Allegory Of Cave (Not Essay-Lots Of Info) Essays - Platonism

Allegory Of Cave (Not Essay-Lots Of Info) An Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. He sees it as what happens when someone is educated to the level of philosopher. He contends that they must go back into the cave or return to the everyday world of politics, greed and power struggles. The Allegory also attacks people who rely upon or are slaves to their senses. The chains that bind the prisoners are the senses. The fun of the allegory is to try to put all the details of the cave into your interpretation. In other words, what are the models the guards carry? the fire? the struggle out of the cave? the sunlight? the shadows on the cave wall? Socrates, in Book VII of The Republic, just after the allegory told us that the cave was our world and the fire was our sun. He said the path of the prisoner was our soul's ascent to knowledge or enlightenment. He equated our world of sight with the intellect's world of opinion. Both were at the bottom of the ladder of knowledge. Our world of sight allows us to see things that are not real, such as parallel lines and perfect circles. He calls this higher understanding the world abstract Reality or the Intelligeble world. He equates this abstract reality with the knowledge that comes from reasoning and finally understanding. On the physical side, our world of sight, the stages of growth are first recognition of images (the shadows on the cave wall) then the recognition of objects (the models the guards carry) To understand abstract reality requires the understanding of mathematics and finally the forms or the Ideals of all things (the world outside the cave). But our understanding of the physical world is mirrored in our minds by our ways of thinking. First comes imagination (Socrates thought little of creativity), then our unfounded but real beliefs. Opinion gives way to knowledge through reasoning (learned though mathematics). Finally, the realization of the forms is mirrored by the level of Understanding in the Ways of Thinking. The key to the struggle for knowledge is the reasoning skills acquired through mathematics as they are applied to understanding ourselves. The shadows on the cave wall change continually and are of little worth, but the reality out side the cave never changes and that makes it important. The ideals are mainly our concepts of courage, love, friendship, justice, and other unchanging qualities. I know this is a bit tricky, but it is how I see the allegory, and most of it is in the preceding and following books of the Republic. I think you should read those chapters, think about what I have said and zero in on what the allegory means to you. CAVE Plato, the most creative and influential of Socrates' disciples, wrote dialogues, in which he frequently used the figure of Socrates to espouse his own (Plato's) full-fledged philosophy. In The Republic, Plato sums up his views in an image of ignorant humanity, trapped in the depths and not even aware of its own limited perspective. The rare individual escapes the limitations of that cave and, through a long, tortuous intellectual journey, discovers a higher realm, a true reality, with a final, almost mystical awareness of Goodness as the origin of everything that exists. Such a person is then the best equipped to govern in society, having a knowledge of what is ultimately most worthwhile in life and not just a knowledge of techniques; but that person will frequently be misunderstood by those ordinary folks back in the cave who haven't shared in the intellectual insight. If he were living today, Plato might replace his rather awkward cave metaphor with a movie theater, with the proje ctor replacing the fire, the film replacing the objects which cast shadows, the shadows on the cave wall with the projected movie on the screen, and the echo with the loudspeakers behind the screen. The essential point is that the prisoners in the cave are not seeing reality, but only a shadowy representation of it. The importance of the allegory lies in Plato's belief that there are invisible truths lying

The Healthy Way to Live

The Healthy Way to Live Free Online Research Papers In America today, more people are becoming worried about how they look compared to what society portrays as â€Å"in shape† and healthy. On television and in the magazines, there are always headlines like, â€Å"lose twenty pounds in two weeks† or there is a picture of a person that is 132 pounds that is being called fat. Many people feel the pressure to be thin and in shape. It is widely known with many women that they feel that they need to be skinnier, have a flatter stomach, and be able to wear clothing that a flag pole cannot even fit in. Though, men feel the pressure as well. They feel the need to be as muscular as possible to compare to the societal view on good-looking men. This continuous feeling of not having the â€Å"perfect† body makes people feel uncomfortable in their own skin and those feelings plant a seed that makes those people try to get into shape. Though there are plenty of ways to make the weight come off and the muscles to start growing, most people do not want to take the time to do it in a healthy matter. Those people that feel they need to lose the weight right away turn to yo-yo dieting instead of just learning the correct way to eat and exercise. The healthy way to lose weight, keep it off, and build muscle is by maintaining a balanced diet and exercising regularly, not following dangerous diet habits. There are many ways that people feel pressured to make sure that they are a certain weight and pant size. Many magazines and television shows have brought to our attention that most of America is obese. This has a lot of people stressing about how much they weigh compared to the