Chapter 8 Judaism Flashcard

Chapter 8: Judaism

Ethical Considerations in an Organisation

Ethical Considerations in an Organisation Introduction Ethics largely relates to the principles which oversee acceptable behavior and morality. In an organizational setting, it governs both the personal and corporate behavior, including their advancement to dealings with the interest groups and the environment. Thus, processes, which involve accountability, of finances are guided by ethical codes which guarantee their appropriateness.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethical Considerations in an Organisation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, there are organizations where the top officials are a stumbling block to the making of ethical decisions. As they manipulate employees in to making unethical decisions, so as to benefit themselves. Such acts are against the professional ethics codes. Statement of the ethical dilemma While working as an accountant in an investment organization two years ago, I experienced an ethical dilemma, which tore me apar t. One morning, my marketing manager, walked in to my office asking me for a check of $ 650 for expenses he had incurred entertaining a client the previous night. He submitted receipts from a restaurant and hotel accommodation. Thus, I requested to be given time to complete the transaction, in accordance with the company procedure. Later that day during lunch break, a woman whom he was involved as illustrated by an extra marital affair, walked into the company cafeteria. She stopped right by my table and engaged in a phone conversation, in which I overheard her mention my marketing manager and how they had a good time the previous night in the hotel. The details were indicated on the receipts submitted to my office. I then realized the information my manager had given me was false. As a result, I did not know what step to take. Failure to adhere to his request would guarantee my dismissal. At the same time, I could not refund him basing on false information he had provided. This was against my professional ethics conduct. Organizations involved This company is the Prudential Company, which majors in the issuance of life cover and venture administration proficiency to provide persuasive asset development. This is in addition to, protection solutions for the ever-increasing sequestration needs of persons and business in the U.S. and abroad. Real stumbling blocks The company had a great chance of making huge profits from the investment transactions it was undertaking. The stumbling block was misappropriation of funds by the top company executives. Since, competition within investment organizations continue to strengthen as more companies sprout to suit the need of increased profitability.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Many companies are implementing strict financial management, which involves cutting down on disbursements. The recession influe nces resolutions for citizens on how to invest. Thus, profits would dwindle if the company continues to misappropriate funds. There are several interest unions which monitor and ensure the applicability of ethical considerations to gratify the need for fairness and accountability in the management of organization finances. Ethical decision making may vary in diverse organizations who may value it depending on its impact to the society. Leadership My department supervisor decided to take the lead in dealing with this ethical dilemma. As he was the principal accounting officer thus he was in charge of all monetary transactions. While citing his reasons, he explained that the greatness and outcomes of any unethical decision arising from the dilemma would prevail over the integrity of the organization’s values. Solving of the ethical dilemma Despite the fact that we risked losing our jobs, my supervisor and I reported this to the company director. Above all, we had the responsibi lity of making an ethical decision. As a result the marketing manager was suspended for misappropriation of company funds. In my judgment, the manager abused his office authority, and was supposed to be charged for attempted fraud. The situation was resolved ethically as there was a need to put this vice to a stop. The decision was reached with reference to the dynamics of ethical decision making, which include; professional role, attitudes, motivations and personal preference. Conclusion In the appliance of ethical considerations, there are general factors, for example, the assumption that unethical behaviors are part of any organization. Further, ethical considerations may go unrewarded in most instances.

