites the reader to journey into what appears to be true and clear. If one rises above and becomes more spiritually connected, he would see the true reality of the beach. The mood changes to sadness by stating, â€Å"But now I only hear its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, retreating, to the breath of the night wind, down the vast edges drear and naked shingles of the world. † Adjectives like drear, melancholy, and sadness indicate a shift in Arnold’s attitude. The true reality appears. People are stuck in this physical world during the Industrial Revolution and are moving away from the spiritual world. Arnold uses the image of the Sea of Faith and how it was once â€Å"at the full and round earth’s shore lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. † Now the sea is withdrawing because people do not believe in what they can’t see. They only want to believe what is physically in front of them. Plato’s idea of people being stuck in a physical world is displayed in the poem. Even at the end, Arnold suggests that being honest means that this false reality is not real at all. The world has neither joy, love, light, peace, certitude, nor help for pain. Arnold creates an even more dismal mood by revealing what is really reality. The truth can be very hard and unclear considering that most people ignore it to live their happy, tranquil, fabricated life. Images like the calm sea, the tranquil bay, the moon-blanched land, land of dreams show the innocence of this untruthful world. The shift in mood occurs when images are brought to life. Images like ignorant armies clashing, the turbid ebb and flow of human misery, the roar of the ocean, and the eternal note of sadness all portray what true appearance of reality. Free verse also explains the meaning of the poem. Free verse is written with no set pattern followed from stanza to stanza, or from line to line. The lengths of lines and stanzas can vary. Arnold uses free verse to bring out the true nature and reality of the world, imitating the irregular ebb and flow of waves on the beach and using irregular rhyme pattern. Thus representing how truth is hard to follow, and never simple. â€Å"Dover Beach†, Don Quixote, and â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† all depict how the truth is never pure and simple. All three pieces indicates a theme of the appearance, false reality, and the reality, internal and deeper meaning in life. This false appearance, coupled with the greed and ignorance, according to Plato, of the physical world, denotes the fact that truth is polluted, and difficult to obtain. The truth appears one way but one has to search for what is really the truth. All three works of literature epitomize the accurate meaning of truth.

Can cell phones cause cancer? :: essays research papers

Technology has always made an impact on our society. Over the last few decades, there have been many inventions that have changed our lifestyles. Cellular Telephony has, by all accounts, modified how we interact with others; but at what cost? Are there health issues associated with this technology? More explicitly can cell phones cause cancer? This question is the basis of this review. The researcher has compiled articles that cover this topic from diverse scholarly sources, and diverse countries. It is undeniable that cellular technology has become main stream. â€Å"It was estimated that there were 92 million cell phone users in the US, a number growing by one million every month.† (Frumkin, Jacobson, Gansler & Thun 2001). The arrival and widespread use of cell phones has peaked interest of the health effects of radiofrequencies in the human body. Cell phones use radio frequencies to transmit signals. Radio Frequencies (RF) are a form of electrical waves similar to those used in radios, microwaves, radars or satellite stations. They are emitted from a transmitter, and received using an antenna. This telephony technology is restricted geographically to small zones called â€Å"Cells†. Every cell has a base station capable of sending and receiving radio waves. When a call is started a signal leaves the handheld unit headed to the closest base station. This station answers by allocating a specific channel to the unit. When this â€Å"channel† is established, modulated radio frequency signals are both received and transmitted. The head of the user is in the near field of use because the distance from the antenna to the head is a few centimeters. (Blettner & Berg 2000) If the antenna is inside the body of the phone, the exposure to Radio Frequencies is greater. The antenna might be requesting a stronger signal to cont est with the interference of the battery or the actual shell of the phone’s body. The level of RF a person receives is related to many factors, not only the placement of the antenna. Factors that can increase the level of RF are the number of â€Å"cells†, the distance to the â€Å"base station†, or the obstacles between the caller and the station. The number of cell zones depends on the user population. Heavily populated areas have more cells allowing for more telecommunication traffic. Being close to a cell site lowers the power needed to sustain a call, hence reduces the exposure to RF.