celebrities seen on most magazines and in the television screen. That is how a lot of magazines sell their issues; they put something about how to lose weight quickly. Even though these magazines, like Prevention, Weight Loss, Glamour, ect, say that it is perfectly healthy to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain time, if it is done incorrectly it is not healthy. Those get skinny quick articles have people losing mostly water weight and that weight can be gained back just as quickly as it was lost. There is a huge amount of celebrities that are critiqued about how much they weigh and whatever flaws they have that makes many of the normal, average people feel self conscience. This makes those people loo k for a way out of being obese and many of those people find comfort in bad dieting and diet pills. The first thing many people do when they decide to lose weight is try to find something, a magazine, a book, or go online, to help with the get skinny quick schemes. Many people for many years have made a lot of money through selling to people wanting to lose weight quickly. Suzanne Sommers, Anna Nicole Smith, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, Jorge Cruise, along with many magazines and online sites that have articles about losing weight are just a few of the many people and organizations that make money off of people wanting to lose weight. The problem that quite a few people run into is that they do not know how to diet appropriately and keep a balanced diet. To understand how to diet in a healthy way and keep away from the fad diets, one needs to understand what a diet is and how the diet works. According to â€Å"The World Book Encyclopedia†, the word diet means â€Å"the food and drink that a person takes regularly day after day† (Picciano 5: 199). It also explains that the word diet is referred to as â€Å"the amounts or kinds of food needed under special circumstances, such as losing or gaining weight† (Picciano 5: 200). There are many reasons that people believe that dieting means to stop eating or to really limit what is eaten. Also, many people associate the word diet with losing weight. As â€Å"The World Book Encyclopedia† has explained, diet is not a restriction specifically for losing weight. Dieting is a way of living. Being able to watch what is eaten and how much is eaten is a better way to live than to try and diet by means of being unhealthy. With many people trying to lose weight fast, they do not stop to think about the fact that being on a diet is about changing a lifestyle, and not just for a week or two. Many people do not realize that dieting is not just a weekly or bi weekly activity. There are a lot of crash, or yo-yo, diets out in books, magazines, and television, just to name a few. Those â€Å"diets† are not healthy and can cause many more problems than if a person was to just change the lifestyle in which they live by. According to the WomenFitness.net article, â€Å"The Outcomes of Yo-Yo Dieting†, yo-yo dieting is â€Å"strict dieting followed by a rebound in weight† (2; Para. 5). Throughout the article, it explains the outcomes of bad dieting and then explains how to better the dieting experience by changing the lifestyle of food and exercise. There are many credible sources that have examples and suggestions, as well as important facts, about dieting and fitness. Yo-yo dieting is just as dangerous as being obese and is not a healthy life style. According to the article on Womensfitness.net, yo-yo dieting causes many healthy problems that can worsen body weight every time a person’s weight goes up and down. When a person loses weight, the weight is lost in a mixture of fat and muscle. When that person stops the diet after a short amount of time and gains the previous weight back, the weight comes back as more fat than muscle previously lost. When this fat comes back, it tends to grow around the stomach area, which is one of the hardest places to lose the weight once it is there (1; Para 1). When someone has many repeat attempts at yo-yo dieting, it has a psychological toll. The person that â€Å"fails† a â€Å"diet†, may feel as though they are a failure at losing weight and many of those people begin to lose their good self-esteem and some even slip into depression (1; Para 3). There are quite a few people in America that are, or feel, like they are overweight. Those people tend to have a hard time feeling comfortable in public, or even in private, about how they look. This causes those people to not be comfortable in their own skin, which is a huge self-esteem breaker. Though self-esteem can normally be fixed with the appropriate action, whether it is counseling or losing the weight the healthy way for long term, yo-yo dieting can create more problems that cannot be as easily fixed. Having an up and down in weight also affects the immune system. According to the article, â€Å"Women who have tried losing weight more than five times will have about a third lower natural-killer-cell function. In contrast, women who maintain the same weight for five or more years have 40 percent greater natural-killer-cell activity as those who do not have a steady weight† (1; Para 4). This shows how bad it can be to have fluctuating weight compared to having a stable weight, even if it happens to be a little overweight. Of course, it is not recommended to not have a good diet. Even more than having a weaker immune system, yo-yo dieting can increase the chance for other health problems as well. This list includes, but is not limited to, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and gallbladder disease (1; Para 5). In order to stay healthy, the best bet is to not rely on quick fixes and instead diet the correct way first, or to fix the problem as soon as it is realized and deter mined to be a problem. When