La Vie Boheme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

La Vie Boheme - Essay Example Popular consumption of music has long been influenced by the stage – but perhaps not more so than in the modern era of super-popular Broadway musicals. It is in some ways easy to dismiss such musicals as somewhat venal entertainment, more akin to Hollywood than Mozart, but their immense popularity demands that they receive some attention. Perhaps no musical has been as widely popular as Jonathan Larson’s magnum opus, Rent, and perhaps no song is more indicative of both that musical and the feelings that it inspires in its viewer than â€Å"La Vie Bohà ¨me,† an homage to Giacomo Puccini's opera  La Bohà ¨me, on which Rent was based. Songs in popular musicals often struggle with the blending of text and music; the text is often so important that music takes a back seat, or else an emotional moment of music is required, and text is written just to have something happening during that moment. I would argue, however, that â€Å"La Vie Bohà ¨me† effortlessl y combines both musical and textual elements to create a pleasing cocophony that relates intrinsically to the philosophical underpinnings of a Bohemian lifestyle. In short, it represents the certainty of death, the chaos of life, and Bohemianism as a response to simply having too little time on earth. Life and death are the central themes to this work, both textually and musically. The song begins with a character explaining that he had had â€Å"a death in the family,† his dog, â€Å"Evita† had died. He then goes on to explain how beautifully the neighborhood would change if people would give up their bohemian lifestyle. During this period the music is light, delicate, ordered and lively, with a high, major key melody played on a piano. He closes by telling the other characters that â€Å"Bohemia is dead.† This moment represents the first change between life and death that occurs in the work. The music then launches into a funeral dirge, with the character of M ark launching into a funeral sermon regarding the death of Bohemia. While he speaks, an interesting musical and textual event happens during the background. Two basses begin singing what sounds like a traditional funerary chant in Latin, which sounds almost like a Gregorian chant. A closer analysis of this chant will come later, but for the moment it serves to especially emphasize the deathly nature of the beginning of this song. As the sermon goes on, however, its mood shifts, the organ music finishes playing a minor key dirge, and opens into a major key melody. As this transition occurs, Mark almost seamlessly stops talking about death, and begins talking about birth, the birth of Christ. This transition wholly encapsulates one of the fundmanental aspects of Bohemian behavior – the recognition of death. Bohemians live with constant awareness of death – it is an awareness that spurs them on to live as fast and hard as they possibly can, to extract every ounce possible of experience out of life before it ends. The song then launches into a chaotic manifesto in defense of Bohemianism. While the opening clearly pushes one Bohemian theme, awareness of death as a cause for living in a Bohemian way, it also pushes another theme: conscious rejection of authority. The chant, which appeared to be Latin at first glance, helps develops these themes more fully. On a close inspection, only the first line, â€Å"Dies irae! Dies illa† or â€Å"Days of wrath and doom are coming† are Latin. Traditional words of death. The pair of basses then launch into a new language, Greek, keeping the same Gregorian style, â€Å"Kyrie, eleison† or, â€Å"Lord of have mercy† before closing in a final different language, but the same Gregorian style â€Å"Yitgadal v’yitkadash,† Hebrew meaning magnificent and sanctified. Firstly, using three languages demonstrates an awareness and expression of value of diversity – a theme that is more fully developed later in the song. But more importantly, the song thus smoothly connects Latin, Greek and Hebrew liturgy into a neat package, and

Communication in Security Settings Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Communication in Security Settings Paper - Essay Example If they will use negative attitude instead of positive then it can create a trouble for them. Effective communication is the combined harmony of verbal and nonverbal behavior. NONVERBAL behavior can be explained as anything other than words themselves that communicates or affects (positively or negatively) the message "contained" in the words. Nonverbal communication contains body motion, facial expressions and eye movement. FACIAL EXPRESSION: While listening to a person you should ahead to indicate that you understand and is in agreement with the speaker. You glance away or yawn to signify that you are uninterested or would like for the speaker to discontinue talking. EYE MOVEMENT: Direct eye contact is necessary in the public to show a self-confident, truthful character. Most people find it hard to look at someone in the eyes when they are conversing with them. Straight eye contact can be anxiety-provoking and on a circumstance can reason some persons to lose their train of thinking. The answer is to focus your eyes someplace else on the face. For example, you can keep your eyes stuck to the persons nose, mouth, or ear. As long as your focus is within eight inches of the nose, the other individual will not be able to tell that you are not watching him or her directly in the eyes. When you are communicating with your sender or receiver you should be confident that there is no contest for your attention like thrilling things going on nearby or other people chatting (cell phones, IMs, chat rooms, email, etc.) Occasionally there is case that its hard to communicate simply because you cannot send or receive the message. Earsplitting noises can block communication, and so can stuff like lost phone signals and computers not being capable to interface. Sometimes the sender uses vocabulary that the receiver does not recognize,. Try to use

