Project management and how it relates to purchasing and supply Research Paper

Project management and how it relates to purchasing and supply management - Research Paper Example To ensure that vendors participate in the procurement process, firms are under obligation to issue request for proposal (RFP).Once the vendors receive the RFP, they should submit their proposals. The proposals are then reviewed by selection committee. This paper analyses two ways of improving the assessment of proposals. These include use of preliminary screening and professional review and assessment. Major stages applied during the selection of the most qualified vendor in a proposal include review of all proposal submitted by the vendors, recording the vendor and business requirements, assigning important value for each requirement, assigning performance value to each requirement, computation of total performance value and lastly selection of the successful vendor. In their efforts to create a strong relationship with their clients and suppliers, it is imperative for firms to implement a contract that covers the delivery terms and conditions, duration of a contract and payment ter ms. Project management entails the processes that are undertaken by the project managers to ensure that the specific objectives of a project are attained. The key processes include securing, planning, organizing, and managing the available resources (Harold, 2003). On the other hand, purchasing and supply management encompasses the procurement, monitoring of goods while in transit, storage of raw material, the level and quality of supplies. Some of the major factors that determine the success of a project are the availability of raw materials at the required time and quality, the costs of transportation of the raw materials and effective communication between the project managers and the purchasing and supply manager. In this regard, it is clear that project management and purchasing and supply management have a close link that firms cannot overlook. This paper analyses the crucial aspects

Nutrition Support of Hospitalized Patients Essay

Nutrition Support of Hospitalized Patients - Essay Example The healthcare professionals often underestimate the nutritional needs of the patients who are critically ill. Moreover, the initiation of nutritional therapy is often delayed in these patients. In the critically ill patient, nutritional status plays a key role in recovery. The extent of muscle wasting and weight loss in the ICU is inversely correlated with long-term survival. However, because conventional parenteral nutritional therapy of malnourished critically ill patients has not been demonstrated to produce anabolism, blunting of the catabolic state may be the more effective strategy. Over the top of that malnutrition in the critically ill patients have been associated with increased mortality, morbidity, and length of stay, which may be correlated to increased dependency of mechanical ventilation, enhanced rates of infection, and impairment of wound healing. Therefore, to determine the evidence in this area of care, it would be prudent to critically analyse the research finding s which could justify the indications and contraindications of nutritional therapy in these patients. ... Concomitantly, there is an increase globulin synthesis as a part of acute phase response. Metabolically, there is noted to be increased gluconeogenesis along with reduced serum iron and zinc levels and increased copper and ceruloplasmin levels. These changes lead to fever and an associated negative nitrogen balance. There is protein breakdown invariably in all patients. There is evidence that critically ill adult patients may lose about 16-20 g of nitrogen, which are supposed to be excreted in the form of urea, which in normal individuals are about 10-12 g/d. Many acutely ill patients have septic complications, and in some of them, the nitrogen loss may account for up to 24 g of urinary urea nitrogen daily. The nutritional implications of these facts become very significant since with the loss of 1 g of urinary urea nitrogen, the nitrogen content in 6.25 g of protein is loss, which is equivalent to approximately 1 oz of lean body mass. As one can calculate, the loss of 16 g of nitrog en as urinary urea is therefore equal to the loss of about 1 lb of skeletal muscle or lean body mass per day (Doig et al., 2008). Nutritional supplementation, hence, bears an important meaning in the management of patients who are critically ill. Studies have indicated that initiation of nutritional supportive treatments in critically ill patients within 48 to 72 hours of admission has at least three important outcomes. These are improved clinical outcomes, lower rates of infectious complications, and shorter duration of hospital stay. The route of administration of nutritional supports to these patients has also important influences over clinical outcomes. Evidence indicates that enteral nutrition is favorable over parenteral

Apple: Strategic Challenges And Changes

Apple: Strategic Challenges And Changes Q1) Evaluate Apples strategies and how they have managed their strategic challenges and strategic changes within this. In your evaluation you will need to consider the key factors of success in relation to the different strategic groups within the industry. Support your evaluation with relevant theory and academic models. Apple is a vertically integrated company, manufacturing and supplying all hardware and software as well as its own operating systems. Apple chose this strategy so they could retain profit and ensure profit is not lost by financing other companys profit margins. The practice behind this theory is to heavily finance research and development and have had the necessary means of production to cover all areas of the business. Marketing and advertising are also a key component in Apple strategy to have a better market position. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were particularly easy for customers to use and as a result were priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company- Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack- to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to apple and developed their own computer- the Apple Macintosh (Mac) that used this consumer friendly interface. The Macintosh was launched in 1984 but Apple did not sell or share the software to rival companies. Over the next few years, this non-co-operation strategy turned out to be a major weakness for Apple. Although the Mac had initial success, its software was threatened by the introduction of windows 1.0 from the rival company Microsoft, whose chief executive was the well-known Bill Gates. Microsofts strategy was to make this software widely available to other computer manufacturers for a license fee- quite unlike Apple. A legal dispute arose between Apple and Microsoft because windows had many on-screen similarities to the Apple product. Eventually, Microsoft signed an agreement with Apple saying that it would not use Mac technology in windows 1.0 Unlike Microsoft with its focus on software strategy, Apple remained a full-line computer manufacturer from that time, supplying both the hardware and software. Apple continued to develop various innovative computers and related products. Early successes included the Mac2 and PowerBooks along with the worlds first desktop publishing programme- PageMaker. This latter remains today the leading programme of its kind. It is widely used around the world in publishing and fashion houses. It remains exclusive to Apple and means that the company has a specialist market where it has real competitive advantage and can charge higher prices. Not all Apples new products were successful- the Newton personal digital assistant did not sell well. Apples high price policy for its products and difficulties in manufacturing also meant that innovative products like the iBook had trouble competing in the personal computer market place. In the year 2000, Apple identified a new corporate strategy to exploit the growing worldwide market in personal electronic devices- CD players, MP3 players, digital cameras etc. It would launch its own Apple version of these products to add high-value, user friendly software. Resulting products included iMovie for digital cameras and iDVD for DVD players. The iPod was launched in 2001 and was followed by the iTunes Music store in 2003 in USA and 2004 in Europe. The product has proven unbelievably successful; over 100 million units have been sold in the six years since its introduction. In 2003, Apples iTunes Store was introduced, offering online music downloads in integration with the iPod. The service quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 3 billion downloads by August 2007. Steve Jobs announced that iTunes had reached 4 billion downloads during his keynote address at the 2008 Macworld Conference Expo. The iTunes was essentially an agreement with the worlds 5 leading record companies to allow legal downloaded of music tracks using the internet for 99 cents each. This was a major success for Apple- it had persuaded the record companies to adopt a different approach to the problem of music piracy. At the time, this revolutionary agreement was unique to Apple and was due to the negotiating skills of Steve Jobs, the Apple chief executive, and his network of contacts in the industry. By 2005, Apples music player- the iPod- was the premium priced, stylish market leader with around 60% of the world sales. Its iTunes download software had been redeveloped to allow it to work with all windows compatible computers (about 90% of all PCs) and it had around 70% of the world music download market, the market being worth around US$330 million per annum. However, by 2005, all the major companies like Sony, Philips and Panasonic were catching up fast with new launches that were just as stylish, cheaper and with more capacity. Apples competitors were even reaching agreements with the record companies to provide legal downloading of music from websites. Another Example of the likely competition came from the mobile telephone market leader, Nokia, and the dominant software company Microsoft. In February 2005, they jointly announced that all new Nokia mobile phones would come with Microsofts Windows media 10, allowing downloading of music from PCs onto mobile phones- yet another threat to apple. However Apple was the market leader and was able to demonstrate major increases in sales and profits from the development of iPod and iTunes by early 2005. One thing that has been established is that Apple releases a few versions of one great computer and then offers new software that easily integrates with the other software. Well, Apple has a lot of software that only within the last 4 or so years began to integrate with PC things as well as hardware. For this reason Apple has only been able to gain supplies from a limited set of suppliers, leaving Apple in a vulnerable position. However, one of Apples competencies is a great designing department. They come up with fun looking machines and professional looking machines. The other important thing is the size and the colour of the machine. Distribution Apple has many forms of distribution from their own retail outlet, to business to business selling, to their online store. First there are the Apple retail stores; most of these will be found in major cities across the US and the UK. From these or the website anything can be offered to customers and the products can be even more personalized than they already are. Their most important deals are probably with education. For years they have been offering their computers to schools for years and have grown a large following just from the children that are familiar with Apple and comfortable with Apple interface. This also allows Apple to watch market trends since their market is also people between 20 and 30 years old. The young children will be the future so Apple simply watches what they are interested in. Their final bit of distribution comes from other warehouse companies or help desk companies that need the Apple parts and products to fix peoples computers. There are also third party stores that might display the product amongst several other laptop options. Their main manufacturing, development, designing stuff can be found in California and in Ireland. These two points must serve as umbrellas under which warehouses and retail shops would order