deciding that it is time to lose weight, the healthy way, and keep it off, the most important thing to know is that it will not be easy, but can be done. The American Heart Association came out with a book in 2005 called â€Å"No-Fad Diet†. Throughout this book, it explains how to live while dieting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. One of the first things that this book explains is that losing weight without a little help can be really hard, especially if losing weight does not work the first time or two. The opening paragraph states, â€Å"There’s no point in feeling bad about yourself, because the truth is, losing weight is not easy. No magic formula will trim away extra pounds and keeping them off† (Introduction xi). One of the best ways to start losing weight is to be in the right frame of mind. That is a key point to happily lose weight and keep ahead of the stress to come. Have you ever been out at dinner and eaten way more than you should have and then mentally beaten yourself up for it? This is the time to think smart and not mentally kill yourself over a handful of extra food that should not have been eaten. Smart thinking is about finding ways to deal with thoughts that lead you away from your goals. The American Heart Association makes it a point of explaining how to think smart. That dinner that you have over eaten may make you react a number of different ways. It could be thinking something like, â€Å"I give up! I am horrible at losing weight,† or something like, â€Å"I might as well eat two desserts! Then I’ll get back on track on Monday† (3). This is not the way to act when you let yourself get off track for a meal. The best thing to do would be to pick up right there at that moment and believe that you will succeed. Once you have it set in your mind that you can and will succeed, the only place to go from there is upwards. One really good way to start getting into a habit for losing weight is making a schedule. According to the American Heart Association, it is â€Å"good planning, not sheer willpower, is the key to losing weight for good† (2). As previously explained, the first step to becoming a healthy person is to get your mind in the right spot. The second would be to set goals. The American Heart Association makes it a point to people to set goals that are â€Å"reasonable and realistic† so you do not set yourself up for failure (5). Create short-term milestones that will allow you to feel as though you are getting somewhere during the beginning of this new lifestyle. These milestones will make the first days or maybe even weeks feel worthwhile since it may be a week or two before any weight results are seen. Also, create long-term goals. These goals are the ones that will be the goals that you have to work at pretty hard and consistently, which means creating a schedule for workouts or physical activities and meals may be considered a good idea. â€Å"You won’t become proficient unless you put the words into action on a daily basis,† is how the American Heart Association believes that habits are built. Good habits allow for fewer lapses away from the right track and helps keep a good outlook on the progress made and the progress that is still wanted to be made. When a diet is considered healthy and consistent it is considered a balanced diet. â€Å"The World Book Encyclopedia† states that a balanced diet â€Å"contains all the food elements needed to keep healthy† (Picciano 5:199). A balanced diet is normally based off of the food pyramid. The food pyramid explains what group of food should have what amount of servings. The â€Å"American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide† written by Roberta Duyft, has a food pyramid that breaks down the categories and serving sizes. This is the food pyramid from Duyft’s book. The base of the pyramid is bread, cereal, rice and pasta group. There is a serving size of six to eleven servings. The best thing to do with the base would be to â€Å"choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains† (11). According to Duyft, the reason that the grain products are at the base of the pyramid is because of â€Å"their complex carbohydrates should supply most of your food energy† (11). These are important because in order for a person to have physical activity, they need energy which comes a lot in part by eating carbohydrates. The next part of the pyramid includes the vegetable and fruit groups. The vegetable group should be three to five servings where as the fruit group should be two to four servings (11). The next two groups are milk, yogurt, and cheese group, as well as the meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group. The serving size for the milk group is two to three servings. The meat group should have two to three servings as well (11). Most people grow up with at least seeing the pyramid even if they did not fully understand it. This is one of the best ways to make sure that you keep on track with a diet. The balanced diet is based off of the food pyramid. If the food pyramid is followed, along with some regular exercise, weight should be easier to lose and keep it lost as long as this new lifestyle stays around. Exercise, as well as eating right, is a key in the success to being at a healthy weight. Jorge Cruise has a book out, â€Å"The 3-Hour Diet†, and even though his book is about another â€Å"quick fix† and should not be taken seriously, his ideas on exercise is really smart. He brings up the point that exercising allows the calories that are in a person’s system to be used which stops those calories from turning into fat (213). He makes a point of saying that even something as simple as walking is a smart idea when other activities are not able to be done. Cruise also brings up the fact that a lot of physical activities that use to