Hitchens vs Blair debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hitchens vs Blair debate - Essay Example Hitchens found it easy to make strong arguments concerning a wide range of bad things that humans have done in the name of religion, and he in fact did not find it difficult to explain how religion, which is considered to be good, has done more harm not only to individuals in the society, but also to the world as well. On stage, Hitchens raised very pertinent points many of which worked against Blair’s arguments. Among the most prominent statements that he made is that â€Å"religion forces nice people to do unkind things ... and to do stupid things." Hitchens made this statement in a bid to emphasize the fact that religion is among the most disastrous institutions in the world because it has often been the source of conflict. In addition to this statement, he also made a pass at circumcision, which he considers to be a violation of human rights, since it involves the mutilation of the human body. Hitchens sarcastically states, "Please pass me that sharp stone for its genital ia so that I might do the work of the Lord" (CSPANJUNKIEd0Torg) A major point of argument in the debate concerned the exclusivity of religion, on which Hitchens states that it had always struck him as strange that there should be a special church for English people. His argument implied that religion in itself was a divisive factor in the world, and that the world would probably function better without it. In response to Hitchens’ comparing religion to the North Korean regime where God is considered similar to the North Korean ruler, Blair stated that he did not consider the leader of North Korea to be a religious icon. Blair seems to have conceded some ground to Hitchens’ argument by stating that it was undoubtedly true that there were people who had throughout history committed horrendous acts in the name of religion. Blair goes on to quickly state that while this might be the case, it is also true that some religious people also do good things, providing the example of how Christians and progressive secularists worked hand in hand to ensure the abolition of slavery (CSPANJUNKIEd0Torg). Blair questions whether Hitchens is after a world that it without religions, going further to provide examples from the twentieth century who had no religion. He gives the example of Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot, who committed great atrocities against their people because of the fact that they did not have religion, hence lacked a conscience. Blair goes on to state that if religion is gotten rid of then â€Å"you're not going to get rid of fascism, and you're not going to get rid of wrong in the world." It is Blair’s belief that the lack of religion in the world would be disastrous because it would be a source of unspeakable evil that might lead to atrocities. Hitchens on the other hand, feels that religion is an oppressive force which should not be allowed to continue because to do so would be to destroy the freedoms which are the natural right of all hu man beings (CSPANJUNKIEd0Torg). Throughout the debate, one would state that Hitchens had the sympathy of most of the audience and this may have been as a result of his terminal condition. Blair, on the other hand, seems to have been less forceful with his argument, perhaps because of his sympathy for his rival’s condition. While this may have been

Human Colony On Mars By 2023 Marketing Essay

Human Colony On Mars By 2023 Marketing Essay In March 2011 Bas Lansdorp came one step closer to his dream: Creating a manned mission to Mars, by founding Mars One. Mars One is a public company with a clear vision: taking humanity to Mars in 2023 and establishing a permanent settlement. The Mars colony would present a breakthrough in mankind exploration of outer space and would set a starting point for potentially invaluable research, all of this while broadcasting live the life on Mars in the form of a reality TV show. After more than 18 months of self-funding, Mars One has attracted its very first sponsors. At the same time it has also sparked media interest as well as raised certain doubts about its mission and feasibility. The initial investment by early sponsors has marked the next step for the company initiating the funding stage. This is merely a drop of water into an ocean as the costs of only the first mission are estimated to be 6 billion of dollars. Therefore the main concern on Bas Landorps mind is how to ensure the future financing of Mars One and if his business strategy will hold. Overview The founders Bas Lansdorp, M.Sc., Co-Founder General Director Bas is a 35 year old entrepreneur. He studied a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in the Twente University in 2003. After his studies, he worked for five years at Delft University of Technology. Later, in 2008, he founded Ampyx Power in order to develop a new, viable method of generating wind energy. Bas sold his shares Ampyx in 2011 and started working full time in Mars One, Bass dream for many years. Lansdorp says that he has been thinking about the colonization of mars for at least 15 years, since when he was still in University. In 2007, he revised the idea and began making more serious calculations. I knew this idea would be possible, but I just didnt know how to finance it he says. After some brainstorming, Lansdorp turned to Paul Rà ¶mer, the producer and creator of the internationally successful Big Brother reality TV series for financial advice. After hearing the technical plans for the mission, Rà ¶mer told him funding should be no problem if we create the biggest media event ever around it. This endeavor is