Evaluate the impact of Larry Page on the field of Business Essay

Evaluate the impact of Larry Page on the field of Business - Essay Example This should be accompanied by the desire to grow the business to generate significant returns for all people involved (Gitman and McDaniel 2009, p. 5). Page has always championed a dual-class voting structure guided by a long-term focus in which the management team has control over the company’s destiny. Such a structure guarantees stability of the entity in the long-term by following the laid down innovative approach and awards the management significant control over the company’s decisions and fate (Scott 2008, p. 14). Larry Page and Sergey Brin can be regarded as possessing innovative, genius, and idealistic minds that made it possible for them to develop the world’s best search engine, Google. The search engine has heralded uncomplicated and efficient searching and generated a creative and game changing mode of advertising. The culture of the workplace that Page aided to develop over the years of the entity’s existence made it possible to develop fresh and innovative ideas. The two demonstrated that in creating value, one can be able to surpass competitions and structure better products that respond to user preferences. In its start up, Google changed the rule of the game based on what the other search engines used to operate. The core aim of Google is t organize the world’s information and make the company universally accessible and useful (Sloane 2007, p. 1). Google has grown to become the internet’s most popular search engine recording revenues that surpass $6 billion yearly, besides the company has entered into mainstream culture. The companys mantra, â€Å"do not be evil," detailing doing the best things for its users. Page demonstrates that it is essential to look to the future by targeting innovation as a tool for propelling collaboration, efficiency, and productivity. Page has also demonstrated the significance of establishing a strong vision in organizing the world’s information and rendering

New Media and Consumer Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

New Media and Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example The new media not only offers various benefits for consumers but also has allowed the consumers to promote their goods and services. Popular social and networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, eBay, YouTube etc. have made possible for the normal consumers to become suppliers and vendors through the new media. These revolutionary advancements challenge the typical business models which have been there since decades. The traditional ways of developing strategies, finding customers, marketing and advertising don’t seem that useful now. (HENNIG-THURAU ET AL.2010; EVANS & BRATTON.2008) SOCIAL MEDIA- THE NEW MEDIA: Social media is also called Web 2.0 which allows users to interact with each other through new technologies. The new technology has empowered the users which now allow them to share information in a way that wasn’t possible before. Social media includes networking sites, consumer review sites, online communities, journals and blogs controlled by individuals and com panies. Now days people need to involve in ‘conversation’, that is talk about the thing offered. ... Joiners utilize the sites, blogs etc by using them while spectators are silent viewers of the content who view and read the content uploaded by different participants. Inactive participants are online but they don’t take part in the conversation any aspect. Businesses now realize the importance of actively participating in these conversations and influencing user’s minds for marketing their products. (HAWKINS, MOTHERSBAUGH & MOOKERJEE.2011; EVANS & BRATTON.2008) New media can be explained as â€Å"Websites and other digital communication and information channels in which active consumers engage in behaviors that can be consumed by others both in real time and long afterwards regardless of their spatial location.† (HENNIG-THURAU ET AL.2010). New media is made up of interactive communication and information channeling platforms. According to mentioned explanation the new media allows users to exchange information anytime anywhere irrespective of their location. Thi s information can be utilized not only today but also in the long term. New media is digital which makes it cost effective. Like old means of exchange of information, there is no cost involved in producing digital copies as it can be accessed by millions of people on internet. Consumers, thorough the new media can actively participate in giving feedback about every aspect of value chain. New media is visible, that is any feedback, comments, reviews and blogs can easily be traced. The biggest advantage offered by the new media is the real time access and exchange of information at anytime. The feedback posted and received in instant through chats, videos, blogs and reviews, making it easier for other readers to make an opinion regarding the product. Additionally new media has made interaction possible among