or receive from them. Marketing stratergy I think Apples main stratergy is there appeal to their customers. What you find in general with many of their products more btter looking than the competitions. One thing we can see is Apple building on the popularity of the iPod. It appeals to the Mass market. Now appeal less as a computer company and more of a electronics company and seem more user-friendly. Apple have a differentiation stratergy. Apple products are known to have a unique appeal, with its sleek designs a userbility. Due to this it gets a lot of attention from consumers and the media. Without much advertising or marketing on their part. They give something new and unique to talk about which everybody gets pulled in to. With the iPod there not only selling a mp3 player, there selling a social chic. Everybody has one and everybody wants one. Target Market Apple Ipod focused particularly at those between the age of 12-25, consistent with their advertising. Bright colours and a man dancing. It will appeal to both males and females People who have a passion or interest in music and/or literature Technology enthusiasts The iPod appeals to the mass market, everyone is a potential customer. Young or old. They have music, literature and podcasts all avaiable for the iPod owners. The simplicity and sleek design is what attracts people. Although the latest ones (the touch) are expensive, and may be aimed at higher and older earners. Word count 1371 Appropriate models, such as environmental analysis, industry analysis, lifecycle, analysis, resource analysis, swot and pest analysis, Porters 5 forces etc (these do NOT form part of the word count). PESTEL-Analysis: Economical aspects: Inflation currently has increased in UK and the US and may affect current sales of ipods which have already slowed. Global economy in a down turn The exchange rate will also affect Apple as they are importing or exporting goods within the international market. Socio-cultural aspects: Again Anti-American agenda may cause potential customers to but from another company. A generally aging British population, so many may be put off by the technology As much as it is a iPod culture, it can go away as quickly as it came. People may find something else which is better and more value for money. Technical aspects: The wide range of fast changing high-tech/high-quality download possibilities, encourages consumers to download but it also puts more pressure on competing firms, as they have to stay up-to-date with the newest technologies. Considerable developments in the mobile phone market (3G handsets becoming reality and expanded features available to the customer) will push the multimedia download market into new spheres and will open up great opportunities for Apple. Many substitutes available from iRiver, Samsung and Sony. Competition moving away from copy protection on songs, Such as Amazon. Peer-to-peer file sharing applications like Lime wire and Kazaa are still extremely popular. Although this is a problem with the music industry on a whole. This still however affects iTunes. Legal aspects: Issues of copyrights and illegal downloads greatly affect the music download industry and are a major problem for active legal providers. A former lack of legislation in this area has encouraged consumers away from commercial downloading services and as a response to this, new technologies have been introduced that protect the copyright of owners and prevent customers to download and share files illegaly. Digital Rights Managment (DRM) was created to control the number of copies that can be made from a download and although for the music industry there are many positive aspects to DRM, there are surely as many negative for the consumer. Therefore, some companies have already planned to open big portals on DRM-Free tracks that will legally enable the consumer to download files without being limited to a certain number of computers, portable digital devices and CD burns for a reasonable price. Source: Corporate Stratergy finntrack.com Porters 5 Forces: Substitute products: A substitute product is not a direct alternative to the product a company is selling. For example, the new Sony Walkman media player is not a substitute for the iPod Touch, it is a competitor. However, a personal CD player or MP3 player could be if certain aspects of the market were to change, e.g. price and there was a high elasticity of demand. In the case of iTunes, with music there is a wide range of options for buying music and therefore are many substitutes within the music industry, for example tapes, CDs, vinyl and DVDs. All of these are easily accessible and just as convenient as downloading from the internet. The benefit which iTunes has is that you do not have to buy whole albums; you can download songs individually and at a fraction of the cost of a single song on another format. Also you are able to buy movies, TV shows, audio books and Podcasts, all available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Reports by Mintel have shown that sale price and the volume of sales is falling f or non digital media, consequently as a result of internet downloading. The Threat of new Entrants: Already, there are hundreds of media downloading sites available to use on the internet. Some are legal and some are not. It is more difficult to block and put barriers up for illegal entrants into the market because they are not abiding by the law and therefore do not have patents, licences or the rights to distribute media, but still do. With legitimate start up companies, there are capital requirements, possible patents licences to obtain and ultimately the prospect of competing with already well established and reputable companies such as iTunes. Mintel predicts that there will be an influx of new companies willing to invest in the online downloading industry. A big threat for Apple constitutes the entrance of Amazon into the market. The company announced the launch of a new music download portal that offers a wide range of DRM-Free tracks to a reasonable price. Since there are many advantages to DRM-Free tracks, like the fact that users can legaly copy the files without being r estricted to a certain number of copies, consumers are