Alfred! Essays (3546 words) - Alfred The Great, House Of Wessex

Alfred! Alfred the Great is the only English king ever to achieve that remarkable title. And yet recent scholarship seems determined to prove that he did not perhaps deserve such a title. Though there is little question of Alfreds military prowess, his contributions to education and scholarship often come under fire. Accusations of incorrect authorship are the most common and are generally used in an effort to show that Alfred was not a special as England would like to think. In fact scholars seem to go out of their way to show that Alfred was nothing more than a strong military leader. This type of scrutiny and derision is really rather foolish. Despite the fact that a few (and only a few!) of the translations attributed to Alfred have been proven as belonging to another author, several of his greatest contributions are still very much uncontested. The pillar of his translations, The Consolation of Philosophy is thus far unquestionably Alfreds. The next accusation that comes is that most of the work was done by scribes and not Alfred. There is not a great deal of evidence for or against this statement, but even so there is little question that Alfred was very much involved in the process. This can clearly be seen by his remarkable prefaces and commentary within his translations. Today, his translations are used in many colleges by students learning Old English, evidence that even today Alfred makes a difference. Finally, even without the translations Alfred still contributed in remarkable ways to scholarship and education. He welcomed scholars into his realm and worked to achieve literacy in his kingdom. Despite the efforts to debunk Alfred and his title, the fact of the matter is that Alfred more than deserves his title and fame. Because of Alfred, England achieved a period of piece, new military practices, and the increase of literacy throughout the kingdom. His translations made several important works accessible to his people and provided future generations with e xcellent examples of Old English through the lens of a highly intelligent man. Even setting aside the many contributions that he made, Alfred was great because of the kind of person and king that he was. Highly intelligent, deeply spiritual, and an excellent military commander; Alfreds achievements, personality, and passion for his people far outweigh any evidence current scholars attempt to throw at them. As a person, Alfred is generally seen as exemplary. As a child and later in life he is usually described as thoughtful, sensitive and with an eager curiosity, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Similar epithets are often used, especially thoughtful. Clearly Alfred was a very intelligent person from the very beginning. How his contemporaries may have seen him is a bit hazy. A letter from Pope John VIII stating Alfred as wronging the house of the Lord and ignoring Canterburys privileges has been cited as a possible continental view. This is a letter that is only mentioned by one source and is a letter that is rather difficult to believe in the face of Alfreds own piety. Perhaps this letter only pertains to that moment in time, when Alfred was in some debate with Canterbury. It is an interesting letter to have, but one that is likely an isolated incident as Alfreds piety is well known and was to his contemporaries as well. In other aspects Alfred was somewhat ignored on the Conti nent (according to Janet Turner) and later historians were the ones who pointed out his similarities to Charlemagne and his similar attempts for literacy on the Continent. Given the bishops and scholars that he was able to call to his side, it is more likely that his Continental contemporaries saw him as a good and intelligent man as well. The Vikings eventually came to respect him and form the Danelaw with him. To his own people though (and really their opinion is the most important), Alfred was a good and strong king, with a great deal of military might. Alfreds contributions to his military is generally accepted. Surprisingly, the actual battles that Alfred fought were often defeats. The image of the warrior king nonetheless stands. The reason for this is the fact that while Alfred may not

Internationel Communication essays

Internationel Communication essays Culture shaping our values, priorities and practises influence the communication in a significant way.Since people communicate in different ways because they are raised in a particular culture , the impact of culture would be the first to examine.The ways to enhance the effectiveness of intercultural communication should be highlighted. Intercultural communication which arises from the interaction of different cultures can occur in many fields in life. Regarding social life, which problems intercultural communicatio brings to our lives and what contributes to our socio-culture structure are critical aspects to investigate. Interculturel issues gain much more importance in business, as companies become increasingly dependent on other companies from different cultures. In education life also yhe importance of communication among various cultures cant be ignored. In this report; the importance of communicatig interculturally , the concept of culture , international marriages, immigrants, cultural differences in work-related values , cultural variables in the business communication process , exchange students , foreign teachers, obstacles against intercultural communication and the affective ways to communicate interculturally were discussed. Since the number of from different cultures that we is limited, there was no opportunity for us to conduct a survey. Instead we supplemented our report with in-depth interwiews. As the world becomes a global village communicating with people from different cultures has become a daily necessity.Increasing technological advances and a widening market place are the most evidences for our assumption of an increasing intercultural dependency. We utilized both secondary and primary data collection methods.For secondary dta collection we used library sources and for primary data collection we cond ...

