Greed and Materialism in the 1980s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Greed and Materialism in the 1980s - Essay Example Bateman is naming the litany of products and is pointing out items made possible by the defense research of the 1950s and 60s. Now they are made available as commercial goods. He has no appreciation for the goods, but values them for their space age quality and trendy name, much like owning an MX Missile. "What really is the best dry beer Is Bill Robinson an overrated designer What's wrong with IBM Ultimate luxury. Is the term "playing hardball" an adverb The fragile peace of Assisi. Electric light. The epitome of luxury. Ultimate luxury" (274). The conservative kids in the candy store have so many unanswered questions. Give me. Give me. Can I have a star wars defense system "I'm talking to the delivery guys from Park Avenue Sound Shop about HDTV, which isn't available yet, when one of the new black AT&T cordless phones rings. I tip them, then answer it" (308). The cold war had spurred technological advancements and Bateman was planning on reaping the benefits in the usual mindless, capitalist consumer fashion. ""...I watched the huge Sony TV over a breakfast of sliced kiwi and Japanese apple pear, Evian water, oat bran muffins, soy milk, and cinnamon granola, ruining my enjoyment of the grieving mothers..." (138).

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Essay Example for Free

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Essay Sam Hickory February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time In the novel, the voice of Christopher is important because if it was told from a different perspective it would be difficult to understand what goes on in Christopher’s mind and what the traits of a person with autism are. If this story was told from the perspective of a different character for example, Christopher’s father, the story would mainly be about how his wife left him, how its hard to take care of a child with autism and would not include the death of Wellington. If he included all of this in his point of view in the story then it would be less entertaining and interesting to read. Then Mark Haddon’s purpose of showing the world what it is like to be autistic would not be accomplished. First of all, Christopher’s voice is important because if it was told from a different perspective it would be different to understand what Christopher is thinking and what the traits of a person with autism are. He tells his story the way he sees it. He also includes many details and descriptions of the people around him. For example, in the beginning of the story he mentions a descriptive image of Siobhan, he writes, â€Å"Siobhan has long blond hair and wears glasses which are made of green plastic† (5). Christopher does not understand figurative language because he takes everything very literal. In the beginning of the story, Christopher mentions an important detail about his novel, he writes,†this will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them† (8). Throughout the story, Christopher mentions little details about himself like how he doesn’t like being touched, being in big crowds, and does not like strangers and will keep asking the same question over and over again until his question is Alexus Martinez February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 answered. As you can see, these little details help interpret what the traits are to a person with autism. Christopher needs order and stability as he deals with autism because it makes his life happy and safe. Anything that jeopardizes this not only damages his mental state, but also brings him physical pain. Second, if this story was told from Christopher’s dad perspective, the story would mainly be about how his wife left him, how it is hard to take care of a child with autism and throughout all of this he would not mention the death of Mrs. Shear’s dog, Wellington. Christopher’s father, Ed Boone, would start talking about the past with his wife and how she left him. For example, in the middle of the book, he sees that Christopher read the letters from his mother, he says, â€Å"I did it for your own good, Christopher. Honestly I did. I never meant to lie. I just thought†¦I just thought it would be better if you did not know†¦that†¦that†¦I did not mean to†¦I was going to show you when you were older† (114). This shows that Christopher’s father told his son lies because deep down inside of him he was hurt still and tried to forget about the pain in him by not mentioning her name. Throughout the story, Christopher’s father has patience for his son once in a while. He is a good father and even though he sometimes loses his temper, he still loves Christopher. The hardest thing for Christopher’s father is telling Christopher to be staying out of peoples business. He tells him this because Christopher wants to find out who killed Wellington which bothers his father. Whenever Christopher mentions Mr. Shear’s name, it upsets him because Christopher’s father’s wife had an affair with Mr. Shears. For example, in the story, Christopher mentions about Mr. Shears being the prime suspect and his Alexus Martinez February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 father shouts saying, â€Å"I will not have that man’s name mentioned in my house† (49). He says this because every time he hears Mr. Shears name in his home, it brings him pain but also gets him upset. Throughout the story, Christopher mentions a lot about himself. The things he likes and what he dislikes. He also mentions about Siobhan and how she helps him through his life. If this story were told from the perspective of Christopher’s father it would not be interesting or entertaining like the way Christopher put it. His father would not include any math pictures and equations that Christopher included or the way he always talked about his dreams and the way he thought about people. Christopher’s father would not include any of this or may not include his opinions on things. If none of this was included in the story if told from the father’s perspective, it would make the book dull and boring. In conclusion, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the voice of Christopher is very important because he tells it from his point of view. If it was told from Christopher’s father, Ed Boone’s point of view, it would be different to understand what Christopher is thinking and what the traits are to a person with autism are. Christopher’s father would mainly include the past with his wife and how it is to raise a child with autism. He would not include the death of Wellington. If the novel did not include any of this, the book would be less entertaining and interesting. Then Mark Haddon’s purpose of showing the world what it is like to be autistic would not be accomplished. The book would not be that good of a book if it was told through a different perspective. Alexus Martinez February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 Works Cited 1. Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. New York: A Division of Random House, Inc, 2003.

Teacher Unions Effects Upon Education. Essay -- Education, Teachers T

When originally created, teacher unions were a noble cause meant to prevent teachers from being taken advantage of. Fight from the beginning, teachers unions and schools have been in conflict over several issues. Now though, as a result schools’ eagerness to cut costs, along with the union’s unwillingness to allow teachers to be fired, the student is becoming collateral damage. This conflict that exists between the teachers unions and school administration must be resolved through mediation, focus on students, and stronger laws to prevent teachers suing districts. At one point, America had schools that it was proud of. There are many areas where teachers and school unions will likely never see eye to eye; the school districts place the student as their primary concern, and the teachers unions place the teachers as their primary concern. Just as Joel Klein once said, â€Å"You can never appreciate how irrational the system is until you’ve lived it.† (Q td. in Brill, 30 ). Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the Washington D.C. schools said â€Å"tenure is the holy grail of teachers unions† (Qtd. In Dillon, 1); teacher unions treat tenure as one of their most prized possessions because it is, tenure is and always will be vitally important towards the goal of the union. The tenure system offers teachers, who have been teachers for longer times (typically 2-3 years), the assurance that they will not unjustly lose their jobs. Why then, does the tenure system protect these teachers? The simple answer is that the tenure system protects the majority of teachers, and that is what the union wants. The tenure system is outdated; Michelle Rhee is a former chancellor of public schools in Washington. She made drastic changes to the schooling system... ... protecting these teachers and would not allow the school to rid of them. It appears that when a Union wished for a legal matter to be expedited, they have no problems expediting it, however when the school is in favor of the legal issue, â€Å"it takes between two and five years for cases to be heard by an arbitrator†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Brill, 3). When you consider the thing that teachers are callable of doing with the protection of tenure, it is surprising that the number of fired tenured teachers is so small. Our public schooling system needs to develop a backbone; we need to stand up for what we know must be changed. No longer should teachers enjoy benefits and pensions limited only to the teaching profession. No other occupation offers tenure and benefits, and pensions as does teaching. That’s because the other occupations have long since eliminated those as a cost saving measure.

More Then a Noble Perception :: Essays Papers

More Then a Noble Perception Perception is the insight or knowledge gained by perceiving. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth the tragic hero of the play is perceived differently by everyone. Macbeth is one of King Duncan's nobleman and soldiers, who as the play goes on murders his leader when hearing he will one day be King from a trio of witches. Through Macbeth's actions the perceptions of Macbeth by the other main characters are learned. As the play goes on it is seen that his best friend, Banquo, his leader King Duncan and his wife Lady Macbeth all have opposing perceptions of him. Comparing their perceptions and the way he is shows how Macbeth may have came to the decision to commit his crime. Banquo is Macbeth's best friend in the tragedy. Banquo is with Macbeth when Macbeth meets the witches and they tell him of his upcoming fortune. Banquo notices how Macbeth is too ambitious after he sees Macbeth's reaction to the witches predictions. He feels even though Macbeth is his best friend he feels Macbeth is capable of wrong doing in the future to get what he wants. This is shown in one aside after they leave the witches. "†¦And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray 's in deepest consequence. Cousins, a word, I pray you. (Act1, SceneIII,line123)" This quote is stating that Banquo thinks Macbeth may do anything to get what he wants no matter what the consequences are. Duncan is the King of Scotland and Macbeth's leader. Duncan's view of Macbeth is narrow-minded. He perceives him as a loyal, noble, trustworthy, soldier whom he is very fond of. Duncan also feels Macbeth is the reason for them winning the war. There is many times in the play where this is pointed out by the things Duncan says. For example, "Give me your hand. Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly, And shall continue our graces towards him...(Act1, SceneVI,line29)" This quote shows that Duncan seems to feel like he owes Macbeth something for his loyalties and bravery in the war. Duncan's perception of Macbeth will prove to be his downfall. Lady Macbeth only sees Macbeth the way she wants to see him. When he tells her there is a chance he will become King she right away thinks of his weaknesses.