expected to highly welcome the new download store. Apple has to be aware of the fact, that it could lose both new and old customers by restricting them to Digital Rights Management tracks that can only be played on Apples iPod and not on any MP3 capable device, as it is the case with Amazon. Bargaining Power Of Customers: Due to the vast range of direct alternatives and substitutes, iTunes needs to price competitively as well as maintaining reputation and range availability. Consumers are easily swayed to alternative products, especially the ease and free use of illegal downloading sites and therefore need to be drawn in to using legal downloading sites like iTunes. Consumers have great power due to their ability to buy from any one competitor in the music industry and can therefore potentially dictate prices by constantly buying from the cheapest company, thus forcing competitors to reduce prices. Obviously one customer would not make a difference, but collectively customers are strong. As for the Apple iPhone, it has to be considered that network providers have great power over the company, as they could decide not to sell the iPhone or put pressure on the company that forces them to pay a certain amount of their revenues to the provider. At the moment, Apple has restricted itself to one provider, O2, and therefore greatly depends on them selling the iPhone but this will surely change over time. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Similarly to bargaining power of customers, there is the bargaining power of suppliers. iTunes have to submit to the requirements of the consumer market to be competitive, but on the other hand have the ability to bargain with their suppliers due to the size and reputation of the company, thus they are a supplier and a customer. Due to the volume of sales that iTunes have, it would be foolish for companies such as SonyBMG, Universal, Warner and EMI to not compromise on the costs and rights to distribute their music, as their success in the music download market highly depends on the successful distribution of their music, mainly through Apple. This fact clearly limits the bargaining power of suppliers to a certain degree, although Apple has to consider that without their music iTunes could not function as efficiently as the market demands. Therefore a compromise must arise that suits both companies, a possible agreement could be initial fees plus percentage of sales. Intensity of Rivalry: Although the amount of companies operating in the music download market is pretty high, Apple is the clear market leader. Still the multimedia download market is a market in its growth phase with fast changing technologies and many new companies entering the market. At the moment, it seems very unlikely that a company could seriously threaten Apples market position but the company has to be aware of the fact that there are other big multinational companies trying to enter the market with new technologies and ways of offering their services. SWOT-Analyses: Strengths: Apple is the clear market leader in the music downloadand steady financial performance. Revenues have grown from $5,742 million in 2002 to $19,315 million in 2006 and the companys net profit has increased from $65 million in 2002 to $1,989 million in 2006 (Datamonitor, 2007). Steady financial growth shows the good financial state of the company and builds the base for future growth and expansion. Also, the company has a very strong branding and enjoys a high level of brand recognition and brand awareness that allows the company to differentiate its offers and stimulate sales. Strengths of the company is defined by its successful distribution of the iPod and its software iTunes. With every iPod sold, the consumer automatically installs iTunes on his pc, as it is only possible to download music from Apples original software to an iPod. Moreover, Apple products are being considered as hip, stylish and fashionable which is increasingly becoming important for consumers. Furthermore, Apple devices and software attract customers for their convenience, their ease of use and for always being up-to-date with the newest technology. Apple has also collaborated with large brand companies like Nike, Starbucks, Coca Cola and Google, which has had beneficial impacts on both Apple and their partners and has created a new profile, e.g. linking sports and music culture. Weaknesses: First off all there is to say that although the interconnection between the iPod/iPhone and iTunes has been a key factor to Apples success this restriction could become a problem in the future, as more and more customers are looking for devices and online portals that allow them to download MP3s to any MP3 capable device. Moreover, Apple has only a very limited offer of DRM-Free tracks on iTunes, which can be defined as a strong weakness since an increasing number of customers fancy DRM-Free downloads. Another weakness for Apple lies in its pricing, especially for its iPhone. A Mintel research about the mobile phone market in the UK defined pricing and costs to be the most important factor when it comes to purchasing a phone (Mintel, 2007). Also, the iPhone currently doesnt allow the costumer to directly download files to the mobile, which, compared to the new Nokia N-Series, is a enormous weakness, since it could prevent customers to buy the Apple device and go for the Nokia handset instead. This could lead to a loss of Apples market share to its competitor Nokia. Also, technically, the iPhone isnt quiet as good as its competitor the Nokia N95, as it runs on a slower mobile data service and comes only with a 2 Megapixel camera. Another weakness for Apple is, that theyve only chosen one operator in each country where the iPhone is available and thus has restricted the consumers choice of network operators. Threats: The comanys biggest threat probably constitutes the entrance of Nokia into the digital download market. By providing the opportunity to directly download files to a handset device, Nokia could gain some of Apples a market share in the digital download market, since customers are increasingly fancying mobile downloads that dont restrict them to a bulky pc or laptop. The mobile download market is one of the most