Us At The End Of 19-Th Century Essays - Imperialism,

Us At The End Of 19-Th Century ap history AP History Chapter 22 Historian Frederick Turner said, that frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history. Continental America had been settled by the turn of the century. Some say it is time for America to have a new frontier and that it might be found overseas. During the turn of the century, the United States become very involved in the affairs of the world. The United States would annex Hawaii and control the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. They would also build a canal in Panama to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. These actions caused many people overseas to call the United States imperialistic and to fear what it might do next? During the 1890's, Hawaii was in an economic depression that needed help from the United States government. Also, in 1893, wealthy Americans overthrew the queen and immediately sought annexation to the United States. These wealthy Americans who were involved in sugar cane, wanted to be annexed so they could benefit from American tariffs. Though the United States, could not help for Hawaii was not a state in the Union. President Cleveland was opposed to the forced annexation and withdrew a treaty of annexation. Though after the Spanish-American War, Hawaii was able to gain attention as expansionists envisioned ships sailing from the eastern seaboard through a Central American canal to Hawaii and then on to China. It took President McKinley to successfully maneuvered annexation through Congress by means of a majority vote. Cuba was also played a part in American foreign affairs during the turn of the century. After the United States imposed the Wilson-German Tariff, Cuba, depending on imports heavily, fell in to a deep economic crisis. This caused the Cubans to launch a revolution in 1895. Though the Spanish government did provide modified reconcentration and promised some autonomy for Cuba. President McKinley was a known imperialist that wanted independence of Cuba achieved without an U.S. war if possible. Though the revolution seemed to have no end, so the U.S. set the battleship Maine to demonstrate U.S. concern and protection for Americans in Cuba. After its explosion, the U.S. declared war on Spain. The U.S. forces would quickly defeat the Spanish in Cuba and also in the Philippines. The U.S. took the Philippines saying that it was a Spanish colony even though the war was going on in another hemisphere. There were also other incidences in other parts of the world. The U.S. asked China to keep an Open Door policy. This meant that China had to respect the principle of equal trade opportunity for all nations in their spheres of influence. This caused the Boxers to hold hostage foreign legations in Beijing. The United States would then send troops to suppress the revolt and send another letter requesting open door policy. Through this Open Door policy the United States was able to control and dominate trade in China and in other nations. The Open Door was not just a policy. It was also an ideology with several tenets: first, that American's domestic well being required exports. Second, that foreign trade would suffer interruption unless the U.S. intervened abroad to implant American principles and keep foreign markets open. Third, that the closing of any area to American products, citizens, or ideas threatened the survival of the United States. In conclusion, people overseas had great reason to call the United States imperialistic. The economic benefits sugar cane in Hawaii caused the United States to annex it despite opposition from native Hawaiians and Japan. The capturing of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean during the Spanish-American War made people to believe that the United States was creating an empire. There idea of Open Door policy lead many to fear the United States because of the tight control that it gave them over other countries. During the turn of the century, the United States were lead by political and the bu siness elite who wanted imperialism. Political Issues

Mobile Communication Satellite Systems The WritePass Journal

Mobile Communication Satellite Systems Introduction Mobile Communication Satellite Systems IntroductionReferences:Related Introduction In this era of 21st century one cannot imagine human life without mobile communication. From mobile handsets to computers, smart-phones to laptops, iPads and Cable Television systems everything is part of this mobile communication era. As the countries are progressing, competition among them is increasing all over the world. With the advancement in technology lives of people are getting faster and busier, businesses and industries are expanding globally, therefore, the demand for mobile communication is increasing immensely with every passing day. Scientists, researchers and engineers are always looking for ways to serve the world with this demanding technology in every possible way. During the last 25 years there has been a tremendous growth in the field of satellite communication. The idea of using the Satellite Systems for mobile communication has appealed to many people in the past and it still continue to do so. There has been an extensive research going on in this particular area globally. A lot of progress has been achieved so far but it is a fact that advancement in technology can probably never end. As the demand for communication is increasing, means and resources to carry out this communication are often limited. For instance if communication of information is to take place between the countries that are hundreds of miles apart, across the ocean, the typical wired medium cannot always be used. And also how are we supposed to communicate when we are not connected to the land communication systems by any means? Here satellite systems come into play. With the help