Pricing Structure- ABC Costing System Case Study

Pricing Structure- ABC Costing System - Case Study Example This strategy was mainly tied to distribution division and supply chain of the company and as the company noticed the profit of the firm declined they arose a serious business issue. The main issue here is that the company found out that there was problem in the cost listed in the clients account and hence it directed discrepancy in the accounting of distribution division which needed immediate attention. The current pricing structure employed by the company is competitive pricing structure. The competitive pricing structure is a phenomenon where the price of the product of the company is set keeping in mind the price set by industry competitors. In this kind of pricing structure the focus is on the attributes of the product, its quality and company’s customer service. In this case study, it can found that the â€Å"Formula Plus† service is imposed taking in to consideration the competitive potential of the company’s product. Calculating the cost of the transaction driver with the help of ordering and receiving material cost and number of purchase order.Ordering and receiving material cost obtained from page 4 where total of the costs of the Distribution division were mentioned. The number of purchase order was obtained from the page 6 where average total stock obtained was mentioned to be 350,000 boxes. In a company, the inventory or stock refers to the material the company holds currently in the premises in order to sell on a future date. Basically, the inventories of a company are associated with certain costs. These cost related to obsolescence of the inventory, the capital invested in the inventory, the cost of the space used and cost of monitoring the inventory. Inventory financing basically means the company get financing with the help of a secured loan from bank. The capital charge for a business is usually calculated by multiplying gross income by the denoted beta assigned to the business venture. Since Les Papeteries

Importance of Water Essay Example for Free

Importance of Water Essay In order to fulfill his desires, man exploits the environmental factors to a greater extent, by which the environment loses its natural capacity for self-stabilization. The impact of mans various activities that are detrimental to the environment are: * Increase in population density. * Rapid urbanization * Massive industrial growth * Inadequate food and * Depletion of resources. To meet the increasing demands of time, human beings deliberately exploit the natural environment to improve their quality of life. Unknowingly, different environmental activities such as construction of roads dams, airports, buildings, irrigation projects, power plants and industries have some negative repercussions on the environment in which man lives. Thus, the developmental activities are unsustainable for global ecosystem. But we cannot stop these activities. For the development of the nation, these activities are essential. Industrial growth is directly related to nations economy. Construction of major and minor irrigation projects and development of new power plants must not be frozen. Hence at the present context, when man has reached at twenty first century, no body would want for technological stagnation. On the other hand, excessive exploitation of the environment through these technological implications leads to disaster. Hence, there is the problem of one word pollution. So what is needed is the environmental management and sustainable development. Sustainable development is implied to regulate the demands of man in such a manner that the ability of the same environment to sustain his development will remain un-repaired,. — is the version of Bindu N. Lohani. Hence much emphasis is given on environmental management and sustainable development. It is as a discipline by itself is growing rapidly and no way it proposes to halt economic growth and to stop technical development; rather it aims at achieving that sustainable rate of economic growth which is necessary to meet mans material needs whilst conserving scarce natural resources and protecting both the external and the internal environments, says Dr.  Uma Shankar, senior faculty member of Management Development Institute, New Delhi. Hence, sustainable development and environmental management are essential for improvement both the quality of the environment and the quality of human life. For that source areas are identified to give utmost priorities.