Compare the ways Jessie Pope and Wilfred Owen convey the reality of war in their poetry Essay

The stories of the two poems are very contrasting, they oppose one another quite obviously. One about the horrors of war, one about how much ‘fun’ it is. Both poems serve a purpose and perform to it very well, using all kinds of techniques to encourage or discourage young men to join the army. The storyline of ‘Who’s for the game’ is telling of how great the war is and how you simply can’t miss out. This is meant to attract young soilders to join the army and fight in the first world war. She makes the war seem like a big fun game by using lines like â€Å"Who’s for the game, the biggest thats played, the red crashing game of a fight?† This entices the young men as they think that the war will be fun and a laugh but also honourable and noble to take part in. It makes it seem like a sort of game and men are persuaded to join in. In contrast ‘Dulce et decorum est’ has a very different theme and story. The poem tells of an experience of a soldier during an attack in World War One. The mood of the poem is sadness. Sadness could be too weak a word to describe the poem but is still the main emotion that comes to heart. The horrors of WW1 and trench warfare are involved in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†. The fact that Owen experienced the war himself really makes you think how horribly the war was. The story is also supposed to make everyone realise the loss and pain that the war creates and to discourage men to recrute as it would be a waste of life. It is very effective because if someone read the words â€Å"all went lame, all blind.† they would not want that to happen to them and would probably less inclined to join the war. In Dulce when Owen talks about how if ‘you’ could see what he had seen then you wouldnt tell the old lie: â€Å"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori†(it is sweet and honourable to die for your country) he adresses the reader asâ€Å"My Friend..† he does this to make the reader feel personally responsible for the deaths of so many men. This makes you feel guilty and more sad about the topic of the poem. Although this is very effective for the purpose of the poem, he is actually adressing his old ‘friend’ Jessie Pope who obviously wrote ‘Who’s for the Game’ aiming to attract young men in and of course was very successful. Owen believed that she was solely to blame for the death of the soldiers. He thought that she had no right to tell of this great fun game when she had never experienced the horrible conditions of the war and would never have to, so shouldnt be encouraging people to go when she would never be able to go herself. The language in who’s for the game is very different to in Dulce. Pope writes in a conversational manner which makes the poem more memorable and persuasive. She compares the war to a ‘game’, implying that there is little danger on the battlefield and nearly no chance of dying. She also refers to the war as a sport where a player would return with a minor injury such as a crutch. She persuades the men to join the army by making them feel ashamed and cowardly if they weren’t going to fight for their country. She also has a friendly manner in her poem as she refers to the men as ‘lads’. On the other hand Dulce uses very formal yet morbid language for his poem to create a serious mood. He uses lots of ‘ugly’ language to put the reader off and make them horrified and disgusted but also sad. An example of ugly language is when he is describing the man dying in his dreams: â€Å"he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.† That sequence of those three words; guttering, choking, drowning sounds a lot like coughing something up. It sounds as if Owen is the man choking to death in the gas, practically coughing up his own lungs. Or as if the memory that Owen experiences if hard to say, that he chokes it up because of the sadness of it. This creates very strong imagry for the viewer to think about. It makes the poem seem more alive and realistic and easier to imagine. The rhythm of popes poem is very jaunty and lively, creating the mood of a game. It could convey the soldiers marching, or popes idea of a fun and enjoyable war. She uses this upbeat rhythm to abide with the them of the poem and it works very well. It makes the reading of it sound more happy and alive. Dulce’s rhythm also ties in with its theme. It is quite stodgy and sort of plodding, which mimics the way the soldiers are walking after being on the front line. It means that the poem has more depth than just the words that he is saying. It is also about how you read it and making the rhythm slow moving makes you read it in more of a serious tone. Both poems use lots of different poetic devices to create vivid imagry. Dulce uses a lot more similies compared to Who’s for the Game. It does this because the poem is more specific and supposed to be realistic and truthful. One very effective device is when Owen says â€Å"his hanging face, like a devils sick of sin.† He is describing what the dead soldier looked like after the gas attack. He uses the similie of it being worse than a devils face. The devil is the worst thing a lot of people can think of and especially back then would have been a horrifying thought and for it to be ‘sick’ of sin would be even worse. He is suggesting that his face looked like the worst thing imaginable and no one should ever have to see that. However although Whos for the Game does not use many similies it does use a lot of metaphors to create a lovely image of this great fun war. It means that she is not exactly telling the truth or she is just creating a better version of her perception of the war. All in all I think that both poems stick to their purpose very well and are both effective in persuasion. They both use plenty of poetic devices to serve a purpose and create a certain mood or atmosphere. Although having completely different themes they are very similar in how they convey their personal reality of war. They both have their own opinions on war and are trying to get others see it their way. They use different techniques to effect the reader in a different way. Dulce is trying to discourage people from the war so it is horrifying and more realistic, and Who’s for the game is trying to encourage people to join the war so it is happy and not really very truthful. However I think they both convey the reality of war very well because everyones reality is different. // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return "studymoose.com"},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf("http")==0){return p}for(var e=0;e

Prayer in Public Schools essays

Prayer in Public Schools essays During the past year, the United States watched a heated legal and emotional public debate concerning the removal of a Ten Commandments' monument on display at an Alabama courthouse (Niemeyer Pp). Recently, the National Assembly of France, in a 494 to 36 vote, approved banning headscarves worn by fundamentalist Muslims, yamulkas by Orthodox Jews, and crosses by Christians in public schools (Niemeyer Pp). Although, the United States is still debating the 1962 Engel v. Vitale decision banning organized school prayer, it is difficult to imagine that Congress or the Supreme Court would ever ban religious images in public schools (Niemeyer Pp). However, for decades, many religious leaders have believed that no greater harm can come to religion than when placed in the states' hands At issue in Engel v. Vitale was "whether a non-denominational prayer, recited in every classroom in a school district, violated the First provision for separation of church and state" (Engel Pp). Many parents that the NYS Regents-composed prayer violated the First Amendment's separation of church and state, while the New York Board of Education of Hyde Park contended that it was a non-denominational prayer and that the schools did not compel any student to recite it (Engel Pp). The Supreme "found that the school district violated the students' First Amendment because even though the students did not have to say the prayer, the the prayer in class would put unwanted pressures on them" (Engel Pp). Moreover, the "non-denominational prayer was found to be too religious for state to mandate and was in violation of the establishment clause of the Dissenting, Justice Stewart, stated, "The Court does not hold, nor could it, that New York has interfered with the free ex ...

How to Ask Your Professor to Change Your Grade

How to Ask Your Professor to Change Your Grade At the end of every semester, professor’s inboxes are inundated with a barrage of emails from desperate students seeking a grade change. These last minute requests are often met with frustration and disdain. Some professors even go so far as to set their inbox to auto-respond and not check back until weeks after the semester ends. If you are considering asking your professor for a grade change, consider your actions cautiously and prepare yourself before making the request. Here’s your best chance: Step 1: Do everything in your power not to find yourself in this situation. A lot of requests come from students who have borderline grades. Just a point or two more, and their GPA would improve. However, being on the border isn’t usually an acceptable reason to ask for a grade change. If your grade is 89.22%, dont ask the professor to consider a bump to 90% in order to keep your GPA up. If you think you might be on the borderline, work as hard as you can before the end of the semester and discuss extra credit possibilities ahead of time. Don’t count on being â€Å"rounded up† as a courtesy. Step 2: Act before your professor submits his grades to the university. Instructors will be much more likely to change grades before they submit them to the university. If you were missing points or feel you should have been given more participation credit, talk to your professor before grades are due. If you wait until after submission, your professor will likely have to jump through a lot of hoops to meet your request. In some universities, grade changes are simply not permitted without a significant written explanation of the instructor’s error written by the instructor. Keep in mind that instructors are usually required to submit the grades to the university several days before they are posted for students to view. So, talk to your professor as soon as possible. Step 3: Decide if you really have a case. Review the syllabus and make sure your argument matches up with the instructor’s expectations. A reasonable grade change request might be based on objective issues such as: The instructor failing to count points you earnedA miscalculation on a particular examA problem with the online course’s learning management system that resulted in a point deduction A request might also be made based on subjective issues such as: You feel you should have been given more participation pointsYou believe your role in the group project was not adequately understood or appreciated Step 4: Collect evidence. If you’re going to make a claim, collect evidence to support your cause. Collect old papers, try to make a list of times you’ve participated, etc. Step 5: Discuss your case with the professor in a professional manner. Whatever you do, don’t be overly glib or angry with your professor. State your claim in a calm and professional manner. Explain, briefly, the evidence that backs up your claim. And, offer to show the evidence or discuss the issue in more detail if the professor would find that helpful. Step 6: If all else fails, appeal to the department. If your professor will not change your grade and you feel you have a very good case, you may be able to appeal to the department. Try calling the department offices and asking about the policy on grade appeals. Keep in mind that complaining about the professor’s decision may be viewed poorly by other professors and may have negative consequences – particularly if you are in a small, insular department. However, if you stay calm and state your case confidently, you will have a better chance of keeping their respect and getting your grade changed.

