Thursday, October 31, 2019

John quincy adams Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

John quincy adams - Research Paper Example ncy, born on 11 July 1767, spent most of his early years in Braintree with his parents John and Abigail Adams who taught him classics, Mathematics, and languages. John Quincy, at the age of ten, began travelling to Europe with his father who was a diplomat, enabling him to serve as a secretary of state at a young age. John Quincy spent time in Paris and studied art, music and fencing, and when he was old enough, went to Massachusetts where he specialized in law up to 1790. Quincy was a lawyer for a short period until he was drawn to civic discourse that was a precursor to his life in the public office. John Quincy became a lawyer after graduating at Harvard University, until the age of 26 when he got an appointment to become minister for the Netherlands. Quincy then got promoted to Berlin Legation and became elected in 1802, as a Senator. He worked for six years until he got an appointment of being minister for Russia. Quincy Adams was one of the greatest State Secretaries who worked under President Monroe, and this is evident in his arrangement of England’s joint occupation of Oregon country and the formulation of the Monroe Doctrine. However, Quincy declined calls from Madison to become one of the judges of the Supreme Court in 1811 (Hewson 41). The 1824 presidential elections won by John, was the first ever after the passage of the Twelfth Amendment, and with the collapse of the competition that used to exist between the Federalists and Republicans, personal and sectional conflicts arouse to replace party politics. John Quincy Adams had an embodiment regarding parties, but enforced political principles that focused on antislavery, and this challenged Jacksonian democracy. In addition, his high-minded stances weakened him as a president especially during sessions in the congress. President John Quincy had programs, which were meant to create a national market, and included the creation universities, canals, and roads among other initiatives. His strategies

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Monasticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Monasticism - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that Monastery lifestyle aids the monks to subdue their bodily passions that may hinder one from having complete dedication to God. This is via fasting, enduring harsh circumstances with people of the similar motive living together as a family. Primarily, this entails fervent fasting, praying and persevering trials for the sake of the church while making constant intercession for humankind. These trials and sufferings monks render in union with those of the Christ while in Gethsemane. Here, Christ was pleading for assistance and accompaniment in the journey of human salvation, which entailed the Holy Trinity’s intervention.This study highlights that  seclusion gives monks the detachment they require meant for external stillness or quietness, which is essential in aiding one to get in touch with oneself. Hence, monks meticulously know themselves better, so that they are capable to fight their passions and embrace a life worth of God beholding. The exercise aims at fulfilling the monastic golden vows summed up as The Benedictine Rule, which acts as a guide all through the partakers’ lives. They comprise total obedience, stability and transformation in the way of life, which will aid in subduing passions and desires of this materialistic world, thus devote to the will of God.  Monastic life calls for the monks not only for fervent prayers and be in confinements of the monastery, but also aid in situations where pastoral work is in demand.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Un Chien Andalou Experimental Movie Film Studies Essay

Un Chien Andalou Experimental Movie Film Studies Essay Bunuel explains that historically the film represents a violent reaction against what in those days was called avant-garde, which was aimed exclusively at artistic sensibility and the audiences reason. In Un Chien andalou the film maker for the first time takes a position on a poetic- moral plane. His object is to provoke instinctive reactions of disgust and attraction in the spectator. He also says that nothing in the film symbolizes anything. The premise for the ideas from the film comes from two dreams, one by Luis Bunuel and one by Salvador Dali. Therefore in a dream-like sequence a womans eye is slit open, juxtaposed with a similarly shaped cloud obscuring the moon moving in the same direction as the knife through the eye, to grab the audiences attention. The French phrase ants in the palms, shown as text on the screen literally, this is meant to show the mans urge to kill the woman, as the phrase means itching to kill. This is based on Dalis dream. A man pulls a piano along with the tablets of the Ten Commandments and a dead donkey towards the woman hes itching to kill. Shots of striped objects are repeatedly being used to different connect scenes. The film is an intense amalgam of modernist material drawn from a wider variety of cultural sources. It also includes amalgamates of the aesthetics of Surrealism with Freudian discoveries. It simply answers the general idea of that, which defines Surrealism as an unconscious, psychic automatism, able to return to the mind its real function, outside of all control exercised by reason, morality or aesthetics. The narrative of