Research Methodology into Ratio Analysis of HSBC Bank

Research Methodology into Ratio Analysis of HSBC Bank In this project my aim is to analysis the Ratio Analysis to find financial position of the HSBC bank by using the financial tools and also to know the functions of Internet Banking System in HSBC Bank. This study based on financial statement such as Ratio analysis and financial performance. This project helps to identify and give suggestion the area of weaker position of business transaction in HSBC. This study is made to evaluate the Ratio analysis as per trend analysis. Here I have given the Title, Aim, Objectives of the project, Introduction and background of the company chosen. It also gives the summary regarding the literature review, methodology using for the research, data collection methods and data analyzing procedures. Introduction: Finance is very essential for every business to run successfully. To run the business every organization will need financial support. In our present economy finance is defined as the provision of money at the time when it is required. Every enterprise whether big or small needs finance to carry on its target. In fact finance is so indispensable today. It can be said as blood of an enterprise. Without adequate finance no enterprise can possible accomplish its objectives. In the early years of its evolution it was treated synonymously with the rising of funds. In the current literature pertaining to financial management a broader scope so as to include in addition to procurement of funds efficient use of resources is universally recognized. Nowadays internet is widely used by all sectors of people. Today bank has introduced various facilities through internet. E-Banking is a revolution that changes the banking system around the world. E-Banking is more comfortable for the customers and bank. Title: Critically analyzing the ratios of HSBC bank to study the financial performance of bank during 2010-2011 and also study the functions of internet banking system in HSBC bank. Aim: To study the financial performance of HSBC bank by analyzing the financial ratios from the past five years financial data and also study the role of internet banking system in HSBC bank. Objective of the study: To analyze and evaluate the financial performance of HSBC Bank To study the growth of HSBC in terms of comparative analysis and trend analysis of financial statements for the past five years, from 2006 to 2010. To study the roles of Internet Banking in HSBC To review the benefits of internet banking to customer and bank To make suggestions recommendations for improving the financial position Rationale: Personal Rationale: As I am a finance student, am very much interested in doing the ratio analysis of the company because of that we can able to know the financial performance of any company. I am very eager to know the financial status of the HSBC bank always. Because this bank is globalized bank, it is in every part of the world. Now it has introduced the lot of facility in Internet banking that benefits the customers. I have the relationship with the bank for the past five years. So, I personally interest in doing with HSBC Bank financial performance and internet banking sector. Organizational Rationale: As it is bank, we have wide range of information available in website, articles, journals, magazines and newspapers. HSBC employees are very friendly to their customers. They are always ready to explain their roles of internet banking system. For the financial data, we will able to get the financial statement from their website so there is no lack of information availability. Policy Rationale: The system and the procedures followed by the HSBC bank is also one of my interests to choose the HSBC bank. This bank follows the banking rules and regulations given by the government and fair trade practice. Thats make the customer safety banking. In internet banking system, there are many options for doing the transaction easily and safely. Academic Rationale: There are more resources available for doing this work. There are many financial books available to elaborate the ratio analysis. We have studied in deep about the ratio analysis and Internet banking system. IMPORTANCE OF THIS STUDY The subject matter of financial management is of immense interest for every financial analyzer. It needs special attention because of the complexities involve in managing cash in present day banking function. The important aspect is the estimation of how much of finance. The business organization requires and for what purpose. The most important area of financial management is the working capital management. Here the study tries to reveal the banks position and performance by evaluating the relationship between various components parts of financial statements. Ration analysis has been taken as a tool in assessing the performance of the company in respect of the following aspects. Liquidity Position .Long-term solvency. Profitability. Activity. This study helps to know the usage and the benefits of internet banking system This study helps to study the functions of internet banking in UK HSBC bank Literature Review: 1 RATIO ANALYSIS Ratio analysis is one of the techniques of financial analysis where ratios are used as a yardstick for evaluating the relationship between component parts of financial statements to obtain a better understanding of the firms position and performance. It is used as tool by the company or individual to analysis the quantitative performance of the company financial statement. Meaning Ratio is relationships expressed in mathematical terms