of satellite systems we can provide mobile communication services even to very fast moving vehicles, to the aircrafts during flights, to ships and submarines in oceans, and also to remote areas of earth where there is no communication infrastructure. So in this way we are able to provide services to the areas where application of wired cable medium is not always practically possible. Satellites are the object that revolves around the earth in fixed orbits. These satellites are at typically 400 km to 36000 km above the earth surface. Our purpose of communication over long distances is served by these satellites. Another advantage of using the satellite systems for communication is that they can cover a very large geographical area over the earth surface to provide communication means. When we are using a satellite system we are not limited by the problem factors that we encounter on earth such as laying hundreds of miles of expensive cables, space and land to store machinery and equipment to handle this sort of communication, buildings to handle all the infrastructure needed etc. Therefore, Satellite Systems are often given a thought as a better alternative for mobile communication. Before we look into the details of how mobile communication takes place through these satellites, we need to first understand the satellite systems in general as well to have a better understanding of how the whole technology works. Satellites are sent into space from earth. When in space above the earth surface, these satellites are made to revolve around the earth in fixed orbits with the help of gravitational force of the earth. To understand the phenomenon we can take a very simple and well known example from nature and that is of the Moon. Moon is the natural satellite and as it revolves around the earth, it shines over a huge geographical region of the earth. In a similar fashion, man made artificial satellites, though not as big as the moon but still, covers a considerably large section of the earth to provide communication. These artificial telecommunication satellites can be in four different kinds of orbits above the earth surface depending on the purpose they were sent into space. These can either be geo-stationary orbits, elliptical orbits, medium earth orbit or low earth orbits. In geo-stationary orbits, as shown in Figure 1, the satellite remains at a fixed location over the earth surface which means it covers the same geographical region of the earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Figure1: Geo-Stationary Orbit Elliptical orbits are used when satellites are required to cover a certain geographical area of the earth for longer period of time than the other geographical region of the earth. Figure 2 displays in general a satellite in an elliptical orbit. Figure2: Elliptical Orbiting Satellite Medium earth orbit is between 5000 km to 15000 km above the earth surface. While in low earth orbits, satellites revolve around the earth in circular orbit at about 400 km above the earth surface. Figure 3 depicts the low earth orbits (LEO) and medium earth orbits (MEO) of a satellite. Figure3: LEO and MEO orbiting Satellite Three types of services can be offered by a telecommunication satellite. First is FSS (Fixed Satellite Services), which is for long distance telecommunication services provided by different telecommunication networks on earth stations. Second is DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite services), which is used for direct Television signals broadcasting from large earth stations. And third is MSS (Mobile Satellite Services), which is used to provide mobile communication services to different stations on earth. In the year 1976, Mobile Satellite Communication was started by Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT), which is a US based company belonging to the field of telecommunications. The communication satellites launched by them were called MARISAT (Maritime Satellites) and later an International Maritime Satellite organization (INMARSAT) was formed which now provides Mobile Satellite Communication Services [1]. Earlier satellite communication used to take place by routing calls and information from public landline to an earth station first, and then forwarding them to the satellite. But now mobile communication can take place directly between a satellite and a station or handset on earth. This entire phenomenon fantastically sounds simple but there can be few problems as well in using satellites for mobile communications. For instance, keeping the satellite in its orbit is not an easy task. The orbital motion does not depend only upon the earth’s gravitational pull. When a satellite is in its orbit, its orbit is also affected by the presence of other bodies such as the Moon and Sun. Moreover, our earth is not a perfect sphere so its own gravitational force on a satellite can vary at different locations and the Moon and Sun have their own gravitational forces as well that affects the path of a satellite. Under all these circumstances, satellites do drift from their original path which needs to be adjusted in order to keep the satellite on track. To transmit and receive signals, these telecommunication satellites have a number of antennas to receive signals from one mobile earth station and transmit it to one or more mobile earth station. There is a Doppler Shift as well in the transmitted signal which occurs because of the movement of the satellite and rotation of the earth about its own axis. Mobile communication satellite systems can provide services to those areas that cannot get services from networks on earth. These systems can be of three possible forms [2]. First is that a direct link to the gateway of satellite station can be given to a mobile earth station to connect to the network. Second is that a mobile earth station can be connected to a translator station through a radio link which