the film is not continuous, there are non-real jumps in time and space, which make the characters doubt, retract and repeat themselves very much like in a dream and time is non- linear. Surrealist artists used film as a medium because it gave visual expression to their words and ideas and seemed to be closest to dream imagery. The film begins in the present, moves to 8 years later, then 3am, then 16 years before, and finally ends in spring. A very rich and individual cinematographic language is revealed by the use of angles, optical, focus, transitions and also the alternation of long-shots and close-ups. The events that happen are not possible in our everyday reality, for example ants coming out of the palm of the mans hand. Two completely unrelated objects and ideas come together and create a never seen before new idea. Like in the opening of the film, when the womans/ cows eye is slit it was Dalis and Bunuels interest to shock the audience and make them question their own reality and by doing so creating a new one. Man Ray mixed poetry and film to create the cinà ©poà ¨me. He used the same concept as Dali and Bunuel by using completely different and unrelated ideas and objects to create a new reality. An example of a cinà ©poà ¨me is Man Rays Etoile de mer (Starfish), a poem by Robert Desnos, which Man Ray interpreted through film. The film also involved innovative shots and camera angles, such as glimpses through church glass,which created a distorted, unclear view of the scene. Sigmund Freuds influence on European intellectuals resulted in automatic writing and the interests in the dream world. Salvador Dalà ­ in particular set out to simulate mental disturbance with his paranoiac-critical method. These interests manifested themselves in explorations of the illlusionistic rendering of the dream world. Surrealists were tying to challenge bourgeois values and saw themselves as revolutionaries valuing destruction as a way of clearing the ideological landscape. Bunuels film made a key link between surrealism and Freudianism, by revealing the cinema as the true metaphor of the dream state. Atheistic, Dionysian, rebellious and revolutionary, the Surrealist movement thrived on the paradox of filling the moral, ethical and religious vacuum left in the wake of the First World War with another void of guiltness, sinless liberty. As a resolution of World War One the political atmosphere in the 1920s was shaky. The failure of postwar treaties, the economic disaster and the failure of the League of Nations to keep the peace, made it possible for opposing forces to once again emerge. The totalitarian regimes of several European countries used this tenuous ground to grow in the 1920s and 1930s. Benito Mussolini emerged as the head of the fascist regime in Italy which was derived from a staunch nationalism. Joseph Stalin gained control of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union in 1929 and Adolf Hitler in Germany by building the National Socialist German Workers Party into a mass political movement. The questions left from the aftermath of World War One were in need of an intellectual answer. Instead of rejecting everything, as Dada espoused, Surrealism sought a way to improve the society in which it was entrenched. While Dada was a primary rebellion of the individual against art, morality, and society based on chance and with nihilistic intent, Surrealism was based on hope. While Surrealism tended to create instead of destroy, Dada was against everything. Not only in art and literature Surrealism was a ground breaking movement, but also in politics. The strongest years of Surrealism were between1924-38, and these were in many ways characterized by political actions. Breton founded La Rà ©volution surrà ©aliste in 1925 as the voice of Surrealism . By the end of the War, many future Surrealists joined the Dada movement. They believed that the government systems had led them into the war and they insisted that it was better not to have a government, also that the irrational was preferable to the rational in art, all of life, and the civilization. A dream-logic, chance, superstition, coincidence, absurdity and challenging orientation was favoured by the surrealists. They also aimed to recreate links between primal thoughts and emotions in order to recast human needs away from materialism, mass culture and social order towards immersion in the revolutionary hagiography of mankinds dark side. http://lunar-circuitry.net/wordpress/?cat=160 http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/1129727 http://www.wasistwas.de/aktuelles/reportage-HYPERLINK http://www.wasistwas.de/aktuelles/reportage-film/filmlexikon/artikel/link//e5d323f0b8/article/lexikon-experimentalfilm.htmlfilm/filmlexikon/artikel/link//e5d323f0b8/article/lexikon-experimentalfilm.html http://www.cinematica.org/archives/u/un_chien_andalou.htm http://www.centerforvisualmusic.org/Moritz1920sAb.htm Surrealists used all media were to create art or poetic acts. One of the main goals of Surrealism was to force the viewer/reader out of his or her everyday reality to see a new, surreality filled with the potential of changing the world into a place of beauty, love, and freedom, away from the harsh truths of European politics and the control of the bourgeoisie. characteristic of the middle class, especially in being materialistic or conventional. Bourgeois: (in Marxist contexts) capitalist. Freudian: relating to or influenced by the Austrian psychotherapist Sigmund Freud (18561939) and his methods of psychoanalysis. susceptible to analysis in terms of unconscious thoughts or desires: a Freudian slip. Hagiography the writing of the lives of saints. a biography idealizing its subject. Le Cinà ©ma, des origines à   nos jours; prà ©face par Henri Fescourt.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Revelations Brought Forth from the Scaffolding Scenes in The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