an incredible challenge, overwhelming at times and a bit scary. But we press on. I believe the human exploration and habitation of Mars is imperative, the next giant leap for humankind. Arno A. Wielders, M.Sc., Co-Founder Technical Director Arno studied Master of Science in Physics in the University of Amsterdam and graduated in 1997. After that, he started working for the Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, to work at the Dutch Space Program in the Very Large Telescope Interferometer Delay Line project. By 2002 he finished his advanced graduate research, TWAIO certificate and began working as a scientist at the Space Department of TNO TPD in Delft. There, he worked in the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), a project that was developed by the NASA agency. In 2005 he founded Space Horizon and did a pre-feasibility study of a suborbital spaceport on the Dutch island of Curacao. He worked for the European Space Agency (ESA), performing in the following capacities: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Instrument scientist for BepiColombo (mission to the planet Mercury) science team (2005-2007). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Payload study manager for Cross Scale mission studies, a constellation of satellites orbiting the Earth for magnetosphere research (2007-2009). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Payload study manager for a mission to Jupiter (2009-2011). In addition, Arno co-founded the Mars Society Nederland, an organization with the objective to promote a human mission to the Red planet. Nowadays he volunteers for the Planetary Society and organizes, with the Netherlands Association for Spaceflight special events related to the space. At the moment, he divides his time between Mars One and working at the European Space Technology. I believe mankind is destined to be a multi-planet species, to move beyond the confines of our home planet. To work with Mars One is to be a living part of this incredible undertaking. Mars One Project: Mission Mars One is a private, apolitical organization. It is the Mission Objective of Mars One to establish a human settlement on the planet Mars in 2023. Mars One plans to accomplish this through the integration of existing technologies developed by aerospace corporations who have demonstrated expertise in space travel. Vision of Mars One Mars One believes the human exploration of the solar system is greater than the ambition of a single corporation or achievement of an individual nation. Mars exploration offers an opportunity to celebrate what a united humanity may accomplish. As with the Apollo Moon landings, a human mission to Mars will inspire generations to believe that all things are possible, that anything can be achieved. Mars One believes it is not only possible, but imperative that we establish a permanent outpost on Mars in order to accelerate our understanding of the formation of the solar system, the origins of life, and of equal importance, our place in the universe. Where it would otherwise be too costly for a single corporation and too risky for a solitary government agency, Mars One intends through the integration of existing technologies to succeed in establishing the first human settlement on Mars by April 2023. Schedule: 2013: The first 40 astronauts will be selected; a replica of the settlement will be built for training purposes. 2014: The first communication satellite will be produced. 2016: A supply mission will be launched with 2500 kilograms of spare parts, solar photovoltaic panels, and general supplies in a modified SpaceX Dragon. 2018: An exploration vehicle will be launched to pick the location of the settlement. 2021: Six additional Dragon capsules and another rover will be launched with two living units, two life support units and two supply units. 2022: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy will launch with the first group of four colonists. 2023: The first colonists will arrive on Mars in a modified Dragon capsule. 2025: A second group of four colonists will arrive. 2033: The colony will reach 20 settlers. The Technology Mars One has developed a plan to establish a settlement on Mars by 2023. This plan is built upon existing technologies available from proven suppliers. Mars One is not an aerospace company and will not manufacture mission hardware. All equipment will be developed by third party suppliers and integrated in established facilities. The fully equipped mission is comprised of the following, primary hardware components as stated in Mars One website: Launcher: This is the rocket used to take payloads from Earth launch into Earth orbit or to Mars. Mars Transit Vehicle: Is a vehicle responsible for transporting the astronauts to Mars, and consists of two propellant stages, a landing module and living quarters. Lander: The Lander will be used for 5 functions: Life Support Unit: A Lander that contains the systems for the generation of energy, water and breathable air within the settlement. Supply Unit: A Lander that contains food, spare parts and other smaller components. Living Unit: This Unit is a Lander that is outfitted with a special inflatable section. After reaching the surface of Mars, this allows it to create a large living space for humans. Human Lander: This is the unit which carries the astronauts to the surface of Mars. Rover Lander: This is the unit which carries the rovers to the surface of Mars. Rover: The Rover is a semi-autonomous, solar-electric powered exploration and construction vehicle used to explore the surface of Mars in search of the most suitable location for the settlement, for transport of large hardware components (in a tractor-like fashion), and then general assembly. Mars Suit: protects astronauts from extreme temperatures, the very thin, non-breathable atmosphere, and otherwise harmful radiation. Communications