The Virgin of Guadalupe Essay Example for Free

The Virgin of Guadalupe Essay It was clear to me that the Virgin of Guadalupe is a powerful cultural symbol of Mexican identity and nationhood. In colonial times the Virgin of Guadalupe was interpreted as a native, loving and forgiving mother, the intercessor to God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ. Today Guadalupe has been reinterpreted as an empowering symbol of liberation and action rather than as female passivity. In contemporary society the populist appeal of the image cuts across all sectors of Mexican life, and her image is displayed not only in churches, but can also be seen in taxis, buses, on tee-shirts, amulets and as tattoos. Chicano and other Latino societies helped establish the Virgin of Guadalupe as an archetypal emblem of mestizaje. Criollos interpreted Marys appearance that Mexico was a favored city. From reading I learned that the origin of the importance of the Virgin of Guadalupe can be traced back to the religious beliefs and ceremonies that animated the daily lives of pre-Hispanic people from birth to death. Even though the Spanish conquest imposed Christianity and colonialism on the original populations, the Catholic Church allowedsome say even encouragedthe association between specific locations and Aztec deities as a means to effect an easier transition from native religions to Christianity, resulting in the introduction of localized patron saints. Worship of the Virgin Mary was encouraged through a variety of manifestations, such as the Virgin of Remedios and the Immaculate Conception. After the conquest, the church destroyed shrines to indigenous gods and goddesses, and tried to stamp out the cult of Tonantzin, an Aztec virgin deity. Since manifestations of the Virgin had encouraged the conquistadors, many images of the Virgin Mary had made their way to the New World. Indians, mestizos, and criollos lent new meanings to the cult of the Virgin Mary. The devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe is a syncretic manifestation of Catholic and Aztec beliefs. The Virgin of Guadalupe continued to play an increasingly important role in the development of Mexican national identity. The criollos interpreted her appearance as a legitimization of their national aspirations and propagated the cult as part of a plan to build New Spain in Mexico. The campaign to legitimize the Virgin of Guadalupe began in 1648 with Miguel Sanchezs book which argued that Guadalupe was authentically American, emphasizing her appearance to a poor, humble native and stressing the Virgins use of Nahuatl to address Juan Diego. Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz wrote one known sonnet to the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1680, published in 1729, which retells the story of the apparition and reinforces Marys function as protectress of the Americas in her role as la Rosa Mejicana. A symbol of popular religiosity and a feminine metaphor in the comprehension of the divine, The Virgin of Guadalupe continues to convey a paradoxical message that can be manipulated for political purposes.

College Admissions Essays - Something Daring and New -- College Admiss

College Admissions Essays - Something Daring and New Think about something you never did in high school but wish you had done. Now imagine your time at college. Propose taking up something daring and new, and describe how it might affect your life. For years I have harbored a secret desire to become a cheese aficionado. This is not entirely arbitrary. Cheese, as an independent entity outside of any broader alimentary context, is at once worldly and whimsical. It provides the ideal complement to that side of my personality which has historically been dominant. My experiences have been largely rooted in the world of the abstract and the intellectual. Mathematics, music, writing, and the like have given me a certain sense of detachment from reality. While I have historically enjoyed this detachment, there is always a desire to diversify. Eating cheese is a direct immersion in the world of the senses, where things are taken at face value. You don’t analyze cheese, you just eat it — a refreshingly simple outlook on life. At the same time, cheese offers the oppo...

