The Bible Essay Research Paper God tiptoes free essay sample

The Bible Essay, Research Paper God tiptoes and dances upon a yarn every bit thin as fishing line, chat uping with being judged in two utmost manners. On one side you have him being a cruel and malicious divinity that inflicts penalties onto unsuspicious and unworthy victims. The other side he could be looked upon as a humane and just Godhead, who punishes merely the deserving. Critics have read, reread, studied, and analyzed the Old Testament until they were blue in the face. Many have come up with the fact that God acts in contradictory ways. He will harness panic against those who have disobeyed him in parts of Genesis, Ezekiel, Exodus and Job ; however, he will expose the forgiving and benevolent side in the same books of the Old Testament. Lord Acton one time said, # 8220 ; Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. # 8221 ; God had absolute power over everything in the existence. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bible Essay Research Paper God tiptoes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Some critics say that he did mistreat his power and measure over the line to an unfair and inhumane Lord. God did sometimes penalize those who did non merit it, moving unfeelingly toward his ain people in parts of the Old Testament. In the Book of Genesis there are some things that God does that makes him unfair and unjust. God created everything and when he was done, # 8220 ; God looked at everything he had made, and he found it really good. # 8221 ; ( Genesis, 1 ; 30 ) God made everything abundant for Adam and Even in the garden, except one thing. He instructed them non to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. In the tree God created a snake that tempted Adam and Eve to seek some fruit from the tree. They gave into the enticement from the snake and tried some fruit. If God created everything that was good so why would he hold created enticement that finally got Adam and Eve in problem? Furthermore why would God hold created a snake that would travel against his word and attempt to hold Adam and Eve get into a quandary? God acted below the belt to put a snake and enticement into the garden if he knew would merely take to jobs. Job was one of the most faithful and loyal retainers to God in all of the land. Job habitually worshiped God and avoided immoralities in any manner that he could. God was proud of him and of the manner in which he lived. God so got into an statement with Satan about the lone ground that he worships you so much is that he has everything. Take everything off and he will disinherit you to your face was Satan # 8217 ; s statement. God so without vacillation put Job through some of the most painful and barbarous intervention merely to turn out a point. He foremost had all of Job # 8217 ; s livestock either stolen or killed. Then he viciously wiped out his seven boies and three girls. That wasn # 8217 ; t adequate to turn out his point ; he so inflicted Job with terrible furuncles all over his organic structure. He made him endure in legion ways, God put Job through hurting that no 1 could conceive of. All for the simple fact that he could turn to Satan and state, # 8220 ; Told ya so! # 8221 ; Is that how God should move? Is it merely for him to bring down such a cruel and unworthy penalty onto one of his most loyal retainers, so he could out make Satan? He was mistreating his power, moving as an unfair and unjust Lord. In the Book of Exodus, God reined down his rage onto the people of Egypt moving in a really sadistic manner. The Lord wanted Moses to take the Hebrews off from Egyptian control. Moses had to so convert the Egyptian Pharaoh to allow the people go to idolize God. But, the Lord said, # 8220 ; I will do him obstinate, nevertheless, so that he will non allow the people go. # 8221 ; ( Exodus, 4 ; 21 ) So God so sent Egypt 10 horrific pestilences that wiped out about everything in the land. Some illustrations were that he sent locusts to destruct all the harvests, he gave all the farm animal plague so they died, he gave adult male and animal suppuration furuncles. His ten percent and concluding pestilence was the unkindest of the all. It was called decease of the first Born, # 8220 ; Every first-born in this land shall decease, from the first-born of the Pharaoh on the throne to the first-born of the slave-girl at the handmill, every bit good as all the first-born of the animals. # 8221 ; ( Exodus, 11 ; 5 ) God acted in such a desperate manner against the guiltless people of Egypt. Why would he butcher guiltless kids? It was his mistake that he made the Pharaoh obstinate and wouldn # 8217 ; t allow the Hebrews free. God inflicted penalty merely because he wanted to flex his musculuss and demo off how powerful he truly was. # 8220 ; Now is the clip to do justness a world for all of God # 8217 ; s kids, # 8221 ; said Martin Luther King Jr. God did punish people, but non viciously and inhumanely. There were parts in the Old Testament where people did disobey him, and were punished consequently. God sometimes didn’t even punish those who have sinned doing him non merely a merely Godhead but besides a sort one. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God did penalize. The people he punished though did something of importance to deserve censuring. God provided Adam and Eve with everything they could perchance conceive of. The Garden of Eden was plentiful and abundant. The lone direction he gave them was # 8220 ; ? You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of cognition? the minute you eat from it you are certainly doomed to die. # 8221 ; ( Genesis, 2:16-17 ) The Lord gave them direction every bit clear as twenty-four hours ; however, they ate from the tree. Alternatively of killing them instantly like he had antecedently stated he would make, he alternatively banished them from the garden for infinity. Traveling back on his original word he acted in a more indulgent manner. Cain and Abel was another narrative in the book of Genesis. Abel flourished in all that he did, but his brother, Cain, did non. Cain grew covetous and hostile of his Abel and one twenty-fou r hours took him into a field and slaughtered his brother. The Lord seeing this punished Cain, and made him a roamer for the balance of his life. At this clip God could hold been looked at as allowing Cain off the hook. If you compare his judgement of Cain to the Code of Hammurabi, Lord looks like he is allowing Cain off easy. In the Code of Hammurabi Cain would hold been killed no inquiries asked. Throughout parts of the book of Genesis the Godhead didn # 8217 ; t act in a revengeful and malicious manner, he was merely. The Book of Exodus offers some more proof that God wasn # 8217 ; t barbarous leader. Moses the 1 who he had chosen to be his leader was a liquidator. Moses had late, # 8220 ; ? slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. # 8221 ; ( Exodus, 2:12 ) The Lord did punish Moses in any manner possible, alternatively he chose him to be the leader of the Israelites. Again comparing this to the Code of Hammurabi, God would hold look really merciful and sort. After making this, the Lord turned to the Israelitess who were being viciously enslaved by the Egyptians. The Egyptians feared that the Hebrews were going # 8220 ; so legion and powerful # 8221 ; ( Exodus, 1:9 ) that they would catch them, so they enslaved the Hebrews. The Hebrews were being ill paid and being worked to the bone. Sing no manner out the Hebrews turned their hopes to God. God answered their calls for aid and sent pestilences to the Egyptians. He sent a sum of 10 pestilences to the Egyptians, which may look inordinate but the Egyptian Pharaoh was obstinate. After many of the pestilences the Pharaoh would lie to Moses and state them that he would allow his people be freed. Finally after the ten percent and concluding pestilence were the Hebrew people freed. God, so with the assistance of Moses, lead the Hebrews from Egypt to Sinai. The Lord chose a way through the desert for the Hebrews. When the Hebrews were in the desert they complained that they should hold been left in bondage, that it was better than hungering in the desert. God had merely released them from many old ages in bondage and they still weren # 8217 ; t satisfied. Alternatively of penalizing them for fundamentally ptyalizing in his face, he gave them what they asked for. If they needed staff of life he gave them staff of life, if they need H2O he provided it. The Lord was genuinely sort to the Hebrew people in legion ways. He was generous, sort and really humane in helping the Hebrews in their clip of demand. Throughout the Old Testament people disobey, doubted, and disrespected the Lord. God could merely take so much without bring downing penalty and justness onto those. The Lord did penalize many people, but those who he did penalize he had grounds for making so. In some cases he acted kindly and really generous. God in many parts of the Old Testament proved that he was a sort just swayer. Looking at God in a whole it is really hard to pull the line. Is he a revengeful Lord who punishes those who are undeserving or is he a sort merely divinity that is generous and understanding? There is non a right or a incorrect reply. Analyzing the Old Testament there is ample sums of cogent evidence for either side. It is really difficult to label him for good with being one over the other. All that is known is that belief in some divinity is non ephemeral, and the divinity that the people will go on to idolize will most probably be the sort generous Lord who is understanding and compassionate. Universally people will idolize the humane Lord because it gives them hope and a sense of goodness in their lives. It makes them experience of import in an facet, and that is something that everybody needs.

Starbucks in Europe

Starbucks in Europe In contemporary business arena, companies are engaging in corporate social responsibilities activities in the effort to increase their market base and create good relationship with customers. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) involves activities that a company engages in for the direct benefit of the community. Despite the focus being on community welfare, CSRs have an indirect benefit to the company especially in sales, brand creation, and marketing. This paper discusses the structure of Starbucks corporate social responsibility program.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Starbucks in Europe specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Brief History of the company Starbucks is world’s number one coffee and coffeehouse company; the company has embraced the spirit of corporate social responsibilities in its business. It is situated in 55 countries; the first branch was opened by Jerry Baldwin,  Zev Siegl, and G ordon Bowker on March 30, 1971 (Starbucks Corporate website). Starbucks Company has over 666 stores distributed across Europe. The branches have been developed through buyouts and franchising. Though the branches are operated and managed differently they have a similar code of conduct that they must uphold always (Starbucks Corporate website). The company is operational in 25 countries in Europe and a pilot survey is ongoing to analyse the chances of expanding to Ukraine and Italy. It is available in the following nations;  Portugal, Austria,  Belgium, Germany Portugal,   Russia,   Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary  Ireland,   United Kingdom Denmark, Netherlands,  Poland,   Bulgaria,   Greece,   Turkey, Cyprus  Hungary  Ireland   France  , Jersey, Romania, Switzerland and   Spain (Starbucks Corporate website). Corporate social responsibilities undertaken by the company As a matter of social corporate responsibilities, the company has a number of charity p rograms which it finances they are; Water conservation financing, this is done through Ethos ® Water  policy where when somebody purchases the brand then   5 cent goes to the project. The company is engaged in youth programs aimed at training youth on entrepreneurial strategies. In 2009 a total of $2.1 million was used to finance 71 grants.  The company has also entered into Bonos (RED) For Charity where it donates money to assist those suffering from HIV. The company has a system called Shared Plane, where it aims at doing business in a way that is friendly to the environment. The system involves the producers and local community to adopt ethical production method which does not pollute the environment. The company has embarked on recycling of its waste products up to 70%. The move is to ensure that there are minimal disposal to the environment.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The company uses large amounts of water in its productions, however in a move to conserve water; it recycles over 70% of its waste water. In the effort to reduce green house emission, the company has embarked on massive energy efficient methods. This involves the use of electricity to roast coffee beans in place of charcoal (Starbucks Corporation). Methods and strategy of Starbucks CSRs The approach taken by Starbucks to manage its corporate social responsibility involves analysing the prevailing situation in the world and coming up with the right intervention. The strategy aims at developing long lasting policies that the community can benefit from even after the withdrawal of the company. Other projects are aimed at promoting peace among community for better community of communities. The company has one of the world’s respected supply chain system which address corporate social responsibilities from a wider approach, according to the system, t he company only buys from farmers who have produced their coffee beans in an environmentally friendly manner. Starbucks corporate social responsibilities can be ranked among the best in the world; they not only address current issues facing a community but also ensure that the systems they have developed will be sustained for long periods. Although there are some companies that seems to be doing better than the company, credit should be given on the efforts and programs that the company has engaged in. The company’s sales and marketing team collaborates with the corporate social responsibilities to come up with the right programs for the company. Corporate social responsibilities programs aims at creating a healthy relationship with customers, it is among the strong points that the company considers in its customer relation management programs. In the event of an in eventuality, the company has set some funds to address such issues with the seriousness they require. Global is sue that Starbucks has not engaged in yet Although efforts made by the company can be applauded, the company has limited its focus in developed worlds and have played minimal stake in developing countries. One problem facing the developing countries is poverty; there are no programs that aim at reducing or eradicating poverty in developing countries. Some companies which are doing better than the company, for example Toyota Corporation, have micro-financing programs in developing countries as efforts to eradicate poverty in the areas.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Starbucks in Europe specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main reason that the company should focus in developing countries is because the nations are potential markets in the future. Developing countries have the potential to industrialize if only they can be given some financial and ideas boosts, the Starbucks has the potential of nurturing dev eloping countries potential. Starbucks Corporation Official Wesite. Starbucks Corporation. Web.