Presidential Power essays

Presidential Power essays Richard E. Neustadt, the author of Presidential Power, addresses the politics of leadership and how the citizens of the United States rate the performance of the president's term. We measure his leadership by saying that he is either "weak or "strong" and Neustadt argues that we have the right to do so, because his office has become the focal point of politics and policy in our political system. Neustadt brings to light three main points: how we measure the president, his strategy of presidential influence, and how to study them both. Today we deal with the President himself and with his influence on government action. The president now includes about 2000 men and women, the president is only one of them, but his performance can not be measured without focusing on himself. Richard Neustadt today is a professor of politics and has written many books on subjects pertaining to government and the inter workings of governments. He has many years of personal experience working with the government along with the knowledge of what makes a president powerful. He has worked under President Truman, Kennedy and Johnson. His credibility of politics has enhanced his respect in the field of politics. His works are studied in many Universities and he is considered well versed in his opinions of many different presidents. It is true that he seems to use Truman and Eisenhower as the main examples in this book and does show the reader the mistakes he believes were made along the way in achieving power. Neustagt begins with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he believes is the one president that knew how best to yield his power. He uses other examples throughout the book of Presidents from FDR to Reagan and endeavors to show the reader the ways in which power and persuasion was used in order for the presidents too perform at the best of their ability and still retain the power to persuade in order to govern the country and app...

Organizational behaviour Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organizational behaviour - Assignment Example It is a progression of sorts that keeps on happening. At Sony, this has meant that the company has understood its objectives and gone ahead with accepting them through the corridor of time and availability of resources at its end. Over the years, Sony has faced monumental losses in terms of finances and increasing competition from some of the bigger players in the technological business. Sony’s problems were broad and deep, which asked for a better understanding in terms of the change process which had to be brought in. The change that has essentially come in has accounted for a thinking amendment in terms of realizing that Sony existed as a powerhouse which is not the case anymore. Samsung and Apple – the two rivals of repute have usurped its market share which is simply an unacceptable awakening for Sony. The change process has therefore been negative for Sony more than anything else (Covin, 1999). What is needed now is a change that shall set things right, and that t oo within quantifiable proportions. Also the restructuring done within Sony amounted to heavy losses, which was another exercise in futility for the company. The profits which had poured in the recent years were not coming up like historical trends and the losses were immense. This has meant that Sony needs to change its course of action and that too within acceptable proportions. The determination to make change a success was destined for Sony, especially after Stringer wanted it to be implemented across the board. For this, he devised the policy of a central decision making authority for some of the key areas under Sony. Sony’s Electronics division was earmarked for this and Stringer decided to go ahead with it. He also played his role well within the development of the corporate culture which was deemed as an important entity (Heath, 1994). This was a change of sorts for the organization since the corporate culture decides the relevant course of action and highlights where the business can exceed the expectations that the stakeholders have of it. Since its products were top of the line and had made a name for their own selves over the years, it was only significant that Sony developed a corporate culture which could resonate well with the products that were being manufactured under its aegis. One should believe that these small incremental changes as well as the huge amendments are for the betterment of Sony at large. If a third party is appointed to oversee the change process, it will be able to fathom the kind of success that change shall eventually be able to bring in. The different types of change that Sony is planning for now are indeed focused on the right track and there is an effort to set things right. Also the incorporation of Stringer within the change methodologies is one that banks on trust and a will to do something inherently right. After evaluation of changes at Sony is done, one finds that these changes bank on the experience of Stri nger and how he wishes to take the company forward (Senior, 2006). Also his expectations from the people who matter the most within the organization is straightforward and depends on whether or not they would be able to manifest their truest selves when the need so arises. Fortunately, the need arises on a consistent basis which keeps everyone in the loop as far as change management and deployment avenues are concerned. One must not forget

US History in the Post WWII Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

US History in the Post WWII Era - Essay Example But it was the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese troops as a part of their expansion plan in to the Far East that made the United States to get involved in the war. By 1942, all the major nations in the world were participating in this destructive war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World War II was effective in bringing about the downfall of Western Europe as the dominant world power. Eastern Europe and East Asia suffered heavy losses. It also led to the rise of the Soviet Union and United States as the superpowers and this opened up an era of Cold War. World War II also marked the end of British Empire. This paper is based on the thesis statement that the World War II and Cold War were the most defining events in the history of United States that brought out radicalization of the nation.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The United States, post World War I had become the dominating power in the world market of food, minerals and industry. But with the crashing of the stock market America was crippled by the financial crisis or the Great Depression in the 1930’s. With the decision of the American Government to join the war, a wave of patriotism began to rage the Americans. World War II brought an upheaval in the lives of American population. The war transformed the social, cultural and political environment of the United States. As the war posed a crisis for American culture, the Americans had to unite to defeat the enemy, irrespective of class, racial and ethnic boundaries that had long divided them. The African Americans were largely employed in various works during the war time. World War II brought significant changes in the role of American women also. Earlier, they were suppressed by the patriarchal society to stay within the confines of their homes. But during t he war, women joined the workforce to replace men who were drafted in to the armed forces. "Rosie the Riveter" became the symbol of women working in

Attitudes to smoking changed since the smoking ban Essay

Attitudes to smoking changed since the smoking ban - Essay Example Research also shows that non-smokers that have partners who smoke in the home have a 20-30% chance of contracting lung cancer than non-smokers with non-smoking partners (BRANNON and FEIST, 2010). In addition, non-smokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke in work places have an increased 16-19% chance of contracting lung cancer (ANGER, KVASNICKA and SIEDLER, 2010). A study conducted by World Health Organization in 2002 suggests that second-hand smokers are exposed to the same amount of carcinogens as first-hand smokers. Second-hand smoke is known to contain 69 carcinogens, especially benzopyrene, and also radioactive decay, such as Polonium 210 (WAND, 2012). Moreover, studies conducted by well-known tobacco companies themselves show that many carcinogens are present at a higher concentration in second-hand smoke than in first-hand smoke. The reason why I chose this topic is that smoking has become very common; this is not to disregard the fact that I smoke also. I remember being staunc hly against smoking, but a year ago my friends convinced me to try it out. The ‘trying’ continued for a period until I realized that I was addicted to cigarette smoking. I tried dropping the habit, but it was too difficult a task for me, and I am continuing to struggle with this habit. This led me to put deep thought and research into what really prompts a person to start smoking, besides my story, what has been done to contain and eventually stop smoking, and what changes, if any, have been observed after the smoking bans have been imposed. As a result I narrowed down my study to researching the changes in attitudes and behavior of the people following smoking bans. The rationale for banning smoking, whether completely or partially at public places, is that smoking is optional while breathing is not. Therefore, patrons of smoking bans say that smoking bans are imposed to shield breathing people from the harms of second-hand smoke, than include heart diseases, lung dise ases, cancer and other ailments (PACIFIC TOBACCO CONTROL INTERIM GROUP, 2004). Laws prohibiting tobacco use in homes have been introduced and implemented by many nations, with Australia and Bhutan being the staunchest proponents, in different forms over the years. Law enforcers cite scientific evidence suggesting that second-hand smoke is as harmful to active-smokers (GOEL and NELSON, 2008). Furthermore, studies also show that smoke bans tend to reduce health care costs, improve work productivity, lowering the cost of labor in the community. In the state of Indiana in U.S.A, the agency of economic development planned in 2006 on including complete smoke bans in homes and in workplaces for making the workplaces and environment more attractive for local and foreign workers as a way for boosting economic development (INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE CA?NCER (BRAZIL), & PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2010). The Pan American Health Organization has stated that the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil wi ll be a tobacco-free tournament. This has come at a time when famous athletes were caught using tobacco which sent out a bad image of the sport to its fans and also encouraged them to adopt the habit. This is being done in collaboration with the government of Brazil, which cites that this ban would ensure a healthy environment for athletes,