Csr of Ibm

A report on Corporate Social Responsibility of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) SUBMITTED TO Rabeya Sultana, Assistant Professor, Department Of MIS, University of Dhaka SUBMITTED BY Akibul Kowser Pahlowan Student ID: 61222-15-055 Summer Semester 2012 Department of MIS. University of Dhaka. Candidate’s DeclarationI certify that the report entitled â€Å"A report on Corporate Social Responsibility of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)† submitted as a term paper of the course Introduction of Business is the result of my own research, except where otherwise acknowledged and this project report in whole or in part has not been submitted for an award including a higher degree, to any other University or institution. Name: Akibul Kowser Pahlowan Signature: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION| 4| 2. What is corporate social responsibility? | 5| 3. Company Profile:| 6| 4. Case Study:| 7| . Other Example of CSR Activities of IBM:| 8| 6. Why IBM involved with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? | 8| 7. Why IBM involved with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? | 9| 8. Conclusion:| 9| INTRODUCTION : Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an increasingly important activity to businesses nationally and internationally. As globalization accelerates and large corporations serve as global providers, these corporations have progressively recognized the benefits of providing CSR programs in their various locations. CSR activities are now being undertaken throughout the globe.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society, the environment and its own prosperity, known as the â€Å"triple bottom line† of people, planet, and profit. Not only do responsible, sustainable and transparent  approach es help build brand and reputation, they help strengthen the community and therefore the marketplace. A solid business plan, embedded into the business culture, reflecting organizational values and objectives through strategic CSR application, will help to build a sustainable and profitable future for all.What is corporate social responsibility? The term is often used interchangeably for other terms such as Corporate Citizenship and is also linked to the concept of Triple Bottom Line Reporting (TBL), which is used as a framework for measuring an organization’s performance against economic, social and environmental parameters. The rationale for CSR has been articulated in a number of ways. In essence it is about building sustainable businesses, which need healthy economies, markets and communities. The key drivers for CSR are1:Enlightened self-interest -creating a synergy of ethics, a cohesive society and a sustainable global economy where markets, labor and communities are ab le to function well together. Social investment – contributing to physical infrastructure and social capital is increasingly seen as a necessary part of doing business. Transparency and trust – business has low ratings of trust in public perception. There is increasing expectation that companies will be more open, more accountable and be prepared to report publicly on their performance in social and environmental arenas.Increased public expectations of business – globally companies are expected to do more than merely provide jobs and contribute to the economy through taxes and employment. † Company Profile: IBM is the world's largest information technology company. It is a leader in developing computer servers, software, storage devices and microchips. It also fields a large business consulting division. The company has operations in more than 60 countries. It has a major presence in New York with headquarters in Armonk, research facility in Yorktown Heigh ts, and a massive chip-making facility in Fishkill.IBM is a world leader in research and development and number of corporate patents received annually. The company was founded in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation through a merger of three companies: the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company, and the Computing Scale Corporation. CTR adopted the name International Business Machines in 1924, using a name previously designated to CTR's subsidiary in Canada and later South America. Its distinctive culture and product branding has given it the nickname Big Blue.In 2012, Fortune ranked IBM the #2 largest U. S. firm in terms of number of employees (433,362), the #4 largest in terms of market capitalization, the #9 most profitable, and the #19 largest firm in terms of revenue. Globally, the company was ranked the #31 largest in terms of revenue by Forbes for 2011. Other rankings for 2011/2012 include #1 company for leaders (Fortune), #1 gre en company worldwide (Newsweek), #2 best global brand (Interbrand), #2 most respected company (Barron's), #5 most admired company (Fortune), and #18 most innovative company (Fast Company).IBM holds more patents than any other U. S. -based technology company, and has nine research laboratories worldwide. Its employees have garnered five Nobel Prizes, six Turing Awards, nine National Medals of Technology, and five National Medals of Science. Famous inventions by IBM include the automated teller machine (ATM), the floppy disk, the hard disk drive, the magnetic stripe card, the relational database, the Universal Product Code (UPC), the financial swap, SABRE airline reservation system, DRAM, and Watson artificial intelligence. The company has undergone several organizational hanges since its inception, acquiring companies like SPSS (2009) and PwC consulting (2002), spinning off companies like Lexmark (1991), and selling off product lines like ThinkPad to Lenovo (2005). Case Study: IBM an d Thai Red Cross Strike Socially Responsible HIV Partnership. In 2010 2. 