Mentality and Mindfulness Meanings

Mentality and Mindfulness Meanings Mentality and Mindfulness Meanings Mentality and Mindfulness Meanings By Mark Nichol Mental and its lexical relations, all pertaining to workings of the mind, as well as mind and words and phrases derived from that word, are listed and defined in this post. Mental Mental is descended from the Latin noun mens, meaning â€Å"mind.† It means â€Å"pertaining to the mind,† though it also has a slang connotation of being irrationally agitated, as when somebody is said to be â€Å"going mental.† Demented, likewise, is used both technically, to mean â€Å"mentally impaired,† and informally, to describe someone who is mentally unstable to a dangerous extent; dementia refers to cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease as well as to insanity. (Demential is a rare adjectival form.) Mentality means â€Å"intelligence,† though it more often refers subjectively to one’s way of thinking, as in the phrase â€Å"small-town mentality.† Mentation, meanwhile, is the process of thinking, and from this word science fiction author Frank Herbert derived Mentat, the name of a class of humans endowed with powerful cognitive abilities who take the place of computers in a future technophobic society. Mentalist is a dated term for a mind reader, someone who claims to be able to detect the thoughts of others. The noun mention can refer to a formal acknowledgment of recognition (as in a special mention or an honorable mention) or can denote calling attention to something; it serves as a verb for both meanings as well. A mentor is a person who provides guidance and advice to a person seeking to develop knowledge and skills. The term mentee was superfluously coined to describe the latter person; protà ©gà © serves that purpose well enough. To comment is to note or remark, or provide an explanation or illustration, or a critique or judgment; as a noun, the word refers to any such communication. (A commentary is a formal comment, usually expressed in speech or writing, though it may also refer metaphorically to a phenomenon that unintentionally speaks judgmentally to a state of affairs, as in â€Å"The unsightly litter is a sad commentary on the decline in the sense of personal responsibility.†) A memento is an object that prompts memories, such as a souvenir. (The Latin phrase â€Å"memento mori† means â€Å"reminder of mortality.†) A reminiscence is a recalled memory of an experience; to bring one to mind is to reminisce. The Latin forebear is seen in the Latin phrase â€Å"mens rea,† meaning â€Å"guilty mind,† and â€Å"mens sana in corpore sano,† which translates to â€Å"a sound mind in a sound body.† â€Å"Compos mentis,† meanwhile, means â€Å"of sound mind†; â€Å"non compos mentis† is a legal and medical term denoting the absence of a capacity to understand a situation. The ubiquitous suffix -ment, referring to a condition or state, an action or a location of an action, or an agent, means, or result of an action, is unrelated. Mind The word mind, from the Old English term gemynd, is cognate with mens as well as a href=http://monere, meaning â€Å"warning† (the source of monitor, admonish, and other words). The noun mind is often considered synonymous with brain, referring in general to an organism’s mental activities and capabilities, but the latter term denotes the organ that controls body functions, prompts physical responses, and facilitates learning; the mind is more accurately described as the part of a person that thinks, reasons, decides, perceives, and feels. Other senses include â€Å"memory† (as in â€Å"Keep that in mind†), â€Å"intention† (â€Å"Have you changed your mind?†), â€Å"opinion† (â€Å"She spoke her mind†), and â€Å"mood† (â€Å"I’m not in a good state of mind right now†). In addition, the word denotes a collective mental quality (as in â€Å"hive mind†) or a person of superior intelligence (â€Å"one of the great minds of our age†). Meanwhile, a minder is someone who attends to or oversees someone or something. To mind is to attend to, notice, or pay attention, or to obey or follow instructions, or to be careful or concerned. A reminder is a note about something to remember or a memory aid; the verb form is remind. The phrase â€Å"never mind† is employed to denote something less likely than something else (as in â€Å"I couldn’t even run a mile right now, never mind a marathon†) and is an idiom meaning â€Å"disregard what I said.† The use of Nevermind as the title of an album by the band Nirvana likely contributed to the frequent erroneous occurrence of the phrase as a closed compound, but any treatment of the term as one word other than in a colloquialism such as â€Å"It don’t make me no nevermind† (meaning â€Å"It doesn’t matter to me†) is an error. To be aware or attuned is to be mindful; the quality is mindfulness. To be mindless is to act without thinking or using critical-thinking skills; mindlessly is the adverbial form. Mind control is the practice of influencing someone’s beliefs, thoughts, and actions through hypnosis, propaganda, or other forms of persuasion or suggestion and, in fiction, manipulation of the person’s brain using some sort of technology. Meanwhile, a mind-set is a way of thinking. (Writers often treat this word as a closed compound, but dictionaries still favor the hyphenated form.) A mastermind is someone responsible for plotting or strategizing a scheme or a plan; the word is often used in the context of illicit or otherwise undesirable activities, as in â€Å"criminal mastermind.† One of limited intelligence or judgment is feebleminded (in the first sense only) or simpleminded. One who is forgetful is absentminded. Adverbial forms of these words are produced by adding the suffix -ly. Something that is astonishing, exciting, inspiring, puzzling, or otherwise stimulating or that has the potential to figuratively or literally alter one’s perception is referred to as mind-bending, mind-blowing, or mind-boggling. Such a phenomenon itself is called a mind-bender, mind-blower, or mind-boggler. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph ExamplesConfusing "Passed" with "Past"Using "zeitgeist" Coherently

Operations ManagementQuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Operations ManagementQuality - Essay Example It led to the establishment of an innovative public and private partnership. The main support for the act comes from the Foundation of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards which was recognized in 1988. However, the purpose of this award is for the betterment of manufacturing and services of small and large businesses, education, health, non-profit corporations that relate and are reviewed to be remarkable in several areas of leadership and strategic planning, measurement, knowledge management, human resource, process management and their outcomes. This award is only given by the president of the United States to the businesses and corporations. The award program was created by the parliament in 1987 to be familiar with the United States organizations for their success in quality, performance and to increase awareness about the significance of quality and performance superiority as a viable edge. Although, the award is not only given for a particular product and service, but is divided into different categories such as manufacturing, service, education, small business, nonprofit organizations and health care services. In 1980's, many of the government officials and industry saw tha t a transformed emphasis on quality has become a necessity for doing a business rather than just being an option.

The Battle of Midway - A Naval Analysis Research Paper

The Battle of Midway - A Naval Analysis - Research Paper Example In essence, this combat was at Midway atoll which was a mid-pacific naval base because of the high water tower visible in the area. In the past, Japan portrayed prowess over the US navy hence making them strike any where that they chose to without seeking consent from the US navy. However, The Battle of Midway created an equal platter for the two naval entities to take deemed offensiveness on one another. With these shallow facts presented, this essay will investigate the Battle of Midway and the significance it had on the historic past of the United States. Background information Primarily, Japan had strong convictions about eliminating US control over the greater Pacific region as a way of allowing themselves to create a larger Asian sphere for prosperity. For them, taking war to the Americans meant that Japan had demoralized them through defeat as a way of gaining upper recognition in the Pacific war. As part of their plan, Japan intended to lure US aircraft fleets into a trap tha t would allow them to be occupants of Midway on US soil. This action drew influence from the Doolittle Raid that made Japan cautious that facilitated the expansion of their perimeter defense area. However, the operation failed miserably because the US navy broke Japanese naval codes that provided information on the time and location of their deliberated attack 1. In essence, Japan intended to use Midway as a potential combat location that would have furthered attacks n Islands like Fiji and Samoa. In this regard, the forewarning enabled assisted the US in their setting up of a successful ambush of four out of six aircraft carriers as a vengeance plot for their own carriers attacked by Japan. Japanese battle plan As history would present it, the attack mission was under the able leadership of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku that focused on winning the US over as they had done to Malaya, Phillipines, and Indonesia. However, there resulted internal wrangles between the Imperial Army and the N avy that led to delayed plans for the attack. In due time, the conflict achieved solutions as Yamamoto threatened to resign citing no cooperation from their counterparts. Finally, the two war agencies adopted his hatched plan to the latter. Essentially, Yamamoto was for the idea of destroying US aircraft forces as the country served as the primary hurdle to conquering the pacific. Moreover, the heightening of this concern drew influence from the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942 where US targets bombed Japanese cities. From this attack, the Japanese viewed American carriers as merciless threats as they were able to penetrate their territory with ease that tormented the Japanese psychologically. In his attack plan, Yamamoto intended to knock down defenses that existed in Midway and then establish a Japanese owned airbase there. The plan included an assault attack led by Deputy Admiral Nagumo Chuichi and his aircraft carrier from the North West. This would have weakened the forces of d efense in Midway to facilitate a strike on US warships. Next in the battle aircraft line would be a battleship with Admiral Yamamoto on-board who was to be the heavy Ferrier of gun powder essential for the war. Additionally, vice admiral Kondo Nobutake was to come from the southwestern and the western side whose role in the battle of Midway was to secure the area