Martin Delaney Essay

Martin Delany was born in West Virginia a free man, the son of Pati and Samuel Delany. He was considered free because his Mother Pati was a free women. In his growing years he and his siblings were taught to read using the New York primer to learn to read. To keep from being arrested his mother moved the children to Pennsylvania a free state. He did have to leave school occasionally to help on the family farm but eventually he did migrate to Pittsburgh where he became a barber and laboroer to support himself.- In 1834 Delany met and married Catherine Richard with whom he married Catherine Richards and they had 11 children that all survived to adulthood. During the national choldera epidemic in 1833, Delany became apprenticed to Dr. AndrewN. McDowell, where he learned contemporary techniques of fire cupping and leeching then condidered the primary techniques to treat. He continued to study under the mentorship of Dr. McDowell and other abolisionist doctors, such as Dr F. Julius LeMoyn e and Dr. Joseph P. Gazzam of Pittsburgh. Delany became more active in political matters. In 1835 he attended his first National men of color convention, held in Philadelphia since 1831. He was inspired to conceive a plan to set up a ‘Black Israel’ on the east coast of Africa. He also became involved in the temperance movement and organizations caring for fugitive slaves who had escaped to Pennsylvania, a free state. While Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison were in Pittsburgh in 1847 on an anti-slavery tour, they met with Delany. Together the men conceived the newspaper that became the North Star. It was first published later that year in Rochester, New York. The business was handled by Douglass, while Delany traveled to lecture, report, and obtain subscriptions. During these travels, he was frequently confronted by mobs opposing his views, sometimes violently. While living in Pittsburgh, Delany studied the basics of medicine under doctors and maintained his own cupping and leeching practice. In 1849 he began to study more seriously to prepare to apply to medical school. In 1850 he failed to be accepted to several institutions before being accepted at Harvard Medical school, after presenting letters of support from seventeen physicians. He was one of the first three black men to be admitted there. Following the war, Delany continued to be politically active. He worked to help black cotton farmers improve their business and negotiating skills to get a better price for their product. He also argued against blacks, when he saw fit, however. He opposed the vice presidential candidate of J. J. Wright because he was too inexperienced, and also opposed the candidacy of a black man for the mayor of Charlston, SC. In the later 1870s, the gains of the Reconstruction period began to be pushed back by more conservative elements. White Democrats replaced Delany in office. Parlimentary groups such as the Red Shirts suppressed black voting in South Carolina, especially in the upland counties. In reaction to whites’ regaining power and the suppression of black voting, Charleston -based blacks started planning again for emigration to Africa. In 1877, they formed ‘Liberia Exodus Joint Stock Steamship Company’, with Delany as chairman of the finance committee. A year later, the company purchased a ship – the Azor – for the voyage. Delany worked as president of the board to organize the voyage. In 1880, he withdrew from the project to serve his family. Two of his children were students at Wilberforce College and required money for tuition fees. His wife had been working as a seamstress to make ends meet. Delany began practicing medicine again in Charleston. On 24 January 1885, he died of tuberculosis in Wilberforce, Ohio.