be done on a daily basis have been replaced by modern day technology. Walking, running, and bicycling have been replaced by driving or riding in a vehicle. Stairs have been replaced by elevators. Playing sports have been replaced by television and playing games (223). The main thing to remember is eat healthy and with some exercise, bec oming the size and being healthy is right around the corner. According to Crawford and Peeke, who wrote â€Å"Body For Life For Women†, the goal should be to â€Å"shoot for progress and not perfection† (189). Yo-yo dieting is not the answer to wanting to be in shape and healthy. Eating right and exercising is the best lifestyle to becoming healthy. Also, the key to success is not just in actually losing weight, but also in the building of self-esteem and self-confidence. That is truly the key to succeeding at being healthy. Crawford, Cindy, and Pam Peeke. Body For Life For Women. NY: Rodale Pr, 2005. Cruise, Jorge. The 3-Hour Diet. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 2005. Duyft, Roberta Larson. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Son’s, Inc. 2002. No-Fad Diet. 1st ed. NY: Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2005. Outcomes of Yo-Yo Dieting. June 2008. June 21, 2009. Picciano, Mary Frances. â€Å"Diet†. The World Book Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. 2009. Research Papers on The Healthy Way to LiveEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenHip-Hop is ArtMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThe Spring and AutumnThe Effects of Illegal Immigration19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraResearch Process Part OneWhere Wild and West MeetThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use

Historical religon art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical religon art - Essay Example This paper therefore provides an understanding on how faith, worship and theological ideas are represented through the mediums of art and religious architecture. In recent times, faith evangelism has been transformed into music. This is whereby individuals use music to propagate their faith to other individuals. For example, people produce music with biblical messages to break the monotony of written literature. In this regard, individuals are able to understand the message in a humane approach. Conversely, faith representation through art is restrained to representation of superior beings thanks to the sin of blasphemy. The Catholic Church, for example, has come under criticism over the representation of Jesus on the cross in their churches raising the question of idolatry. This therefore puts limitations to the way in which faithful worship. In a Christian view, one of the Ten Commandments abhors individuals from making any graven image that depicts God. This is mind, it is essential that art does not step on the ideological and perceptions of doctrines in the church. Nevertheless, use of art to propagate various faiths is critical. This is because most people across the world prefer art to written literature (Short 45). Although as earlier stated, art should be limited to the tenets of church’s regulations. Faith and theological ideas are presented through songs and dances that are forms of art. This is through church performances whereby use biblical verses to come up with sweet music. Moreover, other forms of art include drawings either in books on the streets. The drawings serve as recipes for the proliferation of the gospel. For instance, individuals use drawings to pass a message about the life and times of Jesus. This provides a historical approach to the gospel. Drawings kill the monotony of listening in a church congregation. Moreover, drawings as forms of visual arts are applied across the streets thus are reach-effective implying

Law of Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law of Property - Essay Example Though there were by-laws which governed the use of land, constant disputes amongst the neighboring communities and individuals emerged. Therefore, there was a need for the laws to be set to regulate the use of land and property in every community (Locke, chap V). The laws regulating the existence of the property differ from one state to another. It is argued that the existence of the property on a piece of land gives one an opportunity to use the land upon which the property is. However, there are the rights of property that, in effect, prohibit or restrict people in using other people’s property. Many countries have adopted these laws. The laws issue legal provisions with regard to land ownership. That is to affirm that only directly involved individuals or close relatives can own a certain piece of land (MacPheron 1987). The law in this context must dictate that private property has to be considered a social and political amenity by virtue of its existence on the land (Blom ley 2005). There are critical situations where the government has to concern itself with increment of sports taking part fully in the community as in the case of Horne Dale. This is with the view of making the economy of the country better through proper utilization of the facility. The effort of the government to achieve this could be hindered by a number of factors. These include high prices set by the seller, non-compliant neighbors and the previous occupants of the land. Owing to this, analytical measures to curb this crisis economically will be discussed in detail. Rules that governs the ownership of the property in community minimizes the quarrels between the neighboring individuals. The government mandate is to serve members of a community by regulating property issues. However, the use of the playing fields that are to be put up by the government should have limits to the members for effective