How cultures use food Essay Example for Free

How cultures use food Essay 1. Outline the way different cultures use the value food? Out of the many different cultures present throughout the world, all value food in most similar ways. Most similarities can be struck between the availability of foods within their regions, specifically enviromental and seasonal ripening in the spring period. Food has become plentiful in Western civilisations over the past few decades, , due to the advances in agriculture allowing maximum growth and larger yields in the shortest amount of time (Chemgeneration 2011). This has also introduced interest into controversial genetically modified foods and the use of hybrid varieties of plants that have more desirable qualities. An example of this is Maize and certain potatoes that secrete a pesticide from the plant to ward of pests and insects, thus removing the need to use pesticides and chemicals (Chemgeneration 2011). Dr Rosalie McCauley (Development Office Department of Agriculture and Food WA, p1), obtained results that genetically modified foods haves been more increasingly used as the use of farmland increases exponentially at over 6% per year, seeing some 170.3 million hectares of GM foods being grown. In western society, there are a significant percentage of people either being overweight or obese, even Australia that has a population of approx 22 million (Australian Bureau of Statistics p1), with over 60% is considered over weight (ABS 2012, Australian Bureau of Statistics). Most overweight or obese individuals have and unhealthy relationship with food and it was theorised by Dr Carole Hungerford (Good Health in 21st Century) it can be considered ‘an addiction’. There is speculation as to why western society has such an addiction foods such as bread and milk, as we are the only species that drinks milk after weaning, especially that of another animal. Clinical studies and Medical Publications released by Dr J.L. Fortuna (PUBMED, 2010, p1) found clinical similarities for binge eating to that of drug dependences seeing a similar release of serotonin as with other drug dependencies. Though obesity is a prevalent condition around the world, numerous countries do not have the same obesity rates as western culture, some of this is likely to result in the way food is perceived by other cultures. Comparatively, in some cultures around the world, it is part of their culture to abstain from food for a short period of time. A more popularly known fasti ng is the Islamic undertaking of Ramadan where they fast during day light hours (Huda, 2009). Though in western cultures, people have a dislike to feel hungry, and can feel like they have fasted if they miss morning tea during a busy day at work. Numerous cultures throughout history have also used food as offering to their gods or deities to pray for health, or future harvests rain. Egyptian Pharaohs would be entombed with vast pots of food and spices to be used on their journey to the heavens. Some traditional practices continue even today such as the Korean Charye used to honour families ancestors, where special foods are prepared to during the Chuesoerk Ceremonies. The Chuesoerk (Korea.net, 2010) is a three day holiday to celebrate the good harvest received during the spring of that year. These cultural and religious uses for food are worldwide, and often not too distant from Christian practices of thanksgiving celebrated during the Christmas period. In conclusion, all cultures, no matter how distant or unique, have significant celebrations, events or relationships with a large role involving the use or lack of foods. The use of food to bring together communities and families is not dissimilar in almost all countries and demographics on earth; however the individuals use or overuse is not always healthy. References: 1. The Chemical Generation 2001, Viewed 14 January 2014 2. The Chemical Generation 2001, Viewed 14 January 2014 3. Dr Rosalie McCauley, Department of Agriculture and Food, WA, viewed 10 January 2014 4. ABS (2012) Australian health survey: First results, 2011–12. ABS cat. no. 4364.0.55.001. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Viewed 14 January 2014 5. Aust Government, National Health and Medical Research Council. Viewed 10 January 2014 6. Hungerford, Dr Carole, 2008, Good health in the 21st century, Revised Edition, Scribe, Victoria. 7. Fortuna, J. Department of Health Science, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, viewed 10 January 2014 8. Huda, About.com, 2009. Viewed 15 January 2014 9. Korea.net, 2010, viewed 11 January 2014 2. What general concepts guide the present western diet? The current concepts of the western diet are based in the influence of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins and minerals (Whitney and Rolfes, 2013). Although we have come a long way with the introduction of multiculturalism some decades ago, for many western diet is still based around the proteins consisting of meats, predominantly red meat and chicken, carbohydrates with starchy root vegetables. This is often referred to as the ‘meat and three veg’ diet and the previous generations would have grown up with this as their diet staples as they where the majority of foods available for purchase or even grown themselves. With exception to the last 200 years, mankind has been involved in the seasonal use of foods and their diets where restricted by what was available at those times. Today there are vast changes in the way foods are produced to permit year round availability and the creation of food products that have previously been unavailable. Researchers at Bates Collage (Lewiston, ME, USA, 2013) believe that in the last 150 years since the invention of stones mills, the refining process of grain to create white flour, is now a consistent staple within the western diet. It was noted that this is a considerable source of carbohydrates and the cultures that had not encountered this food type previously began to show Heart Disease, Type 2 diabetes and stroke. These are all ailments that had been previously unseen in those areas. Additionally, the belief of receiving good value for money has become one of the most influential concepts and reasoning behind the purchase of processed food in recent times. The perception to receive the best meal, to be filling, quickly and well priced has seen the fast food chain market turn into a billion dollar industry (B.A. Swinburne, 2004). Anna Hodgekiss (U.S. daily Mail editor) explains that the over indulgence of these highly fatty foods have been  linked to short life spans and arrays of health problems. Even with the warnings and proven heath problems that arise, some families can become dependent on foods that are considered â€Å"value for money†. In conclusion, the general concepts to achieve the main food groups are relevant and understood but poorly enacted. The ease and availability of cheap fast food and highly refined products, that arrive ready to eat, are becoming preferential over the more time consuming cooking of foods from the local supermarket. References: 1. Whitney, E and Rolfes, S. Understanding Nutrition 13th Edition, 2013, Wadsworth USA 2. BATES Collage 2014, 2 Andrews Road Lewiston, ME 04240. Viewed 14 January 2014 3. Online book extract B.A. Swinburne, Public Health Nutrition, Chap 7, pp132 (p10). Viewed 14 January 2014 4. Hodgekiss, Anna, U.S. Daily Mail, viewed 14 January 2014 3. Discuss the comparative issues between man and nature? Nature is the world surrounding us, and it is the term we use to describe anything that happens which is out of our control. Such as natural disasters like cyclones, floods and drought. So considering this nature can not only be seen as a friend, but also as an enemy. Man desires to control nature by synthetic, mechanic and industrial plans. Synthetic and Natural medicines desire the same outcomes, of long life and good heath, but the methods to achieve it could not be any more different. Whether it is derived by numerous chemical processes or used in the original form it is found, nature made and manmade are vastly different especially when it comes to health and healing. Some cultures rely almost completely on nature to provide their basic needs such as water, food, shelter and even medicine. Though considered bland and not in line with the â€Å"perfect diet† (Health Schools Australia notes), the health benefits and improved health conditions are  achieved without the use of synthetic medicine, where as Western Diet, requires supplement by manmade medicines. This reliance on the local flora and fauna to provide all essentials and life improving aspects is not a new belief and is understood worldwide, but has been partially replaced by Western perception of that health can only be achieved by Pharmaceutical (Crigger NJ). The perception that health and food are separate and not interrelated because ‘man’ has created medicines that are better than those extracted from the ‘nature’ like Tibetans and non western cultures. In contrast, Western society has adopted that the scientific basis behind the synthetic production of therapeutic medicines is the only medical way to treat disease and illness. Today, it appears the practice of non synthetic medicinal applications is mostly centric to non western cultures. The â€Å"Perfect Diet’’ is deemed as a one shoe fits all remedy for the correct eating and dietary requirements for modern people. Where if we look at the diets of other cultures, such as the Hunza diet or Mediterranean Diet, where the majority of the population has a life expectancy significantly higher than that of the Western counterparts may have something to do with the foods that differ to that of the â€Å"Perfect Western Diet†(Diet Choices, 2014 and Trichopoula, A). One key reason is believed to be the Hunza population in the Himalayas consume more than 200% (Dainca Collins, 2011) of the B17 (also known as Amygdalan) than their western counter parts. This is likely due to the Hunza eating the seeds of all fruits, which is something that is often discarded within western society. Christina Larner (Body and Soul) has identified that Apricot se eds contain the largest concentrations of B17, and has been used a cancer treatment in modern times. However the same seeds are alleged to have caused Cyanidic acid when consumed to excessive quantities, but cases of cyanide toxicity are rare (Christina Larner). In conclusion, man created medicines for health and longevity are proven to be available in the natural world around us. Public perception provides the strongest reasons why man made pharmaceuticals are the main stream choice for western society, where as the isolated communities use the world around them to treat their ailments. 1.Whitney, E and Rolfes, S. Understanding Nutrition 13th Edition, 2013, Wadsworth USA 2.Crigger, N.J. 2009, PUBMED, US National Library of Medicine, viewed 14 January 2014 3.Diet Choices, 2014, Diet Choices, Las Vegas NV, USA, viewed 15 January 2014 http://dietchoices.com/diet-plans/hunza-diet/ 4.Trichopoula, A. 2000, PUBMED, US National Library of Medicine, viewed 14 January 2014 5.Dainca Collins, 2011, UNDERGROUND HEALTH REPORTER, viewed 15 January 2014 6.Larner, Christina, Body and Soul, viewed 15 January 2014 4) Diversity of foods has been a benefit to the human race? Australia’s culinary heritage has expanded greatly over the last 100 years with numerous population demographics immigrating to Australia. We have observed cultural and culinary delights flood our markets, restaurants and kitchens with sights, smells and aromas from around the world. Many years ago these would have been deemed exotic and bizarre, but are now considered almost staple additions to the average household pantry. Fifty years ago, within our Grandmothers pantry, our available food selections were significantly limited in spices and rare/exotic foods that are now considered normal place. Meat and three veg meals of starchy root vegetables and heavy protein meats where the staple of the diet during those times. It is argued (Potatoes SA) that these staples popularity on Australian kitchen tables where due to the European based settlers focusing on farming practices for this produce over the last 100 years. Pliner and Hoden (cit. Evaluation of food choice behaviours, p 20) stated it was more to do with the neophobic attitude towards foreign foods due to the â€Å"unfamiliarity of foods† that limited the adventurous mindset to the evolving culinary scene. In either case, only since World War 2 did the appearance of multicultural foods and diets start to intermix. One of the most popular entries into our diets is the highly regarded Mediterranean diet consisting of uncooked fresh whole vegetables, whole grains and some fish and seafood but minimal meat. That compared to the past diets of root based vegetables that where often boiled or baked, and argued to lose most of its natural vitamins and minerals during the cooking process, especially seen with water soluble vitamins (Better Health Channel). The high use of tomatoes within the Mediterranean diet, which contain large amounts of the antioxidant lycopene and that is believed to have anti-tumour properties to relieve cancers  particularly in the prostate and multiple-myeloma (Tonia Reinhard, p44-45). Additionally, the vibrant coloured vegetables that contain high amounts of VIT A and C such as Capsicums, Spinach, green leafy vegetables. VIT A is required for vision, the immune system and as an antioxidant. Dr Carole Hungerford (Good health in 21st century, p160) identifies that night blindness is a symptom of VIT A deficiency. Even the fats used are considered healthier with the Olives and olive oil as the principle source of fat. Tonia Reinhard states that Olive oil contains the richest source of mono unsaturated fatty acids, being 77% mono-unsaturated and 14% saturated, this is attributed as to why it helps to prevent cardiovascular disease. In conclusion, the diversity of foods that have spread across the world is bring ing the many health benefits to many. As the world continues to expand and new ideas and foods are embraced, soon the healing and healthy properties of those unique diets will improve the health and well being across the globe. 1.Potatoes South Australia, 2013, Elder House, Adelaide, SA, viewed 15 January 2014 2.Online Thesis – Roininen, Katariina, 2001, Evaluation of food choice behaviour: Development and Validation of health and taste attitude scales, visited 15 January 2014 3.Better Health Channel, July 2013, Victorian Government, viewed 15 January 2014 4.Hungerford, Dr Carole, 2008, Good health in the 21st century, Revised Edition, Scribe, Victoria. 5.Reinhard, Tonia, (2010), SUPERFOODS The Healthiest Foods on the Planet, Cove Press, NSW 5) The future of nutrition In the past and even in some places still today, nutrition has not play a conscious role in conventional medicine, as the focus has and always seems to be about treating disease not the cause. Nutrition based medicine has been labelled with a stigma as ‘alternative’ or new age and not given the same attention as the newest drug on the market. Recently have we begun to see some changes within the health care system which offers clients a  natural alternative to pharmaceuticals. This has began a movement known as Integrative Medicine (OSHER, 2012), where the approach is about taking the best from conventional and alternative medicine and combining them. This combination of practices is reinforcing the tenants of prevention rather than cure, which follows the old adage that â€Å"an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure†. We are already seeing this revolutionary ideal take off with the emergence of integrative clinics now established in some major citi es, and where patients even seek further information from their GP on what additional alternative treatments are available for their ailments (Mike Adams, 2005). This wider social consciousness towards natural alternatives is perhaps due to the increased marketing of nutritional supplements within media (Mike Adams, 2005). These messages are making people more curious about their health and what they can do to improve it. In addition, we are seeing nutritional products such as ‘Inner Health Plus’ a pro-biotic supplement, is sometimes prescribed to patients following a course of antibiotics. This behaviour by GP’s is demonstrating a small but important step to the medical and health organisations towards the evolution of nutritional medicine. The popularity of supplements and their advertised health benefits has propelled the sale of many nutritional products, especially Omega 3 supplements derived from fish oil or krill oil (Lisa Schofield, 2013). Omega 3 that is naturally occurring within deep ocean fish species has been proven to be beneficial for arthritis suffers, for heart health, and general wellbeing (Whitney, 2013, pg 161.). Dr Hungerford (Hungerford, 2008) tells us that until recent times, animals who do not manufacture their own omega 3 would have had to eat plants which contain omega 3’s for protection against the cold and other health benefits. However, as we domesticated animals, kept them warm in barns, and fed them the food we grew; the animals did not require as much omega 3 in order to survive. This man made change is a potential reason is why fish still remains one of the best sources of omega 3, as the majority of fish that we consume are wild. (Hungerford, 2008 pg. 6-7). In summary, the stigma of nutritional based medicine is slowly being lifted as media, mainstream medicine and health care practitioners inculcate these practices into their professions. Today, more than ever, people have access to the information and products that can be utilised to improve their health, wellbeing and  diets. As the message becomes clearer and better understood, it is likely that the stigma will be removed completely and nutritionists will be given the same renowned as the doctors and medical professionals that share the same vision for long and healthy life for all. 1.Osher Centre for Integrative Medicine, University of California, 2012, CA, USA, viewed 17 Jan 2014 2.Adams, Mike, 24 July 2005, Natural News, viewed 17 Jan 2014 3.Hungerford, Dr Carole, 2008, Good health in the 21st century, Revised Edition, Scribe, Victoria 4.Schofield, Lisa, 09 Sep 2013, Nutraceuticals World, viewed 17 January 2014 5.Whitney, E and Rolfes, S. Understanding Nutrition 13th Edition, 2013, Wadsworth USA Bibliography ABS (2012) Australian health survey: First results, 2011–12. ABS cat. no. 4364.0.55.001. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Viewed 14 January 2014 Adams, Mike, 24 July 2005, Natural News, viewed 17 Jan 2014 Aust Government, National Health and Medical Research Council. Viewed 10 January 2014 B.A. Swinburne, Public Health Nutrition, Chap 7, pp132 (p10). Viewed 14 January 2014 BATES Collage 2014, 2 Andrews Road Lewiston, ME 04240. Viewed 14 January 2014 Better Health Channel, July 2013, Victorian Government, viewed 15 January 2014 Collins, Dainca, 2011, UNDERGROUND HEALTH REPORTER, viewed 15 January 2014 Crigger, N.J. 2009, PUBMED, US National Library of Medicine, viewed 14 January 2014 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19671650 Diet Choices, 2014, Diet Choices, Las Vegas NV, USA, viewed 15 January 2014 http://dietchoices.com/diet-plans/hunza-diet/ Dr Rosalie McCauley, Department of Agriculture and Food, WA, viewed 10 January 2014 Fortuna, J. Department of Health Science, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, viewed 10 January 2014 Hodgekiss, Anna, U.S. Daily Mail, viewed 14 January 2014 Huda, About.com, 2009. Viewed 15 January 2014 Hungerford, Dr Carole, 2008, Good health in the 21st century, Revised Edition, Scribe, Victoria Korea.net, 2010, viewed 11 January 2014 http://www.korea.net/Government/Current-Affairs/Others?affairId=168 Larner, Christina, Body and Soul, viewed 15 January 2014 Osher Centre for Integrative Medicine, University of California, 2012, CA, USA, viewed 17 Jan 2014 Potatoes South Australia, 2013, Elder House, Adelaide, SA, viewed 15 January 2014 Reinhard, Tonia, (2010), SUPERFOODS The Healthiest Foods on the Planet, Cove Press, NSW Roininen, Katariina, 2001, Evaluation of food choice behaviour: Development and Validation of health and taste attitude scales, visited 15 January 2014 Schofield, Lisa, 09 Sep 2013, Nutraceuticals World, viewed 17 January 2014 The Chemical Generation 2001, Viewed 14 January 2014 The Chemical Generation 2001, Viewed 14 January 2014 Trichopoula, A. 2000, PUBMED, US National Library of Medicine, viewed 14 January 2014 Whitney, E and Rolfes, S. Understanding Nutrition 13th Edition, 2013, Wadsworth USA