My favourite book «Pride and prejudice» Jane Austen Essay

I like reading very much. Books are the history and tastes of each era. Some of them hopelessly lost its charm, others – are relevant and are read with interest today. Every writer wanted to write for ages, but could he or no; it turns out in subsequent generations. I can say that I love all kinds of books. I have a lot of them, they are different, some imaginative, other fantastic.  «Pride of woman, beggar and completely free – in its poverty, in its irony, in the strength of her character †¦ Is there something equal to such pride? Prejudice of woman, almost incapable to kick, to believe in the sincerity of men’s feel and stop thinking about it. This novel â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† by Jane Austen. Book, without which there wouldn’t be â€Å"psychological† novel or â€Å"feminist† literature or – simply – â€Å"elite† prose as such!  »  «Pride and Prejudice » is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, firs t published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman. In the small town of Meryton that in the county of Hertfordshire, comes the sensational news: one of the richest estates in the county Netherfield Park will not be empty : it was rented by rich young man , aristocrat Mr. Bingley . To all of his accomplishments was adding another one, the most significant , truly priceless : Mr. Bingley was a bachelor . And minds of young ladies were darkened and confused by this news for a long time, Mrs. Bennet (mother) in particular. However, Mr. Bingley arrives not alone; he is accompanied by sisters and inseparable friend Mr. Darcy. Bingley is naive, trusting, opened for communication, without snobbery and ready to love everyone. Darcy – completely opposite of him: proud, arrogant, closed, full of exclusiveness of belonging to a select society. Relationship developing between Bingley – Jane and Darcy – Elizabeth is quite appropriate to their nature. Bingley and Jane. They are riddled with clarity and directness, and both are guileless and trustful (which will be the basis on which arises a mutual feeling , then the cause of their separation , and then it will  bring them together again .) Elizabeth and Darcy would be quite different: the attraction – repulsion, sympathy and equally obvious mutual dislike, those  «Pride and Prejudice » that will bring them a lot of suffering and mental anguish, through which they will painfully seek each other approval. Their first meetings immediately designated mutual interest, curiosity. Both are equally outstanding: Elizabeth is very different from other ladies – the acuity of mind, independence and judgments, and Darcy – education, manners, restrained arrogance. Originally, the arrogance of Darcy, his snobbery that underlines his behavior, which are Elizabeth and dislikes, and even reave. Their pride draws them together, but the prejudice of Darcy can only repel Elizabeth. Their rare meetings on the balls and in the living rooms – it’s always a verbal duel. Duel of equal opponents – always courteous, never going beyond the bounds of decency and social conventions. Darcy’s soul encompasses the feeling of love, with which he opposes. But unable to resist, he declared his love Elizabeth. The scene of his explanation is one of the strongest scenes in the novel. His confession mixed with bitterness, declaring love, he says, that he was not supposed to love. Surprising that Darcy gets refusal, moreover, Elizabeth accuses him of wrongful deeds. Reading this book, I wondered what attracted proud aristocrat a country girl? Naturalness, harmony of her soul. Maybe he hasn’t met such good ladies. And Elizabeth overcome her prejudice, when she met Darcy in his estate of Pemberley . There she found a new Darcy, about whom servants spoke like he is the best man in the world. Because of the society, he put on a mask of a proud aristocrat, and only the love to Elizabeth helped him to take it off. This novel belongs to my favorite works. For me, it became a kind of standard. Purity and elegance of style, brightness and liveliness features, understanding of psychic life, personality, clarity of composition, especially the language of each character, all this combination creates an unusually coherent harmonious picture. Reading this amazing novel, I look inside myself and learn  «to read the hearts » and check the sense by mind.

Black Man In a White Court essays

Black Man In a White Court essays Mandela was accused on 2 counts, inciting persons to strike illegally and leaving the country without a valid passport. He conducted his own defense. Mandela was on a trial, he being a black man judged in a white court of justice. Mandela pointed that this case is a trial of aspirations of the African people, so he wanted to state perfectly clear that the remarks he was going to say were not addressed to Your Worship, nor integrity of the court. Mandela stated that he detested racism whether it comes from a black person or a white person. First he challenged the grounds of the case because he feared that he would not be given a fair and proper trial because it involves a clash of the aspirations of the African people and those whites. Its improper and against elementary principles of justice to entrust whites with cases involving blacks. A judiciary controlled entirely by whites will manipulate the verdict, said Mandela; sadly there was no such court. Mandela continued to show the un fair discrimination throughout his life full of injustices; by effect, he feared that this court would be result of the same injustice. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states to equal protection of the law, but the real truth was that there was no equality before the law whatsoever among blacks and whites. Also, Mandela explained how the white men create the laws and judges blacks according to them. I feel oppressed by the atmosphere of white denomination and recalled that it was the white vote which really counted Mandela demonstrated his first ground of application: That he wouldnt receive a fair trial. The second was that he wasnt obligated to obey laws made b a parliament in which he did not represented. Black people struggle against color discrimination and pursuit of freedom and happiness, while whites struggle for power. Mandelas plead was dismissed by the judge and the trial began. The court fragment of Mande...