service to all members. According to the law, the four charitable companies have o wnership over the land by the law of justice which has been set by the state (Ackerman 1977). The high prices the companies may have set for the government could be due to the compensation of the taxes they have been paying for the same piece of land. In this regard, Nozick (1974) argued that the levies paid by an individual or company are a form of political aggression hurled up on them by the government. The companies in their high expectations of high prices from the government could also have been as a result of them thinking they own the piece of land. Contrary to this, Kohler and Clarke (2005) argued that any facility initiated by the government is owned by the government and is a non-profit making property. However, in the event of the government making its financial budget for the year, it may be forced to collect funds from the services provided in the field to reduce the financial constrains. Therefore, the state must diversify a number of activities and make maximum use o f the facility by creating more opportunities to involve many participants. In the Insolvency Act 1986, s. 335, it is made clear that if a company is declared bankrupt, the court proceedings will take their course whereby the law of property will apply. In such a situation, the government may apply the law and convert such companies that are not contributing to the economy of the state into a social amenity. It has to be taken into

Population Regulation for Environmental Conservation Essay

In the past few years, the world’s population has been steadily rising. At present, global population growth rate is at 1.167% while world population as of July 2007 is approximately 6.6 billion (Central Intelligence Agency, 2007). Demographers predict that in the first decades of the 21st century, world population will bloat up to another 2 million (Global Science Panel, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rapid growth of population is very alarming due to the massive threats it poses to the environment. In fact, many experts have observed that the increase of population is the major cause of environmental issues (Pebley, 1998, p. 378). This paper has identified three ways in population negatively affects the environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For one, an increase in population would mean an increase in the demands for resources. May these resources be natural or manmade, the main provider of these resources — food, water, and raw materials — is the environment. The environment’s resources, however, is limited. It cannot support a continuously increasing population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scarcity results from this constant demand of resources that the environment cannot provide. At present, the world is experiencing the effects of this scarcity. In southwestern United States, for example, the demand for water exceeded the available water flow. Researches predict that in a decade, water shortage will continue to spread eastward and northward (Resources and the Environment, 1972, p. 81).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As much as this scarcity affects people, it also affects the other components of the environment such as plants and animals. Plants and animals also compete with humans for resources. Of course, in the competition for natural resources, humans obviously have the upper hand (due to technology) while plants and animals are often left to die because of the lack of available sustenance. In extreme cases, scarcity of resources causes the extinction of plant and animal species that cannot compete with others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second, an increase in population signifies a need for bigger space in which people may put up settlements. Two situations may arise as an answer to this need for space. Either forestland is converted into housing areas (deforestation) or the number of people living per square area of land increases. Usually, both situations are implemented. As such, two different consequences also arise. The former often results in the destruction of natural habitats, which in turn may also lead to the extinction of species. On the other hand, pollution and poor sanitation arise from the latter. The succeeding discussion further explains this point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, a bigger population produces larger amounts of waste. Waste here is often the by-product of consumption. As population increases, consumption also increases. To meet consumer demands, production is also increased. The unusable remains of production are disposed of as waste. After the population consumes these products, waste is also the outcome. The danger to the environment comes with waste disposal. Not everyone practices proper waste disposal. In addition, with the increasing volumes of waste products, solid waste management also becomes a problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Because of these problems caused by population growth, there is a need to regulate the growth of population all over the world. As such, interactions among members of the global community are important because the problem that needs to be addressed encompasses a global scale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With regard to this, it is interesting to note that large increases in population sizes are characteristic of developing countries more than developed countries. The 2006 World Data Sheet (2006) shows that more developed countries only exhibited a 0.1 rate of natural increase while less developed countries exhibited a 1.5 – 1.8 rate of natural increase (p. 5). The main causes for this may be the lack of proper education and awareness regarding birth control methods and family planning among developing countries and the lack of policies that encourages the population regulation. Therefore, it becomes important that in the international level, leaders of different countries commune to create international policies that push for the regulation of world population especially in developing countries. In the local level, local governments should also campaign for population control in their areas.   