Within the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the imagery of revelation works as a reoccurring theme to bring the reader into the characters view of the incidences going on before them. These ‘revelations’, scattered throughout the story, work as awakenings or realizations of the current situation that the character is presently in or situations they may have to face in the future. All of the characters presented into the story have revelations of some sort. One key discovery theme used in this story is the realization of identification; this is presented as the characters previously thinking they knew somebody and what they stood for, yet they are proved wrong in their beliefs. Another reoccurrence of a theme, used in the story, is the usage of the scaffolding in the center of town to unfold a revelation in the characters lives. The scaffolding situation takes place three times within the story, each time with a different circumstance and a change of the witnesses t o the scene; but with a revelation that slightly changes the character from what they were before they stood upon the scaffolding. The first instance when the scaffolding appears is the beginning of the story when Hester Prynne is sentenced to stand upon it, bearing her child and the ominous letter ‘A’, for a set time as her punishment for adultery. This takes place during the day as the entire town is placed before to observe. The second scene of scaffold revelation brings the Reverend Dimmesdale to the top of the platform alone as he attempts to lift the weighty guilt off of his chest. Finally, towards the end of the story, we see Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale, and their child, Pearl standing together in front of the judging crowd. In each of these scenes the revelations captured in that moment by the character or characters remain pivotal parts of story and ultimately of the characters lives. The first scaffolding scene serves as a revelation to, I believe, everyone in the town. Hester’s crime surely must have touched somebody in the large crowd with a revelation of their own guilt. Shame for a past covered sin or perhaps contempt, as even contempt is a sin that should yield shame, for Hester, herself, was most likely felt in many of the townsfolk that day. Yet, the main revelations coming forth in this scene were brought forth by the realizations of the situations each character found his or herself presently in.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Global Business Cultural Analysis

Kenya lies to the east of the African continent and has a coast on the Indian Ocean. The country straddles two of the most famous lakes in Africa – Lake Turkana and Lake Victoria. At its heart is Mount Kenya from which the country takes its name. The Kenyan population is heterogeneous, comprising seven major ethnic groups as well as tens of smaller ones and non-Kenyan communities. There is a religious mix with a Christian majority and Muslim and indigenous religious minorities. Formerly a British colony, Kenya achieved independence in 1963. Understanding the various cultural norms and ethnic and religious groups is essential when doing business in Kenya. Kenyan Culture – Key Concepts and Values Group-relations – Kenyans have strong affiliations to their ethnic group or tribe and sometimes place them in front of the ‘nation’. The family is at the heart of Kenyan life and is given priority over everything else. Several generations will live together in one house with all family members taking care of one another. Absenteeism from work or delays in performing tasks due to family obligations is frequently experienced in Kenya and is viewed as perfectly acceptable. Religion – The majority of the population is Christian (Protestant and Catholic) but there is also a substantial Muslim (Sunni) minority. At the same time Animism and ancestor worship remain widespread. Both Christians and Muslims have managed to incorporate traditional practices into their respective religions creating unique blends to suit their particular needs. Time – In general, Kenyans have a more relaxed approach towards time and live at a slower pace. It is not unusual to wait half an hour for someone to arrive for an appointment and this is seen as perfectly acceptable. Taking care of personal affairs first is regarded as more important than arriving on time. This being said, today particularly in the private sector there is a growing trend of punctuality and observing deadlines. Doing Business in Kenya is the one of Africa’s more affluent nations and is seen a business hub for East Africa. The country’s economy has been hampered though by corruption and a reliance on certain goods whose prices have failed to rise sufficiently. Kenya has also been affected by the global economic downturn and in 2008 saw a 7% drop in its GDP growth from the previous year. Despite this, tourism, manufacturing and investment have predominated in the Kenyan economy over the last four decades giving Kenya a prized position within Africa. Understanding how