is responsible to transmit the data from a mobile earth station to the gateway station through a satellite link. In the third type of mobile communication satellite system again a direct link can be provided to a mobile earth station but a dedicated satellite system would be required for this purpose. Different frequency bands are allocated to the satellites to perform mobile communication. Mostly used frequency bands are L-Band, C-Band, Ka-Band and Ku-Band. L-Band has the uplink frequency of 1.6 GHz and a downlink frequency of 1.5 GHz for commercial mobile satellite services (MSS). The long wavelength of this band allows it penetrate building structures and also get least affected by rain. Therefore, less powerful antenna transmitters are required. C-Band has the uplink frequency of 6 GHz and a downlink frequency of 4 GHz. Ka-Band uplink and downlink frequencies are 30 GHz and 20 GHz respectively for commercial use of mobile satellite mobile services and 44 GHz and 20 GHz of uplink and downlink frequencies for military use. This band has very large spectrum and high bandwidths available. But due to short wavelengths, it is largely affected by rain. Therefore, to increase the signal power very high power transmitters are required. On the other hand, Ku-Band has the medium range of frequencies. The uplink frequency is 14 GHz and downlink frequency is 12 GHz for fixed commercial use. Due to medium wavelengths, its signals can also penetrate many structures and are still able to provide high bandwidths but still they are affected by rain. As the earth terrestrial networks, satellites are also required to serve a number of users simultaneously. So at a time when millions of users are accessing satellite services there is a need to have some sort of mechanism to differentiate and secure each user’s transmission. For this purpose, there are a number of multiple access schemes of which the three most commonly used are TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). In TDMA, there are different time slots. Each mobile earth station transmits its data in chunks in a specific time slot at the same frequency. So the data of each user is differentiated in different time slots. In FDMA, different frequency bands are allocated to different users for both the uplink and downlink channels. However, TDMA is a better because of its lower distortions of inter-modulation. In FDMA, downlink bandwidth is divided among a number of users whereas in TDMA full downlink bandwidth is available to all users during a specific time slot allocated. Also in FDMA, we may have to decrease transponder power by one half to minimize the distortion due to inter-modulation. The third most commonly used multiple access scheme CDMA has no restrictions as in TDMA and FDMA. Each user can transmit its data at any time and can also use the same frequency bandwidth. In CDMA, each mobile earth station’s transmission is separated by a unique code. Signals transmission are separated by using spread spectrum technology that is why CDMA is also called Spread spectrum Multiple Access. Spread spectrum scheme assigns to each mobile station a unique code to generate a pseudorandom sequence to separate signals transmission and to spread the transmission across the whole bandwidth available from the satellite. When the signals transmission arrives at the receiver, it can be extracted by using the same sequence generated initially. The only limitation of the CDMA scheme is that it is very expensive to implement and can support a very limited number of mobile earth stations at a time. As the science has advanced in technology, there are a number of mobile communication satellite systems now. Now we have a look at the different mobile communications satellite systems that exist today. These mobile communication satellite systems are divided into three groups namely: Geo-Stationary Systems, Big Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Systems and little Low Earth Orbit Systems. In Geo-stationary systems, INMARSAT and MSAT are the two satellite systems that we have. In Big LEO systems we have IRIDIUM, ARIES, ELLIPSO and ODYSSEY satellite systems. For little LEO systems we have LEOSAT, STARNET, ORBCOMM, and VITASAT satellite systems. Of these satellite systems, International Maritime Satellite (INMARSAT) System is a very well known global mobile satellite telecommunication system. These satellite systems are connected to PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Networks) and they provide connectivity and communication services to a mobile earth station all over the world. Which means a user with a satellite mobile handset connected to the INMARSAT satellite system can receive services while roaming in any part of the world without being dependent on local terrestrial public networks. So a satellite connection proves to be really helpful in case something goes wrong with the terrestrial network such as a natural disaster etc. INMARSAT is running its operation on four geo stationary satellites providing global coverage namely: INMARSAT-A, INMARSAT-M, INMARSAT-B and INMARSAT-C. High quality telephone, fax and high speed data services are provided by INMARSAT-A satellite system. In addition to dialling to a telephone or fax number directly, it can also provide image and video transmission services. INMARSAT-M provide services at a much cheaper rate as compared to INMARSAT-A. It has a fully digital and portable terminal to provide high quality cellular voice and data transmission services. Additional functionalities are added in INMARSAT-B satellite system compared to INMARSAT-A at a much lower charges. Along with new services, it provides very high quality voice services and very high data rates with a scope to increase them further in future. INMARSAT-C comes as a low cost communication system with a light weight terminal powered by a battery. It comes with a small personal computer to communicate with the network headquarter whenever needed. The following Figure 4 shows the statistics of the INMARSAT satellite systems all over the world [3]. Figure 4: INMARSAT Satellite System Coverage and Service Providers [3] Iridium Satellite System was proposed and developed by the Motorola Company in collaboration with a few other companies. This satellite has been purchase by the Iridium, Inc Company. In this satellite system, satellites are set into orbits in 6 different polar orbital planes with a total of 72 satellites at about 780 km above the earth surface [4]. Satellites are divided into groups of 11 with equal distance among them.   