Research some initiatives that reduce the devasting impact that Essay

Research some initiatives that reduce the devasting impact that hospitality operations have on our environment - Essay Example Political rationality is based on the ability to solve problems and arrive at effective, collective decisions. Technical rationality is dependent on the value of efficiency. These modern environmental management methods require a rationality of both means and ends. They specify the means by which given ends can be achieved. Those ends are environmental goals such as less pollution and the conservation of water. There is a close relationship between hotels and the environment. Various features of the physical environment are an attraction for tourists. The environment covers all of people's natural and cultural surroundings. The natural environment is what exists in nature such as the land and its soil and topography. The built environment consists of man-made physical features consisting of infrastructure development. Tourist facilities and infrastructure constitute one aspect of the built environment. The ensuing tourism development and tourist use of an area generate environmental impacts. Hotels have signified their commitment to ensure a healthy and clean environment. There are three international hotels which have implemented very successful environmental initiatives. The Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts Hong Kong has initiatives on environmental management. In the area of environmental sustainability, the hotel's focus is primarily in five areas: climate change; ozone depletion; water use management; waste disposal management; and indoor air quality. Shangri-La is ramping up energy conservation initiatives so that it will reduce 2006 group-wide energy consumption figures by 12 percent by the end of 2008. Currently, the group practices a wide array of environmentally friendly measures such as fitting all guestrooms with water-saving devices in taps and showers as well as using energy-saving lamps in more than half of the group's guestrooms. Shangri-La was an industry leader in initiating environmental procedures even before its hotels began to receive ISO14001 certifi cation, the international Environmental Management System Standard. The group has an extensive list of internally developed environmental best practices that all hotels have implemented, with inspections to monitor for compliance. The inspection results affect each hotel's annual performance and development review scores. In addressing impacts on climate change, the group is working on reducing carbon dioxide emissions per room night by 6.7 kg., as compared to 2006 figures. Shangri-La has three broad methods for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases: through existing systems and processes; the use of new technologies and alternative energy sources; and by building more efficient buildings. In new hotels, Shangri-La seeks to save energy and resources through a variety of techniques involving rainwater harvesting, hot water production using solar panels or heat pumps, and improvements in building envelope design to reduce heat loss or heat gain as well as air filtration. (Shangri-la Company website). Another international hotel with a sterling reputation on environmental

New venture development strategy Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11750 words

New venture development strategy - Dissertation Example ary The purpose of the research is to develop a new venture strategy for pastries and cakes to the local residents in Bulgaria as well as the retailers. The project begins with the analysis of the background to the study which describes the origin of the idea for the new venture. The sudden rise in demand for home made cakes and pastries made by members of the family led to the idea of opening a confectionaries factory in the country. Consequently an analysis is done on the bakery and confectionary products market and the supply industry in Bulgaria. This analysis indicates the presence of a niche segment market consisting of the high income groups’ customers in society along with large retailers that the company would like to target. Some the cities in Bulgaria such Bansko and Velingrad are targeted because of its high expected growth of tourism and forecasted large number of visitors to the place. It is expected that as the tourism sector expand in these areas the rate of vi sits of the high income groups in society would also rise. More number of retail outlets is also expected to be opened in a potential tourist spot. These retailers could also be tapped. Moreover, cities like Pazardjik and Plovdiv demonstrates the presence of a customer base which is less sensitive towards price and more sensitive towards product qualities. The project then analyses the target market for its products which includes market segments like hotels, restaurants, food shops and catering companies. The fact that 80% of the Bulgarians prefer local products more than imported products revealed by a research conducted by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce makes ground for making traditional Bulgarian hand-made cakes and pastries. It shows preference of customers for local products over... It is evident from the study that the sudden and dramatic rise in interest for home-made cakes and pastries made by members of the family and the eventual distribution and spread of reputation of this family for the production of such innovative confectionery products builds grounds for the idea of development of cakes factories in Bulgaria. Bansko and Velingrad are targeted because of its high expected growth of tourism and forecasted large number of visitors to the place. Moreover, Pazardjik and Plovdiv demonstrates the presence of a customer base which is less price sensitive and more sensitive towards product qualities. The fact that 80% of the Bulgarians prefer local products more than imported products revealed by a research conducted by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce makes ground for making traditional Bulgarian hand-made cakes and pastries. The industrial analysis reveals the existence of a number of large players in the Bulgarian industry like Kraft’s food, Nestle, Masterfoods Bulgaria EOOD and Ferrero Spa and various small companies like Sugar Factory Kristal AD, Prestige-96 OOD, Den I Nosht OOD and Sigma Bio OOD. The chocolate confectioneries market is significantly strong in this industry. However, despite the presence of a large number of large industrial players the present company's business model seems to be lucrative and profit earning. The company's strategy to thrive on innovation and prepare traditional and handmade cakes and pastries is always to be appreciated by customers due to their consistent desire for local products and high quality products.

Research some initiatives that reduce the devasting impact that Essay

Research some initiatives that reduce the devasting impact that hospitality operations have on our environment - Essay Example Political rationality is based on the ability to solve problems and arrive at effective, collective decisions. Technical rationality is dependent on the value of efficiency. These modern environmental management methods require a rationality of both means and ends. They specify the means by which given ends can be achieved. Those ends are environmental goals such as less pollution and the conservation of water. There is a close relationship between hotels and the environment. Various features of the physical environment are an attraction for tourists. The environment covers all of people's natural and cultural surroundings. The natural environment is what exists in nature such as the land and its soil and topography. The built environment consists of man-made physical features consisting of infrastructure development. Tourist facilities and infrastructure constitute one aspect of the built environment. The ensuing tourism development and tourist use of an area generate environmental impacts. Hotels have signified their commitment to ensure a healthy and clean environment. There are three international hotels which have implemented very successful environmental initiatives. The Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts Hong Kong has initiatives on environmental management. In the area of environmental sustainability, the hotel's focus is primarily in five areas: climate change; ozone depletion; water use management; waste disposal management; and indoor air quality. Shangri-La is ramping up energy conservation initiatives so that it will reduce 2006 group-wide energy consumption figures by 12 percent by the end of 2008. Currently, the group practices a wide array of environmentally friendly measures such as fitting all guestrooms with water-saving devices in taps and showers as well as using energy-saving lamps in more than half of the group's guestrooms. Shangri-La was an industry leader in initiating environmental procedures even before its hotels began to receive ISO14001 certifi cation, the international Environmental Management System Standard. The group has an extensive list of internally developed environmental best practices that all hotels have implemented, with inspections to monitor for compliance. The inspection results affect each hotel's annual performance and development review scores. In addressing impacts on climate change, the group is working on reducing carbon dioxide emissions per room night by 6.7 kg., as compared to 2006 figures. Shangri-La has three broad methods for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases: through existing systems and processes; the use of new technologies and alternative energy sources; and by building more efficient buildings. In new hotels, Shangri-La seeks to save energy and resources through a variety of techniques involving rainwater harvesting, hot water production using solar panels or heat pumps, and improvements in building envelope design to reduce heat loss or heat gain as well as air filtration. (Shangri-la Company website). Another international hotel with a sterling reputation on environmental

Basic Principles of the Marketing Research Paper

Basic Principles of the Marketing - Research Paper Example The researcher states that relevant example of an intangible product can be Australian Open Championship that offers its services for the purpose of satisfying entertaining needs of spectators. Its arrangement requires different kinds of assets, including financial, human and material resources. Sports equipment, food, and beverages for cafeterias, souvenirs play the role of tangible assets, meanwhile administrative and maintenance staff plays the role of human resources. Visitors buy tickets for the Championship, therefore this event has profit basis along with the social goal to develop sport around the country. Tennis Australia considers that the more people enroll in clubs, the more skillful and distinguished players can be trained and stand out. This will increase Australia’s chances to win awards on world championships, improve state’s reputation and attain international recognition of the country. Tennis Australia strives for raising people’s interest and attraction their attention to sports activities. Watching professional players, potential consumers are prone to follow their examples and become tennis players later on by themselves. Australian Open Championship can be considered as a brand due to its main purpose to promote tennis. Its biggest value is that people get closer to sports events and later on become more interest in it. Brand statement of Tennis Australia cannot be considered as useful one in a full way because, in my opinion, it does not display all the urgency and importance of organization’s mission. A brand statement should be more profound and all-embracing so that potential consumers have a clear presentiment about company’s direction and promotion campaign. The success of brand realignment can be measured with the help of the increased number of people who enroll in clubs after realignment. The main participants of the microclimate of air travel industry are competitors; companies that deliver raw materials; suppliers of integrated products; partners and distributors. For instance, if the prices for raw materials increase, the total cost of airplane grows also, therefore airlines which use modern airplanes will increase prices of tickets for preventing a situation from losing additional profits. Factors of macroenvironmental can be political, economic, ecological and legislative situation in the country. If the level of economic development in specific country drops, this decreases profits of the population, who consequently due to lower salary will prefer a less expensive method of transportation substituting jets for trains or buses. Decreased level of demand will influence on air industry’s profits. Finally, airlines will be compelled to review price policies for affecting ticket sales.