Essay --

Sejarah Agama Buddha Agama Buddha lahir di negara India, lebih tepatnya lagi dikenali wilayah Nepal pada masa kini. Sejarah agama Buddha bermula pada abad ke-6 SM sampai sekarang dari lahirnya Buddha Siddharta Gautama. Dengan ini, Agama Buddha adalah salah satu agama tertua yang masih dianuti di dunia ini. Agama Buddha berkembang dengan unsur kebudayaan India, ditambah dengan unsur-unsur kebudayaan Helenistik (Yunani), Asia Tengah, Asia Timur dan Asia Tenggara. Dalam proses perkembangannya, agama ini telah berkembang hampir seluruh benua Asia dan telah menjadi agama mayoritas di beberapa negara Asia seperti Thailand, Singapura, Kemboja, Myanmar, Taiwan dan lain-lain. Pencetusnya ialah Siddhartha Gautama yang dikenal sebagai Gautama Buddha oleh pengikut-pengikutnya. Ajaran Buddha sampai ke negara Tiongkok pada tahun 399 Masehi yang dibawa oleh seorang bhiksu bernama Fa Hsien. Masyarakat Tiongkok mendapat pengaruhnya dari Tibet sesuai dengan tuntutan dan nilai moral. Setiap aliran Buddha berpegang kepada Tripitaka iaitu sebagai rujukan utama kerana di dalamnya tercatat sabda dan ajaran sang hyang Buddha Gautama. Pengikut-pengikutnya mencatat dan mengklasifikasikan ajarannya kepada 3 buku iaitu Sutta Piá ¹ ­aka (kotbah-kotbah Sang Buddha), Vinaya Piá ¹ ­aka (peraturan atau tata tertib para bhikkhu) dan Abhidhamma Piá ¹ ­aka (ajaran hukum metafisika dan psikologi). Sejarah kelahiran Pencetus Agama Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) Peringkat 1: Mimpi pelik. Raja Kapilavastu, ialah ayah kepada Buddha, iaitu Siddharta Gautama. Walaupun raja telah lama berkahwin dengan Ratu Maha Maya, tetapi masih tidak mendapat cahaya mata. Semasa Ratu Maha Maya berumur 40, pada suatu malam, ratu bermimpi pelik. Dalam mimpi itu, ratu ternampak seorang pemuda yang s... ...n apabila mereka minum social, ia biasanya adalah untuk mamatuhi. Walaupun sedikit alcohol memesongkan kesedaran dan menggangu kesedaran diri. Jika arak diambil dalam kuantiti yang besar, kesannya boleh mengakibatkan kemusnahan. Kesimpulan Kesimpulannya, Agama Buddha telah menjadi 3 agama yang utama di dunia ini. Agama Buddha ini telah berjaya mempengaruhi gaya hidup orang ramai di dunia itu supaya mengamal nilai-nilai yang murni ini dalam kehidupan mereka. Kesemua ajaran-ajaran agama Buddha mengenai soal hidup mati dan juga kebenaran-kebenaran mulia yang diajar oleh Buddha telah pun dicatatkan. Pada masa kini, Agama Buddha telah menjadi salah satu daripada 3 agama utama di dunia ini. Keusahaan dan kepayahan Gautama Buddha untuk mencari jawapan kepada semua soalan-soalan itu teleh membawa kejayaan yang agung. Kejaayan ini telah membawa manfaat kepada orang ramai