system: The communications system transmits the video streams from Mars to the communication satellite in Mars orbit and back to Earth. (Essential for communication between Earth and Mars as well as vital for broadcasting reality TV show) A new era in Space Industry The development of the space industry according to Elon Musk (CEO of the private owned company SpaceX) can be resembled to the one of the internet. They both were, at a first stage, governmental initiatives created to enhance the mankind frontiers. But it was only until the arrival of private owned and commercial companies that they developed their real potential. Mr. Musk believes that what is going to happen with the space industry in the upcoming years is going to be similar to what happened with the internet in the 90s. Reaching high grow rates and becoming more accessible for the general public. In May 2012, the company SpaceX launched the first private owned cargo delivery for the international space station. The falcon rocket successfully sent more than 500Kg of food and supplies to the ISS departing from Cape Canaveral, FL. For many analysts this was a milestone for the entire space industry and for the mankind itself. Nasas administrator Charles Bolden said: Today marks the beginning of a new era in exploration The significance of this day cannot be overstated; a private company has launched a spacecraft to the International Space Stationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This certainly opens the gates for other commercial companies to build space vessels and successfully execute space missions. DVBDSA Major Challenges: The main technical difficulties of the mission to mars come from the return trip; it implies the necessity of a fully operational vehicle capable of escaping the gravitational field of mars, with enough fuel and supplies for a 7 month trip to earth, and capable of landing on earth or assembling to the international space station. All of these are huge barriers that have stopped humans from going to mars. Why is going to Mars so expensive? Mainly its the distance from Earth. At its closest point in orbit, Mars lies 35 million miles away from us, necessitating a journey of many months, whereas reaching the Moon requires just a few days flight. On top of this, Mars has a surface gravity that, though only 38 percent of Earths, is much greater than the Moons. It takes a lot of fuel to blast off Mars and get back home. If the propellant has to be transported there from Earth, costs of a launching soar. Without some radical improvements in technology, the prospects for sending astronauts on a round-trip to Mars any time soon are slim, whatever the presidential rhetoric. -Paul Davies (New York Times interview, 2004) The health conditions of the cosmonauts are also a constraint for a long trip to mars. Since the gravity in mars is only 38% of the gravity of earth, after some time, the human body adapts itself top the new environment loosing osseous density and strength in the muscles. If a person stays for too long on that environment, it would be impossible for its body to readapt to earths conditions again. Skepticism and doubts A challenge of this kind is expected to raise all kinds of doubts and skepticism, and so it is in this case. First of all, the tight schedule that Mars One has defined seems to be a huge barrier for some people, that argue that 11 years wont be enough to find and assemble all the pieces of the puzzle that are missing. In this group of people belongs Dr. Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society, an international space advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the human exploration and settlement of the planet Mars. Dr. Zubrin is also skeptical about the sponsorships and fundraising of the project; he stated to the Business Insider Magazine: I dont think the business plan closes it. Were going to go to Mars, we need billions of dollars, and were going to make up the revenue with advertising and media rights and so on. You might be able to make up some of the money that way, but I dont think that anyone who is interested in making money is going to invest on that basis invest in this really risky proposition, and if youre lucky youll break even? That doesnt fly. Theres also another group of people that after hearing about Mars One plans, think that this is just a hoax to gain public attention and make money with marketing. Bas Landorp has responded to this: The problem with proving something is not a hoax is that people who are behind a hoax would answer in exactly the same way. This is a huge potential hazard for the company, as if they want to raise the money needed, they will have to prove to potential investors that it is not a scam. Status Report The Working Plan In 2011, the founding members of the Mars One team started planning for the colonization of planet Mars. In the first year the completion of feasibility study has been achieved, and contacts have been made with experts from space agencies around the globe and private aerospace companies. Written letters of interest in support of the Mars One plan were received. The analysis conducted by Mars One has included technical, financial, social-psychological and ethical components. Mars One team is looking in to possible location for its training facilities that will resemble the surface of Mars, Gobi desert and Sahara are being considered. Concise Road map for Mars One mission has been laid out. Human settlement on Mars in 2023 has been carefully thought of as the planetary positions and the respective distance from Earth to Mars presents a key factor for the voyage. European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia have estimated that the Mission to Mars and back would cost more than 20 billion dollars. Bas Lansdopr and the team behind Mars One have calculated that their Mission to Mars