These are all Low Earth Orbit Satellites. L-Band frequency band is used by mobile earth stations to access satellite link using TDMA or FDMA schemes. Access of the mobile stations need to be synchronized to enable them to transmit and receive in the same time frame slot. Each satellite can handle more than 1000 calls at a time. All the satellites can route traffic to each other as well. This satellite system is designed in such a way that global coverage is achieved and gateway stations, which need to be connected to public switched telephone network on earth, req uired are less in number. Two other LEO satellites systems are ARIES and ELLIPSO which are set into circular orbits above the equator to provide low cost services. Another very well known satellite system is GLOBALSTAR system which provided full global connectivity. This system consists of 48 satellites divided into groups of 6. These satellites are set into orbit in eight different planes at 1414 km above the earth surface and are inclined at 45degrees and 135degrees to the equator. There is no exchange of data among these satellites as in the Iridium System. Therefore, a mobile earth station can only get access to the satellite link when the satellite has a line of sight path to the gateway earth station. Mobile stations can access the satellite using L-Band frequency band. Code division Multiple Access (CDMA) scheme is used to separate transmission of each mobile station. Six spot beams are used to cover the same geographical area on earth as is required by the Iridium satellite system. Satellites in GLOBALSTAR system complete their lifecycle between 5 to 15 years. OrbComm launched its first two satellites in 1995. This satellite system is capable of providing remote monitoring and mobile tracking along with many other commercial services. OrbComm also contains 48 satellites which are in Low Earth Orbits. Access by mobile earth stations to these satellites is made on VHF (very high Frequency) band. The uplink band is 148 MHz to 150 MHz and the downlink band is between 137 MHZ to 138 MHz. Signal and data transmitted from the satellites are not directly forwarded to hand held devices first, rather they are first diverted to the gateway station on earth or public switched telephone network and then they are forwarded to mobile handsets. Satellites in this system have a lifecycle of about four years. Intermediate Circular Orbit (ICO) satellite system consists of ten satellites with the help of which it can provide full global coverage. These satellites are divided into groups of five into two orbital planes at about 10,355 km above the earth surface. They orbit the earth the earth in about 6 hours serving a geographical area on earth for 20 minutes. Each satellite in the Intermediate Circular orbit can provide up to 4500 channels for voice data traffic and access to these channels is made secure and reliable by using the Code Division Multiple Accessing (CDMA) scheme. The terminals ICO systems are capable of supporting dual mode which means that they can operate with satellite and as well as public switched telephone networks. In this entire scenario, each type of satellite system has its own advantages and disadvantages. Geo-Stationary satellites can be useful for one form of mobile communication but in some scenarios it may be more feasible to use Low Earth Orbit satellite system. Like with the help of three Geo-Stationary satellites we can provide almost full global coverage. As the satellites remain at the same point above the earth in Geo-Stationary system, the transmitters and receivers can have the fixed antenna positions without the need to keep track of the satellite which at times can become a very tedious task. Because they are located at about 36000 km above the earth, they are less affected by the atmosphere around the earth during its orbit making its life cycle greater than the other satellite systems. On the other hand, there are certain disadvantages of the Geo-Stationary system as well. Besides almost having no coverage at the north and south poles, one of the biggest problems in this sys tem is performing voice and data communication over these satellites. Because they are far away from earth’s surface, there is very high latency or delay in the transmission and reception which makes it unfeasible for voice traffic. And also because of its large distance from earth’s surface, very high power antennas are required for these satellites which consumes a significant battery power. Moreover, sending a satellite into a Geo-stationary orbit from earth is very expensive as compared to other Low Earth Orbit satellites. While with the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems, transmission rates of about 2.4 kbps can carry out voice data communication efficiently. Because these satellites are orbiting the earth at much lower altitude as compared to Geo-Stationary satellites, transmission power required for the antennas is much less which in turn saves the overall battery power consumed. And for the same reason, the delay or latency in the transmission is much less which can compete with the wired cable terrestrial networks on earth. Higher elevation of these satellites to the equator enables are better coverage