Internetworking End-to-End Requirements Essay

– Hence such characteristics as: performance, reliability, scalability, mobility, and QoS of DS are impacted by the underlying network technology and the OS ? Principles of computer networking – Every network has: ? An architecture or layers of protocols ? Packet switching for communication ? Route selection and data streaming ? Comm Subsystems (network technologies rest on): – Transmission media: wires, cables, fiber, wireless (sat, IR, RF, mwave) – Hardware devices: routers, switches, bridges, hubs, repeaters, network interfaces/card/transceivers. – Software components: protocol stacks, comm handlers/drivers, OS primitives, network-focus APIs ? Hosts – The computers and end-devices that use the comm subsystem – Subnet: A single cluster or collection of nodes, which reach each other on the same physical medium and capable of routing outgoing and incoming messages – The Internet is a collection of several subnets (or intranets) ? Networking issues for distributed systems – Initial requirements for DS applications: ftp, rlogin, email, newsgroup – Subsequent generation of DS applics. : on-line shared resources. – Current requirements: performance, reliability, scalability, mobility, security, QoS, multicasting ? Performance – Key: time to deliver unit(s) of messages between a pair of interconnected computers/devices – point-to-point latency (delay) from sending out of outgoing-buffer and receiving into incoming-buffer. Usually due to software overheads, traffic load, and path selection – Data transfer/bit rate: speed of data transfer between 2 computers (bps). Usually due to physical properties of the medium. ? Message trans time = latency + length/bit-rate ? Bandwidth vs. bit-rate. – The total system bandwidth (volume of data sent and received in a unit time, e. g. , per sec. ) is a measure of its throughput – Bit rate or transfer rate is restricted to the medium’s ability to propagate individual bits/signals in a unit time – In most LANs, e. g. , Ethernet’s, when full transmission capacity is devoted to messaging (with little or no latency), then bandwidth and bit-rate are same in measure – Local memory vs network resources: ? Applications access to shared resources on same network usually under msec ? Applications access to local memory usually under msec (1000x faster)? However, for high speed network web-server, with caches, the access time is much faster (than local disk access due to hard disk latency) ? Scalability (Internet and DSs) – Future growth of computing nodes of Internet (hosts, switches) in 109’s (100’s of 106 hosts alone) – Requires substantial changes to routing and addressing schemes (more later! ) – Current traffic (load) on Internet approx. measured by the latencies (see www. mids. org), which seem to have reduced (with advances in medium and protocol types). – Future growth and sustainability depend on economies of use, charge rate, locality/placement of shared resource? Reliability – Failures are typically, not due to the physical medium, but at the end-end (at host levels) software (application-level), therefore, error detection/correction is at the level – Suggesting that the communication subsystem need not be error-free (made transparent/hidden to user) because reliability is somewhat guaranteed at the send/receiver ends (where errors may be caused by, e. g. , buffer overflow, clock drifts causing premature timeouts) ? Security – Most intranets are protected from external (Internet-wide) DSs by firewall. – A firewall protects all the resources of an organized from unlawful/malicious access by external users, and control/monitoring of use of resources outside the firewall – A firewall (bundle of security software and network hardware) runs on a gateway – the entry/exit point of the corporate intranet – A firewall is usually configured based on corporate security policy, and filters incoming and outgoing messages. – To go beyond firewalls, and grant access to world- or Internet-wide resources, end-to-end authentication, privacy, and security (Standards) are needed to allow DSs to function – E. g., techniques are Cryptographic and Authentication – usually implemented at a level above the communication subsystem – Virtual Private Network (VPN) security concept allows intranet-level protection of such features/devices as local routers and secure links to mobile devices ? Mobility – Need wireless to support portable computers and hand-held devices – Wireless links are susceptible to, e. g. , eavesdropping, distortions in medium, out-of-sight/range transmitters/receivers – Current addressing and routing schemes are based on ‘wired’ technologies, which have been adapted and, therefore, not perfect and need extensions? QoS (Quality of Service) – Meeting deadlines and user requirements in transmitting/processing streams of real-time multimedia data – E. g. , QoS requirements: guaranteed bandwidth, timely delivery or bounded latencies, or dynamic readjustments to requirements ? Multicasting – Most transmissions are point-to-point, but several involve one-to-many (either one-to-all – broadcast or selective broadcast – multicast) – Simply sending the same message from one node to several destinations is inefficient – Multicasting technique allows single transmission to multiple destination (simultaneously) by using special addressing scheme 3. Multimedia Transmission and Internetworking Heterogeneous Systems ? Types of Networks – LANs: (confined to smaller, typically, 2. 5km diameter spread) ? higher speed, single medium for interconnection (twisted pair, coax, opt), no routing within ‘segments’ – all point-to-point (from hub), inter-segment connections via switches/hubs, low latency, low error rate ? E. g. , Ethernet, token ring, slotted ring protocols, wired. (1) Ethernet: 1970 with bandwidth of 10Mbps, with extended versions of 100/1000Mbps, lacking latency and bandwidth QoS for DSs: (2) ATM – using frame cells and optical fills the gap but expensive for LAN, newer high-speed Ethernets offer improvement and cost-effective – MANs: (confined to extended, regional area, typically, up to 50km spread) ? Based on high-bandwidth copper and fiber optics for multimedia (audio/video/voice), ? E. g. , technologies: ATM, high-speed Ethernet (IEEE 802. 6 – protocols for MANs), DSL (digital subscriber line) using ATM switches to switch digitized voice over twisted pair @ 0. 25-6Mbps within 1. 5km, cable modem uses coax @ 1. 5Mpbs using analog signaling on TV networks and longer distances than DSL – WANs: (worldwide, lower speeds over sets of varying types of circuits with routers) ? High latency (due to switching and route searching) between 0. 1-0. 5s, signaling speed around 3x105km/s (bounds latency) plus propagation delay (round-trip) of about 0. 2s if using satellite/geostationary dishes; generally slower at 10-100kbps or best 1-2Mbps – Wireless: (connecting portable, wearable devices using access points) ? Common protocol – IEEE 802. 11 (a, b, and now g) (WaveLAN) @ 2-11Mbps (11g’s bandwidth near 54Mbps) over 150m creating a WLANs, some mobiles connected to fixed devices – printers, servers, palmtops to create a WPANs (wireless personal area networks) using IR links or low-powered Bluetooth radio network tech @ 1-2Mbps over 10m. ? Most mobile cell phones use Bluetooth tech. e. g. , European GSM standard and US, mostly, analog-based AMP cellular radio network, atop by CDPD – cellular digital packet data communication system, operating over wider areas at lower speed 9. 6-19. 2kbps.? Tiny screens of mobiles and wearables require a new WAP protocol – Internetworks ? Building open, extendible system for DSs, supporting network heterogeneity, multi-protocol system involving LANs, MANs, WLANs, connected by routers and gateways with layers of software for data and protocol conversions – creating a ‘virtual network’ using underlying physical networks ? E. g. , the Internet using TCP/IP (over several other physical protocols) – Comparisons ? Range of performance characteristics: ? Frequency and types of failures, when used for DS applics? Packet delivery/loss, duplicates (masked at TCP level to guarantee some reliability and transparency to DSs; but may use UDP – faster but less reliable and DS applic’s responsibility to guarantee reliability) Diagram 3. 2 Network Principles †¢ Packet Transmission †¢ Packet transmission superseded telephone/telegraph switched network †¢ Messages are packetized and packets are queued, buffered (in local storage), and transmitted when lines are available using asynchronous transmission protocol †¢ Data Streaming †¢ Multimedia data can’t be packetized due to unpredicted delays. AV data are streamed at higher frequency and bandwidth at continuous flow rate †¢ Delivery of multimedia data to its destination is time-critical / low latency – requiring end-to-end predefined route †¢ E. g. networks: ATM, IPv6 (next generation – will separate ‘steamed’ IP packets at network layer; and use RSVP (resource reserv. protocol) resource/bandwidth prealloc and RTP play-time/time-reqs (real-time transp protocol) at layers 3 & 1, respectively) to work ? Switching Schemes – 4 Kinds of switching methods typically used. – Broadcast – no switching logic, all nodes ‘see’ signals on circuits/cells (e.g. , Ethernet, wireless networks) – Circuit Switching – Interconnected segments of circuits via switches/exchange boxes, e. g. , POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) – Packet Switching – Developed as computing tech advanced with processors and storage spaces using store-and-forward algorithms and computers as switches. Packets are not sent instantaneously, routed on different links, reordered, may be lost, high latency (few msec – msecs). Extension to switch audio/video data brought integration of ‘digitized’ data for computer comm. , telephone services, TV, and radio broadcasting, teleconferencing. – Frame Relay – PS (not instantaneous, just an illusion! ), but FR, which integrates CS and PS techniques, streams smaller packets (53 byte-cells called frames) as bits at processing nodes. E. g. , ATM – Protocols – – Protocols – implemented as pairs of software modules in send/receive nodes, – Specify the sequence of messages for transmission – Specify the format of the data in the messages – Protocols Layers – layered architecture, following the OSI suite – packets are communicated as peer-to-peer transmission but effected vertically across layers by encapsulation method over a physical medium Protocols Suites – The 7-layered architecture of the ISO-OSI †¢ Each layer provides service to the layer above it and extends the service provided by the layer below it †¢ A complete set of protocol layers constitute a suite or stack †¢ Layering simplifies and generalizes the software interface definitions, but costly overhead due to encapsulations and protocol conversions Diagram 3. 3 4. Service Provider Management On the Internet, a management service provider (MSP) is a company that manages information technology services for other companies. For example, a company could hire an MSP to configure and administer its business computers and related systems on a continuing basis, saving the company. An MSP is a service provider that offers system and network management tools and expertise. An MSP typically has its own data center that runs advanced network management software such as HP OpenView or Tivoli. It uses these tools to actively monitor and provide reports on aspects of its customer’s networks, including communication links, network bandwidth, servers, and so on. The MSP may host the customer’s Web servers and application servers at its own site. The services provided by MSPs have been called â€Å"Web telemetry† services. The MSP Association defines MSPs as follows: Management Service Providers deliver information technology (IT) infrastructure management services to multiple customers over a network on a subscription basis. Like Application Service Providers (ASPs), Management Service Providers deliver services via networks that are billed to their clients on a recurring fee basis. Unlike ASPs, which deliver business applications to end users, MSPs deliver system management services to IT departments and other customers who manage their own technology assets. TriActive is an example of an MSP. It provides management and monitoring of PCs, servers, networks, and Web sites from its own NOC (network operations center), which is hosted by Exodus Communications. Exodus ensures that the NOC has fully redundant power, network connectivity, routing, and switching to ensure maximum reliability and integrity. A â€Å"microagent† interacts with customer systems to provide system management. The agent is lightweight and designed for use over the Internet. It acts as a universal agent invoking and managing other agents and programs as required for specific actions. The service is delivered via the Web through a secure Internet portal that lets customers view management information, based on their role in the organization. For example, CIOs can view overall management information while help desk technicians can check call queues, escalations, and open ticket status. Systems analysts can conduct asset inventories and view virus reporting. Objective Systems Integrators is another management service provider that provides software solutions for unified network, service application, and process management. OSI was recently acquired by Agilent Technologies. A list of other MSPs may be found at the MSP Association Web site. Web application and infrastructure monitoring and management have suddenly become critical, yet the tools to do them are lacking. Management service providers (MSP), the latest addition to the current slew of service providers, claim to offer products and services that will oversee your Web operations. Companies staking claims as early MSPs include Candle Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. ; InteQ Corp. in Burlington, Mass. ; and Nuclio Corp. in Skokie, Ill. What makes MSPs distinctive is that their products and services are provided over the Internet on a subscription basis. That means â€Å"MSPs can achieve economies of scale that companies who license software cannot,† says Christopher Booth, head of technical operations at FreightWise Inc. , a Forth Worth, Texas-based online transportation exchange. Though he declined to say how much his company is paying to use Nuclio’s MSP, Booth did say that the service has been â€Å"very advantageous. † The cost savings that MSPs can pass on may help them catch on with corporate customers. Gartner Group Inc. in Stamford, Conn., estimates that the $90 million MSP market will balloon to more than $3. 25 billion by 2005. 5. Programmable/Cognitive Networks A key strength of the Internet has been to reduce the intelligence within the network to that required placed at strategic places within the network such as at administrative boundaries, or at locations where there is a large mismatch between bandwidth, or where the certain location specific services can be used. Others believe that the entire architecture should be rethought as a computational environment, in which everything can be programmed, and the entire network becomes active. The research in this area is aimed at discovering how viable it is to open up such elements of the communications architecture as the routing table. A fundamental question raised by both the active service and the active network approaches is how to ensure that the shared resource of the network remains safe and is protected from misbehaving programs. Programs can abuse the network by generating packet explosions and can abuse the shared processor by using all the memory and the processor cycles. Worse, they may subvert the working of correct programs so that they too break. If network programmability is going to be available to the application designers, we need to ensure that they do not break things by accident, let alone by intention. Traditional systems approaches to protection are based upon what a program should be able to do, then using runtime checks to ensure that the program doesn’t exceed these bounds. This leads to the sandbox model of protection, as used in Java and enhanced to provide protection for Active Networks. However, there are major problems with this approach. First, each runtime check reduces the performance of the system, increasing the overhead of each use of system resources. Second, it is very difficult to ensure that the protection mechanisms are correct, and cannot be subverted in any way. An alternative approach is to use compile time checks upon what the program is doing. This uses the type system to represent predicates about program functionality and if a program is well-typed, then it proves the program to obey the policies implemented in the type system. This approach has been used to allow users to run programs within the kernel as in Spin, and in protecting access to router functionality in the Switchware project. †¢ To provide a network programming language based on Internet `best effort’ communication. †¢ To provide scaleable high-level communication based on `remote spawn’ from which other communication can be built. †¢ To make use of types as safety properties, to ensure that the safety and security policies of the network are maintained. †¢ To rapidly prototype tools such as compilers and simulators in order to drive the development of the language by examples. Best-effort distributed programming In the Internet, an application transmits a packet, which is sent to the next router on the way to the destination. At this router, the arrival of the packet causes code to run, which calls other code dependent upon the fields in the header of the packet. This code may access and modify local state stored in the router and then copy or create one or more packets to be sent out from the router. These packets are then routed on output links depending upon the destination for each packet, and so on until the packets reach their destination, or are destroyed within the network for whatever reason. In our programming model, we have attempted to replicate this basic structure of packet transmission. In the Internet, the arrival of a packet initiates some thread of control which uses the data within the packet to decide upon the disposition of the packet. In our model, a packet becomes a thread of control, carrying the code to be run and the names or values of any data referenced within that code. When a thread arrives at a Safetynet-aware router or end system, the thread code is instantiated within the runtime and runs within a de_ned scheduling class. The thread of control may call other code to be run on its behalf. The other code is encapsulated within classes, which are either present in the router, or are dynamically loaded from elsewhere. Threads can spawn other threads, either locally or on the next hop to some destination. 6. Design of an Internetwork We will discuss about the networking especially the internetworking. In this case we will need to discuss some topics related with the Internet Infrastructure, Internet routing, domain name and address resolution, internet protocol and the applications. Internet Infrastructure: The Internet backbone is made up of many large networks which interconnect with each other. These large networks are known as Network Service Providers or Naps. Some of the large Naps are UUNet, Cerf Net, IBM, BBN Planet, Sprint Net, PSINet, as well as others. These networks peer with each other to exchange packet traffic. Each NSP is required to connect to three Network Access Points or NAPs. At the NAPs, packet traffic may jump from one NSP’s backbone to another NSP’s backbone. NSPs also interconnect at Metropolitan Area Exchanges or MAEs. MAEs serve the same purpose as the NAPs but are privately owned. NAPs were the original Internet interconnects points. Both NAPs and MAEs are referred to as Internet Exchange Points or IXs. NSPs also sell bandwidth to smaller networks, such as ISPs and smaller bandwidth providers. Below is a picture showing this hierarchical infrastructure. Diagram 4 This is not a true representation of an actual piece of the Internet. Diagram 4 is only meant to demonstrate how the NSPs could interconnect with each other and smaller ISPs. None of the physical network components are shown in Diagram 4 as they are in Diagram 3. This is because a single NSP’s backbone infrastructure is a complex drawing by itself. Most NSPs publish maps of their network infrastructure on their web sites and can be found easily. To draw an actual map of the Internet would be nearly impossible due to its size, complexity, and ever-changing structure. The Internet Routing Working: It is general phenomenon that No computer knows where any of the other computers are, and packets do not get sent to every computer. The information used to get packets to their destinations is contained in routing tables kept by each router connected to the Internet. The Routers are called the packet switches. A router is usually connected between networks to route packets between them. Each router knows about its sub-networks and which IP addresses they use. The router usually doesn’t know what IP addresses are ‘above’ it. Examine Diagram 5 below. The black boxes connecting the backbones are routers. The larger NSP backbones at the top are connected at a NAP. Under them are several sub-networks, and under them, more sub-networks. At the bottom are two local area networks with computers attached. Diagram 5 When a packet arrives at a router, the router examines the IP address put there by the IP protocol layer on the originating computer. The router checks its routing table. If the network containing the IP address is found, the packet is sent to that network. If the network containing the IP address is not found, then the router sends the packet on a default route, usually up the backbone hierarchy to the next router. Hopefully the next router will know where to send the packet. If it does not, again the packet is routed upwards until it reaches a NSP backbone. The routers connected to the NSP backbones hold the largest routing tables and here the packet will be routed to the correct backbone, where it will begin its journey ‘downward’ through smaller and smaller networks until it finds its destination. Domain Names and Address Resolution. But what if you don’t know the IP address of the computer you want to connect to? What if the you need to access a web server referred to as www. anothercomputer. com? How does your web browser know where on the Internet this computer lives? The answer to all these questions is the Domain Name Service or DNS. The DNS is a distributed database which keeps track of computer’s names and their corresponding IP addresses on the Internet. Many computers connected to the Internet host part of the DNS database and the software that allows others to access it. These computers are known as DNS servers. No DNS server contains the entire database; they only contain a subset of it. If a DNS server does not contain the domain name requested by another computer, the DNS server re-directs the requesting computer to another DNS server. Diagram 6 The Domain Name Service is structured as a hierarchy similar to the IP routing hierarchy. The computer requesting a name resolution will be re-directed ‘up’ the hierarchy until a DNS server is found that can resolve the domain name in the request. Figure 6 illustrates a portion of the hierarchy. At the top of the tree are the domain roots. Some of the older, more common domains are seen near the top. What is not shown are the multitude of DNS servers around the world which form the rest of the hierarchy? When an Internet connection is setup (e. g. for a LAN or Dial-Up Networking in Windows), one primary and one or more secondary DNS servers are usually specified as part of the installation. This way, any Internet applications that need domain name resolution will be able to function correctly. For example, when you enter a web address into your web browser, the browser first connects to your primary DNS server. After obtaining the IP address for the domain name you entered, the browser then connects to the target computer and requests the web page you wanted. The Disable DNS in Windows If you’re using Windows 95/NT and access the Internet, you may view your DNS server(s) and even disable them. If you use Dial-Up Networking: Open your Dial-Up Networking window (which can be found in Windows Explorer under your CD-ROM drive and above Network Neighborhood). Right click on your Internet connection and click Properties. Near the bottom of the connection properties window press the TCP/IP Settings†¦ button. If you have a permanent connection to the Internet: Right click on Network Neighborhood and click Properties. Click TCP/IP Properties. Select the DNS Configuration tab at the top. You should now be looking at your DNS servers’ IP addresses. Here you may disable DNS or set your DNS servers to 0. 0. 0. 0. (Write down your DNS servers’ IP addresses first. You will probably have to restart Windows as well. ) Now enter an address into your web browser. The browser won’t be able to resolve the domain name and you will probably get a nasty dialog box explaining that a DNS server couldn’t be found. However, if you enter the corresponding IP address instead of the domain name, the browser will be able to retrieve the desired web page. (Use ping to get the IP address prior to disabling DNS. ) Other Microsoft operating systems are similar. Internet protocols: As hinted to earlier in the section about protocol stacks, one may surmise that there are many protocols that are used on the Internet. This is true; there are many communication protocols required for the Internet to function. These include the TCP and IP protocols, routing protocols, medium access control protocols, application level protocols, etc. The following sections describe some of the more important and commonly used protocols on the Internet. Higher-level protocols are discussed first, followed by lower level protocols. Application Protocols: HTTP and the World Wide Web One of the most commonly used services on the Internet is the World Wide Web (WWW). The application protocol that makes the web work is Hypertext Transfer Protocol or HTTP. Do not confuse this with the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is the language used to write web pages. HTTP is the protocol that web browsers and web servers use to communicate with each other over the Internet. It is an application level protocol because it sits on top of the TCP layer in the protocol stack and is used by specific applications to talk to one another. In this case the applications are web browsers and web servers. HTTP is a connectionless text based protocol. Clients (web browsers) send requests to web servers for web elements such as web pages and images. After the request is serviced by a server, the connection between client and server across the Internet is disconnected. A new connection must be made for each request. Most protocols are connection oriented. This means that the two computers communicating with each other keep the connection open over the Internet. HTTP does not however. Before an HTTP request can be made by a client, a new connection must be made to the server. When you type a URL into a web browser, this is what happens: If the URL contains a domain name, the browser first connects to a domain name server and retrieves the corresponding IP address for the web server. The web browser connects to the web server and sends an HTTP request (via the protocol stack) for the desired web page. The web server receives the request and checks for the desired page. If the page exists, the web server sends it. If the server cannot find the requested page, it will send an HTTP 404 error message. (404 mean ‘Page Not Found’ as anyone who has surfed the web probably knows. ) The web browser receives the page back and the connection is closed. The browser then parses through the page and looks for other page elements it needs to complete the web page. These usually include images, applets, etc. For each element needed, the browser makes additional connections and HTTP requests to the server for each element. When the browser has finished loading all images, applets, etc.the page will be completely loaded in the browser window. Retrieving a Web Page Using HTTP: Telnet is a remote terminal service used on the Internet. Its use has declined lately, but it is a very useful tool to study the Internet. In Windows find the default telnet program. It may be located in the Windows directory named telnet. exe. When opened, pull down the Terminal menu and select Preferences. In the preferences window, check Local Echo. (This is so you can see your HTTP request when you type it. ) Now pull down the Connection menu and select Remote System. Enter www. google. com for the Host Name and 80 for the Port. (Web servers usually listen on port 80 by default. ) Press Connect. Now type GET / HTTP/1. 0 And press Enter twice. This is a simple HTTP request to a web server for its root page. You should see a web page flash by and then a dialog box should pop up to tell you the connection was lost. If you’d like to save the retrieved page, turn on logging in the Telnet program. You may then browse through the web page and see the HTML that was used to write it. Most Internet protocols are specified by Internet documents known as a Request for Comments or RFCs. RFCs may be found at several locations on the Internet. See the Resources section below for appropriate URL’s. HTTP version 1. 0 is specified by RFC 1945. Application Protocols: SMTP and Electronic Mail: Another commonly used Internet service is electronic mail. E-mail uses an application level protocol called Simple Mail Transfer Protocol or SMTP. SMTP is also a text-based protocol, but unlike HTTP, SMTP is connection oriented. SMTP is also more complicated than HTTP. There are many more commands and considerations in SMTP than there are in HTTP. When you open your mail client to read your e-mail, this is what typically happens: The mail client (Netscape Mail, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, etc.) opens a connection to its default mail server. The mail server’s IP address or domain name is typically setup when the mail client is installed. The mail server will always transmit the first message to identify itself. The client will send an SMTP HELO command to which the server will respond with a 250 OK message. Depending on whether the client is checking mail, sending mail, etc. the appropriate SMTP commands will be sent to the server, which will respond accordingly. This request/response transaction will continue until the client sends an SMTP QUIT command. The server will then say goodbye and the connection will be closed. Transmission Control Protocol: Under the application layer in the protocol stack is the TCP layer. When applications open a connection to another computer on the Internet, the messages they send (using a specific application layer protocol) get passed down the stack to the TCP layer. TCP is responsible for routing application protocols to the correct application on the destination computer. To accomplish this, port numbers are used. Ports can be thought of as separate channels on each computer. For example, you can surf the web while reading e-mail. This is because these two applications (the web browser and the mail clien.