opportunity-rich markets the world has ever seen, as Nokias Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo states (Halper,2007), and if Apple doesnt catch up fast on this opportunity it is running risk to loose its superiour market position to Nokia. Another threat for Apple constitutes the launch of online portals that are specialized in marketing DRM-Free tracks. More and more customers are looking for music that doesnt restrict them to a certain number of copies or to a special device as it is the case with iTunes and the iPod. Although Apple is currently trying to improve its choice of DRM-Free tracks, it still lacks the greater choice and lower price of companies such as Amazon which could lead to custmers switching over from Apple to those in terms of DRM more convinincing sites. Also the threat of illegal download sites would have an negative impact, due to the availability of free digital content that could sway customers away from Apples iTunes. Opportunities: Although currently especially the youth customer segment is seen as the major target group for downloading, as these customers seem to be less restrictive towards new technologies, providing more substantial and sophisticated products and services for older and wealthier people could proof very profitable for Apple. With the launch of its iPhone Apple has already done an important move into the mobile phone market that might allow the company to challenge its biggest threat Nokia on their home market. As more and more customers are increasingly becoming aware of innovative techologies and of the benefits arising out of Internet downloading Apple should now take advantage of the great opportunities arising from the fast growing mobile phone download market by making its services directly downloadable to its iPhone as its rival Nokia has already done. Also, the upcoming change in the digital download industry towards ad-supported content could be an opportunity for Apple, if the compan y manages to strike advertising deals with companies that allow Apple to offer services for free to customers who agree to watching ads. This could bring a whole new bunch of customers to the company. Although these customers wont have to pay for the add-supported services, they will probably buy an iPod or an iPhone or another Apple hardware device. Resource Analysis:- The resources of an organisation include its human resource skills, the investment and the capital in every part of the organisation. Apple has advantages in the production and marketing of its new iPod music player and associated software that set the standards for the industry. It had also invested heavily in branding its products and the Apple retail stores that sold its products. All these were part of its resources. Apple takes supplies it buys in- such as components, energy, skills and capital equipment and then uses its own resources and expertise to create a product from these supplies- such as a computer or an iPod- that has a value which is higher than the combined value of all the supplies which have been used to make the product. Environmental Analysis:- Organisations need to develop corporate strategies that are best suited to their strengths and weaknesses in relation to the environment in which they operate. For example, Apple faces a highly competitive environment for its competitors in relation to the American companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard. In addition, the company had to cope with changing levels of economic growth in many markets around the world, which influenced the decisions of its customers to purchase new computers.

Figures of the Renaissance - Ferdinand Magellan :: essays research papers fc

Figures of the Renaissance Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan was a leader of the Renaissance and a benefactor to modern science. The results of his voyage around the globe were such that the average person living during the Renaissance re-thought their paradigms of the world surrounding them, even know most scholars and other educated types knew that in fact, the world was round in shape. Ferdinand, however, proved it. Thus he lays claim to having circumnavigated the first voyage around the world. Born 1480 to lesser nobles living near Vila Real in northern Portugal, Magellan was raised as a page to the Portuguese king John II in the royal court at Lisbon. Magellan was educated from then on, becoming interested in geography and astronomy, thus in 1496 he became a squire. In the year 1505 Magellan would get his first taste of the sea, at the age of 20. He was sent to India to install Portuguese viceroy Francisco de Almeida, as well as establish naval bases along the way. As it turns out, Magellan also had his first combat experience on this mission. A local king refused to pay a tribute to the king, and as such Magellan and Almeida’s party attacked, conquering the city of Kilwa in what is now modern-day Tanzania. Magellan continued to do well in his seafaring missions, and was eventually promoted to captain, when in 1510 he sailed a ship east without permission losing him his command and forcing him back to Portugal. After being sent on a mission against a Moorish-Morocc an force, he received a knee injury after which he was accused of illegal trade with the Moors. This coupled with a bad report of Magellan by Almeida to the Portuguese court after Magellan took leave without permission caused him to fall out of favor with current King Emanuel I, who told Magellan that after May 15, 1514. Thus Magellan renounced his nationality and changed his name from the Portuguese "Fernà £o de Magalhà £es" to the Spanish "Fernando de Magallanes" and sought to offer his services to the Spanish court. Upon reaching Spain, Magellan found friends and gained some amount of influence in the Spanish port of Seville. One such influence worth naming is Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, rival to Christopher Columbus. Somewhere along the way Magellan had acquired a map that indicated there was a passage through South America that led to the Pacific Ocean, Magellan believed that through this was a route to the Spice Islands, which in this time were very sought after within the spice trade.