between figures which are connected with each other in some manner. Ratio will be calculated from current year figures and it is compared with previous year in order to know the financial performance of the company. It is defined as the systematic use of ratio to interpret the financial statements so that the strengths and weaknesses of a firm as well as its historical performance and current financial condition can be determined. The importance of ratio analysis relies in the fact that it presents facts on a comparative basis Conclusions can be drawn regarding the liquidity position of a firm. It is useful for assessing the long-term financial viability of a firm. It throws light on the degree of efficiency in the management and utilization of its assets. It helps in inter-firm comparison and also with industry averages. Liquidity Ratios: It is the ratio which is used to determine the companys capacity to pay its short- period debt obligations. If the value of the ratio is high, then the margin of safety will become high so that the company able to cover its short term debts. Liquidity ratio includes Current ratio, Quick/Acid ratio and Operating cash flow ratio. Current Ratio It is a quantitative relationship between current assets and current liabilities and indicates and enterprises ability to meet the current obligation. Current assets refer to liquid resources and must be sufficient enough to pay current liabilities when they mature. A relatively high current ratio is an Indication that the firm has ability to pay its current obligations in time as and on the other hand a relatively low current ratio represents that the firm shall not be able to pay its current liabilities in time without facing difficulties. An increase in the current ratio represents improvement in the liquidity position of a firm while a decrease in the current ratio indicates that there has been deterioration in the liquid assets of the firm. The ratio equal to the rule of thumb is 2:1. Quick/Acid Test Ratio: The ratio is ascertained by companys liquid assets and current liabilities. Here liquid assets are those assets which are immediately convertible in to cash without much loss. It is also known as liquidity ratio. It shows the ability of the enterprise to meet its short term obligation without sale and collection of inventories. LeverageRatios: It is the ratio which is used to calculate the financial leverage of the company inorder to know the methods of financing using by the company and to measure the ability of the company to meet its financial obligations. Debt-equity Ratio This ratio indicates the relative proportions of debt and equity in financing the assets of a firm. One approach is to express the debt-equity ratio in terms of the relative proportion of long-term debt and shareholders equity. The debt considered here is exclusive of current liabilities. It is an important tool of financial analysis to appraise the financial structure of a firm. A high ratio shows a large share of financing by the creditors of the firm, a low ratio implies a smaller claim of creditors. Interest Coverage Ratio : These ratios are computed from information available in the profit and loss account. It is also known as time-interest earned ratio. This ratio measures the debt servicing capacity of a firm insofar as fixed interest on long-term loan is concerned. It is determined by dividing the operating profits or earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) by the fixed interest charges on loans. Proprietary Ratio: This ratio indicates whether the firm is employing a reasonable proportion of debt or if heavily loaded with debt in which case its solvency is exposed to serious strain. This ratio relates the owners/proprietors funds with total assets. The ratio indicates the proportion of total assets financed by owners. PROFITABILITY RATIOS: This ratio helps to access the ability of business in order to generate the earnings of the business by comparing the expenses and relevant costs during the specific period of time. Net profit Ratio: This measures the relationship between net profits and sales of a firm. Depending on the concept of net profit employed. A high net profit margin would ensure adequate return as well as enable a firm to with stand adverse economic conditions when selling price is declining cost of production is rising and demand for the product is failing. A low net profit merging would have the opposite implications. Return on Assets: Thus profitability ratio is measured in terms of this relationship between net profit and assets. This may also be called profit-to-asset ratio. The concept of net profit may be net profits after taxes net profits after taxes plus interest and net profits after taxes plus interest minus tax savings. Assets may be defined as total assets fixed assets and tangible assets. Return on capital Employed: The term capital employed refers to long-term funds supplied by the creditors and owners of the firm. Here the profits are related to the total capital employed. It can be computed as The capital employed provides a test of profitability related to the sources of long-term funds. The higher the ratio the more efficient is the use of capital employed. A comparison of this ratio with similar firms with the industry average and over time would provide sufficient insight into how efficiently the long-term funds of owners and creditors are being used. Debtor turnover ratio: Debtor turnover ratio indicates the number of times the debtors are turned over during the year. Generally if the value of debtor turnover is high, then there is more efficient in the management of debts and sales. OTHER RATIOS Fixed Assets Ratio This ratio relates the net assets and the long-term funds. Here the ratio should be high. That is the handling of fixed asset should be greater than the long-term funds at an appropriate level. E-Banking: Electronic banking system is the system that allows the individual to do the banking activities by sitting in one place. Electronic funds transfer means doing the financial transactions electronically. This is used for the number of different activities like electronic payments and card transactions where the holder makes payment by using their credit or debit cards.