Globalization, Australia and the Asia-Pacific Essay

In terms of international relationships, â€Å"the end of the second millennium and the start of the third are characterized by two developments of major importance†¦ the successful conclusion of the most ambitious round of multilateral trade negotiations in the history of humankind [and the] proliferation of regional trading arrangements unprecedented at any period in history. † Through it all, Australia has been a major participant in these agreements. Owing to the steady progress of Australia’s economy and politics, it has been involved in all of the international policy-making in that span in history. However, due to these numerous activities, there are different circumstances that require variations of these treaties. Multilateral trade treaties are trade agreements made between multiple nations, over multiple regions, at one time. Although multilateral treaties are generally complex and difficult to negotiate and implement, these treaties are very powerful when all interested parties agree on it. The primary advantage of multilateral treaties is the equal treatment, at least relatively, of all parties, regardless of size or power. Examples of these are Australia’s â€Å"Protocol of 1988 relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea†, â€Å"United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships† and â€Å"Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation†. Regional trade treaties are parallel to multilateral trade treaties. Both are generally complex and involve multiple countries. However, they do institute a condition that has both advantages and disadvantages. Regional trade treaties are confined to countries within a certain geographic area, such as the Americas, the Atlantic or, in Australia’s case, the Asia-Pacific region. This comes from the perspective of â€Å"conceiving of the world in terms of structures is what some analytical perspectives in international relations and the social sciences more generally suggest. † according to Breslin. The obvious disadvantage of regional trade treaties is that it would exclude other countries from the agreement. There are, however, advantages that outweigh this negative aspect. Regional agreements would be easier to negotiate since countries within a certain geographic area generally have similar or related economic products, conditions and concerns. Such agreements would also mean that the general concerns of that certain area are given due consideration when viewed by the rest of the international community. Examples are the â€Å"Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific Region† and â€Å"South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement†. Bilateral trade treaties are the simplest and most basic agreements. These are the agreements negotiated exclusively between to countries. Simple they may be, however, â€Å"the pursuit of discriminatory trading agreements is arguably the most dramatic development in intergovernmental relations in the western Pacific since the financial crises of 1997-98†, in Jayasuriya’s view. An example of this is Australia’s â€Å"Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Austria concerning Extradition† Australia resides in the South Pacific area but has a mixed economy in the pattern of many Western countries. Its main exports are coal, gold, coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore and wheat. It has strong relations with countries in Asian, notably Japan and Korea, and Western countries such as Germany and the United States. Bilateral agreements would ensure mutually advantageous situations for Australia and its partner countries. This would go a long way in cementing international political relations as well as economic strength. However, bilateral agreements are limited in their potential to affect great international change. Regional trade agreements would prove to be more advantageous to Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Their interests would be represented and protected in the international arena. However, the full potential to affect significant change is not realized when only a few countries are involved. Ideally, Australia should prioritize multilateral trade agreements because these are the ones that have to greatest potential to affect positive change in the international community. These are also the agreements the ones that require the most planning and negotiation and should be kept at the forefront for the process to be as quick as possible. BIBLIOGRAPHY Sampson and Woolcock, Regionalism, multilateralism and economic integration: The recent experience United Nations University Press, 2003 Amadeo, Kimberly, US Economy (2005) [http://useconomy. about. com/od/glossary/g/ multilateral. htm] accessed 06/04/08 Treaty Database DFAT online database, accessed: 06/07/08 [http://www. info. dfat. gov. au/info/treaties/treaties. nsf/WebView? OpenForm&Seq=2] Breslin, Shaun et al. , New Regionalism in the Global Political Economy: Theories and Case London: Routledge, 2002 Jayasuriya, Kanishka, Asian Regional Governance: Crisis and Change New York: Routledge, 2004

Uncommon Clay essays

Uncommon Clay essays Uncommon Clay was devised and directed by Jeanine Thompson. I saw the 8:00 PM at the Thuber Theatre. This play purpose was to relate to others the hardships and ordeals that Camille Claudel had dealt with from her child hood all the way up to her containment in a psychiatric asylum. As the play opens, an old woman who is Camille in her old age, which is referred to as the Current Camille, greets us. She begins to tell a story beginning when she was at the age of 17 and moving right up to where she is admitted into an insane asylum. Along the way Camille reveals to the audience; the happiness, hardships, betrayal, and emptiness that she goes through during her life. In this play, there are many artistic influences presented. Three that stood out were from Antonin Artaud, The Bread and Puppet Theatre, and Bertolt Brecht. Artuads purpose was to create a theatre that shared and involved the audiences reactions and emotions. This is shown during Camilles struggle with her love affair with Rodin and how it transforms into a bitter illusion of betrayal and insanity. Artaud wanted to connect mind, body, and spirit. Jeanine Thompson is doing just that with Camilles sculptors. Her mind creates these sculptors, which evokes a spirit. Bread and Puppet Theatre is seen with Camilles loss of spirit. She displays this when she destroys most of her work. Her hands into the sculptures transformed her spirit. She was so afraid of her art being stolen or commercialized she had lost her spirit. Her sculptures had life and movement in them, which displays the Puppet part of this theatre. Had her art told a story by the way she positioned the body parts, such as the seen where she keeps going behind Rodin's back and adjusting the model. She wants the model a certain way with her arms in to relate a feeling of tension, which is part of the conventions of the Bread and Puppet Theatre. Finally see a lot of B...