Describe the Benefits of a University Education Essay Example for Free

Describe the Benefits of a University Education Essay Describe the benefits of a university education With the society developing faster, more professional people are needed, the university education begins to play a role which has never been such important before. A variety of facts have already proved that, not only an individual person, but also the whole society benefit from the university education. The support of this essay is to discuss how university education affects the world. For the individual, firstly, university is one of the very places where he gains the most practical knowledge and cultivates the academic skills due to which he can feed himself as well as his family. Many investigations demonstrate that people who have the experience of studying in university as well as people with a Master degree or Doctoral degree live a higher quality of life than those who does not receive a university education. Secondly, university is also the very place where young adults firstly acquire their social skills. Researchers have found that the graduate from university always have better ability of carrying out different kinds of problems. As the modern universities are becoming more synthetic, what students can learn from university is beyond academic lore, it is a combination of different types of capability. The graduates are generally adept in the art of being a social animal, mastering the important ability such as to judge and to pardon. Furthermore, university education does the country great favor. Firstly, university education helps the society solve many thorny problems in a certain extent. To run a university needs not only professors and students but also many other staff to be responsible for the daily affairs. This requires a great numbers of people to attend work, providing more positions of job. Owning to this, the hard situation of employing can be eased. The less people without income to feed himself, the stronger psychological balance they will have, and the society will be more stable. Secondly, university education increases the averaged accomplishment of the society. Citizens may be more civilized after having further education, which will make them obey the law and regulation consciously. The more people accept further education, the deeper the spiritual civilization will immerse into the social atmosphere. This helps the society progress at a higher speed faster because more vigor can be made full use of to construct instead of to supervise and to manage. With qualified personnel outputted by university, the society can grow in a healthy way. In conclusion, university education is not only for university student, but also for different stratum of the country. University education supply knowledge to the learners as well as opportunities of surviving to the livelihood, since it benefits both the individual person and the whole society a lot, it is widely believed that the importance of university will continue increasing as the world grows.

Long term sustainable approach to Forest Schools

Long term sustainable approach to Forest Schools The idea behind Forest Schools is that it is a long term sustainable approach to outdoor play and learning. Its about providing children with holistic development; it looks at every area in terms of their physical development, intellectual development and cognitive skills, also looking at their linguistic and language, both verbal and non-verbal. Forest Schools also looks at their emotional, social and spiritual development. Whats interesting about the culture in some Scandinavian countries is being in and outdoors are a part of how the family and culture works what? Sorry -I dont understand. But in Britain children are getting more and more isolated from the natural world. Forest Schools is very much about giving children the opportunity to learn in and from nature. Forest Schools is also about free play, its about self directed learning but its also about allowing the children to develop freedom and choice in order to be able to become competent and effective adults. In Every Chid Matters it states that every child should make an equal contribution. (Ref). The only way that children can do this is if they have sound self-esteem and sound emotional well-being and sound social skills and function in as many social situations as they choose. Forest Schools is about allowing children given their developmental dependant age the ability to be able to achieve social comfort. Forest Schools is an inspirational process that allows children to access outdoor space in order to grow and develop into successful, happy, rounded individuals. There is a misconception that Forest Schools is for Early Years; some of the most successful projects have been with older young people, adults with mental health problems and children in secondary education. (Ref). The ..?..about allowing children and young people to grow with a sense of value of who they are and giving a positive contribution. Its all about using nature as the teacher as opposed to being adult lead. LO5 Activity Plans and Evaluation. Plan (see appendix .), Rationale behind choice of activity and Learning Objective. This activity was chosen as the reception class were looking at the Handa Surprise book and focusing on healthy foods. The day the activity was carried out a new student was present with his mother which added extra pressure for all the professionals. The learning environment offered opportunities for the children to experience tasting different fruits as the kitchen area was adjacent to the table in which the activity was carried out. The setting also had a large copy of the story so all the children were able to see the story (for Communication, Language and Literacy) and had all of the elements needed to create the masks (Creative Development). I thought the topic would lend itself to the next days topic of healthy lunchboxes, which the whole school were focusing on. I chose to focus on any existing knowledge the children may have of different fruits and try and extend their understanding of why fruits are good for us. This leads into Early Learning Goal () of ..'(QCA, 2000). My main learning objective, therefore, was to introduce the children to new fruits and tastes, using language and listening to each other to find out what each child thought, in an accessible and enjoyable environment, so as to encourage respect for each others views and turn taking. What happened? The week before carrying out the activity, I prepared the resources needed in school and discussed the other activities that my fellow practitioners would carry out. This involved printing, cutting and laminating the necessary pictures and masks. Also finding all the different fruits that were in the story. I was unable to find one fruit in particular so I improvised with a fruit drink that was made from the fruit so at least the children were able to taste the favour. I carried out this activity with a mixed ability group of 9 children. I began by asking the children to wash their hands as they were going to be eating fruit. When all the children were back in their seats, I gave each of them a bowl and a cup. I asked the children if they could remember the fruits in the story of Hands Surprise which was read earlier. The children seemed to have a positive attitude about being able to remember. With a small copy of the book I asked the children which was the first fruit that the monkey took out of Handas basket. I then cut the banana in pieces and gave each child a piece and asked questions such as what does the banana taste like? How does it feel? Do you like the banana? The children gave mostly good descriptions of the fruit and used appropriate vocabulary such as creamy, slippery and lovely. I carried out the same routine of cutting the fruit into sections and passing a section to each child and asking them to describe what it tasted like and ho w it felt and whether they enjoyed it. With the Guava fruit (which was the fruit I could not purchase) I informed the children of the situation and showed them the picture of the fruit on the carton of juice. I gave each child a taste and asked their opinion, the overall opinion was that the fruit tasted delicious but one child said that they didnt like it. The most interesting discussion came when i asked the children what they thought the passion fruit would look like inside, one child said that it might look like an orange, the same child that said the banana was creamy (extension). Overall most of the children enjoyed the fruit tasting apart from one (standard) child who kept giving negative reactions to the fruit saying that he doesnt eat fruit at home. I was happy that at least he had tried some. While the fruit was being eaten I passed around picture cards of the fruit and asked each child in turn to pronounce the name of the fruit after me, most children had no problems with the pronunciations but one child struggled with avocado. I encouraged each child to have a little taste of each fruit and if they didnt like it then they didnt have to eat it and well done for trying was always encouraged. The extension child suggested that trying different fruits was good for us, as fruit was good for us. Which then led a child that was refusing to try a certain fruit to try it. At one point the dismissive child asked if we were finished and could he go and play. Once all the children had tried all the fruit and we had discussed them and I asked the final question which was everyones favourite and their least favourite, the overall result being orange best, avocado worst. I then told the children that they could go put their bowls in the sinks and wash their hands and go and play. Evaluation. I believe this activity resulted in all the children achieving the main learning objective of introducing the children to new fruits and tastes, using language and listening to each other to find out what each child thought and to encourage respect for each others views and turn taking. The idea that the childrens peer could influence the decision of another child .. An effective learning environment does not leave children entirely to their own devices, but builds on what they can already do and challenges them to try new things. The role of the practitioner is vital in this process and sits within the social constructivist approach to learning. This theory was popularised by Vygotsky (1978, in Smith, 1999), who identified the zone of proximal development, (ZPD) as being a reason why childrens learning can be helped by others. Smith (1999) explained: The ZPD is the distance between the childs developmental level and his or her potential level of development under the guidance of adults or more competent peers (Smith, 1999: 429). As this was a hands on activity, the children were taking an active part in their own learning progress. It was Piaget (1966, in Smith, 1999) who first postulated that the child is a lone scientist, processing information and constructing meaning through encounters with their world. Most of the children focused their attention on the fruits they enjoyed using positive language and engaging in using words to describe what something tasted like or felt. One child tried to extend the activity to see what the fruit sounded like when bounced on the table saying the orange sounded like a ball, this then encouraged the children to continue testing the sounds of fruit by knocking on them. The (extension) child asked if there was nothing in the fruit would it sound the same? The relative success of this activity highlighted that children of this age learn best through concrete experiences. When working with children of this age group it is preferable to adopt teaching strategies which allow for plenty of practical activities and exploration. The fact that one child lost interest in the activity, implies that I might need to develop this activity in some way to keep the attention of the less able or enthusiastic children. This was particularly noticeable when asking some children to use descriptive words to describe the fruit, as some children just repeated the word that their peer before them used. The language of one child was not as developed as the other children in the group, and this excluded them from full participation. On reflection, a different teaching strategy could have been employed to involve them more fully into the activity. It could be that they were more of a kinaesthetic do you know what this means?learner than the others, as he kept looking at the children playing, so maybe using an activity that involved movement may have kept his attention. Also the activity was extended longer than anticipated as I had to cut each individual fruit into segments. If this activity was done again in the future maybe cutting the fruit into segments before the activity took place would be a more successful approach. As a result of this evaluation, I would have changed my plan to include more opportunities for the children to be involved in the activity in a more physical way, perhaps by using safety acceptable knives the children could help me cut the fruit. This may help some of the children with their fine motor skills as well. Also another way of engaging less able children might include asking them to participate in the preparation of the resources by asking them to bring their favourite fruit from the story in so they feel they have a more personal involvement. Finally, the only thing I would change would be to ask the children to put on aprons, as it got very messy, including me, as I too got very messy. Conclusion In conclusion, recently there has begun to be a realization in the UK that play is important. There has been a surge of initiatives funded by government, such as Arts Council projects on creativity in schools and communities. The publication of Excellence and Enjoyment by the National Primary Strategy (DfES, 2003) puts a major emphasis on the importance of embedding the Foundation Stage and the Birth to Three Matters Framework in the work of local authorities across the maintained, voluntary and private sectors. Increasingly, research findings indicate the importance of the first years of education. Childrens ability to use spoken and written language fluently and with confidence and for a range of purposes enables them to access at an early age what education has to offer. The adults working in early years settings and classrooms have both the opportunity and responsibility to affect the future learning of their pupils in a far reaching and powerful way. Play is, it seems, about the universe and everything. It often has to function in a hostile environment, but when it is encouraged, supported and extended, it makes a major contribution to, and sophisticated impact on the development of individuals and humanity as a whole.