Kenya’s economy and politics impact its business culture will help you when doing business in Kenya. Kenyan Business Part 1 – Working in Kenya o Working practices in Kenya †¢ Business hours in Kenya are from 9:00am to 4:00pm, with a one hour break for lunch between 1:00pm and 2:00pm. Some businesses also operate on Saturday mornings. Kenyans have a flexible attitude towards time, so don’t be surprised if business meetings or social events begin late. Punctuality tends to be expected when dealing with foreigners though, so make sure to arrive on time. Kenyans do not tend to schedule a precise end to meetings. What matters is not adhering to a schedule but ensuring that everybody involved is satisfied with the outcome. Therefore make sure to leave enough time in your agenda when attending a meeting. English is widely spoken in Kenyan business environments and you can expect your counterparts to have good language skills so you can conduct your business in English. A little knowledge of basic Kiswahili phrases always leaves a good impression and can help to break the ice. Structure and hierarchy in Kenyan companies †¢ Business hierarchies are generally clearly defined, especially in family owned companies. Although employees are welcome to give suggestions and comments, the final decision is taken by senior members or managers. Education and experience are important qualities and main sources of credibility. A personable character can earn extra credit. Foreigners tend to be approached with high regard simply on the basis of their international expertise. Hierarchy plays an important role in the business structure of Kenya. Be mindful of a colleague’s title and their place in the organization. Decision making in Kenyan businesses tends to work on a top-down basis, with objectives set and decisions made by those in the highest positions. Respect and deference to one’s elders should be observed when in Kenya. First business meetings are often quite formal until the relationship is established. Relationships outside of the business environment can help build stronger ties too. The unofficial and informal nature of networking out of the office can help cement a stronger working relationship. This is often done by offering your colleague a drink or meal. Kenya Business Part 2 – Doing Business in Kenya o Business practices in Kenya †¢ Being a polychromic society, Kenyan business practice focuses on getting things done by order of priority rather than working to a set time schedule. In many businesses the working day will halt at specific times for Muslim members of staff to pray. Business attire is formal in Kenya. Men wear suits and ties while women wear long dresses or skirts which reach below the knee. Women do not usually wear trousers although this trend is slowly changing. Women should make sure their shoulders are covered and should not wear anything too revealing. Business cards are often used in Kenya and should be given and received with both hands. Marketing boards are state-controlled or state-sanctioned entities legally granted control over the purchase or sale of agricultural commodities. Since the mid-1980s they have declined in number under pressure from domestic liberalization and from international trade rules that increasingly cover agriculture. Where reforms have been widespread and successful, marketing boards have vanished or retreated to providing public goods, such as strategic grain reserves or insurance against extraordinary price fluctuations i. . the National cereals board, the Tea board of Kenya. Where reforms have been less successful, the weaknesses of private agricultural marketing channels have been revealed by the rollback of marketing boards, often leading to calls for reinstatement of powerful marketing boards. It is often suggested that an exporting country should set up a price stabilization fund to insulate farme rs from fluctuations in the world market price, by collecting a proportion of farmers’ revenue when prices are high and paying it out when prices are low. A typical price stabilization fund is set up for an export crop. In years when the world price is high, some of the returns are paid into the fund; in years when it is low, the accumulated revenues are used to bring up the price. There are many variations on this basic model. Some of the funds soon collapse, while others go on for years, surviving but not necessarily achieving their objectives. The objectives of the fund are usually obscure, sometimes deliberately so. For example, farmers press for stabilization without making it too obvious that to them stabilization means a lower limit to prices rather than an upper limit: in other words, they want a higher average price. Consumers think of price stabilization as imposing minimum prices rather than both maxima and minima. It is often assumed without discussion or evidence that price stabilization benefits the farmer and is beneficial to the economy. To provide price stability, marketing boards set the prices for farmers. During a season of high prices in the world market, they stash funds over and above the set local target, which they later use to cushion farmers whenever the global market prices plummet. The marketing boards possess the sole legal authority to purchase commodities from farmers and to engage in trade. Through the boards, governments typically fix official producer prices for all controlled commodities. Marketing boards provide a guaranteed market for the farmers, absorbing all