[Brain Dixon and Mary Dixon 2006] Internet banking is also called as online banking, it is an outgrowth of PC banking. Internet banking uses the internet as the delivery channel for conducting banking activity, it is used for the purpose of transferring funds, paying bills, helps to checking and saving account balances, paying mortgages and also help to purchase financial instruments.[Benton E Gup 2005] According to Richard H Baker, advancement in technology helps to develop the system of internet banking. According to industry analysts, internet banking provides many facilitiies Able to access the banking at any time World wide connectivity Very easy to access the information by transacting data Direct customer control of international movement of funds without intermediation of financial institutions in customers jurisdiction According to the report of Global Market for Internet Banking, more than 172 banks in Europe are running the internet banking system and they are very successful in running online banking. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH Research is a process in which the researcher wishes to find out the end result for a given problem and thus the solution helps in future course of action. The research has been defined as A careful investigation or enquiry especially through search for new facts in branch of knowledge RESEARCH DESIGN Redman and Mory (1923) defined research as a systematic effort to gain new knowledge According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining or redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or giving solutions, collecting, organizing, evaluating the data, making deductions and reaching conclusions and at carefully testing the conclusion to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis The research design used in this project is Analytical in nature the procedure using, which researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the performance. With particular reference to working capital management, for the prosecution of the study, both the primary and secondary data. DATA COLLECTION METHOD: Primary Data: Primary data is the information collected by the researcher in first hand. This data is collected by the researcher inorder to analysis the research. Primary data is collected from the field organization selected that is from the employees, customers and observing the real life situations. The main benefit of the primary data is collected only for the specific study so it is more relevant to the study. But there is disadvantage for the collection of primary data it involves more cost and time. It is not suitable for short term study. Primary data for this proposal will be collected from the employees and customers of HSBC bank inorder to know how they run the internet banking system and the functions and benefits of internet banking system in HSBC bank. Primary research may be quantitative and qualitative research. Qualitative research is the method where the researcher set the questionnaire which will give to large number of respondents (Hair, Wolfinbarger, Ortinau, and Bush, 2008, p81). Based on the responses the data will be analysed. In this study, questionnaire will be given to the customers and employees of HSBC bank to analyse the data regarding the functions of Internet Banking. Secondary Data Secondary data is the information which is collected already and it is used for some other studies by different researcher. This data not only used for the current study. The sources of secondary data are books, journals, articles, newspapers, internet, government, corporate reports and library. The advantage of this data it is easily available and also very cheap compared to primary data. In this study we are using secondary data for the analyses of ratio in order to know the financial performance of HSBC bank. From the annual reports maintained by the company. Data are collected from the companys website. Books and journals pertaining to the topic. Research Approach: There are two types of research approaches Inductive and Deductive approaches. Inductive approach is the approach that starts with specific objectives and become generalized. It begins by identifying the issue by observation or being informed. Deductive approach is the approaches where the conclusions derived from the situation. It begins with general situation and ends by identifying the specific issue. Arguments based on the rules, laws and regulation will be using deductive approaches and the argument based on the observations will be using the inductive approaches. SAMPLING PROGRESS Sampling: It is the process of choosing small number of people for doing the research from the large population. That sample group will be tested, analyzed by assuming that sample group represents the entire group (Crouch, S. and Housden, M., 1996, p116). Sampling Unit In this research the target populations are the customers of HSBC Bank Alperton Branch. The sizes of the sampling