If Japan had not launched a full scale invasion of China in 1937, Essay

If Japan had not launched a full scale invasion of China in 1937, would the Nanjing government have survived and brought its sta - Essay Example Historians have speculated how things would have been different for the Nanjing Government, had the Japanese not launched their onslaught in to the region. The substance of this prose will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Nanjing government and whether or not it would have been successful in unifying and rebuilding China. From the year 1928 till 1937, the Kuomintang (KMT) was the dominant political party, but was readily losing their popularity amongst the people. They had come to power in China during a time when the country was embroiled political and social turmoil following the success of the northern expedition in the year 1927 by the same party. They unified China under one banner but failed to hold the nation together. This unification move signified a time during which the KMT had the greatest potential to rebuild China (Cochran, 1983). The KMT party started off with the noble purpose of establishing democracy in the country and wished to educate the people in orde r to make them capable of self-governing. They started off with a profound ideology and wished to instil nationalist feelings within the masses and slowly began expanding their control, first from the north and then they worked their way down to the southern region. The ideology of the KMT was established upon the beliefs of Sun Yat-Sen, but after his demise, Chiang Kai-Shek became the leader of the KMT and his policies later on decide the course of events that took place during the Nanjing decade and also indirectly led to the Japanese invasion of Nanjing (Sun Yat-Sen, 1953). The question whether or not the Nanjing government would have been successful in integrating the nation has a very straight forward answer to it, which will be discussed in the following parts of the prose. The greatest flaw of this entire expedition was the fact that it was done primarily by military force and the party lacked a strong ideology that would draw the diverse range of people living in the country and unite them on a single platform. KMT further did not introduce the relevant land reforms that would protect the interests of the peasants and farmers, which naturally caused them to drawn in by the communist faction of the society. Reconstruction became even difficult as the schism between communism and republicanism intensified. It was not just ideology that separated them, but the weakness of their political leader was also one of the crucial reasons that hindered the State Building project. The KMT did work to improve upon the financial and education system that had severely debilitated the country and were vastly successful in doing so. However, despite their many achievements, KMT lacked a certain amount of political acumen that left them in a major predicament. They failed to launch a full-fledged democratic rule in the country and they further did not take any steps to enlighten the people about the democratic system of government. The people remained completely ignorant regarding the procedures of self-government and it was further speculated that the KMT wanted maintain their iron-clad control over the land and were not interested in democracy (Musgrove, 2000). One prime instance that supports the aforementioned statement occurred, when the KMT party established a ‘tutelage government’ and extended it indefinitely beyond the 6 years that

Rodney King Essay Example for Free

Rodney King Essay Initially, I did not have that much knowledge of the Rodney King beating. I have heard of the event on multiple occasions and the brutality that came about after the trial verdict. I only had knowledge of King being an African American man who was beaten by white officers. I didnt know he was speeding and that it led to a police chase. As to the riots, I had known of the protests and the violent outbreaks against the verdict of the officers. Hearing of Los Angeles people stand up against such a aye as Kings gave me a good feeling. I strongly disagree with any form of prejudice acts and knowing that people from such a mixed city stood against it as well made me happy. Because of my little knowledge of such an event In Californias history, I think that It was In Anna Deveare Smiths mind that years later, young kids will not know about Rodney King. using a stance such as people that were actually involved in riots or effected by them or Just knew about the events because they lived in LA is such a throng point of view to see. Reading real words that people spoke and see them portrayed on stage would be so much more effective than any fictional play that Smith could have thought of in the first place. She captured the events of through peoples words, different ethnicities and backgrounds at that, and that is something that history books could never show. Twilights recognition that we must reach across ethnic boundaries Is simple but true.