marketed surplus at the official producer prices, and maintaining extensive buying networks and storage facilities throughout the production regions. Grain marketing boards commonly handle the strategic food reserves for emergency situations, and have the responsibility to import food in shortage seasons. They also stabilize prices, thus protecting farmers from sharp fluctuations. The boards also obtain funds for sales promotion, research and extension services. To raise farmers' bargaining power- especially to prevent over exploitation of farmers by middle men. The boards also improve quality regulation. In the last two decades, the production of primary exports in our country has been dwindling, and in some cases, almost ceased altogether. The crops in question are pyrethrum, sisal, cotton, coffee, and to a lesser extent, tea. The NCPB sells seeds and fertilizers to farmers at subsidized rates and buys their produce at higher prices than the market price, as a way of offering incentives to farmers. To ensure food security, NCPB has silos all over the country that store grains in times of surplus production and sell them in times of food shortages at affordable prices. This helps improve the country’s food supply situation. The Kenya Meat commission which was recently revived, served an important role, during the droughts that ravaged the country, by buying cattle from owners, who would otherwise have suffered a very big loss as the animals would have perished in the drought. Now the farmers can replenish their herds when the drought passes. The Kenya Cooperative creameries is also another marketing board that buys milk from farmers at better prices than go between and hence offering a ready market to milk as a produce in the country. The Coffee board of Kenya and the Kenya Tea Development Authority also buys produce from farmers at good prices, so that farmers are ensured of a market for their produce and can be able to develop themselves from income earned. The boards then sell the produce through exports. This board deals with buying pyrethrum from farmers and finding a market for it. Boards established by the colonialists have, on the whole, been playing a major role in marketing most of these crops, but the majority is inefficient, corrupt, and unable to bring the necessary changes to the agricultural sector to meet the challenges of global competition. Measuring whether the above objectives have been achieved is difficult, since most of these boards offer minimal public information and data important for analysis. In the current global market, private firms, with the intent of maximizing returns, will always hunt for the best world prices. Their staff is likely to be more qualified than the bloated workforce littering our boards. Farmers would be better served by private entities. Since new farmers are always joining a given sector, the system of stabilization is disadvantageous to the old ones. Funds set aside earlier end up cushioning even the newcomers. Since the 1990s, the target prices set by the boards seem to have been out-paced by the rate of inflation. In real terms, it is the farmers who experience negative returns for their products. Most crops in our country come from specific regions where weather conditions are favorable. Centralization of the marketing boards dampens the enthusiasm of farmers. It is in the best interest of the country for income obtained in a certain region to remain there in the hands of farmers, save for the taxes raised by the State. Some senior employees at the head offices, who do not even come from the areas in which the crops are grown, sometimes earn more in a year than do farmers in their whole lives. Our marketing boards are government revenue collectors rather than price stabilizers. Farmers pay more taxes at the hands of these boards, than they would otherwise. The establishment of various agencies in the agricultural sector for various crops is wasteful in terms of overheads and inexperienced staff. The very objectives for which the boards were set up can be handled by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with co-operatives and private marketing enterprises. The subsidies embedded in grains pricing systems, coupled with heavy overhead costs associated with high administrative, transportation and storage costs, soon created huge tax burdens. The pan territorial pricing system meant higher transportation and handling costs in moving commodities from some remote areas, and the management of large volumes of commodities in storage was costly. In addition, the monitoring of private trade was not only costly but generally ineffective, especially for food commodities in shortage seasons. E. g. The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) of Kenya accumulated an estimated loss of about $300 million by 1993, in contrast with central government expenditure on agriculture of $33 million. Marketing boards also face organizational challenges. Their susceptibility to bureaucracy and corruption increased both the inefficiency in their operations and the transactions costs for farmers and consumers. In 2011 Kenya’s economy recorded moderate growth, driven primarily by financial intermediation, tourism, construction and agriculture. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is projected to expand modestly in 2012 and 2013. In 2011 it was held back by an unstable macroeconomic environment characterized by rising inflation, exchange rate depreciation and high energy costs. Limited rainfall in the first half of 2011 resulted in a decline in aggregate food production, a factor that contributed significantly to runaway inflation. The inflationary pressures experienced in 2011 and the depreciation of the Kenyan shilling (KES) can be traced back in part to the Central Bank of Kenya’s decision to cut its repo rate from 7% to 6% in December 2010 in a bid to revive lending and stimulate growth. However, increased consumer demand pushed up prices and put pressure on the Kenyan shilling as demand for imports increased substantially. Inflation is projected to fall to single figures in 2012 and 2013 thanks to improved food production and stability in fuel prices. The year 2011 was marked by the passing of legislation to put into effect the new constitution and the appearance of six Kenyan citizens at the International Criminal Court, while political parties began preparing for elections expected in 2012. Youth unemployment is a growing problem in Kenya as it makes up 70% of total unemployment. The Youth Enterprise Development Fund, operational over the last five years as the main intervention agency, has, among other actions, disbursed almost KES 6 billion to some 157 538 youth enterprises; organized youth trade fairs; built simple infrastructure for young people; and started pre-financing training for the young. The fund will be expanded in the coming years to ensure increased employment for the young.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Bill Gates: a Man of Magnitude

Bill Gates: Man of Magnitude A man of magnitude is someone who has made an impact on society and has done something or created something for the greater good of the country or world. I think what best describes a great man, or woman is a quote from Bob Marley, â€Å"â€Å"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively. † This quote is close me because of the work my grandfather did with his business and providing work for those who would most likely not be hired.A great person is someone who does what they feel is right no matter what is thought of them. Bill Gates is what I would consider a â€Å"Man of Magnitude. † I chose Bill Gates as my man of magnitude because of all the things he has done for education, global healthcare, and extreme poverty stricken countries. What I relate to with Bill Gates is that technology has become so relevant in education. In schools that cannot ke ep up with the ever evolving technology, the students will fall behind and not have all the same opportunities that students in more affluent areas may have.Bill and his wife, Melinda, are the founders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which gives many grants including the expansion for immunization for children, Improvements in seed and soil for African farmers, and multiple libraries. Greatness: The quality of being great, distinguished, or eminent. According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website Fact Page, as of September 2012 there are 19 Grant Commitments throughout the world that total up to more than five billion dollars.Someone who grants that amount of money to people in need is my definition of greatness. Someone who uses their power and wealth is something that I find remarkably great. â€Å"Guided by the belief that every life has equal value† is a quote that is posted on every page of the Gates Foundation website. Only a person with the consider ation for others would commit their money to charity and to help end the extreme poverty. Bill Gates has contributed to the greater good by globally enhancing healthcare by providing more opportunities for immunization children, to educe extreme poverty in African countries, and to expand educational opportunities and access to technology. Bill Gates has also received numerous awards for philanthropic work. (â€Å"Bill Gates†). There have been many inventive entrepreneurs throughout history, but not many of them have applied their wealth to meet the needs of the less fortunate. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have endowed a foundation with $28. 8 Billion. Through this foundation the Gates couple is able to funnel the enormous profits from Microsoft and other Gates' ventures to help attack global heath and education problems.Bill Gates has targeted AIDS in Africa as one of his major health causes. He is also known for providing large amounts of computer equipment to schools in low income communities to help bring children of impoverished families into the world of technical advance. Bill Gates is a man of magnitude who has contributed to the greater good because he has touched the lives of millions of people through his philanthropic initiatives. Men or Women of magnitude are people of honor, faith, substance. People who will do whatever they can to help those around them.Great people who also have the fortune to be very wealth are people who have even more power and opportunity to do great things for their country, and even many other countries. Great people are noble and kind, and they have compassion for those in need. Great people give their change to the homeless, or buy a candy bar for the Boys Club. Great people are visionaries, that believe in a brighter future. Bill Gates is among those great people. Works Cited â€Å"About the Foundation. † Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. N. p. , 1999. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. â€Å"Bill Gates. † 201 3. The Biography Channel. March 2011. Web. Feb 12 2013.