Hannibal’s Life and Conquest

Research Paper Hannibal’s Life and Conquest Hannibal is one of the greatest generals of his time. To better understand Hannibal and his crusades against the Romans you must know a bit about his family history. Hannibal was only 25 years old when he was put in command of the Carthaginian armies and the Carthaginian government in Spain. Even at a young age he knew his responsibilities, so he kept his father's plan of military conquest and his brother-in-law`s policy of strengthening Carthaginian power by democracy. He is one of the sons of Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian leader.He had several sisters and two brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago. His brothers-in-law were Hasdrubal the Fair and the Numidian king Naravas. So his family is either well known or rich. He was still a child when his sisters married, and his brothers-in-law were close associates during his father's struggles in the Mercenary War and the Punic conquest of Iberia. To better understand Hannibal’s rise to grea tness one needs to look into his father’s history. After Carthage's defeat in the First Punic War, Hamilcar set out to improve his family's and Carthage's fortunes.With that in mind and supported by Gades, Hamilcar began the subjugation of the tribes of the Iberian Peninsula. Carthage at the time was in such a poor state that its navy was unable to transport his army to Iberia (Hispania); instead, Hamilcar had to march it towards the Pillars of Hercules and transport it across the Strait of Gibraltar. Hannibal had once asked his father and begged to go with him to war; Hamilcar agreed and demanded that he swear that as long as he lived he would never be a friend of Rome.There was a story stating that, Hannibal's father took him up and brought him to a sacrificial chamber. Hamilcar held Hannibal over the fire roaring in the chamber and made him swear that he would never be a friend of Rome. According to that tradition, Hannibal's oath had taken place in the town of Peniscola, today part of the community of Valencia, Spain. Hannibal's father soon went on the conquest of Hispania. His father soon died in the battle. Soon after Hannibal's brother-in-law Hasdrubal gained command of the army. Hasdrubal made Hannibal serve as an officer under him.Hasdrubal then pursued a policy of consolidation of Carthage's Iberian interests, even signing a treaty with Rome whereby Carthage would not expand north of the Ebro River, so long as Rome did not expand south of it. Hasdrubal also tried to consolidate Carthaginian power by doing diplomatic relationships with native tribes. As a part of his deals Hasdrubal arranged the marriage between Hannibal and an Iberian princess named Imilce. So Hannibal got hooked up with a wife. Soon enough though there was assassination of Hasdrubal around 221 B. C. E.It was the rise of the Great Hannibal was proclaimed as the commander-in-chief by the army and confirmed in his appointment by the Carthaginian government. This meant that not o nly was the leader of the military but also the political leader as well. Hannibal had spent two years consolidating his holdings and completing the conquest of Hispania south of the Ebro River. Rome however was started getting scared because of the growing strength of Hannibal in Iberia. Rome decided to make an alliance with the city of Saguntum, which lay a considerable distance south of the River Ebro and claimed the city as its protectorate.Which in a previous agreement they were breaking their treaty. Hannibal obviously perceived this as a breach of the treaty signed with Hasdrubal. So this forced Hannibal with his hands tied behind his back to siege to the city, which fell after eight months. Rome reacted to this (of course) apparent violation of the treaty and demanded justice from Carthage. Rome declared war on Carthage. This begins the second Punic War. I believe this was just all done to invoke a war. Because Hannibal's great popularity, the Carthaginian government did not make a fuss about Hannibal's actions.Hannibal was now determined to carry the war into the heart of Italy by a rapid march through Hispania and southern Gaul. After hearing the declaration of war Hannibal immediately starts off towards Rome. The problem was he had to go by land because Rome controlled the seas. Hannibal takes an army of thirty-five to forty thousand men, some on foot and others on horse, along with fifty war elephants across the Pyrenees and the Alps. Bad luck falls into Hannibal's lap as early snows and landslides kill many of his men and almost all of his war elephants.While traveling through the Alps he fights battles at Arausio and Genua, easily defeating the Roman warriors, although his troops are in horrible shape. He enters Italy with only twenty-six thousand men and five or six war elephants in September 218. Hannibal and his troops spent the winter in Po Valley. In the spring Hannibal was joined by the Gauls, northern Italians who were subdued into fightin g the Romans. Now Hannibal had a sufficient army of infantry and cavalry. The hardened Carthaginian troops easily crushed the Roman armies in their way, but without siege equipment the Carthaginians could not destroy the Roman cities.So instead of trying to siege the city they simple killed the Roman soldiers and moved on. (He was a bad ass mofo if you know what I mean. ) Sometimes the Romans would retreat into their city surrounded by high walls so that they would not die. In 217 Hannibal won a major battle at Lake Trasimene. The Romans counterattacked with some 25,000 men, but their consul, Gaius Flaminius, was defeated and killed in an ambush between the hills and the Trasimene lake. Two legions were annihilated. One legion for a roman army comprised about 5,000 men.Hannibal`s army along with the Gauls would roam the Italian