will be 100 customers. Sampling type will be random choosen among the large population group. From the total sample size the study will be done for the 10 customers and 5 employees of HSBC bank. Ethnography procedure will be used for analyzing the data based on the data collection method. In this method it takes account of words, context and non-verbals. STATISTICAL TOOLS Tool for Data Collection Questionnaire will be used as a tool for data collection as it provides the advantages of allowing the respondents to answer at their convenience and faster data collection. The questionnaire explicitly stated the purpose of study as academic and assured confidentiality of information solicited from the respondent. Percentage method This method is used in making comparison between two are more series of data. Percentages are used to describe relationship. Percentages can also be used to compare the relative terms, the distribution of two or more series of data. The data collected through questionnaire response method was analyzed in the following manner: Raw data will be coded and tabulated and the tabulated data will be converted into percentages, to show the percentage of opinion among respondents. Percentage analysis thus involves the simple interpretation / analysis of the various items taken up in the questionnaire on a percentage basis from the data collected. Interpretations of the graphs also include mean scores obtained by the organization on every aspect / item as calculated. Number of respondent Percentage of Respondents =  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­___________________________________ * 100 Total number of people questioned Weighted average method Weighted average method is defined as an average whose component items are multiplied by certain value (weights) and the aggregate of the products are divided by the total of weights In the Weighted Average Method, the weighted average can be calculated by the following formula K XW = ÃŽÂ µ WX/ ÃŽÂ µX Here XW represents the weighted average X1, X 2, X3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Xn represents the value for variable values W1, W2, W3 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Wn represents the weight age given to the variable. Steps:- Multiply the weights(W) by the variables(X) to obtain WX Add all WX to obtain ÃŽÂ µWX Divide ÃŽÂ µWX by sum of the weights (ÃŽÂ µX) to get weighted average. Correlation: Correlation is the techniques of determining the degree of correlation between two variables in case of ordinal data where ranks are given to the different values of the variables. Spearmans coefficient of correlation (or) 1 6 à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœdi  ² r = _____________ n (n ² 1) TOOLS OF ANALYSIS Ratio Analysis. Comparative Balance Sheet. Trend Analysis Conclusion: This dissertation proposal starts with the introduction of finance, and helps to know the importance of finance for banking sector. The researcher will work towards the financial ratios of HSBC bank from the sources of annual reports, financial statements like balance sheet in orer to know the financial position of HSBC bank and analyze the role of internet banking in HSBC by getting the data from the bank customer and employees.

Sociological Perspective: Westboro Baptist Church

Sociological Perspective: Westboro Baptist Church Kyle Mahoney A counterculture is a subculture that rejects the major values, norms, and practices of the larger society, replacing them with a new set of cultural patterns (Thomas); the Westboro Baptist Church is an example of a counterculture due to its rejection of societal norms such as respect for the dead and acceptance of others, especially LGBT people, Jewish people, other Christian people, and African-Americans and black people in general. Their messages of extreme hatred for minorities, Jewish people, and those who do not share the same beliefs as them as well as their extremely aggressive use of media attention to further their hateful agenda, show that they are rebelling against norms, major values, and practices of the larger society, namely respect for others and an inclusive, caring attitude towards minorities. By using media attention and publicity, they are actively and aggressively trying to spread their hateful message and make others feel the same way they do about minorities, other religions, and the LGBT community. In the BBC documentary The Most Hated Family in America, one of the leaders of the group said that the Westboro Baptist Church was not in the process of attempting to convert sinners or grow their church, and that their real purpose was to provoke people and spread the hatred of God, to make people sympathize with the hatred that the Westboro Baptist Church shows. This leader then proceeds to talk about how the churchs goal is to plant the seeds of Gods hatred in the hearts and minds of others (OConnor). Pastor Fred Phelps, after dropping out of West Point and graduating with a ministerial degree from Jones College, began serving as Westboro Baptist Churchs pastor in 1955, and he and his family are the leaders of the church and its actions (Westboro Baptist Church). In 1967 the Westboro Baptist Church became not-for-profit. The group became fairly active in picketing, releasing statements regarding homosexuality and other things they viewed as sins, and anti-semitism in the 1990s onward. The majority of the Churchs membership is constituted of its founder Fred Phelps family. The first time the church truly gained media attention was in 1998, when Westboro picketed the funeral of a gay murder victim named