19-64 underinsured final paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

19-64 underinsured final paper - Essay Example ublic policy must take account of these cultural sensitivities, a willingness to recognize priorities and set limits seems to be proportional to the level of frustration with ever-increasing costs. A much-cited example of rational priorities for medical care comes from the state of Oregon, where a commission was appointed in 1989 to make recommendations to the state legislature on how to expand coverage and set priorities in the Medicaid program. Underinsured people were to be added to the Medicaid list to cover every resident whose income was below a certain level, but this could be afforded only by reductions in the benefit package. After much consultation with health professionals and public hearings and community meetings held throughout the state, the commission produced a list of almost 700 condition-treatment pairs grouped in 17 categories and ranked according to priority. According to the plan the Medicaid program would pay only for items above a certain cutoff point on the l ist, to be determined from time to time by the legislature. The plan was implemented in 1994 and has been politically popular among the general public and with Medicare recipients. As of 1998 it is limited to relatively poorer persons eligible for the state Medicaid program, and has not been extended to the general public. â€Å"Managed care has been the single most dominant force which has fundamentally transformed the delivery of health care in United States since the 1990s† (Shi, L. & Singh, D., 2004, p. 324). Once each year there is a major conference of representatives of the funds, the regional associations of physicians, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies, to work out the contribution rate and other details for the underinsured. The government does not provide any funding to the system but is very active in regulating and monitoring it. The basic features of the social-insurance-based health system have been adopted in many parts of the country. The welfare-oriented

An Evaluation of Sun Microsystems Consolidated Balance Sheet Essay

An Evaluation of Sun Microsystems Consolidated Balance Sheet - Essay Example On one hand this shows a healthy sign. However the lower profitability has offset the advantage resulting from the reduced debts. This trend indicates that the company will face liquidity problem in the near future if necessary steps are not taken to improve the profitability. The current ratio for the year 2001 is showing an increasing trend. This is due to the increased inventory level the company is holding. When the quick ratios is compared between the years 2000 and 2001 it can be observed that there is a sharp decline in this ratio implying that the short term liquidity position of the company has deteriorated over the year as most of the funds are locked up in inventory. This can also be seen from the reduction in the inventory turnover ratio which has decline from 28.22 in the year 2000 to 17.40 in the year 2001. This means that the company has locked up more liquid funds in inventory which is affecting the liquidity of the company. It is observed that there is a sharp decline in all the profitability ratios. The operating income of the company has declined from 15.22% in the year2000 to 7.18% in the year 2001. This is due to the increase in the cost of sales which is at 55% for the year 2001 (48% for 2000). Further the increase in the expenses like amortization of goodwill and research and development expenses have also contributed to the lower operating and net income. Since the profitability of the company is less during the year 2001 it has resulted in a lower ROA and ROE. The company has issued additional common stock in the year 2001 which has increased the equity and when the lower profitability applied on higher shareholder equity the ROE has shown a sharp decline from 25.37% in the year 2000 to 8.76% in the year 2001. There is no decrease in the long term liabilities of the company in the year 2001. This implies the company has