countryside and destroy any opposing army. In 216 he defeated a huge Roman army at the city of Cannae in southwestern Italy. At Cannae the Romans loss was mu ch greater than that of Hannibal suffered. The Romans lost twenty-five thousand men and ten thousand were captured, on the other hand Hannibal only lost five thousand and seven hundred men. Hannibal, being a military genius, let the Romans advance at his main infantry, while his cavalry charged around the sides easily defeating two other groups of Roman infantry.Then after destroying the two side groups of Romans the cavalry swept around the back of the main Roman attack force. Hannibal used this strategy often because it worked so good that and the Romans had no to much pride in their formations. Even though he was killing Roman soldiers he was not destroying any cities. They were very frustrated and annoyed of Hannibal they needed him to get out of Italy, so the Romans sent armies led by Scipio, a great Roman general, to attack Carthage in Africa. Carthage ordered Hannibal to Africa to protect the city of Carthage.This was the clash of the titans, Hannibal vs. Scipio. They met at Zama, a city near Carthage. This would end up to be the final battle of the Second Punic War, and the great Hannibal would be the loser. Of course he lost with the exhaustion of all his troops and heading all the way back to Africa. Hannibal escaped but his army didn't. After the war Carthage had to pay Rome a very large sum of money and agree to terms that they could only wage war in Africa, even to the point where they needed Rome's permission. Hannibal returned to Carthage and became one of the two chief magistrates.He then challenged the aristocrats of being corrupt; the aristocrats told Rome that Hannibal was planning another attack on Rome with Antiochus III of Syria. Rome, already very pissed off with Hannibal, decided to deport Hannibal out of Carthage. Hannibal traveled to Syria and was made a member of the Syrian court. Vowed to his father's words embedded in his heart and mind he had advised Antiochus III to declare war against Rome. Antiochus III decided to go on this ad vice and wage war on Rome, this turned out to be called the Syrian War.Though soon after Syria was defeated and Hannibal left to become a member of the Prussian court. Hannibal and his awesome persuasion skills convinced Prussia to go to war against Rome. Instead of directly attacking Rome, Prussia attacked Rome's ally Pergamum. Rome came into the fight and demanded that Hannibal be handed over to them. Instead of being humiliated Hannibal took his own life. Hannibal Barca, being eternal enemies with Rome, fulfilled his father's words and while doing so became one the greatest generals of his time.He could almost come close to being as great as Alexander the Great. So the start of his greatness all started with his family and the first Punic War. If people were to talk about the Punic war it would be about 2nd Punic war and Hannibal. Just to spite the Romans in the end he ended up taking his own life so no Roman can have the justice to say they killed the Great Hannibal. References 1. Harold Lamb: Hannibal (Doubleday & Company, INC. , Garden City, New York 1958) 2. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hannibal 3. Cormac O’ Brien: Outnumbered (Fair Winds Press, Beverly, MA 2010) 4. ttp://www. livius. org/ha-hd/hannibal/hannibal. html 5. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hannibal [ 2 ]. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hannibal [ 3 ]. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hannibal [ 4 ]. Harold Lamb: Hannibal (Doubleday & Company, INC. , Garden City, New York 1958), 71 [ 5 ]. Harold 75-78 [ 6 ]. Harold 51-52 [ 7 ]. Harold 180 [ 8 ]. Cormac O’ Brien: Outnumbered (Fair Winds Press, Beverly, MA 2010), 53 [ 9 ]. http://www. livius. org/ha-hd/hannibal/hannibal. html [ 10 ]. Harold 259 [ 11 ]. Harold 152

Pragmatism and teachers role Essay

Pragmatism is an American philosophy from the early 20th century. According to Pragmatism, the truth or meaning of an idea or a proposition lies in its observable practical consequences rather than anything metaphysical. It can be summarized by the phrase â€Å"whatever works, is likely true.† Because reality changes, â€Å"whatever works† will also change — thus, truth must also be changeable and no one can claim to possess any final or ultimate truth. C.S. Peirce on Pragmatism: C.S. Peirce, who coined the term Pragmatism, saw it as more a technique to help us find solutions than a philosophy or solution to problems. Peirce used it as a means for developing linguistic and conceptual clarity (and thereby facilitate communication) with intellectual problems. He wrote: â€Å"Consider what effects, which might conceivably have practical bearings, we conceive the object of our conception to have. Then our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object.† William James on Pragmatism: William James is the most famous philosopher of Pragmatism and he’s the one who made Pragmatism itself famous. For James, Pragmatism was about value and morality: the purpose of philosophy was to understand what had value to us and why. James argued that ideas and beliefs have value to us only when they work. James wrote on Pragmatism: â€Å"Ideas become true just so far as they help us to get into satisfactory relations with other parts of our experience.