at the north and south poles. And also because the geographical area covered by one satellite in LEO system is smaller; frequency reuse policy can be best utilized. On the other hand, the very obvious and possibly the one of the biggest problem with this satellite system is the need to have a large number of satellites to provide global coverage. As the satellites in this system do not stay at a fixed position over the earth surface, their serving time geographical is only about 10 to 15 minutes which require very complex antenna mechanism on earth to keep track of the satellites. Another disadvantage of having low earth orbits is the very short lifetime of a satellite. Friction from earth’s surrounding atmosphere can severely effect the lifetime of a satellite in LEO satellite system. If a satellite mobile user is roaming around the world, providing global connectivity to that user also require interconnectivity of these large number of satellites. Mobile Communication Satellite Systems are evolving very quickly in this era to keep pace with the increasing demand of communication globally. The trend is shifting towards the LEO satellite systems from the Geo-Stationary satellite systems because of very less latency delays in LEO systems as far as voice data communication is concerned. However, these satellite systems cannot fully replace the need of terrestrial networks because of these systems are still very expensive for an average user and not all countries of the world are developed enough to cope up with these satellites systems. References: [1]  Handbook of Antennas in Wireless Communications, Chapter 2, Michael John Ryan,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University of New South Wales [2]   Requirements for a Mobile Communications Satellite System. Volume 1: Executive   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   summary, Final Report, 15 Dec. 1981 31 Mar. 1983, TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, CA. [3]   The Use of Mobile Satellite Communications in Disaster Mitigation, Eugene I. Staffa,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction Technical Committee Session C [4]   The Past, Present and Future of Satellite Communications, John V. Evans

Land That Entry Level Job in 3 Easy Steps

Land That Entry Level Job in 3 Easy Steps Sandy Donovan over at the Career One Stop blog has 3 great suggestions for job hunters feeling shut out at the gates. How do you make up for a lack of experience, a job gap, or a stagnant hiring climate in your dream field?   1. Don’t Send Your Resume to EveryoneI know it’s tempting when you’re not getting so much as a nibble, but trying to apply for every job you might be remotely qualified for or could conceivably enjoy is a losing proposition. Your resume should be tailored to every job you apply for, and if you’re sending it out 50 times a day, you’re not taking the time to ensure you’re a great match making a great impression. This doesn’t mean never send it out, it  means be smart about sending it out.  2. Network With People in Your FieldEven if your resume doesn’t represent what a great employee you could be- maybe your previous experience isn’t a good match or you had time away from the workforce- you proba bly know someone who appreciates your potential. And they probably know others in their field who would benefit from a terrific recommended candidate like you.Talk to literally everyone: use social media, use LinkedIn, and pick up the phone to schedule informational interviews or even quick chats over coffee. Find people who have the kind of job you want, and ask them to tell you what helped them get where they are. Get your name and your best resume in front of as many people in your field as possible.  3. Research Your IndustryDon’t expect your personal connections to do all the work for you- it’s your responsibility to explore all your options. Look into professional associations and certifications for your field, know what to expect with your salary potential, and identify local business and prospective clients. Know your industry and know yourself, so that when you finally get the call, you can interview as a well-informed, astute candidate.

Critical analysis Twelfth Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical analysis Twelfth Night - Essay Example Although categorized as a romantic comedy, relating the story of a pair of twins washed up separately upon the same shore, each thinking the other is dead, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night provides a great deal of this kind of social commentary as the two youths become involved with nobles they meet in their journey back together. By analyzing a single scene of this play, one can begin to understand how Shakespeare managed to convey social position and degree of intelligence in such a way that calls into question the prevailing social assumptions of his time. The scene is divided by the arrivals of two of the characters to Olivia’s house that quickly demonstrate the difference of social classes existent in England at the time. At the opening of the scene, Feste, the house jester, returns after an unexplained absence and finds it necessary to charm his way back into his mistress’ good graces. According to Richard Holinshed, â€Å"These men are profitable to none; for, if their condition be well perused, they are enemies to their masters, to their friends, and to themselves† (1580). Thus, his behavior seems to suit his station as in attempting to ease his way back into the household, he distracts the other characters from pursuing his personal activities by making jokes until the scene is interrupted by the arrival of Viola, disguised as the servant Cesario, delivering a message of love from Duke Orsino for the noblewoman Olivia. The conversation between Olivia and Cesario sparks an immediate and intense interest from Olivia, who recognizes Viola belongs to her own upper class. In both halves of this scene, language variety reveals social class as well as sincerity of intention within the characters portrayed. Feste changes his language style depending upon whom he is speaking with, making it possible for him to switch from one class to another simply by changing his means of communicating. As he speaks