The Corporate Entrepreneurship

The Corporate Entrepreneurship In todays rapidly changing and hyper competitive business environment where opportunities and threats are present, innovation and continued growth remains as a main concern for companies. Scholars have voiced importance of corporate entrepreneurship behavior to cope with the environmental challenges and managing innovation and sustainable growth. Corporate entrepreneurship is an interesting arena among scholars and no universal definition has been agreed. Corporate entrepreneurship is generally defined as the process by which teams within an established company conceive, foster launch and manage new businesses that is distinct from the parent company but make use of parent companys resources, market position, capabilities and other resources (Ferreira, 2002). Implementation of corporate entrepreneur behavior within firm is a challenging process, which involves individuals roles and most importantly firm level antecedents that promotes corporate entrepreneurial activities (Marina G. B iniari, 2010). This paper explains factors (individual characteristics and firm level antecedents) affecting corporate entrepreneurship and how beneficial this strategy is to firms. Individual Characteristics and Corporate Entrepreneurship To cultivate and build successful corporate entrepreneurship in organizations, individuals working at the organization should inherit or possess certain characteristics and traits. These skills and competencies enable them to achieve the outcomes of a successful entrepreneurship and to involve effectively in corporate entrepreneurship activities (Christensen, 2004). As similar to definition of corporate entrepreneurship, researchers have explained various characteristics of individuals in different occasions and no agreement have been reached over key characteristics. Various researches have been conducted on this area analysis of such studies are explained here. Findings of a study done by Lumpkin and Des in Dess in 1996 explained corporate entrepreneurship in terms of entrepreneurial orientation and they determined main characteristics as innovativeness, proactiveness, risk taking, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness (J.P.J de Jong, 2001). In contrast to this study Zahra (1993, 1995) suggested three main characteristics, which are venturing, innovation and self-renewal (Scheepers, 2008). Brockhaus and Horwitz (1982) also suggested some other set of characteristics supporting corporate entrepreneurship, which are locus of control, risk taking propensity, and achievement motivation (Burgers, 2011). In addition to these characteristics, other important characteristics determined by other researchers include; energy level, conformity, need for autonomy, dominance, personal control and desire to build something of ones own (Sanchez, 2011). Since there is no universal set of characteristics, certain set of characteristics are explained in det ail in this section and these characteristics are found as common characteristics highlighted by most of the researchers. Innovativeness Arguably innovation is the most crucial element of the corporate entrepreneurship and all most all researchers have talked about the importance of innovation towards corporate entrepreneurship. Researchers have stressed on importance innovativeness characteristic of individuals in product and service innovation within organizations and Antoncid and Hisrich (2001) suggested that if employees of firma are innovative, it would drive firm towards corporate entrepreneurship. According to James C. Hayton (2006), innovativeness in corporate entrepreneurship is defined as a predisposition to engage in creativity and experimentation through the introduction of new products. Pinchot (1985) suggested that, at that time the important factor missing in corporate innovation was intrapreneurs or corporate entrepreneurs. He defined intrapreneurs as those who take hands-on responsibility for creating innovation of any kind within an organization; they may be the creator or inventors but are always the dreamers who figure out how to turn an idea into a profitable reality (Zhang, 2010). One of the key roles of intrapreneurs is to finding creative methods or ways to improve the speed and cost-effectiveness of technology transfer from internal RD to the marketplace. To achieve this they are need to be innovative to come up with new ideas on how to sustain competitive advantage in a highly dynamic business environment. This may include individuals ability to deliver creative ideas about new product/service development and also process related innovations to improve companys efficiency and enhance productivity (Antoncic, 2009). Proactiveness According to Bateman and Crant (1993), proactive personality trait refers to individuals capability to influence ones environmental and bring about change. Moreover proactiveness of an individual would make him strong to face challenges and motivates plays a vital role in implementing effective environmental changes (Devarajan, 2005). Furthermore Bateman and Jauhari (2008) stated that people are not always passive recipients of environmental constraints on their behavior; rather, they can intentionally and directly change their current circumstances. Researchers have positively related proactive personality with individual innovation, taking charge, problem prevention, voice and issue selling credibility. Since these are crucial elements of corporate entrepreneurial behavior, it is clearly evident that there is a positive relationship between proactiveness of individuals and corporate entrepreneurial behavior. Need for achievement and internal locus of control The need for achievement is one of the important characteristics of a corporate entrepreneur which makes him distinguished from other non corporate entrepreneurs. Individuals hunger to achieve high goals and hard working in achieving firms mission effectively develops the firms ability to develop wealth creation and finally it encourages creating new businesses and ventures within existing organizations (Ferreira, 2002). In addition to need for achievement, internal locus of control is another important characteristic of corporate entrepreneurs. Individuals who have strong