I Know Who I Want to Be :: Personal Narrative Essays

I Know Who I Want to Be I would not have cared about being eliminated from the Rhodes Scholarship competition if I had known that was the last day I'd see Lee Stone alive. It was almost a coincidence that I saw him at all--I was home for the state round of the Rhodes, my interview was three blocks from where my parents were meeting him for lunch and I figured, almost on a whim, that I might as well stop by. So I walked over with my mom, exchanged hugs with Lee, his wife Judy and his parents, and gave a nervous run-down of my interview. Lee was, as always, in good spirits, cracking jokes and wishing me luck. I was probably there less than 15 minutes. The Rhodes competition has this sadistic element in that they tell you the same day whether or not you make the cut. The 12 of us, (or was it 14?), sat nervously in a corporate law office board room that afternoon, until the panel came in and read off the names. We non-finalists all kind of smiled weakly and slunk out to the elevators. I was duly devastated, but also strangely embarrassed that I cared. Eight days later, I came home from an obscure conversation with an old friend to discover my parents and little brother wide awake at 12:33 a.m. I heard them coming down the hall from the kitchen, and there was this note on the front hall table about Lee, a hospital, calling someone. I couldn't decipher my brother's distinctly male-14-year-old handwriting before my mother said, "Lee had another heart attack." "Oh my God..." "It's worse," she said. "He's dead." I've known the Stones for 17 years--since Judy was pregnant with their daughter Laura, who's now a senior in high school, and I was four and a half. The Stone family spent their summers down the street from my family in Long Island, and I grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons with Laura's two older brothers. In all our family gatherings, Lee was the center of the excitement. He led countless water ski expeditions, starred in neighborhood dramatic productions and permeated every event with his wry sense of humor. I can vividly remember the afternoon he and I got stranded on an intermediate trail far too difficult for my fourth-day-ever on skis.

Latin America Essay examples -- Culture Latin American Essays Papers

Latin America Distinguishing cultures from one another has become increasingly difficult as various societies continue to intertwine and share their aspects of popular life. Constant exposure to US and other world cultures has changed the cultures of Latin American countries somewhat, but much of society remains unchanged. Moving to the United States from Latin America alters life a great deal, and keeping touch with one’s original culture may sometimes seem unimportant or simply impossible, but those who remain Latino instead of becoming â€Å"Americanized† are those who care the most for and have the strongest tie to the culture. Because the United States has long been involved in Latin-American affairs, â€Å"American† and â€Å"Latin American† culture may not be two completely separate entities. Through foreign policy, economics, politics, and trade—to name a few—US influence has been woven into the cultures of many countries. And the US doesn’t only impact the really serious aspects of life. As the world’s largest exporter of music, movies, and television programming, the United States constantly bombards other countries with its media, most of which is in English. But interaction between the US and Latin America has by no means wiped out Latin American culture. Using sports as a cultural indicator, Latin America has maintained its identity as a fà ºtbol dominated continent, rather than showing a preference for football. Interestingly enough, â€Å"America’s† favorite pastime—baseball—is continually gaining popularity across the American continent, clearly thriving in the United States but also in Latin American countries, where many of the players are from. Other cultural differences include: the common practice among middle- and up... ...her than a stark black-white contrast. Though the United States has managed to inject its culture into countries around the world, it has not completely taken over. Retaining one’s Latino identity in a country like the United States can prove somewhat challenging, but if the desire to do so exists, so does the potential. Language is a strong tie to the culture for obvious reasons, but personal experiences may establish an even deeper determination to preserve the culture. Luckily, the United States and Latino cultures aren’t mutually exclusive, so it’s not necessary to reject the United States in order to maintain one’s â€Å"Latino-ness.† Instead, bask in your diversity and indulge in a guilty pleasure, Latino-style; listen to an old Menudo CD, watch a telenovela, enjoy some arroz con pollo or flan, or just stay up to all hours of the night to watch a good game of fà ºtbol.

Why do Middle Eastern and North African countries?

Joseph Waweru Why do Middle Eastern and North African countries lack democratic governments? Is it the Arabic language or the Muslim faith? Columbia University scholars, Alfred Stephan and Graeme B. Robertson, seem to have the answers. In regards to Arabism and Islam, the duo classifies nations associated with the former as democratic â€Å"underachievers† and the latter as â€Å"overachievers†. A state’s classification as an overachiever/underachiever is based upon their Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (GDPpc).In addition, they observe political rights on a scale to help them determine which states exhibit â€Å"electoral competitiveness. † They structure their argument into three phases: quantitative, qualitative, and implications of the prior phases’ results. Finally, Stephan and Robertson offer possible solutions and scenarios that must take place in order for the political atmosphere in Arab countries to transform. The data used comes from th e Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties by Freedom House and Ted Gurr’s Polity Project.The year 1972 is chosen as the suitable year to compare the data from both sources. Freedom in the World ranks nations on a scale of 1-7 whereas 1 is the highest and 7 is the lowest. Nations that are ranked 3 (and above) are considered â€Å"electoral competitive†. The Polity Project ranks nations from strong autocratic (-10) to strong democratic (+10). Nations that are ranked at least (+4) are classified as â€Å"electoral competitive†. What constitutes as â€Å"electoral competitive? † According to the duo, government positions must be filled through fair elections.Governments like Egypt cannot bar individuals and parties from participating in elections. Secondly, high government positions should be filled with individuals who are elected though fair means, unlike Lebanon, whose executive and parliamentary government is author itarian. In addition, a nation must meet these criteria for at least three years to be considered electorally competitive. They also emphasize that electoral competitiveness is not democracy but a prerequisite for it. The use of â€Å"Arabic† and â€Å"Muslim† interchangeably reflect the common misconception that the two words mean the same; they do not.The former represents regions that speak Arabic and the latter represents regions that practice Islam. Using this template, Stephan and Robertson group their findings into: Arab Muslim, Arab non-Muslim, and non-Arab Muslim-majority. From the onset, we notice that Arab countries have relatively weak political and electoral rights. Only Lebanon, one of the sixteen Arab countries and coincidentally the only Muslim-majority state in this group, had three years of consecutive strong electoral rights. No Arab country had five years of consecutive strong political rights (32).On the contrary, 38% of the thirty non-Arab Muslim countries examined had strong political and electoral rights for three consecutive years while 27% of the same group went for five consecutive years. The likelihood of a non-Arab Muslim country to be â€Å"electoral competitive† was 2000% higher than an Arab Muslim state. This extensive gap reiterates the authors claim that Arab states are associated with the lack of democratic zeal. In the quantitative phase, Stephan and Robertson examine GDPpc. They search for a link between levels of income and political rights.They characterize them as follows: Non-Arab Muslim states whose GDPpc is under $1500 are great electoral overachievers, those that are under $3500 are electorally non-competitive and those that are over $5500 are electorally competitive. There are no electoral underachievers within this group. For Arab Muslim states, there is not a country whose GDPpc is below $3500. In addition, there are neither great electoral achievers nor electoral competitive states. In fact, 44% of the countries in this group are electoral underachievers and their GDPpc is over $5500.They assert that there is no Muslim gap in regards to political rights. The qualitative phase deals with the nature of government. They state that in non-Arab Muslim countries, like Senegal, Turkey, and Niger, powerful incumbents have been voted out of office by constituents. Niger is an interesting case since its GDPpc is equal to that of Yemen, an Arab majority state, yet it’s ranked (+4) and Yemen ranked (-2) on the Polity Project scale. In addition, Arab countries are classified into three groups: complete autocratic states, liberalizing, and those that once showed promise to be democratic.The authors suggest that election bans, coercion, fraud, civil war, and military coups are to blame for the lack of democratic governments in Arab countries. The findings of Stephan and Robertson also seem to counter prior arguments made by other scholars. For example, it is thought that econom ic development leads to democracy because development correlates with greater political participation. The authors disagree with this notion. They compare political participation between India and the United States and conclude that the poor members of the former are more politically involved than those of the latter.They also disagree with the theory that differences in languages and ethnicities within a society are detrimental to democracy. They claim that â€Å"electoral competitive† states actually began with the high levels of ethnolinguistic fragmentation while â€Å"electoral non-competitive† states had low levels. In conclusion, Stephan and Robertson believe the electoral gap is an Arab one, not Muslim. Factors such as their heritage to the Ottoman Empire and their failure to transition from authoritarian government explain the gap.In addition, they believe that if the Arab world recognized each other as legitimate and sovereign nations and if military spending was reduced in favor for domestic improvement, then democracy should form in the region. They believe democracy will be achieved through internal means rather than external. And they are right. Eight years after this essay was written, Arab countries like Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco are becoming democratic mainly due to internal pressures.