Sources of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sources of Finance - Essay Example The major challenge faced by SMEs is to access the capital to take advantage of new investment opportunities. The studies on SME financing in the past showed the lack of financing a major constraint for start-ups as well as expansion but recent statistics show an improved capital access for SMEs. This essay aims to present the definition of SMEs from the point of view of European Commission, the sources of finances available to SMEs along with the suitable financing options according to the stage the SME is in, the barriers SMEs face in procuring the capital or if the financing constraints still exist, and the steps needed by policy makers to provide congenial environment to SME sector. Background of Small and Medium sized Enterprises The Small and Medium sized Enterprise can be defined in two ways- Quantitatively and Qualitatively. The quantitative definition is based on the various criteria set by the different countries. Qualitatively SME can be defined on the basis of ownership w hich is limited to a few individuals. SMEs are privately owned with low volume of sales and a very few employees. The definition regarding the number of employees varies from country to country with 15 employees in Australia under Fair Work Act 2009, 50 employees under EU and a little less than 500 employees in USA to qualify for Small Business Administration. The European Commission has given a definition of an SME which qualifies an enterprise to be small or medium sized enterprise if it fulfils the criteria of maximum ceilings in either one of staff headcount, turnover or balance sheet given in Table 1. Table 1: Qualification to be an SME (Source: European Commission-a, 2009, p.3) This new definition was adopted by EC in 2003 and came into effect in 2005. The main reasons behind adopting new definition were to improve availability of capital, to update thresholds and to improve access to R&D and promote innovation (European Commission-b, 2005, p.8-10). The European Commission wor ks on policies regarding SMEs throughout Europe and assists them through business support measures. In 2010, the number of SMEs in EU was around 20.8 million, 99.8% of the total enterprises. These SMEs employed 87.5 million people, almost two-thirds of the total employed people producing GVA of 58.4% (Cambridge, 2011, p.8). In 2010, SMEs accounted for 60% of UK’s total public sector employment and 50% of the private sector turnover (Turner, 2010). In February 2011, UK ministry announced the reform measures specifically to open-up public sector markets for SMEs. This included the set-up of ‘contracts finder’ a source to access information regarding procurement, tenders and contracts and directives to government departments to set targets to increase businesses with SMEs. They also presented an SME Action Plan taking into account the limited means to increase non-UK business for SMEs in UK (Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 2011). Sources of Finance for SMEs Finance i s considered a key element that drives the SMEs to successively build productive capacities and create jobs. Without capital, SMEs cannot acquire

Power & Authority :: essays research papers

Week 9 Essay 1 Power and Authority   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although they are very closely related, power and authority are two different concepts. Power is needed in order to establish authority, yet it is also completely distinct from authority (Week 9 Study Notes).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power is defined in the course study notes as the â€Å"ability of individuals or groups to get what they want despite the opposition†. Power is derived from a variety of sources including knowledge, experience and environmental uncertainties (Denhardt et al, 2001). It is also important to recognize that power is specific to each situation. Individuals or groups that may be entirely powerful in one situation may find themselves with little or no power in another. The county Registrar of Voters, who is my boss, is a perfect example. In running the local elections office, she can exercise the ultimate power. However, in a situation where she attempted to get the county selected for a desirable, statewide pilot project, she was powerless, completely at the mercy of the Secretary of State. Power is difficult to measure and even to recognize, yet it plays a major role in explaining authority. In organizations, power is most likely exercised in situations where à ¢â‚¬Å"the stakes are high, resources are limited, and goals and processes are unclear† (Denhardt et al, 2001). The absence of power in organizations forces us to rely on soley hierarchical authority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When power becomes legitimate, it is then recognized as authority (Denhardt et al, 2001). Power becomes authority when it is accepted and even desired by society. As stated by the course study notes, â€Å"authority refers to a situation where a person (or group) has been formally granted a leadership position†. An individual has authority when everyday norms and regulations support the exercising of power by that individual. In an organizational setting, â€Å"authority is hierarchal and vested in positions† (Week 9 Study Notes), which are defined by â€Å"organizational charts, positions and rules† (Week 9 Study Notes). Generally, power in authority also involves the possibility of rewards such as promotions and good performance reviews.