belief on that they have the control on over their destiny, vitally affects their performance positively. Such confidence self motivates individuals to take beneficial decisions that would achieve goals of corporate entrepreneurship and this belief motivates them to tackle any hurdles they may face in the process of corporate entrepreneurship (Lassen, 2007). Risk taking Individuals willingness to take risks and ability tolerate in the times of failure is considered as one of the fundamental characteristics to be a corporate entrepreneur. Individuals who bear the risk of profit or loss are ready to take brave actions by venturing into new businesses and investing significantly heavy resources in unknown environments (A. Zahra, 2000). All entrepreneurial activities such as venturing, innovation and strategic renewal involves certain degree of risk as any of such activity would require effort, time and most importantly financial investments. According to Lin and Colleagues (2008), risk taking style managers enriches the corporate entrepreneurship behavior within firms. Furthermore, in a corporate entrepreneurial environment, individuals work on converting intelligent ideas to innovative products even without permission or approval from top management. Other individual characteristics In addition to above discussed individual characteristics, scholars have also stressed on some other fundamental individual characteristics that qualifies them to engage with corporate entrepreneurial activities. Self renewal is one of the important characteristic, which refers to individuals interest or ability to renew or redefine the usual methods of business process and transforming to more innovative methods that enhances ability to gain competitive advantage (Rutherford, 2007). Other important characteristics include feedback seeking and effective communication skills, which are highly useful when it comes to work as groups and interact with each other (Srivastava, 2010). Such personal traits would help to convince team and top management about the individuals innovative ideas and to attain support at organizational level. Furthermore, knowledge, experience and flexibility to adjust changes in environment and managerial structure are also considered as crucial individual charac teristics. Firm-Level Antecedents and Corporate Entrepreneurship According to findings of various researches done on corporate entrepreneurship, it indicates the existence and importance of firm level antecedents that impact on corporate entrepreneurship. Exploratory study done by Kuratko (1990) suggested five distinct internal factors that support corporate entrepreneurship, which are reward and resource availability, organizational structure and boundaries, risk taking and time availability (Burgers, 2011). In addition to Kuratkos findings, study conducted by Fortune 500 CEOs observed tangible and intangible factors within organization that foster corporate entrepreneurship. Their study found that factors such as communication, scanning, integration, and differentiation and control influences firms ability to foster corporate entrepreneurship (Scheepers, 2008). Rewarding System Usage of appropriate rewards within firms is highly acknowledged by several researchers such as Scanlan (1981), Souder (1981), Kanter (1985), Sathe (1985), Fry (1987), Block and Ornati (1987), Sykes (1992), Barringer and Milkvoich (1998). They suggested that when implementing an effective reward system, organization should consider certain factors, which includes; consider goals, feedback from employees, stress individual responsibility and result based incentives (Monsen, 2007). To support the idea suggested by the above researchers, Fry (1993) stated even though monetary rewards may not be especially important to entrepreneurial individual, some mechanism of rewarding innovation must be evident if innovation is to continue. By implementing an effective reward system that value achievements of employees would promote motivation among employees to take risks associated with activities of corporate entrepreneurship. According to expectancy theory individuals maximum effort requires that the individual should believe that by accomplishing goals it would lead to a reward (Devarajan, 2005). Therefore organizations should provide rewards in an appropriate way to show employees that creative works and high level performances are recognized and appreciated by management. Rewards could be presented as options from where deserving employees could choose desired rewards. Management Support Management support means the willingness of top management to facilitate required resources and support to promote corporate entrepreneurial activities within organization. Many researchers have stressed on the importance of management support and they have suggested that management involvement, commitment, championing innovative ideas, providing necessary resources, rewarding venture activities and institutionalizing entrepreneurial activities within firm are important for corporate entrepreneurship (Christensen, 2004). Furthermore Steven Jarillo (1990) stated that by providing necessary training to individuals and trusting those within the firm in detecting opportunities would have a positive impact on firms corporate entrepreneurial behaviour. According to Guth Ginsberg (1990), organizational values are also important in promoting corporate entrepreneurship within firms. They suggested that the corporate entrepreneurial behaviour within a firm critically depends on the values/beliefs and organizational vision (Kollman, 2008). Leadership of the firm should support innovative behaviour of individuals when they propose promising innovative ideas that could venture new business opportunities within the existing organization. This idea was supported by findings of study done by Pearce et al (1997) and they found that leaders who act entrepreneurially had a positive influence on their subordinates and such leaders encourage corporate entrepreneurship behavior within the firm. Resources Resources of the organization and their availability when required play a vital role in promoting corporate entrepreneurial behaviour within organization. According to Pinchot (1985), in order to behave corporate