Matthew Shephard. The group had signs saying God hates fags, among other extremely derogatory statements (Anti-Defamation League). The group also attempted to build a granite monument to Shephard, with his name and an anti-gay bible verse on it; their request to build this monument i n a public park was denied (Southern Poverty Law Center). The group truly came into the public spotlight in 2005, when they began to actively picket and protest deceased soldiers funerals, toting signs saying Thank God for dead soldiers and Thank God for IEDs, which brought them national attention from the media (Anti-Defamation League). In March 2006, the Westboro Baptist Church picketed the funeral of Matthew Snyder, who had served in Iraq. Albert Snyder, Matthews father, sued the Westboro Baptist Church for defamation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. The case eventually came before the Supreme Court of the United States in 2010 (Southern Poverty Law Center). The Supreme Court of the United States held that the Westboro Baptist Church was within their First Amendment rights while protesting and picketing funerals, and that their hateful speech was protected by their First Amendment rights as well (Snyder v. Phelps ET AL. ). Westboro Baptist Church remains active to th is day, and according to their website they have conducted 59,091 pickets as of this writing (Westboro Baptist Church). The group has also been banned from certain countries after threatening to picket funerals, namely the United Kingdom and Canada (Southern Poverty Law Center). The group is significant in the fact that they receive large amounts of media attention and that they are known for protecting their right to free speech in court, and the group actively challenges laws protecting the United States flag from desecration (Anti-Defamation League). Their ideology is an extremist Christian view that manifests itself as hatred towards basically all groups save the Westboro Baptist Church; focusing on minority groups and military. The sociological perspective is defined as being able to look beyond commonly held beliefs to see the bigger picture and the true meanings behind human actions (Thomas 4-5). A major driver of the Westboro Baptist Church is the fact that almost all of its key members are related, and that the children raised in the church are essentially brainwashed into thinking that they are right and all other groups or opinions are wrong. The group seems to simply spew hatred, but they truly believe that by spreading hateful ideas they are spreading the word of God to everyone (TED). The sociological imagination is defined as being able to see the connection between the larger world and ones personal life (Thomas 4-5 ). This group has affected the world by spreading hateful ideas, and act as a force that the greater culture rallies against, due to the Westboro Baptist Churchs disregard of mores like respecting the dead, the United States flag, and soldiers. Legally, this group is significant for p roving on the Supreme Court level that their picketing is legal and protected by the first Amendment (Snyder v. Phelps ET AL. ), along with their challenging of laws that protect the flag from desecration, and the group raises questions about the limits of first Amendment rights. Ethnocentrism is defined as viewing ones own culture or group as superior to another culture or group (Thomas 35), and by viewing American culture as superior it is easy to see why the Westboro Baptist Church is seen as a counterculture. The American people value diversity, it is often stressed in our society that it is good to be different or that everyone is unique; the Westboro Baptist Church rebels against this value in diversity, stating that other groups are inherently inferior as designed by God, and that these inferior groups deserve to die and burn in hell (Westboro Baptist Church). American culture also values the flag, which Westboro Baptist Church is known for desecrating and overturning laws protecting the flag. Most of all American culture values veterans, active duty soldiers, and the deceased, which Westboro Baptist Church actively pickets with signs reading Thank God for IEDs among other travesties (Westboro Baptist Church), showing that they are rebelling against ma jor mores that are valued by American culture. The groupss supremacist attitude, along with their hatred of homosexuals, the Jewish, and blacks, define them as a counterculture which rebels against the mores regarding diversity and freedom for all. Their hatred for soldiers and even the practice of funerals only serves to further prove they are a counterculture; by picketing funerals of soldiers the group is rebelling against major values and mores of society (Anti-Defamation League). Cultural relativism is defined as judging a culture by their own standards rather than imposing another cultures standards on a culture (Thomas 36). By applying cultural relativism to the Westboro Baptist Church, it is easy to see that the groupss member believe they are justified, and that what they are doing may be hateful, but it is hateful because God wants the group to spread hate. The group views itself as the only real religion that God will recognize, and views all other groups, even fellow Christians, as sinners destined for hell. The group feels that it is justified in its hatred of homosexuality because homosexuality is seen as a sin in the bible (Westboro Baptist Church). The group pickets funerals because they believe that funerals are where people will be most receptive to their ideas, and the group pickets soldiers funerals more often