Efficient managers and effective managers

Efficient managers and effective managers Difference between efficient managers and effective managers Effectiveness and efficiency are mutually exclusive things. For a manager, they are both fundamental preconditions. Being effective means that one is able to properly analyse the evolving environment and selecting the right things as the areas of strategic focus for the enterprise. On the other hand, being efficient requires a carefully carved cultural and operational framework which helps the manager to achieve a particular degree of success, given the level of resources applied to a particular objective. In any business, an efficient manager is one who uses limited resources available viz., time, material and men to get the job done in a more professional manner. This includes securing productive and profitable results in a short span, using funds allotted for a business more legibly yet smartly, and appraising employee performance etc., In other words, an efficient manager would keep the business running even in dire circumstances. An effective manager, on the other hand, is slightly different from the efficient one. The effective manager focuses on productivity rather than increased/balanced profitability. Effective management has various layers in its setup such as motivation, teamwork, communication and objectives. An effective manager is someone who leads, coordinates and filters various activities of the sub-ordinates and decides an appropriate mechanism to work upon. An effective manager usually works without any constraints such as funds, manpower etc. The focus always implies on better management practices and in turn, better output. Effectiveness is a precondition for the success of any manager; however that depends more upon the uncontrollable variables dictated to the manager by the operational environment and his ability to come up with the right choices that would suit his resources built over time. It may be appreciated that a firms resources in terms of manpower and technology as well as capital would have been built up over time and they have a great degree of rigidity. Once you become effective, efficiency can be an easier thing to bring into operation. The two things are in fact complimentary. Efficiency in fact depends upon the lower level managerial abilities and culture while effectiveness is almost always a top management variable. In management, operating in efficient and in effective ways is a key to good performance and to successfully reaching the goals set for the business. While efficiency and effectiveness are similarly desirable characteristics of business behavior, either one is often seen as attainable only at the expense of the other. Looking at the interplay of the two characteristics can give a clear insight into the ideal behavior for a manager when faced with tasks which must be completed quickly, but also completed in such a way that the key goals are attained. Luther Gulick advocates seven elements which make up common management in any organization. He calls it the POSDCORB. Planning a strategy to accomplish the objectives set for an enterprise. Organizing a formal structure of authority, arranged and defined for specific jobs. Staffing / Recruiting and training personnel. Directing/ Decision making and embodying rules, instructions etc., Co-ordinating various parts of work. Reporting through records, research and inspection. Budgeting in form of fiscal planning, accounting and control. These make up the common administrative tasks managers perform in an organization. The effectiveness of each element makes up both an efficient and effective management system. The following make up management behavior. Management of human resources is a social phenomenon. An effective communication channel is always imperative in any kind of an organization. James Pfiffner calls it the heart of management. Chester Barnard remarks it as the foundation of co-operative group activity. For an effective communication, the information passed on must be clear, consistent, adequate, timely, uniform, flexible and acceptable. A manager must make sure that a proper communication channel is present in an organization. This includes avoiding semantic and ideological barriers, two-valued thinking (Halo effect), stereotyping and dogmatism among the employees. Decision-making is a vital part of an efficient management system. Robert Tannenbaum says decision-making involves a conscious choice or selection of one behavior alternative from a group of two or more behavior alternative. A behavior alternative may simply be known as a decision. Decision-making, in more ways or the other, is a singular function of the manager. It is thus very important in an organization. Herbert Simon came up with the fact that every decision has two basic premises a factual premise and a value premise. A fact is a statement of reality while a value is an expression of preference. A manager would go by decisions based on these only. An effective manager goes in for the factual premise because it can be measured empirically, while the value premise, which may determine efficient factors such as profit, loss, employee satisfaction, cost-cutting etc., would be more preferred by efficient managers. Rensis Likert calls motivation as the core of management. Motivation is a psychological process which energizes and activates an individual to achieve formulated objectives. A manager thus plays a vital role as a driving force behind motivation. On this part, both effective and efficient managers must be good motivators, so as to bring about the best in the employees. Classical and modern management thinkers have listed money and a variety of socio-psychological factors as a source of motivation. Motivation also helps to build teams and perform better. Teamwork is another essential part of management. A manager is the undisputed leader of a team. He delegates work to his sub-ordinates, assigns tasks, creates plans and makes decisions. An autocratic manager would do all the above functions by himself. It is not desirable in an effective organizational system. On the other hand, an efficient manager would tend to be a little autocratic in his functions, because of the limited resources available and some other constraints. It is however better for an organization to be more democratic for proper functioning. Importance Managing effectively and efficiently is the way to go about in business. Efficient business tactics would help to know how to deal with finance and personnel in a more productive way. Most successful businesses in the world today are rather efficient than effective. Efficient management practices provide increased sustainability and stability in an organization. It involves novelty in management practices and output. An effective management system takes a long time to fully materialize. It has more to do with the long-term vision of an organization than its present objectives. Effective management also involves setting time benchmarks within the organization, so that a given objective gets completed within a set time. Traditional management practices are usually followed, and the manager sets up an instructional framework within which the sub-ordinates are expected to follow. An effective management system, summarily can be defined as, one which Raises productivity Increases work output from sub-ordinates Functions within a set of rules and regulations Works in a more democratic manner Builds teamwork and effective communication channels A good manager, therefore is one who works both efficiently and effectively simultaneously. It is imperative that he does work in a more systematic manner and adapts himself depending on the organizational situation and environment. What an organization / business would need is an effective mechanism and an efficient output.