entrepreneurial ways, individuals should be allowed access companys resources to be utilized in various corporate entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore he stated that individuals should have enough time to work on innovative ideas to make them reality and employees should be assigned with reasonable workload so that they could work on other activities to solve important problems (A. Zahra, 2000). Moreover, employees should be provided with necessary resources to conduct experiments on new findings and this includes any required equipments/devices and satisfactory environmental settings. The resource-based view (RBV) suggests that availability of resources in a company is a crucial factor in determining competitive advantage (Kuratko, 2007). Companies should manage their re sources to build unique capabilities to be exceeding competitors capability to provide better solutions to customers. Supportive organizational structure Supportive organizational structure is an important antecedent highlighted by many authors (Souder, 1981; Sathe, 1985; Hisrich and Peters, 1986; Sykes, 1986; Sykes and Block, 1989; Burgelman and Sayles, 1986; Schuler, 1986; Bird, 1988; Guth and Ginsberg, 1990; Covin and Slevin,1991; Zahra, 1991, 1993; Brazeal, 1993; Hornsby et al., 1993) in their literatures. Authors have suggested that organizational structure should provide appropriate administrative mechanisms for idea evaluation, choosing, and implementing productive ideas. Moreover they argued that the bureaucratic nature of organizational structure would gradually build boundaries that hinder individuals ability to convert their innovative ideas to innovative products/services (Kenney, 2010). Therefore organizational structure should be implemented in a way that avoids having standard operating procedures for all major job related activities and rigid performance standards should be avoided as much as possible. Other firm level antecedents In addition to above discussed antecedents there are other important antecedents that affect corporate entrepreneurial behavior. One of them is empowered, autonomous employees, which refers to extent to which employees are give power to make decisions on working on their own works in a manner they believe to be most effective (A. Zahra, 2000). Strategic leadership and their support for corporate entrepreneurship also play a vital role in fostering this strategy within firms. This involves managers willingness to facilitate necessary resources to corporate entrepreneurial activities and to encourage subordinates to participate in such activities. Last but not least, risk taking is also considered as a key element. Risk taking involves firms willingness to spend resources in exploiting opportunities and launching projects with uncertain outcomes (Ferreira, 2002). Word Count: 2574 (Excluding References) Contributions of Corporate Entrepreneurship Corporate entrepreneurship plays a vital role in enhancing companys ability to sustain competitive advantage. Zahra Kuratko (1990) stressed on the importance of corporate entrepreneurship by stating that it improves competitive positioning and transform corporations and strengthen their markets by fostering creativeness within firms. A key benefit organizations could gain via corporate entrepreneurship is to drive firm with diverse strategies with unique combinations. And also corporate entrepreneurship could improve the overall performance of the firm, growth and profitability (Fitzsimmons, 2004). Furthermore it increases the companys proactiveness and willingness to take risks by investing on new product development and integrating innovative technologies in various processes of business. A study done by Zahra and Covin in 1995 showed that there is a strong relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and financial performance. Based on the findings of their study they suggeste d that companies should focus on ways to encourage potential individuals who show corporate entrepreneurial qualities (Kollman, 2008). According to general definition of corporate entrepreneurship, it refers to activities that enhance new product and service development and especially development of new business models and business ventures. Companies, who encourage corporate entrepreneurship behaviour within their firms, enjoy improved internal efficiencies, higher employee morale which all leads to improvements in financial performance (Monsen, 2007). In corporate entrepreneurial companies, managers tend to implement new management trends to overtake old methodologies which are found to be boring and frustrating. Such changes in management bring them success and effective changes in structure and systems will show significant results over longer time period. All researches done on the arena of corporate entrepreneurship have suggested that firms should encourage corporate entrepreneurship to attain positive results in a long run. Most of the studies are focused on examining the impact of corporate entrepreneurship on financial performance of the firm and how it motivates individuals to work on sustaining financial improvements. However financial improvements are not only the benefits contributed by corporate entrepreneurship but it involves certain non-financial benefits too. Lumpkin and Dess (2005) argued that in addition to financial performances (market share growth, sales growth, financial profitability etc), outcomes of corporate entrepreneurship also includes valuable non financial benefits that assist firm to sustain financial improvements. According to Lumpkin and Dess (2005), satisfaction and commitment of organizational members in achieving companys vision are crucial non financial benefits to organization from corporate entrepreneurship. Dover (2002) defined job satisfaction as a pleasurable or favorable emotional state derived from an evaluation of ones job or job experiences. In contrast to this, affective commitment is defined as degree of employees emotional attachment to his or her organization. Both the job satisfaction and commitment have a positive influence on motivation and leads to greater organizational effectiveness. Most importantly researchers, Hindle and Cutting (2002) have positively related both to corporate entrepreneurship.