Marketing Information System Essay

INTRODUCTION: Marketing was the first functional area to exhibit an interest in MIS. Shortly after the MIS concept originated, marketers tailored it to their area and called it the MKIS (MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM). Early graphic models of MKISs provide a basis for organizing all functional information systems. The MKIS consists of three input subsystems: AIS, marketing research, and marketing intelligence. The output subsystems address the information needs of the four ingredients of the marketing mix (product, place promotion, and price), plus an integration of the four. SUMMARY: FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The term organizational structure refers to how the people in an organization are grouped and to whom they report. One traditional way of organizing people is by function. Some common functions within an organization include production, marketing, human resources and accounting. FUNCTIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS FIS also known as functional information system may be described as a computer program system which processes the daily information’s such as TPS (Transaction Processing Systems). MARKETING PRINCIPLES One definition states that marketing â€Å"consists of individual and organizational activities that facilitate and expedite satisfying exchange relationships in a dynamic environment through the creation, distribution, promotion, and pricing of goods, services and ideas.† THE MARKETING MIX The objective is to develop strategies that apply these resources to marketing the firm’s goods, services, and ideas. The marketing strategies consist of a mixture of ingredients called the Marketing Mix: product, promotion, place, and price. They are known as the four Ps. Product – is what the customer buys to satisfy a perceived want or need. A product can be a physical good, some type of service, or an idea. Promotion – is concerned with all the means of encouraging the sale of the product, including advertising and personal selling. Place – deals with the means of physically distributing the product to the customer through a channel of distribution. Price – consists of all the elements relating to what the customer pays for the product. EVOLUTION OF THE MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEMS CONCEPT In 1996 Professor Philip Kotler of Northwestern University used the term marketing nerve center to describe a new unit within marketing to gather and process marketing information. He identified the three types of marketing information. These are the following: Marketing Intelligence – information that flows into the firm from the environment. Internal Marketing Information – information that is gathered within the firm. Marketing Communications – information that flows from the firm outward to the environment. EARLY MARKETING MODELS Brien and Stafford were among the first modelers. Basing their design on the four Ps and emphasizing the development of strategic marketing programs. King and Celand stressed strategic planning; whereas Kotler, Montgomery, and urban, and Crissy and Mossman emphasized decision support. These modeling efforts began in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s. MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM MODEL It consists of a combination of input and output subsystems connected by a database. Output Subsystems Each output subsystems provides information about its part of the mix. * Product Subsystems provides information about the firm’s products. * Place Subsystems provides information about the firm’s distribution network. * Promotion Subsystems provides information about the firm’s advertising and personal selling activities. * Price Subsystems helps the manager make pricing decisions. * Integrated-Mix Subsystems which enables the manager to develop strategies that considers the combined effects of the ingredients. Database A structured collection of data. The data that is used by the output subsystems comes from the database. Input Subsystems * Accounting Information System gathers data describing the firm’s marketing transactions. * Marketing Intelligence Subsystems gathers information from the firm’s environment that has a bearing on marketing operations. * Marketing Research Subsystems conducts special studies of marketing operations for the purpose of learning customer needs and improving marketing efficiency. ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM The collection, storage and processing of financial and accounting data that is used by decision makers. An accounting information system is generally a computer-based method for tracking accounting activity in conjunction with information technology resources. The resulting statistical reports can be used internally by management or externally by other interested parties including investors, creditors and tax authorities. Data for Preparation of Periodic Reports A classic example of how marketing information can be provided by the AIS (Accounting Information System) is sales analysis. Sales Analysis is the study of the firm’s sales activity in terms of which products are being sold, which customer are buying the products, and which sales representatives are selling them. Data for Preparation of Special Reports The vast majority of data that is used to respond to managers’ database queries likely comes from the AIS, e.g. to prepare a sales analysis using 4GL. Data for Mathematical Models and Knowledge-Based Systems A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling.

Wal-Mart Business Model Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wal-Mart Business Model - Case Study Example It set-up giant all-in-one stores in small towns which quickly gained patronage because of the service that Wal-Mart associates provide and customers are able to buy the products they need in one convenient place. Today, Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer with $345 billion in sales, with more than 176 million customers per week visiting its more than 6,500 stores worldwide, 61,000 suppliers and providing more than 3 million American jobs. (walmartstores.com 2008) Wal-Mart's continuing success may be attributed to Sam Walton's foresight in including information technology in its business model to facilitate organizational innovation. As early as 1966, Walton was recruiting IT professionals from IBM to help him wire his company. This led to innovations in just-in-time inventory, choreographed logistics and warehousing. (Beckham 2002) Wal-Mart's business model mandates that it provides the products and services that customers would want to buy. With the company's enormous data warehouse which includes customers' purchases, Wal-Mart knows what its customer wants and "it provides merchandise and designs its stores according to customer preferences." (Felgner 2006) In support of its objective of customer satisfaction, through technology, Wal-Mart is able to process more than 20 million customers per day, with credit card approvals done in less than a second. (Scheraga 2004) In 2000, Walmart.com was founded. Aside from fostering the ideals of its parent company, its additional goal is to provide easy access to more Wal-Mart with "more than 1 million products available online" and innovative services such as Music Downloads and Photo Services which allow customers to order online and pick-up at the nearest Wal-Mart, all available to Wal-Mart's customers 24/7. (walmart.com 2008) In 2001, Wal-Mart worked with NCR for the design and deployment of kiosks in the stores to help customers scan in items for bridal and baby registries, an innovation to improve customer service. According to Walton, "People think we got big by putting big stores in small towns. Really, we got big by replacing inventory with information." (Beckham 2002) In its industry, Wal-Mart is acknowledged for its legendary replenishment and forecasting system which Ron Ireland, one of the people who built it, says is what "retailers are scrambling to do today what Wal-Mart achieved years ago." (Hickey 2006) Because of Wal-Mart's use of technology, its inventory accuracy is above 96% vs. 70% for other food retailers. Wal-Mart has improved in-stocks, reduced holding inventory, reduced manual intervention and achieved much greater profit margins, according to Ireland. (Hickey 2006) All these cut down Wal-Mart's cost of operations and contribute to lowering selling prices for its customers. With Wal-Mart's employment of technology and e-Business practices of integration and synchronization among connected players, it is able to achieve operational efficiency and revenue enhancement, according to Ralph Drayer, former vice-president of Procter & Gamble. (Hickey 2006) "Wal-Mart's success is due not just to computers, but many other things besides: the late Sam Walton's entrepreneurship; his strategy of avoiding early competition by 'putting good-sized discount stores into little one-horse towns which everybody else was ignoring"; his insistence on saturating one area with stores before moving on to the next; his drive to keep costs

M2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

M2 - Essay Example Firstly, it will try to understand if the Eric Jensen brain-based program is effective at what it is designed to do, and secondly, it will seek to identify if the brain-based teaching/learning significantly improves the reading of standardized test scores. The data the is associated with this research will be collected using three different methods which include a survey, focus group discussions as well as an interview of the teachers. A questionnaire will be constructed to serve the purpose of collecting data in the classroom and will be filled by the students in the class. On the other hand, the focus group will target various teachers who use the Eric Jensen brain-based program as well as those who do not. Finally, the interview will be designed to collect data from teachers concerning whether the brain-based teaching/learning significantly improves the reading of standardized test scores. Since the questionnaire will be measuring the opinions of the teachers on whether the Eric Jensen brain-based program is effective at what it is designed to do, it will be constructed as an attitude scale that will contain a minimum of ten items. A pilot test will be conducted to establish if the people who are targeted for the survey have adequate knowledge and an understanding of that will enable them to provide significant opinions to the study (Morra & Rist, 2009). The questionnaire will include choices that will allow the respondents who have no options to express their perspective as well as a number of questions to gather information at the beginning that will screen out the ones who have limited or no knowledge of the prevailing subject. The questionnaires that will be used will employ open questions that will allow the respondents to provide answers that best describe the opinion they have on specific issues beings studied. The questionnaire will avoid giving the respondents the option of ticking their choices based on a provides scale as in