7 million became infected with HIV, bringing the total tally to 34 million HIV positive people in the world. Despite the fact that medication to treat the condition has increased the life expectancy of those infected with the virus and delayed the onset of AIDS, the best way to fight the problem is avoiding infection in the first place.Thailand is seen as success story in terms of policies to stop the spread of the virus. During the 1990s the government introduced a comprehensive program that resulted in a reduction of visits to commercial sex workers, made condoms popular and reduced the spread of other sexually transmitted diseases. As a consequence, infection figures dropped from 143,000 in 1991 to 19,000 in 2003. Currently, just over 500,000 people live with HIV in that country while new infections stand at around 16,000 per year.The latest step in the fight against HIV in Thailand is an agreement between t he Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center and IBM. The socially responsible deal is part of a drive to make Bangkok a zero HIV infection city by 2015. IBM will be donating its business analytics software and technology expertise to enable TRCARC to design more effective intervention strategies to help end the spread of HIV/AIDS. The partnership is part of a wider global move to end HIV infections called Getting to Zero, which was launched by UNAIDS.The objective of the campaign is not only to stop new HIV infections, but also to fight discrimination against people living with the virus. â€Å"HIV infection is one of the most serious public health threats Thailand is facing. Unfortunately, only 40 per cent of the HIV infected population knows they are living with the HIV or AIDS and gets access to antiretroviral treatment services. This situation results in continuing spread of the life-threatening virus and new infections are rising every year,† said TRCARC's director, Professor Emeritus Praphan Phanuphak.IBM's software will enable the center to access information and share outputs with collaborating agencies such as the Department of Disease Control and Ministry of Public Health, which will then be able to strengthen HIV prevention efforts. Previous campaigns to prevent and deal with HIV cases were hampered by the use of outdated information. IBM's software will help researchers make more informed decisions and will help staff share knowledge and skills.One of the key aspects of the software is that it creates an online behavioural survey with high-risk groups, which can be used as the basis for a database. The IBM DB2 database software makes data retrieval time a lot faster, reducing it from two months to five minutes. It can also develop advanced, fully automated reporting with the use of IBM Cognos business intelligence software that enables better analytics and reporting of behavioral records associated with people with high risk of infection.Other fe atures include table and maps to help staff make better decisions and implement more effective strategies based on real-time analysis. Elsewhere IBM is also lending its expertise to HIV drug research. The company's World Community Grid, a network that provides researchers with the spare computing power of two-million PCs owned by 600,000 individuals and organizations, has enabled the Scripps Research Institute to discover two new compounds that could lead to medicines for those infected with HIV. Other Example of CSR Activities of IBM: Creating innovation that matters for the world:The primary focus of IBMs corporate citizenship activities is on developing initiatives to address specific societal issues, such as the environment, community economic development, education , health, literacy, language and culture. We employ IBM’s most valuable resources, our technology and talent, in order to create innovative programs in these areas to assist cities and communities around the w orld. For example, IBMs Corporate Service Corps program annually deploys teams of selected high potential employees to emerging regions to work with government, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations on critical local projects.Since the program began in 2008, nearly 300 IBMers from 44 countries have been placed on 29 teams in 9 countries: Brazil, China, Ghana, Malaysia, the Philippines, Romania, Tanzania, Turkey and Vietnam. Teams have completed projects around water quality, disaster preparedness and project management. Our World Community Grid initiative utilizes grid and cloud computing technologies to harness the tremendous power of idle computers to perform specific computations related to critical research around complex biological, environmental and health-related issues.Another example of IBMs citizenship activities is On Demand Community, our employee volunteer initiative. Since its inception in 2003, over 140,000 employees and retirees have registered and per-formed o ver 9 million hours of volunteer service around the world. In a study of the program published by the Points of Light Foundation, On Demand Community is identified as the archetypical model for a new approach to corporate community involvement, calling it a â€Å"model without peer. † â€Å"When the tsunami and earthquake struck Asia, IBM didn’t just cut a check for relief funds and call it a day.The company used its techno-logical expertise and skilled people to create what government and relief agencies could not: information systems to effectively track relief supplies and reunite families,† said Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor at Harvard Business School, in her book, SuperCorp. Why IBM involved with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? A key driver for IBM’s approach to CSR is the need to maintain its market position in a changing business environment. IBM recognises that CSR benefits the company’s business by helping enhan ce a company’s reputation so increasing its brand value.Further benefit from CSR comes from demonstrating thought leadership. For IBM thought leadership includes being recognised as contributing to shaping the agenda of policy and practice outside of the company, whereby IBM is recognised for both great products and great ideas. The people at IBM are persuaded that CSR helps drive shareholder value. Businesses that get CSR right â€Å"will have a significant advantage attracting investors, talent and customers, developing new products and services, and gaining access to new markets and new opportunities.It also will help them improve operational efficiency and reduce costs, and meet regulatory requirements, which can allow them to qualify for incentives and avoid penalties† Conclusion: IBM has been a leader in corporate social responsibility for nearly 100 years, contributing technology, talent and cash to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions around the world. Our activities are designed to help people to become smarter, and to develop future leaders capable of improving the quality of life for themselves and in the cities where they live—making for a smarter planet.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - 972 Words