The Matrix Essay -- Argumentative Movie Film Matrix Essays

The Matrix The Matrix is a science fiction movie about artificial intelligence computers replacing mankind. I believe that this movie is a common type of display from the media is common paranoia so that they can get a reaction from people and sell their story. In the case of The Matrix, the movie dazzles people with awesome special effects using modern computer technology, which I find ironic. I find it self-conflicting and hypocritical for the media to use modern computer technology for their own good to show people how bad technology is. Amy Bruckman and Howard Rheingold would probably find this movie interesting in that it disagrees and agrees with certain aspects about their beliefs about the use of computers. The Matrix specifically shows how advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) may one day get out of the control of the people and become a dangerous enemy to mankind. It turns out that in the movie people believe that they are living normal lives in the 90's as common businessmen and families as we do today, when in reality the time is later in the 21st century and people are hooked up to machines in pods where they are merely interpreting electrical signals which tells them that the they are alive in the 90's. They call this set up The Matrix. The artificial intelligence machines put these people in these pods for their whole lives where they never use a muscle in their body; they only think that they are moving and living normal lives.The reason why the artificial intelligence machines put people into pods is because the sky is scorched and there is no source of electricity, so the A.I. units found an alternate source of energy: humans. The star of the Movie, Neo, is enlightened by one of ... ...ul people can benefit people. Personally, I don't believe that true artificial intelligence can ever be reached. I believe that a computer can be so advanced that it may appear to be thinking on it's own, but only because a man programmed it to think in such away. I don't think that a computer can teach itself common sense and the true ability to reason between right and wrong like humans can. And since I believe this, I see no problem in expanding technology and making online communities as Rheingold and Bruckman would. Works Cited The Matrix. Larry Wachowski, DVD, Warner Brothers, 1999 Bruskman, Amy. "Finding One's Own in Cyberspace" Composing Cyberspace Edited by Rich Holeton, San Fransisco: McGraw Hill, 1998, 171-180 Rheingold, Howard. "The Heart of the Well" " Composing Cyberspace Edited by Rich Holeton, San Fransisco: McGraw Hill, 1998, 151-163

Factors Leading to Social Illness Among Teenagers Essay

Teenagers nowadays are very different with teenagers before then. Today,teenagers are getting wilder and tend to have more fun than they should.Rotten teenagers smoked, drink alcohols before they reach maturity, goclubbing and partying, have sex before marriage, involved in drugs, and a lotmore unhealthy activities that are not only useless and wasting their time butare also affecting their health. When asked, why do teenagers love this kind of lifestyle, their answerwould be easy, â€Å"Because this is the way teenagers of this era lived†. How sad itis to think about the social ills among teenagers these days. They preferred to be‘in the crowd’ rather than focussing on how to excel brilliantly in theirexaminations.One of the factors of why social ills are getting worse among teenagersthese days is less attention by their parents. This is a major issue. Today’sparents are very busy focussing on their careers until sometimes they seem toforget their responsibilities as parents. Children who feel lonely due to the lack of time spent with their parents will find new ways to live up their life. They start tosmoke, take drugs and socialising. Once they reach adolescence, children startto abuse the freedom that their parents give to them and become a ‘wild child’. Problems happening inside the home could also lead to social ills amongteenagers. Teenagers are easily stressed and depressed with the situation athome. They could be emotionally affected by divorcing of parents, death of family members, pressure by family to maintain good results, and many moreproblems. Because of too much tension, teenagers have the tendency to involvethemselves in the social ills, in order to release their stress and depression.Another factor that also causes the social ills to get worse is the influencesby friends. A teenager may have chosen wrong friends for him. Friends with badreputation and attitude problems will surely influence their friends to join themand have the blast of dating, clubbing, partying, drinking alcohols and manymore social activities that could ruin the innocence of a child. It is very easy toinfluence teenagers on trying new things as at this stage of life, they are still notvery sure of life and have the feeling of wanting to experience every single newthing in life if possible. Therefore, it is very easy to ‘pull’ teenagers into the worldof social ills. This issue must be looked into seriously as young generation of today arethe leaders of tomorrow. How could they lead the country in the future if theycontinue to mingle in social ills which will eventually destroy themselvesphysically and mentally? Serious actions should be taken immediately byparents, teachers, schools, societies and authorities to stop this issue fromgetting worse. Teenagers should be taught the real meaning of life. They need tochange for the sake of better and brighter future of the world.