All these efforts emphasize the need for the interaction of different communities to regulate population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through all these, it is evident that human beings can greatly affect the environment; humans may either affect it positively (through efforts to conserve and preserve the environment) or negatively (as shown by the negative effects of population increase to the environment). At present though, most of the effects of human activities on the environment tend to lean towards the negative end of the spectrum. The environment is suffering a lot because of this — massive air, land, and water pollution, destruction of natural habitats, and extinction of plant and animal species.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the end, it is clear that something should be done about this destruction of the environment. Otherwise, all things on earth will suffer the grave consequences of this human abuse. References Central Intelligence Agency. (2007). The world factbook. Retrieved July 22, 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/xx.html Global science panel on sustainable development, The. (2002). Population and Development Review, 28. Retrieved July 22, 2007 from http://www.jstor.org/view/00987921/sp030002/03x0023w/0 Pebley, A. R. (1998). Demography and the environment. Demography, 35. Retrieved July 21, 2007 from http://www.jstor.org/view/00703370/di009189/00p0020b/0 Population Reference Bureau. (2006). 2006 world population data sheet. Retrieved July 22, 2007 from http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2006/2006WorldPopulationDataSheet.aspx Resources and the environment. (1972). Studies in Family Planning, 3. Retrieved July 21, 2007 from http://www.jstor.org/view/00393665/di961137/96p0083e/0

Apple’s Mission Statement

Company Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation founded in 1976 with 361 retail stores worldwide as of January 2012. The current CEO of Apple is Tim Cook and the current Chairman is Arthur Levinson. Its headquarters is situated at: 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 United States Apple’s mission statement is: â€Å"Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store.Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. † [ (Apple Inc. – Frequently Asked Questions, 2012) ] Products and Distribution Apple’s prime function is the design and marketing of products such as consumer electronics, computers, and computer software, including: * iPhone * iPad * Mac * iPod * iOS * Apple TV * iCloud * Mac OS X Apple also offers various third-party accessories, digital content and applications compatible with its own products.Apple sells these and its own products through various distribution channels including: * retail stores * online stores * direct sales force * third-party cellular network carriers * wholesalers * retailers * value-added resellers Apple’s products and services are sold to a wide variety of customers including: * consumers * small and mid-sized businesses * education * enterprise * government customers Customers and Market Expansion Apple has a loyal customer base, with regular customers accounting for a large percentage of sales.However, Apple is always looking to expand into new market areas through the creation of new products and marketing techniques. For instance, Apple is considering the creation of an Apple Bank, with a recent survey showing that 43% of the current Apple customers would switch from their current banks to Apple. Apple also recently delve d into the electronic book industry, over which it now faces a lawsuit for colluding with other companies to raise the price of electronic books. Shares 1,748 institutions currently hold Apple shares. Due to its recent success, reflected in its no. position in BrandZ’s 2011 list of the 100 most valuable brands in the world, Apple has amassed US$98 billion, and has therefore decided to pay a quarterly dividend of US$2. 65 a share to investors starting from July 1, implying a 1. 8% dividend yield based on a current share price of around US$600. Apple is also planning to repurchase US$10 billion in shares over a three year period starting from September 30. The total cost of these planned operations amounts to roughly US$45 billion. Employees Apple has over 60,000 employees, and this number is increasing rapidly due to the company’s high employment rate.The research and development department is relatively small, with most staff employed in general and administrative role s – approximately 60% of Apple’s employees work in Apple Stores, compared to other companies in the same industry of similar size. Most Apple employees have more than 5-10 years of work experience, but the level of education is not a crucial deciding factor in employment – the amount of graduates hired without masters or doctoral degrees is significant. Environmental Impact Apple has long been the subject of criticism over its environmental impact.In 2007, Steve Jobs penned an open letter promising to remove toxic materials from Apple’s products, and that promise has been fulfilled since then, with toxic substances being removed from Apple’s whole array of products. However, Apple is still criticised often over its impact on the environment. In a list released in April 2011 by Greenpeace, Apple was deemed the least green technology company due to its high reliance on coal power. Apple published a breakdown of its carbon footprint in 2011, estimatin g that it was responsible for 23. 