Saladin and Jerusalem

Saladin and the Capture of Jerusalem Saladin stands out in Western accounts of the Middle Ages because his beliefs and actions reflected supposedly Christian characteristics: honesty, piety, magnanimity, and chivalry. Unlike many Muslim rulers, he was not cruel to his subordinates; Saladin believed deeply in the Koranic standard that all men are equal before the law. He set a high moral tone; for example, he distributed war proceeds carefully to help maintain discipline in the ranks. As an administrator, Saladin showed great vision. He altered the tax structure in Egypt and elsewhere to conform to Koranic instructions, and he supported higher education. It was his vision—together with luck and military skill—that enabled him to begin a quest for Muslim unification that would bear fruit many years later. Saladin was born in 1138 in Tikrit, Mesopotamia (now modern-day Iraq). His formal name was Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub. Salah al-Din was an honorary title that translates as â€Å"Righteousness of Faith. † His father, Ayyub, and his uncle, Shirkuh, were both generals in the army of Zengi, the Muslim leader who captured the County of Edessa from the crusaders in 1144. When Zengi died in 1146, Saladin moved with his father and uncle to Damascus in Syria, the main city of Zengi’s empire. Zengi’s son, Nur-ad-din, had taken over Damascus after his father’s death, and Saladin began work for Nur-ad-din, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle. The Muslim world was rent by religious differences. The Seljuk caliphate, ruled by Nur al-Din, was of the more liberal Sunni sect and had its seat of power in Baghdad. The Fatimid caliphate of Egypt, which had embraced the more orthodox Shict, was a volatile agglomeration with weak rulers. Like a splinter between them was the Latin Kingdom, a Christian stronghold along the eastern Mediterranean coast, ruled by a Frank, Amalric I. Nur al-Din believed that if Amalric were able to join forces with the Byzantine emperor to conquer Egypt, the whole Islamic world would be threatened. The stakes were great: Rich trade routes to the Orient, religious and educational centers, and plentiful agricultural lands could be lost. Saladin, as one of Nur al-Din’s primary advisers, helped plan three Syrian invasions of Egypt between 1164 and 1169 to conquer the Fatimid caliphate. During part of this period, Amalric had a treaty to defend Cairo against Syrian invaders. Saladin’s first command came at Alexandria, where he was in charge of one thousand men under difficult conditions. After a short time back in Damascus, Saladin returned on Nur al-Din’s orders to Egypt after the Fatimid alliance with Amalric broke down. Saladin had solemn uncertainties about returning to Egypt, in part because he distrusted the motives of his powerful uncle Shirkuh, who was leading the return. The political situation there was dangerous and unstable. When Shirkuh suddenly died, however, Saladin was well placed to assume Shirkuh’s place as vizier of Egypt commanding Nur al-Din’s forces there; in this case, he was the compromise candidate among many factions. At the age of 30, Saladin drew strength from Koranic exhortations to fulfill God’s purpose. Saladin, like Nur al-Din, was pious. He kept little money, acting instead as caretaker for the whole Muslim community; the proper function of wealth, he believed, was to further the aims of Islam. Both men saw stable leadership in Egypt as a key to preserving Muslim unity. Still, Nur al-Din was suspicious when Saladin insisted on independence to do this—including lessened payments of tribute. Not only did Saladin have military bases on the Egyptian front, but he also had to fight political battles at his rear. Saladin consolidated power in Egypt by getting rid of Fatimid commanders and substituting loyalists; uprisings continued in the provinces for some years, but finally Fatimid rule was abolished. Now Saladin built up the military and raided nearby areas. His strength was growing just when Ayyub, Nur al-Din, and Amalric died in quick succession. Both Nur al-Din’s and Amalric’s successors were young boys; thus, both kingdoms were weakened. Saladin quickly moved to consolidate the empire under his own rule, citing the need for a unified Islam. He struck quickly at the Frankish Kingdom, taking a string of small towns, but the important town of Aleppo did not fall and remained a refuge for al-Salih. Mosul, too, was a holdout, but with other victories Saladin became Sultan of Syria, succeeding Nur al-Din. The Damascus-Cairo axis was all-important to Saladin as he set out on a jihad to drive the Franks from the region. After 1176, he undertook major public works, religious, and educational projects in Egypt, but at the same time he needed military action to convince his critics that the jihad was not a fraud merely intended to further his personal power. After a serious reverse at the strategic outpost of Ascalon, he quickly returned to the attack. Angered by the Franks’ breaking of a truce, Saladin was successful against them in southern Lebanon, and he consolidated troops from Syria and Egypt in order to destroy the fort at Jacob’s Mill. In capturing Frankish defenses, Saladin often destroyed them so they could not be recaptured. He hoped to win strategic territory in Mesopotamia as a base from which to move against Christian-held Jerusalem, his ultimate target. Saladin was keen to get the war with the Christians underway, but there was one main stumbling block. In 1183, Saladin had signed a treaty with the leader of the Christians, Guy of Lusignan. Saladin being an honorable man, felt bound by the truce, disregarding his desire to start the war. Fortunately for him, and unfortunate for the crusaders, the truce was broken in 1187 by a crusader called Reynald of Chatillon. Reynald attacked a group of Muslims and held them as prisoners of war. Despite being angry at this