will cost 6 billion dollars. This high drop of cost compared to global space agencies estimate, comes at a price. For Mars One to be feasible, the mission to Mars is planned as a one way trip. This means that anyone going to Mars with Mars One will have to be prepared to stay on Mars potentially for the rest of their lives. One way trip to planet Mars is not a novel idea, as it has been a topic of discussions for some time in space exploration circles. However this is the very first time someone suggested it as an actual proposition and part of their business plan. Forming the team In 2011 and begining2012, Lansdorp and Wielders placed the groundwork for Mars One through the development of associations with private aerospace corporations, researchers and industry experts who are now moving to support the Mars One initiative. Bas and Arno have formed the competent team of experts in various fields to carry out Mars One mission. The team behind Mars One next to Bas Lansdorp (Co-Founder General Director) and Arno A. Wielders (Co-Founder Technical Director) consists of (Appendix A): Bryan Versteeg (Mission Concept Artist), Suzanne Flinkenflà ¶gel (Director of Communications), Kai Staats (Director of Business Development) and the newest team member since 4. October 2012. Norbert Kraft (Medical Director). Mars One has relayed the support of various industry and scientific experts who bring real-world experience to Mars One. At the moment there are nine of them and their number is rising. Tanja Masson-Zwaan (Deputy Director of the International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University and President of the International Institute of Space Law) Brian Enke (Senior Space Research Analyst at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, USA) Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund (Lead investigator with the NASA Astrobiology Institute) Dr. Gino Ormeno (Seasoned Aviation Medical Examiner with long history of cooperation with NASA) Dr. Raye Kass (Professor of Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; involved in numerous space research projects around the globe) Steve Carsey (UK television executive with a reputation for creating and producing various showsn on BBC, Chanal 5, Sky One, FOX) Prof. Thais Russomano (MD, PhD, Brazil, Aerospace Medicine, Space Physiology and Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Telemedicine eHealth research and development) Dr. Christopher P. McKay (Planetary Scientist with the Space Science Division of NASA Ames) Dr. John D. Rummel (Director of East Carolina Universitys (ECUs) Institute for Coastal Science and Policy and chairman of COSPARs Panel on Planetary Protection). At the same time Mars One has managed to attract attention of few notable persons in form of Mars One ambassadors. Most known are Prof. Dr. Gerardt Hooft (Nobel Prize winning theoretical physicist), Paul Rà ¶mer (The co-creator and very first producer of the The Big Donor Show and Big Brother), Mary Roach (American worldwide published author, specializing in popular science), Dr. Gerard Blaauw (Chairman of the Netherlands Space Society), Prof. Dr. Ir. Boudewijn Ambrosius (Chairman of Astrodynamics and Space Missions at TU Delft), Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (Fellow Researcher at Institute of Space Science National University of Malaysia UKM, orthopedic surgeon and astronaut). Contacting the suppliers Mars One has visited several major aerospace companies around the world to discuss their plan and the hardware components needed for the mission. For each component they have found at least one potential supplier. Mars One has visited the companies outlined below (Appendix B) and has received letters of interest from them. Astrobotic Technology Inc. is a Pittsburgh based company that is pioneering affordable planetary access and mobility solutions. ILC Dover is the forerunner in the soft goods industry for current and near term space  programs and advocate for commercial space activities across the globe. MDA Corporation  is a worldwide provider of information systems and is an established provider of custom space systems to government and commercial markets internationally, from earth orbiting infrastructure and spacecraft servicing to deep space and planetary exploration. Paragon Space Development Corporation provides environmental controls for extreme and hazardous environments. Space Exploration Technologies has developed a family of launch vehicles and spacecraft that increase reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation. Surrey Satellite Technology is the worldwide leader in the construction of small satellites. Thales Alenia Space has an enduring history in building habitable systems and has successfully developed a large number of pressurized elements for the International Space Station. Sponsorship Mars One has only received initial sponsorship money so far. With most of the corporate sponsorship funds they will finance the conceptual design studies provided by the aerospace suppliers. Sponsors for Mars One include(Appendix D): Byte Internet (Dutch internet service provider), VBC Notarissen (Dutch law firm), MeetIn (Dutch consulting company), New-Energy.tv (Dutch web station), Dejan SEO (Australian search engine optimization company), Interpidrd (small new Engineering company based in USA) and Adknowledge( the U.S. based fourth largest advertiser marketplace). Online presence Mars One has made its debut in online sphere with creation of Mars One website (www.mars-one.com). The website provides the information about Mars One and serves as a portal for Mars exploration enthusiasts. It also includes an online shop that sells Mars One merchandise (in form of shirts, posters and coffee mugs). The revenues from sale are spent on funding the Mars Mission. With the launch of Mars One website the promotional introduction