Puritan Depravity and Distrust in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay

Puritan Depravity and Distrust in Young Goodman Brown   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Puritan doctrine taught that all men are totally depraved and require constant self-examination to see that they are sinners and unworthy of God's Grace. Because man had broken the Covenant of Works when Adam had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, God offered a new covenant to Abraham's people which held that election to Heaven was merely a possibility.   In the Puritan religion, believers dutifully recognized the negative aspects of their humanity rather than the gifts they possessed. This shadow of distrust would have a direct influence on early American New England and on many of its historians and writers, one of which was Nathaniel Hawthorne. The influence of Puritan religion, culture and education along with the setting of his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, is a common topic in Nathaniel Hawthorne's works.   In particular, Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" allows the writer to examine and perhaps provide commentary on not only the Salem of his own time but also the Salem of his ancestors.   Growing up, Hawthorne could not escape the influence of Puritan society, not only from residing with his father's devout Puritan family as a child but also due to Hawthorne's study of his own family history.   The first of his ancestors, William Hathorne, is described in Hawthorne's "The Custom House" as arriving with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 "with his Bible and his sword" (26). A further connection can also be seen in his more notable ancestor John Hathorne, who exemplified the level of zealousness in Puritanism with his role as persecutor in the Salem Witch Trials.  Ã‚   The study of his own family from the es tablishment of the Bay Colony to the Second Gre... ... 40 (First Quarter 1994):   67-88. Grayson, Robert C.   "Curdled Milk for Babes: The Role of the Catechism in 'Young Goodman Brown.'"   The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 16 (Spring 1990): 1-5. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." 1835. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Lexington: Heath, 1944. 2129-38. Levin, David.   What happened in Salem?   2nd ed.   New York: Harcourt, Brace and World Inc, 1967. Mather, Cotton.   "A Discourse on Witchcraft."   Levin 96-105. Murfin, Ross C.   "Introduction: The Biographical and Historical Background."   Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism: Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Scarlet Letter."   Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1991.   3-18. Shuffelton, Frank.   "Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Revival Movement."   The American Transcendental Quarterly 44 (Fall 1979):   311-321.