because they believe that the military is sinful and that the military is protecting the rights of homosexuals (Westboro Baptist Church) . The group is so invested in what they believe to be Gods divine mission for them that they do not care if they receive hate in return, and they believe that they are justified in disregarding major values, practices, and norms of society. Personally, as someone who was raised with a Protestant church background, as well as someone possessing black, Jewish, veteran, Catholic, and homosexual family members, I abhor and reject the practices of the Westboro Church; I see their actions as extremely disrespectful and devoid of anything that God would support, as the bible speaks more about inclusivity and loving sinners than spreading hatred. Although by taking a culturally relative view of the groups actions, I believe they are too extreme in showing that homosexuality is a sin, and as someone who no longer identifies as Christian I believe that people should be allowed to love who they want regardless of gender. I am not by any means a theologian or an ardent Christian, but I still believe that the Westboro Baptist Churchs extremist views, although protected by the first Amendment, are to be abhorred. I also strongly believe that the dead, especially those who died in active duty, should be held to the highest levels of r espect and honor, and I believe that the greater American culture is in concurrence with me in this belief. Westboro Baptist Church is important to the world because it has a global impact and brings issues regarding free speech and how far extension of free speech goes, and I hope that in the future the Westboro Baptist Church will never come to represent the majority opinion of Americans, because their hatred of others is disgusting. I believe that taking a certain degree of ethnocentrism is necessary when dealing with the Westboro Baptist Church because their ideals are so hateful that they can bring out hatred in others, and ethnocentrism acts as a barrier to stop their hatred from spreading. To conclude, Westboro Baptist Churchs extremist Christian views are so opposite to the major mores of American society that it makes them a counterculture, and the Westboro Baptist Church is an extremely hateful group that hopefully will not stand the test of time. References The Most Hated Family in America. Dir. Geoffrey OConnor. Perf. Louis Theroux. 2007. Documentary. Anti-Defamation League. Westboro Baptist Church. n.d. Archived Website. 10 March 2017. Snyder v. Phelps ET AL. . No. 09-751. Supreme Court of the United States. 6 October 2010. Court Case. Southern Poverty Law Center. SPL Center. n.d. Website. 7 March 2017. TED. I Grew Up in the Westboro Baptist Church. This is why I left. February 2017. Video. Thomas, W Laverne. Sociology- The Study of Human Relationships. Austin: Holt,Rinehart, Winston, 2003. 39, 4-5, 35, 36. Textbook. Westboro Baptist Church. God Hates Fags. n.d. Website. 10 March 2017.

History Of Space Exploration :: Space Exploration Essays

In our history many great things have happened. We have been inventing and exploring things since day one. Many of these things that we discovered or invented we thought would never be possible in earth's life time. But they exists now, today, they are used by almost every human being and there are many more incredible and unmanageable things to come and aid us in every day life. One of the most interesting things to me would fall under exploration and inventing. You are about to venture in to the history of space and learn how man and mans objects have gotten there. The exploration in space dates back over 40 years ago, January, 31 of 1958 to be exact. On this date Explorer 1, which was the first U.S. satellite to be fired in space and its unknown, to orbit earth. It lifted off from Cape Canaveral using a modified Jupiter-C rocket called ABMA-JPL. It carried a scientific experiment of James A. Van Allen, and discovered the Earth's radiation belt. Along with defeat and triumph also come disappointment and failure. In March 5 of 1958 Explorer 2 was launched by another Jupiter-C rocket and failed to reach orbit. October 1, 1958 NASA was founded, taking over existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics and only ten days later U.S. - IGY space probe was launched to a incredible height of 70,700 miles. On March 3 of 1959 Pioneer 4, an U.S.-IGY space probe is launched by a Juno II rocket, and achieves an earth-moon trajectory, passing within 37,000 miles of the moon. It then fell into a solar orbit, becoming the first U.S. sun orbiter. About a year later Tiros 1 was fired into earth's orbit and became the first successful weather satellite for the United States. Then on August 18 of the same year, 1960, Discoverer XIV was launched and became the first U.S. camera-equipped Corona spy satellite. On July 14, 1965, They U.S. Mariner 4 returned the first close-range images of Mars. The above paragraph explains some of the earliest satellites, spy satellites, and probes that were sent into space to explore the unknown and the "Impossible". May 5 of 1961 Mercury Freedom 7 carried Alan B. Shepard, Jr., who was the first U.S. astronaut in space, in a suborbital flight. This United States' first manned space flight project was successfully accomplished in a 4 2/3 year period of dynamic activity. During this time they saw more than 2,000,000 people from many major government agencies and much of the aerospace industry and combined their skills, initiative, and experience into a national effort. Also during this 4 and 2/3 period six other manned space flights