video has been released and was seen by more than one million viewers in the first four months. Case Problem Bas and the Mars One team face an extraordinary task; they have 11 years to make a human colony on Mars. In that time they need to acquire the resources, and convince the investors as well as the global community that their plan is real and feasible. They will face high risks, uncertainty, all kind of complications and possibly competition. In the history of mankind, there have been several cases of almost unachievable endeavors, from the construction of the Pyramids to the Columbus trip to America and the Apollo missions to the Moon. Funding this kind of projects has always presented a major difficulty, especially now in this case, since the aerospace industry is shifting from governmental run organizations to private sector. Regular mechanisms of financing and funding companies may not apply to a business of this kind, Banks are not expected to lend money for these projects, and Venture capitalists Business Angels generally focus on sectors with less risk. Therefore, Bas and his team have to come up with a new plan for gathering funds, attracting investors and guaranteeing a net cash flow of US6Bn in the next years in order to execute successfully the plan. Imagine that you are Bas Lansdorp. Try to reevaluate your strategic plan. Focus on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of Mars One. Furthermore think how would you raise the funds necessary to make this project a reality? What potential investors would you contact and what models of financing would you pursue? How would you convince the public that Mars One isnt a practical joke or marketing trick and assure the potential financiers that Mars One presents a sound business opportunity? Appendices Appendix A: The rest of Mars One team Bryan Versteeg, Mission Concept Artist Bryan Versteeg has worked for over 20 years in the graphics industry, specifically 15 years as a conceptual artist in the architectural and engineering fields. For the past six years, Bryan has worked as an independent artist and in 2011 founded Spacehabs.com in order to focus on the conceptual visualization for space exploration. Bryan is responsible for all the animations and illustrations on the Mars One website. Suzanne Flinkenflà ¶gel, M.A., Director of Communications Suzanne graduated in 2005 in International Business Communications and Spanish at the University of Nijmegen. Suzanne brings to Mars One her working knowledge and experience in online marketing, social media and web analytics. Before Mars One Suzanne worked as a Marketing Manager for Dutch hosting provider Byte Internet. In her spare time, she works as a voluntary coach at the 1%Club, a crowd-sourcing platform that connects smart development projects with people, funds, and knowledge around the world. Kai Staats, Director of Business Development Kai Staats comes to Mars One with extensive experience in business development, mission critical systems development, and professional writing. Staats was for ten years the founder and CEO of Terra Soft Solutions, the former developer of Yellow Dog Linux for the PowerPC architecture. In this capacity, he led his team to develop supercomputing systems built upon Apple, IBM, and Sony computers for the United States Departments of Energy and Defense, NASA, top-tier university labs, and commercial entities in the tele-communications, defense, life sciences, and research arenas. Terra Soft systems were used to process images from the Mars rovers, to conduct real-time sonar imaging on-board the U.S. submarines, to train both military and commercial pilots, and conduct bioinformatics research. Norbert Kraft, M.D., Medical Director Norbert Kraft, M.D., USA. Dr. Kraft received the 2010 Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in the Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Aerospace Medicine. He has over 17 years of experience in aviation and aerospace research and development. His primary area of expertise is developing physiological and psychological countermeasures to combat the negative effects of long-duration spaceflight. Dr. Krafts experiences span Europe, Asia, and the United States, where he has worked for several international space agencies, including the Russian Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency. Appendix B: Potential Suppliers to Mars One Astrobotic Technology Inc. is a Pittsburgh based company that is pioneering affordable planetary access and mobility solutions that promise to spark a new era of exploration, science, tourism, resource utilization and mining in the solar system. Astrobotic is flying a mission to the moons pole in 2015 to find water ice. ILC Dover is the forerunner in the soft goods industry for current and near term space  programs and is very supportive of commercial space activities across the globe. ILC Dover is one of the few  companies in the world that can claim to have products on both the Moon and on Mars. They have contributed to the Apollo spacesuits and the three-airbag landing systems that helped land the NASA rovers on Mars surface. MDA Corporation  is a worldwide provider of information systems and is an established provider of custom space systems to government and commercial markets internationally, from earth orbiting infrastructure and spacecraft servicing to deep space and planetary exploration. Provider of the robotic systems aboard the Space Shuttle and Space Station as well as robotic systems and science instruments successfully operating on the surface of Mars , MDAs exploration heritage traces back over three decades of human spaceflight and Mars exploration. Today MDA supports US, Canadian, European, Russian, Japanese and commercial space programs from operating units across Canada, the US and Europe. Paragon Space Development Corporation provides environmental controls