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions during the year.Chinese environmental groups have also published two reports detailing the pollution and health hazards present in Apple’s supply chain in China. In these reports, Apple is criticised for ignoring the unhealthy conditions in its factories in China. In response to these reports, Apple’s pledge to ensure safe working conditions for its suppliers was restated. Apple was again criticised when several of its manufacturers in China were accused of releasing harmful pollutants. In response, Apple met with Chinese environmental groups, promising to assess its environmental impact and ensure its partners would follow environmental regulations.Apple’s own supplier responsibility report detailed that waste was being improperly discharged from some of its suppliers and some facilities did not have adequate systems or records in place required to deal with hazardous materials. Economic Conditions Apple has always had to cope with changing economic conditions. However, Apple’s response to these conditions has varied. For instance, in the Global Financial Crisis, rumours spread that Apple would develop new, more affordable products across its Mac and iPhone families. However, when questioned over this, Steve Jobs replied: â€Å"There are some customers which we choose not to serve.We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that. But we can continue to deliver greater and greater value to those customers that we choose to serve and there’s a lot of them. And we’ve seen great success by focusing on certain segments of the market and not trying to be everything to everybody. † Apple continued to develop its product lines in the same style and price range. In the fourth fiscal quarter of the 2011 financial year, economic conditions threatened iPhone sales, and in response, Apple chose to reduce orders for handset parts and components.By the end of the quarter it had been revealed that it had been Apple’s biggest September quarter ever, but due to Apple’s even greater success in the third quarter, the company’s revenue had not lived up to the Wall Street estimates. Competition Apple uses several strategies to stay ahead of the competition: * It is constantly developing new products. * It is continuously upgrading its existing products. * It continues to sell successful products and keeps successful designs. * It tries to cover all price ranges when it can.For instance, since the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple decided to keep selling the iPhone 3GS in order to provide a more affordable iPhone for potential customers. Apple has also initiated several lawsuits against Samsung and vice versa, with patent breaches being disputed in at least 10 countries. Most notably, Apple claimed Samsung had copied its iPhone and iPad. Business Life Cycle Despite being over 30 years old, Apple is still in the growth stage of the business life cycle. This is due to several reasons: * Growth is accelerating. Regular clients make up a large percentage of their customer base, but at the same time substantial effort is being put into tapping into new markets. * New products are being created and developed in order to fill market niches. * Mass marketing techniques are used to increase market share. * Profits are rising. * Production costs are decreasing. Company Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd is an Australian public company founded in1982 which operates primarily as a franchisor. Gerry Harvey is the current Chairman of the company, and his wife, Katie Page, is the CEO. Its headquarters is based in Homebush West, NSW, Australia.The company owns three leading brand names: * Harvey Norman * Domayne * Joyce Mayne Harvey Norman also owns several other Australian retail chains such as Space Furniture and Ariston Appliances. Unde r these brand names, the company grants franchises to independent business operators. As of the 2011 Financial Year, there were 195 franchised outlets in Australia, and 96 company owned stores. Products and Distribution Harvey Norman’s franchisees sell a wide range of products in various categories including: * electrical goods * furniture * computerised communications * bedding and manchester * small appliances * carpets and flooringThe company recently planned to conduct 5% of its trade online, but these plans proved too optimistic, and they were scaled back. Customers and Market Expansion As an icon in the Australian retail industry, consumers make up most of Harvey Norman’s customers. The company acquired retail chain Joyce Mayne in July 1998 and further expanded when it launched its Domayne retail chain in May 1999. It acquired a controlling interest in Rebel Sport Limited in July 2001 but sold it in March 2007. Harvey Norman opened Harvey Norman Direct Import in December 2011, an online store based in Ireland which sells video games to Australia free of GST.Shares Harvey Norman’s shares have recently experienced a drop of over 6% due to uncertain retail conditions and a drop in sales. Employees Harvey Norman currently has approximately 10,000 employees. The ratio of employees in general and administrative sectors to those in sales and marketing is less than in companies of similar size in the same industry. Most employees have over 5-10 years of work experience, and have bachelor’s degrees rather than masters or doctoral degrees. Environmental Impact In 2011, Harvey Norman was the subject of criticism over the destruction of Australian native forests for use in the furniture industry.A group called Markets for Change launched a campaign against Harvey Norman after they claimed to have conducted a year-long investigation into the company’s timber usage. To this, Gerry Harvey responded on ABC Radio: â€Å"I'm an environm entalist† â€Å"I'm doing my best to use recycled timber or timber from plantations †¦ but every now and then [timber from native forests] will slip through. â€Å"[Often it's] timber the government has told sawmills they can take. â€Å"We are trying really hard to change and also to keep an industry going in Australia †¦ it's difficult for [the sawmills] to survive, and without us they just wouldn't. Economic Conditions It was recently revealed that Harvey Norman’s first half yearly profits were down 2. 