Animal Farm by George Orwell Essay

Question 3: â€Å"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† To what extent does this saying apply to George Orwell’s Animal Farm? The quote â€Å"power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely† made by Lord Acton relates to the novel Animal Farm significantly. This quote expresses the fact that power can be abused and some infamous cases in history has shown that this can end in a tragedy. Power is a way through which authority and control is developed. It can be attained through the form of respect or in some infamous cases, fear. The idea that â€Å"absolute power corrupts absolutely† relates most directly to the pigs who possess the most power over the farm but neglect their duties to the farm and its habitants, leading to a dictatorship. One of the pigs who displays power over the animals was Old Major. Old Major was someone who â€Å"was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say† (page 1). He used their respect for him to persuade them to strive for the creation of a better life. Old Major had power but wasn’t corrupted. His main goal was to create a utopian society in which equity is practised. After the death of Old Major, the responsibility of leading the farm naturally fell on to the shoulders of Snowball and Napoleon. When commencing their leadership, Snowball and Napoleon were focused on helping to develop a better life for all the animals but as the novel progressed, Napoleon’s idea of leadership became corrupted. In contrast to Old Major, Napoleon took actions which were for the sole benefit of the pigs. He abused his power and neglected his responsibilities as a leader. Napoleon first attained power through respect but later maintained it through fear a lot like the infamous Hitler. The animals weren’t permitted to oppose Napoleon as they feared him, â€Å"but suddenly the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again† (page 40) . Hitler, like Napoleon, gained power over Germany but later used these powers to enforce his own beliefs onto the people. It was evident to the reader that Napole on was corrupted from when â€Å"the animals(including Snowball) trooped down to the hayfield to begin the harvest, and when they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared† (page 18). Snowball was victim to the corrupted Napoleon. One sole reason as to why Snowball was evicted from the farm was due to Napoleon’s hunger for absolute power. Although this is not clearly pointed  out by Orwell, it is evident for the reader. Napoleon, before the eviction of Snowball, did have power and authority over the animal, but he did not have their undivided attention. â€Å"The animals formed themselves into two factions under the slogans, â€Å"Vote for Snowball and the three-day week’ and ‘Vole for Napoleon and the full manger’†(page 37). Napoleon craved for more power and as the quote states â€Å"absolute power corrupts absolutely†, he became absolutely corrupted after he gained absolute power through the eviction of Snowball. Napoleon became more and more like Jones and the humans he once despised. The most significant indication of the immense corruption in Animal Farm can be ascertained through the altering of the Seven Commandments. After the rebellion, the responsibility of following these commandments were given to every animal on the farm. These commandments were what distinguished the animals from humans. They helped the animals recognise the vices of human beings and assisted them in remembering these corruptions so they themselves, would never adopt them. Throughout the book, these commandments were continuously altered to the pigs’ preferences, such as the situation in which Snowball’s followers were executed. As the pigs did not want the other animals to think that the Commandments had been violated, the sixth Commandment â€Å"No animal shall kill any other animal† was changed to â€Å" No animal shall kill any other animal without cause†. â€Å"Somehow or other the last two words had slipped out of the animals’ memory. But they saw now that the Commandment had not been violated.† (Page 66). Additionally, the presence of a corrupted leader resulted in a corrupted government. The pigs placed themselves higher than other animals to whom the author often referred to as slaves. The pigs persuaded the animals through fear of Jones’ return, â€Å"it is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!† (Page 25). They lived in luxury while the other animals starved as â€Å"once again all rations were reduced except those of the pigs and the dogsâ€Å"ï ¼Ë†page 81ï ¼â€°. The Farm has not become the utopian society strived for due to the corrupted government. The pigs regarded themselves to be on a higher tier than the other animals, completely violating the last and most important Commandment â€Å"All animals are equal†. This corruption led to the failure of the rebellion. â€Å"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely† is one quote which  summarises the events occurring in the novel â€Å"Animal Farm†. It expresses the negligence and abuse of power such as that of the pigs. The corruption of the pigs, particularly their leader, Napoleon, expressed the truth behind this quote. The presence of corruption eventually led to the failure of the rebellion.

Online Reservation for Catering Services Essay

The Apple II became an instant success when released in 1977 with its printed circuit motherboard, switching power supply, keyboard, case assembly, manual, game paddles, A/C powercord, and cassette tape with the computer game â€Å"Breakout.† When hooked up to a color television set, the Apple II produced brilliant color graphics. The Kenbak-1, the first personal computer, advertised for $750 in Scientific American. Designed by John V. Blankenbaker using standard medium-scale and small-scale integrated circuits, the Kenbak-1 relied on switches for input and lights for output from its 256-byte memory. In 1973, after selling only 40 machines, Kenbak Corp. closed its doors. The Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) — the first of several personal computers released in 1977 — came fully assembled and was straightforward to operate, with either 4 or 8 kilobytes of memory, two built-in cassette drives, and a membrane â€Å"chiclet† keyboard. The abacus was an early aid for mathematical computations. Its only value is that it aids the memory of the human performing the calculation. A skilled abacus operator can work on addition and subtraction problems at the speed of a person equipped with a hand calculator (multiplication and division are slower). The abacus is often wrongly attributed to China. In fact, the oldest surviving abacus was used in 300 B.C. by the Babylonians. The abacus is still in use today, principally in the far east. A modern abacus consists of rings that slide over rods, but the older one pictured below dates from the time when pebbles were used for counting (the word â€Å"calculus† comes from the Latin word for pebble).