The setting changes while Francie continues to mature into a woman. She becomes 16, and is beginning to lead a life of her own. The family leaves the grieving they had for Johnny behind. Not only does Francie start out with a clean slate, so does the rest of the Nolan family. After the two and  ½ years of mourning for Johnny, Sergeant Mc Shane asks Katie to marry him. War rages through the country. While he and Katie make arrangements for the fall wedding and gifts of money and whatnot, Francie makes headway in her personal life. In college, a handsome young lad holding the name Ben Blake, seems to fancy Francie as they go on various study dates. He helps her cram for college entrance exams. Though she fails the first time, she later tries again and gets accepted into Michigan University that Ben chose for her to apply. Meanwhile, Katie receives a gift of $1,000.00 from Mc Shane, which she later uses for Francie’s college money, and a gift to Evy- $200.00. Laurie Nolan gets her last name changed to Mc Shane. The Nolans move from their humble apartment flat to the rich Mc Shane house. Neeley grows older and Francie can’t help but notice he is so alike to Johnny. When the Nolans are finished moving, Francie says goodbye to all the places she once treasured; Carney’s where she hauled junk, Cheap Charlie’s, where she tried to win prizes but never got any, Mcgaritty’s saloon, and the library. Lastly, she sees Florry Wendy in her fire escape, reading and watching the streetsShow MoreRelatedA Tree Grows in Brooklyn Paper901 Words   |  4 PagesI. Intro paragraph a. Hook: In the Irish American community of Brooklyn in the 1900’s, immigrants faced discrimination and crushing poverty b. In the world that Betty Smith describes in â€Å"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn† however, this poverty is depicted as a kind of virtue, a force that causes individuals to grow, and families to bond c. Yet, while female characters like Katie and Francie grow from overcoming the hardships brought on by poverty, Francie’s father Johnny Nolan is defeatedRead MoreThe Influence of the Family Members on the Life of Francie Nolan by Betty Smith782 Words   |  4 PagesThe Influence of the Family Members on the Life of Francie Nolan The main character in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, is certainly the brilliant and resourceful Francie Nolan, however, three other characters in the novel deserve credit for guiding Francie through her troublesome childhood. Francie Nolan grows up in the slums of Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the early 1900s. Despite Francie’s lifestyle of poverty and distress, she manages to work several respectable jobs, attend college andRead MoreComing of Age in a Tree Grows in Brooklyn1231 Words   |  5 PagesBetty Smith s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn presents the problems of a child growing up, the coming of age when one meets challenges and overcomes obstacles. 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Through Francies fear, humiliation, compassion, sorrow, prideRead MoreEmpathy Is The True Catalyst For Understanding1419 Words   |  6 Pagesunderstanding more about culture--especially Hispanic cultures. When I was ten, my mother gave me a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith which recounts the history of Francie Nolan, a child of Irish immigrants, growing up in New York at the turn of the century. I can’t count the number of times that I have read this book. I love the historical detail about Francie’s life which is based off of Betty Smith’s personal experiences. However, after meeting my boyfriend’s family, I became acutely awareRead MoreMy Greatest Enemy Is The American Education System970 Words   |  4 Pageswho possesses these three qualities so I can finally have a fulfilling conversation. The closest things I have to passionate people are my books. Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez, Jane Austen, Nicholas Kristof, Madeleine L’Engle, Rick Riordan, Harper Lee, Betty Smith, Lois Lowry, and so many more have enabled me to think beyond myself, to explore alien ideas, and to think creatively. I am jealous of all those who can create. They are able to explain themselves while I cannot. Often, I get trapped in my own mindRead MoreThe True Nature Of Human Nature In Mark Twain And The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer1609 Words   |  7 Pages Contrary to Austens’ belief, Mark Twain withâ€Å"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer† shows a more optimistic view of human nature where the guilt and sense of sympathy are the driving emotions behind every action. Similarly, in the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith identifies the empathy and duty as a primary cause for the kindness in each person. Every person is hardwired to be a social and inherently good person driven by the emotional consequences and personal experiences that one has facedRead MoreTom Sawyer Human Nature Essay1578 Words   |  7 PagesContrary to Austen s’ belief, Mark Twain withâ€Å"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer† shows a more optimistic view of human nature where the guilt and sense of sympathy are the driving emotions behind every action. Similarly, in the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith identifies the empathy and duty as a primary cause for the kindness in each person. Every person is hardwired to be a social and inherently good person driven by the emotional consequences and personal experiences that one has facedRead MoreLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 PagesMountain by Thomas Mann (1924). Pather Panchali, by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (1929)[29] Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell (1936) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1936) Native Son by Richard Wright (1940) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943) The Green Years by A. J. Cronin (1944) The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger (1951)[30] The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (for plot character Eustace Scrubb) by C. S. Lewis (1952) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952) In theRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. 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