Business Model of Amazon

As the economy has moved from agrarian to industrial to information age, the focus of the businessmen or the wealthy and powerful has also shifted in terms of the ways of obtaining wealth or doing business. In the agrarian age there was shortage of land which made ownership of land as the determinant of value. Powerful land barons typically accumulated vast tracts of land and coerced people who were bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord into living on and working it. As economy moved from agrarian to industrial age, physical assets owned by a firm became the determinants of value and shortage of raw-materials led the powerful industrialists to conspire to control the supply of raw materials. In this age, the market could absorb as much product as the industrialists could produce. The current era in which we live has been defined as the information age wherein relationships and intellectual capital are more important than anything else. One is not worried about physical assets anymore. Companies don’t compete with each other over superior products as they are largely commoditized rather compete increasingly on the basis of value added customer services. The economic battles of today are fought over the mind-space of consumers. In the information age power-play customers are not passive participants, in the way that land and raw materials were in the agrarian and industrial ages. In fact, according to Zang Hailing, it is the customers’ time that is in short supply, and therefore for any firm to succeed, emphasis needs to be given to the importance of reducing the customers’ time to adopt a new product. Thus, in a world where technology is changing every day and the transformation of consumers has happened from â€Å"Price Takers† to â€Å"Price Makers† as they are armed with more options and information; the companies that control more and more customer relationships will be the ones that hold the power in an industry and reap the lion’s share of the profits. E-commerce or e-business is an important tool that enables companies to reach out to the global market at low cost and provides abundant information about the consumers’ requirements and preferences easily which was not so easy earlier. Following figure is a glimpse of the promising future that the ecommerce industry holds. The US E-commerce has seen a 40% increase in the sales over the past 5 years as a percentage of the total retail sales in US. Source: http://ycharts. com Now when thinks about e-commerce, the first name that comes to everyone’s mind is that of Amazon. com. Not only most of the people have heard about it but there are many people who have actually used its services. Amazon was not only one of the few of the companies that thrived throughout the period in which many dot-com companies struggled to survive but has been constantly performing exceptionally well in terms of revenue per visitor which is one of the key parameters for any commercial website. Amazon has had one of the fastest growths in the internet’s history with revenues reaching $2, 8 billion in the first five years with Google’s revenue reaching only $15bn in the first five years. Now, just like any other traditional business in order to clearly understand an e-business one needs to have information on the following components: a) Business Strategy which determines the products and service offerings by the firm, the firms targeted customers and the firms value proposition. It also helps firms decide on the choices and the tradeoffs that the firm needs to make. b) Organizational form or structure c) Business processes which refer to the unique ways in which organizations coordinate and organize work activities, information, and knowledge to produce a product or service. ) Value Chain i. e. the sequence of activities that a firm undertakes to create value, including the various steps of the supply chain but also additional activities, such as marketing, sales, and service. e) Core Competencies which are the collective learning’s of the firms and being distinctive create long term competitive advantage for the firm. From the beginning, the focus of Amazon. com has been on offering their customers compelling value. In the current report filing dated 04/13/12, Jeffrey Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon. om writes â€Å"We realized that the Web was, and still is, the World Wide Wait. Therefore, we set out to offer customers something they simply could not get any other way, and began serving them with books. We brought them much more selection than was possible in a physical store (our store would now occupy 6 football fields), and presented it in a useful, easy-to-search, and easy-to-browse format in a store open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. † The Value Proposition offered by Amazon. com is â€Å"earth’s largest selection—24/7, at competitive price. † Amazon. om has continuously focused on improving the shopping experience owing to which they substantially enhanced their stores in 1997. Though they started off with books, they now offer customers gift certificates, 1-ClickSM shopping, and vastly more r eviews, content, browsing options, and recommendation features. The company’s stated goal was to â€Å"be Earth’s most customer centric company for three primary customer sets: consumers, sellers and developers. † It targeted its first set of customers through its initial retail model where it sold only books. It offered the perfect combination of low prices, large selection and convenience or customer experience. The digital media allowed limitless inventory, boosted customer care and allowed higher margins and hence lowest prices. In 15 years Amazon went from 1 category to 16 main categories of books. Amazon began with books and needed to grow big fast. From 1995-1998, Amazon moved from books to music and again through the same combination moved to become the biggest seller of music in just 120 days! Amazon moved on develop its own digital driven supply chain and distribution network by hiring from the expert: Wal-Mart. Amazon accelerated development through its strategy of â€Å"Build, buy, partner† a) Build: Amazon keeps on creating new categories. For example, Amazon kicked off a new service by the name MyHabit. com in May 2011 that made fashion available to consumers directly from designers and boutique brands. b) Buy: When there is a lot of competition in any area and the competitors have a strong hold, Amazon believes in buying out the incumbent. Few of the acquisitions made by Amazon include Internet Movie Database  (IMDb), Zappos (an online shoe and apparel retailer) etc. ) Partner: Amazon has also entered into a lot of merchant partnerships. It offers its technological service and ecommerce expertise to third- parties. For example in October 2011, Amazon. com announced a partnership with DC Comics for the exclusive digital rights to many popular comics, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Sandman, and Watchmen. As mentioned before as well, Amazon want to be the â€Å"wo rld’s most customer-centric† company, and so their focus is on the â€Å"Customer Service†. It ensures customer loyalty through three main approaches: a) Recurring usage b) Seamless Integration c) Lock-in The following table tells us how Amazon uses all above mentioned approaches for its both customers: Sellers and consumers. | Sellers| Consumers| Recurring Usage| a. Developed a customer base close to 615mn users that can’t be ignored by sellers b. Ensures profit through optimized and reliable technology c. Developed a trusted Brand name| a. Created an ecosystem through Kindle b. Stores user’s media library c. Offers personalization to customers d. Gives special offers everyday| Seamless Integration| a. Monitors sellers rating ratings posted by consumers and expels sellers with bad ratings b. Offers Fulfillment by Amazon service(FBA) which allows third party sellers to use Amazon’s large warehouse and distribution network| a. For customers, all the sellers are highly commoditized and invisible. They buy it because of the Amazons brand value b. Get benefitted by Amazon Prime and free super saver shipping| Lock-in| a. By controlling or owning the customer accounts b. High level of infrastructure development required to ensure same level of customer service as offered by Amazon| a. By providing digital content that works only on Kindle b. Amazon Prime Program which requires annual subscription| | c. | c. | Amazon developed a value chain of itself for internal appraisal so as to identify its strengths and weaknesses that would help it add value and maintain a competitive advantage. Amazon uses the value chain model from Michael Porter’s book, â€Å"Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. † The first table represents the Primary activities of Amazon which are needed to produce a product or services for the end customers. Inbound logistics| Operations| Outbound logistics| Marketing ; Sales| Service| Avoids the overhead and large amounts of inventory carrying cost because it orders the books from the distributors. Easy and fast payment systems. Online customer systems and feedback. | Operates a number of transportation hubs that they refer to as injection points. Injection point locations are located in heavily customer concentrated areas. | Customer tracking  is an Amazon stronghold through which it provides personalized customers’ exper ience| Free return policy within 30 days. Uses marketplace to increase channel and range of goods through 3rd parties and customers. Highly reduced returns to suppliers (such as unsold books and media) due to available accurate forecasting technology | Customized buyer experience| Ability to aggregate orders bound for specific locations. | Interactive shipping and parceling price calculations. Free delivery based on single transaction spends. | Price comparison of new products with used products in marketplace shops. | Efficiently gathering information about customer experiences to inform service inputs and inventory controls. | 24 hour warehouse operations to meet customer demands. |   Utilizes the capabilities of its supply chain partners to deliver orders directly to ustomers which bypass the Amazon. com internal distribution center network|   Discounts and price reductions made available with suggested product mixes. Similar products recommended to customers interactively. | Offers customers gift certificates, 1-Click SM shopping, and vastly more reviews, content, browsing options, and recommendation features. | The next table gives information about the various support activities performed by Amazon which help to facilitate or assist its primary activities. | Value Creation| Cost Reduction| Firm Infrastructure| Huge central customer data warehouse available to all business units. Amazon’s single technology platform with services being incrementally distributed to other worldwide locations, reduces costs by leveraging investments | Human Resource Management| Amazon. com has a great training for its employees resulting in talented, smart and hard working group. Offers employees unique benefits such as medical, paid time off and stock grants and relocation allowances and hence attract highly skilled workers| Amazon utilizes independent contractors and temporary personnel to supplement their workforce, particularly on a seasonal basis. Although Amazon has works councils and statutory employee representation obligations in certain countries, Amazon’s employees are not represented by a labor union| Technology Development| High investments in technology development (e. g. , Kindle) to best leverage digital products. Innovations such as personalized recommendations, one-click ordering, and search inside the book are all Amazon. com innovations. Highly customized software applications that support their supply chain business model. For example, Amazon. om is linked into Ingram’s systems to see Ingram inventory levels when deciding whether to use Ingram to drop ship an order to a customer | Building an IT strategy, IT infrastructure and Data Centre on Linux open source software thus reducing cost of technology development. Renting computing resources to other companies reduce total cost of ownership Using standard hardware systems from HP to reduce cost of maintenance and compatibility| Procurement| Utilize s a Sales and Operations (SOP) planning process to determine forecasts for each roduct that it stores in its distribution center inventoryUses the strategic business unit – Booksurge to keep a rich inventory of digital copies of books so as to make this readily available for customers through print-on-demand and reduce the time of delivery | Specially built distribution Centers, warehouses and fulfillment Centers to increase the speed of order processing thus avoiding transaction costs of contracting out| In addition to the business strategies the value chain components mentioned above, the success of Amazon. om can be attributed to the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder chief executive officer Jeff Bezos and the strong inclination of the firm towards bringing about innovation in the business model. Let us discuss both factors one by one. Entrepreneurial Spirit of Jeff Bezos: Jeff Bezos can be regarded as the forward-looking CEO responsible for the success of Amazon. com. He has not only efficiently managed the present but through his long term vision always taken steps to create the future. The computer science and electrical engineering graduate from Princeton University moved to Seattle after resigning as a Senior Vice-President at D. E. Shaw, a Wall Street investment bank. At the time Bezos didn’t know much about the Internet but he came across a statistic that the Internet was growing at 2300%, which convinced him that it was a large growth opportunity. Without knowing anything more, he plunged into the world of e-commerce with no prior retailing experience. It was his decision to locate the company in Seattle because it had a large pool of technical talent and since it was close to one of the largest book wholesalers located in Rosenburg, Oregon. Moreover, the sales tax laws for online retailers state that one has to charge sales tax in the state in which one is incorporated. Therefore it was logical to locate in a small state. Under his guidance and logical thinking Amazon. com quickly became the leader in e-commerce. Operating 24 hours a day, the site was user-friendly and encouraged browsers to post their own reviews of books and offering discounts, personalized recommendations, and searches for out-of-print books. In June 1998 it began selling CDs, and later that year it added videos. In 1999 Bezos, looking at the future trends, added auctions to the site and invested in other virtual stores. The success of Amazon. com encouraged other retailers, including major book chains, to establish online stores. As more companies battled for Internet dollars, Bezos saw the need to diversify, and by 2005 Amazon. com offered a vast array of products, including consumer electronics, apparel, and hardware. And with the Jeff Bezos vision to make every book ever in print in any language available to the consumer in 60 seconds, Amazon launched the handheld device called Kindle in 2007. Bezos is the quintessential dot-com icon. He proved to the business world that the Internet was about more than knowledge. He proved that it is possible to overcome fears about purchasing online, to drive down transaction costs, and to build an international e-commerce business over the Internet. He had the courage to attempt something that people doubted could be done. . At the age of 35, Jeff Bezos was picked as the 1999 Time person of the year. Describing why it chose Bezos, Time magazine said, â€Å"Bezos’  vision  of the online retailing universe was so complete, his Amazon. om site so elegant and appealing that it became from Day One the point of reference for anyone who had anything to sell online. † Innovation in the Business Model: Amazon survived the dot-com bust because it had a viable and innovative  business model  built around a market-changing customer value proposition and a radical profit formula and over it has been able to sustain its position as the leader in e-commerce by bringing about continuous innovations in its business model. Let us look at some of the different dimensions wherein Amazon. om has been able to bring about business innovation. a) Offerings: By offering a handheld device dedicated to reading, Kindle, Amazon. com revolutionized the books industry. By creating a product like Kindle, the created a perfect, integrated and streamlined customer experience. b) Platform: With Amazon Web Services, Fulfillment By Amazon, and Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon is creating powerful self-service platforms that allow thousands of people to boldly experiment and accomplish things that would otherwise be impossible or impractical. ) Customers: In 2002 Amazon launched a web services platform and identified a new area of potential growth by finding another new customer—the IT community. Serving this new customer’s needs required different processes, different resources, and a different profit formulaâ€⠀in short, another  new business model. d) Customer Experience: 1-Click combined with Gift-Click and Wish List made Amazon. com the most convenient, easiest-to-use shopping destination the holiday season. Wish List allows customers to post the gifts they’d most like to receive from family and friends, while Gift-Click allows customers to send gifts easily by entering just the e-mail addresses of their recipients. e) Value Capture: By opening up its storefront to other retailers that were essentially competitors, Amazon transformed its business from direct sales to a sales-and-service model, aggregating many sellers under one virtual roof and receiving commissions from the other companies’ sales. ) Supply Chain: Fulfillment by Amazon service (FBA) by Amazon is a classic example of innovating business model through supply chain. FBA allows third party sellers to use Amazon’s large warehouse and distribution network and in the last quarter of 2011, shipped tens of millions of items on behalf of sellers. When sellers use FBA, their items become eligible for Amazon Prime, for Super Saver Shipping, and for Amazon returns processing and customer service. From the above discussion of Amazon’s business strategy, value chain analysis and the success factors we can conclude that Amazon has a robust Business model. Amazon’s business model fends off all the four threats. It has the costly-to-imitate financial and technological resources, it has developed protection against holdup by seamlessly vertically integrating its both the customers i. e. the sellers and the consumers. Reduced slack by locking-in the customers and the sellers and fights substitution through innovation in business