Roman-Germanic Wars Battle of the Teutoburg Forest

Roman-Germanic Wars' Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest was fought in September 9 AD during the Roman-Germanic Wars (113 BC-439 AD). Armies Commanders Germanic Tribes Arminiusapprox. 10,000-12,000 men Roman Empire Publius Quinctilius Varus20,000-36,000 men Background In 6 AD, Publius Quinctilius Varus was assigned to oversee the consolidation of the new province of Germania. Though an experienced administrator, Varus quickly developed a reputation for arrogance and cruelty. By pursuing policies of heavy taxation and showing disrespect for Germanic culture, he caused many of the Germanic tribes that were allied to Rome to reconsider their position as well as drove neutral tribes to open rebellion. During the summer of 9 AD, Varus and his legions worked to put down various small rebellions along the frontier. In these campaigns, Varus led three legions (XVII, XVIII, and XIX), six independent cohorts, and three squadrons of cavalry. A formidable army, it was further supplemented by allied German troops including those of the Cherusci tribe led by Arminius. A close advisor of Varus, Arminius had spent time in Rome as a hostage during which he had been educated in the theories and practice of Roman warfare. Aware that Varus policies were causing unrest, Arminius secretly worked to unite many of the Germanic tribes against the Romans. As fall approached, Varus began moving the army from the Weser River towards its winter quarters along the Rhine. En route, he received reports of uprisings which required his attention. These were fabricated by Arminius who may have suggested that Varus move through the unfamiliar Teutoburg Forest to accelerate the march. Before moving out, a rival Cheruscan nobleman, Segestes, told Varus that Arminius was plotting against him. Varus dismissed this warning as the manifestation of a personal feud between the two Cheruscans. Prior to the army moving out, Arminius departed under the pretext of rallying more allies. Death in the Woods Advancing, the Roman army was strung out in a marching formation with camp followers interspersed. Reports also indicate that Varus neglected to send out scouting parties to prevent an ambush. As the army entered the Teutoburg Forest, a storm broke and a heavy rain began. This, along with poor roads and rough terrain, stretched the Roman column to between nine to twelve miles long. With the Romans struggling through the forest, the first Germanic attacks began. Conducting hit and run strikes, Arminius men picked away at the strung out enemy. Aware that the wooded terrain prevented the Romans from forming for battle, the Germanic warriors worked to gain local superiority against isolated groups of legionaries. Taking losses through the day, the Romans constructed a fortified camp for the night. Pushing forward in the morning, they continued to suffer badly before reaching open country. Seeking relief, Varus began moving towards the Roman base at Halstern which was 60 miles to the southwest. This required re-entering wooded country. Enduring the heavy rain and continued attacks, the Romans pushed on through the night in an effort to escape. The next day, the Romans were faced with a trap prepared by the tribes near Kalkriese Hill. Here the road was constricted by a large bog to the north and the wooded hill to the south. In preparation for meeting the Romans, the Germanic tribesmen had built ditches and walls blocking the road. With few choices remaining, the Romans began a series of assaults against the walls. These were repulsed and in the course of the fighting Numonius Vala fled with the Roman cavalry. With Varus men reeling, the Germanic tribes swarmed over the walls and attacked. Slamming into the mass of Roman soldiers, the Germanic tribesmen overwhelmed the enemy and began a mass slaughter. With his army disintegrating, Varus committed suicide rather than be captured. His example was followed by many of his higher ranking officers. Aftermath of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest While exact numbers are not known, it is estimated that between 15,000-20,000 Roman soldiers were killed in the fighting with additional Romans take prisoner or enslaved. Germanic losses are not known with any certainty. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest saw the complete destruction of three Roman legions and badly angered Emperor Augustus. Stunned by the defeat, Rome began preparing for new campaigns into Germania which began in 14 AD. These ultimately recaptured the standards of the three legions defeated in the forest. Despite these victories, the battle effectively halted Roman expansion at the Rhine.