Persuasive Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Persuasive - Research Paper Example These camps, housing more than three-quarters of these people, often lack basic amenities. At most camps raw sewage flows in open channels, contaminating everything. Even in the cities, unemployment and poverty are at extremely high levels, but organizations such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent can only deliver the most basic of humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip (BBC). And why can't the Red Cross help these people further? Because the Israeli military has built and guards a tall metal fence around the entire area, as well as maintaining a sea blockade. Even the Egyptian side of the border is largely closed, in an attempt to placate the Israeli government. The only official import crossings are maintained by the Israeli army, and often even humanitarian aid and aid workers are not allowed passage (BBC). This state of affairs only exists due to war. In 1967, during the Israeli-Arab war, Israel took the Gaza Strip from Egyptian control, where it had been since the creation of Israel (BBC). It was not until 1994 that governmental control transferred from the Israelis to the Palestinians, and the Israeli military troops were not removed until 2005 (GazaSiege.org). At that time, according to the Israeli government, the occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel had ended. Rulings from their Supreme Court show that, officially, they feel they have no further responsibility to the people of Gaza (Shany). But once Hamas won the Palestinian elections, the Israeli military tightened an existing blockade around the area, which prevented transport of people and goods, strangled the economy, and led to a â€Å"humanitarian crisis† in 2008 (BBC) None of this even discusses the twenty-three day â€Å"war† in early during which over a thousand civilians were killed, Israel's response to a Palestinian election result (GazaSiege.org). This blockade needs to be broken, and Gaza truly removed from Israeli control for two main reasons: first, such a blockade violates i nternational treaties about the treatment of occupied territories, and second, because of the obvious danger to the people living there. Israel claims that they have a reason to blockade the Gaza strip, mostly to do with political disagreements with Palestine. Israel has tried to â€Å"isolate† and â€Å"control† the Palestinian political group Hamas through control of supplies and people entering the area as well as intensifying mortar and bombing attacks. They have severely limited access to such necessities as cooking fuel and electricity, and have upheld the legality of such actions. Since Gaza is no longer considered â€Å"occupied† by Israel and its population no longer a â€Å"protected people† under those terms, these restrictions do not constitute internationally prohibited â€Å"collective punishment† but instead fall under supposedly legitimate conventions about restrictions placed between nations which are at war (Shany). However, many agencies and individuals around the world have rallied behind the besieged state, as proved by the attempt in during the first week of July this year to break the sea blockade simply to deliver letters of comfort and medical supplies to the people of Gaza (Torchia). Even Israel's own humanitarian aid agencies find these policies despicable (Shany). As they should! Without the ability to import or export goods, the economy of Gaza is

Ethical Conduct in Scientific Research Assignment

Ethical Conduct in Scientific Research - Assignment Example In real sense, they were not being given penicillin which was the standard treatment for syphilis. The scientists who carried out the study as Tuskegee continued to examine the subjects and withheld information relating to penicillin from the patients. In addition, the scientists did not allow the participants to access syphilis treatments that were available to the other people in Tuskegee (Reverby, 2009). This resulted to suffering, pain, and even death for the participants. The revelation of the study made the federal government to have a closer look to studies involving human subjects and initiated changes to prevent ethical breaches that happened at Tuskegee. The resultant reforms in clinical research include, firstly, the researcher should notify partakers that their anonymity. This means that they will be informed that their responses will not be discussed with anyone else. Consequently, the privacy and confidentiality of the participants is maintained. Secondly, informed consent. The respondents need to be informed of the aim and nature of the study. Consent is about if a participant decides to participate in the study or not (Shrader-Frechette, 2011). The consent can be obtained directly or indirectly through third-party consent. Informed consent entails capacity which is the person’s capability to acquire as well as retain knowledge, information is where the participant accesses information regarding the study, and voluntariness involves the person willingly participating in the study. They also have the right to withdraw from the study at any time. Finally, harm protection. The researcher needs to ensure that none of the par ticipants is exposed to unwarranted psychological and physical harm (Adil & Shamoo, 2009). In the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the scientists were engaged in unethical practice since they knowingly failed to inform the participants that penicillin was an effective cure for the

Integrated Marketing Communications Plan Assignment

Integrated Marketing Communications Plan - Assignment Example Besides food, gift items are also sold by the business to the customers for their special occasions. It is essential for every business to market their products in order to boost sales. Marketing is vital for creating customer awareness and to pull the customers towards the commodity (Armstrong & Kotler 2005, pp.10). Strategies and Tactics Market Segmentation The primary target audiences of Ann’s Pantry are the families who belong to the elite class who can visit the place for recreational purposes and for celebrations such as private parties. The secondary target audience of Ann’s Pantry is the youth who belong to the upper class and those who can spend money on parties. The youth love to party and especially at places which have good scenic beauty and attractions. The main attractions of Moelfre need to be communicated to the people to increase demand. These include coastal footpath, Royal Charter and Moelfre lifeboat which the people can enjoy (Kashani, et.al. 1999, pp. 10). Characteristics The characteristics of the audience are that they belong to elite class, they live a lavish lifestyle and they like to try new things. These people love to enjoy during their spare time for which they are also willing to spend heavy amounts. The characteristics of the primary market differ from the secondary market because of the lifestyles since the youth are more fun loving, their choice of food and music and style of arranging parties differ from families. Benefits 1. A variety of foods is offered at Ann’s Pantry 2. People can also arrange parties; however, due to issues with regards to space, only thirty people can be adjusted at one time. 3. The quality of food is very good because of quality of raw materials used. 4. The three main attractions at Moelfre include coastal footpath, Royal Charter and Moelfre lifeboat. Goals and Objectives To make Ann’s Pantry successful, certain communication goals and objectives have been planned for three years. These goals are realistic which means that they are rational and they can be achieved within the time period of three years that have been defined. 1. Brand Awareness - Since Ann’s Pantry s located in a village, therefore, awareness with regards to the brand needs to be created. This is important because customers should know about it for them to visit the place (Dunbar & McDonald 2004, pp. 200). 2. Consumer Attitude - It is essential for the customers to develop positive attitude towards Ann’s Pantry and this is because this will enable them to spread good thing about it through word of mouth which will increase sales in the long-run. 3. Consumer Satisfaction - When customers visit Ann’s Pantry, it must be ensured that they are fully satisfied. A customer who is dissatisfied is more prone to spread negativity of the business which creates a negative image of the business. 4. Market Share - The aim should be to double the market share within three years, and for this, customer awareness must be improved and their level of satisfaction must be enhanced (Barker 2008, pp. 150). 5. Sales and Profit - Increasing market share by double digits will increase sales and profits too. Proposed IMC Program Promotional Tools In order to communicate the message and to involve the primary and the secondary customers, the online promotional tools which will be used by Ann’s Pantry that include the following. 1. Contest –

United States; Love us or Hate us Essay Example for Free

United States; Love us or Hate us Essay Not only is the United States one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. It is also one of the most economically viable. It continuously touts its principles of freedom and democracy as an example for all the world’s nations. It is one of the most charitable countries in the world providing private funding to millions of aid organizations in third world countries. Not only that but technological research in the United States has brought advancements to every field from medicine to space travel (Garcia, 2007). So why it is so many countries hate the United States? This topic will attempt to answer this question. The September 11th, 2001 attacks acted as an eye opening experience for the American public. The perception of American superiority in the world was challenged that day create a shock which reverberated around the world. The international reactions that followed the attacks showed the American public that anti-American sentiments did not simply come from inconsequential groups of people. There were several countries in the third world that hated the United States. One of the major criticisms leveled against the United States is their stance on foreign policy issues. The first and foremost of these is their involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Arab world believes that American support both financial and military to Israel is not only hypocritical it is also instrumental in the continued oppression of the Palestinian people. While Israel affords a status of a friend to the United States, their neighbors are constantly being bombarded by Israeli military might and being acknowledged as terrorists. The United States is also accused of pursuing this foreign policy time and time again not in the interests of world stability but rather for their own self interests. During the Bush administration Saddam Hussein was continuously demonized as an agent of Al Qaeda and acting against the interests of the United States. However what the government conveniently decided to forget is that the American government was responsible for putting Saddam Hussein in power in the first place. This is also true for in the case of Afghanistan and the Taliban during the height of their enmity with Russia. And now they blame the very governments they put in charge for terrorist attacks on their soil (Chomsky, 2001). A poll conducted in 2002 found that the population in 35 of 42 countries had a generally favorable view of the United States. The poll also showed that while citizens in many nations still find America favorable, they do not perceive it as favorably as they did 2 years ago (Roberts, 2002). Certain studies have shown that hatred of the United States is actually taught in educational institutions (Livshiz, 2001). However this does not excuse the fact the bias the United States has shown for years in dealing with international situations. While several countries such as China and Russia have several nuclear warheads, the United States imposes sanctions on countries like Iran for pursuing nuclear technology for energy purposes. While the United States invades Iraq for the sole purpose of spreading democracy, they also turn a blind eye to the genocide that is currently occurring in Darfur. It is inevitable that Anti-American sentiments will continue while the United States remains one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world. Until the United States accepts that it has to use this power responsibly, the world will continue to see its actions as a reason to hate them. References Chomsky, N. (2001, October 12). On Why Various Countries Hate the US. (R. Siegel, Interviewer) Garcia, V. F. (2007, May). Why does the world hate the USA? : A politically correct approach. Retrieved May 16, 2009, from Hispanic American Centre for Economic Research: http://www. hacer. org/pdf/Garcia00. pdf Livshiz, D. (2001, October 17). Viewpoint: Hatred of U. S. stems from hate in schools. Retrieved May 13, 2009, from The Michigan Daily : http://www. michigandaily. com/content/viewpoint-hatred-us-stems-hate-schools Roberts, J. (2002, December 4). They Love U. S. /They Hate U. S. Retrieved May 13, 2009, from CBS NEWS: http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2002/12/04/world/main531762. shtml