model. Business Model of Amazon As the economy has moved from agrarian to industrial to information age, the focus of the businessmen or the wealthy and powerful has also shifted in terms of the ways of obtaining wealth or doing business. In the agrarian age there was shortage of land which made ownership of land as the determinant of value. Powerful land barons typically accumulated vast tracts of land and coerced people who were bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord into living on and working it. As economy moved from agrarian to industrial age, physical assets owned by a firm became the determinants of value and shortage of raw-materials led the powerful industrialists to conspire to control the supply of raw materials. In this age, the market could absorb as much product as the industrialists could produce. The current era in which we live has been defined as the information age wherein relationships and intellectual capital are more important than anything else. One is not worried about physical assets anymore. Companies don’t compete with each other over superior products as they are largely commoditized rather compete increasingly on the basis of value added customer services. The economic battles of today are fought over the mind-space of consumers. In the information age power-play customers are not passive participants, in the way that land and raw materials were in the agrarian and industrial ages. In fact, according to Zang Hailing, it is the customers’ time that is in short supply, and therefore for any firm to succeed, emphasis needs to be given to the importance of reducing the customers’ time to adopt a new product. Thus, in a world where technology is changing every day and the transformation of consumers has happened from â€Å"Price Takers† to â€Å"Price Makers† as they are armed with more options and information; the companies that control more and more customer relationships will be the ones that hold the power in an industry and reap the lion’s share of the profits. E-commerce or e-business is an important tool that enables companies to reach out to the global market at low cost and provides abundant information about the consumers’ requirements and preferences easily which was not so easy earlier. Following figure is a glimpse of the promising future that the ecommerce industry holds. The US E-commerce has seen a 40% increase in the sales over the past 5 years as a percentage of the total retail sales in US. Source: http://ycharts. com Now when thinks about e-commerce, the first name that comes to everyone’s mind is that of Amazon. com. Not only most of the people have heard about it but there are many people who have actually used its services. Amazon was not only one of the few of the companies that thrived throughout the period in which many dot-com companies struggled to survive but has been constantly performing exceptionally well in terms of revenue per visitor which is one of the key parameters for any commercial website. Amazon has had one of the fastest growths in the internet’s history with revenues reaching $2, 8 billion in the first five years with Google’s revenue reaching only $15bn in the first five years. Now, just like any other traditional business in order to clearly understand an e-business one needs to have information on the following components: a) Business Strategy which determines the products and service offerings by the firm, the firms targeted customers and the firms value proposition. It also helps firms decide on the choices and the tradeoffs that the firm needs to make. b) Organizational form or structure c) Business processes which refer to the unique ways in which organizations coordinate and organize work activities, information, and knowledge to produce a product or service. ) Value Chain i. e. the sequence of activities that a firm undertakes to create value, including the various steps of the supply chain but also additional activities, such as marketing, sales, and service. e) Core Competencies which are the collective learning’s of the firms and being distinctive create long term competitive advantage for the firm. From the beginning, the focus of Amazon. com has been on offering their customers compelling value. In the current report filing dated 04/13/12, Jeffrey Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon. om writes â€Å"We realized that the Web was, and still is, the World Wide Wait. Therefore, we set out to offer customers something they simply could not get any other way, and began serving them with books. We brought them much more selection than was possible in a physical store (our store would now occupy 6 football fields), and presented it in a useful, easy-to-search, and easy-to-browse format in a store open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. † The Value Proposition offered by Amazon. com is â€Å"earth’s largest selection—24/7, at competitive price. † Amazon. om has continuously focused on improving the shopping experience owing to which they substantially enhanced their stores in 1997. Though they started off with books, they now offer customers gift certificates, 1-ClickSM shopping, and vastly more r eviews, content, browsing options, and recommendation features. The company’s stated goal was to â€Å"be Earth’s most customer centric company for three primary customer sets: consumers, sellers and developers. † It targeted its first set of customers through its initial retail model where it sold only books. It offered the perfect combination of low prices, large selection and convenience or customer experience. The digital media allowed limitless inventory, boosted customer care and allowed higher margins and hence lowest prices. In 15 years Amazon went from 1 category to 16 main categories of books. Amazon began with books and needed to grow big fast. From 1995-1998, Amazon moved from books to music and again through the same combination moved to become the biggest seller of music in just 120 days! Amazon moved on develop its own digital driven supply chain and distribution network by hiring from the expert: Wal-Mart. Amazon accelerated development through its strategy of â€Å"Build, buy, partner† a) Build: Amazon keeps on creating new categories. For example, Amazon kicked off a new service by the name MyHabit. com in May 2011 that made fashion available to consumers directly from designers and boutique brands. b) Buy: When there is a lot of competition in any area and the competitors have a strong hold, Amazon believes in buying out the incumbent. Few of the acquisitions made by Amazon include Internet Movie Database  (IMDb), Zappos (an online shoe and apparel retailer) etc. ) Partner: Amazon has also entered into a lot of merchant partnerships. It offers its technological service and ecommerce expertise to third- parties. For example in October 2011, Amazon. com announced a partnership with DC Comics for the exclusive digital rights to many popular comics, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Sandman, and Watchmen. As mentioned before as well, Amazon want to be the â€Å"wo rld’s most customer-centric† company, and so their focus is on the â€Å"Customer Service†. It ensures customer loyalty through three main approaches: a) Recurring usage b) Seamless Integration c) Lock-in The following table tells us how Amazon uses all above mentioned approaches for its both customers: Sellers and consumers. | Sellers| Consumers| Recurring Usage| a. Developed a customer base close to 615mn users that can’t be ignored by sellers b. Ensures profit through optimized and reliable technology c. Developed a trusted Brand name| a. Created an ecosystem through Kindle b. Stores user’s media library c. Offers personalization to customers d. Gives special offers everyday| Seamless Integration| a. Monitors sellers rating ratings posted by consumers and expels sellers with bad ratings b. Offers Fulfillment by Amazon service(FBA) which allows third party sellers to use Amazon’s large warehouse and distribution network| a. For customers, all the sellers are highly commoditized and invisible. They buy it because of the Amazons brand value b. Get benefitted by Amazon Prime and free super saver shipping| Lock-in| a. By controlling or owning the customer accounts b. High level of infrastructure development required to ensure same level of customer service as offered by Amazon| a. By providing digital content that works only on Kindle b. Amazon Prime Program which requires annual subscription| | c. | c. | Amazon developed a value chain of itself for internal appraisal so as to identify its strengths and weaknesses that would help it add value and maintain a competitive advantage. Amazon uses the value chain model from Michael Porter’s book, â€Å"Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. † The first table represents the Primary activities of Amazon which are needed to produce a product or services for the end customers. Inbound logistics| Operations| Outbound logistics| Marketing ; Sales| Service| Avoids the overhead and large amounts of inventory carrying cost because it orders the books from the distributors. Easy and fast payment systems. Online customer systems and feedback. | Operates a number of transportation hubs that they refer to as injection points. Injection point locations are located in heavily customer concentrated areas. | Customer tracking  is an Amazon stronghold through which it provides personalized customers’ exper ience| Free return policy within 30 days. Uses marketplace to increase channel and range of goods through 3rd parties and customers. Highly reduced returns to suppliers (such as unsold books and media) due to available accurate forecasting technology | Customized buyer experience| Ability to aggregate orders bound for specific locations. | Interactive shipping and parceling price calculations. Free delivery based on single transaction spends. | Price comparison of new products with used products in marketplace shops. | Efficiently gathering information about customer experiences to inform service inputs and inventory controls. | 24 hour warehouse operations to meet customer demands. |   Utilizes the capabilities of its supply chain partners to deliver orders directly to ustomers which bypass the Amazon. com internal distribution center network|   Discounts and price reductions made available with suggested product mixes. Similar products recommended to customers interactively. | Offers customers gift certificates, 1-Click SM shopping, and vastly more reviews, content, browsing options, and recommendation features. | The next table gives information about the various support activities performed by Amazon which help to facilitate or assist its primary activities. | Value Creation| Cost Reduction| Firm Infrastructure| Huge central customer data warehouse available to all business units. Amazon’s single technology platform with services being incrementally distributed to other worldwide locations, reduces costs by leveraging investments | Human Resource Management| Amazon. com has a great training for its employees resulting in talented, smart and hard working group. Offers employees unique benefits such as medical, paid time off and stock grants and relocation allowances and hence attract highly skilled workers| Amazon utilizes independent contractors and temporary personnel to supplement their workforce, particularly on a seasonal basis. Although Amazon has works councils and statutory employee representation obligations in certain countries, Amazon’s employees are not represented by a labor union| Technology Development| High investments in technology development (e. g. , Kindle) to best leverage digital products. Innovations such as personalized recommendations, one-click ordering, and search inside the book are all Amazon. com innovations. Highly customized software applications that support their supply chain business model. For example, Amazon. om is linked into Ingram’s systems to see Ingram inventory levels when deciding whether to use Ingram to drop ship an order to a customer | Building an IT strategy, IT infrastructure and Data Centre on Linux open source software thus reducing cost of technology development. Renting computing resources to other companies reduce total cost of ownership Using standard hardware systems from HP to reduce cost of maintenance and compatibility| Procurement| Utilize s a Sales and Operations (SOP) planning process to determine forecasts for each roduct that it stores in its distribution center inventoryUses the strategic business unit – Booksurge to keep a rich inventory of digital copies of books so as to make this readily available for customers through print-on-demand and reduce the time of delivery | Specially built distribution Centers, warehouses and fulfillment Centers to increase the speed of order processing thus avoiding transaction costs of contracting out| In addition to the business strategies the value chain components mentioned above, the success of Amazon. om can be attributed to the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder chief executive officer Jeff Bezos and the strong inclination of the firm towards bringing about innovation in the business model. Let us discuss both factors one by one. Entrepreneurial Spirit of Jeff Bezos: Jeff Bezos can be regarded as the forward-looking CEO responsible for the success of Amazon. com. He has not only efficiently managed the present but through his long term vision always taken steps to create the future. The computer science and electrical engineering graduate from Princeton University moved to Seattle after resigning as a Senior Vice-President at D. E. Shaw, a Wall Street investment bank. At the time Bezos didn’t know much about the Internet but he came across a statistic that the Internet was growing at 2300%, which convinced him that it was a large growth opportunity. Without knowing anything more, he plunged into the world of e-commerce with no prior retailing experience. It was his decision to locate the company in Seattle because it had a large pool of technical talent and since it was close to one of the largest book wholesalers located in Rosenburg, Oregon. Moreover, the sales tax laws for online retailers state that one has to charge sales tax in the state in which one is incorporated. Therefore it was logical to locate in a small state. Under his guidance and logical thinking Amazon. com quickly became the leader in e-commerce. Operating 24 hours a day, the site was user-friendly and encouraged browsers to post their own reviews of books and offering discounts, personalized recommendations, and searches for out-of-print books. In June 1998 it began selling CDs, and later that year it added videos. In 1999 Bezos, looking at the future trends, added auctions to the site and invested in other virtual stores. The success of Amazon. com encouraged other retailers, including major book chains, to establish online stores. As more companies battled for Internet dollars, Bezos saw the need to diversify, and by 2005 Amazon. com offered a vast array of products, including consumer electronics, apparel, and hardware. And with the Jeff Bezos vision to make every book ever in print in any language available to the consumer in 60 seconds, Amazon launched the handheld device called Kindle in 2007. Bezos is the quintessential dot-com icon. He proved to the business world that the Internet was about more than knowledge. He proved that it is possible to overcome fears about purchasing online, to drive down transaction costs, and to build an international e-commerce business over the Internet. He had the courage to attempt something that people doubted could be done. . At the age of 35, Jeff Bezos was picked as the 1999 Time person of the year. Describing why it chose Bezos, Time magazine said, â€Å"Bezos’  vision  of the online retailing universe was so complete, his Amazon. om site so elegant and appealing that it became from Day One the point of reference for anyone who had anything to sell online. † Innovation in the Business Model: Amazon survived the dot-com bust because it had a viable and innovative  business model  built around a market-changing customer value proposition and a radical profit formula and over it has been able to sustain its position as the leader in e-commerce by bringing about continuous innovations in its business model. Let us look at some of the different dimensions wherein Amazon. om has been able to bring about business innovation. a) Offerings: By offering a handheld device dedicated to reading, Kindle, Amazon. com revolutionized the books industry. By creating a product like Kindle, the created a perfect, integrated and streamlined customer experience. b) Platform: With Amazon Web Services, Fulfillment By Amazon, and Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon is creating powerful self-service platforms that allow thousands of people to boldly experiment and accomplish things that would otherwise be impossible or impractical. ) Customers: In 2002 Amazon launched a web services platform and identified a new area of potential growth by finding another new customer—the IT community. Serving this new customer’s needs required different processes, different resources, and a different profit formulaâ€⠀in short, another  new business model. d) Customer Experience: 1-Click combined with Gift-Click and Wish List made Amazon. com the most convenient, easiest-to-use shopping destination the holiday season. Wish List allows customers to post the gifts they’d most like to receive from family and friends, while Gift-Click allows customers to send gifts easily by entering just the e-mail addresses of their recipients. e) Value Capture: By opening up its storefront to other retailers that were essentially competitors, Amazon transformed its business from direct sales to a sales-and-service model, aggregating many sellers under one virtual roof and receiving commissions from the other companies’ sales. ) Supply Chain: Fulfillment by Amazon service (FBA) by Amazon is a classic example of innovating business model through supply chain. FBA allows third party sellers to use Amazon’s large warehouse and distribution network and in the last quarter of 2011, shipped tens of millions of items on behalf of sellers. When sellers use FBA, their items become eligible for Amazon Prime, for Super Saver Shipping, and for Amazon returns processing and customer service. From the above discussion of Amazon’s business strategy, value chain analysis and the success factors we can conclude that Amazon has a robust Business model. Amazon’s business model fends off all the four threats. It has the costly-to-imitate financial and technological resources, it has developed protection against holdup by seamlessly vertically integrating its both the customers i. e. the sellers and the consumers. Reduced slack by locking-in the customers and the sellers and fights substitution through innovation in business model.