break in the truce, Saladin felt that he should negotiate with Reynald and keep his side of the truce, instead of attacking the crusader. Foolishly, Reynald refused to meet with Saladin and furthermore refused to release the prisoners after receiving orders from his leader Guy Lusignan. Saladin now had a reason he needed to go to war. On July 1, 1187, Saladin marched his troops to a mountain, the Horn of Hattin. The weather at the current time was extremely hot, and the crusader army that had been sent to defend Jerusalem was hot, exhausted, and dehydrated. Recognizing the crusaders’ distress, Saladin devised a plan to make the crusaders situation worse. He set fire to some nearby dry brush, whose smoke quickly mad it’s was into the crusader camp. On July 4, Saladin attacked and the crusaders were quickly defeated. Christian Jerusalem had suffered an enormous loss at the Battle of Hattin. The army had almost been destroyed and the city’s leader, Guy of Lusignan, was a prisoner of Saladin. Unfortunately, the city’s troubles did not end there. There were shortages of food in the city, since the Battle of Hattin occurred during the harvest. With the area in the enemy’s hands, all crops were lost. All of the refugees who flocked to the city to seek shelter from Saladin’s army made the shortage of food worse. Jerusalem was able to house thirty thousand people, but after the Battle of Hattin, the population doubled to sixty thousand. Most of these people were women and children who had no intentions of fighting against the invading Muslim army. By September 20, 1187, Jerusalem was under siege. Saladin first chose the western side of the city for his beginning attack. The western wall of Jerusalem was heavily fortified by the crusaders, who had built the strong citadel there around the Tower of David. Most of the crusader soldiers that were left in Jerusalem went to this tower to defend the city. While the fighting continued, Saladin looked for a superior position from which to attack the crusaders. He eventually settled outside the northeastern section of the city, between St. Mary’s Postern and Jehoshaphat Gate. Saladin used large wooden catapults to bombard the walls and towers of Jerusalem, weakening the city’s defenses and driving the crusaders away from their positions. Saladin then sent 10,000 archers to shoot at the wall’s defenders, followed by 10,000 horsemen armed with lances and bows in the north to prevent a crusader counterattack. The crusaders tried in vain to drive away the invading army, but once the wall had collapsed the end was in sight. Realizing their cause was hopeless, the city eventually surrendered on October 2, 1187. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was at an end. Two knights and ten soldiers were placed in every street in Jerusalem to keep order during the takeover. When Saladin’s victorious army had secured the city, they understood what the first act was to be completed. The most sacred Islamic monument in Jerusalem was a massive building called Quabbat as-Sakhrah, or Dome of the Rock. As soon as the Muslims entered Jerusalem, they climbed up to the top of the dome and removed the cross, immediately showing that it was the Muslims who were now in charge, not the Christians. Saladin’s troops were tired now and not easily disciplined; the European forces were regrouping for a Third Crusade, led by the dashing Richard I (the Lionhearted) of England. Muslim-held Acre, after a long siege, was finally given up in 1191. Yet the cost was high for the Crusaders, and Richard did not want to be gone too long from England. The final confrontation between Saladin and Richard came in July 1192. After a day of prayer, Saladin and his troops were ready to face the Crusaders as they poised for an attack on Jerusalem. Suddenly, the Crusaders withdrew. Saladin attributed the retreat to divine intervention, but military historians say that Richard had decided to attack Egypt instead. Such an attack, however, was not undertaken. The Third Crusade was over. Saladin retired to Damascus to spend time with his wives and children. In the winter of 1193, he rode out in bad weather to meet a group of pilgrims returning from Mecca. He became ill and died a short while later at age fifty-five, penniless by choice. Saladin’s title, al-Malik al-Nasir, or â€Å"Strong to Save the Faith,† was appropriate in his lifetime. Within a hundred years of his death, however, the many tensions beneath the Muslims’ surface unity split apart what Saladin had accomplished. Today, Saladin is remembered a great war leader who conquered an empire and drove invaders out of his homeland. He is honored as a Muslim hero, a fighter of his faith, who led jihad to recapture the city of Jerusalem and restore Muslim worship there. He is admired for his skills at organizing a vast army, planning battles and ambushes, and inspiring loyalty among his men. He is respected for his love of learning, generous gifts to charity, and personal devotion to religious beliefs. Works Cited Ehrenkreuz, Andrew S. Saladin. Albany: State University of New York, 1972. Print. Geyer, Flora. World History Biographies: Saladin The Warrior Who Defended His People (NG World History Biographies). New York: National Geographic Children's Books, 2006. Print. Gibb, H. A. The Life of Saladin. London: Oxford UP, 1973. Print. Hancock, Lee. Saladin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem The Muslims Recapture the Holy Land in Ad 1187 (The Library of the Middle Ages). New York: Rosen Group, 2003. Print. Hindley, Geoffrey. Saladin. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1976. Print. Hodgson, Marshall G. The Venture of Islam. Vol. 2. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1975. Print. The Expansion of Islam in the Middle Period. Lane-Poole, Stanley. Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1898. Print. Newby, P. H. Saladin in His Time. London: Faber and Faber, 1983. Print.