1%. The company released a statement explaining the situation: â€Å"The combination of intense competitive pressures and price deflation in certain key product categories, accentuated by the high Australian dollar, deteriorating economic confidence and a prudent consumer, has seen many retailers struggle to maintain margins in the fight for market share. † Competition Harvey Norman has several competitors in the market and therefore utilises severa l strategies in order to compete effectively.Actions taken by the company in response to competition include: * The purchase of the Clive Peeters and Rick Hart brands, which resulted in a loss of AUD$41 million, whose stores will now either convert to Harvey Norman or Joyce Mayne brands or close. * The launching of Harvey Norman Direct Import in response to JB Hi-Fi’s addition of a direct importation section to its website. Some predict that Harvey Norman is the only Australian listed company that would be interested in purchasing Dick Smith Electronics from Woolworths and that if Harvey Norman was to pay AUD$150 million for the business, it could boost earnings by 7%.Business Life Cycle Harvey Norman is in the post-maturity stage of the business life cycle. This is due to several reasons: * Recently, it has been experiencing a small period of decline, but over the long term it has been in a state of renewal. * New strategies taken involve some degree of risk. * New markets a re being exploited, with ventures into overseas markets. * Anticipated sales are not always eventuating. Comparing the two businesses: * Apple is a larger business than Harvey Norman, being a multinational corporation. * Apple operates in many more countries and has significantly more employees. Apple has had great recent success whereas Harvey Norman’s profits have dropped. * Apple has expanded into many more areas in recent times than Harvey Norman. * Apple’s share price is also much higher compared to Harvey Norman’s, reflecting Apple’s recent profits. * Both businesses have been the subject of criticism over their environmental impact, but Apple has received more due to its operations in more areas and countries. * Both businesses employ various strategies in order to stay ahead of competition, but Apple has had greater success, with Harvey Norman experiencing losses due to unsuccessful strategies. Despite the fact that Apple was founded before Harvey Norman, Apple is still in the growth stage of the business life cycle due primarily to the fact that its sales and profits are rapidly increasing, with demand for its products high and customer base growing. Apple would be more resilient to influences in the business environment due to the fact that it is a larger business, with more resources and a massive amount of money currently with which it can respond to changing conditions.

The Portrayal Analysis Of The Wild Hearts CanT Be Broken

Andrew Young once said, â€Å"Theres no problem on the planet that cant be solved without violence. Thats the lesson of the civil rights movement.† Throughout any movement in U.S. history, including the Civil Rights Movement people had to make sacrifices in order to fight for what they believe to be right. Some people even lost their lives, which are some of the sacrifices Pink is trying to tell us in her song, but she never will give up not matter the circumstances. The song, â€Å"Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,† relates to the Civil Rights Movement because they both represent how groups of people never gave up for what they believe in. Throughout the song, â€Å"Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,† Pink talks about the rage, terror, and sickness that is†¦show more content†¦Some examples of these were: African Americans can’t play together, they can’t attend the same restaurants, schools, or even restrooms, and that white nurses in h ospitals can’t help an African American male. From these laws came sacrifices that African Americans had to endure, even to the point of death. A couple of the important deaths were Emmett Till who got killed after he flirted with a white girl, and George Lee who tried to expose some of the Jim Crow Laws, and died during one of his protests. These deaths were quite common until a man named, Martin Luther King Jr. came into the picture. At the beginning of his campaign he wanted three things to happen: Bring publicity to major civil rights activities and efforts, emphasize and encourage the importance of non-violent protest and resistance, provide leadership to the African-American civil rights movement. He did just that throughout the Civil Rights Movement, and was a major contributor to the ending of the movement in 1968. In both the Civil Rights Movement and the song â€Å"Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,† they both had to make sacrifices, but neither of them stop ped them from reaching their goal. By never giving up for what they believe in, African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement, and people in the song, â€Å"Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,† both made sacrifices for they believe in. In the song, â€Å"Wild