† John Dewey on Pragmatism: In a philosophy he called Instrumentalism, John Dewey attempted to combine both Perice’s and James’ philosophies of Pragmatism. It was thus both about logical concepts as well as ethical analysis. Instrumentalism describes Dewey’s ideas the conditions under which reasoning and inquiry occurs. On the one hand it should be controlled by logical constraints; on the other hand it is directed at producing goods and valued satisfactions. What is the Role of a Teacher According to Pragmatism? According to pragmatism teacher is a friend, guide and philosopher to the child. He must educate the child in social environment so that he may attain social efficiency. There must be positive relationship between teacher and taught. His behavior towards children must be sympathetic. His attitude should be democratic and child must have academic freedom. His function is to suggest problems to his pupils and to stimulate them to find for themselves solutions which will work. His emphasis is not on the knowledge as arranged and systematized in the text-books. He wants the children to do one experiment or to have a particular experience. ‘Doing’ is more important than knowing. Like Socrates the Pragmatist teacher wants â€Å"his pupils to think and act for them, to do rather than to know, to originate rather than to repeat.† Pragmatism and School John Dewey maintains that school is a ‘Miniature Society’ here a child gets real experiences to act and behave according to his interests, aptitudes and capacities. Pragmatists regard school as a social institution where the child gains real experiences of actual life which develop in him social sense and a sense of duty towards society and the nation. Group games, working in laboratories and studying in libraries with others are the various activities and experiences which inculcate in children social qualities, social attitudes together with a spirit of mutual help and cooperative activities. In this way, according to Pragmatism the school is not a centre of education alone but it is also a community centre of various activities and experiences. Contribution of Pragmatism in Education Aims It lays more stress on social and vocational efficiency. Teacher It gives important place to teacher. Student It stresses on child-centered education. Teaching Method New teaching methods are the contribution of pragmatism. Curriculum It lays more stress on experience and learning by doing. Evaluation of Pragmatism Opposition of Pre-determined Ideas Pragmatism opposes pre-determined ideals and values. They are man-made and change according to the changes in circumstances, time and place. Opposition of Eternal Truth Pragmatism does not have any faith in eternal truth. Pragmatists believe that if the result of an activity is satisfactory then it is true otherwise not. No Fix System of Education. Pragmatism provides academic freedom to every institution which leads them nowhere. Pragmatism gives no fixed ideal to education. Such an education is bound to be fruitless. Emphasis on Material and Negation of Spiritual Values There is no room for spiritual values in pragmatism. It gives more Weight age to material values. Without spiritual values, we cannot achieve happiness, contentment and peace of mind and can go astray. Laxity in Discipline Pragmatism allows full freedom to the child who is not proper at the school stage and it leads to serious chaos and confusion. Condemnation of Formal Education Pragmatism advocates that all knowledge should be acquired through direct personal experiences. But knowledge is so vast and the span of life so short, that it is quite impossible to receive all knowledge through direct experiences. Hence acquiring all knowledge needs personal experiences and formal education both. Negation of the Past Pragmatism gives undue importance to the present. It ignores both past and future. The study of past is important to understand the present. Also there is need to link the present with future. Pragmatism is a Method Only. Pragmatism is not a philosophy of life but only a method of education, growth and development. In the words of William James â€Å"There is absolutely nothing new in the pragmatic method. It is just empirical attitude. It has no dogmas and no doctrines save its methods.† Pragmatism believes in Pluralism which is not proper. Merits of Pragmatism Project Method Project method is a gift of pragmatism. Through this method child attains knowledge by solving his practical problems. He performs the problematic acts in natural conditions. This method lays emphasis on learning through experiences. Importance of Child Opposing bookish knowledge and formal education, pragmatism lays great stress upon the development of child’s individuality by his own efforts. This makes education child- centre. Emphasis on Activity The principle of learning by doing is the main contribution of pragmatism. Children are active by nature. It emphasizes on the activity of the child. It prepares the child for future life in a very effective manner. Revolutionized the Process of Education This philosophy has infused life and zest in contribution. The concepts of ‘New Education’, ‘Progressive Education’ and Activity-centre curriculum which have changed the education outlook are the contribution of pragmatism. Social and Democratic Education Pragmatism infuses in a child a spirit of freedom, initiative, equality and also a sense of responsibility in relation to rights and duties of a citizen. This develops in the child love for democratic values and social efficiency which bring harmonious adjustment and development of personality. Progressive Attitude Pragmatism emphasizes the qualities of freedom initiative expression, experiences congenial, environment, purposeful creativity and development of human values for the welfare of whole mankind. In the words of Rusk â€Å"It is merely a stage in the development of a new Idealism that will do full justice to reality, reconcile the practical and spiritual values and result in a culture which is the flower of efficiency.† Pragmatism is an attitude and a way of living which, opposing the old doctrines of Idealism and Naturalism inspires the individual to look ahead and creates new values for an unknown future so that he leads a better, happier and a richer life.