for extreme and hazardous environments. Paragon designs, builds, tests and operates premier life support systems and leading thermal control products for astronauts,  contaminated water divers, and other extreme environment adventurers, as well as for unmanned space and terrestrial applications. Space Exploration Technologies has developed a family of launch vehicles and spacecraft that increase reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten. As the first rockets developed in the 21st century, the Falcon series take advantage of the latest technologies, as well as 50 years of lessons learned in the aerospace industry. SpaceX is demonstrating that through simplicity, both reliability and low cost can be achieved in commercial space flight. Surrey Satellite Technology is the worldwide leader in the construction of small satellites. The British company provides a range of affordable satellite solutions to a variety of customers in the fields of Earth observation, science, technology demonstration, telecommunications and navigation. Thales Alenia Space has an enduring history in building habitable systems and has successfully developed a large number of pressurized elements for the International Space Station, including Node 2 3, Cupola, Columbus and ATV Cargo Carriers. Thales is also currently developing the pressurized cargo carriers for the Orbital Cygnus vehicle in the frame of the NASA Commercial Resupply Services initiative. Appendix C: Initial Mars One sponsors Byte Internet is a hosting provider with a strong emphasis on service and technology and focuses on professionals (web designers or companies). Byte was founded in 1999 and in recent years has grown very rapidly. (www.byte.nl) VBC Notarissen is an independent Dutch law firm with 3 branches. They have more than 70 employees in their offices in Amersfoort, Barneveld and Nijkerk. (www.vbcnotarissen.nl) MeetIn is a Dutch consulting company, established in 2004 by Dirk Aleven and is located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. New Energy.TV is an Dutch independent portal and internet station which focuses at the long-term process towards a sustainable energy supply in the Netherlands. Founding Partners are: Roelf van Til Productions and New Energy Works. The web station began on 1 January 2006. Dejan SEO is in a nutshell an Australian search engine optimization company. They have provided professional marketing services to a diverse clientele since 2001. Founded in Brisbane, the companys initial focus was providing consulting services for other marketing firms. Starting in 2008, Dejan SEO began offering search engine optimization services directly to the public as part of the newly-formed corporation SEO Pty Ltd. The company expanded internationally in 2009 opening two European offices and forming a business partnership in the United States.   Intrepid research development is an engineering company in the USA, Pittsburgh area founded in 2011 by two Penn State honors graduates, Timothy Baxter and Joshua Vogel. They focus on optimizing research development and providing consultancy and services to other companies. Adknowledge, the fourth largest advertiser marketplace, specializes in performance-based marketing solutions that help make the long tail web accessible to search engine advertisers. Since its founding in 2004, Adknowledge has grown organically and through acquisitions, including Miva, Super Rewards and Hydra, became the largest privately-owned internet advertising network. In 2011 Adknowledge raised over $200 million in debt and equity financing to fuel its growth.

Book Review of That Eye, The Sky by Tim Winton :: Book Review

I have chosen to read the book â€Å"That Eye, The Sky† by Tim Winton. The front cover isn’t very appealing- it has a picture of a house in the outback, with the night-sky covering it. I have picked this book because one of the school librarians have recommended it to me, and said that it is a very moving book. And that it will expand my vocabulary. The blurb suggests that ‘That Eye, The Sky’ has little bit to do with the supernatural, which I’m a bit wary of. I don’t enjoy reading books that haven’t much to do with things â€Å"out of this world†. Actually, I don’t really enjoy reading books that are written about things outside of what I know as familiar. But we’ll see how I go. The main character in this story is Morton â€Å"Ort† Flack, and he is twelve years old. He lives in outback Western Australia with his mother, father, older sister, Tegwyn (I have had so much trouble with the pronunciation of her name!), and his grandma. His mum is a housewife and works on their farm, I’m not sure what his dad would be classified as but he works for Ort’s best friend’s dad, Bill Cherry, who he is obliged to run personal errands for. Ort looks up very much to his father, and his parents are very much in love. His sister is a typical sixteen-year-old. She constantly fights with her parents, rebels against everything and practises self-mutilation- â€Å"Real careful she takes the smoke out of her mouth and looks at the hot end and put it in one of her tits and shivers†- (ok, maybe that last part isn’t typical but she is a teenager living in the bush with nowhere to go and no chance to have friends or get out of the bush so I, as a teenager, can justify why she would do something like that). It is never mentioned what his grandmother is suffering from but I’ve made the assumption that it’s something along the lines of Alzheimer’s- she doesn’t remember anything and has slowly withered away. Ort as the youngest likes to make sure everyone is living their lives alright so he spies on his sister, grandma and parents just to see what they do when they don’t know anybody’s watching. I thought this part was a bit perverted at first, but it can be translated as his way of feeling safe and making sure everyone else is safe.